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Family of murdered security officer denied closure www.privateofficer.com
Cincinnati OH July 18 2010
By: Rick McCann/CEO
PRIVATE OFFICER INTERNATIONAL
http://www.privateofficer.com
An Ohio family today still has no justice in the killing of their loved one who was gunned down in 1999 while working as a security officer.
It all started at a New Year’s Eve party in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Oasis bar and grill, a popular local club was filling up fast as the celebration of another New Years was fast approaching.
Police say that as the night wore on, a fight broke out and bar security officers began pushing people toward the front of the bar and out the doors to de-escalate the situation.
That’s when one of the brawlers returned within moments with a gun and began shooting into the business.
Jerry Gilbert, one of the nightclub security officers was found laying on the ground with a bullet wound. A fellow security officer started first aid but Gilbert died on the scene from his wounds.
Investigators were able to identify a suspect in the murder and named Cyril L Byrd as their prime suspect and with the assistance of the FBI, the U.S. Marshals office and Americas Most Wanted television program, officers across the country began their manhunt.
Somehow Byrd had managed to avoid capture and stay one step ahead of law enforcement for almost nine years until an AMW tipster lead authorities to Arizona.
Arizona authorities were familiar with Byrd because they had arrested him in 2005, but Byrd allegedly used an alias and posted bond before cops realized he was wanted for an Ohio murder.
So, when an anonymous tipster called the Phoenix field office of the FBI, they knew just who the tipster was talking about, and they were not taking any chances with the man they say was a violent fugitive.
At around 3 p.m. on Monday, September 17, 2007, members of the FBI’s Violent Crimes Fugitive Task Force went to the address and they were able to take Byrd into custody without any resistance and he admitted to officers who he was. Investigators found a weapon and cash inside the home, but thankfully no one was hurt during the arrest.
With the fugitive in custody they extradited him back to the State of Ohio so that justice could be served and the family of security officer Gilbert could at last find closure.
But closure would be denied by Hamilton County judge who said that there was not enough evidence to proceed with murder charges against Bryd and on Nov. 18, 2008, he was acquitted of the charges against him and set free.
Authorities in Cincinnati still say that they beleive that they had the right man in custody for the murder but the case is now in the hands of the Cold Case Squad who may be able to turn up new leads as they start the investigation process all over again.
In the meantime, Gilbert’s family now wonders if they’ll ever see justice or have the true peace that can only come with the arrest and conviction of the man who killed their loved one.
Contributors to this story: Brian Hollstegge, AMW
Cross dressing shoplifters lead police on chase www.privateofficer.com
Police pulled over a car that was believed to be involved in a shoplifting incident at a Walmart. When the officer got out of the police vehicle, the suspect car rammed the cruiser and sped off according to the Asheville Police Department. The suspect car crashed on U.S. highway 25 near the intersection with Highway 414.
One suspect was found on the ground and two other people were trapped in the car. All three suspects were taken to a hospital. Their conditions are unknown.
Asheville Police say Alvin James Ray, Jr., 23, Tremain Allen Lucas, 19 , both of Asheville and Chester Dean Ray III, 18, of Arden were in the car.
All three have been suspected as cross-dressing as they committed shoplifting crimes in both Carolinas. Spartanburg Police released surveillance video of the suspects from T.J. Maxx at the Dorman Centre.
Asheville Police say the three stole TVs, computer equipment and video game systems from Best Buy and Target stores in Asheville over the past several months.
Alvin James Ray, Jr. has active warrants for one count of misdemeanor larceny, two counts of felony larceny, one count of simple assault and three counts of failure to appear for driving while license revoked.
Lucas is charged with three counts of misdemeanor larceny, two counts of failure to appear on charges of misdemeanor larceny and two counts of felony larceny.
Chester Ray III was out of jail on bond after surrendering to authorities in Buncombe County on February 1. He’s charged with two counts of misdemeanor larceny and two counts of felony larceny.
16 Year old boy arrested for bank robberies www.privateofficer.com
Marietta Police Department officials said the boy, 16, entered the BB&T Bank on Nov. 13 just after 11 a.m. and gave the teller a note demanding money. The teller gave the boy money and he left the area on foot.
Police said the teen did not show a weapon.
The boy is in custody at the Clayton County Youth Detention Center. He was also charged with bank robberies in Clayton County. No details on those robberies have been released.
Student fires rifle at teacher in Virginia www.privateofficer.com
“The teacher hit the floor when she saw a gun come up,” said Sgt. Kim Chinn, spokeswoman for Prince William County Police.
The suspected gunman, Jason Michael Hamilton, 20, of Manassas, was arrested soon after the shots were fired and charged with attempted murder and discharging a firearm in a school zone. He was being held without bond. It wasn’t immediately known if he had an attorney.
Police haven’t yet discussed a motive, but they said Hamilton fired the two shots, then stopped without explanation and left the classroom.
“I assume he’s upset,” Chinn said. “He walked into a classroom and shot at a teacher.”
Hamilton cooperated with officers when they found him in the hallway, Chinn said. He didn’t have the rifle with him but told police where it was. Chinn said Hamilton owned the rifle.
The report of an “active shooting” on the campus came in at 2:40 p.m. It quickly prompted fears of another mass shooting like the massacre at Virginia Tech that killed 32 people in 2007.
School officials locked down the campus and SWAT units swept the buildings room by room before letting people leave.
“We heard a loud noise, it sounded like a desk fell over and we heard another loud pop, we knew it was a gunshot,” said Miriam St. Clair, a 58-year-old biology professor from McLean.
St. Clair said she looked out the window and saw students running outside. The professor then told her students to get inside the classroom and they closed the door, which did not have a lock. They barricaded themselves inside by piling 20 desks against the door, crouching behind other desks when they were done.
One of the students called 911 and the operator told them there had been an incident and to stay where they were. About 2 1/2 hours later, a SWAT team came in and told them it was safe.
“We were very frightened,” she said.
More than two hours after the shooting, student Christian Dorn told WRC-TV by telephone that she was still barricaded inside a classroom. She recalled hearing two loud shots in the building and screams to call 911.
“I just thought about Virginia Tech and Columbine and just was praying this was not another one of those situations,” she told the television station. “We’re just confused right now. We’re ready to leave.”
By Tuesday night, several police cars and officers were still standing at the entrance to the college, which is in a suburban area across the street from a high school.
The Woodbridge campus is one of six in the Northern Virginia Community College system, which is the largest educational institution in the state. The system enrolls more than 60,000 students, according to its Web site.
Police crack book stealing gang www.privateofficer.com
Police in Prince George’s County Maryland have secured indictments in an alleged ring of book thieves operating at public and university libraries in the area. A dozen people, several related to each other, are said to have stolen 822 books valued at $87,000. Among the victims were several branches of the Prince George’s public library system, the University of Maryland Baltimore County, and Harford Community College. The thefts have reportedly been going on for the past year.
These thieves did not target the rare book rooms or collectible works, but they did focus on an expensive category – college textbooks. As anyone who has had to purchase these lately can attest, textbooks these days are as crazily priced as a college education. Most of these books cost $100 and up. However, these thieves were hardly becoming rich on the process. Apparently, they weren’t making much more than petty cash, some, evidently, using the money to feed drug habits. They would remove any identifying labels and sell the books to used book stores or online. As such, they were only making pennies on the dollar. These books tend to depreciate faster than an American car when driven out of the dealer’s showroom. Unlike the more sophisticated thieves who operate in rare book rooms, this group made their money on volume, not margin.
Public libraries in the Prince George’s County system allow their patrons to take out up to 75 books at a time. This group was generally “borrowing” close to the limit, but not returning them. That number may need to be reviewed as it’s hard to imagine why anyone would need to take out 75 books at a time.
Mary Eilerman, Chief of Harford Community College Security noted, “Ironically, there were books on ethics and philosophy.” Unfortunately, it is unlikely any of the thieves stopped to read these books before they sold them. Glenn Ivey, local States Attorney, noted, “Pardon the pun, but they [the grand jury] really wanted to throw the book at this group.” As of the time of the indictments, none of the stolen books had been recovered. The defendants are expected to go on trial sometime next year, though one would imagine in a case like this, if they are responsible, we will see some plea deals before that day arises. Technically, they could be sentenced for as long as 15 years in prison, though that seems way out of line with other book theft cases.
