Navy Veteran-Firefighter found dead months after losing wife

Ex-Nassau County firefighter wanted for DUI in wife's death found dead

News4Jax
By Ashley Spicer - Reporter, anchor
October 23, 2018

CALLAHAN, Fla. - A 48-year-old Navy veteran and retired Nassau County Fire-Rescue lieutenant wanted on a DUI manslaughter warrant connected to the death of his wife was found dead Tuesday afternoon, the Nassau County Sheriff's Office said.

The Florida Highway Patrol issued an arrest warrant last week for Curtis Bollinger, and he retired from the Nassau County Fire Department two days later. The Nassau County Sheriff's Office hadn't been able to locate him but got a call that his car had been seen at a cemetery at Live Oak Baptist Church in Callahan.

When deputies responded about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, they found Bollinger dead inside the car from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Bollinger and his wife, 29-year-old Shannon Bollinger, were in a motorcycle crash at 1 a.m. April 15 on State Road 200 in Callahan. Curtis Bollinger drove into the median and his Harley Davidson overturned. Both were thrown from the bike. Shannon Bollinger landed in the roadway and was killed when she was hit by another car.
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20 years on job, fired after Wild Acres night?

Pinellas sheriff’s lieutenant terminated after DUI charge
Tampa Bay Times
Langston Taylor
March 18, 2018

LARGO — A Pinellas sheriff’s lieutenant was fired after she was charged with driving under the influence, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office reported.

Christi Ruhtz, 41, was first hired by the agency in December 1998 and was working in the Public Records Processing Unit until Sunday morning.

About 1:49 a.m., a person called authorities, saying a driver near the intersection of 130th Avenue and Wild Acres Road was driving in reverse while honking a horn. When deputies arrived, they found Ruhtz, the only person in the vehicle.
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DUI Driver Killed Vietnam Veteran--Crowd Captures Driver

DUI Driver Strikes, Kills Vietnam Veteran in Tacony: Police
NBC 10 News
By David Chang and Denise Nakano

NBC10 obtained surveillance video of the suspect being surrounded by residents moments after the crash.

Friends and family are mourning a grandfather and Vietnam War veteran who was struck and killed by an alleged DUI driver only a few blocks away from his home in the Tacony section of Philadelphia.

Norm Ewing, 73, was standing on the 6500 block of Torresdale Avenue at 4:23 p.m. Sunday when he was struck by a van that dragged him for more than two blocks. The van also struck six cars and plowed through several intersections on Torresdale Avenue.
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Judge Orders Iraq Veteran to Put Flowers on Grave?

We know most veterans do not get what they need to heal from where they sent and we also know that many self-medicate to get numb. In the following case an Iraq veteran was found guilty of DUI and a woman died. The veteran made a choice to drink and drive. She also made a choice to risk her life in the military. Will she get help in jail to heal? Even if she does what good will it do if she is forced to go to the grave of the woman she killed?

Judge Refuses to Alter Veteran's Sentence in Fatal Crash 
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 
HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pa. 

Feb 20, 2016

A judge in central Pennsylvania refused to modify the sentence he imposed in a fatal crash, including provisions that the defendant carry the victim's picture and place flowers on her grave. 

Jennifer Sloan, 34, of Cresson, an Iraq war veteran who said she turned to alcohol due to post-traumatic stress disorder, was sentenced in Blair County in December to 2 1/2 to five years in prison in the April 2013 death of 58-year-old Connie Naylor, of Dysart. read more here

Matthew DeRemer Killed New Years was "As Selfless As Possible"

Veteran Matthew DeRemer Killed Hours After Hopeful New Year's Facebook Message
NBC News
by Jon Schuppe
January 4, 2016

They'd been raised in church, but in 2015 he'd grown closer to God, she said. He was an officer in a Christian motorcycle group.

On the morning of New Year's Eve, Iraq war veteran Matthew DeRemer went on Facebook to reflect on a difficult 2015 and outlined his plan to become a better man in the coming year.

The decorated former Marine corporal from St. Petersburg, Florida, had a new job, stronger faith and a renewed drive to help people.

"My goal this year, while battling all obstacles, is to redefine my life by living as selfless as possible," DeRemer, 31, wrote.

