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Man abused girlfriend’s toddler son leading to death: Cops

homesafetytechpros — Thu, 27 Mar 2025 20:17:56 +0000

Left: Annthoni Bliss, Right: Luca Hudson (New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office).

A 22-year-old New Hampshire man stands accused of beating his girlfriend’s 23-month-old son to death when he was alone with the boy and she was grocery shopping.

Annthoni Bliss is charged with second-degree murder in the January 2024 death of Luca Hudson, the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office said in a statement. The Keene Police Department and medical personnel responded the morning of Jan. 14, 2024, to an apartment for a young child in medical distress. They arrived to find Luca unconscious and not breathing. Paramedics rushed him to the hospital where he died three days later, just a month shy of his second birthday.

A year-plus long investigation led to charges being filed against Bliss, who had started dating Luca’s mother about a month prior to the incident after knowing each other for several years, a probable cause arrest affidavit said. The medical examiner determined the cause of death to be blunt force trauma to the head and the manner of death homicide.

Bliss and the boy’s mother denied doing anything to hurt Luca. Bliss had been staying at his girlfriend’s apartment along with Luca and the boy’s older brother, cops said. Detectives noted that Luca showed no signs of injury in the days leading up to his death.

Through interviews and reviewing surveillance footage, investigators believe the abuse happened the night before cops responded to the apartment when Luca’s mother made a nearly hour-long trip to the grocery store, according to the affidavit. In text messages between her and Bliss while she was out, the defendant made no mention that anything may have been amiss. He said Luca’s older brother had fallen asleep.

“How’s shopping baby,” Bliss allegedly texted her.

“going to check out now,” she responded.

“Okay my love,” Bliss texted.

Luca’s mother, who has not been charged with a crime, and Bliss initially did not tell cops that the suspect was alone with the boy. In December, he told cops that he was on the phone with his sister while his girlfriend was away, but detectives could find no evidence the two ever spoke, the affidavit said. While his sister at first said she was on the phone with Bliss, she stopped talking to law enforcement, cops said. Investigators also talked to a neighbor who lived next door who said he heard Luca crying for up to an hour around the time the boy’s mother was shopping, according to the affidavit.

After the mother returned from the store, she and Bliss spent time in their bedroom. He didn’t say anything about Luca being injured, cops said. A couple hours later, Bliss walked by Luca’s room and heard vomiting. Luca had thrown up in the crib and on his pajamas. After a shower, the boy stayed with his mother and Bliss in their bed where he complained of a headache, according to cops. His mother told cops he seemed fine otherwise.

But Bliss later said in an interview with detectives that Luca’s head felt “soft” and “squishy” to him after the shower. Investigators later found he made two internet searches around that time: “2 year old, head squishy” and “2 year old head head now swollen head squishy,” the affidavit said. Despite his concerns, he never called 911; his girlfriend did so a couple of hours later, per cops.

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Doctors noted Luca showed little signs of external injury, however internally he suffered “substantial internal bleeding” on his brain, the affidavit stated. He also suffered from hemorrhaging in both of his eyes. His brain swelled which ultimately led to his death, doctors said. Medical examiners determined there was a “complete absence of any alternative accidental explanation,” the affidavit stated. They were able to whittle down the timing of the infliction of injury to when Bliss was alone with Luca when the mother was at the store.

Cops arrested Bliss on Wednesday evening. His next court date is scheduled for April 3. He remains at the Cheshire County Jail.

Luca’s obituary described the boy.

“Luca loved turtles, dogs, coloring and watching his favorite TV show, Mickey Mouse. He also enjoyed making a lot of noise, playing catch with balls and spending time playing with his brother,” the obituary said.

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Parents allowed teens to drink, leading to fatal crash: Cops

homesafetytechpros — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 04:14:36 +0000

Left: Anindita Rao (DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office). Sophia Lekiachvili (family photo).

A teenager and two parents are facing felonies for their alleged roles in a crash that killed another 18-year-old woman in Georgia.

