New Hampshire
Kidnap suspect pleads not guilty to making threat
OSSIPEE, N.H. (AP) - A New Hampshire man accused of kidnapping a 14-year-old girl and raping her over the course of nine months has pleaded not guilty to charges that he threatened the lead prosecutor in the case.
Prosecutors say 35-year-old Nathaniel Kibby kidnapped the girl on her way home from school in Conway in October 9, 2013, then imprisoned her in his home and a storage unit until July 2014. He faces more than 200 charges.
Kibby pleaded not guilty on paper Tuesday to a new felony charge of improper influence and misdemeanor charges of criminal threatening and obstructing government administration.
According to the indictment, a recorded phone call he made from the Carroll County House of Corrections in December captured Kibby making vulgar threats to harm Associate Attorney General Jane Young.
Pennsylvania
Beauty queen jailed on fake cancer charges
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - A Pennsylvania beauty queen has been jailed on charges she faked having leukemia to benefit from fundraisers, and will be stripped of her title.
Online court records show 23-year-old Brandi Lee Weaver-Gates, of State College, was arraigned Tuesday on charges of theft by deception and receiving stolen property. State police say an April bingo benefit raised $14,000 for the Miss Pennsylvania U.S. International pageant winner. Troopers are asking the public to come forward if they have donated money to Weaver-Gates.
Butler's Beauties, the company that sponsors the pageant, says in a Facebook page statement that they were also "led to believe that she was dealing with this horrible disease" and are making her return her crown and sash.
Records don't list an attorney for Weaver-Gates, who faces a preliminary hearing Aug. 19.
Pennsylvania
$4.75M deal reached in 'kids for cash' case
WILKES-BARRE, Pennsylvania (AP) - A U.S. judge has approved a $4.75 million settlement between a businessman at the center of a Pennsylvania juvenile justice scandal and youths sent to his detention centers by a corrupt judge.
Robert Powell was sentenced to 18 months in prison for his role in the scandal that became known as "kids for cash," a kickback scheme that led the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to vacate the convictions of thousands of juveniles.
Powell testified he was forced to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to former Judges Mark Ciavarella Jr. and Michael Conahan in return for their support of his two private juvenile facilities.
The settlement agreement, approved Monday, covers at least 2,400 juveniles who appeared before Ciavarella between January 2003 and May 2008.
Prosecutors said Ciavarella ordered youths to detention for a wide range of relatively minor infractions, thus helping to fill the beds of Powell's PA Child Care and its sister facility, Western PA Child Care.
Ciavarella and Conahan are serving lengthy prison terms in connection with the scandal.
Plaintiffs have until Oct. 5 to submit a claim.
The plaintiffs previously reached a $2.5 million settlement with PA Child Care, Western PA Child Care and another company. The builder of the facilities, Robert K. Mericle, who paid the judges more than $2 million, agreed in 2011 to pay more than $17 million to the juveniles and their families.
New York
Arrest in attack on gays wedded at West Point
NEW YORK (AP) - Police say a New York City man has been arrested in connection with a bias attack in lower Manhattan against the first gay couple to be married at West Point.
Thomas Clabough of Queens was arrested Wednesday and charged with assault and attempted assault as a hate crime.
The victims were Daniel Lennox-Choate and his husband, Larry.
Police say it happened Aug. 2 after the suspect entered the Prince Street shop to purchase a beer.
They say he shouted anti-gay slurs at the two men and then punched Daniel Lennox-Choate in the face.
The suspect then fled on a bike.
The 30-year-old victim suffered minor injuries to his mouth and refused medical attention.
Daniel Lennox-Choate graduated from West Point in 2007, and his husband graduated two years later. They married in 2013.
South Carolina
Family attorney wants federal probe of death
SENECA, S.C. (AP) - The family of a South Carolina teenager shot and killed by police during an attempted drug bust wants federal authorities to be part of the investigation into the shooting.
Attorney Eric Bland said in a statement released Tuesday to news outlets that police violated 19-year-old Zachary Hammond's rights.
Seneca police Lt. Mark Tiller says he shot Hammond during the bust the night of July 26 because he felt threatened as the teen drove his car at him.
Hammond's family says autopsy results show Hammond was shot through the driver's side window from behind, indicating there was no danger to the officer.
Both the officer and the teen are white.
The State Law Enforcement Division has released little about its investigation and will send findings to the local prosecutor.
South Carolina
Teacher accused of sexual assault while driving car
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - A South Carolina middle school teacher has been accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a woman while working as a driver for the popular ridesharing service Uber.
Multiple media outlets report that according to an arrest affidavit, 39-year-old Patrick Aiello of Charleston demanded sexual favors Sunday night from a 23-year-old intoxicated female passenger in his car. The woman says Aiello attacked and sexually assaulted her before kicking her out of the vehicle.
Aiello, a teacher at Zucker Middle School in North Charleston, was arrested Monday on charges of kidnapping and first-degree criminal sexual conduct.
Charleston County School District spokesman Daniel Head says Aiello has been placed on paid administrative leave.
Uber spokeswoman Kaitlin Durkosh says Aiello has been removed as a driver. It is unclear if he has an attorney.
Published: Thu, Aug 13, 2015
