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Anaheim substitute teacher arrested for having sex with student www.privateofficer.com
An Anaheim substitute teacher has been arrested on charges of having sex with an underage student, police said today.
Marc Silberman, 27, was arrested Saturday night after a Savanna High School student told police that she had sexual contact with Silberman two days earlier, according to the Anaheim Police Department.
The girl told investigators that she had met Silberman when he was teaching at the high school, police said. Police declined to release the girl’s age.
Silberman, an Anaheim resident, was booked on charges of sexual penetration with a foreign object and child annoyance, police said.
Anyone with information is asked to call investigators at (714) 765-1623.
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Police charge man in murder of UCONN student www.privateofficer.com
Two others also were charged in the fight that led to the death of 20-year-old Jasper Howard, of Miami.
John William Lomax III, 21, of Bloomfield, was arrested Tuesday morning and charged with murder, police said. His bond was set at $2 million.
Police would not discuss evidence or a motive during a news conference Tuesday. More than 40 investigators conducted more than 200 interviews and “have not stopped working,” UConn police chief Robert Hudd said.
Police charged Hakim Muhammad, 20, of Bloomfield, with conspiracy to commit assault and Jamal Todd, 21, of Hartford with pulling a fire alarm that emptied the dance early Oct. 18, triggering the fight.
Lomax, who is not a UConn student and lives 30 miles from campus, wasn’t present when the argument started and doesn’t know what it was about, but tried to break up the fight, said his attorney, Deron Freeman.
“He was just partying,” Freeman said. “Often people from out of town go to the UConn campus to party.”
Freeman said he was first told that Lomax would be charged in connection with the fight, but not with murder.
“I’m surprised,” Freeman said. “I’m curious to find out what evidence they had to secure an arrest warrant for murder. … From all the evidence I’ve heard, he was not involved in the stabbing.”
Howard, a starting cornerback whose nickname was Jazz, was stabbed outside a university-sanctioned dance, hours after helping his team to a homecoming game win over Louisville.
The entire UConn team attended his funeral Monday in Miami, where Howard was eulogized by coach Randy Edsall as “the ultimate son, he was the ultimate brother. He was the ultimate teammate. He was the ultimate friend. They didn’t come any better than Jazz.”
UConn football players said they were happy that an arrest was made, but that it was of little comfort.
“It is a little closure, but the reality is my teammate’s still not here with us,” said running back Jordan Todman.
An athletics department spokesman said Edsall did not plan to make any public statements on the arrests Tuesday.
Lomax has had a full-time job in the information technology field for the past two years and is a graduate of Bloomfield High School, Freeman said.
A fourth man, Johnny Hood, 21, of Hartford, was arrested last week and faces charges of breach of peace and interfering with police but also is not charged in the killing
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Missing animal control officer found safe www.privateofficer.com
Police say Wanda Jefferies, 52, was being treated at Grady Memorial Hospital. Police did not specify the type of treatment.
Jefferies was last seen Saturday at about 3 p.m. in the 1400 block of Sharon Street.
Authorities said they located Jefferies’ animal control truck on Lindsay Street shortly after 1 a.m. Sunday in northwest Atlanta, but there was no sign of Jefferies at the time. Police said Jefferies’ personal vehicle, a 2001 red Ford Focus, was also missing.
“She put a call into her supervisor and then left,” said Tracey Hill. Hill lives in the neighborhood and said he didn’t notice anything suspicious. “A supervisor later came, but couldn’t find the officer.”
A co-worker, who didn’t want to be identified, told the News that Jefferies has worked for Fulton County Animal Control for about a year and describes her as “a good person.”
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Samford University officer run down by shoplifter www.privateofficer.com
Just after 3pm Monday the pair were caught shoplifting inside the campus bookstore.
When confronted the men turned tail and fled to their car.
While trying to make a clean getaway the suspects hit a Samford security officer.
The officer managed to shoot out one of the cars tires and within minutes both men were taken into custody.
Campus Police Chief Mike Coppage says the suspects made some poor choices. “They were basically looking at a theft of property, but now it could be attempted murder fleeing the scene of a traffic accident with injuries and their in some serious trouble right now.”
Because both men were apprehended so quickly, the campus was never placed on lock down.
The injured security officer was taken to UAB hospital, his injuries are not considered serious.
