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SUNDAY • DECEMBER 28 • 2014
LJWorld.com
Accused rapists rarely convicted at trial During past decade, juries routinely delivered acquittals in complaints involving intoxicated victims By Sara Shepherd Twitter: @saramarieshep
In the past ten years, Douglas County juries convicted three rapists who
physically overpowered their victims, threatened them with weapons or broke into their homes.
COURTS
Please see TRIAL, page 6A
In the past 10 years, 48 men have been charged with rape in Douglas County, but only four were found guilty of the crime. Here’s how those 48 cases were resolved:
l Jury trial with guilty verdict: 3 l Guilty plea, as charged: 1 l Guilty plea, to lesser sex crime: 13 l Guilty plea, to non-sex crime: 12 l Jury trial with not-guilty verdict: 4 l Charges dismissed: 10 l Case pending: 5 — District court and district attorney data
‘I know how to entertain, and I know how to party’ City struggles with role in broadband competition By Chad Lawhorn Twitter: @clawhorn_ljw
Richard Gwin/Journal-World Photo
PERRY LOCKWOOD, OF LAWRENCE, has started a business as a Bret Michaels look-alike — Michaels was the frontman for the ’80s rock band Poison — and just signed a deal to take the company nationwide. He is also set to be on an HBO special.
Resident capitalizes on rock star resemblance
P
erry Lockwood is just thankful that he didn’t come out in Spandex. For years now, people have been coming up to him in bars, on the street and elsewhere asking to get photos with him and his trademark do-rag and long flowing hair. They would tell him he looked just like Bret Michaels.
Partly cloudy
“I was like, cool, they think I’m a professional wrestler,” Lockwood says. Bret Michaels What? No, no. Loosen the do-rag, Perry. Shawn Michaels is the wrestler. Bret Michaels is the legendary ’80s rock and roll singer who led
the heavy metal band Poison. You know, “Every Rose Has Its Thorn,” “Nothin’ but a Good Time,” and a host of other songs that will get a fellow in the mood to manicure a mullet again. “I always wondered why everybody would sing ‘Every Rose Has Its Thorn’ to me,” Lockwood says. “I knew the group Please see STAR, page 2A
Low: 22
Today’s forecast, page 4B
Chad Lawhorn clawhorn@ljworld.com
INSIDE Arts&Entertainment 1C-6C Events listings Books 4C Horoscope Classified 1D-6D Movies Deaths 2A Opinion
High: 40
Lawhorn’s Lawrence
The new year is likely to bring a City Hall decision that will affect Lawrence Internet service for years to come. There is disagreement on whether the impact will be good or bad. City commissioners are being asked to make a decision on a technical question commonly referred to as “common carriage” or “open access” of future fiber optic networks. Common carriage would allow for multiple Internet service providers to operate on a single network of fiber optic cables rather than each company buryI think it ing its own set of cables. The idea, its chief pro- would be ponent says, is that start- a negative up costs for new Internet service providers would be thing if dramatically reduced, and we had to consequently there would become a be a large increase in the regulator.” number of providers and a decline in the price of ser— Lawrence City vice. That all sounds good, Commissioner but it may not be the way it Terry Riordan would work in reality, said City Hall staff members who are struggling to make a recommendation on how the city should move forward. “The question on common carriage is whether it creates more of an incentive for a new provider to come in and build out a neighborhood with (broadband) services,
2B, 6C Puzzles 6D Sports 1C Television 9A
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6D 1B-4B 2B, 6C
Medical mission
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Please see CITY, page 8A
Vol.156/No.362 32 pages
While you ring in the new year, Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer will be overseas providing medical relief in the Middle East. Page 3A
Happy New Year!
The Lawrence Memorial Hospital Endowment Association Board of Directors would like to thank the community for your support in 2014. We could not do it without you! John Ross; Dale Denning, MD; Gary Sollars; Kurt von Achen; Teresa Kempf; Kelli Henderson, DDS; Doris Ricks; Val Stella; Ted Haggart; Matthew Hoy, LaVerne Epp; and Proctor Crow. Jon Heeb, MD; Sarah Landers, MD; Marilyn Dobski; Shade Keys Little; Beverly Roelofs; Becki Dick; Starla Jones; Gene Meyer; and Jean Shepherd.
LMH Endowment Association • 325 Maine • 785.505.6134 • www.lmhendowment.org