U.S. Marshals Arrest Homicide Suspect

Springfield, MO - Alfred C. Lomax, the United States Marshal for the Western District of Missouri, announces the arrest of fugitive Gabriella R. Shields.

On September 23, 2015, investigators with the U.S. Marshals Service Middle Tennessee Joint Fugitive Task Force, along with the Putnam County, Tennessee Sheriff’s Office located and arrested fugitive Gabriella R. Shields at a hotel in in Cookeville, Tennessee. Shields, 27, was charged on September 17, 2015, in Christian County, Missouri with one count of 1st Degree Murder, and one count of Armed Criminal Action. These charges stemmed from the shooting death of Christopher Younes, 35, of Marshfield in June 2014. The charges against Shields follow a joint criminal investigation by the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Christian County Sheriff’s Office.

A warrant was issued for Shields’ arrest on September 17, 2015. The search for Shields was conducted by the U.S. Marshals Service-Southern Missouri Fugitive Task Force in conjunction with the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Christian County Sheriff’s Office. Information was developed during the course the fugitive investigation which indicated that Shields was hiding at a hotel in Cookeville, Tennessee. Based upon this information the U.S. Marshals Service – Middle Tennessee Joint Fugitive Task Force responded to the hotel in Cookeville. Once there, officers located and arrested Shields without further incident.

Further inquiries regarding this arrest can be directed to Supervisory Deputy United States Marshal Darren Lane at (417) 851-5273.

The U.S. Marshals Service-Southern Missouri Fugitive Task Force is a team comprised of law enforcement officers from the U.S. Marshals Service, Christian County Sheriff’s Office, Greene County Sheriff’s Office, Springfield Police Department, Joplin Police Department, Ash Grove Police Department, and the Nixa Police Department. The task force’s objective is to seek out and arrest violent fugitives and sexual predators.

Hendersonville Commodities Trader Indicted on Fraud Charges

May 25, 2010 - NASHVILLE, TN—A federal grand jury has indicted Christian Leon Kis, 39, of Hendersonville, Tennessee, charging him with two counts of mail fraud and one count of money laundering, announced Jerry E. Martin, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee. Kis, through his businesses, Raptor Group and Raptor Capitol, Inc., operated as a commodity pool for investments in commodity futures contracts.

According to the indictment, beginning in December 2003 until about December 31, 2005, Kis devised a scheme to defraud clients with existing investments, as well as new clients, by representing that investments in commodity futures contracts had resulted in a profit for 2003 and 2004, which he knew to be false.

Kis’s false statements caused one investor to mail a $100,000 additional investment check from Burlington, Vermont and another investor to mail a $10,000 additional investment check from New York to Kis in Hendersonville, Tennessee. Kis then conducted a monetary transaction with the proceeds of his mail fraud investment scheme by transferring $100,000 between financial institutions.

This investigation was conducted by the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Harold B. McDonough represents the government.

An indictment is merely an accusation and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Bridgeport Man Sentenced to More Than Five Years in Federal Prison for Dealing Heroin

May 14, 2010 - David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that SCOTT TIMMONS, also known as “Skeefy,” 34, of Yaremich Drive, Bridgeport, was sentenced today by Senior United States District Judge Alfred V. Covello in Hartford to 63 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release. On February 1, 2010, TIMMONS pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute heroin.

According to court documents and statements made in court, from August 2007 to September 2007, TIMMONS and his associates sold wholesale quantities of heroin to an individual working with the FBI Safe Streets Task Force. During this time, TIMMONS personally distributed more than 66 grams of heroin.

This matter was investigated by members of the FBI Safe Streets Task Force, which is composed of federal agents and state and local officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, the Connecticut State Police Statewide Narcotics Task Force, and the Bridgeport, Stamford, Stratford, Fairfield, Trumbull and Norwalk Police Departments. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Hal Chen

Grosse Pointe Woman Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion

A 63-year-old Grosse Pointe woman admitted to hiding $1.65 million in income from the IRS, United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade announced.

