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Alert casino security officer stops cop killers escape www.privateofficer.com
Alert casino security officer stops cop killers escape http://www.privateofficer.com
By: Rick McCann
Ntl. Assoc. Private Officers
http://www.privateofficer.com/
Hours after U.S. Park Service Ranger Kristine Fairbanks was gunned down while checking a suspicious vehicle, an alert casino security officer spotted the suspect and was able to evacuate customers and employees out of harms way and notify 911.
Police had notified the security staff and posted “Wanted Posters” in and around the business in hopes that a customer or employee might spot the person police say killed one of their own. And as luck would have it, they did and now an alert security officer is the hero of this story.
Police released the play by play of the video footage of the shoot out between the wanted man and authorities shortly after the security officer alerted them.
These are some of the notes from a briefing held yesterday.
Before the brief exterior drama, State Patrol Detective Brian George narrated video shot from inside the market.The skein of events, recorded from behind and above the store’s cash registers, showed these scenes:
Roe, wearing a red and black coat, walks into the store and disappears down an aisle.He passes but apparently does not see fliers showing his photograph that officers delivered to the store minutes before.
A security guard from 7 Cedars Casino who has recognized Roe alerts the unidentified cashier, who tells other employees to leave by a back entrance.
A customer enters, and the security guard warns him, pointing out the flier.
After another customer enters and disappears to the back of the store, Roe comes to the cash register, clutching a boxed bottle of whiskey to his left side.
The customer looks at Roe, then at the photo, then at Roe again. He quickly leaves.
The security officer also leaves and, authorities said, phones 9-1-1. The dispatcher alerts deputies who are near the scene.
Roe watches the guard through the market’s window. The deputies arrive and see Roe inside the store.
Roe picks up his package, sees the flier and leaves
Kudos to security guard”It’s important to point out the security officer from the 7 Cedars,” George said.”He’s heads up. He’s paying attention.”We’re very fortunate that it didn’t go any further.”Officers could not identify the security guard.Questioned by reporters whether Roe fired at the deputies, George said a 9 mm casing found at the scene could not have come from either deputies’ firearms.Deputy Matthew Murphy, who has 14 years on the force, fired five rounds from an AR-15 .223-caliber rifle, said Clallam County Sheriff Bill Benedict.Deputy Andrew Wagner, with 1½ years on the Clallam County force, fired four rounds from his .40-caliber pistol, the sheriff said.Other information released at the news conference included:
A female accomplice one witness said accompanied Roe never existed, although Roe was riding with his brother’s dog, a chocolate Labrador retriever.Once its paws are compared with prints found at the Dungeness Forks Campground where Fairbanks died in Olympic National Forest, it will be returned to the brother, who lives in Everett.
The campground crime scene is being investigated by the FBI because Fairbanks was a federal employee.An FBI spokeswoman in Seattle said it was too early to tell if Fairbanks had struggled with Roe before the shooting.”We don’t have anyone who can tell us the story,” said Special Agent Robbie Burroughs.”The evidence must tell us the story.”Investigators still were examining the campground as darkness approached on Tuesday evening, she said.”Until we know what happened from the beginning to the end of the whole tragic situation, we’re not going to be releasing anything.”
Clallam County deputies are investigating the crime scene where Ziegler was shot within the foundation of the home he was building on Jonrey Lane.The State Patrol is probing the Longhouse shooting.
The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is tracing Roe’s handguns.Besides the 9 mm automatic he took from Fairbanks, he was carrying another 9 mm pistol and a .22-caliber revolver.Roe, convicted of felony unlawful imprisonment and domestic violence charges, was not allowed to possess firearms.’A degree of luck’The conclusion of Saturday’s events was “a reflection of the cooperation of all the law enforcement agencies on the Peninsula,” Clallam County Sheriff Bill Benedict said.He noted that officers from 20 organizations participated in events, including setting up checkpoints throughout the area.Still, “there was a degree of luck that it transpired the way it did,” he said.Referring to the Roe’s final seconds, “that was a textbook for how to confront an armed and dangerous man,” Benedict said.
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Pinellas County officer charged with soliciting teen www.privateofficer.com
Pinellas County officer charged with soliciting teen http://www.privateofficer.com
A corporal assigned to the Pinellas County Juvenile Detention Center has been arrested on charges that he sexually solicited a young Pinellas County teen, according to the Gulfport Police Department.
