Ex-EMT in Texas pleads not guilty to charges

WACO, Texas (AP) — A first responder who helped evacuate people ahead of a deadly explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a charge he possessed bomb-making materials.

Bryce Reed was arrested last week and indicted Tuesday on a charge of possessing an unregistered firearm. Authorities have not announced any link between Reed and the April 17 blast in West, Texas, which killed 14 people.

Federal investigators allege Reed had materials for a pipe bomb that he gave to someone else. An agent from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives wrote in a court filing that other investigators told him Reed admitted to having the bomb parts.

Reed's attorney, Jonathan Sibley, said that he agreed with prosecutors to postpone a previously scheduled detention hearing, but would not comment on why. Reed remains in custody.

"We dispute the allegations against him," Sibley told reporters outside the federal courthouse in Waco, about 15 miles south of West.

He also called on federal authorities either to present evidence connecting Reed to the explosion or to say he wasn't connected. The McLennan County Sheriff's Office said Friday that no evidence suggesting a link has been found so far.

"If they have something, let's hear it," Sibley said. "If they don't, let's hear it."

ATF and the Texas State Fire Marshal's Office are scheduled to release findings of their month-long investigation Thursday afternoon.

"The investigation is ongoing and it would be premature to speculate at this time," ATF spokeswoman Franceska Perot said Wednesday.

Reed's trial was scheduled to begin July 15.

Reed became a well-known media figure after the explosion, talking at length about his relationship with Cyrus Reed, a first responder killed in the blast. Although the two weren't related, Bryce Reed frequently referred to Cyrus as his "brother" during interviews and an emotional video played during the memorial for dead first responders at Baylor University.

"My brother and all those who lay with him are heroes now and forever," Bryce Reed said.

However, Cyrus Reed's family members have since said they believe that Bryce Reed wasn't as close to Cyrus as he let on and may have been using the similarity in their names to increase his public profile.

In brief comments to The Associated Press on Tuesday, Cyrus Reed's mother, Lucy Reed, said the family met Bryce for the first time at the April 25 memorial.

"No comment except Bryce is not my son," she said.

Although Reed portrayed himself as a West EMT in the Baylor video and other public appearances after the explosion, he was in fact dismissed two days after the blast, records show.

Questions also have arisen about Bryce Reed's academic credentials and work history.

At least two of the educational institutions listed by Reed on his LinkedIn profile page — the University of Phoenix and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center — say they have no records of him being enrolled.

In an email to the Texas Department of State Health Services last Friday, Christine Reeves of the Heart of Texas Regional Advisory Council wrote that the West EMS administrator, Tom Marek, "asked that I contact you guys that Bryce Reed does not volunteer for West EMS" and was "let go" on April 19.

Marek declined to comment Wednesday. Reeves told the AP she wasn't informed of a reason for the dismissal.

Reed has been a licensed EMT since 2005 and has worked for at least one other agency, an air ambulance service, state records show. No complaints have been lodged against him, and no disciplinary action has been taken, the records show.

Carrie Williams, the spokeswoman for the Texas Department of State Health Services, said the agency initiated an investigation into Reed's license as a result of his arrest. Such investigations are standard procedure when the department learns that an EMT is charged with a felony, she said.

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Robbins reported from Dallas.

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Texas paramedic pleads not guilty to pipe bomb charge

By Lisa Maria Garza

WACO, Texas (Reuters) - A Texas paramedic who responded to a fertilizer plant explosion last month pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to possessing pipe bomb components, his lawyer said, after agreeing to postpone his detention hearing.

A hearing for Bryce Reed scheduled for Wednesday afternoon in Waco was canceled, Daryl Fields, a public affairs officer for the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Western District of Texas, said in a statement.

Reed, 31, faces one count of unlawfully possessing an unregistered destructive device, and faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in Waco on Tuesday, Fields said.

Reed entered a plea of not guilty, said his lawyer, Jonathan Sibley.

Lawyers for the prosecution and defense agreed on Wednesday that Reed would postpone his detention hearing, waive his arraignment, enter a not guilty plea and remain in federal custody, Fields said.

Reed was among the first to respond to the April 17 fertilizer plant explosion that killed 14 people and injured about 200 in the town of West. Texas officials on Friday announced a criminal probe into the blast.

The McLennan County Sheriff's office said last week that no evidence linked Reed's arrest to the plant disaster, and the U.S. attorney's office said last week that authorities would not speculate on whether there was any connection.

Sibley told reporters on Wednesday that he is frustrated that federal officials have not said definitively that Reed's arrest is not connected to the explosion.

STRONGER STATEMENT

"There needs to be a stronger statement from federal agencies who said they won't speculate," he said outside the federal courthouse in Waco. "It's unfair because there's no evidence linking him to what happened in West on April 17."

Federal prosecutors said in court papers on Friday that authorities had found a section of pipe 3-1/2 inches long and 1-1/2 inches in diameter, end caps, fuses and explosive powder this month at a home in Abbott, Texas, a town near West.

They said the resident of that home, whom they did not identify, told police the components came from Reed, who was arrested on Thursday.

"We haven't even had a chance to see the proof yet," Sibley said. "I don't think there's any evidence showing he's a danger to the community."

Reed was a volunteer emergency medical technician but was relieved of his role on April 19, two days after the blast, according to an email sent to the Texas Department of State Health Services on Friday by an administrator for West's emergency medical services.

