Creepy Crawlies: A war story

I read a recent entry on the blog of Beat and Release that was an all too familiar and rather disgusting aspect of the job. That entry inspired me to relate my own war story. A story that actually gave me the chills on a hot summer day.

It was a scorching, humid, August day in the southeast. I was working afternoon patrol shift as a solo unit. It was 1600 and I'm checking on duty. A day shift car calls me and asks me to come to his location.  It doesn't sound like it's a major issue, I just figure he's going to brief me on some happenings in the hood.
Yes, it was the hood alright.  The ghetto.  Hookers, trannies, drug dealers, drunks, and some of the nastiness looking buildings and homes you've ever laid eyes on. Now mind you, some of these older folks had been there 20-30 years, back in it's prime, and before it deteriorated all to hell.

For the sake of identity, I'll refer to the day shift officer as "E."
E gives me the address and I am all too familiar with the street. This street in question abuts behind a diner that is a busy place for drug deals and addicts to shoot, snort, smoke or whatever. Sometimes even a sleazy sex deal would go down in this busy little alleyway. This diner is open 24/7 and I hated going in there. Not because of the scum that patronized the establishment, but because it was filthy and smelled bad. If a police car pulled up, they'd scatter like roaches. The manager only called us when he needed to because he liked to remind us we were bad for business.

E just wanted to pass on something. When I get there, he says he was dispatched to this DOA just before end of shift and was asking nicely if I would take it, since he had some appointment or other and well, we didn't get paid over-time.  He would owe me one. Sure, I agreed and he began to brief me on it.

He says these concerned next door neighbors called police because they had been feeding the old guy's German Shepard the last few days and they hadn't seen old man "Smith" for some time. They were quite naturally distressed over his well being.  E knocks on the doors and peers in windows.  He can't see. It's extremely dark and all the windows are covered over to probably keep the heat out and both doors are locked. It's a very old building and undoubtedly, no AC. Old man Smith's car is still there too.

Well, it seemed like exigent circumstances to him, considering the info he obtained from the neighbors, so he kicked in the front door. Cheesy lock, rotted wooden door.  It didn't take much to force it open.  He said he knew when the door opened, what it was. He didn't have to explain it any further.  (I don't care what anyone said during the Casey Anthony trial, decomp of a human body smells.  It's a smell you never forget.) E said he backed away and followed procedure by calling a supervisor and notifying the ME. Until we could prove otherwise, it was a crime scene and no one could enter. Me, young bravado that I was, wanted to go check it out.  E told me I didn't want to. He had a look in his eye, and with a cigar always tucked to one side of his mouth, insisted I should wait outside for the ME.  Besides, you couldn't see anything and there was no electricity.  He had checked the meter.  It wasn't running.  I asked him if he had used a flashlight to look around.  Nope, didn't have one. Damn day shift people!  Don't they think that they might ever go some place where it might be dark?  Well, mine was in the car and I grabbed it.

I walk up on the porch and open the door.  I can only open it so far. There was something blocking it. I hadn't yet turned on my flashlight, but I heard a distinct noise.  I heard a crunching noise and what little daylight was let in with the door open, it looked like the floor was moving. I lit up my flashlight to scan the room. I swear, I blinked hard, 2 times, thinking I was seeing things.  My mouth dropped open and I started holding my breath from the smell. My light caught the old man's body, dead in his chair, the usual hoarding items, including car tires and big bags of dog food. It was hot, it stunk, and the place was wall-to-wall roaches, rats and what other vermin that came out to munch on the dog food and the old man's body. There were millions and you just knew, this place will eventually be condemned and torn down. It will never be habitable again.

I closed the door and shuddered at the thought of helping the ME get the body out and doing something to this "crime scene."  E, with his cigar firmly clasped between his teeth said, "Told ya so." As I was walking off the porch, I was dancing, stomping, brushing myself off, hoping none of the creepy crawlies had jumped on me. I made E look in my head and check behind me.  He wished me luck and left the scene.  I stayed in my air-conditioned car. Parked far away... in the street.

