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(06/26/06 2:59am)
A Charkshill, Ind. man was arrested at Kilroy's Sports Bar on North Walnut Street early Saturday morning for publicly groping a woman.\nWilliam Dale, 26 was charge with sexual battery and intoxication after approaching a woman standing near the restrooms and touching her in a sexual manner, the police \nreport said.\nThe victim said she had just exited the women's restroom and was waiting for her boyfriend outside of the men's restroom when Dale approached her, touching her in an unwanted manner and then smiling at her as he walked away.\nThe couple reported the incident to the bar staff, who detained Dale and called the police. When officer responded to the incident at 1:30 a.m., they questioned Dale, who denied touching anyone at the bar. He was "fairly intoxicated," Sergeant Mick Williams said, reading from the report, so officers arrested him and charged him with sexual battery, a Class D felony.\nDale was released from the Monroe County Jail at 3:54 p.m. Saturday, after paying a $2,000 surety bond and $500 cash.
(06/21/06 11:19pm)
INDIANAPOLIS -- More than 25 percent of Indiana's students do not earn a high school diploma, according to a new report that puts the state's graduation rate far lower than some previous estimates.\nThe state's graduation rate was 73 percent for the 2002-2003 school year, the most recent data available, according to the "Diplomas Count" report conducted by the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center and supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.\nIndiana's state-reported graduation rate is 91 percent, but education leaders have known for years that the rate was far from the actual percentage of students earning a diploma.\nSince 1988, Indiana has calculated graduation rates by relying on group totals that schools reported each fall to the state Department of Education.\nThis year, for the first time, the state will calculate graduation rates using a new formula that follows individual students through school. The state Department of Education expects the new rate to be about 71 percent for the 2005-2006 school year.\nJason Bearce, spokesman for the department, said the more accurate calculations will help schools and the state realize the challenges students face in earning diplomas.\n"In this day and age, the high school diploma is just the beginning," Bearce said. "We can't afford for students not to have that credential."\nThe 73 percent graduation rate for 2002-2003 put Indiana 23rd in the nation -- slightly higher than the national average of 69.6 percent, according to the "Diplomas Count" report.\nChristopher Swanson, director of the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, developed a Cumulative Promotion Index to calculate graduation rates for states and districts. The formula estimates the number of students who "fall off track" for earning a diploma between ninth grade and graduation.\n"Our research paints a much starker picture of the challenges we face in high school graduation," Swanson said. "When 30 percent of our ninth graders fail to finish high school with a diploma, we are dealing with a crisis that has frightening implications for our country's future."\nLike Indiana, most states had state-reported graduation rates that were higher than the actual rate, the report found. In New Mexico and North Carolina, for example, the state rates were more than 30 percentage points higher than the graduation rate calculated by the report.
(06/21/06 11:19pm)
The state's plan to lease the Indiana Toll Road to foreign investors cleared its last hurdle Tuesday when the state Supreme Court unanimously rejected arguments that the law allowing the lease is unconstitutional.\nThe justices, in upholding a St. Joseph County court ruling, said "no substantial issue is raised by the plaintiffs' three contentions" that the law to lease the road for $3.8 billion to a private, foreign company is unconstitutional. The 4-0 ruling from justices in Indianapolis also said the case is a public lawsuit -- meaning the challengers would have to post a $1.9 billion bond to continue the court fight.\nPlaintiff Steve Bonney said Tuesday that his group probably could not raise that much money and does not know what the next move will be.\n"We'll have to figure out whether we have any options other than posting that," he said. "But because we've lost the case, the bond is rather irrelevant at this point."\nDave Menzer, campaign organizer for Citizens Action Coalition, which, along with seven individuals, sued to stop the lease, said his organization will be unable to continue its legal battle.\n"This really is the end of the line for this litigation," he said. "What's happened here is that the public has been ignored and they're being shortchanged. This deal mortgages the state's future and makes a few wealthy deal makers even wealthier."\nThe lease is a cornerstone of Gov. Mitch Daniel's "Major Moves" plan that aims to raise billions of dollars for state highway projects. An Australian-Spanish consortium has agreed to pay $3.8 billion up front, which will help pay for numerous projects, the state has said. The private companies would operate the road and collect its revenue for 75 years.\nDaniels was in Japan on Tuesday and not immediately available for comment. Mark Massa, Daniels' general counsel, said the ruling clears the way for the state to finalize the deal.\n"This is the right outcome, and the best one for the long-term future of our state," he said.\nHe expects attorneys for the Indiana Finance Authority, which runs the toll road, to ask a judge to dismiss a second lawsuit against the lease in Brown County, citing the high court ruling. The administration is working toward a June 28 closing date for completing the deal, he said.\nThe Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments in the case a week earlier, also rejected plaintiffs' claims that the law amounted to special legislation because it gives more funding to counties the toll road crosses than to others. It said in the ruling -- written by Justice Theodore Boehm -- that the appropriation is a legislative function "unusually unsuitable to judicial review."\n"The 'Major Moves' legislation that includes allocation of lease proceeds for construction projects throughout the state does not become special legislation because it also makes lump sum allocations to seven Indiana counties," the decision reads.\nThe ruling upholds a May 26 decision by St. Joseph Superior Court Judge Michael Scopelitis that the case is a public lawsuit. Under Indiana law, public lawsuits are defined as challenges to the construction, financing or leasing of public improvements by a municipal corporation.\nThe law's aim is to prevent people from suing to slow or prevent public projects.\nThe plaintiffs contended that the case should not be public because the Indiana Finance Authority is not a municipal corporation and that the statute applies only to acquiring a public improvement, not the "disposition" of it.\nBut the high court ruled the authority is a municipal corporation and the public lawsuit statute applies.\nFour of five justices heard oral arguments and ruled on the lease because Justice Brent Dickson removed himself from the case without stating a reason.
