State
Man convicted of killing sistersPITTSBURGH — A man is now facing a possible death penalty following his conviction in the murders of his neighbors, two sisters of an Iowa state lawmaker.Jurors in Allegheny County convicted 45-year-old Allen Wade on all counts Monday, including criminal homicide, robbery, burglary and related counts. The panel had deliberated for seven hours Friday.Prosecutors said Wade shot 44-year-old Susan Wolfe and 38-year-old Sarah Wolfe after they returned from work on Feb. 6, 2014, then stole a bank card and withdrew $600 hours later.Wade’s public defender argued that police rushed to judgment to charge Wade because of the victims’ prominent sister, Democratic Iowa state Rep. Mary Wolfe.Prosecutors are seeking capital punishment rather than life in prison without parole in the penalty phase of the trial.
$125k deal in police beating, lawyer saysPITTSBURGH — A Pittsburgh man’s lawyer says his client has accepted a $125,000 settlement more than six years after the man — who is black — says three white police officers wrongfully arrested him and then beat him.Attorney Joel Sansone says his 24-year-old client, Jordan Miles, decided to end the litigation and put the events behind him. Miles wasn’t immediately available to comment.City council plans to take up legislation on the proposed settlement today. A spokesman for Mayor Bill Peduto says the deal was reached during federal mediation.Miles sued twice in federal court, claiming there was no reason to arrest him and that police used excessive force.A jury found in March 2014 that the officers had lacked probable cause in the arrest.
Cosby due in court in sex-assault casePHILADELPHIA — Bill Cosby is due in Pennsylvania court today for a key hearing in his criminal sex-assault case.The preliminary hearing will determine whether prosecutors have enough evidence to send the 78-year-old entertainer to trial.Cosby is accused of drugging and molesting former Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia mansion in 2004. Prosecutors said Constand was not only impaired, but unconscious after Cosby gave her three unidentified blue pills. Cosby said they engaged in consensual sexual activities, and that he was a friend and mentor to her.Prosecutors reopened the criminal case last year after dozens of women raised similar claims, and Cosby’s deposition in Constand’s lawsuit surfaced.Constand had gone to him for career advice. Cosby said he gave her the pills to address her stress.He settled her lawsuit for an undisclosed sum in 2006, after giving four days of testimony about his extramarital affairs, his pursuit of Quaaludes to seduce women and his efforts to hide payments to former lovers from his wife.The confidential settlement bound both sides to secrecy, but a federal judge last year unsealed portions of Cosby’s deposition on a petition from The Associated Press.
