Landis, NC Officer Shoots Suspect Follwing Chase, Crash

From The Salisbury Post

CHINA GROVE — The man who led authorities on a high-speed chase Wednesday night has been identified as Clarence Eugene Rhyne of Salisbury.

According to a report from the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office, Rhyne attempted to run over a police officer and was shot in the arm.

Rhyne, 45, of 103 Clancy Drive, Apt. B, has been released from the hospital and is in jail under a $25,000 secured bond. He faces charges of felony fleeing to elude arrest with a motor vehicle, assault with a deadly weapon on a law enforcement officer and resisting, obstructing and delaying an officer.

Clarence Rhyne

According to a press release from Chief E.M. Kluttz of the China Grove Police Department, China Grove officers and the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office were doing a license check at South Main and Owens roads in China Grove.

The release says Rhyne, in a maroon Jeep Cherokee, neared the checkpoint, then turned and sped away. Officers followed, with speeds over 90 mph throughout the city.

The Landis Police Department joined the chase, which lasted about 6 minutes, when the Jeep struck a home at 703 Harry St.

As officers approached the Jeep, with three people inside, the driver positioned the Jeep in “a manner to threaten an officer.” As he moved the vehicle, the release says, a Landis officer fired his gun, striking Rhyne.

The State Bureau of Investigation responded because an officer was involved in the shooting and is at the Harry Street address conducting an investigation.

The name of the Landis officer who shot Rhyne was not immediately available.

Can You Legally Get Yourself Tattooed With a Pro Sports Team’s Logo?

By Cecil Adams, Creative Loafing – Charlotte

What are the legal implications of getting yourself tattooed with a copyrighted or trademarked image, such as a sports team logo? Would you have to pay royalties? Would you get sued? The NFL is opposed to you even talking about the game the next day; logo tattoos must drive those guys crazy. Or is it viewed as free publicity? — TEH BEN, VIA TEH INTARNET

Now, Ben. The NFL doesn’t mind your talking about the game afterward. What they get tetchy about is careless discussion beforehand — e.g., calling that midwinter event they use to fill the time between commercials the S_p_r B_wl rather than “the big game.” However, I think there’s a way you can get away with an unauthorized tattoo. Listen up.

First we asked the big leagues (MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL) for their position on fan tattoos. Three of the four stonewalled us, no shock. Surprisingly, an MLB lawyer agreed to talk, but unsurprisingly clammed up as soon as he learned we were ferrets from the press. Later we received the following terse statement: “Any use of MLB or Club trademarks requires assessment of the nature and scope of the proposed use. We handle requests for use on a case by case basis and take action when it is discovered that these marks are used improperly.”

Well, that’s helpful, you think. Ah, but it is. MLB has given us the nub of the answer: it depends. On what, you ask? We’ll take it step by step.

Fact #1: Yes, it’s possible to get sued over the copyright on a tattoo. Ask Rasheed Wallace, the now-retired NBA All-Star. In 1998 Wallace had an Egyptian-themed tattoo — showing a pharaoh, his queen, and their three children — inked onto his right upper arm by tattoo artist Matthew Reed. In 2004 Reed saw Wallace in a Nike TV commercial in which the tattoo was re-created via computer simulation while the basketball player explained its significance. Affronted that he’d received neither credit nor money, Reed sued Wallace, Nike, and the ad agency for publicly displaying what he claimed was his copyrighted work (the tattoo) without his consent. The parties evidently settled out of court. OK, not quite the fact situation you’re describing, Ben, but you see the operative dynamic: art + ego + money = trouble.

Fact #2: Pro sports big shots have been known to get seriously ticked off over tattoos. Granted, the people they’re getting ticked off at are mostly athletes wearing tattoo advertisements, not ordinary mopes. Example: in 2001 boxer Bernard “the Executioner” Hopkins wore a temporary tattoo on his back advertising GoldenPalace.com, an online casino, during a televised bout. (Hopkins’s paycheck for billboard duty: about $100,000.) The Nevada Athletic Commission banned further tattoo ads but lost a court challenge. Then ESPN declared it would televise no fighters sporting ad tats, no doubt thinking: nobody’s making money selling advertising on our network except us. Returning to the mathematical statement of principles above, we see that the art and ego terms drop out (the controversial messages consisted of unadorned text), and the equation reduces to: money = trouble. True dat.

