Archive
South Florida lifeguard fired for saving drowning man www.privateofficer.com
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. July 5 2012– A South Florida lifeguard who rushed to save a drowning man has been fired for leaving the section of the beach his company is paid to patrol.
The Orlando-based company, Jeff Ellis and Associates, says Tomas Lopez broke a company rule and could have put beachgoers in his section of Hallandale Beach in jeopardy.
“We have liability issues and can’t go out of the protected area,” supervisor Susan Ellis told the Sun Sentinel (http://sunsent.nl/R71CCy). “What he did was his own decision. He knew the company rules and did what he thought he needed to do.”
A beachgoer rushed to Lopez’s stand Monday afternoon asking for help. Lopez said he saw a man struggling in the water south of his post and ran to his aid.
The man had been swimming along an unprotected stretch of beach, Hallandale Beach officials said Tuesday.
“It was a long run, but someone needed my help. I wasn’t going to say no,” said Lopez, 21, of Davie.
By the time Lopez arrived, several witnesses had pulled the drowning man out of the water. Lopez said the man appeared to be semi-conscious and had water in his lungs.
Lopez and an off-duty nurse helped the man until the city’s paramedics arrived.
After the rescue, Lopez said his boss asked him to fill out an incident report and then fired him for leaving his assigned area.
“They didn’t tell me in a bad way. It was more like they were sorry, but rules are rules,” Lopez said. “I couldn’t believe what was happening.”
The rescue was performed about 1,500 feet south of the protective boundaries set by Lopez’s employer. The unprotected area has signs alerting beachgoers to swim at their own risk.
Other lifeguards watched Lopez’s area during the rescue and were on the phone with 911 operators, the company said.
“The beach remained protected at all times,” Ellis said.
Lopez became a lifeguard four months ago after passing the company’s requirements, which include swimming and physical exams. The job pays $8.25 an hour, the lifeguards said.
Hallandale Beach began outsourcing its lifeguards in 2003 to save money. The city pays Jeff Ellis and Associates about $334,000 a year to provide four lifeguards and one supervisor at the beach year-round, said city spokesman Peter Dobens.
The company also provides lifeguard services at the city’s pools as part of the contract. Its contract expires this year.
The man Lopez rushed to save, whose name was not released due to privacy laws, remained hospitalized Tuesday in intensive care, Dobens said.
Two other lifeguards have quit in protest of Lopez’s firing. One of them, Szilard Janko, told the newspaper, “What was he supposed to do? Watch a man drown?”
ReadSource:www.miamiherald.com
Sex offender stabs 10-year-old boy in Wendy’s bathroom www.privateofficer.com
PORTLAND OR July 5 2012 – The sex offender arrested for attacking and stabbing a 10-year-old boy in a Northeast Portland Wendy’s restroom Sunday was a wanted man who had violated his parole for heinous crimes against children, police said.
The state sex offender registry lists 49-year-old Adam Brown as a predatory sex offender known to target children ages 2 to 8. He had violated his parole 7 times and most recently, a nationwide warrant had been issued for his arrest after he failed to report to his parole officer. Police said he had been on the run from police since June 14.
Court records showed in the early 1990s, Brown was charged with 43 counts, including attempted murder and rape, in connection with a series of sexual assaults against children in Douglas County. Those children included two of his own.
“He’s sick,” Brown’s ex-wife told KGW. “He’s a monster.”
Brown’s ex-wife divorced him and moved to another state to help the kids get a new start after the horrible abuse they endured from their father. KGW has chosen not to reveal her name, to protect her family’s privacy.
Also in that past case, prosecutors said Brown exposed several children to HIV through sexual contact but those charges were dropped in the plea deal. He ultimately pleaded guilty to three counts of sodomy and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He was released after serving 11 years.
“It’s the judicial system that let us down. I believe that,” Brown’s ex-wife said, “I don’t believe in the judicial system anymore.”
Since his release from prison in 2004, a spokesperson with the state parole board told KGW that Brown had been punished for violating his parole 7 times. However, since he had not been prosecuted for any new crimes, he was able to avoid serving time in the state prison and kept getting put back on parole.
“At no point did the board have the authorities to return him to prison… even for his violations,” explained Jeremiah Stromberg with the State Parole Board.
When told about the assault in the Portland Wendy’s restaurant, Brown’s ex-wife said it made her sick, but sadly, she was not surprised. She did not think he should have ever been released on parole.
“He needs to die,” said Brown’s ex-wife. “There’s no other punishment for him.”
Brown is accused of stabbing and sexually assaulting a boy in a Wendy’s restroom on July 1. The boy screamed and started fighting back, according to said Sgt. Pete Simpson with the Portland Police Bureau.
During the struggle, the boy was stabbed multiple times. His father heard screams and tried to open the restroom door, but it was locked from the inside. A manager brought a key, then Brown unlocked the door and pushed the boy out, Simpson said.
The boy was rushed to a hospital and underwent surgery. He was released from the hospital Tuesday to recover at home.
Brown surrendered about two hours later and now faces several charges including attempted murder, four counts of first-degree assault, first-degree sex abuse, first-degree kidnapping, first-degree arson, coercion, and furnishing false information to a police officer.
