Archive
NC Town Manager indicted for impersonating a police officer www.privateofficer.com
COLUMBUS COUNTY, NC May 7 2011 – The town manager of Chadbourn has been indicted for impersonating a police officer, among other charges.
Stevie Cox was arrested in March after a traffic stop on his way back from Raleigh. At the time of the stop, Cox was driving in the Chadbourn Police Chief’s SUV with Mayor Kenneth Waddell and two members of Chadbourn’s ABC Board. A state trooper pulled him over for speeding.
Cox’s attorney, one-time District Attorney candidate Butch Pope, told WECT.com there was a misunderstanding and that Cox presented the officer with numerous items in the glove box, which included a police badge.
Last month, Columbus County District Attorney Jon David told WECT.com he chose to push this case through the grand jury in what’s called a true presentment, which adds an extra level of oversight. David said that is beneficial with cases involving public officials.
In all, Cox was indicted for impersonating an officer, obstructing an officer, speeding and driving with an expired license. The case now moves to Superior Court. No court date has been set.
Source:WECT
NYC security officer stabbed breaking up fight www.privateofficer.com
Manhattan NY May 7 2011 A security guard at a Manhattan McDonald’s was stabbed this morning when he tried to break up a loud fight between two unruly men, authorities said.
The violence erupted at 10:24 a.m. at the fast-food restaurant on Eighth Avenue between 34th and 35th streets — an outlet that has been plagued with drug dealers, customers said.
“They sell everything in there,” said one disgusted customer. “It’s a one-stop shop. That’s why they have a security guard.”
The trouble began, he said, when “two guys were arguing and he got in the middle of it.”
The guard, who wasn’t immediately identified, apparently tried to get both men outside the restaurant, where he was stabbed. He was taken to Bellevue for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.
Cops blocked off the whole street in the aftermath . One man was being questioned in the case but there were no immediate arrests, police said.
Source:www.nypost.com
Fla teacher arrested in underage sex sting www.privateofficer.com
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla.MAY 7 2011 — Those who know Hilliard Middle-Senior High School teacher Joshua Johnson said they can’t believe he has a mug shot.
Johnson, 29, is among 17 men who St. Johns County investigators said went to a home seeking to sexually exploit children after being lured to the home by investigators in an online chat room sting.
Johnson has bonded out of jail, and a man who answered the door at his home Thursday said he had no comment on the arrest.
A parent named Tammy said Johnson coached and taught her son at the school.
“My son was shocked because not only was he his teacher, he was his mentor,” she said. “You can see the hurt in his eyes.”
One former student said Johnson was once her volleyball coach.
“He was real touchy-feely. He would like to touch your shoulders, always hug and stuff,” she said.
What has a lot of people shocked is that investigators said Johnson was trying to solicit a 14-year-old boy. Investigators said most of the men they arrested were trying to solicit young girls ages 8-15.
Several of Johnson’s neighbors said his arrest just doesn’t make sense.
“Normal guy, good neighbor,” Charlie Scott said in describing Johnson.
“I cannot believe that my children have been playing outside and he lives right there,” neighbor Cindy Eggers said.
Johnson has been suspended with pay pending the next Nassau County School Board meeting, when he could be suspended without pay, school officials said. Johnson, who’s been with the district since 2003, has not returned to the school since his arrest.
Arlington High School teacher charged with statutory rape www.privateofficer.com
Stacy Hopkins, 28, has been taken into custody.
According to the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, “On May 5th, SCSO investigators were advised of a sexual assault involving two Arlington High School students. A complainant received a phone call from the suspect, Stacy Hopkins ex-boyfriend who stated Hopkins sent inappropriate text messages to two male victims.
Upon further investigation, both victims advised receiving text messages containing nude images. They also advised investigators they had sexual intercourse with the suspect which she did admit to.”
Hopkins is charged with two counts of Aggravated Statutory Rape by an Authority Figure and two counts of Solicitation, Exploitation of a Minor.
Source:WREG
Former Howard University security guard gets home detention in ID theft case www.privateofficer.com
Washington DC May 7 2011 A former security guard at Howard University was sentenced to 180 days of home detention for her role in an identity theft ring.
