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Police identify people in East Seneca Turnpike crash that flipped car on its roof

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At about 8:20 a.m. 22-year-old Analeza Jasper was driving a green Ford Fiestsa with a 16-month-old baby in a car seat in the back.

NYSYR-20140724-091404-r_2.JPGView full sizeDriver's side damage due to a rollover crash on East Seneca Turnpike 

ONONDAGA, N.Y. -- A vehicle that passed a stopped car on the shoulder crashed into another car, causing it to overturn Thursday morning, the Onondaga County Sheriff's Office said.

At about 8:20 a.m. 22-year-old Analeza Jasper was driving a green Ford Fiestsa with a 16-month-old baby in a car seat in the back.

Jasper, of Jamesville, started to turn west onto East Seneca Turnpike after she was waved onto the road by a driver stopped in the eastbound lane of the turnpike, the sheriff's office said.

As the Fiesta was turning west it was hit by another vehicle that was going east on the turnpike after it had passed the stopped car on the right shoulder of the road. The crash occurred near East Seneca Turnpike and Southwood Heights Drive.

The force of the crash caused the Fiesta to overturn.

The sheriff's office said the driver who passed on the shoulder was 21-year-old Jorden Arsenault, of Syracuse. She was ticketed with driving on the shoulder of the roadway and unlawful possession of marijuana.

Jasper is being treated at a hospital for back and head injuries. The sheriff's office said her injuries appear to be non life-threatening. The 16-month-old and Arsenault were evaluated and released from the hospital without suffering injuries.



Dad's angry tweet gets family removed from Southwest Airlines flight

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Duff Watson was entitled to priority boarding, but the Southwest gate agent told him his children couldn't board with him.

Duff_Watson.JPGDuff Watson 

A Minnesota man has vowed that he will not fly Southwest Airlines again after he and his family were removed from a flight over a critical tweet he sent about a gate agent.

Duff Watson was flying to Minneapolis from Denver on Sunday with his six- and nine-year-old children. Watson was an "A-list" customer, meaning he gets priority boarding on Southwest flights, but the gate agent refused to let his children board with him, Fox News reported.

"I am not trying to game the system," Watson told ABC News in an interview. "I'm not going to leave my kids alone to board. That doesn't make sense."

Before finally boarding the flight, he told the agent, "Real nice way to treat an A-list. I'll be sure to tweet about."

Once on the flight, Watson tweeted, "RUDEST AGENT IN DENVER. KIMBERLY S. GATE C39. NOT HAPPY @SWA," according to the Dallas News.

Shortly after sending the tweet Watson heard an announcement on the loudspeaker asking him and his family to gather their things and exit the aircraft.

The same gate agent approached him and said she felt "threatened because he used her name on social media, and that unless he deleted his post, she was calling the cops and the family would not be allowed back on the plane," according to the Dallas News.

Watson deleted the tweet and his family was allowed to reboard and continue the flight, but he followed it up with another tweet: "Unreal exp. Awaiting resp. from airline. Asked for name of rude gate agent. We board. I tweet. Kids & I pulled off unless I delete. AYKM?"

The story attracted national attention, and Southwest Airlines addressed the incident on Twitter:

The airline included a link in the tweet to its official statement about the incident, which read:

"We've apologized and our Company and Employees are ready to move forward serving more than a hundred million Customers annually. Southwest Airlines appreciates and is active in social media, and it is not our intent to stifle Customer feedback."

Southwest added that it was "thoroughly investigating the situation."

Watson and his children each received an apologetic $50 voucher from the airline, but he said he would never fly Southwest again.

Watson's experience is the latest evidence that Twitter and airlines may not mix very well.

In April, a Dutch teen was arrested after tweeting a "joke" bomb threat at American Airlines. Just a few days later, Delta Airlines was blasted for "accidentally" sharing pornographic image on its Twitter feed.

In June, Delta again stirred some controversy over a tweet about the FIFA World Cup. Twitter users saw the airline's use of a giraffe to represent the country Ghana as racist because giraffes do not live in Ghana.

Watch ABC News' report on Watson's experience with Southwest, and leave a comment below.


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Syracuse.com reporter John O'Brien to discuss new evidence in Heidi Allen case on TV

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O'Brien will talk about the 1994 kidnapping case at 5:40 p.m. today on CNY Central and at 6:15 p.m. on WTVH-TV.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Syracuse.com reporter John O'Brien will discuss his investigation of new evidence in the 1994 Heidi Allen kidnapping case at 5:40 p.m. today on CNY Central (TV Channel 3).

The program will also air at 6:15 p.m. on WTVH-TV (Channel 5).

TV anchors Matt Mulcahy and Megan Coleman will interview O'Brien on CNY Central. Anchor Michael Benny will interview him on WTVH.

O'Brien published a series of stories today that detailed how a new witness has told police that an Oswego County man confessed to her that he kidnapped and killed Allen with two other men. A second witness said the alleged confessor, James Steen, also confessed to her he helped dispose of Allen's body.

Gary Thibodeau, who is serving a 25 years to life prison term for abducting Allen, was not one of the three implicated.

Contact Mike McAndrew anytime at mmcandrew@syracuse.com, at 315-470-3016 or on Twitter.

Father 'very disappointed' that man who assaulted homeless daughter not charged in her death

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Glenn Carey, the father of a homeless woman who died in 2012, wanted stiffer punishment for a man who admitted assaulting her the day she died.

2012-09-23-Michelle Noce.JPGView full sizePhoto of Michelle Noce 

Syracuse, NY -- The father of a homeless woman who died after being attacked in 2012 is "very disappointed" that a man who admitted assaulting her won't be charged with killing her.

Michelle Carey Noce
, 42, died of a head injury on Sept. 22, 2012 after being found unconscious and rushed to Upstate University Hospital.

Chad Balitz, 26, pleaded guilty to assaulting her the same day, but was not charged in her death. A grand jury determined that Balitz was not responsible for her fatal injuries.

