‘A Corvallis teenager is facing charges of burglary and sexual abuse of an animal after being arrested last week at a barn in northeast Corvallis.
The teenager, 17 at the time of his arrest, was arrested by Deputy Randy Hiner and Corvallis Police Officer Jason Harvey at the barn in the 4000 block of Northeast Minnesota Avenue at about 2:30 a.m. on June 7.
The owners of the property had reported assaults on the horse before, once on July 30, 2006, and again on Feb. 9 of this year. After the July incident, the owners noticed the halter of their mare had been moved. So the owners installed a video surveillance camera inside the barn.’
‘A Melbourne chef, who police say cut out images of TV celebrity Naomi Robson’s face and stuck them on pictures of women he allegedly assaulted, has been charged with numerous counts of rape and indecent assault.
John Nicholous Xydias, 43, of Glen Iris, was charged with 33 counts of rape and 55 counts of indecent assault in relation to two women between 1998 and 2004.’
‘Four lesbians convicted of assaulting a man who was stabbed after he made advances toward one of them were sentenced Thursday amid screams and weeping to prison terms ranging from 3 1/2 to 11 years.
More than two dozen court officers ringed the courtroom as Manhattan state Supreme Court Justice Edward McLaughlin pronounced the sentences, which were usually punctuated by a moan, a wail or a comment of disbelief. [..]
The judge sentenced Patreese Johnson, 20, to 11 years in prison. Johnson admitted she had a knife and is seen on the videotape swinging it at the victim, Dwayne Buckle, who has called the incident “a hate crime against a straight man.”‘
‘More than 450 people, including young children, have been freed from slavery in Chinese brick factories and mines but hundreds of others are believed to still be trapped, police said Friday.
In a crackdown that has laid bare a shocking underworld of human trafficking and slave labour, police in two provinces in northern and central China said the workers were freed after raids over the past week on hundreds of brick factories and small coal mines.
Various media reports have described freed workers, some as young as eight, as having been beaten, nearly starved and forced to work extraordinary long hours under appalling and dangerous conditions.
“So far, we have rescued more than 200 people including over 40 children,” an official with the Henan provincial public security department, who gave only his surname of Dang, told AFP by phone.
“They were abducted and sold to brick kilns in Shanxi and Henan provinces.”‘
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‘Police in Punta Gorda say a young man and woman were having sex on a crane in the middle of downtown. Police say the couple climbed more than 100 feet to get on top of the crane to take pictures when one thing apparently led to another.
The crane at the downtown Punta Gorda construction site has been there for some time. It’s becoming a landmark. But that seems to more true for some than others.
While on patrol, a Punta Gorda police officer got a call about some type of action on the crane. The officer noticed someone not wearing a shirt behind a banner and then a second person popped out.
“Both were unclothed,” said the officer. “Basically had to order them over the public address system to dress and come down.”‘
‘Poachers have shot the last two white rhinos in Zambia, killing one and wounding the other, in a night operation at the Mosi-Oa-Tunya national park in Livingstone, an official said today.
The shooting of the two endangered animals in a heavily-guarded zoological park near Victoria Falls in Zambia’s tourist resort town of Livingstone took place last week.
“I can confirm that one of the white rhinos was shot dead by suspected poachers. The other one was wounded and is undergoing treatment,” said Maureen Mwape, spokesperson of the Zambia Wildlife Authority, which would be investigating the shooting.
The dead female rhino’s horn was apparently removed.’
‘There was the Miami Vice bandit, the Fanny Pack bandit, even the Band-Aid bandit – all named for memorable outfits or unique characteristics that bank tellers recalled after the holdup.
Now police are looking for a robber named for his smell: the “Landscape bandit.”
“He smells like dirt – that’s what people always remember,” said Anaheim police Sgt. Tim Schmidt. “It’s not like he hasn’t bathed in month. It’s just he’s been outside working in the dirt.”
The man, who wears a wide-brimmed hat, has robbed three banks in Southern California since April and two out of three tellers mentioned his distinctive odor to investigators.’
‘A man who spent five years in jail for exposing sexual partners to HIV was sentenced to life in prison for knowingly exposing another woman to the virus.
Sean L. Sykes, 33, was sentenced Tuesday. He was found guilty in May of having unprotected sex with a St. Joseph woman without telling her he was HIV-positive. Testimony at his trial — which was closed to the public to protect witnesses — indicated that he had exposed at least eight women to HIV. At least three have tested positive.