Dawn Marshall, 27, was sentenced Thursday in federal court in D.C. She will be on electronic monitoring during the house arrest and was also ordered to pay $11,026 in restitution.
Marshall used her former job as security guard at Howard’s Health Sciences Library to steal sign-in sheets to get identifying information about students, who became victims in the scam, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors said Marshall was part of a D.C.-area identity theft and fraud ring that victimized more than 179 people and caused $1.2 million in fraudulent transactions between December 2006 and March 2010. They used stolen identification information to obtain credit, access bank accounts and pay bills and parking tickets, court records say.
She pleaded guilty in November. Seven other people connected with the ring have also pleaded guilty in the case, prosecutors said.
Source:washingtonexaminer.com
NC plane crash kills two www.privateofficer.com
RICHLANDS, N.C.May 7 2011 — A North Carolina sheriff says two people are dead after a small plane registered in Vermont crashed in a field near a rural airport.
Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown said he didn’t know details of Friday’s crash, and it was under investigation.
The identities of the victims were not released, pending notification of their families.
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Jim Peters says the single-engine plane was registered to Peter Hebert of Waterbury Center, Vt.
Hebert has been involved in at least one previous plane crash in Vermont, according to Burlington Free Press archives. He was uninjured after making an emergency landing in a field in June 2007 after the single engine on his experimental airplane failed, police said at the time.
Peters said the aircraft had reported a loss of fuel pressure to controllers at the Wilmington, N.C. airport shortly before it crashed.
Brown said there was no damage to the Albert J. Ellis Airport in Richlands.
Peters said the National Transportation Safety Board is expected to investigate the crash because there were fatalities.
The Eyes Have It! www.privateofficer.com
Pinal County AZ May 7 2011 An inmate Erik Kensey awkwardly bent his 6-foot 3-inch frame to peer into the camera.
An automated voice told him to “please, look into the mirror” before the camera rapid-fired, taking 30 black-and-white images of his eyes per second.
Captured in the photos was an iris pattern unique to Kensey, data the Sheriff’s Office will use to identify him, just like a fingerprint.
The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office is now using eye scanners to track its nearly 1,500 jail inmates and verify the identity of the about 700 sex offenders living in the community. “If we’re about to release somebody, we can’t possibly know each and every person,” Sheriff Paul Babeu said Thursday. “So (an iris scan) ensures with the highest degree of accuracy who we’re releasing.”
Pinal joins dozens of sheriff’s offices and correctional facilities across the nation using BI2 Technologies, a Massachusetts-based biometric intelligence company. The company gives local law enforcement iris-scanning capabilities and a database shared by participating agencies.
Much of the database was created through federal funds. In 2009, the National Sheriffs’ Association purchased multiple iris-scan machines from BI2 Technologies with a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Justice Department.
About 45 agencies throughout the U.S. were gifted with the scans to better identify, register and track inmates. Pinal County was not one of them.
Fred Wilson, the National Sheriffs’ Association operations director, is behind the effort. Wilson said some sheriff’s departments were using iris scans to identify missing children and at-risk adults.
The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office used $30,000 in inmate welfare funds to purchase three scanners for jail use and one to capture sex offender data.
Sean Mullin, president and CEO of BI2 Technologies, said the database, which holds more than 300,000 inmate profiles and more than 100,000 profiles of sex offenders, continues to grow as more law-enforcement agencies embrace the technology.
It is unclear if any Maricopa County law-enforcement agency utilizes iris scans. But Jay Davies, a Peoria police spokesman, said his city’s officers had access to facial-recognition software, another biometric technology, through the Arizona Counter Terrorism Information Center.
“We have actually only submitted photos a handful of times, and thus far we have not had a successful hit/identification,” Davies said. “However, this is more about the quality of photos we obtain or whether the subject is in the database than it is about the technology itself. Having this capability will be an extremely valuable tool for law enforcement moving forward.”