He pleaded not guilty in court Monday and bail was set at $2 million.
Meantime, the family of the 10-year-old boy who was assaulted released this statement Wednesday:
“You can not begin to imagine the horror we have been through in the past couple of days. Our son is going through a lot and we as a family are committed to letting our little boy heal in peace. Thank you for all your concerns, but in these troubling times, we are asking for people to respect the privacy of our entire family.”
Source:kgw.com
NM security officer run over twice by irrate bar patron www.privateofficer.com
TAOS, N.M. July 5 2012 - Police are on the hunt for a man who intentionally rammed his car into a security guard, twice.
What was he so mad about? He wasn’t let into a bar.
Taos Police say the guy was dangerous, making threats he was going to kill everyone, attacking bouncers and the security guard, and then running the guard over. Now they’re asking for the public’s help finding him.
Detective Barry Holfedler showed KRQE News 13 where the attack went down near the Alley Cantina by the Taos plaza.
“This is a very, very popular night spot in Taos. Probably the most popular,” he said.
The cantina was so popular there was a line to get in late Friday night. When bouncers announced no one else would be admitted, witnesses say a man became enraged.
“That he was going to his car and get a gun and kill everybody there,” said Holfedler.
That’s when David Van Epps, owner of a local security company who was working security that night, stepped in.
“The subject spit on the security guard and threw a potted plant at his chest,” said Holfedler.
The man then got a crutch out of his car and came at bouncers and Van Epps.
Van Epps pulled his gun so the man got in his car, and Van Epps started to walk away. That’s when witnesses say the man plowed into Van Epps, backed up hitting a wall and then slammed into Van Epps again.
After the second hit the driver actually backed up and went for Van Epps again, but this time he swerved before he got the security officer. Witnesses say he circled the parking lot, grabbed his girlfriend and took off.
The car as a 1993 silver Honda Accord with the plate number 110-RBH, witnesses told police,
Cantina manager Mark Geery said Van Epps leg was shattered and the retired military man will need multiple surgeries.
“The person who did this was trying to kill him, and if anybody out there knows who this person is, please keep that in mind,” Geery said. “This is a dangerous person.”
Investigators ran the plate and got a hit. Problem is it led them to the old owner of the car.
He sold it late last year and the new owner hasn’t registered it. Investigators believe the driver is in Albuquerque and was just visiting Taos.
Detectives don’t know if the driver was drunk, but witnesses say they saw him smoking pot before he went berserk.
Source: KRQE
Memorial Middle School teacher accused of having sex with teen www.privateofficer.com
HOUSTON TX July 5 2012—New charges have been filed against the Memorial Middle School teacher accused of having sex with a 15-year-old student last winter.
Kathryn Camille Murray, 29, was arrested and charged with sexual abuse of a child in February.
On Monday, two more counts of sexual abuse of a child and one count of improper relations with a student were added against Murray.
Murray was initially accused of having sex with the boy at his home on February 11, 2012, while his parents were away.
Now, police say Murray also had sex with the boy at a hotel on the night of a school dance and in her classroom on two separate occasions.
The former eighth-grade teacher was removed from the classroom and let go from her position after the initial investigation.
In a statement from Spring Branch ISD, spokesperson Steve Brunsman said, “The safety of every SBISD student will always be our very highest priority. The alleged conduct of Murray is shocking and outrageous, and will never be tolerated in our school district.”
“This alleged conduct is a reprehensible violation of the trust that our children and our community place in our educators every day,” he said.
The police chief for the Spring Branch ISD Police Department agreed and said Murray’s alleged actions will never be tolerated by law enforcement.
“We have a victim and it’s our student,” said Chief Chuck Brawner. “And it’s not only the victim who’s affected, but it’s every student that goes to that school.”
“What this teacher has done is violate the trust parents place in teachers,” he continued.
He also stood by the work of his detectives and said he was confident the case would lead to a conviction.
Murray, who attended both Memorial Middle and Memorial High School growing up, taught at Memorial Middle for three years as a Language Arts teacher.
Lawsuit filed in fish camp shooting www.privateofficer.com
The suit by Summer Moody’s parents came after Baldwin County authorities said they do not plan to file criminal charges against the men involved. The 17-year-old was shot on Gravine Island on April 15 and died 10 days later in a Mobile hospital.
Three other 17-year-olds who were with her have been charged with burglary.
The Press-Register reported that Moody’s parents filed suit Tuesday against three men on the island when shots were fired, the property owner, and the Marine Police for allegedly telling the other defendants that they should take matters into their own hands to stop burglaries.
Source:AL.com
Resort security officers charged with theft of equipment www.privateofficer.com
New Braunfels, TX July 5 2012 – New Braunfels Police say one arrest has been made, and more arrests are likely, after members of the security staff at a local resort were implicated in the theft of a golf cart and trailer from the resort property.
The incident happened this past weekend when the owners of the Camp Warnecke Resort contacted police to report the stolen golf cart and trailer, worth an estimated 39-hundred dollars.
Surveillance cameras on the property actually captured the crime, showing two men in a white Dodge pickup truck hooking up the trailer and leaving with the property. After reviewing that video with police it was determined that the thieves and the truck belonged to members of the resorts security staff.
