Verdicts

A Colorado man who says he bludgeoned his date to death out of rage and shock after discovering she was biologically male was convicted Wednesday of first-degree murder and a hate crime. Jurors deliberated about two hours before finding Allen Ray Andrade, 32, guilty of killing Angie Zapata, 18, of Greeley last July. District Judge Marcelo Kopcow swiftly sentenced him to life in prison without possibility of parole -- the state's mandatory sentence for first-degree murder.

The conviction of a man serving a life prison sentence for an East Los Angeles gang shooting has been overturned by a federal judge who ruled that the man's attorney failed to present evidence that he was at work more than 30 miles away when the crime occurred, attorneys said Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Gary A. Feess ruled last week that Rafael Madrigal Jr., 34, should be retried within 60 days or released from prison, where he is serving a 53-years-to-life sentence for attempted murder.

Jurors deliberating in the rape trial of fashion designer Anand Jon told the court Wednesday they had reached verdicts on some of the 23 charges he faces, authorities said. Superior Court Judge David S. Wesley told the panel to keep deliberating but said he would read their verdicts this afternoon, said district attorney's spokeswoman Jane Robison. The announcement follows Wesley's decision earlier this week to deny prosecutors' request to replace a juror who fellow panelists accused of failing to properly deliberate and discuss evidence in the case.

A man tracked down after a video was found of him sexually assaulting a 2-year-old girl was convicted of that attack and another on a 6-year-old. Chester Arthur Stiles, 38, displayed no emotion as guilty verdicts were read against him for 22 felonies, including sexual assault, in a Las Vegas courtroom. He faces multiple life terms at sentencing, set for May 8. Nineteen of the charges stemmed from acts Stiles videotaped of himself with the toddler in 2003.

After four months of testimony that cast a harsh light on the operatic lives of East Coast social royalty -- with tales of greed, abuse and bitter family feuds -- a jury today convicted legendary philanthropist Brooke Astor's son of tricking her into changing her will. The jury, which deliberated 11 full days, found Anthony D. Marshall guilty on 14 of the 16 counts against him, including grand larceny involving the theft of cash and art, possession of stolen property and conspiracy to defraud Astor.

A woman accused of setting a fire that destroyed six trailers, rendered eight families homeless and resulted in the evacuation of a notorious mobile home park in Thermal was acquitted on all charges Friday by a jury in Indio. An emotional Guadalupe DeAnda, 52, sobbed uncontrollably as the verdict was read, said her lawyer, public defender David Prendergast. The case went to the jury Thursday.

Will actor Omar Sharif pay up in dollars or euros? That's what parking valet Juan Anderson is wondering after the film star was ordered to pay him $318,190 as a result of a 2005 altercation outside a Beverly Hills restaurant. Sharif, best known for his roles in the movies "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Dr. Zhivago," allegedly punched Anderson in the face when the valet refused to accept a 20-euro note as payment for retrieving his Porsche sport utility vehicle at Mastro's Steakhouse.

As a young man in South Los Angeles, Winston Hayes got to know the Compton courthouse well, getting hauled before judges more than a dozen times to answer charges of arson, assault and other crimes. On Friday, Hayes, 46, was back in court, but this time he walked out $1,326,468.60 richer after a civil court jury decided that Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies used excessive force on him three years ago.

A Long Beach man who prosecutors say orchestrated an attack on the Cambodian government resulting in the deaths of three people and the wounding of several others was convicted Wednesday by a federal jury in Los Angeles of conspiring to kill in a foreign country. Yasith Chhun, president of the Long Beach-based Cambodian Freedom Fighters, was also convicted of three more conspiracy counts stemming from the Nov.

A Los Angeles jury has convicted a 75-year-old woman of murdering a homeless man for millions in life insurance, but is deadlocked on two charges against her in a second killing. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge David S. Wesley ordered the panel to resume deliberations Monday on the remaining counts against Olga Rutterschmidt. She was found guilty Thursday of the 2005 killing of Kenneth McDavid.