Archive
Wichita police arrest former teacher for sex crimes www.privateofficer.com
Wichita KS Sept 29 2011
Arkansas City police say former teacher wanted for allegedly committing sex crimes against children has been arrested in Wichita. Noble “Rick” Pendland, 46, was arrested without incident Wednesday and was booked into the Sedgwick County Jail on a $200,000 bond.
Officials have been searching for Pendland since July when he went missing after Arkansas City police uncovered information linking him to several child molestation cases. Police say Wednesday’s arrest was a joint effort between the Exploited and Missing Childrens Unit, Cowley County Sheriffs Department, Winfield Police Department and Arkansas City Police Department.
Pendland was a teacher in Wichita before moving to Arkansas City in 2008 where he taught middle school until 2010.
Source:kake.com
Police arrest man after suspicious airport package contained drugs www.privateofficer.com
Corey Joel Eichers, 21, has been charged with two counts of first-degree controlled substance crimes. He is in jail in lieu of $75,000 bail.
He was arrested Monday after he accepted the delivery of a package containing drugs, Stearns County Sheriff John Sanner said. The package contained a half-pound of cocaine and an ounce of meth, Sanner said.
The packaged was identified by the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport Police as suspicious and a search warrant revealed that it contained drugs.
Investigators with the Central Minnesota Drug and Gang Task Force arranged for it to be delivered. A search warrant was then executed at 3229 Terry Road in St. Wendel Township.
Seven firearms were removed from a safe in a bedroom that Eichers shared with a sibling, Sanner said. Investigators determined that Eichers knew the combination of the safe and had access to the weapons. Eichers is a convicted drug felon.
The drugs seized had a value of $9,000. If they had been diluted and distributed they could have brought in more than $50,000, Sanner said.
The investigation was assisted by the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office and St. Joseph Police Department
Nashville police shut down “private home” for being nuisance www.privateofficer.com
Nashville TN Sept 29 2011 Police and prosecutors shut down bars and motels when police are called repeatedly for fights, thefts, drugs or drunkenness.
They declare the site a public nuisance, padlock it and then use the courts to keep it closed or clean it up.
Now police have suspected drug houses in their sights.
Neighbors had complained for years that a house in Nashville at the end of Merry Street was a drug distribution point. The people coming and going there made it unsafe to go outside at times, said Councilwoman Edith Langster, who represents that area, in District 21.
In April, police moved in as community pressure increased. They boarded up the house and arrested the man they say was selling drugs there.
It was the first time Metro had used the nuisance laws to target a private home. Langster said it was a rousing success for the neighborhood.
“They’re very, very happy. If you ride down that street, people can walk their dogs now, they can sit on their porch, they can have flower gardens,” she said. “It’s like any other worthwhile neighborhood.”
The woman who owned the home, 86-year-old Lucille Carter, hasn’t lived there for years, said her attorney, FikishaSwader. She agreed to let Metro demolish the house, and she will keep the land.
“Because there was such narcotic activity, she was willing to make everyone happy,” Swader said. “She didn’t have the money to absorb litigation costs, so she agreed to let them destroy the property.”
The neighborhood is still waiting for the home to be demolished. “I hope that I’m there the day the bulldozers come to destroy the house,” Langster said. “That will be a time of rejoicing.”
Though the nuisance suits have been around since 1997, Metro has found them increasingly useful over the last year.
“Nuisance actions against businesses are not taken lightly and are a last resort when repeated warnings and other enforcement actions fail to get the message across,” said Metro Police Chief Steve Anderson in an email.
Recently, police shuttered Luau Louie’s Hula Hut at 217 Second Ave. S. in downtown Nashville, saying that the bar was a haven for underage drinking, drunk and disorderly patrons and fights. The owners will appear in court today.
The owners’ attorney, Adam Dread, said he respects the use of such nuisance suits to shutter problem businesses. But he said that it was unfair to use it on Luau Louie’s.
“You don’t use a tire iron to fix a window,” Dread said. “I believe that it could be used and still can be used as a tool in actual nuisance situations where the public is in danger, but I don’t think Luau Louie’s is one of those.”
Luau Louie’s is at least the fifth property targeted by Metro’s nuisance lawsuits since July 2010, when the Harding Inn was closed after complaints of prostitution, fights, shootings, stabbings and drugs. The owners sold that property. Only 15 businesses had been shuttered in 9 years prior to the Harding Inn case.
