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Georgia police charge 5 men in string of robberies, security guard murder www.privateofficer.com
Amid announcements of several other arrests earlier this week, Gwinnett County police listed 28-year-old Edward Thornton of Atlanta as wanted but still at large. He was picked up Friday, making him the fifth arrest in the investigation spearheaded by Gwinnett detectives, spokesman Cpl. Jake Smith said.
Thornton’s Gwinnett arrest warrants charge him with two counts apiece of armed robbery and possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime, stemming from the following two incidents in the Mall of Georgia area:
• On Nov. 11, Thornton and others reportedly robbed a Dunbar Armored courier outside the Bank of America at 1500 Buford Highway in Buford, making out with approximately $62,000.
• On Dec. 7, Thornton and at least one other suspect robbed another courier inside the Mall of Georgia, during which shots were fired. The suspects made out with about $162,000, warrants said.
Stacey Lamont Dooley and Ashley Henderson, two of the original arrests made in the case being worked by Gwinnett, DeKalb and Federal Bureau of Investigation officials, were charged with murder and aggravated assault by DeKalb County officials Thursday.
Those charges stem from the March 25 shooting death of Lawrenceville resident and armored car courier Garry Castillo outside a Kroger store in Atlanta.
Dooley, Henderson and Quinton Lamar Booker also face armed robbery and conspiracy charges in Gwinnett, and are awaiting April 11 court appearances in Gwinnett County Jail.
Marietta police have also arrested 32-year-old Veronica Bullard of Lithia Springs. Bullard, employed by Dunbar Armored until her arrest, has been charged with armed robbery and conspiracy to commit armed robbery, and is also expected to face charges in Gwinnett.
Security officer killed in possible robbery www.privateofficer.com
Police were called to the Manheim auto auction facility — formerly Bay Cities Auto Auction — around 5:30 a.m., after a caller reported a possible hit-and-run accident victim.
Officers found one victim, a security guard at the facility, outside the gate. He was pronounced dead at the scene. A search of the area found a second man had been slain in the auction yard parking lot.
Officials have not released the name of either victim, but the second man is believed to be a truck driver based out of Medford, Ore.
An official cause of death for either victim has not been released.
An overhead video of the scene taken from a TV helicopter showed a transport truck backed into a number of cars, with one of its wheels off the ground and slowly spinning. A black sedan with a shattered rear window also was shown.
“There is nothing to indicated that the victims did anything to contribute to their murder,” police Lt. Chris Orrey said.
She said police have not established a motive, but “are not ruling out” robbery.
Employees locked themselves in buildings at the yard as a host of law enforcement agencies scoured the 50-acre lot for suspects.
“I got here at 6 and was walking across the lot to go to work,” said an employee who didn’t want to be identified. “Someone ran over and told me to get in the shop and lock all the doors.”
He said he saw “a ton of cops” going through the lot. They remained locked in buildings for more than three hours.
Orrey said the search — which included police dogs from BART police and the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office — didn’t turn up any suspects.
Orrey said police had no suspect descriptions to release Tuesday evening.
The area where the bodies was found is largely industrial, and Orrey said it’s rare for crimes other than auto theft to occur there.
The slayings were the fourth and fifth to occur in Hayward this year. There were seven in all of 2009.
Police ask anyone with information to call them at 510-293-7197.
Accused killer of guard gets 35 yrs in prison www.privateofficer.com
pine bluff commercial.com- A man accused of killing a security guard at a lumber plant has been sentenced to 35 years in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree murder.
Bruce Wade Pennington, 62, entered the plea Monday in the May 12 shooting death of Dorman Ray Cooper, 26.
Cooper was shot while working the guard shack at the Columbia Forest Products plant in Trumann. Pennington turned himself in the same day.
Authorities said Pennington and Cooper knew each other, and had a personal dispute unrelated to the plant. Police said at the time of the shooting that Pennington drove his pickup truck next to the guard shack, left the vehicle running, and fired two shots at Cooper.
Pennington then drove to the Trumann Police Department and turned himself in.
Cooper was shot once in the head and once in the chest at close range with a 9mm Smith & Wesson, police said.
Pennington had been charged with capital murder. The first-degree murder charge was part of a plea negotiation between Deputy Prosecutor Martin Lilly of Jonesboro and Pennington’s attorney, Paul Ford of Jonesboro.
During the court appearance, Lilly said Cooper’s family agreed with the decision to lower the charge in exchange for the guilty plea.
Pennington appeared in court, wearing a black-and-white prison jumpsuit and glasses and with his hair in a ponytail. He turned down an offer by Circuit Judge Randy Philhours to address the court.
