Nation digest 06/22/02

Hospital helicopter crashes, killing three

NORFOLK, Neb. -- A medical helicopter crashed during an emergency landing attempt Friday, killing all three people aboard, officials said.

The helicopter had left a Norfolk hospital shortly after noon when it experienced a problem and tried to land at an airport three miles away.

A witness, Lynn Stewart, said the helicopter touched down, then immediately went back up in the air and started to gyrate. He said the helicopter was flying erratically as it reached about 100 feet before diving nose first.

"I think he was just trying to get the thing straightened out, then it slowly was just climbing and spinning, climbing and spinning," Stewart said.

Two jury members slept during Andersen trial

HOUSTON -- Two members of the jury that convicted Arthur Andersen LLP of obstruction of justice dozed off during the first two weeks of the trial, prompting complaints from other members of the panel, a juror said Friday.

Jack Gallo told The Associated Press he wrote a note meant for U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon last month complaining about two jurors who fell asleep during testimony.

Gallo said he was satisfied that Harmon addressed the problem when the sleepers remained awake for the rest of the trial.

According to Texas Lawyer, one of the sleepy jurors thought David Duncan, Andersen's former top Enron auditor, was the defendant, and the other questioned whether NASA was involved. Duncan had pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and testified against the firm.

Andersen was accused of shredding Enron Corp.-related documents last year to thwart a Securities and Exchange Commission accounting probe. The trial ended last week with a guilty verdict.

Judge throws out teen's murder conviction

CHICAGO -- A federal judge threw out a teenager's murder conviction in the killing of an elderly neighbor, saying the boy's confession, made when he was 11 years old, was coerced by authorities.

U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer ruled Wednesday that the boy's arrest was illegal and that his confession should have been thrown out.

The boy was referred to only by initials A.M. because of his age when 84-year-old Anna Gilvis was killed in 1993. He was sentenced to five years' probation, which he has completed. He is now 19.

In her ruling, Pallmeyer said authorities didn't question the boy in the presence of his parents or a youth officer and there were inconsistencies between his statement and the evidence.

Parents of drowned boy sue homeowner

LOS ANGELES -- The parents of a 7-year-old boy who drowned at a friend's pool party are suing the homeowners, claiming negligence and poor maintenance were responsible for their son's death.

Paolo Ayala, who didn't know how to swim, disappeared June 2 and was missing for about a day before his body was found in the pool.

Police said the pool's water was murky and the floor apparently created an optical illusion that led officers to believe they saw the bottom of the pool when they did not.

An autopsy showed the boy drowned.

Attorney Jack Zakariaie, who represents Saeed and Kimberly Farkhondehpour, said his clients were never told that the boy couldn't swim.

House arrest stands in case of priest shooting

BALTIMORE -- A judge Friday denied a request to ease the house arrest of a man charged with shooting a priest he had accused of abuse.

Dontee Stokes, 26, has lived at a relative's home since he was released from custody May 17.

His attorney argued Stokes should be able to leave the house to attend church and meet with his lawyer.

Stokes faces attempted murder charges for the May 13 shooting of the Rev. Maurice Blackwell. Stokes has said Blackwell sexually abused him in the early 1990s.

Stokes is scheduled to be arraigned July 12.

-- From wire reports