Archive
Man arrested for DUI on a bar stool www.privateofficer.com
Police in Newark, 30 miles east of Columbus, say when they responded to a report of a crash with injuries on March 4, they found a man who had wrecked a bar stool powered by a deconstructed lawn mower.
Twenty-eight-year Kile Wygle was hospitalized for minor injuries. Police say he was charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated after he told an officer at the hospital that he had consumed 15 beers.
Wygle has pleaded not guilty and has requested a jury trial.
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Police nab Tennessee shoplifters after chase www.privateofficer.com
An alleged shoplifter who hit three stores on Friday took Maryville police on a foot chase that ended at U.S. 129 Bypass near Foothills Mall.
When police chased down 33-year-old John Michael Crowley, Lafollette Drive, Maryville, he had a backpack with merchandise from the mall, according to a Maryville police report. Crowley was charged with three counts of theft of property from a building greater than $500, one count of evading arrest, and two attachments for contempt.
Police responded at 4:27 p.m. Friday to reports by loss prevention officers that a white male in a black jacket had just taken several items from stores at Foothills Mall. An officer on the Bypass saw the alleged shoplifter being chased by a loss prevention officer from Belk. Crowley allegedly looked over his shoulder as police called for him to stop and kept running. After a short foot chase, an officer caught Crowley on the side of the Bypass.
The merchandise in his backpack came from Sears and Belk at Foothills Mall, 197 Foothills Mall, and Hastings, 501 N. Foothills Plaza Drive. Crowley was being held without bond on the attachments for contempt pending 1:30 p.m. April 6 and 9 a.m. April 7 hearings in Blount County General Sessions Court.
Maryville police officers made arrests in two other shoplifting cases reported Friday:
— Dana Lawson, 39, and John Robert Lawson, 49, both of Dryden Lane, Maryville, were both arrested in an alleged shoplifting incident on Friday at Wal-Mart, 2410 U.S. 411 South, Maryville. Dana Lawson allegedly tried to conceal $29.85 in merchandise. John Lawson, her husband, allegedly assisted her.
A 17-year-old juvenile who was with them is also accused of helping with the theft and was taken into custody. Dana Lawson, who was booked under the name Dana Carol Laughterty, was charged with two counts of theft of property by shoplifting. John Lawson was charged with possession of a Schedule II substance and criminal conspiracy.
Both were released on $2,000 in bonds pending 9 a.m. March 31 hearings in Blount County General Sessions Court. The juvenile was charged with conspiracy to commit theft and taken to the Blount County Juvenile Detention Center.
— Doris Rebecca Murphy, 40, Howard Street, Maryville, was arrested by Maryville police officers on March 27 on the charge of theft of property by shoplifting. Murphy allegedly took a 24-pack of beer valued at $12.99 from Food City, 2135 E. Broadway Ave., at 7:30 p.m. Friday. She was spotted leaving the parking lot and police used the vehicle’s license plate registration information to find her at the Howard Street residence. She told police she took the beer. Several cans were missing, according to a Maryville police report.
She was released on a $1,000 bond pending a 9 a.m. April 7 hearing in Blount County General Sessions Court.
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Shots fired as security chases burglary suspect www.privateofficer.com
Shots fired as security chases burglary suspect http://www.privateofficer.com
By: Brett Davis
Staff
Private Officer News Network
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Lt. Scott Leven of the Springfield Police Department said that it started after a security officer observed a man breaking into cars in a near by parking lot and gave chase.
Leven said no one was hurt in the incident, which happened about 10:45 p.m. outside Club 220 — formerly the location of Traffic nightclub — in the 200 block of West Walnut Street.
After seeing a man tampering with a car at a nearby parking lot, a security officer from the club chased the suspect, who then pulled a gun and fired a round into the air according to what the security guard told police.
Police responded to the area but could not locate a suspect and the security officer could not provide a detailed description of the suspect Leven said.
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TN man turns himself in to police after 3 decades on the run www.privateofficer.com
James Brewer, a 58-year-old former machinist, surrendered earlier this month while recovering from a stroke that forced his hospitalization in Oklahoma, where police say he spent most of the years since leaving Tennessee in the late 1970s.
A judge set bond at a hearing in Hohenwald, about 60 miles south of Nashville. Brewer’s lawyer, Jerry Colley, said he’s not sure if Brewer’s family will be able to raise the money.
Lewis County Sheriff Dwayne Kilpatrick wants Brewer moved from the county jail in Hohenwald to a state prison hospital that is better equipped to care for inmates with special medical needs, Colley said. He added there’s a waiting list and Brewer, who gets his nourishment through a feeding tube, is still recovering from his latest stroke.
“It really makes it difficult for the sheriff,” Colley added.
Brewer disappeared along with his wife, Dorothy, just before he was to stand trial in 1978 for the April 1977 shooting death of Jimmy Carroll in Hohenwald. He’s now facing a first-degree murder charge that could put him behind bars for the rest of his life, authorities say.
Authorities have said Brewer was suspicious of Carroll because he thought Carroll was having a relationship with his wife. The original police report says Brewer confronted Carroll at a service station, shot him twice, then drove off and left him to die.
According to authorities, James and Dorothy Brewer lived for a short time after the killing in Nashville before heading to Texas, where Brewer began using another name and his wife, her maiden name.
The couple spent most of their lives since in the same home in Shawnee, about 30 miles outside Oklahoma City. He worked as a machinist at a factory until his first stroke about a year ago.
A second stroke this year may have been the motivation to surrender and finally reunite with family members still in Tennessee, said Colley, who also was Brewer’s attorney in 1977.
According to police, a relative had told authorities that Brewer might be ready to talk about the shooting. Authorities say Brewer, who was questioned in the Oklahoma hospital last month where he was recovering from his second stroke, did not confess though he turned himself in a few weeks later.
Brewer’s next hearing is set for April 27.
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Shoplifting suspect sues Wal-Mart over excessive force www.privateofficer.com
Brett Davis
Staff
Private Officer News Network
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Port Arthur man has filed suit against Wal-Mart, claiming he was injured when store employees accused him of shoplifting and used force to detain him.
