Archive
Ice-T charged in beef with NYPD www.privateofficer.com
New York City NY July 24 2010 Just because Ice-T plays a man with a badge on TV, don’t forget that the onetime gangsta rap icon recorded a controversial tune called “Cop Killer” back in the day. Just two days after he lashed out at a police officer who pulled him over in New York on Tuesday and arrested him for allegedly driving with a suspended license and not wearing a seat belt, the beef between T and the NYPD continues to escalate.
On Thursday, the president of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association rapped T (born Tracy Marrow) for posting the arresting officer’s name and badge number after the collar. “[Ice-T] may play a police officer on TV, but his disdain for law enforcement is well-documented,” said PBA president Patrick Lynch about T, who plays perpetually irritated detective Fin Tutuola on “Law & Order: SVU.”
Speaking to the New York Post, Lynch added, “Real police officers enforce real laws that exist to keep everyone safe, even a disrespectful, former rap performer-turned-actor, whether he likes it or not.” Following the arrest, the rapper referred to the officer who pulled him over as “some punk bitch,” who he said “made the arrest of his bullsh– career today. Arresting the Notorious Ice T for no seatbelt,” while providing the officer’s last name and badge number in retaliation.
T isn’t done talking, though. On Thursday, he tweeted, “I’ve got absolutely NO problems with cops in general … Just some people are a–holes. They don’t have to be cops. A suska [sic] is a sucka.” He seems like he’s trying to move on from the situation, adding a short time later, “The whole sh– was a joke. But it showed me how eager some people are to see me in handcuffs … Good wake up call 4 me.”
Following the arrest, T clarified on his Twitter account that his license was not suspended because he never had a New York license, but instead carries a New Jersey license, which he said is valid.
Security officers nab FedEx employee in phone thefts www.privateofficer.com
MEMPHIS, Tenn.July 24 2010 – A FedEx employee has been arrested for stealing $1,700 worth of cell phones from a shipment.
26-year old Antrawn Taylor is charged with Attempted Theft.
Police said a FedEx security officer saw Taylor put three cell phones inside a work glove, and then toss it over a fence.
When Taylor tried to retrieve the phones, police said he saw officers nearby and took off running.
They later caught up with Taylor and arrested him.
He’s expected to appear in court on Monday.
Source:WREG.com
Off duty guard questioned for not breaking up mall fight www.privateofficer.com
Town Center Mall Manager, Thomas Bird said The fight happened just after 6pm Wednesday afternoon in front of the Court Street entrance. The video popped up on YouTube the same day under the headline “Drunk Homeless Guy at Town center Mall.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pLvze-Nk_I
The video shows a man with no shirt fighting a man almost twice his size. The altercation lasts about five and a half minute and no one appeared seriously hurt. Toward the end of the video you’ll see a local security guard rallying with the pack of onlookers and capturing as much as he could on his cell phone. After the fight was over the guard said he wanted to put his video on YouTube and Facebook first. Bird said, The guard does not work for the mall but if he had he would have been fired.
Eyewitness News has learned the guard works for Security America. Company President, Bill Signorelli did not offer his name but said, “That individual was not assigned to that location. We do not have a contract with that location. The individual was off duty.”
Bird said the suspected drunk from the video had already been kicked out of the mall earlier in the day for reckless behavior. He said by the time his security guards arrived the man had already left the scene.
SC town dispatches competing ambulance companies to every call www.privateofficer.com
By: Rick McCann/Staff
PRIVATE OFFICER NEWS
http://www.privateofficer.com/
While many people have heard that attorneys and others with a vested interest in making money from the injured or the ill patient often chase after ambulances, few people know that in some areas, medical providers are now chasing each other too.
In a small, but rapidly growing area in South Carolina, not too far from the much larger city of Charlotte North Carolina, Emergency 9-1-1 dispatchers now dispatch two ambulances from two competing companies on every medical call.
It sounds like a great idea at first until you understand the reason behind the double response.
