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Former Bucks County Pennsylvania Prosecuor Joseph James Scafidi Pleads Guilty In Mortgage Theft, Sentenced To 18 To 36 Months In Prison
July 3rd, 2008
BUCKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA - A former Bucks County prosecutor who had pleaded guilty to stealing mortgage payments, writing bad checks, and forging a judge’s signature was sentenced to prison by a Delaware County Court judge yesterday.
Joseph James Scafidi, 53, of Warminster, was sentenced to serve 18 to 36 months in state prison and five years on probation, ordered to pay $42,000 in restitution to the homeowners, and forbidden to work in the mortgage or any other financial business.
Scafidi, who was working as a mortgage broker when he was arrested, also pleaded guilty yesterday to new charges, including perjury. He had earlier told authorities under oath he didn’t know of any more fraudulent cases, but later acknowledged he was involved with others. The sentencing for the new charges was combined yesterday with the previous cases.
Read MoreFormer Sulphur Springs Police Chief Andrew Little Arrested, Charged With Theft After Stealing Stepfather’s Guns
July 3rd, 2008
BENTONVILLE, ARKANSAS - Prosecutors have filed a formal theft charge against the former police chief of Sulphur Springs.
On Monday, Andrew Little, 24, of Gentry was charged with theft of property, a class B felony punishable with a prison sentence ranging from five to 20 years.
Little was arrested April 22 and was later released on felony citation.
According to a probable-cause affidavit in the case, in early March, Little told his stepfather, Richard Cummins, that five of his weapons had been stolen in a burglary.
Little first claimed the alleged thief had been arrested, but that the guns were being held by the Fort Smith Police Department until after the case went to court on April 18.
Cummins told police he later discovered that two more guns were also missing. Little told Cummins the guns were in a Sulphur Springs evidence locker and could not yet be returned, according to the affidavit.
Read MoreMitchell Indiana Police Chief Jim Richardson Suspended After Failing To Complete Required Training
July 3rd, 2008
MITCHELL, INDIANA — The Mitchell Police Department is short one more officer today with the suspension of Chief Jim Richardson.
Mayor Dan Terrell sad Richardson was suspended without pay effective Tuesday morning.
At issue is a required set of training sessions.
Richardson, a former Indiana State Police officer, retired from full-time police work in 1999. Terrell originally planned to name him safety director, a new position that was met with opposition in the city. He then named Richardson police chief, but Richardson had to finish required training by July 1.
Initially, that meant a second round through the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy. But this spring the Indiana Legislature changed the law, Richardson said, so that he had to complete 120 hours of training.
“He had to have that done by today,” Terrell said Tuesday, “and he did not. … He knew he had to have it, and he didn’t get it done.
Read MoreLipscomb Alabama Police Officer Antonio Allums Arrested, Faces Yet Another Charge For Harassing A Woman - Previously Received A Tiny Slap On The Wrist After Attack On Woman He Cited For Traffic Violations, Offer To Not Turn In Tickets In Exchange For “Favors”
July 2nd, 2008
LIPSCOMB, ALABAMA - Lipscomb police officer Antonio Allums was released from the Jefferson County Jail this morning after posting bail on a new harassment charge.
[Hmmm. On probation, arrested, jailed, and no probation hold... Seems like a double-standard in operation here...]
Allums, 44, is already serving 24 months probation following a 2007 misdemeanor conviction in district court after a woman accused Allums of entering her home unannounced and fondling her the day after pulling her over in a traffic stop.
In the new charge, filed Tuesday, Allums is accused of harassing a Brighton woman. She was driving through Lipscomb on June 20, Jefferson County Sheriff’s spokesman Randy Christian said, when Allums issued her traffic citations for speeding and no proof of insurance.
Christian said Allums and the woman crossed paths at a gas station the next day. Investigators believe that Allums told the woman that he hadn’t turned in the tickets and that he would make them go away in exchange for favors.
Read MoreVeteran Doraville Georgia Police Officer Lt. Charles Hight, A So-Called “Expert” in DUI’s, Arrested For Drunk Driving With His 3 Year Old Son In Back Seat. Officer Marcella Nelson Arrested For Drunk Driving After Near Wreck With Athens Officer While Running Red Light
July 2nd, 2008
DORAVILLE, GEORGIA - Two Doraville police officers have been put on administrative duties after each was arrested for DUI.
