Friday, November 30, 2012
Former veteran Hatboro Police detective sergeant John Becker was sentenced Friday to up to 23 months of house arrest and seven years probation related to guns and drugs thefts and misuse of informants.
A former veteran Hatboro cop was sentenced Friday to 15 days behind bars in connection with felony charges stemming from his theft of narcotics, guns and cash and his misuse of informants to obtain drugs to feed his habit. John Becker, 43, of Horsham, who had served as a Hatboro Police officer for 17 years prior to his March 2011 suspension and his resignation in June 2011, was sentenced Friday afternoon following his guilty pleas in August to 18 charges, including 10 felony firearms counts, stemming from his arrest in May. Becker's 15-day sentence will begin on Dec. 26 at 9 a.m. Following that sentence, Montgomery County Judge Garrett Page ordered Becker to serve the remainder of his 11 1/2 to 23-month sentence via house arrest and …
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Former Hatboro Police detective sergeant John Becker pleaded guilty to 18 of 38 counts stemming from drugs, weapons thefts and his misuse of informants to obtain drugs for his own personal use.
A former Hatboro Police officer of 17 years is facing up to 100 years behind bars following a guilty plea he entered Tuesday morning. John Becker, 43, of Horsham, wept as he left the courtroom at Montgomery County Courthouse following what was supposed to have been a pre-trial conference. Instead, Becker entered guilty pleas for 18 counts – 10 of which are felony firearms counts, each carrying a five to 10-year sentence. Judge Garrett Page warned Becker that by pleading guilty to charges stemming from the Attorney General’s Office filing against him in May, that he had a “50-year exposure” and that the high end of his sentencing could result in sentences running consecutively for up to 100 years. Until his resignation in June 2011, Becker …
Friday, June 1, 2012
John Becker is facing charges in connection with alleged thefts from the police department's evidence locker, as well as allegations that he used informants to obtain drugs for his own personal use.
A former decorated narcotics officer facing charges related to cash, drugs and gun thefts and an alleged mishandling of drug informants, has waived his arraignment in county court, according to The Times Herald. John Becker, 42, of Horsham, who had worked for 17 years for the Hatboro Police Department until a multi-agency, 16-month-long investigation that began in January 2011 led to his suspension, resignation and arrest earlier this month, has pleaded not guilty to the charges, according to the article. Becker, who is free on $10,000 bail, was previously scheduled to be arraigned on July 5. By waiving the need for the arraignment, Becker's case will instead move forward with a pre-trail conference and potentially trial. A former …
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
While still on the force, former Hatboro Police detective sergeant John Becker blamed brake failure for an accident which totaled a borough-owned police car.
Ex-cop John Becker caused at least one on-duty vehicle crash during the time he admitted to using informants to obtain drugs for him, according to police accident reports. During the Dec. 14, 2010 crash, Becker, then a detective sergeant, had rear-ended a vehicle stopped in front of him on North York Road. According to the police report obtained from the Hatboro Police Department, Becker blamed brake failure on the crash, which totaled the borough-owned 2004 Crown Victoria. "There was nothing remarkable found with reference to the breaking (sic) system. The breaking (sic) system functioned properly at the time of the inspection," the narrative from the accident report states. "The master cylander (sic) was full with fluid and there were …
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Experts in the substance abuse treatment field share insight on what may have led decorated Hatboro police officer John Becker to be arrested for thefts and misuse of drug informants.
John Becker is said to have shown his Hatboro Police Department badge while hawking firearms allegedly stolen from the station’s evidence locker. In another instance, Becker, a cop of 17 years, is described as being “crazed,” “nuts” and “frantic” while allegedly attempting to illegally obtain OxyContin. One may wonder how a narcotics officer, who had worked for more than a decade in the Montgomery County Drug Task Force, allegedly committed blatantly criminal acts? The “dumb stuff” that Becker has been charged with doing is attributable to his addiction to pain medications, according to Andy Callaghan, a Philadelphia Police Department detective and coordinator for the First Responders Addiction Treatment program as part of Bensalem-based …
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
The council approved the promotion of patrolman Mark Ruegg and Police Chief James Gardner acknowledged detective sergeant Cameron Goold.
