Archive
SunTrust bank teller charged with grand theft www.privateofficer.com
DeFuniak Springs Fla Sept 30 2010 resident Jennifer Lynn Dockery, 30, of West Park Lane was arrested on Sept. 27 on felony charges of Grand Theft of more than $8,500 in cash from SunTrust Bank.
The arrest was made after DeFuniak Springs Police Detectives working in conjunction with SunTrust Bank’s Security Division, investigated a theft of funds by a bank teller identified as Dockery.
Dockery’s cash drawer was audited on August 19th and was found to be short. After this was found bank officials notified regional managers who immediately initiated an internal investigation.
This incident was then reported to the Criminal Investigations Division of the DeFuniak Springs Police who investigated further. Detectives and bank security determined that Dockery had taken varying amounts of cash from her drawer over a six-month period of time, ranging from March to August of this year.
Dockery was able to cover up the missing funds by “force balancing” her drawer until the audit on August 19th when the theft was uncovered. After a full investigation Dockery was arrested on the felony charge of Grand Theft.
Dockery was booked and released from the Walton County Jail on $10,000 bond.
Security pioneer Murray Levine will receiuve award www.privateofficer.com
According to the award nomination, Murray Levine is an industry pioneer who “thought outside the box long before the concept became a … commonly used phrase.” Levine’s 51-year career has helped to raise the standards of excellence of the contract security industry, to increase levels of service and to facilitate expansion into new markets.
Mr. Levine’s creation of the Custom Protection Officer (CPO) program – and its distinctive tan uniform with a purple pinstripe on the leg – raised the recruiting bar for security officers. Mr. Levine saw that the success of a security officer is built on background, training, pay levels and incentives. He also understood the importance of a vertical market strategy and targeted industries such as banking, transit, gated communities, nuclear and petrochemical, and local government as opportunities for high-quality security officers.
“I am particularly proud of my father Murray Levine for his many years as a visionary and leader in our industry,” said Drew Levine, President, G4S Secure Solutions. “He has been a tremendous positive influence and role model for me, as he has been for many here. His greatest rewards have always come from seeing how his ideas benefit the company and its employees. There is no one in the industry that deserves this honor more, and on behalf of everyone here at G4S, I offer our heartfelt congratulations.”
The award is named for Colonel Edgar B. Watson, who served the private security community for 35 years at Security Forces, Inc Charlotte, North Carolina, and served with NASCO for 14 years, including his chairmanship in 1989-90. Established in 1994, the award is given in recognition of an individual’s contributions to the private security industry as a whole including their superior leadership, commitment to higher standards, advocacy for increased positive awareness and valor in their duties as a security representative.
There are 11 past winners of the award, including George Wackenhut, who was Murray Levine’s mentor. The National Association of Security Companies (NASCO) is the nation’s largest contract security trade association, representing private security companies that employ more than 250,000 of the nation’s most highly trained security officers servicing every business sector.
For more information visit http://www.g4s.us or call 800-275-8305.
Source:Press Release
Security officer accidentally kills self www.privateofficer.com
By: Rick McCann/Staff
PRIVATE OFFICER NEWS
http://www.privateofficer.com
Police investigating the death of a man found in a vehicle at a local business now believe that he accidentally shot himself in the leg in Marysville and bled to death before he could call for help.
The Daily Herald of Everett reports the 57-year-old man worked as a security guard at a movie theater. When he failed to return home Saturday his wife found him dead in his car in the parking lot.
Police Cmdr. Robb Lamoureux (LAM’-or-oh) says the bullet hit a femoral artery, and man apparently passed out. A cell phone dialed to 911 was found between his legs.
Police have not yet identified the man.
Doing more with less-police say crime is rising www.privateofficer.com
Washington DC Sept 30 2010 Police chiefs across the country say that they are feeling the effects of the nation’s economic downturn directly, with budget cuts forcing them to reduce their ranks and leading to fears that the downturn in crime will soon be reversed.
In Sacramento, beset by California’s financial woes, homicides are up 43 percent this year, assaults on police are up 13 percent, and Chief Rick Braziel said he had to eliminate his vice unit.
In Phoenix, Chief Joe Harris said he does not have the funds to fill more than 10 percent of his officer jobs and knows he will not be filling any vacancies for another three years. Harris had to put 50 of his 95 school resource officers back on the streets, though school resource officers are seen as crucial tools in fighting gangs.
In Lawrence, Mass., the need to keep officers answering 911 calls forced Chief John J. Romero to eliminate the units focused on drugs, domestic violence, auto theft, insurance fraud and gangs, he said. This summer, when the cuts took effect, auto thefts immediately soared.
“It’s what’s happening to all police departments, I get it,” Romero said, in a city of 73,000 where crime had dropped 60 percent since 1999. “But it’s had a major impact on our city.”
In Washington on Thursday, more than 100 police chiefs and law enforcement experts are gathering to discuss whether the economic downturn is fundamentally changing the way police departments do their jobs. The gathering is sponsored by the D.C.-based Police Executive Research Forum, which surveyed more than 600 state and local law agencies earlier this month and found they had sustained an average budget cut of 7 percent this year. Department budgets had increased 6 percent on average the prior year.
“For the longest time,” said Chuck Wexler, the forum’s executive director, “people thought that the police didn’t matter, didn’t affect the crime rate. Now we’ve seen that’s not true.” He said improved policing helped drive the number of homicides in New York City down from 2,200 in 1990 to 466 last year. Homicides are up 13 percent in New York City so far this year, he said.
In the District, homicides dropped from 454 in 1993 to 143 last year.
But the tactics that reduced crime, Wexler said, such as placing officers in schools, targeting high-crime areas and focusing on particular crimes, “are now being eroded, across the country.”
In interviews, several chiefs said that their first priority was answering calls for service, and placing enough officers on the street means taking them from somewhere else. The Minneapolis police had to eliminate their narcotics unit, Wexler said, and the Boston police cut their bicycle and mounted patrol squads.
In Montgomery County, Chief J. Thomas Manger said he once had officers in every high school in the county. Now he has none in the middle schools and is down to nine school resource officers, who must shuttle between more than 30 schools.
“The rapport with kids is diminished, and that proved to be invaluable,” Manger said. “We were preventing things from happening, we were solving crimes that had occurred. There’s going to be a lot less of that.”
