Archive
Grandma bandit continues robbing Atlanta area stores www.privateofficer.com
Atlanta GA May 25 2011 It looks like the Grandma Bandit has struck again.
Atlanta Police Department This suspect, described as a 50- to 60-year-old woman, is wanted for the robbery of multiple drug stores.
Atlanta police are looking for the older woman accused of robbing four pharmacies in two weeks, Officer K.Y. Jones said. And the woman bears a striking resemblance to the one suspected in similar crimes in DeKalb County, right down to the black University of Georgia ball cap.
The woman, described as being about 5-feet-6 inches tall and weighing between 120 and 130 pounds, appears to be around 60 years old, police said. She wears sunglasses during the crimes and has puffy, swollen cheeks, according to surveillance pictures.
Her latest heist was Tuesday, when she allegedly robbed the Rite Aid pharmacy on Howell Mill Road just before 10 a.m., Jones said. The suspect was last seen driving a tan or gold Jeep Liberty, police said.
The same woman is also accused in similar crimes May 12, May 14 and Friday, Atlanta police said. A woman matching her description is accused of pointing a gun at employees at a pharmacy on North Druid Hills Road and demanding cash, DeKalb County police said last week.
Anyone with information regarding the woman’s identity is asked to contact police or Crime Stoppers Atlanta at 404-577-8477
Former Tucson teacher pleads guilty to student assault www.privateofficer.com
TUCSON, Ariz.May 25 2011 — A former high school teacher in Tucson has pleaded guilty to aggravated assault of a minor and admitted to kissing a 15-year-old student as part of a plea deal.
Twenty-six-year-old Christie Elliott had faced charges of luring a minor for sexual exploitation, sexual conduct with a minor and bribing a witness before she accepted the plea deal Monday.
As part of the deal, Elliott faces anywhere from probation to two years in prison.
The former English teacher at Empire High School was accused of sending inappropriate text messages to the teen, having him touch her intimately and then trying to get him to change his story.
During Monday’s court hearing, Elliott says she kissed the teen and had sexual thoughts about him.
Elliott will have to register as a sex offender after she is sentenced next month.
According to police, a parent found inappropriate messages on his son’s cell phone in April and reported them to the school. A police investigation included search warrants and interviews, and concluded that the boy had an inappropriate sexual relationship with his English teacher.
Security officer stabbed several times www.privateofficer.com
MESA, Ariz.May 25 2011 — Mesa police are trying to sort out a Monday afternoon stabbing that left a man wounded.
According to reports, a security guard and another man got in an argument at an apartment complex.
Police said the security guard claimed he was struck in the head with a motorcycle helmet and stabbed several times. Police said the victim was able to provide them with a license plate number from the suspect’s motorcycle.
Investigators said they tracked down the suspect at his home later Monday afternoon. They said they found Sean Gleason with wet hands and blood on his shoes.
He was arrested. The investigation continues.
Wal-Mart robbery suspects lead Phoenix police on pursuit www.privateofficer.com
About 7 p.m. Sunday, authorities suspect three people were in a stolen Chevrolet pickup parked in an alley behind the Walmart, which is near Bethany Home Road and 35th Avenue, said Sgt. Tommy Thompson, spokesman for the Phoenix Police Department.
The three people went into the Walmart and grabbed $1,500 worth of electronic equipment before attempting to leave the store through a fire escape, police said.
As they were leaving the store, the three people were confronted by two Walmart loss-prevention employees who later told police that one of the men motioned as if he was reaching into his waistband for a gun.
Thompson said after the employees backed off, the three people fled in the pickup.
Phoenix police patrol officers were able to find the truck and pursued the truck until a helicopter took over.
Police said at one point, the truck stopped in the Deck Park Tunnel on Interstate 10, where the occupants switched vehicles. The people abandoned the truck and electronic equipment and got into a 2003 Hyundai, driven by a fourth person.
Thompson said police believe it was an attempt to mislead the air unit and surveillance team.
About 9 p.m., the Hyundai struck a curb near 35th Avenue and Bethany Home and the airbags deployed.
The four people attempted to flee on foot but were quickly taken into custody by Phoenix police.
Thompson said all of the property was recovered in the truck. A handgun was found in the Hyundai.
