Billings, MT - Wyoming Man is Sentenced to Life in Prison for the Murder and Assault of Crow Residents

Jesus Deniz Mendoza, 20, of Worland, Wyoming, was sentenced on August 10, 2017 to life in prison in Billings federal court after pleading guilty to a superseding information charging him with two counts of second-degree murder, assault with intent to commit murder, assault with a dangero... More...   $0 (08-10-2017 - MT)

Joanne Cote worked for Derby Insurance Agency from 1998 until 2014. In
2014, she sued the agency and Kevin Dorn (collectively, Derby),1 alleging sexual
discrimination based on a hostile work environment, as well as the torts of
intentional infliction of emotional distress and assault. On interlocutory appeal,
Derby challenges the district court’s denial of its motion for summary ju... More...   $0 (08-02-2017 - IA)

In this appeal, we consider whether the trial court erred in granting a petition for
writ of administrative mandate ordering the Department of Motor Vehicles (the
Department) to rescind an order suspending the driver's license of a person arrested for
driving under the influence (Veh. Code, § 23152, subd. (a))1 and awarding attorney fees
and costs to the person. We reverse the tria... More...   $0 (07-31-2017 - CA)

Tulsa, OK - Jury Convicts Defendant Assault and Battery With a Dangerous Weapon and Recommends Life In Prison

The State of Oklahoma charged Jestin Tafolla, a/k/a Bebo with:

Count # 1. Count as Filed: ABDGR, ASSAULT & BATTERY WITH A DANGEOUS WEAPON, in violation of 21 O.S. 645
Date of Offense: 04/05/2016
Count # 2. Count as Filed: WE1, CARRYING WEAPON UNLAWFULLY, in viol... More...   $0 (07-25-2017 - OK)

On September 18, 2015, a law enforcement officer in Des Moines noticed
a gold sedan, driven by Hall, had a malfunctioning brake light. The officer
activated his emergency lights and attempted to initiate a traffic stop, but Hall did
not stop. The officer continued to pursue Hall’s vehicle and was joined by a
trooper from the Iowa State Patrol. During the pursuit, the officer... More...   $0 (07-24-2017 - IA)

During the suppression hearing, Officer Marcos Johnson with the Austin Police
Department was the only witness to testify. The State also introduced a video recording from
Officer Johnson’s dashboard camera into evidence. Officer Johnson’s testimony described his
nearly seven years of experience in law enforcement and explained the training he received on the
Penal Code and the Traf... More...   $0 (07-16-2017 - TX)

Oklahoma City, OK - Motorist Charged with Two DUI Deaths Gets Probation

The State of Oklahoma charged William Michael Houghtlin with:

Count # 1. Count as Filed: HM21, Manslaughter IN THE FIRST DEGREE, in violation of 21 O.S. 711-723
Date of Offense: 10/24/2015
Party Name Disposition Information
HOUGHTLIN, WILLIAN MICHAEL Disposed: CONVICTION, 06/27/2017. Guilty ... More...   $0 (07-10-2017 - )

On the evening of October 11, 2015, Austin Warren and his brother were seen
drinking alcohol at a bar. Later that evening, as Warren drove his truck in
White County, he struck a car driven by Deborah Barkas. Barkas’ thirteen
year-old daughter, H.O., was in the car. Warren’s truck struck the driver’s side
of Barkas’ car with sufficient force to push the car off the road and in... More...   $0 (06-30-2017 - IN)

In this first party insurance bad faith action, the question is whether the
court properly granted summary judgment for the insurer, based on the “genuine dispute”
doctrine. (See Wilson v. 21st Century Ins. Co. (2007) 42 Cal.4th 713, 723 (Wilson).)
Plaintiff Carmen Zubillaga was injured in an automobile accident. The
other driver was at fault. Her insurer, defendant Allstate Indemn... More...   $0 (06-20-2017 - CA)

Victor Rivera, while driving under the influence of alcohol, caused a traffic
accident that killed a motorcyclist and seriously injured the motorcyclist’s
passenger. Rivera fled the scene in his vehicle and led officers on a short chase
before he was apprehended. Rivera pleaded guilty to unintentionally causing the
death of another by operating a motor vehicle while intoxicat... More...   $0 (06-17-2017 - IA)

Nataliya Shahin, appellant, appeals the trial court’s order granting Memorial Hermann Health System’s plea to the jurisdiction which dismissed her claim for declaratory relief without prejudice. While the trial court did not specify any grounds in the order, appellee’s plea to the jurisdiction argued that appellant’s
2
claim (1) was not ripe because the statement amount was subject to char... More...   $0 (06-16-2017 - TX)

On June 3, 2015, Trooper Jared Rude was on duty when he stopped to
fill up his patrol car with gas at the Traer Short Stop in Traer, Iowa. As he walked
into the store to pay for the gas, the store clerk came out to inform Rude that an
intoxicated customer was leaving in a truck. The officer asked the clerk to
identify the suspect, and she pointed to a red Chevy Colorado truc... More...   $0 (06-16-2017 - IA)

