Today child molestation charges against you local police

Convicted sex offender, former Kenner police officer arrested, accused of logging onto social networking website

By Michelle Hunter, NOLA.com |e 

A former Kenner Police officer previously convicted of child pornography charges is accused of illegally using an online dating website.

Kenner police arrested Robert Longo, 54, Wednesday (July 23) on a charge of unlawful use of a social networking website, said Sgt. Brian McGregor, spokesman for the department.

A jury convicted Longo in 2007. Longo had filed a complaint about a possible crime involving his computer. But when Kenner investigators searched the computer, they found images of minors engaged in sex acts.

Longo, who had been an officer with the department for about 6 ½ years at the time of his 2005 arrest, eventually resigned. He served three years in prison until his release in 2010. Longo also had to register as a Tier II sex offender.

State law bars offenders convicted of certain crimes, including possession of juvenile pornography, from using social networking websites. The law defines those as website on which the main purpose is to interact socially with other users.

"(Longo) was fully aware, when registered as a sex offender, of what he can and can't do," Kenner Police Chief Michael Glaser said.

Police received a tip on July 14 that Longo had created a profile under the username "quarterman01" on the dating website Plenty of Fish. Unbeknownst to him, Longo began communicating with an undercover Kenner detective on the site, McGregor said.

The two arranged a meeting, and police arrested Longo on July 23 when he arrived for the rendezvous. Longo admitted knowing he wasn't supposed to use a social networking website, McGregor said.

Longo, of 3945 Alabama Ave., Kenner, was booked at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna. No bond had been set as of Thursday afternoon.

. . . . . . . .

Anyone with information Robert Longo or his use of the social networking website is asked to call Sgt. Robert McGraw at 504.712.2312.

Today child molestation charges againt you local police

Former Columbus cop gets 10-plus years for child pornography

A former Columbus police officer caught with thousands of child-pornography images was sentenced yesterday to a little more than 10 years in prison.

U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley, who handed down the 121-month sentence against Stewart A. Miller, 48, in federal court, said he was troubled by Miller’s long history of viewing child pornography and the escalation of his behavior over time.

Miller agreed to pay $7,500 in restitution to one of the victims. Marbley also fined Miller $17,500 and ordered him to undergo an evaluation and seek treatment for his sexual behavior.

Miller will be required to wear an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet at his home until he does to prison and will be required to register as a sex offender after his release.

“The court can contemplate very few crimes that are worse than this,” Marbley said.

Miller’s wife turned over a thumb drive containing the pornography and other evidence to the FBI. Marbley called Julie Bowen-Miller a “hero” and wondered what would have happened had she not come forward.

In court yesterday, she apologized to the thousands of “little ones” harmed by her husband’s behavior and said she wished she had been able to help them.

Bowen-Miller told Marbley she clearly didn’t know the man she had married and wished she had found about his pornography addiction sooner.

“I grieve the loss of what was my life and what I had hoped would be my future,” she said.

The couple is going through divorce proceedings.

Miller said he never meant to hurt his wife or her family.

“It breaks my heart to see the pain and destruction it has caused in her life,” he said.

Miller also apologized to his former fellow officers for being such a “disgrace to the profession” and “causing the whole child-pornography industry to continue” with his obsession.

Miller pleaded guilty in December to one count of possessing child pornography, which requires a minimum sentence of five years in prison.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather A. Hill said the images and videos that Miller downloaded, viewed and shared involved real children suffering real abuse.

“His actions contributed to the demand for child pornography, which both perpetuates the abuse of existing victims and leads to abuse of additional victims,” she said.

Hill had asked for at least a 10-year prison sentence; Miller’s attorney had suggested a six-year term.

Hill told Marbley that Miller had “carefully categorized” his child pornography files, which he had been downloading and saving for at least 10 years when his wife discovered them and notified law enforcement last year.

Miller had secretly videotaped two minors engaging in sexual activity in his home and had apparently taken photographs and made videos of young girls in bathing suits in Florida.

