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.

Former Officer Jeremy Rose Charged with Sexual Exploitation of Minor

Former Tremonton police officer Jeremy Rose has been charged with 15 offenses in the collection of thousands of photos of a teenage girl in various stages of undress.
 

Rose was arrested and booked into the Box Elder County Jail Thursday, said Utah Attorney General's Office spokeswoman Missy Larsen, and is scheduled for arraignment April 7 before 1st District Judge Ben Hadfield.

 

Rose, 37, is charged with nine counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony, and two counts of voyeurism, a third-degree felony. He's also charged with single counts of dealing in material harmful to a minor, communications fraud, obstruction of justice, and stalking, all felonies but the stalking, a class A misdemeanor.

 

While employed by the Tremonton force, Rose convinced a then-15-year-old Tremonton girl to pose semi-nude for photos he said he would sell for her on the Internet and to private buyers, according to charging documents. That was a ruse in order to collect the photos for himself, the charges say.

 

He also allegedly hid a camera in the girl's bedroom to record video of her dressing and undressing.

 

Rose is being held in lieu of $145,000 bail. The case was handed off by the Box Elder County Attorney's Office last year to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest since prosecutors there had worked with Rose for years.

 

Rose resigned from the Tremonton department in July after investigation began by the Attorney General's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which was assisted by Tremonton police.

 

The case features a 15-page probable cause affidavit, a document rarely longer than a page.

It details Rose's apparent obsession with the teen beginning in early 2012 and continuing through much of last year until his initial arrest in June. Due to the complex investigation detailed in the affidavit, the charges weren't filed until Thursday by the attorney general's office.  Rose was a 12-year veteran on the Tremonton force.

 

Rose set up fake email accounts and links to a bogus online company where he told her he was selling the photos, the affidavit says.

 

He sent emails under assumed names from the fake company encouraging her in her nude and semi-nude posing for photos with Rose, as well as those she took herself and sent to the fake Internet site, according to the affidavit.

 

They told her she could make more money by wearing less clothing, one of the emails said.

Investigators were informed last June by Rose's wife that he had confessed to her and other family members, according to the affidavit.

 

The thousands of images of the minor were found on Rose's several cell phones "as well the laptop computer he was assigned through his employment at the Tremonton Police Department," it reads.

 

The document refers to Rose paying the girl $300 for her pictures and buying her an iPhone for her picture-taking.

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.

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.

Previous Post

Officer Julio Pagan Arrested for Sexual Battery

Another sex scandal at the Lakeland Police Department, and this time, the officer involved faces criminal charges.

Officer Julio Pagan, 31, was arrested today on two counts of sexual battery and one count of stalking.

"There are simply no words to describe my shock, my outrage, my disgust about this," said Chief Lisa Womack.

Chief Womack says the investigation dates back to a time right in the middle of the department's highly publicized sex scandal.

Investigators say Officer Pagan responded to a July 4th call near a trailer park and that's where he first met the alleged victim.

Six weeks later, during another call, the woman says Pagan coerced her to have sex with him in her bathroom while he was still armed, in uniform, and on duty.

Asked if this will only promote talk of persistent culture problems now under her command as well at Lakeland P.D., Chief Womack was clearly frustrated.

"This is not a departmental issue," she said pausing for moment, "You want to know how I feel about it? Fed up," she said.

The alleged victim says three weeks later, Pagan, again on-duty, was back, asking her for a "quickie" according to the police report.

Surveillance video shows Pagan's cruiser pulling up to a nearby Circle K store, where images, say detectives, show the woman buys alcohol before both return to her house.

Investigators say Pagan then came back a second time on that same date,August 29th, but that the woman made an excuse to fend off his advances and called police to complain about Pagan's visits.

However the dispatcher, identified as Christinia Jordan, now on administrative leave, never sent an officer.

"I have no valid explanation as to at this point why that that did not occur," said Chief Womack. An investigation into the matter was "about 90%" complete, she said.

The victim, who never had a police officer respond, got another uninvited visit from Pagan about three weeks later.

Relatives called to complain yet again, and this time Lakeland sent an investigator.