“I think it’s fairly clear he is a very dangerous individual,” Buchanan County Prosecutor Dwight Scroggins said after the sentencing. “If he is not in prison, he would likely continue to spread HIV.”‘
‘Bob Teixeira decided it was time to take a stand against U.S. dependence on foreign oil.
So last fall the Charlotte musician and guitar instructor spent $1,200 to convert his 1981 diesel Mercedes to run on vegetable oil. He bought soybean oil in 5-gallon jugs at Costco, spending about 30 percent more than diesel would cost.
His reward, from a state that heavily promotes alternative fuels: a $1,000 fine last month for not paying motor fuel taxes. He has been told to expect another $1,000 fine from the federal government.
To legally use veggie oil, state officials told him, he would have to first post a $2,500 bond.
Teixeira is one of a growing number of fuel-it-yourselfers — backyard brewers who recycle restaurant grease or make moonshine for their car tanks. They do it to save money, reduce pollution or thumb their noses at oil sheiks.
They’re also caught in a web of little-known state laws that can stifle energy independence.’
‘CIA and FBI agents hunting for al Qaeda militants in the Horn of Africa have been interrogating terrorism suspects from 19 countries held at secret prisons in Ethiopia, which is notorious for torture and abuse, according to an investigation by The Associated Press.
Human rights groups, lawyers and several Western diplomats assert hundreds of prisoners, who include women and children, have been transferred secretly and illegally in recent months from Kenya and Somalia to Ethiopia, where they are kept without charge or access to lawyers and families.
The detainees include at least one U.S. citizen and some are from Canada, Sweden and France, according to a list compiled by a Kenyan Muslim rights group and flight manifests obtained by AP.’
‘A judge has ruled that a 24-year-old Canadian man is not allowed to have a girlfriend for the next three years.
The ruling came after Steven Cranley pleaded guilty on Tuesday to several charges stemming from an assault on a former girlfriend.
Cranley, who has been diagnosed with a dependent personality disorder, attacked his girlfriend in an argument after their breakup.
He tried to prevent her from phoning the police by cutting her phone cord and punched and kicked her. He finally stabbed himself with a butcher knife when police did arrive, puncturing his aorta.
Doctors say Cranley has difficulty coping with rejection and runs a high risk to re-offend if he becomes involved in another intimate relationship.’
‘A woman who ripped off her ex-boyfriend’s testicle with her bare hands has been sent to prison.
Amanda Monti, 24, flew into a rage when Geoffrey Jones, 37, rejected her advances at the end of a house party, Liverpool Crown Court heard.
She pulled off his left testicle and tried to swallow it, before spitting it out. A friend handed it back to Mr Jones saying: “That’s yours.”
Monti admitted wounding and was jailed for two-and-a-half years.
Sentencing Monti, Judge Charles James said it was “a very serious injury” and that Monti was not acting in self defence.’
Followup to Ex rips off man’s testicle.
‘A Philadelphia reporter is fighting back against a man who made her private life — including her underwear drawer — public. [..]
Comedian Danny Ozark then snuck away and rifled through Cahn’s underwear drawer and later talked about the experience on a Philadelphia radio station. [..]
“After telling our viewers to stand up for themselves and fight back, I didn’t think I could just sit around without calling out the guy who rummaged through my underwear drawer,” said Cahn.
So Cahn and a camera crew went to the apartment Ozark shares with his father, Arthur Goldman.
Goldman let them in, and apologized for his son’s actions.
“That was in bad taste. I feel bad about that,” Goldman told them.’
‘A 14-year-old boy was arrested after dialing a wrong number and offering to sell drugs to the person on the other end — who happened to be a police detective.
After the call, Gulfport detective Matt Parks arranged to meet the teen in the parking lot of a school to buy an ounce of marijuana and some crack cocaine, a police report said. When the boy showed up, he was arrested on charges of possession of 18 grams of marijuana with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school. [..]
Parks’ phone number is unlisted, and there were no similar phone numbers found in the boy’s cell phone, police said. Detectives said the boy, whose name was not released, likely dialed a random number to try to drum up new business.’
‘It soon will be a crime in this Cajun-country town to let the waistband of your pants sag too low in public.
Mayor Carol Broussard has said he will sign an ordinance the town council approved this week setting penalties of up to six months in jail and a $500 fine for being caught in pants that show undergarments or certain parts of the body.
Broussard said he has nothing against saggy pants but thinks people who wear them should use discretion. “It’s gotten way out of hand out here,” he said. [..]
Broussard’s advice for people who like their pants to hang low: “Just wear it properly. Cover your vital parts. I mean, if you expose your private parts, you’ll get a fine. If you walk up and your pants drop, you get a fine. They’re better off taking the pants off and just wearing a dress.”‘
‘A teenager with a brown belt in karate used a samurai sword to scare off a burglar who was after his PlayStation 3 video game console.