That means that authorities may never know if Noce's death was a homicide or if she died from some other injury while on the streets.

Two witnesses saw the assault at the corner of North Franklin Street and Herald Place, said her father, Glenn Carey.

Balitz admitted to pushing Noce, but it wasn't clear what injuries she suffered from the assault.

"Noce "was definitely up and about after the altercation," Sgt. Tom Connellan said on Sept. 23, 2012. "We don't know if something else happened to her after that. She could have fallen... we just don't know."

Balitz is facing up to a year in jail for misdemeanor assault will be sentenced April 7.

But Carey, of Chittenango, said he believes Balitz should bear more responsibility for his daughter's death.

"I don't see this as being justice at all," the father said. "I spent the last three hours with her. She never regained consciousness. The right side of head was caved in."

An autopsy showed that the bleeding in her brain started four days before her death. She was involved in an altercation that day, too, her father said. And she was routinely beat up by the homeless men who lived nearby under the I-690 bridge downtown.

Carey credited authorities for not giving up, despite expressing shock at the outcome.

"They've been investigating this for two years and this is the best they came up with," he said. "They couldn't say the final blow to the head is what killed her."

John Tumino, who befriended Noce, said Balitz's assault was only the last of repeated beatings from other homeless.

"They're always getting head trauma attacks," said Tumino, who said only the strongest survive in the world of the homeless. "This could have been the last straw. She used to be beat up all the time. It's not uncommon for women to be attacked."

Tumino, who left as cook at the popular Asti Caffe to start a charity "In My Father's Kitchen" to feed the homeless, said people like Noce have nowhere to turn.

"You're dealing with a woman that society doesn't want to look at." he said.

Tumino heard that Noce may have been beaten twice the day of her death. And her aunt, April Hart, said Noce was beaten with a cane during an attack two days before.

Hart wants police to find out who else attacked her niece.

But Carey said he knows of no others under investigation in his daughter's death. At this point, authorities may never determine exactly who -- or what -- caused Noce's death.

All the father has to hold on to is the one person who admitted assaulting his daughter.

"She was alive until she suffered this assault," Carey said. "She was still alive and standing when this happened. She died the same day."

 

Man accused of leaving 83-year-old mom in woods: I didn't do it, I love my mom

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Tomas Zavalidroga, in an exclusive interview from Madison County jail, says his mom was kidnapped. "I just want to hug her, and bring her home."

A man charged with abandoning his 83-year-old mother in woods in Madison County said Thursday that he loves his mother and that it was "completely inconceivable" that he would do such an awful thing to her.

Tomas "Tom" Zavalidroga in a 90-minute jailhouse interview with Syracuse.com talked about how much he loves his mother, wants to see her and how he had absolutely nothing to do with leaving her in the woods.

"I love my mother deeply,'' he said. "I love her and she loves me. I just want to hug her, and bring her home."

Tomas Zavalidroga, 53, has been charged with second-degree reckless endangerment and third-degree falsely reporting an incident in connection with his mother's disappearance. He's being held in the Madison County Public Safety Building jail on $5,000 bail.

Police say he led his mother, Margaret Zavalidroga, into the woods in Oneida and left her there, then filed a false missing persons report. Tomas Zavalidroga reported her missing Friday evening; rescue workers found her Monday evening, not far from where he reported her missing.

Tomas Zavalidroga, dressed in an orange jumpsuit with his feet in orange sandals, sat at a table with a wooden divide in a small room to talk to a Syracuse.com reporter Thursday. He was animated in adamantly denying any role in what happened to his mother.

He said his mother was kidnapped because of lawsuits the pair filed against police and local authorities. He said he is being framed and is innocent.

"I don't believe she actually said I did it, and if she did she had to have been drugged and brainwashed," he said.

Zavalidroga home.JPGTomas Zavalidroga and his mother Margaret lived at 3267 Forward Road, Blossvale, Oneida County, pictured above. It is about 20 miles north of where the mom was found abandoned in Oneida, Madison County. The Blossvale property includes two houses, two sheds and a collapsed building. Several car parts, electronics and household items fill the home's yard along Forward Road, before it turns into an unmaintained dirt path that runs along Cold Brook. 

Why would police arrest him if she didn't tell them he left her in the woods? His explanation is that she was medicated and weak when she was found.

"If someone is in a compromised position and you keep repeating my name, then she's going to say my name," he said.

Oneida City Police Chief David Meeker said there is no evidence she was drugged, and she is in a hospital in good condition. Adult protective services is there, along with relatives, he said.

Asked if he can confirm that Margaret Zavalidroga named her son as the one who left her, Meeker declined comment because the case is still an open investigation.

Tomas Zavalidroga and his mother, who both live at 3267 Forward Road, Blossvale - have filed numerous lawsuits against state and federal authorities in the past decade. They had just appealed the dismissal of a lawsuit against the Oneida Sheriff's Department and others on Thursday. He said her kidnapping is related to the appeal. He doesn't know who might have done it.

Tomas Zavalidroga said Thursday that he just wants to see his mother.

"Somebody did something to her, and I know she is deeply affected by it," he said. "I want her to know I'm with her now, and I'll help her get home."

He said he knows there is an order of protection barring him from contacting her, but thinks it's ridiculous.

"A judge can't separate me from my mom,'' he said. "The mother/child bond is stronger than a judge's order."

He says he's trying to contact a lawyer he knows to lift the order when he makes bail, which he says he can do if he's allowed to make some calls and sell his tractor. He also says he's waiting for a court-appointed lawyer.

Tomas Zavalidroga says he doesn't know where his mother is now. She hasn't called him or visited him in jail, and he says that's because she's being prevented from doing so. Meeker says it's her choice if she contacts him or not.

If she visits him, Tomas Zavalidroga said he'll ask her "what happened? Where were you?"

