Package thieves on Christmas eve morning.

erkme73

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OT, but related. Wife and I were attacked by an MS-13 young'en going through his initiation process in Clearwater, FL. It's a long story, but the cops did arrest the thug. The officer asked us if we wanted to press charges for felony battery (damage to our brand new vehicle was over $1k). My wife said "Hell yes!". The officer said, "I will do all I can to keep your name off of the paperwork, but there is always a chance that the assailant can figure out who you are and where you live." She didn't care and we proceeded with the charges.

A few months later, we receive a letter in the mail from the assistant state attorney's office. It was a CC of the letter sent to the MS-13 gang banger. It provided explicit instructions to him on how he was to pay his restitution (some mumbo jumbo about paying the salvation army and they would see it that the victim would be repaid). He owed me $100 - the deductible on my insurance. He owed Liberty Mutual about $2k.

Here's the kicker... At the very end of the page, it stated: "CC: victim", where "victim" included my full legal name, and current home address! The state attorney's office handed this thug my home address! I immediately called their offices to ask them if the assailant's copy had been redacted. The guy says, "Hold on, let me check to see if the mail has already gone out". I kid you not. Talk about malfeasance. Talk about an epiphany on how poor government works to defend victims...
 

bigredfish

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I'm guessing said gang banger never spent more than a night in jail? The problem I see is: "A few months later, we receive a letter in the mail" ... Why is the piece of shit even on the street if the charge was Felony Battery? The legal system is broken.

To top tings off, they just passed another "Justice Reform" bill in DC that actually makes life easier on many scumbags, and somehow the brain-dead voters of my state decided last Fall to allow felons (1.4 milliion of them) to vote...

Does anyone see a problem pattern here?
 

erkme73

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I'm guessing said gang banger never spent more than a night in jail? The problem I see is: "A few months later, we receive a letter in the mail" ... Why is the piece of shit even on the street if the charge was Felony Battery? The legal system is broken.

To top tings off, they just passed another "Justice Reform" bill in DC that actually makes life easier on many scumbags, and somehow the brain-dead voters of my state decided last Fall to allow felons (1.4 milliion of them) to vote...

Does anyone see a problem pattern here?
No, I think he spent 3 nights in jail. The arresting officer told me he'd be held for ICE since it was over $1k in damage. On the third day, I received a call from the victim information system - an automated phone call to let me know know that Alejandro Ruiz Aquino Salazar Rodriquez (it was 5+ names like that) had been released. I promptly called the number they provided in the recording, and was told that since he had already been deported multiple times, and the damage he inflicted on our vehicle was considered 'minimal', ICE declined to follow through on the pickup. Mind you, this was in 2007, so well before much of the polarization of politics we see today.
 

bigredfish

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2007, A whopping 3 nights eh? Illegal alien, deported multiple times, felony charge.. and they let him walk. That polarization didnt happen overnight, it's been building for quite some time ...
 

erkme73

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You'll get no argument from me. That was shortly after INS changed to ICE. There was nothing taboo about calling someone a wetback or illegal. It's gone down hill from there. I remember some time after that, reading in the US Forestry newsletter - something only their employees get - that they found a pot farm in Arizona (?). They said they arrested several "displaced foreign travelers". If that wasn't a sign of things to come...

I frequent this sub-forum because I like to see what others are doing to protect themselves from the bad guys. I used to do so much more frequently when I lived near Tampa. About 18 months ago, I moved up to middle-TN where my closest neighbor is a mile away. It's 3 miles of gravel road before I get out of my neighborhood. 45 minutes (one-way) to the closest Walmart. It may be a week before I see a car come down my road. Still, I installed an LPR camera (yes, it's a sickness for me).

Point is, I see the world falling apart. I see the spineless poly-ticks that don't want to fix anything. It's a big part of why I moved away from the influence of those bad decisions. It's not perfect, but it buys me a bit more time while there rest of the world eats its own.

ETA: Here's a link to the story... it was CA, not AZ...

‘Displaced foreign traveler’ indicted for manufacture of marijuana / July 28 – August 3, 2010 / Sonoran News
 

Nitedaze

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Update: The guy pled guilty. I was told I I didn't need to be there for the plea. But the magistrate was refusing to tell me his fine or punishment. After a long conversation she said $500. The lady pled not guilty and got an attorney. When I showed up and waited the prosecutor came over to me and said her attorney asked if I would be willing to drop the charges since the guy pled guilty and I made it clear that wasn't happening.

By the time our case came up she changed her plea to guilty. The Judge let me say my piece and asked the lady why she did it. When she said she didn't know the judge suggested she take a few minutes with her attorney and discuss her answer. She came back and gave the usual could't pay bills, etc. The Judge started with a 30 day in jail, suspended, probation and fine. The Judge asked me a few more questions and when he realized it was Christmas Eve morning you could see the look on his face. He allowed me to explain how others had been victimized by her to the point the neighborhood has a nickname for her. Also that she lived in my neighborhood. I explained the reason I got the cameras is because my next door neighbor had his motorcycle rolled out of his driveway. He ended up giving her 120 jail, suspended, 1 yr probation, almost up to $1,000 fine and a restraining order to stay away from my home. He also thanked me for getting the cameras and following through.

I thought the Judge handled it well.

Thanks again to the folks on this forum that made it possible for me to pick the equipment and operate my own setup. No clouds for me. NAS and NAS backup.
 

IAmATeaf

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Good for in pursing this all the way.

Not quite the same but many years ago I used to work in Edinburgh and one night whilst eating I noticed a car purposely reverse and knock a guy over, he fell and cracked his head on the kerb. There was some sort of kerfuffle prior and the driver had no need to reverse as there was nothing in front of him. I made a note of the driver and the registration number, police arrived and took statements.

A year later I was called as a witness, so flew out to Edinburgh. Turned out that the guy driving tried to say it was his girlfriend that was driving. As I lived in London and was the main witness they were not expecting me to turn. I waited all day and in the end they changed their plea, guy admitted he was driving, I was thanked for turning up and told I could go home.
 
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