OFFICER DOWN NEW YORK www.privateofficer.com

OFFICER DOWN

Police Officer Aldo Rossi

Port Dickinson Police Department New York

End of Watch: Monday, July 28, 2008

Biographical InfoAge: 42

Tour of Duty: 1 year, 3 months

Incident Details–Cause of Death: Vehicular assault

Date of Incident: Sunday, July 27, 2008

Weapon Used: Automobile

Suspect Info: Charges pending

Officer Aldo Rossi succumbed to injuries sustained the previous day when he was struck by a drunk driver on Route 7 while waiting for a Department of Transportation truck to remove a tree that had fallen across the roadway.

He was speaking to the driver of a car that had stopped near the fallen tree when another car struck the car and then him.

He was transported to Wilson Regional Medical Center where he succumbed to his injuries.

Officer Rossi had served as a part-time officer with the Port Dickinson Police Department for 15 months and also served as a part-time police officer with the Deposit Police Department.

He is survived by his wife, three brothers, sister, and father.

Agency Contact Information—Port Dickinson Police Department786 Chenango StreetBinghamton, NY 13901Phone: (607) 722-1255

Please contact the Port Dickinson Police Department for funeral arrangements or for survivor benefit fund information.

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Cub Scout Leader Charged With Child Molestation www.privateofficer.com

Cub Scout Leader Arrested For Child Molestation www.privateofficer.com

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (Metro Atlanta) July 29 2008 Authorities investigating a Gwinnett County Cub Scout leader has been arrested on child molestation charges.
Authorities took Harry “Brett” Taylor into custody after a boy’s mother went to police and reported that Taylor touched her 8-year-old son inappropriately.
The alleged incident took place during a sleepover with Taylor’s children at a residence in the 1700 block of Bergen Ct in Lawrenceville.
The two children knew each other through Cub Scouts where the suspect was their Cub Scout leader.
Authorities said that they received a call from the childs parents who said that the victim stated that sometime during the night, Taylor touched his genital area. The victim also stated that the suspect had photographed him while he was drying off and undressing after exiting their swimming pool.
Gwinnett police said they are investigating two more complaints filed since the initial report of alleged misconduct.
Authorities said Taylor has been on Gwinnett County’s library board since January 2006.
“This is why we’re asking if anybody has been in contact with Mr. Taylor or their children have been in contact, to please speak with their children and see if there’s any inappropriate touching or contact with Mr. Taylor…and if so, to contact our investigators,” said Cpl. David Schiralli with the Gwinnett County Police Department.
During the investigation, authorities said they learned that the Taylor had been molesting another family member for over an extended period of time and more charges are pending against him.

Members of the Gwinnett County library board said that they are shocked and saddened by the allegations.
Gwinnett County library board members said Taylor is still a member of the board as of Monday evening.
Authorities said Taylor is charged with four counts of child molestation and one count of sexual battery. Police said that additional charges will more than likely be forthcoming and that their investigation is on going
Taylor is currently being held without bond at the Gwinnett County Detention Center.

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Morgue worker charged with sexual abuse of corpse www.privateofficer.com

CINCINNATI OH July 29 2008 — A grand jury indicted a former employee of a Cincinnati coroner’s office with the abuse of a corpse more than two decades ago, authorities in Cincinnati reported.
Prosecutors said Kenneth Douglas, 55, of Westwood, Ohio, sexually assaulted the body of 19-year-old Karen Range, who was murdered during an attempted rape Aug. 19, 1982, at her home.
She had been severely beaten and had her throat slashed with a paring knife.
David Steffen was sentenced to death in 1983 for her murder, but his attorneys had argued at trial that he did not rape her.
Investigators said they were unable to eliminate Steffen as a rape suspect by using a blood test on semen found on Range’s body, and DNA testing had not been developed at the time of Steffen’s trial.
A DNA test was performed last year, and Douglas was identified as a suspect after he was convicted March 17 of drug trafficking and ordered to provide a DNA sample.
Investigators discovered that Douglas had worked as a morgue attendant when Range’s body had been at the lab for testing, and prosecutors said he removed her body from a refrigeration unit and sexually assaulted it.
“There are no words to describe the disgust everyone associated with this case feels,” said Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters.
If convicted, Douglas faces up to 12 months in prison.
Douglas worked for the coroner’s office from 1976 to 1992, and prosecutors added that they are investigating whether any other offenses were committed during that period.
“I think we have an obligation to the residents of this county to review every autopsy that occurred in his 16 years of service,” Deters said.
Steffen admitted to killing Range and was indicted on two charges related to her slaying, but his attorneys have argued during appeals that his death sentence should be overturned because he had not raped her.

