National Roundup

Virginia
Court finds Bladensburg cross violates Constitution
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A federal appeals court has found that a 40-foot-tall cross on a Maryland state highway median just outside Washington violates the U.S. Constitution.

A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit of Appeals in Richmond ruled Wednesday that the 92-year-old monument known as the Bladensburg cross amounts to government sponsorship of a particular religion. The court overturned a 2016 ruling that said it was meant mostly as a secular commemoration of World War I.

The American Humanist Association said it endorses Christianity while ignoring non-Christian veterans.

The 4th Circuit said it “excessively entangles the government in religion” because the cross is the “core symbol of Christianity” and “breaches” the wall separating church and state.

Ohio
Senator who resigned is sorry for inappropriate conduct
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A state senator who resigned abruptly this week apologized Wednesday for inappropriate conversations and physical contact with a state worker.

Republican Cliff Hite, of Findlay, issued a statement on Twitter after his resignation Monday prompted a barrage of questions.

Hite, 63, said that he had inappropriate conversations with a female state employee who did not work for him but in a nearby state office and that he “sometimes asked her for hugs.” He said the inappropriate physical contact went no further.

“After we met, I sometimes asked her for hugs and talked with her in a way that was not appropriate for a married man, father, and grandfather like myself,” he said. He added that both the woman and his wife deserved more respect.

Hite’s wife, Diane, added her own statement to the post. She said the couple is in counseling, and she called her husband “a good man” who made a mistake.

“He told me all about it, apologized to me, and I forgive him,” she said. “We don’t have a perfect marriage and, like so many couples, we’ve had some hard times in our relationship.”

Hite said the mistake and his failing health led to his decision to resign. He had served in the Senate since 2011 and been elected to three terms in the Ohio House before that. Diane Hite said she is hopeful both her husband’s health and their marriage “will get better.”

Senate President Larry Obhof, a Republican, said a process for Hite’s replacement will be announced by the end of the week.


California
Woman who framed husband’s ex as stalker is sentenced
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A former Southern California woman has been sentenced to five years in prison for framing her husband’s ex-girlfriend, portraying her as a stalker who made death threats and set up a bizarre “rape fantasy” scheme.

Angela Diaz of Phoenix pleaded guilty Tuesday to felonies including kidnapping, false imprisonment and forgery. The Orange County Register reports she was sentenced immediately afterward.

Prosecutors say Diaz ran an ad on Craigslist steering men to her Anaheim, home for consensual “rape fantasy” sex and claimed one man tried to rape her. She also allegedly faked a pregnancy and cancer and claimed the ex-girlfriend threatened to kill her.

The ex, Michelle Hadley of Ontario, California, was arrested and jailed for months before authorities say they discovered Diaz was behind everything. Charges against Hadley were dropped.

New York
2 men get 100-plus year sentences for violent robberies
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — Authorities say two men have each been sentenced to more than a century in prison for a string of violent robberies in Rochester, New York, three years ago.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office says 37-year-old Matthew Nix, of Rochester, and 36-year-old Earl McCoy, of Brooklyn, were sentenced Tuesday in federal court in Rochester to prison terms of 155 years and 135 years, respectively.

The men were convicted on several charges, including robbery, attempted robbery and brandishing firearms during a violent crime.

Prosecutors say during a three-week period in September and October 2014 Nix and McCoy led a group of criminals who committed armed home invasions of people they believed were drug dealers in Rochester. The group also robbed the home of a jewelry wholesaler in the town of Greece, stealing $200,000 in watches, diamonds and cash.

New York
NYC waitress charged with scamming widow out of $500K
NEW YORK (AP) — New York City prosecutors say a diner waitress who befriended an 84-year-old Brooklyn widow is accused of scamming her out of nearly a half-million dollars.

The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office says 46-year-old Alicia Legall met the woman more than a decade ago, building trust and eventually gaining access to her money. Legall was arraigned Tuesday on grand larceny and identity theft charges.

Prosecutors say the victim let Legall purchase small items at local stores, but they say she went on to forge the victim’s signature on checks made out to herself and for cash.

Authorities say the funds stolen totaled about $480,000. If convicted, Legall faces up to 15 years in prison.

Legall is being held on $2.5 million bail. It wasn’t clear if she’s represented by an attorney who could comment on the charges.

Florida
Sheriff’s cadet uses dad’s patrol car to pull over ex
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Officials say the 22-year-old son of a Florida sheriff’s lieutenant took his father’s unmarked car and used it to pull over his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend.

Local news outlets report that Christopher Combs —€”who is a cadet in the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office where his father also works —€”used flashing red and blue lights to stop the vehicle Saturday night. He ordered the boyfriend to get out of the vehicle.

Investigators later found the father’s car parked outside the home of his son’s friend.

Sheriff’s spokeswoman Teri Barbera told the SunSentinel the “son has been fired, effective right now!”

Combs was ordered to stay away from the couple and released on bond. He faces multiple charges including impersonating a law enforcement officer. Documents don’t list an attorney.