He says his mother has no life insurance, and he has no motive - financial or otherwise - to harm her.

He says she wouldn't return to their home in Oneida County without him.

"I take care of all her needs,'' he said. "She's a very happy person, and I take good care of her, and keep her active. She's a homebody, so what she'd want now is to be at her house with her son."

His brother Jon lives on the Blossvale property, but is "very reclusive" and doesn't bother much with him or their mother, Tomas Zavalidroga said.

He has another older brother, Victor, who lives in Utica, but he isn't close to either of his siblings. He says it is "inexplicable" why neither of them have come to see him or paid his bail

Tomas Zavalidroga says his mother "met with foul play'' while she was sitting inside a van Friday outside the home of two of his friends, John and Nancy Klish. His mother was waiting there, he said, while he and John Klish picked up a vehicle with a trailer. She was reclining in her seat when he told her to "stay put - I'll be quick."

Zavalidroga says that's the last he saw of her, and was frantic when he returned and she was gone. He was shouting and looking for her, the Klishes said.

klish home.JPGJohn Klish, who lives with his wife Nancy at their home on Genesee Street / Route 5 in Oneida, said after he helped Tomas Zavalidroga pick up a van a couple miles away Friday afternoon, the man began to act strangely. 

He said he looked for her over the weekend, knocking on neighbors' doors near where she disappeared. When he tried to join the search party on Monday, they refused to let him, he said.

Late afternoon on Monday, Tomas Zavalidroga was in Oneida when he said he heard a fire truck go by and thought maybe they'd found her, so he rushed to the scene. He said police wouldn't let him see her.

Police say she was found in a heavily wooded area, but Tomas Zavalidroga says those facts don't add up.

"She would have been severely bug-bitten if she'd been in the woods for four days,'' he said. "And how could she have survived in the woods all that time with no water or sustenance. She would have been in critical condition, not in good condition like they said she was."

Zavalidroga says when they found his mother, he thought police were taking him to the hospital to see her. Instead, they took him to the police station. He said he told them he was innocent.

"The whole thing is ridiculous,'' he said. "I'm completely on the level and I don't play games."

The pair often discussed the fact that their lawsuits had made them enemies, and he said his mother had received telephone threats in the past.

Tomas Zavalidroga knows people will say he's "crazy," but he says he's not.

"There's no craziness in anything I say,'' he said. "I'm very meticulous in what I do. I'm a very honest person, and I would never cheat anybody. I'm very particular about giving facts when it counts. It's a sacrilege to me that I would attempt to disseminate something that isn't a fact.

"I'm the antithesis of someone who is crazy,'' he said.

1 dead, 2 hurt in shooting at Mercy Hospital in Darby, PA

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A gunman opened fire at hospital near Philadelphia leaving one dead.

DARBY, Pa. -- A shooting at a suburban Philadelphia hospital campus has killed one worker and injured two other people.

Prosecutor Jack Whelan says one of the injured is the gunman.

The Yeadon police department says the shooting happened Thursday afternoon at Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital in Darby, a few miles southwest of downtown Philadelphia.

The department says a suspect is in custody but it doesn't have any more information because all its officers are at the scene.

A hospital spokeswoman says the shooting was reported at its wellness center, which is attached to the hospital by a pedestrian bridge.

The 213-bed teaching hospital is part of the Mercy Health System, a large Catholic health care network serving the region.

Richard Thibodeau: Witness in Heidi Allen kidnapping case should come clean with investigators (video)

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New witness' information could lead investigators to Allen's body, free Gary Thibodeau, his brother says.

OSWEGO, N.Y. -- Richard Thibodeau has a request of the woman who admitted in a secretly recorded phone call that kidnapping victim Heidi Allen was brought to her home by three men in a van 20 years ago.

Do the right thing, Thibodeau said he would tell Jennifer Wescott. It could help police locate Allen's body, and free an innocent man from prison, Thibodeau said.

Thibodeau's brother, Gary, has been imprisoned for 20 years for kidnapping Allen, a crime he says he did not commit.

In the recording, Thibodeau is not one of the men identified as Allen's abductor by Wescott and her friend.

"Be truthful about this whole deal," Thibodeau said after a Syracuse.com reporter played the 15-minute recording of Wescott's conversation last year with her friend, Tonya Priest. "That's what I would say to her. Ease your mind. Are you going to live with this the rest of your life?"

Jennifer Wescott.JPGView full sizeJennifer Wescott

Thibodeau said he hopes Wescott reveals to investigators what she knows about Allen's kidnapping from D&W Convenience Store on Easter morning 1994.

"Be truthful," he said. "Get it off your mind and then maybe they can get Heidi Allen home, and we can get Gary home."

Listen to the phone call

Gary Thibodeau was convicted by an Oswego County jury in 1995 of kidnapping and presumably killing Allen. He is serving a prison sentence of 25 years to life.

Federal Public Defender Lisa Peebles said she plans to use the phone call recording and other new evidence to try to get Gary Thibodeau's conviction overturned. She intends to file a motion in Oswego County Court next week.

Richard Thibodeau was also charged in Allen's disappearance, but a separate jury acquitted him of all charges.

The recorded phone call was arranged by Oswego County sheriff's deputies after Priest told them that Wescott had admitted her then-boyfriend, Roger Breckenridge, and two other men brought Allen to Wescott's home on Rice Road in Mexico in 1994.

The sheriff's office and the Oswego County District Attorney's Office investigated Priest's allegations last year, but determined she was not credible, according to Sheriff Reuel Todd.

Thibodeau said he hopes they take another look.

"I'm a firm believer that they know they got the wrong people and they don't want to admit to it," he said. "They don't want to admit their screw-up."

Contact John O'Brien at jobrien@syracuse.com or 315-470-2187.

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Which city pays workers more, Auburn or Syracuse? It depends on the uniform

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"What They Make'' is an analysis of municipal payroll data from around the state.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The average pay for police and fire department employees in Syracuse was $83,882 last year, the highest of any city in Central New York, according to an analysis of public payrolls released today by the Empire Center for Public Policy.

