Archive
Line of Duty Death Deputy Sheriff Sergio Aleman
Deputy Sheriff
Sergio Aleman
Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office, Wisconsin
End of Watch: Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Bio & Incident Details
Age: Not available
Tour: Not available
Badge # Not available
Cause: Automobile accident
Incident Date: 7/31/2012
Weapon: Not available
Suspect: Not available
Deputy Sheriff Sergio Aleman was killed in an automobile accident on I-43, at Winnebago Street, at approximately 12:15 pm.
The sheriff’s office motorist assistance truck struck the back of a flatbed tow truck that was stopped on the shoulder of the highway. Deputy Aleman was extricated from the vehicle and transported to Froedtert Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Please contact the following agency to send condolences or to obtain funeral arrangements:
Sheriff David Clarke Jr.
Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office
821 West State Street
Room 107
Milwaukee, WI 53233
Phone: (414) 278-4766
MD man kills 2-year-old daughter, wife-commits suicide www.privateofficer.com
OWINGS, Md.Aug 1 2012 — Authorities in eastern Maryland say a man, woman and a 2-year-old girl are dead following an apparent murder-suicide.
Calvert County officials say 32-year-old Frank Hayward killed his wife, Cynthia, and the couple’s daughter before killing himself Tuesday morning inside the family home in Owings.
Sheriff’s deputies found the bodies after responding to a report of a domestic disturbance.
The couple’s 12-year-old son was being treated at a hospital for burns and lacerations to the neck. There was a fire in the home when authorities arrived, and officials say Hayward had barricaded himself inside the home and was making threats.
No motive was immediately revealed.
College professor charged with arsons at Orange County high school www.privateofficer.com
SANTA ANA, Calif. Aug 1 2012– A college professor has been charged with arson after he’s accused of setting a series of fires this month at an Orange County high school and threatened to kill school officials and students after his son committed suicide, authorities said Tuesday.
Rainer Reinscheid, 48, is expected to appear in court Tuesday after he was charged with five counts of arson, one count of attempted arson and a misdemeanor count of resisting or obstructing a police officer. If convicted, he faces up to nearly 13 years in prison.
Prosecutors said Reinscheid started five fires at University High School earlier this month where his son had attended and had been disciplined this past spring. The teen killed himself at a park preserve where his father allegedly committed the arsons.
Reinscheid was arrested last week and posted $50,000 bail.
On Friday, authorities found emails on Reinscheid’s cell phone they said described a plot to burn down the high school, commit sexual assaults and purchase weapons to murder school officials and students before killing himself.
Prosecutors said they believe Reinscheid was acting alone but it wasn’t clear if he was targeting anyone specifically.
“I can only at this point tell you, he laid out in sufficient detail plans to purchase guns and murder lots of people,” said Orange County Deputy District Attorney Andrew Katz.
Prosecutors are seeking no bail.
Reinscheid is a professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of California, Irvine and has been there for about 12 years.
It wasn’t immediately known if Reinscheid had retained an attorney.
Source:www.azcentral.com
Glassworks embezzler sentenced to 10 years for taking $727,000 www.privateofficer.com
Louisville KY Aug 1 2012 Her voice cracking with emotion, the former chief financial officer of Glassworks and Architectural Glass Art apologized for embezzling $726,907 from the two companies as she was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in prison for her crimes.
“I am here today to take responsibility for the actions that have caused so much pain to so many people and for that I am truly sorry,” Latrisha Riedling, 43, told Jefferson Circuit Judge Susan Schultz Gibson.
But her victims, Kenneth von Roenn and his daughter Page, described how Riedling’s thievery forced them to sell Glassworks and has driven their other company — the 137-year-old Architectural Glass Art — to the brink of bankruptcy, devastating their family’s finances and forcing them to lay off 25 employees over the years.
In their emotional testimony, they described how their small, family owned companies and their families and others were devastated by Riedling’s crimes.
Offering victim-impact statements tinged with sadness and anger, Kenneth von Roenn described how he will never see a penny of the $2 million he invested in Glassworks, which he founded 10 years ago and was forced to sell to his landlord last year.
“I have no savings, I will never be able to retire. I will have to work until the day I die,” he said, adding that Riedling, who was hired as a bookkeeper in 2005, expressed remorse only on the day she tried to save her job and Tuesday at her sentencing.
Page von Roenn, the surviving company’s vice president, recalled how her father stayed at cheap motels because he thought Glassworks’ fortunes were declining. One time, she said, his credit card was refused and he called Riedling, who was dining at Jeff Ruby’s at company expense, to ask for another card number.
“She stole so she could eat out seven days a week,” Page von Roenn said. “She stole so she could shop.”
Court records showed that from April 2005 to June 2011, the companies earned more than $700,000 — most of it in cash — yet Riedling deposited only $8,000 into their bank accounts.
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Stacy Greive said Riedling also wrote checks to herself and overpaid her husband, who worked for the company. He was not charged.
She pleaded guilty last month to 21 counts of theft in a plea bargain that allows her to seek shock probation, although Greive said she would oppose it.
Gibson ordered her to pay $676,970 in restitution, giving her credit for $50,000 the companies received in insurance money, but declined to even consider granting probation.
“Every week I am faced with people who steal because they have a drug habit or because they have no money and never will have any money, and I send those people to prison,” she said. “So how on Earth could I not sentence you to prison?”
