Archive
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
Student opens fire shooting 5 students at Ohio school identified www.privateofficer.com
CHARDON, OH Feb 27 2012- The student who opened fire at Chardon High School has been identified as 17-year-old TJ Lane.
One student was killed and four others shot in the cafeteria of the school before the start of classes on Monday morning.
Three of the victims were lifeflighted to Metro, and two other victims were rushed by ambulance to Hillcrest Hospital.
One of the students – 16-year-old Daniel Parmertor – died shortly after arriving at Metro.
His family made the following statement:
“We are shocked by this senseless tragedy. Danny was a bright young boy who had a bright future ahead of him. The family is torn by this loss. We ask that you respect our privacy during this difficult time. “
No word on the conditions of the other victims at Metro.
A 17-year-old boy is listed in serious condition at Hillcrest, and an 18-year-old girl is listed in stable condition at Hillcrest.
The shootings happened in the cafeteria around 7:40AM.
19 Action News has learned teacher Frank Hall chased the 17-year-old student gunman from the building. Lane later surrendered to two innocent bystanders about an hour later. Lane is cooperating with police.
The high school, which was placed on lock down, was evacuated around 8:50AM. All high school students were then taken to Maple Elementary School and reunited with their parents.
The Superintendent immediately canceled classes at all other Chardon Schools. Students on school busses were dropped off back at their homes. Parents were called to pick up students already at school.
Classes are canceled for the entire district on Tuesday, February 28th.
Governor Kasich issued the following statement in response to the shooting at Chardon High School.
“Please join me in praying for the students who’ve been injured in this horrible crime. Praise goes to the Chardon Police and Geauga County Sheriff’s office for quickly getting this situation under control. I’ve pledged Ohio’s full support to them, the school and the local community in this difficult time.”
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown released the following statement after several students were shot at Chardon High School.
“My thoughts and prayers are with the Chardon community today. I join Ohioans across the state in praying for the speedy recovery of the students that have been injured,” Brown said. “I stand ready to provide whatever assistance possible to the victims and their families-as well as to local, state, and federal law enforcement to ensure that the suspect is brought to justice.”
A community prayer vigil will be held tonight from 7PM-9PM at First Baptist Church of Painesville. People are encouraged to come and go as they are able.
The United Methodist Church will hold two prayer vigils this evening in light of the tragic shooting that took place this morning at Chardon High School.
The vigils will take place from 7-9pm at the following locations:
Chardon United Methodist Church
515 North Street
Chardon, OH 44024
Rev. Dan Drew
Lighthouse United Methodist Church
14780 Mayfield Road
East Claridon, OH 44033
Pastor Karen Cico
Source: WOIO
ALABAMA MURDERER ESCAPES CUSTODY www.privateofficer.com
MONTGOMERY ALABAMA Feb 27 2012
The Alabama Department of Corrections is issuing an escape notice for Mario Streeter, a convicted murderer who was serving an 18 year sentence.
Streeter escaped from the Mobile Community Work Center at 6:35am Sunday.
The escapee is 5 feet, 9 inches and weighs 220 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes.
ADOC spokesman Brian Corbett says all appropriate law enforcement agencies were notified of Streeter’s escape status after he could not be located during a count at the Mobile facility.
The man was sentenced in Elmore County to an 18 year prison sentence back on October 24, 1996.
His sentence was set to expire on August 12, 2014. Corbett said the expiration date brought Streeter within three years of his minimum release date, and therefore eligible for minimum-out custody.
The U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force is not involved in the hunt for Streeter.
Anyone with information on the man’s whereabouts is asked to contact police immediately.
A crush of uninsured patients is pushing emergency care to the brink www.privateofficer.com
Louisville KY Feb 27 2012 A crush of uninsured patients is pushing University Hospital’s emergency care to the brink — with ER visits skyrocketing to more than 58,000 a year.
Across the United States, the sluggish economy has left more people without health insurance, forcing them to use emergency rooms — which cannot turn them away — for emergency and basic care, according to doctors, hospital officials and national experts.
But the trend has been especially pronounced at University Hospital, Louisville’s main safety-net hospital for the poor, where the ER is so consistently overwhelmed that a dozen beds have been permanently added in the hallways to handle the overflow.
“We are at our capacity and over it every day of the year. We have patients in the hallways every day,” said nurse Barbara DiMercurio, director of emergency services. “If our patient population continues to grow, there’s just going to be nowhere to put the patients.”
Total ER visits at University have jumped 75 percent — from 33,058 in 2006 to 58,010 last year. And about 55 percent of emergency room visits involve uninsured patients.
Both rates are roughly three times the national average. The rise in visits is also steeper than at other safety-net hospitals. Research by the National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems shows that ER visits in member hospitals rose 16 percent from 2000 to 2009.
Physicians and others said University Hospital’s plight is a sign that Louisville’s health-care safety net is weakening.
