CRIME REPORT

Star News Video - Allison Foy & Angela Rothen

FOOT IN MOUTH DISEASE

NBC Dateline asked the Inannones if they wanted to go on NATIONAL television and they said they would. And they did. Boy did they. You would think a serial killer would have better sense right? So maybe that proves Tim Iannone innocent.

Yeah right. The proof of innocence would be an alibi wouldn't ya think?

I certainly hope that these two women that were brutally murdered, stabbed to death, would reach down from the heavens and point a finger in the direction of the killer and his accomplice, to prove dumb and dumber innocent of course.

Can you use a TV show as evidence? Can you use it to convict someone on a capital murder?

Sound Familiar?

Police Officer Nick-Tomasito Birco
San Francisco Police Department
California
End of Watch: Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Biographical Info
Age: 39
Tour of Duty: 5 years
Badge Number: 612

Incident Details
Cause of Death: Vehicle pursuit
Date of Incident: Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Weapon Used: Automobile
Suspect Info: Charged with murder

Officer Nick Birco was killed when his patrol car was struck by a van being pursued by officers at the intersection of Cambridge and Felton Streets.

The persons in the van had been involved in an earlier robbery of an individual. The victim had accompanied officers during a search of the van and located it a short distance away. As the officers approached it, the van sped away.

The officers pursued the van until it struck the rear quarter-panel of Officer Birco's patrol car, causing it spin around and strike a utility pole. The van then struck two buildings and crashed. Officer Birco had aborted an attempt to lay down spike strips at the intersection and was moving his patrol car when it was struck.

All four persons were taken into custody. The three occupants of the van were charged with murder, manslaughter, and other charges.

Officer Birco was transported to San Francisco General Hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

Officer Birco was a US Marine Corps veteran of the Gulf War. He had served with the San Francisco Police Department for 5 years and was survived by his parents, two sisters, brother-in-law, niece, and two nephews.

Why can't all news be this accurate?

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

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Seriously, what can you do?

I almost hate to even bring it up, the video, the dashcam recordings of the events leading up to and after Officer Matthews died tragically in a car crash on Shipyard Blvd.  I hate to bring it up because I didn't start this fight and I seem to some to be taking up for the group that did start this all up by filing a  lawsuit to have the videos released.

First let me make this perfectly clear, I do not think the videos should have been publicly released when and how they were released. However I do respect the need the press has to be able to obtain data like this in order to protect public interest and to hold those accountable for various possible shortcomings and/or possible acts of corruption. This is, as I have said before, the American way.

There are ways to do things and ways not to do things. I have made numerous attempts to obtain public documents and data from the sheriff and each time have met a stone wall. The WPD has been extremely generous and cooperative, always been that way thanks to the Chief's way of doing business. Maybe the historic stonewalling by the sheriff's office has created this rush to judgment by the Star News because of the frustrations that have led to an enormous distrust with anything related to law enforcement and how they conduct the public's business. Ask the Sheriff for a dashcam video of the chase and wrecking of a fleeing, finger waving nutjob and you see it (or what they say "it" is) with four people looking over your shoulder and NO you can't have a copy. But did the Star News get their panties all in a wad over that slap in the face? Not that I know of. Did the Sheriff release the video? No. Do we know what happened that night? No. But do we know what happened the night Officer Matthews died? Yes. How can we (the public) be sure? Because the Chief begrudgingly did the right thing and handed over the recordings.

Would I have posted the recordings? No. In fact I have not even requested a copy, I know people that were there that night, eye witnesses and I can take their word for it based on our personal relationships. But then I have no responsibility to the public for anything. Yes, we/I report news, but we/I do so with personal opinion and professional experience mixed in, we admit to being biased. We favor the good guys and hammer the bad. The Star News, by a journalistic code of ethics, is not biased, they are reporters of the fact, you won't or shouldn't find commentary or opinion anywhere but on the editorial pages.

I'm surprised the paper didn't read the public any better than they did, if they did then they knew the public would turn on them over the release.

I hate that this was done the way it was. I hate that the Chief had to turn the recordings over knowing what would happen. There isn't another human being, outside a blood relative of Officer Matthews, that respected Rich Matthews any more than Chief Evangelous . He had to have felt torn, to have been emotional, pissed, when he agreed to let go of the recordings. But he knew he had to, he knew why he had to and he knew it is part of his job to do so. You can't pick and choose what to release and what not to release, the law is very clear. As long as the information being requested does not jeopardize an ongoing investigation or endanger the life of someone, the information is public and anyone can request it and receive it.

worth reading

I understand why the Chief released the recordings, I understand the request, I'm glad I saw how big that box was in the middle of the road, I'm glad to know the road conditions and the non-existent amount of traffic on the road. I saw the attempted escape of the felon Anthony Pierce as Cpl. Will Richards followed him through neighborhoods, that one might correctly assume, are inhabited by families with young children. But as one member of Blue emailed me and said, "this could have all been shown in still pictures, they didn't have to publish the video"

Actually you don't even have to show a still image to tell a story, case in point, want to know what kind of guy Officer Rich Matthews was? I'll tell you as I was told by a friend and coworker of Officer Matthews.

