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Ocean County detective killed in head on collision www.privateofficer.com
Ocean County NJ Aug 2011 Tina Rambo, a detective with the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office and former Point Beach special police officer, died today in a head-on collision on Southampton’s portion of Route 70.
The Burlington County head-on collision was confirmed by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, who said Rambo was a valued member of the county detective force and the mother of two small children.
State police said on Monday afternoon that Rambo was driving her assigned, county, 2000 blue Ford Crown Victoria alone on Route 70 when her car collided with another car at milemarker 21 at 8 a.m.
Rambo was driving eastbound and Rachel Portnoy, 24, of Marlton, was, originally, driving westbound in a 2004 silver Saturn Ion. However, Portnoy’s car then moved, head-on with Rambo’s car, into the eastbound lane and the two cars crashed, said state police in a prepared statement released on Monday afternoon.
“The preliminary accident investigation by State Police indicates that the Ion was in the oncoming eastbound lane at the time of the crash,” says the statement.
Portnoy was transported by a Medevac helicopter to Cooper University Medical Center with serious leg injuries, the statement says.
“Rambo was declared deceased at the accident scene,” according to the statement.
“No charges or tickets have been issued at this time. The accident investigation is being headed by Troop C detectives, aided by State Police Crime Scene detectives and Fatal Accident Unit detectives.”
Rambo was a 2000 graduate from the Ocean County Police Academy and also previously served as a part-time special police officer in Point Pleasant Beach during the summers of 1999 and 2000 when she used “Liston,” her maiden name.
Point Beach Detective Clint Daniel said, “She was a fantastic person. She was well-liked by the other officers when she was here and then when she was a detective with the county. It’s a tragic loss.”
Rambo, 35, died just 10 years after being sworn in as a law enforcement officer for the county, said Marlene Lynch Ford, the Ocean County prosecutor, in a released statement.
She had been with the “county prosecutor’s office since 2000, first as a Prosecutor’s Agent and then as a sworn law enforcement officer, to whom the oath of office was administered almost exactly ten years ago on July 30, 2001.”
Ford, in Berkeley earlier today for the swearing in of the township’s police chief, shared condolences for a member of the team who worked in multiple units throughout the years: Narcotics Strike Force; Special Victims Unit; Megan’s Law Unit; and the Family Protection Unit (Domestic Violence). Rambo recently had been assigned to the Grand Jury and Trial Unit.
“I, along with all members of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, extend our deep condolences to the family of Tina Rambo, and mourn the loss of our co-worker, colleague and friend,” Ford said.
She had also served previously as a substitute teacher for the Toms River Regional School district.
Rambo, a Marlton resident, was a former Toms River resident and 1994 graduate of Toms River North High School; a 1996 graduate of Ocean County College and was awarded her bachelor’s degree from Rowan University in 1997. She earned a Master in Arts degree from Seton Hall University in Human Resources Training and Development in 2004.
Rambo was married to Roy Rambo, Jr. and she is survived by her 3- and 6-year-old children, her mother and father, and one brother and two sisters.
Toms River Police Chief Michael Mastronardy said he remembers Rambo from her student teaching days, but also during an internship she served with the Toms River police while in college.
“I remember her as a young kid, she was a vibrant person,” he said. “It’s a real shame, this is real sad.”
St Louis steps up MetroLink light rail security www.privateofficer.com
ST Louis MO Aug 2 2011 Three Metro police officers and other agency security forces kept a watchful eye on a group of 11 people who were allegedly loitering near a strip mall across from the Forest Park-DeBaliviere MetroLink station.
As they crossed the street Thursday, the officers and security staff approached the group. Two were arrested on outstanding warrants, and the remaining group members were warned about loitering and disturbing the peace, said Metro spokeswoman Dianne Williams.
Responding to customers and community leaders, the transit agency has again stepped up enforcement on its MetroLink light rail system. During the six-month period between Oct. 1 and March 31, arrests were up significantly over the previous year.
Willie McCuller, Metro’s director of security and fare enforcement, said the agency is taking a no-nonsense approach to behavior that leads to crime — or the perception of it. Horseplay. Foul language. Suspicious behavior near stations.
