OFFICER DOWN NORTH CAROLINA

RALEIGH, NC May 20 2009- Trooper Kyle P. Barber, age 46, died yesterday at Wake Forest University Hospital in Winston Salem following a medical procedure related to an on-duty injury that occurred in January 2007. Trooper Barber joined the North Carolina State Highway Patrol in May, 2005. His most recent assignment was Wilkesboro.
On Jan 20, 2007, Trooper Barber was assisting another trooper that had stopped an all-terrain vehicle on a rural road in Wilkes County. The all-terrain vehicle rolled striking Trooper Barber and pinned him against his patrol car. He sustained major injuries to his lower legs. Trooper Barber has received numerous medical treatments, including 10 surgical procedures.
Commander Walter J. Wilson said, “My thoughts and prayers are extended to Trooper Barber’s family. The patrol is feeling the loss of one of our own, one who lost his life serving the citizens of the state.”
Trooper Barber is the 61st trooper to die in the line of duty since the formation of the Highway Patrol in 1929.
Trooper Barber grew up in Glenn Falls, New York, where he graduated from Queensbury High School in 1980. He leaves behind a wife, Lynn Barber, and three children.

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Mall officer captures robbery suspect www.privateofficer.com

Riverside CA May 20 2009

One of two teens who approached a young mother in a Target parking lot grabbed her toddler and demanded the woman’s wallet.
According to the Riverside Police Department, the 23-year-old woman got out of her car at the Target at 3520 Magnolia Ave. shortly before 8:30 p.m. and was holding her baby when one teen grabbed the baby’s legs and made his demand.
The woman complied and the pair fled across Magnolia and toward the Galleria at Tyler.
A Galleria security guard heard the police dispatch on a radio and saw two teens matching the suspects’ descriptions. The guard followed the pair to a vehicle occupied by two females and a toddler several streets away. All were detained by the guard.
Police responded and the victim identified the suspects; both 17-year-olds were arrested. So were the females, based on their statements to police; they were then released to their parents.
Most of the 23-year-old victim’s property was recovered and returned.

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Security guard, 3 others shot at nightclub www.privateofficer.com

CHARLOTTE, N.C. May 20 2009 — A fight at a south Charlotte strip club led to a shootout in the parking lot early Wednesday.
Police said a group of people began fighting inside the Carousel Club at about 3 a.m. The fight spilled out into the parking lot and gunfire was exchanged.
Four people were injured, including a club security guard. Police haven’t released the names of those involved, but they said they plan to charge at least one person.
Two of the shooting victims were taken to Carolinas Medical Center by ambulance. The other two drove themselves to Carolinas Medical Center-Mercy, which is in the Elizabeth area just minutes outside uptown.
Police said at least two of those injured are suspects.
Investigators spent hours at the scene recovering evidence, including shell casings and a Taser. The club’s manager, who was there through the investigation, told Eyewitness News he wanted to get to the hospital and check on those injured

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Police officer attempts suicide during stand-off www.privateofficer.com

SHREVEPORT, LA May 20 2009 (KSLA) – We have new developments in the case of an Ark-La-Tex police officer who allegedly tried to kill himself.
Nurses at LSU Hospital list homer police officer Mike Rayburn in serious condition after doctors performed surgery on him this evening.
Police say Rayburn shot himself twice in the chest inside his home near the corner of McDonald and Dawson in Haynesville, Louisiana.
They say he used his .40 caliber handgun — the same gun he uses while on duty.
Haynesville assistant police chief Jason Branch tells KSLA News 12 they treated the incident as a “domestic situation” involving an attempted suicide.
However, neighbors tell us it was definitely a stand-off because officers evacuated them from their homes and eventually used teargas to get Rayburn out of his home.
Medics landed a helicopter at a nearby high school football practice field and then flew him to LSU-Hospital.
“It was about 12 o’clock and I heard like a gunshot and I came to the door and I saw police cars. They had both sides of my house blocked off and he came over here and asked us to leave for safety,” said neighbor Sharon Mack.
“It’s not supposed to happen two doors down. Everybody in the community was in shock. We all knew him and his mother and father too,” said neighbor Roger West.
Haynesville police refused an on camera interview and Homer police told KSLA News 12 they were too busy to talk to us at all.

