City’s appeal delays lawsuit trial in Ohio Walmart shooting

City’s appeal delays lawsuit trial in Ohio Walmart shooting

DAYTON

An Ohio city’s appeal arguing a police officer is immune from liability for fatally shooting a black man holding a pellet rifle inside a Walmart store has delayed a federal civil rights trial until later this year.

The Hamilton-Middletown Journal News reports U.S. District Judge Walter Rice has moved the trial from Feb. 4 until Oct. 28 while the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals considers Beavercreek’s immunity claim, filed Friday.

Rice previously ruled that the lawsuit against Beavercreek police officer Sean Williams, who shot 22-year-old John Crawford III in August 2014 within seconds of spotting him holding the unpackaged rifle, could continue.

Rice hasn’t decided yet whether a lawsuit filed against Walmart, which argues it wasn’t liable for the shooting, can continue.

Beavercreek’s law director declined to comment.

Woman not guilty by reason of insanity in deaths of children

DAYTON

An Ohio judge has agreed a woman was insane when she killed her two children and has ordered her institutionalized at a mental health facility.

Thirty-one-year-old Claudena Helton was charged with aggravated murder for fatally shooting 8-year-old daughter Khmorra and 6-year-old son Kaiden in May 2017 in Dayton.

The Dayton Daily News reports a Montgomery County judge accepted Helton’s insanity plea at a hearing Friday and ordered a review in six months.

Helton’s attorney said two psychological reports concluded she was not guilty by reason of insanity, and a third said she was competent to stand trial.

Neighbors told police Helton was in a trance-like state after the slayings.

Helton told police she killed her children to “save them from the evils of the world.”

Parents of child who died from exposure sentenced to prison

AKRON

The parents of a 2-year-old girl found unresponsive on the front porch of an Ohio home on a frigid February day have been sentenced to prison.

The Akron Beacon Journal reports 23-year-old Tierra Williams and her former boyfriend, 25-year-old Dariaun Parker, had hoped to receive probation at sentencing Friday in Akron. They pleaded guilty to child endangering in November for Wynter Parker’s death.

Summit County Judge Alison McCarty sentenced Williams to 18 months and Parker to two years, saying their family dysfunction contributed to Wynter’s death. McCarty said she might consider releasing them early.

Prosecutors said Parker lost track of Wynter while Williams was out with the couple’s 4-year-old son.

Williams’ attorney said her client cooperated with authorities.

Parker’s attorney said neither parent engaged in criminal activity before Wynter’s death.

Pennsylvania airman is laid to rest at Arlington

PITTSBURGH

A Pennsylvania airman killed last year in Afghanistan has finally been laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Dylan Elchin was buried Thursday with full military honors.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports more than 300 people attended a short service before the burial.

Elchin was eulogized by his commander as an airman who willingly accepted tough assignments, adding that he loved the military and died fighting for freedom and security for his country.

In December, a memorial was held for Elchin in his hometown of Hookstown in Moon Township so local friends and family could say goodbye.

Elchin was one of three service members who died when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in Afghanistan in November.