Correctional Officer Patrick Harris Arrested for Theft

Patrick Harris, 36, of LaGrange, was arrested Wednesday around 6:30 p.m. at the Troup County Landfill in the 100 block of Parmer Road on theft charges. Harris is a correctional officer at the Troup County Correctional Institute

According to reports, a witness saw Harris driving a truck and pulling a trailer into the property after the gate was secured, which he had keys to.

Deputies arrested Harris as he was leaving the landfill. Several items of scrap metal were found in his trailer.

Harris will be charged with theft by taking, criminal trespassing and violation of oath of office. Additional charges are pending.

Former Officer Gary Pignato Pleads Guilty to Another Charge

Former Greece Police Officer Gary F. Pignato, who already is in prison for sexually coercing a woman he met on duty, pleaded guilty today to charges involving another woman.

Pignato pleaded guilty before Monroe County Court Judge Frank P. Geraci Jr. to misdemeanors of official misconduct and second-degree criminal trespass.

He will receive two years in the Monroe County Jail to run at the same time as his sentence for the previous conviction.

Pignato, 49, is serving a prison term of two to six years for forcing a woman to have sex with him in 2008 in exchange for not reporting her for violating probation on a misdemeanor conviction for petit larceny. He was convicted after a trial last spring.

The latest charge he admitted to involves a woman who said he forced her into having sex with him in 2005 in exchange for not reporting her for smoking marijuana.

Officer Shaun Barrett Arrested for Harassment & Trespassing

A Scappoose police officer with three years on the force was arrested Friday night in Polk County on misdemeanor physical harassment and criminal trespass charges.

Polk County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Shaun Barrett, 45, at approximately 11:25 p.m. at the Spirit Mountain Casino, according to Scappoose Police Department Chief Doug Greisen.

Barrett had been booked and lodged in the Polk County Jail, and has since posted bail.

Greisen, who learned of the arrest on Saturday while attending a conference with the FBI in Sun River, said Barrett has been placed on paid administrative leave as his department examines details of the case.

Greisen said he will review today the Polk County Sheriff’s Office police report of the incident leading to the arrest, and said an internal affairs investigation would be launched if there is sufficient reason to believe Barrett violated departmental policies.

“We’re taking it very seriously,” Greisen said.

The Polk County sheriff and district attorney offices are pursuing criminal charges against Barrett, and representatives from both agencies said it is policy to not release police reports on pending cases.
Barrett is scheduled to be arraigned on the charges in Polk County Circuit Court on Oct. 15.

He was not immediately available for comment on this story.

Barrett came to the Scappoose Police Department after working for the Vernonia Police Department, also in Columbia County. He had additionally worked as a law enforcement officer in Columbia City, and held the position of animal control officer for Columbia County.

Greisen said this is the first time he’s ever had a problem with Barrett, and added that he was disappointed when he heard Barrett had been arrested.

“We haven’t had any other issues with him. This is the first,” he said.

Greisen said this is also the first time in his 10 years as chief he has had to place an officer on paid administrative leave.

Barrett was the subject of public criticism while working as the county’s animal control officer for his role in the shooting death of a black bear in the early 2000s that was pursued up a tree within the Scappoose city limits.
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Other Information:
http://www.kptv.com/news/21177657/detail.html

Officer Thurman Hathaway Arrested for Unauthorized Use of Database

Police and city officials in Cochran are scheduled to meet today to discuss the employment of a Cochran police officer charged with criminal trespass and violating the rules and regulations associated with the Georgia Crime Information Center database.

Thurman Hathaway, 38, of Cochran, was arrested Wednesday following a GBI investigation, said Todd Lowery, assistant special agent in charge of the GBI’s Eastman office. Authorities say Hathaway is accused of calling in the tag number of a male friend of a former female friend for personal reasons and checking the number against the GCIC database.

Lowery said the database contains vehicle registration information, information about wanted individuals and other information used by law enforcement during criminal investigations.

It’s illegal to access the database without a legitimate law enforcement purpose, he said.

The criminal trespass charge is based on Hathaway calling in the tag number from the woman’s residence, Lowery said.

Bleckley County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Daniel Cape said the case was forwarded to the GBI after someone reported Hathaway’s actions by calling dispatchers.

