Friday, January 13, 2006

 

Around Pennsylvania ...

Man convicted of killing friend over jerseys

An East Hills man faces a maximum 20 to 40 years in prison following his conviction yesterday on charges that he shot and killed his friend during a fight with other young men over "throw-back" sports jerseys.

A lawyer for Walter H. Harris, however, said he is hopeful that his client will get some leniency when he is sentenced March 1 by Common Pleas Judge Kevin G. Sasinoski.

A jury of seven women and five men deliberated for about half a day yesterday before finding Mr. Harris, 27, guilty of third-degree murder in the death Feb. 27 of Duane Williams-Brown, his friend, on Park Hill Drive.

Mr. Brown and another man had been arguing at about 3 a.m. over two replica professional sports jerseys.

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Around the Country ...

3 court workers fall ill after shaking hands with defendant

A man has been jailed on assault charges after a prosecutor, police officer and courtroom bailiff became seriously ill after shaking hands with him.

In a Dec. 21 court appearance on a traffic charge, John Ridgeway pulled out a vial of an unknown liquid, rubbed his hands with the contents and insisted on shaking hands with the three people, authorities said.

All got sick within an hour, suffering from nausea, headaches, numbness and tingling that lasted about a day. Two sought treatment at a hospital.
The FBI was running tests on the substance to identify it.

From the Houston Chronicle

Around the World ...

Man aims for new snake-kissing record

A Malaysian snake charmer announced Thursday that he would attempt to kiss a poisonous snake 50 times in 10 minutes in an attempt to break a current world record.

Shahimi Abdul Hamid, 33, said he planned to attempt the feat in March this year at the hill resort of Genting Highlands, but said he had not decided which snake he would choose to be locking lips with.
The current record for snake kissing is held by an American citizen who reportedly kissed the reptile 30 times without a time limit, the official Bernama news agency said.

From the Khaleej Times

posted by Anne 1/13/2006 08:02:00 AM