Archive
Hanover VA man charged with impersonating federal agent www.privateofficer.com
HANOVER, Va July 21 2012 – Investigators have arrested Terry L. Beach, Sr., 58, of the 2000 block of Wedgewood Avenue in Henrico County for impersonating a police officer. Beach is currently free on bond pending an arraignment in Hanover County General District Court on July 25, 2012, at 8:30 a.m.
Based upon a tip, the Sheriff’s Office initiated an investigation into Beach’s activities, which revealed that he had been representing himself as a federal agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration (D.E.A.) since April of 2012. Since that time, Beach was able to convince several employees of a local business that he was a federal agent, who afforded him access to their facilities on a regular basis. No one was injured as a result of Beach’s actions.
Investigators with the Sheriff’s Office and D.E.A. continue their investigation into Beach’s actions in an attempt to determine if he may have committed similar offenses in Hanover or other jurisdictions. Anyone who may recognize Beach and know of his involvement in similar incidents is encouraged to contact the Sheriff’s Office at 365-6110. Should you wish to remain anonymous, please call the Metro Richmond Crime Stoppers at 780-1000 or text: iTip to CRIMES (274637).
“I would like to take this opportunity to commend the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office along with the Henrico County Police Division on this investigation,” stated Ava Cooper Davis, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Washington Division Office. “DEA strives to maintain the highest integrity of its Special Agents and due to this investigation and subsequent arrest, this integrity is intact.”
The Sheriff’s Office would like to remind the community that if there is ever a question regarding the validity of someone representing him/herself as a law enforcement officer, to contact the Sheriff’s Office so it can be acted upon immediately.
Source:WTVR.com
Shooting Suspect Was Doctoral Student, Had ‘Obvious Intellectual Capacity’ www.privateofficer.com
Aurora CO July 21 2012 The 24-year-old man police say opened fire early Friday on a movie audience was a doctoral student at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora.
Suspected gunman James Eagan Holmes was in the school’s doctoral neuroscience program and was in the process of withdrawing at the time of the shooting, university officials said. Holmes had enrolled at the university in June 2011.
“As a grad student you have an opportunity to work for the university in the research program for the programs that you’re studying,” university spokeswoman Jacque Montgomery said. “He worked in the neurosciences program. It is a paid position.”
He lived in Aurora in a one-bedroom apartment in a building whose tenants were primarily other students involved in health studies.
Aurora Police Chief Daniel Oates said the suspect’s sole interaction with the police department was an October 2011 summons for speeding.
Police said the shooter entered the sold-out movie theater dressed in black, wearing a ballistic helmet, a tactical ballistic vest, ballistic leggings, protectors over his throat and his groin, a gas mask and black tactical gloves.
Witnesses saw the attacker throw two canisters — possibly containing tear gas — before opening fire. He said nothing, one witness said.
Police arrested Holmes near his vehicle. “He surrendered without any significant incident to our officers,” Oates said.
A federal law enforcement source with knowledge of the investigation told CNN that Holmes had colored his hair red and told police that he was “the Joker.”
Oates said he would not release the suspect’s mug shot “for investigative reasons.”
While none of the witnesses has told CNN that Holmes had red hair, they have described the shooter as wearing a gas mask that concealed much of his face and head.
A syllabus that lists Holmes as a student at the medical school shows that he may have taken a class in which he studied topics as diverse as substance abuse, schizophrenia, depression and other disorders.
According to the document, he was to have delivered a presentation in May about microRNA biomarkers.
Holmes had enrolled at the university in June 2011.
Police said Holmes was living in a small apartment on Paris Street in Aurora, in Apartment 10, within walking distance of the school.
“Neighbors report he lived alone and he kept to himself,” Oates said.
Apparently, Holmes told police that he had booby-trapped the third-floor apartment. “We are not sure what we’re dealing with in the home,” Oates said. “They appear to be incendiary devices; there’s some chemical elements there. … They’re linked together with all kinds of wires. As a layman, it’s not something I’ve ever seen before.”
Bomb technicians were on site, and it could be days before the matter is resolved, he said.
Authorities have postponed any efforts to enter the apartment until Saturday, Oates said. Resources from the federal government are being brought in to assist, he said.
Donald Robert Davis, 52, lived in that same apartment for about two years before moving out about a year ago. He described it as an approximately 850-square-foot, one-bedroom apartment with one bathroom for which he paid $525 per month, not including utilities.
On Friday, authorities evacuated the entire apartment building and four others nearby after Holmes made a “statement about explosives” to police, Oates said.
Jackie Mitchell, who lives close to Holmes, had a beer with the suspected gunman on Tuesday.
Mitchell expressed shock Friday over the attack.
“You would never guess he was a violent guy,” Mitchell said, describing Holmes as “nerdish” and “a book-smart type guy.”
A neighbor who lives one floor below Holmes’ third-floor apartment, Tori Lynn Everhart, described the apartments this way: “It’s not like true ghetto. It’s not the safest neighborhood, but it’s definitely improving.”
In San Diego, the suspect’s family issued a statement saying they were still trying to process the news.
“Our hearts go out to those who were involved in this tragedy and to the families and friends of those involved,” the Holmes family said, without giving any information about the suspected shooter.
