Archive
Harrison County deputy charged with extortion www.privateofficer.com
Sheriff Melvin Brisolara said Thursday 34-year-old Ronald Roach of Pass Christian was arrested on a felony charge of extortion and hindrance of prosecution.
Brisolara offered few details of the arrest, other than to say Roach was arrested after “intense investigation into public corruption allegations.”
Roach was arrested by members of the Harrison County Narcotics Unit and the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, the Long Beach Police Department with assistance from the District Attorney’s office.
Roach is in the Harrison County jail under a $50,000 awaiting his initial court appearance.
Alert security officer leads police to burglary suspects www.privateofficer.com
Police say the two suspects stole some equipment from the yard of the Bluegrass Energy complex. Officers have not said exactly what the men stole. A security guard spotted the men walking around the yard, became suspicious and called police. The suspects ran off, prompting a search by Jessamine County Sheriff’s deputies and Nicholasville police, aided by K-9 units from Lexington.
Police have not released the names of the two men arrested.
Investigators say that they believe a third man may have been involved. Officers located a man in a red pickup truck nearby and questioned him. Investigators say the man may have been in a getaway car. They are calling him a “person of interest”.
Security officer injured during robbery www.privateofficer.com
By: Brett Davis/Staff
PRIVATE OFFICER NEWS
http://www.privateofficer.com/ Wichita police are investigating an attempted robbery of the Al Noor Grocery & Biryani House where a security officer was injured.
Police say around five o’clock Wednesday afternoon, two suspects entered the store and tried to rob the store owner. The man fought with suspects, and a security officer who arrived at the store to assist the owner.
The victims suffered minor injuries and were taken to a local hospital for treatment.
Police say that security was able to detain one of the suspects before the other ran away empty-handed.
Police say the outstanding suspect was a light-skinned black or Hispanic man with a slender build. Investigators say the man ran away with no shirt on because it was ripped off during the fight, and he was also wearing blue surgical gloves.
Police have not released the name of the man arrested or the injured security officer.
Harrington Raceway security help nab attempted murder suspect www.privateofficer.com
By: Rick McCann/Staff
PRIVATE OFFICER NEWS
http://www.privateofficer.com/ Authorities have made an arrest of a man wanted in a shooting in Seaford last month.
According to police, Harrington Raceway security personnel spotted Leondre Williams and notified police.
Seaford Police determined that 32 year old Leondre Williams of Bridgeville was responsible for a shooting that hospitalized a 21 year old man.
Williams was quickly taken into custody by security and State Police in the parking lot. Williams was turned over to Seaford Police who have charged him with attempted murder & other offenses.
JetBlue pilot threatens suicide at Boston airport www.privateofficer.com
BOSTON MA May 22 2010 (CBS) ―
A JetBlue pilot was pulled from a flight Thursday night after claiming he wanted to commit suicide “in spectacular fashion.”
A JetBlue pilot was pulled from a flight Thursday night after claiming he wanted to commit suicide “in spectacular fashion.”
It was, perhaps, the most unsettling news for passengers about to take off on JetBlue last night in Boston: A potential danger in the cockpit.
“I don’t think its appropriate, especially with what’s going on the world, with air travel,” said one traveler.
A source tells CBS News that the pilot, so personally distraught, e-mailed his girlfriend threatening to crash the plane he was about to fly if they didn’t reconcile their relationship.
Massachusetts State Police said on Friday that a gun the pilot was carrying was taken away by authorities after he told an acquaintance he might harm himself.
“It’s ridiculous,” said a passenger. “But people say things they don’t always mean.”
But this was certainly taken seriously. The TSA confirms the pilot was taken into custody. He admitted he wasn’t fit for duty and needed help, and was taken to a local hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.
The airline released a statement saying:
“A JetBlue pilot was removed from duty for health-related reasons. At no point were any customers or aircraft in danger.”
The airline says the reports that the pilot threatened to crash his place are “pure speculation.”