In addition to reductions in police funding, typically one of the last places that cities and counties cut, other reductions in social service funding have added headaches for law enforcement.
In Sacramento, Braziel said, mental health services were cut for the third straight year. Inmates are being released early from prison, but without job training, since those programs were also cut. There are fewer probation officers Jobs are scarce, and support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous are declining, Braziel said.
“Even the people who want to do the right thing when they get out,” Braziel said, “they can’t. So they jump right back into where they were comfortable.”
Though Sacramento had made significant crime reductions, “the trend line is starting to go back up,” Braziel said.
Braziel said he is reaching out to other financially strapped departments in his region to see how they might pool resources.
Phoenix also has seen a drastic drop in crime. But Harris said if that trend reverses, he has perhaps 500 fewer officers to police a city of 1.6 million. “We won’t have enough officers,” he said.
In Prince William County, Col. Charlie T. Deane, chief of police, said he had to eliminate all four officers from the county’s middle schools, and educational anti-gang and anti-drug programs were cut. In Fairfax County, Chief David M. Rohrer said he cut half of his crime prevention officers, who oversee neighborhood watch and training groups, and all eight of the officers assigned to elementary schools.
Manger said he had to cut his community outreach squad, which helped communicate with Montgomery County’s growing Hispanic population.
Recently, in the Langley Park area, Manger said a man had barricaded himself inside an apartment. When officers eventually entered the apartment, using a “dynamic entry” device which knocks down doors with a loud bang, the man was already dead, and no shots were fired, he said.
But onlookers got the impression that officers had shot the man, Manger said, and rumors ran wild: “I’ve still got an entire community that thinks we killed this guy.” He said his community outreach officers once would have flooded the Hispanic neighborhood and calmed fears, but now, “I don’t have that . . . It really puts us at a disadvantage.”
D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier said she had not had to make significant cuts yet, though she has 100 unfilled vacancies. But the city’s population continues to grow, she said, and “I’m getting a little nervous” about managing the force when the budget has dropped from $520 million to $440 million.
Source:Washington Post
Mississippi dentist missing in Atlanta www.privateofficer.com
TUPELO, MS Oct 5 2010 (AP) – Authorities say a Tupelo dentist who had been missing since Sunday has been found dead in Alabama, the victim in an apparent car accident. Dr. Thurmond Beasley was 67.
Beasley was driving home from a visit with relatives in Georgia when the one-vehicle wreck occurred. A road crew saw his car Thursday while performing work on Interstate 20 near Anniston, Ala., according to a press release from the Tupelo Police Department.
Anniston Coroner Rudy Rooks told The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal that Beasley died from blunt force trauma.
Beasley was reported missing by his family after failing to arrive home from the weekend trip.
Atlanta GA Sept 30 2010
A longtime Tupelo, Miss., dentist is missing after visiting family in Atlanta, police said. Thurmond Beasley checked out of the Hyatt Regency Hotel on 265 Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta and has not been heard from since, police said.
“According to a family member, he called for his vehicle to be brought around for him … that’s his last known whereabouts,” Capt. Chuck Bunn of the Tupelo police told the AJC.
Beasley, 67, keeps in frequent contact with his family by cell phone, Bunn said. When they didn’t hear from him Sunday afternoon, and when he didn’t arrive home by that evening, they contacted the police, Bunn said.
Beasley has been a dentist in Tupelo for 35 years, and had appointments scheduled Monday, Bunn said.
Authorities in Atlanta are helping the Tupelo, Miss., police department in their investigation. Beasley’s family – daughter, son and brother — came to Atlanta Wednesday to meet with police, Bunn said.
Police said Beasley was last seen driving his 2004 black Lexus 300. The car has tinted windows and an “Omega Psi Phi” fraternity license tag on the front and a Meharry Medical School Alumni tag border around that.
The Mississippi license plate tag number is: LFH500.
Police did not give a complete description of Beasley, but they did provide a photo of him.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Tupelo Mississippi Police at 662-841-6546
Omaha police officers shot-suspect wounded in hospital shooting www.privateofficer.com
OMAHA, Neb. Sept 30 2010 – Two officers were hit and a suspect was critically injured in a shooting at Creighton University Medical Center on Wednesday morning, Omaha police said.
Police spokesman Jacob Bettin said the officers suffered minor wounds. Authorities have not released the names of the officers and the suspect.
The shooting occurred inside the hospital, Bettin said, but he would not say where. He said investigators were interviewing several witnesses and that the first call about the shooting came in to police at 9:19 a.m.
Omaha television station KETV reported that witnesses said the shooting occurred in or near the cafeteria.
Hospital employees outside the center declined to answer questions from The Associated Press.
Investigators were checking to see whether the suspect was connected to an incident early Wednesday morning in suburban Ralston, Bettin said.
Omaha television station WOWT said officers had been chasing a man sought in a domestic dispute in La Vista, but that the officers ended the chase when it reached dangerous speeds. The report said that a short time later, a little after 12:30 a.m., the man’s vehicle crashed in Ralston, which is just north of La Vista. He escaped.
Late Wednesday morning, police and security officers were stationed outside the hospital. Police stopped anyone leaving the hospital to check if they had already spoken with investigators inside.
Patients with appointments were allowed inside.
Bettin said the hospital remained in partial lockdown to protect the crime scene and evidence.
Creighton University Medical Center is one of two trauma centers in Omaha. The hospital sits a few blocks north of downtown and has 334 beds. It is affiliated with Creighton’s medical school.
It has a network of nearly 300 physicians who practice in eastern Nebraska and western Iowa.
Source:AP
Bullied teen commits suicide by hanging www.privateofficer.com
Tehachapi police investigators interviewed some of the young people who taunted Seth the day he hanged himself and determined despite the tragic outcome of their ridicule, their actions do not constitute a crime.
“Several of the kids that we talked to broke down into tears,” Jeff Kermode, Tehachapi Police Chief, said. “They had never expected an outcome such as this.”
He said the students told investigators they wish they had put a stop to the bullying and not participated in it.
Friends said Seth was picked on for years because he was gay.
School administrators said they have an anti-bullying program in place, but schoolmates said staff at Jacobsen Middle School in Tehachapi offered Seth no protection or guidance.
