Man arrested for driving naked while on probation

ERWIN — On a videotape of a pursuit by the Tennessee Highway Patrol of a man fleeing in July at speeds of 130 mph, a law enforcement officer said it was clear why the man wasn’t interested in stopping: He was naked.
That incident landed Jason Chad Elliott, 30, 1290 Milligan Highway, Apt. 3, on probation for six years Friday in Unicoi County Criminal Court and might earn him some jail time. Judge Lynn Brown will make that ruling at a later hearing.
Elliott, who pleaded guilty to felony evading arrest and felony reckless endangerment charges, told Brown that his actions were a “rash decision.” Brown quoted the late Southern columnist Lewis Grizzard about different pronunciations of “naked.” One is not having one’s clothes on. The other is not having clothes “and you’re up to something.”
The July 8 events began about 11:30 p.m. when Trooper Julian Robinson pulled up behind Elliott’s car in the emergency lane on Interstate 26 at Exit 36. Elliott got off I-26 and drove through streets on Erwin’s north side before re-entering the interstate. He did not stop until he reached the Flag Pond exit 13 miles later.
Elliott admitted during the hearing that he drove 130 mph and passed two cars by using the emergency lane on the right. Unicoi County Sheriff’s Deputy Todd Wilcox, who joined the pursuit, said Elliott drove 98 mph in the emergency lane. Elliott got off I-26 at Exit 43 but immediately returned to the interstate. more

75 year old man tackles robber who stole his computer

STUART — A 75-year-old Stuart man chased down a 6-foot 1-inch, 230-pound, 29-year-old robber who had just snatched his laptop computer and printer on Sunday.
Joseph Kohl was standing in front of Best Buy at 2555 N. Federal Highway in Stuart at 12:13 p.m. waiting for his wife to pick him up at the curb. He placed his brand new laptop and printer down along the pillar where he was standing when the thief grabbed his items and tried to take off, said Kohl.
Without a second thought, Kohl ran about 8 feet before he grabbed the thief and tried to get back his packages, said Kohl.
“I have no idea what computers are about, but I didn’t want him taking my first one,” he said.
An off-duty Martin County Sheriff’s Office deputy, Don Kelly, was coming out of the store and jumped into the fray, said Sgt. Martin J. Jacobson of the Stuart Police Department.
“It was over in a minute,” said Kohl. “Having the off-duty cop there ended the situation right there. He showed his badge and the kid gave up.”
Both men were still fighting the suspect when Stuart Police arrived, Jacobson said.
“The police showed up in no time. It was like they were parked right around the corner,” said Kohl. more

DA: forced to Charge Boy Murder Suspect as an Adult

PITTSBURGH — A Pennsylvania prosecutor said his hands are tied, and he has no choice but to charge an 11-year-old boy as an adult in the killing his father's pregnant girlfriend.
Lawrence County District Attorney John Bongivengo said Monday that Pennsylvania law doesn't permit him to file a criminal homicide charge against Jordan Brown in juvenile court.
Brown is charged as an adult with using his own 20-gauge shotgun to kill 26-year-old Kenzie Marie Houk Friday morning.
The gun was a Christmas gift from the boy's father, who was training him to be a hunter, the New York Daily News reported Sunday.
Because he's charged as an adult, Brown is in the county jail -- albeit separated from adult inmates. His attorney, Dennis Elisco, says being locked up with adults is inappropriate for a child and will file motions Monday to move the case to juvenile court and to let the boy's father post bail so he can get out of jail.
"I don't think anybody wants him there," Elisco said, referring to the county jail.

