Archive
Archive for September 22, 2008
Fleeing shoplifter carjacks shopper www.privateofficer.com
September 22, 2008
Leave a comment
Fleeing shoplifter carjacks shopper http://www.privateofficer.com
CINCINNATI OH Sept 22 2008
By: Rick McCann
Ntl. Assoc. Private Officers
A Cincinnati man appeared in court Friday after being arrested in a low speed chase on Thursday.
Court documents said that Darryl Bryant was caught shoplifting at the Macy’s store in downtown.
Court documents said that Darryl Bryant was caught shoplifting at the Macy’s store in downtown.
When security personnel tried to stop him, he put up a fight with store security and threatened to kill an employee following him, documents showed.
Police said Bryant then carjacked a man who was sitting in the parking lot and forced him out of his car and took off.
Responding officers spotted the stolen car and followed Bryant for several blocks until the car became stuck in traffic and officers rushed in and were able to arrest Bryant without further incident.
Bryant is charged with kidnapping, aggravated robbery, robbery and failure to comply. His bond was set at $120,000.
Police said Bryant then carjacked a man who was sitting in the parking lot and forced him out of his car and took off.
Responding officers spotted the stolen car and followed Bryant for several blocks until the car became stuck in traffic and officers rushed in and were able to arrest Bryant without further incident.
Bryant is charged with kidnapping, aggravated robbery, robbery and failure to comply. His bond was set at $120,000.
JOIN THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PRIVATE OFFICERS
www.privateofficer.com/
Join us at www.myspace.com/privateofficernews
Come be part of our social network! http://www.privateofficer.com
Get news alerts, officer down, weather emergency news in your mailbox! Sign up;
adminassist@privateofficer.comJoin us at www.myspace.com/privateofficernews
Come be part of our social network! http://www.privateofficer.com
Categories: police, security
loss prevention agent, loss prevention association, national association of private officers, security association, security guard, security guard association, security guard training, security officer, security officer assaociation, security police association, security training, www.privateofficer.com
On The Job With School Security www.privateofficer.com
September 22, 2008
Leave a comment
On The Job With School Security http://www.privateofficer.com
ST. LUCIE COUNTY FLA Sept 22 2008— Teachers like a school design that puts smaller groups of students and teachers in self-contained buildings because it’s better for education.
But Dave Morris, director of security for St. Lucie County Schools, likes the design because it puts another set of locked doors between classrooms and the outside world.
“If you keep the hall secure, hopefully we minimize the chance for a threat to get into the classrooms,” he said. “(And) younger kindergarten kids are not in the same building with eighth-graders.”
Students beginning a new year are headed to schools where security is a priority.
New campuses, such as Fort Pierce Central High School, Palm Point Educational Research School and Allapattah Flats K-8 schools, have controlled entry and exits built into their designs. Forethought has gone into making hallways and stairs with no spots blind to teachers, school resource officers and batteries of closed circuit cameras.
Older school buildings, including Fort Pierce Westwood High School, have been retrofitted with electronic scanners to open and close doors only for teachers and staff who have been issued key cards.
St. Lucie, Martin and Indian River counties all share school security features: uniformed officers in middle and high schools; building designs and fences that funnel foot traffic through main offices; and regular lockdown drills to practice for dangers ranging from a criminal loose in the neighborhood to a tornado.
Security cameras are widely used to increase safety and enforce laws at public schools. Morris said Fort Pierce Central High School and Allapattah Flats each have 212.
“Our plan is to have (cameras) in every single school. We’re just not there yet,” said Morris, adding his school officers also use portable cameras to watch problem areas.
Since the images are transmitted wirelessly, school resource officers can call up images on laptops in their patrol cars.
Talk about security in schools, and almost everyone mentions the 1999 shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., in which 15 people died.
“People still specify Columbine as a turning point in how we focus on school security,” said Julie Collins at the Florida Department of Education’s Office of Safe Schools.
Nationwide, lawmakers demanded action.
The focus that came out of Florida’s Legislature wasn’t just on violence, Collins said. It called for buildings and procedures designed to cope with severe weather, industrial accidents, natural disasters and criminal threats.
School districts get information, technical help and sometimes money from the Florida Department of Education to help make schools safer for students. Much of the money comes from the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Its Safe and Drug-free Schools component has funneled almost $68 million into Florida since 2005. The three school districts on the Treasure Coast have gotten almost $1.2 million since 2005, with St. Lucie County’s share almost $666,000.
But state officials said decisions about which security measures to employ are made by individual school districts.
Each school has a safety committee, said Gerard Koziel, director of risk management for Indian River County schools.
