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Parents sue shopping center for lack of security in death of son www.privateofficer.com
June 21, 2009
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DADE CITY FLA June 21 2009- The 750 calls for service from 2001 to 2005 should have been a grim warning to the owners of the shopping center at 2400 Land O’ Lakes Blvd., a plaintiffs’ witness testified Friday.
In questioning alcohol expert Donald Schultz, attorney Paul McKenna took jurors through dozens of the calls. Drunken fights, thrown beer bottles, disturbances, threats and suspected assaults around the plaza were called in to 911 in the four years leading up to April 24, 2005.
At 4:30 that morning, 21-year-old Anthony Makowski died in the parking lot of the plaza’s McDonald’s after fighting with another man. Schultz testified that the property’s owners, B&B Cash Grocery Stores Inc., and the McDonald’s franchisee, Brickman Management Co., should have known that the fights and shenanigans would eventually lead to violence and death.
“The total number of calls impresses me but it’s beyond that,” Schultz said. “It’s not only in excess of 700 calls but it’s the type of calls that could escalate into more of a problem.”
Schultz testified Friday, the third day of testimony in the wrongful death lawsuit pitting Makowski’s parents against Brickman and B&B.
Cathy and Wayne Makowski sued the companies in 2006, alleging that the firms knew of the pattern of crime around their businesses but did nothing about it. The Makowskis contend that a security guard or off-duty police officer could have prevented their son’s death.
No guard or officer was present when Anthony Makowski and Martin Robles-Taylor, then 25, got into a fight in the parking lot after a trip through the McDonald’s drive-through. The fight ended when Robles-Taylor put Makowski in a chokehold and kept him there for more than three minutes.
Prosecutors chose not to file criminal charges against Robles-Taylor, ruling instead that the killing was excusable homicide.
But were the goings-on in the parking lot enough to make Makowski’s death foreseeable to the owners? Paul Blevins, an attorney for Brickman and B&B, argued that they were not.
While cross-examining Schultz, Blevins brought out the specifics of the 911 calls. In most cases, no arrests were made and no violence happened. Sometimes, the people reported in the calls were gone by the time police arrived.
Blevins also brought out that Schultz’s theory of escalation is not accepted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation or the Department of Justice, although the witness said it’s still in textbooks and continues to be taught.
Attorneys for the Makowskis contend the parking lot became a “bar on wheels” centering on McDonald’s 24-hour drive-through. Former employees and residents of Land O’ Lakes have testified that the lot was a hangout for young people looking for something to do on weekends or for people returning home from a night of drinking.
Blevins called Pasco County sheriff’s Deputy Jennifer Morton to counter the claim that the lot is a “hot spot” for crime. Morton, who was one of the responding deputies on the night of Makowski’s death, testified that she didn’t consider the lot a high-crime area. Morton said her opinion was based on her experience, not on any scientific study.
In questioning alcohol expert Donald Schultz, attorney Paul McKenna took jurors through dozens of the calls. Drunken fights, thrown beer bottles, disturbances, threats and suspected assaults around the plaza were called in to 911 in the four years leading up to April 24, 2005.
At 4:30 that morning, 21-year-old Anthony Makowski died in the parking lot of the plaza’s McDonald’s after fighting with another man. Schultz testified that the property’s owners, B&B Cash Grocery Stores Inc., and the McDonald’s franchisee, Brickman Management Co., should have known that the fights and shenanigans would eventually lead to violence and death.
“The total number of calls impresses me but it’s beyond that,” Schultz said. “It’s not only in excess of 700 calls but it’s the type of calls that could escalate into more of a problem.”
Schultz testified Friday, the third day of testimony in the wrongful death lawsuit pitting Makowski’s parents against Brickman and B&B.
Cathy and Wayne Makowski sued the companies in 2006, alleging that the firms knew of the pattern of crime around their businesses but did nothing about it. The Makowskis contend that a security guard or off-duty police officer could have prevented their son’s death.
No guard or officer was present when Anthony Makowski and Martin Robles-Taylor, then 25, got into a fight in the parking lot after a trip through the McDonald’s drive-through. The fight ended when Robles-Taylor put Makowski in a chokehold and kept him there for more than three minutes.
Prosecutors chose not to file criminal charges against Robles-Taylor, ruling instead that the killing was excusable homicide.
But were the goings-on in the parking lot enough to make Makowski’s death foreseeable to the owners? Paul Blevins, an attorney for Brickman and B&B, argued that they were not.
While cross-examining Schultz, Blevins brought out the specifics of the 911 calls. In most cases, no arrests were made and no violence happened. Sometimes, the people reported in the calls were gone by the time police arrived.
