Disneyland devotee; 120 years for child porn; booze thieves get $40,000 worth
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Odd and interesting news from around the West.
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PROVO, Utah (AP) — A Utah teen who pleaded guilty to stabbing four classmates and hitting a fifth in a locker room attack that spread shock and horror through his high school has been sentenced to at least 10 years in prison.
Luke Dollahite, 16, apologized during a sentencing hearing on Thursday and said he's grateful for mercy and kindness he has been shown.
"I don't deserve any of it," he said. Under the terms of his plea deal, Dollahite will first serve time in a juvenile facility where he can get more treatment aimed at rehabilitation until he's 21.
The five victims survived. But several of them suffered serious injuries in a November 2016 attack prosecutors have described as a "rampage of violence" that had victims running from the locker room covered in blood and the school placed on lockdown.
One victim described playing dead as Dollahite stabbed him multiple times. That teen suffered permanent mobility damage to his arm.
"I looked up at the ceiling and thought this was the end for me," he said Thursday, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. "This is how I was going to die."
Another victim said he couldn't understand why he was attacked at Mountain View High School in Orem, 40 miles south of Salt Lake City. "During the time I was in the hospital, I just couldn't understand why anyone would do this to any of us. We were just in high school," he said, according to the Deseret News.
Authorities have said the teenager brought a martial arts stick and knives to school for what he planned to be a fatal attack on classmates chosen at random.
The Associated Press did not previously name the teen because of his age, but it is now using his name because he has been charged as an adult.
The victims are not being identified because of their ages.
Listening to his classmates talk about their fear and pain in court hearings has helped Dollahite understand what he'd done, defense attorney Mike Esplin said.
Prosecutor Sam Pead he's hopeful Dollahite can be rehabilitated, but he's glad to know the state parole board can decide to keep him behind bars if necessary.
- By PAUL ELIAS Associated Press
- Updated
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Northern California police said Friday that a homeowner acted in self-defense when he fatally shot two men during an attempted home invasion robbery.
Brentwood Police officials say surveillance footage from a neighbor's camera is aiding the investigation.
The footage, obtained by KTVU (https://tinyurl.com/yd2bvs37), shows two men apparently casing the area before entering the garage Wednesday night in Brentwood about 55 miles east of San Francisco.
Neighbor Reggie Nichols told KTVU that the shooter told him the men demanded he open a safe in his garage, which contained the gun. The neighbor says the homeowner often watched television in the garage with the door open.
One of the robbers can be seen through a garage window before two flashes are captured on the video. The video then shows the homeowner apparently shooting his gun outside the garage on his driveway. The neighbor says one of the suspects was wearing a mask.
The homeowner was briefly detained but was not arrested and has not been charged. Police say they are continuing to investigate.
"After being confronted by the armed suspects, the resident/victim retrieved a firearm and fired at the victims in his own defense," police said in a statement.
Police on Friday declined to release the homeowner's name. Investigators and the Contra Costa County coroner also declined to identify both suspects, who they say were men in their 30s and lived in nearby Antioch, which is 45 miles east of San Francisco.
Brentwood Lt. Tim Herbert declined to discuss the case in detail.
Self-defense laws vary in each state. California doesn't have a "stand your ground" law like Florida, where George Zimmerman was cleared of criminal wrongdoing for shooting to death unarmed Trayvon Martin during a confrontation in 2012.
In California, Herbert said a homicide is legal when a victim kills because he fears for his life. "You have a right to defend yourself in your home," Herbert said.
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Information from: East Bay Times, http://www.eastbaytimes.com
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ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alaska officials say they are still investigating a fatal mauling by a black bear near a gold mine to definitively determine if the attack was predatory in nature as initial reports indicate.
State Fish and Game officials said Friday an analysis is pending after an autopsy was performed on the bear.
Twenty-seven-year-old mine contract worker Erin Johnson of Anchorage died and her 38-year-old co-worker Ellen Trainor of Fairbanks sustained minor injuries in the attack Monday about 5 miles from the Pogo Mine. The bear was killed later that day.
