On Q Professional Investigations

“On the last day of school at Mount Paran Christian School in Cobb County, Georgia, a group of 2nd-graders couldn’t wait to show their admiration for their beloved school security guard, Jonathan Broaxnax.

The students crossed the street to shower Broaxnax with hugs and high-fives, a heartwarming moment caught on the school’s security camera.

“I’ve got to tell you, it made me feel so good,” Broaxnax, 63, told ABC News. “Not only because they did that, but because it’s what this school is all about. It’s a Christian school and they instill that into these kids.”

The military veteran, who now works for the Chesley Brown International security company, said the children’s kind gesture was particularly special for him in light of the recent attack on a concert in Manchester, England, where many children were in attendance.

“They’re young but they’re seeing it on TV and they wonder ‘Why?’ and ‘What the heck is going on?’ and ‘Can that happen to me at my little school?,’” he explained. “They were saying things like, ‘Thank you for protecting us, thank you so much Mr. Jonathan, thank you for keeping us safe.’ You can’t hear the sound on the video, but that was what they were actually saying. Oh man I tell you — if the video ran just a little bit longer, you would see me run inside and cry.”

Broadnax said out of all the jobs he’s had in his life, working with these kids is by far the most fulfilling.

“I’ve been in the military for 22 years, I’ve been to the Gulf War, I got out of the military and started to work in the prison system in Texas,” he recalled. “I worked there for about five or six years and then I got into security. Out of all of that, this is the most fulfilling job I have ever had. Easily.”

This isn’t the first time the students and faculty have showered Broadnax with admiration and affection. He said they were pivotal in helping him through the darkest moment of his life: the death of his son two years ago.”

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“A pair of quick-thinking security guards at a Solihull shopping centre helped to evacuate terrified residents after a fire tore through the roof of a nearby tower block.

The fearless guards at Chelmsley Wood Shopping Centre were on patrol when they spotted the flames and smoke coming from the top of the building in nearby Moorend Avenue.

As shoppers watched the drama in horror, the brave duo sprinted across to the block, which is managed by Solihull Community Housing (SCH) and alerted the concierge to the danger.

The plucky twosome, who would not be named, swiftly took to the stairs and banged on the doors of the flats in the 10 storey building.

Residents told the Birmingham Mail they had been unaware of the blaze which could be seen for miles away after the fire took hold at around 1.45pm.

Twenty-five firefighters tackled the incident and gave oxygen therapy to one man who was injured.

Residents from the top two floors were evacuated.

One of the security guards said: “There didn’t seem to be a fire alarm in the block.
“We tried to find one so that we could actually hit a panic button.
“My colleague went to the top floor and I started on the fifth so we worked it between us.
“We were there for about five to 10 minutes but it seemed longer.
“We didn’t think about it, we just went in to help. Then the fire brigade took over.”
Liberty Chester, who has a four year old daughter Lacie, said she didn’t feel safe.
“I’m just glad Lacie wasn’t there,” she said.
“If she had been she would not have gone back into the flat.
The 24-year-old added: “It was the security guards from the shopping centre who saw the smoke and ran over to tell us.
“They tried to find the fire alarm but couldn’t.
“Then they began banging on all the doors to tell us.
“We were waiting outside for maybe half an hour to 45 minutes.
“We weren’t told anything. Nobody knew what was going on.”

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“Police assisted security officers and made several arrests with various charges on May 13 and May 14 at the Livingston Mall.

The first call from the Livingston Mall was about person being held in the parking lot by security for potentially being in possession of stolen property, according to police.

Upon police arrival, it was revealed that the individual possessed multiple items stolen from six different stores at the Livingston Mall. Subsequent to investigation, Robert Braswell, 33, of East Orange was arrested and charged with receiving stolen property and was released on his own recognizance pending court action.

The next afternoon, police received a call from both Lord & Taylor security and Livingston Mall security, whom were attempting to take an individual into custody who may have previously passed bad checks. Upon arrival, the female was fighting with security officers, according to police.

Ultimately, Latesha Shavers, 35, of Perth Amboy, was charged with assault and resisting arrest. Police said she had also been under investigation by Lord & Taylor security the previous week for passing bad checks.

Shavers was subsequently charged by Livingston police for passing bad checks and theft by deception on an incident that occurred on May 7. Following these charges, she was remanded to the Essex County Jail.”

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“Barona Resort and Casino security guards alerted San Diego County Sheriff’s Department deputies to an international counterfeiting operation.
Deputies arrested Lien Do, Hao Nguyen, and Ben Ven Pham on Christmas Day last year.
They found $300,000 worth of counterfeit chips in the suspects’ car.
“It appears that what they were seeking to do was convert those chips into cash and to walk out the casino with the cash,” said Prosecutor Daniel Shim.
The defendants were charged with multiple felonies, including grand theft, burglary, forgery and possession of counterfeit marks.
“When the sheriff’s department searched their home in Garden Grove, they found about $2 million in casino labels,” Shim said. “During Mr. Pham’s interview, he indicated he received those chips from Vietnam.”
Two of the defendants plead guilty to lesser charges and are serving one-year jail terms. Charges against a third defendant were dropped and he returned to Vietnam.
“The Sheriff’s department did a great job in investigating this case. They did a very thorough investigation,” Shim said.
The criminal investigation expanded to at least six other casinos in Southern California, several of which are located in San Diego.
It remains unclear if any of the fake chips were actually used in any of those casinos.
“It is still unknown if the operation had any ties to organized crimes,” Shim said.”

