Padre Island National Seashore (TX)
Homicide Convictions and Sentencing
Rangers were conducting an overflight of the park by helicopter last
April 9th when a crewman spotted a body lying behind the dunes near the
46 mile marker. He was eventually identified as J.U., 28, of
Corpus Christi, reportedly a member of the Texas Syndicate, a prison
gang. The medical examiner ruled his death a homicide. A joint
investigation conducted by the FBI, the National Park Service and the
Corpus Christi Police Department led to the arrest of six men by the FBI
in Texas and Colorado, five of whom were members of the Aryan
Brotherhood of Texas, a white supremacist prison gang, and the sixth a
member of the Mexican Mafia, another prison gang. Investigation showed
that J.U. had been called to a meeting at a Corpus Christi apartment
on April 3rd. There he was severely beaten, then driven in a stolen
pickup truck to the park by the six men and murdered down-island in a
remote location where it was unlikely that the body would ever be found.
J.U. was killed because he made no effort to bond out two members of the
Aryan Brotherhood from a Vermont jail after the two men were arrested by
Vermont State Police for transporting marijuana. J.U. had promised the
two men that he would pay their bond and secure their release if they
were arrested while transporting the marijuana. A.K., 24, aka "R.";
A.G., IV, 29, aka "B."; D.C., 31; M.R., 32; and M.W., 35, aka "I.M.",
pled guilty in United States District Court at Corpus Christi to second
degree murder, and aiding and abetting murder. The sixth defendant,
A.R., 27, aka "S.", pled guilty to misprision of a felony. On September
26th, A.K. and M.R. were each sentenced to 19 years in federal prison.
D.C. was sentenced to 17 years and A.G., IV was sentenced to 15 years.
On October 23rd, M.W., who was described as a white supremacist gang
captain, was sentenced to 33 years in prison. On October 28th, A.R. was
sentenced to three years in jail.
[Submitted by Randy Larson, Chief
Ranger]
National Capital Parks-Central (DC)
Drug and Weapons Arrest
Early on the morning of October 8th, members of the Park Police
Criminal Investigation Branch executed a District of Columbia superior
court search warrant following information received about a residence
which abuts NPS property at Quincy Playground in the area of 14th Street
and Quincy Place in northwest Washington. During the search of the
residence, officers found and seized a Foremost 20 gauge shotgun with a
sawed off stock, a Colt Anaconda 44 magnum revolver, an Intra-Tec 9 9mm
pistol with a 50-round magazine, a Cobray M-11 9mm firearm with a
30-round magazine, and a Ruger Mini 14 Ranch Rifle with a scope and
sawed off stock and a 28-round magazine. Also recovered were 250 rounds
of ammunition for the weapons (including several additional magazines)
and numerous items of drug paraphernalia (including cutting material and
mixing utensils for making heroin). Approximately $700 in U.S. currency
was taken as evidence. There was one arrest.
[Submitted by Sergeant
Scott R. Fear, Public Affairs]
Natchez Trace Parkway (AL,MS,TN)
Theft of Government Vehicles
During the night of November 2nd, thieves cut through the chain
link fence surrounding the park maintenance compound at Port Gibson and
stole a park-owned Aerostar van, a park-owned 16-foot flatbed trailer,
two contractor ATV's, and numerous hand tools. One of the government
tags on the van was removed and replaced with a Louisiana plate from the
contractor's personal pickup truck, which was also parked in the
compound. The van was recovered on the evening of November 5th on the
Clinton — Raymond road, which parallels a stretch of parkway
between Port Gibson and Jackson, Mississippi. It was in serviceable
condition and has been processed for evidence. The other plate from the
van remains missing and has been entered into NCIC and NLETS.
[Submitted by Jackie Henman, Assistant Chief Ranger]
OPERATIONAL NOTES
Servicewide Training
Weekly Listing of Operations Training Opportunities
This calendar appears every Monday as an addendum to the Morning Report and a separate entry for InsideNPS. It is not meant to be replace the Learning Place; rather it is a quick summary of available training with links (as available) to relevant Learning Place pages. Please note:
- New and revised entries are in bold face.
- Submissions for other training courses should conform to the style used here.
- Please include the URL to the web sites where readers can obtain the requisite forms and/or find out additional information about the training course. If a URL is not specifically listed, the announcement can likely be found on the Learning Place, the NPS training page found at http://www.nps.gov/training/announcements/index.doc.
- Closing dates for applications are underscored.
**********************************************************************************************
January
January 14 — May 8: National Park Ranger Basic Law Enforcement Training (NPRI-403), FLETC, Glynco, GA. For a copy of the announcement, go to http://www.nps.gov/training/announcements/index.doc. The announcement closes on November 16th. [Wiley Golden, NPS/FLETC]
January 26 — January 30: Law Enforcement for Managers (LEM-401), FLETC, Glynco, GA. For a copy of the announcement, go to http://www.nps.gov/training/announcements/index.doc. The announcement closes on December 12th. [Wiley Golden, NPS/FLETC]
January 27 — January 29: National Emergency Medical Services Conference, San Diego, CA. This training will provide participants with the latest updates on contemporary standards of pre-hospital patient care, instruction in the application of NPS EMS policy, and the coordination of EMS programs within the parks. Specific topics to be addressed include Director's Order 51, Reference Manual 51, the NPS EMS field manual, EMS program coordination, NPS national standard protocol development, the National Registry of EMT's, EMS data management, patient care reports, the NPS white card, medical-legal issues, and a presentation by the national NPS EMS medical advisor. An EMS medical advisor meeting will preceded the training conference — it will take place on the afternoon of January 25th and all day on the 26th. Nominations must be received by December 29th. For more information, contact Randy Coffman, Chief, Emergency Services, WASO at 202-513-7093. [Randy Coffman]
February
No entries.