The State appeals the district court's decision granting Michael Louis Soukup's motion to suppress the results of a warrantless blood test in the State's prosecution of Soukup for driving under the influence (DUI). The State argues that the good-faith exception to the exclusionary rule applies in this case when the trooper relied upon the DC-70 implied consent advisory in obtaining Soukup's blood... More...   $0 (06-11-2017 - KS)

On August 3, 2015, the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally was underway in Sturgis, South Dakota. Shortly before 1:00 a.m., Sturgis Police Officers Mike Varilek and Tom Strickland (collectively, “the Officers”) received a report from another police officer that a male and female had entered a single-occupancy, portable toilet located in the middle of 2nd Street. Officer Varilek testified that such an event... More...   $0 (06-09-2017 - SD)

Schooler was charged with felony possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute and felony possession of a controlled substance with no drug tax stamp stemming from an incident that occurred on the morning of February 3, 2016. Shortly before 9 a.m., Lieutenant Justin Stopper of the Geary County Sheriff's Department observed a 2016 Dodge pickup truck travelling east bound on I-70 with its re... More...   $0 (05-27-2017 - KS)

On October 9, 2015, the Jefferson Parish District Attorney filed a bill of
information charging defendant with driving while intoxicated, third offense, in
violation of La. R.S. 14:98(A) and 14:98.3(A). At the December 11, 2015
arraignment, defendant pled not guilty. Defendant thereafter filed pre-trial
motions, including motions to suppress evidence and statement. On July 1... More...   $0 (05-21-2017 - LA)

Just after 10:00 p.m. on September 19, 2015, Officer Jonathan Higgs was
patrolling Interstate 225 when he observed heavy smoke in the air and vehicles
applying their brakes. Officer Higgs caught up to a white pickup truck with smoke
pouring out of it, and he signaled for the truck to pull over. The defendant, Alan
Sewick, was the driver of the vehicle. While Officer Higgs an... More...   $0 (05-15-2017 - CO)

Just after midnight on September 6, 2015, Officer Luke Bishard responded to a
report of a vehicle driving erratically, swerving between lanes and driving northbound
in the southbound lanes of the road. Officer Bishard made contact with the driver of
the vehicle—the defendant, Melissa King—and he observed that her eyes were glassy
and her speech was slurred. King admitted to h... More...   $0 (05-15-2017 - CO)

Allen Killings was convicted of murder in the first degree. This court
affirmed his conviction on direct appeal. See State v. Killings, No. 09-0739, 2010
WL 3894161, at *1 (Iowa Ct. App. Oct. 6, 2010). Killings now appeals from the
denial of his application for postconviction relief, contending his postconviction
counsel was ineffective in two respects. First, Killings claim... More...   $0 (05-09-2017 - IA)

On June 20, 2014, the State filed a bill of information charging Mr. Brown
with the following:

 Three counts of armed robbery with a firearm, in violation of La. R.S. 14:64 and 14:64.3;  One count of possession of marijuana, in violation of La. R.S. 14:34.2; and

 One count of access device fraud, in violation of La. R.S. 14:70.4(E)(3).
O... More...   $0 (05-06-2017 - LA)

¶ 1 Danny Rutherford suffered extensive injuries when the work van he was driving was hit by a vehicle that had run a red light. Mr. Rutherford sought compensation from both his employer‘s workers‘ compensation insurer and Truck Insurance Exchange (TIE), which provides Mr. Rutherford‘s employer with underinsured motorist coverage. Mr. Rutherford seeks double recovery, arguing that Utah Code sectio... More...   $0 (04-27-2017 - UT)

Sheriff’s deputy Guerrero Gutierrez was the only witness at the suppression hearing. He
has been a deputy for seven years, is trained in field sobriety testing, and is an advanced roadside
impairment driving enforcement officer. He is a drug recognition expert, breath test operator,
and instructor for standardized field sobriety tests.

Gutierrez was on patrol in his mark... More...   $0 (04-27-2017 - TX)

On April 5, 2014, at about 4:50 p.m., Officer Andrew
Naylor ("Officer Naylor") of the City of Madison Police
Department responded to multiple reports of an "erratic driver"
on a highway in Dane County, "somebody who was yelling and
swerving." Officer Naylor located the vehicle that had been
described to him and followed it for about two minutes, but did
not observe a... More...   $0 (04-22-2017 - WI)

On the evening of November 30, 2014, Kohlmeyer joined her boyfriend,
Kasey Birkenbile, and her brother at a bar in Davenport. Birkenbile had been
drinking for three to four hours and was intoxicated. The three drank a pitcher of
beer after Kohlmeyer arrived. After finishing the pitcher of beer, they decided to
go to Kohlmeyer’s brother’s residence. Kohlmeyer’s brother drove... More...   $0 (04-21-2017 - IA)

On the evening of September 25, 2015, Officer Wagner was completing paperwork at the Parkston Police Department when she heard a loud vehicle pass by. She looked up from her work and observed a white vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed. She immediately went to her patrol car and tried to use radar to determine the speed of the vehicle but was unsuccessful. The vehicle turned into a gas st... More...   $0 (04-17-2017 - SD)