Monday, June 30, 2008

Officer Down

Officer Down



Prince George’s County Police Cpl Richard Findley was killed on Saturday

Findley was watching a truck that he thought was stolen in an apartment complex when he saw two people get into the truck. He attempted to make a traffic stop. The truck hit the police car. At some point, Findley got out of the police car and he was struck and then dragged by the pickup.

Prince George's County Police have arrested a teenager in connection with the death of Cpl. Findley. Police say Ronnie Lionel White, 19, was the driver of the vehicle that struck the Prince George's County officer Friday morning.

He was one of four people that police detained in the incident.
White is charged with first degree murder. Police say the other three individuals who were detained are still under investigation.

Spokeswoman Sharon Taylor says police believe the officer fired shots during the incident, but it's unclear whether anyone was hit.

Findley was taken to Laurel Regional Hospital in serious condition. He died of his injuries a short time later.

He is the first officer to be killed in Prince George's County since 2005.

Findley was a 10-year veteran of the force and served as a firefighter for 20 years at the Beltsville Fire House

He leaves behind a wife and two daughters.



Please observe a moment of silence in memory of Price George County Corporal Richard Findley

Update



The teenager charged with killing a police officer was found dead in jail.

Ronnie Lionel White, 19, died in jail. The medical examiner ruled Monday the cause of death was from asphyxiation and strangulation and the case has been ruled a homicide.

The Maryland Medical Examiner ruled Monday that Ronnie White's death in Prince George's County Correctional Center the previous day was from asphyxiation and strangulation.

Maryland State Police and the FBI are investigating the 19-year-old inmate's death.

Former Lake Wales Police Officers second trail started today


Former Lake Wales Police Officers second trail started today


Former Lake Wales Police Corporal Christopher Roberts, 35, was accused of inappropriately touching a 6 year old girl.

He was arrested in May 2007, at which time he resigned from the police department.
Roberts was on trial earlier this year but the jurors could not reach a verdict and a mistrial was declared.

If Roberts is convicted he could face a maximum of life in prison.

Roberts did serve on the police department for 8 years.

According to the Sheriff’s site


Inmate Name: ROBERTS, CHRISTOPHER Release Date: 06/21/2007
Booking Number: 2007-013218 Booking Date: 06/01/2007
Race: W Sex: M DOB: XX/XX/XXXX Height: 602 Weight: 225
Location: TRANSFERRED TO BOOKING
Arresting Agency: POLK COUNTY SHERIFF
Hold: N Hold for:
Disposition of Hold:
DNA: ?
AKA
No known AKA
Charge Number 1
Statute: 800.04(5B) LEWD LASCV BEHAVIOR-MOLEST VIC LESS 12YOA OFFENDER 18 YOA O
Charge on arrest docket: MOLEST VIC U/12YOA OFFENDER 18 OR OLDER
Bond Type: SBN
Bond Number: AS50133446 Purge Number:
Purge/Bond Amount: 50,000.00 Surety: 0.00
Cash: 0.00 Bond Exp.: SBN# AS50-133446 50000.00 Disposition: SBN/PTR
Upgrade/Reduction:

SBN - Surety Bond
PTR - Pre-Trial Release

Mom asked 6 year old son to get a knife

Mom asked 6 year old son to get a knife

And he did. Brittney Lovette, 22, was in an argument with her ex-boyfriend when he stopped by to give her money for their children. During the argument Lovette asked her 6 year old son to get a knife, he complied with his moms request and brought a knife to her.


Lovette stabbed Keith Paige in the chest and hand while they argued in the driveway of her home.

The stabbing was not enough so Lovette also threatened Paige’s friend, saying she was going to throw a brick at her vehicle, according to the report.

Witnesses and Paige told responding deputies that Lovette ran inside with her four children, and she was found hiding with them in a closet.

Lovette, of Palmetto, is charged with domestic aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

A sheriff’s report on the matter did not indicate the extent of the injuries suffered by Paige.

According to the Sheriffs site

She has been charged with Great Bodily Harm/Disability/Disfig

She is being held on a $10,000 dollar bond.

Laser Light Felony Arrest


Laser Light Felony Arrest

Bruce Donath, 50, arrested.


Donath has been arrested for allegedly shining a laser light into a Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office helicopter pilot’s eyes.

Donath said he signed the light because he was “bored and stupid”

The pilot was responding to an armed robbery call when the light was shined in his eyes. The pilot feared he would crash and reported that the laser light caused the night vision goggles to shut down.

Jim Julius is a pilot for Sports Planes Florida. He says a laser light can cause major problems for pilots.
"Pilots refer to visual reference to the ground to decide how to fly the airplane," Julius said.
Shining a laser light into a pilot's eyes is a felony. The Sheriff's Office says they can't remember the last time they've had an incident like this.
"You would hope it would be a felony because you endanger the lives of everyone on aircraft plus the people on the ground," Julius said.
The Sheriff's Office pilot will be back to work Wednesday night.

According to the Sheriff’s site:

30-June-2008 Page 74 of 180
Booking #: 200800011181 Booking DATE: 06/28/2008 Booking Time: 02:28 PIN: 0100055337
Name: DONATH,BRUCE A
Arresting Agency: FL0580000 Agency Offense: 200800058159 OBTS: 5801127759
DOB: xx/xx/xxxx
Age at arrest: 50
Residence: 2135 Worrington St
Gender: M
Race: W
Hgt:5’11”
Wgt: 230
Hair: Bro
Eyes: Blu


Chg Statute Charge Description Class
1 777.7778 MISUSE OF LASER LIGHTING DEVICE
Disposition: STATUTE 784.062(3)(A)
Case #: 2008 CF 011025 NC
Arrest Date: 06/27/2008
Employed by: Unemployed
Occupation:
Release Date: 06/28/2008 @ 08:45 hrs
Bond $1,000.00

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Tea time or snort a line or two of cocaine

Tea time or snort a line or two of cocaine

Jerome Klein, 50, was released from Broward County Jail after a judge ruled a Bolivian tea he drank was the reason he failed a drug test and violated the terms of the bond.

The tea is Mate de Coco. It is made from the coca plant which was reported that it just so happened that Klein had some just prior to a random drug test in April. He failed the test and was thrown back in jail.

In May, state prosecutors said Klein's urine contained too high a concentration of cocaine to be caused by drinking tea.

But Friday, Theodore Mastos, a former Miami-Dade County judge, convinced Circuit Judge John Murphy III that Klein was the unknowing victim of the herbal brew.
''His mom loaded the guy with the tea. It's full of cocaine,'' Mastos said. ``This was an aberration. He's not a junkie.''

Klein has no criminal history aside from the burglary allegations and has never been arrested on drug charges, records show.

A look at the results revealed Klein's urine contained 30 times more cocaine concentration than originally reported.

Klein had passed an April 4 blood test but fell ill about a week later. His mother gave him the tea to make him feel better, she said.

''I made the tea. It was my fault,'' Shulamit Klein said. ``I won't use the tea anymore.''

And yet we wonder what’s wrong with our criminal justice system.
Maybe the mom should be arrested for distribution of cocaine.
Wonder how much tea one has to drink to reach a goal of 30 times more concentration

Officer Honored – Silver Cross presented.

Officer Honored – Silver Cross presented.


Hillsborough County Deputy Nelson Birch was presented with the Silver Cross, which is presented to Deputies that are injured while on duty.

