This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Author: Jonn Lilyea

  • Sunday morning feel good stories

    Sunday morning feel good stories

    From Charlotte, North Carolina;

    A 37-year-old man has died eight days after he was shot by a homeowner in a small neighborhood just west of uptown Charlotte. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department says the man, Wayne Carrothers, had broken into a home on Greenleaf Avenue around 4 p.m. on June 15 when he was shot by the homeowner.

    Carrothers was armed at the time, according to police. He was hospitalized at Carolinas Medical Center and died from his injuries early this morning.

    Police are withholding the name of the homeowner, who has not been charged with any crimes. In a news release, police say the case will be presented to the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s office, which will determine if the shooter will be prosecuted.

    From Swatara Township, Pennsylvania;

    Police in Swatara Township are looking for a man accused of trying to rob a convenience store, but was stopped by an armed patron.

    The attempted robbery happened at 2:54 a.m. Saturday at Rutters in the 8000 block of Derry Street. The suspect entered the store, and was spotted by an employee who fled from a different entrance.

    The suspect displayed a handgun and continued into the store, when he was confronted by the armed patron, according to police. The suspect then turned and fled the store.

    Police said the patron was licensed to carry a firearm.

    The suspect in described as black man wearing a red hooded sweatshirt and a black mask. The suspect also committed an armed robbery at a Turkey Hill in Derry Township about 40 minutes prior, according to police.

    Jarhead sends us a link from Geneva County, Alabama;

    In Geneva County on Rex Road just south of Wicksburg Community.

    Reports that a homeowner has shot a possible burglary suspect. Hartford Rescue is on the scene.

    Geneva County Sheriff Tony Helms and members of Geneva County Sheriff Department are rolling and/or on the scene. Houston County Sheriff Deputies are assisting.

    More info to follow.

    UPDATED @ 7:50 PM

    Unconfirmed sources have stated that the suspect that was shot by the homeowner has died. The investigation is still on going at this time.

  • SPC Calyn McLemore passes during training

    SPC Calyn McLemore passes during training

    AW1Ed sends us a link to Fox News which reports the sad news that Army Reserve Specialist Calyn McLemore passed away while he was engaged in a Land Navigation Course in Alabama.

    Searchers have discovered the body of an Alabama Army Reserves soldier who was reported missing during a training exercise at Camp Blanding in Florida.

    The search began when Spc. Calyn McLemore failed to return from the exercise as scheduled Wednesday, according to reports.

    The Clay County Sheriff’s Office reported Friday evening that the body was found in the woods and that the cause of death hadn’t been determined.

    From the Florida Times;

    McLemore was with about 70 other soldiers on a course designed to test their navigation skills through heavy vegetation. Participants are given a map, compass, protractor, pencil and coordinates, according to National Guard information about land navigation courses.

    [Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Keith] Smith said the soldiers work the course individually, although they may come across each other as they navigate the grid. The terrain can be grueling, he said.

    “And with all the rain that we have had, and it’s a kind of swampy area anyway … waist-high to chest-high swamp, mud and water,” Smith said. ”… It’s taken [our searchers] a lot to get through there and we have to make sure we keep our guys hydrated. It is a meticulous and methodical search.”

    The Sheriff’s Office said “there’s nothing that gives us any indication” that McLemore might have just run away, nor that any foul play has occurred. It was still believed the Alabama soldier got off course. They were also concerned about some of the wildlife he might encounter, said Smith, who has trained at the camp himself.

    A reminder that training for war can be as deadly as the war itself.

  • Coffins at intra-Korean border

    Stars & Stripes reports that the US Defense Department has sent 100 wooden “temporary transit cases” to the border between North and South Korea in preparation for the repatriation of the remains of folks who died in North Korea during the war.

    Meanwhile, it was sending 158 metal temporary transfer cases that could be used to send the remains home from Seoul’s Yongsan Army Garrison south to Osan Air Base, the command said.

    The planned location for the return was not yet known, but officials said they were stationing the temporary coffins at the JSA since it is the closest point.

    It would be the first such repatriation in more than a decade and would be the first tangible benefit stemming from the summit.

    No date has been set for the transfer, DoD is just getting prepared for a dignified repatriation of Americans.

    It is believed that more than 5,000 sets of remains are still in North Korea, while another 2,000 Americans are still undiscovered in South Korea.

