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Salvation Army Major killed during robbery www.privateofficer.com
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. Dec 25 2009– A Salvation Army worker was shot and killed Christmas Eve in front of his three young children during an attempted robbery outside the charity’s community center in North Little Rock, a Salvation Army official said Friday.
North Little Rock police said they were looking for the two men who accosted Salvation Army Maj. Philip Wise outside the community center about 4:15 p.m. Thursday. No arrests have been made.
The two men fled on foot into a nearby housing development, police Sgt. Terry Kuykendall said Friday. Police don’t know whether Wise, who was active in the community, knew his attackers, he said.
Wise, 40, had gone to the community center with his children to pick up his wife — also a Salvation Army major — to drive to his mother’s home in West Virginia, said Maj. Harvey Johnson, area commander of the Salvation Army. As Wise neared the side door, two men approached.
Both men were carrying hand guns, police said. One demanded money and shot Wise, Pulaski County Coroner Garland Camper told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Wise’s wife, Cindy, was inside the center and called 911.
Blood stained the sidewalk outside the center Friday.
The Wises had just adopted their children — ages 4, 6 and 8 — last year, Johnson said. The three were siblings who came from an abusive family. They were receiving counseling after their father’s death, he said.
Kuykendall said the children were standing beside their father when he was shot, but there was apparently no interaction between the youngsters and the two men.
Wise had worked for three years in Baring Cross, a low-income neighborhood troubled by gangs and drugs, Johnson said. He ran youth programs, a food pantry and church services.
“He was involved in the fabric of that community in a lot of different ways,” Johnson said.
He described Wise as “a big boy” who played “a big old tuba” in a brass ensemble and used his love of music to try help others.
“He encouraged kids in music as an alternative to the life they were living,” he said.
Kuykendall said he knew Wise, although they were not close friends.
“Mr. Wise within the last two months had spent so much time raising money so that several hundred children in this community could have a good Christmas, and for this to happen … on Christmas Eve is just a tragedy,” he said.
Wise was originally from Weirton, W.Va., and his wife, Cindy, was from Charleston, W.Va. They met 16 years ago at a Salvation Army school in Atlanta, Johnson said. Both had worked for the Salvation Army ever since.
“He’s touched a lot of people,” Johnson said. “But who would he have touched if he had been able to live out his career?”
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Terrorist Attack On Northwest/Delta Airlines Confirmed www.privateofficer.com
WASHINGTON Dec 25 2009–
A Northwest Airlines passenger from Nigeria, who said he was acting on al-Qaida’s instructions, tried to blow up the plane Friday as it was landing in Detroit, law enforcement and national security officials said.
Passengers subdued the man and may have prevented him from detonating the explosives, the officials said.
“We believe this was an attempted act of terrorism,” a White House official said.
Federal officials imposed stricter screening measures after the incident.
Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., ranking GOP member of the House Homeland Security Committee, identified the suspect as Abdul Mudallad, a Nigerian. King said the flight began in Nigeria and went through Amsterdam en route to Detroit. There were 278 passengers aboard the Airbus 330.
There was nothing out of the ordinary until the flight was on final approach to Detroit, said Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory. That is when the pilot declared an emergency and landed without incident shortly thereafter, Cory said in an e-mail message. The plane landed at 11:51 a.m. EST.
One of the U.S. intelligence officials said the explosive device was a mix of powder and liquid. It failed when the passenger tried to detonate it.
The passenger was being questioned Friday evening. An intelligence source said the Nigerian passenger was being held and treated in an Ann Arbor, Mich., hospital.
All the sources spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was continuing.
One law enforcement source said the man claimed to have been instructed by al-Qaida to detonate the plane over U.S. soil.
The official said an official determination of a terrorist act would have to come from the attorney general.
The official added that additional security measures are being taken without raising the airline threat level.
The official declined to describe what additional measures law enforcement was taking.
The White House was coordinating briefings for the president through the Homeland Security Department, the Transportation Security Administration and the FBI.
A law enforcement source said the explosives may have been strapped to the man’s body but investigators weren’t immediately certain, partly because of the struggle with other passengers.
One passenger from the flight was taken to the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor, hospital spokeswoman Tracy Justice said. She didn’t know the person’s condition, or whether the person was a man or woman. She referred all inquiries to the FBI.
Passenger Syed Jafri, a U.S. citizen who had flown from the United Arab Emirates, said the incident occurred during the plane’s descent. Jafri said he was seated three rows behind the passenger and said he saw a glow, and noticed a smoke smell. Then, he said, “a young man behind me jumped on him.”