The driver of the vehicle involved in the crash, 18-year-old Hannah Hackemeyer, is charged with three counts of homicide by vehicle and driving under the influence, among other crimes, DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston said in a press release. Her friend’s parents, Sumanth Rao, 50, and Anindita Rao, 49, are facing involuntary manslaughter charges for allegedly allowing the teens to drink before the fateful crash that killed Sophia Lekiachvili.

Prosecutors say Hackemeyer, Lekiachvili, and the Rao’s daughter were drinking at the Rao household the night of Feb. 23 and into Feb. 24. The underage teens were drinking with the blessing of Sumanth Rao and Anindita Rao. Boston told reporters Wednesday at a press conference the Rao home was known as the “party house” where underage drinking was the norm.

“Halloween, Homecoming, the last day of school,” Boston said. “It is a miracle that nothing happened prior to Feb. 24. Mr. and Mrs. Rao’s choices that night led to the death of a teenage girl.”

According to prosecutors, the teens had just polished off a bottle of wine when they decided to go for a drive shortly before midnight. With Hackemeyer driving, Lekiachvili sat in the front passenger seat while the Rao girl rode in the back seat. They had an open bottle of wine in the car. Hackemeyer allegedly was driving the Mazda CX-5 nearly 100 mph — more than 60 mph over the speed limit — when she lost control and crashed, causing the car to roll over.

Hackemeyer and the Rao girl crawled out of the car. First responders rushed to the scene where they found Lekiachvili trapped in the passenger seat. They extricated her and rushed the teen to the hospital where she died from her injuries.

An investigation unveiled that Hackemeyer allegedly had a Blood Alcohol Concentration of 0.046, which is more than twice the legal limit for someone under the age of 21.

“This crash was a foreseeable consequence of allowing underage drinking in their home and worse — allowing someone who they knew had consumed alcohol — to drive,” Boston said in a statement. “We recognize that prosecuting these cases will not bring Sophia back, but we hope that by pursing justice in her death, we may prevent future tragedies.”

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State rep displays middle finger during online court hearing, leading to show-cause orders

homesafetytechpros — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 00:32:56 +0000

Trials & Litigation

State rep displays middle finger during online court hearing, leading to show-cause orders

By Debra Cassens Weiss

September 5, 2024, 3:20 pm CDT

Florida State Rep. Randy Fine, who appeared to be displaying his middle finger and making other gestures during an online court appearance, is facing an Oct. 1 contempt hearing. (Screenshots via Judge Scott Blaue’s show-cause order)

A Florida state representative who appeared to be displaying his middle finger and making other gestures during an online court appearance is facing an Oct. 1 contempt hearing.

Florida State Rep. Randy Fine, a Republican, was ordered to show cause why he should not be held in contempt for alleged “offensive conduct” during the Aug. 19 hearing, report Florida Today and WESH.

Judge Scott Blaue of Brevard County, Florida, issued the show-cause order Tuesday while issuing a second order to Fine’s lawyer, Ryan Christopher Rodems.

Blaue ordered Rodems to show cause why he shouldn’t be held in contempt for failing to advise or admonish his client against such conduct.

Blaue’s show-cause orders include screenshots of Fine touching his face with his middle finger extended and making an “L” with his hand, which according to WESH, is a gesture interpreted to mean “loser.” The orders also include an email sent to Blaue’s judicial assistant by Fine’s political opponent, Chuck Sheridan.

“I am watching the hearing,” Sheridan wrote, and Fine is making concerning hand gestures, as well as “mouthing vulgar words,” such as “F- – – you a- -hole.”

Blaue also attached screenshots of a meeting chat in which viewers asked someone to please tell Fine to “stop the obscene gestures.”

Blaue’s orders cite prior Florida cases defining contempt as “an act tending to embarrass, hinder or obstruct the court in the administration of justice or to lessen the court’s authority or dignity.”

