Pat on the back to the Erie Bureau of Police for a job well done maintaining the peace and safety of the city during the Roar To the Shore weekend.

District Attorney's "ErieAlerts" on Twitter Continues To Grow And Inform Erie County Residents

Approximately two years ago District Attorney Jack Daneri and Chief County Detective Larry Dombrowski turned to the social networking website Twitter.com as a communications channel and launched the "ErieAlerts" account to help keep Erie County neighborhood watch groups and citizens informed about criminal activity and public safety issues. "Twitter has turned out to be an excellent way to communicate with the public", says District Attorney Jack Daneri. "Eriealerts started with a few volunteers that included police officers and members of the public. When we were successful in obtaining the Markham Winery grant last year we were able to use some of the grant funds to provide scholarship funds to the Mercyhurst College Intelligence Program where students also help to post important information for the Erie County community. The students participation has taken Eriealerts to a new level and we now have more than one thousand followers".

"Police departments are using social media to solicit the public’s help solving crimes as well as to issue press releases, make award announcements and publicize department events", says Chief County Detective Larry Dombrowski. "Interaction with law enforcement has grown beyond television and newspaper reporting. With the citizenry using computers, iPads or other tablet devices and of course smart cellular telephones, people not only expect, but demand, that law enforcement and other public service agencies push out news that affects their safety and well being just as soon as it happens. Eriealerts and Eriealert.com give us the ability to satisfy that public demand".

"As Eriealerts on Twitter and Eriealert.com continue to grow and evolve we hope to refine efforts to keep the public informed and recruit more volunteers willing create a safer environment for every Erie County resident", adds Daneri. "We are happy to have more than one thousand followers today and look forward to increasing that number in the days, weeks and months to come".

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District Attorney Warns Craigslist Rental Scam Hits Erie Market

District Attorney Jack Daneri has issued a warning about a Craigslist scam that has been used in other areas and has now hit the Erie County area. The scam usually involves fake rental listings with a rental price that is too good to be true.

"The scam," says Daneri, "usually involves a cut and paste of a property listing from a local realtor of a home that is for sale. The scammer then posts the property on Craigslist as a rental property with a low rent asking price. Phone numbers or email addresses are usually listed for contact purposes. The scammer is always from out of the Erie area, and asks for first and last month's rent and a security deposit to be sent to him/her. A variation of the scam may ask potential renters to fill out a rental application with questions about personal information such as date of birth, social security number, employment history and even bank account numbers. In all cases the scammer is simply trying to steal a person's hard earned money or identity."

Craigslist.com website offers some very good rules of thumb to avoid be the victim of a scammer.

Deal locally with folks you can meet in person - follow this one rule and avoid 99% of scam attempts on Craigslist.

Never wire funds via Western Union, Moneygram or any other wire service - anyone who asks you to do so is a scammer.

Fake cashier checks and money orders are common, and banks will cash them and then hold you responsible when the fake is discovered weeks later.

Craigslist is not involved in any transaction, and does not handle payments, guarantee transactions, provide escrow services, or offer "buyer protection" or "seller certification"

Never give out financial information (bank account number, social security number, eBay/PayPal info, etc.)

Avoid deals involving shipping or escrow services and know that only a scammer will "guarantee" your transaction.

Do not rent housing without seeing the home, or purchase expensive items sight-unseen - in all likelihood that housing unit is not actually for rent and that cheap item does not exist.

Do not submit to credit checks or background checks for a job or housing until you have met the interviewer or landlord in person.

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May 11, 2011:

BEWARE THE THE ERIE AREA IS CURRENTLY THE TARGET OF CRAIG'S LIST RENTAL SCAMS

The Erie area is currently the target of rental scams. Fraudsters are doing a copy and paste of local realitors that have homes listed for sale. They then advertise on Craig's list that the property for rent. The fraudlent "owners" are always out of town and cannot meet for a face-to-face interview. They often ask for first and last months rent and a security deposit OR ask the potential "renter" to fill out a application with personal information. The properties listed are usually asking for very low rents to attract or scam renters.

Published: April 29, 2011 9:50 AM EST
Updated: April 29, 2011 9:51 AM EST
Police: Suspected street-level drug dealers rounded up in ErieBy TIM HAHN, Erie Times-News
tim.hahn@timesnews.com

County detectives and city police are rounding up accused street-level drug dealers in a sweep launched Thursday afternoon.

Officers have apprehended 23 of 29 people wanted on arrest warrants for drug-related charges and are continuing their search for the remaining suspects this morning.