“Next thing you know, there was a lot of panic,” he said.
Rich Griffith, a passenger from Pontiac, said he was seated too far in the back to see what had happened. But he said he didn’t mind being detained on the plane for several hours. “It’s frustrating if you don’t want to keep your country safe,” he said. “We can’t have what’s going on everywhere else happening here.”
President Barack Obama was notified of the incident and discussed it with security officials, the White House said. It said he is monitoring the situation and receiving regular updates from his vacation spot in Hawaii.
J.P. Karas, 55, of Wyandotte, Mich., said he was driving down a road near the airport and saw a Delta jet at the end of the runway, surrounded by police cars, an ambulance, a bus and some TV trucks.
“I don’t ever recall seeing a plane on that runway ever before and I pass by there frequently,” he said.
Karas said it was difficult to tell what was going on, but it looked like the front wheel was off the runway.
“We encourage those with future travel plans to stay in touch with their airline and to visit
http://www.tsa.gov
for updates,” Homeland Security Department said in a statement.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has been briefed on the incident and is closely monitoring the situation.
The department encouraged travelers to be observant and aware of their surroundings and report any suspicious behavior to law enforcement officials.
Casino security charge man with cashing in stolen chips www.privateofficer.com
When Harrah’s casino security approached the man about the incident, Keith A. Archie, 26, of 501 Preston in Bolingbrook, allegedly took off his shirt to proclaim his innocence. That’s when security saw $1,500 sticking out of his underwear, Joliet police reported.
A 51-year-old Orland Park man told police he had inadvertently left the chips on the table. Archie said that he knew the chips weren’t his, but Harrah’s would have just taken them if he didn’t. Archie was arrested on a charge of theft on Dec. 17.
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Teacher arrested for sex with student www.privateofficer.com
Sheriffs deputies arrested 49-year-old Mark Hamilton Tuesday night.
The suspect is a teacher at Alexander High School.
Deputies report seizing cell phone records as part of the investigation.
Hamilton is facing charges including endangering the welfare of a child, official misconduct and forcible touching.
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Bomb threat closes roads to casino www.privateofficer.com
Officers say it all started with a vague, phoned-in bomb threat around 4:30 p.m.
At about the same time, in what appears to be a coincidence, police say a man tried to board the boat with a suit case.
Officers say he became uncooperative when security tried to stop him.
Sgt. Steve Evans says, casino security watched the man enter a bathroom in the lobby area, leaving his suitcase behind.
With a bomb threat and an unattended bag on their hands, police decided to treat the suitcase as a possible bomb.
Officials did not evacuate the casino.
“It ended up being clothes,” Sgt. Evans said. “So what I think it’s going to come to, is this guy was in the wrong place with a suitcase at the wrong time.”
Officers took the suitcase to the casino parking garage where a device called a disrupter was used to make sure – if there was a bomb inside, it would not go off. There was no bomb.
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Casino security tip leads to drug arrest www.privateofficer.com
Yolo County sheriff’s deputies arrested two people at the Cache Creek Casino on Tuesday on suspicion of various drug violations.
According to Sgt. Lance Faille, Kellie Byfield, 45, of Roseville, and James Maxey, 42, of Nevada, were charged with possession of a controlled substance, transportation of a controlled substance, drug paraphernalia, and possession of counterfeit currency.
A deputy was notified around 11:46 p.m. Tuesday when Cache Creek Casino security officers saw Byfield and Maxey smoking what appeared to be marijuana in their vehicle. Deputies stopped the vehicle on Highway 16 near CR-78A.
Upon contact a pipe commonly used to smoke marijuana was in plain view on the center console. Consent was obtained to search the vehicle.
During the search, a glass pipe commonly used to ingest controlled substances, a small amount of methamphetamine, and $130 in counterfeit $20, $10, and $1 bills were found in the vehicle. Byfield and Maxey were both arrested and booked into the Yolo County Jail.
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Manchester High School teacher arrested-sex assault www.privateofficer.com
Aaron Kirby, 32, of Bentley Drive, Manchester, was charged with fourth-degree sexual assault, two counts of risk of injury to a minor and two counts of disorderly conduct. He was held on $10,000 bail and was arraigned this morning in Superior Court in Manchester. His bail was reduced to a promise to appear in court, and his case was continued to Feb. 2.
He was ordered not to have any contact with the student. His lawyer, Gerald Beaudoin, declined to comment after court.
Police said the arrest follows an investigation into Kirby’s conduct while employed as a teacher and track coach at Manchester High School. On Oct. 30, police said, a fellow teacher and coach at the high school was approached by a student who told him of an “inappropriate on-going situation” between Kirby and a 15-year-old girl.