Cooper’s sisters, Lisa Spencer and Bobbie Pharis, testified. Spencer, who stood just feet away from Pennington, said the murder has hurt the family and friends.
“The effects of what you’ve done are far reaching _ from a friend of Ray’s in Texas whose first meeting with Ray was at his funeral,” Spencer said, “to his aging mother who will never forgive herself for something all mothers must do, letting their kids assume responsibility for themselves.
“To his 2-year-old nephew, who can’t understand why Uncle Ray can’t play keep-away with him any more, to an 8-year-old niece who wondered why the man couldn’t just kill himself instead of her Uncle Ray,” Spencer said.
Philhours said Pennington must serve at least 70 percent of the sentence, or 24 1/2 years and he will be eligible for parole in 2034.
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Man pleads not guilty in security guard murder www.privateofficer.com
Man pleads not guilty in security guard murder http://www.privateofficer.com
cbs5.com
A 29-year-old man pleaded not guilty in Napa County Superior Court Tuesday morning to murdering a security guard at the California Veterans Home in Yountville in 2003.
A preliminary hearing date for Juan Jose Hernandez Mendoza was set for May 26, Assistant Napa County District Attorney John Goold said.
Mendoza was in an Oregon jail under an assumed name awaiting prosecution for sex offenses when he was arrested in March for the murder of 58-year-old Manuel Reyes, the Napa County Sheriff’s Department said.
He had been identified as a suspect within two weeks of Reyes’ murder on Aug. 4, 2003.
Reyes was on duty and working overtime at the veteran’s home on the night of Aug. 3, 2003 when he was asked to act as a translator between Mendoza and a cab driver. The cab driver had picked up Mendoza in Napa around 11:30 p.m. that night, according to the sheriff’s department.
Reyes instead offered to drive Mendoza to his destination, a labor camp north of Yountville. His security car was found crashed into a tree on Dry Creek Road near Mount Veeder Road early the next morning. Reyes had been stabbed multiple times and was found near his vehicle, the sheriff’s department said.
Mendoza is being held in the Napa County jail under no bail.
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Two arrested in year old security officer murder www.privateofficer.com
Two arrested in year old security officer murder http://www.privateofficer.com
Friday, police arrested her former roommate Pamela Campbell and charged her with Solicitation of Murder. Police also picked up Campbell’s brother Tony Smith, Tuesday, in Texas and charged him with First Degree Murder.
“This whole year I suspected her,” said Kenda Thornton.
Thornton has had a whole year to think about her aunt’s death and the person responsible.
“It’s been a tough year,” added Thornton. “Just knowing somebody did this to an innocent person that would give you the shirt off their back.”
Last March, Kenda’s aunt, 69-year-old Lettrelle Thornton was found dead in her Virginia Beach home. Police say she was discovered by her roommate. Thornton died from blunt force trauma.
“I just miss her smile,” said Thornton. “She was a people person and there was nothing that she wouldn’t do for you.”
People in the community found that out first hand. Thornton worked as a security guard at Norfolk State University. Her death shocked everyone and month after month police investigated – finally their hard work is paying off.
“We suspected from the beginning that the person they have in custody had something to do with the killing of her,” added Thornton.
The family’s suspicions were right. Police say they’ve arrested Thornton’s former roommate, 42-year-old Pamela Campbell in connection with her death. Campbell’s brother, 37-year-old Tony Smith is also behind bars, charged with murder. Smith, who’s in the Army was arrested at Fort Hood in Texas.
“It’s a big relief,” said Thornton. “It’s a load off of my shoulders and off of my family’s shoulders.”
Kenda says her aunt and Campbell were romantically involved and something must have gone wrong.
“I would ask her what was the reason for doing this,” added Thornton. “She did everything she could for you.”
Tony Smith and Pamela Campbell are being held at Virginia Beach City Jail. Smith declined our request for an interview.
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Suspect in security guard murder gets 18 year prison sentence www.privateofficer.com
Suspect in security guard murder gets 18 year prison sentence http://www.privateofficer.com
Nyanda Charley, who had pleaded guilty last year to murdering Neville Webb, denied in court this morning that he was the one who pulled the trigger that night and said he was pressured to confess to the crime.
But acting state Supreme Court Justice Gerald Loehr said Charley entered his guilty plea “knowingly and voluntarily” in September, and imposed the lengthy prison sentence for causing Webb’s death.
Webb, a father of five who immigrated from Jamaica, was working as a security guard at Oakwood Gardens Apartments on East Lincoln Avenue when he tried to confront a group of youths who were throwing eggs at cars as a Halloween prank.
