2 Killed, 12 shot at Miami bar www.privateofficer.com

MIAMI Fla June 30 2011 - Two people were killed and 12 others injured in a shooting early Thursday at a Miami bar.

Authorities said that a gunman and one other patron were fatally shot and 12 patrons injured when an argument broke out between two men at the South Rock Lodge Bar and Grill at 3:15 a.m.

A security guard approached the suspected gunman, and they exchanged fire. Both the gunman and the man he was originally arguing with were shot, police said. The gunman was taken to a local hospital, where he died a short time later, and the other man died at the scene.

Of the 12 others injured, at least 10 were taken to local hospitals, with one listed as a trauma alert.

Authorities from several state agencies, including sheriff's officials and fire crews, responded to the scene and were investigating Thursday.

"Detectives have a lot of work to do to put the puzzle pieces together and find out what happened," Dani Moschella, spokeswoman for Broward Sheriff's Office, told the Miami Herald.

Iraq war hero, college grad, faces deportation www.privateofficer.com

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.June 30 2011 -- Just last year Elisha Dawkins was getting pinned, having just graduated from the Florida State College at Jacksonville school of nursing. His plan was to take the boards after he returned from his deployment to Guantanamo Bay.

That plan changed, though, when he was arrested upon his return in April. Immigration officials said there was a problem with Dawkins' passport paperwork. They said he checked the box stating he never applied for a passport before, when in fact he had.

"We were all like, 'He was arrested for what?'" said FSCJ classmate Diane Rinehardt.

Rinehardt was friends with Dawkins and was planning a reunion for the whole class in August.

"We found out it was over a passport, and we're like, you're kidding, right?" she said.

It's definitely not a joke, considering he's been in a Miami detention center for two months now. He's facing felony charges, but that may not be the worst of it.

"While he is in jail they found out he wasn't actually born in the United States," Rinehardt said.

Turns out immigration officials found that Dawkins was actually brought to the United States by his mom as an infant. She was later deported, but he was allowed to stay.

Dawkins was raised by other family members, always being told that he was born in the U.S.

He even had a Florida birth certificate and social security number. He served in Iraq in the U.S. Army and has since joined the Air National Guard.

Because he is not a citizen, he now faces deportation. And that has the attention of U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.).

"Our military was certainly glad to consider him a citizen," Nelson said on the Senate floor. "The Dream Act would allow the U.S. government to consider as a citizen someone like Elisha Dawkins who was brought here as a child and wanted to serve this country."

Rinehardt and her classmates have put together a Facebook page to support Dawkins while he's in jail. He is still waiting on $10,000 to get out on bail.

Source:First Coast News

FBI raids Atlanta jail, detention officers, deputy sheriff arrested www.privateofficer.com

Atlanta GA June 30 2011 Four Fulton County jail officials have been cited in a federal indictment on 11 counts, ranging from possession of cocaine and marijuana with intent to distribute to extortion under color of official right.

Indicted were Brian Shelby Anthony, a detention officer, Aqeel Muhsin Rasheed, Keithan Henri James and Robert Lee Swain Jr. A fifth individual, whose name was redacted, will likely be named in a separate criminal complaint to be released later.

The four indicted individuals will appear before a federal magistrate Thursday evening.

The indictments follow an FBI raid on the Fulton County jail Thursday morning in which four people were arrested. The four arrested were one Fulton County Sheriff's deputy and three detention officers. They were taken into custody during roll call, the source said.

One of the detention officers had a cell phone in his possession when he was arrested. Cell phones are not allowed inside the jail facility.

Deputies and detention officers both work at the jail, but deputies have other law enforcement duties outside the jail and are armed. Detention officers work only at the jail and are not armed.

A caravan of seven black vehicles pulled out of the jail parking lot around 9:15 a.m. after the raid was over. Sheriff's deputies set up roadblocks so the FBI vehicles could leave unimpeded.

The arrested officers were taken to Atlanta FBI headquarters off Clairmont Road in DeKalb County. They left there shortly after noon for an undisclosed location.

The U.S. Attorney's Office scheduled a news conference at 3 p.m. at the Richard B. Russell Federal Building in downtown Atlanta, spokesman Patrick Crosby said.

Thursday's raid comes just over a week after an inmate was shot by another inmate.

Fulton County Sheriff's spokeswoman Tracy Flanagan said the injured inmate was shot in the hand and a small gun "no larger than a mobile telephone" was found in the June 21 incident. No other inmate was injured, and the wounded inmate's injury was not considered life threatening.

An earlier report from a deputy inside the jail said several shots were involved and that the incident occurred on the jail's seventh floor, which houses some the jail's most dangerous inmates. Flanagan did not provide any information on the number of shots involved or where the incident occurred.

The jail statement said the two inmates involved in the incident had a dispute concerning the commissary. Details of the dispute were not disclosed.

Flanagan said the injured inmate was treated by medical personnel within the jail.

While the jail did not release the identity of the injured inmate, it identified the alleged shooter as Kortez Hurt, who has an extensive rap sheet, including an assortment of felony murder, aggravated assault, drug possession and theft charges.

Hurt was in the Fulton Jail on his 14th incarceration, the jail said. He will face additional charges of aggravated assault and party to a gang in connection with the shooting.

Source:AJC

NY pediatrician charged with sexual assault of patients www.privateofficer.com

MINEOLA NY June 30 2011 - A pediatrician from Bethpage previously charged with secretly videotaping young female patients has been indicted on charges that he sexually abused and assaulted some of them. Prosecutors say victims were as young as 11.

Dr. Rakesh Punn faces arraignment on charges including sex abuse and assault on July 11. He was first arrested in July 2010, charged with secretly videotaping girls while they were naked in his office.

He is being held on $3.5 million bail on those charges, which his attorney denied at the time. The attorney didn't immediately comment Wednesday on the additional charges.

Prosecutors say Punn covered the girls' eyes with gauze and a blindfold and then assaulted them.

Authorities are still investigating and have asked other possible victims to come forward.

Source:Fox News

Fullerton Calif. police officer arrested for theft of IPad www.privateofficer.com

Miami Fla June 30 2011 A Fullerton police officer has been put on paid administrative leave after she was arrested on suspicion of stealing an iPad from a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint in an airport


Kelly Janeth Mejia, 25, was arrested last month at Miami International Airport on suspicion of stealing an iPad that belonged to another traveler. She has been with the Fullerton Police Department for about six years, four of them as a sworn officer.

Mejia was spotted on surveillance video placing the iPad in her carry-on bag after taking it from a bin adjacent to a metal detector, according to the arrest report filed by Miami-Dade Police.

Mejia was arrested on May 2 and has pleaded not guilty to third-degree grand theft. She is due back in court Aug. 29, court records show.

Her attorney did not return a phone call seeking comment.

According to the arrest report, a traveler told police she placed the iPad in a bin which was then sent through the TSA X-ray machine. When she went to retrieve the iPad, it was gone.

After viewing surveillance video of the incident, officers located Mejia and saw the iPad in "plain view in her purse," according to the arrest report.

Mejia told police she found the iPad, according to the arrest report. When she was asked what she planned to do with it, the report quotes Mejia as saying, "Keep it."

"She had seen the iPad in the bin and placed her bag of check in over it and walked away with it," the report stated.

Court documents put the iPad's value at $800.

In a written statement to police, Mejia said she didn't see who placed the iPad in the bin and picked it up as "found property."

"I sat down in my waiting area and did not see the flight workers in the area and was unable to turn in the notebook prior to being contacted by the police," Mejia stated.

Fullerton Police Sergeant Andrew Goodrich said officials placed Mejia on administrative leave as soon as they found out about the arrest

"We took swift action," Goodrich said.

The sergeant said Mejia's future with the department will be determined by the outcome of the court proceedings in Florida and an internal investigation within the Fullerton department.

By law, Mejia has to be paid while on administrative leave, the sergeant said.

"We have to wait for the outcome," Goodrich said.

Mejia was among 22 Fullerton police officers who were honored by Mothers Against Drunk Driving for making a significant number of DUI arrests in 2008. Mejia made 29 DUI arrests that year.

Source:OC Register.com

Textbook theft ring busted in Atlanta Ga area www.privateofficer.com

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. June 30 2011-- An employee at an off-campus bookstore discovered a theft ring that used doctored textbooks to make quick cash from the Georgia Gwinnett College library, police said.

Four people are accused of orchestrating the plan that involved taking books from the library and cashing them in at Dorks Textbooks in Lawrenceville.

Police told Channel 2’s Kerry Kavanaugh that Brittany O'Mealy, Johnathon Cooper, Joshua Leverette and a fourth unidentified suspect stole books right off the shelves of the library then used a black marker to cover the college stamp.

It was an observant employee at Dorks Textbooks who spotted the word “college” and notified police. Investigators said the doctored textbooks carried a value of $1,700. Officers also said they recovered more stolen text books in Cooper's dorm room at Georgia Gwinnett College. An employee at the bookstore told Kavanaugh they saw the suspects inside the store several times.

Student Grace Meggison donated her books to the school library. She said she was upset about the news.

"If somebody has to go there and steal, they're hurting us," Meggison said. "If they have to replace the books, that comes down to us."

