Sumner County TN teacher charged with rape www.privateofficer.com

 

 

GALLATIN, TN Jan 26 2012 - A Sumner County teacher was arrested Wednesday morning on a charge of statutory rape.

Darryl Keen, 32, was suspended without pay from his position as a math teacher at Beech High School pending the outcome of the police investigation.

Sumner County Schools officials would not comment on the case, but Sumner County Sheriff Sonny Weatherford said the investigation involves a student at the school.

“It’s a student there at Beech High School, a young 17 year old girl that he had been talking with,” Weatherford said. “He talked her into meeting him in Hendersonville at a Holiday Inn in December.”

According to the police report, Keen admits to getting a hotel room in Hendersonville and staying there with the 17-year-old student and her friend, but Keen denies any sexual contact.

Keen was jailed on $150,000 bond.

Source:WSMV

West Virginia paramedic collapses and dies while on duty www.privateofficer.com

 

 

Boone County WV Jan 26 2012 A paramedic with Boone County (W.Va.) Ambulance Authority died while on duty today (Wednesday, Jan. 25) returning from a routine inter-facility transfer, according to information from The Boone Examiner, the local newspaper in Boone County.

Sarah Nodurft, 27, died suddenly and unexpectedly from an as yet undetermined cause, according to news accounts.

The West Virginia MetroNews Network reported that Nodurft collapsed and died on the way back to the station after taking a patient to a hospital in Charleston.

Boone County Ambulance Authority Director Randy Lengyel told the network news that Nodurft, who lived in Madison, had stopped with her partner to get something to eat at about 12:30 p.m.

“She just fell over. I really don’t know what happened,” Lengyel told the Charleston-based network news.

Nodurft had been working with the ambulance authority for about five years. She became a paramedic last June, according to news reports.

“Everybody is having a tough time with this,” Lengyel said. “It’s a tragic loss for us. She was a fine paramedic and a fine person too.”

On Nodurft’s social media website profile, posted on Myspace.com, she said she also worked part-time for Lincoln Emergency Services in Hamlin, W.Va.

She called herself “not your typical girly girl,” as she had knowledge of automotive repair, enjoyed four-wheeling and “having fun.” She also characterized herself as “a tad bit hyperactive 97 percent of the time” something she attributed to high-caffeine soft drinks as well as energy drinks like Vault, Red Bull and Monster.

Nodurft is also listed as an active member of the Red Knights Motorcycle Club, West Virginia #3, according to the club’s web site.

The Boone Examiner said she was a member of the Spruce River Fire Department in Jeffrey, W.Va.

Two former Hampton Roads Transit employees plead guily of embezzlement www.privateofficer.com

 

 

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. Jan 26 2012 - Two former Hampton Roads Transit employees pleaded guilty to embezzling close to $50,000 from the company.

24-year-olds Karen Watkins and Latasha Kiana Boyd were employed as vault pullers. Between Jan. 1, 2009 and Oct. 31, 2009, the Commonwealth’s Attorney says, both women visited the Park Avenue trolley station in Virginia Beach to collect the stored bus and trolley fares. The fares were then to be delivered to a money room in Norfolk.

Wednesday’s release states money pulled from the vault is kept inside a sealed container, but the container at the trolley station was not sealed, allowing the pullers access to the money inside.

HRT soon saw differences in the data collected from the buses at the trolley station and the actual money received. The company determined each incident involving a discrepancy occurred on days Boyd and Watkins were working without a security guard.

On Aug. 29, 2009, Boyd and Watkins were seen driving the HRT money van to a home before going to the money room in Norfolk. Both women were suspended.

The Commonwealth’s Attorney says from Jan. 2009 through Oct. 2009, Watkins and Boyd made frequent bank deposits of $1 bills. In all, Boyd took $24,414 while Watkins embezzled $23,969.

Both will be sentenced April 25.

Source:WAVY.com

Shreveport police officer charged with drug offenses www.privateofficer.com

 

 

SHREVEPORT, La. Jan 26 2012— Shreveport police have arrested one of their own on various charges, including solicitation of prostitution.

Undercover agents, investigating a complaint, arrested 30-year-old Jeffrion Smith, who’s been on the force since February 2009. He faces one count each of solicitation, distribution of a Schedule I narcotic and possession of a firearm with a controlled dangerous substance.

Police say once investigators finish questioning him Wednesday, he will be booked into the parish jail.

Authorities say Smith was off-duty when the alleged offenses occurred.
Police Chief Willie Shaw immediately placed Smith on paid administrative leave.

DeKalb County Georgia police officer charged with stealing while in uniform www.privateofficer.com

 

 

LITHONIA, Ga.Jan 26 2012 
A DeKalb police officer, recently named Officer of the Month, is now behind bars accused of stealing from people while in uniform.

Officer Ghayth Abdul-Mughnee, 30, was arrested Wednesday night and was taken into the DeKalb County Police Headquarters where he was a 4-year veteran, working as center precinct morning patrol officer.

Detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Abdul-Mughnee for theft by taking, possession of marijuana and violation of oath of office.

Police told Channel 2′s Sophia Choi some additional charges are pending.

Police said Abdul-Mughnee was put on administrative leave after investigators responded to a domestic call at his home on Raiders Ridge Drive in Lithonia shortly after 2 a.m. Monday.

An incident report said the officer’s live-in girlfriend, Shawte White, 33, alerted them about the theft as she was being arrested for simple assault.

The report said, “Abdul-Mughnee would bring miscellaneous items home from work that belonged to people he arrested.”

According to the report, inside the home in Lithonia investigators found a laptop, cell phone and an iPod, as well as several banking transaction cards and banking information.
A police source told Choi they found ATM cards with pin numbers and credit cards not only in the home, but in the front shirt pocket of Abdul-Mughnee’s uniform.