Blevins also brought out that Schultz’s theory of escalation is not accepted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation or the Department of Justice, although the witness said it’s still in textbooks and continues to be taught.
Attorneys for the Makowskis contend the parking lot became a “bar on wheels” centering on McDonald’s 24-hour drive-through. Former employees and residents of Land O’ Lakes have testified that the lot was a hangout for young people looking for something to do on weekends or for people returning home from a night of drinking.
Blevins called Pasco County sheriff’s Deputy Jennifer Morton to counter the claim that the lot is a “hot spot” for crime. Morton, who was one of the responding deputies on the night of Makowski’s death, testified that she didn’t consider the lot a high-crime area. Morton said her opinion was based on her experience, not on any scientific study.
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NJ teacher arrested for showing porn to student www.privateofficer.com
June 21, 2009
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TRENTON NJ June 21 2009 — A Hightstown High School art teacher has been arrested for allegedly showing a pornographic cell phone video to two students.
Shawn D. Cier, 34, of Parkside Road, Bedminster, was charged with knowingly exhibiting obscene material to a minor, child abuse and harassment.
Prosecutors allege that Cier showed a pornographic video that was on his cell phone to two female students, ages 16 and 17, while at the high school. He is also accused of making numerous sexually suggestive comments to the two students over the last four months.
School officials contacted the Hightstown police earlier this month and an investigation ensued.
Cier was processed yesterday at the Hightstown Police Department and released on his own recognizance. He was also ordered to have no contact with the victims. Cier is scheduled to appear in Hightstown Municipal Court on July 1.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information on the case should contact Hightstown Detective Benjamin Miller at (609) 448-1234 or the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Child Abuse/Sex Assault Unit at (609) 989-6568.
Shawn D. Cier, 34, of Parkside Road, Bedminster, was charged with knowingly exhibiting obscene material to a minor, child abuse and harassment.
Prosecutors allege that Cier showed a pornographic video that was on his cell phone to two female students, ages 16 and 17, while at the high school. He is also accused of making numerous sexually suggestive comments to the two students over the last four months.
School officials contacted the Hightstown police earlier this month and an investigation ensued.
Cier was processed yesterday at the Hightstown Police Department and released on his own recognizance. He was also ordered to have no contact with the victims. Cier is scheduled to appear in Hightstown Municipal Court on July 1.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information on the case should contact Hightstown Detective Benjamin Miller at (609) 448-1234 or the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Child Abuse/Sex Assault Unit at (609) 989-6568.
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SC man charged with fondling himself at Belk’s www.privateofficer.com
June 21, 2009
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UNION, S.C. June 21 2009 — A man is facing charges after he was caught on camera following a woman in a store and then exposing and fondling himself, according to police.
A security guard at the Belk store in Union was watching the video from surveillance cameras and noticed the man walking back and forth between menswear and intimate apparel. The guard said the man was following a woman around the store, watching everything she was doing.
The guard said the camera recorded the man dropping his pants, fondling himself and then pulling his pants back up. The woman didn’t see what the man was doing because he was behind a clothing rack.
The guard called police, who arrested the man. At the scene, the man said his name was John Paul, and he said he was 17 years old, from Arizona and had never been in trouble before.
Once at the jail, police said that he gave the guard his real name, Bobby Ray Taylor III, but said he was from Virginia. He told the jail guard that he had lied to the officer.
Police said Taylor, 19, is from Union and he has previously been held at the Union jail.
Taylor is charged with disorderly conduct and giving false info to an officer. He wasn’t charged with indecent exposure because no one in the store saw him expose himself.
A security guard at the Belk store in Union was watching the video from surveillance cameras and noticed the man walking back and forth between menswear and intimate apparel. The guard said the man was following a woman around the store, watching everything she was doing.
The guard said the camera recorded the man dropping his pants, fondling himself and then pulling his pants back up. The woman didn’t see what the man was doing because he was behind a clothing rack.
The guard called police, who arrested the man. At the scene, the man said his name was John Paul, and he said he was 17 years old, from Arizona and had never been in trouble before.
Once at the jail, police said that he gave the guard his real name, Bobby Ray Taylor III, but said he was from Virginia. He told the jail guard that he had lied to the officer.
Police said Taylor, 19, is from Union and he has previously been held at the Union jail.
Taylor is charged with disorderly conduct and giving false info to an officer. He wasn’t charged with indecent exposure because no one in the store saw him expose himself.
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Police charge two with assault on police, security www.privateofficer.com
June 21, 2009
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Myrtle Beach SC June 21 2009
A Myrtle Beach couple were arrested after they fought with each other, security guards and police at Broadway at the Beach, according to a police report.
