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Man arrested for threats against Housing Authority officer
Police said Pedro Villezcas confronted police and housing security officers, on the 200 block of Eucalyptus in retaliation to the arrest of a Villezcas’ family member.
Police said Villezcas approached guards at the Housing Authority guard shack and threatened to physically assault and kill one of the officers.
Villezcas was booked into the El Paso County Jail Wednesday and charged with retaliation.
Queens teacher accused of molesting 14 students www.privateofficer.com
Nine more Queens schoolgirls have accused a fourth-grade teacher of molesting them, just days after he was arrested for abusing five other students, officials said Friday.
The girls spoke up after Simon Watts, a teacher at Public School 15 in Springfield Gardens, was collared on Wednesday.
“[My daughter]‘s been crying. She’s really upset,” said the dad of one of the nine girls. “I’m upset. I’m angry. How did this go under the radar for so long?”
His 10-year-old daughter, whose name is being withheld by the Daily News, said Watts asked her to come in early and paid special attention to her.
“I thought it was good. A teacher was taking an interest in my daughter,” said the dad, whose daughter told him about the alleged abuse in a handwritten letter Thursday.
The letter from the girl reads, “Mr. S. Watts has touched me inappropriately when I was in the 4th grade. He has rubbed my arms, gave me mashages [sic], touched my face and told me I was beautiful.”
The family was struggling to understand what happened, both parents said yesterday. “How do we go on? We don’t know how to function,” said the girl’s mother.
City Education Department spokesman David Cantor said the agency moved swiftly to remove Watts from school once the NYPD alerted the agency of the possible abuse.
Watts faces felony charges in the serial abuse of five girls beginning in 2007, when he arrived at the Springfield Gardens school.
While working as a teacher at Brooklyn’s PS 115, Watts was investigated by the city Education Department for two allegations of corporal punishment in 2005. Only one was substantiated.
The special school investigator’s office also investigated Watts for a separate, unsubstantiated allegation during his time at PS 115 in 2005.
Texas band director charged with sex with students www.privateofficer.com
Source: News8 Austin An assistant band director at Burnet High School was arrested Friday and is being held at the Burnet County Jail.
Roger Michael Williams, 32, is charged with having an inappropriate relationship with a student.
The district is not releasing any details about the incident, because of the ongoing investigation.
“Our primary concern is the safety and well-being of our children, and I know that you will do everything you can to ensure our children are taken care of,” Burnet Consolidated ISD Superintendent Jeffrey Hanks said.
He also said the district is fully cooperating with law enforcement in the investigation.
Anyone with information that may help in the investigation is asked to call the school or the Burnet Police Department.
Nevada teacher arrested for placing camera in restroom www.privateofficer.com
43-year-old Terry Rauh, is in jail on ten counts of “Capturing an Image of a Private Area,” after one of his coworkers found the recorder earlier this week. According to video evidence that dates back to January, investigators say the camera may have recorded the private parts of dozens of teachers, staff members, parents, and even volunteers.
“I think it’s disgusting. I really do,” said Stacey Jim, a parent at Jesse Hall Elementary.
Washoe County School police say the camera, which was only about half the size of an iPhone, was taped inside of a toilet seat cover dispenser, but had somehow fallen to the ground.
“Another teacher actually found the recording device and brought it immediately to me. That’s when we notified police and we started the investigation,” said Jeanne Ohl, Principal at Jesse Hall.
The camera was discovered inside of the teacher’s lounge, where about 65 staff members use one of two unisex bathrooms during the seven to eight hours per day they spend on campus.
School police say when they reviewed the video, not only did they find at least ten incidents where the camera had been placed inside the restroom, but also a yet-to-be determined number of both male and female victims. They also saw the evidence they needed to make an arrest, the face of sixth grade teacher Terry Rauh.
“On one of the video recordings, or many, his face is clearly shown on camera placing the device,” said Lt. Dale Richardson with Washoe County School Police.
Principal Jeanne Ohl says she was shocked to find out the camera allegedly belonged to Rauh, who’s worked with the Washoe County School District for twenty years, at four different elementary schools. She says police have scoured the school, and no children were videotaped or harmed in the incident. She says Rauh is a popular, highly-respected teacher and the last person she’d expect to commit a crime. She says the news has been the most damaging to her young students.
“My concern is that their trust has been broken. This is someone they respected and believed in. They probably feel somewhat betrayed,” said Ohl.
Rauh has been suspended from his teaching position, and is currently being held in the Washoe County Jail on $25,000 dollars bail.
“I don’t think he should be in any school area or be able to be a teacher,” said Jim.
Police have also conducted an investigation of Rauh’s home, and have confiscated his personal computer. They say at this point, they don’t know how many videos are involved, or how many people’s privacy was violated. They suspect there could be more charges added to Rauh’s rap sheet as the investigation continues.
Armored car guard sprayed with mace during robbery www.privateofficer.com
The truck was parked with a team of guards when, police say, two men figured out how to breach the armored security.
“We see the truck all the time–that’s brazen. If they drove up and did that, that’s brazen,” said Ryaln Illardi, who works in Crystal City.
The robbery happened around 1:00 Friday afternoon on South Bell Street, an area near apartments and just above underground shopping and ATMs. The crowds, and the fact this area is filled with government workers, didn’t stop the thieves.
Det. Crystal Nosal with Arlington County Police said, “The suspect approached one security guard outside the vehicle, sprayed some sort of substance, then took the money bag the driver was carrying.”
People that work near the scene of the crime were shocked the thieves would attempt it.
