CMPD Looking for Brookshire Hit and Run Driver Updated

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police are looking for the driver of the Blue Ford truck or SUV they said struck and killed a pedestrian.

The accident happened around 5 a.m. Sunday in the 4200 Block of Brookshire Boulevard. Police identified the victim as George Lee Calebro, 68.

Police said Calebro was attempting to cross the road when he was hit.

Police said evidence left at the accident scene and video from DOT cameras has allowed them to narrow down their search to a dark blue Ford F-150 Pick Up Truck, and CMPD is requesting the public's assistance in locating it. The vehicle should have extensive damage to the front grill, police said.



Damaged Pick Up Truck might look like this with sections of the honeycomb grill missed as well as other extensive damage.

The suspect vehicle was last seen headed outbound on Brookshire Boulevard, then turning left onto South Hoskins Road.

Anyone with information should be contact Detective Jesse Wood at 704-432-2169 or call Crimestoppers at 704-334-1600.

Updated at 5:50 AM November 29, 2010

WBTV News is reporting:

The driver accused of hit in run A suspect in a deadly accident over the weekend turned himself in, and according to police, confessed to being behind the wheel of the truck which struck and killed a pedestrian Sunday morning.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police have charged 44 year old James Edward Johnson with felony hit and run after he surrendered to officers late Monday night.

Johnson also delivered his Ford truck that had obvious damage to the front grill and hood. Crime scene investigators began processing the truck shortly thereafter.


James Edward Johnson

Johnson has some priors according to the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's web site and is being held with a $50,000 bond. More details and video of Johnson's truck that has a surprising amount of damage is here.

CMPD Abu Ghraib Kitty Gate Employees Fired

If the coffee break rumors are true all 3 CMPD Animal Control employees have been fired nearly three months after the photo first caught the attention of animal rights supporters.

Let's hope this closes another sad chapter in Chief Monroe's command at Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department.

The cats had no comment.

North Korea Gets Something to Think About

Waters West of Korean Peninsula (NNS) -- The George Washington Carrier Strike Group (GWCSG) entered the waters west of the Korean peninsula to participate in a combined military exercise with the Republic of Korea (ROK) on Nov. 28.

The exercise is part of the series announced at the 2 + 2 meetings in July and is scheduled to run until Dec. 1.

"While this exercise, which is defensive in nature, has been planned for some time, it underscores the importance of the ROK-U.S. alliance and our collective commitment to regional security and stability," said Rear Adm. Dan Cloyd, Commander, Task Force 70.

The purpose of the four-day exercise is to enhance the readiness and interoperability of ROK and U.S. forces during routine operations in international waters and airspace. Both militaries have conducted similar exercises together in recent months on both sides of the peninsula.

The exercise will include more than 7,000 personnel, 11 ships and a variety of aircraft to include F-18 Super Hornets, F-16C Fighting Falcons, A-10C Thunderbolt II, F-15Ks and KF-16s.

The ships involved include: the Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73), with embarked Carrier Air Wing Five (CVW-5); the guided-missile cruiser USS Cowpens (CG 63); the guided-missile destroyers USS Lassen (DDG 82), USS Stethem (DDG 63), and USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62); and several ships and aircraft from the ROK.

The two nations will conduct air defense and surface warfare readiness training, communications and data link drills and subject matter expert exchanges during the course of the four-day exercise.

All the above from the US NAVY at www.navy.mil

Hottie of the Week Sharon Stone?

Wait just a minute, that is NOT Sharon Stone doing her iconic pose from the film "Basic Instinct" it is none other the ski bunny hottie Lindsay Vonn. Proving that skiing is good for your legs and that those legs will get to on the cover of ESPN Magazine and that will make you Cedar Posts "Hottie of the Week"!

Tina McCard Arrest Crack Heads and Thieves Among Us

Tina McCard of Charleston, South Carolina aka Tina Lisette, aka Lisa McCard aka Tina McCord a reported habitual felon arrested while apparently trying to flee the country.

Tina Lisette McCard photo courtesy of the
Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office

Ms McCard has been arrested on a extradition warrant served on her at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport. She remains in the Mecklenburg County Jail under $7,500 bond awaiting extradition to South Carolina where she is charged with Credit Card Fraud and theft.

March 2012 CP Update, a search of court records show a McCard in 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011 all in Charleston, South Carolina.

Apparently not the first time McCard has been accused of financial crimes. Sources point to a crime spree in Asheville, North Carolina where she is accused of theft and writing hundreds of dollars in bad checks. However no record of any arrests has been located.

January 2013 CP Update, this video was forwarded with the suggestion the thief is the same Tina McCard. Hard to say, but the mannerisms reportedly are dead on.

On North Korea

Follow Up to The CMPD Hidden Valley Shooting

From the Local Paper:

An officer involved in the shooting of a 69-year-old distraught over his wife's recent death has been placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure for police involved in a shooting.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police responded to L.C. Furtick's home in the Hidden Valley neighborhood Thanksgiving morning after receiving a report of a suicide threat. When they arrived, police said, Furtick was standing inside with a handgun. A SWAT negotiator spoke with Furtick, whose wife died Nov. 15, relatives said.

Police said Furtick came out of his house with a phone in one hand and a gun in the other, and pointed the gun at officers as he moved toward them despite repeated commands from police to put the gun down.

One of the officers fired his gun twice, police said, and Furtick was transported to Carolinas Medical Center with two gunshot wounds to his lower body. A relative said Furtick remained in critical but stable condition Saturday.

Police said the officers involved were James Guard, Joseph Milliken and Joseph Monteleone. Monteleone was placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, police said.

Furtick faces charges of three counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and three counts of assault with a firearm on a law enforcement officer.