When the ME showed up, I gave them the heads up and handed them my flashlight.  One peer inside, and 2 faces with raised eyebrows, went back to their van and suited up in their haz mat gear.  Head to toe they covered themselves and then had to borrow my flashlight.  They asked me if I wanted to go in with them, smirks on their faces. I politely refused and said that I would wait outside.

By this time, with a police car and ME wagon outside, the usual 2 legged street vermin were waking up and starting to gather outside to check out the action. When they see the ME folks in full Haz mat gear and struggling with a gurney that had a body on it, the street scum's brains are lucid enough to realize somebody died. I found it amusing to notice a few people actually walking away in disgust when the ME people stopped in the street to check the gurney and themselves for bugs and the like before they put the old man in the van.
Even though the old man was covered with a sheet, the smell and the body fluids seeping through the sheets told you he was starting the liquefy. I thought to myself that this is a guaranteed way to disperse a crowd.
Cause you know in da ghetto, they's always a crowd when the po-leece show up.

In case you wanted to know, he died of natural causes.  The house was condemned and it took some time for it to be torn down. Once it was clear the house had been abandoned, it became a magnet for drugs and sex.

To this day, I see one "Palmetto Bug" (a flying cockroach that can be as big as 2 inches), I get the chills and go on a killing spree or just give them the right of way. I'm here to tell you, they are fast and don't die easily.  And well, shooting the creepy little bastards can be kind of problematic.

Clownin' Around

Charleston, SC

When you and yer brudda want to pull down a robbery, you should test all your props to ensure they are in good working order before your debut.  Another thing you should probably make sure of is that you e-nun-ci-ate your words clearly so that your potential target clearly understands your intent.

Robert Lee Coaxum, 19

Joseph Jerome Jenkins, 18

                            

These 2 potential Rhodes Scholars, armed with a BB gun and sporting clown masks to cover their faces, approach their target in the parking lot of the Voodoo Lounge at 1:30 a.m.

The victim gets in to his truck and promptly sets his tunes to the standard ear bleeding level.

These 2 pillars of their community approach him and with masks on and gun pointed, start yelling at the victim. Between the music blaring and the fact that the victim couldn't understand a word they were saying under those masks, the victim went in to flight mode, hauling ass out of there in reverse gear. I'm thinking the gun may have convinced him it was time to be afwaid. 

The victim calls 9-1-1 and cops converge in the area.  A short foot chase ensues and both are apprehended.  A clown mask and BB gun were also recovered in the area of the chase.

A clown mask?  Seriously? 

They didn't even think to bring their little clown car so they could make a quick getaway?  

What a couple of Bozos!  

(Ya had to see that coming.)

A case for the death penalty...if ever there was one.

Timmonsville, SC  (aka: the middle of freakin' nowhere)

In spring of 2009, these worthless dregs of our society,

Randy Antonio Baker, 17

Jeremy Terrell Durant, 18

thought to play a little truth or dare, following through with a random act of violence.

47 year old Van Bass was brutally beaten to death by these 2 pieces of shit and all because Baker dared Durant to do it.  Durant savagely beat Bass with a pair of brass knuckles and when that didn't do the trick, Durant obtained a metal pole and beat him until he died from the blunt force trauma.  After he was dead, Bass was positioned in the middle of an intersection, initially leading investigators  to believe he was the victim of a traffic accident or hit and run.  It wasn't until the autopsy, that it was discovered the extent of Bass' injuries were indicative of a cruel and savage beating.  He was virtually unrecognizable when these 2 ended their massacre of an innocent man who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Some time later, these two sorry asses were arrested for Murder. They went on trial separately.
Yesterday, Durant plead guilty to murder and the victim's family had asked the judge for a life sentence.  Durant apologized to the victim's family, asking for forgiveness.  The judge gave Durant 43 years.
While no information is available on why Durant plead guilty to murder before trial, I'm betting he did that to avoid the death penalty. Yep, SC is a death penalty state and it seemed to me that this crime was so heinous as to fit the requirements. With the family of the victim requesting a life sentence, more than likely a plea deal was made.  Too bad, if ever 2 people deserved the needle, these 2 are prime examples.

