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Police charge 7 with Fla couple’s murder www.privateofficer.com
PENSACOLA, Fla. July 14 2009 – Masked suspects, some dressed as ninjas, stole a safe and other items during a deadly break-in at the sprawling Florida Panhandle home of a couple known for adopting children with special needs, authorities said Tuesday.
Melanie and Byrd Billings were shot to death Thursday in their nine-bedroom home. Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan hugged their sobbing adult daughter, Ashley Markham, at a press conference Tuesday to announce that three more people had been arrested, bringing the total to seven.
“It is my honor today to tell you, Ashley, and your family, we have found them and they are in custody,” Morgan said.
Investigators had said previously that there were many motives for the crime, but prosecutor Bill Eddins said Tuesday that robbery was the main one. He would not say what was in the safe or what else might have been taken from the house.
Nine of the couple’s 17 children were home at the time and three saw the intruders but were not hurt.
Morgan said investigators were still looking for at least one more person in the case and at least one of the suspects in custody may have done work at the Billings home. He has previously said the suspects had no direct connection to the victims.
Several of the suspects were day laborers who knew each other through either a pressure washing business or a car detailing group, Morgan said.
The arrests started Sunday with 56-year-old Leonard Gonzalez Sr., who was originally charged with evidence tampering but will be charged with murder, authorities said. He is accused of driving a red van seen on surveillance video pulling away from the Billings home and then trying to paint over it.
His son, 35-year-old Leonard P. Gonzalez Jr., was also arrested Sunday along with day laborer Wayne Coldiron, 41. Both were due in court Tuesday to face murder charges.
Another day laborer, Gary Lamont Sumner, 31, was arrested on a murder charge in a nearby county Monday after he was pulled over in a traffic stop. Morgan said investigators have placed Sumner at the scene, though he would not provide details.
Three more people were arrested Tuesday — a juvenile whom police did not identify; Frederick Lee Thorton Jr., 19; and Donnie Ray Stallworth, 28, who was arrested in Alabama but lives in Florida.
The break-in was captured by an extensive video surveillance system the Billings used to keep tabs on their children.
Surveillance video showed three armed, masked men arriving in the red van, entering through the front of the house and then returning to the vehicle. Others dressed in what the sheriff called “ninja garb” went in through an unlocked utility door in the back. They were in and out in under 10 minutes.
“I think you’ll find this particularly chilling and here’s why: We have a team that enters at the rear of the home and another that enters at the front of the home,” Morgan said. “It leads me to believe this was a very well-planned and methodical operation.”
Morgan said, however, that there was no indication anyone had unlocked the door for the intruders, adding that people in the community felt comfortable leaving their doors unlocked.
The couple owned several local businesses, including a finance company and a used-car dealership. They lived in Beulah, a rural area west of Pensacola, near the Alabama state line, in a house set deep in the woods. They had 17 children in all — 13 of them adopted.
Tips from the public led police to the van on Saturday.
Birmingham police, US Marshals arrest 218 fugitives www.privateofficer.com
Led by the U.S. Marshals Service and the Gulf Coast Regional Task Force, Operation FALCON — which stands for Federal And Local Cops Organized Nationally — netted 218 arrests, said U.S. Marshal C. Martin Keely, who represents the Northern District of Alabama. Approximately 300 warrants were cleared in Jefferson and Shelby counties as a result. The operation began June 22 and ended June 28.
More than 100 state and local officers were sworn in as special deputy marshals to launch the operation. The officers were divided into teams, briefed on fugitive cases and assigned arrest warrants for crimes of violence, narcotics and sex offenses.
“By combining the resources, skills, experience and abilities of law enforcement at the federal, state and local levels, a beneficial force-multiplying effect is achieved,” Keely said. “In this effort, the talons of FALCON have hit their mark, and once again turned predators into prey.”
The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office and the Alabaster, Pelham and Hoover police departments were part of the operation. Sheriff Chris Curry said 18 arrests were made in the county during the initiative. In addition, 20 fugitives wanted in the county were located in another jurisdiction or were deceased, and four fugitives surrendered upon hearing about the operation. Four sheriff’s deputies participated in the effort.
“The citizens of this area are safer because of this joint operation,” Curry said. “These officers take the worst of the worst off the street and every bad guy they ran into went to jail.”
