Atlanta cop reindicted in sexual assault

By Tim Eberly The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ATLANTA — An Atlanta police officer whose criminal charges were thrown out earlier this week has been reindicted on the same charges, according to the Fulton County district attorney's office.
Wayne Longe once again is charged with sexual assault against a person in custody and violation of oath by a public officer, according to the indictment obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Longe, a police officer since 2002 who is on administrative leave, originally was brought up on those charges in June. He is accused of sexually assaulting a woman in the back of his patrol car while on duty in July 2004.
The sexual encounter occurred at Anderson Park in northwest Atlanta.
Longe's attorney, Jackie Patterson, says Longe admits to having sex with the woman but says it was consensual.
On Monday, a Fulton County Superior Court judge threw out the indictment because the paperwork didn't specify what kind of sex allegedly took place.
As a result, Patterson contends, the district attorney's office could not reindict Longe because the four-year statute of limitations has run out.
The district attorney's office disagrees, pointing to a Georgia law stating that when a case is thrown out, the statute of limitations is extended by six months from the date that it was quashed.
Longe's new indictment, with more detailed language, was handed up by a grand jury on Tuesday.
Patterson said Thursday that he believes the second indictment will not stand either. His argument is that Longe did not have the opportunity to go before a grand jury to provide a statement, which law enforcement officers are entitled to if the alleged crime occurred when they were "in the performance of his or her duties," according to state law.
Yvette Brown, spokeswoman for the district attorney's office, said prosecutors did not have to notify Longe or invite him to the grand jury hearing.
She cited prior case law that says the crime of rape is not part of an officer's official duties, so an officer charged with that offense doesn't have a right to speak before a grand jury.
Brown said she could not address the fact that Longe has not been charged with rape.
Patterson provided the Journal-Constitution with a letter from a Fulton County prosecutor, inviting Longe to attend the first grand jury hearing. It states that "you and your attorney, if you choose to have one, are entitled to be present during the presentation of evidence against you."
Brown said she had not read the letter and couldn't address specific wording, but that it was sent as a "courtesy" to Longe and that he never has been entitled by law to attend the grand jury hearings.

Copyright 2008 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Atlanta cop files complaint against police chief

By TIM EBERLY
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thursday, October 02, 2008
An Atlanta police officer has filed an ethics complaint against Police Chief Richard Pennington, contending the chief made on-duty motorcycle officers escort members of his Corvette club through the city last summer, the police union said.
Atlanta ethics officer Ginny Looney confirmed Thursday that a complaint was filed against Pennington on Aug. 22, but she would not discuss its details. She said an investigation into the complaint has begun.
Pennington would not comment on an open investigation, said Sgt. Lisa Keyes, an Atlanta police spokeswoman.
The officer who filed the complaint did so anonymously out of fear of retribution, said police Sgt. Scott Kreher, president of an Atlanta police union.
The escort incident happened on July 12, Kreher said. He said Pennington owns a Corvette and is a member of the United Council of Corvette Clubs, which describes itself on a Web site as the premier African-American Corvette club.
Kreher said the club’s members came to Atlanta for its week-long annual convention and stayed at a hotel south of the city, near the airport.
On July 12, Pennington had a handful of officers escort the club members, driving their Corvettes, from the hotel to Lenox Square Mall in Buckhead, Kreher said.
Pennington was with the group, was not on duty and was driving his Corvette, Kreher said, adding that the escort required about two hours of the officers’ time.

Ex-cop faces life sentence in murder conviction

By DAVID SIMPSON
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Former Atlanta police officer Harold Lee Render faces a mandatory life prison sentence after being convicted of the murder of a man Render blamed for the death of his son.
A DeKalb County jury returned the guilty verdict Wednesday night, rejecting Render’s claim that he fired in self-defense because he thought Lemarcus Walker had a gun when he encountered him outside a convenience store in south DeKalb on April 30, 2007. Walker was unarmed.
One bullet also struck a bystander, who was permanently disabled.
Render, 52, had left the police force and was a security guard at the time. He had a permit for the gun he carried.
His son had been killed in 2006, and witnesses said there was animosity between Render and Walker over the killing.
Render was to be sentenced later by Superior Court Judge Clarence Seeliger.

