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Caged, malnourished young girl found eating her own skin www.privateofficer.com
Glouster County VA July 8 2011 A young girl was found caged and attempting to eat herself in a mobile home in Virginia, and cops say her parents are responsible.
The malnourished girl, believed to be either 5 or 6, was discovered in a crib that was converted into a makeshift cage after police arrived at the home in Gloucester County to investigate a burglary last week.
The girl’s parents, Brian and Shannon Gore, were arrested and charged with felony child abuse. The mother was also charged with attempted capital murder.
However, the gruesome twosome now faces first-degree murder charges after the remains of what authorities believe to be another child were found buried outside their mobile home.
“I’ve done this for 20 years, and I’ve never seen anything like this in my life,” Gloucester Sheriff’s Maj. Darrell Warren said.
A month-old baby boy was also found in the home, but was in good condition. Both he and the older girl are now in the care of the county Department of Social Services.
The horrific find came as police investigated a robbery on April 17.
nearby homeowner reported his house was broken into and claimed gold bullion, a vacuum cleaner, a passport, $2,000 in cash and other items had been stolen, according to a police report.
Investigators trailed the bullion to an auction house, which claimed to have bought the gold from 25-year-old Shannon Gore.
Authorities arrived at her mobile home in Gloucester with a search warrant when they made the shocking discovery.
The girl’s blond-hair was matted and filled with knots. She wore only a diaper and t-shirt and was eating flakes of dried skin on her body.
Brian Gore, 29, reportedly told police the girl had been kept in the cage since the summer.
“It was horrific. I don’t know what else to say,” Lt. Scott Little of the Sheriff’s Department told Virginia’s Daily Press on Friday.
“They seemed like nice people,” neighbor Tim Hudnall told the newspaper. He noted he had seen the baby boy, but never saw a girl with the Gores in the six years they’ve been neighbors.
“He was really a nice guy,” Brian Gore’s ex-girlfriend, Sandy, told WTKR 3 News in Norfolk. “He went to church and everything.”
Deputies discovered the child’s remains while digging under and around a shed at the mobile home Friday evening. The age, gender and identity of the remains are not known, pending an examination by the state Medical Examiner’s Office.
The Gores are being held in prison as authorities determine how the child died. An autopsy report by the state medical examiner is pending.
Source:NY Daily News
Michigan bloody rampage leaves seven dead www.privateofficer.com
GRAND RAPIDS MI July 8 2011 (Reuters) – A man suspected of killing seven people in a bloody rampage ended a hostage standoff with police late on Thursday by shooting himself in the head, Grand Rapids Police Chief Kevin Belk said.
The suspect, Rodrick Shonte Dantzler, had engaged in a gun battle with police in downtown Grand Rapids and a high speed chase before taking three people hostage. One hostage was released earlier and the other two were safe, Belk said.
The suspect had said he wanted to give himself up, but while he was talking with negotiators about how he could surrender, “we heard a gunshot and it turned out to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head,” Belk said.
“The hostages are outside. They are safe. The suspect is dead at the scene,” he said.
Belk said police were confident that Dantzler was the suspect in all seven murders and had acted alone.
Police suspect Dantzler shot dead five adults and two children at two different locations, setting off a police manhunt with helicopters, state police and sheriff’s deputies. Two bystanders were wounded during the chase.
The suspect later drove the wrong way on Interstate 96, slammed into a ditch and fled on foot into a neighborhood in northeast Grand Rapids where he pressed his way into a house and took the hostages, Belk said.
Shots were fired as he entered the house, but the house occupants were not injured, Belk told reporters. He released a 53-year-old woman who lived at the house. But a man and woman remained held and were in a tight confined area at the back of the house during the hostage situation, he said.
Investigators do not know the motive for the shootings, but believe that one of the victims was his daughter and one was an ex-girlfriend, Belk said.
“You just cannot come up with a logical reason why someone would take seven people’s lives for what seems to be just a totally senseless purpose,” Belk said.
