Post by CCADP on Aug 23, 2005 6:28:46 GMT -5
Judge grants change of venue
LANDER -- Seventh District Judge David Park decided Monday move the first-degree murder trial of Andrew Yellowbear to a Thermopolis courtroom.
Yellowbear is charged in the killing of his daughter, 22-month-old Marcella Hope Yellowbear, who died July 3, 2004, after weeks of severe abuse. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
Yellowbear's defense team had requested the change of venue, fearing anti-Indian bias within Fremont County, as well as intertribal bias between the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone, should any tribal members serve on a Fremont County jury. Yellowbear is a member of the Northern Arapaho Tribe.
Terry Rogers, one of Yellowbear's defense attorneys, asked the court for the change of venue earlier this month. Rogers told the judge that if a change of venue was granted, the defense would not request a sequestered jury during the trial, which meant jury members wouldn't be stuck in a motel for four weeks.
Park, based in Casper, would have a slightly shorter drive to Thermopolis than Lander, by about 15 miles.
Originally, Yellowbear and Macalia Blackburn, the mother of the child, were both charged with first-degree murder. Since then, Blackburn has pleaded guilty to being an accessory to second-degree murder, in a plea deal that makes her a witness for the prosecution.
WyoTech students die in crash
FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- A second person has died from injuries suffered in a car crash on a Fort Collins street -- a vehicle that reached speeds estimated at 100 mph and was then ripped in half when it collided with an SUV and careered into a pair of trees.
Adam E. Heath, 20 of Granite City, Ill., died Sunday at Poudre Valley Hospital, a Larimer County deputy coroner said Monday. Heath's passenger, identified as Cameron B. Haston, 19, of Lenexa, Kan., died at the scene of Saturday night's accident.
Heath and Haston were students at Wyoming Tech in Laramie. Authorities said they believe alcohol was a factor in the crash, but toxicology tests for both men were pending.
A Colorado State Patrol trooper spotted the speeding Subaru on U.S. Highway 287 between Fort Collins and Loveland while he was stopped on the side of the road with another vehicle, Master Trooper Ron Watkins said.
"The trooper estimated 100-plus (mph)," Watkins said.
The car sideswiped another car in Fort Collins before running a red light and hitting a Ford Explorer, Watkins said. The Subaru spun off the road and crashed into the trees, splitting it in half.
Rollover kills Rozet woman
A 40-year-old Rozet woman was killed in a one-vehicle rollover on Interstate 90 about two miles east of Moorcroft on Sunday.
Sheryl L. Schwartz was driving a 2003 Dodge pickup east on I-90 at about 9:15 p.m. when it went into the median, according to the Wyoming Highway Patrol. She overcorrected to the right and went off the roadway again, and the pickup rolled once. Schwartz, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected and died at the scene.
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Jackson Hole Star Tribune
LANDER -- Seventh District Judge David Park decided Monday move the first-degree murder trial of Andrew Yellowbear to a Thermopolis courtroom.
Yellowbear is charged in the killing of his daughter, 22-month-old Marcella Hope Yellowbear, who died July 3, 2004, after weeks of severe abuse. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
Yellowbear's defense team had requested the change of venue, fearing anti-Indian bias within Fremont County, as well as intertribal bias between the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone, should any tribal members serve on a Fremont County jury. Yellowbear is a member of the Northern Arapaho Tribe.
Terry Rogers, one of Yellowbear's defense attorneys, asked the court for the change of venue earlier this month. Rogers told the judge that if a change of venue was granted, the defense would not request a sequestered jury during the trial, which meant jury members wouldn't be stuck in a motel for four weeks.
Park, based in Casper, would have a slightly shorter drive to Thermopolis than Lander, by about 15 miles.
Originally, Yellowbear and Macalia Blackburn, the mother of the child, were both charged with first-degree murder. Since then, Blackburn has pleaded guilty to being an accessory to second-degree murder, in a plea deal that makes her a witness for the prosecution.
WyoTech students die in crash
FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- A second person has died from injuries suffered in a car crash on a Fort Collins street -- a vehicle that reached speeds estimated at 100 mph and was then ripped in half when it collided with an SUV and careered into a pair of trees.
Adam E. Heath, 20 of Granite City, Ill., died Sunday at Poudre Valley Hospital, a Larimer County deputy coroner said Monday. Heath's passenger, identified as Cameron B. Haston, 19, of Lenexa, Kan., died at the scene of Saturday night's accident.
Heath and Haston were students at Wyoming Tech in Laramie. Authorities said they believe alcohol was a factor in the crash, but toxicology tests for both men were pending.
A Colorado State Patrol trooper spotted the speeding Subaru on U.S. Highway 287 between Fort Collins and Loveland while he was stopped on the side of the road with another vehicle, Master Trooper Ron Watkins said.
"The trooper estimated 100-plus (mph)," Watkins said.
The car sideswiped another car in Fort Collins before running a red light and hitting a Ford Explorer, Watkins said. The Subaru spun off the road and crashed into the trees, splitting it in half.
Rollover kills Rozet woman
A 40-year-old Rozet woman was killed in a one-vehicle rollover on Interstate 90 about two miles east of Moorcroft on Sunday.
Sheryl L. Schwartz was driving a 2003 Dodge pickup east on I-90 at about 9:15 p.m. when it went into the median, according to the Wyoming Highway Patrol. She overcorrected to the right and went off the roadway again, and the pickup rolled once. Schwartz, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected and died at the scene.
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Jackson Hole Star Tribune