The Poway Unified School District in San Diego said that James Holmes graduated from Westview High School in 2006.
Tom Mai, a neighbor of the Holmes family in San Diego, described Holmes as “clean-cut, quiet, responsible.”
In the fall of 2006, he entered the University of California, Riverside, graduating with a B.S. in neuroscience in the spring of 2010. “Academically, he was at the top of the top,” Chancellor Timothy P. White told reporters Friday.
Holmes was a scholarship student who graduated with highest honors, said White, and had an “obvious intellectual capacity.”
The school was offering counseling services to students, faculty and staff.
UCR police have no record of any contact with Holmes, the school said.
Source:CNN
Former GA police chief and mayor charged with felony theft www.privateofficer.com
An indictment returned by a Jeff Davis grand jury accuses former Mayor Lonnie Crosby and former police chief Jarone Brinkley of theft by taking in the use of a city Visa card to obtain cash on two occasions.
On Nov. 20, 2008, the card was used to obtain $2,039.80 cash and six days later it was used to obtain $1,427.86 in cash, the indictment says.
The indictment was unsealed late Thursday.
Although Graham is in Appling County, a Jeff Davis grand jury acted on the indictment because that is where the card was presented and the cash obtained, District Attorney Jackie Johnson said.
Under Georgia law, any theft of $500 or more is a felony.
Crosby’s telephone is not in service.
Brinkley runs Jarone’s Body Shop on the western edge of Graham. A woman who answered the phone there Friday said he was gone and would not be back until Monday. She declined to provide a number where Brinkley could be reached.
The Graham City Council held a hearing on Crosby’s conduct in January and voted to remove him from office, but as mayor he vetoed the action. The city attorney told Crosby he didn’t have the authority to veto his own removal, but the council repeated the process in February and voted him out again.
Crosby later went to City Hall, said, “I quit,” and handed over his keys. But he later filed a Superior Court petition to get back into City Hall where the locks had been changed and resume his duties.
After a hearing before Superior Court Judge Stephen Scarlett, in which Crosby said he couldn’t remember whether he had used a city credit card for personal gain, he withdrew his petition.
In April during an investigation of Graham’s finances, a fire started in the City Hall records room where all financial records are kept. The building was rebuilt and the city reoccupied it two weeks ago.
“We’re literally having to start the city over,” Mayor Pro Tem John Fogarty said Friday.
There has been no audit of city finances since 2007 and a former mayor of Hazlehurst is schooling the City Council on how to set up a proper budget, Fogarty said.
Fogarty said the city is ensuring that all payments go to the proper places. In the past, cash payments for water bills were kept in a drawer and never deposited, he said. “They only deposited checks,’’ he said.
Crosby also took $24,500 from an account dedicated to repaying a U.S. Department of Agriculture loan that was used to build the water system. Crosby used that money to pay the state for the right to issue traffic citations and hold traffic court, Fogarty said.
He accused Crosby of breaking the city.
“No grant money for 10 years, no roads paved, nothing,’’ he said.
Source: Jacksonville.com
NJ women charged in armed robbery after pepper spraying security officer www.privateofficer.com
Glen Rock MJ July 21 2012 A Garfield woman is facing a slew of charges including armed robbery after police say she tried to make off with stolen liquor and attempted to mace a security guard who confronted her.
Mona Branch, 43, of Garfield, entered the Food Basics store on Lincoln Avenue on Wednesday and allegedly grabbed two liquor bottles off the shelf and placed them in her backpack.
According to Glen Rock Police Cpt. Jonathan Miller, Branch was spotted by a store manager and security guard attempting to leave without paying when the confrontation began.
The security guard, according to Miller, was attempting to detain her while Branch reached into the backpack, pulled out a can of pepper spray and made an attempt to spray him. Police say the attempt was unsuccessful and while gaining control of the accused, an alleged male accomplice approached the guard, who backed down. Branch dropped the backpack and fled with the unidentified male, Miller said.
Police say identifying information and the liquor bottles were found in the backpack, leading them to Branch’s Garfield address.
“It shows how desperate people are to get what they want,” Miller said of the incident.
Branch turned herself in to Glen Rock Police headquarters on Thursday after urging from friends and family, police said.
Due to the alleged threat and attempt at violence, the consequences morphed from what could have been a simple shoplifting charge to charges of armed robbery, criminal possession of a weapon, possession of a weapon with the purpose to use it unlawfully, and shoplifting.
The accomplice could also face charges if apprehended, Miller said. Branch was remanded to Bergen County Jail in lieu of $25,000 bail.
Alabama judge sentences inmate to life in 1979 slaying of sheriff www.privateofficer.com
MONTGOMERY, Alabama July 21 2012 — A Coffee County judge sentenced an Alabama inmate to life in prison without parole for the 1979 shooting death of a county sheriff.
The Dothan Eagle reports the judge vacated the death sentence for 60-year-old Billy Joe Magwood in the shooting death of Sheriff Neil Grantham.
The re-sentencing came in result of the federal appeals court, which overturned the death sentence last year for Magwood.
Magwood was a former jail inmate and was waiting in the jail parking lot in Elba when Grantham arrived on the morning of March 1, 1979. Grantham was shot in the face and neck.