The Aug. 19 court appearance had been scheduled on Microsoft Teams, according to an Aug. 15 order by Blaue attached to the show-cause orders.

“The court requires video appearance and proper court attire,” the Aug. 15 order said.

The show-cause orders also direct Fine and Rodems to explain why they failed to comply with terms of the Aug. 15 order.

Fine was wearing a T-shirt for his state Senate campaign during the hearing. He won the primary race for that position in the election that happened the next day, according to Florida Today.

The hearing happened in a case filed by political consultant Robert Burns against Brevard County’s supervisor of elections in an attempt to remove Fine and other candidates from the ballot for some races. Blaue tossed the case late last month.

According to Florida Today, Burns and Fine “have a long-running public feud going back to 2020, when Burns represented Fine’s opponent in a particularly vicious primary race.”

Rodems did not immediately respond to the ABA Journal’s email request for comment.

Fine told WESH that he was told that the hearing would not be recorded. He also questioned why the judge took so long to raise the issue.

“If I was doing things he didn’t like, why did he wait two weeks to do anything about it?” Fine told the broadcast station.

He acknowledged wearing a campaign shirt but said “that’s what happens when you’re having a hearing at 3:45 p.m. the day before an election.”

Fine denied making obscene gestures in a lengthy statement to Florida Today.

In the statement, Fine referenced a motion in which Blaue published Fine’s home address before Fine received death threats.

“Judge Blaue’s behavior in this case has been nothing short of appalling. But he is right about one thing—I have contempt for his court,” Fine said in the comments published by Florida Today.

Fine alleged that the show-cause order was retaliation for a judicial ethics that complaint he filed against Blaue.

“From inserting himself into the case despite it being assigned to another judge, to giving Robert Burns clearly improper legal advice naming me as a party, from irresponsibly publishing my personal address which may have directly led to a death threat, to breaking the law by ordering my taxpayer-funded office be used for political matters, … Blaue clearly has no idea what he is doing. Or he does—and is supporting Trump-style lawfare in our community,” Fine said in the statement.

“Now, Blaue wants to have a hearing based on alleged behavior two weeks ago—using photographs Blaue himself said must not exist (due to courtroom restrictions on recording), and that if it actually happened and Blaue was paying attention, he would have seen and handled in real time,” Fine wrote. “He doesn’t seem to realize that the entire premise of the hearing is that he doesn’t know what is happening in front of his face in his own courtroom.”

Hat tip to the Florida Bar’s Daily News Summary.

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Federal judges end ‘oral-argument affirmative action,’ leading Stephen Miller group to declare victory

homesafetytechpros — Sat, 06 Apr 2024 04:31:39 +0000

Judiciary

Federal judges end ‘oral-argument affirmative action,’ leading Stephen Miller group to declare victory

By Debra Cassens Weiss

March 25, 2024, 3:02 pm CDT

A conservative legal group has declared victory after two federal judges in Illinois rescinded polices promoting what the group calls “oral-argument affirmative action.” (Image from Shutterstock)

A legal group founded by Stephen Miller, a former senior policy adviser in the Trump White House, has declared victory after two federal judges in Illinois rescinded polices promoting what the group calls “oral-argument affirmative action.”

Chief U.S. District Judge Nancy J. Rosenstengel and Judge Staci M. Yandle of the Southern District of Illinois rescinded their policies after Miller’s conservative group, the America First Legal Foundation, filed a January misconduct complaint with the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Chicago, according to a March 21 memorandum and order by Chief Judge Diane S. Sykes of the 7th Circuit.

U.S. District Judge David W. Dugan, also in the Southern District of Illinois, was also targeted by America First Legal, but he had rescinded the policy in October 2022, Sykes said.

Reuters and Law360 have coverage.

The rescinded policies were intended to encourage “newer, female and minority” attorneys to argue motions. They provided that after a motion is briefed, a party may alert the court that a newer, female or minority attorney will argue the motion if a request for argument is granted. The court would then grant the request if practicable, would strongly consider granting extra time for argument, and would permit more experienced lawyers to assist.

