San Bernardino security guard shot during holdup www.privateofficer.com

 

San Bernardino CA May 17 2013 A gunman allegedly shot an apartment complex security guard in the chest in San Bernardino this morning, but a bullet-proof vest saved the guard from serious injury.
San Bernardino police received a call at 1:11 a.m. about the shooting in the 1400 block of East Ninth Street, said police Lt. Paul Williams.The guard said a man with a gun approached him, began making threats and pointed a gun at him.Another man approached him from behind. Police said one of the men tried to grab the guard’s gun. The guard struggled with the men, and during the struggle, one of the men fired a round at the guard.Both men fled the scene.The guard suffered bruising, but was not hospitalized.Williams said investigators suspect the motive in the incident is robbery.Anyone with information may call detectives, 909-384-5615.

Security guard allegedly commits gay hate crime www.privateofficer.com

 

PRESS RELEASE

CHICAGO IL May 3 2013 — Attorney Yao Dinizulu of the Dinizulu Law Group, Ltd. filed a hate crime complaint on May 1 on behalf of plaintiff Falon Carter, 30, who alleges that an apartment security guard beat her with a steel flashlight and used derogatory terms to her relating to her sexual orientation.
The complaint states that security guard, Stanton Robinson, had repeatedly harassed Carter in the past because of her sexual orientation. The Illinois Hate Crime Act, 720 ILCS, states that a “person commits a hate crime when he/she commits a crime based on the actual or perceive: race, color, creed, religion, ancestry, national origin, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, or gender .”According to reports, on May 12, 2011, Carter was visiting her girlfriend at Parkway Garden Apartments in Chicago when she was approached by Robinson. After he attacked her, Robinson, who is 5’8″ and weighs between 265-285, told Carter, who is 5’3″ and weighs approximately 110 lbs., that she “looked like a boy.”

Although Robinson already knew that Carter was a frequent visitor at Parkway Garden Apartments, he asked if she lived there and shined a steel flashlight in her face.

According to witnesses, Carter asked Robinson not to shine the flashlight in her eyes. Robinson then proceeded to strike her in her face with his flashlight. As a result, her face became bloody and swollen. Carter suffered a fractured bone in her face at the base of her skull. She had additional injuries to her right hand, which she used to protect herself. She also reportedly suffered from emotional and psychological distress from the incident. According to victims, Robinson has a history of violence and excessive force. He was previously a Cook County Department of Corrections Officer, and was discharged for using excessive force on inmates. He was then hired by Parkway Garden Apartments .The complaint, which was filed at the Richard J. Daley Center, names Robinson, as well as Parkway Gardens Preservation, L.P. and Related Management Company L.P. as defendants.

Five dead in shooting at Federal Way apartment complex www.privateofficer.com

 FEDERAL WAY, Wash. April 23 2013– Gunfire erupted at an apartment complex in a city south of Seattle and five people were shot to death, including a suspect who was shot by arriving officers, police said early Monday.

Officers responding to an emergency call at 9:30 p.m. Sunday at the apartments in Federal Way found two injured men on the ground in a parking lot.

“When we arrived, there was a lot of gunfire already being fired and multiple calls, 911 calls of gunfire,” said Federal Way police spokeswoman Cathy Schrock. One of the men reached for a gun as police moved in to assist the two on the ground, she said.

At that point, other officers opened fire. The suspect died but police said it wasn’t immediately clear if it was from their gunfire.

The other man on the ground and a third man in the parking lot were found dead.

In a search of the complex, police found a fourth man dead in one apartment and a slain woman in another unit.

Schrock said police were trying to determine if the woman was accidentally hit by gunfire.

There was no immediate word what set off the shooting.

“We’re gonna continue to go door to door in hopes that we can find some additional witnesses, and hopefully we won’t be finding any more victims.” Schrock said.

After police flooded the scene and carried out searches of the area, authorities said they did not think another shooter was on the loose or that there was an immediate threat to the public.

There were no reports of any officers being injured, and the names of the five people who were killed were not immediately available.

Federal Way is about 20 miles south of Seattle.

Source- king5.com

Shooting leaves Florida security officr in critical condition www.privateofficer.com

 

MIAMI GARDENS FLA April 11 2013– Police say that a security officer on duty at a gated community was shot overnight and was rushed to the hospital.

The incident occurred Tuesday night after a shootout with three men, a Miami Gardens Police Department spokesman said.

The shooting happened at about 8 p.m. at the Eagle’s Landing Apartment complex along NW 27 Ave. and NW 191 Street near Sun Life Stadium.

According to investigators, three men approached the security guard and a confrontation ensued.

There was an exchange of gunfire and the security officer was shot once in the side, police said.

He was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center.

Police did not have any information about whether any of the three men who shot at the guard were also hurt.

There was no description immediately available and cops were actively searching for the men late Tuesday.

A helicopter and several police K-9 units conducted a search for the wanted men but there was word on any arrests.

The injured security officer is employed by Master Investigation Security in Miami Lakes.

At this time, the security officer is listied as in critical condition.

Anyone with information should contact Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.

Stockon security officer shoots-kills man that took baton www.privateofficer.com

STOCKTON CA April 1 2013  A security guard shot and killed a man that took his baton during a confrontation according to police.

Stockton Police responded Saturday at 4:27 p.m. to an apartment complex on the 4700 block on Grouse Run Drive for a report of a person that had been shot.

Stockton Police Lt. Jeff Coon said the manager of the apartment complex asked a man and woman parked inside the parking lot to leave and they refused, so the manager called security. Coon said a 26-year-old male security guard was trying to get the man and woman to leave the complex parking lot when a confrontation occurred. Coon said the 38-year-old woman allegedly pushed the security guard, resulting in the guard pepper spraying her.

The woman allegedly grabbed the guard and his collapsible baton fell. The 43-year-old man that accompanied the woman grabbed the baton and advanced towards the security guard with it and the guard fired and shot the armed man, Coon said.

The man that was shot was transported to an area hospital where he later died.

The 38-year-old woman was arrested for assaulting the security guard.

Coon said the shooting incident will be forwarded to the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office for review as to whether the guard will face any charges.