In an interview after Riedling was taken away to jail, Kenneth von Roenn said: “It was good to close this chapter but the story will go on and on. The ripples are never ending. We will survive, but the damage she has done to her own family is devastating. How do you ever overcome something like that?”
Page von Roenn described in court how Riedling’s disloyalty was particularly crushing because the company had treated her like family and she had considered her a close friend, accompanying her to Las Vegas, for example, for her 40th birthday.
Riedling’s lawyer, Chris Klein, declined to discuss her motivation for taking the money. He intends to file a motion to seek her release on shock probation after she serves between 30 and 180 days of her sentence.
Riedling disputed the amount she was charged with stealing, saying it was less. But the von Roenns described how their losses far exceeded the amount taken because they had to pay $100,000 to an accountant to re-balance their books and to shell out additional money for other expenses.
In 2001, von Roenn moved his company from the Highlands to West Market Street, and the companies started a gallery that featured the work of local artists and also offered glass-blowing workshops.
Riedling, who eventually was promoted to CFO, had complete control of finances, from reimbursement checks to deposits to payroll.
After being forced to eliminate raises, reduce hours and lay off some employees, the family finally realized in June 2011, while restructuring finances, that Riedling was siphoning money from the companies into her own accounts.
When the von Roenns decided they couldn’t keep Glassworks open, Bill Weyland, managing director of City Properties Group, which owns the building, took over operations and created Glassworks Studio LLC.
The von Roenns were forced to move their surviving company, Architectural Glass Art, to cheaper quarters at 621 E. Main Street
Source:Courier-Journal.com
MD pastor gets 27 months in prison www.privateofficer.com
Greenbelt MD Aug 1 2012 Robert J. Freeman, a charismatic Southern Maryland pastor and longtime televangelist, drove fancy cars and lived in a $1.75 million home on the Potomac River that has five fireplaces, a jet-ski lift and two four-car garages.
To finance that lifestyle, federal prosecutors said, Freeman turned to his followers to purchase the vehicles and waterfront property. Many, it turned out, could not afford it.
On Monday, Freeman, 56, who headed Save the Seed ministry in Waldorf, was sentenced to more than two years in prison in a related bankruptcy case. Prosecutors said he hid church assets to avoid paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in debts.
“Freeman lived a life of fraud and deception, using millions of dollars from church members, and fraudulently obtained credit to pay for luxury cars and a mansion while falsely representing in court that he was indigent,” Maryland U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein said in a statement.
Freeman, who was known as “Dr. Shine,” said in court that he takes responsibility for lying during bankruptcy proceedings. But he said his congregation willingly funded purchases on behalf of the church.
“I did all this publicly,” Freeman told the judge in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt. “There wasn’t nothing shady about it.”
A self-described former drug addict, Freeman, who lives in Indian Head in Charles County, built his brand and ministry over the past two decades through TV broadcasts and an unorthodox approach to drug treatment that began in Prince George’s County.
Freeman directed church members to take out loans to purchase the cars, including a Bentley and a Maybach, and the mansion. When the church could not cover the bills, church members were on the hook for the debt and in some cases lost their homes and jobs.
Even after Freeman and his former wife, Claudette “Dee Dee” Freeman, filed for bankruptcy, federal prosecutors say he convinced a church member to lease or buy three more Mercedes Benzes and a Lincoln Navigator.
“The essence of this crime was taking advantage of unwitting people,” District Judge Roger W. Titus said before sentencing Freeman to 27 months in prison — six months more than prosecutors sought. Titus also ordered Freeman to pay more than $630,000 to four church members who took out loans to purchase the cars and mansion.
About half of that money will go to former church members Brenton and Wendy Cloud of Edgewater. “When you’re in it, you think you’re doing the will of God, but it’s deceptive,” Brenton Cloud said. “I’m glad it’s over and he can’t dupe anyone else for at least another two years.”
In court papers, Freeman blamed predatory lending practices, the economic downturn and his sixth-grade education for his financial undoing. The mansion, he said, was the pastor’s residence but also was a retreat and conference center. The cars, he said, were used by church leaders.
In testimony infused with biblical passages, Freeman and his attorney sought to turn the courtroom into something of a church sanctuary. More than a dozen church members and supporters were in attendance.
Roland Patterson, Freeman’s former attorney, testified for the defense that the pastor encouraged church members to sacrifice and make gifts to the church so that they would benefit economically through what he called the “Prosperity Doctrine.”
“He was not out to benefit himself; he was out to benefit his congregation,” defense attorney Guana E. Williams said.
In response, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mara Zusman Greenberg asked, “Does the Prosperity Doctrine direct people to lie to the bankruptcy court?”
In 2005, the Freemans filed for bankruptcy, stating that they had no assets. Freeman said then that the couple “lost our ministry.” He also presented fake pay stubs from a maintenance company.
Twenty years ago, Freeman was forced to move his ministry from Prince George’s County because of concerns about overcrowding. A 1991 story in The Washington Post described how Freeman used 10- to 12-hour Bible study sessions to “detox” drug addicts and occasionally turned to exorcisms. Freeman acknowledged that he sometimes struck participants to maintain order.
At the time, judges were referring drug offenders to the program.
