Man commits suicide at NRA Texas Motor Speedway race www.privateofficer.com

Fort Worth TX April 15 2013 The death of a man in the infield of Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday night during the Sprint Cup Series NRA 500 has been ruled a suicide from a gunshot to the head, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s office.
The incident happened late in the race when Kirk Franklin, 42, of Saginaw, Texas, apparently got into an argument with other campers. Track spokesperson Mike Zizzo said Saturday night that the incident happened “in or around a pickup truck” in the infield.
Firearms were prohibited by Texas law from being brought in to the track by fans. The NRA’s sponsorship of the race came under scrutiny when it was announced earlier this year after Michael Waltrip ran a Sandy Hook benefit car at the Daytona 500 encouraging fans to text to give to Newtown, Conn. It was the NRA’s first Sprint Cup Series sponsorship; it sponsored the Nationwide Series race at Atlanta Motor Speeedway in September.
As is custom for all race sponsors, the NRA was offered the chance to buy the premium ad package from Fox Sports that would include commercial time, sponsor mentions and graphics with the race name. The NRA declined, and thus the race was presented without a sponsor on in-race graphics and the Fox broadcast mentioned the title sponsor once an hour. Earlier in the week, Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy (D) wrote a letter to Fox to ask the network not to broadcast the race.
The NRA’s sponsorship met and passed all NASCAR guidelines for sponsorship approval, but the sanctioning body said on Friday that it would take a closer look at other factors when going through its standard sponsorship approval process moving forward.
In 2008, a fan was hit by a stray bullet at Texas Motor Speedway after a gun was shot into the air and the bullet came into her RV through the roof and landed in her arm.

Michigan Mortgage Fraud Ringleader Sentenced to 13 Years www.privateofficer.com

Detroit MI April 10 2013

U.S. Attorney’s Office April 10, 2013

•Eastern District of Michigan (313) 226-9100

A 45-year-old Fenton man was sentenced today to 13 years in prison in connection with a multi-million-dollar mortgage fraud conspiracy, United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade announced.
Joining McQuade in the announcement was Special Agent in Charge Robert D. Foley, III, head of the Detroit Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
U.S. District Judge Julian Abele Cook, Jr. also sentenced Ronnie Edward Duke to pay a $1 million fine and $94 million in restitution. Duke led the scheme for close to four years, ending in July 2007 when the FBI executed seven search warrants in metropolitan Detroit and Florida.
The scheme involved more than 450 fraudulent mortgage loans, more than 100 straw buyers, and approximately 180 different residential properties in metropolitan Detroit that were used as collateral for the loans. Most of these loans went into default and foreclosure. The loans ranged from roughly $350,000 to $600,000. Lenders were deceived by counterfeit purchase agreements, fake closing documents, and fictitious title companies that were actually controlled by Duke and his co-conspirators. The warranty deeds and mortgages associated with the majority of the loans went unrecorded, leaving the lenders completely unsecured. Such loans were commonly referred to as “ghost” loans by the defendants during the scheme.
“Mortgage fraud not only harms lenders, but it also affects all of us when foreclosures lead to vacant homes, which reduce property values and create havens for criminal activity,” McQuade said.
“Those who orchestrate and conduct mortgage fraud schemes that steal millions of dollars from innocent victims will face severe consequences for their crimes,” Foley said. The FBI remains committed to pursuing and prosecuting anyone who engages in these illegal acts.”
Fifteen of Duke’s co-conspirators were previously sentenced, including:
•Ryan Andrew Zundel, 38, of Brewton, Alabama—10 years
•Nicole Lynn Rothe (formerly Nicole Lynn Turcheck), 34, of Gibraltar—10 years
•William Camsell Wells, III, 42, of Howell—eight-and-a-half years
•Wilinevah Richardson, 35, of Davison—five years
•Donna Marie Walbrook, 50, of Westland—five years
•Anthony Edward Peters, 75, of Monroe—41 months
•Robert Brierley, 46 of Westland—33 months.
Duke spent his fraud proceeds to operate a car racing business called Hardcore Racing Inc. He purchased numerous sports cars, race cars, boats, motorcycles, and a helicopter. Duke’s co-defendants used their proceeds to finance unrelated businesses and to purchase luxury items, including cars, boats, motorcycles, race horses, residential properties, and travel to the Caribbean and other overseas vacation destinations.
Duke’s criminal history includes embezzlement, credit card fraud, receiving and concealing stolen property, escape, aggravated stalking, and disturbing the peace.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Erin Shaw and Stephen Hiyama and investigated by the FBI, with the assistance of the U.S. Secret Service.

Hunterdon County Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Distributing Videos of Child Sexual Abuse Over the Internet www.privateofficer.com

TRENTON, NJ April 4 2013 —A Hunterdon County, New Jersey man was sentenced today to 15 years in prison for distributing images of child sexual abuse over the Internet, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
John Livoti, 42, of Hampton, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joel A. Pisano in Trenton federal court to an information charging him with one count of distribution of child pornography. Judge Pisano imposed the sentence today in Trenton federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Livoti admitted that from May 2011 through February 2012 he used peer-to-peer file sharing software to download and to share images of child pornography through the Internet. He accessed the Internet through his neighbor’s wireless Internet connection. He further admitted that for a period of time in 2011, he paid for a minor, living in another state, to access the peer-to-peer network so that the minor could access child pornography.
Special agents of the FBI and other law enforcement executed a search warrant at Livoti’s apartment in Hampton, New Jersey, on February 2, 2012. Law enforcement seized a netbook computer and an external hard drive that contained child pornography.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited the FBI Cyber Crimes Task Force, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge David Velazquez in Newark; the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Anthony P. Kearns, III; and Hunterdon County Chief of Detectives John J. Kuczynski with the investigation leading to today’s sentence.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Pisano sentenced Livoti to lifetime supervised release, with restricted contact with minors, and ordered him to pay $5,000 in restitution. He must also register as a sex offender.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney John E. Clabby of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Trenton.

Seattle man kills wife-asks TV station to post it to Facebook www.privateofficer.com

SEATTLE WA March 15 2013  AP— A man who told a TV newsroom that he had killed his wife and asked the station to post that message on Facebook was arrested Thursday after a high-speed chase, authorities said.

Sara Barrett, 42, was found dead from “homicidal violence” about 6 a.m. Thursday at a Tacoma motel, Pierce County sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said.

The discovery came just hours after Tony Barrett, 41, of Puyallup was arrested in the chase that reached 100 mph from Tacoma to Gig Harbor, where police and state troopers stopped his car with spike strips.

“He got out swinging a crowbar” at officers who used a police dog to take him down, Troyer said. He was treated at a hospital for dog bites on the way to jail and held for investigation of murder.

It could not be immediately determined if Tony Barrett has a lawyer.

On Wednesday night, the caller told KOMO, “I just killed my wife … I want you to put it on your Facebook,” the station reported (http://bit.ly/Z1GYVJ ).

Barrett had called the station because he didn’t have a Facebook page and wanted the station to post the message, Troyer said. The caller did not say where the woman could be found.

The assignment desk asked if there was someone they could notify, and the caller said, “No, I’m not going to be here much longer.”

He said he and his wife had been together 28 years.

“It was supposed to be ‘til death do us part, but she wouldn’t,” he said.

The man ended the call when the assignment desk mentioned police.

“Very odd,” Troyer said. “That was a full-blown confession to place on Facebook.”

