Security officer murder trial underway in San Antonio www.privateofficer.com

San Antonio TX July 1 2008

By:Rick McCann

Ntl. Assoc. Private Officers

http://www.privateofficer.com/ A trial is underway in the murder of a private security officer who was gunned down in November 2005.
Ali Almeaarek reportedly was at the Greyhound Bus Station when a security officer assigned at the station became suspicous of his behavior and decided to question Almeaarek.
Police say that Dwight Peek, the security officer, found a gun in his backpack and notified police for assistance but while police were on the way, Almeaarek struggled with Peek and shot and fatally wounded him.
Police were able to apprehend and arrest Almeaarek who authorities soon found out was on the run from killing his girlfriend in austin a day earlier.
The trial was temporary delayed earlier in the week when a juror disappeared but resumed shortly after a bailiff located the person.

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72 hours of shoplifting keep police hopping www.privateofficer.com

72 hours of shoplifting keeps police hopping www.privateofficer.com

Homewwod IL July 1 2008

By:Bryan Hill

Ntl. Assoc. Private Officers

http://www.privateofficer.com/

Police say that they have been kept very busy responding to shoplifting calls from area retailers. Officers say that although one or two of the department stores seem to have more apprehensions than the other stores, in the past few weeks it seems all the security people have been involved in the arrests.
Police listed these arrests over a 72 hour period as an example;

Retail theft arrest- Jasper Hooks, 56, of 217 Juliette, Thornton, was charged June 20 with retail theft after an incident at Super Kmart, 17550 Halsted St., police said.

Retail theft arrest- Myron Locklin, 43, of 50 N. Hoyne, Chicago, was charged June 22 with retail theft after an incident at Home Depot, 17845 Halsted St., police said

Retail theft arrest- Shenia Slater, 26, of 10124 Perry, Chicago, was charged June 24 with retail theft after she stole a pair of shoes from TJ Maxx, 17900 Halsted St., police said.

Retail theft arrest- Erica Blocker, 31, of 141 Cooper Road, New Lenox, was charged with retail theft and battery after stealing a cart full of wiring and biting a security officer on the arm June 24 at Menards, 17545 Halsted St., police said.

Retail theft arrest- Winfred Willson, 47, of 932 W. 194th Place, Chicago Heights, was charged with retail theft June 24 after an incident at Super Kmart, 17550 Halsted St., police said.

Retail theft arrest- Esparza Esperanza, 43, of 15925 Emerald Ave., Harvey, was charged June 25 with retail theft after stealing children’s clothes and diapers from Super Kmart, 17550 Halsted St., police said

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Fake federal agent takes over small town law enforcement www.privateofficer.com

