KJ ATA7C n "1 C 'f" Associated Press
IMCWS U IgCSt Edited by Bob Nelson
Survey indicates nearly two-thirds
of felony arrests don’t lead to prison
WASHINGTON — Nearly two
thirds of the people arrested on felony
charges in 11 states, including Ne
braska, did not go to jail, according to
a Justice Department survey released
Sunday.
The survey by the Bureau of Justice
Statistics of 532,000 felony arrests
shows 84 percent led to prosecution
and 62 percent brought convictions.
Only 36 percent resulted in jail or
prison terms. The survey covered fel
ony cases resolved during 1984.
Convicted offenders who were not
jailed received sentences such as pro
bation, fines or mandatory commu
nity service, the bureau reported.
States surveyed accounted for
about 37 percent of all reported crimes
in the United States, said Steven R.
Schlesingcr, bureau director. Those
states, which represent about 38 per
cent of the nation’s population, were
Alaska, California, Delaware, Geor
gia, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska,
New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and
Virginia.
“These statistics are not necessar
ily typical of felony cases in the rest of
the country,” Schlesingcr cautioned.
He said future surveys would cover
more states and give a “clearer picture
of what is happening nationwide.”
The data is cased on statistics pro
vided by state governments, officials
said. No identical statistics were
available for comparison with previ
ous.
The survey, “Tracking Offenders,
1984,” also provided a breakdown
between blacks and whites and cov
ered the length of sentences for vari
ous levels crime.
It said about 63 percent of those
arrested where white and 37 percent
were black. Those classified as other
races accounted for less than 1 percent
of the reported crimes, the survey said.
Blacks were charged with 48 per
cent of the violent felonies in the
survey and 35 percent of the drug
cases. The highest rate of prosecu
tions, 90 percent, came in public-or
der felony cases, such as weapons
violations, vice cases and parole vio
lations; the lowest, 78 percent, was for
drug offenses, the survey said.
It said that of those convicted of a
violent felony, 36 percent did not go to
jail, 31 percent were sentenced to one
year or less in jail and 34 percent
received sentences of longer than one
year.
Felonies are typically crimes that
carry sentences of one year or more in
jail or prison, although state laws vary.
Judges often reduce sentences de
pending on circumstances, and first
time offenders arc often spared jail
terms.
Mother charged as accessory in murder
COLUMBUS — The mother of
Terry M. Kuntzelman, charged with
first-degree murder in his wife’s
death, has been charged with being an
accessory after the fact to first-degree
murder, Columbus Police Chief
David Purdy said.
Melba Kuntzelman was charged
because authorities believe she with
held information that might have re
solved the case, Purdy said.
“Because she (allegedly) withheld
information, Terry was allowed to get
away,” he said.
Melba Kuntzelman was arrested
on the felony charge Friday night. She
was later freed, Purdy said, but he did
not know what bond arrangements
were made.
The accessory charge carries a
maximum sentence of five years in
prison, a $10,000 fine or both, Purdy
said.
Authorities continue to search for
the 29-year-old Kunlzclman, who is
charged with first-degree murder. He
was last seen Tuesday in Columbus.
His wife’s body was found in an appli
ance box in the couple’s house Wed
nesday night.
There are no new clues to
Kuntzelman’s whereabouts and the
leads authorities have are old, Purdy
said.
“He could be anywhere by now,”
the chief said.
Police will seize records of Terry
and Hazel Kuntzelman’s bank ac
counts at two Columbus banks when
they open Tuesday, Purdy said.
Knowing how much money
Kuntzclman took from the accounts
will help investigators estimate how
long that money will last, Purdy said.
. Sandinistas call support a ‘historic error'
Ortega to take tough measures
if aid to Contra rebels approved
MANAGUA, Nicaragua —
President Daniel Ortega suggested
Monday that his Sandinista gov
ernment would take tough meas
ures if the U.S. Congress approved
new aid for the Contra rebels.
