CRIME REPORT

OVERKILL

In an outrageous display of arrogant deception the Sheriff of New Hanover County pins an overly inflated cost of doing business once again on the backs of the taxpayers. This accounting of expenditures came in an email to all media sources at 5:15 on Friday afternoon, just about bedtime for all those news directors and editors who might give a crap about such waste. Of course any good responsible elected official would have asked and perhaps demanded the cost of this security prior to the expense. Of course any accountable agency would have those numbers prior to spending the money.

We are talking about $65,000, 148 deputies, we are talking about surrounding a legitimate business enterprise because of imagined threats. How many potential threats left the Chili Cookoff Saturday? How many drunk drivers kill innocent people? How many drug dealers shove dope into our kids bodies? Are 148 deputies getting overtime to secure our roadways or our children? $65,000 to work a concert...

Why not just unload busses of troops at Creekwood? Why not just enact a curfew?

Why send a heavily armed, poorly trained paramilitary unit to the open door of an 18 year old accused of stealing a video game?

Overkill. Literally.

So we will ask for a breakdown of the 65k Sheriff Causey said it cost to provide security at Brogden Hall and more than likely we will get some run-around. But it is important to know where this money went.

COST PER DEPUTY

The county billed the promoter $1,400 for an additional for 10 extra deputies. That's $140 each.

148 deputies @ $140 each is $20,720

MISCELLANEOUS

That leaves about $45,000 for what? What did Causey spend this money on?

He is quoted in the Star News as saying, "He estimated $5,800 of the total costs came before the concert, in personnel time spent drawing up operational and contingency plans, obtaining maps and layouts of the site and getting aerial photographs done beforehand."

ESTIMATE

"he estimated..." So is the $65,000 figure accurate? What are the real numbers?

AERIAL PHOTOS

"getting aerial photographs done ..." How about a Google Map? That's free. (click on the link to view Brogden Hall from the air, I obtained it in less than 3 minutes)

MENTALLY CHALLENGED

Again in the Star Newspaper Causey says he had expenses sending two detectives to the Saturday night Lil Wayne concert in "Lumberton" but hold on a second, the concert actually took place in Fayetteville where Mr. Carter sold out the 6,000 seat Crown Coliseum.

He was also quoted in the same article as saying, "Unfortunately, we spent a lot of the taxpayer's money. But I've had a lot of comments from parents who say they were glad we were there." Well, I know the father of a 16 year old girl that was taken from Laney High School, by an illegal immigrant, isn't too happy the school's surveillance cameras are so antiquated that they are unable to provide images sharp enough to recognize anyone coming in or out of the building. This girl went missing for over 2 weeks. It would have been nice to have been able to identify the missing girl in the recovered video, forget the suspect, let's just see the girl, identify her and make sure she left the building alive. Oh, and wouldn't it have helped to have had at least one deputy there making sure no one trespasses on school grounds swiping kids?

This money was wasted. There are plenty of needs. Ruining a business opportunity for a concert promoter isn't one of them. Seriously, we could have paid the guy not to have the concert and saved money. A lot of money.

Shouldn't someone besides us question this expense? Someone sitting on the Board of Education, and/or the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners?

The most expensive sheriff's department in the State!

Say Cheesecake

I read on the Wilmington Star News forum that the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office again won first place in "Best Uniforms" by some law enforcement magazine. The same magazine gave the award back 15-20 years ago when Marc was a skinny pup working for Sheriff Joe McQueen. (I promise I will dig up those pictures of him and David Stevenson) Marc was a coverboy for the magazine posing in what looks like the same uniforms, who knows, it could be.

There was a picture in the WSN Forum of the second place finishers and it made me smile about how ridiculous all this is. Serious, I looked at the application and the judges don't look at the fabric, the uniform, they look at pictures of the uniform. And it's not even the magazine that gives out the award it is the National Association of Uniform Manufacturers & Distributors.

In a press release from the NAUMD they said:

"New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office, Castle Hayne, NC – Best Uniforms, supplier. New Hanover’s highly polished appearance aptly underscores the obvious pride they feel about the profession. Outfits are crisp, neat, and impeccable. Tan, the color choice for pants and shirts, easily identifies the wearer as a Sheriff's Office deputy. Brown, the color used for ties, pant stripe and Campaign hats, is a perfect outfit compliment."

I know the head of Best Uniforms was excited that his client, who I'm sure has choked him and pinned him against the wall at least once with stressful orders and demands, is now happy to hold in their hands the coveted trophy for best dressed county agency. Awesome!

