National Roundup

Mississippi Brett Favre rookie cards stolen; man charged PASCAGOULA, Miss. (AP) -- Jackson County Sheriff Mike Byrd said a Gautier man has been arrested on a commercial burglary charge that resulted in the theft some Brett Favre rookie NFL trading cards. Byrd said authorities finally caught up with Jeffrey Lloyd Holcomb in Biloxi last month and he was transferred to the Jackson County jail last week. Byrd said Holcomb had been sought in the burglary last May of a storage unit at Gulf Park Estates. The sheriff said the cards were in a small safe with jewelry, silver coins and the owner's personal papers. The safe did not belong to Favre. Byrd said the safe was found shortly after the burglary but it had been broken open and its items were missing. Byrd said deputies learned Holcomb had been trying to sell the Favre cards and searched his home a week after the May 4, 2010. burglary. They recovered some of the items at his home, Byrd said, but couldn't find Holcomb. An initial court appearance was pending. Byrd said Holcomb was being held on probation warrants from the Mississippi Department of Corrections for prior felony convictions on commercial burglary and uttering forgery. Ohio Cleared sheriff wants help with legal bills TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) -- A longtime urban sheriff acquitted by an Ohio federal court jury last year says county taxpayers should cover his costs from fighting charges of covering up a jail inmate's death. The Blade newspaper of Toledo obtained a letter sent by Lucas County Sheriff James Telb to the president of the county's board of commissioners. Telb writes it's unfair to foot the legal bills himself because the case resulted from his role as sheriff. He says the expenses would wipe out what he calls "the savings of a lifetime." County officials say they haven't seen any dollar numbers. Telb's attorney says the amount is similar to what co-defendants paid. The Blade reports court documents show a former deputy charged in the case has paid close to $200,000 in legal fees. Mississippi USM player shot at club seeks $87M from lawsuit HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) -- A University of Southern Mississippi football player shot outside Remington's Hunt Club has sued the business and its owner for $87 million in damages. Martez Smith was one of three football players wounded in a Nov. 14 shooting at the Hattiesburg nightclub. Smith remains paralyzed from the waist down. The Hattiesburg American reports the lawsuit, filed in Forrest County Circuit Court, alleges negligence and gross negligence on the nightclub's part. Listed as defendants in the lawsuit are owner William D. Norris, Champion Lanes LLC, and Hattiesburg Liquid Entertainment LLC. The complaint states the defendants own and operate the Hunt Club. The lawsuit states Smith was lawfully on the premises of the club as a business invitee. G. Wayne Hynum, attorney for one of the owners of the club, said Smith was turned away at the door when he arrived because he was intoxicated. Hynum said the altercation that led to the shooting happened later in the parking lot. Hynum wouldn't comment further because he had not seen the lawsuit. The suit alleges club security failed to control the large group of patrons who gathered in the parking lot when the club closed and also failed to provide a safe environment. The suit asks for $37 million in compensatory damages for medical expenses, physical impairment, pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life and loss of earnings throughout Smith's life. The suit also asks for $50 million in punitive damages "for the sole reason of deterring similar conduct by the defendants." Police have Travis "Taurus" Brown in custody on three counts of aggravated assault in connection with the shootings in November. Indiana Doctor takes 5th in trial in patient's death HAMMOND, Ind. (AP) -- A doctor from Indiana accused of health care fraud who was captured in Italy after more than five years on the run repeatedly invoked his right against self-incrimination in videotaped testimony during a civil trial involving the death of a patient. Mark Weinberger invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 20 times during a video played Thursday at his trial in Hammond. Weinberger remains in federal custody awaiting sentencing April 27 after pleading guilty to charges of health care fraud for billing almost two dozen patients' insurance companies for surgical procedures he didn't perform. Weinberger and a physician assistant are being sued in Lake Superior Court on allegations they failed to diagnose lung cancer in a female patient who subsequently died. The fugitive surgeon was captured in December 2009. North Carolina Forsyth County judge accused of ticket fixing WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) -- A Forsyth County judge has been charged in 22 cases where traffic tickets were adjusted for friends, acquaintances, and fellow church members. The North Carolina Judicial Standards Commission has accused Forsyth District Judge Denise Hartsfield of a "continuing pattern of conduct" in which she entered favorable judgments for certain defendants. The commission will hold a hearing in the next few months and make recommendations to the North Carolina Supreme Court, which could discipline Hartsfield. Penalties range from censure to removal from office. SBI officials say a review of her cases found she regularly delayed judgment or wiped out costs from the court record. No criminal charges have been filed. Massachusetts Woman gets 8 to 16 in license fraud case BRENTWOOD, N.H. (AP) -- A Massachusetts woman is going to spend eight to 16-years in a New Hampshire prison for charging illegal immigrants $2,000 to help them get fraudulent drivers' licenses. New Hampshire prosecutors say 30-year-old Angie Paola Patrone of Lawrence told federal agents the "majority" of the people she helped get licenses were involved in the drug trade. Senior Assistant Attorney General Jane Young says all Patrone cared about was "the cold, hard cash that was going into her pockets." Patrone was sentenced Thursday in court in Brentwood. The Eagle Tribune says Patrone sent the people to another man who then made contact with Donna Rockholt, a clerk at the Salem office of the Department of Motor Vehicles who would issue the licenses. Rockholt has pleaded guilty and is cooperating with prosecutors. Published: Mon, Mar 21, 2011