(06/15/06 12:15am)
The Chinese want boys, and the Canadians want girls. If they have enough money, they come to the United States to choose the sex of their babies.\nWell-off foreign couples are getting around laws banning sex selection in their home countries by coming to American soil -- where it's legal -- for medical procedures that can give them the boy, or girl, they want.\n"Some people spend $50,000 to $70,000 for a BMW car and think nothing of it, but this is a life that's going to be with us forever," said Robert, an Australian who asked that his last name not be used to protect the family's privacy.\nHe and his wife, Joanna, have two boys. Now they want a girl. Australia only allows gender selection of embryos to avoid an inherited disease.\nThe United States' lack of regulation means a growing global market for a few fertility clinics. These businesses advertise in airline magazines or post Web sites aimed at luring clients worldwide.\nOpponents say this amounts to medical tourism for designer babies and should awaken lawmakers.\nBut one doctor who offers embryo selection for about $20,000 says he is serving the marketplace and helping nature, not playing God. People will be less alarmed as sex selection becomes more routine, said Dr. Jeffrey Steinberg of the Fertility Institutes of Los Angeles and Las Vegas.\n"It's new. It's scary. We understand that," Steinberg said. His Web site features an image of a Chinese flag alongside information about sex selection. "Near 100 percent (99.99 percent) effective gender selection methods to help balance families," the Web site promises.\n"We basically want them to know it's available," Steinberg said of the international push. The Web page on sex selection generates 140,000 hits a month from China, he said, and the only country outpacing China's interest is Canada.\nIn a recent week, his clinics performed the procedure on eight women from abroad and consulted with 12 new foreign patients from China, Germany, Canada, the Czech Republic, Guam, Mexico and New Zealand, he said.\nMost couples are affluent, Steinberg said. But some, like Australians Robert and Joanna, have moderate incomes. Robert, 30, works as a construction supervisor and Joanna, 27, is a part-time secretary.\nThe couple visited Steinberg's Los Angeles clinic in May and, including airfare, will spend half their annual income to have a female embryo implanted in Joanna's uterus.\nThe procedure, which Steinberg also offers as an add-on service for infertile couples, determines the gender of a batch of fertilized eggs and implants only embryos of the wanted sex. This process -- called preimplantation genetic diagnosis, or PGD -- is more widely used to screen for genetic diseases.\n"The Chinese like boys. Canadians like girls. Every country is different," he said, adding that the boy-girl preference balances out at 50-50 when all his clients are added together.\nFoes call it "consumer eugenics" and say it opens the door to a future where parents will choose their babies' hair color, eye color and potential to grow tall enough to play basketball. U.S. doctors are catering to the same gender bias that has led to female infanticide in China and India, opponents said.\n"What you're saying is it's better you don't exist than be the wrong gender for my family. And that's a shocking assertion," said Matthew Eppinette, director of research at the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity, a Christian bioethics group.\nThe method can prevent sex-linked inherited diseases. But when it's used solely to help a couple get a coveted girl or round out a family of daughters with a wanted son, the practice is controversial, even among doctors who specialize in reproductive medicine.\n"We don't do that. Sex is not a disease," snapped Yury Verlinsky, director of the Reproductive Genetics Institute in Chicago.\nThe American Society for Reproductive Medicine says sex selection of embryos is clearly ethical when the method is used to prevent genetic disease. But the professional group discourages its use for choosing one gender over another. The group says the practice risks reinforcing sexism in society and diverts medical resources from real medical needs.\nWhile many countries prohibit sex selection techniques without a medical purpose, the United States has no such ban.\n"We are one of those few countries in the world where sex selection using PGD isn't regulated," said Susannah Baruch, director of the Reproductive Genetics and Public Policy Center at Johns Hopkins University. "It's certainly a magnet for couples for whom this is important."\nThe Johns Hopkins center is leading an effort to collect data on how many sex selection procedures are performed in the United States and why they are performed. No one tracks those numbers now.\nAnother group, the Center for Genetics and Society, is calling for regulation of the practice and its marketing.\n"Right now the market is driving practices rather than social and ethical concerns," said Sujatha Jesudason of the center. "People who have money to pay for it are getting the children of their choice."\nSteinberg said his clinic requires international couples to be in the United States for only five days. His office can work with a clinic in the couple's home country to monitor the woman's preparatory injections with fertility drugs that stimulate egg production.\n"Even though it's illegal there, the illegal part happens here," he said. Once the woman produces eggs, she and her husband fly to the United States. In the U.S. clinic, the eggs are extracted, fertilized with the husband's sperm and monitored while they grow to eight cells each.\nA lab technician extracts one cell from each embryo for genetic analysis. If it's the preferred gender, it will be implanted in the client's womb along with one or two other embryos, all selected for gender, to increase chances of a successful pregnancy. The client decides whether unused embryos will be frozen, donated for research or destroyed.\nThe Australians, Robert and Joanna, see gender selection as no different ethically and morally from in vitro fertilization for infertile couples. They reject the term "designer babies."\n"It's not like we want some 6-foot-tall, blue-eyed Brad Pitt lookalike," Robert said. "I naturally have something and my wife naturally has something and it's taken out of our bodies and then you're getting a doctor to mix it together and put it back in. ... We're not messing around with God the creator"
(06/15/06 12:15am)