In an area such as Fort Mill, many ambulances are owned and operated by the local community hospital system who started offering ambulance transportation as a way to serve their community while bringing in extra revenue for their medical facility.
But as health care dollars becomes fewer and competition for that money increases, more providers now chase the same dollar and the same patient.
The first one to the patient gets the business. At stake, efficiency, health dollars, and patient choice.
The Piedmont Medical Center located in the adjoining City of Rock Hill South Carolina was the primary ambulance service provider in the area and the Fort Mill Rescue Squad was the first responder in their city.
But competition has escalated as PMC ambulances and Fort Mill Rescue is jointly dispatched to the same calls every time!
“Fake” marijuana causes rise in burglaries www.privateofficer.com
Raleigh NC July 24 2010 A legal drug that police and scientists call fake marijuana is causing some people in the Heart of Carolina to break the law to get it.
A Raleigh smoke shop owner tells ABC11 Eyewitness News that police warned him about people wanting to steal “K2″ also known as “Spice,” because they want to get high.
It’s a potpourri-like mixture treated with synthetic chemicals and herbs found in THC the main ingredient in marijuana. Users call it K2 or Spice, but police call it trouble.
Cumberland County authorities say they are seeing its first cases.
“We’ve seen a rise in the number of break-ins that are apparently targeting this particular product which is sort of a side-effect of having the drug available.” said Dan Grubb with the Fayetteville Police Department.
Detectives are investigating a number of recent cases across Cumberland County with the latest happening Thursday in Fayetteville at a tobacco mini-mart on Bragg Boulevard.
Authorities say the suspect broke in and stole an undetermined amount of Spice.
“Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve had two or three –at least two or three break-ins in this area,” Grubb said.
Right now, Spice is legal in North Carolina and most other states, but lawmakers in Alabama and Louisiana are looking into banning it. Currently, Kansas is the only state that’s banned K2. It’s also banned in most of Europe.
“It makes you feel stoned, it makes you feel a little sleepy, a little dreamy, it can make your heart rate go up a little bit, your blood pressure go up a little bit,” Duke Pharmacology Professor Dr. Cynthia Kuhn said.
Kuhn says it’s addictive and its inconsistent ingredients make K2 even more dangerous.
“I teach college,” Kuhn said. “I don’t like the idea of a drug that people use every single day and when they’re using it every day it makes them stupid.”
Three grams can cost $30 to $40.
SourceABC11:
OFFICER DOWN- Chief of Police Daniel K. Duncan
Chief of Police Daniel K. Duncan
Lake Oswego Police Department
Oregon
End of Watch: Thursday, May 20, 2010
Biographical Info
Age: 55
Tour of Duty: 34 years
Badge Number: 2L100
Incident Details
Cause of Death: Heart attack
Date of Incident: Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Weapon Used: Not available
Suspect Info: Not available
Chief Daniel Duncan suffered a fatal heart attack after responding to a call in the Lake Oswego Municipal Court Building.
Chief Duncan was in a meeting in the building when he heard officers dispatched to the location to apprehend a woman who was to be taken into custody and was a flight risk. Chief Duncan and the officers he was meeting with ran down three flights of stairs and across the building to the scene to assist with the apprehension.
After clearing the scene Chief Duncan stated he was feeling ill and was going home to take a nap. He went to bed later that night and passed away in his sleep.
Chief Duncan had served with the Lake Oswego Police Department for 25 years and had previously served with the Tillamook County Sheriff’s Office for nine years. He passed away six days before his retirement from the Lake Oswego Police Department.
He is survived by his wife and two children.
OFFICER DOWN Detective Lieutenant Lusila Brown
American Samoa Department of Public Safety
American Samoa
End of Watch: Thursday, July 22, 2010
Biographical Info
Age: 44
Tour of Duty: 19 years
Badge Number: Not available
Incident Details
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: Thursday, July 22, 2010
Weapon Used: Handgun
Suspect Info: Apprehended
Detective Lieutenant Lusila Brown was shot and killed while on duty in Paga Pago at the American Samoa High Court Building.