Deputy Birch was working in the jail and attempted to place an inmate in the shower. The inmate attacked. The inmate was able to slash the deputies face with a homemade knife.



Birch said “he tried to cut my carotid artery”

Birch was out of work for 10 days and received eight stitches.

'It's kind of a double edged sword, no pun intended," Birch said about the Silver Cross. "In order to receive this I had to get injured, unfortunately."

Birch said similar incidents aren't uncommon.

"We don't have a lot of Sunday School teachers in confinement," he said. "They are criminals, convicts, repeat offenders, and they are extremely dangerous."

Officer Down



Officer Down

Police were working at a construction zone, when a possible drunk driver crashed through the barricades and plowed into two of the three officers.

Officer Gary Gryder was killed. Officer Joe Pyland is listed in critical condition. The third officer was able to jump out of the way and was un-harmed.

According to reports the DUI suspect did not even break during the accident. As he hit one patrol car, the driver’s side door was ripped off.



Please observe a moment of silence in memory of Officer Gary Gryder


The driver was arrested but there were no immediate charges.

Police state that the suspect was laughing at the officers at one point. Police said the suspect’s demeanor led them to believe he was intoxicated.

Officers Gary Gryder was pronounced dead at Memorial Hermann Hospital.

The Houston Police Officer's Union Web site said Gryder was a 25-year veteran of the force and was married with one son.

Pyland is a 1980 graduate of the Houston police academy.

Mark D. Schwab is scheduled to die



Mark D. Schwab is scheduled to die

Mark Dean Schwab could be the first to die by lethal injection since Angel Diaz. Lethal injection was put on hold by the Governor after the Diaz execution.

However, the State now has new policy and procedures in place that could be tested on Tuesday.

Mark Schwab, 39, has been on death row for 16 years. He was sentenced to death in the 1991 kidnapping, rape and murder of an 11 year old boy.




Schwab and his attorneys aren’t so sure the problems have been fixed. The attorney, Mark Gruber, who is state paid said that an analysis done for Schwab showed that 9 out of the 30 mock executions were failures.

Schwab’s legal options are running out. The Florida Supreme Court on Friday rejected his latest appeal claiming the new procedure still carried the risk of causing intense pain and suffering.

Now the state has argued successfully in several courts that the procedure meets all constitutional tests against cruel and unusual punishment and Schwab cannot raise that issue again.

Once Schwab’s appeal was rejected by the Supreme Court it is expected they will turn to the federal courts. The U.S. Supreme Court has allowed eight lethal injections to continue since upholding the Kentucky case.

Family of Schwab's victim are counting down the days to execution with a timer on a Web site devoted to the boy. They've been through years of appeals, and they decided not to comment on the latest.

"The roller coaster has begun, and we don't want to get on," Vickie Rios-Martinez, Junny's mother, said recently.
Schwab raped and killed Junny a month after he was released early from a prison sentence he got for raping a 13-year-old boy, who was from Cocoa, a small town on the Atlantic coast of Florida.

Schwab got close to the boy and his family by posing as a reporter who promised to help the boy with his dream of becoming a professional surfer. On the day of the rape and murder, Schwab called the boy's school posing as his father, then picked him up there.

The case prompted Florida's Junny Rios-Martinez Act of 1992, which prohibits sex offenders from early release from prison or getting credit for good behavior.
Schwab's execution is to be held at the state's death chamber in Starke.

According to the DOC web site

Florida Department of Corrections Website




Inmate Population Information Detail
(This information was current as of 6/22/2008)




DC Number: 111129
Name: SCHWAB, MARK D
Race: WHITE
Sex: MALE
Hair Color: BROWN
Eye Color: BLUE
Height: 6'01''
Weight: 156 lbs.
Birth Date: 12/16/1968
Initial Receipt Date: 07/01/1992
Current Facility: FLORIDA STATE PRISON
Current Custody: MAXIMUM
Current Release Date: DEATH SENTENCE



________________________________________
Aliases:
MARK D SCHWAB MARK DEAN SCHWAB

Scars, Marks, and Tattoos:
Type Location Description
TATTOO LEFT ARM BART SIMPSON UPPER ARM
TATTOO RIGHT ARM HEART BREAKER W/KNIFE & HEART

Current Prison Sentence History:
Offense Date Offense Sentence Date County Case No. Prison Sentence Length
04/18/1991 1ST DG MUR/PREMED. OR ATT. 07/01/1992 BREVARD 9107249 DEATH SENTENCE
04/18/1991 SEX BAT BY ADULT/VCTM UNDER 12 07/01/1992 BREVARD 9107249 SENTENCED TO LIFE
04/18/1991 KIDNAP V<13/AGG.CHLD ABUSE 07/01/1992 BREVARD 9107249 SENTENCED TO LIFE
07/20/1987 SEX BAT/ WPN. OR FORCE 07/01/1992 BREVARD 8703147 SENTENCED TO LIFE

Note: The offenses descriptions are truncated and do not necessarily reflect the crime of conviction. Please refer to the court documents or the Florida Statutes for further information or definition.
Detainers: (Further information may be obtained by contacting the detaining agency)
Detainer Date Agency Type Date Canceled
01/24/1990 NTFY:18-2 COCOA P&P NTFY/P&P 03/04/1991

Incarceration History:
Date In-Custody Date Out-of-Custody
04/05/1988 03/04/1991
07/01/1992 Currently Incarcerated

Prior Prison History: (Note: Data reflected covers periods of incarceration with the Florida Dept.of Corrections since January of 1983)
Offense Date Offense Sentence Date County Case No. Prison Sentence Length
07/20/1987 SEX BAT/ WPN. OR FORCE 03/16/1988 BREVARD 8703147 8Y 0M 0D

Lethal Injection in Florida



Lethal Injection could be tested Tuesday in Florida

According to reports, Florida is set to test the new lethal injection procedures on Tuesday. This will be the first time Florida has executed an inmate since the lethal injection of Angel Diaz. Officials said his execution was botched. The report shows it took 34 minutes, twice as long as usual for an inmate to die. Some experts said the delay would cause intense pain.

What idiot said that? And by the way, who cares? Did Angel Diaz care when he committed a crime and his ultimate punishment was lethal injection? Did Angel Diaz care about the pain and suffering he inflicted? Ok sorry about that, have to rant and rave for a minute, now back to the story…

Florida now has a new procedure in place and they have had “mock” executions to test it out.

The New Procedure


Have medically trained personnel to start an IV and ensure IV is properly placed.

Once IV is in place administer Sodium Pentothal.

Now the warden must ensure the inmate is unconscious (what happened to the medically trained personnel)

The executioner will then inject Pancuronium Bromide, which will paralyze the muscles.

Then they can inject Potassium Chloride to stop the inmate’s heart.

And lastly it states that medically trained personnel be involved in the process.
Granted this is not the entire policy.



The corrections department said its mock exercises have included preparation for potential problems such as a combative inmate, the incapacity of an execution team member, power failure and finding a vein.

"Training for the unexpected is not a failed mock execution," said Gretl Plessinger, a corrections department spokeswoman. "We're planning for contingencies."


Now one question I have is how do you test the death penalty by lethal injection?

Does one actually get to volunteer to be an inmate and get strapped down to the stretcher?

Do they use someone on death row to test the new policy and procedure?

Would you want to be the one to volunteer to have the procedure tested on you?