Source:WSBTV.com

Alabama woman charged with identity theft at hospital www.privateofficer.com

Alabaster AL June 30 2011 An Alabaster woman was indicted by a federal grand jury June 28 on counts of identity theft, possessing stolen mail attempting to commit bank fraud, misusing someone else’s Social Security number and aggravated identity theft.

Chelsea Catherine Stewart, 26, of Alabaster, was arrested in early June and charged with violating the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and wrongfully obtaining individually identifiable health information from Trinity Medical Center in Birmingham.

During the indictment, the grand jury also charged Stewart with possessing a stolen credit card bill in March and attempting to use a convenience check from the bill to obtain $2,200. The indictment also charged her with fraudulently obtaining someone else’s credit report online in March by using a Social Security number and a debit card.

If convicted of violating the HIPAA statute, Stewart faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. She faces a maximum prison term of 30 years and a $1 million fine for attempted bank fraud. For possession of stolen mail and misuse of a Social Security number, Stewart faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each charge. If convicted of aggravated identity theft, Stewart must serve two years in prison for each count, although those terms might run concurrently with one another.

The Alabaster Police Department, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Secret Service are still investigating the case, and Trinity Medical Center recently set up a toll-free number at 1-866-367-5548 to offer free credit monitoring to those affected by the case.

“This case is a prime example of the impact that can be made through the cooperative efforts of local and federal law enforcement. Thorough and efficient police work by the Alabaster Police Department, U.S. Postal Inspectors and the U.S. Secret Service led to a quick arrest of Stewart,” U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance wrote in a press release.

Source: shelby county reporter

Mass. corrections officer pleads guilty to attempting to smuggle heroin into prison www.privateofficer.com

BOSTON MA June 30 2011—A Massachusetts corrections officer has pleaded guilty to attempting to smuggle heroin to sell to inmates at a medium-security prison near Boston.

Ronald McGinn Jr. of Bridgewater pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to possession of heroin with intent to distribute at MCI-Norfolk.

Federal prosecutors say the 40-year-old sent text messages and discussed with an undercover FBI agent the amounts he would smuggle into the prison and fees he would charge to do so. He was arrested in April afternoon in possession of about 29 grams of heroin.

The investigation began after a Massachusetts Department of Corrections officer told the FBI that someone was smuggling contraband to the facility about 25 miles southwest of Boston.

McGinn faces up to 20 years in prison at sentencing set for Sept. 27.

EEOC sues Guardsmark for discrimination www.privateofficer.com

Memphis TN June 30 2011 The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Guardsmark Tuesday, accusing the Memphis-based company of ignoring the harassment of a guard.

The suit states that Inderpal Nayyar, who worked as a security guard for Guardsmark in San Jose, Calif., was harassed about his Indian national origin and his age. He was 66 years old at the time.

The suit said a co-worker ridiculed Nayyar's turban and his accent and would tell him that he was "too old" and "you need to retire."

The EEOC said Nayyar's numerous complaints to supervisors were ignored and he was involuntarily transferred. Nayyar's hours were reduced, he lost his benefits and he ultimately resigned.

Nayyar is a naturalized U.S. citizen of East Indian descent. He said he suffered retaliation for speaking out.

"All I wanted was to be able to do my job in peace," Nayyar said in a statement.

The civil suit against the actions was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Jose after first trying to reach a voluntary settlement, according to the EEOC.

Nayyar's suit seeks back pay, other monetary losses, compensatory and punitive damages and injunctive relief to prevent any future discrimination, the EEOC said.

Guardsmark did not respond to a request for a comment on the lawsuit.

"The law is very clear: all employees have the right to work in an environment free from hostility, intimidation and ridicule," said William R. Tamayo, EEOC regional attorney.

Source:Commercial Appeal

ST Cloud police shoot-kill armed woman www.privateofficer.com

ST. CLOUD Fla June 30 2011 – A woman has died after she was shot by police this morning during a confrontation.

Police said a call came in to 911 about 9:24 a.m. about a domestic dispute between two women who were roommates at a home in the 400 block of Tennessee Avenue. The person who made the call said one shot had already been fired.

When police arrived at the scene, the woman who made the call exited the house.

The second woman also came out of the house with a gun in her hand and ran away from police. Two officers chased her on foot and shot her in front of a home in the 400 block of Alabama Avenue just before 9:30 a.m., according to St. Cloud Police Chief Pete Gauntlett.

"It's my understanding she brandished the weapon toward the officers after repeatedly being told to drop it," Gauntlett said.

The woman was rushed to St. Cloud Regional Medical Center, where she died.

Crime-scene tape surrounds the Alabama Avenue property.

A van is inside the crime-scene boundary.

Police said the woman was shot near the van.

Neighbors said they heard four shots.

This incident was the first time in more than 20 years that a police officer in St. Cloud has shot someone. It is thought to be the first officer-involved fatal shooting in the city's history.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting.

Source:Orlando Sentinel

School security-police team up to bust burglars in Florida www.privateofficer.com

FORT PIERCE, Fla. June 30 2011-- Police have arrested three teenagers who they say were breaking into a Fort Pierce school.

WPBF 25 News was at Dan McCarty Middle School as police arrested the teens Monday.

"We received a call from school security, who were monitoring their security system," Capt. Greg Kirk said.

Police said the teens were seen on surveillance video ransacking a cubicle inside the school.

The director of safety and security for St. Lucie County schools just happened to be monitoring surveillance cameras from his home at the same time.

"That's how he caught them, sitting at home watching the cameras like we are here," Mark Woods said.

The school was burglarized a week before, and the detailed monitoring system in place stopped the same result from happening again.

"With the economy the way it is and the manpower shortage, we'd be in a lot of trouble without these cameras," Woods said.

The number of school break-ins increases every summer, and with surveillance cameras at schools throughout the county, authorities have a message for those thinking of testing the system.

"We'll get you," Woods said. "Eventually, we will get you."

Source:www.wpbf.com

Twin River casino officers snag suspect in theft www.privateofficer.com

LINCOLN, R.I. June 30 2011 - A Cranston teen is facing robbery charges after police say he tried to test his luck on some easy money at Twin River casino in Lincoln.

Mahler Petty, 19, was arraigned late Wednesday morning on charges of first-degree robbery, second-degree robbery, and one count of simple assault. He was ordered held without bail due to being a probation violator.

When officers arrived at the casino around 1:40 a.m. Wednesday, they found security guards struggling with Petty, who they said grabbed ticket vouchers from two different people.

One of the victims, a 51-year-old man, told police Petty had been "hovering" behind him as he played at one of the gaming machines. The man said he got nervous, decided to cash in his voucher, and that is when Petty grabbed the ticket.

As Petty ran through the casino, police said he grabbed another ticket from a 76-year-old woman. Security officers then caught up with Petty and restrained him until Lincoln police officers arrived.

Police said neither robbery victim was hurt. However, a security officer was injured after being struck in the face.

Source: WPRI

Omaha teens robbed fireworks stand, threaten security guard www.privateofficer.com

Omaha NE June 30 2011The strong armed robbery of a fireworks stand overnight has several teenagers facing loss of their independence. About two in the morning Tuesday the suspects threatened an unarmed security guard with a board.

The thieves grabbed about $5,000 worth of fireworks in a 20 minute spree. They cleared several tables of expensive fireworks and crammed it all in a van.

After the robbers left, the part time security guard called police and the van was stopped by a LaVista officer. Two 16 year olds were arrested but five others ran off.

Papillion police recovered all the stolen fireworks in tact. Lt Chris Whitted said the use of a two by six to threaten the overnight fireworks stand employee makes this more than a simple theft. Whitted said, “There are enhanced penalties for that. This is a serious situation and even though there was no other weapon present its still an act of violence.”

Stand owner Don Bellino said the thieves took big bang items. He has 10 armed security officers patrolling his stands across the metro to prevent future robberies. Bellino said, “There’s been some shoplifting from time to time but as far as somebody actually taking something by force, this is the first time in 35 years of business.”

Papillion police have leads in identifying the five suspects who fled the traffic stop by the LaVista officer.


Source:WOWT

Armed man arrested at Sacramento airport www.privateofficer.com

SACRAMENTO, Calif. June 30 2011— Authorities in California say a man was arrested at Sacramento International Airport after security officers found a loaded handgun and several rounds of ammunition in his backpack.

The Sacramento County Sheriff’s department says deputies arrested 49-year-old Tam Nguyen on Tuesday afternoon, after security officers found a firearm and ammunition at the bottom of the backpack.

The Sacramento Bee reports that Nguyen was booked at the Sacramento County Main Jail on suspicion of unlawful possession of a loaded, concealed firearm and unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He is being held on $60,000 bail and is expected to be arraigned this week.

Source:sacbee.com

Asst. Security Director Charged in Fraud Scheme www.privateofficer.com

Las Vegas NV June 30 2011 The assistant director of security for the Electric Daisy Carnival was one of two men arrested in an alleged scheme to produce and sell counterfeit show wristbands, according to an arrest report released Wednesday.

The alleged scheme unraveled when a friend at a printing business called Meelo Solis, an employee of Insomniac LLC, the event’s organizer, and told him about the rumored plan, the arrest report states.

