SELL YOUR BOOKS, POLICE GEAR HERE! www.privateofficer.com

Atlanta Ga. May 31 2008

Privateofficer.com is looking for good security and law enforcement books, (including fiction, non-fiction, training ) gear and equipment, training materials and other related items to sell in its two on line stores.

If you are a distributor, author or seller of these items, we will either purchase the items from you and resell them or take the items on consignment for a small fee upon sale.

We are getting thousands of hits and as we revamp our sites and stores, expect much more traffic!

Please contact Mike Matthews at mmatthews@privateofficer.com

 

 

Naked man arrested for burglaries www.privateofficer.com

LUMBERTON, N.C. May 31 2008

Police responding to a tip about a naked man walking on a state highway in Lumberton say he’s connected to a three-week string of thefts involving more than $85,000 worth of property.

The Fayetteville Observer reported that police say Jonathan Michael Allen stole two vehicles, televisions, power tools and jewelry. The 31-year-old is charged with multiple counts of breaking and entering, larceny and burglary.

Allen was charged with multiple counts of breaking and entering, larceny and burglary.

Lumberton Police Lt. Johnny Barnes said Allen was stealing and selling the property to support a drug habit.

Police spotted Allen in a stolen car Tuesday night, but he got away. Officers were searching for him Wednesday morning when they got the tip. Barnes says Allen didn’t even have on any socks.

“He was naked as the day he was born,” Barnes said.

Allen’s bail is set at $150,000 and he is set to appear in court on June 13. A jail official was not sure if he had a lawyer.

Email us/adminassist@privateofficer.com

Join us/myspace.com/privateofficernews

Be part of our social community! www.privateofficer.com

Security helps nab felony suspect www.privateofficer.com

Security officer helps nab felony suspect www.privateofficer.com

Biloxi MS May 31 2008

By: Rick McCann

Ntl. Assoc. Private Officers

http://www.privateofficer.com/

Police arrested a 32-year-old man who is accused of raping and beating a Biloxi woman after breaking into her home early Thursday, authorities said.
Biloxi police received a call around 1 a.m. Thursday reporting a burglary on Old Highway 67, Police Capt. John Miller said.

Officers were dispatched and quickly arrived at the house and found that the resident had been badly beaten by a man who had broken into her home and physically and sexually assaulted her.
After the assault, Miller said, the suspect fled in the victim’s vehicle. A description of the suspect and vehicle was distributed to authorities and casino security.
A short time later police said that a casino security officer located the vehicle and contacted police, keeping the suspect under surveillance . Police immediately responded to the casino and said they found Robert Anthony Dossett in possession of the vehicle and arrested him without incident.
Dossett was arrested and charged with sexual battery, aggravated assault, burglary, kidnapping and grand larceny.
Dossett was being held at the Harrison County jail under $700,000 bail, set by Justice Court Judge Albert Fountain.
Dossett was also wanted through George County for failure to pay child support.

Email us/adminassist@privateofficer.com

Join us/myspace.com/privateofficernews

Be part of our social community! www.privateofficer.com

Houston Response Team Keeps Traffic Rolling www.privateofficer.com

Houston TX May 30 2008
Darlene Gordon is an expert in performing extravagant evasive, defensive “dance moves.”
At least that’s what she calls it when she stands in the middle of a busy intersection, trying to direct traffic, while hurried motorists sometimes rush by a little too close for comfort.
Gordon and her partner, Gary Cooper, are mobility officers with the Houston Police Department Mobility Response Team. And their main objective, Gordon said, is traffic control.
“When traffic lights malfunction, we get out there and act like we’re the signals, to try to control the traffic and to try to get you guys through safely, try to continue to move the traffic instead of allowing it to bog up.”
The Mobility Response Team was initiated by Houston Mayor Bill White in 2007; Gordon told those assembled at a recent meeting of the Positive Interaction Program in Kingwood. So far, two classes have graduated from training, resulting in a combined manpower of 23 officers, with 12 more expected to be added by July, Gordon explained.