A YouTube video by a family member sends a message about Seth: “He was bullied and teased, now in the hospital, this face right here is suffering because of bullying, never say a mean thing again.”
Meanwhile the community is pulling together for the Walsh family. A fund has been set up at Bank of the Sierra for donations. In Bakersfield, Audrey’s Cafe on Union Avenue at Truxtun Avenue has a box where people can send messages to the family to show their support.
“We decided that we as a community in Bakersfield and as a county needed to do something to show our support,” said Kathi Briefer-Gose, a gay rights activist. “People can bring down cards, letters, to tell the Walsh family that they are behind them.”
A memorial service for Seth will be held Friday at 3:30 p.m. at First Baptist Church in Tehachapi.
Man covers self with paint to avoid police Taser www.privateofficer.com
CHEYENNE WY Sept 29 2010– Brian Mattert thought there was a good possibility police would use a Taser on him when they showed up at his house just after midnight on Sept. 16.
So he went into the back room of his house and hastily covered himself in white latex paint.
Cheyenne Police officers Joshua Thorton and James Womak arrived with their Tasers drawn.
“You see all this water-based paint?” Mattert asked them. “You shoot me with that and you’ll kill me.”
According to the police report, Mattert, 34, became defiant and uncooperative.
The officers continued to demand his surrender and explained that the paint would not affect a Taser’s capability nor would it cause his death if used.
After some time, the officers were able to get Mattert into his back yard. He tried to pull away and was subsequently shocked with a Taser.
As he lay in a fetal position on the grass, Mattert refused to give up his hand so he could be placed in cuffs. So he was shocked again, and the officers were able to detain him.
Mattert was booked in the Laramie County jail for domestic violence, assault and battery, interference with a peace officer and aggravated assault on a peace officer.
“Tasers are clearly useful and effective tools for law enforcement to use to actually procure the arrest and maintain the safety of those being arrested,” Cheyenne Police Sgt. Rob Dafoe said. “Thousands of law enforcement agencies utilize Tasers in their arsenal of police equipment.”
He said the officers did have to replace their uniforms.
Source:Wyoming News .com
Indianapolis museum fires security force-hires reserve police officers www.privateofficer.com
Indianapolis IN Sept 29 2010 The Indianapolis Museum of Art is turning to reserve police officers and college students in a new strategy for security and customer service.
As part of an overhaul estimated to save $600,000 annually, the museum fired 33 full-time and 23 part-time employees today.
Spokeswoman Katie Zarich said the revised structure features a 14-member campus police force and 100 IUPUI students participating in a work-study program.
Trained by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, the Marion County Sheriff’s Department and communities in Hamilton, Boone, Madison and Randolph counties, the reserve police officers will emphasize safety at the new Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park and campus parking lots, where more than 40 break-ins have been reported since Jan. 1.
The IUPUI students, designated as “visitor assistants” stationed in museum galleries, will be paid $10 per hour. The museum will pay 25 percent of that figure, with the balance covered by federal funding.
The average rate for previous part-time gallery attendants was $11.50 per hour.
Source:Indystar.com
College security officer injured during DUI incident www.privateofficer.com
Fulton MO Sept 29 2010 An unexpected late-night chase for a Westminster College security guard led to the arrest of a Fulton man after the guard was the victim of a hit and run early Sunday morning.
At approximately 1:24 a.m., the Fulton Police Department received a report of an accident on West Chestnut and one of the drivers attempting to flee the area, ultimately crashing in the 600 block of Churchill Road.
According to police reports, upon arrival at the scene, officers found Pedro Nunez-Cruz, 25, of Fulton, sitting in the driver’s seat of a 1999 Chevrolet Tahoe with heavy driver’s side damage and a broken front axle. They learned Nunez-Cruz had rear ended a vehicle on West Chestnut and fled the area before losing control of his vehicle, striking a telephone pole and a parked truck on Churchill.
The driver of the first vehicle Nunez-Cruz allegedly hit was Westminster security guard Wade Frick, who said he was driving to McDonald’s to get coffee for his fellow security guards when a large, white SUV started following him very closely.
“It was so close I could see the glare of the lights, but not the lights themselves,” Frick said. “I tapped my brakes to warn him to back off a bit, but he didn’t.”
He said he tapped his brakes again, but Nunez-Cruz still did not fall back. When Frick slowed down a third time — this time with the intention of stopping, he said the other driver rear-ended his vehicle.
“I got out of the car to go see what he’d done to the back of my car, and he backed his truck up and came at me,” Frick said. “I put my back up against the car as far as I could; he came by so close, his SUV rubbed against my coat.
“If he had been any closer, I would have been dead.”
The security guard said he then got back into his own vehicle and started following Nunez-Cruz, hoping to get a license number, at the same time contacting the police department on his radio.
“I followed him. He was absolutely flying — it was like watching Cops in real life,” Frick said. “He turned down Churchill and he overcorrected and slammed into a pole. I thought I could block him in so he couldn’t leave, but then he shot across the road and ran into another truck.”
At that point, Frick said he ran over to Nunez-Cruz’s vehicle and stood at the window of the driver’s side door to prevent him from leaving.
“It wasn’t until he heard the cops coming that he stopped trying to go,” he said. “I just felt like, if I hadn’t been there … he would have gone on and done more damage.”
According to the report, Frick was transported to the Callaway County Hospital via ambulance with back and neck injuries. He said Monday that his injuries were not serious, although he is still sore: “I feel like I’m in bootcamp.”
Nunez-Cruz was arrested at the scene and charged with DWI, felony second degree assault, felony property damage, felony leave the scene of an accident involving injuries, careless and imprudent driving involving an accident, no insurance and no operator’s license. He was transported to the Callaway County Jail, where he is being held on $15,500 bond.
Source:Fulton Sun
Teen sues Virginia mall after sexual assault www.privateofficer.com
Roanoke, Va. Sept 29 2010 One million dollars.
That’s how much a teenager is asking for in a civil suit against Valley View Mall in Roanoke. The teen was sexually assaulted two years ago inside a dressing room.
In the suit, filed in Roanoke Circuit Court, the teen, who’s from Georgia, says she’s been traumatized to the point that her enjoyment of life has been severely impaired.
