Showing posts with label criminal damaging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label criminal damaging. Show all posts

Monday, May 26, 2014

Detective Joshua Boyd Charged with Domestic Violence

A Maricopa police detective accused of assaulting his wife and son during a domestic dispute was arrested Saturday and put on paid leave.

Detective Joshua Boyd, 41, faces charges of aggravated assault, assault, disorderly conduct and criminal damage, according to a press release Monday from the City of Maricopa Police Department.

Officers responded to a domestic violence call at 4:02 a.m. Saturday. Alcohol is considered to be a factor.

"The victim...explained she was pushed by her husband...causing her to fall to the floor and injure her right wrist. It was also learned her 14-year-old son was assaulted by Boyd while trying to protect his mother," the release said.

Both were treated at the scene for minor injuries.

Boyd is also accused of striking a separation gate with a broom until it was bent and non-functional and of breaking the broom over his knee, the release said.

Boyd was booked into the Pinal County Jail. He will be placed on paid administrated leave pending an internal investigation.

Boyd, a Maricopa Police Department member since 2007, is currently assigned to the Arizona Vehicle Theft Task Force.

Monday, February 03, 2014

University Sgt. John McGrath Arrested for "Super Extreme DUI"

A University of Arizona police officer was arrested and released Saturday evening for a Super Extreme DUI after he crashed a marked patrol vehicle while on-duty into a wall near Speedway Blvd. and Interstate-10.

According to law enforcement, UAPD Sgt. John McGrath, 27, showed symptoms of impairment following the crash. McGrath was charged with a "Super Extreme DUI", which occurs when a suspect has a .20 Blood Alcohol Content or higher.

According to Tucson Police Sgt. Pete Dugan, no one was injured in the single-vehicle accident.

McGrath was charged and released. In addition to four DUI charges, McGrath was also cited for failure to control speed to avoid a collision, and a misdemeanor charge of criminal damage.

The patrol vehicle was towed and will remain impounded for at least 30 days, in accordance with state law.

According to UAPD Sgt. Filbert Barrera, McGrath has been with the department since 2009 and was promoted to sergeant more than a year ago.

McGrath also served concurrently with the Arizona Army National Guard and recently returned from a tour in Afghanistan.

McGrath has since been placed on investigative suspension. UAPD is cooperating with the investigation.

Monday, March 01, 2010

Trial to Begin for Officer Michael Ficken Accused of Misconduct

A jury trial involving officer misconduct allegations against former Prior Lake police officer Michael Alan Ficken is set to begin next week in Scott County District Court in Shakopee.

Ficken, 34, of Savage was charged by the Dakota County Attorney’s Office in June of last year with officer misconduct, fifth-degree assault, disorderly conduct and criminal damage to property. He has pleaded not guilty.

Jury selection is set to start the morning of Tuesday, March 2. Opening arguments are expected to start later that afternoon and the trial will continue into Wednesday, March 3.

According to the criminal complaint:

While Ficken was on duty as a police officer, at about 7 a.m. June 10, he allegedly called his former girlfriend and when she didn’t answer, he drove to her house in Prior Lake. When Ficken arrived, he saw a vehicle he did not recognize and allegedly ran the license plate, without any known work-related reason to do so.

Ficken then allegedly went inside the house and attempted to find the 30-year-old woman, who was in a lower-level bedroom with the door locked. Ficken asked to be let into the bedroom, and the woman said, “No,” the complaint states.

Ficken then allegedly broke through the bedroom door while the woman attempted to hold it shut. While inside the bedroom, Ficken began to yell at the woman and a man who was inside the room with her, according to the complaint.

Ficken was then escorted out of the home by the woman and returned to duty. The man and woman then called 911, and Ficken was arrested by the Shakopee Police Department later that day to avoid a conflict of interest.

Following an internal investigation into the matter, Ficken was terminated from his position as a Prior Lake police officer on Sept. 21, 2009.

The Dakota County Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case to avoid a conflict of interest.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Trial Set to Begin for Officer Michael Ficken

A jury trial for officer misconduct allegations against former Prior Lake police officer Michael Alan Ficken is set to begin next week in Scott County District Court in Shakopee.
 
Ficken, 34, of Savage was charged by the Dakota County Attorney’s Office in June with officer misconduct, fifth-degree assault, disorderly conduct and criminal damage to property. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges.
FickenJury selection is set to start Tuesday morning. Opening arguments are expected to start later that afternoon and the trial will continue into Wednesday.
 
According to the criminal complaint:
 
While Ficken was on duty as a police officer, at about 7 a.m. June 10, he allegedly called his former girlfriend, and when she didn’t answer her phone, he drove his squad car to her house. When Ficken arrived at the woman’s home, he saw a vehicle he did not recognize and allegedly ran the license plate, without any known work-related reason to do so.
 