(X)Deputy Jose Aponte goes to jail, for 15 years


(X)Deputy Jose Aponte goes to jail, for 15 years


Jose Aponte, a former Polk County Deputy has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for raping his ex-girlfriend.

His ex-girlfriend testified he forced her to have sex. She said he pointed a gun at my head and threatened to post sex tapes of her on the internet.

Aponte said the sex was consensual and he of course denied pointing the gun at her.

Aponte is 55 years old and will spend the next 15 years in prison and then have 10 years of probation.

Aponte was with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office for 5 years.

According to the Sheriff’s Site

Inmate Name: APONTE, JOSE O Release Date: 08/24/2007
Booking Number: 2007-020643 Booking Date: 08/22/2007
Race: W Sex: M DOB: Height: 600 Weight: 195
Location: TRANSFERRED TO BOOKING
Arresting Agency: POLK COUNTY SHERIFF
Hold: N Hold for:
Disposition of Hold:
DNA: ?
AKA
No known AKA
Charge Number 1
Statute: 794.011(5) SEX ASSLT-VICT OVR 12 YOA PHYSICAL FORCE NO DMG
Charge on arrest docket: SEXUAL BATTERY
Bond Type: SBN
Bond Number: 5270502149 Purge Number:
Purge/Bond Amount: 25,000.00 Surety: 0.00
Cash: 0.00 Bond Exp.: SBN# 527050214-9 FOR $25000.00 Disposition: SBN/PTR
Upgrade/Reduction:
Charge Number 2
Statute: 784.021(1A) AGGRAV ASSLT - WEAPON-W DEADLY WEAPON WITHOUT INTENT TO KI
Charge on arrest docket: AGGRVATED ASSLT
Bond Type: SBN
Bond Number: 5604738707 Purge Number:
Purge/Bond Amount: 5,000.00 Surety: 0.00
Cash: 0.00 Bond Exp.: SBN# 560473870-7 FOR $5000.00 Disposition: SBN/PTR
Upgrade/Reduction:
Charge Number 3
Statute: 784.03(1A1) BATTERY-TOUCH OR STRIKE
Charge on arrest docket: BATTERY DV
Bond Type: SBN
Bond Number: 5604738710 Purge Number:
Purge/Bond Amount: 2,000.00 Surety: 0.00
Cash: 0.00 Bond Exp.: SBN# 560473871-0 FOR $2000.00 Disposition: SBN/PTR
Upgrade/Reduction:

And according to the Clerk of Court web site

CASE NUMBER FILE DATE CASE TYPE STATUS
532007CF00642401XXXX
[CF07-006424-XX] 08/23/2007 FELONY SENTENCED - PAYMENT OUTSTANDING
CHARGE SEQ# STATUTE STATUTE TEXT DATE PHASE
001
794011 SEXUAL BATTERY 06/27/2008 Court: Adjudicated Guilty

002
784021 WEAP-F/ARM/775.087(1) AGG ASSAULT W/FIREARM 05/29/2008 Court: Acquitted

003
78403 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE BATTERY 09/12/2007 Prosecutor: No Action

[DEFENDANT ATTORNEY=MCGINN ,MICHAEL DEFENDANT=APONTE,JOSE STATE ATTORNEY=STOCKDALE ,BETH A ]
[JUDGE=CARPANINI, MARK -NJ]
LAST DOCKET DATE=06/27/2008 JURY TRIAL=Yes DISPOSITION DATE=06/27/2008
[Court Events | Finance Info]


Seq # : 001 State Prison 15 Years , Time Served -, Money Imposed -
Sentence Status : N/A
Date Imposed : 06/27/2008 Date Effective : 06/27/2008
Judge At Sentence : SPOTO, KEITH P

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Sex with Teachers

Sex with Teachers




Recently we read that Adrienne LaFlamme, 60, was arrested after repeatedly having sex with minors. She was a science teacher at the Brevard county Juvenile Detention Center in Sharpes, Fl. She was charged with 15 counts of having unlawful sex with a minor.

She started a relationship with a 17 year old student when he was discharged from the center. Seems it was a short 4 week relationship. But she was able to have a 3 some with an additional boy that is 14 years old.

Now part of this story that does not make sense is the mother, yes the mother, stated that LaFlamme would pick up her son from their home and take him back to her house to have sex. If this was an issue, why did the mom not step in instead of waiting to give a statement to the police? Police did say LaFlamme let the teen use her vehicle and when she learned of the investigation, she reported the car stolen and also then asked the teen to lie about the drug use since she could lose her job over that.



Police have arrested a female middle school teacher for allegedly engaging in sex acts with a 14-year-old male student.
The Miami-Dade Police Department's Sexual Crimes Bureau arrested 40-year-old Mariella Brenlla, a school teacher at Ponce De Leon Middle School, for lewd and lascivious battery on a then teenage boy.
Police say the pair had sex at various locations within Miami-Dade County during the 2002-2003 school year. The victim was attending eighth grade at Ponce De Leon when the sexual battery occurred. "During that time frame, she engaged in sexual activity with the 14-year-old, white male on different occasions,"




A Mississippi teacher admitted to cops that she had sex with a 15-year-old male student to whom she sent explicit text messages and trysted with in her Jaguar, which bore the license plate "GRRRRR." Those are just some of the sleazy details in a Biloxi Police Department report detailing Rebecca Dawn Bogard's alleged sexual assault of the boy, who the 27-year-old educator taught at the Biloxi Alternative School (which is as a school for troubled teens). According to the document, Bogard referred to the teenager as "her little 'sex fiend'" in one text message. Investigators were contacted by the boy's mother after she discovered raunchy messages on the boy's phone, including one from a "Dawn" who wrote, "I love you, yeah it was the best, which night was the best 4 you, I'm sensitive but not sore, you were good..." Bogard, pictured in the mug shot at right, is facing felony sexual battery charges. She has been suspended with pay and is free on $50,000 bail.




A theology teacher and girls' soccer and volleyball coach at Vail Christian High School has been arrested on charges of having "an inappropriate sexual relationship" with a female student, according to the Eagle County Sheriff's Office.
John "Jamie" Allen, 27, of Edwards, Colo., was arrested at his father's home in California Friday on suspicion of felony sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust, authorities said.

Parents of students attending VCHS were notified by the school that Allen resigned from his teaching position the night before his arrest.

Sheriff's Lt. Mike McWilliam said deputies began investigating after the girl wrote an e-mail to Allen saying she wanted to end the alleged relationship, but she accidentally sent it to a man in Florida with a similar address. He reported it to authorities.
Investigators traced the e-mail to the Colorado student and interviewed her before obtaining an arrest warrant for Allen.




Osceola County teacher was arrested on sex charges Friday after deputies said she had sexual relations with an underage former student.

Deputies began investigating Narcoossee Community School Sarah Elizabeth Joel, 31, Friday morning, after a Harmony High School teacher told deputies that one of her students was suspected of having sex with his former teacher, according to a sheriff's charging affidavit.

During a tape-recorded interview, the student told an investigator that he and Joel stayed in touch after last school year and he became a friend of her family, the report states. When he called Joel to talk about his problems, Joel would pick him up and take him to her home.

"One thing led to another," the teen told investigators. He said the encounters took place at Joel's St. Cloud home during September, when he was 15.

Joel first told deputies during a sworn interview that they did not have sex, but later admitted to two encounters during Christmas break, when the former student was 16. She was arrested at school district headquarters in Kissimmee.