In addition to Luau Louie’s, two other bars have been hit with nuisance suits, both in the 1200 block of Murfreesboro Pike. The nuisance suits forced the businesses to restrict their hours and prohibit special events that could cause problems.
Swader expects more private homes to be boarded up.
“I’m sure of it,” she said. “This is the first one that they’ve really thrown, but they’re not going to stop.”
Source:the Tennessean
15 Year old arrested for raping woman at Maryland playground www.privateofficer.com
Montgomery County MD Sept 29 2011 A 15-year-old accused of raping a woman on an Olney playground told the victim that she would “end up on the bottom of the Potomac River” if she didn’t comply, according to arrest records, as new details emerged Tuesday about the attack last month.
Alvick Omenga, a high school freshman, appeared at a Montgomery County District Court hearing via video feed from the county jail. His dark-green prison jumpsuit engulfed his shoulders, and he looked with wide eyes into the camera. Judge J. Michael Conroy told him that if convicted he faced possible life in prison and ordered him held on $5 million bond.
Montgomery police arrested Omenga on Monday and charged him as an adult with first-degree rape and attempted robbery. His family members could not be reached for comment. Prosecutors said he had run away from home more than two months before the attack. School officials said he had enrolled this year as a freshman at Sherwood High School in Sandy Spring but was not an active student.
His writings on Facebook appear to be those of a typical teenager. A student with an e-mail address tied to Omenga’s name ran for class president under the name “Alvick the Champ,” according to a Facebook page devoted to the campaign.
Police allege that the teenager raped a 22-year-old woman Aug. 5 in Olney, about 10 miles north of the Capital Beltway.
At 12:40 a.m., the woman parked her car in the 18000 block of Wagonwheel Court, police said. After she got out, Omenga “blitzed” her from behind, according to arrest papers filed in court and signed by Detective Stephen Matthews.
“Don’t make a noise and you won’t get hurt,” he said, according to Matthews. “Shut up and stop talking . . . give me cash.”
The woman said she could get money from her house.
“You will give it to me first,” the suspect responded, according to Matthews.
Police allege that the suspect then grabbed the woman by the neck and forced her to a nearby playground.
As he raped her, he told her to stop crying, according to charging papers. Then he ran away, and the victim called police.
Detectives later spoke to an individual with a startling tale: Earlier in the summer — about about a week before the rape — Omenga had approached the individual, Montgomery prosecutor Peter Feeney said in court Tuesday.
“Hey, do you want to rape those two girls? It’s okay, people rape girls all the time and never get caught,” Omenga said, according to Feeney.
The person rejected the offer, but detectives got a sample of Omenga’s DNA on Sept. 9. Two weeks later, test results matched it to the Aug. 5 attack, authorities said.
Source:Washington Post
Former Broward County sheriff Nick Navarro dies www.privateofficer.com
Broward County Fla Sept 29 2011 As Broward’s sheriff, Nick Navarro was half-lawman, half-celebrity — allowing Cops TV crews to trail his deputies while launching a highly publicized obscenity crackdown against local rappers 2 Live Crew.
Out of office for almost two decades, Navarro’s controversial, colorful reputation is still one of the most famous chapters in Broward County history.
Navarro, 81, died Wednesday at home, his wife Sharron by his side. He had been suffering from colon cancer.
After being kicked out of office by Broward voters in ’92, Navarro ran a private security firm bearing his name.
But it was his eight-year tenure as Broward’s unorthodox sheriff that Navarro is most known for, thanks in part to his key role in permitting the television show Cops to film BSO deputies during its first season.
Other eyebrow-raising endeavors included Navarro ordering the arrest of rap group 2 Live Crew on obscenity charges, Navarro’s deputies cooking up their own crack cocaine to use in furtherance of drug stings, and Navarro coping with jail overcrowding by placing prisoners in a tent.
“He was on TV so much, he was on 60 Minutes,” said Nova Southeastern University law professor Bob Jarvis, who co-authored a book on the BSO’s history. “For the average person, if they could name only one Broward Sheriff, they would most likely be naming Nick Navarro.”
Even before his somewhat eccentric antics, Navarro was an unlikely sheriff due solely to his party affiliation: A Republican in a staunchly Democratic county.
The Cuban-born Navarro was sworn in as Broward’s top cop on Jan. 8, 1985, and promptly told the assembled reporters “you guys in the press are going to get a lot of ink out of me.”
