Thursday, November 06, 2008

Officr Gary Bayldon Arrested After Having Sex While on Duty

PO Gary Bayldon, 48, who was married at the time, regularly visited Donna Cacutt for sex at her home on the Isle of Wight when he was supposed to be on the beat.

He called the visits his "meal breaks" and kept his police radio on throughout so he could "perform his duties" at the same time, Kingston Crown Court in London heard.

The officer, who has resigned, also propositioned a second woman, Suzanne Dunkling, in the back of his police van after arresting her in connection with a domestic incident.

Bayldon told her she was "gorgeous", stroked her hand while taking her fingerprints and kissed her when he dropped her home in the police van.

The officer, who served with Hampshire Police for more than 18 years, first met Ms Cacutt, a 34-year-old divorcee with three children, in August 2003 when she called the emergency services.

After dealing with an incident involving her children Pc Bayldon, the responding officer, later telephoned her and the pair started a relationship.

Barry Gregory, prosecuting, said: "They started seeing each other on a regular basis but never when he was off duty, always when he was on duty on late shifts. She would make him dinner at her house and they would often have sex afterwards."

When the relationship began to break down in 2005 Bayldon again abused his job.

In October 2005 he responded to a 911 call from Suzanne Dunkling, 37, after a domestic incident with her partner at her house.

Dunkling was arrested and during the journey to the police station in the van, Bayldon told her: "You are gorgeous."

He let her sit in the front seat of the police van and then invited her to the forest for a "chat".

Mr Gregory said: "He asked her if he could kiss her, and then outside her house, he leaned across and kissed her. Ms Dunkling later said he had used his tongue and she felt disgusted."

Michael Boardman, representing Bayldon, said the visits to Ms Cacutt were only 45 minutes.

Mr Boardman said: "He kept his radio on throughout and was able to answer calls. He was performing his duties although he was not actually out on the streets."

He described Bayldon's flirtation with Ms Dunkling as "a grave error of judgement" and an "excessively foolish thing to do".

Mr Boardman added: "This was a first class officer."

Bayldon pleaded guilty to three counts of wilful misconduct in a public office.

Judge Charles Tilling said: "You as a police officer have very considerable power and the respect of the community you serve in. People look up to you and you abused that trust."

At a previous hearing the prosecution offered no evidence on six other similar counts.

Some of the counts alleged that Bayldon, a father of four, engaged in sex acts in a police vehicle with two different women.

It was also claimed he had kissed another woman who was a prosecution witness at a trial.

He was also accused of befriending another woman and, while on duty, giving her money to buy lingerie to wear for him, and taking her to the woods and asking her to perform a sex act on him.

It was also claimed that he propositioned a woman before arresting her after responding to a call for assistance.

Officer Russell Mecano Arrested for Sexual Assault

LOS ANGELES

A Los Angeles police officer faces felony charges for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman and soliciting sex from another while he was on duty.

Russell Mecano was arrested last month but the grand jury indictment remained sealed until Thursday. He faces up to 12 years in prison if convicted of three felony sex charges and one misdemeanor.

Prosecutors allege Mecano told an 18-year-old woman in May that he would not arrest her for having a marijuana pipe if she had sex with him. Mecano then allegedly sexually assaulted the woman near a library.

Mecano is also accused in October 2007 of seeking sex from a 20-year-old transient following her arrest for battery. Prosecutors say he gave her $200 and told her to meet him at a motel, but she instead reported Mecano to police.

Mecano has been placed on paid administrative leave.

Officer Patrick Fuhrman Arrested for Beating Woman


MILWAUKEE

A Milwaukee police officer faces up to three and a half years in prison after investigators said he beat a woman.

Patrick Fuhrman is a nine-year veteran of the police department.

According to a criminal complaint, Fuhrman beat a woman at his home Monday night.

The victim is also a member of the Milwaukee Police Department.

The woman told investigators that Fuhrman became violent, "grabbing her by the neck with both hands."

She said he threw her to the ground and "beat her several times to the left and right side of the head and nose causing pain, injury and swelling."

The victim was taken to the hospital and received multiple stitches to her lower lip. She was also treated for other injuries sustained in the alleged beating.

Police said they took pictures of a blood trail in the home.