McQuade was joined in the announcement by Special Agent-In-Charge Maurice Aouate, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation.

Maria Obie pleaded guilty to willfully subscribing a false tax return before United States District Judge Bernard A. Friedman. Obie admitted that she failed to report $709,112 in income on her 2003 IRS Form 1040 and an additional $942,737 on her 2004 tax return. During the relevant time period, Obie was the general manager of European Domestic Personnel (“EDP”), a janitorial service company she founded in 1980. For 2003, Obie reported only $25,832 in income; for 2004, she reported $14,424. The total tax loss calculated by the IRS resulting from Obie’s misrepresentations is $544,357.

Willfully subscribing a false tax return is punishable by a maximum sentence of 3 years imprisonment and a fine of up to $100,000. Sentencing is scheduled for August 3 at 11:00 a.m.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Leonid Feller.

Federal Jury Finds Former Head of Groton Mortgage Company Guilty of Defrauding Lenders

March 26, 2010 - Nora R. Dannehy, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced a federal jury in Hartford has found GARY T. JOHNSON, 60, of Groton, guilty of four counts of wire fraud and two counts of engaging in illegal monetary transactions while operating his former mortgage lending business. A trial in this matter began on Thursday, March 18, and the jury returned the verdicts this afternoon.

According to the evidence presented during the trial, JOHNSON owned and operated a business known as Matrix Investment Corp. (“Matrix”), which was based in Groton, Connecticut. Matrix provided mortgage loans to interested borrowers either as a broker for other lenders or as a loan originator itself. JOHNSON was the Chairman of Matrix and oversaw lending activity at the Company.

During 2004 and 2005, Matrix and JOHNSON began to use monies disbursed for the benefit of borrowers for purposes other than the payoffs set forth in the relevant HUD settlement statements, including to pay Matrix’s ongoing payroll and other expenses, or to make payoffs to other lenders on unrelated refinancings. In the summer of 2004, JOHNSON informed some of his employees that he was seeking to refinance certain of his personal properties to put money into the business to fund Matrix. As part of that process, a Matrix employee began to explore refinancing options for JOHNSON from various lenders, including Greenpoint Mortgage Funding Inc., for approximately $640,000 and a line of credit for $80,000, both to be secured by JOHNSON’s personal residence in Groton. Several months later, JOHNSON sought refinancing for $575,000 with Flagstar Bank, to be secured by another house he owned in New London.

During the refinancing process, JOHNSON caused fraudulent personal mortgage loan applications to be submitted to Greenpoint, Flagstar Bank, and other lenders. On the applications, JOHNSON misrepresented to Greenpoint that he owned his primary residence in Groton, when the residence was actually held in his wife’s name. JOHNSON also overstated his monthly employment income, listing it as much as $29,000, when his tax returns listed no employment income. Although JOHNSON also told Greenpoint and Flagstar that he would use the proceeds of the refinancings to pay off preexisting liens on the properties, he instead used the monies for other purposes.

The $640,000 and the $80,000 loans with Greenpoint closed on August 9, 2004. The Flagstar loan for $575,000 closed on October 8, 2004. In the fall of 2005, JOHNSON ceased making payments on both the Greenpoint and Flagstar loans. The loans went into default, and the lenders have suffered losses in excess of $1.3 million.

JOHNSON is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Christopher F. Droney on June 11, 2010, at which time JOHNSON faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 120 years.

This matter was investigated by Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation. The Federal Bureau of Investigation assisted in the investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel Christopher W. Schmeisser and Assistant U.S. Attorney David J. Sheldon

Soldiers, Airmen Help Afghan Police Hone Skills

By Army Sgt. Jessica R. Dahlberg
Special to American Forces Press Service

May 13, 2008 - The sound of idling Humvees resonated in the air as the police mentoring team commander briefed his team on convoy operations. With their orders received, the team mounted up and prepared to roll out, bound for Dandar, a small village in Afghanistan's Parwan province. Army Capt. Mark Moeckli and his team rolled out of Bagram Air Base and embarked on a scenic and treacherous journey over winding mountain roads.

