Archive
San Diego hotel security officers nab murder suspect www.privateofficer.com
DIEGO CA May 18 2011- San Diego 6 has obtained surveillance video from this
weekends shooting downtown that claimed the life of 57-year-old Deborah Gotell.
The video was captured from a camera at the Se Hotel across the street from the
shooting. It shows Se hotel security workers running to the scene to both
apprehend the suspect and lend aid to the victim.
Michael Caruso was the
first one on scene following the shooting. He told San Diego 6 news, “we heard a
couple pop pop’s.” Caruso’s co-worker Kevin Pires was also working at the time
and had just walked out of the nearby 7-eleven. He crossed 5th avenue with
Caruso to grab the suspect, 83-year-old Joseph Gotell. Pires told San Diego 6,
“I said lets go get this guy let’s go take him down like let’s not let this guy
getaway.”
Surveillence video obtained by San Diego 6 shows Caruso
motioning to the security desk at the Se Hotel to call 9-1-1–then sprint
towards broadway to meet up with Pires. The two Se hotel security workers then
sprint across 5th for the gun wielding suspect.
Caruso said, “I took him
by the shoulder put his head under here and held his arms behind his back and
then Kevin applied the handcuffs.”
Pires said, “I wanna help people and
if i see a problem I’m going to try and help out in the best way I can.”
As
Caruso grabbed Gotell, the gun believed to be a revolver captured in a photo,
dropped into a nearby treewell.
Caruso said, “if he wanted to he could have
kept the gun in his hand and shot myself and Kevin and whomever. You know that
could have happened luckily it didn’t.”
Caruso and Pires weren’t the only Se
employees to respond. Security manager Ben Taylor told San Diego 6, “it was a
brave thing he did. He’s the first to go over and check on her.”
Taylor
is talking about Greg Boler, the director of bars at the hotel. Surveillence
video shows Boler running to the scene and attended to the victim 57-year-old
Deborah Gotell. Taylor says, “just to respond like that to go into a situation
not really knowing all the variables that was a very brave thing he did and he
should be commended for that.”
Police arrived shortly after Caruso and Pires
had the shooter cuffed and under control. An effort by several Se hotel
employees that may very well have saved lives. Caruso says, “if he wanted to he
could have shot more people. He could have done a lot more damage.”
SAN
DIEGO – A wife gunned down point blank in the middle of a busy Gaslamp Quarter
street is—according to her family—brain dead. Her 83-year-old husband is
facing a murder charge.
From Brooklyn, New York, over the phone Nefera
Croom talked with San Diego 6 about her adoring 57-year old mother Deborah
Gotell.
Croom said, “Our mom was pronounced brain dead today. We decided to
donate her organs, and we are trying to move forward the most positive way
possible.”
Police say Saturday afternoon on a busy Gaslamp street Jospeh
Gotell fired several shots. One bullet hit Deborah in the head another in the
arm. Croom says her step dad had a jealous streak in him, “Some men are just
intimidated by the attention being divided. I don’t know what that argument was
about that got him so angry.”
Croom says her mother was a substitute teacher,
and described her as a very giving person.
Croom said, “She was a very self
sacrificing person, and she you know. When my grandmother and my grand mother is
sickly right now and my mom would come and cook for her.”
Source:News6
Several Fla police officers were not certified to carry weapons www.privateofficer.com
According to the FDLE, several officers in those cities did not receive their firearms training from a certified trainer, which is required for them to patrol the streets.
A spokeswoman with the Riviera Beach Police Department said it was premature to comment.
If the FDLE denies the waiver, arrests made by both departments could be
nullified.
Defense attorney Tama Kudman said because this does not appear to be a malicious act, she doesn’t believe the waivers will be denied.
source:www.wpbf.com
Washington State Trooper missing after snowshoe hiking www.privateofficer.com
DARRINGTON, Wash.May 18 2011 – Friends and family of a missing Washington State Patrol trooper who went hiking in the Cascade mountains said Dan Anderson is a smart outdoorsman, and believe he is still alive.
Snohomish County search crews continued to search Tuesday for Anderson, who was slated to come home from a snowshoeing trip last weekend.
The Sheriff’s Office is searching around 4,000 feet, where some snowshoe tracks were found.
According to searchers, Anderson’s tracks around Miner’s Creek went in several different directions, suggesting that he may have been looking for a way to cross the creek. The tracks were washed out around the 3,900 level. They appear to be about a day old.