Lieutenant Brown was providing security at the courthouse. A man had just been found not guilty of assault and weapons charges. As Lieutenant Brown stood guard in front of the courthouse, a member of the defendant’s family approached him, drew a handgun and fired numerous shots, killing Detective Brown.
The suspect was taken into custody by other officers and faces murder charges.
At the time of Lieutenant Brown’s murder, police officers in American Samoa were not permitted to be armed by territorial law.
Detective Lieutenant Brown had served with the American Samoa Department of Public Safety for 19 years.
Agency Contact Information
American Samoa Department of Public Safety
Fagatogo Police Station
Pago Pago, AS 96799
Phone: (684) 633-1111
Please contact the American Samoa Department of Public Safety for funeral arrangements or for survivor benefit fund information.
OFFICER DOWN- Deputy Sheriff Shawn Hess
Deputy Sheriff Shawn Hess
Tazewell County Sheriff’s Office
Virginia
End of Watch: Friday, July 23, 2010
Biographical Info
Age: 35
Tour of Duty: 7 years
Badge Number: 22
Incident Details
Cause of Death: Automobile accident
Date of Incident: Friday, July 23, 2010
Weapon Used: Not available
Suspect Info: Not available
Deputy Shawn Hess was killed in a vehicle accident while responding to a call to backup an officer from the Richlands Police Department at approximately 5:30 am.
He was driving westbound on U.S. Route 460 when his patrol car left the road, struck a guard rail and went down a ravine, causing him to suffer fatal injuries.
Deputy Hess had served with the Tazewell County Sheriff’s Office for seven years.
Agency Contact Information
Tazewell County Sheriff’s Office
104 Court Street
Tazewell, VA 24651
Phone: (276) 988-5966
Please contact the Tazewell County Sheriff’s Office for funeral arrangements or for survivor benefit fund information.
OFFICER DOWN Corporal Matthew Edwards
Corporal Matthew Edwards
Taylor Police Department
Michigan
End of Watch: Friday, July 23, 2010
Biographical Info
Age: 31
Tour of Duty: 5 years, 7 months
Badge Number: Not available
Incident Details
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: Friday, July 23, 2010
Weapon Used: Handgun
Suspect Info: Shot and wounded
Corporal Matthew Edwards was shot and killed while responding to reports of a burglary in progress at an apartment complex on Pine Street at approximately 6:00 am.
Corporal Edwards and his partner encountered a man in the parking lot fitting the description of the suspect. As Corporal Edwards spoke to the man when the subject suddenly produced a handgun and fatally shot him. Corporal Edwards’ partner returned fire and wounded the suspect.
Corporal Edwards had served with the Taylor Police Department for almost six years. He is survived by his wife and two children.
Agency Contact Information
Taylor Police Department
23515 Goddard Road
Taylor, MI 48180
Phone: (734) 287-6611
Please contact the Taylor Police Department for funeral arrangements or for survivor benefit fund information.
Man assaults hospital security, steals ambulance www.privateofficer.com
Oswego, NY July 24 2010 — A patient at Oswego Hospital’s emergency room stole a city ambulance Friday morning, but it was found minutes later parked just blocks away, police said.
Witnesses told Oswego police that Matthew K. Belskis, 40, of Saratoga Springs, assaulted a hospital security guard about 10:46 a.m. and then drove off in an ambulance that was parked outside the emergency entrance.
Police found the ambulance nine minutes later on West Mohawk Street near Liberty Street. Belskis, they said, was found in a nearby home that he had entered unlawfully.
Belskis was arrested and arraigned in Oswego City Court on a charge of robbery in the second degree. He was sent to Oswego County jail in lieu of $5,000 bail.
He’s due back in court Tuesday.
The security guard suffered minor injuries, police said.
