Statement from Watauga County Sheriff's Office on LOD of Sgt. Chris Ward and Deputy Logan Fox

A standoff between law enforcement and an individual at 553 Hardaman Circle in Boone, North Carolina ended shortly before 11pm on April 28.

On April 28 at 9:44am, Watauga County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call for a welfare check at the home when the homeowner’s employer called to report the homeowner did not report to work or respond to telephone calls.

Deputies entered the residence after discovering all vehicles belonging to the residents were on the property. Upon entering the home, two Watauga County Sheriff’s deputies received gunshot wounds from an unknown individual within the residence.

K-9 Deputy Logan Fox died at the scene. Sgt. Chris Ward died after being flown to Johnson City Medical Center for treatment.

The individual suspected of killing the two officers is also suspected of killing two civilians in the residence. The names of the civilians are not being released at this time.

During an initial rescue attempt of the WCSO officers, a Boone Police officer was hit by gunfire, but was uninjured due to his protective equipment.

“This is an incredibly tragic situation and our thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved as well as their families and our community,” said Watauga County Sheriff Len Hagaman in a statement on Aug. 28. “I greatly appreciate the tremendous support we are receiving from law enforcement agencies across the region and the state.”

Law enforcement agencies supporting the Watauga County Sheriff’s Department at the scene included: Appalachian State University’s Police, Avery County Sheriff’s Office, Beech Mountain Police, Blowing Rock Police, Boone Police, Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office, Henderson County Sheriff’s Office, Hickory Police, Morganton Public Safety, North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement, North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, North Carolina State Highway Patrol, Transylvania County Sheriff’s Office, West Jefferson Police and Wilkes County Sheriff’s Office.

The investigation is ongoing, and is being led by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.

 

Cedar's Take:

Again I make an appeal to main stream media to never mention the shooter by name.

The notoriety that a violent act provides a shooter is often their only twisted justification - without this incentive, maybe the next shooter will know there is no blaze of glory. Only Anonymous Shame.

Nautykah Samone BoldenI-77 Road Rager Gets 14 months

A Charlotte woman has been sentenced to prison after pleading guilty in a road rage shooting in Fort Mill. 

Nautykah Samone Bolden, 23, pleaded guilty in York County criminal court to felony discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle, according to court records and Leslie Robinson, 16th Circuit assistant solicitor. No one was wounded in the incident.

Bolden was sentenced by visiting S.C. Circuit Court Judge Brian Gibbons to 14 months in the South Carolina Department of Corrections, records show.

Bolen was sentenced under the state’s youthful offender act, which is applicable for defendants under age 25 who have no previous criminal record, Robinson said.

The crime happened around 11 a.m. on Nov. 9, 2020, on an exit ramp of Interstate 77 at S.C. 160.

The victim, a North Carolina woman driving a work van, was not hit by the bullet, said Robinson and Fort Mill Police Department detectives. The victim took cellphone video of Bolden’s vehicle.

The bullet passed behind the driver’s seat and embedded in the passenger door, police said.

“The defendant’s actions were extremely dangerous,” Robinson said after court.

Bolden fled the scene after firing at the victim and later changed the car license plate, Robinson said.

Bolden turned herself in to Fort Mill police nine days after the shooting on charges of attempted murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. She was later released on $60,000 bail before pleading guilty Monday.

The attempted murder and weapons charges were dismissed as part of a negotiated plea agreement with Bolden, Robinson said.

Bolden’s lawyer, Montrio Belton, said after court that Bolden understands her actions were wrong.

“The bottom line is a 23-year-old woman with no criminal record made a very bad decision,” Belton said. “The court took all those factors into consideration and she was sentenced appropriately.”

Under South Carolina’s youthful offender laws, Bolden can petition the court after five years if she has no other convictions to seek to have her record cleared, Belton said.

Prior Coverage:

A Charlotte woman has been arrested and charged with firing a shot at another car in what police describe as a road rage incident.

Nautykah Samone Bolden, 23, turned herself in Tuesday eight days after the shooting happened on Nov. 9, said Maj. Bryan Zachary of the Fort Mill Police Department.

The victim, a North Carolina woman driving a work van, was not hit by the bullet, police said. The victim took cellphone video of the car and suspect, Zachary said.

Bolden is charged with attempted murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, according to police and court documents. She was given a $60,000 bond at a hearing in Fort Mill court, records show.

Local Paper Sometimes the customer is not right.’ Cops rip CMPD’s customer-service training plan

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police on Tuesday sent a message to their bosses: When it comes to police work, sometimes the customer is not always right.

In a statement Tuesday, "the union" representing local officers pushed back on a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department decision to hire a customer-service consultant to improve interactions with the public.

Cedar's Take:

Lets stop right here. We all recognize that the media has become such a pile of Bull Shit and Fake News but come on - CMPD Officers are not represented by a Union. Full Stop!

And what is up with the Andrew "George Floyd" Brown, Jr. photo? What does that have to do with CMPD? 

Even Joe Bruno who is normally a pretty smart guy jumped into the stupid boat.

CMPD Officers are not NOT Unionized which is why they have to put up with endless BS like "customer appreciation training".

Chief Johnny Jennings told the Observer in an interview last week that CMPD would pay The DiJulius Group $60,000 to help his department address a nationwide loss of public trust.

Company founder John DiJulius said in a statement Friday that he was excited to be part of Jennings’ “incredible vision at revolutionizing policing.”

However, some of the officers who will be trained late summer in the techniques of the company’s “customer-service revolution” sounded a far different note Tuesday.

In its statement, the local chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police said Jennings and CMPD are wasting money that would be better spent on officer morale, retention and hiring, and other pressing internal issues.

“Furthermore, the DiJulius Group, while a company with substantial experience, has never worked with a police department. We fear they will make changes that are not concurrent with the law, putting officers and the community at risk,” the statement said.
“... Unfortunately, cordial engagement during an arrest is not likely to be reciprocated. When it comes to compliance with the law, the ‘customer’ is not always right.”

In response, police spokesman Rob Tufano said in an email to the Observer that CMPD’s development of a “world-class customer service approach to policing” will benefit both the community and “every member of the department.”