His comments came after the
Sandinista government released
seven opposition leaders Monday
and he promised over the weekend
to restore civil liberties. The Inte
rior Ministry said the seven, ar
rested over the weekend, had been
accused of plotting actions with the
Contra rebels.
Ortega, in a rally in Ciudad
Dario, 55 miles northeast of the
capital, said approval of more U.S.
aid to the rebels “would give the
Nicaraguan government a free
hand to lake the necessary meas
ures to defend the sovereignty,
self-determination and independ
ence of our country.”
He did not provide details, but
said more aid would be “a historic
error by the United States and the
American Congress.”
The While House said Sunday
that President Reagan will request
more aid for the rebels despite
Ortega’s announcements.
The administration had post
poned plans to ask Congress for
S270 million for an 18-month pe
riod for the Contras when con
gressmen said it would interfere
with a regional peace plan.
Ortega announced the talks and
restoration of civil liberties Satur
day in a meeting with the presi
dents of El Salvador, Costa Rica,
Guatemala and Honduras to dis
cuss the peace plan.
Nicaragua’s slate of emer
gency, first declared in March
1982, suspends the right to demon
strate, strike, move about the coun
try freely and receive a speedy
trial. It also allows police to make
arrests without a court order.
The Sandinistas earlier had said
they would lift the stale of emer
gency only when the United States
halted aid to the Contras.
State Department official dismisses
Ortega peace concessions as ploys
WASHINGTON — A top State
Department official dismissed on
Monday peace concessions by
Nicaragua’s leftist government as
a ploy to defeat an upcoming con
gressional vote on additional aid to
the Contra rebels.
But Nicaragua’s vice president
said any renewal of U.S. aid to the
Contras could “kill the peace proc
ess” in Central America.
Even though Monday was a
federal holiday, high-level meet
ings were being held as officials
sought to assess the latest develop
ments and to determine how much
additional assistance for the Con
tras should be sought.
Assistant Secretary of State
Elliott Abrams said Nicaraguan
officials cannot be trusted to im
plement the promises they made
during the weekend summit meet
ing of Central American leaders in
Costa Rica.
“They could have done this
anytime over the last eight years,"
Abrams said. “Two weeks before
the vole on Capitol Hill, they make
more promises. It seems very clear
the purpose is to win that vote.”
To the extent that Nicaragua has
shown an interest in a negotiated
settlement, it is the result of mili
tary pressure applied by the Con
tras, Abrams said, suggesting that
ending Contra aid would give the
Sandanistas no incentive to con
tinue the peace process
The administration will make a
formal request to the Congress for
more aid on Jan. 26. Both the
amount and the lime frame for the
aid are still undecided, according
to administration officials. A
House vole is set for Feb. 3 and the
Senate will follow on Feb. 4.
Nicaraguan Vice President Ser
gio Ramirez acknowledged Mon
day that the new steps announced
Saturday night by President Daniel
Ortega were aimed partly at influ
encing the Congress to reflect more
Contra aid.
"I think it is a legitimate thing to
try to influence the criterion of the
Congress of the United States to try
to stop the war in Central Amer
ica," Ramirez said.
Leader of army rebellion surrenders in Argentina
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina—About 2,000 loyal soldiers stormed
an army compound Monday and forced the surrender of a rebel colonel
who had held the camp for three days with the support of 100 followers,
officials reported.
The surrender after a three-hour battle at the Monte Caseros camp in
northeastern Argentina ended a military crisis that began when Lt. Col.
Alco Rico, who also led a rebellion last April, escaped from house arrest
Friday shortly before he was to be taken to prison.
Rico, 43, turned himself over to the loyalist troops of the Third
Infantry Brigade, said Gen. Humberto Ferrucci,commanderof the Fifth
Army Corps.
Jose Ignacio Lopez, spokesman for President Raul Alfonsin, said
Rico was put in the custody of Gen. Ramon Madragana in Regiment 4,
the unit in which he led the rebellion.
