Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Probation Officer James Stanton Accused of Taking Cash & Sex in Exchange for Favorable Report

A state probation officer accused of taking sex and cash from a woman in exchange for favorable probation reports had sex with her in isolated areas of the Nesbett Courthouse for more than a year before being reported, according to documents filed in court today.

James Stanton, 53, was arrested Tuesday on charges of accepting a bribe and official misconduct after undercover police officers sent the alleged victim in to a meeting with him in his office at the Nesbett on Tuesday wearing a wire, the court documents say.

Stanton works in the state Department of Health and Social Service's Alcohol Safety Action Program, a treatment program often court-ordered for probationers. He is accused of certifying that the woman's court-ordered drug and alcohol urinalysis results came back clean, though the woman admits she was using, police said. Failure to deliver a clean drug or alcohol result in the periodic tests can result in jail time.

The woman is on felony probation in therapeutic court -- a volunteer program for those who want to get clean -- but is identified in court documents only as Jane Doe.

Police say she initially began giving Stanton money -- "hundreds of dollars" -- in December 2008 to ignore positive drug test results or not report probation violations.

By last January, the woman didn't have enough to pay and began performing oral sex on him, according to an affidavit filed in court by Assistant District Attorney Dan Shorey. She later had sex with Stanton in the therapeutic court offices in the Nesbett and in a boiler room in an underground tunnel that connects that building to the next-door Boney Courthouse, he wrote.

In the conversation recorded Tuesday at the courthouse, the woman, who is wearing an arm brace, told Stanton she hurt her arm driving drunk on a snowmachine in her home village, a violation of her probation. Stanton laughed at the news, according to Shorey's affidavit.

At the time, the woman delivered $200 in marked bills as a payoff to Stanton, who accepted the money as they talked about her not being off drugs and alcohol, the affidavit says. The two also discussed their past sexual encounters and whether Stanton had been taking his Viagra, according to the documents. When the woman asked if he needed it, Stanton replied, "not with you," according to Shorey's affidavit.

They then walked down to a conference room, where Stanton allegedly unbuttoned the woman's shirt and touched her breast, the affidavit says. When the woman said she no longer wanted to have sex, and only pay him the cash, Stanton replied, "I don't need any more money," Shorey wrote. The woman left and police arrested Stanton.

Stanton, who is jailed with bail set at $10,000, made an initial appearance in Anchorage jail court this afternoon. Stanton said nothing, but his attorney, Michael Moberly, seeking to reduce a third-party custodian bail requirement, characterized the crime as a "victimless" public administration violation.

District Court Judge Gregory Motyka set a bail hearing for Thursday morning to decide whether Stanton could be released with an electronic monitoring device.

Moberly declined to comment after the hearing.

According to court records, Stanton has no criminal history in Alaska.

Police say they suspect there may be other victims. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call 786-8900.

Detective John Killackey Charged with Pointing Weapon at Cab Driver

Chicago police detective John Killackey has been charged with misdemeanor theft and assault for stiffing a cab driver on a fare in April and threatening him with a gun when the driver asked for payment, officials said today.

Killackey, 32, is listed in public records as a police detective who joined the police force in 2000. According to a source, the officer is the son of Jack Killackey, the former commander of the Deering police district. The elder Killackey is currently an official at the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communication.

The driver, Karl Clermont, has said he picked up Killackey on April 23. When they arrived at his destination near Armitage and Damen Avenues, Killackey, who was off-duty at the time, refused to pay his $8 cab fare and pulled a handgun on Clermont, the driver alleged.

Killackey appeared to be intoxicated when Clermont picked him up at about 1:35 a.m. and drove to the Bucktown destination, said George Lutfallah, who first wrote about the case in Chicago Dispatcher, a publication on taxi-related subjects.

When they arrived, Killackey got out of the cab and started to walk away without paying the fare, Luftallah said. Clermont called after him, and he returned to the taxi.

Killackey allegedly brandished a handgun as he told the driver he didn't owe him anything. "Get out of the car and see what happens," the detective said, according to Luftallah.