None of the Treasure Coast’s three districts make students pass through metal detectors. However, Morris said his officers use portable wands on students if gang activity or other dangerous situations are suspected.
But all schools on the Treasure Coast require visitors report to the main office to be issued temporary passes that must be worn somewhere visible.
School staff members are trained to question anybody without an employee or visitor pass. Koziel said he’ll sometimes test Indian River County staff by hiding his identification badge on visits.
“Sometimes they’ll say, ‘Oh, we recognized who you are,’ and I’ll tell them, ‘That doesn’t matter,’” Koziel said.
But Dave Morris, director of security for St. Lucie County Schools, likes the design because it puts another set of locked doors between classrooms and the outside world.
“If you keep the hall secure, hopefully we minimize the chance for a threat to get into the classrooms,” he said. “(And) younger kindergarten kids are not in the same building with eighth-graders.”
Students beginning a new year are headed to schools where security is a priority.
New campuses, such as Fort Pierce Central High School, Palm Point Educational Research School and Allapattah Flats K-8 schools, have controlled entry and exits built into their designs. Forethought has gone into making hallways and stairs with no spots blind to teachers, school resource officers and batteries of closed circuit cameras.
Older school buildings, including Fort Pierce Westwood High School, have been retrofitted with electronic scanners to open and close doors only for teachers and staff who have been issued key cards.
St. Lucie, Martin and Indian River counties all share school security features: uniformed officers in middle and high schools; building designs and fences that funnel foot traffic through main offices; and regular lockdown drills to practice for dangers ranging from a criminal loose in the neighborhood to a tornado.
Security cameras are widely used to increase safety and enforce laws at public schools. Morris said Fort Pierce Central High School and Allapattah Flats each have 212.
“Our plan is to have (cameras) in every single school. We’re just not there yet,” said Morris, adding his school officers also use portable cameras to watch problem areas.
Since the images are transmitted wirelessly, school resource officers can call up images on laptops in their patrol cars.
Talk about security in schools, and almost everyone mentions the 1999 shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., in which 15 people died.
“People still specify Columbine as a turning point in how we focus on school security,” said Julie Collins at the Florida Department of Education’s Office of Safe Schools.
Nationwide, lawmakers demanded action.
The focus that came out of Florida’s Legislature wasn’t just on violence, Collins said. It called for buildings and procedures designed to cope with severe weather, industrial accidents, natural disasters and criminal threats.
School districts get information, technical help and sometimes money from the Florida Department of Education to help make schools safer for students. Much of the money comes from the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Its Safe and Drug-free Schools component has funneled almost $68 million into Florida since 2005. The three school districts on the Treasure Coast have gotten almost $1.2 million since 2005, with St. Lucie County’s share almost $666,000.
But state officials said decisions about which security measures to employ are made by individual school districts.
Each school has a safety committee, said Gerard Koziel, director of risk management for Indian River County schools.
None of the Treasure Coast’s three districts make students pass through metal detectors. However, Morris said his officers use portable wands on students if gang activity or other dangerous situations are suspected.
But all schools on the Treasure Coast require visitors report to the main office to be issued temporary passes that must be worn somewhere visible.
School staff members are trained to question anybody without an employee or visitor pass. Koziel said he’ll sometimes test Indian River County staff by hiding his identification badge on visits.
“Sometimes they’ll say, ‘Oh, we recognized who you are,’ and I’ll tell them, ‘That doesn’t matter,’” Koziel said.
JOIN THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PRIVATE OFFICERS
www.privateofficer.com/
Join us at www.myspace.com/privateofficernews
Come be part of our social network! http://www.privateofficer.com
Get news alerts, officer down, weather emergency news in your mailbox! Sign up;
adminassist@privateofficer.comJoin us at www.myspace.com/privateofficernews
Come be part of our social network! http://www.privateofficer.com
Categories: security
loss prevention agent, loss prevention association, national association of private officers, security association, security guard, security guard association, security guard training, security officer, security officer assaociation, security police association, security training, www.privateofficer.com
Attention Shoppers: Large purses subject to search www.privateofficer.com
September 22, 2008
Leave a comment
Attention Shoppers: Large purses subject to search http://www.privateofficer.com
Des Peres IL. Sept 22 2008
Kyle T. Greene
Ntl. Assoc. Private Officers
www.privateofficer.com
Shoppers with large handbags may find themselves being watched closer. The Des Peres Board of Aldermen on Sept. 8 passed a law prohibiting any items that could be used to shoplift.
Shoppers with large handbags may find themselves being watched closer. The Des Peres Board of Aldermen on Sept. 8 passed a law prohibiting any items that could be used to shoplift.