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Detroit-Where private security is booming www.privateofficer.com
Shortly before noon on a recent Monday, T.J. Cooper sat in his red pickup, showing off his digital camera. He clicked through pictures he had taken a few weeks earlier of a man driving a truck full of radiators stolen from a vacant home here in Indian Village, one of Detroit’s last middle-class neighborhoods. No one, Cooper notes wryly, likes having his picture taken. “They try to hide their face. Or break your camera. Or,” he says, driving up a tree-lined street, “break you.” Minutes later, Cooper passes the same man, in the same truck, apparently scoping out another house.
Cooper, 29, is a private-security detective, one of many who patrol once prosperous enclaves like Palmer Woods, Boston-Edison and Indian Village. With the city’s police force cut more than 25%, private security appears to be one of Detroit’s few growth industries. Local precincts are overwhelmed with shootings and other violent crime, leaving companies that supply home protection with long customer waiting lists. “People put a premium on security when unemployment and crime go up,” says Larry Dusing, founder of Dusing Security & Surveillance, which has expanded into three neighborhoods.
Crime weighs heavily on the minds of Detroit’s middle class, although it’s an issue few residents want to discuss. In some neighborhoods, armed guards stand watch outside houses of worship; in September a pastor shot a man trying to rob his church. In others, street barricades have been set up to help deter potential thieves.
A short, plump Michigan native, Cooper worked in store security before joining Dusing about eight years ago. Now he manages Dusing’s patrols, driving around Indian Village in his truck with an orange light bar on the top. He wears a black baseball cap reading security and a bulletproof vest but travels unarmed, partly for liability reasons. He keeps his camera, equipped with a massive telephoto lens, near his lap.
An Indian Village security guard’s job is much like that of any cop on the beat. That afternoon Cooper investigated a report of suspicious activity from one of the neighborhood’s few markets. (The suspects, sitting in a brown minivan, turned out to be selling state-issued cards used to buy food.) He continued his patrol, eyeing the men walking up and down the street. “If you notice a guy stopping and staring” at a house, Cooper says, “he’s obviously up to no good.” Especially suspicious are people who walk up to homes and stuff flyers into doors. Sometimes they are testing to see whether a door is unlocked or are casing the property for valuables. “A lot of times we’ll see the same car come back three or four times in a single shift.”
(See more on TIME’s Detroit blog.)
The community of Indian Village hired Dusing in 2003, after a rash of property crimes. An estimated 15% of the neighborhood’s homes are foreclosed, a result of the national real estate crisis, which has hit Detroit particularly hard. Vacant homes are an open invitation to burglars and vandals. Neighbors install motion sensors and curtains in them and maintain the lawns to make the properties appear occupied.
Members of the Historic Indian Village Association, a local residents’ group, share the cost of private security — about $30 per household each month. Association president Doug Way, 42, moved to Detroit with his wife seven years ago and fell in love with Indian Village’s 19th century manors, built for the city’s emerging industrial barons. Footing the bill for private security is almost like paying an extra tax, he acknowledges, but it’s worth the cost. The median sale price of homes in Detroit has plunged from $59,700 in August 2005 to $8,000 just two months ago. “You could argue that one reason the homes are less expensive in the city is the level of services isn’t as high,” he says. “If there’s some way we can make this a better place to live, these homes will actually be worth a lot more in the long term.”
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NJ man kills 2yr old daughter, self www.privateofficer.com
Eric Banks was alone with his daughter, Enalla Banks, Sunday night inside the Camden apartment when the girl’s mother returned at about 8:45 p.m. and found the door locked and heard Banks screaming inside, according to a statement by Jason Laughlin, spokesman for the Camden County Prosecutors’ Office.
The mother brought relatives to the apartment and for several minutes they tried to talk with Banks through the door but his responses were incoherent, Laughlin said. Minutes later the mother called 911 and along with a building security guard and family members she tried breaking into the apartment.
When they managed to break into the apartment they found Enalla lying on the floor with her throat slashed and a fire in the kitchen, Laughlin said. The girl was rushed out the apartment by family and later pronounced dead at Cooper University Hospital.
After Camden fire officials extinguished the blaze they found Banks body, Laughlin said. He had cut his own throat and was burnt from the fire.
It is unclear at what point during the incident Banks committed suicide, Laughlin said.
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Serial mall thief nabbed by security www.privateofficer.com
About 10:15 a.m. Thursday, a Southland Mall security guard noticed a van parked in the fire lane outside the Macy’s department store. Less than a minute later, a man dashed out the store’s doors carrying a load of jeans in his arms.
