Category: Crime

Gun used by the Pentagon shooter came from Memphis police department

One of the guns used by the anti-government terrorist and 911 “truther” John Patrick Bedell came from the Memphis police department. They seized the gun in 2005 and then later “traded” it to a licensed gun dealer. Bedell tried to buy a gun in California, but was bared from doing so because he had a record of psychiatric problems. A mere 19 days later, Bedell traveled across the state line into Nevada and purchased the 9mm handgun at a gun show from a private dealer.

If a background check had been done at the gun show, the private dealer would have been able to ascertain that John Patrick Bedell had no business buying a gun.

If only gun dealers had any interest in policing themselves. They shouldn’t have to be forced to do background checks on potential customers. If they cared about what they were doing, they would take steps to ensure that their guns weren’t getting into the wrong hands. They would do background checks, even at gun shows.

Then again, if the Memphis police didn’t put the gun back into circulation so that it could one again fall into the wrong hands, this whole incident might not have happened.

No Comments by Rick  /  March 14, 2010  /  Posted in: Crime
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More information emerges about the border crossing beating of the Canadian science fiction writer

The Times Herald has an article posted that sheds more light on the story concerning Peter Watts, the Canadian science fiction writer that was supposedly pepper-sprayed, beaten, and charged with assaulting a federal agent as he was driving back into Canada from Michigan. The article states that the incident happened when Watts was trying to enter the U.S. from Canada, not when he was going back home to Canada as it was stated on Boing Boing.

From the Times Herald article:

Port Huron police Capt. Jim Jones would not provide the Times Herald with a copy of a police report about the incident Friday. He did read the police report to a reporter.

Jones said Watts was crossing into Michigan from Point Edward when he was selected at random for a secondary Customs inspection. Watts exited his vehicle “angrily” and border officers began checking the black sport utility vehicle he was driving, Jones said.

Border officers ordered Watts back into the vehicle, and when he refused, officers attempted to handcuff him, Jones said. At that point, Watts began to resist and pull away from the officers “and became aggressive toward officers,” Jones said. Jones said a border officer used pepper spray to subdue Watts. Jones said Watts “choked” an officer during the struggle.

This makes a bit more sense I guess. I originally didn’t understand why U.S. border agents would want to search a Canadian’s car as he or she was returning to Canada. That’s usually not the way it works.

I generally don’t care too much for cops.  With that said, I’m not stupid enough to not do what they say when I’m pulled over.  I don’t mouth off and I don’t ignore what they tell me to do.  When they tell me to stay in the vehicle, I stay in the vehicle.  When they tell me to get out of the vehicle, I get out of the vehicle.  My goal when dealing with a member of law enforcement is to make my time spent in their presence be as short as humanly possible.  The longer you spend with a member of law enforcement, the greater the chance something bad will happen to you.

by Rick  /  December 12, 2009  /  Posted in: Crime
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Canadian science fiction writer charged with assaulting a federal officer at the border

g7jQq7OLk3AsScience fiction writer Peter Watts was arrested this past Tuesday for assaulting a federal border agent as he was making his way from the United States to his home country of Canada. Evidently his vehicle was chosen by U.S. border agents for a random inspection as he was leaving the United States and things pretty much went down hill from there.

Peter Watts writes on his blog:

If you buy into the Many Worlds Intepretation of quantum physics, there must be a parallel universe in which I crossed the US/Canada border without incident last Tuesday. In some other dimension, I was not waved over by a cluster of border guards who swarmed my car like army ants for no apparent reason; or perhaps they did, and I simply kept my eyes downcast and refrained from asking questions.

Along some other timeline, I did not get out of the car to ask what was going on. I did not repeat that question when refused an answer and told to get back into the vehicle. In that other timeline I was not punched in the face, pepper-sprayed, shit-kicked, handcuffed, thrown wet and half-naked into a holding cell for three fucking hours, thrown into an even colder jail cell overnight, arraigned, and charged with assaulting a federal officer, all without access to legal representation (although they did try to get me to waive my Miranda rights. Twice.). Nor was I finally dumped across the border in shirtsleeves: computer seized, flash drive confiscated, even my fucking paper notepad withheld until they could find someone among their number literate enough to distinguish between handwritten notes on story ideas and, I suppose, nefarious terrorist plots. I was not left without my jacket in the face of Ontario’s first winter storm, after all buses and intercity shuttles had shut down for the night.

In some other universe I am warm and content and not looking at spending two years in jail for the crime of having been punched in the face.

But that is not this universe.

Stay tuned.

People online have already started donating money to his PayPal account so that he can mount a vigorous legal defense. If that is something you like to do, then by all means, send him some money.

I have to admit that when I read this story, my BS detector went off. Normally when traveling to and from Canada, it’s the agents of the incoming country that search vehicles. Since he was attempting to drive into Canada, I would think it would be the Canadian border agents that would be interesting is seeing what Watts was bringing into Canada.

I’m not sure U.S. Border agents are interested in hassling Canadians trying to return to Canada.

Additionally, when the police or agents want to search a vehicle, they normally want you to get out of the vehicle. Watts says he was told to get back in the vehicle.

There’s also the point about not being allowed access to a lawyer, even though he says he was arraigned and charged with assaulting a federal officer. How does someone get arraigned without legal representation?

I tried searching the World Wide Internet Web for a news article about this incident, but I came up with nothing.

I’m sure more information about this incident will come out.

by Rick  /  December 11, 2009  /  Posted in: Crime
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Roman Polanski to be released on bail

Roman PolanskiThe Swiss appear to be caving to the demands of award wining director and convicted child rapist Roman Polanski. While he awaits extradition to the United States for drugging and then raping a 13-year old girl in 1977, he will be allowed to post bail of 4.5 million Swiss francs ($4.49 million U.S.) and stay under house arrest in his chalet in the resort of Gstaad.