Early Morning Fire Causes Significant Damage to Million Dollar Home

The Charlotte Fire Department received an alarm at 2:43 for a home located at 413 Mammoth Oaks Drive. The 2 alarm fire took 46 firefighters nearly two hours to bring the fire under control due to the complex roof structure of house.

The home, valued at more than 1 million dollars was heavily damaged and CFD is expected to remain on the scene well into the morning.



Cedar Posts Update: As noted by one of this blog's on the ball commentors this is the second fire in less than 8 months at this address. The prior event didn't get much coverage but the "local paper" did a tiny story on March 2, 2010, which is here. And Meghan Cooke's story of this morning's fire is here.

Cedar Posts Update 8:16 PM:

The following information was supplied by CFD Captain Rob Brisley:

On Saturday November 27, 2010 at 2:43 am. (10) companies of Charlotte Firefighters, (1) Heavy Rescue Company, (3) Battalion Chiefs, (2) Deputy Chief’s and (5) Fire Investigators responded to a report of a house fire at 413 Mammoth Oak Dr.

Firefighters from nearby station 19 were first to arrive at 2:49 am and reported heavy smoke coming from this 3-story home and declared a working fire.

The incident commander requested additional resources to assist with battling this blaze resulting in a 2nd alarm assignment.

Fire companies cut holes in the roof to allow smoke; heat and super-heated gases to escape while other Firefighters used water from nearby fire hydrants to supply hose lines deployed to knockdown the fire.

It took Forty-six (46) Firefighters nearly 2 hours to bring this fire under control but not before the fire caused an estimated $500,000 in damage. There were no injuries associated with this incident and the family that was out of town when the fire broke out and have since returned.

Charlotte Fire Investigators have determined this fire was intentionally set and are asking anyone with information pertaining to this fire to call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.

Persons suppling information that leads to an arrest and/or conviction may be eligible for a reward.

Below a photo of the home from 2009 from google maps.

Michael Jordan's Response To Lebron James

Crack Heads Among Us

Major Props to CMPD for cuffin and stuffin a car load of crack heads overnight.

While some of us are out getting an early start on our Christmas shopping this foursome is out getting arrested.

Arrested early Friday morning and charged with possession of cocaine are William Franklin Small 33 of Gastonia, NC; Amanda Sue Davis 28 of Lincolnton, NC; Repeat Offender Jessica Lynn Furr 23 of Midland, NC; and bonus bust is Jonathan David Bridges 30 of Charlotte who in addition to the cocaine charge is also charged with carrying a concealed weapon.


Jonathan David Bridges

William Franklin Small

Jessica Lynn Furr

Amanda Sue Davis

Props to JT for the heads up.

Friday's Odds and Ends

Thanksgiving Shootings - Maybe the holiday should be banned? Across the Carolina's family squabbles led to shootings, deaths and arrests.

In Charlotte SWAT Officers opened fire Thanksgiving morning after an armed man refused to drop his gun.

According to many reports CMPD was called to a house on Snow White Lane in the Hidden Valley neighborhood around 9:00 a.m. about a suicidal man. According to investigators, he “raised” the gun and started walking toward officers. The man identified as L. C. Furtick was shot twice in the lower body after he ignored repeated orders to drop the weapon, police said.

He was transported to CMC with non-life-threatening injuries, according to police.

More details from FOX News here.

In Charleston a man was gunned down early Thanksgiving morning. Herbert Harvey Jr, 29 died of multiple gunshot wounds shortly after 5 a.m. Thursday. He was pronounced dead at the scene. By 1 p.m., police had arrested Delvon Antonio Collins, 21, and charged him with murder.

Near Beaufort - A Thanksgiving gathering turned into a gun battle after which a Florida man died when a Brays Island Plantation security officer burst into a home in the private community and shot him.

James Piotrowski, 42, of Stuart, Fla., died shortly after he was shot at about 12:09 a.m. Thursday at the Brays Island Drive home of his uncle and aunt, Richard and Carolyn Santee.

Richard Santee, who was shot twice by Piotrowski during the incident, was taken by air ambulance to a Savannah hospital.

The couple and their relatives had dinner and drinks Wednesday night and some began to head to bed at about 10:30 p.m., leaving Richard Santee and his nephew Piotrowski in the kitchen of the large, two-story home, Tanner said.

That's when the men apparently began to argue, he said.

Santee then went into his bedroom and retrieved a long-barreled revolver loaded with shotgun shells from his closet, Tanner said.

Investigators aren't sure what happened next.

People staying in the home told investigators they heard gunshots and first called Brays Island Plantation security before calling 911, he said. The caller gave few details to plantation security, asking only that officers come to the house -- and quickly, Tanner said.

Moments later, a security officer arrived at the home and walked up to the front door. He knocked and rang the doorbell, but no one answered.

As he stood at the front door, the officer looked through a window and saw a man standing in the foyer, pointing a gun at another man, who was slumped at the base of a staircase.

The man inside the home raised the gun and fired, hitting the man on the staircase, who investigators later confirmed was Santee, Tanner said.

The security officer then opened the front door, which was unlocked, and shot the man holding the gun, later confirmed to be Piotrowski.

Meanwhile, a family member had also called 911 and told Beaufort County dispatchers that shots had been fired in the home. EMS crews and deputies arrived to find the security guard and family members performing CPR on both men, but Piotrowski died at the scene.

North Carolina Mountians - A Burke County man shot his stepfather after police say the two began arguing early Thanksgiving morning.

Officers were responding to a domestic disturbance in Connelly Springs at 5:20 a.m. Thursday when the Burke County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a shooting at the same home.

When they arrived, officers said they found Filiberto Rubio, 40, on the back deck, dead from a gunshot wound.

Witnesses told police that Rubio and his stepson, Timothy Paul Bumgarner, 28, had been drinking and began to argue.

