Gun stolen from Fairfax idiot cop used in N.J. killing, authorities say

By Justin Jouvenal, Published: January 13 E-mail the writer

A gun stolen from a Fairfax County police officer’s locked car was allegedly used by a leader of a heroin distribution ring to kill another man in New Jersey, according to an indictment and police.

The Fairfax County officer, who was not named by authorities, was on leave in New Jersey in August 2012, when the gun was taken from his or her vehicle, said Lucy Caldwell, a Fairfax County police spokeswoman. The officer, who reported the theft, was allowed to be carrying the weapon in another state, Caldwell said.

Ronald T. Daniels, 24, of New Jersey, allegedly used the gun to fire into a group of people in Asbury Park, N.J., killing one man in September 2012. Daniels was arrested as part of a sweep that targeted a major heroin distribution gang. He is facing a first-degree murder, theft and firearms-related charges

Woman who fell from LAPD car claims she was sexually assaulted

By Brett Wilkins


Los Angeles - A graduate student who was caught on camera tumbling out of a moving police car in Los Angeles claims she was being sexually assaulted by her arresting officer. 
CBS Los Angeles reports Kim Nguyen, a 27-year-old pharmacist, claims she was handcuffed in the back of a Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) cruiser when an officer sexually assaulted her last March 17. 

Nguyen was arrested shortly after 2 a.m. as she stood with two men in front of a Koreatown restaurant waiting for a sober friend to pick them up. That's when LAPD officers pulled up and took her into custody, allegedly for being drunk. The men were left behind. 

In a videotaped deposition, Nguyen claimed the officer in the back seat with her tried to spread her legs open. He also allegedly touched her chest and pulled her by the ear to bring her closer to him. 

"He was grabbing my left inner thigh, trying to-- I'm assuming-- opening my legs," Nguyen said in the deposition. 

Last September, the Los Angeles Times identified the LAPD officers involved in the incident as David Shin and Jin Oh. 

A surveillance camera on a building on Olympic Boulevard shows the patrol car approaching the intersection of Grand Avenue at 3:08 a.m. Seconds later, video footage shows Nguyen, still in handcuffs, lying bloodied in the street with her dress removed from the waist down. She awoke from a medically-induced coma six days later in excruciating pain with her mouth wired shut and bruises all over her body. Nguyen and her attorney, Arnaldo Casillas, say her jaw was shattered and she suffered brain bleeding. She required several jaw surgeries and lost all of her teeth. She may still need to undergo risky brain surgery. 

It is not clear whether Nguyen jumped from the patrol car to avoid the alleged sexual assault, whether she was pushed out by one of the officers, or if something altogether different occurred. In a lawsuit filed against the LAPD, Nguyen alleges that officers failed to secure her with a seatbelt or properly lock her door, which led to her being ejected from the vehicle. 

An incident report filed by paramedics claims officers told them Nguyen fell from the car as it accelerated from an intersection at a speed of 10 miles per hour (16 km/h). But the surveillance video shows the vehicle traveling at what appears to be a much higher speed, crossing the intersection without stopping or slowing down. 

"The video shows that the statement that the police officers gave the paramedics is an unabashed, unequivocal lie," attorney Casillas told reporters last September. 
The two officers involved in the incident are under investigation. LAPD would not comment on pending litigation. 

Woman who fell from LAPD car claims she was sexually assaulted

Protesters From 2004 RNC Settle for $18M

By ADAM KLASFELD 

     MANHATTAN (CN) - Protesters arrested during the 2004 Republican National Convention agreed to settle their decade-old civil rights claims against New York City for a potentially record-breaking $18 million.

     On Nov. 22, 2004, 24 protesters sued New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly and dozens of other NYPD cops and officials for false arrest, punitive detention, abuse of process and other constitutional violations. They said the city had an indiscriminate mass arrest policy that called for the use of mesh netting and lines of police officers to barricade and corral large groups of protesters, reporters, legal observers, and bystanders, without giving audible dispersal orders.