FOP members will help develop the training curriculum, which will be taught solely by CMPD officers, Tufano said.

Charlotte chief says trust in police is the worst he’s ever seen. But he has a plan.

Police accountability

The public rift between Jennings and his rank and file comes as the country continues to debate how police officers use deadly force, particularly against minority communities.

Last Wednesday, a former Minneapolis police officer was convicted of murder in the killing of George Floyd, whose death in May set off angry but mostly peaceful protests in Charlotte and around the country.

Within hours of that verdict, the attention of North Carolina and much of the nation had swiveled east to Elizabeth City, where officers fatally shot Andrew Brown during the serving of a warrant. Witnesses said Brown was unarmed at the time and attempting to leave the scene in his car.

Autopsy shows ‘kill shot’ to Brown, attorney says. Ministers declare ‘moral emergency.’

On Friday, a new Washington Post-ABC poll found that 6 in 10 Americans say the country should do more to hold police accountable for mistreating Black people, despite how those measures interfere with how officers do their jobs.

The level of concern represents a slight drop from the height of the Floyd protests last summer. But it remains at its highest level since 1988, The Post reported.

“All you have to do is turn on the TV or read the newspaper,” Jennings said in his Observer interview Thursday. “Trust is at a very low level, the lowest I’ve seen in my 29-year career.”

According to the FOP statement, public trust is only one of the issues now facing North Carolina’s largest law enforcement agency, and that the money earmarked for customer training should be spent on internal needs such as morale, retention and officer health and safety.

In the last months, according to the statement, 26 officers have voluntarily resigned

“At this rate, CMPD is losing more officers than it can replace and its ability to respond to emergencies suffers as a result. Retaining talented officers within the department is just as important as providing training when it comes to achieving positive outcomes in our community.”

Prominent Charlotte attorney George Laughrun, who frequently represents police in criminal and internal matters, said the low morale at CMPD may be affecting police work.

“I can’t tell you when’s the last time Charlotte had a DUI stop. People sure haven’t stopped drinking,” said Laughrun, who has practiced law in Charlotte for 40 years. “There’s not a whole lot of proactive police work going on right now. And the bad guys know what’s going on. “

On its website the local Fraternal Order of Police chapter says it represents more than 2,000 municipal, state and federal law enforcement officers around Mecklenburg County.

Feds Move To Shut Down Several Drug Markets

Friday night a local Charlotte television station aired a 1/2 baked story about a West Blvd mini strip mall that has been an open air drug market for years. 

According to the sparse on facts story, in rare cases the US District Attorney's Office can move to seize property if they can prove it is a danger to the public.

"The crime and violence at a small west Charlotte strip mall are a danger to anyone in the area, federal prosecutors said." 

According to the television station: "Buses and children inside vehicles have been shot at the intersection of West Boulevard and Remount Road."

In the federal filing prosecutors laid out their case: “Few properties in the Charlotte area have had a greater history or volume of drug-related crime and violence than the West Boulevard property,” according to a federal filing. “And we have seen it for ourselves.” 

West Blvd and Remount Road

The property that is apparently under threat of seizure is 1533 West Blvd aka County Tax Parcels 11903341 and 11903340 owned by West Blvd Shop Inc, which according to the North Carolina Sectary of States office is operated by Abdoulkader L. Bouche.

Bouche is a ghost and the company West Blvd Shop Inc. owes Mecklenburg County four years of property taxes totalling more than $21,000.00, but surprisingly the company is listed as active with the North Carolina Sectary of State's office despite being habitually late with annual filings and being administratively dissolved several times over the past ten years.

Bouche has neither an address in Charlotte or elsewhere that CP could find.

Yet 1533 West Blvd isn't the only "Open Air Drug Market" locations on Beatties Ford and The Plaza are also targets for the Feds. 

After the 2019 double homicide on Lytham Drive in South Charlotte the Feda seized the home and it has since been auctioned off to new owners who have promised to clean up the mess.  

CMPD's  Crime Reduction Unit has been focused on the shopping center for the past three years. 

 

Business owners said that they were frustrated too. “Simply put, the property serves as an open-air drug market,” one shop owner is quoted as saying according to the federal complaint. 

There have been 14 shootings at the shopping center in the last four years. Innocent bystanders’ cars, including those with children, have been shot into and even a city bus has been hit,” the complaint states. 

Cedar's Take: Foreign nationals and immigrants both Asian and Middle Eastern own a ton of Charlotte's real estate, particularly property in less desirable areas. 

Unfortunately, they are often absentee owners or shell companies who are buying property in cash derived from sources, often illegal, from outside the United States.

They seldom have a grasp of basic business practices and often are buying property with pre-existing issues at inflated values, but because it is cash the money flow is hard to track.

Those who buy property are often doing so without a survey, environmental review or any regard for zoning or permitting.

According to a Meck County source nearly 23% of all 2020 taxes are still due and much of that is attributable to Asian and Middle Eastern owners. 100s of these owners owe multiple years of property taxes. 

Added to their nearly cash only sales they are the perfect conduit for drug money and funding of terrorist organizations world wide.

Apparently G's Food Mart fits the profile as well. Hat Tip to the CP follower who sent this photo ("you have the right to remain silent, as if they ever do") of a couple of guys doing nuttin.

In fairness this looks like community policing. 

One Man Killed Two Others Seriously Injured By Uninsured Motorist

Source Local News: A man was killed and two other pedestrians were struck while trying to help with a disabled vehicle in east Charlotte Saturday.

The crash occurred just after 9 p.m. near the intersection of Eastway Drive and East Sugar Creek Road. When officers got to the scene, they found three pedestrians, a 1997 Dodge Caravan and a 2006 Mercedes-Benz S500 which had been involved in crash.

Adrian Perez, 69, one of the three pedestrians struck, was pronounced dead at the scene. MEDIC transported the other two pedestrians to the hospital to be treated for serious injuries. Their names and conditions have not been released.

Investigators say they believe the Dodge Caravan, which was being driven by Perez, had become disabled in the roadway. The two other pedestrians then joined him in an attempt to assist with the disabled van.