The misconduct complaint had contended that the judges were violating federal judicial conduct rules, violating the equal protection clause of the Fifth Amendment, and discriminating on the basis of race and sex. A conservative second group, Judicial Watch, filed a misconduct complaint in March.

The judges’ revised policies now say oral argument by “relatively inexperienced attorneys” is welcomed or encouraged.

In a March 22 press release, America First Legal called the rescinded policies “an important victory for our Constitution and the rule of law.”

America First Legal has filed more than 100 lawsuits, Equal Employment Opportunities Commission complaints, amicus briefs and other legal demands over the past three years, the New York Times reports in a separate story.

The group has fewer than 10 lawyers, according to the New York Times. Only $1.7 million of its $44 million budget is used to pay lawyers, while $29.6 million is used for promotion and advertising, according to the New York Times.

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Lawyer mistakenly filed ‘verbatim copy’ of opponent’s brief, leading to loss for Romantics band member

homesafetytechpros — Fri, 08 Mar 2024 18:10:46 +0000

Trials & Litigation

Lawyer mistakenly filed ‘verbatim copy’ of opponent’s brief, leading to loss for Romantics band member

By Debra Cassens Weiss

March 5, 2024, 8:20 am CST

Bassist Mike Skill performs with the Romantics during the Little Stevens Underground Garage concert poolside at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino on April 2, 2006, in Hollywood, Florida. (Photo by Ralph Notaro/Getty Images)

A trial court did not abuse its discretion when it required a member of the rock band the Romantics to pay triple damages after his new attorney filed a “verbatim copy” of the opponent’s brief by mistake, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled.

The appeals court ruled against the Romantics guitarist Mike Skill in a lawsuit alleging that he wrongly diverted royalty payments to himself.

Law360 has coverage.

The trial judge had ordered Skill to pay triple damages of more than $232,300, as requested by the plaintiffs in their motion for summary disposition. The appeals court affirmed in a Feb. 29 unpublished opinion.

Skill co-wrote the song “What I Like About You,” according to Law360.

Skill’s lawyer intended to file an opposition to the plaintiff’s motion for summary disposition, the appeals court said. Instead, the June 2022 brief was a cut-and-paste of the plaintiff’s brief in support of summary disposition, signed by Skill’s lawyer, who was not named in the opinion.

The new attorney said a paralegal had filed the wrong brief. It was filed on the extended deadline day for a response to the summary disposition request. Skill’s lawyer tried to file an amended brief the next day, but the trial judge apparently rejected it.

The judge granted summary disposition to the two plaintiffs—a company formed to manage business affairs for the band known as Master Beat Inc. and fellow band member Walter Palamarchuk, who goes by the stage name Wally Palmar.

The trial court reasoned that it could reject the new brief and award summary disposition to the plaintiffs based on timely filings before the court. The trial judge also said evidence established Skill’s liability for conversion, breach of fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment.

Palamarchuk was president of Master Beat, and Skill was secretary-treasurer. The company had contractual agreements requiring the payment of royalties to Master Beat, which would then distribute royalties to past and present band members under various contractual agreements.

Skill thought that he was entitled to royalties without the money first passing through Master Beat, and he took steps to divert royalties to himself in late 2020, the suit alleged.

There is some evidence, the appeals court said, that Skill apparently received about $26,700 in royalties directly from Sony Music Publishing and $30,000 in royalty payments from K-Tel International before Master Beat became aware of it. The evidence, however, isn’t entirely clear from the record, the appeals court said. There is also some evidence that Skill withdrew $20,000 from a bank account belonging to Master Beat in July 2021, thinking that he was entitled to the money.

The lawyer who filed the wrong brief had taken over in May 2022 from a previous lawyer who sought to withdraw on the alleged ground that Skill had not paid his legal bills. The new lawyer blamed the filing mistake on the short time frame between the time that she came aboard and the due date for the response, on her own illness as the deadline approached, and on her paralegal’s failure to file the brief prepared by Skill’s former lawyer as instructed.