     In their original complaint, the plaintiffs said they received "cruel and inhumane" treatment in cold, loud, chemical-strewn, makeshift cells in Pier 57, along the Hudson River.

     "Guantanamo-on-the-Hudson" was a nickname given to the pier by more than one attorney speaking Wednesday at a press conference outside New York City Hall.

     "On information and belief, the floors of the cages in Pier 57 were covered with numerous highly toxic chemicals and substances, including, on information and belief, those known to be carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic, hepatogenic, and immunotoxic ... The floors of the cages in Pier 57 were also covered in other dirt and grime," the original complaint stated.

     The protesters said in their complaint that city police taunted them and said they would be held "until George Bush left town."

     In 2011, the protestors won class certification, covering 1,800 individuals, and U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan rejected the city's defenses a year later when American Civil Liberties Union attorney Christopher Dunn revealed in an interview settlement was in the works.

     The settlement provides $10.4 million for the plaintiff class and $7.6 million for their lawyers.

     Seven protesters did not sign onto the settlement and still have active cases. They include two transgender women who say that police groped their genitals "to determine their gender for purposes of arrest processing." Another two objectors claim they have permanent injuries after flexicuffs cut off their circulation, and the final protester not included in the settlement says she suffered a burst ovarian cyst in custody and that she was handcuffed to a gurney with a male police officer in the examination room.

     City lawyer Celeste Koeleveld nevertheless spoke about "major victories" in a statement. She said that "key police policies used during the RNC" were upheld, and an "effort to restrict the NYPD's ability to police large-scale events was rejected."

     Dunn, the ACLU lawyer, brushed off the city's statement, calling the settlement the largest for a protest case in the United States. The message that sends "is more powerful than any ruling for injunctive relief," he said.

     Lisa Martin, who attended the conference as a spectator, wore a name tag stating that she was arrested five blocks away from her Union Square home, and that she was not a registered voter at the time. She said she was not participating in the protest when she was arrested, and that the experience prompted her to complete her registration within a day of her release.

     "Bloomberg made me a voter," she quipped.

     Sarah Coburn, who was a speaker at the conference, said her arrest inspired her to go to law school and "practice law in the public interest," as spectators applauded the announcement.

     Some activists appeared disappointed, however, by legal battles that were lost and cynical that the settlement boded change.

     The New York Times reported in 2010 that the 2nd Circuit allowed the NYPD to withhold 1,900 pages of records detailing police surveillance in advance of the 2004 RNC.

     Civil libertarian activist Bill Dobbs asked at the press conference about the fate of those files and what happened to police accused of civil rights violations.

     "They were promoted," shouted back Jeffrey Rothman, a lawyer for the plaintiff class. "All of them have higher ranks now."

     Some interpreted the timing of the settlement as evidence that the administration of Bill de Blasio will put civil liberties more on his agenda than his predecessor, but the settlement was actually signed in November 2013, at the tail end of the Bloomberg administration.

     Jessica Rechtschaffer, who was arrested in connection to the burning of a papier-mache dragon float, expressed cynicism at prospects for the change under a de Blasio administration with the governor's recent appointment of Bill Bratton as police commissioner.

     Bratton also served the administration of Rudy Giuliani.

     The National Lawyers Guild's Martin Stolar and Beldock Levine & Hoffman attorney Jonathan Moore spoke at the conference.

Attorneys in Dallas police false-arrest trial make final cases

the death of a 42-year-old mother who was shot in front of her home. (Jim Mahoney)

By KEVIN KRAUSE

KEVIN KRAUSE The Dallas Morning News

Hephzibah Olivia Lord heard on Wednesday the words she had been waiting a long time for, and they released in her a flood of emotion.

Jason Schuette, an attorney for the Dallas homicide detective who had her arrested for murder, looked directly at Lord in court and told her he didn’t think she killed her boyfriend, Michael Burnside, in 2010.

