Eideard

Sitting across from their parents or guardians, five girls and two boys faced a judge Saturday afternoon, a day after they were arrested by Marion County sheriff’s deputies for the severe beating of a 13-year-old girl on a school bus that left the girl hospitalized…

Authorities said the injured child was beaten multiple times and was treated at the hospital for a concussion, muscle spasms and a serious head bruise.

Inside the makeshift courtroom at the Marion County Jail, Assistant State Attorney John Zaleskie asked Judge Frances King to detain the youths due to what the prosecutor described as “extreme violence” and injuries suffered by the victim until their arraignment.

King decided to release the seven — who the prosecutor said had no prior arrests — to their parents/guardians and place them on home detention.

While on home detention, the youths have to abide by certain rules, such as no contact with each other or with the victim…

All eight juveniles, including the victim, attend Liberty Middle School.

According to sheriff’s deputies, the beating occurred on the school bus around 7:30 a.m. on the way to school. Authorities said there were approximately 74 children on the bus…

Unable to stop the fight, the driver drove to an elementary school and reported the incident to school officials, who called police…

All of the juveniles were arrested and charged with felony battery and disorderly conduct.

RTFA for the details of each stupid, egregious excuse offered for this criminal behavior.

Certainly, the parents bear no responsibility. Right? The judge obviously feels that to be the case.

A Las Cruces woman was jailed after allegedly stabbing her boyfriend for not buying her another 40-ounce bottle of Olde English 800 malt liquor.

Dona Ana sheriff’s deputies were called to a house on the 9500 block of Butterfield Boulevard around 5:30 p.m. Thursday after Alexa Monet Rodriguez, 22, allegedly became enraged at her boyfriend and stabbed him in the arm with a 14-inch stainless steel knife, according to sheriff’s office spokeswoman Kelly Jameson.

Rodriguez also allegedly had thrown a 3-pound weight at her boyfriend so hard it got lodged in the wall, then struck him in the back with a TV tray and a chair, Jameson said. After the alleged stabbing, Rodriguez allegedly threw the knife at the victim and fled.

She was arrested soon after and charged with aggravated battery against a household member with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault against a household member with a deadly weapon and two counts of battery against a household member. Magistrate Judge Richard Silva set Rodriguez’s bond at $15,000 cash.

The victim, a Farmington man who just moved to Las Cruces three months ago, was transported by ambulance to an area hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

I don’t know about that last paragraph. Looks to me like she tried like hell to threaten his life!

A housekeeper was hospitalized Sunday after a can of bear spray discharged in the Marriott Hotel in downtown Salt Lake City.

The woman was pushing her housekeeping cart on the 6th floor of the hotel, near 100 South and West Temple, when the cart bumped a can of bear spray that had been left on the floor of the hall.

The can sprayed when it was struck, shooting out a substance that “is like pepper spray, only 10 times stronger,” said Salt Lake City battallion fire chief Clair Baldwin. Investigators were trying to determine why the can was left in the hallway.

The woman was unable to open her eyes after being exposed to the spray, so she was taken to a hospital, Baldwin said. All guests at the hotel were evacuated for about a half hour while crews ventilated the building.

WTF? I never stayed in a hotel as snazzy as the Marriott when I used to be on the road in that neck of the prairie. My budget didn’t allow for that level of classiness.

But, even in the lower-priced motels near downtown, I don’t think anyone was ever worried enough about bears strolling in from the woods to bring a can of bear repellent indoors!

A Southern California woman remained jailed Wednesday after authorities said she drugged her estranged husband, tied him to a bed, cut off his penis and put it through a garbage disposal.

Garden Grove police Lt. Jeff Nightengale said Catherine Kieu Becker drugged a meal and served it to the victim, whose name was not released, shortly before the attack Monday night.

Nightengale said the 51-year-old man felt sick, went to lie down and lost consciousness. The 48-year-old Becker then tied the victim’s arms and legs to the bed with rope, removed his clothes and attacked him with a 10-inch kitchen knife as he awoke, Nightengale said…

Nightengale said Becker put the penis in the garbage disposal and turned it on.

The lieutenant said Becker called 911 to report a medical emergency and told arriving officers “he deserved it” before pointing to the room where the victim was found tied to the bed, bleeding profusely. Authorities did not release details on a possible motive in the attack…

Nightengale said Wednesday the couple was married in December 2009 and that the victim filed for divorce six months ago.