INDIANAPOLIS- An Indiana Supreme Court justice has removed himself from considering a lawsuit that seeks to block what would be the biggest highway-privatization in the nation, the pending lease of the Indiana Toll Road to a foreign, private venture.\nJustice Brent Dickson informed attorneys in the case of his decision Monday, a day before oral arguments were scheduled before the high court. They were still scheduled for 1:30 p.m., even though opponents of the lease filed a motion seeking to stop the proceedings and have the case sent to the Indiana Court of Appeals.\nThe high court rejected that request Tuesday morning.\nDave Remondini, counsel to the chief justice, said justices can recuse themselves from any case and are not required to give the reasons. Dickson has not said why he made the decision, Remondini said.\nOpponents of the lease, which include seven individuals and the consumer watchdog group Citizens Action Coalition, want the justices to overturn a May 26 ruling by St. Joseph Superior Court Judge Michael Scopelitis. He indicated that he did not believe the plaintiffs had much of a case against the lease and ordered them to post a $1.9 billion bond to proceed.\nWith four justices left to consider the case, a 2-2 tie ruling would be possible and would leave the lower court decision intact. That is why the plaintiffs wanted the oral arguments to be canceled and the case sent to the Court of Appeals.\n"Only remanding this matter to the Court of Appeals will guarantee a majority decision by an appellate court," the plaintiffs' motion for transfer said.\nThe high court agreed earlier with the state's request that the case skip the appeals court level and go directly to the justices. It gave no reason for rejecting the transfer motion following Dickson's decision.\nThe plaintiffs contend that the lease, the cornerstone of Gov. Mitch Daniels' "Major Moves" highway construction plan, violates provisions of the Indiana Constitution. They also contend they should not be required to post a bond.\nThe state has argued that the lease is constitutional and the plaintiffs should be required to pay the bond for the case to move forward.\nAt stake is a plan for the Indiana Finance Authority to lease the 157-mile northern Indiana highway to an Australian-Spanish consortium for an upfront payment of $3.8 billion. The partnership can pull out of the lease if litigation is pending on June 30, the date the deal is scheduled to close.\nIf the deal goes through, the state plans to use the $3.8 billion to help pay for numerous highway and other construction projects, and the private companies would operate the toll road and collect its revenue for 75 years.\nChallengers claim that the plan violates a constitutional provision that requires proceeds from the sale of public works to be used to pay down public debt. They also claim parts of the plan are unconstitutional special legislation, and that Scopelitis should not have ruled the challenge a "public lawsuit," requiring the bond.\nUnder Indiana law, public lawsuits are defined as challenges to the construction, financing or leasing of public improvements by a municipal corporation. One of the issues in the case is whether the state's finance authority is a municipal corporation.\nScopelitis said it was, noting the finance authority undertakes many of the same tasks cities and towns do, such as issuing bonds for public works projects. The lease, he said, constitutes a "public improvement."\nThe state said in its brief that the lawsuit's claims have the capacity -- regardless of their merit -- to scuttle a deal if they simply remain alive on June 30.\n"This threat, combined with the nature of the IFA as a municipal corporation, justify treating this case as a public lawsuit," the brief said.
(06/12/06 2:11am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana's decision to offer a "Choose Life" license plate could generate millions of dollars for anti-abortion centers seeking to spread their message.\nThe plate, commissioned by the Indiana Association of Pregnancy Centers, reflects a growing trend toward drivers who want to profess their beliefs and interests -- and organizations who hope to capitalize on those statements.\nIndiana currently offers 55 plates and plans to release 10 more in 2007 -- including the "Choose Life" plate and another that says "In God We Trust." Purchasers pay a $15 fee plus a donation of up to $25 to organizations representing pet lovers, the environment, advocates for children, colleges and universities, veterans and even sports enthusiasts.\n"Plates, to a degree, are an extension of one's personality," said BMV spokesman Greg Cook. "They obviously help bring in revenue and also help the organization gain awareness."\nThe Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles sold more than 300,000 specialty plates last year and collected $2.7 million. Virginia, which has 180 specialty license plates, collected $6.9 million through specialty plates in fiscal year 2005, said Bill Foy, a spokesman with the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.\nAnother $1.9 million went to the groups whose interests the Virginia plates reflected- including tobacco heritage, greyhound adoption, foxhunting, home schooling and friends of Tibet.\nThe state also offers dozens of college and university plates, including out-of-state schools such as Texas A&M and Penn State. Plates are in the works that feature juvenile diabetes, adoption and scuba diving.\n"It's one of those things that have mushroomed," Foy said. "It really has just taken off."\nThough groups like the revenue, the volume of specialty plates can be a headache for law enforcement officials to track.\n"It's kind of like Pandora's box -- once you open it you can't get it shut," said Indiana State Police 1st Sgt. Dave Bursten. "You just live with it the best you can."\nMelissa Savage, a policy analyst at the National Conference of State Legislatures, said some states are finding it's difficult for administrators to track numerous plates.\n"There's certainly some states out there that are trying to rein it in," Savage said.\nSome more controversial plates, such as those supporting anti-abortion views, have spurred lawsuits across the country. In March, a federal appeals court ruled Tennessee could sell license plates that say "Choose Life," even though it doesn't offer one with an abortion rights message. The court later delayed production of the plates so opponents could appeal. Challenges also have been raised in other states.\nIndiana's "Choose Life" plates- which will bring money to the Indiana Association of Pregnancy Centers- are expected to withstand any court challenge because they were created administratively through the BMV, not by a legislative vote that could favor one political position over another.\nDan Steiner, president of the association, hopes to raise millions of dollars over several years for centers that offer abortion alternatives. The plates could also raise awareness, he said.\n"It's non-confrontational," Steiner said. "It's positive."\nDuring this year's legislative session, the General Assembly passed a bill to create the "In God We Trust" plate, which does not include an extra fee and is not technically a specialty plate.\nThe state also recently created an Indianapolis Colts series of plates, which were released earlier this year. So far, more than 6,134 have been sold, with part of the proceeds going to help fund the team's new stadium.\nIf plates don't prove popular, they are discontinued.\nIndiana requires at least 2,000 plates to be bought over a span of four years, or an average of 500 plates per year. Dropped plates in Indiana include ones that helped fund the Literacy Foundation, Indiana Mental Health Trust, and the Food Bank Trust, Cook said.