May 28, 2008 the Georgia State Patrol arrested Doraville Police Lt. Charles Hight for driving under the influence. The arresting officer says Hight was speeding in Bartow County without a seatbelt. He reportedly had his 3-year-old son in the backseat and two open beer bottles. According to the arrest report, when Hight blew into a field breathalyzer it registered .138, then later .148. He is charged with, among other things, DUI child endangerment.
Hight has been with the department for 10 years and was just recently promoted to the rank of lieutenant. He has been trained to spot drivers suspected of DUI and has testified numerous times in court as a DUI expert.
“I’m very, very disappointed. We as police officers are, and should be, held to a higher standard,” said Doraville Police Chief John King.
Read More“Terrorist” With A “Bomb” Shuts Down Part Of Los Angeles International Airport - Of Course It Was Nothing
July 2nd, 2008
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - Traffic has been blocked and gridlocked at LAX at the upper and lower levels of the airport after a man, reportedly between the ages of 20 and 25, went up to police in front of the Tom
Bradley International Terminal and claimed he was a terrorist with a bomb in his bag, according to ABC7. He was immediately arrested and a bomb squad was dispatched to the airport.
“A search of the area found an unattended bag located near a ticket counter,” a statement by the Transportation Security Administration said. A staging area was set up in front of Terminal 3 and nearby people in cars have been evacuated with their vehicles left at the scene, the news station said live on air.
Read MoreCrazed Texas Lawmaker Warren Chisum Targets Married Couples With 2 Year Wait For Divorce
July 2nd, 2008
TEXAS - Texans would have to wait two years to get a divorce — unless they take a class designed to save their marriage — under a proposal a key state lawmaker says he plans to revive.
State Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, sought to get a similar measure passed in 2007. He said he’s planning to bring it back as one of his priorities for the legislative session that begins in January.
“The deal is, we need to take marriage more seriously,” said Chisum, who in October will celebrate his 51st wedding anniversary.
It now takes at least 60 days to finalize a divorce in Texas. Across the country, waiting periods range from 30 days in Alabama to up to two years in Maryland, if one spouse contests the divorce, according to Mike McManus, president of Marriage Savers, a group that works with communities to start marriage education programs.
Read MoreUnemployed Truck Driver Duped Dumbass Gerald Missouri Police Into Thinking He Was A Federal DEA Agent For Nearly 5 Months - Claimed He Didn’t Need Warrants To Enter Homes, And Local Police Followed Along Right Behind Him - City Aldermen Voted To Make Him A Reserve Officer
July 1st, 2008
GERALD, MISSOURI - Like so many rural communities in the country’s middle, this tiny town had wrestled for years with the woes of methamphetamine. Then, several months ago, a federal agent showed up.
Busts began. Houses were ransacked. People, in handcuffs on their front lawns, named names. To some, like Mayor Otis Schulte, who considers the county around Gerald, population 1,171, “a meth capital of the United States,” the drug scourge seemed to be fading at last.
Those whose homes were searched, though, grumbled about a peculiar change in what they understood, from television mainly, to be the law.
They said the agent, a man some had come to know as “Sergeant Bill,” boasted that he did not need search warrants to enter their homes because he worked for the federal government.
Read MoreGainsville Florida Police Officer John Robert Bostick Quits Amid Investigation, Sexual Battery Accusation, Leaking Information, And A Laundry List Of Other Allegations
July 1st, 2008
GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA - A Gainesville Police Department internal investigation found that a former officer violated GPD policies by sharing confidential police information with a woman he was having sex with.
In addition, the State Attorney’s Office is looking into the woman’s accusation that the officer committed sexual battery on her.
Bostick was found in violation of the following Gainesville Police Department policies:
* “Immoral, unlawful, or improper conduct or indecency, whether on or off the job, which would tend to affect the employee’s relationship to his/her job, fellow workers’ reputations or goodwill in the community.”This includes violation of these GPD general orders:
o Conduct unbecoming
o Criminal conduct
o Association with known offenders / person of questionable reputation
o Investigative information
* “Productivity or workmanship not up to required standard of performance.”This includes violation of these GPD general orders:
o Department-owned property
o In-car audio/Video system procedures
o Property and evidence control
Adams County Mississippi Deputy Sheriff Marcus Washington Fired After Crashing Patrol Car Into 4 Vehicles At Dealership While Driving On A Suspended License
July 1st, 2008
NATCHEZ, MISSISSIPPI - The Adams County sheriff fired a deputy who crashed into four vehicles at a car dealership while answering a call to help another officer.
Sheriff Ronny Brown said that Marcus Washington was in his first year with the department, so he was a probationary employee.
