Georgia police capture murder supect on the run for 37 years www.privateofficer.com

 

 

LIVONIA MI Feb 28 2012 Thirty-seven years after allegedly killing two men, David Glenn Fowler, 55, is being brought to justice, police say.

The Livonia Police Department recently located Fowler, who was living under an alias in Georgia, by “using technology not available at the time.”

He was wanted in the brutal double homicide of two brothers in the spring of 1975 in a house in the 37000 block of Plymouth Road in Livonia.

The victims, Michael Belt, then 34, and Jeffrey Belt, 18, two brothers living at the residence, were beaten with a wooden board and stabbed. Robbery was the motive, police said.

Fowler fled the state in 1975. An open murder warrant and a federal warrant for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution was issued at that time. Two other defendants were charged, tried, convicted and served time in prison for their role in the crimes.

DNA recovered at the scene of the murders was put into the nationwide CODIS database.

In June of 2011, a hit on that DNA occurred in Georgia on a subject known as Richard David Taylor. Livonia detectives went to Georgia and, with the assistance of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, were able to locate and confirm that Taylor is, in fact, the wanted fugitive, David Glenn Fowler.

An extradition hearing occurred on Friday, Jan. 13, 2012, and Fowler was ordered delivered to Michigan custody. He was transported back to Michigan on Feb. 26, 2012.

He was remanded without bond during an arraignment Monday in 16th District Court in Livonia in front of Judge Sean Kavanagh. He faces a preliminary examination at 9 a.m. March 8.

Source:CBSDetroit

Man subdued at Will Rogers World Airport after breaking through security www.privateofficer.com

 

 

OKLAHOMA CITY Okla Feb 28 2012 – A 53-year-old man, who claimed to have documents for GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich, was arrested and subdued with a stun gun after trying to break through a security checkpoint at Will Rogers World Airport, according to police.

James Jay Heidebrecht, of Oklahoma City, was arrested on Feb. 20 on complaints of trespassing, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, according to a police report.

Police said they were investigating a disturbance to the west security checkpoint. Heidebrecht told police he was waiting on a flight and then tried to walk through the exit lane to a secure area of the airport, the report stated.

Investigators said Heidebrecht was asked to leave the airport, but he ignored the order and started yelling at a police sergeant.

Heidebrecht became combatant and an officer deployed his Taser, the police report said.

Police said the Oklahoma City man told them he was a member of the Central Intelligence Agency and had documents to give to Gingrich. He also stated that the only reason he went to the airport was to meet Gingrich.

Source:www.koco.com

FBI seeking fugitive who may work as security guard www.privateofficer.com

 

 

BOSTON MA Feb 28 2012— The Boston Division of the FBI is asking for the public’s help in looking for a man it says has been a fugitive for 18 years.

The FBI is offering up to a $25,000 reward for any information leading to the capture of John Joseph Hartin, 42.

Hartin is wanted in connection with the abuse of two young children he befriended in the Boston area in the 1990s. After an investigation by the Boston Police Department, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office charged Hartin in 1993 with five counts of statutory rape of a child, the FBI said in a press release. It said a federal arrest warrant was issued for Hartin in 1997, charging him with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.

Hartin is white, stands 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighs 200 pounds, has brown hair and eyes, and had worked as a security guard at the time of his disappearance. He studied graphic and computer arts in college and was a lifelong resident of Dorchester, Mass., until he fled. The FBI said he should be considered armed and dangerous.

The FBI is using both social and traditional media to generate tips from the public. For the first time, it said, the Boston Division is using limited Facebook ads to search for a fugitive.

The FBI produced and distributed a “Wanted by the FBI” radio podcast that aired across the country. It was played on a Boston station, which led to a radio news story highlighting the FBI’s search efforts.

Hartin also was featured on a Boston “Most Wanted” television news program, the FBI said. Digital billboards featuring Hartin’s photo will be used in the Boston, Orlando and Tampa, Fla., areas. Both the Facebook ads and digital billboards began Monday and will run for one week, the FBI said.

