Nasty text to judge; bodies locked in embrace; the young Han Solo
- Updated
Odd and interesting news from around the West.
- Updated
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Despite privacy concerns, police received permission Tuesday to fly drone aircraft under a one-year pilot program that limits their use to dangerous situations and natural disasters.
The civilian Los Angeles Police Commission voted 3-1 to approve the test program.
The Metropolitan Division's SWAT team will be allowed to deploy drones in some instances, but the devices won't be armed and specifically cannot be flown for purposes that violate the law or Constitution.
A high-ranking police officer must approve deployment on a case-by-case basis.
Deployment policy limits the use of the drones during the pilot program to "dangerous, high-risk tactical situations" or for providing observation during catastrophes.
Examples might include hunting for heavily armed suspects, hostage situations and search-and-rescue operations.
The limitations didn't mollify protesters who jeered as the commission took its vote and later gathered outside police headquarters, chanting "Drone-free LAPD! No drones L.A.!" Several were arrested after blocking traffic.
Opponents of drone usage fear "mission creep" that could lead to arming the aircraft or using them to spy on the public.
The LAPD had two drones that it acquired in 2014 but hadn't deployed in the face of vocal opposition.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department began using a drone in January. At the time, Sheriff Jim McDonnell said the $10,000 aircraft would be used only in limited circumstances to assist deputies with rescues, bomb scares, arson investigations and tactical situations.
Officials say It has been used only a handful of times.
In July, the Sheriff's Department's Civilian Oversight Commission voted 5-4 to ask McDonnell to ground the drone but he refused, calling it an important public safety tool. He previously had promised the aircraft wouldn't be used to spy on the public.
- Updated
FONTANA, Calif. (AP) — Fontana police have killed a mountain lion they say charged officers.
The police Animal Services Unit was searching for a cougar that had killed animals at two homes and Monday morning they got a call from someone who said a mountain lion was in their backyard.
Authorities say the area has several parks and schools nearby.
Police say they spotted the mountain lion near the rear of a home and shot it when the animal charged.
The foothill area east of Los Angeles is no stranger to mountain lions. Two years ago, a cougar or cougars mauled or carried off several pet dogs.
It's unclear whether the animal killed Monday was one that had killed dogs.
- Updated
PHOENIX (AP) — A co-founder of the Minuteman border watch group has lost an appeal of his 2016 convictions for molesting a 5-year-old girl and showing her pornography.
The Arizona Court of Appeals' ruling Tuesday upholds Chris Simcox's convictions and 19-year prison sentence.
The ruling says a Maricopa County Superior Court judge failed to make a necessary finding regarding evidence against Simcox but said the failure didn't prejudice Simcox or warrant reversal.
Simcox's 2013 arrest came after his career as an advocate for tougher immigration policies had fizzled.
The Minuteman movement gained attention in 2005 when illegal immigration heated up as a national political issue. Minuteman volunteers fanned out along the border to watch for illegal crossings and report them to federal agents.
The movement splintered after Simcox and another co-founder parted ways.
- Updated
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Officials say the crosses memorializing those who died in the Las Vegas Strip shooting will be moved to the Clark County Museum.
Greg Zanis, a retired carpenter from Illinois, installed the 58 white crosses on a patch of grass near the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign. KXNT-AM reports they will be moved to the museum Nov. 12.
Clark County Commissioner Jim Gibson said the crosses serve as a way for people to converge and reflect on the Oct. 1 shooting, which left 58 people dead, plus the shooter.
The museum is also collecting tributes left in public rights of way so they can be preserved and cataloged.
Officials say those tributes will be displayed at the museum at an appropriate time.
- Updated
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — Cheating by more than a dozen freshman cadets on a test and alleged misconduct by members of the lacrosse team are under separate investigations at the Air Force Academy.
The Colorado Springs Gazette reports the academy says 13 freshmen were accused of cheating on a test of basic Air Force knowledge. The test includes simple questions, some asking cadets to recite quotes and name key military leaders.
Academy spokesman Lt. Col. Allen Herritage said Monday the test consists of questions related to "military history, rank structure and other general knowledge."
Herritage went on to say he couldn't divulge any further details because the investigation is ongoing.
Herritage also wouldn't divulge more information on the investigation into the lacrosse team, but did confirm an investigation into the team indeed was underway.