Schuette made the comment during his closing arguments in the federal civil trial of his client, Dwayne Thompson, whom Lord is suing for false arrest. After more than two years of litigation, it was the first time anyone from the defense said they thought Lord was innocent, and it prompted her to cry out and sob briefly in court.

Thompson said during testimony Tuesday that he still believes she committed murder.

Lord, 36, claims Thompson, 51, violated her civil rights by lying about some evidence and omitting other information favorable to her, which persuaded a judge to issue an arrest warrant. Lord spent nine days in jail. A Dallas County grand jury later declined to indict her.

Because few false-arrest claims make it to trial, this case offers a rare opportunity for someone to question the decisions of a police officer who had her arrested.

Jurors began deliberating Wednesday after four days of evidence and testimony. They will continue to deliberate Thursday morning.

Schuette, a city attorney, told jurors it’s impossible not to feel sympathy for Lord but that sympathy shouldn’t factor into their decision. The issue, he said, is not whether Lord killed Burnside but whether a reasonable officer could have believed there was probable cause at the time to arrest her.

Thompson, he said, did have enough probable cause. The city is defending Thompson, a 22-year veteran, saying he acted in good faith and without malice.

“He’s not being sued because he was loud in an interview,” Schuette said about a dramatic interrogation video in which Thompson aggressively grilled Lord.

Supporters of each side filled the courtroom during closing arguments, including Dallas police officers who sat behind Thompson.

Burnside, 30, died in 2010 from a gunshot wound to the temple from his 9 mm Beretta handgun while drunk on vodka and Red Bull. He and Lord were alone in his house and had argued. Lord said she was in the bathroom when she heard the shot and called 911.

Lord’s attorney, Don Tittle, told jurors during his closing arguments that a verdict for his client would curb future police abuses and reduce the chances of someone being arrested for murder when the evidence isn’t there.

“That’s where you can let them know your voice,” Tittle told jurors about the punitive damages his client is seeking. Tittle said he thinks it should be a seven-figure sum.

But Schuette told the jurors that the real effect of such a verdict would be to make police officers think twice before making an arrest. They may not want to risk their careers or the financial ruin from a similar lawsuit, he said.

“Good luck next time you call the police,” Schuette told them.

Tittle also talked about the dramatic videotape of Thompson’s aggressive interrogation of Lord hours after her boyfriend died. He said the detective “brutalized her in that video,” and he dismissed Thompson’s explanation that he was merely employing a technique he learned during training.

He reminded the jury that Thompson told a distraught Lord that she meant nothing to Burnside — while she sat there with his blood still smeared across her clothing.

“What kind of technique was that?” Tittle asked.

Tittle also questioned testimony from a witness Thompson relied on for the arrest. The witness said he spoke to Lord shortly after the shooting and got the impression that she said she didn’t mean to shoot him. But the witness later wavered and said he couldn’t remember the exact words.

“They should have slammed on the brakes,” Tittle said. Instead, it was “full steam ahead,” he said.

Tittle told jurors Lord’s fear of Thompson is real and that he’s capable of coming up with another witness and taking it to another grand jury.

“You think he couldn’t settle the score?” Tittle asked. “He still thinks she’s a murderer.”

Schuette acknowledged fearing that the jurors could be swayed by watching the interrogation video and seeing a large African-American detective with a “big booming voice” facing off against a younger, attractive white woman. He told the jurors some of them may even hate Thompson for it.

“That’s how it’s done,” he said about the interview technique. “You push, escalate.”

Schuette said that he didn’t think Lord was trying to trick anyone by leaving out some details in her account, but that Thompson had to go with what he had at the time.

“It’s called not having all the information,” he said. “He tried to do it right. It didn’t work out. It happens. But you don’t punish him just for being wrong.”