Fulton was a close second at $81,839, according to the report, "What They Make." (See full report below.) Auburn, Cortland, Oneida and Oswego all paid less during the 2013-14 fiscal year covered by the analysis, ending March 31, 2014.

Non-uniformed employees in Syracuse, however, are not the highest paid city workers in Central New York.

The 156 general employees in Auburn earned an average of $44,302 last year, compared with an average pay of $40,087 for Syracuse's 942 employees. Fulton also paid more than Syracuse, at an average of $40,462.

The Empire Center, an independent think tank based in Albany, compiles "What They Make'' each year based on payroll data supplied to the state by municipalities. Employee compensation is typically the biggest cost facing municipal governments.

The highest paid public employee in Central New York during the past year was David W. Murphy, senior vice president at Onondaga Community College, who earned $195,462 during the 2013-14 fiscal year, according to the report.

Former Onondaga County Health Commissioner Cynthia Morrow, who resigned in April, was the fourth highest earner in Central New York with a salary of $172,453. District Attorney William FitzPatrick ranked sixth in the region at $160,000.

Two Syracuse police officers and a city firefighter also ranked in the top 10 for Central New York. Police Capt. David Mirizio was fifth highest at $161,972; police Sgt. Gary Bulinski was seventh with $156,213; and Deputy Fire Chief William Mitson was eighth with $152,189.

Municipal employees in Central New York tend to make more than their counterparts in the Capital District but less than public employees in Western New York, which includes Buffalo, and the Finger Lakes region, which includes Rochester, the report said.

Public employees in Central New York typically earn less than the statewide average, largely because wage scales in Downstate areas are much higher.

Contact Tim Knauss anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-470-3023

What They Make 2013-14


Syracuse police respond to 'bomb' taped to window; it's a fake, officers say

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Device taped to window of business was fake, police say.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Police scrambled to a call of a bomb taped to the window of a downtown building Thursday afternoon only to find it was a fake.

The fake bomb was taped to a door window at Panini's at 220 Harrison Street. Police said someone walked up, taped the device to the door and walked away. A store employee said the fake bomb looked like it was made of fire crackers and batteries among other things.

Police blocked off Harrison Street for about 20 minutes while they investigated.

The device has been removed, though Panini's was closed Thursday after the incident.

Police said they are working to find out who taped the fake bomb to the door.


Gas leak closes East Genesee Street during rush hour

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National Grid is working to reopen the roadway.

Syracuse, NY -- A gas leak has closed East Genesee Street during rush hour.

A 2006 Chevrolet Uplander crashed into a natural gas release valve around 3:10 p.m. on Pine Street, causing authorities to close off the intersection with East Genesee Street.

Pine Street is closed between East Fayette and East Genesee, and East Genesee is closed between Comstock Avenue and South Beech Street.

It's not clear why the van left the road going southbound, said Sgt. Gary Bulinski. The 43-year-old driver was not injured.

National Grid crews are at the scene. Everyone is asked to avoid the area.

 

Police charge 19-year-old with stealing car, leading police on chase that ended with crash

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Manlius police tried pulling Solomon M. Ochieng over around 3:35 a.m. Thursday, but Ochieng drove off, state police said.

MANLIUS, N.Y. -- A man who stole a car and led authorities on chases that ended with a trooper being injured now faces multiple charges, the New York State Police said.

Solomon M. Ochieng,19, of Wheaton Road, Syracuse, was charged with third-degree unlawful fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle, third-degree criminal possession of stolen property, first-degree reckless endangerment, reckless driving and several vehicle and traffic violations.

State police initially said Ochieng was facing drunken driving charges, but he was not charged with driving while intoxicated as of Thursday evening.

Manlius police tried pulling Ochieng over around 3:35 a.m. Thursday, but Ochieng drove off, state police said. Ochieng eluded Manlius police, prompting state police to get involved in the pursuit.

At around 4:27 a.m., Ochieng's car was spotted by state troopers on Oran Delphi Road, near U.S. Route 20, causing the second police chase.

Ochieng fled police in the 2012 Toyota Camry he was driving. He turned onto state Route 92 heading northwest toward the village of Manlius, crossing double-yellow lines at speeds in excess of 95 mph, state police said.

About five minutes later, at 4:32 a.m. Ochieng crashed into the back of state police Sgt. Scott Kedenburg's unmarked car. Kedenburg was not involved in the pursuit. The crash sent Kedenburg's vehicle spinning 100 yards. The Toyota veered off the street before coming to rest upside down.

Both Ochieng and Kedenburg were taken to the hospital with minor injuries and released.


Syracuse mom avoids homicide charges in baby daughter's beating death: Onondaga County indictments

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Indictments released July 24.

Nataliah_Trumble.JPG5-month-old baby Nataliah Trumble was beaten to death, but a grand jury did not charge her mother with killing her. 

Syracuse, NY -- A Syracuse mother accused of shaking her baby was not indicted for causing the 5-month-old's death.

Wanda Trumble, 20, was indicted on felony reckless assault of a child and misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child for her actions before Nataliah Trumble's death last November.

But she won't face homicide charges for causing Nataliah's brain injuries that led to her death Nov. 9, an Onondaga County grand jury decided.

That means that no one has been charged with beating the baby to death.

An autopsy showed that the baby died from "acute blunt force trauma" within 24 hours before her death. Trumble had admitted shaking Nataliah several days before her death, but not to injuring the baby within a day before, according to court documents.

Syracuse police suspected Trumble killed her daughter based on testimony from an Upstate University Hospital brain doctor, who called it the worst damage he'd ever seen to a child's brain. The neurosurgeon told police the injury had taken place "four to five days" before the baby's death.

wanda trumble.jpegWanda Trumble appears in County Court with her lawyer, Ed Klein. 

