National Roundup

Washington
Singer files sex assault complaint against former Trump aide
WASHINGTON (AP) — A singer and potential congressional candidate says she has filed a sexual assault complaint against President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager for hitting her twice on her buttocks during a Washington gathering in November.

Joy Villa, a Trump backer who wore a “Make America Great Again” dress at the Grammys this year, said Tuesday she plans to meet with detectives in Washington next week about the complaint against Corey Lewandowski.

In a phone interview from Tampa, Florida, Villa said she was initially reluctant to come forward because she was worried about any backlash. But she said she called Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department on Christmas Eve after a friend who witnessed the incident spoke about it publicly, and other friends urged her to come forward.

“I didn’t know him at all,” Villa said about Lewandowski. “I only knew him by reputation. He broke my trust.”

She said she saw him at a gathering at the Trump International Hotel on the day after Thanksgiving, and said Lewandowski struck her “extremely hard” even after she told him to stop. She said she felt it was “disgusting and shocking and demeaning.”

Villa, who is considering a run for a Florida congressional seat, said she initially thought it was sexual harassment, but police told her that touching someone on any body part that is sexual in nature constituted sexual assault. She said she was told it was classified as a misdemeanor.

“I was initially fearful to come forward with this,” she said, adding that she did not want to bring shame or embarrassment on Lewandowski’s family or hers.

“I did nothing wrong,” Villa said. “I realized if he’s not going to respond or apologize to me, I think it’s the right thing to do.”

Lewandowski did not respond to an email seeking comment.

Villa made news earlier this year when she wore a dress displaying Trump’s campaign slogan at the Grammys. She explained her decision to wear the dress in an Instagram post, writing, “You can either stand for what you believe in or fall for what you don’t.” She added, “agree to disagree.”

This is not the first time Lewandowski has faced police charges. In March 2016 he was charged with misdemeanor battery for an altercation involving a female reporter after a news conference in Florida. The charges were later dropped.

Trump fired him as campaign manager in June 2016.


West Virginia
Man accused of beating, injecting pregnant woman in arm with meth
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A West Virginia man is accused of assaulting a pregnant woman and injecting her with methamphetamine without her consent.

News outlets reported Tuesday that the criminal complaint against 21-year-old Kyle Wilson Stowers says he struck the woman in the head, face and torso and hit her legs with a baseball bat at a Charleston home on Dec. 21. Before fleeing, he injected what the victim says was meth into her arm against her will.

The woman told police Stowers “left her for dead.” According to the complaint, she is 37 weeks pregnant. Police did not say what Stowers’ motive was.

Charleston police caught Stowers shortly after he fled. He is charged with assault, and his bail has been set at $10,000. The news reports say it’s unclear if he has a lawyer.

Ohio
Police: Man attempted to rob store with fake furniture gun
AKRON, Ohio (AP) — Police say a man who tried and failed to rob an Ohio convenience store with a fake gun made from pieces of furniture has been charged with robbery.

Akron police say the man walked into a local Circle K store Monday afternoon waving what appeared to be a rifle and demanding cash. An employee realized the rifle was a fake and confronted the man with the help of three customers.

The man tried to flee but was subdued and detained by the people in the store until police arrived. He has been charged with aggravated robbery and is scheduled to appear in municipal court Wednesday.

Police say the man had a pole, a fake scope, a spring and two table legs fastened together to look like a rifle.

California
Police: Couple used drone to deliver drugs
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) — Authorities say a Southern California couple used a drone to deliver illegal drugs to their customers.

Benjamin Baldassarre and Ashley Carroll, of Riverside, were charged Tuesday with possessing controlled substances for sale and child endangerment.

It’s unclear if they have attorneys who can comment on the charges.

Police arrested the couple last Thursday after neighbors suspected they were selling drugs.

Authorities say a drone delivered drugs to customers at a nearby parking lot. The customers would then drive by the couple’s home and throw their payments on the lawn.

The child endangerment charges were filed because Baldassarre’s 9-year-old daughter lived in the home, where police say they found syringes and drugs believed to include methamphetamine, LSD-laced candy and powdered fentanyl.

The girl was turned over to her mother.

New York
Judge who presided over Argentina bond litigation dies
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York federal judge who drew the ire of Argentine government officials in a long-running case over Argentina’s debts has died. Judge Thomas P. Griesa (grih-ZAY’) was 87.

Manhattan federal court official Edward Friedland says Griesa died Sunday. The cause of the judge’s death hasn’t been disclosed.

Griesa presided for 15 years over lawsuits brought by U.S. hedge funds that bought heavily discounted Argentine bonds after the country defaulted on debts in 2001.

The hedge funds demanded full repayment of billions of dollars in bonds. Argentina called the hedge funds “vultures.”

Griesa said the bonds must be paid in full.

In 2014, Argentina’s then-president Cristina Fernandez called Griesa “senile” and his finding “silliness.”

After Fernandez left office, the court case was settled. Bondholders were paid more than $8 billion.