The Mercedes-Benz, which was travelling north on Eastway Drive, struck all three pedestrians, who were standing at the rear of the van, before striking the vehicle.

The driver of the Mercedes-Benz, Antonio Rayvon Garriett, 51, was determined not to be impaired, and detectives’ preliminary investigation indicates speed was not a contributing factor to the crash.

Garriett was charged with driving while license revoked, failure to register a motor vehicle and no liability insurance.

Anyone who witnessed the crash or has information about the case is urged to call Detective Crum at 704-432-2169, extension 4. The public can also leave information anonymously with Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600 or http://charlottecrimestoppers.com

Cedar's Take:

Revoked License, No Registration and No Insurance. Surprised? You shouldn't be, because CMPD and the NC Highway Patrol have all but given up on stopping drivers for non-moving violations like expired tags. 

Thousands of cars populate our area streets, interstates and roads that don't have current tags and more than likely don't have insurance and likely have not paid any property tax.

But in an effort to treat citizens as "customers" and apparently for fear of offending Black and brown as well as indigenous people CMPD's chief and DA apparently says it ain't no big deal if your car shouldn't be on the road or you shouldn't be driving.

All good until you have to explain to Mr. Garriett's family the driver didn't have the required minimum insurance and funeral costs are all on them.  

Just life in a liberal city. 

Nextdoor Social Network Users Are Racist?

According to the Antifa BLM supporting news blog VICE "The neighborhood watch-esque social network Nextdoor announced it is adding an "anti-racism notification" after years of criticism that it breeds racism." 

On Monday, Nextdoor announced that it is introducing a new "anti-racism" notification that will prompt users to consider editing comments that could be offensive before posting.

“The new anti-racism notification detects certain phrases such as “All Lives Matter” or “Blue Lives Matter,” and prompts the author to consider editing their post or comment before it goes live" the Nextdoor blog post reads. "The anti-racism notification does not prevent a neighbor from publishing, but aims to make people aware of language that may violate our policy against discrimination and the harm that can be caused by the use of these phrases."

The feature builds on a “Kindness Reminder” that Nextdoor implemented in 2019, and extends it to racist language specifically. This change acknowledges years of criticism that Nextdoor is a breeding ground for racism.

Moderators on Nextdoor are algorithmically-selected power users called “neighborhood leads” who then choose other leads to work with, which can reinforce existing dynamics in a neighborhood. 

At one point, moderators were found to regularly remove posts expressing any type of support for Black Lives Matter protests and going so far as to disable or ban accounts of users doing so. The problem of racism on Nextdoor got so bad that a meme account called BestofNextdoor, which raised awareness of the issue on the platform, started a petition calling for anti-racism training for neighborhood leads.

Another example: Andrea Cervone, a Clarkston, Georgia resident and former city council member who helped organize the BestofNextDoor petition, scrubbed the platform as part of her research for an op-ed on "public participation in cities." She previously told VICE that despite Clarkston being 80 percent non-white and 86 percent of housing inventory being rentals, "the majority of Nextdoor homeowners were white homeowners, and all the neighborhood leads were white, too."

Surveillance platforms like Nextdoor, but also Amazon's Neighbors, tap into the racialized paranoia that pervades the suburbs and end up turning everyone into a cop of sorts. A social network that combines the worst parts of a neighborhood watch and a cliquey message board can add as many anti-racist notifications as it wants, but that doesn’t address fundamental issues around who has power and how they wield it.

Cedar's Take:

Nextdoor is a sad joke and is hardly pro LE. In fact any mention of pro-blue or an anti crime post is typically removed just after reaching top post status. 

If you really want to feel the wrath of your neighbors just post a "Need to rehome a puppy because it pees on everything" and watch the gates of hell open up!

So many users are pro homeless and live in a bubble that is all rainbows and unicorns.

CP's post last summer about how Lancaster Sheriffs Office caught two Charlotte Thugs zoomed to number one within three hours only to be deleted.  

Describe a suspected car thief as "Black Male" and the post is typically deleted within a few hours.

The anti police site nannies are over barring and CP has since removed all posts and comments. But just for fun we will post a mugshot and BOLO just to see how long before its removed. 

Mallory Hood 11 Years Later is Still In Prison

Few things trouble CP as much as judges who hand out sentences that are nothing more than a slap on the wrist. 

Gang Bangers, Hood Rats, Thugs, Child Abusers, Violent felons who see little or no jail time despite a dozen or more priors. 

And then there's the other side of the page where felons like Mallory Hood are given sentences that are so far out of the norm that it surprises most that they are still in prison.

Mallory Hood was sentenced to 18 years in 2010 for Felony DWI resulting in death, she began her sentence on April 23, 2010, 11 years ago today. She remains behind bars.

Mallory's projected release date is November 18, 2023. 

CP originally noted the harsh sentence in 2010 in the post titled Mallory Hood is Sentenced to 18 Years Proving South Carolina Courts are Out of Control which is here: Cedar Posts and Barbed Wire Fences: Mallory Hood is Sentenced to 18 Years Proving South Carolina Courts are Out of Control

Ma'Khia Bryant How Convenient For BLM Wacktivists

President Joe "Half Staff" Biden has continued to push the narrative of “systemic racism” against Black Americans when it comes to police shootings in the aftermath of the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.

But Chauvin's conduct is an outlier, not the norm. It isn't just the data that demonstrates this. The very examples that activists like Bree Newsome choose to highlight undercut their own assertion that racism is an inescapable, ubiquitous part of American life.

The latest example of how shaky the "systemic racism" narrative really is comes from liberal media outlets such as NPR and the New York Times. Short on good, clear examples of unjustifiable brutality, they are now trying to tie the clearly justified police shooting of Super Heifer 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant to George Floyd’s death after Chauvin’s trial.

Body camera footage shows Bryant ignoring officer commands and charging at another woman with a knife. She clearly wasn't just having a little ole common knife fight as Newsome claimed. This 200 pound beast was about to "gut" the other girl like a five pound trout. 

At that point, the officer shoots her four times. Despite what appears to be a clearly justifiable use of force to protect another person's life (a black person's life, in fact), the White House still tried to tie the incident to "systemic racism."