Brown said Friday that during the investigation, he learned that Washington’s driver’s license had been suspended. But he said that was not the specific reason for his dismissal.
Washington told investigators that he had to swerve off the road on June 18 because another car pulled in front of his cruiser. Brown said the squad car was going about 60 mph.
New York State Police Trooper Lester C. Hooper Arrested, Suspended, Charged After Writing 5 Bogus Traffic Tickets To Individual He Never Stopped As Payback For Parking Dispute Two Days Earlier
July 1st, 2008
WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NEW YORK - The New York State Police has arrested Trooper Lester C. Hooper, following a joint investigation with the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office. The arrest came after a three-month investigation into allegations that Hooper falsely issued five traffic tickets in three different jurisdictions to a subject he never stopped.
The investigation revealed that Trooper Hooper issued these tickets to the complainant as retribution for a parking dispute that happened two days before he issued the tickets.
Trooper Hooper is being charged in Westchester County with three counts of offering a false instrument for filing, a felony, three counts of issuing a false certificate also a felony and three counts of official misconduct a misdemeanor.
Trooper Hooper joined the State Police in February 2005 and he was assigned to Troop T on the Thruway at Tarrytown. Trooper Hooper was immediately suspended without pay, pending the outcome of the ongoing criminal investigation. Appeared Here
Second Mission Texas Police Officer Lt. Gabriel Zuniga Arrested, Suspended, Charged With Drunk Driving - Officer Martin Flores Villarreal Arrested The Day Before
June 30th, 2008
MISSION, TEXAS - A second city police officer was suspended Sunday after he was arrested for driving while intoxicated over the weekend.
Mission police Lt. Gabriel Zuniga was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated on South Padre Island about 10 p.m. Saturday, said Trooper Johnny Hernandez, a local spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Zuniga was pulled over for a traffic violation along Texas Highway 100, north of the Island’s main strip, Hernandez said.
The off-duty police officer failed a sobriety test at the scene and was transported to the Port Isabel Police Department, where he refused to give a breath sample, Hernandez said. Zuniga was then taken to the Cameron County Jail in Brownsville.
Zuniga’s arrest marks the second intoxicated driving incident involving a Mission police officer this weekend.
Read MoreMonroe Georgia Police Officer Sam Harrison Suspended After Comment That He “Bagged Me A Smart Ass Nigger”
June 30th, 2008
MONROE, GEORGIA - A racial slur caught on tape has resulted in a Monroe Police Department officer being placed on administrative leave with pay pending the outcome of an internal investigation.
“The City of Monroe and the Monroe Police Department in no way condones or accepts the derogatory comment made by the officer,” MPD Chief Keith Glass said. “The proper disciplinary actions will be taken in regard to this incident.”
No formal complaint has been filed by Christopher Wilburn, the subject of the racial slur. He was expected in court Friday on charges of disorderly conduct and driving on a learner’s permit without a licensed driver in the car.
The incident took place May 18 during a traffic stop. Officer Sam Harrison, who has been with the department for a year and has no blemishes on his record, according to Glass, did not directly use any derogatory comments toward Wilburn. Instead, officials said, the comment was made during a personal conversation that took place more than an hour after the arrest and was inadvertently recorded while the officer was looking through the tape for a car tag number.
Read MoreABC: How The FBI Totally Botched The Anthrax Case - Former Agent Explains - $5.8 Million Awarded To Innocent Suspect
June 30th, 2008
WASHINGTON, DC - The anthrax investigation, almost from the beginning, was hampered by top-heavy leadership from high ranking, but inexperienced FBI officials, which led to a close-minded focus on just one suspect and amateurish investigative techniques that robbed agents in the field the ability operate successfully.
I saw it firsthand as one of the FBI agents assigned to the anthrax case and directly involved in the investigation of Dr. Steven Hatfill. While I cannot comment on the guilt or innocence of Hatfill, I think I have a sense of some of the things that went wrong inside the FBI and what lessons can be learned from this embarrassing case.
Last Friday, the U.S. Department of Justice agreed to pay $5,825,000 to Hatfill, whom former Attorney General John Ashcroft once described as “a person of interest” in the investigation into the anthrax murders of seven people in 2001.
Read MoreGeorgia Runs Out Of Money, Closes Diversion Centers - Low Cost Facilities Closed, Leaving Few Alternatives To High-Dollar Prison Incarceration
June 30th, 2008
ALBANY, GEORGIA - Georgia judges can no longer sentence defendants to diversion centers that aimed to rehabilitate criminals by keeping them out of prison.
