Night in Prison On False Cocaine Trafficking Charges Ruins S.C. Man Lewis Thomas' Life

By Allison Geller

A South Carolina man is trying to put his life back together after a drug identification error led to his false arrest for trafficking cocaine.

Kim Kimzey of The State recently covered Lewis Thomas' experiences in an extremely well-written piece, and for obvious reasons the story is on the verge of going viral.

South Carolina police reported found one-and-a-half pounds of white powder Thomas’ pickup truck when an officer stopped him for not using his turn signal late at night in July 2010, reports The State. A field test showed that the substance was cocaine, and a police dog also “alerted” the Spartanburg County sheriff’s office that it was a narcotic.

But Thomas, 58, insisted it was just lime. His wife had asked him to bring some back from work because she thought something was decaying under their house.

"When they come to the conclusion that it was cocaine, I told them in response, 'That's lime. That's not cocaine. You can spread it out there on the ground. I'll just get some more from my job," Thomas said.

A chemist tested the powder and found no evidence that it was a controlled substance. The drug trafficking charge was dismissed—but not before Thomas’ mug shot was printed in the local paper.

"They was so bent on me being a distributor, I imagine that's one of the reasons they didn't too much care," Thomas said.

Thomas was held in jail on $100,000 bond without contact with his family, who worried about his whereabouts. Thomas had been working the late shift at the warehouse where he was employed. By the time he was arrested, it was 9 AM and he’d had no contact with his wife. He was released later that day.

Thomas ended up losing his full-time job because he couldn’t go to work or call his employer. Furthermore, his pick-up truck was seized when he was arrested, and he couldn’t afford the impound fee to get it back.

Suing for false arrest, Thomas received a $5,000 settlement from the South Carolina Insurance Reserve Fund. But it’s not enough, says Thomas.

Thomas works part-time but is still searching for a full-time job.

According to Lt. Ashley Harris, a chemist with the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office, 6 percent of substances tested in 2013 were ruled “No Controlled or Prescription Substance(s) Detected.” While the “presumptive” field test the police officers used showed that the lime was cocaine, the more sophisticated “confirmatory” test revealed it was not, letting Thomas walk free—but not before the arrest could seriously derail his life.

Former Columbus Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Embezzling from Defense Department Surplus Program

U.S. Attorney’s Office February 12, 2014           Southern District of Ohio (937) 225-2910

COLUMBUS—Former Columbus Police Officer Steven Edward Dean, 49, of Columbus, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to misappropriating and selling heavy equipment and other property the Columbus Division of Police received through a Department of Defense surplus program.

Carter M. Stewart, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Kevin Cornelius, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); Brian Reihms, Special Agent in Charge, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS); and Columbus Police Chief Kim Jacobs announced the pleas entered today before U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson.

According to court documents, an investigation by the Columbus Division of Police, the FBI and DCIS concluded that between October 1, 2005 and June 1, 2012, Dean diverted property with a fair market value of $251,570.94 the police department had received from the Defense Reutilization Marketing Office (DRMO) program.

The embezzled items included $133,554.59 of heavy equipment, construction equipment, and vehicles; restaurant equipment; $94,163.25 of materials sold for scrap; and $16,353.15 worth of items, including diesel generators, sold to private persons. This conclusion was based on records obtained from the U.S. Department of Defense DRMO program, the state of Ohio offices involved with the DRMO program, scrapyard receipts, Craigslist online point-of-sale website records, restaurant supply records of sold equipment, and by viewing the items of property themselves.

Dean pleaded guilty to one count of embezzlement from a program receiving federal funds and one count of theft of public property. Each crime carries a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, but the plea agreement specifies that the sentences should be groups and not imposed consecutively. Under terms of the plea agreement, Dean will forfeit $251,570.94 less the value of the recovered equipment.

Judge Watson will schedule a sentencing hearing following a pre-sentence investigation by the court.