In the report, White also said Abdul-Mughnee would bring home marijuana that he had confiscated from drug suspects.

Also confiscated from his home: a patrol car.

Police said that was his perk for getting Officer of the Month in December.

That patrol car is now impounded as evidence.

Source:WSBTV

Pastor, retired officer among those arrested in Polk park sex sting www.privateofficer.com

 

 

Polk County Fla Jan 26 2012  Sheriff’s Office vice detectives arrested four men, including a pastor and a retired Canadian police officer, during an undercover operation today at Peace River Park in the Homeland area.

Detectives said after they made contact with the men, the suspects exposed themselves and/or asked them to perform sex acts on them.

Among those arrested was Matthew Preston Clark, 33, of Bartow, who told detectives he is senior pastor at the Blessed Assurance Temple, 1245 S. McAdoo Ave, Bartow. He was charged with soliciting a lewd act.

Also arrested was Carl Robert Kitchen, 72, of Lions Head, Ontario, Canada, and a part-time resident of Fort Meade. He told detectives he is a retired state police officer from Canada, where he served for 31 years. He was charged with exposure of sexual organ and soliciting a lewd act.

“It never ceases to amaze me when professionals such as preachers and law enforcement officers are engaged in such outrageous behavior,” Sheriff Grady Judd said in a release. “That type of behavior is not going to be tolerated in our parks. We want to ensure that all of our parks are safe for children and their families to enjoy. “

The other men arrested were Paul L. Wright, 41, of Dade City, and Roger Griffin, 63, of Lakeland. Wright was charged with soliciting a lewd act, and Griffin was charged with exposure of a sexual organ and committing a lewd act.

Source:TBO

San Francisco jury has awarded $465,400 to a Muslim security guard www.privateofficer.com

 

 

San Francisco CA Jan 26 2012 A San Francisco jury has awarded $465,400 to a Muslim of African descent who quit his job as a security guard after a co-worker called him a “goddamn terrorist,” supervisors made racist comments and a top company official endorsed a statement that “Muslims kill people.”

The Superior Court jury found Thursday that Abas Idris’ employer, Andrews International, was responsible for harassment and a hostile work environment that forced Idris to resign, and awarded him $65,400 for lost wages and emotional distress. On Monday, the jury added $400,000 in punitive damages.

Idris, 27, said Tuesday he’s had other security jobs both before and after his 2 1/2-year stint with Andrews, but none in which “co-workers and superiors were referring to me as a terrorist or referring to me as al Qaeda.”

He said the court case allowed him to stand up for his rights and to make it clear that “Islam is a religion of peace.”

Andrews International, a worldwide security company based in Los Angeles, plans to appeal the verdict, attorney Madonna Herman said Tuesday.

“Andrews does not condone discrimination or harassment of any kind,” Herman said in a statement. She said the company promoted Idris to a supervisory position and accommodated his requests for schedule changes.

Idris, of Eritrean descent, was brought to the United States from Saudi Arabia by his parents when he was 2. He was hired by Andrews as a security officer at the Letterman Digital Arts Center in the Presidio in September 2010 and made $14 an hour.

Idris, represented by attorney Angela Alioto, said in his lawsuit that the office manager told him in January 2008 not to zip up his black rain jacket because he looked “too black,” and his supervisor told him a racist joke eight months later.

Later, Idris said, one supervisor told him that war was one of the “pillars of Islam,” and another said that “Muslims kill people,” particularly gays.

Idris said a co-worker told him about a January 2010 conversation with a fellow security officer who referred to Idris as a “goddamn terrorist” and added, “You can’t trust al Qaeda.”

Idris said no one took his complaints seriously. When the incidents were discussed at a supervisors’ meeting in February 2010, he said, the company’s regional director, Tom Dinnauer, described Idris as “a rat with an agenda” and said his supervisor, who had declared that Muslims kill people, “has a good point.”

Idris said he quit his job that month in fear for his safety.

Source:sfchronicle.com.

25-year-old man convicted of assault on security officer faces life in prison www.privateofficer.com

 

 

Shasta County CA Jan 26 2012 A 25-year-old man is facing a potential life sentence in March after being convicted Tuesday by a Shasta County jury of felony assault and battery for stomping on the head of a security guard last year at Win-River Casino in Redding.

Prosecutors said they will seek on March 23 a 25-year-to-life prison sentence for Sergio Argueta, who was arrested on Jan. 15, 2011.

Prosecutors said Argueta stomped on the head of a security guard at Win-River Casino in Redding as the guard was trying to help another security guard detain a person there in a separate altercation.

The unidentified guard, who was knocked unconscious and suffered a concussion, has made a full recovery, prosecutors said.

Alabama security guard charged with murder www.privateofficer.com

 

 

Dothan AL Jan 26 2012  Police have charged a man working security at a rapper’s concert with shooting a Dothan man to death outside a downtown nightclub early Sunday morning.

Dothan Police Sgt. Will Glover said police investigators have arrested Travarius Dewaunkalis Daniel, 30, of Birmingham and charged him with murder. Daniel is being held without bail.

Dothan police found 26-year-old Anthony Jerome Robinson with a gunshot wound to the chest just outside a club called Primetime. Police responded around 3:15 a.m. to the club located on East Powell Street. Robinson died at Southeast Alabama Medical Center later Sunday morning.

Dothan attorney Billy Joe Sheffield, who has been retained to represent Daniel, said his client worked as head of security for the promotional group hired by Primetime. Daniel was not a member of the security for the rapper, Webbie.

Glover, the supervisor of the violent crimes unit, said about 50 people were gathered up by police after the murder, which he said included Daniel.

Glover said the murder was the result of an altercation that started inside the club, and escalated outside.

“There were approximately 30 people that we believe were involved in the altercation, and at this time it’s unclear if the victim was involved in the fight,” Glover said. “We’re still doing more interviews so we don’t know how it all started.”

