State Trooper Eric Roberts Arrested for Sexual Assault

Eric Roberts was arrested Monday in Creek County. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper was jailed in connection with sexual assault and kidnapping complaints.

The leader of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said his agency is sickened after the arrest Monday of a trooper on sexual assault complaints.

Trooper Eric Roberts, 42, was arrested Monday morning on complaints of sexual assault and kidnapping. Roberts was booked at the Creek County jail, officials said.

Roberts was released from jail Monday afternoon on a $66,000 bond. Formal charges had not been filed against the trooper as of Monday afternoon.

An investigation was being presented to the Creek County district attorney’s office for review, Col. Ricky Adams, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol’s chief, said during a news conference Monday afternoon in Oklahoma City.

“This particular matter sickens us as an agency,” Adams said.

The incident marks the second high-profile case during recent months in which a law enforcement officer was arrested on sexual assault complaints.

Oklahoma City police officer Daniel Holtzclaw was arrested last month and accused of groping and raping several women while he was on duty in northeast Oklahoma City.

In Roberts’ case, the patrol started an internal investigation after a woman called the agency on July 23 and reported that she had been sexually assaulted during a traffic stop, Adams said.

Roberts was suspended with pay July 24.

The patrol is moving forward with termination proceedings, Adams said Monday.

Patrol investigators have identified three potential victims, Adams said.

Two of the women are considered victims of rape, and the third woman is considered a victim of inappropriate physical contact during a traffic stop, patrol Capt. George Brown said in an email.

The incidents in question occurred during the daytime in the Sapulpa area, Adams said, adding that during all of the stops, Roberts turned off his camera and his microphone.

In a civil lawsuit filed last month, one woman accused Roberts of raping her during a traffic stop in July.

The lawsuit alleges that Roberts made the woman get into his patrol car and asked her inappropriate questions before driving to a secluded area and assaulting her.

The lawsuit was later amended to include a second woman who came forward with similar allegations.

The woman contended that Roberts made inappropriate comments to her during a traffic stop in July and drove her to a secluded location where he sexually assaulted her, according to an amended complaint.

Attorneys’ responses

Roberts’ attorney, Gary James, said the criminal allegations that were made against his client are untrue.

“He is innocent of these allegations,” James said.

Kevin Adams, an attorney for the women in the civil case, said Monday “it’s about time” Roberts was arrested.

“They allowed a guy that they have alleged is a serial sex offender to be out on the street for two months,” Kevin Adams said.

“To me, that’s a little troubling. I think if he would not have been law enforcement, that they would have arrested him a long time ago.”

James suggested Roberts did not receive special treatment.

“I think he was actually probably treated harsher because he was law enforcement,” James said.

Another case

Roberts is the second trooper in a little more than a year to face sexual assault allegations.

Last year, former Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper Patrick Venable pleaded guilty to a felony count of aggravated assault and battery after he was accused of having sex with a woman he stopped while on duty.

Officer Tahreem Zeus Rana Arrested for Kidnapping, Murder, and Arson

Officer Tahreem Zeus Rana, 23, was arrested at an airport Thursday morning for kidnapping, murder, tampering with evidence, and arson while attempting to flee to Mexico.

Last Friday, Rana met up with a woman named Valencia Woodard, 26, after responding to an ad she had posted.  Woodard had been in Georgia from New York for less than a week, it is likely she moved to be closer to her eight year old daughter who was living in Georgia with her grandmother.

Detective Stephen Cushing reports that Rana picked her up, brought her to a dead end street not even a mile from his house, and shot her repeatedly with his .40 caliber glock issued by the department.

Rana then allegedly set her body on fire to destroy the evidence.  A city worker found her body, still burning, on the side of a road.

The department has issued a statement saying:

“We are shocked and saddened by these developments. The officer has been relieved from duty, and is in a non-enforcement status. Chief Turner will schedule an emergency hearing immediately today to determine the next course of action. We must allow the justice system to run its course. But these clearly are very disturbing allegations that are not in line with the expectations we have for our officers, and will be immediately dealt with.”

“Officers remember him actually walking to school here as a young boy saying when I grow up I want to be a police officer,” said Cushing according to 11Alive.  Psychopathic tendencies start early folks.

The killer cop waived his first court appearance on Friday will remain held without bond until his preliminary hearing, Sept. 12, in Fulton Superior Court.

Officer Carlos Antonio Wilson Charged with Kidnapping

An employee of The Medical Center of Central Georgia’s police department was charged Wednesday with multiple crimes after allegedly firing shots at his ex-wife and another man, and later ramming their car.

The Bibb County sheriff’s office said in a news release Wednesday night that 39-year-old Carlos Antonio Wilson is accused of following his ex, 41-year-old Reeshema Wilson, and Hiram Simmons, also 41, while they were driving on Mercer University Drive about 1 a.m. Wednesday.

The sheriff’s news release detailed the encounter:

After Reeshema Wilson and Simmons noticed a vehicle following them, they pulled over at the Food Mart at 4381 Mercer University Drive. Carlos Wilson got out of his 2006 Chevrolet Equinox and started firing a gun at the pair. They drove away, but Carlos Wilson followed them down Log Cabin Drive where he rammed their car at Napier Avenue, causing the cars to wreck.