Concerned for the wife, the station worked with the sheriff’s office. Investigators were able to identify the man, his wife and their cars.

KOMO News Director Holly Gauntt said nothing was posted on Facebook.

“Some of his relatives and friends called us and said they got a message from him to just check out our Facebook page,” Gauntt said. “We hoped to do the right thing … It was more about helping police trying to find her and trying to find him.”

Authorities said Barrett’s car was spotted in Tacoma and he sped away over Tacoma Narrows Bridge, with police and troopers in pursuit until his tires were flattened and he was arrested. He wouldn’t talk to officers about his wife.

The investigation led detectives to the body at the motel, where the couple had checked in Wednesday evening, Troyer said.

“We were hoping to find her” alive, Troyer said. “But obviously it didn’t work that way.”

The couple was estranged and investigators did not know what led to the killing, Troyer said.

Court records show Barrett had attacked his wife in 2007, holding a pillow over her face until she nearly suffocated, the station reported.

The couple’s grown son broke down the bedroom door and stopped the attack. Barrett pleaded guilty to third-degree assault and served a day in jail and two years under supervision by the Department of Corrections.

He was ordered not to have any hostile contact with Sara Barrett for five years. That order expired on Feb. 25.

Gauntt said the incident was spooky and no doubt shocking for the assignment editor who took the call.

“We tend to get a lot of odd calls. She realized this guy was very articulate and serious,” Gauntt said.

The Pierce County sheriff’s office was called right away, she said.

“We didn’t want to do anything to help his cause,” Gauntt said.

Kansas City Business Owners Indicted for Defrauding Debt-Stressed Clients www.privateofficer.com

U.S. Attorney’s Office
Press Release

KANSAS CITY, MO Feb 27 2013—Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that the owners and operators of a Kansas City, Missouri firm that promised to help financially strapped clients get out of debt have been indicted by a federal grand jury for defrauding their clients, causing some of them to lose their homes and vehicles.

John Lee Norris, 42, and Julie Tina Hatcher, 37, both of Kansas City, were charged in a 21-count indictment that was returned under seal by a federal grand jury on February 19, 2013. The indictment was unsealed and made public today upon the arrests and initial court appearances of Norris and Hatcher.

According to the indictment, Norris and Hatcher operated Reaper Investment Partners LLC; in August 2011 they formed Death Productions LP. Between August 2010 and April 2012, the indictment alleges, Norris and Hatcher participated in a conspiracy to defraud homeowners and other debtors who were in financial distress (as well as their victims’ lenders and the Federal Housing Administration).

Norris and Hatcher allegedly recruited and targeted homeowners and others who were in financial difficulties with promises that they would be rescued from their financial problems, including foreclosure. Norris and Hatcher allegedly told victims that Reaper Investment Partners (RIP) would refinance the homeowners’ existing mortgages for a lower amount and at an interest rate of three percent.

As part of their scheme, the indictment says, RIP would control title to the homeowners’ properties. The homeowners would stop making payments to their lenders and instead make their monthly payments to RIP. The homeowners gave Norris and Hatcher power of attorney. Homeowners did not communicate with their lenders, the indictment says, even when they received telephone calls, late notices, and foreclosure notices from their lenders. Instead, homeowners forwarded the notices and other documents to Norris and Hatcher. When homeowners contacted Norris and Hatcher to report that they had received notice that their homes were being foreclosed, the defendants reassured them by telling them not to worry, as that was part of the process.

Norris and Hatcher allegedly told some of their client-victims that one or both of them were lawyers, had legal experience, or were able to practice law. They allegedly said that RIP would draft, serve, file, and record legal forms, pleadings, and other documents and would conduct necessary legal processes, contact the relevant parties, and implement administrative procedures. Norris and Hatcher allegedly mailed documents to the homeowners’ lenders, demanding the lenders “cease and desist” collection activities.

Norris and Hatcher also allegedly told individuals who were in financial difficulties due to credit card debt, vehicle loans, and other debt that they would refinance the debt for a lower amount and interest rate and lower their monthly payments. These clients, likewise, would stop making payments to their lenders and instead make their monthly payments to RIP.

The federal indictment refers to victims from Lee’s Summit, Missouri; St. Joseph, Missouri; Gardner, Kansas; Paducah, Kentucky; and North Wales, Pennsylvania. Victims and lenders suffered losses as a result of the conspiracy, including the loss of homes and vehicles (a specific dollar amount of the total loss is not identified in the indictment).

In addition to the conspiracy, Norris and Hatcher are charged together with nine counts of mail fraud and 10 counts of wire fraud.

Hatcher is also charged with one count of Social Security disability fraud. Hatcher allegedly failed to report her work activities and income while she received Social Security disability insurance benefits from August 2010 through April 2012.

Dickinson cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

This case is being prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel Linda Marshall and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian P. Casey. It was investigated by the FBI, the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-Office of Inspector General, the Social Security Administration-Office of Inspector General, the Johnson County, Kansas District Attorney’s Office and the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department.

This news release, as well as additional information about the office of the United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, is available online at http://www.justice.gov/usao/mow/index.html.

NH Art Teacher Arrested On Drug-Related Charges www.privateofficer.com

MANCHESTER, N.H. Feb 18 2013 – A Manchester art teacher has been arrested on criminal liability and child endangerment charges.
Police arrested Lisa Tagalakis Fedor, 42, and Kristopher White, 21, on warrants stemming from a drug investigation.
Police say their roommate Robert Doane, 26, was selling drugs out of the apartment he shared with Fedor and White.
Fedor was aware that her roommate was selling drugs and had a firearm, police say.
According to police, Fedor allowed the activity to continue at their apartment even though Fedor’s two young sons were living there.
Police charged Fedor and White with criminal liability to drug sales and endangering the welfare of a child.
Doane, whom police call a convicted felon, was seen trying to sell heroin to two men outside his apartment. Police say they witnessed Doane become suspicious of the unmarked police car in the area and did not complete the sale.
When police searched Doane’s room they found cocaine and a handgun that had been reported stolen out of a car in a Target parking lot in Hooksett.
The gun was found in a room shared by White and Fedor. Police additionally charged White with receiving stolen property for holding the gun.
Doane was arrested on Feb. 7 and charged with receiving stolen property, convicted felon in possession of a gun, attempt to commit sale of a narcotic, possession of a narcotic and armed career criminal.
Fedor’s children have been placed with a family member, police said.

Source-CBS

Former Oklahoma Jail Superintendent and Assistant Jail Superintendent Indicted for Multiple Civil Rights Offenses www.privateofficer.com

U.S. Department of Justice
FBI
PRESS RELEASE

WASHINGTON DC Feb 15 2013 —A federal grand jury in Muskogee, Oklahoma has indicted Raymond A. Barnes, 42, and Christopher A. Brown, 31, the former jail superintendent and assistant jail superintendent, respectively, of the Muskogee County Jail (MCJ), on multiple counts of civil rights offenses related to allegations of excessive force on inmates at MCJ on or between August 2009 and May 2011. Brown is also charged with making material false statements to the FBI.

