Gilbert AZ. Feb 9 2010 More than 100 employee layoffs, including at least 65 police positions, and other service reductions or eliminations lie in wait if Gilbert cannot find another way to balance its budget by July 1, according to staff memos sent to the Town Council.

At the request of the Council, the heads of each town department submitted recommendations that would reduce the budget by 15 percent, or about $14 million.

The deficit is currently projected at about $15 million, but that number could grow if the state, which is wrestling with its own budget shortfall, reduces Gilbert’s portion of state-shared revenue.

The proposed cuts include the elimination of about 124 employee positions, including 65 within the Police Department and 29 from the Fire Department. Those and other possible cuts were to be discussed at tonight’s Town Council meeting at 7 p.m.

Along with the recommendations, the department heads included a brief analysis of the impact the cuts may have on town services.

If the Police Department is forced to eliminate 17 officers from two traffic units, the department said it would save an estimated $885,000 but have fewer resources for DUI enforcement, speed enforcement and collision investigations.

Likewise, the recommendation to lay off 14 patrol officers, one from each patrol team, would save about $1.3 million but reduce police presence on Gilbert streets and likely increase response times, according to the Police Department report to Council.

Gilbert already has one of the lowest officer-to-resident ratios in the Valley.

As of October, Gilbert had about 1.03 police officers per 1,000 residents. By comparison, Phoenix’s ratio was 2.31, Mesa’s was 1.80 and Chandler’s was 1.32.

Among possible cuts in the Fire Department is the elimination of an entire company, comprised of 12 employees.

If required, the cut would lead to an increased fire response time and “possible loss of life and property due to more than a 4-minute response time,” according to a town document outlining the budget recommendations.

Other fire department positions that could be axed include two fire investigators, three battalion chiefs and three captains, cutting almost $1 million in expenses.

Community-service reductions could also affect Gilbert libraries and recreation centers.

The proposed cuts would close Gilbert Pool and Mesquite Aquatic Center and reduce library hours at the Southeast Regional and Perry Branch libraries.

In all, the potential layoffs represent more than 13 percent of about 900 town employee positions within the general fund.

The 15-percent department cuts have been previously discussed by the Town Council as a last resort to be used if a better solution cannot be found.

One alternative to the budget cuts would be generating additional revenue through new or increased taxes. The Council last month voted to send a sales-tax increase to the ballot, and some on the Council have voiced support for a local use tax.

The quarter-cent sales-tax increase, which Gilbert voters can decide on in May, could provide an additional $6 million to $7 million in public-safety funding.

The Council also plans to examine a list of town employee suggestions, along with a handful of council member recommendations, in hopes of finding an alternative to layoffs and drastic budget cuts.

Huntington WV Jan 24 2010 Comedian Andy Dick was arrested in West Virginia on Saturday on two felony counts of sexual abuse in the first degree. He was taken to jail where he was soon released on a $60,000 bail. Dick faces 1-5 years in prison if convicted.

The Huntington Police Department put out a statement: “Based upon statements of two victims and independent witness accounts alleging that he had engaged in unwanted and uninvited groping of the two victims’ genital areas, Andrew R. Dick (AKA Andy Dick) of South Pasadena, California, was arrested and charged with two counts of Sex Abuse in the First Degree.”

According to the criminal complaint, Dick was talking to a man when he “unexpectedly and without invitation grabbed the victim’s crotch, repeatedly groping then kissing him.”

Also in the complaint, a security guard at a bar said that Dick “grabbed his crotch and began laughing” when the guard tried to give him an armband.

The comedian is currently on probation over a 2008 sexual assault incident where he was arrested for exposing himself to and groping a teenage girl. He avoided jail time, but was sentences to three.

OLYMPIA, Wash.Jan 23 2010 – A former loss prevention agent at the J.C. Penney store at Olympia’s Capital Mall has been sentenced to 10 months in jail for voyeurism.

The 35-year-old Michael Anthony Olivas of Shelton pleaded guilty last month and was taken away in handcuffs after Thursday’s sentencing in Thurston County Superior Court.

