All jails prisons should be this way

You all remember Sheriff Joe Arpaio of  Arizona , who painted the jail cells pink and made the inmates wear pink  prison garb. Well…….. . *SHERIFF JOE IS AT IT  AGAIN!* Oh, there’s MUCH more to know about Sheriff  Joe! Maricopa County was spending approx. $18 million dollars a year on  stray animals, like cats and dogs. Sheriff Joe offered to take the  department over, and the County Supervisors said okay. The animal  shelters are now all staffed and operated by prisoners. They feed and care  for the strays. Every animal in his care is taken out and walked twice daily.  He now has prisoners who are experts in animal nutrition and behavior. They  give great classes for anyone who’d like to adopt an animal. He has literally  taken stray dogs off the street, given them to the care of prisoners, and had  them place in dog shows. The best part? His budget for the entire  department is now under $3 million. Teresa and I adopted a Weimaramer from a  Maricopa County shelter two years ago. He was neutered, and current on all  shots, in great health, and even had a microchip inserted the day we got him.  Cost us $78. The prisoners get the benefit of about $0.28 an hour for  working, but most would work for free, just to be out of their cells for the  day. Most of his budget is for utilities, building maintenance, etc. He pays  the prisoners out of the fees collected for adopted animals. I  have long wondered when the rest of the country would take a look at the way he runs the jail system, and copy some of his ideas. He has a huge  farm, donated to the county years ago, where inmates can work, and they grow  most of their own fresh vegetables and food, doing all the work and  harvesting by hand. He has a pretty good sized hog farm, which provides meat,  and fertilizer. It fertilizes the Christmas tree nursery, where prisoners  work, and you can buy a living Christmas tree for $6 – $8 for the Holidays,  and plant it later. We have six trees in our yard from the  Prison. Yup, he was reelected last year with 83% of the vote. Now  he’s in trouble with the ACLU again. He painted all his buses and vehicles  with a mural, that has a special hotline phone number painted on it, where  you can call and report suspected illegal aliens. Immigrations and Customs  Enforcement wasn’t doing enough in his eyes, so he had 40 deputies trained specifically for enforcing immigration laws, started up his hotline, and  bought 4 new buses just for hauling folks back to the border. He’s kind of a  ‘Git-R Dun’ kind of Sheriff. TO THOSE OF YOU NOT FAMILIAR WITH JOE  ARPAIO HE IS THE MARICOPA ARIZONA COUNTY SHERIFF AND HE KEEPS  GETTING ELECTED OVER AND OVER THIS IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY: Sheriff  Joe Arpaio (In Arizona ) who created the ‘ Tent City Jail’ He has jail meals down to 40 cents a serving and charges the inmates for them. He  stopped smoking and porno magazines in the jails. Took away their weights Cut  off all but ‘G’ movies. He started chain gangs so the inmates could do  free work on county and city projects. Then He Started Chain Gangs For  Women So He Wouldn’t Get Sued For Discrimination. He took away  cable TV Until he found out there was A Federal Court Order that Required  Cable TV For Jails So He Hooked Up The Cable TV Again Only Let In The Disney  Channel And The Weather Channel. When asked why the weather channel  He Replied, So They Will Know How Hot It’s Gonna Be While They Are  Working ON My Chain Gangs. He Cut Off Coffee Since It Has Zero  Nutritional Value. When the inmates complained, he told them, ‘This  Isn’t The Ritz/Carlton. …If You Don’t Like It, Don’t Come  Back.’ He bought Newt Gingrich’s lecture series on videotape that he  pipes into the jails.. When asked by a reporter if he had any lecture  series by a Democrat, he replied that a democratic lecture series might  explain why a lot of the inmates were in his jails in the first  place. More On The Arizona Sheriff: With Temperatures Being Even  Hotter Than Usual In Phoenix (116 Degrees Just Set A New Record), the  Associated Press Reports About 2,000 Inmates Living In A  Barbed-Wire- Surrounded Tent Encampment At The Maricopa County Jail Have  Been Given Permission To Strip Down To Their Government-Issued Pink Boxer  Shorts. On Wednesday, hundreds of men wearing boxers were either  curled up on their bunk beds or chatted in the tents, which reached 138  Degrees Inside The Week Before. Many Were Also Swathed In Wet, Pink  Towels As Sweat Collected On Their Chests And Dripped Down To Their PINK  SOCKS. ‘It Feels Like We Are In A Furnace,’ Said James Zanzot An  Inmate Who Has Lived In The  TENTS for 1 year. ‘It’s  Inhumane.’ Joe Arpaio the tough-guy sheriff who created the tent city  and long ago started making his prisoners wear pink, and eat bologna  sandwiches, is not one bit sympathetic. He said Wednesday that he told all of  the inmates:  ‘It’s 120 Degrees In Iraq And Our Soldiers Are Living In Tents  Too, And They Have To Wear Full Battle Gear But They Didn’t Commit Any  Crimes, So Shut Your Mouths!’ Way To Go, Sheriff! Maybe if  all prisons were like this one there would be a lot less crime and/or repeat  offenders. Criminals should be punished for their crimes – not live in luxury  until it’s time for their parole, only to go out and commit another crime so  they can get back in to live on taxpayers money and enjoy things taxpayers  can’t afford to have for themselves. Sheriff Joe was just re elected Sheriff in  Maricopa County , Arizona.

Fox News is full of lies

Since I know you Support & trust Fox News, I decided to bring

　

you attention to a few things.

6/30/09 Glenn Beck agreed with guest who urged bin Laden to attack U.S. With nuclear weapons.

7/25/09 Neil Cavuto and guest said health care reform will impose universal euthanasia like “Soy lent Green.”

7/28/09 Glenn Beck said “The President has exposed himself as a guy .. Who has a deep-seated hatred for white people … Or the white culture… This man is a racist.”

8/6/09 Glenn Beck “joked” about giving Speaker Pelosi a glass of wine with poison.

Super8 motels

Red Lobster

Ditech

Sargento Cheese

United States Postal Service!!

AARP Insurance

United Healthcare Insurance Company

Ally Bank Conservatives for Patients Rights

Mens Warehouse Wallstreet Journal Accu

Chek 

Aviva Avodart

Brita Filter

Radio Shack

Mercedes-Benz

Pepboys

Nexium

Healthy Choice

Golden Corral

ADT Security

HSBC Life Insurance

Weitz&Luxemburg

Metastock Superior Gold Group

60Plus.org

Apple Forex.com

Rapid Bath

Broadview Security

 

　

If your tired of the lie’s being given out to the public then contact the supporters of these shows listed and tell them how you feel. As long as the sponsor’s remain then never buy there products or services until there off this list as supporting Fox News.As an American, A real True American, it takes you to fight the untruths in radio and television that poisons the head of those not knowing what is the truth!

Comments; lewis1946@cox.net

 

 

Now, if this is the true news and only one

you trust then here is what a few big

companies have done since all the lie’s have

been going on.

In the first week, 11 advertisers cancelled

their FOX ads: Campbell Soup, Chrysler,

General Motors, Kellogg, Kraft Foods,

Lawyers.com, Nestle, Pfizer, Proctor &

Gamble, Progressive Insurance, and

Walmart.

These are the sponsor’s still supporting Fox

News. I am one of thousands telling the

following list that I will never buy there

products and services as long as they pay for

ad’s on the Fox news that is dishonest as

well as full of lie’s.

 

 

 

 

 

Rogers’ Bad Cop FIRED! Was Dishonest?

Rogers Officer Fired

Police Chief Says McClain Was Dishonest

 

August 9, 2009

ROGERS — A police officer is appealing his termination from the Rogers Police Department.

Patrolman Jonathon McClain was notified in writing July 29 by Chief Steve Hamilton he was being fired for violating several departmental policies and rules, according to a document contained in an internal investigation report.

No date for a hearing before the Rogers Civil Service Commission has been set.

McClain is accused of circumventing federal security procedures at the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport then not being truthful about his actions, among other things, according to the report.

Hamilton said McClain was fired for being dishonest.

McClain was administered a polygraph by Gary Harp, an independent examiner, regarding what he told airport officials on July 17.

“It is the opinion of this examiner that Jonathon McClain was not truthful in his answers …,” Harp said in a report.

McClain went to the airport in uniform on July 17 to pick up his daughters. McClain had just gotten off duty and did not have time to change out of his uniform, according to the report.

McClain was waived through security to a desk in a “sterile area” where he spoke with Josh Collins, a Transportation Security Administration employee. Transportation Security is a division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

McClain indicated he was there on official business to escort an inbound prisoner from California, according to a written statement by Collins.

Collins said he asked McClain if the prisoner was being escorted by an armed guard and McClain responded yes.

Security Supervisor Wayne Florer witnessed the exchange between Collins and McClain.

Officer Jerah Kern said she heard Collins ask McClain specific questions about his business at the airport, but did not hear his answers. Kern is a police officer with the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport Police Department.

Kern was assigned to escort McClain through the secure area, during which time she asked McClain about the prisoner pickup.

Kern said McClain told her, “No, I’m here to pick up my daughters.”

When McClain emerged from the secure area with his wife and daughters, Collins and Florer questioned Kern about the prisoner pickup.

Once it was determined McClain had misled security officials, Chief Gilbert Neil of the airport police was notified and a complaint was made to Hamilton.

Rogers Police Capt. James Baker argued against McClain’s termination. Baker recommended in a memo McClain receive instruction regarding prisoner pickup procedures and be instructed not to wear his uniform to the airport.

Baker alluded to a hearing impairment or difficulty on McClain’s part.

However, McClain never indicated any hearing impairment during the investigation, according to a report by Steve Mankin, professional standards coordinator for Rogers police.

McClain called Hamilton on Aug. 5, and left a message saying he would not appeal his termination if the department did not seek his decertification by the Commission of Law Enforcement Standards and Training, according to the report.

Hamilton told McClain the decision to decertify was the commission’s but he would request McClain’s decertification, according to a call transcript in the report.

Hamilton said Friday he would not comment on whether he will request McClain’s decertification.

Carrying a firearm into a restricted area under false pretenses is against federal law, but Transportation Security officials declined to prosecute, Hamilton said.

McClain’s termination could impact cases in Rogers and Benton County because of Brady v. Maryland, a 1963 U.S. Supreme Court decision requiring prosecutors to disclose exculpatory evidence to a defendant, said Ben Lipscomb, Rogers city attorney.

Lipscomb said the Brady decision would require him to notify the defense counsel McClain was discharged for being untruthful, if McClain was called as a witness in a case.

“We will evaluate each of his cases on a case-by-case basis and determine whether he is needed as a witness,” Lipscomb said. “If he is needed as a witness, we will take the appropriate steps.”

Van Stone, Benton County prosecutor, said his office is reviewing cases to determine if any steps need to be taken as a result of McClain’s termination.

McClain’s attorney, Chris Griffin with Keith, Miller, Butler and Schneider and Pollack, was in court Firday afternoon and could not be reached for comment.

Are you on Social Security?

　

IT DOESN’T MATTER IF YOU ARE REPUBLICAN OR Democrat

KEEP IT GOING!!!!

Propose this in 2009:

START A BILL TO PLACE ALL POLITICIANS ON SOCIAL SECURITY

 

__________________________________

SOCIAL SECURITY:

(This is worth reading. It is short and to the point.)

Perhaps we are asking the wrong questions during election years.

Our Senators and Congresswomen do not pay into Social Security and, of course, they do not collect from it.

You see, Social Security benefits were not suitable for persons of their rare elevation in society. They felt they should have a special plan for themselves. So, many years ago they voted in their own benefit plan.

In more recent years, no congressperson has felt the need to change it. After all, it is a great plan.

For all practical purposes their plan works like this:

When they retire, they continue to draw the same pay until they die.

Except it may increase from time to time for cost of living adjustments..

For example, Senator Byrd and Congressman White and their wives may expect to draw $7, 800,000.00 (that’s Seven Million, Eight_Hundred Thousand Dollars), with their wives drawing $275, 000.00 during the last years of their lives.

This is calculated on an average life span for each of those two Dignitaries.

Younger Dignitaries who retire at an early age, will receive much more during the rest of their lives.

Their cost for this excellent plan is $0.00. NADA..! ZILCH…

This little perk they voted for themselves is free to them. You and I pick up the tab for this plan. The funds for this fine retirement plan come directly from the General Funds;

“OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK “!

From our own Social Security Plan, which you and I pay (or have paid) into, every payday until we retire (which amount is matched by our employer). We can expect to get an average of

 

$1,000 per month

 

After retirement.

Or, in other words, we would have to collect our average of $1,000 monthly benefits for 68 years and one (1) month to equal Senator Bill Bradley’s benefits!

　

Social Security could be very good if only one small change were made.

That change would be to:

Jerk the Golden Fleece Retirement Plan from under the Senators and Congressmen. Put them into the Social Security plan with the rest of us

Then sit back…..

And see how fast they would fix it.

If enough people receive this, maybe a seed of awareness will be planted and maybe good changes will evolve.

How many people CAN you send this to?

Better yet……

How many people WILL you send it to?

Target Markets…Is this the truth?

READ THIS…WHAT A SURPRISE….. Wasn’t it last Christmas that Target refused to let the Salvation Army ring their bells in front of their stores?   Dick Forrey of the Vietnam Veterans Association wrote. ‘Recently we asked the local TARGET store to be a proud sponsor of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall during our spring recognition event. We received the following reply from the local TARGET management: ‘ Veterans do not meet our area of giving. We only donate to the arts, social action groups, gay & lesbian causes, and education.’ So I’m thinking, if the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall and veterans in general, do not meet their donation criteria, then something is really wrong at this TARGET store. We were not asking for thousands of dollars, not even hundreds, just a small sponsorship for a memorial remembrance. As a follow-up, I E-mailed the TARGET U.S. Corporate Headquarters and their response was the same. That’s theirnational policy. Then I looked into the company further.. They will not allow the Marines to collect for ‘Toys for Tots’ at any of their stores. And during the recent Iraq deployment, they would not allow families of employees who were called up for active duty to continue their insurance coverage while they were on military service. Then as I dig further, TARGET is a French-owned corporation. Now, I’m thinking again. If TARGET cannot support American Veterans, then why should my family and I support their stores by spending our hard earned American dollars!  have their profits sent to France . Without the American Vets, where would France be today? ‘They, most likely would be speaking German and trading in Deutsch Marks’ Sincerely, Dick Forrey Veterans Helping Veterans Please send this on to everyone you know to let Target know       we don’t need them either !     And,

 

Lowell, Arkansas Dumb Ass Cop!

Officer Arrested After Family Altercation
Man Reportedly Fires Shotgun In House
Last updated Monday, June 22, 2009
A Lowell police officer is on administrative leave after being arrested early Monday.

Walter Reyna, 28, of Rogers was arrested in connection with a misdemeanor charge of second-degree assault on a family or household member.

Reyna also was charged with discharging a firearm in city limits, a city ordinance, said Angel Murphy-Pearce, public information officer for the Rogers Police Department.

Reyna was being held on Monday in the Benton County Jail in lieu of a $1,000 bond.

Reyna was involved in an altercation with a family member or members, although police haven’t determined the extent of the altercation, according to Murphy-Pearce. However, she said Reyna’s mother-in-law was involved.

Reyna’s wife and mother-in-law were outside when they heard what sounded like a gunshot. Family members contacted police after they heard the gunshot, Murphy-Pearce said.

A cabinet and some toys were damaged, Murphy-Pearce said. Police recovered the shotgun and a spent shell from inside the house.

Reyna did not threaten anyone with the weapon, Murphy-Pearce said.

It appeared Reyna had been drinking, Murphy-Pearce said. Reyna’s speech was affected and he needed help walking, she added.

Reyna has worked at the Lowell Police Department since February 2004.

“He’s been a good officer,” said Lowell Chief Joe Landers.

If Reyna is convicted of assault on a family or household member, he will lose the right to carry a firearm, which means he will no longer be employable as a police officer, Landers said.

Reyna worked as an officer for Rogers from Jan. 23, 2001, until Jan. 31, 2003.

Murphy-Pearce said it was not known if Reyna resigned or was fired from the Rogers department but he is not eligible for rehire. Lucky for the citizens of Lowell & other cities.

Cop to jail

Former MPD officer begins jail sentence
June 17, 2009
A former Marysville police officer began serving a 90-day jail sentence Wednesday for ordering a body cavity search of a female drug suspect on a city street.

Joshua Hendrickson was taken into custody and booked into Yuba County Jail following an 11 a.m. appearance before Judge Julia Scrogin.

Despite being a former officer, Hendrickson will serve the sentence in the local jail instead of being transferred to another county, said Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Melanie Oakes.

“He will be segregated from the general population, but I don’t have any further information on his housing situation in the jail,” said Oakes.

Hendrickson will not serve the sentence at a work release program, said the prosecutor in the case, Deputy District Attorney Shiloh Sorbello.

Scrogin sentenced Hendrickson in October but stayed the sentence while he appealed to a panel of Yuba County judges. The appeal was rejected.

Yuba County jurors found Hendrickson guilty of the misdemeanor offense in July. The search occurred during January 2008.

Hendrickson’s attorney during the appeal process, Daniel McNamara of Sacramento, said Scrogin did not address terms of the jail sentence at Wednesday’s hearing. It’s up to Sheriff Steve Durfor whether Hendrickson will be eligible to perform community service under an alternative work program, or whether he will be eligible for a work furlough program that would have him spending nights in jail, according to McNamara.

Hendrickson ordered Officer Amy Alfred to put on latex gloves and search the suspect, Stacy Michelle May, who did not have any drugs.

Alfred was sentenced to 30 days in jail but has filed an appeal with the same panel of county judges. Both she and Hendrickson were fired from the Police Department.

Photos of naked boys on judo – Cops Labtop

http://www.lewis1946.com/yuba

Photos of naked boys on judo

coach’s laptop

Ninety-three photographs of naked boys were recovered on the laptop computer of a judo instructor charged with molesting two youths, jurors in his Sutter County Superior Court trial were told Tuesday.

The photos were shown to the jury in the trial of Yuba City resident David Gerald Leonard, 44.

Casimer Szyper, who served as a a police officer on the Sacramento County High Tech Crimes Task Force, testified he recovered the files in 2006 from one of five computers at Leonard’s home.

The trial in the case, prosecuted by deputy district attorney Amanda Hopper, is in its third week.

Jurors also heard Marysville resident David Barlow, 53, testify that he saw about a half-dozen pictures of naked boys on Leonard’s computer several years ago — and that Leonard told him to disappear during the criminal trial so that Barlow would be unavailable to testify for the prosecution.

Leonard’s attorney would eat him up if he testified, Barlow said the defendant told him.

The naked photographs of the youths were particularly disconcerting because Leonard “had a lot of kids around the house — mostly boys,” Barlow testified.

Leonard’s work in judo included a camp in foothills.

He faces four felony molestation charges involving boys who were under the age of 14 and involving his alleged acts between 2002 and 2004 in Sutter County.

His attorney Matthew Beauchamp declined to comment on the case.

Sounds almost like a witch hunt now, as this is older than dirt or the so called molested boys are over 18. Wow, no statues of limits on molesting? Something strange about this story as well as the guy was a sheriff’s high ranking officer as well. Is this now open season on cops or what? Don’t mind getting bad apples out but something so many years old is strange. So, will be watching this one close. Trouble is that county is so rotten with bad DA’s as well as BAD JUDGES, that a lot of stuff is sealed and thrown out. Yes, even cases like child rape.

Firefighters threatened with arrest

BENTONVILLE – Hickory Creek firefighters were threatened with arrest as they tried to find the man who drowned Sunday on Beaver Lake, according to the fire chief.

Hickory Creek Fire Chief Marc Trollinger described anything but a smooth operation between Benton County Sheriff’s Office deputies and other emergency responders on Sunday.

Sunday’s events highlight a longstanding situation in drowning incidents between the Sheriff’s Office and other emergency responders, Trollinger said. The issue is that once an hour has passed, the Sheriff’s Office views such incidents as crime scenes that must be investigated.

Modesto Ortega-Palma, 26, from Mexico, drowned approximately 100 feet from shore in the Hickory Creek area of Beaver Lake. Several people tried to help Ortega-Palma when they noticed he was having trouble, but they were unsuccessful.

Don Townsend, chief deputy of the Benton County Sheriff’s Office, said the body had been in the water for an hour or more, so it was determined that it was not a rescue operation, but a body recovery.

That determination – a death – made the area a crime scene, Townsend said.

The BCSO has its own dive team that is trained in recovery of possible evidence, Townsend said. Team members are trained to be observant of possible evidence around the body, he said.

Townsend said the situation was a recovery operation because Ortega-Palma had been in the water an hour or more.

“We have to approach every death as a crime scene to determine if foul play is involved,” Townsend said. “Ask any judge or prosecutor, and they will tell you the same thing.”

Townsend said Trollinger had not spoken with him regarding his concerns about the situation.

Trollinger said firefighters work well with other lawenforcement agencies. The problem only arises with the Sheriff’s Office.

“Everyone else lets us do our duty and jobs; then they do their investigation,” Trollinger said.

According to Trollinger, his department responded at 6:06 p.m. to the Hickory Creek Recreation Area swim area. Trollinger later issued a news release describing the operation.

Hickory Creek units began search-and-rescue operations at 6:24 p.m. Through witness interviews, a last-seen point for Ortega-Palma was located, and the department’s rescue boat began trolling at 6:28 p.m. using onboard side sonar equipment, Trollinger said in the news release.

At 6:42 p.m., the sonar equipment indicated a probable location of the missing person. At 6:53 p.m., a rescue diver with the Benton County Water Rescue Team arrived, boarded the rescue boat and began suiting up to dive at the location pinpointed by the sonar, according to the press release.

Four minutes later, at 8:57 p.m., Sheriff’s Office deputies declared the area a crime scene because of the event being outside the “golden hour.” The New Jersey Trauma Center at the University Hospital in Newark defines the term “golden hour” as the time period of one hour in which the lives of a majority of critically injured trauma patients can be saved if definitive surgical intervention is provided.

Trollinger said in the release that at that point, the victim had been missing for 51 minutes; during the next 17 minutes, deputies threatened fire-and-water rescue personnel with possible consequences if they continued to perform their search and did not immediately leave the scene.

During the delay, the Fire Department, water-rescue members and bystanders pleaded with deputies to allow the search to continue, Trollinger said in the release.

After failing to gain approval of the Sheriff’s Office, Fire Department personnel and water-rescue members decided to continue the search, Trollinger said.

At 7:14 p.m., water-rescue divers entered the water to search the location indicated by sonar, the press release states. After approximately 20 minutes of searching, the drowning victim was located and removed from the water, Trollinger’s press release states.

“The Fire Department cannot speak as to the condition of the victim or if he at any point may have been a viable patient, as we do not have enough information to form a conclusion,” Trollinger said in the release. “We feel it prudent to note in the accounting of events that the situation that developed between law enforcement and fire officials was a hindrance to smooth scene operations and had a negative effect on the operational goal of rescuing a victim. These events delayed the rescue efforts of responders and delayed the victim’s recovery by more than 15 minutes.”

Trollinger said that had the victim been a viable patient, the delay would have had a detrimental effect on the patient’s possibility of survival.

Trollinger was not at the scene of Sunday’s incident but was told that other emergency responders were threatened with arrest if they did not halt their rescue efforts.

Trollinger said there are documented cases of people recovering after spending an hour or more under water.

“We are trying to be a service to the community when we are called for help, and then to be delayed by the Sheriff’s Office,” Trollinger said. “Let us do our jobs, and don’t interfere with our ability to render aid.”

Drug Bust Dumb Cops strike dumb again!

Northwest Arkansas Drug Bust embarrasses local cops – nets two joints and a pipe May 8, 2009 in Fayetteville, Northwest Arkansas, arkansas, marijuana Authorities are embarrassed over the results of a drug bust involving dozens of agents from the FBI, the Joint Terrorism Task Force, the 4th Judicial Drug Task Force, and Fayetteville police, according to sources close to the situation at Fayetteville Police Department and City Hall. Authorities swarmed the home of a 23-year-old earlier this week with over a dozen law enforcement officers from the FBI, the Joint Terrorism Task Force, the 4th Judicial Drug Task Force, and Fayetteville police. The agents terrified neighbors as they stormed the house brandishing machine guns, battering rams, and bullet-proof shields. Police admitted to us that they confiscated 2 grams of marijuana, equal to two marijuana cigarettes (commonly called joints), a home digital scale similar to those used for weighing letters, and 6 smoking pipes from the Fayetteville home. After all the hundreds of man-hours that went into the investigation, the 23-year old resident was booked on misdemeanor drug charges. Who knows what this kid was up to, but one thing for sure is the cops screwed up if all they netted was a couple of joints and a bong. What a waste of taxpayer money.

Corruption in Orange County, CA Sheriff’s Department Revealed

Corruption in Orange County, CA Sheriff’s Department Revealed; ?Sheriff Resigns, Convicted on Criminal Charges by Marvin Mentor Former Orange County, California Sheriff Michael S. Carona and many of his staff at the Theo Lacy jail have resigned or been fired after widespread misconduct was exposed. A 2007 Special Criminal Grand Jury investigation revealed systemic abuse and cover-ups ingrained in jail practices under Carona’s leadership. The investigation was triggered by the hour-long torture, sodomy and beating death of a pre-trial detainee by 20 other prisoners in the jail’s F-West barracks. Nine prisoners have been charged with first-degree murder in connection with that incident, but no deputies were prosecuted despite evidence that they sanctioned the assault. Separately, Carona was indicted on federal witness-tampering, mail fraud and conspiracy charges; he went to trial in October 2008 amid a lurid backdrop of multiple extramarital affairs. His wife, Deborah, is being tried on a count of conspiracy. Carona resigned from the Sheriff’s Department in January 2008 to “fight the charges” [See: PLN, July 2008, p.30]. He was largely, but not completely, successful. Horrific Jail Murder On October 5, 2006, computer technician John Derek Chamberlain, 41, was brutally tortured, sodomized and beaten to death by about 20 other prisoners while Sheriff’s deputies in a nearby guard station – who allegedly arranged the attack – watched TV, sent text messages and ignored required jail walk-throughs. They then lied to investigators to cover-up their ineptitude and complicity in the murder. Chamberlain was a pre-trial detainee charged with possession of child pornography. But while at the jail he was not under the watchful care of the guards; rather, he was in the hands of gang-affiliated prisoner “shot-callers” whom the deputies used to maintain order. That is, the deputies literally turned over their job of enforcing jail discipline to the prisoners they were charged to control, and rewarded them for their ruthless acts with special privileges. One of the “duties” assigned by guards was to direct beatings of child molesters. They did so by leaking confidential case information about such prisoners to their loyal enforcers, then giving them free rein to do their dirty business. While Chamberlain was not charged with child molestation, the deputies lied to one of the shot-callers by saying he was, for the intended purpose of having him assaulted. Reports from the Grand Jury and District Attorney’s office provide many of the sordid details. Deputy Kevin Taylor was on duty in a nearby glass-walled guard station during Chamberlain’s murder, bravely watching “Cops” on TV while exchanging 22 flirtatious text messages with internal affairs investigator Monica Bagalayos. He was joined in the guard station by deputies Jason Chapluk and Phillip Le. All testified they did not notice the attack on Chamberlain until it was over. Jail rules required only one officer to man the station while the others roam the housing area. Between 5:50 and 6:50 p.m., Chamberlain was dragged to Cubicle D, a blind spot in the unit, where he was severely beaten by successive waves of prisoners. The violence was incredible. While Chamberlain screamed and pleaded for his life he was stripped naked, sodomized, scalded with hot water, and brutally assaulted. His assailants spat and urinated on him; he was kicked and stomped when he was down. The Coroner counted 43 displaced rib fractures alone. Some of the assailants made repeat trips to and from the bathroom to bring water to wash the bloody crime scene. One hit Chamberlain in the head so hard that he broke his hand. No one was confronted by the deputies on duty, who were only alerted to Chamberlain’s lifeless body after other prisoners called “man down.” A review of the guard station’s log entries showed “barracks secure” at 6:00 p.m. and “barracks secure, no problems” at 6:30 p.m. It was later determined that jail officials made a retroactive phony entry in the log stating that at 2:30 p.m., Chamberlain had told the guards he was not in fear for his life. The first part of a videotape of the barracks area taken after the fatal assault was recorded over by Deputy Le. According to testimony from several prisoners involved in the incident, Taylor had told a shot-caller that Chamberlain was a child molester who should be assaulted. In return, the prisoners would receive extra time out of their cells. Grand Jury Report Slams Sheriff, Jail Staff An 86-page Special Criminal Grand Jury report (with 8,000 pages of transcripts), released in February 2008, revealed what really went on in Orange County’s jails while Carona was Sheriff. The report described the Theo Lacy jail as being “in disarray,” where deputies routinely busied themselves with sleeping, watching TV or DVDs, playing video games and text messaging on their cell phones. Such misconduct was widely known, with supervising sergeants and lieutenants indifferent to this state of affairs. Even more egregiously, Carona flouted his duty as a public servant to ensure transparency into jail operations by trying to keep the Grand Jury’s report a secret. The truth came out only after determined investigative journalists from the Orange County Register and Los Angeles Times obtained a court order to get a copy of the report. The report revealed that Carona had taken the Fifth Amendment, refusing to answer the Grand Jury’s questions. He even refused to admit he was sheriff at the time of Chamberlain’s death. The report concluded that jail guards had failed to check F-West barracks for five hours on the day Chamberlain was murdered. Worse, they found this was not an isolated act of laziness or ineptitude by the deputies, but rather stemmed from a business-as-usual policy condoned by Carona’s entire jail staff. To protect itself, the Sheriff’s Department arrogantly declared it would manage its own internal “investigation” instead of the District Attorney’s office, in violation of long-standing county protocol. All ranking Sheriff’s Department employees who were called to testify claimed they had no idea how Chamberlain’s death occurred, which seriously hampered the probe. As a result, “not enough evidence” was obtained to criminally charge any of the Sheriff’s personnel. This was despite four prisoners telling the Grand Jury that deputies had informed them Chamberlain was in for child molestation – which would in theory support at least conspiracy charges. In fact, Chamberlain’s public defender had called jail officials just hours before the murder, urging them to put Chamberlain in protective custody. Deputy Taylor said he told Chamberlain to destroy any records of his charges, but claimed Chamberlain had refused to be moved for his own protection. Such a refusal was highly unlikely, since Chamberlain had earlier called a former girlfriend and asked her to tell his attorney to “get me out of here,” stating he was afraid “something is going to happen to me.” Taylor admitted to investigators that he knew who the shot-caller was in the unit, though he denied telling other prisoners that Chamberlain was a child molester. District Attorney’s Office Also Critical The Orange County District Attorney issued a press release on April 7, 2008 after the Grand Jury report was released by court order. The DA’s office acknowledged the report’s findings that floor checks in F-West barracks were required every 30 minutes, but were “seldom” performed by jail staff. Rather, the deputies “largely remained in their guard station, where they were regularly seen watching television, full length movies, playing video games, browsing the Internet, [and] chatting on-line.” The guards sometimes left their posts for up to an hour to visit the gym. They also slept on duty at night, draping blankets over the control panels to cut out the light, and either breaking the backs of their chairs so they could recline or sleeping on mattresses. But they were not totally asleep at the switch. When supervisors approached, the guards warned each other by calling out code “10-12.” Even when awake, some deputies would go as long as 30 minutes without even looking out the windows of the guard stations. Perhaps the most damning admission in the Grand Jury report was that deputies routinely utilized prisoners to enforce discipline at the jail by inflicting punishment on other prisoners, a practice called “taxing.” Guards rewarded the shot callers – with separate enforcers for each racial group – with new uniforms, extra meals, additional hygiene products, unrestricted movement and a free ride when they violated jail rules. The deputies intimidated prisoners who acted as enforcers by destroying their property if they failed to get other prisoners “back in line.” The report further found that deputies were not only lazy in regard to their work duties, but also routinely denied prisoners medical treatment because they didn’t want to fill out the required paperwork. Instead, the guards used shot callers to “dissuade” sick or injured prisoners from seeking medical attention. The District Attorney was highly critical of the fact that Carona’s office prevented an independent investigation into Chamberlain’s death. The Grand Jury found that some Sheriff’s Department witnesses gave suspect testimony, and some violated secrecy rules by disclosing their testimony and the questions they were asked to other witnesses, who then proceeded to provide false testimony themselves. The Grand Jury accused the Sheriff’s Department of substantially impeding its investigation. Jail Staff Resign, Suspended or Fired On April 8, 2008, Acting Sheriff Jack Anderson suspended five employees with pay and called for a review by the FBI based on the findings in the Grand Jury report. Anderson had temporarily replaced Carona following the Sheriff’s resignation in January due to unrelated federal corruption charges. Anderson launched the largest internal affairs investigation in the history of the Sheriff’s Department, extending to potentially hundreds of present and former Theo Lacy jail employees. On April 15 he fired internal affairs investigator Monica Bagalayos, who was allegedly pressured by Sheriff’s investigator Jose Armas to reveal her Grand Jury testimony. Bagalayos, who was previously romantically involved with Armas, was the recipient of the 22 text messages sent by Deputy Kevin Taylor while Chamberlain was being beaten to death nearby. Armas and Taylor were suspended with pay, as were deputies Jason Chapluk and Phillip Le. Le, who acknowledged “inmates do run the jail system,” was given immunity from criminal prosecution for his candid testimony. Armas, who later admitted he lied to the Grand Jury, quit in September 2008. Anderson also fired jail guard Sonja Moreno, who had lied to the Grand Jury, and Undersheriff Jo Ann Galisky, a jail operations supervisor. Assistant Sheriff Steve Bishop and Captain Bob Blackburn had previously resigned in early 2008. As to the Chamberlain murder, Anderson conceded at the outset that deputies’ use of cell phones at work was “certainly a distraction,” and that the deputies were “not doing their core responsibilities.” His corrective actions included banning cell phones and other personal electronic devices on the job and providing secure housing for at-risk prisoners. The TV sets in the guard stations were removed. Wayne Quint, president of the union that represents Orange County deputies, said the county’s jails were safe and that it would be “unfortunate” if Chamberlain’s death was used to vilify the entire department. He noted that the jail had only one guard per hundred prisoners, whereas the ratio should be about one to fourteen. “Our deputies do a great job in a very, very difficult and violent environment. They’re dealing with bad people …,” he said. From the Grand Jury’s report, this appears to be embarrassingly true – as all too often those “bad people” were other deputies. Tasering Restricted After Two Prisoners Die In August 2008, the Sheriff’s Department announced it had banned guards from using Tasers on restrained prisoners unless they could not otherwise subdue “overtly assaultive behavior.” The ban was imposed in response to a June 2008 Orange County Grand Jury report (unrelated to the report on Chamberlain’s murder) that referred to the deaths of two Tasered prisoners as “cause for alarm.” The report covered 437 prisoners Tasered by deputies between 2004 and 2007. Jason Jesus Gomez died on April 1, 2008 following a week-long coma after being Tasered by deputies at the Orange County jail in Santa Ana. He was serving a 90-day sentence for violating probation; his original charges were gun possession and growing marijuana. When deputies entered Gomez’s cell after he began behaving erratically and injured a nurse’s arm, a struggle ensued. He allegedly spit at staff and bit someone’s finger. Based upon an independent autopsy paid for by his family, Gomez died due to blunt force injury to the head. “They punched his lights out,” said family attorney Stephen Bernard. Previously, in October 2007, jail prisoner Michael P. Lass died when he was Tasered by deputies while being restrained. Lass, who was jailed for drinking in public, had refused to return to his cell; after being shot with a Taser he lost consciousness and was pronounced dead at the hospital a short time later. The jail’s Tasering policy was called into question after the Orange County Register obtained surveillance video showing deputies Tasering prisoners Matthew R. Fleurett and Liza Munoz in separate incidents. Fleurett was strapped into a restraint chair at the time; Munoz was being held down on the floor. Both appeared to be subdued and in considerable pain. The Grand Jury noted there was “a major debate amongst experts as to whether the use of the Taser causes heart failure or death.” [See: PLN, Oct. 2006, p.1] However, it was a feline, not a felon, that put Tasers at the Theo Lacy jail in the spotlight after two rookie deputies, Joseph E. Mirander and Duy X. Tran, were accused of Tasering a cat. While a cat’s carcass was found on jail property, the cause of death could not be determined and the inquiry was dropped, though both deputies were fired. Most Deputies Earn Over $100,000 Watching TV, sleeping and text messaging on the job don’t come cheap at the Orange County jail. Two-thirds of the Sheriff’s Department’s deputies pulled down over $100,000 in 2007, their salaries bloated by excessive overtime pay. According to data obtained by the Los Angeles Times, 27 deputies each received over $75,000 in overtime. Acting Sheriff Jack Anderson opined that such sums could only result from the deputies violating overtime rules. Number one at the trough was Sheriff’s investigator Theodore Harris, who earned $120,000 in overtime. His total pay was $221,000, exceeding that of former Sheriff Carona and members of the County Board of Supervisors. To earn that amount would require more than 30 hours of overtime a week, every week. Harris, one of four Sheriff’s Department employees who received more than $100,000 in overtime, said most of his extra duty was on patrol assignments; i.e., away from his investigator’s duties. Anderson noted that department policy limits overtime to 24 hours per week, and he couldn’t explain why supervisors were not enforcing compliance. There is good reason for the limit on overtime – deputies need to be alert and not tired from too many work hours when performing security-related duties at the jail. Factoring in overtime pay, 1,122 deputies earned over $100,000 in 2007, a three-fold increase since 2003. Overtime went predominantly to jail staff, who took in $18.3 million in 2007 compared with $8.4 million four years earlier. Theo Lacy jail personnel alone received $7.8 million in overtime. Union president Wayne Quint remarked that $100,000 per year for a peace officer was not unreasonable. “I think they should make more. They put their lives on the line. They’re filling a public safety position every time they work overtime,” he stated. John Chamberlain, who lost his life while jail guards watched TV and otherwise neglected their public safety positions, might posthumously disagree. The hefty overtime payments could be reduced by hiring more deputies, which would also provide more security at the jail. This was the solution recommended by a consulting firm in a report released on November 14, 2008. “Adding custody staff in the jails is the most immediate, essential and expeditious step that can be taken to reduce the level of violence,” the report stated. With Orange County facing $86 million in budget cuts in 2009, however, additional hiring for the Sheriff’s Department is unlikely. Lawsuits Mount Against ?Carona and County The alleged sins of former Sheriff Mike Carona continue to be challenged in court. George Jaramillo, a former Assistant Sheriff and one of Carona’s best friends until his firing in 2004, filed suit against the County claiming he had been improperly terminated. Jaramillo’s name also repeatedly surfaced at Carona’s corruption trial, though he was not called as a witness. Former Lt. Bill Hunt had tried unsuccessfully to unseat Carona in the 2006 elections by alleging misconduct in the Sheriff’s Department. The day after the election, Carona put Hunt on administrative leave and mounted an administrative attack against him. Hunt chose to resign, then sued in federal court claiming Carona’s actions were retaliatory and violated his First Amendment rights. Lt. Jeff Bardzik filed a federal suit alleging Carona had abused his office by discriminatorily reassigning and not promoting him because he had supported Hunt in the election. Retired Lt. Darrell Poncy also fell victim to being a Hunt supporter. A former commander of the Sheriff’s Academy, he alleged in a state Superior Court lawsuit that he was fired for his political views. He also contended that Carona handed out badges and concealed weapon permits to his supporters as part of a “reserve deputy” program, even though such “reservists” weren’t required to undergo training. “It looks like Carona was dispensing favors,” said Poncy’s attorney, Dale Fiola. “A sheriff does not just have to enforce laws, but also comply with [them].” The Sheriff’s Department’s reserve deputy program had been criticized by the state Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training, which decertified some of Carona’s reservists due to their lack of training and qualifications. As a case in point, Marcelo Bautista and his uncle Gustavo Resendiz are suing the Sheriff’s Department and Carona in federal court after a reserve deputy flashed his badge and threatened them with a gun during a golf course dispute in July 2005. The reservist, Raymond K. Yi, was Carona’s personal martial arts instructor; he was later convicted on a state charge of making a criminal threat. $2.5 Million in Settled ?Claims Thus Far The family of John Chamberlain filed a wrongful death suit against Orange County, and settled in February 2008 for $600,000. The family’s attorney acknowledged that the low settlement amount was partly because a jury might not be sympathetic due to Chamberlain’s child porn charges – even though he hadn’t been convicted. The Chamberlain lawsuit is only one of many legal actions the County has faced arising from mistreatment of jail prisoners. In fact, 47 such claims have been settled for an aggregate $2.5 million since 1997. Notable payouts include those involving Gilbert Garcia, a prisoner who died of head injuries after an altercation with guards in 1998 ($650,000); Leonard Mendez, for bruises he suffered from deputies while being booked into jail ($95,000); German Torres, who was assaulted by deputies in 2002 after trying to stop another beating ($75,000); Joshua Wilson, after being pepper sprayed and Tasered in 2005 ($49,999); Jorge Soto, who was beaten by deputies and suffered permanent injuries while being booked for DUI ($49,999); an unnamed transsexual prisoner identified as John Doe, who experienced bleeding and extreme weight loss after being refused court-ordered testosterone shots ($49,000); and Ryan Epperson, who suffered strained shoulders after deputies beat him in 2002 when he asked for toilet paper ($45,000). Other, lesser settlements reveal a continuing pattern of abuse and misconduct by Orange County jail guards. Roman Washington was beaten and Tasered on February 26, 2005 after he refused to answer deputies’ questions and asked to speak with his lawyer. He received seven stitches and, later, a $15,000 settlement. See: Washington v. County of Orange, U.S.D.C. (C.D. Cal.), Case No. 8:06-cv-00211-DOC-RNB. Edward Hadley accused jail guards of ordering other prisoners to attack him for making “smart” remarks in an April 19, 2005 incident that foreshadowed Chamberlain’s beating death. Hadley suffered broken ribs; his subsequent lawsuit settled for $17,500. See: Hadley v. Kopp, U.S.D.C. (C.D. Cal.), Case No. 8:06-cv-00347-JVS-AN. In a case that went to trial, a jury awarded $177,000 to jail prisoner Robert Carter for inadequate medical care in 2003. The verdict was assessed against Sheriff Carona. [See: PLN, Feb. 2004, p.23]. Most recently, Liza Munoz, who was Tasered at the Orange County jail in Sept. 2004, was awarded $25,000 by a federal jury. The jurors found she had been subjected to excessive force in retaliation for exercising her First Amendment rights. Following the June 2008 verdict, the parties reached an undisclosed settlement. See: Munoz v. County of Orange, U.S.D.C. (C.D. Cal.), Case No. 8:05-cv-01179-JVS. Pending lawsuits include those filed by Matthew Fleurett, who was Tasered while in a restraint chair at the jail; by Blaine Bowker, who alleges he was kicked and punched by a guard; and by the surviving families of Michael Lass and Jason Gomez – both of whom died after jail Tasering incidents. “What has come to light has been glaringly known to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department for years,” stated Los Angeles civil rights attorney Sonia Mercado. “They’ve known of the physical abuse at the jail, and have decided to settle these cases or argue them before a judge, instead of taking remedial measures to improve the jails.” Carona Charged with ?Federal Crimes During his trial in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, California, which began in late October 2008, the criminal prosecution was billed as a “case of two Mike Caronas.” See: United States v. Carona, U.S.D.C. (C.D. Cal.), Case No. 8:06-cr-00224. On one hand, Carona was portrayed by his attorneys as a dedicated public servant. On the other, he allegedly schemed with two Assistant Sheriffs and his mistress to get rich at taxpayer expense. One plan was to transfer jail prisoners to a private facility that a well-known Republican fundraiser would build, which would then receive lucrative per diem fees from the county. Conversations involving Carona, secretly recorded by former Assistant Sheriff-turned-informant Don Haidl, were entered into evidence during the trial. Carona’s former mistress, co-defendant Debra Hoffman, was charged with conspiracy, mail fraud and failure to report money she received from Haidl during a 2001 bankruptcy filing. It was alleged that Haidl, a millionaire businessman, gave money to Carona and George Jaramillo, an Assistant Sheriff who had previously served as Carona’s campaign manager, “to ensure power and influence.” Haidl testified that he laundered $30,000 for Carona’s first election campaign for Sheriff in 1998, paid him $1,000 monthly cash bribes, and gave him a power boat among other items. He also paid $65,000 to Hoffman at Carona’s request, plus monetary loans. In total, Haidl said he provided over $420,000 in cash and gifts to Carona and his mistress, either directly or indirectly. In return Carona appointed Haidl to the position of Assistant Sheriff, which let him enlist friends and relatives as reserve deputies, complete with badges and weapon permits, in a pay-to-play scheme. “We talked about a get-out-of-jail free card, we talked about owning the Sheriff’s Department,” Haidl testified. Carona also ensured that Haidl’s teenage son, Greg, received preferential treatment in a drug-related case, and tried (unsuccessfully) to intervene in a separate case when Greg was charged with – and eventually convicted of – sexual assault. The recordings of Carona and Haidl’s conversations revealed how the cash payments were “untraceable” and how no one would know about them without “a pinhole [camera] in [Haidl’s] ceiling.” Carona knew well about such cameras, as he had four in his own office. On tape, during profanity-laden discussions, Carona agreed to match his testimony with Haidl’s when they appeared before a federal grand jury. Meanwhile, Jaramillo pleaded guilty to unrelated state corruption charges and was sentenced to a year in jail; he also pleaded guilty to federal tax and mail fraud charges. Haidl accepted a plea bargain for tax fraud and agreed to testify against Carona in exchange for leniency. At mid-trial in November 2008, jurors in the Carona case were given a look into the former Sheriff’s sexual escapades. He and his attorney-mistress Debra Hoffman had a love nest, took getaway trips to Las Vegas in private jets, and maintained a secret bank account. Lisa Jaramillo, George’s wife, cried and apologized to Deborah Carona as she testified about the former Sheriff’s mistress. Lisa testified that Carona also had an affair with her sister, who was on his campaign staff. This was part of the prosecution’s case to show that the two-faced Sheriff Carona did not fit the public persona of a “conservative Christian crime-fighter.” The courtroom atmosphere was tense, with Carona and Hoffman, his former mistress, sitting at separate defense tables while Carona’s wife sat stoically in the gallery. The federal trial lasted ten weeks and concluded on January 16, 2009, with Carona’s attorneys referring to the former Sheriff’s friends who testified against him as liars and snitches. Carona, who had refused a plea bargain, didn’t testify on his own behalf. After six days of deliberations the jury returned not guilty verdicts on the charges of mail fraud, conspiracy and one count of witness tampering. Carona was found guilty on a second count of witness tampering. He put his head on the defense table and cried when the verdict was read – thus ends the career of a man once described as “America’s Sheriff.” Carona will be sentenced at a later date; his wife and mistress were to be tried separately. The prosecution later dropped charges against both. A New Sheriff In Town Damage control could not save the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, which was irrevocably tainted under Carona’s tenure. Any attempted replacement leadership from the existing ranks of the Department simply would not withstand further public scrutiny. Accordingly, the County Board of Supervisors appointed an outsider as the new Sheriff – retired Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Dept. division chief Sandra Hutchens. “She is the anti-Carona,” stated Supervisor John Moorlach. The 53-year-old Hutchens will have to be tough indeed to clean up the many years of institutionalized misconduct and the stygian stench of abuse and corruption in the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. We wish her luck. She’ll need it.

Sheriff Deputys goes to trial over killing

The former Sacramento County sheriff’s deputy accused of killing a California correctional officer is set to be arraigned in a jail courtroom this afternoon.
Chu Vue

So too are seven others accused along with Chu Vue of executing an elaborate plan to kill Steven Lo in south Sacramento as he was leaving for work last October.

Sia Vang, Lo’s widow, said she will feel “a lot of anger” when she sees Chu Vue in court.

“It’s in the court’s hand, and hopefully they can get this all squared up for everybody,” Vang said.

Vang told KCRA 3 Monday morning more than a dozen family members and friends are expected to join her in the courtroom to witness Vue’s arraignment in person.

However, she added she will likely leave court without getting much satisfaction.

“They will never bring back my husband,” she added. “You know, even if he’s found guilty, or anybody (is) found guilty, it’s never going to replace my husband.”

Police alleged that Chu Vue’s brothers — Chong Vue and Gary Vue — shot Lo to death. Chu Vue is accused of planning the killing.

Several other people were arrested as well for allegedly harboring fugitives.

Rogers Police Officer pleads GUILTY!

Rogers police officer pleads guilty to sexual indecency

BENTONVILLE – A former Rogers police officer faces up to six years in prison after pleading guilty Friday morning to committing a sexual-related offense against a 15-year-old girl.

Shane Aaron Knaust, 27, pleaded guilty to sexual indecency with a child, a class D felony punishable with up to six years in prison. He pleaded guilty without the benefit of a plea agreement, so his sentence will be in Circuit Judge David Clinger’s hands. Clinger ordered that a pre-sentencing investigation be completed by the Probation Office. Sentencing for Knaust is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. June 24.

Knaust was arrested Jan. 18, 2008.

According to an affidavit of probable cause in the case, Jeremy Felton, an investigator with the Benton County Sheriff’s Office, learned of a possible sexual-abuse case involving a 15-year-old girl and Knaust. The girl had told a friend about being sexually abused by Knaust two or three years ago. The information was later reported to the Benton County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, according to court documents.

The girl was interviewed at the Children’s Advocacy Center of Benton County. She said Knaust was good friends with her family, and Knaust had kissed her and tried to lift up her shirt, according to the affidavit.

The girl’s mother said that one morning she found a note under the girl’s pillow, according to court documents. The girl claimed in the note that Knaust was kissing her and she did not like it, the affidavit states. The girl’s father and the pastor of their church met with Knaust and confronted him about the note. They told Knaust he could not speak to the girl anymore, and he would no longer be allowed around other youth at the church, court documents state.

When questioned by Felton, Knaust admitted to kissing the girl and touching her on the outside of her clothes, according to court documents.

Knaust will remain free on a $5,000 bond.

Knaust was hired as a dispatcher on Sept. 11, 2002, and he became a police officer on Nov. 14, 2005. He resigned his position after his arrest.

Correctional officer stabbed and beaten

March 28,2009

CHESTER — A corrections officer driving to work at Susanville’s High Desert State Prison on Friday morning was reportedly stabbed and beaten by up to three men at a rest stop on Highway 147, near Canyon Dam.

The Plumas County News identified him Friday as Sgt. Todd Posch, a Greenville resident, veteran corrections officer, and a member of the football and baseball coaching staffs at Greenville High School.

Officials investigating the incident refused to confirm the identity of the officer.

Late on Friday he had been treated and released from a local hospital.

Plumas County sheriff’s Sgt. Ken Nelson said between one and three men assaulted the officer, who was driving his private vehicle.

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokeswoman Terry Thornton said the officer was in uniform, but doesn’t know if he was armed.

Highway 147 from Canyon Dam skirts the east side of Lake Almanor before joining Highway 36, the route to Susanville.

Whether Posch had stopped at the rest area on his own, or was forced off the road, hasn’t been disclosed.

Thornton said the Plumas Sheriff and the CDCR are conducting joint and separate investigations into the assault.

Posch suffered knife wounds to his face and throat, and several broken ribs from what Thornton termed “a vicious beating.”

A motive for the 5:30 a.m. attack remains under investigation, but involvement by former prisoners hasn’t been ruled out.

“Officers expect
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risk when they’re at work, but not away from the prison,” Thornton said.

Nelson said the incident is being investigated as an attempted homicide on a peace officer.

Due to darkness, a description of the suspect or suspects is sketchy. Those involved may possibly have left the area in a brown Ford Explorer with body damage.

Thornton said the officer was able to drive himself to Chester to seek help.

A bulletin has been issued for the vehicle in counties throughout Northern California and Northern Nevada. Anyone with information is asked to call the Plumas County Sheriff’s Office at 283-6300.

Ex-Deputy Chu Vue Arrested On Murder Charge-AGAIN! http://cbs13.com/breakingnews/chu.vue.arrested.2.968436.html

Ex-Deputy Chu Vue Arrested On Murder Charge-AGAIN!
http://cbs13.com/breakingnews/chu.vue.arrested.2.968436.html

They caught them

2,000 HP Outboard on an Inflatable…. Here’s the latest drug runner toy from Europe… This thing belts across the English channel 3 times per week and was just a blur on the radar of the British Coast Guard. They were so astonished by the speed of the unknown craft, they brought in a special high speed helicopter to chase it. Drugs were found on board. Of course, you’d have to be on drugs to put the throttle down on this rig.

This is happening allover the USSA!

March 14, 2009

Chicago’s police superintendent turned over a list of officers Friday who have repeated complaints filed against them by the public — an about-face that comes two days after a judge held him in contempt for refusing to do so. Superintendent Jody Weis turned over the list to attorneys representing a woman who filed a lawsuit claiming an officer beat up her children while arresting them in a playground incident. Weis said he had refused to turn over the list and risked the contempt order that U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman issued Wednesday because he wanted the judge to understand the seriousness of what he wanted Weis to do. “I just wanted to ensure that the judge considered the fact that the impact that this could have on the men and women of the police department,” Weis said at a news conference on Friday.” Like being a good step towards…GASP….holding them accountable? Can you even begin to believe the balls on this parasitical mental midget? Like virtually EVERY force on the face of God’s green earth, Chicago has so very many bad apples that SOMEONE has to keep track of them, because they continue to be employed even after receiving complaint after complaint and all that means is the fact that cops stick up for and protect other cops. While we suffer the consequences of watching the help turn on us like mad dogs. I am now of the belief that large police departments have ventured so far beyond the bounds of human decency as to be irretrievable, and soon, perhaps very soon, the time will come to treat them like the enemy militiamen they so fervently emulate by thought, word, and deed. If you STILL wanna play dress-up, kids, understand that there’s a reckoning coming for such detestable enemies of Freedom. Its in our face, every day of every week, and remember this simple fact: Only cowards behave thusly, and when push comes to shove all you’ll do is drop whatever dirty thing it is that you’re doing and run away screaming like frightened little schoolgirls. Not too late to rethink the deal, ya know?

Highway robbery? Texas police seize black motorists’ cash, cars

Highway robbery? Texas police seize black motorists’ cash, cars Suit says cops force motorists, largely black, to forfeit cash and cars—or be charged with trumped-up crimes By Howard Witt | Tribune correspondent March 10, 2009 Tenaha, Texas A Texas senator aims to rein in search-and-seizure practices like those used in Tenaha, where scores have been targeted but never charged with any crime. (San Antonio Express-News photo by Lisa Sandberg / February 6, 2009) TENAHA, Texas— You can drive into this dusty fleck of a town near the Texas-Louisiana border if you’re African-American, but you might not be able to drive out of it—at least not with your car, your cash, your jewelry or other valuables. That’s because the police here allegedly have found a way to strip motorists, many of them black, of their property without ever charging them with a crime. Instead they offer out-of-towners a grim choice: voluntarily sign over your belongings to the town, or face felony charges of money laundering or other serious crimes. More than 140 people reluctantly accepted that deal from June 2006 to June 2008, according to court records. Among them were a black grandmother from Akron, who surrendered $4,000 in cash after Tenaha police pulled her over, and an interracial couple from Houston, who gave up more than $6,000 after police threatened to seize their children and put them into foster care, the court documents show. Neither the grandmother nor the couple were charged with any crime. Officials in Tenaha, situated along a heavily traveled highway connecting Houston with popular gambling destinations in Louisiana, say they are engaged in a battle against drug trafficking and call the search-and-seizure practice a legitimate use of the state’s asset-forfeiture law. That law permits local police agencies to keep drug money and other property used in the commission of a crime and add the proceeds to their budgets. Video Related links * Howard Witt talks with CNN about ‘Highway Robbery’ story Video * Blank, pre-signed affidavit used by police * Signed “Waiver of Service” * Dawn Turner Trice: Exploring Race Dawn Turner Trice: Exploring Race * Race in America Race in America “We try to enforce the law here,” said George Bowers, mayor of the town of 1,046 residents, where boarded-up businesses outnumber open ones and City Hall sports a broken window. “We’re not doing this to raise money. That’s all I’m going to say at this point.” But civil rights lawyers call Tenaha’s practice something else: highway robbery. The attorneys have filed a federal class-action lawsuit to stop what they contend is an unconstitutional perversion of the law’s intent, aimed primarily at blacks who have done nothing wrong. Tenaha officials “have developed an illegal ’stop and seize’ practice of targeting, stopping, detaining, searching and often seizing property from apparently non-white citizens and those traveling with non-white citizens,” asserts the lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Texas. The property seizures are not just happening in Tenaha. In southern parts of Texas near the Mexican border, for example, Hispanics allege that they are being singled out. According to a prominent state legislator, police agencies across Texas are wielding the asset-forfeiture law more aggressively to supplement their shrinking operating budgets. “If used properly, it’s a good law-enforcement tool to see that crime doesn’t pay,” said state Sen. John Whitmire, chairman of the Senate’s Criminal Justice Committee. “But in this instance, where people are being pulled over and their property is taken with no charges filed and no convictions, I think that’s theft.” David Guillory, an attorney in Nacogdoches who filed the federal lawsuit, said he combed through Shelby County court records from 2006 to 2008 and discovered nearly 200 cases in which Tenaha police seized cash and property from motorists. In about 50 of the cases, suspects were charged with drug possession. But in 147 others, Guillory said the court records showed, police seized cash, jewelry, cell phones and sometimes even automobiles from motorists but never found any contraband or charged them with any crime. Of those, Guillory said he managed to contact 40 of the motorists directly—and discovered all but one of them were black. “The whole thing is disproportionately targeted toward minorities, particularly African-Americans,” Guillory said. “None of these people have been charged with a crime, none were engaged in anything that looked criminal. The sole factor is that they had something that looked valuable.” In some cases, police used the fact that motorists were carrying large amounts of cash as evidence that they must have been involved in laundering drug money, even though Guillory said each of the drivers he contacted could account for where the money had come from and why they were carrying it—such as for a gambling trip to Shreveport, La., or to purchase a used car from a private seller. Once the motorists were detained, the police and the local Shelby County district attorney quickly drew up legal papers presenting them with an option: waive their rights to their cash and property or face felony charges for crimes such as money laundering—and the prospect of having to hire a lawyer and return to Shelby County multiple times to attend court sessions to contest the charges. The process apparently is so routine in Tenaha that Guillory discovered pre-signed and pre-notarized police affidavits with blank spaces left for an officer to describe the property being seized. Jennifer Boatright, her husband and two young children—a mixed-race family—were traveling from Houston to visit relatives in east Texas in April 2007 when Tenaha police pulled them over, alleging that they were driving in a left-turn lane. After searching the car, the officers discovered what Boatright said was a gift for her sister: a small, unused glass pipe made for smoking marijuana. Although they found no drugs or other contraband, the police seized $6,037 that Boatright said the family was carrying to purchase a used car—and then threatened to turn their children, ages 10 and 1, over to Child Protective Services if the couple didn’t agree to sign over their right to their cash. “It was give them the money or they were taking our kids,” Boatright said. “They suggested that we never bring it up again. We figured we better give them our cash and get the hell out of there.” Several months later, after Boatright and her husband contacted an attorney, Tenaha officials returned their money but offered no explanation or apology. The couple remain plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit. Except for Tenaha’s mayor, none of the defendants in the lawsuit, including Shelby County District Atty. Linda Russell and two Tenaha police officers, responded to requests from the Tribune for comment about their search-and-seizure practices. Lawyers for the defendants also declined to comment, as did several of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. But Whitmire says he doesn’t need to await the suit’s outcome to try to fix what he regards as a statewide problem. On Monday he introduced a bill in the state Legislature that would require police to go before a judge before attempting to seize property under the asset-forfeiture law—and ultimately Whitmire hopes to tighten the law further so that law-enforcement officials will be allowed to seize property only after a suspect is charged and convicted in a court. “The law has gotten away from what was intended, which was to take the profits of a bad guy’s crime spree and use it for additional crime-fighting,” Whitmire said. “Now it’s largely being used to pay police salaries—and it’s being abused because you don’t even have to be a bad guy to lose your property.”

Gestapo storm troopers

Here on my home security cameras we have the jackbooted, Gestapo storm troopers of an Oklahoma county sheriff along with Oklahoma State Bureau of Narcotics agents raiding my house. The only one home during this raid was my very ill 51 year old wife who was sleeping. They pounded on the door loudly for a couple of minutes until she was rudely awoken and able to answer the door. They charged through the door right past all 120 pounds her with no permission sought or given to search the premises with AR15 rifles at the ready, all SEVEN of the cops. It seems they were looking for our nephew who had gotten into a little trouble and was incarcerated in an Oklahoma Department of Corrections boot camp program back in November of 2008. They ran around room to room doing their macho cop gun pointing thing even after being told nephew was in jail. They left with a “sorry we woke you”. So these officers raided my house for no reason at all. These cops should have checked first and known that our nephew was already their “guest” before invading our privacy. My nephew sold a few bags of weed to get in trouble he was in and has no history of violence. It takes a swat team-like response to try to arrest one small 20 year old kid who is already in state custody? Ridiculous. What we have here is a total police state where cops have absolute authority to terrorize and victimize innocent people. I am livid, and intend to raise Hell with the powers that be.

My wife was terrified by this event, armed jackboots charging in our home.
I think that we Americans have few rights left when these jackbooted paramilitary stormtroopers can raid our residences for no valid reason whatsoever. Obviously one hand has no clue what the other hand is doing. So a county judge signed an arrest warrant (I assume) for someone who has been in jail and a prison camp for months? State police etc. raid my home when the person sought is already in their custody for months? I can find him online in their system with a ten second search. Why can’t they?

Such force used to try to apprehend a nonviolent 20 year old for a relatively minor charge? I don’t think they had as much firepower available when they apprehended (executed) Bonnie and Clyde.
Here in Arkansas just afew years ago. They stole sixty thousand dollars, as well as did thousands of dollars in damage. They killed and innocent person as well. This is the norm in every state.Armand prepare for war. These crooks can and are being stopped. Even judges are being careful in offering a signed No Knock Warrant, because there also in line of being booted as well as a bad judge with the bad cops! How does that go; a bad/good criminal is a dead one. Wait, no a bad cop is a dead one.Ah hell, too early in the morning. Ah gee’s another cop caught raping a three year old girl. What a bunch of sick puppies we have here! Sick, Sick sick

Agencies that fight corruption for citizens

An act of police misconduct is nothing more than vigilantism. In fact, there is no difference between a police officer beating someone they suspect might have committed a crime as a form of “street justice” or you beating someone up if you suspect they committed a crime.

When the world sees acts of police brutality, it evokes a strong reaction on several levels for most people. It makes us fear what police could do to us, it makes us wonder at the kinds of people we entrust with the power to enforce our laws, it causes us to question whether our justice system is still just, and it creates a sense of outrage that a person can get away with a crime just because of their chosen occupation.

Needless to say, there are numerous reasons why videotaped images of a 15-year-old girl being attacked by King County Sheriff’s Deputy Paul Schene sparked strong emotions across the globe. It also takes little effort to understand the outrage the video of Oscar Grant’s death created when it made it into the public square.

So strong, in fact, that the lawyers for Schene and Mehserle both reported that those officers, their families, and the lawyers themselves began to receive death threats after the stories went public.

But… what does it make any of us if we lower ourselves to the same level as an officer who we believe has committed a crime when we seek to circumvent the law and threaten the lives of those officers, their families, and those who’s job it is to defend them in court?

Does it not make us exactly the same as those officers when we stoop to their level and try to be judge, jury, and executioner just like they did?

After all, how just is it when we seek to answer an injustice with injustice?

Aside from the ethical considerations, making threats against officers accused of misconduct is ultimately counterproductive on a number of levels… worst of all these is that it gives police unions the ammunition they need to pressure legislators into enacting new laws that let them hide acts of misconduct and escape justice without any public scrutiny…

In other words, threatening officers such as Paul Schene and Johannes Mehserle not only makes you the same as they are… it gives the future Schenes and Mehserles the ability to do the same things those officers are accused of without the fear of being caught…

Threatening officers accused of misconduct creates more misconduct, not less. It creates more injustice, not less. It gives them more power, not less.

It is, ultimately, wrongheaded to seek to become that which you seek to fight. Just as it is wrong for a police officer to resort to illegal tactics in the course of their job, it is wrong for us to resort to illegal tactics to answer those acts of injustice. In other words, it is wrong for us to become them in answer to what they have done.

So, for any of you out there who might think about threatening an officer who was accused of misconduct, or their families, or their lawyers…. please don’t, because all that will accomplish is to create more monsters and make it harder for us to spot acts of misconduct… not to mention that it turns you into the very same monster that you seek to fight.

Don’t believe me? Just see what happened in Baltimore when an officer received threats after a video of him attacking a teenager was released to the public.

Sure, the system as it is might let all these officers get away with such upsetting acts… but the answer is to fix the system so that they are treated like any of us are when we stand accused, not think yourself above it like those officers did when they broke the law under the guise of enforcing it.