Mark C. Collins, Miller’s attorney, argued that his client had never “acted out in any sexual nature toward children” and did not distribute any child pornography. Collins called Miller a hoarder and said that although he had thousands of images, it didn’t mean he went back to them again and again.

Collins said Miller understands that what he did was “horrific,” especially given the oath he had sworn to uphold the law, but he couldn’t help himself and needs treatment.

Miller was a Columbus police officer for 23 years before he was placed on leave in the fall. He resigned in December.

“He hid his addiction to pornography from his family, friends, co-workers — everyone,” Collins said.

epyle@dispatch.com

@EncarnitaPyle

The continuing epidemic of drunk and drugged up cops. Why doesn’t the federal government do something?

Visalia cop arrested again on DUI

Eric Woomer,

A former Visalia police officer has been arrested on suspicion of DUI, again.

Erica Martinez, 33, was arrested just after 3 a.m. Wednesday by California Highway Patrol officers. She was booked at Bob Wiley Detention Facility and was held on $10,000 bail. She was cited and released with a promise to appear in court later this summer.

Her blood-alcohol level was nearly three times the legal limit when arrested near Borderlinks Drive in Visalia.

"The investigating officer observed that the subject was displaying signs and symptoms of alcohol intoxication," according to a CHP report. "Field sobriety tests were administrated, the subject was suspected of being under the influence of alcohol and arrested."

The latest DUI arrest comes exactly a week after Martinez pleaded no contest to DUI charges stemming from an August 2013 DUI.

Martinez was arrested around 2 a.m. on Aug. 4, 2013 after California Highway Patrol officers responded to the scene of a crash in northwest Visalia. Officers Jesus Magdaleno Jr. and his partner, Robert Robledo, responded and found a BMW had slammed into a Jeep near Border Links Drive and Lombard Street.

The officers arrested the driver of the BMW, Martinez, on suspicion of DUI.

The lead officer on the case, Magdaleno, died just weeks later in Las Vegas while trying to stop a car thief. His death caused the District Attorney's Office to reevaluate the case against Martinez and 61 other arrests made by Magdaleno. The DA's office announced late last year they would proceed with charges.

Visalia police placed her on administrative leave and Martinez later returned to patrol. She was fired in May.

Martinez, who was charged with DUI and excessive blood-alcohol levels, was sentenced last week to three days in jail, 40 hours of community service, five years probation and classes to help prevent this from occurring again. It's not known if she attended any classes before being arrested Wednesday.

If Martinez is charged and convicted a second time, she could face a year in jail, hefty fines and 18 months in an alcoholic rehabilitation program, as ordered by the court. She will also likely lose her license for a year and will be ordered to install an alcohol-monitoring system in any car registered in her name.

The Visalia officer is at least the second member of law enforcement in Tulare County to face DUI charges since 2011. The most recent was Tulare officer Shannon Oliver, who was also fired shortly after charges were filed.

The ex-Tulare cop who wrecked her patrol car into a fence in Visalia pleaded no contest to drunken driving charges in June 2011, avoiding a public trial.

Oliver was sentenced to eight days in jail and five years of probation.

The continuing epidemic of drunk and drugged up cops. Why doesn’t the federal government do something?

Buffalo cop sentenced in marijuana case

By: Daily Record Staff 

James Hamilton Sr., 29, of Buffalo, has been sentenced by Chief U.S. District Court Judge William M. Skretny to 18 months for conviction of distribution of marijuana.

“A uniform is only as good as the person who wears it,” said U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. “While the vast majority of police officers are role models for us all, this office will not hesitate to act where, as here, a member of law enforcement violates his oath and breaks the law.”

Hamilton, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy C. Lynch, was a probationary Buffalo police officer on Nov. 20 when he sold a half pound of marijuana to a confidential source working with the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Erie County Sheriff’s Department.

At the time, the defendant possessed his Buffalo police-issued .40-caliber Glock handgun. He was arrested after the sale. A search of his city home uncovered 80 marijuana plants, three to four pounds of process marijuana and a shotgun.

