NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Thursday, July 3, 2008
===============================================================================================================
INCIDENTS
Yellowstone NP
Man Convicted For Hate-Related Assault On Visitors
On June 18th, J.M., 28, was sentenced in federal court to 270 days in prison (three, three-month sentences, to be served consecutively) after he entered a guilty plea to three counts of assault (18 USC 113). The plea and sentence stemmed from J.M.'s involvement in an incident that occurred at Mammoth campground on June 12th. Early that morning, rangers were notified of a fight in progress in the campground and subsequently arrested J.M. for being under the influence to the extent that he was a danger to both himself and others. J.M. had assaulted three park visitors, injuring one of them, after making verbal comments about their racial and ethnic origin. During his initial appearance several days later, J.M. became so verbally abusive and combative that the judge suspended proceedings and ordered a US marshal to remove him from the courtroom. In advocating the lengthy jail sentence, the US attorney argued that the investigation had clearly shown that the offenses were hate-related and based on the perceived national origin and/or religion of the three victims. The attorney also noted that J.M. used slanderous invectives, including religious and racial epithets, during the commission of the unprovoked attacks, striking two of the three victims and spitting on the third. In addition to the sentence, J.M. was banned from entering Yellowstone for five years. The case is also under review by the Justice Department regarding civil rights violations. [Brian Smith, Special Agent in Charge]
Suitland Parkway
Officers' Action Blocks Planned Drag Race
Park Police officers Eduardo Delgado and Robert Rowlett were on patrol on the Suitland Parkway just after midnight on June 27th when they saw two men walking in the westbound lanes near Forestville Road, heading for a red Ford Mustang parked on the shoulder in the grass. When they contacted the men, they found that one of them was carrying a can of spray paint and a measuring device. Although the men told the officers that their car had broken down, the officers noted a white line painted nearby across the parkway and asked to see the measuring device, which had a reading of about a quarter mile on it. The men admitted that it was a quarter of a mile to the intersection with Forestville Road. They were arrested for vandalism. During a post-arrest interview, one of the men said that the area was a good location for racing because of the traffic light at the Forestville Road intersection. Drag racing has been highly publicized in the DC region due to a recent tragedy that occurred on Indian Head Highway. In February, a crowd of spectators were standing on that highway, watching a race. They were obscured by smoke, though, and drivers on the highway ran into the crowd, killing eight and injuring at least five others. Enforcement has since increased, forcing illegal racers to find new roads to race on. Due to the diligent efforts of Delgado and Rowlett, a potential drag race on the parkway was successfully interdicted. [Sergeant Robert Lachance, PAO]
American Memorial Park
Man Pleads Guilty To Theft Of Park Lights
J.O., 52, who was recently indicted for conspiring with two others to steal and sell metal lighting units from American Memorial Park, entered a guilty plea in federal court on Tuesday. Sentencing was set for late October. J.O. was indicted with D.C. and M.D.S. for conspiracy to sell federal government property and theft of federal government property. According to the indictment, J.O. and his co-defendants committed an offense against the U.S. last November by conspiring with one another to steal and sell metal lighting units which are federal government property. The lighting units carried an estimated value of more than $1,000. J.O. was also indicted separately for destruction of veteran memorials. The indictment stated that on or about November 1st and 7th, J.O. unlawfully destroyed metal lighting units, structures and monuments located at the Court of Honor and on park property near the Beach Road entrance of American Memorial Park. The indictment added that J.O. accompanied D.C. on or about the morning of November 1st to sell a portion of the metal lighting units to the employees of Huang Zheng recycling center. [Neil Akana]
Golden Gate NRA
Vagrant Arrested For Threatening Teacher And Children
On June 18th, park dispatch broadcast a “be on the lookout” message for a man with a hammer who was threatening a school group at China Beach. Numerous Park Police officers responded. The first officer to arrive identified the man and attempted to arrest him, but the man evaded and resisted and it took additional officers to get him cuffed. A hammer was recovered from his person. Other officers spoke with the teacher and a chaperone accompanying the school group. They reported that the man, apparently homeless and mentally ill, had approached the group on the beach and made angry and inappropriate comments to them. He then picked up and threw rocks in a threatening manner and made additional angry and inappropriate comments to the school children. When the teachers asked him to move away, he pulled a hammer out of his bag and brandished it at them in an aggressive manner while walking away. The man was arrested and issued mandatory appearance citations for engaging in threatening behavior, committing physically threatening acts, and resisting a police officer. [Lt. Jeff Wasserman, San Francisco Field Office]
OTHER NEWS
Other stories can be read on InsideNPS at one or the other of these two sites:
NPS readers - HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index
Non-NPS readers - HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/
Please note that both publications carry a combined NIFC/NPS fire report. That is generally posted around 8 a.m. Eastern.
Among the stories in today's edition are the following:
Denali NP&P - Following three years of planning and design by a team of architects, engineers and park staff and three more years of construction, the new Eielson Visitor Center opened to the public on Sunday, June 8th.
WASO - The National Park Service has awarded 32 grants totaling about $1.3 million to assist in the preservation and protection of America's significant battlefields.
Yosemite NP - Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger led a ribbon-cutting event for the new bridges across the Merced River near the Highway 140 entrance to the park on Friday, June 27th.
Office of Policy - Director Bomar has selected Bernard (Chick) Fagan to lead the NPS Office of Policy as its new chief.
Northeast Region - Beth Sciumeca has been selected as the executive director of the 524-mile-long Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor in upstate New York.
Training Calendar - A listing of upcoming training courses offered by both the National Park Service and its partners across the nation. Today's additions include a web seminar on climate change next week, a cemetery landscape workshop in Louisiana, a cemetery monument conservation course in Connecticut, an ARPA course in California, housing training in Denver, and a use of force instructor training session in New Mexico.
Events Calendar - Today's listing of upcoming NPS and NPS-related events across the nation. Added today are the 15th annual commemoration of the canine member of the Corps of Discovery at Lewis and Clark next week and a November ceremony at Fire Island celebrating the 150th anniversary of the lighthouse there.
* * * * *
Submission standards for the Morning Report can be found at the following web site:
HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=3363" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=3363
Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, with the support of the Office of the Chief Information Officer and Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov).
--- ### ---