“This is in response to unacceptable behavior,” McCuller said. “The quality-of-life issues in close proximity to the MetroLink stations.”
McCuller said many of the 776 arrests over those six months were for warrants, including those for people who skipped court appearances for fare evasion tickets. Other arrests recorded last year ranged from disturbing the peace to trespassing.
The arrests represent a nearly 53 percent increase over the same period of 2009-10, when there were 508 arrests.
The result is that those scofflaw riders were taken off the trains before they could create bigger problems on the system later on, he said.
In October, Metro formed six-person enforcement teams composed of uniformed police officers, security guards and Metro’s corporate security. The teams can venture beyond Metro property because of the police officers under contract to Metro.
“We have limited assets when it comes to police, security officers and our corporate security staff,” McCuller said. “What I had to do was come up with a way to leverage the assets we have.”
Last week, someone had complained of loitering at the strip mall across from the Forest Park-DeBaliviere MetroLink station. That same day, Metro police arrested two people on suspicion of marijuana possession near the North Hanley station.
Security details also have been added at the Delmar Loop MetroLink station on weekends, McCuller said. The popular entertainment district has been a focal point of St. Louis and University City police because of nighttime incidents there in recent years.
Some merchants have pointed to the MetroLink station as the portal through which some troublemakers enter the Loop. In April, a St. Louis police officer suffered a minor injury breaking up a fight at the MetroLink station, which is east of the Loop.
“It is one of those things we have to stay on top of and be vigilant about, so all riders and neighbors are in a safe environment,” said St. Louis Alderman Lyda Krewson, whose 28th Ward includes the St. Louis portion of the Loop.
Krewson doesn’t view MetroLink as the root cause of the trouble because “there are a lot of folks moving around” and “99 percent of them are great folks.”
SOME SEE IMPROVEMENT, OTHERS DON’T
Many MetroLink riders say they have not noticed any difference in security in recent months.
“It can always be better, but for me it feels like it’s just the same,” said rider Stephanie Smith of north St. Louis County. “I still see people get on the Metro (being) loud, disrespectful. I mean it’s not bad. I don’t feel like my life is in danger, but I think more can be done.”
But others say they have noticed some signs of improvement.
Since he has been riding MetroLink, Chris Weekley said he has seen young people roughhousing and even fighting on the MetroLink system.
“I have seen fights with security guards standing right there,” said Weekley, of St. Louis. “I haven’t seen any fights in a while. It seems better.”
Dr. Robin Chamberland commutes on MetroLink between her home near the Loop and work at St. Louis University Hospital. She said people have asked her whether she feels safe taking light rail. For the most part, Chamberland does feel safe.
“The only time I’ve really noticed an increase (in security) is during holidays and when there are events going on where there is a huge crowd,” she said. “Then there are a lot of security officers on the train.”
During a particularly warm July night at the Forest Park station, Securitas guard Eddie Benion greeted MetroLink riders on the platform by asking to see their tickets, passes or transfers.
“I’m the first one when they come down here that they see,” Benion said. “It’s my job basically if something were to occur down here and I would need any kind of assistance, then I would notify my dispatcher and the dispatcher would notify the police.”
But Benion, a retired St. Louis County deputy sheriff, said he has not seen any major incidents at the station in the eight months he has been the ramp officer at the Forest Park MetroLink stop.
“It’s about respect down here,” he said. “It’s about my integrity. It’s about my tact and my diplomacy. All of that counts down here. … Everything since I have been here, I have been blessed, and I’ve been able to deal with it in a professional manner.”
Source:www.stltoday.com
Woman falls to her death at casino www.privateofficer.com
Mason County WA Aug 2 2011 A woman died Sunday after falling five stories in a Shelton casino atrium at a high school reunion, according to the Mason County Sheriff’s Office.
A preliminary investigation has ruled out foul play, said Chief Deputy Dean Byrd. The woman, who appeared to be in her 20s, was attending Shelton High School’s 10-year reunion at Little Creek Casino when she fell over a fifth-floor railing at 11:14 a.m. Sunday, Byrd said. She was taken to Harborview Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead, Byrd said.
Byrd said the woman had not yet been identified.
The main reunion activities were on Saturday, Byrd said, and the woman apparently extended her stay into Sunday.