13 robberies at UWM university concern police www.privateofficer.com
Only one robbery occurred in the same area in the previous three weeks, the statistics show.
While police and university officials expressed concern Thursday about the spike, the statistics also show that crime in the area near campus is down about 7.3% since the school year began when compared with the same period last year.
The statistics track an area bordered by E. Edgewood Ave. to the north, E. North Ave. to the south, the Milwaukee River to the west and N. Lake Drive to the east.
Two armed robberies and an attempted armed robbery occurred within about 40 minutes early Tuesday south of campus, prompting UWM Chancellor Carlos E. Santiago to send an e-mail about the spike to the university’s students.
Last week, Santiago requested a meeting with Milwaukee Police Chief Edward A. Flynn to discuss safety and crime-fighting efforts in the area near campus. The two have agreed to meet but have not yet set a date, police and university officials said.
UWM police began expanded patrols of neighborhoods near campus Tuesday, university spokesman Tom Luljak said.
Milwaukee police also have expanded their patrols in the area, Capt. Patrick S. Mitchell said. Mitchell commands the department’s 1st District, which consists primarily of Milwaukee’s downtown and east side.
No arrests have been made in connection with Tuesday’s robberies and attempted robbery, in which a group of four males targeted pedestrians, Mitchell said.
The same group is believed to have committed a robbery near S. 13th St. and W. Cleveland Ave. just before the robberies near UWM, Mitchell said.
Six people have been arrested since Oct. 22 in connection with crimes committed near the university, said Milwaukee police spokeswoman Anne E. Schwartz. Three people were arrested on suspicion of robbery, and three were arrested for allegedly using stolen credit cards, she said.
University and police officials stressed Thursday that people who live near UWM should be aware of the crimes but not overly concerned for their safety.
“The reason we became alarmed is because of the rapid succession of robberies in such a short period of time, and the fact that many of them unfortunately had UWM students as victims,” Luljak said. “We do not want to panic or alarm people. We don’t think that we’re in a crisis situation, but it is troubling to see this sudden spike in that one crime category.”
Increased patrols in the neighborhoods near campus should reassure residents, Mitchell said.
“This area right now is experiencing a heightened level of fear,” he said. “That’s why we want to get into the neighborhoods and show that the police are here in force, both between the university police and the Milwaukee police. We want to do everything we can to reduce that level of fear.”
UWM sophomores Brad Wessling and Rob Van Dyke said they have noticed more police patrolling their neighborhood south of campus this year.
But Leon Lynn, who lives west of campus, said he has seen fewer squad cars patrolling his neighborhood since the city’s Police Department reconfigured its district boundaries in July
PRESS RELEASE-PRIVATE OFFICER MEMORIAL WEEK
Year after year, private security officers employed worldwide are killed while protecting life and property and in most cases receive little or no recognition, honors or respect.
This situation occurs because there has not been any centralized organization to step forward to thank these fallen heros and to be there as a support for the family that they have left behind.
But in the past several years all of that has changed with the inception of the Memorial Aid Fund sponsored and administered by
PRIVATE OFFICER INTERNATIONAL.
We also realized that there has never been any official week or dedicated time period to remember these men and woman who bravely, valiantly and willingly sacrificed their life to fulfill their duties to their client, their employer and to the public safety of the area that they were responsible for.
Therefore, a committee was formed to aid in the research and designation of a specific date in time when we as professionals in our field along with the rest of the law enforcement and security community,families, friends and the general public could pay homage and respect and gratitude to more than 300 Private Officers who have been killed in the past four years and the many others who died before that in service to those that they were hired to protect, serve, and guard against all criminal activity or other harm that would otherwise come against their
employer’s property, employees, visitors and the general public.
PRIVATEOFFICER INTERNATIONAL has worked diligently for almost a year to seek input from security agencies and organizations and professional associations to select a week each year when we could memorialize our fallen colleagues and we are extremely pleased to announce that we have determined a special time for us to do this each year beginning with 2009.
Each year, the third week in the month of September shall be recognized as the “Official”
“Private Officer Memorial Week”.
During this week each year, there will be many planned activities and they will be announced in advance of
the memorial week each year.
INTERNATIONAL PRIVATE OFFICER
MEMORIAL WEEK
SEPTEMBER 20-26 2009
PRESS RELEASE
Immediate Release
Atlanta Ga. September 22 2009
The INTERNATIONAL PRIVATE OFFICER MEMORIAL WEEK has been scheduled for SEPTEMBER 20-26 2009.
This week has been designated for security officers along with law enforcement and others in the security community, families, friends and the
general public to pay their respects and gratitude to more than 300 Private Security Officers who have been killed in the past four years and the
many others who died before that in service to those that they were hired to protect, serve, and guard, preventing harm that would otherwise
come against their employer’s property, employees, visitors and the general public.
This year’s Memorial Week will include numerous events scheduled in Atlanta Georgia and in Charlotte North Carolina.
On September 20th the event will begin by reading the names of all security personnel
killed in the past five years.
In addition to this, a special remarks wall on the Private Officer website will be available for family members, friends and other visitors to leave
notes, poems, songs, pictures and other mementos for these fallen hero’s.
A candlelight vigil and prayer by the association Chaplain will also take place on
Wednesday evening in downtown Atlanta.
Other events are also planned in numerous states and in the U.K., Brazil, Canada, and Australia.
Each year, more than eighty security officers are killed in the U.S. while in the performance of their duties. Internationally, more than one thousand
security officers are killed yearly.
About Private Officer International: This international association was started in 2004 by Rick McCann, CEO/Founder, as a training and networking resource for private security officers and has grown to include members in six countries.
Membership is open to all security officers, loss prevention agents, campus and school officers, law enforcement, vendors of the security industry and the general public who support the association’s goals and purpose.
Website: http://www.privateofficer.com
Contact Info: Kyle T. Greene
Email:kyletgreene@privateofficer.com
704.559.4151
OFFICER DOWN–Christopher Kane www.privateofficer.com
OFFICER DOWN-Christopher Kane http://www.privateofficer.com
Woman killed in head-on crash with deputy www.privateofficer.com
Woman Killed In Head-On Collision With Deputy www.privateofficer.com
DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ga. Nov. 16 2007 — It is a day of mourning in Douglas County. Wednesday night’s collision between a deputy’s squad car and another vehicle killed the popular manager of the local Wal-Mart.
The victim’s husband is also a Douglas County deputy and a close friend with the deputy who is now in the hospital.
The tragedy along Highway 5 wove between families, law enforcement and hundreds of store workers.
Tammy Barnwell died in Wednesday night’s horrific wreck. She was killed by deputy’s cruiser driven by a family friend.
“It’s like losing a member of your family,” said Sheriff Phil Miller.
The 44-year-old Barnwell managed Douglasville’s Wal-Mart, where Thursday employees held a prayer vigil, after which many workers simply went home.
“We’re just all in shock. I mean, I heard about it on the news last night but I didn’t know it was her. And then I came up here to get my check today and one of the cashiers told us about it and everyone’s just devastated,” said Wal-Mart employee Patty VanDermay.
The Georgia State Patrol is piecing together the accident. Deputy Chris Black was responding to a call for help after a nearby armed robbery. Investigators do not believe he had his blue lights and sirens on.
Deputy Black’s cruiser crossed the center line and hit Tammy Barnwell’s car head on. She was killed instantly.
Deputy Black worked alongside Tammy Barnwell’s husband, Douglas County Deputy Robert Barnwell.
“The families knew each other…and we knew Tammy and she was a sweet, sweet lady,” said Miller.
There are questions today along with the tears and sadness and all of the mourning. Was the deputy speeding recklessly on that country road? Why didn’t he have his emergency equipment activated? Would Barnwell have been able to move to the shoulder upon hearing the siren and thus avoiding this crash and her death? There are many questions today in this metro Atlanta community but few answers. some even ask whether or not the deputy will be charged in this horrific crash. The investigation is underway and charges may come out of that but regardless if they do or don’t, two families who were friends, a business where the victim was loved and a rapidly growing community that is still close -knit is left in sorrow and hurting.
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Girl and friends plot to kill mother for money by; Rick McCann www.privateofficer.com
Girl and friends plot to kill mother for money by; Rick McCann www.privateofficer.com
Lebanon TN. Nov 16. 2007
Police say desperation for money led a Bethpage woman to dream up a murder-for-hire plot, offering a teenage friend thousands to kill her mother in hopes of getting millions in insurance money.