A close friend and fellow outdoorsman, Mark Peterson, said Anderson was well equipped for the hike and knows what do in an emergency.
“He is one of the most determined men I’ve ever known. He is strong,” Peterson said. “If Dan is injured, he knows what to do. I think he is alive.”
Anderson left for the trip Friday and became separated from his hiking party. No one has had communication with him since Sunday. His emergency beacon went off Sunday, launching a search effort by Snohomish County officials.
Family said Anderson recently bought the spot beacon so everyone could track his movement.
Anderson’s wife said her husband, an experienced hiker, hiked the area of Lyman Lake last year and was
excited about this trip. He was scouting out the area to bring a group back in a few months. She said he’s well equipped for a long and tough hike and snowshoeing excursion.
A Snohomish County helicopter took off Tuesday morning, searching through the fog and heavily wooded area of Miner’s Creek. On Monday, a team had spotted snowshoe tracks, believed to be those of Anderson. A team of rescue volunteers were following those tracks Tuesday.
Alex Shapiro works for Hi Line Helicopters at the Darrington Airport. He and the pilots were preparing to get a chopper ready, standing by in case law enforcement need their help and expertise.
“He is turned around and coming back down the Miner Creek trail,” said Shapiro. “The last reports I got
from the Forest Service was that right up to the trailhead where it takes off from the Pacific Coast trail, the snow was spotty at that point.”
Weather has been an issue in the search Tuesday, from fog to heavy snowfall. Since Monday night, the Miner’s Creek area, where the tracks were spotted Monday, received four more inches of snow.
Anderson, 46, and two friends began their hike Friday in the Granite Falls area. They snowshoed part way, then
Anderson decided to hike to Lyman Lake on his own, then on to Holden Village. The other two went back out and did not accompany Anderson.
Anderson’s distress call beacon went off at 6:15 p.m. Sunday from the Lyman Lake area, which is near the Snohomish County-Chelan County border. Searchers set out from Chelan County, but the location of the beacon was very remote.
Anderson’s wife said the beacon is brand new and the first time he’s using it. Authorities believe the beacon may be defective. There’s been no more signals since.
Anderson is a 20 year veteran of the Washington State Patrol and currently works as a motorcycle officer out of Marysville. The community, family and friends hope Anderson’s experience and background as a former Special Forces Marine will get him out of the woods.
Source:King5.com
Supervisory Immigration-Customs agent arrested for looting $80,000 merchandise www.privateofficer.com
Newark
NJ May 18 2011 A supervisory agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in New York was arrested at his Wood-Ridge home Tuesday on charges of looting about $80,000 worth of computers, radios and other government gear in a scheme to sell it over the Internet.
Federal investigators from the Department of Homeland Security search a Steve Kucan’s home Tuesday morning.
Steven Kucan, 47, was charged with one count of theft of government property. Authorities alleged that he had sold at least $37,400 worth of pilfered items on eBay, the Internet auction site, since late 2004.
Wearing an open purple shirt, his wrists and ankles in shackles, Kucan appeared before a federal magistrate judge in Newark who ordered his release on a $250,000 unsecured bond with travel restricted to New Jersey and New York.
His attorney, Raymond R. Granger, said Kucan is a lifelong state resident with two children in school and posed no risk of flight.
Outside the courtroom, Granger added, “Steve has been a dedicated federal employee for over 20 years and he looks forward to having a chance to defend himself.” He declined further comment.
The arrest capped an internal investigation by agents of the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General and ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility.
Kucan was a supervisory special agent in an administrative group at the New York City office of ICE, the second largest investigative agency in the federal government after the FBI. He was responsible for obtaining, storing and controlling equipment and supplies used by the New York office.
He has been on administrative leave since February, when agents first executed search warrants at his house on Woodridge Street. Agents conducted a second search of Kucan’s home and garage on Tuesday, Granger said.
Kucan, who worked for the Immigration and Naturalization Service before its 2004 merger with the U.S. Customs Service to form ICE, was “a trusted program manager” who had access to storage rooms throughout ICE’s New York
offices and parking garages, authorities said.
After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Kucan was responsible for the procurement of generators, satellite phones, protective gear, respirators and other equipment for INS agents. He also was involved in the purchase and outfitting of an INS boat, and was in control of helmets, radios and headsets that disappeared after an INS special response team was disbanded in 2003, the complaint said.