Bail for Becker was set at $1 million after she was booked at the Orange County Jail for investigation of aggravated mayhem, false imprisonment, assault with a deadly weapon, administering a drug with intent to commit a felony, poisoning and spousal abuse…

The victim underwent surgery and was listed in good condition at the University of California at Irvine Medical Center in Orange.

Eeoough – that’s gotta leave a mark.

Sign warning of entry to isolation area in hospital
Daylife/Reuters Pictures used by permission

German hospitals are struggling to cope with the surge in patients caused by the E coli outbreak, as the death toll from the virus rose to 22.

The health minister, Daniel Bahr, said hospitals in northern Germany were finding it difficult to provide enough beds and treatment for patients, with the total number of cases increasing to 2,200…

Agriculture officials said that bean sprouts grown in one organic farm between Hamburg and Hanover were the likely cause of the illness.

Hospital authorities said blood supplies were running low and staff were exhausted and working round-the-clock, with the northern cities of Hamburg and Bremen the worst affected…

Hamburg’s health minister, Cornelia Prüfer-Storcks, told a news conference the city was considering bringing doctors out of retirement. “We want to discuss with doctors about whether those who recently retired can be reactivated,” she said.

Patients with less serious illnesses are now being moved to nearby hospitals and operations for non-threatening diseases are being postponed…

Despite the increase in the death toll, authorities said the number of new cases had started to decline.

If the source turns out to be the organic farm unnamed in the article it points just about the only serious question in production of safe foodstuffs via organic methods. Often, in an attempt to prove a natural style of production, only outdated deliberately old-fashioned methods are used to control potential disease vectors. That’s as much a mistake in the natural organic world as it can be among modern producers who turn sleazy and use invalid shortcuts.

UPDATE: German health officials confirmed absolutely nothing today. In fact, it sounds like another rush to judgement to provide answers to the press. NO e.coli was found at the farm in question and they don’t keep animals there in the first place.

Two towns in the state of Massachusetts are moving to ban sales of a “relaxation” brownie named Lazy Cakes, laced with melatonin and sold in food markets, after children who ate them required hospitalization.

The mellowing chocolate treats, which sell for $3 to $5 at food stores and some night clubs, are legal but contain nearly 8 milligrams of the supplemental sleep aid, which is about 25 times the usual amount prescribed for adults.

Melatonin is a hormone produced naturally by the body. Standard doses in the Unites States, where it is available over the counter, and in Europe, where a prescription is typically required, range from 0.3 mg to 3 mg.

Considered a dietary supplement rather than a drug, melatonin is not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. Doctors say an adult dosage could be dangerous to a child, effectively acting as a strong drug akin to Valium that can cause extreme drowsiness…

In the Massachusetts cities of New Bedford and nearby Fall River, efforts are underway to ban their sales, largely because of their appeal to children. Purple packaging features Lazy Larry, a cartoonish brownie with a big grin on its face…

National poison control centers receive more calls regarding melatonin than for any other herbal supplement – about 5,000 calls in 2009…

Should we just let the Free Market determine our response in the name of capitalism and not let the government question the safety of mood-altering, sleep-inducing chemicals?

Why not ask the parents of those kids who spotted a great looking brownie with good old Lazy Larry smiling at them – and ended up in the hospital?

Juana Villegas [L] and Maggie Hernandez with her lawyer Elliot Ozment [R]

A federal judge has ruled in favor of a Nashville mother who triggered a national outcry after she was shackled during labor and after giving birth while in custody of the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office…

Nine months pregnant, Villegas was arrested July 3 and charged with careless driving and driving without vehicle insurance. She didn’t have a driver’s license. A check of Villegas’ immigration status found she had a previous deportation order to her native Mexico. Her water broke on July 5 and she delivered the baby at 1 a.m. on July 6.

In his decision Wednesday, Haynes wrote that Villegas was “neither a risk of flight nor a danger to anyone,” citing medical testimony. The judge concluded that shackling Villegas during the final stages of her labor and her post-partum recovery violated her civil rights…

She was separated from her newborn son for two days and was not allowed to have a breast pump or cream for lactating mothers in her cell…

The sheriff’s office declined to comment. In combating the lawsuit, it cited expert testimony on the danger of “illegal immigrants fleeing and engaging in illegal activities” to justify shackling the expectant mother to the bed…

Villegas, the mother of four U.S.-born children, has lived in this country for 17 years, returning quickly after a 1996 deportation to Mexico.

The fact of her undocumented status, of course, shouldn’t have had a damned thing to do with lousy treatment by Tennessee sheriffs. I hope the federal court throws the book at these thoughtless representatives of law and order.