The guard chased the thief, who dropped the clothing and ran a few hundred yards to a pharmacy. Hayward police joined the guard and arrested 38-year-old Roderick McGill, 38, of Oakland, without incident.
Hayward police Sgt. Steve Brown said there have been eight similar thefts from the Southland Macy’s since Aug. 19.
“The (method of operation) is the same,” Brown said. “(The thief) parks in a fire zone and leaves the driver’s door open. Within minutes, he grabs as much as possible with both arms and is out of the store and off to the races.”
Brown said that on Thursday, the thief was carrying eight to 10 pairs of Levi’s worth about $400.
He said they believe the man may have struck in similar fashion at stores in nearby cities.
“I would say Bay Fair, Fremont, any place with a mall,” Brown said.
McGill faces charges of burglary, grand theft and being under the influence of a controlled substance. The vehicle involved is a bronze 1990 Chrysler Town and Country minivan with license plate number 4FLJ414.
Anyone with information about similar crimes may call police at 510-293-7000 .
OFFICER DOWN MINNESOTA www.privateofficer.com
Ramsey County Sheriff’s Department
Minnesota
End of Watch: Sunday, October 25, 2009
Biographical Info
Age: 56
Tour of Duty: 10 years
Badge Number: Not available
Incident Details
Cause of Death: Struck by vehicle
Date of Incident: Saturday, October 24, 2009
Weapon Used: Not available
Suspect Info: Not available
Reserve Deputy Mike Wilken succumbed to injuries sustained the previous night when he was struck by a vehicle at the intersection of White Bear Avenue and Frost Avenue. He was directing traffic at the sheriff’s office’s annual haunted house, which raised money for the D.A.R.E. program.
He had just spoken to a driver and was walking on a crosswalk when he was struck by a vehicle. He was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries the following morning.
Deputy Wilken had volunteered as a reserve deputy for 10 years and also served as a civilian employee of the St. Paul Police Department. He is survived by his wife, two children, and three siblings.
Agency Contact Information
Ramsey County Sheriff’s Department
425 Grove Street
St. Paul, MN 55101
Phone: (651) 266-9333
Please contact the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Department for funeral arrangements or for survivor benefit fund information.
Security officer pepper-sprayed during robbery www.privateofficer.com
One of the robbers blasted the guard in the face with the liquid, blinding him long enough to take the bag from the Hudson’s Treasure Hunt employee he was escorting.
Police spokesman Officer Christopher Levy said the robbery occurred about 9:40 p.m. in the parking lot after the Hillcrest Road store had closed.
One robber sprayed the guard, while the other grabbed the deposit bag, Levy said. Then the robbers took off and ran behind the store.
Levy said the men were last seen running behind Godfather’s Pizza, next door to Hudson’s.
The 38-year-old female employee was not injured.
Levy said that the robber not armed with the squirt gun had a handgun.
One is described as a black male in his late teens to early 20s, 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighing 130 to 150 pounds, and wearing a black jacket and blue jeans. The other robber, Levy said, is described as a black man, about 5 feet 8 inches tall, with a skinny build and wearing a blue jacket with orange stripes.
Levy said that the robber not armed with the squirt gun was armed with a handgun.
“More times than not, the bank deposit robbery ends up being an inside job,” Levy said.
Anyone with information should contact Mobile police at 251-208-7211.
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KC nightclub security in shoot-out www.privateofficer.com
Around 2:30 a.m. shots were reported outside of Gerry’s Silver Slipper, 4704 Independence Ave. Kansas City police said the security guards from the strip club returned fire after a vehicle had driven by and fired shots at the security officials.
Nobody was hit or injured in the exchange.
Gerry’s Silver Slipper has seen its share of trouble this year. On Feb. 6 two men were shot and killed outside of the club and on Jan. 24 three people were stabbed at the club. Kansas City officials suspended the clubs liquor license for 66 days after those incidents.
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Teacher arrested for sending sexual content to student www.privateofficer.com
World Languages teacher George H. Friery Jr., of Oakland Drive in Whitehouse Station (Hunterdon County), was charged on October 23 with one count of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, and fourth-degree endangering the welfare of a child, according to the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office.
Friery was lodged in the Somerset County Jail with bail set by Somerset County Superior Court Judge Acursco at $50,000 with a condition that Friery have no contact with the student.
