Strange News

[Codeine]

Car Salesman Accused of Machete Attack
Tuesday, September 26, 2006 11:20 PM EDT
The Associated Press


TYLER, Texas (AP) — A 73-year-old used car salesman allegedly ended an argument with a customer by pulling out a machete and whacking the man's arm, according to police.

Robert Parker was arrested Monday night on charges of aggravated assault after the incident.

According to police, Gerald Davis had purchased a car from Time Auto Sales and went back to the dealership to pick up his license plates. Police said Davis, 53, and Parker began arguing and eventually Parker produced the machete.

Police said they don't know what the argument was about.

Davis was treated for the wound, but police didn't provide details on the seriousness of the injury.

See more stories in this category
Back to Previous Page

 

[Codeine]

Ill. Girl Dies After Dentist Treatment
Thursday, September 28, 2006 8:22 AM EDT
The Associated Press
By F.N. D'ALESSIO

CHICAGO (AP) — A 5-year-old Chicago girl who never awoke from her sedation during a visit to the dentist died Wednesday at Children's Memorial Hospital, a hospital official said.

Kindergartner Diamond Brownridge had been in a coma and on life support since the weekend dentist visit, said Julie Pesch, a spokeswoman for Children's Memorial Hospital.

Family members have said Diamond received a triple dose of sedatives — an oral agent, an intravenous drug and nitrous oxide gas — during Saturday's exam at Little Angel Dental. The girl was having two cavities filled and caps placed on her lower front teeth.

The girl's mother, Ommettress Travis, has said she was asked to leave the room during the half-hour procedure. When she returned, her daughter was lying in the dental chair, not breathing, Travis said.

"She passed very peacefully and beautifully," a family statement released by the hospital said.

A Chicago law firm, Clifford Law Offices, also filed paperwork to begin exploring if a malpractice case would have merit, said Thomas K. Prindable, managing partner of the firm.

The girl's dentist, Hicham Riba, was certified to administer anesthesia to patients and his state license was current, said Susan Hofer, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

A written statement from Riba on Wednesday night extended condolences to the girl's family. "(My family and I) are so sad," he said. "May God bless Diamond and her family."

The telephone rang unanswered at Riba's home Wednesday night.

See more stories in this category
Back to Previous Page

 

[Codeine]

Yogi's Clerk Slugs Would-Be Robber
Wednesday, September 27, 2006 10:16 PM EDT
The Associated Press


MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Talk about customer service. When a would-be robber pulled a knife on a customer in Yogi's Convenient Mart in Manchester and demanded money, the store clerk didn't reach for the cash register.

Instead, Richard Cote swung into action — he grabbed a baseball bat from behind the counter and whacked the attempted thief twice.

Cote said he just reacted spontaneously to protect his customer.

The attempted robbery yesterday and Cote's swift reaction were all recorded on a store surveillance video.

After getting hit by Cote's swinging bat, the man ran and dropped the knife outside the store.

Police arrested Christopher Johns, 36, in connection with the botched robbery.

———

 

[Codeine]

Opossum Clash Ends With Arrest, Dog Shot
Wednesday, September 27, 2006 9:53 PM EDT
The Associated Press


SAN DIEGO (AP) — A dispute that began over the capture of an opossum in a residential neighborhood ended with police shooting a Rottweiler and arresting a man after stunning him with a Taser gun.

A fight broke out in the Talmadge area of San Diego after a resident saw a large opossum running in the area Tuesday and asked a maintenance worker to corral the feral animal, prompting a call to police.

An officer at the scene shot a Taser gun at one man who became combative, according to police reports.

The man removed the barbs and fled through a neighboring yard, where a Rottweiler allegedly came at the officer. The officer fired several shots in self-defense, police said.

The man was found and arrested a short time later. Police said they were evaluating him for being under the influence.

The dog was taken to an animal hospital. Its condition was not immediately available.

 

[Codeine]

Twins Finally Meet After 71 Years
Wednesday, September 27, 2006 7:19 PM EDT
The Associated Press


MILWAUKEE (AP) — Pat Gudinas has finally met her sister, 71 years after they were born, culminating eight years of effort to track her down.

"I've never had anybody in my family," she told Milwaukee Journal Sentinel columnist Jim Stingl of the reunion Tuesday at suburban West Allis restaurant not far from where her sister, Shirley McGuire, lives.

"It's hard. All these years I have missed with her," McGuire said after she and Gudinas, who lives near Austin, Texas, shared their first hug and kiss.

Stingl reported that the twins were born to a woman who had been intimate with a married man, and they ended up in different foster homes and eventually at St. Joseph Orphanage on Milwaukee's south side.

"But we were kept separated. We were never in the same room with one another," Gudinas said.

Both girls were told while they were growing up that they were adopted and had a twin.

The efforts by Gudinas to find her sister made significant progress recently when a nun in Chicago who had archival materials from the orphanage provided her with the name of the people who adopted her twin.

She hired a genealogist to track her down with the help of public records and newspaper obituaries, and the genealogist showed up at McGuire's door recently, leading to the arrangements for their meeting Tuesday.

———

Information from: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, www.jsonline.com