Police Officer
William D. “Bill” Talbert

Montgomery County Police Department, Maryland

End of Watch: Friday, January 27, 2012
Bio & Incident Details
Age: 64

Tour: 13 years

Badge # Not available

Military veteran

Cause: Duty related illness

Incident Date: Not available

Weapon: Automobile; Alcohol involved

Suspect: Not available

Police Officer Bill Talbert died as the result of contracting Hepatitis C.

Officer Talbert contracted the disease following a blood transfusion in 1980 after being injured by a drunk driver. He was standing between his patrol car and another vehicle when a drunk driver struck one of the vehicles, causing Officer Talbert to be pinned between them. He was transported to a local hospital where he underwent a blood transfusion. It was discovered later that the blood he received was infected with Hepatitis C.

He was forced to medically retire in 1984 and his health continued to deteriorate until he passed away on January 27, 2012.

Officer Talbert was a U.S. Navy veteran and had served with the Montgomery County Police Department for 13 years when he was forced to retire. He is survived by his wife, daughter, three sons, ten grandchildren, and sister.

Please contact the following agency to send condolences or to obtain funeral arrangements:

Chief of Police Thomas Manger
Montgomery County Police Department
2350 Research Boulevard
Rockville, MD 20850

Phone: (301) 279-8000

 

HAMBURG, NY Jan 30 2012- Town of Hamburg Police have charged 28-year-old Jacob Lester of Angola with the robbery of the McKinley branch of Northwest Savings Bank on January 9th. The suspect entered the bank that day wearing an “Incredible Hulk” ski mask and ordered the teller at gunpoint to put cash into a carpenter’s bag, then fled on foot.

Lester was arrested on Thursday at the McKinley Mall for shoplifting. The arresting officer, Joseph O’Brien, observed that Lester resembled the composite had been created from a witness account that saw the suspect outside the bank before he put the mask on. He also noticed that Lester was wearing the same necklace as the robbery suspect. Lester was transported to the Hamburg Police station for processing on the shoplifting charge. In the meantime, detectives obtained a search warrant for his residence where they recovered the black gun, the coat and the canvas tool bag that was used in the robbery.

Lester is charged with robbery in the first degree, a B felony, as well as grand larceny and menacing. He was arraigned on Friday in Hamburg Town Court and remanded to the Erie County Holding Center on $50,000 bail. He is scheduled to return for a felony hearing on January 31st.

Source:wkbw.com

VISALIA, Calif. Jan 30 2012  - A Visalia teen is in jail- accused of shooting two people inside the Visalia Mall, Friday, in what police are calling an isolated incident between rival gangs.

Shoppers returned to the mall Saturday, along with several police officers and beefed-up security.

Two men were shot.

Police say the bullets may have been meant for 20-year-old Miguel Alcala, but that 21-year-old Steven Haynes was an innocent bystander.

Both are expected to be okay.

Shoppers returned to the mall Saturday but say the vibe inside isn’t the same.

“The tension in the mall right now. All the police, the canine. It kind of makes you nervous, it’s uneasy. You kind of want to do your thing and get out of there,” said Monica Joosten, a Visalia mother.

Joosten says as her kids were nervous than she was about shopping here.

“My kids were very reluctant to come, I guess yeah it still is scary. Especially if you have kids,” said Joosten.

Other shoppers were thinking along the same lines.

“Honestly, I was like I’ll never go back to the Visalia mall again, I’d rather do my shopping somewhere else,” said Marlene Pantoja, a Visalia resident.

Mall officials and police stress that Friday’s shooting wasn’t random.

They arrested 18-year-old Anthony Hansen of Visalia, a known gang member.

They say two rival gangs happened to cross paths inside the mall, sparking the gunfire.

Visalia police say they are still looking for several other people connected to this shooting.

Source:KMPH

Hanover County VA Jan 30 2012 A 40-year-old man and his 3-year-old twin daughters were found dead in their Mechanicsville home by Hanover County deputies Saturday after the department responded to a call about suspicious deaths at the residence.

At 3:36 p.m., the sheriff’s office received an emergency call about the home off Mechanicsville Turnpike near Lee-Davis High School. When officers arrived, they found the man and the girls dead, said Sgt. Chris Whitley, a spokesman for the department.

Whitley did not reveal the cause of death and did not immediately release the names of the victims. He said the county medical examiner was investigating and that the names were being withheld pending notification of family.

The deaths were being investigated as suspicious, but Whitley said there was no danger to the public and that no suspect was being sought.

It wasn’t immediately clear if the childrens’ mother lived in the home in the 7900 block of Wynbrook Lane, Whitley said.

“Investigators are collecting and evaluating evidence in an effort to determine the sequence of events that led up to this tragic incident,” Whitley said in a statement. “Preliminary investigation indicates that there are no suspects at large in this case. Upon making proper notification to the next-of-kin, the deceased’s names will be released.

“This is truly a tragic incident and our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the deceased,” he said.

Sheriff’s personnel were working at the scene for more than seven hours after the initial call. About 10 p.m., two unmarked black vans pulled into the gravel driveway of the brick, ranch-style house. Stretchers were taken out at 10:11 p.m. and 10:19 p.m. The vans pulled away at 10:23 p.m. After the vans left, deputies stayed behind to secure the home.

A forensics team appeared to be working just inside the front door of the home after 9 p.m., with a steady flash from a camera visible through the glass on the door. At least two of the home’s windows were broken.

The deaths come in a county that has seen two young people slain in little more than a month. All of the deaths, though unrelated, have been in the same vicinity.

