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Glendale police officer accused of sexual abuse of student www.privateofficer.com
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office has yet to decide whether Christopher Balmaceda, 25, will face criminal charges. Glendale police have recommended the former patrol officer be charged with one count of sexual abuse and four counts of luring a minor for sexual exploitation.
For two years, Balmaceda worked two Wednesdays a month at Mountain Ridge. The married father was removed from the off-duty post and assigned to an administrative job in late January after a parent told police that his 16-year-old daughter’s friends had received suggestive text messages from Balmaceda.
Glendale police immediately launched an internal probe.
Mountain Ridge students told investigators that Balmaceda had sent at least four female students, ages 15 to 17, text messages from his personal cellphone.
Cellphone records obtained by police showed Balmaceda sent about 3,600 text-messages to five female Mountain Ridge high school students from September 2010 through January 2011, according to an internal investigation.
In one case, he allegedly text-messaged a student after her underwear was exposed when she bent over.
“Oh, oh, oh, looked great bending over,” he said, according to a student who talked to police.
In another, Balmaceda reportedly sent suggestive text messages to a student after he didn’t write a ticket for a traffic accident she was involved in. The teen said she did not give him her cellphone number.
He was also accused of sending a photo of his chest to a 16-year-old student.
Detectives began a criminal investigation after a 17-year-old said Balmaceda had kissed and touched her one night in January after she met him at an abandoned Bashas store in north Glendale while he was on duty.
The 17-year-old said she threw up when she got home.
Glendale police soon confronted Balmaceda.
“Balmaceda admitted to me that from September 2010 through January 2011 he had sent numerous sexually explicit text messages to four female Mountain Ridge High School students for the purpose of gratifying a sexual desire,” a Glendale sergeant wrote in an internal review.
According to the report, Balmaceda also admitted to the encounter with the 17-year-old girl. Balmaceda submitted a resignation letter two days after the interview. He resigned effective April 15.
Balmaceda did not speak to detectives investigating potential criminal violations, saying the police union had advised him against speaking without an attorney present.
Balmaceda told The Arizona Republic he would not comment on the allegations.
The Republic obtained his personnel records, which show Balmaceda was only disciplined once before in 3 ½ years as a Glendale officer. Last March, he received a written reprimand when he failed to arrive for an assignment at Jobing.com Arena after he was unable to secure child care, according to police records.
At an October ceremony, Balmaceda received a “Lifesaving Award” for his efforts to revive a man who had collapsed at his home in March 2010.
On Wednesday, the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board voted to investigate whether Balmaceda should lose his right to serve as an officer in the state.
Sgt. Brent Coombs, a Glendale police spokesman, said the department has increased its oversight of off-duty jobs at schools since allegations emerged in January.
“In light of what’s gone on, the coordinators for the security-related school jobs have much more constant communication with the staff at the schools as well as the officers working,” Coombs said.
So far this year, no Glendale schools have full-time school resource officers as related grants have expired at three schools that previously had them, the sergeant said. That means officers are taking the side job helping with school security in their off-duty hours.
That’s been the case for years at Mountain Ridge and Glendale officers continue to work there on an off-duty basis, said Sandi Hicks, a spokeswoman for the Deer Valley Unified School District.
The district has no plans to change its security plans, Hicks said.
Source:www.azcentral.com
College security officer nabbed for burglary www.privateofficer.com
Police say that Andrae Wright, 28, is charged with nighttime burglary.
Officials tell us that Wright is a campus security officer in Glenville, and was supposedly on duty at the time.
The Gilmer County Sheriff’s Department is investigating.
Source:WDTV.com
U.S. Secret Service agent assigned to President Obama’s security detail arrested www.privateofficer.com
Daniel L. Valencia, 40, was pulled over by a Decorah city police officer and later arrested after it appeared he had been drinking, said Chief Bill Nixon. No accident occurred; no one was injured.
The arrest was first reported by the Associated Press.
Nixon said the agent was booked and later released.
Secret Service spokesman George Ogilvie confirmed the identity of the agent and said he was off duty at the time of the incident, which will now be reviewed by the agency’s Office of Professional Responsibility.
Ogilvie said the agent remains employed, but would not comment further about his current status.
Obama visited Decorah on Monday, Aug. 15, as part of his bus tour.
Man faces list of charges for bringing weapons into USS Midway Museum www.privateofficer.com
SAN DIEGO CA Aug 18 2011 — A man who allegedly brought a variety of concealed weapons — including two guns and two knives — to a weekend youth-theater show aboard the USS Midway Museum was arrested and faces a half-dozen criminal charges.
Security personnel aboard the decommissioned warship-turned-tourist attraction notified San Diego Harbor Police about 8:30 p.m. Sunday that a visitor, later identified as 51-year-old Thomas Bruce Clarke, was creating some type of problem during a performance by the Christian Community Theater on the vessel’s flight deck, SDHP Sgt. Steve Byrd said.
