Manslaughter

PARIS -- Former prime minister, Laurent Fabius, 52, and two members of his 1984-1986 government went on trial yesterday, charged with manslaughter -- in short with worrying while in office more about commerce than the risks of the then-mysterious illness called AIDS.The former Socialist officials, whose political careers have been damaged or ruined because of the scandal, are on trial because blood and blood-based products contaminated with the AIDS virus were transfused into seven people in 1985.

ROCKVILLE -- A Takoma Park teen-ager went on trial yesterday on three counts of automobile manslaughter in a case Montgomery County's top prosecutor calls "every parent's worst nightmare."Michael Schoenfeld had been licensed to drive for just two weeks last July when he crashed his parents' car on his way home after summer school, killing two classmates and a father of three.Prosecutor Marc Hall said Schoenfeld's conduct amounted to "gross negligence," enough for a manslaughter conviction.

A Westminster man who survived a head-on collision that killed another man near Hampstead last summer was sentenced to five years in prison yesterday after being found guilty of auto manslaughter and driving while intoxicated.In a plea arrangement, Lester Lee Rhoton, 33, of the 2400 block of Mayberry Road entered a not guilty plea in Carroll County Circuit Court, but agreed to accept the prosecutor's statement of facts.Judge Raymond E. Beck Sr. sentenced Rhoton to 10 years, but suspended half the time on the manslaughter charge and made a two-year sentence on the DWI charge concurrent.

A third suspect accused in a fatal drag race near Finksburg that killed a Mount Airy Middle School teacher June 1 was arrested yesterday on auto manslaughter and assault charges.Mark E. Eppig, 22, of the first block of Chase St. in Westminster was released on an unsecured $25,000 bond.Eppig was charged with manslaughter in the death of Geraldine Lane "Geri" Wu, 42, of Westminster and with the second-degree assault of Min-li Wu, 14, a passenger in her mother's car. The girl was flown to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, where she was treated and released the next day.Eppig also was charged with two counts of reckless driving, negligent driving, participating in a speed contest, exceeding 85 mph in a posted 55 mph zone, failing to drive in a reasonable and prudent manner, passing unsafely and failing to reduce speed to avoid a collision.

NORTH EAST -- A Cecil County teen-ager has been charged in the fatal assault on an 82-year-old man who was knocked to the ground during an altercation Halloween evening.Francis H. Gibson died Tuesday. He owned Town and Country Trailer Park on Wilderness Road at Pulaski Highway in North East, where police said he was injured while erecting barricades to protect trick-or-treaters at the park.The teen-ager, who was not identified because of his age, was charged with involuntary manslaughter and second-degree assault and is in the custody of the state Department of Juvenile Justice.

An Annapolis teen-ager who shot and killed a man while he was under a court order to stay away from guns was sentenced Friday to eight years in prison for manslaughter, but got no extra time for an accompanying conviction for a handgun violation.Anne Arundel County Circuit Judge Lawrence H. Rushworth's sentence for 19-year-old Dante Ricardo Mitchell drew expressions of outrage from both sides.The victim's family and prosecutors complained that the sentence was too light and that the seriousness of the weapons conviction -- which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years -- was downplayed.

A Carroll County jury adjourned last night without reaching a verdict in the auto manslaughter trial of two of three men accused of racing on Route 140 just before a crash killed a Westminster woman.Killed in the June 1 crash was Geraldine Lane "Geri" Wu, 42, a teacher at Mount Airy Middle School. Her daughter, Min-li, now 15, was injured in the collision when a maroon Nissan driven by Mark E. Eppig, 22, of Westminster went out of control and crossed the grass median, slamming into Mrs. Wu's Mitsubishi.

Opening statements are expected to be heard today in the trial of two men accused of auto manslaughter in the death of a Westminster woman during a race by three men along Route 140 in June.Twelve jurors and three alternates was chosen yesterday to hear the case against Scott D. Broadfoot Sr., 25, of Parkville and Frederick H. Hensen Jr., 21, of Westminster.Earlier, Judge Daniel W. Moylan rejected motions to move the case from Carroll County because of pretrial publicity.Moylan, a retired Washington County judge, said defense lawyers failed to prove that a plethora of newspaper articles and television newscasts made it impossible to seat a fair and impartial panel from 59 prospective jurors.

A Westminster man on trial for auto manslaughter told a jury yesterday that he was speeding, but not racing, before a deadly accident along Route 140 in June.Frederick H. Hensen Jr., 21, said his car had two broken and one damaged studs on the left-front wheel and was shaking too wildly to drive faster than 75 mph.Hensen is one of two men on trial on auto manslaughter charges in Carroll Circuit Court. The defense of co-defendant Scott D. Broadfoot, 25, of Parkville was to continue today, the fourth day of testimony.

