Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Former Officer Victor Goad Accused of Soliciting Bribe

The former Richmond County Sheriff deputy accused of soliciting a bribe was indicted this week.

The Richmond County grand jury issued the indictment against Victor J. Goad, accusing him of theft by extortion and violation of the oath of a public officer. Mr. Goad, who was fired after the allegation arose, allegedly threatened to arrest and jail a man unless he was paid $200.

Mr. Goad, who is free on bond, should be arraigned later this month.

Officer Kinley Jong Charged with Filing Fraudulent Tax Return

A California Highway Patrol officer has been arrested on charges of filing fraudulent state income tax returns, the California Franchise Tax Board said Tuesday.

Kinley L. Jong, 48, was originally charged in November with one felony count of possessing an assault weapon, which was found by special agents who were executing a search warrant on his home, the FTB said.

The FTB said it received information that Jong was allegedly depositing substantial amounts of cash into his bank accounts that exceeded the amount of income reported on his 2005 to 2007 state income tax returns.

Officials said he owes more than $26,400 in unpaid taxes to the state.

Jong was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail and was released on a $15,000 bail, according to the FTB.

He is expected in court on Wednesday.

Former Officer Dale Dodson Accused of Interfering with Murder Investigation

Former Sparta police officer Dale Dodson turned himself in to authorities at White County Justice Center, on Jan. 6, at approximately 9:30 a.m., after a sealed indictment was returned from the White County Grand Jury for his arrest.

Dodson, a 16-year veteran law enforcement officer, was fired Sept. 14, 2009, based on allegations of official misconduct for reportedly interfering with the murder investigation of Terry Sullivan, who was found dead in his home on Jan. 16, 2009. Dodson had secured subpoenas for at least two Web sites to obtain the identities of individuals who were posting negative comments about him in connection with the Sullivan case.

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation was requested, by the district attorney general’s office, on Sept. 15, 2009, to open an investigation about the case.

As of press time, on Wednesday, White County authorities were not able to release information about the sealed indictment. However, The Expositor contacted Dodson who said he was charged with three counts of official misconduct.

He was held on a $25,000 bond but later released after posting bail.

Officer Robert John Lewis Charged with Shooting Death of His Son

Camp Lejeune civilian law enforcement officer has been charged in the November 2009 accidental shooting death of his young son.

Robert John Lewis, 27, of Jacksonville, N.C., was charged Wednesday morning with involuntary manslaughter, possession of a weapon of mass destruction, contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile and failing to secure a firearm from a minor, according to an Onslow County Sheriff’s Office release.

The charges come nearly two months after Lewis’ 3-year-old son, Tyler, shot himself in the forehead Nov. 16 with a .40-caliber pistol he found on a table in the family’s home, according to authorities. He died shortly after the gun fired.

Lewis was working on the base when the shooting occurred. His wife was at home with their son at the time.

He has been placed in Onslow County Jail on $55,000 bond.

Officer Christian Mitchell Charged with Having Sex with Child

A St. Louis police officer has resigned after being charged with having sex with a child.

44-year-old Christian Mitchell resigned on Monday after 11 years in the department's 9th District.

Mitchell was charged in St. Louis County Circuit Court with two counts of second-degree statutory rape and two other felonies.

The Department said that after learning of the criminal allegations against Mitchell, it launched an Internal Affairs Investigation.

Officer Brandon Lavertie Accused of Battery

Another Orlando police officer is in trouble with the law. Orlando officer Brandon Lavertie was working off-duty when a woman accused him of battery and false imprisonment outside a downtown concert club.

Crowd control is a challenge at Orlando's downtown clubs and many hire off-duty officers, but sometimes they get themselves into trouble. That's what happened outside Firestone Live on Orange Avenue on the night of December 14.

Orlando police confirm one of its officers, who was working there off duty that night, has been suspended and is under investigation. The police department won’t say who he is or anything else about what happened.

But sources tell Eyewitness News there's a felony warrant out for the officer's arrest, because he's been accused of inappropriately touching a woman after she had left the club. The owner of Firestone Live says someone in her group had spilled a drink and all of them were asked to leave.

