COPWATCH

Border Patrol agent sentenced in theft of firearm parts - Arizona's Family

U.S. Border Patrol agent in Arizona will have to serve nearly two years in prison for weapons-related crimes.

A federal judge sentenced 39-year-old Jesus Manuel Franco on Wednesday to 18 months for theft of firearm parts and equipment and the unlawful possession and transfer of two machine-gun conversion devices.

According to federal prosecutors, Franco, of Vail, was temporarily assigned to the Customs and Border Protection Armory in Harper's Ferry, West Virginia in 2014.

[RELATED: Former BP agent sentenced for theft, unlawful possession of machine gun]

During his two-month stint, he unlawfully transferred 47 boxes of firearm parts and equipment worth $100,000 from the Armory to Wilcox, Arizona.

One box had the conversion devices.

A jury found Franco (guilty) of all charges.

Fort Lauderdale Cops Assault Woman Who Tesitifed against Them

Pasadena Police Officer Illegally Sold More Than 100 Firearms, Feds Say | KTLA

A Pasadena police officer who allegedly sold more than 100 firearms without a license over a three-year period was released on bail after being arrested on federal charges Friday.

Vasken Kenneth Gourdikian, a 48-year-old lieutenant on administrative leave, turned himself in to federal authorities Friday morning, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The agency said a federal grand jury indicted Gourdikian on Thursday, accusing him of dealing in firearms without a license; making false statements on forms from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and possessing an unregistered short-barreled rifle.

After his arrest, the officer pleaded not guilty in court and was released on a $100,000 bond, the Associated Press reported.

Gourdikian allegedly used his position as a police officer to buy firearms that were not publicly available and selling them to civilians through third-party transfers.

His status as an officer let him purchase more than one handgun in a 30-day period, according to the indictment. He also allegedly obtained authorization from his employer to acquire a firearm before the 10-day waiting period was over.

The Pasadena Police Department gave Gourdikian seven waivers that let him skip the 10-day wait when he bought six pistols and an assault rifle at gun shops in L.A. and Orange counties, the Pasadena Star-News reported.

The indictment also charged Gourdikian with falsely certifying on ATF forms that he was the buyer of a firearm when he had already agreed to sell the weapon to another individual.

ATF agents in February 2017 searched Gourdikian’s home in Sierra Madre, where the U.S. Attorney’s Office said around 62 firearms were seized.

Gourdikian sold more than 100 firearms without a license from March 2014 to February 2017, according to Thursday’s indictment.

He frequently advertised “off roster” firearms on the website Calguns.net, the indictment said.

“In these days of escalating gun violence, it is important to enforce our firearms laws vigorously,” said U.S. Attorney Nicola T. Hanna, the chief federal law enforcement officer for the Central District of California.

A routine analysis of sales and trace reports by ATF’s L.A. Crime Gun Intelligence Center prompted the investigation, said Bill McMullan, the special agent in charge of the agency’s Los Angeles field division.

Gourdikian has been an officer with Pasadena police since 1994, the Los Angeles Times reported. City officials said he would remain on leave but would no longer receive pay, according to the paper.

“Bringing a case against a law enforcement officer is never pleasant, but we hold public safety and a commitment to justice above everything,” McMullan said in a statement. “We are grateful for the Pasadena Police Department’s cooperation in this case.”

Mark Geragos, an attorney representing Gourdikian, said in a statement:

Lt. Gourdikian has had a long, unblemished and distinguished career in Law Enforcement. This Indictment is misguided and truly an abuse of the supposed discretion of the Government. The inflammatory statement today issued by the Government today was better suited for a political rally which probably explains the true motivation and timing of this flawed Indictment. This case will be vigorously contested.

If convicted on all charges, Gourdikian could face up to 35 years in federal prison.

IN OUR MOST RECENT EPISODE OF GUESS THE RACE, MAN RELEASED AFTER 23 YEARS IN PRISON FOR CRIME HE DIDN'T COMMIT. GUBMINT PAYS HIM $0


When Lamonte McIntyre was exonerated for a double murder in October, he walked out of a Kansas prison with a clean record – but not a dime to his name, reports CBS News' Dean Reynolds. After losing 23 years of his life behind bars, the state is offering him nothing.

