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

Category: Crime

  • Double murder in Texas

    Someone just called us to tell us about a double murder in Erath County, Texas. I called the Sheriff Department and confirmed that there was a crime, but they’re not releasing names, so I’m not going to do that either, especially since I can’t confirm it, but apparently, one of the victims is someone whose name we all know. But, don’t speculate, you’ll be wrong.

    The purpose for this post is to get eyes on the shooter. The local news says;

    Police are on the lookout for a large four door Ford pickup that is high off the ground and is entirely covered in Rhino Liner. There is a skull sticker in the back window.

    Erath County Sheriff Tommy Bryant has put out the word that the suspect is armed and extremely dangerous. Do not approach the vehicle if you spot it. Call 911.

    Someone else adds that it’s Ford F350 Super Duty. Police say it might be headed towards Hamilton County, TX, so if you see the truck, call police. They think that the driver is “highly trained” – so use your phone.

  • B-Ball coach rescues players with concealed gun

    ROS sends a link from Detroit local news by way of our friends at Weasle Zippers that a women’s basketball coach was escorting two of his players to their car when they accosted by two armed men. The coach was legally armed with a concealed handgun and shot both of the men, killing one and sending the other to the hospital;

    The man who shot the attackers was 70 years old, according to police.

    One of the attackers was found dead in the median on Lafayette Boulevard, and the other was taken to a local hospital, according to police sources. We’ve learned that both of the men had attended the high school, and one had been recently expelled.

    Police sources say the coach has a Concealed Pistol License and is reportedly a reserve police officer. They say he is fully cooperating with authorities.

    I can’t remember where I heard this but; the only solution for bad people with guns is good people with guns.

  • Neighbors hold murderers for police with a gun

    UpNorth sends a link to an article about neighbors who caught two juvenile murderers/burglars after one of their crimes and held them for police at gun point in Missouri. The two had escaped from a ranch for wayward boys and murdered an elderly couple, Paul Brooks, 70, and his 69-year-old wife Margaret Brook.

    Investigators believe the teens broke into an unoccupied home next door to the Brooks and stayed for several days, reports KY3, the NBC affiliate in Springfield, Missouri . Rader did not say how the couple died, nor how long they may have been dead.

    Stone County deputies responded to a burglary call at 1720 Trace Hollow Road and found a neighbor holding the teens at gunpoint. Deputies then discovered the bodies.

    Who knows how many others might have murdered if the neighbor hadn’t been armed.

    The article says that the Brooks had moved to Missouri to escape the crime in Detroit.

  • Women arrested in home invasion of veteran

    Thieves in WV

    Christy Caudill and Clintona Thompson were arrested near Fort Gay, WV for clubbing an 84-year-old Korean War veteran with a tire iron in order to rob him according to local news;

    Deputies say the two women broke into the home of an 84-year-old man who lives in Fort Gay. The break-in happened last month, and the victim did not report the incident for several days.

    He told deputies the women hit him in the head with a tire iron and stole cash. Deputies say the pair cleaned up the victim and made him promise not to report the crime.

    The article adds, as if it needed to do it that the money they took went for drugs. Shocker, I know.

    Thanks to Gene for the link.

  • Another “Hothead” With a Gun . . .

    . . . uses it to stop a home invasion.  And this “hothead” did it while in a wheelchair.

    Mark Sikes, an ex-Army MP who now uses a wheelchair, was at his home.  He heard a noise from the vicinity of his front door.

    Then he saw an intruder in his hallway.

    Sikes reached over and took his 9mm pistol out of a nearby drawer.  He raised it.

    The would-be burglar saw this and decided to “exit stage left” immediately.  That was probably a good decision.  Ex-MPs generally can hit a man-sized target at fairly close range.

    Sykes lives in Georgia.  Just think how “wonderfully” this would have all turned out if Sykes had lived in NYC or Chicago – where legally owning a pistol is virtually impossible unless you’re a cop or have “connections”.

  • Sinclair’s PR Site

    As regular TAH readers know, I’ve been periodically writing about the case of BG Jeffery Sinclair, US Army, who is currently facing courts-martial for a number of very serious charges.  Jonn vectored me to a couple of links he got from another TAH reader, AndyFMF.  The links are from a website that someone – my guess would be Sinclair’s legal team – has come up with a website touting Sinclair’s innocence.

    I took a look at the website.  I’ll hit the high points and give my impressions below.  Disclaimer:  I’m not a lawyer – just an educated layman with some knowledge of and interest in the law.  Comments/corrections from qualified lawyers, particularly from our military JAG readers, are solicited and welcome.