Bridgewater Police commanded by Chief Richard J. Borden, and the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Unit are involved in the investigation.
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Costa Rica security out number police www.privateofficer.com
Private security guards in Costa Rica almost double the number of police officers in Costa Rica. According to the Dirección del Servicio de Seguridad Privada del Ministerio de Seguridad, there are 20.000 registered security guards to 13.000 members of the Fuerza Pública (police).
A total of 803 licensed private companies offer private security services in all areas of the country, an increase of 202 over last two years. In 2007 there were 601 registered private security companies, growing to 722 in 2008.
Those numbers do not include the multitude of unlincensed and unorganized security companies and individuals who offer private protection to a few homes on a street.
Fernando Camacho, vicepresidente de la Asociación Costarricense de Empresas de Seguridad (ACES), estimates that there are at least 700 companies not registered with the Dirección, operating without any kind of permit.
Camacho added that the private security force could grow by another 6.000 in the coming year with the growth of insecurity.
And private security does not come cheap.
Camacho said that a private, armed security service on a 24 hour bases could cost as much as ¢1.6 million colones (us$2.700) a month.
A local, unarmed and unregistered private security service can cost a homeowner an average of ¢25.000 colones (us$43) a month. This type of service is quite common but comes with inherent risks as the officials are generally not trained and at best can only stand by to watch criminals do their thing.
Private security, according to Camacho, is a us$70 million dollar a year business and growing.
According to the latest poll by Unimer for the La Nación, 25% of Costa Ricans admit to insecurity being their main concern, a figure that was only 2% five years ago.
Juan Luis Sánchez, director del Servicio de Seguridad Privada del Ministerio de Seguridad, feels that private security guards perform an indispensible function in providing vigilance that, for the lack of funding, the Fuerza Pública cannot perform.
Sánchez admits that the police cannot be keeping an eye on parking lots or supermarkets or empty office buildings at night.
For Erick Lacayo, the director of the Fuerza Pública, private security is a complement to the police function with a specific objective of securing the needs of a particular client.
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Security officer aids in kidnapping arrest www.privateofficer.com
Authorities arrested Samuel McCrae at a Durham gas station Saturday night after the boy alerted a security guard.
Police said that the security officer immediately notified police and kept the suspect under observation until officers could arrive.
Police were able to verify that the man forceed the woman and child into his vehicle and officers took McCrae into custody.
McCrae was wanted in Charlotte for assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill.
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17 Year old, 3 juveniles charged with murder in S.C. www.privateofficer.com
Officials say Mahquaun Loftin was shot off College Street in the middle of the road.
Acting Winnsboro police Chief Freddie Lorick says Loftin was in a fight with several juveniles at a house party.
Lorick says 17-year-old Roderikus Adams shot Loftin in the chest.
Loftin was taken to Fairfield Memorial Hospital where he later died from a gun shot wound.
Adams and three juveniles have been charged with murder. The four have been booked at the Fairfield County Detention Center.
The four are expected to go in front of a judge on Monday.
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15 Year old charged in murder of missing Mo. girl www.privateofficer.com
Police did not release the teen’s gender or name and provided few other details about the person suspected of killing Elizabeth Olten. Cole County Sheriff Greg White has said the teenage suspect is not related to Elizabeth but was acquainted with her and is from the same area just west of Jefferson City.
Several hundred people braved soaking rain and cold weather to search a heavily wooded area near Elizabeth’s home after she was reported missing Wednesday evening. Police found Elizabeth’s body Friday afternoon after the suspect led them to a wooded area several hundred yards from her St. Martins house, White said.
“We had been in that area – actually more than once. The body was very well concealed,” said White, who would not say whether police believed Elizabeth had been killed there.
Under Missouri law, children as young as 12 can be charged as adults with first-degree murder. But the case must start in the juvenile court system while a hearing is held on whether to transfer it to an adult court. Juvenile court records generally are closed under Missouri law unless a judge grants an exception.
Cole County Juvenile Court Administrator Michael Couty said the suspect was in the custody of the juvenile justice system and would undergo a background and psychological check. Couty planned to request a hearing next week before a family court judge to determine whether the suspect should be tried as a juvenile or as an adult. That hearing would be closed to the public.
Police initially had said Elizabeth was last seen walking home from a neighbor’s house on Wednesday night. White said that timeline was developed through interviews.
