in Life Girls

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Bail granted to suspected document thief

A federal judge in Baltimore ruled Friday that a New York collector charged with stealing documents from a Maryland archive can be freed on bail.

Barry Landau is to be released Monday, The Baltimore Sun reported. He will be required to spend most of his time in his Manhattan apartment without access to the Internet.

U.S. District Judge Catherine Blake said prosecutors did not make a convincing case that Landau is a flight risk or that he might destroy stolen historical documents to get rid of evidence against him.

Landau and a co-defendant, Jason Savedoff, were arrested at the Maryland Historical Society. They allegedly removed 60 documents, including one bearing Abraham Lincoln's signature, with a total sale value estimated at $1 million.

Savedoff, who was released on $250,000 bail last week, is cooperating with investigators, the report said.

Investigators who searched Landau's apartment removed thousands of documents they say be have been stolen from libraries.

Jury convicts 5 New Orleans policemen

Five New Orleans police officers were convicted by a jury of various charges related to deadly shootings on a bridge in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The jury stopped short of finding four officers guilty of two counts of murder in the case, although it convicted the officers of gun and civil rights charges, The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune reported.

A fifth police officer who wasn't at the shooting was also convicted of corrupting the investigation and planting evidence.

Two people were shot and killed on the Danziger Bridge on Interstate 10 by police Sept. 4, 2005, days after Hurricane Katrina flooded New Orleans and sent the city into mayhem. Four other civilians were wounded by police.

The four officers involved in the shootings have been in jail since their indictments and face prison sentences ranging from 35 to 60 years, the newspaper said. They all pleaded guilty to the various charges.

One more police officer, a retired sergeant, still faces trial in late September on cover-up charges

Perry addresses 20,000 at prayer rally

Texas Gov. Rick Perry addressed a crowd of 20,000 people at a Christian rally in Houston simply as Rick Perry of Austin.

But the governor spoke to many issues that are likely to be his themes if he runs for president, Politico reported.

"Father, our heart breaks for America," Perry said in a prayer that closed his remarks. "We see discord at home, we see fear in the marketplace, we see anger in the halls of government. And as a nation, we have forgotten who made us, who protects us, who blesses us."

The Response, held at Reliant Stadium, was sponsored by the American Family Association. But Perry played an active role in promoting it.

The event had been expected to draw a crowd of no more than 7,000, Politico said.

But about 20,000 showed up.

In interviews before The Response, Perry insisted the rally was non-political and unrelated to his presidential plans, the Chicago Tribune reported.

"This isn't about me," Perry said. "It's about Jesus."

The Response gave Perry a chance to reach out to conservative evangelical Christians, an important segment of Republican primary voters.

1 of 3 bodies recovered from Vernal Falls

The U.S. National Park Service said Saturday the body of one of three hikers swept over Yosemite's Vernal Falls on July 19 has been recovered.

Yosemite Rangers and search-and-rescue personnel found the body of Hormiz David, 22, of Modesto, Calif., Friday afternoon about 240 feet from the base of the falls, KCRA.com reported.

David and two friends, Ninos Yacoub, 27, and Ramina Badal, 21, climbed over a barrier at the top of the falls July 19. They waded into the raging waters to take some photographs and were swept over the 318-foot Vernal Falls, the largest waterfall on the Merced River in California.

The recovery operation lasted more than 4 hours and required personnel trained in swift water and technical rigging.

Water flows in Yosemite and throughout the Sierra are unusually high this summer due to record winter snowfalls.

Abu Ghraib guard freed from prison

Charles Graner Jr., a guard convicted in the abuse of Abu Ghraib prison inmates in Irag, was released from military prison Saturday, an Army spokeswoman said.

Rebecca Steed said the Army reservist served 6 1/2 years of his 10-year term at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., CNN reported.

Steed told the U.S. news network Graner, 42, will be on supervised release until December 2014.

The private from Uniontown, Pa., was considered the ringleader in the detainee abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib. He was convicted in 2005 of conspiring to mistreat detainees, including having naked prisoners stacked in a pyramid, ordering them to masturbate while others took photos and punching one in the head.

Eleven low-ranking soldiers were found guilty in the scandal, which tarnished the United States' image.

Arrest made in Detroit girl's death

Detroit police say they have a man into custody in the slaying of a 5-year-old girl.

The Detroit News reported Saturday a source said the unidentified man arrested Friday afternoon is believed to be the boyfriend of an aunt of the victim, Mariha Smith, 5.

"We have a person of interest that has been arrested based on preliminary findings by the homicide unit," Detroit police Sgt. Eren Stephens said.

Police said one of Mariha's aunts, Quanita Smith, who lived in the same house as the girl, and her boyfriend both failed a lie detector test in the days after Mariha disappeared.

The girl's body was found burned in an abandoned Detroit home July 24. An autopsy revealed she died of asphyxiation before her body was set on fire.

Speaking at her funeral Friday, police Chief Ralph Godbee Jr. lamented the premature death of a young child and bemoaned the state of society, the Detroit Press reported.

"What the hell is wrong with us?" Godbee asked. "When did we become pimps? When did we become gangsters? When did we stop loving our children?"

Detroit Councilwoman Brenda Jones told those gathered for the service the violence must end.

"This has got to stop. We have to take care of each other," she said.

Mariha's death was the 206th homicide in Detroit as of Aug. 1, compared with 179 through the same period a year ago.