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the investigation by DCIS, the FBI, and CPD, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorneys Doug Squires and Deborah Solove, who are representing the United States in this case.

Asbury Park Officer Accused Of Helping Reputed Gang Members

ASBURY PARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) — A veteran police officer with the Asbury Park Police Department is accused of aiding reputed gang members.

According to Monmouth County prosecutors, 45-year-old Keith German allegedly tipped off reputed gang members to police investigative techniques, as well as providing other assistance.

German is free on bond on charges of official misconduct and unauthorized access of a computer database. No motive for his alleged assistance was cited.

German’s attorney told the Asbury Park Press he will plead not guilty.

The patrolman lives in Tinton Falls and has been on the police force for 16 years.

Thirty-one people, including the officer, were charged in the investigation, which targeted the Crips and Bloods street gangs.

The defendants were arrested on charges ranging from racketeering conspiracy and promoting organized street crime to robbery, drug trafficking and shoplifting.

Former Sorrento Police Chief Convicted of Making False Statements in Civil Rights Investigation

U.S. Attorney’s Office February 09, 2014          Middle District of Louisiana (225) 389-0443

BATON ROUGE, LA—United States Attorney Walt Green announced that Earl L. Theriot, age 65, of Sorrento, Louisiana, pled guilty today before Chief U.S. District Judge Brian A. Jackson to making false statements to an FBI special agent in connection with a criminal civil rights investigation. Theriot faces up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine of up to $250,000.

At today’s hearing, Theriot admitted that on November 1, 2013, while serving as the chief of police for the town of Sorrento and following a 911 emergency police dispatch, he contacted an unresponsive individual at a local gas station, placed her in the front seat of his police unit, and, instead of bringing her back to her residence, transported her to his office at the Sorrento Police Department, where he engaged in inappropriate sexual contact with her. Theriot also admitted to later making numerous false statements to an FBI special agent and a deputy with the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office who were investigating whether Theriot violated federal civil rights laws, among other things.

On February 7, 2014, Theriot resigned as chief of police as required by the plea agreement with the United States Attorney’s Office.

United States Attorney Green stated, “This office, along with our federal, state, and local partners, are dedicated to conducting thorough and complete investigations into credible allegations of police corruption and civil rights violations. Those who seek to obstruct such efforts by making false statements to federal investigators will face severe consequences. My special appreciation to Sheriff Jeff Wiley of the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office, District Attorney Ricky Babin of the 23rd Judicial District, and the FBI who worked seamlessly with my office to ensure justice was done.”

This prosecution and investigation were conducted jointly by the United States Attorney’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office, and the District Attorney’s Office for the 23rd Judicial District.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Chris Dippel.

Officer faces judge in theft, misconduct case

LOUISVILLE, Ky. —A Louisville police officer charged with theft and official misconduct faced a judge Monday morning.

An investigation alleged Officer Christopher Thurman falsified his time sheet claiming overtime he might not have worked.

The indictment said the amount is more than $10,000.

After arraignment, Thurman was released on his own recognizance.

Since October, Thurman has been on administrative work and unable to appear in court on potentially hundreds of DUI cases.

Prosecutors are currently reviewing those cases, in an attempt to avoid having to dismiss them.

"My job in the situation as an assistant commonwealth's attorney is to prosecute Chris Thurman. Do I know that there are other cases where he is an officer? Yes, and my office has issued a statement as to how we will be dealing with that, but that's honestly not my concern," said assistant commonwealth's attorney Ryane Conroy.

Thurman is due back in court next month.

Idaho Police Officer Facing Wrath After Killing Dog

FILER, Ida. (CBS Seattle) – A southern Idaho police officer has been placed on administrative leave after video showing him shooting a dog went viral.

Filer mayor Rick Dunn made the announcement after a national outcry, reports the Magic Valley Times-News.

In the dashcam video, Filer Police Officer Tarek Hassani can be seen confronting two large dogs who are barking and growling at him.

