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Already on probation in Smyth County, a Rural Retreat man is facing new felonies after the Wythe County Sheriffs Office investigated thefts from a Cedar Springs Road residence.

Robert Adam Gore, 30, was arrested on April 1 and charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, stealing a firearm, possessing burglary tools, grand larceny and trespassing.

According to a search warrant and arrest warrants, Gore is accused of taking a gun, tools and various household items from the residence on March 25 and March 30.

First Sgt. J.M. Blevins said deputies were dispatched to 5895 Cedar Springs Road for suspicious activity on March 30 when they detained Gore and another man, 37-year-old Allen Edward Tirado of Marion, who was charged with trespassing. A third person ran away, police said.

Officers had already taken a larceny report from the residence earlier in the month, and the victims had put out two trail cameras, one of which was stolen.

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The remaining camera, though, showed suspects entering the residence and pulling into the driveway in a dark pickup. Deputies found a black Ford pickup in the driveway on March 30, Blevins wrote.

In plain view sight in the passenger side of the vehicle was a green in color piggy bank which the victim stated was taken from inside the residence, Blevins wrote. The Ford F-150 matched the description of the vehicle which was on the trail camera the evening before.

Blevins said Gore admitted to removing items from the residence and taking them to his Rural Retreat residence.

Officers seized more than 100 items when they searched Gores Main Street property on March 30. The items included tools, jewelry boxes, lightbulbs, binoculars, ammunition, toilet paper, a tackle box and more, according to a search warrant.

Unemployed, Gore, who has a court-appointed attorney, is being held on a $5,000 bond.

His preliminary hearing has been set for May 11.

According to court records, Gore was convicted of drug distribution in Smyth County last September. He was sentenced to jail time and placed on probation for two years. His criminal record also includes charges of petit larceny, assault, drug possession and trespassing, according to court documents.

Former hotel manager convicted

A one-time general manager of Wythevilles Bolling Wilson Hotel pleaded guilty to credit card theft and forgery on Thursday.

As part of a plea agreement, 39-year-old Jessica Jean Dunsmore of Rural Retreat got a five-year suspended sentence and was ordered to repay William Smith $919.36.

She was also ordered to stay out of trouble for a year, during which time shes waiving her Fourth Amendment protections.

The commonwealth dropped five additional charges of credit card forgery.

According to an earlier search warrant, Wytheville police investigated Dunsmore related to 2021 fraudulent charges made on a credit card belonging to GW Hotel Tenant LLC and issued to Dunsmore. Smith is listed as the companys registered agent.

Police collected Appalachian Power records as part of the investigation.

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POLICE AND COURT BRIEFS: Rural Retreat man facing charges in ... - Southwest Virginia Today

Llano County has filed a no tice of appeal to federal Judge Robert Pitmans order last week that books removed from county library shelves be replaced, a lawyer for plaintiffs in the lawsuit said Monday.

Katherine Chiarello of Witliff/ Cutter PLLC in Austin said the books have been returned to the shelves. Pitman issued the temporary order Thursday, calling for librarians to replace books that county commissioners ordered removed.

The removal came last year after some library patrons charged some childrens books were inappropriate. Titles included I Need a New Butt! written by Dawn McMillan (illustrated by Ross Kinnaird) and Freddy the Farting Snowman, written and illustrated by Jane Bexley.

Other patrons sued in federal court, claiming that the removal violated first and fourth amendment rights of free speech and freedom from unlawful seizure.

The appeal will go to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, based in New Orleans. However, the appeal could be heard after the actual trial date.

She said the temporary injunction was based on Pitmans belief that plaintiffs had shown a reasonable expectation of winning the case.

The evidence that we put in front of the judge was a two-day evidentiary hearing, she said. Based on the evidence we presented, he thought we had shown a likelihood of success. But we still need to win at trial.

If the plaintiffs succeed at the trial, Pitman will presumably issue a permanent injunction ordering the county to keep the books on the shelves.

Neither Jonathan Mitchell of Austin, attorney of record for the defendants, nor County Attorney Dwain Rogers immediately returned phone calls seeking comment.

Plaintiffs in the suit include Leila Green Little, Jeanne Puryear, Kathy Kennedy, Rebecca Jones, Richard Day, Cynthia Waring and Diane Moster.

Defendants in the suit are Llano County Judge Ron Cunningham, Llano County commissioners Peter Jones, Linda Raschke, Mike Sandoval and Jerry Don Moss, Llano County Library System Director Amber Milum and Advisory Board members Bonnie Wallace, Rochelle Wells, Rhonda Schneider and Gay Gaskin, president of the board.

Originally filed in federal court in San Antonio, the case was moved to Pitmans Austin court because he has jurisdiction over Llano County.

