Gilgo Beach trial: DA says his office lacks funds to meet judge’s ‘ambitious’ deadlines
(SUFFOLK COUNTY, N.Y.) The Suffolk County District Attorney’s office in New York lacks the resources to meet “ambitious” deadlines imposed by the judge overseeing the Gilgo Beach serial killing case, DA Ray Tierney said Wednesday.
Tierney called on the Justice Department to release some money tied up in an ongoing investigation into the office to help defray the cost of a prosecution that he said presents “a singularly unique strain on our budget.”
Heuermann is charged in the murders of six women: Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, Amber Costello, Jessica Taylor and Sandra Costilla. The first victim was found in 1993 and the last victims were found in 2010.
He has pleaded not guilty.
Judge Timothy Mazzei said he wants to set a trial date at the next hearing, which is scheduled for Dec. 17.
Tierney called the schedule “ambitious” because of the large amount of evidence amassed in the case against Heuermann.
“I think the timeline right now is very ambitious and very compressed given the ridiculous nature of our discovery laws, where I have to provide every single piece of paper that was generated in a case that started in 1993,” Tierney said.
Tierney is asking for millions in federal asset forfeiture proceeds frozen by the Justice Department as part of an ongoing investigation into a previous district attorney. He estimated about $13 million is tied up in that investigation.
(NEW YORK) — Four people are dead after a small plane crashed in Vermont on Sunday, police said.
Vermont State Police identified the deceased as Paul Pelletier, 55; Frank Rodriguez, 88; Susan Van Ness, 51; and Delilah Van Ness, 15.
Pelletier was an aerospace and manufacturing teacher at Middletown Public Schools in Connecticut, the school said in a statement. Delilah Van Ness, a sophomore, was one of his students, and Susan Van Ness was her mother.
“This unimaginable loss has left a void in our hearts and our community,” said the district’s superintendent, Alberto Vázquez Matos. “Paul, Delilah, and Susan were special individuals whose absence is already being felt throughout our district and city.”
Officials did not provide information on Rodriguez’s connection to the others in the crash.
According to Connecticut ABC affiliate WTNH-TV, Delilah Van Ness had been taking flight lessons with Pelletier.
Police said the four departed Sunday morning in a privately owned four-seat aircraft from Windham Airport in Connecticut and flew about two hours to Basin Harbor Airport in Ferrisburgh, Vermont. Upon reaching their destination, the occupants had brunch, then left the restaurant shortly after noon to fly back to Connecticut.
A witness said they saw the airplane on the runway at about 12:15 p.m. local time, state police said.
State police said they did not receive any reports of a plane crash or an aircraft in distress, but after the plane did not return to Connecticut, relatives contacted police.
Just after midnight on Monday, investigators found the crashed aircraft in a wooded area east of the airport in Vermont.
All four occupants were found dead.
The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the incident.
The cause of the crash has not yet been determined.
Middletown High School will be closed Tuesday, and crisis teams will be made available for members of the school community in need of counseling or other support, the school said.
“As the community grieves, Middletown Public Schools calls for unity and mutual support,” the school said in a statement. “The district aims to honor the memory of Paul, Delilah, and Susan by upholding their legacies of compassion, dedication, and kindness.”
(NEW YORK) — The Kentucky sheriff accused of fatally shooting a judge in his chambers is retiring, according to a letter from the murder suspect’s attorney.
Letcher County Sheriff Shawn “Mickey” Stines, 43, was charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of Kentucky District Judge Kevin Mullins, 54, who authorities said was gunned down inside his chambers in the Letcher County Courthouse on Sept. 19.
Stines “has made the difficult decision” to retire on Monday, attorneys Jeremy Bartley and Kerri Bartley stated in a letter addressed to S. Travis Mayo, deputy counsel at the Kentucky governor’s office.
“This decision is made, not as a result of any ultimatum or in any way as a concession to any allegations made by the Commonwealth of Kentucky,” the letter stated. “Rather, Sheriff Stines has made this decision to allow for a successor to continue to protect his beloved constituents while he addresses the legal process ahead of him.”
Stines pleaded not guilty to the first-degree murder charge during his first court appearance last week.
There was no discussion of a bond during the hearing, Lexington ABC affiliate WTVQ-TV reported.