Two men accused of auto manslaughter in the death of a Westminster woman last week were released yesterday from the Carroll County Detention Center after posting $25,000 bail, court records show.Frederick H. Hensen Jr., 21, of Westminster was arrested Friday. Scott D. Broadfoot Sr., 25, of Parkville was arrested Monday. Both men were charged with negligent auto manslaughter, reckless and negligent driving, participating in a speed contest and related charges.Broadfoot also was charged with failing to remain at the accident scene.

Thomas L. Meighan Jr.'s white Ford F250 truck terrorized Baltimore for hours before and after its driver allegedly struck a 20-year-old Johns Hopkins University student in a fatal hit-and-run Oct. 16, according to a half-dozen witnesses who told police they saw the vehicle running red lights, tailgating other drivers and driving the wrong way on a one-way street throughout the day. At least one man called 911 to report the dangerous driving, and two...

A 65-year-old Upperco woman was ordered Tuesday to serve eight years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of auto manslaughter and another count of causing life-threatening injuries while under the influence of alcohol. Baltimore County Circuit Judge Susan Souder sentenced Mary Ann Farevaag to 10 years on the automobile manslaughter count, but suspended half that term. Souder ordered the defendant to serve another three years, to be served consecutively, on the charge of causing life-threatening injuries.

The teenager who threw the first punch in the fatal beating of a 14-year-old Crofton boy was ordered Tuesday to spend up to six years in a juvenile facility for manslaughter, a decision that the victim's family members said was the best they could hope for. "Unfortunately, now I am left to live with the mistakes that others have made," David Jones, father of Christopher Jones, haltingly told Anne Arundel County Circuit Judge J. Michael Wachs, as he...

Stallworth charged with manslaughter nfl Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte' Stallworth was charged Wednesday in Miami with killing a pedestrian last month while driving drunk after a night out at a South Beach nightspot. An arrest warrant charging Stallworth, 28, with DUI manslaughter was filed in the March 14 incident that killed Mario Reyes, 59. If convicted, Stallworth would face up to 15 years in prison. His blood-alcohol level after the crash was .126, well above Florida's legal limit of .08, according to results of a blood test.

ELLIE NESLER, 56 Vigilante killer Ellie Nesler, who sparked a national debate about vigilantism after killing her son's accused molester in a courtroom in 1993, died of cancer Friday morning at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, Calif., according to hospital spokeswoman Phyllis Brown. Ms. Nesler made headlines when she shot Daniel Driver five times in the head in a Tuolumne County, Calif., courtroom during a break in his preliminary hearing on charges of molesting four boys, including her then-6-year-old son, William, at a Christian camp.

Howard man charged with manslaughter in crash A Howard County man has been charged with manslaughter after a weekend accident in which police said he lost control of the pickup truck he was driving and then fled the scene after his passenger was thrown from the vehicle and died. Alexander Randolph Camorali, 23, of Columbia was charged with vehicular manslaughter, hit and run, and driving on a suspended license, Howard County police said yesterday. Tyeesha Dixon Baltimore County teen charged in August killing A Baltimore County teenager has been charged with killing a 23-year-old man who was shot in Middle River in August, police said yesterday.

A 27-year-old Silver Spring man convicted in the death of a 3-year-old girl was sentenced yesterday to 40 years in prison, the maximum for involuntary manslaughter and child abuse resulting in death. Erik Stoddard's first two convictions in the case were overturned by an appeals court and a Baltimore Circuit judge. In May, a Baltimore jury convicted Stoddard, formerly of the 2500 block of Moore Ave. in Baltimore, for the third time. Baltimore Circuit Judge Kaye Allison sentenced Stoddard to 10 years on the manslaughter charge and 30 years on the child abuse charge.

A Harford County woman being tried on manslaughter charges for mistakenly giving a 16-month-old boy a child's cup containing methadone testified yesterday that she did not call for help because she thought the toddler had spit out most of the drug. Elaine Marie Butler, 54, who took the stand in Harford County Circuit Court for the first time, is being retried on charges of manslaughter and reckless endangerment in the death of Ashton Timothy Preston, who died of a methadone overdose in December 2004.

An article in yesterday's editions of The Sun about a vehicular manslaughter case may have left the impression that defense attorney Jack B. Rubin paid for a pre-sentence investigation of his client, Martha Jean Ladenson. In fact, Rubin requested the investigation, but it was paid for by the state, as is typical in court cases.

Man is shot by police during pursuit on foot Four Baltimore police officers were assigned to administrative duties after the shooting early yesterday of a man during a foot pursuit, city police said. The officers -- members of the Southwestern District's flex squad, were in plainclothes and riding in a patrol car in the 500 block of Brice St. about 12:10 a.m. when they heard gunshots. When the officers stepped from the vehicle to investigate, they saw a man point a handgun at them, police said.