Archive for February 26th, 2009
Posted by privateofficernews on February 26, 2009
Security finds mall streaker on MySpace www.privateofficer.com
CHARLOTTE COUNTY FL Feb 26 2009
By: Brett Davis
Private Officer News Network
http://www.privateofficer.com/ A mall security officer with internet skills conducted an on line investigation and found a teen who had streaked through the Port Charlotte Town Center Mall Saturday night. Te security officer who had heard about the incident found video of the incident online and turned the information into the sheriff’s office.
The mall security officer also filed a report with the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office Tuesday.
According to the sheriff’s department, the mall officer located the MySpace page of the alleged streaker and then with a little more research found the video posted to Liveleak.com.
The streaker ran through the crowded food court, out the side doors into a waiting vehicle without being caught.
At the end of the video, he credits the cameraman and the get away driver.
The streaker was identified by the mall security guard as 18-year-old Brandon Krueger and sheriff deputies have charged him.
Posted in police, security, security made app/arrest | Tagged: Brandon Krueger, 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 | Leave a Comment »
Posted by privateofficernews on February 26, 2009
Mother charged with killing infant www.privateofficer.com
Riverside CA Feb 26 2009
pe.com
Greg Burchett walked into his Riverside home late Monday to find his 17-month-old son, Garrison, dead in a tragic scene that police are now piecing together.
“I found my baby, and my wife was traumatized,” said Burchett, an assistant biology professor at Riverside City College.
Police arrested Burchett’s wife and the child’s mother, Lori Burchett, 38, a former Mt. San Jacinto College employee.
The toddler suffered blunt force trauma to the head and a puncture wound to the abdomen, a Riverside Police Department news release said. Information about a motive was not released.
Burchett said Tuesday he was immediately concerned about their 3-year-old son, Gregory, and her 15-year-old son, Nick. They were home but unharmed.
“I’ve always been extremely supportive of my wife but I don’t understand what happened,” Burchett said.
Riverside police said officers responded at 11:07 p.m. Monday to the home on Via Terreno in Riverside’s Sycamore Canyon Park neighborhood.
The deceased toddler was found in a bedroom, stated an agency news release. His death marks Riverside’s fifth homicide of 2009. Last year, the city saw a spike up to 20 homicides, the highest in five years.
Lori Burchett is scheduled to make her first court appearance Thursday, according to jail records. She is being held at the Robert Presley Detention Center. Bail has been set at $1 million.
Police remained on the scene Tuesday morning and neighbors said the road was blocked until about 8:30 a.m.
By the afternoon, television trucks dotted the suburban Riverside cul-de-sac lined with large trees and landscaped yards.
Friends went in and out of the red tile roofed home with cream stucco to give Burchett support.
“This is extremely shocking,” Sylvia Thomas said as she left the home. “This is a devastating loss.”
Lori Burchett had worked as the curriculum coordinator for Mt. San Jacinto College from 2003 to 2008. Greg Burchett is the chairman of Riverside City College’s life science division and is an assistant professor of biology, according to representatives of the respective colleges.
Anyone with information may contact detectives Rick Cobb at 951-353-7135 or Rick Wheeler at 951-353-7134.
Posted in police | Tagged: Lori Burchett, 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 | Leave a Comment »
Posted by privateofficernews on February 26, 2009
Shoplifters cause rukus before fleeing www.privateofficer.com
Gastonia NC Feb 16 2009
Police in Gastonia say the three people who stole clothing from a store Tuesday afternoon at Westfield Eastridge Mall managed to cause quite a ruckus before they fled.
The three became involved in a series of fights with employees at the Hollister Co. clothing store in the mall.
It happened about 3:45 p.m., police say.
A 26-year-old male employee of the store, which sells clothing aimed at teens and young adults, said two men and a woman entered Hollister Co., started a fight with him, and then grabbed 20 T-shirts.
Another employee, a 25-year-old man, saw what was happening and came to help. He got involved in a fight with one of the suspects. Police say that when a third employee, a 26-year-old woman, tried to call mall security, the female suspect jumped on her and began fighting.
