CRIME REPORT

PROBAITON SYSTEM STILL MESSED UP

Probation system still struggles - Local/State - NewsObserver.com.

A year after new administrators vowed to improve the state's crippled probation system, one of the agency's biggest problems is worse.

Despite a top-level shake-up designed to correct years of poor management, a reliance on outdated technology and chronically high caseloads for officers, 141 street-level positions are vacant, up 32 from roughly a year ago.

In an economy where a record number of North Carolinians are out of work, the unfilled positions continue to be a big problem. An 8 percent vacancy rate coupled with a 10 percent turnover rate mean remaining officers are responsible for picking up the slack.

"I don't think we're ever going to be at a place when they're all filled," said Tracy Little, deputy secretary of correction. "We have paid some attention to this. I'm not satisfied with where the number is."

Correction officials say they delayed some hires in order to be able to offer jobs to employees of seven prisons the state is closing. They say they focused first on the work to close those prisons, a decision pushed on them by legislators trying to cut the budget.

In North Carolina, roughly 40,000 offenders are in prison, and more than 111,000 are on probation. The state has roughly 1,750 probation officers and supervisors charged with helping low-level offenders rebuild their lives and stay out of costly prisons.

State Sen. John Snow, a Murphy Democrat, was surprised that so many probation positions were still open.

"We did expect that they would be working as hard as they could to get people hired," said Snow, co-chairman of the committee that handles correction funding. "We had hoped that they would fill those vacancies as soon as possible so we could get those people on the street."

Eugene Brown, a Durham City Council member, has been highly critical of the management missteps in Durham, once considered one of the worst-performing districts in the state.

"In an economy like this? This system is mired in a combination of bureaucracy and molasses," Brown said. "What the system is doing is putting our citizens at risk."

State officials, including Gov. Bev Perdue, say vacancies are only part of the story. They are pleased with improved technology that gives officers nearly instant information about the missteps of their charges. They applaud other reforms that give officers a peek at the juvenile records of some of their charges and make conditions of probation more uniform.

"This is a good start, given the situation we found ourselves in," Perdue said. "We have a whole lot of work ahead."

FACEBOOKIN GODFATHER

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Godfather Colin Gunn used Facebook to run empire from jail - Times Online.

Godfather Colin Gunn used Facebook to run empire from jail

Daniel Foggo and Carl Fellstro

ONE of Britain’s most dangerous gangsters has been using Facebook to threaten and intimidate his enemies from a maximum security prison.

Colin Gunn, an underworld godfather who ordered the execution of two grandparents, has been able to correspond freely with up to 565 “friends” on the social networking site for the past two months.

Gunn, a “double-A” category inmate who is serving a 35-year sentence for conspiracy to murder, is said to be still running his drugs and organised crime cartel from jail.

He claims he was allowed to set up a Facebook account by prison governors, insisting it was his legal right.

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Critics believe the authorities may have turned a blind eye out of fear of receiving a legal challenge on human rights grounds.

In one posting, Gunn, 42, said: “I will be home one day and I can’t wait to look into certain people’s eyes and see the fear of me being there.” In another message he wrote: “It’s good to have an outlet to let you know how I am, some of you will be in for a good slagging, some have let me down badly, and will be named and shamed, f****** rats.”

Gunn’s criminal empire in Nottingham was one of the main reasons why it became known as “assassination city”.

His site, which he appears to have been able to update on a daily basis, was shut down on Friday after The Sunday Times raised the alarm.

Jack Straw, the justice secretary, said that he will launch a crackdown on Facebook use by prisoners.

Straw’s department insisted that social networking sites are prohibited in jail, but Gunn is the latest — albeit the most dangerous — offender to be caught posting comments.

Last week it emerged Jade Braithwaite, one of the thugs jailed for knifing to death Ben Kinsella, 16, used Facebook to taunt his victim’s family.

WILLIE'S BUS UP IN SMOKE

Pot haze invites raid on Nelson bus - Local/State - NewsObserver.com.

