| By NBC News staff A North Carolina woman is in trouble with the law for tattooing her 11-year-old daughter, according to a published report. Odessa Clay, 30, of Grantsboro in Pamlico County has been charged with one count of tattooing a person under age 18, WCTI-TV reported. In North Carolina, it's illegal to tattoo a minor. Clay was arrested and charged in late September after police in Havelock, where she used to live, found out she gave her daughter a small, heart-shaped tattoo near her right shoulder, according to WCTI. Clay, who herself is heavily tattooed, said she used her own tools. "She asked me to do it," Clay told WCTI. Watch the most-viewed videos on NBCNews.com Clay said she numbed her daughter's arm for the procedure and her daughter was never in pain. Clay said she did not know that tattooing a minor is illegal. She told WCRI that she believes a former in-law reported the tattoo. She is due in court next month. More content from NBCNews.com:
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10/08/2012
Mother arrested for tattooing 11-year-old daughter
Zetas cartel linked to American's death
(CNN) -- Mexican authorities have detained a Zetas drug cartel leader suspected in the 2010 Falcon Lake killing of American David Hartley, in addition to other slayings and prison breaks in northern Mexico, a spokesman for Mexico's Navy said Monday. Salvador Alfonso Martinez Escobedo was detained last week and presented to the media Monday. He is accused of being the regional leader of the Zetas in the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon and Coahuila. Read more: Another Zetas leader captured Martinez, known as "The Squirrel," is also suspected of being behind of the 2010 massacre of 72 migrants in Tamaulipas, Mexico's Navy said in a written statement. The statement also said he was suspected to be responsible for graves found with more than 200 bodies in that state, "and the execution of more than 50 people by his own hands in different parts of the country." Mexico's Navy did not provide details about exactly why or how authorities believe Martinez is connected to Hartley's killing on the lake, which straddles the U.S.-Mexico border. Hartley's wife, Tiffany, has told police that she and her husband were on a Sea-Doo personal watercraft on the lake on September 30, 2010, to visit a half-submerged church, when they were ambushed by assailants who shot David Hartley in the head. She said she was unable to haul his body onto her watercraft before being forced to flee. Read more: Widow sues for information on Falcon Lake killing  |
Visit Detroit at your own risk, police union warns
| By NBC News staff The Detroit Police Officers Association is warning citizens and out-of-towners that they enter Detroit at their own risk, saying that the "grossly understaffed" and overworked police force cannot adequately protect the public in the increasingly violent city. "Detroit is America's most violent city, its homicide rate is the highest in the country and yet the Detroit Police Department is grossly understaffed," DPOA Attorney Donato Iorio told WWJ over the weekend. "The DPOA believes that there is a war in Detroit, but there should be a war on crime, not a war on its officers." The most dangerous cities in America An analysis of the FBI's Uniform Crime Report data from 24/7 Wall St. indicates that Detroit actually has the second-highest violent crime rate in the country, behind Flint, Mich. Homicide increased by 11 percent in 2011, while robbery and aggravated assault are fourth- and second-highest in the country, respectively, according to the report. This summer, city leaders cut the police department's 2012-13 budget by $75 million, to about $340 million, in an attempt to reduce the city's deficits, the Detroit Free Press reported. That forced the department to draw up a budget that will result in the loss of 380 positions through attrition and early retirement. Iorio told WWJ hundreds of officers have left the department since the start of summer. "Officers are leaving simply because they can't afford to stay in Detroit and work 12-hour shifts for what they are getting paid," Iorio told WWJ. "These police officers are beyond demoralized. ... They can no longer afford to stay on the department and protect the public," he said. According to the DPOA's manifesto, Detroit police are the lowest paid of any big city and have to work in what Iorio describes as "deplorable, dangerous and war-like conditions." About a month ago, a judge refused to block the pay cuts for the officers. "The state treasurer has threatened Detroit Police Officers with another 10% wage cut for going to court to protect their rights," the DPOA manifesto reads. "The explosion in violent crime, the incredible spike in the number of homicides and for officers trying to work 12 hours in such deplorable, dangerous and war like conditions is simple untenable," Iorio told WWJ. More content from NBCNews.com:
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Missing girl's backpack found
Hunt for Colorado girl expanded after backpack found
| The search for Jessica Ridgeway, 10, who disappeared on her way to school on Friday, has expanded since her backpack and water bottle were found miles from her home in Westminster, Colo. By Andrew Mach, NBC News The likely discovery of Jessica Ridgeway's backpack and water bottle – the biggest lead yet in the search for the missing 10-year-old – is fueling hope for her recovery, police say. The backpack was discovered Sunday outside the home of a man in the Rock Creek subdivision in Superior, Colo., about 6 1/2 miles northwest of Jessica's home, Westminster Police Investigator Trevor Materasso told NBC News on Monday. The man sent an email at 1:03 p.m. Sunday through a community listserv calling attention to the backpack, Materasso said. Other residents alerted him that it might be related to the case, and told him to call police. "This is very significant because it really is the only lead that we've had," Materasso said. "She left for school that Friday morning and disappeared just a few minutes later and didn't leave a lot of information, so we have a very broad investigation and a broad search for her. This is giving investigators a different thing to look into and follow up on." Stay informed with the latest headlines; sign up for our newsletter Police said they aren't discussing the contents of the backpack but said they are working with the family in the investigation. "We do believe this is her backpack, and this has expanded our search and our investigation into that community," Materasso said. "We also really want parents to talk to their kids to see if they have any information that could be beneficial and recognize that they won't be in trouble if they do." Jessica weighs 80 pounds and is 4-feet-10 with blue eyes and blond shoulder-length hair. Police say it's likely her clothes may have changed since she disappeared.  Westminster Police department via Twitter She was last seen on Friday morning by her mother when she left to walk three blocks from her home in Westminster, Colo., to meet friends for the walk to school. She took the same route every day. The friends told school officials that Jessica never showed up. They tried calling Jessica's mother, but she reportedly slept through calls after working a night shift. Watch the most-viewed videos on NBCNews.com An Amber Alert was issued Friday evening once the mother confirmed that her daughter was missing. Teams searched overnight and Saturday, using search dogs as well as going door-to-door around the neighborhood in Westminster, a suburb of Denver. Officials contacted the child's father, who lives in another state, the Denver Post reported. "At this time we don't have any indication he is involved in any way," Westminster police spokeswoman Cheri Spottke said. More content from NBCNews.com:
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Youth soccer coach slain in brutal NYC stabbing
| By NBCNewYork.com and NBC News staff Police are searching for a man who stabbed a youth soccer coach and cut off his ear before leaving him to die on a New York City sidewalk near Union Square early Sunday. Police responded to a call of an assault on West 14th Street at about 4:30 a.m. and discovered 25-year-old Michael Jones lying in a pool of blood with stab wounds to his stomach and neck. His ear had also been cut off, police said. More on this story from NBCNewYork.com "I ran down to the ambulance (down the block) and said, 'You'd better get down there. There's a guy on the ground with his throat cut,'" passer-by Malachi Mohamed, 39, told the New York Post. Jones, a native of Liverpool, England, and soccer coach for the Red Bulls Youth Training Programs, was pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital. He lived in West Harrison in Westchester County. "He coached two of my three sons and was just a great guy. He cared about what he did, and was very dedicated," Mark Fischer, who oversees refs for the Westchester league, told the Post. "The kids loved him." Police released surveillance video of the male suspect believed to have stabbed Jones as they canvassed the neighborhood looking for potential witnesses. Jones' attacker was described as a man between the ages of 25 and 30 with a dark ponytail. Also on NBCNewYork.com: Ailing Queens woman decides to stay on respirator The New York Red Bulls issued a statement calling Jones a "fantastic coach who loved soccer." Police sources said that robbery did not appear to be the motive. The investigation is ongoing. More content from NBCNews.com:
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