Held in cemetery damage

Held in cemetery damage

INDIANA, Pa. — An Indiana County man has been charged with causing more than $34,000 in damage to a church cemetery. State police say 19-year-old David Christian Williams was arrested in the Feb. 21 desecration and destruction of headstones, statues and light fixtures at the St. Bernard Catholic Church Cemetery in White Township.

They say Williams is the first of a number of suspects to be arrested. Court documents show two informants directed police to Williams, who confessed when investigators questioned him. Williams has been charged with criminal mischief and institutional vandalism. He is being held at the county jail on $25,000 bail pending a preliminary hearing scheduled for Wednesday.

Burned driver dies

CHICOPEE, Mass. — A driver severely burned when his tanker truck filled with fuel rolled over and exploded on a western Massachusetts interstate has died, authorities said Saturday. Investigators said Aaron Staelens, 43, of Richmond, swerved after a car struck him, causing his tanker to crash into a guardrail on Interstate 91 in Chicopee early Friday. He died several hours later, according to a spokeswoman for Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

The trailer separated from the tanker, rolled over the guardrail and down an embankment as the cab and trailer burst into flames, police said. Witnesses said several drivers ran to pull Staelens from the burning cab, including some carrying blankets and jackets to smother the flames. But the fire drove everyone back. Staelens eventually freed himself and ran ablaze through a “ring of fire” around the cab, before police and other drivers put out the flames, State Police Capt. Barry O’Brien said.

Arrested in boy’s neglect

PACE, Fla. — Authorities in the Florida Panhandle say they have arrested a woman suspected of severely neglecting a 4-year-old boy. Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Sgt. Scott Haines says the boy weighed only 10 pounds when he was hospitalized earlier this month but his condition is improving.

Deputies on Friday arrested 19-year-old Erin Brittany Markes, identifying her only as the boy’s caregiver. Haines says Markes was apparently depriving the child of food and was not giving him prescribed medication for seizures. Markes remains jailed on a charge of felony neglect of a child.

Gunman wounded

MIAMI — Police in Miami say a gunman was wounded after taking a store manager hostage during a botched robbery attempt. Police and witnesses say the man went into a Walgreen’s drugstore early Saturday, made employees lie on the floor and forced the manager into the parking lot at gunpoint.

The police and witnesses say the gunman was confronted by officers outside the store, but he fled in the manager’s car before being caught. The manager was not seriously injured. It isn’t clear yet who wounded the attacker, but police say he was taken to a hospital for treatment.

Global lights out

SYDNEY, Australia — Sydney’s iconic Opera House and Bangkok’s famous Wat Arun Buddhist temple went dark Saturday night as cities around the world turned off their lights for a campaign to raise awareness of climate change.

Lightning was the brightest source of illumination for Sydney’s skyline during Earth Hour, which began at 8 p.m. as the lights were turned off at the city’s landmarks. Sydney residents embraced their second annual Earth Hour with candlelight dinners and beach bonfires.

After Asia, the lights were to go out in Europe and then North America as dusk descended. One of the last major cities to participate was San Francisco — where the Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay Bridge and office towers throughout the city planned to go dark. Some restaurants planned to turn off exterior lights and offer candlelight dinners. Atlanta, Chicago and Phoenix were also taking part.

Zimbabwe election

HARARE, Zimbabwe — Zimbabweans voted Saturday on whether to keep the ruler blamed by opponents for their country’s economic collapse, though President Robert Mugabe’s challengers claimed the election was rigged even before the polls opened.

The main opposition party said it was investigating reports of thousands of voters being turned away from polls and the discovery of stuffed ballot boxes in one district. African observers also questioned thousands of names on official rolls.

Associated Press