The hostages were believed to be strangers to Dantzler.
HEART OF DOWNTOWN
Mayor George Heartwell described the saga as “a rolling rampage” that included gun battles with police in the heart of downtown Grand Rapids which left a squad car shot up.
“This is so uncharacteristic of Grand Rapids. We are all stunned about it,” Heartwell said in a telephone interview.
Kent County Deputy Sheriff Dale DeKorte said the suspect ran down a series of side streets and exchanged gunfire with police before reaching the interstate.
“You couldn’t get more downtown,” DeKorte said. “He was shooting at us as he went through.”
Police cordoned off several blocks of the neighborhood surrounding the house where he was barricaded. Neighbors described the area as working class with trimmed lawns.
Hundreds of people came out to watch the scene unfold on a warm clear night.
“We went from lemonade stands to murder,” said Leslie Mourand, who lives near the barricaded house. “This whole situation is totally surreal to Grand Rapids. Maybe we live in a bubble, but we are protective of our bubble.”
Belk said the seven bodies were found at two separate locations. Two adult women and a girl were found dead at one location and three adults and a child at the second location.
Officers in a police cruiser spotted Dantzler in a Lincoln Town Car within hours of the discovery of the bodies of the victims, and the officers began a pursuit that led through downtown, Grand Rapids police spokesman Sergeant Jon Wu said.
Dantzler fired at the officers multiple times and police returned fire, and at one point a bullet struck a woman bystander who was in a car, striking her in the arm, Wu said.
Her wounds and the wounds of another bystander were not life-threatening, police said.
Armored truck robbed of $1million dollars www.privateofficer.com
Detectives were searching for at least two armed suspects in an area near Barringer Street in South El Monte, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.
The robbery occured at 9:00 p.m. at the Commonwealth International Security Company, in the 1200 block of Barringer Street, in El Monte.
The two guards, one inside the truck and one outside the truck were unharmed. The LACSD has no information on suspect descriptions.
Over a million dollars was taken.
Sources close to the investigation are saying that the 2 guards are currently being investigated, and have been suspended with pay, while the investigation is on-going.
Deputies arriving at the scene were told that up to $1 million may have been taken but were still trying to confirm the actual amount of cash that was missing, the department said.
No other details were immediately available.
Another TSA agent charged with thefts from airline passengers www.privateofficer.com
Nelson Santiago, 30, of Hollywood, Fla., was arrested Monday on two counts of grand theft.
Broward Sheriff’s Office detectives say Santiago was caught stealing an iPad from a suitcase at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
Detectives say Santiago admitted to stealing computers, cameras and other electronics from luggage that he was screening. Detectives say Santiago would immediately take a photo of the stolen item with his cell phone, post it for sale online and often sell it by the time his shift ended.
Santiago worked at the terminal that houses Southwest and Continental. A Continental employee reported seeing Santiago stuff the iPad into his pants.
Detectives say they believe Santiago stole about $50,000 worth of electronics in the past six months.
Santiago was released on bond the day after his arrest. He no longer works for the TSA, where he had been employed since January 2009.
Detectives say there may be more victims, and Santiago could face additional charges.
The TSA is cooperating with the investigation.
Source:NBC NEWS
Suspicious bag at mall brings police, bomb squad www.privateofficer.com
MASON CITY, IA July 8 2011 -Something that seemed out of place brought emergency crews to a local mall parking lot.Graffiti and an unidentified package brought excitement to the Mason City neighborhood.
A security guard noticed something a little different this morning.
It was a brown paper bag in front of a graffiti note saying bomb squad.
The Mason City police and fire departments were called to the scene.
After inspection the bag was full of nothing but some old food, but safety officials say it’s important they treat every case like it is something serious.
It’s not often Mason City officers have to deal with a potential bomb.
But that’s what happened near Southbridge Mall in today.
Spectator Edgar Daugherty says, “I’ve just been watching to see what going to happen. I warned a few people up at the campground; don’t go up there right now.”