Police arrested Richard Baralas Martinez, 49, Stephanie Kirk, 24, and Christine Diane Valdivia, 46, on suspicion of armed robbery and unlawful means of transportation.
Robert Soto Alvarez, 46, was arrested on suspicion of armed robbery, unlawful flight from law enforcement, unlawful means of transportation and possession of burglary tools.
Source::www.azcentral.com
NJ man charged with assaulting hospital security www.privateofficer.com
Hoboken NJ May 25 2011 A Hoboken man was arrested and charged Friday morning after he kicked and broke a door at Hoboken University Medical Center and punched a security guard in the face.
Police arrested and charged David Bertucci, 24, of Jefferson Street with simple assault and criminal mischief.
At around 7 a.m., police said they responded to reports that Bertucci was causing a disturbance in the hospital’s emergency room.
When police arrived, security personnel told them that Bertucci had kicked and broke the hospital’s main glass door and fled south on Willow Street.
The guard told police that another security guard chased Bertucci out the hospital and caught up with him at 250 Third St. When police arrived at the scene, the security guard told them that Bertucci escaped and was hiding in the lobby of 218 Park Ave.
The security guard also told police that he wanted to file a complaint against him because Bertucci punched the guard in the left temple when he tried to apprehend him.
Police they entered 218 Park Ave. and found Bertucci sitting in the lobby, where the guard positively identified him as the man that punched him and broke the hospital’s glass door.
Police said they released Bertucci with a summons to appear in court.
SC Volunteer Firefighter Arrested For Sexual Assault www.privateofficer.com
FAIRFIELD COUNTY, SC May 25 2011 – A volunteer fireman in Fairfield County is charged with sexually assaulting a woman, according to deputies.
Chief Deputy Keith Lewis said Ralph Marthers, 51, is charged with Criminal Sexual Conduct.
Lewis said the victim, whom Marthers knows, had a fire at her home a few weeks ago. Marthers offered to take the fire report to her, and the victim said Marthers groped her at her home.
Marthers is already a registered sex offender for committing or attempting to commit a lewd act on a child in 1997.
Source:WIS
Off duty police officer chases down shooting suspect www.privateofficer.com
Officer Sean Donegan was on his way to work around 2:20, police said, when he saw a man in the 800 block of South Avenue shooting at someone. Donegan used his mobile radio to report the crime and was shortly joined by Officer Jeff Flemming, police said.
The two briefly chased the man on foot, captured him and recovered a .357 magnum handgun as well as ballistic evidence, said Sgt. Tom Connellan.
The officers arrested Hosea Hanslip, 19, of Syracuse, charging him with criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree and first-degree reckless endangerment.
“It was a good piece of police work,” said Connellan.
Police are still investigating the incident, he said, and didn’t know at whom Hanslip was shooting.
Baldwin County coroner’s office employee arrested for drugs, theft www.privateofficer.com
ROBERTSDALE, Ala. May 25 2011– Donna Thompson Taylor, 59, of 1110 Williams St. in Bay Minette, was arrested on Thursday afternoon and charged with Theft of Property in the Second Degree, two counts of Unlawful Possession of a Controlled Substance and one count of Unlawful Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and is being held on $16,000 bond at the Baldwin County Correctional Facility in Bay Minette.
An Administrative Secretary for the Baldwin County Coroner’s Office, Taylor was the subject of an undercover investigation by the Baldwin County Drug Task Force and was arrested when she attempted to leave with “marked” prescription pills that she had placed in her purse, said Major Anthony Lowery, Baldwin County Sheriff’s Department spokesman.
“Coroner Vinson was made aware of this issue about a week and a half ago and followed up on it. It is terribly unfortunate that it had to happen and the investigation is still ongoing,” Lowery said.
Taylor was stopped by Drug Task Force agents as she tried to leave work late yesterday afternoon and a further search of her purse revealed a small amount of crystal meth as well, Lowery said.
Lowery was unsure of how long Taylor ha been employed at the coroner’s office and how long she had been stealing the pills. There were a variety of different kinds being stolen and she has been terminated from her position as of Friday.
Source:Gulf Coast News
Washington DC father raped, killed daughter www.privateofficer.com
Prosecutors Monday charged Rodney J. McIntyre, 45, with first-degree murder in connection with the slaying of Ebony Franklin, whose body was found in an alley behind the 1000 block of Fairmont Street in Columbia Heights on Nov. 28. Police arrested McIntyre on Saturday.