Hamilton no longer works for the Buffalo Police Department.

The continuing epidemic of drunk and drugged up cops. Why doesn’t the federal government do something?

 

This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories

by Phillip Smith,

More cops with pain pill problems, another jailer busted, another cop caught in a protection sting, and another cop gets caught peddling steroids and prescription drugs. Let's get to it:

 In Pacific, Missouri, a Pacific police officer was arrested last Thursday on charges he stole hydrocodone and oxycodone from the department evidence room. Arthur Tullock, 55, is accused of "appropriating" the pills for his own use. He is charged with two counts of theft of a controlled substance and is now out on bail.

In Dawson, Georgia, a Terrell County jail guard was arrested last Friday after he got caught bringing drugs into the jail. Jantzsen Richardson is charged with possession of marijuana, but more charges are pending.

In Waycross, Georgia, a former Pierce County sheriff's deputy was sentenced last Wednesday to 93 months in federal prison for protecting drug dealers. Randy Strickland, 55, agreed to act as a look-out for people he believed were dealing meth, but he was actually caught up in a sting by a snitch monitored by federal agents. He had only sought $100 for providing security.

In Fort Lauderdale, Florida, a former West Palm Beach police officer was sentenced last Friday to five years in prison for selling drugs while on duty, in uniform, and carrying his service weapon. Dewitt McDonald, 46, admitted illegally selling steroids and prescription drugs and copped to one count of carrying a firearm during a drug trafficking offense.

In Clarksburg, West Virginia, a former Shinnston police officer was sentenced Monday to four to 16 years in prison for confiscating hydrocodone from people, then removing pills from the pill bottles before turning them in to the evidence room. Charles Roscoe Henning III had pleaded guilty last month to four counts of obtaining a controlled substance by misrepresentation by fraud, forgery, deception or subterfuge.

The continuing epidemic of drunk and drugged up cops. Why doesn’t the federal government do something?

Lakeland cop arrested in Osceola

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. -

Osceola County deputies said they arrested a police officer Friday night on suspicion of DUI.

Lakeland police officials said around 11:39 p.m., 41-year-old detective Billy Lane was stopped by deputies at International Drive and Osceola Parkway.

Lane failed a field sobriety test and was arrested for suspicion of DUI, authorities said.

Lane was taken to the Osceola County Jail. Officials said Lane was placed on administrative leave.

He was hired by Lakeland police in 1996

COP GIVEN SUMMER VACATION FOR BRUTALITY……why doesn’t the federal government do something about the cops?

SEABROOK — Two Seabrook police officers were fired Wednesday and two others disciplined in connection with a 2009 assault on a prisoner that was caught on police station surveillance video and released earlier this year.

Officer Mark Richardson and Officer Adam Laurent were fired for excessive force while Officer Keith Dietenhofer was suspended for two days without pay and Lt. John Wasson was demoted to patrolman.

The disciplinary action was announced Wednesday during a news conference at Town Hall. It coincided with the release of an independent report on the incident by Municipal Resources Inc. of Meredith.

Town Manager William Manzi said the report was conducted to determine whether department policies were followed on Nov. 11, 2009, after the arrest of Michael Bergeron Jr.

“The actions today … represent the consensus view of the chief, myself and the Board of Selectmen,” Manzi said of the firings and other punishments.

The video shows Richardson slam Bergeron, then 19, into a wall in a police station hallway. Bergeron is then seen struggling to stand up and gain his balance before falling down. Laurent then sprayed him in the face with pepper spray then appeared to smile into the surveillance camera.

The incident was captured on a Police Department surveillance camera and released to Bergeron's attorney nearly four years ago in response to a formal request for the footage. It was posted to YouTube Jan. 6.

Bergeron was arrested at about 10:30 p.m. on Nov. 11, 2009, and charged with driving while intoxicated and drug possession. He was booked and processed at the Seabrook police station and was being led to a holding cell when the incident took place.