Dash cam furthers controversy over firing of Dallas cop

A newly released dash-cam has stirred debate over whether the December shooting of an unarmed man was justified

DALLAS — A newly released dash-cam video has stirred debate over whether the December shooting of an unarmed man by a Dallas police officer was justified.
Senior Cpl. Amy Wilburn was fired after wounding a 19-year-old carjacking suspect on Dec. 9. Wilburn's attorney has said the ex-officer feared for her life when she shot Kelvion Walker, wounding him. But a witness told investigators the suspect had his hands raised at the time. Wilburn was the second Dallas officer dismissed since October in shootings superiors have deemed unjustified.
The video was posted Tuesday on the Dallas Police Department's official YouTube page. In it, a carjacking suspect is seen running out of the stolen car after it pulled into an apartment complex. Wilburn runs up to the vehicle as it continues to roll forward. As she opens the driver-side door, she quickly pulls out her gun and fires once. Wilburn then holsters her gun and leans into the car.
Walker cannot be seen, but police say Wilburn shot him. Police also say Wilburn subsequently dropped her gun in the car.

In the video, another officer can be seen handing the gun back to Wilburn, by then had walked over to the passenger side of the car. After leaning into the car for less than 30 seconds, Wilburn starts pacing around, with her hands on top of her head.
Wilburn's attorney, Robert Rogers, has said the ex-officer shot Walker because she believed he was reaching for a weapon.
Walker, who survived, is suing the department. His attorney, Geoff Henley, said in a statement the video vindicated Walker and that Wilburn made "rash, reckless and dangerous decisions."
Dallas Police Association president Ron Pinkston told The Dallas Morning News that officers upset with Wilburn's firing were even more infuriated after seeing the video.
"There's a lot of these go-getters that want to go out and put bad guys in jail and they aren't doing it right now because of the possibility that they might have to use deadly force and get fired," Pinkston said.
Retired Dallas police homicide detective Randy Loboda, who has investigated dozens of officer-involved shootings, told the newspaper Wilburn could have perceived any sudden movement with Walker's hands as him "going for a gun."
But Cletus Judge, president of the Black Police Association of Greater Dallas, has backed Police Chief David Brown's decision to fire Wilburn, writing in a recent letter to members that what he saw "in the video was a total disregard for the policies and procedures set in place to handle that situation."
Harvey Hedden, executive director of the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association, said Wilburn shouldn't have rushed the moving car because she risked being ambushed.
After the shooting, police officials announced a restructuring of some deadly force training. Brown said officers will now go through some realistic live simulation training every few months, rather than once every two years.

Dash cam furthers controversy over firing of Dallas cop

A newly released dash-cam has stirred debate over whether the December shooting of an unarmed man was justified

DALLAS — A newly released dash-cam video has stirred debate over whether the December shooting of an unarmed man by a Dallas police officer was justified.
Senior Cpl. Amy Wilburn was fired after wounding a 19-year-old carjacking suspect on Dec. 9. Wilburn's attorney has said the ex-officer feared for her life when she shot Kelvion Walker, wounding him. But a witness told investigators the suspect had his hands raised at the time. Wilburn was the second Dallas officer dismissed since October in shootings superiors have deemed unjustified.
The video was posted Tuesday on the Dallas Police Department's official YouTube page. In it, a carjacking suspect is seen running out of the stolen car after it pulled into an apartment complex. Wilburn runs up to the vehicle as it continues to roll forward. As she opens the driver-side door, she quickly pulls out her gun and fires once. Wilburn then holsters her gun and leans into the car.
Walker cannot be seen, but police say Wilburn shot him. Police also say Wilburn subsequently dropped her gun in the car.
In the video, another officer can be seen handing the gun back to Wilburn, by then had walked over to the passenger side of the car. After leaning into the car for less than 30 seconds, Wilburn starts pacing around, with her hands on top of her head.
Wilburn's attorney, Robert Rogers, has said the ex-officer shot Walker because she believed he was reaching for a weapon.
Walker, who survived, is suing the department. His attorney, Geoff Henley, said in a statement the video vindicated Walker and that Wilburn made "rash, reckless and dangerous decisions."
Dallas Police Association president Ron Pinkston told The Dallas Morning News that officers upset with Wilburn's firing were even more infuriated after seeing the video.
"There's a lot of these go-getters that want to go out and put bad guys in jail and they aren't doing it right now because of the possibility that they might have to use deadly force and get fired," Pinkston said.
Retired Dallas police homicide detective Randy Loboda, who has investigated dozens of officer-involved shootings, told the newspaper Wilburn could have perceived any sudden movement with Walker's hands as him "going for a gun."
But Cletus Judge, president of the Black Police Association of Greater Dallas, has backed Police Chief David Brown's decision to fire Wilburn, writing in a recent letter to members that what he saw "in the video was a total disregard for the policies and procedures set in place to handle that situation."
Harvey Hedden, executive director of the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association, said Wilburn shouldn't have rushed the moving car because she risked being ambushed.
After the shooting, police officials announced a restructuring of some deadly force training. Brown said officers will now go through some realistic live simulation training every few months, rather than once every two years.