A Dothan police statement said that during the fight, Daniel allegedly pulled a handgun and fatally shot Robinson. Daniel then ran across the road where he fired two additional rounds.

Daniel then tried to go into a nearby business before going back to Primetime where he was detained by police.

Glover said Daniel was originally only charged with misdemeanor criminal trespassing after he was banned from the club earlier in the evening.

“He came down with the security detail for the performer,” Glover said.

According to the Primetime Dothan Facebook page, the nightclub posted their condolences to the Robinson family after he was shot to death outside the club after a Webbie concert.

The club also apologized in the posting to their patrons for being detained inside the club for seven to eight hours for questioning so Dothan police could work on their investigation.

“Our heart goes out to everyone affected by this senseless act of violence, and may God continue to watch over us all in this time of uncertainty,” the Facebook posting said.

Glover said security for both the nightclub and the performer at the nightclub that night were involved in the altercation.

Glover said police charged several other people with misdemeanor marijuana possession during the massive investigation at the nightclub.

“It was part of the drag net,” Glover said.

Agents with the Alabama Alcohol Beverage Control Board and the Houston County Sheriff’s Office have assisted in the ongoing investigation.

Lt. Kenny Davis, the agent in charge of the Dothan ABC office, said there is an ongoing investigation into circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting and how it may impact the alcohol license for Primetime.

“They have had some ABC administrative violations in the past,” Davis said. “Criminal conduct has occurred at that license location, they have pleaded guilty and they have paid their fines on it.”

Davis said he could not comment on what type of criminal conduct has occurred at the nightclub in the past.

Sheila Brady, Robinson’s girlfriend, said she’d hoped police would make an arrest in his murder to bring him some peace. Brady said she is pregnant with Robinson’s baby.

“The baby is going to be named after him, Anthony Jerome Robinson Jr.,” Brady said. “I strongly believe when the baby is born, Anthony is going to be reborn. He left me something special, and that’s this baby. He was a great person, and had a great heart.”

Source:Dothaneagle.com

Hidalgo County jailer fired for working as illegal security guard www.privateofficer.com

 

 

McAllen TX Jan 26 2012 A Hidalgo County jailer is off the job after he allegedly worked as a security guard at a local nightclub falsely identifying himself as a police officer.

McAllen police arrested 22-year-old Gabriel Miranda early Sunday morning.

Investigators told Action 4 News that it all started with a disturbance at Club Phoenix around 12:49 a.m. Sunday.

Police officers reported that Miranda was wearing a black T-shirt that said “POLICE” and had a 9mm handgun in a holster.

Authorities learned that Miranda is not a licensed peace officer prompting officers to arrest him for false identification as a peace officer and unlawful carrying a weapon.

Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño told Action 4 News that Miranda was placed on administrative leave after the incident.

Sheriff Treviño said an internal investigation into the incident ended with Miranda being fired on Tuesday.

2,100 pounds of marijuana seized from fake AT&T work truck www.privateofficer.com

 

 

McCook TX Jan 26 2012 Two men are behind bars after authorities found more than a ton of marijuana inside a fake AT&T work truck.

It all happened off FM 490 just west of the Hidalgo County community of McCook.

A Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) state trooper pulled over what appeared to be an AT&T truck over for speeding 72 mph in a 60 mph zone.

Driver Aaron Arrellano-Salgado fled on foot but was caught.

Authorities found 189 bundles with 2,168 pounds of marijuana inside the cloned work truck.

State troopers pulled over a second car driven by Wilfredo Garza-Salgado for running a stop sign nearby.

According to court records, Garza-Salgado was acting as an escort for the AT&T truck.

Records show a man in Roma was going to pay Arrellano-Salgado $1,000 dollars to drive the fake AT&T truck and that Garza-Salgado was supposed to get $500 dollars to escort it.

Both men appeared before U.S. Magistrate Court Judge Peter Ormsby in McAllen on Friday morning.

Judge Ormsby denied bond for both men until a Thursday morning hearing.

Rio Grande Valley drug smugglers have used cloned or fake work vehicles from companies such as Halliburton and FedEx to smuggle drugs in the past.

Source:ValleyCentral.com

Shoplifters assault store security-lead police on chase www.privateofficer.com

 

 

Madison WI Jan 26 2012 Two shoplifting suspects who allegedly fled a department store after one punched a security guard were chased out of the west side mall and arrested by police several blocks away.

Deshana Graham-Golden, 17, Madison, was arrested for battery and retail theft and a 15-year-old male from Madison was cited for retail theft, according to a Madison police news release.

The two allegedly took merchandise from Sears at West Towne Mall at about 1:30 p.m. Monday.

“The loss prevention officer (store security) at Sears, a 31-year-old woman from Madison, was punched in the face as she tried to stop two shoplifters Monday afternoon,” said police spokesman Joel DeSpain.

The two suspects fled the store allegedly with stolen clothing, with the victim and a second store employee chasing after them.

“After the victim was punched, the two suspects took off across the West Towne Mall parking lot while still being pursued,” DeSpain said.

Police found the two suspects near South Gammon Road and Seybold Road and made arrests.

“Some of the stolen merchandise was recovered,” DeSpain said.

Source:madison.com

Atlanta police applicant claims he has been rejected because he has HIV www.privateofficer.com

 

 

ATLANTA GA Jan 26 2012 – A former investigator with the city of Los Angeles claims Atlanta police rejected his job application solely because he has HIV, a decision he said breaks the law and perpetuates stereotypes about people with the virus.

Atlanta police argue hiring the man poses a threat to the health and safety of the public, setting up a legal fight that is being followed closely by gay rights groups and police agencies.

A federal appeals court is scheduled to hear arguments in the case Wednesday, and judges will have the chance to pepper both sides with questions.

