Local & VCU National & International

Richmond-region homicides dip in 2011

Following a nationwide trend, the Richmond region saw a notable decline in killings last year, with 11 of the area’s 21 localities going homicide-free.

Police departments in the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area collectively recorded 82 homicides in 2011, or 12 percent fewer than the 93 slayings the year before, according to a Richmond Times-Dispatch review of area homicide data.

The drop can be attributed largely to decreases in Richmond and Petersburg, which together recorded 11 fewer homicides, combined with five rural localities that saw their killings collectively fall by seven from 2010 to 2011.

Although Richmond accounted for 48 percent of the region’s killings, 2011 marked the fourth consecutive year that the city’s homicide count was in the 40s or lower.

Richmond had 39 killings in 2011, or five fewer than the year before. Because self-defense, accidental and justifiable killings aren’t counted as murders, the city officially reported 37 homicides in 2011 and 41 in 2010.

Overall, 16 of the region’s 21 localities reported either no increase or a decrease in killings last year; of those, 11 had no homicides at all.

Brief by The Richmond Times-Dispatch

No news on VCU student who disappeared in New York

New York police have discovered where a missing Virginia Commonwealth University student last got on the subway, but there’s still no clue of what happened to him.

Ian Burnet, a 22-year-old engineering student from New Kent County, was last heard from by his family and friends on Dec. 30. He apparently swiped his subway card late that night or early the following morning at a station near the Harlem apartment where he was staying, according to New York police. They directed media inquiries to New Kent Sheriff F.W. Howard Jr., who is leading the investigation.

“We’re kind of at a loss,” Howard said Friday. “We keep digging and digging.”

Since Burnet’s disappearance, a Facebook page and website have been set up to share information and solicit help. More than 2,300 people had joined the Facebook page by Friday afternoon, but the comments posted were more condolences and tips for ways to search than actual clues.

The website – FindIanBurnet.com – includes information about Burnet, links to news coverage and ways to share information.

Brief by The Richmond Times-Dispatch

Richmond Eagle Cam a success

Richmond’s Eagle Cam kicked off Monday, featuring a nest, some pine limbs and, occasionally, a pair of eagles.

The eagles spent much of the day away from the nest, but they will be spending more and more time there as they approach egg-laying time in early to mid-February, said eagle expert Bryan Watts.

Watts is director of the Center for Conservation Biology, which is teaming up with the Richmond Times-Dispatch to provide Web coverage for the first time of the city’s longtime eagle pair.

Monday’s highlight came when the two eagles shared a meal – apparently a fish – in midafternoon. They returned about dusk to work on their nest.

The birds often spend time on the nest between 7 and 10 a.m.

The conservation center is part of Virginia Commonwealth University and the College of William and Mary.

Brief by The Richmond Times-Dispatch

Federal appeals court rejects Perry’s bid to get on Va. ballot

A panel of the Richmond-based U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday rejected Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s bid to get his name on Virginia’s March 6 Republican primary ballot.

The development came after U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney Jr. agreed Friday with Perry’s contention that Virginia’s requirement that ballot petition circulators be Virginia residents was unconstitutional. But Gibney also said Perry should have filed the suit while collecting the required 10,000 signatures, which Perry failed to do by last month’s deadline.

Perry appealed Gibney’s ruling over the weekend, and on Tuesday, the appeals court also turned him down.

Ray Sullivan, a Perry spokesman, said Perry is weighing his options for appeal.

“We are proud to fight for the rights of Virginia voters to be able to make a meaningful decision and cast their ballots for the candidate of their choice,” Sullivan said. “This appellate ruling only affirms the trial court’s assertion that the state’s process of printing ballots should not be disrupted.”

Perry can request that the full court of appeals hear the question or he can go to the U.S. Supreme Court, though time is running out for both options, said Carl Tobias, a professor at the University of Richmond School of Law.

Brief by The Richmond Times-Dispatch

Abortion order for mentally ill Mass. woman vetoed

A Massachusetts court on Tuesday overturned a ruling by a judge who ordered a mentally ill woman to undergo an abortion against her wishes and be sterilized.

The Massachusetts Appeals Court said the woman, who has schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, had described herself as “very Catholic” and made it clear she did not want an abortion.

The ruling reverses a decision by Family and Probate Court Judge Christina Harms, who found that the 32-year-old woman was not competent to decide whether to get an abortion.

Harms found the woman would choose to end her pregnancy if she were competent and agreed to appoint her parents as guardians “for the purpose of consenting to the extraordinary procedures of abortion and sterilization,” the Appeals Court said.

The Appeals Court said the judge also directed the clinic to sterilize the woman at the same time “to avoid this painful situation from recurring in the future.”

The Appeals Court reversed the order, saying no one had requested it and the judge “appears to have simply produced the requirement out of thin air.” The judges sent the case back to the lower court.

Brief by the Associated Press

German state questions Mein Kampf publication plan

State government in Germany is looking at legal measures to prevent a British publisher's plans to reproduce excerpts from Adolf Hitler's infamous memoir “Mein Kampf” in Germany.

The Finance Ministry of the German state of Bavaria said Tuesday that publisher Peter McGee’s plans to reproduce three 16-page segments of “Mein Kampf” with critical commentary, starting next week, may violate the copyright on the book, which it holds.

The ministry said in a statement that it believes the segments are too long to be considered excerpts not covered by copyright.

Brief by the Associated Press

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Homecoming Committee announces performers after delay • 4 Alumni Associations buy personal safety devices • 4 Crime log • 5