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PALM SPRINGS, Fla. (AP) — A small plane crashed into a mobile home park and set two homes on fire, killing the pilot and a 21-year-old woman who was inside one of the homes, investigators and a relative said Wednesday. No one else was aboard the plane and no one else on the ground was injured when the plane plunged from the sky about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday into a park of a few dozen mobile homes, National Transportation Safety Board investigator Dan Boggs said at a news conference. "We're very fortunate it wasn't worse," he said. Domingo Galicia said his trailer was engulfed in flames and his daughter, Banny Galicia, was inside and presumed dead. He said he was outside at the time and heard the plane but never saw it. He said he was blocked by flames when he went to open the door to the home. "Banny! Banny! Come outside!" he said he screamed at his daughter. Investigators said it was too soon to speculate on what caused the plane to go down at the Mar-Mak Colony Club, a park a few dozen homes where many of the residents speak only Spanish. The park is dotted with palm trees and bordered by a drive-in movie theater, a wooded area and strip malls catering to Spanish-speaking residents. Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Capt. Albert Borroto said 911 callers reported a low-flying aircraft and first responders arrived at the crash site to find thick smoke rising in the air. Stephanie Martin, 21, said Banny Galicia was her best friend whom she had known since middle school. "She always knows how to make people laugh and smile, silly jokes," she said. She was a student at Palm Beach State College, liked listening to Christian music and was active in her church. She doesn't believe her friend could have survived. "She would have showed up by now. I keep picturing her coming but she doesn't show up. I want to have hope but there is none. I want to have faith but I lost it." The pilot was not identified. Investigators said the Cherokee 180 plane was flying from Orlando to nearby Lantana. Clara Ingram, who lives in the trailer park, told The Associated Press that she was home at the time of the crash and heard it happen. When she went to look out her door, she saw "nothing but a big ball of fire." "There was a big smoke cloud coming up into the sky," said Cliff Hubbard, 48, who lives near the mobile home park. "Just black, dark smoke." Tyron Caswell, an employee of a car dealership across the street, told the Sun Sentinel newspaper he saw a huge plume of smoke after hearing the crash. He said employees there were reviewing security footage taken outside the building of the plane dropping from the sky. "When I look back at the video it was like, 'Whoa,'" he said, adding he was stunned by how close he was to the crash. Boggs said investigators are reviewing the video. The Red Cross had been called to assist two families, authorities said.
NEW HARTFORD, N.Y. (AP) —
The scene of brutal beatings that left one man dead and his brother seriously injured is a former elementary school where a Christian congregation had worshipped for as many as 30 years, and some neighbors said Wednesday that the secretive ways of the church made them suspicious.
With six members of the Word of Life Church in New Hartford — including the parents of the two victims — now locked up on charges they assaulted the two young men on Monday, the reason for the attack still hasn't been released as prosecutors and police say they're still putting together the pieces of the crime ahead of a hearing on Friday.
Police have scheduled a news conference Wednesday afternoon to discuss the investigation.
The rush of police activity on Monday included a special operations team raid on the church that startled neighbors in the once thriving mill town of 22,000 people, though some said they had been wary of the church members.
Eva Monaghan, who lives around the corner from the church and is a lifelong resident of the area, said she was evacuated from her home for 8 hours when police arrived.
"I'm really afraid. In my heart I don't think this is the first incident," she said. "Over all the years, I can't imagine this is the first thing. Maybe nothing as bad. Around town, it's considered a cult."
Bruce and Deborah Leonard have been charged with first-degree manslaughter in the death of 19-year-old Lucas Leonard. Four other members of the church in New Hartford also have been charged with assault in connection with the man's death. Lawyers for the Leonards declined to comment Tuesday.
New Hartford police said Lucas Leonard died Monday after he was beaten at the church. Officials said his injured 17-year-old brother was found inside the church and is hospitalized in serious condition.
Authorities have declined to discuss a motive or other details of the case, including how Lucas Leonard was killed or how his brother was injured.
The news conference was set for 1 p.m. at New Hartford police headquarters.
The elder Leonard, 65, and his 59-year-old wife live in the nearby hamlet of Clayville. The church is in a three-story brick building that once housed an elementary school. The congregation had been using the property as a church since the late 1980s or early 1990s, New Hartford town Supervisor Patrick Tyksinski told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The six church members were arraigned Tuesday and sent to Oneida County Jail. At the arraignment, it was revealed that both teens suffered injuries to their abdomens, genitals, backs and thighs. Bail for the Leonards was set at $100,000 each and for the four other defendants at $50,000 each. All pleaded not guilty.
Police said more arrests are expected as the investigation continues.
The investigation began at about 12:30 p.m. Monday when family members brought Lucas Leonard to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Investigators determined that the Word of Life Church was the scene of the crime, and the building was surrounded by special operations teams from state and local police agencies.
Police eventually entered the church, and several church members were interviewed. Several children were turned over to child welfare officials.
In addition to the Leonards, police arrested David Morey, 26, of Utica; Linda Morey, 54, of Utica; Sarah Ferguson, 33, who lives at the same address as the Leonards; and Joseph Irwin, 26, who lives in the church building.
Nancy Kneller has lived in the community for 28 years and worked at St. Patrick's St. Anthony's Catholic Church adjacent to Word of Life. She described the church as a close-knit group.
"The reaction from me was fear. How can you not feel fearful when it's such a quiet, wonderful neighborhood to take a walk? It's frightening to see a police presence here," she said. "It's really sad. I think that people have always been so suspicious. Why are they so secretive? Why are there no kids out playing?"
Still, she said, "I think they're good people that made a bad decision."
HALF MOON BAY, Calif. (AP) —
A rippled white whopper weighing in at 1,969 pounds took the title Monday for plumpest pumpkin at an annual San Francisco Bay Area contest.
Growers gathered with their gargantuan offerings to try to break the world record of 2,323 pounds, which was set by a Swiss grower during a competition in Germany last year.
It didn't happen.
But the winning entry at the Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-off in Half Moon Bay, south of San Francisco, was no small feat. Steve Daletas of Pleasant Hill, Oregon, won $12,000 for his lumpy, 1,969-pound pumpkin.
"It's been a good year," he said after the contest. "I've never grown an official 1,900-pound pumpkin before."
Forklifts and special harnesses carefully placed the massive pumpkins on an industrial-strength digital scale with a capacity of 5 tons as officials from the county agricultural commissioner's Office of Weights, Sealers, and Measures kept close watch.
Second place went to Ron and Karen Root of Citrus Heights, California, for their 1,806-pound entry. A $500 prize also was awarded to the "most beautiful" pumpkin based on color, shape and size.
With California in its fourth year of drought, some said the dry soil deflated their pumpkin-growing dreams.
"No doubt about it," Gary Miller of Napa, the 2013 winner, told Bay Area news station KNTV. He entered a 1,303-pound pumpkin.
Last year, grower John Hawkley set a North American record with a 2,058-pound entry. He returned to defend his title, but his pumpkin registered 1,447 pounds.
Organizer Tim Beeman said the contest kicks off the Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival this weekend.