In December, Lee-Davis student Jyreffe Clark died in what is being termed an accidental shooting. Last week, Atlee student Brett Wells was shot to death in an alleged drug deal that officers said turned into a robbery.

“They’re all unrelated, but it’s been a tough month,” said Whitley.

Source:Richmond Times Dispatch

Boydton, Va. Jan 30 2012 — When things got tough, the people of this Southside hamlet made a hard decision. They welcomed into their midst the Mecklenburg Correctional Center, a sallow-trimmed building filled with murderers and rapists that promised to pump jobs and revenue back into the ailing economy.

For three decades, that decision buoyed Boydton, a blue-collar community so proud of its scrappiness that U.S. News and World Report once called it: “A Small Town That Refuses to Die.”

But as the town prepared for its 200th anniversary in February, it was blindsided by news the state planned to shutter the prison, which houses about 730 inmates.

Boydton ultimately will lose 20 percent of its annual budget — revenue that comes from providing sewer services to the prison — and the area is poised to lose 300 jobs. Officials fear they will have to lay off most of the town’s workers, including its only police officer; triple some water rates; and cut back on trash pickups. More than $1.5 million in grants are in jeopardy. If the town does not get help from the state, it could go bankrupt and be dissolved.

Boydton’s bicentennial could turn into its wake.

“They call Boydton a little Mayberry – and that’s what it is,” said Alan Panther, who has lived in the town of about 480 all his life and works at the prison. “We were really trying to make a comeback. All that work is going to go down the drain.”

The story of Boydton is playing out in small towns across Virginia and around the nation. Many depressed rural communities welcomed prisons in recent decades as sources of jobs and revenue — The Post dubbed it “salvation through incarceration.”

But budget woes and moves to jail fewer nonviolent offenders are leading states to mothball dozens of correctional facilities — an unexpected blow for communities already suffering from the recession. In 2o10, the overall U.S. prison population declined for the first time in four decades to 1.6 million and at least 13 states closed prisons. Virginia alone has closed 10, in addition to Mecklenburg, since 2009.

Many in towns that saw factories go overseas and farms wither never imagined a prison could disappear too. The jobs were supposed to be recession proof. After all, it was government work and there was always more bad guys to lock up. They built their lives and communities around that belief.

Now they are watching their last economic lifelines go away and wondering: How will we survive?

‘You could hear a pin drop’

Two weeks before Christmas, word spread among the tightknit group of prison workers that there would be an emergency meeting. About 100 correctional officers and other employees filed into the prisoners’ visiting room the night of Dec. 12 with no idea what was to come.

“ ‘I’m going to cut right to the chase. Because of cutbacks we are closing the facility,’ ” Panther recalled a state corrections official announcing. “It was a shock. You could hear a pin drop in the room.”

The prison sits on a bluff, a short drive and a world away from Boydton’s picturesque downtown with its quaint storefronts and whitewashed, 1830s courthouse.

Opened in 1976, the prison is a collection of institutional brown buildings surrounded by razor wire. At one time, it housed death row and it was dubbed a “monument to failure.”

For Boydton, it was anything but that. The prison is now the fifth-largest employer in Mecklenburg and it pays Boydton $240,000 a year for sewage services. Guards eat lunch at the local watering hole, the Copper Kettle, and visitors stop by the Dollar General.

The prison’s importance to the town was cemented in the last decade as Mecklenburg saw the twin pillars of its economy crumble: manufacturing and tobacco. A Burlington Industries textile mill and Russell Stover Candy plant closed, leaving more than 3,500 out of work, and health concerns about cigarettes drove a long slide in tobacco farming.

Marilyn Boyd has found herself at the center of Mecklenburg’s declining fortunes. She worked at Burlington Industries for 15 years and was laid off when its mill closed in 2002. She had planned to retire there.

Boyd sought work at the prison because it seemed a safe harbor in a county that has one of Virginia’s highest unemployment rates — 8.8 percent. She had hoped to retire there, too.

But after 35 years of operation, Gov. Robert F. McDonnell announced the prison would close in May. Officials said Pennsylvania triggered the closure by deciding to remove about 1,000 prisoners housed under contract in Virginia.

Virginia prisoners will move to Chatham’s Green Rock prison, a newer facility where officials said they could be held more cheaply. But the future for workers is less certain.

McDonnell pledged to provide “as much assistance as possible” to employees. Officials said they will be able to place about half at prisons within commuting distance. The transfers will begin in February. Eligible workers can also take early retirement, while laid-off workers will get a severance package.

Boyd is banking on a transfer, but the prison’s imminent closure has left her with a sickly sense of familiarity. At 48, with Burlington gone and the prison going, she has few options.

“This is our second go-round with a closing, and Mecklenburg is our last big employer,” she said.

Refusing to die

Johnathan Kirkland is Boydton’s police chief — and its police force. Boydton is small enough, and safe enough, for a department of one. The biggest crime he has seen in his nine months on the job: a break-in at an old oil factory.

As he cruises around town, the 26-year-old knows every face and he chats with residents. He is the third generation of Kirklands to serve and protect in Mecklenburg. His father was a police officer in neighboring Chase City and his grandfather was a county sheriff’s deputy.

Kirkland took the job because he thought government work would be safe in these bad economic times. Now, he is looking at possibly being laid off.

Boydton is quiet, but what is a small town without its police chief? The idea strikes Kirkland as a bit troubling because his job goes well beyond writing tickets — he chaperones kids on Halloween, checks homes when people are away and more.

