A Review of Recent Incidents Involving Dollar Stores

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GASTONIA, NORTH CAROLINA, POLICE SAY that a local teenager used a lighter to set a fire in a Dollar Tree store on January 2, shortly after 5 pm.  By 10 pm Todd Alexander Bryson, 16, was jailed under a $25,000 secured bond facing an arson-related charge.

The Gaston Gazette reported:

The two-alarm fire was reported about 5:24 p.m. Monday. It occurred in the aisle where potato chips and other snacks are displayed, according to Gaston County Assistant Fire Marshal Billy Glover. Police were able to arrest Bryson before he left (the shopping center). They said he probably set fire to just one item.

"There’s no indication of any reason he’d want to start the fire," said Sgt. Jimmy Arndt with Gastonia Police Department. Bryson was standing in the parking lot with his mother and some acquaintances when taken into custody, Arndt said.

Glover said combined damage will likely exceed $500,000 and could hit $1 million.

The building's sprinkler system helped contain the blaze, but there was still significant damage to both the structure and the merchandise, mainly from smoke and water damage.  Bryson was charged with felony arson and is subject to additional charges.

The store reopened on January 19 while Bryson was still in jail.

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WISH-TV IN INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA reported that two employees suffered smoke inhalation in a fire set by a customer trying to steal items from a Wayne Township Family Dollar store on January 9.

Firefighters were called to the store near Lynhurst Drive and Rockville Road just after 11:30 a.m. The first units arrived to find a small fire had already been extinguished by employees. They say it appears a would-be shoplifter set the fire as a distraction.

The suspect fled from the store but was identified on a surveillance tape.

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IN NATCHEZ, MISSISSIPPI, A FIRE BROKE OUT in a Dollar General store around 2 pm on January 10.

Natchez Democrat

The Natchez Democrat reported:

"The manager said everybody was in the front of the store, and when he turned around he could see smoke coming from the back of the building," Natchez Fire Chief Oliver Stewart said.

Most of the fire damage was limited to the rear of the building, but Oliver said the exact point of origin for the fire had not been determined Tuesday afternoon. "They have an office in the rear, and it looks like it started in that office," Stewart said. "We are looking there."

The fire burned out the storeroom and caused some structural damage in that area.  The firewalls between the stores in the shopping center prevented the fire from spreading into the adjoining businesses.

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MONDAY JANUARY 16, A CAR inexplicably drove through the main entrance of a Van Nuys, California, 99¢ store.  Although the car plowed right into the main egress at 1 pm, there were no injuries.  Damages amounted to at least $5,000.99.

KCBS-TV ran this video report:

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A JONESBORO, NORTH CAROLINA, TEEN WAS ARRESTED after setting a fire in a Dollar General store on January 14.  The blaze kept the firefighters on the scene for 12 hours as the building was gutted.  There was some extension into other stores in the shopping center, but none of them had major damage with most being able to reopen within 2-3 days.

A 16-yr.-old boy has been charged with the arson, but neither his identity or motive were disclosed by the police.

WGHP-TV has the details in this video report:

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This is a continuing series of fire / rescue incidents involving "dollar stores." Read previous Dollar Store Updates HERE.

Outside Bidders Excluded

A MISSOURI AMBULANCE DISTRICT OFFICIAL has been arrested and charged with misdemeanor insider information for a land-flip that he profited from in March 2011.  The president of Northland Regional Ambulance District in Platte County, Kevin Rawlings, 40, is accused of buying land and reselling it to his own ambulance authority knowing that they were planning on building a new station in the area.

Kevin Rawlings

The Kansas City Star reports:

According to court records, Rawlings purchased 34 acres in April 2010 for $130,000. He resold 1.5 acres to the ambulance district in March 2011 for $175,000.  Prosecutor Eric Zahnd said Thursday that Rawlings allegedly made $144,000 from the transaction.

Land that sold for $58,000 per acre  (NBC News)

There was no record that the agency had the land appraised at that time, court records stated. However, an appraisal in November 2011 put its worth at $30,600.

