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Bureau of Land Management firefighters killed in plane crash www.privateofficer.com
IRON COUNTY, UT. June 4 2012 – Two firefighters working for the Bureau of Land Management were killed Sunday in a plane crash just east of the Utah/Nevada border.
The plane was piloted by Capt. Todd Neal Tompkins and First Officer Ronnie Edwin Chambless, both of Boise, Idaho.
The crash happened around 1 p.m. in Iron County, Utah. The National Interagency Fire Center says the two were in a P-2V Tanker 11 aircraft working with the Ely division of the BLM, assigned to help put out the White Rock Wildfire, which is burning about 20 miles north of Caliente in Lincoln County.
The plane crashed in rocky terrain, just across the Nevada state line. According to the Iron County Sheriff’s Department, the plane had approximately 1,600 gallons of fuel on board and over 2,000 gallons of fire retardant. The plane was nearing the fire when it crashed.
A separate plane also crashed on the other side of the state, working to put out the George fire burning in California. Forestry officials say the plane’s landing gear was not working correctly, and the plane had to make an emergency landing near Minden. The two people inside that aircraft were not seriously hurt.
Governor Brian Sandoval issued the following statement, after learning about the two plane crashes:
“Within a matter of hours this afternoon, planes carrying two U.S. Forest Service crews crashed while fighting Nevada fires. Currently, we know of one successful emergency landing in Minden and one potentially far more serious crash Northeast of Pioche. The thoughts and prayers of all Nevadans are with the firefighters, the plane crews and all of their families.”
source-8newsnow.com
Sheriff divers locate body of missing casino guest www.privateofficer.com
Lake Charles, La. June 4 2012 — Divers from the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office located the body of a missing New York man earlier today in the water between L’auberge du Lac Casino and Resort’s boat and their parking garage. Friends of Rory McDonagh, 23, had reported him missing Friday night.
It was 9 p.m. Friday when the CPSO responded to a call at L’auberge regarding McDonagh. Investigators were told by his friends that they were all in Houston on business Thursday when they decided to take a tour bus to L’auberge to spend the night. When they were ready to take the tour bus back, McDonagh could not be located.
According to officials, CPSO deputies and L’auberge security searched all of the rooms at the hotel along with the entire property of the casino and resort. Deputies also searched the wooded area around the resort by air and on 4-wheelers. The waterways within the proximity of the resort were also searched using boats equipped with underwater sonar. He was found around 4 p.m. Sunday.
Officials state that surveillance video shows McDonagh in the casino parking garage Friday morning around 2:30 reportedly very intoxicated and disoriented. The footage then reportedly shows him jumping onto a rooftop building from the parking garage where he apparently attempted to jump from that rooftop building to the rooftop of the casino boat. He reportedly fell into the water between the two structures where he drowned.
Officials further state that no one had witnessed him jump or fall into the water, but witness statements do corroborate that he appeared very intoxicated and disoriented
Source:sulphur daily news
University of Maryland student arrested in gun incident www.privateofficer.com
BALTIMORE MD June 4 2012 — Authorities at a Maryland university say they have charged a 21-year-old student with brandishing a weapon on campus, an incident that prompted an alert to students earlier this week.
Police at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, say Andrew Kelechi Irechukwu of Timonium is accused of having a dangerous weapon on school property, carrying a handgun in a vehicle and other charges.
Police had said Thursday that a student had displayed a handgun to a female acquaintance while on campus. Authorities searched residence halls and the surrounding area and told students to stay inside or delay arriving to campus.
Attempts to reach Irechukwu by telephone Saturday were unsuccessful.
Source:AP
Man accidentally shot at gun show www.privateofficer.com
Just before 11 a.m. police received the report of an accidental shooting at the American Legion Hall, according to Jacqueline Garrity of the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies and medical crews arrived to find a 53-year-old man with a gunshot wound to his upper thigh. He was taken by ambulance to Southwest Washington Medical Center.
