Officer Christopher Hancock Arrested for Threating to Burn Down his Home

A Newport News Police officer facing felony charges after police say he threatened to burn down his home has been arrested again for violating a protective order

30-year old Christopher B. Hancock was originally arrested on Tuesday, April 8th at Newport News Police Headquarters after a five day investigation.

Detectives say it stemmed from a domestic incident that occurred with his wife at their Denbigh area home. Police say during an argument, Hancock threatened to burn their house down. A Newport News Police spokesperson said the department was notified of the incident after his wife filed a protective order with the court magistrate.

Police say Hancock was arrested at police headquarters Tuesday afternoon, charged with felony threats to burn. He was released later that day.

He was arrested again on Thursday at Police Headquarters in reference to violating a protective order. He was placed in the custody of the Newport News City Jail.

The circumstances surrounding the second arrest were not released.

NewsChannel 3 spoke to neighbors who live nearby, they say they felt safe knowing a police officer lived just across the street, that was, until they heard the news.

“You depend on the police and I was just kind of secure,” said neighbor Regina Pugh. “You depend you can go over there and I hate to think that I couldn’t for whatever reason.”

Hancock joined the Newport News Police Department on July 16, 2011 and was assigned as a patrol officer. He is presently on unpaid administrative leave.

Six Officers in California Arrested in Scheme to Impound Vehicles

More than a third of the police officers in this Northern California town of 13,000 have been arrested, variously accused of bribery, embezzlement and threats charges.

Four are accused of developing a scheme to impound vehicles belonging to poor families, said Dean Flippo, Monterey County district attorney. After 30 days, those cars were turned over to King City police officers when the owners were unable to pay the impound fees.

The probe revealed that the scheme focused on poor Hispanic residents — including many who don't speak English. Census numbers show nearly 2 in 5 residents here are Hispanic.

"These people said, 'They are taking our property, they're taking our cars, they're taking our money and we can do nothing about that,' " Flippo said Tuesday. More than 200 vehicles were impounded, and 87% had been taken in by the same towing company.

Arrested were the following officials:

• Former police Chief Nick Baldiviez, charged with embezzlement by a public officer.

• Current acting Chief Bruce Miller, charged with accepting a bribe.

• Sgt. Bobby Carrillo, charged with conspiracy to commit a crime, accepting a bribe and bribing an executive officer.

• Sgt. Mark Baker, charged with criminal threats against a resident.

• Officer Mario Mottu, charged with embezzlement by a public officer.

• And Officer Jaime Andrade, charged with possession of an assault weapon and illegal storage of a firearm at his stepson's residence unrelated to the car scheme.

Also arrested was Brian Albert Miller, owner of a towing company and the acting police chief's brother. He was charged with conspiracy to commit a crime and bribing an executive officer.

All of those arrested were out of jail within hours. Bail amounts ranged from $10,000 to $60,000.

"There has been a significant breakdown in the internal leadership of the King City Police Department," Flippo said. "It also appears to me that some officers have dishonored their badge."

Carrillo was accused of receiving a free vehicle for every 10 to 15 vehicles he had impounded. Ultimately, Carrillo allegedly got five vehicles to keep or sell and gave one to Bruce Miller, then a police captain.

In 2011, prosecutors believe Baldiviez gave Mottu a free 2001 Ford Crown Victoria patrol car belonging to either King City or the King City Police Explorers, a nonprofit group that is part of the Boy Scouts of America. Baldiviez remains on the city's payroll in spite of his September retirement, Flippo said.

"I'm not sure we know all the cars that were taken," the district attorney said. He couldn't put a value on the vehicles handed out in the scheme.

None of Tuesday's arrests, part of a six-month investigation of complaints going back 3½ years, are related to accusations posted on the Internet that King City police officers skimmed money from recovered bank robbery funds, Flippo said. He wouldn't specify whether any of the officers arrested were implicated in that accusation.

