Archive
Tennessee National Guardsman kills Georgia deputy sheriff www.privateofficer.com
AUGUSTA, Ga. Oct 24 2011 — Authorities say a Tennessee National Guardsman training at a Georgia military post shot and killed a sheriff’s deputy, then committed suicide alongside a road.
Richmond County Sheriff Ronnie Strength said evidence shows 26-year-old Christopher Michael Hodges fired 35 rounds from his M4 semiautomatic rifle during the incident early Sunday morning.
The Augusta Chronicle reports that Hodges and 47-year-old Deputy James D. Paugh were found dead on the side of Bobby Jones Expressway.
Hodges had been training at Fort Gordon.
Strength said Paugh was off duty and on his way home when he saw a suspicious car on the side of the road. He was shot several times when he stopped to check on the car and apparently fired two shots from his service weapon before he was killed.
Source:AP
Augusta utilities employee charged in theft of items www.privateofficer.com
Augusta GA Oct 24 2011 A second Augusta utilities employee has been charged in connection with the theft of items from the Augusta-Richmond County Utilities and Meter Division.
Patrick Maurice Cooper, 48, was booked into the Richmond County Detention Center Wednesday on two counts of theft by taking in connection to the theft of 11 industrial brass water meters and a large spool of copper tubing.
On Tuesday, another employee, 22-year-old Shaheem Unique Monroe, was also booked on two counts of theft by taking.
Utilities Director Tom Wiedmeier said Monroe, a city employee since 2007, had been seen on at least 20 occasions attempting to sell the parts to area recycling centers.
Wiedmeier said there were additional questions about how Monroe gained access to the meters, which should have been locked up.
Investigator Kendall Brown, the coordinator of the C.S.R.A. Metal Theft Task Force, said those questions were answered with the arrest of Cooper, who served as Monroe’s supervisor.
Brown said Cooper, a city employee for the past eight years, took part in selling items and took part of the money received from the stolen items.
“We’re still working closely with Augusta Utilities to make sure there isn’t anyone else who was in cahoots with them at the warehouse,” Brown said.
The two join a list of city utilities employees who have been arrested recently.
They include workers Ricky Colrey Dunn, 27, and Benjamin Gary Gibson, 28, who were arrested in March for visiting an apartment used in a Richmond County Sheriff’s Office undercover sting operation, and Troy Curry, 46, a meter reader who was arrested and charged with selling crack cocaine in August 2010.
Source:the augusta chronicle
Philadelphia woman sprays police with pepper spray in shoplifting incident www.privateofficer.com
Chester County PA Oct 24 2011 A Philadelphia woman observed stealing $423 worth of perfume from the Victoria’s Secret store in the Exton Mall on Tuesday responded to pursuing officers by spraying them, but not with fragrance, police said.
At about 8 p.m., officers located 19-year-old Shanitta J. Hunter in a parking garage at the mall. Police said that although she was ordered to stop, Hunter continued to flee on foot and directed what later proved to be pepper spray at the approaching officers, who took her into custody before being treated at the scene by ambulance personnel due to the effects of the spray.
Hunter, who has been arrested at least twice in Montgomery County for retail theft, was charged with retail theft, resisting arrest, aggravated assault, and related offenses and remanded to Chester County Prison after failing to post $25,000 cash bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Tuesday
Watertown shoplifting spree lands three women in jail www.privateofficer.com
Watertown NY Oct 24 2011 Local police filed additional charges Wednesday against three women from Utica and Syracuse after alleging they stole merchandise worth $4,078 in an Oct. 6 shoplifting spree that took in five stores.
The trio, Ebony M. Ellis, 34, and Sharonica E. Barker, 39, both of Utica, and Nikita Godwin, 22, Syracuse, were sent to the Metro-Jefferson Public Safety Building, each under $15,000 bail, following their arraignments Wednesday before Watertown City Judge James C. Harberson.
Fourth-degree counts of grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property, as well as three counts of fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, were added Monday to the initial charges filed on Oct. 6 of fourth-degree grand larceny and possession of a burglary tool.