(06/12/06 2:09am)
INDIANAPOLIS - The stunning coroner's error that switched the identities of two Taylor University students - one dead and one alive - has prompted Indiana lawmakers to reevaluate the state's standards for its coroners.\nState Sen. Pat Miller, R-Indianapolis, said she intends to seek legislation in next year's session to set higher standards for coroners.\nMiller said she is looking at both tightening qualifications on who can be elected coroner, and also improving training for coroners once they take office.\nUnder current Indiana law, there is only optional training for coroners and no state oversight. Even though coroners determine the cause of death and officially identify the dead, just about anyone can be elected coroner.\nThe only requirement for the office, created by the state constitution, is to be at least 18 and a resident for one year in the county in which the candidate is seeking the job.\nIn the past, attempts to increase the training or minimum qualifications have been defeated, in part because of a reluctance to add costs for counties.\nHowever, the debate has been rekindled in the wake of a mistake by the Grant County coroner in misidentifying Taylor University student Whitney Cerak, who was alive, as classmate Laura VanRyn, who died in an April 26 collision between a tractor-trailer and a school van.\nThe mistake went uncorrected for five weeks until Cerak emerged from a coma.\n"It's absolutely become a front-burner issue because of the tragic mistake in Grant County," said House Majority Floor Leader Bill Friend, R-Macy.\nFriend and other legislative leaders will meet Tuesday in Indianapolis to discuss what issues should be studied this summer by lawmakers as they prepare for next year's session.\nCoroner training - or even if Indiana should continue to elect coroners - could be among the topics picked, he and others said.\n"The question in a lot of our minds right now is, 'What would you do?'" he said.\nIssues like requiring DNA testing of all victims, requiring coroners to be physicians who are hired rather than elected, requiring coroners to undergo training in identification procedures and more should be up for discussion, said Rep. David Orentlicher.\nOrentlicher, D-Indianapolis, is also considering filing legislation to address the coroner issue, saying that "when you have this kind of mistake, you need to look at the system."\nHe said the state needs to look at what is working elsewhere, such as medical examiners. Many Indiana counties could not afford to pay a physician full-time to do that job, he said, but suggested a regional system might work.\nHouse Minority Leader B. Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, said that while lawmakers "ought to figure out what was amiss," he isn't sure if an answer can be found to such an unusual situation as occurred in Grant County.\n"This is really, really, a strange situation," he said. "Not everything can be cured by legislation"
(06/08/06 12:57am)
For the next couple of months motorists on 10th Street will soon see significant traffic restrictions that will close down part of road, IU officials announced. \nAccording to a press release, beginning Monday construction for the Ashton housing complex will close all west-bound traffic on 10th Street between Union Street and Jordan Avenue. Traffic will be rerouted to Law Lane and Jordan Avenue before 10th Street reopens west of Jordan Avenue. East-bound traffic on 10th Street will be restricted to the west-bound lane of 10th Street between Campbell Street and the entrance to Crosstown Shopping Center.\nThe restrictions will continue until Aug. 23 when full two-way traffic will be restored to 10th Street. However, utility work will proceed outside the 10th Street right-of-way through October, according to the statement. \nThe purpose of the construction is to replace the steam, condensate and domestic water piping serving the nine-building complex.
(06/05/06 2:01am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Democrats from across Indiana rallied at their state convention Saturday, hoping to gain an election-year boost to help them rebound from big losses two years ago when Republicans won the governor's office, regained the Indiana House and defeated a Democrat congressman.\nSeveral speakers fired up the crowd at the downtown Hyatt Regency by taking verbal shots at Gov. Mitch Daniels-- whose 2004 victory ended 16 years of Democrats controlling the office -- and at Republicans who regained a majority in the House for the first time in eight years. Republicans also rule the Senate.\n"It's time we ditch Mitch and take over the Statehouse," said former House Speaker John Gregg, wildly popular among Democrats for his vibrant personality, quick wit and humor. "I walked in the Statehouse today and smelled an odor over there. I came over here and smelled victory."\nAmong other things, speakers touted the state party's primary goals this election. Topping the list is winning back control of the Indiana House, where they trail Republicans 52-48.\nDemocrats also touted their chances for Baron Hill regaining the 9th District congressional seat he lost two years ago to Republican Mike Sodrel; Vanderburgh County Sheriff Brad Ellsworth defeating Rep. John Hostettler in the 8th District; and Joe Donnelly beating 2nd District Rep. Chris Chocola in a rematch from 2004.\nAll three spoke at the convention.\nDelegates also conducted some official business by nominating candidates for statewide-elected office and approving a campaign platform.\nDelegates named Joe Pearson, a deputy commissioner of agriculture under former Democratic Govs. Frank O'Bannon and Joe Kernan, as secretary of state. He would face incumbent Republican Todd Rokita in the fall if Rokita is nominated for a second term as expected during the GOP state convention set for June 19-20.\nMichael Griffin, serving his fourth term as clerk-treasurer for the Lake County town of Highland, was nominated for state treasurer. Vigo County Commissioner Judy Anderson got the nod for auditor.\nRepublican Treasurer Tim Berry and GOP Auditor Connie Nass are in their second terms and cannot seek re-election. Berry will be the likely GOP nominee for auditor, and former Vanderburgh County commissioner Richard Mourdock is seeking to be the Republican candidate for treasurer.\nThe Democratic platform includes seeking affordable health care for all Hoosiers and to "advocate harder than ever" for implementation of statewide, full-day kindergarten, a passionate goal of the late Gov. O'Bannon that he failed to win in the Legislature.\n"We've got to have our own agenda, our own positive, aggressive agenda for Indiana, and at the center of that has to be our commitment to public schools and to full-day kindergarten," said state Sen. Vi Simpson, D-Bloomington.\nBut Democrats made it clear Saturday that they believe their greatest weapon this election is not a Democrat, but Daniels. They especially criticized his efforts to privatize parts of state government and his planned lease of the Indiana Toll Road to a private, foreign consortium for an upfront payment of $3.8 billion.\nAll but two Democrats voted against legislation authorizing the deal. Most others said the state should not turn over control of a major asset to a private entity, one they say will reap tens of billions of dollars in profits over the next 75 years that should stay in Indiana.