Carlos Wilson flashed his handgun and pulled Reeshema Wilson from the vehicle about the time sheriff’s deputies arrived. Carlos Wilson fled on foot.

About 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Carlos Wilson turned himself over to the Southeastern Regional Fugitive Task Force, according to the news release. He was jailed in Bibb County on multiple warrants, including two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of aggravated assault family violence, kidnapping, aggravated stalking, violation of oath of office and possession of a handgun during commission of a felony.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Bibb Sheriff’s Office at 478-751-7500 and ask to leave a message for the on-call investigator.

Officer Scott Pennell Charged with Aggravated Assault

A Chandler officer is behind bars on felony charges after he was arrested for a domestic violence incident at his home.

Officer Scott Pennell faces two counts of aggravated assault, two counts disorderly conduct, one count of stalking and one count of kidnapping.

Pennell's live-in girlfriend tell Chandler Police that on Wednesday he held her down on the couch and tried to strangle her.  According to a police report from Chandler Police, Pennell then called the victim's mother in Vermont and claimed he was going to kill his girlfriend.

His girfriend called Chandler Police on Thursday morning when he returned to the house.  The victim received medical attention, and a forensic nurse confirmed there were marks on the woman's neck consistent with strangulation.  Pennell surrendered to police at 6 p.m. Thursday.

Border Patrol Agent Esteban Manzanares Kidnapped and Assaults Three then Kills Self

An immigrant woman, her daughter and another girl who said they were kidnapped and assaulted by a border patrol agent were in the process of surrendering to the agent when their ordeal began, another Border Patrol agent and a federal law enforcement official said Friday.

Agent Esteban Manzanares, who officials say committed suicide early Thursday morning, is accused of driving the three away from the river after they surrendered and assaulting them. The other agent said Manzanares cut the wrists of the adult woman, assaulted one teenager in the group, and then fled the area with a second teenage girl.

The Honduran embassy in Washington, D.C., said the three are a mother, her underage daughter and another girl not related to them. The FBI has said the three were in the country illegally.

The woman who had escaped the attack and walked further upriver tripped a camera at the border fence shortly after 5 p.m. Wednesday, the agent and law enforcement official said.

They said in the camera image a woman can be seen walking toward a gap in the fence. The border agent said there was blood covering her wrists. Within ten minutes of the camera image being taken, agents responded to the woman and began the search, the border agent and federal official said.

The federal law enforcement official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to talk about the case because the FBI was leading the investigation. The border agent spoke on condition of anonymity because the agent was not allowed to speak to the media because of the ongoing investigation.

Customs and Border Protection, the federal agency of which the Border Patrol is part, has said that when they found the woman she told them she had been attacked by a man. The federal official said the woman described the man as wearing green fatigues. Border Patrol agents wear green uniforms. She also described a vehicle that the federal official said authorities believed to be a Border Patrol vehicle.

The official and the agent said a search was quickly launched in the area for the other two victims. One of the teenagers was found near the border in the brush, and hours later the second girl was located in Manzanares’ home in Mission, the federal official and the agent said. Mission is a suburb of McAllen, close to the Texas-Mexico border about 350 miles from Houston.

 When authorities approached the agent’s apartment, they heard gunfire. A short time later, when investigators went into the apartment, they found him dead and rescued the other girl.

A CBP official told The Associated Press that the agent was on duty when he encountered the females and that his shift had ended by the time authorities showed up at his house and he shot himself. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because it is an ongoing investigation by the FBI.

Karol Escalante, a spokeswoman for the Honduran embassy in Washington, D.C., said the three Hondurans are recovering at a hospital in McAllen. She would not elaborate on their injuries.

R. Gil Kerlikowske, Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said in a statement Friday that such acts are not representative of the agents of theBorder Patrol. He added that the agency is working to make sure the victims receive proper care. The CPB is collaborating with the FBI, who is conducting the investigation.

 “I am deeply sorry that this incident occurred and am committed to doing everything in my power to prevent incidents like this from occurring again,” he said.

The Border Patrol agent who participated in the search said Manzanares was assigned to Anzalduas Park. The FBI said it is awaiting an autopsy report on Manzanares, who the Border Patrol said had been with the agency since 2008.

The number of apprehensions by the Border Patrol —a figure commonly used to gauge the ebb and flow of illegal border crossers — rose by 16 percent last year to 420,789 undocumented immigrants detained. More than half of those arrests were made in Texas.

Border Patrol Chief Michael Fisher said last October that much of the increase was due to a rise in the number of people from Central American trying to enter the U.S. in South Texas.

While apprehensions of Mexican nationals remained fairly steady, arrests of immigrants from other countries, including Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, rose 55 percent. Limited economic opportunities and widespread gang and drug cartel violence in Central America have driven tens of thousands north along a dangerous route through Mexico.

Former Officer Sergio Alvareza Found Guilty of 18 Counts of Kidnapping and Rape

A former Northern California police officer was convicted of sexually assaulting five women while authorities said he was on patrol.

