Archive
Museum president backs guard union www.privateofficer.com
Most of the 130 security guards voted themselves into a union last year. But so far they have not been recognized by their employer, Allied Barton, which contracts with the Museum. When the Museum’s new director, Timothy Rub, took office last year, he refused to endorse either side.
But in a letter to City Councilman Bill Greenlee, Rub urged Allied Barton to listen to the security guards’ requests.
Union spokesman Fabricio Rodriguez says Rub’s support means a lot.
Rodriguez: “The letter from Director Rub was an enormous development. We’re glad Rub has joined the majority at the museum, councilman Greenlee, and the National Labor Relations Board in calling on Allied Barton to recognize union and improving museum security.”
The National Labor Relations Board has ruled that Allied Barton must negotiate with the union. The company has appealed.
The guards are fighting for higher pay and better working conditions. They also say they need more emergency training to help safeguard the museum’s visitors and masterpieces.
College Park officer crashes, had cocaine in system www.privateofficer.com
Source: Channel2 news –
Former College Park Police Officer Gary Clements tested positive for having cocaine in his system when he backed into another car while transporting two prisoners, according to investigators.
After the accident, the officer had to take a drug test.
“After the drug test, it came back positive for cocaine,” said Interim College Park Chief Ron Fears.
Police said Clements told them he had the drug in his system after he tested the drug by tasting it after he pursued suspects who got away.
“He did some of the old type of testing. He tested with his finger,” said Fears.
Clements resigned, in lieu of termination.
The city of College Park is investigating why its police department allowed the officer suspected to resign instead of being terminated.
Channel 2 Action News reporter Tom Jones confronted Fears about why he allowed the officer to resign and why he’s not face charges after the officer tested positive for cocaine.
“At this point, there are no charges pending,” said Fears. “But why not, Chief? This is serious. He’s a police officer driving with drugs in his system. You know it. You have the results. And there is no charges,” said Jones. “Not at this time, sir,” Fears said.
College Park Mayor Jack Longino is upset over the incident.
“If he had drugs in his system, he will not be allowed to resign. He will be fired! And I want him charged with driving under the influence!” said Longino.
When Jones talked to Clements about the incident, he was told to talk to City Hall.
Trooper, hospital security injured in disturbance www.privateofficer.com
Clarion-based state police Trooper Patrick Berggren, 34, Clarion, and Clarion Hospital security guard John D. Loweranitis, 45, New Castle, were injured while trying to restrain George at 2:10 a.m. Monday in the ER.
Police say George spat upon, scratched, threatened and used obscenities toward the two men and emergency room employees. She faces two counts each of aggravated assault, disorderly conduct and harassment and three counts of assault.
The nature and extent of Berggren’s and Loweranitis’ injuries were not released.
Chicago student sues over excessive force arrest www.privateofficer.com
Candice Williams was a pregnant senior at Crete-Monee High School when police allegedly dragged her from the building, knocked her to the sidewalk and kneed her in the back.
According to a wrongful-death lawsuit she filed last year, Williams claims she lost her unborn fetus because of the 2008 arrest.
Now Williams, who is black, claims a white school security guard involved in the incident was racially biased.
In documents filed Tuesday in federal court in Chicago, attorney Brendan Shiller presented job records showing that the guard, Marilyn Reid, was fired in 2005 as a probationary telecommunicator in the Eastern Will County Communications Center in Crete.
Reid allegedly hurled the “n-word” at a black woman who was under arrest, according to the documents. She also was accused of showing a black co-worker a paper replica of a Ku Klux Klan mask, saying it would “scare the bitch,” the documents say.
Williams, who was on the honor roll, said her trouble started in February 2008 after she and other students sent a letter to the school superintendent complaining about lax security. The lawsuit said the letter angered the security staff, which the school district denies.
On April 3, 2008, Williams finished a workout with her track team and sat on a bench inside the school waiting for the University Park bus to arrive about 5:30 p.m., according to her lawsuit.
Reid and another school guard told students in the hallway to leave the building. Williams walked toward the exit, but waited with three students in a vestibule leading to the outside.
Reid and the other guard told her to go outside, but Williams said she was cold, pregnant and suffering from anemia. A teacher then told the guards that Williams was trespassing and asked them to get the police, the lawsuit said.
In a deposition, Williams admitted she swore at the teacher, saying “call the f – - – - – - police.” She said she felt she did not need to obey because her health was at risk.
A surveillance video shows the teacher and Reid pointing to Williams when the officers arrived, the lawsuit said.
The officers were assigned to the school but were off-duty and working out in the school gym at the time.
“The next thing I remember my face and chest was slammed against the wall of the vestibule and I was out the door,” Williams said in the deposition. “I recall telling them [the police officers] I was pregnant.”
The school district denies that Williams told the officers she was pregnant and accused her of fighting with Crete Police Officer Juan Garcia.
Garcia, who dated Reid, allegedly tripped or pushed Williams to the sidewalk. He told her “that was assault to a police officer,” Williams recalled.
Then as others students yelled that she was pregnant, Officer Richard Pasquini put a knee in Williams’ back and said she would be Tasered if she moved, the lawsuit said.
The officers, in court papers, have denied they used excessive force or that they conspired to cover up the incident.
Williams was taken to the police station and charged with trespassing, but a judge later ruled she was not guilty.
At a hospital the next morning, she learned her 9-week-old fetus had been viable but did not have a heartbeat, the lawsuit said.
Williams planned to attend college, but her scholarship offers were revoked because she was suspended from school for a month, her attorney said.
She can’t get a college loan because of her medical bills, he said. She is working as a concierge at a downtown building.
Her lawsuit is seeking $50 million in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive damages.
Reid’s attorney and a lawyer for the village of Crete declined to comment.
Medical center, city settle in patient death lawsuit www.privateofficer.com
The deal with the family of Jonah R. Drisdom was made during a lunch break on the first day of a jury trial before State Supreme Court Justice Richard C. Kloch Sr. Kloch ordered the settlement sealed and directed all parties not to discuss it.