By 2000, Freeman had transformed himself into what he called the “Top Gun of Deliverance.” By Freeman’s count, the program helped about 4,000 people struggling with drug addiction between 1991 and 2001. His sermons were picked up by the Word Network, a Christian television station.
Freeman’s ex-wife has started her own ministry and continues to hold services, teach classes and lead broadcasts from Waldorf.
Source:Washington Post
UF student accidentally shot while sleeping www.privateofficer.com
Gainesville, FL Aug 1 2012 Chris Joyce woke up early in the morning in the worst pain he had ever experienced.
He crawled out of bed and tried to massage out what he thought was a bad cramp. Then he saw the blood.
What Joyce didn’t know was that a 9mm bullet had traveled through the wall of his 2nd Avenue Centre apartment early July 9 and lodged itself in his left leg.
“You don’t jump to gunshot,” said Joyce, a 20-year-old political science and philosophy junior. He assumed it was an ordinary injury, maybe a scratch.
The wound bled through a dressing Joyce made from a First Aid kit. He called his father, a trauma surgeon in Punta Gorda, and wrapped a towel around his leg to try to stop the bleeding.
The pain didn’t subside, so he went to the infirmary at about 9 a.m.
After the first set of X-rays, doctors told Joyce they had to take some more scans because they found shrapnel in his leg. He was shocked.
Joyce was transferred to the emergency room at Shands at UF and questioned by a detective. Police would later take out a section of a wall to determine the type of bullet.
Joyce said Gainesville Police learned a security guard’s gun accidentally discharged in the room adjacent to Joyce’s.
The security officer confessed to police, but police withheld his name because the investigation is ongoing.
Joyce said he wasn’t planning on pressing charges and was undecided about any other legal action.
About a half hour after Joyce was shot, a security guard knocked on his door, asking about a noise. Joyce figured the guard just heard him scream.
Doctors said the bullet missed his important nerves, blood vessels and bones.
They left the bullet because it was embedded deep in the muscle.
Now, Joyce said, the process of recovery begins. He has since moved out of his apartment.
He said he was disappointed by the security guard’s delayed reaction to the shooting.
On July 13, 2nd Avenue Centre property manager Scott Orphan released this statement:
“Relating to an incident that occurred on 7/9/12 near 2nd Ave Centre, there were no employees or residents involved. The incident involved a security officer from One Global Security who accidentally discharged a firearm.”
Both Joyce and his 24-year-old sister, Elyse,are just glad he escaped with minor injuries.
“He definitely has a guardian angel in that room,” she said.
Source: The Alligator
Armed robbers storm Fla. jewelry store -disarm security-shoot clerk www.privateofficer.com
Hialeah Fla Aug 1 2012 Police said they are investigating a robbery of a Hialeah in which an armed man shot an employee.
He was one of three armed suspects who stormed into the ABC Jewelry Store at 3580 West 18th Avenue in Hialeah just before 6 p.m., police said.
“Everyone was scared for their lives,” Hialeah Police spokesman Det. Carl Zogby said.
The suspects ordered the customers and workers to the ground then started smashing the display cases and taking jewelry. They also took the gun from the security guard who was working inside, police said.
“At some point during this robbery, which took maybe a couple of minutes, they shot the sales clerk,” Zogby said. “He’s been shot at least one time in the abdomen. He’s been transported to Jackson Hospital. He’s in stable condition.”
The victim is Albert Cruz’s cousin.
“It’s shocking, its kind of like you don’t want to believe it,” Cruz said.
The three men took the jewelry and took off in a white car, police said.
Cruz, who owns the store, was not inside when the crime happened but rushed over as soon as he heard about it.
“He’s been around for many years, very successful store, a landmark here in Hialeah, and he’s never been robbed before – just his unlucky day,” Zogby said.
Source:NBC6
Intoxicated teen girl assaults hospital nurses, security officers www.privateofficer.com
Police said a drunken 15-year-old girl found unconscious in the street at a mobile home park Sunday afternoon was arrested after punching and kicking nurses and security guards at Porter hospital.
About 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Porter County sheriff’s police responded to Liberty Farm, 76 E. U.S. 6, where an 87-year-old woman said she looked outside, saw something on the ground and discovered it was the girl.
Two women who were driving by said the elderly woman flagged them down, so they stopped and discovered the girl had shallow breathing and a faint pulse.
They called medics who took the girl to Porter hospital in Valparaiso for treatment.
At the hospital, a nurse told police the girl regained consciousness and had to be put in restraints because of her combative attitude.
After being found with a 0.28 blood alcohol content and cleared for release, hospital staff began removing the restraints and said the girl spit on and punched a nurse, then kicked a security guard in the face.
Police said the restraints were put back on until she calmed down.
The girl’s mother reportedly said the 15-year-old and her 13-year-old sister were babysitting for a neighbor at the time of the incident. The girl’s sister reportedly told their mother that her intoxicated sister drank four glasses of Jagermeister before leaving the mobile home during an argument.
Police said the intoxicated girl was taken to the Porter County Juvenile Detention Center where she’ll face a magistrate for alleged battery, battery by bodily fluid, disorderly conduct and minor consumption of alcohol.
During transport, the girl reportedly didn’t remember the incident and police said she was apologetic. She said she drank because she “was bored and wanted to get hyper.”
