Drone hits house; freeway flats; ex-teacher's child porn
- Updated
Odd and interesting news from around the West.
- The Associated Press
- Updated
ALBUQUERQUE — An Albuquerque mother who pleaded guilty in one of the state's most high-profile child-abuse deaths has been sentenced to 40 years in prison.
An emotional Synthia Varela-Casaus was sentenced Friday in the 2013 kicking death of her 9-year-old son, Omaree, in a case that sparked a number of state reforms.
Last month, she pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and other charges.
An autopsy found Omaree died from severe internal bleeding caused by blunt-force trauma. Prosecutors say Omaree tried unsuccessfully to get help from authorities because of previous abuse.
Court records show that Varela-Casaus had initially told police her son fell from a toy spring horse.
Omaree's stepfather was sentenced in November after a jury found him guilty on charges that included tampering with evidence and acting with reckless disregard for not calling 911 sooner.
- By MATT VOLZ The Associated Press
- Updated
HELENA, Mont. — A lawyer for the state is asking a judge to fine and remove from office a Bozeman legislator whom he says committed the most serious violation of campaign laws in Montana history.
Special Attorney General Gene Jarussi said in a court filing Friday that District Judge Ray Dayton should fine Republican Rep. Art Wittich $144,900. Jarussi says Dayton should remove Wittich from office and bar him from running again until he pays the fine and corrects his campaign finance reports.
A jury in April found that Wittich took $19,599 in illegal and unreported corporate contributions from an anti-union organization during his 2010 campaign for state Senate.
Wittich attorney Quentin Rhoades says he will argue that Wittich's actions were protected by the First Amendment.
Dayton is expected to decide on the penalties on June 17.
- By BOB MOEN The Associated Press
- Updated
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — A lawsuit accuses Cheyenne school officials of failing to stop a sixth-grade female teacher from sexually abusing a student over a two-year period even after they became aware of an inappropriate relationship.
The lawsuit contends an "environment based upon preconceptions and stereotypes" resulted in the school district "failing to afford the protections to a young boy that would have been provided to a young girl in a relationship with a male teacher in a position of authority."
The teacher, Anna Andersen, is serving an eight- to 12-year prison sentence after pleading no contest last year to sexual abuse of a minor. Andersen was a teacher at Freedom Elementary School, and the boy was one of her students when the abuse began.
The federal lawsuit was filed on behalf of the boy against Laramie County School District 1, Superintendent John Lyttle, school principal Chad Delbridge and others. The suit seeks unspecified compensation and punitive damages.
The law firm representing the boy declined to comment, and both Lyttle and Delbridge said they couldn't comment on pending litigation.
The suit contends Andersen began to "groom" a 12-year-old boy in her class for a sexual relationship that began in the late spring or early summer of 2012. The relationship continued even after the boy moved on to a separate junior high school, with Andersen meeting and being seen with the boy almost daily on or near the grounds of Freedom Elementary, the lawsuit said.
Lyttle and Delbridge became aware of the relationship in late 2012 after a number of teachers and staff at Freedom expressed concerns to Delbridge about Andersen and the boy, it said. Delbridge met with Andersen several times in the ensuing months, but he took no action against her and did not notify police or the boy's guardian of the situation.
"The known inappropriate relationship between a teacher and her student made the risk of sexual assault and mental and emotional distress obvious," the lawsuit contends. However, no investigation was started. The suit said Delbridge instead threatened the boy with a restraining order, and Lyttle suggested that Andersen "obtain counseling."
The response by Lyttle and Delbridge "allowed the sexual assaults to begin and continue, where they could have been prevented and/or stopped." According to the lawsuit, the boy also was having issues because his academic performance declined and he was getting in trouble at school.
The lawsuit said the failure to investigate and act "shocks the conscious" and rises to "deliberate indifference."
Attorneys for the boy have requested a jury trial.
- The Associated Press
- Updated
LARAMIE, Wyo. — A tractor-trailer has crashed on Interstate 80 near Laramie, releasing millions of bees that had been in its cargo.
The Laramie Boomerang reports that Wyoming Highway Patrol says the truck owned by Wisconsin-based Rushfeldt Farms was traveling eastbound on I-80 when the driver apparently fell asleep at the wheel on Wednesday. The cargo on the trailer contained beehives with honey bees.
The semi veered off the road, landing on its passenger side and releasing the bees.
Trooper Aren Peter says beekeepers from Albany and Carbon counties volunteered to help the driver recover the scattered bees.
- The Associated Press
- Updated
POWELL, Wyo. — Northwest College in Powell is considering cutting three of its programs and six positions due to costs.
