Hudson shooting suspect arrested
Police arrested the estranged brother-in-law of Jennifer Hudson on Monday in the shooting deaths of the entertainer’s mother, brother and young nephew, taking him from a prison where he had been held on a suspected parole violation.
William Balfour was arrested at Stateville Correctional Center and released to detectives as he awaited formal charges in the shooting deaths of the singer and Oscar-winning actress’ relatives, said Chicago police spokeswoman Monique Bond.
The bodies of Hudson’s mother, Darnell Hudson Donerson, and brother, Jason Hudson, were discovered Oct. 24 at the family’s home on the South Side of Chicago. The body of 7-year-old Julian King was found three days later in a vehicle on the West Side.
Raymondville, Texas
Cheney, Gonzales charges dismissed
A judge in Texas has dismissed indictments against Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.
Administrative Judge Manuel Banales ruled Monday that the indictments were improperly returned by a Willacy County grand jury.
The indictment against Cheney alleged that his personal investment in the Vanguard Group, which invests in private prison companies, made him culpable in alleged prisoner abuse at privately run federal detention centers.
Mineola, N.Y.
Trampled worker lacked training
A worker trampled to death when a crowd estimated at 2,000 stormed a Wal-Mart for bargains on the day after Thanksgiving had no experience in crowd control and was placed at the entrance because of his hulking frame, police and a lawyer said Monday.
Nassau County Police Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey noted that the worker, Jdimytai Damour, was 6 feet 5 and 270 pounds, making the trampling all the more stunning. Mulvey said an autopsy found that Damour, 34, died of asphyxiation , and he conceded that it would be difficult to file criminal charges against any of the shoppers.
Overton, Texas
Car hits, injures paradegoers
An elderly driver hurtled through barricades into a crowd lined up for a Christmas parade Monday and injured several people, some of them members of a Cub Scout troop, a city official and witnesses said.
City Manager B.J. Potts said the driver was arrested, but alcohol was not detected.
An executive with the East Texas Area Council Boy Scouts told the Longview News-Journal that 11 people were injured – nine Cub scouts and two adults.
A spokesman for Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler, said that of the seven people brought there, five have been treated and released. One 7-year-old boy was in good condition while a second was in serious condition. Potts said that one youth was flown to a Dallas hospital and that several had been released.