Prisoner overpowers hospital security, shot by police www.privateofficer.com

LAUREL, Maryland Jan 3 2008— A prisoner who overpowered five security guards at a suburban hospital, took their weapons, shot a driver and then stole several cars has been shot and killed by police, authorities said Wednesday.

Kelvin Poke — who is from the Prince George’s County area and has associates in Washington — was found by Prince George’s County police shortly before 3:30 p.m. in a Ford Explorer accompanied by a woman, said Greg Shipley, a spokesman for the Maryland State Police.
There was a confrontation between the suspect and the Prince George’s County police, Shipley told reporters.
The confrontation occurred in Lincoln Memorial Cemetery outside Washington, he said, adding that the woman may be the owner of the vehicle.
Officials strapped the the 6-foot-3, 255-pound, shirtless, shoeless inmate to a gurney and took him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The 45-year-old prisoner was taken out of Jessup Correctional Institution shortly after noon on Tuesday when he complained of chest pains, Shipley said.
Two guards took the convict, who was serving life plus 40 years for kidnapping, carjacking and robbery, to Maryland’s Laurel Regional Hospital — about 8 miles from the maximum-security facility, said Shipley.
About 8:15 a.m. on Wednesday, on the hospital’s fourth floor, Poke overpowered a correctional officer and took his .38-caliber revolver, Shipley said.
Poke, who was not wearing handcuffs, then fired one of the weapons in an apparently successful attempt to free himself from his leg shackles, Shipley added.
Two other correctional officers — who had been escorting another prisoner to the hospital — entered the room, where Poke disarmed the one carrying a weapon, said Shipley.
When an unarmed hospital security guard who had heard the shootings entered the room, Poke forced him to accompany him to the ground floor, leaving one of his guns en route, Shipley said.
Once the two men reached the parking lot, Poke turned his attention to a 51-year-old man who was waiting in his Toyota Camry to pick up a relative who was working at the hospital, Shipley said.
Poke fired at least one shot, striking the driver in the head, pulled him from the car and drove off, Shipley said. Watch Shipley detail the escape
The man is doing well, Shipley added.
The hospital — which is located just east of Interstate 95, about midway between Washington and Baltimore — was briefly placed on lockdown.
The Camry was recovered shortly before 1 p.m. in Washington. A small fire was burning inside the vehicle, Shipley said.
About that same time, another carjacking occurred in the same area, he added. In that incident, a 2005 white Ford Explorer Sport Trac with Washington license plate DC3690 was carjacked, he said.
Another prisoner escaped from the Laurel hospital in November after taking a state trooper’s gun and was captured a few hours later. Asked why security procedures had not been tightened sufficiently after the first incident, Shipley said.

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Burglars steal badges, uniforms from security company www.privateofficer.com

ORLANDO, Fla. Jan 3 2008–

A break-in at an Orlando security company has police concerned.
On New Year’s Eve, burglars ransacked Security Staffing Solutions on Jefferson Street. The suspects got away with uniforms, 30 badges, a box of pepper spray, handcuffs and batons.
Police are worried the items could be used to impersonate a security guard or, even worse, a law enforcement officer. The company provides security for 25 businesses in Central Florida.
“Our employees might be out performing duties at one of our contracts and someone might call on them saying this is not the guy and so forth, so it could hurt us as well,” said Eric Smith of Security Staffing Solutions.
The business lost $50,000 in damages and stolen property due to the robbery.

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State catches unemployment scammers www.privateofficer.com