Daugherty was making his usual pass through the mall when he noticed all the emergency vehicles in the parking lot.
Chief Bob Platts says, “well we got a call this morning and a security guard here at the Southbridge Mall saw this package next to the bridge.”
The brown paper bag sat by old graffiti on the bridge.
It reads “bomb squad”.
Daugherty says, “but that doesn’t took to serious, but who knows it’s the way it is.”
Daugherty and numerous other people thought it was a some kind of prank, but Chief Platts says they have to take threats like this seriously.
Platts says, “reasons why we take these precautions is we just don’t know. And today’s environment it’s just such that we want to make sure that the public is safe and our personnel is safe.”
Chief Platts admits is may seem like a lot of manpower and resources for nothing.
They had to call in the state fire marshal’s office because they don’t have the equipment to handle bombs.
But he says you never know what you are getting into.
And those looking on agree.
Daugherty says, “who knows, you know that’s why I’m staying out as far as I can get.”
Platts says, “it may seem like overkill sometimes to us it seems like overkill, but it’s something that we have to do in the event that it is something.”
The fire chief says it’s something he would rather look back on and be thankful it was just a bunch of trash, than deal with someone getting hurt.
The suspicious bag was thrown away.
The city came just a few hours after the incident to remove the graffiti from the area.
Fort Myers shoplifters arrested second time in a month www.privateofficer.com
Fort Myers Fla July 8 2011 For the second time in less than a month three people from Immokalee have been accused of stealing from a Lee County Walmart store.
Laura Facio, 24; Mary Ramirez, 28 ; and Johnny Ramirez, 22, who all list the 900 block of Durango Lane as their address, each face charges of retail theft of more than $300 while coordinating others in the most recent arrest Wednesday.
Mallory Chapa, 18, was arrested on charges last month along with the others.
According to Lee County Sheriff’s Office reports:
The most recent charges were filed after surveillance video from the Walmart at 114821 Six Mile Cypress Parkway in South Fort Myers was viewed and the loss prevention officer recognized them as the same ones involved with a theft from the store at 4770 Colonial Blvd. The loss prevention officer had not previously reported the theft to the Sheriff’s Office due to the lack of identification of the suspects.
The three entered the Six Mile Cypress store, selected numerous clothing, grocery and general merchandise items. Two of the suspects put them in a bag and left the store. Facio and an unnamed suspect were stopped, but neither had a receipt for the $526.10 in items and fled.
In the other incident on Colonial, a loss prevention officer told deputies that four people were seen shoplifting items, sometimes in excess of $1,000 during the past few weeks. Until May 12, they had not been detained.
The people went into the store, purchased two area rugs and two gazebos, and placed them in their vehicle. They returned to the store, took the same items, and left the store using the previous receipt as proof to leave the store with the stolen items, valued at $363.92.
Facio also used Walmart bags and put clothing and shoes valued at $154.52 in them.
The fourth suspect in the Six Mile Cypress incident had not been arrested as of Thursday.
Source:marconews.com
Blood trail leads to shoplifting arrest www.privateofficer.com
NORTH ATTLEBORO MA July 8 2011- A trail of blood led to larceny charges against a 60-year-old Rhode Island man accused of stealing a $400 vacuum cleaner from the Target store off Route 1.
Police say a Target store security officer followed the trail to a register, and then checked the store surveillance video, which showed the suspect buying medicine at the store pharmacy shortly before the theft on Tuesday.
Police allege the suspect injured his left arm using a hammer to break the vacuum cleaner free from its security attachment on a shelf.
The store security officer obtained the identification of the suspect from the pharmacy, and noted that he left the store in a brown Jeep Cherokee, police said.
Police contacted the suspect, William T. Devonis, 60, of 17 Gerald St. in Cumberland, at his home. He was arrested at the police station Wednesday morning after an investigation by Officer Kristine Krishtal and Detective Daniel Arrighi. In addition to larceny, Devonis also was charged with driving with a suspended license.
He pleaded innocent in Attleboro District Court and is free without bail. He is due back in court Aug. 3.
