California
People find severed head in Oakland yard, take it to police
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Police investigators on Monday were trying to determine whether a decaying human head found in an Oakland backyard belongs to a recently discovered headless corpse.
People visiting an Oakland apartment complex last week found the head in the grassless yard with a couple of trees and took it to a police station, Oakland Officer Johnna Watson said.
Officers at the police station initially thought it was a Halloween prank but then saw the head inside the car of the people who found it, Sgt. Michael Cardoza told reporters after the Friday discovery.
"I can say in my years of service, I've never had a human skull delivered to the police station," Cardoza told KGO-TV.
Homicide detectives interviewed all the residents of the three-apartment building, and it didn't appear they were involved, he said.
It's unclear how long the head had been in yard, but Cardoza said it was decomposed and "had a little bit of flesh on it."
The Alameda County coroner's office is working to identify the remains and determine whether it's connected to a decapitated body found in "close proximity" in late September.
A resident interviewed by KTVU said he had no idea how the head got to an area of the backyard that tenants don't frequent.
"They come into my house while I'm eating dinner - they come in and tell me something about a head. I don't know nothing about no head," Manul Adrow told the station about police.
Iowa
Nurse charged with drug thefts from co-workers
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) - Federal authorities have accused a northern Iowa nurse of stealing prescription drugs and violating federal patient confidentiality laws.
U.S. District Court records say 32-year-old Samantha Rogers is charged with obtaining and attempting to obtain controlled substances by fraud, deception and subterfuge; criminal violations of privacy law; and aiding and abetting. Her attorney didn't immediately return a call Tuesday from The Associated Press.
A criminal complaint says Rogers, of Mason City, is a registered nurse and occupational therapist and that the incidents occurred in Cerro Gordo County.
Authorities say Rogers stole medications from co-workers. Authorities also say Rogers accessed medical records to find patient addresses and then would show up at their homes, posing as a public health worker who was recovering unused medications.
Wisconsin
Court limits insurer's payout in massive wildfire
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - The state Supreme Court is limiting an insurance company's payout in a massive northwestern Wisconsin wildfire.
Logging equipment owned by Ray Duerr Logging LLC sparked the Germann Road Fire in Douglas County in May 2013. The fire consumed about 7,442 acres, destroyed 17 homes and forced dozens to evacuate.
Secura Insurance insured Duerr at the time of the fire. The policy contained a $2 million aggregate limit as well as a $500,000 per-occurrence limit for damages due to fire arising from logging.
A state appeals court ruled the $2 million limit applied, finding there was an occurrence each time the fire spread to a new piece of property.
The Supreme Court overturned that ruling Monday, finding the fire was a single occurrence and the $500,000 limit applies.
Massachusetts
Whitey Bulger transferred to prison in West Virginia
BOSTON (AP) - Boston gangster James "Whitey" Bulger has been moved again to a prison in West Virginia.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons online inmate log on Tuesday listed Bulger as an inmate at USP Hazelton, a high-security prison with an adjacent minimum security satellite camp in Bruceton Mills.
The 89-year-old Bulger had recently been moved from a prison in Florida to a transfer facility in Oklahoma City.
Bureau of Prisons officials and his attorney declined last week to comment on why he was being moved.
Bulger is serving a life sentence after being convicted in 2013 of a litany of crimes, including participating in 11 murders. He was one of the FBI's most wanted fugitives for 16 years until his 2011 arrest in Santa Monica, California.
Colorado
State Supreme Court creates guidelines for frozen embryos
DENVER (AP) - A recent ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court creates new guidelines on what divorced spouses should do with their frozen embryos if the former couples are unable to come to an agreement.
The Denver Post reports the ruling issued Monday says courts must attempt to balance the interests of both parents when deciding the fate of such embryos.
Judges must consider how both people would use the embryos, whether a person can have children without the embryos and any financial or emotional hardships the person who does not want to be a parent would endure. Courts cannot consider if the person who wants to bring the embryos to term can afford to raise a child, how many children that parent already has or whether that person could adopt or raise non-biological children.
Ohio
Settlement reached in Ohio case of stun-gunned black girl
CINCINNATI (AP) - There's a $240,000 settlement in the case of an 11-year-old black girl stunned by a Cincinnati police officer after she was spotted shoplifting in a grocery store and tried to run away.
The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that the city of Cincinnati will pay $220,000 and the Kroger Co. $20,000 to Donesha Gowdy. Use of the money will be monitored by probate court, and the city has also agreed to participate in a juvenile police problem-solving team.
Officer Kevin Brown, who also is black, was heard on body camera footage telling her: "... sweetheart, this is why there's no grocery stores in the black community."
Internal investigation found Brown violated four policies, including making a prejudiced comment and misuse of his stun gun. Police haven't said what his punishment will be.
Published: Wed, Oct 31, 2018
