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LODD- Fire Chief Jon Tibbetts
Sandoval County NM Aug 8 2012 The USFA announced on Aug. 7 that Fire Chief Jon Tibbetts was on-duty and driving his department SUV while en route to administer a physical abilities test to a newly hired county employee at a location other than his normal duty station when the crash occured.
While traveling on Interstate 25, Tibbetts was struck by another driver causing the fire department vehicle he was operating to roll twice, cross over a retaining wall, and come to a final resting position on the vehicle’s roof. Chief Tibbets died at the scene of the crash from the injuries he sustained. Incident Location: Interstate 25 just south of Bernalillo (MM 239) (USNG: 13S CV 5918 0603)
Sandoval County firefighters pulled a tough assignment Monday — responding to a fatal accident on Interstate 25 involving their own chief.
Friends and co-workers of Fire Chief Jon Tibbetts said the county lost a dedicated professional, a well-loved friend and a “Renaissance man” whose interests included music and bicycling.
“We lost more than a leader. We lost a friend to many,” Deputy Chief James Maxon said.
Tibbetts, 59, was on duty and driving his county-issued Ford SUV north on I-25 at about 8 a.m. when, three miles south of Bernalillo, he collided with a northbound 2004 Cadillac that had struck the concrete median barrier and rebounded into traffic.
Tibbetts’ vehicle flipped, flew over the median and landed in the southbound passing lane. He was wearing a seat belt and was not ejected, Sandoval County spokesman Sidney Hill said. Tibbetts died at the scene.
State Police arrived to find debris scattered lanes on both sides of the freeway.
A Sandoval County Fire Department ambulance was the first to respond to the scene and later transported the chief’s body to the Office of the Medical Investigator in Albuquerque.
“Shock and disbelief” was the reaction among Tibbetts’ fellow firefighters, Maxon said.
The driver of the Cadillac, Armando Saenz, 22, of Albuquerque, was taken to Presbyterian Hospital in Downtown Albuquerque with minor injuries. There was no indication alcohol was involved, State Police spokesman Lt. Robert McDonald said.
“What a loss and a tragedy,” said Sandoval County Commissioner Don Leonard, who was in Arizona when he received the news.
Former commissioner Daymon Ely said Tibbetts “basically built the emergency system from scratch in Sandoval County.”
Among his achievements, officials said, was getting new fire stations built in Placitas and at Santa Ana Pueblo.
In a show of support, Santa Ana Pueblo residents and local businesses, including the Hyatt Tamaya Resort and Spa, sent food and drinks to Sandoval County Fire Station 21 on Santa Ana Pueblo, where Tibbetts was based.
The county hired Tibbetts in September 2004 to head the county’s fire and emergency medical services system. He also was charged with coordinating fire and emergency response services to the county and pueblos.
Previously, he was operations director for Albuquerque Ambulance for 18 years. He began his career as a paramedic in San Juan County.
He undertook firefighting training for the Sandoval County job, said former county manager Debbie Hays, who hired Tibbetts.
Calling him a “Renaissance man,” she said his interests included playing the violin and biking across the country.
“It’s devastating to his family and the county,” Commissioner Orlando Lucero said. Tibbetts was married with two grown children.
The accident disrupted traffic in both directions for hours. Northbound I-25 was closed and drivers were routed along N.M. 313 between Bernalillo and Roy Road. The left two lanes on southbound I-25 were closed.
State Transportation Department spokesman Phil Gallegos said the fatal accident was the first to occur on the stretch of I-25 near the two Bernalillo exits since a reconstruction project was finished nearly a year ago. The two-year project added a lane in each direction to ease congestion on the heavily traveled section of highway.
N.D. Firefighter Dies During Dive While On-Duty www.privateofficer.com
Franzee, Minn Aug 8 2012 A Fire Academy of North Dakota firefighter died Saturday during an exploratory dive in preparation for a training exercise in a Minnesota lake.
Firefighter Jim Reardon, also a photographer for the academy, was on an was surveying the lake in preparation for the Aug. 18 dive when he died, according to a statement from Fire Chief Darrell Graf.
The USFA is considering Reardon’s death as occurring while on duty.
Graf was with Reardon on the dive as they were planning the drill to attract interested team members.
In a prepared statement, Graf explained what happened Saturday afternoon on Lake 7, a premier western Minnesota diving spot near Franzee, Minn.
“After a short time of diving, Jim and I somehow got separated, and I started looking for his bubbles on the surface of the lake, and after finding none, returned to the dock.”
While en route, I found one of Jim’s fins (flippers) and tried for about 15 minutes to find his location. With ripples on the water, it was extremely difficult to find bubbles, and began to look with binoculars and continued to search the lake – presuming Jim was probably videoing underwater,” he said in the statement.
He added that he was growing more concerned. Upon hearing about the missing firefighter, a couple on a boat offered to assist, and Graf climbed aboard.
They were headed back after searching, Graf spotted Reardon, floating face-up about 30 feet from the dock.
