Archive
OFFICER DOWN FRESNO
Deputy Sheriff Joel Wahlenmaier
Fresno County Sheriff’s Department
California
End of Watch: Thursday, February 25, 2010
Biographical Info
Age: 48
Tour of Duty: 12 years
Badge Number: Not available
Incident Details
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: Thursday, February 25, 2010
Weapon Used: Gun; Unknown type
Suspect Info: Deceased
Deputy Joel Wahlenmaier was shot and killed as he and another deputy assisted officers from the California Fire Marshals Office serve a warrant on a suspected arsonist in Minkler, California.
As the deputies and officers entered the suspect’s mobile home the man opened fire on them, fatally wounding Deputy Wahlenmaier and wounding a second deputy. A responding officer from the Reedley Police Department was also shot and critically wounded.
The suspect was found dead inside the home after a standoff that lasted several hours.
Deputy Wahlenmaier had served with the Fresno County Sheriff’s Department for 12 years. He is survived by his wife, son, daughter, and parents.
Agency Contact Information
Fresno County Sheriff’s Department
PO Box 1788
2200 Fresno Street
Fresno, CA 93717
Phone: (559) 488-3121
Doug Rose, LP Investigator dies unexpectedly www.privateofficer.com
Death Notice
36-year-old Doug Rose, an LP investigator for Barnes & Noble, passed away February 15 of natural causes.
Based primarily in Southern California, the young professional had spent his entire 18-year career in loss prevention working for a number of major retailers.
According to Paul Bos of HSN, a friend and coworker, “Doug was a tenacious investigator, a skilled interviewer, and a leader who always thought about his team first.
Passionate about investigations, he had an amazing ability to sniff out and successfully close cases at an impressive rate.
Both in and out of work, Doug was a fun-loving, compassionate, kind person, and a great friend to many.”
Rose leaves behind his mother Diane, brother David, and fiancee Tiffany.
Security company closes after employee charged with rape www.privateofficer.com
By: Rick McCann/Staff
PRIVATE OFFICER NEWS
http://www.privateofficer.com/ The security company that employed a security g
uard who is accused of raping a shoplifter has closed down.“We relied on the fact that he had an active license from the state of Tennessee to be a guard,” said Akins, who said he found out about the previous charge when news of the current arrest broke. “It shut me down. I have no business.”
Hill was charged with rape after detaining a woman on shoplifting charges at the Poplar Plaza Kroger.
According to police, Hill “forcefully propositioned” her for sexual favors, including putting his hand down her pants.
Authorities were alerted the next day, leading to Hill’s arrest.
Akins also said that he was unaware that state officials attempted to revoke Hill’s license in February 2009 after his plea of guilty in a statutory rape case.
That process led to a November hearing, but state officials have yet to rule on the revocation of Hill’s license.
Akins said he was relying on the fact that Hill’s license was renewed in 2005, 2007 and 2009.
Legislation has been introduced that would make it easier to revoke the licenses of guards convicted of serious crimes, said Christopher Garrett, spokesman for the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, which oversees security companies.
If the new legislation is approved, officials can automatically revoke a license after conviction of a serious crime, unless a hearing is requested within 30 days of conviction.
That bill is under consideration in the state House and Senate.
Akins, who is now unemployed himself said that he doesn’t know what he’ll do to support his family and blames this whole event and the closing of his company on Hill.
Marine charged with accidental shooting death of child
Colton Luman, 26, of the 800 block of Warbler Court, will be charged with involuntary manslaughter for the unlawful discharge of a firearm in a dwelling, said Commonwealth’s Attorney Nancy Parr.
Makenna Rose Luman was in the home on Warbler Court, which is part of the Navy’s remote Northwest Annex near the North Carolina border. She later died at a hospital.
Police said the shooting appeared to be accidental. According to Virginia law, a person can be charged with involuntary manslaughter if he or she unlawfully fires in an occupied dwelling – even if it is not done so maliciously.