Three men found shot to death at Louisville KY apartments www.privateofficer.com

Louisville KY March 26 2013

Police were searching for answers Sunday after three men were found shot to death outside a southern Louisville apartment complex in Louisville’s deadliest shootings of the year. Called to the 3500 block of Georgetown Place off Berry Boulevard shortly before 3 p.m., police found three males who appeared to be in their 20s dead in the parking lot — two inside a Ford Explorer, its window shattered, and the third on the ground just outside the vehicle.

Police did not identify the victims Sunday, but homicide detectives were canvassing the area in hopes of determining a motive and whether the men shot each other or were killed by other assailants. No arrests had been made by late Sunday.

Specifically what occurred to lead up to this incident, we’re still trying to determine,” Louisville Metro Police spokeswoman Alicia Smiley said. Homicide detectives declined to address whether any weapons were found at the scene of the city’s first triple homicide of 2013 or how the shootings may have transpired. Authorities said none of the men were residents of the apartment complex, a collection of brick buildings on a side street near Classic Liquors and the Foxy Lady gentlemen’s club on Berry Boulevard.

All were from Louisville, however, and one often spent time there as a visitor, police said. At the apartment building Sunday, evidence technicians could be seen working under a tent in the rain. Several people who said they are relatives of one of the deceased men gathered in the liquor store parking lot near police tape. Speaking only briefly as the cold rain fell, Denise Person said one of the men was her nephew and she was baffled and saddened. “I found out from my son that my nephew had got shot,” she said.

“He was a giving person, a good person, and he loved his family.” Speaking later by phone, Person said she spoke to people who lived around the complex who told her that her nephew was inside an apartment — likely that of his girlfriend, she said — and was called out by a horn. No one is sure what happened after, she said.

The guys blew the horn to come out, and after that I don’t know who shot who or what,” she said. William Tandy, who said the same victim was his cousin, speculated that a robbery might have led to the shooting but also was searching for explanations.

The Jefferson County coroner’s office said Sunday night it also had not yet released the names of the deceased. The first triple fatal shooting of 2013 follows a year that included the high-profile shootings last May when, in less than two hours, six people were shot, three fatally, near 32nd Street in the Parkland neighborhood. There was at least one other triple shooting homicide last year. That prompted the city to appoint a Violence Prevention Work Group to examine the causes of violence and issue recommendations that have included changes by metro police, including the formation of a crime information center where police departments can share information as well as a VIPER unit, which targets the city’s most violent offenders. On Sunday, some members said that the latest killings should highlight the need to continue to look for solutions and interventions.

“People think of west Louisville when they think of violence, but there is also a violent crime problem in southwestern and south-central Louisville,” said community activist Christopher 2X, a member of the working group. “If anyone’s looking for an easy solution, it’s a real uphill climb.” Anthony Smith, Louisville’s first director of safe neighborhoods who Mayor Greg Fischer appointed in February to help reduce violence, said Sunday night that he’s working to enact the working group recommendations and wants to gather the group again to consider additional steps. “I think anytime we have a tragedy like this, it highlights the need for the work to keep moving,” he said.

“This isn’t an overnight kind of change, but we’ve got to keep at it.” Raoul Cunningham, president of the Louisville NAACP who also is on the working group, said he thinks the shootings are also a reminder that gun control measures should continue to be a priority. Homicides in Jefferson County soared 28 percent in 2012, claiming 69 victims, the first increase since 2007 and a grim reflection of a violent span that saw the high-profile triple shooting in May and three deaths around the Christmas holiday.

Christopher 2X said Sunday’s shooting took place in an area that has seen other violence. He said University Hospital, where he counsels gun violence survivors, has treated 22 people hit by gunfire citywide this year, 10 of whom have died. He said he spoke to the mother of one of Sunday’s victims who was “totally devastated” and had no indication that any trouble was brewing. Smiley said residents with information about Sunday’s shootings are asked to call police at at the anonymous tip line, 574-LMPD.
Source: Courier-Journal.com

Miami Man Stabbed His Building’s Security Guard www.privateofficer.com

Miami Dade Fla Feb 27 2013 A Miami-Dade judge reduced a Miami man’s attempted murder charge to aggravated battery Tuesday, two days after police said he stabbed his building’s security guard during an argument
Lloyd Campbell, 28, was arrested on a charge of attempted murder with a deadly weapon following the incident at the building at 5185 NW 29th Ave., according to a Miami-Dade Police arrest affidavit released Tuesday.
But Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Maria Elena Verde found probable cause for the lesser chage of aggravated battery in bond court, after an attorney for Campbell argued that the fight between the two men did not make it an attempted murder case.
Campbell, who was hospitalized for an injury to his left eye, appeared in court wearing a white eye patch. He cried at various points during the hearing, including when he removed the patch to show his injury.
Verde ordered Campbell to stay away from the alleged victim.
“You need to understand this,” the judge told Campbell. “This is very, very serious. I’m allowing you to post your bond, but you can have zero contact with the victim on this case.”
The judge initially set his bond at $7,500, but ultimately decided to release him through The Alternative Program (T.A.P.), an alternative form of pretrial supervision.
Campbell first cried as the judge reviewed the case file as the hearing began.
“Thank you, Ma’am, for taking the time out to read it,” he said.
When his attorney asked him how long he’s lived in Miami, Campbell replied, “All my life. I’m a good citizen,” his voice breaking.
“OK, Mr. Campbell, I’m trying to help you, I’m trying to help you,” the attorney said. “I know you’re upset, but we’ll try to help you. Please.”

