Molester admits to attacking 6-year-old, but says victim is "built like she is 13"

He's getting 18 years. The victim had gone to him because she needed a bandage for her knee.

3 DUI arrests during OP saturation patrol

From OPPD: The Overland Park, Kansas Police Department conducted a DUI Saturation Patrol on Friday, July 10, 2009. The DUI Saturation Patrol was conducted with the intent to reduce alcohol related auto accidents and discourage impaired driving.

The DUI Saturation Patrol was enforced between 11:00 PM and 3:00 AM. Please review the statistical results:

3 - DUI arrest
3 - Drivers tested for DUI
3 - Hazardous moving violations issued
3 - Speeding
2 - Other tickets issued
1 - Other arrest
13 - Total vehicles stopped

17 DUI arrests at KCPD sobriety checkpoint

From KCPD: The Kansas City Missouri Police Department conducted a Sobriety Checkpoint on July 10, 2009 from 2300 hours to 0400 hours at 56th and Ward Parkway. Southbound traffic was checked with total of 415 vehicles stopped. A total number of 17 DUI arrests were made, along with 3 Driving While Suspended, 2 other Traffic Charges, 6 KC Warrants, and 1 city charge of Resist Arrest.

Man flies U.S. flag upside-down ... so deputies take it

This reportedly happened on July Fourth, just before a Wisconsin town's Independence Day parade. Police returned the flag one day after they took it from the property owner. (He's been upset over getting rejected for a liquor license.)

The police say they had the DA's approval for this. The police chief argues that people were upset about the flag and, because it's illegal to cause a disturbance, his men were justified in removing the flag. The ACLU is pondering a lawsuit ...

Golfer gets 18 months for smacking other player with 6-iron

This particular golfer is from Washington state, and should NOT be confused with blog regular Golfer. The smacking allegedly happened during a contretemps over slow play at a course.

New MO law cracks down on fake diplomas

It's now a Class-C misdemeanor to use "false academic documents" when seeking a new job or a promotion, the Columbia Tribune reports. They're trying to punish people who buy diplomas online without actually enrolling in that school.

Open Thread ... Weekend Edition

Welcome back to the Open Thread, our blog's space for off-topic comments and discussion. If you've seen an interesting story somewhere else, feel free to post a link below.

MANY THANKS: I'm back from vacation. Thanks again to the cast of thousands -- Meredith Rodriguez, Sara Shepherd and Bob Cronkleton -- who minded things while I was gone. Thanks, also, to everybody who helped them!

As always, please follow our standard rules: Please sign your comments, and please avoid profanity, as well as racially and sexually abusive language. And when you sign your comments, please use only one nickname. If you need to reach me, send email to jhart@kcstar.com. Thanks again, and have a great day!

Image via icanhascheezburger.com!

Fact: Nudists are never the people you WANT to see naked

Case in point.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, Rosie!

Where is Jose Velasquez?

From KCPD: JOSE L. VELASQUEZ, H/M, 37 YOA, 5’8”tall, 170#, black hair, black eyes, last seen wearing work clothes, leaving 8900 Manchester Av. Possibly en route to 87th and Blue Ridge. He was driving his blue 2002 Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck bearing Missouri license, 2PB265. His family fears he may be in danger. If located notify Missing Persons at 816-234-5136.

Mother poisoned children with medication, authorities said

Patricia Becht, 42, of Minnesota, has been charged with murder and attempted murder for allegedly poisoning her two children with a drug used to treat mental illness.

She told police that the three had planned to commit suicide together.

Becht was charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder in the July 6 death of her 10-year-old son, Michael Becht, and the attempted killing of her 11-year-old daughter, Erica.

| Bob Cronkleton

Three men wanted for questioning concerning murder of parents of 16 children

Police in Beulah, Fla., are looking to question three men about the home-invasion slayings of the mother and father of 16 children.

The men were seen leaving the home of Byrd and Melanie Billings in a red full-size van. The couple were found shot to death in the bedroom of their home.

Authorities said the men might have been involved in the killings of the parents, who had adopted 12 of their 16 children.

| Bob Cronkleton

Update on man who died after falling into vat of melting chocolate

The cocoa processing plant in Camden, N.J., apparently was operating illegally because it did not have a business license.

The city cited Lyons & Sons Inc. for not having the license. Vincent Smith II died Wednesday after falling into the vat and being hit by a mixing paddle.

The company called the issue of operating without a business license a misunderstanding.

| Bob Cronkleton

Missing cleaning woman feared dead

A cleaning woman who vanished from a Manhattan high-rise might be dead.

Eridania Rodriguez, 46, showed up for her shift on Tuesday, but vanished midway through her shift at an office tower a few hundred feet from the World Trade Center reconstruction site.

The reason police believe she might be dead:

The building's security cameras didn't record her leaving the skyscraper. She failed to show up for her regular subway ride home. And her purse and street clothes remained in her locker.

Police are searching for a body in a Pennsylvania landfill used by the building's garbage collector.

| Bob Cronkleton

Update: British science teacher charged with attempted murder

Peter Harvey, the British science teacher who attacked a student in a classroom, has been charged with the attempted murder of the 14-year-old boy.

The attack happened Wednesday at the All Saints Roman Catholic Comprehensive School in Mansfield. The student remains hospitalized with serious head injuries. Two other students were also hurt.