The incident happened in September 2008 when the victim, who was 16 at the time, was shopping with her sister at Abercrombie & Fitch. Soon after the attack, News7 sat down with the girl’s mother who took us through the entire incident.
The victim, was trying on clothes when Ryan Jason Sink forced his way into the dressing room, put his hand down her pants and held what’s believed to be a knife to her throat. Eventually a store employee realized something was off and rushed into the dressing room.
Sink was sentenced to 10 years in prison last September. However, the teen and her family say negligence is to blame. They’re suing the mall and the security company claiming a security guard and an Abercrombie employee saw Sink before the incident occurred and noticed he was intoxicated. Mall policy states anyone who is visibly drunk must be removed from the premises.
Abercrombie & Fitch is also named in the suit as well as the security company Emerson Russell Maintenance Co., and the owners of the mall, CBL & Associates.
Source:WBJD7.com
Prosecutor joins in shoplifter chase www.privateofficer.com
Dustin Hise, 25 of Spring Hill, is accused of stealing a $71 bottle of cologne from Macy’s in Cool Springs Galleria.
Mall security officers told Franklin Police that Hise was trying to run out of the mall.
Assistant District Attorney Chris Vernon was at the mall with his family. When he saw security running after Hise, he decided to jump in on the chase. He stayed on his cell phone the entire time updating police on Hise’s location. Police arrived on the scene and arrested Hise.
“I commend Assistant District Attorney Vernon for having the wherewithal to do what he did,” said Franklin Police Chief Jackie Moore. “Had it not been for his willingness to get involved, outside of the courtroom – where he spends much of his time prosecuting our cases, this suspect may well have gotten away.”
The Tennessean
Dayton women nabbed in shoplifting spree www.privateofficer.com
MONROE OH Sept 29 2010 — Three Dayton women are facing theft and other charges for their alleged shoplifting activities at several stores at Cincinnati Premium Outlets.
Tequila Gaines, 18, is charged with receiving stolen property and theft. Isis Morrell, 19, is charged with theft, criminal tools and receiving stolen property and Danette Postell, 18, is charged with obstructing official business and receiving stolen property.
All three are scheduled to appear for pretrial hearings Oct. 18 in Lebanon Municipal Court in Warren County. Two juveniles, also of Dayton and Trotwood, were released to their parents with charges pending in 4 to 6 weeks from the Warren County Juvenile Court, said Police Officer Paul Corbeil.
Monroe police received a call from Valor Security at the mall at 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 24, about a shoplifter who was being followed by security from Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th. Store security detained two females, Morrell and a 17-year-old juvenile, for allegedly stealing a pair of women’s shoes from the store, valued at $100.
The incident also was observed on video by loss prevention, Corbeil said.
“While speaking with (the juvenile) she was found to be in possession of a screwdriver-like tool with a slit like end. She stated she used the tool at the outlet mall to pop security sensors off of clothing items and then conceal them,” he said.
Morrell said that she knew the juvenile had stolen the pair of shoes while she was with her, Corbeil said.
After being taken into custody, Morrell gave him permission to search her vehicle. She was informed that the pair had been seen at the mall by security for more than five hours making several trips to the car, but they had never been seen purchasing items in the store.
“Isis Morrell finally admitted that it was her idea for five girls to go to the outlet mall to steal and that she knew two of the girls had tools to remove sensors,” he said.
Police said she admitted to providing bags for everyone to put the stolen items in that would be used to conceal the clothes.
Corbeil said while processing Morrell and the juvenile, three other females — Postell, a 15-year-old and Gaines, arrived on scene and wanted to know what was going on with their friends. He said he separated all three.
The 15-year-old was in possession of a screwdriver, stolen jewelry from the mall and a couple of shirts from Charlotte Russe.
“She admitted she knew the plan for coming to the mall was for everyone to steal items,” Corbeil said.
Gaines was found to be in possession of stolen jewelry items from Claire’s, which she denied stealing, he said. However, she admitted that she came to the mall to steal too, he said.
Postell said she was not with the other girls when they were stealing, Corbeil said.
Upon searching the vehicle belonging to Morrell, he said several bags of stolen clothing, shoes and jewelry items were found in the trunk and front of the vehicle totaling $1,655.
In addition, Corbeil said four bags of brand new clothing and miscellaneous baby items were found in the vehicle with the tags still on them, but it could not be determined what stores the items came from. The merchandise totaled $750.
Dayton Daily News
School system security director salary questioned www.privateofficer.com
One part of the budget that is raising eyebrows is the high cost of school security.
The Security Chief at Memphis City Schools, Gerald Darling, makes 40 percent more than the director of the Memphis Police Department – and that’s just the beginning. Some of the salary numbers shocked local police and school leaders across the country.
While Darling makes more than $167,000 per year, Memphis Police Director Larry Godwin earns $120,000. Darling oversees roughly 120 employees, while Godwin is in charge of more than 3,000.
The second-in-command of school security is the Director of Administrative Support, Carolyn Jackson, who earns nearly $115,000 per year – 70 percent more than what she earned while employed by Memphis police.
“She makes more than my Deputy Director,” Godwin said.
That’s right. Jackson left the Memphis Police Department for Memphis City Schools, where the pay is much better.
“I’m a taxpayer. As a taxpayer, I question why no one has to answer. I have to answer to (Memphis City) Council,” Godwin said. “Over there, they can hire and set the salaries, and I guess the elected school board says, ‘Yeah, that’s fine.’”
Not the Reverend Kenneth Whalum, who was the only school board member to vote against Superintendent Dr. Kriner Cash’s latest budget. Whalum says the school board routinely rubber stamps whatever Cash proposes.
Under Cash, the size of the security department has more than doubled. He’s also added 20 new Dodge Chargers.
“They are high-tech,” Whalum said. “I mean, it looks like the ‘A-Team.’”
But Cash’s latest job review revealed the security expansion has not made a dent in school fights. In fact, suspensions and expulsions of elementary school students are actually on the rise.
Memphis City Schools denied Action News 5′s requests to ask Cash about his security budget, instead referring questions to MCS Chief of Staff Alfred Hall, who defended security salaries.
“His salary is commensurable with others across the country,” Hall said.
That may not be true.