\nDaniels has said that his privatization efforts or plans are aimed at improving government services and making them more efficient, often at less cost to taxpayers. He and most Republicans say the toll road lease payment will help fund hundreds of highway and other transportation projects and help create tens of thousands of jobs.\nAnd in general, Daniels says he is aggressively pursuing what he campaigned on, including rebuilding Indiana's economy, reforming government and seeking other changes.\nBut a statewide poll by The Indianapolis Star in early March put Daniels' approval rating at 37 percent, and only 30 percent of those surveyed supported the toll lease.\nHouse Minority Leader Patrick Bauer of South Bend, who likely would regain the speaker's post if Democrats take back the House, noted all the delegates waving placards that said "Ditch Mitch." He said jokingly that the message made him nervous.\n"He's the greatest thing we've got going for us right now so let's keep him until November, and then we'll veto Mitch," Bauer said to rousing applause.\nSeveral booths were set up outside the convention hall, many with Democrat memorabilia that took jabs at Daniels. There were buttons that said, "Keep the Toll Road, Lease Mitch," and front, plastic car plates that said, "Ditch Mitch -- The For Sale State," and "Indiana For Sale -- They Did What?"\nState GOP Chairman Murray Clark said Friday that he expected Democrats at the convention to be on the political attack.\n"Our message is we are the party of purpose and action and ideas," Clark said. "This governor is our leader and has illustrated that and has proceeded to lead in way very consistent with they way he campaigned and what he promised during the campaign"
(06/05/06 2:00am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- A two-day manhunt for an ex-convict suspected of gunning down seven members of one family ended with the man walking into a fast-food restaurant and surrendering to police.\nDesmond Turner was being held without bail Sunday and authorities said they were not looking for anyone else in connection with the crime.\nTurner, 28, was surrounded by his own family members when he turned himself in Saturday and had little to say.\n"He couldn't look at anybody," Deputy Police Chief Tim Foley said. "He had his head down. He was sullen."\nHis arrest capped an intense search for suspects in the city's worst mass murder in at least 25 years. Police said they issued at least six search warrants after Thursday's shootings and shot tear gas into two homes as more than 100 officers combed the city's east side looking for Turner.\n"It's my judgment that Mr. Turner had nowhere to go," Foley said. "He didn't turn himself in out of remorse. He turned himself in because he had no place to go."\nTurner was in jail Sunday on seven charges of murder and one charge of robbery, and jail records indicated he also faced a possible parole violation. An initial court date was not immediately set.\nAnother suspect, 30-year-old James Stewart, was arrested Friday after a traffic stop. He was being held on a preliminary charge of murder, police said.\nTurner's arrest apparently ended the manhunt. \n"We don't have any information to support any other suspects," police Maj. Lloyd Crowe said Sunday.\nNearly 30 shell casings from an assault rifle were found at the home. Authorities also confiscated a weapon.\n"We got several pieces of evidence that will be forensically powerful," Foley said.\nThe victims were identified as Emma Valdez, 46; her husband, Alberto Covarrubias, 56; their sons Alberto Covarrubias, 11, and David Covarrubias, 8 or 9; Valdez's daughter, Flora Albarran, 22; Albarran's 5-year-old son, Luis; and Albarran's brother Magno Albarran, 29.\nFor Maria Flores, Valdez's sister, Turner's arrest was a relief.\n"I forgive him for what he did," she said. "I just feel sorry for him because he made a wrong decision. I just hope God forgives him for what he did."\nTurner grew up in the neighborhood where the shootings occurred and had returned last fall after being released from prison following a 3 1/2-year term for drug and weapons charges.\nPolice said they believe the suspects targeted the home after hearing exaggerated accounts of money and other valuables inside. They described those accounts as "fiction," but declined to elaborate.\nValdez and Alberto Covarrubias, who reportedly worked as a maintenance man at an apartment complex, owned seven properties in the neighborhood.\n"From day one we were under the impression it was a robbery, and that's what we still believe," Foley said.\nAdults and children, many in tears, streamed through nearby Thomas D. Gregg Elementary, where David and Alberto had attended classes, to speak with grief counselors Saturday.\nNeighbors, friends and others left flowers, ribbons, candles, dozens of stuffed animals along a sidewalk in front of the home. Cars drove by slowly while people knelt to pray. A memorial service was to be held in front of the home Sunday evening.\n"God shall bring justice to them, celebrate the way they lived, not the way they left us," read one note left atop seven red roses at the modest tan house. "A good family is gone, but not forgotten. Shall they all rest in peace."\n--Associated Press writers Charles Wilson and Ken Kusmer in Indianapolis contributed to this report.
(06/01/06 2:14am)
UPLAND, Ind. -- A family who sat by their comatose daughter's bedside for weeks after an April 26 crash killed four Taylor University students and an employee learned the woman was not their daughter, but instead another student who was in the van when it was struck by a semitrailer.\nThe family of student Laura VanRyn, 22, issued a statement on a Web log dedicated to updates on the young woman's recovery.\n"Our hearts are aching as we have learned that the young woman we have been taking care of over the past five weeks has not been our dear Laura, but instead a fellow Taylor student of hers, Whitney Cerak," the statement said.\nVanRyn, of Caledonia, Mich., and Cerak, 18, of Gaylord, Mich., bore an "uncanny resemblance" to each other, the statement said.\nThe family said that as the woman they believed to be Laura began regaining consciousness, she said things that made them question her identity. After further investigation, the statement said, "We now know without a doubt, that this is Whitney."\nTaylor University officials confirmed the case of mistaken identity Wednesday.\n"We rejoice with the Ceraks. We grieve with the VanRyns," said Taylor spokesman Jim Garringer.\nGarringer said the Grant County Coroner notified the school of the error.\nEfforts to reach the Cerak family's Indianapolis attorney were not immediately successful Wednesday. The coroner's office also did not immediately return a message left by The Associated Press.\nAuthorities had said Cerak was among four students and a staff member killed when a semitrailer crossed an interstate median and collided with their school van. The survivor believed to be VanRyn was taken to a rehabilitation facility in Grand Rapids, Mich., where her true identity was discovered.\nAlso killed in the crash were students Elizabeth A. Smith, 22, from Mount Zion, Ill., Bradley J. Larson, 22, from Elm Grove, Wis., Laurel E. Erb, 20, from St. Charles, Ill., and university employee Monica Felver, 53, from Hartford City, Ind.\nGrant County Prosecutor James Luttrull Jr. is reviewing the findings of the crash to determine whether criminal charges are warranted.\nStatements from witnesses and tests suggest trucker Robert F. Spencer, 37, of Michigan, fell asleep at the wheel before his semitrailer drifted across the median midway between Fort Wayne and Indianapolis and hit the university van, investigators have said.