Joshua Hayden Stubblefield, 18, a senior at Watertown High School in Wilson County, was arrested Monday, accused of agreeing to kill the mother of his friend, 19-year-old Lauren Ashley Morrow.
Police acting on a tip arrested Stubblefield after undercover investigators sold him a weapon that was to be used in the crime, they said. Morrow and her boyfriend, Andrew Bruce Bland, 24, were arrested at their Sumner County home Tuesday evening. All three are charged with conspiracy to commit felony murder.
“Their story was kind of hard to believe,” Wilson County Sheriff Terry Ashe said. “As soon as” Stubblefield “made the gun transaction with us, we knew it was very serious.”
According to police records, Stubblefield told investigators that Bland and Morrow had offered to pay him $150,000 to kill Morrow’s mother, Karen Colleen Stribel.
Money appears to be the motive. Morrow allegedly told Stubblefield she was in line to receive $2 million in insurance money after her mother’s death. Ashe said Stribel does have a “very substantial” insurance policy, but that it is much less than $2 million.
After his arrest, Stubblefield let police listen to a brief phone conversation among himself, Morrow and Bland. He wore a wire Tuesday during a visit to the couple’s Bethpage home, where the three discussed the killing.
“It was rather bone-chilling to hear them talking about how they’d kill this woman — all just over money,” Ashe said. Morrow and Bland were arrested after that conversation.
Stubblefield was freed after posting a $20,000 bond. Morrow and Bland remained in the Wilson County Jail Wednesday.
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Police candidate killed during fight www.privateofficer.com
Police candidate killed in fight http://www.privateofficer.com
NEWARK, N.J. Nov. 14, 2007— A 20-year-old Newark police candidate died late Friday of gunshot wounds suffered during a scuffle with a teenager two days earlier at a home in Lyndhurst.
Jose Hall, the son of a Newark police officer, died at Hackensack University Medical Center where he had spent two days in the intensive care unit.
His accused assailant, a 17-year-old Newark boy, was initially charged as a juvenile with attempted murder. Those charges will likely be upgraded to murder on Tuesday, Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli said.
Authorities said Hall was at the home on Second Avenue visiting a friend. At some point, he and the 17-year-old, who was dating the daughter of the homeowner, got into an argument. A scuffle ensued and Hall was shot twice at about 12:20 a.m., Molinelli said.
The teen fled but Newark police arrested him later Wednesday at a friend’s home on Cary Street in Orange, Molinelli said. He is being held at the Bergen County Juvenile Detention Center in Paramus.
A gun, believed to be the murder weapon, was recovered during a search of the Orange home, Molinelli said.
Hall, a graduated of Barringer High School in Newark, had considered joining the military or the National Guard but decided to follow in his father’s footsteps, friends said.
Joining the Newark Police Department had been a lifelong ambition for Hall’s father, Jose Sosa, 39, and the experience clearly influenced his son, according to a Dec. 20, 1996, article in The Star-Ledger that quoted father and son during Sosa’s graduation from the Newark Police Academy.
Hall, then 10, beamed with pride as Sosa graduated and described to a reporter the rigors of his father’s police academy experience.
“My dad said they make you run in class and exercise,” he said. “He said they teach him stuff about police, and he showed us the books they gave him, and he even told us stories from the books.”
Hall recently passed the Newark Police Department’s written test and scored well enough to be considered a candidate for the academy but had not yet taken his physical exam and other required tests, police sources said.
The physical exam probably would not have posed any problems for Hall, whom friends described as a physically strong weightlifter.
Hall was well-liked, respectful and always welcome, said Dean Lowenstein, who owns the home where the shooting occurred.
“If he could do anything to help anybody, he would do it,” Lowenstein said.
Hall also was known for his humor.
“He always kept you laughing, he always had stories to tell,” said his friend, Robert Brown, 37, of Newark. “He was a good all-around kid.”
In addition to his father, Hall is survived by two brothers.
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Fleeing drunk shoplifter crashes by; Rick McCann www.privateofficer.com
FLEEING DRUNK SHOPLIFTER CRASHES by; Rick McCann www.privateofficer.com
AIKEN S.C. NOV. 13 2007
Two men traveling in a vehicle that has been linked to a string of shoplifting in the Aiken area were arrested Sunday after they were involved in a fatal collision on Belvedere Clearwater Road in Burnettown, officials said.
Bryan J. Gregory, 20, of Seymore Drive in North Augusta, is charged with one count of shoplifting.Jesse Lackes, 29, also of Seymore Drive in North Augusta, is charged with shoplifting third offense or more. Police said more charges may be pending.
A third man, also an occupant in the Subaru involved in the crash, was taken to the Medical College of Georgia immediately after the collision.He had not been charged at presstime, police said. The man said to be driving the vehicle, Morgan Harris, 18, of Fir Street in North Augusta, was killed in the crash, officials said.
About two hours before the crash, an Aiken Public Safety officer investigating a shoplifting at a Southside retailer took a police report that four men were in Ross Dress for Less and had stolen several items valued at several hundred dollars and then jumped into a late 1990s Subaru with a paper license plate.Public Safety dispatchers broadcast an all-points bulletin for that vehicle, but officers were unable to find the Subaru at that time, according to police.
The officer was later contacted by the police dispatcher who said the suspect vehicle had been involved in a crash.The Subaru was reportedly seen speeding south on U.S. 1 when the driver lost control of the vehicle after striking another vehicle, causing the Subaru to run into the median, overturning several times and coming to rest on the northbound side the road.Police met with the men involved in the crash and questioned them about the shopliftings, according to reports.The 29-year-old admitted to stealing the items, police said. He said he also took perfume from TJ Maxx, police said. Inside the vehicle, an officer also reported finding a number of stolen items from Target.Police found two flat-screen televisions and an MP3 player from the retailer.
Toxicology is pending on the driver.Aiken County Coroner Tim Carlton said alcohol is suspected to have been a factor in the crash.
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Yonkers Raceway Faces Strip Search Lawsuit www.privateofficer.com
Yonkers Raceway Faces Strip Search Lawsuit www.privateofficer.com
Yonkers N.Y. Nov. 13 2007
A Mount Vernon woman who alleges she was detained and strip-searched by private security guards at the Yonkers Raceway is suing the casino.
Myrna Jones filed the lawsuit last month in the state Supreme Court in White Plains against the Yonkers Raceway and a private security guard. It accuses the raceway management of negligence and reckless supervision of its staff.
Jones’ suit alleges that she was playing a video lottery terminal on Oct. 12, 2006 – the day after the Empire City casino opened – when an electronic playing card she was using became jammed in the video slot machine. Patrons use the cards so that machines can keep track of a patron’s winnings and display how much money a patron has left to play.
According to the lawsuit, when Jones alerted casino staff that the machine had malfunctioned, she was accused of trying to defraud or tamper with the machine. The lawsuit says that she was forced to leave the gaming area, detained for several hours, interrogated and forced to remove her clothes.
Jones’ attorney, George David Rosenbaum, said casino staff later found the missing card jammed inside the terminal she was playing, and she was not charged with any crime.
“They didn’t have to strip-search her, and she didn’t have a criminal history. They should have checked out what she said before searching her,” said Rosenbaum, a New City resident whose practice isin New York City.
Rosenbaum explained that his client kept some of her money hidden in her bra, so when she reached under her clothes to retrieve some money, security staff might have incorrectly assumed that she was doing something improper.
The suit demands unspecified compensation for the humiliation Jones suffered when she was detained in front of her friends.
On Friday, Yonkers Raceway spokesman Frank Drucker declined to comment on the matter, citing the pending litigation.
Empire City at Yonkers Raceway is patrolled by private security, but the New York State Police’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation enforces the law in the gaming areas and the ancillary offices and back rooms. Agents from this bureau function as detectives and they do not wear uniforms.
State police Lt. Glenn Miner did not address Jones’ lawsuit, but explained how the state police’s jurisdiction works at Empire City and other state video gaming facilities.
“Our investigators are not there as initial responders,” said Miner, noting that Empire City’s security is responsible for handling patron disputes, lost items, transfers of money and other tasks.
Miner said investigators’ involvement in looking into suspected crimes depends on when the private security guards summon them.