Austin Garcia, a neighbor, says a short time later, the trailer park area was visited by multiple officers.

"I did see a couple of squad cars go over there and stuff, like about 5 or 6 of them," he said, "They stayed there about an hour or two and left."

Chief Womack says she knows the public is already commenting about how this may yet again be an example of the "culture" within Lakeland P.D., but she took issue with that assertion.

This was not a departmental culture issue, she said -it's a crime.

Pagan, she said,will likely be formally fire dover the next couple of days.

He faces life in prison if convicted.

Former Deputy Robert Grimsley Sentenced to Five Years for Stalking

A 38-year-old former law enforcement officer in South Carolina was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to stalking and assaulting his girlfriend and trying to tamper with evidence against him.

The Morning News of Florence reports a judge on Tuesday ordered ex-Dillon County deputy Robert Grimsley to spend seven years in prison, with the final two years of the sentence suspended if he completes three years of probation.

Authorities say Grimsley was charged with criminal domestic violence in November after grabbing his girlfriend in the home they shared in Latta and kicking her.

A month later, investigators say Grimsley violated a restraining order and asked an officer working the case to switch or destroy blood samples that were collected.

Officer Leslie Brown Sentenced for Stalking Former Lover

A Cumberland County judge this afternoon imposed an 8- to 23-month prison term, plus 10 years of probation, on a former Harrisburg police officer who pleaded guilty to repeatedly stalking a former lover.

Judge Albert H. Masland sentenced Leslie Brown, 40, of Hampden Township, after Brown also admitted to violating a protection from abuse order the man had secured barring her from contacting him. While admitting to the stalking and protection order violations, Brown, who quit the city force in 2008 after 13 years of service, insisted she is a victim of lies and "legal blackmail."

Brown spent three months in prison last year for violating the protection order.

Lt Ralph Schrader Sentenced for Stalking Ex-Wife

A Lakeland police lieutenant was sentenced Friday to 30 days in jail and 11 months of probation for stalking his ex-wife.

Polk County Judge Beth Harlan insisted on looking into Ralph Schrader's eyes before imposing the punishment.

The judge expressed outrage at Schrader's "arrogance," noting that both of his children suffered through testifying during his week-long first-degree misdemeanor trial.

"If they're not the most important people in your life, they should be," she said.

Harlan said she also was troubled by Schrader's misuse of his city-issued cellular phone and computer to harass his ex-wife.

She ordered that Schrader undergo psychological and domestic violence evaluations as well as any recommended treatment.

The judge ordered that the evaluations and treatment information be shared with the Lakeland Police Department.

The sentencing came after a six-member jury, consisting of three men and three women, found Schrader, 45, guilty of stalking.

Jurors spent about an hour and half deliberating before reaching their verdict.

The judge did agree to withhold adjudication - a formal finding of guilt.

Assistant State Attorney Hope Pattey urged the judge to adjudicate Schrader guilty of stalking.

She said Schrader refused to admit that he tormented his then wife for several months as they were finalizing their divorce.

"He should not be a law enforcement officer anymore," Pattey said.

The Lakeland Police Department's general orders say officers charged and found guilty of a misdemeanor can retain their jobs with the department or face penalties, which could include a maximum of termination.
---------------------------
More Information

Officer John Lewis Arrested for the Sixth Time

Schenectady Police Officer John Lewis was arrested on Saturday night for what is at least the sixth time in two years.

Department officials tell us that they received a call at approximately 6:00 p.m. that a drunk man had left the emergency department at Ellis Hospital, hit a car, and took off.

Investigators say that that man was Lewis - a 15-year veteran of the force who has spent much of the past two years off the job.

Lewis's troubles with the department date back to 1998 when he was fired for allegedly using a racial slur; an arbitrator later reinstated him.

Since the spring of 2008, Lewis has been arrested numerous times on charges that include drunk driving, stalking, harassment, and vandalism.

In December, a Schenectady County grand jury indicted Lewis for allegedly hacking into his ex-wife's e-mail account and threatening her.

Days later, he was apparently stabbed in Berkshire County.

Schenectady Police say Lewis's termination hearing has been completed and the department brass is waiting for a final decision by an arbitrator.