A Cleveland teacher was arrested Friday after Johnston Sheriff's officials learned she allegedly had sex with an 11-year-old student in 2003.

According to The News & Observer, the teacher also had an affair with the boy's father.

A sheriff's office spokeswoman said Rebecca Sue Withrow, 30, of 265 Cambridge Drive, Clayton, is charged with first-degree rape of a child, indecent liberties with a child and sex offense with a student. She is accused of performing sex acts with one of her fifth-grade students at Polenta Elementary School near Cleveland.

"Yes, she was his fifth-grade teacher, "It happened back in 2003, but it just came to light. (The student) confided in his mom and she reported it to the sheriff's department and the school system."

Ms. Withrow, 26 at the time of the alleged rape, resigned her position with Johnston County Schools during the investigation.

According to a police report, Ms. Withrow is not married and has no children. She is currently unemployed.




In a last-minute effort to keep herself out of prison, a 25-year-old middle school teacher pleaded guilty Tuesday to having sex with a 14-year-old.
Debra Lafave, a former remedial reading teacher at Greco Middle School in Temple Terrace, Florida, pleaded guilty to two counts of lewd and lascivious behavior, and was sentenced to three years of house arrest followed by seven years probation. She also must register as a sex offender.
She could have faced up to 15 years for each count filed in Hillsborough County. She also could have been charged in Marion County, because one of the incidents happened there.
"I want to apologize to the court, to the young man involved and to his family for my actions," Lafave said. "I accept full responsibility for my actions, and I am very sorry for everything which has occurred."
A 14-year-old boy told investigators he had sex with Lafave three times in four days in June 2004, according to court documents. One of those times was in a car while his 15-year-old cousin drove them around, he told authorities.
He also said she performed oral sex on him multiple times, including once at her home, the documents said.
And then she is back in the news
Debra Lafave, a former Florida middle school teacher convicted of having sex with a student, was arrested Tuesday for "inappropriate but non-sexual contact" with a teenage coworker, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said.
The association violated the terms of Lafave's probation, which forbade her to have contact with anyone under 18, the sheriff's office said.
She was released on her own recognizance.
Lafave and her mother, Joyce Beasley, had no comment as they left the jail.
"I can only characterize this as somewhat of a bizarre and unusual violation," said Lafave's attorney, John Fitzgibbons.
Lafave, 27, pleaded guilty in November 2005 to having sex with a 14-year-old boy and was sentenced to three years under house arrest and seven years of probation.
Lafave was also required to register as a sex offender and abide by numerous conditions.
She was arrested after corrections officers interviewed a 17-year-old girl, who worked at a restaurant where Lafave had been employed since January 2006, according to the violation report from Florida's Corrections Department.
The teenager told the officers that Lafave discussed "non-work related issues such as family problems, friends, high school, personal life, boyfriend issues and sexual issues in both private one-on-one conversations" with her and in group settings, according to the report.
"I would characterize this simply as 'girl talk,' or 'guy talk,' if you will, among fellow employees, that all of us do every day," Fitzgibbons said. "This is it. There's no more, there's no less. ... I would describe it as simply a workplace friendship."
The co-worker will turn 18 on January 2, Fitzgibbons said.
Lafave refused to make a statement regarding the allegations, the document said.
She was ordered to quit the restaurant job and now works as a receptionist in her mother's barber shop, the report said.
Lafave says she suffers from bipolar disorder and is receiving treatment.
Fitzgibbons said his client has done everything required of her, living with her parents and leaving only to go to work. She has done so well on two years of house arrest, he said, that he has been planning to ask that the third year be waived.

Fitzgibbons said he still intends to make that request, and hopes Lafave's arrest will not hurt that effort -- "I would hope that the court would be understanding."
"She's really tried hard, so it's upsetting to her," he said of the arrest, but noted it was "unheard of" for someone on probation for a sexual offense to be released on her own recognizance

I love the comments on this last one; she’s really tried hard, so it’s upsetting to her. Well maybe we could help and give her some advice so things will not be so hard on her.

STOP BREAKING THE LAW. Seems if she could follow this simple request of the courts she would not be so upset.

Then the issue also came up to if she was treated equally and fairly by the courts. I wonder what would have happened if this case involved a male teacher and a female student.

What are your thoughts on this topic?

From reading comments from people I have read

- I wish this had been my teacher when I was that age
- Nothing wrong with it
- Fire the perv
- Put them in jail for the rest of their life.

So what are your thoughts on this topic?

Friday, June 27, 2008

If you are going to buy drugs, don’t use a dead person’s name

If you are going to buy drugs, don’t use a dead person’s name.


A woman was arrested after she tried to fill a prescription using the name of a dead person.



Alyce Heath, 32, was arrested at the RX Pharmacy in Dade City. She tried to pick up a prescription of Xanax in the name of a person that died in February

According to reports, the pharmacy became aware of what was happening when they received an anonymous call about the situation. The pharmacy then called the Dade City Police Department, who was then called when Heath came into pick up the prescription.

Police said that Heath admitted to refilling the prescription two other times after the person, who she said was a friend of hers, had died. They said she had previously picked up prescriptions for him prior to his death.

Heath was charged with two counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud. She was booked at the Pasco County Detention Center. Bond was set at $10,000.

Be on the Lookout

Be on the lookout

The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office is asking for help to find a man that exposed himself to a girl.

According to reports, a boy and girl had set up a lemonade stand on their front porch when the suspect drove up in a large SUV.

The suspect asked for a glass of lemonade, he paid her a dollar and she the girl returned with the lemonade, he opened the driver’s side door and exposed himself to the girl.

The girl ran inside and told adults and police were notified.

The suspect is described as

In his 20’s, Hispanic, black hair and brown eyes. He has a thin build and some sort of tattoo on his upper left arm. He was last seen wearing a white tank top and blue jean shorts.

His car is described as an older dark blue GMC, possible a Yukon, Tahoe or Escalade. An air freshener shaped like a cherry hung from his rear view mirror. His license tag may contain the numbers 70738.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Sheriff's Office at 813-247-8200 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-8477.

Rattlesnake Romeo

Rattlesnake Romeo


Is the name of the book that covered the death of Vicki Lyn Robinson. Robinson was 49, when she was murdered in here Carrollwood home in Tampa, FL.

Even though it’s been 10 years since this infamous crime, this story made the news again.

On June 27, 1998, Vicki Robinson stepped into her kitchen in a nightgown. Whispel twice testified about how Davis attacked her there, how Valessa Robinson held her mother down while Davis slashed at the woman's throat with a bleach-filled syringe, how he handed Davis a knife.

This time the news reports that Adam Davis has remained on death row and Valessa Robinson is still in prison as well.




Adam Davis and his lawyers appealed his case to the high courts stating Davis did not receive proper representation during trial.

The Supreme Court denied the claim that the attorneys for Davis were ineffective. They had a similar ruling from an appellate court.

Davis and his girlfriend Valessa were found guilty of the murder while Jon Whispel pleaded guilty to second degree murder and agreed to testify against Davis and Robinson. .

According to the Supreme Court ruling, late on June 26, 1998, Davis, Valessa Robinson and Whispel met at a Denny's and took LSD. While on the drug, Valessa Robinson proposed the three kill her mother by injecting an overdose of heroin, but they couldn't get any of the drug.

During Valessa Robinson's trial, prosecutors said she wanted to kill her mother because Vicki Robinson wanted to end the girl's relationship with Davis.