On the merits, Skill’s lawyer argued that he could not convert funds that already belonged to him.

“Under these circumstances,” the appeals court said, “defendant has not demonstrated that the trial court abused its discretion by declining to permit the filing of a corrected brief after the deadline imposed by the scheduling order had passed. … Furthermore, on the record before the trial court in light of the lack of a properly and timely filed responsive brief, the trial court did not err by granting plaintiffs’ motion for summary disposition.”

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‘ChiefsAholic’ admits to leading double life as bank robber

homesafetytechpros — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 09:21:13 +0000

Xavier Babudar, aka “ChiefsAholic,” faces bank robbery charges. (Mug shot from Tulsa County Sheriff, wolf fan costume photo from New York Post)

The man known as the Kansas City Chiefs superfan “ChiefsAholic” admitted to leading a double life as a prolific ski-mask-wearing bank robber who won a $100,000 Super Bowl bet while he was a fugitive.

Xaviar Michael Babudar, 29, pleaded guilty to charges of bank robbery, money laundering and transporting stolen property across state lines. Babudar admitted he committed, or tried to commit, 11 robberies at banks and credit unions, two of them while on the run. He was ordered to pay at least $532,675 in restitution and forfeit property, including an autographed painting of Mahomes that the FBI recovered.

“His violent crime spree across the Midwest and beyond traumatized bank employees and victimized financial institutions in seven states,” said U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore in a news release. “The defendant tried to conceal hundreds of thousands of dollars in stolen cash by using it to gamble online and at casinos, but the odds caught up with him. With today’s conviction, he will be held accountable for the full scope of his criminal conduct, including his attempt to flee from justice.”

The first heist he admitted to was when he stole $70,000 from a Great Western Bank in Clive, Iowa, on March 2, 2022. He handed the teller a note demanding money and indicating he had a gun.

On April 28, 2022, he stole $170,860 from the First National Bank of Omaha in Nebraska. Police recovered $163,560 from that case.

At the First Class Community Credit Union in Des Moines, Iowa, on July 13, 2022, he jumped over the counter armed with a silver and black gun and demanded employees open the vault. He got $303,845 that day.

He took the money to Missouri, laundered it through area casinos, and deposited it into his bank account, prosecutors said.

At the Tennessee Credit Union in Nashville on Nov. 17, 2022, he hopped the counter, pressed his gun against a teller’s body and demanded to be taken to the vault. Employees complied with his demands. He told the employees if he was given a dye pack, he would “come back and put a bullet in your head,” prosecutors said.

While fleeing, he left behind a hat that authorities recovered and found DNA that matched DNA from a glove he left behind in an earlier robbery. A few days after the heist in Nashville, Babudar bought $20,000 in chips from a local casino with some of the cash.

Babudar tried to rob the Wings Financial Credit Union in Savage, Minnesota, on Nov. 29, 2022, but decided not to, as the vault only held small bills. The same day, he tried again at the Royal Credit Union in Apple Valley, Minnesota, but they, too, carried small bills. But he made up for it the next day when he got $25,000 from First Interstate Bank in Clive, Iowa. He went back to the place he first robbed in March, but then his luck started to run out.

He entered the vestibule at the Pinnacle Bank in Papillon, Nebraska, on Dec. 15, 2022, but couldn’t open the doors.

He was arrested the following day when he robbed the Tulsa Teachers Federal Credit Union.

When authorities found him, he had a large bag with $139,500 in $100 increments and $10,750 in $50 increments for $150,250. A search of his 2019 Mazda 3 turned up goggles and gloves. Investigators also found sports betslips, totaling $24,000 and credit union deposit letters for $20,000 and $50,000, authorities said.