City residents say that Lewis has already had too many chances.

"Police are supposed to be models for the rest of the society and, certainly, this is not the kind of model that we want to have our kids and the rest of everybody else in the city to portray so, yeah, he definitely needs to go," says Don Ackerman of Schenectady.

City resident Chuck Tillman says, "He should be thrown off the force in my opinion."

Lewis is being held at Schenectady County Jail without bail.

Previous Post

Drunk Driving arrest

Stalking Arrest

Deputy Robert Stogner Arrested for Stalking

A West Feliciana Parish sheriff’s deputy was fired Wednesday after being arrested for allegedly stalking a man he believed was seeing his wife.

Robert Wayne Stogner, 48, 8909 Island Road, St. Francisville, tried to contact the man Wednesday at his place of employment, Georgia Pacific’s Port Hudson mill, an affidavit of probable cause said.

Stogner arrived at the mill between Baton Rouge and St. Francisville around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday and asked a dispatcher to contact the man via radio, the affidavit said.

Sensing that something was wrong, the dispatcher continued talking to Stogner instead of contacting the mill employee, the affidavit said.

During their conversation, Stogner told the dispatcher “that if he were a crazy man, he could have killed everyone he contacted thus far with the two handguns and the shotgun that were in his truck,” the affidavit said.

The dispatcher told investigators with the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office that she saw the shotgun in Stogner’s vehicle, the affidavit said.

Stogner admitted to investigators he went to the mill with his service-issued .40-caliber weapon to talk to the man he believed was having an affair with his wife, the affidavit said.

Stogner also admitted to calling the man and going to the man’s motel room and the mill on previous occasions.

On one of two previous occasions at the mill, Stogner confronted the man with a hammer and a crowbar, the affidavit said. A fight did not ensue, but the man told investigators he felt threatened.

East Baton Rouge Parish sheriff’s deputies arrested Stogner and booked him into Parish Prison on one count each of stalking and aggravated assault.

As a result of his arrest, Stogner was fired from his position with the West Feliciana Parish Sheriff’s Office, West Feliciana Parish Sheriff J. Austin Daniel said.

The sheriff said Wednesday he wrote a letter to the Secretary of State’s Office asking that Stogner’s law enforcement commission be revoked.

Daniel said that on the same day deputies recovered Stogner’s service-issued weapons from his home.

Stogner started working with the Sheriff’s Office in March 2002, Sheriff’s Office records show. He left the office in June 2008 and was rehired in February. His position with the office as a patrol deputy was part time.

“He did a good job for us,” Daniel said. “He worked a lot of hours at night.”

According to West Feliciana Parish court records, Stogner’s latest arrest was not his first.

Stogner was arrested on Oct. 15, 1993, in St. Francisville for allegedly threatening to beat up his then-wife at a law office, court records show. Stogner was charged with disturbing the peace, simple assault and criminal damage to property.

Stogner was sentenced to one year of probation for the misdemeanor charge of criminal damage to property, court records show. The other two charges were dropped.

Lt William Scott Richard Accused of Stalking

A University of Florida police officer accused of stalking a woman the past two years was charged with aggravated stalking and obstructing justice, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

UF Police Department Lt. William Scott Richard, 38, was arrested and booked into the Alachua County Jail. He posted $250,000 bond and was released late Wednesday on several conditions, including that Richard surrender all firearms to the Alachua County Sheriff's Office and he be placed on electronic monitoring.

The arrest affidavit accuses Richard of sexually battering and stalking a woman in the fall of 2007 and winter of 2008. The crimes went unreported at the time, but the stalking started again over the summer when the woman moved back to Gainesville, according to court documents.

In July 2009, Richard was placed on administrative leave and ordered him to not have any contact with the victim. Authorities report that Richard was seen driving back and forth by the victim's home in November and December. The affidavit said he was arrested after he made contact with the woman on Tuesday.

Officer Darrell Collins Resigns

A Carolina Beach police officer resigned Monday amid a dispute with town councilman Dan Wilcox that started over a woman.