As Rich Matthews was leaving the WPD parking lot to begin his night shift work the day he died, a coworker saw a Santa hat on the head rest of the passenger side of the car, he stopped Matthews and said, "Hey it ain't Christmas anymore, what's with the hat?" To which Officer Rich Matthews replied back, "Brother, to me, every day is Christmas."

Now you can see what kind of guy this young officer was, hours before his tragic death, full of life, full of the Christmas spirit. You didn't need a picture, you couldn't have taken a picture to illustrate that imagery. But you see it, you can see that hat, that smile, that wink, in your mind's eye you see him driving off, going to work, putting his life on the line.

Pictures can't show what we all miss, pictures can't show what happened that night, moving pictures or still pictures will never show the intent, the determination, the consciousness, the alert state of readiness for anything, even a box in the middle of the road, a picture will never show what truly happened anymore than the words I received less than an hour after the crash when a friend called in the middle of the night and said, "It's bad Tre , it's bad." That's all I needed to know. It was bad, and will always be. Pictures will never make it better or worse for some. But for others, people who don't have that friend call them with a report, pictures show the box in the middle of the road, the lack of traffic on the roadway, the danger caused by the fleeing felon a mile away, pictures help prove than Officer Matthews was a professional responding to a call for aid in a manner that did not endanger the public nor recklessly cause his own death.

What do you think about the release of the video? I want to know.

UNCW Off The Freakin Hook

 Frank Cordelle's Century Project next week at UNCW has ruffled a few feathers, not that it was a cause of concern the first time this circus came to town in 2002. The University of North Carolina Wilmington will not publicly display nude photographs of underage girls in the upcoming exhibition much to the dismay of the same group of folks that can't understand why it was wrong to sexually exploit Dakota Fanning in the making of the movie Hounddog.

Cindy Lawson, an assistant to Chancellor Rosemary DePaolo for marketing and communication, said “we wanted to be sensitive to concerns raised about nude photos of young people under the age of consent. Due to these concerns, the university requested that ‘Century Project’ photographer Frank Cordelle remove any photos of minors from the exhibit when it runs at UNCW; he has agreed.”

Why is it wrong to display these photos? Well these are underage kids, they are labeled underage because they have been deemed to be incapable of making a decision such as whether or not to take off their clothes for a photograph that will be public domain. Not only that but this "Artist" Cordelle makes money off of the exhibits, around $4,000 each week.

Janet Ellerby, of the university’s Women’s Resource Center, which is sponsoring the exhibit is pissed. How dare someone be upset that some girls are being used in a manner in which they are incapable of agreeing to participate, legally.

In fact the 16 year-old girl in the censored photo above said  about her experience,(btw, it is illegal to photograph a 16 year-old nude, and equally as illegal to display the photograph...unless, of course,  it's art)

"Posing for you was one of the greatest experiences of my life, though I didn't realize it at the time."

Whose to say what sort of problems can arise once your parent or guardian signs a consent for allowing you to be photographed nude and have it on display all over the world? Perhaps it is a cathartic experience, perhaps it isn't. No one actually knows and it seems people like Ms. Ellerby don't care. They spend $4,000 or whatever it is, of our money, to perhaps further humiliate an already fragile human being.

This is not about "dirty pictures" or censorship, this is about common human rights and last I checked children are just as entitled to them as Mr. Cordelle.

So UNCW, let's just do away with any of this exploitation of minors in the future and use that money to focus on your students from dying or being arrested (either way ruining lives) because of the drug epidemic running rampant on your campus.

The Century Project

Monday, March 2-6

Warwick Center

Monday - Thursday | 9-5pm Friday: 12-3pm

Reception on Wednesday, March 4, 6-8pm

The Century Project is a realistic photographic representation of the contemporary American Female. This provocative collection is meant for all women and men who love them.