Vincent Picard, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman in Phoenix, said agents can request facial recognition comparisons from state and local agencies, but only fingerprint biometrics are used to check Department of Homeland Security and FBI databases.
Babeu said deputies in the field may be able to use handheld devices within the next three months.
Now, deputies arresting unidentified persons may not know who they have in custody until hours after their fingerprints are processed, Babeu said. With an iris scan, that process is reduced to seconds.
“From an officer-safety perspective, to find out who we are dealing with, this literally leapfrogged us ahead in the ability of law enforcement to best protect our community,” Babeu said.
SOURCE:www.azcentral.com
Hundreds line up for firefighter jobs in Washington www.privateofficer.com
AUBURN, Wash.May 7 2011 — The competition for jobs is heating up in Auburn, where hundreds of people camped out overnight for a chance to be a firefighter.
Hundreds lined up as Valley Regional Fire Authority planned to pass out 200 applications for firefighter jobs starting at 7 a.m. Friday.
Some camped out for the opportunity; others who waited longer ended up at the back of the line with their fingers crossed.
“I hope I’m in the 180′s so I can at least get an application,” said Eric Davis from Renton.
“I have a four-month-old baby at home. I have to be optimistic,” said Alan Coombs of Bellevue. “I love this job. I will give anything for it, and given the opportunity, I know my kids are going to look up to me, my wife is going to look up to me.”
Valley Regional Fire Authority does this every couple of years. Friday morning at 7 a.m., they started passing out applications.
Entry level firefighters make more than $60,000 a year, but people say it is not just the money that has them lining up. Many said they would love to have a career as a firefighter.
Officials estimated a crowd of 300 showed up, but only 200 received applications. The fire department will narrow those down to the top 40; from there, there’s no guarantee.
“We know there will be some openings. We hired eight of the last list we did in this fashion in 2009,” said Kimberly McDonald with Valley Regional Fire Authority. “We look for retirements, vacancies, then choose from this list of applicants.”
Some people arrived early Friday morning, saw how long the line was and turned around, realizing they would not have a chance. That was even before applications were passed out at 7 a.m. Once the process was done, about 30-40 people were turned away.
Swarm of people ransack, steal from convenience store www.privateofficer.com
Las Vegas NV May 7 2011
Police say a so-called “swarm” of people walked into an area convenience store, ransacked it, and left without paying for any of the items they walked out with.
The theft took place at the City-Stop on Pecos and Sunset roads around 3 a.m. on April 30.
In surveillance video released this week, at least a dozen young adults are seen running around, grabbing merchandise off the shelves.
The clerk working at the time says there were up to 35 people in the store.
It took about three and a half minutes for the suspects to steal hundreds of dollars of merchandise.
Metro and the store’s owner released the video Wednesday so they can prevent future swarms from happening.
If you have any information on this robbery, call Crime Stoppers at 385-5555
Source:NEWS 3
Gulfport police officer charged with felony child abuse www.privateofficer.com
GULFPORT, MS May 7 2011 – A Gulfport Police officer and his girlfriend were arrested Thursday and charged with Felony Child Abuse involving the woman’s two-year-old child.
Adam Dedeaux, 30, of Gulfport; and Kristen Eason, 28, of Bay St. Louis, were both being held at the Harrison County Adult Detention Center on $50,000 bond each.
The investigation began after police received information that Eason’s son showed signs of abuse.
“Child abuse alone is a difficult case, and you always have to follow the facts and go with the facts,” said Deputy Chief Leonard Papania. “The facts of this case pointed both to Adam Dedeaux and Kristen Eason, and that is what it is. We have made those arrests. We’ve worked closely with the District Attorney’s Office throughout the investigation.”
“we investigated it and we pursued it, and it is our intent to see that it is prosecuted and all parties are held accountable.”
Dedeaux is a nine year veteran of the Gulfport Police Department, assigned to the patrol division. He was placed on administrative leave from all his duties when the investigation started.
Deputy Chief Papania said the decision to put Dedeaux on leave was made because of the seriousness of the allegations.