“It’s shocking and frustrating and very saddening that in 2012 this is still going on,” said the 40-year-old man who sued the city of Atlanta in 2010 under the pseudonym Richard Roe. “People are living with HIV and, for the most part, they are living normal lives and productive lives.”

Roe spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because he believes his medical condition could prevent him from other job opportunities.

Roe’s anonymous lawsuit mirrors a battle that has largely been waged quietly, without high-profile protests or marches. Several similar lawsuits have been dismissed by judges who sided with the police departments, or the cases were settled out of court, the agreements kept confidential.

A lower judge sided with the city of Atlanta in November 2010 and threw out the lawsuit, ruling that Roe failed to prove he didn’t pose a “direct threat” to the health and safety of others. Roe appealed the decision.

Atlanta attorneys said in court documents Roe didn’t disclose his condition and warned he couldn’t perform “essential functions” of an officer. The police department and city officials have refused to comment beyond court filings.

Roe said he was a criminal investigator with the city of Los Angeles, though he did not work with the police department. He discovered he had HIV in 1997 but said it didn’t hinder his ability to perform his duties. He said his infection never came up with the city.

He moved to Atlanta to find a better job, and in January 2006 began the lengthy process to join the city’s police force. He passed a written test, a psychological exam, computerized voice stress analysis and a background check. The roadblock came after a blood test during a physical revealed he had the virus that causes AIDS, his lawsuit said. The doctor did not do any further tests.

Roe said the physician, Dr. Alton Greene, told him Atlanta police had a policy of refusing to hire officers with the virus. Roe said the doctor’s statement violates the Americans with Disabilities Act, which he said prevents employers from dismissing anyone because they have HIV.

The city said they do not systematically reject job applicants because of HIV, but instead they look at each individual on a case-by-case basis.

In Roe’s case, the city said, the doctor recommended that he have “no physical contact or involvement with individuals.”

Catherine Hanssens, executive director of the Center for HIV Law and Policy, said the Roe case centers on the “belief that, 30 years into the epidemic, HIV is easily transmitted and results in a death sentence when it is transmitted.”

“And neither of those are remotely close to the truth,” she said.

Nurses, paramedics and other first responders with HIV have faced similar challenges over the years by employers, said Hanssens, but she said legal fights in those professions don’t often surface much anymore because decades of litigation and medical research shows those with HIV can work in higher-risk fields.

Scott Schoettes of Lambda Legal, the gay rights group that represents Roe, said the city will not be able to show that someone with HIV presents a public threat.

“And maybe other departments will realize that they should create a policy that explicitly says HIV should not disqualify you from getting a job,” he said.

Police departments often don’t have a policy about whether to hire an officer with HIV, and those that do are loath to advertise the decision to protect the privacy of their officers.

Darrel Stephens, the executive director of the Major Cities Chiefs Association, said his group has no guidelines for members on how to treat applicants with HIV. The Fraternal Order of Police also doesn’t have a policy, but president Chuck Canterbury said his group argues that officers with the virus should be protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Roe, who is in school studying criminal justice, said he’s waging the legal battle because he wants to serve the city.

“Because of my desire to serve my community, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere but out in the public,” he said. “Making the streets safer for the underdog is one of the most rewarding things I can do.”

Source:www.foxnews.com

Virginia Beach votes to keep private lifeguard service www.privateofficer.com

 

 

VIRGINIA BEACH VA Jan 26 2012– Council voted Tuesday night to continue to use the Virginia Beach Lifesaving Service to patrol the beaches at the oceanfront. The contract with the service would be for 5 years.

After a spirited discussion, the Council decided it was better to lock the lifesaving service into a contract rather than risk the city taking over the service and having the costs of operating it go up.

The vote was 7-4 to stay with the private service.

Some city officials said that the service provided through the private contractor cost the taxpayers too much. If the city had taken over the lifesaving duties it would have managed it through Virginia Beach EMS.

The Chief of Virginia Beach EMS, Bruce Edwards, believed they could do the same job, if not better, for a lot less money. He estimated a savings of more than $1.4 million over five years all while providing enhanced services like surf rescue boats.

But the city would have to expand its infrastructure and staff and the initial investment would cost the city more in its first year taking over services.

According to the EMS chief, Virginia Beach is one of the only major beaches on the east coast that still privatizes its lifeguarding services.

Source:WVEC.com

Mass. woman stole soda just for can deposit www.privateofficer.com

 

 

LYNN, Mass. Jan 26 2011 (AP) — Authorities say a Massachusetts woman bought $64 worth of soda using a stolen welfare benefits card, then immediately fed the full cans into the supermarket’s automated redemption machine for the nickel deposit.

Tina Cafarelli, of Lynn, pleaded not guilty Monday to charges including larceny, property destruction and receiving stolen property. She was ordered held on $250 bail.

Police tell The Daily Item (http://bit.ly/yvBVmK ) that the electronic benefits card Cafarelli used to buy the 18 12-packs of soda had another person’s name on it. The supermarket manager says the full cans caused extensive damage to the redemption machine.

The 36-year-old Cafarelli couldn’t be reached for comment.

Former Virginia Beach lawyer gets 5 yrs prison for stealing from deceased client www.privateofficer.com

 

 

NORFOLK, Va. Jan 26 2012 — A former Virginia Beach lawyer will spend five years in prison for bilking more than $390,000 from the estate of a deceased client.

U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride says Gay was sentenced Tuesday in federal court in Norfolk .
A federal jury convicted 52-year-old Brian Gay last October on charges of mail and wire fraud, false statements and unlawful monetary transactions.

U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride says Gay was sentenced Tuesday in federal court in Norfolk. He also must pay more than $398,000 in restitution.

