Daughter Doesn’t Get GED So Dad Sent to Jail May 11, 2008

A Fairfield, Ohio man is in jail because his daughter hasn’t gotten her General Equivalency Diploma (GED).

A judge ordered the father to stay on top of his daughter’s education months ago and when that order wasn’t followed, Brian Gegner was sentenced to 180-days in the Butler County jail.

The daughter, Brittany Gegner, says her father shouldn’t be punished for her problems.

Especially, she says because she’s now 18, an adult.

“It’s ridiculously wrong,” said Brittany Gegner.

“Of all the punishments they could have given him, to make him go to jail?,” she asked. “I mean, probation – until I get my GED – would be reasonable, but to send him to jail? That’s overboard.”

Butler County Juvenile Court Judge David Niehaus ordered Gegner to jail for contributing to the delinquency of a minor by not following a court order which required Gegner to be sure his daughter got her GED.

This comes after ongoing problems of Brittany skipping classes at Fairfield High School and then, Butler Tech.

While Brian Gegner had custody of her, Brittany says it was while she lived with her mother that she was truant.

“I’m about to be 19 and my Dad’s being punished for something I did when I was 16,” she said.

“It’s like I should, if anybody should be punished for this,” said Brittany. “I would way rather me go to jail than my Dad.”

“They probably should have punished me if they were going to punish anybody,” said Brittany’s mother Shana Roach. “Because she did live with me at the time, but because he had the custody, that’s why he’s being punished.”

“But I don’t understand the punishment all together because she’s going to school, she’s been going for four months,” said Roach. “The only thing that’s holding her back is she can’t pass her math test.”

Brittany has a daughter who’s about 18-months-old.

She says she’s determined to pass the GED for her daughter – and her father.

The judge says if she passes the test, her father could get out of jail before his six-months sentence is up.

Brittany’s step-mother worries the time in jail will ruin their family.

She says he could lose the job he’s worked for 15-years.

“I never dreamed they would put him in jail for this – for six months – it’s crazy,” said Stephanie Gegner, Brittany’s step-mother.

“He has no control over what his adult daughter does,” she said. “He just doesn’t.”

Court administrators say that even though Brittany is an adult now, the case remains active in their court because she was a juvenile when the problems started.

They say this type of punishment is rare and reserved for extreme cases when court orders aren’t met.

Hulk Hogan’s Son Gets 8 Months in Jail May 11, 2008

CLEARWATER, FL — Nick Bollea, the 17-year-old son of wrestler Hulk Hogan, was sentenced to eight months in jail today after he entered an “open plea.”

The plea left his sentencing completely up to Judge Phillip Federico. This also gave the Graziano family the opportunity to testify on how the crime has affected their lives.

“What Al-Qaeda couldn’t do to my son, (Bollea) did,” Edward Graziano, the father of the victim, said.

“He destroyed my son’s future”; “I had high hopes and dreams for him.”

Part of the plea agreement was a cap on Bollea’s jail and probation time, which was recommended by the Graziano family. Even though the charges carried a maximum of five years in jail, members of the Graziano family recommended six months in county jail. The exception was Edward Graziano, who asked for one year.

“I’ll never be able to say I’m sorry enough” said Bollea when given his chance to talk.

Other terms of Bollea’s sentence are as follows:
 
5 years of probation
500 hours of community service
Drivers license revokation for 3 years
Pay investigation and court fees
Adjudication was withheld

Nick was behind the wheel of his Toyota Supra when he lost control and slammed into a tree near downtown Clearwater last August.

The accident seriously injured both Hogan and his passenger, John Graziano, who remains in a coma.

Since the crash, Nick lost sponsorships in a racing sport called, “drifting”, which he has a professional license to participate in.

ABC Action News also obtained footage of Linda Bollea, Nick’s mother, engaging in illegal street racing.

The racing footage showed Linda Bollea alongside another car in a Mercedes S600 with her daughter Brooke as a passenger.

Rapper DMX held on animal cruelty, drug charges May 11, 2008

(CNN) — Rapper DMX was arrested Friday on drug and animal cruelty charges after attempting to barricade himself inside his Arizona home, sheriff’s deputies said.

Friday morning’s arrest was rapper DMX’s second brush with the law this week, authorities said.

DMX, 37, whose real name is Earl Simmons, faces seven misdemeanor animal cruelty charges and four felony drug possession charges, according to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.