Then a fourth employee, a 25-year-old woman, returned to the store after a break, spotted the ruckus, and also tried to call mall security. That woman told police that the female suspect then assaulted her.
The three suspects got away with clothing valued at $485, police say.
JOIN THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PRIVATE OFFICERSwww.privateofficer.com/
Get news alerts, officer down, weather emergency news in your mailbox! Sign up;adminassist@privateofficer.com
Join us at www.myspace.com/privateofficernews
Come be part of our social network! www.privateofficer.com
Posted in police, security | Tagged: 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 | Leave a Comment »
Posted by privateofficernews on February 26, 2009
Newborn dumped in jail toliet www.privateofficer.com
MACON, Ga. Feb 26 2009
By: Rick McCann
Private Officer News Network
http://www.privateofficer.com/ – A prisoner at the Peach County detention center had a child in her cell and dumped it in the toliet according to authorities. The sheriff’s department spokesperson said the newborn girl was found in a toilet of a jail cell.
According to Sheriff Terry Deese, Cornelia Kornegay, 25, of Roberta had the infant in a holding cell Wednesday morning and told jailers her baby was in the toilet.
Deese said deputies found the infant upside down submerged in water, but deputies were able to revive the infant and the toddler survived. Deese said jailers were unaware that Kornegay was pregnant.
Kornegay likely will face a charge of felony cruelty to children and other offenses. She was already being held at the facility for violating probation.
Deese said the infant, a 7 pound, 6-ounce girl was taken to a local hospital and was listed in good condition.
Posted in police | Tagged: 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 | Leave a Comment »
Posted by privateofficernews on February 26, 2009
Flagstaff teacher arrested for sex with student crimes www.privateofficer.com
Flagstaff AZ Feb 26 2009
azdaily.com
Flagstaff police arrested a Coconino High School teacher and karate studio owner on charges that he had sex with two minor students of his.
John Pertuit, 35, 1720 N. Center St., was booked into the county jail Monday afternoon on six counts of sexual conduct with a minor, according to information from the police department. Pertuit had been arrested quietly on school grounds said Det. Casey Rucker of the police department. Pertuit teaches electronics at the high school, and he rents the school gym for his karate business called KIKS American Karate, Rucker said.
Rucker added that Flagstaff Unified School District officials placed Pertuit on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
The two victims are 15 and 16 years old.
The investigation is continuing, Rucker said, and it is possible more victims will be identified.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: flagstaff az, john pertuit, teacher arrested | Leave a Comment »
Posted by privateofficernews on February 26, 2009
Shoplifters bite their way to freedom www.privateofficer.com
Prattville Al Feb 26 2009
Two Montgomery residents are accused of taking a different slant on McGruff the Crime Dog’s well-known admonition to “take a bite out of crime.”
Their interpretation of the saying also brought a different criminal charge from the one they would have otherwise faced.
Charges against the duo, who were initially charged with shoplifting, were upgraded to robbery after one of them reportedly bit a security employee who tried to stop them from leaving a local retailer Monday with several items of merchandise for which they had allegedly not paid.
The other suspect ran into a wooded area and sparked a brief foot chase that ended when an Alabama State Trooper helped nab him in a wooded area behind Jameson Inn, just off Cobbs Ford Road.
According to Prattville Police Department reports, the suspects — 19-year-old Covecchio Deshaun Taylor and Adreanna Thomas Johnson, 20, each of whom gave a home address in the capital city — were charged with one count each of robbery in the second degree.
The incident occurred shortly before noon, when the two reportedly tried to take “about $150″ worth of baby clothes and other items from Prattville’s Big Kmart without paying for the goods.
According to reports, when the store’s loss-prevention personnel tried to detain them, Johnson resisted the attempt and allegedly bit the security officer on the upper arm, breaking the skin and drawing a small amount of blood. While his partner remained at the store and tried to prevent her arrest, Taylor ran from the store and into the wooded area.
Police Chief Alfred Wadsworth said the petty theft incident turned into a robbery when the suspect bit the security officer, thereby displaying the use of force in the commission of the alleged crime.
City police pursued the woman, and the trooper — who was reportedly working on reports at a nearby business — joined in.