Their task was to instruct the Afghan National Police on hand-to-hand combat, community policing, coordination-cell training, and criminal investigation.

Moeckli's team is made up of servicemembers who were trained in an array of military occupational specialties. With their combined expertise, they make a highly skilled and effective team, ready to tackle the task of teaching the skills Afghan police officers need to remain effective, he said.

The confident commander seemed secure in his team, which began work immediately.

"Some of the Afghan people do bad things, but most of the Afghan people want to see the Taliban gone and their country safe, just like we do," Moeckli said after returning from a meeting with Afghan National Police Col. Masoum Farzaie to discuss the day's objectives.

While the police mentoring team leadership met with the Afghan police colonel, the remaining team members prepared for a class on techniques for physical apprehension and restraint.

"We took it upon ourselves to give these training classes," said Army Capt. Donald Young, an Idaho National Guardsman and police mentoring team leader.

The teams of soldiers and airmen teach a variety of classes based upon the needs of the police in each district, Young explained. The day's classes were taught by the team's airmen, who are charged with training police in two provinces and 17 districts, and who recently taught police officers how to search personnel and control access to resources.

"The training is very good for us," Dawa Jan, an Afghan National Police officer, said. "Our main goal is security, and the classes the Americans give us help prepare us for that goal."

During the hands-on part of the class, Air Force Tech. Sgt. Chris Padron, deployed from Cannon Air Force Base, N.M., coached the police officers and gave them useful tips to help master the techniques.

"I love doing what I do," Padron said. "Teaching the Afghanistan National Police has been a great experience."

To become an Afghan National Police officer, applicants must have a high school education, go through testing and then attend a six-week course at one of the country's four academies. U.S. forces augment their training, helping them to retain the training they received at the academy.

"It is good for my policemen to learn from the Americans," Farazie said. "They have improved greatly since the Americans have come to teach them."

As the police mentoring team travels all over Parwan province, its goal is to give the Afghan National Police training and confidence they'll need to work without the assistance of coalition forces.

"We want to make the Afghanistan National Police sufficient, because in the end, it is not about us at all," Young said. "It is all about them."

(Army Sgt. Jessica R. Dahlberg serves with 382nd Public Affairs Detachment.)

Eyewitness Identification Resource Guide

Misidentifications have contributed to the wrongful conviction of more than 75% of the 213 people (as of February, 2008) exonerated through post-conviction DNA testing in the United States. The single largest cause of wrongful conviction, misidentifications plague our criminal justice system from the investigative stage through final disposition.

The Innocence Project closely tracks all eyewitness identification studies, in an effort to help jurisdictions understand how such misidentifications happen – and as importantly, what can prevent them from happening. This Resource Guide synthesizes the most important information for those considering how to improve the accuracy of eyewitness identifications.

Mindful of the different political landscapes of each state, this Guide attempts only to provide its readers with uncontested scientific research, grounded in years of examination and endorsed by a wide range of justice and law enforcement organizations, such as the National Institute of Justice and the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

The average citizen might assume that eyewitness identifications are typically accurate, and that DNA exonerations are anomalous flukes. Surprisingly, however, studies show that the rate at which eyewitnesses select non-suspect from photo and live lineup members during the course of an identification procedure hovers around 20%. Of the 213 post-conviction exonerations proven through DNA testing to date, over 75% included at least one misidentification. These facts demonstrate that misidentifications are not irregularities, but rather common occurrences in the course of criminal investigation.

Misidentifications not only harm the innocent, but damage the ability of law enforcement to properly investigate crime. Inaccurate eyewitness identifications can “burn witnesses” and otherwise confound investigations from the earliest stages. Time is a critical factor in a successful criminal investigation; when a misidentification distracts police from the real perpetrator, the potential for justice diminishes, while the threat to public safety increases.