A police department representative said Fuhrman joined the department in June 1999. She said he was suspended Monday night, but before that worked as a member of the new Neighborhood Task Force.

The 200-person task force was started this summer by Police Chief Ed Flynn. The special unit swarms high crime areas and focuses on catching some of the cities most violent criminals.

Fuhrman is charged with substantial battery, which is a felony. He was given a $2,500 cash bond and ordered not to have contact with the victim.

Flynn has said in the past he would take a hard line on his officers who break the law. However, Flynn was out of town on Tuesday and unavailable to comment on Fuhrman's charges.

Fuhrman could be one of the first officers to lose his pay under the new police pay law.

He was suspended with pay. But if he is fired, he is immediately removed from pay roll.

In the past, Milwaukee officers were paid until the end of their criminal case but that controversial law was overturned earlier this year.

Former Sheriff Stan Farley Arraigned on DUI Charges


PUTNAM COUNTY, W.Va.

Former Putnam County Sheriff Stan Farley was arraigned on DUI charges around 11:30 a.m. Thursday in Putnam County.

He was involved in an accident on Route 60 in Hurricane.

According to the criminal complaint, the officer investigating the crash smelled a strong odor of alcohol on Farley and he later failed a Breathalyzer test. The officer says due to the location of the accident, a field sobriety test was not offered.

According to the complaint, Farley's blood alcohol level was .118.

This is Farley's first DUI offense.

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ORIGINAL STORY
HURRICANE, W.Va. (WSAZ) The captain of the Hurricane Police Department tells WSAZ.com that a former Putnam County Sheriff has been arrested on DUI charges.

Captain Joe Sisk says Stan Farley was involved in an accident around 9:30 a.m. Thursday morning in front of the Hurricane Tire on Route 60.

Sisk tells WSAZ.com it appears Farley struck the back of a woman's car, but the accident is still under investigation.

The captain would not go into details about the investigation or say if Farley failed a field sobriety test. However, Sisk tells WSAZ.com Farley will be charged with driving under the influence. He's expected to be arraigned on the charges within the hour.

Farley served as Putnam County Sheriff from 1997 to 2004.

In fact, he was hoping to oust current Sheriff Mark Smith during Tuesday's general election, but lost.


More Information: http://wowktv.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=46601

Corrections Deputy Arrested for Aggravated Assault

A Sumter County Sheriff's Office corrections deputy was arrested Monday and charged with aggravated assault after Pasco deputies said he pointed a gun at two men during a fight.

According to an arrest report, Michael Accardi, 31, has had ongoing problems with two of his neighbors. After an argument with an acquaintance of the neighbors' at a Land O'Lakes Publix on Monday night, the two men approached his car and a fight began.

Pasco deputies said Accardi pointed his Glock 27 at the men and told them to get on the ground.

Accardi spent three hours at the Land O'Lakes jail and was released Tuesday morning on a $5,000 bond.

Corrections Officer Craig Bird Accused of Sexual Assault on Inmate

NEWAYGO COUNTY

A county jail corrections officer accused of having sexual contact with an inmate will stand trial on three sexual assault charges.

Craig William Bird, 51, waived his right to a probable cause hearing Thursday in Newaygo County District Court.

Bird is charged with three counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct. Sheriffs officials have not released details of the allegations against Bird.

A judge lowered his bond Thursday from $50,000 to $10,000, with Bird required to pay 10 percent.

Former Chief Jose Luis Vela Acquitted on Sexual Assault

EDINBURG, Texas

A former South Texas police chief was acquitted Friday on charges alleging he sexually assaulted one of his officers after a drunken party at his house.

Jurors deliberated about two hours Friday before acquitting Jose Luis Vela, 44, the Alton police chief in 2006, on sexual assault charges. He had been accused of performing oral sex on an officer who had passed out drunk at his house. Vela testified that the sex was consensual, and that he had an ongoing sexual relationship with the officer.

Vela won't get much time to enjoy the victory because District Judge Letty Lopez scheduled his next trial on a separate sexual assault charge to begin Monday. The victim of the other alleged sexual assault testified in the first trial that he woke up face down and naked in Vela's bed after getting drunk at a party. Vela said that was also a consensual encounter.

"We basically tried that case, and now we're going to try it again," said Luis Singleterry, Vela's attorney.

