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Atlanta cop arrested for DUI was going over 120 mph www.privateofficer.com
Atlanta GA June 19 2012 An Atlanta police officer was arrested for drunk driving last month after reaching speeds over 120 mph, according to a DeKalb County police report obtained Monday.
A DeKalb police officer clocked Jarvis Farley at 128 mph in a 55 mph zone on I-285, near Lavista Road, just before 3 a.m. May 25, police said. The officer pursued Farley, who was driving southbound in a 2010 Chevrolet Camaro, until he exited onto Ga. 78 and pulled over.
The officer approached the car, and Farley immediately showed his police identification and apologized for speeding. The officer noted on the report that Farley’s eyes were “very bloodshot and glassy, and he had a strong unknown type alcohol on his breath with his speech being mumbled.”
When told how fast he was driving, Farley replied, “Oh, for real?” according to the report.
Farley told the officer he consumed a “few” beers that night and had been drinking throughout the day.
When the officer asked him to perform a walking test, Farley stumbled and failed to maintain a straight line, police said. The officer administered a field alcohol breath test, which indicated a positive result for alcohol.
Farley was then placed under arrest. As the officer searched him, he found an unopened miniature bottle of Tequila in the motorist’s left cargo shorts pocket. Farley was taken to jail and submitted an official alcohol breath test, which showed a .142 blood alcohol content.
Farley was charged with DUI, speeding and reckless driving, according to the report. A spokesman for the Atlanta Police Department said he has been placed on administrative duty pending an investigation
Federal guards to patrol former nuclear waste dump in Armstrong Co. www.privateofficer.com
A former nuclear waste dump in Armstrong County will now be patrolled by guards from the federal Department of Homeland Security.
Officials said they’re rethinking their cleanup plans for the site after finding more complex nuclear material than expected.
Our news exchange partners at TribLIVE said neither the Army Corps of Engineers nor the Nuclear Regulatory Commission would say what nuclear material was found at the site.
The Army Corps of Engineers manages the cleanup.
Homeland security officials said the additional security measures were put in place at the request of the Army Corps of Engineers.
It was not related to a specific threat in the area.
The nuclear waste dump was the former Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corp from about 1960 to the early 1970s.
source-wpxi
Violent week-end leaves Chicago with 8 dead, 37 wounded www.privateofficer.com
CHICAGO IL June 19 2012 – Another sweltering weekend brought more violence to Chicago’s streets – with eight people killed and 37 others wounded in shootings or stabbings between Friday afternoon and early Monday morning.
The first fatal shooting happened early Saturday about 1:50 a.m. in the 5200 block of South Honore Street, in the Back of the Yards neighborhood, police said.
Antonio Buck, 32, of the 5400 block of South Aberdeen Street, was killed in the shooting, and a woman was left in “guarded” condition with a gunshot wound to the shoulder, according to police and the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.
At 6:22 p.m. on Saturday, Bernardo Hernandez, 30, was shot in the head in the 10700 block of South Hoxie Avenue in the South Deering neighborhood, authorities said. Hernandez, of the 2300 block of South Whipple Street, was pronounced dead at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn on Sunday.
Later Saturday Shakaki Asphy, 16, died after she was shot three times in the chest in Englewood neighborhood, officials said. The shooting occurred about 7 p.m. in the 2000 block of West 70th Place and also wounded Leon Cunningham, 18.
The Chicago Sun-Times reports someone in a gray hoodie came running through the gangway and opened fire as the Asphy, a Harper High School student, was sitting on the porch of a home with friends.
Asphy and Cunningham were both taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. Cunningham was listed in stable condition, while Asphy was pronounced dead.
Cunningham was paralyzed a few years ago when he was shot while sitting on the porch of his nearby home. He was in his wheelchair on the sidewalk when he was wounded Saturday, his mother told the Chicago Sun-Times.
Paramedics took both the 21-year-old man and 16-year-old girl to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where the man was listed in stable condition.
Asphy, of the 4200 block of South Vincennes Avenue — was pronounced dead at 3:47 a.m. Sunday, according to the medical examiner’s office.
The shooting happened on the same block that a 10-year-old girl, Siretha White, was shot to death on a porch while she celebrated her surprise birthday party in 2006. And a block away, two men were found shot to death in a car in 2010.
Later in the weekend, a one-hour span early Sunday saw three more separate fatal shootings on the West and South sides, police said.
Three people sitting on a porch in the 2300 block of North Laramie Avenue, in the Hanson Park neighborhood, were all shot about 12:30 a.m. when a gunman opened fire, police said. A 32-year-old man — identified by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office as Jamie Ocampo, of the 3100 block of North Natchez Avenue — was shot in the chest and died on the scene.