Investigators say witnesses told them Filberto Rubio picked up a snow globe and started to throw it at Bumgarner. Bumgarner grabbed a shotgun and fired and then fled on foot.

While officers were at the scene, Bumgarner emerged from the woods behind the home and surrendered.

Bumgarner is charged with murder. More details at WBTV.

Augusta - The bodies of two Aiken County teenage girls were discovered in a wooded lot early Thanksgiving morning in downtown Augusta.

Richmond County Chief Deputy Coroner Mark Bowen identified the victims as Angela Brooks, 19, of the 300 block of Breezehill Road in Warrenville; and Nancy Cushman, 18, of the 100 block of Jones Circle in Warrenville.


Travis Lorenzo Berrian, 26, who authorities believe might have information that could help investigators uncover information about the shooting deaths of Angela Brooks and Nancy Cushman.

Brooks and Cushman were shot and killed early Thursday, according to sheriff's office investigators.

Both were last seen about 12:30 a.m. with an unknown black man.

By Thursday afternoon, police were searching for a person of interest in the case, Travis Berrian, 26. They said he was not a suspect and was wanted only for information.

Berrian has a criminal record that most recently included a February 2008 sentencing to five years in prison and six years probation for aggravated assault.

More details from WAGT News is here.

Open Season on the Palins? - Wednesday Sarah Palin appeared on the Glen Beck show and mistakenly called North Korea an ally. Twice! It didn't take long for Keith Olbermann long to cash in on Palin's slip up. I suppose it won't be long before she is blamed for a war that started before she was born.



On Tuesday Politico.com reported that Bristol Palin had caused a major "controversy" on the show Dancing With the Stars.

Sarah Palin and her family has been fair game for the Opt-Ed folks and the likes of David Letterman who once crudely joked about an underaged Palin girl getting "knocked up" by one of the Yankees during the family's New York visit.

But the latest frenzy shows just how unhinged the far-left is in this country.

Point in case, some have suggested Bristol Palin's dance competitors were voted off the show as part a Tea Party conspiracy.

During the summer a photo of a t-shirt clad Palin created a fire storm when it was suggested that the former Alaska Governor had a boob job. Later spun into a question of whether she had used campaign contributions to pay for the enhancement. Both stories turned up to be bogus.

On Wednesday, Comedian Jimmy Kimmel joked that eventual Dancing With the Stars winner Jennifer Grey was lucky she wasn't shot by Grizzly mama Sarah Palin.

It's not just the far left wackos, Barbara Bush took a shot at Sarah Palin saying "she's a pretty woman from Alaska and I hope she stays there", which was on the heels of John McCains tartlet daughter Megan who quipped that Sarah Palin is an idiot.

Megan McCain ponders the Palin run for the White House in 2012 by saying: "If those citizens only need a gorgeously produced reality show, beautiful family, and well-narrated talking points in order to give someone an opening on the road to the White House, then say hello to President Palin,"

Which by the way is pretty much all it took to elect Barrack Obama.

All said I have to give credit to Palin for taking the heat gracefully and props to Bristol for "dancing like nobody's watching".

Charlotte's Latest Crime Ranking - When you think of cities safer than Charlotte, San Francisco, Austin, TX and San Diego don't normally come to mind. According to CQ Press a Washington DC based analytical publisher, Charlotte comes in at 118.

New York City comes in at 269th in the nation. Go figure but I'd expect CMPD Chief Monroe will spin the numbers as good news.



The complete list is here.

NASCAR Hall of Fame - Charlotte's grand national sized white elephant has been much the talk of the town considering its very lack luster attendance, which in turn has caused the financial projections to be so far of the mark its absurd.

Tuesday the "Local Paper" ran a story blaming the Muesum's troubles on NASCAR say the racing body doesn't provide financial support

So with a Thanksgiving Day Parade crowd estimated to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 75,000-100,000 wandering the streets of downtown, it is mind boggling that the HofF would be closed.



Most everyone agrees the price of $19.95 for adults and $12.95 for kids under 12 and then the added service fees and taxes push the costs beyond a spur of the moment venture inside. But considering the state of attendance it would have been smart to at least open the doors.

Foot Note: Tuesday the "Local Paper" ran a story blaming some of the Museum's troubles on NASCAR saying the racing body doesn't provide financial support. A little fact checking seems to be in order as last Cedar Posts heard NASCAR has been pretty supportive in the cash area.

In Case You Missed It - Fantasia

Fantasia Barrino testified Monday (November 23) in onetime boyfriend Antuan Cook's divorce case saying she knew from the start that he was married and living with his wife, CNN reports.

The singer had previously admitted the relationship but said then that she didn't know Cook was married. Wife Paula Cook in early August filed for divorce, seeking custody and alimony and citing "alienation of affection", Adultery is still a crime in North Carolina.

Radar Online cited sources, including a Cook family member, as saying Fantasia testified she'd been pregnant and gotten an abortion shortly before her August 9th suicide attempt.

Barrino and Paula Cook met for mediation on November 1st, with the singer reportedly willing to hand over $100,000, but Paula Cook unwilling to settle without Fantasia admitting she'd known Antuan Cook was married.

Barrino performed in Charlotte last week, making little mention of her recent troubles except for "a midshow film that dismissed her detractors" and some tearful words about self-acceptance and personal growth, according to the "Local Paper".

A Thanksgiving Story

Sometimes Cedar Posts stumbles upon something that just puts life into perspective, something I think we all need from time to time.

In this case as I look around the large table that holds family members who have come from near and far and think to myself, we'd have a pretty nice family if we'd just kill a couple of these people, and I know I need perspective.

And so on this Thanksgiving Day I offer writer Jeffery Rudell's story of family Thanksgiving lore.