“Personnel actually said they had seen this gentleman several days in a row,” said Ron Powell with the Port of San Diego.
“They just weren’t comfortable with how he was looking. The officers asked him if he was armed – and the gentleman voluntarily said ‘yes I am,’” added Powell.
Officers detained and searched Clarke, allegedly finding him carrying a loaded .45-caliber pistol in a shoulder holster and an illegal fixed-blade knife in a belt sheath. In addition, he allegedly had a concealed switchblade knife and a police-style retractable baton on him, and had a .25-caliber handgun in a “saddlebag” on his Harley-Davidson motorcycle, which was parked in front of the museum, according to Byrd.
On board the Midway Museum, the Christian Community Theater was performing on the flight deck where half a million people visit each year. The theater group was rehearsing for their 10-day show aboard the Midway Museum. Powell says the suspect commented that he was there to see one of the performers.
But Clarke told officers, the two had never met.
Clarke, who did not have a permit to carry concealed guns, was booked into county jail on misdemeanor and felony weapons charges. He posted $25,000 bail, but is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday afternoon.
Security officer seriously injured by her own vehicle www.privateofficer.com
It happened at 29th and Rock Rd. near the Wendy’s and bank branch.
The 69-year-old woman got out of her vehicle and apparently forgot to put it in park. The car rolled onto her, pinning her against a curb.
She was taken in serious condition to Wesley Medical Center but is expect to survive.
Winston-Salem health teacher arrested for masturbating in public www.privateofficer.com
HICKORY NC Aug 18 2011 A Winston-Salem health teacher was charged with indecent exposure in Hickory on Tuesday after he was accused of exposing himself in front of a Ruby Tuesday restaurant, police said.
Michael Lennell Wallace, 54, of 1750 20th Avenue Dr. NE, Hickory, was arrested at his home about 8:45 p.m. Tuesday after a witness gave police Wallace’s license tag number and a description, police said. Wallace is a teacher at Parkland High School.
The 35-year-old witness told Hickory police officers he was driving on US 70, when he saw someone about 4:45 p.m. standing on the side of the road in a grassy area in front of the Ruby Tuesday restaurant, police said.
The man was masturbating, the witness told police. The witness pulled over and called police, then approached the man and asked what he was doing. According to police reports, the man said, “What are you going to do about it?” then got into a car and drove away.
Wallace was jailed in Catawba County with bond set at $3,500. He was released after posting bond. His case goes before district court in Catawba County on Sept. 7.
Theo Helm, spokesman for the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, said Wallace was suspended without pay after his arrest. Superintendent Don Martin will be recommending Wallace’s dismissal, the school spokesman said.
Wallace has 14 days to contest the school’s action.
Before teaching in Forsyth County, Wallace had been a teacher in the Caldwell County Schools from 1992 through 2005.
Wesley Young of the Winston-Salem Journal contributed to this report.
Source:HDR
Southern Lehigh School District teacher pleads guilty in meth case www.privateofficer.com
Garrett Dudeck, 43, who taught technology classes in Southern Lehigh schools, was arrested and charged with conspiracy to distribute more than 5 grams of methamphetamine in March after federal agent raided his home at 1715 Watkins St.
Also charged was Edward Shelton, 51, of 1737 Ruth St. in Allentown.
Both men pleaded guilty Friday before U.S. District Judge Paul S. Diamond in federal court in Philadelphia to one count each of conspiracy to distribute more than 5 grams of methamphetamine. The charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum of 40 years.
Dudeck, who was placed on house arrest under $100,000 bail and suspended from his teaching job, is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 14. Shelton was also placed on house arrest, but was allowed to leave to go to his job atMack Trucks.
Palmer Township police Detective Vasa Faasuamalie, who works with the DEA Task Force, testified during a bail hearing in March that agents received a tip from a confidential informant in January that Dudeck was selling meth from his home.
The agents arranged three buys from Dudeck between January and March where Dudeck sold one-eighth-ounce packets of meth known as eight balls to an informant. Shelton was at Dudeck’s home during two of the buys, Faasuamalie said.
On one occasion, agents followed Dudeck as he raced home from school at more than 90 mph to make an appointment with a buyer, Faasuamalie said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John Gallagher said when agents raided Dudeck’s home, they found a scale, hundreds of empty plastic baggies and records of debts owed by buyers.
Dudeck taught science, technology, engineering and math to sixth- through eighth-grade students in the district. While he was suspended from his teaching position after his arrest, the status of his employment with the district is unclear. District officials did not immediately return a call Tuesday.
Source:mcall.com
Alert neighbor thwarts kidnapping www.privateofficer.com
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.Aug 18 2011 (AP) — The timing was just right for saving the life of a 6-year-old girl and for turning a 24-year-old mechanic and father of two young daughters into a hero.