They bought a syringe for $2 to inject the sleeping woman with bleach and an air bubble. By then it was early in the morning of June 27. Vicki Robinson woke up, and Davis grappled with her.

The girl and Davis held Vicki Robinson down and Davis injected the bleach. When that didn't kill her, Davis stabbed the woman.

When they heard her groaning, Davis went back into the room, and later he told Whispel he had stabbed Vicki Robinson two more times and tried to break her neck.

They stuffed her body into a plastic garbage can and dumped it along a canal near Waters Avenue.

The trio stole Vicki Robinson's car, credit cards, cash and ATM card, intending to head to Phoenix.

On July 2, 1998, they were caught in Texas.

Vicki Davis was popular in her church and community. More than 100 people showed up for a vigil at her house the day after her daughter told investigators where to find the body.

The state high court's ruling today was its second review of Davis' trial and death sentence. In 2003, attorneys for Davis appealed the conviction and sentence, an appeal the Supreme Court denied.




In 1999, Whispel was sentenced to 25 years in prison. He testified against Davis and Valessa Robinson at their trials and avoided a possible death penalty.











In 2000, Valessa Robinson was found guilty of third-degree murder along with theft charges and sentenced to 20 years.





The book, Rattlesnake Romeo can be found here Kensingtonbooks

Be on the Lookout


Be on the Lookout


The Polk County Sheriff's Office is searching for a man they say sexually assaulted a teenage girl.

Investigators said they are looking for Rey Carbajal Castro, 32, who they said lives in Plant City. He was last seen at his father's house in the same city.

According to reports, the sheriff's office received a call reporting the sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl in north Lakeland. They said the suspect fled the area before the deputies could arrive on the scene.

Castro is approximately 5'7" and weighs around 165 pounds. He was last seen wearing blue jeans and a white striped t-shirt.

Anyone with information about this is encouraged to call the Sheriff's Office at 863-534-6200 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-226-TIPS.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Man arrested after beating a toddler

Man arrested after beating a toddler.

Travis Keen, 23, was arrested and charged with aggravated child abuse and now currently being held in jail without bail after he admitting he hit his girlfriends 18 month old daughter. He was arrested on Wednesday.



TRAVIS KEEN is escorted by Lakeland police Detective Michele Newsome and Officer Ace Williams on Wednesday. Keen, 23, is charged with aggravated child abuse involving his girlfriend's 18-month-old daughter.

Keen apparently used his fist and possibly a women’s shoe to beat the toddler since she would not stop crying and throwing toys out of her crib.
It was one of the worst child abuse beatings in recent years, said Lakeland Police Department's Crimes against Children unit.

Apparently the photographs taken of the girl show a handprint shape bruise on the girls face along with multiple bruises on her arms, legs, back, stomach and the top of her head. The photo’s also showed numerous scratches on her body.

According to reports the girls has made a full recovery after being treated at a Lakeland hospital.


More to the Story

Keen, after drinking nearly a dozen beers at a friend's birthday party June 8, went into his girlfriend's bedroom in the apartment they shared to use the bathroom, reports said.

His girlfriend, also the child's mother had left about 11:30 p.m. with a friend to pick up her mother in Kissimmee. The child was in her crib.

Keen, who is the father of a 3-year-old son with another woman, told detectives that after he saw the baby had thrown her toys out of her crib, he spanked her four times on the buttocks and once on the face when she moved, Newsome wrote in her report.
And when she wouldn't stop crying, he yelled for her to "Shut the ----- up," then laid her on her back and left the room, the report said.

When Koerner returned home about 1:30 a.m. on June 9, she saw blood on the pillow next to the crib. When she asked Keen what had happened, he broke down crying and started talking about his deceased sister, reports said.

Koerner took her daughter to the emergency room at Lakeland Regional Medical Center, where doctors notified police and the Florida Department of Children and Families of possible abuse.

Keen urged Koerner to tell officials that she had not left the home that night, reports said. But she didn't listen to him and cooperated with detectives, officials said.

In interviews, Keen first denied the incident, but later told Newsome he had hit the child, she said.

Connie Flemming, an advanced registered nurse practitioner for children at the center, examined the girl with the finding that, "This is egregious child abuse. Physical injuries are in patterns representing child being beaten with fist, open hand and probably other instrument(s) as well."

Because Keen is not the child's biological father, DCF can take no action against him, Newsome said.

However, Koerner has followed the recommendations of DCF officials and obtained an injunction against Keen. She also has moved out of the apartment, Newsome said.


According to the Sheriff’s Site

Travis Keen
Location: SOUTH COUNTY BLD A DORM D
Arresting Agency: LAKELAND POLICE DEPT.
Hold: N Hold for:
Disposition of Hold:
DNA: ?
AKA
No known AKA








Charge Number 1
Statute: 827.03(2) CRUELTY TOWARD CHILD-AGGRAVATED ABUSE
Charge on arrest docket: AGG CHILD ABUSE

Bond Type:
Bond Number: Purge Number:
Purge/Bond Amount: 0.00 Surety: 0.00
Cash: 0.00 Bond Exp.: NO BOND Disposition:
Upgrade/Reduction:

Charge Number 2
Statute: 948.06 PROB VIOLATION

Charge on arrest docket: VOP-POSS CANN REMANDED 06/26/08
Bond Type:
Bond Number: Purge Number:
Purge/Bond Amount: 0.00 Surety: 0.00
Cash: 0.00 Bond Exp.: NO BOND Disposition:
Upgrade/Reduction:

Charge Number 3
Statute: 948.06 PROB VIOLATION

Charge on arrest docket: VOP-POSS PARAPH REMANDED 06/26/08
Bond Type:
Bond Number: Purge Number:
Purge/Bond Amount: 0.00 Surety: 0.00
Cash: 0.00 Bond Exp.: NO BOND Disposition:
Upgrade/Reduction:

Correctional officer killed



Correctional officer killed

An inmate accused in the murder of a female correctional officer at Tomoka Correctional Institution has been charged with first-degree murder, authorities said this afternoon.

Correctional Officer Donna Fitzgerald was ambushed and killed at approximately 1930 hrs by an inmate.

She was the first correctional officer ever killed at Tomoka and is the second female correctional officer killed in state history. Fitzgerald has a 20 year old son.

"Words cannot express the sorrow I feel over the loss of our correctional officer," Department of Corrections Secretary Walter McNeil said in a department news release. "The entire department grieves the murder of one of our finest officers, and we pray for the victim’s family during this difficult time."




Please observe a moment of silence in memory of Correctional Officer Donna Fitzgerald.



According to the affidavit, Echon Hall stabbed Fitzgerald several times with piece of sheet metal formed into a knife. He got the sheet metal from an office inside the PRIDE work building. Fitzgerald was searching for Hall, who hid in a welding shed adjacent to the PRIDE building.

Fitzgerald opened the door to the welding shed and found Hall. When the officer attempted to take custody of Hall, the inmate stabbed her. He then concealed the weapon in a nearby concrete block wall. He later told officers where he hid the knife.

It was widely reported this morning that Fitzgerald was raped but there has been no official confirmation. Reports from the Sheriiff's Office and state investigators do not mention it and officials have refused to confirm or deny that a rape occurred.


Hall, 39, was sentenced to life in prison for a kidnapping in Escambia County in 1993. In that incident, he was also convicted of sexual battery and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, prison records show. In 1992, Hall was convicted of sexual battery in a separate case.

