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Virgina Private Investigator found murdered www.privateofficer.com
Christine Zampini told mourners at her father’s funeral Wednesday her dad would always sacrifice to make her life easier.”Everyone said he spoiled me, and he did,” she said. “I’ll always be his little girl.”
Remembering Dad Zampini was one of several hundred family members and friends to pack the Kyger Funeral Home Chapel in Harrisonburg to honor her late father’s life.Brown, who was shot to death, was found Sunday in the Valley Mall parking lot in the trunk of his 2007 Honda Accord.
Sources say Brown was killed March 3, the same day he was scheduled to serve divorce papers to Ali Abid, 49, of Weyers Cave, who police say is a “potential suspect” and may have left the country.
The 50-year-old Brown owned Argus Investigative Services in Harrisonburg and was a licensed private investigator.
He started the company in 2008 after working for Sheetz as a regional manager, where he shifted from one store to another as needed.
His stepson, Will Zampini, 23, worked with him at the private investigation business.Zampini said Brown was a welcome addition to the family when he married Zampini’s mother, Debbie Brown, in 2004.”
For a short time, I was part of this amazing man’s life,” he said. “I’m proud and honored to have been part of his life.”Jared Brown, 23, recalled his time as a child with his father, often accompanying his dad to work, which required a great deal of driving.To pass time, they invented the “car game.”
One would say, “I get the fourth car that comes by,” while the other said, “I’ll get the third.”"Sometimes we’d have very nice cars and sometimes we ended up with some clunkers,” said Brown, adding he and his father had spent some time apart until a few years ago. “I’m glad I got to reconnect with him before things happened.”
A Father FigureBrown’s brother, Robert Brown, 51, of Bradenton, Fla., said the loss of his sibling has broken the family’s hearts.He’d always remember his brother’s bright smile and funny personality.”He was the master of one-liners,” Robert Brown said. “
There will be a lot less laughter in our lives.”His minister, John Senters of Destiny Christian Center in Harrisonburg, said Brown always looked to God for guidance and that could be seen in how he treated his wife and children.”He tried to be a super dad,” Senters said.Christine Zampini said he was that “super dad,” not just for her, but for many people, including those who worked for him at Sheetz and her friends growing up.”
He wasn’t a father figure to just me,” she said. “He was a father figure to every kid he met.”
NYC bus crash kills 14-injures 20 www.privateofficer.com
New York NY March 12 2011 More than a dozen people were killed in a horrific crash early Saturday when a discount bus flipped on a Bronx highway and careened into a metal traffic pole, officials said.
The top of the World Wide bus, which was returning to the city from the Mohegan Sun casino, was sheared off when it hit the sign alongside the New England Thruway just after 5:35 a.m.
Officials said 14 people died and another 20 were hospitalized after the sickening impact – which may have been caused by a hit-and-run driver.
One victim died after being taken to Jacobi Medical Center.
“The bus was cut into two parts by the \[pole\],” said a survivor, Victor.
“I saw a lot of death,” said Victor, as he sat dazed in the emergency room at Jacobi. “People were crying. People were screaming.”
Investigators said the bus was traveling south on I-95 and near the city line at the time of the catastrophic crash.
Cops were searching for a tractor-trailer believed to have made contact with the bus in the moments before the deadly crash.
The bus appeared to careen out of control, slam into a guardrail and then overturn on the highway near Exit 14, the ramp for the Hutchinson River Pkwy.
It skid on its side for about 250 yards and crashed directly into the massive traffic sign – and the steel pole tore through the bus’ front windows.
The vehicle did not come to a rest until the pole had ripped through almost the entire length of the bus, destroying its interior. The sturdy pole, which supports a large highway sign, is built to withstand strong winds and not give way when struck.
“I opened my eyes – I was on the ground,” said Victor, who was sleeping in the moments before the wreck. “I saw a big piece of metal \[and\] the bus was in two parts.”
“I saw people split open. It was awful,” he said. “I tried to help. I crawled out through the emergency window in the back.”