During his spree, he won two big bets at the Argosy Casino in Illinois — that Mahomes would win Most Valuable Player at Super Bowl LVII and that the Chiefs would win the Super Bowl. After the Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35 on Feb. 13, 2023, and Mahomes won MVP, the casino mailed Babudar a $100,000 check in March.

Days after receiving that check, Babudar, who had been released from custody on bond after his arrest in Oklahoma, cut his ankle monitor, fled that state and used his gambling winnings to purchase a vehicle in Henderson, Nevada.

While on the run, he robbed two more banks, one in Sparks, Nevada, and another in El Dorado Hills, California, before he was rearrested in Sacramento on July 7.

He faces up to 50 years in federal prison without parole. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 10.

Law&Crime’s David Harris contributed to this report.

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Judge says he misperceived interaction at bar event as flirting, leading him to touch lawyer’s ‘lower hamstring’

homesafetytechpros — Mon, 12 Feb 2024 03:40:46 +0000

Ethics

Judge says he misperceived interaction at bar event as flirting, leading him to touch lawyer’s ‘lower hamstring’

By Debra Cassens Weiss

February 9, 2024, 8:55 am CST

Image from Shutterstock.

A Baltimore judge faces a hearing in May to resolve ethics allegations that he inappropriately touched a female lawyer following a bar association event at the Maryland Club last year.

Judge Kevin M. Wilson is accused of inappropriate behavior after the event in May 2023, which was sponsored by the Bar Association of Baltimore City Young Lawyers Division. The Baltimore Sun and Baltimore Banner have coverage. They credit the Maryland Daily Record with breaking the story.

Wilson is accused of touching the lawyer when she stopped at a table where Wilson and another judge were seated after the event. As the lawyer was facing the other judge, she reported feeling Wilson’s hand touched her leg in an up and down movement, according to the statement of ethics charges by the Maryland Commission on Judicial Disabilities.

Two other lawyers said they witnessed Wilson’s touching. One of them said she told Wilson his behavior was inappropriate and he should stop. The judge then moved his hand away, according to the allegations.

But Wilson allegedly put his hand back on the attorney’s leg, moved it under her skirt, and touched her buttocks. The lawyer stepped away and left.

The event was called “Join Our District Court Judges for Practice Tips on Tap,” according to Wilson’s Jan. 31 response to the allegations. Wilson had declined an invitation to serve on the event’s judicial panel, but he attended to support his colleagues. Afterward, he and several other attendees were invited to attend a social dinner at a different location in the Maryland Club called the Charles Street Grill.

Before the incident, Wilson’s response said, he and the lawyer had interacted in what he “genuinely perceived as reciprocal flirtation.” During the meal, he and the lawyer “continued flirting with each other which ultimately led to Judge Wilson touching [the lawyer’s] ankle, calf and lower hamstring.”

At no time did Wilson touch the lawyer’s buttocks, his response said. Nor did anyone tell him to stop, although one witness said, “I can see you touching her leg.” And his touching was based on “a genuine belief that their interactions were mutual and welcomed,” the response said.

Wilson cited a conversation in which he complimented the lawyer’s shoes, prompting her to allegedly respond that she liked wearing “sexy heels” when she goes out. He also cites an alleged comment she made after he answered a question at the event about his views on loss of consortium. He said he had only one case involving the issue and he awarded a lot of money. The lawyer then “said under her breath softly, ‘I would get a lot of money if I were in front of you,’ ” the response says.

During the meal, Wilson and the lawyer “continued to exchange flirtatious glances,” according to the response.

Wilson now realizes his perception was incorrect and he “sincerely apologizes and deeply regrets” touching that made the lawyer feel uncomfortable, according to the response. The judge is now meeting with a counselor twice a month “to improve his interpersonal skills, better recognize power dynamics, and avoid similar situations in the future,” the answer says.

Wilson’s lawyers at Silverman Thompson did not immediately respond to an ABA Journal email asking if the judge would like to comment.

Wilson is a single father to two children who are currently in college.

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