As he approached the group, police said, Charley sneaked up behind Webb and shot him twice – in the head and chest. Webb, who was armed but never drew his weapon, died the next day.
Four days after the shooting, police arrested Charley, who’d had prior run-ins with Webb. His death sparked a weeklong outpouring of outrage and sorrow in the city.
Charley had admitted to shooting 52-year-old Neville Webb on Halloween in 2007. The guard had tried to chase off a group of youths throwing eggs near the Mount Vernon apartment complex where he was working.
Webb worked as a prison guard in Jamaica for 25 years before coming to the United States in 2005. His family said his organs were donated to nine people.
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Bank security officer robbed, killed in LA www.privateofficer.com
Bank security officer robbed, killed http://www.privateofficer.com
The victim, described as a middle-aged Latino man, was pronounced dead at a hospital while undergoing surgery, said Los Angeles Police Department spokeswoman Kate Lopez. An employee at a nearby store said she saw two men bend down and grab something before fleeing on foot.”It made me cry,” she said. The security guard “woke up thinking it’s another day of work, another day of life.”
Some regular bank customers said they did not know the security guard by name but described him as a friendly man who had worked there for the last several years.Leticia Bellez, 36, who went to the bank with her 96-year-old grandmother to withdraw money before the Labor Day weekend, said she was stunned to learn of the killing.”He was friendly and very courteous,” Bellez said. “He would always open the door for us.”Jimmie James, another bank patron, said his initial thought when he arrived at the bank was that the guard had killed someone. “Then I found out he was the one that got killed,” James said. “He was telling me the other day about how he was going to quit, because he didn’t feel safe over here,” James said. “It’s strange, you see someone everyday and don’t ask for a name.”
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Man sentenced to prison for security guard murder www.privateofficer.com
Man sentenced in security guard murder http://www.privateofficer.com
The family of Verne Jenkins, who was shot to death last year at the Sapp Brothers Truck Stop where he worked as a security guard, wept uncontrollably Monday at the sentencing for the man who killed Jenkins.
A jury found Roger Allen Malcolm guilty of first-degree felony murder in June for the Dec. 26, 2007, slaying of Jenkins, who was shot in the neck while the two struggled at the truck stop after Jenkins had ordered Malcolm out of the building at 1953 W. California Ave.
Third District Judge Paul Maughan sentenced Malcolm to 15-years-to-life in prison on Monday.
“When you killed him, you killed me, too,” Nora Jenkins, the victim’s mother, tearfully told Malcolm in court during the victim impact portion of the hearing.
She said the death of her only son has broken the hearts of her family, including husband Vernell and daughter Olympia. They now weep, fight among themselves and suffer sleepless nights, overcome with grief.
“We live like zombies in a house because we don’t know what to say,” Nora Jenkins said. “We don’t understand.”
She said her husband has had to take on two jobs because she has lost several positions due to her inability to concentrate
Verne Jenkins also left behind a wife and 3-year-old son who will not see him again, she told the court.
Olympia Jenkins, the victim’s sister, was passionate in her grief, lashing out angrily at Malcolm. “I am mad at you, I hate you, I will never forgive you — never!” she exclaimed.
Stephanie Jenkins, the widow of the victim, cried as she told the judge she wanted to let people hear the positive things about her husband rather than having him simply characterized as “the security guard who got shot.”
“He was patient, kind and giving,” she said. “He was thoughtful, loving and affectionate.”
Stephanie Jenkins expressed puzzlement at Malcolm’s court demeanor, stating that she has seen no remorse and heard no apology. “All I see is a man who seems to feel justified in what he has done.”
Malcolm at first had no comment but later offered a somewhat rambling series of remarks. “To the family, I can assure you this was a tragedy,” he said.
Malcolm said he was carrying a gun because of previous incidents in the neighborhood, but as far as the shooting of Jenkins, “It was nothing personal. Things got out of hand.”
Maughan denied a defense motion to sentence Malcolm to a second-degree felony charge, noting that the jury has spoken on the first-degree murder charge.
The judge also urged the Jenkins family to “do Verne honor” by trying to direct their emotions toward healing, for their own benefit and also for Verne Jenkins’ little boy.
Prosecution witnesses testified that Jenkins told Malcolm to leave the building after Malcolm began yelling at cashiers because he apparently thought they were not waiting on him fast enough when he wanted to buy a pack of gum before riding his bike to work. A fight erupted between the two men and Malcolm shot Jenkins.
Malcolm’s defense attorney, Rudy Batista, however, argued that Malcolm fired only because he thought his own life was in danger because he thought Jenkins was going for a gun of his own.
