Texas: Continental, mechanic to appeal verdict
HOUSTON (AP) — Continental Airlines will appeal a French court’s verdict that found the carrier and a mechanic guilty of manslaughter in the 2000 crash of an Air France Concorde outside Paris that killed 113 people.
Continental says the carrier strongly disagreed with the “absurd finding.”
The court Monday ruled that Continental must pay a $265,000 fine and Houston-based mechanic John Taylor must pay $2,650. Taylor was also handed a 15-month suspended prison sentence. All other defendants, including Taylor’s now-retired supervisor Stanley Ford, were acquitted.
Taylor, who also plans to appeal, told The Associated Press that “I’ve been nothing but wronged since this started.”
The presiding judge confirmed the long-held belief of investigators that debris dropped by a Continental DC-10 onto the runway at Charles de Gaulle Airport damaged the Air France jet on takeoff.
Massachusetts: Galvin to propose getting court OK for foreclosures
BOSTON (AP) — Secretary of State William Galvin says he plans to submit a bill that would require Massachusetts mortgage lenders to get court approval before foreclosing on homes.
Galvin says he will revive a proposal state lawmakers rejected two years ago because of new questions about the validity of titles for foreclosed properties.
He tells The Boston Globe the issue is hindering the state’s housing market, which is critical in helping the economy recover. He says he proposal will protect homeowners.
Massachusetts is one of 27 states that do not require foreclosures to be reviewed by a judge.
Lenders and some real estate lawyers say mandating judicial approvals would just create another level of bureaucracy that would slow the process and thwart the housing market’s recovery.
Ohio: Police: Dump truck leads cops on 50-mi. chase
STOW, Ohio (AP) — Police in Ohio say a 50-mile pursuit of a stolen dump truck had officers dodging bricks hurled from its window and dodging the truck itself when it suddenly went into reverse.
Police cruiser video shows the truck striking police cars and several civilian vehicles during Saturday’s chase through parts of three northeast Ohio counties.
The Akron Beacon Journal reports authorities have charged a 17-year-old suspect with multiple juvenile court charges including felonious assault with a weapon — namely, the truck.
The pursuit began after the truck was reported stolen in Stow, about 25 miles southeast of Cleveland.
Stow Police Chief Louis Dirker Jr. says one of his cruisers was totaled and two others were damaged. Two officers were treated for bumps.
New Hampshire: Murder defendant wants to block confession details
NASHUA, N.H. (AP) — The second murder defendant in a deadly New Hampshire home invasion is headed to court to try to block prosecutors from using his detailed confession.
Lawyers for 21-year-old Christopher Gribble of Brookline say two investigators improperly told Gribble they were offering him a lifeline if he talked to them. They also say the confession was obtained after Gribble invoked his right to remain silent.
Prosecutors say Gribble motioned an investigator back into the interview room and said he would tell them everything.
Gribble has put the court on notice he will use an insanity defense. His lawyers lost a motion to bar a state psychiatrist from examining him.
Gribble’s trial is scheduled for February.
California: Docs: Slain model was calling 911; killer hung up
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Newly released court documents say an aspiring young model from Santa Monica was calling 911 for help when her killer grabbed the phone and hung up.
The Los Angeles Times says in a Sunday story that prosecutors described the call and other details in unsealed transcripts of October grand jury proceedings against Kelly Soo Park, the 44-year-old charged in the murder of 21-year-old Juliana Redding in 2008.
The transcripts say criminologists found Park’s DNA and fingerprints on Redding and in her apartment.
Prosecutors also describe a violent struggle, and what they called sloppy efforts to destroy evidence.
Redding’s body was found in her Santa Monica apartment. She had moved from Arizona to pursue acting and modeling, landing a small 2005 film role and a photo layout in Maxim magazine.
Missouri: Sheriff’s offices look to recoup medical costs
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Cash-strapped sheriff’s departments in Missouri are looking for ways to cut their expenses, and one of those is to force inmates to pay their own medical costs.
Officials point to a pair of state laws that make people who are incarcerated responsible for paying the costs of physician visits, dental care or medication, either through insurance or by levying against an inmate’s assets.
The Jefferson City News-Tribune reported that Maries County Sheriff Chris Heitman recently filed a lawsuit over inmates’ failure to pay those expenses. It’s not clear if other sheriffs will file lawsuits of their own, but many say they will make sure those staying in their jails will pay for such care.
“This has been costing the taxpayers money for years, and I feel it is time we try and get some of our money back,” Heitman said. “We’re a rural county, and every dollar counts.”
Callaway County Sheriff Dennis Crane said his department budgets $170,000 for medical care of prisoners. Cole County Sheriff Greg White said his budget for prisoner medical care is nearly $102,000.
“We don’t take a lot of people to the hospital,” White said, “but we maintain good relationships with the hospitals in case we do have to use their services.”
Crane said his office has started showing doctors there are state laws addressing the responsibilities of prisoners to pay for medical expenses.
“Taking care of people at a jail is a big expense and will keep rising every year,” he said. “About five years ago, we contracted with a medical provider to have an RN practitioner on site through the week to cut down on expense. A lot of these folks will take medicine and medication not necessarily needed, in other words, feel-good medicine. We need to make sure we’re not giving them something just because they want it.”
Heitman said he has gotten positive response from other sheriffs for taking a tough stance on prisoners who shirk their responsibility, and he plans to go to court on a couple other cases.