Because of budget cuts, the Georgia Department of Corrections shut down six centers including this one in Albany. They served as middle-ground between prison and probation. Offenders held jobs during the day and had to report back to the facility each night.
The President of the Council of Superior Court judges told us that judges liked having the diversion center option, but he admits they were underused.
“Any time that the state cuts back on any sentencing option for judges, we typically are not in favor of it. Simply because it gives us another alternative,” said Judge Stephen Goss, Dougherty County Superior Court.
Judge Goss says one problem with Albany’s diversion center was that defendants were required to pay room and board, but often didn’t have the money to do so.
Read MoreMiami Florida Federal Prosecutor John DiCicco Expects Swiss Bank To Turn Over Information On Secret Accounts
June 30th, 2008
MAIMI, FLORIDA - Prosecutors asked a Miami federal judge to require Swiss bank UBS AG to turn over information on its U.S. customers who may have used secret accounts to evade taxes.
The unprecedented step comes as a Justice Department investigation into the bank is heating up. Earlier this month, Bradley Birkenfeld, a former UBS private banker, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and said the bank helped wealthy U.S. citizens conceal $20 billion in assets and evade income tax laws.
It is the first time the Justice Department has sought to serve a so-called “John Doe” summons on a foreign bank, said Justice Department spokesman Charles Miller.
John DiCicco, deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department’s tax division, said in a statement that the U.S. has been “working cooperatively” with UBS and the Swiss government to obtain the account information.
Read MoreJefferson Parish Louisiana Deputy Sheriff’s Patrol Car Ends Up In The Mississippi River - Department Claims He Didn’t Leave Keys In Car (Yeah, Right)
June 29th, 2008
JEFFERSON PARISH, LOUISIANA - According to Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand, a 22 year old man stole a marked police vehicle this morning just after 6 am.
Normand says that a Fourth District patrol division officer was investigating a suspicious person complaint in the 2500 block of N. Woodlawn in Metairie, the officer returned to find that his marked JPSO had been stolen.
Less than ten minutes later, the Jefferson Parish 911 center was notified by the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office that a white male was driving police unit erratically on the Mississippi river levee. St. Charles officers responded to the complaint and observed the suspect drive the unit into the Mississippi River. He was apprehended a short time later while swimming in the river.
Colonel John Fortunado with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office says the cruiser was not running at the time it was stolen, and “the officer had his keys in his pocket.”
Read MoreDumbass Veteran Huntsville Alabama Police Officer Tony McElyea Sneaks Into Friend’s House To Surprise Him, Gets Shot - Shooter’s Name Hidden From Taxpayers
June 29th, 2008
HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA - Cop mistaken for burglar, is then wounded by friend
An off-duty Huntsville police officer was shot in the shoulder early Saturday when a friend mistook him for a burglar.
Police Chief Henry Reyes said Tony McElyea, a Strategic Counterdrug Team agent, decided to surprise a good friend and former police academy cadet at his home in the 1300 block of Virginia Boulevard.
McElyea, his girlfriend, and the friend’s wife snuck into the home at about 2:30 a.m.
McElyea walked down the hallway and started shouting “Wake up, wake up,” at his friend, Reyes said.
The friend, who Reyes said didn’t immediately recognize McElyea, grabbed a .38-caliber revolver and shot him.
“It’s just one of those things where he got startled and reacted,” Reyes said. “It’s unfortunate that it happened, but it’s fortunate that it’s not any worse.”
Read MoreDisguised To Look Like A Trash Bag, $15,000 West Sussex UK Spy Camera Ends Up Lost At The Dump
June 29th, 2008
WEST SUSSEX, UK - A spy camera, estimated to cost £10,000 and designed to catch fly-tippers, was cleared by council workers after it was concealed in a rubbish bag.
The expensive camera was placed inside a black bag beside a notorious illegal fly-tipping site. The disguise was so good that workers for Chichester District Council, West Sussex, cleared the camera believing it was genuine rubbish.
“Because the camera had been hidden in something that looked like rubbish, they cleared that away as well,” said John Cherry, the deputy council leader.
“The workers didn’t need to know the details of this sort of operation so they were just sent along to pick up the rubbish.”
The council did not disclose how much the camera cost, but similar systems involving a minature video camera cost between £7,000 and £10,000.
