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School janitor charged with enticing student www.privateofficer.com
Source: Times Daily— A night janitor working at Beverly Hills Middle School was arrested for corruption of minors after allegedly attempting to date a 12-year-old student.
Jesse Tolar, 39, of the 700 block of East Madison Street, Philadelphia, was corresponding with the girl for several months, allegedly trying to arrange a dinner date or a movie date, police said.
Upper Darby School District spokeswoman Dana Spino said Tolar is employed by an outside contractor to clean the schools.
“He is not an Upper Darby School District employee,” Spino said. “He won’t be working in any Upper Darby schools. It’s an ongoing investigation.” Spino declined to comment further.
Upper Darby School District Security Officer Larry Santucci, a retired Upper Darby police officer, summoned police 12:42 p.m. Jan. 22 to Beverly Hills Middle School after the student reported receiving letters and money from Tolar.
“She has been receiving letters from this guy for a couple of months,” Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said. “Obviously, this type of behavior is unacceptable. For a 39-year-old to target a 12-year-old will not be tolerated. The young girl and her family were scared to death.”
Tolar, who worked 4:30-11:30 p.m. weekdays at the school, allegedly told the girl he was 18 years old and wanted her to meet him for a movie on 69th Street.
“I am not ugly,” Tolar wrote in one note. “I am sweet and a gentle person who would like to take you to dinner and (a) movie date. All you need to do is say yes and we could start something new in each others life without any friends buttin’ in and saying stuff to keep you and me from being together.”
Tolar affixed a $10 bill to one letter for her to buy lunch.
When interviewed by Criminal Investigator Daniel Oliveri, Tolar admitted writing to the student, claiming he just wanted to have fun with someone.
“It’s not a joke as he stated,” Chitwood said. “It’s serious to put kids at risk.”
Tolar was arraigned on charges of harassment, stalking and corruption of minors.
Bail was set at $20,000 cash pending a preliminary hearing Feb. 1 before Magisterial District Judge Harry Karapalides.
GA. mom makes son kill hamster over bad grade www.privateofficer.com
The 38-year-old faces one charge each of animal cruelty, child cruelty and battery.
Meriwether County sheriff Steve Whitlock told CBS affiliate WGCL that the 12-year-old boy told his teacher about the killing.
The Atlanta affiliate asked Whitlock, who knows the mother personally, if this is something that the son could have made up, but the sheriff says it happened.
“The mother was really upset and she proceeded to punish the child in a strange manner,” Whitlock told the station.
Geter is a dental hygienist and a former daycare provider who used to care for kids out of her Warm Springs home, about 80 miles south of Atlanta. She has three kids including the 12-year-old son who came home from Manchester Middle School last week with bad grades.
A neighbor who’s known the Geter family for almost 20 years can’t believe it happened.
“I’ve known Lynn…Good people far as I’m concerned,” Ken Brock told WGCL. “I’m not convinced of any of it.”
The sheriff told WGCL that the mom has been arrested before for minor crimes, but nothing violent.
Geter was arrested last Friday. It was not immediately known if she had a lawyer.
Her children are now in the custody of the Division of Family and Children Services.
Security officer aids in burglary arrests www.privateofficer.com
Luis Angel Castro, 23, of Long Beach was arrested after allegedly stealing a police car and evading officers for several miles before crashing into another police car, said Long Beach Police Detective Dennis Zigrang.
The incident began at about 7:30 a.m. when an officer saw a security guard chasing a man suspected of burglarizing hotel rooms at Hotel Maya, 700 Queensway Drive, Zigrang said. While the police officer assisted the security guard in the chase, the suspect hid in bushes, then jumped into the unattended police car and sped off. The suspect was apprehended after he ran a red light and smashed into another police cruiser, causing minor injuries to himself and an officer.
Castro, who was already on probation for burglary, faces eight felony charges, including evading arrest, auto theft, burglary, and grand theft of a firearm – because a shotgun and assault rifle were inside the stolen police car, Zigrang said. Castro is also facing two counts of assault with a deadly weapon for allegedly trying hit two people with the vehicle, he added.
In a separate incident, another man was arrested Sunday after allegedly stealing a car in the 3900 block of Lewis Avenue and leading officers on an hourlong chase through the city.
Gregory Galang, 35, of Lakewood was arrested for evading arrest, auto theft and resisting arrest, said Long Beach Police Sgt. Dina Zapalski.
The chase, which began at about 3:30 a.m., ended in the 900 block of Loma Avenue.
Pro Baseball players arrested in scuffle with security www.privateofficer.com
azcentral.com A brawl at a U.S. Airways Center lounge which led to the arrest of two professional baseball players also involved the wife of an NBA player who claimed the players’ grandfather groped her at the bar, according to a police report released today.