Their alleged spree that day was halted at T.J. Maxx, 1283 Arsenal St., where they were accused of stealing items priced at a total of $1,159.68. Police found them possessing more merchandise in their vehicle, leading to Wednesday’s charges for four stores at Salmon Run Mall. The Hollister store claimed products worth $1,339.30; Lids reported a loss of $654.77; Dick’s Sporting Goods experienced a $556 theft, and Victoria’s Secret showed a theft tally of $368.50, police said.
Ms. Godwin also was charged Oct. 6 with harassment and resisting arrest.
Source:watertowndailytimes.com
Nine Mexican men sue Frazer Township and J.C. Penney Co for unlawfully detaining them www.privateofficer.com
Frazer Township PA Oct 24 2011 Nine Mexican men sued Frazer Township and J.C. Penney Co. Thursday, claiming they were held without cause for hours by store employees and police who apparently thought that they might have ties to a man who had passed counterfeit money.
The American Civil Liberties Union is representing the men, who spend most of each year living in Sharpsburg on work visas and cut grass. They share an apartment and a van, and they send money home to relatives in Mexico, according to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court.
Their arrest “has made them more scared about going out and shopping or just going about their usual business while they’re in this country,” said ACLU attorney Sara Rose. “They are terrified of ever going to the J.C. Penney again.”
The department store’s press agents could not be reached for comment.
“These are only allegations at this point,” Frazer solicitor Timothy Bish said. He said the township had not yet seen the complaint.
On Oct. 8, 2010, the nine plaintiffs and one other man, who is not part of the lawsuit, went shopping at the Pittsburgh Mills mall in Frazer, the complaint said. The mall has a security arrangement with that township’s police, it said.
Several of the men went to J.C. Penney, and one used a $100 bill to buy a pair of tennis shoes. Store employees then brought four of the men “forcibly to a security room” in the store, it said.
There, Frazer Officer Joseph Martino and another officer interrogated them, it said. Eventually, all 10 men ended up at a police substation near the mall. They were handcuffed and not given food or water, it said.
At one point, plaintiff Arturo Ocampo Aponte was shown photographs of a Hispanic male apparently accused of passing counterfeit money, but it did not resemble any of the men arrested, the complaint said.
After they were released, uncharged, they found their “van in complete disarray, with the glove compartment open, grocery bags knocked over, and food lying everywhere, much of it trampled on, effectively destroyed and, thus unusable,” it said.
The complaint said the incident violated their rights against unreasonable search and seizure, discrimination and false imprisonment.
“The problem is that the only reason that these men were detained by police was because they were Mexican,” said Ms. Rose, adding that only two of them spoke English. “That’s a really scary thing.”
Victor Diaz, director of special projects for the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said he doesn’t think such incidents are “prevalent in this region” despite “all of the rhetoric” about immigration in the political arena.
Source:post-gazette.com
DeKalb County grand jury indicts former city of Chamblee employee www.privateofficer.com
CHAMBLEE, Ga. Oct 24 2011A DeKalb County grand jury has indicted a former city of Chamblee employee accused of stealing from taxpayers.
Bobbi Jean Farrell is facing charges of racketeering, theft and false writings.
“Anytime somebody betrays a trust, it hurts. It’s embarrassing,” Chamblee Police Chief Marc Johnson said.
He said Farrell worked as supervisor overseeing the city detention center and as a court clerk at night until an incident earlier this year.
A driver who had been found guilty, showed up later to challenge it.
Another clerk told him the paperwork said “not guilty” and that he’d be getting a refund of the bond he posted after his arrest. When the money didn’t come in the mail, the man kept calling the office.
An investigation found that Farrell had altered the paperwork to include her own address, so the refund check would be mailed to her home instead of to the driver’s home.
“The bond is returned, but not to the individual that has been convicted or plead guilty or gone to jail. The bond is returned to the individual that has altered the paperwork,” District Attorney Robert James said.
James said Farrell would then deposit the checks into her own personal account.
“She was using the criminal justice system in Chamblee to make money,” James said.
City officers originally arrested Farrell in July. Now, there’s a new grand jury warrant for her arrest.
No one answered the door at Farrell’s Chamblee home Friday.
“It’s one thing taking the money; there’s no excuse for that. But altering those documents that a judge handed her and trusted her really went to the core of violating some trust,” Johnson said.
