University police make robbery arrests www.privateofficer.com

University police make robbery arrests http://www.privateofficer.com

Univ. of Md. Independent
Student Newspaper

Ben Worsley

College Park MD. May 1 2008 University Police arrested one of four men wanted in connection with the assault and robbery of a student two weeks ago near Susquehanna Hall. Jewell Marcus Reid, 19, of Baltimore, was arrested yesterday and charged with robbery, second degree assault, theft and conspiracy, court documents show.

Reid could face up to 40 years in jail if convicted of all the charges, University Police Spokesman Paul Dillon said.Court records show Reid has no previous charges of any kind. Dillon said University Police worked with the campus police at Bowie State University to make an arrest in the university’s dorms yesterday morning. He declined to comment on whether Reid is a student at Bowie State University.Police arrested Reid in connection with an incident that occurred the morning of April 13. According to the victim’s account in an earlier interview, he had just parked his car in the Mowatt Lane Parking Garage by South Campus Commons after returning from a party as a designated driver.The victim, who asked he remain anonymous, said he was walking along Lehigh Road when four men approached him.

One of them punched him in the face, and the victim tripped after trying to run away. The men began kicking him, the victim said, and he offered them his wallet if they would leave him alone. The men took the wallet and fled. University Police obtained a photo of one of the suspects using the victim’s credit card to make a purchase at a nearby 7-Eleven later in the week. Dillon said the credit card was also used at a McDonald’s in Bowie.

University Police reviewed video footage at the McDonald’s to find the vehicle of the man using the credit card, and they then traced the tags of the car to Reid, Dillon said.Dillon praised his detectives for their diligent work in handling the case. The victim agreed with Dillon’s sentiments, saying police were “very logical and careful” in making the arrest.”They’re really trying to catch these people. I had never felt like they had given up or anything,” the victim said. “I’m really happy with the way they went about everything.”Dillon declined to comment on any leads police have in finding the remaining three suspects.

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Shoplifters deceit backfires www.privateofficer.com

Shoplifters deceit backfiires http://www.privateofficer.com

FRAMINGHAM MA. May 1 2008

Kyle T. Greene

Ntl. Assoc. Private Officers

www.privateofficer.com
A woman gave police a friend’s ID Sunday in an apparent attempt to avoid a shoplifting charge. Her troubles got worse, though, because her friend was wanted on an assault charge, police said.
Joanne Chevalier, 23, of Jamaica Plain refused to provide identification to Wal-Mart security personnel after being detained, police spokesman Lt. Paul Shastany said.
When police got to the store at 8 p.m., Chevalier gave the officers a driver’s license for Shavonne Harris of Boston.
“She presented the ID, not knowing her friend had a warrant for arrest from Boston for assault and battery,” Shastany said.
The woman was arrested on the warrant, and then later charged with shoplifting of property worth more than $100 when they found out that she stole $278 worth of DVDs and food, such as shrimp and hot dogs, the lieutenant said.
While being booked, Chevalier gave her real name.
“She said she was scared and gave the other ID so she wouldn’t get in trouble, but she got in trouble anyway,” Shastany said.
Chevalier, of 151 Forest Hills St., was charged with shoplifting and providing police with a false name.
Chevalier was scheduled to be arraigned yesterday in Framingham District Court, but the results were unavailable.

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Transient leaves behind wads of cash www.privateofficer.com

Transient leaves behind wads of cash http://www.privateofficer.com

SHELDON, Iowa May 1 2008 – Authorities are looking for more information about an elderly transient who lived in an Iowa motel and left behind $263,000 when he died.
The Sioux County Sheriff’s Office was called to the motel in March to investigate the death of John Grant, who lived there five months of the year.

Police discovered the cash stuffed inside two vinyl cassette tape cases, most of it in $50 and $100 bills.
Authorities have no idea where the money came from.

But since there’s no reason to believe Grant got it illegally, the sheriff’s office says it should go to the man’s next of kin.
Authorities may have located Grant’s brother and a couple of his cousins.
They’re storing his possessions, including the cash, until a family member comes forward.