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Llano Co. to appeal order to return books - The Highlander

Buena Park could become the second Orange County city to enact rent control following a recent vocal push by renters and activists in the city and beyond.

Ive witnessed first hand the financial struggles many of my clients face, said Jenny Seon, an attorney with the Buena Park-based community group, Ahri.

These individuals are barely making ends meet and many of them are on the verge of eviction and homelessness, Seon told Buena Park City Council members during last Tuesdays meeting.

If Buena Park does adopt rent control, itll be the second city in OC to do so.

Roughly 10 miles south on the 5 freeway, Santa Anas wrestling with a lawsuit from the Apartment Association of Orange County, which says the rent control law is preventing landowners from getting a fair return on their property investments.

[Read: OC Landlord Group Moves to Sue Santa Ana to Overturn Rent Control]

The face of the Ordinance makes it apparent that the effect of the Ordinances rent control provisions will necessarily be to lower rents more than reasonably required for the Ordinances legitimate purposes, if any exist, and are thus constitutionally confiscatory, reads the Associations lawsuit.

Scores of residents activists told city officials during Tuesdays public comment that rents are becoming increasingly unaffordable while living conditions are deteriorating.

In their own public comments from the dais, Buena Park City Council members all seemingly agreed that rent regulations are needed in a city home to roughly 83,000 people with an average rent of $1,800 a month.

While they all expressed support for rent control, council members said they need to see specific examples and data.

I want more information. I would like for you to bring back more that we can work with, but I think we need to do something to assist with rental stabilization so we dont increase homelessness in this city and people have a sense of security that the roof they have over their heads is not going to be ripped from them for spurious reasons, said Councilwoman Susan Sonne at last Tuesdays council meeting.

It mirrors efforts by activists and renters in Santa Ana, Orange Countys first city to enact a rent control law in 2021.

[Read: Santa Ana Becomes First Orange County City With Rent Control]

Buena Parks rent control discussion also brought out some Santa Ana activists part of the same people who successfully pushed for the rent caps in their city.

Im from Santa Ana where we became the first city in Orange County to enact a rent protection ordinance Ive seen first hand through my neighbors and friends how rent control allowed them to stay in their neighborhoods, said Bulmaro Vicente, an organizer with the Santa Ana-based activist group, Chispa, who ran unsuccessfully for state assembly last year.

Last Tuesdays council meeting in Buena Park marked another chapter of local community organizations, activist groups and residents from different cities coming together to push elected officials to address quality of life concerns.

[Read: COVID Forged a New Generation of Community Activism Across OC]

While the City of Santa Ana is being sued by the Apartment Association of Orange County over the law, residents in other parts of OC are also calling on their elected officials to consider rent control like residents and community health workers in Costa Mesa.

[Read: After Santa Ana, Rent Control Murmurs Get Louder in One Coastal Orange County City]

Buena City Councilman Jose Trinidad Castaeda, who brought the proposal forward, said hes looking to make rent control stricter than state law although specifics are still being ironed out.

Hopefully a 3% maximum allowable increase, Castaeda said at Tuesdays meeting.

State rent control law caps rent increases at 5% plus the increase in cost of living or 10% annually whichever of the two is lower.

As Buena Park city staff construct the proposal, Castaeda said landlords, property owners and related interest groups need to be included in the discussions.

I dont want them to feel vilified, he said.

Castaeda also floated the idea of city officials monitoring reasons for rent bumps beyond cost of living increases.

He told staff to bring back proposals with options on how to enforce if landlords dont provide justifications on the rent increases on why theyre increasing rent beyond [the consumer price index]. Otherwise were allowing greed to run amuck.

Recently, residents have been alleging subpar living conditions and retaliation by some landlords for filing maintenance complaints with city code enforcement officers something Castaeda has echoed from the dais.

Earlier this month, Buena Park City Council members moved forward with a measure to hold landlords accountable for repairs by having code enforcement staff conduct routine inspections of apartments.

[Read: Buena Park Officials Consider Holding Landlords Accountable for Apartment Repairs]

We want to be able to incentivize folks who are living in bad conditions to seek better conditions without fear of being evicted, Councilman Connor Traut said at last Tuesdays meeting.

Buena Park is also looking to create a rental registration board a focal point in the Apartment Associations lawsuit against Santa Ana.

Yet that seemingly didnt deter Buena Park City Council members.

Im curious why the lawsuit on rental registration isnt renting properties a form of a business and can we not require that businesses do some sort of self identification? Sonne asked City Attorney Christopher Cardinale.

Cardinale responded that cities have, for the most part, been successful in rent control lawsuits.

But he said the Associations focus on Santa Anas rental board is a new argument its basically a Fourth Amendment illegal search and seizure right theyre arguing.

