Archive
OFFICER DOWN- KURT WYMAN
Deputy Sheriff Kurt Wyman
Oneida County Sheriff’s Office, New York
End of Watch: Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Biographical Info
Age: Not available
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available
Incident Details
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: June 7, 2011
Weapon Used: Gun; Unknown type
Suspect Info: Not available
Deputy Sheriff Kurt Wyman was shot and killed during a standoff following a domestic disturbance in Knoxboro.
Officers responded to the scene of a domestic disturbance at approximately 9:00 pm when the man barricaded himself in his garage with a firearm. Negotiators were attempting to get the man to surrender when he opened fire on them at approximately 2:00 am, killing Deputy Wyman. The suspect was also shot in the exchange of gunfire.
Deputy Wyman is survived by his expectant wife and 18-month-old son.
Agency Contact Information
Oneida County Sheriff’s Office
6065 Judd Road
Oriskany, NY 13424
Phone: (315) 765-7804
South Carolina pond becomes death trap for 2 boys www.privateofficer.com
The two boys, both 12, lived in a foster home along a dusty, dirty lane that cuts through the pines. It’s a rustic stretch that served as their football field, basketball court, bike path — a quiet backwater where they could run free and explore.
Like most days, Biscuit headed down a path straight for a small pond where he liked to cool off. The normally shallow pond — more of a muddy ditch, really– had recently swollen with water, possibly from an underground stream, neighbor Sabrina Wright said. It was inviting on a hot day.
This time, however, Biscuit’s collar got caught on a branch, Wright said. He was stuck.
Adonous went in after him, but soon found himself struggling in the 11-foot-deep water, authorities said. Gary went in after him while another boy ran to find an adult.
By the time help arrived, both boys were under water, the Berkeley County coroner has said.
Emergency workers located the friends and rushed them to nearby hospitals. Adonous died Friday; Gary the following day. Both deaths have been ruled accidental.
“It’s so sad,” Wright said. “They were nice, normal boys. We’re just kind of numb right now.”
Biscuit the dog managed to escape, Wright said, and is back at the home.
On Monday, a black wreath hung outside the double-wide mobile home off Beulah Tabernacle Drive where the boys had been living. A woman who answered the door said Hester Adams, the foster mom who owns the home, was too upset to discuss the incident.
Wright, who lives next door, said Adams is her mother-in-law. She said Adams is a kind-hearted woman who has been a foster parent for more than 15 years, caring for a number of kids, some with sad and troubled pasts.
“So many kids have come and gone through that house,” she said. “It seems like she has been doing that forever.”
Adams had adopted Gary and his 13-year-old brother, Javone, some time ago, Wright said. Adonous had been placed with her about a month or so ago, she said, and the boys got along well. They had finished classes Friday at St. Stephen Middle School about 11 a.m., just six hours before they plunged into the pond, she said.
Officials from the state Department of Social Services did not get back to The Post and Courier by press time with information regarding the boys’ placement at the foster home.
Adriane Green, Adonous’ mother, has raised questions about why the boys weren’t supervised at the time of the incident. She has said her son had an attention disorder and was supposed to be supervised “24-7.”
Capt. Rick Ollic of the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office said the incident remains under investigation and that it is too early to determine if charges might be pursued.
In addition to the coroner and the sheriff’s office, the State Law Enforcement Division’s Child Fatality Team is part of the investigation. Ollic said detectives plan to meet with the SLED team in the next couple of days to assess the case.
Source:www.charlotteobserver.com
Washington state security officer injured in carjacking incident www.privateofficer.com
Wenatchee, WA June 8 2011 A 26 year old private security guard was assaulted during a carjacking incident Sunday night.
Wenatchee Police Sgt. John Kruse said the Merchant Patrol guard was assaulted by a suspect who was exiting Dicks Tire Factory on S. Wenatchee Ave about 8:30pm during an apparent burglary.
Kruse says the suspect struck the guard on the head with a tire iron.
The guard suffered a head laceration but was not seriously hurt.
Sgt. Kruse said the suspect was identified as 43 year old Frank Dean.
A small amount of change was taken from the business and Dean also left an ID card at the scene.
Kruse believes the suspect had recently been released from jail but has not been able to confirm that with officials.
Police officer arrested for lieing about citizenship www.privateofficer.com
The FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force opened a full-blown investigation last year of Pejman Amrollah Majdabadi, 30, for his “aggressiveness” in wanting to join the FBI and his e-mailed request to the agency seeking to attend weapons of mass destruction training being taught by the JTTF, according to a criminal complaint affidavit unsealed Monday.