But on Saturday, White declined to say whether police believed Elizabeth had started walking home when she encountered the suspect. He said many details could not be released to avoid risking the prosecution’s case and because the suspect is a juvenile.
An autopsy was being conducted Saturday to determine the time and cause of death.
Police would not say Saturday whether there had been a confession, nor would they describe the teen’s demeanor or offer more details about written documents that led them to the suspect. White also declined to say whether calls had been made from Elizabeth’s cell phone, which was found “very, very close” to her.
Police narrowed the primary search area after tracing the phone’s general location, but the phone’s battery had died by Thursday morning.
The Olten family has received help since Elizabeth’s disappearance from Missouri Missing, a group that highlights missing-person cases and provides emergency aid to families. Group spokeswoman Ra’Vae Edwards relayed a request for comment Saturday to Elizabeth’s family.
“They don’t have anything to say right now other than they’re working on arrangements for the funeral,” Edwards said, “And they wanted to thank the community for their support and prayers.”
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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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Opry Mills security unknowlingly nabs murder suspect www.privateofficer.com
A Madison woman has been charged with vehicular homicide in connection with a car crash that killed a wrecker driver late Thursday night.
Metro Police said Eddy McCreery, 44, of Eastside Avenue, was loading his daughter’s broken-down car onto a flatbed tow truck shortly before midnight on the westbound shoulder of Interstate 40 near Spence Lane when the crash occurred. Witnesses told police that a weaving Toyota Camry hit him and drove off, according to a police news release.
Katrina S. Cornwell, 35, was arrested at Opry Mills Mall later that night after a security officer called them to report that Cornwell had fallen asleep inside her car in the mall parking lot, according to the news release. Police said her car was damaged and that she told an officer she had been drinking.
Cornwell is a reporter with The News Examiner in Gallatin. The newspaper is owned by Gannett Co., which also owns The Tennessean.
Her bond was set at $60,000. She remained in jail Friday morning.
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Orange County teacher charged with sexually assaulting student www.privateofficer.com
No word yet on any disciplinary action by the school, which has been named the best in the county by the OC Register two years running.
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Man kills girlfriend, himself in church www.privateofficer.com
Pottsville police say 51-year-old Frank Manganiello shot Sandra Pucci around noon Friday before fleeing to the First United Methodist Church and killing himself. Manganiello’s body was found at the altar.
Investigators say Manganiello shot Pucci in the parking lot after they argued at the market where she worked. The 49-year-old woman was taken to a hospital but later died.
The Rev. Storm Hutchinson says more than 30 people were in the church when Manganiello arrived but all escaped to safety. Hutchinson says Manganiello, of Schuylkill Haven, was not a member of church.
Pottsville is about 75 miles northwest of Philadelphia.
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Teen critical after 41 feet fall from mall escalator www.privateofficer.com
FFA officials are keeping in touch this morning with the family and teacher of a 16-year-old Texas student who fell 41 feet at Circle Centre mall.
An FFA spokesperson said that Philip Caler’s condition remained unchanged at Methodist Hospital. His family came from Booker, Texas, to be with him on Thursday night.
Caler is in the city for the National FFA Convention. The spokesperson, Julie Adams, said all of today’s sessions will continue as scheduled, but each will feature a mention of Caler and ask participants to keep him in their thoughts.
Also, the FFA has set up a special Facebook page entitled “Thoughts and Prayers for Phillip Caler” that was growing in membership quickly as word spreads through the nation.
“This group is very close and tightly bonded,” Adams said. “We are hearing from folks who aren’t even at the convention — chapters who were not able to attend, taking the time to post to our Web site and Facebook, letting us know they are praying for Phillip and their family.”
Caler fell from the top of the escalator near the Carson Pirie Scott department store about 2:45 p.m., said Sgt. Paul Thompson, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department spokesman.
Phillip was with the Booker, Texas, delegation to the convention, which draws thousands of teens to the city each year.
Dwight Armstrong, FFA chief operating officer, said Thursday night that the next 72 hours will be critical to Phillip’s recovery.
“Counselors have been made available to Phillip’s chapter members to help them deal with the shock of the incident,” Armstrong said in a prepared statement. “The national FFA organization is doing everything possible to assist and comfort his family during this difficult time.”
Thompson said Phillip was thought to be sitting on the railing where it met the moving hand rail for the escalator when he lost his balance. He was talking to at least one other person at the time, but police don’t think anyone else was involved in causing the accident.
