Archive
Atlanta security officer claims assault by pro wrestler www.privateofficer.com
Corinne Oliver, who was working for Allied Barton Security Services at the time, said she had to wrestle her way out of Heath Slater’s grip, and the April 4 encounter with the World Wrestling Entertainment star has left her with back pains.
Atlanta police spokesman John Chafee said Thursday the alleged incident is still under investigation and no charges have been filed.
According to Channel 2 Action News, which cited an anonymous source in the wrestling industry, Slater said the incident did not occur and that he was with his fiancee that night.
WWE spokesman Jerry McDevitt told Channel 2 Action News the incident doesn’t involve the hugely popular wrestling organization.
“The alleged victim is making claims against Slater individually, and it’s being investigated,” WWE spokesman Jerry McDevitt said. “This has nothing to do with the WWE.”
On WWE’s website, the 6-foot-2 and 232-pound Slater is described as a “young stud” from Pineville, W. Va. — a one man rock band without the instruments. The 28-year-old, red-haired wrestler, born Heath Miller, has been with the WWE since 2006.
According to a police report, the alleged assault against Oliver occurred between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. April 4 at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta on Peachtree Street. The day before, an estimated 70,000 fans attended WrestleMania 27 at the Georgia Dome.
Oliver’s attorney, Jackie Patterson, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Thursday that his client was working security at the hotel during an “after-party,” trying to keep fans from wrestlers.
“She basically said he [Slater] approached her and asked her to go to his room,” Patterson said. “She said no. He started telling her she was pretty and those type things. The next thing you know she was in a chokehold, and he was dragging her and bending her backward, trying to get her on the elevator to his room. She violently had to struggle to get his arm from around her neck.”
In the police report, Oliver said she had to “twist her body to get loose, leaving her with back pains.” The report describes the incident as a possible “simple assault/battery.”
Oliver didn’t call 911, her attorney said, but instead immediately contacted her Allied Barton supervisor, who was on duty at the hotel at the time of the incident. But after months of inaction, the attorney said Oliver decided to file a police report on June 22, nearly three months after the incident.
“She was waiting on her supervisors to report it to the police and see what they were going to do, but they [supervisors] kept telling her, ‘We’re handling this and we’ll get it resolved,’ ” the attorney said. “When she never got it resolved that’s when she took it upon herself to go to the police.”
Allied Barton confirmed to Channel 2 Action News that Oliver did report the incident but that the security firm could not comment further now that there is an open police investigation.
Chafee, the APD spokesman, said Thursday that the case remains open. “We still have relevant parties that we will be interviewing. Once the investigation is complete the case will be sent to the DA’s office,” he said, referring to the Fulton County district attorney’s office.
Oliver is still employed by Allied Barton as a security guard, her attorney said.
“At this point and time all she wants is justice by having him arrested for the assault that occurred on her,” Patterson said. “We’re just hoping that we can get a thorough investigation to get this matter resolved.”
Source”ajc.com
Special police officer injured in assault www.privateofficer.com
CHARLOTTE, NC Aug 13 2011 – Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police are trying to find a stolen service weapon taken during an attack on a private security officer in east Charlotte early Friday morning.
The incident happened just before 5 a.m. in a parking lot at the Kelston Place Apartments on Kelston Place near Albemarle Road.
The victim, who police have not identified, is a contracted police officer employed with Metro Special Police (MSP), an agency separate from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
According to CMPD Major Zinkann, who responded to the scene after the incident occurred, the off-duty private security officer was in a MSP sports utility vehicle, and had stopped to talk to a friend.
At some point, there was a confrontation. The CMPD is not sure if the confrontation involved the friend, or someone else.
During the confrontation, a gun was discharged. The private security officer’s service weapon was also stolen.
A neighbor said he heard a vehicle drive away after hearing what he thought was a gunshot.
“The guy is here to do a job of protecting us, and it’s unfortunate this happens while he’s doing his job,” the neighbor said.
The MSP officer suffered non-life threatening injuries, and was transported to Carolinas Medical Center for treatment.
The CMPD is still trying to determine if the officer was beaten or shot.
Source:WBTV
18 Atlanta area Waffle House Restaurants robbed in 2 weeks www.privateofficer.com
LILBURN, Ga.Aug 13 2011 — Another Metro Atlanta Waffle House was robbed Friday, bringing the total to 18 in just two weeks.
The latest holdup happened early Friday morning at a Waffle House on U.S. 78 and Rockbridge Road in Lilburn.
A day earlier, another Waffle House was robbed on Powers Ferry and Delk roads in Marietta.
The robberies have been scattered across Cobb, Gwinnett, DeKalb, Clayton and Henry counties over the past two weeks. According to a Waffle House statement, the suspects usually hit between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m.
Waffle House has offered a $2,500 reward for information leading to the robbers’ arrests. Anyone with information is asked to call Norcross Police at 770-448-6457.
Las Vegas school police accused of cover-up www.privateofficer.com
Former police dispatcher Penny Higgins says most department personnel are aghast that a coverup was initiated following a 2009 fatal DUI. Several sources say that school police officials are still trying to keep a lid on what happened at the party.