March
March 1 — March 5: Wildland Fire Origin and Cause Determination (NWCG FI-210), FLETC, Glynco, GA. The FI-210 course is designed to provide the coursework portion of the task book requirements for red card certification as a Type III fire investigator (wildland fire cause and origin). The course is open to both commissioned law enforcement and non-commissioned fire and resource management employees who are interested in developing and/or refreshing skills in fire investigation. Fore more information, contact either John Carpenter at 912-267-2607 (John.Carpenter@associates.dhs.gov) or SA Alan Foster at 530-359-2108. [Alan Foster]
March 1 — March 12: Special Operations (SPECOPS-401), FLETC, Tucson, AZ. Training for personnel who are directly involved with special law enforcement operations in the National Park Service. It is intended for those who are actually engaged in such enforcement activities, including terrorism and security, counter-narcotics, and anti-poaching. Includes tactical firearms exercises and training in anti-terrorism concepts and planning, ground/aerial surveillance techniques, use of technical equipment, team building, resource violation scenarios, tactical tracking skills, physical fitness, and officer survival. For a copy of the announcement, go to http://www.nps.gov/training/announcements/index.doc. The announcement closes on January 9th. [Wiley Golden, NPS/FLETC]
30 — April 1: Colt M-16/AR-15 Rifle/Carbine/Submachine Gun Armorer's School, Delaware Water Gap NRA, Bushkill, PA. Those attending will be provided with a complete understanding of the design theory, nomenclature, dynamics, compatibility, interchangeability, detailed disassembly, assembly, maintenance and troubleshooting of the M-16/AR-15 family of weapons and certified for three years as a model-specific Colt law enforcement armorer. The course if for LE personnel only. Cost: $375. The closing date for applications is February 29th. For additional details, contact Mike Zirwas, park ranger, at 570-588-2436 or contact him via email. [Mike Zirwas, DEWA]
April
April 19 — April 23: Wildland Fire Origin and Cause Determination (NWCG FI-210), Colorado Springs, CO. The FI-210 course is designed to provide the coursework portion of the task book requirements for red card certification as a Type III fire investigator (wildland fire cause and origin). The course is open to both commissioned law enforcement and non-commissioned fire and resource management employees who are interested in developing and/or refreshing skills in fire investigation. Fore more information, contact either John Carpenter at 912-267-2607 (John.Carpenter@associates.dhs.gov) or SA Alan Foster at 530-359-2108. [Alan Foster]
May
May 10 — May 14: Wildland Fire Origin and Cause Determination (NWCG FI-210), Prescott, AZ. The FI-210 course is designed to provide the coursework portion of the task book requirements for red card certification as a Type III fire investigator (wildland fire cause and origin). The course is open to both commissioned law enforcement and non-commissioned fire and resource management employees who are interested in developing and/or refreshing skills in fire investigation. Fore more information, contact either John Carpenter at 912-267-2607 (John.Carpenter@associates.dhs.gov) or SA Alan Foster at 530-359-2108. [Alan Foster]
May 24 — May 28: Wildland Fire Origin and Cause Determination (NWCG FI-210), Redmond, OR. The FI-210 course is designed to provide the coursework portion of the task book requirements for red card certification as a Type III fire investigator (wildland fire cause and origin). The course is open to both commissioned law enforcement and non-commissioned fire and resource management employees who are interested in developing and/or refreshing skills in fire investigation. Fore more information, contact either John Carpenter at 912-267-2607 (John.Carpenter@associates.dhs.gov) or SA Alan Foster at 530-359-2108. [Alan Foster]
June
June 7 — June 11: Wildland Fire Origin and Cause Determination (NWCG FI-210), Missoula, MT. The FI-210 course is designed to provide the coursework portion of the task book requirements for red card certification as a Type III fire investigator (wildland fire cause and origin). The course is open to both commissioned law enforcement and non-commissioned fire and resource management employees who are interested in developing and/or refreshing skills in fire investigation. Fore more information, contact either John Carpenter at 912-267-2607 (John.Carpenter@associates.dhs.gov) or SA Alan Foster at 530-359-2108. [Alan Foster]
June 14 — June 18: Wildland Fire Origin and Cause Determination (NWCG FI-210), Boise, ID. The FI-210 course is designed to provide the coursework portion of the task book requirements for red card certification as a Type III fire investigator (wildland fire cause and origin). The course is open to both commissioned law enforcement and non-commissioned fire and resource management employees who are interested in developing and/or refreshing skills in fire investigation. Fore more information, contact either John Carpenter at 912-267-2607 (John.Carpenter@associates.dhs.gov) or SA Alan Foster at 530-359-2108. [Alan Foster]
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Office of Policy
Regulations Program Manager (GS-0343-13)
Dates: 11/10/2003 - 11/21/2003
The Office of Policy and Regulations has advertised the job of "Regulations Program Manager." This is an exciting opportunity to be in the front lines on some of the most important policy matters affecting the parks and programs administered by the Service. Excellent analytical, writing and editing skills are a "must" for this position.
Look for vacancy announcement NPS WASO-03-100 on the www.usajobs.opm.gov web site. (Or click on the "more information" link below.) The announcement closes November 24. [Submitted by Chick Fagan, chick_fagan@nps.gov, 202-208-7469] More Information...
Submission standards for the Morning Report can be found on the left side of the front page of InsideNPS. All reports should be submitted via email to Bill Halainen at Delaware Water Gap NRA, with a copy to your regional office and a copy to Dennis Burnett in Division of Law Enforcement and Emergency Services, WASO.
Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement and Emergency Services, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.