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NC fire department restricts personnel from leaving station to save money www.privateofficer.com
OAK ISLAND, NC May 9 2012 – Town leaders in Oak Island have been searching for ways to cut back in their budgets.
In an effort to fill a budget deficit by town council, Fire Chief Craig Forlines had no other choice but to send out a memo telling his firefighters they aren’t allowed to leave the firehouse during their shift unless it’s for emergency calls.
Employees have been instructed to travel and move the trucks only for fire calls, fueling and training.
This decision comes at the request of Oak Island Town Council. Council has been trying to find ways to cut back in an effort to find the funds to fill budget deficits and chose the fire department as one of the areas to reduce spending.
Firefighters say they are getting the short end of the stick. They claim these cuts have the potential to hurt the economy because they contribute to thousands of dollars to local businesses each year.
Business owners in Oak Island are expected to receive a letter later this week from some firefighters informing them of the changes and hope to fuel the fire in their fight against the budget cuts.
Town council members say this move is just one of the ways to fill the nearly $4 million budget deficit they’re currently facing.
With rising diesel costs and no end in sight to a struggling economy, town council member Danny Kiser said the public sector should not feel like they are the exception when most Americans have had to come back in some way.
Kiser, a former fire fighter himself, said although it’s a tough call and cut to make it had to be done.
Oak Island Mayor Betty Wallace agreed.
Kiser said the budget is what it is and that they have to keep up with the current economic times – even if it means limiting the men and women who help protect our homes and lives.
One firefighter compared the situation to being locked away in jail. He said he feels like a criminal because he’s not allowed to leave the firehouse anymore, even if it’s to get a bite to eat during his 24-hour shift.
Some say the restrictions are bringing employee morale down and are calling out sick more often.
Forlines declined to comment on the cuts.
Wallace and Kiser said cuts will be made across the board in the town. WECT.com reached out to the Oak Island Police Department to see if they are facing are any cuts or eliminations. The department has not had to eliminate positions or cut back on driving, but they have had some reorganization within the department.
Source: WECT
NYPD officer given 75 to life in prison www.privateofficer.com
New York NY May 9 2012 A former New York City police officer who managed to avoid a rape conviction for a sexual attack on a schoolteacher at gunpoint was nonetheless sentenced on Monday to 75 years to life in prison.
In issuing the sentence, Justice Richard D. Carruthers of State Supreme Court in Manhattan criticized the former officer, Michael Pena, for abandoning his official oath and assaulting the 25-year-old woman “in the most brutal and degrading manner possible.”
Mr. Pena, who turned 28 on Friday, was convicted in March on three counts of predatory sexual assault and related charges. Justice Carruthers declared a mistrial on two rape counts, which unlike the other counts required a finding of penetration, after the jury of eight men and four women said they were at an impasse on those charges.
The victim, who had cried out and gasped for air when the mistrial was declared, beamed with a wide smile and hugged friends and family and law enforcement officers in the courtroom after the sentence was announced.
She had entered the courtroom with several other women shortly before addressing the judge. Speaking for only a few moments, she said the attack was on her mind constantly.
“He used his weapon and basically destructed my life with the choice he made that day,” she said.
Mr. Pena also spoke briefly and haltingly. He apologized for the “pain and anguish” he had caused the victim, her friends and family, as well as his own friends and family, who were also represented in the courtroom. He said he wished he could go back to that day “and grab myself by the shoulder,” as his voice trailed off.
“I have no explanation for what happened that day,” he added.
Justice Carruthers barely let Mr. Pena finish his last sentence before levying a 25-years-to-life term on each of the three predatory sexual assault counts, to be served consecutively. The judge praised the young woman’s bravery and composure during the attack and throughout the prosecution.
Mr. Pena was off duty when he grabbed the woman just after 6 a.m. on Aug. 19 in the Inwood section of Manhattan. She was waiting outside for a ride to her first day in a new job teaching second grade when Mr. Pena accosted her at gunpoint; he led her to a courtyard, where he repeatedly sexually assaulted her, threatening to shoot her in the face if she made any noise or opened her eyes.
Justice Carruthers dismissed a claim by Mr. Pena’s lawyer, Ephraim Savitt, that Mr. Pena had been drunk and not entirely aware of his actions.
“He was as aware and self-possessed on that day as he was vicious and devious,” the judge said.
Mr. Savitt had asked the judge for a sentence of 10 years to life, citing his client’s three and a half years of service on the police force and lack of a prior criminal record.
“What my client did was unforgivable,” he said in court. “But it was also an aberration.”
Mr. Pena would not be eligible for parole until after his 100th birthday.
Outside the courtroom, Mr. Savitt called the sentence “draconian” and said it exceeded others issued to terrorists and murderers. He said he would consider an appeal.
The office of Cyrus R. Vance Jr., the Manhattan district attorney, has not yet indicated whether it might seek a retrial on the rape counts, or whether its decision will be colored by the sentence. In a statement, Mr. Vance commended the victim’s bravery and said the “life sentence underscores the brutal nature of the defendant’s attack on an innocent young woman.”
