MD Legal Briefs: August 9, 2005

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), Aug 9, 2005 by Staff

Victimless?

A man charged in an assault case where police never found the victim was convicted in Baltimore County Circuit Court yesterday. Anson Miguel Edmund entered a not guilty plea with an agreed statement of facts in order to preserve his right to appeal, defense attorney Brian G. Thompson told Judge John G. Turnbull II. Thompson tried to get the case dismissed in June on the grounds that charging documents must substantially identify a victim, but Judge Robert E. Cadigan rejected that argument. Edmund was convicted of first- degree assault and using a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence for shooting at an unknown man in January. He will be sentenced in October.

Med student convicted

A Prince George's County jury yesterday convicted Abere Karibi- Ikiro, 27, of Capitol Heights, of second-degree murder and use of a firearm in commission of a felony, for the Jan. 15, 2005 killing of Okechukwu William Ohiri, 27, the Prince George's County state's attorney's office announced. Prosecutors said Karibi-Ikiro and Ohiri were both medical students at Howard University in Washington and were living together. During a taped call to 911, Karibi-Ikiro stated I shot him, saying that Ohiri was trying to force her to have sex with him. At trial, however, Karibi-Ikiro testified that Ohiri shot himself. Prosecutors said the motive for the shooting was unclear. Karibi-Ikiriko's sentencing is set for Sept. 9.

State Farm loses in court

Following a three-week-long trial, a jury in Kansas City, Mo., on Friday awarded $20 million to five former State Farm Insurance Co. agents, including one in Maryland, ruling they were improperly terminated for criticizing the way the company treated its policyholders. The agents, all independent contractors whose contracts were terminated in January 2000, were awarded $9 million in actual damages and $11 million in punitive damages. In December 1999, the five agents, among them Tana Glockner, of California, Md., allowed their names to be used in a letter critical of State Farm that was sent to the Texas insurance commissioner. The letter alleged in part that the company overcharged for homeowner's insurance, engaged in sales discrimination and attempted to defraud accident victims of the full amount they were due.