“It’s disappointing that the number of professionals that we have working for this police department and throughout the Gulf Coast any time that a police officer is arrested for criminal misconduct,” Papania said. “It puts a bad light on all of us. And for that I, we have to be extra vigilant in our work to make sure that the public can continue to trust us.”
“Our job just got tougher today because the faith of the community in police has a bad shadow,” Papania said.
Source:WLOX
Chicago security officer shot during robbery www.privateofficer.com
Chicago IL May 7 2011 A security guard was seriously injured after being shot in a robbery attempt Monday morning in the South Side Back of the Yards neighborhood.
The shooting happened at 8:58 a.m. near 58th Street and Racine Avenue, police News Affairs Officer Darryl Beaty said.
A male security guard was shot during a robbery attempt, police said. Police and emergency crews found the victim in a parking lot that was once home to the Englewood police district.
The man was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in serious to critical condition, Fire Media Affairs spokesman Richard Rosado said. Rosado said paramedics responded to 61st and Racine.
It was not immediately clear where the victim worked. Police remained at the scene as of 10:30 a.m.
Wentworth Area detectives are investigating.
Armed shoplifter escapes JC Penney with merchandise www.privateofficer.com
Colorado Springs CO May 7 2011 Area police are looking for a man responsible for robbing the JC Penney at the Citadel Mall.
The robbery happened Thursday night. Investigators say a man tried to leave the store with unpaid merchandise around 8:30 p.m. Security officers say when they caught up to him, he pointed a gun at them and was able to flee in a late 90s white Honda Civic with a loud exhaust system.
The suspect is described as a white, 25-30 years old, 5’10″, 160 lbs, red hair and a goatee with tattoos all over his upper body. He was wearing a white and black hat with “MMA Elite” written on it.
It’s unknown if the mall security officers were armed when the suspect pointed the gun at them.
Securitas Security teams up to distribute free body armor to NY taxi drivers www.privateofficer.com
The organizers of a new program that provides drivers bulletproof vests want to make sure that never happens again. Private security company Security USA is teaming with the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers to distribute bulletproof vests to livery cab drivers in the city.
The federation has identified the Bronx as an especially dangerous place to drive a cab, and intends to concentrate the vest supply in the borough.
“The federation has determined, because of crime stats, the need is in the Bronx and south Brooklyn,” said Clark Pena, spokesman for Security USA. The federation is responsible for the distribution of all the vests it gets from Security USA.
Jose Vilorea of Woodlawn is president of the State Federation of Cab Drivers. He started driving a cab in 1987 when he came to the Bronx from the Dominican Republic. He lasted twelve years behind the wheel and now owns two livery cab bases, one on Randall Avenue and one in Sunset Park in Brooklyn.
He says that, anecdotally, the Bronx is more dangerous for his drivers than Brooklyn, and he expects the vests to be a useful safety precaution.
“It’s a good thing because they shoot drivers in the back, and that means many times drivers die because they don’t have the vests,” he said. “Safety is welcome.”
The vests, donated free of charge, usually cost about $400 each. About 30 have been distributed so far, with more to come.
In the late 1990s the state had a pilot program that equipped certain livery cabs with GPS. Vilorea said that was a significant deterrent because it helped police get to crime scenes quicker.
The funding for that program expired about a decade ago, but Vilorea said his organization is in favor of any and all safety measures.
Thirty-one-year-old livery cab driver Cesar Santos was fatally shot in the chest on Kingsbridge Terrace after chasing down a pair of fare beaters last June.
Eduardo Ladines of Morris Park has driven a cab out of Vilorea’s Bronx base for the past two years. He said the safest protection is the bulletproof plastic partition that a lot of yellow cabs have, but are not common in livery cabs.
“The vest just covers the chest. Our neck and head are vulnerable,” Ladines said. “The best is the plastic partition, but it’s uncomfortable.”
Ladines, who started driving after being laid off from an office job on Wall Street, has already been held up once at gunpoint. But despite the hazards of the job, he said he had no intentions of going back to his previous line of work.
“I like this business because you’ve got no boss looking over your back,” he said
Man arrested after breaching security at Port Everglades www.privateofficer.com
Sheriff Al Lamberti says Jackson Tiger Richardson drove through a security arm Wednesday to enter the port, then broke through a second barrier and drove along a pier just as a cruise ship was preparing to dock.