The Swiss have to know that the chances of him staying in his chalet while he awaits extradition is zero. He ran from justice once before and he will run from justice once again. It’s what he does.

The only thing I hate more than Roman Polanski are the people in the entertainment industry that defend Polanski because, well, he’s a good movie director. As if that fact could negate what he did in 1977. If there was anything we should all agree on, you’d think it would be that a 44-year old man drugging a 13-year old girl so that he could sodomize her, is wrong. That whoever did something like this should be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

It seems insane to me that people can disagree on this.

9 Comments by Rick  /  November 26, 2009  /  Posted in: Crime
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Couple arrested for refusing to tip a bad waitress

Leslie Pope and John Wagner, Pennsylvania college students, were arrested because they refused to tip a waitress they said gave them terrible service the night they went to the Lehigh Pub. From Philly.com (via The Consumerist):

“You can’t give us terrible, terrible service and expect a tip,” said Pope, a 22-year-old Moravian College senior who’s a Pottsville native, according to the Lehigh Valley Express-Times.

They had to find their own napkins and cutlery while their waitress caught a smoke, had to ask the bar for soda refills, and had to wait over an hour for salad and wings, they told NBC10.

The pub, which was very busy that night, took the $73, but then called the cops, who treated the matter as a theft.

They were busy, but not too busy to call the police and have customers arrested because they refused to “tip” their crappy waitress. Not that I know what goes on in the mind of a nicotine addicted waitress, but if she knows that she is getting a tip from any table that has at least six people no matter what type of service she provides, those are the tables that aren’t getting good service on a busy night. Why would she? She knows that no matter why type service she provides, good or bad, she is getting a 18% tip.

I can’t believe that the cops would even show up for something like this, let alone arrest both Pope and Wagner for theft. Why didn’t they arrest the entire party? They arrested not only the person that paid the bill and refused to pay the tip, but their significant other too. Technically, the other four people in the party refused to pay the tip too. Why weren’t they arrested?

by Rick  /  November 20, 2009  /  Posted in: Crime
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Roman Polanski arrested in Switzerland

roman_polanski_wanted_and_desired

Looks like Hollywood’s favorite kid rapist may be looking at the inside of a prison cell afterall.  Director Roman Polanski was arrested in Switzerland on an international warrant shortly after arriving in Zurich for a film festival featuring his work.

From the New York Times:

Mr. Polanski was detained by the police Saturday upon his arrival at the Zurich airport, said Guido Balmer, a spokesman for the Swiss Federal Justice Department. The director was being held in provisional detention in preparation for a possible extradition to the United States based on an arrest warrant dating to 1978.

Mr. Polanski, 76, was convicted that year in a California court of unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl whom he had lured to the home of Jack Nicholson and drugged. Faced with a prison term, he fled the United States just before his sentencing.

Polanski has been living in France since he fled the United States.  Polanski is a French citizen and France has a very limited extradition policy with the United States. Go figure.

At the time of the sexual assault, Polanski was 44-years old.  He was photographing the 13-year old girl for the French edition of Vogue.  After giving her a combination of champagne and quaaludes, he performed a series of sex acts upon her.

Needless to say, Roman Polanski is a dirtbag. Shame on him, shame on France for protecting him all these years, and shame on those that continued to employ him to direct movies.

6 Comments by Rick  /  September 27, 2009  /  Posted in: Crime
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Ohio man arrested for mowing unkempt grass at a public park

grassAn Ohio man was arrested by Sandusky police because he was mowing the grass at a public park. The grass was about a foot high and John Hamilton decided to take control of the situation and go over it with his ridding mower. The police were called and when he refused to stop mowing, they placed him under arrest and charged him with obstructing official business and disorderly conduct. If he is found guilty, he could face up to 90 days in jail and $1,000 in fines.

City Manager Matt Kline said budget cuts have left Sandusky understaffed for seasonal maintenance work.

I’ve heard of good Samaritans who put coins in parking meters that are about to expire get threatened with arrest on similar charges. The motive for the police is that the city is losing money by not being able to level parking fines. What motive would the police have in this case to stop someone from mowing the grass? I realize that they probably don’t like it when people don’t obey their commands, because police officers normally get off on telling people what to do.

The guy was only cutting the grass.

I think it would be funny if he’s found guilty and sentenced to 40 hours of community service. He would perform his community service by gutting the grass at the Sandusky Central Park. Recent budget cuts have left Sandusky understaffed for seasonal maintenance work and word on the street is that Sandusky Central Park really needs a good mowing. [Link]

2 Comments by Rick  /  May 30, 2009  /  Posted in: Crime
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Some men really love Hot Wheels

From the Wichita Eagle:

Lloyd Alexander, 45, faces a misdemeanor charge of lewd and lascivious behavior for the alleged incident Thursday evening. Police said the man masturbated in front of a Hot Wheels display at the Wal-Mart at 16100 W. 65th St., but stopped the act whenever people walked near.

He told police he had a Hot Wheels collection, said Shawnee Capt. Bill Hisle. “He seemed to be excited by the toys for some reason.”

No word if any of the cars hanging on the pegs were Treasure Hunts. Not that it would excuse or even explain such behavior. I just now how happy it made me whenever I found a Treasure Hunt hanging on the pegs. That is, back when I used to collect Hot Wheels.

2 Comments by Rick  /  February 7, 2009  /  Posted in: Crime
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