Mobility officers are not police officers, Cooper stressed, but civilians who assume a support role to law enforcement personnel.
The MRT works in two shifts that together cover the time frame between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m., during which hours the officers patrol assigned areas for traffic snags, pot holes, minor accidents, broken signals or stranded motorists. They also help direct traffic at events such as parades and conventions, to ensure a smooth flow.
“I personally like to go to the school zones, too; that’s important to me. But basically we go anywhere as need be in the city,” Gordon said. “The only thing we don’t do is freeways.”
Gordon said that the mobility officers use vans or scooters to get around town and most of them are assigned to patrol the high-traffic areas in downtown Houston, in the Galleria area and around the Texas Medical Center. Officers may be dispatched to outlying areas such as Kingwood via trouble calls to 311.
“The idea is to be the support group of police officers,” Cooper said. “When we roll up at an accident, they say thanks and they go off doing their police thing. It’s much better to keep a police officer patrolling the area than have him stand under a flashing light or at a minor accident. In that regard, this program has been a great improvement in Houston.”

Email us/adminassist@privateofficer.com

Join us/myspace.com/privateofficernews

Be part of our social community! www.privateofficer.com

Final suspect in armored car robbery captured www.privateofficer.com

Final suspect in armored car robbery is captured www.privateofficer.com

Richland Co.SC May 31 2008

By: Rick McCann

Ntl. Assoc. Private Officers

http://www.privateofficer.com/ The final suspect in the third-largest armored car heist in U.S. history has been caught.

Police announced that on Thursday, 28-year-old Derrick Benjamin was arrested during a traffic stop in Chatham County, North Carolina, after authorities received community tips of his whereabouts.

Police say that Benjamin is among a group of six men who deputies say robbed an armored car and brutally assaulted a security officer on May 11, 2007.

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott says the men initially took over $18 million from the truck; however, they didn’t have enough equipment to transport the cash, so they ultimately made off with just under $10 million.

Federal and local authorities including the FBI and the US Marshal’s office have been hunting the suspect since the robbery.

Richland County Deputies plan on going to Raleigh on Friday to pick up Benjamin and return him to Richland County.

Email us/adminassist@privateofficer.com

Join us/myspace.com/privateofficernews

Be part of our social community! www.privateofficer.com

Shoplifter pulls knife on loss prevention agents www.privateofficer.com

Tallahassee Fla May 31 2008

Police said on Wednesday May 28, 2008, at approximately 12:30p.m., loss prevention employees at Wal-Mart observed Kelvin Bispham 02/10/1986, shoplifting DVD movies from the store located at 4400 West Tennessee Street

When confronted outside of the store, Bispham initially complied, returning the items as he began to walk with a loss prevention employee back into the store.

Once back inside the store Bispham pulled out a knife from his waistband and swung the knife in an attempt to strike the employee. Bispham then threatened another employee with the knife, before fleeing northwest towards Capital Circle. The victims were not injured during this incident.

A few minutes after this assault, Deputy Bill Punausuia was in the area and began searching for the subject. During his search he checked the Mazda Car Dealership located at 1465 Capital Circle Northwest. As Deputy Punausuia pulled into the dealership, Bispham entered the sales building looking confused, raising the suspicion of an employee.

When the employee saw Deputy Punausuia, he surmised Bispham was attempting to elude capture and grabbed him, allowing Deputy Punausuia to take Bispham into custody without further incident. After Bispham’s arrest, he led deputies to the location where he discarded the knife used in this assault.

Email us/adminassist@privateofficer.com

Join us/myspace.com/privateofficernews

Be part of our social community! www.privateofficer.com

Shoplifter with HIV bites security officer www.privateofficer.com

DALLAS TX May 31 2008
Dallas police said a man arrested and accused of shoplifting food told police he is HIV positive after he allegedly bit a grocery store security officer according to officers on the scene.
The attack happened at the Cedar Springs Kroger store at about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday when the security guard tried to stop the man from walking out with a smoked sausage and not paying for it, authorities said.
Police said Paul Dewayne Thibiodeaux, 26, started fighting with the guard, kicking, punching and biting him. According to the police report, the bites punctured the guard’s skin on his chest and his wrist.