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Doctor arrested for pretending to be police www.privateofficer.com

Doctor arrested for pretending to be police http://www.privateofficer.com

DAYTONA BEACH FLA. MAY 1 2008

By: Rick McCann

Ntl. Assoc. Private Officers

www.privateofficer.com An Ormond Beach doctor was arrested in Daytona Beach after officers said he pretended to be a cop.
Police that the doctor interrupted a disturbance between several people and during his intervention for some reason he mentioned that he was a law enforcement officer.
Dr. Jerrold Ecklind, 37, broke up an argument between a man and woman Sunday night in the parking lot of the Basilica of St. Paul Church.
The geriatric specialist reportedly told the man he was a policeman, and asked the man for identification police said.
At one point, police said Ecklind also pointed a gun at the man and handcuffed him.
After a few moments Eckind got into his vehicle and left the area but the victim managed to write down Ecklind’s license plate number, and call 911.
Ecklind is facing several charges and police do not know why the doctor took such extreme measures in this situation.
Officers are also investigating if to see if he may have been involved in similar incidents prior to that night.

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Shoplifter charged on warrants www.privateofficer.com

Shoplifter charged on warrants http://www.privateofficer.com

Palestine TX. May 1 2008 At 3:05 p.m. Friday, officer Michael Gray was dispatched to Burke’s Outlet in the Palestine Mall in reference to a theft at the store, Boyer said.

Upon arrival, Gray met with the store’s security officer who advised that she had observed a man enter the fitting room with four items, but exit a short time later with only one visible, Boyer said.“

The fitting room was checked and the other three items were not there,” he said.

“They observed the male exit the store.

The male subject was then confronted and asked to return to the store.”When store employees asked where the missing clothing was, the man allegedly said it was under his clothing and he could not prove that he had purchased it, Boyer said.

The man, identified as Jake Mason, 18, of Palestine, was issued a citation for theft between $0 -$50 and was arrested on four outstanding warrants — one for public intoxication from the Palestine Municipal Court, one for minor in possession of tobacco products from Palestine Municipal Court and two criminal trespass warrants from Anderson County, Boyer said.

He was transported to and booked into the Anderson County Jail on those charges.

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Police officer arrested for having sex with cows www.privateofficer.com

Police officer arrested for having sex with cows http://www.privateofficer.com

MOORESTOWN, NJ May 1 2008

By: Rick McCann

Ntl. Assoc. Private Officers

www.privateofficer.com

A South Jersey police officer already in jail after being accused of molesting three children, has now been charged yesterday with four counts of animal cruelty for having sex with barnyard animals, authorities said.
Patrolman Robert Melia, 38, was suspended last week by the Moorestown Police department after authorities raided his Moorestown home and seized a computer and pornographic materials.
Police say that several others were also arrested during their investigation in what police say was porn movie making involving minor children, animals and others.
Melia and Pemberton filmmaker Heather Lewis, 32, were charged April 13 with the sexual assaults of three girls at Melia’s house. The assaults occured on multiple occasions during the last five years, said a spokesman for the Burlington County Prosecutor’s office said.
Melia is being held on $510,000 bail at the Burlington County Jail in Mount Holly. Lewis, who is charged with aggravated sexual assault and criminal sexual contact, is being held on $300,000 bail at the Women’s Detention Center in Pemberton
The animal cruelty charges were filed after an examination of the seized materials, authorities said.
An investigation is continuing. Police said they were investigating four incidents involving cows.
Authorities say other charges may be forthcoming and possible others will be arrested in this case.

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CSI co-star arrested for drugs www.privateofficer.com

CSI co-star arrested for drugs http://www.privateofficer.com

LOS ANGELES CA. May 1 2008

By: Rick McCann

Ntl. Assoc. private Officers

www.privateofficer.com In a scene this week on CBS’s hit series CSI Vegas, CSI Warrick Brown is discovered by a co-worker taking uppers and downers perscription pills and scolded, hugged and they both laugh and Warrick says he’ll stop the drug use.
But in an ironic twist, on Monday this week the “CSI” co-star Gary Dourdan was arrested for possession of narcotics and dangerous drugs, police said.
Police report that the 41-year-old actor was found asleep in his car by the Palm Springs Police Department, authorities said.
According to a police report an officer on patrol saw Dourdan’s car parked on the wrong side of the street with the interior light on and someone sleeping in the driver’s seat at approximately 5:12 a.m. Monday, according to Palm Springs police Sgt. Mitch Spike.
The officer described Dourdan as disoriented and possibly under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
The officer arrested Dourdan after locating suspected cocaine, heroin, Ecstacy, miscellaneous prescription drugs and paraphernalia.
After being booked into the county jail, Dourdan was released on $5,000 bail at 10:30 a.m. Monday. A court date was not immediately scheduled.
Dourdan has played crime scene investigator Warrick Brown on CBS’ “CSI” since 2000. Several celebrities were in town for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in nearby Indio, Calif. It was not immediately clear whether Dourdan attended the event.
Representatives for Dourdan did not immediately return phone calls Tuesday.