Two vegans whose 11-month-old baby daughter died from vitamin deficiency after drinking only its mother’s milk have gone on trial in northern France, charged with child neglect.

Sergipe and Joel Le Moaligou, who eat no animal products, called the emergency services in March, 2008, when their baby Louise appeared listless.

By the time the ambulance arrived at their home in Saint-Maulvis, north of Paris, she was already dead.

Louise weighed just 12lb, compared to an average 17.5lb for a child her age, and was deathly pale.

An autopsy showed that Louise was suffering from a vitamin A and B12 deficiency, which experts say increases a child’s sensitivity to infections

French prosecutors allege the vitamin deficiency may have been linked to the mother’s diet, and say that the couple also failed to follow medical advice to hospitalise the baby, who was suffering from bronchitis…

“They preferred applying clay or cabbage poultices whose recipes they found in their books. These are people who read the wrong thing at the wrong time,” said Mr Daquo.

The parents are still vegan and “are completely aware of the mistake they made,” said the father’s lawyer, Patrick Quenel. If convicted, the couple could face up to 30 years in prison.

Religious nutballs commit this sort of stupidity upon their families all the time. Because this particular couples’ motivation was the “purity” of the nutritional program they chose doesn’t excuse the death of their child.

A climber who fell 1,000ft down the face of a Scottish mountain was found by a rescue helicopter, standing up and studying a map and suffering only cuts and bruises.

The 36-year-old man, who has been named as Adam Potter, from Glasgow, was in a group of four climbers who reached the 3,589ft summit of Sgurr Choinnich Mor, about five miles from Ben Nevis, early yesterday afternoon, when he lost his footing and fell. He was kept overnight at the Southern General hospital, in Glasgow, for observation for injuries that were said to be “non life-threatening”.

Police said Potter was happy for his name to be released but would not be giving any interviews. They described him as “the very fortunate climber”.

His first piece of good fortune was that a Royal Navy Sea King helicopter was already in the air on a training exercise and arrived at the scene only 35 minutes later…

When they spotted somebody standing far below at 792.5 metres and beneath three high craggy outcrops, they assumed it must be the wrong man and flew back to the summit, where they saw bits of Potter’s kit scattered in a vertical line down the face of the mountain…

“We honestly thought it couldn’t have been him as he was on his feet, reading a map,” Lieutenant Tim Barker, the observer for the crew from HMS Gannet, based in Prestwick, Ayrshire, said. “It was quite incredible. He must have literally glanced off the outcrops as he fell, almost flying…”

Barker said: “He is lucky to be alive. It’s hard to believe that someone could have fallen that distance on that terrain and been able to stand up at the end of it, let alone chat to us in the helicopter on the way to the hospital. I have to say that, when we got the call and realised the details of where he’d fallen, we did expect to arrive on scene to find the worst-case scenario.”

Sometimes you’re lucky. Sometimes you aren’t. There’s a very detailed relation of Adam Potter’s fall and survival over here.

I’ve had the good fortune to stand atop Sgurr Choinnich Mor. Tired; but, enjoying a very special view. A few years later I attended the funeral of one of the best climbers I knew. He died on Ben Nevis.

Coppers still searching for Davis [L] – Ortiz [R] sits in the slammer

Police arrested a suspect in an arsonist-for-hire in Titusville after they said he made a critical mistake — he left the tip of his finger at the scene of the crime.

Meanwhile, detectives are seeking the public’s help in finding the man they say was trying to pull off an insurance scam by burning down his house.

Police were called to a fire at a home on North Dixie Avenue about 11:15 a.m. Saturday. While they were investigating, police said, they discovered evidence of accelerants, leading them to determine that the fire was likely an arson.

Then, while sifting through evidence, officers got a tip — literally. They found a piece of a latex glove with the tip of a finger inside.

Police said they found their suspect at a local hospital. They matched the tip to 24-year-old Ismael Ortiz, who detectives said quickly confessed. But how did the suspect clip his tip? Detective Jessica Edens explained: Trying to flee after setting the fire, “he slammed his finger in the door,” Edens said, “and it cut the tip of his finger off.”

Police said Ortiz told detectives he was hired by a resident of the home, Samuel “Sammy” Davis. Investigators said Davis hired Ortiz to burn down the house so he could collect on a renters insurance policy…

Edens said Ortiz was arrested and booked into the Brevard County Jail.

I guess you get what you pay for – even when hiring a crook.