“You kind of wonder if some of the citizens realize there is no police officer around, what might happen,” Kirkland said.

Following Kirkland out the door could be the maintenance workers, assistant clerk, wastewater treatment plant workers and others — in all two-thirds of the town’s 10 employees could be let go.

Mayor Gerald Wrenn and Treasurer Shirley Bowen spend their time looking for a lifeline. They vow the town will not lose its charter. It is a matter of pride: They do not want the town to go away on their watch.

But each day, there’s a little less cash in the town’s coffers. As it prepares to close, the prison is producing less sewage and less revenue for Boydton. They said the town will have to fill a $60,000 to $120,000 hole in its $1.2 million budget this year. By next year, that deficit will double.

The town has asked the state for help filling those holes, which could give it some breathing room to deal with its budget woes.

Wrenn is confident that if the town can get past the current crisis it is poised to reinvent itself. Microsoft opened a cloud-computing data center in a local business park, the first stage of a three-part development.

A new marina project on nearby Buggs Island Lake and a planned horse park could lure visitors. But for now, the bad economy has slowed these latter projects. “These were the engines that would fuel our turnaround,” Wrenn said. “The town has to become a destination.”

With the same hope for recovery, Boydton residents continue to plan for its anniversary. They will ring every bell in town on Feb. 3 and honor its oldest residents. Boydton is determined not to be wiped off the map.

“What are we going to be celebrating, shutting the town down?” said Bowen, on a recent afternoon at Town Hall. She pointed to the U.S. News and World Report article, which is displayed prominently and has become the town’s rallying cry. “No, we’re refusing to die.”

Source:Washington Post

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. Jan 30 2012  
A Gwinnett County man accused of stealing several flat-screen TVs by simply walking out of a store could be connected to other cases, police said.

“Sometimes it appears that he may be acting alone,” Lawrenceville Police Captain Greg Vaughn told Channel 2’s Manuel Bojorquez. “Other times, it looks like there may be somebody out there waiting in a vehicle to where they can load the TVs up and make a quick getaway,” he said.

Surveillance video from Jan. 15 at the Walmart on Collins Hill Road in Lawrenceville shows two men in the electronics department looking at televisions. Later, they’re seen loading several into shopping carts and walking out. On that night, police said, the men walked out with five flat screens.

Lawrenceville Police arrested Koso Lenga this week, but are still looking for others.

Investigators believe the men are responsible for at least three cases in Lawrenceville. They are comparing notes with other Gwinnett County cities and other metro counties that had similar crimes.

Police are also looking into how the men have been able to walk out of the store unnoticed One theory is that someone distracted security guards at the door, investigators told Bojorquez.

Ypsilanti MI Jan 30 2012 A 32-year-old Ypsilanti man is being held on a $50,000 cash bond after being charged with robbing the Chase Bank near St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Superior Township Thursday, just after he was released from the hospital.

Joshua Dettlaff, 32, is charged with one count each of armed robbery, bank robbery and unarmed robbery for allegedly robbing the Chase Bank branch on Huron River Drive on Thursday. If convicted, he faces a maximum of life in prison.

Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office Detective Michael Babycz said Dettlaff had been in the custody of the Ypsilanti Police Department and was at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital for treatment. Babycz said Dettlaff was released from the hospital and immediately walked to the bank, where he told a teller that he had a gun.

Dettlaff walked out of the bank and was arrested by an officer from the Eastern Michigan University Department of Public Safety and a sheriff’s office deputy along Hewitt Road, according to sheriff’s office spokesman Derrick Jackson. He was running along Hewitt Road near a bike path in the area of the EMU Convocation Center, Jackson said.

An undisclosed amount of money was recovered from Dettlaff, Jackson said.

During his arraignment in front of Magistrate Colleen Currie, Dettlaff attempted to plead guilty to the robbery before he was informed he could only enter a not guilty plea. He refused to be represented by the Washtenaw County Public Defender’s Office, despite informing Currie he could not pay for his own lawyer.

Dettlaff has previous convictions for third-degree home invasion and attempted unarmed robbery in Saginaw County and two convictions for stealing a financial transaction device in Eaton County, according to state records.

Detective Sgt. Troy Fulton, of the Ypsilanti Police Department, was not immediately available Friday to speak about why Dettlaff was in Ypsilanti police custody.

He is scheduled to return to court at 8:30 a.m. Feb. 7.

Source:AnnArbor.com

SPARTANBURG, SC — Jan 30 2012
A man from Spartanburg received a 10 year prison sentence after admitting to his seventh shoplifting offense.

Seventh Circuit Solicitor’s Office spokesman Murray Glenn said that Wilbur Sloan, 43, pleaded guilty Friday to his third or subsequent shoplifting offense.

According to Glenn, Sloan took a collection of household items from the Dollar General store on East Blackstock Road on December 10. A clerk watched Sloan place the items in a book bag and leave the business. A short time later, a Spartanburg County Sheriff’s deputy found him carrying the book bag while he walked through a nearby parking lot. A Dollar General employee identified Sloan and the stolen items were found inside the book bag.

“Wilbur Sloan has proven he can’t conform to the laws of our state and he richly deserves every day of his sentence,” said Assistant Solicitor Prina Tailor.

Sloan’s criminal background dates back to 1985. He has prior convictions for shoplifting, fraud, aggravated assault and battery and resisting arrest, Glenn said.