The indictment charges both Barnes and Brown with one count of conspiring to violate the rights of inmates housed at MCJ by assaulting inmates themselves or by directing other jailers employed by MCJ to do so. Specifically, the indictment alleges that as part the conspiracy, the defendants did the following: unjustifiably strike, assault, harm and physically punish inmates at MCJ who were restrained, compliant, and not posing a physical threat to anyone; organize “meet and greets,” whereby jailers would scare, punish, and harm incoming inmates from neighboring counties by throwing and slamming the handcuffed inmates to the ground upon their arrival at the MCJ; threaten to fire MCJ employees if they reported abusive behavior directly to the sheriff or to outside law enforcement authorities; require and encourage MCJ jailers to write incident reports that falsely justified uses of force and contained misleading or inaccurate accounts of what had occurred when force was used; and perpetuate an environment within the MCJ that allowed unlawful beatings and assaults against inmates to continue indefinitely and without consequence.

The indictment further charges the defendants with aiding and abetting each other in violating the rights of two different inmates when the MCJ jailers slammed and threw the inmates to the ground while they were handcuffed. The indictment alleges that these offenses resulted in bodily injury.

Brown is additionally charged with one count of making material false statements to the FBI. According to the indictment, Brown falsely claimed that during “meet and greets,” when an inmate from an out-of-county jail arrives at MCJ, the inmate is ordered out of the transport vehicle, and then is “gently placed” on the ground. The indictment alleges that this was false in that the defendant knew at the time of his statement to the FBI that during “meet and greets,” when an inmate arrived from an out-out-county jail, the MCJ jailers routinely threw and slammed inmates to the ground even though the inmates were restrained and not posing a physical threat to anyone.

Barnes and Brown face a maximum penalty of 10 years for each of the three civil rights offenses. Brown faces a maximum penalty of five years for making material false statements to the FBI.

An indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

This case is being investigated by the Muskogee Resident Agency of the Oklahoma City Division of the FBI and is being prosecuted by Fara Gold and Dana Mulhauser of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice

13 charged with shoplifting in Kennett www.privateofficer.com

KENNETT, MO Jan 14 2013

Kennett Police Department say thirteen people have been charged with shoplifting from stores between January 3-10.

Below is a list of those who police say were charged with shoplifting:

• Diana Duke, 25, of Kennett
• Adrianne Helton, 22, of Wardell
• Cordarell Lewis of Kennett
• Latoya Burton, 28, of Kennett
• Shawn Cornman, 24, of Campbell
• Latasha Dettrie 31, of Campbell
• Pamela Cole, 42, of Campbell
• Lisa Smith, 33, of Holcomb
• Laquita Williams, 23, of Kennett
• Victoria Atkinson, 24, of Kennett
• Ebony Bowles, 23, of Kennett
• Nikita Wallace, 23, of Springfield
• Jessica Pickard, 28, of Kennett

Police say you can contact them at (573)-888-4622 if you have information about these or other crimes.

Source: KFVS

Man arrested after pulling knife on security guard www.privateofficer.com

SAINT CLAIR PA Dec 20 2012 – A Shenandoah man was jailed late Tuesday charged with pulling a knife on a security guard outside a store at the Schuylkill Mall, Frackville.
Jerry Adery, 42, of 216 Oak St., was arrested by New Castle Township Patrolman Kyle Krause and charged with one count each of simple assault and recklessly endangering another person.
On-call Magisterial District Judge James K. Reiley, Pottsville, arraigned Adery on Tuesday and ordered him committed to Schuylkill County Prison after he was unable to post 10 percent of $25,000 bail.
Police said the incident unfolded about 3:40 p.m., when Adery and two others were seen trying to break into a candy machine inside the mall.
Security confronted the three, at which time Adery and one other person fled with the third person taken immediately into custody.
Adery fled into the parking lot followed by a security guard and when he reached his vehicle, he pulled a knife out at the guard, got into his car and then drove off, police said.
The other person who fled was taken into custody by Saint Clair and Palo Alto police in an area along Altamont Boulevard in West Mahanoy Township a short distance away.
Police said they were provided with a license plate and were able to identify Adery as the person responsible for the knife incident.
After a bulletin was broadcast by the Schuylkill County Communications Center, a vehicle fitting the description was spotted in Mahanoy City.
Borough officers, working with New Castle Township and the Schuylkill County Drug Task Force agents, learned that Adery was at a home at 635 W. Centre St.
Officers from Mahanoy City, Shenandoah, Mahanoy Township, state police from Frackville and the county sheriff and district attorney’s drug task force converged on the home.
Mahanoy City police Patrolman Christopher Zubris took Adery into custody inside the home without incident.
Zubris said he went to the rear of the home and saw Adery in the kitchen, where he was apprehended.
“I saw him in the kitchen, when he looked at me I told him to open the door,” Zubris said. “He unlocked the door and I took him into custody.”
No injuries were reported and police said their investigation into the incident is continuing.

Source:RepublicanHerald

Fla police charge three people with Target store shooting www.privateofficer.com

MIRAMAR Fla Dec 15 2012 — — Police on Thursday released surveillance video and the names of three suspects accused of shoplifting at a Target Superstore that triggered a police shooting.
Eugene Foster, 49, Nemiah Covington, 42, and Rubie Mosley, 58 were arrested after Foster, Covington and another woman stole two flat-screen televisions from the Target at 16901 Miramar Parkway on Wednesday evening, police said.
Surveillance video from Target shows a man pushing a red cart down the aisle to the electronics department in the back of the store. At least two people are seen loading two large boxes into the cart and wheeling their way back toward the front of the store and out the door.
A parking lot surveillance camera shows Covington walking to a green Toyota followed by what appears to be Foster pushing the cart with the flat screen TV boxes. They load them into the car and leave.
Three of the four suspects were taken into custody a few hundred yards away after a traffic stop in a neighboring strip shopping center on Wednesday night. Miramar police were still searching for the fourth suspect a day later.
The arrests happened after an officer spotted the suspects’ Toyota traveling eastbound on Miramar Parkway without lights on. The car pulled into a nearby Chili’s parking lot. The suspects got out of the car, disobeying police orders, and Covington ran off, police spokeswoman Tania Rues said.
The other three jumped back in the car and drove to the west side of Chili’s where the fourth suspect bailed out and ran off. The driver, identified as Mosley, with Foster as a passenger, sped toward a Miramar police officer who was searching for Covington on foot, Rues said.
“That officer is the one that fired at the vehicle that was heading toward him,” she said. His name was not released because of the ongoing investigation.
The Toyota was hit by gunfire but neither Mobley nor Foster was wounded, she said.
The gunshots could be heard in the neighboring Nautica gated community, resident Keven Tia Roustan said.
“I was sitting in bed with the windows open and I heard 5 or 6 shots and then police sirens,” she said. “I thought it was just somebody playing with a BB gun in the neighborhood. I didn’t think it was actual gunshots.”
The Toyota sped around the Chili’s parking lot before crashing into a parked car, several sign posts and some landscaping before coming to rest near a palm tree inches from the restaurant’s wall. The crash caused minor damage, police said.
Foster and Mosley were taken into custody, along with Covington, who was arrested after police used a helicopter and police dogs to search the surrounding neighborhoods to find him.
Detectives were still searching for the fourth suspect, described as a heavyset woman who was wearing a white jacket over a blue dress.
Miramar police ask anyone with information to contact Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.

Source-tribune.com

SC man killed in tattoo parlor was playing Russian Roulette www.privateofficer.com

COLUMBIA, SC Nov 29 2012

The man who died inside a Five Points tattoo parlor Tuesday afternoon said he was going to play Russian Roulette just before shooting and killing himself, according to the coroner.

