Archive
Security guard charged with murder in shoplifting incident www.privateofficer.com
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga.(Atlanta .)Nov 24 2010 — DeKalb deputies arrested a 30-year-old on Tuesday for the murder of Kenneth Barnes.
Erik Lecal Burris was arrested at the Rainbow Clothing Store near the Atlanta Five Points Marta Station. He was employed as an unarmed security guard and was on duty at the time of arrest.
According to the warrant, Burris fatally shot Barnes during an armed robbery attempt at 4410 Tree Mountain Parkway at Hampton Village Apartments in Stone Mountain.
Burris was taken to the DeKalb County Jail without further incident.
Boston security officer recognized for aiding police www.privateofficer.com
Boston MA Nov 24 2010 Boston Police recognized a civilian that assisted officers with a recent vandalism incident in the Financial District. Mr. Brian Schnabel working as a security guard at 82 Devonshire Street observed a vandalism in progress in the Financial District. Mr. Schnabel called 911 to report the incident and continued to assist the 911 dispatcher with location updates and further information.
Mr. Schnabel also followed the suspects and observed locations of the vandalism and the suspects descriptions. Once the suspects were apprehended, Mr. Schnabel continued to assist officers with a positive identification and returned the officers to the scene of the vandalism. Without the assistance of Mr. Schnabel, this incident may have gone unsolved or would have been more difficult to solve. Mr. Schnabel exemplifies the citizen assistance that is invaluable to solving crimes quickly and bringing the perpetrators to justice. The Boston Police wishes to recognize Mr. Schnabel for his assistance in helping to solve the incomprehensible crime of a 13 and 15 year old who were caught vandalizing 11 vehicles on District A-1.
CT State Police charge men with casino scam www.privateofficer.com
Mashantucket CT Nov 24 2010 – State police arrested two men who they said traveled here from South Korea and became involved in cheating at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods Resort Casino.
The cheat involved a mechanical device in the game of Baccarat, according to police, who said the arrests were the result of a three-month investigation.
Police charged Young Su Guy, 60, of South Korea with 16 counts of cheating, 16 counts of possession of a cheating device, seven counts of first-degree larceny and three counts of third-degree larceny.
Wookyung Kim, 34, of South Korea, was charged with eight counts of conspiracy to commit cheating; first-degree larceny; two counts of second-degree larceny; three counts of third-degree larceny; and fifth-degree larceny.
The investigation included help from the Foxwoods Office of the Inspector General, Department of Homeland Security, New Jersey State Police Casino Unit and Foxwoods surveillance.
Baltimore area malls deploy K-9 teams www.privateofficer.com
Baltimore MD Nov 24 2010 A K-9 security team will be dispatched to patrol five Baltimore-area malls to beef up security at the properties, mall owner General Growth Properties announced Tuesday as the holiday shopping season gets under way.
The team of two German shepherds will monitor activity at Harborplace & The Gallery, Towson Town Center, White Marsh Mall, The Mall in Columbia and Mondawmin Mall.
While General Growth officials said no single crime or incident prompted the use of the K-9 unit, the new security plan comes after several high-profile crimes at Mondawmin this summer, including a robbery in which a gunman escaped with $100,000 worth of watches and jewelry from Elite Gold & Diamond.
Several area malls have enhanced security features in recent years by improving lighting and adding security cameras after crimes. A teacher was fatally shot in the parking lot of Towson Town Center in 2005, and Arundel Mills in Hanover has boosted security after several robberies.
Source:Baltimore Sun
Atlanta TSA agent kidnaps-rapes woman www.privateofficer.com
Atlanta GA Nov 24 2010 A TSA employee based at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport tried to kill himself after allegedly abducting a woman, sexually assaulting her then giving her a suicide note to deliver.
MARTA police are among the law enforcement agencies investigating the claim that Randall Scott King, 49, kidnapped the woman from the Lakewood station Wednesday night. King accompanied her there from the airport where she left with him voluntarily, Hartsfield-Jackson spokeswoman Katena Carvajales told the AJC.
But King allegedly restrained the woman in the MARTA parking lot and took her to his house in Hogansville, about 50 miles south of Atlanta, where the sexual assault occurred, police there say.
“The victim stated that she was released by Mr. King who provided her with a suicide note and instructions on where to deliver it,” Hogansville Police Department Sgt. Jeff Sheppard said in a press release.
A relative brought the woman, who was still bound in leopard print, novelty handcuffs, to the Union City Police Department, Det. Gloria Hodgson said.
Union City authorities notified the Hogansville Police Department, who dispatched officers to King’s home. They found him with “several wounds about his body,” Sheppard said. King was airlifted to Columbus Regional Medical Center where he remains in critical condition. Criminal warrants have been obtained by Hogansville police.
King, a behavior detection officer, has been with the Transportation Security Administration for nearly five years, spokesman Jon Allen told the AJC.