"As we began to talk to individuals over the years, we were beginning to hear this constant theme that had been there for years prior, and that was a lack of trust and faith in the King City Police Department," he said.

King City criminal cases in which any one of the six accused was the arresting officer are under scrutiny, the prosecutor said.

So far three cases that cannot proceed without the arresting officer's testimony have been dismissed, said Terry Spitz, chief assistant district attorney. Other cases also may be dismissed.

"My reputation is soiled," Bruce Miller said. "There's no coming back from this even if I'm found innocent. People are always going to look poorly upon me."

He said he knew his department was being investigated but had no idea he was a suspect. He denied that he had accepted any bribes.

Almost all of the police force's upper management has been arrested, Monterey County Sheriff Scott Miller said. His office is offering help in the interim as King City officials figure out how to continue policing the town about 135 miles southeast of San Francisco and 200 miles northwest of Los Angeles along U.S. 101.

"We have no plans to just go into the city and take over services, but our offer to the city is we're available from this point on to provide whatever level of law enforcement services the city requires," he said.

The King City Police Department has come under fire in recent years. In 2010, Baldiviez was placed on administrative leave after officers claimed he arrived intoxicated at crime scenes. The next year, Baldiviez came under scrutiny for allegedly placing overweight officers on a weight-loss program, claiming they were unfit to work.

Baldiviez officially retired in September after a four-month vacation. Bruce Miller has filled the chief's position on an interim basis since May 2013.

At the time, Bruce Miller said he would be interested in applying for the chief's position when it became officially available.

Baldiviez is also listed as one of several defendants in a November lawsuit clai

Officer Thomas Fees Keeps Getting Paid After Arrest

Tulsa Police Officer Thomas Fees has been suspended with pay for three weeks after being accused of pointing a loaded gun at employees of a bar. Viewers have asked why, in this budget crisis, is he getting a paycheck when other officers are not?

News On 6 viewers questioned Fees' paid suspension again after a recent story on a police officer who earned a Purple Heart and has been laid off. People wonder why Fees can't be suspended without pay and that salary given to someone else.

It's all about due process.

On the one hand, you have Officer Thomas Fees, who's been arrested and charged. Witnesses say he got unruly in a bar three weeks ago, and when employees had to physically remove him, he pointed a loaded gun at them.

He's been charged with pointing a firearm and carrying a firearm under the influence. Fees has been suspended with pay. His employment records show he was suspended in 2005 for two days for being confrontational and three days in 2006 for trying to sell a drug used to make meth.

So, why not just suspend him without pay?

"It's not that simple because even though he's been accused, he's still afforded, just as every other person, due process," said Captain Jonathan Brooks of the Tulsa Police Department.

In a case that involves a felony, the city's legal advisor says you can't suspend someone right away with no pay because that's taking disciplinary action from the very beginning. They must wait until the employee has been bound over for trial at a preliminary hearing.

If that happens, the city can also begin the firing process.

On the other hand, you have a guy like Scott Osborn who served 10 years in the Air Force, became a police officer, was shot by a drug runner and awarded the Purple Heart.

He's been laid off almost four weeks. Some argue the city would be better off with someone like him getting a paycheck than Fees.

"Him being paid, yes, money is money but the fact is, he doesn't have a gun or badge, and he is being paid but is required to stay at home," Brooks said. "He can't even show up on premises based on the suspension with pay."

Department leaders say citizens can trust them to police themselves and do the right thing, once the time is right.

Officer Fees' attorney says they are doing their own investigation, and they expect him to have a strong defense to the charges.

His preliminary hearing hasn't been set yet and could take months. He'll keep getting paid until that time.
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Officer Thomas Fees Suspended for Brandishing Weapon at Bar

A Tulsa police officer has been placed on paid suspension following an incident at a downtown pub during which he reportedly brandished a gun and threatened to kill a security guard.