Police say that once questioned, one of those staff members admitted to the crime and took officers to the 200 block of Lucinda Drive where the stolen cart and trailer were recovered.
Investigators have determined that at least 3 of the resort’s security staff were involved in the crime, although so far, only one arrest has been made. 20-year old Johan Dilson De Souza (left) was taken into custody and booked at the Comal County Jail on a theft charge. Bond was set at 5-thousand dollars, which he posted the next day and was released.
Police officials say that the evidence leads them to believe that two other security staffers were involved in the theft, and so they expect more arrests in the near future.
Source: kgnb
Drug couriers plead guilty in TSA smuggling incidents www.privateofficer.com
Charles Hicks, 24, of Culver City, and Andrew Welter, 25, of Fontana, have agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court. They each face up to five years in prison.
The two men worked with Millage Peaks, the son of a former Los Angeles fire chief, who would pay up to $500 for each piece of luggage carrying marijuana that made it through security screening, court documents said.
The two TSA employees named in court filings, Dianna Perez and Randy Littlefield, as well as Peaks, do not face charges. Perez and Littlefield no longer work for the federal agency.
Between November 2010 and October 2011, Perez helped the drug couriers circumvent airport security nine times through various methods, including giving the smugglers instructions about how to pack marijuana so alarms on TSA’s explosive detection system wouldn’t be triggered.
Perez and Peaks were arrested in October following the discovery of two pieces of luggage carrying 15 bags of marijuana worth $38,000 on a Boston-bound flight from Los Angeles.
The screeners faced charges that were later dismissed without prejudice, which allows federal prosecutors the ability to refile charges. Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office, said there was an ongoing investigation and couldn’t comment further.
In April, federal prosecutors also charged four former TSA employees in another bribery scheme to sneak large amounts of cocaine through airport checkpoints.
TSA spokesman Nico Melendez said the agency takes these incidents seriously and takes appropriate disciplinary actions.
California man arrested for stealing $84,000 worth of pillow pet toys www.privateofficer.com
Danny Ray Wright was booked in Vista jail on Tuesday on counts of burglary, possession of stolen property and theft exceeding $65,000.
The stuffed toys, which can be used as pillows, were taken from a warehouse on Calle Platino near Avenida Del Oro in burglaries starting in January, Oceanside police Lt. Joe Young said.
Police found boxes of the toys after serving search warrants at Wright’s Carlsbad house on Bluff Court near Tamarack Avenue and at two storage lockers in Oceanside.
Wright is scheduled to be arraigned at 1:30 p.m. Friday in Vista Superior Court.
Cleveland hotel security officer, valet indicted for rape of guest www.privateofficer.com
CLEVELAND OH July 5 2012 - A security officer and a valet worker who are contracted employees at Cleveland’s Hampton Inn have been indicted on rape, kidnapping and burglary charges.
Sources confirm to NewsChannel5 that two men were indicted on the charges stemming from an alleged incident at the downtown Hampton Inn on May 13. “One of the offenders was a valet, the other a security guard. Both were arrested by police and indicted by a Cuyahoga County Grand Jury,” said Cleveland Police Detective Jennifer Ciaccia.
Sources said two victims were returning to their hotel room after a bachelorette party when Solomon Baba, 23, and Kevin Kozieracki, 37, followed the women back to their room.
Baba is a valet worker, police said he is a contracted employee with the hotel from Central Parking.
Kozieracki is a security guard, according to police he is a contracted employee with the hotel from Metro Cleveland Security. “I think they have the wrong man,” said Terry Zacharyj with Metro Cleveland Security.
NewsChannel 5 has also learned that Kozierack is a Transportation Security Officer at Akron Canton Airport. TSA officials said he has been removed from screening functions.
Both men are currently behind bars at the Cuyahoga County Jail.
Both men were arraigned on the charges on June 19 where they pleaded not guilty. They’re scheduled to appear in court again on July 5.
Below is the statement from the property’s management company, Concord Hospitality Enterprises:
“We were shocked to hear about this situation when informed by our guests and we notified police immediately. Nothing like this has happened at our property before. The two individuals implicated in these allegations were employees of a subcontractor and no longer work at our property. We regret that this situation occurred and are working with local authorities to remedy this issue. The safety and security of our hotel guests and team members is always our highest priority, and we fully recognize our responsibility to provide a safe and secure environment.”
Source:www.newsnet5.com
Former Kansas City, Kan., police officer sentenced for thefts www.privateofficer.com
Jeffrey M. Bell, 34, was one of three members of a special department unit charged in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan., after a joint sting operation by the police department and the FBI.
Authorities arrested them in January 2011 after cash and electronics were left in a house that was under audio and video surveillance. According to Bell’s written plea agreement, he took a Nintendo DS game system during the sting and also admitted to taking electronics while serving previous search warrants.
Bell pleaded guilty earlier this year to conspiracy to deny civil rights.
His attorney, Scott Toth, asked for probation, but Toth said after the sentencing that Bell was prepared to accept whatever sentence the judge deemed appropriate.
“Mr. Bell is extremely remorseful for the damage his actions caused for the public and the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department,” Toth said.
