Police Chief, Wife Arrested For Thefts www.privateofficer.com

DALTON, Ga. Jan 18, 2008 – The police chief of a small northwest Georgia town was put on administrative leave after he and his wife were charged with theft Thursday.
Varnell Police Chief Tim Henderson was booked into the Whitfield County Jail on one count each of felony theft, misdemeanor theft by taking and violation of oath of office.
Henderson’s wife, Pam, was charged with one count each of misdemeanor theft by taking and misdemeanor theft of lost or mislaid property.
A Georgia Bureau of Investigation probe focused on thefts from a Kmart where the chief worked part time, according to District Attorney Kermit McManus. McManus called the GBI after receiving a complaint from a manager at the store.
“Because of his position as police chief, I felt like an outside agency would be the appropriate agency,” McManus said Thursday. “My office is not an investigative office.”
McManus said he had recused himself from prosecution of the case.
Henderson is on administrative leave with pay, and Lt. Lyle Grant was made acting chief, Varnell City Manager Jestin Johnson said.
On Wednesday, investigators with the Whitfield County sheriff’s office were looking into the loss of funds from the city of Varnell.
Johnson said about $800 was missing from collection of fines in the police department.
“When the clerk of court was doing her countdown she noticed something was not right,” he said. The money was noticed missing in mid-October.
Whitfield deputies and GBI agents searched Henderson’s home later Wednesday, and a woman who was living at the home was arrested for misdemeanor marijuana possession, officials said.
Teresa L. Kohnle, 35, was taken to the Whitfield County Jail on the drug charge. She is charged in Catoosa County with felony murder and first degree arson in connection with the death of her husband, James Kohnle, 57, of Boynton.
Kohnle, a Dalton chiropractor, died of smoke inhalation from a fire at the couple’s home on June 29.
Teresa Kohnle was out on bond on the murder and arson charges from Catoosa County, and one of the bond conditions was that she live at the Hendersons’ home, Catoosa County Sheriff Phil Summers said.
Summers said officials were aware of Kohnle’s arrest and had notified the district attorney’s office.

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Security Officer Shot Stopping Robbery www.privateofficer.com

Atlanta GA. Jan 18, 2008

Police are searching for three men they believe shot a security guard at a discount mall. Officers said the gunmen were trying to rob a UPS truck on Headland Drive in Southwest Atlanta Thursday afternoon.
Authorities said the entire incident at Greenbriar Marketplace Discount Mall was caught on surveillance tape. Three suspects pulled up in a silver, 4-door Toyota Camry and can be seen on the tape staking our their target before making a move.
“And then you see the driver get out and he makes movements around the car and you see him kind of disappear behind the back of the truck and then come back out,” said mall employee Casey Nunn.
Authorities said the suspects tried to shoot the UPS driver but the bullets lodged in several UPS packages instead. The 28-year-old mall security guard attempted to stop the crime and was shot six times. He is listed in serious but stable condition.
“We don’t know what the items were inside of the boxes right now. We’re just trying to investigate and see what was going on, why they chose this particular truck or any items that were in there,” said Officer James Polite with the Atlanta Police Department.
The suspects were able to escape in their car. Police are looking for the three suspects that were seen leaving the scene in a silver Toyota Camry with either Michigan or drive-out tags. You are asked to call Atlanta police if you have any information.

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OFFICER DOWN………VA. www.privateofficer.com

Chesapeake VA. Jan 18, 2007

Flags are half staff and black bunting covers the FOP Officers Memorial Stone in front of the Chesapeake Police Department as the city mourns the death of an officer killed in the line of duty.
Narcotics Detective Jarrod Shivers,34, was shot Thursday night.
Police have charged Ryan David Frederick, 28, with first-degree murder and use of a firearm.
Shivers was serving a narcotics warrant at Frederick’s home in the 900 block of Redstart Avenue when gunfire erupted. He was hit and other officers retreated.
The SWAT team was called in, finally entered the home and didn’t find anyone else.