Officer Thomas Fees, 32, was booked into the Tulsa Jail on complaints of pointing a dangerous weapon and carrying a firearm while intoxicated.

Management at Oscar’s Gastro Pub, 1738 S. Boston Ave., said Fees was drinking cocktails at the bar when, at about 1:15 a.m. Saturday, he began grabbing a woman. After being repeatedly asked by the woman’s boyfriend to stop, the officer cursed at the man and identified himself as a police officer, witnesses said.

An argument ensued between the officer and the woman’s boyfriend, management said, and security guards asked Fees to leave multiple times before forcing him out.

Once outside, the officer reportedly drew his gun and pointed it at one of the security guards, a black man.

The officer then told patrons, “If you don’t move, I’ll kill that n-----,” witnesses said.

Management said the officer then went to Mercury Lounge, a bar across the street, where he was subsequently arrested by Tulsa police.

Capt. Karen Tipler said Saturday night that Fees is on paid suspension pending further investigation.

Former Deputy Jack Allen Roberts Sentenced for Stalking

A former Tehama County sheriff’s deputy was sentenced today to more than three years in prison for relentlessly stalking and physically assaulting a Redding woman.

Jack Allen Roberts, 34, of Redding was sentenced by Superior Court Judge James Ruggiero to three years, eight months in prison. He must serve 50 percent of his sentence before being eligible for parole.

Roberts was arrested in April after Redding police placed a tracker on his vehicle to follow his movements in the weeks before his arrest, prosecutors said.

That tracker placed Roberts in the parking lot of the woman’s workplace at the time when gasoline was poured on her vehicle, prosecutors said.

He was later arrested by police outside the woman’s home around 4 a.m., dressed all in black, prosecutors said.

At the time of his April arrest, he had with him a black face mask, binoculars, paint stripper, weed and root killer, a container filled with BBs, sling shot, glass cutter and other items that police and prosecutors believe may have been used in previous vandalism.

Roberts pleaded guilty in July to stalking, battery and related charges.

Prosecutors said that Roberts stalked the woman for about a year, sending anonymous letters to her, making threats and harassing telephone calls, followed her and vandalized her home and vehicle.

He resigned from the Tehama County Sheriff’s Office last year after he had fired a handgun inside his then Cottonwood residence, a law enforcement investigative report says.

According to the criminal complaint, the stalking began around April 2008 and, despite restraining orders issued against him, continued for about a year.

Although Shasta County probation officials recommended that Roberts be granted probation, Deputy District Attorney Stephanie Bridgett, who prosecuted Roberts, has said that officials with the state Department of Corrections evaluated him after he pleaded guilty to the charges and determined that he was not a good candidate for probation.

He faced a maximum of five years, four months in prison.

Roberts was charged with 13 felony counts, including stalking, first-degree residential burglary, vandalism, possession of flammable material for malicious use, corporal injury and battery.

In the police report, Robert was described by some witnesses as a “loose cannon,” and had a long relationship with the Redding woman.

But, it said, she learned about three years ago that he was having an affair with a co-worker while he was working as a Tehama County sheriff’s deputy.

Attempts to save the relationship failed and she eventually met another man, the report noted.

She told Redding police investigators in March that she was reluctant to move forward with the case because Roberts had been trying to get a job with a private contracting company to go to work in Iraq and work as an independent contractor.

“Victim stated if she went forward with this case, it may hinder his ability to get that job and he would remain here in Shasta County and continue to be a problem to her,” the Redding Police Department report says.

She said that she was also afraid of him, noting that he can have a violent temper, and feared what he might do to her and her boyfriend, it said.

She later changed her mind, it said, when she found one of her vehicles vandalized and believed he was the one responsible for it.

According to the report, which described a number of instances of physical and emotional abuse, the woman said that he once pushed her against a wall, placed his hands around her neck and began to choke her until her son intervened.

She said that he also, among other things, once pushed her down and slammed her head against the ground, the police report said.