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Family of murdered security officer files lawsuit www.privateofficer.com

Cleveland OH May 20 2009
The family of a security guard, who was gunned down while on duty in November, is suing the assisted-living facility where he worked and the security company that employed him.
In the lawsuit, filed Monday in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, Deborah Boyd, mother of Johnnie Boyd Jr., charges that U.S. Security Associates, Millenia Housing Management and Lourexis Manor left their son unarmed and unprotected in a notoriously dangerous East Side neighborhood.
Frank Gallucci III, one of the family’s attorneys, said the area surrounding the Lourexis assisted-living facility on Hector Street experiences more than 3,200 violent crimes a year, yet Johnnie Boyd was sent there without the proper training, protective equipment or weaponry. The lawsuit says the area is “saturated with criminal activity.”
The family seeks at least $25,000 in damages.
The facility and the security company could not be reached to comment on the lawsuit.
Boyd, 22, graduated from Health Careers Center, a science and technology magnet program in the Cleveland school district. There, he took college preparatory classes, earned all A’s and aspired to become a dental technician.
He was on duty at Lourexis on Nov. 29, about 9:30 p.m., when he left the security station to investigate a disturbance in the parking lot. There, a group of juveniles shot him in the head and stole his 1981 customized Oldsmobile Cutlass.
Dominic Kilgore, 16, and Dorian Simpson, 17, have been charged with aggravated murder, aggravated robbery and receiving stolen property in the case. They were arraigned in adult court earlier this month. Kilgore is also charged with carrying a concealed weapon and having the gun.
Another man, Maurice Taylor, 18, was charged with murder for supplying the teens with the gun.
Two 15-year-olds were also charged with aggravated murder, aggravated robbery, grand theft and tampering with evidence. Prosecutors said they will seek to try one of them as an adult.
The other juvenile pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and aggravated robbery and testified against Kilgore in exchange for a juvenile prison term that ends when he is 21.
Several other adults were charged with crimes related to the theft of Boyd’s car from the Lourexis parking lot.

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Security shoots robbery suspect www.privateofficer.com

MAR VISTA CA May 20 2009
By: Brett Davis
Private Officer News Network
http://www.privateofficer.com/
Police say a security officer shot and wounded a 19-year-old would-be robber Tuesday afternoon in Mar Vista.

Police were unable to confirm a report that the wounded suspect was shot in both legs, but officer Karren Rayner confirmed that “a robbery suspect (was) shot by a security guard.”

Paramedics were dispatched to Venice Boulevard and Barry Avenue about 2:30 p.m. The wounded man was taken to an area hospital.
Police have not released the suspect’s name or what business that he allegedly tried to rob and said that the incident is still under investigation.

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Okaloosa sheriff pleads guilty to fraud www.privateofficer.com

SHALIMAR, Fla. May 20 2009 — A Panhandle sheriff arrested on a Las Vegas gambling trip with $5,000 in his pocket and $30,000 in a hotel safe pleaded guilty to fraud, money laundering and other charges Tuesday.
Charles Morris avoided trial by pleading guilty to six counts of conspiracy, theft, fraud and money laundering.
The popular Okaloosa County Sheriff who headed the Florida Sheriff’s Association and served on the state board that disciplined law officers for violations of ethics laws was suspended by Gov. Charlie Crist after his arrest.
Morris faces up to 85 years in federal prison and more than $1.5 million in fines.
“I apologize to you and to the court for being here today,” Morris told U.S. District Judge Lacey Collier before pleading guilty to each of the six counts against him. Collier set Morris’ sentencing for July 28.
Morris refused to answer questions from reporters following Tuesday’s brief hearing.
Crist’s spokesman, Sterling Ivey, said Morris would remain suspended until his formal sentencing. The governor appointed an interim sheriff after Morris’ arrest.
Morris pleaded guilty to pocketing more than $114,000 since 2007 in an illegal employee bonus scheme. His former office manager, Teresa Adams, is also charged in the scheme.
Prosecutors say the pair deposited bonuses in employees’ accounts and asked the employees to return a portion of the money to them in cash. They used some of it to finance several first-class Las Vegas gambling trips for themselves and an inner circle of sheriff’s office associates.
Morris and Adams were arrested in Las Vegas in February.
Collier said Tuesday that Morris’ plea agreement included a provision for him cooperate with federal prosecutors and State Attorney Bill Eddins’ office in their ongoing investigations of others in the department.
Among other things, an investigative audit of the department’s finances found Morris bought himself 41 new cars during his 12 years in office. Morris frequently traded vehicles and spent more than $170,000 in public money buying GMC Envoys, Chevrolet Impalas and other cars.
Prosecutor Randall Hensel said the FBI unearthed the corruption in the department after an employee came forward and agreed to wear a wire.
Hensel said the $5,000 Morris had in his pocket when FBI agents arrested him in Las Vegas and the $30,000 in the safe were part of the illegal “kickback money,” from the bonuses. Hensel said the money to pay the bonuses came from Department of Justice and Homeland Security grants.
Morris’ arrest was one of several traumatic episodes for the Okaloose sheriff’s office this year.
In April, two Okaloosa deputies were shot and killed by a National Guard soldier they were trying to arrest at a shooting range for domestic battery.