Source: nwi.com
Man accused of flinging blood at bar security www.privateofficer.com
Officers working the bar enforcement detail around 2:45 a.m. spoke to security guards from the bar at 212 S. Ludlow St. They told them that a man who had been assaulted in bar fight purposely flung blood on their faces when they tried to help him, according to police reports.
Police located Julian Johnson, 28, covered in blood as he was leaving the bar, and tried to get him to sit down so they could call medics for the laceration on his head, according to the report.
Police said Johnson was highly intoxicated and refused to cooperate.
As they were trying to get him to sit down, another fight broke out in the bar, occupying one of the officers while the other attempted to lead Johnson to the cruiser, police said.
The report indicates police put Johnson on the ground to stop him from spraying blood, at which point Johnson began yelling and trying to get away.
An officer in distress signal was issued to bring in more officers.
Johnson, slippery from the blood, resisted handcuffs until backup units responded, authorities said.
The report indicated Johnson tried to grab an officer even after they put him in handcuffs and refused to provide his information.
Medics took Johnson to Miami Valley Hospital after police arrested him on suspicion of misdemeanor charges of assault, disorderly conduct, obstructing official business and resisting arrest.
Source:dayton daily news
C&D employee arrested in Manatee, charged with grand theft www.privateofficer.com
EAST MANATEE Fla Aug 1 2012 – A long-time employee of C&D Fruit and Vegetable on State Road 64 was arrested Wednesday and charged with grand theft in excess of $100,000, a first degree felony.
Bradenton’s Martha A. Kutz, 59, used her position with the company to embezzle $549,468 during the last five years, according to a release from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Thursday.
The case against Kutz, whose position with the company was not identified, was assembled by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, the state attorney’s office of the 12th Judicial Circuit and the Florida Attorney General’s office.
Employees at the farm directed all comments to owner Tom O’Brien, who was not available Thursday.Kutz posted a $100,000 bond, according to the sheriff’s office’s website.
Source:www.bradenton.com
Las Vegas judge tells constables to stay on own turf www.privateofficer.com
LAS VEGAS NV Aug 1 2012 –Late last year, Laughlin Constable Jordan Ross opened a Las Vegas bureau in direct competition with Las Vegas Constable John Bonaventura.
Bonaventura was upset by the move and when he couldn’t cajole Ross and Henderson Constable Earl Mitchell into staying out of Las Vegas, he sued.
On Friday, a judge ruled in his favor and ordered all constables to stay on their own turf.
Nevada has 14 constables, 11 serving in Clark County.
Their primary purpose is to serve civil court papers, but some also execute evictions and ticket drivers who fail to register their vehicles in Nevada.
Until Ross’ recent venture, historically the constables have operated primarily in their own jurisdictions.
Judge Ron Israel issued a preliminary injunction preventing all constables from performing duties outside of the township they represent.
I-Team: Constable Turf Wars Erupt
“I think it sends a clear message to the other constables,” Bonaventura said. “‘Quit violating the law. Your sworn to uphold the law, you’re law enforcement officers, you’re held to a higher standard,’ so they need to comply with the law.”
Ross said his Las Vegas bureau has 12 deputy constables who are contract employees.
The judge’s ruling, he said, means they can no longer work.
Ross said he plans to appeal the judge’s decision.
Former Catawba College soccer coach indicted on child sex charges www.privateofficer.com
SALISBURY NC Aug 1 2012 A grand jury has indicted former Catawba College soccer coach Ralph Wager on child sex charges in connection with offenses that allegedly occurred more than two decades ago.
Wager was indicted on nine charges in all, including multiple counts of first-degree sex offense, crimes against nature and taking indecent liberties with a child, according to court filings released Tuesday.
The alleged acts occurred between 1987 and 1989 when the victim was 9 and 11 years old, according to arrest warrants filed earlier this month.
Wager, 69, had been set to appear at a probable cause hearing Wednesday, but the grand jury indictment means that proceeding is no longer necessary. He remains in jail under a $1 million bond.
The indictment came amid new reports that some of the alleged sex acts occurred on the Catawba College campus.
The Salisbury Post reported Monday that investigators believe some of the abuse occurred in a home and office Wager had on campus. They also said abuse allegations prompted Wager to resign, the newspaper reported, citing filings by prosecutors.
Those court filings were not available on Tuesday.
Catawba is working with outside investigators on its own probe into the claims, including interviewing former employees. A judge recently ordered the college to turn over documents as part of the Wager investigation.
Wager has been a fixture in the youth soccer community for years. He most recently worked at the Steele Creek Soccer Club in Charlotte, but has been suspended indefinitely by the N.C. Youth Soccer Association
Source:www.charlotteobserver.com
Springfield University Plaza Hotel and Convention Center employee given prison in thefts www.privateofficer.com
The U.S. Attorney’s office says 47-year-old Janet Mosier, of Springfield, must also repay the stolen money under the sentence she received Thursday in federal court.
Mosier was the director of accounting services at Springfield University Plaza Hotel and Convention Center.
In a guilty plea earlier this year, Mosier admitted stealing from a petty cash account from 2003 through 2010.
Prosecutors said Mosier resident submitted receipts from her personal expenses and others she got from family members to support inflated reports of petty cash outlays.
