MARSHALS TASK FORCE LOCATES AMERICA’S MOST WANTED FUGITIVE IN MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA

 On Pennsylvania State Police Ten Most Wanted List

SCRANTON, Pa. – U.S. Marshal Martin J. Pane announced today the arrest of John Caro in Medellin, Colombia. Caro was being sought by the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force for the attempted murder of a female in late December 2006.

Caro, 29, was taken into custody Monday in Medellin. He was apprehended based upon a provisional arrest warrant that seeks his extradition to the United States. Acting on information provided by the U.S. Marshals Service, Colombian law enforcement officials located the fugitive at an undisclosed location in Medellin, where he was arrested on charges from Lackawanna County. Caro had been on the run from law enforcement for more than six years.

On Dec. 31, 2006, the Pennsylvania State Police responded to investigate a shooting incident in Lackawanna County. State Police learned an individual, later identified as Caro, got into an argument with a female at the Planet Pocono Gentlemen’s Club in White Haven. The victim and two others left the establishment in White Haven, followed by Caro. After traveling northbound on Interstate 81 for a lengthy period of time, it is alleged that Caro pulled up alongside the victim’s vehicle and fired a shot at her from his moving vehicle. The victim was struck in the face and neck area. Caro continued traveling northbound on Interstate 81. The victim was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital.

On Jan. 3, 2007, an arrest warrant was issued by Magisterial District Judge Laura M. Turlip in Archbald, charging Caro with:

·         Criminal Attempt Homicide

·         Aggravated Assault

·         Recklessly Endangering Another Person

·         Firearms Not To Be Carried Without A License

Shortly after the arrest warrant was issued, the Pennsylvania State Police requested the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Based upon the seriousness and violence of the crime, this fugitive case was given high priority.

In 2007, the Pennsylvania State Police placed Caro on their statewide Ten Most Wanted List.

U.S. Marshals based in Scranton worked diligently throughout this investigation, developing many leads and receiving numerous tips. Collateral leads were sent throughout the country in an attempt to identify and locate Caro. This included investigative leads to U.S. Marshals Service personnel in Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, Arizona and North Carolina.

In February 2012, Caro was profiled on America’s Most Wanted. The initial broadcast and subsequent re-airings resulted in many tips. Information developed through America’s Most Wanted brought USMS investigators closer to locating Caro.

Subsequently, U.S. Marshals developed information that Caro may have fled to Colombia. The international aspect of this case, which resulted in Caro’s arrest in Colombia, was coordinated by the U.S. Marshals Service International Investigations Branch with the assistance of INTERPOL, Department of Justice Office of International Affairs, Diplomatic Security Service and law enforcement authorities in Colombia. Caro is expected to remain in custody pending a decision by the Colombian Supreme Court on his extradition.

 “The primary purpose of the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force is to pull together resources from multiple agencies and apply their specialized skills to locate and apprehend violent offenders,” U.S. Marshal Pane said. “Fugitives like Caro are why this task force exists. No matter how long it takes, there is no place to hide once this team of experienced investigators is on your trail. The collaborative effort by the Marshals Service, the Pennsylvania State Police and the Lackawanna County Sheriff’s Office is why we were able to locate this fugitive. It is my sincere hope the victim of this crime can gain some measure of comfort now that the alleged assailant has been apprehended.”

“I greatly appreciate the outstanding work and cooperation from the U.S. Marshals Service in capturing this dangerous fugitive,” said Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Colonel Frank Noonan. “This is certainly another excellent example of international law enforcement collaboration and teamwork.”

The concept of all USMS-led fugitive task forces is to seek out and arrest the nation’s most dangerous alleged offenders.

Murder Suspect Apprehended by U.S. Marshals Task Force

Memphis, TN - A Memphis murder suspect was arrested after allegedly firing a handgun at law enforcement. Daniel Nesbitt has been on the run since August 2012, when he was named as a suspect in the home invasion style murder of Jenario Taylor.

Nesbitt was featured twice on the Fox 13 Most Wanted program. A tip originating from the airing of that program was given to investigators with the Memphis branch of the U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Regional Task Force (GCRFTF).

