Judge orders defendant's mouth taped shut

Gotta love that Judge! lol


POCATELLO, Idaho – An eastern Idaho judge who lost patience with the disruptive behavior of a defendant ordered court officials to tape the man's mouth shut with duct tape during a court hearing. The unusual move was ordered by 6th District Judge Peter D. McDermott during a probation violation hearing for Nicklas Frasure, 23.
Frasure was convicted of felony theft in 2008, but the judge retained jurisdiction for sentencing depending on Frasure's response to treatment. In October, Frasure was released from a state mental hospital in Blackfoot.
He is accused of violating his probation by not taking prescribed medication.
During the hearing, witnesses told the judge that Frasure's behavior had been strange and erratic since his release from the state hospital. They also said he has not been taking his medication and has been consuming alcohol, factors also contributing to mood and emotional swings.
Probation officer Julie Guiberson testified that Frasure is a threat to himself and others.
During Monday's hearing, Frasure interrupted the proceedings with repeated verbal outbursts and unusual behavior and ignored several orders from McDermott to restrain himself. After another series of outbursts, McDermott told bailiffs to silence Frasure.
The bailiffs then found a roll of duct tape, tore off a piece and put it over Frasure's mouth, according to the Idaho State Journal.
"He's obviously not mentally competent," Frasure's lawyer Kent Reynolds told the judge.
Earlier in the hearing, Reynolds had asked the judge to order a mental competency evaluation for Frasure.
McDermott said he would consider the request, but did not immediately rule on it. McDermott placed Frasure under the jurisdiction of the Idaho Department of Correction. He is being held in the Bannock County Jail awaiting transfer to a state facility. Officials, citing privacy rules, declined to say where he would be transferred.
An Associated Press call for comment, left with the Idaho Judicial Council, was not immediately returned Tuesday. The council investigates all complaints filed against Idaho judges.
The American Civil Liberties of Idaho refrained, for now, from commenting on McDermott's decision to silence Frasure.
"The ACLU of Idaho cannot comment on the specifics of this case," said Monica Hopkins, executive director. "However, on one hand judges have a right to keep order in their court and on the other the defendants have a right to assist in their own defense and be present at trial. Our hope is that judges employ the least restrictive manner of keeping order in their courts."
At the end of the hearing, the judge ordered bailiffs to remove the gag and said he hoped Frasure's condition would improve with being under state custody.
Frasure responded, "You want to arm wrestle?" as he was led out of the courtroom by bailiffs.

Baby pythons escape during flight in Australia

Life imitates art??? Remember "Snakes on a Plane" the movie? I can hear it now.....poor snake looking for a warm place, wraps it's self around some unsuspecting leg, and INSTANT CHAOS! LMAO!

AFP/File – A Qantas airliner was grounded after four snakes went missing from the cargo hold on a passenger flight …
Wed Apr 15, 11:40 pm ET
MELBOURNE, Australia – Four baby pythons escaped from a container aboard a passenger plane in Australia, leading to a search that forced the cancellation of two flights, the airline said Thursday.
Twelve non-venemous Stimson pythons were being transported Tuesday on a flight from Alice Springs to Melbourne in the plane's cargo area in a bag inside a plastic foam box with air holes.
When the flight landed, it was discovered that four snakes had escaped from the package, a Qantas spokeswoman said in a statement.
A reptile expert searched for the 6-inch (15-centimeter) -long snakes but did not find them. It was not known if the snakes were still on the plane or if they had somehow escaped outside after the plane landed.
In the meantime, the plane missed two flights it had been scheduled to fly and the passengers were transferred to other flights.
When the snakes were not found, the airplane was fumigated and it returned to service on Wednesday.
Stimson's pythons, which can grow up to three feet (one meter) long, live in western and central Australia and are not an endangered species.

Man bites python

NAIROBI (Reuters) – A Kenyan man bit a python who wrapped him in its coils and hauled him up a tree in a struggle that lasted hours, local media said Wednesday.
Farm manager Ben Nyaumbe was working at the weekend when the serpent, apparently hunting for livestock, struck in the Malindi area of Kenya's Indian Ocean coast.
"I stepped on a spongy thing on the ground and suddenly my leg was entangled with the body of a huge python," he told the Daily Nation newspaper.
When the snake coiled itself round his upper body, Nyaumbe resorted to desperate measures: "I had to bite it."
The python dragged him up a tree, but when it eased its grip, Nyaumbe said he was able to take a mobile phone out of his pocket and phone for help.
When his supervisor came with a policeman, Nyaumbe smothered the snake's head with his shirt, while the rescuers tied it with a rope and pulled.
"We both came down, landing with a thud," said Nyaumbe, who survived with damaged lips and bruising.
The snake escaped from the three sacks it was bundled into.
(Writing by Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Jack Kimball)

Easter

D and her family came to the deer camp for Easter. Saturday, we went to the Bluebonnet Festival, watched the parade, and looked at all the vendor stalls. I had to work so I took off about noon time. DRAT. I didn't have to go to work on Easter Sunday as I had requested it off. Mom called and said breakfast would be served soon so up to the Deer Camp I went. mom had a cute centerpiece in a bowl with "grass" in it with chocolate bunnies, cadbury creme eggs, and pastel m&ms. Ham, biscuits, gravy and coffee. Yum! not to mention D was in fine form and keeping every one laughing.
As D, B, and T were leaving, T drove the truck down the drive with D hanging out the window screaming YAAAAAAHHHHH all the way to the gate I think! Funny girl.
Any hoo, a fun time was had by all. I have to get out the door to work. I am still in the paint dept, closing every day I work, but I will be having Sundays and Mondays off again soon.

sunset over Texas

I took this photo 2-16-08 on my way home from work.

Passenger lands plane in Fla. after pilot dies

FORT MYERS, Fla. – A passenger landed a twin-engine plane in Florida after the pilot died in flight with a total of six people on board.
Federal Aviation Administration officials say the pilot died after takeoff from an airport in Naples on Sunday. It was on autopilot and climbing toward 10,000 feet when the pilot died.
The passenger who took over is licensed for single-engine planes but isn't certified to fly the larger King Air craft.
An air traffic controller helped the passanger down by calling a friend in Connecticut who knows the King Air plane and relaying instructions. The plane landed safely at Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers.
The plane had been headed to Jackson, Miss. The names of the pilot and passengers have not been released.


Boy! I think I would have to change my undies after that!

Huuuummmmmm

This image was captured as I sat on the front porch brushing my dogs!