The settlement is the second the Drisdom family has received in recent weeks. On Jan. 25, the Niagara Falls City Council ratified a payment of $225,000 for the actions of Officer Walter R. Nichols Jr.
Nichols was working as a security guard at the medical center on April 17, 1997, following an overnight police shift. He was wearing his police uniform and shot Drisdom with his police pistol.
He was alerted by emergency room Dr. Leonard S. Franco, who was dropped as a defendant in the case last week, that Drisdom was psychotic and was leaving without permission, and that he had a knife.
Joseph McCarthy, attorney for the hospital, told the jury in his opening statement that it was a butter knife from Drisdom’s breakfast tray.
Drisdom, 47, had been brought in overnight from Lockport by ambulance after his daughter, Jonna Drisdom, now 34, the plaintiff in the lawsuit, called Crisis Services. He had been living with Jonna and her children on Green Street. Counselor Barry Jones said Drisdom needed to be examined.
Corey J. Hogan, who with Jon Louis Wilson was co-counsel for the family, told the jury that Jonna knew something was wrong with her father that night.
“He was looking out the door, looking out the window, making sure doors were locked, looking in closets,” Hogan said. Also, Jonna had found him in the bathroom, drinking shampoo, children’s Tylenol, and other substances. Drisdom had been suffering from schizophrenia since about the age 30.
Hogan said Drisdom heard voices in his head.
“He was told to kill himself and if he didn’t, he was a coward,” Hogan said.
The lawsuit accused the medical center of negligence because Drisdom wasn’t locked in a room, wasn’t kept under constant surveillance, and was given a meal with metal utensils.
McCarthy said those decisions were made by nurse Enid Belford, who had 20 years of experience in dealing with psychiatric patients in the emergency room. He said Drisdom had offered no resistance to being taken to the hospital and was calm while there.
“What the plaintiff wants at that point is we should restrain Mr. Drisdom and put him in a locked room even though he’s shown no aggression,” McCarthy said. He said doing that might have provoked Drisdom, who according to McCarthy was 6 feet, 4 inches tall and weighed 277 pounds.
He was wearing a hospital gown over his pants that morning. He decided to put his coat on and leave, but he tucked the knife and fork from breakfast in his coat pocket. He then walked out of the emergency room.
Hogan said Nichols yelled at Drisdom to come back. Turning around, he added, “He sees a man in a police uniform and starts swinging his knife. . . . Officer Nichols, for whatever reason, feels it’s necessary to shoot Mr. Drisdom. He puts three bullets into his chest area.”
“Officer Nichols made the decision as a police officer, fully trained, that Mr. Drisdom was going to attack him,” McCarthy said. “He made the decision to use his weapon.”
Nichols himself was shot Feb. 7, 2009, allegedly by Adam J. Hamilton of Niagara Falls in a South Avenue incident. Nichols testified in Hamilton’s trial Monday and was asked about the Drisdom case.
When co-defense counsel Daniel Henry brought up the butter knife, Nichols answered, “It still was a dangerous weapon, sir.”
Nichols testified, “As [Drisdom] started approaching me, I was stepping backward, backpedaling, and I was ordering him repeatedly, ‘Drop the knife.’ . . . There were witness statements that said I did it a dozen times.”
A grand jury cleared Nichols of criminal wrongdoing in 1997.
Shotgun toting robber holds up armored car www.privateofficer.com
ASPEN HILL, Md.Dec 24 2009
According to police a man held up an armored truck outside an Aspen Hill bank Wednesday morning and then vanished.
Officers said that the man was carrying a shotgun as he approached the driver of an armored car outside of a Wachovia Bank in the 3800 block of International Drive.
The suspect is described as a black male, 25 to 30 years old, between 6 feet and 6 feet, 3 inches tall, with a heavy build and a goatee. He was wearing a dark shirt and blue jeans.
The man fled with an undisclosed amount of cash. No one was injured.
Anyone with any information about the incident or the suspect is asked to call the Montgomery County Police Robbery Section at 240-773-5100, or submit a tip anonymously at 1-866-411-TIPS.
BE A FAN! Facebook/privateofficer.com
Join PRIVATE OFFICER
INTERNATIONAL
Security-bouncer stabbed breaking up fight www.privateofficer.com
A 29-year-old Elyria man was stabbed in the leg and chest yesterday morning after trying to break up a fight inside Benchwarmers Sports Bar and Grille. One man has been arrested in connection with the stabbing, while someone who fired a gun during the fight is still on the run from police.
Officers were called to 11 Lake Ave. around 2:30 a.m. after a fight broke out in a hallway that connects Benchwarmers to Mardi Gras Lounge. Brian Helke, who works as a security-bouncer at Benchwarmers, tried to break up the fight, but was punched in the eye and knocked to the ground, according to an Elyria police report.
After the fight broke up, Helke was approached by Frederick Ferris, who began fighting him and ended up on top of him. Ferris allegedly pulled out a knife and stabbed Helke in the chest and leg before fleeing out a Lake Avenue exit, police said.
Ferris was stopped a few minutes later as he was walking on Middle Avenue near Ely Square. No weapons were found on him, but a black-handled kitchen knife was later discovered at the north end of Ely Square across from the Lake Avenue intersection, police said.
Ferris was charged with felonious assault and tampering with evidence.
Later on, officers were called back to the bar after workers found a shell casing and a handgun magazine. A bullet hole was also found in the wall, which police believe was fired during the fight. A gun was found discarded in a sewer on Washington Avenue, outside of Mardi Gras Lounge, police said. The gun, which is listed as stolen through the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office, was taken from an Eaton Township home in December 2008.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Elyria Police Department at (440) 323-3302.
