Elderly Killers: Victoria Kim from the L.A. Times reports on two elderly women, Helen Golay, 77 and Olga Rutterschimdt, 75, who are on trial for staging hit-and-runs to collect life insurance. The two victims, Kenneth McDavid and Paul Vados, were both homeless but were worth about $2.8 million in life insurance. The jury got to see the alleged murder weapon, a 1999 Mercury Sable station wagon, up close and personal. John Kolter, a CHP accident investigation specialist pointed out the side of the floor pan had been pushed which implies that the vehicle had ran over something.

Jail Sentence for YouTube video. Robert Echeverria will also receive three years of misdemeanor probation and is banned from the Rialto, CA Del Taco reports Steve Harvey from the L.A. Times. Echeverria’s clip shows him identifying himself as a CEO and claiming that he’d called Del Taco corporate offices. At the end of the video, the restaurant gives him and his two companions a new order. The police had no problem tracking him down: he gave his number out in the video. “It’s Taco Bell from now on,” says Echeverria.

Anti-gang group helps reach over 100,000 people in New York, Milwaukee, San Francisco and Vermont. AP writer, Ula Ilnytzky, reports that the history of the group started with Bob De Sena, who was once a gang member. His group, Council For Unity, aims at giving second chances to kids from broken homes and crime-ridden neighborhoods. One of those benefiting from the program is DaJuan Hawkins, 17, who once went to jail for assault is now heading for college and writing poetry.

Search and Seizure The Supreme Court will review the case of Pearson v. Callahan, 07-751 to decide whether police may enter a home without a search warrant when an informant is already inside and if the officers that conducted the search can be sued. More to come.

North Carolina new law on how to conduct lineups
A story by Nick Hiltunen in the Goldsboro News Argus reports that police officers must follow new procedures when conducting a lineup of suspects. The new law requires an ‘independent administrator’ with no ties to the case to conduct the lineup. Also, officers have to show one photo at a time, not in a group. In addition, law enforcement is working with a software company that will allow the witness to self-conduct the lineup by computer. Proponents say, “It’s an attempt to make eyewitness identification more scientific.” The problem is the cost of the software, which is $10,000.

New law bans sex offenders from social networks
On WISH TV News, the state of Indiana has passed a law that bans sex offenders from social networks that are popular with children like MySpace and Facebook. Reporter Jennifer McGilvray says, “Indiana is the first state to adopt this type of law.”