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Hamilton County sheriff’s employee charged in domestic assault www.privateofficer.com
A female employee of the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office has been arrested for allegedly assaulting her court officer husband at Juvenile Court on Third Street.
Lori Ann Pickett, 47, is charged with domestic assault against Jim Pickett in the incident on Friday.
Authorities said Ms. Pickett went to Juvenile Court after receiving an anonymous phone call “stating he was having an affair with an unknown woman.”
Jim Pickett had been transferred to Juvenile Court from the Courts Building downtown several months ago after having sex with a female security guard inside the Courts Building.
Authorities said Ms. Pickett confronted her husband inside the lobby of Juvenile Court and they began arguing. It was witnessed by several people.
Jim Pickett asked that they go outside to the front porch area of the facility. Once outside, the argument “escalated to the point that Lori Pickett was seen by witnesses striking Jim Pickett several times about the head and shoulder area of his body as he attempted to move back from the assault.”
Several people from the court then went outside to calm the situation. Both the Picketts then went to the parking area of the facility.
Jim Pickett gave a statement confirming that he was hit by his wife, but he said he did not want to prosecute.
Lt. Chris Chambers of the sheriff’s office said it was decided to bring charges based on the facts of the case.
He said Lori Pickett “gave a confession to this incident and the assault of Jim Pickett.”
Jim Pickett was suspended for 30 days without pay after the earlier Sheriff’s Department internal affairs finding that he had sex with the female security guard on the third floor of the Courts Building.
It was also found that Officer Pickett had received nude photos of the female security guard as well as being sent nude photos by cell phone while on duty at the Courts Building and courthouse.
Ms. Pickett, who is a corrections officer, posted a $1,000 bond.
She is due to appear in General Sessions Court next Monday at 8:30 a.m.
Joyriding on snowmobile at casino lands man in jail www.privateofficer.com
Police said that at 3 a.m., Steven G. Keller, 46, was seen on security cameras at the casino, located in East Hanover Township, driving a 1976 Yamaha Exciter snowmobile up the parking garage ramp and onto its top level. Once on the roof, he did “donuts” in the snow, police said.
Keller then tried to enter the casino, but showed signs of intoxication, police said. Casino security asked Keller to leave, which he did, in a car, but returned on his snowmobile. He then tried to pass himself off as a trooper by showing an old Pennsylvania State Police patch that had been sewn on his jacket, police said.
Keller was arrested for DUI and several other offenses, police said.
Illinois sheriff serving life sentence for drug trafficking www.privateofficer.com
Raymond Martin’s one-time badge as sheriff of Gallatin County has given way to inmate number 08191-025 at the Coleman II prison, about 50 miles northwest of Orlando, Fla.
Forty-eight-year-old Martin was sentenced in Benton to life behind bars after being convicted last year of 15 charges, including marijuana trafficking and witnesses tampering.
Martin isn’t out of the legal woods yet. A special prosecutor in southern Illinois has charged him with official misconduct and intimidation.
FBI ARREST TEXAS MAN WITH WMD www.privateofficer.com
PRESS RELASE-FBI —Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari, 20, a citizen of Saudi Arabia and resident of Lubbock, Texas, was arrested late yesterday by FBI agents in Texas on a federal charge of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction in connection with his alleged purchase of chemicals and equipment necessary to make an improvised explosive device (IED) and his research of potential U.S. targets.
The arrest and the criminal complaint, which was unsealed in the Northern District of Texas, were announced by David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; James T. Jacks, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas; and Robert E. Casey Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Dallas Field Division.
Aldawsari is expected to make his initial appearance in federal court in Lubbock at 9:00 a.m. on Friday morning. Aldawsari, who was lawfully admitted into the United States in 2008 on a student visa and is enrolled at South Plains College near Lubbock, faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction.
According to the affidavit filed in support of the complaint, Aldawsari has been researching online how to construct an IED using several chemicals as ingredients. He has also acquired or taken a substantial step toward acquiring most of the ingredients and equipment necessary to construct an IED and he has conducted online research of several potential U.S. targets, the affidavit alleges. In addition, he has allegedly described his desire for violent jihad and martyrdom in blog postings and a personal journal.