“Jim had been to that lake on dives probably 25 times, as well as several other places. We were checking that renowned dive lake to conduct the pre-drill survey for a team dive,” he added.
Graf said he and others suspect Reardon had a medical issue, possibly a heart attack. The diving equipment appears to have been working properly.
Efforts to revive him proved fruitless.
An investigation continues by the Ottertail County Sheriff’s Department and Ottertail County Coroner, Graf added.
Reardon started working with the Fire Academy of North Dakota in 2010. He also was involved with Superior Wisconsin Marine Fire Training program.
Jim leaves behind his wife, Michelle, and four children, Cole, Taylor, Paige and Clare.
Funeral Arrangements
Visitation will be held on Friday, Aug. 10 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at St. Michael Catholic Church, 9251 Highway 25, Buckman, Minn.
Funeral services will be held Saturday, Aug. 11 at 11 a.m. at the church.
Oak Ridge Y-12 complex replaces security staff after perimeter breached www.privateofficer.com
WASHINGTON DC Aug 8 2012 (Reuters) – The Energy Department said on Monday it was replacing guards and supervisors on duty 10 days ago when three peace activists, including an 82 year-old nun, breached perimeter fences at the principal U.S. facility for storing weapons-grade enriched uranium.
The guards and supervisors work for WSI Oak Ridge, a subsidiary of the giant international private security contractor G4S, which was at the center of a dispute over security preparations at the London Olympic Games.
A federal official at the U.S. Energy Department’s Y-12 complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, had also been “temporarily re-assigned” pending the investigation, a government official said.
The U.S. government both processes and stores enriched uranium at the Y-12 complex, which a senior official had previously touted as “the Fort Knox of uranium.”
Joshua McConaha, a spokesman for the National Nuclear Security Administration, the Energy Department branch responsible for designing and building U.S. nuclear weapons, told Reuters that the incident, which occurred during the night of July 27-28, was “not consistent with the level of professionalism and expertise we expect from our guard force.”
As a consequence, McConaha said, the agency “has taken steps to remove the leadership team and the guard forces on duty at the time, and to replace them with some of the best security experts from around our enterprise.”
He said NNSA and the Energy Department were “reviewing every aspect of our security posture and will apply the lessons learned from this incident across all of our sites and facilities.”
G4S drew criticism last month for failing to provide the number of security personnel it promised to protect the London Olympic Games, forcing the British government to deploy extra army troops.
The peace activists, 82-year old Sister Megan Rice, 63-year old Michael Walli and 57-year old Greg Boertje-Obed, cut through a number of fences to reach the outer walls of a building called the “Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Storage Facility”, the U.S. government’s main stockpile site for bomb-grade uranium.
DAUBED SLOGANS ON THE WALLS
Rice said that while the activists eventually were confronted by as many as 12 guards, “they dribbled in and out … It was very gradual.” She added: “First the one, and he began to alert others.”
The activists hung banners and strung crime scene tape on the building, and daubed slogans on the outer walls.
They were arrested and face federal charges of “wilfully and maliciously destroying or attempting to destroy government property. Rice and Walli were released on bond. Boertje-Obed remains in custody, having waived his right to a bail hearing and legal representation.
Peter Stockton, a former Congressional investigator and security consultant for the Energy Department, said for years there had been questions about the building’s security, including whether the guards’ sight-lines were adequate.
The building was designed and built after the September 11, 2001 Al Qaeda attacks with special features to withstand possible attacks by militants.
In a video which the NNSA posted on YouTube in 2010, Jason Hatfield, billed as the “operations manager”, said: “This facility has been called the Fort Knox of uranium. Our mission is to provide safe, secure and efficient storage for highly-enriched uranium.”
He added: “I realistically feel this facility will be here for the next 100 years.”
After the intrusion, all operations at Y-12 were suspended until sometime this week. Energy Department officials said apart from the personnel changes, four new guard patrols were added to three previously operating.
The department drafted Rodney Johnson, a retired general who had been in charge of security at Pantex, an Amarillo, Texas plant where nuclear bombs are assembled, to “lead the effort to reform the security culture” at Y-12.
An official insisted on Monday that “None of the nuclear material at the site was seriously threatened in this incident,” and that the storage building remains an “incredibly secure facility.”
Security officers stop armed attack on woman www.privateofficer.com
The incident occurred at Latitude 84, 8401 S. Hosmer St., shortly before 2 a.m., Tacoma police said Monday.
Officers said a man in an SUV pulled his gun on a woman in a car and held it to her head while making threats. At least one security officer pulled out his weapon, and the man fled.
Police pulled the man over and arrested him in the 8800 block of South Hosmer Street on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a firearm and intimidation.
A gun was recovered from the SUV after officers served a search warrant.
Source:www.thenewstribune.com
Armed guards hired oil pipeline replacement project dispute www.privateofficer.com
Oceola Township MI Aug 8 2012 Armed guards hired by Enbridge Energy LP stood in clear view of Kieth Huff’s home just in case the Oceola Township man decided to interfere with the early stages of a 50-mile oil pipeline replacement project.
