Friday, March 15, 2013

San Bernardino: Two 2011 POLICE SHOOTINGS Called JUSTIFIED!! By Brian Rokos Press Enterprise March 14, 2013.


SAN BERNARDINO: Two 2011 police shootings called justified

 
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The San Bernardino County district attorney’s office said Thursday, March 14, that separate shootings by police officers in 2011 were justified.
On June 2, 2011, Rialto police Officer Glen Anderson fatally shot Anastacio Verduzco Jr., 47, of Rialto.
“Under the facts, circumstances and the applicable law, Officer Anderson was justified in using deadly force to protect himself and others,” the DA’s office said in a news release.
On Dec. 1, 2011, Sheriff’s narcotics officer Kevin Warner shot a dog, and in the process, Lena Winn, 29, of Lucerne Valley. The DA’s office ruled that the dog was attacking Warner, and that Winn’s injury was “collateral and unintentional.”
Follow Brian Rokos on Twitter: @Brian_Rokos and online at blog.pe.com/crime-blotter/

Rilato: Ex-Coach Charged with Molesting Girls by John Asbury.. Press Enterprise March 7, 2013


RIALTO: Ex-coach charged with molesting girls

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Floyd Eddings Jr.
A former coach at Eisenhower High School in Rialto was charged Thursday, March 7, with molesting two of his female basketball players.
Floyd Eddings Jr., 55, of Rialto, was arrested by Rialto police at his home, nine years after the allegations were first raised that he had sexually assaulted players between 1999 and 2004 — the same time period that another Eisenhower coach was convicted of having an affair with a female student athlete.
Police said they are concerned there may be more victims in the Eddings case, and are urging anyone with information to contact Detective Carla McCullough at 909-820-2521.
Eddings was a contract employee and walk-on coach with the Rialto Unified School District from 1995 to 2004, district spokeswoman Syeda Jafri said. In addition to girls basketball, he coached freshman football and boys and girls track and field. He resigned from the district in 2004. Officials could not disclose if it was related to the molestation allegations.
“At this time, we continue to work with the Rialto Police Department and cooperate in the investigation,” Jafri said.
Since 2007, Eddings has worked as a security attendant during school hours for the Corona-Norco Unified School District. He was placed on unpaid administrative leave Thursday, district spokesman Thomas Pike said.
Corona officials were notifying parents of Eddings’ arrest, Pike said.
Eddings is accused of performing sex acts on two girls who were 14 or 15 years old and played for the Eisenhower girls basketball team while he was coach, Rialto police Capt. Randy De Anda said.
When the girls came forward in 2004, police did not have enough information at the time to ask prosecutors to file charges, De Anda said. In recent months, however, police received new allegations, and presented the case to the district attorney’s office this year, De Anda said.
Prosecutors charged Eddings with sexual penetration by a foreign object with the first girl in August 2004, according to a criminal complaint. He also is charged with two counts of lewd acts with a child and penetration by a foreign object of a second girl from August 1999 through May 2001.
He is in custody at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga, awaiting arraignment.
Eddings was a wide receiver for the New York Giants in 1982 and 1983.
In 2005, former Eisenhower football and softball coach Glenn Tompkins was sentenced to six months in jail and three years’ probation after pleading no contest to statutory rape. A softball player said she and Tompkins had a sexual relationship that began in 2002, when she was 16 and he was 26.
Eddings’ arrest adds to a period of turmoil for Eisenhower High School.
Current Eisenhower varsity boys basketball coach Steve Johnson is on medical leave after being shot during an attempted robbery at a San Bernardino park restroom. San Bernardino police sought charges against Johnson of criminal activity and obstructing detectives, but the district attorney’s office announced last week that it had declined to prosecute him.

Friday, March 01, 2013

Rialto: NO CHARGES for Coach, who's Welcomed Back.. March 1, 2013, By John Asbury Press Enterprise


RIALTO: No charges for coach, who’s welcomed back

 
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Eisenhower High School boys basketball coach and athletic director Steve Johnson is welcome to return to work when he recovers from being shot, a Rialto Unified School District spokeswoman said Friday, March 1, although questions remain about Johnson’s statements to police.
The San Bernardino County district attorney’s office said Friday that it declined to file charges against Johnson after criminal charges were sought by San Bernardino police.
“At this time the case submitted to our office against Mr. Johnson has been turned down,” district attorney’s spokesman Christopher Lee said. “Since the shooting in this case is still unsolved it would be inappropriate to comment any further.”
Johnson was shot four times Jan. 22 at Seccombe Lake Park in San Bernardino in an attempted robbery. He was able to drive himself to the San Bernardino Police Department to report the shooting.
San Bernardino Police Chief Robert Handy said last month that Johnson’s initial story didn’t add up and raised questions for detectives. “He was less than truthful and withheld information that would have been helpful in solving the case,” Handy said then.
Handy said Friday that district attorney’s officials had not given any reason why they declined to file charges.
“We felt there was sufficient evidence to request charges, so that’s what we filed,” Handy said.
Handy did not elaborate on what charges police were recommending.
Rialto Unified School District spokeswoman Syeda Jafri was asked Friday whether the district, in light of Johnson’s position of influence over young men and women, would investigate Handy’s contention that Johnson had not been forthcoming. Jafri said she could not comment on that because it would be a personnel matter.
“Coach Johnson was a victim of a horrendous crime,” Jafri said. “We are fortunate that he miraculously survived. The district wishes him a healthy and a speedy recovery.”
Johnson, 47, of Yucaipa, told police he was driving from the Cal State San Bernardino area when he detoured through side streets into downtown San Bernardino after dark.
He said he drove to the southern end of the city to buy gas, when he needed to stop at the park to use the restroom.
Seccombe Lake Park has been notorious in the city for gangs and criminal activity. Handy said police had learned additional information from other sources about why Johnson stopped at the park.
While sitting in his car at the park, Johnson said he was confronted by three men who demanded his wallet. Johnson was shot four times during the attempted robbery.
But in the follow-up investigation, police said Johnson did not cooperate with detectives, and police suspected he may have been involved in criminal behavior.
Police are conducting a separate investigation into who shot Johnson.
Follow John Asbury on Twitter @johnasbury
Also contributing to this report: Staff Writer Brian Rokos, brokos@pe.com