One of the other officers was sentenced last week to one year and one day in prison. The third is to be sentenced Thursday
Source:www.kansascity.com
Park Rangers: No bread for Lake Eola swans in new diet www.privateofficer.com
ORLANDO, Fla. July 4 2012 - It’s a no-carb diet for the Lake Eola swans, according to park rangers.
Orlando city officials have put up signs asking Lake Eola visitors to not feed the swans bread. Instead, three coin-operated feeders will be installed around the lake in the coming weeks.
Orlando nanny Laureen Munfus told Local 6 she didn’t notice the new swan signs.
“The kids when they have their sandwiches, they don’t like the rims so we always save those for the birds,” she said.
Park rangers are asking visitors to stop giving bread to the swans.
“It binds the swans up, basically constipates them, and it also- the yeast in it is not good for the lake as well,” said Chris Wallace, park manager.
In the past year, there’s growing concern over the swan’s health.
“We’ve seen people bring in all kinds of food, from bringing baloney, and hot dogs,” he said.
Last summer, a black neck swan died after eating too much popcorn, Wallace said.
There’s no fine for breaking the swan’s no-carb diet, rather park rangers are hoping people will comply by giving swans lettuce, spinach, and farm pellets instead.
The feeders are expected to be up July 12, but in the meantime, park rangers are passing out brochures that tell visitors what they can bring to feed the swans.
Source:wkmg.com
64-Year-Old Motorcycle Cop Shows No Signs of Slowing Down www.privateofficer.com
Arlington TX July 5 2012 An Arlington police officer who has enjoyed the ride during his nearly four-decade-long career doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
Cpl. Dick Hill, a former college and NFL football player stands at 6 feet 5 inches with a handlebar mustache that he fittingly sports while steering his police motorcycle.
Hill said he has seen a few things during his 38-year ride with the department, such as when he was hit by a car.
“That thing flipped me around and knocked me down and then I’m in between the cemetery and the hospital, laying in the street. It was like a bull rider — I just had to get up,” he said with a laugh.
He has provided police escorts for “I don’t know even how many different presidents.”
Most recently, he provided an escort for former President George W. Bush.
“I had my picture taken with him,” Hill said.
There have also been rock stars, such as Ted Nugent.
“He likes the police, but he’s a crazy man, he is,” Hill said, again, with a laugh.
At 64, some think Hill is the “crazy man” for continuing to ride.
“I’ve enjoyed the ride,” he said. “Some think it’s too long, [saying], ‘Why don’t you get off, you’re too old.’”
He once planned on retiring at age 55 but, “Well, 55 came and went. Now, Hill said he will just know when it’s time.
Hill still scores in the 90th percentile on his annual police fitness tests, which includes such drills as a timed mile-and-a-half run, bench presses, sit-ups and stretches.
“It’s not about showing off — it’s showing that I can still do my job,” he said.
Hill said he has passed up plenty of promotions that would have taken him off the motorcycle. Riding a motorcycle is just cooler, he said.
“If you look at a motor jock, that’s a cop,” he said. “I could have been a supervisor, and I think I would have been a good one, but I like what I’m doing.”
Hill, the 1996 Arlington Police Department Officer of the Year, has been setting an example since his football days at Arlington State College, which later became the University of Texas at Arlington. Hill is in the Hall of Honor there.
“If you’re going to do a job, do it right and do it professional and don’t do it half way,” he said.
“I want to treat you like I’d want you to treat me if I was sitting in your car and you were standing here,” he said. “I don’t want to be thought of as, ‘Man, that guy was a jerk.’”
Hill said he has a passion for service and for people.
“It gives you a good feeling when you do something for somebody or they thank you,” he said. “I get thanked sometimes for writing a ticket — and it’s not because they enjoyed getting a ticket; I wasn’t ugly to them. That’s probably as important as anything.”
Source:NBCDFW
Woman arrested for bilking elderly Seattle woman out of $1 million www.privateofficer.com
Seattle WA July 5 2012 Brenda Nicholas, a 46-year-old woman who prosecutors say is involved in a loosely organized crime group, was charged Monday in King County Superior Court with more than 50 criminal counts, most connected to her alleged bilking of an elderly Seattle woman out of $1 million.
Nicholas, who was arrested Monday by U.S. marshals on a Seattle Police Department warrant, also was charged along with two co-defendants in an alleged scheme in which she is accused of failing to pay rent, then stealing pricey items belonging to three different landlords when she vacated the rental residences, according to a 26-page charging document outlining four separate police investigations into her alleged crimes.
Nicholas, who is under community supervision by the state Department of Corrections for a grand-theft conviction in California, has been charged with 52 counts of first-degree theft, one count of second-degree theft and one count of first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, according to charging documents. Also wanted in New York on an outstanding warrant for second-degree burglary, Nicholas is being held in the King County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bail.
In addition to the theft charges, King County prosecutors have filed an “aggravator,” accusing Nicholas of committing theft by deception against a particularly vulnerable victim. Should she be convicted as charged, Nicholas could face a standard sentence of 3 ½ to 4 ¾ years in prison.
However, the aggravator gives prosecutors a basis to seek an exceptional sentence — in this case, up to a 10-year prison sentence, the maximum allowed for a Class B felony — said Dan Donohoe, spokesman for King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg.