Scores of emergency vehicles rushed to the grisly accident scene, and firefighters clambered over the crumpled bus, desperate to find survivors.
“As we back through the bus we found more people pinned because of the stanchion,” said FDNY Chief of Department Edward Kilduff. “We had about seven or eight people pinned in the rear of the bus that we had to actually cut out by removing seats or cut a hole in the roof of the bus.”
Kilduff said many of the passengers were thrown from their seats and were sprawled helplessly when the bus hit the reinforced pole.
“Many of the injuries were severe head trauma because of the manner in which the bus was split,” Kilduff said. “It was a very difficult operation.”
Injured passengers, many of whom were critically hurt, were rushed to area hospitals, including St. Barnabas and Jacobi Medical Center.
“I pulled over and I saw people running with their phones in their hands,” said Homer Martinez, 56, a limo driver who stopped his car and ran over to help at the gruesome scene.
“I saw three people backing up from the bus and trying to hold another lady back,” Martinez said, “and they said ‘You don’t want to see this.’”
“You could see bags, pieces of clothes lying around,” he said. “I felt horrible.”
Police sources said the bus left the Connecticut casino at 3:45 a.m. and was heading to drop off passengers in Chinatown.
The bus driver, who was in stable condition after the crash, told police that he was in the center lane when a truck in the left lane suddenly drifted over and forced him to swerve, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said.
“We’re attempting to locate that truck and the truck driver,” said Kelly, who said it was not yet possible to estimate how fast the vehicles were travelling.
Officials said 32 passengers were on board the bus at the time of the crash. Eleven people were seriously hurt, including the driver, while eight more suffered minor injuries.
“Around 6 a.m., it just got crazy, crazy,” said a man waiting in the Jacobi emergency room who gave his name as Earl. “All the patients in there were cleared out and they began wheeling all these people in.”
“It was like a movie,” he said.
The bus was carrying a group of gamblers who each paid $15 for the round-trip journey, which left Chinatown at 7:45 p.m. Friday and then departed Mohegan Sun eight hours later.
It appeared the passengers sitting at the rear of the bus had a better chance of survival, Victor said.
“I am lucky,” he said. “I am happy today because I live.”
The website for World Wide bus, which is based in Brooklyn, says it offers service between Manhattan – at the corner of Eighth Ave. and W. 31st St. – and Cambridge and Newton, Massachusetts, two Boston suburbs.
The busy highway’s southbound lanes were completely shut down in the aftermath of the wreck as investigators pored over the wreck. Firefighters were using long pieces of wood to prop up the bus so the vehicle would not tip over.
Because the bus and truck apparently hit just over the line in Westchester County, State Police are the lead agency in the probe, officials said.
Source:www.nydailynews.com
Security officer dies in fall from rooftop www.privateofficer.com
Police wouldn’t release the man’s name Friday afternoon because the family had not been notified, and the matter still is under investigation, Hagerstown police Detective Sgt. Jim Hurd said.
Detective Tammy Jurado said police believe the man might have committed suicide. She said the incident occurred on the east side of the building
The man had worked as a security guard at Potomac Towers for eight or nine years, said Ted Shankle, director of the Hagerstown Housing Authority.
“It’s too early to say anything. We’re not even sure what happened yet,” Shankle said Friday afternoon. “He was a very nice guy.”
Potomac Towers, on West Baltimore Street, is 13 stories tall and houses senior citizens.
Security officer dies of blood clot www.privateofficer.com
Mark Andrew Janvrin, 24, died of natural causes in his apartment on Original Road, according to Basalt Police Chief Roderick O’Connor. The Eagle County Coroner’s office determined that Janvrin had a blood clot in his leg that migrated to his heart and led to his death, O’Connor said. He had been getting treatment for the blood clot, O’Connor said.
Janvrin failed to show up for work Monday morning at Total Merchant Services, where he worked as a security guard. Colleagues went to his apartment but found the door locked and no response. They contacted police to do a welfare check. Officers found him dead, O’Connor said.