Luman is a sergeant assigned to a training company of Marine Corps Security Force Regiment in Norfolk, said Dennis Neal, a deputy public affairs officer. He enlisted in 2002.
Luman was licensed by the California Bureau of Security and Investigative Services as a guard in San Diego from November 2006 to November 2008 and from January 2007 to January 2009, according to the agency’s Web site. He also had a firearm permit.
He will be arraigned in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, Parr said. She said she was not able to comment further because the case is pending.
McKinney teacher arrested for student relationship www.privateofficer.com
Ryan Staton Hufford, 28, could not be reached for comment Thursday evening. Jail records show he was released Wednesday.
He resigned from his post as an agriculture teacher at McKinney North High School this week after he was confronted with the allegation, which involves a female student who has since graduated, officials said.
“We don’t have any reason to believe at this time that there were any additional students involved,” said Cody Cunningham, a McKinney Independent School District spokesman.
Police would not say when the alleged crime occurred. Hufford worked at the school for two or three years, officials said. The investigation is ongoing, police said.
Wayne Newton pursued over numerous debts www.privateofficer.com
Guards at Newton’s house, in a 38-acre walled compound dubbed “Casa de Shenandoah,” refused to accept service of court documents, and moving vans and Clark County sheriff’s civil division deputies left after less than 45 minutes, police Officer Bill Cassell said.
“They will have to seek alternative civil remedies,” said Cassell, a department spokesman.
Police and court officials said the case will return to county district court, where Judge Michelle Leavitt found Newton and his corporate entity, Desert Eagle LLC, in default June 8 on more than $400,000 owed to his former pilot, Monty Ward.
An Oct. 23 court filing in the case listed the amount due to Ward at almost $481,000, plus almost $128 per day in interest. The Las Vegas Sun reported Thursday that a lawyer for Ward put the amount due at more than $501,000.
Ward’s lawyer, John Muije, and Newton representatives did not immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press.
Ward is not the only creditor pursuing the 67-year-old crooner widely known as “Mr. Las Vegas.” Records show Newton has a spotty financial history.
In a civil lawsuit filed Feb. 9 in Clark County District Court, Bruton Smith, the billionaire chief of Charlotte, N.C.-based Sonic Automotive Inc. and chairman of NASCAR track owner Speedway Motorsports Inc., is seeking to seize Newton’s home for repayment of a $3.35 million loan.
A Speedway Motorsports corporate official in North Carolina and Las Vegas-based attorneys for Smith did not respond Thursday to messages seeking comment.
Court documents say Newton, Desert Eagle and Newton’s wife, Kathleen McCrone Newton, pledged the 38-acre personal residence as security for the loan in May 2007.
Desert Eagle also pledged as security Newton’s personal twin-engine jet, a Fokker F28 that an airport concessionaire said Thursday has been sitting abandoned at an airport near Detroit.
Joe Borgesen, owner of Oakland Air at Oakland International Airport in Waterford, Mich., said a lien has been filed against $66,000 in parking fees owed for the aircraft, which was valued in Smith’s lawsuit at more than $2 million.
Borgesen said the aircraft has been parked for more than three years and may be inoperable, with mold in the interior and engines that haven’t run in months.
Last summer, Newton was sued over $32,000 worth of hay for his horses and $37,000 for a 2005 Cadillac Escalade. The Cadillac lawsuit was dropped, but the lawsuit over the hay is pending in Clark County.
Newton filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 1992 to reorganize an estimated $20 million in debts, including a $341,000 Internal Revenue Service lien for back taxes.
In 2005, Newton disputed IRS claims that he and his wife owed $1.8 million in back taxes and penalties from 1997 through 2000.
Newton is credited with performing more than 30,000 solo shows in Las Vegas over 40 years. His latest show, called “Once Before I Go,” began in November at the Tropicana Las Vegas hotel and is due to end in April. He has not said if he plans to retire.