Rosenbaum said state police were present during his client’s detention and he intends to take legal action against the state police also.
He filed a notice of claim against the state police on Dec. 8.
Rosenbaum said his next step will be to obtain video surveillance tapes of the gaming area where his client played the allegedly jammed machine.
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Florida Armored Cars Frequent Targets by; Rick McCann www.privateofficer.com
FLORIDA ARMORED CARS FREQUENT TARGETS by; Rick McCann www.privateofficer.com
MIAMI METRO DADE FLORIDA NOV. 13 2007
There has been a rash of bold armed robberies of armored cars in Florida this year, especially in the metro Miami Dade area.
Some in the armored car service say that it’s because their services have been in greater demand over the past few years and as a result there’s more armored cars on the roads as they make their daily runs.
Others, including a security guard that we spoke with said that it’s because they are outgunned and the robbers know it. While some guards do carry shotguns inside the truck, others who make the cash pick-ups are carrying only semi-automatic handguns and are often overpowered by multiple robbers.
Here’s a look at some of the robberies that have occurred in the miami area so far this year.
Nov. 11 Two men robbed a Brinks armored truck security guard at gunpoint outside the FYE entertainment store, at 710 N. University Drive in Pembroke Pines. The guard was about to enter the store when the armed men, both wearing ski masks, rushed up to him and grabbed the cash bag. One robber struck the guard on the left side of the face with his gun before both fled.
Oct. 30 A robber punched a Brinks armored car guard in West Park and made off with a moneybag, but there were only canceled checks in it. The robbery happened outside the Check Cashing Store at 5951 W. Hallandale Beach Blvd. As the guard left the store with the bag of canceled checks, a silver 4-door vehicle, possibly a Chevrolet Impala or Malibu, pulled up beside him. A man dressed in black and wearing a gray mask stepped out of the passenger side of the car and punched the guard before getting back into the car.
Sept. 28 A Brinks armored vehicle was delivering money to a grocery store in Miami when someone grabbed an employee as he got out of the vehicle. The armed suspect put the victim in a choke hold and forced him to get back into the vehicle. A second robber then helped the first steal more than $1.3 million from the truck. Six men were later arrested.
Sept. 24 A pair of robbers shoved an armored truck employee to the ground inside Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise, took the employee’s gun and then snatched a bag of cash he had been carrying. The robbers left the mall through a side door and got in a silver car.
July 15 Two armed robbers escaped after overpowering a guard during an armed car robbery in Miami, taking his gun and a money bag, and then exchanging shots with police. They fled the scene in the 2200 block of SW Eighth Street in a 1999-2001 silver Honda Accord with dark-tinted windows. Police said one suspect wore a gray hooded sweater, faded blue jeans and was armed with a rifle. The other wore a hooded sweater and black jeans and had a handgun.
May 2 A gunman confronted an AT Systems employee delivering $1.8 million to the EZ Check Cashing Store at 8238 NW 103rd St in Hialeah Gardens and ordered him to throw the money into a dark blue Mitsubishi. Nobody was injured. The FBI said it was investigating whether the heist was related to the Dec. 27 robbery of two Brinks workers outside a Fort Lauderdale Bank of America at 1425 NW 62nd St. The robbers took off with more than $3 million.
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Some cops aren’t allowed in court armed www.privateofficer.com
Some cops aren’t allowed in court armed www.privateofficer.com
Worcester MA. Nov. 13 2007
State environmental police are at odds with a courthouse policy that requires them to disarm when entering any court building. The issue came to a head Oct. 26 in the new Worcester court complex on Main Street when an environmental police officer refused to heed court officers’ request that he turn over his firearm shortly after entering the building. The environmental police officer said he was within his rights to carry the gun; court officers disagreed, according to an environmental police report on the case. State policy allows state and municipal police who are in uniform and on duty to carry their department-issued weapon into the courthouses as long as they provide a police badge and photograph identification. Non-state or non-municipal police, such deputy sheriffs, constables and campus police, must check in their weapons which are then placed in secure gun lockers, according to the courthouse policy.
Courthouse officials list environmental in the latter category, meaning they must disarm upon entering a courthouse. With the power to enforce state laws across the commonwealth, environmental police have continually shown frustration with the court policy. For years, environmental police and some lawmakers have lobbied the state Trial Court to change its policy to no avail. “There is no logic behind it. There is a real simple solution and that is to allow these officers to carry their firearms into court for the safety of everybody,” said Lisa L. Fusco, an environmental police officer and president of the Massachusetts Environmental Police Officers Association. “Anyone that has the ability to change this should be ashamed they are allowing this to continue.”
On Oct. 26, Environmental Police Officer Anthony Abdal-Khabir entered the courthouse to attend the Worcester Central District Court arraignment of two men charged with injuring a young girl in a personal watercraft accident earlier this year on Indian Lake in Worcester. In uniform, the officer was told by an associate court officer that he had to check his gun because he was a member of the environmental police. Officer Abdal-Khabir said that contradicted the posted policy and he could not hand over his weapon. The associate court officer said she was going to call her supervisor, according to an incident report written by Officer Abdal-Khabir that was obtained by the Telegram & Gazette.
At 9:05 a.m., the officer said he was late for his court proceeding, showed his credentials to another security member and proceeded to the courtroom. He reported that moments later, after walking up stairs toward the courtroom, he was stopped by three court officers and told he was not allowed in court unless he handed over his firearm to security. Officer Abdal-Khabir stated that as an environmental police officer he had statewide powers and was late for the arraignment and proceeded to the third floor of the courthouse, where he was met by four more court officers, he said in his report.
The officer was not allowed in the courtroom and had a discussion with Chief Court Officer Francis A. Cicio. Court Officer Cicio restated the policy. Another environmental police officer, who relinquished her handgun to security, was in the courtroom for the arraignment. Officer Abdal-Khabir then left the building and was told his supervisor would be called about the issue. “He didn’t violate anything. I fully support his actions and he is one of the finest officers in our division,” Officer Fusco said. She also said the Worcester courthouse does not have the correct equipment to effectively take out the ammunition clip and fully remove all the ammunition from the gun. For safety purposes a piece of equipment called a clearing barrel is used to fully empty a firearm including the round inside the chamber. The clearing barrel is used in case the round in the chamber accidentally goes off. Officer Fusco does not believe that any courthouse in the state owns this piece of equipment. She also questioned whether the courthouse personnel have a firearms identification card and the ability to take possession of a gun.
“In my opinion under no circumstance should any of our officers relinquish their loaded firearms to a person who is not qualified to take possession of them,” she said. State Sen. Stephen M. Brewer, D-Barre, is one of the local lawmakers who wrote to the state Trial Court, namely Chief Justice Robert A. Mulligan, to express opposition to the policy of not allowing environmental police to carry their firearms in courthouses. He wrote to the chief justice in 2006 and said he had to call them for a response. They told him they were concerned about setting a precedent, he said. A spokeswoman for the Trial Court would only say the policy was for environmental police to disarm. A call to Thomas J. Connolly, acting director of security, was not returned. “They don’t want to budge in this,” Mr. Brewer said in a recent interview. “I stand behind them (environmental police) on this one.” The court policy brings the environmental police to the level of second-class officers, the senator said. “This issue is with the procedures of the Trial Court,” he said. Several courthouses don’t enforce the policy and according to Officer Fusco the only courthouses that stay stringent on the policy are those under the control of Regional Assistant Director of Security Robin R. Yancey. She is responsible for Worcester County, Hampshire County and the courthouses in Marlboro, Framingham, Natick and Palmer. Court security personnel have quietly questioned the policy, but have to enforce it. Environmental police have sometimes mailed in citations to court to avoid going to the courthouses under Ms. Yancey’s control. Officer Fusco recalled an incident in Framingham in which an environmental police officer had to go to the courthouse there relating to the trial of two men. The two men were members of a loose-knit group of criminals in Greater Boston and authorities were worried about the environmental police officer’s safety. Court security did not allow the environmental police officers to carry their weapons inside. “God forbid one of our officers or another individual fall victim due to the shortsightedness of this procedure,” Officer Fusco said. In a letter to Mr. Connolly in 2005, Environmental Police Capt. George Agganis noted his officers make arrests, issue citations and are highly trained. The environmental police also undergo extensive firearms training. Repeated letters from lawmakers and environmental police to Trial Court authorities have not changed the policy. “Ninety percent of people we encounter are armed with guns, rifles, bows or filet knives,” Officer Fusco said. “The enforcement of this procedure is ludicrous. It shows an extreme lack of proper court security management.”