Cochran Police Chief Jon Thrower said Hathaway was placed on leave without pay following his arrest. He described Hathaway as having a “lifelong” career in corrections and law enforcement. Hathaway has been a Cochran police officer for about three and a half years, Thrower said.

“We were shocked when this happened,” Thrower said. He’s always done a good job as a police officer.”

Hathaway was released on $5,100 bond Wednesday, Cape said.

Deputy Travis Kiser Arrested for Trespassing

A former Valdosta police officer is facing charges for criminal trespass.

Valdosta Police arrested 25-year-old Travis Kiser on Tuesday, May 5th.

Police say around 8:30 AM at the Woodstone Apartments in Valdosta, Kiser got into an argument with his ex-girlfriend and broke a mirror off her car.

"Certainly we were upset with what happened, but our guys fully understand that we can't allow that. I mean, we're a profession just like the media is a profession. And the difference with us though is that we're in law enforcement and if we don't police ourselves, what are we telling the community?" said COMM Brian Childress of the Valdosta Police Department.

Police say Kiser was later arrested, then taken to the Lowndes County Jail.

Kiser is currently out on bond and works as a deputy for the Lanier County Sheriff's Office.

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http://www.walb.com/Global/story.asp?S=10316157&nav=menu37_2

Officer Lance Bennett Resigns After being Accused of Peeping into Womans Window

A Nebraska City police officer accused of peeping into a window to watch a woman take a bath has resigned from the force.

Lance Bennett submitted his resignation last week, days after he entered a written not guilty plea in Otoe County Court to a charge of second-degree criminal trespass, a misdemeanor. According to the criminal complaint, Bennett improperly went onto the property of Erik and Brenda Cunningham sometime around 10 p.m. on Aug. 6, 2008.

That night, Erik Cunningham went outside and found Bennett crouched on his back porch, wearing his police uniform. The officer had parked his police cruiser more than a block from the couple's house.

A next-door neighbor later told the Cunninghams that he had seen a man looking through a lighted window at the back of the couple's house. Brenda Cunningham, 32, was in the couple's bathroom taking a bath at the time.

Attempts to reach Bennett have been unsuccessful. His attorney, John Voelker of Nebraska City, did not return calls seeking comment.

Bennett, 29, had worked as a Nebraska City police officer since 2006.

On March 12, the city put Bennett on unpaid suspension after the Nebraska Attorney General's Office charged him with trespassing. He had spent more five months on paid administrative leave while the matter was under investigation, Police Chief David Lacy said Tuesday.

Officer Joseph Houston Investigated for Exposing Himself

BREWSTER

Selectmen met for a second, and final, time yesterday afternoon in a closed-door session to decide whether to discipline or dismiss Brewster police Officer Joseph Houston for alledgedly exposing himself and assaulting other patrons at a Jan. 18 rock concert in Boston.

The hearing took nearly two hours and allowed Houston's attorney to present his client's side of the case to the board. Afterward, selectmen chairman Peter Norton said the rules regarding executive session prohibited him from commenting on the meeting other than to say that the board had concluded its deliberations on the matter.

Leaving the meeting, Houston did not appear to be a man who had been vindicated. He and his attorney walked briskly past reporters, who had been excluded from the hearing. Neither Houston nor his attorney, Patrick Bryant, would comment on whether Houston still had a job as a Brewster police officer.

"There will be no comment at this time," Bryant said.

The municipal payroll is considered a public record, and, after the meeting, Police Chief Richard Koch said that Houston, who had been on paid administrative leave since the January incident, would not be on paid leave as of today, or any time thereafter.

Houston was allegedly intoxicated while at a Metallica concert at TD Banknorth Garden on Jan. 18. At one point, he allegedly pulled down his pants and urinated on a man in the row in front of him. According to a complaint filed with Boston police after the concert, Houston also physically and verbally harassed the female members of the party, identified only as a family from out of state, and allegedly lunged at the man's sister with his pants still down and genitals exposed.

When he was ejected by security guards for fighting with the first victim, Houston allegedly flashed his Brewster police badge, identified himself as an officer and demanded he be allowed back into the concert. At one point, he allegedly said "Look at Obama" to a black Transit police officer.