The Powell Tribune reports that Northwest College President Stefani Hicswa is recommending eliminating the college's journalism program, the television and radio broadcast program and the equine farrier business program.
Hicswa also recommends the approval of 17 applications for early retirement.
Hicswa said the three programs are a loss in terms of revenue, majors and job prospects for students. She said if the programs are cut, the college's spending would drop by $2.6 million for the 2016-17 budget year.
Journalism professors at the college said they worried the recommendation was affected by critical articles recently published in the student newspaper, but Hicswa denies those allegations.
The Board of Trustees meets next Monday.
- The Associated Press
- Updated
WORLAND, Wyo. — A Worland man charged with the shooting death of his father-in-law has been sentenced to at least eight years in prison.
Northern Wyoming Daily News reports that Anthony Haire was sentenced Wednesday to eight to 10 years in prison. He had been found guilty of manslaughter and reckless endangerment in the April 2015 death of 58-year-old Jamye Don SoRelle.
Washakie County authorities had said SoRelle died after exchanging gunfire with Haire, his step daughter's husband, near their shared driveway.
Investigators say Haire told them he shot SoRelle in self-defense during an argument.
Haire apologized in court Wednesday to the victim's family, saying he had acted in fear and responded how he felt was appropriate in the case.
- By REBECCA BOONE Associated Press
- Updated
BOISE, Idaho — Idaho prison officials have moved a teen from an adult prison to juvenile detention despite a judge's order directing the boy to do his time in an adult facility.
Idaho Department of Correction Deputy Prison Chief Ashley Dowell says the agency told 1st District Judge Benjamin Simpson of the plans, and the judge said he wouldn't intervene unless someone files a motion.
Eldon Samuel III was just 14 when he killed his drug-addicted father and autistic younger brother in their northern Idaho home. The judge ordered the teen do all of his time in an adult prison. But a federal law requires that underage inmates be kept out of sight and sound from adult prisoners, and so Samuel would have had to spend the next few years in solitary confinement.
Dowell says the department relied on an Idaho law that allows them to move inmates to juvenile centers by agreement.
- The Associated Press
- Updated
RIVERTON, Wyo. — Fremont County Coroner Mark Stratmoen reports six people in the county have died this year from hypothermia.
The Ranger in Riverton reports that Stratmoen says that is an unusually high number and account for more than half of the total accidental deaths in the county this year.
He says the county normally will see one hypothermia death in a year.
Stratmoen told county commissioners that greater public awareness about the issue can help prevent hypothermia deaths.
More like this...
- The Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE — An Albuquerque mother who pleaded guilty in one of the state's most high-profile child-abuse deaths has been sentenced to 40 years in prison.
An emotional Synthia Varela-Casaus was sentenced Friday in the 2013 kicking death of her 9-year-old son, Omaree, in a case that sparked a number of state reforms.
Last month, she pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and other charges.
An autopsy found Omaree died from severe internal bleeding caused by blunt-force trauma. Prosecutors say Omaree tried unsuccessfully to get help from authorities because of previous abuse.
Court records show that Varela-Casaus had initially told police her son fell from a toy spring horse.
Omaree's stepfather was sentenced in November after a jury found him guilty on charges that included tampering with evidence and acting with reckless disregard for not calling 911 sooner.
- By MATT VOLZ The Associated Press
HELENA, Mont. — A lawyer for the state is asking a judge to fine and remove from office a Bozeman legislator whom he says committed the most serious violation of campaign laws in Montana history.
Special Attorney General Gene Jarussi said in a court filing Friday that District Judge Ray Dayton should fine Republican Rep. Art Wittich $144,900. Jarussi says Dayton should remove Wittich from office and bar him from running again until he pays the fine and corrects his campaign finance reports.
A jury in April found that Wittich took $19,599 in illegal and unreported corporate contributions from an anti-union organization during his 2010 campaign for state Senate.
Wittich attorney Quentin Rhoades says he will argue that Wittich's actions were protected by the First Amendment.
Dayton is expected to decide on the penalties on June 17.
- By BOB MOEN The Associated Press
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — A lawsuit accuses Cheyenne school officials of failing to stop a sixth-grade female teacher from sexually abusing a student over a two-year period even after they became aware of an inappropriate relationship.
The lawsuit contends an "environment based upon preconceptions and stereotypes" resulted in the school district "failing to afford the protections to a young boy that would have been provided to a young girl in a relationship with a male teacher in a position of authority."
The teacher, Anna Andersen, is serving an eight- to 12-year prison sentence after pleading no contest last year to sexual abuse of a minor. Andersen was a teacher at Freedom Elementary School, and the boy was one of her students when the abuse began.