Fact #3: Momentous legal issues are at stake here. A 2005 article in the Fordham Intellectual Property, Media & Entertainment Law Journal considered the implications for American jurisprudence if the NBA formally banned commercial tattoos on players. On the one hand, the players have rights to freedom of expression, personal liberty, and privacy. On the other hand, you’ve got — sorry if this gets repetitive — money. For example, in 2001 Rasheed Wallace, a trailblazer in so many ways, reportedly weighed a $15,000 offer from a candy company to wear a temporary tattoo, which surely would have upset Nestle, the NBA’s official candy sponsor. The league declared they’d block the scheme; Wallace’s agent maintained that the NBA players’ agreement didn’t forbid such things. His client, in the end, said no.

Perhaps you’re thinking: I don’t see what this has to do with whether I can have a Red Wings logo tattooed across my face. You haven’t been paying attention then. The common element in all the above is that something was at stake financially. Assuming you were acting purely as a deranged fan and stood no chance of personal gain, a lawsuit for trademark infringement, which presumes misappropriation of an image for commercial purposes, would be tough to sustain.

Copyright violation is an easier case to make. (Some contend a fan tattoo would constitute fair use, but I have my doubts.) The main thing is, what team or league would bother? They’d look like bullies, your pockets probably aren’t that deep, and it’s not like a judge is going to order you to have the tattoo lasered off. Then again, we’re talking about professional sports, where conventional logic is out the window. (My dream is to visit the planet where NFL playoff seeding makes sense.) The best advice I can offer is: do what thou wilt, tatwise; just be careful nobody but the team owners and the networks makes a buck.

Send questions to Cecil via straightdope.com or write him c/o Chicago Reader, 11 E. Illinois, Chicago 60611. Subscribe to the Straight Dope podcast at the iTunes Store.

Iredell Co., NC Sheriff’s Office Says Man Sold $24,000 In Cocaine to Undercover Officers

From http://www.wsoctv.com

JONESVILLE, N.C. — A Jonesville man sold undercover officers more than $24,000 worth of cocaine, the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office said.

Jorge Mendez Martinez was arrested and charged with cocaine trafficking after a two-month investigation into cocaine distribution in Iredell County, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Investigators said Martinez sold undercover officers about 3 1/2 ounces of cocaine, which has a street value of $24,500, over the course of the investigation.

After arresting Martinez, the Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit executed a search warrant at his home on South Mineral Springs Drive in Jonesville. Detectives said they found a 1/2 ounce of cocaine, which has a street value of $3,500.

Martinez was placed in the Iredell County Detention Center with bond set at $75,000.More charges against Martinez are forthcoming, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Teen Sentenced in Fatal ‘Huffing’ Crash That Killed Another Teen

From http://www.wbtv.com

HUNTERSVILLE, NC – A teen who was “huffing” an intoxicating substance before a fatal wreck has been sentenced to 6 months in jail for the death of the teen  in the April 2010 car crash.

Donald Frances McDermott, 17, of Cornelius, was killed on April 25 of 2010 while he was a passenger in a car which wrecked on Birkdale Commons Parkway.  The car crashed into a pillar outside the movie theater at Birkdale Village.

Mark Tanner McMahon (Source: Mecklenburg County Jail)

The Huntersville Police Department says Mark Tanner McMahon, of 15805 Trenton Place Road, Huntersville, was driving the car when it wrecked.

McMahon, 18, was arrested in early September and was charged with Involuntary Manslaughter, Driving While Impaired, Careless and Reckless Driving, Possession of a Toxic Substance, and Inhaling a Toxic Substance.  He was booked into the Mecklenburg County Jail.

On Thursday, McMahon was sentenced to 6 months probation and 6 months in jail for the wreck. Both of the teens had been inhaling dust off before the crash, it was revealed in court.

According to a  search warrant released last year, McDermott, McMahon and some other teens, were at a house at 17224 Bridgeton Lane in Huntersville on Saturday, April 24, 2010.

At that time, the house was rented by Kelly Collins who is the mother of a friend to the teens.

The warrant said that on Saturday night, the boys went to a Walmart store and allegedly stole dust remover spray.  One of the teens started to huff it in the car, the search warrant said.

‘Huffing’ is a term used to describe when consumer items are inhaled for an intoxicating effect or a so-called ‘high.’

Eventually, all of the teens returned to the home on Bridgeton Lane.

The search warrant states that several teens and young adults were smoking marijuana and drinking at the home.

Kelly Collins came downstairs and had beer with the teens, the warrant stated.

The teens played drinking games before McDermott and McMahon left.  They eventually came back to the house with more dust remover spray.

The teens begin to huff and passed out briefly.  Kelly Collins came downstairs and watched.  She grabbed the cans and put them away.  The teens continued drinking, the warrant said.