Pelham Police Chief Tommy Thomas said his department joined Operation FALCON this year. The initiative began in 2005.
“This operation helps us because none of has the resources to do the job by ourselves,” Thomas said. “With this collaboration, you’re able to bring all resources together to track (suspects) down, and each agency brings its own expertise.”
Keely said suspects arrested during the operation were wanted for murder, assault, sexual offenses, robbery, narcotics, property of theft and probation violations. Many arrests resulted in additional charges for illegal weapons and drug violations. Keely also noted officers verified the locations of 1,000 sex offenders in Jefferson and Shelby counties. If the sex offenders were not residing at their registered address, an arrest warrant was issued.
“The cooperation and enthusiasm of law enforcement fostered during this Operation will continue after FALCON folds its wings,” Keely said. “Through this cooperation we will not rest in our pursuit of violent fugitives.”
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AZ. security officer won’t be prosecuted in shooting www.privateofficer.com
A security guard who shot a suspected shoplifter outside a Circle K store will not be indicted on any charges directly related to the shooting, an attorney said Monday.
The Pima County Attorney’s Office confirmed that it had reached a decision in the case but declined to say on Monday what the decision was, saying it could jeopardize another pending matter.
Joshua Kosatschenko was initially arrested on suspicion of attempted first-degree murder and aggravated assault in connection with the June 3 shooting of 18-year-old Danny Tarango.
At the time, Kosatschenko, 19, was on duty as a contract security guard at a Circle K on South Country Club Road near East Ajo Way. He said he fired his gun to save the life of his fellow security guard.
“I’m very happy that the Pima County Attorney’s Office kept an open mind and continued the investigation to come to the correct decision that Joshua was acting in self-defense,” said his attorney, Brad Roach.
According to authorities, Tarango and three others went to the Circle K for a food run, grabbing burritos and Cheetos before making their way out to a car in the parking lot. There they got into a confrontation with another security guard — Nicholas Kagas — who reportedly fell to the ground with his feet under the car while trying to detain one of the men.
Kagas was unable to get away because someone in the car was holding his arm, Roach wrote in a court document filed shortly after the shooting.
Kosatschenko gave the driver, identified as Tarango, commands to stop, but he did not, instead accelerating away, Roach said. Kosatschenko fired three times at Tarango, wounding him. Tarango’s family says he is paralyzed from the mid-torso down.
“Joshua was faced with a choice — do I risk my fellow officer getting run over by a car or do I shoot the driver? He had to make the decision to shoot,” Roach said.
Tarango’s mother, Diane Tarango, disagreed, saying the shooting was unnecessary.
“I don’t believe it was self-defense; I think he meant to kill Danny,” Diane Tarango said. “Danny was just sitting in the car; he didn’t have a gun, he wasn’t armed with anything.”
Diane Tarango said she would like to see Kosatschenko held accountable.
She said her son continues to go through therapy and is having “a difficult time with everything.”
In addition to attempted murder, Kosatschenko was also arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault and possession of a weapon by a prohibited person.
The latter charge is based on Kosatschenko’s rights to carry a gun being revoked as a juvenile.
Despite the revocation, the Arizona Department of Public Safety granted Kosatschenko a license to work as an armed and unarmed security guard. The DPS said its background searches only bring up adult convictions.
Kosatschenko still may face charges for being a prohibited possessor, Roach said.
Kosatschenko is no longer licensed to work as a security guard due to his arrest in this incident, Roach said.
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Security officer captures burglars red handed www.privateofficer.com
By: Brett Davis/staff
Private Officer News Network
http://www.privateofficer.com/ – Authories have arrested two suspects in an attempted burglary. Police said that the man and woman were arrested after a security officer caught them trying to break into an apartment in the 300 block of 34th Avenue Drive East, Bradenton.
Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said that the security officer at the Manatee Woods Apartments spotted Matthew Bruce, 44, and Cindi Bruce, 50, trying to pry off a window screen from an apartment that was for rent.
The guard confronted the suspects, ordered Matthew Bruce to drop a knife he was carrying and held them in custody until deputies arrived, a report stated.
Authorities said that the suspects did not enter the apartment, and nothing was taken, according to the sheriff’s office.
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