That conversation and subsequent investigation by Metro Police led to the arrests of Aaron Hernandez, 37, and Pathomrat Kunawongse, 35, both of California.

As assistant director of security for the EDC, Hernandez had access to the wristband design on June 19, officials said. He allegedly met with Kunawongse that day at Aliante Station and gave him a paper with an image of the guest wristband to be used for the event, according to the arrest report.

The apparent agreement was this:

Kunawongse was supposed to find a printer to make fraudulent wristbands and have someone sell 5,000 at $200 apiece for a profit of $1 million. Hernandez, in turn, would get a 25 percent cut of the profit, according to details in the arrest report.

When the image made it to the printer, however, an unidentified man tipped off his friend at Insomniac LLC because he didn't want to be involved in illegal activity.

Insomniac LLC officials then told a small group of people, including Hernandez, about the alleged fraudulent wristband scheme, according to the arrest report. Hernandez then passed the information to Kunawongse, who canceled the order for the fraudulent wristbands, police said.

Police arrested Kunawongse during a staged meeting Friday with Solis at the Cosmopolitan. Hernandez was later arrested at Las Vegas Motor Speedway during the EDC.

Both suspects allegedly confessed to their involvement in the scheme, according to the arrest reports.

“Hernandez stated that he was sorry and that he knows what he did was stupid” but did so to earn extra money for his home, police wrote in the report.

Kunawongse was charged with burglary, attempting to obtain money under false pretenses, possession of stolen property, attempted forgery and conspiracy to commit a crime. Hernandez was charged with obtaining money under false pretenses, attempted forgery and conspiracy to commit a crime.

Source:Vegas Sun

Milwaukee cops hurt off duty will get less money www.privateofficer.com

Milwaukee WI June 30 2011 Dozens of Milwaukee police officers are being paid their full salaries for working in desk jobs after they were injured off duty, city officials told a Common Council committee Wednesday.

Although the practice has been going on for years, the city's chief labor negotiator now says the light-duty program was only supposed to be for officers injured on the job, and the city will no longer extend it to those injured off duty. This comes after the Journal Sentinel asked for records detailing how much those officers are being paid.

The city would save $1.3 million a year by replacing the 64 officers injured off duty with 43 lower-paid civilians, and the money saved could be used to hire 25 new officers to patrol the streets, the city budget office said. Officers injured on the job would still be eligible for light duty.

Police union leaders criticized the policy change, which one called "an attack on police officers." City labor negotiator Troy Hamblin predicted it would lead to years of legal battles.

The Police Department's light-duty program allows officers to keep working - at full pay - after they sustain injuries that keep them off street patrol but aren't serious enough to prevent them from working altogether. Many of those officers are in clerical jobs ordinarily filled by civilians. But under a program started by Police Chief Edward Flynn, some are taking police reports about minor incidents over the phone, freeing healthy officers to focus on more serious crimes.

As of June 6, the department had 121 officers on light duty, the city budget office said in a memo to the council's Finance & Personnel Committee.

Flynn calls that group "my virtual district," because it's about enough officers to staff an entire district station - or to add a pair of two-person squad cars to each of the existing seven police districts on all three shifts, seven days a week, said Mike Tobin, executive director of the city's Fire and Police Commission.

Of the 121 officers on light duty, 64 - more than half - were injured outside working hours, the budget office reported. City officials believe that was a misinterpretation of a union contract provision that was intended to cover only officers injured in the line of duty, Hamblin said.

But if it was a mistake, it's a mistake that's been going on for a long time. At least one such officer has been on light duty for a full 10 years, according to records provided by the Police Department in response to an open-records request from the Journal Sentinel.

The newspaper first requested the records in April and is still in discussions with the department to determine the total amount these officers have been paid.

Hamblin said he plans to notify the two unions representing sworn officers that the city will limit the light-duty program to officers injured on duty. Officers injured off duty could use up their sick leave, then transfer to one of the department's roughly 550 civilian jobs or leave the department, Hamblin and Tobin said.

But if they transfer to a civilian job, the injured officers would likely take a cut in both pay and pension, Tobin said.

That drew fire from the Milwaukee Police Association, representing rank-and-file officers and detectives, and the Milwaukee Police Supervisors' Organization, representing commanders below the rank of inspector.

"This appears to be nothing more than another attack on police officers," said Mike Crivello, president of the police association. He said city officials should show more respect for police instead of seeking ways "to take a benefit from officers to try to save a few bucks."

Thomas Klusman, labor relations manager for the police supervisors union, said Hamblin should have discussed the issue with the unions instead of imposing the change in a way that would lead to a complaint before the state Employment Relations Commission.

But Hamblin said the issue had been discussed with the police association in the past, to no avail.

"Maintaining the current policy is not fiscally responsible," Tobin said.

The change will treat police the same as any other city employees who are injured off the job, including firefighters, Tobin said.

Source:jsonline

Drunken teacher sprays police with breast milk www.privateofficer.com

Delaware County OH June 29 2011 A drunken Ohio woman was arrested Saturday after she allegedly sprayed sheriff’s deputies with breast milk, the Delaware County Sheriff's Office said.

Stephanie Robinette, 30, reportedly a charter school teacher, is accused of getting drunk at a wedding and starting a dispute, hitting her husband a few times and eventually locking herself into her car.

Authorities say that whey they arrived she was screamed profanities and proceeded to remove her right breast from her dress and spray the deputies with her breast milk. Additional deputies arrived and were able to remove her from the car and arrest her.

She was released Monday after being charged with domestic violence, assault, obstructing official business, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct, authorities said.

"I have no criminal record; I take these charges very seriously and I absolutely intend to seek help for substance abuse with alcohol because alcoholism does run in my family," Robinette said, 10TV News reported

Source:www.foxnews.com

Substitute Texas teacher under arrest for having sex with student www.privateofficer.com

Wichita Falls TX JUne 29 2011 A substitute teacher at Iowa Park High School was arrested after admitting to having sexual intercourse with one of her students in May, according to a Wichita County arrest warrant affidavit.

Wendy Diane Fox, 30, of Iowa Park, was charged with improper relationship between educator and student, a Felony-2 offense.

According to the arrest affidavit:

Iowa Park police officers went to Fox's home on Blue Jay Street about 8 a.m. on June 10 in connection with a domestic disturbance.

Fox's husband, Steven, told officers Fox was having sexual intercourse with a male student while employed by Iowa Park High School. Steven Fox also claimed his wife brought the student to their home.

Fox was interviewed at the Iowa Park Police Department and admitted to having intercourse with the victim four times. She claimed the first time was in May after the victim asked her to come to his house.

She also told police she met the victim in January and they would meet at Gordon Lake on a regular basis between January and May. She said they had become good friends and started "hanging out."

Police also interviewed the victim who confirmed and provided a written statement confirming the facts given by Fox.

Another person who was familiar with the relationship also was interviewed and provided officers with text messages confirming the relationship.

Fox's bond was set at $15,000.

Source:times record news

Hit and run drive speeds off with pedestrian lodged in vehicle www.privateofficer.com

HOUSTON TX June 29 2011– Charges are pending against a driver who struck and killed a pedestrian on a southeast Houston freeway early Tuesday, then fled the scene with the victim’s body still lodged in the car, according to Houston police.

HPD said a 32-year-old man pulled his Ford Explorer into the emergency lane on the left side of the Gulf Freeway southbound near Fuqua after it broke down around 12:30 a.m.

He was running back and forth across the lanes of the freeway when James John Onak, 49, struck him with his black Mazda 626.

The impact was so hard, the victim went through the windshield and came to rest in the front passenger seat, but that did not stop Onak.

Onak continued traveling with the body for a few miles until a Harris County Precinct 8 deputy constable pulled the car over on Beamer near Kirkvalley.

The deputy said he noticed the Mazda had extensive front-end damage and a deceased person in the seat.

Onak said he was aware he hit something, but was not aware a body was lying beside him, according to police.

Onak was then placed under arrest and a mandatory blood draw was issued.

He is now facing a felony charge of failure to stop and render aid and a misdemeanor charge of tampering with evidence.　

All southbound lanes of the freeway were shut down several hours while authorities investigated.

The victim’s identity is pending verification by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences.

Source:KHOU

Aaron Douglas, former Alabama football star dies of drug overdose www.privateofficer.com

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama June 29 2011-- Aaron Douglas died as the result of multiple drugs in his system, according to a Florida medical examiner's report.

al.com newspapers obtained a copy of the medical examiner's report this morning through a records request with the Duval County medical examiner's office in Florida. The autopsy was conducted May 13, and the manner of death was ruled an "accident." The 21-year-old's cause of death was ruled a "multiple drug toxicity" of methadone, diazepam and carisoprodol.

The former Alabama and Tennessee offensive lineman was found dead May 12 while vacationing in Florida. His body was discovered on a second-floor balcony at 2570 First Avenue in Fernandina Beach, Florida.

According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, methadone, though often known for its use as a withdrawal medication for opiad use, was designed as a pain reliever. Diazepam, marketed as Valium, typically helps relieve anxiety. Carisoprodol, known by the brand name Soma, is a muscle relaxant often prescribed to relieve pain and discomfort caused by strains, sprains and other muscle injuries.

