Dias Kadyrbayev, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's friend who removed his computer and backpack from his dorm room was sentenced to six years in prison today for his guilty pleas to obstructing the investigation into the Boston Marathon bombing.

The plea agreement called for a sentence of up to 7 years. All sides agreed the sentencing guidelines' terrorism enhancement, applicable to the obstruction charges, was too harsh. The judge said "This guideline doesn't serve the purposes of sentencing." [More...]

Swiss police have arrested several FIFA officials and sports marketing executives on a U.S. grand jury indictment alleging corruption and bribery related charges. They will be extradited the the U.S. to face trial. The head honcho, Sepp Blatter, was not charged.

The charges, backed by an F.B.I. investigation, allege widespread corruption in FIFA over the past two decades, involving bids for World Cups as well as marketing and broadcast deals, according to three law enforcement officials with direct knowledge of the case.

[More...]

The six officers allegedly involved in the death of Freddie Gray have been indicted by a grand jury. The charges are similar to those brought by Maryland proscecutor Marilyn Mosby.

For the most part, the indictments closely track the charges the Baltimore prosecutor announced in a May 1 press conference. (ABC2’s Christian Schaffer has the full charges here.) In particular, the second-degree depraved-heart murder charge against Officer Caesar Goodson, the most serious of the charges, remains. All six officers were also indicted for reckless endangerment, which was not on the original charge sheet. The big change: None of the officers was indicted for false imprisonment.

Jose Rodrigo Arechiga-Gamboa, aka "El Chino Antrax", the young, flashy alleged "sicario" for Sinaloa (Zambada faction) and logistics coordinator (El Chapo Guzman), pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in San Diego to conspiracy to import more than 5 kilos of cocaine and more than 1000 pounds of marijuana. He also agreed to forfeit $1 million.

His plea agreement is not publicly available on PACER, but that's routine for San Diego, so it does not necessarily mean he cooperated. There's nothing to indicate it is sealed.

[More...]

Police in Waco have arrested 192 people in yesterday's biker killings at the Twin Peaks Restaurant.

Apparently, 165 - 175 of them are being charged with organized crime. Bond for those who have appeared in court has been set at $1 million.

Some of those killed were struck by law enforcement bullets.

The two groups involved were the Bandidos and the Cossacks.

Here's a new thread for the continuing discussion of the Freddie Gray case.

Someone fired a shot through the passenger window of George Zimmerman's vehicle today. He was taken to hospital in an ambulance, but was able to walk on his own. (Added: he sustained minor injuries.)

Kenneth Cornell told WESH 2’s Gail Paschall-Brown that he called 911 after the alleged shooter approached him and said, “I shot George Zimmerman.” Cornell said the alleged shooter then got on the phone with dispatch and explained what happened.

[More...]

Here's a new thread to continue the discussion about matters related to Freddie Gray.

Our open thread is filling up with comments pertaining to the Freddie Gray case, leaving little room for other topics. Here's a thread just for the Freddie Gray case. So please put new comments about the case here, rather than in the open thread.

My opinion on recent developments: [More...]

Ret. General David Petraeus was sentenced to two years probation yesterday for removing classified information and lying to the FBI about it.

Petraeus, 62, pleaded guilty Thursday to a misdemeanor count of unauthorized removal and retention of classified information. According to court documents, he shared the information with Broadwell, his biographer, then lied about doing so to the FBI.

The investigation is continuing. Will Paula Broadwell be next?

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned Barry Bonds conviction for obstruction of justice during a grand jury appearance.

"During a grand jury proceeding, defendant gave a rambling, non-responsive answer to a simple question.

"Because there is insufficient evidence that (his statement) was material, defendant's conviction for obstruction of justice... is not supported by the record," it said, adding: "Defendant's conviction here must be reversed.

It's a sort ruling, just the above paragraphs and one more saying he can't be retried on the count because it would be double jeopardy. One judge dissented.

It's over, for good. Amanda Knox can finally put this horrific 8 year ordeal behind her. Italy's Supreme Court of Cassation has fully exonerated both Amanda and Raffaele Sollecito of murder.

The supreme Court of Cassation panel deliberated for 10 hours before declaring that the two did not commit the crime, a stronger exoneration than merely finding insufficient evidence to convict.

...The decision to overturn the convictions without ordering a new trial amounted to a rebuke of another high court ruling two years ago that vacated Knox and Sollecito's 2011 acquittal, ordering yet another trial.

[More...]