Baker has yet to go on trial for participating in this barbaric act, but he might want to go the same way as his buddy if he wants to avoid the death penalty.  My bet is that he's going to try and take his chances with the jury since his accomplice did most of the physical violence.  Perhaps he will find some sympathetic, liberal moron jurors who will listen intently to his pathetic story about how he was fatherless, trying to turn his life around, sang in the church choir, he struggled with school and his peers, blah, blah.  Call me jaded but I just cannot buy into that sorry ass bullshit anymore.

                          

Morality Police - UPDATE

Bonneau, SC

A follow up with the Morality Police post from Sunday;

Today's area newspaper reports -

 A jury will decide if a woman who got a hefty traffic ticket for displaying big plastic testicles on the back of her pickup truck violated the state's obscene bumper sticker law.

Virginia Tice planned to appear in traffic court Tuesday to ask for a jury trial if the judge didn't drop the charges. As it turned out, Police Chief Franco Fuda beat her to the punch. Fuda asked for a jury trial before Tice had a chance to appear before the judge.

"The statute says obscenity should be determined by community standards," Fuda said Tuesday afternoon. "I didn't think it was fair for a judge to decide that."

The Savage & Savage law firm will represent Tice when she goes to trial, attorney Scott Bischoff said.

"It's not really a complicated case," he said.

Bischoff said he called Fuda to ask for a jury trial, and Fuda told him he already had requested one.

"I had never heard of that," Bischoff said.

The last major flap over the state's obscene bumper sticker law was in the 1990s, when S.C. Highway Patrol officers were pulling over drivers for decals of the cartoon character Calvin urinating.

A Gaffney couple called for a jury trial, the American Civil Liberties Union defended their right to free speech, and a judge dismissed the case.

Ms. Tice was contacted by a very prestigious law firm from downtown Charleston, SC to represent her pro bono.
Makes me wonder what Chief "Fuda-the-fuck-up" has up his sleeve.  Check out this post from 
Beat and Release.   Beat's article is extremely enlightening about Fuda's background.  
I think Fuda just likes seeing his name in the newspaper and it doesn't matter how controversial or how off the wall it is, he's power hungry and doesn't want people to forget him.  With his own personal history of questionable morals, Fuda shouldn't even be a police officer.  

Woman kills Armed Robber

Columbia, SC

If ever there was a case for allowing law abiding citizens to arm themselves, this is it.

A small, petite 52 year woman working as a clerk in a Days Inn, and having been the victim of one armed robbery, had permission from the hotel owner to arm herself.

This scumbag, Vincent Lee Carson, had a history of violent crime and was also wanted in connection with another armed robbery of an elderly couple at a Hampton Inn some 40 miles away.

As the clerk was preparing the continental breakfast for guests, she finds this jerk off hiding, basically lying in wait for her. He held a knife to her throat telling her it was a robbery.
There are some scumbags out there that just can't multi-task, as is evident in this particular case. Carson takes the knife out of his hands to begin restraining the victim. Yes, he brought the ties with him and law enforcement is convinced that he intended to sexually assault her. When he had taken the knife out of his hand, the victim took the opportunity to remove her .22 cal handgun hidden in her waistband, turn around, and shoot him point blank, center mass!  He died almost instantly. Dumb ass brought a knife to a gun fight!
Nice shot. You not only saved  yourself, you saved the taxpayers a considerable amount of time and money putting this piece of shit on trial for 2 armed robbery charges.

The victim did not have a concealed weapon permit.  However, in SC, you don't need a permit to have a firearm in your home, place of business, or in certain areas of your car. If your employer says you can carry a handgun on their property or in a company vehicle, you don't need a permit. Under state law, the employer and homeowner have absolute veto power when it comes to having a gun on their property.

