News briefs

Tribune News Service on Dec 20, 2024

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Here’s what Diddy’s first Christmas in prison may look like

NEW YORK — Sources say Sean “Diddy” Combs is “trying to stay positive” as he gears up for his first Christmas in federal lockup, having been behind bars at Brooklyn MDC since mid-September.

The fallen hip-hop mogul, 55, will also miss out on the 18th birthday of twin daughters D’Lila and Jessie, who will celebrate the milestone on Saturday, Us Weekly reports.

Though the infamous MDC permits holiday visitors, those interactions generally last just 30-60 minutes, with phone calls limited to 15 minutes.

Around the holidays, Mangel said inmates can generally partake in playing sports and board games, watching televised sporting events and attending religious services, which can offer prisoners a “sense of camaraderie.” In the days leading up to and following Christmas, the prison commissary also often carries special items such as pepperoni and provolone cheese.

—New York Daily News

Inmate barred from testifying before Texas lawmakers

AUSTIN, Texas — Death row inmate Robert Roberson III did not appear Friday at a Texas House hearing, the chair of the committee holding the hearing said.

Roberson, 58, was set to testify before the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence after the committee’s chair issued a subpoena Tuesday. The Texas attorney general’s office has derailed the committee’s efforts for a second time, requesting a protective order in the county where Roberson is housed.

Roberson’s attorney Gretchen Sween said she had planned to be at the hearing with Roberson. She said Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office has interfered with the committee’s “lawful right” to take his testimony.

Roberson was sentenced to death in 2003 for reportedly fatally shaking his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki. Roberson of Palestine, Texas, has maintained his innocence through more than two decades on death row and two previous execution dates.

—The Dallas Morning News

Mother, daughter attacked, robbed over parking space dispute at mall

LOS ANGELES — It's not unusual to fight for a good bargain during the holiday shopping season. It's a whole different story when the fighting starts in the parking lot outside the store.

That's what authorities say happened this week at the Cidatel Outlets in Commerce about 5 p.m. when a group of people attacked a 19-year-old woman over a parking spot and then stole her mother's purse with $3,000 in it.

Natalie Martinez and her mother, Patricia Cupa, were looking for parking Wednesday when they saw an open spot next to a vehicle with one of its doors open, the pair told KTLA-TV.

Martinez waited a few minutes and then honked her horn to let the person in the other car know that she was going to park in the empty stall. After pulling into the spot, a group of people exited the neighboring car and became hostile, KTLA reported. The groups exchanged words and then the argument became physical, Martinez said.

Martinez received several bruises and a cut lip, according to the news station.

—Los Angeles Times

Legionella bacteria found in 3 Baltimore City courthouses

BALTIMORE — Traces of Legionella were discovered in three courthouses in Baltimore City, the latest in a series of downtown public facilities where the bacteria has been detected.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott’s office reported that precautionary testing at the Baltimore City District (People’s) Courthouse, the Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr. Courthouse and Elijah E. Cummings Courthouse showed elevated levels of Legionella bacteria this month.

Due to the elevated levels of bacteria, Baltimore City has recommended the immediate closure of those facilities to conduct cleaning, system maintenance and other mitigation efforts to deal with the Legionella bacteria.

The Baltimore City Health Department has not received any reports of confirmed cases of Legionnaires’ disease.

Legionella is the bacteria responsible for causing Legionnaires’ disease, “a type of severe pneumonia,” according to the CDC. Infection can occur when people “breathe in mist” with Legionella bacteria in it, its website says. One in 10 people who get Legionnaires’ disease dies, the CDC states.

— The Baltimore Sun

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