National Roundup

New Mexico
Woman sues over use of her photo on novelty flask
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico woman is suing a novelty products maker over a flask that includes her likeness and the phrase, “I’m going to be the most popular girl in rehab.”
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports Veronica Vigil alleges in her in federal court that Anne Taintor Inc. obtained and used her high school graduation picture from 1970 without her permission.
The lawsuit says the Brooklyn, New York-based company then defamed Vigil by linking her image to a product that makes light of substance abuse.
Court documents say the Chimayo, New Mexico, resident is an active church member and doesn’t consume alcohol or drugs.
The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount of compensatory and punitive damages.
A spokeswoman for Anne Taintor Inc. said the company does not comment on pending litigation.

Pennsylvania
Cops: Dad cut dreadlocks off daughter’s friend
READING, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania father is apologizing after police say he pulled his daughter’s male friend by the hair and chopped off his dreadlocks with a knife.
Reginald Hardy was charged with aggravated assault, terroristic threats and other offenses after police say he saw the 19-year-old sneaking around his apartment Friday with his 17-year-old daughter.
Police say the 38-year-old Hardy punched the 19-year-old in the face and threatened to shoot him in the back if he ran away as he left.
Hardy tells WFMZ-TV he was only looking out for his daughter. He says her friend was disrespectful to him and shouldn’t have been at the apartment.
Police say Hardy cooperated with the investigation. He’s free on $50,000 unsecured bail.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 12.

Wisconsin
Steelworker gets 20-year sentence in woman’s death
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A judge has sentenced a Massachusetts steelworker to two decades in prison in connection with his former girlfriend’s death.
Dane County Circuit Judge John Markson ordered 40-year-old Phillip Byrd to spend 20 years behind bars and eight years on extended supervision during an emotional hearing Tuesday. Byrd pleaded guilty in July to one count of second-degree intentional homicide and faced a maximum sentence of 60 years in the prison system.
He told Markson that he deserved to be punished.
Sheriff’s deputies discovered Cheryl Gilberg dead in her Mazomanie home in February. Investigators arrested Byrd in Janesville the next day. According to court documents, he told investigators he and Gilberg got into a fight and her gun went off twice during the struggle.

Iowa
Man in custody on LSD charges from 20 years ago
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa man who fled authorities in 1994 while facing LSD charges is back in custody more than 20 years later.
Court records show the U.S. Marshals Service took 49-year-old Matthew Samuel West into custody Dec. 27. The former fugitive wanted by the FBI is being held at the Linn County Jail.
West once owned a Cedar Rapids tie-dye shop, played in a band and sold shirts at Grateful Dead concerts. He had faced an arrest warrant since April 1994 after skipping a court hearing.
A jury convicted West in 1992 of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute LSD. Additional drug and money laundering charges were pending against him.
West fled while free during his appeal, before a hearing on whether his pretrial release should be revoked.

Arizona
Ex-teacher gets 20 years on child-sex charges
PHOENIX (AP) — A former physical education teacher in Phoenix who was accused of sexual misconduct with a female student has been sentenced to 20 years in prison and lifetime supervisor probation.
A Maricopa County Superior Court spokesman says 38-year-old Nicole Wooten was sentenced Tuesday by Judge Sherry Stephens.
Wooden on Dec. 1 pleaded guilty to charges of attempted child molestation, sexual conduct with a minor and attempted sexual conduct with a minor.
Authorities say the victim was an eighth-grader at the Herrera School of Fine Arts & Dual Language in Phoenix in 2005 at the time of the alleged sexual misconduct.
Authorities say the charges stemmed from incidents that occurred at Wooten’s home in Mesa.

Pennsylvania
Drunk teacher who crashed into teens gets prison
SUNBURY, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania teacher who drunkenly drove into five teenagers as they walked and biked near a school has been sentenced to two to five years in state prison.
Victor Swaboski III apologized in court Monday for the March 2012 hit-and-run that left one teen with a fractured pelvis that required plates and screws.
Four of the victims attended the hearing and said the sentence was lenient.
The 41-year-old Swaboski pleaded guilty in October to aggravated assault by motor vehicle while driving under the influence and other offenses.
Police say Swaboski’s blood-alcohol content level was nearly three times the legal limit when he struck the teens and dragged a bicycle.
Police found him in the woods a half-mile away.
Swaboski later resigned from teaching elementary school in the Shamokin Area district.

Kansas
Settlement prospects dim in wheat lawsuits 
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — No agreement has been reached yet on the settlement of remaining claims in lawsuits over the May 2013 discovery of genetically engineered Monsanto wheat in an Oregon field.
U.S. District Judge Kathryn H. Vratil on Tuesday set a status conference for Jan. 29 in federal court in Kansas City, Kansas.
A joint status report filed Monday says the parties have been exchanging settlement offers. The report also said the last offer from non-soft white wheat plaintiffs is under consideration by St. Louis-based Monsanto Co. The lawsuits from across the country have been consolidated in Kansas.
The filing says the parties will discuss an amicable resolution but urges the court to vacate its earlier order staying proceedings.
The parties want the court to address Monsanto’s motions seeking to dismiss the cases.