“As alleged in the complaint, Aldawsari purchased ingredients to construct an explosive device and was actively researching potential targets in the United States. Thanks to the efforts of many agents, analysts, and prosecutors, this plot was thwarted before it could advance further,” said Assistant Attorney General Kris. “This case serves as another reminder of the need for continued vigilance both at home and abroad.”
“Yesterday’s arrest demonstrates the need for and the importance of vigilance and the willingness of private individuals and companies to ask questions and contact the authorities when confronted with suspicious activities. Based upon reports from the public, Aldawsari’s plot was uncovered and thwarted. We’re confident we have neutralized the alleged threat posed by this defendant. Those reports resulted in the initiation of a complex and far-reaching investigation requiring almost around the clock work by hundreds of dedicated FBI agents, analysts, prosecutors, and others. Their effort is another example of the work being done to protect our country and its citizens. These individuals are deserving of our respect and gratitude,” said U.S. Attorney Jacks.
“This arrest and criminal charge is a result of the success of the FBI’s counterterrorism strategy, which is to detect, penetrate, and disrupt terrorist plots in the United States and against U.S. interests abroad. In this case, FBI agents and other FBI experts worked tirelessly to neutralize the imminent terrorist threat described in the criminal complaint. The public can be justifiably proud of the national security expertise shown by the FBI in this investigation,” said Special Agent in Charge Casey.
Purchases of Chemical Ingredients and Other Equipment
The affidavit alleges that on Feb. 1, 2011, a chemical supplier reported to the FBI a suspicious attempted purchase of concentrated phenol by a man identifying himself as Khalid Aldawsari. According to the affidavit, phenol is a toxic chemical with legitimate uses, but can also be used to make the explosive trinitrophenol, also known as T.N.P., or picric acid. The affidavit alleges that other ingredients typically used with phenol to make picric acid, or T.N.P., are concentrated sulfuric and nitric acids.
Aldawsari allegedly attempted to have the phenol order shipped to a freight company so it could be held for him there, but the freight company returned the order to the supplier and called the police. Later, Aldawsari falsely told the supplier he was associated with a university and wanted the phenol for “off-campus, personal research.” Frustrated by questions being asked over his phenol order, Aldawsari cancelled his order and later e-mailed himself instructions for producing phenol. The affidavit alleges that in December 2010, he successfully purchased concentrated nitric and sulfuric acids.
According to the affidavit, legally authorized electronic surveillance revealed that Aldawsari used various e-mail accounts in researching explosives and targets, and often sent e-mails to himself as part of this process. On Feb. 11, 2011, for instance, he allegedly e-mailed himself a recipe for picric acid, which the e-mail describes as a “military explosive.” He also allegedly sent himself an e-mail on Oct. 19, 2010 that contained information on the material required for Nitro Urea, how to prepare it, and the advantages of using it.
The affidavit alleges that Aldawsari also e-mailed himself instructions on how to convert a cellular phone into a remote detonator and how to prepare a booby-trapped vehicle using items available in every home. One e-mail allegedly contained a message stating that “one operation in the land of the infidels is equal to ten operations against occupying forces in the land of the Muslims.” During December 2010 and January 2011, Aldawsari allegedly purchased many other items, including a gas mask, a Hazmat suit, a soldering iron kit, glass beakers and flasks, wiring, a stun gun, clocks, and a battery tester.
Searches of Aldawsari’s Residence
Two legally authorized searches of Aldawsari’s apartment conducted by the FBI in February 2011 indicated that the concentrated sulfuric and nitric acids; the beakers and flasks; wiring; Hazmat suit; and clocks were present in Aldawsari’s residence.
FBI agents also found a notebook at Aldawsari’s residence that appeared to be a diary or journal. According to the affidavit, excerpts from the journal indicate that Aldawsari had been planning to commit a terrorist attack in the United States for years. One entry describes how Aldawsari sought and obtained a particular scholarship because it allowed him to come directly to the United State and helped him financially, which he said “will help tremendously in providing me with the support I need for Jihad.” The entry continues: “And now, after mastering the English language, learning how to build explosives and continuous planning to target the infidel Americans, it is time for Jihad.”