Matthew DeRemer
Surgical Technologist at West Bay Surgical Center
December 31, 2015 at 6:06am ·
Last day of 2015!!!! For me I'll be meditating through all I do, on this entire year. I've lost, I've gained, family is closer and tougher than ever before, loved ones lost, and new friends found. There has been many times where I've been found on my knees in prayer for hours (relentless) and other times leading a group of people in prayer, my faith (that I love to share) is an everyday awakening (to me) that people, lives, and circumstances can change for the better OVER TIME. I look back at 2015's huge challenges that I've overcome, shared with others, and have once again found myself... To say thank you and BRING ON 2016, much works to be done!

And I really don't know where I'll end up tonight but I do know where I windup is where I'm meant to be.
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I sincerely doubt God's plan for this veteran was to be hit by someone and left for dead. Seems more like an amazing person left this life because someone didn't care what else he could have done.

Family Raising Money to Bury National Guardsman

Family raises money to bury veteran who died in crash 
The Detroit News
Ursula Watson and Tom Greenwood
February 10, 2015

Mount Clemens — Family members of a National Guard veteran who served in Iraq and Kuwait are raising money for his funeral after he was killed in a rollover crash that police say was caused by his friend driving drunk.

Eddie Griffin III, 28, of Warren died Friday in the crash on Interstate 94 in Harrison Township. 

Christopher Sereck Buckerfield, 27, was charged Monday in Clinton Township’s 41B District Court with operating a vehicle while intoxicated, causing death and possession of marijuana.

Police say Buckerfield of Clinton Township was westbound on I-94 in his red 2008 Suzuki SX4 when he lost control of the vehicle, causing it to roll near Shook Road about 11:20 p.m. Responding deputies found Buckerfield and his passenger, Griffin, in the badly damaged vehicle. Griffin, 28, died at the scene.

“I forgive Chris (Buckerfield),” said Griffin’s sister, Candace Griffin, 35. “I don’t see him doing it on purpose. “Any ill will is not going to bring my brother back,” she said. “It just hurts because I miss him.”

Buckerfield was transported to McLaren Hospital for treatment. He was released Saturday and taken to the Macomb County Jail. read more here

Director of VA Caribbean Arrested in Florida

High ranking VA official faced drug charge after DUI arrest
The Washington Times
By Jim McElhatton
September 7, 2014

A high-ranking Veterans Affairs official who oversees nearly a dozen medical facilities was charged with drunken driving and possession of a controlled substance on a Florida roadside at nearly 2 a.m. one night in April, repeatedly refusing a Breathalyzer before he was taken to jail, records show.

Though prosecutors later cited “concerns about the stop” and dropped the case, the arrest still raises questions about off-duty conduct standards and whether DeWayne Hamlin, who oversees a medical center and 10 outpatient clinics in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, notified the VA to explain the source of an oxycodone pill found on him during the stop, according to records and interviews.

Mr. Hamlin, a member of the Senior Executive Service, an elite cadre of federal managers, was arrested just before 2 a.m. on April 26 after an officer saw him parked on a roadside in Pasco County with the car engine running, according to a police report obtained through an open records request.

“While speaking to DeWayne I observed his eyes were bloodshot, glassy and I could detect the strong odor of alcohol,” the arresting officer wrote. During a pat-down, the officer said he found an oxycodone pill in Mr. Hamlin’s front pocket.

Mr. Hamlin “advised he did not have a valid prescription for this medication and would not say anything else,” the officer stated in the police report.
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From the VA
Director Caribbean Healthcare System DeWayne Hamlin was appointed Director of the VA Caribbean Healthcare System in San Juan, Puerto Rico on December 14, 2012. As VACHS Director, Mr. Hamlin is responsible for a highly complex healthcare system consisting of a main medical center in San Juan and 10 outpatient clinics located throughout PR and the U.S. Virgin Islands serving a population of more than 110,000 Veterans.

Director Lexington KY Mr. Hamlin served as Associate Director at the James, A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa, Florida. Prior to the Associate Director assignment, Mr. Hamlin was the Chief, Facilities Management Service at the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital and Clinics. The James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital and Clinics are affiliated with the University of South Florida College of Medicine and has a large, active research and education mission. Prior to Tampa, he was appointed Chief, Engineer at the Clarksburg VA Medical Center in West Virginia and Chief, Facilities Management Service at the VA Puget Sound Healthcare System in Seattle. Mr. Hamlin started his VA career in 1990, at the Portland, Oregon VAMC.