The Los Angeles Unified School District is the nation’s second largest school district, with nearly 700,000 students. The district is plagued by gang activity, and the cost of living is very high. Meanwhile, Memphis City Schools 105,000 students. While gang activity pales in comparison on L. A., school fights and crime are a problem, and the cost of living is far less.
So how much does the L. A. Unified Chief of Police get paid? A maximum of $150,000 per year, based on tenure.
Action News 5 asked Hall if that salary number surprised him.
“I’m not sure who’s leading those efforts in Los Angeles,” he replied.
“Take into account the roles Chief Darling put in place here, not only providing safe and secure learning environments and addressing the serious issues we’re facing here, but also providing leadership,” he added.
“There are similar comparisons to Baltimore in terms of their staff, and the way it’s organized. And Palm Beach, Florida, I think is comparable salary,” he said.
LORI BROWN: So are his salaries the same as those two districts that you named?
ALFRED HALL: No, his salary is in the range of other leaders in those districts.
BROWN: So it’s still higher than those districts?
HALL: No, not both of them, no. He’s between Baltimore, and Palm Beach. He’s between those areas.”
Actually he’s not. Darling earns 32 percent more than the Chief in Palm Beach County Florida – a larger district. Jackson earns 25 percent more.
At Baltimore City Schools – smaller district – Darling earns 36 percent more, while Jackson earns 15 percent more.
“As a taxpayer, I would wonder why,” Godwin said. “And that’s no slap to them, I don’t know all their duties. I’d welcome them to follow me around for a day if they’d like to.”
Source:WMC-TV.com
Security officer called hero for stopping rape www.privateofficer.com
The man who rushed to a 24-year old girl rescue does not want to be identified.
He said he was just doing his job. While that might be true, his boss said his heroism was no accident.
Monday outside Metro 67, there was no sign of the sexual assault and attempted rape that happened in the same parking garage lobby Saturday morning.
Memphis police charged 45-year old Bernard Richmond after they say he grabbed a 24-year old woman and forced her into the lobby. He then attempted to rape her.
FOX13 Reporter Scott Madaus spoke with Michael McCune with Corporate IQ, the security company the guard worked for.
“(Reporter) You or I could get in somehow? (McCune)That’s correct.”
But the saving grace in this sexual assault was the girl’s screams and a security officer with Corporate IQ.
“He heard screaming he rushed over here and was able to apprehend the suspect,” McCune said.
McCune, president of the company, who provides security for Metro 67 said Saturday’s assault could have happened anywhere to anyone. He said his guards aren’t just warm bodies, but typically trained ex-law enforcement or military.
“The officer involved here is an ex-ranger with martial arts skills,” McCune said.
The guard who saved the day wanted his identity withheld but McCune said there’s no question his intervention stopped a rape.
“(Reporter) Would you call him a hero? (McCune) Defiantly so.”
Just two weeks ago 19-year old Darius Right gained access to the garage hitting a woman and then tried to rape her.
Admittedly McCune said there are security holes at the garage where people can slip in but he said they’re working on security solutions that he can’t comment on.
Source:FOX Memphis
Ohio man charged with setting fire at mall www.privateofficer.com
ELYRIA OH Sept 28 2010 — A Lorain man had to be rescued from a cliff over the Black River yesterday by firefighters, and then he was arrested for setting a fire in the mall parking lot.
Daniel Rosemark, 22, of Lorain, was charged with two counts of arson and was taken to the Lorain County Jail, where he is being held on $5,000 bond.
Police were called about 1:30 p.m. and met up with mall security officers at the intersection of Ford and West River roads, according to a police report. The officers told police a man carrying a red gas can ran into the woods behind Golden Corral and that they could see smoke coming from the direction he ran.
Officers smelled burning brush but didn’t observe any active fire. They eventually located Rosemark sitting about 40 feet down the cliff with his feet dangling over another cliff about 20 feet above the Black River.
Officers attempted to climb down to Rosemark, who wouldn’t initially respond to them, but couldn’t get to him due to the steep terrain.
He told officers he didn’t want to kill himself, but that he wanted to jump from the cliff to get his bag. He told officers that he had been having a hard time finding a job and that everyone hated him because he was different. Officers determined he was suffering from schizophrenia and wasn’t taking his medication.
The Elyria Fire Department arrived and set up a rappel line. An officer was able to rappel down to Rosemark and pat him down for weapons, and firefighters then rappelled him down to the river, where he was taken into custody.
Once officers were able to ask Rosemark about the incident in the mall parking lot, he told them that he had heard people in Elyria were “talking (expletive),” so he decided to come to Elyria “and show them he doesn’t take that (expletive).”
In the mall parking lot, officers found burn mark south of the food court entrance.
Rosemark was taken to the county jail, and a two-gallon red gas can and lighter were entered into evidence.
The report noted Rosemark asked if he was allowed to return to the cliff once he is released from jail.
Source:Chronicle-Telegram
Casino security assist in arrest of bank robber www.privateofficer.com
VICKSBURG, Miss. Sept 28 2010 – Vicksburg police say a suspect in a bank robbery was spotted at three casinos spending cash marked with red security dye.
Police Chief Walter Armstrong tells the Vicksburg Post that 25-year-old Christopher Marcel Johnson was charged Monday with bank robbery. He was being held in the Warren County jail after a city court appearance where bond was denied.
Armstrong says a Trustmark Bank branch was held up Friday.
He says Johnson was arrested Saturday after going to the casinos.
Police say casino surveillance videos showed Johnson driving a vehicle that matched the description provided after the robbery.
Armstrong says about $800 of the money taken from the bank was recovered.
Municipal court officials said Monday that Johnson did not have an attorney.
Source:AP
NJ mall security officers catch counterfeiters www.privateofficer.com
PARAMUS NJ Sept 27 2010 — Two Queens men were arrested yesterday after a $2,000 shopping spree at the Garden State Plaza funded entirely by counterfeit bills.
Police said that the men bought clothing, DVDs, and other items from Victoria’s Secret, Macy’s and other stores before finally getting caught around 4:30 p.m. One suspect was found by a mall security guard putting bills in a bathroom garbage can, while another was approached and arrested in a parking lot outside.