Ken Dickerson said, “Always traffic is coming from Metro, going to this building, or over there. It’s pretty wild.”
Sal Tirpanci, a business owner, said, “Broad daylight, big crowds, oh my.”
Police say the crime was quick.
“I would say it happened in a matter of minutes, then he was in the car and he left,” stated Nosal.
But the fact it was so public may help crack the case. Witnesses watched the theft in disbelief, then watched the getaway up close. They were able to see the vehicle and the suspects.
Business owners hope it leads to a quick resolution.
Tirpanci said, “I’m sure they’re not going to get away with this.”
Arlington Police say they haven’t had any other armored car robberies in recent months. Police say the security guard who was sprayed by the thieves did not need medical attention.
Cobb County GA police officer drowns www.privateofficer.com
Multiple police agencies were headquartered at the Harbor Town Marina off Galts Ferry Road in Acworth as they searched Lake Allatoona on Friday for a Cobb County police officer who fell off a boat Thursday night.
Cherokee County Police Departmen The body of Cobb County police Sgt. Thomas “Brent” Stephens of Paulding County was found Friday afternoon in Lake Allatoona. He was 35.
A dive team found the body of Sgt. Thomas “Brent” Stephens at about 1:30 p.m., officials at the scene said at a 3:30 p.m. press conference. Cobb County police confirmed that Stephens had been employed with the force since 1996.
The body was taken to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Crime Lab to determine the cause of death, Cherokee Sheriff’s Capt. Joe Perkins said.
Multiple police agencies were searching Lake Allatoona for Stephens, who fell off a boat Thursday night.
Lt. Jay Baker of the Cherokee sheriff’s department said two men were boating from a restaurant near Little River Marina back to Harbor Town Marina when the driver — also a Cobb police officer — noticed his friend was missing. The friend searched the area before calling 911, Baker said.
The search started immediately early Friday morning with State Patrol helicopters flying overhead and boats in the water. At daylight, divers from Forsyth, Hall, Cobb and Cherokee counties arrived at the scene. Searchers also were using sonar and looking along the banks in case Stephens swam ashore.
Department of Natural Resources spokesman Cpl. James Keener said the 911 call came at 10:45 p.m.
“Unfortunately we have several drownings a year at Lake Allatoona,” Perkins said. “The cooperation of all of the agencies involved was fantastic. The gentleman that was here was a police officer, and the law enforcement community really came out to support everybody that was doing the search.”
Stephens’ death is the second drowning at Lake Allatoona in a week. Raul Cruz Martinez, 23, was swimming when friends last week when he suddenly went under the water, officials said. Martinez, of Acworth, was the first drowning of the year at Lake Allatoona, according to the DNR.
Harbor Town Marina is off Galts Ferry Road.
Stephens was a longtime SWAT team member and was promoted to sergeant in December, Officer Joseph Hernandez said.
Stephens is married with two small children, a neighbor, Shelley Pruitt, told the AJC Friday afternoon. Friends and family gathered at the Stephens’ home, in the Canterbury Lane neighborhood, she said.
“Brent was an excellent police officer, and he was not only an asset to the department, but also to the citizens and county that he served,” said George Hatfield, chief of Cobb County police, in a statement. “Brent was a close friend to many officers in this department, and he will be sorely missed.”
GA. KMart gay sex hotspot www.privateofficer.com
“I mean that’s just crazy,” said Rod Bradley, after CBS Atlanta informed the shopper that two men were arrested Tuesday for having oral sex in the store’s bathroom. “Just the fact you told me about it is just shocking for me.”
Police reported that a store manager entered the bathroom of the Buford Highway store and heard moaning.
“The moaning stopped then started back up again,” said Officer Brian Kelly. “He (the manager) then observed an individual crawl underneath one of the stall partitions with his pants down around his ankles.”
Police arrested 58-year-old Jose Salazar and Robert Evola, 59, both of Lawrenceville.
“I wish they wouldn’t do it in public,” said Marie Fraley who regularly shops at the Buford Kmart. “I know it’s not really in public, but it’s in a public place, and it’s not right because anyone can walk in. A child could walk in there.”
Tuesday’s arrests follow a police sting operation at the Kmart last month. Undercover Gwinnett County police officers went online and arranged to meet a man for sex in the store bathroom. Three arrests were eventually made.
CBS Reporter Renee Starzyk asked police if they believe a sex ring is operating out of the store.
“Certainly our investigators will be following up on this matter,” said Kelly. “They’ll be checking into the fact that this has happened twice in the same location to determine if there’s any connection.”
Run-away spends night at Bed,Bath & Beyond www.privateofficer.com
ROSEVILLE, Mich. — Police said a 15-year-old boy spent Wednesday night inside a Bed Bath & Beyond store, WDIV-TV in Detroit reported.
Investigators said the boy ran away from home and walked into the store just before closing time. He went undetected as employees locked up the store for the night.
Police said the boy found a blanket from a shelf to stay warm and then took shelter under a riser. When employees arrived Thursday morning to open the store for business, they found the boy and called police.
Officers went to the store to pick up the boy and investigate the possibility of charging him with trespassing.
Some shoppers, such as Raymond Thomas, were mostly sympathetic.
“I think that’s awfully amazing and he knew what to do in the place, so that’s pretty good,” Thomas said.
Kristen Donlon said she was glad the boy found a place to stay indoors instead of staying on the streets.
“That would be scary. … Thank God he had the common sense to stay safe,” Donlon said.
Police took the boy home. Officers will continue to investigate and will likely study security and surveillance camera video from inside that store.
Police told WDIV-TV the boy has run away before and the parents had reported him as a runaway.
