CRIME REPORT

Video of Saddam Hussein being executed

Saddam Hussein's execution captured on a cell phone. This is a graphic recording of a brutal death. This has been posted here to illustrate the power of one man's cell phone. This was released via the internet almost immediately and picked up by the world's media, however not shown unedited in it's entire 3 minute length. In the video Saddam is taunted with a chant. I believe Saddam yelled back, "Go to hell!" just before the floor fell from under his feet. This is violent end to a violent man. Viewing of this video is not advised.

CAUSEY NEEDS TO GO

When a leader, a gallant, courageous leader says something along the lines of "It's all my responsibility, whatever happens -- good or bad - I'm going to take responsibility for it." Then usually you can take that to the bank. It means he stands by his men and realizes where the blame is ultimately placed. Sheriff Sid Causey said those words to all of us when he spoke to the Star News. Not only did he speak to you and me, he spoke to the troops that serve him when he said, "It's all my responsibility, whatever happens -- good or bad - I'm going to take responsibility for it.".

Yet he fires his ERT pointman Chris Long so that news reports will say, "Ex-deputy instead of Deputy Chris Long ..." A true leader would have kept him on, paid his salary thru the trial. A true leader would have said, "Over my dead body." He would have resigned rather than allow himself to turn against his soldier, the man he ordered into combat with an unarmed 18 year old who may or may not have in his possession a stolen video game.

But he is sorry. Causey is truly sorry. He said so when he said he sent the family of the slain 18 year old Peyton Strickland a sympathy card. Sorry. Sorry for what? Sorry that he isn't man enough to have called them the night of when he heard testimony from Chris Long's fellow deputies and the recollection of the shell shocked friend of Peyton's that had to step through blood to leave the house. Sorry that after knowing what went down, Causey still played his weak hand, bluffing us with strong words of support only to cave in when the going got tough and we all found out that the shots were because Long got spooked by his own man just before he fired thru the front door as Peyton was about to open the unlocked door and let everyone in.

How does he expect to lead these men that counted on him to stand with them in tough times? Chris Long was one of Causey's men and he fired him the same as he fired the piece of crap drug dealer that worked as a political hire in his jail. One was doing what Causey ordered him and paid him to do, the other was arrested in Jacksonville for attempting to sell a kilo of coke to a DEA agent. Yet Sid Causey treated them both the same.

I know enough to let my sense of justice lay in the hands of the judicial system. I support the District Attorney's decision to try and prosecute Long and hopefully will be able to sit in court, when that day comes, to hear testimony of what exactly Long was told going into the situation by his command. Long's guilt or innocence should be played out in court for the sake of the public's confidence in justice and accountablity. Evidence needs to see the light of day on this situation and the only way it will be lit up is to expose it in court.

I honestly feel sorry for all those who have blindly served the Sheriff expecting Causey to stand with them through thick and thin. Long and his family are tortured with uncertainty right now. Come on how hard would it have been for Causey to have simply said, "Long will be suspended, with pay, until the outcome of the trial has been determined"? At least Long would have been given the benefit of the doubt, but by his firing ?.... doesn't look good does it? Looks like Causey has something he is hiding from us, something he knows, something he has already determined as guilt on Long's behalf.

At best we are being led to believe that this is just one more "innocent" screw up that costs someone their life while on his watch. Three deaths that I am aware of in four years. Three dead!

And don't tell me stuff happens because look around, no other agency has such a deadly track record and yet they all have similar confrontations.

Causey needs to pack up and retire while he still has a handful of friends at Whitey's Restaurant bowing and scraping to him. So what there won't be any more income from video poker speakeasies and other lucrative operations eager to get a heads up every now and then. Go into the mortgage business, there seems to be tons of money in that line of work.

You know, I remember sitting in Federal Court 30 or so years ago watching Joe Cheshire in a trial of drug runners, the Black Tuna Gang that had been snagged in Southport for bringing in tons of marijuana. Important lesson there was the honor among thieves as the expression goes. Drug dealers kept their word. The lowest scum has more honor than the elected Sheriff. Do you know why they keep their honor? Loyalty, something Sid Causey will never understand.

When Causey was asked by WECT prior to the Grand Jury mistake if he would honor his word and take responsibilty for his man he said he did take responsibility by firing Long last Friday after the sheriff's office wrapped up its own investigation. But when asked if he would hire Long back after Long was released because of the screw-up he said that Long was not fired because of the shooting, that it was because of a different matter. Which is it? Exactly what responsibility did you take Sheriff?

He took none, instead Causey betrayed his troops and he is doing his best to push the blame anywhere he can, even if it means attempting to shove it into District Attorney Ben David's lap.