It was coincidence that Antonio Diaz Chacon had come home from work early to spend time with his family Monday afternoon. It was also a coincidence that the family’s washing machine had just gone out, forcing them to do laundry a block down the road at a relative’s home.
Had it not been for that, Diaz Chacon wouldn’t have been there to see the girl thrown into a van as another neighbor yelled for the would-be kidnapper to let the child go.
Diaz Chacon is credited with saving the girl after chasing the van through a maze of neighborhoods to the edge of where Albuquerque’s sprawling housing developments meet the desert. It was there where the van crashed into a pole, the suspect fled and Diaz Chacon was able to rescue the girl and take her home.
He didn’t think twice about his actions.
“The way he grabbed her and threw her into the van, I knew it wasn’t right,” he said, as a swarm of media stood outside his home Tuesday night to hear his story. The events were interpreted and relayed from Spanish to English by his wife.
“I knew I had to catch him. I had to get the girl back from him and take her home, back where she belongs,” he said.
It all happened so fast on a sidewalk in the normally quiet mobile home park, where even on the evening after the abduction kids played freely in the streets on their bikes and push scooters as food vendors sold roasted corn and other snacks.
A pair of 911 calls came in quick succession.
On one, a frantic 12-year-old says her little sister is missing. On the other is Diaz Chacon’s wife, Martha.
“We are outside of my mom’s house here,” she told the dispatcher. “We heard a man going, ‘Hey, hey let her go. Let her go.’ So we turn around …
“The man came running to us and said, ‘They stole a little girl.’”
Phillip Garcia, 29, had snatched the girl moments earlier, taking her away in a blue van, police said.
Diaz Chacon jumped in his black pickup and gave chase.
It wasn’t until the van crashed and the driver got out that any sense of fear set in for Diaz Chacon.
“When he got down I was thinking, what if he has a gun,” he said.
Garcia fled on foot, and Diaz Chacon reached the girl and told her he would take her home. Garcia then returned to his wrecked van and took off but was later captured by police, authorities said.
Hidden under a rock just 25 feet from the van was packing tape and a tie-down strap, police said.
Inside the impounded van were tostadas, a glove, a Leatherman tool, a black satchel, orange strapping similar to the strap found hidden under the rock, police said.
“This little girl was very lucky,” police Sgt. Tricia Hoffman said. “We can only guess what would have happened to this child.”
“Throughout the county we see situations like this and they do not end typically well,” she said.
Police were among those who called Diaz Chacon a hero.
One of his daughters even shared the news about her dad’s heroic actions with friends at school on Tuesday.
Diaz Chacon said he was proud to help. While he was chasing the van, he said, he thought of his own two girls — one 7 years old, the other 5 months — and how he would want someone to do the same for him.
“I told him ‘I don’t know how you could do it, just go after him, not knowing where he’s going, what he’s going to do?” his wife said. “But he saved a life.” Garcia was charged with kidnapping, child abuse and tampering with evidence. Hoffman said Garcia is from Albuquerque and had a revoked license but she was unsure if he had a criminal record.
Garcia immediately “lawyered up,” declining to give any statement to authorities, Hoffman said. Garcia remained jailed and no lawyer had yet been listed as taking the case, according to court officials.
There have not been any other recent child abductions or attempted abductions in the city, Hoffman said.
The girl told police she had gone to a neighbor’s to pick up some tostadas and was walking home when the van stopped and the man grabbed her.
“She went to go to the neighbor’s and on her way back we don’t know what happened to her. … When she was coming back or on her way, she just like disappeared,” her sister said in the 911 call.
The girl was grabbed with such force, police said, that bruising had already begun to appear on her chest and back Monday evening. The girl told police the man put his hand over her mouth and she bit him.
She said the man shoved her on the floorboard to keep her head under the window view, according to the police report. She told police there were no backseats in the van and described other details consistent with the impounded van, police said.
She also described rolling in the van when it crashed, and breaking a fingernail. Police said they found what appeared to be a piece of fingernail in the van.
During her interview, police said the girl was concerned that she was unable to bring the tostadas home because she had left them in the van.
The Diazes said the girl’s family had thanked them on Monday, saying they would always be grateful for what the young father had done.
Martha Diaz said she was grateful what could have been a parent’s worst nightmare was not realized that day.
“Everything just worked out,” she said, referring to the perfect timing of that afternoon.
“Even now we say, ‘What if, what if we hadn’t seen him? What if he would have been two minutes earlier.’”
Florida police stop teens plan to blow up school www.privateofficer.com
“We were probably able to thwart a potentially catastrophic event the likes of which the city of Tampa has not seen and hopefully never will,” Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor told a news conference.
Police named the suspect, who was detained and charged on Tuesday, as 17-year-old Jared Cano and said his target was the Freedom High School in Hillsborough County.
Castor said Cano, who had been expelled from the school, had hoped “to cause more casualties than were suffered at Columbine” in his attack.