witness told 13News he heard a shot, then looked out the window to see Chesapeake Police surrounding his neighbor’s house. Richard Wick also said several homes on the street were evacuated afterwards.
“I was across the street where I heard the gunfires, shots, went to the front door and opened, saw the police surrounding the house, and they asked everybody to get inside,” said Richard Wick.
Wick also said several homes on the street were evacuated afterwards.
Other witnesses say they saw eight to ten police cruisers fly down the street after the shooting. Then, they saw a man undergoing several minutes of chest compressions.
The ambulance, under police escort from Norfolk, carried Det. Shivers to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
“For someone that’s out there, to serve and protect, it’s horrible to hear that,” said neighbor Zach Blankenship.

An hour after the shooting took place, dozens of police vehicles covered the street where the incident occurred.
Around 10:25 p.m., SWAT teams surrounded the home, calling for “Anyone inside 932 Redstart, come to the front door with your hands up. Do it, now.” That led to the arrests.
Shivers was an eight-year veteran with the Chesapeake Police Department and had been working in the Special Investigations Section (Narcotics) for two-and-a-half years.
Shivers is survived by his wife and three children – a two-year old son and two daughters, ages eight and 14.
Donations can be made at Bank of Hampton Roads under Officer Shiver’s name or under an account named “Officer Down,” according to Chesapeake Police.
Funeral arrangements are being made.
The last Chesapeake Police Officer killed in the line of duty was Officer Michael Saffran on October 8, 2005. T

he police department’s website has a memorial page with information about their fallen officers. The link is on the left hand side of the main page.

Wearing hats, sunglasses, hoodies, No Service At Banks! www.privateofficer.com

MIAMI FLA. JAN 18, 2008

Florida’s top bankers group rolled out a security dress code Thursday that, if adopted by the industry, would mean “hats off” for banking customers in the Sunshine State.The what-not-to-wear policy would also prohibit sunglasses, caps and hoods — anything that might obscure a person’s identity, according to the Florida Bankers Association, the industry’s statewide trade group.Citing Florida’s recent plague of bank robberies — which increased 40 percent in 2007 — the industry group touted its “No Hats, No Hoods, No Sunglasses” program as a deterrent that has worked in other states because potential robbers are more easily identified when their heads or faces are not covered.

We know the ‘No Hats’ program can be effective, because we’ve looked at the facts and evaluated the numbers,” said Rick Lee, president of the group and chief executive officer of Citizens Bank of Florida in Oviedo. “We believe we will see immediate results.”Banks participating in the voluntary program will post notices in branches notifying customers that they should remove the prohibited clothing items before entering the bank. If they refuse, they would be diverted to a more secure area of the bank to be served by a specially trained teller. No customers will be denied service outright, the group said.

Critics, however, said banks trying to enforce the policy risk alienating customers and opening a Pandora’s box of problems involving personal freedom, religious expression, lifestyle, fashion and taste.”Obviously, it’s going to trigger some First Amendment issues and religious-freedom issues,” said Ian Rheingold, executive director of the National Association of Consumer Advocates, a nonprofit based in Washington. “Surely the banks have more problems and better things to do with their time than worrying about what people are wearing.”Bankers said they are aware of the risk involved but said the increasing threat of crime is compelling enough to take that risk. Bankers have promoted similar “No Hat” programs in at least eight states, and the results have been dramatic, they said.

In Missouri alone, bank robberies fell 47 percent from 2002 to 2005 after the policy was widely implemented, according to the bankers group.”Bankers aren’t just going to hope robbers won’t come. We’re going to be proactive,” Alex Sanchez, the trade group’s president, said in a written statement. “The program is one more layer of protection for banks, employees and bank customers.”

