BABY BEATER FACES 10 YEARS
DANIELSON, Conn. (AP) – A Connecticut man is heading to prison after fracturing the legs and ribs of his weeks-old baby in 2015.
The Bulletin (http://bit.ly/2hbm1OP ) reports that 34-year-old Jarod Trudeau pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and risk of injury to a minor.
He faces 10 years in prison, suspended after seven, and five years of probation at sentencing scheduled for Sept. 29.
Trudeau entered his pleas under the Alford doctrine in which a defendant may not agree with all the prosecution’s evidence, but acknowledges there is enough to convict.
The child was taken to the hospital in July 2015 when the infant’s mother and grandmother noticed the baby was unusually irritable and had swollen extremities.
Trudeau attributed the injuries to “rough play” or improper handling.
SLOTS ARE UP
Mohegan Sun reported Friday that it kept, almost $54 million dollars in slot-machine revenue in August. 6.6 percent more than it kept in August 2016. It was the third straight month and the fifth in the last six in which the casino has posted a year-over-year gain in monthly slots revenue. Foxwoods Resort Casino reported an August slots win of $42.1 million, an increase of 0.5 percent.
MAN EXTRADICTED FOR MURDER
A New London man is being held on a $2 million dollar bond after Connecticut State Police flew to Missouri on Friday to bring James Armstrong back to Connecticut. Following a lengthy investigation into the April murder of Ralph Sebastian Sidberry, Armstrong was arrested and charged at Troop E in Montville. State police detectives learned that he was at the Army National Guard Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. Both Sidberry, who was known as Sequoyah Tall Tree, and Armstrong are members of the Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation. They were first cousins, according to family members. The motive for the shooting is unclear. The 30 year old Armstrong is scheduled to be arraigned Monday in New London.
CHAMPION RACER KILLED
NASCAR modified race car champion Ted Christopher was killed, along with his pilot, when their small plane crashed into the woods near the Guilford town line around 1 p.m. Saturday. Before races began at Waterford Speedbowl Saturday night, racers followed Christopher’s #13 car as it was driven around the track twice in remembrance of the 59 year old driver. Christopher often raced at speed-ways in Waterford and Thompson and captured 13 track championships during his career.
SAVE THE BUILDINGS
A national group of architecture experts are urging state officials to choose a future for the former Seaside tuberculosis sanatorium that will keep historic buildings there standing. Two of the buildings at Seaside in Waterford were designed by famed architect Cass Gilbert. The state’s preferred vision for the future of Seaside looks like a joint public-private operation of a hotel that would leave the property open to the public and provide an opportunity for the state to generate revenue by renting out rooms at about $200 per night. Historic preservationists like that option, too, calling Seaside an “unsung monument” to Gilbert’s career. The most recent estimates for construction of the lodge would cost $39.5 million, to be shared between the state and a private hotel developer.
TURN OFF THE MUSIC
After a summer of noise complaints from neighbors, the D&G Pizza and Pub in Canterbury will have to stop providing live outdoor music. The pub will have to reapply for a permit to host bands on its patio next spring. At a public hearing Thursday night, the Canterbury Planning and Zoning Commission voted 6-3 to deny a request to continue a live outdoor summer series. Owners of the pub built a patio in 2013, and began promoting live music events on Monday evenings this past summer. Neighboring residents, however, said the music was too late and too loud. The town asked the restaurant to discontinue live outdoor music in August pending Thursday’s public hearing. According to state statutes, if a town does not have a noise ordinance, which Canterbury does not, all music must cease by 10 p.m.
CUMBERLAND FARMS EYEING NORWICH
Convenience store chain Cumberland Farms is looking at a piece of prime real estate on West Main Street in Norwich and has applied for a change to the city’s zoning ordinance that would allow it to open a store at the corner of 684 W. Main St. and New London Turnpike. The proposed change must go to a public hearing, scheduled for 7 p.m. tonight at the City Council meeting.