She deserves a freakin' medal.
__________

Morality Police

Bonneau, SC

Nestled in the middle of Berkeley County, SC is a small little village of less than 700 residents that has a police department of 3, including Police Chief Franco Fuda.

Police Chief Fuda must have been bored or maybe there's just not a whole lot of excitement in his little town.  A woman is driving a pick up truck that has a set of big, red, fake bull testicles hanging from the rear.  Yep, Bulls Balls & Big Boy Nuts are popular decorations, especially for the pick up crowd set.  I see them virtually every day.  Big deal.  In my mind, not illegal anymore than the decal of Calvin urinating.  In fact, back in the 90's tickets were actually being written for that decal.  The ACLU eventually stepped in and "obscenity tickets" for that traffic violation were summarily dismissed.  I can't say I ever bought in to that.  I felt like I had better things to do with my time.

Besides, the law, with its "contemporary community standards" seemed contrived. At least that was my opinion.  Like I said, I had better things to do.

SC Code of Laws 56-5-3885 - "A sticker, decal, emblem, or device is indecent when taken as a whole, it describes, in a patently offensive way, as determined by contemporary community standards, sexual acts, excretory functions, or parts of the human body."

Evidently, this arcane law is still on the books.  Who knew?

Chief Fuda approached the female driver of this pick up truck at a gas station as he perhaps found that these big, RED balls were an offensive offense.  Story goes that he gave her the opportunity to remove them, but she refused.  She disagreed with his obscenity assessment and was standing her ground on her 1st amendment right.  He, on the other hand, didn't see it as a free speech issue, but instead he had appointed himself the morality police.

Chief Fuda decided the big RED balls warranted a $445.00 uniform traffic ticket.  The Chief indicated that he was going to let the judge decide this case.
Before he goes to court though, he may want to get his eyes examined.  He told a newspaper reporter that this 8" inch RED decoration was "realistic looking."

I have to say that if I'm given the opportunity to remove something or get a $445. ticket, chances are, I'm going to remove it and bitch about it later. But hey, some people want to be a martyr for the cause. The driver of the pick up plans on asking for a jury trial. Which, last I heard Chief Fuda, is still her constitutional right.

A local reporter contacted 3 other police departments and asked them how they felt about this obscenity bumper sticker law.  You can read their replies in this article.
The real police don't have the time or inclination to be the morality police.

Sexting Police Chief returning to duty

Saratoga Springs, NY

As the attractive resort city gets in to full swing with the opening of racing season, the city's police chief is about to take the reins again.

If you've kept up with the story or read my previous posts of;

Police Chief Suspended for Sexting
Sexting Scandal in Saratoga
Police Chief Sexting Scandal Sanitized

you'll know that Police Chief Christopher Cole was slapped with an unpaid suspension of 60 days for sexting a picture of his junk to a woman he met on an internet dating site.  If you piece the story together, it sounds like they never really hooked up in the conventional method, but she first texted a pic of her breasts, and he reciprocated by dropping his drawers in his office and then clicked away.  In the Chief's statement to the press, he said that he didn't do this on city time but was instead, on his lunch break.  (Like that somehow made a difference.)

As it turns out, the female half of this controversy, Laurie Masi, has an established and well documented history with other law enforcement officers in the area.  There are police reports on file with at least 4 other area departments documenting that she has engaged in what some might call, "emotional blackmail."  Some may even stereotype her as a classic "Badge Bunny."  Whatever the case, Ms. Masi has allegedly terminated her relationship with her attorney and has literally disappeared from the public eye.  In all fairness, if she had even an inkling of a case of sexual harassment or stalking, she no doubt would have gotten tremendous support. However, it's difficult to take anyone seriously when you initiate the sexting and then a history of failed relationships with other cops comes to light.  She successfully embarrassed both of them.