He was arrested in March after two teenage girls said he coerced them into exposing their breasts after they were caught shoplifting.

Olivas apologized in court and said he is working on his personal failings through counseling and his church.

KISSIMMEE FL Jan 23 2010 — A Walt Disney World security guard found himself on the other side of the law after being arrested for possession of child pornography.

Investigators said Rodney Dillon had large numbers of pictures and videos on his computer, in addition to fantasy stories regarding the sexual abuse of children.

Dillon inspected bags at the entrance of Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

He was placed on administrative leave and locked up without bond at the Osceola County Jail

BOSTON MA Jan 4 2010

A local inventor with first-hand knowledge of what’s inside Anthony Galluccio’s toothpaste is casting doubt on the state senator’s claim that dental hygiene caused him to fail a breathalyzer test, the Cambridge Chronicle reported.

Galluccio, who was ordered to submit to random alcohol testing last month after he pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident, claimed that the positive readings on his breathalyzer tests were caused by toothpastes he was using.

“After discussing it with a physician, we have determined that (the positive tests are) the result of my using two toothpastes — Colgate Total Whitening and Sensodyne Toothpaste, both of which contain sorbitol,” Galluccio wrote in a statement released Dec. 22.

However, James Herms, who has helped craft five formulations of Sensodyne Toothpaste since 2001, told the Chronicle that sorbitol wouldn’t have caused positive readings on any DOT-approved alcohol testing device.

“Sorbitol is not going to show up,” Herms wrote in a letter sent to the Chronicle. “The only one that will register is ethyl alcohol.”

Herms told the paper that sorbitol is described in the dictionary as a “faintly sweet alcohol,” but only refers to a class of compounds that are similar to ethanol which is found in mouthwash and can alter breathalyzer results.

“Some physicians or medical doctors don’t know the chemistry,” wrote Herms, an MIT alum who is the head of the school’s Crime Club.

Galluccio will be back in court on Monday to determine whether or not his probation will be revoked.

Galluccio received the probation order after he admitted that he rear-ended a vehicle at a Cambridge traffic light on Oct. 4. The police report said his “SUV fled the area after the crash,” “the victims wrote down the registration number of the fleeing motor vehicle” and “the driver reported back and neck injuries and was taken to Mount Auburn Hospital.”

A police report released in November said Cambridge police officers gave the senator a ride home several hours before the crash. “Both officers reported that they believed Mr. Galluccio was pretty drunk,” the report stated.

Galluccio has two previous drunken driving convictions.

BE A FAN! FACEBOOK/privateofficer.com

BE A MEMBER! www.privateofficer.com

Source: AP — A drunken off-duty city firefighter stole a casino security truck and led officers on a short chase, police said.

William White, a 16-year veteran, has been suspended without pay for 30 days and the chief has recommended he be fired for his “unbecoming conduct while he was off-duty,” Assistant Fire Chief Francis Deleonibus said.

White, 50, appeared without an attorney and did not comment as he held his head in his hands during a video arraignment from the Allegheny County Jail on Wednesday. A district judge ordered him to remain behind bars until he is accepted by an alcohol-treatment center.

A Rivers Casino security guard saw White urinating in a parking lot Wednesday about 2:15 a.m., police said. White told the guard he was a firefighter and needed help getting home, authorities said.

The guard drove White to the casino’s main entrance and offered to call a taxi, police said. Instead, White allegedly jumped out of the security truck and began arguing with a woman. When the guard got out of the truck to intervene, White jumped in and drove off, according to a police complaint.

An officer saw the truck driving the wrong way down a nearby road as the description of the stolen vehicle came over the police radio. The officer’s cruiser was damaged in the chase, but nobody was hurt. White was arrested a few blocks from his house.

White faces a Jan. 7 preliminary hearing on theft, receiving stolen property, drunken driving and other charges. Police say a breath test showed his blood-alcohol content was 0.226, nearly three times the state’s legal limit.

The chief’s recommendation that White be fired is nonbinding and must be heard by a trial board composed of three fellow firefighters, who could clear White or impose other discipline, Deleonibus said.