Florida sunbather run over by police vehicle www.privateofficer.com
Daytona Beach Shores Fla Aug 2 2011 A woman sunbathing on a Florida beach was run over by a patrol vehicle on Sunday according to authorities.
The woman, police say is in stable condition at a Volusia County hospital after she was run over by a Beach Patrol vehicle according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
FHP spokeswoman Sgt. Kim Montes said that Erin Michelle Joynt, 33, of Wichita, Kansas was laying on her stomach at Daytona Beach Shores about 10:04 a.m. facing away from the water when she was crushed by the vehicle tires.
Police are investigating.
Atlanta police officer on trial for shooting unarmed man www.privateofficer.com
ATLANTA GA Aug 2 2011 – An Atlanta police officer accused of shooting an unarmed man in the face is scheduled for trial Monday.
Atlanta Police Officer Reginald Fisher was indicted in October 2009 on two counts of aggravated assault, aggravated battery and violation of oath of office for a 2009 off-duty shooting incident involving Tramaine Miller.
Miller was shot in the face on May 5, 2009 while visiting his quadriplegic aunt at her Richardson Street apartment in Atlanta. Miller survived his injuries.
Fisher was off-duty, working as a security guard at the time of the incident.
Witnesses said Miller was not resisting and clearly had his hands in the air.
Source:CBSAtlanta.com
Casino patron arrested for leaving 6 yr old child unattended in car www.privateofficer.com
Bensalem PA Aug 2 2011 A 29-year-old local man was arrested and jailed Saturday after security officers at Parx Casino in Bensalem discovered a 6-year-old child unattended in a locked car in the parking lot.
Bensalem police said Sunday no one was available to provide details. However, Parx spokeswoman Carrie Nork-Minelli confirmed the incident.
According to news reports, the man was gambling in the casino at the time. The child had been in the car for less than 10 minutes and was unharmed.
“Our security identified the situation within mere minutes,” Nork-Minelli said. “The most important thing was that the child was OK.”
The man was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and recklessly endangering another person, and was arraigned late Saturday before District Judge M. Kay Dubree, whose office is in Ottsville. Bail was set at $75,000, and he was sent to Bucks County Prison, according to news reports.
Bucks County District Attorney David Heckler said Sunday that because the case was handled in district court, he did not yet have details.
Nork-Minelli said casino staff was vigilant about such situations.
Nine similar incidents were reported at the casino last year between June 15 and Oct. 11. More recent information was unavailable.
Man holds apartment security officer at knifepoint during stand off www.privateofficer.com
Police said the suspect had been drinking and threatened the guard, 50, while holding a knife against his neck at about 12:05 a.m. Saturday.
When responding officers ordered the suspect to drop his knife, he attempted to flee but was captured, police said. A knife was recovered.
Police did not release the name of the suspect or the security officer involved in this incident.
St Cloud teacher under arrest for enticing child www.privateofficer.com
Police say the suspect followed the victim, asking her several times to get into his vehicle. He then asked the child if she wanted to ride around with him before going home. Shortly after, St. Cloud police investigators say the suspect began rubbing the victim’s thighs and pulling up her skirt.
Scared, the little girl pulled his hand away. The victim was then dropped off at her house, where her grandmother noticed she looked emotionally upset.
Parchay initially denied giving a ride to the victim when questioned by detectives, but after asking for his attorney, the Parchay turned himself in to St. Cloud Police.
He’s now in Osceola County Jail and held on a $3,000 bond
US Immigrations-Customs agents arrest 30 in MN gang round-up www.privateofficer.com
The two-day operation, which ended Thursday, targeted foreign-born gang members and their associates throughout the Milwaukee area. ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) is coordinating the detention and deportation of the aliens to their home countries.
“Removing dangerous gang members and their associates from our streets, makes our communities and homeland safer,” said Gary Hartwig, special agent in charge of ICE HSI in Chicago. “Enhancing public safety is a top priority for ICE HSI. And working with our local law enforcement partners makes all our operations more effective.” Hartwig oversees six Midwestern states, including Wisconsin.
This enforcement operation was conducted as part of Operation Community Shield, an ongoing national ICE HSI initiative that targets foreign-born gang members and gang associates.