Navarro kept that promise — and then some. He singlehandedly turned the Broward Sheriff’s Office into a celebrity law enforcement agency by allowing Cops to film his officers making arrests. As such, it’s fair to call Navarro one of the founders of the now-widespread genre known as reality TV.
In 1988, when television producer John Langley had the idea for a show where camera crews would tag along with policemen on their daily calls, the only law-enforcement official in America willing to cooperate was Navarro. These days police departments clamor for attention from Cops — now in its 24th season on Fox.
But during that first season, the show’s production crews followed only Broward sheriff’s deputies.
“Cops is the first reality-TV series, and Nick Navarro was instrumental in launching it,” Langley said Wednesday from his office in Hollywood, Calif. “When I called to ask him about it, he just said, ‘Come on down, let the chips fall where they may.’ He had guts, he had gumption, he was intrepid.”
Langley credits Navarro with ushering in a new era of transparency in law enforcement. Navarro’s critics, however, called him a relentless self-promoter who, somewhat ironically, routinely thumbed his nose at the rule of law. Rappers 2 Live Crew were ultimately acquitted of violating obscenity charges; Navarro’s practice of cooking up crack cocaine in police labs sparked outrage; the sheriff’s tent prisons had judges furious.
“Be a good Nick,” one judge famously told Navarro. “Not a god, Nick.”
The courts also scolded Navarro for implementing unconstitutional random searches of passengers at county bus and railroad stations.
“This is not Hitler’s Berlin nor Stalin’s Moscow,’’ Circuit Judge Robert Andrews chided the sheriff.
Under Navarro’s leadership, BSO not only grew in fame, but also in outright size, as the agency doubled its personnel to 3,000 and saw its budget increase from $75 million to $200 million. BSO took over law enforcement for three Broward cities: Dania Beach, Tamarac and Deerfield Beach.
But voters had tired of Navarro’s outlandish behavior by 1992, when the sheriff was defeated in a Republican primary despite being heavily favored. Navarro at first tried to have the election results thrown out, claiming voters couldn’t get to the polls because they were still dealing with the effects of Hurricane Andrew.
Former Broward Sheriff’s Office Capt. Ron Cacciatore, a friend of Navarro who left the agency when his boss did, said Navarro was ultimately undone by the controversy surrounding the 2 Live Crew arrests and BSO’s crack-manufacturing lab. Cacciatore said the public never fully grasped that the drug lab was being used in the furtherance of arrests — people became convinced BSO was putting more drugs on the streets.
Overlooked, Cacciatore said, was the fact that BSO’s crack cocaine was deliberately made to be weaker, and its non-narcotic ingredients were “safer” than what was commonly used — just in case an addict actually took the drug before an arrest was made.
“By cooking it ourselves, we could basically quantify what was in it,” Cacciatore said.
Cacciatore remembers Navarro as a lighthearted boss who was known to invite any employee he ran into — including entry-level staff — out to lunch on a whim. Navarro had a fondness for the Swap Shop flea market, Cacciatore said, as well as Yorkshire Terrier dogs. When one of Navarro’s Yorkies died, Cacciatore received a phone call. The sheriff was in tears.
“He said it was old, and it fell in the pool,” Cacciatore said.
Current Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti expressed his admiration for the man who promoted Lamberti to chief of the Deerfield Beach Sheriff’s Office in 1989.
“It’s a sad day,’’ Lamberti said Wednesday. “All of us who had the pleasure of working for Sheriff Navarro know he was a cop’s cop. He was always on the front line.’’
Lamberti told of a time when Navarro, on his way home from a charity gala and dressed in a tuxedo, phoned in that he was in pursuit of a drunk driver, and then pulled over the offending vehicle and waited for uniformed deputies to arrive.
“He always had the people’s best interest at heart,’’ Lamberti said, echoing Navarro’s slogan, “He was the sheriff of all the people.’’
Lamberti said he visited Navarro last week at Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale, where the former sheriff was recovering from complications of colon cancer surgery performed the previous year.
Even in failing health, Navarro’s mind was on the agency he once led.
Lamberti said Navarro wanted him to arrange a dinner for the four most recent Broward Sheriffs, including Tom Walker, Bob Butterworth, Navarro and Lamberti, and their wives.
“He lived for the Broward Sheriff’s Office,’’ Lamberti said. “He was always the sheriff.’’
Services are pending.
Source:www.miamiherald.com
Armored car robbery in Methuen Mass. an inside job www.privateofficer.com
Methuen MA Sept 29 2011 Prosecutors say an armored car robbery in Methuen on Wednesday afternoon was an inside job, cooked up by the two guards and a third man who played the role of the robber.