___
Information from: The Gazette,
- Updated
RIO RANCHO, N.M. (AP) — A Rio Rancho city councilor has apologized after she says she accidently sent a text message that contained profanity to a municipal judge.
KRQE-TV reports that Judge G. Robert Cook filed an ethics complaint against City Councilor Cheryl Everett after he says she sent him a text with profanity directed at him by name last month.
Everett says the judge was critical of the council, but she did not intend to send him the text. She says she immediately tried to apologized, and in the future she "will focus on being more professional and productive."
City officials say the ethics complaint was dismissed and Everett will not face any punishments.
___
Information from: KRQE-TV,
- Updated
CENTRAL POINT, Ore. (AP) — A 74-year-old man has been identified as the victim in a fatal skydiving accident in southern Oregon.
The Jackson County Sheriff's Office says Jackson Jerome Kern of Central Point died at the scene Sunday afternoon.
Deputies say the experienced jumper deployed his parachute, but it appears a malfunction in the chute's toggle prevented him from being able to control and slow his descent.
The pilot said the group jumped from the plane at about 12,000 feet.
The Federal Aviation Administration will conduct any further investigation.
- Updated
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The young Han Solo Star Wars spinoff film finally has a title: "Solo: A Star Wars Story."
Director Ron Howard announced the title Tuesday in a Twitter video celebrating production wrap on the anthology film starring Alden Ehrenreich as the grumpy space smuggler originated by Harrison Ford.
The film also stars Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke and Thandie Newtown and focuses on Han and Chewbacca before they joined the rebellion.
The film has had some well-known production turmoil. Deep into the shoot directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller abruptly left the project and were replaced by Howard.
"Solo: A Star Wars Story" is set for a May 25, 2018, release.
- Updated
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah woman sentenced to prison for trying to hire a hitman to kill her ex-husband in order to get custody of their children and a million-dollar life insurance payout says she doesn't remember ever having that conversation.
The Deseret News reports Billie Jo Agee was sentenced in July to up to five years in prison after pleading no contest to one count of criminal solicitation, a third-degree felony.
Court documents say the woman has "a significant mental illness."
Court documents say Agee was convicted of trying to hire her estranged second husband to kill her husband from her first marriage so she could have custody of their children and collect the proceeds of his $1 million life insurance policy.
___
Information from: Deseret News,
- Updated
MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon woman seeks $500,000 in a lawsuit against a popular Ashland restaurant, contending she damaged her digestive system by swallowing a fragment from a wooden skewer.
The woman goes by the pseudonym Mary Doe in the lawsuit. It says she began to suffer pain the day after eating a lamb burger at the Standing Stone Brewing Company, and it took several days for doctors to diagnose what was wrong and surgically remove the fragment.
The suit says the fragment caused an infection and damage, leaving the woman with fecal incontinence.
Standing Stone attorney William Martin said in a statement to the Mail Tribune that the restaurant denies the allegation.
A photo on Standing Stone's website shows a row of burgers and a sandwich, with each pinned together with a thin piece of wood that could be described as either a skewer or large wooden toothpick.
___
Information from: Mail Tribune,
- Updated
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A Montana Crow tribe member found guilty of poaching an elk in northern Wyoming has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear his case.
The Billings Gazette reports that a Wyoming jury found Clayvin Herrera guilty last year of two poaching charges from a January 2014 hunt that began on the Crow Reservation in Montana but ended inside Wyoming.
Authorities say Herrera shot and killed the elk out of season in the Bighorn National Forest.
Wyoming District Judge John Fenn upheld the conviction on appeal, and the Wyoming Supreme Court rejected the case in June.
Herrera, who was sentenced to one year of unsupervised probation and ordered to pay $8,080, has maintained as part of his defense that an 1868 treaty allows Crows to hunt on unoccupied federal land.
___
Information from: The Billings Gazette,
- Updated
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A movie theater says its fight against a Utah law that banned serving alcohol during the superhero film "Deadpool" cost more than $500,000.
The owners of Brewvies say the state should pay the bills after a judge found the law violated free-speech protections.
The theater says in court documents filed Monday an online fundraiser that attracted a $5,000 donation from "Deadpool" star Ryan Reynolds brought in a total of about $22,000, a small fraction of the bill.
The theater went to court in 2016, after Utah regulators threatened to fine it up to $25,000 under a law that prohibits serving booze during films with simulated sex or full-frontal nudity. Utah called alcohol and sexual content an "explosive combination."