Garrity said the man fired a .45-caliber handgun during a gun show the American Legion was hosting.
Bus passengers say they were locked into terminal overnight www.privateofficer.com
At 8:40 a.m. Sunday, Kansas City Police were called to the El Conejo Bus Lines, 501 Southwest Blvd, and were told that 15 to 20 passengers had been locked inside the terminal, unable to leave.
The bus line makes runs into Texas and Mexico, and its clientele is largely Mexican or Mexican-American.
Phil Robertson, an auxiliary driver for the lines, said the matter was largely a misunderstanding.
“They (the passengers) are upset. They’re frustrated and rightfully so,” he said.
Robertson explained that a bus taking the passengers from Omaha to Kansas City broke down last night. The passengers had been scheduled to arrive in Kansas City on Saturday night to make a 10 p.m. connection to points south.
Because the Omaha-to-Kansas City bus broke down, the passengers did not arrive in Kansas City until about 3:30 a.m., long after their 10 p.m. connection had left.
The result was a long night inside the bus station. Robertson said the passengers were accompanied at all times by a bus line employee.
Police on Sunday morning were still trying to determine whether the passengers were locked inside the business.
“To my knowledge, I don’t think so,” Robertson said. “I know we always have an exit door that has a key.”
The call to police was made by passengers whose “complaints were valid.”
“I was a long, long wait,” Robertson said. “We’re serving them breakfast now.”
Source:www.kansascity.com
Dyersburg police arrest two in failed escape attempt www.privateofficer.com
Dyer County TN June 4 2012 A man and his girlfriend are in the Dyer County Jail facing felony charges after she assisted him in his failed attempt to escape from court bailiffs.
Jonathan Jones, 23, 533 Elm St., Dyersburg, Tenn., was apprehended by Dyersburg Police shortly after he ran from court security after being sentenced by Dyer County Circuit Court Judge Lee Moore.
Jones appeared in Dyer County Circuit Court on Thursday as the defendant in a jury trial in which he was charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell. The jury returned a guilty verdict and Moore passed sentence on him and ordered him into custody. Jones was handcuffed by bailiffs and was being led to a patrol car to be taken to the Dyer County Jail when he reportedly fled on foot.
Authorities say Jones was soon picked up in a car by his girlfriend, Melanie Parker, 23, 701 Sampson St., Dyersburg, and she dropped him off on Sampson Avenue. Dyersburg Police officers went to a house in the 700 block of Sampson Avenue they believed Jones was at and knocked on the door.
Dyersburg Police Capt. Steve Isbell said when officers knocked on the door, Jones ran out the backdoor where an officer was waiting. A brief struggle ensued with the officer and Jones had to be tased to be subdued. Police then turned Jones over to sheriff’s deputies. Authorities soon found Parker and she too was taken into custody.
Jones was charged with felony escape and Parker was charged with felony facilitation of escape. The couple is being held without bond until their court appearance in Dyer County General Sessions Court on Monday.
Source: Dyersburg State Gazette
Man breaks into fire station- runs naked into San Jose International Airport www.privateofficer.com
Robert Isaac Monroy, a transient, broke into Fire Station No. 20 at the airport, where he took off his clothes, Officer Jose Garcia said.
At 6:36 a.m., officers found the man walking nude through the south end of the parking garage, but he ran away, Garcia said. Police chased him into Terminal B near the security checkpoint, where he fought with officers before being taken into custody, Garcia said.
One officer suffered minor injuries in the melee and was taken to a hospital.
The suspect was not harmed but was taken to the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose for medical clearance before being booked into Santa Clara County Jail, police said.
He was booked on charges of indecent exposure, felony resisting arrest resulting in injury to a peace officer, and burglary for forcibly entering the fire station, Garcia said.
Investigators later found the man’s clothing and personal items at the fire station, authorities said.
The suspect did not enter any restricted areas, and the airport’s flight operations were not affected by the incident, police said.