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Shoplifters nabbed by security agents www.privateofficer.com

Shoplifters nabbed by store security agents www.privateofficer.com

BRAINTREE MA July 29 2008
Police arrested two Boston women and a Quincy woman following unrelated thefts at South Shore Plaza stores.
Maria D. Vazquez-Santiago, 47, of Mattapan, and Hildelisa Reyes, 19, of Dorchester were arrested Thursday afternoon after security at Sears detained them.
They were spotted on surveillance cameras as they allegedly hid merchandise in their pocketbooks.
The women were stopped after they left the store without paying for the items, police said.
Police said Reyes initially gave a phony name.
More than $300 worth of merchandise, including jewelry and perfume, was recovered.
Both were charged with larceny of property worth more than $250.
Less than an hour later, police went to Kmart on Grossman Drive to investigate a shoplifting complaint.
The store’s security told officers they witnessed Nina J. Nelson, 41, of Quincy concealing more than $100 worth of merchandise in her pocketbook and then leaving the store.
Nelson also gave a false name when she was apprehended, police said.
While searching Nelson’s car in the parking lot, officers found more than $400 worth of merchandise that had been stolen from Macy’s at the plaza.
In addition to the shoplifting arrest, Nelson was also charged with receiving stolen property worth more than $250.

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Security officer aids in apprehension of theft suspects www.privateofficer.com

JENKINS TWP. PA July 29 2008

By: Rick McCann

Ntl. Assoc. Private Offifcers

http://www.privateofficer.com/ Two men were charged Friday after police said they stole manhole frames from a construction site.
Police say that they were called to the area after a security officer working near by spotted the two taking the frames and notified police about the thefts in progress.

Officers responding to the area arrested Robert A. Miller, 35, of Tomkins Street, Pittston, and Anthony Robert Lukasavage, 35, of Main Street, Jenkins Township, and both were charged with theft and criminal conspiracy to commit theft. Miller was also charged with driving a vehicle with a suspended license, according to arrest records.
They were jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $10,000 bail each.

According to the criminal complaints filed by Officer Christopher J. Purcell:
The security officer working in the area of Boden Clothing on Armstrong Road in the Center Pointe Industrial Park told police that two men, later identified as Miller and Lukasavage, removed manhole frames from a construction site. They placed the items in a pickup truck at about 1:30 a.m. Friday, police said.
Police arrested the two after stopping the truck containing drain systems and manhole frames, the criminal complaint says.

Preliminary hearings are tentatively scheduled for Aug. 4 in Central Court.

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NC School resource recognized for response to incident www.privateofficer.com

NC School resource officer recognized for her response to incident www.privateofficer.com

Mount Airy NC July 29 2008
Mount Airy school resource officer has received state recognition for defusing a situation last fall which had eerie similarities to the Columbine case.Stacy Inman, who serves as SRO at Mount Airy High School, was honored with the Valor and Bravery Award of the North Carolina Association of School Resource Officers during the association’s recent annual conference at Sea Trail Resort in Sunset Beach.
The award was the only one of its kind presented at the conference attended by more than 400 school resource officers from around the state.Inman, a 16-year veteran of the city Police Department, was recognized in connection with an incident that occurred last Halloween at the high school.

That afternoon, about 30 minutes before classes were dismissed for the day, the officer noticed a vehicle belonging to a student who had been absent that day pull into the campus parking lot.

As a result of her checking on the vehicle, weapons including an assault rifle with a bayonet attached, a shotgun and several knives were seized.

Ammunition, drugs and alcohol also were discovered during the incident, which led to the arrest of four people – including two students – on charges of having weapons on school grounds.Inman said Friday that she later learned one of the individuals involved had attended another school where he had checked out materials on the Columbine shooting and weapons of mass destruction from the library.

“When I heard that, it made my heart sink,” the SRO said, since it might have been a clue about the youths’ possible intentions that day.

The two MAHS students who were involved also had been behaving strangely before the incident.Inman’s actions prompted Kelly Hiatt, a fellow SRO who is stationed at Mount Airy Middle School, to nominate Inman for state “School Resource Officer of the Year” honors, which resulted in her instead receiving the special award for bravery and valor.

