Judge insists she was joking about Willie Nelson plea deal

The Texas judge says Willie doesn't actually have to appear in court and sing "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" to get a plea deal on his marijuana possession rap.

Coloring book used to smuggle drugs

I never cease to be amazed at how clever inmates get when they're trying to smuggle drugs into prison. The latest? Someone sent pages from coloring book -- colored and painted so horribly that only a child could be responsible -- to inmates at a Pennsylvania correctional center. Only the "paint" was actually drugs.

Two suspects sought in Pleasant Valley gas-station robbery

From Glenn Rice: Pleasant Valley police are seeking the public’s help identifying two men who held up a gas station last week. The robbery occurred at 8:25 p.m. Friday at the Phillips 66 gas station at 6510 Northeast U.S. 69.

Police free obese man who became fused to his chair

Ohio cops say the man had been sitting there for two years.

Wednesday's Open Thread

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.

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, please email jhart@kcstar.com. Thanks again, and have a great day!

Should BP managers face criminal charges for oil-spill deaths?

Bloomberg reports that federal prosecutors are considering whether BP leaders should face manslaughter charges for the deaths of 11 workers killed in the explosion preceding last year's oil spill.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, Mad Keith!

Noted without comment

A man accused of publicly masturbating -- he'd basically pull up to women in traffic and expose himself, police say -- died in an early-morning crash when his vehicle crashed into a pole, the Times-Picayune reports.

My child is an honor student at Fort Myers Juvenile Detention Center

A Florida girl, 17, is accused of threatening her mom with a gun so that Mom would buy her a car, the AP reports.

The mother said she did not want to press charges because her daughter had been accepted to several Ivy League schools.

Downtown club's liquor license at risk, city officials say

Xpressions, a downtown nightclub on Admiral Boulevard, is facing trouble with its liquor license, Lynn Horsley reports. The club hasn't successfully completed a six-month probationary period, so now it has to get a thumbs-up from most of its 30 neighboring properties.

City law requires all new liquor license holders to serve a six-month probation period. Xpressions’ liquor license was issued Dec. 28. But the first weekend it was open, a triple stabbing was reported.

Since then, other fights and disturbances have been reported. Early on the morning of March 20, a 19-year-old man was killed and his friend was critically wounded after an altercation that began in the Xpressions parking lot.

'Wasted' years: Mo. bill would increase time for fatal DUI wrecks

A Platte City legislator wants to increase the penalty for drunk drivers who kill. Under a bill from State Rep. Nick Marshall, the maximum penalty for DUI involuntary manslaughter would climb from 15 to 30 years if the defendant has a previous conviction for drunken driving, the AP writes.

And the bill would require people with DUI convictions to buy more insurance.

Missouri cleans up its meth labs for less money than other states

The DEA has given local police money to clean up meth labs -- which pose a health and environmental hazard -- but that money is drying up, and it doesn't look like it's coming back anytime soon. The AP interviewed several police groups who say this might lead law-enforcement agencies to stop looking for meth labs. (The Justice Department is calling shenanigasn on that score.)

The really interesting part of the AP story, for Missourians at least, is several paragraphs into the story, where we learn that Missouri actually has its act together when it comes to meth-lab cleanup.

Missouri, which was long the nation's top meth producer, began training local law enforcement officials to remove and dispose of hazardous materials and established more than 20 sites around the state for the disposal of those materials.

As a result, a typical meth lab cleanup in Missouri costs $500 or $600 -- far less than the $3,000 to $10,000 the DEA typically pays cleanup contractors, said Jason Grellner, a Franklin County, Mo., police officer and vice president of the Missouri Narcotics Officers Association.

Mo. legislator threatens filibuster against anti-meth prescription law

State Sen. Rob Schaaf, a doctor who represents St. Joe, says he'll launch a filibster if necessary to kill a bill that would require a prescription for pseudoephedrine, the News-Press reports. It's a common ingredient in many cold medicines, but it can also be used to make meth.

Missouri's governor and attorney, along with several law-enforcement officials, want the bill to pass, saying it'll help fight the state's high number of meth labs. (We're usually No. 1 in the nation, though Tennessee forced us out of the top spot this past year.) As KCUR notes, the pharmaceutical industry is gearing up to fight the measure.

'48 Hours' features Columbia murder

If you missed it Saturday, "48 Hours Mystery" featured the case of Ryan Ferguson, a Columbia man convicted of killing Columbia Tribune sports editor Kent Heitholt in 2001. You can still watch the program online. It's a pretty comprehensive look at the case, focusing on the Ferguson family's challenges to the prosecution.

There's a good, older piece here at the Tribute's site.

Police: Woman had 1,000 grams of coke in her diaper

There are much worse things that you can find in a diaper.

The risks of being sextually active

The New York Times has a really, really good story about one case of sexting and how it affected the young people involved. (Really -- it's worth using one of your 20 monthly NYT "free reads"!)

Dear Burglars: Breaking out can be harder than breaking in

St. Joe police say a burglar got locked into the storage unit that he was raiding, the News-Press reports. A security guard saw the door was partly open, so he locked it, trapping the suspect inside, the authorities allege.

As unseen on TV

The Cap-Journal has a cool feature here about Richard Warrington, a retired Shawnee County officer who serves as a consultant to shows like "CSI" and "Bones."

Tuesday's Open Thread

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.

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, please email jhart@kcstar.com. Thanks again, and have a great day!

Gevante Anderson guilty in Raytown quadruple homicide

Basic story here. Details to come.

Guilty plea in OP bank robbery where clerk allegedly helped thieves

Last November, a U.S. Bank employee told authorities that he had been kidnapped after hours and forced to let robbers into his workplace on 119th Street in Overland Park. The bad guys hit that man, 20-year-old Michael Grace, and left him tied up for his coworkers to find in the morning. The bad guys escaped with $62,000.

Only the authorities say Grace was in on it.

The U.S. attorney just sent out a release saying that one of the four defendants, 18-year-old Brendan L. Connors of Overland Park, has pleaded guilty. Connors says he was one of the masked robbers and admitted to hitting Grace, to make it look like Grace was a victim.

The three other defendants have change-of-plea hearings scheduled within the next two weeks.

Seattle woman reports assault-by-Frisbee

This is probably the work of a rogue Frisbee street gang.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, JUNGLE JIM!

Jury could get Gevante Anderson case soon

From Don Bradley:

After a week of forensic evidence that so far has failed to put Gevante Anderson at the scene, the trial in the Raytown quadruple murder could go to the jury as soon as today.

Prosecutors are expected to rest the state’s case today. It is not known whether Anderson will take the stand, or whether the defense will call any witnesses.

Judge wants Willie Nelson to sing in court as part of guilty plea

I love "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" as much as anybody, but how is this remotely legal?

2,500 rubber ducks stolen from Ill. citizen police academy

The story is from Yorkville, Ill. Police would like to question this man.

Maybe he was just tired?

Minneapolis police were called after a man was found asleep and half-naked in a Panera Bread bathroom with some pornographic magazines, WCCO-TV reports.