Deputies pursued and the chase ended when the 2010 Dodge Challenger Richardson was driving was rammed twice by a police cruiser.
Richardson is facing charges of fleeing and eluding police, possession of stolen property and trespassing. Court records did not indicate whether he had a lawyer.
The sheriff’s bomb squad responded but found no explosives or weapons in the stolen car. A small amount of marijuana was recovered.
Source:www.miamiherald.com
Armored car held up, guard’s gun taken in brazen robbery www.privateofficer.com
MIAMI LAKES, Fla. May 7 2011 — Police are searching for two men in a white Nissan Altima who robbed an armored truck guard.
According to Miami-Dade Police, the robbery happened inside a Pollo Tropical located at 16495 NW 67th Ave., at around 3:30 Thursday afternoon.
The Garda armored truck pulled into the parking lot to collect money from the restaurant. Then two men came out of the white Nissan Altima and ambushed the armored truck guards while they were inside the restaurant.
The suspects reportedly wrestled a gun away from a guard, and one of the subjects fired a shot inside before they fled with a bag of money in the Nissan. Once outside, a bystander pulled his own gun to shoot at the fleeing robbers.
Christine Britto said she heard the gunfire. “We went inside the store, we heard gunshots. It was on the other side, so I didn’t see anyone,” she said.
The robbers fled along 67th Avenue where they dumped the gun and an empty bag that once held money from the car. Police said they found the items about a block away from the scene, in front of a fire station. Police cordoned off the evidence for FBI investigators.
No one was injured during the robbery. However, the two robbers remain at large.
Rosa Chacon said the neighborhood is getting more and more dangerous “It’s what’s going on in our community, one violent scene after another,” she said.
The FBI has posted a $10,000 reward. If you have any information, call 305-944-9101.
If you have any information on this robbery or the subjects’ whereabouts, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a reward.
Source: WSVN
Tow truck employee killed by irate apartment tenant www.privateofficer.com
DALLAS TX May 7 2011— Jose Martinez, 28, a tow truck driver assistant who was doing his job, was shot and killed at a Dallas apartment complex early Friday morning.
It happened at the Casa Place Apartments in the 3300 block of Chapel Creek Drive.
Police said just before 4 a.m., two employees of Longhorn Wrecking were making their rounds when an irate tenant approached them from behind and began shooting.
The tow truck employee — who was armed — returned fire and killed Israel Esparza, 34. But not before Esparza shot and killed the driver’s colleague, Martinez, who was in the passenger seat.
Police said Esparza had staked out at the complex, waiting for the tow truck to return.
The security supervisor of Casa Place Apartments admits there was growing tension between the towing company and tenants. Security claimed the complex simply had too many tenants who were parking illegally.
Many of those tenants, according to security, have more cars than their lease permits.
Longhorn Wrecking was contracted to address the problem.
Some residents said the company’s aggressive nature cost two people their lives.
Police are investigating the driver and reviewing dashboard camera video taken from inside the tow truck. Right now the driver is not facing charges, but a grand jury will look into the incident.
Fort Worth police search for armored car robbers www.privateofficer.com
FORT WORTH TX May 7 2011- Fort Worth police said two men tried to hold up an armored truck while it was making a delivery at a check cashing business.
The incident took place around 10:45 a.m. in the 4200 block of Hemphill Street.
Police said one guard, with Dunbar Armored, was getting out of the truck with a bag of cash when the robbery happened.
The guard told police he was approached by a man wearing a ski mask and a pointing a gun at him as he approached the front door of the business. The suspect allegedly took the money out of the guard’s hand and ran.
The guard is the person police said fired three to four shots at the robber after warning the thief to stop. Police said the suspect did fall down and got back up, but they are not sure if he was hit by a bullet from the guard’s weapon.
The suspect jumped into a maroon Cutlass and is on the loose. Police ask anyone with information to contact them immediately.
The guard was not injured.
Source:WFAA
