Latest news with #PublicDefender
The Independent
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Judge finds man charged with stalking Jennifer Aniston is mentally incompetent to stand trial
A judge declared Thursday that a man is mentally incompetent to stand trial on charges of stalking Jennifer Aniston and crashing his car through her front gate. The move in a Los Angeles County mental health court came after a second psychiatrist examined the defendant, Jimmy Wayne Carwyle, and reached the same conclusion as the first: that his mental health would not allow him to answer to felony charges of vandalism and stalking of the 'Friends' star. 'The court finds the defendant is not currently competent to stand trial,' Judge Maria Cavalluzzi said. 'Criminal proceedings will remain suspended.' Carwyle, 48, of Mississippi, has pleaded not guilty. He appeared behind glass in a custody area of the courtroom and did not speak. He looked vastly different than his previous two court hearings. His scraggly gray hair and beard had been shorn, and he was wearing bright yellow county jail clothing after previously appearing with bare shoulders, wrapped in a blanket-like smock meant for suicide prevention. Carwyle had argued that he is competent, and exercised his right to a second opinion after an initial incompetence finding last week. 'It's not the outcome my client would have preferred," Deputy Public Defender Robert Krauss told the judge. A conviction on the charges, along with an aggravating circumstance of the threat of great bodily harm, could bring up to three years in prison for Carwyle. The incompetence finding has no set end date but it is temporary, and the standard criminal process could resume later. Cavalluzzi ordered more comprehensive mental evaluations to help determine where and how he'll be held, and what his treatment will be. The judge will get a report on the results at a June 26 hearing, where Aniston or her attorney will be allowed to share her perspective on the case. Aniston's lawyer, Blair Berk, was in the courtroom observing Thursday, but did not speak. Berk and the deputy district attorney handling the case declined comment outside court. Prosecutors allege Carwyle had been harassing Aniston with a flood of voicemail, email and social media messages for two years before driving his Chrysler PT Cruiser through the gate of her home in the wealthy Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles on May 5, causing major damage. A security guard stopped him in her driveway until police arrived. Authorities said Aniston was home at the time, but did not come into contact, and no one was injured. Aniston became one of television's biggest stars in her 10 years on NBC 's 'Friends,' from 1994 until 2004. She won an Emmy Award for best lead actress in a comedy for the role, and she has been nominated for nine more. She currently stars in 'The Morning Show' on Apple TV+.
Associated Press
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Judge finds man charged with stalking Jennifer Aniston is mentally incompetent to stand trial
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge declared Thursday that a man is mentally incompetent to stand trial on charges of stalking Jennifer Aniston and crashing his car through her front gate. The move in a Los Angeles County mental health court came after a second psychiatrist examined the defendant, Jimmy Wayne Carwyle, and reached the same conclusion as the first: that his mental health would not allow him to answer to felony charges of vandalism and stalking of the 'Friends' star. 'The court finds the defendant is not currently competent to stand trial,' Judge Maria Cavalluzzi said. 'Criminal proceedings will remain suspended.' Carwyle, 48, of Mississippi, has pleaded not guilty. He appeared behind glass in a custody area of the courtroom and did not speak. He looked vastly different than his previous two court hearings. His scraggly gray hair and beard had been shorn, and he was wearing bright yellow county jail clothing after previously appearing with bare shoulders, wrapped in a blanket-like smock meant for suicide prevention. Carwyle had argued that he is competent, and exercised his right to a second opinion after an initial incompetence finding last week. 'It's not the outcome my client would have preferred,' Deputy Public Defender Robert Krauss told the judge. A conviction on the charges, along with an aggravating circumstance of the threat of great bodily harm, could bring up to three years in prison for Carwyle. The incompetence finding has no set end date but it is temporary, and the standard criminal process could resume later. Cavalluzzi ordered more comprehensive mental evaluations to help determine where and how he'll be held, and what his treatment will be. The judge will get a report on the results at a June 26 hearing, where Aniston or her attorney will be allowed to share her perspective on the case. Aniston's lawyer, Blair Berk, was in the courtroom observing Thursday, but did not speak. Berk and the deputy district attorney handling the case declined comment outside court. Prosecutors allege Carwyle had been harassing Aniston with a flood of voicemail, email and social media messages for two years before driving his Chrysler PT Cruiser through the gate of her home in the wealthy Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles on May 5, causing major damage. A security guard stopped him in her driveway until police arrived. Authorities said Aniston was home at the time, but did not come into contact, and no one was injured. Aniston became one of television's biggest stars in her 10 years on NBC's 'Friends,' from 1994 until 2004. She won an Emmy Award for best lead actress in a comedy for the role, and she has been nominated for nine more. She currently stars in 'The Morning Show' on Apple TV+.
