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Security officer killed during home invasion www.privateofficer.com
Family members say Friday night around 7:30pm, 43-year-old Robbie Smith was trying to stop a home invasion when he was attacked and shot in the leg.
Smith’s widow, Tiffani Smith, said her husband loved his job and had worked previously in law enforcement for 18 years.
“He just had a knack for helping people and would do anything for someone if they needed something,” said Tiffani Smith.
Robbie Smith had worked with the small security company, Advanced Protection Services, for three months.
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Alert security officer spots robbery suspects www.privateofficer.com
Officers say 23 year-old Randy Clark and 18 year-old Leslie Campos waited outside the Buca Di Beppo at 935 East Fort Union Boulevard for a worker to go outside.
Authorities set up containment in the area, but didn’t find the suspects until a nearby security guard noticed two people sitting in a car with a cashbox in the back seat.
Police were then able to arrest and book the suspects into the Salt Lake County jail.
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Sports bar patron killed in shooting www.privateofficer.com
A 22-year-old man was killed in a popular sports bar and restaurant in Sacramento.
Police said a security guard called to report a shooting in the parking lot of Center Court Restaurant on the 3600 block of N. Freeway Boulevard at about 1:52 a.m. Saturday.
Officers arrived and found a male victim who had been shot. The victim died at the scene.
“South of the nightclub, a male victim, 22 years old was walking to his vehicle with some associates when he was shot,” said Sacramento police spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong.
Detectives said they believe the victim was leaving the night club and walking to his car when he was contacted by a group of subjects. One of the suspects shot and killed the victim.
The suspect is described as being a black man, light skinned, standing 5 feet 9 inches to 5 feet 11 inches tall, with a thin build and short hair. The motive for the crime is still under investigation.
Police said there were hundreds of people at Center Court on Friday night. In fact, earlier in the evening there was a retirement party for former Sacramento Kings guard Bobby Jackson.
Police said some of the guests at that party may be witnesses in this shooting. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Sacramento Police Department.
Sacramento PD said it is strongly urging any witnesses that have not been spoken with to contact the police through Crime Alert at 916-443-HELP or text in a tip to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter SACTIP followed by the tip information. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward up to $1,000.
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Church janitor charged in murder of priest www.privateofficer.com
Morris County Prosecutor Robert Bianchi said 64-year-old Jose Feliciano was charged in the murder of the Rev. Ed Hinds, whose body was found Friday in the rectory kitchen of St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church in Chatham.
The announcement of Feliciano’s arrest was met with shock and tears at Saturday evening Mass, a double blow to the church community where the priest had served for six years and the janitor had worked for 17.
The pair got into an argument on Thursday evening, and it was during the altercation that Feliciano grabbed a knife and stabbed the 61-year-old Hinds multiple times, Bianchi said.
Feliciano, who also faces weapons charges, was arrested Saturday.
Bianchi said investigators found the priest’s cell phone, bloody clothing and bloody towels at Feliciano’s home in Easton, Pa., about 45 miles west of Chatham.
Bianchi said Feliciano was one of two people who looked for Hinds after the priest failed to show up for 8 a.m. Mass Friday. The pair found the body, and Bianchi said Feliciano was performing CPR on Hinds when officers arrived and his halfhearted attempts struck them as suspicious.
Bianchi said Feliciano’s son graduated from the church’s school, which runs from kindergarten through eighth grade, and his daughter is a student there.
The priest, dressed in his clerical robes, had wounds on his upper torso, the back of his body and his head that were created by a kitchen knife, officials said. Hinds also had defensive wounds on his hands and face, Bianchi said. An autopsy determined that the cause of death was severe trauma.
The slaying rocked the community of about 10,000 residents located 25 miles west of New York City. It was the first violent death in tiny, affluent Chatham since a 1990 manslaughter case.
Parishioner Michael Marotta, 47, said he would not have hesitated to leave his three children in the care of either Hinds or Feliciano, whom he described as caring, quiet, hardworking men. Marotta, whose 10-year-old son is enrolled at St. Patrick’s School, said Feliciano lived in a home next to the church until a few years ago.
“Everyone loses in this,” said Marotta, who lives down the street from the church. “The church, the broader Chatham community and the Hinds and Feliciano families. It’s disheartening.”
Earlier Saturday, parishioners had climbed over knee-high crime scene tape that was strung near the church, school and parking lots to attend a morning Mass. They remembered the pastor they called “Father Ed,” as warm, outgoing and very community-oriented.
