Assaults West Virginia

Hundreds of striking union miners were arrested for blocking a road to a non-union mine in West Virginia, and rock-throwing pickets in Kentucky injured the president of a coal company. Coal officials criticized Gov. Gaston Caperton and state police, charging they had let strikers in West Virginia get out of hand. "There is a total state of chaos," said A.T. Massey Coal Co. spokeswoman Deborah Herndon. In Prenter, W. Va.

A former judge who jumped from the bench, ripped off his robe and bit a defendant on the nose was acquitted in Clarksburg of violating the man's civil rights. Joseph Troisi, who was a circuit court judge for four years, was accused of confronting Bill Witten after Witten repeatedly cursed at him while being led from the courtroom. Troisi could have been sentenced to up to 10 years in prison on the federal charge.

A former beauty queen accused of arming herself with a pistol, knife and hammer to kill a romantic rival and the other woman's family was convicted Tuesday of reduced charges of trying to murder the woman's parents. Tracy Lippard, 23, could get up to 6 1/2 years in prison when she is sentenced Jan. 4. A jury deliberated two days before finding her guilty of two misdemeanor counts of second-degree attempted murder and five other misdemeanors.

The husband of a middle school teacher was sick of his wife's complaints about her class, so he barged into her classroom and attacked three 14-year-olds, police said. Edward Hilts, 52, told students that he was "tired of his wife taking out her school- and student-related problems . . . on him," police said.

A beauty queen is guilty only of "foolishness and stupidity" and did not plot the death of her pregnant romantic rival and the woman's family, a defense lawyer said Monday in closing arguments. Jurors deliberated the fate of Tracy Lippard, 23, for six hours Monday in Greenbrier County Circuit Court. They were scheduled to resume today. Lippard is charged with three counts of attempted murder and battery, as well as some misdemeanors.

A former judge who jumped from the bench, ripped off his robe and bit a defendant on the nose was acquitted in Clarksburg of violating the man's civil rights. Joseph Troisi, who was a circuit court judge for four years, was accused of confronting Bill Witten after Witten repeatedly cursed at him while being led from the courtroom. Troisi could have been sentenced to up to 10 years in prison on the federal charge.

A redshirt West Virginia football player was indicted on a felony charge of malicious wounding, an official said. Freshman defensive lineman Todd Robinson was accused of beating his cousin, said assistant prosecutor John Frail. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

A man who beat his wife bloody and then drove around for several days with her locked unconscious inside a car trunk became on Tuesday the first person convicted under the new federal domestic-violence law. Christopher Bailey, 34, could get up to 20 years in prison under the new law and life behind bars for kidnaping when he is sentenced Aug. 21. He beat his wife, Sonya, on Nov. 26, placed her unconscious in the trunk of their compact car and drove around West Virginia and Kentucky until Dec.

The husband of a middle school teacher was sick of his wife's complaints about her class, so he barged into her classroom and attacked three 14-year-olds, police said. Edward Hilts, 52, told students that he was "tired of his wife taking out her school- and student-related problems . . . on him," police said.

A judge could go to prison if convicted on a federal civil rights charge for biting the nose of a defendant who cursed him. Judge Joseph Troisi, 47, said he did not intend to bite 29-year-old Bill Witten. If convicted on the single count of violating Witten's civil rights, Troisi would face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The first person convicted under the federal domestic-violence law--a man who prosecutors say beat his wife bloody, then drove around for six days with her in the trunk of his car--was sentenced Friday to life in prison. Christopher Bailey, 35, of St. Albans was convicted in May of kidnaping and violating the 1994 Violence Against Women Act. He received the maximum 20-year penalty for violating the domestic-violence law and a life sentence for kidnaping.

A man who beat his wife bloody and then drove around for several days with her locked unconscious inside a car trunk became on Tuesday the first person convicted under the new federal domestic-violence law. Christopher Bailey, 34, could get up to 20 years in prison under the new law and life behind bars for kidnaping when he is sentenced Aug. 21. He beat his wife, Sonya, on Nov. 26, placed her unconscious in the trunk of their compact car and drove around West Virginia and Kentucky until Dec.

A beauty queen who set off on a 250-mile journey with a pistol, lighter fluid and a butcher knife was sentenced Wednesday to two years behind bars for trying to kill the parents of a romantic rival. Tracy Lippard, 23, cried at her sentencing and apologized to the couple attacked in February. "There's no reason to fear me. I just want to go on with my life," she told Circuit Judge Charles Lobban. Lippard, from Newport News, Va.

A former beauty queen accused of arming herself with a pistol, knife and hammer to kill a romantic rival and the other woman's family was convicted Tuesday of reduced charges of trying to murder the woman's parents. Tracy Lippard, 23, could get up to 6 1/2 years in prison when she is sentenced Jan. 4. A jury deliberated two days before finding her guilty of two misdemeanor counts of second-degree attempted murder and five other misdemeanors.

A beauty queen is guilty only of "foolishness and stupidity" and did not plot the death of her pregnant romantic rival and the woman's family, a defense lawyer said Monday in closing arguments. Jurors deliberated the fate of Tracy Lippard, 23, for six hours Monday in Greenbrier County Circuit Court. They were scheduled to resume today. Lippard is charged with three counts of attempted murder and battery, as well as some misdemeanors.

The first person convicted under the federal domestic-violence law--a man who prosecutors say beat his wife bloody, then drove around for six days with her in the trunk of his car--was sentenced Friday to life in prison. Christopher Bailey, 35, of St. Albans was convicted in May of kidnaping and violating the 1994 Violence Against Women Act. He received the maximum 20-year penalty for violating the domestic-violence law and a life sentence for kidnaping.

A redshirt West Virginia football player was indicted on a felony charge of malicious wounding, an official said. Freshman defensive lineman Todd Robinson was accused of beating his cousin, said assistant prosecutor John Frail. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.