Sicko "Marriage Contract" One For The Ages

This country, as you know, is filled with the deranged. And then there's Travis Frey, a 33-year-old Iowa man who is facing charges that he tried to kidnap his own wife (not to mention a separate child pornography rap). Frey, prosecutors contend, apparently is a rather demanding guy. In fact, he actually drew up a bizarre four-page marriage document--a "Contract of Wifely Expectations"--that sought to establish guidelines for his spouse in terms of hygiene, clothing, and sexual activities. In return for fulfilling certain requirements, Frey (pictured above) offered "Good Behavior Days," or GBDs. Each GBD, Frey wrote, could be redeemed by his wife to "get out of doing the things" he requested daily. A copy of the proposed contract, which Frey's wife never signed and later provided to cops, can be found below. While we normally point out the highlights of most documents, there are so many in this demented, and very graphic, contract, we really can't do it justice. So set aside ten minutes--and prepare to be repulsed.



Click here to access the rest of the contract

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Foxy Felon Threatens TSG

Claiming that Internet surfers have been using her mug shot for "private sexual gratification," a convicted drug dealer is threatening to sue The Smoking Gun unless her booking photo is removed from our site. So meet Casey Hicks. Again. It's been a few years since we've thought about the comely 25-year-old Floridian, whose photo first appeared on TSG in 2002 as part of a collection of mug shots that we dubbed "Foxy Felons." In June 2000, Hicks was arrested after selling 49 Ecstasy tablets to an undercover cop in Rockland County, New York. In January 2001, she copped a reduced felony plea for the $400 drug deal. By the time of her sentencing, Hicks had relocated to Florida, where she subsequently began serving a probationary term of nearly five years (we discovered her mug shot, which you can find below, on the web site of Florida's Department of Corrections, where it still remains). Now, with her term of community supervision soon ending, Hicks is threatening to sue us if we don't excise her mug shot. In a February 13 letter, attorney Terry Bork contends that our publication of Hicks's mug shot and details of her rap sheet somehow invades the young felon's privacy and holds her up to ridicule. The posting of his client's mug shot, Bork claims, has led Hicks to become fearful for her safety, since she has become a topic of discussion of unnamed "numerous blogs." Making matters worse, he adds, our posting of Hicks's photo "has invited members of the public" to use her mug shot for masturbatory purposes. The self- gratification claim appears to be based on unspecified blog entries. Through our counsel, we've politely declined Bork's request.

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Arkanasas inmate uses his noggin to make a profane point

Meet Charles Moore. The Arkansas man, 25, was sentenced last month to 20 years in prison for a December 2004 motel stickup and his subsequent assault of a jail guard. While in custody a few months back, Moore decided to add a tattoo to his already impressive collection, which includes lightning bolts, a dragon, a marijuana leaf, and a joker. Employing a primitive jailhouse inking process, Moore placed a two-word message on his forehead, a greeting that he apparently sought to permanently extend to law enforcement officials, according to a recent story by John Lynch of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Moore's new tattoo was quickly added to the inventory maintained by the state's Department of Corrections, as seen in the box above. As you may recall, on January 30 we brought you the story of Iowa inmate Jose Luis Gomez, who has opted to use his face to deliver an identical, yet more stylized, message.

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Fla. Man Kills Roommate Over Toilet Paper

A man accused of fatally beating his roommate with a sledgehammer and a claw hammer because there was no toilet paper in their home has been arrested.

Franklin Paul Crow, 56, was charged Monday with homicide in the death of Kenneth Matthews, 58, according to the Marion County Sheriff's Office.

Capt. Thomas Bibb said Crow initially denied his involvement, but confessed during questioning.

Crow told investigators that the men were fighting about the toilet paper over the weekend when Matthews pulled out a rifle. Crow said he then began beating Matthews with the sledgehammer and claw hammer, according to an affidavit.

Matthews was beaten so badly he had to be identified through his fingerprints, detectives said.

Crow was being held at the Marion County jail without bond. It was not immediately known whether he had an attorney.

