Police cite Mass.sixth-grader for trespassing

Police cite Mass.sixth-grader for trespassing

WEST HARWICH, Mass.

Police in Massachusetts served a sixth-grader with no-trespass orders after neighbors grew wary of the girl cutting through their properties to get to and from her school bus stop.

The mother of 11-year-old Autumn Blanchard told the Cape Cod Times her daughter received three pink no-trespass notices from the Harwich Police Department on March 2. Krystal Blanchard said she was unaware neighbors had an issue until the police arrived at her door. She questioned why she wasn’t informed by the neighbors or school officials, who also knew about the problem.

Harwich Police Chief David Guillemette blamed a “breakdown in communication” for the situation. He said police should have met first with the mother to discuss her daughter’s trespassing.

According to the notices, Autumn could be arrested and fined up to $100, imprisoned up to 30 days or both, if she steps onto the properties listed in the no-trespass orders.

13-year-old boy dies in fall from NY roof; 2nd teen injured

NEW YORK

New York police say a 13-year-old boy was killed and another teenager was injured as they tried to hop along rooftops in Brooklyn and plunged about four stories to the ground.

The boys were found behind the building in Bushwick on Friday. Thirteen-year-old Rame Pierre-Louis had severe trauma to his head and body. His 15-year-old friend had pelvic injuries but was expected to live.

Neighbors told the Daily News of New York that teens often climb to the rooftop and hang out. A couch was set up on the roof. The teens who fell didn’t live in the building.

Man who bound dog’s muzzle with tape sentenced

CHARLESTON, S.C.

A South Carolina man who wrapped electrical tape around a dog’s muzzle to stop her from barking has been sentenced to five years in prison.

Media outlets report William Dodson’s sentence Friday represented the state’s maximum for animal cruelty. However, it will run simultaneously with a 15-year sentence on a federal gun charge. Dodson’s treatment of Caitlyn won’t extend his prison time.

Judge Markley Dennis told the 43-year-old North Charleston man, “I wish I could give you more.”

Charleston Animal Society director Aldwin Roman says the sentence still sends a message that animal cruelty won’t be tolerated.

Caitlyn was found in critical condition. The tape cut off blood flow to her tongue.

Storms destroy homes in turbulent week of weather

Storms demolished mobile homes in Arkansas and a church in Louisiana as a menacing weather system threatened several states across the South and Midwest, authorities said.

A tornado destroyed four mobile homes and damaged others near Cato, Ark., about 15 miles north of Little Rock late Friday night, the National Weather Service confirmed Saturday.

An apparent tornado destroyed the Ringgold Assembly of God Church in Ringgold, La., late Friday night, the Bienville Parish Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Saturday. No injuries were reported there.

Meteorologists said Saturday’s storms were just the start of what’s expected to be a week of dangerous weather.

Associated Press