Anyone with information regarding Hartin’s whereabouts is asked to call 800-CALL-FBI or the nearest FBI field office.

Bayview Medical Center security guard arrested for attacking patient www.privateofficer.com

 

 

Baltimore MD Feb 28 2012 A security officer at a Baltimore hospital was arrested for allegedly trying to attack a patient.

Police say Kevin Porter followed a 47-year-old woman out of Bayview Medical Center, offering her money for a bus ride home.

When she went back into the building with him, police say he pushed her into a staircase and attempted to rape her.

He is in custody and faces a number of charges.

UK linebacker arrested for drug trafficking www.privateofficer.com

 

 

LOUISVILLE, Ky. Feb 28 2012- Kentucky junior linebacker Ridge Wilson is facing felony drug trafficking charges after being arrested in Louisville.

According to a police citation, officers arrested Wilson after finding him parked early Sunday morning on the side of a downtown street in a known drug trafficking area. Police say Wilson mentioned several times he played for Kentucky but gave consent to search the car. An officer found a pair of jeans with a bag of Xanax pills in the pants.

Officers say the 21-year-old Wilson was carrying $1,947 in cash at the time of his arrest.

Wilson lettered twice while playing in 24 games for the Wildcats.

University of Kentucky spokesman Tony Neely says Wilson has been suspended indefinitely from the team for a violation of team rules.

Source:AP

CEO of TicketNetwork Inc. faces a hate crime charge www.privateofficer.com

 

 

HARTFORD CT Feb 28 2012
The CEO of TicketNetwork Inc. faces a hate crime charge after he hurled racial insults at an Oscar party, police said.

Donald Vaccaro, 49, of Clark Hill Road in Glastonbury, was charged with second-degree hate crime, second-degree threatening, breach of peace, first-degree criminal trespass and interfering with police, police said.

Vaccaro could not be reached for comment. A person who answered the phone at TicketNetwork referred questions about the incident to the company’s legal department.

According to police, officers were called to Real Art Ways, 56 Arbor St., about 12:10 a.m. Monday for an assault complaint.

Vaccaro called police himself, according to an incident report. When an officer arrived, Vaccaro was in the parking lot, and he showed the officer “a tiny scratch on the heel of his palm and a small smear of blood” and claimed that a bouncer had assaulted him, the report states.

The officer smelled alcohol on his breath, and Vaccaro’s speech was “slightly slurred,” the report states.

The bouncer told police that Vaccaro was being watched during the event “because he was being disrespectful to several women,” the report states.

“He touched several women, kissing them on both cheeks (like he was from France),” the bouncer told police. “It didn’t seem to bother the women, so I didn’t mess with the guy.”

But at the end of the event, Vaccaro “grabbed one last woman and asked her what designer she was wearing, as if she was on the red carpet and he was interviewing her,” the bouncer told police. “He turned her around so that he could look at the whole dress and then he grabbed her around her waist and pulled her close … kissed her on both cheeks and then he grabbed her breasts with both hands.”

“At that time, she looked over at me and she had a look of terror on her face,” the bouncer told police, according to the report.

The woman told the bouncer that she was extremely uncomfortable. The bouncer told police he asked Vaccaro to let go of the woman’s hand, but Vaccaro refused. Then the bouncer “pried his hand off of hers and I asked him to leave,” the report states.

Vaccaro said we would leave after he finished his wine, but the bouncer escorted him out the front door, he told police.

Then, Vaccaro said “You never should have touched me, you black mother-[expletive],” the bouncer told police.

Vaccaro took out his cell phone and said he was going to call his driver, who would “come and kick my ass,” the bouncer told police. But the bouncer “smacked the phone out of his hand” and Vaccaro “threw his hands in a fighting stance,” the report states.

At that point, the director of Real Art Ways came outside and asked the bouncer to return inside, he told police.

Vaccaro also refused to provide information for an arrest report, according to the incident report, but he did ask why that “black mother-[expletive]” wasn’t being arrested as well.