Also charged in the case involving the landlords are Gilda Ramirez, 49, and Charles Jungbluth, 50, according to charging documents.
Ramirez, who was booked into the King County Jail on Monday and is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail, has been charged with first-degree theft and trafficking in stolen property, according to jail and court records. Court documents show that Ramirez and Nicholas were living at the same Lynnwood address at the time of their arrests.
Jungbluth was charged with first-degree theft and second-degree theft; he was arrested and booked into jail last week and is being held in lieu of $10,000 bail, the records show.
All three defendants are to be arraigned July 16.
The case involving a now-85-year-old Seattle woman began in summer 2007, when the woman went to a street fair and paid Nicholas $30 to read her palm, according to charging documents. Nicholas told the woman she had a “gray aura” and was not doing well, then offered to help make the woman feel better, the papers say.
Over the next three years, the alleged victim, a widow who was estranged from her children, became isolated, confused and “completely dependent” on Nicholas, charging papers say. It is unclear who contacted Seattle police, but a criminal investigation was launched in late November 2011.
Up until December 2011, Nicholas had the woman make frequent withdrawals from her bank accounts and turn the cash over to Nicholas, according to charging documents. Between Sept. 14, 2007, and April 27, 2009, the woman withdrew a total of $1,088,500, money which she gave to Nicholas, usually in increments of $1,000 to $9,900, the papers say.
The elderly woman believed that Nicholas was using the money to take care of her and her affairs, as well as to pay a man named “Father Thomas,” who Nicholas allegedly claimed was famous for his healing powers.
In the rental cases, Nicholas allegedly rented a house in March 2011 from a Seattle man who was planning a trip to France but who died the following month, charging papers say. The total loss to his estate is an estimated $13,000, a sum that includes nonpayment of rent, attorney fees to evict Nicholas, items stolen from the house and damaged property, the papers say.
Then in January 2012, the charging papers say, two other landlords — one in West Seattle and one in Kirkland — were also duped by Nicholas, who allegedly claimed she needed a place in the Seattle area to be close to her cancer-stricken mother.
The West Seattle landlord suffered a loss of $2,300, while the Kirkland landlord reported $51,000 worth of goods — including flat-screen TVs, furniture and art — had been taken from his rental residence, according to charging papers. Nicholas’ two teenage sons had lived with her in the homes, the papers say.
Jungbluth was charged in connection with thefts from the two Seattle landlords, while Ramirez was charged with involvement in thefts from the landlords in West Seattle and Kirkland, charging papers say
Source:seattletimes.com
Arrests made in shooting of police officer during burglary www.privateofficer.com
AYNOR, SC July 5 2012 - The Violent Crimes Unit of the Horry County Police Department has made three arrests in a recent home burglary case that left one off duty police officer with a gunshot wound.
As stated on the HCPD Facebook page, Alex Marshall McDaniels, 35, was arrested Monday night by HCPD Violent Crimes Detectives and US Marshals in connection with the June 25 burglary.
According to Sgt. Robert Kegler, spokesmen for the Horry County Police Department, two addition arrests were made on Tuesday.
Crystal Dawn Turner, 22, of Mullins was taken into custody Tuesday afternoon and charged with accessory after the fact of a felony. The third suspect, 23-year-old Timothy Wayne Hayes, also of Mullins, has been charged with first degree burglary.
Kegler tells WMBF News that the home on Good Luck Road in the Aynor area of Horry County was burglarized around 11:45 a.m. June 25.
The owner of that home, an off duty Conway police officer, was reportedly shot in the arm by the burglary suspect, but his injuries were non-life threatening, Kegler said.
McDaniels was booked into the J. Reuben Long Detention Center Tuesday morning at 2:10 a.m. Online booking records show McDaniels is charged with attempted murder and first degree burglary.
Source:WMBF.com
Staples Shoplifting Ring Hit Stores in 4 States www.privateofficer.com
Madison NJ July 5 2012 A Brooklyn man charged with shoplifting seventoner cartridges from the Madison Staples on June 21 allegedly was part of an organized retail crime ring that stole more than $100,000 in printer ink from Staples stores in New Jersey and also hit stores in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire, authorities said.
The man, Daquan Dollar, 24, was one of three alleged shoplifters arrested Friday in New Hampshire on felony organized retail crime related charges by Tilton, N.H., police, according to a Tilton Police news release.
Madison Police Lt. Darren Dachisen said on Monday that Madison police detectives have been sharing information with other agencies investigating similar cases.
“They would target toner at 100 dollars a box, at 200 dollars a box and they were averaging between 2 to 3 thousand dollars per store in thefts every time they hit,” Tilton Police Chief Robert Cormier told WMUR.
The station reported it likely will be tried as a federal case and that at least $60,000 in toner ink, tablet computers and calculators believed to have been stolen by the ring were recovered in a Nashua, N.H., hotel room.
Dollar was out on bail on the Madison charges when he wound up behind bars on the New Hampshire charges about a week later, authorities said.