White has no criminal record save a drunken-driving arrest in 1995 in neighboring Butler County. That charge was dismissed when the state trooper who filed it failed to show up for trial.

White’s arrest comes two months after the city firefighters union agreed to random drug testing for the first time in history. Deleonibus said White is not being disciplined under that policy but under state civil service law.

The drug-testing policy was adopted following several incidents involving city firefighters, including one who fed his heroin habit by stealing money from fellow firefighters while answering false alarms he had called in.

BE OUR FAN! Facebook/privateofficer.com

JOIN US! www.privateofficer.com

Clanton AL Dec 29 2009 Two men have been charged with murder after authorities discovered the body of an 18-year-old from Autauga County shot and burning in a field in Chilton County.
The Chilton County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the grisly slaying, which occurred early Sunday morning.
The victim has been identified after an autopsy as Steven Dorough, 18, of Marbury, said Chief Deputy Shane Mayfield. Dorough was shot in the back of the head with a shotgun and then his body was set on fire, according to authorities. Dorough had completed basic training in July and was a member of the Army Reserve, Mayfield said.
Christopher Kroeger, 21, of the 800 block of Chilton County 59 in Verbena and Joshua Ready, 18, of Chilton County have been charged with murder in the case. Both men were in the Chilton County Jail on Monday night under bonds of $500,000 each, jail records show. Courthouse records do not show if they have attorneys.
Kroeger allegedly killed Dorough, and Ready allegedly took part in the effort to conceal the evidence, Mayfield said.
Mayfield said the killing occurred about dawn Sunday at Kroeger’s home, where several teenagers and young adults attended a party Saturday night.
A juvenile reported to the Prattville Police Department on Sunday that he had witnessed a homicide. When Prattville authorities learned the location of the slaying, they contacted the Chilton County Sheriff’s Office, Mayfield said.
“Our deputies arrived at Kroeger’s home, and they noticed something burning in the field near the mobile home,” Mayfield said. “Two young men, reeking of gasoline, answered the door. That’s when our officers went to the fire and found human remains.”
The investigation revealed that after Dorough was shot, an accelerant was poured over his body and debris was stacked on top before the fire was set, Mayfield said. The body had been burning for two to three hours and was almost consumed when deputies arrived, he said.
Kroeger and Dorough apparently had been involved in a long-running dispute about items that had disappeared from Kroeger’s home, Mayfield said. Kroeger felt Dorough was involved in the theft or knew who was, Mayfield said.
Mayfield said the investigation revealed that Kroeger and Dorough had argued and fought at the party just before the shooting. The investigation into the case is ongoing, he said.
“This is not something you would expect to take place the Sunday after Christmas in Verbena, Alabama,” Mayfield said.
District Attorney Randall Houston, a veteran prosecutor with more than 20 years in the courtroom, was equally shocked.
“I was going to church Sunday morning when they got me on the radio and told me what had happened,” he said. “Something like this is always shocking, and infuriating. But having it take place two days after Christmas makes it even more disturbing.”

BE OUR FAN! Facebook/privateofficer.com

JOIN US! www.privateofficer.com

http://www.privateofficer.com/ - An late morning armored car robbery has police on the look-out for a lone suspect.
According to police a man held up an armored truck outside an Aspen Hill bank Wednesday morning and then vanished.
Officers said that the man was carrying a shotgun as he approached the driver of an armored car outside of a Wachovia Bank in the 3800 block of International Drive.
The suspect is described as a black male, 25 to 30 years old, between 6 feet and 6 feet, 3 inches tall, with a heavy build and a goatee. He was wearing a dark shirt and blue jeans.
The man fled with an undisclosed amount of cash. No one was injured.
Anyone with any information about the incident or the suspect is asked to call the Montgomery County Police Robbery Section at 240-773-5100, or submit a tip anonymously at 1-866-411-TIPS.

