Film director cleared in fatal traffic accident
Los Angeles – Film director John Singleton, who earned Oscar nominations for “Boyz N The Hood,” was involved in a “tragic accident” in which his vehicle struck a jaywalker who later died, Los Angeles officer April Harding said Saturday.
Singleton, 39, was driving a Lexus sport utility vehicle in a Los Angeles neighborhood on Thursday when a woman stepped into his path, Harding said.
“He wasn’t drunk, and he wasn’t speeding,” Harding said. “It was a 56-year-old woman who jaywalked. There was no crime involved.”
The woman was taken to the hospital where she was pronounced dead Friday, police said. No charges will be filed against Singleton, Harding said.
Dentist accused of exposing self to patient
A dentist accused of exposing himself to a patient and then refusing to let her leave his Brooklyn office was arraigned in Brooklyn Criminal Court on Saturday.
The dentist, Neil Mate, was charged with third-degree sexual abuse, forcible touching, second-degree unlawful imprisonment, public lewdness and other counts, according to the Brooklyn district attorney’s office. He was released on his own recognizance.
Mate, of Manhasset, N.Y., was arrested after a woman told police he had made inappropriate remarks and exposed himself during an appointment Thursday evening. She said he prevented her from leaving the office.
Mate did not enter a plea when he appeared before Judge Miriam Best, but Samuel Rieff, a lawyer representing him, said by telephone Saturday that his client “will prove his innocence.”
All the charges are misdemeanors, each punishable by up to a year in jail, said a spokesman for the district attorney.
Suspected drugs found at rapper DMX’s home
Phoenix – Deputies searching the home of rapper DMX during an investigation into claims of animal cruelty found about a half-pound of suspected illegal narcotics, the Maricopa County sheriff said Saturday.
No charges have been filed or arrests made. Sheriff Joe Arpaio said the investigation into alleged animal cruelty was ongoing, and the suspected drugs were being tested to confirm their content.
Friday’s search was prompted by reports that pit bulls kept by the rapper at the home in rural north Phoenix were not being given enough food or water. A dozen pit bulls were seized, the bodies of three dogs were dug up in the yard and a variety of assault-style weapons were taken from the home, Sheriff Joe Arpaio said.
DMX, whose real name is Earl Simmons, was not at home and his lawyer said he hasn’t been there for two months.
Arpaio said there was no indication the dogs were used in fights.
Man forged cash to buy lap dances, officials say
Smyrna, Tenn – A man who authorities say used his computer to make fake $100 bills to buy lap dances at a strip club has pleaded guilty to counterfeiting charges, federal prosecutors said.
Strippers at Deja Vu in Nashville were suspicious of the bills and called police after Damon Armagost spent $600 of the fake money, authorities said. When officers arrived, Armagost first told them he got the money when he sold gold coins for $1,400 to an unidentified person.
U.S. Secret Service agents later determined that counterfeit bills with the same serial number had been passed in other parts of the country.
Armagost later acknowledged that he had downloaded the image from the Internet and printed 14 of the bills, prosecutors said. He pleaded guilty Friday to manufacturing and passing counterfeit currency and has a sentencing date of Nov. 5.