Michael Anthony Harris claims he was shopping at the Wal-Mart located at 4999 Twin City Highway in Port Arthur on March 13 and paid at a register in the back portion of the store.
Harris alleges he was leaving the store through its front entrance, when he was confronted by four Wal-Mart employees, including defendant David Treml.
The employees accused Harris of having items in his bags for which he did not pay, according to the complaint filed March 25 in Jefferson County District Court. Harris claims he immediately handed the bags to the employees.
“Plaintiff said, ‘Just take the bag and let me go,’” the suit states.
However, the employees would not let Harris leave the store until police arrived, the complaint says.
Harris alleges workers then threw him to the floor and placed him in handcuffs.
“Plaintiff’s arms were violently jerked as one of the employees secured Plaintiff with handcuffs,” the suit states. “Defendants had no legal authority or justification to detain plaintiff.”
According to the complaint, Harris asked the employees to release him from the handcuffs because of his pain, but the employees refused to do so until the police arrived several moments later.
When a police officer arrived, Harris claims the officer recognized the severity of his injury and immediately transported Harris to the hospital. Harris states he was told he had a dislocated shoulder.
Because of the incident, Harris claims he incurred medical costs and experienced physical pain and suffering, physical impairment, disfigurement, mental anguish and fear of a future disease or illness.
The plaintiff alleges Wal-Mart and Treml committed acts of negligencee, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, assault and vicarious liability.
Harris is seeking unspecified exemplary damages, pre-judgment interest at the maximum rate allowed by law, post-judgment interest at the legal rate, costs and other relief the court deems just.
He will be represented by Langston Scott Adams of Port Arthur.
The case has been assigned to Judge Milton Shuffield, 136th District Court.
Jefferson County District Court case number: D183-630.
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Connecticut burglary nets $1 Million in cigarettes www.privateofficer.com
Investigators say Saturday’s theft in Milford was well planned.
Police say the thieves who broke into Montano Cigarettes, Candy & Tobacco Inc. stole some 15,000 cartons of cigarettes and investigators say that it all went smooth for the crooks as they spent a lot of time getting into the warehouse and hauling off that amount of product.
Authorities say that there were surveillance cameras but right now it appears that they were able to catch only some of the action.
Business-owner Gary Montano says he thought his warehouse was “a complete fortress, impregnable.”
Police are not saying if they have any leads in this million dollar heist but said that they will be releasing details soon.
Montano sells cigarettes, candy, and other goods to convenience stores in the area.
Milford is a small community between New Haven Connecticut and New York City.
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W.V. police seek WalMart embezzlement suspect www.privateofficer.com
Wal-Mart staff notified South Charleston police on Wednesday that Joshua Michael Elswick, 18, of 4th Avenue used his position as a cashier at the Southridge Centre location to take $1,465 in cash from his register, according to a complaint filed in Kanawha Magistrate Court.
Store officials said money in the registers started to come up short while Elswick was working between Feb. 24 and March 15, the complaint said. The store set Elswick up on a register audit and found that Elswick’s register was short on those audit days, police said.
The store’s security officials checked the video surveillance footage of all the registers Elswick was working on and found that the man could be seen hiding money in his pants pockets and in his boots and socks, the complaint said. Police said after viewing the tapes that Elswick could be seen opening the register whether or not a purchase had been made and pretending to drop a customer’s change to hide money, according to the complaint.
Store officials said that Elswick also could be seen on the tape giving customers the appropriate change, then taking more money from the register and hiding it on his person, according to the complaint.
Authorities have issued a warrant for Elswick’s arrest. He faces charges of felony embezzlement.
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Two arrested after stabbing security officer www.privateofficer.com
Police said a fight broke out inside the club about 12:30 a.m. and 18-year-old Daniel Olivas and 21-year-old Jorge Gonzalez, both armed with knives, stabbed the guard as they passed him.
Other security guards were able to detain Olivas until police arrived, and officers located Gonzalez hiding under a car nearby.
Both Olivas and Gonzalez were arrested and booked into the El Paso County Detention Facility on one count each of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, police said.
The security guard was taken to Thomason Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
The incident happened a day after a shooting occurred outside the club. Police are still looking for the suspects in the shooting.
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Security officer shoots suspect after being robbed www.privateofficer.com
By: Rick McCann
Staff
Private Officer News Network
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A security officer is lucky to be alive after a series of frightening events in southwest Houston overnight.
A security officer on duty was sitting in his private vehicle when he saw a man breaking into a car on Beechnut at Cinnamon. When he went after him, another man started breaking into the security guard’s vehicle.
Investigators said that when the security officer tried to stop the second thief, detectives say three men then attacked him.
The security officer managed to pull his gun and shoot one of attackers and then another suspect wrestled the security officer’s gun away and tried to shoot him, but luckily, the gun jammed. The security officer continued to struggle with several of the men who finally fled the scene.
Houston police responded to the incident and arrested the other three men. The wounded man was treated at a local hospital. Police say the security officer received minor injuries.
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Wal-Mart cashier charged with embezzlement www.privateofficer.com
Ruth S. Smith, 51, of Foster Avenue, allegedly stole the money from the store off Freeman’s Bridge Road between last month and this month — thefts police said were first detected by a store asset protection employee.
Smith was arrested Saturday by Officer Meredith L. Kaiser and charged with fourth-degree grand larceny.
Smith was arraigned in front of Town Justice Paul E. Davenport and sent to the Schenectady County Jail in lieu of $1,200 bail and due back in court Tuesday, police said.
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Police officer uses knife to fend off attacker www.privateofficer.com
A routine arrest at the Downtown Burlington Coat Factory erupted into a bloody confrontation between an off-duty city police officer working as a security guard and a suspected shoplifter yesterday afternoon that ended when the officer stabbed the suspect with a knife pulled from his utility belt.
“It became a tense situation until the officer became involved in a fight for his life,” said Sgt. James Vogel of Zone 2. “It’s one of the most serious situations our officers can face.”
