California

Peterson defense says prosecution waffled

Prosecutors failed to prove that Scott Peterson murdered his pregnant wife, Laci, and were telling jurors, “don’t bother with the five months of evidence,” a defense attorney said Tuesday.

As the defense closing argument got under way, Mark Geragos told jurors that prosecutors portrayed Peterson as a “jerk and a liar” but had not shown him to be guilty.

Geragos accused authorities of waffling on their theory of the crime, first claiming Peterson’s affair with Amber Frey was his motive for murder, and later pointing to Peterson’s desire to be free from marriage.

“Nobody was going to kill Laci Peterson and her child for Amber Frey,” Geragos said.

The jurors could begin deliberations as early as today.

Prosecutors claim Peterson killed his wife on Dec. 23 or 24, 2002, then dumped her body into San Francisco Bay.

Washington, D.C.

Deputy U.S. marshal charged with murder

A deputy U.S. marshal who shot and killed a Navy seaman after a traffic dispute last week in Montgomery County, Md., was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder and other offenses, authorities said.

Arthur Lloyd, 53, of Silver Spring, Md., was arrested by Montgomery police Tuesday in the shooting of Ryan Stowers, 20. Lloyd has been a member of the U.S. Marshals Service for 28 years.

When the incident began, Lloyd, who was off-duty, was driving a sport utility vehicle, and Stowers was driving a Chevrolet Camaro shortly before 8:30 p.m. Thursday when they pulled off Rockville Pike and into the parking lot of Mid-Pike Plaza, according to police and witnesses. They said the two got out of their vehicles, then had an argument and a fistfight. At least four shots were fired, one of which proved fatal for Stowers, who had returned to his car and called 911.

Washington, D.C.

FDA warns against sex enhancement drugs

The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday warned consumers not to buy or use Actra-Rx or Yilishen because the supplements contain an ingredient that could lower blood pressure to unsafe levels.

The FDA also instructed employees to block imports of the supplements, calling them “dangerous … and even life-threatening.”

Actra-Rx and Yilishen are promoted on Web sites as erectile dysfunction treatments that enhance men’s sexual performance.

Despite an all-natural label, Actra-Rx capsules contain prescription-strength levels of sildenafil, the active drug ingredient in Viagra, according to a letter published in the Journal of the American Medical Assn.