An Oklahoma police officer was arrested for lying to the federal government after authorities say he falsified a job application. The allegations stem from when Luther police officer Jerry Pendley went to work as a security officer at a federal building.
"I guess they don't have anything better to do at Homeland Security now," Pendley's attorney Robert Manchester said. "They have to find somebody to show they're doing something."
According to Manchester, Pendley is that somebody; agents arrested him Monday night on two federal charges.
Court records show Pendley failed to mention previous criminal charges on his employment application when he applied for a security position at our state's federal building.
Records say he was arrested for assault and battery more than once and was charged with carrying a concealed weapon.
Authorities also say he lied about why he left his former places of employment; allegations his attorney says are blown out of proportion.
"It's foolishness. It is a tempest in the teapot," Manchester said. "They've taken a mole hill and tried to make it into a mountain and my client's the fall guy."
Manchester says Pendley got a phone call from an OHP trooper telling him he needed to meet him at a gas station.
That's when they informed Pendley of a warrant for his arrest and took him into custody.
"They didn't want to talk to him," Manchester said. "They wanted to arrest him."
Pendley has been an officer at the Luther Police Department for about three weeks and the chief says he passed their background check.
"The short time he was here he was an excellent officer," Chief C.O. Moore said.
Pendley was employed at the Federal Building from 2005 to 2009; four years his attorney says went unnoticed until now.
"Do they do background investigations?" Manchester said. "What have they been doing? Why is this suddenly a burning issue with them?"
Luther police say there will be a meeting Wednesday to decide how to handle Pendley's employment with the department.
Pendley has been released from jail on bond.
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Showing posts with label concealed weapon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label concealed weapon. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Veteran Officer Files Lawsuit Against Police Chief
A veteran Henrico County police officer has filed a lawsuit alleging that the county's police chief, top prosecutor and other law-enforcement officials conspired to ruin his reputation and intentionally damage his career and emotional well-being.
Filed in August, and volatile enough to prompt the recusal of eight circuit judges, the suit by demoted narcotics investigator William G. "Trip" Hueston III seeks $1.06 million in damages.
Hueston, a 13-year-veteran officer, could see a quick end to a case with a long history.
A specially appointed judge is scheduled to hear defense arguments next month that Hueston's lawyers waited too long to file the case and that it should be dismissed.
Hueston, 37, claims that Henrico Police Chief Henry W. Stanley Jr., Commonwealth's Attorney Wade A. Kizer and others falsely accused him of jury tampering and arranged to demote him after Hueston was reinstated after a grievance proceeding. He had been fired.
He has been assigned to the police department's property room since returning to work in August 2006 but has been stripped of his law-enforcement duties, including arrest powers and off-duty police work, the suit alleges.
Forbidden from wearing his police uniform in public, Hueston alleges that Kizer declined to prosecute any case in which Hueston was the chief complainant and arresting officer.
Hueston is described in the suit as a veteran officer decorated for bravery who had no prior history of disciplinary actions against him.
In defense motions scheduled for a hearing May 5, lawyers for Stanley, Kizer, two Henrico police captains and a sergeant argue that time set by law for Hueston to seek damages in the case had expired when the suit was filed in August. And Kizer's lawyer argues additionally that he is immune from civil actions that arise from his official acts as commonwealth's attorney.
Kizer said in a written statement that the role of the commonwealth's attorney "is to decide which cases are prosecuted and which are not.
"I believe the citizens of Henrico County expect the commonwealth's attorney to make decisions independently based upon all of the facts," he continued. "The pleadings filed to date in this lawsuit contain only the plaintiff's allegations. There are many important facts that are not mentioned in the plaintiff's pleadings."
Kizer would not elaborate or provide further detail.
Stanley and the three other defendants, either individually or through a police department spokesman, have referred questions about the case to their attorneys, who have declined to comment or did not return phone calls.