Amber Christine Quick, 23, of 4326 Pine Way, was charged with throwing bodily fluids, resisting arrest, public intoxication and breach of peace while Mark William Nichols, 22, of 4213 Cedar Way, was charged with two counts of simple assault and battery, hindering a police officer, public intoxication and breach of peace, police said.
Officers were called just after midnight Thursday to Celebrity Circle where security guards had Quick and Nichols in custody after the couple argued and fought outside a bar there, according to the report. When police took the couple into custody, Quick spit on the officer and tried to get away.
Officer Jason Andrew Stroupe wrote in his report that Nichols tried to kick him when he grabbed Quick to keep her from spitting on him again, according to the report. Security guards helped police keep the couple under control during the arrest.
Guards told police Nichols pushed Quick to the ground and Quick said he threw his drink on her, according to the report. Nichols told police the couple were joking when the incident occurred.
A Myrtle Beach couple were arrested after they fought with each other, security guards and police at Broadway at the Beach, according to a police report.
Amber Christine Quick, 23, of 4326 Pine Way, was charged with throwing bodily fluids, resisting arrest, public intoxication and breach of peace while Mark William Nichols, 22, of 4213 Cedar Way, was charged with two counts of simple assault and battery, hindering a police officer, public intoxication and breach of peace, police said.
Officers were called just after midnight Thursday to Celebrity Circle where security guards had Quick and Nichols in custody after the couple argued and fought outside a bar there, according to the report. When police took the couple into custody, Quick spit on the officer and tried to get away.
Officer Jason Andrew Stroupe wrote in his report that Nichols tried to kick him when he grabbed Quick to keep her from spitting on him again, according to the report. Security guards helped police keep the couple under control during the arrest.
Guards told police Nichols pushed Quick to the ground and Quick said he threw his drink on her, according to the report. Nichols told police the couple were joking when the incident occurred.
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1 Dead, 3 injured in NC chicken plant ammonia leak www.privateofficer.com
June 21, 2009
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LUMBER BRIDGE, N.C. JUNE 22 2009— An ammonia leak at a poultry processing plant in Lumber Bridge killed one man and sent three others to hospitals Saturday morning, Robeson County Manager Kenneth Windley said.
Fire officials said preliminary investigations show that a high-pressure ammonia line ruptured at Mountaire Farms Inc. processing plant, 17269 N.C. Highway 71.
Sheriff Kenneth Sealey identified the deceased worker as Clifton Swain, of Fayetteville. He did not identify the three injured workers. One of the injured was airlifted to UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill. The other two were at Cape Fear Valley hospital.
Fire officials said preliminary investigations show that a high-pressure ammonia line ruptured at Mountaire Farms Inc. processing plant, 17269 N.C. Highway 71.
Sheriff Kenneth Sealey identified the deceased worker as Clifton Swain, of Fayetteville. He did not identify the three injured workers. One of the injured was airlifted to UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill. The other two were at Cape Fear Valley hospital.
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Mall security detain man with meat cleaver www.privateofficer.com
June 21, 2009
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NORTH ATTLEBORO MA June 21 2009 – A disgruntled subcontractor is accused of brandishing a foot-long meat cleaver and threatening the owners of a restaurant before hacking at wood cabinets he installed in a dispute about payment.
Jian Sheng Gao, 52, of Quincy, was arrested Thursday night at the Ruby Thai Kitchen at Emerald Square mall, where he was waiting with mall security for police.
No one was physically harmed, but the owners of the restaurant and their 8-year-old son feared for their lives, police said.
Gao was freed Friday after posting $5,000 cash bail in Taunton District Court.
His arraignment was postponed until Monday, when a Chinese interpreter will be available. Officers Doug Beaulieu, Craig Jones and Josh McMahon were dispatched to the restaurant around 9:30 p.m. Thursday, and arrested Gao without incident.
Gao allegedly went on the rampage because he believes he was not paid for the cabinets he installed at the restaurant, police said.
He allegedly gouged the cabinets with the cleaver before mall security arrived.
He faces three counts of assault by means of a dangerous weapon, vandalizing property and disorderly person charges.
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Bank robber surrenders to police minutes after heist www.privateofficer.com
June 21, 2009
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. June 21 2009 — Police said the suspect in a bank robbery Friday didn’t get very far.
According to Charlotte-Mecklenburg police, Herbert Bines, 52, robbed the Wachovia Bank at 4111 N. Tryon St. at 9:30 a.m. He allegedly slipped the bank teller a note, took the money and fled.
Capt. Mike Smathers, with CMPD, said there was a dye pack in with the money, and Bines was caught very soon after near the North Tryon Division substation, next door to the bank in a building that also houses a library and a Joblink office.
“I can only speculate that he just thought he was going to get captured, so he surrendered to an officer,” Smathers said.