Police and church officials guided about 300 parishioners through a light drizzle into the school gym next to the church. Once inside, many wiped away tears as church leaders said Hinds would have wanted parishioners to go on and find strength in their faith.
“We’re strong and we’re hope-filled, and we know we’ll get through this. We have each other, we have Christ, and we’re not afraid,” the Rev. Owen Moran told the Star-Ledger of Newark afterward. “The idea of Father Ed’s life is that he was planting seeds here in this parish for six years. And now the seeds must grow and continue the mission of Christ in this world.”
The parish’s 5 p.m. Saturday Mass began about the same time Bianchi announced the arrest at the county administration building in Morristown, about 20 minutes away.
Parishioner Juliette Peros told the newspaper an announcement about the arrest was made near the end of the Saturday night service and came as a shock to those in attendance.
Peros said several people were crying and that a woman seated behind her yelled “Jose! No, Jose!” when the announcement was made.
Hinds, who was born in nearby Morristown, had been pastor at the parish since 2003, after serving at St. Michael Church in Netcong and Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Boonton. He was ordained in 1974.
Following an early stint at St. Patrick’s, he went on to become the vice chancellor of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson and secretary to the bishop from 1978 to 1985.
Joe Korkuch is not a member of St. Patrick’s parish, but said he spoke with Hinds almost every night as the priest walked his dog, a cocker spaniel named Copper, through the neighborhood.
“It’s so sad.” said parishioner Pat Patello, 52. “I don’t think this town will ever get over this.”
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Florida police officer commits suicide www.privateofficer.com
A Chattahoochee police officer shot himself to death Friday as police were discovering the body of his long-time mistress buried in a shallow grave near his home east of Chattahoochee, according to Chattahoochee Police Chief Vann Pullen.
Lt. Barry Moore, who is married, quickly became a suspect in the disappearance of Antoinette Ross after a witness reported she was seen voluntarily getting into Moore’s police cruiser at her home in Quincy late Wednesday night.
She was expected home that evening and never returned.
Police believe Moore killed Ross in the early morning hours Thursday, but do not yet know her exact cause of death as an autopsy in pending.
Pullen said authorities believe Moore learned that Ross had been on a date with someone else earlier Wednesday evening, and confronted her.
Gadsden County authorities, who were still searching for the missing woman, contacted Pullen around noon Thursday with information about Moore and Ross being seen in the cruiser together in Quincy.
Pullen immediately suspended Moore for taking the cruiser out of his jurisdiction and using it for personal business. Moore’s service revolver was also confiscated.
Meanwhile, one of Pullen’s officers reported something unusual that happened during Moore’s overnight shift, which began Wednesday evening.
The officer said he had pulled up next to Moore in the Florida State Hospital cemetery, and that Moore inexplicably sped away.
A search of that area turned up nothing suspicious. The search then focused on Moore’s residence. At this point, Moore was on suspension.
According to Pullen, Moore and Ross had an ongoing relationship for at least 10 years, and had a 3-year-old child together.
No further details were immediately available.
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Security guard stabbed by shoplifter www.privateofficer.com
The security guard at Vons at 5555 Balboa Ave. had handcuffed the shoplifter, but removed the handcuffs after about an hour, and the man stabbed him in the arm with something and ran off, San Diego police said.
The guard was taken to Sharp Hospital. The suspect was described as a 22-year-old, Asian man, about 6 feet tall with a muscular build.
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Security guard charged with murder in Florida www.privateofficer.com
A man barged into his ex-girlfriend’s Coconut Creek home on Saturday, stabbing her and killing a friend when he tried to protect her, police said.
Paul Gayle, a 28-year-old security guard with a state-issued weapons license, was charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and armed burglary.
Coconut Creek police said Joy Stewart, 36, ended her relationship with Gayle last week and was spending Friday evening with a friend she recently met: 32-year-old Hasting Clarke.
But shortly after midnight Saturday, Gayle showed up at Stewart’s home on the 4100 block of Northwest 43rd Way.
He was planning to carry out a threat he’d made Thursday, said Detective Angela Hofer, a police spokeswoman.
After barging in, Gayle cornered Stewart in a room and stabbed her several times — but Clarke walked in to save her, Hofer said. Stewart seized the opportunity, grabbing a cordless home phone and driving off in her car while calling 911. Seconds later, she flagged down Officer Alejandro Escobar, who found her wounded and frantic.
He and three other officers rushed to her house and arrested Gayle, who was trying to get back into his car, police said.
They also found Clarke, who was killed during the fight.
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