(06/01/06 2:12am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Six sexual offenders including convicted child molesters and rapists sued the city Wednesday to block a new ordinance that bans them from coming within 1,000 feet of parks, pools, playgrounds and other sites when children are present.\nThe six, including a college student who has joint custody of his 7-year-old son and has completed probation for child exploitation, are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, which filed the complaint seeking class-action status in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis.\nThe six allege the new ordinance is unconstitutionally vague, violates their rights to vote and attend church and prevents them from freely traveling on streets and highways that may pass within 1,000 feet of the affected sites. They are seeking temporary and permanent injunctions barring the city from enforcing the new law.\n"It is virtually impossible to travel through the streets and interstate highways in Marion County without passing within 1,000 feet of a playground open to the public, recreation center, bathing beach, swimming pool or wading pool, sports field or facility," the complaint said. "Moreover, there is no way for a person to know if he or she is passing within 1,000 feet."\nThe ordinance cleared the City-County Council by a 25-2 vote May 15 and took effect immediately. It carries fines of up to $2,500 for violations.\nThe law includes an exception that permits sex offenders to visit those sites as long as they are with another adult who is not a convicted sexual offender.\nThe plaintiffs are identified only as John Does in the complaint. The father of the 7-year-old boy attends Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis and said he cannot travel to classes without passing within 1,000 feet of a banned site. He also works in an office within 1,000 feet of a city park with a playground.\nAnother plaintiff, a convicted rapist, attends a church that recently opened a recreation center. Both he and a third plaintiff say the new law prevents them from attending their polling places on Election Day.\nThe Associated Press left a message with the city's legal office seeking comment on the lawsuit.
(06/01/06 2:11am)
SOUTH BEND -- A group seeking to block the state from leasing the Indiana Toll Road to a foreign company plans to appeal a judge's ruling that it must post a $1.9 billion bond to move forward.\nPlaintiff Steve Bonney said lawyers who worked through the three-day weekend hope to file the appeal to the Indiana Supreme Court by Friday.\n"It's just a matter of decisions on what that appeal is going to look like," he said Tuesday.\nSt. Joseph Superior Court Judge Michael Scopelitis ruled Friday that the case was a public lawsuit. He said plaintiffs must post a $1.9 billion bond within 10 days if they want to continue to challenge the plan to lease the toll road to a private Spanish-Australian partnership for an upfront payment of $3.8 billion. The plaintiffs would not have to post the bond while the appeal is before the Supreme Court.\nA message seeking comment was left Tuesday at the office of Arend Abel, the lead attorney for the group challenging the lease. Messages also were left at the offices of the governor and state attorney general.\nDave Menzer, a member of the Citizens Action Coalition -- another of the plaintiffs -- said the lawyers will challenge Scopelitis' decision that the case is a public lawsuit. If the Supreme Court rules it is not public, the challengers would not have to file a bond.\nA public lawsuit is defined as one that questions a public improvement. The aim of forcing groups to post a bond in such cases is to prevent people from filing nuisance lawsuits aimed at slowing or stopping projects.\nMenzer said he hopes the Supreme Court will look at the merits of the case and whether leasing the road is constitutional.\n"We hope they will look beyond just this issue of whether it's a public lawsuit," he said.\nLawyers were trying to decide whether to seek further arguments in front of the Supreme Court, Bonney said. He said lawyers had tried to present their case during the hearing before Scopelitis in case the Supreme Court didn't allow oral arguments.\n"I think we're pretty well-prepared for that," he said. "We knew this was going to be appealed by one side or the other. So this doesn't really change much. Of course it would be better to have a favorable ruling going into an appeal, but it doesn't really matter based on the merits of the case."\nScopelitis indicated he doesn't think the challengers have much of a case. However, he did say they still could challenge the legality of whether Interstate 69 can be banned from running through Perry Township south of Indianapolis without legislative approval. He said they also can challenge whether the proposed I-69 section from Martinsville and Indianapolis can be kept toll-free without legislative approval.\nBonney said he's "even more resolute" in challenging the toll road lease plan after watching Gov. Mitch Daniels testify before the House Subcommittee on Highways, Transit and Pipelines in Washington last week after Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., questioned the lease plan.\n"Is $3.85 billion a good deal when the operator in the last 31 years of the lease is expected to draw $60 billion?" Bonney asked.\nBut Scopelitis said in his ruling that whether or not the lease is a good deal is "irrelevant." Bonney said it might be irrelevant to the court, "but it matters in reality."\nMenzer said if the Supreme Court rules the group must put up the $1.9 bond, "that would certainly have a chilling effect"
(11/17/05 7:11pm)
Bloomington Police responded early Wednesday morning to an attempted robbery in the 1200 block of West 12th Street. According to the police report, a man with a very large knife entered a house seeking money and pills at about 6:45 a.m. A 68-year-old woman and two of her grandchildren were in the house at the time. \nThe woman told police she told the man she did not have anything, at which point he began rummaging through the house. He then pulled the phone cord out of the wall and left through the front door. \nThe suspect is described as a white male wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt and a red bandana over his face. The knife blade was about a foot long, according to the report.
