Winn-Dixie employee organized a robbery that ended with police officer being shot www.privateofficer.com

 

 

MOBILE, Alabama March 8 2012 – A Winn-Dixie employee organized a robbery of the store that ended with one Mobile police officer being shot in the chest, police said today.

Collier Kirksey, 18, was at the store Friday night when two men entered, held employees hostage and demanded money from a safe, police said.

Police say that after the two men — Jackeith Harrison and Ronald Crear — were involved in a shootout with police, Kirksey tried to hide his involvement. He stayed with other employees as investigators questioned witnesses at the scene.

“He was acting as if he was a victim,” said Ashley Rains, a Mobile police spokeswoman.

Kirksey turned himself in at Mobile police headquarters this afternoon. He is charged with five counts of attempted murder and one count of first-degree robbery and is being held in Mobile County Metro Jail.

Rains said that Kirksey arranged the robbery and picked the time of 11 p.m. The store typically employs an off-duty officer for security, but Kirksey knew that the officer would be gone by then, Rains said.

Investigators say that Harrison and Crear were both armed and both fired at five Mobile police officers, who were attempting to enter the store.

Officer Chad Wynne was shot in the chest and is in critical condition at University of South Alabama Medical Center.

“We’re very excited to report that he continues to recover,” Rains said.

Harrison, 18, was arrested at the scene and is being held in Mobile County Metro Jail with no bail.

Crear, 21, was shot when police returned fire and is being treated at USA Medical Center, according to investigators.

Rains added that Wynne was not wearing a protective vest that night because he was working an off-duty job in the area.

She declined to discuss the Police Department’s policy on officers wearing vests, citing officer safety.

Source:al.com

Macy security officer assaulted by female shoplifter www.privateofficer.com

 

 

Long Island NY March 8 2012 A shoplifter was arrested for assaulting a Macy’s security agent who caught her stealing clothing from the Fulton Street department store on March 3, cops said.

The security guard told police the alleged thief entered the store, between Hoyt and Lawrence streets, at 4:45 pm, and tried walking out with $200 worth of unpaid merchandise 30 minutes later.

When the guard stopped her, the woman punched and kicked him but couldn’t get away, he said. Police arrested a suspect later that day but did not release her name.

The security guard was treated for minor injuries at Long Island College Hospital

Sarasota teacher charged with “Doctor Shopping” to obtain drugs www.privateofficer.com

 

 

SARASOTA, FL.March 8 2012 - The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office has arrested 56-year-old Mary Ann Fedak of Sarasota for obtaining controlled substances from at least four doctors in Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch and Osprey.

In November 2011, detectives with the Pharmaceutical Diversion Investigative Unit received information that Fedak was visiting multiple physicians involved in pain management to obtain controlled substances, and filling prescriptions at multiple pharmacies. Throughout the investigation they learned that Fedak obtained some 9,648 pills of Hydrocodone over a 10 month period, despite signing patient narcotic agreements at three of the offices stating she would not seek prescriptions of like therapeutic value from other doctors.

Fedak, who is a drafting teacher at Sarasota County Technical Institute, turned herself in to the Hardee County Jail on Friday and was released $5,000 bond.

Source:www.suncoast.com

Miami tanker truck driver accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of fuel www.privateofficer.com

 

 

MIAMI Fla March 8 2012- A tanker truck driver is accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of fuel while working out of Miami International Airport.

After an internal audit, Swissport U.S.A. Inc. told Miami-Dade police it discovered large fuel discrepancies. It said the discrepancies happened while driver Sandor Eng, 39, was working at Swissport U.S.A. Inc.

Miami-Dade police then picked up the investigation. On March 4, detectives said Eng arrived at the airport an hour early for work and filled up his tanker. Detectives said Eng then drove to World Fueling Inc. on Northwest 34th Street and met up with Daniel Ramirez.

Detectives said they witnessed hoses being attached from the Swissport tanker to a World Fueling tanker. Detectives said Eng headed back to the airport in the Swissport tanker.

Detectives later questioned Eng about what he was doing and said that he provided them with false information.

After investigating, Miami-Dade police said Eng stole approximately 194,615 gallons of fuel over 245 days. That gas is worth approximately $205,000.

Eng is charged with more than 50 counts of grand theft. A judge set bond for him at $232,500.

Source:news10

Woman files multi-million dollar lawsuit, claims minister molested her for years www.privateofficer.com

 

 

HOUSTON TX March 8 2012—A former United Methodist Minister is named in a multi-million dollar civil suit filed by a woman who claims that she was sexually abused for years while senior church members failed to take any action to prevent it.

“He had complete control over my mind and my body,” said the woman referred to as Jane Doe in court documents.

Doe read from a prepared statement at her Houston attorney’s office.

“We lived as husband and wife in private, but in public I had to call him daddy,” she said.

The suit alleges that Kendall Graham and his wife invited the victim to move in with them when she was 10 years old after her mother had died.

At the time, Graham was serving as a United Methodist Minister for a church in Port Arthur. The suit claims Graham began to sexually abuse the victim when she was 14, and that he even made a video tape of the two of them having sex while he was serving as the pastor of Boynton United Methodist Church in southeast Houston. All the while, he told church members that he was Jane Doe’s father, the suit alleged.