Yesterday, Sgt. Vogel said the suspect, 59-year-old Anthony Smith, who has a lengthy criminal record, would likely face charges of aggravated assault in addition to robbery.
The officer was being treated for head injuries and a possible concussion at a hospital yesterday. Police would not say where he was being treated and would not release his name, saying only that he is in his mid-40s and a 16-year veteran with the Pittsburgh Police Bureau.
Police said the officer, who was working a private security detail in the store, caught Mr. Smith trying to shoplift three pairs of Timberland boots. The officer then escorted Mr. Smith down to a security office in the basement floor, where he looked up Mr. Smith’s criminal record on a computer and discovered there was a warrant out for his arrest.
He went to arrest Mr. Smith and had one of his wrists in cuffs when Mr. Smith turned around and began bludgeoning the officer with the cuffs, using them “like brass knuckles,” Sgt. Vogel said.
Mr. Smith backed him into a desk and hit him several times before grabbing for the officer’s gun, unsnapping the holster.
The officer then frantically pulled a knife from his belt and stabbed Mr. Smith in the stomach. Mr. Smith continued to fight the officer until he was pushed over and Tasered by another police officer who had arrived for backup.
Mr. Smith was transported to UPMC Mercy, where he underwent surgery yesterday for the stab wound. He was listed in stable condition.
Sgt. Vogel said the knife, which had about a two-inch fixed blade, belonged to the officer and was not standard issue. With the suspect reaching for his gun, the officer was running out of options and used the knife “as a weapon of last resort,” Sgt. Vogel said.
“Police are forced to make split-second decisions … it’s not subject to second-guessing by me or anyone else,” he said. “He made a decision that he felt was necessary to save his life.”
There was no indication the officer acted improperly, he said, and added that most arrest subjects do not fight back.
“This is one of a 3 percent chance,” he said. “Ninety-seven percent of the people we arrest will be compliant.”
City homicide detectives are investigating the case because of the severity of the incident and because a city police officer was involved, Sgt. Vogel said.
The officer, who was hit so hard that it left the handcuffs bloody, was due to be released from the hospital last night and may be put on administrative leave pending an investigation. Sgt. Vogel said the officer was “extremely agitated” but conscious and alert, though he was beginning to show signs of a concussion.
Court records indicate that Mr. Smith has pleaded guilty to theft charges a dozen times since 1988. Last year, he served several months in jail for retail theft from 2006. Two weeks ago, he was arrested and charged again with retail theft by Ross police.
“Shoplifting from people in an already downturned economy is just bad karma,” Sgt. Vogel said. “In this situation, it almost cost one of my officers his life.”
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Charlotte police officer could face charges in fatality www.privateofficer.com
Chief Rodney Monroe said Officer Martray J. Proctor, 24, was driving in excess of 90 mph in a 45 mph zone on his way to assist another officer in a traffic stop at about 10:15 p.m. Sunday when the crash happened.
Monroe said he does not believe Proctor had his lights and siren on, so there is no dash camera video from the crash. The dash camera is automatically turned on when the lights and siren are activated.
The chief said that according to state law, any time an officer goes over the speed limit, he or she must run the lights and siren.
Proctor remains in Carolinas Medical Center with a broken leg.
Proctor’s patrol car hit a sedan pulling onto Old Statesville Road from Henderson Cir
cle, between Sunset and Lakeview roads, killing driver 20-year-old Shatona Evette Robinson.Three passengers in the car were also taken to CMC. Two were treated and released and one remains in fair condition.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s reconstruction team is still investigating the crash.
At a news conference today police said that charges against the officer may happen but that the case will be forwarded to the grand jury to decide that.
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Shoplifter found hiding in bathroom www.privateofficer.com
Wilfrido Juan Pujols, of the 100 block of Southwest Peacock Boulevard, is accused of wheeling a $264 Blu-ray DVD player outside a Walmart without paying for it, according to an arrest affidavit from the Port St. Lucie Police Department.
A manager and police watching a security camera allegedly saw Pujols putting the DVD player into a shopping cart and placing a yellow merchandise return sticker on top of the item, the affidavit said.
He then walked outside the Walmart on Northwest St. Lucie Boulevard, the report states. When police and the manager tried to stop Pujols, he “immediately let the cart go and ran down the parking lot.”
According to the report, Pujols was seen entering a Great Clips store and entered the restroom.
Pujols was apprehended there and taken to the St. Lucie County Jail on charges of retail theft and resisting arrest without violence. He was later released on $1,000 bond
School bus driver charged in child sex acts www.privateofficer.com
Investigators arrested Bob Epley, 56, who faces charges of hiring children to take part in sex acts with him at a friend’s apartment on Elm Hill Pike. He is accused of paying at least three children — ages 9, 14 and 15 — to put him in a strangle hold with their legs.
Police did not say if there was any other sexual contact with the children but they are still investigating to determine how many children may have been involved.
Police also said that Epley video taped the encounters at the Ashland Hills apartment complex in Donelson.
Investigators also did not say how they first learned of Epley’s involvement with the children.
School officials said Epley verbally resigned Monday morning. He remained in jail Monday, in lieu of $75,000 bond
In a separate case, on Saturday, a Metro school teacher was arrested for sexual encounters with at least two boys.
Police say if you have any information about Epley or any metro school teacher who might be involved in inappropriate contact with children to notify them.
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School security guard arrested after $200 shake-down www.privateofficer.com
Nelson Silva, 30, husband of District B city councilor Grisel Silva who is also a constable providing security for Lawrence’s schools, was arrested Saturday night in a police sting.
Capt. Shawn J. Patten said officers went to Walmart, 344 North Broadway, at 9:30 p.m. after a woman called to say a man found her cell phone but was demanding $200 for its return.
Patten said the woman realized she lost the phone at the store and used a friend’s cell phone to text a message to it asking anyone who found it to contact her friend. Te man who found it, identified by police as Silva, demanded $200 in cash for its return, Patten said.
Silva ordered the woman to text him a photograph of the cash to prove she had it.