These items include large handbags with false bottoms, devices for removing permanent tags from some clothing, or any tool that could be used for shoplifting.
“The number one crime that we encounter at West County is shoplifting, as far as stealing under $500,” said City Administrator Doug Harms. “To do that, people have become very inventive about methods that they use, including bags with false bottoms and instruments to remove security devices.”He said people suspected of shoplifting will be stopped, and if any of these items are found in their possession, they would be taken in for questioning.
“We would have to have probable cause to stop someone,” he added. “If they haven’t actually stolen something, and you do stop them, and you find these tools, then that’s another matter.”
All malls have problems with professional shoplifters – “nationwide groups” who travel around plying their trade, Harms said.”There are people who enter malls every day with one purpose, and that is to steal,” said City Prosecutor Tim Engelmeyer.
“Those tools are pry tools to tear off sensors from garments and booster bags lined with metal or tinfoil to keep sensors from going off when they leave the store.”
“This does not allow the police to stop anyone,” he said. “The security or police have to have probable cause. There are cameras watching every movement, along with security patrols and, at times, undercover security.”Frontenac, Richmond Heights and Crestwood recently enacted this law, and Chesterfield is considering it, Engelmeyer said.
JOIN THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PRIVATE OFFICERS
www.privateofficer.com/
Join us at www.myspace.com/privateofficernews
Come be part of our social network! http://www.privateofficer.com
Get news alerts, officer down, weather emergency news in your mailbox! Sign up;
adminassist@privateofficer.comJoin us at www.myspace.com/privateofficernews
Come be part of our social network! http://www.privateofficer.com
Categories: loss prevention, security
loss prevention agent, loss prevention association, national association of private officers, security association, security guard, security guard association, security guard training, security officer, security officer assaociation, security police association, security training, www.privateofficer.com
Country star Jimmy Wayne stripped, handcuffed airport www.privateofficer.com
September 22, 2008
Leave a comment
Country star Jimmy Wayne stripped, handcuffed airport http://www.privateofficer.com
Nashville TN. Sept 22 2008
By: Rick McCann
Ntl. Assoc. Private Officers
http://www.privateofficer.com/
Well, it’s seems to be true after all. A rumor here in music city said that one our country music stars was stripped down to his underwear at an airport and made to stand there for all the world to see. On top of that Jimmy Wayne wasn’t real keen on following orders and airport security handcuffed hi and made him stand there in his underwear until they could determine if he was armed!
Jimmy was returning home to Nashville on Thursday morning after visiting a local radio station. When he tried going through the metal detector at the Oakland Airport the detector kept going off.
“I kept trying to get through and it would go off,” he explains. Wayne was wearing a sweatshirt, shorts and a necklace and kept trying to take his sweatshirt and necklace off but the detector still kept going off.
Well, it’s seems to be true after all. A rumor here in music city said that one our country music stars was stripped down to his underwear at an airport and made to stand there for all the world to see. On top of that Jimmy Wayne wasn’t real keen on following orders and airport security handcuffed hi and made him stand there in his underwear until they could determine if he was armed!
Jimmy was returning home to Nashville on Thursday morning after visiting a local radio station. When he tried going through the metal detector at the Oakland Airport the detector kept going off.
“I kept trying to get through and it would go off,” he explains. Wayne was wearing a sweatshirt, shorts and a necklace and kept trying to take his sweatshirt and necklace off but the detector still kept going off.
“Finally the TSA officer said something to the effect of, ‘Remove your shorts,’ and I thought to myself, ‘Now that sounds a little weird, but I guess it’s okay – I mean they show guys in boxers in the Sunday paper ads, right? I guess maybe between not having enough sleep and not understanding him … I don’t know. I did it!”
Wayne did as the security guy said and took his shorts off and laid them on the conveyor belt to be X-rayed and walked back in his underwear and T-shirt.
Wayne did as the security guy said and took his shorts off and laid them on the conveyor belt to be X-rayed and walked back in his underwear and T-shirt.
The security guard must not have been an underwear fan because he didn’t find it amusing at all. “He flipped!” Wayne says. “I ran back to the belt – I thought I could grab my shorts real fast – but the belt sucked the shorts up in the X-ray into the other side. So now I’m stuck in my boxers and everyone’s staring.”
The security guy called for backup and Wayne ended up handcuffed in his underwear and questioned for nearly half an hour as other passengers went past him.
Through it all, Jimmy didn’t lose his sense of humor and says: “At least my hair was fixed.” The best news of the whole story is that Jimmy was released without being charged.