Another with 1/2 a brain can see that the girl in pink is about to take a full on gutting which would more than likely be fatal 

This is typical.  Even our CMPD Chief adds fuel to the never ending "racist fire" that BLM needs to keep the cash flowing.

Yet the examples that activists and their media and political allies cite persistently undercut the idea of systemic racism. To this day, the police shooting of Michael "hands up don't shoot" Brown continues to be cited as an example of racism. But Brown was shot in self-defense by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, after Brown attacked the officer and reached for the officer’s gun. 

Jacob Blake, whose case is also cited, was a domestic abuser and an accused sex predator armed with a knife. He ignored police instructions when they confronted him over his violating a restraining order taken out by the woman he had abused.

If the activists' inability to find convincing anecdotes doesn't convince you that "systemic racism" is a bogeyman, then consider the data. Of the roughly 330 million people living in the United States, 1,021 were shot and killed by police officers in 2020, according to the Washington Post police shooting database. Of that number, only 55 were unarmed. Of those 55, 18 were black.

Even those 18 are not clear-cut cases. Fred Brown, for example, was shot after he tried to choke one police officer in a confrontation that occurred because his girlfriend reported him for assault. 

An officer killed Kurt Reinhold after he got into an altercation with police officers and tried to grab one of their guns. 

In other cases, such as the shooting death of William Green, the officer was at least charged with murder, so (as in Chauvin's case) it cannot be said that such behavior goes unpunished.

The idea that police officers are gunning down black Americans across the country is complete nonsense. The numbers don’t bear it out, and even the high-profile examples that are cited, from Brown to Blake to Bryant, make it clear that those pushing the narrative can’t back it up.

Even the narrative that the rate of OIS involving Black Americans is disproportionally high totally discounts the clear facts that Black Americans for whatever reason have more frequent interactions with Police.

There may be other issues in policing, but that’s not what Biden or Black Lives Matter supporters are focused on. They are claiming that police officers are, by the nature of their job, racist, and that they are killing unarmed Black Americans with impunity. 

The claim is both ridiculous and false and not at all based on fact.

Mid Week Odds and Ends

Charlotte's Body Count now stands at 29. 

The latest victim Harry Marquis Brown was 28 years old when he was found by CMPD Officers. The shooting just north of Uptown Charlotte Tuesday night. According to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police, the shooting happened in the 1000 block of McArthur Avenue a little after 9 p.m. When officers arrived at the scene, they found a man who had been shot. The victim, was taken to Atrium CMC Main where he was pronounced dead. 

Road Rage Over Load

CMPD says "As more COVID-19 restrictions are eased, more people are back on the roads." This has led to a large increase in road rage incidents.

In fact CMPD reports more than 40 road rage incidents have been reported so far in 2021 and that 20 of those cases have resulted in guns being drawn. 

"So far, there have been 10 arrests made in reported road rage incidents. These incidents stem from aggressive driving, perceived aggressive driving and traffic accidents. "  CMPD said in a tweet this morning.

CMPD also adds: 

Here are some tips to avoid violent road rage incidents: 

1. Don’t tailgate 

2. Lay off the horn 

3. Do not confront another driver 

4. If someone is driving slowly, keep in mind they might be lost 

5. Use hand gestures wisely. Keep gestures positive. 

If you are involved in a road rage incident of any kind, call 9-1-1 immediately. Give us the opportunity to respond and manage the situation for the safety of everyone. 

Cedar's Take: The rapid increase in "road rage" around Charlotte is directly linked to a lack of enforcement. CMPD and the North Carolina Highway Patrol are spread too thin to combat aggressive and reckless driving. Roads in Charlotte are dangerous at all hours late night driving on 485 is like being an unpaid extra on the set of Fast and Furious.

Meck County Sheriff's Office is working 485 as resources permit, but deputies aren't likely to pull anyone unless they are doing more than 16 miles an hour over the posted speed limit.

Keep in mind that Yankee transplants they have no idea where they are going so they drive like idiots. The longer they are lost the more they curse slow driving Southerners jam on the brakes and lay on the horn to vent their frustration. 

Southerners know the Queens Road and Sharon Road setup. They understand that no two interstate area interchanges are alike and some you can get off at and can't get back on except in the opposite direction. 

We all know the story of the Yankee lost on Queens Road for 3 days. It is true that he thought if he just kept turning right he'd find another road. Then he got on Sharon. 2 days later he thought he'd found his way home and called his wife to say he was on Woodlawn, but the road names changed so fast that he gave up when he saw he was on Eastway and just drove back to New York.

Charloot's Death Toll 2021:

Above are just some of the victims of gun violence so far this year. 

Cedar's Take:

It may seem that CP is rather unkind and we may seem uncaring. Frankly the death toll is unacceptable. The blame is squarely on the courts. liberal judges and soft on crime DA as well as Charloot's far left politicians like Vi Lyes who accept this gun violence as the new normal.

The truth is 2/3 of those pictured above have been in jail over the last three years. Nearly all of those arrested for these murders have prior arrests most for violent crimes many using weapons.

In other words most of these people would still be alive today if our elected and appointed  judges and politicians would stop being soft on crime. 

The running list is here. 

Pledge Fund - Just FYI If you are not on the class action list regarding the pledge fund you should be. 

 

Charlotte's Only White Homicide Victim Walt Livingston Gunned Down on Washburn Avenue

CMPD Blue and White SUVs are parked along the street and Yellow Crime Scene Tape is fluttering in the spring breeze as detectives and CSI techs swarm the scene. Typical for Charlotte and Mecklenburg County in the age of our Democrat run city/county governments.

It is business as usual with CMPD conducting a new homicide investigation, the 26th of the year after a man died during an apparent robbery attempt and shooting just after 6:30 p.m. on Good Friday.

Responding CMPD officers have found 35-year-old Walter Livingston suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. Paramedics with Medic have responded and pronounced him dead.

Walter "Walt" Livingston

Routine is a word that Officers have become familiar with.

But what makes this homicide not so routine is the victim is a white male.

Walter "Walt" Livingston was found in front of an apartment on Washburn Avenue, just around the corner from Bojangles Coliseum wedged between Monroe road and Independence Blvd.