Houston was arrested by the Transit Police and charged with trespassing for trying to get back into the concert. He has been arraigned on that charge. Boston detectives have also requested a clerk's hearing, set for March 5, on possible felony charges against the officer.

Executive session is typically invoked in personnel cases, especially disciplinary and dismissal hearings. The sessions are closed to the public and media unless the defendant asks them to be conducted in open session. Houston requested a closed hearing. Executive session minutes and the record of decision is generally public information, once selectmen have reviewed and approved them.

Chief Koch said his department's own internal investigation into Houston's conduct at the concert would not be released until after all avenues of appeal had been exhausted, including any possible union grievance.

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http://www.wickedlocal.com/brewster/town_info/government/x594726462/Brewster-tight-lipped-after-Houston-hearing

Officer Troy Giovengo Charged with Trespassing

FORT PIERCE, Fla.

A Fort Pierce police officer was arrested on Thursday and charged with armed trespassing and unauthorized use of a computer network.

St. Lucie County sheriff’s detectives arrested Officer Troy Giovengo at about 12:15 p.m.

He posted $7,500 bond and was released from the St. Lucie County Jail just before 3 p.m.

Last Friday, the Port St. Lucie Police Department arrested Giovengo on aggravated stalking charges. The next day, he was released after posting $10,000 bond.

Following those events, another woman, interviewed by the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, described an encounter in her home with Giovengo on Dec. 12.

The sheriff’s office’s investigation led to the new charges that were the basis for Giovengo’s arrest on Thursday.

Trial for Former Officer Samuel White Continues

Prosecutors this morning are trying to show Samuel Kase White had a pattern of behavior they hope will help prove he sexually assaulted five women in fall 2007.

Fort Collins police Officer Jake Schneider testified he arrested White on Sept. 8, 2007, after a couple reported a prowler at a residence on East Plum Street. Schneider said he initially stopped White, who was on foot, because he was a black man in his 30s, which matched the description of the prowler provided to a police dispatcher.

The arrest was made at about 4:40 a.m. and Schneider said there was no one else walking in the area at the time.

White is not facing charges for the Sept. 8 case, but prosecutors are trying to show White had a pattern of behavior related to the assaults. The jury has been instructed by Larimer District Court Judge Terence Gilmore to consider the testimony and presentation of evidence solely for that purpose.

A Fort Collins police computer forensics analyst is also testifying this morning that he found Internet searches on White’s CSU work computer using Yahoo maps for directions from White’s home to addresses near the campus.

White is accused of sexually assaulting four women at their homes near the CSU campus and another woman in Loveland. Three of the women were CSU students at the time and said they did not know White. Two of the women said they knew White through a friend or relative.

All five women have testified against White. Prosecutors Emily Humphrey and Michelle Brinegar say they expect to wrap up their case by Thursday, while public defenders Erin Richmond and Norm Townsend say they expect to rest their case by Monday.

White is charged with five counts of felony sexual assault, five counts of burglary, one count of trespassing, one count of harassment and one count of unlawful contact.

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http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20090203/NEWS01/902030331
See www.coloradoan.com for more.

Officer Robert Creamer Arrested for Assault

ELIOT, Maine

A longtime patrolman with the Kittery Police Department and former school resource officer at Traip Academy was arrested over the weekend after allegedly assaulting a staff member at the Regatta Banquet and Conference Center.

Robert Creamer, 57, of Kittery, was arrested at 7 p.m. Saturday on allegations that he shoved one of the employees and then refused to leave the premises during a comedy show featuring Bob Marley.

Creamer was arrested by Eliot police after they responded to the banquet hall, located at the Eliot Commons, following a 911 call from staff regarding an "unwanted person."

He faces two misdemeanors, one charge of simple assault and one count of criminal trespass, which could result in fines and a possible year in jail.

According to Eliot Police Chief Ted Short, Creamer had been drinking alcohol during the show and after becoming disruptive was asked to leave by employees.

Short said Creamer was escorted out of the banquet center by staff after the alleged shoving and when he was later asked to leave several times by staff and police he became "argumentative."