Tilton police arrested Dollar and the two other defendants—Louissant Kashif Trumaine, 20, and Ronnell Samuals, 27, both of Brooklyn—and learned they were wanted in connection with other crimes in New Jersey on June 25, Connecticut and Massachusetts on June 26, and New Hampshire on June 28.
One suspect, Dwayne Dollar, 27, remains at large, police said.
In New Jersey, the ring allegedly was responsible for over $100,000 dollars in thefts from Staples stores, Cormier.
“All officers and detectives worked well together on scene to locate the suspects quickly and make their arrest,” Cormier said of the Friday arrests. He said Tilton police were “glad we were able to help get them in custody.”
In Massachusetts, they allegedly hits stores in Boston, Cambridge, Brighton, Framingham, Shrewsbury, Natick, Worcester and Millbury. Then on June 28, they left for New Hampshire and allegedly hit stores in Nashua, Bedford and Manchester, before being spotted in Concord and then heading to Tilton.
The arrests in Tilton came when police were flagged by Staples employees, and a regional loss prevention manager told police he just saw three or four men fitting the description of suspects involved in thefts from Staples stores.
When the alleged shoplifters realized store employees recognized them, one of them threw a “booster bag,” a special bag used by shoplifters to avoid setting off security devices, and the four men then ran out of the store and split up, police said. Two ran into neighboring stores, one ran into a vehicle and one fled toward a mall.
One man allegedly hid in an employee stock room of a nearby store and then fled out a fire exit, setting off an alarm, and running along railroad tracks before being caught by police.
Police stopped two other men allegedly attempting to flee in a car with New York plates.
Dollar was released the day after his June 21 arrest in Madison on $25,000 bail. He was charged with eluding arrest, resisting arrest and shoplifting in the Madison incident after he allegedly ran from police and was chased down by Patrolman James Cavezza on foot and Patrolwoman Lisa Esposito assisted with the arrest.
GA women opens fire with pellet gun on store security www.privateofficer.com
Police were called to the Hamilton Mill Walmart on June 18 after a woman, later identified as Catherine Sheridan, 24, of 5235 Sugar Crest Drive in Sugar Hill, reportedly withdrew a pellet gun from her fanny pack and began shooting after being stopped on her way out of the store.
The victim said he and another manager stopped Sheridan after seeing her pick up three pairs of pants, a pair of sneakers and a bottle of water before heading towards the store exit. The victim and the other manager stopped Sheridan and asked for her receipt. Sheridan was unable to produce one and said she had asked the cashier to throw it away. When the victim asked which cashier had the receipt, Sheridan reportedly said she did not know. The victim began questioning Sheridan about the items she had picked up and asked her to step back inside the store. When Sheridan attempted to walk out the door, the victim stepped in front of her. At that point, Sheridan allegedly unzipped the fanny pack she was wearing, pulled out what appeared to be a black gun and started shooting.
The victim was struck in the abdomen. According to the police report, the victim had a small, red, round mark on his stomach consistent with being shot with a BB gun or pellet gun.
Approximately an hour later, police received a call from a Briarglen Circle residence concerning a suspicious act. Briarglen Circle is in a subdivision that backs up to the Walmart property.
The caller advised a woman had shown up on her doorstep claiming to have been kidnapped out of Bogan Park. The woman was wet and had scratches on her arms. The caller said she became suspicious of the woman’s story when she realized the woman had a bag of clothes with her despite having previously said she was taking her dog for a walk in the park when the kidnapping occurred. The caller’s description of the woman matched that of the pellet gun shooter.
When police arrived, Sheridan was taken into custody and both the victim and witness subsequently identified her as the assailant.
Sheridan was charged with theft by shoplifting, aggravated assault, carrying a concealed weapon and pointing a gun or pistol at another. She remains in the Gwinnett County Jail. Bond has been set at $10,700.
Two armored car guards injured in traffic accident www.privateofficer.com
DANBURY CT July 5 2012 – Two people were hospitalized with unspecified injuries after an armored car crashed on Main Street Tuesday afternoon, fire officials said.
The vehicle’s driver fell out of the truck while it was in motion “due to a faulty door mechanism,” according to Danbury Assistant Fire Chief Bernie Meehan.
This caused the armored car to careen off the road, Meehan said, injuring the guard sitting in the back.
Authorities declined to release the identities of the driver and the guard.
The accident happened about 1 p.m. near the Padaminas NY Bakery II at 10 Main St., Meehan said.
A fire engine company, ladder truck and two ambulances responded, Meehan said.
Police refused to comment Tuesday on the incident.
According to Meehan, the truck was owned by Garda, a Montreal-based international security company.
Source:www.newstimes.com
Women rips off $1500 of clothing at Kohl’s and cab ride www.privateofficer.com
Norwalk Police Lt. Praveen John said officers responded to Kohl’s at about 10 a.m. after a woman reportedly fled the store when security guards attempted to stop her with a cart full of stolen merchandise. Police later found a woman matching the suspect’s description walking on Connecticut Avenue toward Burger King.
John said the woman–identified by police as Mary Paragarino, 44, of 52 Limerick St., Stamford–was brought back to Kohl’s and was positively identified as the suspect who fled the store.
A Kohl’s security guard told police that Paragarino was seen stuffing numerous items into a shopping cart. She then walked past the cash registers without paying for the items, John said.
