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Livonia Michigan police officer killed in shoot-out www.privateofficer.com
WALLED LAKE, Mich.Jan 19 2011 – Livonia police said that a Livonia police officer and a suspect were killed during a shooting at Glenwood and Maple roads in Walled Lake near the Commerce Township border. The Livonia Police Department held a news conference on Monday night to address the shooting.
Livonia Police Chief Robert Stevenson said that officer Larry Nehasil, 48, was killed while pursuing two people who broke into a home in Walled Lake. Nehasil and other officers exchanged gunfire with the suspects, Stevenson said. Stevenson said the other person killed was one of the suspects that Nehasil and other Livonia intelligence bureau officers were pursuing.
The chief said the other suspect was arrested. Nehasil was part of the Livonia police intelligence bureau for about five or six years, Stevenson said. “(Nehasil’s) mission was to track down and arrest dangerous felons,” Stevenson said.
Nehasil was with the Livonia Police Department for more than 20 years. He was a former Wayne County Sheriff. He was a husband and father of two, Stevenson said. “Larry was highly decorated,” Stevenson said. “His family is obviously devastated by their loss, and we ask all of you to join in our prayers for them in their time of need. Larry will be remembered by his smile, his hard work ethic and will be missed by all of his coworkers.”
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office will be investigating the shooting, Stevenson said. Stevenson said this is the first time in the history of the city that a Livonia police officer has been killed in a “violent felony.” Livonia Mayor Jack Kirksey spoke at the Monday night news conference. “I knew (Nehasil), not well, but I knew him and members of his family,” Kirksey said. “Citizens of Livonia are grieving together for this great loss.
Camden NJ lays off half of it’s police force www.privateofficer.com
CAMDEN, N.J.Jan 19 2011 – Some firefighters turned in their helmets and police officers their badges Tuesday as part of deep municipal layoffs destined to further erode the quality of life in Camden, already one of the nation’s most impoverished and crime-ridden cities.
About 335 workers, representing one-sixth of the local government work force, lost their jobs, according to Mayor Dana Redd. It was worst in the public safety departments, where nearly half the police force and close to one-third of the city’s firefighters were laid off. Laid-off firefighters walked eight blocks together from the police union hall to Fire Department headquarters, snaking past City Hall, then lined up their helmets in front of the building, picked them back up and started to turn them in along with their other gear.
“It’s one of the worst days in the history of Camden,” said Ken Chambers, president of the firefighters union. Redd blamed the public safety employee cuts on their unions, saying they have not been willing to make job-saving concessions or accept the reality that the state government will no longer bail out the city as it has for the past two generations.
“Instead of protecting and serving the city, the residents of Camden, they’re choosing to protect their high salaries,” she said. The mayor said she was willing to continue negotiating with unions to try to reach cost savings that would allow the city to bring back some of the laid-off workers. Redd said a proposal to the rank-and-file police union, the Fraternal Order of Police, was to be voted on Wednesday. She would not say exactly what the proposal entailed or how many jobs it could save. But she said that if the unions agree to concessions, about 100 police officers and most of the firefighters could be brought back.
Chambers said residents should not expect to be safe as the number of fire companies is reduced. He said the union will continue to meet with city officials to try to reach a deal under which some firefighters could be brought back. Police officers had begun turning in their badges Monday as it became clear that no last-minute deal was going to save many jobs.
Located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Camden is rampant with open drug-dealing, prostitution and related crimes. More than half of Camden’s 80,000 residents, mostly black and Hispanic, live in poverty. A local pastor says “the fear quotient has been raised,” and a police union took out a full-page newspaper advertisement last week warning that Camden would become a “living hell” if layoffs were not averted.
The city was the nation’s second-most dangerous based on 2009 data, according to CQ Press, which compiles such rankings. Camden ranked first the previous two years. In 2009, the city had 2,380 violent crimes per 100,000 residents – more than five times the national average, the FBI said. The anti-crime volunteer group Guardian Angels says it will patrol Camden, as it has Newark, where there were major police layoffs in November. The Fire Department has already been relying on help from volunteer departments in neighboring towns. Interim Fire Chief David Yates, who retired Jan. 1, has warned that that layoffs will increase response times.
Source:AP NEWS
Ga. youth counselor charged with having sex with teenager www.privateofficer.com
GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga.Jan 19 2011 — A local youth counselor is accused of having an ongoing sexual relationship with a 14-year-old boy.
Police said James Ben Harris,33, worked with children at Lawrenceville’s Brookwood Baptist Church in Gwinnett County.
Investigators said Harris met the victim in his Sunday school class and that the two had gone on trips together.