Police said Thibiodeaux has been charged with aggravated robbery.
“He bit him, and he knew he had AIDS. That in itself makes it aggravated, it upgrades to aggravated robbery, as if he had a knife or a gun or some other type of weapon,” Senior Cpl. Kevin Janse said.
Thibiodeaux is being held on $100,000 bond. Police said he has a lengthy arrest record for past drug possession and several charges of prostitution.

Email us/adminassist@privateofficer.com

Join us/myspace.com/privateofficernews

Be part of our social community! www.privateofficer.com

City employee charged with gas thefts www.privateofficer.com

City employee charged with gas theft www.privateofficer.com

Gastonia NC May 31 2008

A Gastonia city employee has been arrested and charged with stealing 2,438 gallons of gasoline from municipal pumps over the past 22 months.
David Michael Walls, 51, of 142 Farmgate Circle in Dallas, is facing six counts of larceny by an employee for allegedly taking $4,966 worth of gasoline from the city on 72 occasions between August 2006 and May 2008.
Walls, an auto mechanic in fleet services, was hired by the city in May 1994. He was suspended from his job Thursday without pay, according to Assistant City Manager Flip Bombardier.
He was allegedly caught on surveillance video stealing gasoline from pumps at the city’s Public Works building at 800 N. Broad St., said Gastonia Police Detective T.D. Wilson.”They (the city) found out he was stealing gas,” Wilson said.
The investigation began after the city conducted an audit of gas fueling stations, police reported.Walls told police that he took the gasoline for his own personal use and was not selling it to others, Wilson said.
Bombardier said he could not comment on an ongoing criminal investigation or discuss private personnel matters concerning Walls. Walls could not be reached for comment Thursday.
“We take allegations of criminal activity by our employees very seriously,” City Manager Jim Palenick said in a press release. “We will investigate them fully and prosecute illegal actions to the fullest extent of the law to protect the city’s and its taxpayers’ interests.”
Walls was released from the Gaston County Jail Thursday on a $25,000 bond. He has a court hearing scheduled for today at the Gaston County Courthouse.
Wilson said the estimated value of the stolen gasoline is based on the price that Gastonia paid for it. Gastonia buys gasoline in bulk at wholesale prices, according to Bombardier.
That price averaged $1.86 per gallon between August and December 2006 versus $2.82 on May 16, when Walls was identified as a suspect, according to arrest warrants. Bombardier said the city paid more than $3 per gallon for its most recent gasoline order.

Email us/adminassist@privateofficer.com

Join us/myspace.com/privateofficernews

Be part of our social community! www.privateofficer.com

Security agents nab forgery suspect www.privateofficer.com

Kennewick Wa May 31 2008

Bryan Hill

Ntl. Assoc. Private Officers

http://www.privateofficer.com/
Kennewick police arrested a man who is believed to have used stolen credit card information to make purchases at 18 Tri-City merchants.
Rolando Gabriel Gutierrez, 34, of Pasco, was arrested when security officials at Target in Kennewick saw him return to their store.
The arrest came after a Gig Harbor man discovered someone else was using his credit card and notified Kennewick police, who began an investigation May 15.
Gary Lester, 67, called Kennewick police after he discovered charges on his card that he did not make, Sgt. Brian Swartswalter said. Lester said he still had his credit card and had never been to the Tri-Cities.
He suspects his card information was stolen when he used the card at a restaurant near where he lives, police said.
Security videos were reviewed after Lester’s report, and Gutierrez was seen on video from Target. He was picked up after he was spotted Saturday.
Gutierrez was wanted by the state Department of Corrections and found with suspected methamphetamine, Swartswalter said.
He was booked into the Benton County jail on suspicion of possessing meth and two counts of forgery.