The victim’s attorney stated that church members complained to high-ranking church officials about what appeared to be inappropriate contact between Graham and the victim during a church-sponsored trip to Jamaica.

“This guy was a predator and he was praying a Jane Doe,” said Harrison Fisher. “And the church didn’t take any steps to protect her.”

The lawsuit seeks $25 million in damages and blames the United Methodist Church for what it calls gross negligence.

Church officials said the Bishop found out about the allegations last August when she met with the victim. Following that meeting the Bishop ordered Graham to surrender his credentials and fired him.

“We remain committed to the support and protection of children, and we pray for a compassionate resolution to this painful and difficult situation,” Bishop Janice Riggle Huie said in a released statement.

Eventually Graham’s wife divorced him.

In 2009, Jane Doe gave birth to a child and married the man who had raised her as a daughter.

Graham filed for divorce last year.

A woman who answered the door at Graham’s Missouri City home identified herself as his mother. She said her son wasn’t capable of molesting a child.

Graham’s attorney refused to do an interview, but said Jane Doe might be angry over the fact that Graham was divorcing her.

Source:khou

Ringleader of heroin ring that smuggled drugs on Royal Caribbean cruise ship gets 20yr prison www.privateofficer.com

 

 

 

Baltimore MD March 8 2012 The ringleader of a heroin ring that imported drugs into Baltimore aboard the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Enchantment of the Seas has been sentenced to 20 years in prison, according to federal prosecutors.

Loxly Johnson, 49, of Norfolk, Va., was the final suspect to be imprisoned in the conspiracy that brought international drug trafficking to the shores of Baltimore. He was convicted after a four-day trial in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.
A Norfolk woman was sentenced to a year, and three men from Jamaica, Nicaragua and St. Vincent and the Grenadines were sentenced to time served awaiting trial, according to the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Prosecutors said the suspects picked up cocaine and heroin from the Dominican Republic. A security officer gave them up, and officers with U.S. Customs set up an inspection when the ship disembarked in Baltimore on Dec. 18, 2010.

One of the men had heroin wrapped in silver duct tape in his pants, and two similar packages in his shoes, federal prosecutors said. That man was told to call a drug source and set up a meeting in the parking lot of a Walmart in South Baltimore’s Port Covington. Authorities said they watched the transaction and made arrests.

The Enchantment of the Seas started operating in Baltimore i the summer of 2009 and features six whirpools, a rock-climbing wall and solarium. The ship holds 2,252 guests. Two of the suspects worked in the ship’s galley, largely out of view of passengers.

Three weeks after the bust, customs officials said they found another drug stash aboard the same ship — $94,000 worth of heroin and cocaine hidden in an employee locker. The ship had just returned from a 12-night trip to ports in the Caribbean, including Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and the British Virgin Islands.

No arrests were made in that case.

Source:the Baltimore Sun

On-duty NYPD officer charged with DUI after crash www.privateofficer.com

 

 

NEW YORK NY March 8 2012— The NYPD is looking into the circumstances surrounding the arrest Tuesday morning of a police officer in Brooklyn.

The department’s Internal Affairs Bureau is taking a closer look at how Officer Christopher Morris, who was arrested in East New York while on duty, crashed into a pole when he was in a police car around 4:10 a.m. at Sutter Avenue and Schenck Street.

CBS 2 has learned police colleagues knew the NYPD officer had been drinking before the accident.

The pole hit a parked van and light pole, but there were no injuries. When a police supervisor went to the scene, he smelled alcohol, 1010 WINS’ Carol D’Auria reported. The van belongs to a pastor in the neighborhood.

“I seen the impact. I seen when the car hit the light post,” witness Alexis Mercedes told CBS 2′s Sean Hennessey.

Mercedes was already awake during the accident and took a photo of Morris’ patrol car after it knocked the light pole into another car. He said the officer got out and made a phone call.

“He told them he fell asleep behind the wheel…that he fell asleep behind the wheel and crashed into a car,” Mercedes said.

“I see the police car — it hit the back of the van or whatever it was. He came out, jumped out and he was standing there walking back and forth and stuff,” Jeanette Melendez told CBS 2′s Pablo Guzman.

Morris, a five-year veteran, was leaving a fundraiser for the daughters of fallen NYPD Officer Peter Figoski, Guzman reported. Figoski was shot in the face and killed during a botched robbery in Brooklyn last December.

The fundraiser took place at the Lindenwood Diner, where many other officers were present.

Sources said Morris was scheduled for duty at the 75th precinct, but stopped by the fundraiser first. That’s when colleagues discovered he was inebriated and sent him to the precinct and put him on desk duty so he wouldn’t be a danger on the road.

However, he allegedly drove back to the diner in a patrol car and crashed when he left the party again, Guzman reported.

Morris, 31, refused to take a breath test and was arrested for DWI. He has been suspended for 30 days.

