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Security officer’s spine crushed saving woman from falling debris www.privateofficer.com
August 28, 2008
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Security officer’s spine crushed saving woman from falling debris http://www.privateofficer.com
CHICAGO IL Aug 28 2008 A security officer walking home after work is critically injured after making a split-second decision that saved a woman’s life.
Rogelio Rodriguez was walking behind the woman, a stranger he had never met, when witnesses said slabs of granite came crashing down from the side of the Chase Bank at the corner of Damen and Cermak.
“I saw my husband laying there in, like, a halo of blood around him,” said Rodriguez’s wife, Amelia
Rodriguez was hit in the head and back, but said moments before impact he managed to push the woman to safety.
“That’s who my husband is,” Amelia Rodriguez said. “He’ll put somebody else’s life ahead of his. He’s just that type of person — he’s very kind.”
Rodriguez has yet to meet the woman whose life he saved.
Rodriguez is in intensive care at Stroger Cook County Hospital, Stafford reported. Rodriguez’s wife said he will survive, but said he will never walk again.
“The moment the doctor told me that our whole life together for three years flashed before me,” Amelia Rodriguez said. “All the activities we do — we’re not drivers, we do everything by foot.”
We can’t ever do the things we love,” Amelia Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez added that though her husband’s spine was crushed, her husband’s spirit was not.
“I try not to cry and be strong for him, but it’s hard,” she said.
The Rodriguez family has hired a lawyer who is investigating the accident, Stafford reported, and a spokesman for Chase Bank said the bank is working with the lawyer and the family to reach a solution.
Rogelio Rodriguez was walking behind the woman, a stranger he had never met, when witnesses said slabs of granite came crashing down from the side of the Chase Bank at the corner of Damen and Cermak.
“I saw my husband laying there in, like, a halo of blood around him,” said Rodriguez’s wife, Amelia
Rodriguez was hit in the head and back, but said moments before impact he managed to push the woman to safety.
“That’s who my husband is,” Amelia Rodriguez said. “He’ll put somebody else’s life ahead of his. He’s just that type of person — he’s very kind.”
Rodriguez has yet to meet the woman whose life he saved.
Rodriguez is in intensive care at Stroger Cook County Hospital, Stafford reported. Rodriguez’s wife said he will survive, but said he will never walk again.
“The moment the doctor told me that our whole life together for three years flashed before me,” Amelia Rodriguez said. “All the activities we do — we’re not drivers, we do everything by foot.”
We can’t ever do the things we love,” Amelia Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez added that though her husband’s spine was crushed, her husband’s spirit was not.
“I try not to cry and be strong for him, but it’s hard,” she said.
The Rodriguez family has hired a lawyer who is investigating the accident, Stafford reported, and a spokesman for Chase Bank said the bank is working with the lawyer and the family to reach a solution.
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Man arrested after fight with hospital security www.privateofficer.com
August 28, 2008
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Man arrested after fight with hospital security http://www.privateofficer.com
NEW BRITAIN CT Aug 28 2008 — – A city man described in an arrest warrant as a chronic alcoholic who often causes public disturbances was being held Wednesday, with bail set at $150,000, after he frightened people in a hospital waiting room and threatened to kill security guards and a police officer, police said.
David J. Kowalewski, 52, was arraigned Tuesday at Superior Court in New Britain on charges of breach of peace and threatening in connection with his outbursts about 10 p.m. Monday in the emergency room waiting area at The Hospital of Cental Connecticut at New Britain General, police said.
Kowalewski is quoted in police records as screaming that he had killed before, using military techniques, and would kill anyone who interfered with him. He continued yelling after five hospital security guards restrained him because he was trying to assault staff members, police said. Kowalewski’s son had taken him to the emergency room to seek help in getting his father to stop drinking, police said.
In court, Judge Joan Alexander set bail at $150,00 and Kowalewski’s next court date at Sept. 16. She said that Kowalewski is not to go to the hospital unless he has a medical emergency. In the police report, a nursing supervisor said that Kowalewski “always hurts and threatens the staff” when he is brought in.
Kowalewski has previous criminal cases, including a standoff in 2000 with a police SWAT team called to his home because Kowalewski was distraught, apparently intoxicated and waving a rifle, according to records.
Kowalewski has previous criminal cases, including a standoff in 2000 with a police SWAT team called to his home because Kowalewski was distraught, apparently intoxicated and waving a rifle, according to records.
He received a suspended six-year jail term and five years’ probation in that case.
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Shoplifter leads police on wild chase www.privateofficer.com
August 28, 2008
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Shoplifter leads police on wild chase http://www.privateofficer.com
MOORESVILLE (Charlotte Metro), N.C. Aug 28 2008 — A shoplifting suspect lead police on a wild and dangerous chase in Mooresville. Police said the suspect beat up an employee, hit a light pole, three cars, and narrowly missed several people.
Police have five pages of the Crystal Waldrop’s criminal history including larceny and drug convictions and now she faces another DWI.