Following up on information provided by the Memphis Office, members of the U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Regional Task Force based in Montgomery, Alabama, were able to locate Nesbitt in Phenix City, Alabama. In conjunction with the Phenix City Police Department and Deputy U.S. Marshals from the Columbus, Georgia office, the Task Force moved to apprehend Nesbitt in an apartment complex. During the course of the operation, Nesbitt fired at law enforcement with a handgun. No one was hurt and Nesbitt was taken into custody.

Nesbitt is in custody at the Russell county jail in Alabama, where he faces local charges for attempted murder and being a fugitive from justice.

The U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force is a multi-agency task force with divisions in Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. The Western Tennessee Division of the GCRFTF has offices in Memphis and Jackson, and its membership is primarily composed of Deputy U.S. Marshals, Shelby County Sheriff’s Deputies, Madison County Sheriff’s Deputies, Jackson Police Officers, and the Tennessee Department of Corrections Special Agents. The primary mission of the Task Force is to arrest violent offenders and sexual predators.

Alamo City Blue

The May 9, 2013, episode of American Heroes Radio features a conversation with retired San Antonio Police Officer Jim Middleton.

Program Date: May 9, 2013

Program Time: 1500 hours, PACIFIC

Topic: Alamo City Blue

Listen Live: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/lawenforcement/2013/05/09/alamo-city-blue

About the Guest

Jim Middleton is a retired San Antonio Police Officer and the author of Alamo City Blue.

According to the book description of Alamo City Blue, “Shots fired. An officer is down." A "sniper" opened fire with shotguns on the police officers standing in the intersection of Broadway and Grayson. Six went down wounded from the barrage of rounds fired. Forty nine citizens were injured by shotgun blast and semi-automatic rifle fire. Two died as a result of being struck by the "sniper's bullets. The crazed gunman, high on "angel dust," reigned terror at the Battle of Flowers Parade in San Antonio.

This is an account of an officer's career from "tattoos" to retirement including stories of a serial rapist, hi-jackers, systematic burglars, a habitual drunk driver, a capital murder arrest and the death of a "sniper." No story could be without a little humor and sadness; there is a little of each told. "What I wanted to do was tell him to go hit in the head with a bottle, fight with three individuals, make entry into a dark house, see a deceased person on the floor, threatened to be killed, ride to the hospital in an ambulance and receive medical treatment and see if he could piece together the time." "The early morning hour, the description, the peering into a window of a duplex and then his checking to see if we were watching him, left us with no doubt we had a viable suspect." "The burglar stopped and produced a pistol, a four inch barrel .38 special, in his right hand and was rotating in a clockwise movement to face off with two armed police officers." "'I'm a really good thief' and in fact said, 'I'm so smart you can't catch me!'" "'We heard you were making under cover narcotic buys and we wanted to get a good close look at you!' He further stated, 'I don't care for people who stick their nose into other people's business and that there should be less of people like you around.'" "I could not bring myself to tell him how to be a better 'hi-jacker.”

About the Watering Hole

The Watering Hole is police slang for a location cops go off-duty to blow off steam and talk about work and life.  Sometimes funny; sometimes serious; but, always interesting.

About the Host

Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster was a sworn member of the Los Angeles Police Department for 24 years.  He retired in 2003 at the rank of Lieutenant.  He holds a bachelor’s from the Union Institute and University in Criminal Justice Management and a Master’s Degree in Public Financial Management from California State University, Fullerton; and, has completed his doctoral course work. Raymond E. Foster has been a part-time lecturer at California State University, Fullerton and Fresno; and is currently a Criminal Justice Department chair, faculty advisor and lecturer with the Union Institute and University.  He has experience teaching upper division courses in law enforcement, public policy, law enforcement technology and leadership.  Raymond is an experienced author who has published numerous articles in a wide range of venues including magazines such as Government Technology, Mobile Government, Airborne Law Enforcement Magazine, and Police One.  He has appeared on the History Channel and radio programs in the United States and Europe as subject matter expert in technological applications in law enforcement.