Even the Henrico Fraternal Order of Police declined to comment. "I may be called as a witness," explained Sgt. Shawn Maxwell.
The suit is being heard in Hanover County because Hueston lives there.
The Virginia Supreme Court's chief justice, Leroy R. Hassell Sr., in December ordered retired Judge Jay T. Swett of Albemarle County Circuit Court to hear the case because all eight circuit judges in the 15th Judicial Circuit, which includes Hanover, recused themselves without explanation. The circuit does not include Henrico courts.
Hueston, according to the suit, is being falsely accused of and improperly punished for attempting to influence a grand jury in a drug-related case four years ago. Hueston allegedly sought to interfere in efforts to have a defendant charged with a felony, preferring a misdemeanor charge.
Henrico court records and Hueston's suit identify the defendant as Curtis Armstead Sr. of the Fredericksburg area. He was convicted of carrying a concealed weapon, a felony, and sentenced in April 2007 to five years in prison, according to court records. All but two months were suspended.
Armstead was arrested May 6, 2006, on a misdemeanor concealed weapon charge and a felony weapons possession charge.
The suit contains no explanation for why Hueston allegedly wanted to reduce the charge: He did not make the arrest, did not appear before a grand jury, and apparently did not testify in court.
Joseph P. Smith III, one of Hueston's lawyers, declined to answer questions about specifics in the case except to say, "The pleadings speak for themselves."
. . .
Allegations in the 14-page lawsuit lay out actions that Hueston says were aimed at him -- from what he claimed were "sham" polygraph examinations he was directed to take, to a failure to recognize internal investigations that found no wrongdoing by Hueston, and finally to Hueston's demotion to a clerk in the police property room.
A central allegation is that Kizer, in May 2006, sent Stanley a letter "maliciously and falsely accusing Hueston of improperly trying to influence the grand jury" in the Armstead case and accusing Hueston of "attempting to have [another police officer] lie under oath."
Kizer, according to the suit, has declined to withdraw the letter in the face of findings exonerating Hueston and has refused to prosecute any crime in which Hueston was the complaining witness.
Hueston alleges in the suit that after his conduct was cleared by an internal investigation, a criminal investigation began, prompted by Kizer and Stanley.
The criminal investigation was carried out by an officer known to have a long-standing acrimonious relationship with Hueston, according to the suit.
Two fellow officers close to Hueston secretly recorded their interviews with the criminal investigator, defendant Sgt. George S. Russell Jr., and can show through the recordings that Russell falsified his report about Hueston, according to the suit. Russell's negative findings, although known to be false, were forwarded to Kizer in March 2006, the suit alleges.
Hueston was terminated from his job in June 2006 but contested it through the county's grievance procedure. On July 31, 2006, County Manager Virgil R. Hazelett ordered Hueston returned to duty.
Stanley, though, "arbitrarily and maliciously assigned him to a low-level clerical job," according to the lawsuit. Hazelett, in a subsequent grievance action, upheld the police chief regarding the job shift.
Hueston is alleging a long list of emotional and physical problems and says he has lost income and opportunities for advancement.
Filed in August, and volatile enough to prompt the recusal of eight circuit judges, the suit by demoted narcotics investigator William G. "Trip" Hueston III seeks $1.06 million in damages.
Hueston, a 13-year-veteran officer, could see a quick end to a case with a long history.
A specially appointed judge is scheduled to hear defense arguments next month that Hueston's lawyers waited too long to file the case and that it should be dismissed.
Hueston, 37, claims that Henrico Police Chief Henry W. Stanley Jr., Commonwealth's Attorney Wade A. Kizer and others falsely accused him of jury tampering and arranged to demote him after Hueston was reinstated after a grievance proceeding. He had been fired.
He has been assigned to the police department's property room since returning to work in August 2006 but has been stripped of his law-enforcement duties, including arrest powers and off-duty police work, the suit alleges.