A Yolo County jury found Sergio Alvarez guilty on Thursday of 18 counts of kidnapping, rape and forced oral copulation, the Sacramento Bee reported. The jury could not reach a decision on 10 other counts, including charges related to Alvarez's alleged attack on a sixth woman.

Prosecutors said Alvarez, while serving as a West Sacramento police officer in 2011 and 2012, targeted drug addicts and prostitutes. He allegedly forced them to perform sex acts in his cruiser, back alleys and wooded lots.

Alvarez showed no reaction as the verdicts were read, the Bee reported. His attorney, J. Toney, had accused the women of lying to authorities and said one of them had a months-long sexual relationship with the officer.

"I hope that our verdict reaffirms the dignity and worth of these women who spoke," juror Linda Bond told the Bee after the verdict.

Alvarez is scheduled to be sentenced on April 4 and is facing the possibility of multiple life sentences.

District Attorney Jeff Reisig called the case a "horrific betrayal of trust" and said that his office wanted Alvarez to spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Officer Mark Ridley Jr Released on Bond

A Muskogee police officer who is facing several felony charges was released from jail Friday after a $50,000 bond was set.

Mark Vernon Ridley Jr., 39, of Oktaha had been held without bond in the Muskogee County/City Detention Facility since his arrest last month.

Ridley was arrested after he allegedly crashed his truck into his wife’s car and kidnapped her at gunpoint.

On Jan. 31, he was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, kidnapping, forcible sodomy and possession of a firearm during commission of a felony.

Ridley was placed on paid administrative leave in December after allegations of assault, abuse, stalking and harassment surfaced.

Muskogee County District Attorney Larry Moore said Ridley had tried to commit suicide while in custody at the jail.

Larry Langley, special district judge for Sequoyah County District Court, set Ridley’s bond at $50,000 and ordered Ridley to be under 24-hour supervision with the understanding that the person providing supervision will insure that Ridley takes his prescribed medication. The judge also ruled that Ridley could not have access to firearms and was ordered to not have contact with his wife or witnesses in the case.

Langley was assigned to the case after Muskogee County’s Special District Judge Robin Adair recused himself.

In requesting a reduction in bond Friday, defense attorney Donn Baker told the judge that Ridley was unstable initially, but no longer poses a risk.

Baker said a Feb. 17 letter from a nurse practitioner at a local health facility who had evaluated Ridley proved “he is much more stable and doing a lot better.” Ridley was “not in danger to himself or anyone else,” Baker said.

In the Feb. 17 letter, Michael S. Smith, a Certified Nurse Practitioner (CNP) and Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) with Muskogee Family Care, states, “Though he was quite unstable, and even suicidal, initially upon his entry into the jail, he has now become much more stable and, in my opinion, does not represent any danger to himself or others.”

The letter continues, “Additionally, I have discussed his case with the mental health provider from Green Country Behavioral Health, who interviewed Officer Ridley, who likewise believes that he does not represent any threat to himself.”

Ridley’s father and other individuals were willing to provide 24-hour supervision if Ridley was free on bond, Baker said.

The office of Eddie Wyant, district attorney for Delaware and Ottawa counties, was named to prosecute the case after Muskogee County District Moore recused himself.

Jennifer Ellis, an assistant district attorney in Ottawa County, said the state objected to the bond for Ridley.

“Our position is one of safety” for Ridley and Ridley’s wife, she said.

If Ridley was released on bond, then the only benefit would be a “reactive situation” if Ridley violated the conditions of bond and that Ridley could harm himself or others.

“We feel the risk is just too high,” she said.

She added that the state believes that Ridley should remain incarcerated in jail or be placed in a mental health facility until the preliminary hearing.

A status hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Feb. 28, and a preliminary hearing has been scheduled for 9 a.m. May 16. At the conclusion of the preliminary hearing, a judge will determine if Ridley should stand trial.

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Officer Mark Ridley Arrested for Forcing Ex to Have Sex with Him at Gunpoint

MUSKOGEE, Oklahoma

A suspended Muskogee police officer was placed behind bars without bond Thursday after he allegedly forced an estranged love interest to have sex with him.

Mark Ridley is accused of chasing her down the street in his vehicle, ultimately ramming her off the road, before ordering her to perform sexual acts with him at gunpoint.

Ridley was arrested Thursday morning, hours after the Muskogee County district attorney say the crimes occurred, and charged with kidnapping, sodomy and assault and battery with a motor vehicle. A judge entered a not guilty plea for the officer, who was placed on leave in December for another matter related to the woman, Thursday afternoon.

The judge granted the DA's request that Ridley be held without bond after the DA explained he had tried to commit suicide in his jail cell earlier in the day. The DA also expressed concern he might try and hurt his alleged victim.

Court records show the woman filed two protective orders against the man: one in December and another Wednesday, the day of the alleged assault.

To avoid any conflicts of interest, the case will now be handled by the Delaware County District Attorney's Office. Muskogee County DA Larry Moore said following Ridley's arraignment that the decision was made to avoid any "appearance of impropriety."

