Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Probation Officer Willie Baker Charged with Sex Crime

COLUMBIA

A probation officer with a county misdemeanor supervision program, who formerly served as mayor of Mt. Pleasant, has been indicted on a sex charge.

A Maury County grand jury returned a charge of sexual battery by an authority figure against 76-year-old Willie Baker.

Baker was a probation officer with the South Central Human Resource Agency’s misdemeanor program that serves General Sessions Court. The charges are in connection to his job.

He also served on the Mt. Pleasant City Commission.

Officer Arrested for Drunk Driving

A New Bern police officer found himself on the other side of the law this weekend.

According to documents in the Craven County Clerk of Court’s office, 37-year-old Michael White was arrested early Saturday morning and charged with driving while impaired.

His blood alcohol level was 0.09. The legal limit in North Carolina is 0.08.

The documents also say he was driving 46 mph in a 35 mph zone. His license has been revoked for 30 days.

A New Bern Police Department spokesman White is on administrative duties while the department conducts an internal investigation.

Retired Officer Arrested on Multiple Felonies

Waynesboro Police recently arrested a retired Charlottesville Police Officer who was wanted in South Carolina for multiple felonies.

60-year old Harry Edsel Shaffer is wanted in South Carolina on three felony charges for sexually assaulting a minor.

Shaffer is a Waynesboro resident, but worked for the Charlottesville Police Department from 1989 to 2007. Shaffer is now retired.

Shaffer is being charged in Waynesboro as a fugitive from South Carolina and is being held without bond.

Officer Antonio Allums Committing Crimes While in Uniform

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.

A Lipscomb police officer has lost his probation and has been sent to the Jefferson County Jail after being charged with harrassment a second time.

Officer Antonio Allums was already serving two years of probation on a misdemeanor conviction when got a new harassment charge in June.

Assistant District Attorney James Butler said the 44-year-old officer has been committing the crimes while in uniform. He has been placed on unpaid leave.

Allums is accused of harassing a woman when their paths crossed at a gas station the day after he issued her traffic tickets. He allegedly told her he hadn't yet turned in the tickets and could make them go away in exchange for favors.

In the original charge, another woman said Allums entered her home unannounced and fondled her the day after pulling her over in a traffic stop.

Sheriff and wife accused of stealing campaign signs

CHARLOTTE

Michigan State Police are investigating an allegation that Eaton County Sheriff Mike Raines and his wife tried to steal his Republican primary election opponent’s campaign signs.

Eaton County Prosecutor Jeff Sauter confirmed today that his office received a complaint about a Monday night incident involving a sign belonging to Raines’ challenger, Tom Reich.

Stealing a campaign sign is a misdemeanor crime.

Reich, 53, who is running against Raines in today’s Republican primary, said he began staking out locations where his signs were placed because more than 150 of his campaign signs had gone missing in recent weeks.

On Monday night, Reich said he saw Raines’ wife, Laurie, bending over one of his signs as if to steal it. He said he also saw Mike Raines’ minivan drive away.

Reich reported it to Michigan State Police, who are investigating the incident.
“I just can’t believe what I’ve seen,” Reich said in an interview today. “I’m just as floored as anybody else.”

A Michigan State Police officer who investigated the call reported he did not notice any of Reich’s signs in the minivan that he could observe from outside.

The winner of today’s primary election runs unopposed in the November general election because there is no Democratic challenger.

Officer Arrested for Having Sex with 16-year old

ALTOONA, BLAIR COUNTY

An Altoona police officer is arrested, accused of having sex with a 16-year old girl.

State police say 49-year old Rick Johnson is accused of having sex a number of times with a teen from Indiana state. Police say the two met online and Johnson drove to Indiana to pick her up, before taking her to hotel in Ohio, and then his home in Altoona.

State police say the two met back in December on a site called policelink.com. It's like facebook or myspace, but for people interested in law enforcement.

They say the two began talking and at first, Johnson was like a mentor to the girl.

They say the girl even said 49-year old Johnson was like a dad to her. They say the girl and her family came to Altoona several times, in March, May, and the beginning of July.

Police say last Monday, Johnson picked up the girl from her home in Indiana. They say the girl had told Johnson she had developed feelings for him and wanted to lose her virginity to him.

Johnson then took her to a hotel in Ohio, and the two had sex.

Police say Johnson they took the girl to his home in Altoona and they had sex again. When we were in his neighborhood last week, neighbors told us Johnson's wife was out of town.

Police say the girl sent text messages to Johnson from her friend's phones because hers couldn't send him.

Those friends called police in Indiana, who called police in Altoona. That's when police went to Johnson's house and picked the girl up. They raided his home and found four condoms, a bed spread and bed sheets they are using as evidence.

Police say Johnson admitted to the crime.

He now faces charges of endangering the welfare of a child and corruption of a minor. Under our state's law he can't be charged with statutory rape because the girl is 16. He had a preliminary hearing and was released.