DOWNLOAD THE GUIDE

Texas Lawmen

April 12, 2008 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com is a website that lists state and local police officers who have written books. The website added three law enforcement officials from the State of Texas

Ted Hinton became a Dallas County Sheriff’s Department deputy sheriff in 1932. He was a member of the posse that confronted and killed the infamous Bonnie and Clyde. Ted Hinton left the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department in 1941. A pilot, Ted Hinton gave flying instruction to Army Air Corps recruits throughout World War II. After the war, he opened restaurant and passed away in 1982. Ted Hinton is the author of Ambush: The Real Story of Bonnie and Clyde.

According to one reader, Ambush: The Real Story of Bonnie and Clyde, it “is Ted Hinton's account describing the early years and the facts leading up to the bloody end of two desperate criminals. Hinton speaks out as one of the six men who killed Bonnie and Clyde in a hailstorm of bullets without warning on the morning of May 23, 1934 near Gibsland, Louisiana. This book is well illustrated and provides several rare pictures. I recommend this book to readers.”

Captain James Howell has been in law enforcement for over 30 years and is the Commander of the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department Criminal Investigations Division. James Howell is the author of Copper Eyes and the co-author of Emerald Reflections.

According to the book description of Copper Eyes, “Danielle Ramos is a new Dallas County deputy sheriff who recently left the El Paso Sheriff’s Department to move forward with her life following her divorce. The detective’s first murder case in Dallas County thrusts her into the world of a past serial killer who had decided that after twelve years, now is the time to start killing again. Danielle is merely in the way.”

Chief Reece Daniel began his law enforcement career in 1976 with the Paris Police Department (Texas). He joined the Farmers Branch Police Department in 1980, rising to the rank of Captain. In 1999, he became the chief of police for the Rowlett Police Department; and, in 2006 he became the chief of police for the Jacksonville Police Department (Texas).

Chief Reece Daniel has a AA in law enforcement; a BS in Criminology and Psychology; and, a MS in Criminal Justice. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and holds a Criminal Justice Practitioner’s Certificate from the University of Virginia. Chief Reece Daniel is the author of Desert Sunshine.

According to the book description of Desert Sunshine, it “combines elements of modern law enforcement with the Old West of 1882. Ed Adair, retired police chief, moves back to his boyhood home in Arizona to become a Special Arizona Ranger, where he can indulge his insatiable appetite for western memorabilia and unsolved cases from the 1880s.”

Police-Writers.com now hosts 957 police officers (representing 403 police departments) and their 2037 law enforcement books in 35 categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.

397 Police Departments

April 7, 2008 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com is a website that lists state and local police officers who have written books. With the addition of three law enforcement officials, the website now listed 948 state and local law enforcement officials from 397 agencies.

Dr. Stephen Mackenzie has been training and working police service dogs for over 17 years. He is a part time Deputy with the Schoharie County Sheriff's Office (New York). During his law enforcement career he has served as a K-9 handler for 7 years and K-9 Trainer for 8 years. Stephen Mackenzie is a Trainer/Examiner of police dog teams for the state of New York; an Examiner of police work dog teams for the Connecticut Police Work Dog Association; and a Master Trainer with the North American Police Work Dog Association.

According to the book description of Decoys and Aggression: A Police K-9 Training Manual “A good decoy needs to be an expert in canine communication, and needs to know how to use this language to stimulate aggression in the dog. This book explains, step by step, how to understand the canine paralanguage and how to use your own body to communicate with the dog.”

Steven Drielak is a retired Lieutenant from the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. His last assignment was as the commanding officer of the Environmental Crimes Unit. After leaving the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, Steven Drielak became the Director, Homeland Security Program, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Steven Drielak is the author of Hot Zone Forensics: Chemical, Biological, and Radiological Evidence Collection and Environmental Crime: Evidence Gathering and Investigative Techniques. He is also the co-author of Weapons of Mass Destruction: Response and Investigation with Thomas Brandon.