ICE employees told investigators that in April 2010 Kucan was seen leaving a “tech room” in lower Manhattan with a cart filled with items. He was also observed removing carts with equipment on Saturdays, the complaint
said.
Records from eBay, Yahoo, Verizon and PayPal, an online payment service, showed that Kucan used two accounts to conduct transactions, one since 2002 in his own name, and the other since late 2004 in the name of an 81-year-old relative from Jersey City, the complaint said.
The items he allegedly sold on eBay include printer cartridges, film, batteries and camera lenses. He also is accused of selling four high-powered flashlights that attach to M-4 rifles for around $400 each, and an immersion suit, a waterproof garment designed to protect the wearer from hypothermia in cold water, for $245, the
complaint said.
In January, Kucan apparently became aware that he was under investigation. Analysis of his computer showed he made Internet searches for the terms “federal statute of limitations.” He also sought information from ICE employees about equipment logs and purchase orders, the complaint said.
Investigators searched his home on Feb. 16, seizing about $40,000 worth of items, including personal computers, printers, keyboards, police batons, flashlights, handcuffs, gloves, safety glasses, breathing respirators, SWAT team safety helmets, emergency strobe lights and sirens, two-way radio systems, rappelling ropes, life jackets, binoculars, knives and gun holsters.
Many of the items matched products listed on purchase orders dating back to 1987, the complaint said.
If convicted, Kucan faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Bradley A. Harsch, who is prosecuting the case.
Source:NorthJersey.com
Las Cruces teacher arrested for sex crimes www.privateofficer.com
Police said they arrested Theodore Holzhausen, an environmental science teacher at Onate High School, on Friday.
He had an arraignment in court on Monday.
Police said a cell phone belonging to Holzhausen contained numerous text messages that indicated a
personal relationship between him and a 14-year-old student.
The girl, who was interviewed by police investigators, told them that on at least two occasions since December 2010 Holzhausen had inappropriately touched her buttocks, each time during an embrace, police said.
The victim was enrolled in at least one class taught by Holzhausen, at Onate High School, during the
academic year, police said. Police said the girl was inappropriately touched at school.
According to the criminal complaint, Gloria Holzhausen, who neighbors said is Holzhausen’s ex-wife, noticed a lot of text messages that was on a phone Holzhausen used.
Gloria Holzhausen called the number and a young lady answered. Gloria Holzhausen believed the girl was under the age of 16 and notified police.
The victim told police that Holzhausen sent her a text message that said “he loved her”, according to the criminal complaint. She also said that they would send text messages to each other after school until 10 p.m. sometimes.
“We just think that’s really gross and you shouldn’t be doing that if you’re a teacher,” said Jordan, a student at Onate High School. “It’s inappropriate.”
The criminal complaint showed the victim referred to Holzhausen as “Mr. H”.
The victim also told investigators that Holzhausen walked up to her in a lab class and placed his hand on her waist and then slid his hand down to her buttocks.
In another incident, believed to have happened in February or March, the victim told detectives that Holzhausen ran his hands down her back and pressed his hands on her buttocks and then pressed her against him.
She told investigators that she felt awkward, but that she knew the relationship with Mr. H was getting stronger.
As of 5 p.m. Monday, Holzhausen was still behind bars.
The 47-year-old teacher was placed on paid administrative leave, according to LCPS spokeswoman Jo Galvan. Holzhausen taught at Onate High School for two years, said Galvan.
Galvan told KFOX14
Holzhausen had suddenly submitted his resignation effective May 25, the end of
the school year
Source:KFOX14
NY man nabbed in shoe store robberies www.privateofficer.com
Massapequa, New York May 18 2011 A
Hempstead man was charged in connection a March robbery at the Westfield Sunrise Mall after he was busted for a simiar crime at the same mall, police said.
Bernard Coleman, 43, was nabbed after he was observed on surveillance cameras placing twenty-two pairs of shoes into a garbage bag and walking out of JC Penney, on Monday afternoon, cops said.
Security held Coleman until police arrived. One of the officers who came to the scene recognized Coleman as fitting the description of a man wanted for a March 29 robbery at Payless shoes and after further investigation he was arrested for that crime as well.
Coleman is charged with Robbery in the second degree and Petit Larceny.
VA school clueless over teacher’s multiple arrests www.privateofficer.com
PORTSMOUTH, Va May 18 2011 - A Portsmouth elementary school teacher was arrested multiple times and the school system did not know about it until 10 On Your Side brought it to their attention.