When confronted by security, Paragarino allegedly ran away, leaving behind a shopping cart filled with $1,503.95 in stolen shoes and clothing.
Police say Paragarino called a taxi service to drive her from Stamford to Kohl’s department store, but she walked away from the cab without paying the $25 fare.
This is not the first time Paragarino has been accused of stealing merchandise from Kohl’s. She was previously arrested for shoplifting at Kohl’s and is banned from returning to the store, John said.
Paragarino was charged with first-degree criminal trespass, fourth-degree larceny and sixth-degree larceny.
She posted $500 bond and is due in court July 10.
Baton Rouge shooting closes down Interstate 10 www.privateofficer.com
Baton Rouge LA July 5 2012 Interstate-10 was reopened about 8:25 p.m. Wednesday, following a shooting on the bridge that left a man in critical condition and snarled July Fourth traffic for hours, a Baton Rouge police spokesman said.
The shooting followed an argument that started in Port Allen, said Cpl. L’Jean McKneely.
After he was shot at about 6:35 p.m, the victim’s car stopped in the eastbound lane on the bridge, said McKneely.
The man was transported to a hospital in critical condition, McKneely said.
Baton Rouge police are investigating the shooting.
12-year-old shot to death in Montgomery www.privateofficer.com
MONTGOMERY, AL July 5 2012 - The Montgomery Police Department is investigating the shooting death of a 12-year-old boy at this hour.
Police spokesperson Sgt. Regina Duckett tells WSFA 12 News the shooting appears to be accidental, but a death investigation is under way to determine the exact circumstances.
The incident happened in the 2000 block of Commodore Street off Carter Hill Road in Montgomery Wednesday afternoon.
Investigators are still trying to determine who pulled the trigger.
The child has not been identified at this time
Source:WSFA.com
Rochester Eastview Mall shoplifting caper send women to jail www.privateofficercom
Police approached the group as they left a store at the mall and say they found merchandise that still had their security tags still attached.
When asked for proof of purchase, nobody in the group was able to show a receipt for the goods.
Vaunrece Johnson and Denise Ware, of Rochester, and Ashley Davis, of McDonough, North Carolina, were arrested Thursday by Ontario County Sheriff’s Deputies for possession of stolen property and possesion of burglary tools.
They were arraigned in Farmington Town Court, and are currently being held in Ontario County Jail on $1000 cash or $2000 bond.
Source:whec.com
New law said to strengthen Canadian citizen arrest authority www.privateofficer.com
Mr. Chen, proprietor of the Lucky Moose, was famously prosecuted for nabbing and confining an inveterate shoplifter, Anthony Bennett, an hour after Mr. Bennett had been caught on tape helping himself to the merchandise. The previous law stipulated that a property-owner “may arrest without warrant a person whom he finds committing a criminal offence on or in relation to that property” — but not, as Mr. Chen did, later.
Laws crafted to address hot-button issues often overreach. For better or for worse, C-26 is not such a law. For all the Conservatives’ talk of citizen empowerment, it makes a very modest change: Now a property-owner can arrest a criminal “within a reasonable time after the offence is committed,” provided he “believe[s] on reasonable grounds that it is not feasible in the circumstances for a peace officer to make the arrest.”
The obvious question, then, is: What does “reasonable” mean?
“The reasonableness of any action has long been determined by our courts,” Justice Minister Rob Nicholson told reporters in Toronto’s Chinatown on Wednesday. “And so we don’t put a time limit on it, say it must be done within an hour. … You may be in circumstances where it would take longer than that or shorter than that.”
That sounds, well, reasonable. But it does raise a few questions about the impetus for this law. The government has been more than happy to frame it as a sort of retroactive justice for Mr. Chen’s ordeal. But we have no idea if the courts would consider the one-hour time frame in his case “reasonable” or not. Conceivably, Mr. Chen could just as easily be charged under the revised law.
In fact, you could argue it might now be easier to charge Mr. Chen. The wording about considering the “feasibility” of having the police make the arrest is brand new; the previous law stated only that detainees had to be turned over to the police as quickly as possible. On the face of it, there is nothing remotely unfeasible about police arresting a thief on Toronto’s Dundas Street West. It’s not like nabbing a cattle rustler in the Old West. Toronto Police’s 52 Division headquarters is 350 metres away. Yet Mr. Chen had terrible trouble convincing the police to pay any mind of shoplifters. Previously he had made shoplifters wait up to five hours for police to arrive, only to talk him out of pressing charges.
“It’s important to note that all of these new powers of citizen’s arrest apply if it’s not feasible in the circumstances to call a police officer,” Mr. Nicholson stressed at the press conference. “I want to emphasize these reforms will not in any way alter the role that police play in Canadian society.”
Well, there’s the rub. What is that role? Canadians are asking that a lot these days, in many different circumstances.
Ultimately, Bill C-26 doesn’t address the most basic confusion about the case to which it has been pegged: It was one thing for police to arrest Mr. Chen in the first place. There were allegations that he had roughed up Mr. Bennett. (One’s heart bleeds for him.) It was quite another to pursue charges against him, and quite another besides to grant Mr. Bennett a lighter sentence in exchange for a guilty plea and his testimony against Mr. Chen. To most Canadians, this represented a baffling, offensive, total moral inversion. That Mr. Chen was eventually acquitted did nothing to clarify the matter.