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“Grandpa” bank robber captured in Georgia www.privateofficer.com
ATLANTA GA. NOV. 13 2007
Perry Georgia police arrested a man the FBI had named the “Grandpa Bandit” Saturday at a hotel just off I-75 in Houston County.
The FBI said Bobby Joe Phillips, 64, is suspected in seven bank and credit union robberies in Knoxville, Tenn., and in Suwanee, Covington and Warner Robins in Georgia.
Phillips, who is from Covington, was being held in Houston County Jail until his first court appearance, which has not been scheduled.
The FBI said a Perry police officer saw Phillips’ red Chevrolet S-10 in the Holiday Inn parking lot around 7:30 a.m. and moments later saw him walking toward the pickup truck. The officer arrested Phillips without incident.
Phillips robbed the First Georgia Community Bank in Covington on Sept. 20, the First Tennessee Bank in Knoxville on Oct. 1 and again on Oct. 12, the SunTrust Bank in Suwanee on Oct. 24, the Tennessee Members 1st Federal Credit Union in Knoxville on Nov. 1 and again on Friday, and a bank in Warner Robins on Thursday, according to the FBI.
In each robbery, Phillips allegedly gave the bank teller a note demanding money and flashed a handgun that was in his waistband. Authorities called him the Grandpa Bandit because of his age.
Police and FBI agents are investigating whether or not the suspect is involved in other robberies in Tennessee and Georgia.
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On the run for 33 years, law comes knocking www.privateofficer.com
On the run for 33 years, the law comes knocking www.privateofficer.com
Frankston TX. Nov. 9 2007
On the run for 33 years, Deborah Gavin knew the day would come when the long arm of the law would catch up to her.
She just didn’t expect that day to be Wednesday
The 53-year-old Gavin, who escaped from a Georgia prison while serving time for armed robbery in Gwinnett County in the early 1970s, said as much to U.S. Marshals as they cuffed her outside her home in Frankston, Texas.
In the intervening years, Gavin moved from state to state, living in Tennessee, Florida and Texas. She met and married Richard Murphey, changed her last name and bore two children, authorities said.
She earned a nurse’s license and worked at a nearby hospital. When her back and heart conditions worsened and she was too weak for the rigors of a medical ward, Gavin started a quilting business from inside her two-story home.
And through it all, Gavin kept clean.
“As far as we know, she’s been completely clear,” said Ricky Myrick, chief investigator with the Georgia Department of Corrections. “There were no hits on fingerprints. We’ve never been notified by any agency that her prints matched those of someone they arrested.”
For her husband, her past was a mystery.
“Things in her past, she’d get upset if I brought them up,” said Richard Murphey, 63. “I didn’t push her.”
Deborah Gavin, aka Debra Ann Gavin or Debbie Gavin, was convicted of armed robbery in Gwinnett County on Feb. 11, 1972, and sentenced to serve seven years at the Georgia Women’s Correctional Institution at Hardwick in Baldwin County.
Corrections officials could not immediately provide details on the robberies. Their computerized records don’t go that far back, they said.
Jason Watson, a corrections employee assigned to the U.S. Marshal Service’s Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force who traveled to Texas to arrest Gavin, also was at a loss about the details.
“That was before I was born,” Watson said sheepishly. “Trying to [efficiently] get paperwork from that time is like trying to find [Jimmy] Hoffa’s body.”
Records show Gavin escaped from the facility five times, once fleeing as far away as Louisiana. Each time she was recaptured and reincarcerated.
On July 23, 1974 — a month after her last recapture — Gavin once again broke loose. This time, she disappeared.
A new life
A year after her escape, Gavin met her husband, Richard Murphey, while she worked as an assistant in his construction business in Plano, Texas. They moved to Frankston sometime in the 1980s, and soon after, Gavin became a registered nurse.
She worked for about a decade at East Texas Medical Center, about 24 miles from Frankston. There, said her husband, doctors nicknamed her “Gestapo.”
“If a patient was hurting, she was good at going after the doctors. She just kept at them [to come check on the patients],” Murphey said.
At home after work, Gavin loved to quilt. So much so that when the problems in her lower back worsened — she suffered from Paget’s disease, a bone disorder — and when she could not longer work because of heart problems, she decided to parlay her hobby into a job.
But the business never quite took off, Murphey said. “She couldn’t bend over the sewing machine.”
Over the years, Gavin disclosed bits and pieces of her past to her husband, but painted her role in the robbery as that of an unwitting accomplice.
The way Gavin told it to her husband, she was passed out in the back seat of a car while riding around with two friends. She awoke to find cops surrounding the car, and learned that the driver had robbed a store while she was knocked out.
“She said the prosecutor told her he didn’t care if she didn’t take part,” Murphey recounted. “He was going to make an example out of her.”
Gavin told her husband she simply walked out of the correctional institute after her conviction. Security was lax, and the 20-year-old had her whole life ahead of her.
“She said, ‘Why am I in here when I didn’t do nothing?’ So she decided to go,” Murphey said.
“I believed her.”
The hunt is on
Enter the U.S. Marshal Service’s Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force. The force, with officers from more than two dozen agencies, works full-time nabbing fugitives. Since its inception in 2003, the task force has picked up people in more than 11,000 felony investigations — an average of seven each day.
“If the case comes to the Marshal Service, it never goes away,” said Supervisory Inspector James Ergas. “Someone is always on the case.”
The hunt for Gavin wound through much of the Southeast until investigators determined she could be found in Frankston living under the name Deborah Murphey.
Since Monday morning, marshals watched the house on North Elm Street to make sure Deborah Murphey was indeed Gavin. To talk to her and verify her identity, they posed as city municipal employees and told her they were checking on a work order at the house.
“Thirty-three years is a long time,” Ergas said. “They didn’t want to jump a 53-year-old woman and drive her to the ground if it was the wrong person.”
At 2 p.m. Wednesday, the marshals surrounded her house and knocked.
Gavin came to the door with a shotgun, heard them out and surrendered peacefully.
“We expected her to say, ‘That’s not me, that’s not me,” Watson, the corrections employee, said. “She just said she knew this day was going to come. But she hadn’t prepared for it yet.”
Before being escorted away, Gavin placed a phone call to her husband, who was at work at a construction site.
“All she said was when I got home, she wasn’t going to be there,” Murphey said.
The future
The next step in bringing Gavin to justice is to extradite her back to Georgia, but she has indicated she will fight it, authorities said.
What ultimately happens to her is up to the parole board, said Myrick, the corrections official.
The board will take into consideration several factors in determining whether she will serve out the six years remaining in her sentence. Among them, her age, her health and how she’s conducted herself over the years.
Murphey remains hopeful.
“She’s not the same person she was. She’s changed,” he said. “They can see that, can’t they?”
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Family finds paths led all to police career www.privateofficer.com
Family finds paths led all to police career www.privateofficer.com
Miami Florida Nov. 9 2007
As children, Jessica Townsend caught lizards and toads in the backyard of her Hialeah home as her sister Brandy played with Barbies and put on make-up.
The sisters grew up in the same house and attended the same schools, graduating from Hialeah High School. But that was where the similarities ended.
”I was the girly one and she was the tomboy,” said Brandy, 22. “We never had the same friends or liked the same things.”
As they grew up, Brandy developed a taste for electronic and New Age music; Jessica came to prefer hard rock and heavy metal.
Jessica played soccer and softball in high school and studied French and German. Brandy danced ballet, sang in the chorus and studied early child education.
They lived in the same house but they never really hung out together.
But there was a common bond in the family.
Their parents, Everett and Wendy Townsend, not only worked for Miami-Dade police, but also met at the county police headquarters then located in downtown Miami.
”They basically grew up at the police station,” Wendy said.
The daughters also ended up working as clerks for the police department.
But even then, Brandy wanted to study marketing or education and Jessica, with a love for animals, hoped to become a veterinarian.
Then, one day in 2006, Jessica, 21, had an experience that would change her life.
”I went on a ride-along and saw what the day of a cop was like and I loved it because it is never the same and you are not behind a desk locked in an office,” Jessica said.
