Mo. woman pleads guilty in exported vehicle scheme

A Missouri woman who prosecutors say played a central role in a scheme to buy more than 300 vehicles with phony titles and improperly export them has pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud.

Patrice Robertson pleaded guilty Tuesday as part of a plea agreement. She ran the vehicle brokerage in Chillicothe, Mo., that improperly bought the vehicles for export.

Earlier this month, a former Omaha car salesman and the owner of a Kansas trucking company were both charged with 11 counts of wire fraud and one conspiracy charge.

Authorities say the three purchased roughly 342 vehicles fraudulently from at least six different dealerships in Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri and Ohio.

The Nebraska State Patrol launched the investigation in 2006 after several Hummers ostensibly to local buyers weren’t registered in the state.

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NJ court orders changes to witness ID evidence

New Jersey’s highest court has ordered changes to the way eyewitness identifications are used in court, saying the current system is not reliable enough.

The state Supreme Court found that the current process doesn’t deter police misconduct and overstates the jury’s ability to evaluate identification evidence.

Currently, a defendant has the burden of proving there was undue suggestion during the identification process. That will stay the same.

But the court on Wednesday ordered a pretrial hearing when a defendant can show some evidence of suggestiveness by police. The court also says juries should hear a better explanation of the potential flaws with eyewitness identifications. The new rules will apply to future cases.

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