Buju Banton Drug Case: Judge Declares Mistrial | Billboard.com#/news/buju-banton-drug-case-judge-declares-mistrial-1004117147.story#/news/buju-banton-drug-case-judge-declares-mistrial-1004117147.story#/news/buju-banton-drug-case-judge-declares-mistrial-1004117147.story

Buju Banton Drug Case: Judge Declares Mistrial | Billboard.com#/news/buju-banton-drug-case-judge-declares-mistrial-1004117147.story#/news/buju-banton-drug-case-judge-declares-mistrial-1004117147.story#/news/buju-banton-drug-case-judge-declares-mistrial-1004117147.story: "Florida judge declared a mistrial for Jamaican reggae star Buju Banton, who was accused of conspiring to buy cocaine from an undercover police officer last year.

U.S. District Judge James Moody made the decision after the 12-person jury sent him a second note saying they couldn't reach a verdict.

In an earlier note, jurors said they were having trouble reaching an agreement on Monday (Sept. 27) shortly after returning from a weekend recess. Moody then sent them back to keep trying. Deliberations had begun Thursday after a four-day trial.

The jurors declined to tell reporters about their deliberations."

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FIFA has no intention to investigate Moreno former World Cup referee arrested this week on a drug smuggling charge

The Associated Press: FIFA has no intention to investigate Moreno: "Soccer's governing body has no intention at this time to investigate a former World Cup referee arrested this week on a drug smuggling charge.
Bryon Moreno, who made a series of controversial decisions in the 2002 second-round match that saw South Korea eliminate Italy, was caught Monday at John F. Kennedy Airport with bags of heroin attached to his body, according to U.S. federal prosecutors.
Italian players and officials had long labeled his calls against them suspicious, and some voiced their complaints again this week.
'The arrest of Byron Moreno appears to be completely unrelated to football,' FIFA said in a statement Thursday to The Associated Press. 'Mr. Moreno is not an international referee since several years now. At the time of writing, no investigation is foreseen from (the) FIFA side.'
His lawyer, Michael Padden, said Thursday that Moreno would not address question's about his decisions in the South Korea-Italy match.
'Under the current circumstances, Mr. Moreno will not be making any public statements about any subject,' Padden said in an e-mail."

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Oak Island undercover drug investigation - Pot, cocaine, pills seized | StarNewsOnline.com

Oak Island undercover drug investigation - Pot, cocaine, pills seized | StarNewsOnline.com: "Williams' day-time appearance was part of a false identity he adopted as an undercover investigator for the Oak Island Police Department. His assignment: infiltrate Oak Island's street-level drug world so authorities could strike at traffickers peddling illicit substances in this small, oceanfront community in Brunswick County.
'With his experience, he was able to get in and become a part of the community and make friends and buy what he needed to buy,' Oak Island Police Chief Van Eddinger said about Williams, a 17-year veteran of law enforcement, at a press conference Wednesday.
The operation was kept highly confidential, unknown to all but three members of the 25-officer Oak Island Police Department, said Sgt. Tony Burke.
Burke said he acted as Williams' liaison with authorities and often ran surveillance on the undercover agent's controlled drug purchases.
'The first few were nerve-racking,' Williams said of the drug purchases. 'You never know when you go to that one if a person is going to recognize you.'
Williams checked in daily with Burke, sometimes multiple times per day, the sergeant said.
'It was a very quiet operation by design,' Burke said of the operation, 'both for safety's sake and success.'
The operation finally ended after 21 months, when on Tuesday multiple local, state and federal agencies orchestrated a series of arrests, searches and seizures at suspects' locations in Oak Island, Boiling Spring Lakes, Southport and the Supply area."

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Calif. Marine's death sentence reduced to life - San Jose Mercury News

Calif. Marine's death sentence reduced to life - San Jose Mercury News: "Marine's death sentence for a 1996 killing of a Camp Pendleton officer has been reduced to life in prison.
Marine Corps spokesman Cpl. Michael Stevens, said Tuesday that a military court has re-sentenced Sgt. Jessie Quintanilla for the fatal shooting of his executive officer, Lt. Col. Daniel Kidd, and the wounding of his commander, Lt. Col. Thomas Heffner.
Stevens says he has no further details.
Quintanilla was convicted in November 1996 at Camp Pendleton, Calif., on charges of premeditated murder and attempted murder but a military court sent the case back in 2006 because of legal errors."

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