His best-known songs include “Daddy Don’t You Walk So Fast,” which peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard charts in 1972; his 1965 version of “Red Roses for a Blue Lady”; and his signature song, “Danke Schoen.”
Bank employee arrested for embezzlement www.privateofficer.com
Authorities say they’re not sure how much money was stolen, but it’s more than $1,000.
A criminal complaint says 36-year-old Katina Dawn Sweitzer of Fairview collected money delivered by an armored car. Authorities discovered the thefts in January when West Virginia University reported several outstanding deposits.
The complaint also says Sweitzer confessed the thefts to bank security officers and led investigators to her car, where they found bank bags containing deposit slips and checks from both WVU and Lowe’s Corp.
A spokeswoman for Huntington Bank declined comment.
Sweitzer is free on $10,000 bond. It’s unclear whether she has a lawyer.
Security officer critical after robbery attempt www.privateofficer.com
Gatineau police say a mall security guard attempted to stop the man and woman who were suspected of shoplifting from one of the mall’s stores. The 51-year-old guard suffered a heart attack and had CPR administered. He was in critical condition Thursday afternoon at a Gatineau hospital.
His name was not being released at this time, said Const. Isabelle Poirier.
The woman was apprehended by the security guard’s co-workers. The man fled the Maloney Boulevard mall and was later apprehended at a nearby arena, based on descriptions from eyewitnesses, said police.
Randy Sicard, 43, of Gatineau faces charges of robbery, possession of stolen property and breaking the terms of parole. He is to re-appear in court on March 10.
Cheryl Ward, 40, of Gatineau faces charges of robbery, possession of stolen property, breaking the terms of parole and obstructing justice. Assault charges may also be laid against the suspects, police said.
Mother killed soldier daughter at Fort Bragg www.privateofficer.com
Investigators say in a criminal complaint that Linda Shannon stabbed her daughter 32-year-old Autumn Michelle Shannon in their home on base at 147 South Dougherty Drive.
It allegedly happened February 22.
Autumn Shannon was an active duty soldier and cook on base. Mother and daughter had been living together on post since a car crash involving the daughter in South Carolina in December.
The complaint said the soldier’s naked body was found on a bedroom floor with multiple apparent knife wounds and a large knife protruding from her neck.
It also said Linda Shannon was found with a large amount of blood on her arms and clothing. She also had a small knife wound for which she was treated at Womack Army Medical Center (WAMC) at Fort Bragg.
A paramedic who treated Shannon said he asked her how she was injured, and Shannon responded “a knife.” Shannon further told the paramedic that she had gotten into a fight with her daughter and” I killed my daughter.”
An FBI investigator stated in the complaint that in an interview, Shannon stated that her daughter had called her a terrible mother and “I snapped.” Shannon then stated that she had stabbed her daughter and then tried to call 911 but was unsuccessful so she ran outside to find help.
Federal officers won’t comment on Shannon’s current whereabouts.
Armed security company owner killed by deputies www.privateofficer.com
knoxnews.com- A Knoxville security company co-founded 24 years ago by a man fatally shot Wednesday by Knox County deputies will be closed for a few days as funeral arrangements are made.
Liberty Security Systems, Inc., released a statement today extending condolences to the family and friends of Robert Kelly. Kelly and his older brother Charles Kelly founded the company in 1986.
The company has been operated from Charles Kelly’s house on Lone Star Way, which is two doors down from where 56-year-old Robert Kelly was killed Wednesday. In 2007 the company noted its eight employees were all related to the Kelly family.
According to the company release, Robert Kelly had been on medical leave for the past three weeks because of “a recent severe heart attack.”
The company will be closed for service, installation and estimates until Tuesday, March 2, the release stated. Continuous monitoring of existing security systems will not be interrupted.
The company’ release stated funeral arrangements, when completed, will be posted on its Web site.