Additionally, former officer Darrell Collins asked a New Hanover County assistant district attorney to dismiss charges he filed on his own time against Wilcox, accusing him of stalking, assault and communicating threats whenever he saw Collins with Wilcox's ex-girlfriend, according to court documents.

Collins, who had been placed on administrative paid leave last week, would not say why he resigned or why he dropped charges against the 56-year-old Wilcox, who is also mayor pro tem. Collins was put on leave after the police chief began looking into whether Collins violated unspecified town or police policies. And Wilcox had said in a statement after Collins charged him on Thanksgiving that the “retaliation is a result of me having reported him for misuse of town resources.”

On Monday, Wilcox said he didn't have a comment because he was trying to verify whether the charges had been dropped.

Carolina Beach Town Manager Tim Owens confirmed Collins' resignation Monday.

“We wish him well on his future endeavors,” Owens said, adding he thought the dismissal of the charges against Wilcox was “the best thing for everyone in this instance. It's the best thing for everyone to move on.”

He said Collins would receive the same benefits as any other employee who resigned from the town, meaning that he would receive whatever benefits were still owed to him.

Police Chief William Younginer declined to say anything about Collins or his performance as an officer.

Collins, a 53-year-old who said he had an unblemished record in law enforcement, said he's been in law enforcement for 32 years – five of them in Carolina Beach – and that he was ready to move on and he wanted the scandal to go away.

“I have no ties here,” he said. “None.”

Collins declined to talk about Wilcox's ex-girlfriend and he made no comments about Wilcox.

“Some things in life you can't win,” he said without offering any details.

Collins, a father of two grown children and grandfather to an 8-year-old grandson, said he was a simple person who did not get involved in politics.

Born and raised in South Carolina, he said he retired from law enforcement there and then moved to Carolina Beach because he'd always wanted to live on the coast. Now, Collins said he plans to leave the state.

He shook his head when asked by a reporter if he planned to take the woman with him.

“No comment,” he said, his hands folded in front of him.

Collins, who described himself as easygoing and non-confrontational, said the incident involving Wilcox was the most shocking thing that's happened to him.

During an hourlong interview, Collins gave a glimpse into the possible forces behind his decision to resign when he said: “The politics here ... It's not going to change no matter what I do or don't do, so I decided to move on.”

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.

Boston Officer Accuses Another Officer of Rape

A Boston police officer who has accused another officer of raping her, then stalking her, testified today that her alleged attacker squeezed her throat and threatened her life during the assault.

The officer, whose name is being withheld by the Globe because the newspaper does not identify those who say they were sexual assaulted, testified in excruciating detail about the alleged rape before a Dorchester District Court judge as she sought to extend a restraining order against him.

In a soft voice, the petite woman told Judge David Weingarten that she fears the patrolman, a sniper in the department's SWAT team, because he had threatened to shoot her husband and "he has no qualms about killing people."

The accused officer stood only 10 feet away, dressed in a gray pin-stripe suit, his arms folded in front of him. The Globe is withholding his name because he not been officially charged with a crime. He did not testify today.

In the courtroom were at least half a dozen officers from the special operations division, an elite unit that includes the department's SWAT team and motorcycle squad.

During the tense, 90-minute hearing, the female officer repeatedly was asked to speak up as she tried to describe what happened on Aug. 25, when she said she joined her alleged attacker and another officer for a trip to Farmington, Conn. for a shooting competition.

After a night of heavy drinking, the three officers went back to their hotel, where they shared a room.

It was there that the female officer said she was raped.

"He grabbed my throat and squeezed really hard," she said. "I remember thinking I couldn't breathe."

He raped her twice that night, she said, as the other officer lay passed out on the floor.

The next day, she said, he demanded sex again and out of fear for her and her husband's life, she said she acquiesced. She said she was intimidated into having sex with him three more times during the next month.

Last week, after she fainted during a training, she learned she was pregnant, she testified.

On Thursday, she said she was called in by the department's internal affairs division about the incident.

"They came to her," her lawyer, John Swomley said, after the hearing. "She did not go to them."

The officer said a sergeant-detective in the domestic violence division told her not to file a restraining order. A cruiser has been assigned to guard her apartment, Swomley said, but he said he suspects members of the department's internal affairs division have been reporting her whereabouts to the accused officer.