Mooresville police officer David Fortson said Waldrop tried to run him over as she tried to get away from the store and jumped into her SUV Monday.
“I was pinned in between the door and the driver’s seat. It was slick outside because she was spinning the tires. I jumped out of the way, the door caught me on my right arm,” he said.
Fortson said it all started seconds earlier when Waldrop left a Lowe’s grocery store along Brawley School Road in Mooresville pushing a shopping cart packed with more than $500 in stolen goods. When two workers confronted her, she’s accused of beating them and jumping into her SUV.
That’s when Fortson said he arrived and opened her door and shot her with his Tazer. He said it didn’t stop her.
I deployed my Tazer a second time with a five second burst, but I still couldn’t get to her before she ran off to hit another parked car. Her car bounced off it and continued going,” he said.
Fortson said she bounced off a total of five cars then ran over a light pole before she was finally stopped after a short chase on Williamson Road. Officers can’t believe this ended with no serious injuries.
“I was very afraid if we didn’t get her stopped she was going to hurt someone driving because she was incoherent and out of control,” he said.
Waldrop is in jail under a $50,000 bond.
Police have five pages of the Crystal Waldrop’s criminal history including larceny and drug convictions and now she faces another DWI.
Mooresville police officer David Fortson said Waldrop tried to run him over as she tried to get away from the store and jumped into her SUV Monday.
“I was pinned in between the door and the driver’s seat. It was slick outside because she was spinning the tires. I jumped out of the way, the door caught me on my right arm,” he said.
Fortson said it all started seconds earlier when Waldrop left a Lowe’s grocery store along Brawley School Road in Mooresville pushing a shopping cart packed with more than $500 in stolen goods. When two workers confronted her, she’s accused of beating them and jumping into her SUV.
That’s when Fortson said he arrived and opened her door and shot her with his Tazer. He said it didn’t stop her.
I deployed my Tazer a second time with a five second burst, but I still couldn’t get to her before she ran off to hit another parked car. Her car bounced off it and continued going,” he said.
Fortson said she bounced off a total of five cars then ran over a light pole before she was finally stopped after a short chase on Williamson Road. Officers can’t believe this ended with no serious injuries.
“I was very afraid if we didn’t get her stopped she was going to hurt someone driving because she was incoherent and out of control,” he said.
Waldrop is in jail under a $50,000 bond.
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Categories: security
crystal waldrop, crytal waldrop arrested, loss prevention association, mooresville north carolina, national association of private officers, security association, security guard association, security officer assaociation, security police association, shoplifter wild chase, www.privateofficer.com
Kettering University security officer faces sex charges www.privateofficer.com
August 28, 2008
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Kettering University security officer facing sex charges http://www.privateofficer.com
FLINT MI. AUG 28 2008 — A Birch Run police reserve officer could face trial on amended charges in a criminal sexual conduct case.
Genesee County District Judge Christopher Odette on Tuesday found that enough evidence exists for a higher court to consider the allegations against Mark R. Rutherford.
Rutherford, 37, of Flint, who is free on a $20,000 cash or surety bond, must appear for an 8:15 a.m. Monday, Sept. 8, Circuit Court arraignment before Judge Judith Fullerton.
District Court authorities had arraigned Rutherford on two counts of assault with intent to commit sexual conduct and three counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct, which involves touching.
In sending the case to Circuit Court, Odette altered the charges to four counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct and a charge of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct.
Second-degree conduct is a 15-year felony that involves touching. Fourth-degree is a two-year high court misdemeanor.
Mount Morris Township police claim Rutherford, who works as a security guard at Kettering University in Flint, fondled at least three teenage girls during a campout he helped chaperone over Memorial Day weekend in Mount Morris Township. Valley Church of Christ in Burton sponsored the campout.
Genesee County District Judge Christopher Odette on Tuesday found that enough evidence exists for a higher court to consider the allegations against Mark R. Rutherford.
Rutherford, 37, of Flint, who is free on a $20,000 cash or surety bond, must appear for an 8:15 a.m. Monday, Sept. 8, Circuit Court arraignment before Judge Judith Fullerton.
District Court authorities had arraigned Rutherford on two counts of assault with intent to commit sexual conduct and three counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct, which involves touching.
In sending the case to Circuit Court, Odette altered the charges to four counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct and a charge of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct.
Second-degree conduct is a 15-year felony that involves touching. Fourth-degree is a two-year high court misdemeanor.
Mount Morris Township police claim Rutherford, who works as a security guard at Kettering University in Flint, fondled at least three teenage girls during a campout he helped chaperone over Memorial Day weekend in Mount Morris Township. Valley Church of Christ in Burton sponsored the campout.
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Child struck by armored truck critical www.privateofficer.com
August 28, 2008
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Child struck by armored truck http://www.privateofficer.com
DEKALB COUNTY(Metro Atlanta), Ga. Aug 28 2008 — Officials say a school bus was stopped with lights flashing when a 12-year-old girl was hit by an armored truck.
