Winston-Salem
police officer charged with stealing three tractors
STOKES COUNTY, N.C. — A former
Winston-Salem police officer is accused of stealing three farm tractors in
Stokes County.
Matthew Jordan Riggan, 26, of
Mount Airy, was arrested Dec. 28 and charged with three counts each of felony
larceny and possession of stolen property.
A Surry County Sheriff’s Office
Detective said all the tractors were reported stolen in late December. The
total value of the tractors was estimated at about $70,000.
In one case, he allegedly had
made a key for a tractor. When he couldn’t get it to run, he allegedly called a
wrecker service to tow it to his home.
The suspect admitted to
stealing the tractors, but gave several different reasons why, according to a
detective.
One was that he was simply
being mischievous, another was that he wanted to see if he could get away with
it and the last was that he needed money to buy a plot of land next to his
grandfather’s.
Riggan graduated from the
Winston-Salem Police Department’s police academy in September. An official with
the department said he is no longer an employee there.
Riggan was released from jail
after posting a $125,000 secured bond. He appeared in court on Wednesday and
has his next appearance later this year.
Officer
Charged With Fraud Over Free Tuition
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A
former police officer on a disability pension has been arrested on charges he
fraudulently obtained free tuition for his children at the University of Rhode
Island.
State police say Keith Heroux
of North Smithfield took advantage of a state program that provides free
tuition to the families of police officers injured in the line of duty and can
no longer work as a police officer or at another continuous job.
Police say Heroux worked as a
lawyer while collecting $42,458 in tuition assistance for a son and a daughter.
He had signed an affidavit that he was not employed.
The 52-year-old Heroux was
charged with obtaining money under false pretenses of more than $1,500.
He did not immediately return a
before-hours call to his law office Friday morning
Two
suspended Glen Rock police officers accused of deleting two photos from
department server
GLEN ROCK — Two borough police
officers — suspended without pay pending a departmental hearing — are accused
of deleting two photos from the police department’s server. The photos were
shot during a retirement party at police headquarters in 2005 The statement
does not describe what the photographs depicted in any detail.Officers
Christopher McInerney and Bryan Scott were both suspended by Police Chief Fred
Stahman late last month without pay or benefits. The statement does not include
information on the specific charges filed against McInerney and Scott by the
borough, which also has not made the charges public. The chief, mayor and
council did not reveal at the time what led to the suspensions.
Trial
date set for Charlotte police officer charged with manslaughter
By James Brierton, Web
Producer/Digital Journalist
Charlotte, NC -
Randall Kerrick, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg
police officer charged with voluntary manslaughter in the 2013 killing of
Jonathan Ferrell, will have his day in court in July.
The trial for Kerrick is scheduled
to begin July 20. Superior Court Judge Robert C. Ervin will preside. Kerrick
was indicted by a grand jury in the shooting death Ferrell, a former FAMU
football player.
Former
cop gets jail time for defrauding elderly neighbor
PINOLE, Calif. (KGO) --
A former Pinole police
commander accused of trying to defraud an elderly woman is going to jail.
Wednedsay afternoon,
38-year-old Matthew Messier was sentenced to five years probation and 66 days
in jail.
Prosecutors say he befriended
his 82-year-old neighbor in Pleasanton, then got her to put her $1.5 million
estate in his name.
"I did not anticipate that
he would get any jail time," Heidi Bailey, the victim's conservator said.
"And to me, the fact that the judge gave him that was wonderful. He was a
police officer and he knew exactly what he was doing."
Messier faced 10 felonies,
including grand theft.
Prosecutors reached a plea deal
with a lesser charge of lying during a bankruptcy case because the victim's
failing health kept her from testifying.
"We didn't get a chance to
tell our side of the story because the district attorney dismissed all the
charges regarding elder abuse and elder fraud," Ken Robison, Messier's
attorney said.
Messier will begin his jail
sentence on March 25.
He could apply to become a
police officer again after his probation is over.