Harris was arrested and charged with six counts of child molestation.
Police arrested Harris at the church Friday after the boy’s parents found explicit text messages between the two.
Source:WSBTV
NY man indicted in DUI death of campus security officer www.privateofficer.com
HERKIMER NY Jan 19 2011 — A 23-year-old Rome man has been charged in connection with an alcohol-related head-on crash in Frankfort last September that killed a Mohawk Valley Community College security guard.
Roy Kangas was indicted on a sealed-indictment in Herkimer County Court Tuesday on 11 charges, including aggravated vehicular homicide, first-degree and second-degree vehicular manslaughter and second-degree manslaughter, prosecutors said.
Kangas also faces various misdemeanors and violations, including: aggravated driving while intoxicated, driving while ability impaired by marijuana and the drug Diazepam, driving while ability impaired by the combined influence of drugs and alcohol, reckless driving, and speed not reasonable and prudent, prosecutors said.
Kangas was arraigned without an attorney Tuesday, and Judge Patrick Kirk will arrange for Kangas to appear in court with an assigned attorney at a later date, Herkimer County Assistant District Attorney Jeff Carpenter said.
These are the first charges that Kangas has faced in connection with the Sept. 10, 2010, accident on Dyke Road that killed 34-year-old Terry Kohl, of Utica, at about 11 p.m.
Following an accident reconstruction investigation by the Frankfort Town Police and state police, it was determined that Kangas’ blood alcohol content level was 0.23 percent – nearly three times the legal limit – when he got behind the wheel, prosecutors said.
After leaving Mr. McGill’s bar in Schuyler, Kangas drove about a mile and a half before colliding with Kohl’s vehicle, Frankfort town police Officer in Charge James Getman Jr.
Since the fatal crash, Kangas has been held at the Oneida County jail without bail on a probation violation for drinking alcohol before driving a motor vehicle that night, officials have said.
Kohl had left work at MVCC just six minutes before the collision, Getman said. Because Kohl was a public servant as a security guard, Getman said he was saddened by the Kohl’s death.
Whether or not Kangas is convicted, Getman said Kangas’ role in the deadly crash should weigh heavily on Kangas.
“Mr. Kangas will forever be behind the bars of his conscience that will be put up in his mind for the horrible mistake of taking the life of another person,” Getman said. “This will forever haunt him, and he will have to live with that for the rest of his life.”
Source:UticaOD.com
Boy kills family members with birthday present www.privateofficer.com
Spartanburg Public Safety officials say the teen called around midnight Monday and said he had shot three people.
The Spartanburg County coroner’s office says 44-year-old Joe Lankford and 83-year-old Virginia Gaston were killed. Rachel Lankford, 80, is hospitalized in critical condition.
Capt. Art Littlejohn says the teen came out of the house with his hands up and was taken into custody.
Neighbor Barry Taylor says he spent the weekend with his 9-year-old grandson and the teen suspected in the shootings and didn’t notice anything unusual. The boys had played together for the past two years.
The teen has not been charged, and his name has not been released. Police say the boy’s father gave him the .22 rifle gun used in the shootings as a birthday present.
Source:WIS
N.C. School Resource Officer Arrested For Gas Theft www.privateofficer.com
LEXINGTON, N.C.Jan 19 2011 — A Davidson County school resource officer was fired Tuesday after being charged with stealing diesel fuel from Ledford Senior High School.
Josh Moretz, 28, of Lexington, was fired after being charged with misdemeanor larceny. Detectives accused Moretz of stealing diesel fuel from activity buses around 11 a.m. Tuesday.
Sheriff David Grice said in a release that Moretz was no longer an employee of the sheriff’s office. School resource officers in Davidson County are employed by the sheriff’s office.
Grice did not release any other information due to pending court proceedings.
Moretz received a $5,000 unsecured bond and is scheduled to appear in court Feb. 21.
Source:WGHP
Georgia woman charged with plotting husband’s murder www.privateofficer.com
Columbus Police say on Sunday, January 16th, they were contacted by a confidential informant who told them that a friend of hers was trying to get someone to murder her spouse, 45-year-old Michael Burmeister from Phenix City.
Columbus detectives started investigating the tip and issued a warrant for Burmeister’s wife. Johnnie Melissa Burmeister, 40, was arrested Monday in North Georgia in Pickens County. Police say she lives in Jasper, GA.
Officials would not say how Mrs. Burmeister allegedly wanted to have her husband killed or when or why.
Investigators say Michael Burmeister works on Fort Benning but they do not know if he is a soldier or a civilian. He was not injured and detectives say he had no idea about his wife’s alleged attempt to end his life.