“We are cooperating fully with law enforcement during this ongoing investigation,” Allen said.
Ohio court security officer attacked by defendant www.privateofficer.com
Avon Lake OH Nov 24 2010 During a pretrial hearing and bond review on several Fairview Park charges last week, a Cleveland man assaulted and injured a Rocky River Municipal Court security guard.
The defendant, 51-year-old Bryan Hurt of Cleveland, became very angry when he learned Judge Donna Congeni Fitzsimmons intended to revoke his bond, Rocky River Prosecutor Michael O’Shea said.
“He became frighteningly belligerent,” O’Shea said. “As per our current protocol, we called a security guard to come to the room. The defendant physically assaulted him, bit down on him, injured his shoulder and broke his nose. The defendant’s attorney jumped into the fray and prevented this guy from grabbing the gun of the guard. It would have been a very scary and different outcome if he would not have been there.”
Rocky River police were called to the scene, arriving in less than a minute, O’Shea said. They got Hurt on the ground, tased him and arrested him.
Hurt is charged with felonious assault, resisting arrest, attempted escape and aggravated robbery for attempting to take the guard’s gun.
Hurt was in court for charges out of Fairview Park, including operating a vehicle while intoxicated, operating a vehicle while intoxicated after a prior conviction, willful/wanton disregard, using weapons while intoxicated, aggravated menacing and resisting arrest.
Hurt was under suspension with no driving privileges, according to court documents. During the traffic stop for his new operating a vehicle while intoxicated charge, which took place in July, Hurt had a firearm that he pointed at the driver and passenger of another vehicle, according to court documents. Hurt also has prior arrests for domestic violence and menacing by stalking.
Dixie State University security rescues suicide victim www.privateofficer.com
St George Utah Nov 24 2010 Dixie State College security officers responded quickly to an emergency situation at Shiloh Hall when a DSC student attempted suicide.
Don Reid, director of campus security, said Jeffrey Pectol, a freshman English major from American Fork, inflicted injuries on both of his arms with a knife.
Reid said two students reported the incident, and his office received a call from the housing office before the 911 call was made. He said Security Officer Jon Alexander was near the area and was able to respond quickly.
“The response time for the officer was probably less than a minute,” Reid said. “All of our officers are trained EMTs, so we had him bandaged up before the ambulance arrived.”
Campus Housing Director Seth Gubler and two other campus security officers in addition to Reid responded to the emergency.
Reid said they received the call at 12:04 p.m., Alexander arrived at 12:05 p.m., and the ambulance was on scene by 12:12 p.m.
The officers had already taken Pectol’s vital signs and assessed his condition, so the ambulance was able to transport him to Dixie Regional Medical immediately.
“What we did is emergency medical: treat for shock, control the bleeding, get transported immediately, so they can start advanced life support,” Reid said.
Reid said it would be difficult for anyone other than a trained pathologist to determine at what time Pectol injured himself. He said Pectol’s cries for help likely saved his life.
“With some presence of mind, realizing that he was in a dire situation, he had just enough energy to call out for help,” Reid said. “It was pretty serious. It was good that we got to him when we did.”
Reid said Pectol’s parents have been notified, and they are on their way to see their son.
Pectol will receive counseling before returning to DSC. Both of the students who reported the emergency are already receiving counseling.
Dixie News
Maine Corrections Officer Dead During Training www.privateofficer.com
Maine Department of Corrections
Maine
End of Watch: Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Biographical Info
Age: 58
Tour of Duty: 20 years
Badge Number: Not available
Incident Details
Cause of Death: Heart attack
Date of Incident: Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Weapon Used: Not available
Suspect Info: Not available
Senior Corrections Officer John Paskewicz suffered a fatal heart attack while participating in a training exercise on defending against attacks with edged weapons.
He had just completed one of the scenarios and was speaking to his son, who also serves as a corrections officer, and other officers when he suddenly collapsed. The officers immediately began CPR until paramedics arrived but were unable to revive him.
Officer Paskewicz was a U.S. Army and Navy veteran of the Vietnam War. He had served with the Maine Department of Corrections for 20 years and was assigned to the Maine Correctional Center.
Agency Contact Information
Maine Department of Corrections
25 Tyson Drive 3rd Floor
State House Station 111
Augusta, ME 04333
Phone: (207) 287-2711
Please contact the Maine Department of Corrections for funeral arrangements or for survivor benefit fund information.
OFFICER DOWN DEPUTY SHERIFF SAM BROWNLEE
Weld County Sheriff’s Office
Colorado
End of Watch: Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Biographical Info
Age: 43
Tour of Duty: 5 years
Badge Number: Not available
Incident Details
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Weapon Used: Gun; Unknown type
Suspect Info: Shot and hospitalized
Deputy Sam Brownlee was shot and killed while attempting to capture a suspect following a high-speed chase.
