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Deputy cleared in shooting of unarmed vet

By TIMES WIRES
Published June 29, 2007

SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF. - A sheriff's deputy was acquitted of all charges Thursday in the videotaped shooting of an unarmed Iraq war veteran who was a passenger in a car that crashed after a police chase. Former San Bernardino County Deputy Ivory J. Webb was found not guilty of attempted voluntary manslaughter and assault with a firearm for opening fire on Elio Carrion, an Air Force senior airman, said Susan Mickey, a district attorney's spokeswoman. Webb, 46, who has since left the department, had faced as many as 18 years in prison if convicted. Carrion, an Iraq war veteran home on leave, was a passenger in a Corvette that Webb was chasing Jan. 29, 2006, when it crashed into a wall in Chino, about 40 miles east of Los Angeles. On a grainy, 40-second video clip shot in darkness by an area resident, Carrion can be heard swearing at Webb before the deputy tells him, "Get up! Get up!" Webb, who is shouting expletives, then shoots Carrion in the chest, left leg and left shoulder as Carrion appears to obey the order. Carrion was hospitalized for several days. Defense attorneys said Carrion's hand was near his chest moments before he was shot, giving the deputy the impression the airman was reaching for a weapon.

NASA moves up next shuttle launch

CAPE CANAVERAL - NASA on Thursday moved up the next scheduled space shuttle mission by two days to give Endeavour more chances to lift off during what looks to be a busy month. Mission managers wanted to make sure the shuttle's launch on Aug. 7 did not conflict with the launches of a robotic geologist to Mars and a military communications satellite, both also planned for August. Endeavour is ready ahead of schedule for its first flight since late 2002. The shuttle underwent an intensive maintenance overhaul. Endeavour will deliver another truss segment to the international space station. Endeavour's flight will be the second space shuttle mission of the year. Atlantis landed last week at Edwards Air Force Base in California and is scheduled to return to Kennedy today or Saturday.

Elsewhere

Austin, Texas: Lady Bird Johnson, the former first lady, was released from a hospital Thursday and was resting comfortably at her home, a family spokesman said. Johnson, 94, was admitted a week ago and treated for a low-grade fever. She remained at the hospital for observation after the fever subsided.

Burtonsville, Md.: Fire swept through an apartment early Thursday, killing three girls, ages 1, 2 and 4, and critically injuring their mother, authorities said.

Springdale, Ark.: A former state trooper was sentenced Thursday to 90 days in jail for shooting to death an unarmed, mentally disabled man he mistook for a fugitive. Larry Norman, 41, pleaded guilty in May to misdemeanor negligent homicide and admitted he mistakenly shot Joseph Erin Hamley, 21, in March 2006 as Hamley lay on the ground.

[Last modified June 29, 2007, 00:40:15]