BE A FAN! Facebook/privateofficer.com
Join PRIVATE OFFICER
INTERNATIONAL
Argument at assisted-living facility leads to murder www.privateofficer.com
An argument in an assisted-living residence at 270 E. Second St. between two men in wheelchairs turned violent in the early hours of Sat., Dec. 19, and one of them stabbed the other to death, police said.
The suspect, Felipe Rivera-Cruz, 51, plunged a folding knife four times into the chest of the victim, Ronal Garcia, 24, at 4:12 a.m. in a second-floor hallway of the four-story Barrier Free Living residence between Avenues C and D, according to the complaint filed by the Manhattan district attorney. Garcia was taken to Beth Israel Medical Center with several other stab wounds in addition to the four fatal ones, and was declared dead soon after.
The stabbing, which staff members saw in progress on a surveillance monitor, followed an argument an hour or so earlier when the victim had made fun of the suspect, according to reports. Police also responded to the earlier call, but said it was just an argument with no injuries and neither party wanted to file charges. However, a New York Times report quoted a witness as saying the suspect had sustained a cut on his forehead during the earlier incident, and the victim had phoned his family in the Bronx between the first and second calls.
A security guard, who got to the scene too late to prevent the stabbing, observed the folding knife in the suspect’s hand, took it from him, and then called 911, the complaint says.
The nonprofit Barrier Free Living residence, operated under contract to the city, is one of the few that are completely accessible to wheelchairs. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeless Services said the city is investigating the circumstances of the stabbing.
Rivera-Cruz was held on charges of second-degree murder and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon pending a Dec. 24 court appearance
BE A FAN! Facebook/privateofficer.com
Join PRIVATE OFFICER
INTERNATIONAL
Wal-Mart settles with girl fondled in SC www.privateofficer.com
The State reported Thursday that Wal-Mart agreed last week to pay a girl an undisclosed sum after she was fondled by an employee who was a registered sex offender in 2004 at a store in Orangeburg.
The newspaper reported that Wal-Mart began conducting criminal background checks on new hires at its stores within weeks of that incident.
A spokeswoman for Wal-Mart’s corporate headquarters in Bentonville, Ark., Daphne Moore, would not discuss the Dec. 16 settlement on Wednesday. But Moore said the matter has been resolved.
The family’s attorney, David Massey of Columbia, said he’s glad the lawsuit has been resolved.
BE A FAN! Facebook/privateofficer.com
Join PRIVATE OFFICER
INTERNATIONAL
Security officer assaulted in robbery www.privateofficer.com
Brett Davis/Staff
PRIVATE OFFICER NEWS
NETWORK
http://www.privateofficer.com
Police responded to an incident at a local dollar store and say that three people were arrested Wednesday after a robbery.
Police said that the three are accused of stealing from a west side Dollar General Store.
Officers responded to the store at around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday and found a security officer in a battle with several people.
Investigators said that two men and one juvenile walked into the store at 6901 North Mesa, and the two men tried stealing a few items.
When approached by a security officer, the group began assaulting the officer and tried to flee.
All three were arrested and now face robbery charges.
Police have not yet released their identity.
BE A FAN! Facebook/privateofficer.com
Join PRIVATE OFFICER
INTERNATIONAL
Cincinnati police officer killed in Afghanistan www.privateofficer.com
Hundreds attended the visitation Tuesday morning for Tech Sgt. Anthony C. “Tony” Campbell, who was killed while trying to disarm an improvised explosive device last week. The Air Force Tech Sgt. was serving in Afghanistan as an explosive ordinance disposal specialist.
Campbell, 35, had been serving as a Cincinnati police officer for just a few weeks before he was deployed.
“He was my best friend and a wonderful husband and father,” said his widow, Emily Campbell.
Campbell’s statements came from a program given to those who attended the visitation at Florence Baptist Church at Mt. Zion.
“He dedicated his life to his country,” Campbell’s statement continued.
Hundreds upon hundreds stood in line for a chance to express their sympathy for the family.
The 1992 Boone County high school graduate had his mother sign his enlistment papers at the age of 17 so he could join the Air Force.
In 2009 he became a Cincinnati police officer and served at downtown’s district one headquarters before he was deployed to Afghanistan.
In an additional statement Emily Campbell thanked the community for their support at this most difficult time.
“On behalf of the Campbell family I would like to express my deepest gratitude and appreciation for the outpouring of love and support we have received over the last week. The love that has been shown for my husband, Anthony, myself, and our grieving family has gone beyond my imagination,” Campbell said.
Campbell also leaves behind three children.
His 2-year-old son saluted his father before the service began.
During the funeral, Campbell was remembered by his best friend, Chris Webster.
“Anthony Campbell Junior was a father, a husband, a son, a grandson, a brother, an uncle and a friend,” said Webster, Campbell’s Best Friend. “He was a union brother to two of the biggest families in Cincinnati. The Cincinnati Police Department and the Plumbers and Pipe fitters Local 392 and a member to an even bigger family the United States Air Force. I’ve known Tony for 24 years and trust me when I say Tony was doing exactly what he wanted to do.”
Cincinnati Police Chief Tom Streicher also paid tribute to Campbell.
“Tony put himself in harms way so that other people could be protected. Other people in a community much larger that what we experience here in the Greater Cincinnati area in fact his community was the entire world and I think that’s something that speaks volume about his character, his tenacity and about his commitment to duty,” said Chief Tom Streicher of Cincinnati Police. “In my estimation, each and everyone one of us owe him a debt of gratitude for his loyal service to his community and to his country.”
Air Force commanders posthumously awarded Campbell the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, and the Combat Action Medal.
Tech Sgt. Campbell was escorted to the Veterans Cemetery in Williamstown where he was laid to rest.
“Tony Campbell was a great American, Tony Campbell is a hero in our minds, and he will live in our hearts forever,” said Streicher.
Pot store guard fired for being “over aggressive” www.privateofficer.com
The dispensary owner said he was let go for being “over-aggressive and scary.” The dispensary’s owner said Earth Cann has hired two new guards who are “nice and professional.”