Source:The Sun Chronicle
US police officers face dangerous, unpredictable duties leading to frequent assaults, deaths www.privateofficer.com
Philadelphia PA July 8 2011 Law enforcement is, without a doubt, an extremely unpredictable and dangerous profession regardless of its geographic location.
It is an occupation often misunderstood as the dangers are not always obvious to the general public.
Despite its dangers, these men and women swear, under oath, to uphold the United States Constitution and the laws and ordinances of their jurisdiction.
By doing so, they knowingly and willingly place their lives on the line every single day, to protect their community.
They witness the absolute worst side of humanity just like a soldier does in a war zone and, like the soldier, they continue to do their job despite the horrors they see and carry with them mental and physical scars that last a lifetime.
Violence against law enforcement in the United States is out of control, especially when compared to their Canadian counterparts. According to the Officer Down Memorial Page, http://www.odmp.org, the United States has had 900 officer fatalities since January 1, 2006 compared to just 25 in Canada for that same time period. In 2011, the United States has mourned the loss of 91 officers with a rise in gunfire deaths by 19 percent. This doesn’t even touch upon those that are injured in the line of duty.
Just how dangerous is law enforcement in this area? From Philadelphia to Reading to include Chester and Montgomery Counties, the violence has been steadily increasing.
Eight officers from Philadelphia have succumbed to duty injuries since 2004. Reading Officer’s Michael Wise and Scott Wertz were gunned down and most recently, Deputy Kyle Pagerly was shot and killed.
In Lakewood, NJ, Officer Christopher Matloscz was shot in his vehicle by a pedestrian he was talking to as part of the pedestrian’s gang initiation. Three Pittsburgh officers were shot and killed with an assault rifle during an escalating disturbance over a urinating dog.
However, danger doesn’t mean that officers will always die. Two Chester County Sheriff’s Deputies were ambushed serving an eviction in Chester County. Unbeknownst to them, the man possessed 26 firearms and had committed a double homicide in Chadds Ford.
Both deputies survived, though one was shot in the face.
Officer David Sassa from North Coventry Township was critically wounded while attempting to stop a suspect wanted in a Delaware County shooting.
Sgt. William Schlicter was in his patrol car when he was run over by a tractor trailer during a car stop.
Berks County Sheriff’s confrontation with an inmate during court and Deputy Aaron Ogden was dragged by a suspect vehicle.
The dangers facing our law enforcement officers are serious and unpredictable.
Suspects not only have a total disregard for their own life but no regard for the lives of others and absolutely no respect for authority.
The fact that the weapon of choice in many of the fatalities has been an assault rifle or other firearm similar to what our soldiers encounter every day in a war zone, it is fair to say that we have our own war right here in the states.
Unfortunately, our elected officials are too afraid of losing a vote in their bid for re-election that our law enforcement personnel are lacking the support and resources they desperately need to win.
The sole purpose of an assault weapon is to kill another human being.
If one absolutely feels obligated to possess and fire this type of weapon, there are numerous recruiters throughout the United States that would be willing to compensate you financially to do so and allow you to travel the world at their cost.
Think about it.
Source:berksmontnews.com
Former police officer sentenced to prison for tax fraud www.privateofficer.com
Curtis Gordon Jr., 40, had been found guilty by a jury in October of charges that included failing to report income totaling $1 million from four security companies he owned.
Gordon also was convicted of bank fraud for submitting bogus documents to obtain a $1.2 million bank loan from U.S. Bank in 2005 for the purchase of a $1. 5 million home on Beachland Beach Road.
The records included phony W-2 forms showing he had paid hundreds of thousands in taxes to the IRS from 2002 to 2005 when he in fact he reported only his income from the Shively force.
The jury found that he failed to report income from the security companies —Commonwealth Security, CSI Security, Kentucky Protection and Patrol and United Protection and Patrol — that included $7,000 a month in home-mortgage payments and payments for a Corvette, a Mustang, a Lincoln Navigator and boats.