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Domestic dispute call leads to big drug bust

Officers investigating an apparent domestic disturbance ended up making a $5.1 million drug bust, Gwinnett police said Tuesday.

A "concerned citizen" called police about 5:46 p.m. on Monday to report that a woman was screaming inside a Lawrenceville home and police were needed to check on her, said Gwinnett police Cpl. Darren Moloney.

Police arrived at the home on Primrose View Circle and were allowed inside by a man. "Several items of drug paraphernalia were observed in plain view," Moloney said. Officers ordered the home locked down and obtained a search warrant.

The county's Drug Task Force then seized 51,306 ounces of methamphetamine worth an estimated $5.1 million and marijuana worth an estimated $85,600.

Jorge Moreno Marciel, 28, of Lawrenceville, was arrested and charged with drug trafficking.

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Idiot of the Day - 2/20/06

A 52-year-old man from the German town of Darmstadt tried in vain to get a refund for 400 euros ($475) worth of what he said was "bad marijuana" from his dealer before turning to the police for help, according to authorities.

The police then charged the man with violating drugs possession laws and confiscated the 200 grams of marijuana he brought with him to the police station, according to a report in Bild am Sonntag newspaper Sunday.

"It is un-usable," the man told police in the hope they would help him get his money back. Amounts of up to 30 grams of marijuana are allowed in most German states for private consumption.

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Man Allegedly Bites Off Girlfriend's Nose

A family sitting down to dinner had to call police and an ambulance after a man allegedly bit off the nose of his girlfriend, authorities said.

Jody Bennett came out of a back room of a north Tulsa residence on Thursday with a napkin over her face and said her boyfriend, identified as Greg Hill, had bitten her nose.

Medics responding to the house saw that Bennett's nose had been severed and called police.

"We looked around and tried to find a nose but couldn't find it," Cpl. Larry Edwards, a police spokesman, said. "I think he swallowed it."

An ambulance took Bennett, 37, to a local hospital where police talked to emergency room personnel about pumping Hill's stomach to see if the nose was inside, police Cpl. Shane Tuell said.

"They said, given the acid in the stomach, that it would be a futile effort to try and do that," Tuell said.

The nose is made primarily of cartilage and other soft tissues that stomach acid can dissolve quickly.

The couple live in California, and the other people at the house didn't know what led to the assault, Tuell said.

Officers used pepper spray on Hill, 45, after tussling with him as they tried to take him into the custody, Edwards said.

Hill denied biting Bennett's nose, police said.

He was booked into the Tulsa Jail on complaints of aggravated assault and battery, resisting arrest and destroying evidence.

Bennett could receive help from domestic violence groups to recover from her injury if she cooperates with Hill's prosecution should a criminal charge be filed, Tuell said.

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Woman Felt God Told Her To Cut Off Girl's Arms

A woman on trial for allegedly cutting off her infant's arms had "layer upon layer of" insanity and psychosis, a Texas state psychiatrist said.

Dr. David Self told a jury Monday that Dena Schlosser felt God was commanding her to cut off the girl's arms as well as her own arms, legs and head.

The mental expert evaluated Schlosser in the months after her November 2004 arrest.

Police responding to a 911 call found her covered in blood, still holding a knife and listening to a church hymn. She had cut her own shoulder.

Her trial is in its sixth day.

Schlosser has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

Prosecutors said she knew what she was doing and should be sent to prison for life.

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Frat Accused In Alleged Goat Sex Hazing Incident

Some Bowling Green, Ky., police officers found more than they bargained for after stopping by a Western Kentucky University fraternity party early Thursday.

The officers discovered a live goat stuffed into a storage room of the Alpha Gamma Rho house with no food or water, standing in its own urine and feces, according to WBKO-TV in Bowling Green.

The authorities cited 19-year-old Trenton Dakota Jackson with a second-degree count of cruelty to animals.

Officials aren't sure why the goat was in the storage room and don't know how long the goat had been held captive. Some of the students told police the goat was going to be used in a hazing ritual.