Mothers can hold their kid’s hands and carry their kid’s lunches but once they get inside school, they have to let go.
“They really have great trust and confidence in their teachers,” said Barbara Mills as she picked up her grandkids from school. Learning the truth came as bit of a shock.
“Wow,” said parent, Julie Loftus as 10 On Your Side broke the news. 34-year-old Mikhiel DeBraux is a 5th grade teacher at Douglass Park Elementary, and for his bad behavior, he didn’t just get his name on the board.
He was arrested, multiple times. He was charged with two DUIs, Assault and Battery and Public Intoxication.
When 10 On Your Side went to the school for answers, we were kicked off the property. 10 On Your Side also went to
DeBraux’s listed address. His father told us he was not home and would not say when he would return. We reached out to DeBraux through email as well. Still, no response.
Many parents wonder how it is a teacher with a criminal record ever could make it past the initial background check. According to the Portsmouth Public School District, a background check was run on Mikhiel DeBraux
when he was hired in August 2004. They would not say if the check came out clean but we know DeBraux was arrested in 2000 and 2002 for Assault and Battery and for being Drunk in Public. DeBraux’s two DUI’s came after he started teaching at Douglass Park. The first in 2008 and the next in 2009, before he even went to
court for his first offense. The charges are both misdemeanors and according to policy, a teacher can be hired as long as he or she has not been convicted of any felonies.
Portsmouth Public Schools admits ever since 10 On Your Side informed them about this issue, they’ve been scrambling to get answers. The school district does not run routine background checks on its teachers. That
means after a teacher is hired, depending on the crime, the school most likely will not know about it and neither will the parents.
Portsmouth Public Schools’ Community Liaison, Maureen Mizelle, issued this statement to 10 On Your Side.
“With regard to your inquiries regarding Mr. Debraux, I cannot give information about specific personnel matters. I can tell you that the Human Resources Department is looking into the situation that you brought to our
attention.”
Though a DUI is considered a misdemeanor and according to school policy allowed to have on their record when hired, they are still grounds for dismissal. 10 On Your Side is going to continue to press Portsmouth for answers.
Source:WAVY
Omaha middle school teacher charged with sexual assault of students www.privateofficer.com
Shad Knutson was a teacher at Nathan Hale Middle School. Police say during the fall of 2010 he made sexual advances and “inappropriately touched” the girls. Another incident reportedly happened in 2008.
Knutson was booked for three counts of felony sexual assault and will be in court Wednesday morning. A spokeswoman for Omaha Public Schools says Knutson was escorted from the school on October when the accusations were made.
renewed.
Source:action3news.com
Loss prevention agent tackles armed drug store robber www.privateofficer.com
CHARLESTON, W.Va.May 187 2011 — A man trying to rob the Rite Aid in Kanawha City Monday night at gunpoint was stopped when the store’s loss prevention worker tackled him to the ground, police say.
Raymond Lee Legg, 30 of Charleston, walked up to the in-store pharmacy counter and demanded all of the store’s Oxycodone, said Sgt. Eric Hodges of the Charleston Police Department.
“There was apparently some hesitation and he lifted his shirt and exposed a handgun,” Hodges said. “He said, ‘Give me all your oxies.’”
Legg was carrying a .380-caliber semi-automatic handgun, Hodges said.
When the clerk inside the pharmacy hesitated, Legg shouted, alerting the loss prevention worker.
Legg shouted an expletive and started to run when the worker came up to him, Hodges said.
“The loss prevention worker gives chase and he (Legg) starts to pull out a handgun,”
Hodges said.
The loss prevention worker shoved Legg to the ground and jumped on top of him, holding him down until police arrived, he said.
Legg was taken into custody and charged with attempted first-degree robbery, Hodges said.
He remains in South Central Regional Jail.
Source:Charleston Gazette
NYPD officer commits suicide over relationship problem www.privateofficer.com
The uniformed cop from the Tribeca’s 1st Precinct was so distraught over a relationship that he shot himself in the head in front of the Murray Hill building on East 36th Street and Lexington Avenue at about 3:30 a.m.
Sources tell Fox 5 News that the shooting took place in front of his girlfriend’s apartment. He apparently was upset that she was communicating with someone else via Facebook.
The officer, identified as Philip Chlanda, 29, was rushed to Bellevue Hospital, where he later died.