“This is where you really see the squeeze,” said Ken Marshall, chief operating officer at University Hospital. “You can call it the canary in the coal mine.”
Bill Wagner, executive director of Family Health Centers and an ex-officio member of the Louisville Metro Board of Health, said University’s ER is under the same strain as his clinics serving the poor.
“The safety net is frayed and getting ready to break completely,” he said. “The current situation isn’t sustainable. … The system is broken and it’s gonna get worse.”
Dr. Paul Hochfeld of Corvallis, Ore., an ER doctor for 32 years and a prominent national advocate for a single-payer health care system, said emergency departments are a barometer of American health care and society as a whole.
“Poverty, indigent care — it all just comes to a head in the emergency department,” Hochfeld said.
ERs are last resort for the uninsured
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, an average of 15.8 percent of Americans lacked health insurance from 2008 through 2010, including 663,000 Kentuckians — 15.5 percent of the state’s residents.
In Indiana, 813,000 Hoosiers are uninsured — 12.8 percent of residents.
Private doctors’ offices and urgent care centers don’t have to take uninsured patients who can’t pay out of their own pockets. There are low-cost, federally funded clinics that serve the uninsured. But the 10 local clinics, which serve more than 60,000 patients annually, are overburdened, and new patients often must wait weeks or even months to be seen.
For people like Tracye Miller, who is 50 and uninsured, that means turning to University Hospital’s ER.
Shortly after moving back to her native Louisville from Atlanta last fall, Miller sought help there for a knee problem. X-rays revealed a torn ligament, and she was fitted for a brace.
“I didn’t have a doctor here, and I didn’t know of any other option than to go to the ER,” she said.
Miller said she knew University Hospital’s reputation for treating the uninsured and didn’t realize she could also have gone to another ER in the city — a common misconception, according to officials at local hospitals.
In truth, federal law stipulates that patients who walk into a hospital’s ER must be seen there; they can’t be sent to other hospitals.
Still, officials also said many area doctors refer uninsured patients to University Hospital because of its role as the city’s safety net, the government funding it gets for indigent care, or because they have ties with the hospital. Wagner, for example, said his clinics generally refer the uninsured to University’s ER.
In 2010, University Hospital received nearly $69 million from federal, state and local governments toward indigent care hospitalwide, but that fell $20 million short of the actual cost.
“There’s an unwritten referral path to Barb (DiMercurio)’s door if you’re uninsured,” said Marshall. “There is the history. We believe it is part of our mission to serve this population.”
ER treatment is much more costlyAccording to the federal Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, the median ER visit cost $615 in 2009, compared with $361 for a visit to an office-based physician.
And when someone is uninsured and indigent, Hochfeld said, “we all end up paying for it.”
University Hospital officials argue that the strain of caring for uninsured patients has sapped the institution’s financial strength, preventing it from growing and making improvements such as adding beds and upgrading equipment.
They cited the financial difficulties of caring for the indigent as a prime reason for their attempt to merge with Jewish Hospital and Denver-based Catholic Health Initiatives. Gov. Steve Beshear blocked the merger in December, though, citing the potential loss of University Hospital as a public asset.
The University of Louisville has issued a request for proposals on behalf of U of L and University Medical Center Inc., seeking to attract interest from other health care organizations that may want to partner with University Hospital.
But DiMercurio said indigent care isn’t the only factor driving up ER visits at University: Improvements in efficiency and quality also play a part, since fewer people are walking out because of long waiting times.
In 2009, she said, 15 percent of people who walked into the ER left without being seen because of long waits. That’s down to 1.7 percent this year, after a push to attend to patients immediately and get physicians to see them more quickly. Officials said that effort helped reduce the average time from triage to discharge from 6.6 hours in 2006 to five hours in 2011, and the average time from triage to admission from 11.2 to 7.5 hours during those years.
DiMercurio and Marshall also pointed out that University Hospital is one of only two non-pediatric trauma centers in Kentucky, meaning serious trauma cases such as head injuries suffered in car accidents from the entire western half of the state go there.
Uninsured influxBut the rising number of uninsured patients is a major driver of University Hospital’s exploding ER volume.
That’s evident in the growth of a University Hospital program called First Care, designed for less serious problems that come through the ER, such as dental abscesses.
Patients are referred to First Care from the main portion of the ER after medical professionals quickly assess their problems. The program is designed to relieve some of the pressure on the rest of the ER.
Two-thirds or more of First Care patients are uninsured, and in recent years increased demand has led the hospital to expand its beds from six to 13, become a 24-7 facility and hire a handful of new nurse practitioners. First Care cases, which are not included in the hospital’s ER volume totals, rose from 8,353 in 2006 to 20,546 last year.
Chereyl Burres, 27, a mother of four who recently came to First Care with an infection, said she relies on University’s ER because she has few other options.
“They accept everyone, and I don’t have insurance,” she said.