Coincidentally, last month a Jefferson County jury returned a $2.85 million judgment in favor of Commonwealth Security in a lawsuit in which it alleged that the Louisville Metro Housing Authority had failed to pay an agreed-upon rate for private security services. The agency said it would appeal.
In 2008, a circuit court jury acquitted Gordon of 43 counts of theft by deception that stemmed from allegations that his company didn’t provide police officers as security guards at several housing authority sites.
In the federal case, he was convicted last fall after a three-week trial on three counts of filing false income tax returns, three counts of failure to file returns and one count of submitting a false document to the IRS, in addition to bank fraud.
In a prepared statement, U.S. Attorney David Hale said the 39-month sentence was “appropriate punishment for the acts of willful fraud that Mr. Gordon was convicted of.”
The federal case was investigated by the IRS and the Treasure inspector general and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bryan Calhoun and David Weiser.
Source:louisville journal-courier
Mother puts 3 yr old in Alabama storm drain www.privateofficer.com
DOTHAN, Alabama July 8 2011 — Police say they have arrested a 29-year-old mother after she put her 3-year-old in a storm drain and left him there.
Kelly Necole Laster, 29, of Scott Road was charged with attempted murder, with bond being set later today.
The Dothan Police Department responded to the 2500 block of Scott Road just before 3 a.m. today, and a preliminary investigation revealed that Laster took her son and placed him in a storm drain approximately 150 yards from the residence where she lives with her parents. Laster then took her 5-year-old daughter and walked to Walmart.
The children’s grandfather woke up and realized all three were gone and called police.
Police estimate that the 3-year-old had been in the storm drain for about 45 minutes. The child was examined as a precaution and was found to have scratches, but he was otherwise unharmed.
Source:Al.com
Portland police appeal to public for help in unsolved murder of security officer www.privateofficer.com
Police think 27-year-old James Angelo was killed by a stray bullet in an exchange of gunfire between two other men in the early morning hours of Sept. 7 in the parking lot while returning from a break.
Assistant Police Chief Michael Sauschuck and Mercy Hospital CEO Eileen Skinner held a press conference Wednesday hoping to keep the case fresh in the public’s mind.
Sauschuck said police believe somebody in the community knows who shot Angelo. A $30,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and indictment of whoever was responsible.
Alabama security guard shoots-kills man, critically injures 2 others critical www.privateofficer.com
MONTGOMERY, Alabama July 8 2011– Police are investigating the shooting death of one man and the critical wounding of two other persons.
Police say one person is dead, and a second seriously wounded, and a third person, a woman is stable, all after being shot at City Limits Bar and Grill on McGhee Road early Thursday.
A Montgomery police officer says there was an argument between two people inside the club and that a security guard shot and killed one person and critically injured another.
There is no word on whether anyone esle was armed or why the security guard fired his weapon. Police are still investigating this incident and are not releasing any further details.
South Carolina man kills four people, commits suicide www.privateofficer.com
COLUMBIA, S.C. July 8 2011 – Authorities say a man killed four people in South Carolina, then took his own life after officers chased him in a car belonging to one of the victims.
Capt. Charles Barranco, an Aiken County Sheriff’s spokesman, says 46-year-old Kenneth Myers led deputies Sunday morning to the spot in Wagener where three bodies were found about nine hours earlier and shot himself.
The coroner identified the dead as Myers’ wife, 25-year-old Angela Myers; her twin sister, Tabitha Brown; her mother, 50-year-old Vicki Brown; and Myers’ ex-wife, 47-year-old Esther Baldwin. All four died from single gunshots.
Investigators say they are still trying to figure out why Myers went on a killing spree. Barranco says deputies weren’t familiar with him before Saturday night.
Source:AP
Tampa security guard arrested for impersonating a police officer www.privateofficer.com
After seeing a man park illegally in front of a dry cleaning business Wednesday, a 50-year-old Seffner security guard pulled up in an old police car, pointed a silver handgun at the man and told him to move or he would get a ticket, Hillsborough County deputies said.