In April 1999, two students at the Columbine High School in Colorado killed 12 students and one teacher in one of the deadliest school massacres in U.S. history.
Castor said Tampa police, acting on a tip from an informant, learned that Cano, who had been arrested in the past for carrying a concealed weapon, had been planning his attack to take place on the first day of class next week.
Evidence found in a search of his home included a journal with drawings of rooms inside the school and statements apparently indicating his intention to carry out a deadly attack, authorities said.
Police also found fuel sources, shrapnel, plastic tubing and timing and fusing devices, Castro said.
“He was charged yesterday with threatening to throw, project, place or discharge a destructive device, possession of bomb-making materials and also cultivation of marijuana in his room, his house,” she said
Teen vandalizes business to be hired as security guard www.privateofficer.com
Johnny B. Morgan, 17, of 119 E. 12th St., is accused of damaging windows at Old World Glass, 541 S. Main St., on three occasions, according to the criminal complaint. He told owner Scott Krueger he saw black males committing the crime and then asked Krueger to hire him and his friends as security guards for $30 a week.
Morgan was charged Tuesday with three counts of criminal damage to property, threats to injure, misdemeanor intimidation of a victim, obstructing an officer and disorderly conduct. He is free on a $2,000 signature bond. A preliminary hearing is scheduled Sept. 1.
Surveillance camera footage shows a white male throwing a brick through the front window of the business at 3:48 a.m. Aug. 7, according to the complaint.
Damage reports, according to the complaint, include:
•On July 28, a large window in the store valued at more than $500 was destroyed along with a $250 shelving unit and $75 in merchandise.
•On Aug. 1, another window valued at over $500, was damaged with a brick along with a glass pitcher, glass hummingbirds and other merchandise.
On Aug. 9 Morgan, who said his name was “Nick,” entered the store with another male and tried to convince Krueger to hire him for security purposes.
Morgan returned with another man on Aug. 11, slapped the counter and complained that Krueger had called police about the vandalism. Krueger told Morgan he called police because the videotape showed a suspect that did not match Morgan’s description, according to the complaint.
Capt. Steve Klein said police have identified the two males, ages 16 and 17, that were with Morgan and charges have been forwarded to the Fond du Lac County District Attorney’s Office.
Morgan originally denied his involvement when questioned by Officer Dan Wilson but later confessed that he broke the window alone and that he “was messed up, mad and angry and it was something random to do,” according to the complaint.
Miss. man pleads guilty to sexual assault of teenager on cruise ship www.privateofficer.com
MOBILE, Alabama Aug 18 2011 — A Gautier man pleaded guilty here this afternoon to sexually abusing a teenage girl during a Carnival cruise ship in March and trying to solicit a different girl for sex the previous month.
Dylan Cole Bloodsworth, 19, pleaded guilty to sexual abuse of a child and enticement. The latter count carries a 10-year mandatory-minimum prison sentence.
Bloodsworth wore a jail uniform as he stood before Chief U.S. District Judge William Steele, a reflection of his home since his arrest in April. He answered, “Yes, sir,” when the judge asked if prosecutors could prove the allegations against him.
Bloodsworth’s plea was “blind,” meaning that he admitted guilt without a sentencing recommendation from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. But he will have broader rights to appeal the sentence.
“There’s not a real advantage to giving up rights to appeal,” defense attorney Benjamin Bowden said. “He’ll get treatment in the federal system.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Murphy laid out the facts of both offenses. She said a 13-year-old girl was taking a cruise to Mexico in March with her friend and her friend’s mother. She met Bloodsworth on March 6 near the elevators onboard the Carnival Elation and agreed to meet him on the top deck after dinner.
The girl later agreed to go with Bloodsworth to get a jacket from his cabin, where he had sex with her, Murphy said.
An affidavit filed by the FBI stated that the girl told investigators that she did not want to have sex with Bloodsworth and that he hurt her. Bowden disputed that in an interview outside the courtroom.
“I don’t think there was force or coercion involved,” he said.
Either way, it was against the law because the girl was too young to legally consent to sex.
Investigators later seized Bloodsworth’s phone and discovered he had been in contact with a different 13-year-old girl between Feb. 13 and Feb. 28.
Murphy said Bloodsworth met the girl in Mobile at a Christian music concert, which the Grove Hill girl had attended with her church group. Bloodsworth “friended” the girl on Facebook and sent threatening texts, including questions about her virginity.
Bloodsworth tried to set up a meeting, Murphy said.
Bloodsworth still faces a sexual battery charge in Mississippi related to his alleged sexual assault of a different 13-year-old girl. Bowden said that to the best of his knowledge, prosecutors have not yet presented the case to a grand jury.
“Obviously, the goal is to get the state to agree to a concurrent sentence,” he said. “I feel that’s an adequate sentence.”
