criminal charges

Faulty Fridge May Have Caused Oakland Disaster

Old Refrigerator May Be Source of Oakland Fire

'Disaster waiting to happen'

(Newser) - Investigators searching for the cause of America's deadliest building fire in 13 years are focusing on appliances at the rear of the first floor of the "Ghost Ship" warehouse. "On that back wall, there was a 45-degree-angle burn, and they need to look at that area very... More »

6 State Workers in Michigan Charged in Flint Water Crisis

Misconduct in office, willful neglect of duty among the charges

(Newser) - A half-dozen state employees in Michigan are officially in hot water in the ongoing investigation in Flint, Michigan , with the state's attorney general filing charges for their part in the tainted water crisis there, the Detroit News reports. According to testimony in Flint district court Friday morning, three workers... More »

Flint Investigators: Manslaughter Charges Possible

Other criminal charges, civil actions could also emerge, AG-appointed team says

(Newser) - Michigan AG Bill Schuette formed a nine-person team in January to look into the Flint water crisis —including an ex-FBI head who came out of retirement for "the biggest case in the history of the state of Michigan," per MLive.com . Now the team's special counsel... More »

SC Trooper Charged for Shooting Unarmed Man

Victim was just reaching for license

(Newser) - Officials say a former South Carolina state trooper is charged with a felony in the shooting of an unarmed man during a traffic stop earlier this month. The SC Law Enforcement Division says in a news release that 31-year-old Sean Groubert was charged yesterday with assault and battery of a... More »

How a Single Arrest Could Mark You for Life

Whether you were charged or not

(Newser) - Whether you were charged with a crime or not, an arrest at a young age could haunt you for life. And that's something that should concern quite a few of us: About a third of American adults—some 77.7 million people—have criminal records on the FBI's... More »

Driver in Golf Cart Accident Faces Homicide Charges

A friend riding in the back fell off onto a city street, say police

(Newser) - A Nebraska man is facing jail time after a friend fell off a golf cart he was driving and died of a head injury, reports the Omaha World-Herald . Cody Dembinski, 24, has been charged with misdemeanor motor vehicle homicide and careless driving. Police say five people were riding in the... More »

Parents Locked Autistic Twins, 22, in Basement: Cops

John and Janice Land abuse and imprisonment charges

(Newser) - To stop his 22-year-old autistic twin sons from misbehaving, John Land told police he installed an external deadbolt and padlock on a basement bedroom with the “sole intention” of keeping the men locked away during the overnight hours, NBC4 reports. The conditions police found last week at the Rockville,... More »

Miss Teen USA Tangled in 'Sextortion' Case

Suspect charged with extortion, hacked up to 40 computers: police

(Newser) - A 19-year-old man was charged yesterday with hacking webcams at the home of Miss Teen USA Cassidy Wolf and other women to extort nude photos and videos from them, with authorities contending he forced several women to strip. Jared James Abrahams of Temecula surrendered to FBI agents to face an... More »

US Files 1st Charges in Benghazi Attack

Ahmed Khattalah accused in sealed indictment

(Newser) - So the Benghazi probe isn't dead: The Justice Department today filed charges against Libyan militia leader Ahmed Khattalah but kept details under wraps, CNN reports. Officials contacted by CNN refused to divulge anything or even say whether Khattalah will be detained. But Khattalah's possible involvement is nothing new:... More »

Ricin Suspect Charged With Threatening President

Paul Kevin Curtis faces up to 15 years in prison

(Newser) - The man arrested in Washington's ricin scare has been officially charged with threatening the president, along with other crimes, the FBI announced today. Paul Kevin Curtis has a date with a magistrate in Oxford, Miss., later today, Bloomberg reports. If he's convicted, the Elvis impersonator and conspiracy theorist... More »

Reporter Sues Over 'Mock Kidnapping' at Gunpoint

She allegedly stripped, uttered 'last words'

(Newser) - Some practical joke: A pair of reporters kidnapped a prominent Kyrgyzstan journalist and put a gun to her head before revealing it was all just for laughs, the BBC reports. Now Nazira Aytbekova is filing charges against the reporters, saying they held her at gunpoint and made her strip to... More »

Charges Unlikely in MF Global Collapse

Investigators decide loss was caused by recklessness, not fraud

(Newser) - If you're holding your breath waiting for criminal charges in the MF Global case, you're probably never going to breathe again. Heading into the home stretch of their probe into the collapse, criminal investigators have all but concluded that while the firm may have been reckless, it didn'... More »

Florida Band Players Face Charges in Hazing Death

Music profs resign in separate incident

(Newser) - Florida A&M band members will be hit with criminal charges today following a six-month investigation into the hazing death of drum major Robert Champion . The charges come as two music professors at the school have had to resign over alleged involvement in another hazing incident, their lawyer says. A... More »

Charges Loom in Deepwater Disaster

Engineers, at least one supervisor under the gun

(Newser) - US authorities are on the verge of bringing their first criminal charges related to the Deepwater Horizon disaster, with several Houston-based engineers and at least one BP supervisor likely facing felonies, sources tell the Wall Street Journal . The men are suspected of providing false information to regulators regarding the risks... More »

Van der Sloot Jailed on Murder Charges

Peru judge orders him to prison until trial

(Newser) - A Peruvian judge today ordered Joran Van der Sloot jailed on charges of first-degree murder and robbery in the killing of a 21-year-old Lima woman, determining that he acted with "ferocity and great cruelty." The judge issued the order before dawn, instructing penal authorities to place the 22-year-old... More »

Gulf Oil Spill Worse Than Katrina: Poll

Majority of Americans want BP to face criminal charges

(Newser) - The federal government's handing of the Gulf oil spill is even worse than its reaction to Hurricane Katrina, and BP should face criminal charges related to the disaster, a majority of Americans say in a new Washington Post/ABC News poll . The feds' reaction was "poor" or "not so... More »

Roethlisberger Won't Be Charged in Alleged Assault

Case against Steelers QB can't be proven, DA says; NFL action pending

(Newser) - Ben Roethlisberger will not be criminally charged in an alleged sexual assault last month in Milledgeville, Ga., the local district attorney said today. A 20-year-old college student accused the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback of assaulting her in a nightclub bathroom March 5. This doesn't mean Roethlisberger is off the hook, the... More »

Photog Sues Sean Penn Over Alleged Death Threat

Paparazzo claims actor broke his camera, menaced him

(Newser) - Sean Penn is already facing criminal charges in the wake of a run-in with a photographer in October, and the actor is now the defendant in a civil case about the incident as well. Jordan Dawes alleges that the volatile actor kicked him and broke his camera, then said, "... More »

9 Mass. Teens Charged in Bullied Girl's Suicide

Phoebe Prince, 15, was raped, harassed: cops

(Newser) - Nine teenagers have been charged in connection with the death of a Massachusetts teen who committed suicide in January after being bullied and abused in school and on Facebook. The charges include statutory rape, harassment, and violation of civil rights. Phoebe Prince, 15, who had recently moved to the US... More »

Blotto Kentucky Man Puts Baby in Oven Overnight

Larry Long called psych ward after realization; baby unharmed

(Newser) - Kentuckian Larry Long smoked some dope at work Sunday night, came home to his infant son and girlfriend, drank the lion’s share of a fifth of whiskey, and then put the baby in the oven overnight. The five-week-old is all right, given that the oven was off and the... More »