CRIME REPORT

USUAL SUSPECTS

Nate Davis, is a loser. Both of them. That's right father and son have nothing but trouble follow them where ever they go. But like so many of these losers we see in and out of the courthouse they all have a story of being entrapped, or wrongfully accused. They all say they are all innocent. Some of these losers play the race card, some talk about how poverty put them in the vulnerable position that "made" them do the dirty deed. Others will say,"Everyone else does it, why not arrest them?" Most of them are wrong, way wrong. Just a bunch of liars tainting jury pools all over the nation to the reality of what may be happening to a few of the "usual suspects."

Recently the New Hanover County Sheriff's Vice and Narcotics Unit announced the seizure of 1,000 small packets of heroin and the arrest of two females, Nate Davis' sister Shanita Davis (by all accounts a responsible and dedicated worker as well as an accomplished community citizen, seriously) and a white girl from the affluent resort community of Whispering Pines. I mention white girl because 19 year old Porsche Maher is the only thing "unusual" about this case. Well it's not unusual that a rich white girl falls for some tough street hood, totally pissing off her country club parents, no that's not unusual. Neither is a girl with a privileged background with a drug problem. Case in point, the story of a Cape Fear Academy graduate, UNCW honors graduate and teacher who discovered heroin and was found dead at a hotel known for prostitution and drug addicts. Her parents tried everything to help their baby girl and so too has the family of Porsche. No, unfortunately this is not "unusual" in america today. What is unusual in this case is that the teenage Miss Moore County is a witness to a very disturbing trend among lazy law enforcement officers. Bounty hunting. Drug and vice units so hell bent on stealing away "the criminal's" property that they fail to abide by the policies and procedures in a business where one slip up can cost a conviction at the least and at the worst cause an innocent death.

A couple of years ago a member of the New Hanover County Narc Unit sat shotgun in a TransAm as it sped away from other deputies after a drug buy. The TransAm hit speeds over 100 miles per hour thru the middle of town ultimate crashing into a church off of Shipyard Blvd. catching the church on fire and almost killing the undercover agent and driver. There was never any public mention of the passenger.

Just the other day another pursuit took place when deputies with the New Hanover County Narc Unit attempted to stop Nate Davis Jr. after a drug buy. Again the driver sped off and again an undercover agent was onboard as a passenger. The car was abandoned, and the driver, Nate ran off. No mention of the passenger.

Captain Bobby Blackmon, who up until yesterday, headed up the Vice and Narcotics Unit within the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office. There will be no public release explaining his demotion and transfer due to laws protecting personnel matters (unless the release of such disciplinary action will regain the public's trust in the sheriff's office) so we will more than likely not hear an official reason as to the sudden change in leadership because the public won't know anything about it, catch 22. But it looks like someone screwed-up. Screwed up bad too. Bad enough for the sheriff to play musical chairs.

So Nate is on the run. Hiding out where he can. Heart beating like a fox being chased by the hounds. He has no idea that he might not be as wanted as he thinks. If caught there will be a trial. That is if he isn't stuck with a million dollar bond and a two year wait for a court date. If he is, the 23 year old career Felon might just take a plea (as 85% will) and no one will be any wiser to what took place that day because there will be no trial. But if things were done dirty to grab him on Oleander Drive and rules were broken, laws bent and lil miss Moore County is brought into the mix with a Don Stricklandesque band of defense attorneys popping open briefcases stuffed with depositions of a long history of violations, this could get ugly really quick for the Sheriff and all those around him winking away his sins.

There is much more to this and we are just begining this investigation into the world of the "usual suspects."

Obama's Voice of God Roars

Say what you will, but this is the spiritual ear to the next President of the United States, channeling the voice of God into Obama's ear. The Rev. Wright has a world audience now, thousands of times greater than before. Wright retired last month,these sermons were recorded many years ago and yet have just recently taken the media's attention.

To my great disappointment Obama attempted to excuse his pastor's lunacy in the lap of his elderly white grandmother when he said, "I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother – a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe." Obama your white grandmother isn't a pastor of a church, a messenger of God, she is a woman who said things in the privacy of her own home as conversation, not as an edict from God to thousands of spiritual followers.

There are times when those of us who pontificate try on different truths as some women try on shoes, we want to know the truth and we can't really take a hold of it until we wrestle with it a bit. Call it flip flopping, call it liberal thought, all I know is that's how I do it. So I can see thinking about the ideas expressed by Wright and slip it on as one would a garish suit, look at myself in the mirror to study if this look is really me. But then again that's me. The Rev. Wright, you would think, had time to study his words prior to preaching them in his sermons and yet proudly spoke them to his impressionable flock.