A 46-year-old man was also shot in the chest and was taken in critical condition to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, police said. A 43-year-old woman was shot in the leg and was listed in good condition at West Suburban Medical Center early Sunday, police said.
About 1:30 a.m., police responding to a call of shots fired found a man shot multiple times and slumped over the wheel of a vehicle in the 1300 block of North Lorel Avenue, in the North Austin neighborhood, police said.
Daniel Dilce, 35, who lived on the block, was pronounced dead at 2:13 a.m. at Stroger Hospital of Cook County, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.
Three minutes later, a woman riding in the front passenger seat of a van in the 7600 block of South State Street was shot in the abdomen and shoulder when a shooter fired at the van, police said. The driver took her to Saint Bernard Hospital and Health Care Center, where the 25-year-old was pronounced dead.
However, the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office said Tiffany Edwards, 25, of the 8600 block of South King Drive, was dead on the scene before she arrived at the hospital.
The violence also struck the city’s North Side. Another man was shot dead around 12:30 a.m. Monday in the 900 block of West Lawrence Avenue in the Uptown neighborhood, in what police believe was a gang-related attack.
The Uptown Update blog reports the man was standing in front of the Uptown Pantry, at 4759 N. Sheridan Rd. around the corner from the Lawrence Avenue address, when the shots rang out.
The victim, Henry Sogeye, 19, of the 1000 block of West Hollywood Avenue, was pronounced dead at 12:25 a.m. at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, according to the Medical Examiner’s office.
The blog says the shooting was apparently a drive-by, and a sport-utility vehicle was seen heading east on Lawrence Avenue after the shooting. The victim was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, the Chicago Tribune reports.
A man also lost his life to the blade of a knife in the Bridgeport neighborhood early Monday.
The man was stabbed in the chest about 1:40 a.m. in the 200 block of West 31st Street, according to police News Affairs.
John H. Hughes Jr., 30, of the 700 block of Elizabeth Street in West Chicago — was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 2:15 a.m., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.
A total of 37 others — mostly men in their 20s and 30s — were wounded in the non-fatal shootings and one stabbing that took place across the city. Many of the wounded were treated at area hospitals in stable condition, though five of the wounded were initially treated in critical condition.
The youngest victim was a 15-year-old boy who was shot in the 1000 block of North Long Avenue, in the South Austin neighborhood, about 11 p.m. Friday when someone opened fire at a vehicle he was riding in, police said. The driver took him to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was in stable condition with a gunshot wound to the lower back.
Another bloody shooting about 3 a.m. Sunday, wounded three people when shots rang out in the 1300 block of North Sedgwick Street, in the old Cabrini-Green neighborhood, police said. One of the people shot said all three were outside when they heard shots and felt pain, but the other two men were not cooperating with police.
The most recent shooting left a security guard wounded in the South Side’s Burnside neighborhood.
The 38-year-old man was found in his Chevrolet van in the 8700 block of South Greenwood Avenue about 1:30 a.m. with a gunshot wound to the leg, police said.
He was scheduled to be at work as a security guard at a business there, but was not in his security guard uniform when he was found by paramedics responding to a “person shot” call, police said.
He did, however, have his work gun on him. No reports have surfaced about whether he fired back.
On the other side of the city, a stabbing left two men injured in the Rogers Park neighborhood late Sunday night. The men, 30 and 40, were fighting with other men in the 7000 block of North Clark Street about 11:50 p.m. when they were stabbed, police News Affairs Amina Greer said.
Both were taken in stable condition to Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston.
The 30-year-old suffered a stab wound to the arm and a cut to the chest, and the 40-year-old was stabbed in the stomach and hand, Greer said.
Three other men were arrested. Charges are pending early Monday.
Other than in the Rogers Park incident, no one was in custody for any of the shootings or stabbings as of early Monday. Detectives are investigating
Source: CBS
Beer run at knifepoint lands man in jail on serious charges www.privateofficer.com
State Police said that on Saturday afternoon, Christopher Acebal, 46, of Cortlandt Manor allegedly was seen stealing the beer and was confronted by store security as he fled the store. At that point, he pulled a knife and threatened the officer as he fled to the parking lot where he was quickly apprehended by responding state troopers.
Acebal was charged with first-degree robbery and remanded to the Westchester County Jail without bail. Police said additional charges are possible.
New Jersey police officer arrested for 13 counts of attempted homicide www.privateofficer.com
DOYLESTOWN, Pa. June 19 2012 - The off-duty New Jersey police officer arrested at his estranged wife’s Philadelphia-area home faces 13 counts of attempted homicide following a 10-hour standoff in which he opened fire with a high-powered rifle.
