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 Roniel Dilone Charged with Drunk Driving

Another NYPD officer has been charged with boozing behind the wheel after he smashed his car in the Bronx, badly injuring his passenger.

Officer Roniel Dilone, who was off-duty at the time, told an EMT at the scene that he had four beers before the crash early Sunday, according to court papers.

He refused to take a Breathalyzer test. His blood was drawn after cops got a warrant, and results are pending.

The 27-year-old cop, who has been on the force for four years, was driving in Throgs Neck when he smashed his Nissan Altima into a parked Subaru - sending it into a tree before his car jumped the curb, court papers said.

He was not badly injured, but his passenger, Allan Reyes, suffered a fractured leg and shoulder and badly bruised his ribs.

Dilone had "a flushed face and bloodshot, watery eyes," according to court papers.

"I was driving, then the next thing, I heard my passenger screaming that he thinks his leg is broken," Dilone told police at the scene.

Dilone was charged with vehicular assault and operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.

The NYPD - which did not make the accident public, as normally happens when an officer faces a serious charge - suspended Dilone without pay.

Dilone, who is assigned to the 28th Precinct, was released without bail at his arraignment. He refused to open the door at his Parkchester home yesterday.

"I can't say anything," he said.

His lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.

The NYPD has been plagued by a recent rash of cops busted for drunken driving.

Two weeks ago, off-duty Officer Raphael Ospina plowed his Chrysler into a garbage truck in midtown, flipped over and smacked into Tiffany's, according to authorities. Ospina broke three ribs, and two friends in the car were also hurt.

In November, off-duty Detective Kevin Spellman was charged with running down and killing a Bronx grandmother after drinking at a nearby bar. And in September, Officer Andrew Kelly was charged in Brooklyn with killing a preacher's daughter while driving drunk.

Former Deputy J. C. Townsend Charged with Boat Crash

A former Natchitoches sheriff's deputy was arrested Tuesday after being indicted in connection with a boat crash May 24 on Cane River in which six people were injured, officials said.

J.C. Townsend, 27, of Natchitoches, is charged with three counts of first-degree vehicular negligent injury, a felony that carries a penalty of up to five years in prison on each count.

A Natchitoches grand jury also indicted his wife, Nora Townsend, 27, of Natchitoches, Patricia Hatten, 22, of Natchitoches, and Patricia Rhodes, 32, of Weatherford, Texas, on a charge of criminal mischief. The indictment accuses the three of giving false reports to a law enforcement officer, Louisiana Assistant Attorney General Cliff Strider said.

Earl Thomas Rhodes, 36, of Weatherford, Texas, has been indicted on a charge of obstruction of justice. He is accused of tampering with evidence of a crime with a special intent to distort the results of a criminal investigation. Earl Thomas Rhodes and the three women had not been arrested as of Wednesday.

The attorney general's office is handling the case, Strider said, because Natchitoches District Attorney Van Kyzar recused his office since at least one of his employees will be called as a prosecution witness.

J.C. Townsend, who was a deputy but not on duty at the time of the accident, reportedly was piloting one of the boats involved in the nearly head-on collision about 9 p.m. May 24 on Cane River Lake near the Washington boat launch. J.C. Townsend, with four passengers in his boat, is accused of running over another boat occupied by three people. He and a female passenger received minor injuries. All occupants of the second boat were hurt, two critically, according to state Wildlife and Fisheries officials.

J.C. Townsend was placed on leave May 25 and resigned June 9.

Wildlife and Fisheries agents originally charged him with two counts each of first-degree vehicular negligent injury and vehicle negligent injury, and one count each of first-offense DWI, reckless operation of a watercraft and improper running lights. Blood-alcohol tests performed at the state police crime lab indicated his intoxication level was 0.15 percent, almost double the legal limit of 0.08 percent, Wildlife and Fisheries agents said.
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Trial Begins for Officer Nick Joseph Accused of Hit & Run on Pregnant Woman

The trial of a Greece Police Officer began Tuesday and the woman he's accused of injuring in a hit and run crash took the stand. This is a story I-Team 10 has been tracking since last summer and we were in court when the victim and a witness testified.

Right now, Nick Joseph, a sergeant with the Greece Police Department, is suspended with pay. He is facing many charges involved with a hit and run on 390 including vehicular assault and drug and alcohol charges.

The prosecutor said they have Nick Joseph on camera drinking heavily just 30 minutes before the crash. A witness testified that Nick Joseph went speeding by him on 390 just before the crash. The prosecutor said he was going at least 75 mph.

After the crash the same witness said he saw a bloody Joseph walk across 390 South and then up the ramp to Ridge Road. The prosecutor said Joseph just disappeared, somehow got home and didn't go to the hospital for another 11 hours.

Prosecutor Sandra Doorley said Joseph was drunk and high on cocaine. She said video from inside a bar shows Joseph had five hard drinks in less than an hour starting at 12:42 in the morning and going until 1:35 a.m. The video allegedly showed Joseph drinking a rum and Coke at 12:42 a.m., followed by a Jack Daniels and Coke at 12:57 a.m. He took a shot at 12:58 a.m. and another shot at 1:11 a.m. And finally another rum and Coke 25 minutes later. The crash happened just after 2 a.m.

Joseph’s lawyer said Joseph left the scene, “Because he didn't know what he was doing and they had no memory like he had no memory. He had a bad concussion. Bad head injury and had no memory of it.”

Alexis Sharp is the pregnant woman Joseph is accused of hitting. She testified that her car broke down on the side of 390 and the impact caused her to have an emergency Caesarean section. Her baby was born four months early at just 2 pounds. The baby is now close to 20 pounds. But Sharp said her little girl has a lot of complications and goes to the doctor all the time.

The tape from the bar had not been played in court yet. Joseph's lawyers said the tape shows that he was not stumbling, not spilling his drinks and showed no lack of coordination, and they insist he was not doing cocaine.

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Other Information: http://www.whec.com/article/stories/S815722.shtml?cat=572

Drunken Officer Martin Abreu Runs Over Couple

A drunken Jersey City cop plowed his car into a young couple as they crossed a downtown street early today, killing the woman and leaving her friend in intensive care, sources said.

Officer Martin Abreu, 25, from Jersey City, who was off-duty, allegedly mowed down Huang Feng, 26, and her unidentified male friend, also 26, as they walked across West Street, at Albany Street, at about 3:40 a.m.

Feng, who lived nearby, died immediately, cops said.

Her companion was rushed to St. Vincent's Hospital, where he was listed in critical, but stable condition.

Abreu, who was driving a Toyota Camry, was cuffed at the scene and charged with vehicular manslaughter, vehicular assault and DWI, police said.

Abreu, who has been with the Jersey City police since 2005, was suspended without pay.

"The charges surrounding this incident are most serious and this type of activity will not be tolerated by the JCPD," said Chief Tom Comey.

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