Sources told CBS 2 and 1010 WINS that Police Commissioner Ray Kelly is furious and wants to know why there were so many lieutenants at the fundraiser and why they didn’t try to stop Morris.

Source:  CBSNewYork

Special education teacher’s aide arrested for felony child abuse www.privateofficer.com

 

 

Clark County NV March 8 2012 A special education teacher’s aide was arrested Tuesday on charges of child abuse, according to a Clark County School District spokeswoman.

Lachell James, an aide at Variety High School — a school for special needs children — was arrested at the eastern valley school on charges of felony child abuse and misdemeanor battery, said Amanda Fulkerson, Clark County Schools communications director.

So far, the School District has identified one student who was physically abused, Fulkerson said, adding it was not a case of sexual abuse.

James has been suspended immediately without pay and will be terminated upon approval of an arbitrator, Fulkerson said. James also may be terminated immediately if she misses more than six days of school for being in jail.

“It is unconscionable of any adult to mistreat a child, but the circumstances around this case are especially alarming,” Fulkerson said in a statement. “Our community should be assured that the district will not tolerate this behavior by any employee and that our police department will work swiftly on this case.”

Fulkerson said she did not immediately know how long James had been employed by the School District.

A memo to Variety parents is forthcoming, Fulkerson said, adding she could not provide additional details about the case as it is still under investigation.

Source:las vegas sun

UK security guard sentenced to 10 years in prison for arranging robbery www.privateofficer.com

 

Enfield UK March 8 2012 A security guard who arranged for the armed robbery of the Enfield bingo hall where he worked has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Muhammed Mukungo, 33, from Hornsey, north London, and accomplice Damian Latchman, 27, from Manor Park, east London, were found guilty at the Old Bailey of conspiracy to rob.

Mukungo was jailed for 10 years and Latchman for 11.

Two men, who were armed with a handgun and crowbar and wearing balaclavas, approached a female member of staff as she arrived for work at Gala Bingo Club, in Dearsley Road, Enfield, on Monday May 31 2010.

The woman was threatened at gunpoint to open the safe, which she did, and the robbers then made off in a waiting vehicle with about £42,000 in cash.

Flying Squad officers launched an investigation suspecting an inside job and Mukungo, who was a security guard at the club, was arrested in November that year.

He had plotted with Latchman and an unknown third man to carry out the raid. Latchman was arrested on April 5 2011 and the two men were charged in June.

Detective Inspector Ian Corner, from the Flying Squad, said: “The officers who conducted this investigation had very little to go on but their tenacity and commitment ensured that evidence was gathered and these dangerous armed robbers convicted. This case underlies the commitment of the Met and the Flying Squad to pursuing armed criminals and making our communities safer.”

Source:north london news

Private security firm seeks contract with Pease Air National Guard Base www.privateofficer.com

 

 

NEWINGTON NH March 8 2012 — A proposal to hire a private security firm to patrol the Pease Air National Guard Base will go before Gov. John Lynch and the Executive Council today in Concord.

Under the proposed agreement, the state would contract with Securitas Security Services USA Inc., of Manchester, to provide armed security services at the base until Jan. 31, 2014. The proposed contract is for $1,117,152. It is expected to be paid for completely through federal funds.

According to Stephanie Milender, an administrator for the N.H. adjutant general, the private security company was selected through a competitive bid process. Milender said, if the contract is approved, the move is expected to save the N.H. National Guard $100,000 to $150,000 annually.

The company will replace a crew of nine security officers who Milender said were technically considered state employees. Six of the employees were laid off in February, while the others either retired or took different positions within the department.

“This was no reflection on the state employees who were performing those duties,” she said. “It was an awful decision we had to make to do this. We struggled with it, but it comes down to money.”

Milender said the request for proposal included in it a provision that requires the contractor to give the state employees who were terminated a right of first refusal to any jobs available within the company.

The impetus for the contract arose from funding issues that created difficulty in staffing the guard positions over the years. Milender said the Guard was authorized to have 12 positions to perform the security services since 1991. But over the years, they have only been able to fill between six to eight positions, she said.

“The funding has been shrinking nationwide, not just in New Hampshire,” she said.

Milender said the problem is also related to “steady manning” and the reliance of being able to fund the positions. “Contractors can provide full manning in this case,” she said. “They can cover all the gaps.”

Securitas already handles security at the N.H. National Guard’s headquarters in Concord.

Expected duties of the private security team, according to Milender, include visitor control, front-gate security, identification checks, traffic direction at the entrance and inspection of commercial vehicles.

The meeting between Gov. Lynch and the Executive Council is set to begin at 10 a.m. today at the Statehouse.

Source:seacoastonline.com

Boca Bra Bandits Stole $34K in Bras, Panties www.privateofficer.com

 

 

 

Boca Raton, Fla.March 8 2012 Police have arrested Tysheka Pink, 29, and Katina Summerset, 39, ending a months-long shoplifting spree at local Victoria’s Secret locations. The pair is estimated to have stolen more than $34,000 worth of bras and panties since October.

They then returned the merchandise, seeking a full refund.

There’s no doubt the women weren’t very good about concealing their crimes. The bra bandits also returned to each store on multiple occasions. They hit the Boynton Beach store eleven times, according to the Sun Sentinel. Not exactly the smartest move.

