Friday Wrap Up - What City Do We Live In? Edition

Another Killer Walks - Mecklenburg county prosecutors, citing uncooperative witnesses and a lack of evidence, on Monday dismissed murder and assault with a deadly weapon charges against a 21-year-old Antoio Thompkins.

Thompkins a thug with a mile long list of priors, was charged with fatally shooting 22-year-old Antwan Terrell Smith was shot in the head and wounding 22-year-old, Durante Kavon James during the May 2011 Speed Street riots.

However Mecklenburg DA Andrew Murray told the local paper “We cannot try cases without the help of individuals who witness criminal acts,” explaining further, “We simply don’t have the evidence. It is unfortunate we cannot proceed in this case for the families of the victims and the people of the community"

Cedar's Take - Amazing failure of both Andrew Murray's homicide team and CMPD. With all the camera's in uptown, and a couple hundred CMPD officers within a block of the shooting this pile of human trash walks. - Amazing.

Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx, - said he was disgusted at the City Council’s rejection Monday of City Manager Curt Walton’s 8 percent property tax hike Monday.

Kevin Siers take on Anthony Foxx

While the rest of Charlotte is shocked and amazed, that finally a small glimmer of common sense has emerged from the "Potted Plants" of Charlotte's City Council. Only a bureaucrat like Walton and a blood sucking lawyer like Foxx would think a property tax hike would be a good idea and become "disgusted" that those who were elected to look out for the interest of tax payers did their job.

Republicans Dulin and Cooksey were expected to be the only no votes on Curt "The Clown" Walton's tax increase, and no one expected democrats to break rank and listen to their citizens but they did.

Does this signal a new era in Charlotte? Do we suddenly live in a city where leaders realizes who they work for? Is Charlotte's newest elected council members sending a message to Curt Walton, "clear get off your ass or start looking for a new job"?

Cedar's Take: Walton and Foxx continue to "sell the idea" of a tax increase saying Charlotte taxpayers have not had a tax increase in years. Why should there ever be a tax increase when we have continual revaluations that increase the "tax revenue"? Charlotte is in trouble, and anyone who has lived here more than 20 years can see it, the changing demographics and the flight of Charlotte's upper middle class are clear. Add an aging boomer population who are "down sizing" and moving to the coast and mountains, plus the reverse migration of former southerners of color. Charlotte is on the decline. Once solid bastions of middle class Charlotte have fallen to white flight and diversity. Example Sharon Lakes and the once golden mile of Eastland Mall.

Hickory Grove Charlotte's New Homicide Capital? - Those who remember the old days at the Charlotte Police Department will recall a time when Charlotte homicides came at a rate of about 2 a week. It is hard to imagine 100 homicides in a year, but Charlotte was that place not so long ago.

During the late 1990's drug related murders were as common as shop lifting arrests. The number of "tit for tat" killings among Charlotte's lowest class residents spiked and all officers could do was tape off the crime scene and call the next of kn before the next call came In.

Charlotte's Hickory Grove division has become the Grier Heights, Boulevard Homes of the "New Charlotte".

CMPD Captain Jeff Pless - has apparently filled a claim with the EEOC who has agreed with his claim that he was singled out and removed as head of the Hickory Grove Division because of his religious beliefs. Pless, an admitted agnostic (corrected from earlier post that said atheist), was required to attend services at an area church as part of his job as CMPD Captain.  When Pless objected saying that he felt uncomfortable, he was told he was being ordered to attend. When Pless objected again and ultimately failed to attend he was removed as Hickory Grove Division head.

WSOC TV Eats an Extra Large Crow Pie - Last month WSOC ran a number of teasers with tags lines: Racy photo found in local high school yearbook, Racy yearbook photo blown out of proportion, $100 high school yearbook tainted with ‘porn’ photo.

The story went on to report that a photo showing a 17 year female student exposing herself had been published in the school year book and that police were considering making arrests under child porn statues.

Turns out none of this was true.

WSOC posted in part this statement:

THESE STATEMENTS ARE IN ERROR. IT APPEARS THE STATEMENT THAT THE YOUNG LADY INTENTIONALLY RAISED HER GOWN WAIST HIGH AND EXPOSED HERSELF WAS MERELY THE UNSUPPORTED OPINION OF ONE OF THE PARENTS OF A STUDENT AT THE HIGH SCHOOL AND THAT THERE ARE OTHERS WHO DO NOT BELIEVE THIS TO BE TRUE. MOREOVER, THERE DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE ANY EVIDENCE THAT THE YOUNG LADY WAS STANDING, LIFTING HER GOWN OR INTENTIONALLY EXPOSING HERSELF; ATTEMPTING TO MAKE A LASTING IMPRESSION AND LEGACY AT THE SCHOOL; CREATING PORNOGRAPHY; OR THAT THERE IS ANY CONSIDERATION BY LAW ENFORCEMENT OF BRINGING CRIMINAL CHARGES.
  
WE DEEPLY REGRET THESE ERRORS, HAVE REMOVED THE FORMER POSTED ARTICLES AND COMPLETELY RETRACT AND CORRECT THEM.

WE OPENLY AND FULLY APOLOGIZE TO THE YOUNG LADY SHOWN IN THE PHOTOGRAPH AND TO OUR READERS FOR THESE ERRORS AND ANY EMBARRASSMENT OR DISCOMFORT THEY MAY HAVE CAUSED.

No word on the tenure of the WSOC producer and those who ran with the story.

Bed Bath and Beyond Customer Robs Bank - Monday morning this guy robbed a SunTrust bank branch off Sardis Road North in southeast Charlotte armed only with a Bed Bath and Beyond shopping bag.

Authorities say a man entered the bank, in the 1900 block of Galleria Boulevard, shortly before 9:45 a.m. and took money from a teller. A spokeswoman for the Charlotte office of the FBI says the man did not display a weapon during the robbery.

Anyone with information in the case is asked to call the FBI in Charlotte, 704-672-6100, or Crime Stoppers, 704-334-1600.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/06/11/3309221/bank-robbed-in-southeast-charlotte.html#storylink=cpy