Detained Chinese crew members facing longer stay

Lawyers for the pilot of the ship that struck the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge say there is new evidence raising doubts about the Chinese crew's truthfulness after the incident, but say the crew should be detained as witnesses for several more months. The six crew members have already been held in Northern California as "material witnesses" for eight months while the case against Capt. John Cota plods along. Cota was at the helm of the container ship Cosco Busan last November when it sideswiped a bridge support tower, spilling 53,000 gallons of bunker fuel into the fragile bay. He is charged with two misdemeanor environmental crimes and two felony charges of lying to the U.S. Coast Guard about his medical record. Cota's lawyers argued in court Friday that some or all of the crew members should be held at least until... [read full story]