Scott Miller, agriculture teacher for the Booker FFA delegation, said Phillip was not horsing around or sitting on the railing when he fell. He said witnesses saw the boy get caught in the moving rail and lifted over the edge.
Walter Wesch, adviser of an FFA chapter in Tucson, Ariz., was at the scene.
“Just shock; everyone was stunned,” he said.
Within seconds, Phillip was surrounded by other convention-goers, Wesch said, and an adult wearing a Booker FFA jacket was at his side almost instantly.
The mall remained open after the accident.
“Clearly the protocol was to help the victim and make sure the emergency people had the proper access and could care for him, but the mall is still open,” said Les Morris, spokesman for Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group, the mall’s owner.
Morris said mall security officers are trained to watch for inappropriate behavior and correct it.
“Certainly our prayers and best wishes go out to the victim and his family,” he said.
Phillip’s family flew to Indianapolis from Texas after the accident. Booker is a small town in the Texas Panhandle about 130 miles northeast of Amarillo.
Miller said the other students from Booker are holding up well. The delegation has been comforted by an outpouring of support, he said.
“We want to thank everybody for their support and prayers,” he said.
Scheduled convention activities continued Thursday, but leaders held a moment of reflection and asked members to pray for doctors working to save Phillip’s life, said Julie Adams, FFA director of marketing and communications.
Many of the more than 46,000 FFA members in attendance Thursday were shocked and saddened by the accident.
“It’s kind of scary that something like that could happen when it’s supposed to be a fun weekend,” said Reid Drury, 15, Yuma, Colo. “It’s tragic.”
Morgan Kincheloe, 15, Lincoln, Ill., said the accident cast a solemn mood over the convention.
“It’s horrible to have one of your FFA members hurt,” she said.
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Four students from same school commit suicide www.privateofficer.com
For the fourth time in less than six months, a student from one Palo Alto high school has committed suicide, authorities say. The boy stepped in front of a train at the same location where three other students have killed themselves since May.
CalTrain spokeswoman Tasha Bartholomew said the latest suicide of a student from high-performing Gunn High School occurred at 10:50 p.m. Monday. Another Gunn student, a boy, 17, killed himself the same way at the same spot at 8:20 a.m on May 5.
His death was followed by the suicide of a girl, 17, on the tracks at 9:59 p.m. on June 2. The third suicide occurred at the same location on Aug. 21 at 10:45 p.m.
Palo Alto police told the San Jose Mercury News that police are limiting publicity about the suicides for fear of a growing cluster.
“The research we’re being told is that the more we talk about it and romanticize it, the easier it is that mentally ill or depressed people will make that leap,” Sgt. Dan Ryan was quoted as saying. “We’re taking a stand and not releasing more information.”
Ryan was unavailable today, and another detective in the department’s juvenile section did not return a telephone inquiry.
Suicide clusters are relatively rare, although they have existed since ancient times.
One study found that between 1% and 5% of all teen suicides in the U.S. occur in clusters, taking the lives of 100 to 200 teenagers a year. Suicide contagion has involved prison inmates, marines, religious sects and Native Americans, but in the U.S. teens and young adults make up most of the clusters, according to Suicide and Mental Health Assn. International.
Clusters have included friends or acquaintances from a single school or church and also teens who have never had any direct contact with one another, according to the organization. Some share an “environmental stressor,” the association said.
The Centers for Disease Control reported that four teenagers in a New Jersey suburb committed suicide on March 11, 1987 by locking themselves in a garage with a car engine running. Six days later, a 17-year-old boy and a woman, 20, attempted suicide in the same garage by the same means, the centers reported. The garage door was later removed.
“Anecdotal evidence suggests that suicides early in a cluster may influence the persons who commit suicide later in the cluster,” the centers reported. “There is also research evidence that exposure to a suicide that was not part of a cluster may lead certain persons to take their own lives.”
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TX. teacher stabs infant also charged with sexually assaulting student www.privateofficer.com
Anthony Gilbert, 37, is a teacher at B.F. Terry High School.
An arrest warrant had been issued for Anthony Scott Gilbert, accusing him of having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old student.
Then Friday morning, Gilbert was involved in a SWAT standoff with Sugar Land police after allegedly stabbing his infant son.
The standoff began after Jennifer Gilbert, 39, showed up at Sugar Land Methodist Hospital with the baby who had been stabbed several times. The 1-week-old boy was flown by Life Flight to Memorial Hermann Hospital where he is in critical but stable condition.