  The strong odor of marijuana wafting from the window of a Willie Nelson tour bus led to six members of the country singer's entourage getting busted in Duplin County for possession of marijuana and three-fourths of a quart of moonshine, law enforcement officials said.

But it was a pain in the country music star's hand that forced the last-minute cancellation of Thursday night's concert in Kenansville, not a pain in the neck from having to deal with the drug and alcohol raid an hour before the show.

The grizzled, 76-year-old singer-songwriter, author, poet and activist has a reputation as a musical outlaw and longtime marijuana smoker. But Nelson was not on the bus where ALE officers found marijuana, rolling papers and a Mason jar almost full of "non-tax-paid alcohol," or moonshine, according to Ernie Seneca, an Alcohol Law Enforcement spokesman. Seneca didn't know whether the shine was brewed locally or imported from Texas along with the band.

Bass player Dan Edward "Bee" Spears was on the bus, and the 60-year-old longtime band member from Franklin, Tenn., was one of those cited. The event's planner and one of his assistants also were cited for trying to interfere with the ALE investigation.

Nelson, a native of Abbott, Texas, has a long and colorful maverick history, morphing from a clean-cut Nashville songwriter into an ever-touring troubadour. In his wake, he often leaves more than biodiesel fumes: In 2006, he and four others got misdemeanor citations for possession of narcotic mushrooms and marijuana after a traffic stop on a Louisiana highway. But he's been getting into scrapes for years, and his scrapes end up in his lyrics. In his 1971 song "Me and Paul," he sang:

Almost busted in Laredo,
But for reasons that I'd rather not disclose,
But if you're stayin' in a motel there and leave,
Just don't leave nothin' in your clothes.

In Duplin County, about 80 miles from the Triangle,13 ALE agents were working with sheriff's deputies and Kenansville police to police the concert venue, according to Seneca.

It was about 6:40 p.m., a little less than an hour before the show was to begin, that an officer walking past the tour bus "detected a strong odor of marijuana," Seneca said. The officer got permission to enter the bus, according to Seneca, and then cited the six entourage members.

In addition to the bassist, citations were issued to: Kenneth Koepke, 52, of Burnet, Texas; Robert Allen Lemons, 59, of Spicewood, Texas; Dudley Bishop Prewitt, 59, of Spicewood, Texas; Aaron William Foye, 32, of San Marcos, Texas; and Thomas Ray Hawkins, 54, of Atlantic City, N.J.

"They were released in time for them to go on stage," Seneca said. He added that the band and crew had been respectful of the officers.

Venue workers cited

They say others, though, were not thrilled with the incident.

John Duane Vogt, 58, the general manager of the Duplin County Events Center, and Donald Farrior, 50, an assistant from Kenansville, were cited for trying to interfere with the ALE investigation. A complaint was sent to the Alcohol Beverage Control Commission.

Nelson's daughter said on the musician's Web site that Thursday night's show at the Duplin County Events Center was canceled because his hand hurt too badly to play. The right-handed guitar-picker had carpal tunnel surgery on his left hand in 2004.

SEXTING TEENS ARRESTED

Three students charged in 'sexting' case - YahooNews - The Olympian - Olympia, Washington.

UPDATE: Three Chinook Middle School students were each formally charged in juvenile court Friday with dealing in depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Lacey police arrested two of the students, a 14-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl, at Chinook on Tuesday as part of an investigation that the 14-year-old boy had sent naked photos of his 14-year-old ex-girlfriend from his cell phone to the 13-year-old girl. Another female student also was charged Friday as part of the investigation.

Thurston County Prosecutor Rick Peters said Thursday it is the first so-called "sexting" case to cross his desk.

For more information check back at theolympian.com, or read Saturday's edition of The Olympian.

LACEY - Lacey police arrested two Chinook Middle School students Tuesday - a 14-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl - for allegedly sending photo messages of a naked 14-year-old girl to classmates via a cell phone.