Police said Douglas was traveling by taxi to Jacksonville following dinner May 11 when he received a phone call from two local women, who invited him to a party in Fernandina Beach. The autopsy report does not state how Douglas may have gotten the medications or whether they may have been prescribed to him.


Police said Douglas was last seen alive as late as 2 a.m. on May 12, and was discovered later that morning by an unidentified male resident

Source:al.com

Private equity firm buys Securitas Security www.privateofficer.com

Washington DC June 29 2011 Private equity firms Bain Capital and Hellman & Friedman have teamed up to buy security products maker Sweden's Securitas Direct, in a deal that could value the Sweden-based home alarm and security service company at around 2.3 billion ($3.26 billion).

Both PE firms beat a rival bid from power tools maker Stanley Black & Decker, Carlyle Group, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, Stanley Security Solutions and Apax Partner for Securitas Direct, which is owned by private-equity firm EQT Partners, Melker Schorling and its largest shareholder Investment AB Latour, which owns 7.5 per cent of the capital and 12.2 per cent of votes.

Founded in 1988 as a division of Securitas Group, Malmo, Sweden-based Securitas Direct makes high-quality security services based on a standardised range of alarm products to homes and small businesses, with markets in nine European markets.

The group, which has close to 1.3 million customers and holding more than 20 per cent of Europe's monitored alarms market, is active in ten countries, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Chile

It reported net income of SEK1.45 billion on revenues of SEK5.5 billion in 2010.

Securitas Direct demerged in 2006 from Securitas AB, the world's second-biggest security services firm and was a listed independently on the Stockholm Stock Exchange until 2008 when the company was acquired by EQT in a $1.6 billion deal.

EQT, backed by the Wallenberg family, had been hoping to sell Securitas Direct for more than 20 billion SEK ($3.1 billion).

VA juvenile officer faces vehicle fraud charges www.privateofficer.com

HENRICO COUNTY,VA June 29 2011 A scam by a Beaumont Juvenile Corrections officer has him under investigation, arrested and out of a job today as he is accused of defrauding area women out of thousands of dollars by selling them what appeared to be gently used vehicles. Instead, victim say, they were salvaged vehicles with stolen inspection stickers.

One Henrico woman says Meshack Obinna runs an auto dealership called, Southern Auto Sales and Rentals. The woman says she never received the title stating her car was rebuilt. The Henrico lady says she was skeptical and took the case to police and they realized her 2001 Nissan Altima also had a stolen inspection sticker, belonging to a newer vehicle.

Obinna tells CBS 6, the lady is telling a lie and he gave her the vehicle for free. However, the woman tells us, she paid close to $2700 for the car and has a paper receipt as proof.

Police believe other women were targeted by Obinna. They are urging you to review your automobile title and inspection sticker.
Obinna has been arrested and faces several felony charges. Police are also continuing their investigation and are asking anyone who has bought a vehicle from Obinna to contact police.

Traffic stop leads to $9 million dollar drug bust www.privateofficer.com

Pinal County AZ June 29 2011 Nearly $9 million worth of illegal drugs were seized by Pinal County deputies after a traffic stop, authorities said.

Almost 200 pounds of meth and about 103 pounds of black tar heroin were discovered in an SUV after it was stopped Friday traveling northbound on Arizona 347.

When the vehicle stopped, a male passenger leapt from the car and fled on foot.

The driver, 28-year-old Jessica Velasco, was arrested after deputies spotted several packages of what they believed to be illegal drugs from outside the car.

"Nothing in the vehicle is mine, the vehicle belongs to my husband and he is going to be pissed. I'm not a bad guy, just did a bad thing," Velasco said, according to the deputies.

She was booked on suspicion of possession of a dangerous drug, possession of a narcotic drug and transportation of a dangerous drug, among other charges.

She is being held on a $500,000 bond.

Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu said an investigation discovered that several people had smuggled the drugs in from Mexico and loaded them into the SUV for delivery throughout the United States.

Authorities are searching for the passenger.

Source:www.azcentral.com

Former Muslim Abercrombie & Fitch employee sues for illegal firing www.privateofficer.com

SAN FRANCISCO CA June 29 2011 (AP) -- A former stockroom worker for Abercrombie & Fitch Co. sued the clothing retailer in federal court Monday, saying she was illegally fired after refusing to remove her Muslim headscarf while on the job.

Hani Khan said a manager at the company's Hollister Co. store at the Hillsdale Mall in San Mateo hired her while she was wearing her hijab. The manager said it was OK to wear it as long as it was in company colors, Khan said.

Four months later, the 20-year-old says a district manager and human resources manager asked if she could remove the hijab while working, and she was suspended and then fired for refusing to do so.

It's the latest employment discrimination charge against the company's so-called "look policy," which critics say means images of mostly white, young, athletic-looking people. The New Albany, Ohio-based company has said it does not tolerate discrimination.

Still, Abercrombie has been the target of numerous discrimination lawsuits, including a federal class action brought by black, Hispanic and Asian employees and job applicants that was settled for $40 million in 2004. The company admitted no wrongdoing, though it was forced to implement new programs and policies to increase diversity.

"Growing up in this country where the Bill of Rights guarantees freedom of religion, I felt let down," Khan, now a college student studying political science, said at a news conference. "This case is about principles, the right to be able to express your religion freely and be able to work in this country."

Abercrombie defended its record in a comment provided to The Associated Press, saying diversity in its stores "far exceeds the diversity in the population of the United States."

"We comply with the law regarding reasonable religious accommodation, and we will continue to do so," said Rocky Robbins, the company's general counsel. "We are confident that when this matter is tried, a jury will find that we have fully complied with the law."

The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco comes after the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled in September that Khan was fired illegally. Khan's lawsuit was filed in conjunction with the EEOC's lawsuit.

It is not the first time the company has been charged with discriminating against Muslim women over the wearing of a hijab.

In 2009, Samantha Elauf, who was 17 at the time, filed a federal lawsuit in Tulsa, Okla., alleging the company rejected her for a job because she was wearing a hijab. That case is still ongoing.

The EEOC filed another lawsuit for the same reason, saying the company denied work to a hijab-wearing woman who applied for a stocking position in 2008 at an Abercrombie Kids store at the Great Mall in Milpitas, Calif.

Khan's attorney said her client is looking to get Abercrombie to change its "look policy" to allow religious headscarves to be worn by employees, and for unspecified damages. The lawsuit alleges violations of federal and state civil rights and employment laws.

"Abercrombie prides itself on requiring what it calls a natural classic American style. But there's nothing American about discriminating against someone because of their religion," said Araceli Martinez-Olguin, an attorney with the Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center.

"Such a look policy cannot be squared with our shared values. No worker should have to choose between their religion and their job."

Police officer who killed college student sues liquor store www.privateofficer.com

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. June 29 2011 -- A Westchester County police officer who fatally shot a Pace University football player is suing a liquor store he claims sold alcohol to the student, making him drunk and causing the altercation, The Journal News reported Tuesday.

Pleasantville, N.Y., officer Aaron Hess claims the store is responsible for the injuries he suffered during the incident, which culminated in Hess being hit by a car and subsequently shooting its 20-year-old occupant, Danroy Henry Jr.

The suit was filed Friday in White Plains state court against Briarcliff Wines & Liquor. A lawyer for the establishment refuted the claim, telling Hess' attorney that another store sold the student-athlete alcohol, according to The Journal News.

Henry was shot early on the morning of Oct. 17 while behind the wheel of his car outside Finnegan's Grill in Mount Pleasant, N.Y., where a brawl had broken out following the Pace homecoming game.

Police claimed Hess and fellow officer Ronald Beckley opened fire after Henry abruptly tried to drive his car out of a fire lane, hitting Hess, a third cop and then a police car outside the restaurant.

An autopsy found Henry had a blood alcohol reading of 0.13, but the sportsman's family strenuously denied that he was drunk when the shooting occurred.

A Westchester County grand jury ruled in February it would not indict Hess and Beckley for their role in the shooting death of the sportsman.

Henry's family filed a civil rights lawsuit against Hess in April, seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. The case is ongoing.

Source:pocono record

32 people shot in Philadelphia in 3 days www.privateofficer.com

Philadelphia PA June 29 2011 It was a weekend of violence and mayhem - brutal even by Philadelphia standards. From Friday through Sunday, 32 people were wounded, six fatally, in about 20 shootings across the city, police said, and a seventh person died in a stabbing.

Police are also investigating four assaults and robberies committed by "roving packs of young people" leaving a North Philadelphia street festival Saturday night, Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey said.

Police had not yet determined if the 32 shooting victims represented the worst three-day span of violence in the department's recent history. But Ramsey said the onslaught stood out as one of the worst in his 31/2-year Philadelphia tenure.

"I don't know if we've ever had any more over a three-day period," he said of the shootings during a news conference Monday at Police Headquarters. "This certainly ranks right at the top, if not the top. It shows just how violent it can become on the streets of our city."

"We are lucky we did not have more homicides," Ramsey said, referring to two shootings in which 10 people were injured and in which police recovered more than 20 shell casings.

"Each bullet could be a homicide," Ramsey said.

Police released surveillance footage of one of those shootings Monday, an altercation early Sunday at a Nicetown bar, startling in its randomness.