The trooper was eventually able to help take Johnson into custody, putting an end to the incident, at least part of which was reportedly witnessed by several diners, shoppers and motorists in the area.
“The reports show that two suspects were caught shoplifting,” Wadsworth said. “When the loss-prevention people tried to detain them, the male suspect broke loose and ran across McQueen Smith Road and into a ditch that ran through the woods. The woman resisted the security people.”
Both suspects were taken to the Autauga Metro Jail, where bond was set at $5,000 for each. According to an employee of the jail’s booking and release division, Johnson was released late Monday after posting bond, while Taylor remained in the county lockup Tuesday afternoon
Posted in loss prevention, police, security made app/arrest, security officer injured | Tagged: 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 | Leave a Comment »
Posted by privateofficernews on February 26, 2009
Ala. teacher faces charges of sex with students www.privateofficer.com
ROBERTSDALE AL Feb 26 2009
al.com — A Central Baldwin Middle School teacher and coach faces 12 charges related to accusations he had sexual contact or inappropriate communication with four students, authorities said Tuesday.
Bryan Christopher Pettibone was an eighth-grade science teacher and boys basketball coach for nearly 3 1/2years before being put on paid leave Dec. 19 when suspicious behavior was first reported by a parent of one of the girls, said Baldwin County public schools spokesman Terry Wilhite.
“All these situations would begin with text-messaging and phone calls and eventually led to actual contact,” said Sgt. Rex Bishop, chief investigator for the Robertsdale Police Department.
The suspect is accused of having sexual contact with three of the girls, authorities said.
All the girls were 14 at the time, Bishop said. One is still a middle school student while three have moved on to high school since those incidents allegedly occurred last school year, Bishop said.
Authorities declined to provide details about the alleged sexual contact except to say some of it occurred at the campus on Ala. 59, just north of Robertsdale.
“The allegations are that he crossed the boundary and there was actual physical contact, and this did occur on school grounds not only during the school times, but sometimes during extracurricular activities, mostly centered around basketball games,” Bishop said.
Pettibone, 34, of Mobile turned himself in to Robertsdale police Tuesday after being indicted by a Baldwin County grand jury, Bishop said.
Pettibone is charged with:
Three counts of second-degree sexual abuse.
One count of attempted second-degree sexual abuse.
Four counts of enticing a child under the age of 16.
Four counts of harassment.
He was transferred to the Baldwin County Corrections Center and released on bail Tuesday night.
Baldwin County District Attorney Judy Newcomb said the abuse charges are related to alleged sexual touching of students, and the attempted sexual abuse charge is for reportedly trying to have sexual contact with the fourth. The enticing charges are related to the text or cell phone conversations, authorities said.
Bishop said investigators hope there are no additional allegations involving Pettibone but urged parents or students to report them if there are.
Newcomb said the evidence shows the misconduct was “pervasive” in the school before it was reported.
“Kids are sometimes reluctant to talk about it. It is not their fault. If you are accosted inappropriately by a teacher, it is the teacher’s fault; it is not the child’s fault,” Newcomb said.
Because he is tenured, Pettibone has been on paid leave and his permanent employment status will be determined at an upcoming Board of Education meeting, Wilhite said.
Pettibone made $48,362 as a teacher and received a coaching supplement of $1,685.00 for a total salary of $50,047, Wilhite said.
Pettibone was hired in August 2004 as a teacher at Summerdale Elementary, where he worked for a year before transferring to CBMS in August 2005, Wilhite said.
All school system employees undergo criminal background checks and sexual harassment prevention training, he said.
“This is a very, very, very serious matter,” Wilhite said. “Our hearts go out to them. It’s a sad day and age we live In, and when we hear something like this, it upsets us greatly.”
The suspect is the son of former Foley High Principal Melvin Pettibone, Bishop said.
