Briefs

VCU & LOCAL

Man guilty of obstruction of justice in Taliaferro case

A man accused of obstruction of justice in the investigation into the murder of 18-year-old Taliek Taliaferro was found guilty yesterday and sentenced to 60 days in jail.

Brad Harris had told investigators two days after the shooting that he had not seen the two men sought in the slaying when in fact he had.

“I made a mistake,” Harris said in court. “I shouldn’t have lied to the officers.”

Bennett Davis and David Franklin were also scheduled for trial on charges of obstruction of justice and being accessories after the fact, but their trials were rescheduled for May 22. Davis and Franklin also face drug charges.

Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch

Varina senior named Student Journalist of the Year

Kendra D. Johnson covers news, sports and features for her school newspaper. In 2008, she received the top reporting award in the Virginia Urban Journalism Workshop.

Now a senior at Varina High School and a senior editor of The Blue Devil’s Advocate newspaper, Johnson has been named the Virginia High School League’s 2009 Student Journalist of the Year.

Johnson is the first winner in the contest’s 19-year history to be selected from the central region. She was the unanimous choice of a three-person selection committee.

Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch

Virginia Union plans presentation on Lumpkin’s Jail

A presentation on the history and archaeology of Lumpkin’s Jail will be held in the Wilder Library Lecture Hall at Virginia Union University at 9 a.m. April 15.

The Lumpkin’s Jail complex in Shockoe Bottom was the site of one of the largest slave-trading centers in the United States before the Civil War. After the Civil War, Virginia Union’s first classes were taught in the former slave jail.

The presentation, which is free and open to the public, will feature Matthew Laird, whose firm was hired to excavate the site, and Philip Schwarz, professor emeritus of history at VCU.

Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch

NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL

Fight over urinating dog got police to Pa. ambush

An ambush that resulted in the shooting deaths of three Pittsburgh policemen was precipitated by a 911 call from the gunman’s mother over a dog urinating in the house.

According to court papers, Richard Poplawski and his mother argued about his dog’s accident Saturday morning, prompting her to threaten to evict him and to call police.

Police have charged 23-year-old Poplawski with killing three officers and attempting to kill nine others during a four-hour siege.

Poplawski has been arraigned in a local hospital, where he is recovering from gunshot wounds to his legs.

Police say Poplawski was heavily armed and wearing a bulletproof vest when he killed the first two officers on sight. His mother opened the door for police, saw the shootings and then fled to the basement.

Brief by The Associated Press

N. Korean satellite did not reach orbit

South Korea’s presidential office says North Korea’s satellite did not reach orbit as the communist nation claims.

North Korea claimed success in launching a communication satellite into space. State-run media said Sunday that the satellite was already transmitting data and patriotic odes to leader Kim Jong Il and national founder Kim Il Sung.

President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso have called the launch a provocative move that violates a U.N. Security Council resolution barring North Korea from ballistic missile-related activities. A Security Council session is set for Sunday afternoon in New York.

Brief by The Associated Press

Four Chinese among victims in Binghamton, NY

Church bells tolled Sunday in honor of those killed by a gunman at an immigrant center as the Chinese government said four of its citizens were among the 13 victims.

Police are still reaching around the world to notify families of those killed Friday by 41-year-old Jiverly Wong, who was apparently upset about losing his job at a vacuum plant and about people picking on him for his limited English.

The center’s clients came from countries around the globe, including Laos, Mexico, Somalia and the former Soviet republics.

“Four Chinese were among those killed,” said Zinqi Gao, spokesman for the Chinese consulate in New York. “Their names will be released Sunday,” he said.

One Chinese student was among the wounded, according to consular officials quoted by China’s official Xinhua News Agency. He was shot in the arm and leg.

Brief by The Associated Press