If you think otherwise, you might as well put on one of their uniforms now, because you’re more like them than you’ll ever know.
Here’s some information on how to file legal action against a group or a single officer as well as prison or jail. Read this information carefully, as from experience local attorneys that have lived in the area all there life sometimes will try to get you to settle out of court in order to protect his legal career as well as his own family. You must consider the worth of damage as well as things taken from you is the worth of having to suffer even more if certain agencies are as corrupt to the point to killing any rivals that may hurt there income there use to for years.
Complaints about Institutions
What you should know before filing a complaint about an Institution:

1. The Special Litigation Section can only investigate institutions run by, or on behalf of, state and local governments.  This means that the Section cannot investigate federal institutions (such as federal prisons, INS detention centers, or Veterans Administration Hospitals) or institutions that are strictly private facilities (such as private nursing homes).   Complaints regarding federal institutions may be directed elsewhere.  There are often state or local government agencies that have jurisdiction to investigate complaints regarding private facilities.
2. The Section cannot represent individuals in court or in any other proceeding (including parole board hearing, lawsuits, or criminal trials).
3. The Section’s work is directed at obtaining broad reform of conditions in institutions.  We do not have authority to remedy problems for particular individuals or seek money on behalf of individuals.
4. The Special Litigation Section does not bring criminal cases against those who violate the civil rights of residents.  Criminal complaints can be made to the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division.
5. The Section is authorized to take action only if there is a pattern or practice of illegal conduct.   While we do collect information about specific incidents in order to determine whether there may be a pattern or practice that warrants investigation, we do not have authority to investigate or remedy individual complaints about a particular incident.

Even if your complaint falls outside the authority of the Special Litigation Section, there may be other agencies that could help you.  A partial list of other federal agencies that respond to similar complaints is listed below.
How to File a Complaint:
The most effective means of filing a complaint is to write a letter to the Section explaining the situation about which you are complaining, with as much detail as possible.  If you are aware of similar incidents involving others, please include that information as well.  Please include information on how to contact you if we need further information (such as an address and telephone number).  Also, do not include original documents as we cannot guarantee their safe return.  Address all complaints to:

Special Litigation Section
U.S. Department of Justice
Civil Rights Division
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Special Litigation Section
Washington, D.C. 20530

The Section can also be reached by telephone (202-514-6255 or toll-free at 877-218-5228) or fax (202-514-0212 or 202-514-6273).

Jails and Prisons:
Immigration and Naturalization Service  — complaints about conditions in INS detention facilities.
U.S. Bureau of Prisons  — complaints about conditions in federal prisons.
U.S. Marshals Service  — complaints about conditions of confinement for federal inmates awaiting trial. Complaints about Law Enforcement Agencies
What you should know before filing a complaint about a Law Enforcement Agency:

1. The Section has authority to investigate only state and local law enforcement agencies.  This means that the Section cannot investigate federal law enforcement agencies (such as the Federal Bureau of Investigations or Drug Enforcement Administration).  Complaints regarding federal law enforcement agencies may be directed elsewhere.
2. The Special Litigation Section does not bring criminal cases against those who violate the civil rights of citizens.  Criminal complaints can be made to the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division.
3. The Section is authorized to take action only if there is a pattern or practice of illegal conduct.   While we do collect information about specific incidents in order to determine whether there may be a pattern or practice that warrants investigation, we do not have authority to investigate or remedy individual complaints about a particular incident.

Even if your complaint falls outside the authority of the Special Litigation Section, there may be other agencies that could help you.  A partial list of other federal agencies that respond to similar complaints is listed below.
How to File a Complaint:
The most effective means of filing a complaint is to write a letter to the Section explaining the situation about which you are complaining, with as much detail as possible.  If you are aware of similar incidents involving others, please include that information as well.  Please include information on how to contact you if we need further information (such as an address and telephone number).  Also, do not include original documents as we cannot guarantee their safe return.  Address all complaints to:

Special Litigation Section
U.S. Department of Justice
Civil Rights Division
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Special Litigation Section
Washington, D.C. 20530

The Section can also be reached by telephone (202-514-6255 or toll-free at 877-218-5228) or fax (202-514-0212 or 202-514-6273).

Answers to other frequently asked questions about the complaint process can be found on our Frequently Asked Questions page.

Other Agencies:

Federal Law Enforcement Agencies:
Civil Rights Division’s Coordination and Review Section   — complaints about federal law enforcement officers (FBI, DEA, Customs Service, Border Patrol, etc.) can be made to the Coordination and Review Section and will be forwarded to the appropriate federal agency for review.
Federal Bureau of Investigation — complaints regarding criminal violations of individuals’ federal civil rights.
Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section — complaints regarding criminal violations of individuals’ federal civil rights.

Individual Complaints:
Civil Rights Division’s Coordination and Review Section — individual complaints alleging discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, and religion by State and local law enforcement agencies that receive financial assistance from the Department of Justice.
Americans with Disabilities Act Home Page  — individual complaints alleging discrimination on the basis of disability.
Federal Bureau of Investigation — complaints regarding criminal violations of individuals’ federal civil rights.
Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section — complaints regarding criminal violations of individuals’ federal civil rights.

Other:
Civil Rights Division’s Employment Litigation Section — complaints about discriminatory employment practices by state or local law enforcement agencies.

Return to Special Litigation Section Home Page

Access Act Complaints

What you should know before filing a complaint about access to a reproductive health clinic or places of religious worship:

1. The Special Litigation Section enforces the civil, not the criminal, provisions of the Access Act.  This means that the Section is authorized to bring suits seeking court orders to prohibit specific acts and to seek fines and statutory damages, but does not criminally prosecute those who violate the criminal provisions of the statute.  Criminal complaints can be made elsewhere.
2. The Section is not authorized to represent individuals, although Access Act cases brought by the Section may seek statutory damages that will be given to the obstructed clinic or place of worship.

How to File a Complaint:
The most effective means of filing a complaint is to write a letter to the Section explaining the situation about which you are complaining, with as much detail as possible.  Please include information on how to contact you if we need further information (such as an address and telephone number).  Also, do not include original documents as we cannot guarantee their safe return.  Address all complaints to:

Special Litigation Section
U.S. Department of Justice
Civil Rights Division
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Special Litigation Section
Washington, D.C. 20530

The Section can also be reached by telephone (202-514-6255 or toll-free at 877-218-5228) or fax (202-514-0212 or 202-514-6273).

Answers to other frequently asked questions about the complaint process can be found on our Frequently Asked Questions page.

Other Agencies:
Federal Bureau of Investigation — complaints regarding criminal violations of the Access Act.
Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section — complaints regarding criminal violations of the Access Act.

USSA- Let’s get started March 06, 2009

The reporting on bad cops as well as bad judges and even babysitters, that I like to call jailers and prison guards. Seem’s that I am feeling a lot better after almost being knocked down and out for my research on these freaks that I call protectors of the public citizens. No, not old stories as there is always some bad ass hole in this area all the time. Hard to believe that isn’t it? Sorry citizens of the USSA. Even since my home was robbed and broken into by bad cops and the leader. I have taken it up to let each and every citizen know who they are as well as there photo if I can get it. I normally get it. Ask any bad cop that has seen his/her photo some place on the web. Yes, I had a lot of nasty threats and letter’s and there all died off in the last year. Why? I was going under a damn doctor’s care for over a year. Was all I could do just to get a half story out and it was old before I could even get it posted. Took me a while to get off these so called legal drugs that I was told I need to take or I would die in a matter of days. To be exact took me almost two months. Now, I feel a lot better and more alert. Not up to par as of this writing but, able to get a lot of research done for all you citizens not able to afford to buy the newspaper to see what is happening. I now heard from a dear friend that was caught up in this legal web so to speak and reason why I am going after prison guards and jailers as well. I use the word babysitters myself. I found they really love that word. So, those of you that have loved ones in prison and jail remember that there babysitters not guards or cops. I will pick out the best story that I can for our local area as well as state. I also pick on other states from time to time if I see someone that I know from my time in school with them or had a working relationship with them. No, I no longer work. I am now retired and old as dust and live a good clean and honest life. No matter what the crooks may say. My kid’s and grand kids were not angels. But, dad and grandpa never did drugs in his life until a couple years ago, When I trusted my doctor and found later I was dying a slow death. May be the cause there goign to use later in the future for no longer taking the legal pill’s. In fact I have a couple stories I am working on now, and one is a judge locally a long with a few of the scum of the earth protectors. But, I run into these idiots so much now that I even take a photo or even run my camera when I need there photo for a future warning to the citizens. I hate that word citizen as if were creatures that are told what to do by these crooks that think there above the laws. Problem is they really believe they are above the law. We need to get them out and replace this corrupt system with real good guys and great good cops, as even the good cops are now in fear of not having a job if they don’t go along with the seasoned, old time crooked low scum life cop.  As you can tell by the words that I use, I can hit the right one’s all the time. So, here we go. As I said I want to post hundreds of past stories, but we have such great true and future bad cops going to prison soon, that your mouths will fall after seeing what you have been missing. Why do I do this. To get my revenge for the corrupt judge and cops that waited until I was at work to ruin my home and steal my $60,000.00. So, easy to ask for the key, but nope after all what fun is that even if your kid is home to offer to open things. Nope it was a lesson and one that I will never forget. But, what about now with what I have been doing since that time. Was $60,000.00 worth it? After all why not use it or call it drug money that way I would not be here starting up the stories again that I am sure will cause you sleepless nights. Well, sheriff and you big hand slapping pussies why was there nothing on this old man? Why? Because he was working most of the time. Why no police record? Why no jail time in my life? I have repaired everything and live good or better than most of you ever will. Even with what you stole from me. But, remember this and your fun you had and the message you sent did nothing more than make me use all my retirement time to track you low life scum down. I am easy as hell to way lay now, Old and slow and sure as hell can’t run. Not that I ever would in the first place. But, had to let you group of scum know I am well and ready to go. Are you? So let’s get started.

(1) In Farmington, Missouri, a former state prison guard was sentenced last Friday to seven years in prison on drugs and weapons charges. Seth Barton, who had worked at the Bonne Terre state prison, went down after prison employees searched his vehicle on prison property in February 2006. They found bags of marijuana, a loaded handgun, ammunition, a hunting knife, a jar of marijuana seeds, drug paraphernalia and more than $1,500 in cash. He pleaded no contest in April to charges of felony drug possession with intent to distribute and delivery of a weapon at a prison.
(2)

TEXARKANA, Ark. —  A former jail guard in Arkansas has been sentenced to 28 years in prison for sneaking syringes, marijuana and cell phones to inmates by hiding the items in food.

Deputies say 26-year-old Jordan Michael Waller carried tacos, pizzas and chili to work at the Miller County jail.

He used the food to hide a stash of cell phones and chargers, methamphetamine, marijuana, tobacco and cigarette rolling papers

Family members testified Waller had paranoid schizophrenia that manageable with medication. Jail officials denied knowing of Waller’s illness. He was sentenced Thursday in Texarkana.

The long-troubled jail had 13 escapes last year. A number of guards were fired, and some faced criminal charges for improper conduct with inmates.
(3) A Pulaski County sheriff’s office deputy was fired and charged with the rape of an inmate inside a basement holding cell at the county courthouse after the inmate produced a DNA sample she kept on the inside of her bra, sheriff’s office documents obtained Friday show.

Willie Lee Owens, 39, of Conway, had been a Pulaski County deputy for more than three years when on Dec. 18 he told a 26-yearold female inmate she might be needed back in court after a hearing during which she received three years’ probation after pleading guilty to criminal attempt to obtain prescription drugs by fraud, the records show. When another deputy arrived to pick up inmates who were supposed to return to the Pulaski County jail, Owens told the deputy to leave her behind, the records said.

Earlier in the day, Owens had given the inmate a cigarette and let her twice use the phone when she felt sick, the records show. During the first phone call, Owens grabbed her breast, she told investigators, but she didn’t say anything to him or tell anyone else at the time.

In the basement of the Pulaski County Courthouse after her hearing, Owens told her to go into a cell with a bench, the records show. She tried to close the door, she told investigators, but it wouldn’t lock. Owens went into the cell, started to talk to her and then grabbed her, she told investigators.

A sheriff’s office investigator asked the woman in an official interview to describe what Owens said to her.

“She replied that he began to ask her what her and her roommate did at night (regarding sexual activity),” according to an arrest warrant affidavit dated Jan. 15. “[She] advised that Dep. Owens came over to her and told her to stand up and bend over the bench.”

The woman told the investigators she was scared, so she did what Owens told her to do, according to the affidavit.

Then Owens pulled down her jail jumpsuit and had sex with her. She told investigators that when Owens left the cell to get a napkin with soap on it for her to clean up, she took the opportunity to wipe some semen on the inside of her bra for evidence.

“She washed her face and Dep. Owens took the napkin,” according to the affidavit.

The woman did not come forward until four days later, the documents show.

“[She] advised that she did not tell anyone out of fear that she would be harmed,” according to the affidavit.

After thinking about it, she told investigators, she felt she needed to come forward before losing the DNA evidence.

The sheriff ’s office placed Owens on administrative leave with pay Dec. 29.

During an interview with investigators, Owens denied “any sexual contact” with the woman, records show. He consented to four oral swabs to collect DNA samples.

His DNA and the inmate’s bra went to the state Crime Laboratory for analysis.

“The crime lab confirmed with scientific certainty that the swabs submitted by Dep. Owens and the samples taken from the bra were the same,” according to the affidavit.

On Jan. 16, a sheriff’s office investigator arrested Owens on one count of rape – a Class Y felony carrying a minimum 10-year prison sentence on conviction.

Sheriff Doc Holladay and Chief of Detention Randy Morgan fired Owens on Jan. 21 after an administrative hearing.

Owens pleaded innocent to the rape charge Jan. 20 in Pulaski County District Court. His $200,000 bail was reduced to $50,000 two days later. He posted bond the same day. Attempts to reach him Friday were unsuccessful.
(4) SHE WAS a beautiful young lady, a good friend, a mother and wife, a most pleasant person and funny to be around. Whether at a dinner party or a deer camp fish-fry, she was the center of attention. She was all Arkie, all grins and full of life. And if she’d just been wearing her seat belt that day in February 2005, she’d be alive today to watch her children grow.

It’s about time Arkansas joined the 21st Century. Or at least the 20th. So, yes, a police officer ought to be able to pull you over if you’re not wearing a seat belt. What are you thinking? Or were you?

Right now a cop trying to keep you safe in this state can give you, Gentle Traffic Dodger, a ticket for not wearing a seat belt-but only if he pulls you over for some other infraction first. A bill that is to become law soon would make not wearing a seat belt an offense all on its own. Then an officer won’t need another reason to stop Mr. or Mrs. Careless. The governor is expected to sign the bill into law any day now.

It’s about time. Past time, actually.

Two years ago, a House committee killed a bill that would make more of us buckle up. Why? Well, believe it or not, there was opposition. And not just from the righter-than-right and lefter-than-left libertarians out there.

This year there was opposition from people who really should know better.

Representatives from the NAACP and the ACLU and even our old friend, Wendell Griffen, formerly of the Arkansas Court of Appeals, showed up to speak against safety. Their argument was essentially this: Make not wearing a seat belt an offense all on its own, and you’ll give cops another excuse to pull over Hispanics and black folks.

We’re trying to understand this, uh, reasoning: A police officer pulls over a black man or an Hispanic woman for not wearing a seat belt, and that’s bad for those drivers? Simple us, we would think it would be just the opposite. Seat belts save lives.

Judge Griffen says he himself wears his seat belt religiously-which is not surprising; he’s no dummy-but he says the bill might allow for what he calls Bad Stops.

“The stop is a gateway to something else,” he told legislators considering the bill. “Not all stops are bad, not even most stops. The problem is: Can we pass a law promoting public safety and to discourage bad stops? I think we can do both.”

Hmmm. How? The judge might want to explain how pulling over somebody for not wearing a seat belt-and possibly saving a life in the process-is a Bad Stop.

Dr. Wayne Moore, chief of medicine at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tenn., also testified. He said traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for black Americans up to the age of 14. They’re the second-leading cause of death for those between 14 and 20 years old.

Dr. Moore’s diagnosis: “The disease is a lack of seatbelt use. The vaccine is a primary seat-belt law.”

We’ll go with the good doctor on this one.

Another opponent of the bill, Pam Adcock, a state rep from Little Rock, had an even curiouser argument than Wendell Griffen’s: “Enough is enough,” she said of all this government intrusion into our lives. “When it’s your time, it’s your time.”

That’s not an argument, it’s fatalism. Why not just go ahead and pass out the cigarettes in school and hand out rusty scissors for all the kindergarteners to run with? And why do the kids need football helmets and old folks medicine? When it’s your time, it’s your time!

Instead, how about we push off that time for as many happy, healthy years as possible? That’s what a responsible lawmaker would do. Thankfully, most of the lawmakers were responsible this year when it came to a tougher seat-belt law.

Many of us are old enough to remember when kids rode in truck beds-down the interstates, no less-and the little ones stood up in the front seat of cars. The only seat belt was Mama’s right arm when she put on the brakes. Those days are long gone.

Thank goodness.

The Ledge made a wise decision this time. And the governor would be doing the responsible thing if he signed this bill into law.
(5) Thursday, March 05, 2009
Judge Alan Sadler Arrested for DWI
CONROE, Texas

A Montgomery County judge was arrested on suspicion of a DWI after a minor traffic accident.

Judge Alan B. Sadler was arrested after a minor accident involving another vehicle in the 2100 block of North Loop 336 West on Wednesday night.

Police said the judge was given a Breathalyzer test and he had .0257, which is below the legal limit of .08.

No charges were filed and the judge was released.

Sadler told a local newspaper, “No one is immune from being arrested for suspicion of DWI in Montgomery County. They did an excellent job at the jail. I have nothing but praise for how they handled it.”

The arrest is under investigation.
(6) Trooper Steven Spoonire Pleads to Marijuana Possession
A Maryland State police trooper has entered an Alford plea to possessing marijuana.

Thirty-six-year-old Steven Spoonire was granted probation before judgment Thursday, fined $200 and ordered to pay court costs of $145.

Spoonire also resigned from his job as a trooper. The 16-year veteran had been suspended without pay.

Spoonire and his wife, Jennifer Lynn Frazier, were arrested in August by police who said they found a foot-tall marijuana plant growing outside the back door of the couple’s Woodsboro home.

Frazier pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana in January.
Hmm, makes you wonder why there free and walking around. Bet you wouldn’t be!

CHP OFFICER DOPE DEALER/USER

CHP officer sentenced for stealing

$1 million in cocaine

He admits breaking into evidence locker at headquarters and taking 64 kilos seized in earlier case.

 

SANTA ANA – A California Highway Patrol officer was sentenced to five years, eight months in prison today after he admitted breaking into a CHP evidence locker and stealing 64 kilos of cocaine worth an estimated $1 million on the streets.

Joshua Wendall Blackburn, 33, Murrieta, pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine for sale of cocaine, transportation of cocaine, commercial burglary and a sentencing enhancement for possession of more than 40 kilograms of cocaine.

Blackburn was a seven-year veteran of the CHP and was working as a training coordinator when he broke into the evidence locker of the Santa Ana CHP headquarters in the early morning hours of Dec. 21, 2007 while other officers were responding to a call of a multi-vehicle crash.

He filled three duffel bags with 64 kilos of cocaine that was part of a 230-kilos seizure earlier in the year, according to a report from the Orange County Probation Department. The cocaine was being held as evidence in a separate criminal case.

Blackburn, who was terminated from his job after his arrest, hid 62 kilograms of cocaine in a shed on his father’s property in Aguanga in Riverside County, and stashed two kilos in the attic of his Murrieta home.

But the next day, Blackburn was brought in for an interview after detectives from the Orange County District Attorney’s Office learned he had been the only officer left near the evidence locker when other officers went on the emergency call of the multi-vehicle crash.

Blackburn quickly confessed and led investigators to his hiding spots, said defense attorney John Barnett.

The evidence was recovered and the underlying criminal case is still pending.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Walt Schwarm asked for a 12-year prison term for Blackburn because of the planning undertaken to carry out the heist, the large amount of cocaine taken, and because Blackburn had violated a position of trust.

But Superior Court Judge Thomas Borris instead gave Blackburn five years, eight months after noting that Blackburn has a clean record before his arrest, had served in the CHP for seven years and had been under significant stress at the time.

Defense attorney John Barnett said his client was depressed before his arrest in part due to strife in his 11-year marriage.

Blackburn spent most of his CHP career as a patrol officer and had no sophisticated plan to sell the stolen cocaine on the street, Barnett said.

“He made a stupid mistake,” Barnett said.

Fayetteville Fort Smith Jonesboro Pine Bluff and Springdale

Police Officers With Apartment Security Jobs May Be 

 

Skirting Tax Law

 November 15, 2008

NORTH LITTLE ROCK —— Off-duty police officers across Arkansas who live for free or get a cut in their rent at apartment complexes in exchange for working security jobs may be breaking federal law if they don’’t pay taxes on the benefit.

 

A number of local police departments in the state’’s larger cities allow officers to have off-duty jobs, with some restrictions, and it appears to be commonplace for officers holding security jobs at apartment complexes where they live to at least get a cut on their rent, if they pay any at all.

 

In North Little Rock, for example, 13 apartment complexes have officers working as off-duty security officers, police spokesman Sgt. Terry Kuykendall said recently.

 

Kuykendall’’s counterpart in Little Rock said some apartments in Arkansas’’ capital city advertise they have officers who work as security guards living in the complex.

 

““I don’’t know if people are living for free, but I do know they get a pretty good discount,”” Little Rock Police Department Sgt. Cassandra Davis said.

 

Bill Sadler, a spokesman for the Arkansas State Police, said any off-duty job for a trooper would have to approved by a supervisor —— a rule most police departments apply —— and that it would be possible for a trooper to receive free or reduced rent.

 

““I do not know of anyone,”” Sadler said. ““But you also have to remember we have 553 troopers, so it is possible.””

 

Police officials in other of Arkansas’’ larger cities, includingt apartment complexes in exchange for free or reduced rent. Fayetteville, Fort Smith, Jonesboro, Pine Bluff and Springdale, all said their departments allow officers to have off-duty jobs a

 

Officers who don’’t pay taxes on the benefit may be skirting federal law, said David Stell, a Internal Revenue Service spokesman for Arkansas and Oklahoma.

 

““Generally speaking, and not knowing specific details, that would be correct”” Stell said. ““You might have circumstances that would exclude them.””

 

Stell said free or reduced apartment rent for an off-duty police officer working security can be excluded as income under certain conditions:

 

•• The lodging is furnished on your business premises.

 

•• The lodging is furnished for your convenience.

 

•• The employee must accept it as a condition of employment.

 

““Meeting the first test —— furnished on the business premises —— is easily met. However, meeting the other two tests are more difficult,”” Stell said.

 

He cited a 1977 IRS Technical Advice Memorandum that he said dealt with essentially the same issue —— whether a police officer working off-duty security had to pay taxes on lodging provide free or at reduced cost.

 

““Because the term ‘‘convenience of the employer’’ is generally understood to mean business necessity, this test and the ‘‘condition of employment’’ test are basically similar, and both tests require substantially similar factual considerations,”” according to the tax memo.

 

In that case, ““the taxpayer (officer) has not shown that he was required to accept the lodging in order to properly perform the duties of his employment as required,”” Stell said. ““ … Since the taxpayer had a job as a city policeman, he could not have been available for duty at all times at the apartment complex.””

 

Applying essentially the same facts to officers now receiving cut-rate lodging for working security at apartment complexes, it appears an officer could not exclude the value of lodging provided as compensation for security duties performed when the officer is not working at his or her law enforcement job, Stell said. The value would have to be reported as income when filing an income tax return, he said.

 

The IRS official acknowledged the issue would not be a priority for the agency.

 

““It would be something that would come up in an audit. That’’s certainly something we would ask: Where do you live? How do you pay your rent or mortgage?”” he said.

 

Aside from compensation for lodging under such circumstances, public safety officers enjoy a tax exemption on the use of taxpayer-funded vehicles they are allowed to take home. The IRS considers use of the vehicles a working condition fringe benefit, Stell said.

 

““The person who is authorized to use the vehicle and take it home does not have to pay taxes with respect to any use of that vehicle,”” he said.

 

The North Little Rock department provides take-home vehicles for some officers who live in Pulaski County and for some officers who live outside the county but within a 35-mile radius of police headquarters.

There are conditions, according to the collective bargaining agreement between the city and the Fraternal Order of Police, the union that serves the department.

 

For one, officers have to have served the department for at least seven years to take a police vehicle home. Also, officers who live outside the county must reimburse the city for mileage driven, at a rate of 40 cents a mile.

 

Only a handful of officers take advantage of home storage outside the county, said Bob Sisson of the city’’s finance department.

 

““Nonuniformed employees have to pay for the cars they take home,”” Sisson added. ““It is a taxable benefit and we consider it $3 a day, for the days they take (the car or truck) home. We send out a statement at the end of the year, declaring the total amount as income.””

 

The same is true for other state employees, such as those of the Game and Fish Commission, who have cars but are not employed in a law enforcement capacity.

 

Other police departments around the state have quit allowing officers to take police vehicles home, or are taking steps to end the practice.

 

The Fort Smith department has allowed some officers, such as investigators, to keep cars with no restrictions on where the vehicles could be stored.

 

““The city just passed an ordinance,”” said Fort Smith police spokesman Sgt. Levi Risley. ““Effective Jan. 1, most of the take-home cars will be parked.””

 

In Pine Bluff, only police administrators and officers subject to call out, such as investigators and SWAT team members, are allowed to keep police vehicles at home.

Cop & Guard killing?

Slain prison guard’s widow mourns ‘a wonderful man’

Published: Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2008

Behind the brightly colored flowers and flickering candles is the rust-colored smudge left where Steve Lo’s head hit the garage wall as he slipped toward death one week ago.

His widow, Sia Vang, did her best to clean up the bloodstains when she came back Sunday morning to the lonely house on Tambor Way.

What she couldn’t remove, she covered with a makeshift shrine to her husband of 10 years.

Around her, a revolving cast of relatives and friends is spinning. They have been arriving in waves, trying, as Hmong tradition dictates, to bring warmth to a home left cold by a departing spirit.

Vang welcomes the distraction. It’s the quieter moments that haunt her.

“There’s never a plan of burying your husband this young,” said Vang, who turned 31 two days after her husband’s death. “I keep thinking, ‘I hope this is a dream. When I wake up, I want him next to me.’ “

Clinging to a stuffed animal belonging to the couple’s 3-year-old daughter, she added softly, “It’s not fair.”

Last Wednesday morning, Lo, a 39-year-old correctional officer assigned to the California Medical Facility in Vacaville, was gunned down as he prepared to leave for his shift. He died at the hospital.

Police have released little information about the case. A Sacramento County sheriff’s deputy has been questioned in the case and is on paid administrative leave, stripped of his gun and badge, but police have not named him as a suspect.

The morning of his death, Lo’s alarm clock sounded at 4:30 a.m., Vang said. She heard every step of his morning routine.

She heard the rumble of the garage door opening and then, seconds later, a series of loud noises she described like a “bark.” A gunshot followed.

Vang ran into the garage and found Lo slumped on the floor, in full uniform, his utility belt still slung over his arm. Fearing the assailant remained nearby, she scrambled to shut the garage door.

While on the phone with emergency dispatchers, Vang patted down her husband, searching for the source of all the blood.

She found it in the back of his head. Vang heard gurgling sounds and wonders now if she was listening to him take his last breaths.

After Lo was rushed to the hospital, detectives escorted Vang to the Sacramento police station. She was about to leave just before 11 a.m. when two lieutenants stopped her.

“My world just exploded,” Vang said. “As soon as they say those words – ‘Take a seat, I have something to tell you’ – you know it’s bad news.”

Lo’s relatives remember him as a quiet, respectful man who “is very sincere about everything he does,” said Xiong Thao, Lo’s 39-year-old brother-in-law.

Lo, a Hmong immigrant from Laos, changed careers in 2005 to find a better-paying job to support his family.

“He’s just a loving person. He’s a wonderful man,” Vang said of her husband. “It’s hard to let go.”

Lo is survived by his wife, five children and seven siblings.

He will be laid to rest in a private memorial Oct. 31 – far too soon for his young widow.

“His life with me is too short,” Vang said. “I need more time.”

How many zero’s in a Billion?

                                                     How Many zero’s in a billion?

                                                                     

                                             

How many zeros in a billion?  

This is too true to be funny.

 

The next time you hear a politician use the 

 

word ‘billion’ in a casual manner, think about  whether you want the ‘politicians’ 

spending YOUR Tax  money.

 

A billion is a difficult  number to comprehend, but one advertising agency did a good job 

of  putting that  figure into some perspective in  one of its releases.

 

 

A  billion seconds ago it was 1959.

 

 

 

A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.

 

 

A billion hours ago our ancestors were  living in the Stone  Age.

 

 

A billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet.

 

 

 

A billion dollars ago was only  8 hours and  20 minutes, at 

the rate our government is spending it.

 

While this thought is still fresh in our brain, let’s take a look at New 

Orleans It’s amazing what you can learn with some simple 

division Louisiana  Senator,Mary  Landrieu (D),  is 

presently asking the  Congress  for $250 BILLION to 

rebuild New Orleans .Interesting number, what  does it mean? 

Well,  if you are one of 484,674  residents of New Orleans  (every man, woman, child), 

you each get  $516,528. Or,  if you have one of the 188,251 homes in 

New Orleans , your home  gets $1,329,787. Or, if you are a family of four, your family 

gets $2,066,012.

Washington, D.C. 

HELLO!  Are  all your calculators broken?

Accounts  

Receivable Tax 

 

Building Permit Tax 

 

CDL License Tax 

 

Cigarette Tax 

 

Corporate Income 

Tax 

Dog License 

Tax 

Federal Income 

Tax 

Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA) 

Fishing License Tax 

 

Food License Tax 

Fuel Permit Tax 

Gasoline Tax 

 

Hunting License Tax 

Inheritance Tax 

Inventory Tax 

 

IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax), 

IRS Penalties (tax 

on top of tax), 

Liquor Tax, 

Luxury Tax, 

Marriage License 

Tax, 

Medicare Tax, 

Property Tax, 

Real Estate Tax, 

 

Service charge taxes, 

Social Security Tax, 

Road Usage 

Tax (Truckers), 

Sales Taxes, 

Recreational Vehicle Tax, 

 

School Tax, 

State Income Tax, 

State Unemployment Tax 

(SUTA), 

Telephone Federal Excise Tax, 

Telephone Federal 

Universal Service Fee Tax, 

Telephone Federal, State and Local 

Surcharge Tax, 

Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge 

Tax,

Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax, 

 

Telephone State and Local Tax, 

Telephone Usage 

Charge 

Tax, 

 

Utility Tax, 

Vehicle License Registration Tax, 

Vehicle 

Sales Tax, 

Watercraft Registration Tax, 

Well Permit Tax, 

 

Workers Compensation Tax.

 

 

STILL 

THINK THIS IS FUNNY? 

Not  one of these taxes existed 100 years ago,

and our nation was the most prosperous in the world.

 

We had absolutely no national 

debt, had the largest middle class in the world , and Mom stayed 

home to raise the kids. What  happened? Can  you spell ‘politicians! ‘ 

And I still have to  ’press 1′  for  English. I 

hope this goes around the  USA  at least 100 times 

What 

the heck happened?

Killer Cop Caught

SMITHS GROVE, Ky. –

Iowa authorities say they’ve captured a Kentucky sheriff’s deputy accused of killing his ex-girlfriend.

A Kentucky State Police dispatcher says he was notified early Tuesday that Randall Creek was caught at a motel in Waterloo, Iowa. That’s about 600 miles from Smiths Grove, Ky., where Debbie Rediess was gunned down Sunday.

Police say the 41-year-old Creek confessed in an e-mail to killing Rediess. Police say he also sent e-mails taunting police and threatening a jailer.

In an e-mail to the Daily News of Bowling Green hours before the killing, Creek said Rediess ended their relationship because he wouldn’t set a wedding date. He did not threaten her in that e-mail.

Authorities at the jail where Creek is being held did not know if he had an attorney

Killer Cop Caught

SMITHS GROVE, Ky. –

Iowa authorities say they’ve captured a Kentucky sheriff’s deputy accused of killing his ex-girlfriend.

A Kentucky State Police dispatcher says he was notified early Tuesday that Randall Creek was caught at a motel in Waterloo, Iowa. That’s about 600 miles from Smiths Grove, Ky., where Debbie Rediess was gunned down Sunday.

Police say the 41-year-old Creek confessed in an e-mail to killing Rediess. Police say he also sent e-mails taunting police and threatening a jailer.

In an e-mail to the Daily News of Bowling Green hours before the killing, Creek said Rediess ended their relationship because he wouldn’t set a wedding date. He did not threaten her in that e-mail.

Authorities at the jail where Creek is being held did not know if he had an attorney

