National Roundup

California
1,000-plus file claims against Chevron refinery

RICHMOND, Calif. (AP) — More than 1,000 people blaming this week’s California refinery fire for sore throats and other ailments are asking an attorney to help them get a payout for their suffering from Chevron Corp.

Another 1,000 people that contacted Chevron directly are being helped at a downtown Richmond storefront set up by the San Ramon-based petroleum company.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports attorney Nick Haney posted a sign two days after Monday’s smoky refinery blaze that reads “File Chevron Claims Here.”

More than 1,000 people lured by the promise of a few hundred dollars showed up on Wednesday.

They are complaining of coughs, nausea, scratchy throats and psychological trauma.

Haney’s five assistants were on the sidewalk asking people to fill out paperwork and show proof they had seen a doctor.


Pennsylvania
Police: Pa. man made 911 call during drug deal

SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) — Police say a northeastern Pennsylvania man accidentally dialed 911 during a drug deal, leading to the entire conversation being recorded and his subsequent arrest.

Scranton police say they arrested 24-year-old Justin Kryzanowski on Wednesday after being contacted by dispatchers who told them a conversation about narcotics could be heard over an open line.

Investigators say they tracked down Kryzanowski at his home and found syringes filled with the opioid dependence medication Suboxone and various prescription drugs. The Times-Tribune of Scranton reports officers also found Kryzanowski’s cellphone, which matched the one that called 911.

Kryzanowski’s arraignment information wasn’t immediately available.


Florida
Face-chewing victim speaks out in first interview

MIAMI (AP) — A homeless man whose face was mostly chewed off in a bizarre assault alongside a busy South Florida highway told police that his attacker “just ripped me to ribbons.”
In a recorded interview with investigators, Ronald Poppo said the man who approached him initially seemed friendly. Then the man, Rudy Eugene, seemed to become angry about something that had happened on Miami Beach, where thousands were partying through the Memorial Day weekend.

“For a while he was acting nice. Then he got flustered. He probably remembered something that happened on the beach and was not happy about it,” Poppo told investigators in the interview that was taped July 19 and first reported Wednesday by Miami news station WFOR-TV.

Poppo said Eugene then “turned berserk” and attacked with his bare hands, screaming that both men would die.

“He just ripped me to ribbons. He chewed up my face. He plucked out my eyes. Basically, that’s all there is to say about it,” Poppo said.
Poppo, 65, remains in a long-term care facility after losing an eye, his eyebrows, his nose and parts of his forehead and right cheek in the May 26 attack. His other eye was severely damaged.

Doctors at Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center said last month that Poppo was in good spirits, talking and walking around, but would need several more surgeries before he could explore the options for reconstructing his face.

Eugene, 31, was shot and killed by a Miami police officer during the attack on the Macarthur Causeway just off downtown Miami. Lab tests found only marijuana in Eugene’s system, but no other drugs or alcohol.

Poppo said Eugene had said something about not being able “to score,” adding that Eugene “must have been souped up on something.”

In the police interview, Poppo sometimes seems confused about some details of the attack. He described Eugene wearing a green shirt and getting out of a car, but surveillance video recorded from security cameras on The Miami Herald building showed a naked Eugene walking up to Poppo as cars and bicyclists zipped by. Poppo was reclining on the sidewalk near the parking garage where he lived.

Police asked Poppo whether he provoked Eugene.

“What could provoke an attack of that type?” Poppo said. “I didn’t curse at the guy or say anything mean or nasty.”

Poppo also thanked the police for saving his life, saying the officer who shot Eugene arrived in the nick of time.


Florida
Zimmerman will seek ‘stand your ground’ hearing

SANFORD, Fla. (AP) — Attorneys for the neighborhood watch volunteer charged in the death of an unarmed teen say they’ll seek a “stand your ground” hearing that could lead to criminal charges being dismissed.

A statement posted Thursday on the website for George Zimmerman’s legal team says evidence released by prosecutors shows “clear support for a strong claim of self-defense.”

Zimmerman says he shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in February in self-defense under Florida’s so-called “stand your ground” law, which allows people to use deadly force, instead of retreating, if they believe their lives are in danger.

Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder. If a judge rules the evidence fits the conditions of “stand your ground,” the criminal charges would be dismissed and Zimmerman would be immune from civil action in the shooting.

Zimmerman is free on $1 million bond.


Massachusetts
Ex-Intel worker gets 3 years for stealing secrets

BOSTON (AP) — A former Intel Corp. worker in Massachusetts has been sentenced to three years in federal prison for stealing hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of computer chip manufacturing and design secrets while working for a rival company.

Biswamohan Pani was also sentenced Wednesday in Boston to two years of probation and fined $17,500. He pleaded guilty in April to five counts of wire fraud.

Prosecutors say the 36-year-old Pani downloaded secret documents from Intel in May 2008, shortly after he announced he was leaving his Hudson, Mass., job.

Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel valued those documents at between $200 million and $400 million. The company detected and reported the theft.

Intel rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. hired Pani and cooperated with investigators. The Sunnyvale, Calif., company didn’t know of Pani’s scheme.n