Will K. Wilkins, executive director of Real Art Ways, said he hopes the arrest doesn’t overshadow the party, which was a “spectacular success.” The event raised money — it’s still being counted, he said — for both Real Art ways and for the Connecticut AIDS Resrouce Coalition.

He said he did not see the incident. Neither his organization nor the security guard called police, he said. Vaccaro called them, Wilkins said.

TicketNetwork, which Vaccaro founded in 2002, has been one of the most aggressive growth companies in central Connecticut over the last few years. The company operates an online marketplace for tickets to sports and entertainment events.

In July, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy named TicketNetwork as one of his “First Five” companies, offering $6.3 million in low-interest loans after the company promised to add at least 200 jobs.

Malloy issued a statement through his director of communications shortly before 1:30 p.m., saying: “If these allegations prove true, they are reprehensible. Mr. Vaccaro should be ashamed of himself.”

TicketNetwork at the time had 330 employees, and Vaccaro said it would have at least 400 in 2012 and would eventually add 600. Soon after, the company held a job fair.

Vaccaro has been outspoken on behalf of the company, and TicketNetwork has been involved in several high-profile legal disputes.

Last year, TicketNetwork filed a lawsuit against The Bushnell, alleging that David Fay, president of the Horace Bushnell Memorial Hall Corp. in Hartford, made disparaging comments about TicketNetwork and Vaccaro during testimony before the state legislature. That lawsuit is pending.

Also last year, TicketNetwork moved to the former headquarters of Gerber Scientific Inc.in South Windsor, a few hundred feet from the Vernon town line. Vaccaro had previously been in a dispute with the town of Vernon after the planning board rejected TicketNetwork’s application for an outdoor amphitheater on the same large parcel as the company’s headquarters. Vaccaro accused the town of accepting improper information about the plan.

In 2010, TicketNetwork sued the Better Business Bureau, alleging that the agency discriminated against non-members by rewarding higher ratings to member firms. BBB agreed to stop awarding the higher ratings.

Vaccaro continued with the lawsuit, saying, “We think more issues will come out of this investigation…We see this as a bigger issue than just us. This is a nonprofit organization where executives are making a six-digit salary.”

Source:Hartford Courant

SC high school teacher put on leave after he showed scenes from a “disturbing” movie www.privateofficer.com

 

MT. PLEASANT, SC  Feb 28 2012  – A Wando High School teacher is on administrative leave after police say he showed scenes from a “disturbing” movie to his students in Latin class.

School district officials say 36-year-old Christopher Derek Poston is on administrative leave as authorities investigate an incident where police say Poston showed scenes from the movie “Jackass Number 2.”

On Feb. 16, the Mount Pleasant Police Department met with the principal and assistant principal at Wando High School in reference to a suspicious incident. School officials say two days earlier, a concerned parent emailed the assistant principal by email about a “disturbing” incident.

The parent said that her daughter was uncomfortable about an incident that happened in her Latin class where Poston, a full-time teacher at Wando, was covering for another teacher.

According to the parent, Poston was watching inappropriate videos on the Internet and put them on the Smart Board for the entire class to see.

The email went on to say that Poston was showing videos of someone putting a “puppet on his junk” and a snake biting the puppet, vulgar gestures and inappropriate pictures of people in Walmart.

A police report states that when someone from the school district came in to work on the computer, Poston quickly exited the program. According to the parent, after the worker left, Poston continued to show the videos to the class.

On Feb. 15, Poston wrote a statement in reference to the incident and confirmed the allegations made. He stated that his actions were unexcusable.

Poston said that while the students were working, he began watching “Jackass 2″ from the computer. Poston said that when the students heard the noise, they asked Poston what he was watching.

According to Poston’s statement, he told them what he was watching and then placed the video on the Smart Board. Poston said when he saw how inappropriate it was becoming, he quickly turned it off.

He said he showed about 2 to 3 minutes of movie footage. According to Poston, he then opened up a PowerPoint called the “People of Walmart.” He said it showed people in Walmart in various forms and used it to express what society expects of people and how people break norms.

When school officials questioned Poston about the incident, Poston said that “Jackass 2″ got on the Charleston County computer laptop through his Amazon.com account.