Email us/adminassist@privateofficer.com

Join us/myspace.com/privateofficernews

Be part of our social community! www.privateofficer.com

Shoplifting turns violent, 2 arrested www.privateofficer.com

Shoplifting turns violent, two arrested www.privateofficer.com

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. May 31 2008

Bryan Hill

Ntl. Assoc. Private officers

www.privateofficer.com Ormond Beach Police have charged two women in connection with a shoplifting that turned violent at a Bealls Department store.

Police said after receiving several tips through Crimestoppers from viewers who saw television reports of the case, they have tracked down and arrested 20 year old Angela Sumner of New Smyrna Beach and 21 year old Alyssa Heidrick of Edgewater.

The incident began on May 21st when Bealls employees observed the women acting suspiciously while shopping in the store.

Police said Sumner was carrying a small child during the incident. Loss prevention agents watched the pair on surveillance video and saw one of them conceal a pair of shoes in a handbag. The women then quickly exited the store making no effort to pay for the item.

The agents confronted them outside where the suspects attempted to flee. Heidrick began punching the agents with a closed fist when they caught her and attempted to detain her. Sumner ran to a small dark blue 4dr car, possibly a Kia Spectra, and abruptly put the child into the back seat.She then drove to where Heidrick was struggling with the agents and jumped out of the vehicle brandishing a large knife.

The loss prevention agents feared for their safety and backed away from the women who quickly got into the car and escaped from the areaSumner has been charged with one count of robbery, one count of petit theft, and one count of contributing to the delinquency/dependency of a minor.

Heidrick charged with Principal to robbery, battery, and petit theft.

Email us/adminassist@privateofficer.com

Join us/myspace.com/privateofficernews

Be part of our social community! www.privateofficer.com

Summer heats up, crime does too www.privateofficer.com

Weather heats up, crime does too www.privateofficer.com

Atlanta Ga. May 31 2008

By: Rick McCann

Ntl. Assoc. Private Officers

http://www.privateofficer.com/
The weather is heating up and so is crime. Most are crimes of opportunity like burglaries, smash and grabs, shopliftings, purse snatchings, auto thefts and burglaries and assaults.

The warmer weather and a sluggish economy could be putting more homeowners at risk for a burglary and there is one way burglars are entering homes that you might not suspect. Through the garage using garage door openers stolen from the owner’s vehicle.

“People forget that thieves look for easy ways to get into people’s homes,” said Officer Jose Montoya, Metro Police. He encourages homeowners to take a quick look around their home and they to spot vulnerabilities and then fix them.

Another wuick way in is kicking in the doors.

One easy fix to that is putting longer screws in the front door frame.

“They are going to have a heck of a time kicking that in but if it’s just a 3/4 inch piece of pine frame with a 1/2 inch screw anyone can put a size 10 shoe up against thing or shoulder the door, it will bust the frame right out,” said Joe Esposito, Liberty Lock and Key.

Another tip is putting out a “beware of dog” sign to scare away thieves.

“What you basically want to do is give your house the look of being more burglar proof than your neighbor’s house,” Esposito said.
The more difficult you make it for the thief, he is just going to go somewhere else,” said Montoya.

As with any time of the year, police encourage drivers to always store packages, purses and items such as GPS, Satellite radios, laptops and other items either in the trunk or take them out when the vehicle is going to be parked for an extended period of time.

Security expert Mike Matthews says that besides the auto break-ins, shoplifting stays steady during the summer but with the economy being what it is, Matthews says that the thefts are on the rise and organized shoplifting is steadily rising as the internet continues to fuel easy sale of stolen goods.

Police and security officers have already been busy but Matthews said that he expects it’ll become even busier as the summer continues to heat up. Officers need to stay on their toes as do the citizens Matthews said.

You might take a vaction this time of year, but the bad guys never do said Matthews.