Police said the incident happened Wednesday morning at Hugh Howell Road and Mountain West Trail in Stone Mountain.
Authorities told Channel 2 the student from Tucker Middle School had just exited the school bus when an armored truck skidded through the intersection and hit the bus and the girl.
Officers are investigating the accident. No charges have yet been filed. The driver has been identified as Brian Gaines from Snellville.
The child is in critical condition at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Eggleston. “She very much is in very critical condition.
Police said the incident happened Wednesday morning at Hugh Howell Road and Mountain West Trail in Stone Mountain.
Authorities told Channel 2 the student from Tucker Middle School had just exited the school bus when an armored truck skidded through the intersection and hit the bus and the girl.
Officers are investigating the accident. No charges have yet been filed. The driver has been identified as Brian Gaines from Snellville.
The child is in critical condition at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Eggleston. “She very much is in very critical condition.
We’re just hoping and praying she can continue to progress from her injuries,” said Capt. Eric Jackson with the DeKalb County Fire Department.
The girl’s name has not been released. No other injuries are being reported.
The girl’s name has not been released. No other injuries are being reported.
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Portland business owners hire security to move homeless www.privateofficer.com
August 28, 2008
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Portland business owners hire security to move homeless http://www.privateofficer.com
PORTLAND, Ore. Aug 28 2008 –
By: Bryan Hill
Ntl. Assoc. private Officers
http://www.privateofficer.com/ Frustrated with with a growing homeless problem, a tent city and a lack of police response, business owners in southeast Portland have hired a private security firm to move people camping on private property.
Members of the Central Eastside Industrial Council said they’re tired of shopping carts piled with tarps and sleeping bags sitting on their doorsteps.
Members of the Central Eastside Industrial Council said they’re tired of shopping carts piled with tarps and sleeping bags sitting on their doorsteps.
Gary Coe, a business owner in the area, said the offenders use the doorsteps as bathrooms and leave junk all over the storefronts.
“They don’t belong on our property, they don’t belong in our doorways,” Coe said. “They need to find a home.”
Terry Taylor, the executive director of the Central Eastside Industrial Council, represents more than 1,700 companies. He said the council chose to spend $20,000 on a private security firm to handle the problem
We just have these problems that are becoming a nuisance,” Taylor said. “Employees are afraid to show up to work because they have homeless sleeping in the doorways. It’s just becoming an obnoxious problem.”
Taylor said that they have hired the private security officers to patrol the area, wake up the homeless people, work with them and move them away. The private officers can’t arrest anyone, but Taylor said they’ve convinced a number of campers to leave.
Other people in the area said the private security force isn’t a solution to the problem.
“It’s not getting rid of the problem, it’s just sort of pushing it over somewhere, else,” said Neil Loehlein, who opposes the plan. “Maybe they should spend their money more effectively and sponsor a homeless shelter on the eastside.”
Supporters said the moving of the illegal campers is their last resort.
“They don’t want to have to deal with the city issues or sleeping with other people or waiting in lines for food,” Taylor said.
The private security officers have been hired for 10 weeks, but the group may use the security force longer if necessary.
“They don’t belong on our property, they don’t belong in our doorways,” Coe said. “They need to find a home.”
Terry Taylor, the executive director of the Central Eastside Industrial Council, represents more than 1,700 companies. He said the council chose to spend $20,000 on a private security firm to handle the problem
We just have these problems that are becoming a nuisance,” Taylor said. “Employees are afraid to show up to work because they have homeless sleeping in the doorways. It’s just becoming an obnoxious problem.”
Taylor said that they have hired the private security officers to patrol the area, wake up the homeless people, work with them and move them away. The private officers can’t arrest anyone, but Taylor said they’ve convinced a number of campers to leave.
Other people in the area said the private security force isn’t a solution to the problem.
“It’s not getting rid of the problem, it’s just sort of pushing it over somewhere, else,” said Neil Loehlein, who opposes the plan. “Maybe they should spend their money more effectively and sponsor a homeless shelter on the eastside.”
Supporters said the moving of the illegal campers is their last resort.
“They don’t want to have to deal with the city issues or sleeping with other people or waiting in lines for food,” Taylor said.
The private security officers have been hired for 10 weeks, but the group may use the security force longer if necessary.
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JC Penney store locked down after attempt child kidnap www.privateofficer.com
August 28, 2008
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JC Penney store put on lock down after attempt kidnap of child http://www.privateofficer.com
Phoenix AZ Aug 28 2008
Kyle T. Greene
Ntl. Assoc. Private Officers
http://www.privateofficer.com/
The Ahwatukee Foothills JCPenney was locked down for more than 30 minutes early Saturday after an 8-year-old reported an unknown man tried to grab him and take him from the store.