But the autopsy overruled the doctor's estimation, saying the injuries occurred within a day before.

That meant that others besides Trumble -- including the baby's father, Joseph Molina -- were around Nataliah at the time she sustained the injuries.

Molina has not been charged. He defended his innocence in an interview last year with Syracuse.com.

Molina said he went to put Nataliah down for her hourly feeding Nov. 8 when he noticed discoloration on the baby's face. Molina said he was with Nataliah when she stopped breathing.

"I was holding her in my hands when she passed," he said. "I never lost a kid before. Never."

Trumble's family has claimed that Molina caused the baby's injuries and convinced Wanda Trumble to take the blame.

The following other people were also indicted by Onondaga County grand juries in cases reported July 24. All charges are felonies, unless otherwise noted:

Antonio Ceballos, 52, of 208 Fitch St., Syracuse: Charged with assault, criminal contempt and criminal possession of a weapon (two counts, one of them misdemeanor). Arrested May 21 in Syracuse.

Johnell Curry, 22, of 108 Linwill Terrace, Syracuse: Charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance (two counts). Arrested May 27 in Syracuse.

Verna Davis, 65, of 677 W. Onondaga St., Syracuse: Assault and criminal possession of a weapon. Arrested Sept. 1, 2013 in Syracuse.

Veline Hicks, 40, of 1606 Lodi St., Syracuse: Charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance (three counts, one of them misdemeanor), fleeing a police officer (misdemeanor), reckless endangerment (misdemeanor), resisting arrest (misdemeanor), criminal using drug paraphernalia (misdemeanor, two counts) and unlawful marijuana possession (violation). Arrested May 15 in Syracuse.

Cedric Hudson, 28, of 209 Gere Ave., Syracuse: Charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance (two counts, one of them misdemeanor), resisting arrest (misdemeanor) and unlawful marijuana possession (violation). Arrested May 21 in Syracuse.

Alexander Jenkins, 29, of 333 E. Glen St., Syracuse: Charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance. Arrested May 28 in Syracuse.

Patrick Kelley, 56, of 159 Kappesser St., Syracuse: Charged with murder and arson (two counts). Arrested June 20 in Syracuse.

Alberto E. Morales, 18, of 339 Hawley Ave., Upstairs, Syracuse: Charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance (two counts), criminal possession of a controlled substance (three counts) and possession of a forged instrument (20 counts). Arrested May 13 in Syracuse.

Alberto J. Morales, 18, of 339 Hawley Ave., Upstairs, Syracuse: Charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance and criminal possession of a controlled substance (three counts). Arrested May 13 in Syracuse.

Andrews Pfau, 32, of 908 Westcott St., Syracuse: Charged with aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle (four counts, two of them misdemeanor), driving while intoxicated (misdemeanor, two counts), operating a motor vehicle with 0.08 blood-alcohol content or above (misdemeanor), speeding (violation) and failure to keep right (violation). Arrested Dec. 25 in Syracuse and Jan. 20 in Salina.

Jose Rodriguez, 28, of 402 Dudley St., Syracuse: Charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance. Arrested June 4 in Syracuse.

Vincent Saccocci, 21, of 4014 Cook Farm Road, Jamesville: Charged with burglary and petit larceny (misdemeanor). Arrested April 15 in Syracuse.

Charles Silvestre, 41, of 337 Village Drive, Apt. 2, Syracuse: Charged with burglary and petit larceny (misdemeanor). Arrested April 15 in Syracuse.

Jan Valerio
, 19, of 337 Wadsworth St., Syracuse: Charged with criminal sale of a controlled substance and criminal possession of a controlled substance (three counts). Arrested May 13 in Syracuse.

Wreckage of missing Air Algerie jetliner found in Mali; 116 were on board

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It's the third major international aviation disaster in a week

OUAGADOUGO, Burkina Faso (AP) -- An Air Algerie jetliner carrying 116 people crashed Thursday in a rainstorm over restive Mali, and its wreckage was found near the border of neighboring Burkina Faso -- the third major international aviation disaster in a week.

The plane, owned by Spanish company Swiftair and leased by Algeria's flagship carrier, disappeared from radar screens less than an hour after takeoff, en route from Burkina Faso's capital of Ouagadougou to Algiers.

French fighter jets, U.N. peacekeepers and others hunted for signs of wreckage of the MD-83 plane in the remote region, where scattered separatist violence may hamper an eventual investigation into what happened.

The wreckage was found about 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the border of Burkina Faso near the village of Boulikessi in Mali, a Burkina Faso presidential aide said.

"We sent men with the agreement of the Mali government to the site and they found the wreckage of the plane with the help of the inhabitants of the area," said Gen. Gilbert Diendere, a close aide to Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore and head of the crisis committee set up to investigate the flight.

"They found human remains and the wreckage of the plane totally burnt and scattered," he said.

He told The Associated Press that rescuers went to the area after they had heard from a resident that he saw the plane go down 80 kilometers (50 miles) southwest of Malian town of Gossi. Burkina Faso's government spokesman said the country will observe 48 hours of mourning.

Malian state television also said the wreckage was found in the village of Boulikessi and was found by a helicopter from Burkina Faso. Algeria's transport minister also said the plane's remains had apparently been found. French officials could not confirm the discovery late Thursday night.

"We found the plane by accident" near Boulikessi, said Sidi Ould Brahim, a Tuareg separatist who travelled Thursday from Mali to a refugee camp for Malians in Burkina Faso. "The plane was burned, there were traces of rain on the plane, and bodies were torn apart," he told The Associated Press.

Families from France to Canada and beyond had been waiting anxiously for signs of Flight 5017 and their loved ones aboard. Nearly half of the passengers were French, many en route home from Africa.

"Everything allows us to believe this plane crashed in Mali," French President Francois Hollande said Thursday night after an emergency meeting in Paris. He said the crew changed its flight path because of "particularly difficult weather conditions."