Jacksonville Fla Jan 30 2012 Two Northeast Florida women were charged last week in separate employee theft cases and both appear to be fighting uphill battles – at least by what police have released so far.
Betty Barnes, a 78-year-old wheelchair-bound Jacksonville church employee, was charged with stealing $167,000 from the church over several years by inflating her own paychecks and cashing voided checks, according to the Florida Times-Union.
The newspaper also reported Jaclyn Brown, a 21-year-old Jacksonville woman was charged with stealing more than $26,000 worth of jewelry from the Clay County jewelry store where she worked.

In both Jacksonville criminal cases, the employers appear to have detailed documentation of the alleged thefts occurring over a period of time – years for Barnes and weeks for Brown.
In many cases of employee theft, businesses notice the missing goods or money as a part of a pattern of things coming up short. Once employers suspect something, they often lay in wait to see if it happens again, getting enough evidence to terminate the employee and, if needed, take the case to the police. And, in cases where workers have been convicted, it is typically a systemic theft – not a one-shot deal.

Police told the newspaper Brown confessed to stealing the items, but none of the news reports have documented Barnes saying anything about her charges.

Juarez Mexico Jan 30 2012 Another Juárez police agent was shot and killed this morning, bringing the number of officers slain this year to eight.

The attack occurred before 9:14 a.m. today near the intersection of Cartamo and Garambullo Streets, in Colonia Granjero, a spokesperson with the state prosecutor’s office said.

The officer, who was identified as 35-year-old Julián Amado Juárez Baena, was found dead next to a red pickup truck with multiple gunshot wounds to the head and chest. Authorities recovered several 7.62×39 and .223 mm bullet casings, commonly used with AK-47 and AR-15 assault rifles.

A spokesperson with the municipal police department did not return calls to comment.

On Friday morning, two police agents were ambushed and gunned down, officials said. The two officers — a man and woman — were killed by a group of armed men when they headed into work, said Adrián Sánchez, a police spokesman.

Two police commanders were also killed earlier this month. On Wednesday, two other police officers were shot after finishing their shift, and another officer was killed earlier.

This week’s killings follow Wednesday’s discovery of about 10 banners, allegedly signed by members of the so-called New Juárez Cartel, in different parts of the city.
The messages, addressed to Juárez Police Chief Julián Leyzaola, threaten to kill a police agent every day.

Source:El Paso Times

STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. Jan 30 2012
Four people were shot outside a club in Stone Mountain on Friday night. Police said the shooting stemmed from a dispute over a drink.

“It started because somebody spilled a drink on somebody. That later turned into a fight that turned into a shooting,” DeKalb police Lt. C. Barkett told Channel 2’s Sophia Choi.

Two groups were arguing inside the Jay’s Place Lounge and Sports Bar in the Redan Plaza, DeKalb County police said. After security kicked the groups out, the fight spilled into the parking lot.

Police said two people in a car drove past a sidewalk and shot into a crowd.

“As they were leaving the parking lot, they opened fire on the other guys they had the altercations with inside,” Barkett said.

Two female bystanders were shot along with two men involved in the argument, police said. They were each shot at least once, some of them more than once. The victims were taken to Grady Hospital for treatment.

“When they left here, none were life-threatening, but all were serious,” Barkett said.

Police scoured the parking lot for bullet casings and interviewed witnesses. Officers said they are working good leads. Witnesses told them the shooters took off in a small black car.

Source:wsbtv

Hendersonville TN JAN 30 2012  Police Department responded to Wal-Mart located at 204 N. Anderson Lane in Hendersonville last week in reference to an alleged employee theft. Investigation revealed an amount in excess of $7,000 had been stolen over the course of several months.

Danielle Monique Walden, age 31, of 914 Morris Street in Gallatin, was arrested by HPD and charged with one count of theft over $1,000. The initial General Sessions Court date is 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 22 and her bond was set at $5,000.

Anyone having any information on this crime or any crime is asked to contact the C.I.D. unit at 264-5303.

Release by Detective Sergeant J.D. Coarsey – Hendersonville Police Department

ORLANDO, Fla. Jan 30 2012
Orange County deputies said they’ve busted a serial thief who was stealing from guests at a popular hotel.

As WFTV’s Steve Barrett reports, detectives said they were finally able to bust him because of how he was trying to sell the stolen stuff.

After nearly a year and a half, Orange County detectives have cracked a case they said involves thousands of dollars in theft from convention-goers and exhibitors at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort.

Rodney Hyppolite was arrested this week and charged with grand theft in the case. Some of the crimes he’s accused of date back to August 2010.

Police reports show Hyppolite admitted to stealing laptops, smartphones and other electronics while he was working at the International Drive-area hotel.

He’s also charged with theft from a local Lowe’s store.

Cops said Hyppolite profited by selling the electronics at a variety of local pawn shops – — mostly Cash America locations.

Investigators even matched the suspect’s fingerprints to documents from the pawn shops before getting his confession.

On Friday, no one answered at the apartment where Hyppolite lives. Representatives from the resort have not commented on the case.

Hyppolite is still being held at the Orange County Jail. He faces 18 different charges related to five cases.

Theft as an employee of a hotel carries its own penalty in Florida. Hyppolite is being held on more than $3,000 bond.

Source:WFTV

SAN FRANCISCO CA Jan 30 2012—A painting contractor who had a number of contracts to work on San Francisco city and school projects is facing charges that she cheated her employees out of more than $600,000 in wages.
Frances Ann Doherty was charged Friday with 57 counts including wage theft, workers’ compensation insurance premium fraud and other charges, said San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon.