Mom: Suspended Piqua officer 'punched my kid'

PIQUA —

Piqua Police Officer Brett Marrs has been suspended for 28 days because of actions he took in April 2013 while not on duty.
Wednesday night the mother of the juvenile girl who was hurt because of those actions, Frankie "Shelly" Atkinson, spoke to News Center 7's Layron Livingston.
The punishment was given to Marrs on Friday, Jan. 10, after an internal investigation concluded he acted in a manner unbecoming a police officer.

Late on the night of April 29, 2013, Marrs tackled and injured a juvenile female who was at his home with other juveniles to toilet-paper and vandalize the home.
During a Dec. 7 pre-disciplinary hearing, no evidence was presented to overturn the allegations. Marrs admitted to the violations.
The suspension began Monday and Marrs was ordered to surrender his gun and badge. He is not allowed to act as a police officer during his suspension, according to the Piqua Police Department.
The girl who was tackled suffered a shattered, dislocated ankle and underwent surgery in which eight pins and a plate were implanted, according to her mother, Frankie "Shelly" Atkinson.
Atkinson has filed a civil lawsuit against Marrs. A grand jury considered evidence in the case but chose not to indict Marrs for any criminal offense.
Atkinson said her daughter was there with six other people, including her other daughter, to toilet-paper the home because they were mad at Marrs' stepdaughter.
Atkinson doesn't give any excuses for their behavior. Her daughters were charged in juvenile court and disciplined at home.
Atkinson recounted the events as told to her by her daughter.
Atkinson said the teens had streamed toilet paper around the home and left syrup on the front door and were returning to their car.
"Right about that time. she said she felt a hand on her shoulder. Somebody said 'Gotchya!' and she went down to the ground. He punched her in the side." Atkinson said.
Atkinson said her daughter didn't know who it was until getting back up and making eye-contact with Marrs.
"She got away and ran a little bit further to where he, like a football tackle, tackled her to the ground," she said.
Though he was not on duty, Atkinson said Marrs was given special treatment because he's a police officer.
"From the beginning, the police department told me he needed to be treated like a civilian because he was off-duty," she said. "As a civilian, he would have went to jail that night. If this happened at my house and my husband tackled a girl and punched her, he would have went to jail that night."
Atkinson said the police department wasn't listening to her complaints until she got an attorney.
"I never wanted anybody to lose their job," she said. "My kids made a mistake that night too. But I think he should be held accountable for what he did ... He went too far. He punched my kid."
Atkinson said her home has been "toilet-papered" three times since since the incident.
News Center 7 reached out for comment from Officer Marrs, but he refused comment. His wife, Alice Marrs, did speak with News Center 7's Layron Livingston.
"I think that it is horrible that we live in a community where officers who risk their lives protecting other people aren't allowed to protect their own family," Alice said.

Norristown police officer charged with assault

By Oscar Gamble

A Norristown police officer who has been on the force since 2008 has been arrested and charged with simple assault, reckless endangerment and harassment stemming from an incident that occurred in the early morning hours of Dec. 24, 2013.