According to the affidavit, Campbell confronted the security guard in the building’s lobby and made derogatory comments. The two got into an argument and Campbell pulled out a pocketknife, the affidavit said.
Campbell cut the guard on his arm, causing multiple lacerations, and the guard punched Campbell and slammed him to the ground in self-defense, the affidavit said.
The struggle continued and Campbell was able to stab the guard in the abdomen and leg before he fled the scene, the affidavit said. He was quickly caught by officers.
The victim, who wasn’t identified, was taken to Ryder Trauma Center in serious but stable condition.
When officers interviewed Campbell, he told them he had been eating lunch in the lobby of the building with a friend when the guard started provoking him, the affidavit said. Campbell also claimed the guard hit him first.
Campbell’s attorney, referring to his eye injury, said Campbell justifiably defended himself.
Campbell said he does not work, and said he receives Social Security benefits because he has a learning disability and cannot read well.
He thanked the judge multiple times, including when she found probable cause for aggravated battery.
“Ma’am, thank you for taking the time out to listen to me,” he said. “I really appreciate it.”

Source: NBC6

Security officer shoots Houston man www.privateofficer.com

HOUSTON TX Feb 26 2013 A security officer is being questioned by police after shooting a man at an apartment complex in southwest Houston early this morning.

It happened at around 5am at the Westwood Square apartment complex on Gulfton near Westward. We’re told the shooting took place in the breezeway between two apartment buildings.

At this point, there are not a lot of details about what happened, but police did question the security guard at the scene. CPR was being performed on the man who was shot as he was being taken to the hospital.

That man was taken to the hospital in critical condition.

College Station tenant accused of attacking security guard www.privateofficer.com

College Station TX Jan 14 2013 A 21-year-old College Station man was arrested Saturday on two felony charges after he punched a security guard and pressed an activated power drill to the back of his neck, police said.Officers were dispatched to The Lofts apartments on Holleman Drive just before 1 a.m. Saturday for a report of an assault in progress, arrest reports state.
When police arrived, the security guard had Matthew Alexander Lentz restrained in the common area of the apartment.
The guard told police that Lentz had entered the lobby of the complex where he was on duty and appeared highly intoxicated. The guard took Lentz’s keys and driver’s license and escorted him to his apartment, the reports state.
When the guard attempted to leave the apartment, Lentz locked the door, stood in front of it, then punched the guard in the temple, reports state.
As the guard called 911, Lentz left the room and came back with a cordless power drill, which he activated and pushed to the guard’s neck.
According to the reports, the guard was able to restrain the 21-year-old until authorities arrived.
Lentz was charged with assault on a security officer, a third-degree felony. He was also charged with harassment of a public servant, also a third-degree felony, after he spat on an officer while receiving medical treatment, reports state.
Lentz was released from the Brazos County Jail later Saturday after posting $16,000 bail.

source-theeagle.com

Fresno security officer tackles armed man wanted by police www.privateofficer.com

Fresno CA Jan 14 2013 A security guard tackled a man running from police and held him for the officers early Wednesday morning in northwest Fresno.
The man was arrested on a charge of being a felon carrying a loaded derringer, police Sgt. Steve Crawford said.
The incident happened about 3:30 a.m. near Marks and Alamos avenues. Officers saw the man riding a bicycle through an apartment complex. When officers tried to talk to him, he fled on the bicycle, then threw it down and started to run.
Crawford said the man tossed away a .38 caliber handgun as he ran. The suspect was stopped by the security guard and taken into custody.
Officers are checking to see if the handgun was stolen.

Police also want information about vehicle burglaries and home break-ins in the neighborhood near San Jose and Marty avenues. Neighbors can call (559) 498-STOP. Source:Fresnobee.com

Des Moines woman arrested for backing into security officer www.privateofficer.com

Des Moines IA Jan 12 2013
A Des Moines woman was arrested after allegedly backing her van into an apartment security officer Tuesday afternoon.
Rhashida Russell, 35, reportedly got into a dispute with the manager at River Hills Apartments in the 700 block of East 5th Street, as well as the security officer around 3 p.m. Both told Russell several times to leave the property, and told Russell they were calling police after she struck and broke a thermostat in the office, police said.

Russell got into her van to leave the property and security officer Dawn Konen stood behind the vehicle to take a picture of the license plate, police said.
Russell allegedly put the van in reverse and backed into Konen, striking her in the knee. Konen told police she feared if she fell down she would be run over so she grabbed the rear window wiper blade, causing the window to shatter.
Officers said Russell made comments indicating she knew Konen was behind the van taking a picture.
Konen sustained a bruise to her knee and elbow and a cut to her thumb.
Russell was charged with assault with a weapon and fifth-degree criminal mischief. She has been released from the Polk County Jail.

4 Women Fatally Shot At Tulsa Apartment www.privateofficer.com

Tulsa OK January 8, 2013
Police in Tulsa say four women were found shot to death inside an apartment and authorities are searching for a suspect in the deaths.
A 4-year-old boy found in the same apartment was unharmed.
Police spokeswoman Officer Jill Roberson says police received a 911 call shortly after 12:30 p.m. Monday about the victims. It was not immediately clear what relationship the boy has with the victims.
Roberson says investigators are on the scene to identify the victims and determine how they died.
Tulsa police spokesman Officer Leland Ashley says the women all suffered gunshot wounds. Ashley tells Tulsa television station KOKI that the child has been taken into protective custody.
Ashley says police are hopeful someone in the community will come forward with more information about the shootings.

New Charlotte ordinance requires all rental property owners to register www.privateofficer.com