Former security guard George Covarrubias was hired to keep an eye on the parking lot of Earth Cann Wellness Center in Lake Forest Here he’s shown outside the dispensary in October.
Club owner Shannon Saccullo immediately posted warning signs – telling club members that marijuana prescriptions must remain in a sealed bag until they are taken home – and hired Covarrubias to enforce the dispensary’s rules.
In a short time Covarrubias made sure there was no smoking and loitering around Earth Cann or other businesses. He stopped “drug deals,” he said. He also developed a rapport with nearby businesses and introduced himself, asking for their worries and input.
Covarrubias said he suspended about eight people from use of the club – including one he characterizes as a good customer.
Covarrubias said he also called police when it seemed that violations of the zero tolerance policy were taking place outside his area of patrol.
In one case Covarrubias said he caught a club member packing a bowl of marijuana and smoking it.
“He buys a quarter pound at a time and at $300 an ounce, he spends $1,200 each time,” said Covarrubias. “I set high standards for the place and was professional,” he said. “They treated me like I was an old gang banger. I got spit on, almost got knocked down by speeding cars and got flipped off.”
Covarrubias said he is disappointed by his removal.
Saccullo said she received countless complaints about Covarrubias’ aggressive behavior.
“People were coming into the club saying ‘your security guard is really obsessed,’” she said. “I told him to mellow out and be nice to people. He was not approachable and polite. I want people to have a positive experience in the club and not to be hassled.”
Since November police have not gotten reports of any problems associated with the dispensary.
Vickie Simpson, executive director of Us Too Center which focuses on special needs children, is familiar with the dispensary and located in the neighboring business park.
“Before the security guards people would speed through the parking lot and we saw multiple drug transaction right in front of our door,” said Simpson. “Now we have no problems at all.”
Earth Cann’s membership has grown to more than 2,500 now, almost 1,000 more since late October.
In November the dispensary won a lawsuit against its landlord, which tried to evict the business, when a judge rejected the landlord’s argument that the dispensary should be forced to close because it allegedly violated a city zoning rule.
David Welch, an attorney who represented Earth Cann, called Superior Court judge’s ruling a victory in the medical marijuana battle.
City officials – who on Sept. 1 announced that complaints had been filed against 35 people associated with 14 dispensaries.– said the tenant-landlord dispute will have no affect on the city’s legal efforts to close down dispensaries citywide.
“If the landlord takes action to remove the tenant and they are removed, that’s one less dispensary the city would have to close,” said Jeff Dunn, a partner with Best, Best & Krieger, representing the city in its legal action against the dispensaries.
“The city has taken legal action to close all storefronts in Lake Forest. But if the landlord doesn’t do it, it won’t change what the city will do. Nothing has happened that will affect the city’s process to move forward.”
Dunn said all dispensaries – now more than 20 – could be shut down by early next year.
But Saccullo remains optimistic and hopes the city will agree to regulate a few of the dispensaries that a re running legitimate businesses.
“Things are great,” said Saccullo adding that club members are bringing in cans for the needy for the holidays. “I have a book of 100 testimonials of what medical marijuana is doing for people. I’ll be the poster child for how a business liker this should be run. I’m very proud of it.”
BE A FAN! Facebook/privateofficer.com
Join PRIVATE OFFICER
INTERNATIONAL
Blufton teacher charged with sexual misconduct with minor www.privateofficer.com
The 36-year-old former Bluffton-Harrison schools teacher Tracey Pace faces sexual misconduct charges.
Police in Bluffton say Pace performed sexual acts on a teenager from January to March in 2007.
She was not a teacher at the time.
Pace is also charged with sending pornographic pictures to a minor in 2007.
Pace has been arrested and is being held in the Wells County Jail on $30,000 bond.
Pace is on administrative leave from her teaching position.
BE A FAN! Facebook/privateofficer.com
Join PRIVATE OFFICER
INTERNATIONAL
Florida cop busted for DUI accident www.privateofficer.com
But that goal and his law enforcement career were endangered by his arrest this weekend on charges that the off-duty officer drunkenly crashed into two different vehicles, then drove away.
Green, 30, was arrested early Saturday on charges of driving under the influence/crash, DUI involving property damage and two counts of leaving the scene of a crash involving property damage.
Both incidents took place on Fourth Street N about 10 p.m. Friday, according to St. Petersburg police.
The first crash took place as Green attempted to pass a vehicle near the 3500 block of Fourth Street.
Both vehicles were headed north. Green drove over the raised concrete median while passing a 2009 Honda sedan, police said, and struck the driver’s side mirror of that vehicle.
The Honda’s driver was not injured, but police said the officer didn’t stop after the collision.
Instead, Green continued north on Fourth. Police said Green’s vehicle struck another vehicle at 38th Avenue N and Fourth Street. Police said no one was injured in that crash, but that Green kept going.
After the incidents, officers searched the area and found Green’s damaged vehicle parked outside his Shore Acres home.
Green, who was off duty, was still inside the vehicle, according to police. His blood-alcohol level tested at 0.179 and 0.173. Florida law presumes a driver is impaired at 0.08 or greater.
He was arrested and booked into the Pinellas County jail about 3:30 a.m. Saturday. He could not be reached for comment Monday.
Green, a graduate of Lakewood High School and the University of South Florida, has been a patrol officer since November 2005. His personnel file shows nothing but positive reviews.
His file also showed that he has never been disciplined by the department. Green was involved in three crashes while driving his police cruiser, according to records, but only one incident was declared “preventable.” He received a warning for that incident.
According to police, he was placed on administrative duty pending an internal investigation. After the investigation, a chain-of-command board will determine any disciplinary action.
