National Roundup

Kentucky
Ex-fugitive lawyer facing more charges

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky lawyer at the center of a Social Security fraud case is facing prosecution on charges he would have avoided if he had not vanished for six months to avoid prison.

A federal prosecutor filed court papers this week signaling the government will try Eric Conn on more than a dozen charges including mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering.

If convicted, Conn could spend the rest of his life in prison.

Conn would have avoided the charges if he had abided by his plea deal. Instead, he fled in June when he cut off his electronic ankle monitor. He was caught in Honduras this month.

Conn pleaded guilty in March to stealing from the federal government and bribing a judge in a Social Security fraud case involving more than $500 million.

Kansas
Grizzly crime solved: Candy factory’s stolen bear found

ABILENE, Kan. (AP) — Police say a sweet tip led to the recovery of a bear statue that was stolen from outside a candy factory in central Kansas a year ago.

Abilene Police Department assistant chief Jason Wilkins says the Russell Stover Candies sculpture, depicting a sitting teddy bear covered in chocolate, was found Wednesday in a Salina home following a tip from someone apparently unconnected to its theft.

Det. Karmen Kupper says a suspect has been identified but hasn’t been arrested.

Wilkins tells The Wichita Eagle that early leads in the November 2016 theft from the company’s Abilene factory didn’t pan out and that the bear investigation had “become a running joke.”

Kupper describes the 150-pound, 4-foot tall (70-kilogram, 1.2 meter tall) sculpture as a “huge landmark” and a popular backdrop for pictures.

Texas
Masked men steal lobby ATMs from 3 Houston Marriott hotels

HOUSTON (AP) — Police say masked men have stolen ATMs from the lobbies of three Marriot hotels in Houston this week.

Lt. Larry Crowson says a group of four or five men stormed the lobby of the Marriott near George Bush Intercontinental Airport early Thursday, grabbed an ATM and fled in a vehicle.

He says when a valet yelled at the fleeing men, one lifted his shirt to show a machete.

Early Tuesday, a group of seven to ten men took the ATM from a Marriott near the Galleria. Around midnight Tuesday, five to eight masked men raided a Courtyard by Marriott in west Houston. The machines were not bolted down.

Investigators believe the same crew was behind all of the robberies. They declined to say how much money was stolen.

Florida
Report: Social media bolstered investigation of shark video

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Authorities say social media posts bolstered their investigation into a video of a shark being dragged behind a speeding boat in Florida.

Three men were charged Tuesday with third-degree felony animal cruelty charges in connection with the video. They face up to five years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines if convicted.

A Herald-Tribune report quoted investigative reports that said many events surrounding the shark dragging seen in the video were recorded on the social media Snapchat app.

Investigators said they obtained videos, photographs and text messages through search warrants for the men’s social media accounts.

Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Rena Frazier said charges were “not typical charges, as we typically don’t see this manner of animal cruelty with marine life at our office.”

Illinois
Police sergeant charged with shooting his son

CHICAGO (AP) — A suburban Chicago police sergeant has been charged with shooting and seriously injuring his son.

The Chicago Tribune and WGN-TV report that 48-year-old Raymond Leuser of the Indian Head Police Department was arrested Tuesday when officers responded to a call at his Chicago home found his 22-year-old son suffering from gunshot wounds to a leg, arm and abdomen. Leuser was booked into jail on charges of attempted first-degree murder and aggravated battery and was scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.

Police say the son was taken to Advocate Christ medical Center in Oak Lawn where he is listed in serious condition.

Florida
High court tosses petition to block appointments

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Supreme Court is tossing out a petition aiming to stop Republican Gov. Rick Scott from appointing three state Supreme Court justices on the day he leaves office.

The court announced its decision Thursday, saying that it can’t rule on something that hasn’t happened.

The Florida branch of the League of Women Voters and the government watchdog group Common Cause filed a petition with the Supreme Court in June saying Scott’s successor should make the appointments.

Age limits are forcing three justices to retire on the day Scott leaves office in January 2019 because of term limits. Scott has said he plans to name their replacements that same morning.

Scott’s decision could change the balance of the court for decades. If Scott gets his way, the seven-member court would be stacked with six conservative judges.

Illinois
Man who burned child in shower sent to prison

PEORIA, Ill. (AP) — A Peoria man convicted of beating and severely burning a 2-year-old girl by putting her into a scalding hot shower to punish her has been sentenced to 50 years in prison.

The(Peoria) Journal Star reports that 26-year-old Willie Vail was sentenced on Wednesday, about six weeks after he was convicted of aggravated battery.

Judge Kevin Lyons rejected Vail’s argument that he didn’t injure the girl last May but he said he didn’t think Vail meant to hurt the child as much as he did.

During the trial, prosecutors contended that Vail was watching the girl — who was not his — when he punished her for not eating popcorn properly by putting her into the shower. Court records indicate the girl suffered burns over 30 percent of her body.