Camp Lejeune Marine died after being hit by car

UPDATE: 22-year-old Marine dies after being struck by car
Star News Online
Jason Gonzales
Published: Sunday, February 16, 2014

WILMINGTON

The driver of a vehicle that struck and killed a 22-year-old Marine pedestrian early Sunday on Rose Avenue has been charged with driving while impaired, according to a news release from the Wilmington Police Department.

Cory Lee Reese, who was stationed at Camp Lejeune, was pronounced dead in the ambulance at 1:15 a.m., according to a news release from the U.S. Marine Corps.

Reese served with the 2nd Supply Battalion in the combat logistics regiment, the release said.
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Fort Bragg officer charged with DWI, assault

Fort Bragg officer charged with DWI, assault
The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Aug 30, 2012

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — An Army officer at Fort Bragg has been charged with driving under the influence and assaulting three Fayetteville police officers.

The Fayetteville Observer reported that 41-year-old Lt. Col. Alfonso T. Plummer was arrested Wednesday for an incident that occurred as he tried to leave a nightclub last weekend.
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Kenny Britt to explain himself to NFL today

Kenny Britt to explain himself to NFL today
August, 6, 2012
By Paul Kuharsky
ESPN.com

The Titans are ready to ramp up Kenny Britt’s rehab, and it sounds like he could be part of practice within two weeks.

Whether his issues off the field land him on the shelf at the start of the season, we don’t know. But he’ll explain himself to the NFL today when he visits the league office, according to John Glennon of The Tennessean.

Britt recently had his eighth incident that required police attention, facing a DUI charge at the Army post at Fort Campbell in Kentucky.

“I don't know what to expect -- a lot of questions,” he said.
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Hero in war gets help after DUI manslaughter conviction in Florida

Marine with PTSD, brain trauma, pleads guilty to DUI manslaughter for Florida crash
TAMARA LUSH
Associated Press
First Posted: May 10, 2012

TAMPA, Fla. — A former Marine who suffered severe brain trauma in combat has pleaded guilty in a fatal drunken-driving accident in Florida that highlighted the military's diagnosis of cases like his.

Scott Sciple (SY-puhl) pleaded guilty Thursday in Tampa to DUI manslaughter and DUI with personal injury in a 2010 wreck that killed a 48-year-old father.

Sciple's family and lawyer blamed the crash on his injuries suffered in Iraq and Afghanistan. He earned three Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star for heroism.
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Home From War with TBI, Vet Battles DUI Rap

Home From War with TBI, Vet Battles DUI Rap

In a Peekskill case with potentially broader implications, an ex-marine maintains a traumatic brain injury, the scourge of today's battlefields, left him unjustly accused of being unfit to drive.

By Tom Bartley
An Iraq combat veteran returns to Peekskill City Court Monday facing a tough choice: plead guilty to driving under the influence of drugs, ending a protracted, costly round of appearances, or demand a trial, which could leave him in legal limbo for another year or more.

What separates Alexander A. Lazos from other DUI defendants, at least for now, is his likely defense. After he brushed another car at a Peekskill gas station last July, police say, Lazos failed to walk a straight line and tested positive for drugs, leading to a charge of driving under their influence. The former marine, however, contends that a 2003 battlefield brain injury caused him to flunk the field sobriety test. The “drugs,” moreover, were doctor-prescribed for his injury and permitted even when driving, Lazos says.
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Hospitalized Marine faces DWI charges

Hospitalized Marine faces DWI charges
February 20, 2012 11:02 AM
LINDELL KAY - DAILY NEWS STAFF
A Camp Lejeune Marine remains hospitalized after crashing his pickup truck into a tree near Sandridge Road early Sunday morning.

Patrick Martin Williams, 25, is in stable condition at Vidant Medical Center, formerly Pitt County Memorial Hospital, in Greenville. He was airlifted there after firefighters spent 45 minutes extricating him from his truck just after midnight Sunday.
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Fort Benning soldier arrested in 5-vehicle crash that kills one, injures 7

Fort Benning soldier arrested in 5-vehicle crash that kills one, injures 7

Posted: Feb 05, 2012
By Taylor Kinkade
COLUMBUS, GA (WTVM) -
A five vehicle crash in Columbus Saturday night left one man dead, injured several others and has landed a Fort Benning soldier in jail.