After Friday's verdict, Vela said the trial had been difficult and he would not be returning to police work.

"I have no intention of getting back into it," he said. "I'm ready for something else."

During closing arguments, prosecutor Hope Palacios told jurors the officer would not have publicly testified on the embarrassing event if it were consensual.

"Rape is an ugly word," Palacios said. "It's not what we expect to hear from the mouth of a man. It's definitely not what we expect to hear from the mouth of a police officer."

Singleterry tried to convince jurors that his client was the victim of a conspiracy arranged by another employee and her ex-husband, who investigated the case for the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office.

Singleterry said the alleged victim and two others who testified about other alleged assaults were motivated by money they could win from a civil lawsuit. He pointed out that they only told their stories after they were approached by Hidalgo County Sheriff's investigator Raul Cantu, whose ex-wife worked at the Alton Police Department.

But Palacios dismissed that idea.

"Is there any amount of money in the world that would make a man do something like that?" she said.

Palacios painted the image of an unprofessional police chief who partied with his employees even while they were on the clock. She accused Vela of manipulating poorly qualified officers willing to work for minimum wage.

"He surrounded himself with officers who couldn't get jobs at reputable agencies," Palacios said. "And he preyed upon them."

Vela also faces a charge of stealing a firearm last year. He is accused of taking a pistol from the department's evidence locker while he was still police chief. At the time of his arrest on that charge, investigators found a Colt .357 Magnum stolen from a Missouri man in 1988 and recovered by police in 1993 in Vela's home.

Accusations of bad record keeping and stealing confiscated alcohol ultimately cost Vela his job in September 2007.

Alton is a town of about 4,400 residents located 10 miles north of the Mexican border in the Rio Grande Valley.

Trooper Steven Spoonire and Wife Request Jury Trials on Marijuana Charges

A Maryland State Police trooper and his wife have requested jury trials on marijuana charges.

Suspended Trooper Steven Spoonire and Jennifer Lynn Frazier were arrested in August by police who said they found a foot-tall marijuana plant growing outside the back door of the couple's Woodsboro home.

Investigators said they also found pipes and rolling papers inside the residence.

The 36-year-old trooper and his 27-year-old wife both face misdemeanor charges of possessing marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

Officer Frank White to Stand Trial for Shooting Mother and Son

After a dramatic day of testimony yesterday, a judge ordered a San Diego police officer to stand trial for shooting a mother and her son in an Oceanside parking lot at the culmination of an apparent road rage incident in March.

“I think we expect more from our officers than the conduct that was displayed here,” Judge Joel Pressman said at the end of a nearly daylong preliminary hearing in Vista Superior Court.

Officer Frank White, 28, is charged with one felony count of grossly negligent discharge of a firearm and one misdemeanor count of exhibiting a firearm. He faces up to nine years in prison if convicted.

The District Attorney's Office decided to charge White in July. It marked the first time in 13 years that a county law enforcement officer – on or off duty – had been charged for shooting someone while acting under the color of authority.

Authorities say Rachel Silva, 28, cut off and aggressively followed White, who was off-duty, and his wife into a Lowe's parking lot March 15, while revving her engine and yelling at them. After she pulled in front of them in the lot, she backed up toward their car.

Her right mirror hit White's left mirror, and he fired his first shot through the window of his Mercury Milan into the passenger window of her Honda Accord. Silva's son, then 8, was in the passenger seat and was struck in the left leg.

As Silva continued in reverse, the right front of her car hit the left rear of White's car. He shot four more bullets from his .38-caliber revolver through her windshield. She was struck twice in the right arm.

Silva's son, with his father by his side, teared up in court yesterday as he recalled the shooting.

He testified that his mother was upset when she picked him up at a friend's house and later when she followed the car into the parking lot. “My mom was mad at him,” he said. “She was yelling.” In the parking lot, the boy said, he saw a person in the other car pointing a gun at him.

The boy testified that he curled up in his seat when he saw the gun, putting his legs near his face. He said he told his mother, “Momma, he has a gun,” and she called 911.
Later in the hearing, prosecutors played tapes of 911 calls made by Silva and White's wife, Jacquellyn, who is a Carlsbad police dispatcher.

On the call made by Silva, she says, “There's a guy who's pulling a gun on me.” After the shooting, she says it is “some guy, a policeman.” Screams are heard throughout the tape. At one point, Silva tells her son, who sounds hysterical, “Stop! You're OK! You're OK!”