Pearl Harbor

Arkansas Bad Cops Wednesday, July 23, 2008 Pearl Harbor Photo’s never seen From: Njwestrn@aol.com Date: Thu, 15 May 2008 16:37:17 -0400 Subject: Pearl Harbor To: Njwestrn@aol.com This is one E-mail with Photos – you might want to save for history. These photos were shot with an old Brownie camera & were in storage since 1941. Thought you might find these photos very interesting; awesome quality from 1941. These Pearl Harbor photos were recently found in an old Brownie stored in a foot locker. Pay attention to the old vehicles and the number of ships that was in that harbor at that time. Also note the ship casualty list at the bottom. THESE PHOTOS ARE FROM A SAILOR WHO WAS ON THE USS QUAPAW ATF-11O. THEY’RE SPECTACULAR! PEARL HARBOR December 7th, 1941 Pearl Harbor On Sunday, December 7th, 1941 the Japanese launched a surprise attack against the U.S. Forces stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. By planning his attack on a Sunday, the Japanese commander Admiral Nagumo, hoped to catch the entire fleet in port. As luck would have it, the Aircraft Carriers and one of the Battleships were not in port. (The USS Enterprise was returning from Wake Island, where it had just delivered some aircraft. The USS Lexington was ferrying aircraft to Midway, and the USS Saratoga and USS Colorado were undergoing repairs in the United States ) In spite of the latest intelligence reports about the missing aircraft carriers (his most important targets), Admiral Nagumo decided to continue the attack with his force of six carriers and 423 aircraft. At a range of 230 miles north of Oahu, he launched the first wave of a two-wave attack. Beginning at 0600 hours his first wave consisted of 183 fighters and torpedo bombers which struck at the fleet in Pearl Harbor and the airfields in Hickam, Kaneohe and Ewa. The second strike, launched at 0715 hours, consisted of 167 aircraft, which again struck at the same targets. At 0753 hours the first wave consisting of 40 Nakajima B5N2 ‘Kate’ torpedo bombers, 51 Aichi D3A1 ‘Val ‘ dive bombers, 50 high altitude bombers and 43 Zeros struck airfields and Pearl Harbor. Within the next hour, the second wave arrived and continued the attack. When it was over, the U.S. losses were: Casualties USA 218 KIA, 364 WIA. USN: 2,008 KIA, 710 WIA. USMC: 109 KIA, 69 WIA. Civilians: 68 KIA, 35 WIA. TOTAL: 2,403 KIA, 1,178 WIA. ————————————————- Battleships USS Arizona (BB-39) – total loss when a bomb hit her magazine. USS Oklahoma (BB-37) – Total loss when she capsized and sunk in the harbor. USS California (BB-44) – Sunk at her berth. Later raised and repaired. USS West Virginia (BB-48) – Sunk at her berth. Later raised and repaired. USS Nevada – (BB-36) Beached to prevent sinking. Later repaired. USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) – Light damage. USS Maryland (BB-46) – Light damage. USS Tennessee (BB-43) Light damage. USS Utah (AG-16) – (former battleship used as a target) – Sunk. ————————————————————————————————————————– Cruisers USS New Orleans (CA-32) – Light Damage.. USS San Francisco (CA38) – Light Damage. USS Detroit (CL-8) – Light Damage. USS Raleigh (CL-7) – Heavily damaged but repaired. USS Helena (CL-50) – Light Damage. USS Honolulu (CL-48) – Light Damage. ——————————————————– ————————————————————— Destroyers USS Downes (DD-375) – Destroyed. Parts salvaged. USS Cassin – (DD-37 2) Destroyed. Parts salvaged. USS Shaw (DD-373) – Very heavy damage. USS Helm (DD-388) – Light Damage. ———————————————————————————————————————- Minelayer USS Ogala (CM-4) – Sunk but later raised and repaired. ———————————————————————————- Seaplane Tender USS Curtiss (AV-4) – Severely damaged but later repaired. ———————————————————————————— Repair Ship USS Vestal (AR-4) – Severely damaged but later repaired. ———————————————————————————— Harbor Tug USS Sotoyomo (YT-9) – Sunk but later raised and repaired. ——————————————————————————————– Aircraft 188 Aircraft destroyed (92 USN and 92 U.S. Army Air Corps.) Posted by John Lewis at 2:13 PM 0 comments Tuesday, July 8, 2008 Sulphur Springs Police Chief Pleads Not Guilty Former Sulphur Springs Police Chief Pleads Not Guilty A not guilty plea to one charge of felony theft of property was entered Monday on behalf of a former Sulphur Springs police chief. Andrew Jacob Little, 24, was to be arraigned before Benton County Senior Circuit Judge Tom Keith. A not guilty plea to one charge of felony theft of property was entered Monday on behalf of a former Sulphur Springs police chief. Andrew Jacob Little, 24, was to be arraigned before Benton County Senior Circuit Judge Tom Keith. His attorney, Doug Norwood, waived that arraignment and asked that a not guilty plea be entered. Keith set an omnibus hearing for Aug. 18 and a jury trial for Oct. 7. Little was arrested in April and released on citation. He was later fired from his job. According to court documents, he lived in a house with his stepfather, Richard Cummins, and a sergeant at his department, Jeremiah Nicholson. Cummins had a job that required frequent travel. In March, Little told him the house was burglarized and several of Cummins’ firearms were stolen. Little said a report was filed, a suspect arrested, and the firearms were recovered by the Fort Smith Police Department. In April, Cummins was in Fort Smith and stopped by the police department to check on the status of his guns. He was told they had no record of his guns, which included a 12-gauge pump shotgun, several pistols and two rifles. Little had a poor financial situation at the time and had borrowed money from Cummins, according to court documents. Later that month, an audio device was placed on Cummins by police and a conversation with Little was recorded. Little said guns were in custody of the Sebastian County Sheriff’s Office and that he should have them back soon. A few days later, Gentry and Bentonville police recovered several of the firearms at pawn shops in Bentonville and Centerton. Little later admitted to police that Nicholson pawned the guns at his request and they used the money to pay bills, court documents state. Nicholson told police that Little claimed the guns were his. He pawned them for $3,400 and gave the money to Little, court documents state. The charge against Little is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Posted by John Lewis at 2:47 AM 0 comments Tuesday, July 1, 2008 Arkansas Bad Cops Former Bentonville Arkansas Firefighter Kevin Thomasson Sentenced To 30 Days In Jail After Ex-Girlfriend And Another Woman Reported Being Raped June 21st, 2008 BENTONVILLE, ARKANSAS – A former Bentonville firefighter began serving a jail sentence for domestic abuse on Thursday. Kevin Thomasson, 34, must serve 30 days in the Benton County Jail. He was found guilty of battery in the third degree, a class C misdemeanor. The decision was handed down by Rogers District Judge Doug Schrantz in August 2007, but Thomasson lodged an appeal in Benton County Circuit Court. Thomasson was also charged with two counts of rape. Thomasson was arrested in January 2007 on suspicion of rape after a former girlfriend claimed Thomasson had raped her. When police interviewed the other alleged victim in connection with the former girlfriend’’s claims, the other woman claimed Thomasson had also raped her. Thomasson testified and denied raping the woman. A jury found Thomasson not guilty of one count of rape. Prosecutors requested that the other rape charge be dismissed. Thomasson requested last month that his misdemeanor appeal be dismissed. He resigned from the Bentonville Fire Department after his January 2007 arrest. Rogers Arkansas Police Officer Sgt. Steve Charles Suspended After Interfering In Investigation June 10th, 2008 ROGERS, ARKANSAS —— A Rogers police sergeant has been suspended for 10 days from his job for off-duty actions that included interfering in a traffic-stop investigation in Fayetteville. Sgt. Steve Charles, a passenger in a vehicle stopped on April 12 by a Fayetteville police officer, committed three violations of the Rogers Police Department’’s standards of conduct, according to a report based on an internal investigation. The report was released to the public on Monday. The driver of the vehicle —— a relative of Charles’’ —— was ultimately charged with misdemeanor driving while intoxicated, according to a Fayetteville Police Department report. Charles was not arrested or charged with a crime. The Rogers police report said that during the stop, Charles relayed a message through the Rogers dispatch center asking for a call from the investigating officer’’s supervisor. Charles then tried to convince him there was no valid reason for the stop. According to the report of the stop, the vehicle was westbound on Lafayette Street near West Avenue when it crossed the center line. When the vehicle stopped at Lafayette and West, the officer saw a brake light not working. The officer stopped the vehicle at Maple Street and Leverett Avenue. Charles, 42, a 13-year veteran of the Rogers force, also tried to get another sergeant at the scene to tell the investigating officer not to arrest the driver, the report said. Rogers police spokesman Lt. Mike Johnson said the internal investigation was launched when someone from the Fayetteville department called the Rogers department two days later to report the incident. The report concluded Charles possibly hurt the department’’s public image and its working relationship with the Fayetteville department. In addition, Charles violated Arkansas Crime Information Center rules against using its system for personal use when he asked a dispatcher to send a message to Fayetteville, the report said. Rogers Police Chief Steve Helms said Charles’’ position as head of the crime suppression unit is safe. ““There’’s no reason to change his assignment,”” because he was not demoted in rank, Helms said. Charles did not immediately return a message left on his office voicemail and there is no public phone listing in his name. Charles will not be paid during the suspension, which began Saturday. Four Arkansas Police Cadets Kicked Out Of Police Academy For Cheating May 25th, 2008 ROGERS, ARKANSAS – - Four law-enforcement cadets were dismissed Friday from the Northwest Arkansas training academy for cheating three weeks before graduation. A Benton County Sheriff’’s Office deputy, a Washington County Sheriff’’s Office deputy, a Bella Vista Police officer and a Farmington Police officer were dismissed from the academy after the cheating was discovered. The Benton County Sheriff’’s Office was notified on Friday a deputy in the Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy in Elm Springs copied answers from a weekly exam and gave the answers to three other cadets. Wade Porter, 37, of Gravette was fired from the sheriff’’s office Friday evening, said Capt. Mike Jones. Porter was with the department for a year as a field deputy. There are four remaining deputies attending the academy, Jones said. ““I was embarrassed”” and ““extremely disappointed,”” Jones said of the situation. ““We work hard to put the best people with this organization.”” The names of the other officers involved in incident were not released by their respective departments or the academy. The weekly exam consisted of topics ranging from auto theft, hate crimes, weapons of mass destruction and death notices, said Steve Farris, the deputy director of academic operations for the academy. The answer key was left on a lectern in the classroom of about eight cadets, an academy official said. Porter copied the answer key and gave it to two other cadets when the officer administering the exam stepped out the room. One of the cadets gave the answer key to a fourth cadet, Farris said. The academy is conducting an investigation into the cheating incident. The dismissed cadets have the right to appeal their termination with the Law Enforcement Standards and Training Commission, Farris said. No cadet has been caught cheating at the academy in Elm Springs, he added. The last termination he was involved in was in 1995 at the training academy in Camden, Farris recalled. A deputy with the Washington County Sheriff’’s Office and an officer with the Farmington and Bella Vista Police departments received the answers to the exam. The cadet with the Bella Vista Police is on administrative leave with pay, said Chief James Wozniak, adding he requested the incident report from the academy but hadn’’t received it as of Tuesday afternoon. Wozniak said it wasn’’t fair to comment on the situation until he saw the report. The cadet joined the department a month before attending the training academy. Previously the cadet worked a couple of years at the Benton County Jail, Wozniak said. The Washington County Sheriff’’s Office is conducting an investigation into the matter, said Kelly Cantrell, a public information officer. The deputy is on administrative leave with pay pending the outcome of the investigation, Cantrell said. There are about 11 deputies from the Washington County Sheriff’’s Office still at the academy. The Farmington Police cadet was fired Monday, said Chief Brian Hubbard. The cadet had been with the Farmington Police for about three months, Hubbard said. ““It’’s a sad situation,”” he added. ““I hate it for these guys. Honor and integrity goes a long ways. Being in this profession, you got to have honor and integrity.”” Bogus Charges Dropped Against Wetback Forgotten In Washington County Arkansas Courthouse Holding Cell For 4 Days Without Food, Water, Or Bathroom May 24th, 2008 FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS – A woman who was forgotten in a courthouse holding cell for four days without food or water will not be prosecuted on the charge that landed her in the system, a prosecutor said Tuesday. A charge of selling pirated recordings was dropped Monday after prosecutors were able to verify Adriana Torres-Flores’’ alibi, Deputy Prosecutor Mark Booher said. She claimed she was watching a booth for someone else when police raided the flea market and seized pirated CDs and DVDs. Torres-Flores, 38, pleaded not guilty in March, and Circuit Judge William Storey ordered her jailed because federal authorities had arrested her in December as an illegal immigrant. A bailiff locked her in a holding cell at the Washington County Courthouse but forgot to call deputies to drive her to the county jail. Court was canceled the next day —— Friday —— because of stormy weather, and the courthouse was closed over the weekend. No food, water or bathroom Torres-Flores had no food, water or access to a bathroom during that time. She was discovered when the work week resumed and treated at a hospital. The bailiff was suspended for 30 days without pay. Torres-Flores’’ attorney, Nathan Lewis, said his client and her family were pleased with the prosecutor’’s decision. ““She doesn’’t want to be in that courtroom again,”” he said. Torres-Flores, originally from Mexico, has lived in the United States for at least 15 years and has three children who are U.S. citizens. She is free on bond in the immigration case, and a hearing is scheduled in December, according to Philip Miller, a deputy field office director for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Bella Vista Arkansas Police Recruit Scott Vanatta Kicked Out Of Police Academy For Cheating – Chief Wozniak Backs Bad Cop May 24th, 2008 BELLA VISTA, ARKANSAS – Bella Vista’’s police chief said he plans to appeal on behalf of one of his officer who was accused of cheating and expelled from the Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy last week. Chief Jim Wozniak said he’’ll appeal officer Scott Vanatta’’s dismissal to the training academy’’s standards commission. ““I haven’’t seen a written report from the academy, but based on what Scott told me, absolutely, yes, we’’ll appeal on his behalf,”” Wozniak said Wednesday. Steve Farris, the academy’’s deputy director, said Vanatta and three other officers were dismissed from the academy after an incident Friday. The others were Benton County sheriff’’s deputy Wade Porter, Washington County sheriff’’s deputy John Staats and Farmington police officer A. J. Jefferson. Because of their expulsions, the four must wait two years before they can apply to return to the academy to become certified law officers in Arkansas. Either the officers or their departments can appeal to the Arkansas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Training. The expelled officers could not be reached for comment. Porter, who was fired from the Benton County sheriff’’s office Friday, copied answers to an unattended multiple-choice exam left in a classroom that morning at the Northwest Arkansas satellite of the academy in Elm Springs, Farris said. Porter gave the answers to Jefferson and Vanatta, who gave them to Staats, Farris said. Another officer in the class saw the cheating and reported it to staff, Farris said, who then con- ducted the investigation that led to the officers being dismissed. The off icers were three weeks from graduating from the 12-week program and becoming certified. ““We’’re just floored,”” Farris said. ““We don’’t [know ] why they did this. They weren’’t failing or struggling in the class. Besides it being an ethical lapse, you’’ve got a real lapse of judgment here.”” Farmington fired Jefferson, while Staats and Vanatta have been put on administrative leave with pay in their departments. The Washington County sheriff’’s office is conducting an internal investigation into Staats’’ involvement, spokesman Kelly Cantrell said. Officials at the Benton County sheriff’’s office and the Farmington Police Department didn’’t return calls. Farris said at least one of the officers contends he didn’’t use the answers but that the claim is moot. ““They get a handbook that says they promise not to cheat,”” he said. ““Whether or not they used the answers or received them, it violates the rules.”” He said the last time an officer was caught cheating was in 1995 at the main training academy in Camden. The Northwest Arkansas site opened in 2002. Farris said the teacher who left the answers unattended isn’’t in trouble. It’’s up to the officers to be ethical and police themselves, he said. Hempstead County Arkansas Deputy Sheriff Jeffrey Mayle Arrested, Fired, Charged With Rape May 23rd, 2008 HEMPSTEAD COUNTY, ARKANSAS – A Hempstead County reserve deputy was arrested on a charge of rape. He’’s identified as 47-year-old Jeffery Mayle. A Hempstead County woman told investigators she and her boyfriend had a fight, and that she got out of his car and started walking home. She says she was picked up by Deputy Mayle while walking along a stretch of Highway 355, near the Saratoga Schools. She told investigators that Mayle took her to Millwood Lake and asked her to perform a sexual act. The woman says she refused, but later complied. Mayle has been fired from his job. We’’re told he’’d been with the force since August of last year. After Returning Bribe Money, Carroll County Arkansas Sheriff Robert Grudek Wants Inmates To Pay For Food, Medical Expenses, And Room And Board May 18th, 2008 ROGERS ––The Carroll County Quorum Court passed an emergency ordinance to charge inmates for snack food, medical expenses and potentially room and board, officials say. The quorum court passed the ordinance on Nov. 16 to establish an account for each inmate in the Carroll County Jail to pay for snack food and clothing items through commissary and medical expenses, said Sheriff Robert Grudek. The ordinance allows the jail to charge convicted inmates a fee for being housed in the jail, Grudek said. It will be up to the district or circuit judge if the convicted inmate will have to pay, he added. Grudek said the only drawback to the ordinance is whether the judges will allow the jail to charge convicted inmates fees for housing. Before the program is implemented, Grudek said he wants to sit down with each judge and explain how it will work. Jail administrators are writing the standard operation procedures and waiting on equipment from Tiger, the commissary provider, Grudek said. The ordinance may not go into effect until the first of the year, he added. The medical costs alone for the jail can bankrupt the sheriff’’s office, Grudek said. He added it’’s a ““big expense”” on the county taxpayers to pay for inmates’’ medical costs. County Judge Richard Williams said the fees will come out of an inmate’’s pockets instead of the Carroll County taxpayers’’. If an inmate requires medical attention, whether visiting a dentist or doctor, the jail can charge the inmate a co-payment deducted out of their accounts. If the jail administers medicine, like aspirin, to an inmate, they can charge the inmate a fee, Grudek said. Establishing accounts will help the jail keep track of how much it spends on medical expenses, he said. This year, a female inmate gave birth to a child, which cost the taxpayers several thousand dollars in medical costs. Often, inmates who used methamphetamine are treated for dental problems and expenses can accumulate, Grudek added. An account is established for inmates once they are arrested. If an inmate has cash on him, it may be deposited during the booking process into the account. After that, friends and family can deposit money into an inmate’’s account by providing the jail with a money order. Transacting just money orders will eliminate any state audit problems that could arise from mishandling cash, Grudek said. Joe Lee Mills, justice of the peace, said he ““thinks”” inmates should ““pay their way.”” Mills added he hopes the program deters residents from committing crimes and winding up in the jail. While in the jail, inmates can call a toll-free number located in the holding pod and request any approved items on Tiger’’s list. The items will be deducted from the inmate’’s account and then delivered the next day in clear wrapping to the jail. Upon release from the jail, any remaining account balance will be credited back to the inmate in the form of a check, Grudek said. If an inmate has a negative balance, they are required to pay their fees while on probation or parole. The sheriff’’s office doesn’’t have any figures yet on how much money this ordinance will save the county, he added. Maj. Gene Drake with the Benton County Sheriff’’s Office said the jail doesn’’t operate a commissary now but did several years ago. Inmates receive their hygiene items, clothes and three cold meals a day from the jail, Drake said. Inmates can also have books without images and a trusty can have cigarettes. Calls to Cpl. Jak Kimball of the Washington County Sheriff’’s Office was not immediately returned on Thursday. INFOTEXT (must run) Fast Facts County Jail * The Benton County Jail receives $40 a day for federal inmates, $28 a day for state inmates and $32.50 a day for city agency inmates. The estimated cost to house a Benton County inmate for one day is $37.16. Benton County’’s jail can hold a maximum of 500 inmates and on Thursday was at 473. * The Carroll County Jail receives up to $40 a day for federal inmates, $28 a day for state inmates and $35 a day for county overflow inmates. The jail can house a maximum of 100 inmates and on average houses 70. Veteran Fort Smith Arkansas Police Officer Eric Lasiter Suspended For 30 Days – Facts Hidden From Taxpayers May 10th, 2008 FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS —— A Fort Smith police officer is serving a 30-day suspension after an internal investigation determined he violated a department regulation. Cpl. Eric Lasiter, an 11-year veteran working on the information desk, was suspended without pay as of May 2, according to a news release from the department. Lasiter had 10 days from the start of his suspension to appeal the action, which was taken by Police Chief Kevin Lindsey. Details of Lasiter’’s violation were not disclosed. Dumbass Alma Arkansas Police Officers Keep Residents Out Of Community Storm Shelter During Tornado Warning – Residents May Finally Have Access To Shelter Next Year May 9th, 2008 ALMA, ARKANSAS – Some residents in the area tried to take cover from the storms Wednesday night at a new community tornado shelter in Alma but found themselves locked out. Alma Tornado Shelters Locked During Wednesday’’s Tornado Warning City officials will be looking into procedures for operating the facility. About 20 people came to the shelter Wednesday night to take cover but ended up having to wait outside in the severe weather. Every Alma police officer has a key to the door, but by the time the doors were finally opened by someone else, the storm had already passed. This storm shelter was built last fall on the backside of Alma High School so residents would have a place to go when severe weather rolls through. ““The Alma Police Department has a key to it, and when the sirens sound, a police officer comes down here and unlocks the building,”” said Alma Superintendent David Woolly. But that is not what happened Wednesday night. ““You can’’t always count on an officer being close by, and they may be five minutes away, and you don’’t want that five-minute delay. You want it unlocked when the first person gets here,”” Woolly said. Wednesday night, Heather Barber and her three children were among those locked out, while police were busy tending to a wreck. ““If I knew it wasn’’t going to be open, I would have went somewhere else instead of waiting outside in the storm with my children,”” Barber said. Alma officials will be looking into a system that will automatically unlock the storm shelter when the sirens sound, officials said. Until then, residents will have to wait for someone with a key. ““In an emergency, there should be a plan or backup plan. There should be a well-thought-out plan, because it’’s an emergency!”” Barber said. Switching to the new system should be complete by this time next year, Alma officials said. West Memphis Arkansas Police Shoot And Kill Man With Taser Weapons After Hassling Him For Doing Nothing April 28th, 2008 WEST MEMPHIS, ARKANSAS – Police stopped Dewayne Chatt for loitering. When they were about to make the arrest the 38 year old ran into the Dodge’’s store across the street and locked himself in the managers office. Police ran after him and had to use a taser on him three times before finally getting him into custody. Just over an hour later, Chatt died while locked up in the Crittenden County Jail. ““If he did run from police, they didn’’t have to use excessive force by tasering him and then never giving him medical treatment,”” said Chatt’’s brother Michael. Chatt’’s family says excessive force caused dewayne’’s death. They believe the store’’s surveillance recordings will tell the whole story. ““We want to get the video tape of the actions of the officers so we can see all the people can see how unjustified and and how vigilante these officers are being in West Memphis.”” Meanwhile both the West Memphis Police and sheriff’’s departments have launched an investigation into how Chatt died. They are reviewing the video and waiting on the medical examiners report to determine what caused his death. ““Obviously any time anyone dies in our custody it is a huge concern of ours to make sure there wasn’’t any wrong doing here,”” said Investigator Thomas Martin. Chatt’’s arrest meanwhile is not his first. He has been locked up 12 times on everything from felony drug charges to his most recent stint for disorderly conduct. Chatt was released just yesterday on that charge, hours before he would return to jail where he died. His criminal past is irrelevant his family says as they now deal with his death. ““They in disarray. Everybody is shocked by this unlawful and unjustified homicide,”” said Michael Chatt. Innocent Man Still Facing Bogus Charges As North Little Rock Arkansas Police Attempt To Cover Up Their Wrongdoing During SWAT Raid That Turned Up Nothing – Officers Shot Man Defending His Home 5 Times April 26th, 2008 NORTH LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS – Interviewing the people in Tracy Ingle’’s life —— his sisters, his foster brother, his friends —— you hear one line often enough that it soon becomes a refrain: Tracy is no angel. Though all express their love and admiration for him —— a kind man; a man who can fix anything, they say —— they tend to tell you the bad things about him first. A recovering alcoholic, Ingle had a couple of DWIs several years back. When the Arkansas Times spoke to him, he was on house arrest for a 5-year-old failure-to-appear warrant. A car accident in Maryland in 2002 left him with degenerative disk disease in his back and what his sisters said is an addiction to pain killers —— though all of his pills are legally prescribed. Up until Christmas 2007, he had several roommates, many of whom had had recent run-ins with the law. Last year, he agreed to fix a stereo in a friend’’s Mustang —— a car that turned out to be hot —— and got arrested for receiving stolen merchandise. That case still hasn’’t shaken out. No matter what Ingle or those he gave a temporary home to may have done, however, it’’s hard to imagine he deserved what he got Jan. 7. That night, the North Little Rock SWAT team stormed Ingle’’s house on a high-risk, ““no-knock”” search warrant. By the time all was said and done, Ingle had been shot five times —— including one bullet that pulverized his femur and left his leg dangling from his body, connected only by a bloody mess of meat, skin and tendon. According to an evidence list left at Ingle’’s house after the shooting, no suspected drugs or drug residue were recovered from the residence —— only a digital scale, a notebook and a few plastic baggies, all of which Ingle’’s family members have identified as part of the junk they had collectively stored at the house. It might seem strange, then, that Ingle currently stands accused of several serious felonies —— including two counts of aggravated assault. While the North Little Rock police insist they got a dangerous criminal off the streets, Ingle and his family say the charges are all about appearances —— and covering the police. Tracy Ingle’’s biggest problem, those who know him say, is that he just can’’t say no. For five years now, Ingle has lived in a rambling, hand-me-down house on East 21st Street in North Little Rock. The place used to belong to his sister’’s godfather —— has at one time or another been home to nearly all his kin. In recent years, however, as the neighborhood took a rough turn and family moved away, the house became storage and catch-all for Ingle’’s entire clan, the upstairs full of boxes, baby clothes, knick-knacks and Tracy’’s prodigious collection of ham radio gear. A former stonemason who worked federal contracts in D.C. before he hurt his back, Ingle led a hand-to-mouth existence even before he was shot, repairing electronics and doing odd jobs for money. As someone who knows what it is to be down and out, he’’s always been an easy touch, his family says, for those looking to crash at his place long term. They say Ingle would take in nearly anyone with a hard luck story; a situation that even he admits led to a lot of shady characters hanging around the house. Before Christmas, before he put most of them out, there were five full-time roommates living in the house, including a cousin who had recently gotten out of jail after serving time for making meth. As it happened, Ingle was home alone on the night of Jan. 7, when his life went from bad to worse. Earlier that evening, he’’d had an argument with his sometime girlfriend, Sandra Melby. She’’d gone to her friend’’s house in Greenbrier for the night. Around dusk, the night coming on cold, Ingle went back to his bedroom —— a small 10-by-10 room at the rear of the house —— and lay down on the bed to watch television. With the bedroom light still on, he dozed off in the big cannonball post bed that faced the window. At around the same time, things were in synchronized motion at the North Little Rock Police Department. Acting on a warrant signed almost three weeks before —— Dec. 21, 2007 —— by North Little Rock Judge Randy Morley, the NLR SWAT team was gearing up and getting ready to roll on one of the most dangerous things in their job description: a no-knock warrant. Conceived during the Nixon administration, the no-knock warrant —— and the use of militarized Special Weapons and Tactics teams to execute them —— came of age during the drug wars of the 1980s. The rationale behind no-knocks and using SWAT to serve them was simple: As the criminals became more savvy and well-armed, serving drug warrants demanded the element of surprise, and a more well-armed show of force. Given that it’’s a case that has yet to be prosecuted, it should be noted that the North Little Rock Police Department says it is limited in what it can say about Ingle’’s case at this point. There are obvious questions. In the warrant obtained to search the house at 400 E. 21st St., a copy of which was obtained by the Arkansas Times, police say they believe the house in question contained ““crack cocaine.”” That description has been carefully scribbled out, with ““methamphetamine”” written in above and initialed by Judge Randy Morley. According to an affidavit signed by NLRPD narcotics investigator Mickey Schuetzle, narcotics had been sold from the residence. In that document, Schuetzle doesn’’t elaborate on who sold him the narcotics, what was sold, or when. It’’s a fast drive from the North Little Rock Police Department on Main Street to Ingle’’s house, situated on a dead end of East 21st Street, just a few blocks away. The SWAT wagon was there by 7:40 p.m. The movements of the officers once they left the truck had been planned out long beforehand. One team went to the front door on the north side with a battering ram while others took up positions along the perimeter of the house —— including two officers outside Ingle’’s chest-high bedroom window on the west side. As you might expect, there are differences in account of what happened in the explosive next 10 seconds or so. A place that cherishes both its guns and the sanctity of a man’’s home, Arkansas is one of many states that has enshrined some version of the Defense of Premises Doctrine in its laws. It is, simply put, the right to defend your home without fear of prosecution, up to and including killing an intruder who has made forcible entry. It’’s an idea that is dangerously at odds with the concept of no-knock search warrants, says Radley Balko, senior editor of Reason magazine. A former fellow at the Cato Institute, a Washington, D.C., libertarian think tank, Balko did some of the early research into the use of no-knock warrants and militarized police units. Over and over again, Balko said, he sees cases where a SWAT team breaches a house, the homeowner exercises his right to defend his home, and either an officer or the homeowner is killed or injured. The only difference is that when it’’s a cop who gets shot, the private citizen nearly always winds up in jail. ““The dichotomy is very striking,”” Balko said. ““Here you have these violent, confrontational raids where the police are breaking into someone’’s home…… You can understand how the officers might make a mistake. But the person on the receiving end of things —— woken up in the middle of the night, usually by flash-bang grenades which are designed to confuse people —— if they make a mistake, then they’’re held accountable and are usually charged pretty severely.”” Balko said that the rise of the SWAT team has largely been in response to the fear that inner city drug dealers and other criminals have amassed hordes of automatic weaponry to use on police (by contrast, he said, the National Institute of Justice has found that the overwhelming majority of gun crimes were committed using small-caliber, easily concealed handguns). Originally conceived in huge, high-crime cities like Los Angeles, tactical teams have since spread to almost every police department that can afford one, and have often been accompanied by a corresponding militarized mentality —— one that can trickle down even to the rank-and-file officers on the street. It’’s easy to see why. Highly trained and armed to the teeth, often given the most dangerous assignments, being a SWAT officer is about as close to being Batman as most cops are ever going to get: decked out in ninja black, identities hidden from evildoers, with a utility belt full of the latest tactical gadgets. Even so, Balko said, many older police officers he knows are suspicious of the new breed of gung-ho cops who gravitate toward SWAT —— and the us-versus-them mentality an overly militarized police force can create. ““We’’re giving these cops military equipment,”” Balko said. ““We’’re giving them military training in military tactics, and then we send them out and tell them they’’re fighting a war on drugs. It shouldn’’t surprise us at all when they start to treat public streets like a battlefield and private citizens like enemy combatants.”” While Balko said there are legitimate uses for SWAT teams —— hostage situations, armed and violent suspects and the like —— those moments are few and far between, even in cities much larger than North Little Rock. Because tactical teams are expensive to train and equip, that has led many police departments to put them on search warrant duty rather than see them sit idle for years at a time. That’’s exactly the wrong thing to do, Balko said, both for cops and suspects. ““When you’’re sending SWAT teams in after low-level drug users, you’’re creating violence,”” he said. ““You’’re creating a confrontation where there wasn’’t one before.”” No matter what neighborhood you live in, no matter what your rap sheet looks like, try to imagine it: Coming awake in your house, in the middle of the night, to the sound of someone breaking in. What would your first reaction be? ““The only thing I heard was breaking glass,”” Tracy Ingle said. Asleep in his bed when the window directly opposite came crashing in, Ingle’’s first instinct was to reach for the pistol he kept by his bedside —— a cheap Lorcin automatic. Having never been convicted of a felony, it was perfectly legal for him to have the gun; perfectly legal for him to use it to defend his home against intruders. He had bought it a few years before, he said, because of how bad the neighborhood had gotten. His house had been broken into in the past. A few months before, at a store only a few blocks away on Main Street, a robbery had turned into a shootout, and two people had been killed. Even so, Ingle couldn’’t have shot anyone with the gun even if he’’d wanted to. Years before, someone had pounded the wrong clip into the gun and jammed something inside. Ingle and his foster brother, Eric Nelson, say it couldn’’t even chamber a round, much less fire. A second after he sat up, Ingle said, the room ““kind of filled up with light,”” and he could see the officers outside the window, in their black helmets and body armor. ““I could see that they weren’’t robbers, so I threw the gun down,”” Ingle said. ““A second later, I heard one of the police officers say, ‘‘He’’s got a fucking gun’’…… I could hear him turning in the leaves, and as soon as he turned, he turned around and started shooting.”” This is where Ingle’’s story and that of the two officers involved diverge. The officers, identified only as ““Victim 1”” and ““Victim 2”” in a NLRPD investigation report concerning the shooting, both told investigators that Ingle was sitting up and bed and pointing the gun in their faces when they raked away the sheet covering the window, giving them no choice but to open fire. Ingle, meanwhile, says that the gun was already on the floor, and he was in the process of raising his hands when the shooting started. Whatever the case, the first shot that hit Tracy Ingle was devastating —— most likely a high-velocity .223 round, given the damage it inflicted. The bullet entered Ingle’’s leg just above the left kneecap and blew his thigh apart. Surgeons would later replace a large chunk of Ingle’’s femur with a stainless steel rod. He knew he had been shot, Ingle said, and his first instinct was to try to get off the bed —— away from the window, at least, where the two officers were now pouring fire into the room. As Ingle tried, he got tangled up in the blankets and his ruined leg folded under him, the shattered bone grating inside. He fell to the floor in agony. As he fell, the officers outside the window kept shooting, hitting him four more times —— arm, calf, hip and chest. The round that hit him in the chest is still there, too close to his heart to be removed. Days later, Ingle’’s brother, Eric, would dig four more bullets out of a space heater that was only a foot from where Ingle’’s head lay, and spackle up nine bullet holes in the wall over Tracy’’s bed. Some of those rounds had gone completely through and into the bathroom on the other side of the wall, two of them blowing ragged holes through both sides of a plywood shelf. Finally, the shooting stopped. ““After that,”” Ingle said, ““all the police rushed in, and were standing over me and calling me Michael. They kept calling me Michael or Mike, and I wouldn’’t answer them. One of them asked me why I wouldn’’t answer them, and I said, ‘‘My name’’s not Mike.’’ I don’’t remember much after that except them taking me out of the house to an ambulance.”” Brandy Hoover is Tracy Ingle’’s sister. She happens to be a surgical nurse at Baptist Health Hospital in North Little Rock, where her brother was taken after the shooting. Like most of her family, Hoover learned about the shooting from the nightly news. She and Ingle had had a falling out some weeks before the shooting, over what she calls the untrustworthy people he was involved with. After the shooting, however, she visited her brother’’s hospital room any time she could. As someone who deals every day with stringent patient confidentiality laws including HIPAA —— the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, under which a person can be fined and even imprisoned for releasing details of a patient’’s medical records —— Hoover said she was shocked when, after her brother was released from the hospital after a week and a half in ICU, he was picked up by detectives from the North Little Rock Police Department —— along with all his paperwork, instructions and medication prescriptions. ““When he was discharged, he was discharged to them because they were right there,”” Hoover said. ““I found out later that they had been calling up there every day finding out his status —— which is a huge HIPAA violation. They knew before I knew. They were waiting on him.”” Still wearing hospital scrubs and in a wheelchair, Ingle was taken to North Little Rock Police Department, where he said he was questioned for around six hours, without his pain medication. During the questioning, he says he was never told that he was under arrest, or even that he was suspected of anything. ““The fella that was talking to me said that he was Internal Affairs,”” Ingle said. ““He gave me the impression that he was trying to learn about the shooting and everything that had happened. When he was done, he told me that they were going to put me in jail and he would give it to the prosecutor or whoever, and they would decide what the charges were going to be.”” For his part, North Little Rock Police Chief Danny Bradley said that he has investigated concerns by Ingle’’s family that he was denied his medication or otherwise mistreated while being questioned. ““I have not been able to determine that any of them are substantiated,”” Bradley said, noting that at one time, Ingle’’s sister Tiffney Forrester was claiming that there had been federal marshals at the hospital the night of the shooting. ““There were no federal officers at the hospital,”” Bradley said. ““I’’m satisfied that he was treated in a legal and civil manner and was not mistreated at all.”” After questioning, Ingle was taken to the Pulaski County Jail, where he would stay for the next four days. At the hospital, nurses had told him that his bandages needed to be changed and his wounds cleaned out with antibiotic wash every four to six hours in order to avoid infection. ““The whole time I was there, they only changed them twice,”” he said. ““They just locked me in a room and left me.”” Ingle said his pain medication and antibiotics were never given to him —— when he was released, he was told the prescriptions had been lost. He later told Forrester that the only medical treatment he received the whole time he was in the jail was having his bandages changed twice and an admonishment to not go into the showers because ““he’’d probably get gangrene.”” Infection soon set up in all his wounds. Charged with operating a drug premises, possession of drug paraphernalia (a digital scale and plastic baggies that belonged to his sister, both Ingle and Forrester say —— the baggies leftovers from Forrester’’s jewelry-making hobby, the scale a freebie from the animal testing lab where she once worked), and two counts of aggravated assault, for making the officers who shot him fear for their lives, Ingle was brought before a judge whose name he doesn’’t recall for a bond hearing on Sunday. According to Ingle, the judge told him that because he’’d had a shootout with police, he was setting his bond at $250,000. Ingle’’s family, who had been putting together money for Ingle’’s bail in anticipation of his bond hearing, was crushed. ““My immediate reaction was nausea,”” Brandy Hoover said. ““Who on earth can come up with that kind of money? Even at 10 percent [for a bail bond], people aren’’t walking around with that kind of money. It was insane…… All I can remember thinking is, they’’ve got him, and we’’re never going to get him back.”” Eventually, however, the family was able to cut a deal with a local bail bondsman. Between them, they scraped together $5,000 cash and the deed to some property, sold Ingle’’s Jeep, and finally got him out of jail. While his wounds have closed, the months since the shooting have been hard on Ingle and his whole family. Ingle’’s mother suffered a heart attack while trying to come in from Pittsburgh to see him. He has struggled with depression and constant pain, and has lost weight because he can’’t bring himself to eat. For weeks, Ingle’’s brother, Eric, stopped by every day and knocked. Though he knew Ingle had to be inside because of the tracking bracelet, Ingle just stopped answering for awhile. After over a month of trying through his sisters and brother, the Arkansas Times finally got Ingle to talk about the shooting, the man who came to the door was famine-thin and hollow-eyed —— even skinnier now than when we last saw him at court, stooped and hobbling on a pair of crutches. It’’s not that he didn’’t want to talk to us, he apologized. There was just a period of time there when he didn’’t want to talk to anybody. ““It’’s just like being in jail,”” he said. ““It’’s just a different jail cell, I guess. When I was first out of the hospital, I couldn’’t get up and leave anywhere, hardly. Now, I can’’t leave.”” As he told his family, Ingle still insists that he threw the gun down the moment he saw that the intruders were police —— and before the shooting started. Even so, he said a person reaching for a weapon in a situation like that shouldn‘‘t give police the automatic right to shoot. ““I don’’t feel like I did anything wrong,”” Ingle said. ““You have the right to protect your house. I didn’’t know who they were. To me, it looks like the only reason the charges were brought was to cover their own ass.”” Like many of his family members, Ingle said that he’’s sure that if the North Little Rock Police Department wants to see him convicted on the charges he’’s accused of, he’’ll likely be convicted. Still, Ingle said he doesn’’t hold a grudge against the two police officers for shooting him. ““They were just here doing their job,”” he said. ““It’’s a tough job to have to go to somebody’’s house and have to come through a window or break down a door. You never know what’’s in there. But I feel like, if I had time to think about throwing the gun down, they had time to think about whether or not to shoot me.”” Sulphur Springs Arkansas Police Chief Andrew Little Fired, Sgt. Jeremiah Nicholson Forced To Quit – Dumbass Chief Stole Stepfather’’s Guns, Pawned Them, And Lied April 24th, 2008 SULPHUR SPRINGS, ARKANSAS – Sulphur Springs is minus two police officers after the termination of the chief and the resignation of another officer. On Wednesday night, Mayor Quinton Hoffer informed the Sulphur Springs Town Council of his decision to terminate Police Chief Andrew Little from his position. Little was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of stealing guns owned by his stepfather. Little turned himself in to the Benton County Jail and was released on a felony citation. Hoffer told the council he had spoken with Little, who was supposed to come to City Hall and turn in his resignation. Hoffer said he waited for Little, but after he did not bring his resignation, Hoffer said he terminated Little and retrieved his patrol car and equipment. Hoffer also asked another officer – Sgt. Jeremiah Nicholson – to resign because of his connection to the case. Hoffer told council members he felt the decision concerning Nicholson was the correct move. Nicholson did resign his position, Hoffer said. The council voted unanimously to accept Little’’s termination and Hoffer’’s resignation. According to a probable cause affidavit in the case, in early March, Little told his stepfather, Richard Cummins, that the house the two shared with Nicholson had been burglarized. Little told Cummins five of his weapons had been stolen, according to the affidavit. Cummins was out of the state on business at the time. Little first claimed the alleged thief had been arrested but that the guns were being held by the Fort Smith Police Department until after the case went to court on April 18. Cummins told police that, after returning home, he had discovered a sixth and seventh gun were also missing. Little told Cummins the guns were in a Sulphur Springs evidence locker and could not yet be returned, according to the affidavit. Cummins listed the following guns as missing: a Winchester 12-gauge pump shotgun, a Winchester Model 63. 22 single shot, three USAFA. 45 caliber pistols, a Remington Model 660. 309 bolt-action rifle and a Winchester 670. 270 caliber rifle. Cummins checked with Fort Smith police, who had no record of the missing guns, according to court documents. He then reported the incident to Gentry police. On April 19, police placed a recording device on Cummins and recorded his conversation with Little, who told Cummins the guns were in the custody of the Sebastian County Sheriff’’s Office and would be returned at the end of the month, according to court documents. Police recovered the weapons Tuesday at Pawn U. S. A. in Centerton and Big Brothers Pawn in Bentonville, according to the affidavit. Little confessed that he had told Nicholson that the guns were his (Little’’s ) and asked Nicholson to take the guns to the pawn shops, the affidavit states. Little’’s termination and Nicholson’’s resignation mean that the town has no certified law-enforcement officers. Joshua Merredith is a fulltime officer, and Brian Smith, who is part time, are currently in the academy. Hoffer told the council that he asked former Police Chief Tommy Sizemore about replacing Little, but Hoffer said the position needs to be advertised. Hoffer wanted the council’’s input whether to ask Sizemore to fill the position on a temporary basis or accept Benton County Sheriff Keith Ferguson’’s offer for deputies to cover the town. The council went into administrative session concerning Sizemore and later voted in favor of deputies covering the town until new Sulphur Springs officers are hired. Arkansas Attorney Cindy Baker Found In Contempt Of Court, Again…… April 22nd, 2008 GREEN FOREST, ARKANSAS —— Attorney Cindy Baker was found guilty of contempt of court in Green Forest City Court Friday, March 21, for missing a previous court date. According to court documents, Judge Scott Jackson presided over the hearing in which he found Baker guilty of the misdemeanor offense, and ordered her to pay a $150 fine and $50 in court costs. Jackson could not be reached for comment. Baker is facing a similar charge in Berryville District Court. Judge Kent Crow charged her with contempt arising from her Jan. 15 continuance request, in which she reportedly said she would be delayed in St. Louis, Mo., awaiting court action there and would not be able to attend proceedings in his court the following day. Crow claims Baker was issued a speeding citation near Huntsville on the day she was to be in his court and misrepresented her ability to be in his court to represent her clients, a charge she denies. That case is to be heard in Berryville on April 28. Carroll County Arkansas Sheriff Bob Grudek’’s Roadblock Plan To Check For Misdemeanor Warrants Halted By Court April 21st, 2008 CARROLL COUNTY, ARKANSAS —— Sheriff Bob Grudek’’s plan to use checkpoints to help rein in more than 3,000 outstanding misdemeanor warrants for failure to appear, failure to pay and violation of hot check laws was halted by an appeals court procedural ruling announced on the same day Grudek made his checkpoint announcement. ““The use of checkpoints in making misdemeanor warrant arrests is now on hold until all the research is completed regarding this matter,”” Grudek said. ““But not having the use of the checkpoints, which was to be a joint operation between our deputies and the Arkansas State Police, won’’t stop us from making arrests for failure to appear or failure to pay,”” Grudek cautioned. Most misdemeanor warrant arrests are made during traffic stops. ““But as long as we have addresses and other information as to their whereabouts, we’’ll continue to pursue them,”” Grudek said. Last Friday, Aug. 24, the Arkansas Democrat Gazette reported the Arkansas Court of Appeals, citing a section of Rule 7.1 of the Arkansas Rules of Criminal Procedures, said issuing warrants violates a procedural rule requiring only summonses be issued for non-violent offenses. The Court said the rule also applies to misdemeanor offenders who normally would respond to summonses. The ruling stems from a Miller County case in which Michael Lee Johnson, a Texarkansan, wound up being charged with drug offenses after his arrest on an outstanding misdemeanor warrant. The Court overturned his conviction on the basis of the Rule 7.1 section and said Johnson ““demonstrated that he was illegally arrested.”” Johnson was arrested during a traffic stop on a misdemeanor warrant charging him with operating a business that sells drug paraphernalia. That provided officers with enough evidence to obtain a search warrant. A quantity of methamphetamine was seized and led to his arrest and conviction for possession with intent to sell. The Court’’s ruling spared him a 10-year prison sentence. The Attorney General’’s office asked the Arkansas Supreme Court to review the appellate decision, declaring the matter a significant one for law enforcement officials. ““The significance of this issue to law enforcement officials cannot be overstated,”” David Raupp, the state’’s senior Attorney General, wrote in a brief imploring the high court to review the case, the ADG reported. Meanwhile, back in Carroll County, Sheriff Grudek appears to be evaluating the situation in terms of income to the county. In the Aug. 24 issue of the Carroll County News he said ““There are more than 5,000 outstanding warrants, each worth about $300. That’’s $3.5 million. And there’’s another $500,000 in uncollectible fine payments.”” Faulkner County Arkansas Circuit Court Judge Rhonda Wood And Prosecutor Marcus Vaden In Pissing Contest Over Mishandling Of Teens Incarceration – 10 Months Behind Bars Becomes 14 Months In Court Order Mixup April 16th, 2008 FAULKNER COUNTY, ARKANSAS – Since Thursday afternoon, Circuit Judge Rhonda Wood and Prosecuting Attorney Marcus Vaden have filed court documents compelling one another to take responsibility in the apparent mishandling of an 18-year-old’’s incarceration sentence for second-degree battery. Failure to comply with either request could in theory result in the jailing of Wood, or of the deputy prosecutor who handled the case for Vaden. Wood wrote in an eight-point press release sent Wednesday that when she deals in adult criminal court the prosecutor’’s office, and not her own, has always prepared the type of judgment form that was necessary to send Myles Lenard Taft Jr. to the Arkansas Department of Correction in 2007, and on Thursday afternoon Wood filed an order instructing the same deputy prosecutor to produce the needed judgment and commitment order by 3 p.m., or to else show up at court and ““show cause”” as to ““why it is not prepared.”” Taft was sentenced by Wood in March 2007 to five years’’ ADC, though he wrote in a letter to Circuit Clerk Rhonda Long on March 20, ““I have been sitting here since Feb. 26, 2007, waiting to go to ADC. So altogether I have been waiting a year and (six weeks).”” According to Taft, he pleaded guilty under the impression that he was ““supposed to do no more than 10 months,”” though Faulkner County has paid for and facilitated his incarceration for about 14 months now. Vaden and Wood have indicated in interviews that they would hate to place a blanket of blame on the deputy prosecutor who tried Taft in a March 2007 probation revocation hearing, for the justice system’’s unusual failure to send the man to ADC. Both Vaden and Wood have asked that the deputy’’s name stay out of stories regarding Taft’’s habeas corpus suit at civil court against Sheriff Karl Byrd in his official capacity. The civil case against Byrd says, ““There is no allegation that Byrd has committed any wrongdoing,”” and blames Wood for producing an order that ADC officials can’’t legally accept. Wood, however, whose press release maintained that either the prosecutor’’s or public defender’’s offices were to blame for neglecting to ask her court for relief in the criminal matter, cited the same deputy in writing and ordered Vaden’’s employee to file a judgment and commitment order in Taft’’s criminal case, or else to explain in person why it hasn’’t been filed. Vaden said Friday he takes umbrage with the order because, typically, when an attorney is served an ““order to produce or show cause,”” the attorney can be held in contempt of court and be arrested should he not comply. Vaden said he saw the order as an unnecessary shot at his deputy instead of the elected prosecutor himself. More so, according to Vaden, the order was redundant, since Vaden had already personally agreed to file the judgment and commitment order and to be done with Taft’’s criminal case. ““Judge Wood told us, and we agreed: ‘‘I think if we just get a (judgment and commitment) order, and we take care of it and what have you, then this will be the end of it.’’ So I told her that we’’ll get that order corrected and do it right,”” said Vaden, whose deputy according to Wood in an interview on Tuesday allegedly failed to file the order after Wood says she ordered the deputy to prepare it during Taft’’s revocation hearing on March 14, 2007. Vaden said Friday, ““We had gone and we listened to this recording of the hearing, and then when I hear it, I say, ‘‘Well, no judge, you didn’’t order somebody to prepare that order. And I said, ‘‘OK, we’’ll get you an order here in a little bit. And (Wood) said, ‘‘Well, I don’’t know why you can’’t get one in about 20 minutes.’’ And I said, ‘‘We’’ve got court, we’’ve got other stuff to do and we’’ve got one of our legal assistants out.’’ But I told her, ‘‘I’’ll get you one today.’’ And so we all left. I’’m thinking this thing’’s fine and will be over with: Much ado about nothing. ““And around 1 p.m. (Thursday) Judge Wood serves an order to produce on my deputy. Not on me, but on my deputy over there to bring to Judge Wood this order by 3 p.m, or to show up and do a show cause and explain why it is not prepared.”” ““Judge Wood should’’ve served it on me,”” Vaden said. ““Because I’’m the one that was over there, and I’’m the attorney for the state, not a deputy. And if Judge Wood’’s going to do that, there’’s a procedure a judge needs to go through. A judge doesn’’t have the authority anytime they want something done, anywhere, anytime at the grocery store or whatever, to just issue an order that the rest of us just follow. ““But that’’s what she did.”” In response on Friday, Vaden filed a subpoena ordering Wood to appear and testify at Circuit Judge David Clark’’s court in a habeas corpus hearing scheduled for 1:30 p.m., Monday, in regard to Taft’’s civil case against the sheriff’’s office. Vaden also filed a motion to produce transcript which Clark granted that orders Wood’’s court reporter ““to provide an official, certified copy”” of the March 14, 2007, revocation hearing proceedings, which, according to Vaden, depict Wood actually asking the deputy prosecutor or others in the courtroom if a second order needed to be filed. Vaden says the judge and deputy prosecutor suffered a conversational misunderstanding during the revocation hearing. ““The transcript doesn’’t ever show that she ordered us to prepare an order,”” Vaden said. ““What happened was, Judge Wood says that for juvenile court they do two orders: One order instantly, and they do another order later. Well that’’s not the way we do it in adult court, and we never have. Taft was originally tried (in 2005) as an adult under Judge (Linda) Collier, who was fourth division circuit judge before Wood. ““So the problem was, I had a new deputy over there, and Judge Wood was new, and when you listen to the tape what you hear is Judge Wood making her ruling, and you can hear her typing on the tape, and then she hands this order over for them to file it like they do in her juvenile cases. And then she says, ‘‘Is there a second order that needs to be done? Does anybody know if there’’s a second order that needs to be done?’’ My deputy says, ‘‘Judge, no, I don’’t think there’’s another order that needs to be done,’’ because (the deputy) is used to us having the orders, and us preparing the orders. We (in adult criminal court) don’’t do two orders. ““We do the judgment and commitment, then after the trial, or if it’’s a plea, we have the orders there. So my deputy I know is thinking, ‘‘There’’s not a second order, and I assume the judge knows what she’’s doing because she just did the order.’’ It’’s an honest mistake.”” Vaden said of Wood, who didn’’t return phone calls on Friday, ““If I were her, I’’d want to come and vindicate myself, and that’’s what I’’m trying to do, is give her the opportunity to explain this order. When she has this order, and has this guy sentenced to five years in ADC, but then she says she’’s going to have him on electronic monitor requirements, and to comply with terms of probation or what have you, I want her to explain what happened: What is your recollection on what happened? What was I supposed to do? When are you ordering me to produce this second order? Where is this stuff?”” Woman Testifies In Fomrer Bentonville Arkansas Firefighter’’s Rape Trial April 15th, 2008 BENTONVILLE, ARKANSAS – Testimony continues today in a rape trial against a former Bentonville firefighter accused of forcing a woman to have sex in December 2006. Kevin Thomasson resigned from the Bentonville Fire Department after his arrest Jan. 25, 2007. Thomasson faces up to life in prison if convicted by the eight-man, four-woman jury in the courtroom of Benton County Circuit Judge David Clinger. The victim testified Tuesday that Thomasson came to her house unannounced one evening after the two had been arguing off and on by phone for several hours. She had just gone to bed. Thomasson argued with her, forced her to have sex, slapped her and spit on her face – then left her home, she testified. Thomasson was angry she lied to him earlier in the day because she was trying to hide the fact another man delivered a table to her home, she testified. She didn’’t want to tell Thomasson because he tended to be jealous and controlling, she said. After the woman testified about the alleged rape, she was grilled for more than an hour by defense attorney Kristin Pawlik, who wanted to know why the woman didn’’t tell anyone about the incident for three days – and first did so after drinking alcohol at a New Year’’s Eve event. The woman also didn’’t tell police about the incident for five days. The woman did speak to a police officer one day later, at the urging of a friend, but claimed only that Thomasson hurt and bruised her. That night in December, Thomasson wasn’’t on duty for the fire department. He was working a second job for a patient-transfer service. He was on his phone while at the woman’’s house, handling a dispute about which team would drive to Little Rock for a call. No more than 10 minutes elapsed between calls Thomasson made during the 9 p.m. hour, Pawlik told the jury. After Thomasson left the woman’’s home, ““She didn’’t call anyone that night. She went to bed, didn’’t shower, slept on that bed where she said he raped her,”” Pawlik told the jury. ““More than 24 hours after she says this happened, she does talk to a police officer, a friend of the family, but she doesn’’t mention sexual contact.”” The woman’’s account of the events are implausible, Pawlik said. Deputy Prosecutors Stephanie McLemore and Mike Armstrong must convince the jury that Thomasson had sex with the woman by forcible compulsion. Pawlik did not say whether Thomasson will testify. He has denied the allegation. Thomasson resigned from the Bentonville Fire Department the day after his arrest. He began full-time work there in July 2001 and was previously a part-time firefighter there and a lieutenant for the Pea Ridge Fire Department. Grandfather Sues Arkansas State Police Trooper After Bogus Arrest For Not Showing Identification – Federal Court Of Appeals Rules That Innocent Individuals Do Not Have To Produce ID For Cops April 10th, 2008 LITTLE ROCK, AR – A police officer does not have the authority to arrest someone for refusing to identify himself when he is not suspected of committing a crime, a federal appeals panel ruled Friday. The decision by a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis reversed an Arkansas federal judge’’s ruling and ordered a new hearing in a Benton County man’’s lawsuit challenging his arrest for refusing to show his identification during a traffic stop. ““It is amazing how many times I have had people convicted for doing the same thing,”” said Rogers attorney Doug Norwood. ““You have to have a reasonable suspicion that the individual person is either committing a crime or about to.”” Norwood filed the original lawsuit on behalf of Richard M. Stufflebeam of Lowell. Stufflebeam was a passenger in his grandson’’s car in May 2003 when the vehicle was stopped by a state trooper. The driver was not issued a citation during the traffic stop. When Trooper Jeff W. Harris asked the grandfather for identification, he told the officer he did not have to show any ID. ““It was an afterthought,”” Norwood said. ““The officer asked Mr. Stufflebeam for his ID and he said ‘‘no.’’”” The trooper ““returned to his vehicle and requested backup,”” the court said. ““When two additional officers arrived, Harris asked Stufflebeam to exit the vehicle,”” the ruling said, adding that Stufflebeam was handcuffed and placed in the back of the trooper’’s cruiser. He was taken to jail and charged with obstructing governmental operations. The prosecutor’’s office later dismissed the charge in district court and Stufflebeam filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Harris, alleging the trooper had no probable cause to arrest him. U.S. District Court Judge Jimm Hendren dismissed the lawsuit, ruling the trooper had qualified immunity as a police officer and that Stufflebeam failed to state a claim. Stufflebeam appealed to the 8th Circuit. In its ruling Friday, the federal court panel referenced a 2004 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that ““an officer may not arrest a suspect for failure to identify himself if the request for identification is not reasonably related to the circumstances justifying the stop.”” There was no evidence Stufflebeam was trying to obstruct justice when he refused to identify himself, the appeals court said. ““Thus, the primary question …… is whether Arkansas law permits a police officer to arrest a person for refusing to identify himself when he is not suspected of other criminal activity and his identification is not needed to protect officer safety or to resolve whatever reasonable suspicions prompted the officer to initiate an ongoing traffic stop. We conclude it does not,”” the court said. The court also said the state trooper did not have qualified immunity from the lawsuit under state statute. Qualified immunity protects public officials ““from liability for civil damages insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have,”” the court said, adding that the trooper ““acted contrary to the plain meaning”” of the state statute. Berryville Arkansas Lawyer Cindy Baker Cited For Contempt After Lying To Judge April 5th, 2008 BERRYVILLE, AR —— A lawyer in Berryville has been cited with contempt of court by a district judge who said she lied about why she couldn’’t be in court. On Jan. 15, Cindy Baker told Gerald Kent Crow, judge for Carroll County’’s eastern district, that she was stuck in St. Louis waiting to argue a case before the 8 th U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals, records in the contempt case show. Crow granted Baker a delay in several of her cases set for the next day in his court, a Wednesday. According to a notice of contempt, a trooper cited Baker for speeding the morning of Jan. 16 in Northwest Arkansas, so Crow called the appeals court in St. Louis to investigate. He learned from staff there that Baker had finished her argument the day before by 1 10 a.m. —— 4 / 2 hours before she called Crow to cancel her next day’’s cases, according to the notice. Crow cited Baker with contempt —— a Class C misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a $ 100 fine. Then, in a Jan. 22 letter he asked the Arkansas Administrative Office of the Courts to appoint another judge. ““Her conduct is so serious I doubt my ability to hear the matter impartially,”” Crow wrote. ““I believe she deliberately lied to me, and her conduct is so egregious that I would impose penalties that might exceed what another judge would consider reasonable.”” The Administrative Office of the Courts appointed Benton County West District Judge Jeff Conner to hear the case and Benton County Prosecuting Attorney Van Stone to pursue it. Trial is April 28. Baker’’s attorney, Jeff Rosenzweig of Little Rock, wrote in a motion that Baker was told she had to stay at the appeals court Jan. 15 after she finished her oral arguments. Baker, who ran unsuccessfully for Carroll County prosecutor in 2006, was given the information by someone she believed was an appeals court employee, Rosenzweig said. ““This was a good faith reliance by Cindy Baker made to her by a person she believe to be associated with the court,”” Rosenzweig said. ““As it turns out, Cindy Baker was not the person they were looking for, but she didn’’t know it at the time.”” Calls to Baker’’s law office weren’’t answered Friday. About the time Crow asked for a different judge to be assigned, Rosenzweig filed a motion asking Crow to recuse. Rosenzweig wrote in a motion that, by personally investigating the matter, Crow has demonstrated bias. ““…… [H ] e’’s already found facts, and the proceedings are mere formalities to deal with punishment,”” the motion states. Crow wrote in the notice that Baker’’s actions violated Rule 3. 3 of the Arkansas Model Rules of Professional Conduct. The rule calls for ““candor toward tribunal.”” Rosenzweig said the contempt charge will likely draw the attention of the Arkansas Supreme Court’’s Committee on Professional Conduct. ““The committee will look at it, but what, if anything, they do will depend on in part on what happens in the contempt case,”” he said. ““If she’’s exonerated, they will likely do nothing.”” Rosenzweig said people are cited with contempt of court all the time. ““I’’ve been a lawyer 20-something years, and I’’d say I’’ve represented 40 attorneys on it,”” he said. In the speeding case, the Arkansas State Police stopped Baker, 35, in a Chevrolet Silverado pickup on U. S. 412 in Madison County. She was driving 79 mph in a 55-mph zone, the contempt records show. 8th Circuit Federal Court Of Appeals Rules That Innocent People Aren’’t Required To Identify Themselves, And Police Have No Authority To Arrest Them If They Don’’t April 5th, 2008 LITTLE ROCK, AR – A police officer does not have the authority to arrest someone for refusing to identify himself when he is not suspected of committing a crime, a federal appeals panel ruled Friday. The decision by a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis reversed an Arkansas federal judge’’s ruling and ordered a new hearing in a Benton County man’’s lawsuit challenging his arrest for refusing to show his identification during a traffic stop. ““It is amazing how many times I have had people convicted for doing the same thing,”” said Rogers attorney Doug Norwood. ““You have to have a reasonable suspicion that the individual person is either committing a crime or about to.”” Norwood filed the original lawsuit on behalf of Richard M. Stufflebeam of Lowell. Stufflebeam was a passenger in his grandson’’s car in May 2003 when the vehicle was stopped by a state trooper. The driver was not issued a citation during the traffic stop. When Trooper Jeff W. Harris asked the grandfather for identification, he told the officer he did not have to show any ID. ““It was an afterthought,”” Norwood said. ““The officer asked Mr. Stufflebeam for his ID and he said ‘‘no.’’”” The trooper ““returned to his vehicle and requested backup,”” the court said. ““When two additional officers arrived, Harris asked Stufflebeam to exit the vehicle,”” the ruling said, adding that Stufflebeam was handcuffed and placed in the back of the trooper’’s cruiser. He was taken to jail and charged with obstructing governmental operations. The prosecutor’’s office later dismissed the charge in district court and Stufflebeam filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Harris, alleging the trooper had no probable cause to arrest him. U.S. District Court Judge Jimm Hendren dismissed the lawsuit, ruling the trooper had qualified immunity as a police officer and that Stufflebeam failed to state a claim. Stufflebeam appealed to the 8th Circuit. In its ruling Friday, the federal court panel referenced a 2004 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that ““an officer may not arrest a suspect for failure to identify himself if the request for identification is not reasonably related to the circumstances justifying the stop.”” There was no evidence Stufflebeam was trying to obstruct justice when he refused to identify himself, the appeals court said. ““Thus, the primary question …… is whether Arkansas law permits a police officer to arrest a person for refusing to identify himself when he is not suspected of other criminal activity and his identification is not needed to protect officer safety or to resolve whatever reasonable suspicions prompted the officer to initiate an ongoing traffic stop. We conclude it does not,”” the court said. The court also said the state trooper did not have qualified immunity from the lawsuit under state statute. Qualified immunity protects public officials ““from liability for civil damages insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have,”” the court said, adding that the trooper ““acted contrary to the plain meaning”” of the state statute. Crawford County Arkansas Jail Administrator Capt. Terry Rea Fired, Not Charged Amid Sexual Misconduct Allegations April 2nd, 2008 CRAWFORD COUNTY, AR – While he will not be charged with a crime, Capt. Terry Rea’’s tenure as jail administrator for the Crawford County Detention Center is finished. Quorum court budget committee members unanimously approved a $5,688 lump-sum payout to Rea for accrued holiday and vacation time during Monday night’’s meeting. Later, during a personnel committee meeting, justices of the peace also approved the hiring of four new deputies for the sheriff’’s department. The positions must now be approved during the quorum court’’s regular meeting later this month. Prosecuting Attorney Marc McCune sent an e-mail to the Press-Argus Courier Tuesday afternoon announcing that materials from an Arkansas State Police investigation into possible sexual misconduct by Rea had been turned over to him for examination. ““After reviewing the reports, I am declining to file any charges against Terry Rea,”” the e-mail states. ““I do not believe that I could meet the burden of beyond a reasonable doubt on charges filed against Terry Rea. I believe that this matter may be more appropriately pursued in a civil proceeding rather than a criminal proceeding.”” State police launched the investigation into Rea in February, following an allegation by a former female employee. On Monday morning, Chief Deputy Ron Brown said Rea’’s employment was terminated March 20. Brown said Rea was terminated for ““violation of policy, departmental policy,”” but declined to elaborate. When reached on his mobile phone Tuesday afternoon, Brown said he was unaware of McCune’’s decision and had not seen the e-mail. An attempt to reach Sheriff Mike Allen by phone Tuesday afternoon was unsuccessful. After Monday night’’s meeting, Allen said Jeff Marvin, a reserve sheriff’’s deputy, had been appointed as Rea’’s permanent replacement for the jail administrator position. He said Marvin has ““several years”” experience in law enforcement, including service as a reserve officer for four area agencies, among them the Alma and Mulberry police departments. He’’s also served as a member of the county SWAT team, Allen said. Rea had been involved in law enforcement for 24 years, according to Allen, who declined comment on the investigation Monday night. On Tuesday, Corey Mendenhall, a special agent with the state police who investigated Rea, said he turned his report in to McCune on Monday but had not yet seen McCune’’s statement announcing his decision. He declined to comment on the prosecuting attorney’’s decision. At the start of Monday’’s personnel committee meeting, Allen initially requested funding to hire four deputies and three detention officers, spurring debate among the JPs over just how many new employees could be hired without severely depleting the county general fund for the rest of the year. The cost of hiring seven new employees, plus uniforms, equipment and four squad cars would have amounted to $327,099 for the rest of 2008. Allen said new employees were necessary to keep the sheriff’’s office running smoothy. ““I can’’t have pro-active law enforcement with the numbers we have now,”” Allen said. JP Sharon Partain said that compared to other Arkansas counties with comparable populations, Crawford County is ““very much understaffed.”” However, JP Elaina Damante said if the committee approved the money, the county general fund would have only $140,000 remaining for the rest of the year. County Judge John Hall also reminded the JPs to be careful with spending, noting the ever-increasing cost of fuel. ““Anything we can get would be appreciated,”” Allen told the committee. ““. …… This (request) is a bare minimum.”” Damante said she agreed that the sheriff’’s office needed additional help, but didn’’t think the quorum court had enough money to grant the sheriff seven new employees. ““If this had to be reduced, what would be Plan B?”” she asked. Allen said that getting deputies hired would take priority over detention officers. After a little more discussion, justices voted to hire four new deputies at a total cost of $267,877 for a year, with funding for two positions to be taken from county general funds and funding for the other two taken from the county’’s public safety money. That comes to a cost of about $233,000 for the rest of 2008 if all four deputies are hired in April. Public safety funds are generated from sales tax revenue, which Hall warned could decline like the rest of the economy. However, Partain noted that Crawford County already depends on sales tax revenues to pay some salaries, and if those go down, ““We’’re all going down on the same boat.”” The vote was 11-0, with JPs Don Jenkins and Delia Friddle absent. If approved at the regular quorum court meeting, the hires will be the first for the sheriff’’s office in eight years. Allen said three deputies will likely be assigned to patrol while the fourth will work in the criminal investigations division. In a phone interview Tuesday morning, Hall emphasized his support for the sheriff’’s office but said he would prefer the quorum court allow for the hiring of two deputies rather than four, with money for one position coming out of the general revenue fund and the other out of public safety. He said more employees could possibly be hired next year, depending on the county’’s financial situation. ““I am going to relate that to the quorum court; they can take it for whatever it’’s worth,”” Hall said. ““. ……That’’s a conservative way to look at it, but we need to be conservative with what money we’’ve got.”” Former Vian Arkansas Police Chief Jeremy Eugene Floyd Charged With Embezzling Nearly $2K, Stealing Vehicle During Three Months At Chief April 2nd, 2008 VIAN, AR – Vian’’s former police chief is accused of embezzling nearly $2,000, as well as stealing a utility vehicle from a downtown Vian business, during his three-month stint as police chief last year. On Wednesday, a warrant was issued for the arrest of Jeremy Eugene Floyd, 30, of Muldrow on two counts of felony embezzlement and one count of grant larceny, according to court records. Floyd is currently employed as a patrolman with the Bethel Heights Police Department in Arkansas. Bethel Heights Police Chief Don McKinnon on Thursday morning was unaware of the charges against Floyd. McKinnon, who seemed baffled by the charges, said Floyd was hired as a patrolman with Bethel Heights on Jan. 22. ““He came from Van Buren, Ark.,”” McKinnon said. ““They highly recommended him.”” Vian Chief Danny Hoover said Thursday evening that Floyd was taken into custody by McKinnon at about 6 p.m. and was being held in the Benton County, Ark., Detention Center. Hoover expected Floyd to sign a waiver of extradition so Sequoyah County authorities could transport Floyd to Sequoyah County to face charges. Vian Mayor Kenneth Johnson could not comment on details of the case because of ongoing litigation against the town. Johnson did say, ““I hope justice is served for all involved.”” Joe Paul Simon and Simon’’s Inc., the owner of Simon’’s Ace Home Center, filed a civil lawsuit in February against the town and Floyd, alleging that Floyd and an unknown officer stole a utility vehicle from his business in July 2007. The theft was investigated by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI). Floyd, who was hired as Vian’’s chief in April 2007, resigned as chief just days before the OSBI arrived to investigate the theft. Prior to being hired in Vian, Floyd was a criminal investigator for the Crawford County, Ark., Sheriff’’s Department. Floyd previously worked as an investigator for the Waldron, Ark., Police Department and as a sergeant deputy at Delaware County Sheriff’’s Department. AFFIDAVIT According to the probable cause affidavit filed Wednesday, OSBI Special Agent Vicky M. Lyons wrote that on May 25, 2006, Erica Lynn Kinchion, William V. Johnson, Michael Jamison, and Charelle Monique Knight were arrested by Vian police officers. During the arrest, $595 in U.S. currency was seized from the individuals and the money was retained by the police department as evidence. The records of the Office of the District Attorney Sequoyah County did not show any dispositions for the cash seized during the arrest. Floyd Hoover told the OSBI that around April 29, 2007, Hoover was present when former chief Mike Thomas turned over custody of the evidence being retained at the police department to the new chief, Floyd. Lyons wrote that at that time, Hoover noted that a plastic evidence bag containing the $595 seized in the May arrests was stored in a file cabinet in the department’’s offices. The file cabinet was normally kept locked. During the course of his duties, Hoover asked Floyd about the evidence money and Floyd allegedly told Hoover that he had placed the money in the evidence room. On July 27 or 28 Hoover, after being appointed interim police chief after Floyd resigned, conducted an inventory of the evidence room. At that time, Hoover discovered the $595 was missing. He was unable to locate any records that the money was released or turned over to other city officials, Lyons reported. Officer Dennis Thomas, evidence custodian, conducted a search of the evidence room, along with Lyons. The evidence room log did not show that the $595 was ever placed there, Lyons wrote. No cash or disposition records related to the previous arrest were located. City Clerk Sharon Digenarro reported that her office never received the cash from the arrest and had no records regarding it. During an interview, Floyd allegedly admitted that there had been cash locked in a file cabinet when he took office. He removed the cash from the file cabinet to the evidence room, but never logged the money into the evidence log. Floyd denied that he stole the money. Digenarro reported that during May 2007 the department turned in a 1998 Ford Crown Victoria for surplus. At that time, Digenarro asked Floyd to return the fuel credit card issued to that vehicle. Floyd never returned the card, although he told Digenarro that he still had the card. From about July 3, 2007, through July 26, 2007, purchases totaling $1,353.25 were made using the credit card issued to the surplus car. Each purchase was made using the personal identification number issued to Floyd, Lyons reported. Digenarro did not retain records of the personal identification numbers issued to the officers. During an interview, Floyd maintained that he returned the card to Digenarro after receiving the new card for his new vehicle. He denied that he had used the card on the dates shown in the records. ALLEGED THEFT Lyons wrote that on July 24, 2007, a witness reported seeing suspicious activity in the area of an equipment display of the Simon’’s Ace Hardware in Vian. The witness reported the activity to police. The witness reported that shortly after reporting the activity, the witness observed a police vehicle parked between buildings to the south of the equipment display. On July 28, 2007, the owners of Simon’’s discovered the theft of a Cub Cadet four-wheel-drive utility vehicle valued at $8,699. An employee reported that about a week to a week and a half prior to the theft, Floyd allegedly obtained a key to the vehicle from the store employee. The employee reported the keys are universal to all Cub Cadet vehicles. Another employee reported that around mid-July Floyd made inquiries about the cost of the utility vehicle. An examination of a security video disclosed an unidentified person who stole the vehicle from the equipment area. The video depicts numerous vehicles driving on the street adjacent to the equipment area, Lyons reported. Those vehicles included the Vian Police Department vehicle issued to the police chief. City of Vian records show that Floyd was the only officer on duty during the time frame of the theft of the vehicle, Lyons reported. Arkansas State Police Trooper Tom Weindruch Receives A Slap On The Wrist, Reassignment After False Arrest Of News Journalist At Fire Where Officer Wasn’’t Supposed To Be March 28th, 2008 LITTLE ROCK, AR – The Arkansas State Police has suspended and reassigned a trooper who arrested a news photographer at a December house fire. Trooper Tom Weindruch, 33, was suspended for two days without pay and was transferred from the Highway Patrol Division to the Administrative Services Division in Little Rock, state police spokesman Bill Sadler said. Weindruch had been part of the patrol division in Little Rock-based Troop A. Stephens Media Group photographer Bill Lawson, 59, was arrested by Weindruch at the scene of a Dec. 10 house fire in Maumelle. Lawson was handcuffed, then released at the scene with a citation for obstructing government operations. Prosecutors quickly dropped the charge. Lawson filed a complaint against Weindruch, saying the trooper was abusive while Lawson was under arrest. Sadler said Wednesday that Weindruch did not appeal the disciplinary action, which also prevents Weindruch from being eligible for a promotion or to receive special assignments for one year. Stephens Media Group first reported Weindruch’’s suspension. In his arrest report, Weindruch wrote that Lawson took flash pictures of him, temporarily impairing his vision, after Weindruch told the photographer to return to his vehicle. Weindruch placed Lawson in handcuffs. A three-person review board investigated Lawson’’s complaint and reported to state police Director Col. Winford Phillips in January that the complaint was unsubstantiated. But the panel also said that Weindruch showed poor judgment in responding to the fire when no one requested his assistance; failing to advise state police dispatchers of his location; engaging in unnecessary verbal exchanges with Lawson; arresting Lawson; and failing to notify his supervisor of the incident. Phillips chose to discipline Weindruch, telling him in a March 10 letter that the incident ““has adversely affected the reputation of the Arkansas State Police for professionalism.”” Whoops – Charges Dismissed After Dumbass Carroll County Arkansas Deputy Sheriff Lt. Jason Hunt Forgets To Take Samples Of Marijuana Plants, Label Them, Have Them Tested – Mixed Up With A Bunch Of Other Stored Plants – Duh! March 27th, 2008 BERRYVILLE, ARKANSAS – Circuit Judge Alan Epley declined Monday to postpone a marijuana-growing trial after it turned out the Carroll County sheriff’’s office had failed to take samples of the plants and get them tested for marijuana by the state Crime Lab. Lt. Jason Hunt of the sheriff’’s department arrested Ferlin Duane Tibbets of Oak Grove after 21 plants were spotted on and near his property during a fly-over. He testified Monday that he had failed to take samples from the plants in July before they were stored, unlabled, with other confiscated marijuana plants. He said he thought he could identify the Tibbets plants from photographs but the judge declined to delay the Oct. 31 trial and Prosecutor Tony Rogers dropped the case. Rogers said he hoped he would be able to refile the charges before the deadline next July. Former Bethel Heights Arkansas Police Officer Sgt. Michael Dismus Sharum Gets A Plea Deal, Sentenced To 15 Days In Jail For Forging A Check March 26th, 2008 BENTONVILLE, ARKANSAS – A former Bethel Heights police officer must serve 15 days in the Benton County Jail after he pleaded guilty to forging a check. Michael Dismus Sharum, 37, pleaded guilty to forgery under a plea agreement that attorney Joel Huggins reached with Deputy Prosecutor Drew Ledbetter. Lowell police arrested Sharum on Aug. 25, 2007, for forging a $ 500 check. According to Ledbetter, Sharum claimed to have found the check. Sharum wrote the check to himself and cashed the check at his bank, Ledbetter said. Circuit Judge Tom Keith accepted the plea agreement and Sharum’’s guilty plea. Sharum was placed on probation for five years, and he must serve 15 days in jail. He must also pay $ 920 in court associated costs. Sharum was a sergeant with the Bethel Heights Police Department. He resigned the day of his arrest. Carroll County Arkansas Sheriff Bob Grudek Accepts $20,000 In Bribes From Contractor To County, Receives A Slap On The Wrist March 24th, 2008 State: ARKANSAS ADVISORY OPINION NO. 2007-EC-005 Issued October 19, 2007 The Arkansas Ethics Commission has received a written advisory opinion request from Robert T. Rogers II, the Prosecuting Attorney for the 19th Judicial District East. In his opinion request submitted on behalf of Carroll County, Mr. Rogers asks if it is permissible for county road department employees and county sheriff’’s office employees to receive compensation from an anonymous donor.[1] According to Mr. Rogers, an anonymous donor gave $20,000.00 to Carroll County in two separate checks of $10,000.00 each, and specified that the money was to be split evenly between the county road department and the sheriff’’s office for use as a bonus for selected employees. The recipients and amounts of those bonuses were left to the discretion of the county judge and sheriff. The donor is now a vendor of asphalt to the county pursuant to a bid awarded prior to the donor’’s purchase of the asphalt company. Mr. Rogers goes on to state that the money was deposited into the county’’s general fund and subsequently appropriated by the quorum court to the salaries line items of the road department and sheriff’’s office budgets. The money has not been paid out to employees pending resolution of any ethical issue. Mr. Rogers asks if this arrangement violates Ark. Code Ann. §§ 21-8-801 which provides, in pertinent part, as follows: [n]o public servant shall……[r]eceive a gift or compensation as defined in subchapter 4 of this chapter, other than income and benefits from the governmental body to which he or she is duly entitled, for the performance of the duties and responsibilities of his or her office or position. In Opinion 1999-EC-007, the Commission specifically addressed several issues encompassed within Ark. Code Ann. §§ 21-8-801, including the ““prohibited compensation”” language. In citing Attorney General Opinion No. 98-024, the Commission concluded that: ““except as expressly provided by statute, a public servant can only be compensated for doing his or her job by the governmental body which he or she serves. In other words, a public servant cannot receive outside compensation for doing his or her job.”” It is clear from the scenario described by Mr. Rogers that the donor seeks to provide ““outside compensation”” to county employees who are to be selected at the discretion of the county judge and sheriff. While the quorum court apparently appropriated these funds to the budgets of these departments, no employee is ““duly entitled”” to any of the funds. Compensation to public servants must be from the governmental body he or she serves and the public servant must be entitled to the compensation, i.e., it must be legally owed to the public servant. Additionally, the Commission is mindful that Ark. Code Ann. §§ 21-8-801(b)(1) prohibits the conferring of compensation to ““any public servant, the receipt of which is prohibited by subdivision (a)(1) of this section.”” Thus, this statute not only prohibits a public servant from receiving such compensation, but it also prohibits the donor from conferring such prohibited compensation to public servants (county employees). Finally, the fact that this donor wishes to be ““anonymous”” does not make him so. This donor’’s identity is known to the prosecuting attorney and likely to others in the county administration offices. Moreover, the fact this donor is also a vendor with a contract for services with the county potentially raises additional concerns regarding this ““donation.”” While the Commission is not being called upon to address the potential conflict of interest in this relationship, it bears mentioning that such arrangement is, at a minimum, suspect. Ark. Code Ann. §§ 21-8-801 prevents the donor from doing indirectly what he cannot do directly, i.e., he cannot provide a private bonus to public servants for doing their jobs. The Commission encourages the donor and county to make all reasonable efforts to undo or cancel the donation arrangement because such arrangement appears to violate Ark. Code Ann. §§ 21-8-801(a) and (b). This advisory opinion is issued by the Commission pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §§ 7-6-217(g)(2). Rita S. Looney Chief Counsel http://www.arkansasethics.com/ Carroll County Arkansas Deputy Sheriff Loses Handcuffed Man From Locked Patrol Car March 24th, 2008 METALTON, ARKANSAS – A 20-year-old Metalton man, accused of breaking into the Cedar Creek store, is facing multiple charges after he allegedly escaped from authorities during transport to the county detention center. Michael Bradley Riggs was being transported to jail in the rear seat of a sheriff’’s unit, authorities say, when he slipped out of his handcuffs, removed his seatbelt, and with the patrol door locked, managed to open the door at the intersection of U.S. Hwy. 62 and Hailey Road and jump out. Riggs reportedly ran into a field south of the highway, crossed a barbed wire fence and was eventually caught by a deputy in pursuit. Riggs was arrested shortly before at his Metalton area home after authorities linked him to a break-in at the Cedar Creek store that occurred the night before. Lt. Jason Hunt, with the Carroll County Sheriff’’s Office, said he and Deputy Joel Hand initiated an investigation into a break-in that happened around 11 p.m. Wednesday night. He said they recovered fingerprints from the scene and a video surveillance tape that ““clearly showed the male subject taking a large rock and throwing the rock through the front window of the store.”” Hunt said the video also showed the subject, who had a distinct haircut and wearing a shirt with different colored cuffs on the sleeves, entering the store through the window and taking cigarettes and exiting the store through the same window. By comparing the fingerprint with a previous finger print card, and by comparing the surveillance video with previous book-in photos of Riggs, Hunt said they noted similarities and went to Riggs’’ residence on County Road 719. After making contact with Riggs and his family at the residence, Hunt said Riggs was advised of his Miranda Rights, and Riggs initially denied breaking into the store. After his mother produced the shirt he was wearing the previous day, a shirt with different colored cuffs, Riggs admitted to breaking into the store and produced 10 packs of Marlboro 100s, Hunt said. It was during transport to the jail that Riggs escaped, Hunt said. Riggs was charged with theft, burglary, third degree escape, and second degree assault – because a deputy was injured in the pursuit, Hunt explained. He said both Deputy Hand and Riggs were bleeding, having sustained numerous cuts and abrasions. Both were taken to the emergency room for treatment, where Riggs reportedly slipped out of his handcuffs again. As of press time, Riggs was being held in the Carroll County Detention Center awaiting a bond hearing on the multiple charges. Lowell Arkansas Police Officer Sgt. Kerry Headrick Arrested, Quits, Charged With Domestic Violence March 17th, 2008 BENTONVILLE, ARKANSAS – A Lowell police officer resigned last week after his arrest for domestic abuse. Sgt. Kerry Headrick was arrested last week for misdemeanor domestic abuse in the third degree involving his girlfriend. On Wednesday, Lowell Police Chief Joe Landers confirmed Headrick’’s arrest and resignation. Landers said Lowell police received a 911 call from Headrick’’s girlfriend, who accused him of drinking and being belligerent. When Lowell officers arrived on the scene, they noticed a bruise on the woman’’s left wrist. Landers said Headrick grabbed her wrist and broke a cell phone. Headrick was booked into the Benton County Jail at 4: 44 a.m. March 5 and was released at 2: 51 p.m. the same day. It’’s an unfortunate incident,”” Landers said. The Benton County Prosecuting Attorney’’s Office is handling the case, Landers said. The office currently has two other cases involving law-enforcement officers. Arkansas State Police trooper Brian Garrett is charged with aggravated assault and battery in the second degree, both class D felonies. If convicted, he could receive a sentence of up to six years on each count. Garrett, a trooper assigned to the governor’’s mansion, is on administrative leave with pay, according to Bill Sadler, a spokesman for the Arkansas State Police. Garrett was placed on administrative leave after his wife filed for an order of protection against her husband on Dec. 11, 2007. The order of protection was later dismissed. Garret is accused of threatening his wife and physically abusing a child, according to court documents. Former Rogers police officer Shane Knaust is charged with sexual indecency with a child, a class D felony. He resigned Jan. 19 after his arrest. Knaust is accused of engaging in sexual contact with a 15-year-old girl. Garrett and Knaust have pleaded not guilty to the charges. Not The Brightest Bulb Department: Firing Of Arkansas State Police Trooper Roderick L. Trotter Sr. Upheld After He Sought Three-Way Sex With Two Motorists And His Wife March 11th, 2008 Roderick L. Trotter Sr. LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS – The state police director properly dismissed a state trooper who admitted seeking a three-way sex encounter between his wife and two women in a car he had stopped for driving with expired tags, the Arkansas State Police Commission decided Friday. Roderick L. Trotter Sr., 46, who served with Troop A based in Little Rock, was fired in December by Col. Winford E. Phillips, state police commander. The dismissal stemmed from complaints filed by the two women following a traffic stop on U.S. 67-167 in North Little Rock about 11:30 p.m. Sept. 29. Both women testified at a hearing Tuesday on Trotter’’s appeal to the commission of his firing. Phillips testified at the hearing that his action followed a dismissal recommendation by a review board of state police officers, and —— after reviewing for himself the file on an internal investigation —— he reached the same conclusion. ““It bordered on soliciting prostitution,”” Phillips said. He recalled that the command review board, in its recommendation for dismissal, said Trotter’’s actions were ““unprofessional and unacceptable.”” After a hearing that lasted nearly two hours, the seven-member commission deliberated behind closed doors for about a half-hour before voting unanimously to uphold the firing. Trotter can appeal the commission’’s decision to Pulaski County Circuit Court, but his lawyer, J. Leon Johnson, said no decision had been made on an appeal. Johnson argued that his client was not treated the same as other troopers in what he said were similar situations. ““Everybody has a right to be treated the same way,”” Johnson told the commission, citing other instances where discipline stopped short of dismissal but involved male troopers and women —— including one in which a trooper had sex in a patrol car. Johnson said that the other cases were ““maybe not as bad as what (Trotter) has admitted to,”” but added that this was the first disciplinary matter involving Trotter, while at least one other case involved repeat violations. The driver who was stopped testified that Trotter kept pace with her car, staying alongside for several miles, before he dropped back and pulled her over, using the patrol car’’s flashing blue lights. She said she anticipated the stop because she knew her car’’s license tags were expired. After Trotter had obtained her driver’’s license and a state-issued identification card from her passenger —— whose baby daughter was riding in a safety seat in the rear —— the trooper returned to his patrol car, the driver said. His proposition was put to her first, she said, when she went back to provide him with her car’’s registration slip. ““Is that your girlfriend up there?”” the driver said Trotter asked. ““Me and my wife are looking for someone to have a threesome with.”” The trooper wrote out a ticket but then tore it up and gave the pieces to her, the driver said. The torn pieces of the ticket were among evidence submitted at Tuesday’’s hearing. After Trotter and the driver returned to her car, the driver said, Trotter wanted to watch the two women share a kiss. After their protests were ignored and they complied, he obtained their telephone number, gave them his, and told the driver, ““I need you to call me so we can set this thing up.”” State police staff lawyer Ken Stoll told the commission in his closing argument that such conduct by a police officer could not be tolerated. ““This conduct is highly reprehensible,”” Still said. ““It not only tarnishes Trooper Trotter, but every trooper wearing the uniform.”” Johnson, however, said in his final argument that ““you have to be consistent —— and there hasn’’t been consistency in this case.”” Dumbass Fayetteville Arkansas Court Baliff Jarrod Hankins Forgets Illegal Immigrant In Isolated Courthouse Holding Cell For 4 Days – No Food, Water, Or Toilet March 11th, 2008 FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS ? A woman being held as an illegal immigrant spent four days forgotten in an isolated holding cell at a courthouse with no food, water, or toilet, authorities and the woman said. Adriana Torres-Flores, 38, appeared in court Thursday and pleaded not guilty to a charge of selling pirated CDs, but a judge ordered her held because she is in the country illegally, Sheriff Tim Helder said. Bailiff Jarrod Hankins put her in the cell to await transport to jail, and she was forgotten. Because of heavy snow, few staff members were in the courthouse to hear her cries and pounding later Thursday or on Friday and through the weekend. Torres-Flores wasn’’t found until Monday morning when Hankins opened the door. She was treated at a hospital and allowed to go home. The sheriff said Hankins, a bailiff for two months, simply forgot about Torres-Flores. ““He’’s a broken man right now,”” Helder said. Hankins was placed on administrative leave with pay Monday pending an investigation. His mother said Monday he was too devastated to comment. The cell had two benches, a metal table and a light that Torres-Flores could not turn off. She slept using a shoe to cushion her head, she told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, with 14-year-old daughter Adriana acting as an interpreter. ““She was feeling like she was going to die,”” Adriana said. Torres-Flores had not eaten Thursday before going to court. She had a jacket but still was cold in the cell. ““She had to use the bathroom on the floor,”” her daughter said. ““It’’s a horrible, horrible situation,”” said her attorney, Nathan Lewis. County Judge Jerry Hunton, the county administrator; the judge who ordered her held, Circuit Judge William Storey, and the sheriff issued a statement saying ““immediate measures have been taken to ensure this does not happen again.”” Hunton said he might install a video camera in the holding cell and an exterior light that indicates when someone is inside. ““That’’s probably the best thing we can do to make sure it doesn’’t happen to anyone else,”” he said. Torres-Flores’’ trial is set for April 1, and she faces deportation by federal immigration authorities. Nutcase Rogers Arkansas Police Officer Lt. David Mitchell Suspended For Just 10 Days After Taser Weapon Attack On 2 Cows, Shocking Himself And Another Man – Fellow Dumbass, Police Chief Steve Helms, Ignored Incident Until PETA Got Involved March 5th, 2008 ROGERS, ARKANSAS —— A Rogers police lieutenant will be suspended 10 days without pay for firing a department-issued electric stun device at two cows in June 2006. Lt. David Mitchell’’s suspension will begin March 17, said Rogers Police Chief Steve Helms. The department began an internal investigation into the matter last month after an animal-rights organization complained to the Police Department and city administration that Mitchell showed several colleagues a video of himself and another man firing the stun gun at a cow. A report detailing the investigation released today stated the incident happened during the first half of June 2006 on property Mitchell owns and involved cows owned by his family. The report says the first cow was not hit, and in fact, the device malfunctioned and shocked Mitchell and the other man, who is not a member of the Police Department. The second attempt did strike the cow, but appeared to have no effect, the report said. Helms said Mitchell showed him the video shortly after the incident happened, but it didn’’t occur to him at the time that Mitchell violated any department policy. ““I didn’’t look at it in its totality, I guess,”” Helms said. Helms said he expects and deserves to be punished himself for not investigating the incident when it happened. Lawsuit Charges Crazed Forrest City Arkansas Police Officer Sherie Hernandez With Brutally Attacking A Child, Wrongful Death Of Fetus February 26th, 2008 FORREST CITY, ARKANSAS – A lawsuit has been filed against the city on behalf of a minor who claims she suffered a miscarriage as a direct result of rough treatment by a Forrest City police officer. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Swvilla Lowe (no age given; listed only as a minor), names Mayor Gordon McCoy and all the members of the city council, as well as Officer Sherie Hernandez, as defendants. According to the lawsuit, the incident in question took place on Feb. 21 of last year. Lowe, along with her brother and father, got into a confrontation with another man at the Rice and Mann Apartments, and police were called to the scene. The lawsuit claims that officers arrived, and all the people were ordered to get on the ground, which they did. It was then, according to the lawsuit, that Hernandez arrived, got out of her car and jumped on Lowe’’s back. The lawsuit also alleges that Hernandez slammed Lowe in the stomach, even after being informed that Lowe was pregnant. Two men at the scene were arrested and taken to jail, but Lowe was not arrested nor charged, according to the lawsuit. It is alleged in the lawsuit that after the incident, Lowe began experiencing abdominal pain, and on March 13, she was informed by a doctor that she was having a miscarriage. The lawsuit alleges that the actions of Hernandez were malicious. It also alleges that ““Officer Hernandez was known throughout the Forrest City Police Department for her proclivity and propensity for violent acts and uncontrollable behavior,”” and that various complaints had been lodged against her by citizens. The lawsuit reiterates that ““Swvilla Lowe was not charged with even a misdemeanor”” over the incident. The lawsuit, filed by a Little Rock attorney, claims battery, excessive force, unconstitutional arrest and wrongful death. The lawsuit does not seek a specific amount, but asks for ““all damages allowable under Arkansas Law, for personal injury and wrongful death of a fetus.”” Rogers Arkansas Police Officer Lt. David Mitchell Fired After Laundry List Of Complaints – Currently Under Investigation After Videotaped Taser Weapon Attack On A Cow February 25th, 2008 ROGERS, ARKANSAS – On the day Rogers police Chief Steve Helms confirmed the department was investigating one of its own officers, it completed a previous investigation into that same officer. Lt. David Mitchell is now under investigation for his use of a Taser on a cow. On Tuesday, the department concluded an investigation into Mitchell that began on Aug. 9, the same day former Officer Anthony Martinez was terminated. After being told he was fired, Martinez gave Helms a ““laundry list””of complaints against Mitchell, Helms said. The chief said some of the accusations warranted an investigation, so he charged Capt. George Riggs, the head of the Traffic Division, with the task. While Helms said little about the investigation, he did address one of the more serious accusations against Mitchell. Martinez said the lieutenant had doubledipped, earning money for side jobs while on duty for the department, but Helms said there was no wrongdoing. In addition to his police work, Mitchell builds houses, Helms said. He has built houses for several Rogers police officers, and he discussed those projects with the officers, who were also his customers, while on duty. But Helms said those discussions did not interfere with Mitchell’’s police work, as they occurred when the lieutenant was not expected to be engaged in his departmental duties. Crawford County Arkansas Jail Administrator Terry Rea Suspended Amid Sexual Misconduct Investigation February 25th, 2008 CRAWFORD COUNTY, ARKANSAS – The Crawford County sheriff says the county jail administrator has been suspended after he was accused of sexual misconduct. Sheriff Mike Allen announced Thursday that jail administrator Terry Rea had been placed on paid administrative leave. The sheriff wouldn’’t elaborate on the sexual misconduct allegation, but an Arkansas State Police lieutenant says the alleged incident happened at the jail when Rea was on duty. State police are handling the investigation. Rea, who is from Dyer, declined to comment Thursday. Arkansas State Police Trooper Brian Garrett Charged With Assault And Battery After Attack On His Wife. Former Rogers Police Officer Shane Knaust Charged With Child Molestation February 24th, 2008 BENTONVILLE, ARKANSAS – Prosecutors filed formal charges Friday against an Arkansas State Police trooper and a former Rogers police officer in unrelated criminal cases. Trooper Brian Garrett, 38, is charged with aggravated assault and battery in the second degree, both class D felonies. If convicted, he could receive a sentence of up to six years on each count. Garrett, who is a trooper assigned to the governor’’s mansion, was placed on administrative leave with pay, according to Bill Sadler, a spokesman for the Arkansas State Police. Garrett was placed on administrative leave after his wife filed for an order of protection against her husband Dec. 11. Mandi Garrett of Bella Vista claimed in court documents that her husband had physically abused her, and she levied an allegation that he had also been abusive toward her three children. Garrett is accused of threatening his wife by placing the muzzle of his duty revolver against her face. According to a probable cause affidavit completed by Mark Kugler, a detective with the Bella Vista Police Department, Mandi Garrett told police that on Nov. 15, her husband had been drinking beer and taking two prescription medications. When he started to leave the home, she told him he should not be driving and asked why he had his gun and badge, according to the affidavit. The affidavit states that Mandi Garrett claims her husband placed the muzzle of the gun against the left side of her face and replied,”” Just in case I need it. ““ Garrett is accused of physically abusing one of his stepchildren. In the other case, former Rogers police officer Shane Knaust is charged with sexual indecency with a child, a class D felony. Knaust is accused of engaging in sexual contact with a 15-year-old girl. Knaust resigned Jan. 19 after he was arrested. The girl was interviewed at the Children’’s Advocacy Center of Benton County. She said Knaust was a good family friend and that he had kissed her with his tongue and tried to lift up her shirt, according to an affidavit in the case. The girl said Knaust made her kiss him a few different times and one time placed her hand on his groin area, according to court documents. The girl’’s mother said one morning she found a note under her pillow, court documents state. The girl claimed in the note that Knaust was kissing her and she did not like it, the affidavit states. The girl’’s father and the pastor of their church met with Knaust and confronted him about the note. They told Knaust that he could not speak to the girl and that he was no longer allowed to be around other youth at the church, according to court documents. On Friday, Benton County Sheriff’’s Office investigator Jeremy Felton questioned Knaust, who told the investigator he thought the girl was attractive for her age and he developed a relationship with her, court documents state. Knaust admitted to kissing the girl and touching her on the outside of her clothes, according to court documents. Knaust’’s and Garrett’’s arraignments are scheduled for Monday in Benton County Circuit Court. Rogers Arkansas Police Officer Lt. David Mitchell Under Investigation After Videotaped Taser Weapon Attack On A Cow February 21st, 2008 ROGERS, ARKANSAS – Police are conducting an internal investigation into an allegation that a lieutenant used his stun gun to shock a cow and shared a videotape of the incident with other department employees. Police Chief Steve Helms said Tuesday the inquiry began after he received a complaint from the group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. A letter dated Feb. 11 from PETA representative Stephanie Bell complained that Lt. David Mitchell filmed himself using the electronic stun device on the cow. Electronic stun guns are used as less-lethal weapons to subdue people who pose a threat to officers. Bell said in the letter that Mitchell distributed the video as a joke among friends and co-workers and she notes that animal cruelty is a misdemeanor crime in Arkansas. Helms didn’’t immediately return a call for comment on Wednesday. City Attorney Ben Lipscomb said Tuesday that the alleged incident happened 2 1/2 years ago, which would be beyond the statute of limitations for misdemeanors. Lipscomb said there would be no point in pursuing a criminal investigation. Fort Smith Arkansas Police Chief Kevin Lindsey Suspended Due To ““Lack Of Trust And Confidence”” February 17th, 2008 FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS —— City Administrator Randy Reed placed Police Chief Kevin Lindsey on paid administrative leave Friday, saying there is a lack of trust and confidence between them. Reed placed Lindsey on leave Friday afternoon following a meeting they had earlier in the day. The outcomes of other meetings with Lindsey since the firing of three police officials were upheld by the Fort Smith Civil Service Commission in December were factors in Friday’’s decision, Reed said. The Fort Smith Board of Directors will meet in executive session Tuesday to discuss the final decision about Lindsey’’s continued employment with the city, Reed said. City Director Velvet Barrows said Friday she would withdraw from the session. ““I don’’t want to have any say in the matter,”” she said. The Ward 2 director is mar- ried to former police Maj. Jeff Barrows whom Lindsey placed on leave and then fired in October for, among other things, undermining Lindsey’’s authority as chief. The Fort Smith Civil Service Commission upheld the firing in December, but Barrows has appealed the ruling to U. S. District Court. Contacted Friday, City Director Bill Maddox said he was surprised when Reed called him about placing Lindsey on leave. He also said he received little explanation about the reasons for the action. ““It’’s got me kind of confused,”” he said. Lindsey was unavailable for comment Friday. Reed appointed Maj. Dean Pitts, a longtime veteran of the department, to handle the chief’’s duties. He declined Friday, however, to call Pitts the acting or interim chief. Pitts is respected and has the confidence of officers on the force, Reed added. Lindsey, who was previously the police chief in Joplin, Mo., became Fort Smith’’s police chief in January 2007. He succeeded Reed, who was hired as city administrator in mid-2006. Strife inside the Lindsey-run department became public in August when he placed three longtime officers, Barrows, Maj. Steve Howard and Sgt. Jeff Morgan on administrative leave. Lindsey started an investigation into allegations the trio violated department rules and spread rumors that Lindsey was going to be fired and replaced by Barrows or Howard. Lindsey fired all three men in October. Reed said Friday one of the reasons he lost trust and confidence in Lindsey is that he did not hear about the officers being placed on leave from Lindsey, as he should have, but from outside sources. During Barrow’’s Civil Service Commission appeal, Lindsey testified that Reed indicated to him that Barrows was circulating the rumors about Lindsey’’s demise as police chief. Reed testified that he never had a conversation with Lindsey about Barrows spreading the rumors. Support for Lindsey in the department apparently was split. Barrows testified before the Civil Service Commission that he and other members of the department’’s senior staff were upset with Lindsey because he failed to communicate with them about programs that he wanted to initiate in the department. However, Lindsey appeared to have the support of the street officers. After rumors began circulating last summer about Lindsey being fired, members of the local Fraternal Order of Police chapter signed petitions in support of the chief. Former Fayetteville Arkansas Police Officer Jeremy Boyd Grammer Jailed Pending Sentencing For Distribution Of Child Pornography, Despite His Fear Of Being Behind Bars With Criminals Like Himself February 15th, 2008 FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS – A former Fayetteville police officer was ordered to jail Thursday despite his concern for his safety behind bars. Jeremy Boyd Grammer, 31, pleaded guilty to distributing child pornography over the Internet. The federal crime carries a prison term of five to 20 years. Grammer, a 10-year police veteran, had been free on $ 5, 000 bond. He requested home detention with an electronic monitoring device until his sentencing in 30-45 days. He testified at Thursday’’s plea hearing he’’d ““absolutely”” be in danger if jailed locally because he’’d probably run into one of the hundreds of people he has arrested in his career. ““I’’d worry about myself, as well as the safety of the guards protecting me,”” said Grammer, who was a K-9 officer, detective and member of the Fayetteville Police Department’’s SWAT team. Defense attorney W. H. Taylor said those Grammer has arrested are likely to be ““enemies carrying grudges.”” He said Grammer’’s police past and pornography crime put him at ““extraordinary”” risk. But U. S. District Judge Jimm L. Hendren said Grammer’’s past as a police officer doesn’’t automatically mean he’’s in danger. ““I hear no evidence that there’’s ever been a threat made against Mr. Grammer, and there’’s been no name offered of any inmate who’’s in custody after being arrested by this defendant,”” Hendren said. Assistant U. S. attorney Kyra Jenner said Washington County Sheriff Tim Helder made arrangements to house Grammer in a medical unit in the jail with one other inmate —— a man also facing a federal child pornography charge. ““Some of the [jail ] administrators worked with the defendant at the Fayetteville Police Department and have his best interest in heart,”” Jenner said. ““They agree they’’ll go out of their way to ensure his safety.”” Deputy U. S. marshal David Comstock testified that the Marshals Service was prepared to move Grammer to a jail outside Northwest Arkansas, but he asked to stay in Fayetteville to be close to family. Grammer has an infant daughter with his wife and a 12-year-old daughter in Bentonville from a previous marriage. Hendren said he’’d leave Grammer’’s situation to the Marshals Service. ““Just because he’’s a former officer doesn’’t mean he’’s entitled to any special treatment,”” Hendren said. Defense attorney Bill Putman told Hendren that Grammer’’s crime was ““abberational”” and inconsistent with his history as a dedicated police officer and conscientious citizen. ““He led a good life up until this,”” Putman said. ““This came as a great surprise to his family, friends and people who know him.”” Jenner said Grammer distributed pornography from his personal e-mail account at home between October 2006 and April 2007. ““That hardly qualifies as a one-time act,”” she said. Grammer admitted sending pornographic images to a man in Cleveland who hasn’’t been identified in court. The relationship between the men hasn’’t been explained. Under a plea agreement, prosecutors dismissed two counts of receiving a pornographic image involving a child. U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials identified Grammer as a suspect in an Ohio pornography investigation in April. Fayetteville police conducted an internal investigation and fired Grammer three days later. They found no evidence of suspicious Internet activity on his work computer. Former Fayetteville Arkansas Police Officer Jeremy Boyd Grammer’’s Guilty Plea To Child Pornography Delayed February 14th, 2008 FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS —— A judge Monday postponed a hearing for a former Fayetteville police officer who was scheduled to plead guilty to a federal child pornography charge. U. S. District Judge Jimm L. Hendren reset the plea hearing for Jeremy Boyd Grammer to 4: 30 p.m. Thursday. Grammer’’s attorneys asked for the continuance in Hendren’’s chambers Monday afternoon. Neither they nor a prosecutor would disclose the reason for the delay. Grammer, 31, of Fayetteville, was set to plead guilty to one count of distributing child pornography on the Internet. He was in court Monday, along with his wife and parents, for the scheduled plea, then left after the continuance was granted. Grammer faces between five and 20 years in prison on the charge. His attorneys want him to remain free on bond and under house arrest until sentencing. The attorneys said in a court motion filed Friday that Grammer’’s safety is at risk, since he’’s likely to encounter suspects he arrested as a police officer if jailed locally. In federal cases, sentencing usually occurs 45 days after a guilty plea. The motion states that police officers have a harder time in prison than most inmates, and one who is convicted of child pornography is at an exceptionally high risk. Prosecutors said in a response Monday that the risk isn’’t extraordinary enough to excuse Grammer from jail until sentencing. They said the U. S. Marshals Service has made arrangements to keep him safe while behind bars. Grammer is accused of receiving and distributing from his personal e-mail account images of girls having sex with adult men. One girl was believed to be 5 or 6 years old, court records state. Last spring, U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents named Grammer as a suspect in an Ohio pornography investigation. Fayetteville police conducted an internal investigation and fired Grammer on April 26. They said they found no evidence of suspicious Internet activity on his work computer. Grammer was hired at the department in 1998 and worked as a patrol, K-9 and bike patrol officer. He was a member of the emergency response team and had been a detective for less than a year when he was fired. Grammer was indicted in August on three counts. Under a proposed plea agreement, prosecutors will dismiss two counts. Grammer is free on $ 5, 000 bond and living with his wife, Sharla Grammer. He’’s under house arrest with an electronic monitor and is banned from using a computer and the Internet. He’’s forbidden from having contact with anyone under 18, except for his children. Grammer has an infant daughter with his wife and children from a previous marriage with whom he is close, his attorneys said in their motion. He wants to remain free until sentencing so he can spend as much time as possible with his family before going to prison, the motion states. Former Fort Smith Arkansas Police Chief Randy Reed And Police Officer Sued Brad Lokey For Negligence After Woman Ends Up Dead February 14th, 2008 FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS – Relatives of a Fort Smith woman stabbed to death at a busy intersection have sued a police officer and former police chief, saying law enforcement didn’’t do enough to protect the woman from her estranged husband. Thomas Springs was sentenced to death for the Jan. 21, 2005, stabbing death of his estranged wife, Christina Springs. Last month, her father, George E. Repking, and sister, Kelly Repking, filed the lawsuit in Sebastian Circuit Court. The suit accuses former Fort Smith police officer Brad Lokey and former chief Randy Reed – now the Fort Smith city administrator – of negligence. Christina Springs was killed in an attack that began when her husband crashed his car into one in which she was riding. Thomas Springs, 45, got out and reached his estranged wife, getting through a car window and stabbing her 24 times. On the day Springs died, police were called to a Fort Smith elementary school with reports that Thomas Springs was there despite a court order barring him. Lokey, who left the police department in 2006, told Christina Springs and her sister that he would follow them as they drove to a women’’s shelter where Christina Springs was staying, according to the lawsuit. Lokey followed the women for a short distance, but the collision and stabbing happened after he stopped following them, the suit said. The Repkings claim that Lokey promised to follow the women all the way to the shelter and that his failure to do so was negligent and a violation of their constitutional rights. They also argue Lokey had information to justify an arrest at the school, which could have prevented the murder. In a reply by city attorney Rick Wade, Lokey claims he told the women only that he would follow them a short distance to make sure Thomas Springs did not follow them as they left the school. State Investigating Misuse Of Law Enforcement Database By Benton County Arkansas Sheriff Keith Ferguson February 6th, 2008 BENTON COUNTY, ARKANSAS – Benton County Prosecutor Van Stone said Tuesday he has forwarded to officials at the Arkansas Crime Information Center a letter and documentation accusing Benton County Sheriff Keith Ferguson of misusing the center’’s database. Stone would not say what the specific allegations are, citing a provision in the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act exempting undisclosed investigations by law enforcement agencies. Stone also would not say who wrote the letter. Ferguson declined comment when The Morning News contacted him midafternoon Tuesday, saying he had not seen the allegations. Arkansas Crime Information Center agent Richard Faucett said he was contacted by Stone about the allegations, and he told Stone to mail the material to the center’’s office. Arkansas Crime Information Center regulations say: ““Information from the ACIC system shall only be used by criminal justice officials, acting in their official capacities, for criminal justice purposes.”” Faucett said the center would review the information and decide if an investigation is needed. If the center conducts an investigation and it reveals criminal charges are warranted, the findings would have to be turned over to the county prosecutor for a final determination, Faucett said. Misuse of the system is a felony punishable by a $10,000 fine or up to five years in jail. Former Benton County deputy Tom Pruitt acknowledged Tuesday he sent the letter, but would not discuss the contents or specific allegations. Pruitt spoke at a December rally of former sheriffs’’ deputies who are supporting Andy Lee, one of Ferguson’’s opponents in the May Republican primary for sheriff. Rogers Arkansas Police Officer Shane Aaron Knaust Quits After Arrest For Child Molestation January 20th, 2008 ROGERS, ARKANSAS – A Rogers police officer has resigned after he was arrested on suspicion of sexual indecency with a child, authorities said. Shane Aaron Knaust, 26, was arrested Friday on the felony charge, which is punishable by up to six years in prison. Rogers Police Chief Steve Helms said Knaust resigned Saturday. ““We are still in a state of shock,”” Helms said. ““We are just maintaining and moving forward with our jobs.”” Knaust is accused of sexual indecency with a 15-year-old girl, according to court documents. Knaust admitted kissing the girl and touching her outside of her clothing, according to court documents. ““He was well liked among his peers and supervisors,”” Helms said. ““It’’s very surprising. We didn’’t see it coming.”” Knaust was hired in 2002 as a dispatcher for the Rogers Police Department. He became a police officer in November 2005. Knaust is to be arraigned Feb. 25 in Circuit Judge David Clinger’’s court. Searcy Arkansas Police Officer Kara Osborne, Niece Of Police Chief Kyle Osborne, Suspended For One Whole Day After Hitting Teen On Motorcylce With Patrol Car January 12th, 2008 SEARCY, ARKANSAS – A Searcy police officer whose patrol vehicle hit a man on a motorcycle has been disciplined. Patrolman Kara Osborne, 25, has been suspended one day without pay, ordered to attend a defensive driving class and has been removed from the take home unit program for a period of six months, according to Major Tim Webb, Searcy Police Department spokesman. An internal investigation, completed following an investigation by the Arkansas State Police, showed Officer Osborne failed to yield the right away at 3:54 p.m. Dec. 22, striking a motorcycle driven by Will Maurer, 19, of Searcy. Osborne, who was on duty, was making a left-hand turn off Beebe-Capps Expressway while Maurer was westbound on Eastline Road, the investigation found. Kara Osborne is the niece of Searcy Police Chief Kyle Osborne. Faulkner County Arkansas Deputy Sheriff Rick Beavers Appeals Firing After Attacking Prisoner January 11th, 2008 FAULKNER COUNTY, ARKANSAS – Faulkner County Administrator Jeff Johnston said Monday that an appeal hearing before a county grievance board concerning the recent firing of sheriff’’s lieutenant Rick Beavers is in its informal stages, but would happen in the coming weeks once paperwork is completed. Sheriff Karl Byrd confirmed last week that he fired Beavers on Dec. 28 for allegedly using excessive force against a prisoner at the new jail sometime around Nov. 10. Beavers, who publicly announced his electoral candidacy against Byrd on Dec. 2, hadn’’t returned phone calls as of presstime. His attorney, Lucien R. Gillham of Little Rock, declined to comment on what he called an ongoing matter. Byrd said he plans to run for re-election, but Beavers’’ candidacy didn’’t affect the sheriff’’s decision to fire him. ““This is absolutely not in retaliation,”” Byrd said. ““I would prefer that it hadn’’t have happened, as far as the election goes. I don’’t care if (Beavers) runs against me. The election would have gone a lot smoother had this not have happened.”” – Advertisement – According to Byrd, who wouldn’’t name the prisoner without an open records request letter, Beavers’’ actions against the prisoner may have violated the inmate’’s civil rights, and the firing happened due to fear of future litigation against the sitting administration. Beavers, who until his firing worked as a commander at the new jail, is entitled to regular pay from the sheriff’’s office until his grievance is decided by a board whose members have never heard an appeal under the administration of County Judge Preston Scroggin after the judge took office with Byrd in January 2007. The grievance board would be comprised of county personnel committee members along with a group of elected county officials. A letter sent to the sheriff’’s office requesting documents related to Beavers’’ firing wasn’’t yet answered on Monday, though Byrd said sheriff’’s investigators will comply with state freedom of information laws. ““Our officers are held accountable and conduct like (Beavers’’) cannot happen in that facility,”” Byrd said of the alleged brutality incident. ““We are charged with the care of those people.”” Texarkana Arkansas Police Officer Det. Les Munn Suspended For Improper Use Of Cellphone And Internet January 10th, 2008 TEXARKANA, ARKANSAS – A Texarkana, Ark., Police Department detective has been suspended for using a city cell phone and Internet access for purposes unrelated to police work. ““We expect our officers to come to work,”” said Administrative Capt. Glenn M. Greenwell. ““We took what we felt was appropriate action.”” Det. Les Munn, who was assigned to the criminal investigation division in June 2006 from the patrol division, received a three-day suspension for ““improper use of city equipment,”” Greenwell said. Greenwell says Munn’’s assignments consist largely of work with cases involving juveniles. ““We looked at his Internet usage and he had some issues there,”” Greenwell said. ““There was some text messaging on a city-owned cell phone that was not related to duty issues.”” The internal review of Munn’’s use of department-owned equipment began as a result of concerns brought to TAPD officials by an individual outside the department. ““We actually got an external complaint and looked into it,”” Greenwell said. Greenwell says Munn has waived his right to appeal, meaning he is not contesting the disciplinary action. Sharp County On The Hook For $20,000 In Medical And Ambulance Bills After Man Was ““Accidentially”” Shot By Arkansas State Police Trooper Wendall Jines December 31st, 2007 ASH FLAT, ARKANSAS —— Sharp County officials feel the county is being unfairly charged with medical and ambulance bills stemming from the accidental shooting of a man by a state trooper almost a year ago, County Judge Larry Brown said. James Naldo Arnold, a former Sharp County resident who was a fugitive from Illinois at the time of the incident, was shot by Arkansas State Police Special Agent Wendall Jines as the two struggled while Jines was attempting to serve the Illinois warrant. The incident occurred Feb. 9 near Highland, where Jines had received information that Arnold could be inside a mobile home on Game Reserve Road. While Jines was at the door talking with an occupant of the home, he heard a vehicle start behind it. Moving in that direction, he saw a truck being driven by Arnold, identified himself as a police officer and ordered Arnold to stop. Arnold continued to drive toward Jines, who jumped out of the way and fired his service pistol three times in an attempt to stop the truck. The shots deflated two tires on the truck. As Arnold drove off, Jines followed in his patrol car until Arnold wrecked the truck on McCormick Road. Arnold then kicked out the driver’’s door window of the truck and crawled out. A struggle ensued, during which Jines’’ pistol unintentionally discharged, wounding Arnold. Arnold, then 38, was wanted by Iroquois County, Ill., authorities on drug charges and failure to appear, according to police reports. After Arnold spent about three days in White River Medical Center, he was charged in Sharp County Circuit Court with attempted capital murder and felony fleeing. He was charged as a habitual offender, meaning that penalties, if he is convicted, will be enhanced. The hospital bill totaled $18,692. Other bills include $1,003 owed to Spring River Ambulance Service and $599 to North Arkansas Radiology. Sheriff Dale Weaver said the county’’s role in the arrest was merely to send backup officers to the scene, and a county officer rode with Arnold to the hospital. ““I don’’t blame the hospital for wanting their money,”” he said. However, he and Brown contend that either the state of Arkansas or state of Illinois should pay the bills. Weaver said the Arkansas Claims Commission recently rejected the county’’s request to have the state pay the bills. County Attorney Larry Kissee is looking into appealing that decision, or at least part of it, Weaver said. Brown said the county will continue to appeal as far as possible, while also checking to see if Illinois would pay the bills, since the arrest stemmed from the Illinois warrant. Arnold has a history of conflict with authorities in Sharp County. He led police on a Labor Day 2004 pursuit that resulted in three wrecked police cars. In that incident, Arnold was listed by authorities as a fugitive when an officer spotted him driving a Ford Mustang. He led officers on a chase from Ash Flat to Cherokee Village, where a state trooper’’s car was heavily damaged, a county police car totaled and another county car damaged when the vehicles hit a street that had been chipped and sealed, leaving loose gravels on top. The Mustang was later found abandoned in Cherokee Village with undercarriage damage and flat tires. Arnold had escaped on foot. He was captured asleep in a pickup in Ozark Acres a few days later and charged with felony fleeing in addition to felonies in connection with an alleged methamphetamine lab found at his residence. He was also wanted on a warrant from Illinois when the 2004 pursuit occurred. In early 2005, he was sentenced to four years in state prison. Court documents also show that he was sentenced to three years in prison in March of 1998 in regard to drug-related and aggravated assault charges. Arnold is currently in a drug rehabilitation facility in Little Rock, Weaver said. Former Pine Bluff Arkansas Police Officer Marx Mitchell Charged With Terroristic Threats After Domestic Incident With Girlfriend And Her Family December 23rd, 2007 PINE BLUFF, ARKANSAS – A $250,000 bond was set Friday for a former Pine Bluff police officer charged with three counts of terroristic threatening following an incident involving his girlfriend and members of her family earlier this week. Circuit Judge Rob Wyatt Jr. set the bond for Marx Mitchell, 38, who now lives in Kingsland, and ordered him to have no contact with the girlfriend or members of her family until the case is settled. Pine Bluff attorney Greg Robinson appeared in court with Mitchell Friday, waived a formal reading of the charges, and entered a plea of not guilty for Mitchell. Mitchell, a former member of the police department’’s special response team and commander of the vice and narcotics unit, retired this summer on a medical disability. The case was assigned to First Division Circuit Judge Berlin Jones Arkansas State Police Trooper Roughs Up Reporter In Maumelle, Arrests Him For Absolutely Nothing December 13th, 2007 MAUMELLE, ARKANSAS —— Having lived 59 years, battled cancer, worn the country’’s uniform for 26 years and proudly worked as a journalist —— a profession I always admired —— I thought I’’d seen it all. That is until Monday night, when I was arrested and charged with a criminal offense just for trying to do my job and take photos of a residential fire in Maumelle. [BCN: Hopefully some crackhead takes out this cop with a bullet or knife. R.A.] Being arrested, searched, having my camera, reporter’’s notebook and billfold confiscated, humiliated in front of friends and people I write about every week was a difficult way to be arrested for the first time in my life. The only other time I wore a pair of handcuffs was 10 years ago during a training class at the Law Enforcement Training Academy in Camden. When I was told that I was being arrested it seemed like a dream. I knew I’’d done nothing wrong. But I knew better than to argue with a sate trooper who obviously had an attitude. Although I was arrested and handcuffed, not once was I read my rights. In fact, the State Police trooper told me I was being charged with obstructing governmental operations and one other offense. I can’’t remember what the second one was. It was such an incredulous feeling to be stopped from doing my job, much less to be arrested, that it was difficult to consider what was really happening. All I was doing was what Capt. Gloria Weakland, State Police Troop A commander, advised me to do when I inquired via telephone months back about a fatality accident near Cabot and talked to her about covering the news. Capt. Weakland told me that I was welcome at any accident or incident scene and for me to approach the trooper there and identify myself with the news media and that I would have access to do my job. That’’s all I was trying to do Monday evening. I didn’’t think the trooper in Maumelle had seen the press credential on my windshield and I approached him as she suggested to let him know who I was and why I was there. That’’s when he said he was going to arrest me for approaching him. He told me that he saw the press sign on my windshield and the ID around my neck but that it didn’’t mean anything to him. Life has been difficult for me since my battle with cancer. The cancer, radiation treatments and multiple surgeries have all left their marks on me. Thank God I’’m cancer-free, but I’’m not half the young man who used to run the 100-yard dash in 10.2 seconds. In fact, this past weekend has been one of the most painful in my life. The medicine that I still must take often depletes my potassium and my muscles hurt so badly it’’s very difficult to move. I actually have to hold on to something to pull my way in and out of my vehicle so that I don’’t generate more pain in my legs. I use my arms and hands as much as possible to keep from using my legs to even lift me out of chairs because of the pain. Of course, being overweight makes it even more difficult. For the first two years of my battle with cancer, I had to take steroid shots along with the 18 different kinds of medicine, to even feel like getting out of bed. A combination of the cancer’’s damage to my kidneys, bladder and colon and the steroids added about 100 pounds to my already large frame. But I tell people everyday that I’’d rather be fat and alive than skinny and dead. My physician tells me that some of the kidney medicine I take contributes to the retention of fluids in spite of other medicine to help relieve that problem. The combination of medical problems and being overweight makes for a slow-moving wide body. Walking is a chore and an occasional run or climbing stairs leaves me breathless. After being handcuffed and forced to stand still for more than 30 minutes beside his Arkansas State Police vehicle with unit number A-54 on it, I couldn’’t move a muscle. When I squirmed, the trooper was yelling at me to stop resisting. Standing with my arms behind me was difficult and painful to the point of being unbearable. I know what resisting is and I did nothing that could be considered that. The too-tight handcuffs hurt my wrists and I have scratches from them on my right arm where the trooper hit it while slapping the handcuffs on me. All of that and the pain of standing still for so long was unbearable, but I knew better than to complain or suffer the trooper’’s wrath. His demeanor was abusive, intimidating and downright scary. Some of my friends on the Maumelle Fire Department came over to check on me. I was still 50 to 75 yards away from the minor fire and they all wondered what was going on. They asked if they could help and I told my publisher’’s son-in-law, who is a firefighter, to call him in case I needed to be bailed out of jail. The firemen later told me they couldn’’t believe I had been arrested for attempting to take photos far away from the fire. In fact, they called the Maumelle Police Department to come and check on me because they said they were worried about me. After my boss’’ son-in-law left, the trooper came over and asked if I was somebody special. I told him no, I’’m just a reporter. Then he wanted to know whom I asked the fireman to call and I explained that it was my boss. He then asked which newspaper I worked for and I tried to explain that I worked for several newspapers owned by Stephens Media. He wanted to argue with me, telling me I’’d mentioned a specific newspaper earlier. Every time I tried to explain, the trooper would interrupt me, like a trial attorney would do when they’’re trying to discredit you. I wanted to tell him that I needed to sit down but I was afraid he’’d charge me with something else, or worse. After all, he had the gun and authority of a state trooper and I was just a journalist with a notepad and a camera. As mad as he was, I feared for my safety. He had roughed me up a little bit, pulling my left hand behind my back and then demanding that I let go of the camera in my right hand. I wasn’’t about to drop a $1,500 camera with a $400 strobe light on it. He grabbed it and yelled at me until I let it go. He took it, walked off behind me and later placed the camera on the trunk of his vehicle. After he visited with several Maumelle police officers, he came up to me and asked me, ““If I take these handcuffs off you, are you going to behave?”” I was stunned. From the moment he told me to turn around because I was under arrest for taking his photo, I attempted to follow his every command for fear of what he might do. I was handcuffed and defenseless. Not that I’’d have tried to resist; I have too much respect for law enforcement officers to do that, even when I know I didn’’t do anything wrong. As I was handcuffed, he tried to tell me that I’’d stuck the camera ““up in my face, inches from my nose, snapping it over and over attempting to blind me.”” I tried to explain that the camera had been set on motor drive in order to capture the firefighters in action and that I had actually only snapped it once. He wanted to argue and said that I held it down for 10 seconds or longer, telling me that he knew all about cameras. Even hours after the arrest, it all seems like a dream. A very bad dream. Maumelle Police Chief Sam Williams told me that I should file a complaint against the state trooper. I told him that wasn’’t my style because I have so much respect for all police officers and the difficult jobs they do. I’’ve worked closely with state troopers and count many of them as friends. In April 2006 when a trooper sergeant died out on a roadblock, I was so inspired when I attended his funeral in Searcy that I wrote a newspaper column tribute to him and all troopers, entitled ““The Thin Blue Line,”” that ended up being reprinted in the Arkansas State Police Association’’s magazine. After the episode, Chief Williams told me he might have yelled at me if he thought I’’d overstepped my bounds, but he said he certainly wouldn’’t have arrested me for just doing my job. Standing on a public street in a city where I’’ve covered much more serious fires than this one, I couldn’’t have believed that my First Amendment rights to cover and report the news would have been abridged. Even worse than the painful handcuffing episode, the state trooper turned me around so that I could not even see the firefighters in action putting out the fire. That was adding insult to injury. Now I can’’t even report on their outstanding efforts to save a home —— because I wasn’’t allowed to see it and I can’’t report what I didn’’t see. Suspended Fort Smith Arkansas Police Officer Steve Howard Drops Appeal After Special Deal And Slap On The Wrist December 12th, 2007 FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS – A Fort Smith police officer who was suspended for 30 days without pay has canceled his appeal in light of an agreement he made with the city last week, his attorney said Monday. See also: Fort Smith Arkansas Police Officer Sgt. Jeff Morgan Suspended Amid Investigation Including Major Jeff Barrows And Capt. Steve Howard Steve Howard, who was suspended Oct. 17 after an internal investigation that led to two other officers’’ firings, served his unpaid suspension and returned to work Nov. 16. He was scheduled for an appeal hearing Thursday before the Civil Service Commission. Attorney Greg Karber said his client withdrew his appeal after negotiating the agreement Thursday or Friday. ““He reached an agreement with the city whereby the time he was suspended without pay was reduced to seven days,”” Karber said. Karber said the deal was negotiated with city attorney Rick Wade. Wade could not be reached for comment, but Jerry Canfield, a colleague in the law firm Daily and Woods, confirmed ““as best I can understand from office conversation”” that an agreement of that nature was made, and that Howard can expect roughly three weeks of back pay. Howard was disciplined in connection with incidents that led to an internal investigation implicating him and two others —— Maj. Jeff Barrows and Sgt. Jeff Morgan —— and resulting in the latter officers’’ firings. Howard, who had recently been promoted to major and was in a probationary period, was demoted to captain Aug. 23. He and Barrows were placed on administrative leave the same day, and Morgan was placed on leave a week later, pending the outcome of the investigation. Morgan was fired Oct. 2. Barrows was fired Oct. 17, the same day Howard was suspended without pay. All three officers sought to appeal the actions. The Civil Service Commission confirmed Morgan’’s firing at a Nov. 28 hearing and Barrows’’ firing after a hearing Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. West Memphis Arkansas Police Chief Robert Paudert Ignores Calls To Resign After Police Officer Sgt. Erik Sammis Shoots And Kills 12 Year Old Boy Armed With A Bag Of Chips And A Soda December 9th, 2007 WEST MEMPHIS, ARKANSAS – West Memphis Police Chief Robert Paudert rejected Friday a request by the City Council that he resign in the wake of the June 22 fatal police shooting of a 12-year-old boy. See also: Grand Jury To Investigate After West Memphis Arkansas Police Officer Sgt. Erik Sammis Shoots And Kills 12 Year Old Boy Armed With A Bag Of Chips And A Soda Aldermen voted 6-4 in favor of a resolution Wednesday seeking Paudert’’s resignation, citing the shooting of DeAuntae Farrow by a West Memphis police officer. Paudert said he won’’t quit unless Mayor Bill Johnson asks him to step down. Johnson told the chief Friday he won’’t do that, Paudert said. Calls to Johnson on Friday weren’’t returned. ““I spoke with the mayor, and he has no intention of asking me to leave,”” Paudert said. ““I’’ve done nothing wrong. ““ We’’ve had three investigations that have cleared [Sgt. Erik Sammis ],”” Paudert said. ““But they [those who seek Paudert’’s resignation ] won’’t accept that. What they are looking for is different results that benefit them.”” Sammis shot DeAuntae twice while on a stakeout of a convenience store. Sammis said the youngster was holding what he thought was a handgun, and he made ““furtive motions”” when police asked him to stop. Officials later found the boy had a toy gun resembling a Smith & Wesson semiautomatic pistol, according to an investigation by special prosecutors. Family members have said DeAuntae was carrying a soft drink and a bag of potato chips. Meanwhile, a federal judge on Friday dismissed a wrongful death lawsuit filed by DeAuntae’’s mother. U. S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright said Debra Farrow didn’’t have standing because she hadn’’t been appointed administrator of the boy’’s estate when she filed the suit in July. Farrow and the boy’’s father, Robin Perkins, have since been appointed co-administrators of DeAuntae’’s estate. The special prosecutors exonerated Sammis of criminal wrongdoing in DeAuntae’’s death. He also was cleared by both federal investigators and internal investigators with the Police Department. However, members of West Memphis’’ black community aren’’t satisfied with the findings and claim justice hasn’’t been served in the youngster’’s death. Second Judicial District Circuit Judge Victor Hill filed a motion to call for a special grand jury to investigate the shooting, citing a 2000 case in which a black Edmondson police officer punched a white motorist who had stopped to harass the officer about issuing a traffic ticket. The blow was to the head and the motorist died about a week later. The police officer, David Turner, was tried twice by Crittenden County Circuit Court juries. He was found guilty of manslaughter in the second trial, held in December 2001, and sentenced to 10 years in prison —— a point Hill made in his filing. Hill said that a grand jury may be the only way to find out what happened in the shooting of DeAuntae. Special Prosecuting Attorney H. G. Foster of Conway asked the state Supreme Court to stay Hill’’s request to convene the jury, and the state’’s highest court agreed with Foster. Two West Memphis residents, the county’’s deputy coroner and the president of a community organization aimed at ensuring civil rights, filed a motion with the Supreme Court in support of Hill’’s request. ““There was no justice served,”” said Alderman Lorraine Robinson, one of the six who called for Paudert’’s resignation. ““DeAuntae was no threat to anyone. He didn’’t deserve to die.”” Ramona Taylor, an alderman who voted in favor of keeping Paudert on the job, said the chief was in a ““tough situation”” and actions have been hastily fueled by emotions. ““We need to be thoughtful,”” she said. ““We need to allow the family time to properly grieve. I think we have a good chief who is doing a good job. If we could all take a break. This didn’’t begin overnight and it won’’t be solved overnight.”” Paudert has been the police chief for nine years. During his tenure as chief, crime in the Crittenden County city of 27, 666 residents has declined drastically, police records indicate. ““This is dividing the city,”” Paudert said. ““Everything is on the basis of race.”” Sammis is white. DeAuntae was black. The six City Council members who voted to remove Paudert are black. The four who want him to remain are white. The council can recommend firing the city’’s police chief, but only the mayor has the power to terminate him. Aldermen can vote to overrule the mayor’’s decision to fire the chief, though. The shooting of DeAuntae occurred while Sammis and other police officers were watching a convenience store near the east side of town after receiving a tip that it may be robbed the night of June 22. A rash of thefts had occurred in the area during the weeks before, and police thought they could capture the robber or robbers. Sammis and officer Jimmy Evans sat in a patrol car near the store and waited. At 9: 50 p. m., DeAuntae and a relative walked by the car, heading from DeAuntae’’s home to the relative’’s in the Steeplechase Apartments. Sammis asked the boys to stop. According to police, DeAuntae was holding a toy gun and, when he made motions toward the officer, Sammis fired twice. The boy was shot in the leg and the chest. He died at the scene. Sammis and Evans were immediately suspended with pay during the investigation. Meanwhile, members of the black community questioned the shooting, incited, in part, by a eulogy performed at DeAuntae’’s July 1 funeral by the Rev. Al Sharpton. Sharpton, director of the National Action Network in New York, N. Y., urged those attending to ““seek justice”” for the shooting and not accept police findings. After the funeral, a West Memphis minister asked that blacks boycott businesses for a day in a show of support for DeAuntae. Evans returned to duty on the West Memphis Police Department earlier this week. Sammis has been offered jobs in other towns and probably will take another position soon, Paudert said. Paudert admits to adding his own incitement. During a recent public meeting between council members and residents, Paudert called those questioning the police investigations as ““vigilantes”” and criticized their lack of acceptance. ““They are not accepting the U. S. Department of Justice system, they won’’t accept what the state does with the special prosecutors and they won’’t accept our findings,”” he said. ““They want their own justice, their own results.”” Robinson said his remarks spurred her to call for his resignation. ““He made inflammatory comments,”” she said. ““We don’’t feel he needs to be our chief. He called us ‘‘vigilantes’’ and said we were ‘‘ignorant’’ and that we wanted ‘‘ black justice. ’’”” Robinson did say the aldermen who are seeking Paudert’’s resignation don’’t think Sammis was justified in DeAuntae’’s death. ““We heard things,”” she said. ““There’’s more to this than that report. There was something in there that caused Judge Hill to want to look further.”” Robinson and Paudert said that once Sammis leaves West Memphis for another job, feelings may subside somewhat. ““I think it will help settle things a bit,”” Robinson said. ““We still want Evans to be terminated, but he is not as important in the shooting as Sammis. ““ We feel this all could have been avoided if when it first happened that the city apologized to Debra [Farrow ], and offered a large settlement as an act of sorrow,”” she said. ““But instead this happens. The African-American community cannot be at rest until [Chief ] Paudert and [Mayor ] Billy Johnson are gone.”” Rape Conviction Reversed After Sherwood Arkansas Police Conduct Unwarranted Search December 9th, 2007 LITTLE ROCK. ARKANSAS —— Arkansas’’ highest court reversed the rape conviction Thursday of a man accusing of molesting a boy after justices said a nighttime search of his home wasn’’t justified. In a 5-2 ruling, the Arkansas Supreme Court ordered a new trial for Eric Wayne Kelley, who was convicted of rape and sentenced to life in prison. In 2005, Sherwood police were told by Texas authorities Kelley had arrest warrants from Dallas County, Texas, for sexual offenses against children. Police were also told Kelley had been having sexual relations with and 11-year-old or 12-year-old boy, the ruling said. After police found Kelley with a boy matching the description, they questioned the boy, who said Kelley had performed oral sex on him repeatedly over the past year and a half. He also told police Kelley had taken nude pictures of him with a digital camera at Kelley’’s apartment, the ruling said. Police obtained a nighttime search warrant because they were worried Kelley —— who insisted on calling his sister —— would ask her to dispose of the camera and computer. Kelley asked a judge to suppress the evidence seized during the search. Justice Annabelle Clinton Imber argued the affidavit and the warrant did not justify a nighttime search because they did not detail Kelley’’s insistence on calling his sister. ““The affidavit and warrant only contained the conclusory statement that the objects to be seized were in danger of imminent removal without providing any facts or explanation in support of such a search,”” Imber wrote. ““Thus, the affidavit lacked all indicia of reasonable cause to justify a nighttime search, and, under our objective standard, the officers should have known that an affidavit not stating facts that support a nighttime search was in violation of our rules.”” Justice Robert L. Brown dissented and noted police swore to a district judge why he believed a nighttime search was necessary. ““The result is that law enforcement officers will now be hamstrung in their ability to move expeditiously at night, even when the protection is in place against an unreasonable search because the police officer has made his case before a judge under oath and believes he is operating in good faith,”” Brown wrote. Trial Date Set For Lawsuit Charging Fayetteville Arkansas Police Officer Travis Faught With 30 Minute Taser Weapon Torture Attack December 6th, 2007 FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS —— A March trial date has been set in U. S. District Court for two Fayetteville police officers accused of using excessive force during a November 2005 arrest. Steven E. Wanbaugh, 46, filed a lawsuit claiming Cpl. Robin Fields held him down while officer Travis Faught used a Taser on him for about 30 minutes. Wanbaugh claims in his handwritten complaint that Faught used the electrical shock device on him 10 to 30 times, making it hard for him to walk for days. The non-jury trial is scheduled for March 27 in U. S. District Court in Fayetteville. Wanbaugh is asking a federal judge to dismiss charges filed against him in state court, including battery on a police officer, resisting arrest and fleeing, and to order rehabilitation for back spasms he said he had after his arrest. Attorneys for the officers said any injuries or damages Wanbaugh sustained were caused by his own negligence. Wanbaugh’’s complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted under the law, they said in court filings. Police reports say Wanbaugh fought the officers, causing them minor injuries. The officers’’ actions in connection with the arrest were never investigated, because no complaint was made to the department, a police spokesman said. Greene County Arkansas Jail Supervisor William Shaw Charged After Sex With Inmate December 5th, 2007 GREENE COUNTY, ARKANSAS – Authorities say a former Greene County jail supervisor has been arrested after acknowledging he had sex with a state prison inmate serving as a trustee there. William Shaw faces a felony sexual assault charge stemming from the incident. Meanwhile, Sheriff Dan Langston says the county likely will lose state trustee labor until at least February as officials investigate the second such incident in a year. Langston says 35-year-old Shaw admitted to having sex with a female inmate in the last year inside an office at the jail. Langston says Shaw told a deputy he had ““deep regrets”” about what he did. The sheriff says the allegations involving Shaw were never brought to his attention before. This is the second time this year a Greene County jailer has faced allegations over trustees. Officials say former jailer John David Dupwe was arrested for felony sexual assault after meeting a female prisoner for sex while she was on a furlough. Shaw was being held on $25,000 bond Monday. Fort Smith Arkansas Police Officer Sgt. Jeff Morgan Wants Job Back After being Fired For Lying December 1st, 2007 FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS – A former Fort Smith police sergeant tried to salvage his 20-year career on Wednesday by denying allegations he lied about proofreading his supervisor’’s college course work while on duty. Sgt. Jeff Morgan, who was fired in October, pleaded his case to the city’’s five-member Civil Service Commission. An internal inquiry found Morgan lied about conducting personal business for his supervisor, Maj. Jeff Barrows, who was also fired after an internal investigation. Morgan, who was assigned to administrative duties such as managing grants, said he misunderstood the questions and didn’’t mean to mislead Capt. Alan Haney, who is in charge of internal inquiries. He later clarified his initial answers to Haney’’s questions. During follow-up interviews with investigators, he said he had reviewed Barrows’’ term papers and ran errands with his former supervisor. The Civil Service Commission has the authority to overrule or uphold Police Chief Kevin Lindsey’’s decision to terminate Morgan. Morgan can appeal any decision in Sebastian County Circuit Court. Testimony in the appeal was scheduled to continue today. Testimony on Wednesday revealed details of disciplinary action taken against Barrows and another high-ranking officer, Capt. Steve Howard. Howard has resumed duties after a 30-day suspension. Both men plan to appeal their punishments. But testimony stopped short of explaining exactly why Barrows was terminated and why Howard was demoted from the rank of major and placed on unpaid leave for 30 days. One previously released document indicated that Howard was being investigated for making disparaging remarks about the department. Lindsay, who was hired as police chief in January, said during testimony that one of the men has been cleared in the internal inquiry. He has declined to release further details. Morgan, who had no other history of disciplinary actions, was questioned as part of the inquiry into Barrows. He became the focus of another investigation after department officials felt he was untruthful in that interview. Barrow’’s appeal hearing is set for Friday morning. Lindsey said Morgan had been an ““exemplary employee.”” ““ The Fort Smith Police Department does not have room for an officer who lies, ”” Lindsey said. ““Pure and simple.”” Grand Jury To Investigate After West Memphis Arkansas Police Officer Sgt. Erik Sammis Shoots And Kills 12 Year Old Boy Armed With A Bag Of Chips And A Soda November 30th, 2007 LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS – Simmering racial divisions and fears in West Memphis came to a boil with the police shooting of a 12-year-old black child this summer, a local judge says, forcing him to impanel a civil grand jury to investigate the death. Crittenden County Circuit Court Judge Victor L. Hill’’s order for a grand jury investigation into DeAuntae Farrow’’s death comes after a special prosecutor declined to file criminal charges in the shooting. Hill stressed not only the need for ““maintaining the appearance of fairness,”” but also his own racial experiences as the area’’s sole black judge in calling for a formal investigation in the town across the Mississippi River from Memphis, Tenn. ““From any objective view of the manner in which justice has been dispensed in Crittenden County, there is reason for the public’’s confidence in the justice system to be shaken,”” Hill wrote in an order dated Monday. West Memphis police Sgt. Erik Sammis, a white officer on a stakeout, shot DeAuntae as he played near an apartment complex June 22. An Arkansas State Police investigation into the shooting concluded Sammis shot DeAuntae because the boy held a toy version of a semiautomatic pistol in the darkened parking lot. DeAuntae’’s family disputed that, saying the boy held a bag of chips and a soda at the time of the shooting. The Justice Department later said that DeAuntae’’s rights weren’’t ““willfully abused”” in the shooting and declined to pursue federal charges. Special Prosecutor H.G. Foster announced this month there would be no state criminal charges in the shooting, which he called a ““tragedy.”” DeAuntae’’s parents have filed a wrongful death and civil rights lawsuit seeking more than $100 million from the city of West Memphis and the police officers involved. In his order, Hill called for a civil jury scheduled to form Dec. 10 to look into the case and asked Foster to present his evidence if he’’s available. Foster did not return a call for comment Thursday, but a legal filing to the Arkansas Supreme Court by the special prosecutor asks justices to stop Hill’’s order. Hill said the reasons for a jury investigation were several-fold, including maintaining the public’’s trust in its legal system. In a footnote, Hill mentioned the death of Leo Cavallaro Jr., who was beaten by a former Edmondson police officer near West Memphis. The officer later was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 10 years in prison. In that case, Hill said, the officer went to trial twice before he was convicted. ““The life of the young black citizen is no less valuable than that of that of the white citizen who died following an altercation with a police officer,”” Hill wrote. ““Our system should tolerate not even the least suggestion that it is so.”” Hill, who noted on his order’’s first page he is the only black judge serving in Arkansas’’ Second Judicial Circuit, cited his own life as reason for seeking a grand jury investigation. In his order, Hill attacked West Memphis police Assistant Chief Mike Allen for filing ““frivolous and racially motivated complaints”” against him. ““Whether deliberately or subconsciously, these, and others like them have sought to make it clear that they have no respect for the rights of blacks,”” Hill wrote. Allen did not return a telephone call for comment Thursday. David Stewart, the executive director of the state panel overseeing judicial conduct, said the commission has received 14 complaints about Hill. All have been dismissed without commissioners taking any action. Foster’’s filing to the state Supreme Court warned Hill’’s order could cause ““immediate and irreparable harm,”” noting its focus on race. ““That with all proper respect and deference to Hon. Judge Hill, the order signed appears to actually state a racial basis for the call of the grand jury and that this could prove a further fatal defect to any action taken,”” Foster wrote. Hill said his hope is that the grand jury investigation will even the scales. ““There is no question in my mind that the justice system is not ‘‘fair.’’ That does not mean that we should abandon our efforts to make it more so,”” Hill wrote, quoting his response to previous judicial complaints against him. ““I have no plans to abandon the effort. It doesn’’t matter to me that my efforts upset some people. I would suggest to them that they get over it or move someplace where there are no black people.”” Former Hawaii Police Officer Jason Jesclard, About To Be Hired By Arkansas State Police, Arrested And Charged With Seeking Sex From A 14 Year Old Girl Online – That Job? Not So Much Now…… November 17th, 2007 WHITE COUNTY, ARKANSAS – It all starts at the White County Sheriff’’s Department when two deputies enter an on-line chat room. The decoy profile is an eighth grader from Searcy, a regular teen who could be anybody’’s child. One after another, men begin chatting with the officers posing as the young girl. Repeatedly detective Brandon Grimes tells the men the ““girl”” is only 14. ““We’’ve had several that have offered to even drive from halfway across the state, so that really surprises me,”” says Grimes. Since deputies began the cyber sex sting program about three weeks ago, they say three men have showed up at an undisclosed location with condoms to have sex. ““You’’d be surprised. They will show you anything, do anything, and say anything,”” explains Grimes. One of those men was 27-year-old Jason Jesclard, a former police officer in Hawaii who’’d recently been given a conditional offer of employment by Arkansas State Police. Found by deputies at Jesclard’’s home were several addresses and directions that detectives believe belong to girls across Arkansas he was planning to meet. ““We’’ve spoken with youth ministers of churches, girl softball coaches; we’’ve talked to everybody,”” explains Grimes. ““It never stops being amazing of who you’’re going to talk to, or where they are at, or who they’’re connected to.”” Deputies says conducting these stings may have saved a child, maybe even your child from getting raped or even worse. But the operation is just the beginning of a long fight in White County. Grimes says, ““I want them to know that when they see 14-year-old female from Searcy, or anyone from White County they’’re through talking.”” Jesclard and Greg Daughtery, 40, were arrested and charged with internet stalking of a child. The third man, is 19-years-old. The law states to be charged with internet stalking of a child, you must be 21. However, he is charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor and possession of a controlled substance. Deputies in White County say they have several other cases they’’re working and expect more arrests soon. No Federal Charges Against West Memphis Arkansas Police Officer Sgt. Erik Sammis For Shooting And Killing Unarmed 12 Year Old Child November 10th, 2007 WEST MEMPHIS, ARKANSAS – The Justice Department’’s investigation into the shooting is closed. The 12-year old was shot June 22nd. The Sergeant who shot him told investigators he thought Deaunta was holding a gun. Police say the gun turned out to be a toy. The West Memphis Police Department feels this is a step in the right direction, but several people including two West Memphis Council Members say this will hurt the community more than it will heal. City Council Members Marco McClendon and Lorraine Robinson say the Federal Decision is a huge slap in the face to the people of West Memphis. Robinson calls it a ““really sad day in the U.S., based on a thought. He thought Deaunta Farrow had a gun.”” McClendon agrees. ”” What more is it going to take? My problem is the lack of compassion, where a child has been killed.”” Al Sharpton’’s group, ““The National Action Network”” is organizing a march in Washington to protest the Fed’’s decision not to prosecute Sergeant Erik Sammis and Officer Jimmy Evans. That march is Friday, November 16th, at noon. It will start at the Freedom Plaza and end at the steps of the Justice Department. Deaunta’’s mother, Deborah Farrow is expected to attend. Fort Smith Arkansas Police Officer Harold Dean Arter, Who Threw Cellphone In River, Found Not Guilty Of Harassment For Up-Skirt Photos Of Co-Worker November 5th, 2007 FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS —— A former police officer was found not guilty Wednesday of misdemeanor harassment in connection with accusations he tried to take unwanted pictures of a female co-worker. Acting Judge Glenn A. Neel stated ““based on the testimony and credibility of witnesses, statements of counsel, and the post-trial briefs submitted by both parties,”” he had a reasonable doubt as to Harold Dean Arter’’s guilt and found him not guilty. Arter, 48, was accused of trying to take cell phone pictures under the clothes of a woman he worked with at the Fort Smith Police Department. The woman reported two occasions of the suspected behavior —— an April 18 incident in which she said Arter bent to pick up a dropped coin, grazed her leg and stood up holding his cell phone, and an April 30 incident in which she said he leaned back while she was standing at his desk, then quickly put his hand in his lap, holding his cell phone. On the day the woman reported the incidents, Arter left the police station and told investigators he panicked and threw his cell phone in the river. He said he didn’’t photograph or try to photograph the woman April 18, but tried to take a picture ““from behind”” on April 30. The 17-year veteran officer was placed on administrative leave and resigned following his arrest May 2. Under Arkansas law, a person commits harassment if ““with the purpose”” to harass, he engages in conduct that alarms or seriously annoys another. Defense attorney Sam ““Chip”” Sexton III argued in his brief the statute was unconstitutionally vague and failed to give proper notice of prohibited conduct, and Arter behaved covertly specifically to avoid causing alarm. Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Cory Johnson argued in his brief Arter’’s covertness proved he knew his actions were wrong, and he received fair warning in that his conduct clearly matched the conduct prohibited by law. Former Crittenden County Arkansas Deputy Sheriff Shannon Houchin Sentenced To 1 Year In Federal Prison For Beating Inmate November 3rd, 2007 CRITTENDEN COUNTY, ARKANSAS – Shannon Houchin, a former officer with the Crittenden County Sheriff’’s Office in West Memphis, Ark., was sentenced today in federal court in Little Rock to one year and one day imprisonment following his conviction on a civil rights violation. At his guilty plea on July 23, 2007, Houchin admitted that he abused his authority as a police officer when, in May 2006, he unnecessarily assaulted an arrestee as the man was being taken into the booking area of the Crittenden County Detention Facility. ““Law enforcement officials have a special duty to protect the rights of people in the communities they serve, not to prey upon them,”” said Rena J. Comisac, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. ““The Justice Department will aggressively prosecute those who cross the line to engage in acts of criminal misconduct.”” The Civil Rights Division is committed to the aggressive enforcement of the nation’’s civil rights laws. In the past six years, the Division has convicted nearly 50 percent more defendants for color of law, or official misconduct, violations than in the previous six years. The Division continues to set records in the enforcement of criminal civil law. Last year, the Division convicted 189 defendants for civil rights violations, which is a record number in the 50-year history of the Division. Last year’’s record broke the record set in 2006. Today’’s sentence resulted from the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. Civil Rights Division attorneys Christine Dunn and Karen Ruckert handled the case for the Justice Department. Arkansas Court Of Appeals Upholds Former Pine Bluff Police Officer Robert Bergstrom’’s Child Molestation Conviction And Prison Sentences November 3rd, 2007 LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS – The state Court of Appeals on Wednesday upheld the conviction of a former Pine Bluff police officer who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for sexual assault involving a teenage girl. Robert Bergstrom received concurrent 10-year and 5-year sentences for first-degree sexual assault and second-degree sexual assault in June 2006. Prosecutors said Bergstrom has sex with and touched inappropriately a girl who was under 18. The girl”” mother testified at Bergstrom’’s trial that she met Bergstrom one evening in 2002 when he brought her three children home from a skating rink where he worked as a security guard. She said Bergstrom became a family friend and often would stop by her home to check on the children while she was at work. The girl’’s mother said she trusted Bergstrom with her children because she knew he was a police officer. The girl testified that, starting in early 2002, Bergstrom often touched her inappropriately during his visits. She said that on one occasion, when she and her siblings were invited to Bergstrom’’s apartment complex to swim, Bergstrom called her into his apartment and forced her to have sex with him. Police testified that Bergstrom initially denied touching the girl but later admitted to having sexual contact with her, though he claimed it was at her urging. Appealing his conviction, Bergstrom, 40, claimed there was insufficient evidence to show that he used his position as a law enforcement officer to procure sexual contact with the girl, which the state had to show to support a conviction of first-degree sexual assault. Bergstrom argued that because he was off-duty when the sexual contact occurred, he was not using his power as a police officer over the victim. ““This is a ridiculous assertion,”” Judge Larry Vaught wrote in the appeals court’’s opinion. ““It was his position of power that allowed him to gain access to the child and to convince the child’’s mother that the children were safe in his care.”” Bergstrom also argued that Jefferson County Circuit Judge Berlin Jones should not have granted a motion by the state to limit the testimony of the defense witnesses to matters of character only. The appeals court rejected that argument as well, finding that the defense witnesses did not know or have any relationship with the girl or her family and that nothing the witnesses were prepared to say would have altered the impact of Bergstrom’’s own confession. Finally, Bergstrom argued that the jury was given erroneous instructions. Jurors were told that the state had to show either that Bergstrom was a law enforcement officer at the time of the offense or that he was in a position of trust or authority over the girl to support a second-degree sexual assault conviction, but under state law both of those elements had to be present, Bergstrom claimed. The appeals court found that the jury’’s instructions matched the law that was in effect at the time the sexual contact between Bergstrom and the girl began, although the law was changed in July 2003. Arrest Warrants Issued For Albuquerque New Mexico Police Officers Russell Carter And Kenneth Ronzone After Brutal Beating Of Bouncer In Arkansas Bar Brawl November 1st, 2007 FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS – Warrants have been issued for two Albuquerque police officers accused of being involved in a bar fight in Fort Smith, Arkansas. The warrants alleging second-degree battery were issued Wednesday for 24-year-old Russell Carter and 27-year-old Kenneth Ronzone. Fort Smith police Corporal Mikeal Bates says the two officers are accused of fighting with two bouncers. Police say the fracas erupted early last Friday when Carter tried to start a fight with one of the bouncers. Police allege the bouncer was on the ground when Ronzone stomped his head. Police also allege that Ronzone hit another bouncer in the face when the bouncer tried to help his co-worker. The officers contend the bouncers were the aggressors Fired Fayetteville Arkansas Police Officer Jeremy B Grammer Sued For Making Police Dog Falsely Indicate Drugs Were In Car. Officer Faces Federal Child Pornography Charges October 30th, 2007 FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS —— A jury will consider today whether a fired Fayetteville Police officer’’s use of his police dog during a 2003 traffic stop was proper. Former officer Jeremy B. Grammer is being sued in U. S. District Court in Fayetteville by Justin Slaughter, a former University of Arkansas Razorbacks football player, who claims Grammer violated his civil rights on Nov. 26, 2003. Slaughter claims Grammer coached his police dog to falsely indicate drugs were present in Slaughter’’s car during the traffic stop. Grammer subsequently searched and detained him without cause or permission, his lawsuit claims. ““This is a case about a man who exercised his right and told the police, ““ No, you’’re not gonna search,”” Slaughter’’s attorney, Doug Norwood, told jurors Monday. ““But they searched anyway.”” Both sides rested after testimony Monday afternoon, and jurors will begin deliberating at 9 a. m. today. Slaughter, 24, of Fayetteville testified police stopped him on Garland Avenue after he swerved to avoid an object in the road. Officer Jason French asked Slaughter if he could search the car, but Slaughter declined. French and officer Travis Lee summoned Grammer and his police dog to the scene, saying they were suspicious about the strong odor of air freshener coming from the car. Jurors on Monday watched a police video of the search showing Grammer leading his dog, Cero, around the car. The video showed Grammer sweeping his arm toward various parts of the car’’s exterior, and Cero jumped up, placing his front paws on those areas. At issue is whether Grammer prompted the dog to indicate the presence of narcotics in the vehicle, and whether the dog’’s behavior was such an indication. Grammer testified Monday that the sweeping motion he made was to tell Cero where to check for the smell of drugs. ““When he puts his paws up, he’’s scratching,”” Grammer said. ““Scratching is a sign of a change in behavior, which means the dog detects the odor of narcotics.”” Grammer let the dog inside the car, which the three officers searched for drugs. French and Grammer testified they found ““remnants”” of marijuana on the floorboard of the car, which Slaughter, a reserve fullback, said belonged to a teammate. The remnants didn’’t constitute a useable amount of the drug, so the officers didn’’t seize it or arrest Slaughter. Slaughter said he told police he didn’’t have time for them to search the car because he was late to a player’’s meeting at UA. He said he was embarrassed standing along busy Garland Avenue with police going through the car, while teammates drove by on their way to the meeting. ““I felt humiliated,”” said Slaughter, who played for the Razorbacks from 2001 until he graduated in 2005. ““To be put in that position with people driving by made it hard for me to uphold a [good ] image.”” U. S. District Judge Jimm Larry Hendren dismissed Lee and French from the suit, but he found there is a question of whether Grammer coached the dog. Grammer is named individually and in his official capacity. He is covered by a liability insurance policy held by the city, court records show. Fayetteville police fired Grammer, 31, in April after federal officials identified him in a child pornography sting, according to court records. Grammer is charged in U. S. District Court in Fayetteville with distributing and receiving child pornography over the Internet. He pleaded innocent in August and is free on $ 5, 000 bond. His trial is set for Feb. 11. Police said Grammer sent and received images from his e-mail account depicting young girls engaged in sex with an adult male. Lawsuit Charges Miller County Arkansas Jailers With Savage Beating Of Inmate – No Investigation Was Done After Beating October 30th, 2007 MILLER COUNTY, ARKANSAS – A lawyer representing Miller County said Monday that officials never investigated allegations that two jailers beat an inmate so badly last year that he had to be hospitalized at least five times before he eventually died two weeks ago. Derrick Henry, 28, of Texarkana filed a federal lawsuit against the county on Oct. 12, five days before he died, alleging two unnamed jailers ““savagely”” beat him on or before Nov. 15, 2006, and then failed to get him medical treatment in a timely manner. C. Burt Newell, a Hot Springs attorney representing the county in the lawsuit, said Monday that no investigation was ever conducted into the matter, although he said the jailers have denied any wrongdoing. It is unclear exactly what happened to Henry and how he sustained the injuries, Newell said. ““We will deny that two jailers caused Mr. Henry any harm,”” Newell said. ““We know the guy had some serious problems, but we don’’t know for sure whether he had some or all of those problems at the point he was admitted [into the Miller County Detention Center on Nov. 9, 2006, for failing to pay child support ]. That’’s possible. The other possibility is that his cellmate did something to him.”” Robert W. Weber, a Texarkana, Texas, attorney who filed the lawsuit on behalf of Henry, declined comment on the case. The complaint he filed, however, alleges a series of improprieties on the part of Miller County officials. As a result of the beating, the lawsuit says, Henry sustained severe injuries and nearly died immediately. He suffered fractures of the jaw, a closed head injury, a spleen laceration, a collapsed lung, a joint dislocation and the loss of seven teeth, the lawsuit said. Henry also suffered psychological injuries including confusion, anxiety, agitation, paranoia and post-traumatic stress disorder, the lawsuit says. His hospital bills at the time the complaint was filed on Oct. 12, topped $ 312, 579. The lawsuit alleges Miller County paid $ 8, 044 for Henry’’s medical care, which according to Newell covered Henry’’s initial emergency room visit. On Wednesday, Newell filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, claiming it should have been filed in U. S. District for the Western District of Arkansas because the plaintiff and defendants are all from Arkansas. The lawsuit was filed in U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, where Henry received medical care. Since the alleged beating, Henry had to have his mouth wired shut and his spleen surgically removed, the lawsuit says. For two days, the lawsuit alleges, Henry waited for medical treatment in the Miller County jail despite a life-threatening need for treatment. The lawsuit alleges officers took Henry to the Area Health Education Center, advising the doctor there that Henry was suffering from an abscessed tooth. The physician, however, examined Henry and determined he had been assaulted and that officers needed to take him to the emergency room at the Wadley Regional Medical Center in Texarkana, Texas, the lawsuit says. After transporting Henry to Wadley, ““officers concocted another story and told emergency room personnel that Henry had been hitting himself and banging his head against the wall and described him as having a psychiatric history,”” the lawsuit says. ““These statements were knowingly false and made in a continuing effort to cover up the beating,”” the lawsuit says. Emergency personnel put Henry on life support to sustain his breathing before air-lifting him to Parkland Health and Hospital System in Dallas. Officers then released Henry as an inmate from the jail ““in an obvious and unconstitutional attempt”” to avoid having to pay for his medical bills, the lawsuit alleges. Newell said the allegations in the complaint are false. Newell said Henry was admitted to the jail with an infection in his mouth, and that it may have gotten progressively worse while in custody. ““We acknowledge the guy had some infections in his mouth; there’’s no doubt about that,”” Newell said. ““We just believe we provided him with proper adequate care as soon as he needed it. He never said anything. He never made a complaint about needing any help until the morning we took him to the doctor, and at that point he clearly needed help.”” Newell said it’’s safe to assume Henry ““may have had some emotional problems”” based on his behavior in jail. Efforts to reach Henry’’s family in Texarkana failed Monday. A number listed for his mother, Gloria Hunter, was no longer in service. His brothers, Charles Hunter Jr. and Matthew Hunter, are not listed on www. switchboard. com, an Internet telephone directory. Speaking of his mental state, Newell said Henry threw feces at the jailers, and Miller County Chief Deputy Sheriff Tommy Hollin said Henry’’s body was covered in waste at the time of the alleged beating. The lawsuit claims jailers inappropriately put him in a cell with a mentally ill detainee, Vinson Marks, who would ““throw or rub feces on windows, kick the windows, make screaming noises and generally cause trouble for the jail guards.”” Henry is the only named plaintiff in the lawsuit. Listed as defendants are Miller County, Miller County Judge Roy J. Mc-Natt, former Sheriff H. L. Phillips, former Warden Mike Griffen, Lt. Janice Nicholson, Sgt. Renee Wright and two unknown officers employed by Miller County. The case number is 507-CV-154. He’’s Being Deported”” – Fort Smith Arkansas Prosecuting Attorney Aaron Jennen Stands By As Child Molester Receives Suspended Sentence And Deportation. Predator Will Probably Be Back On U.S. Soil In Less Than A Month, Free To Attack His Victim Again, Or Another Child. October 26th, 2007 FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS – A 24-year-old man is on his way out of the country after pleading guilty to sexual assault, a prosecutor said Thursday. [Same prosecutor: Teacher receives a slap on the wrist for child molestation.] Hugo Rivas-Ortiz pleaded guilty Oct. 17 to fourth-degree sexual assault in connection with an incident discovered June 23. The offense is a Class D felony punishable by up to six years in prison. It alleges that a defendant over 20 engages in sexual intercourse with someone not his spouse who is under 16. Judge J. Michael Fitzhugh withheld Rivas-Ortiz’’s sentence for six years on condition of good behavior and ordered him to register as a sex offender, complete a sex-offender counseling program and engage in no offensive contact with the victim. According to Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Aaron Jennen, the choice between a prison sentence and a suspended sentence would have made no difference in this case, because Rivas-Ortiz was placed into the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ““He’’s being deported,”” Jennen said. The sexual assault to which Rivas-Ortiz pleaded guilty to involved a consensual relationship that apparently began when he was 23 and the girl was 15, Jennen said. ““The family did not want to pursue prosecution,”” he said. In fact, they indicated they hoped the no-contact order placed on Rivas-Ortiz would be dissolved with his plea and that they could visit him. Jennen said the relationship came to prosecutors’’ attention when the girl’’s parents reported her missing and then found her at Rivas-Ortiz’’s house. ““They initially did not approve of the relationship,”” Jennen said, but later changed their minds. The incident happened June 23. Rivas-Ortiz was arrested Aug. 22. Fort Smith Arkansas Police Officer David Andrew Howard Fired After Consuming Alcohol And Reckless Driving Stop October 16th, 2007 FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS – A rookie patrolman suspected of recklessly driving through Barling after consuming alcohol was fired from the Fort Smith Police Department on Friday. Officer David Andrew Howard, 22, was terminated for violating Rule 303 of the department’’s rules and regulations, which states that an officer cannot be involved in any action that draws criticism to the department, or any incident that would discredit him as an officer, according to a news release issued by Sgt. Jarrard Copeland. Howard began serving with the Police Department in January. When he committed the violation he was still in a one-year probationary period that is mandatory for all new officers. ““Howard has no right to make an appeal because he was a probationary officer,”” Copeland said. Howard was traveling through Barling at a high rate of speed toward his home in Lavaca on the night of Oct. 4 when he was stopped by officer Kevin Dugan of the Barling Police Department at 11:30 p.m., according to Lt. Tracy Powell, who is currently serving as interim chief of Barling police. Howard, who was off-duty and driving 64 mph in a 40 mph zone, told Dugan that he had just left a restaurant and was heading home. He said he had drank two large beers, Powell said. Dugan administered a field sobriety test, checking Howard’’s eyes for any frequent jerking caused by alcohol or narcotic consumption, and observing Howard’’s ability to balance himself while walking, turning and standing on one foot. Howard’’s eyes were excessively jerking, Powell said. Howard was cited for reckless driving and speeding, then driven home by an off-duty Barling police officer. Howard had not consumed enough alcohol to warrant an arrest for suspicion of DWI, according to Powell, who said that civilians have received the same treatment. Dugan did not recognize Howard as a police officer, and Howard did not identify himself as such, according to Powell. ““He didn’’t use the, ‘‘I’’m a cop, let me go’’ deal,”” Powell said. ““He was very cooperative.”” Howard was placed on administrative leave with pay while an internal investigation was conducted. Police Chief Kevin Lindsey reviewed the findings of the investigation and a predetermination hearing was held to allow Howard an opportunity to make a statement addressing the situation. An officer serving his first year with the Police Department is not allowed to make an appeal if terminated because he is working on a trial basis, according to Copeland. ““That’’s the department’’s opportunity to evaluate (an officer) and determine if he will be a liability later on,”” he said. Drinking and driving, Copeland said, is a serious offense. ““We’’re always telling people to not drink and drive,”” he said. ““The chief had to consider what message he was sending to the public and other police officers with his decision to terminate or not terminate (Howard’’s employment).”” Although the Police Department asks that motorists never drink and drive, officers are held even more accountable for their actions behind the wheel, Lindsey said. ““An officer should be held to a higher standard,”” the chief said. Suspended Fort Smith Arkansas Police Officer Sgt. Jeff Morgan Fired October 4th, 2007 FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS – Sgt. Jeff Morgan, one of three ranking Fort Smith police officers suspended as part of an internal investigation, was fired from the Police Department Tuesday. Morgan, a 20-year veteran of the department, was notified Tuesday that his position was terminated, according to Sgt. Jarrard Copeland. Morgan, along with Maj. Jeff Barrows and Capt. Steve Howard, was the subject of an internal investigation conducted by the department’’s Office of Professional Standards. Chief of Police Kevin Lindsey placed both Barrows and Howard on administrative leave with pay on Aug. 23; Morgan was suspended with pay one week later. The internal investigation revealed that Morgan committed ““a serious violation of the Fort Smith Police Department Rules and Regulations,”” Copeland stated in a news release. Because Morgan is allotted 10 days to appeal his termination, Copeland said he could not comment on the specific reason for Morgan’’s removal. He also refused to provide the exact date of the violation. Lindsey, who assumed the chief’’s office in January, determined that Morgan would not continue his career with the Police Department, Copeland said. ““The decision is ultimately left up to the chief,”” Copeland said. While Barrows and Howard remain on administrative leave, it is unknown if any disciplinary action will be taken against them. Although Copeland said the investigations into Morgan, Barrows and Howard are related, he said he could not elaborate on their connection to each other. During the internal investigation, several officers were interviewed by the Office of Professional Standards. According to Police Department due process, once the investigation is completed and the information transcribed, the chief of police reviews files from the investigation. A chain of command review usually takes place after the chief’’s review. However, Barrows, Howard and Morgan comprised the administrative the chain of command, therefore officers would have to be appointed for the review. In September, Lindsey said he would use his option to appoint officers. Upon reviewing the files, the appointed officers would determine whether a policy had been violated, and if a violation is found, they would either recommend to offer or not offer a predetermination hearing. A predetermination hearing, Copeland said, allows the officer under investigation to present his side of the story. Copeland said he is not aware of which officers were appointed to the chain of command review, and also said that he does not know if Morgan received a predetermination hearing. Lindsey could not be reached for comment during both office and evening hours. Copeland said the chief was busy with late-afternoon meetings. City Administrator Randy Reed said Wednesday night that Lindsey had yet to send the necessary paperwork for him to sign off on Morgan’’s termination from the Police Department. If Morgan chooses, he can appeal his termination to the Civil Service Commission. Copeland said the Commission is made up of five Fort Smith residents from the public sector, including an attorney and an employee of St. Edward Mercy Medical Center. On Aug. 9, the commission upheld Lindsey’’s decision to suspend Cpl. Tim Randolph for 30 days without pay. If the commission overturns Morgan’’s termination, the Police Department can appeal, Copeland said. Morgan could not be reached by phone to comment on his termination or a possible appeal. Soon after Barrows and Howard were placed on administrative leave, members of two local police unions became concerned that Lindsey would be fired. Members of the Fort Smith Fraternal Order of Police and Municipal Police Association gathered on Aug. 24 and declared their unanimous support of Lindsey. Police union members circulated two petitions in support of Lindsey with signatures from the Police Department, local citizens and members of other area law enforcement agencies. Both petitions were forwarded to Reed, Mayor Ray Baker and all members of the Fort Smith Board of Directors. At-Large Director Cole Goodman wrote a letter to Reed on Sept. 12, asking the city administrator to place Lindsey on administrative leave until the City Council can have an executive session and evaluate what Goodman described as a ““mishandling of an ‘‘internal investigation.’’”” It was also learned that Ward 2 Director Velvet Barrows expressed interest in an executive session. Local attorney Chip Sexton, who often represents Fort Smith police officers, told the Times Record in September that several officers were leery of Velvet Barrows’’ involvement with the internal investigation. Sexton said officers were concerned by information that Velvet Barrows, the wife of Maj. Jeff Barrows, was attempting to ““influence the city directors in regard to the internal investigation at the Police Department.”” Velvet Barrows confirmed on Sept. 14 that she requested a report on the status of the investigation, as is her right as city director, and that she contacted other directors to see if they were interested in calling an executive session to discuss Lindsey’’s performance. Because her husband is a subject of the investigation, Barrows said she would recuse herself if an executive session were held. Despite Goodman’’s request, on Sept. 19, Reed said he would not suspend Lindsey. Court Tosses Fired Huntington Arkansas Police Officer Ryan Stephens Wrongful-Termination Lawsuit October 4th, 2007 HUNTINGTON, ARKANSAS – A wrongful-termination lawsuit filed in July by former Huntington police officer Ryan Stephens was dismissed without prejudice in September by Sebastian County Circuit Judge J. Michael Fitzhugh. In an order filed in the Circuit Court’’s Greenwood District, Fitzhugh wrote that Arkansas is an at-will employment state. Under that doctrine, an at-will employee can be terminated for good cause, no cause or even a morally wrong cause, he wrote. There are exceptions, Fitzhugh stated, but the public policy exception claimed by Stephens is a narrow one. ““The plaintiff’’s complaint, as drafted, falls short of making sufficient factual allegations of unlawful discharge under the public policy exception,”” Fitzhugh wrote. The dismissal without prejudice would allow Stephens to refile the complaint and plead further. Stephens’’ attorney, Kevin Ridgley of Greenwood, did not immediately return a phone call Wednesday. Stephens’’ lawsuit had alleged that in violation of state law, Huntington Mayor Craig Cotner had in his private possession police department equipment including radios, firearms, badges and uniforms. The lawsuit alleged none of the missing items had been officially transferred to the mayor’’s possession. In an affidavit, Stephens said he found three firearms missing from the evidence locker and reported it to the State Police who conducted an investigation. He stated that the State Police told him to try to retrieve the firearms, but the mayor allegedly refused to return any of the missing items. Stephens stated that he then called the Municipal League, which instructed him to call the Attorney General’’s Office, which instructed him to call the Sebastian County Prosecutor’’s Office, which instructed him to call the city attorney. At the time, he said, Huntington had no city attorney. After the council hired Dianna Ladd, Stephens said, he consulted her and was told to ask to have the matter placed on the City Council agenda. When he did, Stephens stated, he was fired. Stephens was fired on May 25 for alleged insubordination. He started working for the department in July 2002. Stephens had asked for monetary damages, including the value of all fringe benefits, retirement service credit, lost wages, punitive damages, and court costs and attorney fees. Waldron Arkansas Police Officer Gerald Heifner Quits After Rape Accusation September 22nd, 2007 WALDRON, ARKANSAS – A Waldron police officer whose conduct was deemed unbecoming an officer resigned from the department. Gerald Heifner resigned a few days after an accusation of rape was levied against him Aug. 26. Waldron Police Chief David Miller said Thursday an Arkansas State Police investigation found that the sexual relations Heifner had with a 21-year-old woman were consensual and not rape, as originally alleged. However, Heifner’’s conduct was considered unbecoming an officer because he’’d place himself in a position in which the allegations could be made, Miller said. Miller said the woman is related to someone in a case Heifner was investigating. No telephone listing could be found for Heifner, and he could not be reached for comment Thursday. Heifner had worked for the Waldron force for about two years, Miller said. Scott County Sheriff Cody Carpenter said his officers were dispatched to the local hospital regarding an alleged rape by a Waldron police officer. Carpenter said Arkansas State Police investigators took over the case. Carpenter said the woman later told both his investigators and the ASP investigators that the act was consensual. Carpenter said it is his understanding ““it was an ‘‘if you do this for me, I’’ll do this for you’’ kind of thing. It’’s always been that way, but now that we’’re trying to address it, you hear about it more.”” Law enforcement officers are held to a higher standard, Miller agreed. ASP Special Agent Ron Hitt said he couldn’’t comment on the case because the investigation technically remains open and will until the prosecuting attorney decides whether to prosecute. He said the case had not yet been forwarded to the prosecutor’’s office. A call placed to 15th Judicial Circuit Prosecuting Attorney Tom Tatum’’s office was not immediately returned Thursday. Another Bono Arkansas Police Officer Jim Matha Target Of Investigation Into Sexual Misconduct With A Child September 21st, 2007 BONO, ARKANSAS – Another Bono police officer is now the target of an investigation involving allegations of sexual misconduct with a minor. Bono Mayor L.M. Duncan confirmed the information for K8 News, saying that officer Jim Matha, no longer is employed by the city. Previously, Matha served as Bono’’s interim police chief after the former chief, Rick Duhon, was fired for similar actions. Duhon is now serving prison time in the Arkansas Dept. of Correction. Sources say the same teenage girl who accused Duhon of misconduct is now accusing Matha. Matha has not yet been formally charged. The incident is being investigated by the Arkansas State Police, at the request of Bono Police Chief Lance Suttles. Fort Smith Arkansas Police Officer Sgt. Thomas Robinson Arrested, Suspended, Charged With Suspicion Of Driving While Intoxicated By Prescription Drugs After Crashing Into Dumpster September 21st, 2007 ALMA, ARKANSAS —— A Fort Smith police officer was arrested Thursday night on suspicion of driving while intoxicated by prescription drugs. Alma police arrested Sgt. Thomas Robinson after they said he drove his car into a Dumpster, 40/29 reported. Robinson is assigned to the patrol division of the Fort Smith Police Department. He has been placed on paid leave while the case is investigated. Third Fort Smith Arkansas Police Officer, Sgt. Jeff Morgan, Suspended Amid Investigation September 2nd, 2007 FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS —— An internal investigation at the Fort Smith Police Department has led to another officer being placed on leave. Sgt. Jeff Morgan was placed on paid leave Thursday night, authorities said. Morgan joined Maj. Jeff Barrow and Capt. Steve Howard, who were both placed on paid leave Aug. 23. Police Chief Kevin Lindsey has not commented on the case but said there is a connection among all three men and the reasons they were placed on leave. Posted by John Lewis at 7:58 AM 0 comments Subscribe to: Posts (Atom) Blog Archive * ▼ 2008 (3) o ▼ July (3) + Pearl Harbor Photo’s never seen + Sulphur Springs Police Chief Pleads Not Guilty + Arkansas Bad Cops About Me My Photo John Lewis View my complete profile

