Charge Dropped Against Woman Arrested Near ANG Base

27 East News reports that the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office has dropped a trespassing charge filed against an East Quogue woman who was arrested in July for taking pictures at the Air National Guard base in Westhampton with two guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition in her car.

The misdemeanor charge was dropped Tuesday because an investigation found that the woman, 53-year-old Nancy Genovese, remained inside her car and outside the base’s property just prior to her arrest, Robert Clifford, a spokesman for Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota, wrote in an e-mail.

Ms. Genovese was arrested on July 30 by the Suffolk County sheriff’s office after Air National Guard officials said they saw her taking photographs near the entrance of the base at Gabreski Airport. Authorities said they found an XM-15 assault rifle and a shotgun—both registered and unloaded—in her car, and an estimated 500 rounds of ammunition in her trunk at the time of her arrest.

She was released four days later from the Suffolk County Jail in Riverside after posting $50,000 bail.

When reached Thursday morning, Ms. Genovese said she was relieved that the trespassing charge had been dropped.

“I couldn’t be happier,” she said. “I’m just really happy that the justice system finally worked.”

via Read Full Article.

FEMA Conducting Preparedness Drill At Nuclear Plant

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency will evaluate a Biennial Emergency Preparedness Exercise at the Limerick Generating Station in Montgomery County. The week-long exercise, which began on November 16, will test the ability of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to respond to an emergency at the nuclear facility.

Held every other year, these drills test government’s ability to protect public health and safety. FEMA will evaluate state and local emergency response capabilities within the 10-mile emergency-planning zone of the nuclear facility.

Within 90 days, FEMA will send its evaluation to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for use in licensing decisions. The final report will be available to the public about 120 days after the exercise.

FEMA will present preliminary findings of the exercise in a public briefing at 11:00 a.m. on November 20 at the Courtyard by Marriott, 150 Park Road, Reading, Pa. Scheduled speakers include representatives from FEMA, NRC, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

via FEMA: FEMA To Evaluate Commonwealth’s Readiness.

Masked Gunmen Escape Hostage Taking Incident

The two armed men who tied up hostages and attempted to rob a Venice T.J. Maxx store on  Tuesday night appear to have fled before police arrived. .. And that’s where the story takes a strange twist.

Police refused Wednesday morning to release any description of the two men who went into the store at closing time with guns and tied up customers and employees.

Police also wouldn’t say whether they have suspects or whether citizens should be on the lookout for anyone.

When police arrived on the scene Tuesday night, they believed the gunmen were still in the store and were holding the customers and employees hostage. Witnesses told police that the men were holding about 10 workers and customers hostage.

“There was conflicting information from witnesses that the suspects were inside,” said Lt. Eric Hill.

Read Full Article

Ill. Prison Could Be Used For Terror Suspects

A White House official says the Obama administration could buy a prison in northwestern Illinois. to house a limited number of terror suspects from Guantanamo Bay.
The maximum security Thomson Correctional Center is located about 150 miles west of Chicago. It was completed in 2001 but has remained nearly empty due to state budget issues.

Ill. Gov. Quinn issued a statement Saturday saying only that members of the Obama administration will visit to see if Thomson can be put to better use by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Quinn is expected to talk about the matter Sunday.

via Ill. prison could be used for terror suspects – 11/14/09 – Chicago News – abc7chicago.com.

Man Runs Down Pedestrians In Rochester

A 27 year old man is accused of intentionally trying to run down pedestrians in Rochester on Thursday. Authorities are saying they have not yet established a motive but others are suggesting rage and even sudden jihad syndrome. Tip – M. Edsen

A Rochester man is facing numerous charges, accused of trying to run down people with his car on Thursday afternoon.Police say they were flagged down by people in southwest Rochester, at a parking lot in front of 700 S. Plymouth Avenue.

They say the driver of a Nissan Maxima had struck another car as well as several pedestrians.The officer tried to pull the vehicle over, but the suspect’s car then hit the police cruiser and kept going. Eventually, the Maxima struck a resident’s car at Jefferson Avenue and W. Main and then hit a second police car at Jefferson and Clifton.

The chase eventually ended on South Plymouth near Genesee where the suspect hit another resident’s car.Altogether, seven people, including the suspect were taken to the hospital for minor injuries, but police spokesman LaRon Singletary says it could have been a lot worse…”The officer Jeff Schroeder was in the right place at the right time, you look at the hour it happened two oclock, school is letting out, it’s a miracle no casualties happened given the way this individual was driving.”

The suspect is identified as 27 year old Munir Muthana of Rochester. He faces numerous charges including assault and vehicular assault. there’s no other word right now on a possible motive.