Janvrin was originally from Colorado Springs. His family came to Basalt on Friday to collect his belongings.
No information was available on a service.
Veteran Delaware police officer charged in child porn case www.privateofficer.com
HARRINGTON, Del.March 12 2011- An investigation by the Delaware Child Predator Task Force has resulted in the arrest of a veteran Harrington police officer on multiple child pornography and related charges.
Jonathan Kendall, 37, of Lincoln, is charged with 27 counts of dealing in child pornography, one count of hindering prosecution and official misconduct.
According to Delaware Department of Justice spokesman Jason Miller, officers from the Child Predator Task Force and Delaware State Police Troop 4 initially executed a search warrant on Jan. 19 at Kendall’s home on North Union Church Road. Officers seized a computer and other evidence. A forensic analysis uncovered evidence of dealing in child pornography, Miller said.
Kendall was taken into custody Thursday, March 10 at DSP Troop 3. At that time of his arrest, two additional search warrants- which were obtained based on the evidence seized during the execution of the Jan. 19 search- were executed at Kendall’s home and vehicle.
Additional evidence was recovered from Kendall’s vehicle and home, according to Miller.
After a review of all the evidence, Kendall was charged with the aforementioned offenses. He is being held in the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in lieu of $272,000 secured bond. Kendall was a Harrington police officer at the time of the investigation, Miller said. According to Harrington Police Chief Norman R. Barlow, Kendall was a 17-year-old veteran with the agency, with the rank of sergeant.
In a statement issued shortly after the announcement of Kendall’s arrest, Barlow said, “It is certainly a sad day when one of our own has been arrested, and it is an disappointment. I want to assure the citizens of Harrington that I will diligently work hard to move our department past this incident and provide the police service they expect.”
As a result of the charges filed against him, Kendall has been suspended from the Harrington Police Department, Barlow said.
Thursday’s arrest came the same day that a federal grand jury indicted 29-year-old Shane Kiser of Millsboro on charges of attempted enticement of a minor and receipt and possession of child pornography. Kiser was arrested Oct. 16 at a Dover-area hotel as the result of a Child Predator Task Force investigation. According to authorities, Kiser had agreed during an Internet chat to drive to the hotel to have sex with the investigator’s fictional child.
Kiser was a registered nurse who was employed at Beebe Hospital and Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury, Md.
Source:WBOE16
Harris County deputy working security injured www.privateofficer.com
Houston TX March 12 2011 A Harris County Sheriff’s deputy was hurt this afternoon while scuffling with a man in the parking lot of a grocery in southeast Houston, authorities said.
The deputy was working a part-time security job about 3:30 p.m. when the man tried to force his way into a secure area at an HEB store on Scott at Old Spanish Trail, authorities said.
The deputy got the man outside and he began taking off his clothing. Then, he tried to go back inside, officials said.
The sheriff’s deputy struggled with the man in the parking lot for about three minutes. He used a Taser when the man tried to grab his gun, officials said.
The man was finally brought under control when a grocery manager helped the deputy, who has not been identified.
The deputy and the man were taken to an area hospital to be checked out for non life-threatening injuries, officials said.
A man who claimed to be the brother of the person scuffling with the deputy said he had psychological problems and had apparently not taken his medication.
The incident remains under investigation. It wasn’t known at the scene if any charges will be filed, officials at the scene said.
SC airport screeners find gun in carry on bag www.privateofficer.com
Greenville/Spartanburg Airport police
An Alabama man was arrested on a gun charge after a handgun was found in his carry-on bag at Greenville Spartanburg International Airport on Thursday.
Bradley Thomas Brooks, 26, of 80 Stillwaters Grove, Ala., was charged with unlawful carrying of a pistol.
Airport Executive Vice President Larry Holcombe said the gun was found in Brooks’ carry-on bag as it was screened about 4:30 p.m.
Brooks was cooperative with security and told them that he had driven to Greenville, was flying back to Alabama and forgot he had the gun with him, Holcombe said.