Meth fighting for month of October in Bentonville

My comments to the below story is for the so called sheriff Keith Ferguson to clean up his house before kicking in doors and destroying private citizens property like he did to mine. Never in my life even smoked weed, let alone do drugs. Been in the medical field over twenty plus years. Came home late one night finding this sickening pig tearing up my home. Ran all sorts of checks on me and found nothing. After all never have been in jail let alone arrested for any crime. Served in Viet Nam as well with all sorts of ribbons, badges and certificates. Seen more in my life that I would never wish on any person. But, coming home after a hard day and seeing police throwing things around and breaking things. Walked into my house and was told to leave or be jailed. In shock and seen my safe even destroyed as well as money and other stuff taken upon inspection from having dinner in town. I was pissed. Sure all sorts of lawyers would take the case with thousands down first. Then found a crooker lawyer willing to for three hundred dollars and nothing for months from this crook. Found out he worked for this creep and said because my son had weed in his room, and consider that drug as well. Sure do I. But, still left no reason for Keith and his coon’s to destroy all I worked for. So, said fine, I will fight with words and learn all I could about this sick cop re-elected by the sheep of this area. Found he would ruin the lives of those that worked for him if they didn’t break the law’s as he asked. Example: Keith was pulled over drunk driving. The officer wanted to do his job, and of course others of the flock came along and took Keith home . The officer of course was fired for even making an attempt to arrest this puke. So, much more as doing record searches that even a sheriff had no business doing, but to get information on people he didn’t like. Yup, this crook is a bad apple and I will keep letting everyone know it! Keep searching all around the internet as pages are destroyed by some of these crooks, but I have so many set up that the news will continue on until the whole system is destroyed by our corrupt government. Always check under badcop’snews or badcops and bad cops etc. Fight for your rights and fight bad cops! Thanks to the cop that gave me a gas mast. Guess that is a sign for the next time. I am retired now and have all sorts of time on hands. I will be blogging and setting up .com .gov and so on here. Always check around and you will see. Use a search such aas lewis1946 for an example for web pages.

Meth Awareness Month Kicks Off
LAST UPDATED WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2008 6:49 PM CDT IN NEWS
By Melissa Sherman
THE MORNING NEWS
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BENTONVILLE — Methamphetamine labs are on the rise in Benton County, officials said during the kickoff of the fifth annual Meth Awareness Month.

Sheriff Keith Ferguson said every department in the sheriff’s office is working overtime to thwart the increase of the drug. That includes traffic stops with the Crime Suppression Unit and undercover drug buys using narcotics investigators, Ferguson said.

The Methamphetamine Precursor Control Act of 2005 temporarily curtailed meth labs by putting cold medicines used in its manufacture behind pharmacy counters and limiting the amount sold. But Benton County officials have said meth makers are getting around the law by having multiple users buy the cold medicine.

Students from the Old High Middle School in Bentonville joined law enforcement officers and county officials outside the courthouse to listen to speakers talk about drug awareness.

“Look at them,” said Van Stone, the Benton County prosecuting attorney, pointing at the students huddled at the square. “They’re full of hope and excitement and represent what we’re all about.”

Officials hope to send a powerful message to children that methamphetamine is instantly addictive and can ruin lives, Stone said.

Ferguson said children shouldn’t be afraid to tell a teacher or family member if they know of someone abusing drugs. Methamphetamine destroys families and shortens an abuser’s life, he said.

Last month, 59 people graduated from the Benton County Drug Court for treatment of methamphetamine abuse, Stone told the crowd. The county’s juvenile court is also making strides with drug rehabilitation, he said.

Sens. Mark Pryor and Blanche Lincoln, both D-Ark., and 3rd District Rep. John Boozman, R-Rogers, were also on hand to present a check for $122,434 to Drug Free Rogers-Lowell.

The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration awarded the five-year grant, said Tim Riley, the grants coordinator with Boozman’s office.

Drug Free Rogers-Lowell will receive a check for $122,434 a year for five years, Riley said.

Law enforcement agencies plan meth awareness activities in schools throughout Benton County, officials said.

Police resource officers in Bentonville and Rogers will speak in their respective schools about drug awareness. Deputies will also travel to various schools this month to teach drug awareness, said Deputy Doug Gay, public information officer.

Pea Ridge Bald headed Fat Dumb crooker cop

October 01, 2008- 7:30pm
Won’t mention this porky’s name as only one that look’s as I describe with a bald head and short porky looking and dumber than dirt as well.
I decided that I wanted to go get supper this evening for my family so asked my oldest grand kid if I would fly and buy if he would go in and get the goodies. He said sure. Since I also have smaller great grand kid’s at home I decided I didn’t want McDonald’s and the little one’s plus mom would prefer Mc D’s than what my grand son and I would at Sub Way. Off we went and I send grandson into Subway for two five dollar great sandwiches. Seen the pork’s car in parking lot, but thought nothing of it after all see them there quite often. This evening was different. This time when my grandson came out with our order, Porky pig asked my grandson to put the sub’s on the trunk of his car. I sat there then said ok, enough was enough. Got out of my car and said to porky. What is the problem here. Porky stated that my grandson fitted a suspect that had been breaking into homes. He asked my grandson to show the bottom of his shoes. Quick thinking on Pork’s part as I was pissed. Did have to say to grandson why he showed his shoes to the pig. He stated because I was told and afraid he was going to start trouble. I said trouble? What kind of trouble? After all he works daily and hard as well and having to take crap from a dumb ass just because he wishes to show he has power needs to be put to a stop. He said if I didn’t come over that he would probably be in jail. I said for what? Just for being there. He is afraid of cops. Cops are suppose to be good guys and not picking on people. But, I learned that Pea Ridge has a few pukes that just like to harass kid’s for nothing. Well, if this is true then you bad cop’s that feel your all that powerful, best remember these kid’s will grow up and one day fight back as I do now. So, crooked porky bald head idiot and you know who I am as you see me a lot. Stop me and pull your crap on me and let’s have fun! Make sure I am alone after all we don’t want any witness. Right? Just say something like I am driving a look a like car. Ask me to show something or even check the car. See what I tell ya. Then takes a man to face a man doesn’t it? See ya soon bald headed freak!

Speed trap?

CAVE SPRINGS -— City officials say it’s not surprising there are a lot of tickets to write in a town at the intersection of two highways, one of which leads to a regional airport.

 

But some people who live in or pass through the town said the city’s police are “overzealous” in issuing traffic tickets.

 

One of them is Ed Smith, a former park ranger who said he was given a ticket for failure to stop at a stop sign at the intersection of Main Street and Healing Springs Road. He was on his way back from dropping off his son at Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport.

 

After driving through the Main Street and Healing Springs Road intersection, Smith was pulled over and given a ticket for “imprudent driving,” a violation of a two-year-old city ordinance.

 

Because violations of the city law don’t go on drivers’ records like violations of the state law, officers issue the city ticket for minor infractions when drivers have a good record, said Rick Moore, Cave Springs’ police chief.

 

“We do that to kind of cut people a break,” he said.

 

 

Smith wasn’t so sure.

 

“Needless to say, I didn’t really look at a ticket as getting a favor,” he said.

 

The city has issued 1,754 citations this year, mostly for traffic violations, said Mayor Mark Reeves. Of those, 845, or about 48 percent, were for imprudent driving, according to city records.

 

Police also issued about 600 warnings.

 

Smith said there is a possibility he didn’t completely stop, but he is sure he was not driving dangerously.

 

“Did I stop at an absolutely not-moving, dead-still stop?” he said. “I don’t know. But for all the practical intent of the law, I stopped.”

 

Based on his day in court with several other cited motorists, Smith said he thinks the city is using tickets to bolster its revenue.

 

Cave Springs pulled in about $112,000, or about $14,000 per month, as of the end of August from fines and court fees.

 

By contrast, Gravette — also home to the intersection of two state highways — has pulled in about $4,500 per month from “administration of justice.”

 

Reeves and Moore said the police are not out to get money for the city.

 

“We do not gain anything by officers writing a lot of tickets,” Moore said. “It’s not like they get a commission or anything.”

 

The Arkansas Speed Trap Law does not allow municipal ticket revenue from a highway to exceed 30 percent of the city’s expenses.

 

Cave Springs has collected about 18 percent of its expenses from fines and court fees. The city could not provide figures for how much of that was from traffic violations on the highways.

 

Moore laughed when asked if the city is a speed trap.

 

“If you’re going to have a trap, that implies some kind of bait,” he said. “We have signs, we say it’s radar-enforced — this is a problem area, and we’re just trying to slow people down.”

 

Officers usually don’t write tickets if drivers are going less than 10 mph over the speed limit, he said.

 

Almost every vehicle observed Wednesday afternoon at the intersections of Main Street and Healing Springs Road and Main Street and East Lowell Avenue made rolling stops or stopped far past the sign.

 

Police are only trying to make the roads safe, Moore said.

 

The city’s location between Fayetteville and Springdale and Bentonville, as well as its proximity to the airport, means there is a lot of traffic, which means a lot of unsafe driving, he said.

 

There are many minor accidents at the two intersections, Moore said. In one accident, a man ran his vehicle off of East Lowell Avenue and destroyed several antique headstones at the nearby church.

 

If anyone thinks they were unfairly ticketed, they should plead not guilty, he said.

 

“That’s what the legal system is for,” he said.

 

Jana Doty, a former Cave Springs resident who now lives in Joplin, Mo., said in an e-mail she had an experience similar to Smith’s. She was in town visiting family when she was pulled over and cited for failure to stop.

 

She paid the ticket without arguing, because she didn’t want to take off work to fight the charge, she said.

 

Jack Phillips, who lives on the edge of Cave Springs, said he often watches police pull drivers over near the intersection of Main Street and Healing Springs Road.

 

He can see the intersection clearly from the Cave Springs General Store, where he has coffee every morning and was drinking coffee Wednesday afternoon.

 

“Almost as soon as they’re done writing somebody up, they’re pulling over the next person,” he said.

 

 

Fast Facts

 

 

Cave Springs Ticketing

 

• Cave Springs’ revenue so far this year from fines and court fees is $111,997.

 

• The city’s expenses so far are $593,783.

 

• Cave Springs’ revenue from tickets and court fees is equal to about 18 percent of the city’s expenses.

 

• The Arkansas Speed Trap Law prohibits cities from collecting revenue worth more than 30 percent of the city’s expenses from tickets issued on a highway.

Two Fayetteville Police officers crashed their police cars

FAYETTEVILLE — Two Fayetteville Police officers crashed their police cars early Wednesday while chasing a pickup driven by a Springdale man accused in a residential burglary.

A city official identified the officers involved in the crashes as Anthony Murphy and Cpl. Jason Bailey. One of the two suffered bruised ribs, Sgt. Bill Phelan said, but he wouldn’t identify the officers Thursday, so it wasn’t clear which man was injured.

Police responded to a disturbance at 310 N. University Ave. about 11:40 p.m. Tuesday. Residents of a nearby apartment complex told police they heard banging behind the building. Two residents said they confronted a man about damaging a door at the complex and he fled in his vehicle.

Police said the man tried to use a hammer to break open a door.

After police released a description of the man’s pickup, officers spotted it and chased it at high speeds from central Fayetteville to the north end of the city. Both Murphy and Bailey lost control of their patrol cars on Oakland Zion Road and ran off the narrow, winding street, causing about $30,000 of damage to the vehicles.

Police arrested Stephen A. Simco, 20, early Wednesday in connection with fleeing, residential burglary, driving while intoxicated, second-degree criminal mischief and first-degree criminal mischief.

Simco was released from the Washington County Detention Center on Wednesday on $11,080 in bonds.

Philadelphia Officer Fatally Shot by

 

 

　

Philadelphia Officer Fatally Shot by

Gunman

 

Posted

 

: Tuesday, September 23, 2008 Updated

: September 24th, 2008 09:04 AM EDT

PHILADELPHIA –

A city police officer pursuing an armed suspect Tuesday afternoon was fatally shot, the fourth Philadelphia officer to die in the line of duty in the last year, authorities said. Another officer was wounded and the suspect was killed.

The officer who died, Patrick McDonald, 30, was shot in the chest, Mayor Michael Nutter said. The other officer, 35-year-old Richard Bowes, was shot in the leg. He was in stable condition and expected to be OK, Nutter said.

“We are in pain, and we are very angry about what’s going on here in our city,” Nutter said.

Police said McDonald called for backup around 1:45 p.m., and Bowes was one of several officers to respond. At some point, an officer exchanged fire with the suspect. An automatic weapon was recovered at the scene.

Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said witnesses told authorities that the suspect stood over the officer and shot him.

“According to witnesses, he did stand over the officer and fired several shots, and he was hit multiple times,” Ramsey told WXTF-TV.

Police did not immediately identify the suspect or release other details. The suspect’s body was found about a half block from where McDonald was shot.

The shooting happened in a residential area near Temple University.

About four hours after McDonald’s death, at least 100 police officers lined a road out of Temple University Hospital to salute their fallen colleague as his body was taken away in a hearse.

McDonald, the son of a retired Philadelphia Fire Department captain, was single with no children; Bowes has three children, police said.

Police report homicides in Philadelphia are down significantly so far this year, but deaths of police officers in the line of duty have been on the rise.

Officer Isabel Nazario died this month during a vehicle pursuit when the patrol car in which she was riding was broadsided by a teenager driving a stolen SUV

　

 

In May, Officer Stephen Liczbinski was fatally shot responding to a bank robbery. Officer Chuck Cassidy was fatally shot last October when he interrupted a robbery at a Dunkin’ Donuts.

Before a 2006 slaying, Philadelphia had gone a decade without seeing a police officer killed in the line of duty.

　

　

Centerton Mayor Ken Williams pleaded not guilty to felony second-degree forgery

BENTONVILLE — Former Centerton Mayor Ken Williams pleaded not guilty to felony second-degree forgery.

Williams entered the plea Monday before Benton County Circuit Judge David Clinger.

Prosecutors accuse Williams, 68, of 276 N. “A” St. in Centerton of fraudulently signing the name Bruce Kent Williams to various papers, including tax returns, government documents and election documents between 2000 and 2008.

Williams resigned office Nov. 21 after acknowledging he’d assumed the identity of a dead man in 1980. His real name is Don LaRose.

He assumed the name and left his wife and two daughters in Hammond, Ind., to keep his family safe, Williams said during a news conference after his resignation.

He was abducted and had his memory erased in 1975, he said. The family moved but Williams believed his abductors were targeting him again five years later.

Williams was appointed mayor in 2001 after Mayor Mike Wakefield resigned as part of a plea agreement for vandalism, public intoxication and resisting arrest.

The second-degree forgery charge has a potential prison sentence of three to 10 years. Williams’ next hearing is Nov. 13.

Williams was not arrested on the charge. A criminal summons was issued instead because Williams wasn’t deemed a flight risk, Benton County Prosecuting Attorney Van Stone previously said.

Great cops at work

DETROIT – Police officers in two Detroit suburbs are accused of beating a motorist who was suffering a diabetic episode on a freeway.Lawyer Arnold Reed says 59-year-old Ernest Griglen had brain surgery after the June 15 encounter with police and has been clinging to life with help from a ventilator.   

 

  

 

Santos was fired Monday from his job as a juvenile officer

AYETTEVILLE — A man who once held court-appointed authority over a troubled 17-year-old girl was arrested Monday after police say he tried to initiate a sexual relationship with her.

Robert Santos, 50, of 578 Scottsdale Drive, was charged with attempted second-degree sexual assault, according to the arrest warrant. Santos monitored the girl’s behavior for the Washington County Juvenile Court from September 2007 to May 2008.

The girl told Fayetteville police Santos used text messages to flirt with her. Santos hired her to work in his business where she worked for five days. Santos touched the girl in a sexual manner during the time she worked for him, the victim said.

Santos was fired Monday from his job as a juvenile officer, according to county personnel records. He was hired in August 2007.

He was being held Tuesday in the Washington County Detention Center on a $20,000 bond.

Sick Cop shoots self and family

An off-duty Chicago police officer shot and killed his young daughter and critically injured his young son then took his own life Monday, police said.

Chicago police said the shootings stemmed from a domestic dispute between the officer and the children’s mother, but they would not elaborate. They would not release the name of the officer, saying only that he was 31 years old and had been with the department about four years.

Department spokeswoman Monique Bond said police responded to a “shots fired” call at the officer’s home Monday morning. When they arrived, a woman outside told them children were inside and she’d heard shots.

SWAT officers rushed into the house, finding the dead officer and the two children, who were taken to a hospital. Bond said all appeared to have been shot with the same handgun.

The 12-year-old boy was in critical condition Monday afternoon at Mount Sinai Hospital. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office said the girl who died was 7, while police gave her age as 8.

Police said the officer lived at the one-story brick house, but they did not know if the two children lived there.

Ex-Judge sentenced

Ex_judge sentenced

Two time drunk driver

8 September 06, 2008 12:01:00 AM        

Retired Sutter County judge Timothy J. Evans has been sentenced to 12 days in jail after being convicted a second time of driving under the influence.

Evans, 65, pleaded guilty Aug. 27 in Sutter County Superior Court through his attorney — about a month before his scheduled court appearance — and was sentenced by Visiting Judge David Minier of Merced County.

Because he was sentenced to fewer than 25 days, Evans probably will be eligible to serve the 12 days in a work release or work furlough program, Sutter County Sheriff J. Paul Parker said.

Minier ordered Evans to report to the Sutter County Jail Sept. 12.

Evans’ blood alcohol content was either 0.23 or 0.24 — three times the legal limit — after he was stopped by the California Highway Patrol July 14 on Highway 20 west of Township Road.

Calls Friday to Evans’ Marysville law office and to his attorney, Richard Thomas, were not returned .

Under the work release program, Evans would spend eight hours a day doing manual labor on a county work project or, if that is not possible because of health problems, do some sort of lighter duty, said Parker.

After his first DUI conviction, Evans was sentenced to four days but spent the time doing work for California Rural Legal Assistance in Marysville. Parker said that is a possibility this time.

Under the work furlough program, Evans could continue working in his regular job and spend nights at the jail, said Parker.

Evans has a private law practice in Marysville.

The jail’s classification officers will determine which programs Evans is eligible for based on his background and record, said Parker.

Fred Schroeder, Sutter County’s assistant district attorney, said Minier also sentenced Evans to 60 months summary probation. Evans must attend driver school and, if driving, use an ignition interlock device. A driver blows into the device, which will not allow the vehicle to be started if blood alcohol content is over a programmed limit.

Information on the status of Evans’ driver license was not immediately available.

Cop’s out of control house being overtaken by police officers

 

 

 

　

“St. Paul is a free country!” cried a resident of Iglehart Avenue, a neighborhood street in St. Paul, Minn., as she watched her next-door neighbor’s house being overtaken by police officers on Saturday afternoon. Just one in a series of house raids over a 24-hour period the weekend before the Republican National Convention, St. Paul police surrounded the private home with weapons drawn, detaining people in the backyard, while journalists, activists and neighbors — including several children — looked on.

Their crime? None whatsoever. No one was trespassing or engaging in acts of civil disobedience. Instead, members of I-Witness Video, a New York-based media watchdog group that records police activity in order to protect civil liberties, were holding an organizing meeting at 949 Iglehart, the home of St. Paul resident Mike Whalen, when armed police officers arrived in the early afternoon and ordered their surrender.

Among them was Eileen Clancy, founder of I-Witness Video, as well as a producer with Democracy Now! DN! host Amy Goodman and her staff had just arrived at Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport when they received word that producer Elizabeth Press was in the house and being threatened with arrest.

An urgent alert had been sent by Clancy:

This is Eileen Clancy. … The house where I-Witness Video is staying in St. Paul has been surrounded by police. We have locked all the doors. We have been told that if we leave we will be detained. One of our people who was caught outside is being detained in handcuffs in front of the house. The police say that they are waiting to get a search warrant. More than a dozen police are wielding firearms ……

… We are asking the public to contact the office of St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman at 651-266-8510 to stop this house arrest, this gross intimidation by police officers, and the detention of media activists and reporters.

By the time we arrived at the 900 block at Iglehart Ave a short while later, the people in the house had been handcuffed and taken out back. Police officers could be seen sitting in unmarked cars, blocking off the residential street, where a growing crowd of observers gathered in front and across the street from the blue house with green columns, straining to get a glimpse of what was happening.

With two officers flanking the entrance of the house, it was hard to see anything — but moments later, a woman emerged from the house next door. “You guys go in my backyard,” she called out. “They’re handcuffed back here!” With that, the crowd rushed around to the back, where over a short chain-link fence they spotted the handcuffed group, seated and surrounded by stoic police in sunglasses.

“These are nice people,” the neighbor admonished the cops. “These are good people.”

Sitting with her hands behind her back, Clancy spoke calmly and deliberately as she described what had happened and answered questions from people on the other side of the fence. Someone asked whether they had been read their Miranda rights. “Fuck no!” yelled one of the detainees.

As Press would later explain, a pair of police officers had actually shown up at the house earlier that day, at 11 in the morning, asking about the owner of the house. One of them identified himself as being with the FBI. “I think that was them just checking out the scene at the house,” said Press, who videotaped the officers coming to the door. They claimed to want to question a former resident about an action that had occurred a few months earlier. “We’re not here from the convention,” one officer said. Nervous I-Witness members didn’t know what to make of it — “We were like, this is f-d up let’s get out of here,” recalled Press — but they chose to finish their meeting anyway. It was only when they were getting ready to leave that the police showed up, some 20 officers this time, with guns drawn.

Sara Coffey of the National Lawyers Guild had just left the house and was immediately handcuffed. But, as described in Clancy’s alert, Press and the rest of the people in the duplex refused to let the police in because they did not have a warrant. However, at around 3:00 p.m., a warrant materialized for the adjacent space, apartment 951. “They entered through 951, detained everyone in that apartment, including the owner,” recalled Press, “…… and then broke into 949 through the attic.” The police entered with their guns drawn, ordered everyone’s hands up and handcuffed them.

Their belongings were confiscated and searched, and the group was assembled in the backyard. But soon after the crowd gathered with video cameras and legal observers, including an attorney for Mike Whalen — and after Amy Goodman jumped the fence to interview people and ask the cops why they were holding nonviolent people who had done nothing wrong — they were released.

　

Preemptive Strikes

Unlike the preceding raids, including one targeting the convergence space of the RNC Welcoming Committee — an anarchist group dubiously described by Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher as “a criminal enterprise …… intent on committing criminal acts” — the raid on the I-Witness house was specifically designed to target media activists whose mission is to hold police officers responsible for abusing their authority. I-Witness Video was instrumental in documenting police abuse during the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York, during which some 1,800 people were arrested. Working in cooperation with the National Lawyers Guild, I-Witness Video led to the dismissal of charges or the acquittal of some 400 protesters. This summer, New York City authorities subpoenaed I-Witness Video for tapes from the protests. In an

interview with Democracy Now! on Aug. 1, Clancy discussed the group’s plans for the political conventions.

We’re going to bring a crew to both presidential conventions. It’s pretty exciting. I mean, one of the reasons we’re very interested in covering the conventions is (not) because we want …… bad things to happen, but because the focus of the federal government, the law enforcement agencies and all that is very keenly directed at demonstrators. And when you cover these events completely, you’re able to see the patterns. The patterns emerge.

“I-Witness definitely does document things like police brutality and policing in general during situations of conflict,” I-Witness member Emily Foreman, one of three members who managed to leave the house only to be followed by police and pulled over on their bikes, told a reporter with

The Uptake after the raid, noting that that could make the group a target, “not because of anything illegal but because of our interest in upholding the law.”

Nevertheless, the list of items police were looking for would suggest the activists were nothing short of terror suspects. “Packages and contents, firearms and ammunition, holsters, cleaning equipment for firearms, (and) weapons devices” were included in the warrant read by Whalen, who spoke to reporters shortly after his handcuffs were removed. Asked what connection he had to the I-Witness Video activists, he replied, “no connection,” adding, “People needed a place to stay, and I support the work they do.”

Series of Raids

All told, six raids took place in St. Paul in 24 hours, resulting in six arrests. (Read about the other raids

here.) On Sunday, the Minnesota Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild sent out a press release announcing that it is “seeking prompt judicial review” of the “preventative detentions” of the six people arrested, all of whom remain on “probable cause holds” in the Ramsey County Jail. According to the press release: “In Minnesota, a probable cause hold can be ordered by a police officer without a prosecutor or a judge reviewing a criminal complaint. Due to the arrest occurring on a weekend holiday, all six citizens can be held until Wednesday, September 3, 2008, without the filing of a formal charge.”

The extent of the federal involvement in the raids is not entirely clear. Although they were reportedly spearheaded by the Ramsey County Sheriff’s office, St. Paul Police coordinated them with the FBI. Furthermore, according to the

Star Tribune, the raids were “aided by informants planted in protest groups.” Indeed, as Glenn Greenwald reminded readers on Sunday, the Minneapolis Joint Terrorist Task Force spent months recruiting people to spy on activist groups planning to protest the RNC. On May 21, the Minneapolis City Pages ran a bizarre but chilling story titled “Moles Wanted,” about the recruitment efforts by the task force — specifically, attempts to enlist people to “attend ‘vegan potlucks’ throughout the Twin Cities and rub shoulders with RNC protesters” in a mission to “investigate terrorist acts carried out by groups or organizations which fall within the definition of terrorist groups as set forth in the current United States Attorney General Guidelines.”

A retired NYPD detective who once investigated bank robberies is a suspect in nine bank jobs

　

　

Ex-NYPD Officer Accused of Bank Robbey

A retired NYPD detective who once investigated bank robberies is a suspect in nine bank jobs, law-enforcement sources said yesterday.

Former Detective Athelston Kelson, 59, was on the wrong side of the law in the 105th Precinct last night as he was questioned for the string of heists in eastern Queens and western Nassau, the sources said.

He turned himself in, accompanied by his lawyer, earlier in the day after a news report on the robberies included a bank surveillance shot that looked remarkably like the one-time Detective’s Endowment Association board member.

With more than 35 years on the force, Kelson was assigned to the Joint Terrorism Task Force when he retired two years ago. But he’d actually been a part of the Bank Robbery Task Force earlier in his career.

The series of stickups, which began June 12, were pulled off by a robber who became known as the “Bling Bandit” because he always wore a flashy watch and a pinky ring.

The bandit carried no weapon, but passed notes warning he had a gun.

The latest robberies were on Tuesday, at a JPMorganChase branch in West Hempstead, and

bandit carried no weapon, but passed notes warning he had a gun.

The latest robberies were on Tuesday, at a JPMorganChase branch in West Hempstead, and onAug. 21, at a Capital One branch in Westbury.

Former colleagues of Kelson – a decorated Vietnam War veteran – were stunned by the news, but acknowledged he was a dead ringer for the man in the surveillance video.

“I can’t believe that this happened,” said one retired detective who worked with him. “I can’t imagine what could be happening to him.”

Bette Kelson, the suspect’s estranged wife, reached at her home in Columbia, SC, was shocked, but said their three-year divorce proceedings were coming to an end – with financial consequences for him.

Asked if he was in need of money, she said, “I’m sure he is, because the court just awarded me . . . oh, I can’t talk about it.” She said the first caper came about the time the judgment came down.

As of last night, no official charges had been filed. Additional reporting by Philip Messing

Why do you foolish people say yes read and learn

Remember those words, as they may come in handy one day, specifically when a police officer asks you if he or she can search your vehicle.

If I approach as you pull into a parking space and ask if you’d mind my rummaging through your car, the chances are at least 90 percent that you’d decline. But if a police officer stops you with the same request, the chances are higher than 90 percent that you’d agree. Something about that badge makes citizens eager to be helpful.

As someone who has had his fair share of encounters with the police, mostly positive, but enough negative ones to mistrust and suspect foul play, I can say that I have proudly resisted these searches on more than one occasion.  Apparently, I am very much in the minority.  Even my sister has been intimidated into a search after “following too close” without an accident.

These treasure hunts are called “consent searches” because they require the motorist to give permission. They take place only when the police officer has no grounds for suspicion. If he has probable cause, he doesn’t have to ask. Only when he’s acting out of a vague hunch, racial prejudice or simple malice does he need the driver’s consent

dogs killed by cops

If you get an unexpected package in the mail, be

prepared to be raided and have your dogs killed by

the cops

 

August 8, 2008

A package of marijuana was sent to an unsuspecting mayor’’s wife, in a scheme in which drugs are mailed to people who are not in any way involved, then intercepted by those in the smuggling ring. She hadn’’t even seen the package, and it had not even been opened, when a SWAT team burst in without knocking, killed their dogs immediately, and terrorized the mayor, his elderly mother-in-law, and his innocent wife. The cops refused to show a warrant when asked, and furthermore, no-knock warrants aren’’t even legal in the state of Maryland. Not at all surprisingly, the cops claim they did nothing wrong.

Why did they raid these people at all? Had they done even a little bit of background, they’’d know it was the mayor’’s home, and that they could have just knocked on the door and asked for the package, and it would undoubtedly have been turned over without question.

From CNN:

(CNN) —— A Maryland mayor is asking the federal government to investigate why SWAT team members burst into his home without knocking and shot his two dogs to death in an investigation into a drug smuggling scheme.

“”This has been a difficult week and a half for us,”" Cheye Calvo, mayor of Berwyn Heights, Maryland, said Thursday. “”We lost our family dogs. We did it at the hands of sheriff’’s deputies who burst through our front door, rifles blazing.”"

The raid last week was led by the Prince George’’s County Police Department, with the sheriff’’s special operations team assisting, after a package of marijuana was sent to Calvo’’s home.

Authorities say the package was part of a scheme in which drugs are mailed to unknowing recipients and then intercepted.

Calvo said he had just returned home from walking his two Labrador retrievers, Chase and Payton, when his mother-in-law told him a package had arrived for his wife, Trinity Tomsic.

Moments later, Calvo was in his room changing for a meeting when he heard commotion downstairs.

“”The door flew open,”" he said. “”I heard gunfire shoot off. There was a brief pause and more gunfire.”"

Calvo said he was brought downstairs at gunpoint in his boxer shorts, handcuffed and forced onto the floor with his mother-in-law near the carcass of one of dead dogs.

“”I noticed my two dead dogs lying in pools of their own blood,”" Calvo said.

Calvo said his mother-in-law is still recovering from the incident.

“”She got the worst of it,”" Calvo said. “”She was literally in the kitchen, cooking a lovely pasta dish, and they brought down the door and shot our dogs.”"

While he was being held, Calvo said, he told police he is the town’’s mayor, but they didn’’t believe him.

Berwyn Heights has its own police force, he said, but Prince George’’s County police did not notify the municipal authorities of their interest in his home or the package.

“”They didn’’t know my name. All they knew was my wife’’s name. They matched that to the registration of the car,”" Calvo said. “”It was that lack of communication that really led to what has really been the most traumatic experience of our lives.”"

After the raid, arrests were made in the package interception scheme.

The incident has prompted the couple to call for a federal investigation because, they say, they don’’t believe police are capable of conducting an internal investigation.

“”They’’ve said they’’ve done nothing wrong,”" Calvo said. “”I didn’’t sign up for this fight, but I think what we have to do now is make changes to how Prince George’’s County police and Prince George’’s County sheriff’’s department operate.”"

Calvo said authorities entered his home without knocking and refused to show him a warrant when he requested one.

But Prince George’’s County Police Department spokeswoman Sharon Taylor said legal counsel had informed her that “”no-knock”" warrants do not exist in Maryland.

Taylor said authorities were acting on a warrant issued based on information available to them at the time.

“”This warrant was for permission to search the premises,”" she said. “”The special operations team that supported us made a decision about the necessity of entry at the point of being on the scene.”"

“”No-knock”" warrants have drawn criticism before. In Atlanta, Georgia, Kathryn Johnston, 92, was shot to death by police in a botched drug raid involving such a warrant in November.

Taylor, a self-described dog lover, expressed sympathy for the loss of Calvo’’s dogs, but stopped short of apologizing for the incident.

“”We’’ve done these similar kinds of operations over and over again, to the tune of removing billions of dollars of drugs from the community and without people or animals being harmed,”" she said. “”We don’’t want any of our operations to result in the injury or loss of anybody, and certainly not animals.”"

The deputies have said they killed the two animals because they felt threatened.

“”I would say that the dogs presented a threat, I would imagine, to the special operations situation,”" Taylor said.

Meanwhile, Calvo and his wife said members of the community have expressed sympathy and concern about the incident.

At a news conference Thursday, Tomsic tearfully recalled a recent encounter with a neighbor who used to wave at the couple as they walked Payton and Chase.

“”She gave me a big hug,”" Tomsic said. “”She said, ‘‘If the police shot your dogs dead and did this to you, how can I trust them?’’

Burgess resigned as sheriff position he had held since 1994

ARAPAHO, Okla. – A former sheriff was ordered Wednesday to stand trial on felony charges that accuse him of demanding sex from female inmates in exchange for his help in getting them into a drug court rehabilitation program.

Special Judge Paul Woodward found there was enough evidence to bring former Custer County Sheriff Mike Burgess to trial on 35 charges, including rape, following a two-day preliminary hearing during which several inmates testified that they feared they would be sent to prison if they didn’t perform sexual acts on Burgess.

Burgess was a member of a drug court panel that decides which offenders are allowed into the rehabilitation program and which are sent to prison.

No arraignment date was set. Burgess was ordered to return to court on Aug. 25 to appear before his trial judge, who has not been named. Woodward allowed Burgess to remain free on bond.

Burgess, 55, showed no emotion when the judge announced his decision and made no comment as he left the courthouse with his wife, who sat through both days of testimony.

His attorney, Steve Huddleston, said he looked forward to bringing the case to trial to prove his client’s innocence.

“Just because someone comes up and says something doesn’t mean it’s true,” Huddleston said. “The credibility of the female witnesses, all of whom have faced multiple felony counts of drug and other offenses, will play a crucial role in the trial. We have a lot of evidence to present.”

Special prosecutor Mike Boring said the offenses against the drug court participants had created “extremely difficult circumstances for every one of them.”

“Most of these offenses are aggravating, especially when they come from any public official who had imposed upon them the duty of care and trust,” he said.

Among the drug offenders who testified was an inmate who said Burgess ordered her to perform sexual acts on him in his office, and also picked her up at her home, drove her to a remote location and demanded sex.

Another woman testified that Burgess visited her at motel rooms and demanded sex. “I just tried to black out the whole thing. It was bad,” the woman said.

A third female inmate testified that Burgess gave her alcohol and then had sex with her multiple times during trips to Oklahoma City to promote the drug court program.

She told prosecuting attorneys she was afraid not to have sex with him.

“I would have gone to prison if I hadn’t,” she said.

The Associated Press typically does not identify victims of sexual assault.

Among the felony charges Burgess is facing are 14 counts of second-degree rape, seven counts of forcible oral sodomy and five counts of bribery by a public official. If convicted, he could face up to 467 years in prison.

Under state law, a prisoner cannot consent to sexual relations with a jailer or someone else who controls the conditions of the prisoner’s confinement.

Burgess resigned as sheriff in April from the position he had held since 1994. Evidence against him first surfaced in a federal lawsuit filed on behalf of 12 former jail inmates that alleged sheriff’s employees had them engage in wet T-shirt contests and offered cigarettes to women who would flash their breasts

FORMER FORSYTH DEPUTY SHERIFF INDICTED ON CHILD EXPLOITATION

Yet Another Child Exploitation Indictment in North

GeorgiaAugust 20, 2008

Gainesville, GA – MILTON SCOTT PRUITT, 40, of Forsyth County, Georgia, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of receiving and possessing child pornography.

 

United States Attorney David E. Nahmias said of the case, “”It is disturbing when someone entrusted with public safety exploits his position to commit crimes. This former deputy sheriff is charged with using his access to the Forsyth County computer server to receive and view child pornography (images gathered as evidence in the Sheriff Office’’s child exploitation investigations). Those who receive and possess child pornography––that is, images of children being sexually exploited–– support a vile industry that causes immense harm to innocent children. This former law enforcement officer is part of the problem, unlike the vast majority of officers who are part of the solution.”"

According to United States Attorney Nahmias, the charges and other information presented in court: On or about March 15, 2007, PRUITT allegedly knowingly received child pornography on his Forsyth County-issued computer. The three-count indictment also charges that continuing through on or about May 16, 2007, PRUITT knowingly received graphic images on his home computer, the production of which involved the use of minor children engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

Members of the public are reminded that the indictment contains only allegations. A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’’s burden to prove a defendant’’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

The charges carry a maximum sentence of 50 years in prison and a fine of up to $750,000.

This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, the Attorney General launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’’s Offices around the country, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet

This case is being investigated by Special Agents of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant United States Attorneys Francey Hakes and Corey Steinberg are prosecuting the case.

For further information please contact David E. Nahmias (pronounced NAH-me-us), United States Attorney, or Charysse L. Alexander, Executive Assistant United States Attorney, through Patrick Crosby, Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Attorney’’s Office, at (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the HomePage for the U.S. Attorney’’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is www.usdoj.gov/usao/gan.

MAN INDICTED IN SCHEME TO DEFRAUD HEDGE-FUND INVESTORS

OUT OF MORE THAN $20 MILLION

 

August 20, 2008

Atlanta, GA – MANYU OGALE, 44, of Jacksonville, Florida, was arraigned today before United States Magistrate Judge Russell G. Vineyard on charges of wire fraud related to a “”Ponzi”" investment scheme.

United States Attorney David E. Nahmias said of the case, “”This defendant is charged with using a Ponzi scheme to steal millions of dollars from investors who believed they were making wise investment choices. We continue to advise members of the public to use caution when investing their hard-earned money, even with someone they know, especially when the promised rates of return sound too good to be true.”"

According to Nahmias and the documents and information presented in court: OGALE was indicted by a federal grand jury on August 12, 2008. The indictment charges that from January 2003 through May 2007, OGALE owned and operated “”Den Haag Capital, LLC,”" which he represented to be “”a private hedge fund”" for “”sophisticated investors.”" OGALE falsely represented to investors that he had created an algorithm that allowed him to determine whether various foreign currencies were undervalued or overvalued, and he promised to invest his clients’’ money in the foreign currency markets using the algorithm that he had created. OGALE guaranteed investors an annual rate of return of 50%

In less than 5 years, OGALE took in over $20 million from investors. OGALE sent monthly statements to investors, falsely claiming that their investments had substantially increased in value, and OGALE used some of the money that he received from later investors to pay substantial returns to some of the early investors––the classic “”Ponzi”" fraud scheme. OGALE never invested any of the money, however, and, instead, used much of it to pay his own personal expenses in an effort to create an aura of legitimacy for himself.

Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’’s burden to prove the defendant’’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial

Yet Another Child Exploitation Indictment in North Georgia

FORMER FORSYTH DEPUTY SHERIFF INDICTED ON CHILD EXPLOITATION CHARGES

 

August 20, 2008

Gainesville, GA – MILTON SCOTT PRUITT, 40, of Forsyth County, Georgia, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of receiving and possessing child pornography.

 

United States Attorney David E. Nahmias said of the case, “”It is disturbing when someone entrusted with public safety exploits his position to commit crimes. This former deputy sheriff is charged with using his access to the Forsyth County computer server to receive and view child pornography (images gathered as evidence in the Sheriff Office’’s child exploitation investigations). Those who receive and possess child pornography––that is, images of children being sexually exploited–– support a vile industry that causes immense harm to innocent children. This former law enforcement officer is part of the problem, unlike the vast majority of officers who are part of the solution.”"

According to United States Attorney Nahmias, the charges and other information presented in court: On or about March 15, 2007, PRUITT allegedly knowingly received child pornography on his Forsyth County-issued computer. The three-count indictment also charges that continuing through on or about May 16, 2007, PRUITT knowingly received graphic images on his home computer, the production of which involved the use of minor children engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

Members of the public are reminded that the indictment contains only allegations. A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’’s burden to prove a defendant’’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

The charges carry a maximum sentence of 50 years in prison and a fine of up to $750,000.

This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, the Attorney General launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’’s Offices around the country, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit

www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

This case is being investigated by Special Agents of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant United States Attorneys Francey Hakes and Corey Steinberg are prosecuting the case.

For further information please contact David E. Nahmias (pronounced NAH-me-us), United States Attorney, or Charysse L. Alexander, Executive Assistant United States Attorney, through Patrick Crosby, Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Attorney’’s Office, at (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the HomePage for the U.S. Attorney’’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is www.usdoj.gov/usao/gan.

MAN INDICTED IN SCHEME TO DEFRAUD HEDGE-FUND INVESTORS

OUT OF MORE THAN $20 MILLION

 

August 20, 2008

Atlanta, GA – MANYU OGALE, 44, of Jacksonville, Florida, was arraigned today before United States Magistrate Judge Russell G. Vineyard on charges of wire fraud related to a “”Ponzi”" investment scheme.

United States Attorney David E. Nahmias said of the case, “”This defendant is charged with using a Ponzi scheme to steal millions of dollars from investors who believed they were making wise investment choices. We continue to advise members of the public to use caution when investing their hard-earned money, even with someone they know, especially when the promised rates of return sound too good to be true.”"

According to Nahmias and the documents and information presented in court: OGALE was indicted by a federal grand jury on August 12, 2008. The indictment charges that from January 2003 through May 2007, OGALE owned and operated “”Den Haag Capital, LLC,”" which he represented to be “”a private hedge fund”" for “”sophisticated investors.”" OGALE falsely represented to investors that he had created an algorithm that allowed him to determine whether various foreign currencies were undervalued or overvalued, and he promised to invest his clients’’ money in the foreign currency markets using the algorithm that he had created. OGALE guaranteed investors an annual rate of return of 50%.

In less than 5 years, OGALE took in over $20 million from investors. OGALE sent monthly statements to investors, falsely claiming that their investments had substantially increased in value, and OGALE used some of the money that he received from later investors to pay substantial returns to some of the early investors––the classic “”Ponzi”" fraud scheme. OGALE never invested any of the money, however, and, instead, used much of it to pay his own personal expenses in an effort to create an aura of legitimacy for himself.

Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’’s burden to prove the defendant’’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

This case is being investigated by Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant United States Attorney Russell Phillips is prosecuting the case.

For further information please contact David E. Nahmias (pronounced NAH-me-us), United States Attorney, or Charysse L. Alexander, Executive Assistant United States Attorney, through Patrick Crosby, Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Attorney’’s Office, at (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the HomePage for the U.S. Attorney’’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is www.usdoj.gov/usao/gan

FORMER GEORGIA TECH EMPLOYEE SENTENCED

IN “”P-CARD”"

SCHEME

August 20, 2008

Atlanta, GA – DONNA RENEE GAMBLE, 43, of Marietta, Georgia, was sentenced today by Chief United States District Judge Jack T. Camp on charges arising out of a scheme to defraud the Georgia Institute of Technology (“”Georgia Tech”") and the National Science Foundation (“”NSF”"), an agency of the United States Government.

United States Attorney David E. Nahmias said of the case, “”This defendant, who occupied a position of trust within the Georgia Tech administration and had access to federal and state funds, abused that trust for personal gain. Money that should have been used for legitimate educational expenses instead went to frivolous personal items like a popcorn machine. The prison sentence imposed today communicates that her offense was indeed serious.”"

GAMBLE was sentenced to 2 years, 8 months in federal prison to be followed by 3 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution of $316,874.12. She was also ordered to perform 250 hours of community service and forfeits to the United States all ill-gotten gains. On May 13, 2008, GAMBLE pleaded guilty to all 22 counts in a federal indictment, which charged mail fraud and theft from an organization receiving federal funds.

According to United States Attorney Nahmias and other information presented in court: GAMBLE was employed by Georgia Tech in Atlanta, where she was assigned to the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience. As an employee of Georgia Tech, GAMBLE had access to one or more Georgia Tech credit cards, also known as Procurement Cards or “”P-Cards,”" which she was allowed to use for authorized official business purchases only.

GAMBLE was prohibited from charging personal purchases on her Georgia Tech P-Cards. From April 2002 through April 2007, GAMBLE used her Georgia Tech P-Cards to purchase more than 3,800 personal items, at a total cost of more than $316,000. In an effort to conceal and disguise the personal nature of certain charges on her Georgia Tech P-Cards, GAMBLE created fake receipts, which she submitted to her supervisor, and made false entries in Georgia Tech’’s accounting records. Grant money provided to Georgia Tech by the National Science Foundation was used to fund GAMBLE’’s personal purchases.

This case was investigated by Special Agents of the National Science Foundation, Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant United States Attorney Russell Phillips prosecuted the case

August 19, 2008

FELON OUT ON BOND ON STATE GUN CHARGE SENTENCED IN FEDERAL COURT FOR POSSESSING YET ANOTHER FIREARM

Shealey Caught With Gun While Driving Stolen Car

 

Atlanta, GA – RENARD SHEALEY, 28, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Jack T. Camp on charges of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

United States Attorney David E. Nahmias said, “”This case illustrates a unfortunate problem faced by law enforcement and law abiding citizens – the incorrigibility of some armed convicted felons and their utter lack of respect for the criminal justice system. Five months after Shealey was released on state bond for being a felon in possession of a firearm, he drove to court in a stolen car while in possession of yet another firearm. He will now serve a significant federal sentence.”"

“”This is a prime example of the types of cases ATF is working in an effort to prevent and reduce gun-related violence in Atlanta,”" said Acting Special Agent in Charge Jeff Pearce of ATF’’s Atlanta Field Division. “”This defendant’’s life of crime had begun to roll faster than the wheels of justice. Ultimately, it was this felon’’s affinity for guns that proved to be his Achilles’’ heel.”"

SHEALEY was sentenced to 5 years, 5 months in prison to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. SHEALEY was convicted of these charges on May 13, 2008.

According to United States Attorney Nahmias and the information presented in court: On January 18, 2007, Atlanta Police officers observed SHEALEY driving a vehicle linked with a fugitive wanted for murder. SHEALEY entered a store near the intersection of Hank Aaron Drive and Ormond Avenue with officers following behind him. Police officers observed him place a dark object into a cooler. When officers searched the cooler, they recovered a loaded 9mm Glock pistol. SHEALEY was arrested, charged in state court with being a felon in possession of a firearm, and released on bond. Subsequently, on June 26, 2007, while SHEALEY was out on bond, APD officers observed him driving a stolen vehicle with a passenger who was an 8 year old girl.

When the officers chased him, SHEALEY crashed the stolen vehicle into two light poles and then fled on foot, abandoning the 8 year old girl. APD officers captured SHEALEY and recovered a loaded 9mm Ruger pistol from the vehicle. After his arrest SHEALEY remarked, “”I would have stopped, but I didn’’t have time to toss the gun.

August 14, 2008

Atlanta, GA – CASEY AUSTIN CARMICHAEL, 29, of Newnan, Georgia, pleaded guilty today in federal district court to a one count Criminal Information, charging that defendant CARMICHAEL knowingly attempted to transfer obscene matter on the Internet to a person under the age of 16.

United States Attorney David E. Nahmias said of the case, “”It is a sad day when a police officer or any public official misuses the trust of the citizens by using public resources to transfer pornographic material to a child. The actions of this officer should not negatively reflect upon the vast majority of law abiding officers and officials who work tirelessly in our community, including those officers who caught this defendant.”"

According to United States Attorney Nahmias and the information presented in court: In September 2007, CARMICHAEL, while on duty as a Patrolman with the Clayton County Police Department, used his Department-issued computer to transfer obscene materials to a person CARMICHAEL believed to be girl under 16 years of age. CARMICHAEL had contacted her in a “”chat room”" on the Internet, and had conversations with her relating to obscene materials over several days while on duty as a Patrolman. The underage girl was actually an FBI Agent working undercover with the Project Safe Childhood Task Force. CARMICHAEL was dismissed from the Clayton County Police Department upon his indictment in this case.

Sentencing for CARMICHAEL is scheduled for October 18, 2008, at 2 p.m. before United States District Judge Willis Hunt. The defendant has agreed to a binding plea in this case of 2 years, 9 months in federal prison. There is no parole in the federal system.

This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, the Attorney General launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’’s Offices around the country, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet.

August 14, 2008

Rome, GA – JERALD WAYNE ANDERSON, 63, of Adairsville, Georgia, pleaded guilty today before Senior United States District Judge Robert L. Vining, Jr. to one count of receipt of child pornography.

 

United States Attorney David E. Nahmias said of the case, “”This defendant posed as a young girl on the internet, one of many deceptions used by sexual predators who try to reach and exploit our children through the computers in our homes. Thanks to coordinated law enforcement work across state lines, this defendant is pleading guilty and faces a long sentence in federal prison.”"

According to United States Attorney Nahmias, and other information presented in court:

In October 2007, the defendant engaged in an internet chat with an undercover police officer from the Broward County (Florida) Sheriff’’s Office. The defendant was posing as a 13-year-old girl. Approximately within 3 minutes of beginning the chat, the defendant began discussing modeling pictures with the undercover officer. The defendant sent the undercover officer a number of photographs over the internet of a young girl (which the defendant was claiming to be) engaged in various poses. Many of the photographs showed the girl in nude poses.

In November 2007, an undercover police officer from the Bensalem (Pennsylvania) Police Department was chatting online, and the defendant contacted her, again posing as a 13-year-old girl, but this time with a different name. Again, the defendant sent over the internet a number of “”modeling photographs,”" which included many of the same pictures sent the previous month.

The local police officers issued subpoenas for the defendant’’s e-mail addresses and learned that he resided in Adairsville, Georgia. The case was then referred to the FBI, and on February 19, 2008, law enforcement officers executing search warrants found thousands of images of child pornography kept in briefcases and meticulously organized and labeled. These images showed girls under the age of 12 engaging in sexually explicit conduct. After waiving his Miranda rights, the defendant admitted to receiving and collecting child pornography.

Sentencing for ANDERSON is set for October 9, 2008, at 10 a.m. before Judge Vining. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison. There is no parole in the federal system

No Chicken Ranch in Painesville

Judge Michael Cicconetti imposed an unusual sentence on three men who pleaded guilty to soliciting sex from an undercover cop in Painesville, Ohio.

The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer says the men were given a choice between 30 days in jail or four hours of public humiliation.

They chose humiliation. Each will spend four hours in a yellow chicken costume outside the courthouse. Cicconetti ordered them to carry a large sign that says “No Chicken Ranch in Painesville” while they’re on the sidewalk today from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m

The Dark Side Of BrotherHood

The DARK SIDE of the BROTHERHOOD!

Tuesday, August 12, 2008, 3:17:12 PM | calpattypress

Who’s really in the dark? US… you know, the YOU and ME that make up our own little worlds. Or them… the elite!? Many of “them” are members of the “Brotherhood!” The brotherhood…from the dark side!

Angel of darkness is upon you
Stuck a needle in your arm
So take another toke, have a blow for your nose
One more drink fool, will drown you

YOU …DO TELL!

Most of the entire state of WV is so HIGH they’re in the dark all the time!

It’s true according to new statistics WV has more people per capita on dope from the doctor than any state in the US! That could explain why WV supposedly has one of the lowest crime rates in the US, but is NUMBER ONE for percentage of people incarcerated at nearly 6 per 100 persons. A lot of people are in jail for non violent dope offenses. But, whatever the reason the “Jails are FULL…all the same!”

Most people aren’t paying attention to what’s really going on . Even when the CalPatty Press publish articles that we want to share now, often, we find, our site is slammed with hits long after we let the cat out of the bag. So even on the coolest, hottest new Word on the street…there is often some lag time before the true and full story is known by the masses.

The CalPatty Press has often made reference to the WV Judicial System and the FREEMASON connection! Well we have all been so in the dark that evidence from the dark side and that WV Judges and Lawyers are all part of the brotherhood has all ready surfaced and not many people really know!

These types of conspiracy stories are strictly taboo…especially if they reveal any truth. Since most mainstream news service agencies are connected to the elite control and ownership you won’t hear much of what really is going on, but since a Freemason JUDGE decided to file legal action, the story became a matter of public record!

EVEN THE CALPATTY PRESS is expected TO KEEP THE GAG ON WHEN THE REAL TRUTH LEAKS OUT!!

Member of the Secret Seven fully muzzled up...

We not only say that’s bullshit, but we have a lot more to say about it than that!

And if you don’t like it you snotty little bitch, then quite frankly…we don’t give a damn!

****

A couple of months ago last June, Frank Joseph Haas, an administrative law judge from Brooke County, filed a lawsuit alleging that he was summarily expelled from the Masons without any notice.

Haas headed the statewide Grand Lodge from October 2005 to October 2006. Haas tried to make the policies of the state Masons less discriminatory and racist and more in line with the U.S. Constitution and the state’s public policy.

Haas was so used to making his own rules as a WV JUDGE…. he thought he could make his own rules as soon as he climbed up the ladder of the local hot shot Freemason headquarters!

But all the other judges and members of the WV judicial system are Freemasons too!

…Just like we’ve been telling you all along….right here at the CalPatty Press!

SO…basically Frank was fucked since the “real players” didn’t think he was cool enough, so, they did the old planned take over, and took over… the grand plans of the grand master HAAS!

The edict expelling Haas would be part of a report presented by the new grand master.

Haas tried to appeal his expulsion within the organization, but received no formal acknowledgment of his grievance until he filed the lawsuit.

But since most other members of the WV Justice system are also Freemasons and the “word” is out on this dude Frank. “Frank” is word up!” …to the men from the dark side of the brotherhood!

Chances are when you are in front of a judge in WV he is a FREEMASON. You have to be… to be a part of the judicial system…and that’s just the way it is!

The brotherhood runs our judicial system in WV and that is why the court system has become so political.

That is why “SPIKE” our Chief Justice of the Supreme Court can run with his buddy “Blankenship” and get a couple of paid escorts too…for their big whoop de doo da time over in Europe.

Well now that some of the truth leaked out the voters said , “Fuck you SPIKE! You can’t keep a secret even when you lay down with dogs…you woke up with Flea’s and a CEO!

