They’re at it again…

Saturday, March 31, 2007 — 1:11 am. There is a meth lab bust happening on Jesse’s run right now as we speak. Yay, but the greenshrt idiots are at it again. My son, who, granted, had no business out driving at all, was pulled over with his friends while driving down Jesse’s Run, about a half a mile from his home. Wrong place, wrong time. Great. $140 bucks to get my car out of impound, and I didn’t know he even had it out… The officers did an illegal search of the car AND passengers, with no probable cause and not a damn thing illegal about the car. Trooper Jackson made a young female passenger lift her shirt and patted her down. They invented totally bogus excuses for why they pulled him over. “Defective equipment” because the license plate light mysteriously vanished into thin air ON THE SPOT, and “left of center” for petes sake!!!! On Jesse’s Run? Oh come on now. It’s not even a two lane road! OK, so what is this all about? “WHERE’S DAVE RHODES?” That was the million dollar question. Trooper JACKSON and TROOPER FISHER proceeded to tell my son’s friends that they would DROP ALL CHARGES against my son if he would tell them “WHERE IS DAVE RHODES”. They  were harassed, cussed at, threatened. The troopers acted just like vulgur baboons. One of them asked my son “How are your balls?” or something to that effect. Oh how professional, we are all duly impressed… One girl was told BY TROOPER JACKSON that she would be arrested if she did not tell where DAVE RHODES was. Guess what? She DOESN’T EVEN KNOW Dave Rhodes, but that does not matter to them. She asked how he could arrest her because she had not done anything and was simply a passenger, and Jackson said “we could MAKE SOMETHING UP”. Yea, you heard that right. WV’s finest showing their true colors. And the kicker? I KNOW that yesterday afternoon someone called the anonymous tip hotline and TOLD the police how to find MR.RHODES. Guess they don’t check their messages often enough…

Ok, now I see how this works. They let one of the most notorious crank dealer/cooks in 3 counties loose over and over again, at least 4 times, and no matter how high the bail is, someone, somehow always manages to have the money. Who is that rich around here, anyhow? He must have some GREAT money connections! But his being on the run gives such a perfect excuse to harass innocent people. Hey, so you got a meth lab. GOOD FOR YOU. Nobody hates meth any more than I do. Maybe it’ll cut down on traffic a little. Congratulations. But must you mistreat a group of young folks who are doing basically nothing wrong, simply because they happen to come down the road? It IS a public road you know.

I would guess that you green shirts ALREADY knew where DAVE RHODES was anyhow, and were just using that as an excuse for terrorising people…

OK, so that’s what you get at 1:30 in the morning from somebody who got woke up to all this and knows perfectly well what’s goin’ on. Well, so I get to go rescue my car in the morning, IF it is even DRIVABLE after the goon squad got done tearing it apart and slamming it, and I’ll let the WORLD know if there are any damages.

CALHOUN NOT PARTICIPATING IN ‘MAKE IT SHINE’ CLEAN-UP

CALHOUN NOT PARTICIPATING IN ‘MAKE IT SHINE’ CLEAN-UP – Trash Litters Landscape

Why does it not surprise me that Calhoun County has not yet gotten on the bandwagon of trash clean-up? I have got to say the apathy in this area is astounding. Next time you drive down ANY road in this county (or the state for that matter), take a moment to really NOTICE the trash laying along the roadsides. And by the way, there is 5 times the amount laying DOWN over the bank as there is on the uphill side which is easier to see…

Many years ago, I lived on a road that led to the town dump. The litter along that road was thick from trash falling off trucks enroute. The roadsides around here look the same. It is apalling, and I can’t understand why no one does anything about it. Waiting for someone else to do it? Didn’t notice, maybe? (Better see the optomitrist then) Of course, cleaning it up is only half of the problem.