"So ... there won't be any accusations that either we were too harsh or not harsh enough. We just want the right thing to happen in the case," he said.

Delaware County is also tasked with investigating the incident that led to Ridley's suspension.

Officer Robert Barthelemy Arrested for Kidnapping

Authorities in central Louisiana have spent the weekend searching for a man they believe was kidnapped from his home at gunpoint by a Natchitoches police officer.

Twenty-five year-old Tony Procell has been missing for almost a week.

The Shreveport Times reports that security video at Procell's mobile home showed Natchitoches police Officer Robert Barthelemy leading Procell out at gunpoint last Tuesday.

Barthelemy was booked Wednesday with aggravated kidnapping and home invasion. Bond has not been set.

Defense attorney Brian McRae did not immediately return a call and an email Sunday.

Search crews have been looking in Sabine, DeSoto and Natchitoches parishes.

Ex NYPD officer Arrested for Conspiring to Cook and Eat Women

Two more people are under arrest in connection with the so-called "Cannibal Cop", Gilberto Valle, the ex-NYPD officer convicted of conspiring to cook and eat women.


60-year old Christopher Asch was arrested at his Greenwich Village home, and was charged with conspiracy to commit kidnapping. He was initially removed from his job as a librarian at Stuyvesant High School for improperly touching male students.

Asch was charged criminally, but the case was subsequently dismissed and sealed.

A second person, Richard Meltz, was arrested Sunday in Rockaway, New Jersey. He is chief of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Police Service, based in Bedford, Massachusetts, and a former Sussex County, New Jersey law enforcement officer.

Valle was convicted last month of conspiring to kidnap women, then cook, kill and eat them. He faces life in prison when he is sentenced June 19 - his first wedding anniversary.

Authorities say Asch is quoted in the criminal complaint discussing kidnapping, killing and eating women and children, at one point calling it an "exciting proposition."

Sherriff Department's Volunteer Bruce Tuck Charged with Multiple Sexual Assault

Shelby County District Attorney Bill Gibbons announced Thursday that the state Grand Jury for Shelby County indicted a Gleason, Tennessee man, already convicted for multiple sexual assaults elsewhere, for a string of sexual assaults reported in Memphis and Shelby County last summer.

The Grand Jury returned three separate indictments against Bruce Tuck, 36, on multiple felony charges including aggravated rape, aggravated robbery, and aggravated burglary.

In the first indictment, Tuck is charged with five counts of aggravated rape, especially aggravated kidnapping, aggravated robbery, two counts of aggravated burglary, employing a firearm during a felony, and burglary of a motor vehicle. The indictment states the alleged offenses occurred between June 26 and June 28, 2009. This case was investigated by the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office.

In the second indictment, Tuck is charged with five counts of aggravated rape, aggravated robbery, two counts of aggravated sexual battery, two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of aggravated burglary, and employing a firearm during a felony. The indictment states the alleged offenses occurred between August 4 and August 6, 2009. This case was investigated by the Memphis Police Department.

In the final indictment, Tuck is charged with six counts of aggravated rape, attempted aggravated rape, two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, aggravated robbery, two counts of aggravated burglary, and employing a firearm during a felony.

The indictment states the alleged offenses occurred between August 22 and August 25, 2009. This case was investigated by the Memphis Police Department.

The District Attorney’s office does not release the names of victims of sexual assault. No other information on the cases is available at this time.

Tuck is currently serving a 60 year sentence with the Tennessee Department of Corrections. Tuck pleaded guilty last December in a Weakley County Criminal Court to multiple felony charges including aggravated rape, especially aggravated kidnapping and sexual battery. He will be transported from the Hardeman County Correctional Facility to the Shelby County Jail where he will be held without bond on these most recent indictments. An arraignment date in Shelby County has not yet been scheduled.

“These reported crimes are especially heinous,” said District Attorney Gibbons. “Although Mr. Tuck is already serving a very long prison sentence for crimes committed elsewhere, we intend to hold him accountable here in Shelby County as well,” Gibbons stressed.

Aggravated rape carries a sentence of up to 60 years without parole. Aggravated rape and aggravated robbery are charges covered by the D.A.’s “No Deals” policy on violent crimes. Exceptions are made to the policy for legal or ethical reasons.

Assistant District Attorneys Abby Wallace and Alanda Dwyer are prosecuting this case. Both prosecutors are assigned to Criminal Court Division 8 which is designated a special prosecution court for cases involving repeat offenders.

Trial Begins for Three East Orange Officers

An Essex County Assistant Prosecutor described how East Orange Police Detective Hakeem Davis pushed the barrel of his gun into 17-year-old James Littlejohn’s mouth and warned, "start talking now or I’ll kill you right here," during opening arguments today of the trial against three East Orange officers.

Davis and his partner, Detective Jon Cato, are accused of dragging Littlejohn and his friend, Darrel Slappy, also 17 at the time, from a second-floor apartment to the front porch, then threatening to kill them. The officers believed the teens had thrown a rock at their squad car the night of May 31, 2008, said Assistant Prosecutor Peter Sepulveda, who is handling the case. The boys were later let go.