Erie police and state liquor enforcement officers also conducted an inspection of Sophia's Tavern, 514 Cherry St., on Thursday night as part of the sweep. They apprehended one person accused of possessing drugs and two other people who were wanted on warrants, Erie police Lt. Kirk Werner said.

The sweep is the culmination of an investigation, started in fall, targeting street-level drug activity, investigators said. Officers who worked the detail concentrated on the 500 block of Cherry Street and the 900 and 1100 blocks of Parade Street, Werner said.

The sweep was designed to address citizen complaints about drug and other crime activity in the city, said Erie police Lt. Les Fetterman, whose S.W.A.T. team members are participating in the sweep.

Also involved are Erie County detectives, Erie police vice and drug detectives, city patrol officers and members of the bureau's Neighborhood Action Team and saturation units.

The enforcement is being funded through an Erie Weed and Seed grant.

Return to GoErie.com for updates. See Saturday's Erie Times-News for more coverage.

Technology aids police work
Erie Times News April 28, 2011:

Erie County District Attorney Jack Daneri announced Wednesday the Erie County DUI Program Inc. has obtained thumb drives for police to make DUI law enforcement more efficient.

The thumb drives contain information from the Erie County District Attorney's Office on current criminal complaints, search-warrant language, and statutory and case law.

Police can access the information by placing the drive into a police laptop or mobile data terminal.

A special download area on the district attorney's secure law enforcement portal, called "Cybercop,'' will contain new information to assist police to be more effective in DUI enforcement. Police can log on to Cybercop and add, update or replace information on the thumb drives.

"This is just another example of our efforts to apply current technology and training to assist state and local law enforcement in being more efficient and effective during difficult budget challenges,'' Daneri said.

Police departments will receive thumb drives and a DUI enforcement instruction manual outlining the process from detection to prosecution as police prepare their DUI cases for trial.

"Having ready access to the ever-changing legal decisions and legislative changes to criminal and vehicle laws has become an important and valuable tool to every police department and police officer working today,'' Daneri said.

DUI thumb drives and enforcement manuals will be issued to area police chiefs today at the Erie County District Attorney's Office.

Mercyhurst students to tweet for DA's office



Mercyhurst College students will be tweeting for the Erie County District Attorney's Office.

The Erie County Virtual Neighborhood Watch Program, organized by the DA's office, maintains Eriealert.com, a website that also features the "eriealerts" Twitter account. The account is currently manned by volunteers monitoring police scanners who tweet real-time reports of accidents, criminal activity and other suspicious events.

The office recently received a $25,000 grant for the Virtual Neighborhood Watch Program from Markham Vineyards. A portion of those funds -- $10,000 -- will be allocated to the Mercyhurst College Institute for Intelligence Studies to manage the Twitter site and post regular updates, the college and District Attorney Jack Daneri announced.

01-03-2011
Man Accused of Shooting Ashtabula Police Officer Apprehended in Millcreek.

Miguel Alsina Jr., 20, wanted for the attempted aggravated murder of a police officer in Ashtabula, was apprehended by Millcreek police at the Comfort Inn, 3041 W. 12th St., at about 8:30 p.m. Monday.

Millcreek police received information from Girard Police Monday evening about a car Alsina was riding in that was heading toward Millcreek. Police said that along with Alsina at the hotel they also arrested Danielle Verosko, 24, of Girard. Fallon said they are charging Verosko with hindering the apprehension of a suspect.

December 20, 2010:

New research from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) found one in three drivers killed on the road in 2009 had drugs in their system, USA Today reported Nov. 30.

Drug tests came back positive for a range of substances, from prescribed narcotics to illegal stimulants and anabolic steroids.

The results excluded drivers who tested positive for alcohol.

The data indicated a 5-percent jump in positive drug tests among traffic fatalities since 2005, an increase Office of National Drug Control Policy director Gil Kerlikowske said in an accompanying press release was "alarmingly high."

"Drugged driving is a much bigger public health threat than most Americans realize and unfortunately, it may be getting worse," said Kerlikowske.

October 27, 2010:

Man Arrested in 5 Year Old Murder

Samples collected from Jeffrey A. Norris matched DNA evidence police recovered from homicide victim Mindy Acosta. It is believed she was killed on Nov. 4, 2005.

Norris is from Painesville, Ohio, was charged with criminal homicide, aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person, rape and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse in the attack on Acosta, whose naked and beaten body was found in Tom McCarty Memorial Park, off East Second Street and Pennsylvania Avenue in Erie.

Norris is currently in the Lake County, Ohio, jail on a parole violation.

Erie County District Attorney Jack Daneri has lodged a formal detainer on Norris, and is working with the Lake County District Attorney's Office on arrangements to bring Norris back to Erie to face the charges.