Deliberations

HAGERSTOWN - After two hours of deliberations Wednesday night, jurors in Washington County Circuit Court were unable to reach a verdict in the murder trial of a man charged in the shooting death of a 20-year-old woman on East Franklin Street in July 31, 2006. Demetrius "Meach" Pierre McDaniels, 28, is charged with felony first-degree murder, first-degree murder and second-degree murder in the death of Trisiviah Rodriguez. The jury is set to resume deliberations today at 9 a.m. Witnesses for the prosecution on Wednesday included an expert in the area of firearm examination, a Hagerstown Police Department detective and the woman who McDaniels was living with at the time of the shooting.

Pa. jury begins deliberations in Singley trial By STACEY DANZUSO / Staff Writer, Chambersburg CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - The jury charged with deciding whether Michael Singley should be sentenced to death or life in prison for killing his cousin's wife and her neighbor will resume deliberations at 9 a.m. today in the Franklin County Courthouse. The jury began deliberating Tuesday afternoon, but after about an hour jurors asked if they could go home for the day. "I think that is a wise move," said Franklin County Court of Common Pleas Judge Douglas W. Herman at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.

A Washington County Circuit Court jury is set to hear closing arguments and begin deliberations today in the case of a man charged with the shooting death of a New York City man in January. Juan Sylvester Barnes, 29, no fixed address, is charged with first- and second-degree murder, assault and firearms offenses in the Jan. 24 death of 29-year-old Christopher Lee Follett, who was found shot on a sidewalk in the 300 block of Jonathan Street. During the first two days of the trial, the jury heard testimony from a dozen prosecution witnesses and two for the defense.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- Jurors seated for the trial of a man charged in the 2007 Memorial Day weekend homicide of Tina Marie Starcher were unable to reach a verdict Thursday after deliberating for about three hours. The panel's foreperson in the trial of Anthony Charles Juntilla told presiding 23rd Judicial Circuit Judge David H. Sanders that they wished to return today in a handwritten note delivered by a court bailiff just before 7 p.m. Sanders said the jury's request was "perfectly reasonable," and he asked the six men and six women on the panel to reconvene today at 9 a.m. and not to deliberate with their family or friends or read media accounts of the trial, which now continues into a fourth day. Juntilla, 39, of Hedgesville, W.Va.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - A Chambersburg man convicted of first-degree murder was denied a new trial Thursday after his attorneys were unable to introduce evidence the jury was improperly allowed to handle the murder weapon during deliberations. Kevin J. Barrett, 36, is serving a life sentence for the Sept. 7, 1997, death of former girlfriend Wendy Schuchman, 32, of Chambersburg, in a bar parking lot. He was convicted in April of shooting her twice with a 12-gauge shotgun before turning the weapon on himself in a suicide attempt.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - A U.S. District Court jury deliberated for more than six hours Thursday, but did not reach a verdict on 28 counts of wire fraud and making false statements to government agencies lodged against the owner of a Stephenson, Va., business that trains dogs to detect drugs and explosives. Jurors broke off deliberations for the night at 6 p.m. in the case against Russell Ebersole, 43, of Washington County. Prosecutors say he was paid more than $700,000 in 2001 and 2002 by five government agencies, including the State Department and the Federal Reserve, as those agencies tried to provide security for their buildings and employees after the Sept.

By KERRY LYNN FRALEY / Staff Writer photo: JOE CROCETTA / staff photographer MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Jurors in the trial of Michael Newell ended a second day of deliberations Wednesday without reaching a verdict on charges he murdered his 7-year-old niece last fall. Newell, 40, of Martinsburg, is charged with felony murder in the kidnapping and death of Jessica Newell, who disappeared from Pikeside Bowl on Sept. 18, 1997. --cont. from news page Her body was found two days later in a remote area of North Mountain.

By KERRY LYNN FRALEY / Staff Writer photo: JOE CROCETTA / staff photographer MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - A jury this morning found Michael Newell guilty of felony murder without recommendation of mercy in the death of his 7-year-old niece last fall. Newell, 40, of Martinsburg, faces a mandatory life sentence without parole in the kidnapping and death of Jessica Newell, who disappeared from Pikeside Bowl on Sept. 18, 1997. Her body was found two days later in a remote area of North Mountain.

The Rev. Rob Apgar-Taylor, pastor of Veritas United Church of Christ, lives in Hagerstown with his husband, but despite the state of Maryland voting to legalize same-sex marriage in November, he and his spouse still do not have access to any federal benefits, and he has to file his taxes as a single man due to the 1996 Federal Defense of Marriage Act. “What people don't realize is there are almost 1,100 tax benefits that aren't granted to same-sex...

