National Roundup

Oregon
Attorney: Client ate ‘everything’ bagel, did not take drugs
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An attorney for a man who pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge in the takeover of an Oregon wildlife refuge says his client tested positive for morphine because he ate an ‘everything’ bagel with poppy seeds.

The Oregonian/Oregon Lives reported Monday that a federal judge in Portland, Oregon has ordered Jason Blomgren to avoid poppy seeds in addition to drugs.

Blomgren took a plea deal for his role in the armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge last year and is expected to be sentenced to probation next month.

He had been subpoenaed by the government to testify in a trial against Ammon Bundy and other leaders of the refuge occupation, but was not called as a witness.

Blomgren now says he will eat egg whites for breakfast.

New York
Man gets 7 years in prison for attack on TV news crew
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (AP) — A 27-year-old man has been sentenced to seven years in prison for attacking a television news crew as they worked on a story about an art display in Niagara Falls last year.

A Niagara County Court judge on Monday gave Evan Stafford the maximum sentence. Stafford pleaded guilty in April to attempted robbery. The initial charges against him included assault, menacing, harassment and criminal mischief.

Authorities say the two-person crew from WIVB-TV in Buffalo was covering the opening of a public art display in October in Niagara Falls when Stafford approached them and demanded the men’s money and equipment. Authorities say Stafford then punched the reporter and the photographer.

The reporter suffered minor injuries; the photographer had to be hospitalized.


California
Snopes launches online fundraiser amid legal battle
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Fact-checking website Snopes.com has launched an online fundraiser amid a legal battle with an outside vendor that Snopes says is holding it hostage.

Snopes started a GoFundMe campaign Monday to raise $500,000 for the site. It says Proper Media cut it off from advertising income, will not return control of the site, is inserting its own ads on it and is withholding advertising revenue.

A lawyer for Proper Media, Karl Kronenberger, tells The New York Times that Snopes founder David Mikkelson didn’t properly cancel the contract and Mikkelson retains control of the Snopes.com domain name.

Both sides have sued each other in California court.

Colorado
$1M bail set for man accused of killing teen son
DURANGO, Colo. (AP) — A judge has set bail at $1 million for a Colorado man who was arrested in the 2012 death of his 13-year-old son.

Mark Redwine was arrested in Washington state and appeared in court Monday for the death of Dylan Redwine, whose remains were found about 10 miles from the father’s southwestern Colorado home in 2013.

The Durango Herald reports  the boy had traveled to be with his father for a court-ordered visit the previous Thanksgiving. Mark Redwine and the boy’s mother had gone through a contentious custody battle.

An indictment says blood found in Mark Redwine’s home matched Dylan’s DNA, and a cadaver dog picked up the scent of a body on the father’s clothes and in his truck.

Mark Redwine has denied any involvement.

Pennsylvania
Woman convicted of taking baby at mall gets prison
NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A woman convicted of befriending another woman at a suburban Philadelphia shopping mall and then taking her baby has been sentenced to 1 1/2 to seven years in prison.

Cherie Amoore, 33, of Wayne, was convicted in March of kidnapping and child concealment in the March 2016 events at the King of Prussia Mall. A Montgomery County judge imposed the sentence late Monday afternoon.

Prosecutors said Amoore struck up a conversation with the child’s mother and then took the 7-week-old boy when the mother was distracted by another child. Mall security video, combined with tips and help from the suspect’s family, led police to find the baby unharmed at Amoore’s apartment, where she apologized to responding officers.

Amoore’s lawyer, who didn’t contest the facts during a bench trial earlier this year, said his client has since received mental health treatment.

A doctor who evaluated her said she was experiencing a “dissociative episode” at the time. Dr. Gerald Cooke testified for the defense earlier Monday that he diagnosed her with borderline personality disorder, depersonalization disorder and major depressive disorder. Cooke had suggested that Amoore receive treatment in a private hospital or house arrest with outpatient therapy.

“There is a very blurry line for her between reality and fantasy,” Cooke said, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. “She is confused and confusing.”

The child’s mother said that since the abduction, she doesn’t go anywhere without her two children, now waking them up early to take them to work with her. The children were at the courthouse with her during the sentencing hearing.

“I’m not comfortable with them being with anyone else,” she said. “Every day is a struggle.”

Ohio
Man wrongly imprisoned, cleared to seek damages
CLEVELAND (AP) — A state appeals court says a Cleveland man was wrongfully imprisoned for 18 years, and that finding clears the way for him to seek financial compensation for his time behind bars.

Anthony Lemons maintains he’s innocent in a 1994 slaying.

Cleveland.com reports a three-judge panel from Ohio’s 8th District Court of Appeals has found that prosecutors withheld key evidence in the murder trial. The court says authorities violated Lemons’ rights by not telling the defense that police identified Lemons as a suspect using shoes not publicly available when the slaying occurred.

Prosecutors dropped charges against Lemons in 2014. A judge declared him not guilty, but prosecutors stopped short of conceding his innocence.

The appeals court says Lemons didn’t prove he’s innocent, which would require a higher burden of proof.