As for the Chief, he indeed made an error in judgment.  An error that would under normal circumstances have cost any other Police Chief their career.  Apparently though, not in Saratoga.  The city's Public Safety Commissioner, Richard Wirth, is an elected official who seems to wield a great deal of power, and he alone has decided the Chief's fate.

Initially, Commissioner Wirth announced that Cole was going to get a total of 60 days unpaid suspension, followed by 3 years on probation.  The original reprimand called for 30 days unpaid suspension now and 30 days unpaid suspension in December. However, Wirth announced that the second half of the suspension was being "held in abeyance."

Merriam-Webster definition:  abeyance:  "temporary inactivity, cessation or suspension:" Let's hold that problem in abeyance for awhile.

Confused yet?  Is his suspension suspended or has he ceased doling out the last 30 days altogether?

Wirth is a consummate politician. He waves his magic wand and says,  Abra cadabra -  let's make it all go away.  If you've read the linked article above, it sounds as though Wirth is painting a delightful little picture to the citizenry with his typical political aplomb...."No, the city hasn't suffered any negative publicity because of this scandal.  No, the police department hasn't been embarrassed in the least.  No, there will be no problem with the Chief commanding the respect of his department.  Yes, the fire is contained." 
What a bunch of bullshit!

Anyone looked at the obnoxious salary you pay this politico?  Come election time, you residents might want to consider why you even have a Public Safety Commissioner.

It's plainly obvious that Cole is holding out for the 25 year pension plan and Wirth is helping him do it.  After 21 years, Cole's career is already shot to shit and he'd have a hell of a time finding any law enforcement or security job, what with this scandal hanging over his head.

My hat's off to the acting Police Chief, Capt. Michael Chowske, who has been performing the duties of 3 different command level positions.  The Assistant Chief's job had yet to be filled after a recent retirement and then Cole got overly excited with a Badge Bunny, leaving Chowske steering the ship.


I happened across this on Youtube.....Chief Cole is the recipient of Weasel Award #997

While I profess not to have much knowledge of the Weasel committee and its background, a weasel seems a befitting characterization of Cole.

TSA's Latest Technology

TSA Administrator John Pistole announced yesterday that they have taken a giant step in addressing the privacy concerns of the airline traveling public.

This latest technology  no longer shows a naked x-ray of the person being scanned, but instead, shows a generic diagram of a male or female outline and the computer software will instantly alert the agent of the location of the potential threats.  (See image below)

By using this new software, it eliminates the need to have an agent in another location who scrutinizes every detail of one's naked body. Additionally, it allows the traveling public to actually view the screen, seeing what the agent sees.

Pistole has stated that lab tests have been positive and that they are ready to deploy this new method at airports throughout the country.

Once again, the radiation exposure information has been omitted, and a team of scientists still claim that the exposure exceeds the "general public dose limits" and yet, the TSA continues ignoring their warnings.  A recent investigation revealed a cluster of TSA agents at the Boston Airport who have succumbed to cancer, from what physicians and scientists theorize as a prolonged exposure to the radiation.  Dr. David Brenner, head of Columbia University's center for radiological research, is urging medical authorities to look at his work that points to the dangerous reality of using massive amounts of radiation when you're scanning people without proper oversight.

In my last post, TSA - Grope or an X-Ray?, I showed the recent (July 15) Court of Appeals ruling that unequivocally states that no person can be forced to go through the full body image x-ray scanner and the TSA must accommodate those that request an alternate means of being screened. As much as it disgusts me, the next time I get on an airplane, I'm going for the grope.

Pistole touts this new technology as, "the best possible security with the best possible privacy." But is it safe?

You might be a Redneck if......

Aiken, SC

In November of 2010, Ricky New here goes to a little Mom & Pop store and literally does a "stick up." He uses a tree limb to assault the clerk and tells her to give him all their damn money. After he gets the loot, he hops on to his getaway vehicle, a Craftsman riding lawnmower, and flees the scene at a really slow rate of speed.

Local cops were pretty familiar with New's modus operandi so it didn't take long for them to take him in to custody for the assault and armed robbery.