DiMercurio said all ER patients who don’t have primary care physicians, including those in First Care, get consultations with case managers and a list of clinics and primary care doctors. But the hospital can’t require patients to use them.
Some patients use First Care as their primary care outlet, which can put ER doctors and nurses in a difficult position.
DiMercurio said they often see patients with chronic problems, such as high blood pressure or diabetes, and initiate treatment to stabilize them. But they can’t oblige patients who, for example, want an MRI because they have back pain, she said.
Dr. Daniel Danzl, an ER doctor who chairs the department of emergency medicine at the University of Louisville, said there are no hard and fast rules on what it means to stabilize or treat a patient; these are often judgment calls.
For example, he said, if a patient arrives with an earache and he diagnoses an ear infection, that’s not an emergency, but he’s still “gonna give that person a prescription for antibiotics.”
“We always try to err on the side of the patients,” Danzl said.
Becoming overwhelmedOn a recent night, University’s ER treated 56 patients, twice as many as the department’s 28 beds.
“And yes, we count the (12) beds in the hallway,” DiMercurio said.
That’s fairly typical, she said.
About a quarter of ER patients ultimately are admitted to the hospital, but some must remain in the ER for lack of inpatient beds. The practice, known as “boarding,” happens routinely, DiMercurio said.
“The system is becoming overwhelmed,” said Danzl, who has worked at the ER for more than three decades. “Patients are kind of stuck in the middle.”
Complicating matters, Danzl said, is that some patients have multiple health problems, and some haven’t seen a doctor in a decade.
Hochfeld, the Oregon physician, said when ER patient volumes get too high, the quality of care can suffer as doctors become overwhelmed.
“Emergency physicians around the country do a pretty good job,” he said. “But the busier we are, the more diluted our resources are.”
University Hospital officials said they’ve called in reinforcements to avoid that. Danzl said doctors elsewhere in the hospital are brought to the ER when needed — sometimes raising the number of doctors in the ER from four to 10.
While the federal health care overhaul offers potential relief by insuring more Americans, officials said it also brings uncertainties. It’s unclear whether those newly insured patients would be offset by federal and state reductions in indigent funding.
“I’m not encouraged,” Marshall said. “When we see a landscape like this, it’s important for us to keep our mission in mind. Let’s just admit the fact we can’t do it 100 percent.”
At other ERsOfficials at other area hospitals said they’ve also been feeling the crunch as ER visits have risen — albeit not as quickly.
From 2006 to 2010, visits rose from 45,377 to 49,462 at Kosair Children’s Hospital, from 27,836 to 29,357 at Norton Hospital and from 29,779 to 33,508 at Jewish Hospital. At Clark Memorial Hospital in nearby Southern Indiana, visits rose from 40,134 in 2007 to 43,991 in 2011.
A few area hospitals have seen slight declines, such as Baptist Hospital East, where ER visits dropped from 55,194 in 2006 to 54,208 in 2010. And just 11 percent of its ER patients are uninsured.
Tim Marcum, director of planning for Baptist East, said that in part reflects a strategy to open more urgent-care centers and Baptist Express Care clinics at Walmarts.
Dr. Steven Heilman, chief medical information officer for Norton Healthcare, said Norton’s indigent-care percentage hovers close to the national average of 20 percent.
And like University Hospital, Heilman said, his hospital system sees patients whose medical problems might be better handled in primary care or urgent care — leading officials to add a six-room center for less-severe emergencies at Norton Hospital about five years ago.
Miller, the uninsured knee patient, said she’s glad ERs must take those who can’t pay and is especially grateful for the good care she received at University Hospital.
The unemployed former limousine business owner and cosmetology teacher now gets her primary care at Family Health Centers-Portland.
But she said she will turn to University’s ER again if an emergency arises.
“Being in this position, without health insurance, is new for me,” she said. “It’s great the ER is there for us.”
Source:Louisville Courier Journal
Two TN security officers stabbed- seriously injured in attack www.privateofficer.com
MILLINGTON, TN Feb 27 2012 – A customer and two security guards were stabbed after a fight at a Millington bar early Saturday morning.
Shelby County investigators were called to Lorraine’s Lounge at 6553 Navy Road just after 2:00 a.m. Saturday. The victims were stabbed after a fight broke out as the bar was closing.
“They hit a customer for no reason, and my guys who got hurt tried to stop it,” said Lorraine’s Lounge owner Curtis Pettigrew.
Pettigrew said as his security guards were trying to break up the crowd in the parking lot, a person who had been previously banned from the bar struck another patron in the head.
“One of these Tipton County fellows hit a patron for nothing,” said Pettigrew. “Just hit the man.”
According to the Shelby Sheriff’s office, two Lorraine’s Lounge security guards Jeffrey Williams and Monterio Hurd, and a female patron, Amy Clark, all suffered stab wounds from a razor blade type of instrument.