Officer Alberto Perez Arrested for Extortion & Threats

Avon Park Police Officer Alberto Perez was out of jail Friday on a $6,000 bond following his second arrest Thursday for allegations of police misconduct.

Perez, 34, was arrested on warrants charging extortion or threats and official misconduct.

The new charges stem from the original investigation conducted by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's (FDLE) Sebring field office and the Avon Park Police Department into allegations of police misconduct.

"For us, it's still under the same case, but a new victim and new witnesses," said Yolanda Carbia, resident agent in charge of the Sebring FDLE office.

Perez, an APPD officer since July 2007, was first arrested in December 2008 and charged with one count of extortion or threats. The allegation was that, during an April 19, 2008 traffic stop, the officer told the victim to pay him $200 or get a ticket.

On June 28, 2008, Perez reportedly responded to a two-vehicle accident at the intersection of Main Street and South Lake Avenue in Avon Park, according to the probable cause affidavit.

The driver of a Dodge truck was responsible because he reportedly rear-ended a van with his vehicle. Perez arrived at the accident and took the truck driver's license. The officer told the Hispanic male that his license was invalid and that he could be arrested, the affidavit stated.

"OK, take me to jail," the man reportedly told Perez.

Perez allegedly told the man he could keep him out of jail if he paid the officer $300. The driver then got the money out of his truck and put it in the back of Perez's ticket book, according to the affidavit. The man was released and given a copy of the crash report.

With this second arrest, Carbia hopes that others who may have been victims of this type of extortion will come forward. She said they may fear punishment because, by their paying the officer, they are now involved in his crime.

"I think people are kind of hesitant to come forward," Carbia said.

Perez has been on unpaid administrative leave from the APPD since the first arrest.

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http://www.cape-coral-daily-breeze.com/page/content.detail/id/505807.html

Deputy Leanno Martinez Charged with Beating Girlfriend

A San Diego County sheriff's deputy has been charged with five felonies and a misdemeanor linked to the alleged beating of his girlfriend after a raucous party at his home in San Ysidro.

Deputy Leanno Martinez, 32, is set for a readiness conference May 12 in Superior Court and a preliminary hearing June 4. He was arrested April 5 and released on bail this week. He has pleaded not guilty.

The charges include battery, false imprisonment, making a criminal threat, assault with intent to inflict great bodily harm, and inflicting injury. Martinez had been assigned to the Imperial Beach station.
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http://www.10news.com/news/19214553/detail.html

Officer A.R. Caruana Arrested for Making Threats

A Raleigh police officer is charged with assault after an off-duty arrest.

Police Chief Harry Dolan said in a statement Wednesday that officers went to a disturbance call around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in the 10000 block of Heather Meadow Lane.

When they got there, they say their investigation found that 32-year-old A.R. Caruana had been pointing a gun and making threats.

Caruana was arrested and taken to the Wake County Jail.

The chief said Caruana was off-duty at the time of the incident and his service weapon was not involved.

Caruana joined the department on June 4, 2000, holds the rank of senior officer, and has most recently been assigned to the department's Gang Suppression Unit.

Police say the dispute that led to the charges was a domestic related incident and not related to Caruana's law enforcement duties. The investigation continues.

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http://wake.mync.com/site/wake/news%7CCommunity%7CSports%7CLifestyles/story/28168/raleigh-police-officer-charged-with-assault

Son of Former Sheriff Steve Whitmill Charged with Impersonating Officer

The son of a former sheriff has been charged with impersonating an undercover drug task force officer after allegedly threatening to arrest a man during the weekend.

Dustin Evan Whitmill, 22, was charged after allegedly threatening to take a man to jail Saturday night if he did not provide them with information about illegal drug activity, according to a police report.

Whitmill’s father is former Washington County Sheriff Steve Whitmill.

Facing different charges are brothers Andrew and Brian Wesoloski, both 23.

