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Tractor trailer-school bus wreck kills 3 injures 40 in Jackson MS. www.privateofficer.com
About 60 Ackerman High School seniors had been visiting the campus of the University of Mississippi at Oxford and were returning home aboard the buses on Mississippi highway 8, about 40 miles south of the college.
Students were taken to area hospitals, none with life-threatening injuries, troopers said in a news release. One student was taken by helicopter to North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo.
Mike Dunagin, fire chief of Calhoun City near the scene, told The Associated Press that one of the buses smashed up against the guard rail of a highway overpass bridge. Photos showed one bus with its rear half dangling over the guard rail, its hood crumpled and sheered away on the driver’s side.
“We’re very fortunate the bus didn’t go off the bridge,” Dunagin said.
The 18-wheeler swerved into the wrong lane and hit the buses, said Mississippi Department of Public Safety spokesman Jon Kalahar.
Killed were trucker Gary T. Bailey, 54, of Mantachie; the driver of the second bus, Steven B. Moss, 37; and Ackerman high teacher Phyllis Graham, 53, of Eupora, highway patrol troopers said. Graham was a passenger on the bus, and Moss also taught and coached at the high school in Choctaw County. The driver of the first bus hit, Shane Burton, 40, of Ackerman, had minor injuries, police said.
Several emergency crews and some pastors to help with counseling were at the scene to assist the shaken students who were some 40 miles from home, said Charlie Brown, a spokesman for the Calhoun City Fire Department.
“Most of them were in total shock,” he said of the students.
Citizens credited with aiding security officer who was stabbed www.privateofficer.com
Byron Lynn Clements, 48, of Gretna, is charged with malicious wounding that left a victim with serious injuries, according to an arrest warrant.
One of two people who came to the security guard’s aid during the attack said he relied on “sheer adrenalin.”
“I have a fused back (and other problems); I’m still hurting all over,” David Hyde, a retired Goodyear worker, said. Hyde was at the office for an appointment when the incident happened.
An arraignment for Clements has not yet been set, according to Lt. Suzanne Holland, the lead investigator on the case, because, “We are still doing interviews and tying up loose ends.”
Court papers state the security guard was stabbed four times — in his left abdomen, left side of his head, left side of his neck and his right hand.
Representatives of the injured security guard’s employer — the Federal Protective Services arm of Homeland Security — were at the scene Thursday, but the Pittsylvania County Sheriff’s Office remains in charge of the case, according to Holland.
“He (Clements) has been charged under state code,” Holland said. “We’re working it like it’s ours until they (a federal agency) tell us otherwise.”
Hyde, who lives in Danville, said he jumped in to help the injured security guard. Hyde said he noticed a man at one of the windows, and saw the security guard approach him and say, “Follow me, I want to show you something.”
Hyde said the man, now identified as Clements, responded, “You gonna show me something?” and began attacking the security guard.
“I thought he was hitting him; I never saw the knife until we were outside,” Hyde said. “I got him (Clements) in a headlock and pulled him off the guard.”
Hyde said an employee of Social Security, Anthony Burtt, ran over to help, stopping to grab the handcuffs from the injured security guard.
Hyde said he doesn’t remember quite how it happened, but he, Burtt and Clements all wound up outside the building, with Hyde and Burtt trying to get Clements handcuffed. A second security guard ran out from another part of the building to help, and then police officers began to arrive.
Holland confirmed that the two men were instrumental in saving the security guard from further attack.
“That’s my understanding,” Holland said.
Hyde said he reacted instinctively to help the guard, and was surprised more people in the waiting room did not help.
“Not one got up to help us,” Hyde said. “I’m not going to let someone kill someone right in from of me; if he (Clements) had started stabbing me — or anyone else in the room — he (the guard) would have been right there for me.”
Instead, the other people waiting for their appointments “moaned and groaned” when police told them they were closing the building and everyone would have to leave.
Hyde said he is recovering from his ordeal. He worked for Goodyear for 32 years before becoming disabled. Both he and Burtt, who is married to a Goodyear employee, were recognized in the Goodyear employee newsletter on Friday.
“By all accounts, they are definitely life-saving heroes in this situation,” Mike Lewandowski, Goodyear’s human resources manager, said in the article.
Hyde said he was puzzled when police officers and other officials at the scene shook his hand and thanked him for saving the security guard’s life.
“I wondered how they were so sure,” Hyde said.
His question was soon answered — the entire incident was caught on videotape.
Burtt could not immediately be reached for comment.
Source:NewsAdvance
Phoenix Catholic teacher arrested for sexual misconduct www.privateofficer.com
PHOENIX AZ Feb 9 2011(AP) – A Phoenix Catholic school physical education teacher has been arrested.