He was apprehended at his home in Cave Creek, Arizona. A news release from the office also said deputies were serving a search warrant at the Mayo Clinic in nearby Scottsdale, Arizona, involving possible fraud charges involving the rapper.

According to sheriff’s deputies, five pit bull mix puppies were taken from the rapper’s home by an animal control unit and will be taken to to a jail where they will be cared for by female inmates.

In August, deputies raided DMX’s home and seized 12 pit bulls and pit bull mixes after receiving a report that the animals were being abused. No arrests were made at the time; authorities said that some of the dogs had apparently not been fed or watered but that there was no evidence of dogfighting.

The carcasses of three dogs were found partially buried on the property in August, and one of the dogs may have been burned, the sheriff’s office said.

“A guy like this DMX character, with all his money and fame, has no excuse for not providing proper care for his animals,” Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said Friday.
In August, the rapper’s lawyer, Murray Richman, said his client had been on tour and had a caretaker was watching his dogs. He said the caretaker had fed and watered the dogs but not brought them in from Arizona’s summer heat.

He said DMX was upset about the treatment of the dogs, which he sometimes features in his music videos.

After a search warrant was served about 3 a.m. Friday, officials said, deputies found weapons and drugs, leading to the drug charges.

They said the rapper — who rose to fame in the 1990s with a string of platinum records and movie appearances — attempted to barricade himself in his bedroom but eventually came out, offered no further resistance and was booked into jail.

County Attorney Andrew Thomas said the rapper’s celebrity status will not change how he’ll approach the case.

“We are handling this case as we would any other incident of alleged animal cruelty,” Thomas said.

Friday’s arrest is one of many brushes with the law DMX has had.

On Wednesday, he was arrested on charges of racing on a highway after speed cameras on a Phoenix-area freeway caught him going 114 mph, CNN affiliate KPHO reported. He was booked on charges of racing on a highway, reckless driving, two counts of endangerment and three counts of criminal speed and driving on a suspended license.

DMX faced a 1999 animal cruelty charge in Teaneck, New Jersey, that was dismissed after the performer agreed to accept responsibility and record public service announcements for an animal rights group.

The August raid came the same week that former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick pleaded guilty to bankrolling and running a dogfighting ring in Virginia

‘Idol’ contestant’s dad booted from backstage May 11, 2008

LOS ANGELES, California (AP)– Backstage meddling has caught up “American Idol” favorite David Archuleta’s dad, who’s been banned from rehearsals, a person working for the TV talent contest said Friday.

Jeff Archuleta was told this week by producers that he can no longer join his 17-year-old son David as he prepares for the show, the person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. The person wasn’t authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The show’s action was first reported Friday by the online Web site TMZ.

David Archuleta of Murray, Utah, is one of three contestants left as the top-rated Fox show heads toward the May 20-21 finale. The fresh-faced teenager with the big voice has consistently been deemed a front-runner by the judges and been a consistent fan favorite.

Jeff Archuleta’s intense backstage involvement had become a source of concern for the series, the person connected with “American Idol” said — but it was a lyric change on Tuesday’s show that pushed producers to act.

Despite a warning, Jeff Archuleta insisted on altering “Stand by Me,” one of two songs his son sang on the show Tuesday. By adding a verse from Sean Kingston’s “Beautiful Girls,” the father incurred additional costs for “American Idol,” the person said.

Fox declined comment. Attempts to reach Jeff Archuleta for comment were unsuccessful. A phone number listed under his name in Murray, Utah, was no longer in service, and Fox did not immediately respond to a request Friday evening for help in contacting the family.

Earlier Friday, David Archuleta was honored at a hometown celebration held at his high school in Murray, during which Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman declared “David Archuleta Day.”

The singer and his family declined to be interviewed at the event, but David Archuleta did speak with the Salt Lake City Fox affiliate, KSTU-TV. “Wow,” he exclaimed as he viewed the cheerleading squad outside his stretch limousine.

The other finalists left in competition for the “Idol” title and a record contract are David Cook and Syesha Mercado. Cook, a native of suburban Blue Springs, Mo., had his own homecoming celebration Friday in Kansas City, while Mercado was feted in Bradenton, Fla

No Denying It Now: Aniston and Mayer Are an Item May 11, 2008

John Mayer, visiting Jennifer Aniston in Miami this weekend, where the actress is filming “Marley & Me” with Owen Wilson.