More than 20 banks in Florida are already participating in the dress-code program, the bankers group said, though the banks’ names were not available Thursday.The state’s largest banks are apparently not on board yet.Wachovia Corp. said it did not have a formal dress-code policy, though its branches are authorized to ask customers to remove any items that interfere with identification. SunTrust and Bank of America could not confirm Thursday whether they had joined the program. Colonial Bank said it is evaluating the banking group’s initiative.Orlando-based First Commercial Bank of Florida is generally supportive of the proposal, said Alan Rowe, that bank’s president and a member of the Florida Bankers Association’s board of directors.”Most banks in their security training emphasize how their staff should watch out for individuals who look heavily disguised or covered up in some way,” he said. “In general, though, you have to use a lot of common sense in carrying that out. I don’t think anyone is going to really enforce this as strictly as some might think.”

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Former Banker Now Charged With Bank Robberies www.privateofficer.com

Former bank manager charged with at least 3 bank robberies www.privateofficer.com

KINGSLAND GA. Jan 18, 2008 — A St. Augustine man charged with a Jan. 8 bank robbery in Kingsland is now the suspect in two December bank robberies in Georgia, police said.Tony A. Bell, 46, has cooperated with investigators who have questioned him about last week’s robbery of the Ameris bank on Georgia 40 in Kingsland, said Lt. Todd Tetterton, a spokesman for the Kingsland Police Department. Since his arrest on Jan. 8, Bell has provided information about two bank robberies in Athens and Augusta, both on Dec. 4, he said.FBI Special Agent Tony Alig praised Kingsland police for their “timely and professional response” in arresting Bell.At the time of the Augusta and Athens robberies, Bell was unemployed and living in Greensboro, which is between Athens and Augusta, Alig said.Bell currently faces only state charges in the Kingsland robbery but evidence on all three robberies will soon be presented to a federal grand jury, he said.Officers stopped Bell as he tried to drive onto southbound Interstate 95 minutes after tellers at the Ameris bank in Kingsland activated an alarm.
Investigators found all the stolen cash inside a bag they said the suspect brought with him into the bank when he demanded money from tellers. Because of the ongoing investigation, the amount taken from the bank was not released, Tetterton said.Bell, a former banker, had knowledge about bank operations not known to most people outside the business, Tetterton said.Citing the ongoing investigation, Tetterton declined to say if that knowledge would have been beneficial in any of the robberies.Bell is currently held in the Camden County Jail.

Security guard charged with theft from estate www.privateofficer.com

Security guard charged with stealing from estate www.privateofficer.com

PORTLAND ORE. JAN 18 2008

Police arrested a security guard and her boyfriend Thursday in the theft of two large sculptures taken last month from the Northwest Portland estate of Jean Vollum, a philanthropist and art patron who died in June.
The pair allegedly cut up and sold the sculptures — worth an estimated $30,000 — for $70 to $100 in scrap metal.
The pieces of art, said Dorie Vollum, Jean Vollum’s daughter-in-law, “are irreplaceable, one of a kind . . . and they hacked them into little pieces.”

Adding insult to injury, one suspect, Kathryn Michelle Loundree, 36, had been hired to protect the property as an employee of Portland-based Harbor Security Inc.
“Ironically, Loundree stood in my kitchen the night we discovered they had been stolen,” Vollum said. “She sympathized with us.”
Vollum said the family intends “to make sure the case is fully prosecuted.”
A man who answered the phone Thursday at Harbor Security declined to comment on the case.
Deputy Travis Gullberg, spokesman for the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, said parts of the sculptures — an untitled, welded metal piece made in 1970 by Tom Hardy and a 1967 cast bronze titled “Mother and Child” by the late Frederic Littman — were recovered at a Northeast Portland trailer Loundree shared with Rodney Remick, 33.
Gullberg said detectives will work to see if thefts occurred on other properties Loundree patrolled.
Loundree and Remick were apparently selling the metal to feed their drug habits, Gullberg said. Both were booked into the Justice Center Jail on suspicion of aggravated theft.

