American Scene

FLORIDA

Suspect in wildfires arrested

PALM BAY — Authorities arrested a man who they say was seen throwing a Molotov cocktail into the woods yesterday in this Atlantic coast town, where several homes have been gutted by wildfires this week.

Authorities said Brian Crowder, 31, set a small blaze that was quickly extinguished. They planned to question Mr. Crowder about larger wildfires that have found ample fuel in developments in the region, where the state has not held controlled burns to cut back vegetation.

A resident alerted police after seeing Mr. Crowder throw an object from his car that sparked the fire, Palm Bay Detective Ernie Diebel said. The object was a glass bottle containing a flammable liquid, Palm Bay Police Chief Bill Berger said.

He was charged yesterday with six probation violations.

NEW YORK

Woman pleads guilty in Spitzer call-girl case

NEW YORK — A woman accused of booking johns for a high-priced call-girl ring pleaded guilty yesterday in the federal probe that brought down “Client No. 9,” former Gov. Eliot Spitzer.

Temeka Rachelle Lewis, 32, entered the pleas to federal charges of promoting prostitution and money laundering. She’s among four defendants in the case involving the Emperor’s Club VIP.

Under federal sentencing guidelines, Lewis could face about 16 months in prison when sentenced Aug. 10, said her attorney, Marc Agnifilo. The maximum penalties are up to 25 years.

Mr. Spitzer announced his resignation on March 12. He has not been charged.

MICHIGAN

Gang founder gets 30 years

ANN ARBOR — A Detroit gang leader accused of ordering the killings of two rivals has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison on drug charges.

Milton Jones, 53, is a co-founder of the gang Young Boys Inc. He pleaded guilty two years ago to drug charges and agreed to aid prosecutors in exchange for their dropping murder charges.

Defense lawyer Richard Sindel said he is disappointed the judge didn’t hand out a shorter sentence Monday because of Jones’ age and his rehabilitation efforts.

Jones was among 14 people indicted in 2001 on charges of selling heroin, cocaine and marijuana during the 1990s. Authorities said the gang robbed, kidnapped and killed rival traffickers.

NEW JERSEY

Student banned in torching turban

HIGHTSTOWN — Officials in New Jersey are banning a high school senior from campus after he was charged with setting fire to a fellow student’s turban.

Authorities said Garrett Green torched a 16-year-old junior’s turban with a cigarette lighter during a fire drill last week. The Sikh student had patches of his hair singed but was not seriously hurt.

Sikhism calls for men to wear their hair long. Many wear turbans. The victim’s uncle said he was wearing a smaller version of a turban called a patka.

Mr. Green is banned from Hightstown High School’s campus and won’t be allowed to attend prom or graduation at the school just east of Trenton. The district will give the 18-year-old home-schooling instead.

OKLAHOMA

Man accused in cyanide sale

MUSKOGEE — A Texas man said he had a 25-gallon drum of cyanide and tried to sell it to an FBI informant, touting the poison’s usefulness in mass killings, according to a court affidavit.

Jeffrey Don Detrixhe, 38, of Higgins, Texas, was arrested Monday in southeastern Oklahoma on a complaint of possession or transfer of a chemical weapon. He waived his initial court appearance yesterday in U.S. District Court, and a judge ordered U.S. marshals to extradite him to Texas.

Julia O’Connell, Mr. Detrixhe’s court-appointed attorney, was not immediately available to comment.

According to an affidavit, FBI agents taped conversations in which Mr. Detrixhe told an informant that he had a 25-gallon drum of cyanide and was willing to sell it in exchange for $10,000, a thermal imager and a fully automatic Russian-made AK-47 assault rifle.

Mr. Detrixhe told the informant that he could turn the white cyanide briquettes into gas by using hydrochloric acid, according to the affidavit.

Mr. Detrixhe will have a preliminary hearing upon returning to Texas.

OREGON

Student protests no-hugging rule

MOLALLA — An Oregon middle-school student has challenged her principal’s no-hugging rule.

The Molalla River Middle School adopted the policy last year, the Molalla Pioneer reported. Principal Bob Espenel said students were spending too much time hugging between classes, impeding traffic in the school halls.

“You’d have groups of 10 to 15 kids, and they all had to hug each other before they went to class,” Mr. Espenel said. “It was getting out of hand. This is not the ’Love Boat.’”

But Desha Eaves, a seventh-grader, thinks hugs are sometimes necessary.

“Sometimes they really need a hug, and I didn’t think it was fair for me to not give my friend a hug,” she said.

She decided to make a formal protest, getting in touch with Mr. Espenel and writing the school board.

SOUTH DAKOTA

Family settles in Janklow crash

SIOUX FALLS — Relatives of a motorcyclist killed in a crash with former Rep. Bill Janklow said yesterday they have settled their wrongful death lawsuit against the government for $1 million.

Randy Scott of Hardwick, Minn., was killed Aug. 16, 2003, when his Harley-Davidson struck the back of a Cadillac that Mr. Janklow drove through a stop sign at an intersection in eastern South Dakota.

Mr. Scott, 55, was killed instantly. Mr. Janklow, 68, was injured.

Mr. Scott’s family sued the federal government for $25 million after the U.S. attorney in Minnesota concluded that Mr. Janklow was on official business at the time. A trial had been scheduled to start June 16 in Minneapolis, but the family opted to settle Tuesday, said Mr. Scott’s mother, Marcella Scott of Luverne, Minn.

Mr. Janklow has not commented on the accident but said yesterday that he is glad Mr. Scott’s family can move on.

TENNESSEE

Operator fired after cursing

NASHVILLE — A Nashville 911 operator has been fired after saying during a call that he didn’t care about what happened to a woman who reported that her ex-boyfriend was threatening her.

Emergency Communications Center spokeswoman Amanda Sluss said yesterday that Frank Roth was in training during the February incident and was fired a month later.

Mr. Roth made the comments after promising police would arrive soon for a woman who called to say her ex-boyfriend held her at knifepoint and later threatened her.

After hanging up, he said, “I really don’t [care] what happens to you.”

TEXAS

Teacher was drunk in class, police say

RICHARDSON — A substitute teacher suspected of being drunk in a suburban Dallas middle-school class was too intoxicated to complete a sobriety test and was arrested, authorities said.

Thomas Brownlee, 56, was in a classroom Tuesday with students and another staff member for about 20 minutes, Richardson school district spokesman Tim Clark said. Another teacher suspected Mr. Brownlee was drunk and told a police officer at Parkhill Junior High.

A Dallas police report states that Mr. Brownlee “had slurred speech, breath smelling of an alcoholic beverage and bloodshot eyes.”

The officer stopped issuing a sobriety test out of concern for Mr. Brownlee’s safety, according to the report. Mr. Brownlee was charged with public intoxication.

From wire dispatches and staff reports