Brian Peyton, the president of Western's Alpha Gamma Rho chapter, said the goat was brought in as a prank, to make some pledges think they would have to have sex with it, WBKO reported. But Peyton told the TV station that the incident wasn’t related to hazing. He said that nobody actually was going to have sex with the goat, the TV station reported.

The goat was sent to the Warren County Humane Society so it could be examined by a veterinarian.

The fraternity has been ordered to stop all activities during an investigation. Alpha Gamma Rho has been cited for hazing three times since 1996.

The executive director of Alpha Gamma Rho's national organization in Kansas City, Mo., said he's also suspended the fraternity chapter. The organization will send someone to the university to investigate the allegations and cooperate with university officials, director Philip Josephson said.

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Principal Sends 'Large Breast Appreciation Week' E-Mails

A community is divided.

The question of whether to keep a principal who was suspended after being accused of using school computers to send pornographic pictures is causing mixed emotions in north Georgia.

Pictures of nude women were sent to five faculty members at Union County High School in an e-mail with the caption, "It is large breast appreciation week once again."

The porn was sent to colleagues on school computers during school hours in Blairsville, Ga.

School Superintendent Tommy Stevens said the pictures were sent by Union County High School Principal Ed Rohrbaugh. The school board suspended the Rohrbaugh for five days, but he is now back from suspension. After the incident, the school board renewed his contract for next year.

"He didn't try to cover it up. Didn't deny it. He was very forthright about it. And he knows he made a mistake," Superintendent Tommy Stevens said.

The superintendent said Rohrbaugh has a spotless record, has been punished and has apologized.

Some in the community think the suspension the principal received was enough.

"He didn't put them anyplace that they could be seen by children," Joe White said.

People who support Rohrbaugh think he deserves a break.

"I was not offended by them," Tina Atkins said.

And then there are those who think he should have been fired for passing porn during school hours using school equipment.

Sandra Boyer said nothing short of termination is appropriate.

James Carter said, "It can't be tolerated. And the school board's only action was to suspend him for five days."

Critics of Rohrbaugh said it's hard to teach students to stay away from pornography when the principal is passing it around in e-mails.

"The principal of Union County High School essentially destroyed his credibility at the school with the students," Carter said.

The board also clarified its policies to indicate school computers are only supposed to be used for school related issues.

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Teacher allegedly let kids skip gym for $1 a day

A former Escambia County middle school gym teacher who allegedly let children pay a $1 a day bribe to skip gym class turned himself in Thursday.

Detectives had been looking for Terence Braxton after he apparently left the area.

The sheriff's office said he turned himself in earlier Thursday at a Pensacola jail on bribery charges and was released on his own recognizance.

Escambia County School District spokesman Ronnie Arnold says the principal of Ward Middle School learned of the scheme from a parent and began an investigation in December. The principal then contacted authorities and placed Braxton on administrative leave.

Braxton then resigned.

After that, Braxton taught some classes as a substitute teacher at the Atmore School District in Alabama. That district removed Braxton from its substitute list after Florida officials notified administrators of Braxton's history.

The official charges accuse Ward of taking about $230 from six students pursuing charges, but Braxton's actual take from the 250 sixth-to-eighth-grade boys and girls is likely much greater.

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Pencil in penis backfires

A Serbian man needed emergency surgery after sticking a pencil inside his penis to keep it stiff during sex.

Zeljko Tupic, from Belgrade, told doctors he had experienced erectile difficulties in the past.

So as he prepared for a night with his new lover, he decided to insert a thin pencil into his penis.

Tupic had to cut his sex session short when the pencil shifted and became lodged in his bladder, forcing him to call an ambulance, the daily Kurir reported.

Doctor Aleksandar Milosevic from Belgrade's Zvezdara hospital, who succesfully removed the pencil, said: "At first the patient did not tell us what really happened, but x-rays proved the truth.

"Tupic said he had no idea there were things like Viagra available but agreed that in future he will try pills before he takes any more chances with pencils."

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Mich. Man Sentenced in Sheep Abuse Case

A man who pleaded no contest to a sodomy charge involving a sheep says he should not have to register as a sex offender.

