Man Pleads Guilty to Killing of Postal Worker in Dallas

Crime scene. (Geralt/Pixabay)

DALLAS—A Los Angeles man has pleaded guilty to murder in the killing of a postal worker during a road-rage attack on a Dallas expressway last year.

Donnie Arlondo Ferrell acknowledged in a federal courtroom in Dallas on Feb. 27, that he fatally shot Tony Mosby.

The 58-year-old Mosby was driving a Postal Service box truck on Interstate 30 near downtown Dallas when he was shot in the head on Feb. 19, 2018.

Ferrell, who is 26, also pleaded guilty to a weapons count. He faces up to life in prison when he’s sentenced June 19.

A co-defendant, Bei-jing Tashawna Walker of Hutchins, has pleaded not guilty to being an accessory after the fact and awaits trial.

Man Charged in Missouri Couple’s Deaths

ST. LOUIS—A 22-year-old man is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of a Missouri couple.

Deonta Johnson, of Normandy, was charged Feb. 27, in the November 2018 deaths of 47-year-old Igor Zhukov and 43-year-old Michele Laws, from Olivette.

Johnson also was charged with two counts of first-degree robbery and four counts of armed criminal action. He was ordered held without bail.

Zhukov and Laws were found dead in December in their vehicle at the bottom of a ravine.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the victims met Johnson to sell cellphones. Johnson allegedly tried to steal the phones, causing an auto accident. The charges say he then shot both victims in the head.

No attorney for Johnson is listed in online court records.

Wyoming Man Suspected of Shooting Mother Faces Murder Charge

CASPER, Wyo.—A man suspected of shooting his mother in a Wyoming home is in custody in Colorado and is facing a charge of second-degree murder.

The Casper Star-Tribune reports sheriff’s deputies in Larimer County, Colorado detained 27-year-old Andrew Steplock late Tuesday night, and authorities are trying to extradite him to Wyoming.

Officers found 58-year-old Deborah Steplock at a home just south of downtown Casper early Tuesday morning while responding to a security alarm. Her husband was administering first aid when the police arrived, and she is being kept alive so her organs can be donated.

Casper Police Chief Keith McPheeters says detectives are still investigating a motive, and he did not know if Steplock has hired an attorney.

Representational image (Pixabay)

Trial Begins For Man Charged With Killing Son, Setting Fire

NORWICH, N.Y.—A murder trial is underway in central New York for a man accused along with his wife of killing their adopted teenage son and burning their house to cover it up.

Ernest Franklin was charged with murder and arson in the March 2017 death of 16-year-old Jeffrey Franklin, who had several disabilities. Prosecutors say the crime was inspired by the movie “Manchester by the Sea,” where a father accidentally starts a fire that kills his children.

In her opening statement on Feb. 27, Franklin’s lawyer said the prosecutor’s theory of a murder scheme was too “sophisticated” for a “salt of the earth” person like Franklin. She also disputed autopsy report conclusions.

Heather Franklin will be tried separately.

The fire destroyed the family’s home in Guilford, 55 miles southeast of Syracuse.