Former teacher Donald Ingerson charged with rape www.privateofficer.com
St. Louis County, Mo Aug 1 2012 – St. Louis County police want potential victims of Donald Ingerson to come forward, according to St. Louis County police.
The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged the 67-year-old former teacher with one count of rape and second-degree statutory sodomy.
Police said Ingerson, of Ely, Minnesota, taught in the St. Louis-area at various districts in the 1960s through the 1990s before moving to Minnesota.
NewsChannel 5 has learned Ingerson taught science and coached at McCluer High School in the Ferguson-Florissant School District from 1987-2010. A spokesperson for the school district said it received no complaints while Ingerson taught there.
St. Louis County police identified two potential victims and are asking any other potential victims to call 314-889-2341.
Ingerson is currently being held on a $300,000 cash only bond.
Source:KSDK
Security managers at Florida airport were unlicensed www.privateofficer.com
Hollywood Fla Aug 1 2012 Two of the people in charge of security at both the Port Everglades Seaport and the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport weren’t even licensed Florida security guards — and one of them, District Manager Anne Marie Cummings, was denied licenses on multiple occasions, according to a report released this morning by the Broward Office of the Inspector General.
AlliedBarton Security services began overseeing security operations at both the Seaport and Fort Lauderdale Airport in 2010 and knowingly employed two managers who weren’t properly licensed to run the operation, the report says.
That, however, is probably as far as it will go: Though Cummings and Project Manager David Macedo ran the day-to-day operations of both locations for AlliedBarton, Cummings was “terminated” in May, and Macedo has since gotten licensed.
AlliedBarton, in a statement sent to New Times, said it “respectfully disagrees with the Broward County Office of the Inspector General’s interpretation of Florida law regarding managers’ licenses.” It says the company believes it was “at all times in compliance,” and that the companiy’s “personnel are highly qualified and are extensively screened” with both Homeland Security and the TSA, which “exceeds that conducted by the State of Florida licensing authorities.”
They also pointed out that the company has never been cited by the state or county in regards to its managers’ licenses.
AlliedBarton has a five-year, $19.5-million contract with the county that includes, according to the OIG, “checkpoint security, patrol duty, opening of gates, checking credentials and traffic control.” Private security workers in Florida require licenses — which neither Cummings nor Macedo had. From the report:
Richard Mullan, Vice President/General Manager for AlliedBarton, and the company’s top executive in Florida, told the OIG that he knew Ms. Cummings and Mr. Macedo were not licensed when he assigned them their responsibilities, and he did so because — in his opinion — the statute did not require either of them to be licensed.
Unfortunately for Mullan, the state’s Division of Licensing says otherwise — which the company could very well have been aware of. Cummings allegedly applied for two different licenses and was denied, “in part because it concluded that she did not have the security experience required to qualify for the licenses.” One of those licenses was a Class “D” license — required of even the lowest-level private security guards. She told investigators AlliedBarton found out about the investigation in March and “had cited the existence of it as a reason for her termination.”
The OIG does say that, outside of the two central managers being unqualified, there were no security concerns at either location.
Mobile Alabama police sweep city-arrest 275-recover 28 guns www.privateofficer.com
MOBILE, Alabama Aug 1 2012– In two weeks, 275 people have been arrested and 28 guns seized during the Mobile Police Department’s newest campaign on crime known as Operation IMPACT.
The arrests resulted in those 275 people being charged with 104 felonies and 387 misdemeanors, police said today.
Mobile Police Chief Micheal Williams announced the two-week numbers today during the Mobile City Council meeting.
He said the operation is expected to continue through the summer, and more results will be released as they become available.
“We’ve expended substantial overtime on special tactical units,” Mobile Mayor Sam Jones told the council after Williams’ report. “Our goal is to make it uncomfortable for the criminal element.”
Williams also released details about how many youth have been detained since a teen curfew was enacted. Since November, he said, 408 teens were detained. Of that total, 277 were males and 131 were female, Williams said. Police detained 272 of the teens during non-school hours.
On July 18, Williams and Jones announced the formation of Operation IMPACT, which stands for Integrated Municipal Police Anti-Crime Team, to thwart gun and drug problems in Mobile.
Jones said the initiative is the result of the recent wave of gun and drug crimes.
Jones said the city would give Williams “whatever resources” he needed to stamp out violent crime. The campaign against crime calls for deploying more than 50 officers into the Mobile community to focus primarily on crimes involving guns and drugs.
Police officials have identified problem areas where tapped officers will be dispatched. The department also has initiated a gun buyback program that will offer gift cards from area retailers to those who turn in illegal firearms.
Another goal of the IMPACT program involves offering incentives for those that provide police with information, including offering $100 rewards for tips.
Residents can call 251-208-7000 or text 274637 to report illegal guns, drugs or other criminal activity, authorities have said.
Source:AL.com
Homestead Teacher Andre Martinez Arrested for Sex with Former Students www.privateofficer.com
Homestead Fla aug 1 2012 Andre Martinez, a teacher at a charter school in Homestead, was arrested yesterday on allegations that he carried on long-term sexual relationships with two former underage students. Martinez taught cinematography at Keys Gate Charter School, and the abuse is believed to have started back in 2010.
Martinez was held last night in jail on two counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor. He has since posted his $15,000 bail and was released.