In another entry, Aldawsari allegedly wrote that he was near to reaching his goal and near to getting weapons to use against infidels and their helpers. He also listed a “synopsis of important steps” that included obtaining a forged U.S. birth certificate; renting a car; using different driver’s licenses for each car rented; putting bombs in cars and taking them to different places during rush hour; and leaving the city for a safe place.
Research on Potential Targets
According to the affidavit, Aldawsari conducted research on various targets and e-mailed himself information on these locations and people. One of the documents he sent himself, with the subject line listed as “Targets,” allegedly contained the names and home addresses of three American citizens who had previously served in the U.S. military and had been stationed for a time at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
In another e-mail titled “NICE TARGETS 01,” Aldawsari allegedly sent himself the names of 12 reservoir dams in Colorado and California. In another e-mail to himself, titled “NICE TARGETS,” he listed two categories of targets: hydroelectric dams and nuclear power plants. On Feb. 6, 2011, the affidavit alleges, Aldawsari sent himself an e-mail titled “Tyrant’s House,” in which he listed the Dallas address for former President George W. Bush. The affidavit also alleges that Aldawsari conducted research that could indicate his consideration of the use of infant dolls to conceal explosives and possible targeting of a nightclub with an explosive concealed in a backpack.
The affidavit also alleges that Aldawsari created a blog in which he posted extremist messages. In one posting, he expressed dissatisfaction with current conditions of Muslims and vowed jihad and martyrdom. “You who created mankind….grant me martyrdom for Your sake and make jihad easy for me only in Your path,” he wrote.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Dallas Joint Terrorism Task Force, with assistance from the Lubbock Police Department. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard Baker and Denise Williams from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas, and Trial Attorney David Cora from the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
The charges contained in the criminal complaint are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Police charge man in Halloween murder of officer www.privateofficer.com
St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert P. McCulloch said a decision would be made later on whether to seek the death sentence. He said the death penalty is “certainly on the table, ” but noted, “I’m not leaning for or against anything at this point.”
Shepard, 41, was charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the ambush on Sgt. Michael King next to the Delmar Loop.
Officials and court documents say Shepard walked up to King’s marked patrol car, parked at Leland Avenue and Delmar Boulevard, and fired several shots into the uniformed officer about 10:20 p.m. Oct. 31. McCulloch said Shepard used a stolen .38-caliber handgun, which was dropped inside the patrol car.
King, 50, spent 25 years in police work. He was married, with no children.
Shepard, of Berkeley, was identified as a suspect almost immediately. He was arrested Nov. 4, the day of King’s funeral, by a Missouri Highway Patrol officer during a traffic stop on Interstate 70, about 30 miles east of Kansas City.
Since that time, Shepard has been held on a federal charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm – the weapon used to kill King. Shepard has convictions in the 1990s for felony drug dealing and assault.
An affidavit filed with the federal charge last month quoted Shepard’s girlfriend as saying that he spoke frequently of killing an officer “and ending the unfair treatment of blacks and lower-class people by the government.”
It also indicated that police traced Shepard through the license number of the car King’s killer used to flee the scene.
McCulloch said investigators found no connection between Shepard and King, nor any reason for Shepard to target him in particular.
“We may never find out entirely, ” McCulloch said. “It’s hard to explain any killing. But when it’s a police officer, that adds to it because the officer is armed and trained to protect the public.”
McCulloch said Shepard exhibited enough “reflection upon the matter” to qualify for a first-degree murder charge. Shepard is being held without bond at the county jail in Clayton.
University City Police Chief Charles Adams said Wednesday the murder charge is an important step in the healing process for his department.
Source:ST Louis Dispatch
Police deploy Taser on fighting shoplifter www.privateofficer.com
Will County ILL Feb 25 2011 A Downers Grove man remains in the Will County Adult Detention Center today after police said he resisted arrest when he was caught stealing a Bluetooth headset, razor blades and other items at a Meijer store in Bolingbrook.
