A federal judge has sentenced a Wapato man to nearly five years in prison for a 2019 driving under the influence crash that killed four citizens of the Yakama Nation.

Leland James Finley, 28, had pleaded guilty to four counts of involuntary manslaughter and one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury in connection with the May 2019 crash on the Yakama Nation Reservation.

U.S. District Court Judge Sal Mendoza sentenced Finley on May 31 in Richland, the Yakama Herald-Republic reports.

Authorities said Finley was driving an SUV with five passengers when he drove in front of a semitrailer at an intersection on U.S. Highway 97 just south of Toppenish. Four of the six people in the SUV were killed. Finley and another passenger were injured.

The Yakima County Coroner’s Office identified the victims as 41-year-old Frances Northover, of Bellingham; 61-year-old Susan Brown, of Yakima; 21-year-old Matt Brown-Washington, of Wapato; and 39-year-old Michelle Untuch, of Toppenish.

A Louisiana appellate court has ordered a state judge to add details to the sentence of a man who pleaded guilty to killing a jogger while driving drunk in October 2020.

A three-judge panel of the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal ruled in the case of George D. McKinney Jr., who pleaded guilty last year to vehicular homicide in the death of 30-year-old Jason D. Webb, the American Press reported. The trial judge sentenced him to the maximum 30 years in prison but suspended seven years of that.

McKinney was driving fast and had crossed the center line on Old Highway 171, the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office told the newspaper on the day of the accident, Oct. 29, 2020.

The panel said it was not ruling on a claim that the trial judge failed to consider mitigating factors when he sentenced McKinney, who was a 22-year-old first offender. But it said the judge must explain how mitigating factors and aggravating factors affect the new sentence.

The appeals court also noted that the trial judge said he gave McKinney the maximum sentence to “set an example and to deter others from driving while impaired.” The court noted that it banned such a use of the maximum sentence in 2004.

The judge said McKinney must spend at least three years in prison without probation, parole or suspension. The appeal court said that wasn’t specific enough.

The judge also ordered McKinney to serve five years on supervised probation after his release from prison and to pay restitution for funeral costs, counseling for Webb’s children and any medical bills not covered by insurance.

The appellate panel said state law limits supervised probation after release to three years for someone in McKinney’s circumstances. And it said there must be a dollar amount and payment plan for restitution.

It also said the judge failed to order McKinney to participate in a court-approved substance abuse program, something that is required under state law.

The North Dakota Supreme Court will allow a man accused of drunken driving to withdraw his guilty plea to the charge.

The court recently reversed a North Central District Court judge’s refusal to suppress some evidence in the DUI case against defendant Michael Anthony Boger.

He was stopped by a Minot police officer in November 2019 who said Boger failed to have his rear license plate illuminated. Boger argued in court the officer’s own body camera footage showed the license plate was actually illuminated, the Minot Daily News reported.

The officer claimed that it only looked illuminated because of the reflection of the lights from the police squad car and a nearby gas station.

Judge Doug Mattson denied Boger’s motion to suppress evidence in the case and Boger then entered a conditional guilty plea to driving under the influence, his third offense within seven years. The conditional plea was with the understanding that he would be able to withdraw his plea if the Supreme Court ruled in his favor on appeal.

The high court ruled the body camera video clearly shows that Boger’s license plate was illuminated and the officer did not have probable cause to stop the vehicle, so the evidence must be suppressed.

The case will be sent back to the district court to allow Boger to withdraw his guilty plea.

Broncos running back Melvin Gordon will likely avoid NFL discipline after his drunken driving charge was dismissed and he pleaded guilty in Denver County Court on Wednesday to lesser charges of excessive speeding and reckless driving.

Gordon was arrested Oct. 13 in downtown Denver when he was clocked going 71 mph in a 35 mph zone. He was cited for speeding and charged with DUI. He didn’t take a breathalyzer at the scene.

A suspension would have sidelined him to start the 2021 season and allowed the Broncos to void $6.5 million of guaranteed salary for 2021.

Gordon is entering the second season of the two-year, $16 million free agent contract he signed a year ago. He led the Broncos in carries (215), rushing yards (986) and TD runs (nine) last season and added 32 catches for 158 yards and a score.