“It was knowing the students and knowing that these two particular students’ behavior had been different that led Stacy to think something was wrong that Halloween Day when they pulled into the parking lot,” Hiatt said on the application form for the award.“

We may never know what her observation before this day and on this day prevented.”As part of the nomination process, Hiatt also submitted letters from Police Chief Roger McCreary, Maj. Jeff Wolfe and Lt. Jim Armbrister, as well as Mount Airy High School Principal Sandy George and Assistant Principal Jason Dorsett endorsing Inman’s statewide recognition.I

nman, however, played down her role in the Oct. 31 incident on Friday and said receiving the state award was totally unexpected. “I had no idea,” she said.“I didn’t think that I had done anything that was any more outstanding than any other officer would have done out on the road or any other SRO would have done at any other school,” Inman added.

The veteran city officer said that the most memorable part of the award to her is the fact that she was nominated by a fellow SRO. “That was the most rewarding part of it (rather) than receiving any kind of recognition,” Inman said, “that a fellow worker thinks so much of me.”“That means a lot to me and I really appreciate it; that was an honor for me right there.”

Inman previously was honored in December by the Mount Airy Police Department for her actions on Oct. 31, and in 2006 she was named the department’s “Employee of the Year.”The upcoming 2008-09 school term will be her fourth year as SRO at the high school

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Security officer shot at nightclub www.privateofficer.com

Security agent shot at nightclub www.privateofficer.com

Virginia Beach VA. July 29 2008

By: Bryan Hill

Ntl. Assoc. Private Officers

www.privateofficer.com

One man is in jail after an early morning night club shooting.

It happened Monday, July 28, at 1:55 a.m. Beach police responded to a call for shots fired at the Club Mystique located in the 1500 block of General Booth Boulevard.

A member of the club’s security staff was shot outside of the establishment and was taken to a local hospital before police units arrived on scene.
After a preliminary investigation, detectives determined that a dispute occurred between the employee and suspect, resulting in the victim being shot.

A BOL (Be on the Lookout) was broadcast for the suspect vehicle.

The vehicle was later spotted by an officer in the 1700 block of Virginia Beach Boulevard and a traffic stop was conducted.
Detectives have charged Jontea Lamar Suggs, 21, of the 100 block of Jones Street in Chesapeake, with Aggravated Malicious Wounding and Use of a Firearm in the Commission of a Felony. He is being held without bond at the Virginia Beach Correctional Center.
The victim underwent surgery and is in critical condition.

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Security guard arrested for groping woman during search www.privateofficer.com

East Stroudsburg PA July 29 2008

A security guard for a private development in East Stroudsburg allegedly groped a woman while searching her, according to police.

Jose Antonio Ramirez, 27, of Blue Mountain Lake Estates was charged Tuesday with misdemeanor indecent assault, Stroud Area Regional police said.

On May 28, he allegedly had indecent contact with a 40-year-old East Stroudsburg woman while working for Allied Security as a security officer for the Penn Estates development, according to police.

Police said that while Ramirez was on routine patrol about 10:45 p.m., he saw the woman walking along Penn Estates Drive and offered to give her a ride. He allegedly told her in order to give her a ride he needed to search her for weapons. While doing so, her touched her inappropriately, police say.
Ramirez was arraigned before District Judge Thomas Shiffer and released on $10,000 unsecured bail.

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IRS Employee Pleads Guilty To Snooping In Celebrity Files www.privateofficer.com

COVINGTON, Ky.( Metro Cincinnati OH) July 29 2008 An Internal Revenue Service employee in Kentucky says he’s guilty of improperly accessing the IRS accounts of celebrities and sports figures.

John Snyder entered the plea to the misdemeanor charge Monday in federal court.

The U.S. Attorney’s office said the case involves nearly 200 celebrities, including Kevin Bacon, Alec Baldwin, Sally Field, Chevy Chase, Randy Quaid and Tara Reid, as well as Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis and former Cincinnati Reds players.

Snyder faces up to one year in jail and a $250,000 fine when he is sentenced on Aug. 20.

Snyder’s attorney, Edward McTigue, says his client has no comment. Snyder is free on his own recognizance.

