In the news
Nathan Matthias, 35, of Reading, Pa., faces 22 months to five years in prison after pleading guilty to drunkenly firing a shotgun inside his second-floor apartment because he imagined there were two small clowns inside.
Adrien Pickens, 42, of Carroll County, Miss., was arrested on accusations of possessing moonshine and illegal distillery equipment after sheriff’s deputies and state revenue agents broke up a moonshine operation and seized 38 gallons of whiskey, hundreds of gallons of fermenting corn mash and a 21-barrel still.
Jonramon Vaughns, 30, of Port Allen, La., was arrested in the theft of 15 horses after he was accused of fraudulently obtaining the animals and then selling some in Louisiana and others outside the state, officials said.
Natalie Sanders, editor of The Uranus Examiner, said the new “fun” weekly newspaper planned for Pulaski County, Mo., will provide local news and promote the tourist village of Uranus, despite opposition from neighboring officials who say the publication’s name is open to ridicule.
Melisa Aquino Arias, 24, of Passaic, N.J., who pleaded guilty to a monthlong crime rampage across two states, including a bank robbery in Pennsylvania where she and an accomplice dressed as nuns, was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison.
Don Gudmunson, sheriff of Stearns County, Minn., said a 31-year-old man refused to stop after being spotted driving erratically and fled, crashing into vehicles and a house before holing up in a home in Sauk Centre, where he wounded a deputy in the arm with an arrow before being taken into custody.
Jessica O’Brien, a Cook County, Ill., circuit judge convicted of fraudulently obtaining mortgages for Chicago investment properties and illegally pocketing more than $300,000, won’t try to keep her seat on the bench and is ready to resign immediately, her attorney said.
Michael Fitch, 19, of Bon Aqua, Tenn., is facing criminal charges after authorities said he was seen drag-racing against a motorcycle and crashed when fleeing police, striking two trees, killing two 17-year-old passengers and injuring a 15-year-old girl.
Carol Ballweg, 46, of Troy, Mo., accused of using her terminally ill, 20-yearold daughter’s pain medication to feed her own drug habit, was charged with abuse and stealing controlled substances, police said.