The attack was the second fatal black bear mauling this week.
On Sunday, 16-year-old Patrick "Jack" Cooper was killed after he got lost and veered off a trail during a mountain race south of Anchorage.
Officials killed that bear Tuesday.
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ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — A New Mexico man will be spending the rest of his life in federal prison for producing and distributing child pornography.
Michael Dameon Blackburn was sentenced this week to 120 years in prison. He also was ordered to pay more than $430,000 in restitution to the victims.
Federal prosecutors say the 31-year-old Blackburn was arrested in December 2013 and indicted by a federal grand jury the following month.
The investigation began after agents received information about a potential cybercrime that involved a child who might be in the Albuquerque area.
Authorities found Blackburn with two toddlers who had been left in his care while their parents were out of town. Officers learned that Blackburn had been taking photographs and making videos of the toddlers while he molested them over a period of several months.
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CROUCH, Idaho (AP) — An Idaho city notorious for dangerous consumer fireworks displays has decided to ban fireworks this year.
The city of Crouch, 50 miles northeast of Boise, receives thousands of visitors each year during Fourth of July looking to take part in the risky fun.
Visitors have caused damage to local property in the past and left the city of less than 200 residents trashed, Garden Valley Chamber of Commerce President Diane Caughlin told the Idaho Statesman (http://bit.ly/2sKvnCQ).
"In the last few years, people aren't coming up here to spend money. They're coming up here to blow (expletive) up," she said. "It seems like they don't have any respect for our town."
Videos of previous years' celebrations showed revelers randomly igniting fireworks on the street.
City Council recently voted to ban fireworks in the city. The city will soon put up signs announcing the ban.
Violators can be cited with an infraction and receive a $100 fine.
Boise County Sheriff's Office officials, private security and other law enforcement agencies will be in town to enforce the ban.
"We're trying to make it impossible for people to fire off fireworks in downtown Crouch," she said.
The Chamber of Commerce members decided in March to continue to host holiday related-events such as a pancake breakfast and parade. They also have a derby scheduled in an area where holiday visitors typically light fireworks.
A professional fireworks show at Weilmunster Park is still scheduled.
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Information from: Idaho Statesman, http://www.idahostatesman.com
- Associated Press
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PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) — Peoria police say an elderly woman with Alzheimer's disease died from heat exposure after leaving a care facility in the city.
Officer Brandon Sheffert says detectives received a call from Immanuel Campus of Care Thursday afternoon 79-year-old Oralia Parra and another 87-year-old female patient had been missing for 30 minutes.
Police responding to the call located the two women 20 minutes later in someone's backyard in Sun City and found Parra dead. Sheffert says it appears the other patient did not suffer from heat exhaustion or any injuries. Peoria had a high of 112 degrees that day.
Sheffert says the medical examiner for Maricopa County has told police the initial indication is the patient died of heat exposure and that he will do a full review.
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KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. (AP) — A worker checking the spill gate at a southern Oregon dam for obstructions thought he found a log.
After closing inspection, PacifiCorp hydro foreman Todd Engelbrecht discovered it was the carcass of a really big fish. The white sturgeon found Thursday at Keno Dam is an estimated 9 ½-feet long and 250 pounds.
"It was quite a surprise," Engelbrecht told the Herald and News (https://is.gd/ia80j5).
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist Bill Tinniswood examined the carcass and said it's the biggest freshwater fish he's ever touched.
He said sturgeon from the Columbia River were sent to Klamath County in 1958 in an attempt to stock local waterways.
There has been no evidence of the species reproducing, Tinniswood said, but sturgeon have long lifespans and fish like the one found Thursday are believed to be from the original transplant group.
An examination of the carcass revealed the fish to be a female laden with what Tinniswood estimated to be millions of eggs. He said she may have been waiting to find a male to spawn with and her inability to do so caused a large volume of eggs to accumulate.
"That was an incredible number of eggs," he said.