Grantham was one of six people on a hit list created by Magwood. The other five included a judge, an attorney, a banker, car dealer and newspaper editor.
Source:AL.com
Florida man who shot suspects during Internet cafe robbery will not face charges www.privateofficer.com
Marion County Fla July 21 2012 The 71-year-old Florida man who fired his gun at two men trying to rob a crowded Internet café will not face criminal charges, an assistant state attorney general told FoxNews.com
Bill Gladson, the attorney, said he reviewed the security video from the Palms Internet café in central Florida.
The video shows patron Samuel Williams pulling a handgun and shooting. He continues firing while the suspects fall over each other as they run out the door.
Gladson said in the memo Williams’ use of force was lawful under Florida’s statutes regarding individuals rights to use deadly force when resisting a forcible felony, like a robbery.
The Ocala Star-Banner reports one robber pointed a gun at customers while the other swung a baseball bat.
Williams said in a post-incident interview, that he and his wife were at the cafe to play “sweepstakes,” Gladson’s memo said. He heard the commotion and, when given an opportunity, fired his weapon to protect his wife and other patrons, the memo stated.
Duwayne Henderson and Davis Dawkins, both 19, were later arrested and face attempted armed robbery with a firearm and criminal mischief charges. They were transported to Shands at the University of Florida in Gainesville.
Dawkins had a superficial wound in his left arm, but Henderson was shot in two places: his left buttock and his right hip.
Both posted bail and were released.
Williams has a concealed weapons permit. Bill Gladson of the Marion County state attorney’s office says the shooting appears justified.
Neither of the men have a criminal record, authorities said
Source:www.foxnews.com
Ohio prosecutes first casino cheaters cases www.privateofficer.com
CLEVELAND OH July 21 2012 – Suspected cheats charged in Ohio’s first criminal cases since casinos opened in the state this year were up against long odds: more than 1,000 surveillance cameras, undercover state agents and wary dealers.
“If you’re going to cheat, a casino is not a great place to try,” said Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, whose office helps enforce anti-cheating laws at new casinos in Cleveland and Toledo. “You’re not going to get away with it.”
Five suspects pleaded not guilty Wednesday, another was scheduled for arraignment and a seventh person pleaded not guilty earlier. The defendants were allowed to remain free on bond.
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason, whose office is handling Ohio’s first casino cheating cases likes his odds, given the extensive video surveillance in the Horseshoe casino in Cleveland. Casino gambling was legalized in Ohio two years ago but casinos only opened this year.
“If we have to go to trial, we will play the video for the jury and they can watch the defendant move or stack extra chips once the cards have been played,” he said. “It’s not going to be difficult to figure out what they are doing.”
The seven suspects are all from Ohio — one from Akron; the others from the Cleveland area. Most have criminal records including burglary, drugs, theft and insurance fraud.
DeWine said seven defendants doesn’t seem like a lot given the nearly 500,000 people who visited the Horseshoe casino in its first five weeks of operation. The casino opened May 14. Mason said, for now, he thinks the surveillance cameras and other security arrangements have deterred career cheats who work the casino circuit coast-to-coast.
“Maybe when some of those big-time gamblers came in, they saw how it’s being operated here and they kept going, that could be. (But) I don’t think we’ve missed them by any means,” he said.
Karen Huey, enforcement director for the Ohio Casino Control Commission, said itinerant would-be cheats have checked out Ohio’s casinos and security arrangements.
“I think we have had travelers come through, and we certainly have been able to identify those who have been there to look and observe: how good are the dealers? How good is the surveillance? Can they identify who the gaming agents are,” she said.
The cases involve similar scenarios: a dealer, casino employee or security agent monitoring surveillance cameras spots the suspected cheating, often in the pre-dawn hours. One suspect was allowed to play blackjack for another hour before he was confronted. He was allowed to cash out his chips.
Prosecutors said another person pocketed $175 by placing bets after the outcome of a roulette game became known six times and another added chips to a bet after the cards were dealt in a Texas Hold’em game.
Another suspect allegedly distracted the blackjack dealer by talking loudly and pointing to another player while adding to his bet on three occasions. Two others argued with agents when confronted about the alleged gambling and another gave a false identity, prosecutors say.
DeWine said a top goal of casino enforcement is assuring honest gamblers a fair shake. “People need to know that there are rules, the rules are going to be enforced and it’s going to be a legitimate operation,” he said.
Casinos also are planned in Cincinnati and Columbus.
Lower Heidelberg Township police officer charged with theft from associaiton www.privateofficer.com
John J. Masciotti, 41, of the first block of Tennessee Avenue in the township surrendered to detectives and is awaiting arraignment.
The missing money was discovered by bank officials, who notified township police Chief W. Thomas Dieterich.
The money in the account funds labor-related expenses for the seven-member department.
Source: Reading Eagle
Family of man killed at Denver Zoo files lawsuit www.privateofficer.com
The family of Alonzo Ashley, 29, held a candlelight vigil outside the zoo entrance on Wednesday night.
On July 18, 2011, police and zoo security surrounded Ashley after he made several irrational comments, attacked a security guard and threw around trash cans
Zoo security was forced to call police to report a domestic violence incident because the man was shouting, thrashing about and his girlfriend appeared frightened, zoo officials said.