Richland County Coroner Gary Watts said Mannon Turner, 42, of West Columbia and the owner of Five Points Custom Tattoo walked into the business at 2009 Greene St. together around noon.

Watts said shortly after they got inside, Turner asked two people “if they wanted to play Russian Roulette.” They told him to “stop messing around,” said Watts.

Watts said Turner then proceeded to unload all but one bullet from the .357 Magnum, spin the cylinder and place it to his head. He pulled the trigger and the weapon discharged striking him in the head, said Watts.

Turner died at the scene, the coroner said.

A Columbia Police Department incident report states Turner has recently purchased the gun.

The Columbia Police Department continues to investigate. Watts has not ruled the incident to be an accident or a suicide.

Source:WIS

Former AL. teacher arrested for sodomy, solicitation of a child www.privateofficer.com

CULLMAN AL Nov 28 2012  — Hanceville police arrested a local man who has served as a substitute teacher for allegedly having sexual contact with a 15-year-old child in Madison County.

According to Hanceville Police Chief Bob Long, Anthony “Tony” Wade Sisk, 42, of Hanceville, was arrested on existing warrants during what he called a “routine traffic stop” by his officers on Thanksgiving day. He’s been arrested on charges of second degree sexual abuse, second degree sodomy, enticing a child and electronic solicitation of a child.

“When the officer ran his information, it came back that he had several warrants out for him,” Long said.

Sisk was transported to the Cullman County Detention Center where Cullman County Sheriff Mike Rainey said he was held for nine hours before being picked up by the Madison County Sheriff’s Department.

A spokesperson with the Madison County Sheriff’s Department said Sisk has since bonded out. Further details about the case were not released.

Sisk had a license to work as a substitute teacher in the State of Alabama from 2002-2007.

Dr. Jan Harris, superintendent of Cullman City Schools, said Sisk had worked as a substitute teacher 24 days in 2003 and 2004. She said Sisk had a verified license through the county school board to substitute dating back to 2002. The license expired in 2007.

County schools superintendent Billy Coleman also confirmed that Sisk had substituted in 2004 at different schools. Both superintendents said there were no complaints on file concerning Sisk’s performance as a substitute teacher.

Sisk also worked on a freelance basis as a sports writer for The Times in the late 2000s until he was not retained in 2010. He most recently worked as a freelance sportwriter for the CullmanSense weekly newspaper this season before being let go according to publisher Noah Chandler.

Source:Cullman  Times

Hollywood Casino security employees face felony charges www.privateofficer.com

 Lawrenceburg, Ind Nov 2 2012– Indiana State Police have arrested two Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg security employees for taking more than $400,000 from the riverboat through false security companies.

Hollywood Casino Surveillance Technician Director, Christopher Krabbe, 42, of West Harrison, is charged with Racketeering-Corrupt Business Influence, Theft, and Money Laundering, all Class C felonies.  He was arrested after meeting with police at the Dearborn County Law EnforcementCenter on Wednesday.

State police had also arrested former Hollywood Casino Surveillance Director, Michael Burnett, 39, of Fairfield, Ohio, on Tuesday. He faces the same charges.

Investigators say the two men allegedly setting up two false security equipment companies. The two would then purchase security equipment and charge repair work from their companies to the casino, often overcharging and double billing for the equipment and work.

ISP Versailles Post investigators were assisted by investigators from the Indiana Gaming Commission.

Krabbe and Burnett have each bonded out of jail by posting $2,500 cash and $10,000 surety bond.

Indiana State police say a five month long investigation culminated in the two arrests this week.

San Mateo college district’s IT director charged with stealing and selling computers www.privateofficer.com

 

San Mateo CA Oct 29 2012 Two San Mateo County Community College District employees have been arrested for allegedly buying computer equipment and software with district money and reselling them for profit, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.

Bradley John Witham, 42, the district’s director of technical support services, and Mark Anthony Bustos, 42, have been charged with numerous felony counts, including conspiracy, embezzlement of public funds and identity theft. They could face eight to 10 years in state prison for the crimes, District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said Friday.

Bustos, a San Mateo resident, was arrested on Oct. 10, but Witham had taken off to Australia, Wagstaffe said. Through negotiations with his attorney, the prosecutors’ office convinced Witham to return to the United States and he was arrested Thursday on a $1 million warrant after stepping off the plane, Wagstaffe said.

Making his first appearance in court Friday, Witham pleaded not guilty to all charges and remains in custody. He is scheduled to appear in San Mateo County Superior Court on Nov. 14 for a case review and bail determination.

Witham’s attorney, Stuart Hanlon, told The Daily News after Friday’s court proceeding that his client is an Australian native and returned to the United States because he has an American wife and is trying to take responsibility for his actions.

“Good people can make mistakes,” Hanlon said.

Bustos, who also works in the district’s IT department, hacked into other employees’ computers, learned the district was investigating the thefts and tipped off Witham, who then fled the country, Wagstaffe said.

“We believe that’s why Mr. Witham went to Australia,” Wagstaffe said. He learned that we knew something about it. … Mr. Bustos got into the email files and saw some of the discussion about the internal investigation.”

Witham was the “main player” in the crimes and Bustos assisted, he said, adding that more than $150,000 was taken from the district over a six-year period beginning in 2006.

“They were ordering computer equipment and then selling it,” Wagstaffe said. “He (Witham) sold these items on eBay and Craigslist and would deposit the funds into a PayPal account. It was computers, software, hard drives, memory sticks, things of that nature.”

Witham began working for the college district in 2000 and had an annual salary of $107,000, Wagstaffe said.

The district first got wind of the crimes about a month ago, according to an email Chancellor Ron Galatolo sent Thursday to district employees.

According to Galatolo’s email, a district staffer discovered that an employee made several unauthorized computer equipment purchases. When confronted, that employee — identified by Wagstaffe as Witham — admitted to ordering and selling them. The district then notified the San Mateo Police Department and launched an investigation that revealed “a much larger pattern” of criminal behavior, Galatolo wrote. Both employees (Witham and Bustos) have been terminated.

The chancellor told employees that the district has hired a firm that specializes in internal controls “to ensure we are doing everything possible to prevent this from happening again in the future.”

Wagstaffe said Witham is charged with seven felony counts — one count of conspiracy, three of forgery, one of embezzlement, one of embezzlement of public funds, one of identity theft and a special allegation for taking more than $100,000. Bustos is charged with one count of conspiracy, one of embezzlement, three of embezzlement of public funds, four of identity theft, two of computer fraud and one of being an accessory to a crime committed by another.

Bustos pleaded not guilty to all charges on Oct. 11 and was released on $250,000 bail. He is due back in court on Nov. 2.

The San Mateo County Community College District includes Cañada College in Redwood City,College of San Mateo and Skyline College in San Bruno.

source-mercury news

Carson City casino security nabs woman using false identification www.privateofficer.com

 

Carson City NV Sept 26 2012 A Sacramento woman faces felony burglary, fraud and drug charges after she attempted to cash stolen checks using fake IDs inside a Carson City casino.

Dana Hale, 42, was booked into Carson City jail on Sept. 20 after casino security guards notified authorities that the woman had attempted to cash the checks using false identification cards.

The woman admitted to trying to cash the checks, according to the arrest report. A subsequent search of the woman and her belongings found 22 fraudulent checks, six fake IDs, methamphetamine, assorted pills, drug pipes, a bottle of urine, five cell phone chargers, wigs, sunglasses, receipts, several bags of clothes and water purification tablets.