There was no clear evidence of how she died, but she appeared to have sustained a head injury before or after death, Tinniswood said.
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Information from: Herald and News, http://www.heraldandnews.com
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LAS VEGAS (AP) — Authorities say an unspecified, false threat found on an American Airlines flight forced the plane to turn around at the Las Vegas airport so that passengers could be rescreened and the plane could be searched.
The airline said Flight 1704 headed to Charlotte, North Carolina left the gate with 184 passengers and six crew members at 1:32 p.m. Thursday.
The plane hadn't taken off when the "non-credible" threat was discovered and decided to turn around out of caution.
McCarran International Airport spokeswoman Christine Crews said passengers were bused back to the terminal.
Authorities found nothing and cleared the scene about 4 p.m., after K9 units swept the plane, including baggage and cargo areas.
The plane took off at 5:42 p.m.
The Federal Aviation Administration said no other flights were affected.
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GUNBARREL, Colo. (AP) — A Colorado man has been found guilty of attempted second-degree murder for shooting his neighbor in the buttocks last year after an argument about feeding squirrels.
The Daily Camera reports (http://bit.ly/2sZsctc) jurors on Friday also found 60-year-old Jon Barbour of Gunbarrel guilty of first-degree assault with a deadly weapon. He was jailed pending his Aug. 4 sentencing.
Boulder County prosecutors said Barbour's neighbors objected to his leaving peanuts for squirrels.
Barbour posted fliers explaining that he did so in memory of his recently deceased parents. Prosecutors said Barbour was angry because he heard Jeffrey Browning had torn down the fliers.
Browning reportedly stopped to talk with Barbour on May 12, 2016. Browning said he was shot as he walked away after seeing Barbour had a gun.
Barbour said Browning punched him in the head.
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Information from: Daily Camera, http://www.dailycamera.com/
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TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — A jury in Tacoma has found Washington state responsible in the death of a Tacoma man whose son killed him nine months after being released from a state psychiatric hospital.
Jurors on Thursday awarded $2.9 million in damages to the family of Robert Meline, 56, who was killed in 2012 while sleeping.
His family sued the state and Western State Hospital in 2013, arguing that it wrongly released Robert's son, Jonathan Meline, from involuntary civil-commitment, The News Tribune reported (http://bit.ly/2rKExOc). They said officials knew the son suffered from delusions and violent behavior.
His parents were uneasy about the decision but agreed to let Jonathan into their home after being told the only other option was the streets.
Jurors found the hospital was negligent in handling his release.
Attorneys for the state argued that the younger Meline showed signs of stability prior to his release, and that the father's slaying wasn't foreseeable.
Records revealed during the trial, however, showed that psychiatrists at the hospital believed Jonathan was still dangerous, not ready for release into the community and likely to harm others.
Nine months after his released, Jonathan Meline was charged with killing his father with a hatchet. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity and is at Western.
Outside the courtroom, a number of jurors surrounded Kim Meline and embraced her. Some jurors spoke to Meline and her daughters through tears.
Kim Meline said after Thursday's verdict that her son should have been kept in an institution and that she was thrilled with the verdict.
One of her attorneys, Nathan Roberts, said he hope the jury's ruling would spur changes at Western.
"We hope that Western State will receive the message loud and clear and make the changes they need to for community safety," he said.
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Information from: The News Tribune, http://www.thenewstribune.com
- Updated
RED BLUFF, Calif. (AP) — Authorities say a former counselor to high school students in Northern California is facing more than two dozen counts of having sex with at least two teen boys.
The Record Searchlight (http://bit.ly/2rIu1XQ ) reports that 36-year-old Jacqueline Bryce Herron has pleaded not guilty in Shasta County Superior Court to the charges, which include engaging in sexual intercourse.
Herron was working at a group home and a continuation high school when the alleged crimes occurred in 2015 and 2016, the newspaper reported. The boys were 16 at the time.
A preliminary hearing is set for July 20.
