Tennessee man, girlfriend charged in quadruple murder

NASHVILLE, Tenn. –  A grand jury on Friday indicted a man and his girlfriend on murder charges in the shooting deaths of a woman and three teenagers in what prosecutors called a robbery during a pot deal in a former mountain resort in eastern Tennessee.

The Cumberland County grand jury indicted Jacob Allen Bennett, 26, and Lina Yvonn Moser, 25, on four felony murder and two attempted aggravated robbery charges. Bennett, who is accused of being the gunman, was also charged with four counts of premeditated murder, which means prosecutors could pursue the death penalty.

"There was some conscious reflection and decision made to execute these individuals," Deputy District Attorney General Gary McKenzie said in a phone interview.

Both Bennett and Moser are being held without bond.

Bennett said during his arraignment that he wanted to plead guilty, but the judge instead assigned attorneys to both defendants and scheduled the next hearing for Oct. 3, WATE-TV reported.

Bennett's appointed attorney, Kevin Marlow, did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Moser's attorney, Kevin Bryant, declined to comment.

Bennett and Moser are accused of trying to rob two of the victims, 22-year-old Rikki Danielle Jacobsen and 17-year-old Domonic Lewis Davis, during what the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation described as a marijuana exchange. Their bodies were found in a car in the rural Renegade Mountain community on Sept. 12 alongside Steven Michael Presley, 17, and Jonathan Raymond Lajeunesse, 16.

McKenzie said prosecutors may decide by next month's court date whether they will pursue the death penalty for Bennett, or life without the possibility of parole.

Moser's felony murder charges are based on the accusation that the deaths resulted from commission of a separate violent crime.

"The indictment alleges that she participated in the robbery," McKenzie said. "So she's on the hook even if she didn't pull the trigger."

Jacobson's and Davis' bodies were found in a car in the rural Renegade Mountain community on Sept. 12 alongside Steven Michael Presley, 17, and Jonathan Raymond Lajeunesse, 16.

Bennett was arrested on a parole violation in neighboring Rhea County the day after the bodies were found. Moser was arrested Friday at her home in Dayton.

The former resort community is located about 50 miles west of Knoxville. It had controlled access with a gate until 2010, when new owners got rid of it. That move gave rise among some residents about security in the 3,000-acre community

Bennett was previously sentenced to six years in prison in 2010 after pleading guilty to a series of charges in Cumberland and Fentress counties, including being a convicted violent felon in possession of a firearm and theft, according to court records. He was released on parole from the Hardeman County Correctional Facility in March, according to the state Department of Correction.

Bennett had previously been incarcerated in Florida.

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Tennessee musician becomes first to paddleboard to U.S. from Cuba

By Michael Haskins

KEY WEST, Florida (Reuters) - A Tennessee musician on Friday became the first paddleboarder to cross the Florida Straits between Cuba and the United States, making the 110 mile journey in 28 hours as his father watched from a support boat.

Ben Friberg, 35, arrived in Key West dehydrated and exhausted but otherwise in good shape.

Before leaving Cuba on Thursday, Friberg said he was "doing this to promote peace and understanding between Cuba and the United States and to promote a healthy lifestyle."

The guitarist and band leader from Chattanooga stood on his 14-foot-long board for most of the trip, sitting only for quick snacks. The crew of the support boat that accompanied him on the journey included a medic and a navigator.

Friberg was decked out with a long-billed cap for protection from the sun, close-fitting long sleeve shirt, open fingered gloves and shorts cut off below the knee. Special socks shielded his feet.

Last year, Friberg broke the record for the longest distance stand-up paddleboard journey in 24 hours, traveling 238 miles on Canada's Yukon River.

Friberg is believed to be the first person to cross the entire Straits on a paddleboard.

At least two Cubans have made the trip by surfboard. In 1992, Cuban-born doctor Ernesto Barral completed the journey on a wind surfing board in 19 hours, navigating by the stars at night.

In 2011, Miami lifeguard Cynthia Aguilar made the crossing by paddleboard from 14 miles off Cuba's coast. She was unable to set off from dry land because she did not have a Cuban government visa. Unlike Friberg, Aguilar completed the crossing on her knees, using her hands to paddle.

Several swimmers have attempted the journey but only Australian Susan Maroney has succeeded, making the crossing in 1997 with the help of a shark cage.

(Writing by David Adams; Additional reporting by Tom Brown and Marc Frank; Editing by Toni Reinhold)

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