Council members also said the push for rent control also shouldnt discourage new housing construction in Buena Park and city staff said making the law apply to rentals older than 15 years shouldnt limit new homes.

Obviously we are short of housing and while we need to protect our citizens that are renting, we also need to make sure theres going to be incentive or some sort of rights for new developers to develop housing, Councilwoman Joyce Ahn said.

Traut said officials need to make sure they dont put something in place thats going to disincentivize construction in our city.

Responding to Trauts concerns, Cardinale said property owners need to have a fair return on their investment.

Mayor Art Brown put it simply last Tuesday:

I support everything thats been said tonight.

Spencer Custodio is the civic editor. You can reach him at scustodio@voiceofoc.org. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerCustodio.

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Rent Control Could Come to Buena Park - Voice of OC

Published on April 3, 2023

The ACLU of Rhode Island today announced the favorable settlement of a federal lawsuit filed three years ago on behalf of a former Narragansett High School student with special education needs who was thrown to the ground, choked, and arrested by a school resource officer (SRO) over a rude hand gesture the student gave the SRO. Avideotaped record of the incidentshows SRO Kyle Rooney forcefully slamming to the floor and restraining 11th-grader Michael Blanchette for a few minutes before removing him from the school in handcuffs.

In settling the case, which avoids the necessity of a planned trial, the school district, without admitting liability, has agreed to pay Blanchette $75,000 in monetary damages. The suit was handled by ACLU of RI cooperating attorney Amato DeLuca.

The incident arose when Rooney confronted Michael about whether he was allowed to be walking in the school hallway at the time, to which Michael said he had permission. After a brief argument about it, Michael gave Rooney the finger and began to walk away, but the officer immediately grabbed Michael and violently threw him on the floor. Rooneys arrest report falsely claimed that he took this action because Michael aggressively took a step towards me, an allegation belied by the video, which shows Michael starting to turn away from the SRO before being slammed to the ground. Rooney charged Michael with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, but both charges were later dismissed.

Among other claims, the suit argued that Rooney violated Michaels Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures; retaliated against Michael in violation of the First Amendment; unlawfully assaulted him; and filed unfounded criminal charges against him.

For years, the ACLU of Rhode Island has raised concerns about how SROs often escalate minor disciplinary incidents into major ones, and turn routine school infractions into criminal matters, unnecessarily introducing teenagers to the criminal justice system and scarring them in the process. The ACLU has also issued a series of reports, most recentlythis past month, documenting that students with disabilities, along with students of color, are disproportionately disciplined in virtually every Rhode Island school district, including Narragansett. Statistics from the Rhode Island Department of Education show that two-thirds of all out-of-school suspensions issued by Narragansett High School the year of this incident were of students with disabilities.

Still pending isanother SRO lawsuitbrought by ACLU cooperating attorneys against the Pawtucket school district. That case involves a 13-year-old African-American middle school honors student who was handcuffed, taken to the police station, and kept in a cell for close to an hour before being released to her mother. The SRO arrested the child after watching a video of a schoolyard scuffle that had taken place that morning.

ACLU of Rhode Island executive director Steven Brown said today: We are very pleased that Michael has received monetary payment for the disturbing action taken against him. But his case only highlights the serious issues with the presence of police officers in schools, who all too often can turn minor disciplinary matters into criminal ones.

Additional information about the lawsuit can be foundhere.

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ACLU settles suit over unlawful assault and arrest of Narragansett ... - Uprise RI

A Tennessee politician attempted to school some students protesting gun violence at the Tennessee Capitol on Monday, but he missed the mark by a long shot.

The students were reacting to a recent shooting at a private Christian school in Nashville that led to the deaths of three children and three adults.

State Rep. William Lamberth (R) agreed to talk with the protesters, but had a weird way to trying to win a debate with students worried about getting shot in class.

Lamberths approach was to ask the students which firearm theyd prefer to be shot with.

If there is a firearm out there that youre comfortable being shot with, please show me which one it is, he asked rhetorically.

Lamberth probably thought the question he asked the protesters was deep and Socratic, but it came across as heartless especially when accompanied by a shrug.

So youre not going to like my answer, and, look, Im going to say that straight up, Lamberth warned. Its not about this one gun.

He then claimed that it would be impossible to stop every single gun from getting into the hands of a crazy person, a deranged person, [or] a convicted felon, and even if it was done, it would do nothing to prevent yalls safety.

Lamberth has previously protested red flag laws, saying that, We dont take peoples Fourth Amendment Rights or First Amendment Rights, or Second Amendment Rights or Fifth Amendment Rights without proper due process, without making sure that everyone knows what the rules are ahead of time.

Naturally, his comments suggesting one gun will kill you the same as another were mocked by Twitter users.

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Tenn. State Rep Asks Protesters What Gun They'd Prefer To Be Shot With - HuffPost