The other half is getting the litterbugs to STOP tossing. There are some real winners out there. I spent 2 weeks very noticably picking up trash along Jesses Run a few years ago, and no sooner would I get one section done than somebody would come along and start throwing trash right where I had just finished. A certain State Trooper’s wife was one of the worst…

Personally, it does not matter if Calhoun joins in some organised trash pickup or not. We as individuals can do more to accomplish cleaning up than any “organization”. I STRONGLY urge EVERYONE who lives on any one of Calhoun’s roads, either land owners or renters, to simply take responsibility for picking up the trash along your own boundaries. Perhaps take time to do some neighboring property if it is uninhabited. Believe me, if you are into recycling aluminum, at least HALF of all the trash seems to be cans. That doesn’t mean just picking up the cans and leaving the rest there. Pick up the damn trash! ALL OF IT! And figure the price of aluminum is your pay. That, and for once having roadsides that reflect the beauty of our area and not looking like one big long road to the dump. The dept of Highways will even help dispose of it!

Anyhow, take it from the authority on picking up other people’s garbage, it makes you feel better to know that at least SOMEONE cares, even if it IS yourself…

Hey, I want one of those neat “adopt a highway” signs!!!

PROSECUTOR HOUGH WANTS DEPUTY BANDY CASE DISMISSED

Flaws With State Police Evidence, Judge Evans Rules Against Dismissal

PROSECUTOR SAYS EVIDENCE “MISSING” OR SOLD, CHAIN OF CUSTODY PROBLEMS

(03/23/2007)

By Bob Weaver

A special prosecutor asked Judge Thomas Evans III to dismiss an indictment against former Calhoun Chief Deputy Ron Bandy, during a hearing today in Grantsville.

Judges Evans denied the request, although Hough said there are major problems with the State Police’s case.

At least seven counts was brought against Bandy and his girlfriend, April McCroskey, after they allegedly removed guns and other items from the residence of an elderly Big Springs couple who had been placed in a nursing home.

Hough told Evans the case should be dismissed because the WV State Police could not provide recordings of witness testimony. Those recordings were allegedly taken early in the case by Cpl. Doug Starcher, before a State Police officer from Charleston assumed the lead.

“The tapes have not been made available to parties regarding discovery,” said Hough.

There was no information to what the problem was with the “missing” tapes.

Evans advised Hough that “I’ll order the State Police to provide the witness recordings,” after which Hough indicated there are other problems with the evidence, saying “The evidence may not reach the threshold to continue with the trial.”

Hough then told the court there are problems with the chain of custody of evidence items.

The timing couldn’t be worse for local State Police, after evidence was lost in the John M. Richards meth lab case, with Grantsville troopers, past and present, reportedly being given lie detector tests over problems within the agency.

“I will not be able to prove the case,” Hough said, indicating there are also problems related to evidence being sold.

Evans asked “You cannot prove your case?” after which prosecutor Hough and defense attorney John R. Teare asked Evans to agree to a pre-trial diversion, a legal device which would essentially put an end to the case. After one year, if nothing new surfaced, the case against Bandy would be dropped.

Evans declined to allow the prosecutor and defense attorney to discuss the issue in chambers.

“Many issues are raised by this problem,” saying the case involves two officials, a deputy sheriff and an Adult Protective worker. “A judge must consider the public’s interest and the public’s confidence,” Evans said.

Attorney Teare said the state’s difficulties are outlined in his motion to dismiss.

Discussing points of law, prosecutor Hough said a prosecutor may enter into pre-trial diversion, but Evans contended the decision likely rests with him.

Evans said “I have no idea what the evidence is,” saying to grant dismissal is a constitutional question, an issue that is “muddy.”

Evans concluded that “You’re wanting me to accept this dismissal, when there are very, very serious issues.”

He then ruled the case would go to trial on April 3, but parties could present briefs regarding the matter before that date for his consideration.

Bandy’s attorney Teare made a motion to dismiss the case in January, saying “The charges were not brought in good faith,” indicating problems with the evidence.

State Police in Calhoun have had a number of evidence problems related to high-profile cases.

Calhoun prosecutor Matt Minney removed himself from the case early on because Bandy was a county employee.

