OKC Officer Charged With Misdemeanor Assault And Battery
Danville Man Declined to Enter
Plea on Charges of Civil Rights Violations
Edmond Robles, 46, of Danville
is among 6 police officers who have been indicted
Autumn Johnson
Four San Francisco police
officers pleaded not guilty in federal court today to charges of conspiring to
violate civil rights and steal property, money and drugs seized during searches
and arrests.
The officers are four of six
charged in two separate federal indictments, issued under seal on Tuesday and
announced Thursday by U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag, alleging that they conducted
illegal searches of single-room occupancy residential hotel rooms and stole
seized property between 2009 and 2011.
Officers Arshad Razzak, 41, of
San Francisco, Richard Yick, 37, of San Francisco, and Raul Eric Elias, 44, of
San Mateo, each pleaded not guilty in the courtroom of U.S. Magistrate
Elizabeth Laporte to six counts they allegedly committed while working at San
Francisco's Southern Station in 2010 and 2011.
Sgt. Ian Furminger, 47, of
Pleasant Hill, pleaded not guilty to five counts allegedly committed while he
was working at the department's Mission Station in 2009 and 2010. Another
officer named in that indictment, Officer Edmond Robles, 46, of Danville,
declined to enter a plea today while a former officer also charged, Reynaldo
Vargas, 45, of Palm Desert, entered a plea on Thursday.
All six men have been granted
release on $50,000 bond. The allegations first surfaced in March 2011 when San
Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi began to release a series of video
surveillance tapes from single-room-occupancy hotels that allegedly showed
plainclothes officers conducting illegal searches during drug busts.
Speaking to reporters after
today's hearing, Razzak's attorney, Michael Rains, said that the length of time
between the officers being accused and the indictment being filed indicates
that the federal government did not believe that it had a strong enough case to
bring charges against the officers.
"The government sat on
this case for three years and allowed these guys to languish at their
jobs," Rains said. Rains said that given the length of time that the
federal government has been investigating the case, he expects that the
evidence has previously been presented to grand juries who did not issue an
indictment.
Even so, he expects the case to
go to trial, but likely not for about a year. Police Chief Greg Suhr said
Thursday that the department was "shaken" by the allegations and that
the five officers still serving with the department have been suspended without
pay. Suhr said that if convicted, they would be fired.
San Francisco Police Officers
Association president Mark Halloran today questioned Suhr's judgment in making
that statement, saying that the officers involved "deserve to have their
day in court."
"They're all hardworking
officers, they're dedicated to this city," Halloran said. "They know
their job, they've been doing it efficiently for many years."
In the first indictment, the
three officers formerly assigned to the Police Department's Southern Station,
Razzak, Yick and Elias, are alleged to have conspired to "injure, oppress,
threaten and intimidate" hotel occupants by entering and searching their
rooms without legal justification.
The officers are accused of two
additional counts of illegally searching two rooms in December 2010 and January
2011. Razzak and Yick are also each charged with two counts of falsifying
police reports and an informant payment record.
In the second indictment, the
officers from the Mission Station, Vargas, Furminger, and Robles, are accused
of three conspiracies: plotting to violate civil rights by stealing money and
property from people arrested; conspiring to sell drugs; and scheming to steal
seized money, property and drug evidence from the Police Department.
The indictment also accuses the
three men of selling marijuana in 2009 and stealing more than $5,000 worth of
property from the department in 2009 and 2010. If convicted, the officers could
face lengthy prison terms.
Elias, Yick and Razzak have
been ordered to return to court Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Richard
Seeborg, while Furminger, Robles and Vargas are ordered to return Wednesday
before U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer.
Sgt. Downing remains on administrative leave.
OKLAHOMA CITY -
An Oklahoma City police officer
has been charged with misdemeanor assault and battery following a traffic stop.
According to Oklahoma City
police, Sgt. Matthew Downing stopped a driver who was not paying attention when
the light turned green at N.W. 36th Street and May Ave. at about 10:35 a.m. on
Sunday, January 26.
As Sgt. Downing was speaking
with the driver, police said another vehicle drove by, and that driver leaned
out the window and yelled a comment regarding the traffic stop.
News 9 reporter Adrianna
Iwasinski obtained a police report Monday. According to the report, that
officer was yelling at a driver at the intersection at N.W. 36th and May Ave.
when another driver yelled at him.
According to police, Sgt.
Downing then left the scene of the original traffic stop to talk to the driver
who yelled the comment. He caught up to that car, which was stopped at a
convenience store in the area.
Sgt. Downing spoke with that
driver inside the store. He tried to arrest him and the driver resisted, which
resulted in a minor use of force, police said.
According to police, a police
supervisor responded to the scene to investigate the use of force. The
supervisor did not agree with the officer's actions. He released the driver and
notified command of the incident.
"A supervisor was
contacted, came to the scene, and reviewed the officer's actions," said
Captain Dexter Nelson with the Oklahoma City Police Department. "That
supervisor found that the officer's actions were unwarranted. and ordered the
immediate release of the individual."
Oklahoma City Police Chief Bill
Citty directed the Office of Professional Standards to conduct a criminal
investigation into the incident. The investigation concluded with a criminal
charge presented to Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater.
The District Attorney has
formally charged him with misdemeanor assault and battery for confronting the
man inside the convenience store, all for yelling the phrase, "Road rage
sucks!"
Sgt. Downing remains on
administrative leave. He has not been arrested since he's out of town.
Downing, a 15-year veteran of
the force, is part of the Uniform Support assigned to the Traffic Unit.
Former Carroll Valley officer
charged with corruption of a minor
Daniel Lanious, 50, allegedly
sent sexually explicit text messages to a 13-year-old girl
By Mark Walters
A former Carroll Valley Police
officer has been has been accused of sending "flirtatious and sexual"
text messages to a 13-year-old girl, state police state in charging documents.
Daniel Lanious, 50, of South
Middleton Township, Cumberland County, was charged with corruption of a minor,
according to a police criminal complaint filed at District Justice Susan Day's
office in Mount Holly Springs.
The teenager's mother told
police that Lanious met her daughter while volunteering at the South Middleton
Township Fire Company No. 35 in July 2013, according to the affidavit of
probable cause.
The girl received a text
message from Lanious out of nowhere, the affidavit states. The messages quickly
became "very flirtatious and sexual," the affidavit continues.
The girl said she believed
Lanious obtained her cellphone number from her Facebook page, the affidavit
states.
The girl told police Lanious
often mentioned wanting to have sex with her, according to the affidavit. She
said she played along to an extent, but was not as graphic as he was, the
affidavit continues.
The messages reportedly stopped
on Aug. 13, when the girl's mother caught the last text, which read " I
wish you were home I wish you were on birth control I have a condom,"
according to the affidavit.
The mother replied to the
message and told Lanious she hoped he was not over 18 because her daughter is
only 13, according to the affidavit.
A day or two later the mother
was visited by Lanious' son, who asked the mother if she would be contacting
police, the affidavit states.
During an interview with state
police Trooper Matthew Johnston from the Carlisle barracks, Lanious admitted to
sending sexual text messages to the 13-year-old girl, the affidavit states.
Lanious apologized repeatedly
for his actions and admitted what he did was "very stupid," according
to the affidavit.
A preliminary hearing is
scheduled for Lanious on April 2 in front of Day. He is being represented by
Gettysburg attorney Steve Rice. Rice declined to comment on the case until he
has spoken further with his client.
"As a well respected law
enforcement officer, it would be nice if people could give him the benefit of
the doubt," Rice said.
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