Atlanta cop indicted in sexual assault

By Tim Eberly The Atlanta-Journal Constitution
ATLANTA — An Atlanta police officer was indicted Friday on charges he sexually assaulted a woman in the back of his patrol car while on duty in July 2004, authorities said.
Wayne Longe, also a sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserve, was charged with sexual assault on a person in custody and violation of his oath of office, according to the Fulton County district attorney's office.
The incident allegedly happened on July 1, 2004, at Anderson Park in northwest Atlanta.
Prosecutors say they linked Longe to the alleged attack by DNA found on a condom thrown away at the park.
Longe's attorney, Jackie Patterson, says Longe admits having sex with the woman in the park that night, but he says it was consensual. It is The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's policy to not name the victims of sexual crimes.
Shelia Edwards, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office, said Longe arrested the woman, who is in her 40s, on a charge of drinking in public, drove her to the park and sexually assaulted her with the car door open.
Afterward, the victim said Longe dropped her off at the location where he arrested her with a ticket for drinking in public, Edwards said.
Longe's attorney, however, contends the woman was never under arrest. Patterson says Longe gave her the ticket when he spotted her on a roadside.
After that, the woman started hitting on Longe, saying she had never been with a Jamaican man, Patterson said. Longe is from Jamaica.
"They had a conversation," Patterson said. "They agreed to go to the park to have sex. ... Unfortunately, he used bad judgment and had sex with her."
After the encounter, Edwards said, the woman returned to her home and told family members, who went to the park and retrieved the discarded condom.
Longe, who joined the Atlanta Police Department in March 2002, was put on administrative leave the day of the incident and later went on military leave, Atlanta police Sgt. Lisa Keyes said.
"We do not condone any behavior associated with these allegations," Keyes said in a prepared statement. "These allegations are against everything our department stands for and will be dealt with swiftly and appropriately. We are doing our utmost to regain the trust and confidence of our communities."

Copyright 2008 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Former Atlanta police officer sentenced for cash payoffs

Associated Press - June 2, 2008 5:54 PM ET
ATLANTA (AP) - A former Atlanta police officer has been sentenced to three years of probation for extortion in a case stemming from the fatal shooting of an elderly woman during a botched drug raid.
The former officer, 26-year-old Daniel Betts of Rockmart, pleaded guilty in January to extortion. He admitted taking cash payoffs from the owner of an apartment complex in exchange for a promise of extra protection from crime.
According to federal prosecutors, Betts was implicated after 1 of the officers involved in the Nov. 21, 2006 killing of 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston told investigators that several members of the department were taking such payoffs.

Atlanta cop charged in rape has past assault on record

An Atlanta police officer charged last month with raping a neighbor in Clayton County got in trouble in 2005 for assaulting a female acquaintance at her apartment while off duty, police documents show.

Officer Edward L. Rabb, 27, got suspended for five days and received a written reprimand for his behavior in the January 2005 incident, according to police documents obtained through a

Rabb didn't deny the allegations, but told police officials that he couldn't remember. That night, he said, he "had several drinks" and "blanked out," police documents show.
"I am glad that nobody got hurt," Rabb wrote in a police report. "I am embarrassed by the whole situation."

An internal investigation revealed that Rabb had been drinking and watching a football game at another police officer's home.

Afterward, he went to the apartment of a female acquaintance and entered the apartment without permission while she was entertaining a male friend, police reports show.

He asked her if she was having sex with his cousin, and pushed her against a wall twice after she said she wasn't, documents show.

The woman hit her head, but was not injured. She did not want to pursue criminal charges against him, documents show.

Rabb had met the young woman months earlier when he pulled her over while on duty, documents show.

A five-year veteran assigned to the Red Dog narcotics unit, he has been put on paid leave since his arrest in late April on charges that he raped and sodomized a female neighbor who went to his house to use his shower, authorities said.

Rabb acknowledged to police that he and the woman had sex on April 23 but said it was consensual, Owens said. The neighbor, a 30-year-old woman, told police Rabb made sexual advances to her and used force when she objected.

Rabb was still being held Tuesday in a Clayton County jail, according to jail logs.

Former Fulton County sheriff shoots and kills his wife

A former Fulton County sheriff's major accidentally shot and killed his wife while unloading his gun.

Police say 54-year-old Riley Taylor was at a family function when the gun discharged Friday and the bullet struck his wife, 54-year-old Denise Taylor.
Griffin police spokesman Corporal Bryan Clanton says the woman was flown by helicopter to Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, where she was pronounced dead.

Gwinnett Sherriff's Deputy and 2 Daughters Killed By Own Son

A 17-year-old was arrested Friday in the murder of his mother, a Gwinnett County sheriff's deputy, and his two sisters.

Anthony Tyrone Terrell is charged with killing his mother, Joy Deleston, and his sisters Micaiah,11, and Jelani, 4.

Terrell was taken to jail in neighboring DeKalb County to avoid any potential conflict because Deleston worked for Gwinnett County, Spellman said. He is being held without bail.

A neighbor called police Thursday night when she heard gunshots and a bullet came through the wall of her house.
Officers who responded realized the bullet came from the deputy's house at 415 Madison Chase Drive and saw the deputy's marked patrol vehicle in the driveway, said Gwinnett County police spokesman David Schiralli. When they investigated they found the bodies of the deputy and her daughters.
"They knew a deputy lived there, so they knocked at the door to see if everybody was all right," Schiralli said. "There was no answer, but lights were on. They opened the door a little bit to announce themselves. That's when they saw the 11-year-old."
She was just inside the front door. The deputy's body was further inside the house. The 4-year-old was discovered in an upstairs bedroom.
Deleston worked in the sex crimes unit.