Ashley’s girlfriend confirmed he was upset and offering to fight zoo security officers, but she also told 7NEWS that Ashley appeared to be suffering from heat distress on a hot day. She said he was trying to cool off his head under a drinking fountain when a security guard told him to stop.
When police arrived, they used a Taser on Ashley, who later died.
“Not only did my brother die and got killed last year, also a piece of me got killed last year,” said Ashley’s brother Lendell Ashley.
The coroner found marijuana in Alonzo Ashley’s system and determined he had used cocaine at least one day before his death.
Ashley’s family is now suing the city and county of Denver and the Denver Zoo, along with more than two dozen police officers and zoo employees.
The lawsuit includes claims of wrongful death, excessive and deadly force and inadequate policies and training.
“This whole time, they never said they need to change their training. They said everything the officers did was right,” said Lendell Ashley. “There will be no settlement. There is no amount of money that can take my brother’s place, so that’s not going to happen.”
“You want this in court?” asked 7NEWS reporter Marshall Zelinger.
“It’s going to go in court, yes,” said Lendell Ashley.
Denver city attorney Douglas Friednash provided 7NEWS the following statement Wednesday night:
“We extend our continued sympathies to Alonzo Ashley’s family and loved ones on the anniversary of his death. We understand that Mr. Ashley’s estate has filed a lawsuit against the city, the Denver Zoo and 21 Zoo officials and police officers. The City stands firm that the Zoo and its officials, the city of Denver and police officers acted entirely appropriately in responding to the situation.”
Source:thedenverchannel.com
Bakersfield Police officer arrested after he wanted a woman to exchange sexual favors for her property www.privateofficer.com
On June 10, a woman contacted the Kern County Sheriff’s Office to report she was the victim of a grand theft where several personal items were stolen from her unlocked vehicle.
On July 7, a deputy with the KCSO made a traffic stop on a reported city stolen vehicle.
During the investigation, the woman’s property was found in the stolen vehicle.
Officer Patrick Lefler was sent to assist the deputy, and during the investigation Lefler seized the woman’s property, according to Detective Uriel Pacheco.
On Tuesday, the Bakersfield Police Department started a criminal investigation after receiving information that a Bakersfield Police officer was refusing to return the woman’s stolen property, Pacheco said.
A further investigation revealed that Lefler sent the woman several text messages with sexual connotation, Pacheco said.
Pacheco said Lefler also sent the woman text messages letting her know that he was holding her property because he wanted to meet her in person and engage in sexual intercourse with her.
Pacheco said that the investigation revealed that Lefler falsified his report by indicating that he returned the property to the woman.
However, he never returned the property to the woman and did not book the property until Tuesday, with the exception of her driver’s license, Pacheco said.
A search warrant was obtained for Lefler’s home and patrol vehicle, but the victim’s driver’s license was not located, Pacheco said.
On Wednesday, Lefler was arrested at the Bakersfield Police Department and booked into the Kern County Jail on charges of possession of stolen property, annoying telephone calls and making a false report.
Lefler, who has been an officer for the department since August of 2009, is currently on paid administrative leave.
“Anytime our department has an investigation on one of our officers it’s very disheartening. It dishonors this profession, it violates the trust of this community and this profession as well. Anytime somebody does violate that trust we’re going to act swiftly and assure our biggest concern is the safety of our community. We have hundreds of officers here everyday who put their lives on the line who have not violated that trust who understands the importance of engaging the community and what it means to be a law enforcement officer,” said BPD Captain Hajir Nurridin.
Anyone with information regarding this investigation or believes they have had inappropriate contact by Lefler is encouraged to call Detective William Hughes at 326-3501 or Detective Rick Dossey at 326-3513.
Source:kero.com
Township hires security firm to patrol waterfront parking www.privateofficer.com
Three public meetings have been held about improving the waterfront areas and parking was among those issues targeted for action. Several council members, including Deputy Mayor Isobel Hie and Councillor Donna Cole, as well as township staff, say they are still receiving ongoing parking complaints.
The firm council decided to hire is Commissionaires Security Solutions at a cost of $3,675 for six weeks, although it may cost another $1,000 or so until a longer-term plan is put in place to handle not only violations in two-hour parking areas, but other parking issues in the township. The hourly rate is $17.85 which includes a trained commissionaire and a marked vehicle to patrol specific areas, councillors were informed in a report presented by acting treasurer Barb Goodwin at Tuesday’s council meeting.
Signs limiting parking along the Bewdley waterfront to two hours are to be installed within the week and tickets are ready to go, staff reported.
Council rejected other options of using off-duty OPP officers or hiring a seasonal employee because of their higher costs.
But Mayor Mark Lovshin and local police services board members Councillors Gary Woods and John Davison said they all understood that as part of the newly signed multi-year municipal policing contract with the OPP, some parking enforcement was to be done by the OPP for the township. Woods said he also understood this would be a way to determine the amount of parking violations taking place particularly at the Harwood and Gore’s Landing waterfronts in order to get a handle on cost should more intense enforcement be pursued by council.