Huff isn’t paranoid: The company said the security guards were there last week to take “an abundance of caution” with Huff, who has an ongoing right-of-way condemnation dispute with Enbridge.
Huff said he isn’t fazed by armed guards near his property. Yet he is concerned for his horses and cattle, which roam his pasture where workers placed right-of-way stakes.
“I know what they’re there for. It has gotten quite a few residents up in arms,” he said.
“They are polite. I think they are just doing this here to get me upset before we go to court. I’m refusing, so we can come up with some numbers,” he added.
He maintains the company is trespassing because he has not reached a compensation settlement with Enbridge for access to his property. He said he wants an appraisal done before workers step foot onto his property.
Enbridge has multiple line-easement rights on the property dating back to June 1968, but new agreements are required for new work on existing pipeline easements.
Enbridge spokesman Joe Martucci said the guards were placed near Huff’s property as a precautionary measure to ensure Huff didn’t interfere with the project’s early work.
He said the company doesn’t believe Huff poses a physical threat.
In addition, Martucci said Enbridge notified the Livingston County Sheriff’s Department about its conflict with Huff as a precautionary step.
“He was resisting allowing us to go ahead and start the replacement project on his property. We thought an abundance of caution would not be a bad idea, to have some security out there just in case,” Martucci said.
“We certainly don’t want anyone to be alarmed over the presence of some security personnel, but that’s just part of their uniform. If people were concerned about security presence out there, we’re sorry about that,” he added.
Huff said Enbridge workers arrived in his neighborhood off Latson and Curdy roads Tuesday.
A day earlier, Enbridge filed a temporary restraining order request against Huff in Livingston County Circuit Court. The court filing states Enbridge will “suffer immediate and irreparable injury” without a restraining order against Huff.
Huff said he was unaware of the request for the order.
Circuit Court records show multiple open condemnation complaints filed by Enbridge against county residents, including Huff.
The disputes go to court when agreements can’t be worked out between the company and landowners. A judge decides fair compensation at that point, Martucci explained.
Fellow township resident Beth Duman, who has led a support group for residents with Enbridge easements on their properties, said the appearance of armed guards has only added to residents’ feelings of unease about the project.
Duman said residents feel like “aliens” in their own community and that lawmakers aren’t heeding their concerns. She said residents are unsure how to react to court summons and feel they have lost control over their own properties, she said.
“I’m the person who people call when they’re most upset,” she said.
“People are really hurting because of the project. We just feel like nobody cares about us,” Duman added.
Preliminary work for the project got under way in late July, starting with the segment in the Howell area, Martucci said. The entire 50-mile replacement effort is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
The pipeline transports crude oil and petroleum between the company’s pump stations in Jackson Coun-ty’s Stockbridge and Oakland County’s Ortonville.
In late May, the company received approval for the project by the Michigan Public Service Commission. The commission concluded the pipeline project is “well-reasoned, prudent, and in the public interest.”
The existing line will remain in the ground, but it will no longer be in operation.
The fact that Enbridge’s disastrous July 2010 spill of 832,000 gallons of crude oil into the Talmadge Creek near Marshall in western Michigan reappeared in news headlines over the summer hasn’t brought residents ease.
Enbridge’s Line 6B, constructed in 1969, runs through the county from the southwestern corner to its northeastern corner. The spill near Marshall occurred on a separate segment of Line 6B.
Last month, a federal report stated Enbridge was aware of damage on its Line 6B five years before the 2010 leak that flowed into the Kalamazoo River.
The federal report found the company took no action to correct the damage, however.
A record $3.7 million civil penalty and 24 actions against Enbridge for the spill were proposed by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
According to a Reuters report, Enbridge was responsible for a July 27 oil spill of more than 1,000 barrels of oil in a Wisconsin field, nearly two years to the day after the spill near Marshall.
The most recent spill was cleaned-up within two days, Reuters reported.
Source:timesherald.com
Chicago week-end volence elaves 4 dead, 25 injured www.privateofficer.com
About 3:45 a.m. Saturday, 20-year-old Eric Lopez, was with some other people in a van at the BP gas station at LaSalle and Ontario. A “party bus” pulled into the gas station, gang signs were flashed, and a physical altercation ensued, a law enforcement source said.
The van drove off and the man fled on foot with people from the party bus following him on foot. When the others in the van noticed that he was not in the van with them, they turned back and found the man in the 600 block of North LaSalle Street, suffering from multiple stab wounds, the source said.
A relative of his, a 17-year-old boy, was also stabbed at that location and suffered multiple lacerations, according to police. The boy was treated at a Northwestern Memorial Hospital and released.
Lopez was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 4:18 a.m., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office. The source said Lopez, who had recently moved to Chicago from Puerto Rico, has no record of a criminal history.
A 19-year-old man died after initially being in critical condition when he was shot in the head in the Albany Park neighborhood on the Northwest Side early Sunday.
He was in the 4900 block of North Whipple Street about 2:40 a.m. when he was shot in the head, police News Affairs Officer Jose Estrada said.