On Monday in D.C. Superior Court, as Assistant U.S. Attorney Jocelyn Ballantine detailed how McIntyre’s semen was found in the girl’s body, several of her friends and family members who took up about four rows in the courtroom cried out before rushing out of the room.
Dressed in a white T-shirt and jeans with his arms and ankles shackled, McIntyre smiled, bowed and shook his head at times as he stood next to his attorney, Elizabeth Mullin of the District’s Public Defender Service.
Prosecutors based the charges largely on cellphone calls between Franklin and her father and on the location where the girl’s body was found relative to the usage of his phone the day she was reported missing, according to court documents.
Authorities said they also interviewed witnesses who said Franklin was with her father when she disappeared. Franklin lived with her mother in the Capitol Heights area of Prince George’s County, and her mother reported her missing Nov. 27.
According to her mother, Franklin had planned to meet her father in Columbia Heights and spend the weekend of Nov. 26 with him, court papers said. But McIntyre told Franklin’s mother that his daughter planned to spend the weekend with her boyfriend instead. Franklin’s mother is named as a witness in the case, and The Washington Post generally does not name witnesses of crimes.
McIntyre told police he and his daughter were supposed to meet in front of the Target store in the 3100 block of 14th Street NW on Nov. 26 at 1 p.m., but she never called, according to court papers.
“Ebony was dropped off in Columbia Heights to meet up with her father, but she was never seen by any other person ever again,” said Ballantine, who called the slaying “premeditated and deliberate.”
Authorities said McIntyre used his daughter’s cellphone to make calls and to text messages to her mother and others in an effort to blame someone else for her slaying. In one message, authorities said, McIntyre wrote, “Remember, the bitch told on my man nowyoo get her out the trash.”
McIntyre worked as a custodian at Keely’s Boxing Gym in the 2500 block of 11th Street NW, within a block of where Franklin’s body was found. On Nov. 27, between 2:47 and 4:28 p.m. McIntyre’s cellphone was determined to have been used near where the body was discovered, according to court documents. McIntyre denied being in that area.
Police interviewed McIntyre numerous times, according to court papers. During one interview, they confronted McIntyre about a possible sexual relationship with his daughter. When authorities asked him if his DNA would be on the victim, he told detectives, “I don’t know how to explain it” and said he would not admit a relationship with Franklin to them, but that he would tell her mother.
When Franklin’s body was found, authorities determined that his semen had been inside her for as long as three days. When confronted with the information, McIntyre told police that he provided Franklin with a bottle of his semen, which he said she used in an attempt to become pregnant.
After authorities challenged his statement, McIntyre then admitted that he and his daughter had sexual relations on “several occasions,” including the Tuesday before she was killed.
Magistrate Judge Karen Howze ordered McIntyre held in the D.C. jail until his next hearing, which was scheduled for July 7 before Judge Lynn Leibovitz.
Passaic preschool teacher’s aide arrested for lewdness and sexual contact www.privateofficer.com
Authorities arrested Keith Cloud, 43, of Passaic, Monday morning, said Lt. Luis Guzman. Cloud is a teacher’s aide at School 6 and has worked for the school district for seven years, said School Superintendent Robert Holster.
A witness allegedly saw him walking behind the girl with his penis exposed about 7 a.m. Friday near Hamilton Avenue and Quincy Street, about two blocks from School 6, Guzman said. Police do not believe any children saw the incident.
The same witness saw him five blocks from the school at Lexington Avenue and Van Buren Street about the same time Monday morning, Guzman said. The witness called police, and Cloud was brought in for questioning. Cloud denied the allegations about the Friday incident, but told police he was urinating in public on Monday, Guzman said.
The witness positively identified him and police charged him with lewdness, criminal sexual contact and urinating in public, Guzman said. Municipal Court Judge Xavier Rodriguez set bail at $7,500.
It was not immediately clear if Cloud went to work on Friday or whether he was in jail Tuesday.
Holster suspended Cloud indefinitely after the arrest. He will seek official school board approval at a board meeting Thursday when he said he may recommend that the suspension be without pay.
“This is a serious, serious charge and the safety of our children is a top priority in our schools,” Holster said. “I want to make sure a strong statement is made by me as a superintendent.”
