Green Bay News

LAKE MARY, Fla. (AP) – A lawyer for George Zimmerman says his client wasn’t seriously injured after being involved in a shooting in Florida.

Attorney Don West says a bullet missed Zimmerman’s head in Monday’s shooting in the Orlando suburb of Lake Mary.

West says Zimmerman was sprayed with glass from his vehicle’s windshield and other debris.

He says Zimmerman was released from a hospital.

Zimmerman was acquitted in 2013 of fatally shooting Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager, in a case that sparked protests and national debate about race relations.

The Lake Mary Police Department said in a Twitter post that officers responded to a shooting involving the former neighborhood watch volunteer. The tweet provided no other details, and a spokeswoman didn’t return multiple phone calls.

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) — One of two brothers accused of fatally shooting two police officers has mental problems and is addicted to drugs, appearing high in photos after he was arrested, his mother said Monday.

Mary Smith told The Associated Press that her son smoked “spice” daily and had been hearing voices ever since he was attacked and hit in the head with a pipe several years ago.

Smith’s son, 29-year-old Marvin Banks, was charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of officers Benjamin Deen and Liquori Tate. The officers were slain Saturday night in what authorities have so far only described as a traffic stop gone awry.

A preliminary investigation indicated Deen had pulled over a vehicle for speeding and then called for backup, which is when Tate arrived. Gunshots erupted in the road near the Hattiesburg Housing Authority office. Banks’ girlfriend, Joanie Calloway, was also charged with two counts of murder.

His younger brother, 26-year-old Curtis Banks, is charged with accessory to murder and Marvin’s friend Cornelius Clark is charged with obstruction. It’s not clear what warranted those charges.

Warren Strain, a spokesman for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, said it was too early to say who shot the officers or how many shots were fired, and it wasn’t clear what prompted the gunfire.

A memorial was planned for the officers Monday afternoon.

Smith told AP that she has no doubt that Marvin killed the officers. She said he looked high in photos after his arrest.

“You could tell something was wrong with him,” she said, speaking on the steps of the Forrest County Courthouse, where she had come to find out more information about her sons’ arrest. “I hate it for these families that he wasn’t in his right mind.”

Marvin and his 6-year-old son lived with Smith, who works the night shift at a nursing home. She said she was resting before going to work when she got a call Saturday night that two officers had been shot and that Marvin, who is known by “Big Boy,” was involved.

After that, Curtis called her and said he had nothing to do with it and had been at home at his apartment at the time of the shooting.

Smith said several years ago that Marvin was attacked by a man who hit him in the head with a pipe. The reason for the attack wasn’t clear, but he spent time in intensive care and has had problems ever since.

She said she repeatedly urged him to get help for his drug addiction and apparent mental illness, but he wouldn’t go.

Katie Walmon, the mother of Marvin’s son, said he changed after his head injury and drug use.

“After that, he said he was hearing voices in his head. I say it was the devil,” she said.

Smith said she was trying to get lawyers for both of her sons. She said after Curtis’ arrest, he complained to her that officers had kicked him repeatedly, stripped him of his clothes and were holding him in cold cell. She has not talked to Marvin since his arrest.

Their initial court appearance is set for Monday afternoon.

Smith said officers often stop young black men without cause in Hattiesburg, sometimes simply to ask them what they are doing.

“The way police here in Hattiesburg harass young black men, you could tell something was going to happen, but I never thought it would be my sons,” she said.

Police didn’t immediately respond to a telephone call Monday.

Flags were at half-staff at the courthouse and roses decorated a chain-link fence near the spot where the officers were killed. Nearby, bloodstains still marked the asphalt where gunfire erupted.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch said Monday that the officers’ deaths “is made even more tragic by the fact that, on the day they were killed this past Saturday, the country began observing Police Week – a time when we pause to remember and honor the more than 20,000 law enforcement officers who have been killed in the line of duty.”

Strain said Marvin Banks also was charged with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and with grand theft for fleeing in squad car after the shooting.

“He didn’t get very far, three or four blocks, and then he ditched that vehicle,” Strain said.

Married and the father of two, Deen, 34, is a former “Officer of the Year” in Hattiesburg.

Family spokesman J.T. Taylor said he would want his friend of more than 30 years to know that he was going to take care of his family.

“There’s a lot of shock but the family and community is coming together. The community has come in to help them out,” Taylor said.

Tate, 25, graduated from the police academy last year.

Tate grew up in Starkville, 150 miles north of Hattiesburg. Strain said he was a 2014 graduate of the law enforcement academy.

He was known to his friends as “CoCo,” said his stepfather, B. Lonnie Ross of Jackson, adding that Tate was 12 when they met and already wanted to be a policeman.