Shoplifter captured after stabbing Wal-Mart agent www.privateofficer.com
Officers learned that a security guard, Terry Edward Counts, of Vanceboro, had been cut by a man trying to take shoes from the store. Counts told officers he followed the suspect out of the store, and the man turned around and attacked him, cutting his arm repeatedly.
The suspect fled the scene on foot, and thanks to citizens who provided officers with information on his movements, police pursued him across Highways 17 and 70 to Egret Circle in the Woodland Crossing Apartment complex. As part of the New Bern Police Department’s Holiday Task Force, numerous officers were already in the immediate area, which allowed for a rapid response time. The suspect, Randolph Jones, Jr., of 728 Cedar St., was apprehended within 10 minutes of the call to police.
Counts was taken to Carolina East Medical Center and then airlifted to Pitt Memorial Hospital for treatment.
Jones has a criminal history that includes larceny, assault, trespassing, common law robbery, shoplifting and felony breaking and entering. He was charged with Larceny and Assault with a Deadly Weapon with Intent to Kill Inflicting Serious Injury.
He was placed in the Craven County jail under a $150,000 bond and scheduled to make a first appearance in court December 28, 2009.
Follow Us On Twitter/privateofficer
BE A FAN! Facebook/privateofficer.com
Join PRIVATE OFFICER
INTERNATIONAL
$5 Million taken in armored car robbery www.privateofficer.com
The spokesman for the FBI office in San Juan, Harry Rodriguez, said that the six or seven criminals came on Monday morning to the company facilities, where they overpowered several guards charged with the custody of the vehicle’s shipment.
The robbers unloaded the money and fled in the vehicle they arrived in without injuring any of the Ranger American employees.
Police chief Jose Figueroa Sancga said that he will cooperate with the FBI to solve the case as quickly as possible, noting that practically 100 percent of armored car robberies in Puerto Rico end with the arrests of the criminals.
BE A FAN! Facebook/privateofficer.com
Join PRIVATE OFFICER
INTERNATIONAL
Three friends guilty in Wal-Mart employee murder www.privateofficer.com
Timothy Smith, Anthony Howe and Amber Talbot, who pleaded guilty to murder and conspiracy in the October 2008 death of 25-year-old Christopher Gray, sat at adjoining tables in court as the victim’s family members tearfully remembered him and berated his killers.
“Just remember that night,” said David Kemp, 33, Gray’s brother. “I hope it eats you and eats you and eats you until can’t take it (any) longer.”
Smith and Howe each got 40 years to life and Talbot 25 to 50 years for taking the Groton, Vt., man to a mobile home under the pretext of watching movies. There, Smith, 24, and Howe, 19, who are cousins, stabbed and strangled him as they stood around a campfire.
Gray, an aspiring auto mechanic whose buoyant personality helped him overcome a low IQ, attention deficit disorder and a speech impediment, became a target after wooing Talbot, 18, who also worked at the Woodsville Walmart.
Her boyfriend, Michael Robie, 19, became enraged when he heard about it and plotted revenge, enlisting the other three from his cell. Robie, who was heard discussing the attack in tape-recorded telephone calls from jail, has pleaded guilty to assault and conspiracy.
He is awaiting sentencing.
On the night Gray went missing, Walmart surveillance video showed the three picking him up after work at the Woodsville store, before they drove to Talbot’s home. “He was only there because he wanted you to be his friend,” his father, Michael Gray, told them Monday.
Talbot hung her head, her brown hair falling in her face, as Gray’s “mom,” legal guardian Annie Crowley, 38, of Groton, Vt., chided her as the one who lured Gray.
“Are you more than just a stupid girl that who caught up with the wrong crowd?” she told Talbot, standing at a podium in the hushed courtroom. “I think so. I believe all the young men involved are your victims.”
Crowley, who had been his guardian for about two years before his death, broke down in tears as she read her statement. “How am I supposed to live with myself, knowing that I was his guardian? I was supposed to be looking out for him,” she said.
Shirley Kingsbury, Gray’s aunt, stood by the podium as Assistant Attorney General Jeffery Strelzin read her statement for her.
“You are despicable human beings,” he read from her statement. “My heart is broken forever.”
Smith, who had confessed to the killing in a handwritten letter to Gray’s family after the slaying, apologized again Monday.
“I see Chris every time I try to sleep. No matter how many times I say I’m sorry, I can’t bring him back. But I wish I could. That night, I should’ve told Chris what we planned on doing, and not to come,” Smith said.
Before the sentencings, Gray’s family and friends threw an appreciation luncheon for police and prosecutors from Vermont and New Hampshire who cracked the case.
A dozen uniformed officers and plainclothes detectives received lapel pins from Crowley in an informal ceremony before sitting down to a buffet lunch at a community organization’s office in nearby Wells River, Vt.
“It was my honor to work on this case,” said Assistant New Hampshire Attorney General Lucy Carrillo, as she stepped up to have Crowley pin her.
“We just felt it was important that they be recognized for the work they put into it,” said Crowley. “I felt Chris would have appreciated that and would have wanted us to be grateful,” she said
BE A FAN! Facebook/privateofficer.com
Join PRIVATE OFFICER
INTERNATIONAL
Security helps nab burglar in the act www.privateofficer.com
Athens Police arrested Nicole Anne Chavez, 26, of 19260 Airfield St., Lot 54 in Athens on a charge of third-degree burglary, records show.
A security guard at Oakview Apartments on U.S. 31 North saw two people carrying copper from the construction site about midnight and approached them, said Lt. Floyd Johnson. One of the suspects fled in a vehicle and the other fled on foot, prompting the guard to call police, Johnson said.
A few hours later, Officer Neal Muse saw Chavez walking on North Jefferson Street and stopped her because she fit the description of the suspect described running from Oakview Apartments, he said.
Muse and Lt. Trevor Harris questioned Chavez, and she admitted taking copper from the apartments, Johnson said.
She was transferred to the Limestone County Jail, where she remained in lieu of posting a $2,500 bond, records show.