Email us/adminassist@privateofficer.com

Join us/myspace.com/privateofficernews

Be part of our social community! www.privateofficer.com

Four indicted for false documents www.privateofficer.com

Four indicted for providing false documents www.privateofficer.com

MOBILE AL MAY 31 2008

A federal grand jury in Mobile on Friday indicted four men who investigators say conspired to produce fake identification documents for people in four states.
The investigation centered on two men whom Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents initially knew only as El Padrino and Charlie. An informant told investigators about two months ago that Charlie had offered to serve as a courier for the dis tribution of fake Social Security and resident alien cards in Mobile and Baldwin counties, according to an affidavit filed in federal court.
The affidavit alleges that the ring made false identifications and sold them in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. Dwight McDaniel, the assistant special agent in charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Alabama, said investigators believe the men moved their equipment from house to house along the coast.

He said agents seized a computer, a scanner and a couple of printers. He said that investigators were awaiting the results of a search of the computer to determine how many people purchased the documents.
“We’ve been buying fraudulent documents from them for a while,” McDaniel said. “We weren’t their first time. … We’ve seen documents from this group before.”
In a pair of affidavits filed in federal court, investigators expressed concern not only over illegal immigration but also over the fact that criminals often seek fraudulent documents to conceal their identities or assume aliases.
Charlie — later identified as Adrian Carillo-Guzman — and Gil Lopez-Vargas both pleaded not guilty Friday in Mobile. U.S. Magistrate Judge Bert Milling Jr. ordered them held without bond, citing the fact they are illegal immigrants.
El Padrino, later identified as Arturo Garcia-Flores, 31, and co-defendant Roberto Saldana-Madera, known at the time as El Gordo, have been jailed in Pensacola and will be transferred to Mobile.
If convicted, the men face up to 15 years in prison, although the actual prison terms likely would be less under advisory sentencing guidelines.
Attorneys for Lopez-Vargas, 26, and Carillo-Guzman, 26, said they did not know enough about the allegations to comment.
McDaniel described the quality of the fakes as fairly high. He said the ring included “bird dogs” who recruited customers, as well as people who made the ID cards.
“There’s a lot of layers in this organization,” he said. “We’ve arrested what we think is the upper layer, the upper crust.”
The informant, according a criminal complaint, met on May 14 at the Shell gas station on U.S. 98 in Daphne and gave Carillo-Guzman $250 along with five photographs, names, dates of birth and other information.
The next day, Carillo-Guzman met the informant at the Daphne McDonald’s with the completed ID cards and collected another $250, according to the affidavit.
Also on May 15, the informant met Garcia-Flores at the Chevron gas station in Loxley. He gave Garcia-Flores and Saldana-Madera a memory stick containing photographs and information needed for the manufacture of three sets of Social Security cards and resident alien cards.
The next day, the affidavit states, Garcia-Flores met the informant at the Oasis BP gas station off Interstate 10 in Baldwin County and handed over the finished ID cards.
The informant met on May 18 with Lopez-Vargas — whom he or she knew only as Tony — in the parking lot of Bel Air Mall in Mobile and gave him $360 payment for the cards. Lopez-Vargas said he would deliver the money to Garcia-Flores the next day, according to the affidavit.

