National Roundup

New Jersey
Cops: No clean getaway for twins who stole 180 bars of soap
ABSECON, N.J. (AP) — Police say twin brothers stole 180 bars of soap from a New Jersey supermarket but weren’t able to make a clean getaway.

Absecon police say Kenny and Lenny Stewart dumped 30 six-packs of Dove soap into a large bag and bolted for an exit with employees in pursuit Friday.

The twins were knocked down when they ran into a trash can. Police say they got back onto their feet but then fell again after running into a shopping cart. And as they turned a corner, the twins came face to face with a police officer who was investigating an accident in the parking lot.

The Atlantic City residents are charged with shoplifting.

It’s not known if they have lawyers.

Arkansas
Boy, 3, riding with grandma dies in road rage incident 
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A 3-year-old boy being taken on a shopping trip by his grandmother was killed in a road rage shooting when a driver opened fire on the grandmother’s car because he thought she “wasn’t moving fast enough at a stop sign,” police said.

The boy and his grandmother were at the stop sign in southwest Little Rock on Saturday evening when a driver apparently angry about the delay stepped out of his car and opened fire, police said. The boy was struck by gunfire at least once, they said.

The grandmother, who wasn’t struck, drove away and called police from a shopping center.

Police arrived at the shopping center and found the boy in the car outside a JCPenney department store. The boy was taken to a hospital, where he died shortly after, becoming the second young child shot dead in a road rage incident in the city in the last few weeks.

Police Lt. Steve McClanahan said investigators believe the boy and his grandmother “were completely innocent” and have no relationship with Saturday’s shooter, who was being sought. He said the grandmother simply was “driving the car and was taking her grandson shopping when the incident occurred.”

Police said they were looking for an older black Chevrolet Impala. Police did not release a detailed description of the man who was driving it.

Last month, a 2-year-old girl was killed when a car drove by and someone fired into her vehicle; the shooter in that case hasn’t been captured.

Police Chief Kenton Buckner said the road rage killings were frustrating for the police department and the community, especially because the young victims were “very innocent” and “can do very little to protect themselves.”

“We cannot have a community to where the least protected among us, being infants, who are dying (in) these senseless crimes in our city,” Buckner said.

He said he didn’t know if the children’s shootings were related.

Missouri
Teen pleads guilty in fatal shooting of sister, 12
JASPER, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri teenager has pleaded guilty to fatally shooting his 12-year-old sister and awaits sentencing pending an evaluation.

The Joplin Globe reports (http://j.mp/2h0xIHc ) that 15-year-old Tristan Potts pleaded guilty Friday to second-degree murder, armed criminal action and attempted first-degree arson.

Potts was 13 in October 2015 when he fatally shot Teresa Potts outside their home near Jasper, Missouri. Authorities say the siblings were adopted out of foster care.

Potts had been certified to stand trial as an adult.

A judge ordered Potts to be evaluated for possible placement in a program in which a juvenile and adult sentence is simultaneously imposed. Under the program, the adult sentence is suspended while the inmate undergoes treatment and vocational training. When he turns 21, the court determines whether he should remain in custody.


Arizona
Woman who fled to Mexico with her baby now jailed in Arizona
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Authorities have arrested a woman who had fled to Mexico with her 4-month-old son after being told she had to hand the child over to the Arizona Department of Child Safety.

U.S. Marshals Service officials say 25-year-old Elizabeth Morales has been booked into the Cochise County Jail and the child handed over to the DCS.

Morales was arrested Friday by Mexican authorities in Agua Prieta, Sonora.

She was wanted by the Cochise County Adult Probation Department for a probation warrant stemming from a narcotics possession charge.

Morales also was being sought by Tucson police for a failure-to-appear charge stemming from a burglary charge.

She gave birth to her son in August and was ordered by the Department of Child Safety to hand over the child but failed to do so.

Massachusetts
Cops: Shoplifting suspect nabbed at police toy drive
DARTMOUTH, Mass. (AP) — Police in Massachusetts say they’ve arrested a man who tried to shoplift items from a Target while officers were holding a toy drive outside the store.

Dartmouth police say the department had been holding its annual Christmas toy drive outside the store on Saturday when Target employees alerted officers to a man they say had shoplifted from the store.

Detective Kyle Costa says 42-year-old Patrick Machado, of Acushnet, had several items valued at about $120.

Machado was charged with shoplifting by concealing merchandise. It’s unclear if he has an attorney. Costa says Machado apologized to police after his arrest.

Costa says the officer who arrested Machado kept his Santa Claus hat on “in keeping with the spirit of the holiday.”

New York
Prosecutors: FBI agent leaked info in case to media
NEW YORK (AP) — Federal prosecutors say an FBI agent has acknowledged leaking confidential information to reporters about an insider trading investigation involving a professional gambler.

The U.S. attorney in New York told a federal judge Friday that the unnamed agent confessed to being a source for The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times regarding Las Vegas gambler William Walters.
Walters had asked the judge to determine the source of the leaks.

The letter from U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara says the matter has been referred to oversight offices in the U.S. Justice Depart­ment and the FBI.

Walters has pleaded not guilty to charges he made millions of dollars in illicit stock trades, including one involving golfer Phil Mickelson. Mickelson was spared criminal charges and agreed to repay the money.