New Jersey
Man accused of stealing bulldozer for ride home
HARRISON, N.J. (AP) - Police say a New Jersey man who was drunk stole a bulldozer in order to get a ride home.
Police say 30-year-old Christopher Russell left behind a path of destruction as he tried to maneuver the bulldozer through West Hudson Park. The bulldozer leveled signs, three benches, a tree, a drinking fountain, and left a maze of tracks in the grass.
Harrison Police Capt. Mike Green tells the Jersey Journal that Russell told officers he was cold and was trying to ride home to Newark.
Russell was charged with driving while intoxicated, criminal mischief, leaving the scene of an accident and theft of the bulldozer.
Pennsylvania
State high court weighs case of church-abuse
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Pennsylvania's highest court will review the prosecution of a church official imprisoned over his handling of priest sex-abuse complaints.
Monsignor William Lynn has been on house arrest in a Philadelphia rectory since his conviction was thrown out on appeal last year.
Prosecutors want the state Supreme Court to reinstate it.
The 63-year-old Lynn has served about 18 months of a three- to six-year sentence.
He was the first church official ever convicted over his handling of complaints. Some call him a scapegoat. But the trial judge said he let monsters "destroy the souls of children."
The Supreme Court will consider two issues: whether Lynn can be held responsible for a victim he never met, and whether his actions were part of a larger scheme that put the boy at risk.
Colorado
Relatives of slain woman sue over Denver 911 delay
DENVER (AP) - A Denver woman who was found fatally beaten more than six hours after a neighbor first called 911 for help might have survived if dispatchers had sent police sooner, her family said in a federal lawsuit filed Monday that cites "a pattern of inadequate 911 dispatching."
It took more than an hour for dispatchers to send officers to the home of Loretta Barela, 44, after her neighbor called 911 on Nov. 18, 2012. The neighbor, who told dispatchers she saw a man hitting shirtless Barela and dragging her across the street, called a second time when police had not arrived 45 minutes later. Officers left when there was no response to a knock on her door.
Police found Barela's body after her husband called 911 to say he had killed her. Christopher Perea was later convicted of her murder.
Dispatchers ignored the urgency of the neighbor's calls reporting a life-threatening emergency, according to the lawsuit, which names the city of Denver, four 911 employees and two officers. It says dispatchers repeatedly reset a timer, which delayed sending officers to the scene.
At least one dispatcher resigned pending further discipline in the case, which was among several recent problems at the 911 center.
In April 2012, a 911 caller reporting a threatening situation was told Denver police wouldn't take a report unless he returned to city limits. He returned to Denver and was killed within blocks of the earlier incident.
And this April, Denver police officials blamed their delayed response to a woman who was killed more than 12 minutes into a 911 call on a dispatcher who failed to relay information to officers about the gravity of the situation. Kristine Kirk frantically called 911 saying her husband was hallucinating after eating marijuana-infused candy and was getting a gun from a safe.
The suit says the cases show "a widespread custom or policy of failing to identify and/or prioritize situations involving imminent danger or a life threatening emergency."
City Attorney Scott Martinez said late Monday he had not seen the lawsuit and he could not comment.
Officials made several changes to their response policies after Kirk's killing, including requiring dispatchers to give certain calls, such as those involving weapons, the highest priority. The new rules also give officers more authority to decide how to respond to calls in which a person is in imminent danger.
The lawsuit involving Barela also says the officers, who knocked on the door and shone lights in the house, failed to thoroughly investigate before leaving 18 minutes after they arrived.
California
Trial ordered for 6 football players in man's beating
BROWNSVILLE, Pa. (AP) - Six suspended football players from a state-owned university in western Pennsylvania were ordered Monday to stand trial on allegations that they beat and stomped on a man outside an off-campus restaurant, then yelled "Football strong!" as they drove away.
The California University of Pennsylvania players appeared in court in Washington County on charges of aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, harassment and conspiracy.
Police say the defendants attacked 30-year-old Lewis Campbell III when he tried to stop an argument between his girlfriend and a player early on Oct. 30. The victim was in a medically induced coma afterward but has since been discharged from the hospital.
A surveillance video from a nearby shop shows several men surrounding a person believed to be Campbell who is shoved to the ground. Then another person runs up and kicks him in the head, and the assailants then move out of view of the camera.
Attorneys for the players say Campbell initiated the fight. They sought dismissal of the charges, arguing that Campbell could have left when the argument broke out and that he took off his jacket in an aggressive manner.
The team forfeited its Nov. 1 game, and the players are suspended from school while their criminal charges are pending.
The six defendants are scheduled for formal arraignment on Jan. 26.
Nevada
FBI looking into laws about body parts shipments
LAS VEGAS (AP) - U.S. investigators are trying to determine whether any laws were broken by two American tourists who police say tried to ship preserved human parts from Thailand to Las Vegas.
FBI spokeswoman Bridget Pappas said Monday that investigators are aware that Ryan McPherson and Daniel Tanner were questioned after Bangkok police confiscated the three packages labeled "toys."
Police say they contained body parts including an infant's head, a baby's foot and an adult heart.
The 31-year-old McPherson and 33-year-old Tanner were released. They left Thailand on Sunday and couldn't be reached for comment.
Bangkok police say McPherson told them he thought the items were bizarre and wanted to send them to friends back home.
Efforts to reach family members or representatives in the Las Vegas area have been unsuccessful.
Published: Wed, Nov 19, 2014