Doherty, who operated Doherty Painting & Construction, failed to pay San Francisco’s prevailing wage to workers for projects she had with San Francisco, the San Francisco Unified School District and other public agencies, according to prosecutors.

Contractors awarded work on public projects are required to pay their workers the prevailing wage and provide verification that the appropriate wages were paid.

Court documents show Doherty had contracts for 23 different public projects, but investigators determined her employees were paid only a fraction of the wages to which they were entitled.

“This conduct not only victimizes workers who are desperately trying to make a living in a very tough economy, it also hurts the honest businesses that were unable to successfully compete for these projects, which the defendant was able to underbid and win as a result of this scheme,” said Gascon.

Doherty also allegedly provided fraudulent employee payroll information to insurance companies, enabling her to pay lower workers compensation insurance premiums.

During a hearing Friday, bail for the 51-year-old Doherty was set at $750,000. Her arraignment was continued until Feb. 3.

A phone message left at her business Friday night seeking comment on the charges was not immediately returned.

Source:mercurynews.com

Upper Macungie PA Jan 30 2012 Berks-Lehigh Regional Police say four former Amazon.com employees stole nearly $5,000 worth of electronics, clothing and games from the company’s Upper Macungie warehouse.

After conducting an internal investigation, an Amazon.com security employee reported the crimes shortly after midnight Dec. 6. Berks-Lehigh Regional Police Department Sgt. William Easparro responded to the warehouse at 650 Boulder Drive in reference to the alleged thefts.

Police said Angel Manuel Vargas, 20, admitted to stealing clothing, iPods and video games valued at $1,823, some of which was recovered. Yordano Garcia Esquilin, 19, told police he had been stealing items from the warehouse for nearly three weeks, swiping $1,449 in clothing and video games, according to the affidavit of probable cause.

Police said Javonnie Montgomery, 21, returned $1,031 in stolen video games that he allegedly stole over the course of two weeks in November. Police said Joshua Robert Brown, 21, stole iPods and clothing valued at $428 while he was employed at the warehouse. All four former employees face misdemeanor theft charges.

Source:the morning call

 

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama Jan 30 2012 – A security employee was cut on the arm trying to stop a man from shoplifting paint brushes from the Home Depot store at 1035 Memorial Parkway on Saturday afternoon.

Huntsville police said a man went to the paint department of the store and stuffed 10 to 15 paint brushes in his jacket and pants pockets. The 38-year-old employee tried to stop the man from leaving the store.

Police said the man pushed the employee and tried to run. The employee grabbed the man, and both men fell to the floor, fighting.
The man, according to police, then pulled a knife or box cutter and cut the employee on the arm.

The man then jumped up and ran from the store. The security officer was treated for his injuries.
The case remains under investigation.

Bastrop TX Jan 30 2012 Bastrop Independent School District says it’s investigating a former teacher accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a student.

According to a letter sent to parents last week, the district has accepted the immediate resignation of a member of the school’s softball coaching staff. The district said it was unaware of the allegations until after the teacher had resigned.

The teacher has been identified as 31-year-old Jonathan Matthew Frelich. He was arrested Thursday and booked on charges of improper relationship between educator and student.

Frelich has been released on a $50,000 bond.

Monroe LA Jan 30 2012  Police arrested a woman Thursday in connection to a theft at a bingo hall earlier in the month.

Shakka Shenika James, 28, of 124 Melissa Court, Monroe, was booked into Ouachita Correctional Center on a charge of theft.
In an arrest affidavit, police were called Jan. 7 to a complaint of employee theft at LA Video Bingo on DeSiard Street.

The report stated James, who worked there, had $923 missing from her bank bag on Jan. 6. The report also stated that video footage showed the suspect taking money from three video bingo machines.
James reportedly left on Jan. 6 and did not return.
Officers found and spoke to James at her residence Thursday. When asked if she had the keys to the video machines, James reportedly said yes.
Bond was set at $7,500.

CLERMONT COUNTY, OH Jan 30 2012 -Two arrests have been made in connection to a fire at a Clermont County Goodwill store that police say was intentionally set.

A small fire was reported around 3:30 a.m. Thursday morning at the location on Mt. Moriah Drive in Union Township.

There were no reports of any injuries caused by the fire.

Police suspect the two attempted to break into the safe and after finding their venture unsuccessful decided to set the office on fire. Most of the charitable donations to the store were destroyed either by vandalism or by the sprinkler system which was automatically set off by the smoke.

Police have arrested Thomas Gaffney, 21, in connection with the fire. Police were able to identify Gaffney due to video images obtained from Goodwill.

Gaffney has been an employee of the Goodwill store since October 2010. Police have charged Gaffney with Arson, Breaking and Entering, Vandalism, and Safecracking.

Police have also charged Christopher Fairchild, 21, on the same charges related to the fire at the store. Fairchild was a former employee of the Goodwill store.

Goodwill has seen five other stores in the Greater Cincinnati Area broken into in the last year and a half. The other ones are in Loveland, Harrison, Independence and Florence.

Goodwill depends on donations of clothing, furniture and household items. In turn, it sells the items at a reduced price. The sales manager for the Ohio Valley region, Ann Walters, says the store is ruined and is dependent on people donating items again.

“Hopefully the public will remember us. We’re going to need donations. We’re not done, we’re not out, we just need a little help,” said Walters. She also added that anyone can contribute. “We don’t want your money, we want the stuff you don’t want.”