GERALD, Mo. July 1 2008 Like so many rural communities in the country’s middle, this tiny town had wrestled for years with the woes of methamphetamine. Then, several months ago, a federal agent showed up.
Busts began. Houses were ransacked. People, in handcuffs on their front lawns, named names. To some, like Mayor Otis Schulte, who considers the county around Gerald, population 1,171, “a meth capital of the United States,” the drug scourge seemed to be fading at last.
Those whose homes were searched, though, grumbled about a peculiar change in what they understood, from television mainly, to be the law.
They said the agent, a man some had come to know as “Sergeant Bill,” boasted that he did not need search warrants to enter their homes because he worked for the federal government.
But after a reporter for the local weekly newspaper made a few calls about that claim, Gerald’s anti-drug campaign abruptly unraveled after less than five months. Sergeant Bill, it turned out, was no federal agent, but Bill A. Jakob, an unemployed former trucking company owner, a former security guard, a former wedding-performing minister, a former small-town cop from 23 miles down the road.
Mr. Jakob, 36, is now the subject of a criminal investigation by federal authorities, and is likely to face charges related to impersonating a law enforcement officer, his lawyer said.
The strange adventures of Sergeant Bill have led to the firing of three of the town’s five police officers, left the outcome of a string of drug arrests in doubt, prompted multimillion-dollar federal civil rights lawsuits by at least 17 plaintiffs and stirred up a political battle, including a petition seeking the impeachment of Mr. Schulte, over who is to blame for the mess.
And the questions keep coming. How did Mr. Jakob wander into town and apparently leave the mayor, the aldermen and pretty much everyone else he met thinking that he was a federal agent delivered from Washington to help barrel into peoples’ homes and clean up Gerald’s drug problem? And why would anyone — receiving no pay and with no known connection to little Gerald, 70 miles from St. Louis and not even a county seat — want to carry off such a time-consuming ruse in the first place?
Mr. Jakob’s lawyer, Joel Schwartz, said that what happened in Gerald was never a sinister plot, but a chain of events rooted in “errors in judgment.” Mr. Schwartz said he believed that at least three Gerald police officers, including the chief, knew that Mr. Jakob was not a federal drug agent or even a certified police officer.
“It was an innocent evolution, where he helped with one minor thing, then one more on top of that, and all of the sudden, everyone thought he was a federal agent,” Mr. Schwartz said. “I’m not saying this was legal or lawful. But look, they were very, very effective while he was present. I don’t think Gerald is having the drug problem they were having. I’ve heard from some residents who were thrilled that he was there.”
There were numerous arrests during Mr. Jakob’s time in Gerald (the exact number is uncertain, local law enforcement officials said, as legal action surrounding the case proceeds), but Mayor Schulte said that Mr. Jakob had, in fact, gone to elaborate lengths to deceive local authorities, including Ryan McCrary, then the police chief, into believing that he was a federal agent — with the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Marshal’s Service or some other federal agency.
In addition to having a badge and a car that seemed to scream law enforcement, Mr. Jakob offered federal drug enforcement help, Mr. Schulte said, (a notion local officials said must have somehow grown out of their recent application for a federal grant for radio equipment) and asked Chief McCrary to call what he said was his supervisor’s telephone number to confirm Gerald’s need for his help.
When the call was placed, a woman — whose identity is unknown — answered with the words “multijurisdictional task force,” and said that the city’s request for federal services was under review, the mayor said. Mr. Schulte said he now suspects that Mr. Jakob adapted the nonexistent task force name from the “Beverly Hills Cop” movies starring Eddie Murphy.
“Not only were these officers taken in, but so was everybody else,” said Chet Pleban, a lawyer for Mr. McCrary and the other two members of the police force who lost their jobs after Mr. Jakob’s real identity came to light.
Of the firings, Mayor Schulte said, “Nobody wanted to, but the city’s lawyer recommended it.”
When residents first began noticing Mr. Jakob, he certainly looked the part. His hair was chopped short, residents recalled, and his stocky chest filled a black T-shirt he sometimes wore that read POLICE. They said he wore military-style boots, pants with pockets running down the legs and carried a badge (his lawyer said it was from a former job as a security guard in St. Louis). And his off-white Crown Victoria was decked out with police radios and internal flashing lights, residents said.
He first came to town in January, his lawyer said, to meet Chief McCrary, whose experiences serving in Afghanistan Mr. Jakob had read about in a local newspaper. Mr. Jakob was considering contract work .
Soon, the busts began. Some of those whose homes were searched said they were kicked in the head and had shotguns held against them. Mr. Jakob, many said, seemed to be leading the crew of Gerald police officers.
“He was definitely in charge — it was all him,” said Mike Withington, 49, a concrete finisher, who said Mr. Jakob pounded on his door in May, waking him up and yanking him, in handcuffs, out onto his front yard.
Mr. Withington said he had not yet been charged with a crime; Gary Toelke, the Franklin County sheriff, confirmed that no local charges had been issued against him. . But the mortification of that day, Mr. Withington said, has kept him largely indoors and led him to consider moving. Since the search, residents have tossed garbage and crumpled boxes of Sudafed (an ingredient of which can be used to make methamphetamine) on his lawn, he said, and he no longer shops in town, instead driving miles to neighboring towns.
“Everybody is staring at me,” he said. “People assume you’re guilty when things like this happen.”
When Linda Trest, 51, a reporter at The Gasconade County Republican, started hearing complaints from people whose homes had been searched, she began making inquiries about Mr. Jakob.
“Once I got his name, I hit the computer and within an hour I had all the dirt on this guy,” Ms. Trest said.
As it turned out, Mr. Jakob, who is married and lives near Washington, a small town not far from Gerald, filed for bankruptcy protection in 2003 when he owned a trucking company, and had, at 22, pleaded guilty in Illinois to a misdemeanor charge of criminal sex abuse of someone in their teens.
Since the 1990s, he had worked, at times, as a police officer in tiny departments in towns like Kinloch, Mo., and Brooklyn, Ill., though he never seemed to stay anywhere long and was never certified as a police officer in either Missouri or Illinois, his lawyer said. (Under some conditions, short-term employees with some departments are not immediately required to have state certification.)
As in Gerald, he impressed some, if only at first. “He seemed to have experience on the street,” said J. D. Roth, the police chief in Caseyville, Ill., where Mr. Jakob was a temporary part-time officer for almost two months in 2000. “He walked the walk and talked the talk.”
In Gerald, just a day before it was revealed that he was not a federal agent, the city aldermen voted to make Mr. Jakob a reserve officer; he wanted the designation, Mr. Schulte said, so he could enforce local ordinances, and he stood before the aldermen, hands behind his back, seeking the title.
Mr. Jakob offered city officials three contact numbers — his personal cellphone, a cellphone he said he used for drug informants and his “multijurisdictional task force” cellphone, Mr. Schulte said.
“It was the movie, ‘Catch Me if You Can’ all over again,” said Mr. Schulte, referring to the 2002 film starring Leonardo DiCaprio as a master of deception. “I’m telling you, with this guy, everything was right.”