Around 2 a.m., McDermott and McMahon left Collins’ home to pick up McDermott’s girlfriend.

About an hour later, the teens went to Walmart and allegedly stole more dust remover spray to inhale.  The girlfriend was taken home.

According to the Huntersville Police Department, McMahon ran off the road around 3:53 a.m.  His car hit a tree before striking the side of the building.

Police said neither McDermott nor McMahon wore a seat belt.

McDermott suffered life-threatening injuries and was transported to Carolinas Medical Center where he later died.  McMahon was also injured and taken to the hospital.

South Carolina Woman Catches Man Taking Pictures Up Her Skirt

By Kimberly Dick – Rock Hill Herald

ROCK HILL, SC

A Rock Hill shopper caught a man taking pictures up her skirt, police say.

The woman, 32, told police she was shopping at the Cherry Road Dollar Tree around 5:45 p.m. Wednesday when she noticed a man taking pictures of her, according to a Rock Hill police report.

The stranger was using his cell phone in attempts to take photos up her skirt, the report states.

She told officers she confronted the man about the photos and he apologized and left the store.

She describes him as being in his late 40s or early 50s with gray hair and an average build. No other suspect information is available. No one has been charged.

There is no surveillance video of the incident.

North Carolina Legislature Considering English-Only Driver’s License Bill

By Adrianne Flores, http://www.news14carolina.com

CHARLOTTE – There’s controversy over a new bill in the state House that would require anyone applying for a North Carolina driver’s license to be able to read and write English.

Rep. Harold Brubaker of Randolph County introduced the bill last month saying it would save the state money. But Julio Colmenares with the Charlotte area’s Latin American Chamber of Commerce said, if passed, the bill would cost the state more money in the long run.

As the chair of the board of directors, Colmenares says he works to unite all groups of people in the Charlotte region. Now he fears a proposed bill could create a greater divide.

“This is not going to fix the budget problem. This is going to create more problems when you’re not educating the people,” he said.

Rep. Daniel McComas, of New Hanover County, co-sponsored House Bill 396 last month citing safety concerns.

“Primarily it’s a safety issue because to ensure that all the drivers in the state do have a proficiency in the English language, that they understand how to communicate,” he said.

One of the issues raised was street signs. Supporters of the bill, like Andre Murray, say anyone driving down the road should be able to read the signs.

“If you’re going to be able to drive then you should know the rules of the law of the land of driving, everybody should,” said Murray.

Legislators also believe the measure could save the state nearly half a million dollars, because it would no longer have to print DMV manuals in other languages, primarily Spanish. But Kymberly Grenne believes the bill would create more problems.

“I think that the book should be published in all languages so this way that everyone can understand it and you won’t have as many accidents out there,” she said.

Colmenares said by not communicating effectively to the international community, it’s going to create other problems and other expenses are going to occur in other areas.

McComas says the next step is for the bill to go to committee and then onto the Senate. If passed, the measure would go into effect Oct. 1.

Gaston Co., NC Police Make Arrest in Connection With Steel Beams Packed With Marijuana

Charlotte Observer Staff Reports

A 44-year-old Charlotte man faces several felony charges after police in Gaston County say he accepted delivery of steel beams that were packed with marijuana.

The beams had been delivered from a site near the Mexican border, police say, and they credit drug-sniffing dogs for breaking the case.

Carson David Hyde was arrested Wednesday in Stanley, after police say he received a pallet of beams, put them in his truck, and attempted to drive off. The beams had been sent to a Charlotte shipping company from Brownsville, Texas., near the Mexican border. From the Charlotte address, they were to be shipped to a house in Stanley, according to Gaston County police.

Police in Gaston County have charged David Hyde, 44, of Charlotte with trafficking marijuana. He was arrested Thursday in the Gaston County town of Stanley. Gaston County Jail

Police say they were alerted when drug-sniffing dogs working with federal authorities, inspecting deliveries at the Charlotte company, detected drugs.

According to the Gaston Gazette, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials contacted Gaston County police and allowed the delivery to be made to an address in the 13000 block of Lucia-Riverbend Highway. According to investigators, the address was that of a house rented by Hyde for his wood-cutting company.

Police told the Gaston Gazette that Hyde was there and signed for the shipment. Investigators say they found 266 pounds of marijuana packed in the beams.

Hyde was charged with two counts of trafficking marijuana and one county of conspiracy. He is being held under $300,000 bond in the Gaston County jail.

The Gaston Gazette contributed.