Johnson said Farrell would wait for the defendants to leave the courtroom after their convictions and then would change the outcome of the case to either “not guilty” or “dismissed.”
That would trigger an automatic refund of the amount the drivers paid for bond after their arrests. The chief said Farrell stole a total of four checks, and he caught a fifth one before it was mailed.
“We hold people to a higher standard that are in those positions, but the reality is that this is basic kindergarten morality: Do not steal,” James said.
“It’s less than $3,000. It doesn’t make sense. You scratch your head, going, ‘Why would somebody do that, throw away a career?’” Johnson said.
Johnson said he was also concerned because the driving records of those four drivers would not have reflected the convictions that Farrell reversed, which could mean a lighter penalty the next time they were pulled over. He said he’s already gone back and changed those records accordingly.
Source:wsbtv.com
Clallam County sheriff’s evidence tech guilty in theft www.privateofficer.com
A jury of six women and six men found Allison guilty of theft and money laundering after close to five hours of deliberation following a four-day trial in Clallam County Superior Court.
The case began on Nov. 27, 2006, when 128 evidence bags that once contained money were found empty. An investigation revealed 49 deletions were made to the evidence entries in the computer system by Allison the day before an evidence audit scheduled for May 25, 2006. Charges were filed in May 2009.
During the trial Allison testified she made the deletions as a test of the system to troubleshoot why entries weren’t registering correctly during record searches. She said she didn’t know who stole the money.
Allison was taken into custody at the Clallam County jail pending sentencing scheduled for next month.
Source: awinters@sequimgazette.com
NC employee of SunTrust Bank charged with theft www.privateofficer.com
Burlington NC Oct 24 2011 An employee of SunTrust Bank has been arrested and charged with stealing money from a customer.
The Times-News of Burlington reported that Crystal Thacker Woods of Gibsonville was charged this week with a total of 18 counts related to forgery and obtaining money by false pretense.
Burlington police say Woods is being held in the Alamance County jail.
It was unclear if she has an attorney.
Officials say the money was taken between April and September.
They did not say how much money was taken.
The bank’s security department investigated and then called Burlington police.
Source:AP
Memphis teacher charged with rape of student www.privateofficer.com
MEMPHIS, TN – Oct 24 2011 – A Mid-South teacher is accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a teenage student.
April Wade, 34, was arrested Friday afternoon after police say a 17-year old Sheffield High student told officers he was involved in a sexual relationship with his teacher.
Wade was released Saturday on a $5,000 bond.
Joyce Champion, who lives across from Sheffield High, says the police need to enforce a more severe punishment.
“Obviously jail time is not helping,” she said. ‘You know, it’s not helping. It’s not a deterrent.”
Wade is at least the ninth Mid-South teacher to be arrested for having a relationship with a student within the past nine months.
Champion believes the dress code, younger teachers, and older students are all factors in the inappropriate behavior between students and teachers in this generation.
‘When I was growing up we were next door neighbors with our teachers, but they never crossed the line with them and they never crossed the line with us,” she said.
Police say the student claimed he had been living with his teacher for over a year. Child abuse investigators are looking into the case.
Neighbors say not only is the teacher at fault, but they want to know where are the parents of the student…police say the student told them he had been living with his teacher for over a year.>
Meanwhile, Champion said school leaders should come together with a pro-active solution to keep this situation from happening again.
“I don’t know what the school system can do,” she said. “The are going to have to sit down and figure out some kind of plan.”
Wade is set to appear in court Monday morning on the statutory rape charge.
Source:WMC-TV
Woman found with loaded gun at LAX www.privateofficer.com
LOS ANGELES CA Oct 24 2011 – A 54-year-old female defendant suspected of bringing a gun to a downtown Los Angeles courthouse Friday was arrested.
Susan Zabala of Los Angeles was arrested around 10 a.m. when a security official at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center, 210 W. Temple St., noticed a gun in her briefcase passing through the x-ray screening process, said Capt. Mike Parker of the Sheriff’s Headquarters Bureau.
Zabala, who was at court to appear as a defendant in a petty theft case, told security officials she had taken her husband’s briefcase by mistake, Parker said.