Seventeen of those arrested during this operation are documented gang members; 13 are gang associates from local street gangs. Gang affiliations include the C14 Sureños, Mexican Posse, Latin Kings and Brown Pride.
Six were arrested on criminal warrants or charges, and 24 were administratively arrested by ICE on immigration violations.
Following are two cases from this week’s arrests: (For privacy reasons, ICE does not include identifiable information on individuals.)
A 29-year-old U.S. permanent resident whose criminal convictions make him deportable. His criminal record includes convictions for battery, possessing marijuana, possessing cocaine, criminal damage to property, and violating a domestic abuse injunction. He is a Mexican Posse gang member.
A 29-year-old Mexican national who illegally re-entered the country after having been deported. His criminal convictions include possessing a dangerous weapon, pointing a firearm at a person, possessing cocaine, escape-criminal arrest. He belongs to the Mexican Posse gang.
The 24 who were administratively arrested on immigration violations are in ICE custody and have been placed into deportation proceedings. Five men arrested had been previously deported. Re-entering the United States after being formally deported is a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
Under Operation Community Shield, ICE partners with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to target the significant public safety threat posed by transnational criminal street gangs.
Since Operation Community Shield began in February 2005, ICE agents nationwide have arrested more than 22,000 gang members and associates linked to more than 1,200 different street gangs. More than 250 of those arrested were gang leaders.
The National Gang Unit at ICE identifies violent street gangs and develops intelligence on their membership, associates, criminal activities and international movements to deter, disrupt and dismantle gang operations by tracing and seizing cash, weapons and other assets derived from criminal seized activities.
Naked performers arrested on Wall Street www.privateofficer.com
The two men and a woman were arrested on charges of disorderly conduct Monday morning outside the New York Stock Exchange.
Artist Zefrey Throwell organized the 5-minute piece, which he said was a social critique of Wall Street and involved dozens of volunteers acting out the motions of people at work. He said it was a rehearsed performance “with the very specific aim of public education.”
“The arrests happened at the end of the performance after everyone had already put on their clothes on, oddly enough,” he said.
Throwell, a 35-year-old from Manhattan, said he had not intended to provoke any confrontation with the police.
“I have much bigger fish to fry, that being the financial institutions of the U.S. and the world,” he said.
Among those arrested was Eric Clinton Anderson, a 32-year-old painter and performance artist from Brooklyn who holds down a day job as a personal trainer. But on Monday, he was playing a janitor, armed with a broom and dustpan, outside the stock exchange’s heavily guarded front door.
“Somebody needs to clean up Wall Street,” he joked.
As part of the performance, Anderson said, he took off his clothes “in the most natural way that you can when you’re sweeping.”
Anderson said he was nude for a moment when a police officer told him to put his clothes back on, which he did without protest. Then, he said, more officers approached and sat him down on a bench with a couple of other actors.
“They were like, ‘What were you thinking? What is going on here?’” Anderson said. “They were confused.”
He said he was surprised when he was led away to a police station.
“I thought they’d just yell at us and call us weird,” he said.
Throwell said he witnessed the arrests. He said the encounter was calm but the timing was strange because the arrested people had already complied with police orders and had put their clothes back on.
Arrested along with Anderson were a Brooklyn man and a Queens woman, said police, who claimed they were creating a public disturbance. Anderson said he was given a court date this fall.
Source:www.azcentral.com
“Bearded” bank robber-woman in disguise www.privateofficer.com
The ‘bearded’ culprit wore men’s clothes and told cashiers at an Alabama bank she had a bomb.
Police said the suspect robbed the Cottondale branch of the Bank of Tuscaloosa, and she may have been involved in another bank heist earlier this month.
Witnesses told officers she had a ‘drawn on’ beard when she entered the bank.
Police said she told tellers she had a bomb and demanded money after placing a device on the counter, before fleeing the scene with an undisclosed amount of cash.
Last year, a woman was arrested by police five minutes after apparently robbing a bank dressed as a clown.
She also told bank employees she had a bomb before fleeing with her swag.
But her plot was foiled when officers chased her to a park and caught her changing out of the clown suit in her car.
