Monday, December 07, 2009

Dentention Officer Keith Gabbidon Charged with Sexual Assault

A DeKalb County detention officer has been fired and arrested for what officials are calling "illegal and inappropriate actions" while on duty in the county jail.

Keith Gabbidon is charged with three counts of violation of oath and sexual assault against a person in custody, as well as charges of public indecency and exposure.

Gabbidon was fired from the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office on Friday. The 40-year-old was with the sheriff's office for nearly 2 years prior to his firing.

Gabbidon has been released on $7500 bond.

The case is under investigation.

Former Officer Maurice Morris Accused of Sexual Misconduct

Former Riviera Beach K 9 cop Maurice Morris is accused of sexual misconduct and bribery.

The former officer was arrested last year by West Palm Beach Police.

Morris, according to investigators, was working off duty at a rally for then presidential candidate Barack Obama at Palm Beach Community College.

Investigators say that Morris had given a woman a number of tickets.

The former officer then offered to take away the tickets in exchange for sex.

Morris has denied the allegations made against him.

Jury selection is now underway in Palm Beach County Circuit Court.

Officer Bobby Tameris Terminated for Having Sex with Teen

A Volusia County Beach Patrol officer accused of having sex with an underage girl will not be allowed to resign.

Instead, effective on Monday, 44-year-old Bobby Tameris is terminated from county employment and will only be eligible for 20 percent of any outstanding leave time.

Officials said they chose to fire Tameris rather than accept his resignation.

He still faces criminal charges.

Officer Darrell Collins Resigns

A Carolina Beach police officer resigned Monday amid a dispute with town councilman Dan Wilcox that started over a woman.

Additionally, former officer Darrell Collins asked a New Hanover County assistant district attorney to dismiss charges he filed on his own time against Wilcox, accusing him of stalking, assault and communicating threats whenever he saw Collins with Wilcox's ex-girlfriend, according to court documents.

Collins, who had been placed on administrative paid leave last week, would not say why he resigned or why he dropped charges against the 56-year-old Wilcox, who is also mayor pro tem. Collins was put on leave after the police chief began looking into whether Collins violated unspecified town or police policies. And Wilcox had said in a statement after Collins charged him on Thanksgiving that the “retaliation is a result of me having reported him for misuse of town resources.”

On Monday, Wilcox said he didn't have a comment because he was trying to verify whether the charges had been dropped.

Carolina Beach Town Manager Tim Owens confirmed Collins' resignation Monday.

“We wish him well on his future endeavors,” Owens said, adding he thought the dismissal of the charges against Wilcox was “the best thing for everyone in this instance. It's the best thing for everyone to move on.”

He said Collins would receive the same benefits as any other employee who resigned from the town, meaning that he would receive whatever benefits were still owed to him.

Police Chief William Younginer declined to say anything about Collins or his performance as an officer.

Collins, a 53-year-old who said he had an unblemished record in law enforcement, said he's been in law enforcement for 32 years – five of them in Carolina Beach – and that he was ready to move on and he wanted the scandal to go away.

“I have no ties here,” he said. “None.”

Collins declined to talk about Wilcox's ex-girlfriend and he made no comments about Wilcox.

“Some things in life you can't win,” he said without offering any details.

Collins, a father of two grown children and grandfather to an 8-year-old grandson, said he was a simple person who did not get involved in politics.

Born and raised in South Carolina, he said he retired from law enforcement there and then moved to Carolina Beach because he'd always wanted to live on the coast. Now, Collins said he plans to leave the state.

He shook his head when asked by a reporter if he planned to take the woman with him.

“No comment,” he said, his hands folded in front of him.

Collins, who described himself as easygoing and non-confrontational, said the incident involving Wilcox was the most shocking thing that's happened to him.

During an hourlong interview, Collins gave a glimpse into the possible forces behind his decision to resign when he said: “The politics here ... It's not going to change no matter what I do or don't do, so I decided to move on.”

Former Sheriff Mark Frisbie Arrested for Drunk Driving


Former Putnam County Sheriff Mark T. Frisbie was arrested late Friday.

Frisbie, 38, was booked into the Putnam County Jail and charged with misdemeanors operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and public intoxication, Sgt. Rich Myers of the Putnamville Post of the Indiana State Police said.

Frisbie was pulled over by Indiana State Police Trooper Michael Wood on U.S. 231 at Tennessee Street in Greencastle.

"He was driving erratically," Myers said. "He went off to the right on the road, then he went left of center. When he turned onto 231 from Veteran's Highway, the turn was abrupt."

Myers declined to reveal what Frisbie's exact blood alcohol content was at the time of the arrest.

"We don't release the results of testing," he said. "What I can say is that (Frisbie) was over the legal limit, which is .08 percent."

Frisbie was arrested without incident, Myers said.

Sgt. Tyler Turner of the Putnam County Sheriff's Department said Frisbie posted a $3,000 surety bond and was released from jail at about 5 p.m. Saturday.

"The reports had all been forwarded to the prosecutor," Turner said.

Frisbie is currently on federal probation. He was convicted in November 2008 of federal program theft, and entered the United States Penitentiary satellite camp in Atlanta, Ga. on Feb. 2. He was released from the camp on March 31, and served four months on home detention before beginning his two-year term of probation.

Frisbie could have been sentenced to 10 years and prison and been assessed a $250,000 fine for the federal charge. He pled guilty to that count in August 2008, a week after he resigned as Putnam County Sheriff.

Putnam County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Justin Long said he was unsure how the new charges would affect Frisbie's federal probation.

"That will be up to his federal probation officer," Long said. "In the grand scheme of things, these are pretty minor charges. They may not do anything."

Frisbie will be in Putnam County Circuit Court at 9 a.m. Wednesday for an initial hearing on the new charges.

Sgt. Darren Martin Charged with Domestic Abuse

An Oklahoma City police sergeant has been charged with three counts of domestic abuse after complaints that he struck his wife and teenage daughter.

Darren Martin was arrested early last month. His daughter said he became violent after she told him that she was failing a class.

The 16-year-old girl said that Martin hit her in the face and gave her a bloody nose. The officer who made the arrest said she also had a black eye and bruising on her arms.

"If there is probable cause to believe (there is domestic abuse), especially the way the law is now, there's going to be an arrest made," said Oklahoma City police Capt. Steve McCool.

Police said that Martin was also accused of shoving his wife into a wall two days after the previous incident.

Martin has been placed on paid leave.