Nebraska
Man thinks he and son poisoned by meth in coffee
KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) - A Nebraska man believes he and his 2-year-old son were poisoned by a methamphetamine-tainted coffee maker at an Omaha hotel.
Travis and Amber Richard and their children spent Labor Day weekend in Omaha.
He says he used the coffee maker and coffee package in their room on Sept. 6 and began to feel weird within 20 minutes of drinking the coffee.
He says his son also took a sip and got sick on the drive back home to Pleasanton. Both sought medical treatment and are awaiting confirmation from tests.
Omaha police are investigating the incident, but say they doubt the coffee maker was used to make meth. It's unclear whether a trace of the drug was left by someone using the coffee maker to hide meth.
Ohio
Mom accused of decapitating baby competent for trial
CINCINNATI (AP) - A woman accused of decapitating her 3-month-old daughter has been found competent to stand trial and is scheduled for a hearing next month.
Twenty-year-old Deasia (dee-AY'-shuh) Watkins was ordered to a psychiatric center for treatment and evaluation in April. Court documents show the judge has since ruled that Watkins is competent to stand trial on an aggravated murder charge in the March death of 3-month-old Jayniah Watkins.
Watkins' attorney earlier entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. Experts for the defense and prosecution are to report on whether she was legally sane at the time of the slaying.
Police found the baby decapitated in the home of an aunt who was temporarily caring for her. Authorities say the baby had been stabbed and Watkins was in bed, covered with blood.
Virginia
Suspension for students wearing Confederate flag
CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. (AP) - About 20 students at a Virginia high school received a one-day suspension for wearing clothing displaying the Confederate flag.
Montgomery County Public Schools spokeswoman Brenda Drake says the clothing violated Christiansburg High School's dress code.
Drake tells WSLS-TV that the students refused to comply with the dress code after they arrived at the school Thursday. They were given one-day in-school suspensions.
But she says a majority of the students didn't follow in-school suspension rules and were given out of-school suspensions.
Confederate symbols have come under increased public scrutiny since the June 17 massacre of nine black worshippers at a Charleston, South Carolina, church. The man charged had been photographed holding the Confederate battle flag.
Alabama
Probate judge asks not to marry same-sex couples
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - A probate judge has asked the Alabama Supreme Court for an order protecting him and other officials who refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
AL.com reports that Washington County Probate Judge Nick Williams requested the protective order Wednesday afternoon.
Attorney Jack B. Hinton filed the petition on Williams' behalf. Hinton says the action came after Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis was jailed for refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses in accordance with the U.S. Supreme Court decision that effectively legalized gay marriage nationwide.
Lawmakers did not have enough votes Tuesday to pass a proposal to do away with state-issued marriage licenses.
Florida
Cops arrest woman at home filled with 3,500 knives, swords
BROOKSVILLE, Fla. (AP) - Authorities have arrested a Florida woman who they say tried to stab a deputy with a large sword or machete inside a mobile home filled with thousands of knives, swords and bladed instruments.
The Hernando County Sheriff's Office said in a news release that deputies went to Nickole Dykema's home Tuesday night to assist probation and parole officers who were trying to issue felony arrest warrants. Authorities say they fired several bean bag rounds at her after she tried to stab the deputy and refused to surrender.
Authorities said she later armed herself with several weapons and advanced toward deputies. She was arrested nearly five hours later after authorities struck her with a stun gun.
Dykema faces multiple charges. Deputies said they had removed more than 3,500 "bladed instruments" from the home.
California
Teen cannot be blamed for sex with teacher
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The Los Angeles school district was wrong when it argued that a 14-year-old girl shared responsibility for sexual abuse by a teacher because she consented to the sex, a California appeals court said Wednesday, overturning a jury verdict in favor of the district.
Lawyers and advocates for sexual abuse victims had said the legal tactic used by the district was surprising, and the appeals court seemed to agree in its ruling.
As a minor, the girl was a crime victim even if she agreed to the sex, and crime victims cannot be held responsible for the harm they suffer, a division of the 2nd District Court of Appeal said.
The girl had accused the district in a lawsuit of failing to adequately supervise her 8th grade math teacher, Elkis Hermida. She appealed after a jury found the district was not negligent.
"On appeal, the district continues to maintain that a minor student who is the victim of sexual abuse by a teacher bears responsibility for preventing that abuse," Judge Richard Kirschner wrote. "The district was wrong in the trial court and is wrong now."
The court said a judge was wrong to instruct jurors that they could find the girl at fault and to allow the introduction of her sexual history.
The district said it was still reviewing the decision and had no comment.
"The court of appeal echoed what we were saying, which is that children who are abused by their teachers at school can never be blamed for their injury," said Holly Boyer, an attorney for the girl.
Boyer said the case prompted passage of state legislation that prohibits consent from being used as a defense in civil cases alleging sexual battery of minors by adults in positions of authority.
Hermida first had sex with the girl in March 2011, according to the appeals court ruling. He was arrested after one of the girl's friends told a teacher two months later. He pleaded no contest to one count of lewd acts upon a victim aged 14.
Published: Fri, Sep 18, 2015