Sameer Barakat, of the 4900 block of North Whipple Street, was pronounced dead at Illinois Masonic Medical center at 9:04 a.m., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.
Of the at least 19 people who were shot this weekend, seven of them were reported to be in critical condition.
Saturday evening, three men were shot in the South Shore neighborhood. The shooting occurred at 5:34 p.m. in the 2400 block of East 75th Street, police News Affairs Officer Darryl Baety said.
Sunday morning, three men were wounded in a drive-by shooting in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood on the South Side.
The shooting took place in the 7900 block of South Ingleside Avenue about 6:35 a.m., police News Affairs Officer Jose Estrada said. The shots were fired from a 4-door, black Chevrolet vehicle, police News Affairs Officer Laura Kubiak said.
A 25-year-old man suffered a gunshot to the back and was taken in serious condition to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Kubiak said. A 20-year-old man suffered a gunshot to one of his legs and was taken to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, and a 23-year-old man had a graze wound to the back and was taken to Jackson Park Hospital, Kubiak said.
A law enforcement source said Sunday morning that all three victims had street gang affiliations and were believed to be members of the Gangster Disciples.
About 5 a.m. Sunday, a 22-year-old man was critically wounded in a shooting at a gas station in the West Side Austin neighborhood.
Witnesses told police that the man was at a gas station at that location when a gunshot was heard and he then fell to the ground.
The victim suffered a gunshot wound to the chest, Estrada said. He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was listed in critical condition. The victim was believed to be a member of the Maniac Latin Disciples street gang, a source said.
Gunfire grazed a 16-year-old girl in the West Side Austin neighborhood early Sunday. The teen was in the 1500 block of North Lawler Avenue at 12:27 a.m. when she suffered a graze wound to the buttock, police said. She was treated and released from West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park.
A 21-year-old man suffered five gunshot wounds to the body and was taken in critical condition to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Baety said.
A 20-year-old man suffered a graze wound to the hip and a 19-year-old man was shot multiple times in the arm, Baety said.
Both were taken in serious condition to Jackson Park Hospital and Medical Center, Fire Media Affairs spokeswoman Meg Ahlheim said.
A man was critically wounded in a shooting early Saturday in the Southwest Side Brighton Park neighborhood.
The 31-year-old man was getting out of his vehicle in the 3800 block of South Sacramento Ave. about 3:34 a.m. when someone in a passing light-colored vehicle shot him, police said.
He was taken in critical condition to Mount Sinai Hospital with a gunshot wound to the torso, according to police.
Two men are in critical condition after they were shot early Saturday in the West Englewood neighborhood on the South Side.
They were in the 6600 block of South Marshfield Avenue about 12:45 a.m. when a male shooter approached and opened fire, police said.
A 32-year-old man and a 24-year-old man were both shot in the back in the attack, police said. The younger man was also shot in the right shoulder.
Both were taken in critical condition to Stroger Hospital, police said.
A woman was critically wounded in a shooting early Saturday in the West Side Austin neighborhood.
The 27-year-old woman was getting out of her vehicle in the 100 block of North LaPorte Avenue at 12:21 a.m. when someone in a passing red SUV opened fire, police said.
She was taken in critical condition to Mount Sinai Hospital with gunshot wounds to her side and abdomen area, according to police.
Near the Lollapalooza festival in Grant Park, a 53-year-old man was stabbed in the chest about 7 p.m. Friday. Witnesses and authorities said the incident happened shortly on the southwest corner of Adams and Michigan and across from the Art Institute of Chicago and not far from the music fest. Police said the victim “stable” condition to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Fire Media Affairs spokeswoman Meg Ahlheim said.
Late Saturday two men got into an argument which escalated into a fight, with one of the men stabbing the other, in the 300 block of South Columbus Drive. The fight happened about 11:20 a.m. in Grant Park just after Lollapalooza ended.
Two men, both in their 20s, were with a group of people when they got into an argument that turned physical, police said. One of the men pulled out a knife and cut the other man in the cheek. That man also cut himself in the hand with the knife. Both where taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital and were listed in good condition Sunday morning. Neither man chose to pursue charges, police said.
Sunday afternoon, three men were shot in the Back of the Yards neighborhood, in the 5300 block of South May Street. At about 5:32 p.m., a 22-year-old man was shot in the left leg and a 25-year-old man was shot in the left thigh, according to police. Both were taken to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County.
A third shooting victim, a 23-year-old man, was shot in the left calf and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, police said. All three were listed in “stable” condition.
Source:Chicago Sun Times
RI man charged under new body armor law www.privateofficer.com
Authorities say Antonio Limardo was parked early Monday in a car with heavily tinted windows on East Avenue in Pawtucket. When the trooper asked for Limardo’s license, he noticed what looked like body armor in the back seat.
Police say Limardo didn’t have a valid registration. A criminal check showed a prior conviction in Puerto Rico of attempted murder.
The General Assembly this year passed a bill that forbids anyone convicted of a felony that is a crime of violence from buying or possessing body armor.
Police say they also confiscated a 9-millimeter handgun and a knife.
