Nebraska
Lawyer facing prostitution trial says he's a victim of sex bias
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - A Lincoln lawyer who was one of 12 people arrested in a prostitution sting says he's a victim of discriminatory prosecution and a victim of sex bias.
Court records say 67-year-old Vincent Valentino has pleaded not guilty to a sole count: soliciting prostitution. He's challenging the constitutionally of his arrest last July, saying that he, a male, was being discriminated against. He also says he's being denied pretrial diversion because he's a man.
Prosecutor Ryan Mick said at a hearing Monday that she's seen no evidence that police saw a woman solicit a prostitute and declined to arrest them or that Valentino was arrested based on discrimination.
The Lincoln Journal Star reports that Judge Laurie Yardley denied Valentino's motion to suppress evidence against him.
Missouri
Couple charged after deputy found 2 girls locked in home
WARRENSBURG, Mo. (AP) - A west-central Missouri couple are accused of felony child abuse for allegedly locking two children inside their bedrooms.
Johnson County prosecutors have charged Robert Lee Brown and his girlfriend, Brandi Edmiston, with two counts each of child abuse involving Edmiston's children.
Authorities say the investigation began in April when a neighbor asked the sheriff's department to check on two children inside the Warrensburg home.
A responding deputy reportedly saw an 8-year-old girl banging on a second-story window, crying for help, and a 10-year-old girl there reportedly managed to force her way out of a locked bedroom and let the deputy inside. Both girls were home alone.
A prosecutor says firefighters removed a padlock and freed the 8-year-old.
Online court records don't show whether Emiston or Brown have attorneys.
Maryland
Prosecutors: Indicted officers discussed how to beat charges
BALTIMORE (AP) - Federal prosecutors allege that several Baltimore police officers charged with racketeering met in a detention center to discuss how to "beat" some of their charges.
The Baltimore Sun reports that the allegations were made in prosecutors' recent filing in the case against Detective Marcus Taylor, one of seven officers indicted in March. They're accused of robbing people, filing false court paperwork and making fraudulent overtime claims. They have pleaded not guilty.
The filing, an attempt to keep Taylor behind bars after attorneys challenged his detention, says Taylor discussed the case with co-defendants while being held, but doesn't name other officers.
Howard County Department of Corrections Director Jack Kavanagh says the officers were separated from the general jail population, but they weren't asked to separate them from each other.
Missouri
MU to pay $750K to settle lawsuit over firefighter's death
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - The University of Missouri will pay $750,000 to settle claims filed after a Columbia firefighter died in a walkway collapse at a university apartment complex.
The Columbia Daily Tribune reports that the settlement finalized Monday comes in a lawsuit filed by the widow of Lt. Bruce Britt. The suit alleged that the university didn't properly maintain the University Village Apartments, where Britt died in February 2014 while evacuating residents. The apartments have since been torn down.
The university admitted no negligence. The settlement will provide payments to Britt's widow, her attorney and the city. Britt's daughter also will begin receiving payments through an annuity when she turns 21 in 2032. The annuity will pay about $205,000 over 15 years and increases the settlement's value to more than $867,000.
California
Milo Yiannopoulos fan files lawsuit against Berkeley
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A fan of right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos has filed a lawsuit against the regents of the University of California, the mayor of Berkeley and a slew of others over alleged civil rights and First Amendment violations.
The lawsuit in federal court in Northern California alleges University of California and other officials curtailed the rights of Kiara Robles by subjecting her and other invitees to bodily harm because they were expressing a different viewpoint.
The Oakland resident planned to attend a Feb. 1 speech by Yiannopoulos at UC Berkeley's campus that was cancelled after protests turned violent.
The lawsuit filed Monday also names House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Democratic Party Chairman John Burton and wealthy investor George Soros.
UC Berkeley said in a statement it will mount a "vigorous and successful defense of its actions, and looks forward to contesting this collection of false claims."
Ohio
Victims of nightclub shooting sue business and its owner
CINCINNATI (AP) - Eight victims of a gunbattle in a Cincinnati nightclub that left two people dead and 15 injured have sued the nightclub, its owner and the building owner.
The lawsuit filed recently in Hamilton County alleges that the defendants failed to have a proper security plan and didn't have enough security personnel at the time of the March 26 shooting. It also contends they failed to protect patrons of the Cameo club from "violent activity and injury."
Some patrons were "intentionally allowed into the club without any security patdowns or any security protocol in exchange for a higher admission fee at a secret back entrance," according to the lawsuit filed May 25 in the county Common Pleas Court.
The lawsuit was filed against Cameo Cincinnati LLC, doing business as Cameo Night Club, its owner Julian Rodgers and the Kellogg Group LLC, which owned and operated the building. Court records don't list attorneys for the defendants. Telephone numbers listed for Rodgers and the club are no longer in service. A recording at a cellphone listed for Rodgers said the mailbox was full and couldn't accept messages, and no phone number could immediately be found for the Kellogg Group.
Cameo's owners were "aware and complicit in the creation of security risks" to their business and patrons, according to the lawsuit.
A statement released by Rodgers after the shooting rejected claims that people could pay to avoid the long line to get into the club without being checked.
Police estimate 200 people were inside the club when a dispute escalated into a gunfight in which more than 20 shots were fired. The popular club near the Ohio River east of downtown Cincinnati has since closed.
Those filing the lawsuit are individually seeking judgments against defendants for damages in excess of $25,000, plus legal costs and any further relief the court may determine. The lawsuit alleges they suffered bodily injury, pain and mental anguish, and incurred expenses for medical treatment and loss of earnings as a result of the shooting. They are seeking a jury trial.
Cornell Beckley, 27, of Cincinnati, has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and other counts in the shooting that prosecutors said developed from a neighborhood "feud over nothing." His trial is scheduled for November.
Beckley's attorney says there's no evidence showing his client "fired a shot at anyone."
Published: Thu, Jun 08, 2017
