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NEWS FROM ACROSS THE NATION
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PIT BULL OWNERS, DOGS SHOW SUPPORT FOR BAN’S END : PAWTUCKET, R.I. (AP) — Dozens of pit bull owners paraded with their dogs in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, to celebrate their legal victory that overturned its decade-long ban on pit bulls.

About 40 dogs and their owners on Sunday celebrated a Superior Court judge’s Nov. 18 ruling overturning the ban.

Ann Clark of Pit Bulls for PTSD, which organized the parade, said it was a celebration that “all dogs are free in Pawtucket.”

Pawtucket Police Chief Paul Kelly said the city imposed the ban in 2004 to try to curtail the number of pit bull attacks. At the time, Kelly said local drug dealers were using pit bulls to prevent police from house raids.

The state last year barred cities from banning specific breeds. Dog owners say authorities should “punish the deed, not the breed.”

 

POLICE: FACEBOOK POSTS OF STOLEN GUNS SPUR ARREST: ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico man is facing charges after police say he posted Facebook photos of stolen guns from an unsolved burglary.

KOB-TV reports that Christopher Banegas recently was arrested and charged in connection with the September 2013 heist at an Albuquerque home.

Police say they lacked any leads until the victim recently saw pictures of his stolen guns on Banegas’ Facebook page.

The two had been friends, and the victim tells police he didn’t check Banegas’ Facebook page because he didn’t suspect him.

Banegas is facing charges of aggravated burglary, larceny of a firearm, and tampering with evidence. It isn’t known if he had an attorney.

 

ATLANTA FIRE CHIEF IN TROUBLE OVER HOMOSEXUALITY BOOK: ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta’s fire chief has been suspended after city officials say he violated policy by self-publishing a book that describes homosexuality as a “perversion.”

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed says in a statement Monday that Kelvin Cochran will be suspended for a month without pay and will be required to complete sensitivity training.

Reed says he was “deeply disturbed” after learning about the book on Friday and will not tolerate discrimination within his administration.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the book titled “Who Told You That You Are Naked?” identifies Cochran as a devout Christian and as the city’s fire chief. City councilmember Alex Wan, who is openly gay, says Reed should investigate whether Cochran’s views have affected LGBT employees.

 

ALABAMA DEPUTY, 3 TEENS KILLED IN HEAD-ON CRASH: WETUMPKA, Ala. (AP) — A car full of teenagers collided head-on with a police car, killing three teens and an Elmore County sheriff’s deputy, authorities said Monday.

A fourth teenager was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries. The crash happened around 7:45 p.m. Sunday on a rural two-lane road about 15 miles north of Montgomery, Elmore County Sheriff Bill Franklin said.

Austin Ryan Augustine, 16, of Wetumpka, was driving a 2003 Infiniti G35. He was killed along with two 16-year-old passengers: Dylan Adler Bieber and Hoyt Elliot Hardin, also of Wetumpka.

The sole survivor was Nicholas Benjamin, 16, of Eclectic, another passenger in the Infiniti. Benjamin was flown to a hospital with injuries that troopers described as life-threatening.

The Infiniti collided with a Dodge Charger patrol car driven by Deputy James Bart Hart, 50. Benjamin and Hart were wearing seatbelts but the others were not, troopers said.

Hart was on duty and had just left the scene of an accident involving a deer, the sheriff said.

Elmore County Superintendent Jeff Langham said the Wetumpka High School gym would be used as a gathering place for students and families to spend time together Monday night.

 

IOWA WOMAN LOCKED UP AFTER LOCKED OUT OF HOME: IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Police say an Iowa woman who was locked out of her apartment has been locked up after officers who helped her regain entry found pot plants and drug paraphernalia inside.

Iowa City police say 19-year-old Jailin Turner is charged with possession of a controlled substance and other crimes. Jail records showed she was in custody on Monday. It’s unclear whether she has an attorney.

The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports the officers were sent to investigate a report early Friday morning about a woman yelling and banging on an apartment window. She told them she’d lost her keys.

The officers said in the complaint that when firefighters broke into the apartment, two bongs were in plain view. Officials also said they found a scale, potted marijuana plants and grow lights.

 

POLICE: ‘KIDNAP’ VICTIM REALLY WAS ESCAPED CONVICT: TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Authorities say a New Jersey man who claimed he was robbed at gunpoint, kidnapped and held against his will for three days actually had escaped from a halfway house.

Trenton police tell The Times of Trenton that 33-year-old Jasmond Stepney asked to meet with officers at a hospital early Sunday. But he was soon taken into custody and turned over to state corrections officials.

It was not clear Monday why Stepney was serving time at the halfway house. He was expected to face escape charges, but further information has not been disclosed.

 

SON SOUGHT AFTER WOMAN RUN OVER, KILLED IN MAINE: BIDDEFORD, Maine (AP) — Police say a man has run over and killed his mother in Maine and taken off, possibly out of state.

Biddeford police Deputy Chief JoAnne Fisk says arrest warrants have been issued for 26-year-old Shane Jones in the death of 49-year-old Kimberly Jones. Fisk says Kimberly Jones died after being struck on Sunday evening.

Fisk says Shane Jones probably left Maine, most likely in an older model red Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck with a yellow strobe light on the roof.

The warrants charge Jones with leaving the scene of a fatal accident and reckless conduct with a motor vehicle.