Clark was transported to Methodist North, where she was treated and released. Hurd and Williams were transported to the MED, where Williams underwent surgery for extensive internal injuries. Williams is listed in stable condition.
Lorraine’s Lounge opened its doors just over two months ago. Pettigrew said business has been good.
“Everything’s been beautiful,” said Pettigrew. “Good food, good entertainment, good people.”
After the indictment of five Millington business owners on criminal charges in December, Pettigrew said he does not want his establishment to get the wrong reputation.
“We are not here for that madness,” he said. “Ain’t no drug slinging or all that craziness. We’re here for good times.”
Pettigrew said his security guards were only trying to do their job by keeping the peace. He said he is saddened that the night ended in violence.
“It hurts me to know that my people just got hurt for nothing,” said Pettigrew.
Anyone with information about the stabbing is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (901) 528-CASH.
Source: WMC-TV
Woman shot at Myrtle Beach nightclub- security returns fire www.privateofficer.com
It happened after 2:00 a.m. at the Tequilla Empire club off Kings Highway in Myrtle Beach.
Police say that two men were reported exiting the bar and making their way to the back of the building. A security guard witnessed one suspect pull out a gun and shoot in a group of people standing behind the club. The security guard said he then shot at the shooter, according to a police report.
The shooter then jumped into a car driver by the other suspect, and both sped off.
Police are still searching for the suspects. The car the two were last seen it was a champagne colored Nissan Altima. It was last seen going south on Kings Highway.
Source:WPDE
NJ bridge fast becoming “Suicide Bridge” www.privateofficer.com
PERTH AMBOY NJ Feb 27 2012— Sabrina Williams-Torres says she thinks her 31-year-old brother was depressed and crying out for help after suffering a heart attack and losing his job and health insurance, when he climbed over the railing near the top of the 110-foot-high Victory Bridge last month.
As Ron Snipes of Perth Amboy was driving across the bridge, he spotted Williams-Torres’ brother and rushed to grab him. He strained to hold on until police arrived, saving his life.
Williams-Torres said she thinks her brother picked the bridge along Route 35 connecting Perth Amboy and Sayreville because so many people, including a young mother with her baby a few years ago, have killed themselves by jumping off the span.
“That’s what he had in his mind. So many people have jumped,” Williams-Torres said.
But Perth Amboy Mayor Wilda Diaz, city officials and mental-health professionals would like to see that deadly trend end.
That’s why city officials are again asking the state Department of Transportation to erect a barrier or fence along the Victory Bridge, which has become a magnet for 22 reported suicides or suicide attempts since the redesigned high-arching bridge opened in 2004.
“Something has to be done about the bridge,” Diaz said. “What do you say to the families of those who have jumped off the bridge?”
Perth Amboy City Council members on Wednesday unanimously approved a resolution urging Gov. Chris Christie to approve and implement safety fencing along the bridge. The resolution also urged the state Legislature to approve funds for the state Department of Transportation to install the fencing and for the DOT to incorporate the fencing project into its capital budget. Copies of the resolution are being forward to Christie, the state Senate and Assembly, as well as state legislators.
Money lacking
The cost appears to be the major stumbling block. DOT Commissioner James Simpson notified Assemblyman Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex, in December that the cost to install fencing would be about $1.96 million using existing contractor resources under the DOT’s maintenance program.
“Unfortunately, our maintenance budget cannot support an unplanned expenditure of that amount,” Simpson said in a letter to Coughlin. “However, this request will be forwarded to NJDOT’s Capital Management Unit for consideration as a future enhancement project to be considered.”
DOT spokesman Tim Greeley said the commissioner’s December letter is the department’s position.
The city’s renewed request comes on the heels of Snipes’ heroic actions on Jan. 25, when he grabbed Williams-Torres’ brother just as he was attempting to jump from the bridge. Leaning over the railing, Snipes held on to the man for about 10 minutes and then lifted him high enough for police to grab him.“There won’t be a bunch of Snipes’ there to prevent people from jumping off the bridge,” said Reinaldo Aviles of Perth Amboy. “We need a fence.”
The existing guardrails on the bridge are less than 6 feet high and are easily scaled. Without fencing or any covering, if someone goes over, they probably will plunge into the Raritan River, City Council President Ken Balut said.
Williams-Torres of Perth Amboy supports the idea of a barrier or fence.
“There have been so many deaths due to that bridge. I’m one of the lucky ones who didn’t lose somebody,” said Williams-Torres, who was on the bridge the night her brother tried to jump. She screamed at Snipes not to let go of her brother’s hand.
Williams-Torres would like to see a high fence with barbed wire.
She said the more people who jump from the bridge, the greater the chance others will copy their actions. Her brother is getting mental-health counseling and has received a lot of support from family and friends.