‘He repeatedly yells at the dogs, including the black lab he would eventually shot, at one point Hassani kicks the lab.

After attempting to get the dogs away and onto the front yard of its owner, Hassani takes out his gun, and fires one shot.

The dog can be heard shrieking and whimpering before it dies. The other dog runs away.

Off camera, but apparently with a microphone open, Hassani can be heard talking to the resident of the home. He apologizes for shooting the dog and says he was admitted to the ER once before for a dog bite.

The dog’s onwer is Rick Clubb, who was issued a citation for not having a leash on his dog, Hooch.

Clubb told the Times-News he wants Hassani to be fired. “He had other options. He didn’t have to kill my dog.”

It’s a mood shared by many residents of the southern Idaho town. The police department has been flooded with letters and emails demanding Hassani be disciplined.

Mayor Dunn promises a full and fair investigation. “We want this to be as objective as possible.”

TRIGGER-HAPPY' COP KILLS DISABLED MAN'S SERVICE DOG

Shocking video draws reactions from around globe

 DREW ZAHN

When Officer Tarek Hassani responded to a call of dogs running wildly through a Filer, Idaho, neighborhood on Feb. 8, a pair of Labradors – one yellow, one brown – barked and bounded around him like agitated guard dogs.

The video camera on Hassani’s squad car reveals the stunning events that happened next.

The dogs can be heard barking and growling. They leap around the police officer. The cop draws his gun. He kicks out wildly at the dogs, only stirring them up more. Then, as he makes his way around a vehicle in the driveway, Officer Hassani pulls the trigger.

The brown Lab’s body is slammed to the ground. The barking suddenly turns to whining and whimpering, as the dog named “Hooch” drags its broken body out of the camera’s view.

The dash-cam video has since created an international stir, with hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube and tens of thousands of people on Facebook calling for Hassani to be fired for what they say was excessive force used against dogs that weren’t actually threatening or attacking the officer.

Jon Alexander of Idaho’s Twin Falls Times-News was the first to report on the video, writing in his original article, “A dog is dead, and its owner is alleging trigger-happy police work.”

“Sure enough, that video went viral,” Alexander wrote in a subsequent editorial. “It’s gritty, brutal and powerful. Hassani’s .45 caliber hollow-point drives the poor animal into the ground as if it was hit with a sledge hammer. You watch the dog slink away to its death.”

Police officers who shoot dogs: Journalist tracks incidents of gratuitous pet deaths around the country

The dashcam video of the shooting can be seen below (Editor’s note: The following video contains graphic, real violence and foul language and may be disturbing to some viewers): under investigation for questionable discharge of a firearm.

Following a high-speed chase of a shooting suspect in May 2010, Hassani approached the suspect’s stopped vehicle, but the tinted glass obstructed his view of the interior. Hassani then fired through the driver’s side front window, wounding the suspect in the head.

Three months later, Ada County Prosecutor Greg Bower and Deputy Prosecutor Shawna Dunn absolved Hassani of any wrongdoing following an independent investigation of the events.

“(Hassani’s) actions were justifiable,” Dunn said at the time.

Filer Police Chief Tim Reeves said at the time he was happy that Ada County prosecutors agreed with his department’s findings in the case.

Rick Clubb is the owner of Hooch, the 7-year-old Lab Hassani killed. Clubb suffers from Parkinson’s disease and said Hooch had been his service dog for two years.

Clubb told the Times-News that his son’s 9th birthday party was wrapping up about 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 8 and that the dogs, which are normally let out in a fenced area in the back yard, escaped out the front door while guests were coming and going.

“We want (Hassani) fired,” Clubb told the newspaper “He had other options. He didn’t have to kill my dog.

“It was right outside my son’s bedroom,” he continued. “What if [the bullet] had ricocheted through the window?”

Police, however, say the dogs had been running loose earlier in the day and previous attempts to find them proved unsuccessful.