Source: WCSC

ANDERSON SC police charge man with killing and dismembering a homeless man www.privateofficer.com

 

 

ANDERSON, S.C. Feb 28 2012 (AP) – Police say an acquaintance has confessed to killing and dismembering a homeless man whose mutilated body was found at a downtown Anderson building.

Sgt. Tony Tilley says 44-year-old Leslie Warren Sandoval had been charged with murder and weapons possession. It wasn’t known if he had an attorney.

Investigators say Sandoval voluntarily went with them late Friday night to talk about the death of 53-year-old Seth Barton Foster.

Sandoval told authorities he strangled Foster last month and used a knife to remove the Belton man’s head, hands and feet. Police say they found the knife after Sandoval told him where it was.

Authorities say both men were homeless.

Actress Sean Young arrested for assaulting security officer www.privateofficer.com

 

 

LOS ANGELES CA Feb 28 2012 – Actress Sean Young was arrested after a scuffle with a security guard at the official post-Oscars party, police said Monday.

Young, 52, was placed under citizen’s arrest at the Governor’s Ball at 9:25 p.m. Sunday after the dispute, police Cmdr. Andrew Smith said.

“She was trying to get into the party and couldn’t get in,” he said.

Young, who has starred in “Blade Runner” and “Stripes,” was booked at the Hollywood police station for investigation of misdemeanor battery. She posted $20,000 bail and was released early Monday.

The actress was taken into custody quickly, said Tom Januszewski, an Associated Press business executive who witnessed the incident. He said he saw a guard subdue Young by placing his forearm on her neck and head while other guards placed her in handcuffs and led her away.

“It happened incredibly fast,” he said, adding that while the guards were forceful with Young, they didn’t use unnecessary force. “I thought it was incredibly well-handled.”

Young was wearing a ball gown but didn’t speak as she was being led away, Januszewski said.

The actress tried to crash the Vanity Fair Oscar party in 2006. She entered rehabilitation for alcohol abuse in 2008 after she was removed from the Directors Guild of America awards.

A voicemail message left early Monday for Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences publicist Tarrah Lee Curtis wasn’t immediately returned. A phone message left for Young’s agent, David Shapira, also was not immediately returned.

“She was trying to get into the party and couldn’t get in,” he said.

Young, who has starred in “Blade Runner” and “Stripes,” was booked at the Hollywood police station for investigation of misdemeanor battery. She posted $20,000 bail and was released early Monday.

The actress was taken into custody quickly, said Tom Januszewski, an Associated Press business executive who witnessed the incident. He said he saw a guard subdue Young by placing his forearm on her neck and head while other guards placed her in handcuffs and led her away.

“It happened incredibly fast,” he said, adding that while the guards were forceful with Young, they didn’t use unnecessary force. “I thought it was incredibly well-handled.”

Young was wearing a ball gown but didn’t speak as she was being led away, Januszewski said.

The actress tried to crash the Vanity Fair Oscar party in 2006. She entered rehabilitation for alcohol abuse in 2008 after she was removed from the Directors Guild of America awards.

A voicemail message left early Monday for Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences publicist Tarrah Lee Curtis wasn’t immediately returned. A phone message left for Young’s agent, David Shapira, also was not immediately returned.

Harris County teacher caught in bed with student www.privateofficer.com

 

 

Harris County TX Feb 28 2012–The latest school teacher to get arrested for having sex with one of her underage male students was nabbed after the boy’s younger brother discovered the educator in bed with his sibling, according to police.

Kathryn Murray, 28, was arrested yesterday for sexual assault of a child and booked into the Harris County jail, where she is being held in lieu of $250,000 bond. Murray taught eighth grade at Memorial Middle School before recently being fired.

According to a probable cause affidavit filed yesterday in District Court, a 15-year-old student invited Murray to his home on February 11 while his parents were away. The teen asked his 12-year-old brother if it would be okay for “Mrs. Murray” to stop by after 11 PM, investigators reported.