Time to fold your hand Sid and take a walk, play golf, relax, live your life, because as I mentioned before about honor among thieves while you were betraying your man, Chris Long stood by you. According to Long's friend and Pastor, Richard Willford, Long never said a negative word against the superiors at the sheriff's office who ordered him to go on the raid or against Sheriff Sid Causey, who fired him after the shooting. Not a word against his superiors, Loyalty.

Loyality goes both ways, it's give and get. Shame on you for letting your men down, and shame on you for allowing the law enforcement officers of this county, this region, to suffer because of your arrogance. Do the right thing, be responsible, hell be a man and step down, you deserve it!

OOPS THEY DID IT AGAIN

I wondered why two of the names Causey released today had a ring of familiarity. Detective Larry Robinson, 34, and Cpl. Christopher Long, 34 were both involved in a shooting that almost killed two pot smokers at 17th and Queen. We will be discussing more about this on Saturday's show.

Two guys followed from Houston Moore by a uniformed deputy, Chris Long, to Queen and 17th Street where he sat in surveillance awaiting Larry Robinson and a supervisor to show up.

Remember Houston Moore and 17th and Queen is in the City Limits.

Long approaches the car the two guys are sitting and they try to drive away. As the driver, a criminal by the name of Gregory Donell Miller, attempted to flee by steering the beat up car past gun waving and shouting deputy Long. As the fleeing vehicle passes Long he fires into the driver side window hitting both the driver and passenger, Terry Lamar Green. Green was a young man we often referred to as ricochet because he was always getting shot and surviving.

The problem Green's attorney, Thom Goolsby had with the shooting was that Long was not in imminent danger of being killed. The car had already passed him and to prove it he pointed to the entry point into the car, side driver's side window. The car was not moving sideways.

Goolsby said that at the time this shooting took place his client was a young fellow that never really recovered after that day. When I told him today that Long was involved in the Strickland shooting he said he couldn't believe it. Goolsby is a good lawyer and he knows when a jury convicts you move on, but this shooting that happened August 17, 2001, has not been forgotten.

It has also not been forgotten by Green's father Darryl Brown. Mr. Brown is what you would call an entrepreneur, he is a real estate broker, sells insurance and is an investor and advisor. I know him from his days selling cars at Bob King with my brother Page Robertson. He supported Marc in both elections and is one of those men that is constantly working, always plugged in. I asked what he remembered most about deputy Long and he said he remembers his arrogance and how he distorted the truth, "the way cops do" he said. Mr. Brown also remembers during the trial how the prosecution did a little distorting themselves when they claimed the defendant was just looking to, as Terry Green's father said, "these guys think they are about to get a payday". Green just wanted justice, he wanted Long punished.

Driver Miller was hit 3 times and Green once. Both were severely injured. Goolsby argued that his client, Terry Green, was simply a passenger, he was not in control, not known to be dangerous (at that time, but years later he was notorious).

Odd how two of the three names Causey released today were involved in a prior shooting, a shooting that was so hard on the jury to make a decision, one juror came out crying. The Judge may have felt for the defendant because he gave Green a suspended sentence, and yet Green still appealed. How can you shoot thru a drivers side window and claim a fear of imminent danger? Perhaps the same way someone might when they shoot thru a front door striking an 18 year old unarmed man in the head killing him saying, "I had to, he was comin' right for me, sort of sideways."

post edited 12-07-06 06:32

SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE

In December 2002, Gary Rummer had no prophetic voice whispering into his ear that the swearing in of Sid Causey as Sheriff would cause his death the following month. Certainly it wasn’t Causey that broke Rummer’s skull and neck in that cramped cell that night but it was Sid Causey, the Sheriff, that showed complete indifference to earlier complaints of overcrowding, abuses by jailers, and even prior inmate deaths. It is a fact that Causey is the one that authorized the transportation of critically wounded Rummer to Central Prison Hospital, a 135 mile drive rather than the 7 mile ambulance ride to the New Hanover Regional Medical Center. It was also Causey that failed to report the death, as required by law, because as he would have liked us all to have believed, he claimed Rummer died as a result of complications with Rummer’s alcoholism. The DT’s caused a convulsion that unbalanced Rummer thus he struck his head, or so he claimed. That was the exact story given to the grieving family by the Sheriff prior to the release of the Official Autopsy Report issued by the Medical Examiner in Chapel Hill. There is a wicked smirk at the county's liability by the arrogant leadership of the Sheriff's Office.