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Associated Press reporters Jeff Amy and Josh Replogle contributed to this report.

MADISON (AP) – The group that has led protests against Madison police for killing an unarmed biracial man plans to demonstrate on Wednesday, a day after a prosecutor announces whether he’s going to file criminal charges in the incident.

Madison Police Officer Matt Kenny, who is white, shot 19-year-old Tony Robinson in an apartment house in March. Police said Robinson attacked Kenny. Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne plans to announce Tuesday whether he’ll charge Kenny.

The Young, Gifted and Black Coalition has been leading protests against the shooting. The group announced Monday that they’ll rally Wednesday morning in front of the apartment house. They want people to give up whatever they’re doing that day and join them in what they’re calling “Black-Out Wednesday.”

Several Great Plains and Midwest states were in the path of severe weather, including in North Texas. May 10, 2015.

GREEN BAY – If you saw the Packers draft, say, inside linebacker Jake Ryan and immediately penciled him into your mental starting lineup, you’re not alone. Though they may aspire to start, players don’t really work like that. Coaches, especially in Green Bay, rarely talk like that. Fans, however, especially with an often-direct line to their new favorite athletes, do.

“Of course, that’s social media,” said Ryan, a fourth-round pick out of Michigan in this year’s draft. “Everyone has their opinion. But I can’t say anything.”

With three of the Packers first four picks in the Draft coming at positions of perceived need – Ryan at inside linebacker and cornerbacks Damarious Randall and Quinten Rollins in the first and second rounds, respectively – players are aware of heightened expectations. Green Bay has a need at inside linebacker to go alongside Sam Barrington; and with Tramon Williams and Davon House gone to free agency, there are opportunities at cornerback as well.

“I just think that’s something that comes with being a first round pick,” said Randall, a defensive back out of Arizona State. “I just honestly don’t look at it as pressure.”

But look at what’s out there for these players to read: Randall’s phone buzzed with someone saying he’ll be a stud, Ryan has someone “calling it now” he’ll start week one and Rollins, after just one year of college football, will be a “future starter and star.” This is, of course, a small sample of what players hear, added onto what’s said to them outside social media.

It’s not that hard, players say, to block out this kind of noise — but expectations tend to linger, take for instance Ryan’s possible predecessor at inside linebacker: for many fans, AJ Hawk was always looked at through the lens of being a former first round pick. Rollins embraces the challenge of being looked at as someone who can contribute early.

“I know some people probably think I should come in here and take a year to develop,” said Rollins. “Me being the athlete I am, the competitor I am, come in here and try to earn a starting spot. That’s what they drafted me for.”

From the team’s standpoint, the Packers rarely heap on expectations or pile up too much pressure on players; in public anyway. They aren’t shy, however, about saying if you perform well, no one’s holding you back.

“To me, we’re in mindset of evaluating personnel,” said Green Bay head coach Mike McCarthy. “I’m sure as you go through the roster, opportunity is throughout our depth chart.”

The Packers offseason program is still ongoing. They’ll next have a practice open to fans during the first of three organized team activities on Thursday, May 28th.

GREEN BAY – An Appleton woman’s photo will grace Green Bay Packers tickets for one game this season.

The team announced that Laura Fischer’s photo won the Packers Ticket Takeover Contest. Fischer’s photo features her 3-year-old son, Declan, decked out in a full Packers uniform, ready to spring off the line of scrimmage from his three-point stance.

Fischer said her son’s support for the Packers is a way for him to be closer to his late father.

“One of the reasons I believe he enjoys watching the Packers so much is because it is how he continues to hold a strong connection to his ‘Dada,’ who passed away in November of 2013,” Fischer said in a news release. “When Declan sees himself dressed up as a Packers player on 80,000 tickets, it will give him a chance to be closer to his father and truly make his dreams come true.”

The photo will be printed on the official tickets to the Packers’ Fan Appreciation game against Minnesota next Jan. 3. Fischer will also receive two tickets for the game and hotel accommodations. She says it will be the first Packers game Declan attends.

The team says it received more than 9,200 photo entries in the contest. A panel of Packers officials chose five finalists, with the winner determined by an Internet vote. The Packers said 24,500 votes were cast.

TOWN OF GREEN LAKE – One man was seriously hurt when his semi rolled over near Markesan Sunday evening.

The Green Lake Co. Sheriff’s Office says deputies were called to Highway 44 north of Lakeshore Drive around 5:30 p.m. An 82-year-old man from Richland Center, who was driving the semi, had to be cut out of the cab. He was airlifted to the hospital.

Investigators say the man was hauling milk south on Highway 44 when he lost control of the truck. It went into the west ditch and turned over. The tractor and trailer were badly damaged and some of the contents of the trailer spilled into the ditch and the field next to it.