%
Police fry to re-establish contact with polygamists
MARION, Utah — More than 150 officers wearing fatigues and
packing automatic weapons ringed the compound of a slain rebel
polygamist Monday as 14 relatives, including a suspect in a church
bombing, holed up for a third day awaiting his “resurrection.”
Relatives and authorities said Addam Swapp and 13 family mem
bers, including six children, were armed as they wailed in a log house
belonging to Vickie Singer. Singer was one of two widows left by John
Singer when he was gunned down by police nine years ago Monday.
Officers surrounded the homestead early Saturday after an explosion
ripped through the Mormon church’s Marion Stake Center a half mile
away, causing an estimated SI million damage.
“We just want to talk to them as possible suspects in this case,” said
FBI Special Agent Cal Clegg. “The reason we don’t walk away is that
there is a fear in the community, and if they indeed did this, then their
concerns are legitimate.”
Du Pont denies top aide involved in forgery
HOUSTON — Republican Pete du Pont’s campaign denied charges
on Monday that a top aide authorized primary ballot petition forgeries
in Texas, as other presidential candidates took advantage of the Martin
Luther King holiday to meet crowds paying tribute to the slain civil
rights leader.
Democrat Gary Hart walked the streets of King’s hometown of
Albany, Ga., and Vice President George Bush joined 200 youngsters in
King day ceremonies at a grade school in Des Moines, Iowa.
In Texas, the father of a fired du Pont campaign worker implicated
the candidate’s national political director, Tim Hyde, in the scandal over
the forgery of signatures on petitions to place du Pont’s name on the
Krimary ballot. The father, Guy Robertson, told The Houston Post he
ad a tape recording linking Hyde to the forgeries although Robertson
refused to turn it over to the newspaper.
Bob Kerrey says Liz Karnes letter contains untruths
Former Gov. Bob Kerrey denied an allegation by the wife of Sen.
David Karnes that Kerrey was recruited by libera! Democrats to topple
her Republican husband id the 1988 U.S. Senate race.
In a letter to the Omaha World Herald, Kerrey said he was respond ing
to a fund-raising letter sent by Liz Karnes to 18,500 Nebraskans because
he was mentioned in it eight times.
He said his letter was seeking “todefend against the unfair and untrue
things said in her fund-raising appeal.”
“At first, the form of the letter and some of the th ings said in it caused
me to wonder if even Liz was aware of its contents,” Kerrey wrote.
In her letter, Mrs. Karnes wrote: “The same liberal Democrats ... ,
have targeted him (Karnes) for defeat and they have recruited Bob
Kerrey.”
Kerrey said he was encouraged to run by many Nebraskans. “The
decision to become a candidate was mine,” he said.
Difference in fat found
NEW ORLEANS — Newly dis
covered differences in the fat cells of
men and women may help explain
why men often have pot bellies while
women are more likely to have big
hips and thighs, a researcher said
Monday.
Studies conducted at Rockefeller
University in New York found differ
ences between the sexes in both the
makeup and number of these cells.
They show that typically, women
have more fat cells than men do in
their thighs, hips and bottoms. But the
fat cells in men’s bellies arc more
likely than women’s to accumulate
fat.
Learning how to tinker with the
biological controls that rule how fat
cells take in and give up their cargo
could open new ways for making
people slim and healthy.
The latest research, conducted by
Dr. Rudolph L. Leibel, was presented
at a meeting of the American Heart
Association.
Libertarian Presidential candidate
Ron Paul was scheduled to speak at
the Common Place, not the Centen
nial Ballroom (DN, Jan 18). The DN
regrets the error.
Nebraskan
Editor Mike Reilley
472 1766
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Editorial
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Scott Harrah
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General Manager Daniel Shattil
Production Manager Katherine Policky
Advertising
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Asst Advertising
Manager Bob Bates
Publications Board
Chairman Oon Johnson.
472 3611
Professional Adviser Don Walton. 473 7301
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