Atlanta cop admits to taking payoffs from businesses

Daniel Betts' admission came out of investigation into Kathryn Johnson shooting

A former Atlanta police officer pleaded guilty Thursday to extortion charges that were uncovered in the ongoing federal investigation of the fatal shooting of an elderly woman during a botched drug raid in 2006.

Daniel Betts, who resigned from the force shortly before his plea, admitted accepting payoffs in exchange for extra patrols. Betts and other officers would give business owners their phone numbers so if there was trouble, the owners could call the officers directly, not 911.

"He was receiving money from a business in a high-crime area for doing nothing other than what he was supposed to do as a police officer," U.S. Attorney David Nahmias said after the plea. "Instead of calling 911, you could call your private 911."

Moreover, the officers, by giving increased patrols to some businesses, pushed crime to businesses that were not giving payoffs, Nahmias said.

Betts, 26, worked as an Atlanta police officer nearly five years. He got involved in the illegal payoff scheme after a former narcotics officer, Gregg Junnier, pleaded guilty last year for his role in the killing of 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston.

After his plea, Junnier admitted to his role in the extortion scheme and apparently fingered Betts. Junnier, as part of his plea agreement, is cooperating with federal and local authorities. Betts' cooperation with federal investigators will be considered when he is sentenced April 4.

On Thursday, Betts told U.S. District Court Judge Julie Carnes he initially didn't see anything wrong in collecting payments from an unidentified apartment complex.

"I do now," he added.

After the hearing, Betts' attorney, William McKenney, said Junnier "is dragging everyone into this."

McKenney called the extortion charges against Betts unprecedented and said the police department usually handles such matters administratively.

Betts did not know the payments were illegal because he was working off-duty one day a week for those businesses, McKenney said.

The FBI learned last June that Junnier was collecting $400 to $700 a week from a business owner who would phone for him instead of calling 911, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kurt Erskine said. When confronted with that information, Junnier told authorities about the other businesses he received payoffs from.

After Junnier was suspended in the days following the Johnston shooting, another officer began collecting money from the owner of an apartment complex, Erskine said at Thursday's plea hearing.

The extra patrols stopped, however, so the business owner was not getting anything for the extra money, the prosecutor said. In July 2007, the business owner, whose identity has not been disclosed, allowed authorities to secretly tape-record officers collecting the payoffs.

On several occasions, Betts came to collect money, authorities said.

McKenney said Betts picked up about $120 a week and shared it with another officer.

Nahmias wouldn't named that officer but said, "He knows who he is. We know who he is. We'll see what happens."

Gregory Jones, special agent in charge of the Atlanta FBI office, said there was no evidence such extortion schemes were systemic in the Atlanta Police Department, but Betts's actions "taints their shield."

The ongoing FBI probe began after plainclothes Atlanta drug officers broke down the door to Johnston's house and shot her in her living room.

Two officers, Junnier and Jason R. Smith, have pleaded guilty to state voluntary manslaughter charges and one federal charge. A third officer, Arthur Tesler, goes on trial on lesser charges in April.

AJC: http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/atlanta/stories/2008/01/24/payoff_0125.html

Atlanta cop accused of molesting 12 year-old girl

A veteran Atlanta police investigator was charged Friday with molesting a 12-year-old girl.

A Fulton County grand jury indicted Wilson Carstaffin on two counts each of child molestation and sexual battery and one count of enticing a child for indecent purposes, according to a police press release.

Carstaffin, 42, of Douglasville met the Atlanta girl while working an extra job as an investigator at Long Middle School, said Judy Pal, a spokeswoman for the police department.

The 16-year veteran is married to a civilian employee of the police department.

Police said they believe the Nov. 30 incident happened in the officer's personal car away from the school.

The department launched an investigation in early December after receiving information about the alleged abuse, and its findings were turned over to the Fulton County District Attorney's office.

Carstaffin has been suspended with pay pending an emergency action hearing early next week.

"Children are told to trust police officers," Police Chief Richard Pennington said in the news release. "This is an apparent heinous abuse of that trust."

Reported by Atlanta Journal-Constitution: http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/atlanta/stories/2008/01/25/cop_arrest_0126.html

Fulton Police Vehicle Stolen from Sheriff's Home

A Fulton County Sheriff's Officer is seeking the public's help as they work to locate a county vehicle that was stolen from the home of an employee. The burgundy 2003 Dodge Intrepid was secured at his residence in Fulton County when it was taken between 11:30 p.m. on December 30, and 6:20 a.m. on December 31. The unmarked vehicle was locked and contained equipment pertaining to this employee's duties as a law enforcement officer. The Georgia license plate number is 4442 AHT. The sheriff's department notified other law enforcement agencies in the area, including the Fulton County Police Department.