Jeffrey S. Haynes said the state registry is intended to keep track of people who have committed crimes against humans.

But Calhoun County Circuit Court Judge Conrad Sindt told Haynes at his sentencing hearing that once he is released from prison, he must register with the Michigan State Police Public Sex Offender Registry.

Haynes, 42, of Battle Creek, was sentenced Monday to 2 1/2 years to 20 years in prison. He entered the plea in January. A no contest plea is not an admission of guilt but is treated as such for sentencing purposes.

Tamara Towns, an assistant prosecutor for the county, argued that Haynes should be ordered to register as a sex offender because once out of prison, he could prey on children or vulnerable adults.

Haynes said he is not a violent person and would not assault children.

"The prosecutor is being real hard on me for what I did," he said. "But I should not be treated as a child molester."

A telephone call seeking comment was left Tuesday at the Marshall office of defense attorney John B. Sullivan.

Police said Haynes had sex with a sheep at a Bedford Township farm on Jan. 26, 2005. The animal's owner caught him on the property and the sheep was found injured.

Haynes was arrested in June after a DNA sample taken from the animal matched Haynes' genetic material.

Haynes has prior convictions for burglary, home invasion and uttering and publishing, and was on parole for burglary at the time of the sex crime.

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Woman Allegedly Tries to Buy Pot From Cops

A North Dakota State University student is facing charges after allegedly trying to buy marijuana at the police station.

Saturday's incident was "about the craziest thing I've ever come across," Officer Ken Zeeb said. "This is something that you couldn't even make up."

The 20-year-old woman called the police station about 3:15 a.m. Saturday, asking where she could buy marijuana, authorities said. The dispatcher, after repeatedly telling the woman it was illegal to sell and possess marijuana, then told her that police had some of the drug in the station's evidence locker.

Zeeb had arrived for his 4 a.m. shift about 15 minutes early and was in the evidence locker room when the woman arrived.

"The dispatcher got on the intercom and said, 'You know what? She's here. She just handed me $3 for marijuana,'" Zeeb said.

The woman was arrested on charges of criminal attempt and possession of drug paraphernalia.

"She didn't seem like she was really under the influence of drugs or alcohol," Zeeb said. "She understood what was going on and articulated herself well."

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Bus driver tosses complaining rider into traffic

A transit bus driver grabbed a woman by the hair, knocked her head into a pole, opened the door and tossed her into traffic after she yelled at him for missing her stop, police said.

The 52-year-old woman, who was not identified, suffered a broken shoulder.

Bus driver Mario Edney, 53, was arraigned Thursday on aggravated assault and other charges, said Officer Jillian Russell, a police spokeswoman. He was being held on $2,000 bail.

Edney said he had to skip the woman's stop Wednesday morning because of a detour, police said.

Transit officials intend to fire Edney, who has been suspended without pay, following a hearing, said Richard Maloney, a spokesman for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority.

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Child Thinks Illegal Drugs Are Candy, Shares Them

A 10-year-old boy thought he was giving candy to his friends on the school bus.

But prosecutors in Fort Wayne, Ind., said the youngster was actually passing out the illegal drug Ecstasy.

Investigators are trying to figure where the kid got the pills. Some of the students put the pills in their mouths but spit them out because they tasted bad. Some students reported stomachaches and one felt tingling down the arms.

The driver then collected the bag of turquoise pills.

Police estimate the value of the stash of more than 130 Ecstasy tabs at about $3,000.

The Forest Park Elementary student who passed out the Ecstasy told police that he got the pills from the house where he goes to wait for the bus.

The hallucinogenic pills were about the size of an aspirin and had a check mark on them, similar to the Nike swoosh trademark.

Authorities have yet to file charges in the case.

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Mother Charged With Giving Alcohol To Children

A Hampton mother has been accused of serving her middle school-age daughter and three other children alcohol during a sleepover.

Police said that the kids involved are young -- 12 and 13 years old -- and that one of their parents, Pamela Smith, served them alcohol at a sleepover party on Dec. 23.