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Department arrested Bloodsworth on the sexual battery charge at his home March 7 as he was on the phone with an FBI agent regarding the Carnival incident.
Source:AL.com
Georgia police arrest men in mall snatch and run www.privateofficer.com
Police say the four are accused of taking about 45 pairs of True Religion jeans valued at more than $5,400 Tuesday night from Bloomingdale’s.
Dunwoody police say security officers had been watching the men and alerted officers when the four started to leave.
Police say they stopped the four in a rental car in the mall’s parking lot and are working to determine if other items found in the vehicle were stolen as well.
Alabama man arrested at LAX with gun www.privateofficer.com
Airport police spokeswoman Belinda Nettles says Joshua Banks was arrested Tuesday morning on suspicion of carrying a loaded firearm.
The Los Angeles Times say Banks had purchased a ticket for a flight to Dallas and was taken into custody at the American Airlines terminal.
Banks was taken to the airport police station for preliminary processing and booked at the LAPD’s Pacific Division jail.
8 People struck by lightning at SeaWorld www.privateofficer.com
Orlando Fla Aug 18 2011 3 guests and 5 employees injured when lightning struck at SeaWorld’s Discovery Cove water park on Wednesday have been released from medical care, a park official said.
Orange County Fire Rescue spokeswoman Genevieve Latham had said in the aftermath of the near-miss late afternoon strike that none of the injuries were believed to be life-threatening.
Firefighters were dispatched to the water park around 5:05 p.m., about the time a storm was passing through Central Florida that forecasters had warned could produce “excessive” lightning.
In total, officials said eight people — five park employees and three guests — claimed to have been affected by the strike. It was not believed that any of those treated were struck directly.
SeaWorld spokesman Nick Gollattscheck said that the three guests and two of the employees were hospitalized. He said three other employees were taken to a local clinic.
Gollattscheck said that everyone affected by the strike was “conscious and alert” when they were taken for treatment. All have since been released from medical care, he said.
Gollattscheck said the guests were in a patio area, and the employees in the Adventure Photo cabana. In a statement, firefighters urged citizens to use caution during Florida’s frequent lightning storms.
“Citizens should be reminded that lightning can be deadly and should be taken very seriously,” Capt. Scott Turner said. “If someone is struck by lightning, they need to seek medical attention right away”.
Cargo theft among organized crime groups www.privateofficer.com
Atlanta GA Aug 18 2011 Cargo theft among organized crime groups will likely increase in the future according to Joe LaRocca, senior asset protection adviser for the National Retail Federation.
As retailers, mall security and law enforcement professionals continue to clamp down on store theft and fraud, “we can expect criminals to take the path of least resistance,” LaRocca says. “Cargo, if the opportunity exists, remains a lucrative and vulnerable target.”
Half of the 129 retailers surveyed this year by the NRF said they were victims of cargo theft in the past year. The majority (57.4%) of these organized retail cargo thefts occurs between the distribution center and the store.
What’s more, the survey reveals retailers are victimized at other points along the supply chain, including between the manufacturer and the distribution center (39.7%), at the distribution center (22.1%), and as merchandise moves from one store to another (22.1%).
According to the FBI, cargo is any commercial shipment moving via trucks, planes, rail cars, ships, etc., from point of origin to final destination. If merchandise is stolen at any point in between—highway, truck stop, storage facility, warehouse, terminal, wharf, etc.—then it’s considered cargo theft, LaRocca adds.
In a cargo theft case, the victim can be a manufacturer, shipping company or retailer. Stolen goods have a significant financial loss, and affect not only store inventory levels but the customer experience as well, LaRocca says. And in most cases, “these thefts have a significant impact on local and state tax revenue as well.”
Victims work with local law enforcement agencies and the FBI if interstate nexus, or connection, is achieved, LaRocca adds. If the case has an international nexus, federal law enforcement will work with their legal contacts overseas and other international law enforcement partners.
What can retailers do to combat cargo theft?
Manufacturers and retailers should select a reputable firm to transport goods, LaRocca advises. “Keep details of the shipment, especially highly desirable goods, on a need to know basis. In advance of the shipment, identify the quantity and timeline for delivery.”
Retailers have been working with manufacturers and law enforcement to address cargo theft incidents and many companies are now sharing information, LaRocca says. Advancements in technology can provide quick identification of suspect goods and GPS tracking of shipments worldwide.
Last year the FBI added Cargo Theft to the Uniform Crime Report, which elevates the awareness of the issue and begins the process of determining the losses and scope of the problem, LaRocca says.
Nearly 95% of retailers surveyed said they were victims of organized retail crime in the past year. More than 10% of these crimes included some level of violence such as physical assault and/or battery.
The safety of employees and service providers is a top priority, LaRocca says. “Many companies develop policies and train employees to avoid placing themselves at risk. The financial losses, potential customer service issues and brand impact pale in comparison to the severity of these incidents when someone is injured.”