The students were arrested at Chinook on suspicion of dealing in depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. They were released from juvenile detention Wednesday after their hearings in Thurston County Juvenile Court.

Thurston County Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Rick Peters said that it is the first case involving alleged “sexting” to cross his desk. He said he plans to file charges against the pair today.

“Technically, they’re in possession of child pornography,” Peters said. “Based upon the ages of all the kids involved, it’s tragic.”

Dealing in depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct is a class C felony, and a conviction carries a requirement to register as a sex offender. For students with no prior criminal history, the charge carries a maximum sentence of 30 days in juvenile detention, Peters said. Neither of the students arrested Tuesday has a criminal history.

The investigation is continuing and includes a third female suspect who could face a criminal charge in juvenile court, Peters said.

“This is a huge concern for law enforcement,” he said.

The investigation has revealed that the 14-year-old boy previously dated the 14-year-old girl, Lacey Police Lt. Jim Mack said. After they broke up, the boy sent a message with the nude photo of the former girlfriend to a 13-year-old girl, Mack said. The 13-year-old girl transmitted the photo to another girl, and the photo has spread quickly to students throughout the school district, Mack said.

“People just kind of started sharing it,” he said. “We hope that people wouldn’t engage in this type of activity.”

The investigation is focusing on students who have forwarded the photo to others, not all students who received it, Mack said.

Mack said the offending photo was taken in a mirror by the alleged victim.

A number of Chinook students’ cell phones have been seized as evidence by the Lacey Police Department, Peters said.

Mack and prosecutors emphasized Thursday that parents need to talk with their children about not sending inappropriate messages from their cell phones. Parents also need to be aware of their children’s behavior regarding use of technology, such as laptop computers and other social media, he said.

“It’s something we see a lot more nowadays,” Mack said.

Chinook Principal Kirsten Rae sent a letter home to parents Thursday stating that “sexting” is a serious crime.

Peters said “it’s a terrible lesson to learn” for the students who now find themselves in juvenile court.

“This isn’t a joke,” he said.

SICKENING TRAIL

Explicit photos found on phone - Crime/Safety - NewsObserver.com.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Police investigating the disappearance of 5-year-old Shaniya Davis found explicit pictures of a child on a phone belonging to the suspect in the child's murder, according to unsealed court documents.

Mario Andrette McNeil's phone was seized by police after his arrest Nov. 19, the warrants say. The Fayetteville man is charged with kidnapping, raping and murdering Shaniya.

Search warrants in the case were unsealed this week by a Cumberland County Superior Court judge. According to an affidavit attached to one warrant, Detective Jason Sondergaard "observed photographs of a sexually explicit nature, and some of the photographs appeared to be that of a female juvenile under 10 years of age."

SEX OFFENDER NABBED AT SCHOOL

Sex offender facing new charge after being seen on Pender school grounds |

Willard | A 29-year-old convicted sex-offender faces a new felony charge after a parent spotted him on school grounds last week, officials said.

Brent Adam Murray of Watha was spotted Jan. 20 on the campus of Penderlea School, according to a statement from Detective Sgt. Scott Lawson of the Pender County Sheriff’s Office.

Murray was convicted of indecent liberties with a minor in 2005 in Duplin County, so he is prohibited from being on school property, Lawson said.

He also is forbidden from being at children’s museums, day care centers and playgrounds.

A parent notified the school’s resource officer that Murray was on campus, Lawson said. Murray was arrested following a sheriff’s office investigation into the accusation.

Murray does not have a child at the school, Lawson said.

Murray was being held Wednesday in the Pender County jail on a $20,000 bond.

The Penderlea School in Willard has children in kindergarten through the eighth grades.

Lawson said the case is an example of the community and law enforcement working together.

“It takes more than just law enforcement officers to keep our kids safe,” Lawson said. “This should be a wake-up call to school administrators and parents who are on and off campuses to keep an eye out.”