JetBlue say it is working closely with Boston authorities to ensure the crew member receives appropriate medical attention.
Columbus reserve officer dies www.privateofficer.com
source”columbus dispatch Whenever Blendon Township held its annual spring park cleanup, Township Trustee Jerry Ward would always be there.
And he wouldn’t be sitting on the sidelines supervising. Ward would wear a “big sloppy hat” and get his hands dirty spreading mulch or driving a tractor, said fellow Trustee Stew Flaherty.
“It wasn’t just ceremonial for him. He got in there and worked,” Flaherty said.
Ward, 66, died Saturday, engaging in another passion: working as a Columbus police reserve officer. He was providing security for the 18th annual Komen Columbus Race for the Cure when he had sharp pains in his chest. He died in Grant Medical Center, suffering from a torn aorta, said his wife, Liz Ward.
Blendon Township voters elected Ward six times, and he planned to run for re-election next year, his wife said.
Ward lost only once, by three votes when he ran for re-election in 1985.
“He had a long-term institutional memory, which is valuable,” Flaherty said. “That is something you don’t just replace.”
Ward’s life was about serving others, his wife said.
For the elderly women on Acapulco Place, Ward would mow lawns, shovel driveways and fix things, his wife said.
They were married in 1970, shortly after Ward went through the Columbus Police Academy. Liz Ward recalled that while her husband was a cadet, he was pressed into service working the riots at Ohio State University that spring. He continued serving as a Columbus police reserve officer and would take vacation time from his day job so he could volunteer.
When Riverside Methodist Hospital organized its security force in 1985, Ward was among the first hires and was still employed there.
Liz Ward and their only son, Aaron Ward, made it to the hospital Saturday and talked with him before he was wheeled into the operating room.
“He told me, ‘Thank you for 40 wonderful years and I love you very much,’ ” Liz Ward said. He told his son he was proud of him.
Liz Ward said her husband knew he might not make it. He wasn’t afraid and told her in his last words: “I have such peace and I know where I am going and I know it’s a good place
Former security officers sue for wrongful termination www.privateofficer.com
Peter Zavaletta, the attorney for 10 of the 11 guards who were fired, said his clients lost their jobs for refusing to sign statements saying other guards were gambling while on duty.
“None of my clients were gambling and when they refused to sign statements accusing each other of gambling, they were terminated,” he said.
Zavaletta said he doesn’t know who the 11th guard is or who his attorney is, but was told by MTC there is an 11th guard who was fired.
None of the guards had ever been disciplined and several had been promoted to supervisory positions at the privately owned and operated prison, the lawsuit states.
One of the plaintiffs, Santos Talavares, graduated from the University of Texas- Pan American in Edinburg in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, the lawsuit states.
Another plaintiff, Robert Villarreal Jr., had been promoted to sergeant and then to shift lieutenant, Nicholas Catache had been promoted to sergeant, Alberto Najera had been promoted to lieutenant and earlier this year was named ‘Supervisor of the Year,’ Rene Fonseca Jr. is a decorated veteran who had served in Iraq before his honorable discharge from the U.S. Army in 2006, the lawsuit states.
“We don’t comment on ongoing litigation,” Carl Stuart, spokesman for Management & Training Corp., said on Friday.
The lawsuit seeks back pay, future pay and compensation for mental anguish, and punitive damages for what the lawsuit alleges was “intentional, unlawful employment practices.”
Police honor security officer for aiding carjacking victim www.privateofficer.com
Butterfield traced the source of the noise on June 24, 2009, to a parking stall at the apartment complex, where he found a man yelling with gunshot wounds in both his legs.
Butterfield, without a place to move the man, dropped to the ground and provided first aid. He also called 911 and gave the description of a man leaving the area, who police later arrested in connection with the shooting.
The victim, who police later learned was shot during a carjacking, survived. Butterfield’s assistance that June day earned him accolades from the Salt Lake City Police Department on Thursday evening as a “Public Service Star.”