July 2011- New goes  on trial and the jury finds him guilty of both charges, sentencing him to 18 years.


Seriously, you cannot make this shit up.

What's in a Name?

Walterboro, SC

This beautiful specimen looks and acts like your typical crackhead.

34 year old Shag Que-Tee Marshall, while armed with a gun, barges his way in to a residence that was occupied by 3 brothers, ages 15, 17 and 35.  He begins shooting at the 3, critically wounding the 15 year old, and grazing the 17 year old with a shot to the back of the neck.  All the while he's shooting, he's ranting about one of them talking to his girlfriend.  He said he would kill all of them, but according to the 35 year old brother, "he didn't have enough bullets."


When Marshall ran out of ammo, he fled the scene on foot. The 17 year old runs to a neighbor's and begins pounding on the door.  The resident, Ms. Gatewood, has 3 little girls, ages 3 to 8 and another on the way.  She calls the po-po.

In a coordinated effort; local police, Sheriff Deputies, and the State Law Enforcement Division all descend on the area, securing the crime scene and search for "Que-Tee" and the weapon he used. The State Law Enforcement Division gave valuable assistance by air, locating both.
Imagine if Reggie Lloyd was still in charge of S.L.E.D.?  That chopper probably never would have lifted off the pad.  Heaven forbid spending money to aid local law enforcement in a search for a wanted fugitive.
Meanwhile, the 15 year old was airlifted to the trauma center some 30 plus miles away where he remains on life support.


I don't know what Mr. Shag Que-Tee Marshall's mama was thinkin' when she named him.  I sure hope he was a "Que-Tee" baby cause he sure is one "Ug-lee" crackhead adult.


UPDATE:  The 15 year old dies from his injuries and Marshall is now charged with Murder.  It appears that the shooting was prompted over a young woman Marshall had chatted with on line.


The stupidity of crackheads never ceases to amaze me.

TSA - Getting a grope....er, grip.

Ah yes, we all know that there are just some people who should not be allowed out in to the real world without some kind of supervision.  Case in point....

This 61 year old Colorado woman was at the Phoenix, AZ airport checkpoint, where she was refusing to go through the appropriate screening process and was quite argumentative.  Without warning, she reached out and grabbed the TSA agent's breast and gave it a twist.  OUCH!




The police were called and she was subsequently arrested on a sexual abuse charge.

There's got to be easier ways to get a cheap thrill.

TSA - Grope or an X-ray?

Several months ago, the TSA announced that it would start publishing radiation test results of airport passenger and luggage screening x-ray equipment in an attempt to allay fears of exposure to high amounts of radiation.

Thus, begins their feeble attempt....
Once they initiated this procedure for ALL the x-ray stats, they really should have taken the time to brief and/or train the personnel on the information that they wanted gathered and how to do it.  The end result was that the TSA stated that they uncovered "anomalies" in some of the reports that included miscalculations and missing data.  Which, as is typical with government bureaucracy, no one knew what the hell they were doing.

I'll spare you all the scientific jargon associated with millirems and ions, but suffice it to say that Rapiscan, the manufacturer of the AIT or Advanced Imaging Technology, insists that there are fail safes in place that would prevent excessive exposure to radiation and that the machines would shut down long before it reaches a critical level.  (Yea, right, and there's that swamp land in Maine I want to sell....)

For those of you still reticent about being screened by the AIT, you can ask for a private groping session with a person of the same sex, to search you by hand.  It has been well documented that the TSA has been trying to conveniently hide that fact because they prefer to do it the easy way.  It was, and probably still is a point of contention from agents who develop a more than aggressive attitude about having to do it when passengers exercise that right. Deal with it!  If you feel you've received an unnecessary attitude, make a complaint later.

In this particular case  this female passenger screamed like a baby when a female TSA agent searched her by hand.  She acted more like a 4 year old brat having a temper tantrum.  Her son is filming the whole event, but I was bored with the video about half way through.  I just wanted to show you how NOT to act when you're being groped.  After all, your primary objective is to get on that plane. Some people are claiming that these folks were actors and that it was all staged.  One thing's for sure, if she were my Mother, it's a safe bet I would never travel with her again!