“It seems to me this is the dog chasing its tail,” Davison said.
The story from the OPP keeps changing from what is said at the police board, to reports to council and then at meetings with staff, he said.
The new policing contract was to include parking enforcement, but now it appears different, Davison said, agreeing with Woods’s concerns and those expressed by Lovshin about what was to be part of the agreement and what now seems to be excluded.
Loshin recommended that a special committee, comprised of police board representatives from council, township staff and OPP Commander Doug Borton meet to reconsider the matter (since the OPP costing option was a separate contract of $17,850 for the six-week period, compared to the $3,675 cost from commissionaires) in light of council’s more comprehensive understanding of the existing municipal policing contract. That report is come back to council and a long-term solution is to be created, the mayor said.
In the interim, the OPP are being hired at an additional cost of $85 per hour, for four hours, plus $25 for a cruiser, to introduce the two-hour parking enforcement at the Bewdley waterfront starting this Saturday, council decided. The commissionaires will continue until a long-term plan is adopted by council.
As part of the municipal contract, the OPP will enforce parking at the beaches in Harwood and Gore’s Landing, but only if vehicles block the roadway, the township’s new chief administrative officer, John Baird said.
This is not a perfect short-term solution for waterfront parking, but given the timing issue, it’s the best to meet the current tourism season, he said.
Source:sunmedia.ca
ACLU Sues On Behalf Of PA Man Arrested For Recording Police Officer www.privateofficer.com
When Rizer complained to the mayor’s office about the arrest, the Point Marion Police Department arrested him at home and charged him with violating Pennsylvania’s wiretap law, which bans audio recording unless all parties consent. The district attorney has since removed the charges and returned Rizer’s cell phone – without the recording. The ACLU argues that Rizer was within his rights to record the officer because “the state’s Wiretap Act does not apply if the person being recorded does not have a reasonable ‘expectation of privacy.’” ACLU cooperating lawyer Glen Downey explained,
“The explosion of technology that allows almost every citizen to document and record the interactions between police and civilians makes it incumbent that both the officers and those seeking to record them understand that officers cannot shield themselves from public scrutiny by invoking wiretap laws. Police officers performing their official duties do not possess the requisite reasonable expectation of privacy necessary to be covered by the statute.”
There have been reports from across the country of police officers interfering with cell phone recording of their actions. Earlier this month, the New York City Police Department put out a flyer warning against a couple who record “stop-and-frisk” searches in the city. New York’s ACLU chapter released a phone app, “Stop-and-Frisk Watch,” to help New Yorkers hold police officers executing these controversial searches accountable.
Last week, New Jersey’s ACLU chapter released a similar app, “Police Tape,” an Android phone app that allows users to discreetly videotape and record police officers. The app also explains American civil rights and allows users to send recordings to ACLU databases for backup storage.
Conservator charged with raping woman, stealing from couple www.privateofficer.com
Clay County TN July 21 2012 Eight years ago a Tennessee chancery court judge concluded a mentally disabled couple needed a court-appointed conservator because they couldn’t take care of their most basic needs.
Now the family friend given control over every aspect of their lives stands charged with rape by an authority figure, three counts of sexual battery and theft of more than $60,000.
Those charges were filed last month in a criminal case in Clay County Circuit Court against Walter Strong, 66, of Celina. Strong was released on bail and is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 14. Asked if his client would be entering a not guilty plea, Strong’s attorney Jack Lowery said, “absolutely,” but declined further comment.
The charges come at a time when conservatorships are under increased scrutiny in Tennessee, prompting the General Assembly to pass a new law requiring increased disclosure by those seeking to place a person under the control of a conservator. A legislative panel is set to consider additional changes over the summer.
In a separate civil suit filed in U.S. District Court, Craig Fickling, the attorney for the couple, has charged that Strong treated the couple’s funds “as if they were his own,” embezzled just under $100,000 and coerced the woman into performing sexual intercourse.
The Tennessean does not name victims of sexual abuse.
Court records show that the couple were placed in the conservatorship on Aug. 19, 2004, by now-retired Judge Vernon Neal when Strong and a now-deceased sister of the woman filed a petition in Clay County Chancery Court. According to the suit, the wife was born with a mental disability and the husband suffered a traumatic brain injury in 1994.
On July 5, 2011, officials from the state Department of Human Services filed an emergency petition to have Strong removed, citing concerns that the couple were being financially exploited.
Fickling said he did not know what finally alerted state officials to the situation, adding that the couple were living “in absolute squalor.”
‘Tragic situation’
Deborah Raymer, a former neighbor of the couple at a Celina trailer park, said in an interview that the woman came to her a year ago in tears and told her that she had been sexually assaulted. Raymer said she first went to one of the lawyers involved in the conservancy but was rebuffed. She said that she then reported the matter to Adult Protective Services.
“She hadn’t been acting like herself and I asked her what was the matter,” Raymer recalled.
“This is one of those tragic situations,” said Donna DiStefano, assistant executive director of the Tennessee Disability Coalition. “People get put in conservatorships all the time. The courts will generally look to see that the conservator has good intentions. There’s really no oversight.”
She said that if the couple had been getting services from a local social service agency, the problem might have been discovered sooner. There’s usually someone in the system who will spot a problem, she said.