“Every day is different; there is no routine for an officer.”
She decided to follow in the footsteps of her father and was sworn into office in March.
Brandy, too, was attracted to police work because of the variety. She did not go on a ride-along but she paid attention to what the officers were doing and was impressed when Jessica signed on. She was sworn in on Nov. 2.
So the siblings now carry the badge, just like their dad — and the 22-year veteran couldn’t be more surprised.
”I never really encouraged them to be police officers. I thought they were college-bound and, now, all of a sudden, I see them both in their uniforms and it is so strange,” said Townsend, who is based at the Miami-Dade Northwest District station in Miami Lakes.
But he fully supports their decision to join and he tells them that safety is always first in their line of work.
And if there is one thing somebody could have told him when he started his career — and which he can now tell his daughters — it is this: “Manage your money wisely.”
”I wish somebody would have advised us on money management to be better off in retirement financially and with things like life insurance,” he said. “I think everybody could benefit from that guidance.”
Wendy, who is Townsend’s ex-wife, is pleased her daughters work in law enforcement.
”I wanted to be an officer myself when I was young but, instead, I married one,” said Wendy, who has worked for the police department for 25 years and is a network manager.
”Being an officer is just like being in a family,” she said. “Everybody really takes care of each other. You’ll make the strongest bonds of friendship. In no other job do you see that fraternity among everybody, not in the private industry. Plus, it is a stable career because there is always a need [for the police].”
But the job requires a lot of dedication, Jessica said. “Police officers work a lot. When you are off, you have to go to court. When you think you can leave, you get held back. And you can never have your lunch when you want to.”
But when she can, it is often with Brandy.
”We now have lunch together and talk about our days. Plus, I know if I have any question about the job, I can ask her because she has more experience,” Brandy said.
Or she can ask Dad, who “loves being a police officer.”
”Policing is a wonderful career,” Townsend said. “It is not only about finding the bad guy; it is also about getting to know and help your community and guiding young people.”
Wendy and her daughters have been living in the same house in Hialeah for 19 years. Five years ago, a new ”wonderful” addition came on the scene, when Jade Carrillo, Jessica’s daughter, was born.
”She is very proud that I am a police officer; she shows me off among her friends,” said Jessica, who has passed on her passion for animals to her daughter.
Jade already knows the difference between a toad and a frog and between a gecko and a salamander. She can also name many fish and she can catch butterflies.
Brandy is hoping that in 10 years she will be in community affairs.
Jessica, who is based at police headquarters in Doral and wants to be in traffic homicide, for now will keep on crossing paths with her dad at the station, having lunch with Brandy, who is in training, and visiting her mother whenever she has to pass by the main office.
It’s all in the family.
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Shoplifter kidnaps shopper during escape by; Rick McCann www.privateofficer.com
Shoplifter kidnaps shopper during escape by; Rick McCann www.privateofficer.com
Gilroy police late Friday were searching for a man they say kidnapped a woman after carjacking her vehicle on Camino Arroyo in the Kohl’s department store parking lot.
About 6 p.m., a security officer called police to report that a man had entered Kohl’s at 6765 Camino Arroyo and had begun stealing cologne.
The security officer followed the man outside. When the man noticed the security officer, he began running toward Mimi’s Cafe, about 100 yards away. With the security officer in pursuit, the man got into the front passenger side of a small gray sport-utility vehicle with a woman in the driver’s seat, said Sgt. Jim Gillio.
The security officer told police the woman threw her arms into the air and screamed, “What’s going on, what’s going on?” When the man started the car and put the vehicle in gear, the woman yelled, “Help me, help,” as he forced her to drive the car away, Gillio said.
The security officer chased the SUV on foot, but was unable to stop it.
The SUV had a license plate similar to 5ASV516 and a spare tire attached to the rear door. It was last seen heading west on 10th Street, possibly to Highway 101.
The suspect is described as Latino between 25 and 30 years old, about 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds, with black hair, and a slight beard. He was wearing a black baseball cap with a white emblem, a green short-sleeve shirt with a white t-shirt underneath,black baggy pants, and white tennis shoes. The victim was a Latina in her 30s with dark shoulder-length hair. Police had not located a suspect, victim or vehicle late Friday.
Anyone with information was asked to call Gilroy police at (408) 846-0350.
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Security Officer Assaulted By Wanted Felon by; Rick McCann www.privateofficer.com
Security Officer Assaulted By Wanted Felon by; Rick McCann www.privateofficer.com
Jacksonville aRK. Nov. 11 2007
Anthony Ezell, 23, of Jacksonville was arrested after an assault at the Little Rock Air Force Base visitor center.
According to the Jacksonville Police Department report, Ezell went to the visitor center with his girlfriend, Angela Killingsworth, to get a pass on base, which requires an identification check. When Ezell’s driver’s license check revealed a JPD warrant listed in the Arkansas Crime Information Center database, Ezell fled from the security center and jumped into Killingsworth’s vehicle. Ignoring security guards’ orders to stop, Ezell backed up the vehicle, striking the security guard in the arm.
Security guards sprayed Ezell with pepper spray, but he managed to flee the scene.Officers caught up with Ezell a short time later in the 1000 block of Gregory Street. Leaving the car, Ezell again ran from police, but was located behind a home on Gregory Street. Jacksonville Fired Department ambulance service responded to LRAFB to treat the security guard for an injury to his hand. He was transported to Rebsamen Medical Center for further treatment and Ezell was transported to JPD, where he was booked on charges of felony aggravated assault, misdemeanor fleeing and two counts of failure to appear. His bond was set at $5,500.00
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Former cop sent to prison over secuirty firm violations www.privateofficer.com
Houston Tx. Nov. 7 2007
A former Houston police officer whose private security firm armed illegal immigrants to work as security guards was sentenced to more than three years in prison Monday.
David Rodriguez, 39, pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to violate various federal laws as the owner and operator of Bayou City Patrol Division.
Rodriguez, his father and Bayou City were charged in July 2006 with falsifying forms to allow illegal immigrants to carry guns and obtain state security licenses. The company employed about 50 guards, mainly for apartment buildings and bars in west Houston.
In May, Bayou City was convicted and sentenced to one year probation. The shuttered company has surrendered its security commission and firearms, Assistant U.S. Attorney Abran “Abe” Martinez said.
Rodriguez, a 13-year HPD veteran, admitted lying on federal forms to buy handguns. In his guilty plea, Rodriguez said he sold the firearms, without a license, to Bayou City’s illegal workers. From December 2000 through December 2005, Rodriguez hired people who fraudulently acquired security guard commissions from the state by using false social security numbers and biographical data.
Three weeks ago, Rodriguez asked U.S. District Judge Vanessa Gilmore to throw out his guilty plea. She refused. In the request, he insisted that his plea was entered “under false impressions” and that he was “out of it” and “did not understand the consequences.”
Defense lawyers Shelly M. Davis and Jonathan H. Cox prevailed in getting Rodriguez a shorter sentence than prosecutors wanted.
“I think the judge was fair,” Davis said.
Martinez, who had asked Gilmore to add at least another year, also said the sentence was fair.
Rodriguez, who eventually resigned from the police department, was not immediately taken into custody. Gilmore allowed him to remain free on bond pending a court order to surrender to federal prison.
Martinez said he intends to drop all 15 charges against Rodriguez’s father, Manuel Rodriguez, whose trial was scheduled for next week
City Mayor Arrested On Sex Charges www.privateofficer.com
City Mayor Arrested On Sex Charges www.privateofficer.com
MASCOTTE Fla. Nov. 6 2007- Allegations against Mayor Jeff Krull, who was arrested on Monday night on sex charges, came to light during an investigation of a gun theft from Krull’s house, police Chief Steve Allen said this morning.Krull is accused of molesting two girls and one boy, ranging in age from 13 to 16, according to Allen. The charges relate to touching and rubbing of children who visited his home, according to Allen.Krull was close to many city employees including Allen.
I was very sad and disappointed,” Allen, who arrested Krull before a City Council meeting, said at a news conference at the police department. “It was the saddest day of my job.” He said he had no choice but to arrest Krull, and that if he could prevent one child from being molested it was worth it.Police in the southwest Lake County city arrested Krull on eve of today’s city elections and Krull’s bid for a second term as mayor.