Kansas is one of 18 states that offer wrongfully convicted prisoners no compensation at all upon their release.

"I think it's unjust, but me being angry about it is not going to change it," McIntyre said.

Tricia Bushnell of the Midwest Innocence Project worked to win McIntyre's release. She said McIntyre has other reasons to be angry. She called this case the "perfect storm."

For example, at his trial in 1994 when he was 17, there was no physical evidence or motive presented. Worse, according to McIntyre's current lawyers, lead police detective Roger Golubski built the case by threatening witnesses. Bushnell said the fallout may impact other potential exonerations.

She said there are about a dozen people behind bars whose cases are connected to detective Golubski.

Golubski has since retired, and said he did nothing wrong. But Mark Dupree, who became the state's attorney a year ago, has asked the Kansas Bureau of Investigation to review his conduct.

"If my office receives that information and there's probable cause to charge Mr. Golubski, it will happen," Dupree said.

He agrees that McIntyre got a raw deal. "He did. And the only thing we can do is push forward," he said.

Pushing forward is exactly what Lamonte McIntyre is doing. He is studying to be a barber.

"I want to spend the rest of my life being happy. I don't want to be bitter. That's taking away from me. I don't have any more time to give," he said.



A just society would imprison the cops, judge, and jury for 23 years.

Pima County corrections officer accused of sneaking drugs to jai - Arizona's Family

PIMA COUNTY, AZ (Tucson News Now) -
A Pima County Corrections officer has been accused of sneaking drugs into the county jail.

The Pima County Sheriff's Department said Martin Lopez, 27, was arrested last week on charges of transportation of narcotics and promoting prison contraband.

The PCSD said Lopez was with the corrections department for 11 months and was still on probation.

"The Pima County Sheriff’s Department takes an aggressive, zero tolerance stance towards any allegations of criminal activity or misconduct by department members," Sheriff Mark Napier said in a news release. "This investigation is ongoing and more information will be released as it becomes available."

SOME BEST BUY GEEK SQUAD EMPLOYEES WERE PAID FBI INFORMANTS; RELATIONSHIP FOR AT LEAST 10 YEARS CONFIRMED

Violates 4th Amendment

_https://www.eff.org/files/2017/05/31/2017-05-31_eff_v._doj_complaint_0.pdf

[ame]https://www.eff.org/files/2017/05/31/2017-05-31_eff_v._doj_complaint_0.pdf[/ame]

_https://www.eff.org/files/2018/03/06/geek_squad_bates_no._28-29.pdf

[ame]https://www.eff.org/files/2018/03/06/geek_squad_bates_no._28-29.pdf[/ame]

_https://www.eff.org/files/2018/03/06/geek_squad_bates_no._134.pdf

[ame]https://www.eff.org/files/2018/03/06/geek_squad_bates_no._134.pdf[/ame]

LAPD Officer Arrested, Accused of Workers’ Comp Fraud While Enrolled in Controversial City Pension Program | KTLA

Money Matters, People's Lives Don't

Los Angeles police officials arrested one of their own Thursday on suspicion of workers’ compensation fraud while enrolled in a controversial program that pays veteran cops and firefighters their salary and pension simultaneously for up to five years.

COPS RESPONDED TO WRONG ADDRESS RESULTING IN THREE SHOT AND ONE DEAD, KILLING RESIDENT AS WELL. NOW HAVE FULL COVER STORY ON CIVILIAN THEY SHOT. THATS A LAWSUIT OR FOUR

Authorities revealed Wednesday that police were actually sent to the wrong house when they were responding to a 911 call which led to three officers being shot, one of them fatally, according to WDAF.

Missouri State Highway Patrol said Wednesday afternoon that Clinton officers were sent to 306 West Grandriver Street for a 911 call in which Henry County 911 operators could hear two women arguing in the background but no one was directly speaking to operators.

When officers arrived at the Clinton home, they came into contact with Tammy Widger, Sgt. Bill Lowe with the Missouri State Highway Patrol said Wednesday. Widger told officers there wasn’t a problem, and no one else was in the home.

After confirming the address with dispatch, officers entered the home, which is where they encountered 37-year-old James E. Waters, who fired at the officers and killed Officer Christopher Ryan Morton.