Authorities say Silva had a blood-alcohol level nearly twice the legal limit and was driving on a suspended license. She faces charges in connection with the incident. She was subpoenaed to appear at White's hearing yesterday, but she asserted her Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination and didn't testify.

On Jacquellyn White's 911 call, she tells a dispatcher that a silver Honda is “road raging” them, and they don't know why. After the shooting, she tells the dispatcher that her husband has fired his gun.

“Did he hit anybody?” the dispatcher asks.

“I don't know if he hit her,” White's wife responds. She soon says that the other driver has a child in the car.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys agree that White didn't see the child when he opened fire. The car's side windows were tinted, with a darker tint on the rear windows.

On the 911 call made by Jacquellyn White, her husband can be heard after the shooting yelling, “Turn the car off!” and “Police!”

Prosecutor Julie Korsmeyer said the District Attorney's Office “carefully” charged White. “We have someone who overreacted violently in this case.”

White's attorney, Rick Pinckard, said the couple didn't do anything to provoke the confrontation, and Silva assaulted them with her car. “This was clearly a case of self-defense,” Pinckard said.

The state Attorney General's Office has charged Silva with felony child endangerment and five misdemeanors, including drunken driving and driving on a suspended license. Her trial is set for Nov. 18.

Officer Leland Feldman Arrested for Domestic Violence

Steamboat Springs

A Steamboat Springs police officer has been suspended in the wake of his arrest on domestic violence charges Saturday.

Leland Craig Feldman, 43, was arrested Saturday by Routt County Sheriff’s Office deputies on suspicion of a misdemeanor domestic violence charge of third-degree assault. Feldman has been a patrol officer with the Steamboat Springs Police Department since March.

Feldman is suspended while the police department completes its internal investigation into the incident, which likely will take several weeks, Capt. Joel Rae said Wednesday.

“We cannot comment on the aspects of that investigation at this time,” Rae said.

Feldman did not return calls made to his home Wednesday.

The Routt County Sheriff’s Office is handling the criminal aspect of Feldman’s case.

Deputies responded to a report of a domestic dispute between Feldman and an unidentified female in Stagecoach on Saturday afternoon, which resulted in his arrest, Investigator Ken Klinger said. No significant injuries were reported, Klinger said.

Full details about the incident were not available Wednesday, as the investigation continues and the arresting officers have not yet filed their reports, Klinger said.

“I know that there was physical contact,” Klinger said. “It was enough that our guys, following their on-scene investigation, took him into custody.”

Conviction on the misdemeanor charge undoubtedly would result in Feldman’s termination.

“Anybody who is convicted of domestic violence in Colo­rado cannot possess a gun, and if you cannot possess a gun, you cannot be a police officer,” Rae said.

Feldman is due to appear in Routt County Court at 8:30 a.m. Nov. 18.

Cpl Michael Pue Returns to Duty After Public Intoxication Arrest

A Maryland police officer charged with public intoxication at a Jimmy Buffett concert this summer paid a $92 fine and was returned to duty.

Cpl. Michael E. Pue, who works for the force in Frederick, Md., was off duty at the Nissan Pavilion concert with some friends when he was arrested on Aug. 31.

After the show, Pue returned to the parking lot to find the windows on his truck had been smashed and wires ripped from the dashboard, Frederick police Lt. Clark Pennington said.

Pue went to report the vandalism to a Prince William police officer and was then charged with public intoxication.

The charge is a class four misdemeanor punishable by a maximum fine of $450. It is the lowest misdemeanor charge in the commonwealth.

Pennington said the vandals did about $5,000 worth of damage to the corporal’s truck.

After he was arrested, Prince William police asked Frederick police to come and pick up Pue. He was released that night on his own recognizance.

During an investigation by the Frederick department, the corporal was put on administrative leave for about two weeks.

Pennington said Prince William authorities did the right thing in arresting the off-duty officer and added his case was handled fairly.

“Corporal Pue did not get any less of a charge as anybody else, and his case was handled the same as any IT professional or fast food workers would be,” Pennington said.

Pue paid his $25 fine and $72 court cost on Friday.

He has been a member of the Frederick police department for more than 15 years.