But attorney Rocky Anderson, a former Salt Lake City mayor, successfully argued the law is so vague it would apply to Michelangelo's "David."
More like this...
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Despite privacy concerns, police received permission Tuesday to fly drone aircraft under a one-year pilot program that limits their use to dangerous situations and natural disasters.
The civilian Los Angeles Police Commission voted 3-1 to approve the test program.
The Metropolitan Division's SWAT team will be allowed to deploy drones in some instances, but the devices won't be armed and specifically cannot be flown for purposes that violate the law or Constitution.
A high-ranking police officer must approve deployment on a case-by-case basis.
Deployment policy limits the use of the drones during the pilot program to "dangerous, high-risk tactical situations" or for providing observation during catastrophes.
Examples might include hunting for heavily armed suspects, hostage situations and search-and-rescue operations.
The limitations didn't mollify protesters who jeered as the commission took its vote and later gathered outside police headquarters, chanting "Drone-free LAPD! No drones L.A.!" Several were arrested after blocking traffic.
Opponents of drone usage fear "mission creep" that could lead to arming the aircraft or using them to spy on the public.
The LAPD had two drones that it acquired in 2014 but hadn't deployed in the face of vocal opposition.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department began using a drone in January. At the time, Sheriff Jim McDonnell said the $10,000 aircraft would be used only in limited circumstances to assist deputies with rescues, bomb scares, arson investigations and tactical situations.
Officials say It has been used only a handful of times.
In July, the Sheriff's Department's Civilian Oversight Commission voted 5-4 to ask McDonnell to ground the drone but he refused, calling it an important public safety tool. He previously had promised the aircraft wouldn't be used to spy on the public.
FONTANA, Calif. (AP) — Fontana police have killed a mountain lion they say charged officers.
The police Animal Services Unit was searching for a cougar that had killed animals at two homes and Monday morning they got a call from someone who said a mountain lion was in their backyard.
Authorities say the area has several parks and schools nearby.
Police say they spotted the mountain lion near the rear of a home and shot it when the animal charged.
The foothill area east of Los Angeles is no stranger to mountain lions. Two years ago, a cougar or cougars mauled or carried off several pet dogs.
It's unclear whether the animal killed Monday was one that had killed dogs.
PHOENIX (AP) — A co-founder of the Minuteman border watch group has lost an appeal of his 2016 convictions for molesting a 5-year-old girl and showing her pornography.
The Arizona Court of Appeals' ruling Tuesday upholds Chris Simcox's convictions and 19-year prison sentence.
The ruling says a Maricopa County Superior Court judge failed to make a necessary finding regarding evidence against Simcox but said the failure didn't prejudice Simcox or warrant reversal.
Simcox's 2013 arrest came after his career as an advocate for tougher immigration policies had fizzled.
The Minuteman movement gained attention in 2005 when illegal immigration heated up as a national political issue. Minuteman volunteers fanned out along the border to watch for illegal crossings and report them to federal agents.
The movement splintered after Simcox and another co-founder parted ways.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Officials say the crosses memorializing those who died in the Las Vegas Strip shooting will be moved to the Clark County Museum.
Greg Zanis, a retired carpenter from Illinois, installed the 58 white crosses on a patch of grass near the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign. KXNT-AM reports they will be moved to the museum Nov. 12.
Clark County Commissioner Jim Gibson said the crosses serve as a way for people to converge and reflect on the Oct. 1 shooting, which left 58 people dead, plus the shooter.
The museum is also collecting tributes left in public rights of way so they can be preserved and cataloged.
Officials say those tributes will be displayed at the museum at an appropriate time.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — Cheating by more than a dozen freshman cadets on a test and alleged misconduct by members of the lacrosse team are under separate investigations at the Air Force Academy.
The Colorado Springs Gazette reports the academy says 13 freshmen were accused of cheating on a test of basic Air Force knowledge. The test includes simple questions, some asking cadets to recite quotes and name key military leaders.
Academy spokesman Lt. Col. Allen Herritage said Monday the test consists of questions related to "military history, rank structure and other general knowledge."
Herritage went on to say he couldn't divulge any further details because the investigation is ongoing.
Herritage also wouldn't divulge more information on the investigation into the lacrosse team, but did confirm an investigation into the team indeed was underway.
___
Information from: The Gazette,
RIO RANCHO, N.M. (AP) — A Rio Rancho city councilor has apologized after she says she accidently sent a text message that contained profanity to a municipal judge.