Shortly before midnight, the younger boy told cops, he went into his brother’s bedroom and “observed a tan bra and a used condom on the floor.” He also spotted his brother in bed “and the outline of another person under the covers and completely covered by the bedding.”

At this point, the older boy decided to make some impromptu introductions, according to the affidavit.

“Mrs. Murray, say hi to [younger brother’s name].” The woman replied “Hola,” recalled the boy, who told police that he recognized the woman’s voice as that of “Mrs. Murray, a Memorial Middle School Language Arts teacher.”

The younger brother said that when Murray left the residence at 12:30 AM, she called out to him, “Adios.”

When interviewed by investigators, the older boy said that he “was in love with the defendant and he had kissed her.” The boy admitted having sex with Murray in his bedroom on February 11, saying that he was “wearing his pajamas and…pulled up the skirt” that Murray was wearing.

The teen’s family has secured a restraining order barring Murray from having any contact with the 15-year-old boy. She is also not allowed to go near Memorial Middle School, where she taught for three years. The above photo of Murray had been on the school’s web site prior to her dismissal.

Over the past few months, Murray has started three blogs, two of which were related to class assignments. Her third blog, a personal account, only has a few posts and uses a Socrates quote (“I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance”) as its title.

Wichita Police Department looking for volunteers to assist with parking enforcement www.privateofficer.com

 

 

 

Wichita KS Feb 28 2012 The Wichita Police Department is looking for volunteers interested in assisting police enforce handicapped parking regulations.

Lt. Doug Nolte, Wichita Police, said volunteers working with authorities to cite drivers who choose to park in handicap areas.

“Volunteers who work with us will take pictures of violations, complete a one page form documenting the violation and turn that in to the police,” Nolte said.

Interested volunteers must be willing to meet the minimum requirements of the program, including being at least 21 years of age and have a valid Kansas Driver’s License. Complete program requirements and an application can be obtained by clicking here.

Applications will be accepted until 8 a.m. March 13th, either in person or by mail at 455 N. Main 5th Floor Warrant office.

A limited number of volunteers will be accepted. The volunteers will be trained by police if they are selected for the program.

Teacher from El Rancho Charter School in Anaheim Hills arrested www.privateofficer.com

 

 

SANTA ANA, Calif. Feb 28 2012 – A Fullerton man was arrested Thursday and charged with two felony counts of lewd and lascivious acts upon a child between the age of 14 or 15.

Joshua Alexander Evans, 32, was arrested following an Anaheim Police Department investigation.

Evans, an English teacher at El Rancho Charter School in Anaheim Hills, is accused of “developing a relationship” with a 14-year-old female student, according to police, between December 2011 and January 2012.

The student’s mother discovered that Evans allegedly met the teen at another student’s home and kissed the teen on the mouth and embraced her.

If convicted, Evans faces three years and eight months in state prison and mandatory lifelong registration as a sex offender.

Evans was held on $100,000 bail. He is scheduled to be arraigned Monday at 10 a.m. in Santa Ana.

Police suspect there may be other victims. If you have information related to the case, contact Supervising District Attorney Investigator Lou Gutierrez at (714) 347-8794 or Detective Joe Atkinson at (714) 765-1487.

Source: KABC

Teen accidentally kills best friend with antique rifle www.privateofficer.com

 

 

LEXINGTON COUNTY, SC Feb 28 2012 - A 17-year-old is in jail after accidentally shooting and killing his best friend with a World War II era rifle at a home in Red Bank on Sunday, according to the sheriff’s department.

Brady Xavier Olson of Riglaw Circle has been charged with Involuntary Manslaughter after the shooting death of 19-year-old Kenneth Nay on Sunday evening. Nay is listed as living at the same address.

According to an incident report, Olson and Nay were inside Olson’s home around 8:00 p.m. when the shooting happened.

Olson, according to the report, was pointing a 7.63mm Mosin-Nagant bolt action rifle in the direction of Nay without checking to see if the gun was loaded. Olson then pulled the trigger, shooting Nay in the head and killing him, the arrest warrant stated.

After waiving his Miranda rights, Olson provided a statement to deputies admitting that he shot Nay, according to the arrest warrant.