Police say 32-year-old Carl Mosher was booked into the Maricopa County Jail on four counts of sexual conduct with a minor.
The alleged victim is a 14-year-old female student at Saint Gregory’s Catholic School.
The police department says the relationship began in December of 2010 when the girl was 13 and continued this month.
The Maricopa County Public Defender’s Office says Mosher has not been assigned an attorney.
A court commissioner denied Mosher bond during a court appearance Monday.
A call seeking comment from the Phoenix Catholic Diocese has not been returned.
La Quinta High School teacher arrested www.privateofficer.com
David Armenta, 30, of Indio, was booked on suspicion of unlawful sex with a minor, Indio Police Department spokesman Ben Guitron said.
The teacher has been on administrative leave since Friday morning, when school administrators were informed of the investigation, La Quinta High School Principal Donna Salazar said.
Two sheriff’s officials asked to speak to Armenta around 11 a.m. Friday, Salazar said, and he was sent home immediately after that meeting.
Armenta, a 10th and 11th grade history teacher, will be on leave until there is a resolution in the case, Salazar said. She didn’t know whether his leave will be paid or unpaid, saying it would be determined by the district’s personnel office.
Indio police were notified Friday that the alleged sexual activity had occurred in that city, and an investigation led to Armenta’s arrest at his home in the 47400 block of Bahama Court, Guitron said.
Source:www.swrnn.com
Cooper High School teacher arrested for student sex crimes www.privateofficer.com
Abilene TX Feb 9 2011 A former Cooper High School teacher and coach has been charged with having an improper relationship between an educator and a student after surrendering to Abilene police Monday.
Elizabeth Proctor, who resigned last week from her teaching job at Cooper, is accused of having sex with a male student from Cooper in December 2009, according to the arrest affidavit.
Proctor was placed on paid administrative leave by the Abilene Independent School District as district officials and police investigated the allegation of an improper relationship made by the student. She resigned Jan. 27.
Proctor was released from the Taylor County Jail later Monday afternoon on a $7,500 bond, according to her attorney, Alex Eyssen.
The charge is a second-degree felony, punishable by two to 20 years in prison and/or a fine not to exceed $10,000.
When asked whether additional charges would be filed, Sgt. Lynn Beard of the Abilene Police Department said, “Not yet.”
Beard declined to comment further.
Eyssen said that when notified of the warrant, Proctor went to the jail to surrender.
He had said earlier that he expected an arrest to come any day.
“The next step is to talk to the district attorney’s office,” Eyssen said.
AISD Superintendent Heath Burns said Jan. 28 that Proctor had resigned as a result of allegations that she had a sexual relationship with a high school student.
He emphasized at the time that there was no substantiation of any criminal wrongdoing.
Also on Jan. 28, Eyssen confirmed that his client had consented to a search and photographs of her home by the police.
No evidence was removed following the search of the house.
Source:Reporternews
NC TROOPER INDICTED FOR HOLDING WOMAN AGAINST HER WILL www.privateofficer.com
Trooper Larry Lovick resigned from the patrol in June amidst an investigation into sexual misconduct allegations.
The indictment handed down Tuesday charges Lovick with felonious restraint.
According to documents obtained by ABC11, the incident took place during a traffic stop on or about May 25, 2010.
The woman’s family says the woman claims Lovick made her get into his car, handcuffed her, and exposed himself to her on Trailwood Drive in west Raleigh.
ABC11 has confirmed Lovick was working the night shift that night in an unmarked car. ABC11 has also learned Lovick was suspended without pay for three days just months before the May incident was reported.
Following Lovick’s indictment Tuesday, Col. Michael W. Gilchrist released a statement that said in part, “… it was the Highway Patrol that requested a criminal investigation of the incident involving Trooper Lovick. We did so because we believed there was probable cause to believe a crime had occurred and that a criminal investigation was therefore warranted. Today’s indictment, issued by a Wake County grand jury, at the behest of the District Attorney’s office solidifies our belief that criminal charges are warranted.”
The ABC11 I-Team has also discovered Trooper Lovick was suspended in 2009 for three days for unknown reasons.
Paramus NJ police officer shot 5 times during traffic stop www.privateofficer.com
Paramus NJ Feb 9 2011 Pursuit of a silver car on Route 17 left a Paramus police officer and the car’s driver in critical condition after a shootout.
Officer Rachel Morgan, 31, was attempting to pull over a silver car for speeding and having fictitious plates, a source with knowledge of the investigation said.
The car instead took off at a high rate of speed, causing the driver to lose control on the entrance ramp from Route 17 to the Garden State Parkway, Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said. Morgan had been pursuing the vehicle on Route 17 south.