As for the AIT or full body scanner, the TSA would like us to believe that every time someone steps in to their scanner, it is viewed by an agent who is in a different location and cannot visually identify the person being scanned.  The agent inside this protective booth is not allowed to have a camera or phone while on duty.  Once the image of your naked body has been viewed, it is then deleted and is supposedly not archived any where.  As everyone, including the terrorists already know, the AIT cannot detect any kind of explosive device under your skin.  This is where I think bomb sniffing dogs should also be considered.  That idea is now being hotly debated with the cost effectiveness versus reliability being the argument.

Fast forward to Friday, July 15, when the Court of Appeals gave the TSA a proverbial slap on the hand  for not following the required procedure of public input and normal comment periods or "notice and comment rule making," when they installed and then initiated this body x-ray device and did so all with the blessing of DHS.

A great many web sites and blogs have been posting since Friday that the court has effectively shut down the naked scanners. However, the court also held that in the interest of public safety, it cannot all happen at once.  So if you're traveling, don't be surprised if they're still using the full body scanners. But remember, no person can be forced to endure the AIT so be prepared to enjoy the pleasure of a serious grope.

As for the 4th amendment claim that it violates a person's right to be free from an unlawful search and seizure-  The court held that "screening passengers in an airport is an 'administrative search' because the primary goal is not to determine whether any passenger has committed a crime but rather to protect the public from a terrorist attack."  Therefore, it is not unreasonable.

So here we are....at a crossroads.  You want to be groped or x-rayed? To fly or not to fly.

What was Granny thinkin'?

Charleston, SC

On Wednesday, July 13 the average outside temperature in the Charleston area was 97 degrees.  The heat index factor put that over 120 degrees as a "feel like" temp.  Yea, it was freakin' hot!

An 81 year old woman from the Charleston area is babysitting her great grandchildren, ages 8 and 9, who are visiting from Texas.  Yea, it's hot in Texas too!

Great granny needs to go to Wally World so the 2 kids and her pet dog load up in the car and head out.  Granny parks in a handicap spot and for whatever reason, the 2 kids and the dog are left in the car while Granny goes inside.  A Wally World employee happens by the car and sees the 2 children and dog in the car.  The windows are closed, the doors are locked, and the car is not running.  According to the Wal-Mart employee, the children and dog appeared to be in distress and it took both the employee and the store manager some time to convince the children to unlock the door and step out.  The children and dog were brought inside to the air conditioning and the police and EMS were called.

Once great granny gets back to the car, she is met by police.  She states she was only gone 20 minutes and the children didn't want the car on.  Video surveillance shows granny arriving and returning to her car some 56 minutes later.  That's an hour.  An hour where 2 kids could have been easily kidnapped and an hour where they could have all easily died in that car, had it not been for the quick thinking of a Wally World employee.

Well, the police arrest Granny and she goes to jail.

 At her bond hearing the next day, granny has an attorney speaking on her behalf.  Judge Linda Lombard interrupted the attorney, telling him not to blame the children for any of it.  Judge Lombard set the maximum bail amount of $25,000. for each charge of Unlawful Conduct towards a Child.  Her total bond of $50,000. sparked some outcry from family and friends, accusing the Judge of violating her 8th amendment right by setting an excessively high bond.  Granny has no criminal record and has never been in such trouble before.  Some say that since she's a church-goin', God fearing woman, she should have been released on her own recognizance or the bond should have been lower.


Granny was eventually bailed out of jail  and the children were turned over to relatives.  The dog made it too and Granny was given an appearance ticket to municipal court on a charge of cruelty to animals.

What was Granny thinkin'?

Hot Pursuit

I-95 from New York to Miami, FL is always loaded with drug runners, car thieves and assorted other felonious riff-raff.  Law enforcement can't stop them all, but sometimes they get lucky, often putting themselves in severe danger.