Investigators said it appears that Olson did not shoot Nay on purpose, but Olson’s actions constituted probable cause to arrest him, a sheriff’s department spokesperson said.

Olson was being held at the Lexington County Detention Center while awaiting a bond hearing.

The Mosin-Nagant sniper rifle was developed by the Russians in the late 1800′s and later updated during the first and second World Wars.

The incident remains under investigation by the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department and Lexington County Coroner’s Office.

Source:WIS

Sugar Land TX to allow citizens to issue parking tickets www.privateofficer.com

 

 

SUGAR LAND, TEXAS  Feb 28 2012 – A Houston suburb will soon let regular citizens write out parking tickets.

The Sugar Land city council passed an ordinance allowing people to volunteer for the duty to help out the police department.

A significant jump in the number of folks busted for parking in handicapped spots led up to the idea.

The volunteers will actually patrol the streets in marked cars looking for these illegal parkers.

More than 30% of Sugar Land’s residents went to the citizen’s police academy for training, so most people think it’s a good idea.

Glenda Rothchild said, “The police are busy as it is so if you can take some of the burden off the police officers and put it on citizens who are willing to do it then yeah, I think it should be done.”

Source:KRISTV

Peoria mall security attacked by knife wielding teen www.privateofficer.com

 

 

PEORIA IL Feb 28 2012  — A 17-year-old female was Tased by an off-duty Peoria police officer Saturday night at Northwoods Mall after pulling a knife on a mall security officer, according to Peoria Police Sergeant Joe Benko.

The situation began with a scuffle between two females in the mall’s food court a little before 8 p.m. Saturday. Police report that mall security officer’s witnessed the 17-year-old in possession of a large knife while she fled the scene.

Once out in the parking lot, the 17-year-old female began fighting with three security officers, and police report that the off-duty police officer, who was in uniform, saw a crowd moving toward the scuffle and told them to get back.

During the struggle, the off-duty police officer saw that the 17-year-old female had a knife in her hand while security tried to detain her. The off-duty officer Tased her in the right arm, causing her to drop the weapon.

While the off-duty officer attempted to get the 17-year-old into custody, a 12-year-old girl jumped onto the security guard and wrestled around with him before both suspects were detained.

The 17-year-old was arrested and charged with aggravated battery, aggravated assault with a knife, unlawful use of a weapon, mob action with injury and resisting arrest.

The 12-year-old was taken to a juvenile detention center after being arrested and charged with multiple charges, including three counts of aggravated battery and aggravated battery on a senior citizen, mob action with injury and obstructing police.

Source:pjstar.com

Man being sought in the deaths of an elderly couple commits suicide www.privateofficer.com

 

 

LAKE HARMONY, Pa.Feb 28 2012 – A man being sought in the deaths of an elderly couple at a resort in the Pocono mountains fatally shot himself after a brief police chase, authorities said Sunday.

John Carnochan, 77, and Mildred Carnochan, 75, were found dead Saturday afternoon at their Split Rock Resort home. Authorities have not said how they died.

On Saturday night, state police were seeking a silver Cadillac taken from the home. Police who had been asked to check a Snydertown home for the missing car spotted the vehicle, but the driver refused to stop and sped off. The vehicle was seen again about 20 minutes later and officers from several law enforcement agencies managed to stop it on Route 61 in Coal Township.

Officers surrounded the vehicle and ordered the driver to turn off the engine and throw the keys from the window. After a brief standoff, a gunshot was heard from inside the car, according to the (Hazleton) Standard-Speaker.

The driver was identified as Greg Demage, 30, of Jim Thorpe. He had been sought in the investigation into the deaths of the Carnochans, state police said. Authorities have not commented on any possible connection between Demage and the victims.

Autopsies on the victims were scheduled for Monday. State police said they were seeking anyone who may have seen the Carnochans between Wednesday evening and Saturday.

Neighbor Pat Schoeller told The (Allentown) Morning Call in an e-mail that Mildred Carnochan was “kind and fun-loving” and raised money for charity.