Jacob Keller is in the Muscogee County Jail, charged with vehicular homicide, reckless driving, and DUI after police say he caused the five car crash.

Columbus police responded to a multiple car crash at the intersection of Buena Vista and Floyd Roads just before 7 o'clock Saturday night. Upon arrival they discovered five cars that were involved in the accident, and a total of seven people who were injured from the crash.
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JBLM: Crowded base posted highs for DUI, misdemeanor crimes in 2011

JBLM: Crowded base posted highs for DUI, misdemeanor crimes in 2011
By Associated Press
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD — With a full base for the first time in a decade and more soldiers stationed here than ever before, Joint Base Lewis-McChord last year recorded new highs for misdemeanor crimes and for offenses involving driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, according to statistics provided to The News Tribune.

Felonies and domestic violence crimes were up in 2011 compared with the previous year but were down significantly compared with 2008.

The statistics reflect crimes committed on and off base.

The local numbers are not dramatically different than Armywide trends, although the Army last year did see a small decline in total misdemeanor offenses after a six-year high.

Commanders are reluctant to draw conclusions from the local numbers because Lewis-McChord has more active-duty soldiers than it’s had in recent memory. Its 34,000 active-duty soldiers represent 15,000 more service members than were stationed here in 2003.

“We did not see any increase in crime that we do not normally attribute to the increase in population,” Col. Bob Taradash, Lewis-McChord’s top military police officer, said in an interview before his latest deployment to Afghanistan.

However, the consequences of those crimes appear to be increasing, as the military enters a time of reducing its forces and tightens its standards for staying in uniform.

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Decorated Marine forgives DUI driver who nearly killed him

Decorated marine forgives DUI driver who nearly killed him
January 6, 2012

SAN DIEGO (CNS) - A woman who was drunk when she hit a decorated Marine from behind on his motorcycle, leaving him with critical injuries that doctors initially thought would kill him, was sentenced Friday to four years and four months in prison.

Jessica Marie Bloom, 22, pleaded guilty Nov. 8 to felony charges of DUI causing injury and hit-and-run.

The crash left Gunnery Sgt. David W. Smith with numerous injuries, including a partial decapitation, lacerated kidney, lacerated liver and bleeding on the brain.

Smith, a Bronze Star recipient for valor, was comatose for two days, paralyzed completely for two of three days and on life support for 10 days.
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Marine Causes Three Wrecks, Tries To Run Down Cop

POLICE: Marine Causes Three Wrecks, Tries To Run Down Cop
Warrants say during the chase the Marine was going upwards of 80 miles per hour on the busy thoroughfare in Jacksonville.
Posted: 2:09 PM Nov 17, 2011

A Camp Lejeune Marine is accused of causing three different wrecks and trying to run down a police officer. It all happened within two minutes on a two mile section of Western Boulevard.

Lance Corporal Jeffrey Hill is charged with felony flee to elude arrest, two counts of failure to stop at scene of a crash with personal injury, assault with a deadly weapon on a government official, aggressive driving, two counts of hit and run and drunk driving.

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Investigation reveals a disturbing vulnerability in the support we provide our combat veterans

Marine claims brain trauma led to fatal DUI crash
By TAMARA LUSH, Associated Press

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — It seemed like an open-and-shut DUI manslaughter case. Officers said Scott Sciple drove the wrong way down a Tampa interstate in April of 2010 and plowed head-on into another car, killing the other driver. According to court records, Sciple's blood-alcohol level was more than three times Florida's legal limit.

But as the case unfolded, so did the unusual circumstances of Sciple's life. He was a Marine captain who had earned three Purple Hearts for injuries and the Bronze Star for heroism in Afghanistan and Iraq. He had nearly died from blood loss, suffered severe head trauma and once dug a mass grave for Iraqi civilians.

It's these mental scars of combat, his lawyer says, that are to blame for the accident. Brain damage and post-traumatic stress disorder caused Sciple to blackout in a dissociative episode the night of the crash, said defense attorney John Fitzgibbons. Sciple has pleaded not guilty, and his attorney will offer an insanity defense at trial.

The other driver, Pedro Rivera, left behind a wife, two children and three stepchildren. His widow is broken-hearted and believes the military deserves some blame for the accident for not treating Sciple's disorder.