Seattle Wa. Jan 3 2008

With the help of a high-tech data mining staff and an investigation into phone records, the state has cracked down on a national ring of scammers collecting unemployment benefits from Washington, investigators said Wednesday.
Fraud investigators were tipped off to the scheme in July when several claims used the same Washington-based cell phone number. The benefit checks for those claims were mailed to Louisiana addresses.
The state traced the cell phone to a father and son who had filed claims and passed the number on to friends, according to the Employment Security Department.
Investigators have identified at least 54 people who they believe have improperly collected more than $400,000. The people live in several states, including Montana, Texas, Louisiana and Florida. The state has recovered $40,000 and stopped an additional $200,000 from being paid, it said.
To collect an unemployment benefit, a person must call and certify each week that he or she is in the state and looking for work, spokeswoman Hilary Young said.
Benefit payments are tied to the average annual wage, which is higher in Washington than others, she said.
“One of the reasons that people like to collect benefits in Washington, if they can, is because our benefit rate is higher,” Young said. “In most cases, you’re going to get more here than you are in a Southern state where the cost of living and the average wage is a lot lower.”
People are allowed to collect unemployment benefits from Washington, even if they do not live here, under federal law. But the people seeking money must have worked here, or must be in the state when they file for benefits.
The state’s data mining unit was created in 2005 and has four employees. That unit uncovered the scam, said Annette Taylor, chief investigator for the department’s office of special investigations.
Her office oversees about 30 who work in various units, including fraud management, new hires, identity claims and data mining.
“We got a tip,” Taylor said. “The tip was that, ‘We believe that there are individuals using a Washington-purchased cell phone.’ We started digging into it.”
Using a phone tracking system, data miners detected patterns of calls placed to the state agency. The computer system looked for similar patterns among other callers, and spit back the matches, allowing investigators to narrow their focus.
“We interviewed some of the claimants, and they admitted to not being in the state of Washington when they filed the claim, which is part of the requirements,” Taylor said.
Some of the claimants have appealed and won their case with an administrative law judge.
“We didn’t have enough evidence to counterappeal,” Taylor said. “We’ve lost a couple of them but in the scheme of everything, we’ve prevailed.”
If caught, a scammer has to pay back benefits with interest. Starting this year, under new state legislation, the penalties have become more stringent. On first offense, a person is disqualified from benefits for 26 weeks. On second offense, a scammer has to pay back the benefits plus a 25 percent penalty and cannot collect unemployment for a year. On third offense, the person cannot collect unemployment for two years and must pay back benefits plus 50 percent.
The state can pursue criminal theft charges, and does so on the most egregious cases; it has not done so with this case.
The data-mining unit must earn its keep under state law. It must prevent $1.8 million in overpayment of benefits per year, and must detect $2.125 million in fraud, Taylor said.
A steady stream of dishonest applicants means there are always new schemes to uncover.
“For 16 years of my career, I’ve been in investigations, either criminal or civil,” Taylor said. “You have to have a strong investigative arm for any agency if you are going to be providing a service that includes giving money to individuals.”

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Man grabs police dog, jumps off 200 foot bridge www.privateofficer.com

Man grabs police dog jumps off 200 feet bridge www.privateofficer.com

CORONADO, Calif. Jan 3, 2008 – A man being chased by authorities grabbed a police dog and leaped off a bridge, taking the animal with him into the cold San Diego Bay 200 feet below.
The dog died after the fall from the San Diego-Coronado Bridge, but the fugitive survived and was in serious condition Tuesday with a collapsed lung.
The 27-year-old man will be charged with causing the dog’s death, driving under the influence and evading police, authorities said.

The pursuit began Monday evening after an Oceanside police officer saw the man driving a pickup erratically. The officer, accompanied by a 6-year-old Belgian Malinois named Stryker, ordered the driver to stop, but he refused, officials said.
The man led police on a chase on Interstate 5 and onto the bridge, where he stopped and the officer released the dog.
“The dog actually took the driver to the ground, and then he actually lifted the dog up and jumped over the side,” said California Highway Patrol Sgt. Steven Toth.

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Deputy’s wife killed during “ride along” www.privateofficer.com

Deputy’s wife killed during “ride along” by; Rick McCann www.privateofficer.com

Arden Hills MN. Jan 3 2008

The wife of a Ramsey County sheriff’s deputy accompanying her husband on a New Year’s Eve ride-along died early Tuesday when a wrong-way driver smashed into their squad car on U.S. 10 in Arden Hills.
Investigators said the wrong-way driver might have been drinking.
Margaret L. Lopez, 56, of Shoreview, died at the scene when the oncoming vehicle hit the passenger side of the squad car, said Minnesota State Patrol Lt. Mark Peterson. Lopez was in the passenger seat.
Her husband, Joseph Lopez, 61, is a 27-year veteran of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Department. He suffered minor injuries and was taken to Regions Hospital in St. Paul before being discharged Tuesday morning, Peterson said.
According to the State Patrol, the following events unfolded before the collision:

