Where's the bathroom?

WEST BRADFORD, Pa. -- State police are investigating a man’s claim that he was severely beaten after he urinated on a kitchen floor at a party. The incident occurred about 2 a.m. on May 10 in the 1100 block of Jamie Lane, police said.

Trial ordered in alleged assault over chicken bucket

By DENNIS J. WRIGHT, dwright@phoenixvillenews.com
PHOENIXVILLE — Charles Joseph Allen, arrested on felony aggravated assault charges after he allegedly beat up a woman last month, was ordered to stand trial in district court Thursday afternoon.
Allen, 48, of the 1st block of North Seventh Avenue, Coatesville, is charged with aggravated assault; recklessly endangering another person; simple assault; harassment; and terroristic threats.
According to court testimony, the woman, whose name is being withheld by The Phoenix, said she was “man-beaten” by Allen inside her residence along the 200 block of High Street around 4 a.m. April 28.
The victim said she was holding a bucket of chicken when Allen tried to grab a piece. She said when she prevented Allen from getting some chicken, a piece of chicken fell to the ground.
Advertisement
“When I bent over to pick up the chicken, he punched me in the face five to six times,” she said. “My eye began to spasm. He cut my lip and busted up my face. When I covered up, he started kneeing me in the chest and elbowing me in the back.”
The victim testified that she felt like Allen was going to kill her.
“He said he should’ve killed me,” she said. “I have bruised ribs and lower spine injuries. My eyesight is bad and I have a concussion.”
Public Defender P.J. Redmond asked the woman if she had smoked crack cocaine that night, to which she replied, “No.”
Redmond asked the woman numerous times about when she had slept prior to the incident, and what drugs and/or medication she was on.
The woman said she was on medication but wasn’t on any kind of drugs.
Court documents state that the woman told police that the reason she was assaulted was that Allen was upset because she would not purchase crack cocaine for him.
When asked by Redmond how long the assault occurred, the woman said, “How long did it last? It felt like an hour, but it was around 20 minutes.”
Officer Bryan MacIntyre testified he was dispatched to
the 200 block of High Street for the report of an assault around 4:18 a.m. April 28.
MacIntyre said upon arrival, he met with the victim, who had obvious injuries to her face.
“There was a very large knot in the middle of her forehead with red abrasions all around it,” said MacIntyre. “Her left eye appeared red and swollen, and her lip was bleeding. She showed me her three front bottom teeth were loose.”
MacIntyre testified that the victim told him that Allen had beaten her up, but she was able to call 911.
After hearing all of the testimony, Magisterial District Justice Ted Michaels held the charges over for trial.
Allen was remanded back to Chester County Prison in lieu of $15,000 cash bail.
His next court appearance is scheduled for Thursday, May 29, 2008, at 9 a.m. at the Court of Common Pleas in West Chester.

Spray-painted turtle causes neighborhood outcry

NEW YORK - The spray-painting of a Brooklyn neighborhood's beloved turtle has stirred up cries of animal cruelty and calls for justice.
Myrtle, as the turtle is known, was recently found roaming the backyards near Roebling Street and Union Avenue in the Williamsburg section sporting a fresh coat of garish orange paint on its shell.
"To me, it's beyond just being an inhumane act. To me, it's an abomination," said one resident and caretaker of the critter, Meredith Chesney, to a WCBS-TV reporter.
Chesney and other residents speculated that the turtle was sprayed as a prank at a nearby construction site where workers use paint of the same color.
Some bloggers who focus on Brooklyn real estate and development have latched onto the turtle's plight as a symbol of unscrupulous construction in the borough.
"I've probably done a thousand posts about illegal construction and violating regulations with impunity but this probably ticked me off more than anything," said Robert Guskind, founder of the Gowanus Lounge blog, in Tuesday editions of Newsday. "In the grand scheme I know it's symbolic, but it really makes my blood boil."
Chesney said she tried unsuccessfully to remove the paint from the box turtle's shell. "You can't use solvents or paint removers," she said. "That's not good for the turtle."

I want my french fries!

BERNE, Switzerland - The Swiss government has agreed to ease restrictions on the importation of potatoes following fears that Euro 2008 soccer fans could face a shortage of French fries next month.
A spokesman for the country's department of agriculture told national radio on Wednesday that the government would allow an additional 5,000 tonnes of potatoes to be brought in.
The decision follows a request by Swiss potato industry association Swisspatat who warned that supplies were already running low in the buildup to the June tournament.
The association has estimated that 3,000 additional tonnes will be needed to make chips for foreign supporters, with the remaining 2,000 used for other forms of potato.
Switzerland has already been fretting over dwindling supplies of its beloved 'cervelat' sausage following a European Union ban on the Brazilian cows' intestines traditionally used to encase the meat.
Economics minister Doris Leuthard, who is also responsible for agriculture, told the national parliament in March there were enough cervelats in reserve to last at least through Euro 2008.
The tournament runs from June 7 to 29 and will be co-hosted by Switzerland and neighboring Austria.

Men charged using skull as bong

HOUSTON - Authorities in Texas have filed corpse-abuse charges against two men who allegedly removed a skull from a grave and used it as a bong. The Harris County District Attorney's Office confirmed on Thursday that misdemeanor abuse of corpse charges have been filed in the case.
One of the men allegedly told police they dug up a grave in an abandoned cemetery in the woods, removed a head from a body and smoked marijuana using the skull as a bong.
Police found the cemetery and a grave that had been disturbed but are still investigating the rest of the story, officials said.