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ATLANTA GA OCT 8 2008

NEWS HEADLINES



Chicago IL Oct 8 2008

After Charles Hill became the victim of vandalism at the house he's building in West Chatham, he decided to become the first private citizen to join the city's Private Sector Camera Initiative.
The program allows private security cameras to directly beam their images to Chicago's 911 call center, and is already being utilized by various businesses and organizations like Macy's, the CBOE, the Sears Tower and Columbia College. Hill has installed 5 exterior surveillance cameras of his own to monitor his block
The new program is designed to allow police to be able to respond quicker to serious incidents like robberies, break-ins, and assaults.

Some people wonder if this is a violation of their rights. Others say it’s just another example of big brother closing in. So far, there’s no word from the American Civil Liberties Union as to their standing on the issue but some have asked them to look into it.
But the new program is strictlydone on a volunteer basis and police say that it’s been a success so far.




Germantown (Memphis)TN OCT 8 2008
Germantown Police have charged a Somerville man with aggravated kidnapping of his estranged girlfriend.
Germantown Police Capt. Mike Griffus said Kismesha Moss, 22, of Arlington drove to Lacedra Seay’s home Monday night outside of Somerville to retrieve some of her personal items that were still in his house.
“When she tried to leave, Seay told her she wasn’t going anywhere and pointed a gun at her,” Griffus said. While he held her at his home, Griffus said Moss convinced Seay to take her to see her ailing father who was at Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital.
Because of the bad blood between the two families, Griffus said she also talked him into staying in the waiting area outside of her father’s hospital room. Once inside her father’s room, Moss called hospital security who, in turn, called Germantown Police and then responded to the area.
By the time police officers arrived a few minutes later, they found Seay, 23, outside in the parking lot near Moss’ car. Police were ablt to take Moss into custody without incident and also discovered a 25-caliber automatic pistol with six rounds lying underneath the right-rear tire of her car.
Seay is being heldl in jail on a $25,000 bond for aggravated kidnapping and unlawful possession of a weapon.



New York NY OCT 8 2008
With a financial meltdown on Wall Street and a battle with Wells Fargo & Co. to take over Wachovia Corp., Citigroup Inc. has enough problems on its plate. Now the bank is facing a possible strike by 40 security guards at its Greenwich Street investment banking headquarters.The guards don’t work for Citigroup directly.
Their beef is with employer Allied Barton Security Services, which was hired by Citigroup to provide security services.Some six months of negotiations between Allied Barton and SEIU Local 32 BJ have failed to produce a contract for the guards, many of whom earn $10 an hour, without health care benefits.
They have been working without a contract since July 1.In recent weeks, the union has stepped up efforts to convince Citigroup to intervene, getting elected officials to pressure the company and leafleting its retail branches.
Allied Barton employs 200 security officers who work at Citigroup buildings across the city and another 300 at other venues. Some 40 workers at the Greenwich Street facility authorized the strike in a vote over the weekend. In June, Local 32BJ reached an agreement on a new contract with the Realty Advisory Board that raises wages and improves benefits for 1,500 security officers in commercial buildings across the city. The union seeks a similar contract for Allied Barton officers, but 32BJ officials say the company contends it needs extra funding from Citigroup and others in order to pay for health care and raises.
Citigroup did not respond to requests for comment.
An Allied Barton spokesman said the company was unaware of the strike authorization vote and that negotiations are continuing with the union. He added that he doesn’t expect any disruptions in service.



indychannel.com
INDIANAPOLIS IN OCT 8 2008
Five Indianapolis police officers are credited with saving the life of a woman trapped in her burning car -- and the rescue was caught on tape.
Dash cam video released on Monday showed officers pulling Sherica Lovett, 27, from her car at the intersection on Lafayette and Georgetown roads, 6News' Ericka Flye reported.
The fiery crash happened just after 3 a.m. on Sept. 26 when Lovett hit the back of a tractor-trailer, sparking a fire in her car's engine, police said.
When officers arrived, the car was already engulfed by flames with Lovett trapped inside, police said.
"I then walked around the vehicle again and that's when I heard the, 'Help me, help me,' and saw her shadow through the smoke," said Officer Madeline Lothamer, one of the first officers to arrive at the crash scene.
Officers tried to use fire extinguishers to douse the flames, but the blaze was too strong. When they couldn't get the driver's side door open, they went to the passenger's side, broke the window and pulled Lovett to safety. Moments later, the car exploded, the video showed.
Firefighters arrived shortly after and put out the fire.
Lovett -- who was the only person in the car -- was transported to Wishard Hospital with third-degree burns. She was listed in fair condition on Monday night.