Shoplifting is up in some areas, down in others www.privateofficer.com

Atlanta GA. July 1 2008

By:Rick McCann

Ntl. Assoc. Private Officers

www.privateofficer.com

Depending on which report you read, shoplifting is either declining, at a steady pace or booming!
Some recent “experts” said that their studies show shoplifting has decreased as much as 30 percent over this time last year. But I guess it all depends on how you read the statistics and what part of the country you’re in.

Just last week, the Nashville Metro police department announced that they had made more than 2000 theft arrests during the month of June and shoplifting accounted for 600 of those arrests. According to Metro, those figures show a sharp increase of all types of thefts and larcenies especially shoplifting.
Just up Interstate 40 East in a city much smaller than Nashville, Cookeville police report a dramatic increase in shoplifting and say that it’s up 800 percent.
Grocery store thefts are up 300 percent.
Police in Cookeville said that although several factors are contributing to the spike, but the current economic downtown is recognized as a prime cause.
However, repeat offenders continue to fill local jails. Police said drug use also represent a major factor in shoplifting.
Police have arrested nearly 200 people in 2008 for shoplifting
But according to a study by the University of Florida, retail theft nationwide reached a 17 year low last year and has declined for the sixth year straight.
However, that trend may reverse itself this year because of the bad economy, experts said Tuesday at the National Retail Federation’s theft-prevention trade show in Orlando.”All indications are this year is going to be challenging,” said Michael Liberatore, vice president of loss prevention, risk management and communications for Macy’s Florida.Liberatore told an audience of retail executives that Macy’s stores in Florida have seen a dramatic increase this year in shoplifting, particularly with “grab and run” incidents, which are up 38 percent.
It is no doubt driven by the economy,” Liberatore said.Overall, retailers lost $34.3 billion, or 1.4 percent of overall sales, in 2007, compared with $40.5 billion, or 1.57 percent of overall sales, in 2006.
Sgt. Mikell Wiggs of Metro Nashville Police said Target, Wal-Mart and Old Navy have all been victims of the increased shoplifting.
In a recent surveillance video taken at an HH Gregg appliance store in Nashville, a man is seen grabbing a camera, but police said thieves are stealing a variety of items.
“Then you have those repeat offenders who go from store to store to store,” said Wiggs.
Managers at the Old Navy in west Nashville said stealing has gotten out of control, and they are taking serious steps to cut down on the thefts.
“You have to realize stores have surveillance, and they are going to catch you and prosecute you,” said Wiggs.
Retailers said that often a rise in shoplifting means an increase in the price that honest shoppers pay for the products at their stores.