Smith told News 9 that the children were celebrating the holidays with a sleepover at her house.

"All I did was let the kids have one toast, and the girl brought the pictures to school, and I shouldn't have done that," Smith said.

Smith was charged with providing alcohol to minors. Police said numerous pictures were taken on a digital camera that night, and a teacher at Hampton Academy discovered the camera in her classroom. The teacher informed school officials, who reported it to police.

"And in an attempt to identify the owner of the camera she looked through the pictures and found these pictures of several students she recognized imbibing alcoholic beverages," Capt. Rich Sawyer said.

Sawyer said the four girls in the pictures were drinking wine coolers and sparkling cider.

"There's often a misperception amongst people that it's OK for people to provide alcohol to their own child or friends or family as long as they're safe in the confines of their own home," Sawyer said. "And there's no legal provision for that. It's an illegal act. It shouldn't be done, and it will be pursued."

If convicted, Smith could face up to a year in jail and a $1,500 fine. The children won't be charged.

"We could take them into the juvenile court system, but really, we felt the culpable person in this was the adult who actually went out and purchased the alcohol for the purpose of providing it to the juveniles," Sawyer said.

School officials said that they have no comment on what they described as a police matter.

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Teen Using Restroom Falls Out Bus Window

A New York City teenager fell out the window of a moving bus while using the restroom Tuesday and landed on the New York State Thruway.

State police said Jose Gonzales, 17, lost his balance when the chartered bus swerved to change lanes. It was unclear how fast the bus was going.

Gonzales was taken to Albany Medical Center for treatment. Police said he'll recover.

Gonzales fell onto the shoulder of the thruway near Exit 23 southbound.

He had been at the Capitol on Tuesday to lobby with a group on the issue of AIDS.

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Balloon in car creates XL explosion

A couple planning to set off their own Super Bowl pyrotechnics accidentally blew up their own car while transporting a balloon filled with an explosive gas.

Norman Frey, 46, and his companion suffered busted eardrums in the explosion Sunday as they drove to a party for Super Bowl XL, according to the Arapahoe County sheriff.

The balloon had been filled with acetylene, a flammable gas used in welding, and it had rolled across the back seat, possibly causing static electricity that ignited the gas.

The explosion broke windows, bent doors outwards and pushed up the roof about a foot.

"Looking at the car closely, it's amazing that these people weren't killed," Sheriff Grayson Robinson said.

Several people reported the explosion, but when a deputy arrived, Frey and the woman had abandoned the vehicle.

The license plate led them to Frey, who faces a felony charge of possession, use, or removal of explosives or incendiary devices. The woman will not be charged, authorities said.

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Eyebrow-Raising Tattoos

Meet Jose Luis Gomez. The Iowa man, 20, is locked up in the Polk County Jail on robbery and assault charges. Nothing special there. What sets Gomez apart from other accused felons in the Des Moines clink (and nationwide, for that matter) are the distinctive tattoos above his smoky brown eyes. Gomez, you see, likes to make a statement without saying a word.

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Alleged Burglar Gets Stuck in Oven Vent

In this photo released by the Orlando (Fla.) Fire Department, Lonnie Shields, 37, waits for help from firefighters after the owner of a convenience store found him stuck in an exhaust vent in Orlando, Fla., Thursday, Feb. 2, 2006. Shields, an alleged burglar, was rescued Thursday after he got stuck overnight in the oven vent of the convenience store he was trying to rob, the fire department said.

An alleged burglar was rescued Thursday after he got stuck overnight in the oven vent of the convenience store he was trying to rob, the fire department said.

Investigators said Lonnie Shields, 37, climbed into a small vent on the roof of the New City Mart at about 2 a.m. and wasn't found until store employees arrived at about 8 a.m.

Shields, who faces charges of burglary of a structure, was treated at a nearby hospital and booked into Orange County Jail on $1,000 bond.

"He was banged up and crunched up and uncomfortable from being in that pipe for about six hours," Orlando fire chief Greg Hoggatt said.