According to evidence at trial and court records, Gay was the executor of the estate of Daniel Woodside, who died in 2006. Gay used some of Woodside’s life insurance proceeds to buy himself a home in Naples, Fla., and two Harley Davidson motorcycles.

St Louis security officer shoots armed man in argument www.privateofficer.com

 

 

St Louis Mo Jan 26 2012 Officers were called to the scene of a shooting at the Rock Road Metro platform just before 4 p.m. on Tuesday.

According to police, two men were arguing on the platform and the security guard had to step in. One man allegedly flashed a weapon and the security guard fired one shot at the man.

The injured man was taken to an area hospital, his condition is unknown. The security guard was not injured.

The Rock Road Metro station has reopened after a shooting during the afternoon commute

Police are investigating.

Source:kmo

Madison security officer thwarts attempted abduction www.privateofficer.com

 

 

Madison WI Jan 26 2012 A woman shopping at a far west side grocery store has a security guard to thank for her safety, after a man grabbed her coat to get her to go with him, but left when the guard showed up.

The attempted assault was reported at 6:12 p.m. at Metcalfe’s Market, 7455 Mineral Point Road, a grocery store that formerly was Cub Foods.

Madison police said in a news release the 38-year-old Madison woman was very shaken by the incident.

“She was shopping when the suspect approached and tried to engage her in a sexually suggestive conversation,” said police spokesman Joel DeSpain.

The suspect then allegedly grabbed the woman’s coat and said “You’re coming with me.”

“At that moment, the security guard came into the area and the suspect walked away,” DeSpain said.

The suspect is a black male, late 20s to early 30s, 6 feet, 2 inches tall, large build, with an Afro-styled haircut and beard.

Source:madison.com

Burglary victim, mall security work to apprehend suspect www.privateofficer.com

 

 

BURNSVILLE, Minn. Jan 26 2012- A Minnesota husband’s vigilant detective work led to the arrest of the suspect in a car break-in and purse theft. Hours after the theft took place Jan. 17 at Buck Hill ski area, the angry hubby located the suspect carrying the purse at Burnsville Center mall – ending her shopping spree on his wife’s dime. The suspect now faces up to 15 years incarceration and $30,000 in fines on three felony charges.

The Dakota County criminal complaint states that the victim and her husband reported the break-in and theft around 6 p.m. that day from Buck Hill. Her Coach purse, wallet and miscellaneous items were missing from behind the shattered vehicle window. The purse and wallet contained $200 cash, various credit cards and a $200 Macy’s gift card.

The couple was in the process of canceling their stolen credit cards hours later when they noticed unauthorized charges had recently been made at Burnsville Center. While the couple was headed to the police station, they stopped at the mall, as it was on the way. The husband visited a T-Mobile store where an attempted $600 charge had taken place on their account. He questioned a clerk there, who gave him a detailed description of the two females responsible for the failed transaction.

Leaving the T-Mobile store, the man saw the women fitting the profiles given by the clerk and confronted them. One of them was carrying a purse the same style of his wife’s missing one. He asked the woman, later identified as Jennifer Elizabeth Martin, 26, of Mound, if he could examine the purse, as his wife’s was missing. The second suspect then left the area of the conversation, never to return.

As the man continued to question a defiant Martin, mall security confronted the two parties as an argument was apparent. Martin then changed her story and admitted that the second suspect had left the area to throw away the credit cards and other evidence in a food court garbage can. The husband called police and mall security detained Martin until officers arrived. Macy’s Loss Prevention department then gave Burnsville police video of Martin making $245.71 in clothing purchases to the victim’s credit card that day.

Martin was found to be on probation, as she has a criminal history involving credit card fraud, theft and forgery. She now faces felony charges of Receiving Stolen Property, Financial Card Transaction Fraud and Identity Theft – each carrying a maximum of 5 years incarceration and a $10,000 fine. Martin has been in policy custody in Dakota County since Jan. 17 as she awaits further court proceedings.

Source:www.myfoxtwincities.com

Three people removed from Delta Air Lines flight www.privateofficer.com

 

 

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. Jan 26 2912— Officials say three people were removed from a Delta Air Lines flight at Little Rock National Airport after one of them made his way onto the airfield and later boarded the plane.

Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman Sari Koshetz told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (http://bit.ly/Av3aqM) a man who opened an emergency door onto the airfield was stopped by an employee, brought back to the terminal and told to wait for police. Koshetz says the man didn’t wait and boarded Delta flight 1614 to Atlanta.

When officials learned he was on the plane, the aircraft was recalled and the man, his companion and another person were removed.

Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman Sari Koshetz told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette a man who opened an emergency door onto the airfield was stopped by an airline employee, brought back to the terminal and told to wait for police.
Police spokesman Lt. Terry Hastings says the man was lost and didn’t do anything wrong.

The plane left at 9 a.m. and landed at 11:35 a.m.

Georgia police officer struck by lightning www.privateofficer.com

 

 

OGLETHORPE, Ga. Jan 26 2012– AP A young police officer was to return to duty Monday afternoon. Nothing unusual, unless you’ve been struck by lightning.

Oglethorpe Chief Harold Cannon confirmed Monday that Officer Nicole Lucas Murillo, 23, had been struck by lightning a little after 5:30 p.m. Saturday as strong storms moved through the area.

The chief said that Murillo, who has been on the job about two years, was exiting her vehicle at Dollar General directly across the street from the police department, when lightning struck.

“It hit a car and caused no damage,” Cannon said. “Witnesses said it (lightning) jumped from the car to her (Murillo) and knocked the radios off her body. It burned her fingers and toes.”

Cannon said Murillo was taken to Flint River Community Hospital by ambulance and was kept overnight for observation because her heart rate was fluctuating. She was scheduled to return to work Monday afternoon, he said.