The sculptures were discovered missing Dec. 20, along with two others. The other two — a sculpture by Portland artist Hardy and a piece by the late Hilda Morris — were recovered the next day on the Vollum estate, moved from their original locations.
At least one of the sculptures had been cut up and sold by the time the theft was discovered, Vollum said.
Officials said a worker at Metro Metals Northwest in Portland became suspicious when he noticed what appeared to be a hand in a bucket of scrap. Police later viewed videotapes of the sale of the scrap, Vollum said. Another metals recycler also cooperated with the investigation, officials said.

Gullberg said sheriff’s detectives and the Portland Police Bureau served a search warrant Thursday at Loundree’s trailer.
“They are both destroyed,” Gullberg said of the sculptures. “They were cutting them up and selling them by the bucket, probably getting about a dollar a pound.”
The works had little resale potential on the open market because of their size and unique nature. Although police assigned a value of $30,000, Dorie Vollum called the sculptures “priceless.”
Vollum said she terminated the relationship with Harbor Security on Thursday.
Littman’s “Mother and Child,” which weighed 270 pounds and stood 5 feet 8 inches tall, was stolen at least one other time, cut off at the feet and taken from Council Crest Park in July 1990. It was later recovered in a Northeast Portland home.
Then, as now, police said, thieves stole the sculpture with the intent of selling it for scrap to feed drug habits

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Security guard charged with theft at work www.privateofficer.com

Cloverlick KY Jan 18 2008

A security guard at a mine in Cloverlick was arrested for theft Wednesday following an investigation by the Kentucky State Police.KSP trooper Walt Szczepan said he arrested Samuel J. Romano, 59, of Cumberland, after he allegedly stole items from coal miners’ vehicles.Romano was charged with one count of theft by unlawful taking of property valued over $300 and two counts of theft by unlawful taking of property valued under $300.Szczepan said Romano is an employee of Dynamic Security Incorporated, in Cumberland. Szczepan said Black Mountain Resources hires the security guards, and the alleged theft occurred at the Panther Mine at Cloverlick.Szczepan said Romano has worked for the security company since April and usually works at the Cave Spur Mine at Cloverlick, but he was filling in at the Panther Mine on Sunday night. Szczepan said mine officials had video surveillance of the alleged thefts. He said the coal miners arrived at work and had just gotten underground when the security guard, wearing a security jacket, was allegedly seen on video ransacking four miners’ vehicles.Szczepan said over $1,200 in property and money were stolen from the vehicles, including tools, a cell phone, cash and coins. The items reported stolen were from three of the four vehicles ransacked. Property valued at over $300 was stolen from one of the vehicles, which led to the felony charge.

Szczepan said he reported to work at 6 a.m. Wednesday, and he received a call at 6:05 a.m. that Romano wanted to see him. Szczepan said Romano confessed to the thefts and returned some cash and coins, but he still denied stealing any other items.A warrant of arrest was obtained for Romano by Szczepan, and he was lodged in the Harlan County Detention Center with bond set at $9,000 full cash.Szczepan said he is investigating another theft at a mine involving another security guard and another arrest may occur today.

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police officer arrested for interferring with arrest www.privateofficer.com

cer Charged With Interferring In Shoplifting Arrest http://www.privateofficer.com

HOUSTON TX. JAN 18, 2008

A Houston police officer is free on bail after being accused of interfering with the arrests of two suspected shoplifters at Greenspoint Mall.
Kerry Q. Small, 43, is charged with hindering apprehension, a Class A misdemeanor. Authorities said the 22-year HPD veteran works at the police training academy.
“It’s a pretty serious offense from the standpoint of the officer,” said Harris County Assistant District Attorney Joe Owmby.
Owmby said security guards at Macy’s said they found two girls, a juvenile and a 17-year-old, shoplifting Saturday. Court documents allege that the two had taken more than $400 worth of merchandise, which security staffers recovered.
The guards detained the two and alerted the Houston Police Department to send an officer. Small came to the store in uniform and took the girls away, apparently after one of the girls called him on her cell phone, authorities said. Owmby was not sure about Small’s relationship with the girl.
After Small left with the pair, Macy’s employees called the HPD to ask whether he had authority to take them, Owmby said. They were told that no officer had been sent to the store.
Small did not report the incident to the police, nor did he investigate the allegations or give security staff an offense report number, court documents state.
An arrest warrant was issued Wednesday. Small is free on $1,000 bail. Police said he has been relieved of duty with pay while the case is investigated.
If convicted, he faces up to a year in jail and a maximum $4,000 fine.
Owmby said the two girls have not been arrested and the district attorney’s office will investigate the allegations.