The pair was caught this week after making at least their second trip to a Victoria’s Secret store located in Town Center Mall, explains MSNBC. They were in possession of over 90 bras that are worth a grand total of $4,500.

Men — pretty underthings are kind of expensive.

Boca Raton police have charged the bra bandits with grand theft and organized fraud. Similar charges may also be filed in nearby Boynton Beach, according to the Sun Sentinel.

The grand theft charges are most likely a second degree felony, which requires the value of stolen property to be between $20,000 and $100,000. The crime alone carries up to a $10,000 fine and 15 years in jail. The organized fraud charge is also likely to be a second degree felony, and carries similar penalties.

Source:Rueters

National Association of Security Companies endorsed H.R. 4112, the Private Security Officer Screening Improvement Act www.privateofficer.com

 

 

WASHINGTON, March 8, 2012 /Press Release – Legislation by Congressman Thomas Marino (R-Pennsylvania) will allow DOJ Authorized Third Party Screeners to Conduct FBI Checks in Instances Where the State Does Not Provide Such Screening.

The National Association of Security Companies (NASCO), the nation’s largest industry association representing contract private security officer companies, today endorsed H.R. 4112, the Private Security Officer Screening Improvement Act (PSOSIA) by Congressman Thomas Marino (R-Pennsylvania).

The PSOSIA amends the Private Security Officer Employment Authorization Act (PSOEAA) to allow DOJ authorized “screening entities” to conduct FBI checks on private security officers, as provided for in the PSOEAA, for authorized employers when such checks are not available from the State of employment.

“The PSOSIA will dramatically increase availability of FBI criminal background checks for all private security officers,” said Jeff Flint, Executive Director of NASCO, “and that will make the public safer. The public wants to know that when they rely on a private security officer for their safety as they do in so many venues, that officer has been subject to a background check. It’s the simple.”

In 2004, Congress passed the PSOEAA in clear recognition of the need for employers of private security officers to have access to the best criminal background check available, an FBI criminal history record check. However, the PSOEAA required such checks to be conducted by a state government agency, and unfortunately, too many states still do not provide the checks for all security officers eligible to be checked under the PSOEAA. This effectively means that tens if not hundreds of thousands of security officers in the United States work without a full FBI check of their criminal history.

The PSOSIA would allow employers of security officers, to go through a Department of Justice-authorized “screening entity” for an FBI check when the state of employment does not provide the check. A “screener” is a third-party entity authorized by DOJ to access FBI criminal records and provide background checks for employers. Third party entities are already being used for congressionally authorized FBI background checks in fields such as banking, nursing homes, financial securities, and others. Their use should also be expanded to private security.

“NASCO has always been at the forefront of increasing standards and professionalism in private security,” continued Flint. “The current gap in the PSOEAA is a public safety and homeland security risk and it must be closed. We thank Congressman Marino for his leadership in introducing the PSOSIA, and urge Congress to act quickly to adopt it.”

About NASCO – The National Association of Security Companies (NASCO) is the nation’s largest contract security industry association, representing private security companies that employ more than 250,000 of the nation’s most highly trained security officers servicing every business sector. NASCO is leading efforts to set meaningful standards for the private security industry and security officers by monitoring state and federal legislation and regulations affecting the quality and effectiveness of private security services.

SOURCE National Association of Security Companies

Grand jury indicts woman in attack on mall guard www.privateofficer.com

 

 

PEORIA IL March 8 2012 — A Peoria woman was indicted Tuesday by a Peoria County grand jury for allegedly attacking a Northwoods Mall security officer last month.

Ambriel D. Moore, 18, of 1026 W. Columbia Terrace faces two felony counts of aggravated battery and one misdemeanor count of aggravated assault. She faces up to seven years in prison if convicted in connection with the Feb. 25 incident.

Police have said the incident began when officers there learned Moore and another unknown woman, were arguing in the mall’s food court. One security officer allegedly saw Moore in possession of a knife, according to police.

Security arrived at the food court but Moore and a 12-year-old girl had gone outside where the guards attempted to take Moore into custody.

Moore allegedly began to fight with an officer in the parking lot. At some point, an off-duty police officer, who was in uniform, saw the knife and used a Taser on Moore, causing her to drop the knife. Then, police reports indicate, the 12-year-old allegedly jumped on the backs of security officers and wrestled around with them before both were taken into custody.

The minor is charged in the juvenile division of Peoria County Circuit Court with three counts of aggravated battery. She will next appear in court on March 22 to enter a plea to the allegations.

Source:pjstar.com

Atlanta Police Training Dollars Spent Elsewhere www.privateofficer.com

 

 

Atlanta GA March 8 2012 In 1978, Georgia voters decided that the people who provoke police responses by violating the law should help pay for the state’s cost of training police.

Voters approved a constitutional amendment that now generates an average of $27 million a year for that purpose, with a 10 percent fee (up to $50) to be imposed on every traffic ticket or criminal fine.