Michael Sirdar was wearing his security guard uniform at the time, a police report states. After the victim threatened to call 911, Sirdar jumped in his 2004 Ford Crown Victoria and left the scene, 1515 Parsons Ave. in Seffner.
Sirdar was charged Wednesday with impersonating an officer and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Locust Valley teacher indicted for sex with children www.privateofficer.com
John Benstock, 47, of Bayville, allegedly engaged in inappropriate contact with students in orchestra classes at two Locust Valley elementary schools and during private lessons in the students’ homes, dating back as far as 2000. He was arrested on misdemeanor charges of endangering the welfare of a child on May 9 and later indicted. He has been suspended by the Locust Valley School District since his arrest.
Additional victims then came forward following his arrest, and Benstock was officially charged with 15 felony counts of course of sexual contact against a child, two felony counts of sexual abuse and 14 misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a child. He faces up to seven years in prison for each felony count, and is currently being held on bail of $250,000 cash or $500,000 bond. He is due back in court July 15.
Pennsylvania teacher arrested for molesting seven year old child www.privateofficer.com
EASTON, Pa. July 8, 2011 — A local teacher facing allegations of molesting a girl and possessing child pornography has lost his right to teach in the state.
The Pennsylvania Department of Education has suspended Easton Area School District teacher Stephen Sullivan.
Sullivan, who is also suspended from the district, was arrested in March for allegedly sexually assaulting a seven-year-old girl in his apartment in 2009.
Police also charged Sullivan with 100 counts of possession of child porn based on evidence discovered during the investigation.
Souce:6abc
Retailers report organized crime on the rise www.privateofficer.com
WASHINGTON DC July 8 2011 —Incidents of organized retail crime is on the rise for retailers around the country and thieves are becoming more violent and brazen, according to the results of the seventh annual Organized Retail Crime survey. Released June 8 by the National Retail Federation, the 2011 report found that nearly 95 percent of the 129 retailers surveyed reported they had been the victims of organized retail crime. That is 6 percent higher than last year’s report.
These results weren’t surprising to Joe LaRocca, senior asset protection advisor for NRF. “We heard this year, in particular from retailers taking inventory earlier in the year that loss rates are up, so the numbers corresponded closely to the information we were hearing from the field,” he said. “Although 95 percent is a fairly significant jump from last year and not the trend we were hoping for.”
The top five cities, with the most incidents of ORC are, in order: Los Angeles, Houston, Miami, New York, and Chicago.
Internal theft continues to be the most significant area of loss for retailers. This year’s survey found that on average, 12 percent of ORC cases involve collusion between internal and external players. That continues to be a frustrating fact for many retailers, considering they have the most control regarding whom they employ. LaRocca said retailers must continue to conduct background screening and review applications of employees as a way to reduce internal theft issues.
For the first time, the 2011 ORC report asked respondents about apprehensions and found that, on average, more than one in 10 ORC apprehensions leads to some level of violence, such as physical assault and/or battery. “I had heard a number of stories from retailers about groups becoming more aggressive in their tactics and confrontational with loss prevention professionals and store employees,” said LaRocca. “Frankly, I wasn’t surprised on one hand, based on the stories I had heard, but 13 percent was higher than I expected.”
Also new to this year’s survey were questions about supply chain and cargo theft. “Cargo has been something we’ve been hearing more and more about and there’s become a greater level of awareness about it,” said LaRocca. The report found that nearly half of respondents said they have been a victim of cargo theft in the past 12 months. “That was higher than I personally expected,” said LaRocca. “I’ve heard about a number of cargo theft scenarios, but 49.6 percent is a significant number.”
However, the report did yield some positive results. Approximately 58 percent of respondents reported that top management understands the gravity of ORC, which is a 16 percent increase over last year’s results. “We’re pleased. We’ve obviously done a lot of outreach over the last five years and given the fact that 95 percent of companies are victims of ORC, it’s good to know those numbers are going up in executive awareness,” he said.