BE A FAN! Facebook/privateofficer.com

Join PRIVATE OFFICER
INTERNATIONAL

www.privateofficer.com

Elyria OH Dec 24 2009

A 29-year-old Elyria man was stabbed in the leg and chest yesterday morning after trying to break up a fight inside Benchwarmers Sports Bar and Grille. One man has been arrested in connection with the stabbing, while someone who fired a gun during the fight is still on the run from police.

Officers were called to 11 Lake Ave. around 2:30 a.m. after a fight broke out in a hallway that connects Benchwarmers to Mardi Gras Lounge. Brian Helke, who works as a security-bouncer at Benchwarmers, tried to break up the fight, but was punched in the eye and knocked to the ground, according to an Elyria police report.

After the fight broke up, Helke was approached by Frederick Ferris, who began fighting him and ended up on top of him. Ferris allegedly pulled out a knife and stabbed Helke in the chest and leg before fleeing out a Lake Avenue exit, police said.

Ferris was stopped a few minutes later as he was walking on Middle Avenue near Ely Square. No weapons were found on him, but a black-handled kitchen knife was later discovered at the north end of Ely Square across from the Lake Avenue intersection, police said.

Ferris was charged with felonious assault and tampering with evidence.

Later on, officers were called back to the bar after workers found a shell casing and a handgun magazine. A bullet hole was also found in the wall, which police believe was fired during the fight. A gun was found discarded in a sewer on Washington Avenue, outside of Mardi Gras Lounge, police said. The gun, which is listed as stolen through the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office, was taken from an Eaton Township home in December 2008.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Elyria Police Department at (440) 323-3302.

New York Dec 24 2009

An argument in an assisted-living residence at 270 E. Second St. between two men in wheelchairs turned violent in the early hours of Sat., Dec. 19, and one of them stabbed the other to death, police said.

The suspect, Felipe Rivera-Cruz, 51, plunged a folding knife four times into the chest of the victim, Ronal Garcia, 24, at 4:12 a.m. in a second-floor hallway of the four-story Barrier Free Living residence between Avenues C and D, according to the complaint filed by the Manhattan district attorney. Garcia was taken to Beth Israel Medical Center with several other stab wounds in addition to the four fatal ones, and was declared dead soon after.

The stabbing, which staff members saw in progress on a surveillance monitor, followed an argument an hour or so earlier when the victim had made fun of the suspect, according to reports. Police also responded to the earlier call, but said it was just an argument with no injuries and neither party wanted to file charges. However, a New York Times report quoted a witness as saying the suspect had sustained a cut on his forehead during the earlier incident, and the victim had phoned his family in the Bronx between the first and second calls.

A security guard, who got to the scene too late to prevent the stabbing, observed the folding knife in the suspect’s hand, took it from him, and then called 911, the complaint says.

The nonprofit Barrier Free Living residence, operated under contract to the city, is one of the few that are completely accessible to wheelchairs. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeless Services said the city is investigating the circumstances of the stabbing.

Rivera-Cruz was held on charges of second-degree murder and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon pending a Dec. 24 court appearance

BE A FAN! Facebook/privateofficer.com

Join PRIVATE OFFICER
INTERNATIONAL

www.privateofficer.com

COLUMBIA, S.C. Dec 24 2009 Court records show Wal-Mart has settled a lawsuit with the family of a girl who was fondled by an employee at a store in South Carolina five years ago.

The State reported Thursday that Wal-Mart agreed last week to pay a girl an undisclosed sum after she was fondled by an employee who was a registered sex offender in 2004 at a store in Orangeburg.

The newspaper reported that Wal-Mart began conducting criminal background checks on new hires at its stores within weeks of that incident.

A spokeswoman for Wal-Mart’s corporate headquarters in Bentonville, Ark., Daphne Moore, would not discuss the Dec. 16 settlement on Wednesday. But Moore said the matter has been resolved.

The family’s attorney, David Massey of Columbia, said he’s glad the lawsuit has been resolved.

BE A FAN! Facebook/privateofficer.com

Join PRIVATE OFFICER
INTERNATIONAL

www.privateofficer.com

EL PASO, Texas Dec 24 2009
Brett Davis/Staff
PRIVATE OFFICER NEWS
NETWORK
www.privateofficer.com

Police responded to an incident at a local dollar store and say that three people were arrested Wednesday after a robbery.
Police said that the three are accused of stealing from a west side Dollar General Store.