The security guy called for backup and Wayne ended up handcuffed in his underwear and questioned for nearly half an hour as other passengers went past him.
Through it all, Jimmy didn’t lose his sense of humor and says: “At least my hair was fixed.” The best news of the whole story is that Jimmy was released without being charged.
The other good news is that many of the passengers filing past the nearly naked Wayne were shooting video and taking pictures with their cell phones. Yay for technology.
Jimmy’s final thoughts on the incident: “Don’t mess with Oakland,” he laughs, “and watch out where you take your clothes off!”
JOIN THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PRIVATE OFFICERS
www.privateofficer.com/
Join us at www.myspace.com/privateofficernews
Come be part of our social network! http://www.privateofficer.
Get news alerts, officer down, weather emergency news in your mailbox! Sign up;
adminassist@privateofficer.comJoin us at www.myspace.com/privateofficernews
Come be part of our social network! http://www.privateofficer.
Categories: security
country music jimmy wayne, jimmy wayne
Armed shoplifter arrested www.privateofficer.com
September 22, 2008
Leave a comment
Armed shoplifter arrested http://www.privateofficer.com
Arlington Heights IL. Sept 22 2008
By: Bryan Hill
Ntl. Assoc. Private officers
http://www.privateofficer.com/
A Buffalo Grove man has been charged with puncturing tires on cars in store parking lots in two northwest suburbs, police said.
Dmitry Lukashock, 28, of the 1100 block of Miller Lane was apprehended by security personnel for shoplifting and charged Monday in Arlington Heights with criminal damage to property and retail theft after loss prevention agents at a Kohl’s department store reported that a man with a knife was cutting security tags off clothing, jewelry and cologne, police said.
After Lukashock was arrested, police found a pocketknife that is thought to have been used to puncture a tire on a 2006 Cadillac STS in the parking lot of the store at 800 W. Dundee Rd., said Officer Doug Hajek.Buffalo Grove police charged Lukashock with two counts of criminal damage to property after the tires on two other cars were found punctured Monday in the parking lot of a Jewel at 79 N. McHenry Rd.
Buffalo Grove police Cmdr. Steve Husak said the vandalism to 14 other cars on Sept. 11 and 12 remains under investigation.
Buffalo Grove police Cmdr. Steve Husak said the vandalism to 14 other cars on Sept. 11 and 12 remains under investigation.
JOIN THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PRIVATE OFFICERS
www.privateofficer.com/
Join us at www.myspace.com/privateofficernews
Come be part of our social network! http://www.privateofficer.com
Get news alerts, officer down, weather emergency news in your mailbox! Sign up;
adminassist@privateofficer.comJoin us at www.myspace.com/privateofficernews
Come be part of our social network! http://www.privateofficer.com
Categories: loss prevention, security made app/arrest
loss prevention agent, loss prevention association, national association of private officers, security association, security guard, security guard association, security guard training, security officer, security officer assaociation, security police association, security training, www.privateofficer.com
Police join campus security force www.privateofficer.com
September 22, 2008
Leave a comment
Police join campus security force http://www.privateofficer.com
Springfield MO. Sept 22 2008
The two police officers staffing a new substation at Drury University will mean a quicker response to crime, school officials say.
The police also will be able to do something that campus security officers can’t do.
Arrest students.
Unlike campus security officers whose responsibilities include patrolling the grounds, securing buildings and parking enforcement, Springfield Police officers will be there to respond to criminal activities such as thefts, assaults, drugs and alcohol-related incidents.
Campus security officers are unarmed but carry pepper spray and have the ability to handcuff and detain people. But they cannot write citations and are not trained to make arrests for incidents such underage drinking as Springfield Police do.
In an incident last weekend, a Drury freshman was hospitalized for alcohol poisoning during an off-campus party apparently organized in response to tougher enforcement of underage drinking laws during Bid Day — an annual event when students who want to join fraternities learn if they have been accepted.
Sarene Deeds, director of safety and security at Drury University, made it clear the police aren’t on campus just to deal with alcohol-related incidents.
The two police officers staffing a new substation at Drury University will mean a quicker response to crime, school officials say.
The police also will be able to do something that campus security officers can’t do.
Arrest students.
Unlike campus security officers whose responsibilities include patrolling the grounds, securing buildings and parking enforcement, Springfield Police officers will be there to respond to criminal activities such as thefts, assaults, drugs and alcohol-related incidents.
Campus security officers are unarmed but carry pepper spray and have the ability to handcuff and detain people. But they cannot write citations and are not trained to make arrests for incidents such underage drinking as Springfield Police do.
