The Nation in Brief

Colorado theater killings trial off again

DENVER -- The trial in the Colorado theater shootings was delayed again Wednesday because the second sanity evaluation of defendant James Holmes will need more time.

The trial had been scheduled to start with jury selection Oct. 14. Arapahoe County District Judge Carlos Samour Jr. didn't set a new date.

A report on the evaluation had been due Aug. 15, but the state mental hospital said it would need until Oct. 15, one day after jury selection was to begin.

Samour said he had little choice but to grant the extension.

He said he would set a new trial date at a hearing July 22, which will be two years and two days after the shootings.

Holmes pleaded innocent by reason of insanity to charges of killing 12 people and injuring 70 in the July 20, 2012, attack in the Denver suburb of Aurora. More than 400 people were watching a midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises at the time.

It's the third time Holmes' trial has been pushed back. The first date, in August, was canceled after prosecutors said they would seek the death penalty, raising numerous issues that had to be resolved before trial. The second, in February, was scratched after prosecutors asked for the second sanity evaluation.

Man weighs 'stand ground' defense

DADE CITY, Fla. -- Attorneys for a retired Tampa police captain accused of killing a man in a movie theater said Wednesday that Florida's "stand your ground" is a possible defense at trial next year.

Attorney Richard Escobar said Wednesday that the defense team for Curtis Reeves Jr. is weighing its moves ahead of their client's trial on second-degree murder charges in the death of Chad Oulson, 43. Reeves, 71, is accused of shooting Oulson in the chest at the theater after the two argued over Oulson's apparent refusal to stop texting while movie previews were being shown.

The bullet also hit Oulson's wife, Nicole, in the hand.

Reeves' attorneys say their client shot in self-defense and, at a pretrial hearing Wednesday, said they hadn't ruled out using Florida's "stand your ground" law to defend him.

The law says people who are not involved in illegal activity have the right to use force -- even deadly force -- if they reasonably believe it's necessary to avoid death or great bodily harm.

A trial date was expected to be set during the hearing, but defense attorneys said they were still in the midst of investigating the state's evidence, including 100 witnesses. Attorneys will meet Sept. 10 to determine a trial date.

4 kids, 2 adults slain in Texas; dad held

SPRING, Texas — A father opened fire at a suburban Houston home Wednesday, killing four of his children as well as two adults who were with them and critically wounding his 15-year-old daughter, authorities said.

The teenager was able to call 911 and later warned deputies that her father planned to go to her grandparents’ home to kill them, said Deputy Thomas Gilliland of the Harris County sheriff’s office. The suspected gunman eventually surrendered after a three-hour standoff with deputies.

The sheriff’s office said deputies were called to the house in the northern Houston suburb of Spring about 6 p.m. Wednesday and found two adults and three children dead. Another child later died at a hospital.

Killed were two boys, ages 4 and 14; two girls, ages 7 and 9; a 39-year-old man; and a 33-year-old woman, said Gilliland. The gunman and his wife are estranged, and she lives out of state, Gilliland said.

Authorities did not release the identities of the victims or the suspect, nor did they say whether the adults who were killed were related to the children or their father.

Man battered by Dodger fans wins suit

LOS ANGELES -- A San Francisco Giants fan who suffered brain damage in a beating at Dodger Stadium won his negligence suit against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday, but former owner Frank McCourt was absolved by the jury.

The jury found damages of about $18 million but said the Dodgers were responsible for only a quarter of the sum. The rest of the responsibility was split between the two men who beat fan Bryan Stow.

The jury delivered its verdict in a Los Angeles courtroom after weeks of testimony about the assault after the opening day game in 2011 between the rival teams.

Stow's lawyers claimed the team and its former owner failed to provide adequate security at the stadium. The defense countered that security was stronger than ever at an opening day contest and Stow was partially to blame because he was drunk.

Dodger fans Louie Sanchez and Marvin Norwood pleaded guilty in the attack after a lengthy preliminary hearing in which witnesses said security guards were absent from the parking lot where Stow was attacked.

A Section on 07/10/2014

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