Police Chief Reeves again came to Hassani’s defense, telling the Times-News his officer had no choice but to put the Lab down after it kept taking an aggressive posture.

Hassani’s motive in shooting the animal remains a bit mysterious. On one hand, the dogs can be heard and seen barking and growling at the officer; but on the other hand, the video doesn’t show the dog making any attempt to attack him.

Some comments posted on Alexander’s online articles come from people who claim to be locals with first-hand knowledge of Hassani as a local bully with a badge.

Others have reported to be neighbors of Hassani’s who spoke highly of his character.

Pamela Geller of the Freedom Defense Initiative and the Atlas Shrugs blog speculated Hassani may be a Muslim name and suggested Islam is prone to reviling canines.

The video itself contains audio of Hassani speaking with Clubb immediately after the shooting, explaining, “I am sorry I shot your dog. I love dogs, but I am not going to be bit again. Like I said, sir, last time I ended up in the E.R.”

Filer Mayor Rick Dunn told the Times-News the Nampa, Idaho, police department has been hired to investigate the shooting, and Hassani has been placed on administrative leave during the investigation.

Man Sues City Of Hawthorne, Calif. After Police Shoot, Kill His Dog

Leon Rosby has filed a civil suit against the city of Hawthorne, California and three police officers, alleging that they intentionally sought to “intimidate” and cause him “psychological trauma” when they shot and killed his 2-year-old Rottweiler, Max, during a confrontation last summer, reports the L.A. Times.

As previously reported by NewsOne, Hawthorne police officers were responding to an armed robbery call when Rosby, who claims that the department has a “pattern of harassing conduct,” arrived on the scene and got out of his car to film the activity on his cellphone.

Rosby’s music was blaring from his car’s speakers, which officers claim was interfering with their ability to do their job.

“It’s distracting the officers,” said Hawthorne police spokesman Lt. Scott Swain. “It’s interfering with what they are able to hear. It’s not just a party call. It’s an armed robbery call. The officers need to hear what’s going on with the people being called out of the residence. That music in his car is bleeding over and it’s distracting them.”

“I do apologize if I didn’t immediately comply. The music may have been a little loud but I was complying,” Rosby said at the time. “I said, ‘Sir, I want to make sure nobody’s civil rights were being violated.’”

Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse.

Police officers handcuffed Rosby which agitated Max, who was sitting in the idling car with the windows down. The dog jumped out of the window, barking and lunging at a police officer who then shot him four times.

He died at the scene.

The video of Max’s death went viral and currently has over 5,800,000 views.

“There was no way Max should have died like that,” Rosby said. “Max was only protecting his master. He was trying to stop them from beating on me.”

Read more about Rosby’s civil suit from the L.A. Times:

According to the suit, the officers’ conduct was “directed at Mr. Rosby and was intended to intimidate and harm him and to cause psychological trauma” by forcing him to watch his dog being killed.

The suit calls the officer’s conduct “extreme and outrageous, and beyond the bounds of decency,” adding that Rosby suffered “severe emotional distress.”

“It was devastating,” Rosby told The Times after the shooting. “His love for me was so extraordinary that he actually died for me.”

According to the lawsuit, officers then filed false police reports, alleging that Rosby had been the aggressor in the confrontation and had intimidated witnesses on scene.

Prosecutors and police also alleged Rosby went to the home of the witness who provided the second video, verbally confronting her and her son.

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office subsequently charged Rosby with six felony counts, including intimidating a witness, dissuading a witness from prosecuting a crime and making criminal threats, as well as a misdemeanor count of resisting arrest.

Mark Geragos, an attorney for Rosby, called the shooting and subsequent charges the “height of police misconduct.”

Two former cops get probation in sex case

By ASHLEE REZIN Sun-Times Media Wire February 15, 2014 2:28PM

Nearly three years after they were charged with sexually assaulting a woman while on duty, two former Chicago Police officers have pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of official misconduct and each been sentenced to two years of probation.