For those who missed the original story, more details of the attack can be read here.

| Bob Cronkleton

Charges filed in Raytown quadruple homicide case

Jackson County prosecutors charged Gevante D. Anderson, 24, of Kansas City today with four counts of first-degree murder in connection with the March quadruple homicides in Raytown.

From The Star's Mark Morris:

Anderson also was charged with one count of burglary and five counts of armed criminal action.

Anderson is accused of killing Andre Jones Sr., 33, Precious Triplett, 21, and two young nephews, Amir Clemmons, 10, and Gerard Clemons Jr., 7, on March 16 in Triplett's apartment near 61st Street and Raytown Road. Triplett's 1-year-old son was also inside, unharmed.

Anderson may have had a past relationship with Triplett.

| Bob Cronkleton

Update: Here's the indictment Download Raytown Indictment

Two men arrested in connection with Holden, Mo., bank robbery

Two suspects in Wednesday's bank robbery in Holden, Mo., have been arrested.

This is the robbery where the suspects opened fire on officers during a pursuit.

From The Star's Donald Bradley:

One suspect was arrested at a hotel in Columbia, the other at a residence outside Fulton.

| Bob Cronkleton

Chargers running back injured in shooting north of Philadelphia

A San Diego Charges running back from Philadelphia was shot about midnight Friday as he was driving in Cheltenham, Penn.

Curtis Brinkley, 23, was reportedly in stable condition in intensive care. Police said they don't know a motive for the shooting.

| Bob Cronkleton

Father intercepts sex offender's text meant for 15-year-old daughter

A registered sex offender was arrested after a Glenn Falls, NY, father happened to see a text sent to his 15-year-old daughter trying to arrange a meeting behind a bar late at night.

The father pretended to be the girl. When Michael W. VanNess, 25, went to meet her at 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, he found police waiting for him instead.

It's not known if the father knew he was dealing with a sex offender.

| Bob Cronkleton

California Supreme Court says Breathalyzer accuracy can vary

Saying that Breathalyzer test results can vary from person to person, the California Supreme Court has ruled that suspected drunken drivers can attack the accuracy of the test results in court.

Prosecutors say this will undermine California drunken driving cases, but defense attorneys praise the court for deferring to science.

Arizona and Vermont courts have made similar rulings.

| Bob Cronkleton

Leave that super hero costume behind when vising New York City

A comic-book adventure didn't go as planned for two men dressed as Batman and Superman who had a run-in with police in New York's Times Square.

The two had dressed up as the super heroes for laughs. Things turned bad when police asked if they had a license to perform in costume in public.

From the story:

"The Man of Steel didn't go down with just two officers, it took seven officers!" witness Ryan McCormick said. "He was putting up a good fight. Little kids were like, 'Mommy, it's Superman!' "

| Bob Cronkleton

Florida deputy faces suspension over conduct

Orange County, Fla., Sheriff Deputy Alberta Gilbert faces a 31-hour suspension without pay for engaging in conducting unbecoming an member of the sheriff's office.

The suspension stems from a complaint filed by a mother of a 17-year-old girl against Gilbert for mouthing an offensive word at the mother and staring to intimidate her as she worked the food court at a service plaza on the Florida Turnpike.

The woman's daughter is the subject of a criminal case against Gilbert's ex-husband, James E. Gilbert, 46, who is charged with 10 counts of solicitation of a minor via computer.

| Bob Cronkleton

Family doesn't know why hit-and-run victim was walking along highway at 3 a.m.

The family of Christopher Lyons, 21, does not know why he was walking along Kansas 18 near the Ottawa and Lincoln county line early Sunday.

He was struck and killed as he walked with a dog.

Niles Wise faces a single count of felony obstruction for allegedly concealing the car believed to have struck Lyons. The investigation continues.

| Bob Cronkleton

 

Shawnee police look for armed-robbery suspect

Shawnee police are looking for a man in his mid-20s who robbed the Grisso's convenience store at 7154 Renner Road about 8:30 p.m. Thursday.

From Shawnee police:

Officers were advised that a w/m (white male) approximately 25 years old had entered the store, appeared to shop for some time, and then approached the clerk displaying a handgun and demanding cash from the register. The suspect left with an undetermined amount of cash. A search of the area proved negative.

The suspect was described as a w/m in his mid-20s, approximately 6 ft. tall and 200 lbs with brown hair and wearing a black shirt, blue jeans and a black ball cap.

| Bob Cronkleton

Missouri man with ties to white supremacists held without bond

Robert N. Joos of rural McDonald County, Mo., is being held without bond on a charge of being a felon in possession of firearms.

A search of Joos' property found more than a dozen firearms, blasting caps, gunpowder and fuses.

Joos allegedly has ties to twin brothers, Dennis and Daniel Mahon, who have been charged in a racially motivated Arizona bombing.

Hat-tip to Kathee.

| Bob Cronkleton

Delay likely in trial concerning murder 24 years ago

The trial of a 24-year-old murder case likely won't go to trial at the end of this month.

The defense attorney for Gerald Carnahan says that he will meet with the trial judge and Greene County Prosecutor to set another trial date.

Carnahan is charged with first-degree murder and forcible rape for the death of Jackie Johns, 20, in 1985.

Although Carnahan was suspected of the murder for years, he wasn't charged until last summer because there wasn't enough evidence. Modern DNA analysis connected Carnahan to the murder scene and prosecutors charged him in August.

Hat-tip to Kathee.

| Bob Cronkleton