“We are continuing the investigation to determine if any other charges will be filed,” said Oswego Police Chief Michael Dehm. “We are thankful that no one was seriously injured and that we were able to recover the ambulance and take the suspect into custody so quickly after the incident.”
Oswego Fire Chief Jeff McCrobie said he was also glad no one was hurt and the ambulance recovered. “I would like to emphasize that, at no time, were emergency medical services compromised,” he said.
Source:Syracuse.com
Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, security sued in assault case www.privateofficer.com
“The last thing we want is exactly what’s happening today, bad publicity of somebody getting hurt at Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge,” said Smith.
Two men claim they were injured by security officers when they were thrown out of the bar earlier this year.
David White came from West Virginia to the famed Nashville honky-tonk in February. Tootsie’s attorney, David Lyons, says White was part of a fight inside the bar that nearly became a brawl.
“We restrained him and moved him outside for the police,” Lyons said. “He ran off before the police arrived.”
White was treated at a local hospital for a broken nose and bruises.
Four months later, Gerald Rodgers, of California, was restrained after a security officer determined he was too drunk to go inside.
“He ran in behind the security officer, and the security officer quickly got behind him and pulled him out of Tootsie’s,” Lyons said.
Rodgers’ claims his shoulder was injured in the scuffle, according to his suit.
Both lawsuits seek at least $1.5 million in damages.
Despite the lawsuits and injury claims, Smith said he stands behind what he calls “well-trained” security officers. He said Tootsie’s security procedure is to approach unruly patrons, ask them to leave, remove them by force only if necessary, and call police.
This is the third lawsuit in two years for Tootsie’s. In June 2009, Dan Herrin, of Alabama, sued the bar with similar injury claims. That suit was settled for an undisclosed amount.
Smith said he feels Tootsie’s has become a target for these lawsuits because if its popularity, especially at the hands of attorney Williams Hawkins. Hawkins represents both White and Rodgers in the current lawsuits. He also represented Herrin last year. He said he feels legal action is justified.
“If they weren’t assaulting patrons, I wouldn’t have filed these lawsuits,” Hawkins said.
Smith refutes any claims his security uses unnecessary force, but openly admits the need for diligence in light of increased violence in nightclubs and the ongoing debate of guns in bars.
Neither White’s nor Rodgers’ lawsuit is expected to go to court until 2011.
Security guard injured at Buffet concert sues www.privateofficer.com
Gary Jakubowski, employed by Monterrey Security Consultants to provide security and crowd-control and hired for Buffett’s July 24, 2008 show at the Bridgeview venue, filed the suit Tuesday in Cook County Circuit Court.
Jakubowski claims his job was to direct attendees of Buffett’s “The Year of Still Here” tour around a hazardous area with uneven ground and electrical wiring, according to the suit.
Jimmy Buffett Information http://www.buffettinfo.com/front-page-news/1527-jimmy-buffet-two-teamster-locals-sued-security-guard.html#post2009
During the show, the suit claims concertgoers began dancing in the aisles, pushing Jakubowski toward the wires where he tripped and fell, according to the suit. He claims electrical wires in the dimly-lit area were improperly covered, and that workers at the concert didn’t fix the alleged hazards after being notified.
The suit claims one count of negligence each against Buffett, and two local groups of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union who set up the concert. It seeks an unspecified amount in damages, plus the costs of the suit.
MDOT Director arrested at Beau Rivage Casino www.privateofficer.com
Harrison County Sheriff Melvin Brisolara says Brown was released from jail on $480 bond.
Brown tells The Associated Press he was playing a penny slot machine at the Beau Rivage casino about 3 a.m., when a security guard told him he had dozed off. Brown says the guard told him to leave the property, but Brown argued that he wanted to go to his hotel room upstairs.
Brown says he was on the coast to make a speech to the Mississippi Economic Development Council. The 67-year-old says he’d had wine with dinner and other alcohol in the casino.
Biloxi police say the hotel held Brown under a citizens’ arrest of disorderly conduct, and police charged him with public intoxication.