Charlotte NC Dec 31 2012 Starting Tuesday, a new ordinance requires all rental property owners in Charlotte to register their buildings with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, which CMPD says will help it respond quicker to emergencies and track spots in the city where crime is flourishing.
Property owners must go to the city’s website and register information such as the owner’s name, home address, home phone number, best contact number, email addresses and the range of rental property addresses they oversee.
The information will provide a database that can help police.
“All we’ve wanted to do with this information from day one is to tell someone when something has occurred on their property,” Capt. Steve Willis said.
Six-month grace period
Though the ordinance takes effect Tuesday, CMPD will give rental property owners a six-month grace period to register.
“We’re not chasing owners down to register,” said Willis.
Registration is free for nearly all rental property owners. Only those landlords of the most troubled rentals – locations that fall in the top 4 percent of police calls and crime statistics – will have to pay a fee.
After registration, those property owners will be notified by the city that they have to pay an administrative fee, which Willis said can range from $350 for single-family homes to upwards of $1,300 for large apartment complexes.
Willis said that the department’s goal has always been to register all rental properties in the city. But when the ordinance was first passed, the language required landlords of only the most crime-troubled properties to register.
In a 9-2 vote in June, the Charlotte City Council approved changes to its two-year-old rental registration ordinance. Two Republican council members, Warren Cooksey and Andy Dulin, voted against making all landlords register.
“I thought it was going to be intrusive on people’s businesses that are doing business right,” Dulin said. “Such a small percentile of rental properties are problem properties I didn’t want to penalize people that are using good business practices.”
But Dulin said he “didn’t lose any sleep” over losing the vote.
“Police know where the troubled properties are already. This is just going to be another tool for our police to be able to try to keep others safe,” he said.
Ken Szymanski, executive director of the Greater Charlotte Apartment Association, was also originally against universal registration for Charlotte’s 170,000-plus rental units.
He said he didn’t understand why rental property owners needed to register when the city already has two databases with that information: the tax assessor’s records and the register of deeds.
“Anytime you deal with a government program, there’s a concern that it will morph into something bigger and more expensive,” he said. “But City Council has spoken, and it’s time to comply.”
Willis said the information from registration will be more current and more accessible than information from other sources.
“It hasn’t always been easy to find the owner of a property,” Willis said.
Szymanski said he can understand the frustration police felt when looking for rental property owners who may be in another state or simply untraceable.
“Their need is for better information so they can respond to an emergency situation,” he said. “They need to get ahold of someone in minutes and not weeks.”
Long term, registering with the police may help property owners prevent crime in their rental units, Willis said.
All owners who give CMPD an email address during registration will receive a regular summary of reported incidents and calls for service in and around the property.
This may help the rental property owner remove troublesome occupants quicker.
For instance, if an apartment complex has a ban on noise violations – and the owner is notified that a tenant has had repeated visits from police for that very reason – the complex can use that information as grounds to evict the resident.
Holding more ‘accountable’
Szymanski said the information will also give property owners insight on whether to beef up security, increase lighting or take other steps to deter crime.
“We’re trying to hold everybody accountable to where owners are aware of what’s going on in their property so they can take the civil actions needed,” Willis said. “It could help prevent them from ever getting to that 4 percent.”
If a rental property owner fails to register, the police department will remind them to register if and when they respond to a call for service on the property.
If the owner still does not register, that person could be charged with a failure to register, a misdemeanor, and will have to go before a district court judge, Willis said.
“That’s really a last resort,” Willis said. “I can’t fathom why an owner would not want to know what’s going on in their property.”

source-Charlotte Observer

Three people killed in DeKalb County Ga. shooting www.privateofficer.com

 

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. Nov 23 2012 — A shooting in DeKalb County left three people dead Wednesday.

DeKalb investigators said the victims were at the Crystal Pointe Apartments complex onColumbia Drive to confront the shooter about stolen money.

Three bodies, two men and a woman were found in the parking lot of the complex early Wednesday morning.

Witnesses told Channel 2’s Darryn Moore they heard several rounds of gunfire in the parking lot around 1 a.m. The gunfire stopped, a woman started screaming, and several more shots were fired.

“I was walking my dog coming down the sidewalk and I actually heard gun shots, so I hurried up and got my dog in the house and I went in the house and laid on the floor,” Frederick Battle said.

Another witness, who asked not to be named, told Channel 2’s Erica Byfield the female victim was begging for her life.

“We heard some people yelling and a woman was saying, ‘Oh my God. Oh my God. No No,’ and all I heard was pow pow, pow pow,” he said.

Authorities said it appears as though there are multiple gunshot shell casings and different pieces of evidence. Police spent hours collecting evidence at the scene and trying to get information about the killer.

Witnesses said a car sped off after the shooting and someone ran away.

Police have not identified the victims and no description of the killer is available yet.

Source:WSB

Pittsburgh security officer shoots motorist dragging his partner www.privateofficer.com

Pittsburgh PA Nov 22 2012

A private security officer working at the Crafton Heights shot and wounded a motorist Tuesday night who was dragging his partner at the housing development city police said.

The shooting occurred shortly after 9 p.m. at the development on Woodlow Street where the security officers had cited the motorist for defiant trespass and were holding him for Pittsburgh police, city police Lt. Daniel M. Herrmann said.

Before city police arrived, the security officers told detectives, the motorist began to drive away, dragging one of the guards along the street. His partner then shot the motorist in the arm, Herrmann said.

Robert Moore, 30, of Wilkinsburg, is charged with two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of reckless endangerment and one count of defiant trespass

According to criminal complaint, Mark Miksic, a security officer with Pond Security Service, was patrolling the Mountain View complex on Woodlow Street when he spotted Mr. Moore, who is not allowed on the property, with his girlfriend, a resident, in the parking lot walking towards a Chevy Lumina.

Mr. Moore got into the driver’s seat and his girlfriend into the passenger’s seat. Mr. Miksic pointed his gun at Mr. Moore and ordered him out the car.

He put his gun back in the holster and grabbed Mr. Moore.

The guard told police Mr. Moore started driving away with him holding on, dragging him.

Another guard, Brian Quinn, was in front of the car and yelled at Mr. Moore to stop, he told police.

“He felt he could not get out of the way so he fired his weapon at … the driver,” police wrote in the complaint.

The shot struck Mr. Moore in the arm. When police arrived on scene, he had a T-shirt tied around the wound.

He was taken to the Allegheny County Jail after being released from Allegheny General Hospital, where he was treated for the gunshot wound.

Pond Security Service executive director Kelly Sieber said both guards are legally certified to carry firearms.

“Pond Security is following our corporate procedures, and we are fully cooperating with the Pittsburgh Police with their ongoing investigation,” she wrote in an email. “That is all the information we can provide at this time.

Memphis security officer captures suspect in shooting death www.privateofficer.com

 

Memphis TN Nov 16 2012

Memphis police say that a security officer patrolling the Frayser Apartment complex spotted a man approach four men outside one of the buildings and within minutes pull a handgun and fire it into the crowd.