A police spokesman says Limardo was arraigned Monday and released on $10,000 personal recognizance.
Man kills wife of 45 years in her hospital bed www.privateofficer.com
Massillon OH Aug 8 2012 AP A woman whose husband of 45 years is accused of shooting her in the head in her hospital bed in a possible mercy killing had been in the intensive care unit in an extremely disabled state, a prosecutor said on Monday.
Barbara Wise was incapacitated before John Wise stood at her bedside and shot her on Saturday with a handgun, Akron assistant city prosecutor Craig Morgan said.
John Wise entered his wife’s room at Akron General Medical Center and fired at least one round from the handgun, police said. One shot was fired, hospital officials said.
Barbara Wise, 65, was declared dead on Sunday morning. She had been at the hospital in a “previously extremely disabled state,” said Morgan, who wouldn’t specify her ailments.
“The evidence would suggest that all those things were in place before Mr. Wise allegedly went in there and shot her,” he said.
Wise entered the hospital through the main entrance and went up to his wife’s room without drawing any attention, apparently keeping the handgun concealed, hospital spokesman Jim Gosky said.
Hospital policy does not allow guns on the hospital’s campus, and there are numerous signs around the main entrances prohibiting them, Gosky said.
Hospital security officers ran from the ground floor’s emergency department to the ICU’s third floor following a code silver, which alerts the hospital that someone has a weapon, Gosky said. A distinctive pop sound drew a physician’s attention to respond, too. Akron police soon followed.
Gosky said it appeared no one else was in the room at the time of the shooting, and no one else was harmed in what he called “an isolated incident.”
John Wise, 66, has an initial court appearance on Tuesday in Akron Municipal Court. He was in police custody at an undisclosed location on Monday, and no attorney had been assigned to him.
Barbara Wise’s autopsy was rescheduled for Tuesday or Wednesday, and it will likely upgrade John Wise’s attempted aggravated murder charge to a more serious type of murder charge, police Capt. Dan Zampelli said.
John Wise was going to court with that initial charge because it was filed Saturday, said Morgan, who expected the charge to change based on the evidence and the death. He would not say if the charge would be upgraded to murder or reflect a mercy killing.
After the shooting, Wise surrendered to hospital security and was restrained until police arrived. He has cooperated with investigators, Zampelli said.
The Wises lived in a brick bungalow with well-kept landscaping on a short street in Massillon, 25 miles south of Akron. No one answered when an Associated Press reporter knocked on the door Monday.
Neighbor Crystal Maxhimer, who lives two houses away, said she knew the couple only in passing. She said she frequently saw them working on their yard together.
Officials are looking into whether John Wise shot his wife in a mercy killing, Zampelli said. Police are still trying to determine why Barbara Wise had been in the hospital, though he confirmed she had been in critical condition and in the ICU for several days.
“Certainly him wanting to end his wife’s suffering is one of the motives we’re looking into,” Zampelli said.
Emergency personnel responded to the Wises’ home on July 28 for a medical call, Massillon fire Chief Tom Burgasser said. Privacy rules prevented him from releasing additional information, but he said the fire department treated a patient for a medical condition that involved advanced life support including oxygen and a heart monitor.
Burgasser could not confirm if the patient was Barbara Wise but said the patient was taken to Affinity Medical Center in Massillon. A hospital spokeswoman said she could not disclose any information about patients because of privacy rules.
Security guard cited for impersonating officer, demanding free food at McDonald’s www.privateofficer.com
SCOTT TOWNSHIP, Pa. Aug 8 2012
Scott Township police said they cited a man for impersonating an Allegheny County police detective after he demanded free food at a local McDonald’s.
Charles Jones was cited on a misdemeanor charge of impersonating a public servant, police said.
Investigators said Jones demanded free food from staff at a McDonald’s restaurant on Route 50.
“He wanted them to believe he was a police officer and on duty so that he could get free food. Kind of ridiculous,” said Sgt. Jeff Skees.
Channel 11′s Renee Kaminski spoke to Jones on Tuesday, who said the charges are a misunderstanding.
Jones claims that he would tease workers at the restaurant but never claimed to be an Allegheny County police detective.
“Do I look like I can’t afford to buy my own hamburger?” Jones said to Kaminski.
Jones said he works as a private investigator and security guard.
Source-wpxi
Fla man had fake police, medical and US oast Guard credentials www.privateofficer.com
Antigua, 59, was arrested Aug. 1 after he violated his grand theft probation by driving with a suspended license. That arrest led to the discovery of more than a dozen fake law enforcement and military uniforms as well as fake medical credentials.
Items ranged from a blue jumpsuit bearing the badge of a NASA Shuttle Chase Team, U.S. Customs and medical badges to handcuffs and ammunition. There was even a Boy Scout troop leader uniform. His 2004 Cadillac Escalade with tinted windows was fitted with blue, flashing lights.
Antigua, of 5642 LaSalle Court in New Port Richey, remains in the Land O’ Lakes Jail with no bail.