Paul Clavijo and Juan Vasquez, each 41, were charged with criminal sexual assault and official misconduct after a 22-year-old woman said they assaulted her in March 2011.

Clavijo resigned that year and Vasquez the following year, according to a Chicago Police Department spokesman.

Court records show both men pleaded guilty Jan. 22 to official misconduct involving battery, which is a felony. They did not admit to any sexual offense and got no jail time.

The officers were in uniform when they offered the woman a ride home in Wrigleyville, prosecutors said at the time. They said the woman had been drinking and tried to get in the back seat of the marked squad car but that Clavijo put her on his lap in the front seat and sexually assaulted her while Vasquez went into a liquor store.

The woman “believed she could not say no to Clavijo’s sexual advances and had to do whatever the police officer asked,” according to prosecutors, who said in charging the officers that the woman drank and played strip poker with them at her home in Rogers Park and that they then sexually assaulted her.

A spokeswoman for the Cook County state’s attorney’s office did not respond Saturday to a request for comment.

Assault Charges Filed Against Cleveland Police Officer

by Shannon Carney

CLEVELAND –Assault charges were filed Friday against a Cleveland Police Patrol Officer.

Officer Edwin Powell is charged with menacing and interfering with civil rights in addition to the assault charges.

According to the Chief of the Cleveland Division of Police, the charges were the result of an investigation into allegations of misconduct by Powell while he was working at a second job.

Powell is scheduled to appear in court on March 11th for the charges.

He has been placed on administrative leave pending a disciplinary hearing.

Former East Haven police officer gets four-month prison sentence for using unreasonable force

HARTFORD, Connecticut — A former East Haven police officer charged in an investigation of mistreatment of Latinos and others become the last of four officers sentenced in the case Wednesday, getting four months in prison for using unreasonable force during an arrest.

John Miller, a sergeant and former president of the police union, received a lighter sentence after the federal judge overseeing his case cited his cooperation in the investigation that also landed three other officers behind bars.

Miller, 44, pleaded guilty in 2012 to violating a person's civil rights. Authorities say he admitted that in 2010 he struck a handcuffed individual while the victim was in the secure custody of two other police officers.

Miller's lawyer, Donald Cretella, has said the allegation against Miller did not involve mistreating any minorities. Miller, who retired from the police department, was ordered to report to prison on March 13.

Cretella had sought probation for Miller, citing his awards, cooperation in the investigation and the effects of having to shoot someone.

"I'm very disappointed," Cretella wrote in an email. "I thought that with Mr. Miller's background cooperation he earned the benefit of probation. I don't think a jail sentence was necessary. Mr. Miller is a good family man and was a good cop. A hero, in fact."

Judge Alvin W. Thompson did credit Miller for his cooperation in the investigation in sentencing him below guidelines that called for 12 to 18 months. Miller also received a $3,000 fine at his sentencing in federal court in Hartford.

Police treatment of Latinos in East Haven has been under federal scrutiny since 2009, when the Department of Justice launched a civil rights probe that found a pattern of discrimination and biased policing in the town, which is more than 88 percent white, according to the Census.

The officers falsified arrest reports, unlawfully searched Latino businesses and harassed and intimidated those who tried to investigate or report their misconduct or abuse, prosecutors said.

Last month, Dennis Spaulding received a five-year prison sentence for conspiring to violate the constitutional rights of Hispanics, making false arrests and using unreasonable force.

Spaulding defended his actions as the colorblind enforcement of motor vehicle laws during an investigation of massive license plate fraud. He said those involved in the fraud just happened to be those who lived in the U.S. illegally, who would pay up to $1,500 for phony vehicle registrations and insurance cards.

"I am not a racist, nor do I use racist language," he said.

But Thompson said Spaulding could not explain away the abuse of Latinos, including the false arrest and beating of a restaurant owner who was taking pictures to document the police surveillance of his business.