FOX19 News interviewed several people outside the store, which was closed Thursday as it had to clean up broken dishes along with clothes and furniture that were thrown around inside. Jon Schoettmer shops there frequently and said he doesn’t understand why anyone would want to do such a thing to a Goodwill store.

“No conscience. Can’t they at least find another place to break into? It’s just a shame,” he said.

Anyone who may have any additional information should contact the Union Township Police Department at 513-752-1230.

Source: FOX19

Clovis CA Jan 30 2012 A second-grade Clovis teacher was arrested Friday on suspicion of multiple counts of child molestation, Clovis police said Saturday.
Neng Yang, 43, of Clovis, a teacher at Freedom Elementary School, is accused of 18 counts of child molestation, one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child, nine counts of having a minor perform prohibited acts and nine counts of possessing material depicting a minor engaging in or simulating sexual conduct, police said.
Yang was hired by Clovis Unified as an instructional aide in 1993. He was hired to teach at Fancher Creek Elementary in 1997 and transferred to Freedom in 2007, district spokeswoman Kelly Avants said.
The investigation of Yang began when Clovis police received information about possible inappropriate behavior by a teacher at Freedom with a student.
Investigators have identified one victim but are asking other possible victims to call Clovis police at (559) 324-2471.

Yang’s wife, Kia Yang, is principal at Miramonte Elementary School in Clovis. The staff at both Miramonte and Freedom have been called for informational meetings today to discuss the incident and to prepare for any questions parents and students might have when they return to school on Monday, Avants said.
Clovis police are also working with Homeland Security investigators to bring federal charges against Yang related to the production of child-exploitation material.
Yang is being held without bail at Fresno County Jail. He was placed on leave Friday afternoon by the district, which intends to begin the process to fire him, Avants said.
His firing would not have to be contingent on a criminal conviction, she said.

Source:www.fresnobee.com

HOQUIAM, Wash. Jan 30 2012– A Hoquiam teacher was arrested Wednesday for allegations that he sent sexual explicit texts to two 12-year-old girls.

Hoquiam police tell us that they learned about the text messages from the parents of one of the girls Tuesday. The next day they issued a search warrant on the 41-year-old’s home and work computers as well as his personal cell phone.

“The parents were very upset,” said Hoquiam Police Chief Jeff Myers, “I understand they pulled the girls out of school.”

Police also tell us that the two victims were not current or former students, but rather the teacher knew of them from the community.

The Grays Harbor County prosecutor says he will decide Thursday morning if the man will be charged with any crimes. In the state of Washington, communicating with a minor for immoral purposes on an electronic device is a felony.

In a written statement from Hoquiam Superintendent Mike Parker, the district considers the allegations “very serious.” The teacher is currently on paid administrative leave.

Source:krem.com

Atlanta GA Jan 30 2012 A U.S. Postal Service worker is among five people indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of stealing U.S. Treasury checks from an Atlanta-area mail distribution center.

Deborah Fambro-Echols, 49, of Hapeville, who worked as a mail handler at the Atlanta Processing and Distribution Center, is accused of stealing more than a half-million dollars’ worth of checks during a two-week period in April 2011, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta announced Thursday.

Also named in the indictment are Wendy B. Frasier, 34, of Atlanta; Daralyn M. Weaver, 30, of Atlanta; Jabril O. McKee, 24, of Fairburn, and Ohmar D. Braden, 36, of Lithonia.

Fambro-Echols allegedly passed hundreds of stolen checks to Weaver, McKee and Braden, who cashed the checks at banks and other businesses and split the proceeds with her, said U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates.

Yates said that Frasier acted as a broker who recruited the check cashers. Weaver, McKee and Braden allegedly used forged endorsements and fake IDs to cash the checks, which included tax refunds, veterans benefits and Social Security payments.

Law enforcement authorities conducted a search that found more than 660 checks totaling more than $590,000 in Frambro-Echols’ possession and in her home, the indictment said.

The seven-count indictment alleges conspiracy, theft of government money, possession of stolen Treasury checks, bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.

The charges carry maximum sentences of five to 30 years in prison and fines of up to $1 million. The aggravated identity theft charge requires a minimum of two years in prison in addition to any other sentences imposed.

The investigation was carried out by the Stolen Treasury Check Task Force, an informal group of 14 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. Yates noted that Georgia is third in the nation in the number of Treasury checks reported stolen from the mail.

Source:AJC.com

Lee County AL Jan 30 2012 A man formerly affiliated with the Southwest Volunteer Fire Department in Loachapoka has been charged with third-degree burglary and first-degree theft of property after items he allegedly took from the department turned up in Georgia on Wednesday.

Alan Lee Buzan, 41, of Loachapoka was already in Lee County Sheriff’s Office custody on an outstanding child support warrant when he was charged for the alleged theft, said Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones.

On Sunday, deputies investigated a break-in and theft at the Southwest Volunteer Fire Department in which a four-wheeler and a golf cart were taken from one of the station’s bays.

Sheriff’s investigators arrested Buzan on Tuesday on the child support warrant and charged him with the thefts on Wednesday, said LCSO Chief Investigator Capt. Van Jackson. Deputies then received an anonymous tip that led them to Warm Springs, Ga.

Georgia authorities were able to locate the stolen items at a residence, Jackson said. No charges have been filed in Georgia at this time.

“Additional evidence located during the investigation identified Buzan as a suspect in this case,” said Jackson, who added that the investigation is ongoing.

Daniel Haden, Southwest Volunteer Fire Department chief, said the news of Buzan’s arrest was disappointing.