Retired California man gives marijuana cookies to hotel staff www.privateofficer.com
Reno NV Aug 18 2011 A retired California heating and air conditioning business owner visiting Reno for Hot August Nights is facing legal trouble for giving a hotel and casino bartender and a guest cookies that were laced with marijuana, which caused them to be hospitalized.
Soon after police on Saturday knocked on 71-year-old Donald Mayden’s hotel door at the Grand Sierra Resort, they said he was trying to flush about 20 pot cookies down the toilet. When they got inside the room, officers said they saw him standing in front of the toilet while wearing his boxers, and then he suddenly sat on the toilet and pretended they were interrupting his use of the restroom, according to a police report.
Mayden, of Fortuna, Calif., was booked into the Washoe County Jail on Saturday morning on suspicion of destroying evidence and possession and sale of marijuana. He was released after posting $4,500 bail.
During a telephone interview Wednesday from his California home he said that he was bringing the cookies made with marijuana to Reno for a friend, who decided they didn’t want them. He said he shared the leftovers with the bartender and a another man who had been drinking with him at the bar.
“I don’t think the cookies made them sick because my roommate had a couple and he didn’t get sick,” Mayden said.
The retiree said he had thrown the cookies in the toilet prior to police knocking on his door, but that he intended on flushing them anyway. He said this was his first arrest.
“(The police) thought I was a drug dealer, and I can understand that,” he said. “But the police were real nice people considering what they thought they were dealing with. But I don’t think the charges are right.”
Grand Sierra Resort security after midnight on Saturday called police to report that a bartender and a guest had been poisoned after eating cookies laced with marijuana. The men had been hospitalized and tests showed they had the drug’s metabolites in their bodies, according to a report.
The victims were able to give authorities the suspect’s name and phone number. Mayden was quickly identified and police went to his room to question him.
Officers said that he asked them to wait in the hall while he put clothes on. But police said they could hear him rustling a bag and throwing items down the toilet.
According to a police report, Mayden was talking very loudly to mask the noise he was making. He had also put the door’s latch on, which security had to remove for officers to get inside the room.
Mayden told police he knew the cookies were made with marijuana and that he was delivering them for a friend for people who were attending Hot August Nights. He told police, the report said, that he had been making these deliveries the past few years.
As for coming back to Reno in the future, Mayden said “Well, I do like the car show.”
He said he has a court hearing scheduled for next month
Source:rgj.com
Nightclub security opens fire on hit- run driver who killed woman www.privateofficer.com
Victorville CA Aug 18 2011 A Pasadena man has been arrested in the hit and run death of a woman outside Teazer’s Nightclub in Victorville.
Broderick Allen, 29, agreed to meet with San Bernardino County sheriff’s investigators Monday after numerous interviews. Sheriff’s officials said he was very cooperative, and at the end of the meeting he was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and hit and run causing great bodily injury or death.
Deputies booked him into jail in lieu of $100,000 bail.
Deputies came to Teazer’s Nightclub at 14269 Seventh St. at 12:42 a.m. Friday on a report of a disturbance.
Damisha Ford, 29, of Victorville was found lying on the ground suffering from major injuries. She died at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton.
Sheriff’s officials said Ford was outside the club when Allen got into a 2009 Dodge Charger and tried to drive away. He was attempting to flee a group of people he had been arguing with inside the venue.
Two vehicles blocked his path and the group began to throw bottles and kick and jump on the vehicle. He put the vehicle in reverse, hitting Ford.
An armed security guard saw Allen drive through the parking lot recklessly and fired several shots at the Charger, striking it several times.
Deputies found the vehicle a few blocks away, abandoned and disabled.
Allen was not the registered owner of the vehicle
Source:www.sbsun.com
NC police searching for man who stole-crashed airplane www.privateofficer.com
The UNC-Chapel Hill University Police are handling the investigation after a small plane was stolen sometime between 9 p.m. Monday and 6 a.m. Tuesday from the Horace Williams Airport in Chapel Hill.
Randy Young, spokesman for the University’s police department, said at times the airport is not staffed between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Young says a person could fit through the gate at the airport, but not a vehicle.
An arrest had not been made as of Wednesday afternoon.
The FAA says Civil Air Patrol discovered the Piper PA32 in a field around 12:45 p.m. Tuesday. The plane crashed in a wooded area off of Wildlife Club Road in Graham.
“What it appears is the plane just came out of the sky in a circular motion crashing here. … [H]ad it come straight in, we’d probably found the pilot in the plane,” Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson said.
Larry Fitzgerald Warren, who owns the plane, was unaware the plane was stolen until the Alamance County Sheriff’s office contacted him Tuesday afternoon. He had seen his plane Monday night.
Johnson said the plane had one fuel tank empty and another full. He suspected the person who stole and crashed the plane did not know how to switch to the other tank when the first ran out of fuel.