Shortly after his arrest, which was the first off-the-field issue he’s faced in his six-year NFL career, Gordon said, “I’m a little upset that I even put myself in the situation.” And in December, he said he was leaving his legal and contractual issues to his representatives and was focused on football.

“Hopefully I did enough for them to want to keep me here. I do feel like they have something special here growing and I definitely want to be a part of it,” Gordon said at the time. “So, we’ll see, hopefully it works out, and hopefully they like me enough to kind of put all that stuff to the side. I guess in a couple months or so we’ll see what’s up.”

A candidate for the North Carolina Supreme Court pleaded guilty more than nine years ago to trespassing and driving while impaired.

The Charlotte Observer reports Republican Chris Anglin was stopped by police in Greensboro in January 2009 and charged after he registered a blood-alcohol level of 0.14, nearly twice the legal limit. The following September, he pleaded guilty.

That December, Anglin was charged with attempted breaking and entering and pleaded guilty to second-degree trespassing. On Wednesday, he attributed both cases to struggles with alcohol in his 20s.

Both incidents happened while Anglin was a student at Elon University School of Law. He said that in 2010, he sought help for his drinking problem with a lawyer-assistance program. He said he's since gotten sober.

Anglin criticized N.C. Republican Party Executive Director Dallas Woodhouse for emailing Anglin's arrest records to a listserv the GOP maintains. Anglin has feuded with the GOP since he switched party affiliation and entered the Supreme Court race.

Woodhouse has previously said Anglin "will be treated like the enemy he is," and Anglin said the GOP is acting desperate "by sending something out that occurred almost a decade ago."

Republicans have described Anglin as a Democratic plant in the race and Woodhouse said as much Wednesday, writing that "Democrats had one of their own with a very questionable background pretend to be a Republican, so they could try and fool the voters."

Republican legislators responded earlier this summer to Anglin's campaign by passing a law, which was later overturned as unconstitutional, that would have banned Anglin from listing his Republican Party on the ballot even though his opponents could list their parties.

Anglin is one of three candidates seeking a place on the court. The other candidates are Barbara Jackson, a Republican who's seeking re-election, and Anita Earls, a Democrat and longtime civil rights lawyer.

Former England captain Wayne Rooney pleaded guilty to drunk driving on Monday, leading to a court imposing a two-year driving ban and ordering him to perform 100 hours of unpaid community work.

The Everton striker was stopped by police outside Manchester on Sept. 1 while driving someone else's car.

Rooney was three times above the legal limit for driving with alcohol in the body, the hearing at Stockport Magistrates' Court was informed as the 31-year-old player entered his guilty plea.

"Following today's court hearing I want publicly to apologize for my unforgivable lack of judgment in driving while over the legal limit. It was completely wrong," Rooney said in a statement.

"I have already said sorry to my family, my manager and chairman and everyone at Everton FC. Now I want to apologize to all the fans and everyone else who has followed and supported me throughout my career."

A breathalyzer test showed Rooney's alcohol level was 104 micrograms in 100 milliliters of breath. The driving limit in England and Wales is 35 micrograms per 100 milliliters of breath.

Rooney's legal team asked District Judge John Temperley to consider not imposing a community work order because of his ongoing charitable work. However Temperley said he was "not convinced" that imposing a large fine "would have the same effect". Rooney was also told to pay 85 pounds ($115) of prosecution costs and a victim surcharge for the same amount.

A man has pleaded not guilty to murder, driving under the influence and other charges in a car crash in Central California that killed five members of a family, including a pregnant woman.

The Record of Stockton reports that 28-year-old Ryan Morales entered the plea in San Joaquin County Superior Court on Monday.

Authorities say Morales was driving at freeway speeds in a residential area in Lodi on Oct. 22 when he crashed into a pickup. Five of the pickup's occupants died.

Authorities say Morales had been drinking apple-flavored vodka with his father. A preliminary analysis allegedly showed his blood alcohol count was 2 ½ times the state's limit.

Authorities say they sought a murder charge against Morales because he acted with complete disregard for human life.