So my last Thanksgiving ended at exactly 5 minutes after 5 pm on the fourth Thursday of November 34 years ago.

Let me explain.

Both of my parents were lower middle class people with upper lower class educations. My father was a foreman in a paper mill; my mother was a bank teller. We lived in a split-level house in a subdivision that went bankrupt shortly after they bought into it. Inexplicably, in January of 1974, my father came home and announced to my mother that he had sold everything and bought a farm 60 miles away.

The farm turned out to be 80 acres of untilled clay, a heap of rusting equipment and two Holstein cows. They argued until my mother agreed to pack up everything and move — everything, including her prized set of chartreuse colored Russel Wright crystal.

Within a month, my father had built a chicken coop, gotten the tractor fixed and purchased a bull. The bull arrived and went straight to work. Now, the next nine months went as you might expect, which is to say farming is not for amateurs. So any mistakes that could be made were made, beginning with breeding cows in March.

Our first cow went into labor and calved on Thanksgiving at 4 o'clock in the morning. This being Michigan, and a particularly cold season in our unheated barn, it died less than an hour later.

Now, seeing his assets frozen on the barn floor drove my father to take desperate steps to sort of protect his remaining investment. So he covered the floor of our family room with a large plastic tarp, put down a bed of straw and brought the remaining cow into the house to have its calf. By noon, both mother and calf were warm and sleeping in the room next to our kitchen. My father put a bale of straw in front of the doorway between the two rooms to keep them in place.

Now, while we were tending to the calves, my mother was in the kitchen banging pots and pans and muttering about it being a family room, not a maternity ward, sort of thing.

Now, every Thanksgiving it was my mother's custom to remove from her china cabinet one small pale green crystal cordial glass into which she would pour a single jigger of sherry to sip while she cooked. At no other time did my mother drink and to the best of my knowledge no other piece of crystal was ever used. Now, she loved this crystal. She used to brag that that crystal was the only thing she had that wasn't second rate or secondhand.

So. The afternoon goes on. Relatives arrive. My grandmother makes a comment about, "What is that awful smell?" but a sharp glance from my mother is enough to keep her from making it a second time.

At 5 o'clock exactly, turkey is put on the table. We all sit down to dinner and my grandfather says grace. Now, while God is being distracted by my grandfather, a lesser spirit overcomes the calf and it leaps over the bale of straw and comes charging into the kitchen and crashes into the table.

What happens next happens really fast. My mother screams, she grabs her cordial glass, stands up, knocking over her chair in the process. My father, more startled by my mother's screams than anything, sort of half stands, half lunges at the calf, which by now has its nose in his plate.

I will never forget that slow motion look of horror on my mother's face as she watches my father rise a little bit and reach for — but not quite reach — equilibrium before falling backward into the china cabinet.

Somehow, my father escaped injury but every single piece of crystal shattered. Everything save the one glass in my mother's hand. Now, for a child watching all of this unfold, it was fantastic. But that was our last Thanksgiving together, and for the remainder of their marriage that glass sat on my mother's dressing room table with her wedding ring in it.

For all the years in-between — on the 4th Thursday of every November, my mother took great pleasure in preparing a dinner of roasted veal.

Wednesday's Check This Out!

Down Under they have a certain way with public service ads. In the states this would be met with protests as being too graphic and too long running.



The bottom line is don't drink and drive. While .08 is the limit in the Carolina's most of the world the limit is considerably less .05 and many countries have a ZERO tolerance.

If you are going to drive, leave the drinking to someone else.

Is CMPD Command Catatonic?

A few days ago Cedar Posts pointed out the WCNC story from November 5th that told of CMPD animal control staff abusing a couple of cats and interestingly enough the story got some traction over the weekend.



Cedar Posts is one of those people who lives with 3 dogs and a cat as well as a number of transit critters from time to time, so you can imagine people who torture fury animals tick me off.

Besides being in poor taste and perhaps criminal the entire episode points up the chain of command. CMPD's web site states the Mark Balestra in the division leader and a name we are all familiar with Major John Diggs is listed as Balestra's boss and is responsible for Community Service which is over Animal Control and Care. Both are apparently asleep on the job or in a coma.

The photos while disturbing are I'd suspect just the tip of the iceberg, imagine Abu Ghraib prison for cats.

In an e-mail to city leaders, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Rodney Monroe said his department had been investigating the “inappropriate” pictures since August.

Monroe said a review board was formed last week to determine what will happen to the employees.

Cedar's Take: No surprise that the Rodney Monroe spin machine is in full force, blame shift, stone walling and denial. But 3 months really?

I think about 3 days would be long enough for the 3 idiots at Animal Control to clean out their lockers. I'd give the head of the unit 30 days to find another job and Diggs would have a formal letter of reprimand and a mandate to get his act together, start supervising or retire.

The original story by WCNC Tony Burbeck is here and the blog Yes Biscuit that contacted CMPD about the photos is here. You can sign the petition calling for changes at CMPD Animal Control here.

Update: CMPD Animal Control says charges are "blown out of proportion", say what happened was no worse than dressing up your dog or cat in clothes. Video of Susan Boyer defending her sicko buddies at Animal Control is here. Reportedly one of those involved has already been fired. Monroe is still dodging and weaving but Charlotte City Council need to call for a complete house cleaning including the termination of Ms. Boyer.

Delvonte Tisdale May Have Fallen From a Plane

According to Phil Orlandella from the Boston Logan International Airport, officials have been asked by law enforcement to investigate the "possibility" of 16-year-old Delvonte Tisdale being able to get into a plane's wheel well and falling out during a flight.

Tisdale, 16, was found dead last weekend -- his body badly mutilated -- in an upscale neighborhood in Milton, Massachusetts. Reports have surfaced that his body was found over several blocks.