NorthJersey.com reports Morgan was shot at multiple times, with two rounds hitting her in the stomach, authorities said. She and another officer returned fire.
She was wearing her bullet-proof vest when the suspect — identified by prosecutors as Michael Sean Carmody — shot her, Molinelli said. Morgan was shot five times, two shots hitting her vest, a source close to the police department said.
An Associated Press story on NJ.com reports another officer fired at Carmody, hitting him several times.
A release from the Prosecutor’s Office said Carmody, Morgan and the unnamed backup Paramus police officer exchanged “many” rounds of fire. Molinelli said it would not be clear how many rounds were fired until after the investigation is complete, but said the number was “considerable.”
Morgan was rushed to Hackensack University Medical Center where she underwent surgery Monday morning. Carmody underwent surgery at St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center and was in critical condition.
Paramus Mayor Richard LaBarbiera was in the hospital waiting room with 50 other people, including officers, EMTs and Morgan’s boyfriend, mother and sister. The EMTs said Morgan was conscious after the shooting and went into surgery immediately.
“Everything so far is encouraging,” he said. “Any news we hear is indicating she will recover.”
A doctor came out at 3:30 a.m. and met with the family, saying the bullets that went into her abdomen went in one side and out the other, damaging some internal organs.
Morgan is a four-year veteran officer who has been with Paramus for two years. She previously worked for the New Jersey Institute of Technology Police Department.
Meanwhile, according to Wyckoff Patch, more is being learned about Carmody. He has twice been arrested on drug charges, according to public records. In Oct. 2006, he was charged in Bogota with possession of marijuana, driving while intoxicated and having ficticious license plates. Two years later, in Oct. 2008, he was charged with distribution of more than 50 grams of marijuana on school grounds in Hackensack.
CBS New York reports no charges have been filed as of yet. The name of the other officer involved has not been released, pending the outcome of an investigation.
Man arrested for exposing himself in Ga. Wal-Mart www.privateofficer.com
MARIETTA, Ga. Feb 9 2011– A Marietta man accused of exposing himself inside a metro Atlanta Walmart is in the Cobb County jail.
Channel 2 Action News reporter Ross Cavitt obtained an arrest warrant that claims Christopher Ponder followed women and exposed himself inside the Walmart store on Chastain Meadows Parkway.
According to the report, the crimes were captured on store surveillance. Ponder also exposed himself near a young boy, the warrant stated.
Ponder is charged with public indecency and child molestation and is currently being held without bond.
Source:WSBTV
Alabama women threaten to blow up bank during robbery www.privateofficer.com
ANNISTON AL Feb 9 2011 — Calhoun County authorities say two women are charged with holding up a bank in the Alexandria community.
Sheriff Larry Amerson says two Calhoun County residents, 46-year-old Rita Zeigler and 31-year-old Regina Tidwell, are charged with first-degree robbery.
Amerson says a woman entered the bank Monday afternoon and demanded money from an employee.
He says the same woman told the bank employee she was holding the employee’s family hostage, had snipers nearby ready to shoot at the bank and had the building wired with explosives.
The sheriff says the employee gave the robber money, and the robber and an accomplice left in a white Dodge van. Amerson says a van matching that description was stopped a few hours later and the women were arrested.
Source:AL.com
Distraught man pulls gun on cemetery security guards www.privateofficer.com
Authorities said the distraught man stole a truck at gunpoint from workers at Rose Hills Cemetery in Whittier, Calif. He drove away, but soon flipped the vehicle on its side.
He was arrested and could face charges, including assault with a deadly weapon and attempted murder of a peace officer.
SC science teacher charged with sexual battery www.privateofficer.com
Sheriff’s Capt. Travis Tilson says that 43-year-old Deanna Marie Robert of West Union was charged with two counts of sexual battery last week. Tilson says deputies got a complaint from a teen’s parents.
School district spokeswoman Kay Powell says Robert no longer works at Tamassee-Salem Middle and High School. Powell wouldn’t comment on the investigation, but says student safety is the district’s most important concern.
School superintendent Mike Lucas says the district is cooperating with the sheriff’s investigation.
Tilson says deputies are trying to determine if additional charges are needed.
It was unclear if Robert has an attorney.
Alamance Christian School teacher charged with sex crimes www.privateofficer.com
BURLINGTON NC Feb 9 2011 — Police have charged a teacher and coach in Burlington with having sex with a student.
Denny Glenn Wall, 51, was arrested Monday.
Detectives say Wall is an employee at Alamance Christian School.
Wall is charged with sexual activity with a student. He was placed in the Alamance County Jail under a $50,000 bond.