A stun gun had to be used to subdue Patrick T. Diebold, 33, outside of the Boughton Road store around 12:50 a.m. Thursday after he made attempts to reach a knife in his waistband while struggling with the officer, according to police.
Before the arrest, Diebold had been witnessed by Meijer security stealing the Bluetooth headset, sandals, razor blades and “miscellaneous personal hygiene items,” said Bolingbrook Police Lt. Mike Rompa.
Diebold was treated and released from Adventist Bolingbrook Hospital following the arrest. He was also in possession of methamphetamines, according to a police report. It is unknown whether Diebold was intoxicated at the time of the arrest, Rompa said.
He has been charged with retail theft, assault, resisting police and possession of a controlled substance, according to the Will County Sheriff’s Office.
Female security officer sues Md. company for discrimination www.privateofficer.com
Cristina McVicker, age unavailable, says in her lawsuit that she was an armed security guard for a contractor at the McKeesport Social Security Office when Knight Protective Service Inc. of Lanham, Md., took over the contract and her employment. Several of the company’s managers have told her they would prefer to have a male security guard in that position, and have since moved her to other buildings and hired two male guards for full-time positions instead of her, the lawsuit says.
McVicker is seeking compensatory and punitive damages and either reinstatement to the McKeesport office with her previous hours or placement into one of the full-time positions she applied for.
A company spokesman couldn’t immediately be reached for comment
Source:www.pittsburghlive.com
Pa. paramedic dies from H1N1 www.privateofficer.com
Fayette County PA Feb 25 2011 As a paramedic and dispatcher with a Fayette County ambulance service, David P. Sechrist dedicated his life to helping others.
The 30-year-old Vanderbilt man died Saturday of complications from the H1N1 flu, according to his family.
Despite his untimely passing, Sechrist continues to help others, with his death raising awareness of the importance of flu shots, his family said.
“He got H1N1 from direct contact, so it had to be from somebody in this area,” said his father, Rod Sechrist of Dawson.
“Hopefully, we’ll help somebody else,” he said. “H1N1 is a big misconception at this point. Even at the hospital, they said they hadn’t seen H1N1 in months.”
Flu cases are on the rise in Pennsylvania, according to the state health department’s most recent report.
As of the week ending Feb. 12, there were 1,898 flu cases reported, up from the previous week’s tally of 1,632. Flu activity is statewide, but the department noted “significant increases were reported in the southwestern regions.”
Of 45 flu specimens sent to the state lab for testing, 60 percent were the H1N1 virus, according to the department’s website. Five deaths statewide were attributed to flu complications during the same reporting period, including one child.
David Sechrist’s struggle with H1N1 prompted some of his co-workers at Fayette EMS to take advantage of free flu shots available through the ambulance company, said Director Rick Adobato. Adobato said the shot is one of the best ways to prevent flu, but many people opt not to receive one.
“My employees are just as guilty, including David,” Adobato said, indicating David Sechrist had not been vaccinated.
“We’ve been putting shots in arms all week,” Adobato said. “It’s a hell of a wake-up call.”
This year’s flu vaccine protects against three strains of the flu virus, including H1N1, said Holli Senior, spokeswoman with the state health department. She said plenty of vaccine is still available.
“Flu season is not over,” Senior said. “In January, February and March, we see a large number of flu cases.”
This year, the health department is recommending the shots to everyone, not just the elderly or those with compromised immune systems. One reason for the change, Senior said, is the fact younger people have been found to be susceptible to the H1N1 virus.
David Sechrist’s battle with H1N1 began with mild cold symptoms, according to his father. Within just 36 hours, David Sechrist was so ill he was placed in intensive care in a Pittsburgh hospital. A Facebook page created by his family drew thousands of supporters who prayed for his recovery.
The life-and-death struggle marked the second time the Fayette man had battled a potentially deadly health condition.