*****************************************************

Am I dreaming, or does this say there is a possibility that SOMEONE from the State Police may have SOLD evidence? Isn’t that called STEALING? Could this be anywhere near the final nail in the coffin of the Calhoun County State Police?

Judge Evans, he’s the one who went up against Chesepeake Energy and won… Perhaps he is just the man for the job of finally bringing to light what has been going on around here for a long time.

Most people are unaware of the unprofessionalism and corruption which go on at any given time, but perhaps this is about to end. The antics of the State Police and the court system are in the news and in the public eye now, for all to see. This makes you wonder just how many other people’s lives have been seriously affected by these kinds of actions over the years. I am sure there are many that never make it to the news… There are plenty of ordinary citizens with stories to tell, and perhaps it will be sooner than later, the way it’s going. But all personal grievances aside, at bare minimum, these issues certainly have a negative impact on the confidence level of the citizens in this county for those who are expected to “protect and serve”.

Yes, the Calhoun County State Police are in the spotlight once again.

LOCKIN’EM UP! – WV Leading The Nation

“Lockin’em up”

Lowest crime rate – highest lock-up rate. It’s plain to see what the trouble is. If you hire 5 people to look for problems you will have 5 people finding a bunch of problems. If you hire 10 people to find problems, amazingly enough, twice as many problems will be found. The day your employees stop finding problems is the day they are no longer needed. The police in WV MUST find crime to fight or they would lose their jobs. It follows that if there were fewer police, in statistical terms, the crime rate would go down. More police means more arrests=higher crime rate. Less police means less arrests=lower crime rate. This is VERY SIMPLE MATH, and it’s all relative anyhow.

Obviously, the rural counties of WV simply have too many police.

How did that happen?
The history of the WV State police is pretty interesting. They were formed right after WW1. WV was one of the first 4 states to form a State Police organization. It was felt that West Virginians were particularly violent and socially unacceptable folk. There were labor wars going on, coal miners wars, feuds, and all the rest. The WV State Police were spawned by fear of the population and formed with the creative use of lies and propaganda. Altho most citizens opposed the formation of a State authority, the governor at the time was determined to get what he wanted, no matter what. They formed the State Police to take the place of the National Guard and the militias, with their duties generally being MILITARY in nature. (They even started out wearing WW1 uniforms) The fear of communism was a starting point…

In due time there was quite a large number of State Police and with the labor wars under control, they needed to find something else for them to do. The roads were getting better, so they were mostly used as highway patrol for a long time. Years went by, and they found that no matter how many State Police were patrolling the highways, the accident and highway death rates did not improve, so they simply hired more. Which did not help still. So they started giving them more power and more jobs to do. It seems that many times local police “would not” enforce unpopular laws and of course us violent and ignorant West Virginians MUST be controlled…

Well, there are no longer any wars going on among the citizens. The highway accident rate only improved when they lowered the speed limit. The State Police have been given too much power for their necessity. They are a monster that was created to control the violent masses  and their time for usefullness in such matters is over. It’s far past time to begin reducing numbers to a more reasonable level.

Of course too many police is only one aspect of the problem. WV actually has fewer police per capita than alot of states, due to it being such a rural area. Epidemic inhumanity, corruption, and lack of compassion by prosecuting attorneys and judges who insist on doing everything “by the book” and not making allowances for the individuality of each case, refusal to take responsibility for mistakes, coupled with the fact that the citizens of this state tend to be particularly poor which makes it very difficult for many “offenders” to make bail, and WV having one of the WORST systems for handling MENTAL ILLNESS and DRUG ADDICTION, makes WV truely a “jailbird state”. These issues MUST be delt with or the entire state will not only go bankrupt from trying to keep so many people locked up, but anyone thinking about moving here or coming here for a vacation would probably think twice due to our reputation of locking everyone up.

What can be done? Not much, as I am convinced that IDIOTS and criminals are running the show. That is the only logical explaination…

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