Brooks was released from the Spartanburg County Detention Center on Friday.
North Dakota troopers rescue 800 motorists during blizzard www.privateofficer.com
BISMARCK ND March 12 2011 — The North Dakota Highway Patrol says about 800 motorists have been rescued following a blizzard that hammered the state on Friday.
Lt. Jody Skogen says all motorists who were stranded have been found and taken to shelters by law enforcement and the National Guard.
The National Weather Service lifted its blizzard warning Saturday in North Dakota but a no travel advisory continues throughout much of the state. Most of the major highways in the state remain closed.
Weather service meteorologist Todd Hamilton says 2 to 4 inches of snow fell over much of the state Friday. The snow was blown by winds of up to 60 mph.
Whittier teacher arrested for lewd acts on child www.privateofficer.com
WHITTIER CA March 12 2011 – An East Whittier Middle School teacher arrested on suspicion of committing lewd acts on a child is scheduled to arraigned in Whittier Court Friday.
Police on Thursday said no other alleged victims had come forward a day after officers arrested Jesse Anthony Serrato, 29, of Whittier, after allegations surfaced this week that he carried an inappropriate relationship with a 14-year-old student.
Serrato was placed on paid administrative leave by the East Whittier City School District following his arrest Wednesday, officials said.
Officials at the Whittier Union High School District, for which Serrato worked as a part-time coach at La Serna High School, said they planned to immediately fire Serrato.
Jesse Serrato, 29, of Whittier, is accused of carrying on an inappropriate relationship with a 14-year-old student while working as a P.E. teacher at East Whittier Middle School in Whittier. He was arrested Wednesday, March 9, 2011. (Courtesy of the Whittier Police Department)Serrato had taught in the East Whittier district for four years, working as a physical education teacher, officials said.
East Whittier City School District Superintendent Joe Gillentine said parents were notified of the incident in letters sent home with students Wednesday and through phone calls.
About a dozen counselors went to the middle school Wednesday, offering help to any students or staff members who might have trouble dealing with the arrest, he added.
Police said they believe the teacher carried on an improper relationship with the student possibly for several months before his arrest.
Officials from both the East Whittier and Union High School districts said they conducted extensive background checks on Serrato before his hiring; the checks came back clean, officials said.
Serrato was booked into the Whittier Police Department jail on $200,000.
Source:www.whittierdailynews.com
Orangeburg teacher arrested for fondling students www.privateofficer.com
Orangeburg SC March 12 2011 A science teacher has been accused of fondling two 15-year-old male students over a two-month period last year.
Candice Carr, a Nelson C. Nix Educational Center teacher, has been charged with two counts of lewd act on a minor under 16.
At a bond hearing Thursday, Orangeburg County Magistrate Richard Murray read warrants against Carr alleging she “did attempt to arouse sexual desire … fondling the genitals of the juvenile victims.”
Murray set bond on Carr at a total of $10,000 surety. The Jennifer Lane woman faces 10 years in prison on each charge if she’s convicted.
Orangeburg Consolidated School District 5 spokesman Greg Carson said Carr was placed on administrative leave when the allegations surfaced in January.
“When we found out about it, we took immediate steps to get law enforcement involved, because our concern at the onset was the safety and well-being of the students, as well as the faculty and staff at the school,” Carson said.
The 26-year-old started teaching in the district this school year.
Defense attorney Carl B. Grant told the court his client is the daughter of a pastor, a lifelong member of church, a Claflin graduate and engaged to be married.
“I want the sheriff’s department to know, and Mr. (Clyde) Dean since he’s representing the family, we intend to fight,” Grant said. “In fact, we intend to fight until the cows come home.”
Dean is representing the family of at least one of the teens in any civil litigation that may come of the charges. He said he’s not ceding the farm to Grant yet.
“Your honor, since we’re going to try the case, I’d like to say we intend to fight until the cows come home too,” Dean said.
Prior to Murray’s decision on bond, Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Jennifer Coaxum asked the court to deny a defense motion for a personal recognizance bond. She asked the court to consider the charges.