Officers arrested Detroit Tigers catcher Gerald Laird and his brother – New York Yankees prospect Brandon Laird – on suspicion of scuffling with security guards in the drunken skirmish during the Suns’ win over the Boston Celtics on Dec. 30. The Lairds’ uncle, Gregory Scott Collins, 51, was also arrested on suspicion of assault.
Police listed Charlsie House – wife of Celtics forward Eddie House, a former star with the Suns and ASU – as an investigative lead in the case, according to the report.
Authorities said House quickly left the arena’s Verve Energy Lounge after accusing the Lairds’ 70-year-old grandfather, who was never cited, of touching her inappropriately.
House said she “did not want any prosecution” and was “reluctant to give any of her information” to officers, according to the report. A bartender told police House claimed she was being harassed prior to the fight.
Officers who responded to the fight said Brandon Laird, 22, shouted derogatory remarks toward House and other women at the lounge before taking a swing at one of the women. The Yankees’ prospect was booked on suspicion of misdemeanor disorderly conduct.
Gerald Laird, 30, signed a $3.9 million one-year contract with Detroit earlier this month. The Peoria resident was booked on suspicion of misdemeanor assault for allegedly striking a security guard in the head from behind during the brawl.
The catcher said he felt he was in danger and just trying to “watch the game and have some fun,” according to his statements to police. He also told police the fight involved “some lady inside that was bragging about her husband playing for the Celtics.”
“I don’t know, I didn’t try to hurt anyone or strike anyone,” Laird told one officer. “The next thing I knew, I was in handcuffs.”
Witnesses told police the Laird brothers – who attended the game with Collins, their grandfather and their father – were cautioned by security when they arrived because they appeared intoxicated.
Collins was booked on suspicion of assault after police said he punched a security guard in the face and head as the guard tried to detain one of his nephews.
Police seized video of the melee from the Verge Energy Lounge as part of the investigation.
Patient dies after shot with Taser www.privateofficer.com
Kelly Brinson Sr. went into cardiac arrest Jan. 20. He was pronounced dead three days later.
Gene Ferrara, the chief of police at University of Cincinnati, said the incident was unfortunate and tragic.
The Hamilton County Coroner’s Office refused comment on the matter Tuesday, saying it is still under investigation.
If the use of a Taser is determined as the main cause of the death, it will be the first in Hamilton County, the coroner’s spokesman said Tuesday.
“Oh, my God, I cannot believe he is not coming back,” said Brenda Brinson, Kelly Brinson’s sister.
Brenda Brinson said she knew her brother needed help just after the new year. Diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic close to three decades ago, his sister said he told her he had been having bad dreams and overall bad feelings since the holidays. He was feeling suicidal.
Derek Brinson said his brother had been talking about the need to get his medications adjusted. Over the years he had mental setbacks and had been arrested on various charges, ranging from assault to disorderly conduct.
Even so, “He was gentle,” Derek Brinson said.
On Jan. 16, Kelly Brinson punched a wall and broke his right hand at his Mount Airy home. His hand and his ring and pinky finger were put into a cast that went up to his elbow.
Two days later, Kelly Brinson went to University Hospital and asked to be admitted to the psychiatric ward, his sister and brother said.
“I knew he was safe and I could rest my mind,” Brenda Brinson said.
The following evening, Brinson’s brother was on a ventilator.
Brenda Brinson said she was told emergency workers spent 19 minutes trying to revive her brother after he was stunned and he never regained consciousness.
The Brinsons said their brother was agitated because his cell phone, which also has a radio, had been taken away from him because he had lashed out at a fellow patient.
“He just wanted to listen to the radio,” Derek Brinson said.
Both Brinsons said their brother had calmed down but were told he became agitated again before being shocked. They were also told that he was given sedatives before he was shocked.
He said, “I’m done,” just before going into cardiac arrest, Brenda and Derek Brinson said hospital officials told them in a meeting that also involved police last week.
“He was dead Wednesday, I just know it,” Derek Brinson said. “They just kept him alive to try and cover this up.”
A University Hospital spokesman declined to be interviewed for this story and referred all questions to the police department.
Ferrara, the UC police chief, said officers made every possible attempt to calm Kelly Brinson before using the Taser.
Ferrara said Brinson was taken into a room and police planned to have him arrested on charges of assault on a police officer because he had swung at a security guard. At that point, Brinson became agitated again and other officers were called to help control him.
At least two officers had some sort of scuffle with Brinson when officer Mark Zacharias used his Taser. At least five university police officers were in the room and other witnesses at that point, Ferrara said.
Zacharias has been placed on paid administrative leave, which is common procedure, Ferrara said. Zacharias had been a security guard and about six months ago was promoted to police officer.
Ferrara said two officers received minor injuries.