Almost half a billion dollars has been generated by that law. But in recent years, the amount parceled out for police training has dwindled to the point that only about a third of the money collected for the Peace Officer and Prosecutor Training Fund is going toward its intended purpose.

All the money collected goes into the general fund, which can then be used by state lawmakers to fill other gaps in the budget. And the drop in funding comes at a time when local governments’ declining tax digests make them less able to compensate for it.

In fiscal 2011, about $10.5 million was appropriated to the Georgia Public Safety Training Center, while the remaining $15 million collected that year was redirected.

That diversion limits local police departments’ ability to send officers for specialized training in areas such as criminal investigations, interviewing and interrogation, high-speed pursuits or white-collar crime.

“They are still trying to collect these fees when everyone knows the money is not going to go toward its intended purpose,” said Todd Edwards, a lobbyist for the Association County Commissioners of Georgia.

A bill that passed the House and under consideration in the Senate would prevent money from being diverted from the police training fund, as well as four other specially designated funds — the Solid Waste Trust Fund, Hazardous Waste Trust Fund, Indigent Defense Program, and Joshua’s Law (drivers education training).

If the fees collected are not used for their intended purpose, then the 10-percent surcharge added to traffic tickets, criminal bonds and fines would be reduced or eliminated, according to HB 811′s sponsor, Jay Powell, R-Camilla. The new requirements would be phased in over five years to minimize impact on the state budget.

However, the Senate Appropriations chairman, Jack Hill, R-Reidsville, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that if the trust funds at issue are taken off the table, important services like education or health care could be affected.

Law enforcement officials in Georgia are tired of being shortchanged, though. So they, along with the Association County Commissioners of Georgia, are leading a push to preserve the funds for their original intent.

The people behind the badge say the need for law enforcement training has never been greater than today, when police are expected to keep up with evolving crime practices, personnel management issues, professional standards, state laws and federal statutes.

Georgians may see a deterioration in the professional standards of police if the officers don’t get access to quality training, said Frank Rotondo, executive director of the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police.

Mistakes made by police can deprive someone of their freedom or take their life, and they can make local governments susceptible to civil lawsuits that siphon money away from other priorities, others say.

Past police mistakes have often been chalked up to a lack of training.

For example:

Atlanta had to train its police officers to interact better with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered residents after a botched 2009 raid at the Atlanta Eagle gay bar cost the city more than $1 million in settlements from patrons who said they were harassed and subjected to excessive force and anti-gay slurs.

Training became an issue for the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Department in 2010 after deputies arrested Charles Bannister, who was the county commission chairman at the time, on a drunken driving charge. Subsequent breath and blood tests proved Bannister had no alcohol in his system.

The Canton Police Department will soon conduct emergency management response training and send two criminal investigators to a conference on child abduction cases. Those actions follow a review that exposed critical missteps during the first few days of the investigation into the December 2011 abduction and murder of 7-year-old Jorelys Rivera. Even though police could not have saved the girl, who was killed within two hours of being abducted and sexually assaulted by a maintenance man at her apartment complex, the review revealed a need for a more up-to-date missing person’s policy and more training on that policy.

Money appropriated for the Georgia Public Safety Training Center, which provides a majority of police training in Georgia, has tapered off from about $12 million in 2008 to about $10.2 million in fiscal year 2012. The center’s total budget including federal grants and other revenue streams is $14.1 million.

Money for locally operated police training academies such as the ones in Cobb, Gwinnett, DeKalb and Atlanta, was nixed entirely in 2008. Those agencies continue to operate academies, however, so they can provide officers with training specific to their departments’ needs.

The hardest blow from cutbacks in state funding has fallen small counties and municipalities, which can’t afford their own police academies. Many are already struggling financially, but must shoulder a portion of the per diem costs of sending officers to regional academies operated by the Georgia Public Safety Training Center.

The agencies must pay officers’ salaries while they are away, and the state does not reimburse local governments for all of the cost for travel, lodging or meals.

In Canton, the police department has a $7,000 annual training budget for its five detectives and 24 patrol officers, according to Assistant Chief Todd Vande Zande. The officers rarely go to the regional public safety training center in Dalton because it primarily provides basic training for new officers, Vande Zande said.

The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office offers intermediate and advanced training classes to Canton Police for free. But certain specialized training courses, like missing persons investigations, which might have helped with handling the Rivera case, or white-collar crime investigations, which the department increasingly has to deal with, are too pricey for the Canton department.

“You are just maintaining the status quo, not reaching out and grasping any of the good training that’s there because you can’t get the funds,” Vande Zande said.

LAW TRAINING FUNDS

$430 million Total funds collected from 1987 to 2009.

$359 million Total Funds appropriated from 1987 to 2009.

$71 million Total Funds used for purposes other than police and prosecutor training.

Source:Atlanta Constitutional Journal

NC security officer stabbed trying to stop bar fight www.privateofficer.com

 

 

SNEADS FERRY, N.C. March 8 2012 - The Onslow County Sheriff’s office says a security guard was stabbed when he attempted to stop a bar fight.

They say on Friday night, Jeffrey Belt attempted to break up a fight at a bar on Highway 172, in Sneads Ferry.