The incident is under investigation. Police said they still are trying to determine if drugs or alcohol played a role.
Idaho man prostituted 3-year-old child on Craigslist www.privateofficer.com
BOISE ID June 4 2012 The Ada County Sheriff’s Dept. says a Boise man is accused of offering a 3-year-old child as a prostitute on Craigslist.
Sheriff’s dept. spokesperson Andrea Dearden told KTVB that the Idaho Crimes Against Children Task Force found 39-year-old Jason Lloyd Schaber’s Craigslist posting after a concerned citizen alerted authorities sometime in mid-April.
Dearden says officers worked with Craiglist to find the identity of the person who posted the ad.
Schaber was arrested on Thursday evening after officers tracked him to a home in Boise near Five Mile and Victory Roads.
That’s where police also report finding evidence that allegedly showed Schaber having sexual contact with the same 3-year-old victim.
Schaber is being held at the Ada County Jail on felony charges of lewd conduct with a child under 16, and soliciting a minor for prostitution.
Police records indicate the child in question was living inside Schaber’s home at the time of his arrest, and that same child has now been placed in protective custody.
Dearden says there’s a distinct possibility that more juvenile victims could have been harmed by Schaber as well.
Source:ktvb.com
Chicago police arrest two in stabbing of Guardian Angel patrollers www.privateofficer.com
Chicago IL June 4 2012 A second Chicago man was arrested in connection with the stabbing of four Guardian Angels last month when he decided to visit the other person charged in the crime in jail.
Julius Price, 23, of the 200 block of South Sacramento Boulevard, was charged at 2 a.m. this morning with four counts of aggravated battery and use of a deadly weapon, according to Chicago Police Department News Affairs Officer Laura Kubiak.
Judge Israel Desierto ordered Price held on $750,000 bond. Prosecutors said Price was arrested yesterday after going to visit his jailed co-defendant.
Price was positively identified by witnesses as one of the individuals “who, while armed with a handgun, robbed, battered and stabbed victims” in the incident on a CTA train and at the CTA station at Division & Clark on May 15, police said.
The other man accused in the incident is Keith Gunn, 34, of the 5800 block of West Midway Park. Gunn is accused of pistol-whipping a 27-year-old Edgewater man aboard a Red Line train on May 15 as it pulled into the Clark and Division stop and stealing his iPhone, prosecutors said in court Saturday. Gunn is charged with armed robbery and aggravated battery and was ordered held in lieu of $600,000 bail Saturday.
The Angels volunteers saw the robbery and were waiting for Gunn as he ran from the train onto the platform, one of the men told the Tribune a day after the incident.
The four witnesses wrestled Gunn to the ground, but his accomplice, whom police believe to be Price, pulled a knife and stabbed them before he and Gunn ran out of the station, officials said.
Photos from surveillance cameras in the station show Gunn and the other suspect then running from the platform, officials said.
Three of the Angels and the man who was robbed of his iPhone were treated and released from hospitals, while the fourth Angel wasn’t hospitalized, according to court records.
Source:Chicago Tribune
Maryland 11-year-old boy accidentally shot- killed by younger brother www.privateofficer.com
Harford MD June 4 2012 An 11-year-old boy was killed by his 8-year-old brother in an accidental shooting Saturday in Harford County, Md., the county Sheriff’s Office said.
The 11-year-old, who lived in Pylesville, was shot in the head in local woods, the authorities said.
Deputies were sent to the scene, about 70 miles northeast of Washington, shortly after 7 a.m. in response to the report of a shooting, authorities said. Rescue personnel were on the scene, but the boy died soon after.
Deputies were told at first that an unknown person had fired from an unknown direction, but they found a handgun hidden in the woods, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Authorities said the older boy was shot accidentally by his brother as they were playing.
The gun had been taken from a secured area on the property of an elderly neighbor when the boys went to his house to help with yardwork, authorities said.