Davis, 36, and Cato, 32, are charged with 21 counts of assault, kidnapping, official misconduct and falsifying records. They have been suspended without pay.

The third detective, David Sheridan, 25, who allegedly did nothing to stop the officers, was also suspended without pay. He was charged with misconduct and conspiracy, but his attorney, Patrick Toscano, said he "did absolutely nothing wrong in this case."

Today, Andrea Poyser testified that her son, Slappy, entered their Beech Street home late that night with Littlejohn. A few minutes later, Davis and Cato arrived. They were dressed in plain clothes, did not display badges but were gripping guns, she said. They began cursing at the boys, and, "were very rude," Poyser added.

Lawyers for all three officers said they followed law enforcement guidelines and added their clients have been "salivating" to tell their story.

Ronald Ricci, who is Davis’ attorney, said subsequent lab tests on the officer’s gun revealed none of Littlejohn’s DNA.

Davis and Cato had been responding to a call of shots fired around 11:45 p.m. that night when their patrol car was struck by rocks at South Arlington Avenue and Beech Street.

The detectives apprehended two youths, then spotted two more running away and gave chase, said Vincent Scoca, Cato’s attorney.

Ricci said the officers followed the boys to what was Poyser’s home, on the 20 block of Beech Street. He said badges were dangling from the detectives’ necks.

They knocked on the second-floor door and Slappy opened it, then slammed it shut after seeing the officers, Ricci sad. Once inside, the two officers grabbed the teens and brought them to the front porch for questioning. When the officers couldn’t prove the teens were involved, they "let them go," he said.

But Sepulveda described a much more violent scene, which began when Davis banged on the Beech Street apartment door. Slappy answered the door and was "met with a punch to the face by Davis, and a gun to the chest," Sepulveda said. The teens were dragged to the front porch, where they were forced to lie face down at gunpoint, he said. "Davis has to know who threw the rock," Sepulveda said. "He wouldn’t let it go."

The trial, which resumes Tuesday, is expected to last more than a week.

Two New Orleans Officers Arrested

Two New Orleans police officers were booked into jail Thursday in separate criminal incidents.

In one case, a 6th District officer was indicted on charges that he participated in kidnapping a woman last summer. His partner, who was indicted last fall, is accused of undressing and raping the woman while she remained shackled, according to court documents.

In Thursday's other arrest, an officer was booked into jail for allegedly firing his weapon into his car at a downtown hotel parking garage while off-duty.

The arrests are the latest in a steady stream of misconduct cases to hit the New Orleans Police Department, which finds itself under federal investigation for possible deadly misconduct in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

NOPD spokesman Bob Young acknowledged the indictment of officer Thomas Clark, 36, on a count of second-degree kidnapping, adding that the allegations stem from the same incident as an alleged rape by Clark's partner, Henry Hollins.

Henry Hollins is being held in lieu of $1.5 million bail.

In November, Hollins was indicted both with aggravated rape and kidnapping. He is being held in jail in lieu of $1.5 million bail, according to court records.

Young said Clark is suspended without pay pending the outcome of the criminal case. Clark, who joined the NOPD in 2001, remained in jail on Thursday evening.

The Clark and Hollins indictments were unusual in that they stemmed from investigations conducted by the Orleans Parish district attorney's office, not the NOPD's Public Integrity Bureau.

Chris Bowman, a spokesman for the DA, acknowledged Clark's indictment, but declined to elaborate on the circumstances of the case.

Court documents allege that Hollins, 46, drove a woman to the intersection of Tchoupitoulas and Felicity streets "where he completely disrobed and raped the victim while she remained in handcuffs."

Hollins then drove the woman to an unknown location and released her from custody, the arrest warrant states.

Months prior to his indictment in the alleged rape, Hollins, a 12-year police veteran, was arrested and booked with domestic abuse for allegedly punching his wife in the mouth with a closed fist.

He was placed on desk duty following the domestic violence arrest in late August. After his indictment in November, NOPD Superintendent Warren Riley said Hollins was suspended without pay.

Clark's attorney, Frank DeSalvo, criticized the district attorney's office for its handling of the case.

"It's extortion," he said.

DeSalvo said that Howard Robertson, the head of the investigative unit for the district attorney, only made the case on Clark because the officer refused to implicate his partner by admitting to certain details of the crime.

"He wanted (Clark) to come in and tell him what he wanted to hear," DeSalvo claimed.

Bowman declined to respond to DeSalvo's accusation, saying "the district attorney's office is not going to try this or any other case in the media."

In Thursday's other arrest, police booked Officer Patrick O'Hern for illegally discharging a weapon on Dec. 12. The incident occurred about 2 p.m. on the rooftop parking lot of the Hilton New Orleans Riverside hotel at 2 Poydras St., said Officer Shereese Harper, a police spokeswoman.

Young said O'Hern fired his weapon several times into his personal vehicle. O'Hern was put on desk duty following the incident and now, after his arrest, is suspended without pay, Young said.

O'Hern was released from the Orleans Parish jail not long after he was booked. It is unclear who is representing him.