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300 Teenagers Riot At N Carolina Mall www.privateofficer.com

300 Teenagers riot at NC mall www.privateofficer.com

RALEIGH, N.C., July 29 2008

By: Rick McCann

Ntl. Assoc. Private Officers

http://www.privateofficer.com/ Five teens allegedly involved in a brawl at a North Raleigh, N.C., mall remained jailed on felony riot and other charges, officials said.
As many as 300 people were involved in the Saturday night fracas in the Triangle Town Center’s food court that closed the mall 20 minutes early and forced police to evacuate shoppers, The (Raleigh, N.C.) News & Observer reported.
Police said in a statement that security officers and city police were notified when a number of teenagers began fighting inside the mall. Police said that some of those involved were known to be associated with gangs and that the brawl was gang-related. They hadn’t given any specifics about the associations or the gangs.

The private security officers and numerous police officers responded and was faced with a large disturbance according to police.
Injured in the melee was a Raleigh police officer who received a laceration on his knee and had to be taken to Duke Raleigh Hospital. A 15-year-old male was stabbed in the buttocks in an altercation outside of the mall, the newspaper reported.

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Security officer assaulted during disturbance www.privateofficer.com

DESTIN FLA July 29 2008

By: Bryan Hill

Ntl. Assoc. Private Officers

http://www.privateofficer.com/ - Police were called to a disturbance after a man assaulted a private security officer and threatened several others.
Sheriff deputies say that the man knocked a security guard off a small wall, then beat up two others who tried to calm him down at Inlet Reef, deputies say.
The 29-year-old man who was notidentified by authorities is charged with two misdemeanor counts of battery.
The security officer had asked him several times to turn his music down, according to an Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office report. Angry, the man stepped forward “in a threatening manner with his chest pushed out,” a deputy wrote.
Security backed off and sat down on the small wall, but the man kept coming and pushed him off.
When another man and a woman came to calm him down, he punched them, according to the report.

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Security, police mobbed over open fire hydrant www.privateofficer.com

Pittsburgh PA July 29 2008

By: Rick McCann

Ntl. Assoc. Private Officers

http://www.privateofficer.com/

Police and private officers were swarmed by people in one area apartment complex in what police say all started with an open fire hydrant.
As public safety officers escorted the water department into the complex to shut off the hydrant that someone had illegally turned on, security officers say that a group of angry people gathered around them prompting them to call for assistance.
Police and public safety officers arrested four youths and an adult in East Hills on Sunday as a result of the melee but residents accuse city police and a private security force of overreacting.

The incident began around 6:15 p.m., city police Sgt. Stephen Vinansky said. He said children in the Second East Hills apartment complex had opened a fire hydrant on Wilner Drive between Robinson Boulevard and East Hills Drive, then reopened it after firefighters closed it.
“We don’t have (a) pool open. The kids want to get wet,” said Chaunte Moore, 17.
Vinansky said the youths began throwing objects, including bricks, at East Hills Public Safety security vehicles when they accompanied water department employees who came to shut off the hydrant. East Hills Public Safety is a private organization that helps patrol the apartment complex.
Scores of residents spilled into the yards, sidewalks and streets as numerous city police officers in cars, on motorcycles and with police dogs kept watch. Several people were pepper sprayed, including at least one city officer who was hit accidentally, Vinansky said. Police began clearing the area at 7:30 p.m.

The juveniles and adult were charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, Vinansky said.
Resident Keiona Fisher, 20, who was among those playing in the water, said the children threw only water at the security officers and their cars, and charged that they and city police overreacted and were needlessly harsh.
Fisher said residents videotaped the incident and will push to have the security force and city police held accountable.
“They teamed up and they did what they wanted to,” she said. “They abused their authority.”
Fisher said police used a Taser on her 54-year-old grandmother, who was hospitalized, but police could not be reached to comment on the claim. A representative of Second East Hills also could not be reached for comment.
Chekela Phipps, 30, of Penn Hills, who said she grew up in the neighborhood, said a security officer twisted her 9-year-old nephew’s arm, prompting her to call police, who she said made the situation worse.

Police and security personnel maintain the response was necessary to gain control of the area after the mob advanced on them.

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Police arrest four airmen in shooting www.privateofficer.com

Police arrest four airman in shooting www.privateofficer.com

Salt Lake Utah July 29 2008

Four airmen from Hill Air Force Base were arrested Saturday in connection with a shooting outside a downtown Salt Lake City nightclub.