Justice Carruthers set a court date of May 23 to hear whether prosecutors would seek a retrial on the rape counts.
During the trial, the jury’s deliberations took an unexpected turn.
In a meeting with the judge, one juror raised questions about whether the judgments of another juror, Lloyd E. Constantine, were being clouded by his relationship with a losing candidate for Manhattan district attorney in the 2009 election.
The court would later learn that Mr. Constantine knew Mr. Vance and the losing candidate, Richard Aborn, and had not disclosed those relationships during jury selection. Neither side in the case asked that Mr. Constantine be removed from the jury.
After the mistrial was declared, one juror said that Mr. Constantine had been among the three holdouts opposed to convicting Mr. Pena on the rape counts.
Source:nypost.com
Foley AL police arrest teen for rape of 77 yr old woman www.privateofficer.com
Just after midnight Thursday morning, Foley police received a call of a rape at a residence on West Myrtle Ave, according to the release. When officers arrived at the residence, the elderly victim indicated that a lone offender forcefully entered her residence through the back door and dragged her into a bedroom and beat, choked and raped her, according to the release.
White said the victim told officers that she had seen the offender in the area for the past several months and that the police department was called in the past by a neighbor to report the offender going door to door asking for work. The responding officers researched that call and identified a suspect, Stephen Scott, 19, of Foley.
The suspect lived in the same block as the victim. He was brought to the police department for an interview. Scott was charged with Burglary 1st and Rape 1st. The victim was transported to South Baldwin Regional Medical Center where she was treated and released, authorities said.
Source: AL.com
Washington man shoots self in head after being shot by police www.privateofficer.com
OLYMPIA, Wash.May 9 2012 — An autopsy report has found that a man shot by Olympia police on Friday died from a self-inflicted gunshot to the head.
The autopsy results released Monday afternoon by the Thurston County Coroner’s Office rule the death of 53-year-old Bradden W. Ferber of Olympia a suicide. The report also says he suffered a large caliber gunshot wound to his stomach, but that it did not cause his death.
A release from the Olympia Police Department said that both the shot fired by Olympia Police Officer Mike Hovda and the self-inflicted one shot by Ferber were fired almost simultaneously.
Olympia Police Chief Ronnie Roberts said that based on the information he has received, Hovda, a 25-year veteran of the department, was justified in using deadly force because Ferber raised a handgun while walking toward Hovda, presenting a threat.
Hovda is on paid, administrative leave while the shooting is investigated.
Police encountered Ferber on Friday night after responding to a report that a drunken driver was involved in an accident in an apartment complex parking lot. Ferber returned to his apartment and then left the complex on foot, police said. He then was approached by two officers.
As Hovda approached Ferber, police said Ferber lifted his handgun, and that two rounds were fired almost simultaneously: one from Ferber entered his head, while the round from the officer’s gun hit Ferber in the torso.
Ferber was an Olympia attorney and active member of the Washington State Bar Association, but currently unemployed, according to Thurston County Coroner Gary Warnock.
Roberts said that he believed that Ferber was intoxicated, and that someone had either served or attempted to serve him with foreclosure papers for his property before the alleged crash.
Source:theolympian.com
Fairfax VA police charge women in road rage death www.privateofficer.com
Fairfax County VA May 9 2012 A 32-year-old woman from the Alexandria area of Fairfax County was arrested Monday night and charged in what authorities described as a road rage incident in which a woman was killed in that area.
Police said Gloria A. McMillan of Jon Paul Drive was charged with felony hit-and-run in the incident, in which Shelinda Delores Arrington, 21, was found lying fatally injured Friday morning on Harrison Lane. Arrington apparently had left her vehicle. Her death was ruled the result of a crush injury.
After Arrington was found, police put out a lookout for a dark-colored sport-utility vehicle with temporary tags. County police said they found such a vehicle in Southwest Washington with the aid of D.C. police.
Officer Don Gotthardt, a county police spokesman, said McMillan surrendered about 7:30 p.m. Monday at the Mount Vernon district police station.
Since Friday, police have said they were trying to determine whether Arrington knew the other driver in the incident or whether road rage was involved.
Police are continuing to investigate, Gotthardt said, and believe that even though the two women lived only a few blocks apart, they did not know each other.
“We have been able to speak with witnesses,” he said, as well as the suspect, and “based on all the information we gathered,” police were “confident” that it was a road-rage incident.
From what police have learned, Gotthardt said, it appeared that an interaction began between the women while both were driving. A verbal altercation broke out and matters escalated, Gotthardt said.
“It’s a tragedy,” he said. In any such incident, he recommended, “never get out of your vehicle.”
West Cornall hires security to crack down on “ant-social” behavior www.privateofficer.com
West Cornwall England May 9 2012 A town in South East Cornwall is to hire security guards to patrol public spaces and crack down on anti-social behaviour.