Fitzgerald, 50, had worked at Tomoka Correctional for the past 13 years. An internal investigation is under way, he said.

Hall was being held under "close" custody, the highest level at Tomoka Correctional. "Maximum" is the highest security level in Florida’s prisons.

Hall was sent to state prison for raping and beating multiple victims, including abducting a 66-year-old woman from a Pensacola apartment complex. The beating he inflicted on her resulted in partial hearing loss and the loss of her senses of taste and smell, according from news reports at the time.

Before that, Hall was sentenced to federal prison after pleading guilty to kidnapping a 23-year-old woman from a Pensacola parking lot Feb. 22, 1992, and taking her to Alabama.

17 year old killed. Cops still looking for the suspect(s).

17 year old killed. Cops still looking for the suspect(s).

At approximately 0100 hrs Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office responded to a middle class neighborhood after they had reports of shots fired.

Tyler Blaine Kennett was found shot, for unknown reasons. Kennett was transported to Delray Beach Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.


According to reports the shooter fired several shots into the house. Reports have not indicated how many times Kennett was hit. Kennett was spending the night with a friend and they believe he was targeted. Investigators believe the suspect went up to the window, took aim and fired.

According to reports Kennett was sitting beside a friend when the shots where fired and he said “I think I got shot”, he slumped over and someone immediately called 911.

Apparently the investigators got some tips through the county’s Crime Stoppers line. The investigators are not releasing any information on what they found at the house were Kennett was shot.

Word of Kennett's death traveled quickly on the Internet, particularly on a local motor sports page, where some posts indicated he had recently taken up racing.

Andrew Hopkins, 20, said he knew Kennett since the two were young. Shaking his head, Hopkins described his friend as energetic and fun-loving, a daredevil who executed hair-raising stunts at Ramp 48, a skateboard hangout in Broward County.

"He was a happy kid, so much energy, he was always on a dirt bike or a BMX or a skateboard," Hopkins said.

Kennett had had some trouble in school, but he was improving at Life Skills Center of Palm Beach County, an alternative charter school in Delray Beach, where he was able to apply his mechanical aptitude to studying marine mechanics, Hopkins said.
"He was very intelligent," Hopkins said, "but he had trouble with jumping through hoops."

Hopkins and others heard about the shooting in the middle of the night. Teenagers gathered in groups on driveways and lawns across from the crime scene, looking on in disbelief. Some wept and embraced as investigators' cameras flashed in the night.
"They were pumping his chest on the way out," said Hopkins, who, along with another friend, 19-year-old Hugo Bretas, walked across Kimberly Boulevard to the house where Kennett was shot. Kennett's friend's mother was home, sleeping in another bedroom, during the attack.

"It still hasn't sunk in," said Hopkins, who said Kennett's brother Cory asked him to keep an eye on Kennett while the brother was in Colorado.
Kennett's friends planned a memorial for him this morning at a small neighborhood park on the north side of Kimberly Boulevard, just east of State Road 7.

Officer Down


Officer Down

Deputy Sheriff Anthony Shane Tate
Grundy County Sheriff's Department
Tennessee
End of Watch: Thursday, June 5, 2008
Age: 29
Tour of Duty: 3 years
Badge Number: 20

Incident Details

Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: Thursday, June 5, 2008
Weapon Used: Gun; Unknown type
Suspect Info: Committed suicide



Please observe a moment of silence in the memory of Deputy Sheriff Anthony Shane Tate.


Officers had been looking for Bryson for six to eight months when they found him around 3 a.m. Thursday at a mobile home in Monteagle.
Deputy Tate was shot and killed as he and a police officer from the Monteagle Police Department served a probation warrant on a suspect.

The suspect fatally shot Deputy Tate and shot the Monteagle officer in the vest before fleeing. The man was located at a home later in the day and committed suicide as officers attempted to talk him into surrendering.



Kermit Bryson died Friday around 12:30 a.m. at Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga.

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation director Mark Gwyn said agents found Bryson behind his girlfriend’s house Thursday evening and negotiated with him for about 20 minutes before he shot himself in the head.

Federal, state and local authorities launched a manhunt for Bryson after the Thursday morning shooting death of Deputy Shane Tate.

Monteagle Police Officer Brian Malhoit was grazed by a bullet but not seriously hurt. A reserve deputy also at the scene wasn’t injured.

Gwyn said there were other people in the home at the time of the shooting, although he declined to identify them.

Within hours of the shooting, armed officers were using dogs and helicopters to comb the rugged area at the southern end of the Cumberland Plateau in what TBI spokeswoman Kristin Helm described as “an absolute all-out manhunt.”

A neighbor and longtime friend of Bryson’s said shooting someone would be out of character for him.

“He’s not a bad guy. He had to freak out in some way,” said Tim D. Sanders, 30, before authorities found Bryson.

Sanders said he and Bryson spent weekends in jail together last summer and that the slain deputy was the jailer. He said Tate and Bryson were friendly.
Bryson’s criminal record includes convictions for theft, burglary and a jail escape in 2001.

Grundy County Mayor Ladue Bouldin said Tate was married with five young children and had graduated from Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Academy just two weeks ago.
Probation officials said the warrant was issued for Bryson because he failed drug screens and violated curfew while on probation for a 2007 felony marijuana possession charge.

Helm said the three officers approached Bryson’s mobile home carefully and made their way inside. Officers often serve warrants early in the morning, expecting that suspects will be asleep.

“The officer was actually shot inside the residence,” she said.
Bryson’s former mother-in-law, Marcia Crowe, said Bryson was married to her daughter for about a year before they divorced several years ago, and they have a 10-year-old daughter.

“I saw it on TV and I just couldn’t believe it,” Crowe, a 57-year-old from Dayton, said in a phone interview Thursday. “I expected him to steal, do dope and stuff like that, but I never thought he would kill someone.”

Brian Grisham, director of the training academy, called Tate a good officer and person.

“He seemed enthusiastic about what he was about to do,” Grisham said.

Deputy Tate had served with the Grundy County Sheriff's Department for 3 years. He is survived by his wife, son, four daughters, parents, two brothers, and sister.

Agency Contact Information
Grundy County Sheriff's Department
PO Box 218
Altamont, TN 37301

Phone: (931) 692-3466

Please contact the Grundy County Sheriff's Department for funeral arrangements or for survivor benefit fund information.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Suspect attempted to hit police vehicles

Suspect attempted to hit police vehicles


Clearwater police have arrested a man after he attempted to hit multiple policemen in their vehicles, authorities said.
Officers initiated a traffic stop just before 3 p.m. Officers said Anthony Bernard Williams, 24, then accelerated his vehicle at an oncoming patrol car causing the officer to swerve to avoid a collision.
Officers then pursued Williams' vehicle. During the pursuit officers said Williams threw out a bag of cocaine that they later recovered.
Officers said Williams then tried to hit two more patrol cars. The chase ended when Williams drove his car off the road near Eisenhower Drive and Heather Ridge Road in Dunedin. Williams was immediately arrested.
According to police, Williams did hit one vehicle causing minor damage. He faces multiple charges.