Deputies say he was stabbed once in the upper torso. They say when they arrived the stabbing suspect had fled the scene.

Belt was transported to Onslow Memorial Hospital and later released.

The case is still being investigated, but deputies say suspects involved are being identified.

Source: WNCT

Darby Township police officer arrested for stealing police weapons www.privateofficer.com

 

 

DARBY TWP., Pa. – March 8, 2012– A Darby Township police officer has been arrested for stealing police department weapons.

23-year-old Jonathan Fiscaro was charged with Theft by Unlawful Taking, Theft by Receiving Stolen Property, and False Reports.

On Monday, detectives with the Special Investigation Unit of the Delaware County Criminal Investigation Division, met with Leonard McDevitt, Chief of Police for Darby Township Police Department, who requested assistance with an investigation of two missing firearms from the Darby Township Police Department.

The missing firearms were identified as a Bushmaster Rifle- model XM-15-EZS owned by and registered to Darby Township Police Department and a DPMS Rifle- model A-15 owned by and registered to Officer Craig White who is employed by the Darby Township Police Department.

Each firearm is valued at approximately $2,000.00.

The investigation revealed that on or about March 3, 2012, Officer White noticed that the DPMS Rifle he stored in a locker at the Darby Township Police Department was missing from the locker.

Later that same day, Officer White asked other members of the Department if they had any knowledge of his missing firearm.

Having been unsuccessful in these efforts, Officer White then contacted Chief McDevitt to inform him of the missing firearm.

A short time later, officers discovered that a second firearm, a Bushmaster Rifle, was missing from the Police Department.

On Tuesday, police interviewed Officer Fiscaro, who, after waiving his Constitutional Rights, gave a statement.

Fiscaro stated that sometime in January 2011 he took a rifle from the Darby Township Police Department knowing that the rifle was not his property. He then took the rifle to his private residence.

On February 24, 2012, he sold the rifle to another individual for $500. This rifle was the DPMS belonging to Officer Craig White.

The defendant also stated that in the fall of 2011 he took a second rifle from the Darby Township Police Department knowing that the rifle was not his property. The defendant then sold this rifle to another individual for $600. This rifle was the Bushmaster belonging to Darby Township Police Department.

Police also interviewed Fiscaro on Monday, but they say he provided an audio recorded statement falsely implicating another individual in the theft of both firearms.

Bail was set at $100,000 unsecured.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 13.

Source:  WPVI

ShopRite of Pearl River security nab man stealing baby formula www.privateofficer.com

 

 

Pearl River NY March 8 2012

A Nyack man is accused of shoplifting cans of baby formula from a Pearl River supermarket, according to Orangetown police.

Christopher J. Considine, 43, of Nyack, was stopped by store security officers at the ShopRite of Pearl River at 26 N. Middletown Road just before 3 p.m. on Friday. Police said security officers complained that Considine put 10 cans of Enfamil formula in his coat and pants, and then tried to leave the store without paying for the items.

Considine was charged with petty larceny and arraigned in Orangetown Town Court in Orangeburg. He was released pending a March 13 hearing in Town Court.

Evesham police arrest a second suspect in connection with Kohl’s robbery www.privateofficer.com

 

 

EVESHAM NJ March 8 2012— A second suspect has been arrested in connection with the Feb. 15 robbery at the Kohl’s on Route 70, police said.

According to police, Angel McAllister, 35, of Camden, was arrested on March 2 in the Gloucester County area by a task force of local police and deputies from the U.S. Marshall’s Service.

McAllister was charged with third degree conspiracy to commit robbery and third degree shoplifting and was committed to the Burlington County Jail in default of $75,000 bail, police said.

On Feb. 21, police arrested Wayne Bennett, 40, of Camden, in connection with the Kohl’s robbery and charged him with second degree robbery and third degree shoplifting. He was committed to the Burlington County Jail in default of $75,000 bail, police said.

According to police, at about 3:27 p.m. on Feb. 15, Bennett and McAllister were seen on store surveillance stealing $900 worth of merchandise from the Route 70 store before being chased into the parking lot by a store loss prevention officer. Bennett then threatened the employee with a knife, police said.

Both fled the scene in a green Honda with a New Jersey license plate that was being driven by a third suspect, police said, who is still being sought.

Source: SouthJersey.com

Lawrence Police arrest two people in major shoplifting and fencing operation www.privateofficer.com

 

 

LAWRENCE, Mass. March 8 2012 – Police officers arrested two people and seized $20,000 in stolen clothing and other merchandise from a Lawrence apartment on Saturday.

On Monday, a room at the Lawrence Police Department was overflowing with at least $20,000 in stolen clothes and other merchandise with the price tags and security sensors still attached.

“It’s mostly clothing, you have some items — some shirts here that are $90 or more. Jeans, expensive jeans. It runs a gamut in terms of clothing, but they all have price tags on it and we also have vases and other things that we believe to be stolen,” said Chief John Romero of the Lawrence Police Department.

Police say it was all part of major shoplifting and fencing operation being run out of Jorge Alvarado’s apartment.