(05/29/05 7:12pm)
MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. - A murderer who unsuccessfully sought a death sentence reprieve so he could donate a piece of his liver to his ailing sister was executed early Wednesday.\nGregory Scott Johnson, 40, died by chemical injection at 12:28 a.m. EST at the Indiana State Prison for beating and stomping 82-year-old Ruby Hutslar to death in 1985, then setting her house in Anderson on fire to try to hide the crime.\nBefore being put to death, Johnson only said, "Everyone has been professional."\nGov. Mitch Daniels Tuesday rejected Johnson's request for a reprieve so he could donate part of his liver to his 48-year-old sister, Debra Otis.\nJohnson handwrote a statement Tuesday that was released after he was executed.\n"There are those who claim that Debbie will have a new liver three weeks after being placed on the list," the note said. "I'll be watching from above and expect her to be recuperating at that time."\nHe said it was reported that the Indiana Parole Board "scoffed" at the idea of organ donation.\n"They felt that I was not sincere and there had been no change from the Gregory Scott Johnson of 20 years ago. I can understand those sentiments coming from Mrs. Hutslar's family, but am puzzled that it would come from a government board. Thanks to all of you for your prayers, I'll see you on the \nother side."\nJohnson is the third person to be executed by the state of Indiana this year, the most in any year since the death penalty was reinstituted in 1977.\nDaniels said he found "no grounds to second guess years of court rulings or to reject the recommendation of the parole board" in denying clemency.\nThe board recommended Friday that Daniels deny a reprieve, saying Johnson was guilty and should be put to death as scheduled. Some said some of the media attention about the liver donation has taken away from the brutality of the murder.\nHutslar's relatives agreed that far too much attention had been given to Johnson. Hutslar's great-niece, Julie Woodard, wants Johnson to be known as the cold-blooded killer, not someone who tried to donate his liver to his sister.\n"I want him to be remembered as a man who viciously beat a sweet woman to death -- not the man who tried to save his sister, but the man who killed Ruby Hutslar," Woodard said.\nFamily members describe Hutslar, who was widowed twice, as a kind woman who would gladly helped someone in need.\nDaniels said he accepted the sincerity of Johnson's motivation in trying to donate part of his liver, but said medical experts had advised against it, saying Johnson's sister would be better served by accepting a new organ through the conventional process.\nJohnson's attorney, Michelle Kraus, said she was disappointed that his sister's doctor had written to the governor but did not contact her even though she had a release signed by Otis.\n"It was her desire her doctor speak to me. It was her desire that we pursue this liver donation. They simply stopped returning my phone calls," she said.\nShe agreed with prison spokesman Barry Nothstine who said Johnson seemed at peace Tuesday.\n"He had come to terms with this. He was at peace with what was going to happen. He was at peace with himself. He was at peace with God. He was ready for this," she said.\nAbout 20 people demonstrated against the death penalty outside the prison Tuesday night. During a candlelight vigil that lasted about 30 minutes, people spoke about why they oppose executions.\n"We don't see any point in the death penalty except vengeance," said the Rev. Charles Doyle, chairman of the Duneland Coalition Against the Death Penalty. "Vengeance isn't healthy."\nMike Clancy, a retired Chicago homicide detective, said he is morally opposed to the death penalty. He says he especially opposed it because of what he called antics used by police and prosecutors when they believe someone is guilty.\n"I can tell you that death row is filled with reasonable doubt," he said.\nAbout 15 of the demonstrators then marched in front of the prison for about 25 minutes carrying placards reading, "Thou Shalt Not Kill" and "Murder is Never Right."\nWith Michael Lambert scheduled to be executed next month for killing a Muncie police officer and several others on death row with their appeals nearly exhausted, Indiana is on pace to have the most executions in a year since eight people were executed in 1938.\nJohnson was the 14th person executed by the state since 1977.
(05/19/05 12:29am)
MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. -- A convicted murderer scheduled to be executed next week asked the Indiana Parole Board to grant him clemency or at least enough time to donate his liver to his ailing sister.\n"My sister is sick, she needs a liver," Gregory Scott Johnson said during a hearing Monday at the Indiana State Prison. "At this point, everything else -- including my own life -- is secondary to trying to help her if I can. I'm not so much asking for clemency as just a little more time to see if my liver will work for her."\nJohnson is scheduled to die by chemical injection on May 25 for the 1985 murder of Ruby Hutslar, an 82-year-old Anderson woman. Authorities say he broke into her house, beat and stomped on her, then set a fire to hide his crime. He denies killing Hutslar, although he admits being there and setting the fire.\nEarl Coleman, assistant for the parole board, said when Johnson's attorney, Michelle Kraus, submitted the clemency appeal, he told her the request for the liver donation probably would not carry much weight unless she shows the board it is necessary.\n"The board needs some definite evidence that his sister needs it, he's the only available donor and that he's compatible, things like that," Coleman said by telephone from Indianapolis. "The fact that they don't seem to be that forthcoming makes you wonder if there's anything to it."\nKraus will provide the board more information during the public portion of the hearing Friday in Indianapolis, she said.\nBut she cannot determine whether Johnson and his 48-year-old sister, Deborah Otis, are compatible because the state Department of Correction refuses to take a blood sample without an order, she said.\nOtis, who lives in an Anderson nursing home, does not want to speak with the media, said a woman who answered the telephone Monday at the home.\nKraus said she also planned to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to delay the execution so Johnson can donate his liver.\nJohnson's request to live long enough to donate his liver has raised questions, including whether it is a last-minute ploy to buy more time.\n"It certainly causes me to be suspicious," said Rodney Cummings, prosecutor for Madison County where Anderson is located. "It's hard for me to imagine this liver problem has come up only in the past couple of weeks."\nKraus said the state created the emergency by setting the execution date.\nThe hearing Monday lasted more than two hours, but Johnson's donation request took less than two minutes. Much of it focused on Johnson's troubled youth, what happened on the day Hutslar died and his time in prison.\nJohnson, now 40, said he is ashamed of what he did as a 20-year-old and is not sure that the younger Johnson deserves mercy. But he said he was asking for mercy as a 40-year-old man who has learned from his mistakes.\nJohnson admitted he lied while testifying against a friend, Mark Wisehart, who was sentenced to death for murdering a 61-year-old Anderson woman in 1982. He also said he lied when he confessed to police that he killed Hutslar to protect an accomplice he refused to name.\nValerie Parker, vice chairwoman of the board, expressed frustration, saying she finds it hard to believe that he was coerced to lie by police both times.\nThe state Parole Board has recommended clemency just once in 50 years. Last year, then-Gov. Joe Kernan followed the board's recommendation and spared the life of Darnell Williams, commuting his sentence to life in prison without possibility of parole.
