uTHIEVES TRIED TO SELL ITEMS BACK TO VICTIM: DENVER (AP) — Denver police have arrested four suspects accused of unwittingly trying to sell items they stole back to the burglary victim.

KMGH-TV reports Lacinda Robinson discovered the items missing at her home on Friday and drove to the parking lot of a nearby fast-food restaurant to report the theft. That’s where she says she was approached by two people asking if she wanted to buy a video game set.

Robinson says she was startled when another person walked up wearing her jacket. She went next door to a gas station and found two off-duty police officers who made the arrests.

Robinson told police she is still missing an iPad, a flat-screen TV and some cash.



uUTAH CAT SURVIVES AFTER ARROW SHOT THROUGH FACE: WASHINGTON, Utah (AP) — A feral cat has survived being shot through the face and body with an arrow in southern Utah.

Officials with the nonprofit organization One More Chance C.A.T.S. say the impaled feline was found Wednesday after going missing from a park for a few days.

A veterinarian who examined the cat tells The Spectrum an arrow had gone through the animal’s head, passed through its esophagus and then came out of its shoulder blades.

The vet removed the arrow and says the cat, named Quiver, is expected to survive.

Washington City police spokesman Ed Kantor tells KUTV there are no suspects, and it’s unclear whether someone shot the cat intentionally or recklessly.



uOHIO MAN WHO TOLD KIDS HE WAS SANTA HAD CHILD PORN: WARREN, Ohio (AP) — A 65-year-old northeast Ohio man with a flowing white beard who often told neighborhood children he was Santa Claus has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for having child pornography on his computer.

A judge in Trumbull County sentenced Niles resident William F. Brock Sr. on Thursday after he pleaded guilty to 35 child porn charges.

Prosecutors say evidence found on Brock’s computer included videos showing rapes being committed against an 8-year-old girl in nearby Austintown by his girlfriend in 2012.

The girlfriend was sentenced in September to 25 years in prison for raping two children and having sexually explicit images on a cellphone.

A prosecutor says there’s no evidence Brock sexually assaulted children.



uEX-MCGRUFF PLAYER GETS PRISON FOR POT FARM, GUNS: HOUSTON (AP) — A Houston man who once portrayed McGruff the Crime Dog has shown his commitment to crime fighting apparently wasn’t very deep.

John R. Morales was sentenced this week to 16 years and three months in federal prison on drug and weapons charges after police found more than 1,000 marijuana plants and 27 weapons, including grenade launchers, at two indoor farms.

Morales wore the McGruff costume for the Harris County Sheriff’s Association in the late 1990s.

A real crime dog — the drug-sniffing variety — detected pot plans in Morales’ trunk after he was stopped for speeding in Galveston in 2011. Authorities say officers found a clipboard with maps to the indoor farms.

uCOUNTY WARNS NO PERMITS GIVEN FOR CALIF. BULL RUN: RIVERSIDE  (AP) — A planned bull run in Southern California could be more bull than run.

Riverside County officials said Friday they haven’t granted permission for the Pamplona-style event to be held in June at an equestrian center near the city of Temecula.

Authorities say no permit application has been submitted and there are difficult-to-overcome concerns about safety and planning for an event that could draw 5,000 people.

The event is promoted by The Great Bull Run, which has held runs in Virginia, Georgia and Texas. Co-founder Rob Dickens tells the Riverside Press-Enterprise   that the company will work with the county to obtain approval.

Dickens says if that’s not possible, people who’ve already bought tickets will get refunds.



uRAINBOW COLORS TO ADORN NEW WEST HOLLYWOOD FLAG: WEST HOLLYWOOD  (AP) — West Hollywood is adding the colors of gay pride to its city flag after drawing criticism for removing a rainbow flag from City Hall last month.

The  City Council agreed Monday to add rainbow colors to its existing logo, which depicts a rough city outline made of blocks.

A rainbow flag — often used as a symbol of gay pride — was raised above City Hall in June but it was removed in January after the council voted to maintain the practice of flying only the U.S., state and city flags.

More than 40 percent of residents in the Los Angeles suburb identify themselves as gay or lesbian and four out of five council members are gay.





INFANT DIES FROM WHOOPING COUGH: SACRAMENTO (AP) — California health officials say an infant has died from whooping cough, a highly contagious disease.

It’s the first confirmed death since 2010 when an epidemic killed 10 infants in the state.

The latest victim was an infant less than 6 months old from Riverside County. Whooping cough starts with cold-like symptoms and can progress to severe coughing fits that leave people gasping for breath.

Also Friday, state health officials said there have been 202 confirmed flu deaths so far this season, including four deaths involving babies. An additional 41 deaths are under investigation as possibly flu-related.



POLICE CHIEF SEEKS CHANGE IN DRUG LAW: SAN DIEGO (AP) — San Diego’s police chief says he supports a statewide push to reduce most nonviolent crimes — including petty theft and drug possession for personal use — from felonies to misdemeanors.

Chief Bill Lansdowne said Thursday that drug offenders with addiction or mental health problems should not get long prison terms.

He is working with San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon on a measure they say would reduce prison populations and shift up to $250 millon per year to treatment and education programs. Supporters are hoping to qualify the measure for the November ballot.

Gov. Jerry Brown last year vetoed a similar measure to lighten drug sentences that was opposed by some of the state’s law enforcement and district attorney associations.