The move by Callington Town Council follows an increase in complaints by members of the public and cuts by Devon and Cornwall police.
The council has decided to employ outside security to patrol various sites in the town including the Saltash Road Car Park, Hay Road allotments and Beeching Park in Kelly Bray.
The patrols will have the ability to gather information that could help the Police in issuing Section 59 notices to stop disruption caused to residents across the town from small groups of people racing their cars and playing loud music.
The Outside Services Committee Chairman, Councillor Denise Winfindale said: “After numerous complaints regarding the anti-social behaviour at the Saltash Road Car Park, the Outside Services Committee voted unanimously to source outside help to tackle the problem.
“It was discussed at length and it was decided to also include other areas around the town which have been subject to vandalism, costing the tax payer money which should be used elsewhere.
“We understand the Police have been targeting these areas which we are grateful for but with the cut backs in manpower we hope this decision will assist them too.
“As always can I still request for people to be vigilant to stop this petty minority causing the town such a problem and report any incidents to the police and obtain a log number”.
Her comments were echoed by the proposer of the move, Callington and Cornwall Councillor Andrew Long.
“This action will help the people in the town whose lives have been blighted by a very small minority of people who seem intent on disturbing residents in certain areas. The benefit of this will be that the security personnel will be able to provide evidence for the Police to pursue repeat offenders and that will enable them to seize the vehicles of these people” he said.
Signs have already gone up across the town warning people of the patrols and these will start almost immediately.
Pistol-bullets found in stuffed animals at RI airport www.privateofficer.com
Providence RI May 9 2012 Law enforcement authorities are investigating after the components of a pistol were found hidden in three stuffed animals as a father and his young child were heading to take a plane out of T.F. Green Airport in Rhode Island.
The discovery was made by Transportation Security Administration officers at about 4:10 p.m. Monday, New England TSA spokeswoman Ann Davis said this afternoon.
“The firearm components were artfully concealed within the stuffed animals,” she said.
She said the components included the mainframe of a .40-caliber gun, a magazine loaded with two bullets, a firing pin and a slide release lever. The stuffed animals were in the carry-on bag of the child.
She said the screeners notified airport police, who took possession of the firearm components and interviewed the father.
Ultimately, the man and his son were allowed to continue on their Pinnacle Airlines flight to Detroit, though without the gun. Davis did not say why.
“For some specific reasons, the father was allowed to proceed on his flight. Law enforcement was comfortable allowing him to do so,” she said.
She said an investigation of the incident continues.
“From TSA’s perspective, we are proud of our officers and the training that they receive, and we also think that this is a great example of why we need to screen passengers of all ages, including children.
Nurse sentenced to prison for abusing a vulnerable person www.privateofficer.com
53-year-old Sherrill Culpepper of Columbus admitted her guilt Monday in Lowndes County Circuit Court.
Culpepper said she put a hot flat iron on the skin of a vulnerable person.
Circuit Judge Lee Coleman sentenced her to 10 years in state custody and fined her $5,000.
Source: WTVA
Johnston County NC substitute teacher arrested for peeping at Triangle Towne Center www.privateofficer.com
RALEIGH NC May 9 2012 – Police have arrested a 46-year-old substitute teacher from Johnston County for alleged secret peeping in a bathroom at Triangle Towne Center.
Investigators said a 13-year-old boy reported to his father that he thought he saw someone snap a picture from underneath a partition in a bathroom.
The father found an off-duty Raleigh police officer who contacted on-duty officers.
Michael Lynn Worley was detained and taken to the Wake County jail. Bond was set at $25,000.
Johnston County school officials confirmed Worley worked as a substitute at Corinth Holders High this year.
Source:WTVD
Valley High School campus supervisor arrested for engaging in sex with minor www.privateofficer.com
Sacramento CA May 9 2012 A campus supervisor at Valley High School in the Elk Grove Unified School District has been arrested on suspicion of engaging in sex with a minor.
The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department reported that Sean Darnell Davis (pictured), 42, was booked into Sacramento County Main Jail late Monday evening. He is accused of engaging in multiple unlawful sex acts with a minor.
He was released from jail this afternoon on his own recognizance, said Sacramento County sheriff’s Deputy Jason Ramos.
Sheriff’s officials said Davis is believed to have maintained an ongoing sexual relationship with the female victim from the beginning of the school year in August 2011 until February of this year, when the victim was 17 years old.
School district spokeswoman Elizabeth Graswich said Davis has been a campus supervisor at the Valley High campus since he was hired by the district in 2008. She said he passed a state Department of Justice background check, based on fingerprints, when he was hired. As a campus supervisor, Davis served as the “eyes and ears” of the campus, making sure students were in class and monitoring the campus during the lunch period, Graswich said.
She said Davis was placed on paid administrative leave Monday when the district learned of the allegations. Letters were being sent home with students today informing parents of the matter, she said.