As today’s visitors witnessed the man that took 3 out of every 4 votes cast in the November election accept the Oath as Sheriff, the Chief Law Enforcement Officer, a young 18 year old kid lay in a cold storage inside a quiet funeral home in Durham. The young man, full of life at one time, lived in a house on Long Leaf Acres Drive with a couple of rowdy roommates. The house was a typical college party house, loud music, drunk girls laughing wildly at 2 in the morning and neighbors with weary eyes and short tempers wishing for quiet. You can imagine how angry a neighbor could be, knowing complaints would do little to guarantee a good nights rest the next weekend. So this young man, Peyton Strickland, was not that unusual for a college kid with an upper middle class background. Sounds like normal college life to me. Except that he was somehow linked to an overly reported incident that happened November 17 on the campus of UNCW.

UNCW has had a recent history of violent assaults, drinking and drug activity. Two students murdered and several overdoses have caused the University to be in the national spotlight on more than a few occasions. This most recent incident was yet another embarrassment to those wanting endowments and enrollments to flourish. Pressure was certainly on to bring this issue to some resolve as quickly as possible.

On November 17th the entire Country was in the midst of a consumerism battle for the latest $600 Playstation 3. The games announced short supply caused long lines at every major national retail outlet prior to the sale at Midnight November 17th. As luck would have it Justin Raines, a student at UNCW from Apex, was able to make a purchase of two Playstations. Raines drove from the Sigmon Road Wal-Mart to his campus dorm parking area a couple of miles away. Once parked, a car pulled up matching the description of a similar car spotted on video taken at Wal Mart and as many as 4 young white kids jumped out and reportedly beat Mr. Raines taking his Playstations then driving away. The car pulling up to Wal Mart was captured on tape, the alleged mugging was not.

A week or so later the campus police posted a request for information on a UNCW party website. This was clever, aggressive law enforcement if I do say so myself but it is uncertain if any new leads developed from it.

Somehow the UNCW campus police became aware of the identities of 2 suspects. One was UNCW student Ryan David Mills, 20, of 4500 Crawdad Court, Wilmington, and the second suspect was, Peyton Brooks Strickland, 18, of 417 Brighton Road, Durham. A search warrant was also issued for 533 Long Leaf Acres Drive in Wilmington and served on the night of December 1. Mills was arrested without incident and Strickland was shot and killed by members of the New Hanover County Sheriff’s ERT unit, a SWAT team that accompanied the UNCW campus police to the house.

Neither of these two young men have records that would lead someone to believe either would be capable of committing violent acts much less robbing someone of a game. Strickland was however awaiting trial on a charge of popping Nathan Harrington, a 22 year old UNCW student from Lee County, in the mouth. So what would cause the campus police to request the assistance of the New Hanover County Sheriff’s heavily armed ERT unit? Was it a photo posted on suspect Mills website showing 3 guys holding guns under a caption stating that “This is how we roll” ? Was it misinformation? Was it a neighbor that had exaggerated the activity at the 533 Long Leaf Acres residence?

According to the search warrant Mills was known to carry a gun and Strickland was awaiting trial for an assault charge. Would that be enough to justify the callout of an ERT unit?

Several calls and emails to the UNCW campus police were unreturned. Questions about why they chose to call on the Sheriff and not the City are unanswered. When Jessica Faulkner was murdered, by fellow student Curtis Dixon, the campus police again called on the Sheriff for help and not the City. I did ask WPD Chief Evangelous if he was contacted for help and he said that, to the best of his knowledge, they were never contacted for any assistance.

So really why the Sheriff’s Office? Is it because they have a stellar track record when it comes to armed confrontations? Certainly the only reason to call out a SWAT team is because it might be highly probable that the officers serving the warrant would be facing armed offenders. Yet in 2005 the Sheriff’s ERT unit shot and killed a distraught man in his own yard. Officers saw a gun, family members saw a cordless phone. Both said they saw a red light, the weapon found inside the house had no red light, no laser.

The Sheriff proudly confirmed that the Unit is made up of several military veterans who had recently served in live combat situations where killing was part of a day’s work.

Everyone can agree upon the fact that a combined force of armed men came to the door at 533 Long Leaf Acres with a search warrant and seeking entrance into the home of Peyton Strickland. I don’t know if neighbors were warned or evacuated, I don’t know if law enforcement could see into the house or specifically if anyone looked into the house thru the front door’s small glass window prior to knocking. Everyone agrees there was a knock, everyone also agrees there was immediate burst of gunfire just after the knock. Did the dog charge the deputies, was he sent on command? I don’t know, but I own a rather large dog that I have trained to bark and approach the door every time there is someone is outside knocking, or to bark and approach any loud noise for that matter.