Rod Sechrist said his son beat POEMS syndrome, a rare blood disease, after a five-month hospitalization and stem-cell transplant in 2004. The illness left David Sechrist with partial vision in one eye and limited movement in his lower legs, but it didn’t stop him from obtaining a degree in echocardiography from Community College of Allegheny County in 2009.
Rod Sechrist said his son was offered a job in echocardiography, but he turned it down.
“He decided his heart was in EMS,” Rod Sechrist said.
Adobato said Fayette EMS will give flu shots to anyone who wants one, as long as they have vaccine available. Senior said the shots are available at various other locations, including doctors’ offices and businesses that host flu-shot clinics.
While the vaccine won’t guarantee immunity from the flu, Senior said, it can result in less severe symptoms in those who develop it.
“You can’t get flu from the flu shot,” she said. “That’s a myth.”
Source:www.pittsburghlive.com
Peabody Coal security guard charged with grand theft www.privateofficer.com
Flagstaff AZ Feb 25 2011
A security guard for Peabody Western Coal Company has been federally accused of stealing more than $20,000 in proceeds from coal sales.
According to information from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Flagstaff, Peabody staff noticed that $20,285.85 had been taken from a locked filing cabinet in the security office of the Black Mesa site in the Navajo Nation. The money was from the sale of coal to the public at $60 a ton.
Surveillance video lines to the security office had been cut. FBI investigators spoke with the security supervisor about the theft, and the supervisor denied the theft. He also said that he would submit to a polygraph test.
The subsequent test indicated that the supervisor was being deceptive in his answers. He later admitted to cutting the security camera wires, picked the lock to the filing cabinet and took the money.
Delbert Edgar Lee was charged with one count of felony theft. He was read the charges against him Wednesday in U.S. Magistrate Court in Flagstaff.
Source:AZDailey
Mother tortured animals in front of her young children www.privteofficer.com
RIVERHEAD, N.Y. Feb 25 2011 AP- A woman tearfully admitted Thursday that she abused her children and dozens of pets, sometimes torturing dogs and cats to death in the presence of six young daughters in a home that her son described as “a concentration camp for the animals.”
Sharon McDonough, 44, pleaded guilty to a 13-count indictment charging her with animal abuse and child endangerment.
Suffolk County Court Judge C. Randall Hinrichs said he would sentence McDonough on March 28 to a two-year maximum term. McDonough has been held on $100,000 bail since her arrest in December 2009; the time she has served will count toward her sentence and she is expected to be freed in April or May.
Court-appointed defense attorney Christopher Brocato said McDonough pleaded guilty to all the charges to save her children from having to testify at her trial. “She knows there’s no excuse,” Brocato said. “I can’t imagine she’s not going to be a welcome sight in the community when she gets out.”
Of McDonough’s possible explanation for her actions or her mental state, Brocato said: “She’s had some issues in her life. I’m not a psychiatrist, but she’s tormented by what happened and is willing to take the blame.”
He noted that McDonough’s husband was killed in a car accident in 2008. He added that his office and prosecutors collectively have received about 200 “hate mail” messages condemning McDonough’s actions.
No members of her family, including her six daughters, attended the hearing. The girls, all younger than 13 when McDonough was arrested, are in the custody of Family Court; prosecutors said they are prevented by law from discussing their current status.
Assistant District Attorney John Cortes said he will ask the judge to issue an order of protection when she is sentenced, requiring McDonough to not contact the children after her release.
McDonough killed numerous kittens and dogs, stashing the dead cats in the trash, and burying 42 dead dogs in the backyard of her home in Selden on New York’s Long Island, prosecutors said. The dogs were buried because some had identifying microchips implanted in them and McDonough feared being discovered if the carcasses were found in the trash, they said.
The children were not only abused, but were forced to witness the deaths of family pets. They lived amid filthy conditions from the animals who were kept in wretched cages that were filled with urine and feces, the prosecutor said.
She admitted in one instance to placing duct tape over the mouth of a cat and hanging it from the ladder of one her daughter’s bunk beds until it died.
The children were barred from using a bathroom in the home and were forced to defecate and urinate in buckets, McDonough admitted in court Thursday. She also said the children were not allowed to take showers and cleaned themselves with cloth wipes.