In an incident last weekend, a Drury freshman was hospitalized for alcohol poisoning during an off-campus party apparently organized in response to tougher enforcement of underage drinking laws during Bid Day — an annual event when students who want to join fraternities learn if they have been accepted.
Sarene Deeds, director of safety and security at Drury University, made it clear the police aren’t on campus just to deal with alcohol-related incidents.
They are here on the campus for safety as a whole,” she said.
Having police officers on campus also means quicker reaction to crimes.
“The faster response time is the biggest issue, and it’s really going to increase that,” campus security officer Stoney McCleery said, adding that it used to take police about six minutes to respond to campus calls.
Should an incident occur that calls for police — such as drugs, alcohol or an assault — officers can now be there in a matter of a few minutes or mere seconds.
“The response time will be drastically reduced for calls that happen while they’re on duty,” Springfield Police spokesman Officer Grant Story said, noting the department’s average response time for the month of June was seven and half minutes.
The two Springfield Police officers will cost Drury more than $130,000.
It’s possible five to seven police officers will be added in the future, depending on available funds and personnel.
More officers could mean around-the-clock coverage, but for now police will be on duty during day and early evening hours Monday through Friday when the campus is busiest, Deeds explained. That could change.
“Their work hours will be dictated as the need arises,” she said.
In addition to patrolling the Drury campus and neighborhoods adjacent to the university, police officers also will be called on to host seminars about campus life including substance abuse, date rape and other topics, Deeds said.
“I really like having the wealth of information that will come along with them,” Deeds said.
Drury has a number of safety measures in place on campus, including emergency call boxes, security cameras and an alert system to inform students and faculty of emergency situations.
With all that, some students wonder whether police presence is necessary.
“I don’t think it’s really needed,” Drury freshman Dennon Mitchell said. “The security officers are doing their job the way they’re supposed to.”
Sophomore Conrad Remington said he feels the police officers aren’t exactly necessary, but having the extra security couldn’t hurt.
“There were a couple of incidents last year — like a girl being attacked — where it would have been nice,” he said. “In instances like that it would be nice to have police close by because they’re going to have to call them anyway.”
Other students said such incidents are rare at Drury. Even so, some like the comfort of knowing there’s more protection now.
“Crime and theft is pretty low here, but any additional security measure is good,” freshman Megan Dyke said. “(Like at Virginia Tech) someone could come out of nowhere and have a bad day.”
She was referring to the April 2007 massacre at Virginia Tech that left 32 students dead before the gunman killed himself.
Drury has pushed for the police — which came with the City Council’s approval of a new campus substation Monday — for more than a year, since Gov. Matt Blunt’s Campus Security Task Force recommended that armed police protection be available on Missouri college and university campuses.
“With Virginia Tech it’s a different day and time now,” Deeds said. “People just want to feel safer.”
She said the mere presence of police officers — in addition to Drury’s 12 campus security officers — will help keep university students safe.
McCleery agreed. “It’s a visual deterrent.”
JOIN THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PRIVATE OFFICERS
www.privateofficer.com/
Join us at www.myspace.com/privateofficernews
Come be part of our social network! http://www.privateofficer.com
Get news alerts, officer down, weather emergency news in your mailbox! Sign up;
adminassist@privateofficer.comJoin us at www.myspace.com/privateofficernews
Come be part of our social network! http://www.privateofficer.com
Categories: police, security
loss prevention agent, loss prevention association, national association of private officers, security association, security guard, security guard association, security guard training, security officer, security officer assaociation, security police association, security training, www.privateofficer.com
Prison guard charged with sexual assault of inmate www.privateofficer.com
September 22, 2008
Leave a comment
Prison guard charged with sexual assault of inmate http://www.privateofficer.com
West Feliciana Parish LA. Sept 22 2008
By: Rick McCann
Ntl. Assoc of Private Officers
http://www.privateofficer.com/
Sheriff investigators from West Feliciana paris arrested a Louisiana State Penitentiary security officer on Thursday and accused him of forcing an inmate to perform oral sex on him, Sheriff J. Austin Daniel said.
Detectives booked Dewayne McMills, 42, of the Center Point community in Avoyelles Parish, with oral sexual battery, crime against nature and malfeasance in office.
According to the sheriff’s department, the arrest followed a Wednesday complaint by the inmate, who said that he had bit the officer during the encounter.
Investigators went to Marksville Thursday and questioned the officer and according to the report McMills allegedly told West Feliciana detectives that he had consensual oral sex with the inmate, Daniel said.
McMills was released on bond and could face termination from his position at the prison.
Sheriff investigators from West Feliciana paris arrested a Louisiana State Penitentiary security officer on Thursday and accused him of forcing an inmate to perform oral sex on him, Sheriff J. Austin Daniel said.