His award was one of several unveiled during a ceremony at a hotel where police officers, civilian employees and community members were honored for their service during the past year.
The annual awards ceremony is a chance to recognize people for “the commitment and service they give to this community,” Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank said in a new release.
In addition to Butterfield, the department recognized the following people:
»Brett Banford, “Public Service Star”–honored for participation in Special Olympics events with law enforcement.
»Melissa Pehrson, “Citizen Service Medal” –honored for her role as a lead analyst intern
on the department’s patrol staffing project.
»Eddie Wilson, “Public Service Star” –honored for helping two police officers take a combative panhandling suspect into custody at a Chevron gas station near North Temple and Redwood Road on Dec. 19.
»Pioneer and Liberty Property Crimes Squad, “Police Meritorious Unit Citation” –honored for its handling of 10,000 active and 7,800 property cases each year, such as burglaries, larcenies, car prowls, auto thefts, shoplifting and bike thefts. Last year, the squad led three successful operations targeting auto thefts across Salt Lake County.
»Narcotics Unit, “Police Distinguished Unit Citation” –honored for work that included 780 felony arrests and the seizure of six pounds of cocaine, 70 pounds of marijuana, 10 pounds of methamphetamine, one pound of crack cocaine, 32 firearms and $287,000 in cash.
»Vice Squad, “Police Distinguished Unit Citation” –honored for the arrest of 250 prostitutes, 134 solicitors of prostitution, and 100 Internet-related prostitution arrests.
»Pioneer Bike Squad, “Police Distinguished Unit Citation” — honored for building positive relationships in neighborhoods, such as arranging monthly activities for children living with families at The Road Home homeless shelter.
»Officer Michael Coles, “Police Meritorious Service Medal” — honored for recovering more than $1 million in stolen property on March 28, when he found a warehouse where thieves had stashed stolen goods.
»Dispatcher Jessica Woodward and Officer Mark Buhman, “Police Meritorious Service Medal” –honored for tracking down a young woman who made more than 700 bogus 911 calls between October 2009 and February.
»Lt. Mike Ross, “Police Distinguished Service Medal” –honored for a project he organized to displace drug dealers and buyers, in which surveillance cameras were installed in Pioneer Park, resulting in 425 felony arrests for drug solicitation or distribution in the area.
»Lt. Rich Brede, “Police Distinguished Service Medal” — honored for organizing a mass casualty exercise on March 21 that helped trained police officers how to handle a terrorist act.
»Detective Jim Spangenberg and Drug Enforcement Agent Mark Bacon, “Police Distinguished Service Medal” –honored for work on a case that led to a warrant under the federal Wiretap Act, resulting in 23 federal indictments on drug charges and the seizure of drugs, firearms and $280,000 in cash.
»Dispatcher Emily Ashdown, “Police Star” –honored for performing the Heimlich maneuver on a choking co-worker on Oct. 18.
»Officers Marco Garaycochea and Vicki Aubrey, “Police Star” — honored for helping a man who went into cardiac arrest at Liberty Park on Aug. 30.
»Vickie and A.J. Walker, “Police Chief’s Humanitarian of the Year” — honored for creating the “Circle the Wagons Foundation,”» a nonprofit that helps survivors of violent crime. A.J. Walker survived the Trolley Square shootings on Feb. 12, 2007; his father died after being shot by the gunman. Walker and his mother formed their foundation, which provides “Cans of Comfort” to victims. The cans include a guide on how to give and receive support within 96 hours of a violent crime.
»Fusion Bike Squads, “Police Chief’s Unit of the Year” — honored for participating in several special operations, where 385 felony and 587 misdemeanor arrests were made. The squads seized 1.5 pounds of heroin, 1.4 pounds of cocaine, 2 ounces of methamphetamine, 11.5 ounces of marijuana, 54 vehicles, three firearms and $21,774 .