Beau Rivage spokeswoman Mary Cracchiolo-Spain says there was a “misunderstanding” that resulted in police being called. She says the casino considers the case closed.
Shoplifters pull knife on loss prevention agent www.privateofficer.com
BOYNTON BEACH Fla July 24 2010 — A shoplifting suspect pulled a knife on a security guard and threatened to stab him, police said.
Jon Christopher Whaley, 27, of Lantana, was arrested around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday near the Kohl’s department store at 1901 N. Congress Ave., at Gateway Boulevard, according to a Boynton Beach police log.
The store’s loss prevention officer had chased Whaley across the street to the La Costa neighborhood, where he pulled the knife, the log said.
It said officers found Whaley and Jessica Skinner, 33, of Lake Worth, who had taken part in the theft. Whaley confessed, saying he needed to support his drug addiction.
Palm Beach County Jail records show that, hours before her arrest, Skinner had been let out of jail on supervised release after Palm Beach County Sheriff’s deputies had picked her up on drug charges.
Whaley and Skinner are charged with shoplifting, resisting an officer, and drug possession. Whaley also is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
About an hour earlier, at about 6 p.m., another suspected shoplifter, Nicholas F. Shels, 18, of Palm Springs, had been arrested at the Kohl’s store after security workers saw him pick up shirts and jeans from the men’s department, then try to return them for store credit.
Shels is charged with fraud of less than $20,000, petit larceny and shoplifting.
All three are expected to have bond hearings this morning.
Boynton Beach police said this morning they believe the two incidents are not related.
Jail records show Skinner also was arrested in August 2009 on drug and traffic charges and in November on burglary charges.
Records show Whaley was arrested in 2005 and three times in 2009, on drug charges and a probation violation.
Shels had no previous arrests.
Source:The Palm Beach Post
Man pleads guilty in death of Ohio officer www.privateofficer.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio July 24 2010 –A 21-year-old man pleaded guilty in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Tuesday to involuntary manslaughter in the death of a Cleveland Heights police officer who went into cardiac arrest while chasing him.
Malcolm Bryant also pleaded guilty to assault on a peace officer and escape.
Joseph Burghardt, a security guard at Marc’s discount store on 1833 Coventry Rd and a Cleveland Heights detective, told Bryant to leave the store on March 13 around 8 p.m. after two women employees complained that he was harassing them, according to a news release from the Cuyahoga County Prosecutors office.
Bryant then spit in Burghardt’s face and fled on foot after he was told that he was under arrest.
Police were called. One of the responding officers was 30-year-old Thomas Patton II.
Bryant, while he was running, starting taking off his clothes and hid in a garage.
During the chase Patton stopped and put his hands on his knees. When Patton started running again he went into cardiac arrest and collapsed. He was taken to Huron Hospital in East Cleveland where he later died.
The Cuyahoga County Coroners office ruled Patton’s death as homicide at work. Patton had no history of heart problems and he once ran cross country for Holy Name High School.
At the time of his death, Patton was training for a 10-kilometer race.
Bryant will be sentenced 9 a.m. Monday in Judge John Russo’s courtroom.
Source:Plaindealer
Two Alabama workers die when car hits radio tower www.privateofficer.com
Anniston Al July 24 2010
By: Rick McCann/Staff
PRIVATE OFFICER NEWS
http://www.privateofficer.com/
Two men are dead after a radio tower they were working on Thursday was accidentally knocked down.
Calhoun County Coroner Pat Brown pronounced Barry Sloan, 37, of Albertville dead at the scene at 4:16 p.m. The other victim, Jonce Hubble,41 was airlifted to UAB Hospital due to the severity of his injuries but died several hours later.
Both victims were employees of Anniston-based McCord Communications and were working on a tower off of Alps Drive at McClellan.
Police say that it appears that one of the men was working on the tower when a vehicle hit a guy- wire which is used to secure the tower in place.
This accident may have caused the tower to fall.
