State digest 03/26/02

Woman to stand trial in wreck that killed trooper

HOUSTON, Mo. -- A Texas County woman must stand trial on charges related to the death of a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper, who was hit while working a wreck on a dark and foggy highway.

Julie A. Hartman, 39, of Houston was ordered bound over on charges of involuntary manslaughter and second-degree assault, following a preliminary hearing Monday in Texas County Associate Circuit Court.

Authorities allege Hartman's vehicle struck and killed trooper Kelly Poynter about 1:05 a.m. on Jan. 18. Poynter was directing traffic at a multi-car crash on U.S. 63, about two miles south of Houston.

Authorities allege Hartman was under the influence of alcohol and that she was driving too fast for conditions.

Hartman was ordered to appear May 7 for formal arraignment in circuit court. She is free on $100,000 bond.

Two dead, three critical in St. Louis house fire

ST. LOUIS -- Two young brothers died and six other people were injured in a fire Monday morning at a house in north St. Louis.

St. Louis Children's Hospital spokesman Jim Williams identified the victims as 6-year-old Jared Jones and his 2-year-old brother, Jujuan Jones. Williams said the specific cause of death was not immediately known.

Justin Jones, age 5, was in serious condition. A 14-month-old girl was in satisfactory condition, and 10-year-old girl and 11-year-old boy were both in good condition. It was believed that all of the children were related, but it wasn't clear if they were siblings.

Two women were also in critical condition at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. They were Precious Jones, 24, the mother of the boys, and her mother, Ella Tinnin, 60. Tinnin owns the home. Both suffered from smoke inhalation, a hospital spokeswoman said.

The fire broke out around 5:30 a.m, fire department spokeswoman Kim Bacon said.

KC district finishes strip search investigation

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The school district announced Monday that it had finished its investigation into allegations that 23 third-graders were strip-searched over $5 in missing lunch money.

The district did not release the results of the investigation, but said officials would report their conclusions to the state Board of Education in the next few days. After that, parents will be told about the findings.

Pitcher Elementary School principal Jana Schwimmer and two teachers were suspended with pay last week pending the outcome of the investigation.

Woman fined $600 for embezzling grant money

ST. LOUIS -- A former clerk at a south-central Missouri charitable organization that provides medical services to the poor must pay back more than $13,000 in federal grant money she admitted embezzling.

Rachel Allison was sentenced Friday to a $600 fine, four years of probation and ordered to pay restitution.

She pleaded guilty in January to using the office credit card and checking account to embezzle money from the Dent County Healthy Communities organization in Salem. The crimes occurred between January and August of last year.

The grant had been given to the county agency by the U-S Department of Health & Human Services.

-- From wire reports