Archive
Florida police chief dies of heart attack www.privateofficer.com
Ponce Inlet Police Chief Wayne Lurcock, 60, died at home after efforts to resuscitate him failed, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reported.
Town council member Tami Lewis said the loss of the chief will be hard on the small community. He had just been appointed last October and was a member of the Daytona Beach Police Department previously.
“It’s hard to think of him in the past tense,” she said, describing him as a great man who “loved his job, department, and family.”
North Carolina firefighter dies after fire calls www.privateofficer.com
Sandy Bottom Capt. George W. Fisher III,56, was getting a vehicle serviced when he collapsed, according to a report from the N.C. Fire Marshal’s Office.
Fisher was rushed to Lenoir Memorial Hospital where he went into cardiac arrest, and died.
He had responded to two calls with his department within hours of his death.
A member of the department since 1988, Fisher was a former chief and in charge of the junior firefighters, according to FireNews.Net.
He is survived by his wife and two children.
Funeral services are being held at 10 a.m. Monday at Holy Spirit Church, 400 Academy Heights Road, Kinston.
Toledo Fire Inspector arrested for shooting into fire station www.privateofficer.com
Kevin Wolever, a city fire inspector, is scheduled for arraignment Monday in Toledo Municipal Court on charges of felonious assault and improperly discharging a firearm at a habitation. The two counts are second-degree felonies.
Mr. Wolever’s arrest comes after authorities investigated a string of attacks on Toledo fire stations during the past week. Nobody was seriously injured in the five attacks.
Mr. Wolever, 32, of Toledo, was arrested and taken to the Lucas County Jail following the most recent fire station attack Saturday night, officials said during a news conference Sunday at One Government Center.
Authorities reported a shooting around 10:20 p.m. at Station 6, 642 Starr Ave. An on-duty firefighter was struck by the ricocheting bullet but was not seriously hurt and did not seek medical treatment, Fire Chief Luis Santiago said.
Police alleged Mr. Wolever shot the front of the fire station and the bullet went into the building, through glass and a wooden office door, then ricocheted off the wall and struck the firefighter in the chin.
Officials did not give a motive for the shooting.
Mr. Wolever has been on paid administrative leave since sometime last week, Chief Santiago said. He did not know which day Mr. Wolever went on leave, but said he believed it was before the attacks on the fire department began.
The fire chief declined to provide the reason for Mr. Wolever’s administrative leave.
Records show the city hired Mr. Wolever on Aug. 15, 2008.
“We’re truly grateful there seems to be closure to some of the action going on as of late,” Chief Santiago said about the arrest. “It’s entirety is not totally understood by everybody. … There’s plenty of emotions going on right now.”
Early on, police focused on Mr. Wolever as a possible suspect during its investigation, said Deputy Police Chief Derrick Diggs.
He declined to say why Mr. Wolever became a person of interest or whether Mr. Wolever is a suspect in the other four incidents which police are still investigating.
On Saturday night, police allegedly watched Mr. Wolever walking from his home on 8011/2 Nevada St., toward the fire station, but lost sight of him. They heard the sound of a gunshot, and Mr. Wolever was arrested a short time later, police said.
When he was apprehended, Mr. Wolever was wearing a bulletproof vest. He also was in possession of a 9mm gun and two clips, Chief Diggs said.
Police said the gun had fired one round and they later recovered a 9mm shell and other evidence to test.
Authorities also obtained a search warrant for Mr. Wolever’s home.
Chief Diggs declined to say what items police took from the home, but said they are expected to execute a search warrant later Monday to search Mr. Wolever’s vehicle, which was impounded.
Mr. Wolever is a civilian employee whose job is to make sure businesses and occupancies are up to code. Chief Santiago said he was not aware of any past problems involving Mr. Wolever.
Mr. Wolever’s father, Toledo’s former fire chief, retired on July 1.
Mike Wolever worked for the fire department for 33 years and retired this summer because he was limited to how long he could work under his pension plan. He did not return phone calls Sunday seeking comment.
An attempt to reach Kevin Wolever at the jail Sunday also was unsuccessful.
Saturday’s shooting was the second incident at Station 6 in less than a week.
On Wednesday, shots were fired outside the station as well as at Station 9 at 900 South Ave. On Thursday, a package officials described as an incendiary device was found at Station 18 at 5221 Lewis Ave. Then a day later, a second incident was reported at Station 18 after a bullet mark was found on the door of a fire truck.