Justin Levesque, 43, of Cumberland, R.I., and Eliezer Martinez, 26, of Lawrence, allegedly agreed with Willie Salazar Vasquez, 22, of Lawrence that Vasquez would rob them. Vasquez’s performance included taping up the eyes and hands of Levesque.
After committing the make-believe robbery of the Garda armored car, Vasquez went to his home in Lawrence with the stolen money and a gun he had taken from one of the guards, prosecutors said.
Levesque and Vasquez pleaded not guilty today in Lawrence District Court. A judge set $150,000 cash bail. A pretrial hearing was slated for Oct. 14.
Martinez, who suffered chest pains after the robbery, was still in the hospital, but he was expected to be arraigned later this afternoon.
Officials said the men had stolen an estimated $400,000 in cash and checks, which the armored car had picked up on its daily rounds.
Methuen police said Monday that the armored car had been robbed after a man disarmed a guard at the Big Lots department store.
The robber commandeered the vehicle, then exited it near the intersection of Jackson and Prospect streets in Methuen. The guards then drove to the Methuen police station to report the robbery, police said at the time.
The armored car had traveled on its regular route to Methuen from Needham, according to Methuen Police Lieutenant Kevin J. Martin. Detectives and FBI agents spent Monday night dusting the vehicle for fingerprints and other evidence.
Garda did not have a comment this morning on the arrest of two of its employees.
OFFICER DOWN Deputy Sheriff Bryan Sleeper
Deputy Sheriff
Bryan Sleeper
Burleigh County Sheriff’s Department, North Dakota
End of Watch: Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Biographical Info
Age: 39
Tour of Duty: 4 years
Badge Number: 4837
Incident DetailsCause of Death: Heart attack
Date of Incident: September 28, 2011
Weapon Used: Person
Suspect Info: In custody
Deputy Sheriff Bryan Sleeper suffered a fatal heart attack while assisting another deputy arrest a combative subject at about 12:45 am.
The other deputy had attempted to stop the man for speeding, but the suspect refused to stop and drove to his home. During the ensuing confrontation, the man was tased twice before Deputy Sleeper could handcuff him.
Deputy Sleeper collapsed moments later. He was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Agency Contact InfoSheriff Pat Heinert
Burleigh County Sheriff’s Department
PO Box 1416
Bismarck, ND 58502
Phone: (701) 222-6651
Jury finds second man guilty in murder of Baltimore security officer www.privateofficer.com
The second of two men charged in the shooting and killing of a 72-year-οld security guard whο worked fοr the Afro-American newspaper was convicted of first-degree murder Wednesday evening.
After deliberating for two days, a Baltimore City Circuit Court jury found Michael Hunter, 20, guilty of murder, armed robbery and handgun violations in connection with the murder of Charles Bowman during the April 8, 2010, robbery οf a Chinese food carryout in Waverly that netted $13. Prosecutors said Hunter was the gunman during the crime, which shook the North Baltimore community ¿nd led police tο flood th¿ area w¿th extra officers.
Several times Tuesday and Wednesday the jury appeared to be deadlocked, but each time Circuit Judge Lawrence P. Fletcher-Hill sent the jury back for more deliberation, according to Stephen J. Gewirtz, of Charles Village Court Watch, who monitored the trial.
“In my opinion, justice was done today,” Gewirtz wrote in an email about the case. “[Bowman] was obviously a beloved member of his family and of the community, and we have suffered a great loss.”
Last week, Fletcher-Hill lengthened the sentence of Hunter’s co-defendant Troy Taylor, 20, whom he held in contempt of court after he refused to answer questions from attorneys while on the witness stand. Fletcher-Hill added five months and 29 days onto Taylor’s 35-year sentence for his first-degree murder conviction in the case.
Taylor pleaded guilty earlier this year.
Bowman had six children, 15 grandchildren ¿nd five gr¿¿t-grandchildren. H¿ ate frοm the Chinese carryout on Greenmount Avenue ¿ο frequently, h¿ needed οnly tο order “th¿ usual” tο get his meal, according to his step-daughter, Sandra Vanwright, who testified during the trial.
Hunter’s sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 23.
Source:baltimore sun
Injured IKEA worker wins $2 million in lawsuit www.privateofficer.com
Atlanta GA Sept 29 2011 A worker injured in 2005 while installing equipment in IKEA, the giant home goods retailer in Atlantic Station in Midtown, has won a $2 million verdict from a Fulton County State Court jury.