Police put a sting into motion, first setting up a meeting in another parking lot where officers in unmarked cars were positioned. When Silva arrived, the phone was exchanged for an envelope containing only $21 in cash, Patten said.
After the exchange, Silva drove off but was immediately pulled over by marked cruisers and arrested.
He is charged with theft of lost or mislaid property and released on a summons. He will be arraigned in Salem District Court on a later date.
Silva could be facing additional charges as the investigation continues, police said.
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North Carolina teacher arrested for choking student www.privateofficer.com
Johnny Cale was arrested Thursday, and charged with assault and misdemeanor child abuse.
Police tell 13News, Cale choked a student, and caused him to pass out.
The alleged incident happened at Uplift Academy in Windsor. The student was taken to the hospital.
According to police, Cale no longer works at Uplift Academy.
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8 Dead, police officer shot in NC nursing home shooting
Carthage, N.C. Mar 29 2009
wral.com — A gunman walked into a Moore
County nursing home Sunday morning, fatally shooting eight people and injuring three others, including a police officer, Carthage Police Chief Chris McKenzie said.
The shooting happened around 10 a.m. at Pinelake Health and Rehab Center, 801 Pinehurst Ave., a 110-bed rehabilitation, nursing and Alzheimer’s care facility in Carthage.
McKenzie did not offer a motive for the crime or say what the suspect’s relationship to the facility might be. He said seven of the deceased were patients and one was an employee of the facility.
“The shooter entered the facility heavily armed and began shooting at people in wheelchairs,” Sen. Harris Blake, R-Moore told WRAL News.
While meeting with families Sunday at First Baptist Church, 108 McNeill St. in Carthage, Blake said he knew two patients at the Pinelake Health and Rehab Center. Neither person was injured, he said.
The police officer, who was the first to arrive at the scene, was shot in the leg, McKenzie said. The officer shot the gunman who was transported to the Moore Regional Hospital for treatment.
“It’s a horrible event in any size town, particularly though when you deal with a small town such as Carthage. It’s hard. This is my town, this is my small town. I was born and raised here. So yeah, I take it to heart a little bit. All you can do is move forward,” McKenzie said.
Multiple law enforcement agencies, including Carthage Police Department, Moore County Sheriff’s Office and State Bureau Investigation, are investigating.
Numerous calls to the nursing home were not answered.
Sky 5 video of the scene shows nearly a dozen law enforcement vehicles and yellow tape roping off what appears to be the front of the building.
Pinelake, which opened in 1993, recently got a five-star rating, the highest possible, from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversees the federal insurance programs.
Six dead, others wounded in NC nursing home shooting www.privateofficer.com
The gunman was also injured before he was apprehended by police after the 10 a.m. shooting at Pinelake Health and Rehab in the town of Carthage, Police Chief Chris McKenzie told several television stations. A police officer was also hurt.
“It’s a horrible event in any size town, particularly, though, when you deal with a small town such as Carthage,” McKenzie said. “It’s hard. This is my home, my small town. I was born and raised here so, yeah, I take it to heart a little bit. All you can do is move forward.”
Gretchen Kelly, spokeswoman at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital in nearby Pinehurst, said six people were brought to the hospital from the nursing home. Kelly said two of the injured died at the hospital, but it wasn’t clear if those two were among the six initially reported dead by police.
Kelly said two other patients had been discharged, while two were still being treated. She wouldn’t release further details on the injuries or conditions of those hospitalized.
McKenzie said the gunman wasn’t a patient at the nursing home, located about 60 miles southwest of Raleigh, but didn’t offer any further details on what the gunman’s motive might have been.
Late Sunday afternoon, authorities appeared to be conducting a search of the nursing home’s parking lot, which they had blocked off with yellow police tape. Among the items they found was a camouflaged-colored rifle or shotgun, which was leaning against the side of a Jeep Cherokee.
The road leading to the home was filled with parked cars, both of police and relatives of those living at Pinelake. Howard McMillian, of Lakeview, said he raced to the scene as soon as he heard about the shooting. His 56-year-old sister lives at the nursing home, and McMillian said his brother had gotten a call from officials saying she was unharmed.
“I know she’s real nervous,” McMillian said. “I just want to make sure she’s OK.”
A nursing home Web site said the facility that opened in 1993 has 110 beds, including 20 for those with Alzheimer’s disease.
Calls to the nursing home by The Associated Press rang unanswered Sunday, and McKenzie and several state law enforcement agencies didn’t immediately return messages or declined to comment. Police planned a news conference for later Sunday afternoon.
Carthage is a small town of roughly 1,800 people in the North Carolina Sandhills, an area popular among retirees and home to several noted golf courses, including the famed Pinehurst resort and its No. 2 course that regularly hosts the U.S. Open.
Pinelake Health and Rehab was last inspected in May, and the review resulted in an overall five-star — or “much above average” — rating from federal Medicaid officials.
OFFICER DOWN MONTANA www.privateofficer.com
OFFICER DOWN MONTANA http://www.privateofficer.com
Trooper Mike Haynes
Montana Highway Patrol
Montana
End of Watch: Friday, March 27, 2009
Biographical Info
Age: 28
Tour of Duty: 2 years, 6 months
Badge Number: 159
Incident Details
Cause of Death: Vehicular assault
Date of Incident: Monday, March 23, 2009
Weapon Used: Automobile; Alcohol involved
Suspect Info: Killed in collision
Trooper Mike Haynes succumbed to injuries sustained five days earlier when a car being operated by an intoxicated driver struck his patrol car head-on on US 93 near Kalispell.
The drunk driver was driving the wrong way on the highway when the collision occurred at approximately 2:40 am. The intoxicated driver was also killed in the collision.
Trooper Haynes had served with the Montana Highway Patrol for 2 1/2 years. He is survived by his wife, two young children, and parents.
Agency Contact Information
Montana Highway Patrol
2550 Prospect Avenue
P.O. Box 201419
Helena, MT 59620
Phone: (406) 444-3780
Please contact the Montana Highway Patrol for funeral arrangements or for survivor benefit fund information.
