QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I intend to speak in support of defunding Obamacare until I am no longer able to stand, to do everything that I can to help Americans stand together and recognize this grand experiment 3 1/2 years ago is quite simply not working.”
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, who took to the Senate floor to oppose President Barack Obama’s health-care law Article, this page
129 indicted in California gang sweep
LOS ANGELES - More than 120 people linked to street gangs that claim allegiance to the Mexican Mafia have been indicted on various racketeering, weapons and narcotics charges as authorities attempt to cripple the notorious prison gang’s Orange County wing.
Hundreds of law-enforcement officers fanned out Tuesday across Southern California, making arrests as part of “Operation Smokin’ Aces.” A total of 129 people have been indicted by county and federal grand juries alleging crimes including murder, drug trafficking and extortion.
The Mexican Mafia sought and received payments from gangs in Orange County in exchange for freely committing crimes in primarily Hispanic neighborhoods, according to court documents. Those who refused were put on lists that often resulted in violent retribution.
The Mexican Mafia has long been suspected by law enforcement of controlling drug distribution and other illegal activities within California jails and prisons as well as on the street.
Oklahoma teen seeks trial as a minor
DUNCAN, Okla. - The attorneys for one of three Oklahoma teens charged in the shooting death of an Australian baseball player are asking that their client be tried in a juvenile-justice court rather than as a youthful offender.
Michael Dewayne Jones, 17, is charged with being an accessory to murder in the Aug. 16 shooting death of Christopher Lane as Lane was jogging in Duncan. The Duncan Banner reported that Jones’ attorneys filed a motion Monday asking that their client be certified as a juvenile.
As a youthful offender, Jones would be tried in adult court and could face up to 90 years in prison. If convicted as a minor, Jones could be released from custody when he’s 18.
Meanwhile on Tuesday, a judge granted a motion to delay Jones’ scheduled Oct. 2 preliminary hearing and rescheduled it for Nov. 6.
Police have said that Jones and two other teenagers told investigators they were bored and decided to kill someone for the “fun of it.” An autopsy report says Lane was shot in the back with a small-caliber weapon.
Chancey Allen Luna, 16, and James Francis Edwards Jr., who turned 16 since the shooting, have been charged as adults with first-degree murder.
Field down to 2 in Boston mayor’s race
BOSTON - State Rep. Martin Walsh and City Councilor John Connolly emerged as the top vote-getters in Tuesday’s mayoral election, earning them spots in the November final that will determine a successor to Thomas Menino, Boston’s longest-serving mayor.
Unofficial returns showed Walsh and Connolly leading a crowded field that included 10 other candidates. With 96 percent of precincts reporting, Walsh had 19,808 votes, or 18 percent of the vote, while Connolly had 18,809, or 17 percent.
Menino, who first took office in 1993, announced earlier this year that he would not seek a sixth four-year term after a series of health problems and hospitalizations.
Police say gunman slain on N.C. campus
DURHAM, N.C. - Police shot and killed an armed man who went onto North Carolina Central University’s campus, after he exchanged gunfire with officers, the public university said Tuesday.
The man was tracked to the school by Durham police late Monday after he took a bus to leave the scene of an earlier police response, university officials said in a statement. Campus officials locked down the school’s buildings between 10:15 p.m. Monday and about 1 a.m. Tuesday.
University police approached the man, but he fired a shotgun at an officer and university police returned fire.
The man then ran into a wooded area. A Durham police dog tracked his location and authorities demanded that he surrender, ending about 45 minutes later in a second exchange of gunfire and the man’s fatal wounds.
The man’s name was not immediately released. University police said he was not a student.
Front Section, Pages 4 on 09/25/2013