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Former Joyce Meyer guard charged with murder www.privateofficer.com

COLUMBIA MO May 20 2009 — Christopher Coleman was arrested Tuesday and charged with strangling to death his wife and two sons, Maj. Jeff Connor, deputy commander of the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis, announced Tuesday.

Connor made the announcement about 10:30 p.m. Police arrested Coleman, 32, at his parents’ home in Chester earlier Tuesday. He was being held without bond and is scheduled to appear this morning before a Monroe County judge.

Coleman was charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of his wife, Sherry, 31, and their sons, Garett, 11, and Gavin, 9. “They were murdered by forms of ligature strangulation,” Connor said.

Investigators turned over evidence last week to Monroe County State’s Attorney Kris Reitz and said it could take as long as eight weeks before it was processed.

“We got some information tonight that secured the warrant,” Connor said. “I’ve been talking about how we were waiting for some forensic evidence, forensic testimony, different things, and it all just started coming together. And for several days now, we’ve been close. It’s just tonight there was some more evidence that came forward and we were able to solidify the case.”

He declined to elaborate.

The case is still open and the squad is still activated, Connor said. Asked whether police have other suspects, Columbia Police Chief Joe Edwards said he would not say that they do not. Connor has said that there is a single suspect who specifically targeted the family.

“We have a long road ahead of us,” Connor said. “The Columbia Police Department is going to handle this case for years to come.”

Edwards said that it would have taken his small police force years to solve the case without the help of the Major Case Squad.

“When the Major Case Squad disbanded last Friday, it was somewhat of a lonely feeling,” Edwards said. “We knew there was a certain level we needed to reach before an arrest could be made.”

Edwards thanked the squad and the public, whose tips he said were very helpful.

“May 5 was one of the worst days in my 16 years,” he said. “Today, we take a small step in making things better.”

Police are still asking anyone who knows the Coleman family to contact the Major Case Squad at 281-5151.

About 11:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Columbia police station, Coleman, wearing an orange jumpsuit, was walked to a waiting squad car for transfer to the Monroe County Jail. He wore a solemn expression and kept his eyes lowered, ignoring questions. The case has attracted nationwide media attention, and a CNN crew was reportedly on the scene.

The investigation took the 20 members of the Major Case Squad to Missouri, Florida, Springfield and Chicago. Police would not speculate on a motive for the killings. They said Coleman has been under surveillance since the Major Case Squad turned the case over to the Monroe County prosecutor’s office.

“We’ve done all we could to solve this as quickly as we could, but also as efficiently as we could,” Connor said.

Police found the bodies of Sheri Coleman and the couple’s young sons early on May 5 after Christopher Coleman called police from a Gold’s Gym in south St. Louis and asked police to check on them.

Coleman resigned from his security job with Joyce Meyer Ministries after a “violation of moral conduct,” a ministry spokesman said Monday. Coleman resigned last week, but ministry spokesman Roby Walker declined to disclose the specifics of his resignation.

Coleman’s attorney, William Margulis, declined to comment about the resignation Monday.

Coleman worked as a full-time security officer for Meyer, but Walker did not disclose the nature of his duties.

Connor confirmed Monday that investigators interviewed several “potential witnesses” in the Tampa, Fla., area. He would not disclose why investigators interviewed those people or the nature of their relationship.

Joyce Meyer offered conferences in Tampa in November 2008 and February, but Walker did not state whether Coleman was working there for Meyer during the conferences.

Garett and Gavin attended Parkview Elementary School, Garett was in fourth grade and Gavin in third. They loved sports and both played on the Columbia Blue Jay football team.

The bodies of Sheri Coleman and the couple’s boys were interred May 13 at Evergreen Cemetery in Chester after the remains were returned from a funeral service in Hillside, near Chicago, where members of Sheri Coleman’s family held separate services.