Mall security officer helps rescue child www.privateofficer.com
“One of the first things that went through my mind, besides trying to save this little girl, was ‘I’ve got children and what if this was me. I’ve got to do everything I can to make sure she makes it,’” Williams said.
He’s a security officer with the Kingsport Town Center (formerly Fort Henry Mall).
On March 9, Williams was on routine foot patrol inside the mall when he received a call from office personnel that a small child was crying and screaming, and the mother was reporting her daughter was having trouble breathing.
“When I got to them, she was holding her daughter in her arms, and I observed that she was semiconscious — a little bit awake but disoriented,” said the officer.
“I took (the girl) from the mother because she was very upset, and then I started to try and get her to respond to me while I informed the other officer to contact 911 to have emergency personnel come to the mall.
“I went ahead and relocated her outside because a crowd was starting to form, and when I exited the building I noticed that she went completely limp and went unconscious on me. I checked and she still had a pulse, but she had quit breathing.”
Williams had previous training in CPR and other resuscitation techniques during his time as a volunteer firefighter, skills he said came back almost instantly as he tried to keep the little girl breathing and awake until an ambulance arrived.
“I cleared her airway and then gave her two small breaths. At that point, she came back and was crying,” Williams said. “There are certain ways to administer CPR to an adult and a child, so I had to make sure I was doing the right procedure because they are way different.”
The girl, whose family lives in Kingsport, stopped breathing again and Williams had to administer two more small breaths, which got the toddler breathing again.
Williams said he managed to keep the girl awake until the ambulance crew arrived just minutes later, and then she was handed off and taken to an area hospital for treatment.
That’s when Williams said the adrenaline started to subside and he began thinking of his two girls at home.
“Your first responsibility is to provide safety and help to the public. But even when you are doing that, you can’t help but think of what you would do if it was your child lying there,” he said.
“I think if it were not for that training, I don’t know what would have happened. I might have frozen up. You just never know. But with the training they provide for us here at the mall, it all came back quickly.
“This was the first time I had done the breathing technique on a child. With a child, you flip them over (with their face opposite you) and you pat their back to make sure they are not choking. I’ve got kids, and it’s a scary thing when you have to try and help them, but you do what you are trained to do.”
The family of the child could not be reached for comment, but they told mall management that the 2-year-old has recovered from what her mother said was a small seizure brought on by a high fever.
Mall Manager Kevin Harmon said Williams has earned the title of “hero” because of his unselfish act and his quick thinking.
“He is to be heavily commended for helping this little girl. Because of his specialized training, and just knowing the kind of person J.J. is, he deserves all the credit that can be heaped upon him,” said Harmon.
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Nashville teacher charged with rape www.privateofficer.com
A quirk of Tennessee’s criminal background checks allowed a rape suspect to be hired as a teacher in Metro Schools.
Ronald Boykin, 40, was arrested March 22 in Nashville on two counts of rape, one count of sexual battery by an authority figure and one count of attempted sexual battery by an authority figure dating to 2005, when he was working in a Chattanooga high school. A Donelson Middle School teacher hired by Metro Schools in 2007, he was picked up after a routine traffic stop turned up the charges.
Three background checks on Boykin initiated by Metro Schools did not detect the outstanding warrants, said Noelle Mashburn, spokeswoman for the district. The most recent check was in October.
That’s because background checks run for school districts do not include warrants, said Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Kristin Helm.
“A fingerprint-based criminal history for a teacher is what’s statutorily required,” Helm said. “There is no Tennessee database that can be searched for outstanding warrants unless you’re in law enforcement.”
Also allowing Boykin to slip through the cracks: Tennessee’s teacher database, which flags educa
tors who have committed serious offenses, doesn’t include those without teaching licenses. Boykin’s job in Chattanooga didn’t require a license.Boykin was returned to Hamilton County this week, but Metro police say they have identified at least two Nashville students who say Boykin touched them. Police are investigating more cases and are asking Donelson Middle parents to contact 862-7540 if they have any information.
No charges against Boykin have been filed in Nashville.
He is the second Metro Schools teacher arrested on sex-related charges this month. Ronald B. Anderson, executive principal of Kennedy Middle School in Antioch, was arrested March 6 on 12 counts of sexual battery by an authority figure. He was charged with sexually abusing two teenage boys from his church years ago.
Boykin, who taught a behavior program for struggling students, was busted for making an illegal left turn onto westbound Interstate 24 from the Second Avenue on-ramp, police said.
Officers discovered his license was expired and ran an in-depth check, which turned up the warrant in Hamilton County.
In 2005, Boykin was suspended from his job as an educational assistant at Brainerd High School after police launched an investigation into misconduct that occurred before the start of school. A warrant for his arrest was issued in
2006, according to Metro police.
School districts that request background checks get a nationwide search of any records the FBI holds that contain the fingerprint of the applicant, so a report is generated any time they’ve been fingerprinted and arrested in the United States.
Until this week, Boykin had never been arrested on the Chattanooga charges.
Criminal warrants are contained in a name-based database called the National Crime Information Center or NCIC, commonly used by officers during investigations or traffic stops.
Serious offenses against teachers must be reported to the state Board of Education and are tracked in a statewide database available to other Tennessee systems and the public. But it only applies to licensed educators, which at the time of the Chattanooga incidents Boykin was not.
Records show that Boykin did not request a teaching permit until 2007. The next year, he was granted an alternative teaching license.
Mashburn, the district spokeswoman, said she did not know the status of Boykin’s employment, adding that he would not return to the classroom until the investigation was complete.
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Mobile Alabama judge arrested for kidnapping, sodomy www.privateofficer.com
al.com Herman Thomas, while a Mobile County circuit judge, checked male inmates out of Metro Jail to exert control over them and force them into sexual activity, according to indictments released Friday.
About a year after stepping down from the bench, Thomas was arrested Friday outside the same jail on charges of kidnapping, sodomy, extortion, sex abuse and ethics violations.
The bow-tied lawyer known for his energetic support of community programs, his time as a University of South Alabama trustee and for presiding over legal cases since the 1990s found himself standing against a wall to have his jail mugshot taken.