No one else was involved.

MARSHFIELD (AP) – Wisconsin public school students are taking a new test intended to measure learning this year, but the exam’s future is unclear because some state lawmakers say they would like something different.

That leaves some schools and teachers wondering why they worked hard to prepare for the Badger Exam, which is taken on computers and replaces the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts exam. Districts across the state spent months preparing for the new tests by ensuring computer labs and students in grades three through eight were ready.

“I am very proud of the work we have all done to prepare for the Badger Exam this year as a district,” said Kim Ziembo, director of instruction at the Marshfield School District.

But some legislators say they want a new test because of problems with rollout. The testing was delayed last month after a writing portion of the language arts section was deleted and a key interactive feature was dropped because it didn’t work properly, News-Herald Media reported.

Technology staff quickly addressed minor issues that popped up at many schools during testing, according to school officials. The test is widely preferred by school officials and teachers as a replacement to the traditional pencil-and-paper exam previously administered each fall.

Supporters of the Badger Exam are concerned that politicians will work to ensure the test isn’t used as it was intended and will introduce a new exam and format.

“We’re not even sure how this test is going to be used,” said Kathi Stebbins-Hintz, director of instruction at the Wisconsin Rapids School district.

The exams are meant to assess the performance of students, teachers and schools. However, legislators are considering a bill that would only allow the Badger Exam to be used to gauge student performance.

The Assembly could vote on the bill Wednesday.

WAUSAU (AP) – A Wausau woman is the last link in a 68-person kidney transplant chain of donations that started in Minnesota, spread across the country and ended at the University of Wisconsin.

After living with renal insufficiency for 30 years, 77-year-old Mitzi Neyens tells Press-Gazette Media that her condition had begun to worsen in the past two years. She was included in the chain after De Pere school teacher Megan O’Leary donated a kidney to a matched recipient in exchange for a matched kidney for Neyens, her long-time family friend.

The chain began in Minnesota with a woman who wanted to donate a kidney to no one in particular.

The National Kidney Registry and 26 hospitals nationwide helped coordinate 34 kidney exchanges between 68 people.

Photos submitted to ReportIt, May 10-16, 2015.

Mother’s Day-related photos from FOX 11 viewers.

Submitted May 11, 2015, by Tom Riley of Manitowoc, who writes:

“Video clip of incident that happened in Manitowoc of man being attacked that is already on news this morning that happened on 9th Street”

BOSTON (AP) – Lawyers for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev rested their case Monday to save him from the death penalty, calling a famous death penalty opponent as their final witness to testify that Tsarnaev told her, “No one deserves to suffer like they did.”

Sister Helen Prejean, who was made famous in the 1995 movie “Dead Man Walking” starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn, met with Tsarnaev five times since March at the request of the defense. She said she could hear in his voice that he regretted his role in the 2013 attacks, which left three people dead and more than 250 wounded.

“I had every reason to think that he was taking it in and that he was genuinely sorry for what he did,” Prejean testified Monday.

The defense team called more than 40 witnesses during the penalty phase of his trial in the hope of convincing the jury that Tsarnaev’s late older brother concocted the plot and that Tsarnaev deserves life in prison instead of execution.

His teachers recalled a sweet, hardworking boy, while his Russian family members wept as they described a kind child with an infectious smile.

A psychiatrist said Tsarnaev’s father struggled with severe post-traumatic stress disorder, while others described a mother who became obsessed with religion.

From the beginning of the trial, Tsaranev’s lawyers admitted he participated in the bombings but said his older brother, Tamerlan, was the mastermind. The brothers placed two pressure-cooker bombs near the finish line of the marathon April 15, 2013. Days later, the brothers also fatally shot a Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer in his cruiser.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was convicted of all 30 charges against him during the first phase of the trial, including 17 that carry the possibility of the death penalty.

During the penalty phase, Tsarnaev’s lawyers urged the jury to consider Tsarnaev’s young age at the time of the bombings – 19 – and his dysfunctional family as mitigating factors and grounds to spare his life.

Friends and family members said 26-year-old Tamerlan embraced a radical form of Islam and became a domineering influence on Dzhokhar.

The Tsarnaevs – ethnic Chechens – had lived in the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan and the volatile Dagestan region of Russia, near Chechnya, before moving to the U.S. in 2002, when Dzhokhar was 8.

Prosecutors had argued that Prejean’s testimony should be excluded, but a judge ultimately decided to allow it.

The Roman Catholic nun began prison ministry in 1981 in New Orleans and corresponded with Patrick Sonnier, a death row inmate who had been convicted of killing two teenagers.