According to the Sheriff’s site

Scars, Marks & Tattoos
Scar from a knife cut on left arm


Cell Location/Status SPIN Booking Type
CSOD-INTAK-PRO-01-005 340574 FELONY

Aliases


Charges
Charge Number: 1
Agency Report Number: CW08058824
Offense Description: FLEE OR ELUDE (HIGH SPEED) REF:9295FMM
Statute: 316.1935(3)(A)/F
Court Case Number: CRC0813892CFANO
Bond Assessed: $20,000.00
Bond Amount Due: $20,000.00
OBTS: 5207047486

Charge Number: 2
Agency Report Number: CW08058824
Offense Description: DWLSR W/KNOWLEDGE REF:9296FMM
Statute: 322.34(2)(C)/F
Court Case Number: CRC0813893CFANO
Bond Assessed: $5,000.00
Bond Amount Due: $5,000.00
OBTS: 5207047486

Charge Number: 3
Agency Report Number: CW08058824
Offense Description: POSSESSION OF COCAINE
Statute: 893.13(6)(A)/F
Court Case Number: CRC0813894CFANO
Bond Assessed: $5,000.00
Bond Amount Due: $5,000.00
OBTS: 5207047486

Charge Number: 4
Agency Report Number: CW08058824
Offense Description: AGG ASSULT ON LEO W/MOTOR VEH
Statute: 784.021/F9
Court Case Number: CRC0813895CFANO
Bond Assessed: $20,000.00
Bond Amount Due: $20,000.00
OBTS: 5207047486

Charge Number: 5
Agency Report Number: CW08058824
Offense Description: AGG ASSULT ON LEO W/MOTOR VEH
Statute: 784.021/F9
Court Case Number: CRC0813896CFANO
Bond Assessed: $20,000.00
Bond Amount Due: $20,000.00
OBTS: 5207047486

Charge Number: 6
Agency Report Number: CW08058827
Offense Description: LEAVING THE SCENE (HIT AND RUN) *COC*
Statute: 316.061/M
Court Case Number: CTC087817FJVANC
Bond Assessed: $500.00
Bond Amount Due: $500.00
OBTS:

Charge Number: 7
Agency Report Number: CW08058824
Offense Description: AGG ASSAULT ON LEO / MOVING VEH
Statute: 784.021/F9
Court Case Number: CRC0813891CFANO
Bond Assessed: $20,000.00
Bond Amount Due: $20,000.00
OBTS: 5207047486

Robert Stacy Yarbrough was put to death.

Robert Stacy Yarbrough was put to death.

Robert Stacy Yarbrough was the 100th Execution in Virginia since 1976 when the US Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment.

Yarbrough was convicted of killing a convenience store clerk. Yarbrough nearly beheaded the clerk

Yarbrough, 30, died by lethal injection. He was at the Greensville Correctional Center. He was pronounced dead at 9:28 p.m.

His last words were, "Tell my kids I love them, and let's get it over with," said Larry Traylor, a spokesman for the Virginia Department of Corrections.

Virginia Governor Kaine declined yesterday to block Yarbrough's execution, and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to intervene.

In a statement, Kaine said: "The trial, verdict, and sentence have been reviewed in detail by various state and federal courts, including the Supreme Court of Virginia, a United States Magistrate, a United States District Court Judge, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The Supreme Court of the United States also has denied Yarbrough's petition for review."

Kaine continued: "Having carefully reviewed the Petition for Clemency and judicial opinions regarding this case, I find no compelling reason to set aside the sentence that was recommended by the jury, and then imposed and affirmed by the courts. Accordingly, I decline to intervene."

After Yarbrough died, state Attorney General Robert F. McDonnell (R) said: "Tonight, justice has been served. Our thoughts and prayers remain with [the victim's] children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and all his friends and family."

Attorneys for Yarbrough declined to comment. They had said the execution should have been stopped because Yarbrough's trial lawyers should have challenged the DNA evidence used to convict him and should have presented evidence that he was neglected as a child.

Yarbrough was convicted in the 1997 slaying of Cyril Hugh Hamby, 77, in Mecklenburg County. Yarbrough and a former high school classmate tied Hamby's hands behind his back with an extension cord, and Yarbrough cut Hamby's neck in a sawing motion at least 10 times as Hamby pleaded for him to stop.

Hamby bled to death, and the state medical examiner said his wounds were consistent with an attempted beheading.

More than 300 arrested in a prostitution operation

More than 300 arrested in a prostitution operation


Authorities have arrested more than 300 members of a prostitution operation and removed 21 juveniles from sex-selling rings according to the FBI
The sting or sweep was conducted in 16 cities nationwide over the last five days.

"Our top priority in these cases has always been to identify children victims and move swiftly to remove them from these dangerous environments," FBI Director Robert Mueller said.

Mueller said this week's sweeps bring to 433 the number of child victims recovered in the five years since the FBI began its Innocence Lost initiative. The program was designed to combat a growing problem of underage prostitution.

"These kids are victims. They lack the ability to walk away. This is the 21st-century slavery," said Ernie Allen, president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Allen said that about 1.6 million children run away from home each year, although most quickly return unharmed. Boys as young as 11 and girls as young as 12 are often targeted by prostitution rings.

He said that until federal authorities began to crack down on use of child prostitutes in recent years, many pimps and prostitute rings who felt pressure from local police simply moved their operations to other jurisdictions.

Authorities said that 290 of the 345 arrests made this week were adult prostitutes. Most will be charged with state crimes. However, increasingly, federal prosecutors have brought charges in cases involving juveniles because federal penalties are much harsher than state penalties, officials said.

Justice Department and FBI officials noted two cases in which individuals trafficking in child prostitution received life sentences.

The 16 cities and counties where raids were carried out this week are
Los Angeles, Sacramento and Oakland
California; Las Vegas
Reno, Nevada
Phoenix, Arizona
Houston and Dallas, Texas
Detroit, Michigan
Toledo, Ohio
Boston, Massachusetts
Washington
Montgomery County,
Maryland
Atlanta, Georgia
Miami and Tampa, Florida

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Appalachian Trail Double Shooting



Appalachian Trail Double Shooting.

Randall Lee Smith strikes again. In 1981 Randall Lee Smith pleads guilty to brutality murdering two Appalachian Trail Hikers. Both victims were 27. After he brutality murders the hikers, he buried their bodies near an AT shelter close to the boundary of Giles and Bland counties. A motive for the slayings was never established.

For those crimes, Smith served 15 years. He left prison in 1996 and was released from probation in 2006. Many people believe Smith got off easy for the murders of the two promising young people from Maine.

Smith allegedly struck again, shooting and wounding two fishermen at a spot eerily close to the site of the 1981 murders. The victims were Sean Farmer of Tazewell and Scott Johnson of Bluefield, VA.


Scott Johnson

The men were camping along Dismal Creek just off of the Appalachian Trail when Randall Smith stopped by for a visit. He apparently befriended the men as he did his previous victims. The men fed him a fresh trout dinner and some beans. After dinner Smith said “guys, I got to get out of here” and he then pulled out a pistol and opened fire. Both were hit twice and taken to Roanoke Memorial Hospital.


Sean Farmer


Smith then stole a vehicle belonging to one of the victims. Later Smith crashed the vehicle and he was taken to the same Trauma Center as his victims. Both victims lived.

Smith, 54, was charged with two counts of attempted capital murder, two counts of using a firearm in commission of a felony, possession of a firearm as a convicted felon and grand larceny.

Once Smith was released from the hospital, he was arrested. He went to the New River Valley Regional Jail.

Smith died in jail. He was found unresponsive in his cell. There have been no reports of the cause of his death. His body was sent back to Roanoke for an autopsy.