David Cari, another officer convicted of civil rights charges during that trial, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison. Officer Jason Zullo received a two-year sentence in December after pleading guilty to obstruction of justice.

San Jose cop convicted of writing bogus tickets

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — A San Jose police officer is facing possible prison time following his conviction on charges he wrote bogus tickets to two people involved in a lawsuit he filed.

Fifty-one-year-old George Chavez is scheduled to be sentenced in April after pleading no contest on Tuesday to false personation and filing a false report.

Authorities tell the San Jose Mercury News (http://bit.ly/1gqovOP) Chavez issued a phony traffic citation and parking tickets last October to a driver with whom he got into a crash and his own attorney in a subsequent lawsuit.

The victims' signatures were allegedly forged.

Chavez is a 23-year veteran of the force. He was placed on administrative leave when the allegations surfaced.

The Mercury News reports that his status with the police department was not clear on Tuesday.

Arlington Cop Sentenced To A Year In Prison

ARLINGTON (CBSDFW.COM) - A fired Arlington police officer, caught up in a department wide steroid scandal, will spend a year and a day in jail for his attempt to protect an alleged drug dealer.

Former officer Thomas Kantzos, 45, plead guilty to one count of Exceeding Authorized Access to a Protected Computer.  Prosecutors say Kantzos improperly used a police computer to help tip off his steroids dealer.

Kantzos admitted to using a computer system reserved for law enforcement at the request of the suspected drug dealer to warn him about police surveillance.  Kantzos used the computer in his patrol car, while on duty, to “run” the license plate number provided to him by the suspected drug dealer, even though he knew it was illegal to do so.

Kantzos will report to the Bureau of Prisons on April 1, 2014.  He was facing a sentence of up to five years in prison.

Kantzos was an 18-year veteran the Arlington Police Department.  He was fired after his arrest in June.

Another officer, David Vo, 35, was also implicated in the drug ring and was arrested for allegedly buying and distributing illegal steroids. He committed suicide in June after bonding out of jail.

Former Detroit homicide cop sentenced to 2-20 years in prison

Former Detroit Police Lt. William Rice was mum at his sentencing.

Clarence Tabb, Jr

Detroit— William Rice, a well-known former Detroit Police Department homicide detective, was sentenced Thursday to 2-20 years in prison for mortgage fraud and perjury for agreeing to provide an alibi for a relative of his mistress under investigation for a quadruple murder.

Rice showed no emotion and declined to make a statement during his sentencing before Wayne County Circuit Judge Gregory Bill. Also sentenced was his co-defendant and girlfriend, Cheryl Sanford.

Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Christine Kowal said Rice’s sentencing represents a sad day for Detroit’s Police Department.

“He has fallen far from grace,” Kowal said. “I don’t know what happened to Bill Rice but it’s a sad day to see Bill Rice sitting at the defendant’s table.”

The judge added that while Rice’s “reputation does precede” him, his sentencing marked another infamous day for Detroiters when a noted officer is found guilty of being on the wrong side of the law.

“This is another black mark in the history of the city of Detroit,” said Bill, who added police officers are ranked high on the list of people the public looks up to.

Rice’s co-counsel, Otis Culpepper ,said Rice is still a man of character.

“People make mistakes and come back from them,” Culpepper said. “I know the character of the man who stands beside me.”

Rice and Sanford were immediately taken into custody after their sentencings.

In December, Rice pleaded guilty to two counts of perjury under a plea agreement that calls for a sentence of up to 20 years on both counts, to run concurrently. The perjury charge stemmed from the murder case of his co-defendant’s nephew, Davontae Stanford, who pleaded guilty to a quadruple murder in a local drug house in 2007. He was 14 at the time and is developmentally disabled.

Stanford later withdrew his plea and and during a hearing Rice testified he was with Stanford at the time of the murders. That was later proven to be untrue.