SPIKE LOST THE PRIMARY AND WON”T BE NO SC JUSTICE NO MO NO MO!!

Now that Spike is gone(after this term is out) it is like losing your right hand man…speaking of which , one MASON rule is: that “a person who has lost a foot, a right hand or a right thumb back of the first joint is ineligible for Masonry.”

Another prohibits West Virginia lodges from raising funds for non-Masonic organizations such as local volunteer fire departments. It is also claimed that in June 2008 there were no BLACK Freemasons among the 24,000 who belonged to the Grand Lodge of West Virginia.

Frank Haas had the audacity to try to change all that so that was why “another” stepped in. Frank sued for readmission after being expelled in November 2007. In his suit, Haas claims that he tried to make changes known as the “Wheeling reforms” …but it was NOT SO FAST FRANK!

We at the Calpatty Press see Franks goose as basically cooked since the powers that be are all Masons too!

But, we are grateful because it is out in the open. Masons have to look out for Masons as part of “the oath of office.” That sort of explains to us why judges stick up for judges and lawyers for lawyers in WV no matter if a known crime had been committed or not!

Technically speaking it is the belief of the Secret Seven that a JUDGE or a member of the WV Judicial System whether you be a judge, prosecutor, clerk, etc has a better chance than anyone to get away with murder or some other heinous crime. A member of that “IN CROWD” has the most likely chance of getting away with a major crime like murder, or even maybe just some simple misconduct. It will all be kept hush hush as long as somebody doesn’t open their mouth.

But good thing for us FRANK opened his mouth, and a little bit more of the true story about the Brotherhood has come to the surface.

Happiness is a WARM GUN …SECRET SEVEN finds SECRET WEAPON!

Saturday, August 02, 2008, 2:30:54 PM | calpattypress

Happiness is a warm gun yes it is…yes it is, especially if it is the secret weapon …the lost handgun sold by the former Grantsville, WV Police Chief RON GORDON that held up women on home-confinement!!

“She said she was held up, then she was felt up, then she was told to shut up, or she would be put up…in jail!!”

“We’re not talkin bout no quick in and out here, we’re a talkin HARD COLD STEEL!!”

“So tell me how does it feel?”

The Lone Meth Ranger wrote an article with some information on the gun via The Lone Meth Ranger Newsletter July 19, 2008 called; “Raining Information” and promised truth blog readers a picture of the gun that Gordon sold, we the members of the secret seven have fulfilled that promise.

Gordon sold this Gun to a lady in the Grantsville Area, who sold it to another individual who sold it to another person who sold it to another person...

The YEAR OF 2007… a YEAR of Mental Illness and Criminal Justice Crooked County STYLE!

Friday, December 28, 2007, 12:35:12 AM | calpattypress

The jail system and the occupation of Criminal Justice in Central West Virginia is about as fucked up as anything you’ve seen in Crooked County down by the Crooked River… the home of West Virginia corruption!!

However Calhoun has really come up, and is now in the same league as Crooked County!

Thanks to Ron “GORDO” Gordon, that raped woman after woman on home confinement when serving as Chief of Police in Grantsville, West Virginia …in Calhoun County!

CJ Ellyson(photo not shown) fired WV State trooper from Grantsville another Hall of SHAMER! (Ellyson) was fired over missing Meth evidence and a mysterious gun shot wound that coincided with a murdered guard dog that was killed during a night time sneak attack raid that had just taken place at the home of residents at odds with the local justice system!

Another ALL STAR of fuck up is Central West Virginia’s Calhoun County Cop Shane Dellinger indicted in Braxton county for embezzlement (pictured below on right side of photo)

Chief Deputy RON BANDY Calhoun County West Virginia (Pictured below) was indicted on eight felonies!

But thanks to Gerald B Hough Crooked County Prosecutor, walked away with nary a conviction due to a complete and total manipulation of the justice system. Who the fuck is mentally ill there? Hough or Bandy? (Notice Bandy can’t look himself in the mirror)Who could ever forget GERALD B HOUGH… on loan to Calhoun with the Cheshire Cat Smile, and the JC Penny suits!!

What a nice gaggle of Law Enforcement officials sent to serve in the name of the DEMI GODS of Central WV and they were all caught for their crimes of RAPE, MURDER of a good dog, THEFT of ALLEGED DOPE, Weed, and raiding the evidence locker for anything cool… including guns and money!

… threatening women with committing defiant sexual acts and as well as trying to cop a feel….well, we’re not feeling you cop!
Jesus! Central West Virginia has become a haven for corrupt judges and prosecutors and the baddest of the bad cops!

What about the JUDGE McCourt who ripped the shirt off a beautiful young woman grabbing at her breasts after telling her to meet him at a hotel to discuss her legal problems?! What a nice experience that must have been!

Then of course, Crooked County is lucky enough to have a judge like “Richard (Dick) Facemire” that just “makes his own rules!”

At least the Supreme Court reprimanded his actions of asking 180 questions of witnesses on the stand of a METH CASE as if he was the prosecutor. And it wasn’t the first time he did it! It was only the first time he was caught at it. Then, of course, Facemire had his little Crooked County Court reporter, Kelly White, cover for him! He needed to have some bad things he said changed, that was on the court record down there by the Crooked River at the County Seat.

Let the Crooked County bullshit float down the Crooked River to form the Calhoun Lagoon of Conspiracy…and that’s just what they did!

Because it’s JUST OK to fix a Felony case when it involves the police! That’s what Gerry does best!

It’s OK to fix a case against State Trooper Starcher, even though he has been caught doing his perjury thing several times fixing court cases against people he didn’t like that day or that wouldn’t blow him.
Yeah… ole Hough had to save Starcher so that he could conveniently lose the evidence against Chief Deputy Bandy and fix the case just like we predicted way back in the early part of 07.

It’s enough to make you CRAZY!
Speaking of which… many of you have become involved in a discussion on the CalPatty Press website that included the subject of West Virginia jails and mental illness…

One in six U.S. prisoners is mentally ill. Many of them suffer from serious illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression. There are three times as many men and women with mental illness in U.S. prisons as in mental health hospitals.

Check this out! The rate is even higher for us hotties!

The figures are higher for female inmates being whacked!!

The Justice Department study found that 29 percent of white female inmates, 22 percent of Hispanic female inmates and 20 percent of black female inmates were identified as mentally ill!

I will have to tell my best friend Maria, that is living at my house and of Mexican descent, that she is crazier than some black bitch celebrating ,”Every day is Martin Luther King Day” with Davey Cacamamey and Drew Moody in Glenville West Virginia, right in the heart of Crooked County!

Next time you see Davey Cacamamey from the Glenville Demo-Crap and Pathfinder of Bullshit, offer him some chap stick! Sucking on all of those elite hot dogs must be doing some severe damage to those lips.

Really it should be DAVEY locked up, since he is Crazy enough to go along with the Tim Butcher recruitment of black drug dealers to the local area so they can rape young white 17 year olds …and get away with it Scot free!
We must all be a little crazy to allow a licensed criminal to serve as the city attorney!

The rate of mental illness in the prison population is three times higher than in the general population!

Prisons are dangerous and damaging places for mentally ill people. Other prisoners victimize and exploit them. Prison staff often punish mentally ill offenders for symptoms of their illness – such as being noisy or refusing orders, or even self-mutilation and attempted suicide. Mentally ill prisoners are more likely than others to end up housed in especially harsh conditions, such as isolation, that can push them over the edge into acute psychosis.

Well it’s not just a West Virginia problem!

Today, in the US some 283,800 inmates are identified as having a mental illness. This represents 16% of the inmate populations of state and local jails. Jails have effectively become America’s new mental institutions; they house a larger volume of mentally ill people than all other programs combined. However, these inmates rarely receive the treatment that they need and have a right to. The criminal justice system is overpopulated and under equipped to deal with those with psychotic disorders requiring mental health care services.

Over the past two decades, prison mental health services in the United States have improved – usually because of prisoner litigation. But the surging number of mentally ill men and women entering prison has outrun the availability of services. Public officials have been unwilling to provide the funds necessary to ensure adequate treatment for all the mentally ill offenders who need it.

***
Implications for the Mentally Ill Inmate

A common disorder to develop in prison is depression, a byproduct of institutionalization. In the context of a total institution, inmates are systematically broken down and manipulated by the staff. Their lives are completely supervised, homogenized, and organized. In the process, inmates tend to learn behaviors counter productive to their survival in the outside world. Some of these behaviors may include, “aggressiveness and intimidation of others or, conversely, extreme passivity, manipulative behavior and reluctance to discuss problems with authority figures. These behaviors create barriers to engagement in mental health services and treatment.” (Barr)

A result of the effect of prison life on inmates is the alarmingly high rate of suicides. Suicide is the leading cause of death in inmates, accounting for over half the deaths occurring while inmates are in custody. Almost all who attempt suicide have a major psychiatric disorder. More than half of the victims were experiencing hallucinations at the time of the attempt. These deaths are tragic because mental disorders are highly treatable with 60-80% success rates.

A large number of prison inmates today suffer from psychotic disorders that are severe enough to warrant mental health care. Numerous court cases have established that mentally ill inmates have the constitutional right to these services. However, more often than not, inmates are denied these needed services. Most prison administrators report that they do not have the resources or ability to respond to the needs of mentally ill offenders. They describe their programs as “grossly understaffed” and “in urgent need” of help from mental health organizations to develop appropriate programs. In effect, today’s prisons and jails are shouldering the responsibility for the mentally ill which used to reside with community based hospitals and institutions.

The most awful of the awful has happened in the hands of our great protectors!

WERE THE INMATES THAT RAPED A “PEE CEE ED UP” FEMALE INMATE IN SEPTEMBER OF 07 Mentally ill?

Rape in the COUNTY JAIL!

A huge lid has been put on that September NIGHTMARE by most news outlets. If one of the CalPatty Press editors wasn’t actually in town and in touch, this story would have never been found out or reported! It was squashed!
We have found this subject matter, and the actual evil act itself so appalling, that it’s difficult to report on! But really, is it so different or more appalling then what’s really been happening in and around Calhoun County and Crooked County?

Rape takes on many forms!

Lives are ruined, entire families are destroyed, the lives of the young children are disrupted too! Is it because the people in power and the “powers that be” are evil?

FEMAL INMATE RAPED AT SOUTH CENTRAL REGIONAL JAIL!

The sexual assault of a female inmate by two male inmates at the South Central Regional Jail, is being investigated by the WEST VIRGINIA STATE POLICE!

Obviously rules are broken, especially in Crooked County where they make their own rules!

However, one would think a person would be safe from being raped in County Jail!

Many have laughed at that statement, giving the shocking answer of, “It happens all the time!”

“Male and female inmates are not supposed to be in the recreation area at the same time!”

The recreation area is where the brutal rape took place!

Joe Thornton, spokesman for the state Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety, was asked about the incident. His reply was, “Male and female inmates are not supposed to be in the recreation area at the same time!”

(Just like we said)

“We don’t have separate recreational areas. … But we wouldn’t have males and females in it together. They would use it at different times!”

Being from “Crooked County” the home of the most corrupt, ruthless and crooked justice system in the entire state of West by God Virginia we can already see the writing on the wall!

The powers made this out to be a non-incident! JUST LIKE WE PREDICTED THEY WOULD!

“Just like I knew you would now!”

And What about the RAPE of a female inmate by a Correctional Officer just last month? NOVEMBER 07… WV Correctional system sex fest revealed

Female inmate blackmailed into sex with guard!

A correctional officer is accused of having more than 50 sexual encounters with a female inmate at the Anthony Correctional Center.

God damn…get ya some! ALL ya need is a Gila Monster now!

David Wayne Masters, 36, was arrested at work and charged with one count of sexual intrusion with an inmate November 13th 2007 the same day Hough let Bandy off of eight felony theft charges!

The alleged sex acts began in August2006 and ended sometime that November or December.

The inmate provided investigators with a shirt that tested positive for Masters’ semen, according to the criminal complaint filed by State Police.

Imagine that, the old semen stained shirt of a female inmate locked up!

The inmate has been removed from Anthony Center and transferred to another facility.

Was David Wayne Master Mentally Ill too?

But in charge of female inmates?

How about doing something about the WHACK JOBS THAT ARE IN THE JUSTICE SYSTEM TOO!

*****************
What Should Be Done
The federal district courts have formulated six components of a minimally adequate mental health treatment program
# A systematic screening procedure
# Treatment that entails more than segregation and supervision
# Treatment that involves a sufficient number of mental health professionals to adequately provide services to all prisoners suffering form serious mental disorders
# Maintenance of adequate and confidential clinical records
# A program for identifying and treating suicidal inmates
# A ban on prescribing potentially dangerous medications without adequate monitoring
Programs designed to fulfill these criteria would help to ensure that people already within the criminal justice system receive the help they need and deserve. Why should we wait until a psychological crisis develops and the mentally ill individual is arrested to receive treatment though? Resources need to be re-channeled back into community mental health services so that the mentally ill can get the help they need at reasonable cost before it is too late.

******************************
What You Can Do
The following is a sample letter that you can print off and send to any of the persons on the list below. Or, use your own creative voice to get involved. You can make a difference.

A large number of prison inmates today suffer from psychotic disorders that are severe enough to warrant mental health care. However, less than a third of these individuals receive the care that they have a constitutional right to. I find it abhorrent that, instead of seeking to rehabilitate these inmates, prison conditions drive them further into their illness, even to the point of suicide.

Rehabilitating and treating the incarcerated mentally ill benefits everyone. The inmates can become productive members of society once again. The overcrowded prison system saves money and space by not having to deal with repeat offenders. Short-term costs are offset by the long-term savings in health care.

Please work to ensure that the mentally ill receive the help they need. The Correctional Mental Health Associates recommend that prisons employ at least the following staff to provide adequate care:
2 Full Time Emergency psychiatrists
1 MSW social worker supervisor
3 BA level social workers
2 registered psychiatric nurses
5 licensed practical nurses
Also, please increase the supervision and access to crisis centers to decrease instances of suicide upon admission.

Thank you for your efforts to reform the mental health loop holes of prisons.

Sincerely,

Cal Patty Press, Calhoun Underground and the LONE METH RANGER!

Write to this address

Federal Bureau of Prisons Central Office
320 First St.
Washington, D.C. 20534

National Criminal Justice Reference Service
P.O. Box 6000
Rockville, MD 20849-6000

U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001

SHOTS FIRED NEAR HOME OF A CALPATTY PRESS EDITOR!

Wednesday, December 26, 2007, 3:08:23 PM | calpattypress

News was just related via unidentified sources, that a long time family feud and dispute over money, property and court actions , could very well have resulted in more gunfire during the early morning hours (3:29am) December 26th at or near near the home of one of the CalPatty Press editors!

This was the speculation by non participants, but a more informed source believes that it was possible rogue element or same intruders that trespassed just short of one year ago on the same property.

No details are known at this time, although it was reported that as many as 20 to 30 rounds were fired from semi-automatic, high caliber weapons lighting up the pitch black night.

No animals or people seemed to be injured or wounded and some have reported that a rogue element could have been involved once again.

A similar attack happened at the same residence nearly a year ago! Mysteriously one State Trooper was shot and a vehicle was riddled with bullet holes all in the same time period, but little or nothing was done about either. Some family members have fled the area and evacuated the home, even though family and friends had been gathered for the holidays.

These facts will only be determined if there are any reports of gun shot wounds or any more reports of accidental shootings, as reported last time this occurred at the same residence just a few hours before State Trooper C J Ellyson reported that he had shot himself, but the weapon turned out to NOT BE his service revolver as was reported in the main stream press. That Trooper should also have been checked for K-9 wounds!

The dogs went on alert. When they were released out the back door, two family members (Sureno family) had weapons at the ready and followed the trained attack K-9’s. At the first shot fired by intruders, the family members opened up at what was only described as shadowy figures. One dark colored pick up truck was seen speeding out of the area and several 9mm discharged shells were found on the ground near the road leading to Roane County.

Partial photo from surveillance cam of shots being returned from 75 yards out above.

The CalPatty Press editors have been receiving threats for at least a year or more, and many of those threats included great bodily harm and even death. So this is a warning to others including the Team Rangers, that either someone is getting very close to the truth about certain individuals or bad feelings have been brought to the front to the point of attacking at night, on private property, once again with weapons drawn.

From the West Virginia Forefathers of FREEDOM to the PRISON STATE!

Saturday, December 01, 2007, 12:07:13 AM | calpattypress

Calhoun County was created by an act of the Virginia General Assembly on March 5, 1856 from parts of Gilmer County. At that time, the county had less than 2,500 residents.

Calhoun County was named in honor of John Caldwell Calhoun (1782-1850), a famous statesman from South Carolina who championed the cause of slavery, the South, and state’s rights. Born on March 18, 1782, he graduated from Yale University in 1804, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1807. He was elected to the South Carolina state legislature (1808-1809), represented South Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives (1811-1817); served as Secretary of War (1817-1825); Vice-President of the United States (1825-1832); represented South Carolina in the United States Senate (1832-1843); served as Secretary of State (1844-1845); and returned to the U.S. Senate in 1845 and remained there until his death on March 31, 1850.

The first meeting of the Calhoun County court house was held on April 14, 1856 at the home of Joseph W. Burson. His home was located at the mouth of Pine Creek, on the Little Kanawha River (Mr. Burson was later killed in the Battle of Arnoldsburg during the Civil War).

So you see we have a lot to live up to here in these modern times in order to honor these fine human beings.

The First Settlers of Calhoun County have left family names that are present even today!

The first native settlers in central West Virginia were the Mound Builders, also known as the Adena people. From what I understand of the subject, there were three different sects of mound builders. Remnants of the Mound Builder’s civilization have been found throughout West Virginia, with a high concentration of artifacts located at Moundsville, West Virginia, in Marshall County. The Grave Creek Indian Mound, located in the center of Moundsville, is one of West Virginia’s most famous historic landmarks. More than 2,000 years old, it stands 69 feet high and 295 feet in diameter.

According to missionary reports, several thousand Hurons occupied present-day West Virginia during the late 1500s and early 1600s. They were driven out of the state during the 1600s by members of the powerful Iroquois Confederacy (consisting of the Mohawk, Onondaga, Cayuga, Oneida and Seneca tribes, and joined later by the Tuscaroras tribe).

Many of our Calhoun County residents have Indian blood in them including Cherokee that were once were relocated to this area.

During the early 1700s, central West Virginia, including present-day Calhoun County, was used as a hunting ground by the Mingo, who lived in both the Tygart Valley and along the Ohio River in West Virginia’s northern panhandle region, the Delaware, who lived in present-day eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, but had several autonomous settlements as far south as present-day Braxton County, and by other members of the Iroquois Confederacy, especially the Seneca.

Over one hundred years later, during the civil war, there were Calhoun County Freedom Fighters, fighting for their rights and carrying through with damage and mayhem during behind the lines raids of Yankee camps. The hide and seek warfare carried on from small bands of Confederates cut deeply into the morale of union troops in the early 1860’s. Many of us in Calhoun County and surrounding area’s are direct descendants of some of those Calhoun Confederate hero’s.

The true grit and integrity of the early settler, along with American ingenuity and know how was what got many people through the civil war.

(Private Elijah Leach, Second Company B, 31st Virginia Infantry Regiment, wounded June 9, 1862 above)

Many local people from the civil war era, that have descendants living just down the road a spell, had to do everything they knew- how- to- do- to- survive the war.

The Westfalls from Calhoun County converted most of their investments and cash to gold and silver, then buried it in bean pots on their property until after the civil war was over. That gold and silver brought a pretty penny when converted back to cash. The family lived high on the hog after the war and well into the early 1900’s.

Montani Semper Liberi !

Mountaineers Are Always Free!

So how could we have gone from a land of true hero’s and forefathers of freedom to a PRISON STATE in the 21st century?

The Central West Virginia Circuit Courts have been handing out long sentences and consecutive sentences, filling all of the jails to capacity… while defendants from circuit court wait for their day in court before being sentenced to prison.

Central WV Juries are programmed to believe that every defendant is automatically guilty as soon as they sit down in that hot seat!

The odds are stacked against you as soon as you walk in the courtroom. The jury system in WV is flawed at best.

Despite bullshit statistics that say West Virginia has a low crime rate… it is locking up more and more of our own!

In fact, the prisons are so over crowded, that many inmates sentenced to prison are doing their time in jail because there is no more room in prisons in WV!

According to an article published in the HUR HERALD….

” The West Virginia Supreme Court says the state Regional Jail Authority has the power to set per diem rates county’s have to pay for inmates.”

The jail bills have the potential to bankrupt WV counties!

Now because of a WVSC ruling, even Central WV counties are going to have to pay their jail bills and even pick up the tab for people arrested by city police!

But if you do the math we are screwed!

With all the heavy sentences being handed out even for misdemeanor offenses… the counties of Central WV will never be able to pay the jail bill!

And now the SUPREME COURT SAYS YOU GOTTA PAY!

The latest Supreme Court Opinion says…

“We take judicial notice of the fact that escalating regional jail costs have effectively crippled the counties of this state with regard to their respective budgetary decisions.”

Supreme Court Justice Larry Starcher issued a stinging concurring opinion in the case, writing the Regional Jail Authority is an example of an anti-Democratic trend in America!

“These “Authorities” can become laws unto themselves, orchestrating multi-million-dollar deals that benefit powerful political forces – but effectively outside the control of local and state elected officials, and ultimately, the voters,” wrote Starcher.

Starcher said the only “right” county commissions have is the “right” to pay up!”

SHOW ME THE MONEY!!

Current law now requires counties to pay per diem costs which can be as high as $49.00 per day.

WE the PEOPLE would like to know why so many people are in jail, or being sent to jail in West Virginia if we have such a low crime rate!

HELL…the Powers that Be have turned West Virginia into a mother fucking PRISON STATE!

Of course you need to also further realize that the powers that be have a vested interest in making WV a prison state. They are the ones organizing the plans to build more jails and prisons and make the prison industry the number one industry in WV!!

In reality, the number one industry in WV is growing WEED!

Further…that fact has made it necessary for “Secret Societies” of Guerrilla farmers to form. Also, certain factions involved are becoming more heavily armed and the Nor Cal boys have taught everyone the art of booby traps, making the woods unsafe for unsuspecting hunters and stupid trespassers, even the growers themselves!

Racial segregation is certainly present among the secret societies of growers, since it is predominately White’s that also have been infiltrated by more sophisticated “Secret Societies” that are certainly more of a violent breed than the late 60’s and early 70’s pot growers that used to have two or three big ones in the back yard.

You’re certainly not going to see any blacks out in the bush growing weed!

But, if you do want to see blacks all you need to do is travel down the road a piece to Glenville West Virginia where everyday is Martin Luther King day. Hell negro, rape yourself an underage white girl while you’re there! A GSC football player named DAVIS did and the 17 year old white girl was humiliated in the fact that she couldn’t even be referred to by her real name.

They certainly didn’t have a place for Davis at the jail!

No need to worry about paying the county bill there! He ain’t gonna cost us no $49.00 a day!

The local Glenville elite rescued him right out from the grasp of the city police!

Tim Butcher the Glenville City Attorney couldn’t risk the precious college getting a bad name even though everybody….EVERYBODY KNOWS that wasn’t the first time a young underage white girl was raped by a “Every day is Martin Luther King day recruit!”

….And that’s fucked up!

Our West Virginia forefathers certainly would have handled that situation a little bit differently!

Maybe that’s the problem!

The people in charge of the cities and counties “NOW” are a bunch of self-important son’s of bitches!

They all suffer from the dreaded disease of too many degree’s but not enough education!

The interests of the common folk are never met!

The only interest the elite have is lining their pockets with whatever they can steal away, because…who the hell is going to investigate the people really running things!?

NOBODY….that’s who!

Central WV is in a state of feudalism and has been for a long time now! A few elite control the police, they control the courts… and everything has gone to hell!

The plan is to build more prisons and more jails so that the goat chasing elite’s can make the money from the construction and maybe even own of few themselves after they have stolen every dollar away that they could!

Some county jail bills are now running in the millions of dollars!!
Many WV counties are soon going to be broke from the fact that now they will be forced to pay the bill for all the people they have sent to jail…. and who suffers?

WE DO! That’s who!

This situation has got to change and WE THE PEOPLE are going to have to be the ones that change it!

*******************************************************************************

BONUS SECTION– “Every once in a while something happens that’s funnier than a Hot Toddy Roddy trying to spell, after getting sloppy “seconds” behind a Gila Monster!”

(see comment 18 for more on photo below)

NOT!!

But when we saw the ” Barack Obama West Virginia T-shirt” we thought…

WHO ARE THESE GUYS!? They are funny as hell!

In Central West Virginia it’s ALL SMOKE AND MIRRORS!

Monday, November 26, 2007, 6:20:25 PM | calpattypress

In Central West Virginia the Justice System and the Home Cooked Political Structure is all SMOKE and MIRRORS!

SMOKE AND MIRRORS!!

It’s all just Smoke and Mirrors!

Calhoun County’s NEW special prosecutor!

Gerald B. Hough …he is just Smoke and Mirrors!

…the man with the fake southern charm and the Cheshire Cat smile wearing J C Penny suits just makes it all go up in smoke… poof!

The very same prosecutor that thought it was JUST OK that MICHELLE ROSE ripped off property taxpayers in Crooked County to the tune of 12,500 bucks!

Poof…all up in smoke, or was it the mirror trick this time? Michelle sure had a thing for doing lines when she was working at that courthouse all day.

Gerald B was the man with all the SMOKE and Mirrors to make a former Calhoun Chief Deputy and Gal Pal (April McCroskey) just go away!

Hough was reported to have ONCE said,” the local State Police have poked fun at him from time to time.!” Additionally, in a fit of intolerance, Gerry complained about another person representing law enforcement…

“His (an unnamed State Policeman) actions were provoking a fight, he used foul language, and the Sheriff had to step in and break up a situation in Magistrate Court.” Hough was quoted saying such behavior is not appropriate in a court of law.

(That’s funny! Gerry can lie like a little bitch to a felony jury about evidence, or circumstances specific to a circuit court case, and of course, that’s appropriate?)

He just blows the smoke and hauls out the mirrors!

Meanwhile, ONCE upon the same time… Hough is in conflict with local State Police (again), stating “There is an investigation underway regarding certain State Police officer’s conduct.”

POOF…..problem gone, it was all just SMOKE up our ass, then some more mirrors in the courtroom!

You can’t believe a danged word anybody says!

Yes it’s JUST OK …to lie to a jury during final arguments at trial and it’s JUST OK… to lie to a Grand Jury! Hough has done both and it’s a matter of court record!

Don’t Worry it’s all just SMOKE and MIRRORS!

What a perfect choice to totally screw up the felony charges against former Calhoun chief deputy Ron Bandy!

Grantsville resident, “April McCroskey” was the perfect Hottsy Tottsy Pretty County Worker(HTPCW) that was sure to add lots of SMOKE… to any MIRROR, got a lot of F’s on her paperwork down at the Calhoun County Courthouse too!

It all happened just down the Crooked River from Crooked County!

We waited all year, but it was all just ….

Smoke…and then a Mirror!

YES, WE at the CalPatty Press (We the People) knew,that the “Bandy Case” would be enough ” Smoke and Mirrors” to last the whole year through… and we were right!

2007 in Central West Virginia…. it was all just SMOKE AND MIRRORS!

“The CalPatty Press in earlier reports predicted that Calhouns Special Prosecutor Gerry Hough would have to find a way to let April go too!”

That is of course, if he was going to be able to fix the case against former Chief Deputy Bandy!

“It’s all just another CalPatty prediction come true!”

AS 2007 PROGRESSED ….

From early April through August, in the courtroom at the Calhoun County Seat of Grantsville WV, it was “ALL” just Smoke and Mirrors …

DHHR worker April McCroskey really had nothing to worry about, first of all her boyfriend was Ron Bandy former Chief Deputy and with all the cops getting in trouble now-a-days they would have to sweep this one under the rug somewhere and quick! Hough would have to make this all go away for APRIL before he could get Ron Bandy off and Hough did what was expected, he arranged to let April off of the charges that she put some old people in the custody of the county, and just took their personal valuables. Plus, with Aprils daddy being a big shot in government police training and terror tactics there would have to be a way out found now, but that’s OK, because people forget!

When a prosecutor acts like a defense counsel for two public officials accused of criminal activity a huge red flag is raised!!

That was the SMOKE!

Now here comes the Mirrors!

Hough admitted that McCroskey displayed “intent” in her alleged criminal activity. Well intent is an important element in any theft case. Either Hough didn’t complete law 101 or he is as dishonest as we thought all along!. But the asking for a change of venue for the Bandy and McCroskey trial is the best example of the “blowing smoke” that anyone has witnessed in legal history! Now Hough isn’t even trying to hide the fact that he is Crooked!

We at the CalPatty Press found it very interesting that APRIL got the most, “Don’t worry you’ll get out of this support,” from Hot Toddy and his pill poppin side kick. Sounds like even the local police informant had the inside scoop on what was really going to go down.

This “Smoke and Mirror” message should be a lesson to all of us… that no one person charged with a serious Felony Crime, that is a police officer or in public trust position in Calhoun County or Crooked County, or anywhere in Central West Virginia has anything to worry about!”

The powers that be just call in the “Smoke and Mirror” man Gerry Hough ! He can fix any felony case against any police officer or anyone else in a public trust position! The Crooks just bring in one of their own and “poof” ! “It’s magic!”

Here comes the mirror man
Says he’s a people fan
Here comes the mirror man

Here comes the mirror man
Says he’s a people fan (need a fan for all the smoke)
Here comes the mirror man

In Calhoun Circuit Court Hough moved to drop multiple felony charges against Grantsville DHHR worker April McCroskey- just like the CalPatty Press said would happen!

Hough was told by the local elite that he couldn’t fix the Bandy case unless he let April go too! “That’s something we knew and shared with you!”

“SWEET APRIL” pleaded not guilty to one count of grand larceny, three counts of burglary, three counts of conspiracy-all charges were in the “F” category for felony!

“A trial was scheduled and when we heard it was postponed…we knew!”

“April baby was just… all of the sudden guilty of trespassing- a lesser charge -given a fine of $100 dollars, and court costs,then walks!

NO TRIAL NEEDED when you got yourself a “secret-crooked-deal!”

“Ain’t that about a bitch!”

“Guess it pays to be banging a cop!”

Ron Bandy and his former girlfriend April put some old people in the custody of the county ( because they could) and then stole all their valuable items!

“Gerry was gonna hang this all on April and let Bandy go, but then got the advice of some real crooks as to how it would all have to go down!”

IT HAS ALREADY BEEN DECIDED WITH NO COURT PROCEEDINGS (while Hough acts as Bandy’s defense counsel instead of prosecutor)THAT CHIEF DEPUTY BANDY IS GOING TO WALK TOO!!

Now you know why “they” brought Gerry Hough in from just down the road a piece…why do you think they call it “CROOKED COUNTY!”

This is what we said, under comments on “Police misconduct…”

McCROSKEY JURY TRIAL POSTPONED

07-17-07
“A jury trial scheduled to begin today in Grantsville for DHHR worker April McCroskey has been postponed!”

McCroskey was indicted along with Chief Deputy Ron Bandy on charges that they allegedly took items from an elderly Calhoun couple’s house after they were placed in a nursing home.(not bad work if you can get it)

One has to wonder what devious and dishonest deed Gerry Hough is up to to mess with this trial- just like he did with the Bandy trial, but was stopped by an honest judge.(not…it was just smoke up our ass)

“Can’t wait to see what kind of rabbits Gerry pulls out of that magic hat,” (…is what we said,) but it was to see the mirrors for all the smoke, as this was the outcome!

WE HAD BEEN WAITING ALL YEAR FOR THIS TRIAL!!

But really, what were we waiting for? (“… alas it was all just SMOKE and MIRRORS!”)

(pictured above “Bandy” swirled smoke surrounds mirror man Chief Deputy Bandy)

“A Mirror Image of a time gone by”

The CalPatty Press has had several articles published on National Sites with ten to one hundred times our reach… and have received a few interesting letters (from lawyers, from all over the US,) asking us if we are totally full of shit or what?

When we politely respond with facts that can be verified, many are in disbelief that so much misconduct can go on in a very small middle section of West Virginia, but now…. everyone knows! Everybody knows!

It’s all SMOKE AND MIRRORS MAN!!

Gerald B Hough, the man that washed dishes in a Kibbutz in Israel,(while we all just picked our feet in Poughkeepsie ) masquerades as an elder in a local church in Crooked County, but not many are fooled by mirror man! (He’s only a mirage)

It is truly hard to believe all that Gerry Hough has gotten away with…

He sure is good with all that smoke and those damn mirrors!

The WVSP brought the case which involves allegations that Bandy illegally removed items from an elderly couple’s house after they had been placed in a nursing home.

But… A multiple-count criminal indictment against former Calhoun Chief Deputy Ronald Gene Bandy, Jr. was dismissed by Judge Thomas Evans III November 13th 2007 !

JUDGE EVANS STATEMENTS:

Evans continued, saying “The case troubles me…This is a public corruption case that affects the public’s confidence.”

Evans said he had problems with some of the testimony, citing the accessing of a safe deposit box at the Calhoun Bank by Bandy’s former girlfriend DHHR employee April McCroskey, saying it “raised suspicion,” but “suspicion is not proof.”

McCroskey, who was initially indicted on the same charges as Bandy, was found guilty of trespassing, which had a $100 fine and court costs.
Bandy had been indicted on eight counts by a Calhoun grand jury following an investigation by the WV State Police: one count of grand larceny, three counts of burglary, three counts of conspiracy, all felonies, and one misdemeanor count for destruction of property.

The case was related to the alleged taking of property belonging to an elderly Big Springs couple who were unable to take care of themselves, having been placed in Department of Human Services custody.

POOF…after Tuesday November 13th, the Bandy case is up in SMOKE!

Speaking of Smoke…The Fire Starting Cult in CALHOUN COUNTY Strike again!

ANNAMORIAH HOUSE TOTALED BY FIRE

Wilson house was fully involved before firemen arrived

Fire completely destroyed the Albert Wilson, Jr. home at Annamoriah the day before Thanksgiving!

The fire spread rapidly through the dwelling, the structure was fully involved before the Grantsville Volunteer Fire Department arrived.

GRANTSVILLE’S-”MYSTERY OF EVIL FIRE… BURNS!” ARSON!!

Central West Virginia has been cursed by the evil doings of a local group of cult members known as the FIRE STARTING CULT believed to be behind a string of mysterious crimes of Arson…yet to be solved!

In a situation not unlike a scary Stephen King Novel, “Fire” along with a quiet and “Mysterious Evil ” has struck the well known edge of Calhoun County known as, Grantsville, West Virginia.

According to Rose Knight, wife of Grantsville mayor Gary Knight ; Ilene Cox’s residence on River Street was destroyed by what the Fire Marshal’s office is indicating as arson!

ARSON!

ANOTHER FIRE STRIKES GRANTSVILLE!

“HERE is more SMOKE from earlier in 2007 …the year of SMOKE and MIRRORS!“

Firemen attack blaze on River Street at about 2am(on a Sunday morning), destroying a two story residence at the corner of Florence and River Street in the Grantsville! (La amenaza de la secta es diario!)

The River Street home belonging to Ileen Cox was a total loss !

If we are not careful all of our homes will be taken by evil!

** “In short proximity …other suspicious fires of unknown causes have recently destroyed property!”

In May of 2007 CalPatty Press publishes article on fires and this is what we said, ” Now the town of Grantsville and County of Calhoun has had several fires of structures in the last six weeks, a real problem!”

The problem hasn’t gone away it’s still here!

The evil lives among us!

From out of the mirror of evil comes the smoke of the fire starting cult!!

Last year a house burned two doors down from the Sunday fire, and a few weeks ago a major fire struck dwellings and buildings a few hundred feet away between Hardman an Court.

Earlier in 2007, a fire of a suspicious nature destroyed a house between Main and Wigner Street.

CalPatty Press: “Besides several other house fires, Grantsville and Calhoun have experienced at least seven fires of unknown origin in the past few months!!”

The fire pictured above was located a short distance from the major blaze in May that destroyed several structures between Court and Hardman Street!”

“JUST MONTHS AGO!”

Firemen from three departments fight blaze

Our inside sources may have a hint into the” evil “that is hiding in the dark!

This report from CalPatty Press insider on the scene!!”

“This recorded just hours after the fire…”

“Last nights fire in Grantsville was a house of two of my friends… while standing in their yard talking to them –ole Hot Toddy rode by with his (fellow cult-member)… he was smiling ear to beer… then a state trooper on the scene saw this as well!”

Could it be”… the hand of evil is as- close- as-someone riding down the street smiling?”

Grantsville’s Chief of Police J. D. Nicholson has resigned– “…and some informed sources say resigned with an arson charge against Hot Toddy on his desk- that was never brought before the court!”

And then in September another story that was more mirror than smoke…

MURDERED …IN COLD BLOOD BY WV STATE TROOPER!!

At 11:11pm late Saturday night, Mike Fisher of Jackson County was SHOT and KILLED by Trooper First Class B.L. Keefer according to Sergeant JAY POWERS with the West Virginia State Police!

Mike Fisher resembles the infamous “Hot Toddy” to the point of “…Could of been his twin brother!”

We are not sure if that was what was on the mind of Trooper Keefer or not, when he killed Fisher, as Trooper Keefer was firing his weapon while his state vehicle was still moving, then getting out and firing three more shots.

This deadly action of firing a weapon while the police vehicle is still moving qualifies the incident to be put in the category of DRIVE BY SHOOTING!

No warnings were given according to, Dustin Haynes and John Haynes!

Jill the daughter of John Haynes tried to revive the wounded Fisher but was beaten, threatened and handcuffed at the scene by Trooper First Class B.L. Keefer in front of several small children that had been screaming “Don’t shoot …Don’t shoot!” just seconds before Mike Fisher was gunned down in cold blood. JILL was violently pulled away from the bullet riddled body before a sheet was placed over the fatally shot Mike Fisher,while according to eye-witness John Haynes” …Fisher was still breathing and alive at the time!”

“Six [bullets] went in him and three hit the house,” Jill Fisher said.

Jill Fisher also criticized efforts to revive Fisher, for instance, that a Health-Net helicopter was prematurely called off.

Dustin Haynes and Jill allege the Trooper KEEFER fires from the vehicle then got out of the cruiser and stood over Fisher, shooting him three times at point blank range!

Dustin said, “The trooper almost shot me, that’s why I had to jump out of the way!”

But the mother of all of the smoke and mirror news worthy items was the death of a State Trooper investigated by “State Troopers!”

WRONG!

But what would we know, we’re just getting ready for another year of SMOKE and MIRRORS

FORMER CLAY STATE POLICEMAN DEAD FROM GUNSHOT WOUND!

07/19/2007)

A 13-year veteran of the WV State Police recently stationed in Clay County has died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the agency. Corporal Marlo Gonzales, 39, died last night in his cruiser, which was parked in the driveway of his home on Sycamore Road near Hurricane.

The gunshot was heard by Gonzales father-in-law, who lives nearby. When the father-in-law heard what was described as a muffled noise he went to investigate, and found Gonzales’ body.

Colonel Dave Lemon said the shot was fired with Gonzales’ service weapon while the officer was on duty. Lemon said Gonzales started working with the State Police in 1994.

He’d worked in Putnam and Clay counties before recently being reassigned to South Charleston to fill in for officers on military leave.

The state trooper killed himself while on duty last night!

**Cpl. Marlo Gonzales was working a 4 p.m. to midnight shift when he shot himself with his service weapon about 9 p.m. **

All that was left at the scene of the crime…. was the smoke from the Gun and the State Trooper adjusting his brass on brass and gig line in the mirror!

****

Here is another photo from the SMOKEY HOT TODDY dope den!

Mirror not shown in this photo, it was full of lines and under the bed!

Seen through the eye’s of a Gila Monster, preparing to go in …(the infamous LUNACY LUCY pictured above, wearing the white Teddy, a metaphoric smoky fashion statement, a seasonal challenge and just festive enough to give it up for the poisonous head of a Gila Monster)

Taken from the National AD for… “HEAD ON for Gila Monsters!”

Apply directly to the forehead!

STATE TROOPERS–LIES, Video Tape and Civil Suits!!

Friday, November 16, 2007, 4:41:04 AM | calpattypress

Complaints, proof… Poof! Little or nothing is done about misconduct complaints involving the WVSP or any other local law enforcement agency; even when the culprit is caught red-handed in regard to bad faith arrests, and bad faith prosecutions, based on some sort of fraudulent evidence or testimony.

It’s a god damn central West Virginia way of life, is… what-it-is !!

If you get on the wrong side of the law here, you’re in a heap of trouble boy!

Lets just look at some documented history!

“Complaints have been filed and a request for criminal investigation (were made) in regard to sworn testimony Trooper Starcher gave to the Calhoun Grand Jury in the case of State of WV vs. Kelly Mace.

Sgt. John Bonazzo, Grantsville detachment commander at the time, helped obtain a search warrant describing a million dollar drug operation and 270 stolen guns linked to Mace. The officers confiscated several items, with no drugs or stolen guns found.

So actually, they acted on “Bullshit Information” which produced nothing of what they were looking for. Empty sandwich bags are just that empty sandwich bags. In fact, think I’ll have me a sandwich right now, then make one for lunch later and stick it in the fridge, even though I know I’m possible risking my freedom, I’ll have to take the chance, but I’ll have to wipe the bags for prints, since that might be used as evidence against me.

Testimony in the MACE CASE appeared confusing about the names of officers, methods and numbers of State Police officers participating in the raid and why there was a lack of effort to search for the stolen guns mentioned in the search warrant.

The answer to that little dilemma is it was a bullshit charge and case from the get go pancho!

Court records indicate numerous other problems linked to the MACE CASE including the failure of Sgt. Bonazzo to appear in court after a subpoena was issued to him to testify.

Why the fuck should he testify, it’s only a subpoena and a man that walks with JESUS doesn’t have to answer to no damn subpeeny. Hell the ole boy makes his own rules just like GERRY, but better keep our eye on Banana Bonazzo or he might a start a wearin JC PENNY suits!

The “ACE” MACE CASE raid was made on information provided by an informant who was incarcerated when he appeared in court.

Really? How many times have we all heard that one!

So many bad faith cases are brought from information obtained by a “Highly Questionable SOURCE!”

Truly BAD SOURCE information is at the root of all our, “JUSTICE.. clogging up the courts problems!”

Besides the appointment of a special prosecutor, records show State Police Sgt. J. B. Schoolcraft is doing an investigation regarding Trooper Starcher. Starcher had reportedly been assigned to special duty out of Calhoun County at the time.

JESUS H CHRIST, here again is another problem that has to be rectified before our rectums can’t take anymore getting banged up the bum by this crap of state police investigating state police!

Sgt. John Bonazzo was transferred back to Braxton County, where he has been called on the carpet for creating a “target list” of eleven Braxton County citizens who are “not to be given any breaks.” Braxton Trooper M. A. Straley, under Bonazzo’s command, was reportedly fired a few weeks ago, although State Police denied a Hur Herald Freedom of Information request to validate his dismissal.(See ole Bob just keeps up the suppressing fire) CIVIL SUITS are pending related to Braxton County police problems.

Here we go with M F ing “Target Lists” …and they say that never happens!

Kelly Mace, who claims she has been victimized (bent over and made to squeal like a pig), says “The record and investigation will clearly show criminal behavior and a violation of the laws of the State of West Virginia by Trooper Doug Starcher and his supervising officer Sgt. John with the Banana Bonazzo!”

“It’s that yellow thing he keeps playing with and we’re not sure that it’s a banana!” (Lunacy Lucy says it glows in the dark and the Gila Monster was a goin 4 it)

Mace is also processing a civil suit against the West Virginia State Police, stating they “Destroy the lives of people who don’t deserve it!

The West Virginia State Police recently declined to sustain charges made against former Calhoun Trooper Tom Yanero. (He’s just a home-town boy, don’t be a worryin!”)

A Deputy Assessor accused Yanero of brandishing a gun and making threats toward him when he called on his residence to do a tax assessment. There were other issues involving State Police problems in Gilmer County.

Trooper Yanero has been involved in several other cases alleging professional misconduct, being indicted temporarily for battery and being the subject of a Million Dollar Civil Suit for allegedly beating a Roane County man.

Then…..The State Police made him “Trooper of the Year!”

Trooper Doug Starcher also became the object of a civil suit filed by Grantsville resident Richard Whytsell, after he reportedly went into a rage and threw a Mag-Lite through the rear window of the man’s car. State Police sustained misconduct charges against Starcher, made by Whytsell.

“Just a showing him what that mag-lite’s for”

Lets not forget the SECRET VIDEO TAPE PROVIDED BY THE RANGER!

This tape was sent to the Calhoun Underground also for viewing. The reports we have gotten from experts is that they need more footage to make an evaluation, since the footage we received from confidential third party was inconclusive of any positive identifications.

Grantsville State Police Tried Another Set-Up of Johnny Richards the Nationally known LONE METH RANGER last week.

Many National Websites including “BAD COPS” picked up the story of the debauched State Police “missing evidence” caper!

IN FACT FORMER CALHOUN COUNTY CHIEF DEPUTY BANDY HAD EIGHT FELONY CHARGES DISMISSED NOV 13th 2007 because of MORE missing evidence!

Thanks to the special prosecutor GERALD B HOUGH!

But modern technology and a trap of digital VIDEO and AUDIO will tell the tale of the Meth Ranger! Nothing missing there, it’s all on video and audio!

State Police recently unjustly broke into The Meth Rangers apartment to try to set him up…AGAIN! But word has since surfaced, along with audio and video tapes …that show Johnny set the bad cops up with hidden video and audio devices in his apartment!

Johnny also used a police informant “Beth” to set them up with what Johnny call Operation Search Warrant Set-Up.

BETH I hear you calling
But I can’t come home right now
Me and the boys are playing
So you will just have to do the set up by yourself.

Just a few more hours
And I’ll be right home (NOT)

I think I hear them calling you
Oh BETH what can I do
BETH what can YOU do ?! (remember the plan)

BETH I know you’re lonely
And I hope you’ll be alright
‘Cause me and the TEAM RANGERS will be sayin

It’s a god damn set-up again!

As several of us know things went as planed and Johnny even got more evidence against the bad cops than any of us had hoped! YAY!

AS MANY KNOW THE RANGER WAS SET UP ONCE BEFORE…but the evidence turned up missing and STATE TROOPER SGT ELLYSON was dismissed from the force. Trooper Campbell resigned amid allegations of misconduct also involving the sale of guns stolen from the evidence hold.

ALL THE DOPE THEY SAID WAS JOHNNY”S WAS JUST GONE!

(Toda la droga que se dice JOHNNY “S acaba ido!)

Johnny asked for a test of the substance all along since he knew it was fake dope, since it was a reverse set-up!

If it was not for an attorney with Balls named Catlett and innocent man would have gone to jail for a crime that was at best, a bad faith prosecution!

WOW CAL MAN!!

Trooper Starcher forced Pete Dilgard to give a statement that he saw Johnny carrying a TV Set and other things from a home near Johnny’s that was robbed in late August not September as the search warrant states. This is what Starcher used to get a search warrant for Johnny’s apartment. Pete has since told several neighbors and individuals about the threats from Starcher that induced him to sign the statement that Starcher wrote. This is all incredible and very stupid of Starcher. But, Starcher has been doing this all along in various cases throughout a several county area. Yes, that is crazy, but than again you are dealing with West Virginia State Trooper Doug Starcher. Will, he count on Gerry again to get him off the hook this time.

By the way, Pete is Jeremy Dilgard’s brother who police are claiming made statements back in July that Johnny assisted him in stealing items from a Glenville Hardware Store. This is awesome news, as it is easy to prove the facts of this setup and it clearly shows how these cops are forcing individuals to lie against Johnny.

Pete will tell the truth when protected by the Meth Rangers attorneys, and the Court, and several things will all fall into place about this latest setup attempt by local state police. Another awesome fact is the video Johnny has of the items being removed from the home in question that Johnny’s cameras inadvertently caught. Johnny did not know at the time that the items being removed from the home were going to be reported as stolen. But regardless he could not just call 911 at the time or provide this information to the police as Johnny was keeping a low profile. (If you know what I mean).

Is it going to be a repeat story from COPS GONE BAD?!

 

West Virginia – State Police mistook evidence for garbage, and the self-proclaimed “Lone Meth Ranger” rode off into the sunset.

Calhoun County prosecutors dismissed felony charges against John Manis Richards on Monday after a judge said they couldn’t even mention the evidence during his upcoming trial for allegedly operating a methamphetamine lab at his Grantsville home.

Richards was arrested two years ago after authorities said they found materials commonly used to manufacture meth on his property.

News reports cited search documents detailing how police found pseudoephedrine, plastic tubing, bottles of iodine, acetone and camp fuel.

Police said a child was also in a car where some of the items were found.

Richards was indicted in 2006.

State Police Sgt. C.J. Ellyson was running the Grantsville detachment that year after the regular commander fell off a ladder.

Ellyson later admitted in a letter to Calhoun Prosecutor Matt Minney that he mistakenly discarded the evidence collected in Richards’ case.

“The aforementioned evidence was received from Grantsville Police Department without any custody receipt and the previous detachment commander declined to place it in our evidence storage,” Ellyson wrote. “The items were then set in the detachment common storage area by same.”

When Ellyson came on board in Grantsville, he said he cleaned out the storage area, thought the evidence was garbage and got rid of it.

“That’s the story anyway,” said Robert Catlett, the public defender who represented Richards.

Col. David Lemmon, State Police superintendent, said today that an investigation is underway.

“I’m trying to find out exactly what did transpire,” Lemmon said. He said from what he knows, Sgt. Ellyson seems to have made an honest mistake.

Minney, the county prosecutor, did not know exactly what was thrown away. But he said Tuesday that the evidence was enough to bring a case against Richards.

Sometimes after his arrest, Richards started an online newsletter describing himself as the “Lone Meth Ranger.” In the newsletter, he railed against local authorities as being

corrupt and he harped about the dangers of meth. He sent video footage of people making meth to various media outlets.

Richards called his own case “malicious prosecution” perpetrated by “rogue officials.”

“He’s made all kinds of allegations,” Minney said.

Throughout his case, Richards claimed that he was really out to sabotage other meth makers for the good of the community.

He gave bad meth-making materials to people so they wouldn’t be able to produce it, he said. That’s what he claimed the seized materials were.

A judge in December granted Richards’ request to view the evidence police had. The letter from Ellyson saying the evidence had been tossed was dated less than a month later.

Catlett, in his motion to dismiss Richards’ case, called the situation “staggering negligence.” He said the evidence was never tested for traces of meth and was not destroyed as a health hazard, as is most meth lab evidence.

“I’ve never heard it happen accidentally,” Catlett said. “They generally take samples of these items, then destroy the original. In this case, they just flat threw it away.”

The motion goes on to suggest that the evidence was discarded intentionally.

“While there is no direct evidence that the destruction of this evidence was willful, there is circumstantial evidence,” Catlett wrote.

“A defendant who is clearly disliked by local law enforcement cries out from day one for an analysis of the physical evidence, and then that evidence disappears. This draws a much darker picture than mere negligence.”

WHO CAN FORGET ABOUT THE SHOOTING OF MIKE FISHER– SEPT 07!

At 11:11pm late Saturday night, Mike Fisher of Jackson County was SHOT and KILLED by Trooper First Class B.L. Keefer according to Sergeant JAY POWERS with the West Virginia State Police!

Mike Fisher resembles the infamous “Hot Toddy” to the point of “…Could of been his twin brother!” We are not sure if that was what was on the mind of Trooper Keefer or not, when he killed Fisher, as Trooper Keefer was firing his weapon while his state vehicle was still moving, then getting out and firing three more shots.

This deadly action of firing a weapon while the police vehicle is still moving qualifies the incident to be put in the category of DRIVE BY SHOOTING!

No warnings were given according to eye witnesses at the scene, Dustin Haynes and John Haynes!

(¡Facción local del KKK para arriba en brazos que mataron a otro hombre blanco en sangre fría!)

Jill the daughter of John Haynes tried to revive the wounded Fisher but was beaten, threatened and handcuffed at the scene by Trooper First Class B.L. Keefer in front of several small children that had been screaming “Don’t shoot …Don’t shoot!” just seconds before Mike Fisher was gunned down in cold blood. JILL was violently pulled away from the bullet riddled body before a sheet was placed over the fatally shot Mike Fisher,while according to eye-witness John Haynes” …Fisher was still breathing and alive at the time!”

“Six [bullets] went in him and three hit the house,” Jill Fisher said.

Jill Fisher also criticized efforts to revive Fisher, for instance, that a Health-Net helicopter was prematurely called off.

Dustin Haynes and Jill allege the Trooper KEEFER fires from the vehicle then got out of the cruiser and stood over Fisher, shooting him three times at point blank range!

Dustin said, “The trooper almost shot me, that’s why I had to jump out of the way!!”

Without the truth bloggers known as the “SECRET SEVEN,” none of the real news about lives being ruined by bad faith police actions and or prosecutions would ever be known… and so far all of the SS have been threatened, shot at, animals killed, actions filed, and lawyers told they were taking a risk to their reputations and careers if it ever became known they were associated and or represented any of them in either civil or criminal actions or represented their families!

And you thought National Socialism was a thing of the past! It’s here in Central WV!

This is a beautiful setting shown in the photo below… and just down the road a piece is the home of several of the SS!

Such beautiful, peaceful, landscape, that is until men come to your house at night with guns!

Now there can be several excuses made for ruining the lives of Central West Virginia residents here is one provided by Bob(not so secret) Weaver.

Drug charges have been dismissed against Allen and Lorie McClain by Clay County Prosecutor Daniel Grindo. State Trooper Marshall Bailey charged the pair with drug offenses.

The case was reportedly dismissed because Trooper Bailey obtained the initial warrants for the couple in Clay County, believing they were Clay residents, and then discovered they lived in Nicholas County.

The McClain’s are free of all charges, since the charges cannot be re-filed in another jurisdiction.

Trooper Bailey was one of seven State Policemen charged in a CIVIL SUIT over an alleged drug raid on Calvin “Bob” Thorne of Ivydale.

Police said Thorne was involved with the sale of methamphetamine, but the evidence turned out to be corn starch, according to a $5 million civil suit filed against the agency.

Mother fucking Corn starch! That ain’t dope!

The State Police settled with Thorne in an out of court settlement, after they forget the evidence on Thorne’s front porch and had to return the next day to find it.

The State Police claim they are innocent of all allegations but..from the Archives:

Sgt. Tim White of the West Virginia State Police’s crime lab has been fired, according to Major B. D. Gore. Sgt. White and the lab’s director Captain Rick Theis have been on suspension , related to improper practices. Captain Theis’ future is unclear, but he is still employed by the agency.

Sgt. White had been involved in an incident in 2001 when the State Police fired a civilian lab worker who pled guilty to federal mail fraud charges, and was sentenced to jail.

State Police Superintendent Howard Hill asked the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s office to investigate the matter. An independent lab was hired to test all cases Sgt. White analyzed from April 1 to July 3 of last year.

Major Gore said last week the FBI is continuing their investigation.

Millions of dollars in lawsuits have been filed against the West Virginia State Police since the Supreme Court discredited former lab chief Fred Zain in 1993. Zain’s trail of unprofessional conduct continues to problem the agency and the State of West Virginia, including sending innocent people to jail.

The West Virginia State Police continues to defend their internal review policies, which previously focused on the agency monitoring itself. Several members of the West Virginia Legislature have called for a civilian review board, particularly since conduct problems continue to plague the agency.

Calls have been made to reorganize the State Police into a Highway Patrol, create a Civilian Review Board and remove the lab from the agency, which most criminologists consider to be flawed.

The State Police have now unionized, and will likely take a stance against changing the agency.

Meanwhile far away from all that big city stuff we all have to live …

The SS make sure they are protected from further night time raids by trained guard dogs trained to attack intruders, but it really helps if the neighbors dogs from up the holler are loud and sometimes drunk! The drunker they are, the louder they are, and they have a distinctive bark after a 40 ounce of beer! These dogs from the back woods are also known to take a nip or two from the white lightening machine!

But hey! Even old JOE is making it easy on all of us considering all the bad faith prosecutions and such! We don’t have to get all nervous bout going to the big city and all, since he made it “JUST OK” for us to file our civil actions with the state from our home counties! (hint-it’s a trap,get a lawyer file your civil action in federal court not state)

If you file a lawsuit against the state of West Virginia, you may soon have the option to file the suit in your home county.

The bill is on Gov. Joe Manchin’s desk.

Currently those lawsuits are required to be filed in Charleston.

State Supreme Court Administrator Steve Canterbury says it’s a consumer-friendly bill.

“It does make it much easier for that person to be part of his case, day in and day out, because it can be filed at home,” said Canterbury.

Canterbury says he’s unclear how the bill will increase the caseloads of some judicial circuits.

State lawmakers are scheduled to redistrict the judicial circuits next year according to population and caseload.

***Little word to the wise: Don’t be believing any of that bullshit!

Don’t be a trusting the State Supreme Court to be a following the rules or you may just find the State Attorney General just changed some important facts about your case. Word to the wise, if you get in trouble, or want to file civil action, don’t go by what they say… get your own lawyer and get one that don’t know no one round here.

BONUS PHOTOS-thanks to …

“The Team Rangers” just sent us these pictures via E-mail but we can’t print the captions, seems as if the Fire Starting Cult and it’s leader are ready to go back to their evil deeds soon!!

Looking longingly into the eyes of a Gila Monster….(Lucy below)
(Buscando longingly directamente a los ojos de un Gila Monster…. (Lucy)
Also it appears the Gila Monster had some kind of accident as he has a patch over one eye–so you could say, “she is looking into the ONE EYED Gila Monster”…and be more correct. **Not so JUICY LUCY and her trained Gila Monster**

Usted podría pensar que los niños mexicanos se cansan de todos los T & A, pero NUNCA que parece ser el caso.

Shane Dellinger (pictured right) under indictment for a little excitement in Braxton county joins the party below! [Known as Deputy Dellinger in Braxton County]

BUTCHER and Gainer-Cunningham take thousands from A J Woofter Estate…Local Cops do nothing! GSC also implicated in wrongdoing!!

Saturday, October 27, 2007, 11:00:46 PM | calpattypress

Just another example of crime among the elite in Crooked County– And now we have all the facts on Tim Butcher just helping himself to the Albert J Woofter Estate!

Oh yeah……… and Butcher had quite a bit of help from Rosa Belle Gainer Cunningham– long time Crooked County resident, and president of the local American Cancer Society. Damn, hope none of us get Cancer, she will steal us blind!

“The long sought after AJ WOOFTER Accounting revealed in this article!”

But hopefully, we aren’t old enough to have all of our money stolen, since it seems one has to be elderly and helpless, along with mentally challenged, as we recently witnessed with the April McCroskey and Chief Deputy Bandy Case–and including the illegal acts by Butcher and Gainer.

This article was suppose to be published on the 23rd of October, but we had a little problem with getting it up, and only just received a rather large box that weighs at least 10-12 pounds filled with documents, files and letters from attorneys and what not, implicating wrongdoing by two Gilmer County residents.

We all thought she went to look for Johnny, but our MIA editor just delivered all the documents last evening before 5. We were told that we could shove it up our ass, or publish it, or whatever the F we wanted to do with it,(I think rolling it all up and smoking it was even mentioned) since all the documents are only copies. I would love to actually put this on the VET scale to see how much it really weighs…….. it is heavy!

So part of this is written by the Chief Editor- and part of this we had to have explained to us, by someone with eight years of school. At any rate, lots of loud screaming and cussing and every bad word you could think of was mentioned, in an explanation that came from someone with no patience– but one can only hope some virtue.

Although, we certainly can’t be certain on the virtue of our own precious.

Tim Butcher, is the foundation president at Glenville State College where allegations in a report of wrongdoings involving the A J Woofter Scholarship fund is officially being looked into this week !

Rosa Belle Gainer Cunningham the unit president of the local American Cancer Society was the executrix of the A J Woofter estate and now stands accused of writing bogus checks to Butcher to the tune of nearly $30,000 in the last few months of 2006 for sending one e-mail and writing one letter to the attorney of the beneficiary!

That’s a lot of American money for just one letter and an e-mail

An official complaint was made to the Glenville County Sheriff Metz, but the first memo on the top of this pile says there was NO INVESTIGATION DONE!

If local law enforcement refuse to investigate, then the matter can be turned over to the US Attorney General!

The special litigation section has authority to investigate state and local law enforcement agencies and is authorized to take action if there is a pattern or practice of illegal conduct!

CONSPIRACY AGAINST RIGHTS!(rats in Hot Toddy talk)
section 241 of Title 18 is the civil rights conspiracy statute. Section 241 makes it unlawful for two or more persons to agree together to injure, threaten, or intimidate a person in any state, territory or district in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him/her by the Constitution or the laws of the Unites States!

DEPRIVATION OF RIGHTS UNDER COLOR OF LAW
Section 242 of Title 18 makes it a crime for a person acting under color of any law to willfully deprive a person of a right or privilege protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States, these include acts not only done by federal, state, or local officials within the their lawful authority, but also acts done beyond the bounds of that official’s lawful authority, if the acts are done while the official is purporting to or pretending to act in the performance of his/her official duties.

Butcher lied in an E-mail to the attorney for the estate, by saying all donations to the AJ Woofter scholarship fund were not to be known to the public, but GSC is a state college and that letter from Butcher was Bullshit, therefore(so far) an investigation that implicates two other GSC hierarchy is soon to reveal a few truths!

The college that recruits black men to rape our young white teenage women, and rob the local grocery story…… is also receiving to the Albert J Woofter Scholarship fund, donations of relatively large amounts of cash that wasn’t the donors to give!

“The money came from the Albert J Woofter Estate!”

Speaking of Glenville State College and Tim Butcher, here is a little something, something, from the COURT RECORD, in which it was JUST OK that a Black Drug Dealer(wanted on drug charges in FLA) rape a white 17 year old high school student!

Commotion at City Hall – Chief Moss’ Testimony

Moss’ interview of RAPE SUSPECT “Davis” (photo below) was interrupted by a series of loud banging on the doors, windows or walls of Glenville’s City Hall, Moss told the court.

Moss stopped the interview and opened a door to see what the commotion was about. He told the court he saw a man he believed to be an assistant coach from the college and a few of Davis’ friends outside.

He shut the door, intending to resume the interview, but there was more banging at the rear of the building.

Moss testified he went out the back door and was confronted by Glenville attorney, Tim Butcher. According to Moss, Butcher demanded that he allow Davis’ friends to be present during the ongoing interview.

Veteran police officers said after the trial, unlike the scenario Butcher suggested, one of the first cardinal rules taught to policeman is to always interview witnesses or suspects alone.

“It kind of surprised me,” Moss told the court, “Mr. Butcher is supposed to represent me and the City.” (as City Attorney)

“He (Butcher) made a few threats, including that he’d get me fired,” Moss testified.

Moss admitted to the court he became very angry at Butcher!

“I more or less slammed the door in his face,” Moss told the court.

“Things got a little bit heated between you and Mr. Butcher?” the defense attorney asked.

“I was offended by Mr. Butchers conduct,” Moss replied.

“And just a few minutes later, you called,” Moss continued, (speaking directly to defense attorney, David Karickhoff) “and said you were his (Davis’) attorney.”

Another memo established the fact that the Braxton County prosecutor was given the long waited for 2007 Woofter accounting… 12 YEARS LATE and marked in red for discrepancies. There is also a document written to another attorney where a special out of town investigator was being requested to look into the matter of missing cash from the A J WOOFTER interest bearing checking account, that Gainer and Butcher used as their own–only releasing $ 3,700 to the beneficiary in the last 18 months, while writing themselves huge checks.

There is a law in West Virginny and other states, that says the executrix can only receive a small percentage of the total estate. Proof is in the paper work that Rosa Belle Gainer- Cunningham wrote herself checks for a great deal more than allowed and it looks to us like Butcher took as much as half the estate for himself!

It’s Gainer-Cunningham because Rosa Belle got married at 85 years old, which sort of makes you wonder what in the world that honeymoon would have been like. Sort of makes me sick to my stomach to think about it. Making love prune to prune with the help of some sort of old smelling sexual aids.

Add TWENTY years of age to the picture below and then puke yourself into oblivion!

After Butcher was done with the checking account that once held $95,000 when it was safely in the bank in Parkersburg, that same checking account was raped, for all but $7,000 as that is all the beneficiary received after all was said and done.

“In Crooked County it’s acceptable for BLACK MEN to RAPE White Underage Women and it’s acceptable for small, pompous ass sociopaths, to RAPE estates for all the Green Money!”

Gainer moved the money to Glenville, to the UB Bank, where Terry (not right in the head) Butcher sits on the board of directors of the Glenville United Bank 101 E. Main street. Albert J Woofter didn’t want the money moved to Glenville. His specific request was his money was to remain in Parkersburg.

All of A J Woofters accounts were liquidated from different accounts in Parkersburg and put into one account at United Bank, right there in Crooked County. The only thing is a much lesser amount was deposited than was liquidated………. according to two investigators providing information for civil action being brought.

So where is the rest of AJ Woofters money?

Guess you can sure buy a lot of marijuana with the $25,000 dollars that is just missing!

“The Glenville city attorney just whittled down the estate until there was nothing left but 7,000 by the time the beneficiary got it!”

And this is how it was done!