Before a new firefighter joins the SVFD, they must complete an instructional class and a probationary period of six months before becoming an active firefighter with the department, Haden said. Buzan attempted to join the SVFD in 2010, but did not meet department requirements.

Haden said he hopes Buzan’s actions won’t tarnish the fire department’s image in the community.

“Mr. Buzan is not a representation or example of the caliber of people we have at our department,” Haden said. “This is an isolated incident, and while I regret that he made the choice he did, this is just how it is.”

Buzan is being held at the Lee County Detention Facility on an $8,000 bond.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact Lee County Crime Stoppers at 1-888-522-7847.

Source:oanow.com

Charlotte NC Jan 30 2012 A Windstream employee is in jail today accused of using customer data to fraudulently buy thousands of dollars in merchandise.
Walter Darnell Austin, 45, of Mt. Pleasant, was arrested Wednesday and is charged with felony identity theft. He is being held in the Rowan County Detention Center under a $10,000 bond.
The Rowan County Sheriff’s Office said warrants also have been issued on felony charges of identity theft trafficking, and obtaining property by false pretenses.
The charges come after a person recently contacted the Rowan Sheriff’s Office about packages being delivered to an abandoned home on Millbridge Road near China Grove. A surveillance operation was set up by the Sheriff’s Office and China Grove police earlier this week, and Austin was stopped as he allegedly tried to take two packages that had been delivered at the home.
Authorities said Austin’s name was not on the packages.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, Austin allegedly accessed old files of Windstream customers and used the information to open accounts with online retail companies. Austin then allegedly ordered merchandise from the websites and had the goods delivered to two abandoned houses in Rowan and Cabarrus counties.
Investigators said they found thousands of dollars in merchandise in an office Austin has in Kannapolis.
The Sheriff’s Office said Windstream is cooperating with investigators, and is working to help identify customers who may have been victims in the case.

www.charlotteobserver.com

HENRICO COUNTY, Va. Jan 30 2012 Matt Geary, the former GOP nominee for the Henrico Commonwealth’s Attorney, was found dead Sunday from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, confirmed Henrico Police Chief Doug Middleton.

Earlier Sunday the Henrico Police Department responded to the 2200 block of Lauderdale Drive for reports of shots fired. A family member called police around 1 p.m. to report the shooting, said Henrico Police Lt. Shawn Maxwell.

The victim was found in the living room.

No one else was inside the house, said officials.

Geary was found dead from an apparent gunshot wound to the head, said Lt. Maxwell. The police have not confirmed this is a suicide, but Lt. Maxwell said that the wound appears to be self-inflicted.

He was found deceased and was not transported to the hospital.

A neighbor told CBS 6 reporter Angela Pellerano that Matt Geary moved into the house on Saturday, Jan. 28. He told the neighbor that he was moving out of his apartment and into the house as to have more room when the children came to visit.

Geary was a criminial defense attorney, with more than 16 years experience as both defense attorney and prosecutor. Geary served in the Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office from 2006-2009.

He attended the T.C. Williams School of Law at University of Richmond and graduated from Mary Washington College with a B.S. in Political Science.

An annoucement of Geary’s death was made on the “Matt Geary for Henrico Commonwealth Attorney” Facebook page at 4 p.m., on Sunday, Jan. 29.

In Sept. 2009, Geary announced he would run for the office. He ran unopposed until allegations of extra-marital affairs were made. Geary admitted to one affair, but never confirmed any of the other alleged ones.
“I feel this is a private matter…this will not affect my ability to serve as Henrico Commonwealth`s Attorney,” he said in an inteview.

Yet, the Henrico Republican Executive Committee asked GOP nominee, Matt Geary to withdraw after the allegations were made.

Ms.Taylor, who knew Geary since law school, said in a statement that “he will be missed.”

“I want to offer my heartfelt sympathy to Matt’s wife Tabitha and his children and family I’ve known Matt since our days in law school and he was a colleague and a friend whom I held in both high personal and professional regard.”

“Matt was an effective prosecutor who served the public with commitment and dedication.”

“My prayers are with his family,” said Bill Janis, Deputy Commissioner to the Department of Veterans Services. “I pray that the Lord protect and keep them and grant them peace and consolation.”

Source:  WTVR

LINCOLN, Neb.Jan 29 2012 — A Lincoln police officer died in a rollover crash Wednesday night on his way to work.

Officer Tony Howe, 37, worked the overnight shift in the criminal investigation unit and was driving his Dodge Neon when the accident occurred,according to the Omaha World Herald. Investigators said the vehicle travelled into the median, hit a drain and went airborne before rolling.

Howe was pronounced dead at York General Hospital. He was not wearing a seat belt.

Colleagues saw Howe was caring, thoughtful and always took time to help people.

“Tony was the kind of police officer that, if you or any member of your family were a victim, you would like to see handle the situation,” Lincoln Police Chief Jim Peschong said Thursday. “He had the ability to bring calm to a chaotic scene.”

Jan 29 2012 A sailor assigned to a bomb disposal unit at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek died during a training exercise off the coast of North Carolina on Thursday.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Taylor Gallant, 22, was assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 12, part of Navy Expeditionary Combat Command in Virginia Beach.

Gallant, of Winchester, Ky., enlisted in 2008. He was conducting dive operations with his unit aboard the Canadian coastal defense vessel Summerside, which is here for Bold Alligator, a major, multinational naval training exercise that’s set to kick off in the Atlantic next week.