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On The Job; Campus Security www.privateofficer.com

On The Job; Campus Security http://www.privateofficer.com

University of Nebraska/Omaha Newspaper

Omeha Ne. May 1 2008

If there’s one thing Jerry Anderson loves, it’s being helpful. Anderson said that being a security guard allows him to help people the most.”I like the contact with people. I’m a people person,” he said.

Anderson said that to be a security guard is to be the “greatest ambassador,” because guards will be one of the first people that students will meet on campus.Before joining UNO’s security force, Anderson worked as a guard for Mutual of Omaha for four and a half years. He joined UNO 14 months ago and joked that he would give his boss a “10-year plan” with UNO.

As a UNO guard, Anderson said the most memorable event was the bomb scare at the Arts and Sciences Hall.”[Students] really made me feel good when they appreciate us doing a good job and being there for them,” he said.Anderson not only helps students every day, he also helps dependent seniors and Alzheimer’s patients as a member of the Home Instead Senior Care service.”Giving back in life is what it’s all about,” he said. Anderson said that he loves being a positive influence on people.

Anderson was never a UNO student, but majored in business while at the University of Texas at El Paso. Anderson also took business courses while on a three-and-a-half year tour in the Army.

Adam Miller If you don’t see Adam Miller in uniform on campus, it might be because he is off saving someone from a burning building. Not only does he patrol the campus as a UNO security guard, but Miller also volunteers as a firefighter.Miller came to UNO after working for American Security for almost two years. He said that being a security guard is “more interactive.”Miller has been at UNO for the last four weeks and plans to remain while he returns to his studies this fall. Miller once studied criminal justice because he always wanted to be a police officer.Miller said that the most memorable event of his career so far was when he “nicely” escorted a few homeless people off the premises where they had defecated and left graffiti on a business. Another memorable moment for Miller was when he became supervisor at American Security and found himself supervising members of the staff that had been with the company for more than seven years.

Outside of work, Miller enjoys hunting, fishing, working on cars and four-wheeling.Miller will attend UNO this fall, but he has not decided if he will continue to pursue criminal justice or if he will major in fire ecology instead.”I like the fire department a lot, but I’ve wanted to be a cop since I was a kid,” he said.Miller said the time he spends as a guard would be great for the experience and his resume when he applies for a police force.

Miller said that when he achieves either career goal, he plans to stay with the profession until he’s forced to retire.”They’ll probably have to kick me out,” he said.

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Stand off at Swaggart Ministries ends with arrest www.privateofficer.com