Investigators are still trying to determine exactly what sparked the standoff in Doylestown involving a Clifton Township, N.J., police officer.
Forty-two-year-old Richard Klementovich was taken into custody late Sunday night. The standoff started just before 2 p.m. after police were called to the home over a neighborhood dispute.
Authorities say officers were under fire as soon as they arrived at the home. One officer suffered minor injuries from shrapnel.
Officials say Klementovich eventually surrendered to negotiators. He was arraigned early Monday on dozens of charges including aggravated assault. Court records don’t list an attorney for him.
Source-AP
Co-owner of Nashville cafe found dead in restaurant’s cooler www.privateofficer.com
Nashville TN June 19 2012 A co-owner of Germantown Café East was found dead today in the restaurant’s cooler.
Jay Luther, 47, was found when an employee reported for work around 9 a.m. and could not get inside.
The employee called the other co-owner and once they entered the café they found Luther’s body inside the cooler.
Police say it appears Luther was accidentally locked inside the cooler and died.
There was a power outage Friday night, prompting the restaurant to put dry ice into the cooler to preserve the food. When the power was restored Sunday, police believe,
Luther went to check on the cooler and the food and somehow got trapped inside.
A button that would have opened the cooler from the inside was not working and had been broken for some time.
Dry ice emits carbon dioxide and police think Luther succumbed to the gas.
Police do not suspect any foul play.
There will be an autopsy and the investigation is continuing.
Source:The Tennessean
Six arrested in Gloucester Township “riot” www.privateofficer.com
GLOUCESTER TWP. NJ June 19 2012— What started as a simple fight Sunday afternoon escalated to what police called a riot Sunday afternoon in the township’s Erial section.
Multiple 911 calls brought officers to the area of Ray Smith Road just before 4 p.m. Sunday. There they found a man that had been knocked to the ground and kicked in the head as he lay unconscious.
He was identified by police as 21-year-old Manndell Mobley of Pop Moylan Boulevard in Woodbury.
A female at the scene was also beaten to the point of unconsciousness, police said.
It was later determined that the female victim had been caught off guard and assaulted by a juvenile female and two other adult females. She was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Once officers arrived, the group engaged in the assault fled on foot. As a result of an investigation, six people were arrested. Both Quason Mack, 19, of Berkshire Road in Sicklerville and Dimieari Halliday, 25, of St. Mortiz Drive in Erial were charged with aggravated assault and creating a riot.
Police said they witnessed both Mack and Halliday assaulting Mobley.
They are being held on $30,000 bail in Camden County Jail.
As officers tried to get the situation under control, Mobley regained consciousness and tried to attack those who had attacked him. Police said he also tried to assault a police supervisor and failed to follow commands from officers.
Mobley was subsequently arrested on charges of obstruction of justice and resisting arrest. He is free on $500 bail.
Additional charges of simple assault and creating a riot were issued against two Sicklerville residents – Indya Seales, 20, of Hampton Gate Drive and Kyra Valentine, 20, of Langdon Court. They were processed and released.
Police also cited a female juvenile on the same charges.
Source:courierpostonline.com
Roseville mother charged in alcohol poisoning death of 2-year-old www.privateofficer.com
Roseville CA June 19 2012 The Placer County District Attorney’s Office has filed child abuse charges against a Roseville mother in connection with the death of her 2-year-old daughter after the coroner found the child had acute alcohol poisoning and malnutrition.
The DA’s Office announced today that Denise Marie McGrath Wilder, 37, is charged with cruelty to a child by abuse, neglect or endangering health, under circumstances likely to produce great bodily harm or death in connection with the death of her daughter McKinley Wilder. The complaint further alleges that Wilder personally inflicted great bodily injury upon a child under the age of 5.
Wilder also is charged with abuse or endangerment under circumstances likely to produce great bodily harm or death in connection with the abuse and neglect of another daughter, age 5.
Denise Wilder was initially arrested after Roseville Police and Fire Department personnel responded to a home on Diamond Oaks Road to a report of a child who was not breathing. First responders confirmed that the child, McKinley Wilder, was dead.
Police said Denise Wilder was the only adult present with the children and it was confirmed that she had sole custody and care of McKinley and her then 4-year-old sister over the previous two days. Because of the condition of McKinley’s body and the mother’s extreme intoxication, officers arrested Denise Wilder on suspicion of murder.
The Placer County Coroner’s Office conducted an autopsy but wasn’t able to immediately establish the cause of McKinley’s death. As a result, Denise Wilder was released from custody pending completion of the autopsy report, and results of toxicology and other tests.