William Bradley Hall had sued Vratsinas Construction Co., the general contractor of the project, for damages after he fell from a ladder and injured his knee while installing a security system in the store.
According to details in the lawsuit, Hall says he was only using a ladder to pull wires from the ceiling grid after a supervisor from Vratsinas instructed him not to use a scissor lift because another worker had damaged the ceiling while using the equipment that provides a raised platform on which to stand.
Hall’s fall resulted in multiple surgeries, including a total knee replacement and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. He also accrued medical bills and lost wages because of resulting arthritis and nerve damage.
Hall worked for Consumer Security Systems, which was hired by IKEA, but did not have a direct line of command from Vratsinas.
That detail is what allowed Hall’s suit to go forward, said his lawyer, John Sherrod with Sherrod & Bernard in Douglasville.
“Had Consumer Security Systems been a subcontractor of Vratsinas, Georgia law would not have allowed this suit to go forward,” Sherrod said, and Hall would have had to pursue damages through workers’ compensation.
There was no immediate word from Vratsinas’ lawyer on whether the company would appeal the verdict.
Chemical Suicide Detection Kit now available to first responders www.privateofficer.com
VIRGINIA BEACH, VA Sept 29 2011 – Chemical suicides have doubled in the first half of 2011 in the United States over figures from 2010. A total of 72 deaths have already been confirmed in the US with 27 having occurred in 2011. Chemical suicides are the result of mixing common household chemicals resulting in a toxic gas, most notably hydrogen sulfide. Combined in a confined area, the victim quickly asphyxiates. Unfortunately, for many first responders, and despite warnings posted by the victims, over 80% of police and first responders have been injured when responding to chemical suicide situations.
Morphix Technologies ®, an innovator in the science of colorimetric detection devices for dangerous chemical gases, is on the forefront of preventing accidental exposure to first responders from these toxic chemicals. The Chameleon® Chemical Suicide Detection Kit offers police, EMS and first responders a field-configurable, low-cost, easy-to-use, hands-free solution when encountering a chemical suicide.
The most notable gas produced in chemical suicides is hydrogen sulfide. In low concentrations hydrogen sulfide produces the common “rotten egg” smell, but in higher concentrations the chemical first affects the sense of smell by paralyzing the olfactory nerves, thus the victim no longer smells anything and neither will first response teams.
Death results from pulmonary edema and/or respiratory failure. Concentrations can be so high as to incite death in just one breath. Most victims have chosen an automobile as the location for the suicide act and by taping the surrounding gaps in the doors and vents and posting warning signs, think that toxic chemicals are well contained. But often times the chemicals vent outside the suicide area and without a reliable and easy-to-read chemical detection system, many first responders require medical attention and even long-term care after exposure.
The use of Chameleon® Detection Kits by police, fire and first responders on service calls and as a part of their training program can provide an extra measure of safety and perhaps even save lives. In addition to safety considerations, the use of the Chameleon® can reduce liability, injury, time off and result in a reduction of costs by possibly preventing injuries.
The Chameleon® is designed for an easy on/easy off fit on the wearer’s forearm and can be worn over most turn-out gear or level-A suits. The sensors change color when toxic gases are present and require no power source or calibration. Unlike current colorimetric detection systems, the Chameleon® is designed to military standards for use in a wide variety of operating environments. It can be used in desert heat, arctic cold or tropical conditions and can even be immersed in water. The Chameleon® detects gases and vapors in the air where other technologies only detect hazards in liquid or aerosol forms. Gaseous forms of toxic chemicals are the most likely danger to first responders, police and fire personnel.
The Chameleon® Chemical Suicide Detection Kit contains sensors for: high pH (base), hydrogen sulfide, low pH (acid), phosphine, and sulfur dioxide. See the video on the Chameleon® Suicide Detection Kit or for more information on any of the Chameleon® Detection Kits visit http://www.morphtec.com.
About Morphix Technologies:
Morphix Technologies®, located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, is an ISO 9001:2008 certified company developing and manufacturing products that detect invisible dangers in order to save lives. Morphix Technologies has taken innovation to the next level with high-quality, easy-to-use, cost effective simple colorimetric sensor technology for military, first responders, emergency, homeland security and industrial personnel.