On Friday a spokesman for Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, Lt. Cmdr. John Gay, said the Navy is investigating what happened.

“It’s too early to know anything for certain,” Gay said.

He said the sailor was treated at the scene but couldn’t be revived. He was taken to Camp Lejeune Naval Hospital, where he was pronounced dead upon arrival.

Explosive ordnance disposal units are tasked with handling bombs in any environment, including under the water, so diving is a routine part of their training.

OAKLAND, Calif. Jan 29 2012  (AP) – About 300 people were arrested Saturday during a chaotic day of Occupy protests that saw demonstrators break into City Hall and burn an American flag, as police earlier fired tear gas and bean bags to disperse hundreds of people after some threw rocks and bottles and tore down fencing outside a nearby convention center.

Dozens of police officers remained on guard outside City Hall around midnight following the most turbulent day of protests since November, when Oakland police forcefully dismantled an Occupy encampment. An exasperated Mayor Jean Quan, who faced heavy criticism for the police action last fall, called on the Occupy movement to “stop using Oakland as its playground.”

“People in the community and people in the Occupy movement have to stop making excuses for this behavior,” Quan said.

Protesters clashed with police throughout the day, at times throwing rocks, bottles and other objects at officers. And police responded by deploying smoke, tear gas and bean bag rounds, City Administrator Deanna Santanta said.

“These demonstrators stated their intention was to provoke officers and engage in illegal activity and that’s exactly what has occurred today,” Santana said.

Interim Police Chief Howard Jordan said about 300 arrests were made.

The group assembled outside City Hall late Saturday morning and marched through the streets, disrupting traffic as they threatened to take over the vacant Henry Kaiser Convention Center.

The protesters walked to the vacant convention center, where some started tearing down perimeter fencing and “destroying construction equipment” shortly before 3 p.m., police said.

Police said they issued a dispersal order and used smoke and tear gas after some protesters pelted them with bottles, rocks, burning flares and other objects.

The number of demonstrators swelled as the day wore on, with afternoon estimates ranging from about 1,000 to 2,000 people.

A majority of the arrests came after police took scores of protesters into custody as they marched through the city’s downtown, with some entering a YMCA building, said Sgt. Jeff Thomason, a police spokesman.

Around the same time police were taking people into custody near the YMCA, about dozens of officers surrounded City Hall, while others swept the inside of the building looking for protesters who had broken into the building, then ran out of the building with American flags before officers arrived.

The protest group issued an email criticizing police, saying “Occupy Oakland’s building occupation, an act of constitutionally protected civil disobedience was disrupted by a brutal police response today.”

Michael Davis, 32, who is originally from Ohio and was in the Occupy movement in Cincinnati, said Saturday was a very hectic day that originally started off calm but escalated when police began using “flash bangs, tear gas, smoke grenades and bean bags.”

“It was very emotional. I thought it was a very good day for the movement because it brought us back together,” Davis said. “We all were here in spirit and everybody actually helped everyone today.”

“What could’ve been handled differently is the way the Oakland police came at us,” Davis said. “We were peaceful.”

Quan blamed the destruction on a small “very radical, violent” splinter group within Occupy Oakland.

“This is not a situation where we had a 1,000 peaceful people and a few violent people. If you look at what’s happening today in terms of destructing property, throwing at and charging the police, it’s almost like they are begging for attention and hoping that the police will make an error.”

Quan said that at one point, many forced their way into City Hall, where they burned flags, broke an electrical box and damaged several art structures, including a recycled art exhibit created by children.

“City Hall is closed for the weekend. There is no excuse for behavior we’ve witnessed this evening,” City Council President Larry Reid said during a news briefing Saturday. “It’s just unacceptable and makes absolutely no sense for the type of behavior we’ve seen on the streets in the city of Oakland today.”

Oakland Councilman Ignacio De La Fuente, echoed Reid’s sentiments and said that what was going on amounts to “domestic terrorism.”

“This is domestic terrorism and we cannot allow this to continue because something even more worse could really happen,” De La Fuente said.

The demonstration comes after Occupy protesters said earlier this week that they planned to move into a vacant building and turn it into a social center and political hub. They also threatened to try to shut down the port, occupy the airport and take over City Hall.

Oakland officials said Friday that since the Occupy Oakland encampment was first established in late October, police have arrested about 300 people.

The national Occupy Wall Street movement, which denounces corporate excess and economic inequality, began in New York City in the fall but has been largely dormant lately.

Oakland, New York and Los Angeles were among the cities with the largest and most vocal Occupy protests early on. The demonstrations ebbed after those cities used force to move out hundreds of demonstrators who had set up tent cities.

In Oakland, the police department received heavy criticism for using force to break up earlier protests. Among the critics was Mayor Jean Quan, who said she wasn’t briefed on the department’s plans.

On Saturday, Quan seemed to have changed her tune on how police have been handling the demonstrations and protests.

“Our officers have been very measured,” Quan said. “Were there some mistakes made? There may be. I would say the Oakland police and our allies, so far a small percentage of mistakes. But quite frankly, a majority of protesters who were charging the police were clearly not being peaceful.”

Earlier this month, a court-appointed monitor submitted a report to a federal judge that included “serious concerns” about the department’s handling of the Occupy protests.

Interim Police Chief Howard Jordan said late Saturday that he was in “close contact” with the federal monitor during the protests.

Quan added, “If the demonstrators think that because we are working more closely with the monitor now that we won’t do what we have to do to uphold the law and try keep people safe in this city, they’re wrong.”