Gulfport police say school resource officer Steven Beltran, who had recently been certified in cyber safety by the attorney’s general cyber crime unit, began investigating Parris Woods after a 14-year-old female student reported that she had received text messages from a man who claimed to be employed at a local juvenile detention center where she had recently been taken.
The Gulfport Police Department and the attorney general’s cyber crime unit arrested Woods after arriving at a designated meeting place where authorities say they found him waiting to meet the girl.
The Gulfport Police Department and the attorney general’s cyber crime unit arrested Woods after arriving at a designated meeting place where authorities say they found him waiting to meet the girl
According to police, the girl said she had never met the man and that the messages included photos depicting the sender in nude and obscene images, along with a request to meet in person to engage in sexual activity.
The investigation will continue to determine if Woods has any additional victims.
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Shoplifting gangs moving into smaller communities www.privateofficer.com
Shoplifting gangs moving into smaller communities http://www.privateofficer.com
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US Marshals capture man on the run for 27 years www.privateofficer.com
US Marshals capture man on the run for 27 years http://www.privateofficer.com
U.S. Marshals have arrested a man who has been on the run for the past 27 years in Haines City, Florida on Tuesday, September 23, 2008. 55-year old Anthony Ragno has been hiding out in the Central Florida town for the past 10 years, but his luck ran out, thanks to the hard and diligent work of Deputy Marshals in Ft. Lauderdale.
Anthony Ragno was arrested on January 19, 1981 and charged with Interstate Transportation of Stolen Property. On May 18, 1981, Ragno pleaded guilty to those charges and on July 22, 1981, Ragno was sentenced to serve one year and one day in a federal prison. Ragno’s sentence was deferred until 12 O’clock noon on October 20, 1981. On that date, Ragno was to surrender to the Federal Correctional Institution in Tallahassee, Florida. On November 3, 1981, a warrant was issued for Ragno’s arrest since he failed to surrender to the federal facility to serve his sentence. Ragno spent the next 27 years on the lam as a federal fugitive. He eluded U.S. Marshals until Tuesday afternoon when a group of Deputy Marshals from the Ft. Lauderdale and Tampa offices, teamed up to look for Ragno. Ragno was living under an assumed in the Haines City area. Ragno did more than just acquire a new name in his attempts to elude Deputy Marshals and other law enforcement officers, he went through detailed execution in an effort to carry out his plan.
In December of 1981, Ragno faked his own death and a public record was created showing that Anthony Ragno, with his true date of birth and social security number died at the age of 28. Deputy Marshals have not found out the details of how Ragno faked his death, but when Marshals requested confirmation from the Division of Vital Statistics in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the agency responsible for death confirmations, they could not produce a death certificate. Deputy Marshals continued their investigation and discovered that according to the Social Security Administration, death benefits were awarded to Ragno’s family members from 1991 to 1998. According to officials with the Social Security Administration, there is a 5-year Statute of Limitations to prosecute family members for death benefit fraud. Since Ragno was arrested in 2008, the statute of limitations to charge family members has expired. Ragno could still face State or Federal charges for filing a false death certificate.
Anthony Ragno stayed under the radar of Deputy Marshals, at least until he was arrested six times from 1997 to 2004 using the fake name, James Collins. Ragno was arrested in Osceola County, the City of Kissimmee, Polk County and twice in Haines City, Florida during that seven year period. Every time Ragno was arrested by law enforcement officers, he failed to provide a social security number. In 1997, Ragno was arrested by the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office for driving without a valid driver license. He was arrested again in January of 1999 for cocaine distribution by Kissimmee Police Department. Ragno failed to appear on those charges and was arrested in August of 1999 by Osceola County Sheriff’s. Ragno spent 30 days in an Osceola County jail as a result of the cocaine charges, but his true identity was unknown to law enforcement officials since he continually used a false name. Deputy Marshals discovered that Ragno obtained two fraudulent Florida driver licenses. Both licenses were issued under the name James Anthony Collins, but with different dates of birth. In January 2003, Ragno was arrested by Haines City police for driving without a valid driver license. Ragno was arrested two more times in 2004, once in April and again in September. After the September 2004 arrest, Ragno spent 16 days in a Polk County jail for driving while his license was suspended. September 2004 is the last time Ragno would be confronted by law enforcement officers.
Several months ago, Deputy Marshals began looking at the fingerprints of the person who was being arrested in Central Florida and the names this person was using. The date of birth was close to Ragno’s age, but Ragno was using the names James Anthony Collins, James Arthur Collins, and James L. Collins. He consistently used the date of birth of November 29, 1947 when arrested.