The only logical conclusion, then as now, is that our legal system is utterly hell-bent on reserving the powers of law-enforcement for police. I see nothing in the so-called Lucky Moose Law that would noticeably impede their efforts in that regard. If it’s a problem — and I think it is — then it isn’t one that we can legislate away.
Source: National Post
Cookeville TN store security reel in more shoplifters ww.privateofficer.com
COOKEVILLE TN July 5 2012 – Two men were arrested Tuesday for allegedly attempting to steal $622 worth of items at the Cookeville Walmart store, police said.
Terry Lee Anderson, 65, of Dry Valley Road, Cookeville, and Sammy Lee Anderson, 38, of Whitehall Ct., Cookeville, are each charged with theft in the case, says a report by Cookeville Police Officer Chris Lynn.
Loss prevention workers at the store called police after catching the two in a scheme in which one was passing stolen items through a fence in the store’s garden center to the other, who was outside and was carrying the items to a vehicle, the report says.
Allegedly, both men had placed items from the electronics section of the store into a shopping cart and then went out to the lawn and garden center.
Terry Lee Anderson then left that area and went outside, while Sammy Lee Anderson stayed inside and “slipped items through the fence to Terry outside the fence,” the report says.
The items included two GPS devices, a portable DVD player, and a JVC HD hand cam, the report says.
Officer Lynn arrested the two men and took them to the Putnam County jail. Bond for each was set at $1,500. They have a July 23 court date.
In other recent cases:
* Kimberly Denise Hammock, 39, of N. Pine Hill Road, Cookeville, was cited to court on June 20 for allegedly stealing merchandise at the Algood Walmart store, according to a court affidavit signed by a security officer.
Allegedly, Hammock was seen by a security officer “selecting a bottle of Zantrex-3 High Energy Fat Burner pills and opening the box and dumping them inside her purse,” the affidavit says.
Algood Police Officer Mark Steele was in the store and “did witness this,” the document says.
The value of the pills is $19.76.
Hammock has a July 16 court date.
* A Sparta woman was shopping in the Kroger Supermarket on S. Jefferson Ave. on June 23 when someone stole her purse out of her shopping cart, says a report by Officer Brian Long.
“She placed her purse in the baby seat section of the cart and stopped in aisle 14 to get some breath mints,” the report says. “She left her grocery cart for about 10 seconds to get an item and noticed her purse was missing upon placing the item in the cart.”
It was a gold leather Danna Bochman purse, and it contained her cell phone, $30 cash, her driver’s license, her eyeglasses, keys, gift cards, bank cards, and an endorsed blank check, the report says.
* A Cookeville man was cited for shoplifting on June 20 after allegedly sending his unsuspecting girlfriend into the Advance Auto Parts store on S. Willow Ave. to return items he had shoplifted from the store, says a report by Officer Robert King.
Clifton Blake Loftis, 27, of Eller Ridge Road, was cited in the case.
A store official called police when a woman came into the store wanting to return $86 worth of items which her boyfriend had asked her to return, the report says.
But a store worker told police that the items had been shoplifted from the store earlier, allegedly by Loftis. The woman did not know about the shoplifting, the report says.
After being confronted, the woman called Loftis to the scene “because that was her ride and her children were in the car with him,” the report says.
When he arrived, officers cited him for shoplifting. He has a July 16 court date.
* Amanda Beth Marcy, 31, of Franklin Ave., Cookeville, was cited for shoplifting at the Kroger store on S. Jefferson Ave. on June 20, says a report by Officer Chris Ferguson.
Allegedly, Marcy placed $208 worth of items into her purse at the store. The items included nine DVD’s and some cosmetics.
The items were returned to the store, and the officer escorted Marcy off the property
Source:Herald Citizen
Anchorage port security officer killed in accident www.privateofficer.com
The driver was identified as Joseph Renteria, 42, a long-term employee of Doyon Universal Services, which provides security at the port.
Anchorage Police spokesman Lt. Dave Parker said it wasn’t yet clear why the crew-cab pickup went off the dock. The department is investigating.
A medical examiner will perform an autopsy on Renteria to determine whether a medical condition might have caused him to lose control of the vehicle and APD investigators will examine the truck for mechanical defects, Parker said.
The pickup went off a dock in the older section of the port at 7:21 p.m. Monday, officials said. The area of the port is used to dock cruise ships and cargo vessels, said Lindsay Whitt, a spokeswoman for the mayor’s office.
The water just off the dock was about 50 feet deep at that time, according to police spokesman Lt. Dave Parker.
Security guards regularly patrol the area, Whitt said. Renteria had been assigned to security patrols at the port for about a month, according to police.
At low tide on Tuesday, a recovery crew including commercial divers, the Coast Guard and a port crane operator hoisted the truck from the murky water. The truck was transferred to a nearby tugboat, where a team removed the driver’s body for the medical examiner.
Renteria was a married veteran who had two children, Parker said. He lived in Eagle River.
Source:ADN.com
