Twenty-one-year-old Santa Barbaran Avi Gross-Schaefer was killed by an alleged drunken driver last week on the streets of Providence, Rhode Island. A freshman at Brown University, Schaefer—son of Rabbi Arthur Gross-Schaefer—was killed on the morning of 2/12 while crossing the street with a fellow student. He was pronounced dead at Rhode Island Hospital a short time later while his fellow victim, Marika Baltscheffsky, was treated for “serious injuries” and eventually released. Gross-Schaefer had just started his time at Brown after serving a three-year stint with the Israel Defense Force.
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The District Attorney’s office will not be pursuing the death penalty for Corey Lyons, accused of murdering his brother and sister-in-law, prosecutor Gordon Auchincloss said. The decision was guided by a reading of the state Penal Code with respect to aggravated circumstances, he explained, but also after consulting with the families of the victims, many of whom are also related to the defendant. Lyons was supposed to settle a civil suit with his brother the morning he allegedly shot and killed the couple in their Mesa home. His trial is slated for April.
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Jon Peters, 46, pleaded guilty on 2/9 to a felony hit-and-run charge and admitted he reoffended within five years of a previous prison term, leading to a sentence of five years in state prison. A van Peters was driving struck and killed two pedestrians as they crossed Las Positas Road on 1/16. Though not negligent in the collision, Peters fled and was caught later that night using a license plate number and a monitoring bracelet he was wearing because of his parole status. At his sentencing, Peters expressed his regret for leaving the scene.