No charges had been filed, and the county prosecutor’s office would review the incident, authorities said.
Charlotte County deputies arrest man pretending to be police officer www.privateofficer.com
ENGLEWOOD, Fla. June 4 2012- Charlotte County deputies arrest a man accused of pretending to be a police officer.
Deputies say Matthew Scott Depedro, 38, was taken into custody at Holiday Mobile Home Park in Englewood. Residents called deputies to report suspicious activity involving an unmarked Crown Victoria in the park with its lights and siren on.
Deputies found Depedro in the car and asked for identification. He claimed to be an officer with Pennsylvania State Police. He provided a badge, weapons permit, and state driver’s license. But upon further investigation, deputies learned Depedro was never a Law Enforcement Officer in Pennsylvania.
Investigators say his vehicle was also fake. His black Crown Victoria had red and blue strobe lights a driver’s side spotlight and siren, like a real unmarked squad car.
Depedro was booked on charges of falsely impersonating an officer, unlawful use of a police badge or indicia of authority, and prohibited use of flashing or rotating blue lights.
Charlotte County deputies remind the public to be aware of law enforcement impersonators. If you feel you are being confronted or stopped by an impersonator, call 911 and request a marked uniformed officer immediately.
New Colorado law targets criminal organizations that steal from stores in bulk www.privateofficer.com
The bill signed this week stiffens penalties for triggering false alarms at stores, or preventing alarms from going off, as part of an organized effort to steal from businesses in mass quantities. Besides hurting businesses, lawmakers say it also harms the state, which loses about $15 million in tax revenue a year.
Industry officials say groups are pulling off heists by creating diversions, such as setting off a fire alarm, staging a fight, or distracting a store employee, while others grab merchandise.
The online marketplace, flea markets, and local shops are some of the places thieves go to sell stolen goods, retailers and lawmakers say. And just about any item is an attractive mark – from laundry detergent, diapers, razors, jeans and small electronics.
“The reality is that if they can get in large quantity and put it in the Internet for profit, then they will steal it,” said Republican Rep. Mark Barker, one of the sponsors of the bill.
The legislation is modeled after similar laws in California, New Mexico, New Jersey, and Texas, said Charlie Sheffield a senior associate for the Colorado Retail Council, which lobbied for the bill. Other states with organized retail theft laws include Arizona, Delaware and Nevada.
Nationwide, organized retail theft is a $35 billion problem, Sheffield said. Colorado’s data quantifying the loss in revenue and stolen goods come from a 2007 study from the FBI and the Nation Retail Federation. Sheffield said anecdotal information from businesses indicates those numbers are increasing.
John Lites, loss prevention director at Safeway in Denver, said one challenge facing the industry is that in the past, some of the thefts have been treated as shoplifting cases involving one person. Lites also serves as retail co-chair at the Colorado Organized Retail Crime Alliance, a group of stores and law enforcement formed to share information and training to address organized theft.
Lites said membership has grown to about 400 since the group formed a few months ago.
“These thieves will hit several stores in one day. We’re all victims of this,” Lites said.
Lawmakers and industry representatives say they hope the bill brings a greater awareness to organized theft.
Another provision identifies tools that thieves use, such as wire cutters to deactivate anti-theft devices and foil-lined clothing to prevent alarms from going off. Democratic Sen. Linda Newell, another sponsor of the bill, said the hope is that the legislation will encourage law enforcement to “look beyond the surface” in cases that may appear to involve a single shoplifter.
“It’s becoming more sophisticated, and we need to keep a step ahead of them. And that’s basically what we’re trying to do,” she said.
Tom Raynes, the executive director of the Colorado District Attorney’s council, said thieves are “taking a calculated risk” because they’re savvy enough to know there are limits to how they can be penalized.
“The intent, and hopefully it works, is to up the deterrent for this type of activity,” he said.