Ficken then allegedly entered the home and attempted to make contact with the woman, who was in a lower-level bedroom with the door locked. Ficken asked to be let into the bedroom, and the woman said, “No,” the complaint states.
 
Ficken then allegedly broke through the bedroom door while the woman attempted to hold it shut. While inside the bedroom, Ficken began to yell at the woman and a man who was inside the room with her, according to the complaint.

Officer Ricardo Orosco Charged with Assaulting Girlfriend

Another sex scandal has rocked the Phoenix Police Department.

Officer Ricardo Orosco, 26, has been charged with unlawful imprisonment, assault and criminal damage after allegedly getting into an altercation with his girlfriend early Tuesday.

"It's an embarrassment, it's a very bleak situation for us," Phoenix Police detective James Holmes said of arresting a fellow officer.

Police say they received a call around 2:45 a.m. from a femaile who said her "boyfriend" had assaulted her and was currently following her with his own car.

The victim told police she and Orosco had been out for the evening and, after returning to his home, said he told her he wanted to have sex.

She told police that after she refused, Orosco forcibly removed part of her clothing and ordered her to disrobe.

"The officer became physical with the victim. He grabbed her, he tore her sweater, threw her down on the bed," Holmes said. "During all of this he tore part of her bra and he did put his hands around her throat and he hit her."

Police said the victim was able to free herself and leave the home, but only after Orosco - trying to get in the car - broke the handles off the driver's side front and rear doors.

It was then, after realizing Orosco was following her, that she called police.

Police said the victim had visible facial injuries but did not require immediate medical attention. Orosco was booked into the Maricopa County Jail.

Friday, June 19, 2009

Judge Woody Ray Densen Accused of Keying Car

A Harris County grand jury on Thursday indicted a state district judge on a criminal mischief charge after his neighbor gave prosecutors a videotape that he says proves the judge keyed his car.

Woody Ray Densen, 69, could face 180 days to two years in a state jail and a fine of up to $10,000 if convicted. He could also be disciplined by the state Commission on Judicial Conduct.

Adam Kliebert, a 40-year-old home builder, set up a surveillance camera in his Rice Village-area driveway that recorded a man he identified as Densen walking behind his 2006 Range Rover and appearing to pause and tamper with it on May 23. Kliebert has said he was frustrated that someone kept damaging his SUV, leaving him with repair bills for $3,000.

Passed lie-detector test

Densen, who has long served as a visiting judge in Harris County and other counties surrounding Houston, did not return a call seeking comment Thursday. But his attorney, Robert Pelton, insisted the judge is innocent and said they were disappointed by the indictment.

Pelton does not deny Den­sen is the man seen on the video, but said he did nothing wrong. The judge also passed a polygraph exam during which he denied damaging Kliebert’s car, Pelton said.

“There is no actual proof that he did anything to this man’s car because he didn’t do anything to the man’s car,” Pelton said. “This is a case of a neighborhood dispute. We had an investigator showing the damages could not have been the amount” claimed by Kliebert.

Kliebert had a different reaction to the decision. “I’m happy that the grand jury indicted him,” he said.

Kliebert set up the motion-activated cameras inside his Rice Village area townhouse to film all activities on his driveway because he kept finding scratches and damages to his Range Rover and his ex-girlfriend’s Mercedes-Benz.

Kliebert turned the video over to Houston police.

Although the actions by the man on the video are partially obscured on the surveillance footage, his arm can be seen making contact with the car, sometimes gliding or moving in a jerking motion along the rear door.

Sidewalk blocked by SUV

In a secretly videotaped conversation, Densen told Kliebert he didn’t know who damaged the vehicle, but suggested the vandalism might have occurred because the SUV was partially blocking the sidewalk.

Densen presided over criminal cases as judge of the 248th State District Court in Harris County from 1983 until he was defeated in a bid for re-election in 1994.

After that, he served as a visiting judge for many years, but stopped accepting courtroom assignments in 2007 when the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association filed a complaint against him with the state Commission on Judicial Conduct. The state commission dismissed that complaint without taking any action.

Now that he has been indicted, Densen will likely be suspended from serving as a visiting judge in any courtroom.

Densen was making arrangements to surrender on a non-arrest bond late Thursday or today, Pelton said.
____________________

Information: http://esqblog.me/2009/06/18/judge-arrested-after-keying-neighbor%E2%80%99s-car-on-security-video/

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Officer Michael Ficken Charged with Misconduct

A Prior Lake police officer was charged today with misconduct by an officer and three misdemeanor crimes after he allegedly ran the license plate of a car that was parked at the home of his former girlfriend, then caused a disturbance after finding her and a man in her bedroom.