Herron could not be reached for comment on the case. Her attorney, Alec Rose, said he was not authorized by his client to discuss her case.
___
Information from: Record Searchlight, http://redding.com
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Visits made to the Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum since it first opened in 2005 now total more than 1 million.
Officials say the attendance milestone was surpassed during an annual folk festival that was held at the museum in early June.
The adjacent balloon park also is home to an annual international balloon fiesta that draws hundreds of pilots and tens of thousands of spectators to Albuquerque each October for the lifting off of hot air and gas balloons.
Museum officials say annual attendance is currently on par with last year's record-setting total attendance of 133,748. They say that in the last several years, the museum's annual attendance has jumped by nearly 50 percent.
- Updated
SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — A Buckeye couple has been arrested for allegedly stealing more than $40,000 worth of alcohol from various supermarkets around Maricopa County.
Surprise police say 37-year-old Joshua Atherton and 33-year-old Summerlea Hunt are being held on 19 felony charges.
They are facing charges of organized retail theft, trafficking in stolen property, removing an anti-theft device and fraudulent schemes.
It was unclear Thursday if either Atherton or Hunt has a lawyer yet.
Police say the couple has allegedly been stealing liquor from stores since last December and there may be more than 100 separate thefts.
Atherton and Hunt were taken into custody Monday after police say the two walked out of a Surprise supermarket carrying backpacks filled with stolen liquor.
- Updated
RENO, Nev. (AP) — A Nevada doctor awaiting trial on charges accusing him of writing an illegal painkiller prescription resulting in the death of a former University of Nevada football player is now accused of causing a second death.
Dr. Robert Rand was to appear in federal court in Reno on Friday.
Prosecutors unsealed a new grand jury indictment Thursday that provides no details but says the other death occurred as recently as August 2015. The victim is identified only by initials, "D.C.-Z."
The other victim was identified only as "M.Y." But Michael Yenick's parents have filed a wrongful death suit accusing Rand of causing his death in October 2015.
Rand has been jailed without bail since he and eight others were arrested in a federal drug raid in May 2016.
His lawyer couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
More like this...
PROVO, Utah (AP) — A Utah teen who pleaded guilty to stabbing four classmates and hitting a fifth in a locker room attack that spread shock and horror through his high school has been sentenced to at least 10 years in prison.
Luke Dollahite, 16, apologized during a sentencing hearing on Thursday and said he's grateful for mercy and kindness he has been shown.
"I don't deserve any of it," he said. Under the terms of his plea deal, Dollahite will first serve time in a juvenile facility where he can get more treatment aimed at rehabilitation until he's 21.
The five victims survived. But several of them suffered serious injuries in a November 2016 attack prosecutors have described as a "rampage of violence" that had victims running from the locker room covered in blood and the school placed on lockdown.
One victim described playing dead as Dollahite stabbed him multiple times. That teen suffered permanent mobility damage to his arm.
"I looked up at the ceiling and thought this was the end for me," he said Thursday, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. "This is how I was going to die."
Another victim said he couldn't understand why he was attacked at Mountain View High School in Orem, 40 miles south of Salt Lake City. "During the time I was in the hospital, I just couldn't understand why anyone would do this to any of us. We were just in high school," he said, according to the Deseret News.
Authorities have said the teenager brought a martial arts stick and knives to school for what he planned to be a fatal attack on classmates chosen at random.
The Associated Press did not previously name the teen because of his age, but it is now using his name because he has been charged as an adult.
The victims are not being identified because of their ages.
Listening to his classmates talk about their fear and pain in court hearings has helped Dollahite understand what he'd done, defense attorney Mike Esplin said.
Prosecutor Sam Pead he's hopeful Dollahite can be rehabilitated, but he's glad to know the state parole board can decide to keep him behind bars if necessary.
- By PAUL ELIAS Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Northern California police said Friday that a homeowner acted in self-defense when he fatally shot two men during an attempted home invasion robbery.
Brentwood Police officials say surveillance footage from a neighbor's camera is aiding the investigation.