“It’s just a freaky thing,” Cannon said. “Where this happened, downtown, was hit pretty hard. The whole City’s computers, radios and phones have all been down.”

He said work crews were on site attempting to get service back up and running.

Marietta College Campus Police to become “Special Reserve Deputies.” www.privateofficer.com

 

 

Marietta OH Jan 26 2012 The Washington County Sheriff’s Office will be partnering with the Marietta College Campus Police to introduce eight new “Special Reserve Deputies.”

Washington County Sheriff Larry Mincks says they will have more eyes and ears while the Campus Police will get more training. “I think it’s going to be a really tremendous asset for us. You know in the recent weeks we could’ve used some reserve units as far as some crime scenes we had to maintain for awhile and the murder we had here in the last couple of weeks it would’ve been a big benefit to us.”

Mincks said he and Marietta College Campus Police Chief, Tom Saccenti, have been working closely to seal this deal. They hope their agencies will work just as closely in years to come. “It gives our officers a chance to get to know fellow law enforcement officers in the county, to get to work with them, and establish a really solid relationship. Since we do back each other up within our own agencies.”

The Campus Police will still patrol the campus. But they will also have the extra responsibility of more training and at times being called out to help the Sheriff’s Office.

“It’s an extra set of eyes whenever you have another officer out there riding with ours and in the middle of the night and you stop a car or you go to a house, you know that somebody is there behind you. And that’s what we’re looking forward to, having a little more man power to assist our officers,” Mincks says.

The Campus Police are fully certified by the state– but nothing compares to experience.

“And we provide them with over 100 hours of training every single year in crime scene processing, emergency medical response, things like that, but we want to make sure they are able to continually use those skills to ensure that they are called to upon campus.”

The Campus Police will do an initial training with the Sheriff’s Office then will do monthly ride alongs, as well as assist in investigations.

Source:WTAP

Houston library security nabs burglar www.privateofficer.com

 

 

HOUSTON TX Jan 26 2012 – Police on Tuesday were questioning a suspect in a break-in at the downtown Central Library.

A security guard making his rounds Tuesday morning found a broken window.

Inside, he said he spotted a man trying to log on to a computer.

A mirror in the women’s restroom was also broken.

The man was arrested at the scene.

Police said he told them he broke in because he didn’t have anywhere else to stay.

St Louis security officer captures bank robbery suspect www.privateofficer.com

 

 

St Louis MO Jan 26 2012 Police have taken a man into custody after responding to a robbery at the Southern Commercial Bank on South Lindbergh Boulevard at 3:05 p.m. Tuesday.

The man, a white male in his 20s, walked into the bank and displayed a note demanding money, police said. A security guard intervened and detained the suspect until officers arrived on the scene.

No one was injured and the suspect did not display a weapon.

St. Louis County Police have taken the suspect into custody with charges pending further investigation.

Police said the bank employed a security guard after it was robbed multiple times.

West Virginia nightclub bouncers sue comedian Andy Dick for assault www.privateofficer.com

 

 

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. Jan 26 2012 (AP) — Two Kentucky men who say they were sexually assaulted by comedian Andy Dick at a West Virginia nightclub two years ago have filed a lawsuit against the comedian.

The 26-year-old from Ashland and the 35-year-old from Catlettsburg are also involved in a pending criminal case against Dick, their attorney said Tuesday. Dick’s trial on two counts of felony first-degree sexual abuse is set for May 1 in Cabell County Circuit Court in Huntington.

Dick pleaded not guilty last summer to charges he grabbed a bouncer’s crotch, and groped and kissed a patron while performing a series of shows in Huntington at a comedy club. The alleged acts occurred Jan. 23, 2010, at the Rum Runners nightclub.

Attorney Mike Woelfel said he filed the case earlier this month, seeking unspecified damages, to comply with the statute of limitations, which expired Monday. He said the complaint and the criminal case speak for themselves.

“What I see is a desire by the state and by the victims to assert that there is zero tolerance for sexual misconduct in whatever form it takes,” he said.

The complaint says the men were victims of “battery and sexual abuse” and demands compensatory and punitive damages for emotional distress, outrageous conduct, assault and invasion of privacy. The Associated Press does not generally identify the victims of alleged sexual abuse.

The complaint also alleges that Dick, of South Pasadena, Calif., “has a history of sexual misconduct which is serial in nature.”

Dick’s attorney, Marc Williams, dismissed the accusations.

“This proves what we’ve known all along,” he told the Herald-Dispatch of Huntington (http://bit.ly/nzOvU5). “This was only about getting money from a celebrity.”

Williams told The Associated Press in an email Tuesday afternoon that he was too busy to discuss the case further.

Dick has been in trouble with the law several times before.

He’s been arrested in California on drug and battery charges, to which he pleaded guilty in 2008, and on charges of being drunk and disorderly in a restaurant last May. A Texas man also sued Dick last year, claiming the comedian exposed his genitals at a Dallas performance.

Dick had a long-running stint in the 1990s on NBC’s “NewsRadio.” He briefly had his own program, “The Andy Dick Show,” on MTV. He also has had roles in several movies, including “Dude, Where’s My Car?” and “Old School.”

Positive growth track for private security seen in US and Canada www.privateofficer.com

 

 

Washington DC Jan 26 2012 As the economy has slowly begun to show signs of improvement in recent months, the outlook for security officer jobs also appears to be on a positive growth track in the U.S. and Canada.

According to industry insiders, however, while the job market may be improving, the recession has created its own set of challenges for employers. One of the biggest hurdles that companies looking to hire have to clear is sifting through a large number of applicants for available positions to ensure that the right person is matched with the right job.

“The security officer job market for 2012 we think will be strong. We also think that there will be, because of the fragile recovery and the recession, quite a few applicants for those particular positions,” said Jim Gillece, chief people officer and senior vice president of human capital management at AlliedBarton Security Services.