Read MoreBritish Transport Police Can’t Allow K-9’s To Touch Muslims While Searching For “Terrorists”
June 27th, 2008
LONDON, UK - Muslim passengers may not be touched by sniffer dogs of the British Transport Police after complaints that the practice is against Islam. According to the religion, dogs are deemed to be spiritually “unclean”.
A Transport Department report has raised the prospect that animals should only touch passengers’ luggage because it is considered “more acceptable”, the Daily Express reported. The ban may restrict the efficiency of sniffer dog squads which have been trained to spot terrorists at railway stations.
On Thursday night, British Transport Police insisted that it would still use sniffer dogs with any passengers regardless of faith, but handlers would remain aware of “cultural sensitivities”.
The Transport Department report follows the trials of station security measures in the wake of the 2005 London suicide bomb attacks. In one trial, certain Muslim women said the use of a body scanner was also unacceptable because it amounted to being forced to strip.
Read MoreNew York City Police Assault And Detain Building Superintendent Who Was Chasing A Burglar
June 26th, 2008
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - An alleged New York City burglar nearly got away clean after he yelled for help, causing two police officers to tackle the super of the building instead.
Police sources told the New York Post the Manhattan Community College officers grabbed Bobby Gardocki as Gardocki was chasing the suspect, who was screaming that a “crazy guy” was trying to kill him.
“The guy was yelling at no one in particular, ‘Stop this crazy guy. He’s trying to kill me!’” said Gardocki, who admitted he did look a little strange since he was chasing the guy in his pajamas.
A building tenant happened upon the scene and quickly convinced the officer they had the wrong man. The suspect, Michael Estrada of Queens, was picked up a short distance away and charged with stealing $3,000 in jewelry from an apartment. Appeared Here
Empty And Unarmed Hurst Texas Wonder Bread Bakery Store Surrenders Peacefully To Police SWAT Team After Standoff
June 26th, 2008
HURST, TEXAS - After standing outside a bakery outlet following a 911 call about a woman armed with a gun seen inside the store, SWAT officers swarmed inside only to find the store empty.
Before entering the store, SWAT officers were poised with guns aimed as they stood outside the Wonder Bread Hostess outlet store in the 800 block of West Precinct Line Road.
Police interviewed employees and customers who evacuated the bakery outlet. They were also able to get a diagram of the store.
As SWAT officers set up tactical positions around the store, a large group of onlookers gathered in the parking lot across the street.
SWAT officers could be seen entering the back of the store shortly before 5:30 p.m. They later reported that no one was found inside.
Obvious: TSA Screener Positions Are A “Dead End Job” - So Says Their Boss Kip Hawley
June 25th, 2008
WASHINGTON, DC - Low morale among the nation’s airport screeners may be compromising security and forcing screeners to quit their jobs, a controversial government report said Tuesday.
The 29-page report by Homeland Security Department Inspector General Richard Skinner is the latest to chronicle personnel problems among the nation’s 48,000 airport screeners. The workforce has some of the highest turnover and injury rates in the federal government.
Unlike past workplace reports, this one says security could suffer as a result.
“Given their frustration, employees may be distracted and less focused on their security and screening responsibilities,” Skinner’s report says.
Transportation Security Administration chief Kip Hawley ripped Tuesday’s report, saying it relies on disgruntled screeners at a few airports. “This results in flawed conclusions,” Hawley wrote in a sharp, point-by-point rebuttal.
Read MoreMan Sentenced In Kennebec County Maine Superior Court To 9 Months In Jail After Women Visits Him In Jail - Judge And County Officials Seen Standing Around A Huge Bonfire Watching Our Tax Dollars Go Up In Smoke
June 25th, 2008
AUGUSTA, MAINE — As soon as an inmate from Vassalboro had a visitor at the Kennebec County jail in Augusta, he was violating a court order.
Marshall Crandall IV, of Vassalboro, was sentenced to serve nine months in jail Tuesday at a Kennebec County Superior Court hearing after he pleaded guilty to three counts of violating conditions of release for having contact with the visitor.
Crandall, 39, had been arrested April 4 and charged with domestic assault. That charge was dropped Tuesday in exchange for his plea to violating the court order.
A condition of release on the domestic assault charge banned him from contact with the woman — the same woman who visited him at the jail.
The violations occurred April 5, 10 and 15, when the woman named as the assault victim visited Crandall, according to jail records.