A special grand jury met for three weeks this month and returned 57 felony charges against Thomas. The indictment lists nine alleged victims, each of them current or former inmates.
“These are very serious charges,” some carrying up to life in prison, said District Attorney John Tyson Jr. Thomas was taken into custody outside the jail as his attorney, Robert “Cowboy Bob” Clark, held an afternoon news conference amid reports of an impending arrest.
With a handful of other lawyers looking on in support — and Thomas remaining quiet and answering no questions — Clark suggested his client’s indictment was motivated by racism.
“This is racism at its very finest. We ought to be proud we elected those bastards,” said Clark in an apparent reference to Tyson and former Thomas colleagues on the bench.
As Clark was speaking, an investigator with the District Attorney’s Office quietly walked up to Thomas, tapped him on the shoulder, whispered something to him and then accompanied Thomas — without placing him in handcuffs — to the jail 10 feet away.
There, Thomas was photographed and booked, with bail set at $287,500, according to the jail log. He was later released.
Each of Thomas’ alleged victims at one time faced charges in Mobile County Circuit Court, according to online court records. The allegations against them ranged from criminal mischief to murder. At least eight of the alleged victims appeared on Thomas’ docket, according to court records.
One of the inmates went before Thomas on multiple occasions over the years for several felony charges. He was eventually sent to prison for a short time, but Thomas ordered him released early.
Finally, he ended up sentenced in federal court and later released. He has since been accused of murder and attempted murder.
According to Friday’s grand jury allegations, Thomas “knowingly” subjected the young men “to sexual contact, by forcible compulsion.”
In one case, Thomas is accused of forcing an inmate to have oral sex with him. Also, Thomas used the inmate’s labor to benefit himself, according to the indictment.
The indictment repeatedly makes reference to Thomas “paddling and/or whipping” inmates.
When Thomas was a judge, he had a storage room furnished like an office just steps from his eighth-floor chamber at Mobile Government Plaza. It was there, several criminal defendants have alleged in affidavits and in court, that Thomas would ask to paddle their buttocks.
In most cases, the Press-Register does not publish the names of people who are alleged to be victims of sex crimes; the newspaper is not printing the names of the men identified in the indictment against Thomas.
After leaving the jail and with Thomas behind bars, Clark showed up at a Tyson news conference and began ranting again about the district attorney and his office.
Investigator Tony Goubil asked Clark to leave. Red-faced, Clark said that he was not going anywhere unless he was placed under arrest.
“OK, you are under arrest,” Goubil told him before leading him out.
A little later, a calmer Clark returned, saying Tyson had permitted him to stay as long as he kept quiet, and that he was not, after all, under arrest.
Tyson said Clark’s accusations that Thomas’ troubles stem from racism at Government Plaza are “absolute nonsense.”
Nicki Patterson, the chief assistant district attorney, later pointed out that all the alleged victims are black. Thomas is black.
Tyson said his office began investigating Thomas shortly after he resigned his office in October 2007. The Mobile County Sheriff’s Office, the Mobile Police Department, the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division assisted in the investigation, Tyson said.
Thomas’ resignation came in the face of a pending trial before Alabama’s Court of the Judiciary, where he was charged with dozens of ethical violations.
Tyson said his investigation is not over and that the special grand jury could be called back into session at any time.
He used the news conference to invite anyone to come forward if what happened to the alleged victims “happened to you. We would be very interested in hearing from you.”
Earlier Friday, all the judges on the circuit bench recused themselves from presiding over Thomas’ case.
Presiding Circuit Judge Charles Graddick said late Friday that Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb had appointed retired Marengo County Circuit Judge Claude Neilson to handle Thomas’ proceedings.
“I am flabbergasted. The only thing I’ve known Herman Thomas to be guilty of is helping people,” said Willie Huntley Jr., a lawyer who knows Thomas professionally and through their work together with 100 Black Men of Mobile, a civic organization on which Thomas serves as secretary of the executive committee.
Criminal charges brought against former Mobile County Circuit Judge Herman Thomas could result in the immediate suspension of his license to practice law, a state bar officials said Friday.
The Alabama State Bar does not comment on specific cases. But the Montgomery-based organization’s general counsel, Tony McLain, said the bar seeks the immediate suspension of lawyers facing criminal charges when authorities believe the defendants to be a threat to the public or their clients.
Typically, those cases involve allegations of theft from clients, McLain said.
When the bar seeks an immediate suspension, the accused attorney can request a hearing within seven days to contest it.
Short of an immediate suspension, McLain said, bar officials monitor criminal cases. If an attorney is convicted of a felony or certain misdemeanors, a bar committee decides on a punishment ranging from 45 days’ suspension to disbarment.
A disbarred attorney can apply for reinstatement after five years, McLain said.
The bar association also can discipline an attorney without a criminal conviction if bar panel determines his actions violated his oath as a lawyer.
Following leaving the bench in 2007, Thomas began working in the Mobile office of attorney James Brandyburg.
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Thousands mourn at Oakland officers funerals www.privateofficer.com
Officers Mark Dunakin, John Hege, Ervin Romans and Daniel Sakai were remembered for their dedication to their families, friends and a gritty job they loved despite the dangers.
Police said Hege and Dunakin were gunned down March 21 when the two motorcycle officers pulled over a 26-year-old parolee during a traffic stop. Romans, Sakai and the parolee died later in a shootout when the city’s SWAT team stormed an apartment where the man was hiding.
The violent confrontation was the biggest single day, gun-related loss of life for law enforcement since four federal agents died 16 years ago during a raid on the Branch Davidian cult in Waco, Texas.
The officers’ caskets were draped in American flags and shepherded to the Oracle Arena that passed under a giant U.S. flag held up by two fire truck ladders as they entered the parking lot. Among those speaking at the service Friday were Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, and state Attorney General Jerry Brown, a former Oakland mayor.
A spokesman for Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums said the mayor was attending the service, but was asked not to speak by at least one family of the victims. Paul Rose said he did not know which family made the request or the reason.
