Ohio
Teen zaps cop with stun gun to fulfill bucket-list
NEWARK, Ohio (AP) - Police in central Ohio helped a teenage leukemia patient cross off a bucket-list item that was seriously shocking: She wanted to use a stun gun on someone.
Sixteen-year-old Alyssa Elkins got to do that Sunday. After a bit of training from Newark police, she zapped Sgt. Doug Bline - who'd been first among the police department employees who volunteered for the task - as a crowd of supporters watched. Bline winced and fell onto a mat, guided by spotters.
"It is unpleasant to say the least, but if for five seconds if it makes somebody's kind of dream come true, especially in her situation, I think it was well worth it," Bline said.
Alyssa described the experience as "awesome."
"I'm very grateful that people would put themselves out there to allow me to do that to them," she told WCMH-TV.
She had made her bucket list earlier in January, after her leukemia returned and she decided not to undergo further treatment, meaning she'd likely have just a few months to live. She added the stun-gun item to the list half-jokingly after recalling video of her uncle, Josh Barry, a state trooper, being hit with a Taser during his training, The Columbus Dispatch reported.
It happened to Barry again Sunday, as he gave Alyssa a second chance to use the stun gun.
"I'll do anything for my niece," he told the Dispatch.
California
Google fund could donate $4M to ACLU, others
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) - Google has created a crisis fund that could raise up to $4 million for four immigrant rights organizations.
Google has confirmed a USA Today report that it is funding an initial $2 million for the fund that can be matched with up to $2 million in donations from employees. The money will go toward the American Civil Liberties Union, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, the International Rescue Committee and the U.N. Refugee Agency.
Company executives are also donating separately to the effort.
Google says in a statement that it's concerned about the impact President Donald Trump's order to temporarily suspend immigration from seven Muslim majority nations will have on the company's employees and their families.
Ohio
Police: Alleged burglar broke in, made self at home
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (AP) - Police say an Ohio burglar made himself at home in houses he broke into by cooking and showering before leaving.
Authorities in Youngstown say the 33-year-old homeless man brought his own food to cook during break-ins.
The Vindicator reports Saturday the man was charged with burglary and breaking and entering.
Police say the man was arrested after a woman arrived home from work about 12:15 a.m. Wednesday and found her kitchen ransacked with food all over and her stove used.
Police reports say the woman heard running water upstairs and found a man in her shower.
Pennsylvania
Troopers: Son stabs mom to death in her home
NEW CASTLE, Pa. (AP) - A man has been charged with stabbing his mother to death during a confrontation inside her western Pennsylvania home.
Police say 27-year-old Dean Craven stabbed his 57-year-old mother, Lauri, multiple times Sunday morning. Authorities declared her dead at her Neshannock Township home, about 45 miles north of Pittsburgh.
Craven stayed at the home until police arrived. He was arrested without incident.
Police haven't released a suspected motive or details, other than that it happened during an altercation.
Dean Craven faces charges including homicide and aggravated assault.
He remains jailed without bond and court documents do not list an attorney.
Pennsylvania
Police: Man allegedly raped child in animal costume sex ring
WARMINSTER, Pa. (AP) - Police have arrested a fifth person who is accused of repeatedly sexually abusing a boy in Pennsylvania while dressed in animal costumes.
Police say 57-year-old Kenneth Fenske, of Quakertown, began abusing a 9-year-old boy at "furry" parties he hosted at his home in 2009. The abuse continued for years. Four other men who allegedly participated in the child predator ring have been arrested in Pennsylvania and Virginia.
Officials say the victim is related to one of the men in the group. The victim lived with his grandmother, but is now in foster care.
Police on Friday charged Fenske with rape of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child and unlawful contact with a minor. An attorney was not listed for him.
Ohio
Prosecutors to appeal rapist's 112-year sentence
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - An Ohio prosecutor plans to appeal the rejection of a convicted rapist's 112-year prison sentence to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Mahoning County Prosecutor's Office wants the high court to take up the case of the 2008 sentence given to Brandon Moore for crimes committed when he was 15.
Moore was tried as an adult and convicted by a jury in the 2001 armed kidnapping, robbery and gang rape of a 22-year-old Youngstown State University student.
The Ohio Supreme Court overturned the sentence in December, saying it constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.
Prosecutors say the formal filing will come in March.
Moore's attorney says the state court didn't call for Moore's release but only to show that he's been rehabilitated.
Ohio
Death row inmates' lawyers want to witness other executions
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Attorneys for five condemned Ohio killers are asking a judge to let them witness upcoming executions.
The attorneys say that observing executions that come before their own clients are put to death will allow them to ensure that the procedures are being carried out constitutionally.
The attorneys said in a court filing that their observations could have an impact on a continuing lawsuit over Ohio's new three-drug lethal injection process.
The state opposes the request, saying additional witnesses aren't included in Ohio's current execution protocols.
The Ohio attorney general's office has appealed Magistrate Judge Michael Merz's ruling last week declaring the state's new process unconstitutional and delayed three upcoming executions.
Published: Tue, Jan 31, 2017