Officers responded to the store at around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday and found a security officer in a battle with several people.

Investigators said that two men and one juvenile walked into the store at 6901 North Mesa, and the two men tried stealing a few items.

When approached by a security officer, the group began assaulting the officer and tried to flee.

All three were arrested and now face robbery charges.
Police have not yet released their identity.

BE A FAN! Facebook/privateofficer.com

Join PRIVATE OFFICER
INTERNATIONAL

www.privateofficer.com

FLORENCE, Ky.Dec 23 2009 – Family, friends and a grateful community paid their last respects Tuesday to a Cincinnati police officer and Air Force sergeant killed while serving in Afghanistan.

Hundreds attended the visitation Tuesday morning for Tech Sgt. Anthony C. “Tony” Campbell, who was killed while trying to disarm an improvised explosive device last week. The Air Force Tech Sgt. was serving in Afghanistan as an explosive ordinance disposal specialist.

Campbell, 35, had been serving as a Cincinnati police officer for just a few weeks before he was deployed.

“He was my best friend and a wonderful husband and father,” said his widow, Emily Campbell.

Campbell’s statements came from a program given to those who attended the visitation at Florence Baptist Church at Mt. Zion.

“He dedicated his life to his country,” Campbell’s statement continued.

Hundreds upon hundreds stood in line for a chance to express their sympathy for the family.

The 1992 Boone County high school graduate had his mother sign his enlistment papers at the age of 17 so he could join the Air Force.

In 2009 he became a Cincinnati police officer and served at downtown’s district one headquarters before he was deployed to Afghanistan.

In an additional statement Emily Campbell thanked the community for their support at this most difficult time.

“On behalf of the Campbell family I would like to express my deepest gratitude and appreciation for the outpouring of love and support we have received over the last week. The love that has been shown for my husband, Anthony, myself, and our grieving family has gone beyond my imagination,” Campbell said.

Campbell also leaves behind three children.

His 2-year-old son saluted his father before the service began.

During the funeral, Campbell was remembered by his best friend, Chris Webster.

“Anthony Campbell Junior was a father, a husband, a son, a grandson, a brother, an uncle and a friend,” said Webster, Campbell’s Best Friend. “He was a union brother to two of the biggest families in Cincinnati. The Cincinnati Police Department and the Plumbers and Pipe fitters Local 392 and a member to an even bigger family the United States Air Force. I’ve known Tony for 24 years and trust me when I say Tony was doing exactly what he wanted to do.”

Cincinnati Police Chief Tom Streicher also paid tribute to Campbell.

“Tony put himself in harms way so that other people could be protected. Other people in a community much larger that what we experience here in the Greater Cincinnati area in fact his community was the entire world and I think that’s something that speaks volume about his character, his tenacity and about his commitment to duty,” said Chief Tom Streicher of Cincinnati Police. “In my estimation, each and everyone one of us owe him a debt of gratitude for his loyal service to his community and to his country.”

Air Force commanders posthumously awarded Campbell the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, and the Combat Action Medal.

Tech Sgt. Campbell was escorted to the Veterans Cemetery in Williamstown where he was laid to rest.

“Tony Campbell was a great American, Tony Campbell is a hero in our minds, and he will live in our hearts forever,” said Streicher.

LAKE FOREST FLA DEc 23 2009

ocregister – A security guard hired to keep order outside a medical marijuana dispensary said he was fired three weeks ago for being too good at his job.

The dispensary owner said he was let go for being “over-aggressive and scary.” The dispensary’s owner said Earth Cann has hired two new guards who are “nice and professional.”

Former security guard George Covarrubias was hired to keep an eye on the parking lot of Earth Cann Wellness Center in Lake Forest Here he’s shown outside the dispensary in October.

Club owner Shannon Saccullo immediately posted warning signs – telling club members that marijuana prescriptions must remain in a sealed bag until they are taken home – and hired Covarrubias to enforce the dispensary’s rules.