According to a criminal complaint, Officer Brian Graham, 34, of Norristown, assaulted two women who were visiting his residence on the 1400 block of Markley Street.

The victims told police that Graham was spending time with one of them when the other woman arrived around midnight at his request. The woman who was there initially told police that Graham had been drinking vodka since 7 p.m. The other woman stated that the three of them drank alcohol and talked after her arrival.

Graham left the two victims to take a shower, after which he asked one of the women to join him upstairs. When she refused, Graham returned downstairs and started a verbal altercation with both women, according their statements.

He allegedly choked one of the women and dragged the other from one room to another before attempting to toss their belongings outside. He then physically threw the woman he had dragged outside onto a back porch and later pushed the other one out, they told police.

One of the women suffered injuries to her right leg and forearm, according to the complaint.

Graham has been placed on administrative leave.

Retired officer 'vehemently denies' assault charge

By Elizabeth Dinan

PORTSMOUTH — Charged with a domestic violence-related count of simple assault, retired police detective Stephen Arnold petitioned the local court to lift bail conditions barring him from going to his home.

In a court motion, Arnold cites economic hardships brought on by the bail conditions, as well as a career of "loyally serving the citizens of Portsmouth."

Arnold, 49, a resident of 114 Colonial Drive, was arrested Dec. 22 on a misdemeanor charge that alleges he knowingly caused unprivileged contact to a woman who is known to him by slapping her "in the face."

A retired Portsmouth police detective, now working as legislative director for the N.H. Police Benevolent Association, Arnold's bail conditions bar him from having contact with the alleged victim and from going home. Through Portsmouth attorney Justin Nadeau, Arnold wrote to the court, in a sworn motion, that he "vehemently denies and intends to vigorously defend" the assault allegation.

In his court motion, Arnold describes himself as "the primary financial supporter of his family" who needs access to his home office to run his snow plowing and private investigation businesses, as well as to work for the statewide police association. Arnold also reported in his motion that he's "only had access to the clothes that he was wearing on the evening of the alleged incident, as well as a few of his personal belongings."

While seeking modifications to his bail conditions, Arnold also tells the court he was a Portsmouth police officer for almost 23 years, during which he was awarded two congressional medals of honor and raised "hundreds of thousands of dollars" for a program that provides financial assistance to law enforcement families facing economic hardship due to cancer.

"For the foregoing reasons, the least of which are the countless years of loyal and dedicated service he has selflessly given to his local community and the state of New Hampshire in fighting crime and keeping our neighborhoods safe," Arnold's motion states, he should be granted a hearing to contest bail conditions so he can return home.

Portsmouth police have transferred the case to the Rockingham County Attorney's office, citing a need to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest.

Arnold previously told the Portsmouth Herald his arrest was based on a "total misunderstanding" and "never should've happened." On Tuesday he said he's been advised not to comment.

Following his arrest, Arnold was released on $750 personal recognizance bail; he is scheduled to be arraigned Jan. 27 in Portsmouth Circuit Court. Arnold's motion to review bail conditions is also expected to be heard at that same time.

Chesterfield cop sentenced to jail for stealing woman’s ring

A Chesterfield County police officer was sentenced to serve two months in jail Tuesday for stealing a diamond ring from a woman he drove to the hospital and then selling it at a Colonial Heights pawn shop.

As part of a negotiated agreement, Officer 1st Class Joshua J. Hill, 34, entered an Alford plea to a charge of petit larceny, reduced from felony embezzlement, in the theft of ring between Feb. 10 and May 10 of last year.

Under an Alford plea, a defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges there is sufficient evidence for a judge or jury to find him guilty. Special prosecutor Nelson Fisher agreed to reduce the charge in part because the victim in the case has since died and is no longer available to testify.

Chesterfield Circuit Judge Harold W. Burgess Jr. accepted Hill’s plea, which is tantamount to pleading guilty, and sentenced him under terms of the agreement to 12 months in jail with 10 months suspended. Hill also must surrender his Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services law enforcement license.