She was re-arrested late Friday afternoon based on the completed coroner’s report, which determined that the child died due to acute alcohol toxicity and acute malnutrition. Although aspects of the case are still being investigated, the autopsy report and forensic testing provided adequate information to allow the District Attorney’s Office to determine appropriate charges in the case, according to a news release.
Wilder is being held in Placer County Jail without bail. Her next court date is Tuesday.
Source:sacbee.com
Cuyahoga Community College students to pay fee for security, parking maintenance www.privateofficer.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio June 19 2012 – Cuyahoga Community College students will no longer pay to park, but will be charged a fee each semester to cover security and parking lot maintenance.
The fee, based on credit hours, will be assessed beginning this fall to all students, including those who take public transportation. But the college also has negotiated discounted student rates with the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority to offset the fee.
“It’s a win-win for everyone,” said Craig Foltin, executive vice president for administration and finance.
The campus security and maintenance fee is waived if a student takes three or fewer credit hours, $40 for four to 11 credit hours and $60 for 12 or more credit hours.
Faculty and staff still will have preferred parking and will continue to pay parking fees, Foltin said.
Students who take noncredit courses, including workforce development and classes at Corporate College sites in Warrensville Heights and Westlake, will pay a fee of 2 percent of the cost of the course. Parking has been free at the Corporate Colleges.
Parking revenue was about $2 million a year. The new fee is expected to raise an additional $300,000, Foltin said.
Tri-C has charged for parking for decades to cover costs for lot maintenance and security. From 1990 to fall 2008, anyone trying to exit a parking lot had to plug two quarters into an automated gate. Despite numerous signs warning drivers of the charge, more than a few people were stuck at the exit.
For the past four years, students could pay $75 per semester for a hang tag or $1 for a day pass to park at Tri-C’s campuses in Highland Hills, Cleveland, Parma and Westlake.
The single-day ticket led to the most problems, Foltin said.
Students had to go into a building and buy a ticket from a vending machine, which was an inconvenience, he said. Students also had to scratch off the day and date on the passes. Tri-C employees had to stock the machines, collect the cash and reconcile the amount with the number of passes sold. Police officers patrolled the lots looking for scofflaws.
“There were students who were pirating passes and not paying, and with 30,000 students here every day, it is tough to get the whole population to participate equitably,” he said.
Administrators worked closely with students to develop the new fee, Foltin said.
Antwain Thomas, a student at Cleveland’s Metro campus who served as a student trustee, said the proposal took student leaders by surprise but they worked with the administration.
“It’s not the optimum option but one we can work with,” he said.
Thomas said he often takes RTA to class and was pleased the new fee will not penalize students who take public transportation.
Last year, Tri-C students could buy discounted RTA semester passes for $240, a $100 savings over the cost of standard RTA passes. This year, the semester pass will cost $180, so the addition of the new fee will not exceed last year’s cost, Foltin said. Tri-C and RTA each contributes $80 toward the $160 savings per pass.
And, for the first time, Tri-C students can buy a monthly RTA pass for $45, a $40 savings from the standard cost, he said. Tri-C and RTA will each contribute $20.Many students have said they couldn’t afford the discounted semester RTA pass, so paid $85 a month for a pass.
Students and administrators have tried for several years to resolve an inequity in which Tri-C students paid full price for RTA service while all students at Cleveland State University and Case Western Reserve University are charged $25 a semester for RTA’s U-Pass, which allows students to ride free of charge on all RTA buses and rapid trains.
While about half of Tri-C’s more than 6,500 students who attend classes at the Metro Campus rely on public transportation, a majority of students at the other campuses drive and didn’t want to be charged for a bus pass. RTA was not able to offer U-Pass solely to Metro students because the transit agency would lose money, RTA officials said.
Most of the students at Lorain County Community College in Elyria and Lakeland Community College in Kirtland drive to campus. Parking is free at both locations, but fees are charged to cover parking lot maintenance and other costs.
A $3.75 general fee is charged per credit hour at LCCC to cover parking lot and road maintenance and renovation.
Lakeland charges a $14.25 flat fee to all students each fall and spring semester to cover parking lot maintenance, a shuttle service, safety, exterior lighting and rental of off-campus facilities. Lake County students who attend Lakeland ride free on the county’s Laketran buses.
source-cleveland.com
Three family members including 3 year old boy die in hang glider crash www.privateofficer.com
WALLIS, Texas June 19 2012 (AP) – Authorities say three family members, including a 3-year-old boy, are dead after their glider crashed into a field in Southeast Texas.
The Texas Department of Public Safety says the crash happened around 5 p.m. Sunday near Wallis, about 40 miles west of Houston.