Two long-time officers with the Hatboro Police Department were recognized during this week’s borough council meeting. Police officer Mark Ruegg, who joined the force in 2003, topped the civil service commission’s list of candidates for the position of sergeant, according to Hatboro Police Chief James Gardner. With his wife, Eileen, two young daughters and most of the police department in attendance, the council voted unanimously Monday night to promote Ruegg to that role. With the promotion, Gardner said Ruegg would take command of one of four of the department’s patrol shifts. The chief credited Ruegg with his work on two separate burglary cases. Councilman Bob Hegele, who retired from the Hatboro Police Department in 2005, called Ruegg “…
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Attorneys differ on whether the arrest of former Hatboro Police detective sergeant John Becker, who was assigned to the Montgomery County Drug Task Force, could impact arrests he made.
A criminal defense attorney contends that “every case” that ex-cop John Becker assisted with could potentially be jeopardized and Montgomery County may have been “exposed to liability.” Becker, 42, of Horsham, a 17-year Hatboro Police veteran, as well as a special county detective for the Montgomery County Drug Task Force for more than a decade, is accused of coercing informants to buy drugs for his own personal use. He has also been charged with allegedly stealing cash, guns and drugs from the Hatboro Police Department’s evidence locker. The thefts alone - some of which Becker admitted to in this criminal complaint - are enough to taint his credibility, according to criminal defense attorney Peter Scuderi. “Who knows what to believe? Why …
Friday, May 18, 2012
The former veteran police officer left his Hatboro post with $7,200 and the money he contributed to his pension.
Even after Hatboro officials suspended then-detective sergeant John Becker without pay as a criminal investigation got underway, the borough continued to pay his medical insurance and bi-weekly child support, an official told Patch. The payments continued, according to the source, until Becker’s resignation in June. Besides the health insurance payment, $394 was paid to Harrisburg every other week to cover child support on behalf of Becker. Upon his resignation in June, the borough reportedly paid Becker $7,200 for accumulated sick pay, vacation and holiday time. But, Becker, who is facing more than a dozen charges related to his alleged theft of cash, drugs and guns from the Hatboro Police Department’s evidence locker, as well as his …
Thursday, May 17, 2012
John Becker, a 17-year veteran with the Hatboro Police Department, surrendered to the Attorney General’s office Thursday morning.
A decorated police officer that had worked for the Hatboro Police Department until last spring is facing numerous charges related to his alleged misuse of authority to obtain drugs during a two-year period. John Becker, 42, of Horsham, a former detective sergeant with Hatboro Police Department, turned himself into the Attorney General’s Office Bureau of Criminal Investigation Thursday and was preliminarily arraigned before Hatboro Magisterial District Judge Paul N. Leo. According to a press release from the Attorney General’s Office, Becker, who joined the Hatboro Police force in 1994 and rose to the ranks of corporal in 2000 and sergeant in 2003, is accused of using police department informants to make drug purchases on his behalf. Becker…
Monday, March 26, 2012
The state review was authorized last year, following the resignation and investigation of Hatboro Police detective sergeant John Becker.
The Hatboro Borough Council on Monday pulled the plug on a third party assessment and review of the police department in the wake of an ongoing investigation of a former veteran officer. Detective Sgt. John Becker, who until June 2011 had been employed by the Hatboro Police Department for 17 years, is the subject of an ongoing Attorney General’s Office investigation. Becker has yet to be charged, but authorities have said that the former cop used his power to obtain drugs for his own consumption. Marianne Reymer, who served as Hatboro Borough Council president through last year, said on Monday that the previous Democrat-controlled governing body initiated the study as “an outcome of all the events around Becker’s resignation.” “The …
Mike fellman
10:27 pm on Sunday, February 24, 2013
Bull judge should be fired more ›