For more information, go to: http://www.morphtec.com
DeKalb County jail employee arrested for identity theft www.privateofficer.com
Adriara Addison, 20, had only worked as a jail technician for a year. Addison was in charge of things like intake and monitoring inmates in hallways. It was a position that also gave her access to inmates’ personal information.
“We found that there was a scam here in which she was using our computer systems to get information on inmates — their names, date of birth, and Social Security numbers,” Sgt. Adrion Bell told Channel 2’s Erin Coleman.
The investigation started because of a traffic stop over loud music. DeKalb police pulled over Addison’s boyfriend, Robbie Sims, accusing him of playing his music too loud and speeding through the Woodside Village Apartments in Stone Mountain. Sims was driving Addison’s car, and there was a warrant out for his arrest.
“She was told to just cease communication with him. Our investigation indicates she did not,” Bell said.
After searching her home, investigators said they found evidence that Addison was using the inmate information to file false tax returns and obtain fraudulent food stamp cards. They also found one inmate’s Social Security card and driver’s license. Officers believe she took that from the property room at the DeKalb Jail.
“It’s hurtful to the organization but after you’ve been at this — you learn we have to pluck the bad apples out and keep moving forward,” Bell said.
Addison and Sims both face two counts of fraudulent identity theft. But the investigation continues, and officers said there could be many more cases.
“We don’t know how many tax returns were actually sent out,” Bell said. “It could snowball. I’m not saying it will, but it could. We won’t know until the investigation is closed.”
Addison’s mother and stepfather both work at the DeKalb County Jail. Addison was released on $6,000 bond. Sims remains in the DeKalb County Jail on $14,000 bond.
Source:wsbtv.com
Thieves cut their way into Forsyth County jewelry store -steal $2.8 million of merchandise www.privateofficer.com
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga.Sept 29 2011 — Thieves cut their way into a Forsyth County jewelry store and got away with $2.8 million in merchandise in what may turn out to be one of the largest jewelry heists in Georgia history.
“They look like professionals,” store owner Ibrahim Ehicam told Channel 2′s Richard Elliot.
“They emptied the whole thing. I mean, they took everything, even the last one cent, even the cash register,” Ehicam said.
Investigators said the thieves started their heist from an adjoining empty building and then cut through a solid concrete wall to enter the Milano’s Fine Jewelry store on Buford Road early Sunday morning.
Ehicam told Elliot he built his store four years ago with solid concrete walls to deter thieves, but it didn’t do much good. He said the thieves bypassed the security system and must’ve taken half a day to cut their way through another concrete and steel wall to break into the safe.
They also cleaned out every display case, Ehicam said.
“This is probably one of the largest we’ve had in Forsyth County in my 25 years’ experience here,” Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Tim House said. “We do have active leads we are following. Our investigators and crime scene technicians were on the scene all day gathering evidence and putting part of this case together.”
Ehicam told Elliot that he does have insurance, but it won’t cover even half of their loss.
“Our loss is big,” said Ehicam. “I don’t know how we’re going to recover, but we will. We have no other choice.”
source:wsbtv.com
Charlotte police capture man wanted in CVS kidnapping www.privateofficer.com
CHARLOTTE, N.C. Sept 29 2011– Police arrested the man who they say kidnapped a woman and forced her to take money out of her bank account for him.
They charged Anthony Little with second degree kidnapping and robbery with a dangerous weapon. Investigators believe Little kidnapped a 60-year-old woman at CVS on South Boulevard Saturday.
The woman was trying to get into her car, when police say Little forced her inside and made her drive three miles to Bank of America on Freedom Drive.
Then, investigators believe Little forced the woman to take $500 out of her account. Eventually, they say, he let her go without hurting her.
Source:wsoctv.com
Phoenix teacher arrested for sexual assault of student www.privateofficer.com
Phoenix, AZ Sept 29 2011 – A Phoenix teacher has been arrested for sexually assaulting one of her students. MCSO says 49 year-old Rosanna Brown lured her 14 year-old student to a Phoenix hotel over the weekend and assaulted him. Brown is an English teacher at Ed Pastor Elementary School.
Detectives say Brown had been text messaging the boy and lured him to a Tempe hotel by portraying herself as a sexually active teenager. After the assault, the boy called his mother and told her what happened. She then showed up at the hotel and confronted Brown before calling police.
Brown has been a teacher for 28 years, but had only been teaching at Ed Pastor since August. Detectives are interviewing school employees and others to rule out the possibility of any additional victims.
Brown was booked into the 4th Avenue Jail on 3 counts of Sexual Conduct with a Minor.