Arizona, Florida and Texas have all been battling increased shoplifting efforts as are other retailers nationwide. It’s a daily fight to protect the store’s assets said Kevin Cavanaugh, a regional loss prevention manager. Shoplifters are always coming up with new ways to get the merchandise out of the store without paying and many are just filling carts or taking armloads and running.

Of particular concern is organized retail theft rings, which have been on the rise. More than 51 percent of retailers reported an increase in organized retail crimes last year, according to the university survey.Employee theft accounted for 44.5 percent, or about $15.3 billion, of retail losses last year, according to the survey, which was funded by ADT Security Services and included preliminary results from 124 companies. Shoplifting made up about 34.5 percent of losses, or $11.9 billion.Books and magazines, auto parts and cards, gifts and novelties were the most likely to be stolen while jewelry and consumer electronics were the least likely, the survey showed

Despite the survey, security experts say stay on your toes and don’t let your guard down. Given the economic troubles and the increase in organized shoplifting, the use of the Internet to sell stolen goods and the trends in some areas, shoplifting is here to stay.

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Alabama Cyber Crime Unit blends Local, State, Federal Police www.privateofficer.com

HOOVER ALA. July 1 2008 – At Hoover’s National Computer Forensics Institute, federal agents train state and local law enforcement officials to keep one step ahead of cyber-criminals by beating them at their own game.

The institute, located in the Hoover Public Safety Center, has classes in computer forensics, in which physical evidence is extracted from hard drives, and network intrusion, which deals with compromised computer networks and viruses.

There are also classes for prosecutors and judges in which they are taught how to present computer evidence and what to look for in computer evidence, said Barry Page, deputy director of NCFI.

The institute is the only full-time facility that trains state and local law enforcement, prosecutors and judges in computer forensics, Page said.

Classes are anywhere from one week to five weeks long.

The institute, which is operated and funded by the Department of Homeland Security and the Secret Service, got its first class of attendees May 19, 2008.

This year, 260 participants will go through the classes between May and September. However, NCFI’s full capacity is 1,600 students a year, Page said.Since attendees’ costs are fully paid, the number of participants depends on the center’s budget, Page said.

The benefits are high for those that attend the classes, said Mike Trotter, a forensic examiner with the Alabama District Attorney’s Association.”No. 1, it puts me in contact with other people who do this job. I think that’s an enhancement of any training program-building a network,” Trotter said. “No. 2, it shows me different ways of doing things. The software and the tools they’re providing expand our toolkit.”

Once people go through the training courses, they’re provided with the equipment necessary to carry out their training if that equipment isn’t available at their jobs.”There are certain areas of the country that don’t have access to this kind of training,” Page said. “They can come here to Hoover and get federal training.

“Hoover Mayor Tony Petelos said NCFI helps provide an economic boon for the area.”It generates tens of thousands of people who eat in our restaurants and go shopping,” Petelos said. “My goal is to have them have a pleasant experience.”The institute came to Alabama after Petelos heard from Congressman Spencer Bachus that the Secret Service had money to train people but no money to build a facility.The Public Safety Center had plenty of unused room, and the partnership was born.