Specifically, officials allege that at various times between October and December of 2010, Carr made sexual advances toward the students and fondled them beneath their clothing.
According to the incident report filed by the school district, a witness told investigators Carr talked about her “special life” with the class. Some of that alleged talk involved obscene language describing her sexual activities with a man and at other times, she allegedly levied insults at the male students in the class.
One of the two 15-year-olds told authorities his teacher one day told him “how much she wanted to do it with him before he would leave the classroom,” according to the report.
The student claimed the teacher rubbed her buttocks on him and “stuck her hand down his pants” to touch him, the report continues.
Court documents indicate another student made similar allegations.
However, Grant said that the hint of potential civil litigation may provide a motive behind the allegations. Grant says the allegations against his client are retaliatory and based more on the hope of monetary gains than fact.
“We believe that’s exactly what it is,” he said.
The two teens were not present during the hearing. The mother of one of the students attended the hearing but did not speak.
With her father standing behind her, Carr said little.
Carson said Carr’s status with the school district remains in limbo until a review can be made, which will include the findings of the criminal investigation.
Albuquerque teacher’s aide arrested for sex with student www.privateofficer.com
A criminal complaint says Anthony Rashaad Kilby was arrested Wednesday at Manzano High School. He was booked on criminal sexual penetration of a minor.
KOB-TV reports Kilby is a former University of New Mexico football player.
The television station reports a concerned parent, who was not the parent of the student involved, called the school to inform them of the alleged relationship between Kilby and the girl.
The Albuquerque Journal reports a letter was sent by the school Thursday informing parents of what happened.
The school district says a disciplinary hearing against Kilby is planned for Friday.
Wylie High School teacher arrested for having sex with three students www.privateofficer.com
Dallas TX March 12 2011 A former English teacher at Wylie High School has been arrested after being accused of having sexual contact with three female students, police said.
Brian Booth, 28, faces three counts of indecency with a child and three counts of improper relationship between educator and student, both second-degree felonies.
“An arrest has been made, which obviously means we have probable cause,” Wylie police Detective Venece Perepiczka said.
Booth was taken into custody Wednesday and is being held in the Collin County Jail on $150,000 bail.
School district spokeswoman Susan Dacus said the complaints against Booth were registered about a month ago and prompted him to be placed on paid administrative leave during an investigation.
Booth, a district employee since 2006, resigned shortly afterward, she said.
Around the same time, on Feb. 14, the superintendent gave the investigation results to Wylie police and the Texas Education Agency in Austin.
“Generally, if they consider something serious enough … they can remove permanently any credentials to teach in public school,” Dacus said.
Further information about the complaints was unavailable.
“We can’t talk about what the complaints about someone were,” Dacus said. “We can say we followed procedure as usual.”
CT. shoplifter bribes security then pulls switchblade www.privateofficer.com
FARMINGTON CT March 12 2011A suspected shoplifter offered a Westfarms mall security officer $50 to stop chasing him, then pulled out a switch blade when the officer declined the offer, police said.
The suspect, Alexander Barber, 29, was ultimately caught by police. So was his alleged partner, Juan Antonio Cartagena, 27.
Both were charged Thursday with first-degree robbery, conspiracy to commit first-degree robbery, fifth-degree larceny and conspiracy to commit fifth degree larceny. Barber is also charged with carrying a dangerous weapon.
Police said they expect to file additional charges and are seeking a warrant for a third suspect.
Barber and Cartagena were allegedly caught stealing from Lord & Taylor on Thursday. Mall security found the suspects as they were about to leave in a vehicle with two other people, police said.
The vehicle sped away and crashed into a light pole on mall property. A woman in the car was injured. She was treated at an area hospital. She was not involved in the thefts and was not charged, police said.
Officers found crack cocaine in the vehicle, police said. Barber, Cartagena and another male occupant fled on foot, police said.
