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News Roundup

WRAL reports that there were two attacks in as many days on staff members at Central Prison this week.  The report says that the attacks have been attributed to the same group of inmates.  In one incident, several inmates refused orders from staff and then punched officers who responded to the situation.  In the other, two inmates assaulted a Brent Soucier, a Unit Manager with 19 years of experience at the prison, with a homemade weapon.  Soucier was taken to the hospital for treatment of a serious injury and is said to be in stable condition.  Keep reading for more news.

Bradsher.  Wallace Bradsher, the former district attorney for Person and Caswell counties, was convicted by a jury this week of several criminal offenses arising from his participation in a scheme with Craig Blitzer to hire each other’s wives for state jobs.  Bradsher was sentenced to four months of incarceration, was disbarred, and also received 24 months of probation.  Bradsher announced that he would appeal his convictions.

Zero Tolerance. The practice of separating children from their parents at the southern border of the United States as part of a “zero tolerance immigration prosecution” effort directed by Attorney General Jeff Sessions drew bipartisan condemnation this week that caused President Donald Trump to issue an executive order that possibly will end the practice temporarily.  The separations were occurring largely because Sessions directed U.S. Attorneys to prosecute all amenable adults for illegal entry, a federal misdemeanor.  Every living first lady publicly denounced the family separation practice and it was criticized by faith leaders ranging from Pope Francis to Franklin Graham.

Detained Children.  While President Trump’s executive order is expected to end the family separations, at least temporarily, many news outlets are reporting that it currently is not clear what will happen to the thousands of children who already have been separated from their parents.  Many older children are being detained in converted Walmart stores and tent encampments, while younger children are being detained in so-called “tender age” shelters.  The president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Dr. Colleen Kraft, visited a shelter where toddlers are being detained and said in an interview with the News Hour that while the shelter was well equipped, the toddlers detained there appeared to have been traumatized by the experience.

Councilman Convicted.  The Asheville Citizen-Times reports that a former councilman of the Town of Fletcher, Milton LeRoy Byrd, recently was convicted of obstruction of justice based on falsely representing himself as a medical doctor in order to provide expert testimony in court proceedings.  The Citizen-Times says that Byrd testified as an expert witness in proceedings in Buncombe County on behalf of a doctor who was charged with drug crimes.

Helicopter Crash.  A Highway Patrol helicopter crashed this week at the Patrol’s training facility in Raleigh.  The pilot, Trooper R.M. Collie, and a passenger, Clint Stone of the Federal Air Marshal Service, suffered minor injuries in the crash.

Pastor Stops Shooter.  The Seattle Times says that David George, the pastor of a church in Oakville, Washington, is being hailed as a hero for stopping a deadly shooting and carjacking spree at a Walmart.  George was at the store with his family when he heard shots ring out and saw the gunman, Tim O. Day, run outside.  George, who has a concealed carry permit and is a certified gun-range safety officer, joined up with another armed civilian, Jesse Zamora, and pursued Day, eventually shooting him after witnessing Day fire into the driver’s side of an occupied vehicle.  The story becomes more remarkable from there – George, who is a trained EMT with the town’s fire department, retrieved a medical kit from his vehicle and rendered aid to the person Day had shot.

Unbearable.  It’s not entirely clear how a very angry bear managed to trap itself inside a Subaru Outback near Lake Tahoe recently, but there’s video of how it got out – a brave Placer County Sheriff’s deputy broke the car’s window and set a new personal best in the 50-yard dash.

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