Source:myfoxphoenix.com
Inmate “inadvertently released” robs bank www.privateofficer.com
During a news briefing at the Richmond Jail, Woody said the inmate, identified as Maurice Emile, 32, of Wernersville, Pa., was “inadvertently released during a process of getting ready to go to federal court” for a hearing. He was wearing civilian clothes.
“He went out as the regular folks were leaving around 9:10 this morning,” Woody said. “It was detected that he got in with the wrong group and was released.”
Woody said his staff immediately took action and deputies went to an area where the inmate was seen getting into a car.
A short time later, Woody said, authorities learned that a SunTrust bank had been robbed at Lombardy and Broad streets, and the person responsible was identified as the escaped inmate. He was arrested a short time later by Richmond police.
Woody said Emile had been held in the city jail since April on charges of robbing the same Suntrust Bank on April 30. “He did the same thing that he did this morning,” Woody said.
The suspect gave the teller a note demanding money. No one was hurt, Woody said.
Woody said the circumstances of the inmate’s mistaken release is under investigation.
“As far as how he was released and how it took place, and what violations and rules were violated as a result of the release,” will be examined thoroughly, the sheriff said.
The sheriff said between 25,000 and 30,000 inmates a year are transported to court hearings, taken out for other reasons or released, “and even though one escapes it’s just like a homicide” in terms of its seriousness to jail operations.
“It’s one too many,” Woody said. “But these things happen and we’re not making any excuses. We’ll find out what the break down [was] and we’ll take necessary action.”
Source:Richmond Times Dispatch
Family sues Wackenhut Security, Shands Jacksonville Hospital in shooting death www.privateofficer.com
Jacksonville Fla Sept 29 2011 Standing at the entrance to the ambulatory center pharmacy at Shands Jacksonville hospital is a security guard manning a walk-through metal detector.
At the counter, customers talk to pharmacy assistants through bulletproof glass.
That is the legacy of Shannon McCants.
Those security measures were not in place when a disgruntled customer pulled a gun from her purse and fatally shot her in November 2006 as she worked there as a supervising pharmacist.
A jury later convicted the shooter, Brenda Joyce Coney, in September 2008. She is now serving life in prison.
But McCants’ family has not rested.
They have now taken their case to civil court where their attorney argued during opening statements Tuesday that negligence by the security company hired by Shands largely contributed to the deadly shooting.
But attorneys for the defendant, Wackenhut Corp., have pointed a finger at Shands.
They contend that Wackenhut served in merely a supplemental role to Shands and its security force of approximately 100 guards knew the pharmacy was a high-risk area and should have red-flagged Coney due to her history of violent altercations at the hospital.
The interpretation of Wackenhut’s role at Shands will be a key deciding factor for jurors.
Dawn Whitehurst, attorney for the McCants estate, argued that Wackenhut failed in its duty as a professional security force to “develop a battle plan for Shands.” She said it neither lived up to its own policy nor industry standards when it did not evaluate the entire facility and never recommended that a security guard be placed at the pharmacy.
However, Roger Sulimirski, general manager of Wackenhut’s Jacksonville branch, was persistent during his testimony Tuesday that his company was contracted to provide only limited services at Shands.
Sulimirski said Wackenhut simply provided extra manpower for Shand’s security in a function that had diminished since the company signed into contract with the hospital in 2000. Only two Wackenhut guards were contracted to stand post by the time of the 2006 shooting, both in outside parking lots.
Sulimirski said his guards took on-site orders from Shands personnel, led by security director Ciro Cardelli, and were not routinely given incident reports.
Such reports were written when Coney used a machete-style knife in an altercation with a patient in July 2006 and again when she slapped a nurse two times in the face in November 2006, just more than two weeks before she killed McCants.
Whitehurst spent much of Sulimirski’s testimony grilling him on a series of security reports. He downplayed the surveys as marketing tools used to give his clients annual updates on the services provided.
The trial is expected to last throughout the week.
Source:jacksonville.com
Lumberton NC police officer arrested for embezzlement, drug trafficking www.privateofficer.com
Patrolman Matthew Albert Miller, 24, has been charged with one count of obtaining a drug by fraud and two counts each of embezzlement and trafficking opium by possession.
The State Bureau of Investigation arrested Miller on Monday, about two weeks after Lumberton Police Chief Michael McNeill said he requested an investigation into Miller’s actions because a resident had complained about him.
The police chief refused on Tuesday to discuss the allegations against Miller.