BE A FAN! Facebook/privateofficer.com
Join PRIVATE OFFICER
INTERNATIONAL
Pierce County deputies ambushed, kill gunman www.privateofficer.com
The officers killed the gunman before they were rushed to the hospital. One was listed in stable condition, the other was in critical condition in the intensive-care unit.
Sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said the sergeant and a deputy were shot at around 8:45 p.m. Monday while responding to an altercation between David E. Crable and his brother near Eatonville, a rural community in the Cascade foothills. The home is about 15 miles west of Mount Rainier National Park and 50 miles south of Seattle.
Crable, 35, shot the two officers before he was killed when they returned fire, Troyer said, adding that the gunman has a history of “terrorizing” his family. The names of the officers were not immediately released.
Troyer said the officers were met at the door by Crable’s brother, Troyer said. When the deputies entered the house, Crable opened fire from upstairs, hitting one of the officers multiple times.
“This issomebody that was laying in wait for our guys,” Troyer told reporters near the shooting scene. “There’s not much we’re going to be able to do when somebody is hiding and arming themselves and we have somebody else inviting us into the residence and the second person opens fire on us.”
Crable’s family tried to help the wounded officers by providing first aid, Troyer said. Deputies said the brother was cooperating with investigators and did not call him a suspect.
“It looks like people that were in this residence went out of their way to help our people,” he said.
The shooting comes three weeks after four Lakewood police officers were shot and killed at a coffee shop before their shift. After a two-day manhunt, suspect Maurice Clemmons was shot to death by a Seattle police officer. The Thanksgiving weekend attack on the officers occurred about 17 miles northwest of Monday’s shooting scene.
A month earlier, Seattle Officer Timothy Brenton was killed as he sat in his patrol car Halloween night. Christopher Monfort, 41, has been charged with aggravated first-degree murder in Brenton’s death.
“Most people of the community as we have seen in the last few weeks have a tremendous regard for (law enforcement),” Pierce County Sheriff Paul Pastor said at the scene late Monday. “But there are people in the community that don’t come from there, and that’s the people we deal with day after day.”
After Monday’s shooting, the deputy was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where spokeswoman Susan Gregg-Hanson said he was in critical condition in the intensive care unit.
The sergeant was taken to Madigan Army Medical Center and was in serious condition, Troyer said. Madigan spokeswoman Julie Calohan said he was in stable condition early Tuesday.
BE A FAN! Facebook/privateofficer.com
Join PRIVATE OFFICER
INTERNATIONAL
UMC employee forced to resign after Tweet To Governor www.privateofficer.com
Tuesday, December 15th Governor Haley Barbour put a message on Twitter stating he was looking forward to hearing the legislature’s ideas on trimming state expenses.
Jennifer Carter, a former administrative assistant for UMC’s nursing school, tweeted the following to Governor Haley Barbour,
“Schedule regular medical exams like everyone else instead of paying UMC employees over time to do it when clinics are usually closed.”
Carter was referring to an incident she heard about three years ago when she claims the Governor came to the Pavilion on a Saturday and had it specially staffed for a check up.
“I wasn’t really jabbing at him. That’s just what people do on Twitter,” said Carter.
Two days later Carter was contacted by UMC’s Department of Compliance for violation of HIPAA Laws.
“I was told I would be suspended for three days without pay until the paper work could be done. I was strongly encouraged to resign,” said Carter. She did resign.
Carter doesn’t believe her Tweet broke any privacy laws that protect patients. Attorney Terris Harris specializes in health care law and does not represent any parties involved. He said just because the Governor is a public figure doesn’t mean his health information can be public knowledge.
“Without a specific statutory exception than any provision of his health care would be in my opinion a violation of HIPAA laws,” said Harris.
Attorneys for WLBT tell us according to federal regulations and the health and human services website, only health-care related entities are covered by HIPAA. Carter never was involved with the Governor’s health care, but was employed by UMC.
“If the Governor wants to do something with the budget and stop job losses, causing a single mom to lose her job eight days before Christmas really doesn’t help the matter,” said Carter.
University Medical Center sent us this statement, “Disclosing a patient’s protected health information is a policy violation that we take very seriously. We will do whatever is necessary to protect the privacy of our patients. An investigation of this matter was pending and the employee resigned, so we consider it closed.”
BE A FAN! Facebook/privateofficer.com
Join PRIVATE OFFICER
INTERNATIONAL
Teacher Billy Ray Smith arrested for sexual assault www.privateofficer.com
Officers started the investigation over a week ago after the Department of Human Services received a tip.
Public information officer Carrie Wyrick says the victim and Smith both attend the same church in Durant, and that’s where the instances took place. She says the victim and Smith came in for voluntary interviews last week
“Based on information given both by the victim and the suspect there was enough to make an arrest. The investigation is far from being over, it’s going to be a long process just because there are different jurisdictions involved and trying to gather information from a lot of different locations,” said Wyrick.
Wyrick says the victim reported the abuse has been going on for at least two years. So far no reports of assault have been filed in Coleman, Oklahoma, or at the school where Smith teaches. But Police are looking into it.
“We don’t know how long he’s been doing this so it’s a possibility once the story runs and more victims come forward saying “hey he did this to me too,” I mean that’s always a possibility or this may be a singular occurrence, just typically it’s not,” said Wyrick.
Billy Smith is currently charged with three counts of sexually abusing a child and forcible sodomy, which are felonies punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Smith was arraigned in a Bryan County Court room Monday afternoon to be formally charged. And Wyrick says they expect additional charges will be filed as the investigation continues.
Serial bank robber captured in Charlotte www.privateofficer.com
Michael Gene Terrelonge, 41, recently admitted his involvement in a total of 17 bank robberies and indicated that he is the “Bearded Bandit,” Charlotte police said Tuesday morning.
Police also said that his partner, Latries George Murphy, 40, has been implicated. The string of robberies that Terrelonge admitted his involvement in date back to the summer of 2004, police said.