Police identified the suspects as Jose Armando, 36, and Julio Campos, 34. They were found with $400 in fake $100 bills. Each bill had identical serial numbers, a Paramus police officer said. They had spent $2,000 in fake bills.
“They didn’t look that bad,” Capt. Kevin Smith said. “Evidently this has been occurring in the entire area.”
Smith added that police are still investigating how Armando and Campos managed to spend the counterfeit money at so many different store locations, nearly 20 cash registers in all.
Both suspects were incarcerated at the Bergen County Jail and held Friday on $10,000 bond.
Source:northjersey.com
Woman sues WV hospital-security for injuries-intimidation www.privateofficer.com
HUNTINGTON WV Sept 27 2010 — A woman is suing St. Mary’s Medical Center after she claims she was intimidated by a security guard and caused to fall.
On Aug. 28, 2008, Judy A. Doss was outside of the defendant’s old emergency entrance when she was approached by a security guard, according to a complaint filed Aug. 20 in Cabell Circuit Court.
Doss claims the security guard “embarked on a course of conduct intimidating the plaintiff and forcing her to back up while assisted with her walker and was caused to fall on the sidewalk in front of defendant’s entry … causing seriously injuries to her body …”
The injuries Doss sustained were to her shoulder, arm, neck, head and back, according to the suit.
Doss claims the defendant negligently failed to warn users and occupants of dangerous conditions on its sidewalk; failed to inspect the sidewalk for dangerous conditions; and failed to make safe the dangerous conditions.
The defendant’s security guard negligently approached Doss “in a load and intimidating fashion all while demanding that plaintiff back up, causing the walker utilized by the plaintiff to catch in an uneven sidewalk…” according to the suit.
Doss suffered medical expenses totaling approximately $12,000; physical pain and suffering; mental anguish; annoyance and inconvenience; inability to carry on normal activities; permanent physical and emotional harm; permanent physical impairment; and other damages, according to the suit.
Doss is seeking compensatory damages with pre- and post-judgment interest. She is being represented by Michael Paesani.
The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge David M. Pancake.
Cabell Circuit Court case number: 10-C-627
School security attacked-11 arrested in Georgia www.privateofficer.com
CUTHBERT, GA Sept 27 2010 – Nearly a dozen Randolph-Clay High school students were arrested after a fight and likely will be kicked out of school.
Officials say 11 students beat up a school system security guard, but a school board member thinks that employee is at least partly to blame.
Board member Henry Cook wanted the school board to talk about it at a meeting last night, his motion failed.
He doesn’t want the students expelled.
“I had the opportunity to review that tape, I saw where one of our staff member appears to provoke the entire situation, the SRO officer did his job, the security officer was out of line putting his hand on that child,” said Henry Cook, School Board Member.
The students were all taken to a youth detention center, both the GBI and Randolph County Sheriff’s Office are investigating.
After the students go before that tribunal, the school board will vote on whether to uphold or reject their punishment.
Source:WALB.com
Missing California teacher found dead of suicide www.privateofficer.com
Rigoberto Ruelas, 39, a teacher at Miramonte Elementary School, was last seen last Sunday dropping off a present for his sister’s birthday, according to the South Gate Police Department.
Ruelas notified the school he would need a substitute teacher assigned for his classes on Monday and Tuesday, but he did not show up to work on Wednesday and had not called in, police said. His family reported him missing that day.
Ruelas’ body was found just before 9 a.m. in the forest, said Deputy Jeff Gordon of the Sheriff’s Headquarters Bureau.
“(Sheriff’s deputies) had been conducting training exercises near the Big Tujunga Canyon area of the Angeles National Forest,” he said. “On Big Tujunga Canyon Road near mile marker 6.6, they located a vehicle connected to Rigoberto Ruelas, who had been reported missing. A subsequent search in the ravine approximately 100 feet below a nearby bridge lead to the discovery of Rigoberto Ruelas, who was deceased.”
Suicide was suspected, authorities reportedly said.
Family members told a TV station that he scored low on a teacher rating report recently published by the Los Angeles Times, and that may have caused Ruelas to go missing.
The newspaper’s database lists Ruelas as being “less effective than average overall,” “Less effective than average in math,” and “average in English.”
The Times’ analysis of teacher performance took into account available student scores on standardized tests between 2002 and 2009.
“The value-added scores reflect a teacher’s effectiveness at raising standardized test scores and, as such, capture only one aspect of a teacher’s work,” reads a disclaimer on the online database of teachers.
“Although value-added measures do not capture everything that goes into making a good teacher or school, The Times decided to make the ratings available because they bear on the performance of public employees who provide an important service, and in the belief that parents and the public have a right to the information,” according to the website.
The study looked at about 6,000 third-, fourth- and fifth-grade teachers at 470 Los Angeles elementary schools.
Family members reportedly said Ruelas had been a teacher for 14 years, with near perfect attendance.
Source:www.pasadenastarnews.com
Wal-Mart shopper dies in drive-by shooting www.privateofficer.com
Colorado Springs CO Sept 27 2010 A man walking outside the Wal-Mart on East Platte Avenue was shot and killed Sunday just after midnight, Colorado Springs police reported.
No information about the victim has been released and no arrests have been made.
If the death is ruled a homicide, it will be the 17th this year in the city.
The victim was walking with another person when several shots began firing from a dark-colored sedan in the parking lot that had slowed in front of the north main entrance of the store at 3201 E. Platte Ave., said police Sgt. Dave Edmondson.
At least one bullet also went through the front door of the store, but no one else was hit, Edmondson said.
Police are reviewing surveillance tapes from store cameras to see if the shooting was recorded, Edmondson said.
Since 2004, there have been several shootings and stabbings at the Wal-Mart southwest of Platte Avenue and Chelton Road:
- While shopping with his girlfriend and 3-year-old son around 1 a.m. on June 12, 2004, Jerry Delfino Rosas, 20, got into an argument with a cousin of ReShaun Kurstin Jones, 17. Rosas pulled a .40-caliber Glock handgun from his waistband and shot the unarmed Jones in the stomach, killing him. Rosas was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 34 years in prison.
- In December 2009, El Paso County sheriff’s deputies attempted to arrest a suspect who had been spotted in a stolen car in the store’s parking lot. When Joshua Kenyon tried to get away by speeding toward one of the deputies, the deputy fired a shot through the windshield. No one was injured.