The federal lawsuit was filed on behalf of the boy against Laramie County School District 1, Superintendent John Lyttle, school principal Chad Delbridge and others. The suit seeks unspecified compensation and punitive damages.
The law firm representing the boy declined to comment, and both Lyttle and Delbridge said they couldn't comment on pending litigation.
The suit contends Andersen began to "groom" a 12-year-old boy in her class for a sexual relationship that began in the late spring or early summer of 2012. The relationship continued even after the boy moved on to a separate junior high school, with Andersen meeting and being seen with the boy almost daily on or near the grounds of Freedom Elementary, the lawsuit said.
Lyttle and Delbridge became aware of the relationship in late 2012 after a number of teachers and staff at Freedom expressed concerns to Delbridge about Andersen and the boy, it said. Delbridge met with Andersen several times in the ensuing months, but he took no action against her and did not notify police or the boy's guardian of the situation.
"The known inappropriate relationship between a teacher and her student made the risk of sexual assault and mental and emotional distress obvious," the lawsuit contends. However, no investigation was started. The suit said Delbridge instead threatened the boy with a restraining order, and Lyttle suggested that Andersen "obtain counseling."
The response by Lyttle and Delbridge "allowed the sexual assaults to begin and continue, where they could have been prevented and/or stopped." According to the lawsuit, the boy also was having issues because his academic performance declined and he was getting in trouble at school.
The lawsuit said the failure to investigate and act "shocks the conscious" and rises to "deliberate indifference."
Attorneys for the boy have requested a jury trial.
- The Associated Press
LARAMIE, Wyo. — A tractor-trailer has crashed on Interstate 80 near Laramie, releasing millions of bees that had been in its cargo.
The Laramie Boomerang reports that Wyoming Highway Patrol says the truck owned by Wisconsin-based Rushfeldt Farms was traveling eastbound on I-80 when the driver apparently fell asleep at the wheel on Wednesday. The cargo on the trailer contained beehives with honey bees.
The semi veered off the road, landing on its passenger side and releasing the bees.
Trooper Aren Peter says beekeepers from Albany and Carbon counties volunteered to help the driver recover the scattered bees.
- The Associated Press
POWELL, Wyo. — Northwest College in Powell is considering cutting three of its programs and six positions due to costs.
The Powell Tribune reports that Northwest College President Stefani Hicswa is recommending eliminating the college's journalism program, the television and radio broadcast program and the equine farrier business program.
Hicswa also recommends the approval of 17 applications for early retirement.
Hicswa said the three programs are a loss in terms of revenue, majors and job prospects for students. She said if the programs are cut, the college's spending would drop by $2.6 million for the 2016-17 budget year.
Journalism professors at the college said they worried the recommendation was affected by critical articles recently published in the student newspaper, but Hicswa denies those allegations.
The Board of Trustees meets next Monday.
- The Associated Press
WORLAND, Wyo. — A Worland man charged with the shooting death of his father-in-law has been sentenced to at least eight years in prison.
Northern Wyoming Daily News reports that Anthony Haire was sentenced Wednesday to eight to 10 years in prison. He had been found guilty of manslaughter and reckless endangerment in the April 2015 death of 58-year-old Jamye Don SoRelle.
Washakie County authorities had said SoRelle died after exchanging gunfire with Haire, his step daughter's husband, near their shared driveway.
Investigators say Haire told them he shot SoRelle in self-defense during an argument.
Haire apologized in court Wednesday to the victim's family, saying he had acted in fear and responded how he felt was appropriate in the case.
- By REBECCA BOONE Associated Press
BOISE, Idaho — Idaho prison officials have moved a teen from an adult prison to juvenile detention despite a judge's order directing the boy to do his time in an adult facility.
Idaho Department of Correction Deputy Prison Chief Ashley Dowell says the agency told 1st District Judge Benjamin Simpson of the plans, and the judge said he wouldn't intervene unless someone files a motion.
Eldon Samuel III was just 14 when he killed his drug-addicted father and autistic younger brother in their northern Idaho home. The judge ordered the teen do all of his time in an adult prison. But a federal law requires that underage inmates be kept out of sight and sound from adult prisoners, and so Samuel would have had to spend the next few years in solitary confinement.
Dowell says the department relied on an Idaho law that allows them to move inmates to juvenile centers by agreement.
- The Associated Press
RIVERTON, Wyo. — Fremont County Coroner Mark Stratmoen reports six people in the county have died this year from hypothermia.
The Ranger in Riverton reports that Stratmoen says that is an unusually high number and account for more than half of the total accidental deaths in the county this year.
He says the county normally will see one hypothermia death in a year.
Stratmoen told county commissioners that greater public awareness about the issue can help prevent hypothermia deaths.
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