“It’s such a tragic thing. They are so vulnerable,” she said.
According to the complaint, Strong “used his position of authority to coerce” the husband, 50, to provide labor and services. The suit charges that Strong “kept both plaintiffs in a state of peonage” and led the husband to believe that if he didn’t provide labor and services the two “would suffer serious harm.”
Fickling said the case showed “a complete systemic breakdown.”
The civil suit cites repeated examples of Strong converting to his own use the Social Security disability payments the couple received each month. In addition, the suit charges that Strong embezzled $99,687 from the couple by diverting trust fund and pension payments from the couple that he never disclosed to the court.
“Immediately after being appointed conservator for the plaintiffs, Walter Strong began misappropriating and using for his own use, the plaintiffs assets,” the suit charges.
Items purchased with the couple’s money, according to the suit, included a gas grill, a tractor and a $3,600 bedroom set, none of which they ever used.
Annual reports Strong filed with the court did not include any receipts and included thousands of dollars in items that “can only be described as suspicious.”
The suit charges that Strong “routinely refused” to pay the couple’s living expenses until she “performed fellatio on the defendant.”
Fickling said that a new conservator, Kelly Tayes, was appointed for the couple after the state intervened and that for the first time they were recently treated to a trip to Nashville.
“They had never been there before,” he said.
Tayes, who runs a conservatorship business, said the case was “the most heinous I’ve ever seen. I’m not sure she (the victim) will ever recover.”
Source:the Tennessean
Feds indict Danville’s Armet Armored Vehicles on fraud charges
However, according a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s office, federal prosecutors say ARMET “Falsely represented the level of protection provided by armored vehicles used by V.I.P convoys inIraq.”
Prosecutors also say all the money used to make the vehicles for the Department of Defense, was tax payer dollars.
How much are we talking about?
$4,780,000, was for the first contract, to build 24 armored trucks, requested by in April 2006. Three months later, in June, the department of defense ordered eight more trucks for almost $1.6 million, according to the timeline written in the indictment.
Then on November 1, 2006, the indictment says “citing cash flow problems” ARMET asked for an advance, for “$1 million from theUnited States,” according to the indictment.
A month later, the government sent them $825,000. But federal prosecutors say that money was not used to build the armored trucks, instead went to “other business and personal expenditures,” according to the indictment.
According to the indictment, in total ARMET was to build 32 vehicles for more than $6 million. In the end, only seven were built and delivered to the government, of which the government accepted six, and for that the company received just over 2 million dollars.
What was wrong with the trucks? The indictment says, they didn’t pass ballistic protection standards, none could withstand the detonation of a grenade, and at least five of them didn’t even have the right tires; as requested in the contracts.
And while the indictment didn’t indicate if the faulty trucks were used on the battlefied, what we do know is all of them were paid for by you – the taxpayer.
Source:newsadvance.com
Former MT police officer charged with child molestation www.privateofficer.com
Dawson County MT July 21 2012 Taylon Bain, a former Glendive and Malta police officer who once ran for Dawson County Sheriff, has been arrested on child molestation charges.
Bain, 27, faces four counts of sexual intercourse without consent, two counts of sexual abuse of children, and one count of solicitation of tampering with physical evidence, all felonies.
Bain appeared in Dawson County Justice Court on Tuesday and was bound over to District Court.
The arrest was the culmination of at least two years of investigation.
The charging documents identify four female victims between the ages of 13 and 16 between 2004 through 2009.
The documents allege that Bain saved pictures of his alleged victims on his computer and phone.
They say that reportedly met the girls through community groups he was involved in including two through 4-H, one through a dance class, and one through Special Olympics.
Bob Norbie, the president and CEO of Special Olympics Montana, said, “We are deeply saddened to learn that Taylon Bain has been charged with violating an underage volunteer of Special Olympics and others in the Glendive community. As a volunteer, Mr. Bain passed all required volunteer registration and screening processes. Although we have not been contacted by the authorities, Special Olympics will do anything it can to support the investigation into these serious allegations.”
Since leaving law enforcement several years ago Bain has worked as DJ and sound man and for oilfield service companies.
Bain is now held in the Dawson County Correctional Facility on $50,000 bond.
Court records involving another possible suspect are sealed.
Southpark Mall’s roof collapses under heavy rains www.privateofficer.com
Charlotte NC July 21 2012 Strong thunderstorms dumped torrential rainfall Friday evening across parts of the Charlotte area, apparently causing a partial roof collapse at SouthPark Mall and triggering flash flooding elsewhere in south Charlotte.
No injuries were reported at the mall, where 6 to 8 inches of water accumulated in spots. But police say SouthPark Mall has been closed indefinitely.
A flash flood warning remains in effect until 8 p.m. for south Charlotte.
The worst of the storm appears to have hit south Charlotte. NewsChannel 36, the Observer’s news partner, is reporting than 3.52 inches of rain fell near SouthPark between 4:15 and 5:15 p.m.
Automated gauges recorded more than 2 inches in an hour at Alexander Graham Middle School, near Myers Park. But more than 1 1/2 inches fell in less than an hour at other places, such as Camp Thunderbird on Lake Wylie and near Mallard Creek Elementary School.