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Security officer foils bank robbery www.privateofficer.com

Chicago IL Jan 18, 2008

An off-duty Chicago police officer working as a security guard foiled a robbery at a North Side bank Thursday afternoon, authorities said.The attempted heist occurred about 1:20 p.m. at the Albany Bank branch at 4400 N. Western Ave. in the Ravenswood neighborhood, Chicago Police Officer Tom Polick said.

The Belmont District officer was working security at the bank when a man walked in, approached a teller and demanded cash, Polick said. The man did not display a weapon but indicated he was armed.

Polick said the security guard announced he was a police officer and arrested the would-be robber before the teller handed over any money. The suspect was turned over to the FBI for questioning.

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POLICE CAPTURE 4 IN OFFICERS DEATH www.privateofficer.com

POLICE CAPTURE 4 WANTED FOR MURDER OF 2 OFFICERS www.privateofficer.com

ATLANTA GA. JAN 18 2008

Authorities made two more arrests Friday in the shooting deaths of two DeKalb County police officers but also dropped charges against a man arrested earlier.
On Friday afternoon, federal agents arrested Mario O’Brian Westbrook, 31. Earlier in the day, sheriff’s deputies and U.S. marshals arrested William Maurice Woodward, 26.

Westbrook, 31, is also known by the name “Lil’ Mario.” Police had set up a tip line for information.
Westbrook served time in prison for a DeKalb drug conviction in the 1990s, state prison records showed.
Meanwhile, charges were dropped against Deanthius Jamal Johnson, 28, police spokeswoman Keisha Williams said. Johnson surrendered early Thursday. Williams said he was arrested after witnesses reported he bragged about being at the crime scene, but authorities determined he was not involved.
William Maurice Woodward, 26, was arrested by DeKalb sheriff’s deputies and U.S. marshals who stopped a car he was riding in at I-20 and Wesley Chapel Road, said police Deputy Chief M.R. Burrows.
Woodward, who also has used the name last name “Woodard,” was known as “Bo C,” authorities said.
Woodward had been arrested several times in DeKalb. He pleaded guilty to a felony drug charge in 2001 and later served four months in jail for violating his probation.
Earlier this week, police also arrested and charged Herbie DeShawn Durham, 32, with two counts of murder.
Williams said detectives do not know if additional suspects will be charged.
Officers Ricky Bryant Jr., 26, and Eric Barker, 33, were fatally wounded shortly after midnight Wednesday in a parking lot at the Glenwood Gardens apartment complex near I-285 on Glenwood Road in south DeKalb.
Police have not released details on how the officers were killed. Derrick Murchison, a resident of the complex, said the two officers, who were working an off-duty job as security guards at the apartments, had stopped a man in the parking lot and apparently were frisking him moments before the shooting.
Bolton said those involved in the crime “can’t hide on this one. You might as well give up.”
Durham apparently has no criminal convictions in DeKalb County and has not served time in a Georgia prison, according to online records. Durham did not speak during his first court appearance Thursday night in DeKalb Magistrate Court. He is being held without bond.
“I’m sure he’ll be vindicated,” said Douglas J. Hassinger, Durham’s lawyer. “In the meantime, he will let the system take its course.”
The slain officers had been hired in recent months to provide security in the half-empty apartment complex.
Murchison, who lives in an apartment overlooking the shooting scene, had become accustomed to the officers stopping late-night visitors to the complex.
Murchison said he looked out his window and saw the officers with a man who apparently was leaning against a car to be frisked. Moments later, shots were fired.