Houk was eight months pregnant with Brown's father's child, and also had two daughters, 7 and 4, who lived in the rural home with the Browns where authorities said she was slain as she lay in bed about 8 a.m. Friday.
After the shooting, the boy hopped onto a school bus with Houk's oldest daughter, police said. He was picked up from school several hours later after some tree trimmers called 911 when Houk's youngest daughter told them she thought her mother was dead.
Elisco said a judge likely won't hear his motions right away. Until then, he hopes to get the fifth-grader's school to send him assignments in jail.
"I want him to be occupied and busy and back, essentially, in school," Elisco said. "I wouldn't say he's in good spirits. He's confused. He looks and acts like a typical 11-year-old."
Elisco said jail officials can't even find clothes to fit the 4-foot-8 boy.
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"They put a shirt on him, he's swimming in it, and his pants are cuffed up about 10 times," Elisco said.
Lawrence County Warden Charles Adamo told the Associated Press on Sunday that he wanted to speak to a judge about moving the boy from an adult lockup to a juvenile detention center.
"I'm just going to speak to the judge [on Monday] because I don't have the facilities to accommodate somebody who's 11 years old," Adamo said.
Adamo said his 300-inmate jail cannot offer proper long-term care for Brown, of Wampum. more

Upstate Teacher Accused Of Inappropriate Relationship With Student

An upstate teacher is accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a student. Greenwood County Sheriff Tony Davis says 7th Grade teacher Angel Lindle is charged with having sex with a former student who was 14-years-old at the time.
Simmons was a Science Teacher at Edgewood Middle School in 1996. District Superintendent Dan Powell says Lindle has been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation.
The county sheriff's office says a 37-year-old Angel Simmons Lindle of Donalds has been charged with seven counts of sexual conduct with a child.

Deputies said Lindle was having sex with one of her former students, a 15-year-old boy. Police said the encounters happened numerous times over a period of six months.
Investigators said they found out after someone called authorities to complain about the relationship. more

Drunk driver suspect killed by drunk driver

A Pasadena man charged last year in what authorities said was a fatal drunken driving wreck was killed this week, apparently by a drunken driver.
Nicholas Hernandez, 25, was a passenger in a black Ford Mustang that struck a light pole in the 9100 block of the Gulf Freeway service road and rolled several times Thursday. He was ejected from the car.
Police believe the driver, Jose Resendez, 27, was drinking and expect him to be charged with intoxication manslaughter.
If convicted of intoxication manslaughter, Resendez faces anything from two years’ probation up to 20 years in prison.
Harris County Assistant District Attorney Brent Mayr said Hernandez was arrested after the Aug. 3, wreck which killed James Kelleher, 26, and his passenger, 23-year-old Suzanne Penland, who were hit head-on as they drove south on Texas 288.
Mayr said Hernandez was driving a Chevrolet Impala the wrong way on the highway and had a blood alcohol concentration of .30, more than three times the legal limit, when he hit the two friends who were in a Buick LeSabre.
Hernandez was convicted of driving while intoxicated in 2002 and again in 2003. Because a third DWI would be a felony, Mayr said Hernandez was charged in last year’s wreck with felony murder, which carries a sentence ranging from probation to 99 years or life in prison. He had been released from jail on $100,000 bond. more

She Won

NY Mother Who Drowned 3 Kids Pleads Mentally Ill

A woman who drowned her three young children in a bathtub, and tried twice to commit suicide, entered a plea Monday that will send her to a psychiatric facility rather than prison, possibly for the rest of her life.
Leatrice Brewer, 28, pleaded "not responsible by reason of mental disease or defect" after psychiatrists determined she suffered a "major depressive disorder" and believed she killed the children to save them from the potentially fatal effects of voodoo.
The case drew attention to Nassau County's social services agency, whose caseworkers visited Brewer's apartment two days before the killings and found no one home, but neglected to schedule an immediate follow-up visit. Two social workers were later suspended.
Brewer faced three murder counts in the Feb. 24, 2008, deaths. She had told authorities she slashed 6-year-old daughter Jewell in the throat before drowning her, and then drowned the little girl's half-brothers: 5-year-old Michael Demesyeux and 18-month-old Innocent Demesyeux.

The plea did not sit well with the father of the two young boys, who is suing county officials over the deaths. Innocent Demesyeux said in a statement that Brewer's guilt or innocence "should be decided by regular people on a jury and not by lawyers and politicians."
But other relatives agreed that a mental hospital was the appropriate destination for the troubled woman. more