Louisiana
Doctor: Pledge who chugged liquor was ‘dead man walking’
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A toxicologist has testified that a fraternity pledge was a “dead man walking” after chugging liquor during a hazing event.
The Advocate reports that Dr. Patricia Williams told the court Tuesday there was no way Max Gruver’s 19-year-old body could have survived that level of intoxication. Gruver had a blood-alcohol level of more than six times the legal driving limit when he died in 2017 after a Phi Delta Theta event called “Bible study.”
Williams’ testimony came during the negligent homicide trial of Matthew Naquin, who witnesses identified as one of the event leaders who ordered pledges to drink 190-proof alcohol.
FBI investigators testified that Naquin deleted nearly 700 files from his cellphone after authorities told his lawyer they had a warrant. Prosecutors say there’s no evidence suggesting any wrongdoing on the lawyer’s part.
Florida
Police: Man tied up wife’s lover, cut off penis
BELL, Fla. (AP) — Authorities say a Florida man held his wife’s lover at gunpoint, cut off the man’s penis and fled with it.
News outlets report 49-year-old Alex Bonilla was arrested hours later on charges including aggravated assault.
The Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Office released a statement Tuesday that said Bonilla broke into his neighbor’s home Sunday, tied the neighbor up and mutilated his genitals with scissors. Deputies say the victim told authorities that Bonilla then took the severed penis and fled across the street to his own house.
An arrest report says Bonilla caught his wife and the victim having sex in May.
The victim was hospitalized.
Minnesota
5 new lawsuits filed in fatal school explosion
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Five new lawsuits have been filed more than two years after a natural gas explosion caused part of a Minneapolis school to collapse, killing two people and injuring nine others.
The lawsuits say CenterPoint Energy and Master Mechanical knew their work at Minnehaha Academy was “hazardous and abnormally dangerous” but “failed to inspect and close shut-off valves” upstream from a gas meter.
The plaintiffs include the school’s president, who says she suffered a traumatic brain injury; the soccer coach, who lost a leg; and three other employees, who say they suffered concussions and post-traumatic stress disorder in the April 2017 explosion.
Master Mechanical says it respects the legal process and the ongoing National Transportation Safety Board investigation. CenterPoint says it’s aware of the lawsuits and is working toward a resolution.
Texas
Town drops measure to be ‘sanctuary city for unborn’
MINERAL WELLS, Texas (AP) — Leaders of a small town in Texas are abandoning a proposal that would have essentially banned abortions in their community.
Mineral Wells Mayor Christopher Perricone says he proposed making his town a “sanctuary city for the unborn” after the town of Waskom became the first in Texas to do so. But at a meeting Tuesday in Mineral Wells, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of Dallas, city leaders voted 5-2 to take no action at the recommendation of the city’s legal staff.
The Star-Telegram reports that earlier Tuesday, the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas sent a letter to Mineral Wells council members warning that its proposal was unconstitutional.
There are currently no abortion clinics in either Waskom or Mineral Wells, so the measures are largely symbolic.
Florida
Spear fatally impales woman during argument with boyfriend
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Authorities have arrested a man they say was arguing with his girlfriend when a spear she was holding snapped and went through her chest, killing her.
The SunSentinel reports Adam Reechard Crespo grabbed 32-year-old Silvia Galva by the ankles and pulled her off the bed in their South Florida condominium Friday night.
An arrest report says Galva grabbed a spear at the foot of the bed as 43-year-old Crespo continued dragging her. Crespo said he heard a snapping sound. He saw the spear had penetrated her chest and pulled it out, “hoping it was not too bad.”
A friend called 911 while Crespo put pressure on the wound.
Crespo is charged with murder. Defense lawyer William DiRenzo says there are unanswered questions and he hopes his client will be exonerated.
Missouri
Lawsuit: Public housing resident was in ‘living hell’
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas City public housing resident alleges in a lawsuit that she was sexually assaulted after complaining about her safety and repeatedly asking to be moved.
The Kansas City Star reports that the woman sued the Housing Authority of Kansas City and a security company hired by the housing authority last week in federal court. She alleges that she was subjected to a “living hell of pervasive sexual harassment and multiple sexual assaults at her home” at the Brush Creek Towers.
The woman’s attorney, Anthony LaCroix, says management “turned a blind eye” to the history of complaints. He says other women had also been harassed and assaulted at Brush Creek Towers, to the point where they were afraid to get on the elevator.
The defendants have denied the allegations.
Alabama
Judge resigns amid judicial ethics charges
DOTHAN, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama judge has resigned amid judicial ethics charges that accuse him of having an affair with an attorney who was handling cases in his court.
WDHN-TV reports that Coffee County District Judge Chris Kaminski says he is quitting because it isn’t “financially feasible” to fight charges filed with the Alabama Court of the Judiciary on Tuesday.
A complaint accuses Kaminski of beginning an affair with an unnamed female attorney while he was still married in 2017. The judge later got a divorce.
The charges say Kaminski improperly presided in cases involving the lawyer. It also says he obtained courthouse surveillance video that she posted on social media in an attempt to disprove rumors of their relationship.
The charges say Kaminski denied having an affair, but that evidence shows otherwise.
