New Hampshire
City to reinstall monument of Ten Commandments
SOMERSWORTH, N.H. (AP) - Officials in the New Hampshire city of Somersworth have voted to reinstall the municipality's controversial Ten Commandments monument to its original location next to City Hall.
Foster's Daily Democrat reports the City Council approved the measure Tuesday.
The Fraternal Order of Eagles gifted the granite Ten Commandments tablet to the city in 1958. It was toppled by an unidentified vandal in August following objections to its religious implications.
Mayor Dana Hilliard says he's been advised that the monument is compliant with the First Amendment and meets the constraints of church and state separation.
Councilor Nancie Cameron voted to restore the monument, but said a similar gift would likely be refused today.
Florida
Ex-Secret Service officer charged with soliciting sex
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) - A Secret Service officer who was fired after being accused of trying to solicit sex from an undercover agent he thought was a 14-year-old girl has been moved to South Florida to face criminal charges.
The SunSentinel reports that 38-year-old Lee Robert Moore appeared Tuesday in federal court in West Palm Beach on charges that he tried to lure a Broward County girl into sexual activity.
Moore, who was based at the White House, has been locked up since he was arrested in November on a related federal charge in Delaware.
Moore's attorneys say their client was recently moved to a Florida jail so he could face the most serious allegations against him first.
Prosecutors in Delaware say Moore sometimes engaged in online sex chats while on duty at the White House.
Kentucky
Police: Masked man was sleeping in vehicle he'd broken into
HARRODSBURG, Ky. (AP) - Police in Kentucky say a man who broke into several vehicles at a Harrodsburg business was found sleeping inside one of the cars with a mask still over his face.
Multiple news outlets report that police say 35-year-old Matthew Stewart of Louisville faces theft, criminal mischief and criminal trespassing charges in connection with the incident.
Police were called to CC Auto Parts & Service on Monday after employees found a lock box containing keys that had been pried open and several vehicles broken into.
Responding officers discovered Stewart asleep in the driver's seat of a vehicle wearing black gloves and a mask.
Iowa
Man attacks girl with hammer for refusing tattoo
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) - Police say an Iowa man attacked his girlfriend with a hammer because she refused to let him tattoo his name on her chest.
The Sioux City Journal reports that 28-year-old Jonathan Michael Boggs has been charged with aggravated domestic assault and going armed with intent.
Police say Boggs of Sioux City had been dating the woman for about a month when, on Friday, he suggested the tattoo. She refused, an argument ensued and she tried to leave the house. Boggs stopped her from leaving, threatened tokill her with a hammer then assaulted her with the tool.
Boggs was being held Tuesday in the Woodbury County Jail on $10,000 bond.
Florida
Man who faked death pleads guilty to fraud
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - A Florida businessman who authorities say faked his own death to defraud insurance companies has pleaded guilty.
The Florida Times-Union reports that 63-year-old Jose Lantigua faces up to 50 years in prison, but prosecutors have agreed to seek less. Lantigua agreed to forfeit money or valuables to help satisfy court judgments totaling about $2.8 million.
The former owner of a Jacksonville furniture business, Lantigua admitted to concocting a story with his wife that he had mad cow disease and was traveling to Venezuela for treatment. According to his plea agreement, he went there to obtain a fake death certificate. He was arrested last year in North Carolina while applying for a passport in another man's name.
Lantigua's wife pleaded guilty last month to her part in the scam.
Mississippi
Police chief loses job after speeding while intoxicated
MOSS POINT, Miss. (AP) - A south Mississippi police chief is losing his job after a newspaper reported he was clocked driving 109 mph in a city vehicle and he told officers he had consumed "at least three vodkas."
Moss Point aldermen voted 5-1 Tuesday to fire Chief Art McClung, but they also gave him the option of resigning within seven days, the Sun Herald reported.
McClung was suspended hours after the newspaper reported Aug. 30 that officers in neighboring Pascagoula had stopped him July 29 after observing him driving erratically and going nearly double the 55 mph speed limit.
Pascagoula Police Chief Kenny Johnson said he told his officers to give McClung a ride home, and no ticket was issued.
The newspaper filed public records requests to obtain information about the stop. In police dash camera videos, officers are heard saying, "He's obviously DUI," and "He's toast. He knows it, too. You could tell from the time we walked up." One officer can be heard saying McClung admitted to having had "at least three vodkas."
McClung was handcuffed and put in the back of a patrol car. A Pascagoula officer then called his supervisor to tell him the driver was McClung. The supervisor told Johnson, who gave the order for officers to take McClung home.
Pascagoula officials have taken no action against Johnson or the officers involved in the stop.
Ohio
Victim of fake 911call sues police over damage
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) - An Ohio man who was the victim of a fake 911 call is suing the city of Toledo and its police over damage done when they responded to the call by raiding his home and arresting him.
Donald McGranahan II, a 33-year-old Army veteran, is seeking more than $25,000 in damages. His lawsuit filed this week also alleges police caused him emotional distress and destroyed property they took in the September 2015 raid.
Toledo's law director tells WTOL-TV the city will fight the lawsuit. He says officials agreed to pay for the home damage, but it hasn't done so yet because the parties haven't agreed on an amount and McGranahan must prove the value of the damaged property.
WTOL reports no one has been charged for the prank call.
Published: Thu, Sep 08, 2016