The woman told authorities she was visiting Carson City to see her daughter who had recently had a baby. As she was booked into jail authorities found a bag of meth in her bra, the arrest report stated.

Source-carsoncitynow.org

Civilian Pa. State Police employee charged with stealing $30K www.privateofficer.com

 

HARRISBURG PA Aug 6 2012— A former Pennsylvania State Police employee was charged today for allegedly stealing more than $30,000 over an eight month period.
Scott L. Frederick, 42, of Mechanicsburg, allegedly diverted fake reimbursement checks into private bank accounts. Frederick was fired in June for forgery and theft.
He worked as a Budget Analyst within the Bureau of Staff Services.
Investigators say he created fraudulent invoices and altered court subpoenas in order to generate checks made payable to fictitious retired troopers for various court appearances that never took place.
After the paperwork was processed, Frederick would intercept the checks and forge the fictitious names on the back of the checks.
Frederick would present the forged checks to the bank as third-party checks.
Frederick signed his name below the forged signature, and deposit the checks into his own personal accounts.
In all, Frederick deposited 23 fraudulent checks into his personal accounts between October 2011 and May 2012.
The amount of these checks totaled $30,587.52. Frederick was employed by the Department since December 2005.

Frederick is charged with Forgery: 23 counts, Felony 2nd degree -Theft By Deception: 1 count, Felony 3rd degree -Receiving Stolen Property: 1 count, Felony 3rd degree -Tampering with Records or Identification: 24 counts, Misdemeanor 1st degree

Frederick was released on $20,000 unsecured bail. He waived his right to a Preliminary hearing.

Source:WPMT.com

Three Arrested for $9,000 Victoria’s Secret Theft www.privateofficer.com

 

Boca Raton Fla Aug 2 2012 Authorities said they arrested three people in connection with a Boca Raton Victoria’s Secret theft in which $9,000 in merchandise was stolen.

Michelle Feliciano, 42, Danny Torreira, 22, and Leonidas Herrera, 24, were arrested Saturday and charged with grand theft, according to online records. The three remain in jail in Palm Beach County.

Osmany Benitez, a security officer at the store located at 6000 West Glades Road, called Boca Raton Police to report the theft. Benitez told officers two men and one woman fled in a Nissan Sentra and Cadillac Escalade. The vehicles were located at a nearby gas station, police said.

Miami Man Arrested For Boat Engine Thefts In Southwest Ranches: BSO

Authorities said Herrera, whose aunt is Feliciano, admitted that the three would steal merchandise together and that he and Feliciano committed two previous thefts. Torreira refused to speak with officers and Feliciano denied any involvement, according to authorities.

More than $9,000 in merchandise was recovered in the Sentra, which was rented by Feliciano. She and Herrera were also charged with previous retail theft crimes, police said.

Source:NBC6

Former BISD employee and wife charged with felony theft www.privateofficer.com

 

Beaumont TX July 31 2012 A BISD employee who was fired in May turned himself into authorities, according to a Jefferson County Correctional Facility personnel.

Daryl Johnson, 42, a former warehouse maintenance supervisor, was charged with two counts of felony theft on $10,000 and $20,000 bonds.

He turned himself into authorities last Friday and bonded out the same day, according to the Jefferson County Correctional Facility.

His wife Erin Johnson, 34, also turned herself in the same day and bonded out, according to the jail personnel. She was charged with one felony count of theft on a $20,000 bond.

Beaumont ISD detective Danny Moore confirms that Johnson was investigated for theft for approximately $280,000.

The district released a statement in May that Johnson, who was not named at the time, was fired because he appeared to have paid wages to two persons who did not work for the district.

Source:www.beaumontenterprise.com

California man arrested in connection with international child porn ring www.privateofficer.com

 

 

Anderson CA July 29 2012 An Anderson man and guardian of two children is in custody after authorities say they found violent child pornography on his computers and online chats in which he discussed torturing and eating children.

Jason Scarcello, 42, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of having and distributing pornographic videos and photos of children, said agents with the Homeland Security Investigations branch of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Scarcello’s was one of 42 arrests made around the world in what authorities called one of the most disturbing cases of its kind they’ve seen. He is one of 12 arrested in the U.S.

“Just being able to finally SEE an actually (sic) child cooking would be a dream come true. I really am hoping that I can find some attainable targets up here,” Scarcello wrote in one chat under a screen name, investigators said. They said he wrote that he’d like to try eating one child and he’s “not worried about any of the potential kids.”

Scarcello, who serves as a guardian to two children, had multiple CDs and DVDs depicting children being abused and, in some cases, dead, Special Agent Gene Kizenko said in a criminal complaint filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.

Agents say they still are investigating whether Scarcello ever assaulted any children.

The District Court website listed Matthew McCrary Scoble, of the Office of Federal Defenders, as the attorney for Jason Scarcello.

Scoble declined to comment on the case.

Agents say they were led to Scarcello after arresting others allegedly involved in an international child pornography ring. Participants used “peer to peer” networks to trade images and videos of child pornography using special keywords to identify the explicit material, Kizenko said.

Agents built their case by piecing together clues from Scarcello’s IP address, his Yahoo! email account and tracking pornographic images shared by Scarcello, Michael Arnett, of Kansas City, and others, Kizenko said in his complaint. An IP address is the unique numeric code assigned to a computer when it is connected to the Internet.

Kizenko said Scarcello traded images over the Ares Network, both downloading and distributing images and video. Kizenko said agents found at least 37 unique files shared between December 2011 and June 2012 under an IP address registered to Scarcello, including two videos of prepubescent children being raped and one involving use of a sex toy on a child.

He said Scarcello also used chat rooms to discuss fantasies. He said Scarcello allegedly chatted online with Arnett about kidnapping, torturing, killing and eating children.

The chats took place between August 2011 and March 2012, Kizenko said.

In several chat logs included in the complaint, Scarcello allegedly asked Arnett about kidnapping children.

“One thing I always forget to ask you is what do you keep in your van, like what’s a good ‘hunting kit’ and supplies do you have,” Kizenko said Scarcello wrote under his screen name. He said Scarcello wrote about the ecstasy he’d expect from kidnapping a child, including the fear his victim would feel.

The pair also discussed cannibalism, Kizenko stated. Arnett asked Scarcello at one point if he would like to “take one to eat for real?” according to the complaint.

“I like to think so. My ideal of coarse would be to have a partner to do it with and learn from, but the reality of it is that I’d probably have to do it alone,” Scarcello wrote, according to Kizenko’s complaint. “I’d say my concerns of doing it are really only in the getting caught. I’m not concerned with what the child or it’s parents think or feel. All of that ‘boo hoo’ BS belongs under the category of ‘woulda coulda shoulda done something to prevent it.’ “

Arnett also used the network to share a photograph he’d taken of two children, younger than 2, bound and gagged in a roasting pan, Kizenko said. Those children were later found alive.

The chats were found by authorities after they arrested Arnett in May.

Ross Feinstein, spokesman for ICE, said Arnett chatted online with Scarcello and one other individual, who also was arrested in another part of the United States, about cannibalism.

“I’ve been a part of this investigation for a while. Everything’s horrific about it,” he said. “The level of discussion of exploitation of children is the most disturbing I’ve ever seen.”

On Wednesday agents showed up at Scarcello’s single-story ranch house, Kizenko said. They searched the two-bedroom, one-bathroom home, which has a children’s jungle gym on the side, he said.