In a short time Covarrubias made sure there was no smoking and loitering around Earth Cann or other businesses. He stopped “drug deals,” he said. He also developed a rapport with nearby businesses and introduced himself, asking for their worries and input.

Covarrubias said he suspended about eight people from use of the club – including one he characterizes as a good customer.

Covarrubias said he also called police when it seemed that violations of the zero tolerance policy were taking place outside his area of patrol.

In one case Covarrubias said he caught a club member packing a bowl of marijuana and smoking it.

“He buys a quarter pound at a time and at $300 an ounce, he spends $1,200 each time,” said Covarrubias. “I set high standards for the place and was professional,” he said. “They treated me like I was an old gang banger. I got spit on, almost got knocked down by speeding cars and got flipped off.”

Covarrubias said he is disappointed by his removal.

Saccullo said she received countless complaints about Covarrubias’ aggressive behavior.

“People were coming into the club saying ‘your security guard is really obsessed,’” she said. “I told him to mellow out and be nice to people. He was not approachable and polite. I want people to have a positive experience in the club and not to be hassled.”

Since November police have not gotten reports of any problems associated with the dispensary.

Vickie Simpson, executive director of Us Too Center which focuses on special needs children, is familiar with the dispensary and located in the neighboring business park.

“Before the security guards people would speed through the parking lot and we saw multiple drug transaction right in front of our door,” said Simpson. “Now we have no problems at all.”

Earth Cann’s membership has grown to more than 2,500 now, almost 1,000 more since late October.

In November the dispensary won a lawsuit against its landlord, which tried to evict the business, when a judge rejected the landlord’s argument that the dispensary should be forced to close because it allegedly violated a city zoning rule.

David Welch, an attorney who represented Earth Cann, called Superior Court judge’s ruling a victory in the medical marijuana battle.

City officials – who on Sept. 1 announced that complaints had been filed against 35 people associated with 14 dispensaries.– said the tenant-landlord dispute will have no affect on the city’s legal efforts to close down dispensaries citywide.

“If the landlord takes action to remove the tenant and they are removed, that’s one less dispensary the city would have to close,” said Jeff Dunn, a partner with Best, Best & Krieger, representing the city in its legal action against the dispensaries.

“The city has taken legal action to close all storefronts in Lake Forest. But if the landlord doesn’t do it, it won’t change what the city will do. Nothing has happened that will affect the city’s process to move forward.”

Dunn said all dispensaries – now more than 20 – could be shut down by early next year.

But Saccullo remains optimistic and hopes the city will agree to regulate a few of the dispensaries that a re running legitimate businesses.

“Things are great,” said Saccullo adding that club members are bringing in cans for the needy for the holidays. “I have a book of 100 testimonials of what medical marijuana is doing for people. I’ll be the poster child for how a business liker this should be run. I’m very proud of it.”

BE A FAN! Facebook/privateofficer.com

Join PRIVATE OFFICER
INTERNATIONAL

www.privateofficer.com

BLUFFTON, Ind. Dec 23 2009 – A Bluffton Harrison Teacher is behind bars Tuesday charged with three felony counts including sexual misconduct with a minor.

The 36-year-old former Bluffton-Harrison schools teacher Tracey Pace faces sexual misconduct charges.

Police in Bluffton say Pace performed sexual acts on a teenager from January to March in 2007.

She was not a teacher at the time.

Pace is also charged with sending pornographic pictures to a minor in 2007.

Pace has been arrested and is being held in the Wells County Jail on $30,000 bond.

Pace is on administrative leave from her teaching position.

BE A FAN! Facebook/privateofficer.com

Join PRIVATE OFFICER
INTERNATIONAL

www.privateofficer.com

New Bern NC Dec 23 2009 Police arrested a man Tuesday night, minutes after he attacked a security officer at Walmart. Officers responded to the store on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard around 4:50 p.m., in reference to an altercation that took place just outside the entrance doors of the store.

Officers learned that a security guard, Terry Edward Counts, of Vanceboro, had been cut by a man trying to take shoes from the store. Counts told officers he followed the suspect out of the store, and the man turned around and attacked him, cutting his arm repeatedly.

