Nation briefs 1/27/06

Judge increases sentence for sex offender

BURLINGTON, Vt. -- A judge who was widely vilified for giving a child molester a 60-day jail term imposed a new sentence Thursday, increasing the man's prison time to three to 10 years. Judge Edward Cashman said he felt he could now impose the longer sentence because the state had agreed to provide treatment to the man while he is behind bars. The state had initially said such treatment would not come until after the man served his time. Mark Hulett, 34, pleaded guilty to charges that he had sexual contact with a girl during a four-year period beginning when she was 6. At the original sentencing, Cashman said the best way to ensure public safety was to get Hulett out of prison so he could receive sex offender treatment. After Cashman announced the initial sentence, Gov. James Douglas called for the judge to resign and several lawmakers suggested he be impeached. In his order Thursday, the judge remained firm in his original belief that sentences must be concerned with more than just punishment.

Gunman seized after 10 1/2-hour standoff

EXETER, Calif. -- Ending a 10 1/2-hour standoff, SWAT officers stormed a bank early Thursday and seized a hold-up man who had taken eight hostages with what turned out to be a pellet gun. The officers moved in after using a pack of Kool cigarettes to trick him into letting go of his last hostage. They left the cigarettes just outside the front door, and when he let the hostage retrieve them, officers pulled her to safety. No injuries were reported. "This is a great ending for everybody involved," sheriff's Lt. Keith Douglas said. Jess Martinez, 47, an unemployed car salesman, was jailed on suspicion of bank robbery and hostage-taking.

Doctor who sold fake Botox receives sentence

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- An Arizona doctor was sentenced to nearly two years in prison Thursday for selling a dangerous bootleg form of Botox to hundreds of physicians. The scheme was discovered during an investigation into four near fatal-poisonings that landed another doctor in prison. "This was all a big mistake, which I so sincerely wish I could undo, but I can't," said Dr. Zahra Karim, 34. Her husband, Dr. Chad Livdahl, also 34, awaited sentencing later Thursday for his part in the plot. The couple pleaded guilty in November to fraud and conspiracy stemming from the shipments of botulism toxin to more than 200 doctors around the country. Investigators said the couple made more than $1.7 million in less than two years.

Corrections officer shot while guarding inmate

HAGERSTOWN, Md. -- A hospitalized inmate grabbed a corrections officer's gun and shot him early Thursday, then ran from the hospital and carjacked a taxi before crashing about 5 miles away, police said. The inmate fled on foot after the crash in State Line, Pa., but was quickly captured. Prison officials said the 44-year-old corrections officer had been shot in the face and was in critical condition. He had been assigned to guard the inmate, who was admitted to Washington County Hospital on Wednesday for an undisclosed condition. The inmate was in handcuffs and leg restraints when he grabbed the officer's gun and shot him in the face around 5 a.m., Maryland Corrections Commissioner Frank Sizer said.

-- From wire reports