“It appears it’s consistent with a fencing operation and shoplifting. And he did make statements after Mirandized, he did make statements as to the property, and that will obviously be part of the court case,” Chief Romero said.

Police also arrested Jahayra Tamayo. Tamayo opened the door at Alvarado’s apartment on Saturday after police were tipped off, but she told 7News that she was not involved.

“I have no idea. I don’t know what’s going on. I was just visiting so I don’t know what’s going on,” Tamayo said.

Tamayo was arraigned in Lawrence District Court. But Alvarado didn’t show up, and now there’s a warrant for his arrest.

Police are taking inventory of the stolen items and trying to figure out how so much was taken.

“Perhaps these stores need to look at their anti-theft procedures in place. This is a lot of material that was taken,” Chief Romero said.

Lawrence police say more arrests are likely to be made as the investigation expands.

Source:www1.whdh.com

Assistant manager at Georgia Papa John’s pizza store charged with theft www.privateofficer.com

 

 

Oconee County Ga. March 8 2012 The assisant manager for the Papa John’s pizza store at Butler’s Crossing in Watkinsville was charged Monday with felony theft for allegedly stealing more than $6,000 while she was employed there, according to the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office.

Jade Kristen Boerl, 20, of Hull turned herself in at the sheriff’s office.

In late January, the manager of the Papa John’s filed a report that he believed Boerl was adjusting daily deposits over a period of time, according to the report.

An investigator worked with the store manager and secured the warrant in February.

Source:onlineathens.com

Shoplifters leap from moving car in Salisbury Township www.privateofficer.com

 

 

 

Salisbury Township PA March 8 2012 A driverless car careened toward oncoming traffic Friday afternoon in Salisbury Township after six people suspected of shoplifting from Allentown drug stores bailed out of the moving vehicle and ran from police.

Police stopped the car, which continued without a driver for several hundred feet on East Emaus Avenue, and arrested four adults and a child who fled into the woods. The sixth person remained at large.

Nicole Matthews, 18; Tasheim Williams, 27; Anthony Ladaun Williams, 23; and Roxanne Lawrence, 20, all of Brooklyn, N.Y., are charged with retail theft, conspiracy and possession of retail theft instruments. Anthony Ladaun Williams, who was the driver of the car, is also charged with reckless endangerment, escape, attempting to elude an officer and driving without a license.

They were held in Lehigh County Prison under $30,000 bail each following arraignments Saturday before District Judge David B. Harding in Coopersburg.

According to police, a witness reported a group of young men and women stealing from the CVS Pharmacy at 314 W. Emaus Ave and leaving in a silver Nissan about 1:15 p.m. Friday. The witness told Allentown police she saw the same group leaving the Walgreens store at 1855 S. Fifth St.

A Salisbury Township police officer spotted the silver Nissan and stopped it on East Emaus Avenue. While the officer was checking the driver’s identification, the car sped away.

Near Gaskill Street and East Emaus Avenue, the car abruptly slowed and the six occupants fled into a wooded area. The driverless car continued east in the westbound lanes until police could stop it, forcing several vehicles to swerve to avoid a collision, police said.

According to court documents, security video footage from the CVS showed Matthews, Lawrence and Tasheim Williams placing health and beauty products worth about $2,675 into bags before allegedly leaving the store without paying for them, police said.

Video from the Walgreens store showed the group allegedly stealing $553 worth of health and beauty products, court papers say.

During a search of the car, police found a large quantity unopened merchandise marked with CVS labels in the trunk, according to court documents. Police also found two tote bags lined with aluminum foil, which can be used to prevent anti-theft devices from sounding when items are stolen, police said.

Source:www.mccall.com

Boston woman faces charges n theft of $2,500 worth of perfume from Macy’s www.privateofficer.com

 

 

 

NORTH ATTLEBORO MA March 8 2012 - A Boston woman faces charges she stole more than $2,500 worth of perfume from Macy’s at Emerald Square mall, two months after her arrest for the same offense at South Shore Plaza in Braintree.

Jeanette Bolden, 25, of the Dorchester section of Boston, was ordered held in jail on $1,000 cash bail Monday after pleading innocent in Attleboro District Court, police said.

She was arrested Friday night, allegedly after struggling with and punching a Macy’s security guard who was attempting to detain her. Police allege she is the same woman who stole Coco Chanel perfume on two previous occasions at the store since Feb. 26.

Allegedly, she was identified after police and store officials reviewed store videotape. Police are still investigating other suspects involved with Bolden on the other instances. On one previous instance, Bolden allegedly stole perfume while a male accomplice kept the clerk busy, police said.

She is due back in court March 14.

West Chester Borough hires private security to patrol university area www.privateofficer.com

 

 

 

West Chester Borough PA March 8 2012 The West Chester Borough Council voted 6-1 to hire a private security firm to patrol the neighborhood in and around South Walnut Street on Tuesday night.

Security teams will walk the neighborhood on Thursday through Saturday nights from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. with the aim of cutting down on quality of life disturbances.

“They’re main objective would be to deal with the roaming bands of drunk college kids on South Walnut Street,” said council president Holly Brown.