But as Francis Weller pointed out to us all when WECT proudly gave the all important shoutout about this award, "The photos in the magazine were taken by WECT's very own news director, Raeford Brown." Well hells bells, that's exactly why they won. Francis was dead on when she gave a mention to her news director. As I mentioned earlier the judges selected the best (no pun intended) uniform by the photographs and Raeford was the photographer.

Now Raeford has quite the reputation as a photographer, especially around Carolina Beach because for years Raeford would work with teen models taking pictures of them in swimsuits, and those pictures I'm sure, were anxiously viewed by more than a couple of Pleasure Isle residents and vacationers.

So who better to take pictures of those people who proudly represent all those good men and women in law enforcement than the local master of cheesecake. It worked. Congratulations.

WRONG MOVE

Word on the street is that the "security" of Brogden Hall will cause more harm than good. 140 deputies, streets blocked off, helicopters, SWAT guys, ERT guys, dogs, UC officers in the mix. Imagine 3,000 excited 14-25 year olds standing in line for 45 minutes to get inside a show. Half of them leaving because of the hassle. The buzzkill will soon be amped back up once lights dim and the music starts. Thump, thump, thump, get ya hands up, ya hands up, hands up, holla, holla!

Overly anxious concert goers will stand up, dance about, egg people on. Pop, lock and drop girls will cause vulgar shouts from the testosterone pumped boys in the hood. It will all be in rowdy youth style fun, something us old farts forgot all about when we hit 30... or 50.

More and more people fill in empty seats finally after making their way through TSA grade anti-terrorist security. The crowd begins to shift. Creeping to better vantage points, filling halls and exits, pushing their way closer to the stage. An argument, an arrest or two, a wiff of reefer rolling thru the crowd, boooo's start up when the show slows silently then the lights come on. Show's over. Lil Wayne hasn't even left his tour bus yet and everyone has to go home.

The big money ticketsellers balk at the heavy fist coming down on this night of entertainment, my God it was a show featuring BET's MVP Artist of the Year, here in Wilmington and those tickets make money yo. Who would have thought putting on a show like this would have such financial risks.

Some angry youth want payback when their tickets become worthless. Promoters forced to sue anyone they can so that they can refund the ticket sales and pay Lil Wayne for stopping by and beeping the horn. What was hyped by the press and Causey, as a potential shootout at the gym, gang thug against gang thug turns deadly violent against the deputies, is a disappointment to those touting this show as a Stop the Violence rally.

But when all hell breaks loose, kids being kids, feeling ripped off a wrong move can set this tendebox a blaze in an instant. And when it does catch fire the only way for these law enforcement officers can stay safe is to go on the offensive. Pushing and moving the crowd deep into a pocket to be rounded up and controlled.

Possibly a few bandana wearing soldiers of fortune will break ranks and cause heartache for the community. Possibly, if someone makes the wrong move.

But if everyone survives the show, the "After Parties" (plural) will be held at the National Guard Armory and at the ILA Hall on Kidder Street. Do I need to say anymore? That is an entirely different box of matches.

Word on the street is that it will be a night to remember, one way or another.

Let's hope someone doesn't make a wrong move.

The right move was made by Cumberland County officials when Lil Wayne and Young Jeezy wowed a crowd of 6,000 at the FSU Homecoming held at the Arena. When I talked with officials with FSU Friday I was told that the university requested no added security for the concert.

"…most important hip hop album (Lil Wayne's newest release) of decade."
Rolling Stone
"He's (Lil Wayne) the perfect artist to own this time – the best rapper alive. Hear! Hear!"
VIBE MAGAZINE November Issue

Think about it, these rappers are businessmen. In this day and age artists make little money from record sales. They now make their big money from the shows. Lil Wayne will make something in the neighborhood of $50,000 for his one and a half hours of performance. $50,000! And that's not counting merchandising. A friend of mine who managed a small no-name touring band said they grossed $5,000 a show from t-shirt sales. Lil Wayne and his posse' might take in ten times that...net! This is business, BIG business. And Lil Wayne, his manager and his record label are not going to want headlines saying how he instigated a riot. The million dollar lawyer who will represent Weezy on his pending weapons and drug case does not want that sort of publicity. These guys are all about the DOLLAR. The "gang" stuff is a front. Sort of like Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley. So there is no need to panic, to bring out the 140 deputies, tax the citizens of the county $30,000 in overtime pay to have these deputies stand watch for a few hours. There was no need to over react. Had the folks been allowed to go to the Lil Wayne concert same as they did last year when it was at UNCW, there would have little to no violence. Certainly no more than has been at any Hoggard v. Hanover High School football game in recent memory.