“Because you see everything in front here, we have a question that we’ve kind of coined as ‘Who is Roy,’” said Chief James Steffans of the New Port Richey Police, standing in front of tables of fake uniforms, identifications and badges. “We want the public to assist us. … Find out if you’ve ever interacted with this gentleman that we are telling you about today. We need to know if you interacted with him, was it under suspicious circumstances? Was it under circumstances that you now find suspicious?
“We need to know from start to finish, who is Roy Antigua?”
Antigua, born in Havana, Cuba, was originally contacted by the New Port Richey police officers after neighbors complained of a disturbance at his LaSalle Court home. An investigation found nothing, but the Coast Guard ID he presented raised a red flag. He was asked to come to the station where he demanded to speak with Steffans. During that time, a team of investigators, including Sgt. Edward Campbell began to dig deeper.
“I was previously in the Marine Corps, so I knew what one of those looked like,” Campbell said. “It had a gold chip that was missing and the back of it sort of looked like a hotel card.”
Police said he ordered many of the items from the Internet and made several of the badges himself.
During a Memorial Day event in May at Meadowlawn Memorial Gardens in New Port Richey, Antigua sat next to Steffans, introducing himself as a lieutenant commander of the U.S. Coast Guard, Steffans said.
“I think he dishonored the family members who were there to reflect on the memories of their loves ones,” Steffans said. “I think it’s very troubling he felt comfortable enough to not only dress up in that attire, but to physically go to that event, sit up in the front, and represent the United States Coast Guard as an officer nonetheless, without ever having the authority or pedigree to do that.
“It’s offensive and I hope that the families know that we’re going to do whatever we can do to make sure he’s held accountable.”
Lloyds Banking Group anti-fraud chief cheated bank of 2.5 million pounds ($3.9 million) www.privateofficer.com
Jessica Harper, who served as the state-backed bank’s interim head of fraud and security for digital banking, faces a lengthy jail sentence after pleading guilty to fraud and money laundering at Southwark Crown Court in south London.
Harper, 50, submitted false invoices to claim a total of 2,463,750 pounds between late 2007 and December last year, the court heard.
The court was told Harper had spent some of the money on property in France, but had given back 300,000 pounds and would be able to repay a further 700,000 pounds from the imminent sale of her home.
She was released on bail and will be sentenced at a later date.
“Jessica Harper has today been convicted of the type of crime the bank employed her to combat … she has admitted to a huge breach of trust against her former employer,” the Crown Prosecution Service said.
Lloyds, owned 40 percent by the British taxpayer, said it could not comment while the court process continued.
Attorney, Inmate Arrested on Jail Sex Charge www.privateofficer.com
LAS VEGAS NV Aug 8 2012 – A Las Vegas defense attorney was arrested for allegedly receiving oral sex from a female inmate at the Clark County Detention Center.
Curtis Cannon, and his client, Crystal Wallis, were charged with voluntary sexual conduct between a prisoner and another person. Cannon was arrested Monday.
Metro Police had installed a video camera in the visiting room at the detention center where Cannon met with Wallis last week. According to the arrest report, the camera captured images of the alleged sexual contact and Wallis told police it had occurred.
Both are due in court on Wednesday their initial appearances.
Source:8newsnow.com
Myrtle Beach man charged with assaulting police-security officers www.privateofficer.com
Wouter Pieter Gabriel Speybrouck, 23, was charged with third-degree assault and battery after officers were called at 12 a.m. Tuesday to 1320 Celebrity Circle, police said.
Officers were at Malibu’s Club for an unrelated case when they saw two bouncers eject Speybrouck from the club, according to the report. Officers questioned Speybrouck about what happened and security had told him to leave the property, but he refused.
Once the officer got Speybrouck handcuffed, his body went limp and he refused to walk to the police car, so the officer and a security guard carried him, according to the report. While they were carrying him, the officer said Speybrouck bit the security guard in the hand.
The bit broke the skin and EMS treated the guard at the scene.
Source:www.myrtlebeachonline.com
Nashville police investigating after baby found dead in mini van www.privateofficer.com
Nashville TN Aug 8 2012 Metro Police are investigating the case of a baby found dead in a mini van in Donelson.
Police said the report came in shortly before 3 p.m. that a baby was in a vehicle at 84 Fairway Drive at Donelson Heights United Methodist Church.
Police said around 2:30 a woman came to the church which runs a daycare center and said she was there to pick up her 5-month-old son.
The daycare workers told her they did not have the baby, that no one had dropped off the baby Tuesday morning.
The woman ran back outside to her mini van and found the baby inside. She ran back into the daycare center with the baby in her arms, but police said he was already dead due to the extreme heat inside the vehicle.
Temperatures Tuesday afternoon have reached a high so far of 91 degrees, which can cause life-threatening heat inside a car.
Detectives are trying to reconstruct the mother’s day to determine what happened.
She has three other children who are all in school.
The mother was so distraught she was taken to a nearby hospital by ambulance.
Source:tennessean
Chesapeake Virginia youth pastor arrested for sex abuse www.privateofficer.com
Virginia Beach Police said Monday that 40-year-old Gregory Douglas Forehand is charged with indecent liberties with a child.