Krull, 66, was charged with six counts of lewd and lascivious molestation and one count of showing lewd and lascivious material to a minor. Allen would not say who reported the allegations against Krull except that it was not the victims or their parents. A computer taken from Krull’s home will be searched for child pornography, Allen added.
Meanwhile, Krull was taken to South Lake Hospital on Monday night with chest pain.Krull’s longtime girlfriend and Mascotte council member-elect Barbara Tillman said she and Krull drove to the city building on Sunset Avenue just before 6:30 p.m. Monday. Tillman said Krull got out of the vehicle and spoke with Allen before the arrest. Officers then took Krull to the city police station. He was expected to be booked at the Lake County Jail after his release from the hospital.”I know Jeff would not do anything to hurt a child,” Tillman said.City Manager Marge Strausbaugh said she informed other City Council members about Krull’s arrest just before their meeting.Allen said the arrest occurred Monday night because the investigation had come together at that point.
He chose to arrest Krull in a public place because the mayor has weapons at his home and Allen didn’t want Krull to harm himself, police or the public.Krull is running for re-election today against Felix Ramirez, who is leaving City Council Seat 1 to challenge him for mayor. Tillman, who previously served on the council next to Krull, filed election papers to run for Seat 1 and is not challenged by any other candidates.Ramirez also is father-in-law to fellow council member Stephen Elmore, who will run for re-election to Seat 5 against Louise Thompson — one of Krull’s neighbors in a neighborhood off South Bay Lake Road.His biography on the city’s Web site also says he volunteered as a reading tutor and an assistant CPR instructor for the American Red Cross. He was a volunteer for the Boy Scouts of America and Habitat for Humanity. And he has four adult children and six grandchildren.Krull and Tillman have lived in Mascotte for about six years.They often have neighborhood children around their house, where Tillman said Monday they sometimes used the computer to download programs from the Internet. Publicly, Krull has been a colorful member of the City Council.He proudly wore a badge on his belt that identified him as the mayor.
He drove around the 4,000-resident community with a sign on his car that also identified him as mayor.
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Police, club security face shooters www.privateofficer.com
Police, Security Confront Shooters At Club www.privateofficer.com
Indianapolis IND. Nov. 6 2007
Police arrested three Indianapolis men Sunday after someone fired a gun outside a nightclub on the Far Westside.
Joseph Clark, 22, Dietrich T. Rhodes, 24, and Dashaun Bush, 28, were arrested after a confrontation at 1:20 a.m. Sunday outside Dirty Nellie’s, 2805 Franklin Road.
The men got into a fight in the parking lot and Bush fired at least two shots from a handgun, according to a police report.
Officer Kerry Morris, who was off-duty working security, stopped the three men as they were trying to leave the parking lot in a Chevrolet Suburban with the headlights off. Maurice Gilespie, a security guard, assisted as Morris ordered the three men out of the vehicle and onto the ground.
Officers Richard Kenny, Douglas Simmons and Barbara Johnson arrived to assist Morris.
Police seized three handguns, a 9-mm Glock, a .40-caliber Smith & Wesson and a .38-caliber Interarms, according to the report. Officers also allegedly found crack cocaine in Rhodes’ baseball hat.
Clark faces initial charges of dealing and possessing cocaine, criminal recklessness and public intoxication.
Rhodes faces initial charges of dealing and possessing cocaine, carrying a firearm without license and public intoxication.
Bush faces initial charges of carrying a handgun without a license and public intoxication.
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Security Officer Dies After Halloween Shooting by; Rick McCann www.privateofficer.com
Security Officer Dies After Halloween Shooting by;Rick McCann www.privateofficer.com -
MOUNT VERNON N.Y. Nov. 3 2007 – A 52-year-old security guard from North White Plains who was on life support after being shot in the head and chest by thugs who threw eggs at his car on Halloween died last night with family at his hospital bedside, police said.
“This senseless, heinous crime is now categorized as murder,” Mount Vernon police Commissioner David Chong said today. “The Mount Vernon Police Department will leave no stone unturned in efforts to bring the murderers of Mr. Neville Webb to justice.”
Webb, the father of council candidate Chris Webb, was also a father figure for the residents of the Oakwood Gardens Apartments at 630 E. Lincoln Ave., the complex where he was on duty as a gun-carrying security guard the night he was shot.
Webb, who had been on a respirator and was never well enough after the shooting to speak to detectives about what happened, was declared brain dead about 10:30 p.m. at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx.
During a news conference today, Webb’s son talked about his father’s life.
Webb was a self-educated man who joined the correction department in Kingston, Jamaica, at the age of 26, his son said.
“They may have came to his jail as criminals, but he helped so many of them,” Webb said of his father’s time in Jamaica. “So many people in the ghettos of Kingston respected him, loved him.”
Chris Webb also took the opportunity to address the families of the teens involved in the shooting.
“I want to reach out once again to the families – the families of these people that took someone from my family – we do not hate you,” said Webb, his voice rising with emotion. “We pray for you.”
Police interviewed people at headquarters last night and are interviewing more people today, Chong said.
No one has been charged yet.
“We are gathering up all the evidence to ensure that when we do make an arrest, this case will be rock solid,” the commissioner said.
The family, meanwhile was taking the death hard, said Chong, who took a personal interest in the shooting from the beginning.
“This goes to the core of what every one of us tries to do – to go to work and make a decent living – and then this happens,” he said.
Janitors, Mall Security Scuffle During Protest by; Rick McCann www.privateofficer.com
Janitors, Mall Security Scuffle During Protest by;Rick McCann www.privateofficer.com
HAYWARD Ca. Nov. 3 2007 — Shoppers at Southland Mall witnessed a rowdy skirmish Thursday in an ongoing national battle between the Service Employees International Union and General Growth Properties.
Shortly before noon, about 20 to 25 chanting janitorial workers and union organizers tried to gain access to the mall’s business offices near the food court. A scuffle broke out between the demonstrators and five security guards who were blocking access to the offices.
“It just got out of hand,” said Blanca Perez, 72, a former janitor at the food court. “The security guards were pushing people out, manhandling women, pepper-spraying people. It was like a heat-of-the-moment thing.”
Hayward police officers arrived on the scene shortly after the scuffle.
“The demonstrators left peaceably,” Lt. Reid Lindblom said. “No arrests were made. There were no reports of physical injuries other than irritation to the eyes from the pepper spray. Everyone left under their own power, as we understood it.”
The union organized the demonstration against General Growth Properties, which owns Southland Mall. SEIU has been attempting to unionize janitors nationwide at malls owned by General Growth Properties, the second-largest owner, developer and manager of shopping centers in the country.
Kevin O’Donnell, a spokesman for the union, said the demonstrators at the mall were there to voice grievances regarding alleged civil rights abuses committed by General Growth Properties against employees.
In the course of forming their union, they’ve been met with interrogation, intimidation, discrimination, censorship. You’ve had mall janitors who have been prohibited from talking to union organizers.”
O’Donnell said that as a result of the scuffle with the security guards, janitors Maricela Flores and Sonia Sharwood and union organizer Raul Cardenas were taken to Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Hayward to be treated for impaired vision, pain in the limbs and difficulty breathing.
General Growth Properties spokesman David Keating said that the demonstration at the mall was over the top.
“They basically stormed the shopping center, chanting and yelling and frightening a lot of parents and children. They tried to storm the management’s office. This is all part of a national smear campaign against General Growth. Frankly, what they did at Southland was unacceptable.”
Keating said janitors at malls owned by General Growth Properties work for third-party contractors. He said his company hires contractors that compensate janitors fairly, provide health insurance and provide workers with a complaint resolution process.
Perez said she started working at the Southland Mall food court 10 years ago as a janitor for the Millard Co. The 51-year San Leandro resident said she worked four days a week “to keep her mind busy” after her husband died. She said she started out at $7.50 an hour and was making $11 an hour without benefits when she was terminated on Oct. 19.
She said she participated in the demonstration on Thursday because she did not accept the reason her supervisor gave her for her termination, which was an unspecified discrepancy on her timecard.
Perez was not injured in the scuffle. “I don’t know what to think. Something like this has never happened to me before. People need someone to fight for them when they’re up against big corporations like this. I would like to see people protected and happy with their jobs.”