Gillece said that AlliedBarton employs about 55,000 security officers across the U.S. and that the company plans to do “quite a bit of hiring” this year.

Lee Achord, vice president of human resources and recruiting at G4S Secure Solutions, said that one of the good indicators he uses to determine the strength of the job market is how many of his company’s more than 100 field offices are going to need to participate in upcoming local job fairs.

“I got a big turnout in December. A lot of offices wanted to schedule in advance their participation in job fairs so that to me indicates that they not only have a current need, but they are anticipating that need to increase throughout the year,” he said.

Last fall, G4S committed to take part in “Joining Forces,” a White House-sponsored program that encourages the hiring of veterans as more troops prepare to return home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. According to Achord, the company made a commitment to hire a minimum of 3,000 veterans and they have already more than 1,000 since early November.

“We’ve had a long, long history of hiring veterans, but when you see 1,300 in the space of barely two and a half months, that’s a good indicator that we are doing a lot more hiring,” he said.

Garda Security Solutions, which provides guard services across a variety of vertical markets in Canada, expects to add nearly 2,000 positions attributed mainly to new contract wins, according to Marc-Andre Aube, the company’s chief operating officer.

“As a company we expect to grow and we expect to do that by capturing market share and winning large contracts,” Aube said.

According to industry experts, there are also several vertical markets that could see an uptick in the hiring of guards in 2012, including in the healthcare, higher education, government, petrochemical, and critical infrastructure sectors. While many of these industries have traditionally hired their own guards, Gillece said that many of them are now looking at hiring contract guards as a way to offset their costs.

“Across the security industry and across this general economy, there are certain verticals and sectors that are under significant price pressures,” said Gillece. “Many of these sectors have been proprietary, but as more and more cost pressures get placed on them, like every other sector they’re looking to provide value and seek value.”

Achord said that the manufacturing and banking verticals have been particularly strong for G4S.

“A lot of the verticals G4S serves have regulatory compliance issues that are important to understand. Our customers are looking for that higher-level security officer and training program that G4S provides,” said Lew Pincus, senior director of marketing and communications for G4S. “It begins by recruiting the right candidates who have a certain level of discipline and leadership skills as sort of the raw material to then be able to receive the required training to go out and be a well-trained, highly skilled security officer. So many of our recruits begin as security officers but then through career development their job becomes more of a profession rather than just a security guard job.”

One of the big factors impacting the job market in Canada is an increase in construction that is being driven by new natural resource developments. In Alberta, for example, Aube said that the market for security services is growing extremely fast due these natural resource projects.

“When they establish (these projects), they have to create this huge infrastructure requiring a lot of security,” Aube said. “Once the construction is completed, security guards will typically remain on the site to control the traffic going in and out.”

In addition to having traditional skills, Gillece said that modern day security officers must also possess good communication skills as they are often times the first point of contact for someone visiting a client’s facilities. For those thinking about entering the guard market, he recommends that potential candidates maintain a friendly and professional demeanor, be punctual and be able to communicate during the interview process.

In many cases, security officers will also need to have or develop specialized skill sets depending on the sector of the employer.

“The specialized skills really relate back to the particular client. Going into an interview process, having those experiences or being educated around some of those verticals and the security needs around those verticals really gives a potential candidate a leg up,” Gillece explained. “Furthermore, some sectors such as the defense contractor industry or the government sector, they may require special security clearance and in some cases unique and specialized licenses. So, it’s important as a potential candidate looking for a particular role or position that they really understand and look at the job description to find out the specific characteristics and/or license or requirements the security company is looking for.”

While it’s important for security officers to have good customer service skills, Pincus said it is just as important for them to be able to fit into the corporate culture of the organization they work for.

“Shared values is a term I’m hearing more and more when speaking with customers,” he explained. “They are looking for security officers and a company that have a lot of the same shared values and skill sets that go with it. Fitting in culturally with the organization and having shared values seems to be more important these days.”

Over the last several years in Canada, Aube said that one thing that has had a big impact on the job market is an increase in government regulation of security officers.

“Where like say five years ago or two years ago, the permit or license to operate was the property of the companies,” he explained. “The government has changed this and now it is the property of the employee and they need to get their own training. Before it was the responsibility of the company to provide training, now it’s the government issuing the permit or license to an individual that needs to do longer and more rigid courses to get their licenses.”

Aside from the economy, another factor that has had an increasing impact on the job market for security officers, according to Gillece, is an increase in various regulations and awareness in some sectors following the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

“The mission is to serve and secure the people, homes and businesses of our communities. The impact of 9/11 continues to be felt around the country,” Gillece said. “As we get more sophisticated about protecting our infrastructure, our communities, our homes and our businesses, regulations will follow along with industry standards and guidelines. I think they are having a very large impact on the demand for security officers. And I also think too, that the general perception of a security officer is going through a genesis and as we get more sophisticated in the standards and requirements continue to improve and increase throughout the industry, the employee that we’re looking to attract and hire to serve our clients, that bar will also continue to rise.”

Pincus said that security officers are also now expected to do much more than they did in the past.

“Today, we have to provide a level of security officer that can not only be the guard at the gate, but also have that concierge skill set and be able to do security and safety inspections while on guard tours and identify safety and risk issues throughout an organization. I think there is an opportunity for security providers to become a bigger more valuable part of the corporate process,” he said.

Innovations in security technologies such as video surveillance and access control have also had an impact on the duties of security officers; however, industry experts agree that the utilization of technology is not a substitute for having a well-trained guard.

“The technology is only as good as the people that are using the technology,” Gillece said. “The technology will continue and probably increase the level of sophistication and demand on our security officers to protect our clients.”

Because so much of a guard’s duties are now related to managing equipment, Aube said that guards now really need advanced computer skills.

