A Lansing man has admitted to the 2008 strangulation of the 77-year-old woman who had raised him since he was 2.

Anthony Duane Thomas pleaded guilty but mentally ill to a second-degree murder charge in the killing of Ruby Thomas.

The 21-year-old said during the hearing Wednesday in Ingham County Circuit Court that he strangled his adoptive mother in her home on Aug. 4, 2008.

As part of an agreement with prosecutors, Thomas is expected to be sentenced to 13{ to 23 years in prison.

A former art dealer earlier convicted of tax fraud duped investors out of $6 million and used the money to buy cars, antique Japanese swords and valuable works of art, a prosecutor said during opening statements as the man's trial began in federal court Wednesday.

Rocco DeSimone has pleaded not guilty to mail fraud charges in the case. His defense attorneys declined to deliver an opening statement. But they wrote in a pre-trial court filing that they plan to argue that DeSimone's business dealings relied on information provided by his accountant, Ronald Rodrigues, who also had a financial interest in those dealings.

John McAdams, an assistant U.S. Attorney, told a jury in U.S. District Court in Providence that DeSimone convinced acquaintances and friends of friends to invest in inventions he said major international companies, such as Nintendo and Sony, had offered to buy for millions of dollars.

A Southern California nursery has gone to court in a bid to grow medical marijuana.

Route 66 Nursery, which has been denied an Upland business license because the city zoning ordinance doesn't allow medical marijuana dispensaries, filed a Superior Court petition on Feb. 4 in its attempt to operate the pot growing facility.

Nursery operator Van Ton's license request describes the business activity as "plants, flowers, gardening, supplies and Proposition 215."

The San Bernardino County Sun says the nursery claims it's not a pot dispensary, but rather a private plant nursery where qualified medical marijuana patients can obtain a plot of land to grow the weed.

Route 66 Nursery wants a court injunction preventing the city from enforcing its ordinance.

A Beverly Hills defense attorney has been sentenced to three months in jail for smuggling heroin into a downtown Los Angeles courthouse.
Los Angeles County prosecutors say 48-year-old Michael Inman was sentenced Monday after pleading no contest to a single count of bringing drugs into a jail. Under a plea deal, three other charges were dropped. Inman also agreed to have the State Bar place him on inactive status.

Inman was arrested last June after sheriff's deputies discovered a baggie of heroin in a secure area at the Foltz Criminal Justice Center where only Inman was waiting.

Inman had entered a secure lock-up to visit two clients who were charged with burglary and receiving stolen property.

Karen Honeycutt entered the plea Monday to charges that include second-degree murder and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. She faces 22 years to life in prison if convicted.

Prosecutors say the 41-year-old Temecula woman was drunk and doing up to 100 mph when her Jeep Grand Cherokee smashed into a light pole in Temecula last month.

Her daughter, Chloe, wasn't wearing a seat belt and was hurled from the car. Honeycutt and her two sons also were injured.

Honeycutt has four previous DUI convictions in San Diego County.

Defense attorney Leah Kisner told the Riverside Press-Enterprise that the case was not cut and dry but declined further comment.

Former Ohio State quarterback Art Schlichter, whose NFL career was derailed by a gambling addiction, was charged Monday with stealing more than $1 million from a 68-year-old woman in suburban Columbus.

Schlichter has offered to cooperate with an ongoing police investigation into the sale of Ohio State football tickets and 2011 Super Bowl tickets, according to Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien, who didn't provide details on how the theft charge was related to the ticket investigation.

Schlichter, 50, was charged in Franklin County Municipal Court with one count of theft alleging he stole more than $1 million from the woman in suburban Dublin by deceiving her about the reason he took the money.

He took the money in cash, checks and credit card charges, according to the charge, which could also involve higher penalties because the woman is considered elderly under Ohio law. More charges are also likely against Schlichter, probably in federal court, his attorney said Monday without offering details.