Tuesday, May 06, 2014

Officer Elliot Rodriguez Arrested for Assaulting Family Member

Elliot Rodriguez was arrested on suspicion of assault of a family member-choking/strangulation, according to an affidavit.

Rodriguez, 42,  is a Helotes Police officer, according to a Bexar County District Clerk. Rodriguez went to his female companion's house after work around 3 a.m. Sunday when he got in an argument with her about a conversation she had with a male friend over text messages, according to the affidavit.

Rodriguez allegedly became angry and grabbed her and began choking her, leaving two red marks, according to the affidavit.

According to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, Rodriguez has been with the Helotes Police Department for close to 15 years and was with the Live Oak Police Department for more than a year.

Former Officer Ricky Vitte Jr Appears in Court on Charges of Masturbating With Boy

The former Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper accused of masturbating with a boy and showing him porn pleaded not guilty Monday at his first court appearance.

Ricky Vitte Jr., 34, of Helena, attended his arraignment hearing in Sandusky County Common Pleas Court on a felony charge and a misdemeanor charge of disseminating matter harmful to juveniles. He was flanked at the hearing by his attorney, Dean Henry, as well as a few family members.

After Vitte pleaded not guilty to both counts, Sandusky County prosecutor Tom Stierwalt asked that the former trooper be released on his own recognizance, citing his appearance at the arraignment as an indication he would appear at the next hearing.

A condition of that bond, however, requires Vitte to completely avoid contact with the victim, who is now 18 years old.

As part of the proceedings, Judge Barbara Ansted ran through a laundry list of activities Vitte cannot engage in, given his pending charges.

One of those — a rule barring him from possessing a firearm — prompted Ansted to mention Vitte’s former Highway Patrol job.

“You don’t need (one) for your job anymore?” Ansted asked.

Vitte replied with a succinct “no.”

After the hearing, Henry and Stierwalt hashed out the next hearing date and Vitte was briefly booked into the Sandusky County jail on his indictment.

His arraignment came after nearly four months of conflicting information from Sandusky County officials, Highway Patrol administrators and Ohio Director of Public Safety Jon Born’s office.

In November, Sandusky County deputies learned Vitte allegedly showed porn to a boy and masturbated with him on two occasions when the boy was still a preteen.

Stierwalt at first declined to charge Vitte because the former trooper could argue he was teaching the child about sex. Stierwalt presented the case in April to a grand jury, which handed down an indictment. 

The Patrol then fired Vitte for conduct unbecoming of an officer.

During the Patrol’s investigation of the allegations, Stierwalt said he consulted with a Lucas County prosecutor, who agreed with Stierwalt’s initial decision not to press charges. In a recent public records request by the Register, however, Lucas County officials said they had no record of Stierwalt contacting their office. 

Officer Gilbert Anthony Lorenzo Arrested for Domestic Violence

A San Diego police officer who was arrested last month on accusations he beat his wife has been arrested a second time on similar charges.

A San Diego police officer who was arrested last month on accusations he beat his wife has been arrested a second time on similar charges.

Thirty-one-year-old Gilbert Anthony Lorenzo was taken into custody late Monday night and booked into the San Diego Jail just before 11:30 p.m. on charges of inflicting corporal injury on spouse/cohabitant. His bail was set at $50,000. The circumstances of the arrest were not confirmed.

Lorenzo was initially arrested April 23 at his Le Mesa home on suspicion of felony domestic battery. He was immediately suspended without pay by San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman.

At the time, his wife, Tanya Lorenzo, told 10News that the incident was blown out of proportion. She said the police department "mutilated my husband in public."

"It was a situation that got out of control," she said last month. "It was just an argument that got a little bit more out of control than it should have."

Now, she is no longer defending her husband. She told 10News she was dropping their children off at the Spring Valley home where Lorenzo is staying when he attacked her.

She said her husband was drunk when he "went off." She claims the suspended San Diego police officer bit her and tried to strangle her.

"I could feel my neck cracking," she recounted, saying it was the first time she had ever felt that he was putting her life in danger. "I think if someone didn't come forward to pull him off me I would have been dead."

It is a totally different story than the one her twin sister, Jody Klemme, told 10News. Klemme said she spoke to Officer Lorenzo after he bailed out of jail. She said he claimed his wife was the aggressor who forced her way into his house attacking his groin area.

"I've been around their arguments when they've fought," said Klemme. "My sister, she is the type of person that you get in an argument with her, she will keep pushing and pushing the limit. So I don't personally think that he would lay his hands on her. He is not that type of person. He's a good guy."

Tanya Lorenzo said her sister is a liar, who does not know what really happened.

She also admitted that she did not tell the truth when she claimed her husband did not beat her in April, when he was arrested for domestic violence. She now says the bruise mark on her cheek was the result of that incident.

"I lied to save my family and help him keep his job," Mrs. Lorenzo said. "That's over now."

Lorenzo posted bail and was released just before 6 a.m. When asked for comment on the charges, he only responded, "The system sucks."

Lorenzo is a seven-year veteran of the police department. His first court hearing on the new charges is scheduled for May 13 in San Diego County Superior Court in El Cajon.