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Man Said to Offer Uniformed Deputy Cocaine

Deputy Ed Johnson was in uniform. He was also sitting in his marked patrol car. So he was a bit surprised when a man approached Friday and allegedly offered to sell him some cocaine.

Michael Garibay walked up to Johnson's car at a Mobil gas station and asked the Orange County deputy if he was "straight," according to arrest records.

When Johnson replied he was, Garibay responded "Do you know what that means? .... It means do you want to buy some cocaine."

When Johnson said "yes," Garibay pulled out a plastic bag containing "several pieces of flat white rocks substances" and asked for cash, records show.

The deputy took the bag and arrested Garibay after the contents tested positive for cocaine, the Orlando Sentinel reported on its Web site.

Garibay was being held Friday in the Orange County Jail on $7,500 bail for alleged possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.

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Naked Man Charges Two Moving Cars in Wis.

Authorities had no trouble locating the suspect after getting a call about a pedestrian attacking two moving cars. He was the one with no clothes.

Police said the first complaint came in at 9:36 a.m. Thursday after a woman encountered a naked man on a road. As she drove around him, he charged the vehicle, hit the right fender and jumped on the hood, smashing the windshield and breaking off the passenger side mirror, authorities said.

He slid off and was lying on the road but got up into a football-type stance and charged a second vehicle as it approached, damaging a fender.

He then opened the door, climbed in the vehicle and sat down, authorities said.

An ambulance got to the scene ahead of sheriff's deputies and had no trouble with the man, sheriff's Sgt. Staber Cook said.

The 42-year-old man was taken in for medical treatment and psychological assessment, Cook said. His name was not released.

The motorists were not injured.

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Man Drives Car Up R.I. Statehouse Steps

A man drove his car up about 12 steps of the Statehouse Friday and was arrested by police after backing down the steps and parking.

Police identified the man as Robert R. Negrotti, 37. His mother was in the car when he drove up the steps, but she did not know what he was about to do, capitol police said. No one was hurt, police said.

Rep. Peter Kilmartin told WPRI-TV he witnessed what happened from his third floor office.

"I heard a loud crash on the south side of the Statehouse. I looked out my window. I saw a gray vehicle starting to ascend the stairs. I saw it back down the stairs and then park," he said.

Capitol Police Chief Stephen Tocco said police and fire marshals checked the car for explosives, but all they found was scissors.

Surveillance cameras showed the car speeding up the stairs as if the driver were drag racing, Tocco said.

"He just shot up the front steps," Tocco said, adding that police got to the car immediately.

Tocco said Negrotti had been charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, destruction of state property, possession of a weapon other than a firearm — in this case, the scissors.

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Man Charged With Taking Mom's Morphine

A Martha's Vineyard man is charged with taking morphine from his mother's intravenous drip minutes after she died.

Robert S. Peatie, 37, was arrested last week after a nurse at Cape Cod Hospital caught him pouring the morphine into a water bottle, the Cape Cod Times reported Friday.

His 62-year-old mother, Linda Peatie, had just died from an undisclosed illness.

The nurse, Maureen Beckler, told the newspaper she left Robert Peatie alone in the room while she sought a doctor to pronounce Linda Peatie dead.

Beckler returned to find the son "standing next to the IV stand holding the morphine bag. He was trying to pour it into a water bottle. He looked at me and said, 'I just need a minute more.'"

Beckler said she ordered the son away from the IV, and Peatie fled.

Police caught up to him at a restaurant near the hospital and charged him with larceny of a controlled substance and possession of morphine.

According to Hyannis police Detective Brian Guiney, Peatie later admitted pouring the morphine into the bottle and taking sips from it.

"After his mother was dead, that's when he took the top of the morphine bag off and poured it into his water bottle," Guiney wrote in his report.

Police said Peatie, a Vineyard Haven electrician, has a history of substance abuse.

"My brother is very sick," Jennifer Thompson, Peatie's sister, told the Times. She said she had forgiven her brother because that's what there mother would have wanted.