- A store manager was badly wounded while chasing three purse-snatching suspects as they fled through the parking lot on May 21, 2005. Kevin Farley, 30, was shot in the hip and back and was taken to the hospital in critical condition. Michael Moehring, 21, pleaded guilty to attempted murder and was sentenced to 38 years in prison.
- A security guard trying to capture a suspected shoplifter was stabbed in September 2007. A 41-year-old man was charged with assault and aggravated robbery.
Source:www.gazette.com
Meijer shoplifter pulls gun on security www.privateofficer.com
VAN BUREN TOWNSHIP, Mich. Sept 27 2010 – Surveillance video inside the Van Buren Township Meijer shows a man pulling a gun on a loss prevention officer and then escaping from a holding room.
It happened Saturday as a man and a woman on the tape were detained after allegedly being caught stealing printer ink cartridges from the store.
Investigators say security brought them into a holding room after watching them trying to stash the cartridges.
About 30 minutes into the interrogation the male suspect says he needs to use the restroom and pulls out a gun – the man and woman then flee the room and escape.
But these alleged shoplifters made a crucial mistake – security had already processed their I.D.’s.
The two have been identified as 51 year-old Randell Terrell and 40 year-old Karen Sue White.
Police say the two left in a 2005 Mercury four-door, with Michigan plates BNP5498.
Investigators believe the suspects are in the Ypsilanti are and are armed and dangerous.
Source: WXYZ
Walton County deputy found dead at home www.privateofficer.com
Walton County Fla Sept 27 2010 The Walton County Sheriff’s Office was investigating the death of one of its own Sunday night.
Sheriff’s Deputy Todd McQuillan was found dead in his home.
At the present time the cause of death is unknown, however there appears to be no signs of foul play.
Deputy McQuillian has been employed with the Sheriff’s Office since October 2004 and has worked as a school resource officer and a uniform patrol deputy.
Sergeant Artie Rodriguez, school resource deputy supervisor, is shocked and saddened by the passing of Deputy McQuillian.
“Todd was such a mentor to the students at Freeport Middle School, and he will be greatly missed by the students, faculty, and parents,” said Rodriguez.
A friend found Deputy McQuillian deceased at home and notified EMS at approximately 4:24 p.m. today. EMS arrived at approximately 4:30 p.m..
“We are all very saddened by the loss of Deputy McQuillian. Todd was such a fine man and served his profession well. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends,” said Sheriff Michael Adkinson.
Source:Walton Sun
Teacher charged with rape of student www.privateofficer.com
The juvenile victim, who was found hiding in her biology teacher’s bedroom closet, told officers she has been sexually involved with 26-year-old Darryl M. Jones since November 2009.
Jones was released from Shelby County Jail today on a $50,000 bond. He is charged with felony statutory rape by an authority figure and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Source:Commercial Appeal
Security aid in capture of rape suspect www.privateofficer.com
It’s the second sexual assault in that garage in less than two weeks.
Bernard Richmond, 45, was arrested at 2:48 a.m., just a few minutes after a security guard came to the rescue of the woman and Richmond ran away.
Richmond approached the woman as a panhandler but followed her into the garage at 60 Madison Ave., east of Front Street, after she gave him money, police spokeswoman Alyssa Macon-Moore said.
According to an affidavit, he “grabbed her in a bear hug” on the first floor of the garage, dragged her across the lobby and was seconds from raping her when the security guard, who heard the woman’s screaming, intervened. When police arrived, they located Richmond several blocks away, near Beale Street, and the guard and a video surveillance tape confirmed him as a suspect.
The woman was not injured in the incident, Macon-Moore said.
Richmond has been arrested at least 24 times in Shelby County since 1985, with repeated incidents of criminal trespass, aggravated assault, panhandling and drug charges for crack cocaine.
He is due in court this morning.
On Sept. 13, Darius Wright, 19, was arrested after allegedly attacking a 37-year-old woman in the elevator of the garage. A witness yelled at Wright until he ran, but he was arrested a short time later. He was charged with aggravated sexual battery.
Source:Commercial Appeal
High ranking Wackenhut executives charged with bilking Miami-Dade www.privateofficer.com
According to court documents released Friday, former Wackenhut supervisor Robert Alvarado told police that he met with executives Rene J. Pedrayes and Eduardo Esquivel in late 2001 to complain that his staff was stretched too thin to properly guard county Metrorail stations.
“Pedrayes became extremely irate and demanded, while cursing, that all posts be covered even if Alvarado had to `ghost’ them,” slang used to describe billing shifts that were not filled, or only partially filled, an arrest warrant said.
When Alvarado fretted that county authorities would discover Wackenhut’s alleged scheme, “Pedrayes told him to shut up and not to worry because they had that covered.”
Pedrayes and Esquivel were charged Friday with racketeering, joining Alvarado and four other former employees arrested earlier this month. An eighth ex-employee, secretary Erika M. Reyan, also was charged Friday.
Alvarado told Miami-Dade police public corruption detectives that Esquivel, then a Miami general manager for Wackenhut, “instructed him” on how to juggle overstretched security guards and fraudulently pay them as though they had worked their entire shifts, the warrant said.
Pedrayes no longer works with Wackenhut, while Esquivel now holds Pedrayes’ former role as Wackenhut’s regional vice president, according to court documents.
Before Friday, the highest-ranking ex-Wackenhut employee arrested was Elijah Pendleton, the former project manager for the Metrorail contract.
Wackenhut, as a company, has not been charged, although Miami-Dade prosecutors have not ruled out further action.
“We remain confident that the facts will show that the company did nothing wrong and we will vigorously defend our reputation and the reputation of our management,” the company said in a statement Friday. “We have always maintained that if anyone is guilty of these allegations, then they have stolen from both Wackenhut and the county.”
Lawyers for Pedrayes and Esquivel said their clients passed polygraph tests.
Esquivel’s defense lawyer, Scott Srebnick, denied Alvarado’s claims.
“Eddy is 100 percent innocent, and the prosecutors did not let the truth get in the way of a good story,” he said.
Pedrayes’ lawyer, David O. Markus, called Alvarado “a rat looking to save his skin.” He said: “This is a witch hunt by the state.”