Salt Lake City police arrested Airman 1st Class Daniel Eugene Clemons, 19, on suspicion of attempted homicide after he allegedly gunned down a 22-year-old man outside Club Manhattan during an argument around 1:45 a.m.
Clemons’ comrades, Airman 1st Class Destiney Williams, 22; Airman 1st Class Tacota Lemuel, 19; and Airman 1st Class Jeremy David Crist, 20, were arrested in connection with helping Clemons evade police, said Salt Lake City police Lt. Scott White. Witnesses told police that Clemons and another man got into an argument outside the club, at 5 E. 400 South. Clemons allegedly then shot the man in the abdomen with an assault rifle, White said. Clemons drove away with Crist, as the victim lay bleeding in the street.
The shooting isn’t Clemons first run-in with the law. He was arrested for the November 2007 shooting of a 23-year-old man during a home invasion in Trenton, N.J., Lt. Beth Woodward, chief of public affairs for the 388th Fighter Wing at Hill, confirmed. He was charged with attempted murder in connection with that incident, but details weren’t available late Saturday on what happened with that case or how Clemons came to Utah afterward.

Woodward said the Air Force took administrative against Clemons because of the New Jersey incident, but declined to discuss those actions. After Saturday’s shooting, police followed Clemons and Crist along 400 South and onto Interstate 15, heading north, White said.
Two off-duty police officers working security at the Crystal Inn, 230 W. 500 South, observed Clemons’ vehicle and joined the pursuit, White said. During the chase, Crist allegedly pulled the vehicle over to allow Clemons to jump out and flee on foot. Police caught up with Clemons at a gravel yard at 725 W. 200 South, where the teenager was found hiding behind machinery, White said.
Lemuel and Williams were waiting at the gravel yard, where Clemons and Crist had apparently arranged to meet them to escape, White said.
All four airmen were booked into the Salt Lake County jail. It’s unclear why the two men were arguing before the shooting, police said. Clemons and the victim were acquaintances, said Salt Lake City police Lt. Brian Purvis. A robbery may have been part of the incident, but police weren’t releasing details. Clemons, however, was booked on suspicion of aggravated robbery with a rifle, along with other charges. The weapon used in the attack was not military-issued. The victim was taken to University Hospital, where he underwent surgery for his injuries. An updated condition report was not available Saturday evening. Woodward confirmed the four airmen are stationed at Hill Air Force Base.

Woodward said the base’s office of special investigations is cooperating with authorities to investigate the club shooting. She said a decision will be made Monday about whether military courts or civilian courts will handle legal matters tied to the incident.

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Plane crash kills 3 in Washington www.privateofficer.com

ARLINGTON, Wash. July 28 2008  – Three people died after a small private plane crashed near the Snohomish-Skagit county line Sunday evening.

The victims have been identified as the pilot, 47-year-old Brenda L. Houston of Enumclaw, her 10-year-old daughter Elizabeth M. Crews and Dr. Virgil Becker, 54, from Auburn.

Houston was a pilot for United Airlines.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with Brenda and her family during this difficult time,” said the airline in a statement.

Becker was a board certified orthopedic surgeon at Cascade Spine Center.

“Dr. Becker was highly respected in his profession and a valuable member of not only the medical community but the Auburn community,” said Auburn Mayor Pete Lewis. “He will be greatly missed.”

The Cessna 172 was flying from Roche Harbor on San Juan Island to Auburn, the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office confirms. Houston was reportedly planning to drop off Becker in Auburn.

The plane went down in the area of Bald Mountain around 8:35 p.m.

 

A Navy search team from NAS Whidbey Island assisted in the search. The crew of a Knighthawk search-and-rescue copter used night-vision goggles to help locate the crash site. Due to the rugged area and darkness, they were unable to remove the bodies. The wreckage is about 2,900 feet up the mountain.

As of late Monday morning, a ground search crew was hiking to the crash site, which is located in a fairly rugged area. The closest logging road is still a mile from the scene.

“They’re working on blazing a trail to there, but from what I understand from the Navy corpsman that was on scene, the plane is pretty heavily damaged,” said Will Reichert, Skagit Co. Sheriff’s Office.

The Skagit County Sheriff’s Office says it is still too early to determine the cause of this crash. The pilot was very experienced. The weather Sunday night was not good. Low clouds were reported over Everett’s Paine Field and Arlington’s airport reported overcast skies at 1,900 feet with broken cloud layers below. However, it’s not clear if that played a role.

FAA and NTSB investigators were en route to the crash location Monday morning.