Holster said the school system is conducting its own internal investigation.
By law, a teacher’s aide is not allowed to be alone with students. There have been no reports of incidents and no indication any wrongdoing took place in the school, but the investigation is continuing, Holster said.
“I’m trying to close the gaps to assure myself there’s no opportunity of wrongdoing,” he said.
Holster is holding a meeting with parents at School 6 at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday to answer any questions.
Source:northjersey.com
Mall security aids police nab drunk driver www.privateofficer.com
Wauwatosa WI May 25 2011 After smashing into a curb hard enough to rip a wheel off his car, a drunken driver careened into the parking lot of Mayfair Mall, left the crippled car and tried to disappear into the mall crowd Friday night.
At 9:40 p.m., police responded to a report from the Mayfair security office of a possibly intoxicated driver parking a badly damaged car at the mall, and a short time later they arrested a 36-year-old Wauwatosa man for drunken driving, first offense.
A mall security officer patroling the parking lot had heard a loud crash in the area of North Mayfair Road and West North Avenue. He then saw a badly damaged black Lexus sedan enter the parking lot in a very wide, high-speed turn. When the security officer approached the driver to see if he was injured, the man got out of the car and ran away toward the mall while talking on a cell phone.
The security officer called his office and gave a quick description of events and the driver, and the man was tracked as the police were alerted. When police officers stopped him, he was unsteady on his feet and slurring his words.
Questioned, he said he had hit a curb and parked his car to walk home. Asked if he had had anything to drink, he admitted he had been drinking beer all day at a charity golf outing.
When police examined his car, they found that the left front wheel was broken off the axle and wedged into the wheel well. Dragging its undercarriage, it had gouged the pavement in the parking lot.
The man failed a field sobriety test and refused a breath test. He was taken to Wisconsin Heart Hospital for a blood draw.
Federal agents-Austin police nab counterfeit check suspect www.privateofficer.com
Austin TX May 25 2011 In November of 2010, Austin Police Detectives, in conjunction with the United States Secret Service, began an investigation into an organized payroll check-counterfeiting scheme.
The investigation revealed that James Troy Brooks (DOB 12-1-66) was actively manufacturing counterfeit payroll checks, using account information from legitimate businesses.
Mr. Brooks solicited assistance from individuals who were obviously desperate for money.
He targeted day labor sites and homeless shelters, where he convinced the accomplices to cash bogus payroll checks, in exchange for a portion of the proceeds.
To this date, Mr. Brooks has been tied to over $70,000 in losses, suffered by local businesses and financial institutions.
On Friday, May 20, 2011, a federal arrest warrant was issued for Brooks, charging him with counterfeit securities, bank fraud, and conspiracy.
He was located and arrested shortly after the warrant was issued and is now in federal custody.
Anyone with information related to this case is asked to call the Austin Police Department’s Financial Crimes Unit at 512- 974-5290 or the Secret Service at 512-916-5103.
Construction -security companies fined in death of security officer www.privateofficer.com
The Heath and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Precis Holdings Ltd and Mr Obioma Chukwudi for their parts in the incident.
The City of London Magistrates’ court heard that Victor Etu, 36, was working as a security guard at Dover House, Morden Road, Mitcham. The semi-derelict building was due to be turned into a self-storage facility, with Precis Holdings Ltd managing the refurbishment. Precis Holdings Ltd contracted Crimeforce Security Ltd (a company which has since been dissolved), to provide 24-hour security to the site, who engaged Mr Etu as a self-employed security guard.
A petrol-powered electricity generator had been provided by Precis Holdings Ltd to power a portable heater and lights, as there was no electricity supply to the building.
On the 16 February 2008, Mr Obioma Chudwudi, the manager of Crimeforce Security Ltd, attended the site at about 1.45pm. He had not heard from Mr Etu who was on the night patrol shift and had been due to call in at 6am. Mr Etu was found lying on the floor in an office on the second storey of the building. The generator was found in another room off the same corridor. An ambulance was called and Mr Etu was declared dead at the scene.
The post mortem examination stated that Mr Etu died from carbon monoxide poisoning.
The HSE investigation showed that Precis Holdings Ltd failed to take reasonable measures to ensure, so far as was reasonably practicable, that the generator provided for their use was safe and without risks to the health of the security guards.