Former Officer Bruce Webster Sentenced to 19 Years

A former Fairfax County police officer, whose wife was slain in 1991, was sentenced Friday to 19 years in prison for abducting her twice in the months before her death, but he has not been charged with killing her.

Bruce Webster, 69, a former patrol officer in the Mount Vernon Police District, met Joann Allison when she was waiting tables at Elsie's Magic Skillet, a Route 1 diner and regular hangout for officers. Webster and Allison were married in the diner in October 1988.

Webster, a Vietnam War veteran, spent 18 years as a Fairfax officer, resigning in January 1990. The couple then moved to Alabama. But not long after, Joann Webster decided to separate from her husband, return to Fairfax and resume waitressing at the Skillet, according to former owner Elsie Plues's trial testimony in August.

But in May 1990, Joann Webster went to a bank near the Skillet and withdrew $9,000 while her estranged husband watched. She then ran to the Skillet and told Plues that her husband had "tied her to a chair, threatening to kill her," and forced her to withdraw the money, Plues testified.

Bruce Webster's attorneys said that his wife had fled Alabama with $15,000 from their joint account, leaving him penniless.

Plues urged Joann Webster to report the incident to police. She did, but refused to prosecute.

Seven months later, on New Year's, a bloodied Joann Webster turned up at a 7-Eleven store in Woodbridge, claiming that she had been abducted and tied up by her estranged husband, witnesses testified. This time she agreed to prosecute, and Bruce Webster was charged with abduction.

On Feb. 15, 1991, divorce papers were served on Bruce Webster. The next day, Joann Webster didn't show up for work at the Skillet. She was found fatally stabbed in her apartment in Sacramento Square, wearing her waitress uniform, police said. She was 44.

Several days later, Bruce Webster did not appear for his preliminary hearing on the abduction charge. Prosecutors, without their complaining witness, did not pursue the case. Homicide detectives said they investigated Webster closely in the death of his estranged wife but couldn't make a case.

In 2007, Fairfax cold case homicide detectives revisited the slaying and tracked down Webster, who was living in a one-room apartment in Las Vegas. During several long, taped conversations, Webster denied killing or kidnapping his wife. But he did say, "When I get angry, people get seriously hurt or they die."

A Fairfax grand jury indicted Webster in May of last year for both abduction incidents and use of a gun in one of them. A trial jury convicted him of the three counts, recommending eight-year sentences on both abduction counts and three years for using a gun. Webster did not testify.

At his sentencing hearing, Joann Webster's daughter, Tammy Magouirk, testified that "it's something that doesn't go away. It has colored my relationships. How do you trust people when things like this happen to your mom? I was in a bad relationship, but I was terrified to end it. I stayed in that relationship for 15 years."

Bruce Webster declined to make a statement to Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Jonathan C. Thacher. Webster's attorney, Deputy Public Defender Dawn M. Butorac, said he was not remorseful because he maintains that he did not kidnap or kill his wife.
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Former Officer Julio "Trey" Reyes Had Previous History of Emotional Problems

Julio “Trey” Reyes, the Katy ISD police officer who took former girlfriend and fellow police officer Rachel Hillsman hostage last August before taking his own life during an armed stand-off, had a previous history of emotional problems, according to records recently released by Katy ISD.

Records obtained by InstantNewsKaty through the Texas Public Information Act showed Reyes was placed on administrative in 2007 after threatening to kill himself.

In that incident, Reyes reportedly threatened to take his own life because of relationship problems with his ex-wife and Hillsman.

According to an April 30, 2007 report filed by KISD Police Cpl. Ryan Martinelli, Reyes was taken to a Sugar Land hospital after going on a “drinking binge” and telling others he was going to commit suicide.

According to information given to Martinelli by Reyes’ brother Randy at Sugar Land Memorial Hermann Hospital, Reyes learned that his ex-wife “had met someone else and was taking their son around him.” That, coupled with relationship problems between Reyes and Hillsman, apparently triggered the heavy drinking and suicide threats.

“Randy said he was called…to go to (ex-wife) Sandra’s residence because Julio was over there and threatening suicide. Randy said when he arrived that Julio was drunk and acting very erratic,” Martinelli’s report said. “Randy said that he has never seen Julio act like this and that he was not thinking rational at all.”

Randy Reyes and friend Mike Rozaro told Martinelli they called both the Fort Bend Sheriff’s Office and EMS because they feared Julio Reyes “would harm himself.”

“Randy said that when Fort Bend SO arrived, they tried talking Julio into going to the hospital on his own, at which point Julio advised them he was not going. Randy said that Julio would bow up and act like he was going to fight, but that he would then settle down,” Martinelli reported. “Randy said that Julio finally agreed to go to the hospital. Randy said that Mike took Julio’s duty weapon and he took the rest of Julio’s weapons, that way he would not have access to them.”

Martinelli also learned Reyes had written suicide notes to his ex-wife and son Jacob, telling them he loved them and “was sorry for what had happened.”

