National Roundup

Oregon
College fraternity accused of ­hazing sued for $8 million
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An $8 million lawsuit against a fraternity at a northwestern Oregon college says a hazing incident resulted in a 20-year-old man losing his right eye.

KOIN-TV reports that the lawsuit filed Tuesday alleges Kellen Johansen was coerced into drinking alcohol, running naked through Linfield College’s campus in McMinnville and retrieving illegal fireworks during an initiation party in April.

A man identified in the complaint as the president of the fraternity is accused of discharging the fireworks, which failed to go up in the air and exploded on the ground. The lawsuit claims the explosion resulted in an injury that required the surgical removal of Johansen’s eye.

Linfield College spokesman Scott Bernard Nelson says the school had not yet been served with the lawsuit.

Kansas
Suspect in death, baby’s kidnapping returning to state
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The woman accused of murdering a Wichita woman and kidnapping her newborn baby is being returned to Sedgwick County from Dallas.

KAKE-TV reports the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office says Yesenia Sesmas was released from that county’s jail Wednesday morning to be taken to Sedgwick County.

Sesmas is accused of killing Laura Abarca-Nogueda at a west Wichita apartment in November. She then allegedly took the woman’s daughter, Sofia, who was six days old at the time.

Sesmas and the baby were found two days later a Dallas home. The child was not injured and was returned to relatives in Wichita.

The 34-year-old Sesmas was in custody in Dallas and was served extradition papers Jan. 6.

Texas
Travis County OKs $500K payment to judge wounded in shooting
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Travis County officials have approved a $500,000 payment to a state district judge to avoid a potential lawsuit claiming authorities didn’t do enough to prevent a shooting that left her seriously wounded.

County commissioners approved the payment Tuesday to Judge Julie Kocurek, who was targeted by a gunman outside her Austin home in November 2015.

County leaders previously indicated they were deliberating the payment.

Kocurek has said publicly that she doesn’t believe authorities appropriately handled a tip from an informant about a judge being targeted.

Federal officials in September charged three men in the shooting. One of the men, Chimene Onyeri, had a hearing scheduled in Kocurek’s court where it was anticipated his probation would be revoked and he faced imprisonment.

Onyeri has denied any involvement in the shooting.

Missouri
Springfield man sentenced to life in prison for child abuse
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A Springfield foster parent was sentenced to life in prison after he sexually abused two children who lived with him.

The Greene County prosecutor’s office says 44-year-old Thomas Skinner II abused one child for four years and another child for two years.

Court documents indicate Skinner’s wife found him with one of the children in November 2014 and suspected a sexual assault had taken place. The girl later told a social services worker that
Skinner had sexually abused her multiple times.

A bond recommendation said Skinner was a foster parent for several years and between 25 and 30 children lived in his home since 2005.

Louisiana
5 children test positive for drugs; parents arrested
BOSSIER CITY, La. (AP) — Police have arrested a Bossier County couple after authorities say their five young children tested positive for illegal drugs.

News outlets report that 35-year-old Shannon Michael Blake and 30-year-old Victoria Golmon Blake were arrested Monday on multiple counts of cruelty to juveniles.

Police say they were contacted by someone who reported that one of the children was being abused.

Investigators say the couple’s five children underwent routine medical tests as part of the investigation and tested positive for illegal drugs including marijuana and cocaine. The children range in age from 6 months old to 10 years old.

Authorities believe the children were exposed to drugs due to their parents’ use.

It is unclear whether the suspects have an attorney.

Florida
Teen gets 50 years for fatal  shooting of younger sister
PANAMA CITY, Fla. (AP) — A Florida Panhandle teen has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for fatally shooting his 10-year-old sister.

The Panama City News Herald reports that the 16-year-old boy was sentenced Tuesday after pleading no contest to first-degree murder.

Authorities say Izabella Heffernan was found dead in a field near her family’s Bay County home last February with gunshot wounds to her chest and cheek. The body had been cleaned and moved to an abandoned bus.

The teen initially claimed he mistook his sister for a deer but then said he mistakenly shot her while trying to hit an attacker. He finally told authorities that he accidentally shot the girl in the chest while teaching her to use the rifle and then shot her in the head to end her suffering.

California
Sheriff: 474 arrested in human trafficking stings
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Authorities say 474 people have been arrested in a multiday sting operation focused on human trafficking in California.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell said Tuesday the arrests came after a three-day operation conducted by 30 law enforcement agencies across the state last week.

Investigators say as part of the sting, undercover officers posed as prostitutes on street corners and also posted advertisements online.

Officials say three dozen people were arrested on suspicion of being pimps.

They say officers also rescued 28 children who were being sexually exploited and offered services to 27 adults they said were victims of sex trafficking.

McDonnell says the arrests represent a “very sad commentary on the condition we’re dealing with.”

District Attorney Jackie Lacey says authorities won’t tolerate children being sexually exploited.