National Roundup

Pennsylvania
Police: Woman steals taxi, picks up passengers
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Police say a woman stole a taxi in Philadelphia and picked up a fare.

They say the 65-year-old woman caught the cab around midnight Thursday and asked to be taken to the SugarHouse Casino. On the way, she asked the driver to make a stop at a gas station.

It was at the station where police say the woman jumped into the driver's seat and drove off.

Police stopped the taxi 30 minutes later and found a 23-year-old woman and her infant daughter in the backseat.

The mother told officers she had hailed the cab earlier, not realizing it was stolen.

Arkansas
Mother of boy who died after hours in hot van sues day care
WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. (AP) — An Arkansas mother whose 5-year-old son died after being left in a day care van for almost nine hours in hot weather is suing the facility.

In the civil lawsuit filed Thursday, Ashley Smith says Ascent Children's Health Services failed to provide adequate care for her son. The suit says the day care was "indifferent in the recruitment, hiring, training, supervision, discipline of employees," and showed a "callous disregard."

Smith says she wants the day care closed.

West Memphis police say Ascent's 15-passenger van picked up Christopher Gardner Jr. at 6:40 a.m. on June 12. He was found dead in the van at 3:30 p.m. Police say the temperature inside the van reached 141 degrees.

Investigators determined four employees were responsible for the boy's death. They face felony manslaughter charges.

Florida
Police: Man, 85, loses $300K in dating fraud
PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. (AP) — Police say a 49-year-old woman swindled a man nearly twice her age out of more than $300,000 after he sought companionship on a dating app.

Eighty-five-year-old John Berman was a widow when he joined the dating app and met Nancy Guy. She vanished in 2015 but on Thursday authorities caught up with her.

Pembroke Pines police Capt. Christopher Sengelmann tells local news outlets that Guy, who introduced herself to Berman as Anna Miller, may have victimized other men and urged them to come forward.

According to police, Guy told Berman she needed money for a dress-making business. She promised to pay him back, but always made excuses, including that she had cancer. Eventually Berman's son found out and intervened.

It's not clear whether she has hired a lawyer.

Florida
Man livestreams as he speeds on beach, cursing and drinking
CLEARWATER BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A 27-year-old man broadcast live on Facebook as he sped down a Florida beach, running over beach chairs and umbrellas while drinking from a bottle of Canadian Mist whiskey.

Authorities said he was yelling expletives about the police cars that were chasing him.

The commotion along the beach on Florida's west coast Thursday afternoon sent beachgoers scrambling for safety, but no one was injured.

"It could have been a lot worse today," Clearwater Deputy Chief Donald Hall said.

Hall told reporters at a news conference that Ryan Stiles eventually came to a dead end where he had to make a decision — drive his black SUV into the water or surrender. He was taken into custody and faces multiple charges, including DUI, reckless driving, hit and run, and threatening a public servant.

It was just before 4:30 p.m. when Clearwater police started getting 911 calls, some from as far away as California, bringing their attention to the threats Stiles was making from his Jeep Cherokee, Hall said.
Dispatchers kept callers on the line as police tried to locate him. Driving isn't allowed on the beach.

The Facebook video shows Stiles repeatedly said, "We're goin' die tonight," shifting his eyes from his phone to the windshield as he sped down the beach. He streamed about five minutes of his ride.

"We had no idea what this individual's intentions were," Hall said, adding that police officials secured the front door of the main police station out of precaution.

Stephanie Ball, her 14-month-old son Parker Daly and friend Emily Keene were enjoying the afternoon at the beach when they saw the SUV barreling toward them, following by police cruisers.

"We were lucky we were awake and alert," Ball told the Tampa Bay Times . The baby's playpen was about 5 feet (1 meter) away from the SUV's path.

A friend of Stiles made the first call to police. Sarah Lynn Wright, 26, told the Times that Stiles was trying to get out of a tough spot when she met him three months ago and let him move into a home she shares with her mother. On Thursday, she said he returned from a meeting with a public defender who told him it was unlikely he was going to get probation for a previous resisting arrest charge he is facing.

Wright said Stiles packed his stuff and left. She called police when she saw the video.

"It's not out of character for him to get angry and storm off," she said. "I feel like he couldn't handle the stress and that was it for him."

Jail records don't list a lawyer for Stiles.

Tennessee
Judge offers inmates reduced sentences for birth control
SPARTA, Tenn. (AP) — A program in a Tennessee county reduces inmates' jail time if they voluntarily undergo birth control procedures, in a move that has drawn criticism from the local district attorney and the American Civil Liberties Union.

WTVF-TV reports General Sessions Judge Sam Benninfield signed a standing order in May that provides 30 days' credit toward jail time for men who agree to free vasectomies in White County and women who agree to receive free Nexplanon implants, which prevent pregnancies for up to four years.

Benningfield says he hopes to prevent children being born under the influence of drugs.

County officials say 32 women and 38 men have signed up.

District Attorney Bryant Dunaway said his office doesn't support the order, citing ethical concerns. The ACLU called the order unconstitutional, describing it as coercion.