At about 9:30 a.m., the boy told Phoenix police he was in the women’s clothing section of the store, located at 5050 E. Ray Road, when a tall, long-haired man with a mustache grabbed his arm, Phoenix police Sgt. Frank Matsko said.
When the man urged the boy to leave with him, the boy told police, he bit him and use a “karate chop” to escape his grasp, Matsko said.
Phoenix police responded and locked down the store.
Officers checked every person in the store and found no one matching the unknown man’s description, Matsko said. The boy, who was at the store with his mother, a grandparent and siblings, later changed his description of the man, telling police he wore a mask and gloves, Matsko said.
Police couldn’t find any witnesses to the incident and security footage didn’t reveal any evidence.
Police are continuing to investigate, Matsko said.
Anyone with information should call Crime Stoppers at 602-262-6151.
The Ahwatukee Foothills JCPenney was locked down for more than 30 minutes early Saturday after an 8-year-old reported an unknown man tried to grab him and take him from the store.
At about 9:30 a.m., the boy told Phoenix police he was in the women’s clothing section of the store, located at 5050 E. Ray Road, when a tall, long-haired man with a mustache grabbed his arm, Phoenix police Sgt. Frank Matsko said.
When the man urged the boy to leave with him, the boy told police, he bit him and use a “karate chop” to escape his grasp, Matsko said.
Phoenix police responded and locked down the store.
Officers checked every person in the store and found no one matching the unknown man’s description, Matsko said. The boy, who was at the store with his mother, a grandparent and siblings, later changed his description of the man, telling police he wore a mask and gloves, Matsko said.
Police couldn’t find any witnesses to the incident and security footage didn’t reveal any evidence.
Police are continuing to investigate, Matsko said.
Anyone with information should call Crime Stoppers at 602-262-6151.
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Mall security officer attacked by disorderly group www.privateofficer.com
August 28, 2008
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Mall security officer attacked by disorderly group http://www.privateofficer.com
STOCKTON CA Aug 28 2008
By: Rick McCann
Ntl. Assoc. Private Officers
http://www.privateofficer.com/ Police are investigating a serious attack on a mall security officer and say that the 19-year-old security officer had to be rushed to an area hospital.
Police say that it all started at a Stockton shopping mall when the security officer responded to a fight and was punched and kicked Tuesday evening when he tried to detain other teens who had been fighting near one of the stores.
About 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, the security officer at Weberstown Mall found a group of teens in the parking lot, according to a Stockton police report, and tried to detain a member of the group.
An 18-year-old man then got out of a gold Dodge Neon and punched the security guard in the head, according to the report.
About 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, the security officer at Weberstown Mall found a group of teens in the parking lot, according to a Stockton police report, and tried to detain a member of the group.
An 18-year-old man then got out of a gold Dodge Neon and punched the security guard in the head, according to the report.
Three females 16 to 18 years old and a male who was 16 to 18 years old approached the security officer and punched and kicked the guard several times.
The man who had left the Neon then retrieved a plastic baton and hit the security officer in the head, knocking him to the ground.
The man who had left the Neon then retrieved a plastic baton and hit the security officer in the head, knocking him to the ground.
The attackers left in the Neon and a black Honda.
There was no detailed description of the attackers.
The security officer received some injuries and was taken to Dameron Hospital for treatment.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Stockton Police Department at (209) 937-8377.
There was no detailed description of the attackers.
The security officer received some injuries and was taken to Dameron Hospital for treatment.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Stockton Police Department at (209) 937-8377.
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Categories: security officer injured
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Organized Retail Crime Group Indicted www.privateofficer.com
August 28, 2008
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Organized Retail Crime Group Indicted http://www.privateofficer.com
MiamiHerald.com
Miami FLA. Aug 28 2008
When law enforcement officials raided a Sunrise warehouse in 2005, they found millions of dollars worth of stolen Crest Whitestrips, Tylenol, Rogaine, razor blades and Senekot. That was just the beginning.
The warehouse offices of Pharmacare were ground zero for what federal officials say was an organized retail crime group that since September 2003 bought and sold about $7.9 million in stolen over-the-counter medications and health and beauty products.
The U.S. attorney’s office last week unsealed an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Fort Lauderdale charging four South Florida men and three others from North Carolina in a multimillion-dollar conspiracy to transport stolen property.
The merchandise allegedly had been taken from Walgreens, Target, CVS and other retailers in North Carolina, Ohio and Texas, then transported to South Florida, where it was repackaged and ultimately resold.
Florida is one of the most active states for organized retail crime, a growing problem that accounts for up to $30 billion in annual losses, the FBI says. A National Retail Federation survey released in June found that 85 percent of retailers have been victimized by organized retail crime within the last year, compared to 79 percent in 2007.
Prime targets are drugstores and grocery stores, and retailers are making changes to combat the problem.
The Pharmacare case is one of several indictments this year around Florida and across the country involving theft of over-the-counter medications and health and beauty products.