Remarkably, those sentiments are echoed by Marine Corps investigators who examined the case and wrote an 860-page report with recommendations for top brass. The report says the corps should be more thorough in evaluating and treating post-traumatic stress disorder, especially in Marines with brain injuries.

"This investigation reveals a disturbing vulnerability in the support we provide our combat veterans suffering the invisible wounds of PTSD," wrote Col. John P. Crook of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, in a Sept. 26, 2010 letter. "It is folly to expect a wounded mind to diagnose itself, yet our Marines still depend on an anemic system of self-diagnosis and self-reporting."
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PTSD on Trial:Rep. Daniel P. Gordon explains his recent arrests

UPDATE to this story sent by a reader, Corporal Roy

Records show R.I. Rep. Gordon didn’t serve in Gulf, as claimed
01:00 AM EDT on Saturday, September 24, 2011
By Karen Lee Ziner

Journal Staff Writer
State Rep. Daniel P. Gordon holds a news conference Wednesday in Portsmouth announcing he will not resign.
The Providence Journal / Frieda Squires

State Rep. Daniel P. Gordon, who blamed alcohol and legal problems on combat stress sustained in the 1991 Gulf War, never served in the Gulf, according to his military records. Gordon also claims that he suffered a shrapnel injury to his leg; however, his records do not list a Purple Heart, ordinarily awarded for injury sustained in combat.

“There appears to be no listing of combat tour of duty in the Middle East,” said Maj. Stewart T. Upton, head of media operations in the public affairs office for the Marine Corps at the Pentagon. “I don’t see a Kuwait Service Medal or any combat action or Purple Heart,” Upton said. Excepting any inaccuracies, “obviously we’re saying the information in front of us doesn’t have these tours of duty that he’s talking about.”

Gordon, R-Portsmouth, did not return calls or e-mails on Friday.
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This is why there should be Veterans' Courts all over the country. Having PTSD as a veteran is not an excuse for committing crimes but it is a reason to provide true justice for the victims as well as the veteran. He should not get off the hook for "free" but if he does have PTSD, he should get the help he needs.

Rep. Daniel P. Gordon explains his recent arrests, incarceration and why he refuses to step down from office.
By Sandy McGee

Republican Rep. Daniel P. Gordon says "self-medicating with alcohol" to treat post-traumatic stress from wartime service led to his arrests in Massachusetts.

Gordon sat down with Portsmouth Patch on Tuesday to talk about his recent arrest, incarceration and why he refuses to step down from office.

Gordon attributes his past criminal record in Massachusetts to "self-medicating" with alcohol.

"When I returned home from overseas in the Marine Corps, I suffered a lot of issues that returning combat veterans do, namely post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as a physical ailment, and self-medicated it with alcohol.

"Each and everyone of those instances on my Massachusetts' record was directly or indirectly involved with alcohol. I've since received treatment for that...and continue to receive counseling for that."

Gordon, 42, of 35 Alan Ave., Portsmouth, was arrested on Friday, Sept. 16, as a fugitive from justice on a Massachusetts warrant for failure to appear on an eluding charge and other motor vehicle violations, according to the State Police report.

Gordon, a Marine Corps veteran, served in many countries, including Iraq in 1991. He also served in Kuwait, the Philippines, Korea, Thailand, Australia, Japan and Guam.
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Iraq War Vet with PTSD Pleads Guilty, Finally Gets Help

Iraq War Vet with PTSD Pleads Guilty to Assault, DUI Charge

Rob Low
6:19 p.m. CDT, September 8, 2011

PLATTE CITY, Mo.— A Platte County Iraq War veteran fighting post-traumatic stress disorder may finally get the help he needs, but only after he pleaded guilty in court on Thursday.
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UPDATE
I received this email from his wife.

Chaplain Kathie,

Thanks for posting the story, however, it's somewhat misleading. Zac has applied to Pathway Home in California for inpatient treatment. We are awaiting approval. It is his only hope, if doesn't get in, we don't know what we'll do. Additionally, it is tragic and an injustice that it came down to this. My husband is now a felon for something he did not do. Those rights he promised to protect when he signed his life over to Uncle Sam, are the very ones he has been unjustly stripped of. Our veterans with legal issues and injuries are being largely ignored and neglected by those who have the power to help them. We received no help from the VJOC or any other veteran's organization we reached out to.
I am really disappointed in my country.