The Nation in Brief

A tractor-trailer crashed into a home on South Avenue in Mariners Harbor, N.Y. on Monday. The Fire Department of New York says one civilian and one firefighter were treated for non-life-threatening injuries after the crash in the Mariners Ha bor neighborhood on Staten Island.
A tractor-trailer crashed into a home on South Avenue in Mariners Harbor, N.Y. on Monday. The Fire Department of New York says one civilian and one firefighter were treated for non-life-threatening injuries after the crash in the Mariners Ha bor neighborhood on Staten Island.

Border officer knew victims, lawmen say

LAREDO, Texas -- A U.S. Border Patrol supervisor charged in the killings of four women knew the victims and targeted them for their vulnerability, authorities said Monday.

Though investigators didn't detail Juan David Ortiz's history with the women, who were believed to have been prostitutes, they said he knew them before killing them and leaving their bodies by rural Texas roadsides during a 10-day string of violence.

"He had the trust of most of the victims that were involved in this killing," said Chief Deputy Federico Garza of the Webb County sheriff's office. "So he took that opportunity to commit this crime."

Court affidavits said that Ortiz, 35, "provided a voluntary verbal confession" early Saturday in the deaths of the women. Ortiz was arrested a day after being found hiding in a truck in a hotel parking lot in Laredo.

Investigators were led to Ortiz when Erika Pena told police that she struggled with Ortiz, who pointed a pistol at her, in his truck. She fled and made it to a gas station where she found a state trooper and asked for help.

Garza said investigators are scouring Ortiz's history to determine if he could be linked to any other crimes.

Ortiz is being held on four counts of murder in the deaths, as well as aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and unlawful restraint.

Kansas deputy, killer dead, sheriff says

WICHITA, Kan. -- A man with a history of drug convictions fatally shot a Kansas sheriff's deputy as the deputy tried to handcuff the man on suspicion of vehicle theft, the sheriff's department said Monday.

The Sedgwick County sheriff's office identified 29-year-old Robert Greeson as the suspect in the killing of Deputy Robert Kunze, who died at a hospital after the shooting Sunday afternoon just outside Wichita. Greeson also died at the scene.

Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter said Kunze was responding to a report about a man in a stolen black truck who was lurking around two all-terrain vehicles and another pickup about 20 miles west of downtown Wichita. When Kunze arrived, he found the hood open on the black truck. Kunze patted down the suspect's waistband and found a .40-caliber handgun.

A fight ensued when Kunze tried to handcuff the suspect, Easter said Sunday.

Kunze was able to use the emergency button on his portable radio to summon help. Another deputy arrived about a minute later. The deputy found Kunze and the suspect on the ground. A .40-caliber handgun was found next to the suspect.

Storm delays U.S. cellphone alert test

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has postponed its first national test of a national wireless alert system that allows the president to send text messages directly to most U.S. mobile-phone users.

The delay to Oct. 3 from Sept. 20 is because of the ongoing response to Hurricane Florence in the South and eastern U.S.

The test will take place on its backup date, FEMA said. The message will be identified as a "Presidential Alert" and, according to FEMA, it will contain the text: "THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed." Carriers across the country will participate in the test, meaning that most -- but not all -- mobile users will receive the message with no ability to opt out, the agency said in a statement last week.

Testing will start at 2:18 p.m. Eastern time and last for about half an hour, FEMA said. It said cellphones should receive the message only once.

Gulf leak worse than thought, U.S. says

Federal government lawyers say a 14-year-old leak is releasing much more oil each day into the Gulf of Mexico than officials previously claimed.

A court filing in a case involving Taylor Energy Co. estimates that from 10,000 to 30,000 gallons daily is leaking from multiple wells around a drilling platform toppled by 2004's Hurricane Ivan.

That estimate is far above the 16,000 gallons of oil that the U.S. Coast Guard estimated in 2015 had been spotted in slicks over seven months.

Friday's filing by the government cites a report it commissioned from a scientist who has studied satellite images of persistent oil slicks and sampled floating oil at the site about 10 miles offshore. That report also suggests that while the amount of leaking oil decreased after some wells were plugged in 2011, the leak may be getting bigger again.

New Orleans-based Taylor said only 2 to 3 gallons was leaking daily out of mud on the seafloor.

-- Compiled by Democrat-Gazette staff from wire reports.

photo

AP/Standard-Examiner/BENJAMIN ZACK

Students are evacuated from Weber High School in Pleasant View, Utah, after several students became ill and an unknown odor was reported on Monday.

A Section on 09/18/2018

Upcoming Events