A Washington County Circuit Court jury is set to hear closing arguments and begin deliberations today in the case of a man charged with the shooting death of a New York City man in January. Juan Sylvester Barnes, 29, no fixed address, is charged with first- and second-degree murder, assault and firearms offenses in the Jan. 24 death of 29-year-old Christopher Lee Follett, who was found shot on a sidewalk in the 300 block of Jonathan Street. During the first two days of the trial, the jury heard testimony from a dozen prosecution witnesses and two for the defense.

Closing arguments will be presented and jury deliberations will begin Thursday in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas in the case of a Chambersburg man charged with the 2010 shooting death of his son, but the jury will not be able to consider a verdict of first-degree murder. Jerry D. Rowe, 57, is charged with criminal homicide in the Oct. 16, 2010, death of 27-year-old Nathaniel Rowe at their home on Duncan Avenue. Criminal homicide includes first- and third-degree murder and voluntary and involuntary manslaughter.

Jury deliberations began Friday afternoon for James G. Cross Jr. and Thomas A. Grantham Jr., co-defendants in the stabbing death of one man and wounding of another in April 2011. The case went to the jury at 2:35 p.m. At 5 p.m. the panel members asked presiding 23rd Circuit Judge Christopher C. Wilkes if they could go home for the weekend. Deliberations resume Monday at 9. am. Grantham, 36, and Cross, 33, both of Martinsburg, are being tried on multiple counts, including first-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of Andre Jackson, 21, in the early morning hours of April 23, 2011.

An intentionally set fire caused $50,000 in damage to a vacant house early Friday at 4436 Western Pike near Hancock, the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office said. The fire at the two-story, wood-frame house was reported by a passer-by at 1:02 a.m., according to a fire marshal's office news release. The fire marshal's office said 26 firefighters from Hancock, Little Orleans, Needmore, Pa., and Berkeley Springs, W.Va., took about 35 minutes to get the blaze under control. Anyone with information may call the fire marshal's office at 301-766-3888.

A Washington County Circuit Court jury began deliberations shortly before noon Friday in the case of Darrell Hicks, charged last year with murder after the decomposing body of his roommate was found in the West Franklin Street apartment they share. The body of Darrin Pressman, 45, was found by his girlfriend lying partially in the closet of his bedroom on June 3, 2011. Maryland Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jack Titus testified during the three-day trial that Pressman had six stab wound to his torso and had probably been dead three to five days before the body was discovered.

Edgar Sayles objected to the racial composition of the jury pool, fired his lawyer and acted as his own attorney. But it took a Washington County Circuit Court jury only five minutes Thursday to convict him on two counts of distribution of crack cocaine. Sayles, 41, formerly of Hagerstown, had been charged by the Washington County Narcotics Task Force with selling crack cocaine to a confidential informant in April and May 2011. Before the trial, Assistant State's Attorney Viki Pauler said Sayles had prior drug convictions and could be sentenced to up to 40 years on the distribution charges.

The family of Carol Marie Brown broke into tears Friday afternoon as a jury of seven men and five women announced in Washington County Circuit Court that they had found Darrol Chris Sands not guilty in her 2008 slaying. The jury deliberated for 7 1/2 hours over two days before finding Sands, 44, not guilty of first- and second-degree murder. The former Hagerstown man bowed his head and appeared to cry as the verdict was read. Brown, 22, was found in the bathtub of her Mitchell Avenue home by her mother on the night of April 19, 2008.

A jury of seven men and five women will resume deliberations today in Washington County Circuit Court in the case of Darrol Sands, a former Hagerstown man accused of the 2008 murder of Carol Marie Brown. In their closing arguments Thursday, Assistant State's Attorney Gina Cirincion and defense attorney James J. Podlas offered very different theories on what happened the night of April 19, 2008, when Brown was found strangled and stabbed in the bathtub of her Mitchell Avenue home.

Authorities say they believe a Wednesday fire that caused minor damage to a duplex in Williamsport was set intentionally. The fire, which burned itself out, started between 5 a.m. and 1 p.m. Wednesday when someone set fire to decorations on a front porch at 17 E. Church St., according to a State Fire Marshal's Office press release. The fire was estimated to have done about $100 in damages to the structure and $10 in damages to contents on the porch. Anyone with information may call the fire marshal's office at 301-791-4758.