Read MoreClueless, Incompetent And Fired Polk County Tennessee Jailer Brandi Barahona Whines About Inmate Escape And Getting Her Butt Kicked
June 25th, 2008
POLK COUNTY, TENNESSEE - It’s a moment every jailer is taught to prepare for: an escape. Brandi Barahona says she’s had close calls before, but nothing like this.
“I love being a corrections officer,” Barahona says. “There are good parts of the job and there are bad parts.”
For five months Barahona worked at the Polk County Justice Center as a jailer. But what happened to Barahona while on the job back in April, sent her to the hospital.
“We had two inmates already in booking from the previous shift.” Barahona says. “Two deputies brought two new male inmates to be booked.”
Barahona says, altogether, that hectic Friday night, there were four people on shift: she was the only one in the booking area.
One of the inmates sitting in that holding area was 22-year-old Jacob Charles Boswell. Moments after Barahona started her shift, Boswell would overpower her and escape.
Read MoreGod Arrested, Charged With Selling Cocaine Near Tampa Florida Church
June 24th, 2008
TAMPA, FLORIDA - Police say a man named God was arrested near a Tampa church and charged with selling cocaine.
Authorities began investigating God Lucky Howard in April, and he was arrested on Saturday. Police say he sold cocaine to undercover detectives in his neighborhood. Appeared Here
Trigger-Happy Greenville County South Carolina Deputy Chris McAlmont Shoots And Kills Police Dog
June 24th, 2008
GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA - Authorities say a Greenville County deputy accidentally shot and killed a police dog pursuing a man suspected of shooting a store clerk.
A police report says the police dog, Wes, had been released to pursue Antwaun Demarcus Whitmire, 26, but began biting a deputy’s leg Monday morning.
The report says Deputy Chris McAlmont did not realize it was a police dog and fired because he “feared for his safety.” McAlmont was treated and released from Greenville Memorial Hospital.
Lt. Shea Smith says the shooting followed an argument between Whitmire and his girlfriend outside a Greenville convenience store early Monday. Whitmire fired shots after the woman ran in the store and employees locked the man out.
Store clerk Susan Lambert was shot at least once and was treated and released from the hospital. Appeared Here
Steroid Using And Dealing Tennessee State Probation Officer Mike Lankford Suspended After Admitting To Using And Selling Drugs
June 24th, 2008
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - The Channel 4 I-Team reported that someone hired by the state to keep drug users on the right path admitted to using and selling steroids.
State probation officer Mike Lankford was placed on administrative leave after admitting to using and selling steroids to investigators, the I-Team’s Jeremy Finley reported on Monday.
Finley said the officer also has ties to the chief suspected dealer in a steroid investigation that has a number of law enforcement officers caught up in it.
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“Whenever there’s any kind of allegations of illegal activities, it bothers us,” said Office of Probation and Parole representative Jack Elder.
In a Metro police investigative report obtained by the I-Team, Lankford told investigators he purchased steroids, injected them into himself and sold them.
In the report, Lankford names Scott Haines, the trainer charged with selling steroids to officers in middle Tennessee.
Read MoreNye County Nevada District Attorney Robert Beckett Charged After Two Drunken Wrecks On Same Road In 6 Hours, One In A County Owned Vehicle
June 23rd, 2008
NYE COUNTY, NEVADA - Nye County District Attorney Robert Beckett is facing a drunken driving charge in California — and what figure to be some uncomfortable questions from his constituents — after crashing two vehicles on the same desert highway six hours apart.
Beckett, 49, totaled his county-issued sport utility vehicle in the first rollover accident, which occurred about 1:30 p.m. Sunday on California Route 127 just south of Shoshone, Calif.
Then, after catching a ride back to his home in Pahrump in a tow truck, Beckett headed back out on the same highway in the family van, only to crash again at 7:35 p.m. about 35 miles south of the first accident scene.
The California Highway Patrol officer called to the scene of the second wreck reported smelling alcohol on Beckett’s breath.
Sgt. Mike Black, spokesman for the Highway Patrol’s Barstow, Calif., area office, said Beckett failed a blood-breath alcohol test and was arrested for drunken driving.
Read MoreNew Zealand Department Of Corrections “Recovers” Highly Sensitive File Concerning Criminals From Newpaper That Was Found In The Street
June 23rd, 2008
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND - The Department of Corrections and police tonight recovered a highly sensitive file containing names and personal details of some of the country’s most notorious criminals.
In a joint statement Corrections chief executive Barry Matthews and Detective Inspector Bernie Hollewand confirmed that the missing file and copies were recovered this evening from the Auckland offices of the New Zealand Herald newspaper.