Robert Kelly was killed by Knox County sheriff’s deputies responding to a 2:35 p.m. call from his wife, Linda, that her husband was armed and suicidal. Linda Kelly told emergency dispatchers her husband had shot out a window in their home at 10633 Lone Star Way.
Linda Kelly maintained communications with E-911 dispatchers with a cordless telephone during the incident. She told dispatchers she had escaped from the house through the same window her husband had shot out. She stayed near the house, however, to keep the cordless telephone in operation.
Knox County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Martha Dooley said when deputies arrived, Robert Kelly was outside the house and fired upon them. An undisclosed number of deputies returned fire. Robert Kelly was pronounced dead at the University of Tennessee Medical Center.
The Sheriff’s Office has not released details about how many officers fired at Robert Kelly or how many times he was struck.
No officers were injured during the shooting.
Former Alabama officer facing prison commits suicide
Source: WKRG.com – Sources tell News 5, the former Chickasaw Police Officer facing life in prison for raping his young step-daughter has committed suicide.
Bob Ingle was supposed to be sentenced tomorrow.
Ingle’s step-daughter, Rebecca McEvoy was killed in an unrelated car crash one year after she told her best friend about the alleged abuse.
Ingle was arrested in December 2006. He fought to get the charges dropped based on what his attorneys argued was his constitutional right to confront his accuser.
The case faced six delays as the judge and attorneys sorted out what evidence would be allowed.
He was finally convicted last month.
WANTED: ARMED & DANGEROUS Kidnap suspect www.privateofficer.com
Police said two women were robbed by two men outside the grocery store entrance. According to the report, Alvin Davis Jr. was arrested after running into nearby woods.
Police identified the second man who got away as Patrick Antron Brown. His is wanted on suspicion of armed robbery, kidnapping and aggravated assault. Police released little information about the incident, but said that Brown, 22, had a handgun and used it “in a manner that would cause harm to a person.”
Brown was described as a black man, 6-feet 1-inch tall weighing 180 pounds. They said he may have traveled on to Garden City or Macon and could be in a gray Nissan Maxima bearing Georgia tag number BGW5406.
Police say Brown should be considered armed and dangerous.
Anyone with information or questions should call Detective Snyder at 912-882-4345 .
Mall security, LP Agent injured in tussle with shoplifter www.privateofficer.com
The loss prevention officer said two women walked through the store picking up clothing. They took it into dressing rooms and stayed for more than an hour trying on clothes, according to a police report. They emerged, and one woman bought a blouse.
An employee noticed that both of the women’s handbags were bulging. She attempted to stop them after they passed the cash registers. One of the women tried to walk away, but the other woman began fighting with the loss prevention employee.
A mall security guard came to help and the woman delivered a hard kick to his groin, according to the report. An off-duty officer joined the fray and subdued the woman.
She was taken to jail on several charges.
Gunshot rings out at Salt Lake airport www.privateofficer.com
By: Rick McCann/Staff
PRIVATE OFFICER NEWS
http://www.privateofficer.com/
A gunshot rang out today at the Salt Lake airport but police say that no one was injured and it appears to have been accidental although they are still investigating the incident.
A passenger checking a gun accidentally discharged his weapon on the curbside of Terminal 1of Salt Lake City International Airport.
Police said that the passenger was declaring his weapon to a Sky Cap when he either mishandled or dropped it.
David Korzep, airport operations superintendent said that he semiautomatic pistol had one bullet left in the chamber and when it struck the pavement, shrapnel hit the foot of the Sky Cap employee. The injury was superficial and the Sky Cap was not transported to the hospital but treated at the airport by medical technicians.
To properly check a gun, the weapon must be in a hard, locked case and the entire weapon, including the chamber, must be cleared. The ammunition must be stored separately said police.
It is not known if the gun owner will face criminal charges.