”It’s very high profit and low risk,” said Jerry Biggs, organized crime division coordinator for Walgreens, which helped investigators with the Pharmacare case. “The items are small, they’re light and they’re expensive.”
The largest bust came in January in Central Florida, when 18 people were indicted on charges of stealing up to $100 million in products over five years.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd’s team launched the effort, which involved multiple law enforcement agencies, surveillance video, vehicle tracking and stakeouts to infiltrate the ring.
”They were so good at what they did it was difficult watching surveillance video to even tell what they were doing,” Judd said. “They could be walking down an aisle, looking at items with one hand and stealing with the other hand.”
Rings start with professional shoplifters, known as ”boosters,” who steal goods with the intent to resell — potentially hitting a dozen or more stores a day.
In as little as five minutes, they can sweep several shelves and walk out carrying a bag loaded with thousands of dollars worth of stolen merchandise. Their targets are typically small but expensive items such as Prilosec, Oil of Olay, Braun toothbrush heads, Xantac, Claritin and diet pills.
They manage to pass undetected through store security because their bags are lined with special aluminum foil that blocks alarm signals. Others push products out in the bottom of baby carriages or even in a shopping cart, claiming that a friend is in line paying for it.
Boosters then sell their products for no more then 30 cents on the dollar or a flat $1 per piece rate to a ”fence.” Stolen merchandise is often passed from lower level fences to higher level ones, who purchase larger quantities of products.
Pharmacare was a wholesaler that often purchased bulk amounts of mixed and damaged stolen merchandise, the indictment says.
Court documents explain how defendants Nasir ”David” Khan, Duane Schneider, Michael Spencer, Asif ”Jordan” Khan and other Pharmacare employees traveled regularly from South Florida to Charlotte, N.C., to collect merchandise.
They met defendants James Edward Foy and Edward Joseph Smith of EDS Wholesale in shopping center parking lots during early morning hours to exchange cash for goods, the indictment says. They typically carried more than $100,000 cash in a gym bag or locked briefcase, documents show. Foy and Smith had purchased the merchandise from different sources, including defendant Michael Dagnen.
When law enforcement officials searched Pharmacare’s Sunrise warehouse in the Westgate Business Center on Dec. 18, 2005, they found employees trying to ”clean” the products of store markings and security stickers, documents show.
Agents observed “lighter fluid and Clorox, used to clean packages; glue guns and irons used to repackage items, and shrink wrap machines, used to package items for shipment.”
Inside the building, agents also found evidence of shredding machines where security devices were being destroyed.
Attorney Larry McMillan, who represents one of the defendants in the Pharmacare case, said his client Asif ”Jordan” Khan and his colleagues were simply trying to ready products for sale.
”This was a legitimate business they were engaging in,” McMillan said. “They didn’t have any knowledge that those items were stolen. They believed they were purchasing discontinued or damaged items. ”
While the Pharmacare case plays out in court, retailers say they are beefing up security to combat a problem that has grown way beyond typical shoplifting.
”This adds up to serious dollars, and unfortunately the consumer pays the price,” said Maria Brous, spokeswoman for Publix, which worked with law enforcement to help bust the Central Florida crime ring.
Publix has limited high-ticket items on shelves, hired off-duty police officers and increased surveillance.
At other retailers, targeted products are now behind the counter or on locked shelves. Retailers are also stocking products like razor blades in bins that require two hands to take them off the shelves, making a quick sweep more difficult.
”We don’t want to make an unfriendly shopping environment for our customers,” Biggs said. “But when you’re losing more than you’re selling, you have to do something.”
A national database formed in April 2007, the Law Enforcement Retail Partnership Network, allows retailers and law enforcement to share information about crimes and spot trends.
Government is also getting involved. Three bills pending in Congress would make organized retail crime a federal offense and crack down on the online sale of stolen goods. Aventura passed an ordinance this month allowing the city to fine or penalize any retailer who fails to appear in court on a shoplifting case.
”This is a national problem plaguing every retailer,” said Joseph LaRocca, vice president of loss prevention for the National Retail Federation. “You’re starting to see a very big and coordinated effort between retail and law enforcement really waging war on organized retail crime.”
Miami FLA. Aug 28 2008
When law enforcement officials raided a Sunrise warehouse in 2005, they found millions of dollars worth of stolen Crest Whitestrips, Tylenol, Rogaine, razor blades and Senekot. That was just the beginning.
The warehouse offices of Pharmacare were ground zero for what federal officials say was an organized retail crime group that since September 2003 bought and sold about $7.9 million in stolen over-the-counter medications and health and beauty products.
The U.S. attorney’s office last week unsealed an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Fort Lauderdale charging four South Florida men and three others from North Carolina in a multimillion-dollar conspiracy to transport stolen property.
The merchandise allegedly had been taken from Walgreens, Target, CVS and other retailers in North Carolina, Ohio and Texas, then transported to South Florida, where it was repackaged and ultimately resold.