The department says 68-year-old Fred Blair of Wallis, 32-year-old Matilda Blair and 3-year-old Andrew Blair all died in the crash. Trooper Erik Burse said Monday that the Blairs are related and live in Houston.
The glider was registered to the Greater Houston Soaring Association.
The Federal Aviation Administration says the glider went into a nose dive and didn’t recover almost immediately after it was released from the tow aircraft.
Investigators are trying to determine what caused the accident.
Virginia DNA project support the innocence of 33 persons convicted of rape www.privateofficer.com
Data from Virginia’s post-conviction DNA project support the innocence of 33 persons convicted of sexual assaults from 1973 to 1987 concludes an Urban Institute study.
Findings released today indicate more people remain to be cleared by the Virginia project, a groundbreaking effort aimed at identifying persons wrongfully convicted in the 15 years before DNA testing was widely available.
The institute estimates a wrongful conviction rate in sexual assault cases of between 8 to 15 percent, comparable with the results in sample testing that exonerated two people and prompted then-Gov. Mark R. Warner to order the full Virginia project in 2005.
Jon Gould, director, of the Washington Institute for Public and International Affairs Research at American University, said “This is the most methodologically sound study that’s been done and the rate is much higher than has been shown in other studies.”
An acknowledged weakness in the institute’s report is that the contract for the study expired before researchers could get to courthouses to review the old trial files to better determine the context and significance of the DNA results.
The institute said available information on the cases was limited to data in the old state forensic files, which mainly included basic facts about the crime and the results of the original forensic tests and the results of more recent DNA analysis.
Rockne Harmon, a former California district attorney and DNA expert, said that is a problem. He said the institute should have at least done a representative sampling of the old court files.
Among other things, rape victims are frequently asked if they had consensual sex within 72 hours of an assault. “Without this (kind of) information little can be said about the materiality of finding a matching or non-matching DNA profile,” said Harmon.
However, John Roman, the lead researcher in the project, said that even if all the court records were reviewed he would not expect many of the 33 cases to drop out.
Weaknesses or not, Steven D. Benjamin, a member of the Virginia Board of Forensic Science and president elect of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said the study should set off alarm bells.
“Each defendant in the cases that support innocence should be interviewed immediately, and the case investigated thoroughly,” he said. “If any one of these 33 is innocent, each day . . . is an injustice,” said Benjamin.
The Urban Institute cannot reveal any of the identities, though many of those cases may be made public after July 1 due to recent state legislation ordering the department to release test results in cases where the convicted person’s DNA was not found.
Nearly 800 cases involving 1,100 convicted persons have been tested in the Virginia project since 2005 but only three more people have been exonerated in addition to the two cleared in sample testing seven years ago.
The Urban Institute says the Virginia data – DNA results in a random sample of suspects convicted of rape, murder and other serious crimes — is better suited for such studies on wrongful conviction rates than data in earlier studies.
“This ‘test-them-all’ approach to post-conviction DNA testing has never been replicated by any other state,” says the report.
The Virginia Department of Forensic Science said last month that testing failed to identify, or excluded, the DNA of 78 convicted defendants more than a dozen of them now dead and others not yet located.
Absence of DNA in the 78 cases can be consistent with innocence but may prove nothing. Much depends on context. Failure to find a suspect’s DNA in a cigarette butt at the scene of a rape may be irrelevant — but failure their DNA in semen can be telling.
Though unable to review old courthouse files, the institute said the Virginia data, “likely provide the best opportunity to date to understand the rate of wrongful conviction.”
“Whether the true rate of potential wrongful conviction is 8 percent or 15 percent . . . is not as important as the finding that these results require a strong and coordinated policy response,” concludes the institute report.
Brandon Garrett, a University of Virginia School of Law professor, also thinks the study needs a strong response from policy makers. “I think this report isn’t the final report, it’s just the beginning,” he said.
“There’s still a lot of (work) to do and a lot of questions that need to be answered,” said Garrett.
The Virginia Department of Forensic Science does not determine the legal significance of test results and forwarded them to local authorities where the crimes took place.
But aside from the five exonerations and several other cases, little is known of the other exclusion cases.
Critics of the Virginia effort such as Benjamin and Peter Neufeld, a cofounder of the Innocence Project, want to allow defense lawyers access to project results along with police and prosecutors.
They also urge that cases of possible wrongful convictions be pursued even where the convicted person is dead to clear their name, to make sure the guilty person is off the street and to learn what led to the wrongful conviction to help prevent future ones.
The Virginia Department of Forensic Science and the Board of Forensic Science, which considers the DNA test results criminal records, have long resisted efforts to reveal them to anyone other than law enforcement.
The convicted people were not going to be told about the testing until 2008 when the General Assembly used a budget amendment and directed they be notified.