Detectives believe Davis may have had inappropriate sexual contact with other minors, according to a Sheriff’s Department news release. Anyone with information regarding the case is asked to call the Sheriff’s Department’s Sexual and Elder Assault bureau at (916) 874-5070.
Source:sacbee.com
US Marine arrested for stealing -selling identities of fellow soldiers www.privateofficer.com
Broward Fla May 9 2012 A U.S. Marine from North Miami was arrested Tuesday on charges of selling the stolen identities of dozens of fellow soldiers in Afghanistan to a Broward County woman recently convicted of filing false income-tax returns in their names.
Jobson Cenor, a 2007 graduate of North Miami Senior High, was arrested at Camp LeJeune in North Carolina by agents for the FBI and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
His case is the latest twist among an ever-growing number of tax-fraud schemes prosecuted in South Florida.
Cenor, 22, is accused of selling the names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers of fellow Marines to Dorothy Boulin, a Coral Springs woman convicted in a related case of seeking to collect tens of thousands of dollars in the names of Marines and other tax-fraud victims.
Boulin told FBI agents that she and Cenor “agreed to split the proceeds from the fraudulent filings,” according to a criminal complaint.
Based at Camp Leatherneck in Afghanistan, Cenor used his Apple iPad to send text messages and emails to Boulin with the names of other Marines in December and January, according to a criminal complaint. He called himself “CJ Da Boss” in most of the correspondence.
When NCIS agents did a search of Cenor’s quarters at Camp Leatherneck, they seized a list containing the names and Social Security numbers of 44 U.S. Marines, according to the criminal complaint. Of those, 21 were on lists found by FBI agents in Boulin’s residence when they arrested her in February.
Boulin, 29, pleaded guilty in April to stealing the identities of several Marines and committing fraud in her scheme to dupe the Internal Revenue Service into sending her tax refunds on pre-paid debit cards. She faces up to 22 years in prison.
Boulin, who cooperated with authorities as part of a plea agreement, led the FBI to Cenor. At the FBI’s direction, in February she spoke to Cenor by phone in Creole, discussing how she had started filing some of the tax returns using the “identities” provided by Cenor, according to the criminal complaint.
Boulin told Cenor that some of the names were rejected by the IRS. Of those accepted, she said, Cenor “was going to get half of the tax refund money, or approximately $54,000,” the complaint said.
“Cenor said [Boulin] could hold the money until Cenor returned from Afghanistan.”
Now in custody, Cenor is expected to be transferred to Miami federal court to face charges of fraud.
In her plea agreement, Boulin admitted she “received a list of military personnel” serving in the Marines from someone identified only as “C.J.” in a court document. The list included the soldiers’ personal data.
At her home computer, Boulin used an electronic IRS number — normally issued to legitimate tax preparers — to file false returns in the names of at least 14 people, including “several” Marines serving in Afghanistan, according to the document. The bogus returns, processed in January with an online tax-filing company called OLT PRO, sought about $54,000 in refunds from the IRS, which assisted with the investigation.
The FBI infiltrated Boulin’s operation using a confidential informant who pretended to prepare tax refunds with her, according to court records.
Boulin provided the informant with more than 100 photocopies of stolen driver licenses and Social Security cards, as well as printouts of more than 200 names, birth dates and Social Security numbers.
Boulin expected to be paid 20 percent of the money that the informant would obtain from filing the bogus returns using a tax software program.
The Boulin-Cenor case parallels another tax-related fraud investigation: Last week, the FBI wrapped up an undercover operation that resulted in fraud charges against a pair of National Football League veterans and a Miami Jackson High graduate who played football at Syracuse University.
Oak Park School student arrested for security officer assault www.privateofficer.com
Sheriff’s deputies arrested Kyle Andrew Narring of Sarasota on a charge of battery on a school employee on Friday.
The school, 7285 Proctor Road, alleges that Narring caused a disruption during art class and became combative when the security officer tried to remove him from the classroom. Narring reportedly kicked the security officer twice in the leg and had to be restrained with the assistance of two other school employees.
Source:herald tribune
Man arrested at Connecticut Post Mall for voyeurism www.privateofficer.com
Leonard Patterson, of Huntington Road, was observed by store security over the weekend videotaping a female customer in an inappropriate manner, according to Milford police.
Police said security witnessed Patterson kneel down near the woman and point a small video camera up her dress, apparently unaware that she was being filmed.
Security revealed that Patterson followed the woman and then started to film her a second time, police said.
The Stratford man was charged with voyeurism and second-degree breach of peace. He was held on $1,000 bond and is due in court May 22.
Carolina Place Mall security illegal detains woman for “politicking” www.privateofficer.com
Pineville NC May 9 2012 A woman filed a police report with Pineville police on Tuesday after she says a public safety employee at Carolina Place Mall blocked her car because of her homemade “Vote Against Amendment One” sign on her vehicle.
Lori Taylor, 41, of Ballantyne, stopped off at the mall on Tuesday to run a shopping errand at Belk. When she returned to the parking lot, Taylor said she saw a mall security vehicle with flashing lights parked right behind her car, blocking her from getting out.