Last Friday afternoon, Damian Fernandez and his 15-year-old sister, Deanne Fernandez, were home alone at their northwest Miami-Dade County home while their parents were at work when they heard knocking on the front door. Moments later, two men were prying the front door unlocked, prompting Deanne to hide in her closet. [..]
“Once I saw him take off running back, I jumped off my (bunk) bed and I grabbed my sword … and I just waited for him,” he said.
Damian said he lunged at him with his samurai sword, striking him in the chest.
“He freaked out,” Damian said.
The burglar ran out of the house with Damian chasing him down the road. When police arrived, a K-9 officer located the burglar hiding behind a neighbor’s palm tree. The second burglar got away.’
‘Decatur police are trying to determine how a one-ton municipal dump truck wound up at the bottom of the Point Mallard Park’s wave pool.
Police said they suspect a maintenance worker could have been responsible for submerging the vehicle in the 8-foot-deep pool at the J. Gilmer Blackburn Aquatic Center. A wrecker service was called in to haul it out of the water.
Officers noticed several garbage bags floating in the water about 5 a.m. Sunday and had to move close to make out the shadowy object at the bottom. They said a gate was open and there were two sets of tire tracks, one leading up a ramp to the wave pool, the other appearing to match a white pickup parked nearby.
Police said an empty beer can, an unidentified vial and a pair of blue swim trunks also were found. The truck could have been driven into the pool as early as 10:30 p.m. Saturday, according to police.’
‘A 25-year-old Hilton Head Island man is accused of breaking into an apartment and then calling his mom for a ride home from the crime scene.
An alert neighbor heard someone scurrying around in an upstairs apartment at Cordillo Courts, 104 Cordillo Parkway, and followed the pair all the way to New Orleans Road, where a deputy caught up to them, according to a Beaufort County Sheriff’s report.
Isaac Talavera, Jr., 25, of 26 Forest Cove, was charged with second-degree burglary after officers found 13 pairs of socks, two cell phones, two tank tops, cigarettes, car keys, a watch and vehicle titles stolen from the apartment at 3:52 p.m., Thursday, the report stated.’
‘An astonishing attempted escape from the police in the Bronx Wednesday morning left a suspect dangling from the side of a high-rise, 23 stories above the ground.
It wasn’t a typical sighting for New Yorkers walking outside or living across from the Soundview apartment tower.
“I started to think, ‘What’s wrong? Is he trying to commit suicide or something?'” said Alex Morales, who, along with his wife Patricia witnessed the suspect’s crazy antics.
But Francisco Correra Jr. wasn’t trying to kill himself. Instead he was trying to escape from police investigating an assault complaint.
“His foot was on the ledge of the window and he was hanging on a childproof bar,” Patricia Morales said.’
‘A boy of six was sent a letter by police urging him to confess to being a career criminal.
Peter Akers was advised to admit any unsolved crimes so he could make a “fresh start”. He was even offered treatment for drugs addiction.
The letter – sent to Peter by mistake – was one of scores of warning messages posted to repeat offenders.
It read: “We are giving the opportunity for you to come forward and notify us of any offences you have committed but have never been dealt with.”
Suggesting a confession might see Peter spared jail, it added: “We will offer all the help and support we can to assist you in making a fresh start.”
Peter, from Derby, could only recall one crime however – stealing sweets from his sister Phoebe, aged nine.’
‘Iran’s parliament on Wednesday voted in favor of a bill that could lead to the death penalty for persons convicted of working in the production of pornographic movies.
With a 148-5 vote in favor and four abstentions, lawmakers present at the Wednesday session of the 290-seat parliament approved that “producers of pornographic works and main elements in their production are considered corrupter of the world and could be sentenced to punishment as corrupter of the world.”
The term, “corrupter of the world” is taken from the Quran, the Muslims’ holy book, and ranks among the highest on the scale of an individual’s criminal offenses. Under Iran’s Islamic Penal Code, it carries a death penalty.
The “main elements” referred to in the draft include producers, directors, cameramen and actors involved in making a pornographic video.’
‘A Brisbane man bullied for wearing bright yellow thongs to a backyard barbecue stabbed the host in the face before killing one of the guests, a court has heard.
Benjamin Haydn MacRae, 28, used a paring knife to stab neighbours Ian Macdonald and James Croker after being dubbed a “gaylord” by one of the men over his choice of footwear.
Mr Macdonald later died as a result of his injuries. [..]