Florida is one of the most active states for organized retail crime, a growing problem that accounts for up to $30 billion in annual losses, the FBI says. A National Retail Federation survey released in June found that 85 percent of retailers have been victimized by organized retail crime within the last year, compared to 79 percent in 2007.
Prime targets are drugstores and grocery stores, and retailers are making changes to combat the problem.
The Pharmacare case is one of several indictments this year around Florida and across the country involving theft of over-the-counter medications and health and beauty products.
”It’s very high profit and low risk,” said Jerry Biggs, organized crime division coordinator for Walgreens, which helped investigators with the Pharmacare case. “The items are small, they’re light and they’re expensive.”
The largest bust came in January in Central Florida, when 18 people were indicted on charges of stealing up to $100 million in products over five years.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd’s team launched the effort, which involved multiple law enforcement agencies, surveillance video, vehicle tracking and stakeouts to infiltrate the ring.
”They were so good at what they did it was difficult watching surveillance video to even tell what they were doing,” Judd said. “They could be walking down an aisle, looking at items with one hand and stealing with the other hand.”
Rings start with professional shoplifters, known as ”boosters,” who steal goods with the intent to resell — potentially hitting a dozen or more stores a day.
In as little as five minutes, they can sweep several shelves and walk out carrying a bag loaded with thousands of dollars worth of stolen merchandise. Their targets are typically small but expensive items such as Prilosec, Oil of Olay, Braun toothbrush heads, Xantac, Claritin and diet pills.
They manage to pass undetected through store security because their bags are lined with special aluminum foil that blocks alarm signals. Others push products out in the bottom of baby carriages or even in a shopping cart, claiming that a friend is in line paying for it.
Boosters then sell their products for no more then 30 cents on the dollar or a flat $1 per piece rate to a ”fence.” Stolen merchandise is often passed from lower level fences to higher level ones, who purchase larger quantities of products.
Pharmacare was a wholesaler that often purchased bulk amounts of mixed and damaged stolen merchandise, the indictment says.
Court documents explain how defendants Nasir ”David” Khan, Duane Schneider, Michael Spencer, Asif ”Jordan” Khan and other Pharmacare employees traveled regularly from South Florida to Charlotte, N.C., to collect merchandise.
They met defendants James Edward Foy and Edward Joseph Smith of EDS Wholesale in shopping center parking lots during early morning hours to exchange cash for goods, the indictment says. They typically carried more than $100,000 cash in a gym bag or locked briefcase, documents show. Foy and Smith had purchased the merchandise from different sources, including defendant Michael Dagnen.
When law enforcement officials searched Pharmacare’s Sunrise warehouse in the Westgate Business Center on Dec. 18, 2005, they found employees trying to ”clean” the products of store markings and security stickers, documents show.
Agents observed “lighter fluid and Clorox, used to clean packages; glue guns and irons used to repackage items, and shrink wrap machines, used to package items for shipment.”
Inside the building, agents also found evidence of shredding machines where security devices were being destroyed.
Attorney Larry McMillan, who represents one of the defendants in the Pharmacare case, said his client Asif ”Jordan” Khan and his colleagues were simply trying to ready products for sale.
”This was a legitimate business they were engaging in,” McMillan said. “They didn’t have any knowledge that those items were stolen. They believed they were purchasing discontinued or damaged items. ”
While the Pharmacare case plays out in court, retailers say they are beefing up security to combat a problem that has grown way beyond typical shoplifting.
”This adds up to serious dollars, and unfortunately the consumer pays the price,” said Maria Brous, spokeswoman for Publix, which worked with law enforcement to help bust the Central Florida crime ring.
Publix has limited high-ticket items on shelves, hired off-duty police officers and increased surveillance.
At other retailers, targeted products are now behind the counter or on locked shelves. Retailers are also stocking products like razor blades in bins that require two hands to take them off the shelves, making a quick sweep more difficult.
”We don’t want to make an unfriendly shopping environment for our customers,” Biggs said. “But when you’re losing more than you’re selling, you have to do something.”
A national database formed in April 2007, the Law Enforcement Retail Partnership Network, allows retailers and law enforcement to share information about crimes and spot trends.
Government is also getting involved. Three bills pending in Congress would make organized retail crime a federal offense and crack down on the online sale of stolen goods. Aventura passed an ordinance this month allowing the city to fine or penalize any retailer who fails to appear in court on a shoplifting case.
”This is a national problem plaguing every retailer,” said Joseph LaRocca, vice president of loss prevention for the National Retail Federation. “You’re starting to see a very big and coordinated effort between retail and law enforcement really waging war on organized retail crime.”
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Categories: loss prevention, police
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Vanderbilt University Professor Shot To Death www.privateofficer.com
August 28, 2008
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Vanderbilt University Professor Shot To Death http://www.privateofficer.com
NASHVILLE, Tenn. Aug 28 2008
Kyle T. Greene
Ntl. Assoc. Private officers
http://www.privateofficer.com/ Police are investigating a shooting at an east Nashville home that resulted in the death of a Vanderbilt University professor.