This is an actual excerpt from the 2007 accounting that was 12 years late!

Figures are from actual document….this is proof!

12/31/2006 To be paid to Butcher and Butcher Trust Account for legal services review final settlement, draft letter to the Fiduciary Commissioner, search for and copy supporting documents draft letter to (edited-name of lawyer) e-mail to (edited-name of lawyer) review letter from VANCE GOLDEN, trip to Court House to search for real estate assessments, legal research on Westlaw, revise final settlement and transfer brokerage account.

For ONE half- days work , Butcher charged $4, 895.00

The above excerpt is from actual accounting on file.

Well Butcher must have thought, hmmm… I think I’m running a little low on COKE!

So after lunch he decided he needed at least 5 thousand more…..since you know, two or three ounces probably wouldn’t be enough, especially if he needed to keep Princess Di in booze too!

So after lunch he wrote this………

12/31/2006 To be paid to Butcher and Butcher for legal services, review final accounting. Review account to insure correctness, draft final accounting (editors note, he already charged for that earlier on the accounting) review 4th quarter Wachovia and United Bank statements, complete final settlement and balance same.

AFTER LUNCH, THE SAME DAY, BUTCHER CHARGED $ 5, 580.00 !!

Butcher charged a total of $10, 475 dollars on 12/31/2006 New Years Eve!

Happy Fucking NEW YEAR!

(¡Feliz año nuevo de mierda!)

Over ten grand for just one day!

(Más de diez grandes para un solo día!)

…………and even that was just all made up bullshit to steal the money!

Tim Butcher is a Criminal and a Thief and the official 2007 accounting ordered by Vance Golden proves it!

Vance Golden has also been implicated in wrongdoing for allowing Butcher to get away with not filing an accounting since 1994….. when accountings are required every year by WV law!

So the fact that Butcher didn’t do an accounting “by itself” is against the law, and Rosa Belle Gainer prune puss is just as guilty! It was her job as an executrix to see that an accounting was done.

Here’s an excerpt from a letter to Rosa Belle Gainer from attorney Margaret Kreiner: www.kreinerlaw.com (feel free to e-mail or contact Kreiner for document proof)

“Back dating checks to give the illusion that the terms of the will are being complied with is not an ethical way to carry out the desires of Albert J Woofter . We are asking that you comply with the terms of the will!”

“A letter was written to you by the guardian, requesting an accounting to which you responded on September 27, 2002 stating that you had turned it over to your attorney. All attorneys are busy, but Mr Butcher surely should have found the time in the last two years to comply with the request for an accounting. I suggest you find another attorney who is not that busy!”

“All we are asking is that you comply with the terms of the will as Albert J Woofter directed!”

GAINER ignored that letter, and Butcher sat in his big leather chair and weathered out storm after storm of FIVE different lawyers, giving no reply, and taking all the money!

The above letter was dated September 23, 2004 — No answer No reply for Butcher or Gainer!

On November 3, 2004 another letter by KREINER was sent!

This time and bold print she writes………..

YOU have NOT complied with our request for an accounting. My client is entitled to an accounting. Since she has never had an accounting ever, I am firmly requesting and accounting from the beginning when the trust took effect. I will expect you will honor this request and comply by November 30th!

Gainer never replied and a CC copy of that above letter was sent to Atty William Powell in Parkersburg– and if you have ever encountered this true gentleman, he is a very matter of fact, in your face lawyer, that gives it to you in black and white. He looked into the A J Woofter estate and took note that only 79 k of what should have been 266k or MORE….. was forwarded, the rest was just missing.

No surprise there!

Gainer was asked by several attorneys for accountings, but ignored all requests, didn’t take phone calls and neither did Butcher–this fact is a matter of public record!

The above excerpts are from page 15 of the 2007 accounting that was sent to the wrong address by Vance Golden’s office and it was done on purpose, since they had since sent official letters to the right address twice, in months prior.

Vance Goldens office knew full well the right address to send accounting to and also had two addresses of lawyers to send it to , but NADA was sent to counsel.

The act of sending an accounting waited for since 1994 to the wrong address, clearly indicates wrongdoing and implicates the Wood County Commissioners office in a possible criminal conspiracy with the Glenville City Attorney.

I mean really………..

Why was it sent to the wrong address, to stall for time?

Altogether the Albert J Woofter estate came up $38,000 lite in less than two months time prior to 12/31/06

IF you don’t believe us, as one Glenville resident, named Carl Armour didn’t–a man that takes his totter to bed by 9pm — get the documents on file at the Wood County Court house, or call the Wood County Commissioner office. This document, along with all the documents we possess, are also on file with the Braxton County Prosecutor.

We could bore you with document after document, but it is getting old even for us bound and determined to fry every Crook in Crooked County. Now you know why all the black drug dealers are all so well supplied!

Damn someone is making some money, too bad, it has to be money taken from old people.

The Bitcher of the Butchers is so self-important that he thinks that he can get away with criminal activity!

Rosa Belle Gainer- Cunningham, by the very fact of being employed by the Bitcher of the Butchers law firm, while executrix of the estate, is enough for any reasonable person to red-flag the entire debacle of their robbery, of the A J WOOFTER estate!

Guess being tight friends with a Circuit Court Judge and close to the County Prosecutor HOUGH, (also under investigation), gives them all a false sense of security!

The Bitcher, being an obvious sociopath, won’t feel the least bit bad about anything until he is caught for his crimes; then he will only feel bad for himself, that he finds himself in jail or with a suspended or revoked license to practice law.

IT’S ALL ABOUT CORRUPTION and the Home Cooked Political Structure Down By the Crooked River!! UPDATE OCTOBER 24th HOUGH is going for the diversion…trying hard for NO TRIAL ON NOVEMBER 13th !! This is nothing short of CRIMINAL!

Friday, October 19, 2007, 10:59:46 PM | calpattypress

November 13th at 9am is a day we have been waiting for like it was Christmas! Many of you that have been following along, know that the former Calhoun County Chief Deputy Bandy trial is that day!

We are sure that legal history will be set that day in November, and during the duration of the trial…as who do you know that has ever had two defense counsels and no prosecutor?

NOBODY!

Gerry has been acting as a defense counsel for Bandy and not a PROSECUTOR!

Gerald B Hough has committed one surprising ethical breach after another, regarding the Bandy case!

We must be taking this personal because we at the CALPATTY PRESS are disappointed every instance of “… just another delay and stall tactic used!”

WE HAVE BEEN WAITING ALL YEAR FOR THIS TRIAL!!

The CalPatty Press has had several articles published on National Sites with ten to one hundered times our reach… and have received a few interesting letters from lawyers all over the US, asking us if we are totally full of shit or what?

When we politely respond with facts that can be verified, many are in disbelief that so much misconduct can go on in a very small middle section of West Virginia, but now…. everyone knows!

Gerald B Hough, the man that washed dishes in a Kibbutz in Israel, masquerades as an elder in a baptist church in Crooked County, but not many are fooled by this fake ass son of a bitch!

It is hard to believe all that Gerry Hough has gotten away with, and he still hasn’t gotten his ticket pulled, but you know what they say…. “give him enough rope!”

SOON the worst crime of all of Gerry’s manipulative, illegal and coercive actions is about to take place…just a few weeks away, this November with his Special prosecutor appointment to the Chief Deputy Bandy trial!

The WVSP brought the case which involves allegations that Bandy illegally removed items from an elderly couple’s house after they had been placed in a nursing home.

(The man with the fake southern charm in the JC Penny suit “Gerry” above)

(El hombre con el falso encanto en el sur de la JC Penny palo “Gerry” supra)

Gerry is either acting alone or acting as agent for the corrupt powers that be when he pulls off stunts like this:

Hough told Calhoun Circuit Court Judge Evans the case against Deputy Bandy should be dismissed because the WV State Police could not provide recordings of witness testimony. Those recordings were allegedly taken early in the case by State Trooper Doug Starcher, before a State Police officer from Charleston assumed the lead.

“The tapes have not been made available to parties regarding discovery,” said Hough.

There was no information to what the problem was with the “missing” tapes.’

Now the tapes are just missing!! How fucking convenient is that?!

Hey pretty cool Dougie! Hough gets you off of perjury charges if you will help him get another cop off like Chief Deputy Bandy!

This is some real Bullshit!

“Hough then told the court there are problems with the chain of custody of evidence items!”

Like the gun was stolen out of the evidence locker…like everything else!

The timing couldn’t be worse for local State Police, after evidence was lost in the John M. Richards meth lab case, with Grantsville troopers reportedly being given lie detector tests over problems within the agency.

“I will not be able to prove the case,” Hough said, indicating there are also problems related to evidence being sold.

Evans asked “You cannot prove your case?” after which prosecutor Hough and defense attorney John R. Teare asked Evans to agree to a pre-trial diversion, a legal device which would essentially put an end to the case. After one year, if nothing new surfaced, the case against Bandy would be dropped.

(Judge Evans above with Bandy and defense counsel)

Evans declined to allow the prosecutor and defense attorney to discuss the issue in chambers. We see the reason for that being the judge didn’t want to be witness to anymore corruption!

Hough let Bandy’s girlfriend walk with a 100 dollar fine and a misdemeanor conviction for trespassing after being charged with several felonies!

That’s when when we knew for sure that Hough would find a way to manipulate the court to let Bandy go. The April McCroskey case was just a way to test the waters.

With the help of Starcher-Hough could remove the Bandy case from the docket, but it will just be adding more fuel to the fire for another case where Hough has been under investigation since 2004 for wrongdoing. He just keeps getting in deeper and deeper mud, but when all is said and done we are convinced he will get the short end of the muddy stick!

What we are really saying is the SPECIAL PROSECUTOR GERALD B HOUGH has absolutely no intention of prosecuting former Chief Deputy Bandy!

Hough has tried everything he knows and has been working hand in hand with Bandy’s defense counsel to see that this case goes nowhere just like the April McCroskey case did!

CALPATTY ALERT! CALPATTY ALERT CALPATTY ALERT!

UPDATE ON BANDY TRIAL OCTOBER 24th

The CalPatty Press called it correct AGAIN ABOUT THE BANDY TRIAL!!

Breaking news…

CROOKED COUNTY CROOK GERALD B HOUGH IS ONE CORRUPT SON OF A BITCH!

HOUGH IS TRYING TO MAKE SURE BANDY TRIAL NEVER EVER MAKES IT TO COURT ON November 13th!

Hough filed motion for judge to reconsider the “DIVERSION” making sure Bandy never goes to trial… if State Police never give up the evidence they once had!

Then of course Hough will make sure evidence never makes it to court, just like we said…which, in fact, makes HOUGH nothing but a crook!

If Judge Evans goes for this Crooked County Crap we are ALL in a lot of trouble as that means the “elite” can do whatever the fuck they want to…when they want to, and BAD COPS will have a free reign!

Now that is some real bullshit!

A Calhoun Grand Jury indicted Bandy on EIGHT felony charges !

If in fact the motion to accept the diversion is NOT denied, BANDY WALKS and that will make a mockery out of the Grand Jury!

(Bandy pictured below)

THE LATEST WORD IS HOUGH IS MAKING SURE BANDY NEVER GOES TO TRIAL!

That certainly is no special prosecutor for the people!

We need to vote these people out! This can never happen again!

April of course was the girlfriend of Ron Bandy when the alleged robbery of the old folks took place!

“April baby was just… all of the sudden guilty of trespassing-a lesser charge-given a fine of $100 dollars, and court costs, then walks!

NO TRIAL NEEDED when you got yourself a “secret-crooked-deal!”

“Ain’t that about a bitch!” “Guess it pays to be banging a cop!”

(Sweet April above)

Hell if Hough would have asked us, we could have given him the solution to his problem!

If Bandy would have hired Jerry Jones of Clarksburg like Mikey Kendall did… his problems would be over by now! But I doubt Jones would have even considered all the underhanded unethical bullshit stunts Hough came up with. He would have declined to represent Bandy because of it. Lawyers of that caliber do not play into all this misconduct!
IT’S ALL ABOUT CORRUPTION!

It’s the good ole boy buddy system and the HOME COOKED political structure that HOUGH brought with him, from Crooked County, next to the Crooked River!

It doesn’t matter what the police do whether they are state, city or county, with people like GERRY HOUGH around you see NONE of “them” have to pay for their crimes!

If you want to commit a crime and have it covered up just join the police department!

Sgt Ellyson…just dismissed without much of anything said about the fact that missing evidence vanished with no real or believable reason given. No charges filed yet, but if charges do come about, then Hough will be there.

..Speaking of investigations this just in from the CALPATTY PRESS!

The CalPatty Press received a special message from the Ranger via a third party just hours ago: The Ranger says… “I will be riding back into town soon! The Glenville charges are a smoke screen put up by the local State Police Investigators from Dunbar (not dumb bear) WV have been investigating the local gang of State Police for several months now. I have a video tape of an individual who I believe was solicited by the local “GREEN SHIRTS!” to plant items near my apartment door in a apparent set up!”

“Due to security equipment installed on my property the intruder was caught on tape and the items in question were moved to another location thereby temporarily delaying their attempted scheme of a set-up!”

“This debacle happened in June and information has been trickling down the information highway in regards to the items, the purpose of the items and exactly who was behind this somewhat elaborate scheme to make things appear different than what the facts really are! Yes the DUNBAR State Police Investigators have been in Grantsville, but certainly they are not investigating the CORRUPTION of the local STATE POLICE!”

“The Dunbar people are in town to cover up all the misconduct of the past and the present of the Grantsville State Police Detachment… and that’s a lot!”

“Time and and time again, STATE POLICE, investigating STATE POLICE, have proven that only a cover up is in store. Community confidence in State Police Officers investigating it’s own is NADA! Confidence is gone! Numerous websites and news organization across the state of WV have called for an end to the type of in-house investigation of wrongdoing by State Police!”

“Citizens and other public officials have called for a CITIZENS REVIEW BOARD to investigate State Police MISCONDUCT! I have proof and information of said misconduct and clear evidence of a WVSP Investigation which is geared to cover up misconduct in Grantsville!”

“Investigators covering up serious corruption committed by the Grantsville detachment (before Skidmore was there) will soon be a high profile blunder that maybe even the world could be talking about soon!”

“Then, hopefully, the days of WVSP investigating and covering up for ROGUE officers will soon be a thing of the past! Good luck to those trying to sweep things neatly under the rug!”

Editors Note: It appears that “Johnny” the LONE METH RANGER is continuing his work against corrupt officials. It may sound like a tall tale, but last time a statement like this was made it was all true! Then his attorney Catlett proved it all to be true! Johnny once said he has a right to protect himself against wrongful arrest, and the excessive bond of $150,000 set by Carol Wolfe is a little ridiculous, but then what do you want from Crooked County. “Why do you think they call it Crooked?”

Johnny’s alleged involvement in a “property crime” in Gilmer County seems to be part of a set-up to jail and silence Richards before all the fact are known!

Johnny also made statements to the press via secret source third party that troopers Starcher and Hunt were the ones that attempted the local illegal planting of evidence!

Will Starcher and Hunt take the Dunbar investigators down with them?

Will the truth once again be found out just like in the case of the MISSING METH evidence …that Johnny told us about for months and months before it all happened just like he said!

Hard evidence and facts of illegal WVSP activity concerning this set-up has been video taped and documented for some time now! Richards further stated that he will have information and evidence released concerning the facts of the attempted planting of evidence by the local Rogue Green Shirts via the Calhoun Underground and the CalPatty Press once a move that has been being waited on happens!

Johnny says we all know the GREEN SHIRTS are geniuses, and he is just a dumb ole country boy, but the things uncovered about the local “G’s” for members of the GERRY HOUGH GANG…may change how corruption is investigated by the powers that be!

“Hopefully good Honest Police work will replace the Rogue few”

More on this later as the truth that was told to us by an investigative third party will shock you!

***

Speaking of the Rogue few…lets talk about one of the Rogue many since Calhoun County seems to have set a NATIONAL RECORD for POLICE CORRUPTION!

Lets take a nostalgic look at Ron “Gordo” Gordon

Remember this?

GORDON NEW POLICE CHIEF – “I’m Taking My Job Seriously”

Grantsville’s new police chief Ron Gordon was making his rounds last evening. Gordon was recently hired by the town council to fill the position. “I’m taking my job seriously,” said Gordon, “remembering what my duty is to the citizens of the town.” Gordon says he really likes the job and hopes he will continue with the position.

Little did we know in 2003 was …what GORDO meant to say was… “I’m taking this blow job seriously!”

Gordon became Grantsville police chief in 2003 during the last few days of Mayor Gary Knight’s administration, following the resignation of Chief Charles McCroskey!

Now we all know Charles McCroskey has been training folks fighting terrorists overseas, so we are all proud of him! And he is a man to be respected! Believe you me, we respect him for more than one reason. One would be he could kick all of our asses, and then if we tried to run, we would ALL be hunted down and found, within a short time, since Charles is the real deal! No bullshit here! Stick a fork in us if McCroskey gets pissed off at us! In fact this may just be the reasoning behind letting his daughter APRIL McCroskey OFF with just a bitch slap… as we state in one of our earlier CalPatty Press articles.

“Can you imagine the ASS KICKING April must have gotten over this entire Bandy thing!?”

“¿Te imaginas la ASS KICKING Abril debe haber obtenido más de Bandy toda esta cosa?!

Who’s your daddy April? (¿Quién es tu papá de abril?)

“Maybe you should put more thought into your next boyfriend… before you get all of our asses kicked!”

An investigation conducted by Trooper Peter Sutton of Dunbar, WV led to arrest warrants being issued for Ronald James Gordon Sr. on July 14, 2006.

Mr. Gordon who was given a promotion in 2003 from Dog Catcher to Grantsville Police Chief was suspended in late February 2006!

“From DOG CATCHER to PUSSY SNATCHER!”

Mayor Wilbert Kerby soon fired Gordon for not attending a meeting Mr. Kerby had arranged for the purpose of questioning Gordon concerning an alleged arrest in Charleston for writing bad checks and sexual misconduct rumors. (By the way, Mr. Wilbert Kerby is one of Grantsville’s good guys)

Shortly before Gordon was fired, an Internet Blog on “Journalscape” broke the news that Gordon was allegedly arrested for repeatedly writing bad checks for fruits and vegetables. Gordon allegedly obtained the produce in Charleston and would return to his home in the Orma area of Calhoun County where he sold the produce at a roadside stand he setup on his property.

(Check out The Lone Meth Ranger Newsletter at:)

www.journalscape.com/TheLoneMethRanger article dated March 26, 2006 “Allegations Mount Against Ron Gordon Sr.” Also see: “How the ball started rolling-Gordon File” dated April 22, 2006, The Lone Meth Ranger Newsletter.

On July 14, 2006 Lt. Peter Sutton outlined information in Criminal Complaints filed with Calhoun County Magistrate, Teresa Robinson. Magistrate Robinson upon reviewing the Criminal Complaints found probable cause and issued three felony warrants for the arrest of Ronald James Gordon Sr.

Statements contained in the Criminal Complaints read as follows:

One:

The complaint has obtained a statement from JP, a female over the age of twenty-one, hereafter referred to as Victim 7. The details of this statement are as follows:

On May 25, 2004, Ronald Gordon Sr., hereafter referred to as Gordon, came to Victim 7’s residence. While talking to Gordon outside of her residence, Gordon asked victim 7 for something to drink. Victim 7 entered her residence to get Gordon something to drink and Gordon followed her inside.

Inside, Gordon picked Victim 7 off of the floor and pinned her against her stove. While doing so, he undid his pants and pulled victim 7’s shorts down to her knees. Victim 7 resisted Gordon so he could not penetrate her vagina with his penis. After short period of time, Gordon ejaculated on Victim 7’s vaginal area.

NICE! Way to go “Gordo!”

SADLY… IT WAS SAFER FOR THESE WOMEN IN JAIL, WHERE THEY DIDN’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT FASHION STATEMENTS OR POLICE PENIS!

Gordon told Victim 7 that it would not do any good for her to report this because no one would believe her.

One day, after this incident, Gordon telephoned Victim 7 and said he was sorry for what had happened. Gordon also told Victim 7 not to be stupid and not to report this incident because he was the law. Gordon threatened Victim 7, saying he could pull her over at anytime he wanted and he could find anything he wanted in her car.
Two:

The complaint has a written statement from SH, a female, over the age of twenty-one, hereafter referred to as Victim 5. The details of this statement are as follows:

In November of 2000, Ronald Gordon Sr., hereafter referred to as Gordon, was the Home Confinement Officer responsible for supervising SH while she was completing her home confinement sentence.

One evening in late November of 2000, Gordon came to Victim 5’s residence and informed her that he was taking her for a urine test as part of her sentence. She said Gordon drove her to his residence, saying that he had to pick up some papers. There, Gordon gave her a specimen cup and she provided Gordon with a urine specimen for later testing.

Victim 5 said after this she informed Gordon she was ready to return to her residence. Victim 5 stated Gordon told her he wasn’t ready for her to go home. According to Victim 5, Gordon told her he wanted to get her “hot and bothered” and have sex with her.

Victim 5 stated that she told Gordon she did not want to have sex with him and she wanted to go home. She said Gordon told her that he could use his badge and make sure she did not see her children again if she did not do what he wanted. Victim 5 said she again told Gordon she wanted to go home.

At this point, Victim 5 said Gordon grabbed her by the arm and took her to his bedroom and forced her to have intercourse with him. She said that after Gordon had ejaculated inside her, he told her to get her “dammed clothes on” and he would take her home. She went on to say that she got dressed and Gordon took her back to her residence.

This officer checked the home confinement records for Victim 5, maintained by Gordon, as part of his duties. The said documents reflect when Victim 5 was present at her residence and the time she departed and returned on a daily basis. The undersigned officer discovered that the files maintained by Gordon were substantially complete with the exception of the records from late November of 2000.

This officer has contacted the home confinement monitoring company, CDA, in an attempt to reconstruct the missing records. CDA informed this officer that they changed computers and software in 2001 and may not be able to recover the desired files.

Three:

The complainant has obtained a statement from CG, hereafter referred to as victim 2. The details of this statement are as follows:

During the spring of 1988, Victim 2 was a seventeen year old female visiting the residence of the accused, Ronald Gordon Sr. (hereafter referred to as Gordon). Gordon’s residence was located in the Orma area of Calhoun County, West Virginia, at the time.

During this visit, Gordon told Victim 2 that he wanted to show her an abandoned building, near his residence. As Gordon and Victim 2 entered this building, Gordon told victim 2 that he had previously had sex with her mother and now it was her turn. Victim 2 pleaded with Gordon not to have sex with her. Gordon forced Victim 2 to have sexual intercourse with him. Additionally, Gordon penetrated Victim 2’s vagina with his finger.

GORDO sang the “baby let me bang your box song to her!”

“Oh-oh baby let me bang your box, baby let me bang your box
Baby let me bang your box, hey baby let me bang your box
Well baby let me play with your ….I’m gonna bang ’til the whole house rocks”

When Gordon and Victim 2 returned to Gordon’s residence, Gordon told Victim 2 that if she told anyone what had happened, he (Gordon) would make people believe she is a liar and a thief.
_________________________________

WOW ! After Magistrate Robinson read all that, you would think she would of set his bond at a couple hundred grand. But what did she do? She set Mr. Gordon’s Bond at $30,000 and only requested he come up with 10% of the Bond. Therefore, Magistrate Robinson released Mr. Gordon after providing her with $3,000. Yes that was just Three Thousand.

The Victims were very brave to step forth, and we should all commend them. Magistrate Robinson slapped them in the face with such a low bond for such serious charges.

I guess Robinson was just following Matt Minney’s lead, as Prosecutor Minney allegedly received several complaints about Gordon nearly a year before the Mayor fired him, but Minney refused to take any action. It is believed Gordon was the Prosecutor’s go to guy for wrongful arrests and false testimony.

“HOW IN THE NAME OF OUR LORD COULD THIS HAVE GONE ON SO LONG?!”

The official word on the Gordon trial is that it will be scheduled later in the fall, but we don’t seem to have a date yet, but GORDO could get a date at work anytime he wanted all he had to do was do his job of taking care of the home-confinement women, if you know what I mean.

“You know that last time I banged a box it was a piano, so that probably is a good thing…hee hee”

But Ron Gordon says… “I can’t tune a Piano, but I can Tuna Fish!”

(“Yo no puedo sintonizar un Piano, pero puedo Tuna Fish!”)

Man I really hate to end the story here, but all of this corruption really stinks!

 

 

McCourt says “NO COURT” just let the misery be…ALSO the “MYSTERY of the Lone Meth Ranger” continues with sighting in wooded area near Crooked County! IN WV WE TURN MURDER INTO ART!

Thursday, September 27, 2007, 2:39:28 PM | calpattypress

Clarence W. “Charlie” McCourt “The feel good” Upshur County magistrate says “No Court” ” …I don’t want out, just let me be!

Sound like a joke?

Well I can tell you Taylor County Circuit Judge Alan Moats isn’t laughing, but he did agree to let “Charlie” McCourt out of jail because he apologized to the woman he admitted to groping in a Buckhannon motel room.

Charlie McCourt was hoping to get a “real feel” for the situation when the pretty female victim showed up in his courtroom complaining of domestic abuse.

A short time later, “Charlie” showed up at her room at a Motel in Buckhannon offering to help her with her case, she said. He wanted to see her bruises.

( I think she’s gonna show ya Charlie)

She showed him!

The attractive female victim lifted up her shirt to show him the bruises on her chest, and”Good Time Charlie McCourt” started feeling her breasts!

“…Then Charlie asked if they could keep that titty feeling thing between them!”

The nice bruises on her chest brought out the best in Ole Charlie!

The Young attractive female decided to tell, and not just anybody either! The State Police!

Charlie was in a lot of trouble now… and originally was indicted on felony counts of sexual abuse and bribery. A jury in March of 07 couldn’t agree on his guilt or innocence, so the judge declared a mistrial!

Before the case could go to court again, “Charlie” reached a plea agreement with prosecutors and the felonies were dropped.

In May Charlie McCourt was sentenced to a year in jail for battery!

McCourt decided to resign from his magistrate post. He’d been on unpaid suspension until then. Charlie also has decided just to do all his time and skip the hassle of home confinement and probation and counseling. Could Charlie be following the advice of a “Jail house lawyer?”

That advice would be “…just do the time and skip all that supervision bullshit, that way you get out and it’s over!

The former Upshur County magistrate agreed to the good advice and is currently doing the time for ringing the chime of the wrong Belle that became alarmed!

SPEAKING OF BEING ALARMED!

Good Golly Cal Man our faithful scout “Kemo Sabe” reports secret meeting with Lone Meth Ranger moving through a wooded area in Crooked County!

Secret message reveals…

“The Crooked Crooks seem to like making unjust personal attacks on the Ranger and other citizens. The Ranger and his Team say show time is near. Personal Attacks will have new meaning to all Crooked Officials up and down the Crooked River”

.

The Glenville Police Chief J. Moss says to help him lock up the Ranger forever!

Kemo Sabe says, The Ranger is telling all that “… Lone Wolf tactics from individuals who are fed up with Corrupt Officials are being encouraged by the Ranger and his Team!!”

(“Kemo Sabe dice, el guardabosques es el decir todo el eso “… Las táctica solitarias del lobo de los individuos que se están harto de cansado con los funcionarios corruptos están siendo animadas por el guardabosques y su equipo!!”)

Is this some sort of secret message from the Lone Meth Ranger!

Has he been in Mexico all this time or just hanging out at the nearest “Taco Bell?”

Kemo Sabe reveals that sharp tongue of Johnny Richards as they traveled the banks of the Crooked River recently: “The Lone Wolf is a powerful weapon in the Ranger’s arsenal. Spread the word, time for all the brave “Lone Wolfs” out there to float in the shadows and strike the phrase United We Stand!”

Is this the secret message everyone has been waiting for? Is the Hot Toddy Hate and fire starting cult working with the local police force as the Ranger says, planting evidence and doing dastardly deeds?

Who are the people of the “Lone Wolf” and how can they help?

The mystery fires continue and murder is still high on the list of a common occurrence!
Once that you’ve decided on a killing
First you make a stone of your heart
And if you find that your hands are still willing
Then you can turn a murder into art

In West Virginia we turn murder into art almost everyday!

Certainly the killing of Mike Fisher was a work of art. An unarmed man being shot at from a moving state police vehicle, then three more shots up close in the chest… while the young father Mike Fisher was down.

A beautiful work of ART!

“…It’s such a pretty work of ART lets throw the sheet over him while he is still breathing!”

Before Mike Fisher came “Charles Pruitt!”

There really isn’t any need for bloodshed
You just do it with a little more finesse
If you can slip a tablet into someone’s coffee
Then it avoids an awful lot of mess

But, ” not an awful lot of mess,” wasn’t on Trooper Kane’s agenda that day!

Trooper C. F. Kane fired 14 shots into Charles Pruitt’s body while responding to a domestic violence call a few years back!

Sound familiar?

Same type of deal that happened with Mike Fisher!!

Kane contended that Pruitt was armed at the time he was shot and refused to drop the weapon when ordered.

Same type of bullshit story that is being used in the shooting of Mike Fisher earlier this month!

The Charlie Pruitt family says, “… Kane entered the residence without a warrant and shot Pruitt while he was not armed and had his hands up. A gun was reportedly found near Pruitt, but family members said they believe it was planted!”

AGAIN… We have all heard this story before!

Maybe since we are hearing essentially the same story from two different families we should believe it!

The family sued for $30 million, alleging constitutional violations and wrongful death.

Kanawha County Circuit Judge Irene Berger last year dismissed the lawsuit as it pertains to the State Police. The claim against Trooper Kane is still valid, but is stayed until the Supreme Court irons out the claim against the state.

John Yoder, a Jefferson County lawyer and Republican state senator, is one of two lawyers representing the Pruitts. The other lawyer is Senate Majority Leader Truman Chafin, Democrap-Mingo.

The Pruitts have both a Democrat and Republican lawyer representing them, but in this case we vote for the Republican and this is why…

The State Police says that actions by Trooper Kane were “…Reasonable and Justified!”

The Pruitts lawyer Yoder said, “Our contention is when you give a trooper his gun back on the same day he shoots somebody 14 times … that’s a pattern of the state of condoning and allowing that kind of conduct!”

“…In the case with Mike Fisher the State Trooper involved in the shooting was back on the job within days!”

According to court documents, an expert had found that State Police troopers are supposed to be trained to stop firing his or her weapon when a threat stops!

Now if you have a taste for this experience
And you’re flushed with your very first success
Then you must try a twosome or a threesome
And you’ll find your conscience bothers you much less

Because murder is like anything you take to
It’s a habit-forming need for more and more
You can bump off every member of your family
And anybody else you find a bore

Just shoot them 14 times and it will keep you coming back for more!

“…And if you find that your hands are still willing
Then you can turn a murder into art”

MURDERED …IN COLD BLOOD BY WV STATE TROOPER!!

Monday, September 03, 2007, 3:22:21 PM | calpattypress

At 11:11pm late Saturday night, Mike Fisher of Jackson County was SHOT and KILLED by Trooper First Class B.L. Keefer according to Sergeant JAY POWERS with the West Virginia State Police!

Mike Fisher resembles the infamous “Hot Toddy” to the point of “…Could of been his twin brother!” We are not sure if that was what was on the mind of Trooper Keefer or not, when he killed Fisher, as Trooper Keefer was firing his weapon while his state vehicle was still moving, then getting out and firing three more shots.

This deadly action of firing a weapon while the police vehicle is still moving qualifies the incident to be put in the category of DRIVE BY SHOOTING!

No warnings were given according to eye witnesses at the scene, Dustin Haynes and John Haynes!

Local faction of the KKK up in arms that another white man was killed in cold blood!

(¡Facción local del KKK para arriba en brazos que mataron a otro hombre blanco en sangre fría!)

Jill the daughter of John Haynes tried to revive the wounded Fisher but was beaten, threatened and handcuffed at the scene by Trooper First Class B.L. Keefer in front of several small children that had been screaming “Don’t shoot …Don’t shoot!” just seconds before Mike Fisher was gunned down in cold blood. JILL was violently pulled away from the bullet riddled body before a sheet was placed over the fatally shot Mike Fisher,while according to eye-witness John Haynes” …Fisher was still breathing and alive at the time!”

“Six [bullets] went in him and three hit the house,” Jill Fisher said.

Jill Fisher also criticized efforts to revive Fisher, for instance, that a Health-Net helicopter was prematurely called off.

Dustin Haynes and Jill allege the Trooper KEEFER fires from the vehicle then got out of the cruiser and stood over Fisher, shooting him three times at point blank range!

Dustin said, “The trooper almost shot me, that’s why I had to jump out of the way!”

According to SGT POWERS, Trooper First Class B.L. Keefer responded to an unrelated call, when gunshots were heard coming from the Michael Fisher residence on Windale Ridge near Ripley.

KEEFER then came to the scene with gun drawn!

Why not use a Taser?

Deadly force soon to be used in Calhoun County according to secret source and a report by leading alternative News Source Calhoun Underground!

******RUMOR******WARNING*******
We have it on very good authority that ROANE COUNTY will be sending TWO State Poopers to “work” in Calhoun County soon….. Run for the hills.

A Jackson County man was gunned down in cold blood by a State Pooper. See the Hur Herald or Calhoun Underground for the story. This just goes to show, if you see a (TR)pooper coming, run like hell, or you might be dead

Here is Calhoun Underground comment on the CalPatty Press website regarding State Troopers in Calhoun:

IT is quite one thing for Meth and Pot and toxic waste to turn up missing… But something else for money and guns to go bye bye without a trace. SOMEONE is responsible for these “disappearances”. Seems it would help ever so slightly the confidence level of the masses if it appeared they were actually TRYING TO FIND OUT who the culprit is. After all, these POSSIBLE liars and thieves are running ’round with guns and the authority to use them, as well as the power to make your life a living hell… At this point, what makes area law “enforcement” any different than “organized crime”? Somebody please explain…

******************************************************************************

Now back to the Cal Patty Press!

In Jackson County Saturday night the family was celebrating the holiday and…The family said Fisher was “letting off steam” by shooting his gun in the air.

The Charleston Gazette reported father-in-law Johnny Haynes said “He didn’t mean to hurt nobody.”

Jill Fisher said when her husband realized a State Police cruiser was approaching the house, he “slung the gun” to his right before walking toward the trooper with his hands in the air.

Her nephew, Dustin Haynes, alleged that the trooper started firing his gun at Fisher even as his vehicle was still moving, according to the Gazette.

“How hard is it when you throw your hands up, you don’t have to unload a clip in a man,” said Michael’s wife Jill . “Especially when there’s a 10-year-old and 15-year-old standing behind me saying don’t shoot, don’t shoot!”

Jackson county which borders WOOD, WIRT and ROANE county, is also the place where Calhouns infamous “Hot Toddy” recently was arrested for stealing computers by replacing a price tag with a much lower price. Many local sources have confirmed that police have also been using him as a police informant.

“Hot Toddy” and his hate and fire starting cult, is one of the reasons that the State Police are bringing in a change of the guard, after Hot Toddy recently gave different police agencies false information about “John Manis Richards” known locally as the Lone Meth Ranger, as well as provocative an wrongful information involving the McCoy family.

THE FIRES STILL BURN IN CALHOUN!

THE MYSTERY OF EVIL CONTINUES!

ARMED VICIOUS STORM TROOPERS on the way and determined to stomp free speech by any means possible!

Unfortunately, Michael Fisher should have been under the care of a clinical psychoanalyst, for the loss of his children due to a boating accident recently.

This story is similar in nature to the Park Richards/ John Fitzgerald story that got the CCC site yanked when they reported the truth in November of 2006!

Fisher tried recently to commit suicide by jumping off a bridge and was still distraught over the loss of his children. The sad solution to this tragic tale would have been to get Michael Fisher the help he needed. Instead, innocent children, as well as God fearing adults, had to bear witness to a senseless slaying, by the hands of the State Police.

************************************************************

WSAZ FALSELY REPORTS SHOOTING OF MIKE FISHER

“A state trooper out on a routine call found himself in the middle of a shoot out.

Sergeant Jay Powers with the State Police says just after 11 p.m. Saturday a trooper heard gunshots coming from a home in Fairplain.”He checked on it and ended up in a shoot out with Michael Fischer who was in the house where he heard the shots. (LIE) (Mike never had a weapon in his hand to shoot back!)Powers says an altercation involving Fischer and the trooper followed after he refused to drop his weapon.” (LIE!)

*************************************************************
Recently, a blog was put up at the state capital in West Virginia via WSAZ that attracted over a thousand posts from concerned citizens that discussed just this problem. Even Lisa Wexler was almost fired from her job, when she was caught posting on the site by her boss, when in actuality she was suppose to be working on a state funded project.

This tragic MURDER scene will play out in the minds of those present for the rest of their life! And you can bet that nothing will be done about health care for being under mental stress! And nothing will be done about the senseless crimes committed against the people in the courtroom when a prosecutor tells a trial jury out right lies. Even when it is proved later that-all-that-was-said , was a lie …still nothing is done about it. Police officers can perjure themselves during court and nothing will be done. Circuit Court Judges will continue to make their own rules in Crooked County and still nothing is being done!

Some brave people have tried to speak out, only to be threatened with deadly force, or “…threatened with a long jail sentence!”

The latter is almost more threatening, knowing your family would be without the one they depend on most for support- and the “I” beam of the family structure.

If they can’t shut you up, then they are sure to kill your dog!

Still if we don’t stand up and fight for our rights…really who will do it for us?

The Fisher/Haynes family hired a private investigator and we know of another family in the local area that has done the same! Really it is the only answer for us now!

Our only hope is for an outside agency and a private company with clout, to determine that indeed there is a problem, so they can report it to Federal Law Enforcement. However, that takes money, as we know of someone that has spent over 5,000 dollars to investigate wrongdoing in Crooked County!

They were told recently it would take at least another $20,000 to finish the investigation, or to even have a hope of a federal indictment.

The time has come for everyone to stand up and say, “WE’RE MAD AS HELL AND WE’RE NOT GONNA TAKE IT ANYMORE!

cal.patty@hotmail.com

ENOUGH …of GERRY B HOUGH!

Friday, August 24, 2007, 10:15:27 PM | calpattypress

Has Gerry B Hough formed an alliance with the most hated of all State Troopers Doug Starcher?

It would appear to any reasonable person that Hough is slicker than a chased greased hog!

He sure has pulled off some pretty amazing and illegal stunts that would have never flown anywhere else in the US. Hough may soon see some of those past bullshit actions come back to haunt him!

“When we hear the word special prosecutor…we hold our breath and pray that we don’t hear the name Gerry B Hough after, but as soon as we do; then it’s time to explain to the little ones the difference between Yankee’s and Damn Yankee’s.”

Lets review some news worthy items:

Trooper Doug Starcher is currently the object of a civil suit filed by Grantsville resident Richard Whytsell, after he reportedly went into a rage and threw a MagLite through the rear window of the man’s car. State Police sustained misconduct charges against Starcher, made by Whytsell.

Fairly easy to get away with when you got friends like Gerry!

“An investigation to continue regarding alleged improper testimony given in a Calhoun Circuit Court by Trooper Doug Starcher !”

(Starcher)

The investigation consisted of handing the situation over to Gerry Hough who made it all ” JUST OK!” for Starcher and no more was heard of it!

We need not mention other cases Hough did bungle at home in the Crooked County Jungle….

“Trooper Yanero has been involved in several other cases alleging professional misconduct, being indicted temporarily for battery and being the subject of a million dollar civil suit for allegedly beating a Roane County man. The State Police made him “Trooper of the Year!”

Notice the term several other!

Yanero gets paid for fucking people up a lot and even gets a raise and promoted to SGT….then: “Trooper of the year!”

Yep …couldn’t present this news story in the proper light without giving a mention to “Yanero with Dinero!”

Another cop “GERRY” just let go!

Why? Because It’s JUST OK!!

Now the worst crime of all of Gerry’s manipulative, illegal and coercive actions is about to take place NOW in the PRESENT with his Special prosecutor appointment in the Chief Deputy Bandy Case!

Gerry is either acting alone or acting as agent for the corrupt powers that be when he pulls off stunts like this:

Hough told Calhoun Circuit Court Judge Evans the case against Deputy Bandy should be dismissed because the WV State Police could not provide recordings of witness testimony. Those recordings were allegedly taken early in the case by State Trooper Doug Starcher, before a State Police officer from Charleston assumed the lead.

“The tapes have not been made available to parties regarding discovery,” said Hough.

There was no information to what the problem was with the “missing” tapes.’

Now the tapes are just missing!! How fucking convenient is that?!

Hey pretty cool Dougie! Hough gets you off of perjury charges if you will help him get another cop off like Chief Deputy Bandy!

This shit is about as bad as some of the corruption going on in my home state of Virginia.

“Yeah Virginia used to be a pretty cool place in 1790 but it has sorta gone down hill from there!”

Hough is the KING OF WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS IN WV…was he taking lessons from one of his lesbian friends in the big VA?

An innocent victim of Virginia justice (sic) is Chris Gaynor. Gaynor took his skateboard team to a competition. When one of the kids tried to buy drugs, Gaynor threatened to tell his parents. To preempt Gaynor, the kid accused him of sexual abuse. There was no evidence against Gaynor, and the entire team knew the real story.

However, Gaynor was framed by a corrupt prosecutor, reportedly a man-hating lesbian, with the connivance of a corrupt judge, who intimidated Gaynor’s young witnesses by jailing one of them without cause. Gaynor’s innocence was of less importance to the criminal justice (sic) system than a desire to increase convictions for child sex abuse!

This above example parallels the Gerry Hough-Richard(Dick)Facemire combo up in Crooked County! Facemire… recently castigated by the Supreme Court, had a Meth case overturned because he asked 180 questions of witnesses, as-if-he was the crooked prosecutor . A situation almost unheard of in legal history!

Damn and we thought they were originals, but Gerry’s love of Lesbians is about to come out before the summer is out when a Crooked County Case is heard in Supreme Court. It has been proven in that case that a lesbian witness was caught lying on the stand and a further study of the case also proves false evidence was given to the jury by Hough. Evidence that he himself should have researched before telling a tall tale to the jury.

But then again, Hough is all bluff and is too lazy to actually do any research on a case. He just tells the jury the defendant is guilty which in several cases is total bullshit. But the bullshit stops in Charleston and hopefully soon will Gerry’s career when all the facts are presented!

Indictments brought by Hough have led to people that have been convicted by false testimony from criminals bribed by the Crooked County Prosecutor, who has attempted to exchange dropped charges or reduce sentence’s for Hough’s wanted false testimony against defendants!

We can bring you prime examples of that soon, but won’t be able to reveal specific information until 30 days from this date.

In a specific case which we are bound from talking about it due to the fact the last person from the CalPatty Press was reminded, by being raised up near the ceiling an shook like a rag doll in the office of an attorney that has to go unmentioned.

In that case Hough ask for a plea bargain on three Felony charges. When the Calhoun County Lawyer relayed that information to the defendant in a Crooked County Court, the defendant said, (quote) “Tell Hough to go fuck his self!” “He’s a little lying fairy piece of shit!”

The defendant in that case, beat the felony charges at trial and is taking the misdemeanor to Supreme Court at great expense to himself.

Before the summer is out Hough will find out that a belt serves a greater purpose than holding Daddy’s pants up, because he is sure to get his ass beat and that may be why he is letting the State Attorney General prosecute the case as he has excused himself. We see the reason as the simple fact that GERRY is a coward and AFRAID to finish something that he started. Hey Gerry the loss goes on YOUR RECORD ANYWAY!

We know some people that will be a hankern to take ol Gerry to the store then!

We all hope to be present when Gerry gets the bad news, in fact, the press has already been arranged- that will be the day we all have to decide what the difference between a hissie fit and a conniption fit is!

We vote for the hissie because we know he’s a sissy! We don’t give a shit if he did live on a Kibbutz!

Getting back to the Bandy case:
Evans advised Hough that “I’ll order the State Police to provide the witness recordings,” after which Hough indicated there are other problems with the evidence, saying “The evidence may not reach the threshold to continue with the trial.”

(Bandy with attorney above looking lonely with no April)

Hough then told the court there are problems with the chain of custody of evidence items.

The timing couldn’t be worse for local State Police, after evidence was lost in the John M. Richards meth lab case, with Grantsville troopers reportedly being given lie detector tests over problems within the agency.

“I will not be able to prove the case,” Hough said, indicating there are also problems related to evidence being sold.

Evans asked “You cannot prove your case?” after which prosecutor Hough and defense attorney John R. Teare asked Evans to agree to a pre-trial diversion, a legal device which would essentially put an end to the case. After one year, if nothing new surfaced, the case against Bandy would be dropped.

Evans declined to allow the prosecutor and defense attorney to discuss the issue in chambers. We see the reason for that being the judge didn’t want to be witness to anymore corruption!

Hough let Bandy’s girlfriend walk with a 100 dollar fine and a misdemeanor conviction for trespassing after being charged with several felonies!

That’s when when we knew for sure that Hough would find a way to manipulate the court to let Bandy go. The April McCroskey case was just a way to test the waters.

With the help of Starcher-Hough could remove the Bandy case from the docket, but it will just be adding more fuel to the fire for another case where Hough has been under investigation since 2004 for wrongdoing. He just keeps getting in deeper and deeper mud, but when all is said and done we are convinced he will get the short end of the muddy stick!

It doesn’t matter what the police do whether they are state, city or county, with people like GERRY HOUGH around you see NONE of “them” have to pay for their crimes!

If you want to commit a crime and have it covered up just join the police department!

Lets take a look at a couple of cops on the chopping block now!

Sgt Ellyson…just dismissed without much of anything said about the fact that missing evidence vanished with no real or believable reason given. No charges filed yet, but if charges do come about, then Hough will be there. However, we have it on good authority that a secret society has issued a warrant for murder of one of their animals and it has Ellysons name on it. Also the fact that road rage was one of his hobbies can only leave one prepared for some sort of violent reaction.

Former Braxton County BAD BOY Deputy Dellinger, known to us in Calhoun as Sgt Dellinger not only gave a gun class with no proper authority or paper work, but created a fund to receive state money for a program to better the community in Braxton County, but a lot of that money went straight into Dellinger’s pocket… and if it were not for the fact that someone thought of bringing an investigator in from out of the area to investigate the wrongdoing, the alleged crime would have never been discovered!

( Braxton county bad boy above with GF)

Dellinger should not worry however, as all he needs to do is put a call into GERRY and see if he can walk too… like all the other cops do that are brought into the Central WV courts!

The real answer to all of our problems is to vote these corrupt public officials out of office, and run them out of town , then let them go screw up someone else’s state.

We at the CalPatty Press are willing to donate funds to the right candidate for Crooked County Prosecutor and are already prepared to back an honest man for Circuit Court Judge.

It’s time we got smart as individuals and started getting off our asses and doing something about these corrupt officials. We hope that you start to think along those same lines.

After all, you don’t want to wait until it’s “you” sitting in the defendant chair on some trumped up charge, looking to be sent to prison by someone that has to sit on a stack phone books just to see over the bench. (“Hey it’s not our fault your ass is parked to close to the sidewalk!”)

Let’s not let the tail wag the dog! At election time we are the boss!

And if you are even thinking about voting for Hough then we would hope you are buying your dog treats at Walmart!

THE STORY THAT GOT THEM YANKED!

Sunday, August 19, 2007, 4:14:03 PM | calpattypress

We all remember well the Journalscape Crooked County Crooks website which created such a stir last summer with the straight hard facts of the “real story” on many political and emotionally charged topics. Getting more than 1000 hits a day on their website soon people were printing articles off and passing them around “Crooked County” and then soon Calhoun.

It has come to our attention today that many people were searching for information on this story about Park Richards and John Fitzgerald. We feel that it was a shame what happened and only hope a valuable lesson was learned so that a tragic situation as the story tells will never happen again.

After reading our letters to the editor and many of you that have sent mail to cal.patty@hotmail.com we decided to reprint the story that got CCC yanked !

Since this is a significant CALHOUN COUNTY story here it is!

Sometimes the truth is hidden by the fly on your eye!

(The stink of corruption in and around Crooked County attracts them)

Close to the TRUTH? THE STORY THAT GOT US YANKED!

MR X warned me NOT to write the story, but I did anyway! Since then, I was amazed to find… I was forgiven!

Although the below story got us yanked from Journalscape…this is STILL AMERICA! We have FREE SPEECH!

Were WE at CCC too close to the truth? YES is the answer. The Crooked Crooks from Crooked County that live next to the Crooked River, are just as afraid of the TRUTH, as the wicked Witch in the Wizard of OZ was afraid of water!

ALSO, through months of investigations it has been determined that …

the B*tcher of the Butchers has indeed broken the LAW in regard to the AJ WOOFTER estate…more on that later!

Now that story that got us yanked!

**Stories Sung To the Tune of…”Burnin down the House…and the Barn”

EDITOR EDISON: co-written by LISA WEXLER

In the last 48 hours, we at CCC have received through verified sources, information on todays, “Story Sung to the tune of.” We would also like to thank all whom have written us with great information on the many topics presented.

Wars and rumors of war…ya hear that a lot lately! Well how about FEDS and rumors of FEDS? Some inside information on todays story, was supplied by a person that is employed by the federal government that lived near the Crooked River at one point in his life.

We are also told that Federal Investigators have been in the area. Only they know their specific purpose, however we do know of a federal complaint that was filed against a local area resident.

Also some of the wrongdoings of the Crooked Crooks that live in Crooked County could be under investigation… especially if the suspected event had anything to do with moving funds out of the state of WV.
I’m sure that all will come out in the wash soon. The Hur Herald recently published a fine story about a Sheriff killed in the line of duty November 18th, 1976 with this headline:

HIGHWAY NAMED FOR FALLEN CALHOUN SHERIFF – Ceremony For Park Richards

(Park Richards)

Another sad event also happened on November 18th…

But two year later.

JIM JONES talked over 900 people into drinking poison on November 18th 1978 if you check your history. During the 70s he appeared with many prominent politicians including then California State Assemblyman Willie Brown…

But after the tragic deaths at Jonestown Willie Brown said, “If we knew then he was mad, clearly we wouldn’t have appeared with him. But it’s not fair to say what you would have done if you knew the kind of madness that would take place years later.”

Madness…really what is madness? There are several different kinds of madness. The definition is a semi-permanent, severe mental disorder typically stemming from a form of mental illness.

But can madness be ecocentric? Meaning that, for every different environment or community, a different set of norms, mores and values exist.

Those who study value conflicts have resisted rational choice approaches in the social sciences, contending that political conflict over cultural values is best explained by group loyalties, symbolic motives, and other “non-rational” factors.

We at CCC have made many reference’s lately to Home cooked politics in Crooked County. The elements and individuals that make up that HOME COOKED political environment, possibly fall to the same form of econcentrism that result in those “non-rational” factors.
In the HUR HERALD article, Bob Weaver includes a report from 30 years prior but after the shooting of the Sheriff Richards…
“Richards was shot by John Fitzgerald while he was trying to serve him with a lunacy warrant at Fitzgerald’s “cave-like” dwelling off Rush Run in Calhoun County, according to State Police”

This tragic event is especially sad since Park Richards was the kind of person that makes the state of West Virginia the GREAT STATE IT IS! A great man, a kind man, and wonderful person that performed his job well with no complaints.

Calhoun Sheriff Park Richards was killed in the line of duty by a gunshot fired by a mentally disturbed man.

WHO DETERMINED JOHN FITZGERALD suffered from a semi-permanent, severe mental disorder typically stemming from a form of mental illness?

NOBODY..Thats who! NOTHING was determined…that is the real crime here! This was ALL HOME COOKED!

We at CCC ask…was this man mentally disturbed? How was this fact determined? There is no apparent diagnosis. What was the process of identifying a medical or mental condition ?

There was NONE!

Again we look to ecocentrism and a “non-rational” factor!

Richards was shot by John Fitzgerald while he was trying to serve him with a lunacy warrant at Fitzgerald’s “cave-like” dwelling off Rush Run in Calhoun County,

WHO ISSUED THE WARRANT AND WHY?

(according to HUR HERALD article)

The why is this… “a neighbor registered the complaint said Fitzgerald was dangerous and kept a gun at his side constantly!”

TWO DEATHS because of the WORD of a neighbor?

Was this neighbor JESUS or GOD?

An eco-centric study of the IMMEDIATE area would conclude that to keep a gun close by in this part of the state of West Virginia(especially 30 years ago) was NOT UNCOMMON!

Fitzgerald,the man killed by police and that shot the sheriff was a former resident of Washington, D. C., and moved to WV in 73 or 74 as the precise time was not certain.

THE REAL STORY…the story NOT BEING told here is that this man JOHN FITZGERALD was an outsider!

He was not from WV but DC as stated above!

Being an outsider 30 years ago in WV, he was NOT welcomed by MANY!

His house was burned down!

Where was the ARREST for that?

Where was the ARREST for that?

I guess nobody heard us!

Where was the ARREST for that?

There was NO ARREST…NO INVESTIGATION!

JOHN FITZGERALD moved into his barn since SOMEONE burned down his house!

Guess what….HIS BARN WAS BURNED DOWN!

Where was the ARREST for that? What the fuck!

NO ARREST…NO investigation!

Why? Because he was an outsider and treated like an outsider and “A VICTIM” of the HOME COOKED LOCAL POLITICAL POWER STRUCTURE!

The press from 30 years ago really didn’t tell the WHOLE STORY!

After the JOHN FITZGERALD property BARN was burned down…
JOHN refused to give up! He moved into a CAVE!

Most people would have taken the hint. JOHN didn’t!

That’s the real story!

Here is a better inside look from a man that works for the federal govt….

“I lived in Grantsville back then …this gentleman’s house and barn were intentionally burned down in an attempt to “run the outsider out of the county”.

“When he stuck to his guns, (no pun intended) they had a lunacy warrant sworn out against him in an effort to get rid of him. Might be interesting to research and find out who acquired his property right after he was killed.”

The identity of this person we must keep secret before he finds himself arrested on some sort of “Home Cooked,” charge and in jail on a 1/4 of a million dollar bail…
What really stinks is this…

“Sheriff Richards was shot by John Fitzgerald while he was trying to serve him with a lunacy warrant at Fitzgerald’s “cave-like” dwelling off Rush Run in Calhoun County”

Then of course JOHN was SHOT!

TWO MEN DIED!

…lunacy warrant?! How does one issue a “lunacy warrant,”
if there is NO DIAGNOSIS of lunacy!?

Getting back to Willie Browns quote…

“If we knew then he was mad, clearly we wouldn’t have appeared with him. But it’s not fair to say what you would have done if you knew the kind of madness that would take place years later.”

MADNESS! who was the person that had “that kind of madness”
in this case 30 years AGO!?

The man that issued the warrant?

We ask YOU! How the hell do you get a lunacy warrant on someone because of the opinion of a neighbor?

What was the benefit to the neighbor? WHO GOT JOHN FITZGERALD’S property?

The “home cooked lunacy warrant,” got TWO men KILLED!

We would like someone to explain to ALL CONCERNED…HOW that lunacy warrant came about?

JOHN FITZGERALD fought for his land and died…just like in the old west…all due to “home cookin down by the Crooked river!”

This STORY is SUNG to the TUNE of…”Burnin down the HOUSE”

Talking Heads : Burning Down The House

Watch out
You might get what youre after
Cool babies
Strange but not a stranger
Im an ordinary guy
Burning down the house

Hold tight wait till the partys over
Hold tight were in for nasty weather
There has got to be a way
Burning down the house

Heres your ticket pack your bag: time for jumpin overboard
The transportation is here
Close enough but not too far, maybe you know where you are
Fightin fire with fire

All wet
Hey you might need a raincoat
Shakedown
Dreams walking in broad daylight
Three hun-dred six-ty five de-grees
Burning down the house

It was once upon a place sometimes I listen to myself
Gonna come in first place
People on their way to work baby what did you except
Gonna burst into flame

My house
out of the ordinary
Thats might
Don’t want to hurt nobody
Some things sure can sweep me off my feet
Burning down the house

No visible means of support and you have not seen nuthin yet
Everythings stuck together
I dont know what you expect starring into the tv set
Fighting fire with fire

**************************************************
“Stories sung to the tune of” is an exclusive creation of
CCC . We credit all sources.

POLICE MISCONDUCT IN WEST VIRGINIA! No Worries they just call the Handy Man”…that Handy Man Can!” ” He can FIX anything!”

Wednesday, July 11, 2007, 11:00:19 PM | calpattypress

“Officers who continue to abuse the power of the badge is a very “SERIOUS problem” in Central West Virginia!”

And if you’re a talkin bout Ronnie GORDO Gordon, that would be a “Growing problem!”

Little Dino the dinosaur likes to come out and play with the women on home confinement!

Police Departments across West Virginia, state, county or city, need to be accountable to the communities they serve!

As you have seen in past CalPatty Press articles the “Powers-that-Be” continue to slap these law enforcement officer wrists when they do wrong and nothing more. Why should they worry? After all, they all know the HANDY MAN!

“The Handy man can….he can FIX IT!”

“He can fix anything!”

“He’s a handy!”

“We’ll call him in for Chief Deputy Bandy!”

Of course the handy man we are referring to is “Gerry Hough” special prosecutor in the Ron Bandy felony case. Gerry fixed things real good for Dougie Starcher, and is even making him an active participant in the Bandy trial.

Well here’s a big ole Cal Patty for ya Gerry!

Splat!

Fix that!

(got something on your shoe’s there GERRY)

“Nobody wants to take police crimes seriously, especially Gerry!”

“That is… until a ultra serious police crime occurs, and then the public pays attention!”

“They want to know that something is finally done to officers who commit these crimes, like the case of Ron GORDO Gordon, that wanted all the young women under house arrest to play with his dinosaur for a favor or two!”

Gordo’s bail was set at three grand and then the judge dismissed herself from the case.(See Lone Meth Ranger site for the real story)

http://journalscape.com/TheLoneMethRanger/2007-07-10-02:37

“After Gordon’s arrest, citizens were outraged when Calhoun Magistrate, Teresa Robinson released Gordon on an unjustly low bond of $3,000 dollars regarding the serious charges. Once Magistrate Robinson secured Gordon’s release, she dismissed herself from hearing the Gordon Case. “(Little Dino got released too!)

But of course “Bail” for police accused of crimes is always much less!

Did everyone notice how ” …didn’t call the Handy Man in for GORDO? “

Around the same time Gordo was playing, “What’s that on your blouse?”" Here let me get that off for you-why don’t you hop on the stove… you need some more butter on that apron!”"Let’s play titty winks later”– a similar case to Gordon’s was in the spotlight!

Frank Dunn, the chief of police in McMechen, WV, and former Moundsville police officer, was arrested-and charged with three sexually related felony’s!

Dunn was done, so pleaded guilty and headed for the big house about a year ago.

The alleged victim- his stepdaughter- police say,”He repeatedly raped her!” The crime became known after police responded to Dunn’s home on a domestic abuse call.

While the cops were investigating the domestic abuse call, the sexual misconduct came to light, or was that darkness, but at least the bond was lite, it was only $30,000!

30 grand bond, wow, what a bunch of bullshit that is!

We have seen much higher bonds for misdemeanors in Crooked County if it’s someone they don’t like and have a personal vendetta against!

Thanks to Bob Weaver and the Hur Herald here is an updated report on the Local Calhoun Lagoon of conspiracy and misconduct:

FORMER OFFICER DELLINGER CHARGED WITH FALSIFYING RECORDS

(07/12/2007)

Former Braxton County Deputy Sheriff C. S. “Shane” Dellinger, who more recently served as a volunteer policeman for the Town of Grantsville, has been charged with six counts of embezzlement. Dellinger is being charged for allegedly falsifying records or accounts in order to defraud the State of West Virginia of money from a drunk driving grant issued to Braxton County.

The charges indicate Dellinger claimed he was doing work for the program, when records indicate he was not.

The charges were filed in Kanawha County. Dellinger posted bond and was released.

Dellinger is reportedly being investigated for problems that surfaced while engaged with the Town of Grantsville.

The officer allegedly gave a concealed weapons class in Grantsville, collecting money, when he apparently did not have the appropriate credentials. The money has not been returned.

FORMER GRANTSVILLE POLICEMEN CHARGED WITH FRAUD

(07/12/2007)

Former Braxton County Deputy Sheriff and Grantsville volunteer policeman C. S. “Shane” Dellinger has been charged with six counts of felony fraud committed while serving as a Braxton County deputy sheriff. Dellinger worked for Braxton County Sheriff Howard Carpenter, who told the Hur Herald some months ago he had placed Dellinger on leave because he was suffering stress from a recent divorce.

The deputy, who was described as “extremely aggressive in law enforcement in Braxton,” was apparently fired from his job, although the sheriff’s department reportedly gave him a going-away party.

We have been getting quite a lot of mail at cal.patty@hotmail.com

In one of those letters, someone wrote about Tim Butcher’s(Glenville City Attorney) son, known to many as the, ” little bitch” failed a field sobriety test, never went to jail, or before a judge- but just had mom come get him!

Have another drink Princess Di!”

Further, information was given, that a week or two later, the “little bitch” was caught in a car with some of his little bitch friends, and there was an uncontrolled substance in the car, that after being tested-tested negative for drugs!

Well let us give you some more details about “Trooper Zain ” mentioned in our last article:

[Thank God for the Calhoun Underground! Johnny must talk to Jesus, they both speak the truth!]

IN THE MATTER OF AN INVESTIGATION

OF THE WEST VIRGINIA STATE POLICE

CRIME LABORATORY, SEROLOGY DIVISION

“The acts of misconduct on the part of Zain included (1) overstating the strength of results; (2) overstating the frequency of genetic matches on individual pieces of evidence; (3) misreporting the frequency of genetic matches on multiple pieces of evidence; (4) reporting that multiple items had been tested, when only a single item had been tested; (5) reporting inconclusive results as conclusive; (6) repeatedly altering laboratory records; (7) grouping results to create the erroneous impression that genetic markers had been obtained from all samples tested; (8) failing to report conflicting results; (9) failing to conduct or to report conducting additional testing to resolve conflicting results; (10) implying a match with a suspect when testing supported only a match with the victim; and (11) reporting scientifically impossible or improbable results.”

“The ASCLD team concluded that these irregularities were “`the result of systematic practice rather than an occasional inadvertent error’” and discusses specific cases that were prosecuted in which Serology Division records indicate that scientifically inaccurate, invalid, or false testimony or reports were given by Trooper Zain.”
“So who’s to say that daddy didn’t just FIX that one for his sweet perfumed boy?”

Nothing is going to change unless we all stand up and shout, “Hey we’re not gonna take it anymore!”

“Call out for improvements in existing procedures for handling citizen complaints against officers!”

The most recent figures we could find on complaints on record were from 2002. In that year there were a total of 430 complaints of misconduct. Only 163 or 38% were even considered! The rest were given various reasons for no action taken by the state!

“The continuing prevalence of misconduct could indicate that current disciplinary procedures are ineffective!”

Here are some incidents from the recent past:

James Minghini was beaten in front of his sister and mother by state police officers during an arrest after a car chase. A former state trooper , Michael Durst, who arrived on the scene, said that the victim was “on the ground moaning after being beaten” and was pepper-sprayed while handcuffed. Durst stated that trooper abuses committed against low-income residents are common in the Eastern Panhandle (Martinsburg area), where the Minghini incident took place.

“A man sued the state police after receiving permanent neurological damage, and “a skull fracture and broken bones” after being “clubbed by three officers.”

“Robert Ellison, a 20-year-old man was paralyzed during his arrest” by Bluefield police officers. Ellison had his neck broken and was dragged “130 feet despite his cries that he was hurt.”For several months after the incident, Ellison could only breathe with the assistance of a ventilator.”

Neal Rose was beaten by allegedly drunken officers “after [Rose] complained about noise coming from a retirement party of state troopers. One of the officers present threatened to kill the unarmed Rose.” The beating left Rose with “three broken ribs, a punctured lung, a broken finger, a black eye, and multiple back bruises.” During the incident, Rose’s pregnant girlfriend was pushed to the floor; and Rose’s 11-year-old niece was present. (he was told that his “dead, decomposing body [would be found] in the river”). The county prosecutor noted that there was no indication of any resistance being offered by Rose during the incident.Rose also alleged that he was “handcuffed to a chair in the middle of the floor . . . beaten, humiliated, and violently assaulted”after being transported to the state police barracks

21-year-old Jason Smith was pepper-sprayed and beaten so badly by two Chapmanville police officers that his mother said, “It didn’t even look like him.”

A police sergeant was indicted after he allegedly “rammed the pickup truck [of Kevin Tinger, the 20-year-old driver] and fired a bullet into the truck, splattering metal fragments into the young driver. . . . Thee officer went far outside his city jurisdiction and entered Tinger’s home, where he drew his gun on family members.” Another indictment returned by a grand jury charged the officer with “attempting to commit voluntary manslaughter, three counts of wanton endangerment, three counts of kidnapping, one count of burglary and one misdemeanor count of destruction of property.”

SUITS NEED TO BE FILED AGAINST THE STATE, COUNTY, AND THE CITY!

Filing civil actions against the wrongdoing of Central West Virginia infractions will be one way to let all know, they can’t get away with destroying lives and families!

File suit!

• A secretary assigned to the Hinton State Police detachment sued the state police alleging a supervisor made sexual advances toward her. The state awarded her $95,000 in a settlement. In addition to the settlement, BRIM incurred $12,199 in investigative expenses.