Martinelli also reported that he briefly interviewed Julio Reyes in the hospital’s emergency room. During that interview, Reyes told Martinelli that “there had been a little misunderstanding” and that he had been drinking heavily, but did not intend to take his own life.

“Julio advised us that that he had sent text messages about suicide the night before to his friend, Mike Rozaro, and his brother, Randy Reyes. Julio stated that he did it because he had been drinking heavily and having family problems,” Martinelli reported. “Julio advised that at no point did he intend to commit suicide.”

As he was returning to the KISD police headquarters, Martinelli said he received a phone call from Hillsman asking what was taking place. During the conversation, Hillsman expressed concern that Reyes might harm her.

“I advised her that I could not discuss (the incident) with her and she began to tell me that Julio had been cheating on her with another woman and (ex-wife) Sandra. Rachel said when she found out, that she split up with him,” Martinelli noted. “Rachel advised that she spoke with Sandra and found out that Julio had been seeing both of them. Rachel advised that she did not feel safe around Julio and that she was worried about what he might do to her. Rachel advised that she was leaving her house to go stay with her parents.”

Following the incident, Katy ISD Police Chief Mark Hopkins placed Reyes on paid leave.

“Pending the superintendent’s approval, you are being placed on administrative leave, with pay, effective on April 30, 2007 and until further notice. While on administrative leave, you shall make yourself available to the Chief of Police or his designee during the regular work day through normal means of communication,” Hopkins wrote in a letter to Reyes dated April 20, 2007. “Effective immediately, you shall not enter or remain on any Katy ISD property without expressed consent from the Chief of Police or his designee.”

The letter was copied to then-Katy ISD Superintendent Leonard Merrell.

In a follow-up letter, Hopkins removed Reyes from paid leave and informed the officer he would be allowed back to duty only after providing proof he had undergone psychological counseling.

“Effective at the end of the regular working day on May 15, 2007, you will be removed from administrative leave with pay. You may use appropriate personal leave until such time that you provide proof of your participation in psychological counseling to me or Captain Robert Jinks,” Hopkins wrote. “Furthermore, you shall sign a release for your treating doctor to report your attendance, cooperation and completion of treatment to me, Chief Mark L. Hopkins, or Captain Robert Jinks. Upon receipt of proof that you are participating in psychological counseling and a copy of the sign treatment release, you may return to regular police officer duty.”

The documents outlining Reyes’ 2007 suicide attempt were obtained through a public information request filed with the school district last August. The district initially sought to withhold the documents, claiming the information should not be disclosed to the public.

Through its law firm, Thompson & Horton of Houston, the school district asked for an attorney general’s ruling on the request. In a letter to the AG, attorney Christopher Gilbert asked whether the district could withhold the records.

“The district believes that the documents responsive to this request, or information contained within those documents, would be privileged from disclosure under sections 552.101 to 552.147 of the (Texas Public Information Act), including, but not limited to, the following exceptions: 552.101 Confidential Information and 552.102 Personnel Information,” Gilbert said in the letter. “On behalf of the district, we request a determination by your office that the exceptions stated above apply to the information requested by (InstantNewsKaty).”

The Attorney General’s Office subsequently ruled the school district would have to release documents related the 2007 incident.

Less than two years after this reported suicide attempt, Reyes took Hillsman hostage on Aug. 19, 2009 as she was leaving her mother’s Waller County home to report for duty. The abduction followed yet another break-up between the two.

The following day, law enforcement officers found Reyes holding Hillsman hostage in a vacant home on the north side of Brookshire. He ultimately took his life with a gunshot to the head after releasing Hillsman, ending a six-hour siege armed siege.

Officer David Reeves Jr Arrested for Robbing Auto Parts Store

A Riverside police officer was behind bars today on suspicion of attempting to rob an auto parts store in Moreno Valley, a sheriff’s sergeant said.

David Reeves Jr., 28, of Moreno Valley, allegedly tried to rob the AutoZone at 23510 Sunnymead Blvd. just after 9 p.m. Wednesday, said Riverside County sheriff’s Sgt. Dennis Gutierrez.

Moreno Valley police arrived within one minute of the call and found Reeves detained inside the store, Gutierrez said.

“Nobody was injured, thank God. No shots were fired,” said AutoZone manager Robert Sedano. “I wasn’t here, but I’ve spoken to police.”

Sedano said he heard Reeves had been a police officer.

“That’s sad,” Sedano said. “An off-duty police officer. What’s this world coming to?”

Gutierrez and another sheriff’s public information officer today confirmed Reeves had been a Riverside police officer.

Reeves is being held in lieu of $250,000 bail at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside, with arraignment expected Friday in Riverside Superior Court.

Meanwhile, Reeves is no longer on the Riverside police force, as of noon today, according to Sgt. Jaybee Brennan, a department spokeswoman and adjutant to Chief Russ Leach.

Brennan said she could not say whether Reeves was fired or if he resigned, noting it was personnel issue and considered confidential.

“The fact that he’s been a police officer is a concern because we have hundreds of professional officers of integrity and honesty,” Brennan said. “It’s a sad day for us. This obviously occurred when he was off-duty and not working.”