A 23-year-old woman driving a black sedan was eastbound in the westbound lanes of U.S. 10 in Arden Hills.
The woman, Elizabeth Rhodes, of White Bear Lake, crashed into Lopez’s squad car about 3:30 a.m. just east of the Interstate 35W junction.
The westbound lanes of U.S. 10 were closed until midmorning while authorities conducted an investigation and cleared debris.
Officials said the wrong-way driver might have been drinking. She was taken to Regions Hospital with a torn aorta and was in critical condition Tuesday.
The investigation is continuing, Peterson said.
“Unfortunately, law enforcement gets involved in crashes on a regular basis,” he said.
Peterson added
that non-officers can participate in ride-alongs, which are common for the Ramsey County sheriff’s office.
“It’s not unusual for family members to want to ride along, so they know what law enforcement officials go through on a daily basis,” said Holli Drinkwine, a Ramsey County sheriff’s spokeswoman. There is no formal process for ride-alongs, Drinkwine said, but a supervisor is usually aware if one is taking place.
Joseph Lopez worked the midnight shift – from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. – answering calls in the suburbs.
He also has trained many deputies for the sheriff’s office, she added.
“He’s a very well-respected officer,” Drinkwine said. “Our department is trying to make a horrible situation somewhat better right now.”
A call to Rhodes’ parents in White Bear Lake was not returned Tuesday night. Her father is Ed Rhodes, senior pastor at North Lakes Community Church in Oak Park Heights. He was a police officer in Dallas for 11 years, according to the church’s Web site.

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Security officer remembered fondly www.privateofficer.com

El Paso TX. Jan 3, 2008

The security guard who died after being assaulted on the job at the Paso del Norte Bridge on New Year’s Day was remembered by colleagues today as a hardworking, family man.
Cruz Vite, 58, of the 10800 block of Jack Fleck, died at Thomason Hospital. He was rushed there by ambulance following the assault.
An El Paso Police investigation found Vite, who had a preexisting medical condition, was punched several times with a closed fist. His cause of death is pending an autopsy.
Pablo Aragon, 29, of the 1200 block of Myrtle, was jailed and charged with assault in connection with Vite’s death. His bond was set at $5,000. The charge could change depending on the autopsy results, police spokesman Officer Chris Mears.
The investigation is continuing.
Vite worked for Mike Garcia Merchant Security, a company contracted by the local street department to patrol the toll booth on the El Paso side of the international bridge.
“He was an excellent employee,” Mike Garcia, the company’s owner said. “He was married and he would get a long with everybody. Everybody like him. His supervisor always talked highly about him.”
The security company has been in Garcia’s family for about 60 years. Garcia, who has run the company for about 40 of those years, said, “I’ve never had anything like this happen before.”
Mears said the preliminary investigation found Aragon attempted to enter the toll booth when he and Vite got into a confrontation. Police have not said what triggered the fight, which was reported to police at about 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
“Aragon struck Vite with closed fists a few times before fleeing the area running northbound where he was later detained by a U.S. Border Patrol Agent,” Mears said.
Daryl Cole, street department director, said the tragedy is the first of its kind at the port of entry during the 11 years he’s overseen the contracting of security guards to secure the toll booths.
“We are numbed by it,” he said.
Cole said it’s not uncommon for fights to break out at the international bridge but the fights usually involve people returning to El Paso.

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Beauty queen, law student charged with torture of ex-boyfriend www.privateofficer.com

Former beauty queen, law student charged with torture of ex-boyfriend www.privateofficer.com

TUCSON, Ariz. — A law school student and former beauty queen who posed for a racy calendar while brandishing a weapon has been accused of kidnapping, biting and threatening a former boyfriend with a handgun.
Kumari Fulbright, 25, who is midway through her second year in law school, faces a long prison term if convicted of kidnapping, armed robbery, aggravated robbery and two counts of aggravated assault.