One of the rooms was “obviously” set up for two children, he said. Agents found at least two computers and began searching them.

Kizenko said Scarcello, his wife and the two children showed up; his wife took the children inside while investigators questioned Scarcello.

At first Scarcello said a computer virus had brought up strange things on his computer, but then he admitted to possessing pornography, Kizenko said.

He said Scarcello acknowledged the username for Yahoo! chat that investigators had tracked was his.

He said Scarcello then led investigators to his bedroom and showed them two CD pouches.
A purple pouch with black trim was marked “Jason’s downloaded CDs,” “HANDS OFF,” and “That means you, Hunny Bunny!” Kizenko said in the complaint.

Inside, officers found CDs and DVDs depicting prepubescent children having sex with adults, Kizenko said. He said Scarcello said “he preferred images and videos of girls, but could not say for certain if (he) had images or videos of boys.”

Kizenko said Scarcello told agents he began downloading child pornography about one year ago, with the last time he did it about a month ago.

Kizenko said in the complaint that the photographs involved children being physically abused and in bondage, with some photos of dead children and autopsy photos of children.

Kizenko said Scarcello and his wife have two young children, who were either adopted or in foster care, younger than 10.

Roxanne Burke, a community relations representative for the Shasta County Health and Human Services Agency, Children’s Services, declined to comment on the case.

In an emailed statement, she said all children fostered through Shasta County Children’s Services can go into homes only if everyone 18 and older passes a criminal record check that includes fingerprints. Foster parents must also take a 27-hour course, and are screened through a process involving interviews and home visits.

The Scarcello investigation was part of an international child pornography probe that began in Boston, Feinstein said.

It began with the arrest of a hotel manager there, he said. Agents found a series of explicit pictures that stood out from the rest, because of a stuffed animal and newer clothing.

ICE agents tracked it to The Netherlands. A television spot involving the child’s face was aired, and within two hours Dutch agents arrested Robert Mikelsons, a day care worker, and his boyfriend, Feinstein said.

He said Mikelsons had abused about 87 children, and agents tracked the photographs’ distribution to Arnett.

Scarcello was the 11th of 12 arrested in the U.S., Feinstein said, while a church bus driver was No. 10.

Scarcello is being held without bail in the Sacramento County jail

Source:redding.com

VA. father -son, two other men charged with sexually assaulting teenage girls www.privateofficer.com

 

 

 

SPOTSYLVANIA COUNTY, Va. July 11 2012 – The Spotsylvania Sheriff’s Office announced the arrests of four men accused of sexually assaulting two teenage girls. Two of the suspects are father and son, 1st Sgt. James Konicki told CBS 6.

 

The girls, ages 14 and 15, told investigators they were given alcohol at their friend’s home. As the girls became intoxicated, the four men sexually assaulted the teenagers, investigators said.

 

Konicki said the investigation into the allegations started in late June and the men were arrested July 9.

 

All four suspects are being held in Rappahannock Regional Jail under no bond.

 

Investigators charged Adam Terry, 42, with contributing to the delinquency of a minor and sodomy. Terry’s son Justin, 19, is charged with rape. Kevin Golighlty, 33, and Cesar Lopez, 23, are also charged with rape.

 

Konicki said the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office investigation is on-going and that more charges could be filed.

 

Source:WTVR.com

Ohio man kills 4 people, commits suicide during police stand-off www.privateofficer.com

 

NEWTON FALLS, Ohio July 8 2012- Police in Trumbull County said the man who shot and killed four others — including a teenager — Friday is dead after turning the gun on himself.

According to the Newton Falls Police Department, two adults and a juvenile were killed at 12:04 p.m. on Trumbull Court. A second child who was at the home was not injured. One of the victims called 911 before she died, police said.

Investigators released the names of the victims:

LIVED ON TRUMBULL COURT:

- Rikki Cogley, 42

- Cathy Cogley, 39

- 15-year-old (no name released yet)

Police said the suspect, 55-year-old Robert Brazzon who lived at the same house as Engler, took off in a white Dodge Stratus after the shootings and was located at about 4 p.m. in the Newton Falls Cemetery.

After a brief standoff with police, officers said Brazzon shot himself. He later died at the hospital.

A few minutes after the cemetery incident a 911 call alerted officers to the shooting death of 38-year-old Tracy Engler, who was found dead at the suspect’s home on Newton Drive, according to police.

Police are now questioning a second person of interest in the case, as officers learned that there were possibly two people in the suspect vehicle when it left the scene.

Newton Falls Police Chief John Kuivila told NewsChannel5′s Jenn Strathman that officers had trouble processing the first scene due to budget cuts. Meanwhile, the suspect was on the run for four hours.

Kuivila said an upcoming levy is on the ballot that would help with the manpower issue. He said the department currently has 28 full-time and part-time officers — and that number would be cut in half if the levy doesn’t pass.

The mayor said he thinks there’s enough manpower, but not enough vehicles for the officers to use.

Anyone with information about this case should contact the Newton Falls Police Department at 330-872-5757.

Source:www.newsnet5.com

Women caught bringing drugs into VA jail hidden in vaginas www.privateofficer.com

 

 

JAMES CITY VA July 6 2012 – Two women reporting to Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail to serve time have both been accused of trying to smuggle drugs into the facility.

In both cases, the drugs were hidden in their private parts.

Maj. Stephen Rubino with James City County Police confimed Tuesday that there were two separate instances of drug smuggling at the jail on June 15 and 16.

On June 15, Kelly Marie White, 42, was reporting to the jail to serve a one-year sentence for a habitual offender conviction.

“Jail staff had some information that she was going to be attempting to smuggle in some narcotics, and after conducting a search of her person they found a small plastic container, which was inserted in her vagina,” Rubino said.

He said the pills found inside were thought to be Flexoral and Percocet. They were sent to a lab for identification.

The incident the following day took place when Tammy Sue Riddle, 50, was searched while reporting to the jail. Rubino said correctional officers also had information that led them to believe Riddle would try to sneak in drugs. He said officers found six blue pills wrapped in several pairs of latex gloves hidden in her private area.

Source:the virginia gazette

Anchorage port security officer killed in accident www.privateofficer.com

 

ANCHORAGE AK JULY 5 2012 Police are investigating why a truck driven by a security guard working at the Port of Anchorage drove off a dock Monday night into Knik Arm, killing the driver.

The driver was identified as Joseph Renteria, 42, a long-term employee of Doyon Universal Services, which provides security at the port.

Anchorage Police spokesman Lt. Dave Parker said it wasn’t yet clear why the crew-cab pickup went off the dock. The department is investigating.

A medical examiner will perform an autopsy on Renteria to determine whether a medical condition might have caused him to lose control of the vehicle and APD investigators will examine the truck for mechanical defects, Parker said.

The pickup went off a dock in the older section of the port at 7:21 p.m. Monday, officials said. The area of the port is used to dock cruise ships and cargo vessels, said Lindsay Whitt, a spokeswoman for the mayor’s office.

A security video released by the port shows Renteria driving west down a roadway toward the water, appearing to pause then beginning to turn south down another roadway. While turning, the truck straightens and drives over a concrete curb at the dock’s edge and into the water.

The water just off the dock was about 50 feet deep at that time, according to police spokesman Lt. Dave Parker.

Security guards regularly patrol the area, Whitt said. Renteria had been assigned to security patrols at the port for about a month, according to police.