The end for the ‘Bearded Bandit’ appeared to come on Oct. 1 when Murphy and Terrelonge were arrested by CMPD officers minutes after fleeing from the armed robbery of the Wachovia Bank at 10210 Couloak Drive, police said.
They bonded out on their state charges and were placed into the CMPD Electronic Monitoring Program. The United States Attorney accepted the case for federal prosecution and both men were federally indicted on December 15, 2009, police said.
Terrelonge and Murphy were arrested on December 18, 2009, based on the federal indictment.
CMPD Detectives, as part of the FBI Safe Streets Task Force, led this extensive investigation, police said. Police also said it is important to note that this investigation is in its early stages and is ongoing.
Additional charges against both Terrelonge and Murphy will likely follow, but it is important to note that they have been formally charged with only the robbery of the Wachovia Bank at 10210 Couloak Drive, on October 1, 2009, police said. The cases involved are listed at the end of this story.
Authorities say that a bank in the Southpark Area of Charlotte was robbed Friday, July 3 by the ‘Bearded Bandit’ who — at that point they throught — had robbed 11 banks in 3 years.
At that point, FBI officials thought they may have made a break in the case with the July 3 robbery.
According to authorities, shortly before 9:30 a.m. on July 3, The Bank of Granite at 3920 Sharon Road, was robbed by a man wearing a mask, carrying a hand gun. The person also had a beard, which was fake, authorities said.
A witness noticed a portion of the robber’s neck that was not covered by make-up, the FBI reported. Detectives believed from that robbery and information that he was a white man, not a Hispanic or black man.
Witnesses had given different descriptions in the other robberies linked to the “Bearded Bandit” because he is covering his exposed skin with make-up. He’s also using a wig, fake facial hair, glasses, a hat, gloves and a padded suit to disguise his true identity.
The FBI said the robbery on July 3 was the 11th robbery linked to the Bearded Bandit in the last three years. He has used a weapon in all the robberies, and even threatened customers forcing them to the floor.
Here is a list of all of the ‘Bearded Bandit’ robberies, according to police:
Bank
Address
Date and Time
BB&T
101 Queens Road
06/29/2004 10:46
US Airways Federal Credit Union
2830 Boyer Street
07/30/2004 09:56
Clearview Federal Credit Union
2830 Boyer Street
07/07/2005 09:14
RBC Bank
14925 John J. Delaney Drive
08/09/2005 09:16
RBC Bank
230 E. W.T. Harris Boulevard
10/19/2005 09:08
Wachovia Bank
1527 W. Morehead Street
12/30/2005 09:11
First Citizens Bank
7837 Pineville Mathews Road
06/05/2006 09:29
RBC Bank
1000 East Boulevard
11/01/2006 09:34
Clearview Federal Credit Union
2830 Boyer Street
06/05/2007 09:25
First National Bank (Gastonia)
529 South New Hope Road
04/03/2008 09:21
RBC Bank
14925 John J. Delaney Drive
10/20/2008 09:11
RBC Bank
1000 East Boulevard
10/30/2008 09:45
SunTrust Bank
7801 Pineville Matthews Road
01/06/2009 09:06
Wachovia Bank
10210 Couloak Drive
11/25/2008 10:13
Bank of Granite
3920 Sharon Road
07/03/2009 09:19
RBC Bank
1000 East Boulevard
08/20/2009 09:14
Wachovia Bank
10210 Couloak Drive
10/01/2009 09:13
Nashville uses “Beet Juice” to melt snow from roads www.privateofficer.com
The Tennessee Department of Transportation will begin using beet juice this winter to help remove snow and ice from state roads and interstates.
TDOT said in a news release Monday that beet juice mixed with salt and salt brine will be spread at various locations across the state.
Beet juice is a byproduct of the beet after the sugar has been extracted.
The department is also evaluating the effectiveness of larger snow plows and some new tools for applying salt and deicing agents.
TDOT currently has more than 160,000 tons of salt and more than 1.1 million gallons of salt brine ready for use. The department has budgeted more than $12 million this year for snow and ice removal operations across the state.
BE A FAN! Facebook/privateofficer.com
Join PRIVATE OFFICER
INTERNATIONAL
Atlanta’s Buckhead area victim of another smash-grab www.privateofficer.com
cbsatlanta.com
Earlier this week, Atlanta Police arrested six members of the 30 Deep gang. Many of the men arrested, police said, are connected to a rash of smash-and-grab burglaries across the metropolitan Atlanta area.
Burglars made their own entrance into Seven Over Escape, smashing through glass to break into the store. The owner would not comment about the burglary that happened in the early morning hours on Sunday.
Police said the six men arrested are implicated in a smash-and-grab burglary at Georgio’s Big and Tall store at Greenbriar mall, a Radio Shack on Metropolitan Avenue and eModa in Midtown.
The owner of Georgio’s spoke to CBS Atlanta News Sunday about the arrests and how he thinks Atlanta Police are handling these cases.
“You know, only a few members were arrested, the rest are still at large. I am not surprised that another store was hit. Police are not doing enough to capture criminals. There will be a lot more of them [smash-and-grabs], especially in the next 10 days or two weeks, especially during the holidays it happens more often, always does,” Ellie Karam said.
The robbery at eModa at the end of November put the store’s owner over the edge. The store now sits vacant and empty, not from thieves, but from workers packing up shop and closing down.
“I am thinking about getting out of Atlanta, it’s not worth my time. I blame security in the building of that complex and the police department they have a camera right in front across the street aiming at my complex and my store. They are not quick enough, they are not preventing it there is not enough going on preventing this from happening they are not scaring these guys at all they are not catching enough people,” Dan Kogan said during an interview in November 2009.
Police have not commented on whether the latest robbery is affiliated with a local gang.