According to the report, Richardson, who stands 6-feet 6-inches tall and weighs nearly 300 pounds, claimed he was in fear of Bergeron, who weighs close to 145 pounds, when the incident took place. He also claimed he was only trying to get a better grip on the prisoner when he slammed him into the wall.

Investigators determined Laurent also used excessive force when he sprayed a stunned Bergeron in the face as he lay on the floor.

The level of force shown on the video would not be justified under any circumstances, Police Chief Lee Bitomske said Wednesday.

The town's investigation found Laurent and Dietenhofer filed supplemental reports about the incident that included key omissions. For instance, Dietenhofer apparently revised his report to delete reference to Richardson's “arm bar” maneuver against Bergeron.

Wasson was not in the station when the incident took place. However, investigators found he was aware of Richardson's “arm bar” against Bergeron but failed to require an additional review of that use of force as mandated by department rules.

Bitomske characterized the incident and subsequent investigation as a “dark cloud” for the department that exposed the need for revised protocols and better training to prevent a repeat incident.

“In this job, no matter how much training you have, situations do happen, good and bad,” said Bitomske, who was appointed chief after the 2009 incident. “We just take from this and learn what we can do to try to better train the officers.”

Attorney Joseph McKittrick, who represents Seabrook, said the disciplinary action announced Wednesday makes clear the town won't tolerate police misconduct.

Richardson was placed on paid leave in January. He was placed on unpaid leave in April after a Rockingham County grand jury indicted him for simple assault in connection with this incident. The N.H. Attorney General's Office is prosecuting this case and attempts Wednesday to determine where it stands were not successful.

The grand jury declined to indict Laurent. He and Dietenhofer have been on paid leave since January.

Bergeron was convicted in April of a 2013 burglary in Hampton and is serving a 1- to 3-year sentence in N.H. State Prison.

His mother, Joyce Bergeron, attended Wednesday's news conference. She thanked town officials for their efforts to find out what happened to her son. She described the release of the report and the actions against the officers as a relief.

She said her son decided to post the video in January because he was worried another person would be treated the same way by Seabrook police.

“It just bothered him for all these years,” she said. 

Cops shoot another dog. They do because they know they'll get away with it.

Minneapolis police shoot, kill 120-pound dog; owner enraged

The moment Paul Trott let his two dogs out in the backyard he could see a problem. Someone had broken the gate at the rear of the yard, and the dogs made a dash for the opening and into the alley beyond.

As his partner Josh Lyczkowski ran out the door to collect the dogs, they heard someone in the alley shout “No! Don’t! Stop!,” according to Lyczkowski. Then they heard a gunshot.

Their largest dog, Tito, a Cane Corso that weighed about 120 pounds, had been fatally shot in the head. Lyczkowski arrived so soon after the shooting that the police officer who shot the dog still had his gun drawn. Tito, who was nearly two years old, was killed two garages down the alley from Lyczkowski’s property.

Lyczkowski said the tragedy was that Tito was a gentle giant known in the neighborhood for being friendly. “He’s a sweetheart,” said Lyczkowski. “They claimed Tito had lunged at [the officer]; if anything Tito would have been playful.”

The episode played out in a matter of seconds on July 18 in the 3900 block of Aldrich Avenue N. It had the Minneapolis Police Department on the defensive Tuesday as a police spokesman issued a statement calling the shooting “sad and unfortunate.” 

“The decision to shoot, or harm, an animal is not made lightly, but at times must be made immediately. Officers have no way of knowing the history of the animal, or what the animal may do,” the statement read. It’s not uncommon for a police officer to shoot a dog; it’s happened most recently in Minneapolis during raids on suspected drug dealing houses, a place where a dog might be trained to attack police officers. State statute 609.066 authorizes the use of deadly force by a police officer when necessary to protect the officer from great bodily harm or death. In this case, according to a police report filed in the incident, the dogs “ran at the officer and would not stop.”