Three year old left in car dies of heat stroke www.privateofficer.com
Warner Robins GA Aug 2 2011 Three-year-old Andrew Calloway died of a heat stroke, after he was left inside a parked car for more than an hour.
According to the Warner Robins Police Department, officers responded to 100 Georgetown Boulevard around 5:30 Sunday evening. A preliminary investigation says the child was left inside the car while under the supervision of his babysitter, 50-year-old Shelia Henderson.
Warner Robins Police Spokesperson Tabitha Pugh says, “The caretaker was inside the car with the child and they had come back to the residence and just the simple fact that the caretaker went back inside the residence so the child was in the car the entire time.”
Henderson runs a daycare out of her house.
Father of two, Mark Smith says this really hits close to home since his kids are just 3 and 4 years old.
“I don’t see how anyone can completely forget about their child as far as leaving them in a car or something like that especially with the way the heat is in middle Georgia,” said Smith.
Last year, 49 fatalities made it the highest number of child heat stroke deaths in the United States so far; three of those took place in Georgia.
“Parents tend to believe that it’ll never happen to them because they’re good parents, responsible, they love their children so they think it will never happen to them but that’s not a good way to look at this,” said Jarome Gautreaux of KidsAndCars.org.
The Warner Robins Criminal Investigation Division is working alongside the Houston County Sheriff’s Juvenile Division and the Georgia Department of Human Services to continue the investigation on this case.
Source:wmgt.com
MS. youth pastor arrested for unlawful touch of child www.privateofficer.com
Pascagoula MS Aug 2 2011 A man who serves as a youth pastor’s assistant at a Pascagoula church is being accused of touching a child for lustful purposes.
Jimmy Ray Patt, Jr, 32, is charged with one count of dissemination of sexually oriented material to a person under the age of 18, and one count of unlawful touching a person for lustful purposes when the person occupies a position of trust or authority over the child.
Investigators believe Patt sent a nude photo of himself on one occasion. They also said their investigations found the touching incident happened on a separate occasion.
Patt worked with the youth at a Pascagoula church, but police didn’t name the church. And it wasn’t immediately clear if Patt was paid for his work, or a volunteer at the church.
Jimmy Patt is currently being held at the Pascagoula Municipal Jail awaiting an initial appearance before a judge.
Source:WLOX.com
Police-US Coast Guard search for stolen plane that may have crashed into the Gulf www.privateofficer.com
GULF SHORES, Alabama Aug 2 2011– Authorities searched all day today for a stolen plane that is believed to have crashed into the Gulf of Mexico.
The Piper PA-28 Cherokee took off from Jack Edwards Airport at 7:05 a.m. today, and the pilot had not been authorized to fly the plane, according to Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Laura Brown.
The man flying the plane, who was a licensed pilot, had been scheduled for a flight lesson but left without his instructor, according to the airport’s manager Russ Kilgore.
After about 4 hours in the air, the aircraft fell about 600 feet in 3 minutes and the FAA lost radar contact somewhere about 40 miles southeast of Venice, La., according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
Using a helicopter and an 87-foot cutter, the Coast Guard was searching a 2,500-square-mile area where the FAA last had contact, according to a Coast Guard news release.
“There are currently no signs of a downed aircraft or a debris field in the vicinity of the aircraft’s last known position,” the release states.
Before disappearing over the Gulf, the plane had flown over the south end of Baldwin and Mobile counties, Gulf Shores Police Lt. Bill Cowan said.
The plane was registered with Gulf Air Charter Inc., which is based at Jack Edwards, according to Brown. The pilot, who has not been in communication with the FAA since takeoff, was believed to be the only person aboard the aircraft, Brown said.
The plane had a full load of fuel that could last about 4.5 hours of flight time or 460 miles.
Source:AL.com
Best Buy shoplifter assaults- struggles with security www.privateofficer.com
Mentor OH Aug 2 2011
A Mentor man is accused of swiping three video games and a movie Sunday from the Best Buy on Plaza Boulevard.
A security guard told police that he saw Vincent Seidel, 25, trying to leave the store without paying for items he’d pocketed.
When the guard told Seidel to stop, he ran, Mentor Police Sgt. Dan Molnar said.
The guard caught up to Seidel and the two scuffled. Though nobody was seriously hurt during the tussle, the guard had cuts on his foot and elbow afterward, Molnar said.