“Why has this been a coverup all this time?” said Linda Peterson. “I think it’s a coverup.”
Frank and Linda Peterson are wracked by pain and disgust. The pain comes from the November 2009 death of their only daughter, Angela, at the hands of 18-year-old drunk driver Kevin Miranda.
But they are disgusted at the Clark County School District Police Department, because several members of that department were partying with Miranda for hours prior to the fatal crash.
Peterson’s attorney Marc Cook finds it creepy that school cops were boozing it up, not only with Miranda, but with more than 20 other school age kids.
“These are the people they have authority over. It wouldn’t be more comfortable if classroom teachers got together and drank with students. This is worse,” said Cook.
An internal investigation by the school police failed to find a single witness who could remember seeing Miranda drinking with district employees, even though the party was held at the home of police dispatcher Rebecca Wamsley, and Wamsley’s insurance company paid the maximum settlement because Miranda was provided booze at the home.
But now, a witness has come forward.
“I thought it would be an adult party. That’s what the flyer implied. We would have Thanksgiving dinner and then we are going to have a party afterwards and yeah, there would be beer pong and drinking,” said Penny Higgins.
Higgins was a dispatcher for the school police in 2009 and remembers seeing this flyer for Wamsley’s holiday party posted inside the department. It was also sent out via department email.
But she had no idea the party for police employees would coincide with a birthday party for Wamsley’s 17-year-old daughter until teenagers started showing up, helping themselves to booze set up on tables inside Wamsley’s garage.
“They started drinking. They were getting into hard alcohol. We had several teenagers ask us if we could move so they could get into a beer cooler behind,” said Higgins.
Higgins says it would be impossible for any of her police department co-workers to have missed seeing the teenagers drinking.
“There is no way, not unless they were blind,” she said.
Police dispatcher Tina Zuniga, whose Facebook photo showed her at a bar drinking a margarita, was at a table, Higgins says, drinking with her 16-year-old daughter Marissa and Marissa’s boyfriend, Kevin Miranda. Higgins also saw Miranda playing beer pong with adults. Higgins and her date decided to leave.
“We were a little uncomfortable,” she said. “Because of the kids drinking, you know. At about 10, I’m like, ‘They’re going to get raided by Metro any time now because there were 20 kids in the driveway. That’s where all the kids went. They were all lined up out in the driveway, then coming into the garage to get their drinks and going back outside… I said, ‘Yeah, there’s going to be a lot of officers and dispatchers going down cause that is bad.’”
When the news broke the next day about a drunken Miranda killing Angela Peterson, the coverup began, Higgins says. Back at work, she was called into the office of Dispatch Supervisor Mondo Quintanella.
“He goes, ‘You didn’t see any of the kids drinking, did you?’ and I said, ‘Yeah, I did.’ And he said, ‘No you didn’t,’ and I said, ‘Yeah, I did.’ And he said, ‘No you didn’t,’” she said. “He said we need to put this in a good light. He said, ‘You left early so you didn’t see much and you won’t have anything to say.’ He said, ‘We need to protect Rebecca. We don’t want anything to happen to her.’ And I said, ‘If I get called into IA, I’m not lying.’”
Next, Higgins says she was visited by her immediate supervisor, Sgt. Brian Nebecker.
“He said, ‘You didn’t see anything, did you?’ And I said, ‘Yeah.’ He said, ‘You saw kids drinking?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ He said, ‘No, you didn’t see anything, did you?’ and I was like, ‘Yeah.’ And he got closer and he said, ‘You didn’t see anything, did you?’” she said.
Higgins and another dispatcher both refused to change their stories, and they were the only persons from the party who were not interviewed by internal affairs. All of those who were interviewed said they didn’t see any kids drinking.
Higgins says she is not surprised by the memo sent out last week by CCSD Police Chief Phil Arroyo that called the allegations “fairytales.” Arroyo has reportedly told employees who were at the party that this will all blow over soon and no one needs to worry. Higgins hopes that is not the case.
“I hope that all those who swept this under the rug have to answer for it, and I also hope they have to go to that girl’s parents and say they are sorry. They hid it. How wrong is that?” she said.
Higgins has just been interviewed by Las Vegas police detectives who are looking into the issues surrounding this case. And another witness, Kevin Miranda, now publicly backs Higgins story. In an exclusive interview with 8 News NOW Reporter Melissa Duran, Miranda said he and the other teens were allowed to drink all they wanted, adding that he too was never questioned by internal affairs about the party or who was there.
Contrary to what Chief Arroyo has told his inner circle, this story is not going away anytime soon. It appears to be growing in several directions.
Source:8Now
TGI Friday employee indicted for credit card-identity theft charges www.privateofficer.com
Elkridge MD Aug 13 2011 A former waiter at a TGI Fridays restaurant in Laurel was indicted Thursday on charges he copied and sold the numbers of 73 credit cards, Prince George’s authorities said.