Taylor said in an interview with the Observer that she got into her car and put her car in reverse, but the mall security vehicle still stayed in place.
She said he got out of his car and walked over to the driver’s side, where Taylor put her window down.
Said Taylor: “I said, ‘Can I help you?’ He said, ‘There’s no politicking at Carolina Place.’ And I said, ‘Excuse me?’”
She said he shook his head at the homemade laminated sign taped to the outside of her rear window.
Amendment One is the proposed marriage amendment on Tuesday’s ballot, which, if approved, would ban same-sex marriage and civil unions in North Carolina.
“I said, ‘Sir I’m not breaking the law. I’m not putting out anything at Carolina Place Mall, or anything of the sort.”
“…He just kept saying there’s no politicking. He didn’t give me a reason. He was detaining me.”
Taylor said after about five minutes, she asked to speak to a supervisor. After the public safety employee contacted a supervisor by radio, he moved his vehicle, Taylor said.
“He looked at the back window and shook his head and got back in the car,” Taylor said.
A person answering the phone at the public safety office at Carolina Place Mall late Tuesday afternoon said he would forward an Observer request seeking comment to mall officials.
Pineville police said a report was filed, and the case is still under investigation.
Taylor said she made her own laminated flyer and taped it to the back of her car window because organizers of the vote against movement ran out of stickers.
“I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was aimed toward the amendment one sign,” Taylor said.
“I waited for an apology. I waited for an ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to detain you.’ ..there was nothing but a smirk. And then he left.”
Source:www.charlotteobserver.com
Montgomery County police charge two school employees with sexual abuse www.privateofficer.com
Germantown MD May 9 2012 Montgomery County police charged two men who worked in the county school system with sexual abuse on Monday — a teacher at Neelsville Middle School in Germantown and a former media services technician at Northwood High School in Silver Spring.
Aaron Lamere, the media services technician, is also accused of showing two students images of a naked man on his cellphone. Lamere, 39, of Gaithersburg, resigned March 7 while he was under investigation, school officials said.
In February, police were contacted after a staff member at Neelsville Middle reportedly observed seventh-grade teacher Cuyler Jay Cornell engaged in inappropriate conduct with a student, said Dana Tofig, a school system spokesman.
Detectives learned that Cornell had befriended the student, visiting the child’s home and going on excursions together, according to police. Cornell, 50, of Germantown, has been charged with two counts of committing a third-degree sex offense and one count of sexual abuse of a minor, according to authorities. Cornell was placed on administrative leave immediately after the allegation surfaced, according to the school system.
In a letter Monday to parents, Neelsville Principal L. Victoria Lake-Parcan said counselors would be available to speak with students.
“I know this news is extremely upsetting for our parents, our students and our staff,” she wrote. “Please know that the safety and security of your children is of the utmost importance.”
In March, a month after the Cornell investigation began, detectives began looking into allegations against Lamere. The two cases are not related, according to Tofig, the school system spokesman.
According to police, detectives searched a laptop Lamere used at the school and found pornographic images of young males.
Detectives learned of three alleged victims at the school, police said. According to police, Lamere “solicited two of the victims for sex via text messages, inappropriately touched two of the victims on several occasions, showed two of the victims images of a naked male on his cellphone, and exposed himself to two of the victims.”
Lamere was charged with 17 counts of possession of child pornography, sexual solicitation of a minor, indecent exposure and other counts, police said.
“I am deeply disturbed by these allegations and concerned for the well-being of the victims in these cases,” Northwood Principal Henry R. Johnson Jr. said in a letter to parents.
Neither Cornell nor Lamere could be reached for comment. Online court records do not identify attorneys either man may have hired.
Source:Washington Post
Security questioned after death of young boy www.privateofficer.com
NEW YORK NY May 9 2012 – The attorney for the family of a Brooklyn boy who was crushed while playing on an electric parking lot gate said more should have been done to keep kids away.
Attorney Alberto Ebanks said security guards weren’t watching Sunday when 12-year-old Yakim McDaniels was killed.
He was playing on the gate with a group of kids when he somehow became stuck and his upper body was crushed between the rolling metal gate and the frame.
“Security guards basically did nothing,” Ebanks told 1010 WINS. “They’re sitting there playing cards. They’re playing guards, they never responded. You have the Fire Department and the NYPD responding before the security guards who are on the premises.”
Ebanks said the building should have done more to keep kids away from the gate.
“They should have had a security guard posted there, basically to make sure that they could somehow manage the process if they did not think taking the gate out of service was a real option for them,” he said. “But to do nothing, this is real tragic.”
Ebanks said the family is planning to sue the property management company, Reliant Realty. The company told 1010 WINS they would not comment on the attorney’s allegations.
The owners of the building, Omni New York, said that they will be removing the parking lot gate. They have also agreed to pay for McDaniels’ funeral.