The state of Alabama paid more than $4.8 million for construction costs and Shelby County paid $250,000 in architecture fees

.The city of Hoover is providing the building space rent-free for six years, Petelos said.The collaboration among different levels of government impressed some VIPs, Petelos said.

“The director of the Secret Service said, ‘This is the first time I’ve seen so many levels of government cooperate to make something happen,’” Petelos said.

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3 Teens die from carbon monoxide posioning mudbogging www.privateofficer.com

3 Teens die from carbon-monoxide posioning while off-roading www.privateofficer.com

MANCHESTER, Tenn. July 1 2008

By:Rick McCann

Ntl. Assoc. Private Officer

http://www.privateofficer.com/ Coffee county law enforcement said that they responded to a call about three teenagers who had been were killed Saturday night in a rural part of the county after their vheicle got stuck off –road.
Police said that after the teenagers vehicle got stuck in mud and the teens could not get it out, it apparently became filled with carbon monoxide as they sat waiting for friends to come and help them.
Police identified the teenagers as Josh Baker, 18, Kristie Burton, 17, and Alyssa Tucker, 15, but did not say where they were from.
According to a report, a friend who had been contacted by one of the teens found their bodies in the sport utility vehicle.
Authorities said it appears that when the SUV became stuck, the muffler was underwater, causing the exhaust to backup into the Jeep Cherokee.
Baker and Burton were engaged and looking forward to their wedding, said Tucker’s boyfriend, Jacob Hockstedler.
The dirt road where the incident occurred has been closed off by authorities.

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Myrtle Beach security officer charged with assault www.privateofficer.com

MYRTLE BEACH SC July 1 2008

Kyle T. Greene

Ntl. Assoc. Private Officers

http://www.privateofficer.com/

Myrtle Beach police officers arrested a security guard at Rainbow Court on Flagg Street after three witnesses said they saw him beat a man with his nightstick and douse him with pepper spray Friday, according to a Myrtle Beach police report.
The security guard, John Blyne, 51, of North Myrtle Beach, was charged with simple assault after the incident.
Blyne told police he had received several reports from residents that the victim was on the property without permission, acting suspicious and possibly trying to sell drugs.
The final time he confronted the victim about being on the property about 3 a.m., Blyne said, the victim threatened him, saying he was in the black mafia and was going to get a weapon and then he charged at him.
Witnesses said they saw the victim return to a spot where he had dropped his sandals and saw Blyne pick them up and then spray the man with pepper spray when he asked for them back.
Witnesses said Blyne then hit the man repeatedly in the legs with his nightstick.
Several witnesses told police they heard the victim say he was not on property anymore and then he asked Blyne to stop hitting him, the report said.

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Walmart snubs Mesa AZ. shoplifting advise www.privateofficer.com

Walmart snubs Mesa Az police shoplifting advise www.privateofficer.com

from the I-Net News Source

MESA AZ July 1 2008

Mesa police are using the equivalent of two full-time officers to answer shoplifting calls at Mesa Wal-Marts, but efforts to help the big-box retailer curtail theft have largely been pushed aside.
Thefts at Wal-Mart’s seven Supercenters rose 89 percent from 2006 to 2007, police records show. Police estimate thefts will rise 117 percent this year if the January-through-May numbers continue at their current pace.
Police were called to Mesa Wal-Marts on 376 shoplifting thefts in 2007, with thieves generally targeting electronics, clothing, beauty products and alcohol.