Police have not released the exact ages of the girls, but both are still under 18. Details of the relationship, including where they took place, also have not been released.
Police believe that there may be additional victims.
Since there aren’t a lot of details yet, cue the TV stations going the “let’s interview random parents” route. NBC 6 managed to grab this quote:
“I think if the charges are true, we should castrate him and then worry about the court system later. That’s what I think having a daughter,” Riva Steinman, a mother of two, said. “I have zero tolerance — in any school, to any young lady.”
Obviously Martinez will not be castrated, but (assuming none of the girls were under 16) he could face up to 15 years in jail for each charges.
Source:Miami News Times
Calif. Detective Sues City Over Suspension www.privateofficer.com
The detective, Scott Miller, is suing the city of Bakersfield and City Manager Alan Tandy over a 120-hour unpaid suspension in 2010 that he says was unwarranted and carried out illegally.
The city is responding by saying Miller’s suspension was the least punishment he deserved after botching several investigations and ignoring an order to refrain from working overtime.
Miller is asking that the suspension be removed from his record, which would also restore his pay from those days.
Outside counsel Chris Hagan, who is representing the city, declined to comment.
Court documents revealed Miller’s suspension stemmed from a number of investigations the city said Miller compromised. Two murders, one attempted murder, a robbery, a felony driving under the influence and a child molestation case couldn’t be properly prosecuted because of Miller, according to documents written by Hagan on the city’s behalf.
Miller’s “well documented performance deficiencies and insubordination,” the city alleges, included failing to record witnesses’ statements, forgetting to book evidence, being unprepared on the witness stand, accidentally recording himself making disparaging remarks about witnesses and failing to conduct follow-ups such as a shoe print comparison and gunshot residue test.
In regard to one of the cases where Miller allegedly did not record witnesses, Capt. Kevin Stokes was quoted as saying, “We have a case — a murder case — that was not able to be prosecuted because of mistakes and errors made by Detective Miller. We have a person who got away with murder because of that performance,” according to Hagan’s filings in court.
That one incident was enough to warrant the 120-hour suspension, Stokes added. But the suspension did not come until later.
Two supervising district attorneys, one of whom is now district attorney, Lisa Green, called Sgt. Joe Aldana, Miller’s supervisor, to say multiple people in the District Attorney’s office had complained about Miller’s performance, according to Hagan’s documents.
Since Miller’s explanation for missteps in his investigations was fatigue, Aldana ordered him not to work any overtime until further notice.
But a few weeks later, Miller signed up for voluntary overtime working at a DUI checkpoint.
Someone saw him on a newscast about the checkpoint and alerted superior officers, according to Hagan’s filings.
It was at that point Miller was suspended.
Now, Miller is saying he should not have been suspended because he did not break any department rules. Documents filed by Miller’s lawyer add that BPD’s investigation into his performance was not done lawfully under California’s Peace Officer’s Bill of Rights.
“They never should have initiated an investigation,” said Miller’s attorney, Alison Berry Wilkinson.
“When his sergeant first came to him about complaints, he said, ‘This is no big deal.’”
Court documents written by Wilkinson assert that the department did not look at Miller’s record as a whole in issuing the suspension.
Past performance evaluations called him “an ‘outstanding’ employee that exceeded standards, was experienced, dependable, hardworking, extremely motivated, cooperative and adaptable to changing conditions,” the documents assert.
Furthermore, Wilkinson said in an interview that all but one of the cases cited by the city as ones Miller ruined were prosecuted or resulted in a plea deal.
The one that wasn’t had nothing to do with Miller’s performance, she said, but instead related to witnesses being scared to testify in a gang-related case.
Miller’s mistakes, Wilkinson’s writings say, amount to human error under stressful circumstances — something that does not call for the action taken against him.
And when he was suspended, he had already voluntarily transferred out of the Crimes Against Persons Unit four months earlier so his fatigue would not affect future cases, according to documents filed in court on his behalf.
“Every hiccup in a fluid and rapidly evolving criminal investigation does not amount to conduct worthy of a finding of misconduct, let alone a 120-hour suspension,” Wilkinson’s documents say.
A hearing on the case took place Wednesday. The case has been taken under submission by Kern County Superior Court Commissioner Linda Etienne, who will issue a ruling in the coming weeks
Source: The Bakersfield Californian
Montgomery correction officers arrested for bringing contraband into jail www.privateofficer.com
MONTGOMERY, AL Aug 1 2012 - The Montgomery Police Department says it has arrested two of its own Correctional Officers following the findings on an investigation into inmate contraband.
Authorities say 30-year-old Meekea Tennille James of Hayneville was arrested and charged with one count of promoting prison contraband, first degree, a Class C felony. Also, 51-year-old Brenda Lee Myrick of Montgomery was arrested and charged with promoting prison contraband, third degree, a misdemeanor.
Montgomery Police initiated the investigation after the department learned this week that an inmate had received contraband that was allegedly provided by correctional officers. MPD’s investigation indicated an acquaintance of the inmate’s provided the correctional officers with the contraband items that were then smuggled in to the inmate at the Montgomery County Detention Facility.
MPD has not specified the items brought into the jail, but said no weapons were involved.