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ROBBERS STAND TRIAL FOR MURDER OF GUARD www.privateofficer.com

MIAMI FLA JAN 18 2008 — Five years ago, a group of armed robbers entered a local Mayor’s jewelry store and killed a security guard.

The prosecution calls the men the “Rolex Robbers.” They said they had planned to rob the jewelry store of tens of thousands of dollars of watches.
What they hadn’t planned on, authorities said, is that the security guard would fight back and surveillance would capture everything.
An eyewitness in the murder trial of the Mayor’s security guard broke down crying while explaining what happened inside the Merrick Park jewelry store in Coral Gables on Jan. 13, 2003.
“I went straight to the man,” said witness Carlos de Quesada. “I remember seeing, in the back, blood coming out right there.”
Surveillance from that day showed the final moments of Luis Brito’s life. The video showed two masked gunmen entering Mayor’s. Brito reached for his weapon, but it was too late.
Police arrested four men in connection with the homicide-robbery.
“Andre Williams was to drive the car,” assistant state attorney Breezye Telfair said. “Shird Myrick, well he was the tool man. He was the person holding the bag with the hammers.”
Williams and Myrick, who went by the alias “Chico,” were never seen inside the store, but outdoor surveillance video shot before the robbery showed one man.
“Almost immediately, Crimestoppers, the tips just continue to come in, come in, come in,” Telfair said. “Everyone is saying the same thing: ‘It’s Chico. It’s Shird. It’s Chico.’”
Myrick’s attorney argued that there was no physical evidence against his client.
“The person has a very different forehead from Mr. Myrick,” defense attorney John Weinberg said. “The person has slightly different hair.”
Weinberg also argued that police had not found the tool bag Telfair had mentioned his client had been holding.
After the robbery, police caught up to Williams, the alleged getaway driver, thousands of miles from South Florida.
Prosecutors said he left a latex glove inside a stolen BMW that was used in the robbery.
“Miami-Dade police go to Iowa and find Andre Williams,” Telfair said. “They get DNA. It matches evidence found in the silver BMW.”
However, one of William’s defense attorneys said reasonable doubt lies inside that glove.
“One of the gloves has a mixture of DNA,” the attorney said.
The trial will resume on Friday.
Ehren Witt and Milton Hall, the two masked gunmen who were inside the store and allegedly killed Brito, have yet to stand trial. If they are convicted of murder, they could get the death penalty.

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MAN THROWS BABY TO IT’S DEATH www.privateofficer.com

HONOLULU Jan 18, 2008 — A man wearing hospital scrubs threw a toddler 30 feet from a pedestrian overpass onto a major highway Thursday, and the boy was later pronounced dead, authorities said.
A 23-year-old man was arrested after witnesses saw him throwing something, followed him and called police, officials said.
One or two vehicles may have struck the 2 1/2-year-old boy, but it was unclear exactly what killed him, The Honolulu Advertiser reported.
A white sheet covered the body on the westbound lanes of the H-1 freeway, a major route through downtown that police temporarily closed. The scene was just blocks from the Capitol and the governor’s mansion.
The man was taken to the Honolulu police station and then to a hospital, said police spokeswoman Michelle Yu. She didn’t know whether the man had a history of mental illness or a criminal record.
“That will be part of the investigation,” Yu said.
The man screamed “Thank you for everything” to television crews as he was escorted to a cell block.
There were no reports of a missing child, police Capt. Frank Fujii said. Officers were contacting day-care centers and other area facilities to find out where the child came from.
“It’s a sad incident. It’s something we never wished happened,” Fujii told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
The suspect was wearing scrubs, with the bottoms cut off as shorts. It wasn’t known whether he had come from a hospital, or which one, Fujii said.

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