A neighbor of Dustin Whitmill’s asked Whitmill and the others not to drive around recklessly and Dustin Whitmill was reported to have said, “Do you know who I am?” He then identified himself as the former sheriff’s son, presented identification and said he worked for the 4th Judicial Drug Task Force, the police report said.

The neighbor told a police dispatcher the men were intoxicated and said the Wesoloski brothers had threatened him with guns. The three men were later arrested on U.S. 71, the report said.

Dustin Whitmill worked as a jailer for the Washington County Detention Center for just more than a week in February 2006 but is no longer employed with the sheriff’s office, a spokeswoman for the county said. She was not able to give details on why he left the position, she said.

Dustin Whitmill faces preliminary charges of criminal impersonation, criminal use of a prohibited weapon, first-degree false imprisonment and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Both Wesoloski brothers face preliminary charges of aggravated assault, first-degree false imprisonment and criminal use of a prohibited weapon, while Andrew Wesoloski was also arrested on a charge of driving while intoxicated.

All three men could face enhanced sentencing if convicted under the state’s anti-gang laws for “engaging in violent criminal group activity.”

Steve Whitmill resigned from his sheriff’s position in March 2004 after accepting a security job with Tyson Foods Inc. He had been elected sheriff in 2000.

Dustin Whitmill was released from Washington County Detention Center Sunday after posting bail on a $15,000 bond, while the Wesoloski brothers remained in jail Monday.

Judge George Korpita Convicted of of Making Threats to Officers While Drunk

The New Jersey Supreme Court has suspended from law practice a former municipal court judge convicted of making threats to officers during a drunken-driving arrest.

Though the Disciplinary Review Board had recommended only a reprimand for George R. Korpita, of Dover, finding his actions stemmed from his drunken state, not dishonesty, the court said a three-month suspension was the appropriate quantum of discipline.

His threats of harm to public servants constituted a criminal act that reflects adversely on a his honesty, trustworthiness or fitness as a lawyer under Rule of Professional Conduct 8.4(c), the court said in an order issued Feb. 2.

Korpita, who had been a sitting judge in Rockaway Borough, Dover and Victory Gardens, was arrested in Roxbury, N.J., on Nov. 6, 2007, after a passing motorist called police to report a man passed out at the wheel of a car at a traffic signal on Route 46. Patrolman Jonathan Edmunds, as he arrived at the scene, observed Korpita's car drift slowly from the right to the left lane. When the officer put on his overhead lights, Korpita veered into the right lane, turned onto a side road and pulled into a driveway.

Edmunds approached the car and asked for a driver's license. Korpita handed him a state judiciary identification card and said, "I'm a judge." When the officer again asked for the license, Korpita said, "I'm OK, bro, I'm OK."

Edmunds took Korpita to the police station and said later, in a letter to Morris County Assignment Judge B. Theodore Bozonelis, that Korpita made "statements that caused [him] great concern as a police officer."

Korpita told Edmunds he was a supporter of law enforcement and "when the cops beat the shit out of a guy, I do the right thing ... . I'll never take care of cops again. After tonight, I'm done," according to Edmunds' letter. Korpita then said he had cases that could have gone either way and he had always decided in favor of the police. But, he added, "never again, I'm going to stick it up their asses. Get the Vaseline out and bend over."

When another officer, Sgt. Kevin Carroll, asked Korpita whether that statement was a threat, Korpita said no, and then asked whether he could be charged with reckless driving instead of drunken driving, the letter continued.

Korpita resigned his municipal judge posts shortly after he was arrested, and on Dec. 28, 2007, he pleaded guilty to N.J.S.A. 2C:27-3A(3), which makes it a crime to threaten a public servant. He admitted saying to the police officers that he would take some adverse action against them in the future, if the arrest process were to continue.

Judge Salem Vincent Ahto sentenced Korpita to three years' probation and 100 days community service instead of the two-year prison term the statute prescribed. Morris County Prosecutor Robert Bianchi had told Ahto that the mandatory incarceration was aimed at cracking down on corruption, which he said was not present in Korpita's case. However, Korpita was banned for life from holding public employment. He also pleaded guilty to drunken driving and had his license suspended for one year.