The gun, a Smith and Wesson two-inch revolver, was loaded with five rounds of blanks.
Zabala was arrested and booked for felony possession of a firearm in a state building. She is being held at the Century Regional Detention Facility in lieu of $50,000 bail.
This is the second gun recovered by deputies and sheriff’s security officers in Los Angeles County courthouses this year. There were 34,266 knives confiscated and 47 arrests for narcotics violations this year. Two guns and 51,806 knives were confiscated from people entering court facilities and 73 narcotics arrests made last year, Parker said.
Security officers attacked at casino www.privateofficer.com
According to the arrest report, the man attempted to re-enter Opal Nightclub after he was asked to leave because of his intoxication level and his behavior towards female patrons.
Security guards apprehended the man and began removing him when he bit one of them, drawing blood, according to the report.
Georgia police write speeding ticket during medical emergency www.privateofficer.com
Roswell, GA Oct 24 2011 – A Georgia man is upset after a police officer pulled him over for speeding while he was rushing his wife to the hospital because of chest pains.
Johnny White’s wife Roxanne has stage four breast cancer.
When Johnny offered that explanation, the officer requested proof.
“Now we find out she has cancer, we didn’t know that at the time,” said Lt. James McGee of the Roswell Police Department.
Roswell police say their officer followed procedure when he pulled over Johnny and his wife as he was speeding in a school zone on Hembree Road Tuesday afternoon.
Johnny says he told the officer his wife had stage four breast cancer, and had to rush her to the hospital because she was having chest pains. You can hear the off-camera exchange.
“She’s having a heart attack right now?” asked the officer.
“I don’t know. We’re trying to get to the doctor and you’re writing a ticket,” said Johnny.
“OK. The ambulance is on the way sir,” said the officer.
“I know one of the comments that’s come up, why didn’t the officer escort them to the hospital, to the doctor? Our policy forbids officer escorts,” said Lt. McGee.
Though the officer calls for an ambulance, the woman and her husband get upset as the officer continues writing the speeding ticket.
“This is breast cancer month and I can’t believe,” said Roxanne.
“May God forbid if some woman in your family, and you remember this day, you stopped us from seeking medical attention so that you could write the city a ticket or whatever violation,” said Johnny.
“Sir, I tried to explain everything to you and get some documentation or something,” said the officer.
“I tried to show you my body. What else do you want me to show you?” asked Roxanne.
“Do you want her to pull her breasts out and show you?” asked Johnny.
“That’s not what I want,” said the officer.
Though the officer called for an ambulance, Roxanne is heard saying she doesn’t want to pay for it because the hospital is only two miles away.
And while Roswell police say the officer broke no rules, “Yes it could have been handled differently,” said Lt. McGee.
Source:WSB/CNN
Milwaukee police officer accidentally shoots himself www.privateofficer.com
It happened around 2:45 Saturday morning at a gas station near 7th and Atkinson.
The officer and his partner heard gunshots and when he removed his gun, he accidently pulled the trigger.
There is a person in custody, and a gun was recovered from the gas station.
The officer is 29 years old with two years of service. He is being treated at a local hospital.
An investigation continues into the gas station incident.
Police make arrest in University of South Florida robbery www.privateofficer.com
TAMPA Fla Oct 24 2011— Police arrested a suspect early Sunday they say robbed a University of South Florida student at gunpoint.
Police did not release the suspect’s name because he is a juvenile, said University of South Florida police spokesman Lt. Chris Daniel. The suspect was found off campus and faces an armed robbery charge.
Police are still seeking two other male suspects.
At about 9:40 p.m., a USF student was sitting in his car in a campus parking lot off Fletcher Avenue. While coordinating plans to meet with a friend, the student was approached by three suspects, at least two of them armed, Daniel said.
The suspects demanded money, and the student complied. Daniel estimated the suspects took about $100 worth of the student’s property.
The suspects ran away, heading west off campus, police said. The student was not injured.
USF police and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office searched the area with patrol and air units. University-wide text and e-mail alerts were sent after the incident.
The two suspects are not believed to still be on campus, Daniel said.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call USF police at (813) 974-2628.