The 35 year old was born January 14, 1986 in Moore County, North Carolina. He was a 2004 graduate of Hunt High School in Wilson, and a graduate of Appalachian State University.

His 2016 arrest for larceny is his only apparent criminal record.

Yet his story ends there. 

There will be no CMPD presser asking for leads in the case or community outrage when a week later a 16 year-old  juvenile is charged with the murder of Walt Livingston.

The teenager's name will be withheld due to being a juvenile, as will most the of facts of the case. 

Arrests Made In Charloot Trans Murders - False Flags Everywhere

From the local news:

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police announced the arrest of two individuals in the homicides of two transgender men who were shot to death in hotel rooms less than two weeks apart.

Dontarius Long and Joel Brewer were arrested in Union County April 16, CMPD announced in a press conference later that same day.

Both men have been charged with murder, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, robbery with a dangerous weapon, and conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon.

Multiple agencies worked together in the arrests, including CMPD, the FBI, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, the Union County Sheriff’s Office and Marshville Police Department.

Officers say no other individuals are believed to have been involved, and have not yet said if this is a hate crime.

The first homicide happened at the Quality Inn off Queen City Drive on April 4. The woman in this case was identified as 29-year-old Jaida Peterson.

The second was reported April 15 at the Sleep Inn on North Tryon Street. Police identified the woman as 28-year-old Remy Fennell.

Both victims were identified as sex workers.

“This is a pandemic in our community. This trans individuals are somebody’s children, grandchild. We should care that they’re being wiped out,” said Jermaine Nakia Lee, program director for State of Emergency.

“Certainly not taking it lightly, the first priority in our minds is to get the word out and ensure everybody in the community, in particular trans women, are staying vigilant and hyper aware and safe tonight and the nights to come,” added Matt Comer, communications director for Charlotte Pride.

According to the Human Rights Campaign, in 2020, the majority of transgender or gender non-conforming deaths were Black and LatinX transgender women.

The lack of acceptance and little to no job opportunities makes them vulnerable, says Jermaine Nakia Lee.

Sex work is often the next choice.

“People have to eat, people have to make a living. Sex work is illegal in North Carolina, but it is a way of life for people who can’t find a solid position in society,” said Jermaine Nakia Lee.

As police continue their investigations, there is hope society can turn to one of acceptance.

“If you’re allies, have this conversation outside your LGBTQ circle. Let people in your own communities know because this violence and danger is not going to end if this conversation only stays within trans or LGBTQ circles,” added Comer.

Anyone with information are urged to come forward and can call 704-432-TIPS and speak directly to a Homicide Unit detective, or leave information anonymously at 704-334-1600 or charlottecrimestoppers.com.

Officers are encouraging sex workers, and especially those in the LGBTQ community, to continue to be careful.

“You gotta know who it is that you’re engaging with, especially now,” said Tufano. “This is a very vulnerable time until this person, or people, are brought in apprehended.

Cedar's Take:

The alarmist crowd quickly ran to the hate crime flags offered by CMPD. "White Supremist Racist Transphobic Killer on the loose" might as well had been the led in the Charlotte Observer. 

The reality may be that Rob Tufano's presser was nothing more that an elaborate show to draw the killers out. With wide coverage looking for suspected racists, the two killers who not surprisingly are black, apparently felt safe enough to return to the streets.

No doubt CMPD detectives knew exactly who they were looking for, and the serial killer angle was just the right spin to flush a couple of total dim bulbs out of their holes. 

But why a couple of Trany freaks from Charlotte? Maybe just easy prey known to have cash.

Maybe they figured they would not be missed.

And what about CMPD's sudden over the top tolerance of prostitution? Err "sex-work" never mind that crime, drugs and sex work bring on crime.

Welcome to Woke Charloot!

No Country For Old Men Carolina Style

Look in any direction and you can see that Charlotte's drug and crime problem has expanded to neighboring counties. Our swiss cheese southern border and Joe Biden's idiot immigration polices have made I-85 and I-40 a continuous conduit of cocaine, fentanyl and marijuana. Along with the drugs comes easy money violence and murder.

One example was detailed by a local Charlotte television station:

ALAMANCE COUNTY, N.C. — A popular Union County teacher and coach was killed in a shootout last week with a Mexican drug cartel, according to the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office.

Barney Harris was the basketball coach at Union Academy in Monroe where he was well-loved and respected, but Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson said there was another side to Harris that most people didn’t see -- one that was involved in the dangerous and deadly drug world.

It has been learned Harris and his brother-in-law, Steven Alexander Stewart, went to a mobile home park on Wyatt Road in Green Level, North Carolina in the early morning hours of April 8 to steal money and drugs from the Sinaloa New Generation Cartel’s stash house.

Johnson said the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office was flooded with calls just after 12:50 a.m. in reference to reports of gunshots being heard at the mobile home park.

When they got there, deputies said they found Harris in a bedroom with several gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators said 18-year-old Alonso Beltran Lara, who was a member of the cartel, was also found with gunshot wounds. Deputies said his feet were bound and his arms were tied behind his back. He was taken to a hospital where he later died.

Detectives said Harris and Stewart broke into a trailer and Lara showed up while they were inside. Deputies said the men questioned Lara about the stash and when he didn’t give them the answers they wanted, they shot him in the head.

“And they were trying to find the money and drugs and apparently he didn’t give them the information to do that and he was technically close range, two bullets to the back of the head, he was executed,” Johnson said.

Johnson said after the pair killed Lara, other members of the cartel showed up and Harris was killed in the gun fight that followed.

According to Johnson, dozens of bullet casings were found at the scene. Some pierced through other trailers in the community, but no other injuries were reported.

“The trailers that were shot up, it looked like an old Western shootout, that’s what it looked like,” Johnson said.

The sheriff said Harris was wearing a bulletproof vest but that it was no match for the high-caliber firepower of the cartel’s guns.

“Mr. Harris, he had a bulletproof vest on, but it did not work with the kind of ammunition that was used,” Johnson said. “He had gloves on, and he, they went there to do what was done except they did not think it was going to backfire on them.”