Source

Homeland Security To Investigate Sewer Smuggling

Hidalgo – Channel 5 News reports that it has learned that representatives from Border Patrol, Texas Parks and Wildlife, and the International Boundary and Water Commission will be meeting with police to discuss a maze of sewage tunnels being used for smuggling.

The meeting is scheduled for sometime next week.

For now the Border Patrol has increased it’s presense in Hidalgo.

Source

L.A. Port Launches Surprise Inspections

Local, State and Federal agents launched surprise inspections at the Los Angeles/Long Beach Port Complex Thursday. The ultimate goal: to keep the country safe.The Multi Agency Strike Force Operation carries out the inspections several times throughout the year.

The agents inspect containers, commercial trucks, trains and port facilities. The strike force was created to help ensure traffic management, commercial truck safety and homeland security issues.According to the agency, the Los Angeles/Long Beach Port Complex handles more than 80 percent of the goods that enter the United States from the Pacific Rim. That amounts to about $200 billion in annual trade.

Read Full Article

Visit By Alleged Homeland Security Investigated

WKRC Cincinnati is reporting a un usual incident in which two men, both claiming to be Homeland Security employees, visited a local elementary school early yesterday morning.

From Local 12

Police say one man, who was armed and wearing a Homeland Security badge, entered Mayfield Elementary School yesterday morning, before the start of class.

Officials say he and another man, also wearing a similar badge, had been to an apartment complex earlier looking for a suspect.

At the school, the man claiming to be an agent, asked the principal whether a particular street was within the school’s attendance area.

Police believe the men were federal employees, but the visits have police, parents and school officials wondering why the federal government gave no advanced notice.

Read Full Article

Man Arrested At B.C. Border With ‘Terrorist Resources’

CTVBC in Canada reports that a Syrian man was arrested at the Canadian Border last month with $800,000 in gold coins along what is being described as “terrorist resources”.

From CTVBC

Paranoia and naivete led a Syrian man to lie about why he was crossing the border with nearly $1 million in gold and what’s been called “terrorist resources,” says the lawyer for the man who has been held as a potential security threat since early last month.

Khaled Nawaya, a flight instructor, was arrested by Canada Border Services agents when they found $800,000 in gold coins and other currency in his car and pockets on Oct. 6, as he crossed into Surrey, B.C., near Vancouver.

“He didn’t want to be taxed on it,” lawyer Phil Rankin said Tuesday.

“He should have gotten legal advice on that and just declared the money. Had he declared the money, that would probably be the end of the story.”

But his actions, along with other politically-charged items found in his vehicle, are now being used by government officials to build a case depicting him as a national security threat.

The 35-year-old faces the Immigration and Refugee Board on Thursday to learn whether authorities have grounds to keep him in custody.

He’d been living in the U.S. since he was 17 and had gained approval for permanent residency in Canada.

Besides the gold, Canadian agents found a ring bearing the insignia of Hezbollah, which has been listed as a terrorist organization by the Canadian government since 2002.

Read Full Article

Man Charged With Terrorist Threats In Mall Incident

The Danville Express reports that police arrested a 22-year-old Hayward man on Wednesday after he reportedly tore a crucifix from a person’s neck and frightened other shoppers at the Stoneridge Shopping Center.

Abdul Walid Hamid, an employee at a mall kiosk near Starbucks, has been charged with battery, terrorist threats and grand theft.

According to reports, Hamid was yelling “Allah is power” and “Islam is great” while holding a pen in a fist over his head. Witnesses said he shouted anti-Christian comments, said police.

Lt. Mike Elerick of the Pleasanton Police Department said the man was not provoked and didn’t threaten violence, but he committed robbery when he grabbed and broke a crucifix off someone’s neck.

Coworkers told police that Hamid’s actions were out of the ordinary and that he had worked at the kiosk for years.

Police also said they weren’t aware of a prior criminal history for the man.

“We had multiple people calling 911,” Elerick said. “One female was crouching down and hiding from him. He definitely scared quite a few people.”

Elerick said much of the man’s speech was similar to the loud scene of the Christian activists who frequent downtown Pleasanton. The big difference, however, was that Hamid was on private property and had physical contact with someone.

Source

Tags: crucifix, homeland security, stoneridge shopping center, terrorist threats

FBI To Investigate Alleged Threat Against Congressman

November 11, 2009 by Homeland Security NTARC News  
Filed under Incident Reports

1 Comment

UPDATE: The FBI said Tuesday it has closed its investigation of an alleged death threat against U.S. Rep. Brian Baird after concluding that the message left on Baird’s Washington, D.C., office phone in August did not constitute a serious threat.