About 12:45 a.m., a man returned to the Genesis Bar a minute after he was thrown out by a bouncer for smoking. Angry over being tossed, police said, the patron retrieved a handgun from his car.

He opened fire from the doorway, striking six people in six seconds, police said. Among the victims was Carl Sharper, 43, of Germantown, a Water Department employee who happened to be enjoying a few beers with a cousin, according to his family. He was shot once in the head and died at the scene, police said.

The footage shows the shooter, a black man who looks to be in his late 20s or early 30s, arriving alone at the crowded bar about 11:30 p.m. He talked in a Caribbean accent, police said, and had a shaved head and a mustache.

He sat alone at the corner of the bar and drank five or six beers, Homicide Capt. James Clark said. He became unruly and lit a cigarette. A bouncer can be seen grabbing him from behind and pushing him out the door.

The man can be seen jumping up and down in the street and yelling at the bouncer. He returns a minute later and fires through a glass door.

The victims were all patrons, Clark said.

"They were just inside laughing, joking, and just having a good time," he said. "This shooter had a blatant disregard for human life. He could have killed 11 people."

A 33-year-old man was shot twice in the back and a 44-year-old woman was shot twice in the stomach. Both were in critical condition Monday.

Sharper's family gathered Monday on the porch of his parents' home on the 200 block of Queen Lane, the same block where Sharper lived with his fiancée.

The family immigrated to the United States from Guyana when Sharper was 3, said his father, Simon.

Relatives described Carl Sharper as hardworking, respectful, and a loyal friend.

"When I think of his kindness and his beautifulness as a son, it becomes too much," said Simon Sharper, sitting near his wife, Prudence.

Sharper and Drexie Charles were to be married in August. Charles said she had spoken to him by phone not long before the attack. He told her he was having a few beers and then would come home.

"I still am in shock," Charles said. "I keep waiting for someone to tell me it was a mistake - to see him coming walking down the street."

Leon Odom, 45, was going to be the best man at Sharper's wedding. They had been friends since childhood. There was not a confrontational bone in Sharper's body, Odom said.

"He was the most loyal friend," he said.

Police asked for the public's help in reviewing the footage and identifying the shooter. The security cameras caught clear images of his face.

"We have witnesses," Clark said. "We just need a name and we should be able to arrest this individual and bring him to justice."

Police were also searching for five teenagers involved in a Sunday night shooting outside a Strawberry Mansion recreation center. Nyeme Taylor, 30, was killed and three others injured, including a 6-year-old girl who was shot twice in the face. She was in critical condition Monday.

"It was a savage thing to do," Ramsey said of the shooting.

Also killed in four shootings, spread out over the weekend and the city, were Edwin Smith, 21; Edward Scarborough, 23; Duane Isaacs, 48; and Raymond Butts, 22. A 19-year-old man has been arrested in Smith's death.

Rodney Seabrook, 58, died after being stabbed in the chest Friday morning in West Philadelphia, police said.

Police are also investigating beatings and robberies committed by teens leaving the Susquehanna Community Festival. About 9:30 p.m. Saturday, about 200 teenagers streamed down Broad Street in packs, said Capt. Sharon Seaborough of Central Detectives.

At Broad and Green Street, a group of male teens swarmed two woman, punching and kicking them. One of the women, Emily Guendelsberger, 27, a writer and editor at the satirical newspaper the Onion, was hospitalized with a leg injury, police said. Police said they believe that shortly before that attack, the teens beat a 20-year-old man at Broad and Fairmount Avenue. No arrests have been made in those attacks.

Around the same time, police said, other teens who had left the festival committed two robberies near Broad and Walnut Street.

Deputy Commissioner Kevin Bethel said the attacks, which were apparently not coordinated, did not fit the profile of a "flash mob."

Ramsey called on parents to better monitor their children attending concerts and festivals.

"We need parents to step up and really pay attention to where their kids are going and what they're doing," he said.

As for the shootings, Deputy Commissioner Richard Ross said the department would continue to target hot-spot neighborhoods.

Ramsey said police would work to prevent retaliatory acts stemming from the weekend's violence. He called on community members to assist police.

"There are people out there who know exactly who are responsible for these crimes," Ramsey said. "They need to speak up."

Source:philly.com

Ohio town looks to levies for police and fire services to help budget defecits www.privateofficer.com

FAIRBORN OH June 29 2011 — The Fairborn City Council is considering putting two 4.4-mill levies for police and fire services on the November ballot.

City officials say Fairborn would face more than a $1.8 million deficit in 2012 if current levies expire and no new levies are passed this fall.

They said subsequent cuts would hamper safety services and possibly result in job losses, furloughs and/or trying to negotiate pay cuts.

“We are bare bones,” Fairborn City Manager Deborah McDonnell said during Monday night’s special session of the city council. “We don’t have a lot of fat (to cut).”

As a group, the council leaned toward separate police and fire levies, based in part because of residents’ comments about what would be palatable to voters. The council will consider a motion July 25 and again will accept residents’ comments.

A spreadsheet simulator showed how different numbers in police, fire, street light and general fund millage affected the 2012 and later budgets.

The separate, dedicated 4.4-mill levies for police and fire would be needed to avoid deficits. That would amount to an additional $17.24 per month ($135 per year) for the owner of a $100,000 home.

One budget scenario with no new money coming in presumed that the police, fire and general fund each would each be cut an equal amount.

Police Chief Terry Barlow said a $500,000 cut to his department likely would mean trimming four sworn officers from the staff of 40 and one from the staff of five non-sworn officers.

Barlow said his department has been reduced from around 67 people to what could be 48 in less than two years. Compounding the staffing issue is that since the Fairborn jail closed, officers must take suspects to Xenia, which takes at least an hour to drive plus processing time.

Barlow also noted the Internet predator initiative has been dropped, as have bicycle patrol and one of two Fairborn spots from the county’s drug task force. He also said while staff has decreased, police calls have increased from 14,143 in 1985 to 35,194 in 2010.

Fairborn Fire Chief Mike Riley said that if his department were cut much more than $500,000, he likely would need to lay off two people, permanently close Station 2 and run Station 3 only as staffing permitted.

The department has 48 firefighters, but would need 52 to keep all four stations fully operational.

A 9.9-mill levy that the city said was to be used for mostly police and fire services was soundly defeated in November 2010.

Source:Dayton Daily News

Kansas court clerk arrested for $100,000 embezzlement www.privateofficer.com

Merriam KS June 29 2011 Authorities say that an investigation into theft at the courthouse has ended with the arrest of a former Merriam Municipal Court lead clerk. Police say she has been charged with embezzling more than $100,000 from the city.

The Kansas City Star reports 35-year-old Fabiola Cruz was arrested Monday on charges of one count of theft by embezzlement of more than $100,000 and four counts of a computer crime.

Cruz was making her first appearance in Johnson County District
Court on Tuesday afternoon.

The charges stem from an internal audit that discovered discrepancies relating to the collection of court fines in numerous municipal court files. The Merriam Police Department conducted a
criminal investigation as a result of the audit.

Neither the Johnson County Jail nor district court clerk had records indicating she had hired an attorney.

Alaska security company owner charged with molesting young girls www.privateofficer.com

PALMER AK June 29 2011 — A 50-year-old businessman has been charged with multiple sexual abuse charges after police say he molested two girls, under the age of 10.

According to an affidavit Wasilla Police Department Investigator Ruth Josten filed in the case against Lyn Roger Christian, the girl first spoke about what happened in March, regarding incidents she said happened in 2009 or earlier.

Josten writes that Christian owned Mat-Su Security at the time and Kenai Security. A state database of business licenses shows Christian as the holder of the license for Kenai Security, which provides security guards and patrol services. The license is still active, according to the state. There is no listing in the database for Mat-Su Security.

Christian lived in Soldotna but came to Wasilla regularly, which is where he first came into contact with the two girls, Josten wrote.

The girl told Josten that Christian molested her more than a dozen times, asking him to touch her and performing sex acts on her as well as watching her perform sex acts on her own.

The other girl who Christian is alleged to have molested was staying the night with the first girl at the time. They were laying on a bed watching a movie and Christian came to lay with them.

Christian asked her to touch him and she did before she knew what she was doing. Then she ran to the bathroom and locked the door.

“She stayed there until she cooled down and ‘got all the weird feeling out of me… washed my hands,” Josten wrote. When she went back to the bedroom, Christian was gone. “She never talked to him again and never told anyone about this because she was scared. She never spent the night at (her friend’s) house again.”

As for Christian, Josten recorded a conversation on June 1 in which he denied ever forcing anything on the girls.

“She ‘called the shots.’ He admitted there was ‘minor touching’ and ‘minor oral sex,’” Josten wrote. “Christian repeated that he never forced her but instead let her ‘run her own game.’”

He accused the girl of calling him upstairs and said she ‘made the initial contact.’”

During a second recorded conversation on June 8, Christian denied everything, calling the girl a “major manipulator” and saying “kids lie and fabricate and they stick together.”

Christian was charged with five counts of first-degree and four counts of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor, and three counts of indecent exposure. The first-degree sexual abuse charges are unclassified felonies, the most serious class of criminal charges in Alaska, with a sentencing range of up to 99 years in prison.