Stand off at Swaggart Ministries ends in arrest http://www.privateofficer.com

Baton Rouge LA. May 1 2008

Kyle T. Greene

Ntl. Assoc. Private Officers

www.privateofficer.com

Deputies arrested a machete-wielding man Tuesday after a more than two-hour standoff in a parking lot at Jimmy Swaggart Ministries on Bluebonnet Boulevard.
Garland Jerome Morris, 35, waved a machete out of the driver’s side window of a red Ford Ranger and told deputies approaching the truck to get back, said Casey Rayborn Hicks, an East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman.
Deputies tried to talk with Morris several times between 6:30 a.m. and 9 a.m., but he wouldn’t respond, Hicks said.
Instead, he locked himself inside the truck and blasted the radio, tuned to a Swaggart radio broadcast.
“He wasn’t receptive to anyone,” Hicks said.
She said Morris’ mother was called to the scene but even she was not able to talk with her son.
The Sheriff Office’s Special Weapons and Tactical Team arrived at 8:30 a.m. and broke the driver’s side window of the truck after releasing a “flash bang” grenade near the truck, Hicks said.
Deputies used a stun gun on Morris, who wouldn’t let go of the machete as he was being pulled out of the truck, she said. No one was injured.
Morris, 5611 Point Clair Road, Carville, was booked into Parish Prison on two counts of aggravated assault and one count each of disturbing the peace and remaining after being forbidden.
He arrived at the campus of Swaggart Ministries near the Mall of Louisiana on Monday afternoon with a stack of Bibles asking to speak to an employee there, Hicks said.
Morris was asked to leave because “he was acting strange,” she said.
Morris left, but returned about 2:30 a.m.
A security guard approached Morris, sitting in his truck, which was loaded down with luggage and had tinted windows, Hicks said.
Morris did not respond to the guard, who called the Sheriff’s Office at 6:30 a.m. when children attending Family Christian Academy started to arrive for school, she said.
The Rev. Jimmy Swaggart said he was conducting a radio show from 7 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and didn’t know about the incident until after it occurred.
He said he does not know Morris or his mother, with whom he spoke Tuesday.
“She was concerned as any mother would be,” Swaggart said. “In a situation like this, you can imagine the consternation she is having.”
Swaggart said he would be happy to help Morris and would be praying for him and his mother.
Morris’ sister and brother refused comment Tuesday.
A phone message left for Morris’ mother was not returned.
Hicks said deputies do not know why Morris went to Swaggart’s campus but are still investigating the incident.
According to records with the East Baton Rouge Parish Clerk of Court, Morris is due in court May 15 on a charge of damage to intellectual property.
Baton Rouge police arrested Morris on Jan. 20, 2007, for allegedly possessing 218 pirated DVDs, 80 pirated pornographic movies and equipment necessary to pirate such materials, court records say.
Morris does not have a criminal background in Iberville Parish, according to court records that date back to 2000.

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Security officers crossed line, drug case dismissed www.privateofficer.com

Security officers crossed line, drug case dismissed http://www.privateofficer.com

Albuquerque NM May 1 2008

By: Bryan Hill

Security News Magazine

www.privateofficer.com

The New Mexico Court of Appeals has tossed out a cocaine possession charge against a man because Coronado Mall security officers overstepped their authority by searching the man.
According to court documents, the man got into an argument while in the mall and mall security ordered him to the ground.
When the man questioned the guards’ orders he was maced, forced to the ground, handcuffed and searched.
At that point the security officers found a pill bottle containing cocaine during the search. They then in turn called police and the man was arrested.
“An officer can pat you down but an officer can’t put his hands in your pockets and feel something that obviously is not a weapon or can’t be used to harm anyone,” said District Attorney Kari Brandenburg.
The appellate court ruled that the mall security guards violated the man’s fourth amendment protection from unreasonable search and seizure because they had no probable cause to search him.
Brandenburg says the mall officers should have simply kicked the man off of mall property.
“The responsibility of security guards is to protect the property of whoever they’re working for and this was beyond just protecting the property,” said Brandenburg. “This individual was leaving, this individual had not stolen anything.”
If they had suspicion that the man possesed anything illegal, police should have conducted the search if they had probable cause to.
Mall security did not return calls for comment on Sunday.

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Shoplifter charged with assault, felony warrant www.privateofficer.com

Shoplifter charged with assault, felony warrant http://www.privateofficer.com

East Dundee IL. May 1 2008

By: Bryan Hill

Security News Magazine

www.privateofficer.com
A Rockford man who was caught shoplifting fishing reels and 12 big rolls of toilet paper by loss prevention agents turned a bad situation into something even worse.
Police say that at 7:45 p.m. Sunday a man was accused of pushing a security officer and damaging a section of drywall, police said.
Security agents at an area Walmart spotted the man and attempted to stop and detain him. At this point, a struggle ensued and the man destroyed part of a wall.
Robert Shane Redman, 26, of 1611 Fourth Ave., was charged with retail theft, aggravated battery and criminal damage to property, after being arrested at Wal-Mart, police said.
Police also learned that Redman also was already wanted on a charge of possession of a controlled substance, police said and now faces that felony charge also.
Redman was held in the Kane County jail on $9,000 bond with April 29 and May 14 court dates in the Kane County Judicial Center.