  • Mark Allen Brown; phony Marine

    Someone sent us their work on Mark Allen Brown in Washington State who has had some legal problems and he applied for welfare benefits for himself. Each time he claimed to be a veteran of the Marine Corps;

    According to his records, he spent less than three weeks in the Marine Corps and he received an “Uncharacterized” discharge because of a fraudulent enlistment;

    I’m pretty sure he can’t call himself a veteran – he probably didn’t even get issued a uniform.

  • Ray Rodriguez; phony US Navy Lieutenant Commander

    Ray Rodriguez; phony US Navy Lieutenant Commander

    There’s this guy in Los Angeles who says that he’s a US Navy Lieutenant Commander, by the name of Ray Rodriguez. He shows up at most veteran events and the local politicians are more than eager to attach themselves to him. Politicians like Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard;

    And the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors;

    But at Topix, some of the locals seem to think that Lieutenant Commander Rodriguez is nothing but a Sea Cadet title;

    The Navy and the National Personnel Records Center ask “Who?”

  • Saturday morning feel good stories

    Saturday morning feel good stories

    From Alberta, Canada;

    All charges have been dropped against a rural Alberta homeowner accused of shooting a trespasser on his property near Okotoks.

    Eddie Maurice, 33, was charged after a suspected thief was wounded when shots were fired on Maurice’s property on Feb. 24.

    On Friday morning at the Okotoks courthouse, Crown prosecutor Jim Sawa withdrew charges of aggravated assault, pointing a firearm and careless use of a firearm.

    He said Crown has conceded there is no reasonable likelihood of conviction because of new information that had just come to light.

    The courtroom erupted in applause at that news.

    Maurice had said all along that when he saw thieves on his property, he fired a warning shot, and that it was a ricochet bullet that struck the intruder.

    On Friday, Sawa said the Crown had recently received a firearms report supporting that story.

    So, I guess in Canada you’re safe if you can skip the bullets into your criminal.

    From Enterprise, Alabama;

    On Wednesday, June 20, at 11:35 p.m., the Enterprise Police Department responded to a burglary call at a residence in the 100 Block of Loftin Street Enterprise. The victim arrived home and noticed the rear door to his residence was open. The victim immediately discovered an armed intruder in the residence and instructed the suspect(s) to leave the home. The suspect(s) fired several shots at the victim and the victim returned fire with his firearm. The victim was not injured and waited outside the residence for police to arrive. The suspect(s) fled the scene before Officers arrived. The suspect(s) stole firearms and prescription medications from the residence.

    On Thursday, the firearms and prescription medications were recovered in an overgrown section of the victim’s backyard.

    From Wadesville, Indiana;

    A man is dead after a fatal domestic shooting in Wadesville late Thursday evening, Posey County officials said.

    Posey County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death of 48-year-old Troy Higginson, allegedly shot by his wife Peggy Higginson, 45.

    The shooting, which happened inside a car on Wade Road, led to Posey County law enforcement officials shutting down a section at or near the 1200 block of the road to investigate.

    Posey County officials said Troy and Peggy Higginson were having an argument in the car. Peggy Higginson told officers her husband physically attacked her, at which point she pulled out a gun and shot him.

    Law enforcement is still investigating whether or not the shooting was self-defense, Sheriff Greg Oeth said Friday.

    The couple did have a history of domestic battery reports, according to the sheriff and court records.

  • Weekend open thread

    Weekend open thread

    June 22, 2018

    Swiss Sunrise

    In northern Switzerland, winter fog rolls over Wasserflue mountain. Your Shot photographer Christian Gehrig held the shutter open for 13 seconds at sunrise to create the impression of movement.

    Nine more days until our rent is due – donate now. We’re a little over half way to our $6000 goal (the actual amount is $7200, but I pay a lump sum amount in July to save $1200 from what I would pay if I paid monthly).

  • Giordano to retire ahead of IG investigation

    Giordano to retire ahead of IG investigation

    The other day we talked about Master Chief of the Navy Steven Giordano as the subject of a Navy Inspector General’s investigation. Stars & Stripes reports that he decided to retire;

    “I have informed the chief of naval operations [Adm. John Richardson] that I intend to step aside and submit my retirement request, in order to allow the CNO, our [enlisted leadership], and our sailors to continue to move forward with the initiatives we have begun,” Master Chief of the Navy Steven Giordano wrote Thursday afternoon in a message posted on the Navy’s Facebook page. “The success of our Navy is not about one person or one individual, but rather the collective fighting spirit that has defined us over the last 242 years. It has been an honor to have been part of that team.”

    That’s not suspicious timing at all.