“The information I received from our agents was that upon investigation, our special agents did not feel that the caller posed any threat and did not intend to conduct any act of terrorism,” said Lindsay Godwin, spokeswoman for the FBI’s Washington, D.C., field office. “The investigation is now closed.”

Godwin offered no details on how the caller was tracked down except to say, “We’re very good at what we do. We’re able to work with law enforcement entities here and around the country. We’re a force multiplier.”

Original Post

The Columbian is reporting that the FBI is investigating an alleged death threat made against U.S. Rep. Brian Baird last summer during the height of the Tea Parties and Townhalls.

U.S. Capitol Police spokeswoman Sgt. Kimberly Schneider confirmed Monday that the FBI has taken over the investigation, which does not happen in every case. “Not every case do they jump in,” she said.

Schneider said cases can remain open for years, so a three-month investigation by Capitol Police is not unusual.

Lindsay Godwin, a spokeswoman for the FBI’s field office in Washington, D.C., declined to confirm or deny that the matter was under investigation. “If so, I can’t share anything,” she said.

She added, “We share information through our task force officers on a regular basis with the local police. We work hand-in-hand with local law enforcement.”

Baird’s office declined comment.

“Capitol Police told our office that they wouldn’t be making any comment related to the death threat and nor should we,” said Kelly Love, Baird’s district manager in Vancouver. “We will follow that advice.”

via Read Full Article.

Tags: baird, death threat, fbi, tea party, townhall

Possible Hostage Situation in Jefferson City

November 10, 2009 by Homeland Security NTARC News  
Filed under Incident Reports

Leave a Comment

KOMU is reporting that portions of downtown Jefferson City have been shut down due to a possible hostage situation in the Governor’s Building on Madison Street.

State employees in the building say police officers are outside patroling the area with assault rifles. The area is locked down. Follow KOMU online and on Twitter for updates.

A viewer called KOMU to say a hostage situation took place in 5th floor of the Governor’s Building on Madison Street. Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder is sending accounts from his Twitter account saying snipers are on the roof of the Jefferson Building and negotiators are on the scene to speak with a suspect in the hostage situation. A person working on the 6th floor of the building says there is a possible hostage situation in the floor below.

Follow Live

From KRCG

KRCG has talked with a person inside the Governor Office Building. He says someone over the intercom instructed everyone to stay in their offices.

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon does NOT have an office at this building. The Governor Office Building used to be a hotel called the “Governor Hotel” when it was renovated into an office building it retained its moniker.

The building houses the Missouri Office of Prosecution Services, Public Service Commission, Office of Public Counsel and the Missouri Development Finance Board.

Source

Tags: governors building, hostage, jefferson city

Suspicious White Powder Sent to 3 U.N. Missions

November 9, 2009 by Homeland Security NTARC News  
Filed under Incident Reports

Leave a Comment

Decontamination centers have been set up outside the French And Austrian Missions, as well as the Uzbekistan Consulate near the United Nations in response to the discovery of  letters containing a suspicious white powder at each location.

Authorities are investigating some suspicious letters containing white powder that were sent to three foreign-government missions to the United Nations in Manhattan.Letters arrived at the missions of Uzbekistan, Austria, and France Monday, police said.At the Uzbekistan mission, on 2nd Avenue, two people were decontaminated as a precaution.

Eight people at the Austrian mission, on 3rd Avenue, were decontaminated. Meantime, at the French mission, on 2nd Avenue, 15 people were decontaminated, the NYPD said.Preliminary tests on the powder sent to the Uzbekistan mission came back negative for anthrax or any other dangerous substance, the NYPD said.All three envelopes had Dallas postmarks, the AP reported.No one was hurt, police said, and the missions weren’t evacuated. The NYPD and the FBI are investigating.

Source

Tags: hazmat, New York, suspicious letter, suspicious powder, suspicious white powder, un, United Nations

Incomplete Tunnel Found Near Tijuana Airport, US Border

November 8, 2009 by Homeland Security NTARC News  
Filed under Incident Reports

Leave a Comment

An incomplete tunnel near Tijuana’s airport and the U.S Border was discovered on Saturday resulting in the arrest of about 15 people and the seizure of nearly 300 pounds of marijuana.

The entrance to the tunnel was found Saturday in a house near the border fence just west of the Tijuana airport, and Mexican soldiers arrested six people, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

The six-foot-high tunnel was about 400 feet long but still nearly 500 feet short of reaching the United States, according to Mexican authorities.

The investigation also led the seizure of pot and building supplies in Colonia 20 de Noviembre, where seven other men and two women were arrested.

Source

Tags: border tunnel, homeland security, mexico, tijuana

Next Page »