After the hearing, Swomley recanted his statement, saying he misspoke. He said that the sergeant-detective in the domestic violence unit was giving information about his client's actions to the accused officer's lawyer, Thomas Drechsler.

Drechsler said his client has no power over superior officers.

"Sergeant detectives don't usually do what patrol officers tell them to do," he said.

After the hearing, Drechsler, standing next to his client, addressed reporters as the accused officer looked on calmly.

"He has, will and continues to deny the allegations," Drechsler said.

The restraining order was extended to next Monday, when the hearing will be continued.

Deputy Jonathan Bleiweiss May Face More Charges

The attorney representing a Broward sheriff's deputy charged with sexually assaulting an undocumented immigrant on multiple occasions said Tuesday that ``there was no reason to believe any of the accusations.''

``Everyone should sit back and take a deep breath,'' said Eric Schwartzreich, an attorney who represents the Police Benevolent Association. ``We're hopeful that when all the ink dries, everyone will see that there's more than meets the eye.''

Jonathan Bleiweiss, 29, who joined the Broward Sheriff's Office in 2002, was arrested Monday morning on 14 charges, including sexual battery, false armed imprisonment and stalking. Detectives said Bleiweiss stopped a 30-year-old man waiting for a ride to work. After discovering he was an undocumented migrant, Bleiweiss groped him during a pat-down, detectives said.

According to the arrest warrant, the victim told BSO that he was forced to allow the deputy to perform oral sex on him on four occasions. Detectives said the incidents took place during traffic stops or inside Bleiweiss' marked police car.

Schwartzreich and Bleiweiss appeared in Broward Circuit Court on Tuesday, during which the judge ordered that Bleiweiss be placed in protective custody. Schwartzreich said the deputy was ``dismayed and upset'' by the allegations.

Bleiweiss, who lives in Fort Lauderdale and is openly gay, is being held without bail.

Prosecutors and detectives said Tuesday that their work was only beginning. Charges are being prepared in at least seven other cases in which Bleiweiss allegedly fondled or performed sexual acts on undocumented migrants.

STAYED ON JOB

BSO was alerted in April that at least two men claimed to have been victimized by a deputy, but Bleiweiss was allowed to continue on his job until last month. During that period, detectives said, there was at least one additional incident, which raised concerns that BSO did not work swiftly enough.

``I gotta believe that if the police department had allowed someone to work when they had information that he touched a woman, the roar of objection would be deafening,'' said Howard Finkelstein, Broward's chief public defender, whose office is not involved in the case.

A BSO spokeswoman would not respond to Finkelstein's remarks, but Sheriff Al Lamberti said Monday the office needed to ensure the allegations were not a response to a vendetta against the deputy.

Bleiweiss was known as being an enforcer, and his supervisors often commended his high number of arrests and investigative skills.

EMPLOYEE OF YEAR

Bleiweiss, who graduated from Great Neck High School in Long Island and majored in history at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, also received the Oakland Park BSO District's employee of the year award for 2008.

Court documents released Tuesday also detail at least three encounters in which witnesses said Bleiweiss denied their requests that he stop molesting them, sunsentinel.com reported Tuesday night. The victims identified Bleiweiss in a police line-up, the records show.

Meanwhile, prosecutors must determine what to do with three traffic cases for which the accused deputy is listed as a witness.

Corrections Officer John Carrasquillo Arrested for Stalking

An Orange County corrections officer was arrested today on a stalking charge after Osceola deputies said he made crank calls to a friend of his wife.

The woman told investigators that someone with a blocked number called her cell phone several times, speaking inaudibly or not at all or making noises. One day last month, the person called four times but hung up when she answered, according to a a sheriff's report. Another day, the person called six times and once whispered, "How are you?"

Investigators traced the call to John Carrasquillo, 45, who told them he wanted the woman to stay away from his wife so he could get "some quality time" with his wife, the report states.

Carrasquillo was arrested on a stalking charge. A deputy wrote that he called the woman "willfully, repeatedly and maliciously."

Carrasquillo is being held without bail at the Osceola County Jail.