Detectives believe Harris and Stewart had been using electronic trackers to follow members of the cartel before the shootout.

Johnson said Stewart, who is from Wadesboro, survived the shooting and was arrested on Sunday. He has been charged with first-degree burglary, first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a felon.

Harris was hired by Union Academy Charter School in July 2017 as a high school Spanish teacher and served as the head coach for the varsity men’s basketball team and varsity men’s track team.

“It’s just hard to understand,” Johnson said. “The fact that someone like Mr. Harris, who apparently had a pretty good life as a teacher and a coach, wound up in this type of crime.”

Johnson said he is concerned that the shootout could lead to a drug war with the cartel seeking revenge against Harris’ loved ones.

“I’ll tell you right now, as sheriff, I’m still worried about some retaliation because Mexican cartels -- they don’t forget. They’re going to pay someone back somewhere,” he said.

Deputies said they found about two pounds of cocaine in the trailer along with $7,000.

Alonso Beltran Lara (Deceased) and Juan Daniel Salinas Lara

Juan Daniel Salinas Lara is wanted in reference to this crime and has active warrants for trafficking cocaine.

Anyone with any information is asked to call the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office at 336-570-6300 to speak with a member of the Criminal Investigation Division or report anonymously by calling Alamance County Crime Stoppers at 336-229-7100.

More: 

The DEA has called Atlanta the cartel’s hub, connecting to secondary hubs in Charlotte, Raleigh and then the coast. Since Feb. 19, the Alamance County has seized 129 kilos of Cocaine and $2 million in cash

Social Media saw many comments on this story:

“He was such a good person from what I saw”

“He was such a good person from what I saw -- he was a good teacher”

“We feel sad because every morning we saw him when I arrived and dropped off my children"

The family said most of all, they’re thinking of the people most affected by his death.

“We feel sad for his family” 

Union Academy released a statement that read, in part: “The Union Academy family was shocked and devastated to hear the information and will continue to focus on supporting our students and families.”

Why Spencer Merriweather Fails Us

In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate, yet equally important, groups: the police, who investigate crime; and the district attorney blah blah blah .....

 

 

Tell that to last week's road rage victim who was laid out on the pavement by Demont Forte after he rammed her car on I-85 and followed her onto Beatties Ford Road. 

Forte, the suspect in that attack is so well known to CMPD that they wasted no time in locating and arresting him. 

The CMPD police report indicates that the incident happened around 1 p.m. on Wednesday, April 7. The video shows the assault victim driving a silver vehicle down I-85 with a white car following close behind. Both drivers weave in and out of traffic before exiting the highway.

The drivers then pull off into an Exxon gas station parking lot at 2519 Beatties Ford Road. Demont Forte the man driving the white vehicle exits his car as does the woman who seems to be asking why are you doing this?, as Forte rears back and clobbers her with a closed fist hitting the woman in the face knocking her to the ground. The force of the blow so severe that it literally knocked her out of her shoes. 

But the CMPD report writes the entire terrifying event up as just a minor altercation all misdemeanors.

Forte was taken into custody that day. He was released from jail about 14 hours later. He’s facing charges of assault with a deadly weapon (car), assault on a female and hit-and-run.

Forte is no stranger to CMPD as he has been involved in cases where women were harmed before.  According to CMPD, he was arrested for murder in April 1992 for which he was  convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to probation. 

His criminal history continued after that with several drug arrests and then in 2005 he was convicted under the state's habitual felon law and sentenced to 6-8 years. He was released from prison in 2011.

But his life of crime didn't stop once he returned to Charlotte. 

In 2017, Forte was arrested following a SWAT standoff. At the time, he was wanted on outstanding warrants for felony breaking and entering, assault and communicating threats. He refused to come out of his house and SWAT had to force their way inside, eventually taking him into custody. Those charges were dismissed.

In May of 2019 he was arrested again on drug and weapons charges:

Misdemeanor- Carrying Concealed Gun

Misdemeanor - Possession Drug Paraphernalia

Felony - Possession Stolen Firearm

Felony - Possession with intent to manufacture/sell/distribute Methamphetamine

Felony - Possession with intent to sell or distribute Cocaine

Felony - Possession Firearm By Felon

The case had been postponed due to COVID-19. 

But while out on a minimal bail Forte continued his crime spree.

He was arrested in January 2020 for assault on a female, false imprisonment and fleeing to elude arrest. He was later arrested in September 2020 and once again charged with assault on a female and assault with a deadly weapon causing serious injury.

For some reason Mecklenburg County DA Merriweather refuses to seek to have Forte's bail revoked. 

And now this attack on another woman.

The 2019 charges are on the docket for next Monday Mecklenburg Superior Courtroom 5310.

Forte will be represented by Denzil Forrester. The people (that's us taxpayers) will be represented by the DA's habitual felon team. 

But it is doubtful the ultra liberal Judge Bell has the scones to hold Forte over for trial and revoke his bail and the DA's team is made up of 3 first year rookie criminal lawyers. Four CMPD Officers are on the docket as well. 

This is the normal Charlie Foxtrot that is Spencer Merriweather.

Taser! Taser! Taser! Opps!

The quick facts:

Protesters were back on the streets Monday night in Brooklynn Center a suburb of Minneapolis, clashing with police despite a strict curfew.

Dozens of people have been arrested in a wave of violent protest sparked by the police shooting of a black man on Sunday.

Police again fired tear gas and stun guns to break up the crowd that was defying the 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew.

They say rioters threw bricks and bottles, launched fireworks and other projectiles at law enforcement officers.

Police body camera footage was released of the traffic stop where the shooting happened.

Officers say they tried to arrest Daunte Wright for an outstanding warrant on weapons charges but he fought off officers and tried to get back in his car.

In the process, an officer says she mistook her handgun for a taser, shooting a single bullet at Wright.

He drove off, crashing a few miles away where he was pronounced dead at the scene.

That officer has been identified as Kim Potter. She’s a 26-year veteran of the Brooklyn Center police department.

She's white.

Potter is on leave pending an investigation.

The quick questions:

How does a 26 year veteran of police work grab her weapon and think she's holding a Taser?

