Regional Briefs – November 18, 2019

Audit: NY Must Improve Notifications About Group Home Abuse

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) – A state audit is calling on New York to do better at notifying parents of abuse and neglect at group homes serving people with developmental disabilities.

State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli’s audit, released Monday, also says the state Office for People with Developmental Disabilities doesn’t always provide families and guardians with records they requested about substantiated abuse and neglect.

The agency generally agreed with the findings but questioned the deadlines the state auditors used.

Suspect in Brooklyn Festival Mass Shooting Pleads Not Guilty

NEW YORK (AP) – A man suspected of killing a gang rival in a gunfight at a Brooklyn community festival has been ordered jailed without bail after pleading not guilty to murder and other charges.

Kyle Williams was arraigned Monday, a month after his arrest. At issue in the case will be that police say he confessed to being one of two people who opened fire in July at the Brownsville neighborhood’s annual Old Timers Day celebration.

That shooting led to a hail of gunfire that wounded 11 people. Police say they’ve identified a second suspect. Williams, who’s due back in court on Jan. 15, could face life in prison if convicted.

Missing Sailboat Found, Safe and Sound, Off New Jersey Coast

BAR HARBOR, Maine (AP) – The Coast Guard says a sailboat that placed a distress call off the Maine coast has been located.

The Coast Guard ended a three-day search Monday after the 40-foot boat, Dove, was located safe and sound, nearly 100 miles off the New Jersey coast.

Petty Officer Nicole Groll, a spokeswoman, says a family member renewed a subscription for a GPS interactive messaging device, allowing the Coast Guard to pinpoint the boat’s location and message the crew as the vessel traveled to Florida.

The search began when a woman dialed 911 to make a distress call early Saturday.

The Coast Guard determined the call came from a location 20 miles south of Mount Desert Island. Groll said the Coast Guard wants to interview the crew at its next port of call.