A fingerprint match should have confirmed the person being arrested in Haines City, Polk County, Osceola County, and Kissimmee was Anthony Ragno. Through an oversight by the FBI fingerprint section in Washington D.C., it was never realized that Collins and Ragno were the same person, a federal fugitive wanted by the U.S. Marshals. Accidentally the FBI issued Ragno a new FBI number.
Deputy Marshals compared the fingerprints of Anthony Ragno’s arrests from 1978 to 1981 to the fingerprints of James Collins arrests from 1997 to 2004. An expert fingerprint analyst from the Broward County Sheriff’s Office in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida concluded that both sets of fingerprints were one in the same person. At that point, Deputy Marshals knew that Anthony Ragno was alive and possibly living in the Haines City area. Marshals began analyzing each and every address that Ragno has used under the James Collins name and headed to Haines City to track down their man.
Deputy Marshals arrived in Haines City on Tuesday, September 23rd around one o’clock in the afternoon ready to check out the half dozen addresses that Ragno has used under the false name of James Collins. Deputies began interviewing several people near the Discount Grocery store on Martin Luther King Way and Avenue G. People in this economically depressed neighborhood knew exactly who Ragno, aka James Collins was. They knew him as “Jimmy”. Ragno, aka “Jimmy” was a trusted mechanic and did great work on everyone’s vehicle for little money, only charging $10 to $20 dollars per hour. “Jimmy” as he was known to Haines City residents, rode around on a bicycle, always wore a baseball cap, and would carry his tools on his handlebars in a white bucket. Little did they know that “Jimmy” had a 27-year old secret.
Deputy Marshals were told of many spots where “Jimmy” fixes cars. So, deputies began driving through the area in hopes of spotting Ragno on his bicycle, or repairing a vehicle. Their diligent work would soon pay off, as Deputy Marshals drove past a gas station on Martin Luther King Street and Avenue B, “Jimmy” was spotted on his bicycle getting something to eat at the corner station. Ragno, was confronted by two Deputy Marshals and asked what his name was. The person stated, “James Collins”. Deputy Marshals already knew James Collins was actually Anthony Ragno, and after a few moments, “Jimmy” admitted his real name. By sundown, Deputy Marshals had their man in custody after 27 long years on the run.
Ragno stated that he had been living in the Haines City area for the past 10 years. He said he didn’t want to go to prison back in 1981 because he wanted to “drop off the face of the earth”. Ragno stated that “I am a loner, and I’ll be a loner for the rest of my life”. Deputy Marshals never found out exactly where Ragno was living, but, he stated he was renting a room in the back of someone’s garage. Ragno was booked into the Hillsborough County jail on the Federal charges from the Southern District of Florida. As Deputy Marshals pulled into the county jail on Orient Road, Ragno stated, “I guess I will have to get used to answering to my real name now”.
Ragno also has charges pending with the Broward County Sheriff’s Office stemming from a warrant which was issued back on July 21, 1982, charging him with Trafficking in Cocaine. Ragno will make his initial appearance in front of a United States Magistrate Judge in Tampa Federal court today. He will then be extradited back to South Florida to face new charges of Bond Jumping in Ft. Lauderdale Federal court.
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Shoplifting suspect critical after crashing car www.privateofficer.com
Shoplifting suspect critical after crashing car http://www.privateofficer.com
Mary E. Woods, 40, of the 2600 block of Avenue I, Fort Pierce, was taken to Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne. Police said Woods sped away from officers and left out of the parking lot of Miracle Mile Plaza, where officers wanted to question her regarding a shoplifting report.
Police were not pursuing Woods but she later crashed into the Howard Johnson Express Inn at 1725 U.S. 1
Woods was listed in critical condition Sunday, but her condition Tuesday was not available.
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Alert state trooper leads to shoplifting arrest www.privateofficer.com
Alert state trooper leads to shoplifting arrest http://www.privateofficer.com
A Providence man is being held at the Adult Correctional Institutions until Oct. 10 after a state trooper noticed a foil-lined tote in his vehicle and found 85 music CDs from a Borders bookstore in Connecticut.
Trooper Christopher J. Schram pulled over a northbound car that was swerving into the low-speed lane of Route 95 in Exeter at 10:35 a.m. on Sept. 16, said state police Lt. Eric LaRiviere, patrol commander for the Hope Valley barracks.