“So as not to jeopardise ongoing police enquiries no further comment will be made at this stage,” they said.
“It is expected that these enquiries, including a decision as to whether charges will be laid, will be completed early next week.”
The confidential file was apparently found on an Auckland street by a member of the public, said to be a former Corrections employee.
Entitled “High Risk/High Profile Offenders — Pending New Zealand Parole Board Hearing”, the dossier includes personal details, addresses offenders are to be or have been paroled to and issues tagged as potential problems.
Read MoreLos Angeles County California Deputy Sheriff Richard Alvin Schindler Jumps Out Of An Airplane, Dies
June 22nd, 2008
LAKE ELSINORE, CALIFORNIA - An investigation continued Sunday into the death of a 39-year-old parachuting instructor and off-duty deputy sheriff who died when his parachute failed to open Saturday morning near Lake Elsinore.
Richard Alvin Schindler, a deputy sheriff with the South-West Detention Center and a part-time instructor at Skydive Lake Elsinore, was discovered around noon at 20701 Cereal St., according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department
Sheriff’s officials say deputies responded to a report of an accident at Sky Dive of Lake Elsinore Inc. late Saturday morning.
Schindler was executing his fourth jump of the day when his primary parachute failed to deploy properly and was subsequently released from his body harness.
Schindler’s back-up parachute also apparently failed to open.
The victim died at the scene.
Burns Tennessee Police Chief Jerry Sumerour Jr. Charged After Trying To Fix His Stepson’s Traffic Ticket
June 22nd, 2008
BURNS, TENNESSEE - A Midstate police chief faces a grand jury indictment.
Burns Police Chief Jerry Sumerour, Jr. is charged with trying to fix his stepson’s traffic ticket.
The traffic stop happened this spring, but the grand jury indicted him this week.
Several people who live, work and pay taxes in the community said they deserve some type of explanation.
Sumerour is leaving that up to his attorney.
“I can’t make any comments,” he said Friday. “What I can tell you is my attorney’s name is Mike Flanigan.”
When asked if he regretted what happened, Sumerour said, “I can’t make any comment. There’s my attorney’s name and number. You can direct any questions through him.”
Burns is about 35 miles west of Nashville.
A Dickson County grand jury indictment said Sumerour solicited the cancellation of a traffic citation given to a teenager on or about March 21. The teenager was Sumerour’s stepson.
Read MoreAtlantic City Police Officer Dennis McGurk Jr. Crashes Plane During Aerobatic Stunts Over Residential Area, Killing His Wife, Himself, And Knocking Out Power
June 22nd, 2008
ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY - Two people were killed Friday night when a small plane crashed in Cape May County while performing aerobatic stunts.
The pilot, who left the nearby Woodbine airport, was performing stunts in the Harmon Rocket acrobatic plane at about 7:45 p.m., lost control, and crashed near the intersection of Routes 550 and 605, said State Police spokesman Sgt. Julian Castellanos.
The two on board, according to Castellanos, were Dennis McGurk Jr., 37, and his 34-year-old wife Oksana McGurk, both of Mays Landing. A search of the plane’s tail number on the Federal Aviation Administration’s Web site also shows it was registered in 2007 to Dennis McGurk, an Atlantic City police officer. The McGurks often flew together, Atlantic City police officers told The Press.
“Everything my son did was adventurous,” Dorothy McGurk told the Newark Star-Ledger about her son, an Atlantic City police officer. “He was quite a guy. I can’t stop crying about it,” she said.
Read MoreFired For Shooting At A Tractor Trailer 7 Times, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Police Officer Paul Anthony Palmer Jr. Sentenced To 52 Months In Federal Prison After Bomb He Was Making Blow Off Part Of His Arm
June 21st, 2008
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - A former Pittsburgh policeman who was fired after shooting at a big rig during a fit of road rage told a federal judge Friday he didn’t mean to hurt anyone when the bombs he was making last year blew off part of his arm.
“I didn’t even know what the potential damage was before this happened,” said Paul Anthony Palmer Jr., 39, who sports a teardrop tattoo below his right eye and a spider web design over the nub left by the amputation on his left forearm. Investigators claim Palmer’s tattoos are typically associated with the Aryan Nations, a white supremacist group whose motto is “violence solves everything.”
U.S. District Judge David S. Cercone sentenced Palmer, formerly of North Fayette, to 52 months in prison for his guilty plea to a charge of possessing an unregistered destructive device.