A guy-wire is a cable designed to add stability to structures.
Both the police department and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating the incident which was strictly an accident according to Sgt. Glenn Pettus of the Anniston Police Department.
Brown said he could not release the exact cause of the accident.
McCord Communications handles the communication system for the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office, but Sheriff Larry Amerson said Thursday that the tower was not part of the communication system for his office.
Murder suspect found working as security chief www.privateofficer.com
LOS ANGELES CA July 24 2010 -– On Thursday Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck held a press conference to announce the capture of a murder suspect that was among California’s top 10 ‘Most Wanted’ parolees. Mark Rudolph Reed, 42, is wanted in connection to the 2007 murder of Marlon Greene in DeKalb County, Georgia. Reed, with a female accomplice, who is now in custody, helped kill and bury the Atlanta man off River Road in Ellenwood, Georgia according to investigators.
Police from California had previously informed detectives in DeKalb County, Georgia that they had information that California resident, Reed, was responsible for the death of Greene. After DeKalb investigators confirmed the woman’s story, they issued a warrant for his arrest.
Reed had been living in Los Angeles under the alias, Will Thomas, and secured a job as head of security of the Coliseum shopping center, which includes Denny’s Restaurant, a Starbucks built by Magic Johnson’s development company, a Big 5 Sporting Goods, a Goodwill and a Walgreens. Reed was identified by various members of the community that recognized him on the California’s ‘most wanted’ parolees website, and a tip led to Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Detective Venus Mason.
On July 9, LAPD officers planned to take Reed into custody as they waited in the shopping center for him to arrive, but the officers on the scene were rushed to another emergency after waiting for over an hour. Reed had been expected to drop by the shopping center momentarily on business. Reed was eventually taken into custody the following morning and booked by the LAPD.
He is currently in the custody of the Los Angeles County jail system in Castaic with no bail. His next court date is August 16. He is expected to face theft charges in Fresno and then extradited to Georgia to face murder charges.
Government workers with security clearances download child porn www.privateofficer.com
Employees under investigation have included individuals from “the National Security Agency, the National Reconnaissance Office, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency — which deal with some of the most sensitive work in intelligence and defense — among other organizations within the Defense Department,” the Globe reported, citing investigative reports.
Many of the cases date back several years. Some of them remain open.
“The fact that offenders include people with access to government secrets puts national security agencies ‘at risk of blackmail, bribery, and threats, especially since these individuals typically have access to military installations,’ according to one report by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service from late 2009,” the Globe wrote.
The Department of Defense inspector general’s office publicly released the DCIS report and posted it online late Friday morning.
Virginia man charged in casino assaults www.privateofficer.com
Morteza Naghibzadeh, 51, of Sterling, Va., was charged with four counts of aggravated battery and two counts of threatening a public official, all felonies, as well as two misdemeanors for threatening police. A judge set Naghibzadeh’s bail Thursday at $40,000.
Naghibzedeh allegedly became heavily intoxicated at the casino on Wednesday night and refused to leave when asked repeatedly by security guards, according to statements made in court. When security attempted to escort Naghibzedeh out, he became combative, police said.
Between the time when Naghibzedeh was initially subdued by casino security and when he arrived at the Elgin jail, Naghibezdeh reportedly kicked the casino’s security manager in the groin, kicked two police officers in the legs and threatened to kill both officers, their families and their children, according to statements made in court.
When Kane County Judge Bruce Lester asked Naghibzadeh if he had anything to say before the judge set bail, Naghibzadeh replied, “your honor I was drunk.”
“Yes, it appears you certainly were,” Lester said.
Naghibzadeh is to appear in court again on July 30.
Omaha man sentenced to 30 yrs prison for armored car robbery www.privateofficer.com
An Omaha man has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for robbing a bank and an armored car.
Danny Reaves and another man fired a gun and a Taser gun at an armored car guard in 2009, prosecutors said.