We know Peyton Strickland was shot and killed in his home. We have been lead to believe by a shaken witness that Peyton may have had a game control box in his hand when he got up to answer the door. Speaking of the door, why was it taken into evidence? Were there bullet holes in it? Would that show shots were fired from outside the door? Do we know if Peyton Strickland was shot thru the door?

The autopsy shows that Strickland was killed by a gunshot wound to the head, a shot that most likely killed him instantly. But he was also taken to the hospital. How long before he was transported and who transported him? Was an ambulance already on standby? No. No EMS standing by, yet every high school football game you see one parked near the end zone. No ambulance, you would think an armed forced entrance to a potentially dangerous situation would call for one wouldn't you?

The search warrant released at the end of the day shows a few significant details that keep those following closely reason to suspect improper command over the situation. Nothing in the warrant suggest any reason to go in fully loaded. There was mention that Ryan Mills posed in a photo that showed him with a shotgun (both Mills and Strickland are avid hunters) and that Peyton had been arrested on a Felony assault charge for smacking Nathan Harrington in the jaw. Nothing in that warrant would indicate an extraordinary need for protecting those officers who were to serve the warrant. Nothing.

Apparently according to the search warrant the two beat and robbed Justin Raines taking his two Playstations from him by force even though they have not found or identified the owner of the vehicle seen in the WalMart. Someone supposedly sold one of the two Playstations on ebay. Law enforcement hoped to find the other at Strickland’s house. They didn’t, nor did they find in the house any evidence that would tie Strickland to the robbery.

Of the items seized, the Sheriff’s Office took possession of bullet fragments, shell casings, a few bongs and the front door. Again why the front door? Think about it, why?

This entire event has caused tremendous damage to those who proudly wear the badge of authority. What happened because of poor planning and perhaps poor training directly affects all others serving our community and others who count on the respect and cooperation of the public. It is important to know that the only two agencies on scene at 533 Long Leaf Acres Drive were the UNCW campus police and the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office. It is also important to know that those members of the ERT unit were ordered to be there and to enter that house. It is natural for any human being, especially those trained in law enforcement, to use deadly force when threatened with deadly force. Who knows why the deputy fired his weapon at Mr. Strickland, but I’d bet my life savings that it wasn’t because he wanted to, he just wanted to live and to protect his fellow deputies. We respect that. We do not respect the decision to send them in there the way they did. We talked a lot about this when we did a show on the Lewis shooting in Castle Hayne back in 2005. People are human. But someone needs to be held accountable, admit the mistake and resign.

District Attorney Ben David made a brief statement to the press saying, "I recognize that any time we're dealing with the loss of a life, we're talking about someone's baby," David said. "No one is above the law, and no one is beneath its protection. I commit to Peyton Strickland's family and to the men and women of law enforcement who I advise that I will go wherever the truth leads." Tomorrow Ben David will meet in Durham with Don Strickland, father of Peyton.

We spoke with Mr. Strickland Saturday morning outside his son’s house and his words spoke of his heart and to ours when he said, “They killed my son.”

Tragically he may just be right.

NICE TRY

The Blue Line Radio was given a copy of the November 29th letter by District Attorney Ben David regarding last week's viewing of an unfinished version of the Dakota Fanning movie Hound Dog. In that letter, District Attorney David stated that he determined that there was no crime committed within his jurisdiction and that his office will not be prosecuting anyone associate with the production or distribution of the movie.

There are miles of film footage shot on a typical feature length motion picture. Sometimes as much as 90% of what was shot lay on the edit room floor when the film has finally been pieced together. The end product is not always an accurate, historic, documentation of what action took place on the set during the process of making a film.

While we at the Blue Line continue to believe those that we have spoken with regarding the initial allegations of the criminal sexual exploitation of a minor, we are also extremely confident in the capabilities of District Attorney David's office's ability to run a thorough investigation and unquestionably accept his professional judgment into this matter.

The principle allegations of sexual exploitation involved scenes shot outside the 5th Judicial District. Those scenes, which were shot at Brunswick County's Orton Plantation, were being addressed by the 13th Judicial District, specifically District Attorney Rex Gore's office and his office has not contacted us regarding his findings.

Those of us at the Blue Line initially pressed for an investigation based on information we received back in June. Five months later we have one investigation completed in time for the movie's premiere at Sundance.

Blue Line Radio never  said that the edited form of the movie would contain anything illegal. We were, and still are, concerned with the action that took place on set during the staging of several sexually explicit scenes that were  filmed outside District Attorney David's jurisdiction. We will still strongly advocate for the rights of children to live, work, and enjoy life unmolested by exploitation.