»Lara Jones, “Police Chief’s Civilian of the Year” –honored for her work in the media relations department.
»Officer David Malley, “Police Chief’s Officer of the Year” — honored for outstanding work as a patrol officer.
Facebook,MySpace caught giving out personal data www.privateofficer.com
Facebook isn’t alone this time: rival social-media site MySpace has also been called out in Friday’s Wall Street Journal report by Emily Steel and Jessica E. Vascellaro — together with the content-sharing sites Livejournal and Digg.
The report says that the companies have delivered user data to major online advertising companies such as Google’s DoubleClick and Yahoo!’s Right Media, despite explicit pledges to protect such information. The released material includes user names and ID numbers, together with data that could be used to accumulate a host of additional information on individual users, such as where they live, their names, occupations, incomes and places of employment.
As Steel and Vascellaro write:
“Across the Web, it’s common for advertisers to receive the address of the page from which a user clicked on an ad. Usually, they receive nothing more about the user than an unintelligible string of letters and numbers that can’t be traced back to an individual. With social networking sites, however, those addresses typically include user names that could direct advertisers back to a profile page full of personal information. In some cases, user names are people’s real names.”
Representatives of both DoubleClick and Right Media told the Journal reporters that they were unaware they were receiving such data — and stressed that they hadn’t tried to make use of any of it.
After the Journal contacted Facebook, the company announced a change in software to prevent transmission of the identifying code, the Journal said. MySpace announced that it’s in the process of adopting the same user protections. Digg, Livejournal and other sites named in the report are apparently holding off on enhancing privacy safegaurds because they don’t require users to register with real names.
Still, the report is another black eye for Facebook, which has already caused such an uproar that four U.S. senators — not exactly your typical Web activists — entered the fray over the company’s user privacy standards. Meanwhile, Facebook is generating plenty of bad PR all by itself, with an executive’s backlash-provoking Q&A at the New York Times and recent reports that users who posted comments critical of founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg have seen their profiles mysteriously deleted.
These episodes may well explain the company’s other piece of bad news this week: a poll disclosing that 60 percent of Facebook users have considered deleting their accounts because of qualms about the site’s privacy policy.
Police charge twin girls with killing mother www.privateofficer.com
CONYERS, Ga.May 22 2010 — Police said they have made two arrests four months after a mother was found stabbed to death at her home in Conyers.
Authorities announced Friday that they have charged the victim’s twin daughters, Jasmiyah and Tasmiyah Whitehead, and said that the 16-year-olds will be tried as adults. Both are being held at the Rockdale County Jail.
Jarmecca Whitehead, 34, was stabbed to death in January on Appaloosa Way in the Bridle Ridge Walk subdivision in Conyers, police said.
At the time, Whitehead’s daughters told police that they discovered their mother’s body when they got home from school. The family lived in a gated community.
Police said they were waiting on results from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab, and early Friday morning they arrested the twins, one at Tucker high school, the other at a relative’s home in Clarkston.
Conyers Police Chief Gene Wilson said he still can’t understand why this happened.
“I really don’t know. It was a brutal murder. She was stabbed and beaten to death, and as far as the motive, I just don’t know,” said Wilson.
Pastor admits to killing deacon in love triangle www.privateofficer.com
source:wsbtv — Former pastor Richard Scott Harper pleaded guilty to the 2004 killing of church deacon Thad John Reynolds Wednesday. Harper killed Thad Reynolds in a deadly love triangle, police said.
As part of the plea deal, Harper will testify against his former lover and Thad Reynolds’ widow, Michelle Sullins Reynolds, and in return, the state will not seek the death penalty against her.
Officials said Harper’s prerequisites in making the deal was that not only would he not face the death penalty, Michelle Reynolds wouldn’t either. Harper is expected to receive life without the possibility of parole.
On July 5, 2004, Harper stabbed Thad Reynolds, a 36-year-old father of four, to death when he arrived at the northwest Georgia Frito-Lay distribution center where Reynolds was a district manager. Police said Reynolds was stabbed 19 times.