She became Sonnier’s spiritual adviser and wrote a best-selling book on her experiences called “Dead Man Walking,” which was later turned into a movie.

During their case, prosecutors called bombing victims who gave heartbreaking testimony about watching loved ones die or having their legs blown off in the blasts. They portrayed Tsarnaev as an equal partner with his brother in the plan and someone so heartless that he placed a bomb behind a group of children, killing 8-year-old Martin Richard.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed days after the bombings when he was shot during a gun battle with police and Dzhokhar ran him over during a chaotic getaway. Dzhokhar was later captured hiding in a dry-docked boat.

MADISON (AP) – A prosecutor is set to announce Tuesday whether a white police officer will face charges for killing a young unarmed biracial man in Madison. Here’s a few things to know about the case:

Officer Matt Kenny shot 19-year-old Tony Robinson in an apartment house on March 6. Kenny was responding to calls that Robinson had assaulted two people and was running in traffic. Police say Robinson attacked Kenny but have released few other details.

The shooting has prompted protests, all peaceful. The Young, Gifted and Black Coalition has been leading the demonstrations. The organization wants Kenny fired and charged with homicide.

Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne, who is black, plans to announce his charging decision on Tuesday. YGB plans to gather at the apartment house following the decision.

MADISON (AP) – The superintendent of Madison schools says students shouldn’t skip school Tuesday to protest the district attorney’s decision on whether to charge a white police officer who fatally shot a biracial teen.

Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne said he will announce Tuesday whether charges will be filed against Madison Police Officer Matt Kenny. Kenny fatally shot unarmed 19-year-old Tony Robinson in March, sparking protests. Many students have skipped school to join in.

Madison Superintendent Jennifer Cheatham said in an email to parents Monday that they should encourage their children to stay in school. She also says she hopes parents will encourage children who choose to protest to be responsible.

Cheatham said Madison’s middle and high schools will provide opportunities to discuss the decision Tuesday.

PORTAGE (AP) – The district attorney in Columbia County will consider whether to resubmit charges against a former nurse accused of trying to kill the wife of a man with whom she’d had an affair.

A mistrial in the case against Stephanie McMillen was declared last Friday because of unspecified juror improprieties. The Baraboo News Republic says a conference is expected to be held Tuesday to determine how to proceed with the case.

McMillen was charged with attempted first-degree intentional homicide, stalking and obstruction. The 45-year-old Baraboo woman was arrested in September 2012.

Prosecutors say she drove to the home of Kimberly Tennier and asked her to help look for a lost cat. A criminal complaint says McMillen tried to lure Tennier to a pond on the property, but Tennier became suspicious and returned to her house.

Green Bay – Shannon was the latest person to get a Monday Morning Makeover.

Thanks to Salon Aura for the new look.

Click on the video above to see her transformation.

MADISON (AP) – Probable presidential candidate Scott Walker is in Israel on a five-day trip paid for by the governor’s political organization and the Republican Jewish Coalition.

The coalition’s executive director Matt Brooks tweeted a photo Sunday of Walker in Jerusalem and near the Western Wall wearing a yarmulke, the traditional Jewish head covering for males.

Hitting the day running on first day in #Israel w/ @ScottWalker -visited the Kotel, Christian holy sites and Old City pic.twitter.com/v36roJQKgF

— Matt Brooks (@Mbrooksrjc) May 10, 2015

The Republican governor plans to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and talk with Israeli and Palestinian entrepreneurs as well as tour historic sites during his first trip to Israel.

Walker originally said the trip would be funded by taxpayers as a trade mission, but later determined the visit would be primarily political. Walker has not officially declared his candidacy for the 2016 presidential race, saying he will announce his decision after the state budget passes, likely in June.

VAN, Texas (AP) – At least ten adults are unaccounted for after a severe storm hit the East Texas town of Van, injuring more than two dozen people. Van is about 70 miles southeast of Dallas.

Van Zandt County Fire Marshal Chuck Allen says 26 people were taken to hospitals by emergency personnel and an unknown number of others may have been taken to hospitals by private vehicles.

Authorities say 30 percent of Van has damage and about 50 people are in a shelter at a church.

The National Weather Service believes at least one tornado hit the town yesterday, but weather experts will survey the damage today.

Utility Oncor says nearly 11,000 customers are without electricity, including the Van area.

TOWN OF BELOIT, Wis. (AP) – Police are investigating the death of a woman whose body was found in a garage at a Town of Beloit home.

Chief Steve Kopp says an adult male who lives in the home has been taken into custody. Kopp tells the Beloit Daily News the woman didn’t live at the home, but may have known the man arrested.

A relative of the suspect called police Saturday after the man became agitated. Officers went to the home and found the victim in the garage. Authorities did not immediately release a cause of death.