The guard was wounded, and so was Reaves when the guard shot him in the arm.
Reaves also robbed a TierOne bank in Omaha in 2009. He also robbed another armored car in 2002, investigators said.
Police investigate Oklahoma teachers in child molestations www.privateofficer.com
MUSKOGEE, OK July 24 2010 – There are two shocking molestation investigations underway involving teachers in Muskogee.Aurora substitute teacher charged with luring teen for sex www.privateofficer.com
A substitute teacher has been arrested after going to a location where he thought he was going to have sex with a minor, according to the Adams County Sheriff’s Office.
The man is identified as Damien Lambert Wesley Iringan, 29, of Aurora. He was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of Internet luring of a child, Internet sexual exploitation of a child and an attempt to commit sexual assault on a child.
Iringan was communicating with a detective posing as a child.
Source:DEnver Post
Security officer helps rescue fire victims in Memphis www.privateofficer.com
Memphis TN July 24 2010 One person was also transported to the hospital with minor burns.
http://www.wreg.com/videobeta/c56c66d2-56d1-49a0-b80c-7981b1d00ebe/News/Midtown-Apartment-Fire
The fire broke out just before 3 AM in a third floor apartment at the Dunlap Apartments in the 1200 block of Madison.
Fire investigators spent hours there trying to find the cause as well as the people living in the apartment where the fire started.
Most tenants were sound asleep when their building caught on fire and say it’s a miracle they got out when they did.
A security guard at the Southern College of Optometry just across the street was making his final rounds when he saw fire coming out of a window.
He also saw the family from the burning apartment leave the scene.
Terry Hicks told another security guard to call the fire department and then began throwing rocks at windows on the third floor and began yelling for residents to get out.
One tenant told us the smell of smoke woke him up and says firefighters helped him and his roommates get out of the building.
“There was not a fire alarm or any kind of smoke detector set up, but, you know. The firemen got us out. We really didn’t know how to get out. We had fire at one door and thick smoke at the other. So we are real grateful,” said David Egros.
Fire investigators haven’t said yet if the building had working smoke detectors, but say if it didn’t that would be in violation of city code.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Security helps nab park vandal www.privateofficer.com
SANTA CRUZ CA July 24 2010 — An unruly Stockton teenager allegedly vandalized the Haunted Castle, a ride that debuted at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk in June, causing the new attraction to briefly close for repairs, officials said.
Police said the 16-year-old boy was on the ride Saturday night when he allegedly tugged on a prop — a cloth-covered table — dragging it into the tracks. The car behind the teen’s struck the table, then was rear-ended by a third car.
No one was injured, but the collisions bent the tracks the cars travel on and severed electrical cables, according to Santa Cruz Deputy Police Chief Rick Martinez.
With help from Boardwalk security officers and surveillance camera footage, police identified the Stockton teen as the possible culprit and arrested him. He was booked into Juvenile Hall on suspicion of vandalism causing more than $5,000 damage, according to police.
“It just trashed the ride,” Martinez said. “It pulls their new ride out of commission in the middle of summer.”
Martinez estimated the ride could be out of commission for about two weeks, but it actually reopened Sunday afternoon, according to Boardwalk spokesman Kris Reyes.
The Haunted Castle revamp, which began last fall, cost the Boardwalk $9 million. Single-ride tickets for the new attraction are $5 and about 5,000 people had been experiencing the ride daily until it was damaged Saturday
Source:MercuryNews.com
Hospital employee busted selling drugs at work www.privateofficer.com
Telly Colon, 34, is charged with numerous narcotics offenses, including possession and sale of crack cocaine and operating a drug factory, stemming from a July 2 arrest in the hospital parking lot at 5 Perryridge Road.
Colon was arrested after hospital security “received an anonymous tip that the accused was selling narcotics to hospital employees from his vehicle on hospital grounds,” according to Colon’s arraignment report obtained in state Superior Court in Stamford.
Police found 80 grams of cocaine, various prescription drugs and psilocybin mushrooms or “shrooms” in his car, authorities said.