Michael A. Ficken, 34, of Prior Lake, was charged in Scott County District Court with one count each of misconduct by a public officer, which is a gross misdemeanor, as well as misdemeanor disorderly conduct, damage to property and fifth-degree assault.

Court papers say that on June 10, while he was on duty, Ficken went to the home owned by a woman in Prior Lake, where he once lived. He had been given until June 15 to move out his belongings. Ficken had a key and always had contacted the woman who owns the residence before going there, according to court papers. This time, however, he did not call before arriving.

When he saw a car he did not recognize in the driveway, he ran the plate, then entered the house to try to contact the woman. He allegedly broke down a bedroom door as the woman tried to hold it shut, then yelled at her and a man who also was in the room. Ficken was in uniform and was wearing his gun and Taser at the time. He did not draw the weapons, though he placed his hand on his gun, court papers say.

Because of a potential conflict of interest, the case is being prosecuted by the Dakota County attorney's office. Ficken was released from jail on his own recognizance today after appearing in Scott County District Court.
______________________

http://kstp.com/news/stories/S976524.shtml?cat=1

Monday, March 23, 2009

Three Aurora Officers Charged with Drunk Driving

AURORA, Ohio

Three police officers in three years, charged with drunk driving, all from the same department.

Sgt. Dirk Piggot, a 24 year veteran of the Aurora Police Department was pulled over for weaving by the State Highway Patrol on March 13th. It happened just north of Columbus.

The Mayor of Aurora, Lynn McGill, told FOX 8's Kristy Steeves that Piggot refused a breathalizer test so his driver's license was immediately suspended.

Residents in Aurora were shocked and disappointed when they heard the news. "I think it's appalling. Obviously a bad example for the citizens of the community which they serve and endangers the citizens of the community in which they serve," said Walter Crate, an Aurora resident.

Mary Allard reacted to the news by saying, "I think he should be removed from the job. He's in charge of everybody and he's supposed to make our streets safe but if he isn't doing his job".

Piggot, who was off duty at the time of his arrest, is the second Aurora police officer in three months to get stopped for an OVI.

In December 41-year-old Scott Garan was pulled over in Kent for erratic driving. Records show he refused all of the sobriety tests and was charged with OVI and criminal damaging.

Those charges came on the heels of him being named Aurora's Top OVI Enforcer at the Portage County MADD banquet in October.

The mayor says Garan ended up resigning from the police department. As for Sgt. Piggot, the mayor says right now, he's on unpaid leave.

Nadine Kotcz, who lives in Aurora, had this to say: "You can't make exceptions whether someone is a police officer or not. I think if it's something that's not right they should be treated like everyone else."

Three years ago a lieutentant was arrested for drunk driving. He's now back on basic patrol. As for Piggot, the mayor says he's just one year shy of retiring. The mayor says if Sgt. Piggot is convicted, he will be disciplined. "We don't coddle people here," said McGill.

Mayor McGill says the drunk driving arrests "gives the city, the department, and the mayor a black eye."

Mayor McGill told FOX 8 that the police officers are cautioned every day about not drinking and driving. "They know better," he said, adding, "There's no excuse, but to be a police officer, you're impared, you don't drive."

______________

Other Information: http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1237797083279300.xml&coll=2

Monday, December 29, 2008

Officer Scott Garan Arrested for Drunk Driving

Aurora Patrolman Scott A. Garan was arrested Dec. 19 in Kent, where he lives, on drunken driving and criminal damaging charges.

Kent Patrolman Martin Gilliland stopped Garan, 41, driving his wife's car. Garan refused to take a breath-alcohol test, so his driver's license was automatically suspended. Kent Patrolman John Altomare brought the criminal damaging charge. Kent police would not discuss the case.

Mayor Lynn McGill placed Garan on leave from the police force he has been a part of for 17 years.

Kent Municipal Court Judge John Plough ordered Garan to wear a SCRAM alcohol monitoring device. The ankle bracelet will detect around the clock whether Garan drinks alcohol. Court records indicate that this was Garan's second drunken driving charge.

And Garan has a prior conviction in Kent for disorderly conduct. Then-Sgt. Garan pleaded guilty July 23, 2007, and was fined $130. McGill took away Garan's sergeant stripes.

McGill said any misbehavior is unacceptable for a police officer, "but I can't prejudge. We have to have the appropriate hearings" about the latest charges.

Garan is on paid leave for now. He's due back in Kent Municipal Court Jan. 20.

In October, the Portage County chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving named Garan Aurora's top cop for getting drunken drivers off the road, McGill said.

Three years ago, an Aurora lieutenant was demoted to patrolman after a drunken driving conviction.

More Information: http://www.wkyc.com/news/regional/akron_article.aspx?storyid=103982&catid=6