A check of AirNav shows that an aircaft landing on runway 4R would approach over Milton. In fact the LOM (Outer Marker) is called Milton. It would not be unusual for an aircaft to lower the landing gear upon reaching Milton which is about 6.9 miles from the runway. IAP Chart for ILS 4R is here.

More details are here.

Peter Gilchrist Does Some Last Minute House Cleaning and Fires Long Term Lead ADA

Monday afternoon District Attorney Peter Gilchrist fired long time Mecklenburg County prosecutor Marsha Goodenow.

Goodenow, who ran the lead on several high profile murder trials including the recent Demetrius Montgomery case has not commented publicly nor has Mr. Gilcrest.

Nothing of substance in this morning's "Local Paper" but word is there was a major disagreement/discovery about the aspects of a certain case, and that left Gilcrest no choice but to remove her from the DA's office.

It will be interesting to hear from District Attorney elect Andrew Murray today.

Mr. Gilchrist's emailed memo to staff is here.

Marcus Jackson Documents Released

Well at least a few pages of Marcus Jackson's personnel records are now public.

Today Mecklenburg Superior Court Judge Robert Ervin ruled that the documents are public records and ordered their release.

Gov. Bev. Perdue earlier this year signed into law reforms making public more information on government employees, including termination letters and the dates and type of demotions, suspensions, promotions and other changes in job status.

After the law took effect Oct. 1, the "local Paper" and a number of news media requested information on Jackson as well as other officers disciplined over the last few years.

On Friday, CMPD released the names of officers who were disciplined during the last five years. A review of the documents show that most officers on the list received a two day suspension, but several were given suspensions that were a week or longer. A couple had suspensions that exceeded a month. There were also a number of officers who were repeat offenders having multiple suspensions.

It should be noted that most suspensions are for minor infractions of CMPD directives.

Released today is a copy of Marcus Jackson's termination letter that gives the reason and spells out his two prior suspensions. A copy of the letter is here.

Slowly the pieces are starting to fit together, but don't expect Chief Monroe to give up anything more that he has to. Maybe its time to look back at where we have been, back to February when the Marcus Jackson case had every one's attention. Cedar Posts commentary is here.

Hottie of the Week Olvia Wilde

You may have noticed the natural blond on O.C. or the burnette version on The Black Donnellys a short lived series on NBC. She also portrays Dr. Remy "Thirteen" Hadley in the TV drama House. This 26 year old Irish-American actress is currently filming the film Butter due summer 2011.

But don't mistake Ms. Wilde for a Hollywood party girl, this hottie is East Coast born and raised on both sides of the pond. Speaks three languages and can hold court with the best of Washington's power brokers and that makes Ms. Wilde Cedar Post's Hottie of the Week.

In Case You Missed It

The Navy's newest destroyer was commissioned in Wilmington North Carolina on Saturday, bearing the name of a Virginia man who was at the forefront of integrating the nation's military ranks.

The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer is named in honor of the late Vice Admiral Samuel Gravely. His 38-year career included milestones such as being the country's first black person to command a Navy warship.


Gravely arrives in Wilmington. Photo US Navy


Officers stand ready to bring the ship alive Photo US Navy


On the command of Gravely's widow the ship comes to life. Photo US Navy


One of USS Gravely's sailors stands with his daughter Photo US Navy.

Gravely died in 2004 at age 82. The native of Richmond, Virgina also was the first black person to command an American warship in combat, the first black person to attain flag rank, become vice admiral and command a numbered fleet - the Third Fleet.

"Wherever this ship sails, this ship will honor his legacy of excellence, of service and of perseverance," Adm. Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations, said in his keynote speech.

Alma Gravely served as sponsor of the ship named for her late husband. At her command of "man our ship and bring her to life," the 275-sailor crew ran through the crowd on the dock, boarded the ship and lined up on the deck.

The USS Gravely is 510 feet long and weighs 9,500 tons. Its four gas-turbine propulsion plants can power the ship to speeds above 30 knots.

The last Navy vessel commissioned in Wilmington was the Virginia class submarine (SSN 777) USS North Carolina in May 2008. The USS North Carolina stationed at Pearl Harbor.

Cedar's Take Away - If you have never witnessed a commissioning you are missing out on a big show. While it is indeed all for show it is still a lot of fun. Since the vessel has been in operation for the better part of two years at this point, she's been very operational but it is still a remarkable moment when everyone charges to the rails and and things start to spool up.

Steam escapes, radars turn, guns swing into position and flags are run up the halyards. Compared to the commissioning of USS North Carolina which was nothing more than "its on" since nuclear ships are always on, and there is not much more that is visible this was show I'm sorry I missed. Something from the Carolina's past that used to be pretty routine.

Some Things Never Change

Proving that boys will be boys and that some things never change.

The year was 1905, and when word got out that a new piece of fire fighting equipment, a Amoskeag Steam Pumper would put to the test it didn't take long for a crowd to show up.



100 years later when word got out that The Charlotte Fire Department would give a demonstration of its 'Old Sue' Engine 3, a 1902 American Fire Engine Company, Steamer pump, as you might have expected it didn't take long for a crowd to show up.



The Charlotte Fire Department (Charlotte, NC) presents a live demonstration and display of its fire engine history spanning over 80 years of service. Fire Chief Jon B. Hannan, Command Staff, firefighters, family members, and friends gathered to watch 'Old Sue' Engine 3, a rare 1902 American Fire Engine Company, Metropolitan Model Horse Drawn Steamer pump and observe other antique fire engines. In addition to 'Old Sue' were a 1928 American LaFrance pumper, a 1948 Mack pumper, a 1958 Seagrave pumper, and a 1971 Seagrave pumper. All of these apparatus were purchased new and served on the front lines for the City of Charlotte. Retirees Oscar White and Artie Baker share their experiences riding on some these rare fire apparatus antiques.