At low tide on Tuesday, a recovery crew including commercial divers, the Coast Guard and a port crane operator hoisted the truck from the murky water. The truck was transferred to a nearby tugboat, where a team removed the driver’s body for the medical examiner.

Renteria was a married veteran who had two children, Parker said. He lived in Eagle River.

Source:ADN.com

Four NC Air National Guard airmen killed in plane crash identified www.privateofficer.com

CHARLOTTE, N.C.July 4 2012 – Four Airmen died and two others were seriously injured when a Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System (MAFFS) equipped C-130 belonging to the 145th Airlift Wing, North Carolina Air National Guard, based here, crashed Sunday evening while fighting a woodland fire in Southwestern South Dakota.

Dead are Lt. Col. Paul K. Mikeal (pronounced like michael), 42, of Mooresville, N.C.; Maj. Joseph M. McCormick, 36, of Belmont, N.C.; Maj. Ryan S. David (pronounced da-veed), 35, of Boone, N.C.; Senior Master Sgt. Robert S. Cannon, 50, of Charlotte.

“Words can’t express how much we feel the loss of these Airmen,” said Brig. Gen. Tony McMillan, 145th AW Commander. “Our prayers are with their families, as well as our injured brothers as they recover.”

Mikeal was assigned to the 156th Airlift Squadron as an evaluator pilot and had more than 20 years of service. He leaves behind a wife and two children.

McCormick was an instructor pilot and chief of training for the 156th Airlift Squadron. He was married with four children.

David was an experienced navigator and was also assigned to the 156th. He joined the North Carolina Air National Guard in 2011 after prior service in the active-duty U.S. Air Force. He is survived by his wife and one child.

Cannon had more than 29 years with the Charlotte unit and was a flight engineer with the 145th Operations Support Flight. He was married with two children.

The names of the injured will not be released. Both of the injured Airmen remain hospitalized.

The crew and its aircraft along with two other 145th C-130s and three dozen Airmen flew from Charlotte to Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo., Saturday to assist with fighting forest fires in the Rocky Mountain region. They were due to move to a base in Cheyenne, Wyo., on Monday. The crash occurred around 6:30 p.m. mountain time near Edgemont, S.D., as the crew assisted with battling what is being called the White Draw fire. The cause of the crash is unknown and is under investigation.

North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue declared that flags be flown at half staff today and President Barack Obama expressed condolences honoring the dead Airmen.

“The support of civil authorities during natural disasters is a key and unique mission of the National Guard,” said Army Maj. Gen. Gregory Lusk, the adjutant general of the North Carolina National Guard “The MAFFS mission is probably one of the seminal missions of the Air National Guard, representing interagency coordination between the Guard and the U.S. Forest Service, the Department of Homeland Security, and Department of Defense organizations to suppress the fires.”

MAFFS is a joint Department of Defense and U.S. Forest Service program designed to provide additional aerial firefighting resources when commercial and private air tankers are no longer able to meet the needs of the forest service.

MAFFS is a self-contained aerial firefighting system owned by the U.S. Forest Service that can discharge 3,000 gallons of water or fire retardant in less than 5 seconds, covering an area one-quarter of a mile long by 100 feet wide. Retardant is discharged along the leading edge of a fire while water can be dropped directly on the flames. Once the load is discharged, it can be refilled in less than 12 minutes.

According to Forest Service records, the agency has been working with the North Carolina Air National Guard on fire suppression missions since the early 1970s.

Federal grand jury indicts two Sacramento men for armored car robbery www.privateofficer.com

Sacramento CA June 30 2012 A federal grand jury today indicted two Sacramento men in the attempted robbery of an armored car April in south Sacramento County.

Raymell Lamar Eason, 42, and Keith Lamont Smith, 36, were indicted for interference with commerce by robbery, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.

According to court documents, on April 17, Eason and Smith, armed with an activated Taser gun, parked in a Walmart parking lot on Florin Road. The two men allegedly were waiting for a Garda Logistics Services armored car, which they planned to rob when the guard left the store with its currency deposits.

Eason is alleged to have shot the guard with the Taser while Smith waited in their getaway vehicle. The robbery was unsuccessful, and the Garda armored car guard reportedly shot Eason as he tried to flee.

Eason and Smith were arrested shortly after the botched robbery.

Both men are scheduled to appear Tuesday in Sacramento before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kendall J. Newman.

Source:sacbee.com

Allentown security guard charged in shooting death www.privateofficer.com

 

Allentown PA June 8 2012 A security guard working the North End Republican Club in Allentown on April 29 told detectives he saw a man he had just kicked out reaching toward his waistband for what the guard thought was a gun, according to court records.

Andrew Gesslein II, 42, of Hamburg — who was not supposed to be armed — fired a handgun several times, killing 23-year-old Michael M. Randolph of Allentown, officials said.

A six-week investigation revealed Randolph had no weapon and there were no witnesses or evidence saying he even pretended to have one, authorities said Thursday.

Gesslein, a guard for Eye in the Sky Security in Whitehall Township, was charged Thursday with voluntary manslaughter, a first-degree felony, said Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin.

Gesslein was arraigned by District Judge Ron Manescu and sent to Lehigh County Prison without bail. If convicted, he would face 10 to 20 years in prison, Martin said.

The charge, Martin said, is appropriate because at the time of the killing, Gesslein believed deadly force was necessary for self-protection, but that belief was unreasonable.

During a news conference, Martin explained that the killing did not qualify as first-, second- or third-degree murder because it wasn’t deliberate, premeditated or intentional, wasn’t committed during the course of another felony and wasn’t done with malice.

“A district attorney should not file charges unless all elements of an offense can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt,” Martin said.

While the investigation showed that Randolph and two friends threatened to kill Gesslein for not allowing them into the private, after-hours club at Eighth and Tilghman streets, the shooting did not qualify as self-defense, Martin said.

Club President Robert E. Smith Jr. has said Gesslein had a run-in with Randolph weeks before the killing, but Martin said investigators found no evidence to prove that claim. He said the investigation did find altercations involving security guards and patrons in the weeks before the shooting, but none involved Randolph or Gesslein.

Since Randolph’s death, family and friends have been demonstrating in downtown Allentown because they say Randolph, a popular local rapper who performed under the stage name “Ohead,” was killed without reason and the security guard should be in jail. Calls to Randolph’s family Thursday were not returned.

Martin said the investigation was lengthy because of the number of people detectives needed to interview. Using surveillance cameras outside the club, police determined that 97 people entered that night. Police identified 26 of them and interviewed 21, he said.

Police have not talked to the two people with Randolph that night. One of them is out of state, Martin said, and police have not been able to identify the other. Investigators are still trying to identify and talk to more witnesses.

According to a criminal complaint:

Allentown police were dispatched to the club at 3:11 that morning on a report of a shooting.

Randolph was found on the ground outside the back entrance and died at the hospital. An investigation showed he was shot three times – in the back, in the abdomen and in the right thigh. Police could not determine the sequence of the gunshots.

According to toxicology reports, Randolph had marijuana in his system and a blood-alcohol content of 0.07 percent.

Police spoke to Gesslein, who admitted he shot Randolph. He told police he was working the back entrance of the club, screening guests and allowing club members and their guests inside.

Gesslein told police Randolph and two friends were outside the club trying to get in, but he repeatedly denied them access. Gesslein said Randolph and his friends threatened to kill him or hurt him. Two witnesses interviewed by police confirmed his account.