BE A FAN! Facebook/privateofficer.com
Join PRIVATE OFFICER
INTERNATIONAL
Police nab man wanted for running down security agent www.privateofficer.com
Algernon Maurice West, 26, of Lakeland, was arrested Friday and is being held without bail in Clark County, Nev., on a charge of attempted first-degree murder.
West gave a false name after being arrested for jaywalking by Las Vegas police, but officers discovered his identity via his fingerprints, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said.
West was sought in an incident Dec. 4 at the Walmart at 1110 Causeway Blvd.
Hillsborough deputies said West and Eunessa Lawson tried to buy an $898 laptop using stolen checks from a Lakeland burglary. When asked for identification, they made a disturbance that drew the attention of loss prevention officers.
Lawson struck the officer who detained her, deputies say.
West got into a black Chevrolet Avalanche and struck another loss prevention officer with the vehicle, running over her with both right-side tires, deputies say.
The officer was treated at Tampa General Hospital and released.
Detectives will begin extradition proceedings to return West to Hillsborough.
Lawson, 32, of Lakeland, was arrested on charges including grand theft, uttering a forged instrument, resisting arrest, obstructing or opposing an officer and giving a false name to law enforcement.
BE A FAN! Facebook/privateofficer.com
Join PRIVATE OFFICER
INTERNATIONAL
Muscle Shoals teacher arrested for sex with teen www.privateofficer.com
Amanda Watkins has been charged with second-degree rape and second-degree sodomy. She was transferred to the Colbert County Jail. Bond was set at $15,000. Watkins posted bond and was released on Monday.
Dr. Richard Gardner, Sheffield’s Superintendent of Education, said Watkins teaches 8th grade English at Sheffield Junior High. Gardner said the accusations involve a student who is currently in the 9th grade. He said the teen was a student in Watkins’ class last year.
Superintendent Gardner said Watkins has worked for Sheffield City Schools for at least six years and that she is considered an excellent teacher. He said that the status of her employment would be determined once the facts of the case are clear.
BE A FAN! Facebook/privateofficer.com
Join PRIVATE OFFICER
INTERNATIONAL
Ohio school employee arrested-inappropriate student relationships www.privateofficer.com
By: Rick McCann-Staff
PRIVATE OFFICER NEWS
NETWORK
http://www.privateofficer.com/
The sheriff’s department has announced the arrest of a school employee after allegations came to light that he was involved in numerous relationships with students.
Sheriff David Doak said that Bryce McLean, 22 of 9041 Spring Avenue, Village of Windham was taken into custody on December 18th after his investigators determined that McLean had inappropriate contact with more than one underage student.
Doak said that they have charged the school employee with two counts of battery,which are felonies under Ohio law.
The sheriff stated that he did not know what position that McLean held with the school but he did not believe that he was a teacher.
The investigation began with a tip and officers from both the sheriff’s office and the Windham police and an investigator from family services jointly began to look into the matter.
McLean is currently being held at the Portage County jail pending a court date.
BE A FAN! Facebook/privateofficer.com
Join PRIVATE OFFICER
INTERNATIONAL
Dayton security officer shot and killed www.privateofficer.com
By: Rick McCann
PRIVATE OFFICER NEWS NETWORK
http://www.privateofficer.com
Police say that they responded to a shooting call at the United Foods located at 2141N. Main St Friday night and found that a security officer had been shot.
Police say that they have little information on the shooting but it appears that the security officer was shot and killed outside the store in the parking lot near the front entrance of the store.
Investigators are not sure if there was a confrontation or if someone that the guard knew shot him because of a personal dispute.
Family members have identified the deceased security officer as 41-year-old Charlie Conklin.
Officers are still investigating a motive, and said the gunmen never entered the store.
If you have any information, call crime stoppers at 222-7867.
Security officer injured, students arrested www.privateofficer.com
Rockford School District spokesman Mark Bonne said the after-school fight started between two eighth-grade boys while they were waiting to board their bus.
“Security tried to break up the fight, and she got hit in the face,” Bonne said. “Both juveniles were arrested and taken to the Winnebago County Juvenile Detention Center.”
The charges were not available.
The condition of the security officer was not available, but “One tooth was knocked out,” Bonne said. He also confirmed the officer is being examined at the hospital for a possible broken jaw.
The incident occurred just three days after Superintendent LaVonne Sheffield announced at Tuesday’s School Board meeting that principals at Auburn High School and West Middle School have been reassigned. She also said RESA and Guilford High School have been put “on notice” for possible leadership changes as well.
Sheffield said the changes were made because of academic performance and “incivility among students and staff.”
Sheffield also announced at Tuesday’s board meeting: “We are sweeping the halls in our high schools and middle schools and sending home the handful of chronic truants who roam the building and take others off task. Those students will receive a one-way bus ride and (will be) barred from the building until they attend a re-entry meeting accompanied by a parent.”
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday she made good on that promise.
Over those three days, 128 students were rounded up between the three schools, Bonne said.
Security officer shot in Chattanooga www.privateofficer.com
By: Rick McCann
Private Officer News Network
http://www.privateofficer.com
Police officers were called to a shooting late Friday night and found that a security officer had been shot in a drive-by shooting incident.
According to city police,this happened while the guard, Robert Underwood, was on duty at the city gas pumps at the corner of Park Avenue and E 12th Street.
Underwood told investigators that a white vehicle occupied by two black males and one white male drove up to him around 12:30 a.m. Saturday. The white male passenger then leaned over and shot him and the vehicle pulled off and sped away.
Police said that they have no motive in the shooting and have made no arrests and have no suspects.
Underwood is expected to recover after treatment at Erlanger.
If you have information, it could lead to a $1,000 reward. Call Crime Stoppers at 423-698-3333. Your call can be confidential. Crime Stoppers can assign you a “number” to receive your reward cash so that no one will ever know your name.
Follow Us On Twitter/privateofficer
Join Us At Facebook/privateofficer.com
Join PRIVATE OFFICER
INTERNATIONAL