Hill reports to jail Jan. 24 and will be allowed to serve his time on weekends or under the jail’s work-release program.

According to a summary of evidence, Hill responded to an emergency medical call Feb. 10, 2013, and transported a woman with mental-health issues to a local hospital. Before she died less than a month later, she told family members she had given two rings to Hill for safekeeping.

Following the woman’s death, family members tried to inquire about the rings by leaving voicemail messages for Hill, but the officer never returned their calls. After a friend of the woman’s family sought to retrieve the jewelry and notified police, the department began an investigation and a detective questioned Hill about the items.

Hill told the detective that he found one of the rings in question in the rear seat of his patrol car. That ring, which contained several diamonds, was appraised at $7,500. Hill told the detective that he sold it for $145 at Boulevard Pawn in Colonial Heights and pocketed the money.

Hill said he retrieved the other ring, which had little value, from a hospital trash can after the woman he assisted had thrown it there. Hill turned that ring over to the police and investigators recovered the diamond ring from a person who purchased it through the pawn shop.

The prosecutor said described Hill as a thief who betrayed the public trust and “failed to exercise his good judgment” in a situation that was “completely avoidable.”

“This is more than your typical property crime case,” Fisher said.

Defense attorney Craig Sampson said there is no question that Hill mishandled the woman’s property, but the offense was more of a crime of opportunity than one of premeditation.

The judge described the plea agreement as a “fair resolution” to the case considering the circumstances, noting that state sentencing guidelines would have called for probation and no jail time had Hill been convicted of the felony offense. Hill, who joined the force in 2009, left the department last September.

After the proceeding, a Chesterfield detective returned both of the rings to the victim’s family.

A federal judge today sentenced fired Lawrence police officer PJ Lopez to 18-months in jail

By Jill Harmacinski

BOSTON - A federal judge today sentenced fired Lawrence police officer PJ Lopez to 18-months in jail and 36 months probation for his conviction last fall in a bribery scheme involving a city tow company.

He was also ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.

Federal prosecutors wanted Lopez, 47, to serve 27 months in jail, followed by two years probation and a $10,000 fine. Lopez’s attorney, Alex Cain of North Andover, asked for a sentence of three years probation, saying Lopez’s family would face financial ruin in he went to prison.

After week-long trial at U.S. District Court in South Boston, Lopez was convicted of bribery, obstruction of justice and lying to a federal agent for arranging a kickback scheme with M & W Towing of Lawrence and its owner Wilson Calixto.

A federal jury deliberated for three hours before finding Lopez, a 16-year police officer, guilty.

Fired on Oct. 21 from the Lawrence Police Department, Lopez has remained free, with some restrictions, while awaiting sentencing.

The maximum penalty, under federal law, is 20 years in prison on the obstruction charge, 10 years on the bribery charge and five years for lying to a federal

agent. Each charge carried maximum penalties of $250,000 each.

Lopez had no criminal record prior to this federal conviction.

When he was convicted, federal Judge Mark Wolf told Lopez he was only allowed to leave the state to go to Salem, N.H. to do errands. His expired passport was turned over to the federal probation office in Boston and he was ordered to call the probation office on a daily basis and visit the office weekly pending sentencing.

The M & W Towing scheme involved Lopez purchasing several vehicles at reduced rates and receiving a $4,000 snow plow in exchange for sending an increase in police-ordered tows to M & W from December 2010 to January 2011.

M & W at that time was one of four city companies that towed for the city of Lawrence on a rotating basis. Calixto, who was granted immunity for prosecution in exchange for his testimony against Lopez, said he made roughly $150 for every tow ordered by police.

Also, Mayra Colon, who worked under the table at M & W as Calixto’s secretary, testified last week that after FBI agents started questioning her and others about Lopez, she created a fake receipt showing Lopez paid $4,000 for the snow plow. Colon, who was also granted immunity from prosecution, later told police she fabricated the receipt and made up the payment story.

More on this story in tomorrow’s Eagle-Tribune, eagletribune.com.