Police responded to the shooting shortly after 8 p.m. in the 3100 block of Madewell off Dellwood where they found Terry Johnson lying face down on the ground. He had been shot, and was pronounced dead at the scene after unsuccessful attempts to revive him

The security officer told police, according to a court affidavit, that he gave chase, and eventually caught and detained the suspect until police arrived.

Darryl Claxton, 21, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.

He is being held without bond in Shelby County Jail.

A motive in the shooting was unclear.

Elderly man shoots apartment manager after eviction www.privateofficer.com

 

 

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama Oct 7 2012 – Clifford Cook, 72, has been charged with attempted murder in this morning’s shooting at 1301 Monroe Avenue, Birmingham police announced this afternoon.

Cook is being held on $60,000 bond at the Jefferson County Jail.

Birmingham police have said Cook shot the manager of an apartment manager complex. Cook was evicted by the manager on Thursday, police said.

The woman was found seriously injured on the office floor, and was taken to UAB Hospital. A hospital spokeswoman tonight said she is in critical condition.

Police were called to the complex at about 10 a.m.

Officers also found that Cook rammed several vehicles with his van. Cook also damaged vehicles with a hammer prior to the shooting.

Cook later turned himself in to an officer at the City Jail Magistrate’s office.

Source: al.com

Fort Myers public housing trespassing policy under fire www.privateofficer.com

 

Fort Myers Fla Sept 26 2012 Marvin Tory last week took a circuitous route to his grandmother’s house. He walked beyond his backyard in Dunbar and trudged through tangled brush and a watery ditch.

The 24-year-old worries he could be arrested for trespassing if he uses sidewalks near his home, which sits on a cul-de-sac facing Sabal Palm apartments. The public housing complex, home to almost 500 residents, has been the target of heavy police enforcement of trespassing in recent years, especially after a shooting last year wounded two children.

“I want to walk the street and feel free,” said Tory. “They should be worried about the killers and people who are robbing people and selling drugs. People, like me, a disabled person, why they be messing with me?”

Tory has an intellectual disability. In March, he was arrested for trespassing in public housing. The case was dropped because there was proof he had been invited.

The Fort Myers housing authority, which hires police for extra patrols, has taken a tough stance on trespassing as the city tries to squelch a recent wave of violent crime. Black men have been taken to jail while visiting their children or walking through public housing during the day, records show. The men had been banned from the property before, but the recent cases weren’t prosecuted.

Lawyers argue the authority’s stance infringes on constitutional rights. Black men feel harassed. Residents range from frustrated to grateful. Everyone agrees on this point: The almost 3,000 people in the city’s public housing deserve a peaceful place to rear their children.

Where they diverge is the best way to ensure that without sacrificing liberty. The authority’s board will reconsider a draft trespassing policy that bars felons without legitimate business from the properties at its October meeting.

“The objective is not to create fear of police,” said Justin Stockman, a Fort Myers attorney who represents the housing authority. “The cops aren’t here to harass you. They’re here to protect you.

“We don’t want to violate any constitutional provisions and that’s why we’re taking our time.“

Several months ago, Christine Matthews, a Dunbar resident and owner of I Gotcha Bail Bonds, began noting a trend. Almost daily, it seemed, she was bonding out young men for trespassing in public housing. For some, it was their first arrest.

In March, a 26-year-old man with no criminal record was arrested in Sabal Palm after an officer saw him with his car hood open. He told the officer he was there to jump-start his cousin’s car. His case was dismissed after he went through a diversion program.

“It started getting ridiculous,” Matthews said. “It’s bad for young black men right now in this neighborhood. You don’t have true freedom.”

She contacted activist Anthony Thomas Jr., who has been a critic of the police. Thomas began working on the issue with the local chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He and other residents involved the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida.

Trespassing arrests, activists say, are fraying relationships with police, which are vital to solving violent crime.

In 2011, the city counted a record number of 20 homicides. A dozen occurred in the 33916 ZIP code, predominantly black neighborhoods in east Fort Myers. Public housing is mostly concentrated in the same ZIP code. To live in public housing, people must demonstrate they are not ensnared in a life of crime and they will be good neighbors.

Still, people with records are allowed to visit, if invited. Housing leaders worry about residents hiding suspects in their apartments.

Crime in public housing has significantly dropped in recent years. From 2010 to 2011, there was a 14 percent decrease, to 83 crimes. This year, police have counted 54 crimes, mostly thefts and burglaries. Around half occurred at Sabal Palm apartments.

The intent of trespassing enforcement is to keep down numbers, housing authority and police say. The authority pays police about $102,000 a year for extra patrols.

“What we’re trying to do is make it safer for the people that live there,” said Fort Myers police Lt. Jay Rodriguez, special operations lieutenant who oversees the public housing unit. “Nobody should ever be subjected to fear where they live.”

Crime that does happen on public housing is often not committed by residents.

“It’s typically the boyfriends of the girls,” said Sherri Campanale, director of the authority’s housing and maintenance operations. “The majority of our residents are law-abiding hardworking residents that need this place to live.”

In August, the housing authority staff presented a proposed trespassing policy to its board that would bar felons “without legitimate business.” Board members tabled it for further research and input after local ACLU members and activists pointed out legal and constitutional concerns. They worried mothers and children could be evicted for inviting a guest to their homes without knowing the person had been previously banned.

“This policy was a cure worse than the disease,” said Howard Simon, executive director of the ACLU of Florida. “We don’t need a vague law in Fort Myers to increase the number of young black males with a criminal record.”

Campanele said people can call to request to have the lifetime ban lifted. She will consider it if they have had a clean background for about three years. Otherwise, they can be arrested.

“I’d rather have the community come down on me for being hard than not doing enough to protect our residents,” she said.

Douglas Hogg, a public housing resident who sits on the housing authority’s board, is behind a strict no-trespassing policy.

“It’s needed for the protection of some of the residents,” he said. “The police are doing a job and we all appreciate it.”

Not prosecuted

Almost 20 percent of trespassing arrests made by Fort Myers police this year were not prosecuted by the state attorney’s office, court records show. Some trespassing stops in public housing led to additional charges such as marijuana or cocaine possession.