CBS News
23-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Immigrant rights groups warn of ICE operations at Northern California immigration courts
Rights groups were present at immigration courts in Northern California this week to warn people that immigration authorities were dismissing their cases to have them arrested at the court and quickly deported. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement began an operation this week at immigration courthouses across the country to terminate their cases, only to have ICE agents waiting outside to take immigrants into custody. Government officials and lawyers told CBS News the Trump administration is carrying out the operation to place certain migrants in an expedited removal process to fast-track their deportation without a court hearing, instead of adding their cases to the massive backlog of pending cases. Immigrants warned, ICE operations at immigration courts condemned In a joint press statement, Northern California immigrant rights groups and the San Francisco Public Defender's Office condemned the ICE operations at immigration courts, saying the operation creates fear within immigrant communities, deters people from attending court while potentially harming their cases, and undermines the constitutional right to due process. The groups said ICE agents conducted operations this week at the San Francisco, Concord and Sacramento immigration courthouses, and at least one person was arrested at the Concord courthouse. Attorneys and volunteers with the groups were at the courthouses to advise people of their rights and help them during their proceedings, including opposing ICE motions to dismiss their cases. "This is the first time I've seen something like this happen in court," said Sergio Jaime Lopez with the Contra Costa Immigrant Rights Alliance in a prepared statement. "It's deeply concerning to witness the government use scare tactics in a space where people are supposed to seek protection." "I am heartbroken at what took place in the corridors of the Concord Immigration Court," said volunteer Cynthia Ashley in a statement. "The incident shook me to the core. The ICE agents' display of force and power, and their disdain for the right this man had been given to plead his case, are beyond comprehension." According to the statement, security escorted Ashley out of the building after she and other volunteers reminded immigrants of their right to remain silent. A Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman said the Biden administration was at fault for releasing migrants with notices to appear in immigration court, instead of trying to deport them quickly through expedited removal. The department has previously stated that courthouse arrests of persons it calls "criminal illegal aliens" are "common sense" and safer for law enforcement because they have been verified as unarmed after going through security screening. Call to reaffirm city, state sanctuary policies "We need our local and state elected officials to partner with us to defend our immigrant communities against this unprecedented attack on due process rights," said Angela Chan, Assistant Chief Attorney at the San Francisco Public Defender's office in a prepared statement. "Elected officials can also reaffirm and strengthen local and state Sanctuary laws that prohibit use of our collective resources to carry out the federal government's unlawful and unconstitutional policies." Last month, a judge blocked the Trump administration from halting federal funding to so-called "sanctuary cities" and other local governments that limit cooperation with federal immigration agents, following a lawsuit originally filed by San Francisco and Santa Clara County, California, later joined by other California cities along with Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota; Santa Fe, New Mexico; and Seattle, Washington. In 2017, San Francisco sued the first Trump administration when it tried to withhold federal funds because of its sanctuary policies; with an appeals court ruling such policies were legal and the withholding of funds was unconstitutional. In 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a case involving California's sanctuary law restricting state and local law enforcement from assisting federal immigration authorities, allowing the law to remain intact. The Trump administration had sued California in 2018 over the law, and an appeals court upheld a federal court decision not to block the measure from taking effect.