Read MoreAuthoritarian Freak Crestwood Illinois Police Chief Tim Sulikowski Quits
June 21st, 2008
CRESTWOOD, ILLINOIS - The Crestwood police chief under fire for the December arrest of a mother who briefly left her toddler in a parked car while her other children donated money at a Salvation Army kettle has resigned.
Crestwood Mayor Robert Stranczek said Friday he doesn’t know why Police Chief Tim Sulikowski decided to leave but said “absolutely not” when asked if it was related to the fallout from the arrest of Ellen “Treffly” Coyne.
“We had a good discussion and I think a lot of the chief,” Stranczek said. “He was very dedicated, and we wish him the best.”
Coyne’s arrest drew national attention, setting off an intense debate on the Internet. Misdemeanor child endangerment and obstruction of justice charges against Coyne were dropped in March after prosecutors determined there was not enough evidence.
Read MoreSuspended Minneapolis Minnesota Police Officers Scott Donald Mars And William David Thornbury Finally Charged After Shooting Gun Through Sunroof Of SUV In Alcohol Fueled Incident
June 20th, 2008
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - Two Minneapolis Police officers have been charged with felony counts of Intentional Discharge of a Firearm and Reckless Discharge of a Firearm in a Municipality.
Scott Donald Mars, 34, and William David Thornbury, 28, were charged Friday morning in Dakota County Court, accused of firing a weapon through the sunroof of an SUV.
Mars was also charged with two counts of fourth-degree DWI. Mars’ mug shot has not been released.
The charges stem from an incident on May 28 incident in Minneapolis. The case was charged in Dakota County to avoid a conflict of interest.
According to a news release from the Dakota County Attorney, officers were dispatched to a south Minneapolis neighborhood on a call of shots fired after a loud party. Witnesses said shots came from a black SUV.
Investigating officers found two .9mm cartridge casings and three .34 caliber discharged cartridge casings at the scene.
Read MoreAuthoritarian Freak Crestwood Illinois Police Chief Tim Sulikowski Expected To Quit
June 20th, 2008
CRESTWOOD, ILLINOIS - Crestwood Police Chief Tim Sulikowski is expected to step down today, but whether he is being forced out or is leaving voluntarily is unclear.
Sulikowski, who started as a part-time officer and spent the past two years as chief, came under fire late last year for his department’s handling of a case that drew worldwide attention.
On Dec. 8, his officers arrested Treffly Coyne, a Tinley Park mother of three, and charged her with child endangerment for leaving her then-2-year-old daughter asleep in her car outside Wal-Mart while she and two other daughters walked several feet away to put $8.29 in change into a Salvation Army kettle.
Coyne additionally was charged with obstructing a police officer, another misdemeanor.
The criminal case against Coyne never went to trial, as the Cook County state’s attorney’s office dropped the charges 97 days later.
Read MorePig Crap Delivered To North Carolina Governor Mike Easley’s Office By Protesters After Governor Broke Promise
June 19th, 2008
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - Eastern North Carolina residents unhappy to be living near hog lagoons gave Gov. Mike Easley what’s inside those pits.
Members of environmental groups dropped off what they said was a gallon of hog waste at Easley’s office Thursday. Lower Neuse Riverkeeper Larry Baldwin says they left the jug there after they couldn’t get an answer at the Executive Mansion.
The groups wrapped up a two-day vigil in Raleigh. They say Easley broke his promise to eliminate lagoons within five years. They also argue there’s a loophole in a 2007 law designed to phase out the open pits.
Easley policy director Alan Hirsch says the governor has done his best to make the industry as clean as possible. He says technology to replace those lagoons has taken longer to develop.
Read MoreFormer Robeson County Sheriff Glenn Maynor Sentenced To 6 Years In Federal Prison After Lying To Grand Jury
June 19th, 2008
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - The former sheriff of Robeson County was sentenced to six years in federal prison today for lying to a grand jury about corruption in his department.
Glenn Maynor admitted lying to the grand jury during an investigation into allegations that members of the sheriff’s department abused their authority. He pleaded guilty to perjury and conspiracy in September.
As he sentenced Maynor, U.S. District Judge Terrence Boyle asked him why he didn’t take his position as sheriff seriously.
“Why didn’t you arrest these deputies or fire these deputies? You were the boss,” Boyle said.
Maynor responded: “I realized I dropped the ball.”
After the sentencing, Maynor left the courthouse in an SUV. Boyle instructed him to report to prison by Aug. 1. It was not immediately clear where Maynor wi