Email us/adminassist@privateofficer.com

Join us/myspace.com/privateofficernews

Be part of our social community! www.privateofficer.com

900 Illegal aliens captured in California www.privateofficer.com

Los Angeles Ca May 31 2008
More than 900 illegal aliens have been sent packing after a three-week U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in California.
Half of the criminal aliens and fugitives arrested during the statewide sting have already been sent to their home countries. Since a large number of the illegals have faced previous deportation, immigration authorities immediately ousted them from the U.S.
The rest remain in police custody, awaiting travel arrangements for deportation or hearings before an immigration judge.
Brian DeMore, acting field officer director for ICE detention and removal operations in Los Angeles, issued a press release about his team’s success.
“ICE is committed to protecting the integrity to this country’s immigration system and that means ensuring that the removal orders handed down by the nation’s immigration courts are carried out,” he said. “As a country, we welcome law-abiding immigrants, but foreign nationals who violate our laws and commit crimes in our communities should be on notice that ICE is going to use all of the tools at its disposal to find you and send you home.”
Immigration authorities sought out and detained a total of 905 illegal alien criminals in California – 327 in Los Angeles alone. Of the 327 arrested in L.A., 244 were fugitives aliens who have dodged deportation orders or who have returned to the U.S. after being evicted by authorities. Approximately 25 percent of L.A. illegals in custody have criminal histories, and one person has been convicted of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under the age of 14.
Among the alien criminals arrested were Mariano Ceja-Ochoa, 31. He was arrested by ICE officers May 9 in Dana Point, Calif. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting Ceja-Ochoa for felony re-entry after deportation. Maximum penalty for the crime is 20 years in prison.
Thirteen ICE Fugitive Operations Teams deployed from L.A., San Diego and San Francisco to help with statewide arrests. The teams detain aliens who pose a threat to national security first, including sex offenders, suspected gang members and illegals who have violent-crime convictions.
Established in 2003, the Fugitive Operations Program was created to locate and deport the national backlog of alien fugitives. Seventy-five teams are currently deployed across the nation. Last year, for the first time in history, the U.S. population of illegal alien fugitives declined, and it has continued to drop this year.
In one of the largest workplace raids of the year, ICE teams arrested more than 300 illegals working at the Agriprocessors Inc. kosher meat plant in Postville, Iowa, only weeks ago. The criminal aliens were in the U.S. illegally, and 260 have been sentenced to five months in prison for identity theft and using fraudulent Social Security numbers. Most illegals serving five months agreed to immediate deportation following prison. Two more received shorter sentences, eight were convicted of other crimes and 27 received probation.
ICE claims there are less than 573,000 fugitive aliens in the U.S., and it credits its Fugitive Operations Teams with a 10 percent reduction in the illegal fugitive population since October 2006. Congress authorized an additional 29 teams this year due to success of the stings.

Security company raided over fake parking tickets www.privateofficer.com

Madison Wi May 31 2008
Police raided the office of a local security firm and the home of its owner on Wednesday after a number of people reported they received official-looking parking tickets that weren’t issued by police.
In search warrants filed Thursday in Dane County Circuit Court, DeForest Police Sgt. Jim Pertzborn wrote that people were confused by the $25 and $50 parking tickets issued by Metropolitan Private Police and left on cars in business and residential parking lots.
Many who received them contacted police in DeForest because payments were to be mailed to an address in DeForest, even though the tickets were issued in Madison, the warrants state.
Some told Pertzborn they paid the tickets because of warnings printed on them that fines would double and driver’s licenses and license plates could be suspended if they didn’t do so.
The search warrants were issued to gather evidence supporting charges of attempted theft by deception, simulating legal process and threats to injure or accuse of a crime
Police executed the warrants at the office of MPP’s parent company, Metropolitan Protective Services LLC, on Madison’s West Side and the DeForest home of its owner, Brendan Eichsteadt.
Eichsteadt could not be reached for comment Thursday. His attorney, David Saltzman, said that the situation is a “misunderstanding.”
“MPP plans to cooperate with the authorities and looks forward to clearing its name,” he wrote. “The company hopes that this misunderstanding is quickly resolved.”
He said anyone who paid an improper ticket would be offered a full refund.
According to the warrants: Owners and managers of some of the parking lots where tickets were issued told Pertzborn they hadn’t hired Metropolitan to patrol the lots. Those who did have contracts with MPP said they didn’t authorize the firm to write tickets.
The company told people who received tickets that a state license gives them the power to issue the tickets. But while Metropolitan Protective Services is state-licensed, Metropolitan Private Police is not. And even with a state license, District Attorney Brian Blanchard and state Assistant Attorney General Michael Schaefer told Pertzborn, a private security company does not have the legal authority to issue parking tickets.
The matter has been referred to the Dane County district attorney’s office, DeForest police said, adding that anyone who received a ticket from Metropolitan shouldn’t pay it and should contact Pertzborn at 846-6780.

Email us/adminassist@privateofficer.com

Join us/myspace.com/privateofficernews

Be part of our social community! www.privateofficer.com