Prosecutors said they were alerted to the conditions at the home by McDonough’s adult son, Douglas, who had moved out.
He told authorities the children were forced to subsist on peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches and macaroni and cheese. At one point, he brought his sisters frozen TV dinners but later learned that his mother had confiscated the food.
He described the home as “a concentration camp for the animals.”
McDonough faces two years on the animal cruelty charges, but only a one-year term for the child endangerment offenses because they are misdemeanors, prosecutors said.
“For the past five years we have urged state lawmakers to approve legislation that would make child endangerment a felony,” Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said in a statement.
“She repeatedly terrified her six daughters by torturing and killing animals in their presence and that crime should be a felony punishable by imprisonment in an upstate correctional facility.”
Stamford Town Center security wrestles knife away from assault suspect www.privateofficer.com
STAMFORD CT Feb 25 2011 — Two employees at a massage therapy business at the Stamford Town Center were arrested Wednesday afternoon after a verbal argument led to one of the workers stabbing the other inside the mall, according to Stamford police.
Police Sgt. James Van Allen, said Zheng Zhuping, 50, of Flushing, N.Y., stabbed her co-worker, Guangfu Zhao, 40, also of Flushing, in the lower back with what looked to be like a steak knife.
Both Zhuping and Zhao worked at Wellness Experts, which is located on the third floor of the mall. Van Allen said Zhuping and Zhao, who are in a relationship, were involved in a verbal argument over who should pay a business phone bill.
During the argument, Zhao allegedly grabbed Zhuping by the neck and kicked out her feet, causing Zhuping to hit the back of her head and lose consciousness, said police. When Zhuping regained consciousness, she ran after Zhao with a knife and chased him to the mall’s second level.
Zhuping then jumped Zhao and stabbed him in right side of the lower back, causing a deep wound. Mall security then wrestled her to the ground and took the knife away, said police.
“If it wasn’t for security that wrested her to the ground this incident would have been a lot more serious,” he said. “I know that they had a difficult time getting the knife away from her (Zhuping.)”
Van Allen said many of the mall’s customers were at the scene during the stabbing, including one woman with three small children.
Teen pulls knife on mall security www.privateofficer.com
Gurnee IL Feb 25 2011 A teen has been charged with aggravated assault after allegedly pulling a knife on Gurnee Mills security officers, according to authorities.
The 17-year-old was apparently upset about a phone call from his girlfriend, and allegedly took his anger out on a men’s room trash can before a mall security guard approached him at about 7:45 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 22, said Gurnee Police Cmdr. Jay Patrick.
The officer went to investigate banging and yelling coming from the men’s room near the Dine-O-Rama Food Court and found the teen coming out of the restroom. The officers also found holes in the top of the trash can that looked like they’d been made with a knife, Patrick said.
As the teen spoke with the officer just outside the mall’s Entry J, more security officers arrived. The teen allegedly told the officer he “wasn’t going to jail,” Patrick said.
That’s when he allegedly pulled the knife from his pocket and opened it, Patrick said.
The teen walked backward, then ran toward a drainage ditch and up a hill, Patrick said.
Police officers searched the area and found the teen in a field north of mall property, and took him into custody, Patrick said.
He was booked and processed at Gurnee Police Department before being referred to Depke Juvenile Justice Center in Vernon Hills.
He was charged with unlawful use of a weapon, aggravated assault and criminal damage to property, and was turned over to the custody of Depke.
No one was injured in the alleged incident.
Canoga Park teacher accused of molesting student www.privateofficer.com
CANOGA PARK Ca Feb 25 2011 — A 39-year-old middle school teacher was arrested on multiple counts of child molestation but is currently out on bail.
A 22-year-old man went to authorities and told investigators that he was molested by Sean Wellbaum repeatedly, from the time he was 11 to 16.
At the time of the incidents, Wellbaum was a teacher at Columbus Middle School in Canoga Park.
Wellbaum is currently a teacher at Portola Middle School in Tarzana.
During the investigation, detectives searched Wellbaum’s home and later arrested him for multiple counts of child molestation.