Police spokeswoman Grazia Moyers says the victim told police he was 16 when the alleged abuse occurred on several occasions between May 2005 and June 2006 at the suspect’s Chesapeake home.
Forehand is the youth minister at Real Life Christian Church. Moyers says investigators learned children had stayed at the home for church events. Investigators are trying to determine whether there are other possible victims.
Forehand is free on bond. It’s not immediately known whether he has an attorney. A call to Virginia Beach General District Court went unanswered.
A person answering the phone at the church declined comment.
Hardin Memorial Hospital patient commits suicide www.privateofficer.com
ELIZABETHTOWN, KY Aug 8 2012 – Elizabethtown Police are investigating after a patient a Hardin Memorial Hospital shot himself Tuesday morning.
According to Officer Virgil Willoughby, a spokesperson for Elizabethtown Police, a call was received at 8:13 a.m. reporting the shooting at the hospital located at 913 North Dixie Avenue. No information about where in the hospital the shooting occurred has been released.
Willoughby said the patient died from the gunshot wound, but no one else was injured.
Source: WAVE
Berks County teacher arrested following allegations of a sexual relationship with a student www.privateofficer.com
HARRISBURG PA Aug 8 2012 – A Berks County teacher and swimming coach was arrested today and charged with having a sexual relationship with a female student.
Attorney General Linda Kelly identified the defendant as Jonathan Bell, 31, 105 Colleen Court, Wyomissing, Berks County. Bell is swimming coach for Governor Mifflin High School. He currently is a teacher with the Exeter School District.
According to the criminal complaint, from December 2012 to June 2012 Bell engaged in a sexual relationship with a female student, who was 17-years old when the relationship began.
The charges state that Bell allegedly solicited the girl for nude photographs, performed a sexually graphic act for her on video and had at least one sexual encounter with her on school property.
Kelly emphasized that this remains an active and ongoing investigation. Anyone with additional information is encouraged to contact Chief County Detective Michael Gombar of Berks County District Attorney’s Office at 610-478-7171.
Bell is charged with two counts of unlawful contact with a minor, one count of corruption of minors and one count of criminal solicitation.
He was taken into custody this morning, preliminarily arraigned before Mohnton Magisterial District Judge Nicholas Bentz Jr. and held on $200,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 13, 2012 at 9:00 a.m.
The case will be prosecuted in Berks County by Deputy Attorney General Daniel Dye of the Attorney General’s Criminal Prosecution Section.
Kelly thanked the Governor Mifflin School District and the Exeter School District for their cooperation and assistance with the investigation. Kelly also thanked the Berks County District Attorney’s Office for their ongoing assistance.
Source:CBS21.com
Muscatine man charged with assaulting mall security guard
According to court documents, around 11 a.m. Friday, Scott Chancey, 50, whose address was last reported as 509 Oak St., assaulted William Clark, 79, as he was placing a parking warning on Chancey’s car.
The incident took place outside the Muscatine Mall.
Clark, a security guard for the Muscatine Mall, suffered a compound fracture to his left elbow and other injuries.
Chancey was charged with an aggravated misdemeanor, which carries a prison sentence of up to two years and a mandatory fine a fine from $500-$5,000.
Chancey was released from the Muscatine County Jail on $5,000 bail. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for 9 a.m. Friday, Aug. 24.
Source: MuscatineJournal.com
Police: Two N.Y. men arrested for Christiana Mall jewelry-store robbery www.privateofficer.com
Newark DE Aug 8 2012 Delaware State Police arrested two men from Brooklyn, N.Y. Monday afternoon shortly after they robbed the Zales jewelry store in Christiana Mall, police said.
Phillip A. Collier and Andre Lynch, both 40-year-old residents of Brooklyn, were arrested about 20 minutes after leaving the Christiana Mall parking lot with about $160,000 in stolen jewelry, police said.
According to a police report, at 2:17 p.m., a suspect later identified as Collier approached a female employee of the store and asked to look at engagement rings. After looking at several rings, Collier reached into his waistband, produced a semi-automatic handgun and pointed it at the employee, demanding she put jewelry into his bag.
Collier also ordered the three other female employees at gunpoint to assist in filling the bag with jewelry. After they loaded up the bag, Collier ordered all four female employees into a bathroom/office area inside the store. Collier fled on foot from the store and entered the Macy’s store near the Zales.
One of the Zales employees contacted a Christiana Mall security officer to report the robbery and provided a description of the suspect.
The Christiana Mall security-dispatch center issued a general broadcast to its officers with details of the robbery and a suspect description.
A second Christiana Mall security officer saw a man matching the suspect description leave the Macy’s store, get into a brown Ford Expedition with Georgia registration, and drive onto I-95. The suspect’s vehicle information was relayed to the Delaware State Police Communications Center, and a general broadcast was issued for the suspect vehicle.
A Delaware State Trooper working a special-duty construction assignment on I-95 near the Christiana Mall observed the Ford Expedition traveling northbound from the Christiana Mall and began to follow it.