Soon after the shooting, Lyczkowski and Trott learned that a man suspected of stealing a car had broken their rear gate while fleeing from police officers. The officers were in the neighborhood because they had been searching for him.

Lyczkowski said after the shooting the officers asked him if he wanted to hear an apology from the suspected car thief, who had been captured. Lyczkowski said yes, and the police brought the man to Lyczkowski, who vented his frustrations about his dog’s death. The police blamed the shooting on the car thief and the broken gate, Lyczkowski said, but he was left fuming. “They should be trained not to murder housepets,” he said.

Lyczkowski said his other dog, a Cane Corso named Vita, ran back into the house after Tito was shot. The scene was taped off and Tito’s body was eventually taken away by city animal control officials.

Score one for the dogs! Finally!

Officer Accidentally Shoots Himself When Dog Charges At Him

By Dominic Kelly, Wed, July 23, 2014


A New Jersey police officer accidentally shot himself in the hand while trying to shoot a dog.
According to reports, the unidentified Clifton police officer responded to a call at a residential home in Bloomfield on Monday afternoon when the incident happened. 
Anthony Ambrose, chief detective for the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, says that when the officer knocked on the door, someone opened the door and the pit bull charged outside towards the officer. The cop immediately reacted to the charging dog and fired a single shot towards it, but instead of hitting only the dog, he also struck his own hand.
The officer was rushed to a local hospital and is said to be recovering from his gunshot wound. He is reportedly in stable condition. The dog was apparently taken in by local animal control to be treated for the injury it sustained from the shooting incident. A second officer at the scene was unharmed.
Ambrose says that the injured detective has been with the Clifton police department for 16 years, and the two officers were reportedly there in Bloomfield to investigate an case in Clifton.
An investigation into the shooting incident is ongoing.

PEDOPHILES believed to have unnatural fascination with two wheeled vehicies

in other news, spurred in part by the fatal crash of a Reston teen on a mini bike earlier this year, and in part for their need to interfere with people’s lives, Fairfax County Police are undergoing safety and law enforcement training about two-wheeled motorized vehicles

Cop prevents pregnant woman in labor from crossing the street

By Francesca Chambers

 

Police prevented a pregnant woman in labor from crossing the street to get to a nearby hospital yesterday in L.A. because President Barack Obama's motorcade was on the way.

A Twitter user documented the unidentified woman sitting on a bus bench for roughly half an hour, waiting for the president and his entourage to pass through, as she was attended to by another woman in scrubs.

KNBC reporter Robert Kovacik rushed to a scene.

Kovacik talked to a police officer who told him that the LAPD would allow the woman to go to the hospital 'as soon as we can.'

'It looks like the motorcade is coming through right about now, so we’ll be able to open it up for traffic,' he said. 'The first thing we’ll try to get through will be an ambulance.'

An LAPD spokesman confirmed the story to MailOnline on Thursday but said the police did not know the woman was in labor when she first asked to cross the street.

'She didn't tell them she was in labor and gave no indication of urgency,' he said.

'She waited a while before her husband asked how much longer it would be before they could cross. He still did not say she was in labor, just that she needed to go to the hospital.

'Officers requested an ambulance, but a nurse happened to be there so she chatted to her. In the meantime the motorcade passed and she was able to make it over the road to the hospital before the ambulance even arrived.

The police department spokesman said the woman later gave birth from the comfort of the hospital.'She had her baby and did not give birth on the street or anything like that.'

Lessons

Dog gone

CC Hills cop accused of firing gun while drunk and off duty

A Country Club Hills police officer was drinking at a friend’s house in March when he started firing his gun, sending bullets into a neighboring house and vehicle, and then tried to hide evidence of the shooting, Cook County prosecutors said Tuesday.

Officer John Silas is charged with reckless discharge of a firearm. In court Tuesday, Circuit Court Judge Darren Bowden ordered him held on $75,000 bail.

Prosecutors said Silas got off work March 8 and started drinking alcohol at a friend’s home in the 17000 block of Baker Street in Country Club Hills.