“This is just one of these times,” Daniel said, “that we encourage students and others in the USF community to remain vigilant and be cognizant of what goes on around you.”
Oregon hiker accidentally shot-killed by hunter www.privateofficer.com
SUBLIMITY, Ore. Oct 24 2011 — A 20-year-old hiker was killed after being accidentally shot by a hunter near Silver Creek Falls Friday night, police said.
Just before 6:30 p.m. dispatchers received a 911 report of shots fired in the 6300 block of Silver Ridge Road SE, near Sublimity, according to Don Thomson with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
Responding deputies were contacted by a man whose friend was suffering from gunshot wounds. They administered first aid until a medical crew arrived, but the victim died at the scene. He was identified as Christopher A. Ochoa, of French Camp, California.
Investigators learned that Ochoa was hiking through the field toward Silver Creek Falls with his friend when he was shot.
At the same time, 67-year-old Gene Collier, of Turner, was hunting for bear on the property with his 12-year-old grandson.
“He saw what he thought was a bear, moving in the brush,” Thomson said. “He fired one shot from his .270-caliber hunting rifle. The shot struck Ochoa.”
Collier was cooperating with detectives and Thomson said there was no indication of impairment due to alcohol or drugs. The grandson was kept some distance away from the shooting when it happened and he was not considered a witness.
Ochoa’s family was notified of his death. They told investigators that Ochoa had been in Salem to do some construction work. He was an active Marine Corp Reservist who was expected to report back for duty October 25.
“The shooting appears to be accidental, but the investigation will be turned over to the Marion County District Attorney’s Office for review,” Thomson said. “They will decide if Collier will be charged with any crimes.”
Police subdue suspect in George Washington University attack-burglary www.privateofficer.com
Washington DC Oct 24 2011 A man who forced his way into a dorm at George Washington University early Friday and punched some students is in custody tonight facing serious charges.
The incident is has raised new concerns about a campus wide problem-called piggybacking. That’s how police say 34 old Mergen Battulga got into the West End dorm–and walked right into a female student’s room on the fifth floor.
“She screamed very loudly, and he told her he would kill her if she didn’t shut up,”Riley Kirkpatrick says about her friend.
The students in the room scuffled with the suspect and called 9-1-1 when he fled into the hallway.
“She’s definitely freaked out, and I know she’ll never leave her door open again,”Kirkpatrick says. “But none of us ever thought something like this would happen. It’s definitely scary.”
Within minutes DC and GWU campus police were on the scene. Commander Michael Reese says Battulga resisted arrest, but was subdued and taken into custody and is now facing some serious charges.
” Burglary, simple assault, assault on a police officer,” Reese says. ” Anytime you’re in the security of your home and someone comes there, unknown, forces their way in, it’s a serious matter and they will be charged appropriately.”
Susan Feely drove in from Delaware to take her daughter home for a weekend visit. They’ll talk about security.
Feely says, “before I drop her off Monday morning, I’m going to give her the warning.”
Campus police are urging students to watch who they let into the building.. and to lock their individual rooms.
Despite the incident, some students don’t necessarily want guards at the door.
“I don’t feel that concerned,” Jimmy Patalano says. ” I think it was an isolated incident. I still feel really safe here.”
Source:www.myfoxdc.com
OFFICER DOWN- DEPUTY SHERIFF JAMES D PAUGH
Deputy Sheriff
James D. Paugh
Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, Georgia
End of Watch: Sunday, October 23, 2011
Biographical Info
Age: Not available
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available
Incident Details
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: October 23, 2011
Weapon Used: Rifle
Suspect Info: Shot and killed
Deputy James Paugh was shot and killed after stopping to investigate a domestic disturbance on the side of I-520 at approximately 1:20 am.
As Deputy Paugh stopped his department motorcycle the suspect opened fire on him with an M4 rifle. Despite being mortally wounded, Deputy Paugh was able to return fire. The suspect was found dead of gunshot wounds at the scene.
Agency Contact InfoSheriff Ronald Strength
Richmond County Sheriff’s Office
401 Walton Way
Law Enforcement Center
Augusta, GA 30911
Phone: (706) 821-1000