Montgomery Police Chief Kevin Murphy said inmate possession of contraband items is a serious matter. He commended the work of jail administrators, MPD investigators and the U.S. Marshals Service for their assistance in this case.
“We are vigilant with regard to the safety and security of the Montgomery Municipal Jail. In this and any other case of alleged wrongdoing, we will vigorously investigate and take appropriate action,” Murphy said.
In conjunction with the criminal investigation, MPD has initiated termination proceedings against the two correctional officers, both of whom resigned effective immediately.
James and Myrick were transported to the Montgomery County Detention Facility, where James was being held under a $15,000 bond and Myrick was being held under a $3,000 bond. Myrick had been employed as a correctional officer since 2001; James was hired in 2006.
Source: WSFA
George Washington Academy teacher facing federal child porn charges www.privateofficer.com
CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. Aug 1 2012 - Fourth grade teacher David Kiluk will appear in federal court today for a detention hearing.
The George Washington Academy teacher is now facing federal child porn charges.
Investigators say they found “child sexually abusive material” on the 43-year-old’s computer.
According to court documents, Kiluk told investigators that he’s attracted to boys and has downloaded between 500-1,000 videos of child pornography.
He was taken into custody on July 25 when police executed a search warrant at his Clinton Township home.
Officials began the investigation that led to Kiluk’s arrest on July 12 when an agent with the Internet Crimes Against Children task force identified an IP address that was being used to share files that were identified as child pornography.
Investigators obtained a federal subpoena that allowed them to identify the IP address as belonging to Kiluk.
After serving the search warrant, investigators say they interviewed Kiluk and he admitted to downloading child pornography from the internet.
When investigators arrested Kiluk at his home, they found a young boy. Kiluk identified the boy as his eight-year-old foster child.
Kiluk denied having any inappropriate contact with any child.
Lutheran Social Services of Michigan is the agency that placed the eight-year-old boy.
A spokesperson for the agency tells 7 Action News that there will be no other placements in his home at this time.
The organization also released the following statement about the situation:
On the evening of Wednesday, July 25, Macomb County Child Protective Services informed us that one of our foster parents, David Kiluk, was being arrested on charges of child pornography and that an 8-year-old foster child had been removed from the home.
The safety and well-being of the children in our care is our top priority and we act immediately when there is any suspicion of possible harm to any child.
Lutheran Social Services conducts thorough background checks of all prospective foster parents. This includes an investigation into criminal history, including criminal sexual activity. Our screening of Mr. Kiluk late in 2011 revealed no criminal records.
We have learned that Mr. Kiluk was under investigation before his arrest. We were not aware of this investigation when we recommended licensing the Kiluk home for foster care.
The foster child had been in the Kiluk home for approximately three weeks. During that time, our staff saw nothing to suggest that the child was being mistreated or that there was criminal activity in the home. The child has been placed in another foster home.
The child will meet with forensic interviewers this week through Child Protective Services and will undergo a medical exam.
Lutheran Social Services of Michigan is cooperating with Child Protective Services and the FBI, which is handling the investigation, to ensure that justice is done.
7 Action News has contacted the Mount Clemens Community School District for comment. They say they have not yet been contacted by any police agency about the charges.
The district confirms that Kiluk has been employed by the district since 2001.
The district goes on to say:
The District considers the safety of our students to be of the highest priority, and we take matters such as your report very seriously.
We will immediately begin an internal investigation to determine the facts and circumstances of this report, starting with a search of the federal district court criminal complaint docket.
Based upon the outcome of the investigation, the District will take appropriate action to insure that the safety of our students, and to insure that we are in full compliance with board policy and the state law which restricts, and in some cases, prohibits the employment of teachers who have been convicted of certain criminal offenses.
Source:www.wxyz.com
Miami TSA agents rescue kidnapped woman www.privateofficer.com
In airport surveillance video obtained exclusively by NBC 6 South Florida, the victim is seen arriving at the terminal on July 5. She wore a scarf around her face to conceal the injuries sustained in an alleged beating, authorities said.
Two Miami Transportation Security Administration officers said they detected something was wrong with her.
“When she came closer I realized she was black and blue on both sides of her face, her forehead. I noticed her shoulder looked like she had a big rug burn,” said a TSA officer named Ray, who did not want to use his full name nor show his face on television for security reasons. “Later on I found out from her that they had dragged her across the floor.”
She looked afraid, said another TSA officer, Danielle, who also did not want to be fully identified.
The fear came from a beating the woman took inside a fifth-floor room at the Best Western hotel in North Miami, police said. Detectives said the woman came to South Florida with a group on vacation – but it turned to a nightmare when one woman accused the victim having an intimate relationship with her boyfriend. She was then beaten and kidnapped, North Miami Police said.
She was forced to go to the bank and withdraw funds, threatened, and taken to the airport for a flight back to New Jersey, police said.
That’s when the two TSA officers, who are trained to detect suspicious behavior that could be an indicator of a terrorist attack, used those skills to save the woman as she was about to go through the security checkpoint.
“The way that she was acting, we actually thought it was a case of an abduction because she looked very young,” Danielle said.
Her partner approached her and asked her to come with them, Danielle added.
“She told us basically to help her and to take her away from the people that she was traveling with,” Danielle said.
Other officers then stepped in to detain four individuals, two women and two men.