Brenda Brinson said her 6-foot-2-inch, 200-pound brother had a large cut on his head when she saw him at the hospital.
Ferrara said the Taser hit Brinson in the upper leg and hip area. The officer tried using the weapon two more times, but Ferrara said a computer printout that tracks the Taser use through a chip suggest the device locked and only shocked Brinson once.
The Brinsons believe their brother also was hit twice with the Taser in the chest, something police officers have been warned to try to avoid doing since Taser International sent out an alert last fall advising police to avoid shocking suspects in the chest.
“We have pictures,” Brenda Brinson said.
Ferrara said his officers have been trained to try to avoid shocking a subject in the chest and that is why his officer shot at the hip.
Tasers have become common in police agencies across the country since the early 2000s.
They were touted as a substitute to a handgun or other weapons that can be deadly when used. The idea was that police could shock unruly suspects and the suspect would fall to the ground then be handcuffed and hauled away.
“Our intention was to prevent serious injury,” Ferrara said.
Amnesty International said Tuesday that more than 350 people have died after being shocked by a Taser or stun gun in the United States through 2008.
At one point the human rights watch group called for a moratorium on Tasers.
“There are simply too many of these deaths and injuries,” said Joshua Rubenstein, the Northeast regional Director of Amnesty International USA.
In 2007, a Golf Manor man died after being shocked. In that case the coroner’s ruled that the man died from a lethal reaction to cocaine and not the Taser.
A 26-year-old Miami University graduate died after being hit with a Taser by Oxford police in 2008. The Taser was not determined to be the only factor that contributed to the young man’s death; alcohol also played a part in his organs failing.
Since that case, Oxford police officers no longer carry Tasers. Only supervisors may carry the weapons.
Oxford police also can no longer use a Taser when a person is obviously inebriated, emotionally disturbed or has a noticeable mental or physical handicap. In addition, police may only shock a person involved in a violent crime.
More recently in Mason, a man died after falling and striking his head when he was shocked with a Taser in December. Butler County official said the cause of death was a skull fracture.
Amnesty’s figures on the 351 deaths are a culmination of all deaths after someone has been shocked regardless whether a coroner’s officer said drugs or a fall from being shocked caused the deaths and not just the Taser.
What matters most to Brenda and Derek Brinson is that hospital staff and police apparently didn’t try other means, such a straightjacket, to control their brother.
“That was his safe place,” Brenda Brinson said of the hospital.
Brenda Brinson said her brother has been seeking help at UC and other mental health agencies for 28 years.
“He went there for help,” Brenda Brinson said.
Trenton school security officer stabbed www.privateofficer.com
It happened around 10:10 a.m. Tuesday at the campus on Chambers Street.
Police say security guard Tyrone McNeese, 42, suffered a stab wound to his left forearm.
It began when two 15-year old girls were involved in a fight and, while that was happening, another fight began between another 15-year-old girl and a 16-year-old girl.
Several security guards interrupted the fights and held the girls against the lockers, police say.
That was when the 16-year-old allegedly pulled a knife from her bra.
Police say when the other girls saw the knife they broke free and ran away, with the 16-year-old in pursuit.
McNeese was running toward the area, police say, on his way to help his colleagues. He collided with one of the 15-year-old girls and both fell to the floor. The 16-year-old then arrived, and police say she tried to stab the girl who slammed into McNeese. Instead, police say the 16-year-old stabbed McNeese in the arm.
That’s when the other security officers arrived and again tried to detain the girls. Police say one of the 15-year-olds tried to arm herself with a pair of scissors, but the guards were able to subdue her.
McNeese was treated and released from the hospital for his injury.
The 16-year-old girl was charged with aggravated assault, possession of a weapon for unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon (knife).
The15-year-old girl who tried to arm herself with scissors was also charged with aggravated assault, possession of a weapon for unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon (scissors).
Another 15-year-old girl was charged with disorderly conduct/fighting.
During the incident the school was locked down in order to contain the scene and to control the situation. No other students or faculty were injured during the incident.
Police say a search of the lockers of the girls was conducted, which resulted in the seizure of additional weapons.
Shoplifter armed with butcher knife arrested in robbery www.privateofficer.com
By: Rick McCann/Staff
PRIVATE OFFICER NEWS
http://www.privateofficer.com/ Police responded to an armed robbery in progress at an area Goodwill store and learned that a shoplifter had pulled a butcher knife on a security officer.
The unarmed security officer convinced the man to leave peacefully, and avoided any further confrontation Herrera added. Then he dialed police and described the getaway car.
A few minutes later, a traffic officer spotted the vehicle at the corner of El Camino Real and Ventura Way and conducted a traffic stop which lead to the arrest of Jose Hernandez-Ramirez, 52-year-olds of Santa Clar.