Kirby allegedly gave the student a camera and told her to take nude photos of herself, police said. He also allegedly touched the girl while in school.
The fourth-degree sexual charge, police said, is for Kirby allegedly grabbing the girl’s buttocks with his hands.
The risk of injury to a minor charges are for two incidents. In the first case, Kirby allegedly showed the 15-year-old a photo of a nude girl bending over. In the second, he allegedly showed her a photo of a girl wearing a see-though shirt and revealing her breasts.
The disorderly conduct charges are for two incidents. In the first, Kirby allegedly asked the 15-year-old to take her pants off and had her pull her shirt up, exposing her bra. In the second, he allegedly grabbed the top of the girl’s pants and tried to pull them down.
Kirby remains on leave from his job at the school and officials said they could not comment.
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Officer arrested in jailbreak plan www.privateofficer.com
Alfred Casas, 30, was arrested on the job without incident and is charged with providing implements for escape — deadly weapon, which is a second-degree felony, officials said. The officer has been with the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office for three years, said Roger Dovalina, deputy chief of the detention division. Casas’ bail was set at $15,000.
Dovalina said he is trying to restore confidence in his officers because their morale is low after hearing about the incident. He said he told them “to keep their heads up” and that “one bad apple” is not a reflection of every officer in the division.
A fifth inmate also has been charged in the escape plot. All five unidentified inmates were facing long sentences and high bail amounts. They are being held in separate high-security cells, Dovalina said.
Since sheriff’s deputies and the district attorney’s office still are investigating the incident, he said, many details couldn’t be released. It wasn’t disclosed if investigators are looking for any other suspects or exactly how Casas may have benefited from helping the inmates.
Dovalina said the men had been planning the escape since early September and that they were able to saw off a metal bracket on a window in an outside recreation area. If the men had been able to proceed with the plan, the deputy chief said, the only extra line of security keeping them from freedom was a metal screen covering the window.
The plan was thwarted Saturday when officials found two 30-foot ropes, dyed prisoner clothing and a hacksaw blade. The hand-braided ropes were made from strips of bedsheets and blankets. A few cells down, authorities found dyed clothing and a 5-inch hacksaw blade. Officials said the inmates used teabags to dye their jail-issued orange jumpsuits dark brown. Authorities also found a broken window and a brick that had been chipped away.
Up until Saturday’s incident, the jail did not have a “set procedure to check officers” for foul play, Dovalina said. Now, he said, the jail will implement “daily inspections targeting the entire facility.”
“We want the public to know we perform our jobs in a professional manner,” Dovalina said. “We have a case here that doesn’t happen very often. We will continue the investigation and take all steps to ensure safety and security.”
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Alabama teacher arrested for sexual abuse of student www.privateofficer.com
Marcus Deron Woodham, 37, of Brundidge, was arrested Monday and charged with first-degree sexual abuse, according to Barbour County Sheriff LeRoy Upshaw.
Evidence uncovered by Barbour County Investigator Sgt. David Morris is being turned over to the Pike County Sheriff’s Office in reference to allegations made against Woodham while he
was a teacher in the Troy City Schools, according to the Dothan Eagle report.
Authorities said they are troubled by the unusually high number of sex crimes worked by the Barbour County Sheriff’s Department this year.
The Barbour County arrest is the second case to come forward this week involving a teacher accused of having sexual relations with a student. Amanda Watkins, a 38-year-old Sheffield Junior High School teacher, was charged with rape and sodomy involving a 15-year-old student.
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Delta passenger sets off firecrackers on plane www.privateofficer.com
Delta Air Lines spokeswoman Susan Elliott said the passenger was subdued immediately. She had no details on the injuries.
One passenger from the flight was taken to the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor, hospital spokeswoman Tracy Justice said. She didn’t know the person’s condition, or whether the person was a man or woman. She referred all inquiries to the FBI.
An FBI spokeswoman in Detroit said the incident is being investigated.
The firecrackers went off as Northwest Airlines Flight 253, an Airbus 330 carrying 278 passengers, was arriving in Detroit from Amsterdam. Delta and Northwest have merged.
J.P. Karas, 55, of Wyandotte, Mich., said he was driving down a road near the airport and saw a Delta jet at the end of the runway, surrounded by police cars, an ambulance, a bus and some TV trucks.
“I don’t ever recall seeing a plane on that runway ever before and I pass by there frequently,” he said.
Karas said it was difficult to tell what was going on, but it looked like the front wheel was off the runway.