Saturday Odds and Ends

Sanders v. CMPD Et al - Back in April Charlotte resident Rickey Sanders picked up three teenage girls and apparently took them to a hotel off Tyvola Road. What happened next is pretty hazy.

According to WCNC: "The girls say they ended up at the Hilton near Tyvola Road where they went with Sanders to a hotel room. At some point, detectives say Sanders pulled out a box cutter, sexually assaulted one girl and attempted to assault another. When the teens ran from the room, they alerted staff at the front desk who called police."

Sanders was located and CMPD charged him with 3 counts of felony kidnapping, 1st degree sex offense, sexual battery and damage to property. The Mecklenburg County Arrest Record is here. WCNC News ran the story several times during newscasts on April 8 and April 9, 2010.



Then on April 27, 2010 WCNC a story titled "Fugitive Files" which highlighted accused rapist Daniel Rodriguez and included Rickey Sanders by reporting: "And the last of our five greatest hits is Rickey sander. He’s charged with kidnapping and raping a teen. VCAT caught up with him earlier this month."

Since then the charges have apparently been dismissed and Sanders released from jail.

On Monday Sanders filed suit in US Federal court against the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department, CMPD Officer Mike Melendez and WCNC News as well as former news reporter Mark Boone, claiming his (Sanders) civil rights were violated.

Sanders has been convicted in the past of weapons violation and child abuse.

CMPD Animal Control - It didn't get much coverage outside of Tony Burbeck's report that aired on WCNC News two weeks ago.

While it was not the bombshell that the Marcus Jackson story provided is does show that CMPD is now a breeding ground for unethical and just down right wrong behavior.

From WCNC:

Pictures taken inside Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s Animal Care and Control and posted on Facebook have prompted an internal investigation and a reminder about the appropriate use of social media sites.

A former volunteer at Animal Care and Control says it is sad enough the animals are there, but now it appears someone was having fun at their expense.

Animal Care and Control says 65 percent of the animals that come there will be euthanized.

In the first picture, a cat has a cigarette in its mouth, what appears to be earphones in its ears and a knife with an exposed blade between its paws. The caption says: “Had a little too much fun with a tranquilized feral cat."

In the second picture, someone is holding a kitten with a pen in its mouth. The caption says: "Angry kitty wants to write you a note."

The third picture shows a ferret without hair. The caption says: "Apparently somebody thought it would be fun to Nair Brenna." Nair is a hair removal product.

These pictures were posted to a CMPD Animal Care and Control veterinary technician’s Facebook page.

Animal Care and Control confirms these pictures prompted an ongoing internal investigation.

The rest of the story is here.

Cedar Says: Hard to tell what is going on, but it sure doesn't make CMPD's ACC Unit look very professional.

Cedar Posts Update: Looks like this story is now getting some traction. WBTV has posted a report that aired Monday's 6PM Newcast. Details are here.

TSA Stands Firm - While the mainstream media runs with stories of congressmen speaking out against the TSA , odd grope reports, pilot union objections and ACLU concerns they are missing the quiet stealth like attack in the making. The TSA will no doubt also be caught off guard by this protest in the making.



Across the US at many college campuses students are preparing for a short break and in doing so have been tweeting away about the TSA and opt out program.

Seems college students like the idea of getting groped and are planning to opt out in mass.

Other grid locking ideas from the under 25 crowd run from mooning, to requesting "new latex gloves" before the extensive and invasive pat down, "after all who knows what type of disease the last guy being groped had".

Keep in mind that college students make up a large percentage of travelers after Thanksgiving so if it's bad over the Thanksgiving weekend it will only get worse as the public vs the TSA fight goes all out.

UPDATE: Charlotte's WBTV News picks up the protest movement "National Opt-Out Day" here.

TSA Enough is Enough!

It is amazing to me the price we are paying as Americans for political correctness and the ability to travel via our domestic airlines.




No need to remind me that most Muslims are not extremists bent on killing thousands of US civilians. (Yes that's a hint of where I'm going with this).

But at some point you have to ask yourself when is enough enough? When will the traveling American public get fed up with the physical governmental shake down and virtual mugging every time we want to board a commercial airliner?

When will we put down our one permitted carry on bag that doesn't exceed the required dimensions rather than stand in line for 2 hours and be treated like convicted felons just to fly in a 17 inch wide seat to Atlanta?

During the past decade we have seen more and more of our civil liberties eroded in the name of national security and public safety. So much so that the ability to travel from place to place freely in our country has been completely compromised. Not only must we present a state issued ID card to purchase an airline ticket, but we are required to show it before entering TSA screening, again after screening and at anytime during our travel if so requested.

Now the TSA is telling us that flying is privilege and not a right.

Therefore are we to assume that it is a privilege to be digitally strip searched or if we desire the privilege of an extensive groping aka security pat down?

Airline travel had become a nightmare long before 9/11. Now the TSA, the same group of bureaucrats who single handedly quadrupled the sales of men's black dress loafers for the traveling business crowd, has their hand down my pants and up your skirt.

The effect of all this "groping" and "looking" makes us travelers just that much more irritable, as if we aren't already annoyed with all the delays, long lines, airline "up-charges" and fees plus being stuck in a tin can for hours on end during arrival gate backups and departure push back delays.

I get it, the days when flying was fun are over. I know for me it was a flight from Daytona in the middle seat stuck between a 200 pound hooker and a 300 pound redneck with a dead rattle snake wrapped around his straw hat that included two Budweiser beer cans on either side.

But how much longer before people just say enough, when a cheap fare isn't worth the pain of air travel?

Besides the obvious Constitutional questions of unwarranted searches, the one question that needs asking is does any of this madness even work?