Acting Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan said at the start of the service that the officers were “our brothers.”
“They rest in peace, because they were men of peace,” he said.
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama thanked the officers in a letter read by Oakland police chaplain Jayson Landeza, saying: “Our nation is grateful for the men and women who work in law enforcement. Their commitment to their fellow man will never be forgotten.”
New York City Police Lt. Tommy Ng, who attended the ceremony, said the tragedy brought back memories of Sept. 11. He said he was not surprised by the outpouring of support for his colleagues in Oakland.
“When one of us is hurt, all of us are hurt,” Ng said before the service. “We’re all brothers.”
Minneapolis Police Sgt. Steve Blackwell said he and three other officers drove from Minnesota to the service in Oakland, even though they didn’t know the slain policemen.
“It’s a national tragedy, so it cuts pretty deep,” Blackwell said. “We want to let the people of Oakland see that we care. I hope that this city finds strength from this tragedy to move ahead.”
Oakland police officer John Wilson, a 25-year veteran of the force, said he knew the four slain officers and promised that their memories would live on.
“They made the ultimate sacrifice,” Wilson said. “They will never be forgotten.”
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Casino security detain woman who plowed into crowd www.privateofficer.com
A woman plowed her car into a group of people waiting for their cars at the Valet area of Sam’s Town Casino on Boulder Highway early Saturday morning.
Four people, including one reportedly paralyzed from the crash, were transported to UMC Trauma in critical condition.
The driver of the car was immediately detained by Casino Security and later taken into custody by Metro officers.
Investigators with Metro’s Major Crimes Investigative Unit later responded to try and determine what happened.
Unconfirmed reports say incident was an act of violence spawned by an altercation between two groups of people which took place minutes earlier inside the casino.
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Daytona tourist falls to her death www.privateofficer.com
The victim was identified as Heather Crawford of Frostburg, Maryland. She was on vacation with her boyfriend.
According to police, the woman was either sitting on the railing or standing on a chair when she fell just after 3:00am. A security guard at the hotel heard a loud noise and went to investigate.
The woman was found lying next to a dumpster. She was pronounced dead at the scene by rescue workers.
Foul play is not suspected.
On March 22, a 16-year-old boy from Minnesota died after falling from a 24th floor balcony at the Ocean Walk Resort.
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Menacing man with stick arrested at mall www.privateofficer.com
Menacing man with stick arrested at mall http://www.privateofficer.com
When mall security officers and township police went to talk to a man wearing a towel on his head and carrying a stick as he walked through the mall for several hours, he assaulted them, Stark County Jail records said.
Jail records said Ernest C. Isles, 29, of 1139 18th St. NE in Canton, “made several aggressive moves” toward the police officer before hitting him and taking his police baton. Then the police officer pulled out his gun, the jail records said.
Isles was arrested at 3:54 p.m. Friday in the Westfield Belden Village mall parking lot, 4320 Everhard Rd. NW. He was charged with felonious assault and resisting arrest. He was also arrested on an unrelated assault warrant.
Jail records said police were called to the mall by security officers who said Isles was inside the mall, wearing a black coat with a blue stripe and wearing a towel on his head. He also carried the stick as he walked through the mall for about four hours, the jail records said.
Stark County Court records show Isles went to prison in 2004 for felonious assault.
He remained in jail this morning, held in lieu of $50,000 bond, jail records said.
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Security officer suspended for using belt on child www.privateofficer.com
A security guard has been removed from Kozminski Elementary School for allegedly beating a student with a belt, Chicago Public Schools authorities said Friday.
Officials are now investigating whether Reginald Lanier struck any other students with belts that were allegedly hanging in a copier room of Kozminski, at 936 E. 54th St., CPS spokeswoman Monique Bond said.
A 9-year-old boy told CBS2 News that the security guard took him to a room and beat him with a studded belt.
“I think it’s abuse,” the third-grader said.
The child’s mother filed a police report against Lanier on March 12, and Lanier admitted to police that he had disciplined the child, Bond said.
The incident follows testimony last month by new Schools CEO Ron Huberman that he wanted to speed up investigations of abuse allegations.
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Vegas cops use Twitter to get word out www.privateofficer.com
Las Vegas NV Mar 29 2009
lasvegasnow.com
New technologies are allowing people to connect faster and more often, but now law enforcement is using social networking sites to help them solve crimes.
Twitter offers subscribers a way to communicate with others using short messages. Now Metro is using it to send out alerts about crimes and to help with the search when children go missing.
“These things get out within four to five seconds after we hit enter — they are posted and they are out to the world,” said Metro Officer Ramon Denby.
Follow Metro Police on Twitter
Twitter users can now get messages right from the LVMPD, letting them know where an accident has caused a road closure or even allowing them to see the alleged store robber, “We can actually post photos on Twitter. We can actually post videos on Twitter that the user will be able to go on and see a robbery video we posted.”
The department has only been on the messaging service for about a week, but already they’ve seen many reasons to use it, like when a little boy wondered away from his home.
“This is huge, because if we have people on their cell phones who subscribe to this site, as they are taking their kids to school and dropping their kids off, they may see this little four-year-old wandering around in his pajamas,” said Denby.
Metro includes the number for CrimeStoppers in its messages, so anyone with information can call. However they say they don’t check for replies, so don’t send a tip back on Twitter. They are off to a good start. Already they have over 150 followers signed up to receive their messages.
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Shoplifting news and arrests www.privateofficer.com
By: Toni Anthony
Staff
Private Officer News Network
http://www.privateofficer.com/
Juan J. Rivera, 29, of 230 E. Second St., Apt. 5, Jamestown; Adeline M. Rodriguez, 18, of 230 E. Second St., Apt. 5, Jamestown, and Carmen M. Rodriguez, 23, of 230 E. Second St., Apt. 5, Jamestown, were charged with one count each of petit larceny. They were charged and released to appear in Ellicott Town Court later.
Slidell LA
Krista A. Giacona, 20, 831 Ashville Drive, Slidell, theft under $300 by shoplifting and possession of marijuana.