During proceedings at the DRB, Korpita said he was rehabilitated from his alcohol problem, had attended more than 200 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and had been sober for 200 days.

The DRB concluded last Dec. 4 that Korpita's conduct "was not the result of dishonesty or a flaw in his character, but the product of severe intoxication."

The panel said that Korpita "paid a high price for his offenses. He lost his position as a judge in three municipalities, reportedly his principal source of income, and is barred from ever holding public employment. In view of the foregoing, we believe that a censure sufficiently addresses the extent of respondent's conduct and, at the same time, preserves the public's confidence in the disciplinary system and the judiciary as a whole," the DRB said.

Korpita did not dispute the Supreme Court's decision to suspend him, says Blair Zwillman, who represented him at the DRB level. Zwillman says the court likely gave Korpita a stiffer penalty because it did not want him to get off free after committing a crime. "I think the penalties he paid are enough. He's a lifetime felon," Zwillman said.

The suspension is only the latest setback for Korpita, who practices with his father at Dover's Korpita & Korpita.

On May 4, 2007, he had a confrontation with Warren Hartzman at a restaurant in Rockaway Borough. When Hartzman joined a woman friend outside the restaurant while she smoked a cigarette, he leaned against Korpita's Maserati and caused a scratch. After Korpita and Hartzman argued, Rockaway officers arrived and took Hartzman into custody, allegedly at Korpita's request.

Hartzman, who was held for several hours but was not charged, sued Korpita and Rockaway for civil rights violations in U.S. District Court. The suit claimed that his arrest was in retaliation for scratching Korpita's car.

U.S. District Judge Susan Wigenton dismissed the civil case, Hartzman v. Korpita, 2:07-cv-03848, as settled on Jan. 21. The defendant's attorney, Robert Greenbaum of Greenbaum & Flanagan in Roseland, N.J., and the plaintiff's attorney, William Pinilis of Kaplan, Fox & Kilsheimer in Morristown, N.J., decline to discuss the settlement.

While the Roxbury drunken-driving arrest was pending, Korpita was charged with drunken driving on Feb. 18, 2008, after his car was pulled over on Route 181 in Sparta, N.J. He was also charged with careless driving, failure to keep right and refusing to take a breath test. If convicted of a second DWI charge, Korpita could face another $1,000 in fine, loss of his license for an additional period of up to four years and up to 90 days in jail.

Officer Duane Lattimore Arrested for Domestic Violence

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police arrested one of their own today after a domestic violence investigation.

Duane Lattimore, an veteran officer who'd worked for the department for seven years, was charged with two counts of communicating threats and one count of assault on a female -- all misdemeanors. He was assigned to the Independence Division.

The charges stem from several complaints filed by Lattimore's wife that occurred at their Mecklenburg home. The investigation and arrest were made by detectives from CMPD's Domestic Violence Unit.

"It is unfortunate that a member of the CMPD was arrested for domestic violence. All officers of the CMPD are expected to uphold and enforce the law, but more importantly obey the law," Chief Rodney Monroe said today.

Lattimore was placed on administrative leave without pay, pending an internal investigation to determine whether departmental rules of conduct were violated. That is routine anytime a CMPD employee is charged with a crime.

More Information: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28546775/

Officer Richard Heverly Accused of Holding Gun to Man's Head Returns to Work

A San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy facing criminal charges for allegedly holding a gun to a man's head while off duty has returned to work at West Valley Detention Center.

Richard Heverly, of La Verne, was placed on paid administrative leave following his Aug. 10 arrest in Riverside County.

He returned to work at the jail's transportation division on Nov. 4, said sheriff's spokeswoman Cindy Beavers.