The borough voted to contract with ELPS Private Detective Agency contingent on the support of West Chester University. The university will front the money to pay for the security force in what is being dubbed a pilot program. If the borough and the neighborhoods see significant improvement, the program could become permanent.

“It’s hard to quantify success,” said Jeff Stein, the founder of ELPS. “I would recommend that we look and see if there is a reduction in calls for service.”

Despite earning an overwhelming majority vote from the borough council, police chief Scott Bohn expressed concerns about the program.

“I have concerns with [the security teams] engaging with the individuals,” Bohn said. “Every police officer that’s hired has at least over 700 hours of training…the people hired by the security firm may not.”

“The measurements for success are subjective at best,” Bohn said. “It should be clear that these security teams don’t have any greater authority than you as citizens.”

Borough Council expressed a desire to get the program underway as soon as possible with the target date being March 20. The pilot program is scheduled to run from March through the rest of the school term ending in May.

If successful, the program would be reinstated on a permanent basis in September.

Homeless man charged with attempted murder of security officer www.privateofficer.com

 

 

SANTA ANA CA March 8 2012 – A homeless man suspected of stabbing a security guard multiple times during a confrontation at a Santa Ana shopping center was arrested Wednesday, police said.
Carlos Rodriguez Flores, 44, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder a little more than a week after the stabbing at the shopping center in the 3700 block of West McFadden Avenue, near Harbor Boulevard.
Authorities say the incident began when a homeless man, who police later identified as Flores, approached and bothered a woman in front of a store. The woman’s husband confronted the Flores, at which point a security guard intervened and told the man he needed to leave the center, police said.
Flores returned a short time later and again confronted the security guard, and a fight broke out between the two, Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said.
Bertagna said Flores stabbed the security guard three or four times with an 8-inch fixed-blade knife, at which point a witness came to the guard’s aid and sprayed Flores with pepper spray, causing him to flee on foot.
The security guard was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
With the assistance of a parole-apprehension team, Santa Ana homicide detectives found Flores in the front yard of a home in the 1700 block of West Willits Street on Wednesday morning. Flores became combative, and a parole agent used a Taser on him before he was taken into custody, Bertagna said.

Source:OC Register

71-year-old former law enforcement officer found with nearly 40,000 phony Viagra at LA airport www.privateofficer.com

 

 

 

LOS ANGELES CA March 8 2012– A 71-year-old former law enforcement officer from South Korea was arrested Wednesday, days after customs officers found his luggage and golf bag stuffed with nearly 40,000 phony Viagra and other erectile dysfunction pills at Los Angeles International Airport, federal authorities said.

Kil Jun Lee was returning from a trip to South Korea on Feb. 25 when the officers at LAX found 29,827 fake Viagra tablets, 8,993 fake Cialis pills and 793 counterfeit Levitra tablets concealed in packets of aluminum foil and valued at more than $700,000, Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement.

Asked whether the medication was for his own use, Lee told officers he had a heart condition, and if he used all the pills it would kill him, according to the criminal complaint.

An analysis by a federal forensics lab showed that none of the pills matched the ingredients in the real thing.

He was arrested at his Los Angeles apartment Wednesday morning by agents from Homeland Security Investigations.

“When it comes to counterfeit pharmaceutical products, never has the expression ‘buyer beware’ been more true,” Claude Arnold, special agent in charge for HSI Los Angeles said in a statement.

Lee was charged with trafficking in counterfeit goods and was scheduled to make his initial appearance in court later Wednesday, though it was not immediately clear whether he has hired an attorney or entered a plea.

Source:www.foxnews.com

Pa. state constable arrested for indecent assault www.privateofficer.com

 

 

Delaware County PA March 8 2012 A state constable who allegedly demanded to see – and then touched – the breast of a prisoner he was transporting has been charged with indecent assault, the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office said Monday.
The encounter allegedly occurred in November, when the constable, Kevin J. Walker, 43, of Palmer Street in Chester, was driving the unidentified woman who filed the complaint from a court hearing in Media to Delaware County Prison, the District Attorney’s Office said.

The affidavit of probable cause gave this account: The woman had just been issued release papers. On the way to the prison, Walker ordered her to show her breast, suggesting that he had power over the timing of her release. When she balked, he acted as though he were going to throw the papers out a van window. The woman complied, and Walker also touched the breast.

Walker was released on $25,000 bail pending a March 30 hearing.

Source:philly.com

Philadelphia Driver License Center employee provided driver’s licenses to fugitives from justice www.privateofficer.com

 

 

Philadelphia PA March 8 2012 A Philadelphia man working at a Department of Transportation office in Chester County has been arrested for allegedly providing driver’s licenses to fugitives from justice, the Pennsylvania State Police said Wednesday.

Khalif Abdullah Ali, 43, was a supervisor at the Malvern Driver License Center in 2010 and 2011 when he allegedly provided the phony licenses, state police said.

Ali was charged with conspiracy to commit identity theft, tampering with public records or information, and related offenses. He was sent to Chester County Prison after failing to post $20,000 bail. His preliminary hearing is set for Wednesday.

Source:philly.com