The car was unregistered and the driver, Michael Dwyer, 44, of Spruce Street in Providence, did not have a valid license, LaRiviere said. The vehicle was towed to the Hope Valley barracks and searched.
A bag lined with foil secured with duct tape is a shoplifting accessory known as a booster bag, LaRiviere said. Thieves use them to hide magnetically tagged merchandise from detectors at the exit. “It does not always work,” LaRiviere said. “A lot of the stores today have devices that prevent this from working.”
The vehicle also contained 85 new CDs in a wide range of music styles, LaRiviere said, with store tags that indicated they were from a Borders bookstore in Waterford, Conn.
LaRiviere said a Borders loss prevention manager arrived at the Hope Valley barracks, recognized Dwyer and identified the CDs as merchandise stolen from the Waterford store.
Mary Davis, a corporate affairs manager at Borders, said company policy doesn’t allow her to release any details except to say “We are cooperating with authorities.”
Dwyer was charged with receiving stolen goods/shoplifting goods worth more than $500, a felony; the use of shoplifting paraphernalia and being a habitual shoplifter.
Judge William C. Clifton in District Court, Wakefield, set bail at $2,000 cash or property worth $20,000, which Dwyer could not post.
“Our position on this defendant,” said Michael Healey, a spokesman for the attorney general’s office, “is that he clearly has an extensive record, going back to his first shoplifting conviction in 1983.”
In this decade, Dwyer had felony shoplifting convictions resulting from arrests in East Providence in 2002 and Lincoln in 2003, Healey said. He received a 5-year suspended sentence in the Lincoln case, Healy said, and last week’s arrest put him in violation of probation.
“We are seeking the full five years that he owes from that 2003 case,” Healy said, “and then we will seek consecutive time on the new charges.”
If convicted, Healy said, Dwyer could get a maximum of 10 years on the latest felony shoplifting charge, 5 years maximum on the use of shoplifting paraphernalia and six months added for habitual shoplifting.
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Passing gas gets man charged with assault www.privateofficer.com
Passing gas gets man charged with assault http://www.privateofficer.com
A West Virginia man who police said passed gas and fanned it toward a patrolman has been charged with battery on a police officer.
Jose A. Cruz, 34, of Clarksburg, was pulled over early Tuesday for driving without headlights, police said. According to the criminal complaint, Cruz smelled of alcohol, had slurred speech and failed three field sobriety tests before he was handcuffed and taken to a police station for a breathalyzer test.
As Patrolman T.E. Parsons prepared the machine, Cruz scooted his chair toward Parsons, lifted his leg and “passed gas loudly,” the complaint said.
Cruz, according to complaint, then fanned the gas toward the officer.
“The gas was very odorous and created contact of an insulting or provoking nature with Patrolman Parsons,” the complaint alleged.
He was also charged with driving under the influence, driving without headlights and two counts of obstruction.
Cruz acknowledged passing gas, but said he didn’t move his chair toward the officer nor aim gas at the patrolman. He said he had an upset stomach at the time, but police denied his request to go to the bathroom when he first arrived at the station.
“I couldn’t hold it no more,” he said.
He also denied being drunk and uncooperative as the police complaint alleged. He added he was upset at being prepared for a breathalyzer test while having an asthma attack. The police statement said he later resisted being secured for a trip to a hospital that he requested for asthma treatment.
Cruz said the officers thought the gas incident was funny when it happened and laughed about it with him.
“This is ridiculous,” he said. “I could be facing time.”
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Woman charged with selling stolen items on eBay www.privateofficer.com
Woman charged with selling stolen items on eBay http://www.privateofficer.com
A 28-year-old woman has been arrested by Placer County Sheriff’s detectives for allegedly selling shoplifted beauty and health products over the Internet.
Deborah Jayne Hayden of Rocklin was apprehended Monday at a trailer park in Loomis, where hundreds of stolen items were recovered, the Sheriff’s Department reported. Shipping materials were also found, the department reported.
Detective Jim Hudson said Hayden had made between $4,000 and $5,000 by selling the products online, and that between $5,000 and $10,000 worth of other products were found at the trailer park.
“She had been shipping the items to places as far away as Ireland and Denmark, as well as all over the United States,” Hudson said.
Hayden came to the attention of law enforcement after she was seen on a surveillance camera at a Target store placing items in a recycled bag and leaving without paying, the Sheriff’s Department said in a news release.