Listen, call, join us at the Watering Hole:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/lawenforcement/2013/05/09/alamo-city-blue

Listen from the Archive:

http://www.hitechcj.com/americanheroesradio/alamo_city_blue.html

Program Contact Information

Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.), MPA

editor@police-writers.com

909.599.7530

Facebook Event:

https://www.facebook.com/events/353802804730487

International Credit Card Trafficker Sentenced to 88 Months in Prison

Vladislav Anatolievich Horohorin, aka “BadB,” was sentenced today to serve 88 months in prison for trafficking in millions of stolen credit and debit cards and for his role in the theft of more than $9 million dollars from an Atlanta-based credit card processor.

The sentence was announced by Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Ronald C. Machen Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia Sally Quillian Yates, U.S. Secret Service Assistant Director for Investigations David J. O’Connor and Special Agent in Charge Mark F. Giuliano of the FBI’s Atlanta Field Office.

Horohorin, 30, a citizen of Russia, Israel and Ukraine, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ellen S. Huvelle in the District of Columbia.  In addition to his prison term, Horohorin was ordered to pay $125,739 in restitution and sentenced to two years of supervised release.

Horohorin was indicted by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia in November 2009 on charges of access device fraud and aggravated identity theft.  In a separate investigation, a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Georgia returned a superseding indictment against Horohorin in August 2010, charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and access device fraud.  In August 2010, French law enforcement authorities, working with the U.S. Secret Service, identified Horohorin in Nice, France, and arrested him as he was attempting to board a flight to return to Moscow.  Horohorin was extradited to the United States on June 6, 2012.  After Horohorin’s arrival in the United States, the two cases pending against him were consolidated in Washington, D.C.

 On Oct. 25, 2012, Horohorin pleaded guilty to two counts of access device fraud as well as conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

According to Horohorin’s plea agreement, he used online criminal forums to sell stolen credit and debit card information, known as “dumps,” to online purchasers around the world.  Horohorin, using the online name “BadB,” advertised the availability of stolen credit and debit card information through these online forums and directed purchasers to create accounts at “dumps.name,” a fully-automated dumps vending website operated by Horohorin and hosted outside the United States.  At the time of his arrest, Horohorin possessed more than 2.5 million stolen credit and debit card numbers.

Horohorin admitted that he was one of the lead cashers in an elaborate scheme in which counterfeit payroll debit cards were used to withdraw more than $9 million from ATMs around the world.  Hackers broke into the computers of a credit card processor located in the Atlanta area, stole debit card account numbers and raised the balances and withdrawal limits on those accounts while distributing the account numbers and PIN codes to cashers, like Horohorin.  Horohorin, and those he recruited, used one of the stolen account numbers to withdraw more than $125,000 from ATMs in and around Moscow.

The District of Columbia case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Ethan Arenson, Carol Sipperly and Corbin Weiss of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS). Weiss also serves as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. The District of Columbia case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service.  Key assistance was provided by the French Police Nationale Aux Frontiers and the Netherlands Police Agency National Crime Squad High Tech Crime Unit.  The FBI Atlanta field office provided information helpful to the investigation.

The Northern District of Georgia case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nick Oldham and Lawrence R. Sommerfeld of the Northern District of Georgia, and Trial Attorney Sipperly of CCIPS.  The Atlanta case was investigated by the FBI.  Assistance was provided by numerous law enforcement partners.  The U.S. Secret Service provided information helpful to the investigation.

The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs handled Horohorin’s extradition from France.

Two Former Roxbury Correctional Officers Plead Guilty in Connection with Assault of an Inmate

Walter Scott Steele, a former correctional officer at Roxbury Correctional Institution (RCI), and Lanny Harris, a former correction sergeant at RCI in Hagerstown, Md., pleaded guilty today in relation to assaults against an inmate on March 9, 2008. Harris pleaded guilty to conspiring with other RCI officers to assault an inmate at the state prison on March 9, 2008.   Steele pleaded guilty to conspiring with RCI officers to obstruct the investigation into an assault against an inmate on March 9, 2008, and to making a false statement to an FBI agent investigating the assault. With these pleas, five former RCI correctional officers have pleaded guilty and 10 others face charges.