Women kills husband-daughter- spent three days with bodies www.privateofficer.com
San Diego police identified the suspect as Regina Renee Johnson. They did not release the names of the deceased, although family members identified the man as 56-year-old Reuben Johnson and the daughter as 14-year-old Aaliyah Johnson.
The U-T found a Facebook page for Reuben Johnson of San Diego. His page includes the names of several family members, including his brother, Donald Johnson and sister, Debra Spinner.
Both confirmed that the page was Johnson’s. Both said the family is still shocked by Saturday’s events.
“It’s like we can’t wake up from this nightmare,” said Spinner, 54, who lives in Altamonte Springs, Florida.
“There are so many questions. Why, why would you do this to Aaliyah? She was a child.”
A motive for the shooting was not known.
Reuben Johnson served in the Navy for 20 years, retiring in 2009 as a chief petty officer. He was currently working as a security guard, Spinner said.
He has three adult children, a son who lives in Atlanta and two daughters in Virginia.
Aaliyah, his youngest daughter, was a cheerleader and also was a child model who was featured in a circular for a department store, she said.
Spinner said that she and her brother shared a special bond. Separated from her biological family at a young age, Spinner reunited with them when she was 28. Reuben Johnson was the first to make contact, she said.
Ever since, Spinner said, the two talked all the time and never argued. She frequently visited him in San Diego when he was stationed aboard the aircraft carrier Nimitz.
“He was the first one to take me to Tijuana,” Spinner said with a laugh. “I’ll never forget that.”
Spinner said that her son, Daniel Spinner, joined the Navy to follow in his uncle’s foosteps, and was also stationed aboard the Nimitz.
“Reuben was my son’s role model,” she said.
Aaliyah, she said, was the perfect niece: polite and sweet, the type that would call to express her gratitude, as opposed to an impersonal text message, Spinner said.
“She was a beautiful girl, inside and out,” Spinner said.
The family of three had rented a second-floor condominium at the Lomas del Cerro complex on Navajo Road, near Jackson Drive, for more than a year, police said.
“It’s our belief that the victims were killed sometime Wednesday morning and the suspect remained in the (home) the entire time,” homicide Lt. Kevin Rooney said.
Rooney said investigators learned Regina Johnson had called a relative in another state and “happened to mention” that her husband and daughter were dead. That relative called local law officers, who in turn called San Diego police.
Officers went to the condo about 1:35 a.m. They telephoned the residence and talked to Johnson, Rooney said.
St. Luke’s Healthcare security officer assaulted www.privateofficer.com
Brian A. Brewczynski, 26, of Herkimer, was charged with second-degree assault, a class D Felony and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a class A misdemeanor, following an incident that occurred on May 22 in the hospital’s Emergency Department, according to New Hartford Police.
While being treated, Brewczynski reportedly attacked a hospital security officer and attempted to use medical equipment as a weapon against the officer, police said.
The officer suffered injuries to his face and neck that required medical treatment, police said.
Brewczynski was reported to have been under the influence of “Bath Salts” at the time of the attack, police said.
He was arrested on a warrant by the New Hartford Police and was arraigned in New Hartford Town Court. Brewczynski was committed to Oneida County Correctional Facility in lieu of $5,000 cash bail or $5,000 bond. He will return to court on a later date.
Source:uticaod.com
Pennsylvania responder killed in an ambulance crash www.privateofficer.com
Brady Township PA June 4 2012 A Pennsylvania responder was killed in an ambulance crash Saturday morning.
Authorities told 6News that the person killed was Ethan Amsbaugh, 22.
State police told reporters he was not wearing his seatbelt, was ejected from the ambulance during the crash and was pronounced dead at the hospital.
The driver, Deborah Mease, 55, was treated for minor injuries and was released from the hospital Saturday morning, the station reported.
MUFC members told reporters the ambulance was returning to quarters after dropping off a patient at a hospital in Huntingdon.
The driver lost control on Route 22 eastbound in Brady Township, hit an embankment and flipped over onto the passenger side.