Detectives booked Dewayne McMills, 42, of the Center Point community in Avoyelles Parish, with oral sexual battery, crime against nature and malfeasance in office.
According to the sheriff’s department, the arrest followed a Wednesday complaint by the inmate, who said that he had bit the officer during the encounter.
Investigators went to Marksville Thursday and questioned the officer and according to the report McMills allegedly told West Feliciana detectives that he had consensual oral sex with the inmate, Daniel said.
McMills was released on bond and could face termination from his position at the prison.
JOIN THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PRIVATE OFFICERS
www.privateofficer.com/
Join us at www.myspace.com/privateofficernews
Come be part of our social network! http://www.privateofficer.com
Get news alerts, officer down, weather emergency news in your mailbox! Sign up;
adminassist@privateofficer.comJoin us at www.myspace.com/privateofficernews
Come be part of our social network! http://www.privateofficer.com
Categories: police, security
dewayne mcmills, loss prevention agent, loss prevention association, national association of private officers, prison guard arrested, security association, security guard, security guard association, security guard training, security officer, security officer assaociation, security police association, security training, west feliciana parish la, www.privateofficer.com
Police raid compound looking for sexual abuse of children www.privateofficer.com
September 22, 2008
Leave a comment
Police raid compound looking for sexual abuse of children http://www.privateofficer.com
FOUKE, Ark. Sept 22 2008
Kyle T. Greene
Ntl. Assoc. Private Officers
http://www.privateofficer.com/ — State and federal authorities are investigating the possible sexual abuse of minors at a 15-acre evangelical compound run by a convicted tax evader whom critics describe as a cult leader.
The Tony Alamo Christian Ministries complex in southwestern Arkansas was raided Saturday by more than 100 federal and state police, and six children have been placed in temporary state custody and are being interviewed.
No one was arrested, but U.S. Attorney Bob Balfe said prior to the raid that he expects a warrant to be issued for Alamo, 74, who has a long history of tangling with law enforcement.
State police spokesman Bill Sadler said that if the children in state care need to be held long-term, the matter would have to go before a judge.
The raid, the culmination of a two-year investigation into child-abuse and pornography allegations, was moved up on the calendar after an e-mail about plans for an October raid was inadvertently sent to media late last week.
Alamo told The Associated Press in an interview Saturday that no child pornography was generated at the ministry but that age of consent is puberty when it comes to sex. Alamo, who said he was in the Los Angeles area, said the government is trying to harass him.
Alamo was convicted of tax-related charges in 1994 after the Internal Revenue Service said he owed the government $7.9 million. He served four years in prison. Prosecutors in the tax case argued before sentencing that Alamo was a flight risk and a polygamist who preyed on married women and girls in his congregation.
In 1991, Alamo and his followers disappeared when U.S. marshals stormed his complex near Alma in western Arkansas — taking with them the remains of Alamo’s late wife Susan, who had died in 1982 and from whom Alamo anticipated a resurrection. As a condition of his release from his four-year sentence from the tax convictions, Alamo had to turn over his wife’s corpse to her family.
A number of people who claimed to have past ties with the Alamo group appeared outside the compound as law officers searched the grounds.
Anthony Justin Lane, 34, said he’d been kicked out for asking too many questions and hoped he could get his three children back. He said they remained with the group and his former girlfriend after he was expelled.
“I see pictures of those kids and I feel robbed — robbed of being a father,” Lane told reporters.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors the activities of extremist groups in the U.S., describes Alamo’s ministry as a cult that opposes homosexuality, Roman Catholicism and the government.
During the raid, Fouke Mayor Terry Purvis said he was concerned about the reputation of the town of 800 residents, saying he didn’t want the community to be associated with Alamo. But he said four members of Alamo’s organization are running for city council on the fall ballot.
On Sunday, services were held at the compound but outsiders weren’t allowed to attend. A van ferried members from the Alamo compound to the church facility.
The Tony Alamo Christian Ministries complex in southwestern Arkansas was raided Saturday by more than 100 federal and state police, and six children have been placed in temporary state custody and are being interviewed.
No one was arrested, but U.S. Attorney Bob Balfe said prior to the raid that he expects a warrant to be issued for Alamo, 74, who has a long history of tangling with law enforcement.
State police spokesman Bill Sadler said that if the children in state care need to be held long-term, the matter would have to go before a judge.
The raid, the culmination of a two-year investigation into child-abuse and pornography allegations, was moved up on the calendar after an e-mail about plans for an October raid was inadvertently sent to media late last week.