Products such as Alli, Rogaine and other top-of-the-line hair care items were among the stolen goods, the news release said.
Investigators monitored eBay, an Internet sales site, and found many of the suspected stolen products being advertised for sale, the release said.
Hudson said his office determined that the seller was Hayden. She was also allegedly in possession of dozens of stolen DVDs, he said.
Hayden is being held on suspicion of burglary at the Placer County jail in Auburn. Her bail is $10,000.
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Multi-millionaire arrested for triple murders www.privateofficer.com
Multi-millionaire arrested for triple murders http://www.privateofficer.com
A heavily armed FBI ISWAT team yesterday arrested a multimillionaire businessman leading a double life, charging him with orchestrating three killings – one committed during an armored car robbery 14 years ago and two others designed to cover up that slaying, according to court papers.
Sources familiar with the investigation credited Assistant U.S. Attorney James Miskiewicz and FBI Agent Robert Schelhorn with solving the crimes by “relentless and painstaking” work over eight years.Among the clues that helped the pair, according to court papers, were DNA from hair strands left in a getaway car from the armed car robbery and a tape recording allegedly implicating Tarantino made by one of the victims.
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Group charged with shoplifting baby items www.privateofficer.com
Group charged with shoplifting baby items http://www.privateofficer.com
Police responding to a shoplifting call at an area store have arrested five people and charged them with shoplifting infant merchandise from a Wal-Mart in North Myrtle Beach, according to a North Myrtle Beach police incident report.
Deirdre Clay, 36; Demetrice Royall, 27; Domonic Royall, 32; Regena Jones, 32; and Antwan Green, 19; all of Goldsboro, N.C., were seen in the infant section of the store at 550 U.S.17 N acting suspicious, the incident report stated.
Clay was seen by an loss prevention personnel removing plastic Wal-Mart bags from a large purse, and she, Jones, and an unknown male began putting infant merchandise into those bags, the report stated.
Demetrice and Domonic Royall were standing on either side in an attempt to shield the others from view, the report stated.
Clay took the cart of bagged items toward the front of the store and pushed the cart down an aisle and left the store.
Wal-Mart security agents saw the incident, which happened around 8:18 p..m. Monday, and went out and detained the suspects the report stated.
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K-Mart robbery suspect leads police on wild chase www.privateofficer.com
K-Mart robbery suspect leads police on wild chase http://www.privateofficer.com
It all began in St. Clairsville as an apparent armed robbery at a K-Mart store police said.. Police began the pursuit after receiving a call of an armed robbery of the pharmacy at the K-Mart located in the 2200 block of Warwood Avenue which is in the Ohio Valley Mall.
After being pursued along Interstate 70 in Belmont County, Wheeling police Sgt. Mike Anderson said the suspect crossed the Fort Henry Bridge into downtown Wheeling. The suspect then led police from North Wheeling to Warwood. The Clearview Police Department set up road spikes, but when the suspect saw police lights he pulled over and was arrested.
Belmont County Sheriff Fred Thompson said the suspect entered the Kmart pharmacy shortly after 9 a.m. and flashed what appeared to be a .45-caliber handgun. He said it was later found to be a BB or pellet gun. The suspect stole pills from the pharmacy, but the sheriff did not know what kind or exactly how many.
At least five different law enforcement agencies joined the pursuit of the suspect and luckily no one was injured an officer said.
The suspect claimed to have taken 10, 40-milligram pills of the prescription drug Oxycontin. The Wheeling Fire Department was called to the scene and transported the man to an undisclosed hospital for medical treatment. Police said he would then be taken to the Northern Regional Jail.
Because the pursuit went directly past Corpus Christi School, officials from the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston notified Principal Dick Taylor. Since the school is secured throughout the day, Taylor said there was no need to make an announcement or let the students know about the chase. He also said all of the students were in the building and are not permitted outside until a noon recess.
“We were called by the Diocesan schools office to tell us what was going on and we were fine no problems,” Taylor said. “We are always locked in with a security and alarm system, so they were perfectly fine and safe. We went on about our day as usual. … I didn’t have to go into a ‘lock down mode.’ There was no need for that.”
Thompson said his detectives were sent to process the suspect’s vehicle. The sheriff said the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation also is investigating the crime. He said he does not know if the vehicle is stolen.
Police have not released the name of the suspect but said that he is still at the regional jail and was being held on a substantial bond amount.
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