The suspect fled the scene on foot, and thanks to citizens who provided officers with information on his movements, police pursued him across Highways 17 and 70 to Egret Circle in the Woodland Crossing Apartment complex. As part of the New Bern Police Department’s Holiday Task Force, numerous officers were already in the immediate area, which allowed for a rapid response time. The suspect, Randolph Jones, Jr., of 728 Cedar St., was apprehended within 10 minutes of the call to police.

Counts was taken to Carolina East Medical Center and then airlifted to Pitt Memorial Hospital for treatment.

Jones has a criminal history that includes larceny, assault, trespassing, common law robbery, shoplifting and felony breaking and entering. He was charged with Larceny and Assault with a Deadly Weapon with Intent to Kill Inflicting Serious Injury.

He was placed in the Craven County jail under a $150,000 bond and scheduled to make a first appearance in court December 28, 2009.

Follow Us On Twitter/privateofficer

BE A FAN! Facebook/privateofficer.com

Join PRIVATE OFFICER
INTERNATIONAL

www.privateofficer.com

NORTH HAVERHILL, N.H.Dec 22 2009 – Denounced as “evil” and “despicable,” three young friends who plotted the killing of a developmentally disabled Walmart cashier who had been hitting on a co-worker drew long prison terms Monday.

Timothy Smith, Anthony Howe and Amber Talbot, who pleaded guilty to murder and conspiracy in the October 2008 death of 25-year-old Christopher Gray, sat at adjoining tables in court as the victim’s family members tearfully remembered him and berated his killers.

“Just remember that night,” said David Kemp, 33, Gray’s brother. “I hope it eats you and eats you and eats you until can’t take it (any) longer.”

Smith and Howe each got 40 years to life and Talbot 25 to 50 years for taking the Groton, Vt., man to a mobile home under the pretext of watching movies. There, Smith, 24, and Howe, 19, who are cousins, stabbed and strangled him as they stood around a campfire.

Gray, an aspiring auto mechanic whose buoyant personality helped him overcome a low IQ, attention deficit disorder and a speech impediment, became a target after wooing Talbot, 18, who also worked at the Woodsville Walmart.

Her boyfriend, Michael Robie, 19, became enraged when he heard about it and plotted revenge, enlisting the other three from his cell. Robie, who was heard discussing the attack in tape-recorded telephone calls from jail, has pleaded guilty to assault and conspiracy.

He is awaiting sentencing.

On the night Gray went missing, Walmart surveillance video showed the three picking him up after work at the Woodsville store, before they drove to Talbot’s home. “He was only there because he wanted you to be his friend,” his father, Michael Gray, told them Monday.

Talbot hung her head, her brown hair falling in her face, as Gray’s “mom,” legal guardian Annie Crowley, 38, of Groton, Vt., chided her as the one who lured Gray.

“Are you more than just a stupid girl that who caught up with the wrong crowd?” she told Talbot, standing at a podium in the hushed courtroom. “I think so. I believe all the young men involved are your victims.”

Crowley, who had been his guardian for about two years before his death, broke down in tears as she read her statement. “How am I supposed to live with myself, knowing that I was his guardian? I was supposed to be looking out for him,” she said.

Shirley Kingsbury, Gray’s aunt, stood by the podium as Assistant Attorney General Jeffery Strelzin read her statement for her.

“You are despicable human beings,” he read from her statement. “My heart is broken forever.”

Smith, who had confessed to the killing in a handwritten letter to Gray’s family after the slaying, apologized again Monday.

“I see Chris every time I try to sleep. No matter how many times I say I’m sorry, I can’t bring him back. But I wish I could. That night, I should’ve told Chris what we planned on doing, and not to come,” Smith said.

Before the sentencings, Gray’s family and friends threw an appreciation luncheon for police and prosecutors from Vermont and New Hampshire who cracked the case.

A dozen uniformed officers and plainclothes detectives received lapel pins from Crowley in an informal ceremony before sitting down to a buffet lunch at a community organization’s office in nearby Wells River, Vt.