“Ian Macdonald had suggested on a number of occasions that Benjamin MacRae was a gaylord because of the colour of his thongs. The mood was a good one, but it deteriorated.”‘
‘A man was cited for drunken driving twice in the same day, by the same officer, and jailed after authorities said he showed up drunk for his arraignment.
Court records said Adam T. Lundgren, 42, was cited for misdemeanor drunken driving after being spotted driving erratically at 5:30 p.m. Monday.
He was later released to a sober friend, but jumped from the friend’s car and returned to downtown Missoula, where he continued drinking, court records said.
At about 10 p.m., Lundgren drove into a bridge railing and started to run away. Witnesses captured him and held him until police arrived.’
‘US President George W Bush put his wristwatch in his pocket while greeting a crowd during his visit to Albania, the White House said Tuesday in an effort to end a two-day long mystery over the disappearance of the timepiece.
Bush was mingling with a very enthusiastic crowd – to put it mildly – in the small Albanian town of Fushe Kruja on Sunday when the saga began. Cameras captured the watch on his arm, but moments later images showed the leader of the free world’s wrist was bare.
Since, various media in Albania and other countries have speculated that someone might have snatched the First Watch, or the president may have lost it. The White House, however, offered a rather boring conclusion to the tale.
“The president put it in his pocket and it returned safely home,” spokesman Tony Snow said.’
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‘China said Monday it was investigating the sale of fake blood protein, a potentially dangerous and widespread practice that underscores the country’s problems with product safety.
State media reported one death from use of the counterfeits, but authorities have not said whether anyone has fallen ill.
A shortage of albumin, a blood protein that chronically ill people often lack, triggered a countrywide investigation in March into whether fakes were being sold, China Central Television said.
The report centred on an inquiry in the northeastern province of Jilin, where 59 hospitals and pharmacies were sold more than 2,000 bottles of counterfeit blood protein. It did not say what the products were made of, but said they could “make a patient’s condition worsen and could cause death.”‘
‘An Australian man who didn’t notice he lost part of a finger in a bar fight has had the missing digit re-attached.
A Sydney police spokesman said the man left the pub after being involved in a fight and was walking down the street before realizing the top knuckle of his ring finger was missing.
Inspector Mark Kellert told The Sydney Morning Herald the 42-year-old man went to a nearby hospital while the missing finger was located in the pub’s bathroom. The body part taken to the hospital where doctors later re-attached it.
Kellert said no arrests had been made although “police are continuing their inquiries.”‘
‘Chicago Attorneys for a man who says he was beaten by a Chicago Fire Department paramedic two years ago released a videotape Monday that shows the man cowering as he takes blows to his face.
Other Fire Department personnel allegedly stood and watched throughout the beating, which happened in July 2005 outside Roseland Community Hospital.
The paramedic on the tape was reportedly upset that Robert Cole, 43 — who had called for an ambulance after feeling dizzy — changed his mind on the way to the hospital and decided he didn’t want medical attention.’
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‘A woman today recalled her “shock and embarrassment” at being flashed on a crowded train by a man she later identified as a senior judge.
As she glanced down at the bottom of her newspaper she noticed the “very kind looking” gentleman had exposed himself.
The woman spotted the man on four separate occasions on the rush-hour trip from Raynes Park, south-west London, to Waterloo, and later identified him by video as Lord Justice Richards, one of Britain’s most senior judges.’
‘Threatened with a poisonous snake. That’s what police say happened during an argument in Sumter.
Now, the snake is missing and four people are under arrest. [..]
Police say the assault happened in the parking lot of Shuckers Grill and Bar in Sumter. They say the four men surrounded the victim and threatened him with the snake. Investigators say one of the men was bitten, but the victim went unharmed. The four men were later arrested.
Timothy Farmer, the man that was bitten, was treated at the hospital and released. He and two other men are being charged with second-degree lynching.’
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‘A would-be murderer who defecated on trains to “purge” himself of inner voices urging him to kill has been detained indefinitely in a secure mental hospital.
Over several months Bonney Eberendu, 36, ran up a £50,000 damages bill as teams of “specialist cleaners” were forced to withdraw rolling stock from service and spend hours cleaning up after him. [..]
Eberendu, of no fixed address, who has a previous conviction for blackmail involving threats to cut off his victim’s fingers, later told police he had spent years hearing “voices in his head”.
They caused him “such distress he wanted to murder a woman or a child by frenziedly stabbing them”.
[..] “But he didn’t carry out an act of murder because by defecating and smearing his excrement he purged himself of the urge to kill.”‘