Forbidden from wearing his police uniform in public, Hueston alleges that Kizer declined to prosecute any case in which Hueston was the chief complainant and arresting officer.
Hueston is described in the suit as a veteran officer decorated for bravery who had no prior history of disciplinary actions against him.
In defense motions scheduled for a hearing May 5, lawyers for Stanley, Kizer, two Henrico police captains and a sergeant argue that time set by law for Hueston to seek damages in the case had expired when the suit was filed in August. And Kizer's lawyer argues additionally that he is immune from civil actions that arise from his official acts as commonwealth's attorney.
Kizer said in a written statement that the role of the commonwealth's attorney "is to decide which cases are prosecuted and which are not.
"I believe the citizens of Henrico County expect the commonwealth's attorney to make decisions independently based upon all of the facts," he continued. "The pleadings filed to date in this lawsuit contain only the plaintiff's allegations. There are many important facts that are not mentioned in the plaintiff's pleadings."
Kizer would not elaborate or provide further detail.
Stanley and the three other defendants, either individually or through a police department spokesman, have referred questions about the case to their attorneys, who have declined to comment or did not return phone calls.
Even the Henrico Fraternal Order of Police declined to comment. "I may be called as a witness," explained Sgt. Shawn Maxwell.
The suit is being heard in Hanover County because Hueston lives there.
The Virginia Supreme Court's chief justice, Leroy R. Hassell Sr., in December ordered retired Judge Jay T. Swett of Albemarle County Circuit Court to hear the case because all eight circuit judges in the 15th Judicial Circuit, which includes Hanover, recused themselves without explanation. The circuit does not include Henrico courts.
Hueston, according to the suit, is being falsely accused of and improperly punished for attempting to influence a grand jury in a drug-related case four years ago. Hueston allegedly sought to interfere in efforts to have a defendant charged with a felony, preferring a misdemeanor charge.
Henrico court records and Hueston's suit identify the defendant as Curtis Armstead Sr. of the Fredericksburg area. He was convicted of carrying a concealed weapon, a felony, and sentenced in April 2007 to five years in prison, according to court records. All but two months were suspended.
Armstead was arrested May 6, 2006, on a misdemeanor concealed weapon charge and a felony weapons possession charge.
The suit contains no explanation for why Hueston allegedly wanted to reduce the charge: He did not make the arrest, did not appear before a grand jury, and apparently did not testify in court.
Joseph P. Smith III, one of Hueston's lawyers, declined to answer questions about specifics in the case except to say, "The pleadings speak for themselves."
. . .
Allegations in the 14-page lawsuit lay out actions that Hueston says were aimed at him -- from what he claimed were "sham" polygraph examinations he was directed to take, to a failure to recognize internal investigations that found no wrongdoing by Hueston, and finally to Hueston's demotion to a clerk in the police property room.
A central allegation is that Kizer, in May 2006, sent Stanley a letter "maliciously and falsely accusing Hueston of improperly trying to influence the grand jury" in the Armstead case and accusing Hueston of "attempting to have [another police officer] lie under oath."
Kizer, according to the suit, has declined to withdraw the letter in the face of findings exonerating Hueston and has refused to prosecute any crime in which Hueston was the complaining witness.
Hueston alleges in the suit that after his conduct was cleared by an internal investigation, a criminal investigation began, prompted by Kizer and Stanley.
The criminal investigation was carried out by an officer known to have a long-standing acrimonious relationship with Hueston, according to the suit.
Two fellow officers close to Hueston secretly recorded their interviews with the criminal investigator, defendant Sgt. George S. Russell Jr., and can show through the recordings that Russell falsified his report about Hueston, according to the suit. Russell's negative findings, although known to be false, were forwarded to Kizer in March 2006, the suit alleges.
Hueston was terminated from his job in June 2006 but contested it through the county's grievance procedure. On July 31, 2006, County Manager Virgil R. Hazelett ordered Hueston returned to duty.
