Alabama trial delayed for New Orleans man in monument theft

SELMA, Ala. (AP) - A judge has delayed the trial of a New Orleans man charged with stealing a chair-shaped Confederate monument from an Alabama cemetery in a bizarre ransom scheme.

Jason Warnick had been scheduled to stand trial next month in Selma on charges of theft and receiving stolen property. But a judge recently rescheduled the case until May 9 at the request of the defense.

The case began last spring when news outlets began receiving emails with an unusual ransom demand involving a chair-shaped monument honoring Confederate President Jefferson Davis.

Warnick and two others were arrested, and the chair has since been returned.