(05/19/05 12:29am)
FORT KNOX, Ky. -- An Indiana National Guard soldier facing court martial in the fatal shooting of an Iraqi police officer will have a hearing next week to address charges of lying to investigators, an Army spokeswoman said.\nCpl. Dustin Berg, 22, of Ferdinand, Ind., who had received a Purple Heart after being wounded in the Nov. 2003 shooting, is charged with murder. His lawyer said at a hearing in February that he shot the officer in self-defense.\nA Monday hearing at Fort Knox will address a charge of false swearing, which his attorneys did not contest in February. But the defense team reconsidered its waiver of the hearing when a military judge offered the chance recently, Fort Knox spokeswoman Connie Shaffery said.\nBerg changed his story multiple times before admitting killing the man, then shooting himself, military investigators said.\nMonday's Article 32 hearing is the military counterpart of a grand jury hearing. The outcome will determine whether the false swearing and another lesser charge will be considered with the murder charge at Berg's court martial, which has been delayed until at least July 25, the Army said.\nBerg, a member of the 1st Battalion, 152nd Infantry Regiment, also is accused of wearing an unauthorized award because he accepted a Purple Heart for his injury.\nThe soldier is performing administrative tasks at Fort Knox as he awaits trial, Shaffery said.
(05/19/05 12:28am)
SOUTH BEND -- The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear the appeal of a death row inmate convicted in the 1989 beating death of his former wife while out of prison on a brief furlough.\nAlan Matheney, 54, was charged with forcing his way into Lisa Bianco's Mishawaka home a few hours after his release on an eight-hour pass from a prison. As their two daughters fled in terror, Matheney chased Bianco into the street and beat her outside a neighbor's home with an unloaded .410-guage shotgun.\nThe state attorney general's office will file a motion with the state Supreme Court in the coming days to set an execution date for Matheney, spokeswoman Staci Schneider said.\nMatheney had been serving an eight-year sentence for a 1987 assault on his former wife when he was released on the furlough.\nThe killing drew widespread national attention as it came in the wake of the 1988 presidential election, during which then-Vice President George Bush ran a series of TV ads that depicted Democratic rival Michael Dukakis as soft on crime. The commercials blamed Dukakis for the prison furlough program that permitted the release of Willie Horton, a convicted murderer who fled during his furlough and was eventually arrested for brutally assaulting a man and raping a woman.\nThe Supreme Court gave no comments in its decision Monday not to hear the case.\nMatheney still can seek a new round of appeals with the state Supreme Court or reconsideration of the U.S. Supreme Court's denial, Schneider said.\nThe state's high court would wait until those matters are resolved to set a date to carry out Matheney's death sentence, she said.\nMonday's ruling comes about 10 months after a federal appeals court rejected Matheney's argument that he was incompetent to stand trial.\nIf Matheney is executed this year, he could become the fifth person put to death in Indiana in 2005. Two men have already been executed at the Indiana State Prison and other executions have been set for May 25 and June 22.\nThe state of Indiana hasn't executed more than two people in a year since the death penalty was reinstituted in 1977.
(05/16/05 12:14am)
CORYDON, Ind.-- Federal agents have seized more than two tons of marijuana and charged a man with distributing the drug in southern Indiana and the Louisville, Ky., area.\nFollowing a several-month investigation, federal agents arrested Dennis Wayne Dahl, 51, of Corydon, said Hancy Jones, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Louisville said Friday.\nJones said that bond has not been set and that a hearing has been scheduled for Tuesday.\nTony King, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's resident agent in charge, said the seized marijuana was in plastic-wrapped packages of six to 20 pounds.\nAuthorities estimated the street value of the nearly 2,300 pounds seized at $3.3 million.\nInvestigators have not determined if the marijuana was grown locally or came from a supplier, King said.\nDahl's arrest resulted directly from a confidential source who claimed to buy 200 pounds of marijuana from him each month, according to an affidavit.\nAgents electronically monitored a meeting between the source and Dahl in Harrison County, the affidavit said. Agents followed Dahl to his Corydon home, about 20 miles west of Louisville, and then into Kentucky.\nWhen he returned to Harrison County, he delivered 250 pounds of marijuana to the source and received $25,000, the affidavit said. Afterward, agents arrested him and seized the two tons of marijuana from his house.
(05/12/05 12:22am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- An Anderson man who has spent more than 20 years on Indiana's death row could be freed because polygraph test results were never admitted in court.\nThe 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago on Tuesday overturned Mark Allen Wisehart's 1983 murder conviction, ruling that a trial judge should have taken steps to determine whether one juror's knowledge of the polygraph test had tainted the verdict.\nWisehart, 42, was sentenced to death in Madison Superior court for stabbing 65-year-old Marjorie R. Johnson 26 times and fracturing her skull during a 1982 robbery. Upon his arrest, Wisehart gave a confession, admitting he had stabbed Johnson several times with several weapons, punching her with his fist, and striking her in the head with a whiskey bottle. He stated he took $14 and admitted he was the one who tipped off police. \nIn an affidavit presented at a 1994 appeal hearing, one of the jurors said she reported for jury duty and was told court would not be held that day because Wisehart was scheduled to take a polygraph test.\nShe said she never learned the outcome of the test. Polygraph results are not admissible as evidence in Indiana courts.\nStill, the three-judge panel ruled Tuesday, the judge should have questioned the juror about how she reacted to finding out about the test.\n"From the fact that the trial resumed after the test, had she assumed that Wisehart had flunked it?" the judges wrote. "If so, had she thought polygraph tests such reliable detectors of lies that she inferred that Wisehart must be guilty?"\nBut the woman was never questioned about the polygraph in 1983 or 1994, leaving open the possibility of jury bias, the ruling said.\nWisehart also did not have the opportunity to either rebut or admit the test results, depending upon whether he had failed or passed them, the judges said.\nThe Court of Appeals vacated Wisehart's conviction and directed that the state either release him, retry him or conduct another post-conviction hearing to address the issue of jury bias.