Seattle WA.OCT 8 2008

Seattle Police sent 18 officers and a K9 unit in response to a call of a break-in in progress at Fischer Plumbing and arrested one suspect October 6.
Sonitrol Alarm Operator Minta Christopherson received an impact-activated audio signal from the warehouse area of the business and heard additional suspicious sounds. She dispatched Puget Sound Security to verify the nature of the activity. While the security patrol officer was en route to the facility, Christopherson heard the zip of a duffle bag, confirming her suspicions, and called Seattle Police.
According to a press release, a Seatlle officer arrived on scene first officer and saw someone inside the building. He called for back up and 17 additional officers and a K9 unit were dispatched and they surrounded the block.
Security personnel also arrived and officers were able to quickly apprehend the suspect.Police believe the intruder got inside the warehouse by using a ladder to climb onto the roof. When caught, the intruder was carrying a duffle bag with approximately $3,000 worth of Fischer Plumbing property.“Who knows what else he would have taken if it wasn’t for our new security system that can hear what’s going on inside our business during a break in,” said Brent Miller from Fisher plumbing. “We were broken into and they caught the guy! The system is very efficient.”


Hospital employees sue security officer, hospital

A former Easton Hospital employee who claims to have been sexually assaulted by a security guard while at work has filed a federal civil suit against the hospital, records said.
Jennifer Sletvold, the woman's attorney, filed the lawsuit Oct. 2 in Pennsylvania's eastern United States Court district against Easton Hospital, records said.
The lawsuit claims the woman, who lives in Easton, was sexually assaulted by Ralph Robles, a hospital security guard, on at least two occasions in January 2007 while she was working an overnight shift. The lawsuit says the sexual assaults included fondling and forced sex acts.
According to the lawsuit the woman reported the incidents to her bosses including Mireille Vallese, her direct supervisor; Mark Szot, Easton Hospital director of human resources; Robert McKelvey, Easton Hospital director of information technology and John Olick, Easton Hospital director of security.
The suit says the woman's supervisors did not address the complaint and failed to take appropriate action, "in effect and in essence aided and abetted" the harassment and fostered a hostile work environment.
"Our position is what happened to her in her workplace was egregious and unacceptable," Sletvold said.
Sletvold said her client is seeking full monetary losses against Easton Hospital. She said the dollar amount will be determined by a jury.





CLEVELAND OH OCT 8 2008 -- A veteran paramedic was charged today with gross sexual imposition and will be arraigned in the morning.

Glenn Burks, 44, was arrested Monday after being accused of fondling two patients in a rescue squad.
Police took swabs from inside Burks' cheek in an attempt to match him to DNA samples taken from two male patients who accused Banks of rape and gross sexual imposition, according to a search warrant in the case.
Burks was suspended without pay, Safety Director Martin Flask said. Stephen Palek, head of the Emergency Medical Services union, urged people to not pass judgment until the case works its way through the courts.
Investigators say Burks sexually assaulted two patients treated by EMS.
A 34-year-old man living at a residential drug treatment center in Tremont was taken to MetroHealth Medical Center on Oct. 1. The man accused Burks of fondling his genitals for several minutes while he was strapped to a stretcher, according to a police report.
"Do you want me to take my gloves off?" Burks asked the man, according to the report.
In May, a 48-year-old homeless man accused Burks of fondling and performing oral sex on him in an ambulance. Burks told investigators that he gave the man a full-body exam but did not touch the man inappropriately, according to a police report.
Burks' partner told police she had constant visual contact on the man and observed nothing unusual but witnessed the man fondling himself in the hospital. A nurse then gave investigators a folded blanket containing what she believed to be DNA evidence, the report indicates.
The blanket was sent to the state crime lab for testing. A crime-lab report indicates sperm and saliva were on the blanket, according to the search warrant.
Burks' family declined to comment on any of the allegations.


