10-YEAR-OLD BEHIND WHEEL OF SUV: KENNER, La. (AP) — Police in Louisiana say a call about an SUV being driven recklessly on Interstate 10 led them to pull over a 10-year-old boy who was driving.
A Kenner police news release says the boy's grandmother and another woman in the vehicle were arrested early Wednesday when the car was pulled over on a city street. Police say they told officers that they had the boy drive because they were intoxicated.
The child's grandmother, 54-year-old Brenda Byrd, and 48-year-old Sheila Joiner were booked with contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile and allowing an unlicensed driver to operate a motor vehicle.
The young driver and a 15-year-old passenger were later released to family members.
Sgt. Brian McGregor says the women were in custody Wednesday afternoon, awaiting a court appearance. No attorneys were listed in their booking records.
NM MAN SENTENCED FOR TATTOOING 3-YEAR-OLD NEPHEW: ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico man has been sentenced to six months in federal prison for using homemade instruments to tattoo the letter "I'' on the arm of his 3-year-old nephew.
Federal prosecutors say 29-year-old Cruz Tenorio of Kewa Pueblo was sentenced Tuesday. He must serve six months in a half-way house when he's released from prison.
Tenorio must also pay restitution. Prosecutors say that will ensure the child has access to any needed medical or psychological services, including the removal of the tattoo.
Tenorio pleaded guilty in March to child abuse. The charge stemmed from 2011, when authorities say he tattooed his nephew's arm using rudimentary and unsterilized tools.
Prosecutors say Tenorio had no formal training and he took no precautions to prevent possible infection.
WYOMING POLICE RESPOND TO CALL ABOUT EXORCISM: RIVERTON, Wyo. (AP) — Authorities in central Wyoming say they received a 911 call reporting that a woman involved in an exorcism had stopped breathing and had gone into cardiac arrest.
But when Fremont County sheriff's deputies arrived, the woman was breathing.
The Sheriff's Office says it received the call Tuesday from a residence near Riverton, about 120 miles west of Casper. The caller said a woman possessed by a poltergeist had stopped breathing when sprayed with Holy Water and then went into cardiac arrest when others attempted an exorcism.
The home's occupants told police that a demon had been breaking things and biting people in the home, but the deputy couldn't find any evidence.
SCAFFOLD WORKERS RESCUED NEAR TOP OF NY SKYSCRAPER: NEW YORK (AP) — Two maintenance workers were left dangling from a collapsed scaffold near the top of a skyscraper for more than an hour on Wednesday before rescuers cut open windows to pull them inside to safety.
The men were stuck in wind gusts outside the 45th floor of the 600-foot-tall Hearst building in midtown Manhattan, just steps from Central Park.
Fire department officials said workers cut open the glass on the 44th floor to reach the men. The maintenance workers, helped by firefighters, moved slowly from the scaffolding, lowered using safety ropes attached to the 46-story building's roof.
Fire department Chief James Leonard said after the rescue it appeared the center motor of the scaffold's three motors may have failed.
The metal scaffold, which was hoisted onto the roof afterward, also appeared to have buckled in the middle, into an elongated V shape. The men were on either side, communicating with firefighters on the roof for about an hour and a half. Fire officials said they were working with the city Department of Buildings to determine if the scaffold buckled after the motor failed or if it was always that shape.
VICTIM IN TEXAS PARADE CRASH ACCUSED OF LYING: ATLANTA (AP) — An ex-police officer from Georgia who was injured in a train accident during a veterans parade in Texas is accused of lying about receiving a Purple Heart medal and was arrested Wednesday, Cherokee County sheriff's officials said.
Former Holly Springs police officer Shane Ladner, 40, was never awarded a Purple Heart and is charged with four counts of theft by deception, false swearing and giving a false statement to police, Cherokee County Sheriff's Lt. Jay Baker said.
Ladner presented a military discharge form claiming that he was the recipient of the honor when he applied for a free Purple Heart license plate in 2009, Baker said, adding that Army officials have no record of the form that Ladner presented to get the plate.
Ladner and his wife, Meg, were among those injured in a mid-November train crash in Midland, Texas, that killed four people. One of Meg Ladner's legs had to be amputated.
The Ladners made the trip to the west Texas city to participate in an annual event that honors wounded military veterans with a parade, a banquet, a hunting trip and more. The event was organized by Midland-based Show of Support.
TEXAS EXECUTES MAN WHO CONFESSED TO KILLING 5: HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A man who confessed to killing five people during a six-month crime spree in southeastern Texas 15 years ago was put to death Wednesday for the fatal shooting of a firefighter.
Elroy Chester, 44, said that he didn't want relatives of his victims to have "hate in your heart for me."
Chester said he confessed to killing firefighter Willie Ryman III because "you should know who killed your loved one."
"Don't hate me. I'm sorry for taking your loved one," Chester said. "Elroy Chester wasn't a bad man, I don't care what anybody says. A lot of people say I didn't commit those murders. I really did it."
Moments later, Chester told the warden to proceed with the execution and began humming what sounded like church hymn. He then took several deep breaths, yawned and began snoring as the lethal drug took effect.
Ryman, a decorated Port Arthur firefighter, was killed in February 1998 when he interrupted Chester as he sexually assaulted Ryman's two teenage nieces during a break-in at their home. Chester, who was on probation at the time, was arrested soon after and subsequently pleaded guilty to killing the 38-year-old firefighter.