Two plead guilty in armored car guard’s murder www.privateofficer.com
By: Brett Davis/Staff
PRIVATE OFFICER NEWS
www.priavteofficer.com ― Two men have pleaded guilty today in the shooting death of an armored car guard during the course of a robbery.
Dunbar security guard Carlos Alvarado was shot and killed during a robbery at Dadeland Mall in December of 2008.
A federal judge sentenced Erskaneshia Ritchie to nearly 25 years in prison on charges of conspiracy to affect commerce by robbery through violence. Co-defendant Nikkia Thomas received a sentence of 19 ½ years.
Ritchie and Thomas were the lookouts during the robbery which took place the afternoon of December 1st, 2008.
Dunbar security officer Carlos Alvarado, 51, was carrying a money bag into The Limited store at the suburban mall when two armed men approached him. Dwight Carter, who was Ritchie’s boyfriend, and Emmanuel Maxime have been identified as those men.
During the robbery, prosecutors say Carter unleashed a spray of bullets, four of which struck and killed Alavarado. Investigators say Carter then grabbed the money bags, which contained over $63,000 in cash and checks.
According to investigators, Ritchie and Thomas agreed to help Maxine and Carter commit the robbery. Thomas lent them her car knowing that it would be used for an armored car robbery. The two women also waited outside in the mall parking lot, police said.
Alvarado was married and was putting his two grown children through Florida International University when he was killed.
City wants bars to pay for extra security www.privateofficer.com
Yale News A proposed city ordinance would force New Haven’s bars and nightclubs — recently beleaguered by violence — to pay the city thousands of dollars for increased police security at events.
According to the ordinance, which was proposed by city officials at an aldermanic committee meeting Wednesday night, clubs would have to notify police of all advertised events two days in advance and pay a security tab calculated by city police. The ordinance would also apply to parades and other public entertainment events and would give the city the power to change event logistics, such as parade routes, if the events’ organizers could not pay the initial security costs.
The proposal coincides with a recent spate of violence at downtown clubs, including a November stabbing at Club Sinergy and a brawl on Crown Street Sunday morning that put eight police officers in the hospital and nine people in handcuffs. City officials said they proposed the law to have more police control over downtown security and to cut down on police costs. Five aldermen at the meeting said they hope to approve the law in part because of the recent downtown violence.
“This would give us the grounds to be pretty aggressive in requiring appropriate police coverage,” Chief Administrative Officer Rob Smuts ’01 said.
Though the ordinance would give the city the legal right to force bars to pay the cost of security, Smuts, who argued for the legislation at the committee meeting, said police would use their discretion in determining which events to charge for and how to charge their organizers. He added that the primary goal of the legislation is to increase police cooperation with clubs; it would be up to the bars and clubs to provide the police with the schedule of their events.
But Board of Aldermen President Carl Goldfield said his concern is not that the law would target too many bars and events, but too few, because organizers might choose not to notify police about all major events they host.
“Why are you being so tentative and nice with these guys?” Goldfield asked Redding and Smuts at the meeting. “If all those clubs closed tomorrow, I’d be very happy.”
Smuts and Assistant Police Chief Stephanie Redding said at the meeting that the ordinance would be applying a Connecticut law that gives police chiefs across the state the power to charge entertainment venues for security.
The police have already used the state law to charge for some events, and the costs can be steep: Smuts said the police cost of providing security for the 2009 New Haven Road Race, for example, with its 6,000 participants, was $16,000. The city ordinance would now give police the explicit authority to charge for more events.
Committee members at the meeting also expressed support for the legislation, but they cited downtown safety, not savings, as their main concern. Smuts said the ordinance would improve safety by encouraging clubs to keep events to reasonable sizes in order to avoid running up costly bills.
At the meeting, aldermen such as Ward 16 Alderwoman Migdalia Castro said the measure is crucial to preventing more nighttime skirmishes, which deter tourists and potential residents.