Source:
MYFOXNY.COM
Georgia woman arrested for faking kidnapping www.privateofficer.com
BALL GROUND, Ga.May 18 2011 — A Cherokee County woman has been charged with making false statements and filing a false crime report after frantically calling 911 on Monday afternoon. Lisa Bode told dispatchers she had been kidnapped.
The 44-year-old Ball Ground woman was booked into the Cherokee County Detention Center at 1:40 a.m.
Tuesday.
Bode had told 911 her car broke down on I-575 just inside the north Cherokee County line. She said she had been kidnapped and that a man stuffed her in the trunk of a gold car that headed south on I-575.
Deputies quickly flooded the interstate after the 911 call but found nothing except Lisa Bode’s car. It was abandoned on the side of the highway where she said she broke down.
Source:11Alive.com
Rewards offered for information on murde of Fla security officer www.privateofficer.com
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.May 18 2011 – A reward is being offered for information leading to the killer of a security guard in St. Petersburg.
Mathew Little, employed by Critical Intervention Services, was patrolling the Mariners Point Apartments at 1775 Pinellas Point Drive.
After Little failed to answer his radio, St. Petersburg police officers were dispatched to the complex around 2 a.m.
Little’s body was found near the pool/tennis area. He had been shot at least once and died at the scene.
Little, 26, was covering a shift while 30 other CIS employees were deployed as military reservists. He normally covered the 15th Street corridor near USF in Tampa. He had been with CIS for two years.
“He was well liked and respected by the community he served and by the CIS family. He was the type
of officer who had no problem covering when needed. He will be missed. Our prayers and condolences go out to his family, and our CIS family, as we all deal with this senseless tragedy,” said CIS CEO K.C. Poulin in a
statement.
CIS is offering $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killer. Another organization, Private Officer International, is offering a $2,500 reward.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the St. Petersburg Police Department at 727-893-7780.
TSA agent arrested for thefts from travelers www.privateofficer.com
is suspected of stealing items from a traveler’s suitcase.
officer Ryan Driscoll was arrested May 10 at Terminal 6 for investigation of felony grand theft.
Driscoll is free on $20,000 bail pending a June 3 court appearance.
The Torrance Daily Breeze says officials haven’t disclosed what was stolen.
Driscoll was hired in 2002 by the TSA, which has a zero-tolerance policy for theft in the workplace.
San Diego police applicant arrested after raising red flags www.privateofficer.com
SAN DIEGO CA May 18 2011 — A man who applied for a job as a San Diego police officer was arrested after answers on his application raised red flags.
On his questionnaire to work for the San Diego Police Department, Robert Williams had to answer questions about crimes he might have committed.
A search warrant affidavit lists question No. 172 from Williams’ applicant questionnaire as trouble.
The question, which asked applicants if they have ever had sexual contact with a child, had a yes
answer.
Question No. 175, which asked applicants if they have ever viewed, purchased, sold or subscribed to child pornography, also received a yes response.
10News learned there were two more flagged questions and responses.
Police then searched Williams’ car and apartment, confiscated computers and hard drives and arrested him.
Williams had lived at an apartment in Chula Vista for about a week. A man who answered the door told
10News, “He was a guest and he’s no longer living here. He won’t live here anymore.”
In April, Williams had moved in with a woman and her son in east San Diego.
“I did a favor and brought him in because he had nowhere to go and he gave me a sob story,” said Rory Shipp.
She said one day she turned on her computer and found a strange file after Williams left his hard drive hooked
up.
“And when I opened the file, it was a little girl in blue and she was coming out of her clothes, playing with a little thing in her mouth. Oh my God, tears came out of my eyes. It was a home video,” she said.
Shipp said she kicked him out that day.
“He goes, ‘There’s nothing wrong with downloading it, Rory, nothing at all. Looking at it and downloading it, that’s okay.’ I said, ‘Are you sick?’” said Shipp.Williams’ wife, Sunem, called 10News to read a statement from him. It said, “The San Diego Police Department has problems with the integrity of their officers because telling the truth during
the hiring process brings prosecution upon those seeking employment. Mr. Williams told the truth, revealing his secrets, his thoughts, and his past. But he remains innocent of all charges they have illegally obtained. He is seeking
expert counsel, pro bono.”
Williams was booked at the George Bailey Detention Facility. His bail was set at $150,000.
He is scheduled to appear in court on Monday.
Source:News10