Emily M. Shockey, 19, 2119 Pine St., New Orleans, theft under $300 by shoplifting.
SIERRA VISTA AZ
douglasdispatch.com — Two Douglas men are accused of shoplifting after they were caught with merchandise from four area stores in their car on Friday.
Brandon M. Arevalo, 23, and Joseph G. Arvizu, 19, both of Douglas, allegedly stole a digital camera from Walmart in Sierra Vista around 12:30 p.m. by cutting the cable securing the item and then fled the scene with the camera, according to a Sierra Vista Police report.
Police spokeswoman Officer Tracy Grady said the two men returned to the store around 2 p.m. and were watched by security personnel who saw Arevalo and Arvizu allegedly attempt to steal two flat screen televisions. Their attempt to take the TVs “out through the garden center part of the store was unsuccessful,” Grady said.
The two suspects then went to their car and were driving out of the parking lot when they were stopped by Sierra Vista police, she said.
It was then the “plain sight doctrine,” came into play, the spokeswoman said.
Articles seen with in a person’s sight can be used to help build a case if a crime is suspected and other merchandise is seen, Grady said.
The items from three different stores at the Mall at Sierra Vista that were in the car also were reportedly shoplifted, she said, adding that during the search of the vehicle a concealed weapon was found
Dillard’s, Famous Footwear and Spencer Gifts were the three mall stores involved.
The two have been charged with shoplifting, attempted shoplifting and carrying a concealed firearm, Grady said.
Arevalo and Arvizu were taken to the Cochise County Jail facility in Sierra Vista where on Monday they were each being held on a $4,000 bond.
Vineland NJ
Sasha L. Green, 21, of Walnut Manor Apartments, was charged Sunday with shoplifting at Acme on South Main Road. She also was processed on two unrelated warrants. Green was transported to the Cumberland County Jail, where she was held in lieu of bail.
Chicago IL
A Midlothian man was accused of shoplifting at Chicago Ridge Mall after he fell from a ceiling while trying to hide, police said.
Laroy Getz, 29, of the 14300 block of South Kolin Avenue was charged with resisting arrest and retail theft in the March 4 incident, police said.
After he was spotted allegedly shoplifting at the mall, police said, Getz allegedly ran inside a nearby business where he removed several tiles from a ceiling and climbed up, before falling onto the floor, police said.
Bridgewater NJ
Rosario Scalici, 39, of Rockaway was charged with shoplifting a $100 Bluetooth at Costco in the Bridgewater Promenade.
Samar G. Zahalan, 25, of Newark was charged with shoplifting at Macy’s in Bridgewater Commons mall. A store security officer saw Zahalan place a $50 sweat shirt in her purse and leave the store, police said.
FRAMINGHAM MA – An Arthur Street woman was charged with shoplifting at the local Stop & Shop on Friday afternoon.
Patricia Acosta-Depinho, 26, of 204 Arthur St., was charged with shoplifting at the store around 12:35 p.m., police said
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Oak Lawn IL
Retail Theft- Lauren Green, 11929 Stewart Ave., Chicago, was charged with retail theft after store personnel at Kmart, 4101 W. 95th St., spotted her stealing a pair of shoes and socks from the store March 12, police said.
Birmingham getting ready for Mustangs 45th birthday
The organizers of a 45th anniversary tribute to the Ford Mustang at the Barber Motorsports Park expect the event to draw more than 100,000 people – and Barber officials hope to land an even bigger party for the sport car’s 50th birthday.
The road track and museum will host the Mustang celebration during a four-day event starting April 16. Ford Motor Co. and the Mustang Club of America are sponsors.
“From a tourism standpoint, it’s going to be one of if not the biggest event we’ve held at the Barber Motorsports Park because the vast majority are coming from out of town,” said Gene Hallman, whose firm organizes events at the park
Steve McCarley, president of the Mustang Club of America, said members were impressed by the Barber Motorsports Park when the club had an event there in 2006.
“If you’re looking for an absolutely phenomenal facility – which for me is the best in the country, but certainly the best in the Southeast – and that leaves you with Barber,” he said.
When it came time to organize the 45th anniversary celebration for the Mustang, McCarley said he lobbied Ford to come to Birmingham. Ford went along.
More than 100,000 people are expected to attend the four-day event, not counting the 5,000 participants, McCarley said.
There will be more than 2,500 show cars on display and on the track, he said.
“For a sports car enthusiast, a muscle car enthusiast, it’s going to be a huge deal,” said Hallman, chief executive of the Bruno Event Team, whose Zoom Motorsports division stages events at Barber.
The Mustang party will spill outside of the park.
On Thursday, April 16, members will have a 650-car cruise from the park to Homewood, where a street party is planned until 11 p.m.
“The city of Homewood has welcomed us with open arms and, of course, open restaurants,” McCarley said.
The main events will be at the Barber Motorsports Park on the weekend
“On Friday and Saturday, we will have truly the finest Mustangs in the country on display and on the track out at Barber,” McCarley said. “Ford will have the 2009 and 2010 Mustangs on display.”
There is a dinner with Ford officials slated for Saturday night at the Marriott Birmingham. The event will be capped off by the Ford Racing Mustang Challenge on Sunday.
There also will be plenty of vendors, McCarley said.
“Anything – and I do mean anything – from a T-shirt to a car part will be available at the event,” McCarley said. “If it’s got something to do with a Mustang, then I can all but guarantee you something to do.”
Ford has sold more than 9 million Mustangs since it began producing them in 1964.
Hallman said officials at the track and at Zoom want to win over Mustang fans in order to lure them back for an even bigger golden anniversary celebration in five years.
“The park is going to be working very hard along with us to do such a good job that hopefully we can host the 50th in five years because you can only imagine how big that is going to be,” Hallman said.
McCarley said he remembers when plans for the $70 million park were in their infancy.
“I was fortunate enough to meet Mr. (George) Barber back when he was planning the thing and I was a road racer,” he said. “He walked up to me and showed me a track map one day and said, `If I build this some day, will you come race at it?’ And dad-blame, he did it!”
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