The Iranian-born officer, now a U.S. citizen, was taken to federal court in San Antonio late Friday on a charge of making false statements about his citizenship to get a job in law enforcement. He was released on $50,000 unsecured bond following a hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge John Primomo. If convicted, Amrollah could face up to five years in prison.
Amrollah has worked for the Fair Oaks Ranch Police Department since April 30, 2007, and has been “a good officer,” said Police Chief Scott Rubin.
The affidavit said that since 2003, Texas law requires police officer applicants to be U.S. citizens, and Rubin said Amrollah was a citizen “as far as I knew” when he applied. Amrollah is now on unpaid administrative leave, Rubin said.
The FBI claims Amrollah lied about his U.S. citizenship in applications to be a jailer, a police officer and, most recently, an FBI agent. In April 2010, the affidavit said, Amrollah e-mailed the FBI expressing interest in attending WMD training, and about joining the JTTF.
In May 2010, he e-mailed again “stating he would be a good asset for the JTTF due to his language abilities and connections he had to the local Persian community,” the affidavit said.
“Sensitive positions with the U.S. government are taken very seriously and any attempt at being deceptive to gain access to these positions is going to be pursued,” said special agent Erik Vasys, spokesman for the FBI in San Antonio.
The affidavit said Amrollah was born in Iran in 1981 or 1982. In July 1998, when about 16, he was caught by the U.S. Border Patrol crossing illegally from Mexico with his parents and a juvenile sister. The family later applied for asylum, and their request was granted in September 1999, the affidavit said.
He obtained legal permanent resident status on Oct. 5, 2004, and on Feb. 25, 2010, Amrollah became a naturalized U.S. citizen — more than a month after his most recent application to the FBI, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit said the FBI found Amrollah applied multiple times to various positions within the FBI starting in 2000, and “a comparison of the applications indicated discrepancies and/or false statements.”
Source:www.mysanantonio.com
Man, dressed as woman tried to lure teenage boy www.privateofficer.com
The boy was listening to music while sitting on a bench outside an extended-stay hotel on E. Severn Way in Sterling when he was approached by Jose H. Mejia-Ulloa, 41, around 8:30 p.m. according to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office.
Mejia-Ulloa, dressed as a woman, made “inappropriate comments” to the teen and urged him into the car, according to Kraig Troxell, spokesman for the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office.
The confrontation ended when the teen’s mother came outside and spoke to Mejia-Ulloa, who drove away, Troxell said.
The boy’s mother then called police, describing Mejia-Ulloa a female driving a red Honda Civic, according to authorities.
A sheriff’s deputy who responded to the call saw the Civic pull into a nearby parking lot and confronted Mejia-Ulloa, Troxell said.
Troxell declined to provide additional details of the deputy’s conversation with Mejia-Ulloa, who was arrested and held at the Adult Detention Center on a $5,000 bond. He was expected to be released Monday, Troxell said.
K-Mart security charge man with burglary after using child to steal www.privateofficer.com
Salinas CA June 8 2011 A 30-year-old man was arrested Sunday, accused of burglary and using his child to steal items from a Kmart store in north Salinas, police said.
At 10:50 a.m., police said, Kmart security officers noticed a man, identified as Richard Flores acting suspiciously inside the store located at 1050 North Davis Road.
They said Flores had his three 9-year-old daughters and 1-year-old toddler with him at the time. Police said the security officers saw Flores hiding merchandise in a large duffel bag before putting on new baby shoes on his toddler’s feet. Flores then walked over to the cash register, they said, where he paid for two bottles of bleach before leaving the store.
The Kmart security officers stopped Flores outside the store, police said, where he stopped to talk to them. They said Flores then dropped the duffel bag, took off running with his children before getting into a green Lincoln Navigator.
Police said Salinas police officers who responded to the incident found mail inside Flores’ bag. They said the mail was traced back to Flores’ home in the 500 block of Capitol Street. Police said the Navigator was parked outside in the driveway and Flores was found at the residence. He was booked into Monterey County Jail on suspicion of burglary and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Also found at the residence of Robert Morales, 29, who was arrested after officers found that he had $135,000 in outstanding arrest warrants.
Salinas police Officer Lalo Villegas said Flores’ children were left in the care of family members who were at the residence.
Source:theCalifornia.com
K-Mart LP agent stabbed during shoplifter arrest www.privateofficer.com
Athens GA June 8 2011 An Oconee County volunteer firefighter was expected to be released from Athens Regional Medical Center Tuesday after being treated for stab wounds he sustained during an escalated shoplifting incident at the Barnett Shoals Road Kmart in Athens where he was working as a security guard.
The scuffle started when two men allegedly tried to steal about $250 worth of electronics from the store around 7:45 p.m. Monday, according to a news release issued by the Athens-Clarke County Police Department.
