New York
Gov. creates task force to conduct nail salon probes
NEW YORK (AP) - Gov. Andrew Cuomo is creating a task force to conduct investigations into nail salons around New York, following a report of widespread exploitation of workers.
The New York Times reported Monday that Cuomo says he will not stand by as workers are deprived of wages.
A two-part investigative series in the Times found nail salon workers were forced to toil long hours amid toxic chemicals performing manicures and pedicures for little wages.
The Times stories also reported many workers suffered serious health problems and there was little, if any, protection for them.
Cuomo says the plans are taking shape after the reports last week.
He says salons will be required to post signs in a half-dozen languages that inform works of their rights.
Maryland
Thousands too injured to enter Baltimore jail
BALTIMORE (AP) - Thousands of people have been brought to the Baltimore city jail in recent years with injuries too severe for them to be admitted, newly released records show.
The records, obtained by The Baltimore Sun through a Maryland Public Information Act request, show that correctional officers at the Baltimore City Detention Center refused to admit nearly 2,600 detainees who were in police custody between June 2012 and April 2015.
The records do not indicate how the people were injured or whether they suffered their injuries while in custody. However, they do suggest that police officers either ignored or did not notice the injuries. Suspects are constitutionally guaranteed health care before they are booked into jail.
Baltimore police are under scrutiny for their treatment of detainees following the death of Freddie Gray last month. Gray died of a broken neck that prosecutors said he suffered while riding in a Baltimore police van, and six officers involved in Gray's arrest are facing criminal charges, including one charged with second-degree murder. Gray's death sparked rioting and widespread protests in the city and came amid national scrutiny of how police officers treat suspects, particularly black men.
On Friday, the Justice Department announced that it is conducting a civil-rights investigation of Baltimore police.
The records obtained by The Sun showed that 123 of the detainees who weren't admitted to jail had visible head injuries, the third-most common ailment cited by jail officials. Others had broken bones, facial trauma and high blood pressure.
Police did not comment to The Sun, and department spokespeople did not immediately return messages left by The Associated Press on Sunday.
New Jersey
Man gets life for killing, burying dad under porch
BRIDGETON, N.J. (AP) - A southern New Jersey man has been sentenced to life in prison for killing his father and burying him under the back porch of their home.
Dreu Ferguson Jr. was convicted of aggravated manslaughter in March by a Cumberland County jury that also acquitted him of murder. The 39-year-old Millville man was also found guilty of tampering with evidence and desecrating or concealing human remains.
Authorities have said Ferguson killed his 58-year-old father, Dreu Ferguson Sr., in May 2009 after they argued over the lid of a teapot.
Prosecutors argued at trial that Ferguson buried his father in lime and fertilizer under their back porch. But a forensic pathologist testifying for the defense said the man may have died of natural causes.
Wisconsin
Man sentenced to life in prison for attacking girls
JANESVILLE, Wis. (AP) - A 42-year-old man has been sentenced to life in prison for an attack that left two young girls with life-threatening injuries in Walworth County.
The Janesville Gazette reports Larry Shannon, of Whitewater, stared at the ceiling and smirked as he was sentenced Friday.
In February, he was convicted of tying up two girls for hours after slashing their necks with a kitchen knife, sexually assaulting one girl and leading law enforcement on a two-county chase in October 2012.
Judge David Reddy sentenced Shannon to life with no chance of extended supervision for causing great bodily harm during the sexual assault of a child younger than 13. For the remaining 11 convictions, he was sentenced to another 145 years and nine months of confinement with 60 years of extended supervision.
Oregon
Body cameras disrupt workflow, make more work
ALBANY, Ore. (AP) - As body cameras become more prevalent in police forces and sheriff's offices, the extra evidence is disrupting workflow for the Linn County Circuit Court system.
The Albany Democrat-Herald reports that Sweet Home and Lebanon Police officers use body cameras and the added footage has been delaying trials and creating hours of processing.
Linn County District Attorney Doug Marteeny says his office had only 45 gigabytes of media downloads in 2011, according to office data. By 2014, that figure grew to 601 gigabytes of downloaded evidence, and for the first three months of 2015, it's already at 351 gigabytes, most of which is body camera footage.
The video evidence must be watched, approved by party attorneys, redacted for court and edited before juries see it.
Virginia
Woman receives4-1/2 years in jail in terror case
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - A Virginia woman has been sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison for lying to investigators about supporting the Islamic State militant group.
The sentence imposed Monday by U.S. District Judge John Gibney was three months less than prosecutors wanted and eight months more than Heather Elizabeth Coffman's attorneys recommended.
Coffman posted numerous messages on Facebook supporting the Islamic State and tried to help a man make arrangements to train and fight with the group in Syria. She also tried to make similar arrangements for an undercover FBI agent. Prosecutors portrayed Coffman as a serious jihadist. Defense attorneys said she was just gullible and immature.
Coffman pleaded guilty in February to making a materially false statement about an offense involving terrorism.
Published: Tue, May 12, 2015