Source:CBS NY
Shoplifters spray chemical into security agent’s eyes www.privateofficer.com
New Castle DE May 9 2012 A security guard at a Brandywine Hundred store was assaulted Monday afternoon by three shoplifters who sprayed him in the face with a chemical and fled with store merchandise, police said today.
The incident occurred about 1:20 p.m. at the T.J. Maxx store at 5627 Concord Pike, Master Cpl. Jeffrey Hale said.
The trio — two men and a woman — were spotted removing items on display and shoving the merchandise into a backpack and a handbag they were carrying.
As the three were attempted to leave the store, they were confronted by the 39-year-old Loss Prevention officer.
One of the men dressed in a red hooded sweatshirt and light-colored pants started to run with the security officer chasing him.
Hale said the thief then turned toward the security officer and sprayed him in the face with a disabling chemical spray, which caused the officer to stop in his tracks.
The man in the red hooded sweatshirt then ran off.
The other man and woman also fled.
The officer, meanwhile, declined treatment for the chemical sprays’ effects.
Police are asking anyone with information on the incident to call detectives at 834-2630, ext. 6 or Delaware Crime Stoppers at (800)TIP-3333.
Former Shelby County teacher pleads guilty to sex charges www.privateofficer.com
LOUISVILLE, Ky.May 9 2012 – A former Shelby County special education has pleaded guilty to sex charges involving two students.
In a lime green sweater, Shannon Hirchert walked into Shelby Circuit Court ready to take a plea deal. As part of the deal, Hirchert pleaded guilty in court Monday morning to six counts of sexual abuse and two counts of distributing obscene material to minors.
The 42-year-old taught at Martha Layne Collins High School in Shelbyville, but resigned. She was accused of having sexual encounters with two 17-year-old male student aides who were seniors at the school in 2010.
Her attorney Brian Butler says Hirchert immediately took responsibility for her actions and attended counseling to work through why she committed those crimes. Butler says, “They also took into account the victim’s statements. They did not want this to be any more public than it’s already been.”
As part of the plea deal, the recommended sentence is seven years, with a probation period of five years. If she commits a crime within five years, she would have to go to jail for seven years.
Butler says, “I think everybody just wants to move on with their lives.” She’s expected to be sentenced next month.
Source: WDRB
R.K. Smith Middle School teacher arrested on sex charges www.privateofficer.com
Troy Quinn, 41, a health and physical education teacher at R.K. Smith Middle School, was arrested Friday. He faces three counts of molestation and one count of indecent behavior with a 13-year-old girl, said Capt. Pat Yoes, spokesman for the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies said the illegal behavior with the student allegedly happened between February and May of this year.
Quinn was arrested Friday at his home in Gonzales. An e-mail was sent to parents late Sunday with news of Quinn’s arrest.
Regina McMillan, a spokeswoman for St. Charles Parish Public Schools, confirmed that Quinn had been arrested, but offered few other details.
She said he was not at the school on Monday, and an internal investigation was underway, which would determine his future status. She referred all other questions to the sheriff’s office.
McMillan could not say how long Quinn had been employed by the school system.
Pushmataha County teacher accused of having sex with student www.privateofficer.com
Tulsa OK May 9 2012
A former Pushmataha County teacher accused of having sex with her student has been arrested.
Rhonda Ford, a Clayton Public School teacher, turned herself in to authorities Sunday on complaints of sexual misconduct with a student.
According to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, Ford, 29, was booked into the Pushmataha County Jail on complaints that ranged from lewd or indecent acts with a child under 16 to second-degree rape.
OSBI began an investigation March 14 after allegations surfaced that Ford was having a sexual relationship with one of her 15-year-old students.
The victim admitted to having sex with Ford on at least 10 occasions at her home.
OSBI says Ford is also accused of providing alcohol to the teen and other children.
A warrant for her arrest was issued last week.
Ford is charged with one count of lewd or indecent acts with a child under 16, four counts of rape in the second-degree, four counts of sodomy and three counts of permitting invitees under 21 to possess or consume alcohol.
Ford resigned her teaching position with Clayton High School. She had been employed there for about a year.
Ford had previously been employed as a high school English teacher at Cleveland Public Schools from Aug. 2009 to Jan. 2010.
Source:www.kjrh.com
Fort Bragg soldier charged with the theft of more than a dozen weapons www.privateofficer.com
A spokesperson for the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office said 28-year-old William David Devane of Ardennes Road, Fort Bragg allegedly broke out a glass front door of Gun Plus at 1503 North Bragg Boulevard in Spring Lake and forced open a metal roll-up door to get inside.
Devane is accused of taking nine semi-automatic rifles, seven semi-automatic handguns, ammunition, gun sights and several weapon magazines.
The property was valued at more than $68,000.
Devane was captured shortly after the burglary when he was found hiding on top of a nearby panel van.
Bond was set at $50,000.
Military officials said Devane’s rank is specialist with the 407th Brigade Support Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division. He is a heavy vehicle operator.