Fulbright, who competed for the Miss Arizona title in 2005 and 2006, recently completed a semester-long unpaid stint as a clerk for U.S. District Judge Raner Collins, his office said. She also posed wearing a shiny black bikini in a 2008 calendar that features women holding guns.
In the Dec. 18 indictment, Fulbright is accused of holding and torturing her 24-year-old ex-boyfriend in early December with the help of three other men, including another man she had previously dated.
Authorities think the dispute began because the ex-boyfriend was believed to have stolen jewelry given to Fulbright by the former beau suspected of helping in the attack.
Fulbright invited the man to her apartment, then excused herself to shower, said police spokesman Sgt. Fabian Pacheco. Then two men showed up and bound him with plastic ties and duct tape, accused him of taking the jewelry, and threatened to shoot him with pistols, Pacheco said.
When Fulbright finished her shower, she allegedly bit the man on his forearm, right hand and ear, held a butcher knife to his head, and told him she was going to kill him.
Authorities said the man was taken to another home, where the assault continued, then took him back to Fulbright’s house, where she guarded him with a gun.
The man finally managed to free a hand and grabbed the gun, which discharged but hit no one, authorities said. As their struggle spilled outside, the man screamed for help, then ran to a home down the block, while Fulbright returned to her apartment, Pacheo said.
“He has some bite marks on him, evident and consistent with his account, and his hands were red and swollen, consistent with someone who had been tied up,” Pacheco said.
A police complaint said the suspects stole the victim’s wallet, money clip with $500 to $600, and his cellphone and briefcase.
Fulbright’s phone is out of service and her apartment was unoccupied Wednesday, without any furniture. Efforts also were made to contact her through MySpace.com.
Tucson police also are seeking to serve her former boyfriend, Robert Ergonis, 44, and his brother, Michael Ergonis, 46, with arrest warrants charging them with kidnapping, armed robbery and aggravated assault, but believe they may have fled the country. Telephone numbers for the brothers were not listed.
Another man who was indicted with Fulbright remains jailed under $50,000 bond, but Fulbright was freed after arranging to have a similar bond posted.
Calls to Fulbright’s attorney, Thomas Hartzell, and to the Miss Pima County pageant, which Fulbright won in 2005, were not returned. She also was selected Miss Desert Sun in 2006.
A spokeswoman for the University of Arizona, where Fulbright attends, said it was premature to talk about what could occur in terms of discipline. She and other faculty members declined further comment, citing student privacy.

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SECURITY OFFICER SHOT www.privateofficer.com

LAKEWOOD CO. – Police are looking for a male suspect they say shot a security guard in the leg outside the Fantasy Club early Sunday morning.
It happened around 2:06 a.m. at the club, located at 6th and Sheridan. Lakewood Police say the guard was checking out a disturbance outside the club when he was shot. He was taken to St. Anthony Central with non-life threatening injuries. Police say the suspect was last seen driving away in either a yellow Ford Mustang or a yellow Dodge Charger with tinted windows. Police say he is Hispanic with a shaved head. They also believe he goes by the nickname “Shadow.

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Court hires security firm www.privateofficer.com

Courthouse hires security firm for protection www.privateofficer.com

WENTWORTH NC Jan 3 2008 — Anyone with courthouse business Tuesday should make plans to show up a little earlier.
County officials will begin implementing new security measures at the Rockingham County Courthouse. A metal detector has been installed, and the county also has hired a private security company to man the main courthouse entrance.
These new measures bring the century-old Rockingham courthouse on par with what other courthouses are already doing to protect employees and residents.
County officials have been studying increasing security at the courthouse for about 18 months, said Tom Wagoner, the county’s director of environmental and engineering services.
Installing the metal detector and hiring a security company is the last phase of the project. About eight months ago, employees began carrying badges that will give them access to the building. Several new cameras have been added, including nine within the past six months, Wagoner said.
All guns, knives, Mace and pepper spray will be considered contraband, said Robert Settle, a lieutenant with the Reidsville-based Mid-State Security Guard & Patrol Services.
Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page said there have been incidents where his deputies have recovered knives from people in the courthouse area. “The last thing you want is a weapon or a firearm getting into this facility,” Page said.
Wagoner estimated that about $100,000 has been spent thus far on security upgrades.
County staff members visited courthouses in the area as part of their study on security. Amelia Dallas, vice chairwoman of the Rockingham County commissioners, said officials weighed hiring private security against hiring additional deputies to staff the courthouse entrance. Contracting with an outside company proved to be more cost-efficient, she said.
“We just thought that it would be a good opportunity for us to try this private security company and see how it works out,” Dallas said.
Page said security guards will have the authority to detain people, and his deputies will be on hand to assist if needed.

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African-american security sue Madison Square Gardens www.privateofficer.com