Source:The Blade
Lancaster Township Fire Department lieutenant dies during training www.privateofficer.com
Lancaster Township PA Sept 27 2011 A 38-year-old fire lieutenant with the Lancaster Township Fire Department (LTFD) collapsed and died of an apparent cardiac issue during a live burn training exercise with the Lancaster County Fire School on Sunday morning, according to a news release from the fire department and a local news agency.
LTFD identified the fallen firefighter as Keith Rankin. The news release said Lt. Rankin suffered a “medical emergency” during the training exercise. Fellow firefighters performed “life saving efforts,” but Rankin could not be revived.
Local news agency, Intelligencer Journal of Lancaster, said Rankin, who had been running the live burn at the fire school, was talking with fellow firefighters when he collapsed with no warning. Some of the members of the 25 towns attending the school performed CPR on Rankin, but he never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead at Lancaster General Hospital. An autopsy was scheduled for Sunday, but the local coroner said Sunday night that Rankin’s death appeared to be from natural causes, the Intelligencer Journal reported.
The newspaper reported that Rankin was a 23-year volunteer with the Lancaster Township Fire Department, worked full-time as a constable and leaves behind his wife Abby and two stepdaughters.
As of Sunday night, funeral arrangements had not been finalized, but Rankin was expected to be honored with a full-firefighter’s funeral.
GA trooper shoots irate motorist at PGA event www.privateofficer.com
ATLANTA GA Sept 27 2011– A Georgia police officer shot a motorist accused of forcing his way past a barricade at the PGA Tour Championship and dragging another officer.
Georgia State Patrol Capt. Paul Cosper said the shooting happened at around 7 p.m. Sunday. He said Gerald Williams tried driving into a barricaded area near the East Lake Golf Club.
Cosper said that when police told Williams that he couldn’t enter the lot, he became “irate.” When a trooper opened the car’s door, Williams hit the gas and dragged the officer a short distance.
Another trooper fired twice, wounding Williams. He was transported to Grady Memorial Hospital with injuries that did not appear to be serious.
The troopers have been placed on administrative leave while the shooting is investigated, which is standard procedure.
Two people die, four injured in carjacking, Marta bus crash www.privateofficer.com
Atlanta GA Sept 27 2011 Two people have died after carjackers apparently wounded the driver of an SUV, which then crashed head-on into a MARTA bus.
Atlanta detectives were still investigating the series of events near Barge and Campbellton roads in Southwest Atlanta Sunday night.
Police Lt. Paul Guerrucci said the driver of the SUV was apparently wounded by gunfire during a carjacking attempt. The SUV then collided with the bus. Investigators believe the driver of the SUV died of gunshot injuries, while a passenger was apparently killed by the collision.
Four MARTA passengers were hospitalized for injuries.
Police said they hope a boy in the SUV can provide them with information that will help catch the carjackers.
Source:AP
Florida woman found commiting burglary naked www.privateofficer.com
Collier County Fla Sept 27 2011 A woman was arrested on burglary charges after being found standing in a person’s garage naked with items loaded in the back of a truck, Collier County sheriff’s deputies say.
Amber Marie Welsh, 32, of the 1700 block of Sunshine Boulevard, Golden Gate, was arrested Thursday by deputies in the 3600 block of White Boulevard.
When deputies arrived, they said they found Welsh standing naked in the victim’s garage next to a dark gray F-150 pickup truck that was backing inside and the bed of the truck was full of items.
According to reports, the victim was present at the time of the investigation and stated that the items, totaling $1,500, in the bed of the truck belonged to them and did not give permission for the items to be removed.
Welsh told deputies she was hired by the home’s owner to clean and remove all of the property from the house.
The reports did not explain why Welsh was naked inside the garage nor did it describe the items that were stolen.
Welsh faces charges of burglary and grand theft
Source:naplesnews
Westfield Trumbull Mall employee charged in theft www.privateofficer.com
Mia Young, 20, of Hamden, is charged with sixth-degree larceny, illegal use of a credit card and third-degree identity theft.
Police said she shipped several items to her school dormitory, but was charged with theft of one of the credit card numbers. The purchase was reported on July 27, police said.
Police said she turned herself in at Police Headquarters on Sept. 18.
Then, a Merwin Street, Trumbull, resident was arrested after a domestic incident.
Katherine Lorelli Tierney, 22, is charged with third-degree criminal mischief, disorderly conduct, third-degree assault and second-degree strangulation.
Police said Tierney and her mother had an argument which turned physical. Tierney allegedly choked her mother and broke items in the home.
Tierney’s bond was set at $25,000.
Another person was arrested for allegedly shoplifting at the Trumbull mall on Sept. 18.