The heavy storms made a mess of the evening commute. Traffic on Interstate 77 was snarled for about 10 miles, from the uptown area down to the state line.
National Weather Service meteorologists say the heaviest storms have moved east of Mecklenburg County. But additional showers and storms, some with moderate rainfall, continue to push into Charlotte.
AirStar 36, the helicopter operated by NewsChannel 36, the Observer’s news partner, showed two holes in the SouthPark Mall roof. Shoppers said some of the vehicles parked in the basement area of the mall had several inches of water in them.
The scene at the mall was chaotic shortly before 6 p.m., with a half-dozen fire and emergency trucks on the scene, mostly parked around the entrance to the food court. Traffic jams could be seen on roads around the mall as people tried to leave.
Several witnesses said the collapse happened just outside the food court. Winnie Cleary was working at the Haagen Dazs ice cream store in the food court when she said she noticed the roof leaking and the smell of smoke.
“Our manager yelled, ‘Get out!’ We looked around the corner and saw water rushing at us,” she said. “We could see debris in the water.”
Another mall employee, Maggie Johnson, said she was working at the Baby Grocery Store kiosk near the food court when she noticed smoke. “It was like that plastic burning smoke,” Johnson said. Then she saw the roof begin to fall and what looked like ashes and charred parts of the ceiling coming down.
Water began flooding in, and was quickly up to her ankles. She said she tried to throw a plastic cover on the cash register but people were yelling to get out so she ran.
One woman who said she worked at the Lacoste store said she saw mobs of people running by the store screaming and thought there had been a shooting.
The mall parking lot was mostly cleared out shortly after 6 p.m. Mall security began kicking stragglers out, including reporters and cameramen. Firemen could be seen entering the mall with large squeegees to clean up the water.
Flooding also was reported on Johnny Cake Lane, about 2 miles southeast of the mall. Residents reported several feet of water on the road.
Source:www.charlotteobserver.com
Three men charged in Maryland armored car robbery www.privateofficer.com
The indictment charges the three with the armed robbery of the Navy Federal Credit Union on Branch Avenue in Clinton Sept. 20, 2011, the Walmart in the 6200 block of Annapolis Road in Hyattsville Oct. 7, 2011, and the Bowie Walmart Jan. 16, 2012.
All total, the trio netted close to $300,000 in the three robberies.
Davon Stephon Williams, 22, Jeffery Louis Adams, 33, and Antonio Lamont Gaithers, 31, all of Washington, D.C., are charged in the six count indictment with multiple counts of armed robbery and the use of a handgun during the commission of a felony.
In the robbery at the Bowie Walmart, the suspects pulled up to a Garda armored car that was picking up the weekend’s receipts. One suspect jumped out, pointed a gun at the Garda employee and grabbed several bags that contained over $88,000 in cash and $13,000 in checks.
The suspects then fled the scene in a van they had stolen from a D.C. charter school and dumped the van at a farm on Mill Branch Road and fled in another vehicle.
All three suspects remain in custody awaiting trial.
Source:bladenews.com
NJ mall security officer attacked during shoplifting www.privateofficer.com
According to Moorestown Police, Darrius Abdullah, 45, of Old York Road, tried to steal eight watches, worth a total of $239.84, from Macy’s on July 16. When a security officer tried to detain him, Abdullah punched the guard in the face, spit on him, and broke a display table, police said.
Abdullah was charged with simple assault, shoplifting and criminal mischief and committed to Burlington County Jail on $10,000 bail.
Police said the security officer sustained only a minor injury from the punch and refused medical treatment.
TN accidentially releases armed and dangerous prisoner www.privateofficer.com
MARYVILLE TN July 21 2012 - Local law enforcement officers and U.S. marshals are on the lookout for a man they say is armed and extremely dangerous.
They are searching for Dewyatt Allen Hill, 55, a man who was convicted in federal court for involvement in the “take-down style” robbery of several CVS pharmacies in the Knoxville area.
Hill was sentenced to 75 years and was being held at the Blount County Jail on charges from the county and the state.
He was released Wednesday from the Blount County Jail, but it is unclear why he was released.
In a press release issued Friday, Blount County Sheriff James Berrong said an investigation into how and why Hill was released will be conducted after Hill is back in custody.
Hill, who also goes by the nicknames “Jughead” or “Jug”, is 5’7″ and around 125 pounds with brown hair and green eyes.
U.S. Marshals spokesman Ron Gibbs said officers are focusing their search on the entire East Tennessee area.
“We’re not certain where he might be or headed,” Gibbs said. “We have leads from other areas of the state and we are following up on those leads.”
Anyone with any information about the whereabouts of Hill is asked to contact the U.S. Marshals Service at (865) 545-4182.
Source: WATE
Miami-Dade Kindergarten Teacher Arrested for Burglary, Heroin Found in Car www.privateofficer.com
Miami Fla July 21 2012 Reina Herrera, a Miami-Dade kindergarten teacher, was sent to adult timeout this week for attempting to burglarize a home. Herrera, a teacher at Earlington Heights Elementary, had also stolen items from the home twice in May and had a previous burglary arrest in 2010.
Suspected heroin was also found in her car.