South Bend IN. OCT 8 2008
He killed a 63-year old security guard at a South Bend bar with just one punch, and today, Joshua Kati learned his fate.
27-year-old Kati pleaded guilty to reckless homicide last month for the incident that happened at the South Bank Bar back in June.
This morning, the plea agreement was accepted by the judge and it will ultimately put Joshua Kati in jail for 26 years.
However, only 8 years of that sentence is for the reckless homicide charge.
Kati had already served 2 years of a 20 year sentence for drug charges in a community corrections program.
Under that sentence, he wasn't supposed to be drinking alcohol, and wasn't supposed to be out at 3:00 a.m.; which is roughly the time the incident happened back in June.
63-year-old James Muddiman, a father and grandfather who ran a security company, was working his first night as a security guard at the South Bank Bar.
During an altercation, Kati punched him. Muddiman fell and hit his head and later died.
"Really for what he did to my brother: good time 4 years, for taking a man’s life. He shouldn't have been in that bar, and what is wrong with the system?" said Frances Daugherty, Muddiman’s sister, after hearing the sentence.
The prosecution agreed Kati should not have been at the bar.
“Clearly he shouldn’t have. That all by itself would have been enough to violate it, and then to add that on to recklessly kill another person is just horrific,” said Chief Deputy Prosecutor Ken Cotter.
In an emotional moment during the sentencing, Kati turned and apologized directly to the family.
"I’m very sorry. I know I can't make up for it. I hope in your hearts you can forgive me in time," Kati said.
“I believed him, what he said, I though he was sincere about it but it doesn’t take my pain away. He was my only brother,” Daugherty said.
“Sometimes people will turn around and apologize hoping the judge will think, ‘oh gee, that’s a real person they really do care,’ and give them a lesser sentence. In this case Mr. Kati knew the sentence he was receiving. The judge had already indicated she would receive it and so I think when he turned around it was a heartfelt sadness that he had taken somebody else's life. It doesn’t excuse it, but at least Mr. Kati ‘manned up’ for lack of a better phrase,” Cotter said.
It was an important moment for Kati’s friends and family, too.
“More calming. More of a relief to know that he is remorseful,” said Maria Donaldson, a family friend of Joshua Kati.
Donaldson said Kati had custody of 2 of his 3 children, who are now in his parents’ custody. She hopes Kati will improve himself while in jail, and return to his family as soon as possible.
For family on both sides, there's a sense of loss and frustration.
"It was an accident. He did publicly apologize to the family and I do understand there's nothing that can make up for a life, but we just want people to understand that it wasn't meant to happen this way," Donaldson said.
“I forgive him, OK. I just don’t think the system’s right for allowing him to be there and take my brothers life,” Daugherty said.
Judge Jane Woodward Miller ruled Tuesday that Kati will serve the remaining 18 years of his previous 20 year sentence for the unrelated drug charges in jail, rather than in community corrections. He'll also serve 8 more years for the reckless homicide.
That is the maximum sentence that can be served for a Class C Felony.
Muddiman’s family says they're pretty frustrated with the system, although they do forgive Kati, and believe that he didn't mean to kill Muddiman.
The prosecutor says that lack of intent or knowledge of the murder, is one of the main differences between a homicide and reckless homicide, which carry significantly different maximum sentences.



EWING NJ OCT 8 2008 - An intruder at the township's high school stripped himself naked yesterday and told students he was God after he breached security and walked into a gym class full of kids.As he disrobed, Jovan Ramos told the startled students he was Jehovah and said, "This is my domain."Ramos, a 23-year-old township resident, went peacefully - and nakedly - into custody without injuring anyone.
But his appearance brought some panicked moments of fear for students and raised questions regarding the school's security practices.The incident took place just before 12:30 p.m., as students were awaiting the bell to switch classes.

Witnesses said the students were assembled by the gym doors as the stranger pushed his way through the crowd.On a Web page in Ramos' name on the popular networking site Myspace, he goes by the screen name "The Real Second Coming of Christ," and its content includes a snippet of scripture from the Book of Revelations.School officials said Ramos was "obviously disorientated" and ignored a staffer who told him to get out of the building.Witnesses said he went to the middle of the gym then turned to address the students with his divinity proclamation.
The teens giggled and pointed as his shirt came off first, but by the time his pants came down the assembled crowd at once went quiet.Screams broke the silence as students stampeded out of the gym, witnesses said.
Several calls were placed to 911, one of which contained an erroneous piece of information that heightened the alert. School officials said a student told a teacher that the intruder had a gun, so the teacher told police.Ewing school officials said Ramos then exited the gym and was confronted by administrators, who told him the police were on their way.
Witnesses said the officers, believing they were dealing with an armed man, came in force and with guns drawn.
Officials said Ramos became compliant and the arriving police took him into custody.
Ramos was charged with criminal trespass and lewdness and taken to the Crisis Center at Capital Health System-Fuld Campus hospital in Trenton for evaluation and treatment.Police said Ramos was not armed during the incident and that he acted alone.School officials commended township police for their handling of the situation, which was reportedly prompt and professional.They said they were investigating the security breach, as all doors are supposed to be closed and locked at the school.The incident did prove to be a successful test for the district's instant alert system: Officials said parents were notified by phone within a half-hour and a message was posted on their Web site.


ANTIOCH CA OCT 8 2008 — Police are alerting parents to mind their children more closely while shopping after they arrested a man suspected of taking exploitative cell phone pictures at well-known department stores.
According to police, Jason Albertson, 32. was arrested Sept. 30 after a security officer at the Wal-Mart at 4893 Lone Tree Way saw him following and taking pictures of young girls at the store, police said.
The store's loss prevention officer told police that Albertson took pictures of the girls as they sat in shopping carts, bent over or wore skirts.
The store security agent immediately detained Albertson and notified police for assistance.
An ensuing investigation found that Albertson had more than 300 photos of young girls.
The investigation also found that Albertson also frequented Target and In-N-Out burger locations in the area.
Anyone with information about this case or who wants to report similar instances can contact Antioch police at 925-779-6926.