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Shoplifter re-captured after escape, assault on officer www.privateofficer.com

Shoplifter re-captured after escape, assault on officer http://www.privateofficer.com

Stroud PA. May 1 2008

By: Bryan Hill

Security News Magazine

www.privateofficer.com
Police had to apprehend a woman twice after she was arrested once for shoplifting, then slipped out of a handcuff and took off running.
Authorities said that they were called to a local mall in reference to a shoplifting and took a female suspect into custody.
Stroud Area Regional Police said they arrested Betsey Z. Garcia-Vasquez, 40, of Stroudsburg, after she ran out of the Sears department store in Stroud Mall with more than $150 in merchandise.
Store security officers and security officers from the mall began the search for the female and notified police for assistance.
Mall security officers called SARP to help locate Garcia-Vasquez and after a short search she was found and arrested on Ehler Street.
Authorities say that as she was being placed into a police car, she slipped a handcuff off one of her hands and swung her still-handcuffed hand at a police officer’s head before trying to run into nearby woods.
Police say that the officer and several bystanders were able to recapture and subdue Vasquez and take her back into custody
The arresting officer suffered minor cuts and bruises.
Garcia-Vasquez has been charged with retail theft, escape, simple assault and resisting arrest.

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Jurors deadlock in security guard murder trial www.privateofficer.com

Jurors deadlock in security guard murder trial http://www.privateofficer.com

from KTLA.com
Los Angeles CA. May 1 2008

Jurors deadlocked today in the trial of a former security guard accused of murdering an 18-year-old woman in a Palmdale park-and- ride lot as she returned from a Kid Rock video shoot.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Johnson declared a mistrial after jurors said they could not reach a verdict following about four days of deliberations in the trial of Raymond Lee Jennings.

The judge ordered both sides to return to court May 27 for a pretrial hearing.”I anticipate that we’re going to be going back to trial,” said defense attorney M. David Houchin.Jennings, 33, is charged with the Feb. 22, 2000, shooting death of Michelle O’Keefe.The attack “began with an assault and escalated to an execution,” Deputy District Attorney Michael Blake told jurors in his opening statement last month.

The prosecutor said Jennings lied to law enforcement about his military career with the National Guard and made numerous statements revealing knowledge “only a killer would know.”O’Keefe was first struck above the left eye and then shot three times in the face “at almost point-blank range” as she was either in or getting into her new Ford Mustang in the nearly empty lot, the prosecutor said.She and a friend had returned to the park-and-ride lot from the Grand Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles, where they were extras in the Kid Rock video shoot.

Jennings — who was in his second night as a security guard at the lot — contended that he was about 125 yards away and did not see who shot the young woman, Blake said.Jennings’ attorney countered that his client embellished some of his account, but said that nothing connected the former security guard to the brutal attack.He said his client “didn’t want to look like some stupid security guard when this occurred” and “told anyone who would ask him what he recalled happening that evening.”Houchin noted that Jennings had given many statements — both to investigators and in a deposition filed in connection with a wrongful death lawsuit.”

There will be discrepancies in any statement given twice,” Houchin said. “There will be discrepancies about times or distances.”Jennings was arrested in December 2005 by sheriff’s investigators and has remained jailed since then.

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Man poses as cop to get free sex www.privateofficer.com

Man poses as cop to get free sex http://www.privateofficer.com

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. May 1 2008

Kyle T. Greene

Ntl. Assoc. Private Officers

www.privateofficer.com DeKalb County police have charged a north Fulton County man with impersonating a police officer. A real detective said he used a badge in an attempt to get free sex. And the woman police believe the victim may not be the only one.
“The first thing he asked me when he got into the room is, ‘What was the donation again?’ So I told him, it was $250 for the hour, $150 for the half. Then he informed me that he was a police officer and he showed me his badge,” a young woman told police.
The woman said she is 18 years old and a prostitute who advertises on the Internet.

She also said that Preston Mitchell booked an appointment with her, claimed to be a police officer and then threatened her with arrest if she didn’t give him free sex.
“Told me that I was either going to have sex with him or I was going to go to jail,” said the woman, who did not want to be identified. “I had just gotten out of jail the day before and I could not afford to go to jail again.”
She said she complied and then figured out later he was a fake and called a real police detective.
“Through our investigation we determined that Mr. Mitchell was targeting escorts off the Internet. Basically (he) would set up a date with an escort off the Internet and as he went to the scene to meet the females he would display a badge, identify himself as a police officer and then basically extort sex,” said Detective Daniel Oak with the DeKalb County Police Department.
Mitchell surrendered on an impersonating an officer warrant and was released on bond.
Oak told the media that Mitchell is a father of two and married to a dentist.
Mitchell’s attorney adamantly denied his client was impersonating a police officer. He indicated his client looked forward to his day in court.
Police said the warrant in this case only names one victim but they believe there are others. Officials would like anyone with information to call DeKalb Police Homeland Security at 770-270-0413.

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