About 8 p.m., Silas pulled his semiautomatic service gun and fired several shots toward the ground, with one bullet going through the front window of a house across the street and lodging into a wall, according to prosecutors.

They said a resident of the house “had been sitting on a couch directly next to the front window just seconds before the bullet was fired” but was not injured.

The resident called 911, and police responded, finding the bullet in the wall and another inside a sport utility vehicle that was parked in the driveway of the house, prosecutors said.

Silas tried to cover up his involvement, later calling one of the investigating officers and asking him for a favor “by getting rid of evidence recovered from the home,” according to a statement from the state’s attorney’s office. “During a second phone call to the officer, Silas acknowledged that he was shooting bullets into the ground when one accidently went into the front window of the home across the street.”

The Illinois State Police Forensics Lab was able to confirm that the bullet in the wall was fired from Silas’ gun.

Trial of former Brunswick cop charged with participating in prostitution rescheduled for August

By Christina Haley

The trial of a former Northwest police officer charged with participating in the prostitution of a minor has been rescheduled for next month. No court reporter was available for the trial this week so the case was moved to Aug. 18, the next trial date in Brunswick County Superior Court.

he trial of a former Northwest police officer charged with participating in the prostitution of a minor is scheduled to begin Monday in Brunswick County Superior Court.

Michael Alan Hayes, 40, of Southport, was indicted by a grand jury on July 1, 2013, charged with participating in prostitution of a minor and submitting a false report to police.

Hayes, who served as a lieutenant in the Northwest Police Department in the small Brunswick County city of about 837 people, turned himself into the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office on the morning of May 15, 2013. He was released from jail under a $100,000 unsecured bond.

According to the indictment, Hayes is charged with participating in the prostitution of a minor for allegedly contacting a 17-year-old female via an advertisement on Craigslist. He reportedly met with the teen in Boiling Springs Lakes and exchanged $60 for sex acts.

Hayes is also charged with contacting Deputy James P. Canton, a Brunswick County sheriff’s deputy, on Nov. 27, 2012, and making a false statement concerning the source and circumstances of bullet strikes to his vehicle and hindering the investigation into the cause of the incident.

Hayes’ charges stem from an investigation into a web-based prostitution operation via social media websites, which the Boiling Spring Lakes Police Department began in November 2012.

According to Boiling Spring Lakes Police Chief Brad Shirley, who spoke about the investigation in May 2013, Hayes was a victim in an attempted robbery. His vehicle was shot during the robbery attempt on Reidsville Road in Boiling Spring Lakes on Nov. 27, 2012.

Hayes “did not report the incident to police and it was through the ongoing prostitution investigation that our investigator developed information, which was forwarded to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation for their assistance,” Shirley said in his initial statement about the case in 2013.

On May 6, 2013, the police department announced that Kyle Bradley Wolfe and Shawn Christopher Conley were arrested and charged with soliciting prostitution of a minor as a result of the investigation. The two suspects were also charged with attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon in connection with the November 2012 incident in which Hayes allegedly made a false report to Canton.

Conley, 21, and Wolfe, 22, both of Southport, were indicted on two counts of promoting prostitution of a minor and two counts of supervising, supporting or protecting minors for prostitution in June 2013. They were also indicted on charges of attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon and discharging a firearm into an occupied dwelling or moving vehicle on Sept. 23, 2013.

Conley has since pleaded guilty in the case. In March, Conley pleaded guilty to one count of human trafficking of a minor. He was sentenced to 80-108 months in the N.C. Department of Corrections. According to Assistant District Attorney Daniel Thurston, multiple other charges against Conley were dismissed per the plea deal.

Wolfe has yet to face several charges in connection with the case, according to Thurston. He remains at the Brunswick County jail under an $845,500 secured bond.

Thurston has been assigned as the prosecutor in the State’s case against Hayes. Attorney Geoffrey Hosford will represent Hayes in the case.

Don't worry (we'll take care of ourselves on your dime)

Get the real lawbreakers off the street