On Q Professional Investigations

A quick-thinking security guard kept a building fire at Aquinas College from spreading to other areas of the Ashmore school by grabbing a hose and trying to ­extinguish the flames.

The SMA Security officer helped contain the fire until emergency services from Southport and Hollywell arrived at the school on Edmund Rice Drive.

The fire started just after 1pm yesterday on the upstairs veranda of a two-level building, damaging the roof, walls, floor and the shade sail ­opposite the classroom.

There is also extensive smoke damage to the interior of the classroom although the fire did not penetrate the building.

While the fire has not been labelled arson, it is being treated as suspicious due to the origin of the fire, the lockers of the block.

Principal Peter Hurley turned up a few minutes after the fire was extinguished, ­visibly distressed by the incident.

Mr Hurley, who has only been at the school for six months, told the Gold Coast Bulletin he was thankful for the quick actions of the Gold Coast security guard.

“It’s pretty upsetting that we have had a fire at the school,” he said.

“We will get the area cleaned up to resume classes tomorrow as best as we can.”

He said the cause of the fire would be investigated and contractors would make the area safe before students return to school.

This week Year 12 students will be undertaking their QCS test tomorrow and Mr Hurley assured students and ­parents that disruptions will be kept to a minimum during this stressful testing period.

Southport Station Officer Darryl Hurley said due to possible asbestos from the old building, firefighters were ­decontaminated after the fire, with their gear bagged up to be sent off for cleaning.

Energex officers were also called to the scene to cut off power to the building.

Investigations into the cause of the fire are continuing.

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What do more than 870,000 students across the nation have in common?

Since 2012, they have all completed the FBI’s Safe Online Surfing (SOS) Internet Challenge. Available through a free website at https://sos.fbi.gov, this initiative promotes cyber citizenship by teaching students in third through eighth grades how to recognize and respond to online dangers through a series of fun, interactive activities.

Anyone can visit the website and learn all about cyber safety, but teachers must sign up their school to enable their students to take the exam and participate in the national competition. Once enrolled, teachers are given access to a secure webpage to enroll their students (anonymously, by numeric test keys) and request their test scores. E-mail customer support is also provided. Top-scoring schools each month are recognized by their local FBI field office when possible. All public, private, and home schools with at least five students are welcome to participate.

Now entering its fifth season, the FBI-SOS program has seen increased participation each year. From September 2015 through May 2016, nearly a half-million students nationwide finished the activities and took the exam. We look forward to even more young people completing the program in the school year ahead. The challenge begins September 1.

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“A suspected serial thief was arrested after a security guard caught her in the act.

Jessica Chalfant was shopping at the Target on the 5900 block of Poplar Avenue when the guard noticed her selecting two purses and other various merchandise, according to the arrest affidavit.

Police said she started concealing items inside the purses, including school supplies and a razor.

Chalfant then tried to exit the store without paying. After she passed the registers, she was detained by the guard who called Memphis police.

According to the arrest affidavit, she then gave a name to MPD, who after finding her ID in a purse, that was deemed to be fake.

Jessica Chalfant had four misdemeanor warrants and her bail was set at $20,000.”

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“Victoria police say they discovered a stash of stolen goods worth an estimated $100,000 following an investigation triggered by a mall “grab and dash.”

Two men and a woman, all from Victoria, have been identified as suspects and are expected to face charges, police said police in a written release. One of the men remains in custody.

“This file is a great example of teamwork,” said acting Chief Const. Colin Watson. “Store staff, mall security personnel, private citizens and our RCMP partners all played a role in helping our officers with this investigation.”

According to police, a man tried to run off with a wooden elephant carving from Hillside Centre on June 10. Police said the suspect was identified and believed to be a “prolific property offender” based on surveillance footage.

The agency then worked with Sidney RCMP to eventually locate three suspects.

When investigators executed search warrants, they discovered hundreds of stolen items including dolls, bedding, statues and electronics.

The suspects are expected to face a number of charges including theft under $5,000 and possession of stolen goods.

Victoria police say the rightful owners should contact its non-emergency line to retrieve recovered items.”

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“Two Houston men have been charged in a scheme to steal more than $56,000 in jeans including more than 100 pairs of jeans in Southeast Texas.

Ramirez Nava Rodriguez, 41, and Jose Isabel Del Angel, 54, both of Houston, have been charged with felony charges of “Theft – Aggregate” according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by 12News from the Harris County District Court.

Del Angel, whose bond is set at $2000 was arrested on August 6, 2016 and it is unknown if Rodriquez has been arrested. Rodriguez bond will be set at $10,000 according to the affidavit.

The pair are suspected of stealing 980 pairs of men’s and women’s Levis jeans, valued at $56,722, from JC Penny stores in the Harris County and surrounding area including the Central Mall location in Port Arthur..

The thefts took place from December 2012 through July 2016 with the two most recent thefts taking place at Central Mall.

The affidavit alleges that Rodriguez stole the bulk of the jeans and Del Angel helped sell them at a Houston flea market.

Police believe that Rodriguez was the leader of a group of “professional boosters” who were committing the thefts.

The document alleges that on July 2, 2016 Rodriguez stole 64 pairs of jeans valued at $3918 and on July 30, 2016, he stole 44 pairs valued at $2552 from the JC Penny store in Central Mall.

Rodriquez was observed surveillance video using the “matador” method to commit the thefts using a shirt to hide several pairs of jeans at a time from store associates the affidavit said.

He would take the jeans out the camera’s range, use a tool to remove the “electronic Article Surveillance tag” and then put the jeans into a large JC Penny bag he had concealed in his pants pocket.

He would then take the stolen jeans to his car and repeat the process several times during one trip.

An investigator from JC Penny worked with Houston Police to track and capture the suspects.

The store’s investigator and an undercover Houston Police officer each purchased stolen jeans from Del Angel at separate times at Sunny Flea Market in the 8700 block of Airline Drive in Houston.”

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“Today, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) is embarking on a campaign to increase awareness of the IC3 as a reliable and convenient reporting mechanism to submit information on suspected Internet-facilitated criminal activity to the FBI. As part of the campaign, digital billboards featuring the IC3’s contact information are being placed within the territories of a number of Bureau field offices around the country.

While the number of complaints being reported to the IC3 did increase in 2015 from the previous year, anecdotal evidence strongly suggests that there are many other instances of actual or suspected online frauds that are not being reported, perhaps because victims didn’t know about the IC3, were embarrassed that they fell victim to a scammer, or thought filing a complaint wouldn’t make a difference. But the bottom line is, the more complaints we receive, the more effective we can be in helping law enforcement gain a more accurate picture of the extent and nature of Internet-facilitated crimes—and in raising public awareness of these crimes.

The FBI field offices taking part in the billboard campaign include Albany, Buffalo, Kansas City, Knoxville, New Orleans, New York City, Phoenix, Oklahoma City, Salt Lake City, and San Diego. They were selected because they house multi-agency cyber task forces that participate in an IC3 initiative called Operation Wellspring. This initiative connects state and local law enforcement with federal cyber resources and helps them build their own cyber investigative capabilities, which is important because not all Internet fraud schemes rise to the level necessary to prosecute them federally. We hope to expand Operation Wellspring to other FBI offices in the future.”

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