Neither the Firestone Live security camera, nor the city-owned camera at the intersection of Orange Avenue and Concord Street, captured the incident, but there is reportedly video of the officer with the alleged victim.

Eyewitness News has learned the incident happened off club property, possibly at a nearby parking area. Firestone Live's owner says the off-duty Orlando officer had left his post and went off with the woman.

Orlando police will wait until after the criminal investigation is done before it does its own investigation into whether the officer violated department policy.

Orlando police say the officer was suspended three days after the alleged incident, but won't say whether that was with or without pay.

Officer Derrick Shannon Under Investigation for Neglect of Duty

A Baltimore police officer is being investigated for possible neglect of duty after the family of a shooting victim said he failed to take a report about a missing person.

Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi confirmed that the family of Marcal Walton, 33, had called police Monday morning to report him missing, but were told by a Central District officer that he would not take a report because Walton was "locked up."

The officer apparently was unaware that Walton had been found Sunday afternoon in an alley in the 2300 block of Ocala Ave., dead of gunshot wounds.

Officer Derrick Shannon, a four-year veteran, has not been suspended while he is under investigation for possible neglect of duty, said Guglielmi, who noted that the missing person call had been placed after Walton's body had been found.

Police also disclosed new details about Walton's killing. They first received a report around 2:40 p.m. Sunday that Walton had been abducted from a home in the 1700 block of Hollins Ave. near the county line, and 20 minutes later responded to the shooting, not far from Mondawmin Mall in West Baltimore, where they found his body, Guglielmi said.

Walton, who had a long record of drug arrests and a handgun arrest in Baltimore County, pleaded guilty in 1997 to a charge of drug distribution.

In 2000, Walton received a phone call from a man offering to sell stolen jewelry that helped police track down one of the killers of Baltimore County police Sgt. Bruce A. Prothero, who was moonlighting as a security guard at a jewelry store.

According to news reports, county police were able to track a call from Troy Wilson, who had offered to sell Walton jewelry stolen during a February 2000 robbery in which Prothero was shot. Wilson is serving a life sentence.

As of Tuesday evening, Walton was the city's only homicide victim so far this year. Baltimore recorded nine killings in the first five days of 2009.

Former Officer Alhinde Weems Pleads Guilty to Dealing Drugs

A former Philadelphia police officer pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court to dealing drugs and planning to rob a supposed drug stash. Alhinde Weems, 34, faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison - and a maximum of life - when sentenced in May.

Weems, a 51/2-year veteran when he was arrested in March, was a drug dealer before he became an officer and continued his dealings while on the force, according to authorities. He was arrested at an area hotel as he was about to rob a man he believed was a drug dealer, but who was really a federal undercover agent.

"He appeared to be motivated by greed," Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Carrillo said yesterday.

Weems, whose last assignment was in West Philadelphia's 18th Police District, admitted to selling crack cocaine, buying and transporting what he believed to be genuine cocaine in 2008-09, and planning, and attempting to commit, a gunpoint home-invasion robbery of a drug dealer.

Officer David Dass Guilty of Online Enticement of Child

An Omaha police officer has been convicted of using the Internet to lure what he believed was a 14-year-old girl into having sex.

A Sarpy County jury found 25-year-old David Kass guilty of online enticement on Wednesday.

Kass was arrested at his Omaha home in July. La Vista police detectives said Kass initiated an online conversation with an undercover investigator posing as a 14-year-old girl. Detectives say the conversation was of a graphic, sexual nature.

Kass had argued that he thought he was talking to an adult during the explicit online chat.

Kass has been with the Omaha Police Department since 2006.

He is scheduled to be sentenced in March. Kass faces a maximum of 5 years in prison.

Information from: KETV-TV, http://www.ketv.com

Officer Carlos Alvarez Fired for Not Responding to Call

Last week, Police Chief David Kunkle fired a 13-year-veteran after he failed to respond to a police call and instead went to conduct personal business at a bank.

At the time, we didn't have much detail about the circumstances that led to the firing of police Officer Carlos Alvarez. Today, I obtained a copy of the internal affairs investigation through an open records request.

In my experience covering DPD, this particular case would not typically result in termination. Senior commanders say what set Alvarez apart was his extensive history of discipline for missing work.