Source: WTVD
Springfield nightclub security officer stabbed www.privateofficer.com
Springfield IL May 9 2012 Three people were stabbed early Sunday at the nightclub Dirty South, 1231 E. Cook St., according to Springfield police.
Police said a 24-year-old man was stabbed three times in the back, a 27-year-old man was stabbed in the right arm, and a security guard was stabbed in the right hand. None of the injuries was considered life-threatening.
Few details about the stabbings were immediately available Sunday, but no one was arrested. A police report indicated at least one of the victims was taken to Memorial Medical Center. His condition was unavailable.
The incident occurred about 2:30 a.m.
Nashville police bust ‘Go-Kart bandit,’ 14-year-old who robbed more than 100 homes www.privateofficer.com
Nashville TN May 9 2012 Nashville cops say they’ve finally nabbed a 14-year-old boy who was behind more than 100 robberies over the past two years.
The teen bandit was busted Friday morning after a neighbor reported seeing him prowling through a back alley in north Nashville.
Police told local TV station WKRN that the boy admitted to robbing two homes on Oct. 28, as well as several other break-ins.
His name was not released because he is a minor.
Cops said the boy trolled the area’s back alleys, kicked in back doors and stole video games, televisions and whatever else he could grab before fleeing in a go-kart.
“He was an innovative individual,” Metro Police Lt. Horace Temple told WSMV television.
He had a kitchen knife and a pair of gloves on him when he was arrested, WKRN reported.
The teengaer was charged in Juvenile Court with aggravated burglary, burglary, theft, possession of burglary tools and loitering during school hours.
He was facing charges of aggravated burglary, burglary, theft, possession of burglary tools and loitering during school hours and was expected to appear in juvenile court.
He has been arrested at least once before, for a robbery in November, according to local reports.
“The child didn’t have a mentor or any kind of guidance in his life, and it kind of led to the life of crime on the streets,” Temple told WSMV television.
Ohio man who stole cruiser shot and killed after a standoff www.privateofficer.com
Knox County OH May 9 2012 A man who stole a Knox County sheriff’s office cruiser last night was shot and killed after a standoff with a Morrow County deputy.
William E. Myers, 51, of Centerburg, stole the cruiser in Centerburg around 10 p.m. yesterday, said Morrow County Sheriff Steven Brenneman.
The vehicle was spotted by a Delaware County deputy a short time later in the McDonald’s drive-through in Sunbury, a Delaware County sheriff’s office spokeswoman said. Myers fled, and the deputy pursued him, but lost the stolen cruiser on Rt. 656 and County Road 15, just outside Sparta in Morrow County.
Morrow County Deputy Clifford O’Connor then encountered the cruiser just before midnight in a church parking lot on Rt. 314 in Sparta., armed with a patrol rifle from the Knox County cruiser. The deputy ordered Myers to drop the weapon, but he refused and approached O’Connor, who then took cover behind his vehicle.
“He got close enough, our officer felt endangered and shot,” Brenneman said.
Brenneman did not know how man times Myers was hit. O’Connor began performing first aid, as assistance from several agencies arrived. He was transported to and later died at Knox Community Hospital in Mount Vernon, he said.
An autopsy will be performed by the Licking County coroner’s office today.
Brenneman said the deputy, who has only been with the office for eight months, is shaken up, but unharmed.
Most of the man’s travels appears to have been in Knox and Delaware counties, Brenneman said.
“We just came in on the tail end and ended it,” he said.
Brenneman said it was unclear how and why the man took the Knox County cruiser. That is being investigated by the Knox County sheriff’s office, which did not immediately return calls for comment.
Source-columbus dispatch
Armed shoplifter faces numerous charges in Bangor www.privateofficer.com
A Glenburn man was arrested on multiple charges Saturday after he tried to shoplift a watch at the Sears store in the Bangor Mall, police said.
Jeremiah Merritt, 24, was shopping with an unidentified woman shortly before 1 p.m. when the store’s loss prevention personnel reportedly saw the two conceal a watch, Bangor police Sgt. Paul Edwards said Wednesday, citing an arrest report.
The report also indicated that the some of the suspicious activity was captured on the store’s surveillance system, Edwards said.
Loss prevention personnel approached Merritt, who later was found to be wanted on a warrant, as he neared the doors leading to the rest of the mall, Edwards said. He was held until a city police officer arrived. A subsequent search turned up a US Polo watch valued at $29.99, which led to a theft charge, Edwards said.
Merritt also was charged with carrying a concealed weapon after the officer reportedly found brass knuckles in his possession.
Merritt was taken to the Penobscot County Jail after his arrest and is now out on bail, Edwards said. The woman who was shopping with Merritt was not charged but was given a trespass warning.
In 2008, Merritt was fined $400 and sentenced to nine months in jail and two years of probation for unlawful possession of oxycodone, according to the Bangor Daily News archives. He also was given a six-month jail sentence for failure to appear in court after bailing out of jail.