 

According to court documents filed in connection with his guilty plea, Steele admitted that, during the midnight shift on March 8-9, 2008, he heard RCI officers discuss assaulting the inmate, identified in court documents only as “K.D.,” in retaliation for K.D.’s prior assault of another officer.   Steele warned the group that they would get caught if they assaulted the inmate.

 

Additionally, according to court documents filed in connection with his guilty plea, Harris and other officers met at RCI during the midnight shift and agreed to assault K.D. in retaliation for a prior incident involving the inmate and another officer.   Harris admitted that he and three other correctional officers then entered K.D.’s cell in order to assault inmate K.D., while a fourth officer watched.   Officers then assaulted K.D. while Steele watched.

 

Steele admitted that he later learned that officers from the midnight shift were meeting at a McDonald’s restaurant to talk about the assault on inmate K.D.   Steele acknowledged meeting Harris and other RCI officers who had been involved in the assault, and discussing what they were going to say to investigators.   Steele agreed to tell investigators that he did not know about an assault on inmate K.D.

 

Steele admitted in court that he lied to federal investigators on Feb. 12, 2013, by falsely denying that he had discussed K.D. with other RCI officers from the midnight shift.   Steele also acknowledged that he failed to tell federal investigators that he had seen other officers assault K.D.

 

“Mr. Harris admitted today that, as a supervisor, he conspired with other officers to assault an inmate in order to punish the inmate for hitting an officer.   Mr. Steele, meanwhile, has admitted that, after he watched his fellow correctional officers use force to punish the inmate, he then agreed to help those officers cover up their misconduct,” said Roy L. Austin Jr., Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.   “The Justice Department will continue to vigorously prosecute officers who use their official position to abuse inmates or to cover up crimes committed by other officers.”

 

Steele faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.   Harris faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison.   Sentencing for Steele is set for July 9, 2013, and sentencing for Harris is set for Aug. 2, 2013, both before U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar.

 

The investigation by the Frederick Resident Agency of the FBI is ongoing.   The case is being prosecuted by Special Litigation Counsel Forrest Christian and Trial Attorney Sanjay Patel of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, with the assistance of Michael Cunningham of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.

Pretend U.S. Marshal Caught by Real U.S. Marshals Task Force

Memphis, TN -- A man alleged to have represented himself falsely as a deputy U.S. marshal was arrested today by the U.S. Marshal’s Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force.

Averick Nickson was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury for falsely assuming the identity of a deputy U.S. marshal. Nickson had on at least two occasions allegedly identified himself to law enforcement officers as an employee of the U.S. Marshals Service. On one occasion he reportedly did so to avoid the possible issuance of a speeding ticket.

Nickson was arrested at his home in Memphis. During the execution of the warrant a sizable amount of police equipment was found, including but not limited to guns, tactical vests, badges and identification cards, and radios. His personal car was also equipped with emergency lights.

Nickson is a former employee of the Dresden, TN Police Department and the Weakly County Sheriff’s Office.  He was transported to the federal building downtown without incident where he had his initial court appearance.

The U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force is a multi-agency task force with divisions in Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. The Western Tennessee Division of the GCRFTF has offices in Memphis and Jackson, and its membership is primarily composed of Deputy U.S. Marshals, Shelby County Sheriff’s Deputies, Madison County Sheriff’s Deputies, Jackson Police Officers, and the Tennessee Department of Corrections Special Agents. The primary mission of the Task Force is to arrest violent offenders and sexual predators.

Justice Department Announces the Successful Resolution of Its Agreement with the Orange County, Fla., Sheriff’s Office

The United States announced today that the Orange County, Fla., Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) has successfully implemented an agreement on the use of electronic control weapons, commonly referred to as Tasers.   Significantly, data OCSO provided to the department demonstrates a marked decrease in the use of Tasers under Sheriff Jerry Demings’ tenure while implementing the department’s agreement.   OCSO’s data also demonstrated an overall decrease in uses of force during the same period.  

