VICTIM’S SUSPECT DESCRIPTION LEADS DEPUTY STRAIGHT TO BURGLARS

Deputy Pat Darmody is always on the look out, but he didn’t have to look too hard to find a trio wanted for burglary after hearing a BOLO of the suspects’ descriptions over the airwaves.

Shortly before 7 a.m. on Thursday, January 22, Tiffany Patterson stopped at a RaceTrac gas station on McNab Rd. in North Lauderdale to buy gasoline.  As she went inside the store, she looked back at her 2003 Volkswagen Bug to get the number of the gas pump and noticed a man opening her car door.  Patterson immediately began walking back toward her car yelling at the man to get away from her vehicle, but the man quickly grabbed her purse and began running.  Patterson gave chase but then stopped and tried to remember as many details as possible about the suspects and their getaway vehicle.

Once deputies arrived on scene, a BOLO was issued for a light tan Nissan Maxima along with the female and two male occupants.  North Lauderdale Deputy Pat Darmody heard the BOLO and recognized the description as that of three suspects he’s had previous contact with.  Deputy Darmody drove to a location where he thought he could find the group.  His hunch paid off!  As he pulled up to the 1200 block of SW 71 Terrace he spotted the Maxima parked in front of one of the suspects’ home with the three suspects still sitting inside.  As a result, the victim was able to recover her purse and most of her belongings.

Thanks to Deputy Darmody’s quick action, he also helped get a break in other burglary cases. The trio was found to be in possession of two GPS devices, which North Lauderdale Detective Lisa Sokol determined had been stolen during two separate vehicle burglaries in Tamarac.

The Sky is the Limit at Fallen Heroes Fundraiser

BSO’s External Affairs Liason Nelson Velez stands atop a Broward Sheriff’s Fire Rescue ladder truck and dumps a bucket of golf balls during the second annual Fallen Heroes Golf Tournament Saturday at the Deerfield Country Club.  The ball drop was one of many raffles and contests to raise money for the Sheriff’s Foundation of Broward County’s Fallen Heroes Fund, which helps support the families of fallen law enforcement officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty. More than 140 golfers participated in the tournament.  Commander Rick Wierzbicki, who organized the tournament, said he hoped to surpass last year’s amount of $32,000.

SHERIFF LAMBERTI APPOINTS 17 NEW FIREFIGHTERS

(Ft. Lauderdale, FL) – Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti swears in 17 firefighter/paramedic recruits at the Public Safety Building on January 23rd. Class # 08-01 successfully completed 14 weeks of intensive firefighter training at the Broward Fire Academy, under the direction of the Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue training division. The new employees received their badges from Sheriff Lamberti and Chief of Department Joseph R. Lello. The BSFR honor guard was joined by the Black Pearl Pipe & Drum Corps at the traditional badge pinning ceremony.

Photo by Mike Jachles/Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue

BSO Hosts Human Trafficking Awareness Event

In an effort to raise awareness about human trafficking among at-risk youth, BSO’s Central Broward district and the Community Justice Program hosted an educational presentation on the topic Jan. 6 for community youth and their parents.

Human trafficking involves recruiting, transporting or harboring people for the purposes of slavery, forced labor and servitude.

The program, which was held in the Public Safety Building, was created to provide education about human trafficking among at-risk youth. Some of the basic principles discussed included identifying risk factors, impacts, psycho-social needs and assisting the victims involved in sexual exploitation and violence. There were three presenters. Dr. Judith Bachay, Director of Counseling Programs at St. Thomas University, spoke about the warning signs of human trafficking, counseling aspects and available services for the victims. Miguel Figueroa, supervisory Special Agent from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), addressed the statistics of human trafficking in Florida, the process of reporting and legal procedures of ICE.  Detective Nicole Freeley of BSO’s Strategic Investigations Division discussed the dangers of Internet solicitation, cyberspace laws and policy and ways to safeguard information on popular web sites. More than 75 youths and their parents attended, along with other non-governmental organizations and human services agencies.

Pictured from left to right are Dr. Judith Bachay, LMHC, Director of Counseling Programs , St. Thomas University; Hiram Ruiz, Director of Refugee Services, Department of Children and Families; Community Justice Youth Counselor Elizabeth Mayo; Velma Xavier, Community Justice program volunteer; Community Justice Youth Counselor Anse Daniel; Kerline Gelin, Community Justice program volunteer;  Terrence Barber, Recreation Manager , City of Lauderdale Lakes; Community Justice Supervisor Jacqueline Lashbrook; Supervisory Special Agent Miguel Figueroa, Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Strategic Investigations Division Detective Nicole Freeley; Community Involvement Specialist Adriane Reesey;  and Victim Specialist Martha Mino, Immigrant Right Advocacy Center, Inc.

Thanksgiving Basket Drive

Lidia Wallace, supervisor of the Drug Court Division under the Department of Community Control, spearheaded a Thanksgiving basket drive. The baskets were collected by The Susan B. Anthony Recovery Center for women and their children. Pictured from right to left are Drug Court division participants Elsa Zamora, Jay Rolle, (back) Lidia Wallace, Carmen Jones, (back) Wendy Sotirelis, Phil Madan, (back) Judith Ramirez, Susan Singer-Del Valle, (back) Debora Calabria, Gail Knox, Edie Hambright and Judy Levy.

SHINING THE LIGHT ON BSO PUTS SPOTLIGHT ON TV STATION

The danger of child predators trolling the internet has captured local and national headlines, and Broward Sheriff’s Office detectives helping protect those kids earned a local TV station a major accolade.

In the fall of 2007, the BSO Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) gave the Spanish language TV Station Telemundo 51 exclusive access to the “Home Alone III” Investigation, an undercover operation where detectives posed as juveniles on social networking sites.  The detectives logged in and created the computer profiles of young boys and girls, and were contacted time and time again by adult men soliciting them for inappropriate sexual encounters.  In just one week “Home Alone III” led to the arrest of 10 men who drove from near and far to an undercover location where they thought they were meeting a minor.  Instead, the men were received by BSO deputies.

Reporter Ivan Taylor and the Telemundo 51 crew was there to capture the images of the men being taken into custody, and his report “Capturando Depredadores/Capturing Predators,” chronicling the operation, received top recognition at the Suncoast Emmy Award Ceremony held this past December 6 in Orlando.  The Telemundo team received the award for Best Crime Program.  But though the Telemundo crew gets to take home the Emmy statuettes for their great work, we know the ICAC detectives and their outstanding efforts were the stars of the show.  They don’t need to have an Emmy to earn our congratulations on a job well done!

Pictured: (back row) ICE Agent Mike Bentolila, Sgt. Giuseppe Weller, Lt. Robert Cates, and Forensics Technician Jim Medley. (Front Row) Admin Coordinator -Sharon Panter, SID Analyst-Tina McCoy, and Computer Forensics -Technician Jeanne Burtnett.