“She will be missed by everyone who knew her,” Schoeller said.

Source:FOX29

Fayetteville NC police officer keeps eye on the homeless www.privateofficer.com

 

 

Fayetteville NC Feb 28 2012 There’s a secret underneath the Ann Street bridge.

Officer Stacy Sanders, the Fayetteville’s homeless project officer, carefully climbs down a steep embankment, her boots kicking up puffs of loose red dirt. She looks to the abutment and sees enough pillows, blankets, boxes and odds and ends on both banks of Cross Creek to fill a moving truck.

In recent months, a tenant has moved his possessions into the area.

“He has a place over here,” Sanders said, gesturing to a wooded area east of the bridge. “This is where he stores his stuff. … He’s a hoarder.”

She follows a meandering path through the woods to a rudimentary camp, trying to contact its owner to deliver an eviction warning, but nobody is home on this recent weekday.

Sanders, an 11-year veteran of the Police Department, is tasked with monitoring hundreds of homeless city residents. A count last month found about 1,600 people who qualify as homeless in Cumberland County, about 1,300 of whom are on the streets every night.

She didn’t necessarily start the job to help the homeless. Sanders previously worked for about 2 1/2years as an undercover officer, buying drugs and working on prostitution stings. But as a single mother, she wanted to get into something different with more steady hours, she said.

“I was looking for a job that was not as dangerous,” Sanders said. “Coming from undercover work, it’s pretty high-risk there.”

She applied to become the next homeless project officer and got the job about eight years ago, but things haven’t always panned out the way she’s thought. Now, instead of buying drugs, she’s dealing with people using drugs and alcohol, many of whom have mental disorders.

Part of her job is keeping a database to track them, Sanders said. Police need to know where homeless people on probation and parole, as well as the sex offenders, are staying, she said.

Sanders also keeps track of their families, when possible, in case they need to be contacted in an emergency.

But her job is not limited to gathering information. She also helps collect and distribute garbage-bag loads of socks and blankets from churches and charities. She gathers boxes of coffee mugs for distribution and passes out hygiene kits.

Sanders helps the homeless get into shelters, and helps them get documents like identification cards and birth certificates. She tries to help drug addicts and alcoholics onto the path of sobriety, and whenever she can put people in touch with family, she does, hoping to help get them off the streets.

Most days, she starts early in the morning, responding to complaints about homeless people trespassing or causing problems. The homeless tend to congregate under bridges and near wood lines. Some have recently been camping out behind buildings in the area of Cross Creek Mall, she said.

Squatters like to take up residence in vacant homes, tearing down boards and using the buildings to get drunk and high, or to conduct prostitution, Sanders said.

Sanders stopped at one such residence, at 601 Link St., on a recent afternoon. The property had been boarded up, but the plywood has been pulled from the rear doors and windows.

“They board it up, it gets torn down,” Sanders said. “So that house probably should actually just be burned down.”

Inside, mounds of rubbish – rags, blankets, cigarette butts, bottles of cheap wine – are piled on the floor. The stench of urine lingers in the air.

Nobody was home at the time. The homeless often leave their living quarters during the day to wander the streets, sometimes looking for work or going to the library, sometimes panhandling.

The panhandlers, especially, can be aggressive when they see Sanders pulling up, she said.

“They’ve been cited so many times, and it’s frustrating for them when we get out and try to tell them they can’t be there,” Sanders said. “They feel like they can be there and they keep doing it over and over again.”

Working to help a group that either can’t or won’t accept the help being offered can be frustrating, too, she said. Usually for someone to escape homelessness, there has to be a breaking point, the rock bottom to instill the determination to get out, she said.

Sometimes, the work pays off. Sanders remembers a man who frequented Ramsey Street who used to be homeless and using drugs on the streets. Now, he’s a preacher with a family who displays “Jesus Loves You” signs, she said.

“You do have life-changing events that happen,” Sanders said. “When they get ready to change their lives and when it does happen, I like to be there. We have had a lot of success stories, believe it or not. We just keep on them.”

Source:www.fayobserver.com