Briefs
Local and VCU
Former President George H. W. Bush attends Bemiss funeral
Former President George H.W. Bush was among hundreds of mourners Saturday attending the funeral in Richmond of lifelong friend FitzGerald Bemiss, a former state legislator and a pioneer in Virginia conservation.
Bush sat in a second-row pew in the sanctuary at St. James’s Episcopal Church for a service led by the Rev. Randolph Marshall Hollerith before joining members of Bemiss’ family and others at graveside at Hollywood Cemetery.
Bemiss, a former delegate and state senator who launched Virginia’s open-space preservation program four decades ago, died at his home in Richmond on Monday night. He was 88.
Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch
‘Grandad Bandit’ admits to 26 heists in 14 states
The suspect in 26 bank robberies from New York to Texas pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to two of the holdups in the Richmond area and admitted to all the others dating to late 2008.
Michael Francis Mara, 53, whom the FBI dubbed the “Granddad Bandit” because of his balding and graying appearance, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge M. Hanna Lauck in a 20-minute proceeding.
A plea agreement calls for Mara to be sentenced to an active prison term of 25 years.
“Mr. Mara’s incredible crime spree came to an end because of a tip from the public,” said Neil H. McBride,U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “The FBI put together a concrete case tying a string of robberies throughout the country to one man.”
The string of robberies in 14 states began with the Dec. 18, 2008, holdup of the SunTrust Bank branch at 919 E. Main St. in Richmond, to which Mara pleaded guilty Thursday. He also pleaded guilty to the June 22, 2010, holdup of the First Union Market Bank branch in the 11200 block of West Broad Street in Glen Allen.
Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch
Hit-and-run witness becomes victim
A Henrico woman is in jail with no bond this afternoon after allegedly ramming a Good Samaritan who called police and followed the woman after he witnessed an earlier hit and run.
Jessica A. McCauley, 24, of the 5100 block of Monument Ave., allegedly used a false name and declined to be tested for alcohol after she slammed her car into a concerned witness who followed her after he saw a woman speed away from a traffic accident Thursday at Bethlehem Road and Broad Street.
The Good Samaritan, according to a police search warrant, followed McCauley to the intersection of Forest Avenue and West Broad Street, where the woman’s car “struck another vehicle in the rear then backed up,” striking the witness’ car before fleeing again.
McCauley is scheduled to make a court appearance Tuesday on an earlier arrest Monday last week in which she is charged for a third or subsequent offense of driving without a valid license and of reckless driving by exceeding 80 miles per hour.
Brief by the Richmond Times-Dispatch
National and International
Authorities: ‘Twilight’ fan lied about bite marks
Authorities say a Florida teen has told police that bite marks on her body came from “Twilight”-inspired vampire role playing – not from someone who attacked her while she was out jogging.
The South Florida Sun Sentinel reports that the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office has charged the 15-year-old girl with making a false report.
Authorities say the girl is a fan of the vampire-based “Twilight” movies and books. The sheriff’s office says the girl had engaged in “fantasy biting” with a 19-year-old man in August and worried her mother would see the marks. She told her mother she had been attacked while jogging.
When deputies couldn’t find evidence of the attack, the girl eventually revealed what really happened.
No charges have been filed against the 19-year-old man.
Brief by The Associated Press
Yemeni police crack down on anti-government crowds
Yemeni police armed with sticks and daggers beat back thousands of protesters marching through the capital in a third straight day of demonstrations calling for political reforms and the resignation of the country’s U.S.-allied president.
The protests have mushroomed since crowds gathered Friday to celebrate the ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak after an 18-day revolt fueled by similar grievances. Yemen is one of several countries in the Middle East feeling the aftershocks, as pro-reform demonstrators take inspiration from the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia.
On Sunday, uniformed police used truncheons to stop protesters, many of them university students, from reaching the capital’s central Hada Square.
Much is at stake in Yemen if the pressure on President Ali Abdullah Saleh further erodes stability.
The U.S. is most worried about an al-Qaida offshoot that has taken root in Yemen’s mountains in the last few years and used the haven as a base to plot attacks beyond the country’s borders.
Brief by The Associated Press
Egypt’s military rulers dissolve parliament
Egypt’s military leaders dissolved parliament and suspended the constitution Sunday, meeting two key demands of protesters who have been keeping up pressure for immediate steps to transition to democratic, civilian rule after forcing Hosni Mubarak out of power.
The military rulers that took over when Mubarak stepped down Friday and the caretaker government also set as a top priority the restoration of security, which collapsed during the 18 days of protests that toppled the regime.
The protesters had been pressing the ruling military council, led by Defense Minister Hussein Tantawi, to immediately move forward with the transition process by appointing a presidential council, dissolving the parliament and releasing detainees.
“They have definitely started to offer us what we wanted,” said activist Sally Touma, reflecting a mix of caution and optimism among protesters who want to see even more change, including repeal of the repressive emergency law.
Judge Hisham Bastawisi, a reformist judge, said the actions “should open the door for free formation of political parties and open the way for any Egyptian to run for presidential elections.”
Brief by The Associated Press
