National Roundup

Ohio
Court: Initial reports of threats are public record

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled initial reports containing information about threats against a former county leader in Cleveland who ran for governor are public records.

The court ruled unanimously Wednesday that the records involving former Cuyahoga County executive Edward FitzGerald fall into the category of “initial incident reports” that are usually subject to immediate release.

At issue were requests for records from May 2012 to August 2014 in which FitzGerald, the 2014 Democratic gubernatorial nominee, was identified as a victim or a person filing a complaint.

The county sheriff’s office denied the request, saying they were security records that can be shielded.

The Supreme Court examined the nine records and determined they were not security records and could be released.

The records involve mostly telephone threats against FitzGerald.

Texas
Condom-clogged pipe leads police to Austin sex ring

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Police say they cracked an Austin prostitution ring they were led to by a drainage pipe clogged with condoms.

A police affidavit filed Tuesday said investigators learned that a massage parlor was operating in a shopping strip in northwestern Austin after the realty company that had just taken control of the property grew suspicious of the activities of a tenant when they found hundreds of condoms clogging a waste disposal unit connecting the strip to the city sewer system.

Police say they found a massage parlor operating in the strip where female workers offered sexual services for pay. A woman and her husband have been arrested and charged with organized criminal activity and money laundering.


Wisconsin
Suspect wrote apology before theft of firearms

JANESVILLE, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin man suspected of stealing firearms from a store after threatening to carry out attacks in a manifesto sent to the White House wrote an apology to the shop’s owner before taking the guns, saying he needed them to protect himself and his family, according to court documents.

Joseph Allen Jakubowski, 32, has been the subject of a manhunt since the burglary April 4 at a gun shop near Janesville, a city about 60 miles southwest of Milwaukee. He remained on the run Wednesday.

A criminal complaint filed Tuesday in Rock County charges Jakubowski with burglarizing Armageddon Supplies by diving head-first through a broken window. Eighteen guns, including a fully automatic M-16 assault rifle, and two gun silencers, along with weapon parts and magazines were taken, according to the complaint.

Jakubowski’s vehicle was found burning about three miles from the gun shop shortly after the burglary, prosecutors said.

Detectives spoke last Thursday with Jakubowski’s sister, with whom he had been staying until moving out the morning the gun store was burglarized. The sister, identified only as N.J. in the complaint, told investigators she found what appeared to be a draft of an apology letter to the gun shop owner.

In the letter, Jakubowski explained that he wanted to purchase guns to protect himself and his family, but that as a felon, the law prevented him from doing so, the court documents state. Jakubowski previously had several run-ins with police, mostly for traffic violations, and he once tried to disarm an officer in 2008 during a traffic stop, they state.

In his letter, Jakubowski apologized to the store owner for taking the weapons and thanked the owner for protecting the Second Amendment gun rights of citizens, according to the court filing.

More than 150 state and federal law enforcement officers have been searching for the fugitive and have followed more than 400 leads, according to Rock County sheriff’s officials.

Sheriff Robert Spoden has said Jakubowski threatened to attack schools and public officials in the 161-page manifesto that he mailed to President Donald Trump. Jakubowski spoke of a “revolution” in a video that shows him dropping a package addressed to Trump in a mailbox.

The FBI said Tuesday it was increasing the reward for information on Jakubowski’s whereabouts from $10,000 to $20,000.

New York
Prosecutor: ‘Manchester by the Sea’ inspired duo to kill son

NORWICH, N.Y. (AP) — A couple decided to kill their disabled adoptive son and cover up the crime with a house fire after watching the Oscar-winning movie “Manchester by the Sea,” according to the New York prosecutor handling the case.

Chenango County District Attorney Joseph McBride said during a bail hearing for Ernest and Heather Franklin last week that Jeffrey Franklin, 16, was killed within two hours of the couple watching the film on Feb. 28, two days after the movie won Academy Awards for best actor and best original screenplay. McBride said an examination showed the teen died before the fire.

The Franklins are charged with second-degree murder, arson and tampering with physical evidence.

Michael Trosset, Heather Franklin’s attorney, told the court that she’s “innocent until proven guilty.” A message left with her husband’s public defender, John Cameron, wasn’t immediately returned Wednesday.

“Manchester by the Sea” tells the story of a man who accidently sets a fire that kills his children. He wasn’t prosecuted. During the Academy Awards ceremony on Feb. 26, Casey Affleck won the Oscar for best actor for his portrayal of the man’s brother, while director Kenneth Lonegran took home an Oscar for best original screenplay.

“Within two hours of that movie playing to this defendant and her husband, Jeffrey’s deceased,” McBride said during Friday’s bail hearing.

Officials said the fire was reported around 1:15 a.m. March 1 at the family’s home in the rural town of Guilford, 55 miles (88 kilometers) southeast of Syracuse.

Ernest Franklin, 35, pointed out the room where the teen was lying when police arrived on the scene, authorities said. Officials have said the son had mental and physical disabilities.

The father told police he was away from the house chasing down the family’s dogs when the fire started, officials said. Meanwhile, Heather Franklin, 33, claimed to have gone to two stores seeking a certain product while driving around from 11:30 p.m. until about 2:30 a.m., when she returned home, authorities said.

An autopsy determined that Jeffrey Franklin was already dead by the time the fire started, McBride said.

“The victim was badly burned,” McBride said during the hearing. “Because of the damage to the body by the fire, the pathologist is not able to determine the cause of death.”