Mesa police brought their concerns to local and corporate Wal-Mart representatives last fall and have since provided detailed crime statistics to help focus the store’s loss-prevention efforts and offered expertise to bring down crime.
In March, the department’s four-member crime prevention unit conducted a free CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) assessments at the seven Wal-Mart Superstores. Out of that came an 18-page report to help protect the stores from thieves.
“We are targeting where the problem is,” Mesa Police Chief George Gascón said. “We want the thefts to stop and believe we can reduce them considerably.”
But Wal-Mart’s response has been disappointing, he said.
“They are not seeming to want to work with us. They say the right things and never follow through,” Gascón said.
Wal-Mart corporate spokesman Dan Fogleman said the chain appreciates the department’s efforts “to identify these people breaking the law and prosecuting them to make our community safer.”
“We are always open to discussion, and we evaluate suggestions against the needs of our customers and business as a whole,” he said.
But Wal-Mart has apparently yet to adopt any of the suggested changes.
“It has cost the city twice with lost opportunity for sales tax and police resources, processing and court costs,” Gascón said. “We are not asking them to spend money. It’s really altering business practices.”
But Fogleman said the company’s top priority is the security of its customers and employees.
“Nothing is more important than providing a safe and pleasurable (shopping experience) and working environment for customers and associates,” Fogleman said. “Unfortunately, crime occurs in any community.”
Prevention strategies
In the past nine months, police have provided data that show not only what merchandise is being stolen most often but also the peak times and days for theft.
Among the changes Gascón would like to see:
• Have greeters check receipts when a customer enters for returns and leaves the stores with purchases, much like Costco. Last year, Wal-Mart agreed to implement a similar program called Asset Protection Exit Greeter Program, a pilot approach used in its Las Vegas stores, to at least one Mesa store. The program was supposed to start this year but has not. Fogleman said the program hasn’t come along as quickly as the company had hoped, but added it’s no guarantee that police calls would drop. He said calls actually could increase because they might catch more people.
• Put a uniformed security guard at the main entrance as a visible crime deterrent. The store’s asset-prevention staff is plainclothes security.
• Enclose the electronics “bullpen” areas so people would have to pay before they leave the area.
These and other issues prompted Gascón to ask for a meeting in Mesa with a corporate representative, but the request was passed back to a local Wal-Mart representative. Communication has been slow.
“We are not anti-business or anti-Wal-Mart,” Gascón said. “They do bring in money to the city, but it isn’t a license to waste police resources.”
Target has been working with Mesa police and has seen an 18 percent decline in shoplifting cases from 2006 to 2007, said Mesa police community partnership coordinator Denise Traves, who oversees a program working with business to reduce crime.
“The solutions are simple, not expensive, easy to implement. It’s not rocket science,” Traves said.
Wal-Mart has participated regularly with the Mesa Retail Asset Protection Program, created last fall by Mesa police. The group meets monthly with local retailers to share information on shoplifters and organized retail-crime suspects.
Fogleman said Wal-Mart’s asset-protection staff takes measures to prevent crime and aggressively works to catch lawbreakers.
Some of the recommendations made by Mesa crime prevention specialists already were in place, including pan, tilt and zoom surveillance systems and crime prevention signs warning of prosecution and video surveillance.
Fogleman said Wal-Mart promotes “aggressive hospitality” where employees acknowledge any customers within 10 feet as a way to help welcome people and prevent crime.
But police said there is no consistency in crime-prevention measures at the stores.
“What we are seeing is they have a desire to meet the needs, but, unfortunately, I don’t know if it meets their marketing strategies,” Traves said. “I don’t know how much they have tried. We have attempted to educate them and they are not getting it. We are just not seeing the effort.”

Top Mesa shoplifting locations
January through May 2008
• Superstition Springs Center: 184*
• Fiesta Mall: 112*
• Wal-Mart, 1955 S. Stapley Drive: 91
• Wal-Mart, 4505 E. McKellips Road: 83
• Wal-Mart, 857 N. Dobson Road: 77
• Wal-Mart, 240 W. Baseline Road: 55
• Target, 1230 S. Longmore: 55
*Total includes several stores in the mall.
Source: Mesa Police Department

1 Ranger dead, 8 others struck by lightning in seperate incidents www.privateofficer.com

MICANOPY, Fla. July 1 2008

By: Bryan Hill

Ntl. Assoc. Private Officers

http://www.privateofficer.com/ A state park ranger is dead after a tree crashed through the roof of his car.
Police said that the accident happened Saturday afternoon at Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park south of Gainesville.
Authorities say the ranger’s car was stopped because the road he was traveling on was block by a downed tree. As he sat in his car, a second tree fell atop it, causing the roof to collapse and striking the ranger.
The highway patrol says the ranger died at the scene.
The Florida Highway Patrol hasn’t released the victim’s name.