Police discovered later than Jenkins was unarmed
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Houston Security Officer Killed At Nightclub www.privateofficer.com
Houston security officer killed at nightclub http://www.privateofficer.com
Police say that few details are available but that they know that the security officer got into a fight with a man in the bar parking lot on S. Post Oak at W. Ridgecreek around 3:30am.
Some witnesses say he ran off on foot while others say that he got into a car and hit an innocent person crossing the street and kept going. That victim is now in critical condition.
Investigators say that it is a very active investigation and that they have not released the name of the security officer because they are trying to notify the next of kin.
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Police arrest suspects in security guard murder www.privateofficer.com
Multi-police agency unit arrests suspects in security guard murder http://www.privateofficer.com
On July 25, 2008, in the early morning hours, a series of 20 search warrants, 12 arrest warrants, and 1 parole search were served at various locations.
On March 1, 2004, at about 10:50 a.m., eight suspects armed with assault-type weapons attacked armored car guard Evelio Suarez as he unloaded money bags from the truck. Suarez, 61, was shot multiple times and later died at a local hospital.
Over the last four years, detectives have connected a local street gang to this armored truck murder/robbery, as well as other murders, robberies, burglaries, narcotics trafficking, and other weapon-related offenses.
Representatives from the Los Angeles Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the California Department of Corrections, LA Impact, and the Southern California Drug Task Force served the warrants.
The simultaneous search warrant service resulted in the recovery of 2 firearms, small amounts of narcotics, a large sum of money, and 16 (12 Warrant and 4 miscellaneous) arrests for various offenses.
“Gang violence continues to plague too many of our communities and disturb the peace of too many neighborhoods, and we must do everything in our power to ensure public safety and bring the perpetrators of gang crime to justice,” Mayor Villaraigosa said.
“The warrants served this morning are an outstanding example of a collaborative effort to make our cities safe,” said Special Agent in Charge John A. Torres of ATF’s Los Angeles Field Division. “Violent crimes are ATF’s top priority and we will continue to work together with our law enforcement partners to identify, disrupt, arrest, and prosecute the most violent criminals.”
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Man’s prison sentence vacated in security officer murder www.privateofficer.com
Man’s prison sentence vacated in security guard murder http://www.privateofficer.com
Chicago IL. April 20 2008
A grinning Eugene Logan stood outside the Cook County Jail Friday evening and announced to no one in particular: “Man been locked up for 26 years! He’s about to walk through them gates.”
And about half an hour later, his brother Alton Logan — appearing dazed and with tears streaming down his face — did just that.
As relatives and friends swarmed around him, Alton Logan offered one whispered word to describe how he felt: “Great.”
“To shake his hand, man, is just a great feeling and to know he’s going to breathe some of this free air,” Eugene Logan said moments after hugging his brother.
Earlier Friday, Cook County Judge James Schreier vacated Logan’s convictions in the murder of a security guard during a robbery at a South Side McDonald’s in January 1982. In ordering a new trial, Schreier said new evidence in the case may well convince a jury of Logan’s innocence. Schreier set Logan’s bond at $10,000, requiring family to post 10 percent of the amount.
That new evidence in the case includes the words of two attorneys who testified in court earlier this year that their client, Andrew Wilson, told them he — not Logan — murdered the McDonald’s security guard. Those attorneys, W. Jameson Kunz and Dale Coventry, kept secret what Wilson told them for 26 years, because they felt they had an ethical duty to protect their client — until his death in prison last year.
“At last,” Kunz said after Schreier’s ruling.
On Friday, before the judge’s decision, Logan’s attorneys presented more new evidence, including a woman who worked at the South Side McDonald’s the night of the shooting. She testified Friday that Wilson, not Logan, was the shooter. The woman, Gail Hilliard, didn’t explain on the stand why she didn’t come forward sooner with what she knew. Harold Winston, one of Logan’s attorneys, said later Friday: “My guess is she was a little scared . . . and she didn’t want to get involved.”
Lawyers with the state attorney general’s office argued in court that three separate witnesses — including another security guard who was shot but survived the McDonald’s robbery — identified Logan as the man who shot and killed security guard Lloyd Wickliffe, an off-duty Cook County sheriff’s employee, during the robbery.
Prosecutor Vincenzo Chimera said in court that his office wants to know the truth of what happened, but said the state is at a “serious disadvantage” because Wilson is dead and can’t be interviewed.
Later Friday, Chimera said his office hasn’t yet decided whether to seek a retrial.
Despite evidence hidden for decades that might have set Logan free many years ago, his family says they are not bitter.
“We’re not angry with [Kunz and Coventry],” said Logan’s aunt, Barbara Cannon. “They did what they had to do.”
Logan is due back in court May 12.
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