Arthur Davis III of Lawrence was sentenced Monday for attempted first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping and contributing to a child’s misconduct.

Prosecutors say Davis encouraged his 12-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son to kill his ex-wife last June. After the children began beating her, Davis went to her house and joined the attack.

The woman escaped and was treated for cuts to her head.

The daughter was granted immunity for testifying against her father. The son entered a plea to a reduced charge of aggravated battery and was sentenced Friday to three years in state custody. He will serve the sentence at a state youth center.

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Information from: Lawrence Journal-World, http://www.ljworld.com

SOURCE: BN9.com

Suspects facing local and state criminal charges are 60 suspected pimps.

(UPI) – The FBI said Monday it worked with local and state law enforcement partners to rescue 52 children across the United States from working as child prostitutes.
The FBI said in a news release the operation aided by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children also resulted in nearly 700 arrests in a 72-hour period.

Among those suspects facing local and state criminal charges are 60 suspected pimps.

“There is no work more important than protecting America’s children and freeing them from the cycle of victimization. Through our strategic partnerships with state and local law enforcement agencies, we are able to make a difference,” said Kevin Perkins, assistant director of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division.

The operation focused on 36 U.S. cities across 30 FBI divisions. The operation took place as part of the Innocence Lost National Initiative.

The FBI said nearly 900 children have been rescued as part of the 34 Innocence Lost Task Forces and Working Groups to date. The operations have also resulted in 510 convictions and the seizure of assets worth more than $3.1 million.

Photo Copyright Getty Images

Police in the US state of Minnesota are planning to auction off a specially modified and motorised lounge chair whose owner crashed it while drunk.

The owner hit a parked car while returning from a bar.

Dennis LeRoy Anderson, 62, pleaded guilty last Monday to driving the La-Z-Boy while drunk in August last year.

The chair was impounded after he smashed into a parked car as he returned from a bar in Proctor.

The chair comes with a stereo, nitrous oxide booster, parachute and a “hell yeah it’s fast” sticker.

Local police chief Walter Wobig told Agence France-Presse news agency the chair would be posted on eBay next week with no reserve price.

Minnesota police can auction off vehicles seized in drink-drive cases or keep them for official use.

The blue and black chair’s other attractions include headlights and a steering wheel in the style of a drag-racer. It can reach up to 20mph (32km/h) with its lawnmower-powered engine.

Mr Anderson, who was not badly injured in the accident, was found to have three times the legal limit when arrested. He said he had drunk eight or nine beers.

Mr Anderson was sentenced to 180 days in jail, suspended pending two years of probation.

The Proctor Journal said the police department had received a number of calls and emails about the chair since the court case.

It quoted one interested party of “racers” as saying they lived outside Minnesota and the chair would “no longer be a menace to your town”.

Land O’ Lakes, Florida –

Kylene Nelson lost her job at Rushe Middle School in Land O’ Lakes after allegations back in March she was drinking on the job.

Students used camera phones to video tape the teacher in a language arts class as she danced with students, making them feel uncomfortable.

“We all barricaded ourselves behind the desks,” said one student who asked not to be identified over fear she’d get in trouble at school.

The state agreement would allow Nelson to reapply for a teaching job in Florida after four years of suspension if she completes a substance abuse program. If rehired, she’d then be on probation for another three years.

The agreement between Nelson and the state still requires final approval.

News Source: WTSP.com

The Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office said the 49-year-old woman purchased a soda from Handy Andy’s Market in Bremerton Tuesday afternoon and immediately complained after opening the drink that it was warm, The Kitsap Sun of Bremerton reported.

The woman told deputies the 61-year-old owner gave her permission to get a replacement soda while the owner said he told the woman she could have a cup of ice.

Deputies said the woman attempted to open a second beverage, but the owner took it from her. The woman then allegedly started shouting about the warm soda and refused to leave the store even when asked by a deputy who arrived at the scene.

The woman was arrested on suspicion of trespassing and jailed in lieu of $500 bail.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International

Police in Fort Pierce, Fla., said the boyfriend told them his live-in girlfriend, Andrea Elizabeth Bathgate, 31, became angry after drinking a lot of beer Tuesday night — and he refused to buy her more because she became “aggressive” while intoxicated, TCPalm.com reported.

Investigators said the man told the woman to leave and she attempted to choke him before exiting. Bathgate then allegedly broke a leg off an outside table and “threw the hard missile through a window of the residence, causing deadly shards of glass to be forcefully launched into the occupied residence,” the arrest affidavit states.

Bathgate was arrested and charged with misdemeanor battery and a felony count of throwing a missile into a dwelling.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International

The Martin County Sheriff’s Office said a resident reported hearing the man crash through the screen of the pool at about 9 p.m. Saturday. The resident said he spotted the intruder, whom he recognized as someone he had seen around the neighborhood, snatch a towel before fleeing, TCPalm.com reported.

Deputies said a K-9 unit tracked the suspect to a nearby home, where he was identified as Robert Stark Higgins, 21. Higgins told deputies he had been drinking beer and vodka.

It was not clear why Higgins had been covered in feces.

Higgins was charged with burglary of an occupied dwelling, disorderly conduct and misdemeanor theft. He was taken to the Martin County Jail in lieu of $10,500 bond.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International

Pasadena Police Department spokesman Vance Mitchell said the couple argued about the jewelry and the woman went to the man’s home after he refused to return the items to her — and took seven goldfish, the Houston Chronicle reported.

Mitchell said the man called police and officers went to the woman’s home to attempt to return the fish.

“She said, ‘They’re in there,’ and pointed to the kitchen,” Mitchell said.

He said police found four of the fish fried on a plate and the woman told them she had already eaten the other three. Officers determined the fish were community property because they had been purchased while the couple lived together.

“There was nothing we could do,” Mitchell said. “If he wants to pursue it, it’s a civil case.”

Copyright 2009 by United Press International

The Costa Mesa Fire Department said its Urban Search and Rescue squad was called Tuesday to Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach to saw through a steel, ring-shaped dumbbell weight fastener that had been stuck on a man’s penis for two or three days, the Newport Beach Daily Pilot reported.

Costa Mesa Battalion Chief Scott Broussard said the firefighters told him about the man the following morning.

“They said his comment was, ‘This will make me the chief of my tribe,’” Broussard said.

The firefighters said the man told them he was attempting to increase the size of his penis and initially refused to have the ring removed, despite the fact it had blackened and swelled severely from the lack of blood flow.

“He was kind of a wingnut,” Broussard said.

The man agreed to have the ring removed after doctors told him the flesh of his penis was close to dying off. Firefighters in full surgical gear spent two hours sawing through the ring. They said the operation was successful and the man was not injured.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International