A witness spotted Herrera breaking into the home at 3520 SW 59th Ave. on Tuesday, according to the Miami Herald. Police arrived and arrested the 32-year-old teacher.
Herrera confessed to breaking into the home twice before. She swiped $3,500 on May 10, and then on May 17 took a $1,000 engagement ring and a pearl necklace. It’s not known if Herrera knew anyone who lived in the home.
Police also found three bags of what is believed to be heroin in her car, along with a needle, spoon, and tourniquet. Checks worth $600 were also found. Those checks were reported missing June 6.
Herrera had previously been arrested on burglary charges in 2010 but avoided prosecution. She was ordered to undergo court-supervised treatment instead.
Source:Miami New Times
Corning West high school teacher arrested on drug charges www.privateofficer.com
Heather Darcangelo of Corning was arrested in Centerway Square on Thursday.
Police say they were tipped off that she was heading there to meet someone to buy narcotic drugs without a prescription.
Police say the 38-year-old contacted a local pharmacy and tried to get an employee to steal drugs in exchange for money.
She’s charged with attempted criminal possession of a controlled substance.
Darcangelo, of Cutler Avenue in corning, was not home when we tried to reach her for comment.
The Corning – Painted Post district declined to go on camera but confirmed to us that Darcangelo is a tenured high school English teacher at West High. A spokesperson says the district will wait to see how the situation plays out before deciding on a course of action.
This is not the first time Darcangelo has been in trouble with the law.
She was arrested about a year ago for stealing from a Dollar General store in Painting Post.
Dana Schmidt graduated from West in June. She had Darcangelo when she was a freshman.
“She’s not a really good role model for the other students if that’s the kind of expectation level she’s setting for the students she’s being an example for,” Schmidt says. “It’s disappointing.”
“It doesn’t really surprise me because I’ve heard things before,” says Brett Horton, who lives across the street from Darcangelo.
Schmidt is still in jail as of Friday evening on a $10,000 cash bail.
Source:WETM
Fort Lee Army officer commits suicide at shooting range www.privateofficer.com
Fort Lee officials said 2nd Lt. James R. Cho, 26, whose home address was listed as LaGrange, Ill., was a U.S. Army Reserve officer who entered service in January 2011. He was attending the Quartermaster Basic Officer Leader Course and assigned to Bravo Company, 71st Transportation Battalion, U.S. Army Logistics University, since June 2012.
Colonial Heights police said they are investigating whether Cho died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police said Cho was a customer at The Smoking Gun shooting range at 127 Boulevard when the shooting took place about 7 p.m. He was the only person on the range at the time, and employees discovered his body after hearing a gunshot.
The victim was taken to Southside Regional Hospital, where he died of his wounds. Police do not suspect foul play.
The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command is assisting Colonial Heights police in the investigation.
Memphis security officer in serious condition after being shot www.privateofficer.com
The 43-year-old man employed by ASAP Security was listed in serious condition later at the Regional Medical Center at Memphis.
The guard, providing security for B&N Bar & Grill at 3558 Tchulahoma, was attempting to clear the parking lot of a neighboring Piggly Wiggly at 3237 Winchester when he was shot about 3 a.m., according to a preliminary police investigation.
Witnesses described a gold or champagne-colored, Pontiac or Toyota Camry, possibly a 1996 model, with three or four men in it.
Anyone with information can contact CrimeStoppers anonymously at (901) 528-CASH; on the Internet at 528cash.org, or by texting the keyword “award” to 274637 (crimes).
Armed robbery suspect ambushes mall security officer www.privateofficer.com
But the robbery suspect apparently did not take into account that a police officer might drive by, authorities said.
That’s what happened about 8:30 a.m. when investigators said a police officer saw a gun-wielding, ski-masked Terrance Thompkins, 17, trying to force an unarmed security guard to open M&F Check Cashing, one of several businesses at the mall in the 900 block of Market Street.
After dropping the gun, mask and his cell phone, Thompkins led police on a car chase, hitting one car a few blocks away before crashing into a pole at 14th and Poplar streets, getting trapped in the vehicle and being arrested.
“He had planned it out, but didn’t think about OPD patrolling and that’s what cost him,” said lead investigator Officer Omar Daza-Quiroz.
Thompkins, who turns 18 on July 26, has been charged with attempted armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon and will be prosecuted as an adult, authorities said. Police said he has admitted his involvement. He is scheduled to enter a plea to the charges July 30.
Daza-Quiroz said Thompkins confronted the 58-year-old security guard outside the not yet open check cashing business and wanted him to open the door. But the guard did not have keys to the business which also has an ATM and is an authorized cell phone franchise.
Shedding his loaded pistol, mask and phone, which were recovered by police, Thompkins got into his car and sped off with police in pursuit. A few minutes later Thompkins crashed and was arrested.
Besides his admissions, Daza-Quiroz said police searched Thompkins’s East Oakland home and recovered a notebook containing several pages of notes taken during his surveillance of the mall.
Police said the notes included times the different businesses at the mall opened, arrivals and departures of employees and when security guards made their rounds. There was also an entry noting the exact time an armored truck left one of the stores.
But nothing about Oakland police patrols.
Source:mercury news