The News-Press analyzed the 55 cases that weren’t prosecuted or lacked evidence to file a charge, though many had been cited or arrested for trespassing before. About half those arrests were made in public housing, mostly in Sabal Palm. Among the public housing arrests, all but two involved black men.

In one case, an officer pursued a 32-year-old after he saw the man cradling his baby. In two cases where men were biking or walking through housing property, prosecutors found there was no reasonable suspicion to justify stopping them.

An invitation is a defense, even if a person has been banned from the property.

“You’re not violating the law if you’re invited,” said Samantha Syoen, a State Attorney’s Office spokeswoman. “If they have a defense, we can’t prosecute.”

In February, Jimmy Kendrick, a 30-year-old studying to become a paralegal, said he drove to Sabal Palm to take his best friend’s ill wife to the hospital, although he had been arrested there for trespassing before. He hired defense attorney Karen Miller to fight it and the housing authority agreed to lift Kendrick’s trespassing. His criminal case went no further.

“What I’m concerned about is that these people are not bad people but they’re poor people and they’re being denied access to their own friends and families for no real reason,” Miller said.

Concerns voiced

Giggling children chased one another around the parking lots of Sabal Palm apartments off Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard one recent afternoon. A few boys admired young men they called gangsters who toted guns.

People were eager to voice concerns about how trespassing is being handled. One man said he was grateful for the enforcement but asked his name not be printed.

Shindella Horne, a 25-year-old Sabal Palm resident with two young children, appreciates the attention to preventing the violence but questions the cost.

After years of being barred, Horne’s boyfriend and the father of her children was recently able to get his ban lifted. Before, he feared visiting his children would lead to an arrest and jeopardize his job as a kitchen supervisor in the jail, she said.

“If they’re just walking and minding their own business, why harass them? It’s nonstop,” she said. “I know they’re trying to do a job but it’s getting outrageous.”

Source:news-press.com

Ga. apartment security guard shoots-kills man www.privateofficer.com

 

Austell GA Sept 13 2012 A security guard shot and killed a man in a gated Austell apartment complex Tuesday night, and police are investigating whether the shooter should be charged.

A 19-year-old man was also injured in the crossfire.

Following her husband’s shooting, Mr. Andre Oliver’s wife said the security guard has a history of picking fights with them and trying to get them evicted.

Other witnesses agreed, saying the security guard did not have to shoot the man, according to media reports.

The shooting happened shortly before 9:50 p.m. at 360 Six Flags Drive, according to Cobb County police.

Witnesses told police Mr. Oliver, 27, was shot by a security guard in the parking lot after getting into a fight with him, police spokesman Sgt. Dana Pierce said.

Investigators did not say why the men were fighting.

Still, it’s unclear what prompted the gunfire and police have not said whether Mr. Oliver was armed.

Mr. Jacoby Adams was also struck in the leg by a stray round, Sgt. Pierce said.

Both men were transported to Grady Memorial Hospital where Mr. Oliver died from his injuries, Sgt. Pierce said. Mr. Adams has since been released, he said.

“The security guard responsible for the shooting has not been charged and his name is not being released at this time pending a thorough investigation of the incident,” Sgt. Pierce said.

But the deadly shooting has raised the ire of some of the apartment’s residents who wants to see the security guard prosecuted.

Mrs. Davine Oliver, the dead man’s widow, told Channel 2 Action News that her husband was fighting with a security guard who had a history of picking fights with them.

She said she tried to break it up, but the guard shot her husband and the father of their 1-year-old son twice.

Witnesses said the guard shot him a third time after he fell to the ground, the news station reported.

Police have not said how many times the man was shot.

“I really don’t know what to do. I don’t. We had issues with this security guard for so long,” Mrs. Oliver said.

Other residents said they also had trouble with the security guard harassing them.

Ms. Valerie Dennis told CBS Atlanta she knew the victim and his family. “It’s tragic, it’s awful. It’s heart wrenching because she didn’t have to go through this,” Ms. Dennis said.

She said they’ve been complaining about how the guard treats the residents.

“He pulled a pistol on me, pulled it out on other people. You take the job too seriously. You ain’t a police officer,” Ms. Jenkins said.

She tells the news station she wants to see the security guard imprisoned.

“He should not get out. He should not even breathe the air we breathe. This man is crazy. He’s outta his head,” said Dennis.

Minnesota State University student arrested for hitting security officer with car www.privateofficer.com

 

MANKATO MN Sept 4 2012 — Felony assault charges have been filed against a Minnesota State University student who allegedly clipped an apartment complex security guard with his car.

Police were called to the complex near the intersection of Briargate Road and Monks Avenue at about 1:50 a.m. Aug. 24. A security guard there reported he had hit a car’s windshield with his flashlight as it sped toward him in a parking lot.

The guard said he was patrolling the complex on foot when he saw a Volkswagen Jetta speeding through the parking lot. After the car was parked nearby, the guard walked toward it to tell the driver to slow down, according to a criminal complaint filed last week. The driver drove to the other side of the parking lot before the guard could reach him.

When he started walking toward the car again, the driver drove directly at him, the guard reported. He said he used the flashlight to see the driver’s face and make sure the driver knew he was there. The driver only grinned and kept driving toward the guard, the complaint said.

The guard told police he used his hand to push himself away from the car as it clipped him. In the process, the guard said he likely broke the car’s windshield with the flashlight. The guard used that damage to identify the car in the parking lot the following day.

Officers later learned that 20-year-old Miller Winston Crawford, who lives in the apartment complex, had called management there the day after the incident to report a security guard had broken his car window the night before. When Crawford was questioned by an officer, he said he wanted to talk to an attorney before he talked to the officer.

Crawford was arrested and charged with felony second-degree assault and gross misdemeanor charges of criminal vehicular operation.

Source:thefreepress.com

Atlantic Springs apartment security officer nabs “Peeper” www.privateofficer.com

 

CORAL SPRINGS Fla Aug 31 2012 — — A security guard at Atlantic Springs had heard residents’ complaints of a man going around peeping through people’s windows, according to a police report.