A clinical psychologist said the Middlesex County Mental Health Board also supports a barrier on the bridge. Kenneth Foti, who works at Raritan Bay Mental Health Center in Perth Amboy, several blocks from the bridge, said the board drafted a letter to the state soon after the bridge opened when members recognized it as a vulnerable spot.
“It is a very high bridge. If someone is considering suicide, if they do it (jump), it will be lethal,” he said. “I don’t think the bridge has adequate support to prevent that from happening.”
Naked man steals fire truck-hits and kills pedestrian www.privateofficer.com
BEAUFORT, SC Feb 27 2012 – Police in Beaufort say a naked Sumter man stole a fire truck and hit and killed a pedestrian.
Beaufort firefighters were at a medical call at the Laurel Hill apartments on Ribaut Road when the suspect, 22-year-old Kalvin Hunt of Sumter, stole the Port Royal fire truck.
Investigators say Hunt caused several wrecks, including one in Port Royal and another one near the base of the Lady’s Island Bridge. Police say he then hit and killed a pedestrian along Ribaut Road.
The Beaufort County Coroner’s Office said Saturday that 28-year-old Justin Miller of Port Royal was killed by the careening fire truck as he walked along a sidewalk.
When Hunt finally crashed the fire truck into a tree, he was pinned inside the fire truck. He then got free and started assaulting two Beaufort police officers. During the incident, three officers and one EMT were injured. Hunt was naked when he exited the vehicle.
The three officers and one EMT were all treated and released from the hospital. Hunt is still in the hospital.
Source: WTOC
Southwest Missouri woman faces up to 20 years in prison for 170,000 theft www.privateofficer.com
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. Feb 27 2012— A southwest Missouri woman faces up to 20 years in prison after admitting she stole nearly $170,000 from a Springfield hotel where she worked.
She admitted defrauding the hotel for more than seven years, beginning in January 2003, by inflating reports of spending from petty cash and diverting the money to her own bank account.
The U.S. Attorney’s office says 47-year-old Janet R. Mosier pleaded guilty Wednesday to allegations in a federal information charging her with wire fraud.
Mosier was the director of accounting services at Springfield University Plaza Hotel and Convention Center. She admitted defrauding the hotel for more than seven years, beginning in January 2003, by inflating reports of spending from petty cash and diverting the money to her own bank account.
A sentencing date will be scheduled later.
New Denver Police Chief to put officers back on the streets www.privateofficer.com
Denver CO Feb 27 2012 Denver Police Chief Robert White wears a spanking-new badge, but the department shake-up he plans in the coming weeks will be similar to a reorganization he accomplished in Louisville, Ky., almost a decade ago.
White, who took over the department in December, headed the merger of the Jefferson County Police Department and the Louisville Division of Police, creating a combined Louisville Metro Police Department in 2003.
He put 80 to 100 more officers on the street, taking steps that included hiring civilians to handle some jobs that didn’t require a gun and badge. He also flattened the command staff, put more power in the hands of district commanders, and — through a combination of attrition, reassignments and promotions — eliminated the rank of captain, said Tim Emington, who was an assistant chief under White.
On Friday, White took to the Internet to detail some of the changes — calling for more officers on the street, for better use of technology, and for ways to cut down on the number of false alarms to which the department responds.
In an earlier interview with The Denver Post, White said he was still considering some pieces of Denver’s reorganization but expects to make his plans public by mid-March. Some changes will be made quickly, others will take longer, and the blueprint will evolve over time, he said.
One key, White said, will be giving more autonomy to the commanders of the six districts.
“A lot now comes down from headquarters,” White said. “They tell them, ‘You have got to do this, you have got to do that.’ I’m going to say: ‘Here are your resources. You know what the issues are … If they can’t do it effectively, then I will address that.
“I want to hold them to a higher level of accountability, but I want to empower them also.”
In reorganizing Louisville’s merged department, White adopted a more decentralized structure. He disbanded a street-crimes unit, moving the members into divisions in which they operated as “flex teams” whose assignments met the division’s needs.
Right now, more than 50 percent of Denver’s officers are in jobs that don’t involve patrolling the streets. White said he believes that those street assignments are the department’s backbone — and in Friday’s podcast said he wants the number to be at least 70 percent.
To get more officers into the mix, he has looked at desk jobs and other tasks handled by cops that could be done by civilians, and considered changes to specialized units like homicide and burglary.
In Louisville, he turned over responsibility for taking some reports to civilians, Emington said.
The duties of some units now handled downtown can be done more effectively in the districts, White said.
He also plans to eliminate an entire command-level rank. The command structure presently includes lieutenants, captains, commanders, division chiefs and deputy chiefs. He declined to say which rank he will abandon.
“With all of these ranks, we are watering down individual authority,” White said.
He also made it clear that he isn’t reluctant to make controversial changes to staff when he demoted Tracie Keesee, who was heavily favored by officers during the search for a chief that ended with White’s appointment. A high-ranking police source said at the time Keesee’s demotion, from division chief to captain, came after a forensic search of department computers discovered that she had a copy of an anonymous letter critical of White that had circulated in the department.