The guard managed to hold Seidel until police arrived.
When police searched Seidel, they also found a straw with Percocet in it, Molnar said.
Seidel was charged with felony counts of robbery and drug possession, as well as a misdemeanor count of drug paraphernalia possession. In this case, the paraphernalia refers to the straw.
Seidel was also wanted on a warrant. He failed to appear in Mentor Municipal Court for a sentencing after he was convicted of petty theft last year.
Judge John Trebets arraigned Seidel this morning in Mentor Municipal Court. He set Seidel’s bond at $125,000, which was not posted.
Seidel’s next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 8.
If convicted of robbery and drug possession, Seidel could face between two and nine years in prison.
Grand jury indicts man in security officer murder www.privateofficer.com
The victim listed in the murder indictment is Steve Orange, a former Roanoke city police officer who went into the private security field and later opened his own firm with two business partners.
Tom Starke, one of Orange’s partners at the security firm called Pro-Techt, said he was familiar with name Gene Brown, and that Orange was too, but declined to go into further detail for fear he might hurt the investigation.
Search warrants on file in Roanoke circuit court show police got the break in the case they needed after speaking with an eyewitness who claimed to spot Brown with a gun.
The search warrants show the interview with the eyewitness was six days after the July 13th murder.
Police picked up Brown at the Econo Lodge across the street from the Roanoke Civic Center on July 20th, according to the court records.
As a convicted felon, Brown is not allowed to be anywhere near a gun.
Brown’s trial is set to begin on November 15th.
Records provided by the Virginia Department of Corrections show, from 1993 to 2009, Brown spent a total of seven and a half years in prison after convictions on various crimes.
He was released from a Virginia Department of Corrections prison in February 2009 and was on supervised probation until last April.
Security officers arrest man for assult at county fair www.privateofficer.com
Ramona County CA Aug 2 2011 A man was arrested at Ramona Country Fair over the weekend on suspicion of battery of a security guard, trespassing and being drunk and disorderly in public, according to the Sheriff’s Department and the security firm that made the arrest.
Brandon Mayors, 21, was placed under citizen’s arrest by the security firm, said Dep. Tom Seiver of Ramona Sheriff’s substation on Monday. He said a sheriff’s deputy went to the fairgrounds and took the man into custody.
“Any time there’s a citizen’s arrest, we are mandated to take the person into custody,” Seiver said. “The arrest remains a citizen’s arrest, not an arrest by the Sheriff’s Department,” he said.
Visitors to the fair witnessed three men holding Mayors on the ground in the vendor area and placing handcuffs on him, but many had no idea what had happened. At least two of the men were private security guards employed by a Ramona company, Banach Investigations. The incident was called into the Sheriff’s Department just before 7 p.m. the report states.
“Citizens can use the force necessary to make a citizen’s arrest,” Seiver told Patch on Monday morning. “Two security guards approached a suspect in the carnival area who was reported to be drunk and disorderly, cutting in line and making customers mad. He was uncooperative and refused to leave. He shoved one of the guards,” Seiver said.
The Sheriff’s Department report states that the victim of the alleged battery was David Casillas, 25. It states that he was not injured.
Seiver said the Sheriff’s Department booked the arrested man into San Diego Central Jail.
Skip Banach, owner of the security firm, told Patch on Monday that the man was arrested on suspicion of battery on a security guard (P.C. 243), trespassing (P.C. 602) and being drunk and disorderly in public (P.C. 647 (f)).
In the Sheriff’s Department report, Mayors is described as 6 feet 1 inch tall, weighing 205 pounds.
Ramona Country Fair was at Ramona Outdoor Community Center on Aqua Lane.
Panama City security officer found dead in marina www.privateofficer.com
PANAMA CITY Fla Aug 2 2011 — Police are investigating the death of a security guard at Panama City Marina.
The body of a male was found floating in the bay at the marina by a resident just before 7 a.m., Sgt. Jeff Becker said. Foul play is not expected to be a factor in the death.
The name of the victim is being withheld pending notification of the family, Becker said.
The incident is under investigation by the Panama City Police Department and this report will be updated as new information becomes available.
Source:www.newsherald.com