Clermont called 911, and when officers arrived they found Killackey in a nearby alley; when they saw his identification, his badge and his gun, they learned he was a police officer.

The driver filed a complaint with the Independent Police Review Authority. On Thursday he spoke with prosecutors at the state's attorney's office, Luftallah said.

Killackey was charged Friday, said Andy Conklin, a spokesman for the state's attorney's office.

He has also been relieved of police powers and an internal investigation is under way, said Chicago Police News Affairs Lt. Maureen Biggane. Killackey has been put in an administrative role, she said.

IPRA also is conducting an investigation of its own, said agency spokesman Curtis Tarver.

Deputy Trenedy Brooks Charged with Statutory Rape

The Morristown Citizen-Tribune is reporting that a suspended Grainger County deputy – who is under investigation by the TBI – has been arraigned on charges of statutory rape and solicitation of a minor, according to Sheriff James Harville.

Trenedy Brooks faces two counts of statutory rape. Investigators said the alleged female victim is 16, according to published reports. Brooks was arrested on Friday and was released over the weekend on a $60,000 bond.

Brooks, 27, was placed on leave in May of 2009 due to being under investigation by the TBI on an unrelated incident. Harville said he is unsure of the status of the TBI investigation.

Durham Officers Accused of Assaulting Student

The executive director of a training program for at-risk youth said Durham police officers assaulted one of her students Tuesday afternoon.

Fran Alexander said she was standing in the lobby of EDGE Training and Placement Tuesday afternoon when she saw two police officers confront 17-year-old Andre Bond. The EDGE program targets students who have been in trouble and tries to give them an education.

Alexander said officers threw Bond against her SUV so hard that it left a dent and then threw him to the ground in front of the school.

"I was afraid they were going to kill him," she said. "One police officer was holding him, and the other one was ... just socking him in the face and in the ribs."

Bond appeared in court Wednesday on charges of assaulting a government official and resisting a public officer. He had no visible injuries, aside from a mark above his right eye.

"He looks OK right about now, but if you would have seen him (Tuesday), his face was bigger than mine," said his mother, Teresa Bond.

Police Chief Jose Lopez said the officers went to the school to arrest Bond for missing a court appearance in a case from August that also involved resisting arrest.

"A lot of the individuals who see the police action may not have seen it from the beginning (and) may not know what the background of the police action is," Lopez said.

The Durham Police Department is investigating the incident, which is standard procedure for any instance in which an officer uses force. Both officers, whose names haven't been released, remain on duty.

Lopez said it was too early to comment on whether the officers did anything wrong. The internal investigation could take several weeks to complete.

"I'm going to wait until the investigation has concluded and going to make a proper determination," he said.

Teresa Bond said she wants the two officers fired. Alexander said the incident only reinforces an image among teens that police cannot be trusted.

"How can I tell these kids that the police are our friends when they come on school grounds and do something like that?" she said.

Trial for Officer Epaminondas Korkoneas Accused of Shooting Teen Postponed

The trial of a Greek police officer accused of shooting a teenager a year ago was postponed until Friday, just after it had opened amid tight security after threats by anarchists.

Epaminondas Korkoneas, 38, is accused of fatally shooting 15-year-old Alexis Grigoropoulos during a December 2008 night patrol in the bohemian Athens district of Exarchia. The incident sparked several days of riots.

He is on trial for voluntary homicide. The hearing was immediately adjourned following a defence request.

One far-left extremist group threatened to kill the officer, prompting authorities to send more than 400 police to the small town of Amfissa, 200 kilometres (125 miles) northwest of Athens where the trial was held.

The trial was relocated from Athens because of security concerns, and Greece's Supreme Court has rejected bids by the teenager's family to move it back to the capital.

Korkoneas says he fired in the air to disperse youths, including Grigoropoulos, who threw stones at his squad car.

An autopsy report indicated that the boy was hit by a bullet that ricocheted onto him but lawyers for the boy's family point to the testimony of witnesses who say the policeman took aim and fired.

Korkoneas' partner Vassilios Saraliotis, 32, is also on trial accused of complicity to voluntary homicide.


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