Crime

Lawyers for Ariel Castro, the man accused of kidnapping three young women in Cleveland and holding them captive for a decade, are hoping to avoid the death penalty and have begun dropping hints about the possibility of making a plea deal.

On Wednesday morning a hearing was held in which a 329-count indictment for rape, kidnapping, and murder was lodged against Castro, 52. Following the hearing, lawyer Craig Weintraub told reporters that some of the charges against Castro "cannot be disputed".

Three women - Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, and MIchelle Knight - who had been missing for a decade were discovered in Castro's home last month and were rescued.

Castro's lawyers entered a not guilty plea for him in case.

Now, the case has entered a touchy legal phase as Castro's attorney and prosecutors decide whether or not to broach a plea deal that would spare the women from having to recount the horrific details of their captivity in what would be a highly public trial. Without saying so specifically, the defense hinted at the possibility of a plea deal.

Weintraub noted that the not guilty plea would force the prosecution to consider whether murder charges, which were based on allegations that Castro beat one of the women to induce a miscarriage multiple times, were worth pursuing in court.

Cleveland Indians closer Chris Perez and his wife were caught having just over one-third of a pound of marijuana mailed to their home, and have been each charged with misdemeanor drug possession.

Complaints were served on Perez and his wife, Melanie, on Thursday and are to be filed in Rocky River municipal court on Friday. The two were released on personal bond, said police.

Perez and his wife have declined to comment. The Indians have also declined to comment, except to say that they've been watching the situation.

Drug agents armed with a search warrant arrived at the couple's rental home on Tuesday. They had been tipped off by postal workers suspicious of a package that was mailed to their home.

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a police practice of taking DNA samples from people who have been arrested, but not convicted of a crime, ruling that the practice amounts to the modern-day equivalent of fingerprinting.

The ruling came in at 5 to 4. Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan, the court's more liberal members, were joined by conservative Justice Antonin Scalia in dissenting.

The five justices in the majority ruled that DNA sampling after an arrest "for a serious offense" and when officers "bring the suspect to the station to be detained in custody" does not violate the Fourth Amendment's prohibition of unreasonable searches. The court said that under these specifications, "taking and analyzing a cheek swab of the arrestee's DNA is, like fingerprinting and photographing, a legitimate police booking procedure that is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment."

When Amanda Berry made the call to 9-1-1 operators asking for help after she had escape the confines of Ariel Castro's Seymour Avenue home, where she was held for a decade, many people were upset and outraged with the way that the operator handled the call. The dispatcher was accused of being dismissive, but now faces even more serious accusations: that he called Amanda Berry a f---ing bitch.

It's absolutely shocking and unthinkable, but fortunately, the authorities are taking the complaints about the dispatcher's call seriously. The 911 call is now under investigation to determine if he indeed cursed at the woman who'd been kidnapped, raped, and held prisoner for ten long years.

Allegedly, the individual who fielded the call cursed at Berry at the very end of it, saying "f---ing bitch." You can listen to it and decide for yourself. The alleged remarks come at the 1:42 mark in the video below.

Berry, along with Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight were held prisoner in Castro's home for ten years, where they were repeated raped and beaten. He is also the father of Berry's six-year-old daughter.

Ariel Castro, 52, who has been arrested as the suspect who kidnapped and held captive three young women in his Cleveland home for a decade, will plead not guilty if indicted on kidnapping and rape charges, according to the man's lawyer.

Attorney Craig Weintraub says that Castro is not a "monster" as he has been portrayed in the media, stating:

"The initial portrayal by the media has been one of a 'monster' and that's not the impression that I got when I talked to him for three hours. I know that family members who have been interviewed by the media have expressed that as well."

One of the women held in Castro's home on Seymour Avenue for 10 years, Amanda Berry, has a six-year-old daughter named Jocelyn by Castro. Attorney Jaye Schlachet notes:

"I can tell you that Mr. Castro is extremely committed to the well being and positive future for his daughter, who he loves dearly. And if people find that to be a disconnect from what he's alleged to have done, then the people will just have to deal with it. We just know how he feels about his little girl."

Two other women - Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight - were also rescued at the same time Amanda Berry escaped from Castro's home.

Kidnapped in April 2003 at the age of 16, Amanda Berry was freed earlier this month after escaping the abductor who held her captive for a decade. Berry, now 27, had been sexually abused by her captor and gave birth to her six-year-old daughter during the time she was held against her will. Now, her relatives in Tennessee are hoping that she will join them there to start a new life.

Berry's mother, Louwana Miller, passed away while she was being held captive in the Seymour Ave. home, just miles from where she lived in Cleveland. Her mother never gave up hope that she would be found alive.

Berry's relatives are hoping that she will move to Tennessee so that she can be closer to her father and extended family.

Ariel Castro is accused of holding three women - Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, and Michelle Knight - captive in his Cleveland home for a decade. Castro's brothers, Onil and Pedro Castro, said during an interview with CNN that they want the women to know how sorry they are for what they've been through, and hope that Ariel "rots in Jail."

Pedro Castro said:

"I'm just grateful they are home and out of that horrible house, and I'd just tell them I'm sorry for what Ariel done."

Pedro and Onil say that they have no sympathy for Ariel Castro, "brother or no brother", and one even referred to him as a "monster." Onil Castro also commented that he wanted Ariel to "suffer in that jail to the last extent."

Pedro Castro added:

"I don't care if they even feed him," Pedro Castro said. "The monster's a goner."

Pedro Castro also said that he was shocked to learn that Gina DeJesus was one of his victims, because they had known her father for a long time and Ariel had even gone to a vigil for her when she went missing. He also said that he'd been in the house, but never noticed anything strange. He did, however, say that part of the house was blocked off by curtains and a radio or TV was always on.

19 people were injured when gunfire during an informal Mother's Day parade in New Orleans on Sunday, said police. Among the injured were two young children.

The shots were fired at 1:45pm local time as the second line of the parade passed the 1400 block of Frenchmen Street in the city.

Ten men and seven women were shot in addition to a 10-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy. A spokesman for the police department said that the children were grazed and are in good condition, adding that "many of the victims were grazed by some bullets that ricocheted." Two victims are undergoing surgery.

Spokesman Jim Wooley read a statement from the three young women who were kidnapped and held captive at a Seymour Ave. home in Cleveland for a decade or more, and thanked law enforcement, their supporters, and all of the prayers that have been said for them. The families of the girls also requested continued privacy in the statements read outside the Justice Center.

Amanda Berry is quoted in the statement as saying:

Thank you so much for everything you're doing and continue to do. I am so happy to be home with my family."

Gina DeJesus also said in the statement:

"I'm so happy to be home and want to thank everybody for all your prayers. I just want time now to be with my family."

And Michelle Knight, the first of the three to have been kidnapped, said:

"Thank you to everyone for your support and good wishes. I am healthy, happy and safe and will reach out to family, friends and supporters in good time."

Preliminary results from DNA testing have confirmed that Ariel Castro, the 52-year-old man accused of kidnapping and raping three young women, is the father of the 6-year-old girl who was born in captivity.

The girl, Jocelyn, is the daughter of Amanda Berry. Berry is one of three women who was kidnapped and held captive for a decade at Castro's Seymour Ave. home in Cleveland.

According to the Attorney General's Bureau of Criminal Investigation, a sample of Castro's DNA was received late Thursday afternoon. BCI staff worked through the night to confirm the paternity of the girl.