 

By Frank Cordelle, photographer

 

Sponsors: UNCW Women's Resource Center, Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, Department of History, Honors Scholars Program, The College of Arts & Sciences, Randall Library, Health Applied Human Sciences, Upperman African American Cultural Center

 

Feminist Colloquium

Monday, March 2

5-6pm, Randall Library, 2nd Floor

Q & A with Frank Cordelle, Photographer

Participants:

Sue Cody: RandallLibrary

Janis Chakars: English and Journalism Professor

Adam Tate: CARE coordinator for Men's Programs

Dee Casey: Director, Violence Prevention, CARE

Bill DiNome: Student Media Coordinator

Officer Matthews 10-42

Wilmington remembered Wilmington Police Officer Richard Matthews today in a service held at St. Marks. The flag draped coffin came down Eastwood Road and into the church parking lot where  it was met by hundreds of uniformed law enforcement officers at attention.

A contingency of officers from various agencies throughout the state snapped hand to brow in salute of their fallen brother. The mood stayed somber.

Chief Ralph Evangelous made arrangements for coverage with other cooperating agencies so that his entire department could attend the service. The escorted hearse will be driven to Officer Matthews hometown in Pennsylvania by Detective Missy Perkins.

"Central to 313, central to 313, central to 313...313, sir you are clear for final 10-42. Central to all units, 313 is 10-42, central is clear."

There goes my hero, watch him as he goes.

Officer Richard Matthews

Officer Richard Matthews, age 28, was hired in December 2006. Officer Matthews has died from injuries sustained in a crash early this morning.

The officer was in his marked police car headed eastbound on Shipyard Boulevard at 1:18 a.m. He was en route to back up another officer on a call.

The preliminary investigation indicates that the officer lost control of his vehicle, crossed the median and hit a tree on the opposite side of the road in the 3900 block of Shipyard Boulevard. He was transported to New Hanover Regional Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. Donations in memory of Officer Matthews may be sent to the Wilmington Police Recreation Association, c/o Lt. Matt Hinson, 615 Bess Street, Wilmington, N.C., 28401.

He will be forever missed by all those whose lives he touched.

On Feb. 5, he was commended by the police department for bravery, courage and professionalism when he and other officers entered a burning building at Park Place Condominiums on Park Avenue on Jan. 24 to rescue residents. Matthews carried a 96-year-old woman to safety.

There goes my hero.
Watch him as he goes...

Fleeing Dopers - Felony Murderers?

If the death of Officer Matthews occurred during the commission of a felony, these three losers could face First Degree Murder charges.

SUBCHAPTER III. OFFENSES AGAINST THE PERSON.

Article 6.

Homicide.

§ 14‑17.  Murder in the first and second degree defined; punishment.

A murder which shall be perpetrated by means of a nuclear, biological, or chemical weapon of mass destruction as defined in G.S. 14‑288.21, poison, lying in wait, imprisonment, starving, torture, or by any other kind of willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing, or which shall be committed in the perpetration or attempted perpetration of any arson, rape or a sex offense, robbery, kidnapping, burglary, or other felony committed or attempted with the use of a deadly weapon (automobile) shall be deemed to be murder in the first degree, a Class A felony, and any person who commits such murder shall be punished with death or imprisonment in the State's prison for life without parole as the court shall determine pursuant to G.S. 15A‑2000, except that any such person who was under 18 years of age at the time of the murder shall be punished with imprisonment in the State's prison for life without parole. All other kinds of murder, including that which shall be proximately caused by the unlawful distribution of opium or any synthetic or natural salt, compound, derivative, or preparation of opium, or cocaine or other substance described in G.S. 90‑90(1)d., or methamphetamine, when the ingestion of such substance causes the death of the user, shall be deemed murder in the second degree, and any person who commits such murder shall be punished as a Class B2 felon. (1893, cc. 85, 281; Rev., s. 3631; C.S., s. 4200; 1949, c. 299, s. 1; 1973, c. 1201, s. 1; 1977, c. 406, s. 1; 1979, c. 682, s. 6; 1979, c. 760, s. 5; 1979, 2nd Sess., c. 1251, ss. 1, 2; c. 1316, s. 47; 1981, c. 63, s. 1; c. 179, s. 14; c. 662, s. 1; 1987, c. 693; 1989, c. 694; 1993, c. 539, s. 112; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 21, s. 1; c. 22, s. 4; c. 24, s. 14(c); 2001‑470, s. 2; 2004‑178, s. 1; 2007‑81, s. 1.)

Another note of interest, Hendy, who was recently released from prison for trafficking schedule II (over 3 years) was convicted in court last week for felony fleeing, he was sentenced to probation.

Littlest Assassin Ever Lives in Iran

Original Video - More videos at TinyPic