JOIN THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PRIVATE OFFICERSwww.privateofficer.com/
Get news alerts, officer down, weather emergency news in your mailbox! Sign up;adminassist@privateofficer.com
Join us at www.myspace.com/privateofficernews
Come be part of our social network! www.privateofficer.com
Posted in police, teacher arrested | Tagged: baldwin county alabama, bryan christopher pettibone, bryan pettibone, loss prevention agent, loss prevention association, national association of private officers, robertsdale, security association, security guard, security guard association, security guard training, security officer, security officer assaociation, security police association, security training, teacher arrested, www.privateofficer.com | Leave a Comment »
Posted by privateofficernews on February 26, 2009
Group arrested for giving suicide assistance www.privateofficer.com
ATLANTA GA Feb 26 2009
ajc.com – A wide-ranging investigation into an alleged suicide assistance ring led to charges against four people and raids in nine states as authorities looked into how many deaths might have been involved.
Four members of the Final Exit Network were charged Wednesday with helping a 58-year-old Georgia man end his life by inhaling helium. The group assigns those seeking to end their lives a guide who instructs them to purchase two new helium tanks and a hood, known as an “exit bag,” the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said.
It wasn’t immediately clear how many deaths were being investigated by law enforcement agencies that include the FBI, but authorities in Arizona were looking into whether a death there involved the group.
Group members Thomas E. Goodwin, who was identified as the organization’s president, and Claire Blehr, a member, were both arrested Wednesday at a home in northern Georgia, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said. The arrests came after a sting operation in which an undercover agent posed as a member of the group.
Maryland authorities arrested the organization’s medical director, Dr. Lawrence D. Egbert, 81, of Baltimore, and Nicholas Alec Sheridan, a Baltimore man who is a regional coordinator for the group.
The four were charged with assisted suicide, tampering with evidence and a violation of Georgia’s anti-racketeering act.
Their charges stem from the June 2008 death of John Celmer in an assisted suicide in Cumming, about 35 miles north of Atlanta, said GBI spokesman John Bankhead.
Betty Celmer, the man’s mother, said her son had suffered for years from cancer of the throat and mouth and that he had undergone extensive surgery with several more rounds to go.
“I know he was depressed, he called me every single Sunday,” said Celmer, who is 85. She said she was suspicious of his death, but his siblings have denied it could have been suicide.
She contended that the group shouldn’t face charges if they helped her son.
“If they helped John to die, that is what he wanted. I would never find them guilty for helping him,” she said.
Authorities were executing search warrants at 14 sites in Arizona, Georgia, Florida, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, Missouri, Colorado, and Montana, according to the GBI and the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office in Arizona. Included in the searches were a group office in Georgia and a company in Montana that authorities said supplied items used in suicides.
Also raided were the homes of group volunteers in the other seven states.
Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas said Arizona detectives are investigating whether the group assisted in a Phoenix woman’s death.
Bankhead said new members of the group pay a $50 fee and follow an application process. When ready to commit suicide, the member is led through the process by two guides, he said.
The group’s vice president said it supports those with irreversible illnesses who choose to end their lives, but its volunteers don’t actively participate in the life-ending procedures. The group started in 2004 and has 3,000 dues-paying members.
“When they choose to exit, as we call it, we just hold their hand. That’s about it,” said Jerry Dincin, who’s also a clinical psychologist in Chicago.
He said members are given a book, “The Final Exit,” that outlines how they can end their lives. He said volunteers never encourage the members to commit suicide, but support them if that’s their choice.
Posted in police | Tagged: assisted suicide, atlanta, final exit network, final exit network arrested, 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, suicide group arrested, www.privateofficer.com | Leave a Comment »
Posted by privateofficernews on February 26, 2009
NC prison guard arrested for having sex with inmate www.privateofficer.com
Windsor, N.C. Feb 26 2009
wavy.com – A female prison guard in Bertie County, N.C. has been criminally charged for allegedly having a sexual relationship with an inmate and getting pregnant with the inmate’s child.
Investigators with the Windsor Police Department say Tameka Mebane was on duty as a guard at the Bertie Correctional Facility, a maximum security prison in Windsor, when she had sex with the inmate, who is doing hard time for armed robbery.
Police say the guard and the inmate had sex throughout the prison, including in a break room and a closet.
“We are not supposed to be friends,” said Mebane. “But, after a while you get close to them. They are human too.”
Mebane, who has since resigned her position as a guard, admits she had a relationship with the inmate but denies that he is the father of her baby.
