National Roundup

South Carolina
Fall trial set for ex-lawmaker charged in ­corruption case

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - The former chairman of one of South Carolina's most powerful legislative committees is set to go on trial later this year on charges that are part of a wide-ranging, ongoing probe into Statehouse corruption.

A judge on Wednesday set a trial date of October 22 for former House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Harrison on two counts of misconduct in office and criminal conspiracy, according to news outlets.

Harrison left office after choosing not to see re-election in 2012. Prosecutors have said that the Columbia Republican failed to reveal in financial disclosure statements that he was paid $900,000 over 12 years by working for consultant Richard Quinn.

Quinn himself was charged in the years long probe, which has led to guilty pleas from four state lawmakers including former House Speaker Bobby Harrell and former House Majority Leader Jim Merrill. Corruption charges against the longtime consultant who has advised many of the state's Republican officeholders were dropped late last year in exchange for Quinn's promise to cooperate with investigators, as well as the guilty plea of his son, now-former state Rep. Rick Quinn Jr., to misdemeanor misconduct in office.

Harrison and fellow former state Rep. Tracy Edge of Myrtle Beach are the only remaining lawmakers charged in the Statehouse probe whose cases remain in court. Earlier this year, Sen. John Courson of Columbia pleaded guilty to misconduct in office and resigned on the same day his trial was supposed to start.

All of the lawmakers charged have been Republicans, but Democratic Solicitor David Pascoe has said his investigation isn't politically motivated and that he's only going where the evidence has led him.

Kentucky
Police: Woman faked own ­kidnapping, ­sent ransom notes

CORBIN, Ky. (AP) - A woman has been accused of staging her own kidnapping and sending her father fake ransom notes demanding $400.

News outlets report 19-year-old Abbygail Farley's father had reported her missing. Court documents say he received text messages Tuesday from her phone and another number saying she was abducted.

Corbin police say Farley was pretending to be an abductor and demanded the cash. Farley's father was told where to leave the money, and police and the FBI helped him drop it off.

Police Lt. Coy Wilson tells WYMT-TV authorities discovered Farley used a texting app to send the notes. They pinged her phone and found her inside an apartment.

Farley was charged with several offenses including falsely reporting an incident and theft by extortion.

California
Settlement in lawsuit over treatment of LGBT inmates

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) - The American Civil Liberties Union and the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department have agreed to settle a lawsuit over the treatment of LGBTQ inmates in county jails.

The lawsuit filed by the ACLU in 2014 claimed LGBTQ inmates were held in cells up to 23 hours a day and prohibited from participating in job training, drug rehab, religious services and other jail programs. Sheriff's officials had claimed the isolation was to protect inmates from harassment.

The department declined to comment on the deal announced Wednesday because it still must be approved by a court.

The Sun newspaper reports that under the terms of the agreement, LGBTQ inmates will get expanded housing options and access to programs.

Jail staffers will receive special training. And the county will pay $1 million total to plaintiffs.

Texas
2 gangsters get life terms for 2014 police ­officer's death

SAN ANTONIO (AP) - Two gangsters drew life sentences in federal prison for the fatal 2014 shooting of an off-duty San Antonio-area police officer outside a tattoo parlor he co-owned.

A federal judge sentenced Texas Mexican Mafia members Jesse Santibanez and Alfredo Cardona in San Antonio on Wednesday. A jury had convicted the pair last November on single counts each of racketeering murder and using a firearm for a racketeering murder.

Another gang member was sentenced to life in prison last November after pleading guilty to similar charges, while a fourth was sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to racketeering conspiracy in the slaying of Balcones Heights police Officer Julian Pesina.

Investigators say the officer also claimed Texas Mexican Mafia membership, had gang-related tattoos and sold drugs to fellow members.

California
Another judge tosses lawsuit over LL Beans' return policy

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Another federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit targeting outdoors retailer L.L. Bean's new limited-time return policy, this one in California.

District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers on Tuesday granted the Freeport, Maine-based retailer's motion to dismiss the lawsuit while leaving an opening for the plaintiff to amend the complaint.

A federal judge in Chicago dismissed a similar lawsuit in June.

A lawyer for the California plaintiff argued customers paid a premium for L.L. Bean's products because of its generous satisfaction guarantee, which had no time limit. But the judge expressed skepticism.

L.L. Bean's products include snowshoes and handcrafted waterproof boots. The company contends the lawsuits are without merit. It says going forward there's a one-year limit for returns of most purchases.

Georgia
Something ­borrowed: ­Planner nabs wedding grifter

MILTON, Ga. (AP) - A Georgia wedding planner came in handy for one couple who nearly had more than $2,000 stolen from their reception.

News outlets report Kristina Dardo was arrested Saturday after planner Ashley Baber noticed her among the wedding guests, "holding a jacket in an odd manner," and thought it a particularly odd garment for the 90-degree weather.

Baber was on high alert. Event planners in the Atlanta area were circulating a surveillance photo of an uninvited guest suspected in similar thefts.

An off-duty officer confronted the wedding crasher, who acknowledged hiding around $2,300 in cash and gift cards under the jacket.

Dardo was sent to the Fulton County jail on a felony theft charge. Police are still determining if she's behind the other thefts.

Published: Fri, Aug 17, 2018