 

In 2010, the department and OCSO entered into a Memorandum of Agreement to ensure OCSO’s constitutional use of Tasers.   The agreement set forth standards for Taser policies, training and reviews of Taser use.   The department found that OCSO came into substantial compliance with the agreement in October 2011, and OCSO has maintained that compliance level for 18 months as required by the agreement.  

 

“The successful resolution of our agreement with OCSO demonstrates that effective policing and constitutional policing go hand in hand.   OCSO has heightened its standards on Taser use, reduced the use of Tasers, and also reduced its overall use of force, all while providing effective policing to the people of Orange County,” said Roy L. Austin Jr., Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.   “We are confident that OCSO has the systems in place to ensure constitutional use of Tasers going forward.”

 

In 2007, the department initiated an investigation of OCSO’s Taser use pursuant to the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994.   The department issued a technical assistance letter to OCSO in August 2008 describing policies, training and accountability mechanisms necessary to ensure the constitutional use of Tasers.  

 

The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 prohibits state and local governments from engaging in a pattern or practice of misconduct by law enforcement officers that deprives individuals of federally-protected rights.   The act also allows the Justice Department to remedy such misconduct through civil litigation.   The Justice Department has conducted similar investigations and has obtained important reforms in police departments and law enforcement agencies across the country.   

 

The Special Litigation Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, in Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida jointly conducted this investigation.

Former Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, Sheriff’s Deputy Indicted for Civil Rights, Bank Fraud, Computer Fraud, Aggravated Identity Theft and Obstruction of Justice Violations

An indictment against former Jefferson Parish, La., Sheriff’s Deputy Mark Hebert, 48, was announced today by Roy L. Austin Jr., Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division; Dana J. Boente, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana; Michael J. Anderson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI New Orleans Field Office; and Sheriff Newell Normand from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.

 

According to the indictment, Hebert engaged in a scheme to defraud J.P. Morgan Chase Bank from Aug. 2, 2007, until Nov. 21, 2007.   The scheme began when Hebert, in his capacity as a Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Deputy, responded to an automobile accident involving Albert Bloch and stole, among other things, Bloch’s Visa debit card.   The indictment alleges that Hebert then used that debit card to make unauthorized purchases of merchandise and to withdraw funds from Bloch’s Chase Bank account using ATMs.   After Chase Bank cancelled the debit card due to Bloch filing a dispute with the bank, Hebert continued his scheme to defraud by negotiating and attempting to negotiate forged checks drawn on Bloch’s Chase Bank account.   It is also alleged that Hebert obtained the replacement debit card that Chase Bank sent to Bloch and used that card to make unauthorized transactions at ATMs.

 

The indictment charges that Hebert, while acting under color of law, deprived Bloch of his constitutional rights by seizing and converting funds that Bloch had on deposit with Chase Bank.   In addition, the indictment alleges that Hebert committed 48 counts of bank fraud from Aug. 2, 2007, to Nov. 21, 2007.   The indictment also charges Hebert with four counts of computer fraud for accessing the National Crime Information Center to obtain non-public information about Bloch in furtherance of his scheme to defraud.   Furthermore, Hebert is charged with two counts of aggravated identity theft for using a means of identification of Bloch during, and in relation to, the bank fraud violations.   Finally, Hebert is charged with five counts of obstruction of justice for knowingly concealing and covering up physical evidence with the intent to impede any investigation into the underlying criminal allegations against Hebert.

                       

For each of the 48 counts of bank fraud, Hebert faces a statutory maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years .   For each of the five counts of obstruction of justice, Hebert faces a statutory maximum term of 20 years in prison.   For each of the four counts of computer fraud, Hebert faces a statutory maximum term of five years in prison.   For each of the two counts of aggravated identity theft, Hebert faces a term of two years in prison.   For the count charging a civil rights violation, Hebert faces a statutory maximum penalty of one year in prison .  

 

An indictment is merely a charge and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.  

 

The investigation was conducted by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office Detective’s Bureau and the FBI.   The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Parker and Civil Rights Division Trial Attorney Shan Patel.