Regional Digest

5 charged with plastic theft

UPPER MARLBORO - Authorities in Prince George's County have charged five people in the large-scale theft of plastic pallets and delivery containers.

State's Attorney Glenn Ivey said the ring stole containers belonging to Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Cola and other companies from stores such as Safeway and CVS and transported them out of state.

Officials said retail and wholesale food distributors suffered an estimated $10 million in losses in the last year from this kind of theft.

Council defies church on gay marriage

WASHINGTON, D.C. - D.C. Council members said there's little room for compromise with the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington over a proposed same-sex marriage law.

The church said it won't continue offering social services with D.C. money if the marriage bill isn't changed because it would require the church to recognize same-sex couples. But council members said threats shouldn't determine D.C. laws.

Council member Jim Graham said the church hasn't abandoned social services in New Hampshire, Connecticut or Vermont after those states began same-sex marriages.

2 sentenced for sex trafficking

BALTIMORE - Federal prosecutors said two people have been sentenced to 10 years in prison for sex trafficking of minors in Maryland, New York and Washington, D.C.

Byron Thompson, 25, and Lea Bell, 29, both of Reisterstown, were also ordered at sentencing Thursday to register as sex offenders.

According to court documents, Thompson and Bell recruited minors to engage in commercial sex acts.

They rented more than 100 hotel rooms and recruited sex workers through friends, clubs, bars and the Internet. They posted ads on the Internet to attract sex customers.