Sandy Hook gun shop goes under
HARTFORD, Conn. — The Connecticut gun shop that sold Nancy Lanza the Bushmaster rifle used in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre filed for bankruptcy this week but a lawsuit filed by family members of some victims will go forward, a judge ruled Thursday.
Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis ruled the case against the gun shop, Riverview Sales Inc. in East Windsor, will be delayed until the bankruptcy proceedings are complete.
The gun shop lost its federal firearms license on Dec. 20, 2012, eight days after Adam Lanza killed 26 people, including 20 firstgraders, at the Newtown school using a Bushmaster AR-15 that his mother had legally purchased at Riverview in 2010. Lanza then killed himself using a Sig Sauer pistol his mother also bought at Riverview in 2011.
During a 2012 raid, federal agents discovered approximately 300 examples of false or missing information in Riverview’s acquisition and disposition records. The investigation also revealed at least two instances in which individuals received firearms prior to receiving approval from the national instant criminal background check system.
David LaGuercia, president of the company, pleaded guilty in federal court to two misdemeanor charges — transfer of a firearm before the completion of background check and failure to maintain proper firearm records — and received a suspended sentence.
No retrial in murder case
WASHINGTON — Prosecutors announced Thursday that they will not retry a man convicted of killing Washington intern Chandra Levy, saying they can no longer prove their case in the 15-year-old slaying that thrust former congressman Gary Condit into the national spotlight.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia issued a statement saying it has moved to dismiss the case charging Ingmar Guandique with Levy’s 2001 slaying.
According to the statement, prosecutors concluded they can no longer prove the murder case against Guandique beyond a reasonable doubt, “based on recent unforeseen developments that were investigated over the past week.”
Kids found in shed
DANVILLE, Ky. — Authorities say they found three children living in a shed in Kentucky that had no electricity, no running water and a bucket containing human feces.
The Boyle County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that deputies found the children Tuesday in the shed just southwest of Danville after receiving a report that children were being abused or neglected.
Authorities say 44year-old Gregory Wilkerson and 25-year-old Brandi Harmon were living with the three children in the shed behind a home. Deputies say the children were taken into protective custody and received treatment for “extreme rashes and bed bug bites.”
Also in the nation…
Atlantic City is about to get a long-awaited state loan to help it stave off default and possibly bankruptcy. … Authorities say a 3,200-pound commercial air conditioner fell off a truck, crushing a worker at a Pennsylvania plant near York.