Rawlings was elected board president in 2006. He knew as early as 2008 that the district wanted to build a new station near Route U at the Camden Point exit.

According to the ambulance board minutes, Rawlings instructed the District's executive director to look for sites in the area where he had purchased the property.  When the Board "called" for bids, Rawlings was the only bidder.

The dubious activity first came to the taxpayers' attention back in March 2011 when NBC News filed this video report that detailed the entire transaction:

The Kansas City Star has more details HERE.
The St. Joseph News-Press has MORE.
Northland Regional Ambulance District WEBSITE.

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Roundup Creates Gap in Work Schedule

TWO CHEROKEE COUNTY, GEORGIA, FIREFIGHTERS were arrested separately this week and charged with a variety of drug crimes involving fire department ambulances.  Both men are employed by the Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services.

The Cherokee County Sheriff's office first announced on Wednesday that Johnathan Wayne Thomas, of Canton has been charged with Sell of Hydrocodone, Felony Possession of Marijuana, Possession of a Schedule II Controlled Substance, among several other charges.  He is being held without bond.

Agents arrested the 34-year-old at his home Wednesday afternoon, after an undercover investigation determined he was linked to the crime. Cherokee Sheriff’s Lt. Jay Baker said Thomas had access to the vials because of the nature of his job. Additional investigation details will be released at a later time, Baker said.

Johnathan Thomas (left) and Jarad Jones

The Sheriff's department announced that a second firefighter with the Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services was arrested today (Thursday). Jarad Jones, 25 years old of Canton, turned himself in at the Cherokee Adult Detention Center Thursday afternoon. Jones is charged with Felony Theft by Taking.

Jones is accused of stealing Fentanyl, a liquid pain killer, from a Cherokee County Ambulance in 2011. Investigators believe Jones stole the Fentanyl on more than one occasion and that the drug was used for his personal use. Jones’ bond is set at $5,700.00.

Canton-Sixes Patch tells more about the crimes and arrests:

The illegal drug use came to light on Sunday during a routine inspection of ambulances in the county. Garrison credited changes in the fire department with bringing the activity to the attention of authorities.

Restructuring within the agency put new personnel in fire stations and "new eyes on some of these ambulances," Garrison said. Those individuals "saw things that just didn't appear to be correct in these inventory processes," he said.

This past Sunday, Cherokee County fire officials reported their observations to the Cherokee Sheriff's Office, which investigated the incident in conjunction with the Cherokee Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad, Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services spokesman Tim Cavender said in a statement.

An undercover operation was conducted, and Thomas was arrested at his home Wednesday afternoon following a search warrant at the location. Thomas has been with the fire department for three years. He has no previous disciplinary infractions in his files.

Read the complete article in the Patch HERE.

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This Time Was a Record-Setter

A FORMER SOMERSET COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, VFD president was sentenced Tuesday after admitting that he had stolen $820,000 from his fire company.  Henry Swincinski, 61, was president of the Windber Volunteer Fire Company from 2002 through 2010 when he pilfered the funds using his authority to access the bank account.  He had been a member of the VFC for 35 years.

The Somerset Daily American reports:

Swincinski was sentenced to 11 1/2 to 23 months in Somerset County Jail followed by seven years of supervised probation for 56 counts of theft by deception, all third-degree felonies. He must perform 200 hours of community service when he is released. (He was also ordered to repay the FD $810,000 restitution…..ed.)

In February 2010 Paint Township police charged Swincinski with 974 counts in two cases that involved taking funds meant for the fire company and Northern EMS and putting them in his own pocket. The multiple charges were for the offenses of theft by deception, receiving stolen property and theft by failure to make required disposition of funds received from 2002 through 2010.

When the department was suddenly not paying its bills, Swincinski blamed it on the "hard times" and told the members that they would have to hold more fundraisers and make more money.

The Windber Fire Company was organized in 1899.

Read the detailed report in the Daily American HERE.
Windber Fire Company WEBSITE.

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Alcohol Was Involved

A FAYETTE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, AMBULANCE CREW had a harrowing moment Sunday night when they were suddenly attacked by a man wielding a shovel.  The two EMT's were at the door of an apartment in Bullskin waiting to be let in for a heart condition call.  While they were still in the hallway, a man charged out from another unit and began threatening them and saying he was going to get a gun and shoot them.

The EMT talks to a reporter from WTAE-TV

The attacker then grabbed a shovel that was leaning against the hallway wall and started to swing it at the EMT's.  By then they were able to gain access into the apartment where they closed the door and called for police assistance.  When they arrived, the police had to physically restrain the man who strongly smelled of alcohol.

Robert Shaner, 58, of Connellsville was arrested and charged with aggravated assault,  terroristic threats, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, resisting arrest, harassment and public drunkenness.

The Daily Courier has the STORY.
WPXI has more details HERE.
WTAE-TV interviews the EMT in this VIDEO REPORT.

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Still Another Good Reason to Put
Your Company Markings on Your Gear

PENNSYLVANIA STATE POLICE ARRESTED a man and charged him with burglarizing an Adams County fire station Saturday just a few hours after the theft was discovered.

Aspers Fire Company photo

The police were called to the Aspers Fire Company in Menallen Township at 5 pm Saturday to take a report for a break-in and theft of several valuable items from the firehouse.  The York Daily Record tells us:

Once there, they discovered that someone had pried back the metal siding to the rear of the building, then cut through some drywall in order to get inside.

Numerous items were taken from the fire company, including a snow blower, ladders, aluminum collars and nozzles, a computer, printer, scanner, air tools, EMT bags, an oxygen bag, and hand tools, police said.

A short time later, Trooper George Weis was canvassing a neighborhood nearby to look for possible witnesses when he spotted two aluminum ladders at the rear of a home in the first block of Aspers Road North. A representative of the fire company was called to the scene and identified the ladders through markings on the them as belonging to the fire company.

They obtained a search warrant for the house and inside found all the rest of the items that had been stolen.  They then arrested Timothy Moody, 41, and charged him with receiving stolen property.  He was arraigned and jailed Saturday night and is still being held on bond.

Hat tip to Radical Ron

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Child Porn Claims Another One

A HOUSTON, TEXAS, FIRE CAPTAIN HAS RESIGNED following his arrest and incarceration for possessing child pornography and "inappropriate online contact" with an underage girl.

Saul A. Fiszer

Saul Fiszer, 49, was arrested earlier this week and placed on leave.  He has been with the HFD for 18 years but volunteered to resign on Friday.  He has been in jail since Tuesday on $20,000 bond that apparently nobody is willing to post for him.

The Houston Chronicle reports:

On Jan. 10, Fiszer's wife found a frequently called number on his cellphone, according to court records. Posing as him, she began texting the number.

Fiszer's wife "found that the person texting her from the cellphone was a 14-year-old female who resided in Casper, Wyo., and referred to Fiszer as 'Daddy,' " the records state.

Confronted by his wife, Fiszer "admitted to her that he had been chatting online and trading pictures" with the teen, according to records.

Fiszer told police that he tried to kill himself by running a hose into his vehicle from its exhaust, but the suicide attempt failed when he ran out of gas.

Houston police confiscated Fiszer's laptop and media storage devices that held pornographic images and a video of children, investigators said. Officials said they found at least 450 images of child pornography.

KTRK-TV adds:

Fiszer's wife told investigators that she contacted the girl's parents as well as police in Wyoming to report the incident. Police there confiscated the girl's cell phone.

According to court documents, Fiszer's wife confronted him about the girl and she said he admitted to her that he had been chatting online and exchanging lewd pictures with the girl. The wife also told authorities that she had previously destroyed Fiszer's old laptop after she discovered he had been chatting with other women on the internet.

KTRK also filed this video report:

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Ex-Wife's Boyfriend Arrested

A VOLUNTEER FIRE OFFICER, GLEN RUSSELL, 43, of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, was getting out of his car Tuesday mid-day when he was suddenly ambushed by a masked man carrying a shotgun who fired on Russell.  Despite being hit several times, Russell managed to run into a nearby bank lobby seeking help.  The bank employees locked the door and called for police.

Glen Russell

The Reading Eagle continues:

(Russell), a Berks County real estate agent was ambushed and shot by his ex-wife’s lover as he arrived for a counseling appointment with his former wife at a Spring Township office complex, according to court documents available today.

Glen Russell, 43, of Pottstown was shot multiple times with a shotgun by Christopher Yingling, 41, of Birdsboro about 11 a.m. Tuesday in the parking lot of Spring Commons Professional Office Village, 2917 Windmill Road, police said.

Russell told police that Yingling had shot him, and Yingling was arrested about two hours later at his workplace in Cumru Township with the help of Cumru police, investigators said.

Christopher Yingling  (Angstadt / Reading Eagle)

WFMZ-TV filed this video report Tuesday evening:

The police have not found a motive yet from Yingling who is being held on $150,000 bond charged with attempted homicide and aggravated assault.

Glen Russell is a long-time member and a Deputy Chief of the Limerick Fire Company in Montgomery County.  He remains in critical but stable condition in the hospital today.

The Reading Eagle has the details of the story along with an eyewitness' account of the shooting HERE.

Limerick Fire Company WEBSITE.

Hat tip:  Radical Ron

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Night Club Closed For Flooding

"TOUGH GUY" SAMUEL CLUCAS is now a felon with a sore hand after punching a sprinkler head in a Chcago night club Friday morning.

Nobody knows why he decided to knock the sprinkler head off in an area that has a low ceiling, but the resulting waterfall soon left several inches of water inside the SpyBar, a popular night spot on N. Franklin St. in Chicago.  The water also got into the floor DJ equipment causing some major damage with it.

S. Clucas, sprinkler menace
(CPD photo)

The bar bouncers held onto Clucas until the police got there and arrested him.  At first he claimed that he merely bumped into it with his head, but surveillance tapes clearly showed that he took his hand and deliberately swung at the defenseless sprinkler head.

He has been charged with felony criminal damage to property.

WLS has the STORY.

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Ten-Year Arrest Count is Up to 17 Now (Maybe More)

SIX WEEKS AGO THE FIRE CHIEF of the Wilkes-Barre Township Volunteer Fire Department (NOT to be confused with the W-B City FD), John Yuknavich was arrested for the umpteenth time, most recently for embezzling more than $15,000 from his own fire department.  (Read those details in the Firegeezer report HERE.)  A week later, after his arrest the membership unanimously re-elected him to continue in the fire chief's position.

Yuknavich at his December 6 arraignment

The investigation into Yuknavich began in 2008 when the State Police began looking into financial irregularities in the VFD's fianances.  Yuknavich refused to cooperate with their investigation and his actions triggered a round of audits on the treasury.  Other FD officials told the police at the time that the fire chief handled all the finances and refused to allow anybody else to see the books.

Yesterday, Friday the State Police executed a search warrant on the fire department and raided the premises.  After several hours in the firehouse, they came out with five cardboard boxes filled with evidence and left.  The search warrant was sealed by the court and its justification or purpose is not yet known. 

Citizens Voice photo

The Citizens Voice provided some background on the VFD's shenanigans in today's article HERE:

State police have been investigating the department's finances since at least July 2006. At the time, the department was operating a bar and restaurant attached to the fire hall called the Firemen's Inn, of which Yuknavich was president. The state police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement cited the bar for failure to maintain complete and truthful financial records. Then, in 2007, an audit released by state Auditor General Jack Wagner found the fire department's relief association gave undocumented loans to the fire company, erroneously withdrew funds and failed to obtain a federal tax identification number. Yuknavich was secretary of the relief association.

In March 2008, the Pennsylvania Department of State's Bureau of Charitable Organizations issued Yuknavich a subpoena, requesting financial records. He refused, according to arrest papers. The bureau then ordered the department to "cease and desist" from fundraising for failing to provide proper records. The order also forced the closure of the Firemen's Inn.

Yuknavich will have a preliminary hearing before the Magisterial District Court on February 22.

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