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, his face drawn and voice somber, told reporters, "If this catastrophe is confirmed, it would be a major tragedy that hits our entire nation, and many others."

Before vanishing, the pilots sent a final message to ask Niger air control to change its route because of heavy rain, Burkina Faso Transport Minister Jean Bertin Ouedraogo said.

French forces, who have been in Mali since January 2013 to rout al-Qaida-linked extremists who had controlled the north, searched for the plane, alongside the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali, known as MINUSMA.

Algerian Transport Minister Omar Ghoul, whose country's planes were also searching for wreckage, described it as a "serious and delicate affair."

The vast deserts and mountains of northern Mali fell under control of ethnic Tuareg separatists and then al-Qaida-linked Islamic extremists after a military coup in 2012.

The French-led intervention scattered the extremists, but the Tuaregs have pushed back against the authority of the Bamako-based government. Meanwhile, the threat from Islamic militants hasn't disappeared, and France is giving its troops a new and larger anti-terrorist mission across the region.

A senior French official said it seems unlikely that fighters in Mali had the kind of weaponry that could shoot down a jetliner at cruising altitude. While al-Qaida's North Africa branch is believed to have an SA-7 surface-to-air missile, also known as MANPADS, most airliners would normally fly out of range of these shoulder-fired weapons. They can hit targets flying up to roughly 12,000-15,000 feet.

The disappearance of the Air Algerie plane comes after a series of aviation disasters.

Fliers around the globe have been on edge ever since Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared in March on its way to Beijing. Searchers have yet to find a single piece of wreckage from the jet with 239 people on board.

Last week, a Malaysia Airlines flight was shot down while flying over a war-torn section of Ukraine, and the U.S. has blamed it on separatists firing a surface-to-air missile.

Earlier this week, U.S. and European airlines started canceling flights to Tel Aviv after a rocket landed near the city's airport. Finally, on Wednesday, a Taiwanese plane crashed during a storm, killing 48 people.

It's easy to see why fliers are jittery, but air travel is relatively safe.

There have been two deaths for every 100 million passengers on commercial flights in the last decade, excluding acts of terrorism. Travelers are much more likely to die driving to the airport than stepping on a plane. There are more than 30,000 motor-vehicle deaths in the U.S. each year, a mortality rate eight times greater than that in planes.

Swiftair, a private Spanish airline, said the plane was carrying 110 passengers and six crew, and left Burkina Faso for Algiers at 0117 GMT Thursday (9:17 p.m. EDT Wednesday), but had not arrived at the scheduled time of 0510 GMT (1:10 a.m. EDT Thursday). It said the crew included two pilots and four flight attendants.

The passengers include 51 French, 27 Burkina Faso nationals, eight Lebanese, six Algerians, five Canadians, four Germans, two Luxembourg nationals, one Swiss, one Belgian, one Egyptian, one Ukrainian, one Nigerian, one Cameroonian and one Malian, Ouedraogo said. The six crew members are Spanish, according to the Spanish pilots' union.

Swiftair said the plane was built in 1996 and has two Pratt & Whitney JT8D-219 PW engines.

Swiftair took ownership of the plane on Oct. 24, 2012, after it spent nearly 10 months unused in storage, according to Flightglobal's Ascend Online Fleets, which sells and tracks information about aircraft. It has more than 37,800 hours of flight time and has made more than 32,100 takeoffs and landings.

If confirmed as a crash, this would be the fifth one -- and the second with fatalities -- for Swiftair since its founding in 1986, according to the Flight Safety Foundation.

The MD-83 is part of a series of jets built since the early 1980s by McDonnell Douglas, a U.S. company now owned by Boeing Co. The MD-80s are single-aisle planes that were a workhorse of the airline industry for short- and medium-range flights for nearly two decades. As jet fuel prices spiked in recent years, airlines have rapidly being replacing the jets with newer, fuel-efficient models such as Boeing 737s and Airbus A320s.

There are 496 other MD-80s being flown, according to Ascend.

Boeing spokesman Wilson Chow said the company was aware of the reports on the plane and was "gathering more information."

Car crashes into building in downtown Syracuse during rush hour

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Syracuse police and firefighters responded to the scene, but there were no reports of life-threatening injuries.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A car crashed into the Galleries Mall building on South Warren Street Thursday morning in downtown Syracuse.

The crash occurred just after 9 a.m. on South Warren Street between East Jefferson and East Onondaga streets. A Subaru Forester crashed into the building.

Syracuse police and firefighters responded to the scene, but there were no reports of life-threatening injuries.


Syracuse.com reporter John O'Brien talks about Heidi Allen case on TV (video)

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O'Brien discusses new evidence in the Heidi Allen disappearance on CNY Central

Syracuse.com reporter John O'Brien discussed his investigation of new evidence in the 1994 Heidi Allen kidnapping case Thursday night on CNY Central's WSTM-TV (Channel 3) and WTVH-TV (Channel 5).

The video below shows O'Brien's interview with Michael Benny that aired on WTVH.

O'Brien published a series of stories Thursday that detailed how a new witness has told police that an Oswego County man confessed to her that he kidnapped and killed Allen with two other men. A second witness said the alleged confessor, James Steen, also confessed to her he helped dispose of Allen's body.

Gary Thibodeau, who is serving a 25 years to life prison term for abducting Allen, was not one of the three implicated.

 

Hancock drone protesters arrested at base

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On Wednesday morning, eight Atlantic Life Community activists joined with Upstate Drone Action at the main gate of the base.

DeWitt, N.Y. -- Seven people were arrested Wednesday while protesting outside Hancock Air Base against the use of remotely piloted drones over Afghanistan.

On Wednesday morning, eight Atlantic Life Community activists joined with Upstate Drone Action at the main gate of the base, which is home to the 174th Attack Wing of the New York State Air National Guard.

