DNA evidence frees man jailed in child rape case

DNA evidence frees man
jailed in child rape case

GOLDSBORO, N.C. — A man who remained in prison for 18 years after being wrongly convicted of child rape was released Tuesday after new DNA testing cleared him of the crime. Dwayne Allen Dail, now 39, hugged his attorney as Wayne County Superior Court Judge Jack Hooks Jr. set aside his conviction. District Attorney Branny Vickory had asked the judge to dismiss the original charges against Dail because of the new test results. The tests showed that DNA found on the 12-year-old victim’s nightgown matched that of another man already in prison. The results also excluded Dail as the rapist. “I’m a blessed man,” Dail said, hugging his mother as other crying family members stood nearby. He said he never thought the conviction would be set aside. The girl was raped in 1987 by an intruder who entered an apartment window, and the victim later identified Dail as the attacker. The nonprofit North Carolina Actual Innocence Commission began looking into Dail’s case in 2001 and pushed for the new DNA testing.

Robbery suspect in N.Y.
demands exact change: $4

GREENBURGH, N.Y. — A knife-wielding robber needed only $4, so he refused to take a $10 bill from his victim and waited while the man made change at a pizza parlor, police said Tuesday. He then took the $4 and ran off, only to be captured a few blocks away, police said. The suspect, James Mitchell, 48, was arraigned Tuesday on robbery and weapon charges. His lawyer, Arlene Popkin, refused to comment. Police Capt. Joseph DeCarlo said it “really is an odd case, but it is a robbery.” The confrontation began over an artificial rose that the 18-year-old victim had just bought, police said. “He came out of the store and was approached by the suspect, who said, ‘Give me the rose,’” DeCarlo said. “The kid told him, ‘Go in there and get one.’ But the suspect says, ‘I want that one, and your money, too,’ and pulls out a knife. When the teen said all he had was $10, the suspect said he wanted only $4, DeCarlo said. “He tells the kid to go into the pizza parlor and get change,” DeCarlo said. “Then the kid comes out, he takes his $4 and he leaves.” He couldn’t say why Mitchell wanted only $4.

Students arrested after
guns found in high school

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A tip led police to six handguns in a high school locker and the arrest of three students early Tuesday, said police who were investigating why the weapons were brought into the building. Police said they aren’t sure what the teenagers had in mind, since no threat was made, there was no ammunition and the guns were left in a locker as classes started at Pontiac High School. The building was locked down and all students were kept in classrooms after someone alerted a police officer on campus about the guns. “When we are told that student A has guns, we immediately went to student A’s area, his locker, and sure enough, there were guns there,” Police Chief Dale Newsome said.

Nevada miner missing

WINNEMUCCA, Nev. — A miner is missing and believed trapped after a cave-in early Tuesday at an underground gold mine near Winnemucca, authorities said. Two mine rescue teams were sent to the scene of the early morning accident at the Getchell Mine, said Dirk Fillpot, a Mine Health and Safety Administration spokesman. “One miner was believed to be trapped in the accident,” Fillpot said. The miner was reported to have been working on a piece of heavy machinery called a roof bolter when the ground shifted and buried the device. It was not immediately known how far below the surface the accident occurred. The Getchell Mine, owned jointly by Toronto-based Barrick Gold Corp. and Denver-based Newmont Mining Corp., is operated by SMD, an independent contractor, said Barrick spokesman Vincent Borg.

Former astronaut plans
to use insanity defense

ORLANDO, Fla. — Former astronaut Lisa Nowak is pursuing a temporary insanity defense on charges that she assaulted and tried to kidnap a romantic rival, according to a court document released Tuesday. Nowak suffered from major depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, insomnia and “brief psychotic disorder with marked stressors,” defense attorney Donald Lykkebak wrote in his notice of intent to rely on the insanity defense. He also noted that the already petite Nowak recently lost 15 percent of her body weight and struggled with “marital separation.” “Even the most naive observer should recognize that Lisa Nowak’s behavior on February 5 was uncharacteristic and unpredicted for such an accomplished person with no criminal record or history of violence,” Lykkebak said in a separate public statement.

Associated Press