NEWS OF THE DAY
_1 Police mistrial: Oklahoma prosecutor Steve Kunzweiler said Saturday that he was shocked when a judge declared a mistrial in the case of a white former Tulsa police officer who fatally shot his daughter’s black boyfriend because jurors had deliberated for only a few hours. It was the third mistrial in nine months for former officer Shannon Kepler, and all of the trials have been overseen by District Judge Sharon Holmes. Kepler doesn’t deny shooting 19-year-old Jeremey Lake, but says he was acting in self-defense. Attorneys said jurors deliberated for just 2½ to three hours Friday before saying they were deadlocked. Holmes reminded jurors that the trial had started June 27 and asked whether that changed their minds. When they said no, the judge declared a mistrial. Kunzweiler said he will decide by Aug. 1 whether to try Kepler for a fourth time.
_2 Deadly fire: Three people were found dead Saturday in a fire that destroyed part of a Houston-area apartment complex. Firefighters responded to a blaze at dawn in Crosby, northeast of Houston. The cause of the fire was not immediately known. Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office spokeswoman Rachel Moreno said investigators believe all three people lived at the complex. Sheriff ’s Deputy Thomas Gilliland previously said two women and a boy were unaccounted for following the blaze. He later said it appears the victims succumbed to the fire. Autopsies were ordered. Moreno said one building, with eight units, was destroyed. Some units in a second building were damaged.
_3 Boyfriend charged: The boyfriend of a New Jersey nightclub manager whose dismembered remains were found in a New York City waterway has been charged with murder. Raphael Lolos also faces counts of desecrating human remains and credit card fraud in the death of Jennifer Londono, said Bergen County prosecutors. She was identified through a Sanskrit-language tattoo just below her hip. The 31-year-old Edgewater woman’s partial remains were found June 27 in the Red Hook Channel in Brooklyn. Authorities said Lolos used her credit cards until he was arrested Thursday in Linden. _4 Sailors rescued: Air Force reserve personnel rescued two German citizens after their sailboat caught fire far out at sea off the coast of Florida. A statement Saturday from Patrick Air Force Base said the father and son were rescued about 500 miles from the coast. A base representative said the 48-year-old son suffered burns on his legs. He and his 66year-old father were taken to an Orlando hospital. The Air Force aircraft arrived with the two men in a lifeboat and a freighter approaching to help out. A pair of HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters hoisted the victims from the freighter and flew them to Florida, refueling in midair.
_5 Actor posts bond: Actor Shia LaBeouf was released from a Georgia jail Saturday after posting $7,000 bond on charges of public drunkenness. The 31-year-old was arrested at 4 a.m. Saturday by the Savannah Police Department. In addition to the public drunkenness charge, he also was arrested for disorderly conduct and obstruction. LaBeouf has faced similar charges in the past. He is in the area filming his new movie, “The Peanut Butter Falcon,” which also stars Dakota Johnson.