Felony Cases Under Review Following Arrest of Jonathan Bleiweiss

The slayings of Broward sheriff's deputies Paul Rein and Brian Tephford are among the dozens of felony cases under review following last week's arrest of Deputy Jonathan Bleiweiss.

Prosecutors Wednesday released a list of 118 cases in which Bleiweiss' name is listed as either a witness or an arresting officer.

Of those cases, 56 were felonies, including first-degree murder, sexual assault and felony fraud, according to the list provided by the Broward State Attorney's Office.

Bleiweiss, 29, is accused of performing sexual acts on at least eight undocumented migrants he picked up during traffic stops in Oakland Park.

His role in each of the pending criminal cases was not immediately available. Prosecutors and defense attorneys say his involvement could be as mundane as being the deputy directing traffic at a crime scene or as significant as being the lead officer in an arrest.

Prosecutors have been reviewing each case to determine whether they would be able to move forward without Bleiweiss' testimony, said State Attorney's Office spokesman Ron Ishoy. At least one felony case has already been dismissed.

Late Tuesday, prosecutors announced to Broward Circuit Judge Dale Cohen that they were no longer seeking charges against Michael King, 53, arrested in March and charged with battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest.

Ishoy said Bleiweiss was the alleged victim in the case and the only witness.

The two deputy slayings are the highest-profile cases on the list. Tephford was killed in November 2006 while conducting a traffic stop in Tamarac. There are three defendants.

Michael Mazza is accused of killing Rein on Nov. 7, 2007, while en route to trial on a bank-robbery charge. He could be sentenced to death.

Among the other cases under review are two unrelated first-degree murders, two DUIs with injuries, several robberies and stalking. The rest of the cases are misdemeanors.

Bleiweiss is being held in protective custody without bail. A bond hearing is scheduled for Friday. His attorney, Eric Schwartzreich, wants to question Bleiweiss' alleged victims, whose names have not been released.

``My client has been sitting in a jail cell for weeks now based on their accusations. We want the ability to debunk and cross-examine these undocumented immigrants,'' Schwartzreich told the judge.
----------------------------------------------
Previous Post: http://whathappenedtoprotectandserve.blogspot.com/2009/08/jonathan-bleiweiss-arrested-for-sexual.html

Jonathan Bleiweiss Arrested for Sexual Assault

In a series of events that Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti called ``an abuse of power'' and ``a tarnish to the badge,'' law enforcement agents arrested one of their own Monday and accused him of sexually assaulting victims -- while in his uniform, in marked vehicles and on the job.

Jonathan Bleiweiss, 29, of Fort Lauderdale, who in March was honored as employee of the year for the Broward Sheriff's Office's Oakland Park District, was booked at 11 a.m. on 14 charges, including sexual battery, false imprisonment and stalking in connection with abusing one of the victims, a 30-year-old male. Bleiweiss was held without bail Monday.

Investigators said Monday they were preparing to file charges involving seven more male victims, and said there might be even more. The alleged victims range in age from 17 to 30, but all have something in common: They are undocumented immigrants, mostly from El Salvador and Mexico, who speak little English.

``I can't think of a worse betrayal of public trust,'' Lamberti told reporters Monday evening, adding: ``The fact is, he preyed on one of our most vulnerable communities.''

The investigation began in April, when an attorney contacted the Fort Lauderdale Police Department to say two of his clients claimed to have been assaulted by Bleiweiss. BSO's sex crimes unit took over the investigation.

Lamberti said they gave Bleiweiss ``the benefit of the doubt'' until they fully substantiated the allegations in July, which is when he was placed on restricted administrative duty. He is now suspended without pay.

Detectives said Bleiweiss used his authority to manipulate recent immigrants who feared the police. About 6 a.m. April 23, investigators said, Bleiweiss approached a 30-year-old man who was waiting for a ride to work outside the man's apartment complex.

The man told BSO that he was then frisked and fondled, with Bleiweiss sticking his hand inside his underwear. He said Bleiweiss demanded his cellphone number, then continuously called and sent him text messages.

According to the arrest warrant, Bleiweiss is accused of performing oral sex on the man on at least four occasions between that day and June 7. He ordered the man to comply or risk deportation, said BSO Detective Graciela Benito.