Officer Nathan Bettencourt is in stable condition, recovering from gunshot wounds and surgery at a Kansas City-area hospital. Officer Nicholas Kasper was also treated for gunshot wounds and was released from the hospital earlier Wednesday.

Additional agencies were called to the Clinton home, including members of the Bates County Tactical Team and the MSHP Troop A SWAT Team, who entered the home to get to Morton. Lowe said it took 15 to 20 minutes from the first ‘officer down’ call to get inside to him.

“That’s just a guess. It could have been longer than that,” Lowe said.

Then, just after midnight, officers entered the home again to apprehend Waters, who was found dead from a gunshot wound in a bathroom, Lowe said.

Lowe said Wednesday that further investigation traced the phone number from the 911 call to a Windsor, Missouri, address — not the Clinton home that police were sent to. Windsor is approximately 15 miles from Clinton.

“We were later able to determine it was not from that residence in which they were responding to,” he said. “We are still investigating on how it transpired as far as giving the residence that the officers were sent to, but that will be part of the continuing investigation.”

Lowe said Waters was part of another investigation involving an alleged rape, so that part of the investigation will also be in conjunction with the investigation into the shooting, he said.

On Wednesday, 37-year-old Widger was charged in Henry County with possession of meth with the intent to deliver as well as public nuisance, Henry County Prosecutor Richard Shields said. The county court has issued a warrant and set her bond at $25,000, he said.

“At this time, there’s no clear correlation,” Shields said of the woman’s charges. “We’re just alleging that she, at that time, was in possession and that possession at that time was with the intent to deliver.”

“Yes, it is a coincidence that they were called to that specific address, and it is tragic that that happened, but the fact is they were in the act of committing crimes within that house,” Lowe said. “They were doing so to ensure that nobody else was hurt or there wasn’t any other problems, and so when they were given the information that no one was in the house, they had to verify that. And that point in time that’s when the tragedy occurred.”

Authorities on Wednesday released a mug shot of Waters from a November 2017 arrest for unlawful possession of a firearm and possession of a controlled substance.

Morton, who goes by his middle name, Ryan, was just 30 years old when he was killed Tuesday night.

To find suspects, Raleigh police quietly turn to Google :: WRAL.com

Officer charged with DUI after driving backward

Ex-police sergeant gets 120 years in Florida child porn case



JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A former Florida police sergeant was sentenced to 120 years in federal prison for making and possessing child pornography, including images downloaded on his patrol car's computer.

Denver police shot man who was wrongly identified as jail escapee – The Denver Post

Three Denver Police Department officers mistakenly thought they were pursuing a jail escapee on Monday night when they fired shots into an SUV with two men inside.

Officers killed 27-year-old Steven Nguyen and wounded 23-year-old Rafael Landeros in the shooting, Archer said Thursday.

Even though police shot the wrong person, Archer declared the shooting was justified because the officers reasonably believed they were pursuing Venzor-Gonzalez. The people in the car did not follow officers’ orders and appeared to be searching for something as officers yelled for them to show their hands, she said.

Smoke and Mirrors

"We Keep Killing Unarmed Black Males For Fun, So We Are Going to Pretend to do Something About it" - California

Ignoring Civil Rights and the US Constitution, while ignoring the fact that creating new laws changes nothing, California considers new legislation, because that will surely fix the problem.

The proposed legislation would change the guidance in California’s use of force laws so that police may open fire ”‘only when necessary’ rather than ‘when reasonable,’” Sacramento-based Assemblyman Kevin McCarty (D), said at a press conference Tuesday.

Ex-DPS scientist claims he was retaliated against for court test - Arizona's Family

In 2015, he was in charge of blood tests and would test dozens of blood samples that would make up a single batch. The lawsuit said DPS' policy was not to allow defense attorneys to access the entire batch results through the discovery process, saying it would take too much time.

Ohlson said he was able to do it in 40 minutes, instead of the 2-and-a-half hours originally thought. He said that revealing the entire batch would a way to check for accuracy and show there were no problems with the testing equipment, the lawsuit said.

Ohlson said he came up with an efficient method to access the entire batch documentation within minutes and told his superiors about it in March of 2016, who he claims didn't order him to stop, the lawsuit said.