Alamo told The Associated Press in an interview Saturday that no child pornography was generated at the ministry but that age of consent is puberty when it comes to sex. Alamo, who said he was in the Los Angeles area, said the government is trying to harass him.
Alamo was convicted of tax-related charges in 1994 after the Internal Revenue Service said he owed the government $7.9 million. He served four years in prison. Prosecutors in the tax case argued before sentencing that Alamo was a flight risk and a polygamist who preyed on married women and girls in his congregation.
In 1991, Alamo and his followers disappeared when U.S. marshals stormed his complex near Alma in western Arkansas — taking with them the remains of Alamo’s late wife Susan, who had died in 1982 and from whom Alamo anticipated a resurrection. As a condition of his release from his four-year sentence from the tax convictions, Alamo had to turn over his wife’s corpse to her family.
A number of people who claimed to have past ties with the Alamo group appeared outside the compound as law officers searched the grounds.
Anthony Justin Lane, 34, said he’d been kicked out for asking too many questions and hoped he could get his three children back. He said they remained with the group and his former girlfriend after he was expelled.
“I see pictures of those kids and I feel robbed — robbed of being a father,” Lane told reporters.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors the activities of extremist groups in the U.S., describes Alamo’s ministry as a cult that opposes homosexuality, Roman Catholicism and the government.
During the raid, Fouke Mayor Terry Purvis said he was concerned about the reputation of the town of 800 residents, saying he didn’t want the community to be associated with Alamo. But he said four members of Alamo’s organization are running for city council on the fall ballot.
On Sunday, services were held at the compound but outsiders weren’t allowed to attend. A van ferried members from the Alamo compound to the church facility.
JOIN THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PRIVATE OFFICERS
www.privateofficer.com/
Join us at www.myspace.com/privateofficernews
Come be part of our social network! http://www.privateofficer.com
Get news alerts, officer down, weather emergency news in your mailbox! Sign up;
adminassist@privateofficer.comJoin us at www.myspace.com/privateofficernews
Come be part of our social network! http://www.privateofficer.com
Categories: police
child abuse, fouke arkansas, loss prevention agent, loss prevention association, national association of private officers, security association, security guard, security guard association, security guard training, security officer, security officer assaociation, security police association, security training, sexual abuse, tony alamo christian church, tony alamo christian ministries, www.privateofficer.com
11 Shot at Texas nightclub www.privateofficer.com
September 22, 2008
1 comment
11 Shot at Texas nightclub http://www.privateofficer.com
EL PASO TX Sept 22 2008 — Gunfire ripped into a crowd of people early Sunday outside a popular East Side nightclub, wounding 11 — two of whom are women in critical condition — in what El Paso police say is one of the biggest large-scale shooting incidents in recent years.
The shooting occurred around 2 a.m. as hundreds of people emptied out of Graham Central Station, a four-club venue at 1840 Lee Treviño in the Vista Hills Shopping Center. What followed was described as several minutes of chaos.
Police said the shooting is gang-related.
The names and ages of the five women and six men wounded were not available.
At least six of the 11 shooting victims were taken to Thomason Hospital, where two victims were listed in critical condition, hospital spokeswoman Margaret Althoff-Olivas said.
El Paso police spokesman Officer Chris Mears said both victims listed in critical condition are women.
Other victims from Sunday’s shooting were taken to Beaumont Army Medical Center.
At least three soldiers were involved in some way in the incident, Fort Bliss spokeswoman Jean Offutt said.
Military police from Fort Bliss are assisting in the investigation that is led by the El Paso Police Department’s Crimes Against Persons Unit and Drive-by Shooting Response Team.
Sunday afternoon, most of the sprawling parking lot used by the nightclub and other businesses remained cordoned off and empty. The police mobile command center, parked in the lot, bustled with activity.
Mears would not disclose the kind of weapon or weapons used in the shooting and said police were speaking to many witnesses about the incident.
Ricky Escamilla, a promoter of a weekly hip-hop music show at Tejano Rose — one of the four clubs at Graham Central Station — said the early morning scene outside was one of bedlam.
“Some of our guys are in the military and they went out to render aid and took off their shirts to help stop the bleeding,” Escamilla said, adding that some of the more seriously wounded were women. “It was frightening and we are all still a little shook up about it.”
Randy Elam, an area supervisor for Graham Central Station, called the shooting an isolated incident and said it might have originated inside Tejano Rose.
“I heard that there was a little confrontation inside the Tejano Rose, that a guy was bothering some women and they got the guy out,” Elam said.
About 22 security guards were working at the club when the incident occurred, Elam said, adding that the weekly hip-hop shows at Tejano Rose will be discontinued.
