too cold to go bike at 2 am riding without a ski cap....

At about 2:45 a.m. this morning, Monday November 25, patrol officers from the Field Operations Bureau spotted 16-year old Haseen Branch of Greenville on Clifton Street with two bicycles near the intersection of Evans St. and Arlington Blvd.   Officers stopped Branch to investigate why he was out with two bicycles at such a late hour and in below-freezing weather.

Officers then saw a black book bag about 25 feet away.  Further investigation found the bag contained a pair of bolt cutters, eight ski caps, and a sweater with all the sales tags still affixed.

Officers then spotted 21-year old Debracey Barnes as Barnes was coming out of the Kangaroo store near the intersection.  Upon seeing the police officers, Barnes fled across Arlington Blvd toward Commerce Street. The officers were unable to pursure Barnes, but alerted other officers nearby.

A police dog was called to the scene and backtracked from where the officers encountered Branch to a storage unit behind Gordon's Golf & Ski at 207 E. Arlington Blvd.  The storage unit had been burglarized, and the ski caps and sweater belonged to the business.

Police arrested Haseen Branch, and charged him with one count each of Felony Breaking & Entering, Larceny after Breaking & Entering, Felony Possession of Burglary tools, and Felony Conspiracy.  Branch was jailed under a $50,000 secured bond.

Detectives responded to the call, and after further investigation obtained similar arrest warrants against Debracey Barnes, 21-years old, of Greenville.  Barnes is a repeat offender, well known to law enforcement.  He remained at large this morning.  Anyone with information on Barnes should call Greenville Police at 329-4315. 

citizens in the academy...

The Greenville Police Department completed its 2013 Citizen’s Police Academy on November 11, graduating 16 people.  The Citizen’s Police Academy is an opportunity for City residents to learn about the inner workings of the Police Department and to gain an understanding of police operations.   The academy gives our citizens first-hand information on how and why the Department operates, and it provides an excellent opportunity for the citizens to interact with police officers.

The academy is a ten-week program which provides the community first-hand information on the role of police officers in the Greenville Police Department.  Attendees meet once each week from 7 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The program involves both classroom and interactive instruction. Participants are given the same information that police recruits and officers receive.

Graduates experience a variety of law Enforcement related topics over a ten week period, such as:

·         Hot Spot Policing

·         Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED)

·         Community Liaison Program

·         Citizens on Patrol program

·         Forensics (including hands-on latent fingerprint and lifting and analysis)

·         The criminal investigations process

·         Canine Unit demonstrations

·         Animal Control Unit overview

·         Code Enforcement

·         Crisis Intervention Unit

·         Street Crimes Unit and field operations as a patrol officer

·         Narcotics enforcement

·         Traffic Safety Unit (explored the North Carolina Governor’s Highway Safety

     Commission BAT MOBILE)

·         Real time firearms & drivers safety scenario simulators

·         Ride-along with police officers

The Department will host its next Citizen’s Police Academy in the spring of 2014.  Persons interested in participating may contact the Crime Prevention Unit for more information at 252-329-4339.

that's a lot of prison...

The Greenville Police Department and the Pitt County District Attorney announce the successful trial and conviction of Linwood Earl Duffie on three counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon and felony conspiracy.  For these crimes, the 55 year old Duffie will serve between 37 and 48 years in prison.

Duffie was convicted in Pitt County Superior Court for the following offenses:

1.    Wilco-Hess, 612 SW Greenville BV, Greenville, NC on  April 30, 2013 

a.    Robbery with a dangerous weapon

b.    Felony conspiracy

2.    Family Dollar Store, 631 Worthington Road, Winterville NC on April 28, 2013  

a.    Robbery with a dangerous weapon

b.    Felony conspiracy

3.    Emerald City Business Service Sweepstakes, Greenville Blvd, on April 22, 2013 

a.    Robbery with a dangerous weapon

b.    Felony conspiracy

Duffie was arrested on May 21 shortly after committing the armed robbery of a Dollar General in Chocowinity.  In that case, a timely witness provided the suspect vehicle license plate to police. 

After searching the database of a GPD Traffic Safety Unit’s automated license plate reader, officers determined that same suspect vehicle had been seen near Carriage House apartments in April of this year.   Officers and detectives responded to that area and located Duffie’s white Ford Explorer in the parking lot.

Alerted to police, Duffie barricaded himself inside an apartment, which caused Charles Blvd to be closed for several hours while the Greenville Police Emergency Response Team responded.  Duffie was later taken into custody without incident.         

Duffie is a career criminal with a history that dates back to 1977 when he was first charged and convicted of armed robbery as an adult.  Other notable facts include:

·         Over the past 36 years, Duffie has been in and out of the prison system on charges ranging from breaking and entering, drug possession, assault, and armed robbery.