KRQE-TV reports that Judge G. Robert Cook filed an ethics complaint against City Councilor Cheryl Everett after he says she sent him a text with profanity directed at him by name last month.
Everett says the judge was critical of the council, but she did not intend to send him the text. She says she immediately tried to apologized, and in the future she "will focus on being more professional and productive."
City officials say the ethics complaint was dismissed and Everett will not face any punishments.
___
Information from: KRQE-TV,
CENTRAL POINT, Ore. (AP) — A 74-year-old man has been identified as the victim in a fatal skydiving accident in southern Oregon.
The Jackson County Sheriff's Office says Jackson Jerome Kern of Central Point died at the scene Sunday afternoon.
Deputies say the experienced jumper deployed his parachute, but it appears a malfunction in the chute's toggle prevented him from being able to control and slow his descent.
The pilot said the group jumped from the plane at about 12,000 feet.
The Federal Aviation Administration will conduct any further investigation.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The young Han Solo Star Wars spinoff film finally has a title: "Solo: A Star Wars Story."
Director Ron Howard announced the title Tuesday in a Twitter video celebrating production wrap on the anthology film starring Alden Ehrenreich as the grumpy space smuggler originated by Harrison Ford.
The film also stars Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke and Thandie Newtown and focuses on Han and Chewbacca before they joined the rebellion.
The film has had some well-known production turmoil. Deep into the shoot directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller abruptly left the project and were replaced by Howard.
"Solo: A Star Wars Story" is set for a May 25, 2018, release.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah woman sentenced to prison for trying to hire a hitman to kill her ex-husband in order to get custody of their children and a million-dollar life insurance payout says she doesn't remember ever having that conversation.
The Deseret News reports Billie Jo Agee was sentenced in July to up to five years in prison after pleading no contest to one count of criminal solicitation, a third-degree felony.
Court documents say the woman has "a significant mental illness."
Court documents say Agee was convicted of trying to hire her estranged second husband to kill her husband from her first marriage so she could have custody of their children and collect the proceeds of his $1 million life insurance policy.
___
Information from: Deseret News,
MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon woman seeks $500,000 in a lawsuit against a popular Ashland restaurant, contending she damaged her digestive system by swallowing a fragment from a wooden skewer.
The woman goes by the pseudonym Mary Doe in the lawsuit. It says she began to suffer pain the day after eating a lamb burger at the Standing Stone Brewing Company, and it took several days for doctors to diagnose what was wrong and surgically remove the fragment.
The suit says the fragment caused an infection and damage, leaving the woman with fecal incontinence.
Standing Stone attorney William Martin said in a statement to the Mail Tribune that the restaurant denies the allegation.
A photo on Standing Stone's website shows a row of burgers and a sandwich, with each pinned together with a thin piece of wood that could be described as either a skewer or large wooden toothpick.
___
Information from: Mail Tribune,
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A Montana Crow tribe member found guilty of poaching an elk in northern Wyoming has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear his case.
The Billings Gazette reports that a Wyoming jury found Clayvin Herrera guilty last year of two poaching charges from a January 2014 hunt that began on the Crow Reservation in Montana but ended inside Wyoming.
Authorities say Herrera shot and killed the elk out of season in the Bighorn National Forest.
Wyoming District Judge John Fenn upheld the conviction on appeal, and the Wyoming Supreme Court rejected the case in June.
Herrera, who was sentenced to one year of unsupervised probation and ordered to pay $8,080, has maintained as part of his defense that an 1868 treaty allows Crows to hunt on unoccupied federal land.
___
Information from: The Billings Gazette,
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A movie theater says its fight against a Utah law that banned serving alcohol during the superhero film "Deadpool" cost more than $500,000.
The owners of Brewvies say the state should pay the bills after a judge found the law violated free-speech protections.
The theater says in court documents filed Monday an online fundraiser that attracted a $5,000 donation from "Deadpool" star Ryan Reynolds brought in a total of about $22,000, a small fraction of the bill.
The theater went to court in 2016, after Utah regulators threatened to fine it up to $25,000 under a law that prohibits serving booze during films with simulated sex or full-frontal nudity. Utah called alcohol and sexual content an "explosive combination."
But attorney Rocky Anderson, a former Salt Lake City mayor, successfully argued the law is so vague it would apply to Michelangelo's "David."
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