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School Security Guard Arrested For Sexual Assault www.privateofficer.com
School Security Guard Arrested For Sexual Assault www.privateofficer.com
LOS ANGELES CA. Nov. 1 2007 Los Angeles police have arrested a school security guard in connection with the alleged sexual assault of an 11-year-old female student at Gompers Middle School.The alleged assault occured on the morning of October 26, say the police. According to investigators, at approximately 10:30, a security guard identified as Donald Johnson (aka D.J.) saw two female students on their way to class and stopped them.
He allegedly told one of the girls to return to class and told the other he was taking her to the attendance office in another building. Investigators say that when he got the girl outside, the 42-year-old Johnson put his hand over her mouth and then began reaching under her clothing. He told her he would kill her if she told anyone about the molestation, say authorities.
Johnson, who has worked at the school as a guard for four years following a stint as a janitor there, was arrested on October 29 and booked him on a charge of kidnap for the purpose of sexual assault. Detective Oscar Gamino said given the nature of the crime, he suspects there could be other victims.
“We are asking that they come forward and report it,” Gamino said.Johnson’s bail was set at $1 million.
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Burglars Smash And Grab At Malls www.privateofficer.com
BURGLARS SMASH AND GRAB AT MALL www.privateofficer.com
Austin TX. Nov. 1, 2007
Burglars took sledgehammers into Barton Creek Square Mall for a quick Rolex heist.
Though customers were shopping inside the store, the four men got away with thousands of dollars in watches.
It happened at Tuesday at 8 p.m. at the Ben Bridge jewelry store, and it was caught on tape. The burglars walked straight toward the Rolex watch case, smashed the glass with sledgehammers and grabbed a couple dozen Rolex watches before leaving.
“The mall was open for business,” said Austin Police Department Detective Matt Greer. “There were people inside the store at the time. They came in and basically just smashed the cases, took the jewelry and left.” Investigators believe the four men walked a couple hundred feet through the mall with the sledgehammers in hand before Ben Bridge cameras caught them stealing the watches and leaving.
“I’d call it bold,” said Greer.
Police said the men likely cased the store ahead of time, because they seemed to know exactly what they wanted and worked fast.
The suspects wore hooded sweatshirts and hats.
“They’re described as dark-skinned males, and so we’re not sure at this point if they’re Hispanic or black,” said Greer. Witnesses said the men were driving a red- or orange-colored sports utility vehicle with a temporary license plate.
Detectives are asking anyone with information about this case to call APD.
Police said as the holidays approach, it becomes easier to sell hot items on the black market.
Austin could see more smash-and-grab cases in the next couple of weeks. Police are also on the lookout for another smash-and-grab suspect who hit the Blue Elephant Boutique on N. Lamar Boulevard in the Central Market shopping center.
Police said around 5 a.m. Monday, the suspects stole $23,000 worth of designer jeans and shirts, but the majority of the stolen merchandise was recovered.
Austin police pursued an SUV that was leaving the parking lot and arrested the driver, Demonica Deon Runnels, who crashed the vehicle into a tree in West Austin.
Police said an accomplice got away from the crime scene and is still at large.
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T.J. Maxx Security Officer Killed by; Rick McCann www.privateofficer.com
T.J. Maxx Security Officer Killed On The Job by; Rick McCann http://www.privateofficer.com
PITTSTON, Pa. October 31, 2007 11:40a.m. est
BREAKING NEWS-We have just learned that a security officer was killed this morning and are still gathering information and will post it as soon as we have further details. This is what we know so far.
A security guard is dead in an accident involving two trucks at a distribution center in Luzerne County.
State police say one truck stopped at the security gate as it was leaving the TJ Maxx Distribution Center on Tuesday at the Grimes Industrial Park near Pittston.
The driver of the truck could not get its doors open.
A second truck stopped and the driver got out to help.
Police say one of the trucks then started to roll and hit the security guard at the gate, killing him.
The guard’s name was not immediately released.
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Suspects Try To Break Inmate Out www.privateofficer.com
Monday, October 29, 2007
Suspects Attempt To Break Inmate Out Of Hospital www.privateofficer.com
Salem Ore. Oct. 29, 2007
A man and a woman were arrested Thursday night at the Oregon State Hospital after driving to the psychiatric facility in a stolen car containing methamphetamine and attempting to help a patient escape, officials said Friday.
“The escape attempt was foiled by our ward staff and security staff, both of whom did a good job,” interim hospital Superintendent Maynard Hammer said.
Staff members became suspicious when they spotted a vehicle with Washington license plates drive onto the hospital campus Thursday night, Hammer said. A person got out of the car to look at a security fence behind the hospital’s two maximum-security wards, then the car left.
Later, the suspects returned. About 10 p.m., hospital employees reportedly caught them tampering with a security fence outside the hospital’s 124-year-old J Building, just south of Center Street NE. The suspects were in possession of cutting tools, officials said.
Staff members and responding Salem police officers detained the suspects until they were arrested by Oregon State Police.
Arrested were Thomas E. Boring, 29, of Gresham, and Monica Holbert, 50, of Vancouver, Wash. Both were taken to Marion County jail.
Boring faces charges of conspiracy to commit escape, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, criminal mischief and possession of methamphetamine. Holbert faces charges of conspiracy to commit escape and conspiracy to commit criminal mischief.
State police reported that the suspects drove to the area in a 1994 Ford Explorer that was stolen in Vancouver. Methamphetamine was found during a search of the vehicle, police said.
Hospital officials aren’t aware of any connection between the suspects and the patient thought to be involved in the failed escape, Hammer said.
Hammer declined to identify the criminally committed patient, citing laws protecting patient privacy. He confirmed that the patient has a history of escape attempts.
“I think we know where this patient’s interests lie, so we’ll be extra-vigilant for a while,” Hammer said.
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Gangs Target Shopping Malls www.privateofficer.com
Traveling Gangs Target Malls www.privateofficer.com
Oak Brook, IL – Oct. 26, 2007
Police this week arrested a woman who shoplifted more than $17,000 worth of merchandise, some from Oakbrook Center, and connected her to a retail theft ring traveling the country hitting malls.
Urrutia Carolina, 28, of San Juan, Puerto Rico, was charged with felony retail theft and possession of stolen merchandise.
“They’re very good at it,” said Oak Brook Police Sgt. Tami Shuey, standing beside a table with the merchandise police found in a rental van after arresting the woman Tuesday night.
The store manager at Victoria’s Secret in Oakbrook Center, Route 83 and 22nd Street, called police after watching the woman leave the store with dozens of bras in a shopping bag without paying for them.
“Two people had just come in and cleaned out a shelving unit basically, a store cabinet thing,” Shuey said. “They filled up their bag, exited the store and while they were leaving they dropped a bra.”
Police said Carolina, like many sophisticated shoplifters, used a well-known device to get past the electronic detectors in the store.
Aided by Oakbrook Center security, police found Carolina hiding between cars in the parking lot, and eventually found her van with duffle bags full of merchandise. The bras stolen from Victoria’s Secret sold for $50 apiece or more.
A male helping Carolina got away, fleeing on foot, police said.
“We had documentation that within the last couple of days they have shipped out hundreds of pounds of merchandise through different avenues to different states,” Shuey said.
Oak Brook Police Chief Tom Sheahan said an intelligence unit he formed earlier this year with other police agencies alerted his department Tuesday the gang was in the area.
“It’s as organized as organized crime because it is organized crime,” Sheahan said. “They stay in hotels in the area at night, and then they go out and steal all day.”
Oak Brook Police Detective Tom Russell said such gangs hit one shopping center a day.
“They’ll stay at one mall one day and go to another mall the next day,” Russell said. “They’ve gotten away with it. Otherwise, they wouldn’t keep doing it.”
Sheahan said police are working with Limited Brands, Walgreens, Wal-Mart and other retailers to keep track of the gangs.
Shuey said the arrest this week is part of a gang of six individuals who keep returning to Oak Brook. Shuey said the van they found had a U.S. atlas with towns circled with malls in every state. Shuey said Illinois had 18 mall towns circled.
Oak Brook tactical officer Bob Christopherson said the couple hit only three stores Tuesday, and he said not all of the retailers had in-store security.
“They’ve been trained to call police when they see someone doing something suspicious,” Christopherson said. “They’re getting better at calling right away. The training worked well, I guess.”
Shuey added Carolina bonded out after posting a $75,000 bond.
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