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

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

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

 

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

Juror threatens to cut off finger of another juror

Jury deliberations can be heated -- just look to a federal case in New York where a juror accused another one of threatening to cut off his finger.

The jury is deliberating the fate of a lawyer accused of involvement in the fraud of collapsed Refco Finance Holdings LLC, a commodities broker.

A request for a mistrial by defense counsel was denied. The jury continues to deliberate Thursday.

| Bob Cronkleton

Four charged with digging up graves, reselling plots for profit

Four cemetery workers face felony charges after authorities discovered that 200 to 300 graves had been dug up at a historic African-American cemetery near Chicago.

The Cook County Sheriff's Office will receive help from the FBI to help identify the remains that were removed from graves and tossed into a mass unmarked grave at the historic Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Ill.

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said:

"We walked around here for the last week and each step you take you're finding more remains, more bones at different locations and we don't even have our arms completely around the magnitude of this yet."

| Bob Cronkleton

Give me an 'A' . . . Give me . . . all your money

A Georgia high school cheerleader is facing robbery and underage possession of alcohol charges after she allegedly stole $147 from several children last week.

Chelsea Alexa Steele, 17, allegedly approached several girls, including one who uses a wheelchair, while they were selling Fourth of July items outside a community pool in Marietta, Ga.

"She spoke to me and said 'how sweet' when I explained to her what the kids were doing," the father of one of the girls said. "I walk away from the table and then she grabbed the money."

Steele was released on bond Wednesday night.

| Bob Cronkleton

Maybe it was for a local production of The Princess and the Pea

Odessa police are investigating the theft of about 30 mattresses over the weekend from the Key West Mattress furniture store.

The suspects loaded up dozens of mattresses out through a bay door.

| Bob Cronkleton

Gov. Nixon signs into law bills concerning crime, law enforcement

What better backdrop is there to sign a slew of crime bills into law than a state crime lab? That's where Gov. Jay Nixon chose when he signed several bills into law today.

One of the more significant ones requires DNA tests to be performed on anyone arrested for burglary or several other felonies.

The Star's Jason Nobel has more details on what was signed into law today.

| Bob Cronkleton