When asked about the identity of the father Mebane responded, “God.”
Windsor Police Sgt. Rick Morris told WAVY.com he questioned Mebane and she confessed.
“According to her, she was pregnant from the inmate. That’s what she told me,” said Sgt. Morris.
WAVY.com obtained a police report that indicates the investigation into the relationship between the guard and the inmate began last October when the inmate was caught with a cellphone and calls were traced right back to the guard, Mebane.
According to the report, police also discovered pictures of a female, they believe is the prison guard, “with only underwear on… who appeared to be pregnant…and about four months along.”
“I’m only human,” said Mebane. “Everyone makes mistakes.”
And Mebane claims she is not the only female guard at the Bertie prison who has had sexual relationships with inmates.
“I know about about seven or eight of them,” said Mebane. “They didn’t get pregnant, but they had sexual encounters with the inmates.”
Police in Windsor say that’s true. But, they say this is the first time a prison guard has been criminally charged for having sex with an inmate because this is the first time they have had enough evidence to prosecute.
Mebane remains out on bond.
Posted in police, security | Tagged: bertie county nc prison guard arrested, 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, tameka mebane, www.privateofficer.com | Leave a Comment »
Posted by privateofficernews on February 26, 2009
Purse snatcher nabbed with security agent’s help www.privateofficer.com
CHICOPEE MA Feb 26 2009
therepublican.com – A city man was arrested on a charge of larceny over $250 after police said he grabbed a female shopper’s purse inside the Price Rite Supermarket at 1600 Memorial Drive on Tuesday, but was quickly apprehended at a nearby motel.
Thomas Dougherty, 31, of 74 Hudson Ave., was taken into custody in a room at the Pines Motel by Patrolmen Brian K. LePage and Robert F. Kalisz after he reportedly fled from the store, said Detective Lt. Mark S. Higgins.
The officers responded to a call of larceny of a purse from the shopper’s carriage at 3:30 p.m., and when they arrived determined that the suspect had fled the scene and was being chased by security guard officers.
Higgins praised the quick work by the two officers working with a description given out by store security.
The purse with the victim’s identification and other personal papers was recovered in a dumpster.
Posted in police, security, security made app/arrest | Tagged: 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 | Leave a Comment »
Posted by privateofficernews on February 26, 2009
PHARR TX Feb 26 2009
themonitor.com — A student at Pharr-San Juan-Alamo North High School has been charged with attacking a security guard at the school, officials confirmed Wednesday.
Although school district officials refused to identify the student, Hidalgo County Jail employees confirmed that a teen had been transferred there on that charge Tuesday evening.
Adrian Zuniga, 17, was formally charged Wednesday with evading arrest, a Class A misdemeanor, and assaulting a security guard, a third-degree felony. If convicted of the felony, he could face up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
Staff at the county jail said Zuniga had made bail Wednesday and expected him to be released later that evening. He was being held in lieu of a $12,500 bond.
Zuniga was among five other students – four of whom were under the age of 17 – who were arrested during a fight at the campus a few minutes after classes ended at 3:50 p.m. Tuesday.
School officials initially downplayed the incident and said the fight was not gang-related and that no one had been injured, dismissing earlier reports from local media.
“It was just a minor altercation,” said Arianna Vazquez, a spokeswoman for the PSJA school district. “It was just a misunderstanding between two students.”
School and police officials offered contradicting reports about the fight Tuesday evening because it coincided with another incident at the campus, the school district explained Wednesday.
“There were a couple of isolated incidents at the east entrance, one of which resulted in the arrests,” the school system said in a news release it issued Wednesday afternoon. “There was an attempted altercation between two male students, which led security guards to intervene immediately preventing any serious threat.”
Pharr police initially said the incident that resulted in the arrests was prompted by a disruptive female.
Local TV media reported an ambulance was spotted at the school, but police and school officials said it was only there as a precaution and that no one received medical treatment.
“Neither the police department, nor the district is aware of any student taken to the hospital,” the news release states. “In addition, while security and police physically restrained the involved students, neither the police department nor the school district has received any reports of injury to any personnel.”
Posted in police, security, security officer injured | Tagged: 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 | Leave a Comment »