“It was my honor to work on this case,” said Assistant New Hampshire Attorney General Lucy Carrillo, as she stepped up to have Crowley pin her.

“We just felt it was important that they be recognized for the work they put into it,” said Crowley. “I felt Chris would have appreciated that and would have wanted us to be grateful,” she said

BE A FAN! Facebook/privateofficer.com

Join PRIVATE OFFICER
INTERNATIONAL

www.privateofficer.com

Athens GA Dec 22 2009 A security guard at an Athens apartment complex alerted Athens Police to a possible theft on Saturday, leading to the arrest of one of the two suspects, an official said.

Athens Police arrested Nicole Anne Chavez, 26, of 19260 Airfield St., Lot 54 in Athens on a charge of third-degree burglary, records show.

A security guard at Oakview Apartments on U.S. 31 North saw two people carrying copper from the construction site about midnight and approached them, said Lt. Floyd Johnson. One of the suspects fled in a vehicle and the other fled on foot, prompting the guard to call police, Johnson said.

A few hours later, Officer Neal Muse saw Chavez walking on North Jefferson Street and stopped her because she fit the description of the suspect described running from Oakview Apartments, he said.

Muse and Lt. Trevor Harris questioned Chavez, and she admitted taking copper from the apartments, Johnson said.

She was transferred to the Limestone County Jail, where she remained in lieu of posting a $2,500 bond, records show.

BE A FAN! Facebook/privateofficer.com

Join PRIVATE OFFICER
INTERNATIONAL

www.privateofficer.com

SEATTLE WA Dec 22 2009 (AP) – Two sheriff’s officers were wounded while responding to a dispute at a home between two brothers – the third shooting of law enforcement officers in Washington state in the last three months.

The officers killed the gunman before they were rushed to the hospital. One was listed in stable condition, the other was in critical condition in the intensive-care unit.

Sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said the sergeant and a deputy were shot at around 8:45 p.m. Monday while responding to an altercation between David E. Crable and his brother near Eatonville, a rural community in the Cascade foothills. The home is about 15 miles west of Mount Rainier National Park and 50 miles south of Seattle.

Crable, 35, shot the two officers before he was killed when they returned fire, Troyer said, adding that the gunman has a history of “terrorizing” his family. The names of the officers were not immediately released.

Troyer said the officers were met at the door by Crable’s brother, Troyer said. When the deputies entered the house, Crable opened fire from upstairs, hitting one of the officers multiple times.

“This issomebody that was laying in wait for our guys,” Troyer told reporters near the shooting scene. “There’s not much we’re going to be able to do when somebody is hiding and arming themselves and we have somebody else inviting us into the residence and the second person opens fire on us.”

Crable’s family tried to help the wounded officers by providing first aid, Troyer said. Deputies said the brother was cooperating with investigators and did not call him a suspect.

“It looks like people that were in this residence went out of their way to help our people,” he said.

The shooting comes three weeks after four Lakewood police officers were shot and killed at a coffee shop before their shift. After a two-day manhunt, suspect Maurice Clemmons was shot to death by a Seattle police officer. The Thanksgiving weekend attack on the officers occurred about 17 miles northwest of Monday’s shooting scene.

A month earlier, Seattle Officer Timothy Brenton was killed as he sat in his patrol car Halloween night. Christopher Monfort, 41, has been charged with aggravated first-degree murder in Brenton’s death.

“Most people of the community as we have seen in the last few weeks have a tremendous regard for (law enforcement),” Pierce County Sheriff Paul Pastor said at the scene late Monday. “But there are people in the community that don’t come from there, and that’s the people we deal with day after day.”

After Monday’s shooting, the deputy was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where spokeswoman Susan Gregg-Hanson said he was in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

The sergeant was taken to Madigan Army Medical Center and was in serious condition, Troyer said. Madigan spokeswoman Julie Calohan said he was in stable condition early Tuesday.

BE A FAN! Facebook/privateofficer.com

Join PRIVATE OFFICER
INTERNATIONAL

www.privateofficer.com