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“A private investigator’s days are often filled with uneventful surveillance and dead ends, but that’s only part of the job. On occasion, PIs may land in hot water and must rely on their communication and negotiation skills to get them out of it.

It takes talent, poise, and honed interpersonal skills to talk an enraged spouse out of swinging at you. Physical weapons are not always available, so we use what we do have in our arsenal—words, empathy, and emotional intelligence—to de-escalate a volatile situation.

Operating effectively under stress is a must-have skill in this line of work. No amount of training can prevent us from feeling fear in extreme situations. But we can learn to mitigate the stress symptoms, and even harness them—to laser-focus our energies on solving the problem at hand.

The Adrenaline Rush

In stressful conditions, our adrenal glands secrete a hormone to prepare the body for “fight or flight.” That shot of adrenaline can feel like a head rush: Your heart races. You breathe faster and deeper. You feel a surge of energy, heightened awareness, or even a suppressed pain response. And under extreme stress, you may experience tunnel vision, auditory exclusion (temporary hearing impairment), or a sense that time has slowed.

Some people seek out that rush (in its milder forms) as a welcome distraction from the more tedious aspects of investigative work. But when the job brings us into contact with unpredictable people and dangerous places, that physiological fight or flight response isn’t just a bungee-jump in the park anymore; it’s a survival mechanism.

The flip side is that those same symptoms that prepare us to deal with danger can also cloud judgement and make clear thinking a challenge.”

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“New York City NY May 15 2017 Teach NYS, a project of the Orthodox Union, encourages yeshivas to apply for New York City Local Law 2, the nonpublic school security guard program. The deadline is May 15, 2017.
To qualify for the program, a nonpublic school must have 300 or more pre-K-12 students in the 2017-2018 school year. The applications are complete on the NYC HHS Accelerator System and every school with the qualifying criteria gets accepted into the program.
Local Law 2, which was sponsored by Councilman David Greenfield, provides at least one private security officer for nonpublic schools with 300 or more students. With additional guards added for more students, yeshivas and day schools have found this program to provide a critical enhancement to security in these times of need.
Teach NYS led the fight for this program in 2015 and 2016 and continues to work to help schools take advantage of the opportunity. To date, there are nearly 80 yeshivas taking advantage of this program. Currently enrolled yeshivas don’t have to reapply by May 15th.”

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PARAMUS – An alert security guard who spotted a Facebook user selling designer watches told police the man resembled a shoplifter who stole merchandise from Macy’s, authorities said Thursday.

The man, Alfredo “Freddy Vega,” 49, was arrested Wednesday and now faces shoplifting and other charges, according to Paramus Police Chief Kenneth R. Ehrenberg.

The theft of several Tommy Hilfiger watches occurred April 7 at the Westfiled Garden State Plaza, Ehrenberg said in a statement.

“The security manager at Macy’s found an Internet posting that the stolen watches were being sold online by a male with a Facebook profile identified as ‘Freddy Vega,’” Ehrenberg said.

“The Facebook picture resembled the suspect in the theft,” the chief said.

Paramus Police Det. Mark sent out an all-points bulletin that included surveillance photos and the Facebook photo of Vega, Ehrenberg said.

After receiving the bulletin, Lt. Michael Cumiskey of the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office recognized Vega from previous times Vega had been jailed, Ehrenberg said.

“Based upon this information a warrant was issued for Mr. Vega,” Ehrenberg said.

About 6 p.m. on April 27, a suspect later identified as Vega shoplifted several pairs of men’s shoes from J. Crew in the Bergen Towne Center, police said.

The suspect ran from the scene before police arrived.

On May 3, Paramus Police Officer David Betancourt was flagged down by a security officer at Westfield Garden State Plaza. The security officer told Betancourt that a man who had shoplifted from Sunglasses Hut the day before was again at the mall.

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Every year, hundreds of volunteers and thousands of recipients convene at the Spokane County Fair and Expo Center for the bureau, which provides assistance to those less fortunate during the holidays.

Other than some relatively minor medical emergencies – including women going into labor – there haven’t been any crises at the bureau, now in its 71st year.

“I feel blessed that we have not had any serious problems,” said Special Event Coordinator Judy Lee, with Catholic Charities Spokane.

Regardless, organizers provide training to volunteers on what to do in case of an emergency. And if anything does happen, they have a trusted security officer they know they can rely on.

Rashad Salah, 32, has worked the Christmas Bureau for several years. He says it’s one of his favorite jobs.

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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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“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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