White wouldn’t discuss details of the demotion.
Cops who rise in White’s organization are those who share his philosophy, Emington said. That philosophy includes officers having more contact with residents, White said.
The public is a police department’s “eyes and ears on the street,” he said, and officers “need to understand that the greatest resource we have is our citizens.”
“They are willing to work with us … if they know and trust us,” he said.
White is still evaluating executive staff while looking for leadership ability lower in the ranks. He is looking for cops who “have been waiting in the wings that have the potential of being outstanding.”
There will be openings in the command ranks, and ample opportunity for advancement, he said.
In Louisville, where White did away with the rank of captain, a merit system made it difficult to demote those holding that rank, he added.
” You could be dealing with a captain who believes they should have your job as chief and whatever you come up with, they’re going to be resistant to,” Emington said.
White puts faith in his line supervisors, the sergeants who supervise the cops on the street. They are the ones, he said, who will change the culture of a department roiled by a succession of excessive-force cases.
“He believed that was the most important job on the police department, including the chief’s (job),” Emington said.
White said the number of cops who engage in brutality in Denver, and elsewhere, is small.
“There is a portion of members in our department that it doesn’t matter what you do or say, they’re going to do the right thing, that is the way they were raised, that is what is in their DNA,” White said. “There is a small portion that it doesn’t matter what you do or say, they are a discredit to our department. Then there is a great majority that is just looking for good leadership. That leadership is in the hands of the sergeants.”
Source:www.denverpost.com
Somerset borough police officer charged with bribery www.privateofficer.com
Somerset PA Feb 27 2012 A Somerset borough police officer was arrested Friday on charges of taking cash in exchange for dropping charges.
Jason Ponczek, 33, of Johns-town, is charged with bribery and official oppression after state police organized a sting against him Friday evening at the Somerset police station.
He was arraigned by Magisterial District Judge Susan Mankamyer and released on $50,000 non-monetary bail.
Officer Ponczek, who has worked in Somerset since April 2008, has been suspended without pay.
According to the criminal complaint, on Jan. 22, Officer Ponczek responded to a routine call at an apartment in the borough and while inside he observed a small amount of marijuana on a coffee table.
The officer, state police said, asked the person in the home to become a confidential informant for future cases in exchange for taking a reduced charge on the marijuana. Officer Ponczek offered to drop a misdemeanor drug possession to a summary count of disorderly conduct, the complaint said.
The person agreed, according to the complaint, and contacted Officer Ponczek with information twice over the next two weeks.
Then, on Feb. 16, Officer Ponczek met with the informant and said it was time to file the charges. He said he could go to a local magistrate’s office where the person could pay the fine and costs, or the person could just pay him $500, and the charge would not be filed, police said.
“Ponczek indicated that he had bills to pay and he and the other officer do this from time to time,” the complaint said.
The subject agreed to the deal and then went to state police.
On Friday evening, Officer Ponczek contacted the confidential informant to meet for the exchange. State police gave the subject $500 in official funds and watched as the meeting took place. Officer Ponczek arrived in his patrol car and took the cash, the complaint said.
Afterward, state police arrested the officer at the borough police station.
“The Somerset Borough Police Department greets this news with both shock and sadness,” said Somerset police Chief Randy Cox. “The department and the borough of Somerset set high expectations for our officers and are committed to an honest appraisal of an officer’s performance as compared to those standards and expectations.”
The chief said he would review not only Officer Ponczek’s cases, but department policies to ensure nothing like this has happened before or will again.
“We want to make sure there’s no weaknesses in what we’re doing,” he said.
The chief said he has never had any disciplinary problems with Officer Ponczek.
Officer Ponczek worked part-time for Somerset, generally working 32 to 40 hours per week.
Source:www.post-gazette.com
Jefferson Parish public schools employee arrested on forgery and theft charges www.privateofficer.com
Jefferson Parish LA Feb 27 2012 The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office has arrested a Jefferson Parish public schools employee with theft and forgery of checks, and the unauthorized transfer of funds. Paula Leblanc, 46, of 5540 Hudson Drive, Marrero, was booked Thursday with theft over $1,500 and two counts of forgery. She has since been released from custody.
According to an arrest register, Leblanc stole two school system checks, forged the name of the designated signer for the school system on those checks, and then deposited those checks into her personal account. She also later managed to make bank transfers from the school system’s account into her own.
In total, authorities say that Leblanc stole slightly less than $7,000 from September through January. The report did not provide a reason for the theft, but said it was discovered during a review of bank statements.
Acting Jefferson Parish Schools Superintendent James Meza said Leblanc worked as an assistant to system’s athletic director. However, he said he could not provide many details on the theft because it was considered a personnel matter and would be the subject of an administrative investigation.