Wal-Mart to pay $4.8 million in back wages and damages www.privateofficer.com
Bentonville ARK May 9 2012 Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will pay $4.8 million in back wages and damages to more than 4,500 employees nationwide for unpaid overtime, the Labor Department said Tuesday.
The Bentonville, Ark., company also will pay nearly $464,000 in civil penalties for violating federal overtime laws.
The violations cover current and former managers at Wal-Mart vision centers and certain security personnel at Wal-Mart Discount Stores, Wal-Mart Supercenters, Neighborhood Markets and Sam’s Club warehouses.
The Labor Department said the company improperly considered the workers to be exempt from overtime pay.
Wal-Mart spokesman Greg Rossiter said the company took the allegations seriously when they were first raised in 2007 and immediately corrected the way it classified the employees.
“We adjusted our pay practices at that time and determined that back wages should be paid for the associates involved,” Rossiter said.
Nancy Leppink, head of the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division, said she hoped the case would put other employers on notice that they can’t avoid paying overtime by improperly classifying their workers as exempt.
Knoxville liquor store clerk arrested for shooting at shoplifter www.privateofficer.com
Knoxville TN May 9 2012 If he’d wanted to hit him, he would have hit him.
North Knoxville liquor store clerk Harold Edward Williams, though, contends he only wanted to scare a fleeing shoplifter when he fired a single .38-caliber round above the man’s head Monday.
“If we don’t scare people to keep them from robbing us, they’ll be here as soon as we open the door,” said the 76-year-old Williams.
The bullet, however, barely missed a car carrying two women, slammed through the window of an empty beauty shop across the street and lodged itself in the mirror above a styling chair.
Police arrested Williams, who is now charged with reckless endangerment and unlawful possession of a weapon, according to Knoxville Police Department spokesman Darrell DeBusk. Williams does not have a carry permit for the unidentified firearm.
He was released from jail after posting $2,500 bond.
The suspect escaped in a white Jeep Cherokee with two other men. None of the three has been located, according to KPD.
Adobe Package Store, 5036 N. Broadway, where Williams works, has suffered three armed robberies within the past five years, including one in which Williams was held up at gunpoint, he said.
“They come in here with a gun in your face,” said Dennis Miller, 63, who owns the liquor store.
Williams, who has worked at the package store for about six years, started bringing a weapon to work after the most recent heist last summer, Miller said. Unarmed shoplifters are much more common, both men said.
The owner assured that his single employee is in no danger of losing his job over the incident.
“It doesn’t seem fair, but it’s the law,” Miller said of the charges against Williams. “Basically, the police were saying you can’t shoot at them or anything.”
No other customers were inside when the suspect entered and picked up a shopping basket, Williams said. The man reached for two bottles of top-shelf tequila, then a half-gallon of premium Canadian whiskey. When he fetched a half-gallon bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label scotch — priced at $95.99 — Williams said he knew the man had no plans to pay.
“I’ve been in here long enough to know what a guy can afford by looking at him,” Williams said.
Just then, a customer walked in the front door and the suspect ran out the side entrance with the bottles.
Williams said he grabbed his handgun from underneath the counter and followed the man outside, firing toward him before the suspect had reached the getaway vehicle in the parking lot behind the store.
The round traveled across the two-lane Rennoc Road amid rush-hour traffic and into Styles Etc. beauty salon, according to records. No one was inside at the time.
Williams said he’s sorry for opening fire in public, but hopes the episode will deter any more would-be thieves.
“You gotta stop it,” he said. “There ought to be some way of stopping it without shooting at somebody.”
Caroline Sayne, 22, and her mother were en route to a pharmacy when they drove into the middle of the incident. They watched the shoplifter hop into the back of the Jeep Cherokee that had two men in the front seat.
They saw Williams discharge a round at the getaway vehicle.
“We realized later it barely missed hitting our car,” Sayne said. “God was totally in charge of that whole incident.”
Sayne and her mother followed the Jeep to get license plate information and called it in to the Knox County E-911 Center. They later watched as police placed Williams in the back of a cruiser.
“He smiled and waved at us from the police car,” Sayne said.”I told my mom if I had a business, I probably would have a gun. But you just can’t go out shooting everywhere.”
source-knox news sentinel
BJ Warehousing shoplifter arrested after stuffing his jacket with stolen goods www.privateofficer.com
Sgt. William Griffin said employees of the store at Northborough Crossing on Rte. 20 noticed the man on security tape taking items and stuffing them into his jacket on Monday morning.
He came back Monday evening, prompting the store to call police, who showed up just as the man was leaving the parking lot.
Police confronted the man, later identified as 39-year-old Eric J. Taverna of 41 Highridge Road, and found seven factory sealed video games inside his jacket, Griffin said.
Taverna was arrested and charged with two counts of larceny over $250. He was also charged on a warrant out of Attleboro District Court for larceny under $250, Griffin said.
Griffin said police are looking into additional charges relating to an April 27 theft at the store in which video surveillance seems to implicate Taverna.
Source:www.metrowestdailynews.com