But what gets me in all this is why the HYPE? What purpose does that serve? Do they have intelligence from snitches that a gang war was to start in the gym tonight? Or were they using their racially challenged mental intellect that just because a large group of predominantly black youth gathers in one spot it will automatically cause death and destruction? Tell that to Fayetteville State University. Newspaper headlines declared "No extra security planned for Lil Wayne concert Sunday, sheriff says" What was that all about? Everyone knew different. You can't call up 140 deputies and keep it a secret, so why lie to the public, to the media? Is Causey setting a trap? Is this a tactical strike against teenage rap fans that can afford $40 tickets?

Besides Causey being dosed up on some sort of medication causing irrational thought and paranoid delusions, what political statement is he trying to make? Is the idea to worsen racial tensions, and create a bonding with ALL gangs focusing on the police? Or is it just a brain damaged Manuel Noriga type of military wannabe waving his imaginary wand at the troops sending them into harm's way.

God bless all those men out there tonight. Keep them safe. They are just following orders. And Lord protect these kids, for they have no idea what they are walking into tonight.

Please, please nobody make a wrong move tonight!

*** Since the event turned out to be uneventful I thought about deleting this post but this was written 12 hours prior to the show and we even talked about it on the show Saturday, so I felt it should be left up to the reader to decide if this post is still relevant or not.***

HELPING THE STUPID

Woman Parked, On Phone As Train Approaches

GREENVILLE COUNTY, S.C. -- A Williamston woman is alive, thanks to the quick response of a police officer who got her out of her car seconds before an Amtrak train slammed into it -- and it was all caught on camera.
Every night, Greer police Officer Marcus O'Shields meets an officer from the Greenville-Spartanburg Airport to exchange information. Tuesday, just after midnight, O'Shields went to the meeting place near the Norfolk Southern tracks along Highway 80 near the Poinsett Bridge.
That's when he spotted a car driven by Betsy Devall stopped on the tracks.
Devall was on the phone with a friend. It took O'Shields nearly a minute and a half to convince Devall to get out of the car and away from the vehicle -- just 17 seconds before the train crashed into the car.
“You’ve seen the video,” O’Shields told News 4’s Mandy Gaither. “It tells the whole story. It's pretty graphic, and we don't see the rest of it, with the car catching on fire on down the track. It gets your nerves going pretty good.”
The Crescent Line train was headed to New York, and had just left the Greenville depot loaded with 180 passengers.
By the time it smashed into Devall's car, the 854-foot-long train was traveling more than 70 mph.
The incident was caught on camera by one of the officer's dashboard cameras. On tape, you can hear Devall thanking O'Shields for saving her life. She told him she wasn't familiar with the area.
Three passengers on the train were treated for minor injuries -- two for smoke inhalation and one for an ankle injury.
Devall said that she had been to visit a friend after work, and was on her way to another friend's house when she got lost and stopped to call for directions. She said she didn't realized that she had turned onto the tracks.
Doug Bryson with Spartanburg Emergency Management said that if Devall hadn't gotten out of the car, she wouldn't be alive.
"The condition of her car -- there's no way she should have survived that type of impact," Bryson said.
Bryson agreed that the officer ending up at his usual meeting place at the usual time made all the difference.
"He was in the right place at the right time," Bryson said, "Like I said, there would have been a much different outcome if he or any other witness had not been here to see that."
Police said the use of the cell phone was clearly a contributing factor in the crash, but at this time, no charges have been filed.

PERMANENT RECORD

When Durham, NC held their last election in 2005, 17 people ran for mayor, 8 of them had criminal records. This news was reported by the Raleigh News & Observer. Why is this important? Well, the criminal candidates in Durham were by and large scam artists, child molesters and one even had a fictitious name. Isn't that important? Shouldn't a candidate's personal history be an important part of their candidacy?

If a candidate is convicted of assault or DWI, shouldn't that be an important factor in determining whether or not you vote for a particular person or not? Candidates criminal history, past, present, or future transgressions of the law tell us exactly who is really running for office. Candidates talk a lot about family values, but suppose your candidate, the great proponent of family values, has had a domestic violence protective order issued against him? Wouldn't that, shouldn't that be at the very least cause for concern?