So Monday night, when the guard saw a man walk through bushes in front of a window to peer inside an apartment, he told the man, “What you are doing is wrong,” and he called police, the report said.
The suspect, Scott Howard Iglehart, 50, was taken into custody at his apartment Monday night on one count of voyeurism and one count of possession of cannabis less than 20 grams, the report said. He was freed from jail on $100 bond, jail records show.

Wednesday, Iglehart declined to comment, only to say, “It’s probably not smart to talk about it at this point.”

About 10:20 p.m. Monday, police responded to the security guard’s prowler report at Atlantic Springs in the 11200 block of West Atlantic Boulevard, the police report said.

The guard said he had seen a heavy-set man with gray hair and a gray goatee, the report said. The description was similar to one given by residents of the prowler they had been complaining about.

The guard told Iglehart he knew Iglehart was up to no good. Iglehart allegedly replied, “I know. I don’t want any problems.” Iglehart, who lives in the complex, walked back to his unit, the report said. During police questioning, Iglehart said he had walked over to an area to smoke “weed,” the report said. When he saw the guard, he said he only crouched down near the window to try and hide, the report said.

Police determined Inglehart had been secretly watching a 16-year-old girl inside an apartment, the report said. An officer interviewed the girl and her mother, the report said.
The arrest report said Inglehart had looked through the girl’s window “with lewd, lascivious and indecent intent.”

Source:tribune.com

Natchez security guard stabs two men during attack www.privateofficer.com

 

Natchez MS Aug 12 2012
Police are investigating a double stabbing at the Holiday apartments in which a security guard stabbed two people who refused to leave the property and a passer by was shot during a retaliation attempt.

Police say that the security guard, Amos Speight, 63 asked Jamarius Jackson and Justin McGuire to leave the property because thye had been previously banned from the apartment complex.

Instead of leaving, both men tried assaulting the guard and that’s when he pulled a knife and stabbed them.

Both men were taken to the University of Mississippi Medical Center and underwent surgery.

A short time later, someone drove by the apartment complex and began shooting toward Speight and struck a female who was walking nearby. She was taken to an area hospital with a non-life threatening gunshot wound.

No arrests have been made.

San Antonio security officer captures armed robbery suspect www.privateofficer.com

 

SAN ANTONIO TX July 30 2012 – Police say that a fast acting apartment security officer prevented the escape of a man who had shot a 30-year-old man during a robbery attempt.
The man is fighting for his life after he was shot in the stomach for refusing to hand over his laptop.

The victim was near his car outside the Oaks on Bandera apartments, in the 1200 block of Bandera Road, when he was approached a man with a gun around 2:30 a.m., San Antonio police said.

The victim refused to give the gunman his laptop and was shot in the abdomen following a brief struggle, police said.

The suspect than tried running away but was quickly caught by the apartment’s security guard.
The security officer was able to take the man into custody until police could arrive.

The victim was taken to University Hospital in critical condition.

Unarmed Chicago security officer in critical condition after beating www.privateofficer.com

 

CHICAGO IL July 23 2012 – Police were seeking the man who pummeled an unarmed security guard outside a Bronzeville apartment complex on Saturday.

The beating occurred shortly after daybreak Saturday, outside the Lawless Gardens high-rise apartments, at 3510 S. Rhodes Av.

The security guard told police that, when the man first approached her at about 5:30 a.m., he made small talk.

Police News Affairs Officer Daniel O’Brien said that the man suddenly wrapped a shirt around the guard’s neck and punched her repeatedly in the head until she was able to struggle and get away.

A passerby called 911.

An eyewitness told WBBM Newsradio that the beating left the guard unrecognizable.

Chicago Fire Department paramedics transported the guard to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where doctors stabilized her but the assault left her in serious condition.

Central Area detectives said they are seeking a man who is in his late 20s, or early 30s. He was wearing a white tank top and blue jeans at the time.

Apartment security guard, maintenance man shot during chaos www.privateofficer.com

 

HOUSTON TX June 28 2012 – A suspect who shot several people in a violent carjacking spree died after a crash and shootout with police.

It all started at about 9am at the Wilshire Place apartment complex on Hollister near West Little York, and came to a crashing end a short distance away. The shooting chaos ended at Highway 290 and Hollister. Police spent the better part of the day investigating the multiple scenes.

Eyewitnesses describe what happened in the area earlier as violent and crazy.
Eyewitness Marianne Chernau said, “It was just like going crazy shooting people.”

Investigators say an unidentified gunman went on a shooting spree, attacking a security guard, a maintenance man and an innocent bystander moments after the guard asked him to leave the property over a disagreement.

“Had it been 30 seconds sooner, I would have been one of the people that were shot,” Chernau said.

Frightened tenants called 911, telling police the gunman was walking toward a different apartment complex. That’s where police say the man carjacked a woman, stealing her blue SUV. They say he fired several shots at police who tried stopping him.

“We are very lucky that officers were not killed. Officers, plural, that’s how dangerous this situation was,” said HPD spokesperson John Cannon.

Police say the gunman fired dozens of rounds on at least six policemen, in at least five different locations.

Cannon said, “Our officers say the guy wasn’t going high speed. He was just crazy. He kept stopping and throwing his car in reverse and firing shots at everything and everybody that moved.”

The pursuit ended at Highway 290 and Hollister. Police say the gunman crashed into several vehicles stopped at a red light.

“I saw him coming, so I tried to get over to the right as far as I can, and then he just took out all these people right here,” said eyewitness Stacy Irelene.

At least five motorists had to be rushed to the hospital. Police say the gunman suffered one bullet wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after being handcuffed.

Police say the security guard and maintenance man have gone through surgery and are expected to be OK. The injured motorists are being treated at two local hospitals. Their conditions vary. No officers were injured.

A police investigation remains underway.

Source: KTRK

Ind. man shoots 4, 1 fatally, before shooting self www.privateofficer.com

 

INDIANAPOLIS IN May 31 2012 (AP) — A gunman opened fire at an Indianapolis apartment complex Wednesday, fatally shooting a woman and critically wounding three other people before turning the gun on himself as officers confronted him, police said.