A mall security officer chased Barber behind a residence in West Hartford. While running, Barber attempted to bribe the officer, who rejected the offer and continued the chase. Barber attempted to slash the security officer with the switchblade and then punched him in the face, police said.
He continued running behind Toys ‘R’ Us. A Farmington police officer apprehended him there and took the knife, police said. A Newington police officer caught Cartagena on Fenn Road, police said.
Source:Hartford Courant http://www.privateofficer.com
Security guard charged with major theft of copper www.privateofficer.com
HOUSTON TX March 12 2011 — A security guard at a company on the Houston Ship Channel is one of five men charged with engaging in organized criminal activity for stealing $100,000 in copper.
According to court documents, the men are accused of stealing 22,740 pounds of copper in January from a warehouse on Manchester along the ship channel.
The manager of the warehouse discovered four pallets of sheet copper were missing January 27. Each pallet weighed 5,685 pounds.
The stolen copper was traced back to several men when the Houston Police Department conducted checks to find large amounts of copper sold to scrap metal businesses in Houston, officials said.
Investigators found the stolen copper at three separate scrap metal businesses. Police said Carlos Ernesto Linares, 34, sold two loads for more than $12,000. Jose Pedro Serpas sold six loads, also for around $12,000. Juan Ramon Vargas, 39, is accused of selling four loads for more than $10,000.
Anytime you sell scrap metal, a scrap ticket is filled out with your driver’s license number, pictures of the material you sold and your vehicle information. From these tickets, officers were able to track down Linares, Serpas and Vargas.
According to HPD, the next discovery came when a U.S. Customs agent checked the employee roster at the facility where the copper was stolen. Carlos Linares’ brother, 32-year-old Jose Ricardo Linares, was employed as a night shift security guard at the warehouse.
HPD interviews with the suspects revealed the plan to steal copper from the facility. Court documents state that an unknown employee of the facility asked security guard Jose Linares to recruit several people to steal and transport the copper in exchange for cash.
Jose Linares then recruited his brother and the three others for the job. He also hired Vargas’ uncle — 49-year-old Rafael Alfredo Fabian — to drive the transport truck used to take the copper to the scrap yards.
All five men were charged with engaging in organized criminal activity, a second degree felony punishable by two to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
If you have any information about this crime or similar illegal activity, call Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.
Source: KTRK
Minneapolis City Hall security say they were illegally fired www.privateofficer.com
Minneapolis MN March 12 2011 Officials say changing security guards at Minneapolis City Hall will improve security and save money, but an attorney for some laid-off guards is threatening to sue, telling elected officials who run the building that they’re using a discredited tactic from Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s playbook.
The Municipal Building Commission, which controls the building that’s jointly owned by Minneapolis and Hennepin County, last month laid off seven security guards and their supervisor, effective Saturday. It plans to use Hennepin County guards plus private-firm guards who already patrol nearby county buildings.
Attorney Judy Schermer, representing four of the workers, told the commission its layoffs violate a state law that requires a hearing before an employee is removed. She said that when people’s jobs are eliminated, that’s a termination, not a layoff. She cited a 1903 state law, which specifically bars the City Council and Hennepin County Board from “anything to do with the care” of the building, reserving that to the commission. She said she’ll go to court if the commission doesn’t change course.
Schermer noted the Jan. 10 decision by an arbitrator who overruled an attempt by then-Milwaukee County Executive Walker to replace courthouse guards with private guards. The arbitrator cited lack of notice and said the guards must be reinstated for 180 days, costing $90,000 monthly.
In Minneapolis, the commission approved the new contract nine hours after the new guards took over last Monday. Mayor R.T. Rybak signed the new deal for the commission instead of commission director Jose Cervantes, who said he had unresolved questions about the contract. The county said its lawyers and those for the city feel the deal passes legal muster.
The total cost is estimated at $866,693 annually, or slightly more than what Cervantes estimated is spent now, but there’s hope for savings later. The county will bill extra for extra staffing for special events and public hearings. The laid-off workers got no guarantee they’ll be hired for two guard jobs the county is adding.