A person who lived in an upstairs apartment at the house on McFerrin Avenue called police at 9:20 p.m.
Once they arrived, police found the professor, Pierre Colas, 32, dead and his sister, Marie Colas, 27, was wounded from a shot to the head.
Police said Marie Colas was visiting from Switzerland and in critical condition at Vanderbilt Medical Center.
It was unclear if the people were shot by another person or if there was an argument and they shot each other. There were no signs of forced entry into the home, said police.
“We are profoundly shocked and saddened by the tragic loss of our colleague, Pierre,” Provost Richard McCarty said in an e-mail message to the campus. “Pierre was a talented young scholar who joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2006. In his relatively brief time at Vanderbilt, he earned the respect of his colleagues and students, and his absence will be profoundly felt. He was a kind and gentle person and a devoted colleague, mentor and friend.”
Colas was a German citizen who earned his Ph.D. at the University of Bonn and the University of Cologne in Germany. He studied Classic Maya culture, co-authored three books and numerous articles on the subject and spoke six different languages, according to Vanderbilt University.
A person who lived in an upstairs apartment at the house on McFerrin Avenue called police at 9:20 p.m.
Once they arrived, police found the professor, Pierre Colas, 32, dead and his sister, Marie Colas, 27, was wounded from a shot to the head.
Police said Marie Colas was visiting from Switzerland and in critical condition at Vanderbilt Medical Center.
It was unclear if the people were shot by another person or if there was an argument and they shot each other. There were no signs of forced entry into the home, said police.
“We are profoundly shocked and saddened by the tragic loss of our colleague, Pierre,” Provost Richard McCarty said in an e-mail message to the campus. “Pierre was a talented young scholar who joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2006. In his relatively brief time at Vanderbilt, he earned the respect of his colleagues and students, and his absence will be profoundly felt. He was a kind and gentle person and a devoted colleague, mentor and friend.”
Colas was a German citizen who earned his Ph.D. at the University of Bonn and the University of Cologne in Germany. He studied Classic Maya culture, co-authored three books and numerous articles on the subject and spoke six different languages, according to Vanderbilt University.
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Categories: police
loss prevention association, marie colas, nashville tennessee, national association of private officers, pierre colas, professor killed, professor shot to death, professorcolas, security association, security guard association, security officer assaociation, security police association, vanderbilt university, www.privateofficer.com
Macy’s security agent injured detaining shoplifter www.privateofficer.com
August 28, 2008
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Macy’s security agent injured detaining shoplifter http://www.privateofficer.com
BEAVERCREEK, Ohio AUG 28 2008
By: Rick McCann
Ntl. Assoc. Private Officers
http://www.privateofficer.com/ – Police in Beavercreek hope that surveillance video will help them find a suspected shoplifter who injured a security officer at the Mall At Fairfield Commons.
Investigators say that the incident happened at Macy’s inside the mall.
Police said that a loss prevention agent spotted a man who had shoplifted some jeans. They said he got out of the store with them, but when the female security agent tried to detain him, she was injured during his getaway.
Surveillance video shows the man walking around the store, grabbing some jeans and heading to the dressing room. Security officers were watching him closely.
Police said the security officer made her way to confront the man.
Investigators said they do not have a license plate number for the Honda that the man allegedly fled in, but they are hoping someone saw the man flee the scene.
Officials said the security officer was not seriously injured and was doing fine.
If you have any information on this case, contact Beavercreek Police at 320-7393.
Investigators say that the incident happened at Macy’s inside the mall.
Police said that a loss prevention agent spotted a man who had shoplifted some jeans. They said he got out of the store with them, but when the female security agent tried to detain him, she was injured during his getaway.
Surveillance video shows the man walking around the store, grabbing some jeans and heading to the dressing room. Security officers were watching him closely.
Police said the security officer made her way to confront the man.
Investigators said they do not have a license plate number for the Honda that the man allegedly fled in, but they are hoping someone saw the man flee the scene.
Officials said the security officer was not seriously injured and was doing fine.
If you have any information on this case, contact Beavercreek Police at 320-7393.
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Categories: loss prevention, security officer injured
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Mackenzie Phillips arrested for drugs at LA airport www.privateofficer.com
August 28, 2008
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Mackenzie Phillips arrested for narcotics at LA airport http://www.privateofficer.com
Los Angeles CA. Aug 28 2008
By: Bryan Hill
Ntl. Assoc. Private Offocers
www.privateofficer.com
Actress Mackenzie Phillips, 48, was arrested on suspicion of possession of cocaine and heroin by Los Angeles International Airport police Wednesday after suspected narcotics were discovered during a screening by federal security staff, authorities said.