At some point, Randolph and his friends pushed their way into the club and Randolph and Gesslein got into a struggle. Gesslein said he pushed Randolph away, took three or four steps back and drew his .45-caliber handgun.

Gesslein said the three men started to head for the exit, but Randolph stopped, turned around and reached into his waistband and Gesslein opened fire. He told police he fired twice, but the investigation showed it was three times.

Another witness told police Gesslein fired as the three men were running toward the door. Surveillance video from outside the club did not capture the shooting and the club does not have cameras inside.

Martin said the video from outside the club shows Randolph and his friends entering the club, and eight seconds later, they and another person are leaving the club quickly, like a “stampede.”

Martin said he spoke to Randolph’s family before announcing the charges.

“I understand that this case may be unpopular with some people who believe that the security guard should have been charged with first-degree or third-degree murder or should not have been charged at all,” Martin said. “However, a district attorney’s obligation is to evaluate the facts as they are known to have existed at the time and the totality of circumstances based on all admissible evidence that has been found and make a decision that is in the interest of justice.

“A district attorney cannot be influenced by outside or emotional interests and should not be swayed by public opinion or protests.”

Gesslein, who is married and has a child, was licensed to carry a gun but was not hired as an armed security guard that night, according to Smith, the club president. Gesslein has worked for the Whitehall security company for less than a year and had been working security at the club for a few months, Martin said.

Calls to Eye in the Sky Security were not returned.

source-the morning call

Shoplifter turns violent at Westfield Trumbull Mall www.privateofficer.com

 

 

Trumbell CT April 7 2012 A Bridgeport man allegedly caught shoplifting drew more charges after fighting with security at the Westfield Trumbull Mall.

Rafael J. Rodriguez, 42, of Palisade Avenue, is charged with sixth-degree larceny and second-degree robbery. Police said he left Lord & Taylor without paying for $375 in cologne.

When officers tried to detain him, he allegedly threatened that he had a friend with a gun who would shoot officers.

After his arrest, officers found he was wanted for five counts of failing to appear in court.

Rodriguez was held in lieu of $150,000 bond for the mall incident and $50,000 for the warrants, police said.

Another Arrest at the Trumbull Mall

A woman allegedly carrying three foil-lined bags and an item used to remove security sensors faces several charges.

Natisha Nicole Phonville, 29, of Linwood Avenue, Bridgeport, is charged with three counts of possession of a shoplifting device.

The bags are used to get by door sensors, police said.

Her bond was set at $500.

Passaic County Technical Institute security officer charged with hit-and-run crash that killed two pedestrians www.privateofficer.com

 

CLIFTON NJ April 6 2012 — Investigators arrested a man suspected in a hit-and-run crash that killed two pedestrians, police said.

Jason Askew, 42, of Paterson, was arrested Wednesday in the March 17 crash that killed Jhasleidy Benjumea-Bastidas, 28, of Passaic, and Jose Fernandez-Minaya, 35, of Brooklyn. He is in Passaic County Jail on $250,000 bail, said Sgt. Michael Bienkowski of the Clifton police department’s traffic unit.

Investigators tracked down Askew’s Cadillac Escalade, which they suspect was the vehicle that hit the two at Route 46 and 7th Street.

Askew was charged with two counts of leaving the scene of a fatal accident, two counts of endangering a victim, tampering with evidence and hindering apprehension, authorities said.

The date of his arraignment and his lawyer’s name were not immediately available. Askew works as a security guard for Passaic County Technical Institute and is employed with the U.S. Postal Service in Teterboro.

The victims’ families seemed relieved when told that someone had been arrested in the crash, Bienkowski said.

Benjumea-Bastidas had two young children, a son and a baby girl. Fernandez-Minaya was buried in the Dominican Republic, where his family originates.

They were struck shortly before 4 a.m. that Saturday morning. Benjumea-Bastidas and Fernandez-Minaya were in the eastbound lane of Route 46 near Seventh Street when they were struck.

Police said Benjumea-Bastidas and Fernandez-Minaya and two other companions were driving home from a bar. Benjumea-Bastidas had been arguing with her boyfriend and asked the driver to let her out. As she walked toward her car her boyfriend followed and argument continued, police said.

Fernandez-Minaya left the car and tried to calm the couple down, police said. At some point, the boyfriend returned to the car and began to park it in a gas station lot when a passing car hit Benjumea-Bastidas and Fernandez-Minaya without stopping, police said.

Farmington police make numerous arrests at Westfarms Mall www.privateofficer.com

 

Farmington CT April 4 2012 Pamela Jean Facteau, 40, of 55 South Shore Drive, Sturbridge, MA, was arrested April 1 at Westfarms mall and charged with second-degree breach of peace, sixth-degree larceny and possession of a shoplifting device. According to police, Facteau is accused of taking security tags off of clothes and trying to take them from Lord & Taylor. Police said she caused a disturbance when stopped by mall security employees. She was released on $5,000 non-surety bond and scheduled to appear April 11, 2012.

Edgar Alexander Rivera, 42, of 20 Eaton St., Hartford, was arrested March 31 at Westfarms mall and charged with first-degree criminal trespassing, possession of drug paraphernalia, fifth-degree larceny and two counts of possession of narcotics. According to police, Rivera is accused of shoplifting from Talbot’s and Lens Crafters at the mall after previously being barred from it. He allegedly had heroin and related paraphernalia on him when he was arrested, police said.

Marrangely Ramos, 29, of 8 Robin Terrace, East Hartford, was arrested March 31 at Westfarms mall and was charged with sixth-degree larceny and third-degree robbery. According to police,
Ramos is accused of shoplifting and fighting with mall security employees. She posted $5,000 surety bond and was scheduled to appear April 10, 2012.

Dover Downs casino employee charged with theft and drug charges www.privateofficer.com

 

SMYRNA, Del. April 2 2012 — A Smyrna man and woman face heroin charges after the woman was first arrested for stealing from Dover Downs casino where she worked.

On March 28, Delaware State Police detectives assigned to the Division of Gaming Enforcement arrested Gina A. Savinell, 37, of Smyrna, in connection with the theft of cheques from the craps tables during her shift as a dealer at Dover Downs Hotel and Casino. Savinell faces three counts of felony theft greater than $1,500 and one count of theft under $1,500, police said.

A search of Savinell’s employee locker resulted in the seizure of an undisclosed amount of heroin and money, police said.

A search warrant was executed on Savinell’s Greens Branch Lane residence where additional heroin, drug paraphernalia, and gaming cheques were located.

Two juvenile children were at the residence and were turned over to family members.

Savinell was also charged with two counts of possession with intent to deliver, possession of drug paraphernalia, conspiracy second degree, and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. She was committed to the Women’s Correctional Institute in lieu of a secured bond to await another court appearance.

Sean D. Savinell Sr., 42, of Smyrna, was at the residence during the search and was taken into custody. He was formally charged with possession with intent to deliver, possession of drug paraphernalia, conspiracy second degree, and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. He was committed to James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in lieu of a secured bond to await another court appearance.

Gaming Enforcement officials, who were advised the possible cheque thefts by the Dover Downs Surveillance Department, credited Dover Downs’ Security and Surveillance for their vigilance and assistance during this investigation.

The Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement, Smyrna Police Department and Delaware State Police assigned to Troop 3 also assisted in this investigation.

Source:doverpost.com