It was for that alleged refusal to leave the premises that Creamer was charged with criminal trespass.

No one was injured in the physical altercation, Short said.

Following his arrest, Creamer was taken to the Eliot police station and released on $300 cash bail, with an arraignment date of April 9 at the York District Court.

Kittery Police Chief Ed Strong said Creamer has since been placed on administrative leave with pay pending an internal investigation.

Creamer has been with the Police Department since 1983, said Short, and was once the school resource officer at Traip Academy before his position was eliminated due to budget cuts.

Strong said he could not comment further on Creamer's alleged conduct because of the internal investigation.

Information: http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20090203-NEWS-902030395

Officer Paul T Vera Charged with Pointing Weapon

New London

A 22-year veteran of the Connecticut State Police was arraigned Friday in New London Superior Court on charges that he allegedly barged into his ex-girlfriend's apartment and pointed a gun at her boyfriend.

Paul T. Vera, 44, of 31 Shore Road, Waterford, was charged with second-degree threatening, third-degree criminal mischief and second-degree criminal trespass.

State police spokesman Lt. J. Paul Vance said Vera has been placed on administrative duty, where he will have no contact with the public, since the incident was reported in November.

The state police is conducting its own internal investigation. Vera could not be reached for comment.

According to the arrest warrant, Groton Town police received a complaint Nov. 9 that Vera, the ex-boyfriend of the complainant's girlfriend, barged into her apartment and into the bedroom in “full battle rattle,” dressed in dark-colored police fatigues with police patches on the chest and arm.

Vera then allegedly pointed a handgun at the complainant's waist and yelled to his ex-girlfriend, calling her “an (expletive) whore,” before leaving the apartment.

Vera's ex-girlfriend also told police Vera entered the apartment with something black in his hand that he was pointing at her and a man, the warrant said.

Vera, who was interviewed Nov. 9, said he had been in an on-and-off relationship with the woman for about two years. They lived together, and she moved out of his house.

Vera told police that on Nov. 8 he asked his ex-girlfriend if she was in a relationship with another man, and she denied it. The next day he tried calling her at 3:30 a.m. and got no response, so he got dressed in a grey T-shirt, blue running pants and sneakers and went to her apartment.

When he got there, he walked to the sliding glass door and noticed that the slider was slightly open and some of the blinds were outside of the porch. He knocked on the door and got not answer.

Vera told police he entered the apartment because he was concerned, and could hear her having sex with someone, so he “barreled” through her bedroom door. According to the warrant, Vera admitted calling the woman “an (expletive) whore” before leaving the apartment.

On his way out of the apartment, he said he took her phone so he could check her calls and text messages. He denied having any firearms with him.

In the warrant, Vera said on his way home he heard over a radio broadcast that Groton Town police were looking for him, and he said he immediately called the on-duty supervisor.

After being reinterviewed the next day, Vera's ex-girlfriend came to police headquarters a few days after the incident to recant her statement, the warrant said. She told police that in the past Vera would come to her apartment late at night through her sliding glass door.

She said she couldn't really see what Vera was wearing and felt her boyfriend was influencing her recollection of the incident because she was drunk, the warrant said. She became suspicious of her boyfriend's behavior when he told her he had retained an attorney and was going to sue the state.

”He told her that they would each win $12 million after paying the attorney $3 million,” the warrant said.

At Vera's arraignment Friday, Judge Michael Frechette issued a protective order prohibiting Vera from having contact with the two alleged victims and from possessing guns.

Defense attorney William T. Koch Jr. asked the judge to consider imposing a “no contact order” rather than a protective order, given Vera's 22 years as a state trooper and lack of a criminal record.

The judge denied the request and continued the case to Feb. 5. Kevin Dunn, a domestic violence attorney for the Chief State's Attorney's office, will be prosecuting the case.

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http://archive.theday.com/re.aspx?re=29391aa0-41bf-45a0-8933-d4310a8c577f

Officer Joseph Houston Allegedly Urinates on Man at Concert

BREWSTER

A Brewster police officer is on paid administrative leave after allegedly urinating on a fellow music-lover at a Metallica concert in Boston then refusing to leave TD Banknorth Garden when security guards ejected him for disorderly conduct.

A Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Transit Police report from that night identifies Brewster police Officer Joseph Houston, 29, as being thrown out of the Jan. 18 rock concert by security guards around 10 p.m.

Although he has been charged with trespassing only, Houston appeared to be drunk, flashed his badge in an attempt to get back into the concert, called a black MBTA officer an "Obama," and had been asked to leave the concert after he allegedly urinated on another patron, according to the report.

Citing an ongoing departmental investigation, Brewster Police Chief Richard Koch would not confirm the officer's identity but did confirm the incident occurred. He got word that Sunday night that an officer had been arrested, went to Boston the next day, Jan. 19, and immediately placed the officer on leave, he said.

Houston earned $50,456.35, including overtime and detail pay, in 2008, according to town records.

Attorney Thomas Drechsler, who, according to court records, is representing Houston, did not return two phone requests for comment yesterday.

Houston's Brewster phone number is unlisted, and he was not at home last night.

After he was ejected from the concert, Houston allegedly flashed his badge at the security officers and identified himself as a member of the Brewster Police Department. Transit police then approached Houston, who they said appeared to be drunk. The report stated they also smelled alcohol on his breath.

Transit police warned Houston that he would have to leave or face arrest for trespassing. Houston again allegedly reached into his pocket and showed the transit police officers his badge, but was told that he had to leave or face arrest.

Transit police took Houston outside the Garden, and told him not to return or he'd face trespassing charges.

"At which time, Houston stated 'Look at Obama,' which was directed at me in a loud disorderly manner to patrons standing outside as well as entering the lobby," the transit police officer wrote in the report.

When Houston again attempted to enter the Garden, he was arrested by the transit police after a brief struggle, the report said.

After the arrest, Garden security personnel then told transit police officers that Houston had been thrown out of the concert by them for urinating on another patron. The parents of that person went to transit police headquarters after the concert to report the incident. They were referred to the Boston police.

A Boston police spokeswoman said there was no record of any charges filed by her department against Houston. Suffolk County District Attorney's office spokesman Jake Wark said there were no charges filed against Houston beyond trespassing, which carries a maximum $100 fine and/or 30 days in jail. Houston is due back in court on Feb. 5 on that charge, Wark said.

But Wark said the victim could file charges at Boston Municipal Court, where a clerk-magistrate hearing would determine the need for a trial. Those charges would not be public until after the hearing.

Koch said he would complete his investigation within the next day or two. If he believes more than a five-day suspension is warranted, he will take the case before the Brewster selectmen, who are the hiring and firing authority for the department.

Houston has worked for Brewster for less than three years, Koch said. He worked for the Nantucket Police Department before that.

Nantucket Chief William Pittman said Houston had no incidents while employed in his department.


Police Report: http://www.capecodonline.com/misc/mbtareport26.pdf

Officer Eric VanKerkhove Charged with Kissing Woman Without her Permission

ELYRIA

An Elyria police officer is on administrative leave pending the outcome of a criminal case in which he was charged with kissing a woman in a store restroom while he was working an off-duty security job.

Patrolman Eric VanKerkhove was charged Monday in Elyria Municipal Court with criminal trespass and disorderly conduct.

Police said VanKerkhove was charged with entering the restroom of a Marc's store on Midway Boulevard on June 13 and kissing a woman without her permission.

Officer Thomas Joyce Arrested Near St. Patty's Parade

Officer Thomas Joyce Accused Of Breaking Into Women's Home In Savannah

A Boston police officer was arrested near a St. Patrick's Day festival in Savannah, Ga., Friday night after forcing his way into the home of two women, police said.

Officer Thomas Joyce, of Roxbury, was arrested after he allegedly broke into the women's home in the 500 block of East State Street around 10:30 p.m. Savannah police said he assaulted the women by physically restraining them and then pulling them out of their home, holding them against their will.

Patrolling officers arrested Joyce, 46, and charged him with false imprisonment, battery, obstruction and criminal trespass after the victims identified him as their assailant, police said.

His motive for attacking for the women and whether he knew them or not is unknown.He was taken to the Chatham County jail.Savannah police said they arrested dozens of other people in the downtown area where the festival was held.