National Roundup

Oregon
Screams of ‘Help!’ draw 911 call, but parrot is the screamer

CLACKAMAS, Ore. (AP) — A deliveryman in Oregon who heard a woman’s screams for help had his wife call 911, but when a deputy showed up it turned out the screamer was a parrot, not a woman.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reported Tuesday that when Clackamas County Sheriff’s Deputy Hayden Sanders showed up, all he found was Diego the Parrot.

The green-and-yellow bird was in good health and no humans were involved.

Tennessee
Man pleads guilty to gun charge after toddler shoots cousin

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Authorities say a Tennessee man has pleaded guilty to a federal charge after a toddler fatally shot a 7-year-old cousin.

U.S. Attorney Don Cochran says in a statement that 27-year-old Anthony Patrick Sanders admitted on Tuesday to being a convicted felon with a gun.

The statement says Harmony Warfield was shot June 6 in a Nashville apartment where three other children, ages 14, 11 and 2, were present. Authorities have said the 14-year-old reported the 2-year-old was holding the gun before the 7-year-old was shot in the head.

The statement says Sanders left the loaded gun where the children could access it, and after the shooting took the gun and fled the area. He was indicted eight days later.

The plea agreement calls for Sanders to serve 10 years in prison. Formal sentencing is set for March 2.

Massachusetts
Judge dismisses suit over hack of Hernandez jailhouse calls

BOSTON (AP) —” A lawsuit brought over hacked jailhouse phone calls of former NFL star Aaron Hernandez has been dismissed by a Massachusetts judge.

The Boston Herald reports that Suffolk Superior Court Judge Helene Kazanjian on Monday dismissed the lawsuit Hernandez brought last year against Dallas-based Securus Technologies, which records inmate phone calls. Hernandez killed himself in April, while serving life in prison for murder.

The lawsuit said that someone accessed Securus’ electronic database and got access to Hernandez’s phone recordings in 2014, when the ex-New England Patriots player was being held in a Boston jail.

His estate continued to press the case after he died.

Securus had asked for the judge to dismiss the case, saying that as an inmate, Hernandez had no expectation of privacy.

Missouri
Imitating ‘Curb,’ St. Louis man ticketed for honking at cop

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A St. Louis man is feeling pretty ... pretty ... pretty ... pretty miffed over a recent traffic ticket.

In an instance of life imitating art — in this case a recent episode of HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm” — computer programmer Scott Smith says he was ticketed for honking his horn at a police officer.

Smith told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he repeatedly honked at the officer in an unmarked car Friday because the light had turned green and the officer wasn’t moving.

He was pulled over and used his cellphone to record the heated exchange with the plainclothes officer, who asked, “Is your horn stuck?” Smith replied: “Is your brake stuck?”

Smith was ticketed for excessive noise from a vehicle. He plans to file a formal complaint.

In the “Curb Your Enthusiasm” episode, Larry David’s character was ticketed for honking at a police car at a stoplight.

Connecticut
NAACP calls for hate crime charge against college roommate

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The Connecticut NAACP wants a felony hate crime charge immediately filed against a white former college student accused of smearing body fluids on her black roommate’s belongings.

The civil rights group has scheduled a rally Wednesday evening outside the West Hartford police department.

Former University of Hartford student Brianna Brochu was charged Oct. 28 with misdemeanor criminal mischief and breach of peace. Police said last week they were seeking a hate crime charge, which has not been filed.

Police said Brochu claimed in an Instagram post to have tampered with her roommate’s belongings, including putting her toothbrush “where the sun doesn’t shine” and rubbing used tampons on her backpack.

Police, prosecutors and Brochu didn’t return messages seeking comment. Court records indicate Brochu doesn’t have a lawyer.

Connecticut
Romance model pleads guilty to bank robbery

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A romance novel cover model from California has pleaded guilty to robbing a bank and a convenience store in Connecticut.

The Greenwich Time reports 35-year-old David Byers, of San Diego, entered his guilty plea in Hartford on Tuesday. Prosecutors say Byers robbed a Chase Bank twice and a Citgo gas station in Greenwich in April before leading police on a cross-country manhunt.

Police say he evaded officers in Pennsylvania and Arizona before his arrest in San Diego in May. Authorities believe Byers was also responsible for a series of robberies in New York.

The man is now facing up to 20 years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 18.

A Los Angeles photographer previously said Byers has appeared on the covers of four romance novels.

Maryland
4 guards accused of extorting colleagues

SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — Four security guards at a Washington-area federal center have been accused of selling weapons certifications to other guards who needed to pass weapons tests.

The guards, who worked at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, were arrested Tuesday after being indicted on several counts, including theft and extortion.

Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office spokesman John Erzen says the suspects were involved in a scheme in which they told guards they had failed their weapons tests but could pay hundreds of dollars to get the certification.

Erzen says at least seven guards agreed to pay. It’s unclear whether they actually failed the tests, or whether they were lied to.