Johnson said investigators believe the suspect crawled out of a window and took off through the woods, leaving a bloody trail behind.
“Probably three and a half, four miles through the woods here. Our dogs tracked [him] to an intersection of Snow Camp Road and Highway 87 South, which is our Eli Whitney community, which is the way an individual would go back to Chapel Hill from this area,” Johnson said.
The uncertainty about the suspect’s location was concerning for some people who live near the crash, including Cindy Shetter.
“There’s the little bit of fear factor — since the pilot is missing — is somebody that would steal a plane … doesn’t necessarily have the best morals. That gives you a little bit of a fright,” Shetter said.
Johnson said he has never dealt with a stolen aircraft in his 40-year law enforcement career.
Jones said at least one media outlet and a federal agency had contacted investigators wondering if the theft might be terrorist-related. Jones said there’s no indication of that at this point in the investigation.
Young said the person who stole the plane would likely face a larceny charge. Anything beyond that will depend on the investigation and the district attorney, he said.
Jones said the suspect could face a possession of stolen property charge in Alamance County.
Former Georgia police officer charged with armed robbery www.privateofficer.com
Kinston NC Aug 18 2011 A Kinston man who police say is a former law enforcement officer in Georgia is accused of a Wednesday morning armed robbery in Goldsboro.
Police say the Wayne County Sheriff’s helicopter spotted the suspect’s vehicle on U.S. 70 and kept it in sight until deputies on the ground could stop the man.
Charged with the armed robbery of the Family Dollar Store on Highway 111 South is Matthew Webb. The robbery happened around 11:20 a.m. and police say no one was injured.
Police say Webb is not currently a police officer, but works at Sanderson Farms. Last month the house listed as Webb’s address was the scene of a shooting and burglary. In that case the resident came home and told police he had surprised a burglar.
Source:WITN
Jewelry store security officer beat with hammer-store robbed www.privateofficer.com
Los Angeles CA Aug 18 2011 Police Tuesday night were looking for three men who robbed a Koreatown jewelry store, beat a security guard with a hammer and stole a woman’s vehicle as they fled the area.
One of the men pointed a gun at the owner of the store in the 3200 block of Wilshire Boulevard while the other two smashed jewelry cases with the hammer, stealing thousands of dollars worth of merchandise, the Los Angeles Police Department said.
As they escaped, the security guard was attacked with the hammer. He was listed in stable condition Tuesday night, the LAPD said.
The suspects unsuccessfully tried to carjack a man’s vehicle before fleeing in a second vehicle that was driven by a woman, police said. Two of the men fled in that vehicle, a white GMC Savana van with license plate number 6T97736. The third man fled in a green Toyota van.
Police identified the suspects as black men between 20 and 25 years old, and 5-feet-8 to 6-feet tall. All weighed between 180 and 200 pounds.
One suspect was wearing dark pants and a white long-sleeve hooded shirt with blue jeans, the LAPD said. Another suspect was wearing a grey hoodie sweatshirt, and the third was wearing a dark baseball cap, dark jacket, white shirt and dark pants.
Anyone with information is asked to call detectives at (323) 382-9103. Anonymous tips can be left at (800) 222-8477.
Source:L.A. Now
Garda amored truck traffic accident leaves 1 dead www.privateofficer.com
BLUE RIDGE SUMMIT,PA Aug. 18, 2011 — A Waynesboro man was killed Sunday when his sport utility vehicle collided with an armored car on Buchanan Trail East in Washington Township.
Robert Gividen, age unavailable, of 14586 Buena Vista Road was pronounced dead at Meritus Hospital, Hagerstown, Md., after the 8:57 a.m. crash, according to Washington Township Police.
Gividen was going north on Monterey Lane and started to cross Buchanan Trail East, police said. His 2001 Suzuki Grand Vitara was hit broadside by a 2005 F-650 armored car, owned by Garda Atlantic Inc. Steven Bordlemay of Shillington was driving the armored car east on Buchanan Trail.
The armored car spun and tipped over onto a 1997 Honda Accord on the north shoulder of Buchanan Trail, police said. Catherine Bodin, age unavailable, of 312 W. Main St., Emmitsburg, Md., was driving the Honda east on Buchanan Trail at the time of the crash. She was transported to Meritus Hospital for minor injuries.
Rescue personnel freed the woman from her car, according to Blue Ridge Sunmmit Fire Co. Fire Chief Jim Meek. They cut the roof and doors off of her car.
Bordlemay and his passenger were not injured, police said.
Prince George’s County sheriff’s deputy arrested in gun incident www.privateofficer.com
Ocean City MD Aug 18 2011 A Prince George’s County sheriff’s deputy has been suspended without pay after she was arrested by Ocean City police early Sunday for allegedly threatening another woman with a handgun.
