New York

Crowd attacks arson suspect

A man accused of setting an early morning fire Sunday that killed two young brothers was attacked by a crowd of people before being arrested.

Derrick Garrett was charged with two counts of second-degree murder and one count of second-degree arson in the deaths of the boys, Albany police Detective James Miller said.

Garrett, 36, apparently had an ongoing dispute with the boys’ mother and was spotted near the house just before the fire, police said.

Clayton Wood, 11, and 2-year-old Richie Wilson were in a bedroom in their second-floor apartment when the fire broke out at 3:15 a.m., police said. Firefighters pulled the children from the home, but they died later.

Five other residents escaped the building without serious injury, police said.

A crowd of people later attacked Garrett on the street, and he was treated for injuries at a hospital before being jailed Sunday night without bail, police said.

Jamaica

Sniper suspect’s mom lays blame on U.S.

The mother of teenage sniper suspect Lee Boyd Malvo said she felt responsible for him and was sorry for the shooting victims, but she blamed U.S. authorities for not removing him from the care of fellow suspect John Allen Muhammad.

In a pre-taped interview broadcast Sunday on Jamaican television, Una James, 38, said she felt guilty for leaving her son with Muhammad when she went to the United States to find work.

James, however, said she still blamed police and social workers in Bellingham, Wash., for not removing Malvo from Muhammad’s care when she warned them that he was in danger.

“I was crying to them that my son was in danger, but they didn’t listen,” James said.

Malvo, 18, and Muhammad, 42, allegedly took part in 20 shootings that killed 13 in Virginia, Maryland, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana and Washington, D.C. last year.

Washington, D.C.

Dean announces $6 million raised for campaign

Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean announced Sunday that he had raised more than $6 million in the second quarter of this year, an achievement many of his competitors privately conceded would add new credibility to his insurgent bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.

In an e-mail to supporters, Dean said that over the past eight days — during which he formally announced his candidacy, appeared on “Meet the Press” and came in first in an online straw poll conducted by MoveOn.org — his fund-raising surged with $2.8 million in donations.

In the first quarter of 2003, Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., led the fund-raising race with $7.4 million, but Edwards aides say he will raise substantially less when reports are filed on donations through the end of June. Those reports are due at the Federal Election Commission by July 15.

Dean has been very successful in raising money on the Internet. In his e-mail, he said he had received contributions from 21,000 people.