Several other troopers joined in the pursuit, and a vehicle stop was conducted around 2:36 p.m. on I-295 eastbound in the area of Route 9 in New Castle.
The vehicle’s driver, later identified as Lynch, was taken into custody without incident. Collier was found lying in in the vehicle’s back seat. After police removed him from the vehicle, they saw that Collier had been laying on top of a fully loaded Sig Sauer 9mm handgun, reported stolen from Virginia Beach, Va. in January 2010.
The stolen jewelry was also recovered from the vehicle.
Collier and Lynch were each charged with four counts of first-degree robbery, four counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, four counts of second-degree kidnapping, possession of a deadly weapon by a person prohibited and other crimes.
The men were each arraigned and committed to Howard R. Young Correctional Center on $978,000 cash bond.
Source-Post Online
Bomb threat empties Miami area mall www.privateofficer.com
Miami Dade Fla Aug 8 2012 Customers sprinted from Dadeland Mall Monday night after a bomb threat was called into one of the Kendall mall’s stores.
Luis Camejo, a Rosetta Stone mall employee, said customers suddenly started running toward the exits with more people on their heels. With security running in the opposite direction and no one directing the crowd, the situation soon devolved into chaos as people starting tripping over one another and screaming “bomb!”
“It went into panic mode,” he said. “We just saw people start to run.”
The bomb threat, called into the Pandora jewelry store about 7 p.m., turned out to be a false alarm. Miami-Dade Police responded to the incident, bringing in bomb dogs and determining the mall to be safe.
But the incident has some employees concerned about how prepared the mall is for a real emergency, especially in light of incidences in public spaces, namely the theater shooting in Aurora, Colo, and the shooting at a temple in Oak Creek, Wis.
When the bomb threat was called in, MAC employee Stephanie Currais saw a security guard waving his arms toward the Macy’s exit, saying everyone needed to evacuate.
She said her side of the mall was fairly calm, but over on the east side, customers panicked.
Camejo said he saw security guards, but they were running in the opposite direction of the customers, and they weren’t explaining what had happened.
A few customers started running toward the exit, which started a chain reaction. People started tripping over one another and screaming. In the food court, customers dropped ice cream cones in a mad rush to the exits.
“When I look to my right, I saw a stampede of people,” said Body Therapy employee Jose Orvera.
Camejo said he saw a young child crying, separated from his parents.
By 8:15 p.m., security officials gave the all clear and shoppers were allowed to return inside the mall.
“I don’t think they’re really organized when it comes to stuff like this,” Camejo said, noting each mall kiosk has the number for the mall’s security desk.
He said he’s never done a fire drill or been given instructions about what to do if an emergency happens, other than calling 911.
Currais said she’s worked for MAC for a year, and she’s never done a fire drill or any other type of emergency drill, a fact that worries her.
“We’ve had alarms go off, but nobody leaves,” she said. “Imagine if today was Saturday. It would’ve been 10 times worse.
Source:www.miamiherald.com
Ex-TSA workers indicted in airport drug-smuggling www.privateofficer.com
If convicted, Richard C. Cook II, 27, of Henry County and Timothy G. Gregory, 25, of DeKalb County face up to life in prison and fines of up to $10 million, federal prosecutors said.
Starting in January, Cook allegedly began smuggling what he thought was cocaine and heroin through the Atlanta airport for federal agents posing as drug smugglers. The “drugs” he delivered to undercover agents, however, were fake. He moved the packages past security checkpoints while in uniform and was paid thousands of dollars for his involvement, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said Cook quit the TSA in February but allegedly recruited Gregory, another TSA officer, to help keep the drug-smuggling operation going. Cook allegedly introduced Gregory to undercover officers posing as drug traffickers and received a referral fee of $1,000.
In February and May, prosecutors said, undercover agents provided Gregory with fake cocaine to transport to other undercover agents at Hartsfield-Jackson, and he allegedly received cash payments in return.
“The crimes with which Cook and Gregory are charged created a breach in the security of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and betrayed the trust of millions of passengers who travel through this airport each year,” U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said in a statement.
Cook and Gregory were each charged with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, and multiple counts of substantive drug trafficking.
Source:AJC
Four Ogdensburg residents charged in Salmon Run Mall thefts www.privateofficer.com
All four were arrested and await prosecution in town of Watertown Court on petit larceny charges. Police said they are accused of stealing sneakers and jeans.
Those cited are:
■ Brandy L. Grenier, 29, of 311 Belmont Courts. She was sentenced in May 2011 in St. Lawrence County Court to a year in jail for violating probation on a conviction for attempted fourth-degree grand larceny.
■ Travis M. Howe, 27, of 703-C Route 37, who is under indictment in St. Lawrence County Court on robbery and grand larceny charges. He was convicted of petit larceny in April in town of Watertown Court for stealing copper in December at Lowe’s, outer Arsenal Street.
■ Lawrence B. Grenier, 35, of 938 County Route 4.
■ Tiffanie N. Timm, 19, of 425 County Route 28-A.
Source-Watertown Daily