Reeves started working for the Riverside Police Department on June 21, 2001, as a police cadet, Brennan said. He was sworn in as a peace officer on June 28, 2002.

He was arrested on suspicion of kidnap ransom with injury, strong-arm robbery and receiving stolen property and booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside on $250,000 bail, a jailer said.

He is to be arraigned Friday in Riverside Superior Court, the jailer said.

Anyone with information on the alleged robbery was asked to call Moreno Valley police at 951-486-6700. Moreno Valley contracts with the Sheriff’s Department for the city’s police services.

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http://www.inlandnewstoday.com/story.php?s=11139

Tribal Officer Anthony Hernandez Charged with Assault

A Yakama Tribal Police officer has been charged with assault after a domestic violence victim reported a robbery.

Toppenish police said the officer was arrested Friday after police investigated a complaint by a domestic violence victim being treated for a cut to the face at Toppenish Community Hospital.

The victim claimed the tribal officer forced his way into a home, struck the victim in the face and threatened to kill another person who was at the house before taking an undisclosed amount of money.

Anthony Jesse Hernandez Jr. was being held at the Yakima County Jail on charges of harassment, assault, kidnapping and robbery, deputies said.

Yakama Tribal Council Chairman Ralph Sampson Jr. told the Yakima Herald-Republic he was not aware of the incident but was making calls to find out more.

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Information from: Yakima Herald-Republic, http://www.yakima-herald.com

Former Chief Jose Cruz Arrested for Kidnapping

The former police chief in the Gulf coast port of Veracruz was among 11 people arrested for the kidnapping of Mexican customs official Francisco Serrano Aramoni, who remains missing and is feared dead.

Jose Osiris Cruz was detained Wednesday by military police, the Mexican Attorney General’s Office said.

A Veracruz state judge issued warrants for the arrest of Cruz and 10 other suspects on charges of racketeering, drug trafficking and illegal weapons possession, AG office spokesman Ricardo Celso Najera said.

Serrano, the head of the customs office in Veracruz, was driving home from work the night of June 1 when another vehicle rammed his vehicle and forced him to stop. Armed assailants then grabbed the official and drove away.

Since taking office in December 2006, President Felipe Calderon has deployed more than 50,000 soldiers and 20,000 federal police officers across Mexico in a bid to crush the country’s powerful drug cartels.

The operation has failed to put a dent in the violence due, according to experts, to the cartels’ ability to buy off police and even high-ranking prosecutors.

Two Troopers on Leave in Conjunction with Franklin Ryle Jr Investigation

Two state troopers put on leave in conjunction with the investigation of former trooper Franklin Ryle Jr. no longer work for the Wyoming Highway Patrol.

As of Tuesday, Adam Longo and Devan Henderson were no longer employed by the patrol, said the agency's top administrator, Col. Sam Powell.

Powell said he couldn't go into further detail because it was a personnel matter. However, he did say the patrol is swiftly working to fill the vacancies with two recruits who've already accepted positions with the patrol.

Longo and Henderson had been stationed in Casper.

"We are going to move as quickly as we can to fill those vacancies," Powell said.

Longo had been on leave since Feb. 5. Henderson was put on leave Feb. 19.

The men were unavailable for comment Tuesday. Neither has a listed phone number.

In May, the patrol disclosed that both men were on paid leave. At that time, Powell did not explain exactly what prompted the move other than to say it was done in conjunction with the Ryle investigation.

Ryle, a former Douglas-based trooper, pleaded guilty last month to federal civil rights charges. He admitted to arresting a Wal-Mart truck driver in January as part of scheme to kill the driver and stage a crash with his patrol vehicle in order to collect a financial settlement.

Neither Henderson nor Longo has been arrested or charged with any crime.

Henderson told investigators he smuggled steroids from Mexico into the United States in 2003 or 2004, according to an FBI affidavit detailing the Ryle investigation. He claimed he and Ryle used the steroids as part of a body building program.

Ryle was also accused of soliciting Henderson to participate in his scheme to stage a crash with the Wal-Mart truck.

Henderson told an FBI agent he did not report Ryle to anyone because he wasn't sure Ryle was serious and because he didn't want to be considered a rat if the statements proved false, according to the affidavit.

Longo is not mentioned in any of the court documents.

Ryle, who was not indicted on any charges related to the steroid allegations, is awaiting sentencing next month.
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Former Officer David Dietz Will Plead Insantity to Kidnapping

A former South Carolina police officer who authorities say kidnapped and held his estranged wife and infant son hostage in Georgia says he intends to enter an insanity plea.

An attorney for David Dietz said in court documents filed this week he intends to introduce evidence that his client was suffering from a mental disease or defect at the time of his alleged crimes.

Dietz has pleaded not guilty to several federal charges in South Carolina, including kidnapping and carjacking. The results of his mental evaluation have been sealed.

Dietz and a teenager accused of helping him surrendered on Jan. 5 after a 13-hour standoff at a motel in Madison, Ga. The two had been holed up with Dietz’s estranged wife and their infant son.
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http://www.foxcarolina.com/news/20086365/detail.html