Suppose Katherine Moore would have blown a .18, twice the legal limit and have been convicted of DWI, wouldn't that have been nails to her coffin? Wasn't that the whole point of arresting her in the first place? But suppose you have a write in candidate who was convicted of DWI?

Now I'm not saying these people are to be shunned or run out of town, I'm saying when you have a choice, wouldn't it be prudent to investigate those with a questionable background? I'm sure all these people who have various "lapses in judgment" with the law are good people ... to someone. I mean isn't it possible that some people, family, Nurse Anesthetists, Satan, think Thomas Wright is a good guy?

Hey, I've made my share of poor judgment calls, none I'm willing to admit, but then I'm not running for office, maybe if I did run for office I'd come right out up front and admit my sins. Then again maybe I'd be foolish enough to think nobody would notice...or care.

There is something to those who admit their sins, Jesus said admit your sins and you are forgiven. So when I watched Marion Jones tearfully admit her sins today I felt so much sorrow for her because I know Marion. I've worked with her several times. I worked with her on a Nike commercial where she played a DJ calling on fellow athletes to stop committing crimes, she said that they OWED their fans that much. Marion knows children, the naive kids who for some reason or another worship these athletes and with all the crimes of assaults, drunk driving, dope.... no wonder high school athletics is no different than the programs in professional sports.

In an effort to discover who had what skeleton in which closet we have found that several candidates in New Hanover County have criminal records, a few of them have committed serious offenses, serious enough to warrant concern. Most however have nothing to be embarrassed about.

Wilmington's Candidates for Mayor

Bill Saffo - traffic offenses
Justin Lanasa - convicted of injury to real property along with a judge's order not to assault the victim. Lanasa made claim he was out of town during the incident and could not have caused the $20 damage to a property line fence.
Harper Peterson - a traffic violation

Wilmington's Candidates for Council

Jeff Kohl- forgot to check on the pressure of his boat's fire extinguisher

Carolina Beach Write-in Candidate for Mayor

Ray Rothrock a quick look his record revealed a conviction of DWI in 2005

Carolina Beach Candidate for Council

Michael Kopitopoulous - sold beer by mistake to someone who was underage and received a prayer for judgement for his mistake

Kure Beach Candidate

Barry Nelder- drunk driving in 1987, Nelder reported that the incident sobered him up and he has not had a drink in nearly 20 years.

Wrightsville Beach Candidates for Town Board of Aldermen

Chandler Madray- arrested in 1998 for urinating in public and drinking in public, among other misdemeanors

Bill Blair- forgot to count his life vests on his boat and was charged accordingly

But there are two candidates whose personal criminal history stand out as being in need of serious explanation.

Wrightsville Beach candidate for Alderman, Brent Futch has a long history of writing bad checks, these aren't life sustaining needs these checks were written for these are checks for thousands of dollars spanning several years. He has even been on probation because of these convictions. Futch also has charges of Hit and Run, No Insurance, Trespassing, DWI and giving or selling alcohol to an underage person. I was unable to reach Mr. Futch with two separate phone calls to the number listed with the Board of Elections. These calls were made the Friday and Saturday prior to this posting. (UPDATE TO STORY: In an article with the Lumina News Futch denies being convicted of giving or selling alcohol to a minor. My notes show a conviction in 1992. I will recheck my research when I am able to do so.) (UPDATE TO STORY: MORE UPDATES - In an email from Mr. Futch, he claims he has a certified copy of his criminal record showing no convictions for selling or giving alcohol to a minor. )

The prize for the most embarrassing criminal history has to go to Carolina Beach candidate for Mayor, current Mayor Pro-Tem, Alan Gilbert who had been convicted of a 1993 assault on a female but has also been the recipient of a domestic violence restraining order in a dispute that, in the victim's own handwriting, stated that she was prevented from leaving the house and that he ripped the phone off the wall when she attempted to call 911. The 1997 Domestic Violence Civil Order also states that Councilman and Mayor Pro-Tem Gilbert had committed a similar, previous act of violence against the same woman in an unreported event prior to 1997.

How do you defend against such things in a political climate where previous sins not only come back to haunt you, but are used as weapons against you. So why risk such exposure and potential for embarrassment when you, better than anyone, know what evil lurks behind closed doors? Perhaps it is self righteousness, perhaps the offenders are comfortable knowing that Jesus and all who love them have forgiven them. I mean it's not like they were caught yesterday in a men's bathroom with their pants down around their ankles. But it is on their "permanent record".

I guess let he who is without sin cast the first pitch, batter up!