A judge ordered Peatie held on $2,000 bail at a hearing Wednesday in Barnstable Superior Court. His next scheduled court date is Feb. 17.

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Man, 82, Arrested in Scuffle Over Skunk

An 82-year-old animal lover was arrested this week on allegations he grabbed and brandished a trapper's revolver during a scuffle over the skunk.

Lou Kessler was arrested Tuesday. He was released on his own recognizance Wednesday after being charged with misdemeanor counts of using a firearm in a fight and disturbing the peace.

The victim, Ron Bailey, 52, told The Press Democrat in a phone interview that he simply was doing his job as a state-licensed trapper and he believes Kessler disobeyed the law and attacked him.

The scuffle allegedly began when Kessler and his wife went to a home Tuesday afternoon at the request of an animal-rights advocate in San Francisco, who had asked them to release a skunk that had been trapped by the property owner.

Kessler's wife Margaret said she heard Bailey and his son yell, "Do not release the skunk, sir," as they charged down the hill toward her husband. She alleges the men attacked her husband and he tried to defend himself.

Bailey admits that his son, who was also at the scene, knocked Kessler to the ground but said it was only after the elderly man grabbed his gun.

"He reaches into my holster and pulls my gun out," Bailey said. "I'm looking in the barrel of my own gun - he's got it in both hands one foot away from my stomach."

Bailey is licensed as a trapper by the state Fish and Game Department and legally can carry a gun.

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Man Angry Over Breakup Torches Houses

A Houston-area man confessed to starting more than 15 fires because of a bad breakup, officials told KPRC Local 2 Tuesday.

Matthew White, 24, is accused of torching homes under construction and setting grass fires in Houston, Harris County, and Montgomery County over the past two weeks, causing more than $2 million in damage. He was charged with two counts of felony arson in Harris County.

"The neighbors were scared. The residents were scared. They didn't know what house was going to be next. It was just one after another -- houses being completely destroyed," said Dusty Deutsch, with the Harris County Fire Marshal's Office.

Investigators said White was nabbed when he returned to the scene of one fire set late at night.

"Usually late at night in an area that is under construction, there's not a whole lot of reasons to be there anyway," said Deputy Lisa Scheperd, with the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable's Office.

Evidence was found in White's car, according to authorities.

"Officers recovered a pipe wrench used to open up a fire hydrant. They also recovered a loaded handgun, several ignition devices, in other words, lighters, portable lighters," Deutsch said.

Charges in Montgomery County are pending.

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Sex ed teacher signs on the bottom line...

A South African sex education teacher has been sentenced to three years probation after he allegedly propositioned female students by asking to sign their bottoms, a local newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The Port Elizabeth Herald said Mafa Chauke was also ordered to attend a rehabilitation program, but was acquitted of more serious charges that could have brought a prison sentence.

The Herald said Chauke, 34, started making indecent suggestions to female students aged between 12-13 after starting work at a local high school in 2002.

Chauke denied the accusations, saying he was the target of a campaign by other teachers at the school who wanted him fired. Port Elizabeth Magistrate Izak van Niekerk disagreed and found him guilty of indecent assault.

"You are unequipped, unqualified to be a school teacher. You have warped ideas of teaching children about life skills and sexual matters," the newspaper quoted the judge as saying.

Local rights groups criticized what they said was the lenience of Chauke's sentence. Sexual abuse in schools is a frequently highlighted problem in South Africa.

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Pair Ran Brothel Across Street From Police Station

Officers in Concord, Calif., didn't have to go far to bust a brothel.

The house of ill repute was across the street from the police station. Now, a married couple has pleaded guilty to running the house.

Debra Watts, 52, will serve one year of home detention for pimping and pandering. Her husband Ernest, 63, pleaded to a misdemeanor count of maintaining a house of prostitution.

Police said the hookers who operated out of the place charged $160 for a half hour and split the money with the couple.

Surveillance of the apartment revealed a Monday-through-Friday operation in which women would arrive by 10 a.m. and leave by 7 p.m. Men would enter and leave throughout the day, staying for about 30 minutes at a time, according to the affidavit.

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