The deputy, Jennifer Nicole Douglas, 26, of Fort Washington, joined the sheriff’s department in April, said Sharon Taylor, a spokeswoman for Sheriff Melvin C. High. Before joining the sheriff’s department, Douglas worked as a Prince George’s County police officer, Taylor said.
The incident which led to the suspension occurred shortly after 3 a.m. Sunday in the 200 block of Baltimore Avenue in Ocean City, according to a police press release.
Ocean City police were called to the scene for an alleged assault involving a handgun. The officers who arrived interviewed a woman, who knows Douglas, and “numerous witnesses,” according to the police press release.
The woman told officers that she and Douglas “became involved in an argument over keys to a vehicle that escalated into a physical confrontation. During the physical confrontation, Douglas allegedly produced a star shaped badge and handgun and pointed the handgun at the victim’s head,” the press release states.
Sheriff’s department badges are shaped like stars.
Police later stopped Douglas in a vehicle she was driving near 42nd Street, according to the press release. Douglas identified herself as a Prince George’s County deputy sheriff, the press release states. Douglas was carrying a 40-caliber Glock handgun, said Officer Michael Levy, an Ocean City police spokesman.
Douglas was arrested and charged with first- and second-degree assault and reckless endangerment. An Ocean City court commissioner set her bond at $150,000, and Douglas was taken to the Worcester County jail, authorities said.
Among other things, sheriff’s deputies provide provide security at the courthouses in Upper Marlboro and Hyattsville and serve arrest warrants
Source:Washington Post
Daytona Beach nightclub bouncer wanted for murder www.privateofficer.com
Investigators said they believe Willie Poindexter, 22, who is a bouncer at an area nightclub, was prodded to get revenge when two groups of women fought.
Ruby Burson said when her daughter, Katie Burson, 24, was gunned down on the streets of Daytona Beach last week, a promising life was ended. The victim left behind a 7-year-old son.
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“You know, if somebody could just take a life — just shoot somebody and and not feel anything,” Ruby Burson said.
Ruby Burson, 74, has health problems, and she’s now brokenhearted too, mourning the loss of her youngest child.
“He should think about, you know, how his mother would feel if he was to get shot,” Ruby Burson said.
Katie Burson went down in a hail of gunfire, when investigators said Poindexter used a scoped rifle from 100 yards away to fire one dozen shots.
A friend was injured, and authorities said it may have been retribution after Katie Burson’s group and another got into a fight that started in a nightclub where Poindexter was a bouncer.
Katie Burson’s mother lost a daughter, and her grandson, J.T., lost his mother.
“They were so close. She loved that baby, and they were so close,” Ruby Burson said.
At the suspect’s house, where he lived with roommates, no one answered.
But a bumper sticker on Poindexter’s car was telling, comparing guns to seat belts. It stated seat belts are worn because one never knows what might happen.
Katie Burson’s mother knows what should happen. She wants justice for her innocent daughter.
“He should turn himself in because if he don’t, you know, it’s so sad,” Ruby Burson said.
Loved ones will remember Katie Burson during funeral services Saturday at the Church of God on George Engram Boulevard.
Meanwhile, the Daytona Beach Police Department is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.
Source:www.wesh.com
Oakland man convicted in security officer’s murder www.privateofficer.com
An Oakland man was convicted of first-degree murder Tuesday for gunning down a taco truck security guard in retaliation for the victim having “snitched” on him months earlier in a gun case, a prosecutor said.
Dreshawn Lee, 20, could face up to 75 years to life in prison for killing 28-year-old Gary Jackson, said Alameda County Deputy District Attorney Eric Swalwell.
The trouble between the two men started Sept. 28, 2009, when Lee walked up to a taco truck at the corner of 48th Avenue and International Boulevard in East Oakland carrying a sawed-off shotgun, Swalwell said. Jackson was working as a security guard at the truck and signed a witness statement for police identifying Lee as the man with the gun.
Lee was charged with possessing a shotgun, but the case was dismissed in October 2009 because of insufficient evidence, Swalwell said.
Lee then hatched a plan for revenge, the prosecutor said.
He asked a mutual friend to lure Jackson to the corner of 51st Avenue and International Boulevard, near Lee’s home, on Dec. 28, 2009, Swalwell said.
As Jackson got out of his car, Lee stood on his balcony and sprayed the victim with gunfire from an AK-47 assault rifle, Swalwell said. Lee also shot and wounded Jackson’s girlfriend in the arm as she sat in the car, the prosecutor said.
Hours after the shooting, an Oakland Housing Authority employee found the rifle behind Lee’s home. Ballistics tests confirmed that the weapon had been used in the slaying, and a swab of the weapon revealed DNA that matched Lee’s, authorities said.
Witnesses said Lee had called Jackson a “snitch” before the slaying, Swalwell said. An Oakland jury convicted Lee on Tuesday.
“The jury’s verdict showed the defendant and the community that justice will be handled in the courtroom, not on the streets,” Swalwell said.
Source:www.sfgate.com