According to documents filed in court, Miller, of Michael Gibson Drive in Clarkton, is accused of taking methadone and oxycodone on Aug. 22 from a woman identified as Kimberly Lowery.
Miller got the drugs by “misrepresentation, fraud, deception and subterfuge in telling her that he was going to dispose of the substances,” say the charges filed in court by SBI agent C.T. Bullard.
It wasn’t clear Tuesday how Miller knew Lowery or why Lowery had the drugs.
James Moore, the city’s human resources director, said Lowery is not employed by the city or Police Department. Court records indicated she has not been charged with a crime.
Attempts to reach Lowery were unsuccessful.
The charges of embezzlement against Miller allege that he did “knowingly misapply and convert to his own use oxycodone and methadone belonging to the Lumberton Police Department. At the time the defendant was over 16 years of age and was the employee and officer of Lumberton Police Department and in that capacity had been entrusted to receive the property described above.”
Moore said that Miller was hired July 29, 2009 and his annual salary is $31,383.
McNeill said on Tuesday that Miller is being suspended, although the police chief had not yet decided whether the suspension would be paid.
Moore said city officials recommended Miller be suspended without pay.
Miller’s bail was set at $8,000, according to the SBI. Court records indicated that he posted bail on Monday.
Source:fayobservor.com
Tampa man charged with murder of Target store security officer www.privateofficer.com
TAMPA Fla Sept 29 2011 — It’s no secret where he comes from: Mervin “Greg” Bettis is a thief.
The 35-year-old has been in and out of Ohio prisons, thanks to what his mother calls a “compulsion” to take things that don’t belong to him.
Even his 13-year-old son knows his father can’t stop and dreams of one day owning his own store — so his father can steal in safety.
A thief, but not a killer, his family insists.
But that’s exactly what the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office says he is.
Bettis, accused of stealing thousands of dollars in merchandise from Target stores in May, now faces a much graver charge: murder.
Deputies say Bettis is responsible for the death of a Target security guard who collapsed and died from heart failure in May minutes after struggling to detain him for theft.
An autopsy concluded Russell Horner’s death was the direct result of his struggle with Bettis, deputies said.
And that led to an unusual charge Tuesday: third-degree felony murder. A person can be charged with felony murder if a death occurs during the commission of a felony, in this case grand theft.
Horner, 65, a retired FBI agent, died at Town & Country Hospital on May 27, less than an hour after he struggled with Bettis, deputies said.
Store employees first spotted Bettis walking past the cash registers at the Target at 11627 W Hillsborough Ave. He was pushing a shopping cart filled with about $1,100 in stolen merchandise, deputies said.
An unnamed Target loss prevention agent had been investigating Bettis for similar crimes at two nearby Target stores. The agent chased Bettis and stopped him before he could get to the parking lot, deputies said.
They fell to the ground and Horner jumped in to help, deputies said. The fight spilled out onto the sidewalk and ended nearly five minutes later with Bettis in handcuffs.
Horner took Bettis to a holding room to await authorities, but began experiencing shortness of breath. He continued breathing heavily as he sat down and examined a bruise on his elbow, surveillance footage showed.
Seven minutes after the fight with Bettis began, Horner collapsed on his way to an adjoining room, officials said.
Paramedics performed CPR but it was too late. Less than an hour after Bettis was first spotted in the store, Horner was dead.
Horner was not known to have any health problems before the incident, said sheriff’s spokeswoman Debbie Carter.
Bettis has been in jail since his arrest on charges of robbery, grand theft and battery on a person 65 years or older. The third-degree felony murder charge carries a maximum sentence of up to 30 years in prison.
His mother expressed shock at the latest charge.
“When I got to talk to him shortly after he was locked up, he told me he was trying to steal something to get enough money to come home,” said Bettis’ mother, Patricia. “Now I’ll never see him again.”
Mrs. Bettis, a 65-year-old woman of modest means, said she doesn’t understand why her son can’t stay out of trouble. “He was raised better than that,” she said. “But it doesn’t matter. He just has to steal something all the time.”
He arrived in Tampa in April, Mrs. Bettis said. He was in Florida vacationing with a friend and she expected his stay to be brief. The next thing she heard, her son was back in jail.
Bettis, who installed silos for a living before he was fired for driving without a license, has been in and out of prison in Ohio. He has been arrested numerous times on offenses including theft, burglary, criminal mischief and heroin possession.
He is being held in lieu of $211,500 bail.