CALDWELL COUNTY NC July 1 2008 Emergency personnel responded to a call of eight park rangers being struck by a lightning bolt that had struck the ground close to where they were stationed. Emergency personnel rushed the Caldwell County rangers to an area hospital on Saturday.

Authorities said that it happened while the rangers were fighting a fire on Buffalo Cove and Highway 268. They had been fighting the fire since Friday, which was ignited by a lightning strike.
During the late afternoon, a strong thunderstorm pushed through the area with heavy lightning and as the rangers made their way to cover they were struck.
Some of the rangers received minor burns and some complained about leg and foot pain. They were taken to Caldwell Memorial Hospital in Lenoir.
Officials say it took a few hours to get to the injured rangers because they were working far into the woods.

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Police arrest 2 for shooting, killing man in wheelchair www.privateofficer.com

CLEVELAND OH July 1 2008 Two men were arrested Saturday in the shooting death of a stroke victim who was hit by a bullet when he went outside his home in a wheelchair to get some fresh air, police said.
Police Lt. Thomas Stacho said Nathan Johnson, 26, turned himself in at a police station and gave authorities information that led investigators to Eric Carson, 27, who surrendered at his home. Both men live in the same neighborhood as shooting victim Daniel Lewis.
They had not been formally charged.
Johnson drove a Ford Contour from which Carson fired a gunshot around 6 p.m. Friday, police said. Stacho said Carson was aiming for a rival drug dealer, but the shot bounced off the hood of another car and hit Lewis.
Lewis’ son, Charles, said his father was hit in the chest. Lewis, a retired Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority supervisor, died at a hospital about an hour after the shooting.
“It’s a tragedy, a man minding his own business. He’s sitting outside enjoying the weather and two fools come by, and as a result he’s dead,” said Mayor Frank Jackson, who went to the Lewis home after the shooting. “It’s senseless. … The people responsible will pay for their dumb act.”
Family members said Lewis had a stroke two years ago and had returned to his home in September. He’s lived there since 1974.
Charles Lewis said family had been urging his father to go outside to get some fresh air.
“We finally got him outside to get some air,” Charles Lewis said. “He should have stayed inside and stayed stuffy.”

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Texas town stays busy herding shoplifters www.privateofficer.com

Forney TX July 1 , 2008

By: Bryan Hill

Ntl. Assoc. Private Officers

http://www.privateofficer.com/ Forney police said that they had a busy week-end rounding up shoplifters from area stores.

According to their records, a total, five individuals were arrested on two unrelated attempts of theft at Wal-Mart in Forney this last Saturday.

The Forney Police say that they arrested Karen Hawkins, 29, of Rowlett, Keith Neel, 30, of Garland, and Jacky Don Starbuck, 23 of Rowlett, for attempting to steal approximately $1,136.00 worth of items.

At approximately 7:10 a.m. Saturday morning, the FPD received the call from Wal-Mart loss prevention officers about the suspicious individuals stealing items from behind the store. When police arrived at the scene, the individuals evaded officers. Hawkins fled by vehicle and was quickly pulled over, the other two individuals attempted to hide in the wet marsh area behind Wal-Mart.

One individual was taken to the Terrell Hospital with minor scrapes on the elbows and knees and was released to the Forney Police.The items taken included a gas blower, blower fan, tool kit, pellet ammo, knife, air rifle, air pistol, paintball gun and accessories, and DVD’s, among other items.

Another non-related incident occurred at approximately 3:35 p.m. when two out of town individuals were arrested for shoplifting at the Forney Wal-Mart.
Police did not list their names in the report released.

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