California
After 'Pokemon Go' players knock on door, man sues
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A New Jersey man is going to federal court to keep "Pokemon Go" players off his lawn.
Jeffrey Marder, of West Orange, says strangers began lingering outside of his home after the popular game was released last month. At least five people knocked on his door and asked to get into his backyard to catch a Pokemon placed there virtually by the game, according to a lawsuit filed Friday in federal court in California.
The suit against game makers Niantic Inc., Nintendo Co., and The Pokemon Company seeks class action status for others who have had Pokemon stops and gyms placed on their property.
The lawsuit says the defendants "have shown a flagrant disregard for the foreseeable consequences of populating the real world with virtual Pokémon without seeking the permission of property owners."
Pennsylvania
Prosecutor vows to retry ex-church official for abuse
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Philadelphia's district attorney is vowing to retry a former church official over his handling of abuse complaints, even though his conviction has been twice overturned.
A judge on Tuesday said Monsignor William Lynn can be released on $250,000 bail after Pennsylvania's highest court granted him a new trial. Lynn was the first U.S. Roman Catholic Church official ever charged and convicted of helping to shield child molesters within its ranks.
Appeals courts have wrestled ever since with the legality of his conviction.
Lynn has been in and out of prison during those appeals. He's served nearly three years of a three- to six-year sentence, and was due to be paroled in October.
Pennsylvania
Police say man tried to flush baby down toilet
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Pittsburgh police have accused a man of threatening and trying to flush a 6-week-old baby down a toilet during a domestic dispute that led to a SWAT standoff.
Dennis Gateley was in custody Tuesday awaiting arraignment.
Police responded to a home in the city's Mt. Washington section around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday. Police say the woman managed to flee with the child, but the man wouldn't immediately surrender.
Police say the 31-year-old Gateley eventually came out of the house about 2:40 a.m. and was taken to the Allegheny County jail.
The woman and child were taken to a hospital for evaluation but not believed to be seriously injured.
Gately faces charges including aggravated assault, unlawfully possessing a firearm and child endangerment. Online court records don't list an attorney for him.
Maryland
State appeals ruling for a retrial in 'Serial' case
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - Lawyers for the state of Maryland say a Baltimore judge was wrong to allow "a novel standalone claim" relating to cellphone evidence to be considered when he granted a new trial for a man convicted of murder in a case that was featured in the podcast called "Serial."
In its appeal of a retrial for Adnan Syed, the attorney general's office says the judge allowed Syed's attorneys to introduce a fax cover sheet that went along with cellphone tower records.
Defense attorneys said information on the cover sheet challenges the reliability of data linking Syed's phone to the burial site of his former high school girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, who was killed in 1999.
The state also denies that Syed's initial lawyers were ineffective.
Virginia
Victims allege bail bondsman
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - A Virginia bail bondsman is facing charges after police say he offered to bail women out of jail in exchange for sex.
Media outlets report that 60-year-old Vladimir Tarabay was arrested Friday on two counts of threat to extort money and an attempt at sodomy of a helpless victim over the age of 13.
Henrico County Sheriff Mike Wade says the charges were brought after a victim came forward and said Tarabay propositioned clients to have sex or perform sexual acts on him in lieu of payment to be released from jail. He says the office had heard rumors about a bondsman committing these acts, but never had a specific name.
Tarabay owns Fast Bail Bonding in Richmond, which opened in 2013.
It's unclear if Tarabay has an attorney.
Alabama
Tentative trial date set for state chief justice
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - A court has set a tentative date for the trial of suspended Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore.
An order released Monday by the Alabama Court of the Judiciary says Moore's trial on judicial ethics charges will begin Sept. 28 if the case isn't over before then.
The case could come to an earlier end if the court agrees with judicial prosecutors and removes Moore based on legal arguments.
Moore opposes a move by prosecutors to have him ousted without a trial. A hearing is set for Aug. 8, and judges have told Moore to submit additional documents by Tuesday afternoon.
Moore is a Christian who opposes same-sex marriage. He is accused of wrongly issuing an order in defiance of the U.S. Supreme Court decision that effectively legalized gay marriage nationwide.
Massachusetts
Boston police add $89,000 ice cream truck to patrol fleet
BOSTON (AP) - The Boston Police Department has unveiled an $89,000 ice cream truck as the newest addition to its patrol fleet.
The truck, adorned with balloons and Boston police decals, was introduced Monday at police headquarters in the city's Roxbury neighborhood. It will be used as part of "Operation Hoodsie Cup," a community policing initiative that has distributed roughly 120,000 free ice cream cups since 2010.
Commissioner William Evans says he would've called you crazy if you told him 30 years ago that the BPD would have an ice cream truck as part of its fleet, but the goodwill it generates is "undeniable."
The truck was purchased by the Boston Police Foundation. Local dairy company HP Hood has donated all of the ice cream for distribution.
Published: Wed, Aug 03, 2016