Apparently before the shootings, Smith has disappeared. A neighbor and friend filed a missing-person report April 30 with the Giles County Sheriff's Department. She said she hadn't seen him since December and others hadn't seen him since February.

Ironically, it seems Smith's photograph on his missing person poster ultimately led to his identification and subsequent arrest last week on attempted-murder charges.

The community has mixed feeling for Randall Lee Smith. Some spoke to the press and some think he got what he deserved while other still morn his passing. The friends said after prison, Smith moved back to Pearisburg to live with his mother. She died in 2000. Neighbors have described him as a lost soul, accompanied only by his dog, Bo.

"Can you imagine having no friends, no family, nobody visiting you?" asked Virginia Smith, a neighbor who is not related to Randall Smith. She and her husband, Sherman, live a stone's throw from Smith's small, ramshackle house in an older subdivision near Pearisburg.

"I hope before he passed away that he had a chance to make things right with the good Lord," she said.

DUI chase left a trail of damage



DUI chase left a trail of damage

Clyde Allen Canup, 39, was arrested after he nearly drove into a police car. The incident started when an officer saw a pick up truck driving towards him, the officer had to run off the road to avoid being hit.

As the pick up truck passed the officer the officer noticed that Clyde Canup appeared to be slumped over the steering wheel.

Once Canup noticed what happened, he sped up through a residential area. Apparently the pursuit was ended by officers when they felt it was too unsafe to proceed with the pursuit. A BOLO was issued.

Canup attempt to escape came to an end when he crashed into a tree.


According to reports it should have been easy to track Canup

He ran over a stop sign, drove into a yard and took out a basket ball hoop, he hit a parked car and the carport it was parked in and then ran over the mailbox as he backed out of the yard. Canup drove around with the basketball hoop stuck to his car.

Canup was taken to the hospital for several injuries. He was treated and released and now residing at Pinellas County Jail.

According to the Sheriff’s Site

Cell Location/Status SPIN Booking Type
ND-CBAR-POD02-09-003 1623270 FELONY

Aliases


Charges
Charge Number: 1
Agency Report Number: PP08017071
Offense Description: FLEEING & ELUDING A LEO REF #1616RGH
Statute: 316.1935(1)/F
Court Case Number: CRC0813583CFANO
Bond Assessed: $10,000.00
Bond Amount Due: $10,000.00
OBTS: 5206029911

Charge Number: 2
Agency Report Number:
Offense Description: REFUSAL TO SUBMIT TO TESTING
Statute: 316.1939/M
Court Case Number: CTC0803067MMANO
Bond Assessed:
Bond Amount Due:
OBTS:

Charge Number: 3
Agency Report Number:
Offense Description: DUI
Statute: 316.193(2)(B)(3)/F
Court Case Number: CRC0802341CFANO
Bond Assessed:
Bond Amount Due:
OBTS:




What a price to pay for a night out on the town, and yes I mean literally on the town..lol

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Fort Lauderdale officer fired and arrested

Fort Lauderdale officer fired and arrested.

A police officer has been fired and arrested nearly two years after authorities say he took money belonging to a narcotics suspect and then falsified a police report to make it seem he just found the cash according to reports released on Monday.




Robert Merkel, 45, was a 14 year veteran of the police department. He was terminated on January 15th and then arrested on May 29th on one felony count of official misconduct and one count of falsifying records, which is a misdemeanor.




The investigation started in August 2006 when two rookie officers complained about Merkel’s behavior during an arrest. Authorities could not (or would not) explain the lag time between the incident and his firing and arrest.

Here's what a report by the police department's Office of Internal Affairs said led to Merkel's arrest:

Christopher Clemons and Grant Moule, two officer’s fresh out of the police academy, responded to a narcotics complaint the morning of Aug. 26.

A suspect at that address, identified in the records as Reginald Wilson, fled on foot but Clemons stopped him a few blocks away on Northeast Fifth Terrace. He handcuffed Wilson and placed him on the ground along with the suspect phones and several bills equaling $315 found in the suspect's pants.

Clemons and Moule then retraced the path of the chase. The money was gone when they returned to Wilson's side.

When Clemons asked about the money, other officers on the scene told him Merkel had taken it. The report did not make it clear when Merkel showed up.

The veteran officer told the two rookies he was "gonna take the money and place it into evidence for safekeeping," according to a statement by Moule.

Clemons then told him the money belonged to Wilson, but Merkel told them the suspect could get it back some other time, the report said.

"This is how we do things," Merkel is accused of telling the pair.

Wilson said in a written statement that he overheard Merkel tell the officers they could split the cash.

Merkel later wrote a police report saying he found the money "laying on the grass" on Fifth Avenue. The money was actually lying next to Wilson on Fifth Terrace, the internal affairs report said.

Merkel did not include Wilson's name or personal information in the police report, which would have made it impossible for Wilson to retrieve the cash, said Capt. Rick Maglione of Internal Affairs in a memo to then-Chief Bruce Roberts.

Clemons and Moule told their supervisors the next day about Merkel taking the money.

When asked about his actions, Merkel told investigators he took the money because he was sure the cash did not belong to Wilson, speculating that the suspect may have stolen it from a possibly Haitian victim, according to the Internal Affairs report.

Merkel was placed on paid administrative leave during the investigation, a police spokeswoman said.

Assistant Chief Robert Carter recommended in November 2007 that Merkel be fired. The investigation by Internal Affairs ended last December.

The State Attorney's Office is also investigating the case.

Authorities say Merkel can appeal his termination and have an independent arbitrator review his case. Meanwhile, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement will decide whether to bar him from joining other agencies in the state.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

It doesn’t pay to drink and drive…

It doesn’t pay to drink and drive…

Just ask James Michael Ferguson, 21, arrested for DUI after he crashed into an unmarked patrol car.

Ironically, the patrol car belongs to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.

Care to take a guess which division the patrol car was assigned to?

Ok, if you give up I will tell you.

The car was assigned to the DUI Enforcement Division Sergeant.

The Sgt. was in his car just prior to the crash but ran when he realized Ferguson wasn’t attempting to avoid the collision.

Ferguson’s 1993 Ford Escort and the Dodge Intrepid both had a lot of damage.
Ferguson’s breath test showed he was twice the legal limit.

According to the Sheriff's Site

Cell Location/Status SPIN Booking Type
RELEASED - 6/21/2008 10:31 AM 2572412 MISDEMEANOR

Aliases


Charges
Charge Number: 1
Agency Report Number: SO08167082
Offense Description: DUI W/PROPERTY DAMAGE NCTC 7/16/08 @830AM
Statute: 316.193(3)(C)(1)/M
Court Case Number: CTC080987XCFANC
Bond Assessed: $500.00
Bond Amount Due: $0.00
OBTS: 5206029860

Charge Number: 2
Agency Report Number: SO08167082
Offense Description: DUI NCTC 7/16/08 @830AM
Statute: 316.193(1)/M
Court Case Number: CTC080986XCFANC
Bond Assessed: $500.00
Bond Amount Due: $0.00
OBTS: 5206029860

Charge Number: 3
Agency Report Number: SO08167082
Offense Description: IMPROPER USE OF A DEALER TAG
Statute: 320.131/M
Court Case Number: CTC0817729MMANO
Bond Assessed: $250.00
Bond Amount Due: $0.00
OBTS: 5206029860