The Sun
17-05-2025
- The Sun
Ex-Soviet prison where pregnant Bella Culley faces life was slammed for not providing food or clothes to inmates' babies
HORRIFYING details about the brutal prison where Bella Culley faces life have emerged, as fears mount that the teen could raise her baby behind bars. Tbilisi prison No 5 has been slammed for not providing clothes, shoes or even food to inmates' babies. 9 9 9 9 Bella faces a sentence ranging from 15 years to life in jail after she was arrested at Tbilisi airport for allegedly entering the country with 34 bags of marijuana hidden in her luggage. The 18-year-old from Billingham, County Durham, claimed that she was pregnant in court earlier this week. The bombshell news sparked fears for her unborn baby, who may be raised behind bars in Georgia's notorious prison No 5. The ex-Soviet prison has previously been slammed for its grim conditions with a report raising concerns about the provision of clothes, shoes and even food for children on the inside. The shocking report was published by Public Defender of Georgia in 2015 after a visit to the female-only prison. According to the report, there were serious concerns over the provision of food for inmates' babies. Mums reportedly complained about the restrictions on the amount of food provided for children, with just one litre of milk allowed per week. Some mums even reported having to wait an entire month to receive the correct milk formula for their young ones. And it's not just food that's cause for concern. Inmate mums complained about a lack of clothing - especially warm jackets and boots - provided for their babies. Dad of Brit Bella Culley, who's being held in Georgia after vanishing on Thai hols, shares his fears This means for those inmates who cannot afford to buy extra clothes, their children are unable to leave the confines of the prison walls. The mums also complained about a lack of hygiene products, with a meagre two pieces of baby soap every month. They reportedly only receive small quantities of baby shampoo, baby powder, baby cream, baby oil, wet wipes, cotton buds, and delays in the supply-chain are not common. And the prison rooms are far from comfortable with no curtains on the windows, disrupting the babies' sleep. Experts have raised concerns for the unborn child which could spend the first three years of its life in these gruelling conditions. One source said: 'The prison has childcare facilities but it's clearly not the best place to bring up a child. 'The complications all add to the awful dilemma facing the family.' And it's not just the physical conditions inside the prison that experts are concerned about. There are also fears for the psychological well being of the unborn child. A 2018 report highlighting concerns about Georgian prisons warned that separating mothers from babies was 'very stressful for both'. It added: 'They require specialised psychological support and adaptation periods that may require weekend release from prison.' 9 9 Eliso Rukhadze, Georgian women's rights defender and lawyer previously told The Sun: 'Bella will be transferred to a hospital to have the baby and then rushed back to prison. 'For up to three years, the child would grow up there and the mom would have unrestricted access to the child - including breastfeeding. But Rukhadze warned that the child's nationality may cause "complications" in the process. She said: "The nationality will add complications. If the child is Georgian, and the family is British, they will have to take extra steps to be given wardship of the child. 'It won't be put up for adoption. The child will only be given to members of the family, but it adds an extra layer of bureaucracy.' Bella's pregnancy has yet to be confirmed by medical checks - but her dad Niel appeared distressed on Thursday as he faced the possibility of his first grandchild being born in prison. The dad told The Sun: 'I'm sorry - I don't want to say anything.' The teenager has not yet told her Georgian lawyer how she came to be carrying 31lbs of cannabis and hashish in a single hold bag. She was arrested within minutes of her arrival on a £550 Air Arabia flight via Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates to Tbilisi last Saturday following a suspected tip-off. Bella confided to a source close to the case that "love" was the reason she flew to Georgia. The source said yesterday: 'She said she was in love and that love was the reason she flew out to the Far East. 'But she has said nothing about why she had the drugs.' Bella's granddad William Culley, 80, revealed she appears to have spent most of March in Thailand but also spent time in the Philippines with a man called 'Ross or Russ'. Video clips and snaps show the student holding onto a man as she rides pillion on a scooter and another shows her smoking a cannabis spliff. Another on TikTok shows her joking about 'Bonnie and Clyde' crime hijinks and is captioned: 'Don't care if we on the run baby as long as I'm next to u.' But Bella's male companion's face never appears in the posts and he is never tagged - and only his silhouette is seen. It was unclear last night whether the mystery lover is the father of her child - whose birth looks certain to trigger uncertainty and heartache for her family. Bella's father and aunt did not appear to have been allowed inside the women's prison as daily visiting times ended at 6pm local time on Thursday evening. Her lawyer said that it could take up to five working days for them to be allowed in from the day she submitted a formal visit request on Thursday. 9 9
CBS News
08-05-2025
- CBS News
Lone survivor in Davis stabbings testifies in Carlos Dominguez's trial
WOODLAND – The lone survivor from the serial stabbings in spring 2023 in Davis testified on Wednesday. Kimberlee Guillory came face to face in the courtroom with her alleged attacker for the first time. Prosecutors said that Carlos Reales Dominguez stabbed her three times the night of May 1, 2023. She started crying in the courtroom when her 911 call from that night was played for the jury. "Someone came down behind me and cut the tent with the knife and at first I didn't think I was getting stabbed, I thought I was being punched," Guillory said. A photo of the tent she was living in on L and 2nd Streets was shown to the jury. She said she screamed for help and her friends in nearby tents rushed over. Defense cross-examined Guillory, questioning if her story has stayed consistent since the attack. The public defender told her that the person her friends chased after the attack was not Dominguez, but a man who worked at a nearby pizza place. Deputy Public Defender Daniel Hutchinson also asked her if she remembered saying during an interview one year ago that she wants to see Dominguez sentenced to life in prison without parole. He questioned Guillory about whether her desire to see this outcome affected the memories of what she really saw. She answered no. Guillory was one of four witnesses who took the stand on Wednesday. The trial will continue on Thursday morning.