Beyond the media hype and wild speculation as to why can we discount poor training?

Why didn't the male and much bigger officer go hands on sooner?

Why is it the Black people resist?  

What part of "You have an outstanding warrant, I'm placing you under arrest, put your hands behind your back" says if you run away this becomes just a bad dream?

Why is it the Black people want to blame everyone but themselves?

The quick answers:

Tasers are often produced in bright colors, or with neon accents, to distinguish them from pistols. The Brooklyn Center Police Department manual cites the Glock 17, 19 and 26 as standard-issue for the department. All three pistol models weigh significantly more than a typical Taser. Glocks also have a trigger safety that can be felt when touching the trigger. Tasers do not. Grips on Tasers are typically different from those of firearms, as well, though they may feel similar because both are usually made of a similar type of polymer.

“If you train enough, you should be able to tell,” said Scott A. DeFoe, a retired sergeant with the Los Angeles Police Department.

The police in suburban Brooklyn Center said Mr. Wright was initially stopped for driving a vehicle without current registration, and then detained after they determined that a warrant for his arrest had been issued, stemming from a missed hearing on a misdemeanor gun charge.

A clip of Officer Potter’s body camera video released by the Brooklyn Center Police Department shows the police trying to handcuff Mr. Wright before he lurches suddenly back into his car. The video then shows Officer Potter’s arm aiming a weapon as her voice shouts “Taser! Taser! Taser!” on the audio.

She fires one round, Mr. Wright groans in pain and Officer Potter can then be heard to say, “Holy shit, I just shot him.”

Brooklyn Center Police Department protocol dictates that officers wear their guns on their dominant side and Tasers on the opposite side of their bodies, to reduce the risk that they will confuse the two weapons.

In most cases in which an officer grabs a pistol instead of a Taser, the confusion occurs under particular circumstances, said Ed Obayashi, an expert in the use of police force and a California deputy sheriff with a legal practice. It can happen when officers carry both weapons on the same side of their body, he said, or when they holster their stun guns on the opposite side of their body in such a way that it is easier for them to reach across their bodies with a dominant hand and cross-draw.

In both cases, he said, the officer can become accustomed to using the same hand to draw either weapon, a habit that can make it harder to tell one from the other in high-pressure situations when muscle memory and instinct kick in.

Body-camera footage from the scene of Mr. Wright’s killing does not show how Officer Potter carried her weapons. But Deputy Obayashi said it does show her fellow officer with his gun on one side of his body and his Taser on the other side, holstered so that either weapon could easily be grabbed by his dominant hand.

The Brooklyn Police Department policy manual states that “all Taser devices shall be clearly and distinctly marked to differentiate them from the duty weapon and any other device.” The manual also says that “officers should not hold both a firearm and the Taser device at the same time.”

It appears that several aspects of how Officer Potter handled her weapons may have violated the protocol laid out in the manual, even if she had drawn her Taser and not her firearm.

The manual advises that the device should not be used against people “whose position or activity may result in collateral injury” — including people who are “operating vehicles.” Mr. Wright was sitting in the driver’s seat when Officer Potter fired, and his car traveled several blocks after he was shot.

The manual also says that “reasonable efforts should be made to target lower center mass and avoid the head, neck, chest and groin” if an officer is using a Taser. Mr. Wright died of a gunshot wound to his chest, according to the Hennepin County medical examiner.

There have been other instances of a police officer intending to deploy a Taser and discharging a firearm instead, though such errors are not common.

In 2018, a rookie Kansas police officer mistakenly shot a man who was fighting with a fellow officer. In 2019, a police officer in Pennsylvania shouted “Taser!” before shooting an unarmed man in the torso. And in 2015, a former Oklahoma reserve deputy killed an unarmed man when he mistook his handgun for a stun gun.

Greg Meyer, a retired captain in the Los Angeles Police Department and a use-of-force expert, documented nine similar instances from 2001 to 2009 in a 2012 article published in a monthly law journal produced by Americans for Effective Law Enforcement, a nonprofit.

In six of the nine cases cited in the article, the officers carried both weapons on the same, “strong-hand” side of their bodies. In the other three, however, the officers carried the weapons on opposite hips with the Taser positioned so that they could cross-draw it, the article said.

In most cases, there has been little or no jail time for officers disciplined or tried for wounding or killing someone in situations in which they said they had mistaken a gun for a Taser. In the Pennsylvania case, for example, the district attorney said the officer violated a policy requiring officers to wear their Tasers on the side opposite their firearms. Still, he said the officer “did not possess the criminal mental state required to be guilty of a crime under state law.”

One of the most widely known cases happened in 2009 in Oakland, Calif., when a white Bay Area transit officer shot and killed an unarmed Black man on New Year’s Day at the Fruitvale Station of the city’s BART line. The man, Oscar Grant III, was lying face-down when the officer shot him.

The officer who killed Mr. Grant later contended that he had meant to pull his Taser but had pulled his firearm instead. He was found not guilty on charges of second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter, and convicted of involuntary manslaughter. He served 11 months in prison.

“Daunte Wright is another Oscar Grant,” an uncle of Mr. Grant, Cephus Johnson, tweeted on Monday. “We seen this before and know exactly how it will play out.”

Football Messed Him Up - Says Killer's Father

The father of Phillip Adams, who murdered South Carolina doctor Robert Leeslie, 70, his wife, Barbara Lesslie, 69, and two of their grandchildren, 9-year-old Adah Lesslie and 5-year-old Noah Lesslie and two others last week, claims his son was a “good kid” who became “messed up” from his years of playing football.

Alonzo Adams, said he wasn’t aware of his son ever being violent before he used two guns to kill six people at a home in Rock Hill late Wednesday afternoon.

“I can say he’s a good kid. I think the football messed him up,” Alonzo said of Phillip, 32, who at one time played for the several teams.

“I don’t think he ever did anybody any harm,” he added.

According to York County Sheriff's Office Adams went to the home of Dr. Robert Leeslie late on the afternoon of April 7, 2021 apparently with the intent to rob the doctor of cash or drugs that he thought was at the Leeslie home. Prior reports that the doctor had treated Adams have since been determined to be unfounded. 