2 African-American security officers file suit against Madison Square Gardens www.privateofficer.com

NEW YORK NY JAN 3 2008

Two African-American women who were security supervisors at Madison Square Garden accused arena management in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Brooklyn Supreme Court of discriminating against them by giving them less-desirable assignments and favoring white employees despite their lesser qualifications.
The women — Diane Henson and Sheila Gay-Robbins — described incidents of discrimination that were different from the sexual harassment accusations made by Anucha Browne Sanders and by Courtney Prince, a former captain of the Rangers City Skaters cheerleaders.
Browne Sanders, a former Knicks senior vice president, settled for damages of $11.5 million last month after a trial that held Coach Isiah Thomas liable for sexual harassment. Soon after, Prince settled for an undisclosed sum before a trial date was set.
On Oct. 8, six days after a federal jury’s verdict for Browne Sanders, Henson held a news conference to announce her intention to sue the Garden. Gay-Robbins was not identified then as the second woman who was going to join Henson in the lawsuit.
Henson and Gay-Robbins, each in her 50s, said their problems began after the hiring in 2005 of Kirk Randazzo, the Garden’s vice president for event operations, and Joseph DiCoco, a director of event operations.
Henson said she refused to sign a suspension notice based on “stale” accusations against her by former employees. Subsequently, she was assigned to the arena’s “nosebleed section,” which required that she supervise “children, large groups and unruly youths.” She said her schedule was less flexible than those of comparable male and white employees and that she worked longer hours for lower pay than some of them. She also said that “younger white female employees” who were “personally involved” with Randazzo and DiCoco received promotions and better pay.
Last March, she said, she was reprimanded for “alleged tardiness and/or absences,” but when she complained that white employees who also arrived late were not disciplined, she was told, “It’s about you,” a quotation attributed to Randazzo and DiCoco.
She said her complaints were not investigated by the Garden’s employee relations department and no action was taken. After she resigned under pressure in July after 11 years, she accused the Garden of circulating a photograph of her as a way to alert employees to prevent her from entering the building.
Gay-Robbins said she “advised” Randazzo not to post a photograph of her. But she said she saw him do it “in the same retaliatory and racist manner” before her resignation after five years at the Garden.
Gay-Robbins’s accusations are similar to Henson’s. She said that as a result of her complaints about discriminatory treatment, she received “disciplinary memoranda based on unsubstantiated and pretextual allegations.”
In a statement, the Garden said: “In addition to our own internal review, we hired an attorney to investigate the allegations of Ms. Henson and Ms. Gay-Robbins, who found them to be without merit. We will vigorously defend ourselves.”

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Prison guard implicated in jailbreak commits suicide www.privateofficer.com

Elizabeth, NJ Jan 3 2008 — A prison guard under investigation for the Hollywood-style jailbreak of two inmates in December, has committed suicide. Corrections Officer Rudolph Zurick, 40, was found dead at his home in Sayreville, according to his lawyer, Michael Mitzner. Zurick was scheduled to have his first interview with Union County police on the same day.
The cause of death has not been confirmed, but several news stories have reported Zurick’s death as a suicide. County officials in Union and Middlesex have not provided any information about his death.
Mitzer is quoted by Fox News as saying that Zurick has not been criminally charged for the December 15 jailbreak, and has submitted a report to police. He maintained that Zurick had not assisted the inmates in any way.
The prison guard was named in a note left by the two escaped inmates. The note, released by investigators without Zurick’s name, said:”Thank You Officer … for the tools needed. You’re a real Pal! Happy Holidays.”
Otis Blunt, 32, and Jose Espinosa, 20, broke out of the Union County jail through holes in the walls of their adjacent prison cells. They had removed cement blocks from the walls using a 10-pound shut-off wheel and a metal wire, according to the county prosecutor’s office. They covered up the holes with magazine photos of women in bikinis and arranged pillows in their beds to keep prison guards from searching for them.
The inmates were able to scale the jail’s 25-foot-high fence. Both had been held in a special area that was supposed to be the most secure section in the 15-floor jail.
Blunt was awaiting trial on robbery and weapons charges in connection with the shooting of a convenience store manager in 2005. Espinosa, a Bloods gang member, was scheduled to be sentenced for the 2005 drive-by shooting of Hassan Jackson in Elizabeth city. He faces up to 17 years in prison after pleading guilty this year to manslaughter.
The prison break, the first since the jail opened in 1986, caused authorities to review security in the Union County jail. Officials have prohibited inmates from putting up pictures on the walls of their cells. They plan to implement other security measures such as adding patrols, surveillance cameras and razor wire.

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Woman robbed at McDonald’s drive-through www.privateofficer.com

Woman robbed while in McDonald’s drive-through www.privateofficer.com

MOBILE, Ala. — Mobile police say two young men robbed two women at gunpoint Tuesday in the drive-through of a McDonald’s restaurant on Dauphin Island Parkway.
Officer John Young, a Mobile police spokesman, said yesterday the women were not injured in the accident, which happened around 6 p.m.
Young said the robbers were both armed with semiautomatic pistols and each approached one side of the women’s car.
Young said the two young men then fled on foot.
Anyone with information about the robbery is asked to call Mobile police.

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