Man Reportedly Tried to Bring Weapons on Flight
Melissa Pineiro is charged with kidnapping, robbery, false imprisonment and battery, and Tori Beato is charged with kidnapping, false imprisonment, battery and theft. They are pleading not guilty, have both bonded out of jail and will be back in Miami-Dade court Aug. 6, according to court records.
The two men were released.
“I believe we saved her life that day,” Ray said of the victim. “According to her, she told us they threatened to kill her if she told anybody.”
The head of TSA security at MIA says that its program looking at someone’s behavior –which when first installed caused some people to be concerned about their privacy –assisted in bringing this woman to safety.
”In the course of their duty, they did what they were trained to do,” said Mark Hatfield, the agency’s director at MIA. “They saw stress, they saw fear, and it turned out that this woman was in really dire danger.”
Source:NBC Miami
Watch shop robber shot by owner-others nabbed by security www.privateofficer.com
Police received several 911 calls reporting gunshots at the Asian Garden Mall in Westminster’s Little Saigon about 1:10 p.m., said Westminster police Sgt. Cameron Knauerhaze. Officers were at the scene within a minute, he said, and found one of the suspects as he ran from the scene.
A passerby and a security guard had detained a second suspect, Knauerhaze said.
The suspects entered the Tick Tock watch shop minutes before posing as customers, Knauerhaze said. One of the suspects posed as a physically disabled man, arriving in a wheelchair.
Once inside, the two drew a handgun and ordered the shop’s employees and customers to the ground, Knauerhaze said.
“One of the shop owners was in the back, heard this going on, armed himself with his own gun and decided — in a very courageous move — to confront the gunman,” Knauerhaze said.
The owner walked into the store’s lobby and ordered the suspect to drop the gun, Knauerhaze said. When the suspect didn’t, the owner fired.
The suspect was shot once in the head and is hospitalized in critical but stable condition, Knauerhaze said. The second suspect was taken to a different hospital with a preexisting condition.
After speaking to witnesses, investigators were looking for a third possible suspect, a man driving a silver Honda Accord who was seen dropping the men off at the mall. No license plate information was immediately available for the vehicle.
Knauerhaze described the incident as “isolated,” saying it was an uncommon occurrence for the shopping center.
“This is a safe place … we’re thankful that everybody’s OK,” he said. “It was poor planning on the suspects’ part to try and rob a very busy mall in the middle of the day.”
Source:LA Now
Middle school teacher accused of crossing the line with teenage boy appears in court with husband www.privateofficer.com
VAN BUREN TOWNSHIP, Mich. Aug 1 2012 - Middle school teacher Andrea Brennan is accused of crossing the line with a teenage boy after police say they found the two in a parked car late at night.
Brennan, 37, is a teacher at North Middle School in Belleville. The school is part of Van Buren Public Schools.
On Tuesday, Brennan was arraigned on multiple charges including Distributing Sexually Explicit Material to a Minor and Furnishing Alcohol to a Minor.
Brennan’s husband appeared in court with her.
“Mr. Brennan is very supportive of his wife. He loves her dearly and they have a very strong marriage,” said Brennan’s defense attorney Loren M. Dickstein.
On July 10th, at 1:30 am, Van Buren Police say they found Brennan and the teen in a parked car near the softball fields at Beck and Ayres Roads.
Brennan had allegedly given the teen alcohol and sexually explicit photos or videos through a computer.
Prosecutors say the teen has never been one of Brennan’s students. We’re told both deny ever having any sexual contact.
Brennan has been released on a personal bond. Her preliminary examination is set for August 8.
The Superintendent of Van Buren Public Schools released the following statement:
There have been charges of improprieties brought against an adult who teaches in the district. We are cooperating with the criminal authorities to obtain the facts and information regarding these charges.
Van Buren Public Schools will take all appropriate steps necessary to determine the future employment status of this individual to ensure the utmost protection of all our students.
Michael Van Tassel
Superintendent of Schools
Source:www.wxyz.com
Warrior Soccer Club coach charged with sexual battery www.privateofficer.com
Dayton OH Aug 1 2012 A 36-year-old Warrior Soccer Club coach has been arrested and charged with sexual battery involving a teenager, Dayton police said Tuesday.
McKenna Shelton Jordan, of Mound Street in Dayton, was arrested Monday on suspicion of rape and gross sexual imposition. The charge of sexual battery was approved by the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office.
The alleged assaults are believed to have taken place over the course of at least a year, Dayton Sgt. Larry Tolpin said.
The accuser is believed to be a relative.
A rape charge may be forthcoming based on an interview police conducted with the accuser, Tolpin said.
“We are anticipating charges of a greater degree,” he said.
According to the soccer club’s website, Jordan coached the Warrior 04 White and Lady Warrior 97 Elite teams this spring. No one from the club’s eight-member board of directors responded to interview requests on Tuesday.
The Dayton area Warrior Soccer Club is a full-year, competitive soccer program that competes at the most competitive levels in Ohio, according to the website, which also states the club is an Adidas Premier Sponsored Club.
The club offers tryouts each spring to form girls and boys teams ages 8-18. WSC currently plays home games and trains at Cloud Park in Huber Heights, according to the website.
Jordan’s initial appearance in Dayton Municipal Court is scheduled for Wednesday at 1:45 p.m.
Source:Dayton Daily News