This year the General Assembly, concerned that potential exonerations were not being adequately investigated, directed the department, effective July 1, to release the test results in cases where testing failed to find the convicted person’s DNA.
The legislators’ concern stemmed from the case of Bennett S. Barbour, of Charles City County, who was wrongly convicted of a 1978 rape in Williamsburg and was one of the people excluded by testing who could not be initially found by mail.
Testing in June 2010 cleared him and implicated a convicted rapist who will be tried for the crime in August. Barbour did not learn about the DNA testing until 18 months later when a volunteer lawyer tracked him down via telephone.
Garrett, of the University of Virginia School of Law, who urges more work be done, said, “Time will tell how many more of these cases, like Barbour’s, will result in full exonerations. Hopefully that process is moving more smoothly now.”
Methodology
Here is how the study was conducted:
The Justice Policy Center of the Urban Institute studied the test results in 634 of the Virginia cases involving 715 convicted people from 94 Virginia localities under the terms of a $4.5 million federal grant that paid for most, but not all, of the state testing.
Of the 634 cases, 422 were for sexual assault. In 227 of those cases, testing results were sufficient to either implicate or fail to find the convicted person’s DNA. And the institute believes that the testing in 33 of the exclusion cases supports innocence.
Comparing the 33 with all 422 sexual assault convictions yields an 8 percent wrongful conviction rate while comparing it to just the 227 cases where testing either implicated the convicted person or failed to find his or her DNA yields a 15 percent rate.
In 2005 the initial state sample testing of 31 cases resulted in 16 cases where the convicted person’s DNA was either identified or excluded and exonerated two men of rapes.
Comparing the two exonerations to the 31 cases yields a wrongful conviction rate of 6 to 7 percent while comparing the exonerations to the 16 cases with determinative results yields a rate of 12 to 13 percent.
According to the Urban Institute, the Justice Policy Center conducts nonpartisan research and evaluation designed to improve justice and public safety policies and practices at the national, state and local level.
Source:Richmond Times Daily
Sea Pines officials challenge $6M verdict in judge’s defamation suit www.privateofficer.com
A Beaufort County jury sided with Hilton Head Island Municipal Judge Maureen Coffey earlier this month. Coffey accused Community Services Associates and its security chief, George Breed, of harassing and defaming her and her family during an investigation of a series of break-ins in 2004 and 2008, in which her brother was a suspect.
CSA and Breed are asking 14th Circuit Court Judge Carmen Mullen, who presided over the case, to overturn the verdict because the $6 million award for damages — four times more than Coffey requested — is “grossly excessive.”
CSA attorney Andrew Halio argues in court filings the $4 million in punitive damages is so excessive it violates Breed’s right to due process. He has asked the total amount be reduced to $192,050.
Failing that, CSA and Breed have asked for a new trial. Their attorneys claim Mullen prejudiced the jury against their clients with several erroneous rulings.
Coffey’s lawsuit said CSA and Breed maligned her by sharing with town and Sea Pines officials copies of a judicial complaint accusing her of unethical conduct. The complaint, dismissed by the S.C. Commission on Judicial Conduct, was to remain confidential, in keeping with commission rules.
The jury determined Coffey proved “by clear and convincing evidence” that Breed and the CSA acted maliciously by making statements about Coffey that were false or that they should have known were false, according to the verdict, which CSA and Breed dispute in post-trial motions filed Friday.
Halio argues Breed’s complaint contains “opinions and fair comments about a public official” that are constitutionally protected under the First Amendment. He also argues that rumors Coffey had an affair with a former Sea Pines security officer were made by employees for whom CSA “cannot be held vicariously liable.”
Halio denies Coffey’s reputation was damaged as a result of Breed’s and CSA’s actions, by the fact no one, except Coffey, testified to that effect during trial. She also received a raise when her contract with the town was renewed in 2011. Her salary increased from $85,600 to $87,000.
“The evidence relating to alleged damage to (Coffey’s) reputation was minimal at best,” according Halio’s court filing. “Clearly, the evidence does not warrant a multi-million dollar award of damages.”
He contends Mullen should not have allowed:
•Hearsay evidence about Coffey’s alleged affair and other “alleged bad acts” by Breed and CSA employees.
•Evidence of CSA’s 2011 financial statement and testimony that the CSA board voted to indemnify Breed.
•Evidence Breed transferred half of the interest in his home to his wife in July 2008.
•Exclusion of a separate grievance filed against Coffey by attorney Russell Keep.