Stanley, though, "arbitrarily and maliciously assigned him to a low-level clerical job," according to the lawsuit. Hazelett, in a subsequent grievance action, upheld the police chief regarding the job shift.
Hueston is alleging a long list of emotional and physical problems and says he has lost income and opportunities for advancement.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Officer Ron Smith Charged with Aggravated Assault
A grand jury indicted a Seattle police detective and a Hells Angels member whom the detective shot and wounded in a bar fight at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota.
The detective, Ron Smith, 43, was charged with aggravated assault, perjury and carrying a concealed weapon without a permit. The Hells Angel, Joseph McGuire, 33, of Imperial Beach, Calif., was charged with aggravated assault, the Meade County state's attorney reported Thursday.
In addition, four other members of a law enforcement-oriented motorcycle club -- a second Seattle police officer, two U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents, and a U.S. Defense Department firefighter -- were charged with carrying a concealed weapon without a permit, a misdemeanor, according to State's Attorney Jesse Sondreal.
The shooting happened about 1 a.m. Aug. 9 at the Loud American Roadhouse, a crowded bar in Sturgis. The detective, a member of the Iron Pigs motorcycle club, said several Hells Angels jumped him and that he fired in self-defense after being beaten.
The other four Iron Pigs members indicted are Dennis McCoy, 59, a North Precinct patrol sergeant in Seattle; Scott Lazalde, 38; James Rector, 44; and Erik Pingel, 35.
Should the case reach a jury, the weapons charge carries an alternative offense of failing to abide by the gun permit of a reciprocal state, according to the statement.
Lazalde, of Bellingham, and Rector, of Ferndale, are stationed in Blaine with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Both remain on duty while the agency awaits formal notification of the charges, spokesman Mike Milne said.
Rector is a 20-year veteran and assistant port director of passenger vehicles, he said.
Pingel is a civilian firefighter at Buckley Air Force Base outside Aurora, Colo., according to an Air Force spokesman.
The South Dakota grand jury met Wednesday to hear from 10 more witnesses before the indictments were issued. It was the grand jury's second hearing since 25 witnesses, including Smith and other officers, appeared on Aug. 10.
Smith's testimony is apparently the basis for the perjury charge.
No court date had been set.
Either warrants or summonses would be "issued and served as appropriate," according to the state's attorney.
Smith and McGuire could face up to 15 years' imprisonment if convicted of aggravated assault. The grand jury also indicted on an alternative charge of misdemeanor assault, which would give a jury the choice of a lesser crime.
The misdemeanor version is punishable by up to a year in jail. The perjury charge could carry a penalty of up to five years.
Smith was one of five Seattle officers with the Iron Pigs at the bar while vacationing at the rally. Witnesses told the Seattle P-I that the confrontation might have started because some Hells Angels members took umbrage to the officers wearing their "colors," or three-piece patches, into the bar.
A Seattle police spokesman said Thursday that Smith and McCoy would remain on administrative leave while the department conducts its investigation. The three Seattle officers who aren't facing charges would be returned to duty, according to a department source.
Smith, of the pawnshop unit, is on the Seattle Police Officers' Guild's board of directors and is editor of the guild's newspaper, The Guardian. In a statement, police guild Vice President Ty Elster urged the community not to pass judgment until the officers have had their day in court.
"We are certain that once all the facts are known, the involved SPOG members will be vindicated and absolved of any wrongdoing," he said.
Federal law allows off-duty and retired police officers to carry their weapons anywhere in the country, overriding any state or local gun regulations. But officers are not covered by the law if under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or have been removed from duty, or have certain disabilities.
There have been cases around the country where officers were charged with weapons violations under a local regulation and relied on the federal law to get the case dismissed, said Ted Deeds, spokesman for the Law Enforcement Alliance of America, which spearheaded the drive to pass the law in 2004.