The 174th pilots weaponized MQ9 Reaper drones.

Upstate Coalition to Ground the Drones and End the Wars said in a statement that the protesters delivered a "People's War Crimes Indictment" to the base's chain of command, affixing it to the base fence after being denied entrance. The group also delivered an "Order of Protection" on behalf of the children subjected to drone surveillance and attack.

Protesters blocked the entrance to the base and took up positions for a vigil. Seven of the eight protesters were arrested by the Onondaga County Sheriff's Office, the coalition said. Each person was charged with trespass.

Clare Grady and Martha Hennessy were also charged with violation of an order of protection. Liz McAlister and Erica Brock were additionally charged with disorderly conduct.

Clare Grady and Martha Hennessy are being held at the Onondaga County jail on $10,000 bail. Felton Davis, Erica Brock and Joan Pleune are all being held on $2,500 bail.

Wednesday's incident was part of a long string of run-ins between the air base and anti-drone protesters. Earlier in July, a grandmother of three was sentenced by DeWitt Town Justice David Gideon to one year in the county jail after she was found guilty of violating an order of protection while protesting at the base.

Anger and cheers for Syracuse mayor who would welcome migrant children awaiting deportation

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"These are not illegal immigrants,'' Mayor Stephanie Miner said. "They are refugees.''

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Mayor Stephanie Miner encountered waves of virulent anger as well as rousing applause -- and little in between -- as she held forth tonight during two hours of meetings about her support for a Syracuse center to house migrant children awaiting deportation.

About 300 people showed up for the mayor's 6 p.m. meeting at the Pastime Athletic Club, but a city fire marshal allowed only 150 inside, forcing an impromptu second meeting at 7 p.m. to accommodate the rest. Both sessions were standing room only.

Repeatedly, in response to written questions, Miner assured the crowds that if federal officials approve a Syracuse facility for children who have crossed the border illegally, the facility would not house criminals, gang members, sick children or the mentally ill.

But few audience members appeared open to persuasion. Some booed loudly and shouted objections. An equal number cheered in support of the mayor.

"The history is that there has never been an incident of violence at these facilities,'' Miner said, referring to the government's existing network of 100 centers for unaccompanied minors.

"That's not true!'' an audience member shouted.

In response to an audience member who questioned helping migrants who cross the border without authorization, Miner said, "These are not illegal immigrants, they are refugees.'' A loud chorus of groans and boos erupted.

Miner attracted national attention last week when she wrote to President Barack Obama and urged him to speed up approval of a temporary shelter in Syracuse at a 10-acre campus on the North Side that formerly housed Maria Regina College. A Washington Post reporter was among the media covering tonight's meeting.

During Miner's session with the first group of 150, she faced loud heckling, including some from residents of the working-class North Side who came to the meeting brimming with frustrations about crime, urban decay and falling property values.

Patricia Donovan, of North Alvord Street, a fifth-generation North Side resident, told Miner she was afraid that her already crime-plagued neighborhood would deteriorate further if the Maria Regina campus became a federal shelter.

"It is not fair. Put them somewhere else,'' Donovan said. "I can't deal with this crime anymore.''

Long-time community activist Howie Hawkins, who is running as the Green Party candidate for governor, said after the meeting that he thought opening a federal shelter might help the North Side by creating a few jobs and some economic activity at a vacant campus.

But he said the issue is tinged with fear, noting that several audience members raised concerns that teens crossing the border might be part of the violent international Mara Salvatrucha gang, or MS-13.

"There are some people on the North Side who are really scared,'' Hawkins said. "And I think they have misinformation, like they think all these MS-13 kids are going to take over the neighborhood. These kids aren't going to be running around the neighborhood. They're basically going to be on lockdown.''

The 7 p.m. session seemed to comprise many more supporters of Miner's position. Several comments and questions submitted to the mayor praised her for integrity and compassion. "Where were you people during the first meeting?" she joked.

News broke two weeks ago that federal officials were assessing the former Maria Regina College site as a potential shelter for some of the thousands of unaccompanied Central American children who have entered the country and are awaiting deportation hearings.

Last week, there were dueling demonstrations outside the North Side campus, where supporters and opponents stood across the street from each other waving signs.

The six-building Maria Regina complex at Court Street and Grant Boulevard, which is owned by the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities, has passed an initial assessment by officials from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the only one of six potential sites in New York state that passed the initial review, but no final decision has been made, Miner said.

The mayor said she does not expect any news about the Syracuse site, or any others, until Congress acts on Obama's request to fund the temporary shelters.

Contact Tim Knauss anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-470-3023

Weather: Sunny and warm Friday; Central New York will see rain later in weekend

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We can expect rain late Saturday and into Sunday as well. Friday looks to be nice.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- We can expect sunny and clear weather Friday in Central New York, with a slight breeze and temperatures possibly reaching above 80 degrees.

The National Weather Service said high pressure will stick with us until Saturday morning. A warm front pushing into the region will bring a chance for rain and thunderstorms late Saturday and into Sunday.

(View live radar map of New York state here.)

During the day Saturday, however, the weather will be partly sunny and mostly dry, Time Warner Cable News said. Highs will reach the low 80s on Saturday. Cooler temperatures will materialize early next week.

Temperatures will struggle to get out of the 70s.

Your Forecast

  • Friday: Sunny with west winds up to 10 mph. Clear in the evening. Highs near 80. Lows in the mid 50s.
  • Saturday: Partly sunny with a slight chance of rain during the day. South winds up to 15 mph. Rain and thunderstorms very likely in the evening. Highs in the low 80s. Lows in the mid 60s.
  • Sunday: Rain and thunderstorms very likely during the day and evening. Highs near 80. Lows in the mid 60s.
  • Monday: Rain and thunderstorms very likely during the day. Partly cloudy with rain possible in the evening. Highs in the mid 70s. Lows near 60.
  • Tuesday: Partly sunny with a chance of rain during the day. Clear in the evening. Highs in the low 70s. Lows in mid 50s.