A deputy from neighboring Morgan County and a Wiggins police officer attempted to stop the suspect after identifying the suspect’s vehicle in relation to an earlier domestic violence case. The suspect refused to yield and led officers from multiple agencies on a high-speed case across Morgan and Weld counties.
The pursuit at times exceeded 100 miles per hour before stop sticks were deployed, successfully disabling the vehicle in a residential area of Evans. Deputy Brownlee pursued the suspect on foot before both were shot in an exchange of gunfire.
Deputy Brownlee had served with the Weld County Sheriff’s Office for five years. He is survived by his wife.
Agency Contact Information
Weld County Sheriff’s Office
915 10th Street
Greeley, CO 80631
Phone: (970) 356-4015
Please contact the Weld County Sheriff’s Office for funeral arrangements or for survivor benefit fund information.
Jersey City man assaults school security www.privateofficer.com
Phillip T. Flood II, 32, of Wayne Street, was charged with aggravated assault and making terroristic threats after the 8:17 a.m. incident at School 29′s Clerk Street annex, reports said. He has previously been charged with drug dealing and theft of unemployment insurance, officials said.
Yesterday, the 48-year-old Jersey City Board of Education security guard told police a man parked a 2003 Mercedes in the school no parking zone and he told the driver he could not park there because it is a posted no parking zone during school hours, reports said.
The guard said the driver began arguing with him, refusing to move the vehicle and at one point threw a crumpled piece of paper that struck his face, reports said.
He said the driver then said, “You don’t know me and my boys. I carry guns. I run this side of the street. You and the ‘po po’ can’t touch me,” reports said.
The driver then reached around his waist band as if to gesture that he was armed, reports said.
The Mercedes pulled away, but the guard got the plate number and responding officers found the car is owned by Willie Flood, reports said. The guard was still at the South District Police Station filing a report when Flood II walked in and he identified him as the driver of the Mercedes.
In 2007, Flood II was charged with selling marijuana out of his mother’s Mercedes at Wayne and Barrow streets, and he was charged with offenses including dealing drugs within 1,000 feet of a school and within 500 feet of a park, reports said. The matter was later downgraded to municipal court.
In 2006, the state charged Phillip Flood with unlawfully collecting $13,000 in unemployment insurance and he paid back the money and entered a pretrial intervention program, officials said.
In early 2008, Willie Flood was inducted into Channel 5′s “Hall of Shame” after veteran reporter Arnold Diaz aired an exposé on her hiring Flood II as her council aide and as a data processing systems programmer in the Register’s Office. He gave up the $15,000 city job but kept the $40,000 county job, officials said.
Flood II could not be reached for comment. Reached at her home last night, Willie Flood said: “He is the most wonderful son I have ever met in my life – ever.”
Former Detroit school guards sue for back pay and their job www.privateofficer.com
The suit filed in U.S. District Court by 178 of the 226 laid-off security guards claims DPS violated federal due process laws when it terminated them June 30 to make way for a private security firm, Securitas.
The guards also claim DPS tarnished their reputations by accusing them publicly of chronic absenteeism when DPS never attempted disciplinary action for attendance issues against any officers, the suit says.
DPS cannot outsource a department when it has an existing contract with the union workers, said Ernest Jarrett, the Detroit attorney for the guards.
“It’s absurd that my clients are out of work when they have a contract that says they should be working,” Jarrett said.
DPS spokesman Steven Wasko wouldn’t comment on specifics of the suit but said: “The fact remains that the decision to move to managed competition for this vital and primary service resulted in annual savings of more than $3 million and, more importantly, a highly responsive and trained work force whose attendance is guaranteed by the new performance-based contract.”
The federal case is the latest in the guards’ attempt to reclaim their jobs, following cases in circuit court, appeals court and before the Michigan Employee Relations Commission. Complicating the matter is the guards’ claims that their union, Teamsters Local 214, failed to fairly represent them by enforcing the contract.
Local 214 President Joe Valenti said his union continues to work hard on behalf of the guards in settling grievances and with litigation, even though he can’t have contact with the guards, based on their attorney’s request, he said.
Conflict arose when a group of guards petitioned to have another union, the Michigan Association of Police, represent them, therefore blocking the Teamsters from negotiating a deal with the district that could have prevented the outsourcing, Valenti said.
Source:detnews.com
Shoplifters get life in prison for death of security agent www.privateofficer.com
Forty-year-old James Woodworth and 20-year-old Samantha Lomasney apologized Tuesday during sentencing in an Oakland County court. They were convicted last month of first-degree felony murder in the January death of 36-year-old Greg Wainio.
Wainio was dragged and crushed as he tried to stop the couple from driving away from a Waterford Township Kmart store with $400 in CDs.
Defense attorneys had sought a lesser charge, saying the couple panicked and meant no harm. Prosecutors say their actions ended in first-degree murder.
The victim’s brother John Wainio told Woodworth and Lomasney at Tuesday’s hearing that he wants to see them die in jail.
