Daily Archives: March 12, 2013

Supreme Court Approves Search Warrants Issued by Dogs

"Today the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that 'a court can presume' an alert by a drug-sniffing dog provides probable cause for a search 'if a bona fide organization has certified a dog after testing his reliability in a controlled setting' or 'if the dog has recently and successfully completed a training program that evaluated his proficiency in locating drugs.' The justices overturned a 2011 decision in which the Florida Supreme Court said police must do more than assert that a dog has been properly trained." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSupreme Court Approves Search Warrants Issued by Dogs

Suspected meth lab turns out to be sweet maple syrup

"A Union County family got the scare of their lives on Wednesday morning as drug agents swarmed onto their property. 'I heard the dogs barking. And I knew that meant somebody was outside the house,' said Laura Benson. 'And I looked out the windows and I seen a truck coming up the driveway fairly fast. And an Anna police car right behind it.' She says she couldn't believe her ears when she heard the drug agents say this. 'They had a report of a meth lab going on on our property. And they wanted to investigate it.' So the Benson's gladly showed the officers what they really were doing, which was making their own maple syrup." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSuspected meth lab turns out to be sweet maple syrup

U.S. Drug Czar: Federal Prosecutors Will Go After Washington And Colorado Marijuana Distributors

"Federal prosecutors will crack down on recreational marijuana dispensaries and growers even in states where they are legal, U.S. drug czar Gil Kerlikowske told a Canadian news magazine this week. The statement appears to be the first from a federal official to state explicitly that the federal government will prosecute dispensaries and producers once they are licensed in Washington and Colorado. Washington and Colorado’s laws explicitly make both production and distribution of marijuana legal under state law if the entities are licensed and follow regulations." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. Drug Czar: Federal Prosecutors Will Go After Washington And Colorado Marijuana Distributors

Prison time for former cop trafficking in steroids

"A former Philadelphia police officer has been ordered to serve six months in federal prison for his role in a multi-state steroid distribution ring orchestrated by a former police colleague. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, McIntyre routinely bought steroids from former police Detective Keith Gidelson and redistributed the performance-enhancing drugs to his own customers. Gidelson obtained the steroids from overseas and had them shipped to Philadelphia directly or via contacts in California, authorities said. Both men were active duty cops at the time of the criminal activity but were later fired from the police force." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPrison time for former cop trafficking in steroids

Judge sets $10,000 bond for cop, former deputy and civilian accused in cocaine payoffs

"Three men, all from different backgrounds, sat in their orange prison jumpsuits waiting to hear the words from federal court Judge Alan Baverman, that their bonds would be granted. Baverman set conditions and gave each man a $10,000 bail. The men are former DeKalb County Sheriff's Deputy Monyette McLaurin, current DeKalb County police Officer Dorian Williams, and a civilian Gregory Lee Harvey. An indictment in federal court states that McLaurin and Harvey worked together to protect drug dealers during cocaine transactions. In return for their protection, the men were given thousands of dollars in payouts." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJudge sets $10,000 bond for cop, former deputy and civilian accused in cocaine payoffs

Illinois: High-Ranking Cop Caught Lying About DUI Arrests

"According to US Attorney Gary S. Shapiro, Timothy J. Veit was caught creating 122 bogus drunk driving arrests in an effort to boost the police department's revenue with federal overtime payments. Between 2009 and 2012, the effort generated $132,893 in bogus payments. The source of the funds was the US Transportation Department, which funnels federal gas tax dollars through the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to bankroll traffic ticket-writing blitzes that typically take place on holiday weekends. City officials discovered the discrepancy in March 2012 and allowed Veit, who is 55, to retire in April." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIllinois: High-Ranking Cop Caught Lying About DUI Arrests

Florida City Caught Issuing 1645 Camera Tickets On Shortened Yellow

"In St. Petersburg, Florida, the yellow time at intersections was shortened by fractions of a second for thousands of drivers, enabling the red light camera program to generate an extra $259,910 in revenue in 13 months. The data show at seven city intersections, the yellow time dropped between 0.1 and 1.1 seconds for some tickets from the date the cameras started ticketing. St. Petersburg depends heavily on split-second timing misjudgment. The city generated 45 percent of its revenue -- $2,128,576 -- from tickets generated in a half-second or less after the light turns red. In the first three-tenths of a second, 31 percent of the city's tickets were issued." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFlorida City Caught Issuing 1645 Camera Tickets On Shortened Yellow

Will Grigg: Put Not Your Trust In Federalized Sheriffs

"'I will not enforce an unconstitutional law against any citizen of Smith County,' insisted Sheriff Larry Smith. The sheriff wants his constituents to believe that he would refuse to participate in a federally mandated gun grab, or permit one to be carried out by federal officials within his jurisdiction. Yet ten days before Smith offered that assurance, his office had taken part in an early-morning SWAT rampage throughout East Texas in which 73 warrants were served as part of the federal government’s patently unconstitutional war on drugs. There isn’t a single county sheriff’s office in the country that hasn’t compromised itself by accepting federal funds." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWill Grigg: Put Not Your Trust In Federalized Sheriffs

Missouri Republican Wants To Make It A Felony For His Fellow Lawmakers To Propose Gun Laws

"Missouri state Rep. Mike Leara (R) loves the Second Amendment so much he wants to make it a felony for state lawmakers to propose legislation he thinks would violate it. On Sunday, Leara offered up this addition to Missouri law: 'Any member of the general assembly who proposes a piece of legislation that further restricts the right of an individual to bear arms, as set forth under the second amendment of the Constitution of the United States, shall be guilty of a class D felony,' Leara’s bill reads in its entirety." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMissouri Republican Wants To Make It A Felony For His Fellow Lawmakers To Propose Gun Laws

Private Detectives Filling Gaps Left by Police Budget Cuts

"Detectives like Glemser across cash-strapped states have been getting more calls like these as cities and towns cut their police forces to contend with deep budget cuts. Private detectives are just one piece of the private sector security and policing services that people are increasingly turning to as they worry about crime. The U.S. private security industry is expected to grow 6.3% a year to $19.9 billion by 2016, according to a study by security research group Freedonia Group Inc. In California, where many cash-strapped cities cut police budgets during the recession, residents are turning to detectives, security firms and even the Internet." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPrivate Detectives Filling Gaps Left by Police Budget Cuts