Christian Bercy, 20, of Ogden Street, Bridgeport, is charged with sixth-degree larceny.
Police said he took shirts and underwear from Lord & Taylor and tried to walk out with some merchandise while concealing others.
His bond was set at $500 cash.
Naples bar brawl included more than 80 people www.privateofficer.com
NAPLES Fla Sept 27 2011 — Two men were accused of being the primary aggressors of a bar brawl early Saturday that included more than 80 people.
Noel Aaron Rodriguez, 28, of the 3500 block of White Boulevard, Golden Gate Estates, and Walter James Sirmons, 24, of the 1400 block of Fifth Avenue North, Naples, were arrested Saturday by Collier County sheriff’s deputies at Pelican Larry’s in the 2700 block of Immokalee Road.
According to reports, the fight began around closing time when bouncers witnessed Sirmons strike several females. The bouncers said they then intervened by pulling Sirmons away from the fight but he then began attacking them.
Rodriguez saw Sirmons struggling with the bouncers and jumped in, striking the bouncer’s, at which time the fight quickly escalated into a brawl in the parking lot, according to reports. Deputies described the brawl as complete chaos and involved between 80 and 100 people.
Once Collier deputies arrived, people scattered and Rodriguez and Sirmons were arrested.
They both face charges of battery and disorderly conduct, deputies said.
Boston transit cop-homeless duo yeam up to nab arsonist www.privateofficer.com
Boston MA Sept 27 2011 An unlikely crime-fighting alliance of an MBTA police officer and a pair of down-and-out panhandlers near South Station foiled an alleged arson-for-hire scheme on Cape Cod and led to the arrest of a Harwich man.
Benjamin Parker, 26, was arrested Saturday and charged with attempted arson, conspiracy and possession of an explosive device in an elaborate scheme to pay two homeless men $1,100 to set fire to a single-family home on the Cape. Parker will be arraigned today in Orleans District Court.
Harwich cops are crediting MBTA police officer Gerald Dorsainvil for listening to a vagrant’s bizarre tale and acting on it.
The MBTA officer could have easily dismissed a homeless guy saying, ‘Beat it, you’re a pain in the neck,’ but he didn’t,” said Aram Goshgarian, a spokesman for the Harwich Police Department.
Dorsainvil was on a routine security inspection at South Station on Thursday, when he spotted a homeless man with a placard that read, “Help me, Please, I am unemployed.”
The man told the officer that a driver had approached him and a buddy two weeks ago at Atlantic and Kneeland streets asking if they wanted to make some extra money. The homeless men agreed, and the driver returned Thursday at about 6 p.m. and said, ‘You still want the job, this involves burning down a house; I’ll be back at 8,’ ” police said.
The homeless men agreed but then approached Dorsainvil, who reported the scheme to his supervisors. The two homeless men agreed to play along with a police sting, and got into the man’s car. They were driven to the Cape as state troopers and Boston police followed in unmarked cars, police said.
“We have a pretty good relationship with the homeless,” Dorsainvil told the Herald. “The chief always reminds us not to dismiss anyone, because there’s … a chance in a million, like this one, that the information can help stop a crime.
Source:BostonHerald.com
Parolee wearing an ankle monitor nabbed shoplifting www.privateofficer.com
Benjamin J. Dugan, 28, of Walmore Road, was charged with petit larceny in connection with the theft of a$50 pair of Sketchers sneakers, according to reports.
He told police he had not been at the mall, but at least two Sears employees told investigators that Dugan approached them inside the store, asking whether they remembered him.
Anne Arundel County Kohl’s shoplifter brandished knife www.privateofficer.com
Anne Arundel MD Sept 27 2011 County Police arrested a man who they said walked out of a department store in Laurel with about $800 in merchandise on Saturday, then brandished a knife upon being asked to return to the store with the items.
Police said that at approximately 6:40 p.m. they responded to a report of a robbery attempt at a Kohl’s department store in Laurel. Police said a loss-prevention officer at the store reported having seen a man conceal numerous beauty products, including fragrances, on his person and leave the store.
Police said the loss-prevention officer approached the man outside the store and asked him to step back inside and return the items. However, the suspect produced a knife and said he would not return to the store, police said.
The suspect fled in a white pickup truck, police said. Police said they later found the man at his residence and arrested him.
The store’s loss-prevention officer retrieved the suspect’s address, which was on file from a prior incident, police said, adding that the items taken were valued at approximately $800.
The suspect was identified as Justin Laughlin, 19, of Laurel, police said.
Source:baltimoresun.com