Granny Bomber?

The real value of the full-body scans, are by many accounts uncertain.

“It remains unclear whether the scanners would have been able to detect the weapon Mr. Abdulmutallab used in his attempted attack,” says a March report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Abdulmutallab is the "underwear bomber".

Italian security officials stopped using the scanners in September. "We didn't get good results from body scanners during testing,” said Vito Riggio, the president of Italy’s aviation authority, describing the scans as slow and ineffective.

British scientists found that the scanners picked up shrapnel and heavy wax and metal, but missed plastic, chemicals and liquids, reported UK newspaper The Independent in January and plastic, chemicals and liquid are what makes up a bomb.

In other words we've spent millions on technologies that might protect us from past terrorist attempts with guns and knives but does nothing to protect us from current threats and evermore creative future threats.

“Some of these technological responses to terrorism really start to seem like placebos,” says Susan Herman, President of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and law professor at Brooklyn Law School. “To the extent that people understand what the benefits are, and the invasion of privacies are, giving up their privacy for machines that make them feel better, but don’t do the job of preventing any terrorist device from getting on an airplane.”

(I always thought it would be a cold day in hell before I agreed with anyone at the ACLU. Hold on while I check the temperature. Yep scary outside and cold!)

There are nearly 67,000 TSA workers, most in my experience are poorly trained, rude and semi illiterate. Each day these glorified security guards are assumed to be on the look out for terrorists and underwear bombers. They are not doing anything, they are for the most part slackers who are happy to earn $12.50 an hour and get a pension after 5 years.

In hopes that man power alone will stop a terrorist attack we have hired thousands of these people to complete a gargantuan task, one that the cost to the taxpayers in hard dollars alone is unimaginable. Once you figure in the costs of work force delays and stress on the traveling public you have the GDP of Thailand.


Suspected Gummi Bear Bomber?

What if we just sealed the borders? Subjecting only those traveling internationally to this insanity while the majority of us traveling from Charlotte to say Topeka or anywhere within the USA can get on our planes without the hassle of the porno scan, or sexual assault while touching my junk?

What if we made all of Middle Eastern descent stand in the long lines while the rest of us wait comfortably in the airport lounge? Yes I'm talking racial and ethic profiling.

What is the common denominator of ALL airline terrorists? Bingo! They are of middle eastern descent. (Yes I admit Timothy McVeigh was a terrorist and that he was not a Muslim but did he blow up an airliner.)

Not that Midwesterner's aren't to be suspected. According to the TSA Texans are responsible for most of the hand guns seized this year. 7 out of 12 guns seized at TSA check points belonged to passengers from Texas.

OK so if you're from Texas, get in the line, and all you people that look like you're crack heads get in the line as well, make that the back of the line.

I won't give you all the numbers but the TSA is really proud of their confiscated items which in addition to the 12 hand guns include hundreds "sharp objects" nail clippers and the like and 100 thousands gallons of misc liquid.

During the first 9 months of last year the Transportation Security Administration proudly says it has seized 123,189 items from passengers at the three New York-area airports, including a baby alligator.

Among the tens of thousands of prohibited items seized was a 6-foot-long African spear and a gassed-up chainsaw. Good job TSA, but I think we could have spotted the 6 foot long spear and chainsaw without spending a billion dollars and feeling up the entire population of Long Island.

There is no proof that all this expense and passenger harassment has resulted in preventing one single terrorist attack. The truth is that Muslim extremists will continue to evolve. Toner cartridges this month, will become iPhone bombs next month.

The creation and continued expansion of the TSA has sent only one clear message to terrorists, and that is you have won because now we are terrorised by our own government.

If our borders were secure and our immigration policy not so insanely open we would not be spending 6.3 billion (a number projected to double in the next 3 years) to employee people to insult and abuse us.

As politically incorrect as it seems, looking for bad people, that is singling out people with beards, burkas and the like is the answer and the TSA is already doing this. If you are the lone passenger aboard a flight with a Mideastern name you are on the radar. Chances are if you have ever flown to the middle east you are on "the list".

Apparently ethnic profiling like water boarding is ok, but in a don't ask , don't tell sort of way.

So how about easing up on the rest of us? The airline industry and the good guys aka the traveling public can't take much more.

By the way I noticed that all TSA employees are now wearing latex gloves, so I'm pretty much convinced that before long we'll be told that the cavity search we're about to receive is also a privilege.

Fine, let's just get it over with, but really do you have to use the whole fist?

Tweet of the Week!

@DarrellHansen:

O'Bama and the TSA announce a new entitlement program for air travelers during the Thanksgiving Holidays. EVERYONE GETS A FREE GOOSE.

Cedar Says: I know its kinda lame, but I have a real job you know.

Marcus Jackson and the CMPD

The title might as well be "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" for all the strange and odd things going on at CMPD.

Today the "Local Paper" is reporting that an attorney for Marcus Jackson (who is still locked up) is seeking a protective order to prevent release of his CMPD personnel file.

This is just a little odd in that if as suspected his file is filled, glossed over suspension, and discipline issues it would clearly support the notion that CMPD failed to supervise the rookie officer which might somewhat mitigate the circumstances surrounding his arrest. So what is there to protect?

The motion for a protective order, filed Monday by Jackson's lawyer, Susan Weigand, says "the release of Jackson's files while the charges are still pending would thwart the administration of justice, deny the defendant his right to a fair trial and would be a denial of due process of law."

A judge is set to hear the motion on Monday. City Attorney McCarley said the city will neither oppose nor support the motion and will comply with any final order from the court.

The "Local Paper" has also asked the city to release information about all CMPD officers disciplined in the past five years, including termination letters.

This would of course commence a major snowball effect on CMPD and you can almost smell the smoke from the fires and hear the paper shredder working overtime.