The ex-lieutenant, who retired in 2005, also pleaded guilty on a charge of continuing criminal enterprise. It was charged that he and his co-defendant stole Section 8 housing money meant to help low-income residents qualify for mortgages.

In addition, Rice will have to pay $100,196 in restitution as a condition of possible parole in the future.

Sanford pleaded guilty to one count of continuing criminal enterprise and one count of false pretenses ($1,000 to $20,000).

Her plea agreement calls for a sentence of up to five years of probation, with the first year to be spent in the Wayne County Jail with no work release or early release.

She must also pay $100,196 in restitution as a condition of probation.

Former Princeton police officer arrested in Greenbrier County

GREG JORDANBluefield Daily Telegraph

LEWISBURG — A former Princeton Police Department officer who pleaded guilty in Mercer County to attempted sexual abuse of a minor was recently arrested in Greenbrier County and charged with contributing to the delinquency or neglect of a child.

Christopher Scott Winkler, 27, of Union was arrested after police started searching for a 15-year-old girl in Lewisburg whose mother reported her missing, according to an arrest report filed in Greenbrier Magistrate Court by Patrolman A.L. Workman, Lewisburg Police Department.

Workman stated that during the search, he located a black SUV in which the girl’s boyfriend had been seen. He approached the vehicle when it stopped and saw Winkler, who was its driver. Workman asked Winkler if he had seen the missing girl.

“Upon being asked the question, the defendant (Winkler) became very nervous and stated he did not know where she was,” Workman wrote in his report. Winkler said he had been at the girl’s apartment complex, Lewis Terrace, earlier that day and had been asked to give her a ride to a friend’s home in Caldwell.

The boyfriend was later questioned. He said he had asked Winkler to give the girl a ride to Caldwell “because her mother was looking for her and she needed to go to Caldwell to a friend’s house so her mother couldn’t find her” and that “he had full knowledge that she was running away from her mother,” Workman said in the report.

Winkler was charged Feb. 6 with a misdemeanor offense of contributing to the delinquency or neglect of a child, according to the report. The offense carries a fine of $50 to $500, up to a year in the county jail, or both. The alleged incident was reported Feb. 1.

In October 2012, Winkler appeared in Mercer County Circuit Court and entered into a plea agreement in which the state agreed to dismiss a charge of attempted sexual abuse by a guardian or custodian. At that time, Circuit Judge William Sadler told Winkler that if he violated the terms of his probation, it would be revoked. He would then face an indeterminate term of one to 10 year imprisonment.

A hearing would be held to determine whether the terms of probation had been violated.

Winkler was charged in March 2011 with attempted sexual abuse of a minor by a custodian or guardian and solicitation of bribery. The charges were filed after an incident that occurred March 1, 2011 in a parking lot near the intersection of Route 20 and Route 104 in the Princeton city limits. In a criminal complaint filed by the West Virginia State Police, Winkler allegedly “attempted to negotiate sexual favors” from a 17-year-old male subject.

Winkler was suspended from the Princeton Police Department the day after the incident, Prosecuting Attorney Scott Ash said at the time of Winkler’s arraignment. Winkler resigned from the department soon afterwards.

Retired Longview police officer arrested for aggravated child sexual assault

LONGVIEW, TEXAS (KETK) — A former East Texas police officer is behind bars after being charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child.

According to Gregg County jail records, Leland Carver, 69, a former officer with the Longview Police Department, was booked into the Gregg County Jail, Wednesday on the heinous charges.

According to court document obtained by the Longview News-Journal, Carver allegedly assaulted a female child while she was at his home in the 300 block of Montclair Street in Longview. Documents state the child was in second grade when the abuse began.

In a recorded interview with the reported victim, she said she found inappropriate videos of herself on Carver's cell phone and Carver told her she would be taken away from her family and "go to a place where they send bad kids," if she told.

Carver remains in jail on $50,000 bond.