The footage, obtained by KTVU (https://tinyurl.com/yd2bvs37), shows two men apparently casing the area before entering the garage Wednesday night in Brentwood about 55 miles east of San Francisco.
Neighbor Reggie Nichols told KTVU that the shooter told him the men demanded he open a safe in his garage, which contained the gun. The neighbor says the homeowner often watched television in the garage with the door open.
One of the robbers can be seen through a garage window before two flashes are captured on the video. The video then shows the homeowner apparently shooting his gun outside the garage on his driveway. The neighbor says one of the suspects was wearing a mask.
The homeowner was briefly detained but was not arrested and has not been charged. Police say they are continuing to investigate.
"After being confronted by the armed suspects, the resident/victim retrieved a firearm and fired at the victims in his own defense," police said in a statement.
Police on Friday declined to release the homeowner's name. Investigators and the Contra Costa County coroner also declined to identify both suspects, who they say were men in their 30s and lived in nearby Antioch, which is 45 miles east of San Francisco.
Brentwood Lt. Tim Herbert declined to discuss the case in detail.
Self-defense laws vary in each state. California doesn't have a "stand your ground" law like Florida, where George Zimmerman was cleared of criminal wrongdoing for shooting to death unarmed Trayvon Martin during a confrontation in 2012.
In California, Herbert said a homicide is legal when a victim kills because he fears for his life. "You have a right to defend yourself in your home," Herbert said.
___
Information from: East Bay Times, http://www.eastbaytimes.com
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alaska officials say they are still investigating a fatal mauling by a black bear near a gold mine to definitively determine if the attack was predatory in nature as initial reports indicate.
State Fish and Game officials said Friday an analysis is pending after an autopsy was performed on the bear.
Twenty-seven-year-old mine contract worker Erin Johnson of Anchorage died and her 38-year-old co-worker Ellen Trainor of Fairbanks sustained minor injuries in the attack Monday about 5 miles from the Pogo Mine. The bear was killed later that day.
The attack was the second fatal black bear mauling this week.
On Sunday, 16-year-old Patrick "Jack" Cooper was killed after he got lost and veered off a trail during a mountain race south of Anchorage.
Officials killed that bear Tuesday.
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — A New Mexico man will be spending the rest of his life in federal prison for producing and distributing child pornography.
Michael Dameon Blackburn was sentenced this week to 120 years in prison. He also was ordered to pay more than $430,000 in restitution to the victims.
Federal prosecutors say the 31-year-old Blackburn was arrested in December 2013 and indicted by a federal grand jury the following month.
The investigation began after agents received information about a potential cybercrime that involved a child who might be in the Albuquerque area.
Authorities found Blackburn with two toddlers who had been left in his care while their parents were out of town. Officers learned that Blackburn had been taking photographs and making videos of the toddlers while he molested them over a period of several months.
CROUCH, Idaho (AP) — An Idaho city notorious for dangerous consumer fireworks displays has decided to ban fireworks this year.
The city of Crouch, 50 miles northeast of Boise, receives thousands of visitors each year during Fourth of July looking to take part in the risky fun.
Visitors have caused damage to local property in the past and left the city of less than 200 residents trashed, Garden Valley Chamber of Commerce President Diane Caughlin told the Idaho Statesman (http://bit.ly/2sKvnCQ).
"In the last few years, people aren't coming up here to spend money. They're coming up here to blow (expletive) up," she said. "It seems like they don't have any respect for our town."
Videos of previous years' celebrations showed revelers randomly igniting fireworks on the street.
City Council recently voted to ban fireworks in the city. The city will soon put up signs announcing the ban.
Violators can be cited with an infraction and receive a $100 fine.
Boise County Sheriff's Office officials, private security and other law enforcement agencies will be in town to enforce the ban.
"We're trying to make it impossible for people to fire off fireworks in downtown Crouch," she said.
