Monday, October 12, 2009

Officer John Robert Deegan Charged with Possession of Child Porn

A veteran Los Angeles police officer is facing child pornography charges. A federal grand jury charged 54-year-old John Robert Deegan and his 25-year-old son, Jonathon, with two counts each of possession of child porn last month, according to an indictment filed in U.S. District Court.

Both turned themselves in and were released last week on $10,000 bail. Prosecutors say Deegan and his son had child porn on a home computer in January 2008. Deputy Chief Mark Perez says Deegan has been suspended with pay since March when FBI agents told police officials that he was under investigation.

Attorneys for Deegan and his son declined to comment but Ira Salzman, who is representing Jonathon Deegan, says his client will plead not guilty at his arraignment Tuesday.

Officer Ronald Jackson & Christian Brezill Charged with Stealing Stolen Property

Two former St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers were indicted today for allegedly stealing property seized after an arrest.

Ronald Jackson, 57, and Christian Brezill, 25, were charged in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri with stealing over $1,000 in merchandise purportedly stolen from Best Buy after they arrested an individual with the property. The arrest was part of a sting operation and the individual was working with federal law enforcement.

Both men are no longer with the department. Brezill's employment was terminated and Jackson retired from the department, according to a release from the Metropolitan Police Department.

According to court documents:

Jackson received a call from an individual that a person identified only as Jane Doe was in possession of electronics stolen from Best Buy. Jackson told the individual that he would find Doe and take the merchandise and split some of the electronic equipment with him.

Brezill and Jackson were uniformed patrol officers assigned to work in the department's Sixth District out of the North Patrol Division.

Brezill and Jackson discovered that Doe had some minor outstanding traffic warrants and arrested her. She was neither arrested nor charged with possession of the stolen equipment, the indictment said.

The officers searched her car and found electronics equipment still in original boxes and Best Buy bags including: a Sony speaker system, a Phillips iPod docking system, a speaker cable, a Wii, an X-Box, a Logitech computer speaker system, a Dell laptop and a LCD flat screen TV.

According to the court documents, they put these items into Brezill's patrol car and never reported the seizure to the department. They split up the items later at a private residence.

Unbeknownst to the officers, Jane Doe was working with federal law enforcement and the electronics seized from her were owned by the U.S. government.

Both officers were indicted by a federal grand jury on one felony count of theft of U.S. property. They are scheduled to be arraigned on Oct. 16.

If convicted, Brezill and Jackson each face a maximum penalty of 10 years and/or fines up to $250,000.

Brezill's attorney Denise Watson-Wesley Coleman declined to comment. No attorney for Jackson was listed in court filings.
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http://www.examiner.com/x-14475-St-Louis-Crime-Examiner~y2009m10d10-Metropolitan-police-accused-of-misconduct

Officer Nigel Hodges Charged with Indecent Assault

Robinson Township officials are reviewing a criminal case against one of their police officers charged with sex offenses but haven't yet decided on what action to take against him.

Richard Charnovich, township manager, said today that the matter is under "legal advisement" but wouldn't say any more about Nigel Hodges, who was arrested on indecent assault charges on Saturday in connection with an incident on Oct. 7 at a North Fayette bar.

Township commissioners are meeting tonight and the issue will probably be discussed there.

Officer Hodges, 51, was charged with two counts of indecent assault and one count of indecent exposure, unlawful restraint, official oppression and harassment after an encounter with a 20-year-old bartender at the Tavern with the Lights bar.

In an affidavit, Allegheny County detectives said he tried to force himself on the young woman after the bar had emptied, then masturbated in front of her and grabbed her hand and sucked on her fingers.

The woman reported the incident to North Fayette police on Oct. 9, and officers there contacted county police for help.

According to the affidavit, the woman waited two days because Officer Hodges is a police officer, but a friend in whom she confided persuaded her to report the incident.
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http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/state/pennsylvania/20091012_ap_paofficerchargedwithexposingselftobarmaid.html