Columbus officers will go to Pickens County and bring Mrs. Burmeister to Columbus to face the charge the Criminal Solicitation to Commit Murder.
She is being held in the Pickens County Jail and is tentatively scheduled to appear in court in Columbus Friday morning.
Teen charged with robbery-murder in Georgia www.privateofficer.com
ALBANY, GA January 19 2011 –An Albany teenager admits he was part of a violent robbery in which a teenaged store clerk was executed.
16 year old Anthony Hill is in jail, charged with the December 18th holdup at the Miscelanea Guate-Mex store on Radium Springs Road.
The clerk, 19 year old Sentos Vicente, was shot in the head and killed.
And tonight police are still looking for Hill’s partner in crime.
16 year old Anthony Hill made his first appearance before a Judge this morning, and formally charged as an adult with murder and armed robbery.
And even though he’s charged with cold blooded murder, our judges are protecting him tonight and making sure you don’t get to see his face.
Anthony Hill is the suspect in the foreground of this store surveillance store.
He’s the one who burst into the store waving a gun.
But we can’t show you his mug shot, because of a standing order from Judge Stephen Goss about releasing juvenile’s photographs, even when they are charged as adults.
The D.A. says Hill and the other masked man forced Sentos Vicente to open the cash register, and then down to the floor, where he was shot execution style in the back of the head.
District Attorney Greg Edwards said “this individual has indicated some involvement in this robbery/homicide. And so we are moving from this point to collect more information and move forward with the case.”
Take a close look at the video. Police say there was a struggle and one of the suspects fired the shot that killed Vicente, but they are not sure which suspect fired because they passed the gun between them.
Now Police are searching for the other masked man.
Edwards said “A suspect has been identified and Police are working on trying to get with that individual. That’s what’s going on right now.”
Prosecutors call the murder senseless. From the surveillance video you can see that Vicente gave them the money and got down on the floor so he was no threat. The District Attorney says this case could qualify for the death penalty, but he has not made a decision to pursue that yet.
Edwards said “Some of the preliminary aggravating circumstances , that is robbery taking place, that is present. So yes that could be considered.”
But first, they must capture the other robber, who is still on the run.
The manager at the convenience store where Vincente was murdered says they are still frightened, and they are keeping their door locked at all times. You have to knock to be let in.
Hill was a ninth grader at the alternative school, but hasn’t been to class in quite a while. Hill is the younger brother of Johnny Hill, who shot Albany Police Officer Tim Harvey in 2008, and is now serving 30 years in prison.
He is now being held without bond in the Dougherty County jail.
Not only will the jail not release Anthony Hill’s mug shot, but we weren’t allowed in the jail courtroom with Hill Tuesday either.
Even though the law requires releasing the identities of juveniles charged with a seven deadly sin are public, Dougherty County’s newest magistrate Judge, Victoria Darrisaw, told us it’s their “policy” not to allow juveniles to be photographed.
Source:WALB
Shoplifter injures himself with knife during escape www.privateofficer.com
CINCINNATI OH Jan 19 2011- An alleged shoplifter tried to threaten a security guard with a knife when he was caught, but hurt himself in the process.
Police say on Monday, 28-year-old Lonnie White had stolen items from the T.J. Maxx store on 4th Street when he was stopped by a store security guard.
White pulled out a knife to threaten the security guard, but cut himself in the process, according to police.
White had to be treated by paramedics before he was taken to the Hamilton County Justice Center.
Indiana student charged with Facebook threats www.privateofficer.com
Another student noticed the threats and told his grandparents, who reported it to police.
According to police, the posts said, “Your dreams will be broken Warren Central, no more nice guy,” and also, “I mean what I said and you’re going to die tomorrow every last one of you.”
Detectives contacted Warren Central Principal Rich Shepler, who provided police with the student’s address.
The 16-year-old student associated with the Facebook account was arrested on a charge of intimidation, a class B felony. He was later released.
The student has been suspended from school for ten days.
Marion County prosecutor’s office statement:
“Based upon the information currently available to our office we are unable to file charges at this time, as the alleged Facebook posting does not meet the legal requirements for criminal charges under the state’s felony intimidation law. However, the MCPO is continuing to actively investigate this matter to determine if charges are warranted.”
Student reaction
Classes at Warren Central High School went on as scheduled Tuesday, although some parents kept their children home after learning of the threats.
“Makes me feel unsafe, like you never know what’s gonna happen,” said one student.