Jefferson Parish School Board President Mark Jacobs said the school district “will not tolerate any misappropriations of public dollars. If you steal from the kids, I hope that the maximum penalty will apply, because we will not tolerate it.”
Leblanc remains employed by the school system.
Source:nola.com
Police arrest five people for helping man kill Washington State Trooper www.privateofficer.com
SEATTLE WA Feb 27 2012— Five people have been arrested for allegedly helping a man after he killed a Washington state trooper, including a former girlfriend of deceased gunman Joshua Blake, authorities say.
Jessi Leigh Foster, 32, is the mother of one of Blake’s children. Blake, an ex-con with a history of antagonizing police, shot and killed Trooper Tony Radulescu early Thursday morning during a traffic stop, then committed suicide with a single shot to the head hours later.
Shortly after the trooper’s death, Blake called Foster and told her he did something bad and needed help to escape, sheriff’s Sgt. Ken Dickinson of the Kitsap County sheriff’s office told reporters Friday.
She met him at a home on a dirt road a few miles away, where she pressed him on what he had done, he said, and even after Blake acknowledged that he shot a police officer, she continued trying to help.
“She was actively trying to find a way for him to get out of the area,” Dickinson said.
She was still in the home with him when he killed himself as a SWAT team closed in, Dickinson said. She was arrested for investigation of rendering criminal assistance; bail was set at $500,000.
Later Friday, Dickinson said four more people were arrested.
He said the two men and two women have been arrested for investigation of rendering criminal assistance and jailed on $500,000 bail. None was identified. They are expected to make court appearances Monday.
One of the four — an 18-year-old woman — is described as being a passenger in Blake’s truck when he killed Radulescu.
No other details on the four were released.
Foster made an initial appearance in Kitsap County District Court on Friday. A judge found probable cause for the charge and set further hearings for next month. She did not enter a plea.
“My daughter has a very, very good heart,” her father, Wayne Foster, told reporters. “Her ex-boyfriend has just misused her for years upon years, and broke her heart many times. He’s been a total frustration to our family, especially to his daughter and to my daughter.”
He said his daughter told him she didn’t initially realize what had happened when she tried to help Blake, and when she found out, she was scared and didn’t know what to do.
According to a detective’s affidavit, Jessi Foster was at a party when she received the call from Blake, and she had a friend drive her to meet him. She told investigators that based on a flurry of police activity, including a helicopter flying in the area, she knew he’d done something bad, but it was several hours before he told her he what had happened.
After he told her, he walked outside, and she continued calling and texting friends to see if anyone could pick them up — but did not call 911, the detective’s statement said. A SWAT team arrived within the next half-hour, Foster estimated.
She and Blake had tussled in court over custody of their daughter, who is now 3. In court papers he wrote that she had a severe drinking problem and was unstable. In response, a friend of hers, Carole Gonzalez, wrote that Foster was a loving mother and that Blake was never around the child because he had been incarcerated.
The slain trooper was Tony Radulescu, a Romanian immigrant and 16-year veteran of the patrol who had the respect of his peers and was popular in his community.
“It’s a terrible thing to receive a phone call that one of your people is injured in line of duty. To have that compounded with a loss, it’s a bad day,” Patrol Chief John R. Batiste said.
Radulescu, who served his entire career in the area, spoke five languages — a huge asset in investigating car theft rings with Eastern European ties, said Kitsap County Sheriff Steve Boyer, who knew him well.
“He was cautious. He practiced good officer safety,” the sheriff said, his eyes misting as he spoke Thursday. “Sometimes the odds are just against you.”
Radulescu was a military veteran with a son in the area who is a soldier, Patrol Chief John Batiste said at an early morning news conference at St. Joseph Medical Center. He was well-known and popular in the community where he often spoke in schools, Batiste said.
According to Kitsap County court records, Blake was convicted for assaulting his then-pregnant girlfriend — not Foster — in 2004 as he drove down a street under the influence of alcohol. After being arrested, he kicked out the window of a patrol car.
Later that year, after the baby was born, he choked the woman and punched her in the face repeatedly because she asked him to watch the child while she took a nap.
In 2008, a Port Orchard officer tried to pull him over for a minor traffic infraction. He sped off at 60 mph, crashed into another police car and then ran off. As officers pursued him, he returned to his car and sped away again — only to later be caught when a sheriff’s office dog team chased him up a tree.
Department of Corrections spokesman Chad Lewis said Blake was a handful both for prison officials and for community corrections officers who tried to supervise him. He completed a 2½-year prison term in early 2010, and last spring he served two months for failing to check in with his community corrections officer. His term of supervision ended last August, Lewis said.
CT duo charged in theft incident at Kohl’s store www.privateofficer.com
Fairfield CT Feb 27 2012 Two Bridgeport residents were arrested Thursday in connection to a shoplifting incident at Kohl’s, police said.
