Murder convict allowed second trial after 8-year cold case

Michael Scott, one of two men convicted in the infamous yogurt shop murders, will be retried May 19, a judge said at a hearing Wednesday.

In 1991, officials responded to a fire at an Austin I Can't Believe It's Yogurt! shop. Upon entering the store, officials found the bodies of four teenage girls who had been bound, gagged and shot in the head. The case went cold for eight years until police arrested four suspects, including Scott and Robert Springsteen. Scott and Springsteen were convicted in 2001.

Springsteen was sentenced to death, but the sentence was commuted in 2005 as he was under the age of 18 when the murders were committed. In 2006, an appeals court overturned Springsteen's conviction because attorneys in his original trial were not allowed to cross-examine the co-defendant who incriminated Springsteen in a confession. A court later overturned the Scott case for the same reason.

State District Judge Mike Lynch said Springsteen will be retried at a later date.

Scott's lawyer, Carlos Garcia, said they requested a joint trial but were denied.

"It makes no sense to try them separately," Garcia said. "We're wasting taxpayer dollars."

Lawyers spent the majority of the pretrial hearing arguing over whether copies of evidence should be provided to the defense. Prosecutors said the evidence was made available but refused to make copies for the defense attorneys. Lynch called it a waste of the court's time.

"I think it's a waste of taxpayer money to force defense lawyers to sit there with a pen and paper and hand-copy three or four hundred pages of documents when you could run them through a Xerox," Garcia said.

- Stephen Keller

Alamo Drafthouse-inspired musical film week ends today

The Student Events Center film committee will conclude their musical event week today.

The week's events have allowed students to watch their favorite musicals in the Union Theater while singing along.

"We received the idea from the Alamo Drafthouse, which does sing-a-longs, and we wanted to keep the tradition," said Ellen Kubecka, a radio-television-film senior and film committee chair.

Eighty-seven students watched and sang along to "Moulin Rouge" on Tuesday, said prejournalism sophomore Jessica Propst.

"It was a really cool experience, because a lot of the people couldn't really sing, and they did," Propst said. "It was also neat that people knew a lot of the music."

Propst said to experience a movie in a group with others around that would normally be watched alone was fun and eventful.

Kubecka said all of the movies provided were free with a UT ID. The SEC allowed students to buy food from the restaurants in the Union and bring them into the screening, she added.

Tonight at 6 p.m. and 9 p.m., "Across the Universe" will be screened in the theater.

­- Larry Dechant

Interest still high for tonight's Barbara Jordan civil rights forum

Students at the LBJ School of Public Affairs are hoping their hard work to put on today's Barbara Jordan National Forum will not go overlooked.

The student-led and student-organized forum takes place on the same day as the Democratic debate. This year's forum, "Change: From What to What?," a question Jordan posed in her 1992 keynote address to the Democratic National Convention, will examine aspects of civil rights-era reforms.

Petra Dizdar, recruitment chair for the forum, said students have been working since September to put on the event.

"All of us were kind of bummed and thought six months of our hard work is going down because of the debate," Dizdar said. "We were scared we wouldn't have as many people."

She said her fears did not become a reality and representatives from Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign are coming to the LBJ school before the debate. Registration for the forum was closed this week because more people expressed interest in the forum than the rooms can support.

Students who have not registered for the forum are encouraged to attend any and all of the events hosted throughout the day, Dizdar said.

Dizdar said she believes everyone should know about Barbara Jordan and the impact she had on this campus.

"[Staff members] play speeches for every student at the LBJ School when you start here," she said. "Barbara Jordan is not only a legend in Texas, but she was also a professor at our school."

Jordan is known for her role in Texas politics and served as the first black state senator since 1883. She was also the first black female to serve as president pro tempore of the Texas Senate and served for one day as an acting governor of Texas. Dizdar said this year's forum is especially important because the issues being addressed are still things affecting Americans. It is important to look at justice and equality and how both have changed since the civil rights movement, she added.

Forum events start at 11:30 a.m. and last until 7 p.m. at the Thompson Conference Center. A debate-watching party will follow.

For more information, visit http://www.barbarajordannationalforum.org

- Amanda DeBard

APD detective suspended for unnecessary violence on the job

Austin Police Department Chief Art Acevedo suspended a detective for 10 days last Friday for excessive use of force, according to a disciplinary memo released Wednesday.

Detective Joseph Lorett and two officers conducted an undercover drug sting in a business parking lot off Riverside Drive on Aug. 23, 2007, according to the memo. After a controlled buy, Lorett and the other officers approached the suspect's vehicle with their weapons drawn. The suspect cooperated with police and did not resist arrest, the memo said. While the suspect lay handcuffed on the ground, Lorett drove his right knee into the suspect's face, the memo said.

"The suspect yelled out in pain, and detective Lorett is heard saying, 'Shut the fuck up!'," the memo said.

The suspect suffered extensive facial fractures and required hospital treatment, according to the memo. Acevedo said the strike was excessive since the suspect did not attempt to fight or flee. Lorett's suspension ends Feb. 25.

- Stephen Keller

Division commander put on administrative leave this week

The Austin Police Department placed a division commander on administrative leave this week.

Internal affairs is investigating Commander Duane McNeil because of personnel matters between he and his subordinates, said department spokeswoman Anna Sabana. Officials could not say what specifically spurred the investigation.

McNeil ran for Travis County sheriff in 2004 and heads the Organized Crime unit, which oversees the major crimes task force, gang unit and narcotics conspiracy unit.

"Personnel from these units are tasked with conducting long-term investigations that involve multiple offenders," Sabana said.

Officials could not reveal who filed the grievances or how long the review will take.

- SK

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools