George Williams

On April 19, 2002 an argument took place at 846 NW 4 Avenue in Fort Lauderdale. During the argument one of the subjects produced a firearm and shot several rounds at 2 victims who fled inside the residence. The subject shot more rounds through the front window and door at the victims who were hiding inside. As patrol units from the entire district along with Fugitive Detective Chuck Morrow arrived on the scene the subject fled. Information was obtained on the identity of the suspect responsible for the shooting. He was known as Omar Brown from the Bahamas and word on the street was that he was wanted for murder. A descriptive bolo was put out for Brown whose whereabouts were unknown. Fugitive Detectives Chuck Morrow and John Curry began an investigation into whereabouts of Brown and to verify that indeed he was wanted for murder. Detective Morrow contacted detectives in Freeport and Nassau where it was determined that “no one” with the name of Omar Brown was wanted. Detective Morrow then requested any fingerprints on murder fugitives in Freeport or Nassau, which matched the approximate age of 24 years. Four sets of prints were sent back for comparison. Omar Brown was wanted by Broward County Sheriff’s Office reference felony drug arrests therefore his prints were available. Because of the poor quality of the prints sent from the Bahamas Examiners Carl Ciotola, Alice Thacker, Rose Mogavero and Linda Kelley from the fingerprint unit worked on the comparison. A match was verified. Fingerprints of murder fugitive George Williams matched Omar Brown being sought for aggravated assault and BSO felony arrest warrants. Detective Morrow contacted the U.S. Immigrations Office along with the Royal Bahamian Police Force to advise them that they had a match on the prints. Detective Morrow was requested to apprehend the fugitive so he could eventually be turned over to the Bahamian authorities.

The detective’s next step was to notify I.N.S. and write an I.N.S. detainer to place Williams into federal custody upon apprehension. Detective Morrow began working around the clock contacting CI’s along with street sources in an attempt to obtain information on William’s whereabouts. Surveillance was also utilized on various locations in Fort Lauderdale. Finally five days later Detective Morrow observed Williams walking behind an apartment building in the 800 block of NW 10 Terrace. Williams immediately recognized the detective and fled. Detective Morrow did not chase Williams knowing that he could hide anywhere in the apartment complex. Instead he contacted three CI’s providing them with a description requesting help in locating Williams. At the same time patrol officers responded to establish an outer perimeter around the complex. After approximately 30 minutes one of the CI’s contacted Detective Morrow and told him that Williams was on the move and had entered the Linden Apartments. Patrol officers moved in around the apartments and Detective Morrow began to interview tenants. After checking the second building Williams fled out of an apartment at which time a foot chase ensued. He was kept inside the perimeter and apprehended with the assistance of numerous District II patrol officers inside a fenced compound to the rear of Sunrise Food Market at 921 NW 9 Avenue. He admitted to his true identity and is wanted for the murder of Serado Pinder who was gunned down outside a motel in Freeport.

In order to increase the efficiency of jail booking time, the city of Fort Lauderdale has installed the newest and most updated equipment for capturing fingerprints of arrested persons. The LSS 3000 or Live Scan System electronically captures demographic data, fingerprints and palm print images. It communicates with external Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems (AFIS) equipment, typically via Ethernet or modem. Examiners in the fingerprint unit perform quality check on fingerprints by using the special AFIS software and extracting minutiae on each scan. The system provides a hand placement and duplicate finger check by comparing rolled fingerprint scans to plain impressions. The scan is then sent to FDLE for a search on the database of over 5 million known prints. Within 3-5 minutes a response is returned to the police department and the jail is notified of any outstanding warrants and the true identify of the individual. Fingerprint, palm print and rap sheets are printed for a permanent record to be used when identification or latent comparisons are requested.

With the rise of identity theft and various con games it is important to gain information on how these games work in order to protect yourself. A con artist will go to any lengths with a goal of getting your money. This is the time of year that bank examiner schemes are prevalent. This is one of the two most successful con games around. A con artist will contact you and tell you he is a bank official or police officer and that he needs your help to catch a dishonest teller. All you have to do is withdraw your savings and give the money to him so he can check the serial numbers. If you do so you have been conned. Remember a real bank official will NEVER ask you to withdraw your money. For more information on other schemes and how they work visit our website at www.flpd.org

In early March Franz Beauplan obtained a 2002 Jaguar with a fraudulent ID in Dade County. During the same month he obtained a 2002 Cadillac Escalade from Ed Morse Cadillac in Pembroke Pines. Once again he went to Bayview Cadillac in Fort Lauderdale and obtained another 2002 Cadillac Escalade. Through a joint investigation with the Broward County Auto Theft Task Force Detectives Russ Suess, Robert Dietrich and Bob Grimm obtained information that Beauplan was found in Delray Beach with the Escalade from Bayview Cadillac. He confessed to the detectives to all the thefts. Beauplan was charged with 2 counts of grand theft over $20,000, 2 counts of ID fraud and 2 counts of title fraud. The information was given to Dade County to charge accordingly.

In March 2002, Detective Rich Love, assigned to the Leach Task Force (Law Enforcement Against Child Harm) on the Internet, was contacted by Customs Agent Mark Oden, of their Child Exploitation Cyber Smuggling Unit out of Washington, DC. He was requesting assistance involving an international child pornography operation being run by Gerald McCarthy in Rathfarnham, Ireland. The Rathfarnham police had identified McCarthy as a producer and distributor of child pornography and they had identified a person named Phillip Wocker from 725 SE 23 Street in Fort Lauderdale as being one of the individuals who had purchased child pornography (the TWINK collection) from McCarthy. Detective Love discovered that Wocker had been killed in an automobile accident in August of 2000. Detective Love located Wocker’s father in Palm Beach County and contacted him in an attempt to locate Wocker’s computer and related items. Wocker’s father had all of his son’s computer equipment and signed a consent for search form for the items. A forensic examination of the computer made a positive identification by hash marks, indicating that 37 child pornography images from Wocker’s computer were a perfect match to 37 images from the TWINK collection produced by McCarthy. Gerald McCarthy was arrested by the Rathfarnham, Ireland police and charged with production and international distribution of child pornography. This is the first time an arrest was made in Ireland on those charges.

With the arrival of summer everyone is heading for the beach. Protect your vehicle and property from thieves; don’t leave your keys and personal items in the car.

In the latter week of February a male entered PowerSports, Inc with the intention of buying an off road vehicle for $3500. He identified himself as James Lovett and produced a Florida Driver’s License as proof of identification. The dealership became suspicious and demanded additional identification. The male left the business without obtaining the vehicle. Weeks later the dealership contacted the true James Lovett and advised him of the incident. Lovett remembered the last time he provided his personal identification information was to a realtor. Fraud Detective Mike Arbit was assigned the case and identified the male suspect as the realtor and as the person who used Lovett’s person identification information to obtain credit to purchase the vehicle. On March 20, the male was located at his residence in Lauderhill and arrested. A fingerprint comparison identified the subject as Michael Albertson, who also had 5 aliases. He was charged with identity theft and grand theft.

During the months of February and March, 2002 the Strategic Investigations Unit initiated an investigation into a suspect known to be a large-scale cocaine trafficker operating within the city of Fort Lauderdale. The suspect was identified as Michael Schnatter, aka Tarzan. Schnatter’s narcotics activities date back to the early 1980’s as a cocaine trafficker on Fort Lauderdale beach. SID Detectives investigated Schnatter in the mid 1980’s for narcotic related charges. As a result of this investigation an SID detective, while in an undercover capacity, was introduced to Schnatter via a confidential informant during a “Buy Walk” operation for cocaine. The detective posed as a new customer and conducted several hand-to-hand deliveries for cocaine with Schnatter. As a result detectives from Fort Lauderdale and Plantation Police Departments authored a search warrant for his residence. The search warrant was executed and Schnatter was arrested during the final “Buy Bust” operation. As a result of the investigation 3 suspects were arrested on cocaine trafficking charges and approximately 1-¼ kilos of cocaine were seized as well as one vehicle.

Kelvin O'neal Franklin is a cocaine trafficker who was on the run from authorities in West Palm Beach. He was wanted for numerous violent arrest warrants including attempted murder. Franklin was responsible for three separate shootings in Palm Beach County. In one incident a 3 year-old child was shot in the shoulder during a drive by shooting. Local media aired the subject in Palm Beach County for several weeks with negative results in developing leads. “America’s Most Wanted” producers contacted Palm Beach lead detective and advised they would air Franklin on an up coming episode in May. Fugitive Detectives Chuck Morrow and John Curry were contacted by Palm Beach who requested assistance in locating the subject who was believed to have associates (drug traffickers) in the Fort Lauderdale area. Fugitive Detectives began their investigation by contacting numerous street sources and CI’s, which were shown a photo of Franklin in an attempt to generate any information on his whereabouts. Over the course of several weeks surveillance was utilized on locations in Fort Lauderdale and surrounding areas. The investigation revealed that Franklin was traveling between Fort Lauderdale and Orlando transporting cocaine. On April 8, the detective received a cell phone number for Franklin from a street source who was communicating with him daily. Also obtained was a possible location in Orlando he was visiting and a vehicle he was driving. Detectives immediately contacted the U.S. Marshal Service and Palm Beach Detectives who traveled to Orlando and acted on the information that was provided to them. The following morning Franklin was taken into custody during surveillance.

Burglary Detectives Cheryl Donisi and Jack Gee responded to 1438 North Victoria Park Road in Poinsettia Heights to pick up a burglary suspect. Upon being invited into the residence to “look for” the suspect the detectives discovered a hydroponics lab or grow house, which had 50 marijuana plants. It was equipped with a sophisticated lighting and irrigation system. Finding that the suspect was not there the detectives called SID Detectives to respond. The burglar Allen Crouse was taken into custody later that night.

The Fort Lauderdale Police Department’s Special Investigations Division, which is comprised of street, mid and upper level units, make a dynamic impact on cleaning up the areas of the city that drug dealers and prostitutes frequent. The following are some of the locations the division has cleaned up:

• SID Vice Unit Detectives conducted an undercover operation on 03/22/02 into the activity taking place inside the business know as Healing Gardens Massage located at 2450 E. Commercial Blvd. This establishment licensed to provide therapeutic massages, was going above and beyond providing massages of the therapeutic benefit. A Vice Detective, posing as a customer, was solicited for prostitution during a “therapeutic” massage session. The female massage attendant was placed under arrest for prostitution and the business was closed.
• A search warrant was executed by the Raiders at 1247 NW 3 Avenue in South Middle River. One arrest was made along with 100 crack rocks and 2 grams of powder cocaine seized.
• During the month of March members of SIU and the Major Narcotics Unit began an investigation in to an Ecstasy dealer residing near North East High School. A search warrant was executed at the residence; one arrest was made along with 5.6 pounds of GHB, Meth and Ecstasy pills seized and one vehicle seized.
• Raider Detective Ken Kelley led an investigation and a warrant was executed at 1490 NW 22 Street in Lauderdale Manors. One arrest was made along with 940 grams of cannabis, $765 and 1 gun seized.
• Raider Detective Jerry Fuller led an investigation and a warrant was executed at 837 NW 11 Avenue in the Home Beautiful Park area. One arrest was made along with 4 bags of cannabis seized.
• Raider Detective Bob Norvis led an investigation and a warrant was executed at 825 NW 10 Terrace in the Home Beautiful Park area. One arrest was made along with 30 bags of cannabis and $600 seized.
• Raider Detective Todd Hill led an investigation and a warrant was executed at 645 NW 15 Avenue in the Durrs area. 3 arrests were made along with cannabis seized.
• Raider Detective Dave Cortes led an investigation and a warrant was executed at 1033 NE 17 Terrace in the Lake Ridge area. 1 arrest was made along with 8 crack rocks, 1 bag of cannabis, 1 bag of powder cocaine and $794 seized.
• Raider Detective Pat Hart led an investigation and a warrant was executed at 2308 NW 9 Street. 1 arrest was made along with 10 crack rocks, 2 bags of powder and 23 bags of cannabis were seized.
• On October 1, 2001 the Special Investigations Division was awarded a Federal grant titled Project Ecstasy. This grant targets deadly club drugs associated with rave venues. Club drugs include Ecstasy, GHB, Oxycontin, Ketamine, Crystal Meth and LSD. At the closing of the second quarter, Detectives of SID conducted at total of 14 “Club Drug” investigations, arrested 24 offenders and seized 6,705.6 grams of dangerous club drugs.

• Angela Amanti, charged with Auto Theft, Resisting Arrest and Custody Interference…from 2146 NW 7 Court, Ft Lauderdale, FL
• Shion Henley, charged with Aggravated Battery…from 3005 NW 8 Court, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
• Undrea Dean, charged with Strong Arm Robbery…from 2200 NW 8 Street, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
• John Atterbury, charged with Aggravated Battery, Possession of Cocaine, Resisting Arrest and Trespassing…. from 1600 NW 6 Street, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
• Willie Butler, charged with Aggravated Battery, Possession of Cocaine and Resisting Arrest…from 2200 NW 8 Court, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
• Raymond Moatz, charged with Fraud/Embezzlement…from 1040 Bayview Drive, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
• Allan Schafer, charged with Grand Theft and Possession of Cocaine…from 615 SE 16 Court, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
• Corey Habersham, charged with Possession of Cocaine and Resisting Arrests…from 600 NW 17 Avenue, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
• Mishon Webster, charged with Possession of Cocaine and Resisting Arrest…from 600 NW 19 Avenue, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
• Helen Dice, charged with Possession of Cocaine and Resisting Arrest…from 2400 West Broward Boulevard, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
• Lori Hicks, charged with Fraud…from 260 SE 9 Street, Pompano Beach, FL

Caroline Farber from 97.3, The Coast join Detective Russ Suess

Detective Tim Morrison prepares a vehicle for etching and Sergeant Steve Lerman

The Fort Lauderdale Police Department Auto Theft Department hosted a VIN Etching on April 20 at the Coral Ridge Mall. Representatives from the police department included: Sergeant Steve Lerman, Detective Russ Suess, Detective Robert Dietrich, Detective Tim Morrison, Officer Bill Jacobsen, Lola Hardister, Frankie Lockett, Valerie Moore, Lynnette Ward, Denise Melanson, PSA Leslie Fass, Lori Miller, Kim Temple and representatives from State Farm.

During the event 67 vehicles were etched, 20 clubs were given away and 20 residents signed up for the CAT Program.

Look for the next VIN etching event tentatively scheduled for June 1st at Carter Park.