In May of 2016, he testified in court that releasing the entire batch would be in the public interest and prove the quality of the tests, according to the lawsuit.

But then in June, Ohlson was called into his boss' office and reprimanded for his testimony, the lawsuit said.

He was also told to modify his testimony to bring it in line with the position of "the laboratory and the other analysts," the lawsuit said, which was not to release all the test results for the attorneys.

DES employee, Phoenix cop accused in theft of cash and guns - Arizona's Family

Posted: Apr 05, 2018 7:55 AM MST
Updated: Apr 05, 2018 11:47 AM MST
By Laura Lollman

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -
An employee with the Department of Economic Security (DES) and her husband, a Phoenix PD detective, were arrested for theft, fraud and money laundering among other charges by Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers Wednesday.

Arizona DPS said they were provided with information by DES of potential criminal activity by an employee.

According to DPS, Autumn Maya, a detective with DES, is alleged to have stolen over $3,000 in cash and multiple firearms and body cameras from DES. DPS said Autumn pawned the stolen items at various pawn shops around the Valley.

Her spouse, Michael Maya was also charged as a co-conspirator and booked for trafficking stolen property, money laundering and conspiracy.

Sgt. Jonathan Howard with Phoenix Police Department confirmed that Michael has been a detective with Phoenix police for about 24 years, and due to his recent arrest, Phoenix PD have begun the process to terminate him.

Court documents state that DES employees had placed over $3,000 in cash in a signed and sealed envelope in a large safe at the DES office in December of 2016. The money was previously used as Evidence Acquisition Funds for undercover detectives to use during investigations.

In November of 2017, an employee entered the safe to retrieve the money to be used for a future investigation. The employee opened the envelope and found that the cash had been replaced with white copy paper cut to the size of dollar bills.

The employee alerted their supervisor who told DPS.

DPS then interviewed Autumn and other employees and said that Autumn was defensive and said she never touched the envelope and didn't even know the envelope existed until it was reported although she had access to the safe, documents state.

DPS conducted an analysis of the envelope and found Autumn's fingerprints on the sticky side of the scotch tape seal and inside of the envelope, contradicting her story that she never touched the envelope and did not know it existed.

Additionally, in a search of Autumn's outside trashcan at her house, DPS found multiple receipts of transactions at the matching pawn shops.

Employees at the pawn shops were able to pick Autumn's husband Michael out of a photo line up and said that he was with her during these transactions and paid to get the guns back.

DPS detectives said Autumn's fingerprints could not have been transferred to any of these locations on the envelope or within the envelope by simply moving the envelope within the safe.

Documents state that after DPS identified Autumn as the primary suspect in the case, a records check was performed on her and it was found that she had pawned several firearms and body cameras to several different pawn shops in the Phoenix area.

After investigating the pawn shop transactions, DPS found that the firearms and body cameras all belonged to DES based on their serial numbers.

Additionally, in a search of Autumn's outside trashcan at her house, DPS found multiple receipts of transactions at the matching pawn shops.

Autumn was then placed on administrative leave and was asked to turn in her weapons. Autumn told her supervisor that the guns were at her mother's house in a safe that she did not have the keys to and would not be able to turn her weapons in until the following day.

DPS said this claim was made by Autumn to buy herself some time to buy the guns back from the pawn shop.

Employees at the pawn shops were able to pick Autumn's husband Michael out of a photo line up and said that he was with her during these transactions and paid to get the guns back.

DPS interviewed Michael and he claimed to not know that the firearms were property of DES. DPS concluded that because Michael was positively identified at several of the pawn shops and that he paid to get the items back so she could return them to DES, he knew the items were state property.

DPS said Autumn has been with DES since August 2016. Documents state that Autumn previously worked for the Arizona Attorney General's (AAG) office as a property custodian.

The AAG's office was informed by DES of this investigation because there were concerns that the AAG may be missing property as well. Documents state that when Autumn left the AAG's office in July 2017, she was asked to turn in her duty weapon.

The AAG said she turned in the wrong weapon because the serial numbers did not match. Autumn was notified and apologized and said that she accidentally gave them her brother-in-law's gun.

The following week she turned in the correct gun which was later found out by DPS to have also been pawned by Autumn using her maiden name.