Both tried to escape through the door when confronted, but Jason Still, who was working as a loss prevention officer, stopped one of the suspects, police said.
The man reportedly pulled a knife and stabbed Still multiple times before fleeing on foot, the news release stated.
The Athens Banner-Herald reported that Still had been stabbed in the chest. Officers located the man behind a residence on Dennis Drive and took him into custody, police said.
James Cornelius McLeroy, 31, of Winterville, was charged with aggravated assault, theft by shoplifting, giving false information, and obstruction.
As of early Tuesday afternoon, a second shoplifting suspect had not been located. A Nixle message Monday said police were on the lookout for a 16-year-old white male.
Still is a captain of Station 8 Barber Creek. He was doing fine and was expected to be on his way home Tuesday morning, Oconee County Deputy Fire Chief Mark Melvin said in an email.
Source:Athens Patch
Iowa sustitute teacher arrested for sex crimes with minor www.privateofficer.com
Chad Ziesman, 33, of Urbandale was arrested Friday after turning himself into Urbandale police. Ziesman is a substitute teacher in the Urbandale school district and an assistant coach for football, wrestling and girls’ track at the district’s middle school.
The investigation was initiated in May after a 14-year-old female reported to Urbandale Middle School staff that she had received inappropriate texts and email from Ziesman. Officer Jeff Casey said the messages were sexually explicit.
Ziesman posted a $25,000 bond Friday. The investigation is ongoing, Casey said. Police seized two computers, cellphones and cameras from Ziesman’s residence.
The track season had already ended when school officials were notified of the incident, Urbandale Superintendent Doug Stilwell said. Ziesman has coached in the district for two years. His coaching contracts were renewed in April, but the Urbandale school board will take action on the situation at next Monday’s meeting, Stilwell said.
“We have taken the appropriate steps to ensure the safety of our students based on the information that’s been provided to us,” Stilwell said.
Ziesman is at least the third Iowa educator in recent weeks to face charges related to inappropriate behavior with students.
Last week, federal prosecutors charged a Dubuque elementary school principal with knowingly receiving and attempting to receive child pornography. Robert Burke is accused of placing a hidden video camera in a school restroom to capture images of boys using the bathroom and of downloading child pornography from the Internet.
Burke, 43, had been principal at Sageville Elementary School since 2004. The Dubuque school board terminated his contract Saturday.
In Muscatine, a former assistant show choir director at the high school was charged in May with sex abuse.
Brandon Reimers, 27, is accused of having sex with a 15-year-old student. He faces felony counts of sexual abuse and sexual exploitation by a counselor or therapist and a misdemeanor count of supplying alcohol to a minor. He has been fired.
Source:Des Moines Register
Groton Ct police officer commits suicide at police station www.privateofficer.com
Groton, Conn.June 8 2011 — Connecticut state police now say that a local officer found dead at the Groton City Police Department killed himself, and it was a suicide.
City of Groton Police are mourning the loss of the officer, who took his own life at the police station Monday morning.
The body of Lt. Thomas Forbes was found by another officer around 8:30 a.m.
“Lieutenant Forbes was well-known and respected in this community as an outstanding police officer and a wonderful man,” Mayor Marian Galbraith said. “Our hearts go out to his family, as well as to all of his brothers and sisters on the city police force. He will hold a place of respect and honor in our hearts and memories.”
State Police were called in to investigate after Forbes’ body was discovered. Forbes committed suicide, according to State Police Lt. Paul Vance.
Police Chief Bruno Giulini said in a statement that the state police Major Crime Squad and the New London state’s attorney’s office are in charge of the investigation.
Federal agents nab man in Trenton bomb scares www.privateofficer.com
Trenton NJ June 8 2011 Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrested a man in Flat Rock on Tuesday who was wanted in connection with April bomb scares in Trenton due to tips provided to the ATF and Trenton Police Department.
The man is currently in federal custody with the ATF.
William Temple, special agent in charge for the ATF, declined to discuss what charges the man might face, but said the man might have been arraigned shortly after AFT agents arrested him.
The U.S. Attourney’s Office, which handles arraignment information, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Temple said the ATF and Trenton police received a number of tips Monday night after releasing the man’s photo and description to local media outlets.
“The tips provided us information and the identification of the suspect,” Temple said.
ATF agents arrived at the suspect’s father-in-law’s home in the 26700 block of Frontier Circle at about 3 a.m. Tuesday to observe the house. Agents then made contact with the homeowner at about noon and took his son-in-law into custody soon thereafter.
After searching the house, Temple said, agents found multiple items that would be consistent with what “they need to follow up with in our examination and our investigation.”
Temple declined to elaborate on what agents found in the house.
Agents evacuated about 10 nearby houses inside Deerfield Estates at about 1 p.m.