At about 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 10, tow-truck driver Roger Gilstrap saw a big-rig truck on fire on the 10 Freeway near Eagle Mountain Road, about 50 miles east of Indio.

Gilstrap positioned his truck to block off lanes affected by the burning big rig and called the California Highway Patrol from his cell phone, according to the arrest declaration in Heverly's court file.

While Gilstrap was on the phone with the CHP, Heverly, 42, pulled up beside him in a red Dodge truck.

Heverly flashed his sheriff's department badge and told Gilstrap, "This entitles me to do whatever the (expletive) I want," according to the arrest declaration, which was written by a CHP officer.

Heverly grabbed Gilstrap's cell phone and disconnected the call, then pulled Gilstrap out of the tow truck and handcuffed his right hand, bruising and injuring Gilstrap's wrist, according to the arrest declaration.

Heverly then drove the barrel of a handgun into Gilstrap's ear, and told him, "I have a gun in your ear and I will kill you," according to the arrest declaration.

Heverly twisted the gun into Gilstrap's ear, bruising and cutting the inside of Gilstrap's ear and the surrounding area, according to the arrest declaration.

Heverly then handcuffed Gilstrap's arms behind his back and led him to the passenger side of the truck. He held Gilstrap for 3 to 5 minutes, according to the arrest declaration.

Heverly never told Gilstrap the reason for handcuffing him, according to the arrest declaration. Gilstrap told officers he feared for his life during the encounter with Heverly.

Heverly has pleaded not guilty to four felony charges: assault with a semi-automatic firearm, assault by a public officer, criminal threats and false imprisonment. All four charges carry sentencing enhancements because Heverly used a gun.

San Bernardino County sheriff's spokeswoman Cindy Beavers declined to discuss the reason that Heverly was allowed back to work at West Valley Detention Center.

Such details, Beavers said, "are never disclosed because we are not at liberty to discuss any of the findings in an administrative investigation."

Beavers said the decision to place a deputy on administrative leave is made on a case-by-case basis.

"When it is contrary to the best interests of the department for an employee to continue his regular duties, he may be assigned to special duty leave with pay at the discretion of the office of the sheriff," Beavers said.

Beavers said she wasn't aware of any restrictions placed on Heverly while he is off duty, such as restrictions on his permission to carry a gun.

Michael Schwartz, Heverly's Santa Monica-based attorney, said "there's much more to this case than the probable cause declaration."

He declined to comment on the specific allegations against Heverly.

Schwartz also represented Ivory Webb, a former San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy who was acquitted of criminal charges filed after he shot off-duty Airman Elio Carrion in Chino in 2006.

Heverly is next scheduled to appear in Indio Superior Court on Dec. 23 for a felony settlement conference. A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for Jan. 6.

At a preliminary hearing, the prosecution must present sufficient evidence for each charge against a defendant to be brought to trial. Preliminary hearings typically include testimony.


http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_11098704?nclick_check=1

Officer Accused of Threaten

TEXAS CITY

An arrest warrant will be issued next week for a College of the Mainland police officer accused of retaliating against a college employee, Galveston County District Attorney Kurt Sistrunk said.

On Wednesday, a grand jury issued a true bill in the case against officer Kent Dowdy, meaning the grand jurors found sufficient evidence for Dowdy to be charged and prosecuted.

Dowdy could not be reached for comment Thursday afternoon, and Sistrunk declined to discuss details of the case.

State law defines retaliation as a felony that occurs when someone harms or threatens another person who is a public servant, witness, prospective witness or informant.

Dowdy is accused of retaliating against Jennifer Johnson, 34, an employee in the college’s human resources department.

A Texas City Police Department report shows Johnson went to the police department July 18 to complain about threats, and the case was referred to College of the Mainland police.

College officials declined to discuss details of the case but said they were cooperating with the district attorney’s office. College spokesman Jim Higgins said the case is unrelated to an ongoing investigation and lawsuit over the college’s Center for the Advancement of Process Technology.