“We are asking a lot from our people to document their actions so they need to be competent using software and managing the equipment under their control,” he said. “There is a lot more equipment to manage. Where a guard ten years ago had one or two cameras to manage with one screen, now he has software with 50 cameras and gates that can open.”

Source:SecurityInfoWatch.com

Tip leads officers to body of elderly man in freezer www.privateofficer.com

 

 

Panama City Fla Jan 26 2012 An informant led investigators to the dead body of an elderly Panama City, Florida, man who had been stuffed in the freezer by his wife, the Panama City News Herald reports.

The informant, whose name is being withheld at this time, apparently didn’t believed a suspect who told him about the crime until he saw the body of 80-year-old Raymond Gsell in the freezer in his garage, according to the incident report.

After realizing the other suspects were serious, the informant pretended he needed to use the bathroom and sneaked away to call law enforcement, the report said. Gsell’s wife, 47-year-old Judy Lynn Gsell, along with 27-year-old Dawn Ross has been charged with strangling Gsell to death.

The suspects overheard the informant on the phone with police and confronted him. The informant fled the scene on foot.

Arrested on charges of accessory after the fact of murder were Ashley Nicole Knowles, 24, and James Timothy Wilson, 51, both of Panama City; and Dale Emmett Hill, 47. Authorities said they are charged in connection with an attempt to help dispose of the body.

Investigators said they believe Judy Gsell and Ross had been smoking crack cocaine, drinking and using prescription medication when they used an electrical cord to strangle Raymond Gsell after an argument over money on Saturday.

Metrolink security guard shoots armed man in disturbance www.privateofficer.com

 

 

PAGEDALE, MO. Jan 26 2012 – A Metrolink security guard shot and wounded a man this afternoon on a metro platform at the Rock Road Station in the 7000 block of St. Charles Rock Road in Pagedale.

St. Louis County Officer Rick Eckhard says it happened around 4 P.M.

“The security guard was responding to a disturbance call and spotted a man displaying a weapon. The security guard was defending himself and shot the suspect.” Officer Eckhard told KMOX News.

The suspect’s injuries are serious, but not life threatening. He is hospitalized.

Officer Eckhard says police are interviewing witnesses.

Source:KMOX

Arundel Mills guard charged in theft of safe with gold, money www.privateofficer.com

 

Hanover MD Jan 26 2012 A security guard at Arundel Mills mall was arrested Monday after allegedly stealing a safe from a gold dealer’s kiosk, county police said.
John Thomas Cook IV, 22, of 501 Ski Lane, Millersville, was charged with theft between $10,000 and $100,000. He has since been released on $25,000 bond.

Police responded to the Gold Rush kiosk Sunday morning for a report of a theft of a safe from a business. Officers worked with security personnel at the mall, reviewed security tape footage and developed Cook as a suspect, police spokesman Justin Mulcahy said.

Western District officers served a search warrant on Cook’s home Monday afternoon and discovered jewelry and an undisclosed amount of cash that belonged to Gold Rush, Mulcahy said. Cook was arrested and charged with theft.

A second search warrant was executed later Monday afternoon in the 700 block of Heather Stone Loop as part of the ongoing investigation. Charges are pending against a second person, Mulcahy said.

Gene Condon, general manager at the mall, said his staff is working closely with police.

“Arundel Mills maintains a zero tolerance policy for criminal activity and any other inappropriate behavior that affects the shopping experience for our valued customers,” he said in a statement released Tuesday afternoon.

Mass prison guard leads police on chase during suicidal threats www.privateofficer.com

 

 

LEOMINSTER MA Jan 26 2012 – A police officer had Matthew S. Strong in his gun sights during a protracted chase Monday, according to Leominster District Court records.

Strong had threatened to kill himself, so police were trying to catch up to him to make sure he did not hurt himself, but court records show he would not obey orders and at one point drove his car toward an oncoming police car.

Strong was arraigned in court Tuesday on charges of assault with a dangerous weapon, reckless operation of a motor vehicle, failing to stop for police, driving an uninsured and unregistered motor vehicle, and a number-plate violation.

He was released on the promise he will return for another court hearing Feb. 23.

Strong is a corrections officer at the Shirley prison complex and has been having trouble dealing with his grandmother’s death in December, according to court records.

He texted a friend that he planned to kill himself, court records say. He also texted a picture of a handgun.

Police went to his home at 47 Berrington Road, but he was not there, so they used cell-tower signals for his cellphone to determine his position.

Officer Richard Shea spotted him in the driveway at 13 Bel Air Heights, but Strong drove away, saying, “I’m good, man, I’m good,” despite orders to stay put.

More officers stopped Strong about 200 feet away.

He got out of the Toyota Camry he was driving but kept one hand in his pocket while talking on the cellphone, according to court documents.
“Every once in a while, he would tell us he’s all set then go back to his cellphone conversation,” Sgt. Richard Kinney said in court records. “He was starting to fidget around and appeared to be under mental stress.”

Shea stood behind a thick tree and prepared to shoot Strong if he pulled a gun out of his pocket.

Strong got back in the car and drove away with police in pursuit.

He drove toward Sgt. Andrew J. Dupuis, who was approaching in a police car “in what I perceived as an attempt to ram my cruiser,” Dupuis said in court documents.

Dupuis swerved out of the way, and Strong drove into the town of Sterling, and police broke off the chase at Clinton.

The cellphone later indicated he returned to Leominster.

Police found the car empty in the Wildwood condominium complex on Sycamore Drive.

Strong called a friend and said he would meet them at the Walmart parking lot on Jungle Road.

When police found and arrested him near the Tractor Supply Co., next to Walmart, about 8:15 p.m., Strong was crying and appeared more confused than he had earlier in the day.

It turned out the gun was locked in a gun safe at home, court records say.

Source:www.sentinelandenterprise.com