Source:WTVD
Bomb squad called in at Mennonite College www.privateofficer.com
GOSHEN, Ind.Feb 9 2011 — A bomb squad was called in to remove what officials at a northern Indiana college best known for peace thought might be a hand grenade.
Goshen police say the Elkhart police bomb squad on Tuesday removed what appeared to be World War I grenade and two pieces of artillery ordnance found in archives of the Mennonite Church USA at Goshen College. Archives director Rich Preheim tells The Goshen News the devices were found in a box of items donated by the family of a man who had served with a Mennonite relief mission in France after World War I.
Elkhart police Sgt. Doug Ryback says the devices were X-rayed and turned out to be display items and were of no danger.
Police charge man with choking security officer www.privateofficer.com
According to the Wauwatosa police report:
About noon Feb. 1, Aaron Buchanan and his girlfriend were in the elevator at Macy’s. He took a child’s shirt from the store and stuffed it into his girlfriend’s bag, which was filled with items she had purchased.
When the security guard confronted the couple, Buchanan grabbed the guard’s throat and pulled his head to the side, knocking off and damaging his glasses. Then he picked up the guard by the neck so his feet were off the ground, and started to choke him.
An employee at the cosmetic counter screamed for Buchanan to let go and told a co-worker to call 911. Buchanan quickly dropped the guard and ran from the store.
He was arrested for battery causing strangulation and suffocation, retail theft and on a Racine Police Department warrant. Buchanan is out on bail, but is banned from entering Mayfair as a condition of his release.
After the altercation, the guard said he had felt like he was losing consciousness and was getting “starry eyed.” He couldn’t radio for help because the pressure prevented him from talking. He had mild neck pain and trouble swallowing in the following days.
Man tries to pull gun on NC security officer www.privateofficer.com
GASTONIA NC Feb 9 2011- A disgruntled man tried to pull a gun on a security guard at a Social Security Administration office in Gastonia on Tuesday.
Gastonia Police Department says that Charles Wayne Bryant, of Lincolnton, showed up at the office located on South New Hope Road to collect money he believed he was owed.
Police say that after Bryant became unruly, a security officer approached and attempted to calm him. Bryant then got into a fight with the officer that started in the lobby and moved to a bathroom.
While inside the bathroom, police say that Bryant attempted to draw the guard’s holstered handgun but was foiled when a citizen entered the bathroom and helped the security officer.
Bryant was then subdued and arrested. He is charged with common law robbery and will be charged with assault. He may also face federal charges since the Administration office is a federal building.
Police also said that Bryant has been to the office in the past. He has 13 mug shots on file with the Gaston County Jail, dating back to 2009.
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Source:WBTV
Firefighter’s widow gets $4.6 million in wrongful death lawsuit www.privateofficer.com
Contra Costa County CA Feb 9 2011 The widow of one of two Contra Costa County firefighters who died in a 2007 house fire will receive $4.6 million to settle her wrongful-death lawsuit against two security companies she blamed for mishandling the initial report of the blaze.
The fire at 149 Michele Drive in San Pablo killed fire Engineer Scott Desmond, 37, of Brentwood and Capt. Matt Burton, 34, of Concord. It also killed the home’s residents, Delbert Moore, 67, and his wife, Gayle, 62.
Desmond’s widow, Carolyn, and her son sued in Contra Costa County Superior Court in 2008, saying Pinnacle Security of Utah and its subcontractor Security Associates International of Illinois were to blame for the firefighter’s death.
When the fire broke out early July 21, 2007, Security Associates received an automatic smoke alarm from the home. A company employee identified only as Kendra activated a two-way intercom at the home and asked, “Is everything OK?”
Gayle Moore responded, “No, we have a fire,” the suit said.
Kendra called the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District on a nonemergency line and said, “I’m calling to report a fire alarm,” as opposed to an actual fire, the suit said. That led the fire dispatcher to consider it a lower-priority call, the suit said.
At one point, Kendra was put on hold for five minutes while the dispatcher answered emergency calls and the fire in the Moore home grew, the suit said.
It was nearly 10 minutes after Gayle Moore spoke to the alarm company before firefighters were sent to the scene, and even then only one engine was initially dispatched, with Desmond and Burton aboard, the suit said.
Pinnacle Security will pay $2.6 million to Desmond’s family, and Security Associates International will pay $2 million. The companies will pay an additional $350,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by the Moores’ children.
Burton was a 10-year veteran of the fire district, and Desmond had served for eight years. They were the first firefighters in the Contra Costa district’s history to be killed in the line of duty.
Investigators concluded that the fire had been caused by a cigarette in a bedroom that ignited combustible material.
Source:www.sfgate.com