Miami-Dade prosecutors contend that the group stole at least $76,000, amounting to 3,500 hours of security work not performed between 2002 and 2005.
The total amount fraudulently billed to the county is likely much more, investigators said, because a 2008 county audit estimated overbilling at $3 million to $5 million.
Wackenhut has long insisted the audit was flawed.
To prove racketeering, prosecutors do not need to account for every penny of the alleged overbilling, but must prove a pattern of defrauding taxpayers.
Wackenhut has been under scrutiny since a series of lawsuits filed in 2005 by former employees alleged that the company could not cover its shifts, forcing supervisors and roving patrols to fill the gaps.
After the allegations surfaced, the county stopped doing business with the Palm Beach Gardens-based company, which began guarding Metrorail stations in 1989.
In February, Wackenhut and the county settled a contract dispute over the alleged overbilling. The company is now eligible for future county contracts after shelling out $3 million to Miami-Dade, plus an additional $4.5 million to one former employee who had sued the company.
Armored car robbers sentenced to prison www.privateofficer.com
But James T. Hohlfeld, 26, convicted of stealing a quarter-million dollars from a parked armored car in Davenport, was exposed to a different lifestyle when he would stay at his mother’s home on the weekends growing up.
It’s in his mother’s home — where there were no rules or boundaries, where his mother introduced him to marijuana when he was 11, where his mother suffered from alcoholism — where Hohlfeld learned to rebel against the strictness of his father’s upbringing, according to court documents filed in U.S. District Court, Davenport, this week.
Hohlfeld was sentenced Friday to 27 months in prison for his role in the March 19 heist. His co-defendant, Dylan C. Trones, was sentenced to 23 months in prison.
They are both jointly liable for paying restitution in the amount of $158,672.
The two men pleaded guilty to bank larceny charges on June 29.
The heist took approximately a minute to execute. The armored car employees did not immediately detect the loss, court records state.
Forfeiture orders were filed seeking $103,516 from five individuals who allegedly received money related to the theft, as well as a 2003 Suzuki Hayabusa motorcycle, records state.
The armored car owned by Rochester Armored Car Service of Omaha arrived at the US Bank, 3624 N. Division St., about 6 a.m. March 19. The armored car employees were there to put money into the bank’s ATM, records state.
Within 30 seconds of the employees leaving the vehicle, two people in dark clothing approached the armored car. One got into the car, then left it. Both people then left the parking lot on foot one minute later, records state.
After leaving the bank, the armored car employees discovered they were missing a U.S. Postal Service mail tote with approximately $260,000 cash and $1,188 in postage stamps.
Hohlfeld, who said in a sentencing memorandum filed Tuesday that he’s re-evaluating his life, mentioned that he provided law enforcement an accounting of where his share of the stolen money had been spent or could be recovered. He also expressed remorse for his actions.
Stealing the money was “the biggest mistake” in his life, Hohlfeld said in the memorandum.
He added that he’s making an effort to live his life in a positive manner by working as an independent contractor for a flooring company and being active in church.
Campus trespasser takes police on wild chase while handcuffed www.privateofficer.com
PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS Sept 26 2010 – A woman slipped through a 12-inch opening in the back of a cop car and stole the vehicle, leading police on a chase that reached speeds of 100 miles per hour.
And she did it all while handcuffed.
According to a news release from Port Arthur police, Candace Broussard, 28, of Beaumont, was arrested for trespassing on the Lamar State College – Port Arthur campus but she resisted officers as they attempted to place her in the back of a patrol unit, the release said.
The woman had been handcuffed behind her back but she was able to move her hands to the front of her body and open the security panel in the car that separates the front seat from the back seat. She then slid through the 12-inch opening into the drivers seat.
She took off on Procter Street, turned north on Woodward Avenue and then sped down U.S. 69 northbound, according to Maj. Raymond Clark with the police department. She also struck an occupied vehicle at Lakes Charles and Proctor but no one was hurt, according to the news release.
Officers were able to get ahead of her and lay down spike strips along the highway. She avoided the first set of strips, but then struck the second set and flattened the right tires on the cruiser – a Dodge Charger.
She pulled into the Conoco gas station near the intersection of U.S. 69 and FM 366 where she was rearrested and then transported to the Jefferson County Jail.
Clark said Broussard was initially arrested for being involved in a disturbance at the college and refusing to leave the campus. She now faces charges of escape from custody, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and evading detention in a motor vehicle.
According to Tom Neal, vice president for student services at the college, the woman walked into a classroom on campus where a class was in session. She refused to leave after being asked and campus security called for back up from the Port Arthur Police Department.
Clark added that the woman has a history of mental illness. He did not know if drugs or alcohol were involved in this incident.
Source:Beaumont Enterprise
LP agents bust major theft ring at Wal-Mart www.privateofficer.com
Hempfield Township PA Sept 26 2010 Police in Mercer County made six arrests Friday in what appears to be a major theft ring.
The suspects are accused of stealing tens of thousands of dollars in merchandise from Wal-Mart. Police say the group was arrested after being caught in the act at a Hempfield Township Wal-Mart.
Reports say store security called police after seeing two vehicles circling the parking lot with their license plates covered up. After a chase and help from several other departments, authorities found between $25,000 and $30,000 in stolen goods inside the vehicles.
“Mainly video games, X-Box, Wii’s. Playstations, some clothing, some accessories to the Wii consoles. We have a couple TVs,” said Daniel McCloskey, Hempfield Township Police Department.
Police quickly realized they were dealing with something much bigger than just shoplifting.
“We have some suspicions to believe that this is taking place in different states actually,” said Nicholas Brevetta, assistant district attorney for Mercer County. “Some of those states including Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.”
“A search warrant of the vehicles discovered a road atlas map that had five states,” McCloskey said. “In those five states, there were multiple cities highlighted. Each one of those cities included a Wal-Mart or several Wal-Marts in that city.”
Brandon Burgess, James Siebert, Forest Jennings, Jajuan Simmons, Barbara Wesley and Cara Curvin, all of Detroit, Mich., were arraigned on charges of criminal conspiracy, receiving stolen property and being part of a corrupt organization.
The six are being held on at least $100,000 bond in the Mercer County Jail. A hearing is set for Oct. 4.
Source:WYTV.com