Airport police Sgt. Jim Holcomb said the former co-star of the sitcom “One Day At a Time” was heading to New York when she failed to pass a security screening. TSA officers conducted a secondary security screening and at that time discovered the illegal drugs on Phillips in an unspecified area. TSA agents notified airport police who later took Phillips into custody on the felony drug charges.
Phillips has previously dealt with substance abuse and has been candid recently in several media interviews about her drug addiction.
She is the daughter of the late John Phillips of The Mamas & The Papas. She has struggled with drug addiction and was fired from “One Day At a Time” for drug-related causes. She went on to star in the Disney Channel series “So Weird” and has made intermittent TV and Broadway appearances in recent years.
Actress Mackenzie Phillips, 48, was arrested on suspicion of possession of cocaine and heroin by Los Angeles International Airport police Wednesday after suspected narcotics were discovered during a screening by federal security staff, authorities said.
Airport police Sgt. Jim Holcomb said the former co-star of the sitcom “One Day At a Time” was heading to New York when she failed to pass a security screening. TSA officers conducted a secondary security screening and at that time discovered the illegal drugs on Phillips in an unspecified area. TSA agents notified airport police who later took Phillips into custody on the felony drug charges.
Phillips has previously dealt with substance abuse and has been candid recently in several media interviews about her drug addiction.
She is the daughter of the late John Phillips of The Mamas & The Papas. She has struggled with drug addiction and was fired from “One Day At a Time” for drug-related causes. She went on to star in the Disney Channel series “So Weird” and has made intermittent TV and Broadway appearances in recent years.
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Alert casino officers save kidnapped man www.privateofficer.com
August 28, 2008
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Alert Casino officers save kidnapped victim http://www.privateofficer.com
Tucson AZ Aug 28 2008
By: Bryan Hill
Ntl. Assoc. Private Officers
http://www.privateofficer.com/
A man who was abducted on the Southwest Side on Tuesday was found safe at a casino by law enforcement.
Two men were in custody in connection with the abduction, and Tucson police are trying to find out what other people were involved.
The suspects were caught at the Desert Diamond Casino at 1100 W. Pima Mine Road when they were trying to fix a flat tire on the victim’s sport utility vehicle, which was used in the kidnapping, said Sgt. Mark Robinson, a Tucson Police Department spokesman.
The casino’s security officers recognized the vehicle and called authorities, Robinson said.
Shortly after 1 p.m. Tuesday, witnesses reported to police that a man with his ankles tied came out of the trunk of a small passenger car near the 1200 block of West Ajo Way, Robinson said.
The man was then placed into the sport utility vehicle before both vehicles drove away heading west on Ajo, he said.
At around 2 p.m., the sport utility vehicle stopped at the casino to fix the tire, and the security officers went out to the vehicle to investigate, he said.
The security officers recognized the vehicle as the one that was involved in a kidnapping and notified 911 who immediately dispatched officers to the casino.
The two men ran into the desert and were caught by U.S. Border Patrol agents in the area, he said.
Both men were arrested, and each faced charges of one count of aggravated assault and one count of kidnapping, Robinson said.
The victim suffered non-serious injuries and was taken to a local hospital, he said.
Tucson police did not release the names of the suspects because the investigation is still pending.
The police were trying to determine where the kidnapping originally took place because they received conflicting stories from the victim and the suspects, he said.
Investigators have determined that the abduction was precipitated by a drug deal, he said.
Police do not know the whereabouts of the small passenger car.
A man who was abducted on the Southwest Side on Tuesday was found safe at a casino by law enforcement.
Two men were in custody in connection with the abduction, and Tucson police are trying to find out what other people were involved.
The suspects were caught at the Desert Diamond Casino at 1100 W. Pima Mine Road when they were trying to fix a flat tire on the victim’s sport utility vehicle, which was used in the kidnapping, said Sgt. Mark Robinson, a Tucson Police Department spokesman.
The casino’s security officers recognized the vehicle and called authorities, Robinson said.
Shortly after 1 p.m. Tuesday, witnesses reported to police that a man with his ankles tied came out of the trunk of a small passenger car near the 1200 block of West Ajo Way, Robinson said.
The man was then placed into the sport utility vehicle before both vehicles drove away heading west on Ajo, he said.
At around 2 p.m., the sport utility vehicle stopped at the casino to fix the tire, and the security officers went out to the vehicle to investigate, he said.
The security officers recognized the vehicle as the one that was involved in a kidnapping and notified 911 who immediately dispatched officers to the casino.
The two men ran into the desert and were caught by U.S. Border Patrol agents in the area, he said.
Both men were arrested, and each faced charges of one count of aggravated assault and one count of kidnapping, Robinson said.
The victim suffered non-serious injuries and was taken to a local hospital, he said.
Tucson police did not release the names of the suspects because the investigation is still pending.
The police were trying to determine where the kidnapping originally took place because they received conflicting stories from the victim and the suspects, he said.
Investigators have determined that the abduction was precipitated by a drug deal, he said.
Police do not know the whereabouts of the small passenger car.
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