Customers coming by the bank Friday afternoon found the doors locked, and were surprised to learn what had transpired.
Customer Madie Smith said, “You got to be kidding. Someone would be that dumb? That ignorant? Really.”
Eyewitness News is waiting to learn from the FBI, which has jurisdiction in bank robbery cases, exactly what charges Bines will face.
According to Charlotte-Mecklenburg police, Herbert Bines, 52, robbed the Wachovia Bank at 4111 N. Tryon St. at 9:30 a.m. He allegedly slipped the bank teller a note, took the money and fled.
Capt. Mike Smathers, with CMPD, said there was a dye pack in with the money, and Bines was caught very soon after near the North Tryon Division substation, next door to the bank in a building that also houses a library and a Joblink office.
“I can only speculate that he just thought he was going to get captured, so he surrendered to an officer,” Smathers said.
Customers coming by the bank Friday afternoon found the doors locked, and were surprised to learn what had transpired.
Customer Madie Smith said, “You got to be kidding. Someone would be that dumb? That ignorant? Really.”
Eyewitness News is waiting to learn from the FBI, which has jurisdiction in bank robbery cases, exactly what charges Bines will face.
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Armored truck robbery under investigation www.privateofficer.com
June 21, 2009
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NACOGDOCHES, TX June 21 2009(KTRE) – Nacogdoches say they still have not made any arrest in robbery on Friday afternoon, however, Police and the FBI are investigating the robbery of a Loomis Armored truck in downtown Nacogdoches.
No injuries were reported, according to FBI.
At approximately 2:30 p.m., an armored truck was making a stop at the Regions Bank Drive-In, located 300 north Main (on Monk Drive, between South Fredonia Street and Church Street). An armed guard was approached and overpowered by a male suspect, wearing a reddish shirt and black ski mask. The suspect forced the guard to the ground and entered the truck. Another suspect, described as a male wearing a red ski mask and dark clothing remained nearby. The suspects removed an undetermined amount of cash and fled the scene.
Police have a vehicle of interest in this investigation that was spotted shortly after the robbery acting suspiciously. The vehicle was northbound on University Drive in Nacogdoches. The vehicle is described as a newer model stepside Ford pickup with chrome mag wheels. The vehicle was being driven by a black male wearing a red cap. Another black male was in the bed of the truck . When this vehicle stopped at a traffic light at East College Street, the male in the back joined the male in the front.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has been notified and agents are on the scene.
No injuries were reported, according to FBI.
At approximately 2:30 p.m., an armored truck was making a stop at the Regions Bank Drive-In, located 300 north Main (on Monk Drive, between South Fredonia Street and Church Street). An armed guard was approached and overpowered by a male suspect, wearing a reddish shirt and black ski mask. The suspect forced the guard to the ground and entered the truck. Another suspect, described as a male wearing a red ski mask and dark clothing remained nearby. The suspects removed an undetermined amount of cash and fled the scene.
Police have a vehicle of interest in this investigation that was spotted shortly after the robbery acting suspiciously. The vehicle was northbound on University Drive in Nacogdoches. The vehicle is described as a newer model stepside Ford pickup with chrome mag wheels. The vehicle was being driven by a black male wearing a red cap. Another black male was in the bed of the truck . When this vehicle stopped at a traffic light at East College Street, the male in the back joined the male in the front.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has been notified and agents are on the scene.
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KY. teacher charged with having sex with student www.privateofficer.com
June 21, 2009
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UNION, Ky.June 21 2009 — A Union, Ky. teacher and coach was arrested Friday on accusations that he had sex with a student.
Jason Collins-Baker, 31, is charged with two counts of first-degree sexual abuse.
The Boone Co. Sheriff’s Department said Collins-Baker, a teacher and head track coach at Cooper High School, had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student throughout the school year.
The student graduated this spring.
The sheriff’s department said it appears none of the sexual activity beyond discreet communications took place on school grounds.
Collins-Baker was a receiver for the University of Cincinnati Bearcats and played from 1997 to 2000, including two bowl games.
Collins-Baker is in the Boone County Detention Center awaiting a bond hearing. He faces up to five years in prison on each charge if convicted.
Jason Collins-Baker, 31, is charged with two counts of first-degree sexual abuse.
The Boone Co. Sheriff’s Department said Collins-Baker, a teacher and head track coach at Cooper High School, had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student throughout the school year.
The student graduated this spring.
The sheriff’s department said it appears none of the sexual activity beyond discreet communications took place on school grounds.
Collins-Baker was a receiver for the University of Cincinnati Bearcats and played from 1997 to 2000, including two bowl games.
Collins-Baker is in the Boone County Detention Center awaiting a bond hearing. He faces up to five years in prison on each charge if convicted.
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