– David Reynolds

TIRED OF BEING POOR

Cameron Scott Minniefield enters the FBI offices in Erie on Jan. 27. Minniefield, 23, of 516 Raspberry St., Erie, has been charged in federal court with bank robbery. CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/

ERIE TIMES-NEWS

HIS TAKE FROM THE BANK ROBBERY?  A WHOPPING  $ 1,010

An Erie man who was "sick of being poor" took a bus to Meadville, where he robbed a bank Tuesday afternoon, the FBI said. He rode home in a taxi.

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Cameron S. Minniefield was arrested Tuesday night at the Intermodal Transportation Center, 208 E. Bayfront Parkway. Authorities said he was trying to board an 8:50 p.m. bus to Cleveland.

Minniefield, 23, of 516 Raspberry St., admitted to the robbery, the FBI said. He told investigators that he entered the First National Bank at 837 Park Ave. at 1:13 p.m. with a blue scarf over his nose and mouth. He told a teller to give him money, police said. He did not show a gun.

He left with $1,010.

At the time, prosecutors said, Minniefield was on probation for another bank robbery: He spent more than three years in federal prison for a 2006 holdup at a National City Bank in Erie.

He walked into that bank wearing a stocking cap and a black mask, according to court records. He did not show a weapon.

Minniefield was arraigned on the new charges before U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Paradise Baxter. He is being held without bail at the Erie County Prison.

Baxter scheduled a preliminary hearing on the matter for Feb. 10. A public defender has been assigned to the case.

Meadville police said witnesses saw Minniefield at the Meadville Public Library, 848 N. Main St., before the robbery. He was sitting at a window, watching the bank, police said.

Minniefield returned to the library after the robbery, police said. He went into a bathroom and discarded his clothes -- a hooded sweatshirt, dark coveralls and brown gloves -- and met the taxi he had called before the robbery, police said.

When Meadville police learned that he had traveled by bus on Tuesday, other officers checked the Greyhound station at the Intermodal Center. They learned that Minniefield already had bought a one-way ticket to Cleveland, according to court records.

Erie police and FBI agents were waiting when he arrived.

Welcome to the United States Department of Justice

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Justice Department Settlement with Nashville, Tennessee, Public Schools Will Improve Security on School Buses for Students with Disabilities.

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department today announced that it has entered into a settlement agreement with the Metropolitan Government of Nashville, Tenn., and Davidson County, Tenn., to enhance the security of students with disabilities on public school buses. The settlement is the result of a lawsuit stemming from episodes of peer-on-peer sexual harassment on buses designated for students with disabilities.

The United States intervened in this lawsuit, Lopez & U.S. v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, et al., to address systemic deficiencies that resulted in episodes of sexual assault and harassment of students with disabilities on special education buses operated by the school district. These acts of harassment violated Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits discrimination and harassment based on sex.

The agreement, in the form of a consent decree and subject to approval by Judge Robert Echols, obligates the Nashville Public School District to take substantial steps to enhance the security of students with disabilities on its public school transportation system. These steps include staffing bus monitors to assist drivers on all special education buses; implementing comprehensive screening procedures to ensure that students with disabilities are not assigned to buses where they would be at risk of harassment; expediting the investigation of suspected acts of sexual harassment involving students with disabilities; and ensuring open lines of communication between transportation officials and school-based personnel.

As part of this settlement, $1.475 million will be paid to a nine-year old autistic child who was assaulted on an unmonitored special education school bus and compelled to perform oral sex on a nineteen-year old student with known proclivities for sexually predatory behavior. The victim developed severe post-traumatic stress disorder in the aftermath of the assault and was subsequently institutionalized.

"While all victims of sexual assault suffer emotionally and psychologically, sexual assault can have a particularly devastating impact on children with disabilities," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "We will act decisively to enforce federal anti-discrimination laws against school districts that are deliberately indifferent to circumstances that threaten the safety and security of students with disabilities."