Adams, despite the statements by his father, was no stranger to law enforcement in both North and South Carolina. 

Adams apparently had prior arrests for weapons, and domestic violence in Mecklenburg County and had appeared in York County traffic count the day prior to the shooting charged with numerous traffic offenses including, driving with a suspended license, no proof of insurance and expired or factious license plate.

Liberal media is has run with football brain damage narrative, not surprisingly and continues to define this crime as a "murder - suicide"  even though Adams didn't actually kill himself until he was cornered with no chance of escape nearly 12 hours later. 

Adams was quickly determined to be a suspect because left substantial evidence and personal items at the crime scene. 

The killer's brain was removed at MUSC and sent to Boston University for CTE analysis. 

Tiger Woods and 2 Pickled Eggs - Reprise

The broken pavement is a mix of asphalt, gravel and pine needles. A warm spring breeze blows through hundred year old oaks and several dozen large pine trees. 

Two black boys drop their bicycles and scamper up the wood steps of the “Midway Grocery and Service Center”. 

They dash inside just as a pickup truck’s tires scratch away at the gravel and then bark as rubber meets the asphalt, that lies just beyond the pine needles. 

I have a good sense of direction most the time, and as long as I have a half tank of gas, I can eventually find my own way even when trying to take a short cut across the South Carolina Lowcountry. No need to ask for directions, it’s a man thing don’t you know? 

I purposefully park my new black SUV just to the right of the building, slightly out of eyesight of anyone inside the small country store. 

The other cars are at least ten years older; a faded blue rusting pickup dates from the 60’s, a Ford wagon and Chevy Nova sit around back. 

The only new car is a red Honda that is parked in the spot with a sign that says “Reserved for Bubba”. 

Midway Grocery is just that, midway between the last place I thought I was and the next place I thought I was going. 

I’m lost and without a good map or GPS, I’ve given in to the need to ask for directions. 

I negotiate my way around the bicycles, hot on the trail of the two young boys and before I know it the screen door has slammed shut behind me. 

The two boys fidget as if they are in need of a bathroom. They are trying their best to wait patiently in front of the counter, each holding on tightly to a single crumpled dollar bill. 

The man behind the counter looks to me and I look to the young boys. He nods, then looks at the two boys and asks: “What can I do for you two?”. 

“Sir, I want one of them there eggs”. The smaller of the two boys pleads. 

The eggs are floating in a gallon jar filled with a vinegar and brine solution, pickling spice and dotted with just the right number of large red pepper flakes. 

The jar has a red lid about six inches across, and it sounds like a dull cymbal dropped on the floor when turned. The jar is only half full of eggs but full of liquid so the man’s hand plunges in past his wrist, as he retrieves one of the eggs. 

No latex glove, no tongs, no fork just his bare hand. A hand that belongs to someone who knows hard work. His fingers are fat and they dwarf the glistening and slippery white egg. I watch as he places the egg in a paper towel and carefully hands it to the first boy. 

“That will be 35 cents” he says. The second boy steps to the counter. He’s a little taller and I suspect they are brothers. The man looks at the second boy and says “I’d supposed you want one too?” “Yes Sir” the older boy replies and the process is repeated. 

Then lid spins in a clockwise direction like a banker closing a safe after securing a large sum of money inside. The eggs adjust to fill the space of their recently departed comrades. 

But before taking his hand off the jar, the man who I assume is named Bubba looks my way and asks if I’d like a pickled egg too. “No sir, but thank you”. I reply. He smiles and offers that he wouldn’t eat one of those things either. 

I’ve said yes sir and yes ma’am all my life and I figure that if I want directions to the Augusta National Golf Club from Bubba at the Midway Grocery I’d better be polite. Truth is I can’t help but say yes sir and yes ma’am its just the way I was raised. 

I explain where I’m heading and Bubba laughs as he informs me that I’m so far out in the sticks that even the deer have maps. 

The screen door slams shut again, and I find the two boys taking up two thirds of the steps, both eyeing me copiously. “Mister did ya find out where you’re going?” The younger one asks. “Yes, I did. Thank you” I reply. 

The older boy offers that "Augusta ain't that far" and asks if I’m going to see Tiger Woods play golf. I’m surprised that these two boys are not only smart but they also have really good hearing. “Yes I suppose I’m going to see Tiger Woods” I offer. 

“We’ll you tell him that when I get old enough I’m going whip him good” The younger boy whose name is Cameron, jumps to his feet, and offers his best Bill Murray swing. 

It’s actually dead on, head still, shoulders, feet, with a full Tiger wrap around backswing. I don’t say anything and just smile, because the kid has a really good swing. 

"One day we’re going to build a golf course right here. This will be “Amen Corner” from this spot right here, all the way to the big old oak tree way down there”. Cameron adds. 

I guess the yardage to the big old oak tree at less than 25 yards. "A par 3?" I ask. “Heck NO! It’s a par 12” Cameron’s brother informs me. “You know it wouldn’t surprise me with all the pot holes in this driveway” I tell them both, while trying to keep from laughing too hard. 

I leave Cameron and his brother, both now swinging invisible clubs at invisible golf balls in the parking lot. 

Honestly Bubba might have given me directions to Greenbow, Mississippi for all I know. But somehow given the general direction of his gestures, I drive 3 miles turn left at the DeKalb corn sign, and then left again at the church with the cemetery and find a four lane that takes me right to Bobby Jones Expressway in the heart of Augusta, Georgia. 

The azaleas are in bloom and the dogwoods have come to life, and once again CBS Sports will carry the Masters with "limited commercial interruption" from emerald green fairways of Augusta National Golf Club. 

At the same time, just down the road at the Midway Grocery and Service Center, Cameron and his brother will be playing for pickled eggs on a short par three ... errrr, I mean par 12 that also serves as the parking lot. 

Tiger you better have your game on!

The above is a factual account of this day back in 2006, before WAZE and on board navigation became standard.  Tiger didn't win in 2006 Lefty did, but two kids in rural South Carolina stole the day. I hope you enjoyed this break from the madness as much as I did retelling this story. - CP