According to the book description of Environmental Crime: Evidence Gathering and Investigative Techniques, “The purpose of this book is to guide the new criminal investigator who is about to enter the highly-regulated and complex field of criminal environmental investigation. This type of criminal investigation has a "steep learning curve." Every hazardous waste evidence-gathering operation is strictly regulated by numerous laws and mandated procedures. This book has been written in a format that will take the new investigator successfully through this learning process.”

Tony Capria began his law enforcement career as a police officer in the Syracuse Police Department (New York). After working in 6 months in patrol, he was assigned as an investigator in the police department's organized crime unit. Tony Capria left law enforcement for a few years to pursue business interests but return in 1976 as a corrections officer at the Jamesville Penitentiary (New York).

Tony Capria moved to the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office where he took a position as a deputy sheriff in the jail. He was promoted to sergeant and responsible to supervise a shift of a dozen deputies with custody responsibility for over 200 inmates. Tony Capria left the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Department after an on-duty injury. Tony Capria is the author of Betrayal.

Police-Writers.com now hosts 948 police officers (representing 397 police departments) and their 2014 police books in 34 categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.

New York State Troopers

March 20, 2008 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com is a website that lists state and local police officers who have written books. The website added three New York State Police troopers.

James Eagan, a trooper with the 20 years of expereince with the New York State Police is the author of A Speeders Guide to Avoiding Tickets. According to the book description, “Regardless of your record as a driver, everyone speeds sometimes. You are on the open road, no one around for miles, and so you step on the gas pedal. Then you experience a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach -- and in your wallet -- when you see a flashing red light in the rearview mirror. Now you can ease on down the road without paying the high price of traffic tickets, inflated insurance premiums and expensive lawyer's fees.”

John V. Elmore is a practicing Criminal Defense Attorney with offices in Buffalo and Niagara Falls, New York. He was co-counsel with Attorney James Harrington in Western New York’s first Death Penalty case in forty years. Their efforts resulted in a life sentence for Jonathan Parker, convicted in the shooting of Buffalo Police Officer Charles McDougald. He is a former New York State Trooper, Manhattan Assistant District Attorney and New York State Assistant Attorney General. John Elmore has taught Criminal Justice Administration at Buffalo State College and Medaille College. John Elmore has lectured at various continuing legal seminars sponsored by the New York State Capital Defender’s Office, the Erie County Bar Association, and the New York State Bar Association.

John Elmore is the Author of Fighting For Your Life; An African-American Criminal Justice Survival Guide. According to the book description, “Powerfully written by John V. Elmore, Esq. and edited by Yvonne Rose, with a foreword by Tony Rose, Publisher of Amber books, FIGHTING FOR YOUR LIFE Will Teach You: How to Choose the Best Attorney to Help You Win Your Personal Fight for Justice; Understand Your Rights and Know What to Do if You Are Arrested; Survive if You Get Caught up in the Criminal Justice System.

Todd Keister is a lieutenant in the New York State Police, currently serving in the Bureau of Criminal Investigation commanding the anti-corruption unit at an upstate Indian casino. He has previously served as a trooper, field-training officer, sergeant, academy instructor, station commander, assistant zone commander, and director of field investigations for the governor’s office. He also served as a U.S. Navy Reserve Intelligence Specialist for the Defense Intelligence Agency from 2000-2005. Lieutenant Todd Keister holds associate and bachelor degrees in criminal justice and history, respectively, and a master’s degree in criminal justice from the University at Albany School of Criminal Justice.

Lieutenant Todd Keister is the author of the Center for Problem-Orientated Policing Guide No. 46, Thefts of and from Cars on Residential Streets and Driveways. According to the introduction, “This guide begins by describing the problem of theft of and from cars in residential neighborhoods and by reviewing factors that increase its risks. It then identifies a series of questions to help you analyze your local problem. Finally, it reviews responses to the problem and what is known about these from evaluative research and police practice.”

Police-Writers.com now hosts 876 police officers (representing 383 police departments) and their 1839 police books in 32 categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.

Contact Information:
Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.), MPA
editor@police-writers.com
909.599.7530