Atlantic City NJ OCT 8 2008
Renowned casino security consultant Steve Forte has been indicted in New Jersey in a high-tech poker scam nearly 16 months after his arrest.
Forte, who lives in Las Vegas, was indicted along with three other men for second-degree attempted theft by deception. The charge, a felony, carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in New Jersey state prison and a $150,000 fine.
No date has been set for the defendants to appear for an arraignment hearing.
The 52-year-old Forte was arrested on June 7, 2007, by New Jersey State Police in a private hotel room at the Borgata in Atlantic City with three other men: Joseph Ingargiola, 51, and Stephen Phillips, 53, both from Las Vegas, and James Harrison, 42, of Duluth, Minn.
Forte is a highly regarded independent consultant that has authored a pair of books, "Casino Game Protection" and "Poker Protection: Cheating ... and the World of Poker."
Forte's contact information and the names of casinos he has worked with through his company, International Gaming Specialists, has been removed from his Web site. However, the Web site in August said he worked with casinos around the world including MGM Mirage, Harrah's Entertainment, Station Casinos and the Golden Nugget.
The grand jury indictment, handed down on Thursday, alleges that the four men plotted to cheat a man out of more than $75,000 during high-stakes games of Chinese poker, backgammon and chess.
Forte and his co-defendants allegedly rigged the hotel room and a nearby room with hidden surveillance cameras, audio equipment computers and other high-tech devices, according to the indictment.
The defendants allegedly planned to use marked playing cards for Chinese poker so they could identify the victim's cards and transmit instructions to the opposing player, who would be wearing a concealed earpiece.
They also allegedly intended to use the equipment to monitor the games of backgammon and chess, so that computer programs could be used to calculate the countermoves that offered the best odds of winning, a statement from the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General said.
Forte and his co-defendants, who have all been free on bail, could not be reached for comment



Bakersville CA. OCT 8 2008

The owner of Rockstarz Party Bar and a security officer suffered injuries in a fight at the rowdy establishment early Sunday morning.
Rick Fidler, the owner, was also injured and suffered injuries to his face and a security guard identified as Juan Reyes were both taken to a hospital after the 2 a.m. fight, deputies said
When deputies arrived on scene they arrested Jarad Elderd on suspicion of battery with great bodily injury, resisting arrest and public intoxication.
According to Fidler, 38, the man was being loud and disorderly inside the club and when he was confronted Elderd punched Fidler in the face, according to deputies. Elderd then pushed Reyes and began hitting him before deputies got to him, deputies said.
It was a busy night for the northwest bar scene. Deputies had earlier detained two people involved in a fight at Randolph’s Lounge & Nightclub at 1:20 a.m..
Rockstarz and Randolph’s are located at the same address north of Rosedale Highway and east of Coffee Road and have been the site of numerous calls for law enforcement since opening several months ago.
Deputies had responded 54 times between July 1 to Sept. 23 to the retail complex where the establishments are located.
The Tilted Kilt, located nearby on Calloway Drive, has also had problems. Officers responded to the Tilted Kilt 10 times in the six weeks following its opening.
The most serious incident was the stabbing of a security guard who became involved in a fight with two brothers who were allegedly intoxicated. One brother pulled a knife and cut the security guard, who suffered minor injuries.




EL MIRAGE AZ OCT 8 2008 – Police have teamed up with retail security in one Arizona city to take a bite out of crime, retail theft and shoplifting crime specifically.
In a community-policing project aiming to reduce theft and shoplifting at the Wal-Mart near 129th Avenue and Thunderbird Road El Mirage police has begun networking and aiding loss prevention agents in several areas of their job.
The program, dubbed "Operation Roll Back," was launched last week.
An El Mirage Police Department crime analyst and officers working the Beat-12 area reported seeing a gradual increase in crime at the big-box store, said Bill Louis, assistant police chief.
The Beat-12 coverage area is bounded by Cactus Road and Santa Fe Lane on the north and south, and El Mirage Road and Dysart Road one the east and west.
The Police Department has had reports on 78 thefts or shoplifting cases at the Wal-Mart from January to June, averaging 13 a month. Though those numbers are considered low for a large shopping center, Louis said this year's figures reflected an increase in property crime from last year.
Beat-12 officers have teamed with the Wal-Mart security staff to develop a plan to combat the rise in thefts and to improve overall police-security relations.
Strategies include directed patrols, having highly visible patrol officers, and quality report writing.
Loss prevention agents, retailers and citizens alike will benefit from this new partnership an officer said.





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