Local, Area Briefs
BY AMANDA BLAND World Staff Writer
Thursday, September 27, 2012
9/27/12 at 2:47 AM
Woman injured in assault during home burglary
A 55-year-old woman was hospitalized after she was assaulted in her home late Tuesday.
The woman told police two men knocked on her door in the 3900 block of East Admiral Court about 11:30 p.m., police said.
When she answered, the men forced their way inside, beat her and burglarized her house, said Officer Leland Ashley.
The victim suffered injuries to her face and upper torso that were not life-threatening. She was taken by ambulance to Hillcrest Medical Center.
The assailants are described as Hispanic men about 20 years old. One is between 5 feet 10 inches and 6 feet tall and weighs about 190 pounds. The other is 5 feet 5 inches to 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighs about 140 pounds.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 918-596-COPS or submit a tip online at tulsaworld.com/crimestoppers Tipsters can be anonymous and could receive a reward.
- AMANDA BLAND, World Staff Writer
Grade-school student hit by car on Tulsa street
A McKinley Elementary School student was struck by a car while crossing Sheridan Road early Wednesday.
The 9-year-old boy and another child were at the intersection of Sheridan Road and Latimer Street when the 9-year-old darted into the street, police said.
The boy was near the center of the four-lane street when a Ford Taurus that was turning north from Latimer onto Sheridan hit him, Officer Brian Paul said.
He suffered leg injuries and was taken by ambulance to St. John Medical Center.
The driver, a juvenile, was not cited, Paul said.
He advised parents to remind their children to use crosswalks when crossing streets. The accident happened within yards of a crosswalk at King Street.
- AMANDA BLAND, World Staff Writer
Tulsa woman's body found at lake's edge after crash
The body of a Tulsa woman was discovered at Keystone Lake early Wednesday after her car ran off the road over the Keystone Dam sometime during the night or early morning hours, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol reported.
Monica Hudspeth, 42, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Troopers said Hudspeth was heading south on Oklahoma 151, which crosses the dam, between 9:15 p.m. Tuesday and 9:15 a.m. Wednesday, when the crash was discovered.
Her 2006 Dodge Stratus veered off the right side of the roadway just south of U.S. 412, struck a pole, traveled down the riprap, or rocks at the edge of the lake, and rolled, the OHP reported.
Investigators think Hudspeth then got out of the car and walked down to the water line, where she was found dead.
- KENDRICK MARSHALL, World Staff Writer
Broken Arrow crash fatal to Tulsa man, police say
A Tulsa man was killed in a single-vehicle crash in Broken Arrow over the weekend.
Brice Thomas Blackman, 24, was driving east on Oklahoma 51 near 219th East Avenue about 2 a.m. Sunday when his 1999 Nissan Maxima veered off the highway, police confirmed late Tuesday.
Investigators said the car struck a culvert and rolled, landing on its top.
Blackman, who was not wearing a seat belt, was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
- KENDRICK MARSHALL, World Staff Writer
Spring trial is likely in coach's peeping Tom case
SAPULPA - A former high school assistant lay softball coach who is accused of secretly videotaping teenage girls in the restroom likely will face trial next spring.
Howard Harjo, 54, was arraigned Tuesday on nine counts each of child exploitation and possession of juvenile pornography and three counts of using electronic devices as a peeping Tom.
He pleaded not guilty in July.
Assistant District Attorney Mike Loeffler said Harjo likely will go to trial next spring. He said prosecutors are not interested in a plea bargain.
The recordings reportedly were made between July 1, 2009, and June 13, 2012, and captured images of teenage girls who were nude from the waist down. The District Attorney's Office has identified 12 victims.
Harjo was arrested June 13 after police seized from his Sapulpa residence videos and still photographs of partially clothed girls.
He reportedly admitted to having placed video cameras in trash cans and recording the girls. He said he knew that the girls were between the ages of 15 and 18 when he recorded them, records state.
Attorney Larry Roberson is representing Harjo, who remains jailed with bail set at $390,000.
- SUSAN HYLTON, World Staff Writer
Wildfire relief donations pass matching funds goal
The Lobeck Taylor Family Foundation surpassed its goal in seeking matching funds to help the wildfire victims in Creek and Payne counties, where hundreds of homes were destroyed last month.
Following the raging fires that burned 58,500 acres, the foundation announced that it would double donations to the American Red Cross for every dollar raised up to $100,000.
A total of $155,219 was raised during the challenge period for a grand total of $255,219.
"This was a community effort, and we are so pleased to see such an overwhelming response of compassion for the families of the areas affected," said Elizabeth Frame Ellison, the foundation's executive director.
More than 79 percent of the donations received over the past month were amounts of $250 or less. Donors included religious groups, sports teams, companies, individuals and foundations.
American Red Cross Tulsa Area Chapter spokeswoman Donita Quesnel said recently that the agency had spent close to $500,000 on the disaster response in Creek County.
The Red Cross assisted more than 300 families by providing shelter, food, water, clothing and financial assistance for specific needs such as medications.
"The Red Cross is so appreciative of this wonderful gift," said Regina Moon, CEO of the Tulsa Area Chapter. "It is a great reminder of the generous heart and compassionate spirit of our community, a community that never fails to step forward to help a neighbor in need."
Fundraising partners included the Bank of Oklahoma and the Tulsa Community Foundation.
- SUSAN HYLTON, World Staff Writer
Associated Images:
Harjo
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