The boy’s parents did not wish to be interviewed on camera, but did say that their son was a victim of bullying, but they never imagined he would post something threatening online.
“He kept bottled up. He didn’t know how to vent. He didn’t know how to…he was fearful of talking about it because of peer pressure,” said the boy’s father.
The school found no evidence that the threats went beyond the comments made.
“If he was gonna do it, I didn’t want to be here when it happened so I just stayed home,” said Tylynn Burnett, senior.
“I let my daughter stay home. I brought her in after I called the school and they let me know what was going on, that it was safe to come in, but it was pretty scary,” said Louise, a parent.
“A lot of teens make threats. Not all of them go through with it,” said the father of a student.
That’s a chance school officials were clearly not willing to take.
Warren Central statement:
“On Monday evening Warren Central High School administration received reports from concerned students and parents about an alleged threatening message posted on Facebook by a Warren Central student. As in every case involving the safety and security of our students and staff, administrators took the threat seriously and moved quickly to ascertain the facts of the allegations.
After identifying the student in question, school administrators, along with IMPD went to the student’s residence and discussed the matter with the student and his parents. IMPD at that time detained the student in question and began the criminal investigation.
In addition to speaking with staff and the student body at the start of school today, school principal Rich Shepler sent out an ED Connect message via telephone to all Warren Central parents updating them on the situation and assuring them that the safety and security of their children were never compromised and that a normal school day was in effect. There was no evidence that the scope of the threats went beyond this one individual.
At this point in time the student in question continues to be detained by police. All further inquiries concerning the criminal investigation should be directed to law enforcement officials.
We ask that the media please be sensitive to the fact that for the students in attendance today it is important that the educational process go on without interruptions or distractions. We thank you for your cooperation in this regard.”
Security-police officers nab apartment burglar www.privateofficer.com
SPARTANBURG, S.C. Jan 19 2011 A Chesnee man is charged with burglary after he struggled with a deputy during the arrest.
Jonathan Christopher Marler, 18, is charged with burglary third degree and resisting arrest with no assault according to the Spartanburg County Detention Center website.
The Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office says a deputy was called to an apartment complex on East Blackstock Road Sunday for a burglary that happened between early Wednesday morning and Sunday evening.
The incident report says the deputy was with a security guard at the vacant apartment where they say they found the suspect’s cell phone, jacket, watch, blanket and bag with clothing.
That’s when Marler came to the apartment according to the deputy.
Marler was told he was going to be arrested, but he wouldn’t place his arms behind his back to be placed in handcuffs.
Marler said “he wanted to die” and “y’all will have to kill me” as he struggled with the officers. The suspect received two bursts of Vexor Spray to the face as he was arrested.
He was booked into the detention center early Monday morning and is being held on $3,500 bond according to the jail website.
Huntington Beach police may post arrests on Facebook www.privateofficer.com
Huntington Beach CA. Jan 19 2011 Police in a city ranked top in the state for alcohol-related traffic fatalities might soon be trying a new tactic to keep drunken drivers off the road: Electronic shaming on Facebook.
In a contentious move that has raised the hackles of privacy advocates and been met with resistance from a police department fearful of alienating residents, a councilman in Huntington Beach wants police to begin posting the mug shots of everyone who is arrested more than once for driving while under the influence.
“If it takes shaming people to save lives, I am willing to do it,” said Devin Dwyer, the councilman behind the proposal. “I’m hoping it prevents others from getting behind the wheel and getting inebriated.”
Dwyer initially wanted the police department to post on Facebook photographs of everyone arrested for DUI in the bar-laden beach town just south of Los Angeles. He has watered down his proposal — now only repeat offenders would be featured on the virtual wall of shame — in hopes of winning support from the rest of the seven-member council, which is set to vote on the issue Tuesday.
Huntington Beach, a city of about 200,000 famed for its Surf City alias, an off-leash dog beach and a downtown packed with bars, is ranked top out of 56 California cities of similar size for the number of alcohol-related traffic fatalities. In 2009, 195 people were killed or injured.
Drunken driving laws are aggressively enforced, and in 2009, there were 1,687 DUI arrests.
“There is a saying: Come to Huntington Beach on vacation, leave on probation,” said attorney Randall Bertz, who specializes in DUI cases.
Bertz, a former police officer who has been defending such cases for 23 years, said uploading DUI suspects’ photos onto Facebook violates their right to privacy and would likely not be a deterrent to habitual drunken drivers.
“It will have a negative impact on relations with the community, the police department and city officials,” he said. “What’s next, will they have drunk drivers walk around with sandwich boards? Will it be public flogging?”
