Cheerleader dies in fall from Hawaii hotel
The body of Lauren Crossan, 18, was found Monday morning by a hotel guest only hours after she had checked into the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa.
On Tuesday, Maui police arrested two men, both registered to the room from which Crossan fell, on suspicion of second-degree murder, Lt. Tivoli Faaumu said. Donald L. Devorss, 19, and Erik B. Larson, 20, both of Folsom, Calif., were later released and were not charged.
Crossan was captain of the cheerleading competition squad at Randolph High School in New Jersey. She was one of three Randolph seniors selected by the National Cheerleaders Association to perform with nearly 600 other cheerleaders from across the country at the halftime show of the Hula Bowl.
Accused Colombian kingpin taken to New York prison
WASHINGTON — A man accused of being a top Colombian drug kingpin was taken yesterday from Panama to New York, where he faced charges that he conspired to smuggle cocaine into the United States over more than three years.
Authorities said Arcangel de Jesus Henao Montoya, known as "El Mocho," arrived in New York aboard a Justice Department jet and was taken immediately to a prison cell to await an initial court hearing. He was arrested Saturday in Panama.
Prosecutors described Henao as a top official with the Norte Valle cartel. Authorities believe it is responsible for as much as half of all cocaine imports into the United States from Colombia. Henao was charged with conspiracy to import cocaine and conspiracy to launder money.
D.C. gun-control law survives court challenge
WASHINGTON — A federal judge yesterday upheld the District of Columbia's gun-control law, which prohibits ownership of handguns, rejecting a legal challenge by a group of citizens backed by the National Rifle Association.
U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton dismissed the lawsuit in which the plaintiffs argued that the law violated their Second Amendment right to own guns. The law prohibits ownership or possession of handguns and requires that other guns be kept unloaded, disassembled or equipped with trigger locks.
Walton ruled that the Second Amendment is not a broad-based right of gun ownership and that it does not apply to the district because it was intended to protect state citizens, and the district is not a state.
Texas, Ohio execute killers; Ohio convict struggles
LUCASVILLE, Ohio — A murderer whose claims of mental retardation were rejected by the courts was executed yesterday after struggling with guards and pleading for his life until the last moment.
Lewis Williams, 45, was put to death by injection for fatally shooting a 76-year-old woman during a robbery at her Cleveland home in 1983.
Four guards were needed to lift the 117-pound Williams from his knees and pry his hand off the edge of a table before carrying him into the death chamber. As he was strapped to the execution table he cried, "I'm not guilty. God, help me."
At least nine guards restrained him as they prepared his arms and inserted needles. He was pronounced dead at 10:15 a.m. EST.
"I would say it was disturbing. ... It was probably as traumatic as anything our staff has gone through," said Reginald Wilkinson, director of Ohio's prison system.
Meanwhile, in Texas, a man was executed yesterday for the 1990 shooting death of a woman after he robbed her of inexpensive jewelry and less than $10 in her home.