Reed had no history of complaints or disciplinary action filed against him with the state, said Carrie Williams, a spokeswoman for the health services department. No reason was given in the email for his dismissal.

Reed faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

Investigators are expected to announce on Thursday the results of a probe into what caused the explosion, a state agency said on Tuesday.

The State Fire Marshal's Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives will release the findings of their joint investigation at a news conference, according to a news release from the fire marshal's office.

(Editing by Corrie MacLaggan, Bob Burgdorfer, Gary Hill, Kevin Gray and Mohammad Zargham)

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Friend of ex-KPMG auditor pleads guilty in insider case

By Emily Flitter

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The California jeweler who gave a former KPMG auditor cash, an expensive watch and concert tickets in exchange for inside information about public companies agreed on Monday to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, according to court papers.

Bryan Shaw, the jeweler who took tips on Herbalife , Skechers and other companies from his one-time golfing buddy Scott London, agreed to pay around $1.3 million in restitution and will continue to cooperate with the government as part of a plea deal with federal prosecutors, according to the documents.

Shaw is expected to appear in federal court later this week to formally enter the plea. His lawyer, Nathan Hochman, a partner at Bingham McCutchen in Los Angeles, did not respond to a request for comment.

London, whose 29-year career at KPMG ended in his firing and arrest last month, had served as the head of the accounting firm's audit practice in Los Angeles.

"These two men were close friends who shared dinners, concerts, sporting events and secret information that brought profits to each of them," André Birotte Jr., the U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, said.

"London provided, and Shaw was all too happy to use, proprietary information that should have remained confidential."

According to information filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office, London gave Shaw insider tips and trading advice about five public companies over a two-year period. In return, Shaw gave London thousands of dollars in cash, a Rolex watch and tickets to a Bruce Springsteen concert, among other things.

When federal investigators caught up with Shaw, who had traded on some of the tips, he agreed to cooperate with them.

Shaw recorded phone conversations in which he and London discussed trading on non-public information from the companies whose audits London oversaw. As agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation watched, Shaw met with London in a parking lot to hand him an envelope full of cash as payment for the tips.

Harland Braun, London's lawyer, did not respond to a request for comment.

In exchange for cooperating with the investigation and pleading guilty, Shaw might get a lighter punishment. Under his plea agreement, the government said that as long as prosecutors are satisfied with Shaw's cooperation, they will recommend a two-level reduction in the offense level that dictates sentencing guidelines.

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office said the maximum sentence for a conspiracy count was five years. He declined to speculate on how much of a sentence reduction Shaw could get.

In addition to Skechers and Herbalife, London is accused of leaking information about Deckers Outdoor Corp. as well as plans for mergers between Pacific Capital Bancorp and Union Bank and RSC Holdings and United Rentals .

When the leaks became public, KPMG resigned as the auditor for Skechers and Herbalife.

A spokesman for KPMG declined to comment.

London's formal arraignment is set for May 17. Braun has said London will plead guilty.

The case is United States v. Bryan Shaw, U.S. District Court, Central District of California.

(Reporting by Emily Flitter; Editing by Leslie Adler)

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Ex-CIA contractor pleads guilty in Colorado assault case

DENVER (Reuters) - A former CIA contractor who triggered an international incident in 2011 when he killed two men in Pakistan pleaded guilty on Friday to assaulting a Colorado man in a dispute over a parking spot, prosecutors said.

Raymond Allen Davis entered the plea in Douglas County District Court to misdemeanor third-degree assault and received a two-year probationary sentence, said Lisa Pinto, spokeswoman for the district attorney's office.

Pinto said Davis was also ordered to take anger management classes and write a letter of apology to the victim, Jeff Maes.

Davis, 38, was originally charged with second-degree felony assault in the altercation with Maes in the Denver suburb of Highlands Ranch in October 2011.

Officers were sent to a bagel store parking lot on reports of a fight between the two men, according to Douglas County Sheriff's spokesman Ron Hanavan.

Police said Davis started the fight and knocked Maes to the ground. He was arrested at the scene.

Maes has filed a civil lawsuit against Davis, saying he suffered two fractured vertebrae in the fight, along with emotional distress.

A U.S. Army veteran and former special forces soldier, Davis made international headlines when he shot and killed two men whom he said were trying to rob him in the eastern Pakistan city of Lahore in January 2011.

Davis, who was working in Pakistan at the time under a CIA contract with Xe Services, the controversial private security firm formerly known as Blackwater, said he acted in self-defense.

He was acquitted of murder and allowed to leave Pakistan after a $2.3 million payment was made to the men's families.

Then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said at the time that the U.S. government did not pay the "blood money" but would not reveal who did.

(Editing by Dan Whitcomb and Xavier Briand)

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Syrian rebel chief pleads for weapons

BEIRUT (AP) — The chief of Syrian rebel forces says his fighters are in "desperate" need of weapons rather than food supplies and bandages that the U.S. now plans to provide.

The Obama administration says it will — for the first time — provide non-lethal aid directly to rebels, and announced an additional $60 million in assistance to the political opposition fighting to topple President Bashar Assad's regime.

But Gen. Salim Idris, chief of staff of the Syrian opposition's Supreme Military Council, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview on Friday that the modest package of aid to rebels — comprising an undetermined amount of food rations and medical supplies — will not help them win against Assad's forces who have superior air power.

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