About 7 p.m. last night, a Dorchester County Sheriff's Deputy attempts a traffic stop on I-95 southbound in Nowheresville, SC.

The vehicle in question, a black Acura, initially slows down upon being lit up by the cruiser, but must have decided hauling ass was better.  The chase was on.  Pursuit speed ran as high at 100 m.p.h. and the jack offs must have stupidly thought shooting at cops would aid in their getaway.  Well, we know that only serves to piss off the police even more.
The occupants open the sun roof of the Acura and start firing at pursuing police cars, actually striking a cruiser 2 times.  What generally happens during a police pursuit when the occupants are shooting at police, is that there will be a copious amount of pretty little blue lights on your ass until you go down.  That's just what happened.  Different jurisdictions will come out of the woodwork to assist in any way they can.  You just don't shoot at the po-po and expect to get away with it.

One Deputy "PITs" the Acura, forcing it to go off the road, rolling over.  Unbelievably, the occupants aren't so injured that they can't come out of an over-turned vehicle shooting and running.  They didn't get very far.  The stretch of road where they crashed is a bit desolate and heavily wooded.  K-9 officers made short order of locating our 2 perps.  Charges of Attempted Murder, Failing to Stop for Police and Possession of a Stolen Motor Vehicle should keep their worthless asses in jail for awhile.

The most amazing part --  not one single shot was fired by police.  One Deputy suffered minor injuries after the car wreck and we wish him a speedy recovery.  As for the scumbags.....well, do we care?

As of yet, no dashboard video or radio transmission has been released, but when and if it is, I'll certainly post it.

It Ain't Easy Bein' a Crack Head

This is a story of too much stupidity all in one place.

These two fine middle aged men decide to make a deal.  A crack deal, that is.

44 year old Tony Murray and his friend, Cassius Clay Davis, 46 make a little drug deal, but Murray doesn't have enough money on him to pay Davis right now.  Davis has a moment of generosity and he lets Murray enjoy the fine vintage crack and he can pay him later. They later take a cab to the Wachovia bank so Murray can get the money to pay Davis.
Murray doesn't have enough money in his account so he apparently concocts this elaborate story about Davis having a gun, kidnapping him, and forcing him to get money from the bank. It's hard to tell what his reasoning for that story was.  Maybe he thought the teller would be sympathetic and give him the money anyway.  That's what crack does.  Makes ya really stupid. 
The teller promptly calls the police.

This touched off a chain of events that led to a 3 hour ordeal with police.  The suspects were both pulled out of the bank one by one and taken in to custody.  Because one of them had left a small black bag in the bank, the bomb squad was called out to examine the bag.  There was no signs of a bomb and the bank was cleared.

Oddly enough, the only crime Murray could be charged with was Filing a False Police Report.  Now drug dealer Davis was actually a victim in this particular situation....not because he was stiffed in a drug deal, but because he was accused of being an armed kidnapper.  However, Davis was no saint and has a lengthy criminal history himself.  There was also an outstanding drug warrant with his name on it.

The next day, Murray is before a judge for a bond hearing.  He made a feeble attempt at pleading to the judge that he was "trying to turn his life around" but she cut him off by reciting from his rap sheet.  He then foolishly attempted another ploy and thought he could persuade the judge that he was the victim of a crime, and he could prove it.  She set bond and was ready to move on to the next case when he mumbled something on the way out the door.  Judge Linda Lombard didn't quite hear it so asked the bailiff to repeat what he said.  He said, "That's crap!"  Judge Lombard didn't take too kindly to those words, slamming him with a contempt charge and rewarding him with 5 days in jail for cursing.  Well, I'm a little concerned with her interpretation of  "cursing" but I agree, it's still contempt any way you look at it.  Serves his stupid crack ass right!
That was quite a bit of police resources used needlessly for a couple of stupid crack heads.

The moral of this story is....No crack on credit.