    1. The site can be found here.
    2. The site appears to be essentially a PR exercise aimed at generating sympathy for Sinclair.  Predictably, it attacks Sinclair’s accuser, his prosecutor, and the evidence against him.  It also touts Sinclair’s history and bio.
    3. It does not divulge the name of Sinclair’s accuser.
    4. It points out some legitimate weaknesses in the prosecution’s case.  Some of the evidence for some of the charges indeed appears weak.  Other evidence presented at Sinclair’s Article 32 hearing resulted in some of the original accusations being dropped.
    5. However, IMO in at least one other area the prosecution team may have really stepped on its collective schvantz.  Frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a new prosecution team take over the case prior to trial.
    6. That said, some of the “shortcomings” the site points out are, bluntly, BS.  In particular, they make much of the fact that Sinclair “passed a polygraph” and that his accuser has not taken one.  JAGs out there correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure that polygraph results are not admissible in courts-martial proceedings as evidence.  There are numerous known instances of a liar “beating” a polygraph.
    7. The site also makes much of the fact that multiple people had access to Sinclair’s computer, where evidence was found that pornographic images had been accessed – in some cases, when Sinclair was known to be absent.  While that is indeed true, charges relating to specific instances where porn was accessed during a time Sinclair was shown to have been absent apparently were later dropped.  And I’d like to think that the Army actually had the sense to have a good computer forensic tech (the Army indeed has some very good ones) look at the machine in question prior to the Article 32 hearing.
    8. The site admits that Sinclair had a consensual extramarital affair with a subordinate as well as use “bad judgment” in exchanging “inappropriate” text messages (presumably racy ones) with four other women – who were apparently also Sinclair’s subordinates.  That admission alone is enough to end Sinclair’s career.
    9. While the “forcible sodomy” charge against Sinclair may sound weak as his PR site presents it, that charge is likely legally much stronger than Sinclair’s site would lead one to believe.  Past instances of Army Drill Sergeants engaging in consensual sex with trainees have been successfully prosecuted as rape.  This was apparently due to the extreme difference in rank under the theory that the extreme difference in rank and position effectively constituted coercion.  I’m guessing a BG hitting on a junior officer (e.g., a LT or CPT) might well be considered just as coercive a situation as a Drill Sergeant hitting on a trainee.

    Bottom line:  the site strikes me as primarily a blatant and rather transparent PR effort, designed to garner sympathy for Sinclair among members of the public.  Even if Sinclair is innocent, I personally find such a public PR effort distasteful and beneath what I’d expect from a military GO.  YMMV regarding both the site and how distasteful you find it.

    Sinclair at this point has to know his career is over.  He’s now simply fighting to stay out of jail and keep his pension.  I’d guess he probably doesn’t much care about appearances and decorum.

    TSO Adds: Um, this is interesting reading…. (Click twice so you can read it.)

    Um

  • More Citizens Prevent Crime

    Here’s a few more stories I’m betting you won’t hear much about on the nightly news:

    Hollywood, FL: a gas-station clerk puts a would-be robber away – for keeps. A second would-be robber escaped initially but was captured by police afterwards.

    NE Miami-Dade, FL: a robber attempts to ply his trade and runs into an armed resident.  The robber does not survive the encounter.

    San Antonio, TX:  a resident hears noise, grabs his gun, and goes outside.  There the resident confronts two thieves ransacking his SUV in an apparent attempt to steal it.  One would-be thief survives; the other does not.  No charges are expected against the resident.

    In each case above, an armed private citizen – acting lawfully – protected his life or property, preventing a felony in the process.

    But remember, folks:  according to our liberal brethren those guns are nasty terrible things whose only legitimate use is hunting.  You don’t need them to protect yourself, your loved ones, or your property.

  • Sheep thanks sheepdogs

    Old Trooper sends us a link from Houston about Kevin Dorsey who was leaving a bar the other night when Christopher Hutchins put a gun in his chest and relieved him of his wallet, cell phone and car keys. As Dorsey fled, he ran into two guys in a Merecedes who questioned him about what had happened;

    Dorsey told them and they not only caught up with the suspect, but they started shooting at him.

    The suspect fired back. In the end, the two witnesses turned vigilantes won and took down the bad guy.

    “I don’t believe in guns,” said Dorsey. “I don’t own a gun. I’m totally at the mercy of my saviors. They obviously sent two angels to help me. These people protected me when I couldn’t protect myself.”

    After the robber had been shot, police say he jumped over a fence and was attacked by a German Shepherd. That attack prevented him from getting away.

    I wonder if Mr. Dorsey “believes in guns” now. Mr. Hutchins is recovering from his injuries in a hospital under the watchful eye of John Bull.