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Defendant Bruce Wimbush Jr., standing with his defense attorney Randall Upshaw, pleads guilty in a mob beating at a hearing before Judge James Callahan at Frank Murphy Hall of Justice in Detroit on Monday.
Defendant Bruce Wimbush Jr., standing with his defense attorney Randall Upshaw, pleads guilty in a mob beating at a hearing before Judge James Callahan at Frank Murphy Hall of Justice in Detroit on Monday.

1 pleads guilty in Detroit motorist beating

DETROIT -- A man pleaded guilty Monday and agreed to testify against others in a Detroit mob beating of a motorist who accidentally struck a child with his pickup.

Bruce Wimbush acknowledged that he punched Steve Utash once in the jaw during the April 2 attack on the city's east side.

The mob pounced on Utash, a 54-year-old tree trimmer from suburban Macomb County, after he stopped to help the 10-year-old boy who had stepped in front of his truck. Utash spent days in a coma after the beating.

Wimbush, 18, told Wayne County Circuit Judge James Callahan that he "got emotional" when he saw the accident.

Wimbush pleaded guilty to assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder. He faces up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced July 7.

Under a deal with county prosecutors, he also agreed to testify against others charged in the beating.

Latrez Cummings, 19, James Davis, 24, and Wonzey Saffold, 30, are charged with assault with intent to murder in the attack. Their pretrial hearings were moved to Thursday.

A 16-year-old boy is also charged with assault and ethnic intimidation in the case. Utash is white and his purported attackers are black. A pretrial conference is scheduled for the teen Wednesday in juvenile court.

Ex-convict arrested in killing of priest

PHOENIX -- A homeless ex-convict with a history of violence and drug abuse was arrested Monday in the killing a clergyman with a handgun that had been retrieved by another priest after he was hit with an iron rod at a Phoenix church, police said.

Police said the Rev. Joseph Terra went to investigate noises in a church courtyard and was attacked by 54-year-old Gary Michael Moran with the piece of metal before the priest fled and got a .357-caliber gun from his bedroom.

Moran wrestled the weapon away from the injured priest and killed Terra's assistant, the Rev. Kenneth Walker, after the clergyman rushed to the aid of his colleague, court records show.

Moran stole a camera and fled in Walker's car, police said.

Police Chief Daniel Garcia called the attack "a violent, tragic, horrifying offense" committed by a career criminal who had been out of prison only six weeks.

The priests were attacked Wednesday in the rectory of the Mother of Mercy Mission. Walker, 28, died of a gunshot wound and Terra was badly beaten. Terra was able to give Walker last rites after the assault.

Virginia man fatally shoots family, self

MATOACA, Va. -- A Virginia man shot his wife and their two young children to death on Father's Day and then killed himself, police said.

Chesterfield County police said in a news release Monday that the night before, Barry C. Jernigan, 35, killed his 30-year-old wife, Renotta; his 9-year-old stepdaughter, Alexis F. Kellas; and 2-year-old son, Seth.

Officers went to check on the family at their home just after 10 p.m. Sunday when they heard gunshots and saw bystanders trying to help the mother and the boy outside, police said.

Barry Jernigan and his stepdaughter were found inside the small, white, ranch-style home with a plastic play set on the front porch and trampoline in the backyard. They and the mother died at the scene. The boy was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Police continued their investigation Monday, with investigators carrying paper bags out of the home. Officers on the scene declined to comment.

Obama to seek marine refuge expansion

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama today will announce his intent to make a broad swath of the central Pacific Ocean off-limits to fishing, energy exploration and other activities, according to senior White House officials.

The proposal, set to go into effect later this year after a comment period, could create the world's largest marine sanctuary and double the area of ocean globally that is fully protected.

The president also will direct federal agencies to develop a comprehensive program aimed at combating seafood fraud and the global black market fish trade.

Under the proposal, the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument would be expanded from almost 87,000 square miles to nearly 782,000 square miles -- all of it adjacent to seven islands and atolls controlled by the United States. The designation would include waters up to 200 nautical miles offshore from the territories.

The potential expansion area would quintuple the number of underwater mountains under protection. It would also end tuna fishing and provide shelter for nearly two dozen species of marine mammals, five types of threatened sea turtles, and a variety of sharks and other predatory fish species.

A Section on 06/17/2014

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