The Chamber of Commerce members decided in March to continue to host holiday related-events such as a pancake breakfast and parade. They also have a derby scheduled in an area where holiday visitors typically light fireworks.
A professional fireworks show at Weilmunster Park is still scheduled.
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Information from: Idaho Statesman, http://www.idahostatesman.com
- Associated Press
PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) — Peoria police say an elderly woman with Alzheimer's disease died from heat exposure after leaving a care facility in the city.
Officer Brandon Sheffert says detectives received a call from Immanuel Campus of Care Thursday afternoon 79-year-old Oralia Parra and another 87-year-old female patient had been missing for 30 minutes.
Police responding to the call located the two women 20 minutes later in someone's backyard in Sun City and found Parra dead. Sheffert says it appears the other patient did not suffer from heat exhaustion or any injuries. Peoria had a high of 112 degrees that day.
Sheffert says the medical examiner for Maricopa County has told police the initial indication is the patient died of heat exposure and that he will do a full review.
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. (AP) — A worker checking the spill gate at a southern Oregon dam for obstructions thought he found a log.
After closing inspection, PacifiCorp hydro foreman Todd Engelbrecht discovered it was the carcass of a really big fish. The white sturgeon found Thursday at Keno Dam is an estimated 9 ½-feet long and 250 pounds.
"It was quite a surprise," Engelbrecht told the Herald and News (https://is.gd/ia80j5).
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist Bill Tinniswood examined the carcass and said it's the biggest freshwater fish he's ever touched.
He said sturgeon from the Columbia River were sent to Klamath County in 1958 in an attempt to stock local waterways.
There has been no evidence of the species reproducing, Tinniswood said, but sturgeon have long lifespans and fish like the one found Thursday are believed to be from the original transplant group.
An examination of the carcass revealed the fish to be a female laden with what Tinniswood estimated to be millions of eggs. He said she may have been waiting to find a male to spawn with and her inability to do so caused a large volume of eggs to accumulate.
"That was an incredible number of eggs," he said.
There was no clear evidence of how she died, but she appeared to have sustained a head injury before or after death, Tinniswood said.
___
Information from: Herald and News, http://www.heraldandnews.com
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Authorities say an unspecified, false threat found on an American Airlines flight forced the plane to turn around at the Las Vegas airport so that passengers could be rescreened and the plane could be searched.
The airline said Flight 1704 headed to Charlotte, North Carolina left the gate with 184 passengers and six crew members at 1:32 p.m. Thursday.
The plane hadn't taken off when the "non-credible" threat was discovered and decided to turn around out of caution.
McCarran International Airport spokeswoman Christine Crews said passengers were bused back to the terminal.
Authorities found nothing and cleared the scene about 4 p.m., after K9 units swept the plane, including baggage and cargo areas.
The plane took off at 5:42 p.m.
The Federal Aviation Administration said no other flights were affected.
GUNBARREL, Colo. (AP) — A Colorado man has been found guilty of attempted second-degree murder for shooting his neighbor in the buttocks last year after an argument about feeding squirrels.
The Daily Camera reports (http://bit.ly/2sZsctc) jurors on Friday also found 60-year-old Jon Barbour of Gunbarrel guilty of first-degree assault with a deadly weapon. He was jailed pending his Aug. 4 sentencing.
Boulder County prosecutors said Barbour's neighbors objected to his leaving peanuts for squirrels.
Barbour posted fliers explaining that he did so in memory of his recently deceased parents. Prosecutors said Barbour was angry because he heard Jeffrey Browning had torn down the fliers.
Browning reportedly stopped to talk with Barbour on May 12, 2016. Browning said he was shot as he walked away after seeing Barbour had a gun.
Barbour said Browning punched him in the head.
___
Information from: Daily Camera, http://www.dailycamera.com/
TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — A jury in Tacoma has found Washington state responsible in the death of a Tacoma man whose son killed him nine months after being released from a state psychiatric hospital.
Jurors on Thursday awarded $2.9 million in damages to the family of Robert Meline, 56, who was killed in 2012 while sleeping.