Brian K. Adams, 21, of Elkridge, was indicted on 16 charges, including theft, identity theft, and conspiracy to commit theft, State’s Attorney Angela D. Alsobrooks said in a news conference outside the Upper Marlboro courthouse.
Adams allegedly carried out the scheme from December 2009 through April 2010. Authorities hoped to have Adams in custody by Thursday night, Alsobrooks said.
Adams allegedly carried out the scheme from December 2009 through April 2010. Authorities hoped to have Adams in custody by Thursday night, Alsobrooks said.
The scheme came to light after two Secret Service employees ate at the restaurant, and noticed shortly thereafter that they had unauthorized charges on their credit cards, Alsobrooks said.
The employees notified Secret Service agents in the Baltimore field office, who launched an investigation, authorities said.
The agents collaborated on the probe with the state’s attorney’s office, said Tim Reilly, assistant to the special agent in charge of the Baltimore field office.
Authorities said the Adams is not alleged to have used the credit card numbers himself. Rather, prosecutors believe he used a hand-held device to copy the numbers — a practice known as “skimming” — and then sold the numbers to people throughout the country and even overseas.
Alsobrooks urged anyone who believes they may have been a victim of the scheme to contact her office.
Alsobrooks said the Federal Trade Commission estimates that as many as nine million Americans have their identities stolen annually, by skimming or other means.
A manager at the TGI Fridays in Laurel directed an inquiry to a public relations firm.
A spokeswoman for the firm said TGI Fridays released this statement: “We have cooperated fully with the authorities in their investigation involving the activities involving a former employee. Additionally, we have reviewed our credit card processes to further strengthen the control measures we have in place.”
Source:Washington Post
Virginia attorney indicted for million dollar embezzlement www.privateofficer.com
HENRICO, Va. Aug 13 2011 A Henrico lawyer whose 44-year legal career was ordered shut down by the State Bar in June has been indicted in a $1 million embezzlement scheme aimed at the Bank of America’s mortgage and foreclosure business.
William Orr Smith made a brief appearance this morning in Henrico County Circuit Court and is expected to enter a plea in September.
Defense lawyer Craig S. Cooley and Special Prosecutor Tracy W. Thorne-Begland said that Smith has been cooperative during investigation of the case and has helped pinpoint how and when the embezzlements took place. Smith also fully revealed his actions to the State Bar.
Smith, who turns 71 in September, operated Montbrook Title LLC from offices in Henrico County. He was charged by a multijurisdictional grand jury in sealed indictments July 20. The embezzlements Smith is charged with mostly covered office expenses and salaries, Cooley said, adding that Smith did not use the money to improve his lifestyle or living conditions.
The embezzlements occurred in February this year and totaled $1,065,227.10.
Source:Richmond Times
Two arrested in security officer beat-down and theft www.privateofficer.com
Uniontown PA Aug 13 2011 Two people were lodged in the Fayette County Prison after police allege one of them beat a security officer who tried to stop them from leaving a store without paying for $170 worth of meat.
Christopher E. Mills, 38, of 225 Elm Road, Uniontown, is charged by state police at Uniontown with aggravated assault, robbery criminal mischief, retail theft, disorderly conduct and harassment. An alleged accomplice, Amy Lynn Agnew, 39, of 44 Chaffee St., Uniontown, is charged with conspiracy and conspiracy to commit robbery and retail theft.
In a criminal complaint, police said the pair attempted to leave Adrian’s Market at 1176 National Pike in South Union at noon on Wednesday with meat hidden in Agnew’s purse. Mills is accused of punching a loss prevention officer six times in the face when the officer attempted to stop Agnew.
The officer, John C. Frayvolt, suffered arm and facial injuries, and had his eyeglasses broken, according to the complaint.
Mills and Agnew were arraigned before on-call District Judge Randy Abraham of McClellandtown and placed in the county lockup in lieu of $100,000 bond each. They face preliminary hearings at a later date before South Union District Judge Joseph George Jr.
Source:www.pittsburghlive.com
Lake Charles police officer charged after child porn found on computer www.privateofficer.com
LAKE CHARLES LA Aug 13 2011– This afternoon, investigators with the Lake Charles field office of the Louisiana State Police Bureau of Investigations, the Lake Charles City Police, and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations conducted a search warrant at the residence of 35-year-old Benjamin Wild of Lake Charles. The warrant was the result of an Operation Child Watch investigation initiated earlier this year involving child pornography downloaded onto Wild’s computer.
A search of Wild’s laptop computer revealed the presence of child pornography. Wild was arrested for pornography involving juveniles and booked into the Calcasieu Parish Correctional Center.
Wild is employed as a Lake Charles city police officer. Once notified, Lake Charles City Police immediately offered assistance to State Police detectives and provided valuable support with the investigation.
The mission of Operation Child Watch is to rescue children from the potential abuse of child predators by targeting those individuals with sexually explicit images and/or videos on their computers. This is an ongoing effort, in cooperation with other law enforcement agencies.
Source:www.kfdm.com