Court records show he had an indecent exposure and evidence tampering case filed in the Kenai judicial district in 2006 that was pled down to a misdemeanor.

Source:The Frontiersman

Case against woman arrested for videotaping police dismissed www.privateofficer.com

Rochester NY June 29 2011 The case against a Rochester woman arrested while videotaping police has been dismissed.

Early Monday afternoon, demonstrators rallied outside the Hall of Justice in support of Emily Good, the city woman who was arrested while videotaping police officers during a traffic stop on May 12th in front of her 19th Ward home. (Click here to watch the video)

Good kept recording police officers while standing in her front yard even though an officer ordered her several times go inside. She was charged with obstructing of governmental administration. Since then, the video from that night has made it onto news shows across the country.

Good's attorney, Stephanie Stare, had asked for the charges to be dismissed. In court Monday, the District Attorney's office says based on a review of the evidence, there was no legal basis to go forward. The charge was withdrawn and the judge dismissed the case.

Several of Good's supporters who filled the small courtroom quietly cheered as the case was dismissed. They hugged her outside the courtroom and Good said "I think there are weaknesses in the brotherhood of the police, and they are not above the law."

Good was asked if she would do it over again. "Yes, I would do it again. And I would encourage other people to do the same thing. Carry a camera. Stand your ground. Go to the scene of flashing lights and observe what's going on. Keep a safe distance."

News 10 NBC's Ray Levato asked "Do you think there is racial profiling going on?" Good answered, "Everyday. Everyday. Absolutely."

KaeLyn Rich, a spokeswoman for the Rochester office of the New York Civil Liberties Union afterwards called city police actions "a disgusting disregard for an individual's First Amendment rights to videotape in public spaces. I hope we can repair the relationship between the community and the police by holding police accountable, and making sure police officers are getting the training they need to respect people's constitutional rights."

Supporter Rev. Willie Harvey of the Peace Baptist Church said "the police did the wrong thing."

City activist Howard Eagle, a spokesman for a Rochester Anti-racism Movement said "This case really is about racial profiling. That's the reason why Emily Good grabbed her camera in the first place and began to record the activity of the police. She suspected that a young black man was being racially profiled."

A joint statement issued by Mayor Tom Richards, City Council President Lovely Warren and Rochester Police Chief James Sheppard says they support the decision of the District Attorney's Office to dismiss the charges against Good. Click here to watch the video of Chief Sheppard's statement.

The statement says whatever the specific circumstances that led to Good's arrest, they see no purpose in pursuing the criminal charges.

The statement continues, "We believe that the incident that led to Ms. Good's arrest and the subsequent ticketing for parking violations of vehicles belonging to members of an organization associated with Ms. Good raise issues with respect to the conduct of Rochester Police Officers that require an internal review. A review into both matters has been initiated."

"Police officers must be able to cope with a high degree of stress while performing oftentimes dangerous duties, relying on their training and experience to guide their behavior. As routine as a traffic stop may appear, it has proven over time to be a potentially dangerous activity for police. Nonetheless, police must conduct themselves with appropriate respect for the rights of those involved or who are observing their actions."

"There is a mandated legal process that governs our internal response when police officer behavior is called into question. We must respect this process and that may be frustrating to those who may have already made up their mind about the outcome. We have confidence that the review will be fair and impartial and invite Ms. Good and anyone else with firsthand information to participate. We will withhold our judgment until the review is completed."

"Whatever the outcome of the internal review, we want to make clear that it is not the policy or practice of the Rochester Police Department to prevent citizens from observing its activities - including photographing or videotaping - as long as it does not interfere with the safe conduct of those activities. It is also not the policy or practice of the Department to selectively enforce laws in response to the activities of a group or individual. This has always been the case and it is being reinforced within the Department, so that it will be abundantly clear to everyone.

Source:WHEC

Copper thefts at the North Pole lands man in jail www.privateofficer.com

NORTH POLE, Alaska June 29 2011 — A 28-year-old North Pole man has been charged with stealing copper wire at Eielson Air Force Base.

Alaska State Troopers said Monday Raymond Webber was booked into Fairbanks Correctional Center on charges of theft and evidence tampering.

Air Force Security officers contacted troopers June 16 about the wire theft. The metal is estimated to be worth $7,000 to $10,000.

Troopers reported the arrest Monday morning.

Tulsa security officer shoots man involved in domestic dispute www.privateofficer.com

Tulsa OK June 29 2011 Police are investigating a shooting at the Bristol Park Apartments located at E 45th St. S and S Garnett Rd.

Officers say it happened just after 8:30 p.m.

Police tell KTUL.com it started with a domestic dispute.

Before officers could arrive on the scene, they say the apartment's security guard got into an altercation with the male involved in the domestic dispute.

Officers say the security guard shot the male in the leg, then the male took off on foot, ending up at Brown Mackie College.

The man's injuries are not life-threatening.

The security guard was taken to the police station for questioning.

Source:ktul

Ga. grandmother accused of beating, molesting 3 year old grandchild www.privateofficer.com

ROSWELL, Ga. June 29 2011-- A Roswell grandmother is in the Fulton County Jail after, police said, she beat and sexually assaulted a grandchild.

Lorraine Grant, 41, faces child cruelty and other charges.

Investigators said the 3-year-old girl had been visiting Grant from California and suffered cracked ribs, bruises, and burns to her body during the stay.

Lt. James McGee told Channel 2’s Mike Petchenik the girl’s mother flew to Atlanta last weekend to pick up the girl after Grant, who is her mother-in-law, stopped returning calls.

McGee said she noticed the burns and bruises and contacted East Point police, because she had been staying in a hotel near the airport. Medical workers took the girl to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston, where X-rays revealed broken ribs, said McGee.

McGee said Roswell officers raided Grant’s Treeridge Parkway apartment Sunday looking for evidence but couldn’t find Grant. He said she turned herself in to police late Monday afternoon.

Petchenik spoke to neighbors, who said they heard Grant cursing at the girl and two other boys living in the home. McGee said DFACS took the two boys into custody and were investigating whether they’d also been abused.

Knoxville police say man armed with pellet gun was suicide by cop www.privateofficer.com

Knoxville TN June 29 2011 Police on Friday released video of what they say was a "suicide by cop" in which officers fired 40 rounds, striking the suspect with 13 of them.

The video from in-cruiser cameras shows that when a Knoxville police negotiator called 34-year-old Guy Ronald McDowell on his cellphone for a second time, McDowell abruptly stopped his car on Interstate 275, got out, pointed and racked what turned out to be a pellet gun at the officers.

Officers responded, shooting 40 times, and hitting McDowell a total of 13 times, said KPD Police Chief David Rausch.

On Friday, KPD released three videos and additional details of the April 14 shooting deemed a case of "suicide by cop" in the middle of I-275 South near the Woodland Drive interchange.

Rausch said the department released the videos after a number of media requests. He said before releasing the footage the department did contact McDowell's family.

"We try to keep in line with what we're required to do and when (the media) requests the video and we are able to release it, then we release it," he said. "There is nothing to keep us from releasing it."

Rausch said the incident began after McDowell called the Knox County E-911 Center and reported there had been a shootout in Halls. He called again a few minutes later, describing his vehicle and saying he wanted to surrender.

Officers located McDowell's vehicle on Central Avenue Pike and began to follow him. At one point in one of the videos, McDowell is shown stopping his vehicle and getting out of the car with a gun in his hand. Officer Charles Lyons, who was following him, immediately put distance between his car and McDowell's and informed dispatch that the suspect had a weapon.

Lyons, along with other officers, continued to follow McDowell until he stopped in the middle of I-275, almost causing one of the police cars to rear-end him.

"Officers gave clear instruction to Mr. McDowell to exit the vehicle with his hands up. Mr. McDowell chose to exit with the firearm, pointed it at officers and then made a racking motion with the weapon as he leveled it at the officers," Rausch said.

McDowell's weapon later was determined to be a pellet gun made to look like a chrome-plated 9 mm Beretta semi-automatic pistol. The District Attorney General's Office cleared all the involved officers of any wrongdoing, and all have been returned to full duty.

"Officers responded to this lethal action to protect their lives. Officers ceased firing when they realized the threat had been controlled. Even after the shooting, Mr. McDowell became combative with medical responders who were attempting to provide him with medical care," Rausch said.

"From the initial traffic stop to the unfortunate confrontation, the officers displayed the highest level of professionalism in the manner in which they responded to this tragic situation," the chief said.

Rausch said they will utilize the videos as training tools.

"In my opinion, we handled this situation as well as we could. It was very clear from the start that we were dealing with someone who was distraught, and he had a weapon, and he's very dangerous," he said. "Until it was all over, we didn't know the weapon wasn't a functional firearm, and we would not have known that."

Source:knoxnews.com

Vancouver mall security accused of beating men www.privateofficer.com

Vancouver CA June 29 2011 Three men who say they were brutally beaten at the hands of the private security at Vancouver's Harbour Centre Mall sued the security firm Tuesday.

Shawn Alexander, Richard Kreke, and Luis Larrain say in lawsuits and in human rights complaints that employees of Fusion Security targeted them because they appeared to be poor.

