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New Jersey cop says didn't set blaze at police captain's house

By David Jones NEWARK (Reuters) - A New Jersey police officer on Friday pleaded not guilty to charges related to a suspected arson fire early this week at the home of an Edison police captain who was inside with his family. Officer Michael Dotro, 35, was arrested at his home in Manalapan, New Jersey, on Thursday and charged with five counts of attempted murder and one count of aggravated arson, for allegedly setting the fire, according to a statement from county prosecutors.

Accused in toddler's patio death at Edmonton restaurant granted bail

EDMONTON - An Edmonton judge, unwavered by screaming and expletives from an angry crowd, granted bail to an accused drunk driver whose SUV plowed into a restaurant patio and killed a toddler. Two-year-old Geo Mounsef was pinned to a wall in the crash last weekend and later died in hospital. The boy's mother stormed out of the courtroom Friday while the judge was still reading her decision. The child's father then followed, shouting and swearing at the accused, who appeared on a video screen.

Court rejects parole bid from Pussy Riot hunger striker

A court in Russia's Urals Thursday rejected a request for parole by hunger-striking Pussy Riot punk rocker Maria Alyokhina, despite support from music luminaries including Paul McCartney. The hearing in the town of Berezniki stalled for several hours as judge Mikhail Shagalov searched for a new legal representative for the 24-year-old convict, who launched a hunger strike over not being allowed to be present personally in the court room.

Police rescue New York man, held captive for a month in warehouse

By Jonathan Allen NEW YORK (Reuters) - Police rescued a businessman from a New York City warehouse where he had been held captive for a month by kidnappers who demanded a $3 million ransom from his family in Ecuador, authorities said. Acting on a tip from the victim's mother, police found Pedro Portugal, 52, in the warehouse with his hands bound in cloth and duct tape. He had been abducted in the borough of Queens on April 18 by a man who approached him, flashing what looked like a police badge, prosecutors said.

Russian punk band member starts hunger strike to protest court ruling

By Catherine Koppel Berezniki, Russia (Reuters) - A member of the Pussy Riot band who was jailed over a protest against President Vladimir Putin in a Russian cathedral said on Wednesday she was starting a hunger strike after she was barred from a parole hearing. Maria Alyokhina also told her lawyers to quit the proceedings.

Russian court hears Pussy Riot member's parole request

A court in Russia's Urals region on Wednesday began hearing a request for parole by one of the members of radical opposition rock group Pussy Riot sentenced to two years in a prison camp over a stunt in a church. The court in the city of Berezniki in the Perm region of the Urals started hearing the request by Maria Alyokhina, one of two members of the group serving sentences in remote prison camps. Alyokhina was not present in court and instead followed proceedings via a video-link up from her prison camp in Berezniki, Russian news agencies reported from the courtroom.

Government will support private bill on tougher parole, Nicholson says

OTTAWA - Justice Minister Rob Nicholson says the government will support a private member's bill that would require people who are on parole, probation or serving conditional sentences to stay away from victims. The legislation, introduced by British Columbia Conservative MP Mark Warawa, would prohibit paroled sexual offenders from coming within two kilometres of a victim's dwelling. It would also require that people on parole, probation or conditional sentences not contact victims without their consent.

Autopsy reveals Argentine ex-dictator died of heart attack

Buenos Aires, May 20 (EFE).- Gen. Rafael Videla, the emblematic figure of the military junta that ruled Argentina from 1976-1983, died of a heart attack resulting from injuries and broken bones he suffered five days earlier when he fell in the shower, judicial sources told the official Telam news agency. The erstwhile strongman was found dead Friday inside his cell at the prison where he was serving a life sentence for crimes against humanity.

'There's no worse life:' driver who killed five in Calgary drops parole request

CALGARY - An Alberta man convicted of killing five people when his cement truck smashed into the back of their car says he'll wait until his statutory release next month rather than face another National Parole Board hearing. A two-member board panel was unable to reach agreement after a hearing Thursday on Daniel Tschetter's application for full parole. The board said another hearing would have to be organized quickly with two new panel members. But Tschetter told reporters he would drop his request.

Five cruise ship crash suspects ask for plea bargains

Five suspects in the Costa Concordia cruise ship disaster asked for plea bargains at indictment hearings in Italy on Tuesday, which could leave only the captain Francesco Schettino facing trial. The five include Roberto Ferrarini, the director of ship owner Costa Crociere's crisis unit, and Jacob Rusli Bin, the luxury liner's Indonesian helmsman, as well as three other crew members. Schettino's lawyers also asked for a plea bargain but the request was immediately turned down by the prosecutor's office, leaving only five plea bargain requests before the pre-trial judge.
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