National Roundup

Pennsylvania
Woman accused of killing fiance on wedding day

HOKENDAUQUA, Pa. (AP) — An eastern Pennsylvania woman who was supposed to be spending her first full day as a newlywed was instead in jail Sunday, accused of killing her fiance hours before they were to get married, authorities said.

Na Cola Darcel Franklin, 31, was charged with criminal homicide in Saturday morning stabbing death of Billy Rafeal Brewster, 36, in their Whitehall Township apartment.

At her arraignment by video from jail Saturday, Franklin — apparently unable to grasp that he was dead — pleaded to the judge, “You got to check again!” according to the Morning Call newspaper in Allentown.

After District Judge Donna Butler told her that Brewster had been pronounced dead earlier, Franklin wailed and covered her face in her hands.

“I want my family back,” she said, rocking gently back and forth. “I want to go home.”

When asked if she understood the homicide charge, Franklin wept and choked out the words one at a time.

“I ... did ... not ... kill ... him ... on ... purpose,” she said, according to the newspaper.

Franklin and Brewster were to be married at 10 a.m. Saturday, but police said they were called to the apartment shortly after 2 a.m. Saturday and found Brewster bleeding from the torso as he lay on the landing outside his apartment. He was pronounced dead a little over an hour later at a hospital, District Attorney Jim Martin said.

The Lehigh County coroner’s office said a preliminary investigation revealed two stab wounds that resulted in a punctured heart.

Neighbor Steve Engel said the pastor who was supposed to perform the ceremony came to the building after not being able to reach the couple. He said others who were apparently going to the wedding also showed up at the building throughout the day.


Missouri
Doctor sued for posting breast surgery photos

KIRKWOOD, Mo. (AP) — A St. Louis-area doctor is facing lawsuits from 10 women claiming she put before-and-after pictures of their breast augmentation surgeries on her website.

The suits in federal court in St. Louis accuse Kirkwood Dr. Michele Koo of negligence for displaying pictures linked to the names of the women. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that in most cases, the images showed no faces and were authorized by patients who expected their names to remain confidential.

Long Island, N.Y.-based MedNet Technologies Inc. ran Koo’s website, and Koo’s lawyers blame MedNet. Attorney Jonathan Ries says Koo had no intention of linking pictures and names.
But MedNet blames Koo, saying it did not post, control or influence the content of the website.


South Dakota
Man convicted in murder-for-hire scheme appeals

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A man who was convicted of hiring a hit man to kill his son-in-law is asking the North Dakota Supreme Court to give him a new trial.

Gene Kirkpatrick is serving a life prison term without a chance for parole for the killing of Fargo dentist Philip Gattuso.

Kirkpatrick was convicted of hiring a man to kill Gattuso. Gattuso was found beaten to death with a hammer in his Fargo home in October 209.

Court testimony indicated Kirkpatrick didn’t want Gattuso raising his young granddaughter. Kirkpatrick’s daughter was married to Gattuso when she died in March 2009.
The Supreme Court is hearing arguments in the case on Sept. 4.

Kirkpatrick says the trial judge shouldn’t have allowed his statements to police to be used against him at his trial.


California
Muslim woman sues Disney over discrimination

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A former Disneyland employee who says she was forbidden to wear a Muslim head scarf at work sued the Walt Disney Co. for discrimination.

The federal suit was filed Monday in Los Angeles on behalf of Imane Boudlal.

Boudlal was a restaurant hostess at the Anaheim theme park but hasn’t worked there for about two years.

Boudlal says she was forbidden to wear the head scarf because it wasn’t part of her approved work costume. Disney says she refused to wear a specially designed hat instead or to accept jobs away from customers.

Disney spokeswoman Suzi Brown tells the Los Angeles Times that Disney can’t comment specifically on the lawsuit but the company has a long history of accommodating the religious requests of employees.


New Mexico
Man who was pepper sprayed sues security firm 

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A man has sued a security company after one of its guards pepper-sprayed him last month on the sidewalk in downtown Santa Fe.

The Albuquerque Journal reports that 26-year-old Justin LeVan filed a lawsuit on July 31 against security guard Heath Mora and the company he works for, Associated Security International. LeVan is seeking unspecified damages.

A police report of the late-night encounter on July 24 said the guard thought LeVan was “tagging” a street sign with graffiti and attempted to stop him.

LeVan’s attorney denies that his client was tagging.

The police report said that Mora said he saw LeVan walking past a “road sign” with a black marker in his hand and thought LeVan wrote on the sign. He told LeVan to stop and ran after him.
Mora told police that LeVan put his hands on a wall, then turned around “with a look in his eye” like he was going to fight and took a step toward Mora.

Mora told the officer he used his pepper spray gun in LeVan’s face.

The account in LeVan’s lawsuit said Mora started “screaming” at him from 50 yards away, then Mora ran toward him and “brutally attacked” him by kicking his legs, placing him in a choke hold and pressing his face into the sidewalk.

In a cellphone video taken by a post-altercation witness, LeVan said he was not tagging, but “replicating,” a term which means tracing over someone’s existing tag, according to police Lt. Louis Carlos.

The police report said a marker was found on LeVan.

The report states that LeVan acknowledged tracing a tag on a trash can. LeVan’s attorney said this was not true and that his client stopped to admire the tags when he was chased down by Mora.

Associated Security officials declined an interview request, but issued a written statement.

“Based upon all the facts presently at our disposal, we believe that our officer acted appropriately after witnessing what appeared to be a crime against the property of one of our clients, and after being threatened verbally and physically by Mr. LeVan,” the Associated Security statement said.