"When private security single out people, there has to be repercussions. There has to be consequences," said the trio's lawyer, Douglas King, of Pivot Legal Society.

Alexander claimed that he and Kreke were leaving the BC Liquor Store on October 28, 2010, when they were stopped by security guards, dragged into a stairwell, and beaten viciously.

Pictures taken of the scene show blood all over the floor of the stairwell, and Alexander with blood seeping through heavy bandages on his head. He was taken to hospital and given nine stitches.

The lawsuit also claims that witnesses heard the beating and banged on the door to get security guards to open it, but the doors stayed closed.

The pair, who are admitted alcoholics, visit the liquor store three to five times a week, according to the claim.

Alexander said Tuesday that he was taken completely by surprise.

"I thought perhaps someone fit my description (and they were going after that person)," he said. "There was no reason for that to happen."

Luis Larrain said he was the victim of a similar beating about two months later in a similar lawsuit and human rights complaint.

Larrain had already been warned not to sell Hope in Shadows calendars on mall property, he said Tuesday, so he was selling them at Waterfront Station on Christmas Eve, 2010.

He said he needed to go to the bathroom and that's when guards grabbed him.

"They pushed me into the alley…they jumped on my back, they broke my shoulder," he said Tuesday. His left arm was fractured and his knee and back were bruised, and he contracted an infection in his left eye after his face was pushed to the floor, Larrain alleges in the statement of claim.

"It's not fair. They're not allowed to do that. They're not police officers," he said.

Const. Lindsey Houghton of the Vancouver Police said officers attended the October 28 incident, but decided there wasn't enough evidence to lay criminal charges.

Houghton said there was no record at the VPD of the December 24 incident.

Private security firms are licensed by the province. Provincial records show no previous violations by Fusion Security.

Alexander says he won't go back to the Harbour Centre.

"Even when I go by it on the bus, you know, it's very traumatizing," he said.

Harbour Centre Mall refused to comment on the case on Tuesday.

Fusion refused to comment on the specific incidents, but admitted over the phone that the company has incident reports for both encounters. In a statement e-mailed to CTV News, Fusion Security Vice-President Harry Stausgaard reiterated that police didn't lay charges in either incident.

Immigrant high school students arrested in Georgia protest www.privateofficer.com

Atlanta GA June 29 2011

Six undocumented immigrant high school students—Dulce Guerrero, Jessica Vasquez, Rolando Zenteno, Nataly Ibarra, Felipe Baeza and Leeidy Solis, some as young as 16 years old—have been arrested by police while protesting the Georgia’s anti-immigrant law at the state capitol today.

A federal judge has issued a temporary block against two of the harshest provisions of Georgia’s new sweeping anti-immigrant law, HB 87, just days before the law is set to go into effect.

Most of the law still stands, and is set to go into effect later this week, on July 1. Today, a handful of Georgia undocumented immigrant youth are headed to Atlanta to protest the law and this afternoon plan to risk arrest by announcing their status in the state capitol.

U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Thrash issued an injunction against the provisions of HB 87 which were designed to mimic Arizona’s anti-immigrant SB 1070, including a provision which would have empowered police to investigate the immigration statuses of people they had “reasonable suspicion” to believe were undocumented. Judge Thrash also enjoined, pending the outcome of a court challenge to the law, the portion of HB 87 which made it a state crime to harbor or transport an undocumented immigrant.

Yet the undocumented immigrant youth who are headed to the state capitol aren’t letting up.

“Our biggest fear is that people think that some form of injunction against HB 87 means we can breathe a sigh of relief,” said Mohammad Abdollahi, an undocumented immigrant activist and cofounder of the immigrant youth clearinghouse DreamActivist.org said from Georgia.

“The things that HB 87 would have allowed are already happening in Georgia, with or without the law,” Abdollahi said, citing local enforcement policies that crack down on people who drive without a license and Secure Communities, an immigration enforcement program that allows the federal government to have access to the rolls of anyone who’s booked in a participating county’s local jails, even if charges are never filed or people are eventually acquitted.

On July 1, the state will go ahead with adopting the provisions of HB 87 which restrict immigrants’ access to public benefits and mandate the adoption of E-Verify, the controversial federal employment verification database. Thrash threw out arguments that challenged HB 87’s mandatory E-Verify provision. E-Verify supposedly cracks down on bosses that hire undocumented workers by requiring bosses to check the Social Security Numbers of workers against a flawed database.

Still, Georgia lawmakers consider E-Verify a crucial win. “We know the No. 1 incentive that exists for illegal aliens to come to Georgia is access to private sector jobs,” Republican state Rep. Matt Ramsey told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

It’s this climate of fear and anti-immigrant legislation that Georgia’s immigrant youth are protesting today.

“It’s crazy because you can’t even work,” said Jessica Vasquez, an 18-year-old high schooler who’s undocumented. “What are we supposed to live off of if you can’t even work?”

Vasquez will be one of several undocumented immigrant youth who plan to take part in civil disobedience this afternoon to protest HB 87, as well as a new ban Georgia adopted that forbids undocumented immigrant students from enrolling in any of the state’s top five public universities.

“I can’t live my life in fear. I’m tired of waiting.”

Vasquez said that even though HB 87 and other state immigration laws are tied up in the courts, they’ve successfully frightened the immigrant community, and that she’s noticed its impact on her own family.

“Every night I text my mom when she is at work and ask her, ‘Where are you? Are you okay? Are you coming home?’ and when she doesn’t answer I get mad at her because anything could happen to her,” Vasquez said. “When she comes in the door, I’m always waiting for her, just to know that nothing happened to her. That’s how hard it is.”

“The ruling is a partial victory for immigrant communities,” said Teodoro Maus, a plaintiff in the lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of HB 87 who represents the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights. “Before HB 87 became law there was such aggression and misinformation about the Latino community. What HB 87 was trying to do was institutionalize it, and then harden to criminalize every action that Latino and other immigrants would need to live.”

Monday’s injunction is the fourth such ruling to be issued against a state immigration law. Similar injunctions have been granted against Arizona’s SB 1070, the Utah Compact, Indiana’s HB 590. The Department of Justice sued Arizona, arguing that immigration enforcement is strictly the territory of the federal government, but has yet to take action against the many other states who’ve passed restrictive anti-immigrant policy since.

Fla sheriffs shoot-kill elderly man who pointed gun at them www.privateofficer.com

PALM HARBOR FLA June 29 2011 — A 73-year-old man upset about the financial stipulations in his recent divorce was fatally shot by deputies Tuesday morning after he barged into his ex-wife's home with a gun, authorities said.

Edward Warren DiGrandi of Powell, Ohio, was shot multiple times after he pointed his handgun at deputies, who had pulled him over not far from his ex-wife's home at 2966 Sumner Way in Palm Harbor.

Just before 7 a.m., 67-year-old Mary Susan Gunther Marino "heard the dog barking and saw a figure in the window" outside her pink stucco home in the Crossings at Lake Tarpon subdivision.

When Marino opened the door to see who was there, DiGrandi pushed past her, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. Marino knocked the gun from DiGrandi's hand, then ran to a neighbor's home and called 911, the Sheriff's Office said. Marino, who goes by Sue or Susan, was not hurt.

DiGrandi knocked on the neighbor's door where Marino had taken refuge, but left when no one answered, deputies said.

Marino's daughter, Carrie Schranz, 43, of Clearwater, said the family is doing as well as they can given the day's circumstances. Schranz declined to comment further, and Marino could not be immediately reached.

Authorities soon found DiGrandi driving a gold 2011 Toyota Camry near Tampa Road. They stopped him on Alderman Road about 8 a.m. Deputies said he may have been headed to Schranz's house.

DiGrandi got out of the car with his gun pointed at his chest, deputies said. It appeared he was going to shoot himself, they said.

"As he stood there next to the vehicle, the deputies shouted commands for him to drop the gun," Chief Deputy Bob Gualtieri said. "He turned the gun and pointed it directly at the deputy, who was no more than 10 feet away from him."

Three responding sheriff's deputies — Jeff Crandall, 53, Robert Wojciechowski, 45, and Kris Fratus, 42 — opened fire on DiGrandi. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

His weapon, a .38-caliber gun, was recovered at the scene.

No deputies were injured.

All three deputies are veteran officers. They were placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation, which is standard protocol when a deputy is involved in a shooting.

The Sheriff's Office declined to say how many times DiGrandi was shot, but said an autopsy would be performed by the Pinellas-Pasco Medical Examiner's Office.

After the shooting, Alderman was closed for several hours in both directions from Belcher Road to U.S. 19 as deputies investigated, but was reopened about 1 p.m.

It appears DiGrandi drove more than a thousand miles for the confrontation. The Toyota had Ohio plates, and DiGrandi had told his adult son in Ohio that he planned to come to Pinellas to discuss money issues and his recent divorce from Marino.

The former couple, who were married in Clearwater in September 1998, finalized their divorce about 21/2 weeks ago after nearly a year of contention, according to Pinellas court records.

In divorce filings, Marino said DiGrandi had cleaned her out when they separated in June 2010. She said he had cashed in two certificates of deposit totalling about $53,000, had sold their boat worth about $5,000 and pocketed the proceeds and had transferred nearly $13,000 of debt onto a credit card in her name before he left the state to join his ex-wife in Ohio.

