Gas Worker Pleads Guilty To Misdemeanor, Will Cooperate In Wheeling Jesuit Case

English: Wheeling Jesuit University campus (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

WHEELING, W.Va. — A gas industry worker charged in the beating death of a Wheeling Jesuit University student pleaded guilty Thursday to involuntary manslaughter and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in the case against an acquaintance.

Jarrett Mathis Chandler, 24, of Winnfield, La., received the maximum sentence of one year in jail and a $1,000 fine for the misdemeanor. With credit for time served, he will be released Sept. 1.

Police said Chandler and two other shale-gas industry workers, Craig Tyler Peacock, 22, of Clewiston, Fla., and Tyler Witty, 22, of Illinois were involved in a fight with Kevin Figaniak, 21, a senior business major from Perkasie in Bucks County, and another student after a night of drinking on Aug. 31.

Read more: http://triblive.com/news/adminpage/5505916-74/figaniak-chandler-charged#ixzz2ruthWG3y
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New Hanover School Bus Driver Admits To Manslaughter In Pedestrian Death

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Montgomery County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

NORRISTOWN, PA — Appearing solemn and tearful at times, a New Hanover woman admitted she acted in a reckless or negligent manner while driving a school bus and unintentionally struck and killed an elderly pedestrian in Lower Pottsgrove.

Donna M. Engler, 64, of the 600 block of Schultz Road, a 16-year veteran of driving school buses, pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Court on Wednesday to a misdemeanor charge of involuntary manslaughter and a summary charge of careless driving resulting in an unintentional death in connection with the 7:08 a.m. Sept. 9, 2013, incident at Mervine and North Charlotte streets that claimed the life of pedestrian Shirley Wilhelm, 78, of Pottstown.

“Not a day goes by, or a moment goes by for that fact, that Mrs. Engler doesn’t feel remorse for her actions that day,” defense lawyer Timothy Woodward said on Engler’s behalf after the brief hearing. “She is devastated by the loss of life and she recognizes that this is an unspeakable tragedy that has caused pain and suffering to a number of people.”

Under state law, a person commits involuntary manslaughter if while performing a lawful act in a reckless or grossly negligent manner they cause the death of another person.

Read more: http://www.pottsmerc.com/general-news/20140129/new-hanover-school-bus-driver-admits-to-manslaughter-in-pedestrian-death

Driver Kills Man Who Told Him To Slow Down

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Luzerne County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One of the last things Fred John Kleman Jr. ever did was tell a speeding driver to slow down.

Minutes later, he was dead in what witnesses characterized as an extreme case of road rage – the furious driver sped back to the scene and ran Kleman down, then tried to beat him with a metal bar, according to state police.

“He was saying to slow down because we were worried about how they race up the street,” said Kleman’s girlfriend, Cathy Huk, 54, who said she knew the Plymouth man for about 13 years.  “He was just telling him to slow down and that guy wanted to kill him.”

State police arrested Lorenzo Burgos, 21, of 469 Third St., Plymouth, on charges of homicide by motor vehicle, involuntary manslaughter, two counts of reckless endangerment and one count each of careless driving and reckless driving.

Read more: http://citizensvoice.com/news/driver-kills-man-who-told-him-to-slow-down-1.1536993

Zimmerman Is Acquitted Of Murder And Manslaughter Charges

SANFORD, Fla. — George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who fatally shot an unarmed black teenager, igniting a national debate on racial profiling and civil rights, was found not guilty on Saturday of the second-degree murder of Trayvon Martin.  He also was acquitted of manslaughter, a lesser charge.

After three weeks of testimony, the six-woman jury rejected the prosecution’s contention that Mr. Zimmerman, 29, had deliberately pursued Mr. Martin, 17, because he viewed the hoodie-clad teenager as a criminal and instigated the fight that led to his death.

Mr. Zimmerman said he shot Mr. Martin on Feb. 26, 2012, in self-defense after the teenager knocked him to the ground, punched him and slammed his head repeatedly against the sidewalk.  In finding him not guilty of murder or manslaughter, the jury agreed that Mr. Zimmerman could have been justified in shooting Mr. Martin because he feared great bodily harm or death.

The jury, which has been sequestered since June 24, deliberated 16 hours and 20 minutes over two days.

Read more:  http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/14/us/george-zimmerman-verdict-trayvon-martin.html?_r=0

Source: Machine Operator In Collapse To Be Charged

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Philadelphia County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The 42-year-old man who was operating the excavator in Wednesday’s building collapse in Center City will be charged with risking and causing a catastrophe and six counts of involuntary manslaughter, a senior law enforcement official told The Inquirer on Friday.

Blood tests revealed marijuana in Sean Benschop’s system at levels that “he was unfit to perform safety-sensitive, job-related duties,” according to a toxicology report.

Benschop, who has also used the name Kary Roberts, according to court records, will additionally be charged with reckless endangerment and will face other charges from the injuries to 14 victims of the collapse.

The charges of causing a catastrophe and risking a catastrophe are felonies.  The involuntary-manslaughter charges are first-degree misdemeanors.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20130608_Source__Machine_operator_in_collapse_to_be_charged.html#6r84qROfFDJVp5xO.99

Conrad Murray Found Guilty In Death of Michael Jackson

The jury has just returned their verdict in the case of Conrad Murray.  Conrad Murray showed no emotion as the guilty verdict was read.  Conrad Murray has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Joseph Jackson aka The King of Pop.