NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Nation
1 Death threats: A man accused of making credible death threats against Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and state Attorney General Dana Nessel has been charged with a terrorism count, the Wayne County prosecutor’s office said Friday. Robert Tesh made the threats via a social media message to an acquaintance on April 14 and authorities concluded the message amounted to “credible threats to kill,” prosecutor Kym Worthy said. Detroit police arrested the 32yearold the same day at his home. He was arraigned on a threat of terrorism charge. If convicted, Tesh could face up to 20 years in prison.
2 Gang charges: Federal authorities in New York City have brought charges including murder, attempted murder, and murder conspiracy against 10 men accused of being part of the notorious MS13 gang. U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue said all of the men were in custody in connection to three killings and other crimes. One of the killings in the federal complaints was of Andy Peralta, a 17yearold found dead in April 2018 in a Queens park. Authorities said he was beaten, stabbed and strangled because he was mistakenly believed to part of a rival gang. Another was Victor Alvarenga, killed in November 2018 in Queens. The third was Abel Mosso, shot on a Queens subway platform in February 2019.
3 Military jet crash: An F22 fighter plane crashed during a training flight Friday and the pilot safely ejected from the aircraft, Eglin Air Force Base officials said. The jet was part of the 325th Fighter Wing at the base, which is located east of Pensacola in Florida’s Panhandle. It was about 12 miles northeast of the base when it crashed, the Air Force said in news release. The pilot was reported to be in stable condition, and an investigation into the cause of the crash is under way.
4 Amtrak case: A judge has reinstated charges brought against an Amtrak engineer for his role in a derailment in Philadelphia in 2015 that killed eight people. The ruling by Superior Court Judge Victor Stabile overturns a lower court’s decision to dismiss the involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment charges against Brandon Bostian. His lawyer has argued that any mistakes Bostian made did not rise to the level of a crime. Stabile said the lower court’s role was only to determine whether the state presented enough evidence to warrant a trial, and prosecutors met that burden. The derailment happened when the New Yorkbound train jumped the track as it rounded a curve at more than twice the 50 mph speed limit. 5 Wrongful conviction: The city of Sikeston, Mo., has agreed to an $8 million settlement in a lawsuit filed by a man who spent 17 years in prison for murder before the state Supreme Court overturned his conviction. David Robinson sued the city after the conviction was tossed and he was released in 2018 when a judge ruled there was clear evidence that he didn’t kill bar owner Sheila Box in 2000. Robinson alleged in his suit that Sikeston police knew he was innocent but helped prevent his conviction from being overturned during two appeals.