11 years-plus for meth conspiracy

If there are 28.4 grams in an ounce, police seized about a half-pound each of cocaine, meth and pot from Jesus Cardenas-Celestino, 29, a Mexican citizen living in Kansas City. That was worth 11 years and three months in federal prison, plus forfeit of $81,840 seized at his Kansas City home, a federal judge ruled today. A codefendant, Patrick Weaver, was sentenced earlier to 12 years three months.

News release from US attorney Bradley J. Schlozman's office:
Mexican national sentenced for meth conspiracy

Does Internet pornography reduce rape?

A 56-page paper presented at Stanford Law school by a Clemson University economics professor last month argues it does. Slate reports it as How the Internet Prevents Rape.

Professor Todd Kendall isn't advocating use of porn -- he's just saying its easy access online has provided a "substitute" for aggression leading to sexual assault (although not for other violent crimes).

Hat tip to reader Joshua G.!

Student stabs 8 with used hypodermic

ST. ALBANS, VT. (AP) - A high school student found a used needle and syringe by the side of a road and jabbed eight fellow students over two days.
"He just walked up and stabbed me with a needle and said, 'You now have hepatitis,'" said student Ava Staples of the Bellows Free Academy. Students will be tested for hepatitis B and later for AIDS and hepatitis C.
The student, who threw the needle away, has been charged with eight counts of assault. The needle hasn't been recovered.

Hat tip to reader blondie2hot7!

Hedge clippers fail as holdup weapon

A 23-year-old woman walked into a liquor store in Leavenworth, pulled a pair of hedge clippers out of a large plastic bag and tried to rob the place, police said. Oh, she said she had a gun in there somewhere, too.

Hat tip to reader blondie2hot7!

Previously: Hannah and Amelia, the Urdang gang

Paroled son of activist killed by police

NEWBURGH, N.Y. (AP) _ A man on parole after serving time for manslaughter was killed in a gunfight with Newburgh police Monday evening, police said.
Antonio ''Tony'' Bryant, 23, bolted from a Jeep stopped by police on a city street at about 7 p.m. and fired shots at two officers before he was killed by return fire
Hundreds of people took to the streets after the shooting, some of them shouting at police. Bryant was the son of a well-known critic of the police in a city where relations between the mostly minority residents and the almost entirely white police force have been strained for years.

Hank Williams' song notebook stolen

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) _ Nashville police arrested two people accused of stealing a 59-year-old Hank Williams notebook containing notes and unpublished song lyrics.
Sony/ATV Music Publishing said the book was stolen and was valued by music experts at as much as $250,000.Stephen M. Shutts, co-owner of a traveling music memorabilia collection, and Francine Boykin, a former worker on a cleaning crew at Sony, turned themselves in yesterday on felony theft charges. They were released on bond.
Police said the singer's notebook had not been recovered. The 42-year-old collector told The Tennessean newspaper he acquired the notebook legally after purchasing it for an undisclosed amount. Police said the 50-year-old former employee said she found the book in the trash.
Williams' daughter, Jet Williams, said she looks forward to its return to Sony.

Boy shouting "I want Jesus" Tasered, dies

A 17-year-old boy carrying a Bible and shouting ''I want Jesus'' was shot twice with a stun gun by Jerseyville, IL, police and later died at a St. Louis hospital. Police in Jerseyville, about 40 miles north of St. Louis, said they were sorry expressed sympathy and then said they weren't going to say anything else.
Police had used Tasers more than 70,000 times as of last year, Congress' Government Accountability Office said. Report
Amnesty International has urged police departments to suspend the use of Tasers pending more study. Taser International said the group's count was flawed and falsely linked deaths to Taser use when there has been no such official conclusion.

Babysitter punches out naked intruder

A 12-year-old babysitter in New York punched a masked, naked intruder in the face and fled upstairs with her neighbor's children, 2 and 6. Police caught the man a minute later, but he slipped away and fell into a stream.

Fewer police officers killed, hurt on job

The number of police officers killed by criminals dropped last year, from 57 to 55. Officers killed on the job accidentally also decreased, as did assaults on police officers.
"Police officer" does not make the top 10 list of most dangerous jobs, based on deaths and total number of persons in the occupation. But it is listed ninth in a Bureau of Labor Statistics report on occupations with a high number of fatalities.

FBI report

Fertility nurse allegedly chops up husband

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) - Melanie McGuire, a New Jersey woman accused of hacking her husband into pieces and dumping his remains in suitcases, was indicted Monday on new charges of writing anonymous letters to throw detectives off her trail.
McGuire, a reproductive health care nurse, forged a prescription for a powerful sedative, which she then used to sedate her husband before shooting him and dismembering the body inside their Woodbridge apartment, prosecutors said.

Melanie's to-do list?

• Search Internet on poisoning, state gun laws and how to commit murder
• Ask boss at fertility clinic -- I love him so!  -- if he remembered to buy that hacksaw
• Find three suitcases, insert husband, dump in river
• Write letters to authorities saying sister probably did it

Hat tip to reader Doc!