National Roundup

Washington Shoplifter chops off store security guard's ear LONGVIEW, Wash. (AP) -- Police in Washington state say a shoplifter with a hatchet sliced off most of a store security guard's ear. Longview police Sgt. Doug Kazensky tells The Daily News that the shoplifter pulled a small hatchet out of his waistband Monday afternoon and swung, chopping off nearly the entire ear. The guard was taken to a Portland hospital for emergency plastic surgery in an attempt to reattach the ear. The attacker remained at large. The assault took place just outside the garden center entrance of a Fred Meyer supermarket. Kazensky says two security officers were trying to apprehend the man, who was suspected of taking CDs, bike chains and other small items. The man apparently brought the hatchet to the store with him. Virginia Student to stay anonymous in commandments suit ROANOKE, Va. (AP) -- A federal judge says a student who's challenging the display of the Ten Commandments in a southwest Virginia school will remain anonymous. Media outlets report that U.S. District Judge Michael Urbanski issued a protective order in the case Monday. The student will continue to be identified as Doe 1. The student's parent will remain as Doe 2. The lawsuit seeks the removal of the display from Narrows High School. It was filed Sept. 13 against the Giles County School Board by the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia on behalf of the student and the parent. The ACLU argued that the plaintiffs should not be publicly identified to protect them from harassment. The lawsuit is scheduled to go to trial in May. Connecticut Reputed mobster gets 5 years in prison NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) -- A Stamford man who authorities allege is a Gambino crime family associate has been sentenced to five years in prison for loan sharking and illegally possessing ammunition. Seventy-nine-year-old Nicola Melia was also fined $50,000 and ordered to forfeit more than $250,000 during his sentencing Monday in federal court in New Haven. He pleaded guilty in September. Federal prosecutors say Melia made loans to a Fairfield County resident totaling about $155,000 beginning in May 2000. Authorities say the unnamed resident paid nearly $400,000 in interest, including about $250,000 in interest on a $10,000 initial loan. Melia has two other convictions in the past 11 years. He was sentenced to four months in a halfway house in 2000 for tax fraud and got nearly three years in prison in 2005 for racketeering. Oregon 18-year prison sentence for murder of bystander PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- A Warm Springs man was sentenced Monday in federal court in Portland to 18 years in prison for killing a bystander during a shooting. The U.S. attorney's office says 23-year-old Ted L. Barney pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the shooting last July in a residential neighborhood of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation. Prosecutors say Barney was shooting at a man who threw a rock at a car in which he was riding. Barney missed his intended target but one bullet went through the back window of a car and hit Delmer Davis in the head. Wisconsin Civil lawsuit against Kratz won't be dismissed GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) -- A federal sexual harassment lawsuit against former Calumet County District Attorney Ken Kratz will not be thrown out. Stephanie Van Groll is suing Kratz for sending racy text messages while he prosecuted her ex-boyfriend for domestic abuse in 2009. The 27-year-old claims Kratz violated her constitutional equal protection rights. This summer, Kratz filed a motion asking for the case to be dismissed, saying he did not violate Van Groll's constitutional rights. U.S. District Judge William Griesbach, based in Green Bay, denied Kratz's motion on Monday. Kratz's attorney, Rob Bellin, told The Post-Crescent that he and Kratz will discuss whether to ask the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals for a review. Georgia Man accused of posing as lawyer MARIETTA, Ga. (AP) -- Cobb County sheriff's officials say a Lithia Springs man is accused of posing as an attorney and even appearing in court on behalf of clients even though they say he doesn't have a license to practice law. Authorities tell The Marietta Daily Journal that 51-year-old Glover Carl Lewis was arrested Saturday. Cobb County sheriff's Col. Milton Beck said the investigation was prompted by complaints from people Lewis was supposed to represent. He's charged with theft by deception and two counts of unauthorized practice of law. An arrest warrant states that he received $1,700 in cash as payment to represent a man in a shoplifting case before Cobb Superior Court Judge Adele Grubbs. Lewis could not be reached Tuesday, and jail records do not indicate whether he has an attorney. Montana Couple charged with running prostitution operation GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) -- Police in Great Falls say three people were arrested over the weekend after officers uncovered a prostitution operation being run out of a local motel. The Great Falls Tribune reports Maria Judith Vazquez and her husband, Stephen Duane Karollocke, appeared in District Court Monday. Each is charged with one felony count of promoting prostitution. Bail was set at $8,000 each. Officers with the Central Montana Drug Task Force also arrested Lacy Anderson, who pleaded guilty to misdemeanor prostitution Monday and was sentenced to 10 days in jail. Prosecutors say Anderson told task force members she provided sexual services to four clients and that half the money went to Karollocke and Vazquez. Prosecutors say Karollocke and Vazquez have previous convictions for promoting prostitution in Georgia. Louisiana Woman pleads guilty in evidence-room theft ALEXANDRIA, La. (AP) -- A 54-year-old former employee of the Alexandria Police Department has pleaded guilty to a reduced charge connected to the theft of more than $19,000 from the police evidence room. Beryl A. Pringle pleaded guilty to unauthorized use of more than $500 and was sentenced by 9th District Judge John Davidson to three years supervised release. She was ordered to pay court costs of $334 and a fine of $150. According to the Town Talk, Davidson ordered Pringle to refrain from alcohol and illegal drugs and to stay out of bars and casinos. Pringle was arrested in December 2010 and charged in April with theft of $1,500 or more, to which she pleaded not guilty. Published: Wed, Dec 14, 2011