Council President Barb Johnson said there’s concern at City Hall over incidents elsewhere involving attacks in public buildings, but she doesn’t think that City Hall’s ornate architecture lends itself to the type of tightly controlled access like that found at the county Government Center.
One of the laid-off workers is less than a year from when his age and service years would allow him to retire without penalty.
Source:StarTribune
Two men arrested after security calls police about burglary www.privateofficer.com
Little Rock Ark March 12 2011 Sherwood resident Joshua Padilla was one of two men arrested in Little Rock on drug, firearms and breaking or entering charges March 6.
Michael Higgason, 29, of North Little Rock and Padilla, 26, were arrested outside Siemens Energy & Automation Inc., 14000 Dineen Drive in Little Rock. Police were dispatched in response to a call from security guards at Siemens who reported a break-in at the business.
According to the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office, Siemens security guard Christopher Metcalf stated that Higgason and Padilla drove into the parking lot at Siemens and one of the two suspects got out of the truck. Metcalf said he told the suspect he was trespassing and needed to leave, so the suspect left.
However, the two men returned in the truck and drove through a gate that had been secured with a chain and padlock, then headed toward a back building on the property, Metcalf said.
Sheriff’s deputies officers reported finding a stun gun, a loaded semi-automatic handgun, a .38-caliber revolver, a plastic bag containing a white substance, a plastic bag containing a green, leafy substance and some drug paraphernalia in the suspects’ truck. In the vehicle, the officers also found electronic equipment, watches, tools, men’s and women’s clothing, cellular phones and a laptop computer — all “common items … taken in burglaries,” according to the report.
Both Higgason and Padilla were arrested and charged with breaking or entering, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of firearms by certain persons, possession of marijuana, possession of a schedule I or II substance and simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms. Padilla was additionally charged with public intoxication.
As of Tuesday, the two were being held at the Pulaski County jail without bail.
Ohio man kidnapped in Mississippi-killed in Alabama www.privateofficer.com
Vicksburg Police Department Lt. Bobby Stewart said Cupps, a safety inspector, appears to have been carjacked and kidnapped from a local hotel after he arrived in Vicksburg on Monday.
The suspects, Darian “Drake” Pierce, 33, and Ricky L. Wedgeworth, 37, had walked away from a work detail at the Louisiana Joint Emergency Service and made their way to Vicksburg.
From there, the tracks of Cupps’ suspected killers are uncertain, but Tennessee law enforcement officials said they believe the men may have driven to Georgia and then into Tennessee.
Along the way, they are believed to have killed Cupps, a native of Sunbury, Ohio, and left him in Bessemer, Ala.
The search is ongoing for Pierce and Wedgeworth. They are believed to still be in west Tennessee.
Jefferson County, Ala., Deputy Coroner Chris Moore said because Cupps’ death is a homicide, little could be released.
“There he was, dead, and we didn’t even know who he was,” he said. “He still hasn’t been positively identified through fingerprints, but we’re fairly certain it’s him.”
Madison County, Tenn., Sheriff David Woolfork said in a news conference Wednesday the men were eastbound on I-40 near Jackson, Tenn., when they were spotted by law enforcement. When troopers tried to pull them over for a check since a description of Cupps’ rental car had been sent out and he was missing, the men turned around and went west.
At one point they rammed a trooper’s car near the Christmasville Road Exit on I-40 and were last seen escaping on foot.
“It’s obvious they’re violent, and they’ll try to escape if cornered and captured,” Woolfork said. “I’d consider them armed and dangerous.”
Wedgeworth is described as about 5-feet-10-inches, weighing around 175 pounds, with red hair and hazel eyes. He was serving a 25-year prison sentence for armed robbery.
Pierce is around 5-feet-11-inches, 150 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. He was serving a 25-year prison sentence for attempted second degree murder.
Stewart said Vicksburg police are still involved with the investigation.
“We’re still coordinating with other agencies and with the U.S. Marshals in trying to determine what took place,” he said.