You can also follow us on Facebook or visit http://www.syracuse.com/weather/ for more on the weather.

To send in weather info, or especially photos: Use the Twitter or Instagram hashtag: #cnyweather Also, please let us know where the images are located.

Heidi Allen case: From prison, Gary Thibodeau says, "I've been innocent since Day One"

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In a northern New York prison, he hears secretly recorded call that could set him free.

DANNEMORA, N.Y. -- An emaciated Gary Thibodeau scrunched over a digital recorder last week at Clinton Correctional Facility in northern New York.

He leaned in close, listening for the first time to a secretly recorded phone call that he hopes could lead to his release.

For 20 years, Thibodeau has proclaimed his innocence. He writes, "Gary the Innocent" in the return address on the envelopes of any letter he mails.

But this was the first time he'd heard anyone reveal knowledge of Allen's kidnappers, he said. It was a recording of a phone conversation, monitored by Oswego County sheriff's investigators, in which Jennifer Wescott said her then-boyfriend and two other men brought Allen to Wescott's home in 1994.

Listen to the phone call

0403 MISSING 01.JPGHeidi Allen, 18, of New Haven, N.Y., was kidnapped April 3, 1994 while she worked in a convenience store near her home. She has not been found.

"I've been innocent since Day One," Thibodeau said after listening to the 15-minute call. "There's not much I can say."

Thibodeau, now 60, was convicted by an Oswego County jury in 1995 of kidnapping and presumably killing Allen on Easter morning 1994. She was abducted from her job at D&W Convenience Store in New Haven.

Thibodeau's brother, Richard Thibodeau, was acquitted by a separate jury.

Gary Thibodeau's lawyer, Federal Public Defender Lisa Peebles, intends to file court papers next week seeking to overturn Gary Thibodeau's conviction based on newly discovered evidence and allegations that prosecutors withheld evidence that pointed to other suspects.

"These guys sound like a bunch of hillbillies," Gary Thibodeau said of the three men identified in the phone conversation.

He said he didn't know any of them -- James Steen, Roger Breckenridge and Michael Bohrer. He also said he'd never heard of Wescott. Nor did he know Tonya Priest, who says Steen confessed to her that he, Breckenridge and Bohrer killed Allen. Priest arranged last year to tape her phone call with Wescott.

Thibodeau said he's not holding out much hope that the new evidence would some day set him free. About a decade ago, after years of proclaiming his innocence, he gave up all hope, he said.

"I'm done consuming myself and letting myself be eaten and eroded with all the (expletive) year after year," he said. "I just said, 'Let it go.' "

He stopped working out then, kept smoking cigarettes, and hoped he would die a natural death soon, Thibodeau said. All his appeals had been exhausted.

"I just figured, well, there ain't no chance now," he said. "No sense in giving them the 25 (years). I'll let my body go to hell and hope I can die a lot sooner. I ain't gonna kill myself, but if it happens naturally, that's fine with me."

Thibodeau said he spends a lot of time sleeping in his cell. He has trouble walking because of a hip problem. He has trouble breathing because one of his lungs has dried up, he said. A doctor told him it might be emphysema, he said.

Richard Thibodeau said he was surprised at his brother's appearance the last time he visited.

"Thin as a rail," Richard said. "He's just going downhill."

The new evidence might not make Gary optimistic, Richard said.

"He's probably sitting in prison figuring if the sheriff's department's got something to do with it, he'll never get out," Richard said.

The secretly recorded phone call and other evidence wouldn't have surfaced if it weren't for Priest, a former Parish resident. Gary Thibodeau wanted to pass along a message to her.

"Tell her I appreciate her coming forward," he said "It took a lot of guts. She's got a lot of nerve."

Contact John O'Brien at jobrien@syracuse.com or 315-470-2187.

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NY Minute: Will Cuomo face any legal issues over the Moreland Commission, and do voters care?

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Casino bidders are overpromising new jobs, Syracuse's mayor faces an emotional crowd over the housing of immigrant children, and tipped workers could see a raise.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- We made it to Friday. Stock up on movies and indoor projects. It's going to be a wet weekend.

Did Gov. Andrew Cuomo or his staff do anything that skirted federal laws in their involvement in the Moreland Commission? As always, part of the puzzle involves who knew what when.

Campaign experts doubt The New York Times' findings and Moreland fallout ultimately will sway many voters, unless someone gets arrested.

Republicans disagree and pounced Thursday on Times' story portraying Cuomo as steering an anti-corruption campaign away from certain investigations.

So did columnists and editorial boards, some saying his own reckless language created the scandal he faces now.

Jon Stewart took a swipe at the governor's evolving use of the word "independent" as well.

Where is Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who co-created the Moreland Commission with Cuomo?

Republican Rob Astorino, who is running against Cuomo, was discouraged from attending the Republican Governor Association's meeting, but he went anyway.

New evidence and interviews reported by John O'Brien casts doubt on the conviction in the murder of Heidi Allen, who went missing from her job at an Oswego County convenience store 20 years ago.

Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner faced an emotional crowd Thursday night, with people booing and cheering her stance on welcoming undocumented children to the city for a temporary stay.

New York City's council speaker said the Big Apple should take Miner's lead on dealing with the influx of children from Central American children.

Casinos bidding for four licenses to open table games in New York are (over)promising thousands of jobs.

The Bon Jovi Buffalo Bills buying group: We're not looking for a new home in Canada.

A report on the future of the amphitheater near Onondaga Lake says, for the first time, that the venue could be the new home for grandstand acts now at the New York State Fairgrounds.

Tipped workers in New York could see their wages rise, depending on the outcome of a new wage board appointed by Cuomo this week.

As you plan which Interstate 81 meetings to attend next week, consider this: Not everyone wins when highways come down in urban areas.

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Contact Teri Weaver anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-470-2274

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