Pennsylvania
Man squeezed baby so hard he broke her ribs
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Pittsburgh police are searching for a man accused of squeezing his baby daughter so hard he broke her ribs.
Police said Wednesday that 23-year-old Billy Damond Williams is facing a charge of attempted homicide.
A doctor who examined the 2-month-old girl in December says she was squeezed so tightly that she suffered four broken ribs and ruptured blood vessels in her eyes and face.
Police say they interviewed Williams then and found him "aloof" about the child's injuries.
Williams spent 58 days in jail after pleading guilty to injuring his 5-month-old son in 2013 before the boy died. That boy suffered similar injuries to those inflicted on Williams' daughter, though investigators never linked the boy's death to his injuries.
Williams doesn't have an attorney listed in court records.
New York
Couple sentenced to state prison for kidnapping
CANTON, N.Y. (AP) - The New York couple who pleaded guilty to kidnapping and sexually abusing two Amish girls in 2014 have been sentenced to 25 years in state prison less than a month after being sentenced to hundreds of years of federal incarceration.
Forty-year-old Stephen Howells and his 26-year-old girlfriend Nicole Vaisey were sentenced Tuesday in St. Lawrence County Court for pleading guilty to kidnapping charges filed by state authorities.
On Dec. 17, the two were sentenced in federal court in Syracuse for pleading guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to sexually exploit minors. Howells was given a 580-year sentence while Vaisey was sentenced to 300 years.
Both have appealed their federal sentences.
The couple admitted to sexually abusing young six children, including two Amish sisters they abducted from a roadside farm stand in northern New York in August 2014.
Massachusetts
Judge tosses suit filed by family of Bulger victim
BOSTON (AP) - A federal judge in Boston has dismissed a nearly $10 million lawsuit brought against the government by the family of a Boston man slain by mobster James "Whitey" Bulger and his crew in 1974.
The suit alleged that former FBI agent John Connolly Jr. knew for decades that Bulger killed Paul McGonagle Sr. and dumped his body in Dorchester but didn't alert the family.
McGonagle's 77-year-old widow and her sons sought $9.8 million for negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The family said they agonized over McGonagle's disappearance until a government witness revealed his grave in 2000.
Although he sympathized with the family, Judge Dennis Saylor IV wrote Tuesday that the government had no legal duty to report what they knew about McGonagle's whereabouts.
Bulger is serving a life term.
Pennsylvania
Coach on leave after apparently head-butting ref
LANGHORNE, Pa. (AP) - A Pennsylvania high school basketball coach who apparently head-butted a referee during a game has been put on leave.
Videos posted online show Neshaminy High School boys basketball coach Jerry Devine confronting a referee Tuesday night after he disagreed with a foul call. The team was trailing Pennsbury High School 46-42 with less than 40 seconds left in the game.
As Devine charges onto the court, another referee approaches him and the coach appears to head-butt the ref, knocking him to the floor.
Devine was ejected from the game.
The school district says in a statement Wednesday that the coach, who also teaches algebra and history, has been placed on administrative leave pending a review of the incident.
Pennsbury won the game 49-42.
Rhode Island
Bishop calls for 'disciplinary proceedings'
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - A statement released by the Episcopal bishop of Rhode Island calls for "appropriate disciplinary proceedings" against two clergymen and a third person named in reports of past abuse at a prestigious boarding school in Middletown.
The Providence Journal reports the Rt. Rev. W. Nicholas Knisely said Tuesday that he's been in contact with state police and is "following their direction" as they continue to investigate allegations of abuse at St. George's School during the 1970s and 1980s.
Knisely said one of the priests is accused of abusing students and the other allegedly failed to report claims of abuse as outlined by state law. The third person is also accused of sexual abuse.
Knisely wrote that he's working with church leaders to ensure that the proper discipline is initiated.
North Carolina
FBI seeks woman in several jewelry store robberies
MEBANE, N.C. (AP) - The FBI is looking for a woman involved in jewelry store robberies in multiple states, including most recently in North Carolina.
In a news release, the FBI said the woman robbed a Jared store at an outlet mall in Mebane on Monday, tying two employees' hands before stealing several pieces of jewelry.
Authorities say the woman pulled out a handgun upon entering the store.
The FBI says the woman is believed to have been involved in numerous jewelry store robberies last year, including ones in Sevierville, Tennessee; Bluffton, South Carolina; Panama City Beach, Florida; Dawsonville, Georgia; and Woodstock, Georgia. An unknown man was seen with her during the robberies in Florida and Georgia.
Ohio
NAACP seeks documents in Tamir Rice case
CLEVELAND (AP) - The local NAACP wants to see documents from the grand jury that decided not to indict two Cleveland police officers in the fatal shooting of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old black boy who had a pellet gun.
Members of the Cleveland NAACP are seeking transcripts of witness testimony before the grand jury that heard evidence in the 2014 shooting. WJW-TV reports the group voted Tuesday night to push for the documents' release.
Members say they want to see and analyze everything that grand jurors heard in the case.
Cleveland NAACP President Michael Nelson says members also want to know how much money was spent on expert witnesses who testified.
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Tim McGinty has said he doesn't have the authority to release the transcripts.
Published: Thu, Jan 07, 2016
