LOS ANGELES – Four teenage boys were arrested for investigation of a series of attacks on homeless people that they recorded on their cell phones’ video cameras and planned to post online, police said Monday.
The three 17-year-olds and one 15-year-old shot plastic pellets from a pistol, threw smoke bombs and even a bicycle at the men in several attacks this month, police Lt. Paul Vernon said.
Three of the teens were arrested in the city’s Skid Row area early Sunday after patrol officers saw them recording a homeless man whose blanket caught fire from a smoke bomb, Vernon said.
Investigators seized their cell phones and found video of other attacks, police said.
Judge OKs clergy abuse settlement
Sobs and a moment of silence for those who died during years of negotiations punctuated a Monday hearing at which a judge accepted a $660 million settlement between the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles and alleged victims of clergy sex abuse. The deal settles all 508 cases that remained against the archdiocese. Individual payouts, to be made by Dec. 1, will vary according to the severity of each case.
Defense in Marine’s court-martial
Exposure to more than 25 bomb blasts may have impaired the judgment of a Marine Cpl. Trent D. Thomas, charged with kidnapping and murdering an Iraqi civilian last year, an expert in war-related brain injuries told a military judge Monday in Thomas’ court-martial at Camp Pendleton. Four Marines – including Robert Pennington of Mukilteo – and the sailor have already pleaded guilty to reduced charges in the case and sentenced to between one and eight years in the brig.
D.C.: Detainees sent to Saudi Arabia
Sixteen detainees were transferred out of the U.S. military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to authorities in Saudi Arabia, Pentagon officials announced Monday. Included in the unusually large group was Bahraini national Jumah al-Dossari, 33, a longtime Guantanamo detainee who had drawn attention for trying to kill himself nearly two dozen times.
Attempts to ease passport crisis
Legislation passed Monday by the House would make it easier for the State Department to rehire retired personnel to pitch in and deal with the huge backlog of unprocessed passport requests. The sharp increase in applications followed the January implementation of a law requiring those returning by air from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda to present a passport. The bill must be passed by the Senate.
Colorado: Man killed in Capitol
A man carrying a gun and declaring “I am the emperor” was shot and killed Monday outside the Capitol offices of Gov. Bill Ritter by a state patrolman, a spokesman said. Ritter was in his office but was not injured. The unidentified man refused orders to drop his gun, spokesman Evan Dreyer said. The gunman did not fire his weapon, a police spokesman said. The Capitol, in Denver, has no metal detectors.
Florida: “Bomb” was human ashes
A Miami International Airport terminal was briefly evacuated early Monday after authorities found what appeared to be an explosive device but turned out to be a box containing cremated human remains. A watch, the ashes and other items were spotted in the box – in checked luggage – which at first appeared to be part of an explosive device, an official said.
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