Pennsylvania
Woman admits she stole cop car while handcuffed
BEAVER, Pa. (AP) - A western Pennsylvania woman has admitted she stole a police cruiser and led police officers on an 80 mph chase - all while her hands were cuffed behind her.
Twenty-eight-year-old Roxanne Rimer, of Chippewa Township, also pleaded guilty Tuesday in Beaver County Court to an unrelated theft charge.
Defense attorney Steven Valsamidis said she was sentenced to four to eight years.
Authorities say Rimer was handcuffed and placed in the back of the cruiser after being accused of shoplifting in January. Officials said she squeezed through an unlatched opening and crawled into the front seat, then zoomed off and led officers on a nearly 10-mile chase, weaving in and out of traffic, before crashing.
Connecticut
Man charged with littering offensive material in towns
BERLIN, Conn. (AP) - A Connecticut man is under arrest for allegedly littering the Hartford suburbs with vulgar material, possibly for years.
The Hartford Courant reports Berlin police arrested 58-year-old Gilbert Lévesque Monday and charged him with 44 counts of second-degree breach of peace. He's also been charged in Southington with six counts of breach of peace and one count of impairing the morals of a minor.
The Bristol, Conn. resident has been released on $5,000 bail.
Police say they caught Lévesque after conducting an undercover surveillance operation. They say the offensive material included sexually-explicit and racist comments and images that had been randomly dropped in the towns for at least two years. The material was also seen in other area towns.
Lévesque is due back in Superior Court later this month.
Missouri
Drugmaker sues pharmacy over prescriptions
The drugmaker Horizon Pharma is questioning its relationship with an Express Scripts business after the pharmacy benefits giant sued Horizon for about $140 million and dumped a pharmacy that dispenses its drugs.
Shares of Horizon Pharma Plc plunged Wednesday before markets opened after it said it will re-evaluate its relationship with the Express Scripts Accredo specialty pharmacy, which accounts for a bigger slice of Horizon's revenue than any other pharmacy.
The Dublin-based drugmaker's announcement followed a decision by Express Scripts to remove Linden Care pharmacy from its network.
St. Louis-based Express Scripts said Linden mainly dispensed Horizon drugs and failed to fulfill some key elements of its pharmacy network agreement.
Pharmacy benefits managers, or PBMs, run prescription drug plans for employers, insurers and other customers. They also have a lot of influence over drug company revenues because they negotiate drug prices and control access to coverage networks with millions of patients.
Horizon denied that Linden is a captive pharmacy for the drugmaker. The company noted that less than 5 percent of its sales come from prescriptions filled by Linden and processed by Express Scripts.
Horizon contends that Express Scripts is trying to squeeze out small pharmacies that compete with Accredo.
Express Scripts says customers have many pharmacy choices for getting their medicines, and it takes action when pharmacies fall out of compliance with network agreements.
The PBM also said it filed a complaint in Delaware Superior Court to recover money from Horizon, which it says has not stuck with a pharmaceutical manufacturer rebate agreement it struck with Express Scripts.
Horizon said the Express Scripts Holding Co. court complaint is tied to a previously disclosed dispute in which it ended a contract with Express Scripts after the pharmacy benefits manager failed to live up to its obligations.
South Carolina
Ex-cop sues over representation
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - A former South Carolina police officer charged with murder in the death of a black motorist is suing a police group saying the group failed to provide the legal representation he paid for under an insurance plan.
Attorneys for Michael Slager filed a federal breach of contract lawsuit Tuesday against the Southern States Police Benevolent Association.
The suit alleges Slager, who's charged in the killing of Walter Scott, was never provided the legal representation he was entitled to under his policy's legal defense benefit.
The suit says that four days after the April shooting, the association said it would not provide the benefit because it determined Slager had committed an intentional and/or illegal act.
California
Playboy settles model's lawsuit over golf injury
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Playboy Enterprises has settled a lawsuit by a model who claimed she was hurt when an employee whacked her in the buttocks with a golf club during a Southern California event.
According to City News Service, Elizabeth Dickson's attorney told a judge on Monday that the case was resolved. Terms weren't disclosed.
Dickson's battery and negligence suit said she was helping host the Playboy Golf Finals in the city of Industry three years ago when she agreed to be photographed with Kevin Klein, co-host of a Playboy radio show.
The photo was supposed to show Klein poised to hit a teed-up golf ball from Dickson's buttocks.
But Dickson claims Klein unexpectedly swung the club and hit her.
California
Charlie Brown actor pleads guilty to making criminal threat
SAN DIEGO (AP) - A former child actor who was the voice of Charlie Brown in beloved "Peanuts" TV specials has pleaded guilty to making criminal threats.
Fifty-nine-year-old Peter Robbins of Oceanside entered pleas Tuesday. He's facing four years and eight months in prison.
Authorities say Robbins threatened to harm a mobile home park manager and San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore, offering $50,000 to have Gore killed.
Robbins said the threats stem from his bipolar disorder and paranoid schizophrenia.
Two years ago, Robbins pleaded guilty to threatening a former girlfriend and her plastic surgeon.
From age 9 to 13, Robbins was the voice of Charlie Brown in a series of 1960s animated classics, including "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown."
Published: Thu, Nov 12, 2015