“We just feel like (hip hop) might be part of what happened,” Elam said.
Escamilla said he hoped the hip-hop shows continue.
“We have been doing this for three months and we have not had problems,” he said. “It’s an unfortunate situation, and our prayers are with the people who were hurt.”
Mears said Sunday’s shooting was an anomaly for the city.”In my 14 years here, I can’t remember a single case where 11 people were shot, where that many people were shot,” he said. “We’re very fortunate that nobody has died.”
El Paso suffered its last major shooting in November 1996 when seven people were wounded outside Metropolis nightclub. Police said then that Richard Anthony Jones, 31, fought with several people inside the East El Paso nightclub and later waited outside with a shotgun. No one died in that shooting.
Shortly before the Metropolis nightclub shooting, five people were shot and killed execution-style and two others were injured at El Kumbala night club in October 1996. Officials said then the Lower Valley shooting was believed to have been a drug deal gone wrong.
Anyone with information about Sunday’s shooting is asked to call 832-4400 or Crime Stoppers at 566-8477.
The shooting occurred around 2 a.m. as hundreds of people emptied out of Graham Central Station, a four-club venue at 1840 Lee Treviño in the Vista Hills Shopping Center. What followed was described as several minutes of chaos.
Police said the shooting is gang-related.
The names and ages of the five women and six men wounded were not available.
At least six of the 11 shooting victims were taken to Thomason Hospital, where two victims were listed in critical condition, hospital spokeswoman Margaret Althoff-Olivas said.
El Paso police spokesman Officer Chris Mears said both victims listed in critical condition are women.
Other victims from Sunday’s shooting were taken to Beaumont Army Medical Center.
At least three soldiers were involved in some way in the incident, Fort Bliss spokeswoman Jean Offutt said.
Military police from Fort Bliss are assisting in the investigation that is led by the El Paso Police Department’s Crimes Against Persons Unit and Drive-by Shooting Response Team.
Sunday afternoon, most of the sprawling parking lot used by the nightclub and other businesses remained cordoned off and empty. The police mobile command center, parked in the lot, bustled with activity.
Mears would not disclose the kind of weapon or weapons used in the shooting and said police were speaking to many witnesses about the incident.
Ricky Escamilla, a promoter of a weekly hip-hop music show at Tejano Rose — one of the four clubs at Graham Central Station — said the early morning scene outside was one of bedlam.
“Some of our guys are in the military and they went out to render aid and took off their shirts to help stop the bleeding,” Escamilla said, adding that some of the more seriously wounded were women. “It was frightening and we are all still a little shook up about it.”
Randy Elam, an area supervisor for Graham Central Station, called the shooting an isolated incident and said it might have originated inside Tejano Rose.
“I heard that there was a little confrontation inside the Tejano Rose, that a guy was bothering some women and they got the guy out,” Elam said.
About 22 security guards were working at the club when the incident occurred, Elam said, adding that the weekly hip-hop shows at Tejano Rose will be discontinued.
“We just feel like (hip hop) might be part of what happened,” Elam said.
Escamilla said he hoped the hip-hop shows continue.
“We have been doing this for three months and we have not had problems,” he said. “It’s an unfortunate situation, and our prayers are with the people who were hurt.”
Mears said Sunday’s shooting was an anomaly for the city.”In my 14 years here, I can’t remember a single case where 11 people were shot, where that many people were shot,” he said. “We’re very fortunate that nobody has died.”
El Paso suffered its last major shooting in November 1996 when seven people were wounded outside Metropolis nightclub. Police said then that Richard Anthony Jones, 31, fought with several people inside the East El Paso nightclub and later waited outside with a shotgun. No one died in that shooting.
Shortly before the Metropolis nightclub shooting, five people were shot and killed execution-style and two others were injured at El Kumbala night club in October 1996. Officials said then the Lower Valley shooting was believed to have been a drug deal gone wrong.
Anyone with information about Sunday’s shooting is asked to call 832-4400 or Crime Stoppers at 566-8477.
JOIN THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PRIVATE OFFICERS
www.privateofficer.com/
Join us at www.myspace.com/privateofficernews
Come be part of our social network! http://www.privateofficer.com
Get news alerts, officer down, weather emergency news in your mailbox! Sign up;
adminassist@privateofficer.comJoin us at www.myspace.com/privateofficernews
Come be part of our social network! http://www.privateofficer.com
Categories: police, security
loss prevention agent, loss prevention association, national association of private officers, security association, security guard, security guard association, security guard training, security officer, security officer assaociation, security police association, security training, www.privateofficer.com