"This case is a sad reminder that children with disabilities need the protection of their governments from harassment, assault and maltreatment by others. The Justice Department and this U.S. Attorney’s Office will deal strictly with those who fail to protect the vulnerable members of our society and will make every effort to prevent such disgusting incidents from occurring in the future," said Edward M. Yarbrough, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee.

The enforcement of Title IX in school districts is a top priority of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. Additional information about the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department is available on its Web site at http://www.justice.gov/crt.

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The incident with the 9-year-old and a separate incident in October 2006 that involved an 11-year-old girl put a harsh media spotlight on the district.

In the 2006 incident that was captured on an on-board bus camera, an 11-year-old autistic girl suffered “prolonged sexual battery by a fellow special needs student while riding home from school on the school bus,” according to a lawsuit filed by her father.

WHY MIKEY CAN'T FLY WITHOUT BEING MOLESTED

Mikey Hicks, 8, Can’t Get Off U.S. Terror Watch List - NYTimes.com.

"Meet Mikey, 8: U.S. Has Him on Watch List "

That's the same brilliant government watch list that did not contain the name of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the underwear airplane bomber now in custody.

TSA - Terribly Stupid Actions

I urge you to read the article to appreciate the full flower of bureaucratic idiocy yet again displayed by the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA).

In short, since he was a two-year-old baby, Michael Winston Hicks, (left, now eight-years-old), has been repeatedly hassled, detained, questioned, patted down and generally harassed by TSA child molesters because someone with his same name is on the official government no-fly list.

"Up your arms, down your arms, up your crotch — someone is patting your 8-year-old down like he’s a criminal," Mrs. Hicks recounted. "A terrorist can blow his underwear up and they don’t catch him. But my 8-year-old can’t walk through security without being frisked."

Frustrated Thousands

The Hicks have done just about everything they can to get Mickey's name off the list, or at least recognition that he is not that Michael Hicks -- to no avail.

Over the past three years, 81,793 frustrated travelers have formally asked that they be struck from the watch list through the Department of Homeland Security; more than 25,000 of their cases are still pending.

Mrs. Hicks said the family was amused by the mistake at first. But that amusement quickly turned to annoyance and anger. It should not take seven years to correct the problem, Mrs. Hicks said.

Several Web sites, including the T.S.A.’s own blog, are rife with tales of misidentification and strategies for solving them. Some travelers purposely misspell their own names when buying tickets, apparently enough to fool the system.

Mr. Fotenos, the T.S.A. spokesman, promised improvements in a few months, as the agency’s Secure Flight Program takes full effect. Under the new system, airlines will collect every passenger’s birth date and gender, along with their names. The T.S.A. will cross-check all that with the watch lists. Previously, the airlines cross-checked the lists themselves, using only the names.

Certainly, Mikey’s date of birth, less than a month before 9/11, should prevent him from being mistaken as a terrorist.

Eight Year Old with Autism on Terror List: Detained at Airport. - AGE OF AUTISM

Eight Year Old with Autism on Terror List: Detained at Airport. - AGE OF AUTISM.
By Sabeeha Rehman

My 8 year old grandson Omar, who is on the autism spectrum, was pulled out at the airport and investigated as a terror suspect - his name being similar to that on the watch list.  He was enroute to Disney World with his parents and siblings.  He was held for an hour and it was only when his date of birth (2001) did not match that of the person's on the watch list, who we understand was in his twenties, and after several huddled meetings and phone calls, was he and his family allowed to board the plane.  He was agitated while being held for an hour, and sat there stimming, but they had to go through their procedures, before they could rule him out as a terrorist. Had his father not been with him during the one hour detention - he too was detained and then cleared - I dread to think of the damage that would have done to Omar.
 
He is 8!  He has autism! 
 
I have brought this to the attention to a reporter at the New York Times, and want to raise this as an issue with our networks, before more children like Omar are subjected to this treatment.
 
Sabeeha Rehman is the grandmother of an 8 year-old child with autism, and President and co-founder of the New York Metro Chapter of the National Autism Association.