McGuire was shot twice, with one round striking his abdomen and another shattering his femur. He spent several days in intensive care after making the trip to the rally from the San Diego area. His brother said it was McGuire's first trip to Sturgis.
He left California despite pending marijuana charges against him in San Diego County. McGuire and several other Hells Angels members, including the San Diego chapter president, were arrested during drug raids conducted by federal agents and San Diego police in January 2007.
McGuire has prior convictions for burglary and possession of an illegal knife, according to San Diego County Superior Court records.
Smith had a previous tangle with a Hells Angels member in 2005. He filed a report of possible harassment against Anthony J. Magnesi, whom he said had threatened him during a telephone conversation.
Magnesi had called Smith after hearing from friends that the detective was asking about him. He wanted to find out if he were under investigation, according to Magnesi's attorney, Paul Bernstein.
At the time, Magnesi owned Lucky's Choppers, a custom motorcycle shop in Georgetown. He'd been charged before with first-degree assault for shooting near a man's feet during a scuffle in an unrelated case. But it was dismissed when the state's witnesses backed out of testifying, according to court records.
Magnesi taped one of his conversations with Smith and argued it was proof that Smith had threatened him. After hearing the tape, city prosecutors dropped the harassment charge against Magnesi, according to Bernstein and court records.
At one point on tape, Smith tells him: "Yeah, you better watch your back." Later, he tells Magnesi he has no reason to be calling and asks if he's laundering money, according to a copy that Magnesi's friend played for the P-I.
Smith tells Magnesi that "playing on the phone" is a crime and that belonging to the Hells Angels is a bigger crime, according to the tape.
Magnesi filed a complaint with the department's Office of Professional Accountability, which handles internal investigations. The complaint was referred to Smith's supervisor.
Smith has been disciplined twice before for unprofessional behavior.
He was suspended for two days for conduct unbecoming of an officer after an incident at a Seahawks game in January 2005.
He received a written reprimand after he was accused in August 2005 of threatening to shoot a man at a Tacoma bar while off-duty.
Internal records show that the man was bothering some of the officer's friends. But witnesses also heard the officer utter a racial remark at the restaurant manager, who had asked him to leave, according to department records.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/377182_sturgis30.html
The detective, Ron Smith, 43, was charged with aggravated assault, perjury and carrying a concealed weapon without a permit. The Hells Angel, Joseph McGuire, 33, of Imperial Beach, Calif., was charged with aggravated assault, the Meade County state's attorney reported Thursday.
In addition, four other members of a law enforcement-oriented motorcycle club -- a second Seattle police officer, two U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents, and a U.S. Defense Department firefighter -- were charged with carrying a concealed weapon without a permit, a misdemeanor, according to State's Attorney Jesse Sondreal.
The shooting happened about 1 a.m. Aug. 9 at the Loud American Roadhouse, a crowded bar in Sturgis. The detective, a member of the Iron Pigs motorcycle club, said several Hells Angels jumped him and that he fired in self-defense after being beaten.
The other four Iron Pigs members indicted are Dennis McCoy, 59, a North Precinct patrol sergeant in Seattle; Scott Lazalde, 38; James Rector, 44; and Erik Pingel, 35.
Should the case reach a jury, the weapons charge carries an alternative offense of failing to abide by the gun permit of a reciprocal state, according to the statement.
Lazalde, of Bellingham, and Rector, of Ferndale, are stationed in Blaine with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Both remain on duty while the agency awaits formal notification of the charges, spokesman Mike Milne said.
Rector is a 20-year veteran and assistant port director of passenger vehicles, he said.
Pingel is a civilian firefighter at Buckley Air Force Base outside Aurora, Colo., according to an Air Force spokesman.
The South Dakota grand jury met Wednesday to hear from 10 more witnesses before the indictments were issued. It was the grand jury's second hearing since 25 witnesses, including Smith and other officers, appeared on Aug. 10.