At 12:02 p.m. on Aug. 20, Alvarez was dispatched to a shoplifting call in the 2400 block of West Ledbetter Drive. Two minutes later, another officer who was driving by stopped at the location of the incident and put out a call for help.

A police sergeant noticed that Alvarez had not yet arrived at the call. At 12:09 p.m., Alvarez told her that he was on his way to the call. At 12:19 p.m., Alvarez left the bank where he had gone to take care of an overdraft on his bank account.

He arrived at the call at 12:24 p.m. - 22 minutes after first being dispatched.

Alvarez later told investigators that he didn't think it would take long at the bank. He said he did not initially hear the dispatcher give him the call.

He said did not leave the bank immediately after finding out about the call because the bank teller still had his license and bank card in the manager's office. Once he retrieved them, he immediately went to the call. He said he did not hear the other officer request help.

"I made a mistake and it will not happen again," Alvarez wrote in his statement to internal investigators.

A supervisor who initially counseled him over the incident spoke highly of Alvarez in his written statement.

"Officer Alvarez is an excellent officer, handles a high number of calls and often interprets for other officers," Sgt. Marc Hearn wrote. "He is an asset to the watch."

In 1998 and 2000, Alvarez received minor discipline for missing court. In 2002, he received a five-day suspension for missing work and giving misleading statements. In 2002 and 2003, he received minor discipline for missing court. In 2005, he got a 10-day suspension for missing work.

In 2006, he was given a 20-day suspension for missing work and making misleading statements. In 2007, he was given a documented counseling for not going to court.

Alvarez's sergeant and lieutenant both recommended a 10-day suspension over the August 2009 incident. Deputy Chief Rick Watson, commander of southwest patrol, and Assistant Chief Floyd Simpson, who oversees all the patrol stations, both recommended termination.

Kunkle made the final decision.

Officer Edward Krawetz in Court for Kicking Woman

A suspended Lincoln police officer accused of kicking a woman in the face while she was handcuffed, pleaded not guilty Wednesday morning in Providence County Superior Court.

Officer Edward Krawetz, 40, of 429 River Rd., Lincoln, was arraigned on a felony charge of assault with a dangerous weapon — his foot.

Judge Kristin Rodgers released him pending a pretrial hearing April 6.

A spokesman for the attorney general’s office, Michael J. Healey, said last month that Donna Levesque, 45, a Massachusetts resident, was sitting on a curb with her hands cuffed behind her back at the Twin River slot parlor when Krawetz allegedly kicked her on May 31.

Krawetz and Officer Russell Enos were working in uniform and off-duty on a security detail at Twin River when Levesque began acting in a disorderly manner and was escorted outside by the two officers, according to Healey. The officers took Levesque into custody on a disorderly conduct charge in a bar at the slot parlor, he said.

Healey said Levesque has no memory of the incident and did not seek treatment for any injury. He said she later pleaded no contest to the disorderly conduct charge.

Rodgers ordered Krawetz not to have any contact with Levesque. He remains suspended from the force without pay.

Enos was not accused of any wrongdoing.

State police became involved on July 21 after the Lincoln police chief asked them to investigate the alleged assault, state police Capt. David Neill said Wednesday. Lincoln Police Lt. Chris Tuffy worked with state police detectives, Neill said.

The evidence against Krawetz includes a videotape obtained from Twin River security, Neill said. He said the state police will not release the videotape because it is evidence in the ongoing case.

“The videotape corroborates the fact that the officer did strike the female with his foot,” Neill said. “The video corroborates the alleged assault.”

It was not known who brought the alleged assault to the attention of the Lincoln police.

Neill said he could not comment on when or why the Lincoln police began investigating the incident, but he believes that investigation began shortly after the incident.

Lincoln Police Chief Brian Sullivan said that the Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights prevents him from talking about the case. He said the department is referring all questions to Providence lawyer Vincent Ragosta Jr. who is representing the Lincoln police. Ragosta also cited the Bill of Rights and would not comment on the case.

Six years ago, the town settled out of court on a claim filed by a teenager that Krawetz had struck him and damaged his teeth during an arrest. The teenager was later cleared of charges of assault and resisting arrest. The amount of the settlement was not disclosed.