·         He has been arrested at least 25 times from 1977 and 2013

·         Between 1977 and 2013 Duffie has spent 21 years in jails or prison.

Duffie still faces one count of robbery with a dangerous weapon for the Chocowinity crime that occurred on May 21.

Thanks to CrimeStoppers...

With help from Pitt-Greenville CrimeStoppers, the driver of the Ford Mustang involved in a hit & run investigation has been identified.  Late Wednesday afternoon, police identified Jacob Kelly Collins, 20 years old of Burlington, NC as the driver of the car which struck two parked cars at the Pirate Auto Care Center.

Collins was cited for the hit & run violation, and the case is closed pending the outcome of court proceedings.

The Department is grateful to the community for the responses and the information provided which helped solve this matter.

Good police work...

TYPE OF INCIDENT:         Armed Robbery & Arrests                      

Location:                                                      Wyndham Circle at Brownlea Drive

                                               

Case #:                                  13-64017                  

Date / Time:                          September 23, 2013                       1:50 a.m.

Arrested:                               Sacha Lata Gibson                        Alexis Gibson

                                                24 years old                                     19 years old

                                                Greenville                                         Greenville

                                                Jason Earl Moore                           Jeremon Marshall

                                                27 years old                                     25 years old

                                                Greenville                                         Greenville

At about 1:50 a.m. on Monday September 23, Greenville Police officers responded to the report of an armed robbery that occurred near the intersection of Wyndham Circle & Brownlea Drive.  Two women told police they were robbed at gunpoint after they came to the area to meet friends.

Patrol officers from C Platoon surrounded the area and patrolled escape routes.  They soon spotted the suspect vehicle leaving the area on E. Fifth Street and stopped the car on Verdant Drive.  Following a high-risk felony traffic stop, the police officers detained the four persons named above and recovered stolen items, including cash and cell phones.   Police also recovered a 20 gauge shotgun that was believed to have been used in the robbery.

All four suspects are charged with two counts each of Robbery with a Dangerous Weapon and Felony Conspiracy.  They are jailed under a $300,000 secured bond.   Arrest photos are available online from the Pitt County Detention Center.

Victim information will be available through online police reports.  They are not thought to be ECU students.

Bystanders refuse to stand by...

TYPE OF INCIDENT:         Assault with a Deadly Weapon with Intent to Kill,  Inflicting Serious Injury           

Location:                              411 E. Fourth Street

                                               

Case #:                                  13-63815

Date / Time:                          September 22, 2013                       2:20 a.m.

Victim:                                   Rachel Cooper

                                                21 years old

                                                Greenville

Charged:                              Jacob Hollingsworth

                                                23 years old

                                                Westminster, SC                            

At about 2:20 a.m. on Sunday September 22 Greenville Police officers were called to the scene of an assault in the street at 411 E. Fourth Street.   The victim told officers she was walking home from downtown when she was assaulted by an unknown white male armed with a pocket knife.  The victim yelled out for help as she fought the suspect, and several bystanders came to her aid.  The assisting citizens disarmed the suspect. The suspect was knocked unconscious during the struggle. 

The victim sustained serious cuts to her upper body. Her injuries are not life-threatening. She and the suspect were both transported to Vidant Medical Center for treatment.  The victim has been treated and released from the medical center. No additional information on their conditions is available.

Detectives from the Major Crimes Unit and crime scene technicians from the Forensics Unit responded to follow up on the case.  Detectives have charged 23 year old Jacob Hollingsworth with Assault with a Deadly Weapon with Intent to Kill, Inflicting Serious Injury.  He will be served with arrest warrants when he is released from Vidant Medical Center.

The commish...

TYPE OF INCIDENT:         Chief of Police Hassan Aden appointed to CALEA

Commission           

The Greenville Police Department announces the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) has appointed Greenville Police Chief Hassan Aden as a commissioner to its governing board. 

The Greenville Police Department has been a nationally accredited law enforcement agency since 1995.  In 2012 the Greenville PD was awarded Accreditation with Advanced status for its adherence to over 300 mandatory professional operating standards as well as 74 voluntary professional standards.

CALEA was established in 1979 to develop professional operating standards for public safety agencies and to administer complementary accreditation processes.  Some of the benefits of these processes include a higher level of public accountability, improved delivery of police services, and the adoption of modern policing methods.   

CALEA Program offerings currently include accreditation for law enforcement agencies, public safety communications and training academies, and most recently, campus security organizations.  These programs serve as a modern management model for public safety agencies on an international basis, and are a blueprint for developing industry recognized best practices.           

CALEA has 21 commission board members, including 11 law enforcement practitioners and 10 members from the public and private sectors.  The position is voluntary and Commissioners are appointed to a term of three years.  Chief Aden’s appointment becomes effective January 1, 2014.

A press release from CALEA is attached to this announcement.T