Certainly no crime has been committed, but when a nation is depending on trust to see to it laws are obeyed and lives have value then this sort of message is tender wood begging for a match. A majority of our murders are happening literally in the middle of our streets and yet no one saw anything. No snitching and proud of it. Why won't they talk? Are they afraid of the killer? Maybe, perhaps. I suspect their biggest reason for not "snitching" is a lack of trust and a cultural rationalization spread about the alleged disparity between the treatment of white offenders in white collar crime versus the world of drug dealing and the harsh punishment doled out to those who break unwritten laws of gangsters.

It is the harboring of this secret segmented society that borders on racism and certainly will not be tolerated by the real people who run things.

You think God damned America? You ain't seen the half of it brother. Stay tuned, it's in the last chapter of the big Book.

Tragic Death

It is with the deepest sympathy for the family, friends and loved ones we express our respect for John Miller who lived his life with courage and dedication to all those he came into contact with as a firefighter and as a citizen.

Captain John Clayton Miller, 51, of Wilmington, died Thursday, March 13, 2008.

John was born October 15, 1956 in Belhaven, NC, son of Christopher James Miller, Jr. and Alice Lee Clayton Miller.

John graduated from New Hanover High School in 1974. He was a man of varied interests and many talents. He started as an engineer with CSX Railroad for ten years and later progressed to Fire Captain with the Wilmington Fire Department during his seventeen-year career. John was a past President of the Wilmington Professional Fire Fighters Association Local 129 and a member of the Tactical Rescue Team. He was an avid boat Captain and scuba diver. John was an accomplished pilot; he had his private pilot license with multi engine rating and commercial rating. In addition to these accomplishments, he also started his own business, "Maintenance Services, Inc.", which provided servicing for many volunteer fire department vehicles. He was a loving husband, father, son, brother and friend who will be dearly missed.

In addition to his parents, he is survived by his loving wife, Linda Miller; two daughters, Kellie Miller Sarabhaivanij and husband, Nick, of Orlando, FL, and Lindsay Miller of Wilmington; brother, Christopher Miller of Rocky Point, NC; and numerous extended family.

SKY'S THE LIMIT

SHERIFF WANTS TO OWN HELICOPTER

The Sheriff rejected joining SABLE, a multi-county partnership that shares in the cost of operating a helicopter that was given for free by the feds because he said it was a waste of money. "This department can't afford - and probably doesn't need - to share a helicopter with other law-enforcement agencies." Then a local businessman Scott Gerow offered the use of his helicopter for free, all the county would have to do is pay for the gas of operating the Robinson R44 Raven helicopter which Sheriff Causey claims it to cost $72.60 per hour to operate which is much less than the manufacturers estimate of $174.16 per hour. Apparently Scott Gerow is paying the estimated $11,000 in insurance on the aircraft himself. The county isn't. Perhaps to help out with the high overhead the Sheriff has given Gerow a full time job as a $48,000/year Lieutenant. There is an estimated $36,000 in interest payments and $11,000 a year in insurance. In Gerow's spare time he is enrolled in special classes at CFCC so that he can complete his BLET (basic law enforcement training) . Gerow has several rental properties and owns a landscaping firm as well as a residential construction development company. In fact this isn't his first business dealings with the county. In 2001 his company Green with Envy was awarded a landscaping maintenance contract for county properties including the jail annex. The 2 year contract amount was for $181,969.20.

Even though Causey estimates only using Gerow's Port City Helicopter services to fly the bird roughly only 20 hours since he has had the agreement with Gerow, Causey feels the need to pony up taxpayer money to the tune of over $600,000 to buy his own egg beater.

Sheriff Causey claims that the purchase money is not tax money but grant money (which over $200k is coming from the feds and of course THAT MONEY IS TAX MONEY) and from drug seizures and forfeitures. Sheriff Sid Causey says "the helicopter is especially useful in the county's Project Lifesaver Program. " The program provides tracking bracelets for Alzheimer's patients. Unfortunately the way the drug forfeiture laws are the money can only be used for drug enforcement. If he were to use drug money for anything other than that it could be misappropriation of funds or embezzlement. So I'm sure he misspoke about using it for finding missing persons without paying for it another way.

I seriously doubt that Sheriff Causey will follow thru with his purchase, at least not now. The Wilmington Star News reported that Causey wants to ask the commssioners for the money on March 10th, the same night the County will sign off on the two and a half million dollar settlement with the estate of Peyton Strickland. Should this deal fail to work out for the sheriff it is questionable as to the status of the future situation regarding Lt. Scott Gerow's generosity. After all it won't be very much longer before people begin to remember Franklin County's helicopter.