“If it wasn’t for the public, we don’t know when this would have come to a conclusion,” Temple said. “We appreciate the fact that the public came forward to assist in this.”
The arrest was a joint effort with the ATF, Trenton Police Department, Michigan State Police Bomb Squad and the Department of Homeland Security’s K-9 Unit.
Trenton Police Chief William Lilienthal could not be reached for comment.
Fort Worth police charge teacher with sex assault of student ww.privateofficer.com
Fort Worth TX June 8 2011 A teacher from the Austin area turned herself in to Fort Worth police this week over allegations that she had an improper relationship with a student.
The second-degree felony charge against former Lake Travis High School teacher Tina McCann stems from a February field trip to North Texas, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.
Authorities in Travis County handed the case over to Fort Worth, and McCann surrendered to police there on Monday. She has since been released on $10,000 bail.
The specifics of the allegations and the age of the student involved were not revealed.
McCann resigned from her job teaching marketing last month.
The case is the latest in a string involving alleged relationships between teachers and students in North Texas.
Source:Dallas News
Former TSA security supervisor gets prison in bribery case www.privateofficer.com
He previously plead guilty to accepting bribes and kickbacks from a coworker who regularly stole money from passengers during airport screenings, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman said.
Michael Arato, 42, of Ewing, admitted that between September 2009 to October 2010 he permitted a subordinate, Al Raimi, 29, of Woodbridge, to steal between $10,000 and $30,000 in cash from travelers, while accepting a portion of the stolen money — and that a portion of that stolen money was kicked back to him, authorities said. Arato also admitted that he regularly stole from passengers going through his checkpoint, authorities said.
U.S. District Judge Jose L. Linares in Newark also ordered Arato to pay $24,150 to the victims of his offense and to forfeit $3,100 to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Ohio police K-9 dies after being left in hot vehicle www.privateofficer.com
Police in New Castle, Ohio aren’t releasing many details, but sources claim that on Saturday, Chico was left in the hot car for more than two hours. Temperatures reached the mid-80s that day.
The exact cause of death remains to be determined, but the canine was found in the cruiser’s backseat, unresponsive. New Castle police Chief Thomas Sansone reported in a written statement that Chico was taken to a veterinarian where he then passed away.
Dave Blosser, an officer who has worked with Chico, calls him “just a really good asset to [the] community and [the] department.” Blosser said that K-9 cruisers sometimes come equipped with a heat system alarm, but it is unclear whether a system was in place in this incident.
“This is like a pager system, and it will start vibrating and kick on at a high temperature,” said Blosser.
Chico, a Dutch shepherd, joined the department in October 2009.The New Castle Police Department will have a memorial service at 10 a.m. Thursday at 815 Cunningham Ave.
Charlotte man arrested for having hat on backwards www.privateofficer.com
CHARLOTTE, N.C. June 8 2011
A Charlotte man was arrested at Alive After Five event last week, and he said it was all because of the way he was wearing his hat.
Phillip Agnew told Channel 9 that it is a case of racial discrimination.
The incident happened last Thursday at the EpiCentre and Agnew said he was singled out of a crowd of hundreds.
“They didn’t tell me they were going to arrest me. I got that realization when they put the handcuffs on me,” Agnew said.
Agnew said he had his hat turned backwards. “I was in a group of people and a security guard approached me and asked me to turn around my hat,” he said.
When Agnew refused, he said guards called police who arrested him for misdemeanor trespassing.
“They escorted me out in handcuffs from the third floor, took me to the valet and processed me and … took me to jail,” he said.
There is a dress code posted in the Pavillion at Epicentre. Channel 9 took a photo of a sign that clearly states, “hats turned backward aren’t allowed.”
Agnew said the policy is selectively enforced. “I think it’s a case of blatant discrimination but if you make a policy against suits and ties, and I know a certain group of people always wears suits and ties, then the people in the suits and ties start to feel after a while maybe it’s personal,” he said.
Channel 9’s Kathryn Burcham was at the EpiCenter on Tuesday afternoon and spotted two men wearing hats.
“We’re doing a story about a guy who got kicked out for wearing his hat backwards. Did anybody say anything to you,” Burcham asked.
“No,” said one of the men.
Police told Channel 9 that they don’t condone any kind of discrimination but they have to enforce the law.
“Once he refused to leave, we have to honor the owner’s right to have him leave the property,” said Capt. Jeff Estes.
Channel 9 attempted to contact the management at the EpiCentre to ask them about how and when they choose to enforce that dress code policy, but have not received an answer.
Agnew has started a Facebook page after his arrest at the EpiCentre: FACEBOOK: Do Not Enter the (Epi)Center.
Source:WSOC.com