Man commits suicide by jumping from Las Vegas Casino tower www.privateofficer.com
Las Vegas NV Jan 19 2011 Authorities are reporting that a man has jumped to his death Monday from a tower at Imperial Palace on the Las Vegas Strip.
Las Vegas police have identified the man and said on Tuesday that he was 23-year-old Shane Donlan, according to the Clark County Coroner’s Office.
The coroner hasn’t determined an official cause or manner of death, but police said it was an apparent suicide.
Police said they believe that Donlan was from Hawthorne, N.J.
The incident happened about 1 p.m. Monday and shut down part of the strip for several hours during the investigation.
Apache Mall security stop man armed with 2 handguns www.privateofficer.com
Rochester MN Jan 19 2011 A 23-year-old Rochester man has been arrested for allegedly bringing two handguns into the Apache Mall in Rochester.
Police say one of the guns was loaded, but they also say it does “not” appear as if anyone was in any “real” danger.
The incident happened just before 11:30 in the morning on Sunday. Police say the suspect showed the two guns to a friend who also works at the mall, claming he had borrowed the guns from his roommate and need a ride to a rural area to practice his shooting.
“He was seeking a ride to a rural area where he could do some target practicing. Evidently this alarmed the individual that he had showed the weapons to…” said Captain Brian Winters.
Mall officials had no comment today, but police say the friend promptly informed mall security. Once security was informed of what was going on, a security guard approached the man, calmly separated him from the duffel bag containing the guns and then called police.
It’s also important to note here that police say there does not appear to be any ill intent in this situation.
“We have no indication that there was ever any criminal intent to use the weapons, nor do we have any information that the public or anyone out at the mall was ever in danger by his actions,” said Winters.
Still, with this coming so closely on the heels of the shootings in Tucson, Arizona, for some this incident could be viewed with a little more concern than perhaps just a month ago.
“All the things that are happening in schools lately. Oh yeah. It’s everywhere,” said Gemma and Nick Volds. “You just don’t bring guns anywhere. I don’t know. I think it’s just weird.”
“Everyone is kind of on high alert with that kind of thing,” said Jeraka Brue. “You would think bringing guns, especially a loaded one, into a public place wouldn’t be a good idea.”
“I’m really glad that people are aware of what’s going on and are being proactive or active when things like that happen,” said Pam Geerdes.
Police say the suspect, who is a convicted felon and is prohibiting from having guns, will be charged with illegal possession of firearms.
Due to the Martin Luther King holiday and the fact the courts are closed, the suspect has yet to be officially charged.
Robber hits Target cashier in face-grabs money from register www.privateofficer.com
Mesa AZ Jan 19 2011 A 21-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of robbery after police say he hit a Target cashier in the face and tried to steal $362 from her register on Sunday afternoon.
Michael Cadavas was stopped by loss-prevention officers inside the store at 1135 S. Gilbert Road about 2:30 p.m., moments after police say he walked behind the cashier while she was helping a customer and hit her, first with his forearm, then a notebook, then tried to grab the cash tray out of her register.
The robber took at least $362 from the register before security blocked the door with a shopping cart and recovered the money from Cadavas, police said. He was allowed to leave and was contacted by police on the northeast corner of Gilbert Road and Southern Avenue, where a police report says he made initial statements that he took money and assaulted a woman in the store. Cadavas had $393 in his possession at the time of his arrest.
The cashier was treated at the store by Mesa fire personnel and later taken to a nearby hospital by her father, where she was treated for a nosebleed.
Source:East Valley Tribune
Miami plane held after bomb scare www.privateofficer.com
MIAMI Fla Jan 19 2011 — Authorities say an empty holder for detonators used in construction or oil drilling prompted a bomb squad inspection of an American Airlines plane that arrived Monday at Miami International Airport from Brazil.
A Miami-Dade Police bomb squad was dispatched to the plane after baggage handlers found a suspicious item in the cargo hold of Flight 930 from Sao Paolol. Authorities said the holder was discovered rattling around inside a container during an inspection of the plane’s cargo shipments. All of the flight’s 169 passengers had already deplaned.
“They found what appeared to be detonator devices, but it turned out to be empty containers that are made to hold detonators. There were no explosives inside them,” said police spokeswoman Det. Edna Hernandez.
American Airlines spokesman Tim Smith called the detonator holder “nothing threatening.” He said the item could be used in construction or oil drilling.
“It was doing routine process that they opened it up and said ‘this doesn’t look right.’ This one was not packed like they usually are,” Smith said, adding that the airlines would review how and why the item was shipped from Brazil.
The flight arrived around 8:30 a.m. Monday
