Sunday, January 17, 2010

Former Deputy Alan Brooks Accused of Secretly Tapeing Couple in Sex Act

Prosecutors charged a former Natrona County reserve deputy with seven felonies in connection with allegations that he secretly videotaped couples engaged in sexual activities inside their Evansville home.

Police say Alan Brooks, 65, wired a Curtis Street home in Evansville with elaborate recording devices and spent the past four years videotaping its residents. Court documents refer to Brooks as the property’s “manager and/or landlord.”

Authorities have confiscated hundreds of incriminating recordings, as well as “multiple hidden cameras” and “recording devices,” according to an affidavit from the case.

Brooks made his initial appearance in Natrona County Circuit Court on Friday. Prosecutors charged him with one count of intercepting electronic communications and six counts of voyeurism.

The Casper resident faces the possibility of 17 years behind bars if convicted of all charges.

Judge Michael Patchen set bond at $10,000.

Brooks told Patchen he was employed with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. At the time the crimes are alleged to have occurred, however, Brooks was also a reserve deputy for the Natrona County Sheriff’s Office. He had served in that capacity for 20-plus years.

Reached Friday afternoon, Sheriff Mark Benton said Brooks was removed from reserve deputy status on Dec. 18 — the day of his arrest. The sheriff declined to comment on the case further.

The investigation into Brooks began on Dec. 17, when a 19-year-old female resident of the house on Curtis Street told Evansville police she had discovered several holes drilled into the ceiling in the home’s bathroom and living room. The woman told police her 26-year-old boyfriend and her had then found “closed-circuit television cameras and recording equipment” in the attic, according to the affidavit.

Police say that while the couple was trying to enter a boarded-up garage at the residence, Brooks showed up and asked what they were doing.

After telling Brooks what they had found, the couple, along with a male friend, ultimately detained him and waited on authorities to arrive. While waiting, Brooks reportedly told the couple and their friend, “Just kill me,” according to the affidavit.

Investigators say that while executing a search warrant on the Curtis Street home early the next morning, they discovered several hundred VHS recordings. At least one of the tapes showed the house’s female occupant and her boyfriend engaged in sexual activity. Another showed the woman showering.

Authorities say a DVD confiscated showed the home’s two previous occupants engaged in sexual activity.

According to the affidavit, police also found a “logging/tally system very similar to an accountant’s book,” during the search of the home. The book seemed to be a who-what-when-where tally of sexual activities that had been secretly recorded, according to the affidavit.

Police also searched Brooks’ residence on West Micro Road in Casper on Dec. 18. That search, authorities say, revealed video recordings of a female bathing in the home’s bathtub. After being contacted by police, the woman in the video said she had “house-sat” for Brooks in late 2008.

In all, authorities say they found secret video recordings of six adults. None of the people in any of the recordings said they had given anyone permission to record them.

Investigators say they discovered printed e-mails that seemed to indicate Brooks is, or has been, a member of a Web site that “reveals that it promotes the downloading, uploading and viewing of still and video images of adults without their consent and/or knowledge,” the affidavit states.

According to the Natrona County Detention Center’s automated line, Brooks remained in jail Friday evening.

Officer Elliott Porter Arrested for DWI

Arlington police arrested one of their own this weekend.

Arlington police say they received a call from a citizen at about 1:15 a.m. Sunday regarding a man driving erratically southbound on Collins Street. Officers stopped the vehicle in the 3400 block of S. Collins Street and arrested Elliott Porter, 29, an off-duty Arlington Police Officer.

Officer Porter was taken to the Arlington City Jail and charged with driving while intoxicated. Bail was set at $1,000 by the court. He posted bail and was released Sunday morning. Officer Porter has been placed on routine administrative leave. Arlington police say that in addition to the criminal investigation, an internal inquiry will also be conducted.

Deputy Sgt. Edward Henley Accused of Beating His Wife

An Escambia County Florida Sheriff's deputy is finding himself on the other side of the law after he is accused of beating his wife.

Deputies say Sgt. Edward Henley, a deputy of 22 years, struck his wife after coming home from a party.

Deputies received the 911 call around 12:45 Saturday morning. Henley's wife claims the two were arguing on the way home and the argument eventually got physical.

Based on evidence at the scene Sgt. Henley was arrested. He is being charged with False Imprisonment, Battery and Assault. He is being held in the Escambia County Jail with no bond.

Salt Lake Family Wants City to Pay Damages Caused by SWAT Team

A Salt Lake family wants the city to pay for damage from a SWAT team search of their house.

It stems from the Jan. 5 search for the man accused of fatally shooting Millard County sheriff's Deputy Josie Fox.

Police originally believed the suspect, Roberto Roman, was hiding at the Salt Lake City home of his cousin, Guillermo Miramontes. A car believed to be connected to the shooting was spotted in front of the house on the 1000 West block of 300 South. Officers got permission to search the home and ended up firing 10 canisters of tear gas into the house before entering.

Roman was not inside. He later was found with an accused accomplice and arrested north of Beaver.

The Salt Lake Tribune reports damage to the Salt Lake City home is approximately $25,000. The family says it needs to replace the carpet, two couches, six beds, most of their clothing and all of the food that was in the house.

Family members tell the Tribune they're afraid they will get stuck with the cost. The family filed a claim against the city and says it will file a lawsuit if it doesn't get paid.

Community activist Michael Clara, who also is a neighbor of the Miramontes family, says the family has been living in a hotel room.

"Eleven days (after the SWAT search) the health department shows up and says 'Oh, this house, we need to close it because there is too much tear gas in there,'" he told KSL.

He says the family basically has been left homeless.

"The house is uninhabitable. Everything is damaged, the windows are all broken. There's no process in place to help someone in that situation," he said.

Salt Lake City isn't commenting because of the pending claim.
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