Smith's testimony is apparently the basis for the perjury charge.
No court date had been set.
Either warrants or summonses would be "issued and served as appropriate," according to the state's attorney.
Smith and McGuire could face up to 15 years' imprisonment if convicted of aggravated assault. The grand jury also indicted on an alternative charge of misdemeanor assault, which would give a jury the choice of a lesser crime.
The misdemeanor version is punishable by up to a year in jail. The perjury charge could carry a penalty of up to five years.
Smith was one of five Seattle officers with the Iron Pigs at the bar while vacationing at the rally. Witnesses told the Seattle P-I that the confrontation might have started because some Hells Angels members took umbrage to the officers wearing their "colors," or three-piece patches, into the bar.
A Seattle police spokesman said Thursday that Smith and McCoy would remain on administrative leave while the department conducts its investigation. The three Seattle officers who aren't facing charges would be returned to duty, according to a department source.
Smith, of the pawnshop unit, is on the Seattle Police Officers' Guild's board of directors and is editor of the guild's newspaper, The Guardian. In a statement, police guild Vice President Ty Elster urged the community not to pass judgment until the officers have had their day in court.
"We are certain that once all the facts are known, the involved SPOG members will be vindicated and absolved of any wrongdoing," he said.
Federal law allows off-duty and retired police officers to carry their weapons anywhere in the country, overriding any state or local gun regulations. But officers are not covered by the law if under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or have been removed from duty, or have certain disabilities.
There have been cases around the country where officers were charged with weapons violations under a local regulation and relied on the federal law to get the case dismissed, said Ted Deeds, spokesman for the Law Enforcement Alliance of America, which spearheaded the drive to pass the law in 2004.
McGuire was shot twice, with one round striking his abdomen and another shattering his femur. He spent several days in intensive care after making the trip to the rally from the San Diego area. His brother said it was McGuire's first trip to Sturgis.
He left California despite pending marijuana charges against him in San Diego County. McGuire and several other Hells Angels members, including the San Diego chapter president, were arrested during drug raids conducted by federal agents and San Diego police in January 2007.
McGuire has prior convictions for burglary and possession of an illegal knife, according to San Diego County Superior Court records.
Smith had a previous tangle with a Hells Angels member in 2005. He filed a report of possible harassment against Anthony J. Magnesi, whom he said had threatened him during a telephone conversation.
Magnesi had called Smith after hearing from friends that the detective was asking about him. He wanted to find out if he were under investigation, according to Magnesi's attorney, Paul Bernstein.
At the time, Magnesi owned Lucky's Choppers, a custom motorcycle shop in Georgetown. He'd been charged before with first-degree assault for shooting near a man's feet during a scuffle in an unrelated case. But it was dismissed when the state's witnesses backed out of testifying, according to court records.
Magnesi taped one of his conversations with Smith and argued it was proof that Smith had threatened him. After hearing the tape, city prosecutors dropped the harassment charge against Magnesi, according to Bernstein and court records.
At one point on tape, Smith tells him: "Yeah, you better watch your back." Later, he tells Magnesi he has no reason to be calling and asks if he's laundering money, according to a copy that Magnesi's friend played for the P-I.
Smith tells Magnesi that "playing on the phone" is a crime and that belonging to the Hells Angels is a bigger crime, according to the tape.
Magnesi filed a complaint with the department's Office of Professional Accountability, which handles internal investigations. The complaint was referred to Smith's supervisor.
Smith has been disciplined twice before for unprofessional behavior.
He was suspended for two days for conduct unbecoming of an officer after an incident at a Seahawks game in January 2005.
He received a written reprimand after he was accused in August 2005 of threatening to shoot a man at a Tacoma bar while off-duty.
Internal records show that the man was bothering some of the officer's friends. But witnesses also heard the officer utter a racial remark at the restaurant manager, who had asked him to leave, according to department records.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/377182_sturgis30.html
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