In the final divorce decree, a judge said a separate order would be entered to award Marino about $41,000 in money owed to her. The judge also ordered DiGrandi to pay Marino $750 a month in alimony for seven years, to be garnished from his Social Security checks, because he had taken "what amounts to all of the cash assets acquired" during the marriage and increased Marino's living expenses by leaving her with the credit card debt.

DiGrandi's first alimony payment was due on Friday.

DiGrandi, who was working as a security guard in Ohio, did not attend the final divorce hearing, according to the document.

Marino is a co-owner of PMS Management Services in Palm Harbor, according to court filings.

On June 8, Marino used her Facebook page to announce to the world that the divorce was finalized. She wrote: "It's official ... D-I-V-O-R-C-E-D !!! June 8, 2011 Please erase the name DiGrandi from your memory, your address books and any other place you may have associated me."

Her Facebook page lists her as a 1961 graduate of Boca Ciega High School in St. Petersburg.

Marino made local news last June after a detective from Malden, Mass., went to great lengths to track her down as he was doing research about her father. Her father, Lt. Walter J. Gunther Jr., was a U.S. Army paratrooper who was killed on D-day — June 6, 1944 — when Marino was a baby.

The incident Tuesday was the second Pinellas deputy-involved shooting in a week. On June 21, deputies shot and wounded a 28-year-old man accused of stalking an ex-girlfriend after he tried to wrest away a deputy's gun at a drugstore in Lealman.

Times researcher Shirl Kennedy contributed to this report. Marissa Lang can be reached at mlang@sptimes.com (727) 893-8871.



Witnesses sought

Detectives said they would like to speak to several people they believe witnessed the shooting on Alderman. They are looking to speak with the driver and/or passengers of a red pickup truck that was at Grove Park Road and Alderman Road; a white pickup truck that was westbound on Alderman; a dark-colored crossover sport utility vehicle that was westbound on Alderman; and a white male on a bike who was westbound on Alderman. They ask that any witnesses call Pinellas County sheriff's Detective Todd Green at (727) 582-6200.

Source:TBO

Pensacola Internet sex sting nabs 25 in week-long operation www.privateofficer.com

PENSACOLA, Florida June 28 2011 - Twenty-five men have been arrested on felony charges after an intensive week-long undercover operation involving multiple law enforcement agencies determined they were using the internet to arrange sexual encounters with minors.

Operation Blue Shepherd began June 20 with 30 officers from local, state and federal agencies participating. Officers conducted the undercover investigation from a house in the northeast part of Pensacola.

Pensacola Police Capt. Paul Kelly said officers used various social networking and E-commerce sites to respond to advertisements of a sexual nature and to place similar advertisements.

The suspects specifically described various sexual acts they were going to do with the male and female children ages 12 to 14 whom they believed they were talking with. All of the suspects, except one who took a taxi, drove to the undercover house with the intent to perform these sexual acts with the children. Upon arrival, they were arrested and questioned.

Kelly said officers were surprised to find so many eager participants from the immediate Pensacola area.

“We expected to have more violators traveling from outside the area. What this tells me is that these violators do not have to travel far to find their victims. They are much closer to home than we imagined. Most of them were not reluctant or frightened to approach the door of a stranger's house. They literally pulled up to the house and walked quickly to the door eager to meet the child,” Kelly said.

Agencies participating in Operation Blue Shepherd were the State Attorney's Office, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Immigration and Customs Enforcement , Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Escambia County Sheriff's Office, Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office, Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office, Walton County Sheriff's Office, Alachua County Sheriff's Office, Gainesville Police Department, Fort Walton Beach Police Department, Tallahassee Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Most of the agencies are members of the North Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which funded the operation, and used it as a means of cracking down on internet sexual crimes against children.

Arrested were:

Karl Scheffing, 40, of 2426 Rebout Ave., Pensacola. Charged with using a computer to solicit parent/guardian consent, travel to meet/use computer to solicit guardian, and using a 2-way communication device to facilitate felony.

Christopher Saldana, 24, of 36 Bay Cove, Freeport. Charged with using a computer to solicit parent/guardian consent, travel to meet/use computer to solicit guardian, using a 2-way communication device to facilitate felony, and possession of marijuana not more than 20 grams.

Michael Armstrong, 21, of 645 James Lee Blvd., Fort Walton Beach. Charged with lewd and lascivious behavior on a victim 12 to 16 years old, using a computer to solicit parent/guardian consent, travel to meet/use computer to solicit guardian, and using a 2-way communication device to facilitate felony.

Matthew Marana, 27, address unavailable. Charged with using a computer to solicit parent/guardian consent, travel to meet/use computer to solicit guardian, and using a 2-way communication device to facilitate felony.

James Hadley, 36, of 4051 E. Olive Road, Pensacola. Charged with using a computer to solicit parent/guardian consent, travel to meet/use computer to solicit guardian, and using a 2-way communication device to facilitate felony.

Robert Dawson, of 4281 Magnolia Crossing, Pace. Charged with using a computer to seduce/solicit/lure a child, travel to meet after using computer to lure child, and using a 2-way communication device to facilitate felony.

Richard Mays, 26, of 1192 Jennings Trace, Holt. Charged with using a computer to solicit parent/guardian consent, travel to meet/use computer to solicit guardian, and using a 2-way communication device to facilitate felony.

Jason Vargas, 20, of 1082 Barracks, Corry Station. Charged with using a computer to solicit parent/guardian consent, travel to meet/use computer to solicit guardian, and using a 2-way communication device to facilitate felony.

William Taylor, 47, of 1200 Scenic Highway, Pensacola. Charged with using a computer to solicit parent/guardian consent, travel to meet/use computer to solicit guardian, and using a 2-way communication device to facilitate felony.

William Colpetzer, 35, of 5001 Grande Dr., Pensacola. Charged with using a computer to seduce/solicit/lure a child, travel to meet after using a computer to lure child, and using a 2-way communication device to facilitate felony.

Edwin Gennette, 42, of 5369 Pecos Pass, Gulf Breeze. Charged with using a computer to solicit parent/guardian consent, travel to meet/use computer to solicit guardian, and using a 2-way communication device to facilitate felony.

Delon Nicholas, 26, of 6115 N. Davis Highway, Pensacola. Charged with using a computer to seduce/solicit/lure a child, travel to meet after using a computer to lure child, and using a 2-way communication device to facilitate felony.

Adam Barnes, 24, of 1459 Sturbridge Place, Pensacola. Charged with using a computer to solicit parent/guardian consent, travel to meet/use computer to solicit guardian, and using a 2-way communication device to facilitate felony.

James Churchill, 56, of 2099 Tujagues Place, Pensacola. Charged with using a computer to seduce/solicit/lure a child, travel to meet after using a computer to lure child, and using a 2-way communication device to facilitate felony.

Eric Ochoa, 32, of 2858 N. 32nd Ave., Milton. Charged with using a computer to solicit parent/guardian consent, travel to meet/use computer to solicit guardian, and using a 2-way communication device to facilitate felony.

Jason Halford, 36, of 405 Crum St., McKenzie, AL. Charged with using a computer to solicit parent/guardian consent, travel to meet/use computer to solicit guardian, and using a 2-way communication device to facilitate felony.

Preston Wipf, 21, address unavailable. Charged with using a computer to solicit parent/guardian consent, travel to meet/use computer to solicit guardian, resisting without violence, and using a 2-way communication device to facilitate felony.

Jason Bingham, 26, of 8990 N. Davis Highway, Pensacola. Charged with using a computer to solicit parent/guardian consent, travel to meet/use computer to solicit guardian, and using a 2-way communication device to facilitate felony.

Donald Ward, 40, of 1756 Hunter Ave., Mobile, AL. Charged with using a computer to seduce/solicit/lure child, travel to meet after using a computer to lure child, and using a 2-way communication device to facilitate felony.

Edward Lagrouge, 34, of 5175 Cherry Blossom Lane, Milton. Charged with using a computer to solicit parent/guardian consent, travel to meet/use computer to solicit guardian and using a 2-way communication device to facilitate felony.

Vincent Claflin, 21, of One Sharilyn Dr., Shalimar. Charged with using a computer to seduce/solicit/lure a child, travel to meet after using computer to lure child, and using a 2-way communication device to facilitate felony.

Eric Crawford, 25, of 8595 Wilburn Cove, Navarre. Charged with using a computer to solicit parent/guardian consent, travel to meet/use computer to solicit guardian, and using a 2-way communication device to facilitate felony.

Patrick Quick, 28, of 134 Lovette Place, Pensacola. Charged with using a computer to seduce/solicit/lure a child, travel to meet after using computer to lure child, and using a 2-way communication device to facilitate felony.

Joseph Caine, 21, of 1051 Pinedale Lane, Cantonment. Charged with using a computer to solicit parent/guardian consent, travel to meet/use computer to solicit guardian, and using a 2-way communication device to facilitate felony.

Timothy Danley, 18, of 10025 Hillview Dr., Pensacola. Charged with using a computer to seduce/solicit/lure child, travel to meet after using computer to lure child, and using a 2-way communication device to facilitate felony.

Source:Pensacola News Journal