Tanya Shelton, 51, was charged with fifth-degree larceny and interfering with a police officer after she allegedly attempted to leave the store without paying for a shopping cart filled with $716 worth of merchandise, department spokesperson Sgt. Sue Lussier said.
Shelton then allegedly tried to escape responding officers by trying to escape into the car that Justin Secchiaroli, 31, was in, but the doors were locked, Lussier said. She ran around the car but police detained her.
Secchiaroli was charged with conspiracy to commit fifth-degree larceny after it was determined that he had knowledge of the attempted theft and admitted intent to purchase the stolen merchandise in the parking lot, Lussier said.
Shelton and Secchiaroli were transported to police headquarters and charged. Secchiaroli was released on a promise to appear and Shelton on a $100 bond, Lussier said. They were both issued a March 6 court date.
Two off-duty Houston police officers working security involved in shooting www.privateofficer.com
HOUSTON TX Feb 27 2012 - Two off-duty Houston police officers who were working a security job were involved in a shooting outside of a southeast Houston nightclub.
Around 1 a.m. Sunday, the two officers were working an extra job at the El Rodeo nightclub at the Gulf Freeway and Edgebrook Drive.
During their shift, the officers responded to a report of two men attempting to break into vehicles at the nightclub’s parking lot.
When the officers approached the men, both ran and jumped into a vehicle and attempted to get away, police said.
Investigators said the fleeing Cadillac was blocked by a large truck making its way down the parking lot, so the driver put the gear into reverse and hit both officers.
One officer was hit in his stomach and knocked to the ground, authorities said.
Officials said the other officer was hit on his belt, causing him to drop his gun. That officer then picked up his firearm and discharged the weapon towards the fleeing vehicle.
One of the suspects, who was 19-years-old, was hit once and later transported to Ben Taub Hospital.
The other suspect in the passenger seat was taken into custody.
Police said both men had previous records.
The driver was charged with two counts of felony aggravated assault with a motor vehicle.
Both were charged with fleeing.
Source:click2houston
Savannah man faces a slew of charges for running down security officer www.privateofficer.com
Savannah GA Feb 27 2012 A Savannah man faces a slew of charges after he rammed two cars with his own, tried to run down a woman and security guards in a parking lot of the Savannah Mall and led police on a pursuit before crashing his own vehicle early Sunday morning, said Savannah-Chatham police spokesman Julian Miller in a statement Sunday afternoon.
Charlton Bynum, 19, of the 1990 block of Price Street was charged with five counts of aggravated assault, felony fleeing to elude, two counts of hit and run, reckless driving, two counts of failure to stop at a stop sign, failure to obey traffic control devices, no valid insurance, failure to maintain lane, switching tags to misrepresent, and expired registration.
Southside Precinct officers witnessed Bynum crash into a car from which a woman was exiting and then chase her and mall security guards around the parking lot attempting to strike them with his vehicle.
Bynum ran several stop signs and traffic signals with police in pursuit before crashing the brown Ford Taurus he was driving at Abercorn Street and Rio Road.
Police determined the woman Bynum tried to ram had spurned his advances at a party, according to the statement. The woman, who is a co-worker of Bynum’s, left the party with friends and Bynum followed, allegedly striking one car at Derenne Avenue and Montgomery Street and running several cars off Middleground Road as he pursued the woman to the mall parking lot, at which point the security guards and metro police intervened.
Criminal investigations detectives are still investigating the incident.
Source:savannahnow.com
Alaska State Troopers arrest men in assault on nightclub security www.privateofficer.com
WASILLA, Alaska Feb 27 2012— Alaska State Troopers say a security guard at a Wasilla bar was bitten during a scuffle with two men.
Troopers say the Rum Runners security guard was bitten on the arm early Sunday by 26-year-old Wasilla resident, Ruben Sandoval, who is charged with assault and being intoxicated at a licensed premise.
Troopers say the second bar patron — 33-year-old Bryce Danford of Wasilla — is charged with disorderly conduct and being intoxicated at a licensed premise.
Troopers say the men were taken to the Mat-Su Pretrial Facility.
Houston man commits suicide while police respond to sexual assault scene www.privateofficer.com
HOUSTON TX Feb 27 2012 – Authorities say a man killed himself while officers responded to the scene of a sexual assault in northeast Houston on Saturday.
According to HPD, officers got a call around 8 p.m. that a 15-year-old girl had been sexually assaulted at a home near the intersection of Denmark and Bonita.
Police said a patrol officer went to check it out and found a girl in the front of the residence. The officer called an ambulance and she was taken to the hospital for treatment.
According to police, the officer went inside the home and found a back bedroom locked. He identified himself as police and asked if anyone was inside. The officer then heard a single gunshot and called for SWAT to respond.
After SWAT arrived to the scene they entered the bedroom and found a dead man inside.
He was later identified as 41-year-old Rodney Estrada.
Police would not release any additional details about the sex assault allegations or the victim’s relationship to Estrada.
