Across the region

Prosecutors go after man in murder trial

DECATUR, GA. - Prosecutors called the man on trial for murder in the death of Emory University student Shannon Melendi a "demon" Wednesday, asking a jury to convict him for a crime they said was driven by his sexual perversions.

Colvin "Butch" Hinton is accused of abducting Ms. Melendi, 19, an Emory University sophomore, after a softball game at the complex where they both worked in March 1994.

Mr. Hinton was considered a suspect shortly after her disappearance but was not officially charged until last year. He is facing charges of murder and kidnapping.

Fate of religious sect leader is with court

ATLANTA - The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is determining whether the child sex charge conviction of jailed religious sect leader Dwight "Malachi" York should be overturned after his attorneys made their appeal in court Wednesday, saying the original trial was flawed.

Mr. York, the founder of the predominantly black Nuwaubian Nation of Moors, was sentenced in April to 135 years in federal prison for molesting 14 boys and girls whose parents were members of his group.

His attorney, Adrian Patrick of Athens, Ga., said federal prosecutors improperly applied federal racketeering laws and that the grand jury was tainted by pretrial publicity.

Blasting company is fined for damages

ATLANTA - Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John Oxendine has fined a blasting company as much as $150,000 for incidents that damaged structures around the Atlanta area, including five homes last month in Henry County.

The Cartersville company, Kesco Southeast, was blasting open a drainage trench as part of construction of a subdivision near McDonough. One couple said the blasting sent baseball-size chunks of clay and sandstone through their roof.

Mr. Oxendine's order demands the company make a good-faith effort to repair any damage to homes. The order also requires monitoring of the work and notification of all residents and businesses within 1,125 feet of a blast.

Administrator loses job after comments

GREENVILLE, S.C. - A Greenville Technical College administrator who called Hurricane Katrina evacuees "yard apes" during a staff meeting is out of a job.

Renee Holcombe, the associate vice president of student services, said Wednesday she no longer worked for the school but would not say whether she was fired or she resigned.

When asked whether she meant the comment as a racial slur, she said: "Heavens, no."

Guard is accused of having sex at prison

COLUMBIA - A prison guard has been charged with having sex with a female inmate at a prison in Richland County, the Corrections Department said.

Willie Jones, 43, of Columbia, was charged with second-degree criminal sexual conduct with an inmate, the State Law Enforcement Division said.

The arrest warrant states that a female inmate was forced to engage in a sex act in a maintenance shed Aug. 13 at the Camille Griffin Graham Correctional Institution.

Fall at work site kills construction worker

CHARLESTON, S.C.- A 38-year-old construction worker has died after falling 21 feet from the roof of a home he was building.

The man, whose name was withheld until his family in Honduras could be notified, worked for Mejia Brother Construction of Goose Creek, said Berkeley County chief deputy coroner Bill Salisbury.