National Roundup

Pennsylvania
Police ‘terrified’ by balloons tied to sewer grates
LITITZ, Pa. (AP) — Police officers in a small Pennsylvania town are evidently afraid of a certain homicidal clown.

The Lititz police department on Tuesday posted photos of red balloons a prankster tied to a pair of sewer grates.

A red balloon is the calling card of Pennywise, the sewer-dwelling, child-eating clown in Stephen King’s horror novel “It.” The hotly anticipated movie version opens in theaters Friday.

In a playful Facebook post, police write they admire the prank­ster’s creativity but were “completely terrified” while removing the balloons and “respectfully request they do not do that again.”

Pennsylvania
Philadelphia law firms announce national mergers
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Two Philadelphia-based law firms have announced separate mergers that will expand their nationwide presences.

Philly.com reports Ballard Spahr LLP and Saul Ewing LLP each announced mergers Tuesday.

Saul Ewing has merged with the Arnstein & Lehr LLP. Arnstein & Lehr’s largest office is located in Chicago. The combined firm will have 408 attorneys and 409 staffers in 15 different offices beginning Friday.

Ballard Spahr will merge with the Minneapolis-based firm Lindquist & Vennum. According to Ballard, the move to join the firm, which specializes in finance along with mergers and acquisitions, will bring together more than 650 lawyers in 15 offices nationwide. The merger is expected to be completed Jan. 1.

Ohio
Report: Victims’ fund denies thousands due to strict rules
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Thousands of crime victims applying for aid are being rejected due to the strict rules designating who funding should be directed toward in Ohio’s victim compensation program, an investigation found.

A Dayton Daily News investigation found the Ohio Victims Compensation Fund program, administered by the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, has been paying out less each year going even as the number of claims spiked in recent years.

In one case, a teenager, 17, — who officials said was abducted and sexually assaulted — was denied compensation because drugs were found in her system. The girl’s family contended she was forced to take drugs by her captors.

The program’s rules automatically disqualify anyone with drugs in their system — even if the drugs had nothing to do with the crime at hand or were taken days prior.

The program also disqualifies people believed to have committed certain felony crimes in the previous 10 years, regardless of whether they were charged or acquitted.

Matthew Kanai, chief of the state attorney general’s crime victim’s service’s division, says his office has little discretion in awarding assistance based on the rules.

“If they’re eligible, it’s paid,” he said. “If they’re not eligible, it isn’t.”

Paula Humphrey, 70, was assaulted last year by a juvenile who broke into her home. She was initially denied compensation because she lacked the proper paperwork.

Humphrey said — though she filed an appeal and won — she didn’t expect it to be so difficult.

She ultimately received $408, which reimbursed her for her mileage to and from the hospital and covered deductibles. She was not compensated for the glasses she had to buy to replace the ones broken during the attack.

Victims are reimbursed for costs similar to aforementioned deductibles, but the program does not pay for pain and suffering.

The program also does not pay for lost property.

Kanai said judicial precedent typically guides the state in determining whether to disqualify someone, like being involved in an alleged drug deal before their deaths.

Despite this, many denial letters obtained by the Dayton Daily News often expressed regret that the state could not pay the claim.

“I don’t think any person with a heart would say people in these situations are not victims,” said Dan Tierney, a spokesman for the attorney general’s office.

In 2016, $6.8 million in distributed aid was down from $7.4 million in 2015. The amount has steadily dropped since 2007, when over $14 million in payments were made statewide.

Last year, new and supplemental claims rose 20 percent while the number of claims that actually received payouts decreased from 2,948 to 2,893.

Kanai said his office doesn’t know why there has been a decline in approved payouts.

The program has been around for decades and is funded through driver’s license reinstatement fees and court costs paid by people accused of crimes.

Last year, the fund collected $16.6 million in revenue and ended the year with a balance of $17.3 million after paying out $6.8 million in victim compensation payments and spending $5.9 million on administrative costs, mostly for staff salaries.


Ohio
Baby’s sitter gets 15 years in prison for his Benadryl death
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio baby sitter who authorities say gave a fatal dose of Benadryl to an 8-month-old boy has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Forty-five-year-old Lori Conley was sentenced Tuesday in the 2016 death of Haddix Mulkey. She previously pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, child endangering and tampering with evidence.

Prosecutors say Conley gave Haddix an adult dose of Benadryl to get him to sleep while baby-sitting at her suburban Columbus home. She called 911 after finding the boy unresponsive.

Franklin County Judge Julie Lynch said she didn’t believe it was the first time Conley had tried that tactic.

Connecticut
6 more arrested in abuse probe at psych hospital
MIDDLETOWN, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut State Police have arrested six more staff members at a maximum-security psychiatric hospital in connection with the repeated abuse of a patient, making it a total of nine workers charged with cruelty to persons and disorderly conduct.

Authorities on Tuesday night announced the new arrests of workers at the Whiting Forensic Division of Connecticut Valley Hospital in Middletown. The facility is the state’s only maximum-security hospital for the criminally insane.

The arrests followed the suspensions of 31 employees earlier this year in connection with the abuse of a 62-year-old male patient. Authorities said abusive incidents were recorded by surveillance cameras.
State police say more arrests are expected.

The state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services runs the hospital and says it is investigating.