Mr Chukwudi failed to take effective steps to ensure that the petrol generator provided for the use of security guards was not operated within the building and he did not carry out or implement the findings of a risk assessment for the provision of a 24-hour security presence. He also had not provided Mr Etu with appropriate information, instruction and supervision in respect of the use of the generator.
HSE Inspector, Loraine Charles said:
“Mr Etu’s death in such distressing circumstances would have been completely avoidable had either Precis Holdings Ltd or Mr Chukwudi given sufficient thought to the implications of putting Mr Etu to work, alone, guarding this large empty building – or taken effective steps to prevent the operation of the generator inside the building.”
Precis Holdings Ltd of Park Lane, Westminster pleaded guilty to breaching Section 4(2) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £60,000 and ordered to pay costs of £24,515.
Obioma Chukwudi of Iona Cresent, Slough, Berkshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(2) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. He was fined £30,000 and ordered to pay costs of £15,000.
Kyle Busch charged with speeding-reckless driving in North Carolina www.privateofficer.com
Mooresville NC May 25 2011 There’s a time for throttling up, and a time for throttling down.
Just days after winning the North Carolina Education Lottery 200, where he posted an average speed of 101.6 mph, Kyle Busch has been ticketed for exceeding that speed on a public North Carolina road.
Busch was cited for careless and reckless driving; deputies observed and clocked him running at 128 mph in a 45-mph zone on Tuesday afternoon.
Busch now joins a list of famous NASCAR drivers who have had a bit of trouble behind the wheel while off the track. Jimmie Johnson once injured himself after sliding off the roof of a moving golf cart. And Richard Petty famously bumped a driver out of the way for going too slowly on Interstate 85 in North Carolina.
Busch was driving on Perth Road between Troutman and Mooresville, N.C. The road, which runs parallel to Interstate 77, is rural, closely lined with trees and has few residences in the area. Busch was cited near the intersection of Perth and Judas roads.
It’s somewhat surprising that more NASCAR drivers don’t get caught by the police … or, at least, their speeding incidents don’t result in tickets. After all, when your job involves driving nearly 200 mph, staying at posted speed limits must feel like crawling. Not that there’s any excuse for tripling the speed limit, of course.
Busch has not yet made a public statement, but one is likely forthcoming.
Homeless man found growing pot at Fla school www.privateofficer.com
LAKE CITY, Fla. May 25 2011– A homeless man was arrested Monday after a school resource officer at Lake City Middle School found several marijuana plants growing in a wooded area on school property, Columbia County deputies said.
Detectives said they were able to use surveillance of the area to find 33-year-old Damon Crosby caring for the plants.
Crosby was arrested while taking care of the plants Monday and was booked into the Columbia County Detention Facility with bail set at $16,000.
The nine marijuana plants ranged from 1 foot to 2.5 feet in height. The estimated value of the plants is more than $5,000.
Crosby is charged with cultivation of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and trespassing on school grounds.
Source:news4jax.com
NY man smashes into guard booth-threatens to kill guard www.privateofficer.com
Orangeburg NY May 25 2011 An Orange County man is being held for psychiatric evaluation today after he rammed his car into a security booth at Verizon Wireless in Orangeburg and threatened to kill a security officer late Monday, according to Orangetown police.
David W. Sandburg, 56, of 110 Odyssey Drive, Chester, is accused of reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a weapon — a .22 caliber pistol — and criminal mischief after the 11:29 p.m. incident at 2,000 Corporate Drive.
Orangetown Det. Lt. James Brown said police initially received a call about a possible car accident at the Verizon site, but soon learned that Sandburg had repeatedly rammed his car into the security booth.
Brown said that when Sandburg drove up to the guard booth he told the guard “Hold on, I have something for you.” As the security guard fled the booth and tried to get help, Brown said the guard heard Sandburg shout “Come back here, I’m going to kill you.”
Sandburg chased the guard in his vehicle before turning around, heading back to the vicinity of the booth and ramming the guard’s personal car, Brown said. When Orangetown police arrived, they found Sandburg standing outside of his vehicle.
When he was arrested, Brown said police found Sandburg in possession of the .22 caliber pistol.
Sandburg was arraigned in Orangetown Town Court in Orangeburg and ordered held in the Rockland County Correctional Facility in New City, with instructions that he receive a psychiatric evaluation.