Michelle Sullins Reynolds is accused of conspiring with her lover to have her husband killed. Thad Reynolds was stabbed to death in 2004.
Both Harper and the Reynolds family attended Hollywood Baptist Church in Rome where Harper was an assistant pastor and Thad Reynolds was a deacon and marriage counselor.
Harper was the one who stabbed Thad Reynolds to death, police said, and Michelle Reynolds is accused of conspiring to kill Thad Reynolds. Police said an affair between Michelle Reynolds and Harper led to the attack.
“I think he feels very responsible for the death of Thad Reynolds. He feels very guilty about it, ashamed about it and I think he was relieved to be able to come to court and accept responsibility for it today,” said defense attorney Christopher Adams.
“Of course I’d like to go forward with it but you have to work with the evidence you’ve got. And if I have the opportunity to shore my case up against another defendant, then I think I’m going to take it,” said district attorney Leigh Patterson.
Ga. court orders woman to write 2500 sentences as punishment for passing school bus www.privateofficer.com
The college student isn’t at a loss for words for an English assignment. She’s refusing to write 2,500 sentences she said the Forest Park solicitor ordered her to write after she received a citation for passing a school bus with its stop sign out.
Nguyen said the sentences must be handwritten by her, in black ink and say: I will not dishonor myself by passing a school bus.
Nguyen said she’d rather go to jail than demean herself by writing sentences she said would be a lie. She said she doesn’t feel dishonored because she didn’t intentionally pass the school bus.
Nguyen said back in March as she drove to meet a friend on Jonesboro Road in Forest Park, an 18-wheeler on her left and one in front of her blocked her view. She said soon after, a police officer stopped her and cited her for passing a school bus. Nguyen said she never saw the bus because of the tractor trailers.
When she went to court, the solicitor ordered her to write the 2,500 sentences as part of her punishment. Forest Park officials told Channel 2 Action News reporter Tom Jones that they require drivers under 21 who pass stopped school buses to write all those sentences to convey how dangerous it is.
A school crossing guard agrees passing a school bus letting children out can be deadly. “Kids will run, they always running. So if you see the stop sign just stop,” Pat Harris explained.
But Nguyen said once again, she didn’t see the bus and would have stopped if she had. She understands Forest Park wants to send a message, but she said writing sentences over and over isn’t the way to do it. “Writing something that many times … it wouldn’t teach me anything,” she said.
A parent enrolling her child in a Forest Park day care center said Nguyen should be worried less about the sentences and more about the pain she could have caused. Carrie Shelton said, “She could have ran somebody’s kid over.”
Nguyen will head back to court on May 26 and was told when she arrives she needs to have the sentences completed, pay a $350 fine, and have completed 24 hours of community service and a defensive driving course. At that time her license will be suspended for six months. She could face jail time if she fails to complete any of the court ordered punishment.
She said she would rather go to jail than write that she feels dishonored when she really doesn’t. “I’m not going to demean myself and be demeaned by other people even more,” Nguyen said.
Jail escapee caught at Wal-Mart shopping for clothes www.privateofficer.com
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga.May 22 2010 – A Forsyth County Jail escapee was captured at a Walmart in Cumming Thursday afternoon, according to a statement from the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities said Timothy Eric Gibson, 34, escaped from the adult detention center Wednesday afternoon. Sheriff Ted Paxton said deputies acting on a tip went to the Walmart and said they found Gibson shopping for clothes.
Paxton said in addition to the escape charge, Gibson also faces felony drug charges. At the time of his arrest, authorities said, he had 11 Hydrocodone pills in his possession.
Gibson’s girlfriend, Shana Renee Armstrong, 25, of Canton, was also arrested Thursday and charged with conspiracy to commit a crime of escape. Armstrong is suspected of assisting Gibson in Wednesday’s escape, authorities said. Armstrong is being held on a $22,000 bond.