Still, three of the five aldermen who support the law — Goldfield, Ward 5 Alderman Jorge Perez and Ward 7 Alderwoman Frances “Bitsie” Clark — said they are concerned that the legislation does not provide a definition of an “event.”
Clark said the legislation as it currently stands could make every Toad’s Place concert or dance party subject to police control. This would add an unnecessary burden to Toad’s and other clubs that already keep events safe, she said.
Owners and managers of three local clubs — Hula Hanks and Static on Crown Street and Toad’s on York Street — could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday night.
Smuts said he would have preferred imposing an entertainment tax on bars and clubs that serve alcohol, but state law does not permit such a tax. New Haven Police Chief James Lewis has also said he supports such a tax.
While most organizers under the ordinance would have to pay the costs of security to the city in full, parade organizers would be allowed to forgo the payment if they provided proof that they tried to raise the money and failed, Smuts said. He added that protest organizers would not have pay.
After a disturbance on Crown Street in December, Ward 3 Alderwoman Jacqueline James-Evans proposed a law to ban underage nights at city clubs. Police raided Toad’s earlier this month in a crackdown on underage drinking.
Woman, 80, gets prison for burglary www.privateofficer.com
Eighty-year-old Doris Thompson has made a long career of petty theft and burglarizing medical buildings. And although this week she was sentenced to three years in state prison for her latest crime, officials aren’t sure that’s enough to stop Thompson’s escapades when she is released.
“She likes to burglarize medical suites for some reason. That’s her niche,” said Paulette Paccione, the Los Angeles County deputy district attorney who prosecuted the case.
On Wednesday, Thompson, who has a rap sheet dating to 1955 and has landed in state prison nine times, pleaded guilty to a commercial burglary she committed in December, when she hid in the restroom of the Children’s Medical Group office in Torrance and waited until employees left for the day.
A security camera caught Thompson prying open drawers with a chisel and screwdriver, Paccione said. From the building, Thompson took $400 in cash and checks, stamps totaling $25, a plastic urine container and an audiogram device used to test hearing-impaired children, valued at $1,000, said Sgt. Jeremiah Hart of the Torrance Police Department.
This was not the first time Thompson targeted the Torrance medical building, Hart said. In 2005 and 2006, she burglarized other medical offices in the complex while wearing a wig, he said.
During the investigation of the December burglary, a Torrance detective recognized the woman in the surveillance camera from a crime bulletin put up by Beverly Hills police a few years earlier for a similar crime, Hart said.
“That’s her M.O.,” Paccione said. “What she does is she goes in with her little burglar bag. She takes cash, stamps, whatever she can find.”
Paccione said Thompson, who has used 25 aliases, is a unique woman. “You usually don’t get 80-year-old female burglars.”
She said Thompson told the judge in court that she probably deserved more time in prison than the three-year sentence.
“I don’t think this will stop her from doing this again,” Paccione said. “She’s not really apologetic about it. This is her thing.”
Fresno County deputy sheriff killed, officers shot www.privateofficer.com
Sheriff Margaret Mims told the Fresno Bee that deputies discovered the body around 5 p.m. when they entered the trailer. The deputy was killed when he and others were investigating reports of arson and shots fired at the mobile home in a small community east of Fresno.
Fresno television station KMPH-TV Channel 26 is reporting that Reedley Police Officer Javier Bejar is on life support and is not expected to recover, Reedley City Manager Rocky Rogers said.
Authorities arrived at the scene in the 18200 block of Kings Canyon Road in Minkler, about 20 miles east of Fresno, about 9:40 a.m. to serve the suspect and were met by gunfire, Fresno County sheriff’s spokesman Chris Curtice said.
Two deputies and a Reedley police officer, who arrived later, were shot. They were taken to Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno. Authorities could not confirm whether a fourth officer had also been taken to the hospital.
The suspect continued to exchange gunfire with officers who surrounded the trailer Thursday afternoon, authorities said. About 200 officers were on the scene, Curtice said.
