Banita Jacks sentenced to 120 years
Banita Jacks, the D.C. woman convicted of murdering her four daughters, was sentenced to 120 years in prison. The 35-year-old had left the girls to decompose in her Southeast row house for months until they were discovered by authorities in January 2008. The girls, ages 5 to 16, had slipped through the cracks of the District’s child welfare system. Jacks received the minimum sentence of 30 years for each of the dead girls.
Former head security officer for D.C. tech office admits to accepting bribes
Yusuf Acar, the chief of security officer for the District’s technology office pleaded guilty to accepting $558,978 in bribes from a government contractor. In return for the bribe money, Acar directed employment contracts to Sushil Bansal’s company Advanced Integrated Technologies Corporation, the 41-year-old Acar admitted Friday. Acar masterminded the scheme in which five other D.C. employees or contractors have been charged or pleaded guilty.
Dog owners charged with beating Justice the Chihuahua
A Springfield couple has been charged with animal cruelty after Fairfax County police say their chihuahua, Justice, was found to have several broken bones sustained over a few months. Crystal and Jerry Stanislaus surrendered 1-year-old Justice to the Alexandria Animal Shelter on Nov. 6. Veterinarians conducted a routine exam and found the dog had suffered numerous injuries and broken bones. Justice was euthanized. The Stanislauses surrendered themselves Thursday.
Ethics officials asked to look into overturned rape conviction
A D.C. Superior Court judge has asked Department of Justice ethics officials to look into the FBI’s handling of a rape case overturned last week after DNA evidence showed the convicted man was innocent. Donald Gates’ 1982 conviction was largely based on testimony of a now discredited FBI analyst. The FBI, however, did not inform Gates’ attorneys when the analyst’s work was found to be invalid.
Compiled by Freeman Klopott