He is expected back in court on Tuesday.
Stines could face the death penalty if convicted, according to a special judge appointed to preside over the case.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear had previously called on Stines to resign in the wake of the incident by Sept. 27. If not, Beshear said there is a “removal process” he can start.
“Every Kentucky county needs an active and working sheriff,” Beshear said at an unrelated press briefing last week. “Right now, Letcher County doesn’t have an active and a working sheriff.”
Mullins was found with multiple gunshot wounds after a 911 caller reported shots being fired inside the courthouse, and Stines was taken into custody without incident at the courthouse, police said.
The shooting allegedly occurred “following an argument inside the courthouse,” according to Kentucky State Police, and investigators are still searching for a motive.
The two had had lunch together the day of the shooting, Letcher County Circuit Clerk Mike Watts told WTVQ.
Days before the shooting, Stines was deposed in a lawsuit, which alleged he had failed to investigate one of his deputies who sexually abused a woman in Mullins’ chambers.
(WINDER, Ga.) — Four people were killed in a shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on Wednesday morning, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Another nine victims were taken to hospitals with injuries, the GBI said.
The suspect is alive and in custody, the GBI said. The suspect is a 14-year-old student at Apalachee High School, multiple law enforcement sources told ABC News.
Senior Sergio Caldera, 17, said he was in chemistry class when he heard gunshots.
“My teacher goes and opens the door to see what’s going on. Another teacher comes running in and tells her to close the door because there’s an active shooter,” Caldera told ABC News.
He said his teacher locked the door and the students ran to the back of the room. Caldera said they heard screams from outside as they “huddled up.”
At some point, Caldera said someone pounded on his classroom door and shouted “open up!” multiple times. When the knocking stopped, Caldera said he heard more gunshots and screams.
He said his class later evacuated to the football field.
Kyson Stancion said he was in class when he heard gunshots and “heard police scream, telling somebody, ‘There’s a shooting going on, get down, get back in the classroom.'”
“I was scared because I’ve never been in a school shooting,” he told ABC News.
“Everybody was crying. My teacher tried to keep everybody safe,” he added.
Apalachee High School was “cleared for dismissal” and all other Barrow County Schools were placed on a “soft lockdown,” the Barrow County School District said.
“The Barrow County Sheriff’s Office says this is for the safety of everyone right now. Please do not visit your child’s school at this time. We cannot release students during a lockdown,” the school district said in a statement. “We will let you know as soon as [the sheriff’s office] says it is all clear for dismissal.”
Winder is about 45 miles outside of Atlanta.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were briefed on the shooting, according to the White House.
“Jill and I are mourning the deaths of those whose lives were cut short due to more senseless gun violence and thinking of all of the survivors whose lives are forever changed,” Biden said in a statement. “Students across the country are learning how to duck and cover instead of how to read and write. We cannot continue to accept this as normal.”
The president highlighted his work to combat gun violence, including signing the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act into law and launching the first White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. But he stressed that more must be done.
“After decades of inaction, Republicans in Congress must finally say ‘enough is enough’ and work with Democrats to pass common-sense gun safety legislation,” Biden said. “We must ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines once again, require safe storage of firearms, enact universal background checks, and end immunity for gun manufacturers. These measures will not bring those who were tragically killed today back, but it will help prevent more tragic gun violence from ripping more families apart.”
Harris said at a campaign event in New Hampshire, “Our hearts are with all the students, the teachers and their families.”
“This is just a senseless tragedy on top of so many senseless tragedies,” she said. “We have to end this epidemic of gun violence.”
“This is one of the many issues that’s at stake in this election,” Harris said.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said he is “heartbroken.”
“This is a day every parent dreads, and Georgians everywhere will hug their children tighter this evening because of this painful event,” he said in a statement. “We continue to work closely with local, state, and federal partners to make any and all resources available to help this community on this incredibly difficult day and in the days to come.”
In Atlanta, authorities will “bolster patrols” around schools on Wednesday “out of an abundance of caution,” Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said in a statement.
“My prayers are with the high school students, staff and families affected by the senseless act of violence,” Dickens said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Josh Margolin and Miles Cohen contributed to this report.