His family sued the state and Western State Hospital in 2013, arguing that it wrongly released Robert's son, Jonathan Meline, from involuntary civil-commitment, The News Tribune reported (http://bit.ly/2rKExOc). They said officials knew the son suffered from delusions and violent behavior.
His parents were uneasy about the decision but agreed to let Jonathan into their home after being told the only other option was the streets.
Jurors found the hospital was negligent in handling his release.
Attorneys for the state argued that the younger Meline showed signs of stability prior to his release, and that the father's slaying wasn't foreseeable.
Records revealed during the trial, however, showed that psychiatrists at the hospital believed Jonathan was still dangerous, not ready for release into the community and likely to harm others.
Nine months after his released, Jonathan Meline was charged with killing his father with a hatchet. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity and is at Western.
Outside the courtroom, a number of jurors surrounded Kim Meline and embraced her. Some jurors spoke to Meline and her daughters through tears.
Kim Meline said after Thursday's verdict that her son should have been kept in an institution and that she was thrilled with the verdict.
One of her attorneys, Nathan Roberts, said he hope the jury's ruling would spur changes at Western.
"We hope that Western State will receive the message loud and clear and make the changes they need to for community safety," he said.
___
Information from: The News Tribune, http://www.thenewstribune.com
RED BLUFF, Calif. (AP) — Authorities say a former counselor to high school students in Northern California is facing more than two dozen counts of having sex with at least two teen boys.
The Record Searchlight (http://bit.ly/2rIu1XQ ) reports that 36-year-old Jacqueline Bryce Herron has pleaded not guilty in Shasta County Superior Court to the charges, which include engaging in sexual intercourse.
Herron was working at a group home and a continuation high school when the alleged crimes occurred in 2015 and 2016, the newspaper reported. The boys were 16 at the time.
A preliminary hearing is set for July 20.
Herron could not be reached for comment on the case. Her attorney, Alec Rose, said he was not authorized by his client to discuss her case.
___
Information from: Record Searchlight, http://redding.com
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Visits made to the Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum since it first opened in 2005 now total more than 1 million.
Officials say the attendance milestone was surpassed during an annual folk festival that was held at the museum in early June.
The adjacent balloon park also is home to an annual international balloon fiesta that draws hundreds of pilots and tens of thousands of spectators to Albuquerque each October for the lifting off of hot air and gas balloons.
Museum officials say annual attendance is currently on par with last year's record-setting total attendance of 133,748. They say that in the last several years, the museum's annual attendance has jumped by nearly 50 percent.
SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — A Buckeye couple has been arrested for allegedly stealing more than $40,000 worth of alcohol from various supermarkets around Maricopa County.
Surprise police say 37-year-old Joshua Atherton and 33-year-old Summerlea Hunt are being held on 19 felony charges.
They are facing charges of organized retail theft, trafficking in stolen property, removing an anti-theft device and fraudulent schemes.
It was unclear Thursday if either Atherton or Hunt has a lawyer yet.
Police say the couple has allegedly been stealing liquor from stores since last December and there may be more than 100 separate thefts.
Atherton and Hunt were taken into custody Monday after police say the two walked out of a Surprise supermarket carrying backpacks filled with stolen liquor.
RENO, Nev. (AP) — A Nevada doctor awaiting trial on charges accusing him of writing an illegal painkiller prescription resulting in the death of a former University of Nevada football player is now accused of causing a second death.
Dr. Robert Rand was to appear in federal court in Reno on Friday.
Prosecutors unsealed a new grand jury indictment Thursday that provides no details but says the other death occurred as recently as August 2015. The victim is identified only by initials, "D.C.-Z."
The other victim was identified only as "M.Y." But Michael Yenick's parents have filed a wrongful death suit accusing Rand of causing his death in October 2015.
Rand has been jailed without bail since he and eight others were arrested in a federal drug raid in May 2016.
His lawyer couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
Tucson's newest Shake Shack gets neighbors