•Testimony from Calibogue Cay resident Richard Sonberg, who was not previously identified as a witness and was subpoenaed a few days before trial. Sonberg testified to being told by CSA executive vice president Cary Kelley about the judicial complaint against Coffey during a meeting of that community’s owners association. Kelley was briefing the group of Sea Pines residents on the nature of Coffey’s lawsuit and other matters involving CSA, according to Sonberg.
Mullen, who is expected to rule on the motions, declined to comment Monday. A hearing had not been scheduled as of Monday afternoon.
Attempts Monday to reach Coffey’s attorney, Robert Mathison, for comment were unsuccessful
The CSA board will appeal the decision if Mullen does not agree to their post-trial motions, according to a statement issued late Friday
Source:Island Packet
Louisville hospital offering bedside spa service www.privateofficer.com
LOUISVILLE, KY June 19 2012 - In room spa service is one of many cool new additions taking place as Norton Suburban Hospital is transformed into Norton Women’s & Kosair Children’s Hospital in St. Matthews.
Stephanie Rosenthal whose been on the antepartum unit since May17 is the first patient to use the service. She’s delivering twins and was put on bed rest when she started having early contractions.
It was Rosenthal’s mom who decided she needed some TLC. “My mom said you need to do this and who am I to argue and she said I’m paying for it!” Rosenthal said.
Charlotte Ipsan is the hospital president and said while quality care and safety are expected, it is these extra special touches that make a huge difference.
“Spa services and valet service, kind of just wrapping our arms around our patients and their families” Ipsan said, “and some distraction things that really is scientific that it helps you get better faster.”
Norton Women’s Care has teamed with nearby Joseph’s Salon and Spa to provide the services. The patient simply calls Joseph’s and makes the appointment. The employees come right to the hospital room and turn the room into a spa experience with soothing music and aromatherapy.
Patients can get everything from a $35 manicure to an $85 hour long facial and massage.
Stacy Thomas with Joseph’s said it is a perfect fit. “The way that the healthcare trend is going, it’s just a wellness trend and the power of healing the power of touch.”
Rosenthal isn’t sure how much longer she’ll remain hospitalized, but is breathing easy with expert care and a lot of extra special pampering.
Source:WAVE
Rochester security officer arrested for shooting man in self-defense www.privateofficer.com
Rochester, N.Y. June 19 2012- One thing is not in dispute. A security guard at the Gibbs Place Apartments shot his weapon twice Friday night, severely wounding a 32-year-old man.
But new questions are being raised over whether it was self-defense and whether it could have been avoidable altogether if Rochester Police had arrested the man after an earlier incident that night.
“If they had done their job properly, then this entire shooting indicent would not have happened,” says Marty Rennert who manages the apartment building.
Witnesses say Paul Ravenel charged the security guard with a knife earlier that night. After he was disarmed he vowed to come back again with a gun.
Police were called, but an arrest never happened. Reasons why are unclear. What is clear is that Ravenel made good on his threat to return to the apartments on Chestnut Street in Rochester.
“He was doing his job for everyone who lived here,” says resident Robert Rodgers, about the security guard. Rodgers says he was being harassed by Ravenel, a man he’s seen before.
“The guy was obviously intoxicated, he had a knife in his hand,” says Rodgers.
Felix Cruz-Romero works for Black Hawk Security. He was inside 35 Chestnut Street and startled by the commotion outside. “He was banging the door and as he walked he opened the door half way and said you can’t be here,” says manager Rennert.
He then describes what happened next as Cruz-Romero walked outside. “The man was very aggressive with him, yelling at him. He was just three feet away.”
The security guard disarmed the man. Witnesses say Ravenel ran into the street. Rochester Police responded, confiscated the knife – but Ravenel was never arrested.
“The two police officers did not do their job and it resulted in this kind of force having to be used,” says Rennert.
Rodgers says Ravenel returned to the scene carrying a black bag and reaching inside it. He described how the man ignored the security guard’s directive to step back.
Ravenel was shot twice as he raised the bag with his hand. Inside the bag was a hammer.
“I understand they’re advocating that it was self-defense,” says Chief James Sheppard of the Rochester Police Department. “At this point in time we’re going to let the courts deal with that process.”
“He was screaming out there that he had a pistol- well if he says he has a pistol and he has a bag and it’s raised – what’s left to be thought?” asks Rennert who describes the security guard as a soft-spoken family man.
A private security firm was hired at Gibbs Place after a brutal attack last November.
Paul Ravenel is well known to police. He is in guarded condition. As for why he was not taken into custody Friday night after the earlier incident- Chief Sheppard says that Ravenel had left the scene.
Witnesses dispute that.