The woman who died in the Villa Paree’s leasing office was an employee of the apartment complex in the city’s northeast side, Indianapolis police spokesman Officer Kendale Adams said. Two other women and a maintenance man also were shot. All were in critical condition at local hospitals, Adams said.

Police have no information about a possible motive but believe the gunman lived at the complex.

Adams said officers confronted the gunman near the apartment complex’s pool before the man shot himself.

“Officers had encountered him, and they were actually getting ready to engage in trying to get that suspect to surrender that weapon he was holding. He did not, and he shot himself,” Adams said.

The man later died at an Indianapolis hospital. His name hasn’t been released.

The shootings occurred around 4:30 p.m. at different locations at the complex, including the apartment leasing office and the outdoor pool area, Adams said.

The maintenance worker who was shot was able to flee to a nearby strip mall, where medical personnel tended to him. Police were still at the strip mall two hours after the shooting.

Apartment complex resident Mark Taylor told WTHR-TV that his sister was among the injured. He said she was shot once in the arm and once in the thigh. Taylor said his sister didn’t know the gunman and lived near the leasing office.

“She don’t bother nobody. She don’t bother nobody at all,” he said.

Maurice Carter, a 54-year-old who’s lived at the apartment complex for four years, told The Indianapolis Star he was inside his apartment when he heard shots. Carter said he ran outside and heard more shots. He also said he knew the maintenance worker who was shot.

“He was a good guy. He was a real good maintenance worker. He talks to you with respect,” he said.

Villa Paree resident Cheryl F. Williams, 56, told The Associated Press that nothing like the shootings had ever happened in the eight years she has lived at the complex, which she said is normally quiet.

“It’s very sad and unfortunate,” Williams said.

Minneapolis police arrest man for pointing gun in security officers face www.privateofficer.com

 

Minneapolis MN May 28 2012 A Burnsville man has been charged with pointing a handgun at two security guards after they asked him to leave a Minneapolis apartment complex.

Mohamed Abdi Mohamed, 20, is charged with two felony counts of second-degree assault with a firearm, each of which carries a maximum penalty of seven years in prison and a $14,000 fine, and two felony counts of making terroristic threats, each of which has a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Mohamed remains in the Hennepin County Jail on a $75,000 bond. An omnibus hearing in his case is scheduled June 21 in Hennepin County District Court.

According to the criminal complaint, signed by Minneapolis Police Sgt. Bruce Kohn, police were called to the Riverside Plaza apartment complex just before 7 a.m. May 9 on a report of a person with a gun.

Two security guards working at the complex told police that they were assaulted by Mohamed, known by the nickname “Young Jock,” whom they had removed from the building on previous occasions.

Just after 6:30 a.m., the guards told police, they were watching surveillance video when they spotted Mohamed in the lobby of one of the buildings. The two approached Mohamed and told him he wasn’t allowed on the property; he told them he wouldn’t accompany them to the office and produced a handgun, the complaint says.

Mohamed stepped toward one of the guards and, from a distance of an arm’s length, pointed the gun into the man’s face, according to Kohn’s account. The guard shouted, “Gun, gun,” at which point Mohamed turned to the second guard and pointed the gun at his face, the complaint charges.

The second guard put his hands in the air and closed his eyes, and Mohamed ran from the building, according to the complaint.

Police subsequently reviewed surveillance video, which showed Mohamed pointing the gun at both guards, the complaint says.

Husband kills wife, sister-in-law and friend at Knox County apartment www.priavteofficer.com

 

POWELL TN May 23 2012 - Three women were shot and killed Monday afternoon at a Powell apartment complex, according to the Knox County Sheriff’s Office. The husband of one of the victims is charged with their murders.

The victims were identified as Christina Moore, 39, her twin sister, Bridgett Stagnolia of Clinton, and Amber Snellings, 24, of Lake City.

The apartments are at 7310 Old Clinton Pike. The sheriff’s office got a call about the bodies being found around 3:00 p.m.

Paul Moore, Jr., 51, was taken into custody at his brother’s house on Hickory Street. According to the warrant, Paul Moore admitted to shooting his wife and claimed not to remember shooting the other two women.

Authorities say the alleged shooter’s brother called 911 to report the incident. His pistol was recovered in a wooded area near his brother’s house.

Neighbors say Paul and Christina Moore moved into the apartment three weeks ago.

“They were very quiet. The man was very friendly. I didn’t talk to her much, but the man was very friendly,” said Amanda Riggs, who lives in an apartment close to the one where the bodies were found.

Paul Moore is being held on a $1.5 million bond. He’s charged with the first degree murders of the three women. The sheriff’s office says he has no prior criminal history in Knox County.

The motive appears to be related to domestic issues, according to investigators.

Source:  WATE

Three people were shot and killed at Knoxville apartment complex www.privateofficer.com

 

KNOXVILLE TN May 22 2012 - Three people were shot and killed Monday afternoon at an apartment complex, according to the Knox County Sheriff’s Office.

The apartments are at 7310 Old Clinton Highway.

A fourth person was taken into custody at another location.

The sheriff’s office has not released the identities of anyone involved or any other details about the incident.

Source:WATE

Atlanta woman faces child cruelty charges after security finds child hungry, alone at apartment www.privateofficer.com

 

Atlanta GA May 15 2012 A northwest Atlanta woman is facing cruelty to children charges for allegedly leaving three small children ranging in age from 8 months to 2 years old alone in an apartment.

Atlanta police spokeswoman Kim Jones said that about 5:45 a.m. Monday, a security guard working at the complex on Rhodes Street noticed one of the children at the top of the stairs in the apartment and another child at the bottom of the stairs.

The security guard also told police “that the downstairs of the apartment was in disarray and there was no food in the house,” Jones said.

The children did not appear to be injured, but were taken to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Hughes Spalding to be checked out, Jones said. Medical personnel later determined that the children were healthy.

“Around 8 a.m., the children’s mother, Lynn Danielle Warner, called 911 and stated that her children were missing,” Jones said.

She said officers arrested Warner, 25, and charged her with cruelty to children and reckless conduct.

Source:AJC