He was booked at Van Nuys Jail on February 17, but was released after posting $600,000 bail.
Wellbaum is scheduled to be arraigned on March 18, 2011.
Detectives say there could be other victims.
Police are asking anyone who may have been victimized by Wellbaum to contact Topanga Area Detectives, Detective Nick Abbinanti at (818) 756-4800.
Anyone wishing to remain anonymous should call Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477).
Source:KTLA
Fort Worth teacher arrested for assaulting elderly couple while on field trip www.privateofficer.com
Fort Worth TX Feb 25 2011 A Fort Worth elementary teacher was arrested Saturday at an Arlington mall after police say she assaulted a couple in their 70s during a school field trip.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that Brenda Jones Stafford, a fifth grade teacher at A.M. Pate Elementary School, faces a felony charge of injury to the elderly after being accused of choking and pushing a 71-year-old woman and then shoving, hitting and choking the woman’s 73-year-old husband in a dispute over a chair in the mall’s food court.
Stafford, 47, was also charged with misdemeanor offensive/provocative contact in the incident at The Parks mall. She was put on administrative leave Monday pending the outcome of the investigation, a school district spokeswoman told the Star-Telegram.
Stafford declined to comment to the Star-Telegram.
The 71-year-old woman, Bette Davis Morgan, told the paper that the argument escalated after Stafford made a “snotty remark” and that it quickly spiraled out of control when her husband became involved.
“That’s when her people started yelling at her to get off of him, that she was acting like a madwoman, and pulled her off my husband,” Morgan said.
Source:Star-Telegram
NM college security given authority to write tickets www.privateofficer.com
Farmington NM Feb 25 2011 The New Mexico Senate approved a law granting college security guards the authority to write tickets for minor, non-moving violations on campuses.
The Senate passed the bill, introduced by Sen. Steve Neville, of Farmington, Wednesday.
A spokeswoman for Neville said he drafted the legislation after he was approached by officials from San Juan College.
The bill would allow post-secondary educational institutions to enter agreements with local law enforcement agencies to give campus security guards authority to cite people.
The security guards could cite people for non-moving violations only, Neville said. The fines would be the same as fines that accompany parking and speeding tickets from police officers.
Muscle Shoals court magistrate accused of theft www.privateofficer.com
Stanley was indicted by the February session of the Colbert County grand jury.
Stanley, 55, turned herself in at the Colbert County Jail about 4:15 p.m. Wednesday after learning of the indictment and was released on $20,000 bail. She is accused of stealing money from the city of Muscle Shoals while working there. She was terminated from her job in March 2010 after city officials began investigating a complaint about missing money.
A preliminary report from an audit by the Alabama Examiners of Public Accounts indicates about $86,000 is missing from city coffers. The money is believed to have been taken during a 30-month period.
Stanley’s attorney, Billy Underwood, maintains she is innocent. Underwood contends numerous Muscle Shoals employees had access to the money Stanley is accused of taking.
“I make the analogy that if you have four people working at McDonald’s who share a cash register and the cash drawer comes up short, how do you know who took the money? The audit shows monies are missing at Muscle Shoals, but it doesn’t show Linda Stanley took the money,” Underwood said.
Doug Evans, assistant district attorney for Franklin County, said evidence collected during the investigation implicates Stanley. He declined to discuss what evidence has been collected.
Evans was appointed to prosecute the case after Colbert County prosecutors asked to be recused, citing conflicts of interest.
Colbert County District Attorney Bryce Graham Jr. said he knows Stanley.
“Before I became DA, I sometimes represented clients in Muscle Shoals court and got to know Linda through her role as magistrate,” he said.
Stanley was employed by the city for 24½ years.
Muscle Shoals City Clerk Ricky Williams said he expects additional findings of the state’s audit to be released in March.
Since Stanley’s termination, Williams said Muscle Shoals has made changes in how it handles money. He said new checks and balances have been implemented to track how money from municipal court is handled from the time it is collected until being deposited in the bank. The city now requires daily bank deposits for municipal court monies.
Source:Times Daily