Cruz-Romero has been charged with assault. A grand jury will determine whether the case will move forward or whether this is a case of self-defense.
source-wham.com
Woman found dead in Dewey Beach motel room www.privateofficer.com
DEWEY BEACH, Del. June 19 2012— A woman has been found dead inside a Dewey Beach motel room, and police are investigating it as a homicide.
Police say the young woman was found dead by a cleaning lady Monday morning inside a ground-floor room at the Atlantic Oceanside Motel on Coastal Highway.
The Dewey Beach police have called in the Delaware State Police to investigate. Detectives on Monday evening released surveillance photographs of a person of interest, saying they were looking to question a young man who appears to be in his mid-20s.
Dewey Beach, located between Rehoboth Beach and Bethany Beach along Delaware’s Eastern Shore, is a popular summertime destination — especially for college students and young adults.
Source:AP
Former ROTC instructor indicted for sex with student www.privateofficer.com
THOMSON, Ga. June 19 2012 - A former high school ROTC instructor has been indicted on a charge of having sex with a student in east Georgia.
A McDuffie County grand jury indicted 57-year-old Mitchell Sivas of Thomson on a charge of sexual assault by a person with disciplinary authority.
The Augusta Chronicle (http://bit.ly/LamMRo ) reports the man allegedly had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student. The young woman has since graduated.
Sivas used to work as an ROTC instructor at Harlem High School and is a retired Army lieutenant colonel. Court records aren’t available online to show whether Sivas has a lawyer, and there’s no telephone number listed in his name.
A court official says a hearing for Sivas will likely be held in mid-July.
Source:The Augusta Chronicle
Oglethorpe Police Office Richard Angelo Cobb laid to rest www.privateofficer.com
OGLETHORPE GA June 19 2012 - A South Georgia Police officer killed last week in a patrol car crash was laid to rest Monday.
Oglethorpe Police Office Richard Angelo Cobb was on duty last Thursday morning, but not responding to a call, when his patrol car left the road and struck a tree.
An autopsy was performed to determine if a medical condition caused him to crash.
Cobb has previously worked as a deputy for the Crisp County Sheriff’s Office.
The 37-year-old is survived by his wife and two children.
Source: WALB
Man Arrested For Attempted Murder Of Vienna Police Officer www.privateofficer.com
“I just heard him screaming up there and stomping and stuff. Which he does all the time cuz he’s not all there,” says neighbor Jessie who heard the standoff.
A scary situation for Vienna Police Officer Jeremy Bradley. Late Saturday night he responded to a call of a possible domestic disturbance on 14th street in Vienna. When he arrived, the suspect, 38 year old Donovan McClung answered.
“Opened the door, immediately stepped out. Stuck a knife into Jeremy’s abdomen area and then retreated into the apartment and shut the door,” says Vienna Police Sgt. Scott Hughes.
Police say McClung refused to come back outside, and a standoff took place. Neighbors say he hasn’t been taking his medications.
“He starts talking to himself. He’s been off his meds since Monday. So him not being on his meds probably didn’t anything at all. That’s why he was freaking out,” Jessie says.
During the standoff, police say McClung shouted; “I will kill you, I will kill all of you,” but neighbors say he’s really a good guy, he just needs some help with his mental problems.
“He’s a really nice guy. He’s never done anything to me or my kids. he’d probably give you the shirt off his back if he had it,” Jesse adds.
“That’s probably why he tried to stab the cop because he said he didn’t want to go back to the mental institution.”
McClung was arrested and charged with attempted murder.
Fortunately, Officer Bradley walked away without getting hurt.
“He was not injured. The knife penetrated into his vest but went no farther than his vest,” Sgt. Hughes says.
McClung didn’t post his 350,000 dollar bond.
Neighbors say during the standoff, police evacuated the entire apartment building. Police say, no one was injured during the incident.
Source:WTAP
Indiana father arrested in death of infant son www.privateofficer.com
Since then, detectives have been investigating the child’s death, and that led to Coy’s arrest about 9 p.m. Sunday. Coy is being held in the Jefferson County (IN) Jail in Madison on a preliminary charge of neglect of a dependent resulting in death. Investigators said additional charges could be filed later in the week.
Source: WAVE
Escambia County firefighter shoots self during police standoff www.privateofficer.com
Pensacola Fla June 19 2012 A firefighter for Escambia County Fire Rescue is in critical condition this morning following a Sunday according standoff with police.
The man has been identified as Timothy Zulek, 41.
The standoff occurred at about 2:30 p.m. Bayview Memorial Park on Scenic Highway when Pensacola Police Department officers were called to the cemetery Sunday afternoon after reports of a possibly armed man.
Officers in at least six squad cars surrounded the cemetery to contain the man, but he shot himself before police were able to apprehend him.
source-pnj.com