In Colon’s arraignment report released by the Police Department on July 6, police officials had redacted information about the case, including the fact Colon worked for the hospital and that Colon was accused of selling drugs to other hospital employees.
Police spokesman Lt. Kraig Gray said the department redacted the information because it pertained to unsubstantiated allegations surrounding the case, which needed to be further investigated. The department released all information required under the Freedom of Information Act, Gray said.
Greenwich Hospital spokesman George Pawlush said Colon has since been fired and hospital security is investigating and assisting police. Colon worked in the material management department, transporting patients and goods through the hospital, Pawlush said.
“It was three weeks ago that the hospital received a tip that one of our staff might be selling drugs,” Pawlush said. “We quickly launched an investigation. We questioned the employee, and upon invitation to search his car, our staff discovered controlled substances in the vehicle. The employee was immediately terminated and the matter was turned over to the Greenwich Police Department.”
Pawlush said the hospital is looking into whether any other personnel were involved. Hospital security has not found any evidence that Colon was stealing prescription drugs from the hospital, Pawlush said.
In response to the incident, Pawlush said the CEO of Greenwich Hospital, Frank Corvino, sent out an e-mail notifying all personnel that the hospital has a “zero tolerance policy.”
“We will not condone any such behavior,” Pawlush said.
Narcotics officers investigating the case did not return a call for comment Wednesday. Colon’s home phone number is unlisted and it was not clear if he has obtained a lawyer.
In addition to finding a large quantity of cocaine in Colon’s car, hospital security also recovered a digital scale, Viagra, ecstasy, over 100 empty glassine bags and numerous pills, according to the police report. Police also found $749 in cash.
During the investigation, Colon admitted to possessing the narcotics, and told police he was selling drugs to supplement his income and that he was drug dependent, according to the police report.
Colon has several convictions for narcotics related offenses, including distribution of cocaine, according to the police report.
Colon was additionally charged with possession of a hallucinogenic, possession of a controlled substance, possession of narcotics and possession of drug paraphernalia. He has since been released from state custody on a $100,000 bond.
Colon is scheduled to appear in state Superior Court in Stamford on July 30.
Source:GreenwichTimes.com
Man avoids jail for pepper spray attack www.privateofficer.com
Donald Kidwell, 47, was given 180 days in jail by Elyria Municipal Court Judge Gary Bennett during a hearing earlier this week, but Bennett suspended 175 days of the sentence. He also agreed to suspend the remaining five days of Kidwell’s jail time if Kidwell completes the required community service by October, according to court records.
Bennett also ordered Kidwell to pay a $500 fine, attend anger management class and be assessed for alcohol and drug use. Kidwell will be on good behavior for two years, court records showed.
Kidwell pleaded out to a misdemeanor charge of inducing panic in June. He originally had been charged with a felony.
Police arrested Kidwell after they were called to the Train Station bar on East River Street on May 9 after he used the pepper spray on a bouncer and then turned the can on the crowd.
Kidwell had been kicked out of the bar earlier that night because he repeatedly climbed on stage during a concert by Dr. Mo featuring Monica Robbins, according to police reports.
He returned a few minutes later and sprayed the bouncer and crowd, which fled toward the exits, although a few people – including one who chased Kidwell into the parking lot and held him for police – tried to subdue him.
When officers arrived, they reported bar patrons and staff coughing and choking in the parking lot.
Robbins, who is also a WKYC-Channel 3 news reporter and anchor, later obtained a civil stalking protection order against Kidwell, whom she said in court documents had been stalking her. Witnesses told police that Kidwell was obsessed with Robbins, although she told officers she didn’t learn that until the night of the incident.
Robbins and Kidwell later reached a deal that requires them to stay at least 500 feet away from each other and not to have any contact.
Bennett also put out an order barring Kidwell from going to the Train Station or attending any concerts given by Robbins.
Source:Chronicleonline.com
