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Case Worker: Dad Overwhelmed Before Five Kids Killed

Timothy Ray Jones, Jr.
Timothy Ray Jones, Jr.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina man accused of killing his five children and dumping their bodies in Alabama was an ex-convict whose homes were visited by social workers a dozen times in the last three years.

Records released Thursday by South Carolina social workers show the children seemed happy and well-adjusted despite occasional spankings, and the family took a summer trip to Disney World and the beach.

The documents also show Timothy Ray Jones Jr. was a single father and computer engineer trying to raise five children. A social worker wrote after the final visit Aug. 13 that Jones “appears to be overwhelmed as he is unable to maintain the home, but the children appear to be clean, groomed and appropriately dressed.

Jones is being brought to South Carolina to face charges.

1 Person Killed in Douglas County Collision

fatal-crashVALLEY, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a man has died in a collision involving a truck and a pickup in western Douglas County.

The Nebraska State Patrol says the Thursday morning crash occurred around 6 a.m. A pickup was westbound on Highway 36 when it was hit by a truck headed north on a street intersection.

The driver of the pickup, 36-year-old Ryan T. Boelman, of Bennington, was killed. The driver of the truck, 21-year-old Gregory K. Swatzell, 21, of Fremont, was not injured.

Authorities say preliminary reports indicate Swatzell failed to stop at a stop sign.

Man Wakes Up to Find Intoxicated Intruder Cooking Corn on the Cob in His Kitchen

odd-newsROCKLAND, Mass. (AP) — Massachusetts police have arrested a man they say broke into a home and cooked himself a snack.

Rockland police officers responded to a home at about 1:40 a.m. Wednesday after getting a call from the homeowner.

The homeowner woke up to a loud bang from the kitchen. When the resident went to investigate, he found an intruder cooking corn on the cob on the stove. He told the intruder to leave, and the two men briefly scuffled.

Police arrested 69-year-old John Dalton and charged him with breaking and entering with intent to commit a felony and assault and battery. Police say Dalton, who was “clearly intoxicated,” forced his way inside through a side door.

It was not clear if Dalton had a lawyer.

Garcia Attorneys Seek Journal of 1 Omaha Victim

Anthony Garcia
Anthony Garcia

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Attorneys for a former doctor accused of killing four people with ties to an Omaha medical school are searching for journals of one of the victims they believe can help exonerate their client.

That search was revealed Thursday in a hearing where defense attorneys for Anthony Garcia demanded investigators’ handwritten notes, as well as a file reportedly kept by Dr. Roger Brumback, who was killed along with his wife in May 2013.

The attorneys agreed to take a day to go over all evidence police have.

Garcia is charged with first-degree murder in the 2008 deaths of the 11-year-old son of Creighton University pathologist William Hunter and the family’s housekeeper, as well as the Brumbacks.

Authorities say Garcia’s motive was revenge for being fired from Creighton’s pathology department in 2001.

Missouri Enacts 72-Hour Abortion Waiting Period

gavel-moreJEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri women seeking abortions will face one of the nation’s most stringent waiting periods, after state lawmakers overrode the governor’s veto to enact a 72-hour delay that has no exception for rape or incest.

The new requirement will take effect 30 days after Wednesday’s vote by the Republican-led Legislature.

About half the states, including Missouri, have 24-hour waiting periods. The new law will be the second most-stringent behind South Dakota, where weekends and holidays don’t count in the 72 hours. Utah also has a 72-hour delay, but grants exceptions for rape, incest and other circumstances.

Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon had denounced the measure as “extreme and disrespectful” toward women.

Planned Parenthood, which operates Missouri’s only licensed abortion clinic, has not said whether it will challenge the 72-hour law in court.

Lancaster County Pays $75,000 to Settle Lawsuit in Teen’s Death

lawsuit-settlementLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lancaster County has agreed to pay $75,000 to the father of a teen who sued after the boy committed suicide in a Lincoln detention center.

Sixteen-year-old Jonathan Kennedy was found unresponsive in his cell in 2012 and later died. A judge had ordered the boy detained for suspected drug use and self-harming behavior.

In the lawsuit, the teen’s father, Mark Kennedy, said his son was mentally ill and that detention center staff knew the teen had a history of suicide attempts, but failed to protect him.

A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit Monday, after the parties had settled. Lancaster County Attorney Joe Kelly says the settlement money will come from the county’s general fund.

 

Weak Twister Confirmed in Southeast Nebraska

NOAA-NWS6LORTON, Neb. (AP) — The National Weather Service has confirmed that a relatively weak tornado ran for seven miles through southeast Nebraska’s Otoe County.

The county’s emergency manager, Gregg Goebel, reported damage to farm outbuildings on Tuesday near old Nebraska Highway 2 and County Road L. He says other buildings were damaged along U.S. Highway 75 and Nebraska Highway 128.

The National Weather Service says a survey team checked the damage and other evidence and rated the twister as an EF1, packing winds between 86 and 110 mph. It first set down about two miles northeast of Lorton and dissipated about nine miles east of Lorton. No injuries have been reported.

Tuesday’s storms drenched much of eastern Nebraska and southern Iowa, causing roadway flooding in several locations.

Omaha Man Gets Prison for Killing 74-Year-Old

cedric-hatten
Cedric Hatten

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A 22-year-old Omaha resident has been sent to prison for knifing to death a 74-year-old man last year.

Online court records say Cedric Hatten was sentenced on Tuesday to 15 years for manslaughter and eight to 12 years for using a weapon. He’d pleaded guilty after prosecutors lowered a murder charge to manslaughter. Hatten was credited with 364 days already served.

Authorities say Paul Riederer was stabbed on Aug. 20, 2013, after confronting Hatten, who was harassing a woman for money.

Police: New York Man Hid Drugs in Anti-Drug Stuffed Animal

dare-lionPLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (AP) — State police say they’ve arrested a 22-year-old New York man after he was found with marijuana, cocaine and LSD hidden inside a stuffed animal dressed in an anti-drug T-shirt.

Troopers say Gregory Bolongnese (bol-OH’-nays), of Plattsburgh, was arrested Monday at the bus station in his hometown near the Canadian border. They say they found two grams of pot, about a half-gram of cocaine and LSD inside a stuffed lion doll wearing a D.A.R.E. shirt.

D.A.R.E. stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education, a program that aims to educate young people about staying away from drugs, gangs and violence.

Bolognese was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of marijuana. It couldn’t be determined if he has a lawyer.

Woman Gets Prison for Robbing Lincoln Bank

Julie Balero
Julie Balero

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Missouri woman has been sent to prison for robbing a Nebraska bank in December.

Julie Balero, of Kansas City, was sentenced Wednesday in Lancaster County court to three to six years in prison. She will get credit for more than 250 days served in jail.

Balero was accused of entering a Lincoln bank on Dec. 26 and demanding money from a teller. She was not armed and left with money in a purse. She was arrested later that day.

Balero pleaded guilty in August to attempted robbery in a plea deal. Her attorney says her client was homeless and in need of money at the time of the robbery. Balero told the judge during her sentencing that she was sorry for her actions.

 

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