She said that when BSO investigators interviewed residents at the apartment complex, they discovered a similar pattern: On multiple occasions, she said, Bleiweiss stopped a victim, demanded an ID, then sexually abused them when he determined they were undocumented.

Bleiweiss, a graduate of Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, came to BSO in 2002 after serving almost two years with the St. Petersburg Police Department.

The only consistent criticism in his BSO personnel records concerned his penmanship. However, in March he was suspended for one day after improperly reporting an illness, according to an internal affairs report.

His base pay in 2008 was $61,098 a year.

In his 2008 nomination letter for the Oakland Park District's employee of the year, Sgt. Kelvin Phillips championed Bleiweiss as a deputy who projects ``a constant and present reminder of the Broward Sheriff's Office determination to serve the community.''

In March, Bleiweiss was featured in a glowing article in The South Florida Blade as a pioneering openly gay police officer.

Lamberti emphasized that immigrants should not be afraid to report crime, regardless of their status. He encouraged anyone else Bleiweiss may have abused to call Benito at 954-321-4249.
_____________________
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/broward/story/1171644.html

Former Deputy Rodney Thompson Accused of Stalking

A former Campbell County and Bedford County sheriff’s deputy accused of stalking was denied bond in Lynchburg Circuit Court Friday morning after appealing his conviction in general district court.

Late last month, Rodney Thompson, 35, of Forest, was sentenced to four months in jail for stalking a woman with whom he had an off-again-on-again relationship for seven years.

He would have been released from jail June 6 with time served since early April and credit for good behavior, his attorney, Joseph Sanzone said during Friday’s bond hearing.

After Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Jennifer Bennett told Judge Leyburn Mosby that Thompson had threatened the woman’s life, however, Mosby said Thompson should remain jailed until he can be scheduled for a jury trial in early July.

“The court can’t take chances with people’s lives,” Mosby said.

An additional charge of stalking filed earlier in Campbell County, covering much of the same February-through-April time period as the Lynchburg charge, was dropped by prosecutors there Friday pending the resolution of the Lynchburg case.

Officer Kirk Newkirk Charged with Stalking

An area police officer and assistant coach charged with stalking a woman has had his court date rescheduled until mid-June.

Kirk D. Newkirk, 42, of Renee Court, faces a charge of misdemeanor stalking after a May 8 arrest. He is accused of harassing 21-year-old Amanda Leigh Corsey and causing her to fear for her safety.

Newkirk has been employed with the Kenansville Police Department for the last 13 months. He has been suspended without pay until the resolution of the charge against him, said Kenansville Police Chief Mike Webster.

Newkirk also served as a volunteer assistant coach for football and basketball at Jacksonville High School during the 2008-2009 school year, said Earl Taylor, spokesman of Onslow County Schools.

"In accordance with board policy 5010 ‘School Volunteers' and the Volunteer Coach Agreement, Mr. Newkirk will be prohibited from serving as a volunteer coach or any capacity in the Onslow County Schools, effective immediately," Taylor said in a faxed response to questions by The Daily News.

Newkirk, who has also been previously employed by the Jacksonville Police Department and the Onslow County Sheriff's Department, is represented by Jacksonville lawyer Walter Vatcher. The attorney asked the court Tuesday for a continuation of Newkirk's case, which was rescheduled for June 15.

Messages left at Vatcher's office were not returned by press time.

According to a complaint attached to Newkirk's arrest warrant, he has been following Corsey and has accosted her at her place of employment.

"Mr. Newkirk has been following me, trying to get into my car, tried to get me into his car," Corsey wrote in the complaint. "He tried to get me drunk underage. He sits outside my house."

In the section on the complaint that delineates relationship between the complainant and the accused, Corsey marked "stranger."

Corsey declined comment when contacted by phone Wednesday afternoon.

The Jacksonville Police Department was dispatched to Corsey's residence on Decatur Road on May 8 in reference to her stalking complaint. The JPD opened an investigation, and Corsey filed papers charging Newkirk with stalking.

Newkirk was released on a $500 unsecured bond.