• BRIM is the West Virginia Board of Risk and Insurance Management

• BRIM settled for $1 million a case for the family of a women shot and killed by her former boyfriend, a state trooper. Reports indicated BRIM spent $34,491 handling the case.

• An unidentified Raleigh County woman sued state police troopers assigned to the West Virginia Turnpike.. She alleged that a state trooper and two other men who were not troopers had sex with her in a park when she was too drunk to give consent. BRIM settled the lawsuit for $75,000. Expenses were $25,144.16, including attorneys’ fees.

• Following the death of her daughter, a mother filed a lawsuit against the state police claiming her daughter died as the result of a car chase by a state trooper . The family was awarded $775,000. Expenses were $23,697.

• James Minghini, whose lawsuit alleged troopers beat him (see above), settled for $60,000. BRIM spent $454,519 handling the case.

• Neal Rose of Welch was awarded $1 million after alleging that a state trooper and others broke down his apartment door and beat him. BRIM spent $31,958 to handle the case. (The trooper resigned in and was convicted on both federal and state charges in the incident.)

• BRIM awarded a Logan resident $40,000 who alleged a trooper battered him. Expenses were $36,435.

• A Kanawha County man received a settlement of $1 million because testimony by a former state police chemist led to his conviction in the murder of his neighbor. The state supreme court questioned the chemist’s testimony in several cases. BRIM’s expenses were $8,006.

• The CalPatty Press says:
• And independent entity, such as a review board composed of citizens from the area where complaint was made is the right answer!
• If an independent entity is created, a better system for dealing with misconduct would be in place–that new system could deter future misconduct and could save the state a lot of money in civil damages!
• Thus more money could be allocated for health care. Fund’s could be appropriated for public education!
• WE NEED A CITIZENS REVIEW BOARD-BUT POLICE OPPOSE IT! And the political agenda of those elected to office at a state level don’t favor a citizen review board -and elected officials currently in office won’t fight for it!
  
• WE SUFFER as a result!

“We don’t want a HANDY MAN to come in and FIX IT!”

“We don’t want Gerry Hough!”

“We don’t want anymore cases against police officers fixed!

Please contact the editors of the CalPatty press while we’re all still alive!

cal.patty@hotmail.com

Thank God for the Calhoun Underground! Johnny must talk to Jesus, they both speak the truth!

Monday, July 09, 2007, 10:55:15 AM | calpattypress

The CCC “Crooked County Crooks” website which cast light on official misconduct in Gilmer County for several months in 06 and 07 was knocked off the web twice, by threats, letters, and intimidation from public officials, lawyers, judges and crooks. Kenny Smith owner/operator of Journalscape, explained to CCC editor Lisa Wexler and the rest of the crew that, ” I just can’t take it anymore!” So the site was just gone!

Intimidations and threats did the “CCC” in during the second attempt at flying the flag of freedom. During most of the earlier CCC “Pirate raids of truth,” John Manis Richards was sitting in jail getting broken reports about people he was told would be joining him soon.

“I’m not quite sure if that info, was what gave him the strength to continue the fight–despite being out numbered and out-gunned!”

But 60,000 in cash and a secret alliance got him his break and it was on!

However, Johnny took his time, this time, having learned a thing or two during his recent incarceration, which in point and fact, was wrongful, and he finally proved it all true. All of what he was trying to say, all along, via his website, turned out to be the real deal Lucille!

Many feel Johnny was jailed immediately, because of the” Lone Meth Ranger” website and he was told to his face to shut-it-down! Then they slapped the cuffs on him!

The site remained up, but no more entries. Johnny was gone, but not forgotten, and it turned out the dope was rotten-just like he said! (search this site for Meth Ranger info-click link on this page)

Johnny’s outspoken and down to earth approach was a threat to the local “Powers That Be” and they weren’t gonna stand for that anymore!

But, Johnny had his say and he was right! Damn, they must have hated that, when that happened!

Now once again, he stands challenged, but this time in civil action, not criminal. The person picked for the job is a known “THUG and CRIMINAL” So, why would you send in someone, that has been known to work with police officials, as a “confidential informant” that has, an- IQ of-at-best 100?

If you’re gonna try to send in a scout, most of us know, send one in with some brains and know-how. Don’t send someone in that will just be slaughtered to prove a point. The point is mute. It’s a useless attempt at harassment and just being pissed off! Well maybe the pissed off should get pissed on, and not getting away with plundering the local common folk. In fact, being pissed on, may indeed be the best way to put out the fire and “Wrath of God” that could fall upon them for their sins against mankind!

Here is one of the many letters received by editors of truth blogs from citizens, it pretty much,”Tells it like it is :”

So ya wanna know why there are meth makers and rapist and other crimes
going on.I know why, cuz Mr.Hot Toddy And Lucy and there drugged up so
called friends go and tell them that a nice young women who is off of
drugs has been for several several years is making a meth lab in their
home.I know that these people aren't from around here,came to this small
town to stay away from all the drama,which I might add  is right here
in Grantsville,WV and it is so much worse.I have known this young
woman's boyfriends family for years and I know there is no such thing going
on in that home.I feel they need to go after the real criminals
here.Lets just say that they wasted all that time looking around a home in
which nothing was found when they could have been out looking for real
criminals.And of course I was told the police was very sorry and said it
to the ones who was in the home that they were really sorry.I know how
rumors start in this town and of course it has not even been 12 hrs and
I have already heard some pretty bad stuff about them and when I asked
where the info came from I was told Hot toddy an Lucy and there no good
friends.

“So if we were going to prove a point, it seems that’s it’s whoever gets to the cops first-they believe that person and persecute the rest!”

Primogeniture Monarchy’s in Central West Virginia have to be put to a hot poker!

“The time is now- or we will have a lot of time to be sorry later!”

The Primogeniture Monarchy’s long established in Crooked County and surrounding areas must finally be stopped! They have controlled political agenda’s-court appointments of local public trust positions-shew in magistrates-bought and paid for votes, and a plethora of other deeds not in the best interest of the general public!

In fact, “They really don’t give a damn about the general public!”

Eric Von Quagmire circa 1914(later immigrated to Central WV)

“The Primogeniture Monarchy’s only care about lining their own stuffed pockets and making their supporters and friends comfortable and secure in their own hog-pen of corruption!”

Then along comes the CALHOUN UNDERGROUND!

Secretly, I was following the works of the CU editor( which will remain a secret)–I knew she had the stuff to join the fight. I had followed her works long before the CU site went up and in secret. “It was secret stuff!” I watched her comments and admired her art.

She herself was quite surprised to realize that I knew her identity, the very first day her site went up! It was all later discussed by secret communications. All this talk about secret stuff must sound foolish to many that don’t know.

“We are all dead or worse, if they, ‘the powers that be,’ get a good grip on us!”

We have already been told that by the people that know. Enough feathers have been ruffled now. We are all targets and we know it.

“When men come to your house at night with guns, then you know!”
I was very surprised myself to find that her and I had been on the same page all along. And no she isn’t me. In fact our fight isn’t really much different than the fight from 39-45 in France. So we have all destroyed most of the evidence that link us together and have lawyered up.

In the astute observation of the Calhoun Underground:

Now is the time to Exercise Your Rights!

The time is right. The West Virginia State Police are under the microscope in Calhoun and surrounding County’s. The common citizens of these counties are discussing the problems. Not just radicals and malcontents, but ANYONE who follows the news.

“They are being talked about in coffee shops, the library, the post office, on the street!”

Investigations are being conducted, lie detector tests are being done. And so, now is the best time for ANYONE with a complaint or problem to CONTACT the proper authorities. At this time they WILL listen, perhaps more so than at any other time.

“It’s time to stop being scared!”
It is time to stop being apathetic. It is time to stop feeling like nothing can be done. It is time for WV citizens to EXERCISE YOUR RIGHTS! Take back your peace of mind AND your county’s. Let the”powers that be” know you are sick and tired of being intimidated and threatened by State Troopers.

Imagine what could possibly be accomplished if the Governors office and the Professional Standards Section of the State Police office in Charleston were FLOODED with complaints…

There is no point in contacting your local State Police Barracks, as the individuals who work there could be part of the problem and your complaints may go unheard. Go over their heads!

Documentation is the key. One person making a complaint cannot expect to see immediate results, but if enough complaints of State Police misconduct are received and documented there is far greater probability that something positive will be accomplished. There is power in numbers.
We are already seeing some juries who are not accepting everything the State Police say as gospel. This is a VERY GOOD SIGN! It means people are thinking. Now it is time to take things to the next level.

Contact the Professional Standards Division AND the Governors office TODAY. Encourage your friends and acquaintances to do the same. Pass on this information to as many people as you can.

Contact the State Police Professional Standards Section at 304.746.2110, or by mail at:

West. Virginia State Police
Professional Standards Section
725 Jefferson Road
S. Charleston, WV 25309-1698.

Professional Standards Unit
Captain J. A. Parsons, OIC
1-(304)-746-2114

Contact the Governor:

Governor – Joe Manchin
1900 Kanawha Boulevard, E.
Charleston, WV 25305

*****

(Now back to the CalPatty Press )

“Don’t you think it is about time to turn in those life-destroying-greedy son’s of bitch’s!”

We’ve got prosecutors and judges making their own rules! Gerry Hough has been pulling every Rabbit he has out of his hat, just to dismiss a criminal case against the former Chief Deputy Ron Bandy! He did the same thing with Trooper Starcher, and even is using Starcher as an excuse for not having evidence against Bandy!

What the hell is wrong with that picture!?

Finally an “honest judge” said, “Find the evidence and do your job!” Hough is acting as a defense counsel for Bandy instead of prosecutor and is working hand in hand with Bandy’s attorney to fix the case. Some person in their evil circle must have told Gerry Hough recently that he would have to let April go too! Since he mumbled something in court about Ronnie Bandy’s girlfriend April, putting back the stolen items!

Unquestionably, our public safety and public welfare is too important to entrust solely to public officials that are easily swayed by party politics, political bribery, private interest, and other dirty political plots and ploys, as Gerry Hough obviously is.

Therefore, each of us must be a vigilant watchman over our OWN LAND and safeguard our OWN public welfare!

The recent Supreme Court ruling of Judge Facemire is an obvious step in the right direction! 180 questions asked “as a prosecutor” assisting the prosecutor-as a JUDGE is unheard of in legal history!

Furthermore, the public officials who conspire to blacklist me, terrorize my family, and shoot my animals, for being a vigilant citizen deliberately disobey” Scripture” admonishing rulers to reward those who do good, and to punish evildoers. Romans 13 explains the role of rulers or the higher powers in government:

MURDER! But the killer was wounded!

Simply put, public officials are ministers of justice: Reward the good; punish the evil. God has entrusted public officials to administer justice; and public officials are accountable to God and man for the proper administration of justice. In II Samuel, God warns government officials to fear Him in administering justice: “The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God” (II Samuel 23:3). Notice that God commands that rulers must be just and rule in fear of Him. Public officials are authorized by God to rule for Him. And with this authority comes the responsibility to rule with the best interests of the people at heart. In other words, public officials are not just representatives of the people; more important, they are representatives of God. Again, they are ministers of justice; and they must put the public before self-will. But they don’t in Crooked County and the rest of central WV!

When public officials are self-serving and disregard the best interests of the public good, it is an offense against public justice!” “It is an offense against GOD!”

Offenses against public justice committed by public officials are numerous: obstructing justice by threatening, “SINGLED OUT” individuals with “jail” for exposing matters concerning public safety and welfare, bribing any person concerned in the administration of justice with undue reward to influence his behavior to cover up negligent acts of public officials, falsifying records “as we saw in the “Travesty of Justice case “or fabricating false evidence, conspiring to cover up their negligent acts and acts of other public officials, malicious- slander and other defamation, oppression and tyrannical partiality by public officials in investigating and punishing the common man for disagreeing with their agenda!

“We wouldn’t say it if we couldn’t prove it!”

I think a good example of what we are talking about is when Tim Butcher said the state of West Virginia committed an” illegal act” when they raided the “Main Event” and busted 20 underage drinkers!

It was illegal because the state caught his son, “the little Bitcher” drinking in the bar !

“Oh yeah it had to be an illegal raid by the state!”

That whole incident just drives the point home that BUTCHER places himself above all the rest of us!

He can steal, he can cheat, he can “make his own rules!”

THE STATE BUSTED THE “MAIN EVENT” BECAUSE THEY WERE SERVING UNDERAGE PERSONS! It was legal BITCH!

Are the Campbell’s that own the “Main Event” related to 357 Evey Campbell that killed a man in cold blood and got a misdemeanor and will do less than a year in jail with good time?

“JESUS HELP US!”
“The rod of judgment must be used to punish offenses against public justice committed by corrupt public officials. Failure to punish corrupt public officials is a crime against the public interest because failure to punish wrongdoers placed in public trust is a crime against justice!”

Look what they have done to journalist Lisa Minney! Name called, dragged through court!

They are “thorns, to be thrust away” and “burned.”

Their certain destruction is that

they will be utterly burned with fire by God!

For doings of their own making

Yes, public officials who

Wound justice with the thorns and brambles

Of corruption will be cast into the fire of their own making!

“Moreover, to spare the rod is to spoil the wrongdoer!. Unpunished corrupt public officials are spoiled political brats who are allowed to wreck havoc in our COUNTY and STATE government!”

“Public officials must not be allowed to commit public offenses which harm the public interest. In point and fact, leaving these evildoers unpunished encourages them to repeat their evil acts!”

“The well-being of the STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA depends on the proper administration of justice; and justice demands that wrongful acts by the Primogeniture Monarchy’s must be judged and punished!”

Make the Crooked Crooks from Crooked County pay for their wrongdoing!

As one can see, it is absolutely necessary to drive out of office, self important public officials and never allow them to return unless they have repented and been wholly transformed!

Unfortunately, this infrequently happens. The corrective rod of judgment rarely softens a self-absorbed official’s hardened heart; however, it is in the public interest to drive him out of office since he betrayed the trust of the people and the trust of GOD!

The firm hand of justice must use the rod of judgment to restrain and discipline bad public officials. For the strong arm of the common people and a united public to fail to wield the rod of judgment is a sign of a weakness!

We must not be weak!

The meek shall inherit the earth!

“Failure to punish those public officials known to have done wrong, is a crime against the public interest, because failure to punish, is a crime against our own!”

MURDER CAN BE FUN IN CROOKED COUNTY!

Monday, July 02, 2007, 2:04:39 AM | calpattypress

Everett Campbell took a gamble and blew that fucker away!

Anytime a person pulls a 357 with intent to wound, or kill, it’s certainly no misdemeanor!

But what the hell do you want!? We’re just talkin bout Crooked County!

Pulling a 357 in anger is always a gamble to all involved, and a gamble with your own life as well. But, the Gamble paid off for Campbell!

Slapped with a misdemeanor!

Recently a Gilmer County Jury found Everett Jennings Campbell, guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of Mark Todd Medley, 39, after a supposed dangerous high speed chase on July 26, 2006 caused by a child custody dispute.

There was no proof given of any “high speed” chase!

Judge Richard (Dick) Facemire sentenced Everett Campbell to one year in the Central Regional Jail, the maximum sentence allowed for the misdemeanor.

A misdemeanor!

How the heck could the court, or the jury, or the prosecutor, categorize a cold blooded killing with a 357… as a misdemeanor?

Mark Todd Medley the man killed, was unarmed, and had just called 911!

Certainly a reasonable person could assume, that an unarmed man, that had just called 911 was no threat! Medley was making an active effort to call for help!

A child custody dispute, turned deadly, for Medley!

Mark Medley was fatally shot just 300-yards east of the West Virginia State Police barracks on July 26, 2006 -And now just a little less than a year later, the man that killed him is doing jail time, no prison time! Campbell will get time served and good-time credits, and will be out in much less than a year.

Scene of murder above

Campbell said, “Mary Ann and Medley attempted to force my sister’s car off the road as she was bringing my children home.” Everette was following them in a separate vehicle.

Again, there was no real proof of this other than the word of old Evey!

357 Evey (above)

Domestic violence is certainly a problem all over the nation, but a man that admitted to a cold blooded killing getting less than a year in jail, is certainly not the correct message to send society!

The Glenville Demo-Crap reported on a high speed chase involved in this killing, but we have known of no high-speed chases that stop for the light in the center of town, then sit quietly while the light changes. Much of the press on this killing was Bull Crap-or was that Demo-Crap Bull Crap!

It appears to us, the CalPatty Press editors, that not enough focus was given to the real crime-A cold blooded shooting!

A lot of emphasis was given to smear Medley’s ex-wife, Mary Ann Campbell!

Oh yeah she’s a whore and the man shot, was her boyfriend. However, the facts seem to point to more of a tenant/landlord relationship.

In fact a request for help from a Glenville city policeman that day resulted in her arrest, as Mary Ann was arrested in court by West Virginia State Police after they filed a criminal complaint accusing her of “ATTEMPTED CHILD CONCEALMENT,” a felony.

A FELONY! That’s right! A FELONY

Serious charges for a bad judgment request to take possession of her children without the proper documents!

According to Mary Ann Campbell, “… my husband is a jealous man who controls all the time he has with our children!” Of course Mary Ann’s issue with that particular custody arrangement was not dealt with. After all, why should anyone listen to her!

Mary Ann was labeled bad! She had to be a whore!

It seems reasonable that any mother in the same situation could have easily reacted or acted the same as Mary Ann did. It’s a natural instinct for a mother anywhere to desire to gather up her children. And torture for any mother not to have them!

That should have been the misdemeanor charge! After all, she had no gun!

But HELL! A GUN can be FUN! Especially when you get to use it!

Murder can be fun too, if your name is Campbell!

Campbell in hot seat with defense counsel (above)

Who the hell, is ole Everett related to in Crooked County, that he was able to pull this one off!

In Crooked County they have a tendency to over do– And a misdemeanor jury decision is certainly overdone in this particular case!

An unarmed man was gunned down in cold blood!

Jesus Christ! If Everett was a black man football player from GSC he would have walked just like Erick Davis !

Everett would have had Tim Butcher the Glenville city attorney threatening to fire the local police if they didn’t play ball with his “agenda” even if they were only following correct police procedure, as was done in questioning Davis of the alleged rape of a young 17 yr old girl! (Only referred to as Polly, in court proceedings, because of that fact she was under age.)

Maybe Polly wanted a CRACKER! And not a black man!

Nobody wanted to listen to Polly either, after all, she was just a whore now!

Used stuff! They blamed Polly for being drunk and of course it was “…her fault!”

Polly exhibited all the tell-tale signs of women that have been raped!

It was classic text book example of a college area rape, but oh my god, can’t tarnish GSC, because of course, that would be the real crime!

The crime according to Polly…

“He performed sexual intercourse with me without my consent.”

“He raped me!”

Crooked County didn’t want to deal with the real crime, or the real facts- And they certainly don’t want to hear the REAL story of what happened!

“When you’re not able to say no it’s rape,”

“I was not able to say yes or no,”

“I was completely incapable of saying no.”

But who the fuck wants to listen to Polly! She’s just a liar and whore- At least that was the way it was presented in court! Oh yeah, she tends to exaggerate! What a bunch of crap!

David Karickhoff was defense counsel in the ERIK (can’t a brutha bang a white girl) Davis rape case!

Acquitted!

Karickhoff with ERIK(No worries) DAVIS-Notice how defense counsel is sitting in defendants seat. PSYCHE! (click on photo for larger image)(click once more and ya get the big one!)

David Karickhoff was also defense counsel for Everette Campbell murder trial!

No dead man walking there, unless of course, Mark Medley has some relatives in jail!

Karickhoff (above)

Karickhoff must be the God of defending rapist’s and murderers!

Either that, or he’s the best damn lawyer to hit West Virginia!

Gerry Hough, Gilmer County Prosecutor, is certainly no match for a skilled attorney like David Karickhoff. So in fact, there really was not a good chance to begin with, for getting a decisive prosecution on the Campbell murder case anyway! Therein lies the problem.

Daniel Dotson was the “Special Prosecutor” in the Crooked County rape case, and is certainly a cut above Hough, but his only witness was Polly and everyone knew, “She was just asking for it!” Polly was labeled with, “Maybe she didn’t want a cracker, maybe she likes black guys and just wanted the big banana!”

So sad, but that’s how they do things in Crooked County!

Dotson’s hands were tied!

Also, all were certain, “Polly must have lied!”

Rape and Murder, it’s all the same in Crooked County!

“It’s who ya know, or who ya…”

According to court testimony, Campbell knew full well that his ex-wife and Mark Medley would be a force to deal with that day, and a possible confrontation could occur and he freely chose to deal with the situation using a 357, which sent Mark Medley to heaven.

Simple as can be put, Mark Medley had no gun and was no threat that day in July of 2006 and had just called 911. Medleys intent was to get help to deal with the immediate problem.

When Everette Campbell pulled a 357 his intent was to use it, like the big gun of Erik Davis!

That my friends is certainly no misdemeanor!

We don’t give a shit what they say in Crooked County!

Bang bang! Shoot shoot! It’s all the same thang! (sic) or is that SICK!

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World War lll is closer than November Elections?

 

LaRouche – ‘US Closer

To

WWIII Than

To Nov Elections’

8-22-8

 

(LPAC) — Lyndon LaRouche today warned, in no uncertain terms, that the world is closer to World War III than it is to the November Presidential elections in the United States. “November is a far distance away,” LaRouche noted.   He elaborated: “The world situation, and recent events, show that we are at the point of breakdown of the world system, and the threat of a thermonuclear World War III is immediate. The provocations against Russia, via George Soros and British intelligence’s Saakashvili government in Georgia, is but one leading edge. Despite the focus of attention on the Caucasus in the past week,” LaRouche continued, “the Iranian issue is very much on the table. Do not put it past Vice President Dick Cheney and his British controllers to orchestrate a major provocation, while the Democrats are gathered in Denver next week. “This is an all-purpose go situation,” LaRouche warned.   “This is the British empire against the United States, and one of the most dangerous features of the present crisis is that the United States–the Bush Administration–is acting like damned fools.”   LaRouche repeated his recent warnings that the situation in Pakistan and Afghanistan is totally out of control. “I hold President Bush and the White House responsible for this mess. They could have, and should have intervened to keep President Musharraf in power. Instead, they played into a filthy Saudi and British game. Now, just days after President Musharraf’s resignation, the Pakistan government is coming apart, and things are going to hell. I say to George Bush: ‘You can’t do anything right. In your entire, nearly eight years in office, you have not gotten one thing right. Are you the reincarnation of My Pet Goat?’ ”

Benton County Inmate Dies!

 

Benton County Inmate Dies At Hospital 

  

Why did the new’s media wait almost

a week to report it?

 

 

 

 

 

Last updated Friday, August 22, 2008 7:17 PM CDT in News

ROGERS – A Benton County Jail inmate died at Northwest Medical Center-Bentonville on Aug. 16 after a possible heart attack, an official said. Ronnie Bollen, 60, was pronounced dead at 11 p.m., said Benton County Sheriff’s Capt. Mike Sydoriak. Benton County Jail inmates were receiving their bedrolls and mattresses that evening when Bollen’s cellmate told jail deputies something was wrong, Sydoriak said. Emergency responders tried to resuscitate Bollen at the jail, then transported him to the hospital. Preliminary hospital reports indicate a heart attack, but Bollen’s body was sent to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory in Little Rock for an autopsy, Sydoriak said. The criminal investigation division is gathering information, Sydoriak said. He declined to name the inmate sharing a cell with Bollen. Bollen was taking medication at the jail for a heart condition. Prior to his arrest he was also being treated for a heart condition at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Fayetteville, Sydoriak said.

 

Sydoriak said Bollen is survived by a daughter who lives in Northwest Arkansas. He didn’t list an address on jail records. Rogers Police arrested Bollen on July 1 on charges of felony theft by receiving. Bollen was being held in lieu of a $2,500 bond and was to appear in Circuit Court on Sept. 27. Bollen was found living in a Quick Silver pop-up camper at the First Missionary Church at 3320 N. Second St., according to Rogers police reports. The camper was reported stolen June 29. A church representative told police that Bollen said he had attended the church 15 years before and was waiting on a check from the Salvation Army. Bollen was released from the Arkansas Department of Correction in February after serving a two-year sentence on a 2005 Washington County felony charge, said George Brewer, spokesman for department.

San Francisco strip searches

 San Francisco violated the rights of thousands of jail inmates who were

strip-searched without authorities having any reason to believe they were

carrying weapons or contraband, a divided federal appeals court ruled

Friday.

   The 2-1 decision by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San

Francisco applied to a city policy that was in effect from April 2002 to

January 2004 at the city’s reception jail, where all newly arrested

inmates are taken before being transferred to another jail in 24 hours or

released.

   Under the policy, every inmate who was designated for transfer to another

jail was subjected to a visual body cavity search.

   Jail officials said they needed the strip searches to keep inmates from

smuggling guns and drugs into the jails. But the appeals court, upholding

a federal judge’s 2005 ruling, said the policy violated constitutional

standards that allow such searches only for specific reasons – that the

inmate is charged with a violent or drug-related crime, has committed

those crimes in the past, or is reasonably suspected of concealing

contraband.

   Sheriff Michael Hennessey changed the jail’s policy in January 2004 to

conform to those standards.

   “Blanket strip searches of (newly arrested inmates) regardless of severity

of charge and without reasonable suspicion is unconstitutional” under the

court’s rulings dating to 1984, Judge Sidney Thomas said in Friday’s

decision.

   The ruling drew a sharp dissent from Judge Richard Tallman, who said the

court was ignoring jail officials’ evidence of smuggling by inmates

arrested for minor crimes.

   The third panel member, Judge Sandra Ikuta, said she was compelled to

follow the precedents cited by Thomas but agreed with Tallman that “we

have dangerously substituted our judgment for the judgment of jail

administrators.”

   City Attorney Dennis Herrera will consider asking the full appeals court

for a rehearing, spokesman Matt Dorsey said. The case has “a direct

bearing on the safety of jail inmates and staff,” Dorsey said.

   Plaintiffs’ lawyer Mark Merin said the ruling affects about 28,000 former

inmates who were strip-searched without legitimate reasons. He said their

lawyers held mediation sessions with the city on possible damages after

the judge’s 2005 ruling, but that the talks had been suspended while the

city appealed the ruling.

   “Detention facilities have a right to strip-search people if they have

reasonable suspicion of contraband or weapons,” Merin said. But the city,

he said, “never showed those people (who were searched under the former

policy) posed a threat to security.”

   The case is one of several class-action suits challenging similar

strip-search policies in Northern California counties. Merin said a

federal judge in San Francisco gave preliminary approval Friday to a $4.66

million settlement for about 4,600 youths who were strip-searched at

Alameda County juvenile halls under a policy that the county abandoned

last year.

Arkansas Bad Cop’s! The REAL SCUM OF THE EARTH !

　

Former Bentonville Arkansas Firefighter

Kevin Thomasson Sentenced To 30 Days

In Jail After Ex-Girlfriend And Another

Woman Reported Being Raped

June 21st, 2008

BENTONVILLE, ARKANSAS

- A former Bentonville firefighter began serving a jail sentence for domestic abuse on Thursday.

Kevin Thomasson, 34, must serve 30 days in the Benton County Jail. He was found guilty of battery in the third degree, a class C misdemeanor.

The decision was handed down by Rogers District Judge Doug Schrantz in August 2007, but Thomasson lodged an appeal in Benton County Circuit Court.

Thomasson was also charged with two counts of rape.

Thomasson was arrested in January 2007 on suspicion of rape after a former girlfriend claimed Thomasson had raped her. When police interviewed the other alleged victim in connection with the former girlfriend’’s claims, the other woman claimed Thomasson had also raped her.

Thomasson testified and denied raping the woman.

A jury found Thomasson not guilty of one count of rape. Prosecutors requested that the other rape charge be dismissed.

Thomasson requested last month that his misdemeanor appeal be dismissed.

He resigned from the Bentonville Fire Department after his January 2007 arrest.

Rogers Arkansas Police Officer Sgt. Steve

Charles Suspended After Interfering In

Investigation

June 10th, 2008

ROGERS, ARKANSAS

—— A Rogers police sergeant has been suspended for 10 days from his job for off-duty actions that included interfering in a traffic-stop investigation in Fayetteville.

Sgt. Steve Charles, a passenger in a vehicle stopped on April 12 by a Fayetteville police officer, committed three violations of the Rogers Police Department’’s standards of conduct, according to a report based on an internal investigation. The report was released to the public on Monday.

The driver of the vehicle —— a relative of Charles’’ —— was ultimately charged with misdemeanor driving while intoxicated, according to a Fayetteville Police Department report. Charles was not arrested or charged with a crime.

The Rogers police report said that during the stop, Charles relayed a message through the Rogers dispatch center asking for a call from the investigating officer’’s supervisor. Charles then tried to convince him there was no valid reason for the stop.

According to the report of the stop, the vehicle was westbound on Lafayette Street near West Avenue when it crossed the center line. When the vehicle stopped at Lafayette and West, the officer saw a brake light not working. The officer stopped the vehicle at Maple Street and Leverett Avenue.

Charles, 42, a 13-year veteran of the Rogers force, also tried to get another sergeant at the scene to tell the investigating officer not to arrest the driver, the report said.

Rogers police spokesman Lt. Mike Johnson said the internal investigation was launched when someone from the Fayetteville department called the Rogers department two days later to report the incident.

The report concluded Charles possibly hurt the department’’s public image and its working relationship with the Fayetteville department.

In addition, Charles violated Arkansas Crime Information Center rules against using its system for personal use when he asked a dispatcher to send a message to Fayetteville, the report said.

Rogers Police Chief Steve Helms said Charles’’ position as head of the crime suppression unit is safe.

“”There’’s no reason to change his assignment,”" because he was not demoted in rank, Helms said.

Charles did not immediately return a message left on his office voicemail and there is no public phone listing in his name.

Charles will not be paid during the suspension, which began Saturday.

Four Arkansas Police Cadets Kicked Out

Of Police Academy For Cheating

May 25th, 2008

ROGERS, ARKANSAS -

- Four law-enforcement cadets were dismissed Friday from the Northwest Arkansas training academy for cheating three weeks before graduation.

A Benton County Sheriff’’s Office deputy, a Washington County Sheriff’’s Office deputy, a Bella Vista Police officer and a Farmington Police officer were dismissed from the academy after the cheating was discovered.

The Benton County Sheriff’’s Office was notified on Friday a deputy in the Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy in Elm Springs copied answers from a weekly exam and gave the answers to three other cadets.

Wade Porter, 37, of Gravette was fired from the sheriff’’s office Friday evening, said Capt. Mike Jones.

Porter was with the department for a year as a field deputy.

There are four remaining deputies attending the academy, Jones said.

“”I was embarrassed”" and “”extremely disappointed,”" Jones said of the situation. “”We work hard to put the best people with this organization.”"

The names of the other officers involved in incident were not released by their respective departments or the academy.

The weekly exam consisted of topics ranging from auto theft, hate crimes, weapons of mass destruction and death notices, said Steve Farris, the deputy director of academic operations for the academy.

The answer key was left on a lectern in the classroom of about eight cadets, an academy official said. Porter copied the answer key and gave it to two other cadets when the officer administering the exam stepped out the room. One of the cadets gave the answer key to a fourth cadet, Farris said.

The academy is conducting an investigation into the cheating incident.

The dismissed cadets have the right to appeal their termination with the Law Enforcement Standards and Training Commission, Farris said.

No cadet has been caught cheating at the academy in Elm Springs, he added. The last termination he was involved in was in 1995 at the training academy in Camden, Farris recalled.

A deputy with the Washington County Sheriff’’s Office and an officer with the Farmington and Bella Vista Police departments received the answers to the exam.

The cadet with the Bella Vista Police is on administrative leave with pay, said Chief James Wozniak, adding he requested the incident report from the academy but hadn’’t received it as of Tuesday afternoon.

Wozniak said it wasn’’t fair to comment on the situation until he saw the report.

The cadet joined the department a month before attending the training academy. Previously the cadet worked a couple of years at the Benton County Jail, Wozniak said.

The Washington County Sheriff’’s Office is conducting an investigation into the matter, said Kelly Cantrell, a public information officer.

The deputy is on administrative leave with pay pending the outcome of the investigation, Cantrell said.

There are about 11 deputies from the Washington County Sheriff’’s Office still at the academy.

The Farmington Police cadet was fired Monday, said Chief Brian Hubbard.

The cadet had been with the Farmington Police for about three months, Hubbard said.

“”It’’s a sad situation,”" he added. “”I hate it for these guys. Honor and integrity goes a long ways. Being in this profession, you got to have honor and integrity.”"

Bogus Charges Dropped Against Wetback Forgotten In Washington County Arkansas Courthouse Holding Cell For 4 Days Without Food, Water, Or Bathroom

May 24th, 2008

FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS

- A woman who was forgotten in a courthouse holding cell for four days without food or water will not be prosecuted on the charge that landed her in the system, a prosecutor said Tuesday.

A charge of selling pirated recordings was dropped Monday after prosecutors were able to verify Adriana Torres-Flores’’ alibi, Deputy Prosecutor Mark Booher said. She claimed she was watching a booth for someone else when police raided the flea market and seized pirated CDs and DVDs.

Torres-Flores, 38, pleaded not guilty in March, and Circuit Judge William Storey ordered her jailed because federal authorities had arrested her in December as an illegal immigrant.

A bailiff locked her in a holding cell at the Washington County Courthouse but forgot to call deputies to drive her to the county jail. Court was canceled the next day —— Friday —— because of stormy weather, and the courthouse was closed over the weekend.

No food, water or bathroom

Torres-Flores had no food, water or access to a bathroom during that time. She was discovered when the work week resumed and treated at a hospital. The bailiff was suspended for 30 days without pay.

Torres-Flores’’ attorney, Nathan Lewis, said his client and her family were pleased with the prosecutor’’s decision. “”She doesn’’t want to be in that courtroom again,”" he said.

Torres-Flores, originally from Mexico, has lived in the United States for at least 15 years and has three children who are U.S. citizens. She is free on bond in the immigration case, and a hearing is scheduled in December, according to Philip Miller, a deputy field office director for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

　

Bella Vista Arkansas Police Recruit Scott

Vanatta Kicked Out Of Police Academy

For Cheating – Chief Wozniak Backs Bad

Cop

May 24th, 2008

BELLA VISTA, ARKANSAS -

Bella Vista’’s police chief said he plans to appeal on behalf of one of his officer who was accused of cheating and expelled from the Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy last week.

Chief Jim Wozniak said he’’ll appeal officer Scott Vanatta’’s dismissal to the training academy’’s standards commission.

“”I haven’’t seen a written report from the academy, but based on what Scott told me, absolutely, yes, we’’ll appeal on his behalf,”" Wozniak said Wednesday.

Steve Farris, the academy’’s deputy director, said Vanatta and three other officers were dismissed from the academy after an incident Friday. The others were Benton County sheriff’’s deputy Wade Porter, Washington County sheriff’’s deputy John Staats and Farmington police officer A. J. Jefferson.

Because of their expulsions, the four must wait two years before they can apply to return to the academy to become certified law officers in Arkansas. Either the officers or their departments can appeal to the Arkansas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Training.

The expelled officers could not be reached for comment.

Porter, who was fired from the Benton County sheriff’’s office Friday, copied answers to an unattended multiple-choice exam left in a classroom that morning at the Northwest Arkansas satellite of the academy in Elm Springs, Farris said.

Porter gave the answers to Jefferson and Vanatta, who gave them to Staats, Farris said. Another officer in the class saw the cheating and reported it to staff, Farris said, who then con- ducted the investigation that led to the officers being dismissed.

The off icers were three weeks from graduating from the 12-week program and becoming certified.

“”We’’re just floored,”" Farris said. “”We don’’t [know ] why they did this. They weren’’t failing or struggling in the class. Besides it being an ethical lapse, you’’ve got a real lapse of judgment here.”" Farmington fired Jefferson, while Staats and Vanatta have been put on administrative leave with pay in their departments.

The Washington County sheriff’’s office is conducting an internal investigation into Staats’’ involvement, spokesman Kelly Cantrell said. Officials at the Benton County sheriff’’s office and the Farmington Police Department didn’’t return calls.

Farris said at least one of the officers contends he didn’’t use the answers but that the claim is moot.

“”They get a handbook that says they promise not to cheat,”" he said. “”Whether or not they used the answers or received them, it violates the rules.”" He said the last time an officer was caught cheating was in 1995 at the main training academy in Camden. The Northwest Arkansas site opened in 2002.

Farris said the teacher who left the answers unattended isn’’t in trouble. It’’s up to the officers to be ethical and police themselves, he said.

　

　

Hempstead County Arkansas Deputy

Sheriff Jeffrey Mayle Arrested, Fired,

Charged With Rape

May 23rd, 2008

 

HEMPSTEAD COUNTY, ARKANSAS -

A Hempstead County reserve deputy was arrested on a charge of rape. He’’s identified as 47-year-old Jeffery Mayle.

A Hempstead County woman told investigators she and her boyfriend had a fight, and that she got out of his car and started walking home.

She says she was picked up by Deputy Mayle while walking along a stretch of Highway 355, near the Saratoga Schools. She told investigators that Mayle took her to Millwood Lake and asked her to perform a sexual act. The woman says she refused, but later complied.

Mayle has been fired from his job.

We’’re told he’’d been with the force since August of last year.

　

After Returning Bribe Money, Carroll

County Arkansas Sheriff Robert Grudek

Wants Inmates To Pay For Food, Medical

Expenses, And Room And Board

May 18th, 2008

ROGERS ––The Carroll County Quorum Court passed an emergency ordinance to charge inmates for snack food, medical expenses and potentially room and board, officials say.

The quorum court passed the ordinance on Nov. 16 to establish an account for each inmate in the Carroll County Jail to pay for snack food and clothing items through commissary and medical expenses, said Sheriff Robert Grudek.

The ordinance allows the jail to charge convicted inmates a fee for being housed in the jail, Grudek said. It will be up to the district or circuit judge if the convicted inmate will have to pay, he added.

Grudek said the only drawback to the ordinance is whether the judges will allow the jail to charge convicted inmates fees for housing. Before the program is implemented, Grudek said he wants to sit down with each judge and explain how it will work.

Jail administrators are writing the standard operation procedures and waiting on equipment from Tiger, the commissary provider, Grudek said. The ordinance may not go into effect until the first of the year, he added.

The medical costs alone for the jail can bankrupt the sheriff’’s office, Grudek said. He added it’’s a “”big expense”" on the county taxpayers to pay for inmates’’ medical costs.

County Judge Richard Williams said the fees will come out of an inmate’’s pockets instead of the Carroll County taxpayers’’.

If an inmate requires medical attention, whether visiting a dentist or doctor, the jail can charge the inmate a co-payment deducted out of their accounts. If the jail administers medicine, like aspirin, to an inmate, they can charge the inmate a fee, Grudek said.

Establishing accounts will help the jail keep track of how much it spends on medical expenses, he said.

This year, a female inmate gave birth to a child, which cost the taxpayers several thousand dollars in medical costs. Often, inmates who used methamphetamine are treated for dental problems and expenses can accumulate, Grudek added.

An account is established for inmates once they are arrested. If an inmate has cash on him, it may be deposited during the booking process into the account.

After that, friends and family can deposit money into an inmate’’s account by providing the jail with a money order. Transacting just money orders will eliminate any state audit problems that could arise from mishandling cash, Grudek said.

Joe Lee Mills, justice of the peace, said he “”thinks”" inmates should “”pay their way.”"

Mills added he hopes the program deters residents from committing crimes and winding up in the jail.

While in the jail, inmates can call a toll-free number located in the holding pod and request any approved items on Tiger’’s list. The items will be deducted from the inmate’’s account and then delivered the next day in clear wrapping to the jail.

Upon release from the jail, any remaining account balance will be credited back to the inmate in the form of a check, Grudek said. If an inmate has a negative balance, they are required to pay their fees while on probation or parole.

The sheriff’’s office doesn’’t have any figures yet on how much money this ordinance will save the county, he added.

Maj. Gene Drake with the Benton County Sheriff’’s Office said the jail doesn’’t operate a commissary now but did several years ago.

Inmates receive their hygiene items, clothes and three cold meals a day from the jail, Drake said. Inmates can also have books without images and a trusty can have cigarettes.

Calls to Cpl. Jak Kimball of the Washington County Sheriff’’s Office was not immediately returned on Thursday.

INFOTEXT (must run)

Fast Facts

County Jail

* The Benton County Jail receives $40 a day for federal inmates, $28 a day for state inmates and $32.50 a day for city agency inmates. The estimated cost to house a Benton County inmate for one day is $37.16. Benton County’’s jail can hold a maximum of 500 inmates and on Thursday was at 473.

* The Carroll County Jail receives up to $40 a day for federal inmates, $28 a day for state inmates and $35 a day for county overflow inmates. The jail can house a maximum of 100 inmates and on average houses 70.

 

　

　

　

Veteran Fort Smith Arkansas Police

Officer Eric Lasiter Suspended For 30

Days – Facts Hidden From Taxpayers

May 10th, 2008

FORT SMITH, ARKANSAS

—— A Fort Smith police officer is serving a 30-day suspension after an internal investigation determined he violated a department regulation.

Cpl. Eric Lasiter, an 11-year veteran working on the information desk, was suspended without pay as of May 2, according to a news release from the department.

Lasiter had 10 days from the start of his suspension to appeal the action, which was taken by Police Chief Kevin Lindsey.

Details of Lasiter’’s violation were not disclosed.

Dumbass Alma Arkansas Police Officers

Keep Residents Out Of Community Storm

Shelter During Tornado Warning –

Residents May Finally Have Access To

Shelter Next Year

May 9th, 2008

ALMA, ARKANSAS

- Some residents in the area tried to take cover from the storms Wednesday night at a new community tornado shelter in Alma but found themselves locked out.

Alma Tornado Shelters Locked During Wednesday’’s Tornado Warning

City officials will be looking into procedures for operating the facility.

About 20 people came to the shelter Wednesday night to take cover but ended up having to wait outside in the severe weather.

Every Alma police officer has a key to the door, but by the time the doors were finally opened by someone else, the storm had already passed.

This storm shelter was built last fall on the backside of Alma High School so residents would have a place to go when severe weather rolls through.

“”The Alma Police Department has a key to it, and when the sirens sound, a police officer comes down here and unlocks the building,”" said Alma Superintendent David Woolly.

But that is not what happened Wednesday night.

“”You can’’t always count on an officer being close by, and they may be five minutes away, and you don’’t want that five-minute delay. You want it unlocked when the first person gets here,”" Woolly said.

Wednesday night, Heather Barber and her three children were among those locked out, while police were busy tending to a wreck.

“”If I knew it wasn’’t going to be open, I would have went somewhere else instead of waiting outside in the storm with my children,”" Barber said.

Alma officials will be looking into a system that will automatically unlock the storm shelter when the sirens sound, officials said.

Until then, residents will have to wait for someone with a key.

“”In an emergency, there should be a plan or backup plan. There should be a well-thought-out plan, because it’’s an emergency!”" Barber said.

Switching to the new system should be complete by this time next year, Alma officials said.

West Memphis Arkansas Police Shoot

And Kill Man With Taser Weapons After

Hassling Him For Doing Nothing

April 28th, 2008

WEST MEMPHIS, ARKANSAS -

Police stopped Dewayne Chatt for loitering. When they were about to make the arrest the 38 year old ran into the Dodge’’s store across the street and locked himself in the managers office. Police ran after him and had to use a taser on him three times before finally getting him into custody.

Just over an hour later, Chatt died while locked up in the Crittenden County Jail. “”If he did run from police, they didn’’t have to use excessive force by tasering him and then never giving him medical treatment,”" said Chatt’’s brother Michael.

Chatt’’s family says excessive force caused dewayne’’s death. They believe the store’’s surveillance recordings will tell the whole story.

“”We want to get the video tape of the actions of the officers so we can see all the people can see how unjustified and and how vigilante these officers are being in West Memphis.”"

Meanwhile both the West Memphis Police and sheriff’’s departments have launched an investigation into how Chatt died. They are reviewing the video and waiting on the medical examiners report to determine what caused his death.

“”Obviously any time anyone dies in our custody it is a huge concern of ours to make sure there wasn’’t any wrong doing here,”" said Investigator Thomas Martin.

Chatt’’s arrest meanwhile is not his first. He has been locked up 12 times on everything from felony drug charges to his most recent stint for disorderly conduct. Chatt was released just yesterday on that charge, hours before he would return to jail where he died.

His criminal past is irrelevant his family says as they now deal with his death.

“”They in disarray. Everybody is shocked by this unlawful and unjustified homicide,”" said Michael Chatt.

Innocent Man Still Facing Bogus Charges

As North Little Rock Arkansas Police

Attempt To Cover Up Their Wrongdoing

During SWAT Raid That Turned Up

Nothing – Officers Shot Man Defending

His Home 5 Times

April 26th, 2008

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS -

Interviewing the people in Tracy Ingle’’s life —— his sisters, his foster brother, his friends —— you hear one line often enough that it soon becomes a refrain: Tracy is no angel.

Though all express their love and admiration for him —— a kind man; a man who can fix anything, they say —— they tend to tell you the bad things about him first. A recovering alcoholic, Ingle had a couple of DWIs several years back. When the Arkansas Times spoke to him, he was on house arrest for a 5-year-old failure-to-appear warrant. A car accident in Maryland in 2002 left him with degenerative disk disease in his back and what his sisters said is an addiction to pain killers —— though all of his pills are legally prescribed. Up until Christmas 2007, he had several roommates, many of whom had had recent run-ins with the law. Last year, he agreed to fix a stereo in a friend’’s Mustang —— a car that turned out to be hot —— and got arrested for receiving stolen merchandise. That case still hasn’’t shaken out.

No matter what Ingle or those he gave a temporary home to may have done, however, it’’s hard to imagine he deserved what he got Jan. 7. That night, the North Little Rock SWAT team stormed Ingle’’s house on a high-risk, “”no-knock”" search warrant. By the time all was said and done, Ingle had been shot five times —— including one bullet that pulverized his femur and left his leg dangling from his body, connected only by a bloody mess of meat, skin and tendon.

According to an evidence list left at Ingle’’s house after the shooting, no suspected drugs or drug residue were recovered from the residence —— only a digital scale, a notebook and a few plastic baggies, all of which Ingle’’s family members have identified as part of the junk they had collectively stored at the house.

It might seem strange, then, that Ingle currently stands accused of several serious felonies —— including two counts of aggravated assault. While the North Little Rock police insist they got a dangerous criminal off the streets, Ingle and his family say the charges are all about appearances —— and covering the police.

Tracy Ingle’’s biggest problem, those who know him say, is that he just can’’t say no.

For five years now, Ingle has lived in a rambling, hand-me-down house on East 21st Street in North Little Rock. The place used to belong to his sister’’s godfather —— has at one time or another been home to nearly all his kin. In recent years, however, as the neighborhood took a rough turn and family moved away, the house became storage and catch-all for Ingle’’s entire clan, the upstairs full of boxes, baby clothes, knick-knacks and Tracy’’s prodigious collection of ham radio gear. A former stonemason who worked federal contracts in D.C. before he hurt his back, Ingle led a hand-to-mouth existence even before he was shot, repairing electronics and doing odd jobs for money.

As someone who knows what it is to be down and out, he’’s always been an easy touch, his family says, for those looking to crash at his place long term. They say Ingle would take in nearly anyone with a hard luck story; a situation that even he admits led to a lot of shady characters hanging around the house. Before Christmas, before he put most of them out, there were five full-time roommates living in the house, including a cousin who had recently gotten out of jail after serving time for making meth.

As it happened, Ingle was home alone on the night of Jan. 7, when his life went from bad to worse. Earlier that evening, he’’d had an argument with his sometime girlfriend, Sandra Melby. She’’d gone to her friend’’s house in Greenbrier for the night. Around dusk, the night coming on cold, Ingle went back to his bedroom —— a small 10-by-10 room at the rear of the house —— and lay down on the bed to watch television. With the bedroom light still on, he dozed off in the big cannonball post bed that faced the window.

At around the same time, things were in synchronized motion at the North Little Rock Police Department. Acting on a warrant signed almost three weeks before —— Dec. 21, 2007 —— by North Little Rock Judge Randy Morley, the NLR SWAT team was gearing up and getting ready to roll on one of the most dangerous things in their job description: a no-knock warrant.

Conceived during the Nixon administration, the no-knock warrant —— and the use of militarized Special Weapons and Tactics teams to execute them —— came of age during the drug wars of the 1980s. The rationale behind no-knocks and using SWAT to serve them was simple: As the criminals became more savvy and well-armed, serving drug warrants demanded the element of surprise, and a more well-armed show of force.

Given that it’’s a case that has yet to be prosecuted, it should be noted that the North Little Rock Police Department says it is limited in what it can say about Ingle’’s case at this point. There are obvious questions. In the warrant obtained to search the house at 400 E. 21st St., a copy of which was obtained by the Arkansas Times, police say they believe the house in question contained “”crack cocaine.”" That description has been carefully scribbled out, with “”methamphetamine”" written in above and initialed by Judge Randy Morley. According to an affidavit signed by NLRPD narcotics investigator Mickey Schuetzle, narcotics had been sold from the residence. In that document, Schuetzle doesn’’t elaborate on who sold him the narcotics, what was sold, or when.

It’’s a fast drive from the North Little Rock Police Department on Main Street to Ingle’’s house, situated on a dead end of East 21st Street, just a few blocks away. The SWAT wagon was there by 7:40 p.m. The movements of the officers once they left the truck had been planned out long beforehand. One team went to the front door on the north side with a battering ram while others took up positions along the perimeter of the house —— including two officers outside Ingle’’s chest-high bedroom window on the west side.

As you might expect, there are differences in account of what happened in the explosive next 10 seconds or so.

A place that cherishes both its guns and the sanctity of a man’’s home, Arkansas is one of many states that has enshrined some version of the Defense of Premises Doctrine in its laws. It is, simply put, the right to defend your home without fear of prosecution, up to and including killing an intruder who has made forcible entry.

It’’s an idea that is dangerously at odds with the concept of no-knock search warrants, says Radley Balko, senior editor of Reason magazine. A former fellow at the Cato Institute, a Washington, D.C., libertarian think tank, Balko did some of the early research into the use of no-knock warrants and militarized police units. Over and over again, Balko said, he sees cases where a SWAT team breaches a house, the homeowner exercises his right to defend his home, and either an officer or the homeowner is killed or injured. The only difference is that when it’’s a cop who gets shot, the private citizen nearly always winds up in jail.

“”The dichotomy is very striking,”" Balko said. “”Here you have these violent, confrontational raids where the police are breaking into someone’’s home…… You can understand how the officers might make a mistake. But the person on the receiving end of things —— woken up in the middle of the night, usually by flash-bang grenades which are designed to confuse people —— if they make a mistake, then they’’re held accountable and are usually charged pretty severely.”"

Balko said that the rise of the SWAT team has largely been in response to the fear that inner city drug dealers and other criminals have amassed hordes of automatic weaponry to use on police (by contrast, he said, the National Institute of Justice has found that the overwhelming majority of gun crimes were committed using small-caliber, easily concealed handguns). Originally conceived in huge, high-crime cities like Los Angeles, tactical teams have since spread to almost every police department that can afford one, and have often been accompanied by a corresponding militarized mentality —— one that can trickle down even to the rank-and-file officers on the street.

It’’s easy to see why. Highly trained and armed to the teeth, often given the most dangerous assignments, being a SWAT officer is about as close to being Batman as most cops are ever going to get: decked out in ninja black, identities hidden from evildoers, with a utility belt full of the latest tactical gadgets. Even so, Balko said, many older police officers he knows are suspicious of the new breed of gung-ho cops who gravitate toward SWAT —— and the us-versus-them mentality an overly militarized police force can create.

“”We’’re giving these cops military equipment,”" Balko said. “”We’’re giving them military training in military tactics, and then we send them out and tell them they’’re fighting a war on drugs. It shouldn’’t surprise us at all when they start to treat public streets like a battlefield and private citizens like enemy combatants.”"

While Balko said there are legitimate uses for SWAT teams —— hostage situations, armed and violent suspects and the like —— those moments are few and far between, even in cities much larger than North Little Rock. Because tactical teams are expensive to train and equip, that has led many police departments to put them on search warrant duty rather than see them sit idle for years at a time. That’’s exactly the wrong thing to do, Balko said, both for cops and suspects.

“”When you’’re sending SWAT teams in after low-level drug users, you’’re creating violence,”" he said. “”You’’re creating a confrontation where there wasn’’t one before.”"

No matter what neighborhood you live in, no matter what your rap sheet looks like, try to imagine it: Coming awake in your house, in the middle of the night, to the sound of someone breaking in. What would your first reaction be?

“”The only thing I heard was breaking glass,”" Tracy Ingle said.

Asleep in his bed when the window directly opposite came crashing in, Ingle’’s first instinct was to reach for the pistol he kept by his bedside —— a cheap Lorcin automatic. Having never been convicted of a felony, it was perfectly legal for him to have the gun; perfectly legal for him to use it to defend his home against intruders. He had bought it a few years before, he said, because of how bad the neighborhood had gotten. His house had been broken into in the past. A few months before, at a store only a few blocks away on Main Street, a robbery had turned into a shootout, and two people had been killed. Even so, Ingle couldn’’t have shot anyone with the gun even if he’’d wanted to. Years before, someone had pounded the wrong clip into the gun and jammed something inside. Ingle and his foster brother, Eric Nelson, say it couldn’’t even chamber a round, much less fire.

A second after he sat up, Ingle said, the room “”kind of filled up with light,”" and he could see the officers outside the window, in their black helmets and body armor. “”I could see that they weren’’t robbers, so I threw the gun down,”" Ingle said. “”A second later, I heard one of the police officers say, ‘‘He’’s got a fucking gun’’…… I could hear him turning in the leaves, and as soon as he turned, he turned around and started shooting.”"

This is where Ingle’’s story and that of the two officers involved diverge. The officers, identified only as “”Victim 1″” and “”Victim 2″” in a NLRPD investigation report concerning the shooting, both told investigators that Ingle was sitting up and bed and pointing the gun in their faces when they raked away the sheet covering the window, giving them no choice but to open fire. Ingle, meanwhile, says that the gun was already on the floor, and he was in the process of raising his hands when the shooting started.

Whatever the case, the first shot that hit Tracy Ingle was devastating —— most likely a high-velocity .223 round, given the damage it inflicted. The bullet entered Ingle’’s leg just above the left kneecap and blew his thigh apart. Surgeons would later replace a large chunk of Ingle’’s femur with a stainless steel rod.

He knew he had been shot, Ingle said, and his first instinct was to try to get off the bed —— away from the window, at least, where the two officers were now pouring fire into the room. As Ingle tried, he got tangled up in the blankets and his ruined leg folded under him, the shattered bone grating inside. He fell to the floor in agony. As he fell, the officers outside the window kept shooting, hitting him four more times —— arm, calf, hip and chest. The round that hit him in the chest is still there, too close to his heart to be removed. Days later, Ingle’’s brother, Eric, would dig four more bullets out of a space heater that was only a foot from where Ingle’’s head lay, and spackle up nine bullet holes in the wall over Tracy’’s bed. Some of those rounds had gone completely through and into the bathroom on the other side of the wall, two of them blowing ragged holes through both sides of a plywood shelf.

Finally, the shooting stopped.

“”After that,”" Ingle said, “”all the police rushed in, and were standing over me and calling me Michael. They kept calling me Michael or Mike, and I wouldn’’t answer them. One of them asked me why I wouldn’’t answer them, and I said, ‘‘My name’’s not Mike.’’ I don’’t remember much after that except them taking me out of the house to an ambulance.”"

Brandy Hoover is Tracy Ingle’’s sister. She happens to be a surgical nurse at Baptist Health Hospital in North Little Rock, where her brother was taken after the shooting. Like most of her family, Hoover learned about the shooting from the nightly news. She and Ingle had had a falling out some weeks before the shooting, over what she calls the untrustworthy people he was involved with. After the shooting, however, she visited her brother’’s hospital room any time she could.

As someone who deals every day with stringent patient confidentiality laws including HIPAA —— the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, under which a person can be fined and even imprisoned for releasing details of a patient’’s medical records —— Hoover said she was shocked when, after her brother was released from the hospital after a week and a half in ICU, he was picked up by detectives from the North Little Rock Police Department —— along with all his paperwork, instructions and medication prescriptions.

“”When he was discharged, he was discharged to them because they were right there,”" Hoover said. “”I found out later that they had been calling up there every day finding out his status —— which is a huge HIPAA violation. They knew before I knew. They were waiting on him.”"

Still wearing hospital scrubs and in a wheelchair, Ingle was taken to North Little Rock Police Department, where he said he was questioned for around six hours, without his pain medication. During the questioning, he says he was never told that he was under arrest, or even that he was suspected of anything.

“”The fella that was talking to me said that he was Internal Affairs,”" Ingle said. “”He gave me the impression that he was trying to learn about the shooting and everything that had happened. When he was done, he told me that they were going to put me in jail and he would give it to the prosecutor or whoever, and they would decide what the charges were going to be.”"

For his part, North Little Rock Police Chief Danny Bradley said that he has investigated concerns by Ingle’’s family that he was denied his medication or otherwise mistreated while being questioned.

“”I have not been able to determine that any of them are substantiated,”" Bradley said, noting that at one time, Ingle’’s sister Tiffney Forrester was claiming that there had been federal marshals at the hospital the night of the shooting. “”There were no federal officers at the hospital,”" Bradley said. “”I’’m satisfied that he was treated in a legal and civil manner and was not mistreated at all.”"

After questioning, Ingle was taken to the Pulaski County Jail, where he would stay for the next four days. At the hospital, nurses had told him that his bandages needed to be changed and his wounds cleaned out with antibiotic wash every four to six hours in order to avoid infection.

“”The whole time I was there, they only changed them twice,”" he said. “”They just locked me in a room and left me.”" Ingle said his pain medication and antibiotics were never given to him —— when he was released, he was told the prescriptions had been lost. He later told Forrester that the only medical treatment he received the whole time he was in the jail was having his bandages changed twice and an admonishment to not go into the showers because “”he’’d probably get gangrene.”"

Infection soon set up in all his wounds. Charged with operating a drug premises, possession of drug paraphernalia (a digital scale and plastic baggies that belonged to his sister, both Ingle and Forrester say —— the baggies leftovers from Forrester’’s jewelry-making hobby, the scale a freebie from the animal testing lab where she once worked), and two counts of aggravated assault, for making the officers who shot him fear for their lives, Ingle was brought before a judge whose name he doesn’’t recall for a bond hearing on Sunday. According to Ingle, the judge told him that because he’’d had a shootout with police, he was setting his bond at $250,000. Ingle’’s family, who had been putting together money for Ingle’’s bail in anticipation of his bond hearing, was crushed.

“”My immediate reaction was nausea,”" Brandy Hoover said. “”Who on earth can come up with that kind of money? Even at 10 percent [for a bail bond], people aren’’t walking around with that kind of money. It was insane…… All I can remember thinking is, they’’ve got him, and we’’re never going to get him back.”"

Eventually, however, the family was able to cut a deal with a local bail bondsman. Between them, they scraped together $5,000 cash and the deed to some property, sold Ingle’’s Jeep, and finally got him out of jail.

While his wounds have closed, the months since the shooting have been hard on Ingle and his whole family. Ingle’’s mother suffered a heart attack while trying to come in from Pittsburgh to see him. He has struggled with depression and constant pain, and has lost weight because he can’’t bring himself to eat. For weeks, Ingle’’s brother, Eric, stopped by every day and knocked. Though he knew Ingle had to be inside because of the tracking bracelet, Ingle just stopped answering for awhile.

After over a month of trying through his sisters and brother, the Arkansas Times finally got Ingle to talk about the shooting, the man who came to the door was famine-thin and hollow-eyed —— even skinnier now than when we last saw him at court, stooped and hobbling on a pair of crutches.

It’’s not that he didn’’t want to talk to us, he apologized. There was just a period of time there when he didn’’t want to talk to anybody.

“”It’’s just like being in jail,”" he said. “”It’’s just a different jail cell, I guess. When I was first out of the hospital, I couldn’’t get up and leave anywhere, hardly. Now, I can’’t leave.”"

As he told his family, Ingle still insists that he threw the gun down the moment he saw that the intruders were police —— and before the shooting started. Even so, he said a person reaching for a weapon in a situation like that shouldn‘‘t give police the automatic right to shoot.

“”I don’’t feel like I did anything wrong,”" Ingle said. “”You have the right to protect your house. I didn’’t know who they were. To me, it looks like the only reason the charges were brought was to cover their own ass.”"

Like many of his family members, Ingle said that he’’s sure that if the North Little Rock Police Department wants to see him convicted on the charges he’’s accused of, he’’ll likely be convicted. Still, Ingle said he doesn’’t hold a grudge against the two police officers for shooting him.

“”They were just here doing their job,”" he said. “”It’’s a tough job to have to go to somebody’’s house and have to come through a window or break down a door. You never know what’’s in there. But I feel like, if I had time to think about throwing the gun down, they had time to think about whether or not to shoot me.”"

Sulphur Springs Arkansas Police Chief

Andrew Little Fired, Sgt. Jeremiah

Nicholson Forced To Quit – Dumbass

Chief Stole Stepfather’’s Guns, Pawned

Them, And Lied

April 24th, 2008

SULPHUR SPRINGS, ARKANSAS

- Sulphur Springs is minus two police officers after the termination of the chief and the resignation of another officer.

On Wednesday night, Mayor Quinton Hoffer informed the Sulphur Springs Town Council of his decision to terminate Police Chief Andrew Little from his position.

Little was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of stealing guns owned by his stepfather. Little turned himself in to the Benton County Jail and was released on a felony citation.

Hoffer told the council he had spoken with Little, who was supposed to come to City Hall and turn in his resignation. Hoffer said he waited for Little, but after he did not bring his resignation, Hoffer said he terminated Little and retrieved his patrol car and equipment.

Hoffer also asked another officer – Sgt. Jeremiah Nicholson – to resign because of his connection to the case. Hoffer told council members he felt the decision concerning Nicholson was the correct move.

Nicholson did resign his position, Hoffer said.

The council voted unanimously to accept Little’’s termination and Hoffer’’s resignation.

According to a probable cause affidavit in the case, in early March, Little told his stepfather, Richard Cummins, that the house the two shared with Nicholson had been burglarized. Little told Cummins five of his weapons had been stolen, according to the affidavit. Cummins was out of the state on business at the time.

Little first claimed the alleged thief had been arrested but that the guns were being held by the Fort Smith Police Department until after the case went to court on April 18.

Cummins told police that, after returning home, he had discovered a sixth and seventh gun were also missing. Little told Cummins the guns were in a Sulphur Springs evidence locker and could not yet be returned, according to the affidavit.

Cummins listed the following guns as missing: a Winchester 12-gauge pump shotgun, a Winchester Model 63. 22 single shot, three USAFA. 45 caliber pistols, a Remington Model 660. 309 bolt-action rifle and a Winchester 670. 270 caliber rifle.

Cummins checked with Fort Smith police, who had no record of the missing guns, according to court documents. He then reported the incident to Gentry police.

On April 19, police placed a recording device on Cummins and recorded his conversation with Little, who told Cummins the guns were in the custody of the Sebastian County Sheriff’’s Office and would be returned at the end of the month, according to court documents.

Police recovered the weapons Tuesday at Pawn U. S. A. in Centerton and Big Brothers Pawn in Bentonville, according to the affidavit.

Little confessed that he had told Nicholson that the guns were his (Little’’s ) and asked Nicholson to take the guns to the pawn shops, the affidavit states.

Little’’s termination and Nicholson’’s resignation mean that the town has no certified law-enforcement officers.

Joshua Merredith is a fulltime officer, and Brian Smith, who is part time, are currently in the academy.

Hoffer told the council that he asked former Police Chief Tommy Sizemore about replacing Little, but Hoffer said the position needs to be advertised.

Hoffer wanted the council’’s input whether to ask Sizemore to fill the position on a temporary basis or accept Benton County Sheriff Keith Ferguson’’s offer for deputies to cover the town.

The council went into administrative session concerning Sizemore and later voted in favor of deputies covering the town until new Sulphur Springs officers are hired.

Arkansas Attorney Cindy Baker Found In

Contempt Of Court, Again…………

April 22nd, 2008

GREEN FOREST, ARKANSAS

—— Attorney Cindy Baker was found guilty of contempt of court in Green Forest City Court Friday, March 21, for missing a previous court date.

According to court documents, Judge Scott Jackson presided over the hearing in which he found Baker guilty of the misdemeanor offense, and ordered her to pay a $150 fine and $50 in court costs. Jackson could not be reached for comment.

Baker is facing a similar charge in Berryville District Court. Judge Kent Crow charged her with contempt arising from her Jan. 15 continuance request, in which she reportedly said she would be delayed in St. Louis, Mo., awaiting court action there and would not be able to attend proceedings in his court the following day.

Crow claims Baker was issued a speeding citation near Huntsville on the day she was to be in his court and misrepresented her ability to be in his court to represent her clients, a charge she denies.

That case is to be heard in Berryville on April 28.

　

Carroll County Arkansas Sheriff Bob Grudek’’s

Roadblock Plan To Check For Misdemeanor

Warrants Halted By Court

April 21st, 2008