Jennifer Gilbert reportedly told police her husband held her and the baby hostage overnight. She managed to escape with the wounded baby.
When authorities arrived on the couple’s apartment at 15700 Lexington, Anthony Gilbert held them at bay. A SWAT team was called and officers shot gas into the man’s apartment, then rushed inside.
They say they found Anthony Gilbert unconscious with self-inflicted stab wounds. He was airlifted to Memorial Hermann Hospital in critical condition.
Officers say they don’t know if he was unconscious because of the injuries or because of gas that was used during the entry.
Sugar Land police said the family does not have a criminal history.
They say the mother has a 2-year-old girl who was not injured.
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Teacher Tom Nolan charged with rape of child www.privateofficer.com
According to Senior Investigator Michael Orrego, the incidents were ongoing throughout the summer months of 2009 in Loch Sheldrake. Nolan is a resident of Loch Sheldrake, though it has not been released if the incidents took place at his home.
“We, in conjunction with the village of Ellenville police, received information that this was an ongoing course of conduct conducted by him,” said Orrego.
Ellenville Police Chief Phil Mattracion said that he was notified by School Superintendent Lisa Wiles that she was in possession of information regarding allegations against Nolan. At this point the police opened an investigation. When it was discovered that the alleged crimes took place outside of the Ellenville Police’s jurisdiction, Chief Mattracion turned the department’s information over to the State Police in Liberty.
The investigator said Nolan would be remanded to the Sullivan County jail, unless he could make bail, which was set at $25,000, after being arraigned in the Town of Fallsburg court.
“In cases like this of a sensitive nature, the investigation is ongoing,” said Orrego.
When asked about Nolan’s job status, School Superintendent Lisa Wiles said on Wednesday that Nolan was still employed by the district as of that day. On Thursday, after the arrest, Wiles sent out a press release informing that Nolan had been placed on paid administrative leave.
According to Chief Mattracion, if found guilty of rape in the third degree, a defendant could face between half a year to four years in prison, in addition to having to register as a sex offender. If found guilty of the misdemeanor child endangerment charge, a defendant could face up to a year in prison.
Nolan, a social studies teacher, was the coach of girls’ basketball and golf at Ellenville High School.
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Dallas police write bogus tickets to “Non-English” drivers www.privateofficer.com
Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle said this afternoon that his officers have written at least 39 citations to people over the past three years for not speaking English.
Apologizing publicly to the city’s Spanish-speaking community, the chief said all officers and supervisors involved will be investigated for dereliction of duty. All pending citations will be dismissed, and people who paid fines will be reimbursed.
“I was stunned that this would happen,” Kunkle said at a news conference.
The police chief added: “In my world, you would never tell someone not to speak Spanish.”
The bogus citations – there is no law requiring Dallas residents to speak English – came to light after it was revealed that a rookie officer, Gary Bromley, had issued a citation on Oct. 2 to Ernestina Mondragon for being a non-English-speaking driver.
Bromley had stopped the 48-year-old woman for making an improper U-turn in the 500 block of Easton Road, near East Northwest Highway, according to the citation.
Police officials at first dismissed Bromley’s action as the foolish error of an inexperienced cop.
“That’s a charge that does not exist here in the city of Dallas,” said Sgt. Warren Mitchell, a department spokesman.
“Although we believe it was a sincere mistake … there’s no excuse for it.”
He said that charge and a charge of failure to present a driver’s license were dropped.
Also Online Crime blog: Read the citation
In all, about Dallas police write about 400,000 citations a year, department officials said.
Bromley, 33, is a trainee officer in the Northeast Patrol division. His trainer on the date the ticket was issued was Senior Cpl. Daniel Larkin, 53, said Deputy Chief Tom Lawrence, Northeast Patrol commander.
Under the Dallas City Code, taxi drivers must be able to communicate in English. Mitchell said there is also a federal statute that says commercial drivers must speak English, but it would not have applied in this case.
Mondragon’s daughter Brenda Mondragon said her mother was rushing to take her younger sister to school that day and did not see the “no U-turn” sign. Records show Ernestina Mondragon has a driver’s license, but her daughter said she had forgotten it. She said her mother, a native Spanish speaker, speaks limited English.
“She was very mad; she was very upset,” Mondragon said of her mother’s reaction. “We ended up taking her to the [emergency room] because she was nervous; she was just stressing over the ticket.”
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