Texas
Attorneys release bodycam footage of woman's arrest
DALLAS (AP) - Bodycam footage from a white Fort Worth police officer who was suspended for wrestling a black woman and her daughter to the ground appears to show the officer using his foot to push a 15-year-old girl into a police car.
The footage was provided Thursday to The Associated Press from attorneys representing Jacqueline Craig, who had called police last month to report that a neighbor choked her 7-year-old son for allegedly littering in his yard. One of her daughters videoed the interactions between Craig and Officer William Martin and posted it online. The neighbor was not charged in the incident.
The Fort Worth Police Department has denied media requests to release Martin's bodycam footage. But the audio of the bodycam video, reviewed by The Associated Press, matches the audio of the Facebook video posted by Craig's family.
Craig's attorney, Lee Merritt, said in an email that he had received the bodycam video from a trusted source whom he declined to identify.
The footage also depicts Martin's conversation with Craig and one of her daughters after he places them in the back of a patrol vehicle.
"Here's the deal. When somebody's under arrest, if anybody interferes, they go to jail too," Martin told them.
"Well, I don't know this. I'm 15 years old," Craig's daughter replied.
Craig responds: "He got mad at me for saying what I said. That's why he did it. But it's all recorded, it's all recorded."
Martin served a 10-day suspension and has since returned to work. He is appealing his suspension with the city's Civil Service Commission.
A disciplinary report submitted to the commission said Martin violated department policy by using excessive force and failing to thoroughly investigate. Other findings included neglect of duty, being discourteous to the public and conduct prejudicial to good order.
Fort Worth Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald said earlier this month that Martin violated policy and is sorry for his behavior.
Tennessee
Skeletal remains identified as missing soldier
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Authorities say skeletal remains found in Tennessee are those of a missing Fort Campbell soldier.
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Susan Niland sent a statement to news media Wednesday confirming that the remains found at Exit 19 on Interstate 24 in Robertson County have been identified as belonging to Pfc. Shadow McClaine, who was a member of the 101st Airborne Division at the Army post on the Kentucky-Tennessee line. She was reported missing in September and her abandoned car was found in Nashville.
Two Fort Campbell soldiers were charged in November with murder, kidnapping and conspiracy in the case. The Army post said Thursday that Sgt. Jamal Williams-McCray and Spc. Charles Robinson remain in pre-trial confinement awaiting court-martial on the charges.
New York
Man pleads guilty to posing as police officer
CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. (AP) - Authorities say a 26-year-old western New York man has admitted to posing as a police officer during a traffic stop with a real cop.
The Erie County District Attorney's Office says Corey Shepard, of Cheektowaga, pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges that include criminal possession of a forged instrument, criminal impersonation and menacing.
Prosecutors say he called 911 last October to report an erratic driver and claimed he was an off-duty Buffalo officer. He was wearing a police uniform when he joined the Cheektowaga officer who pulled over the driver.
Police became suspicious and checked out Shepard's claim. They found out he worked for a local security systems company and had a stockpile of police-related equipment and fake badges at his home.
He faces up to eight years in prison. Sentencing is April 6.
Florida
Man faces life for selling cocaine found at sea
PANAMA CITY, Fla. (AP) - A Florida Panhandle fisherman faces life in prison after finding a bale of cocaine in the Gulf of Mexico and setting up a distribution network to sell the drugs.
Now 32-year-old Thomas Zachary Breeding is warning others not to do what he did. In a letter to the News Herald, Breeding says the decision changed his life and made him aware of the dangers that can be found off shore.
Records show that Breeding and four others were arrested last summer on charges of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. They were indicted in September and all five pleaded guilty and are set for sentencing on Feb. 16.
Breeding is charged as a felon who was transporting a firearm. He also could be fined up to $4.25 million.
Virginia
Gambler pleads guilty to leaving casino to rob bank
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - A West Virginia man has admitted to leaving a casino to rob a bank before returning to continue gambling.
The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports 52-year-old Kerry Johnson of Charleston pleaded guilty Wednesday to a robbery charge.
Johnson had been at the Mardi Gras Casino in Nitro for hours Aug. 2 when he put down a $25 chip to hold his spot. Prosecutors said Johnson then drove 13 miles to a Charleston bank and gave tellers a note saying he had a bomb and a weapon and robbed it.
Johnson then returned to the blackjack table and kept gambling.
Johnson told a judge he'd taken quite a few drugs that day, but recognized himself after seeing video from the bank.
He faces five to 18 years in prison when sentenced in March.
Louisiana
2 convicted of $8.9M Medicare scam in 4 states
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Federal prosecutors say two owners of psychological service companies have been convicted of an $8.9 million fraud scheme that billed Medicare for unnecessary or nonexistent tests on nursing home patients in four Gulf Coast states.
Attorneys said Wednesday that Slidell, Louisiana, residents Rodney Hesson and his mother, 63-year-old Gertrude Parker, plan to appeal.
Each owned companies in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.
A jury convicted them Tuesday of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and of conspiracy to make false statements about health care. According to the news release, the jurors also found them responsible for $8.9 million in fraudulent payments.
Two psychologists who worked for them pleaded guilty last year, admitting $5.6 million in fraudulent claims.
Published: Fri, Jan 27, 2017