Cedar Posts has always suspected that Jackson was pushed for acceptance into the CMPD training class based on his race and that his application was sanitized before being presented to the Civil Service Board. The minutes of that board meeting show a pattern that is somewhat consistent with this thinking.

Further to add to the cover up suspicion, the Civil Service Board minutes are no longer posted to the Char-Meck web site. Gone as well is the annual report of the CMPD Internal Affairs Division, CMPD budget, Significant Event Log and 911 Calls for Service.

Things that Chief Monroe has considered a thorn in his backside, but from the public side of the law makes CMPD seem more like a Black-Ops operation rather than a municipal police department.

CMPD has long defended keeping the Jackson files sealed. Now suddenly they offer no opinion while they let Jackson's attorney do the dirty work.

All of this leads many to suggest that Jackson's files have long since been sanitized.

Or as Willy Wonka would say: "I'm sorry, but all questions "must" be submitted in writing. And so, in the greatest of secrecy...."

Wednesday's Wild, Weird and Wonderful

Wild – Maybe CMS is closing the wrong high School. According to the “Local Paper” Ten students were arrested Tuesday after another brawl broke out at Garinger High School.

This is the fourth fight on school grounds in the past 30 days, including a fracas in the stands that forced the early end of a varsity football game on Oct. 22.

This week's fight, like at least one other brawl, started when students were arriving for classes.

Four of those arrested are considered juveniles the other lovely children arrested are:


Dondrake Blackmoore Wendy Cabrera



Mark Jones Estefani Mendoza



Tekonia Raiford Alegre Whitaker



Weird – Dancing with the Stars goes strange when Brandy is sent packing on Tuesday night’s elimination much to the shock of judges. Brandy, who must be one of the most fragile women on the planet, looked stunned and on the edge of a total breakdown.

Jennifer Grey who might as well be declared the winner, gave one of those you have got to be kidding looks as well.

Those who follow DWTS and those who only catch an occasional glimpse, like CP wonder why in the world Bristol Palin is still on the show. The show is “Dancing with the “Stars” right?


Bristol Palin

The explanation might just be VoteForTheWorst.com the counter intuitive site has been promoting Palin since the start of this season’s DWTS and has a pretty good track record pushing votes for other improbable contestants including Sanjaya Malakar from the American Idol 2009 season.

Wonderful – Medal of Honor recipient Salvatore Giunta, who is not yet able to reconcile the loss of his comrades, with becoming an American hero, is also pretty darn humble about the whole process.


Salvatore Giunta

When 60 Minutes Lara Logan asked what kind of soldier he is, Giunta said, "I'm average. I'm mediocre."

"This is only one moment," he continued. "I don't think I did anything that anyone else I was with wouldn't have done. I was in a position to do it. That was what needed to be done. So that's what I did."

"This is the single greatest honor that the military can bestow on its own. And it comes right from the president of the United States himself. That's pretty good for a mediocre soldier," Logan remarked.

Giunta's reply? "Think how good the great soldiers are."

Update: As requested Giunta's story at CBS is here.

60 Minutes Story on Staff Sgt. Sal Giunta

If you haven't seen this it is worth the watch. It adds new perspective to the meaning of selfless and humble.

Something New Webcast of Medal of Honor Ceremony Live on Cedar Posts

Pushing the limits of technology Cedar Posts will carry the Medal of Honor ceremony live from the White House right here at 2:00 PM EST Tuesday November 11, 2010.

Tuesday's Check This Out!

Medal of Honor - A 25-year-old Army staff sergeant from Iowa will be the first living recipient of the Medal of Honor since three service members from the Vietnam War were honored in 1976.



President Obama will award the nation's highest medal of valor to Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta on Tuesday. Giunta was a specialist serving with the Airborne 503rd Infantry Regiment on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan when his unit was attacked on the night of October 25, 2007.

More details from CNN here and an indepth report from 60 Minutes is here.

NASCAR's Hall of Fame - Councilman Michael Barnes sent a letter to Charlotte City Manager Curt Walton asking about attendance records and reports of potentially inappropriate personal conduct between CRVA leadership and an employee.

Are we to assume that the Hall of Fame is not only a white elephant but a sexual harassment lawsuit waiting to happen? The real question seems to be why in the world are taxpayers involved in the entertainment business? It's the NASCAR Hall of Fame it should be NASCAR's worry.

CMS Board Members Threatened - Looks like the race card has turned into a full out race war with someone sending annoymous hate mail to at least two school board members.

"In the letter its clear and obvious they are being targeted because of the way they voted on the school issue," said Milton Harris with CMPD's Criminal Intellingence Unit.

Kaye McGarry and CMS board chairman Eric Davis are reported to have both receved letters

But CMPD will not release the content of the letters or who they think sent them.

Major Pot Bust on I-77 - Perhaps the two men who got caught last week hauling 2,608 pounds of marijuana down the interstate were not the sharpest criminals.



The men, who are brothers, had overloaded their trailer so that it was weaving between lanes, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said. That got Deputy Thomas McLamb’s attention.

“It obviously was a road hazard,” McLamb said.

On top of that, the two were sampling the pot while driving.

“That didn’t help,” Lott said of their driving skills.

Now, Hector Humberto Solorio, 28, and Heriberto Belmonte Solorio, 39, are in jail for what Lott described as one of the largest marijuana busts in the county’s history.

Inside the enclosed trailer, McLamb discovered 2,600 pounds of marijuana divided into 114 bundles.

Both men are in the country illegally from Mexico, Lott said.

Quick Thinking Neighbors and Fast Acting CMPD Officers Nab B&E Suspects

Nadon Toure


Tyshaun Doral Lee

From Fox News Charlotte - North Tryon Division officers with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department have arrested Tyshaun Doral Lee and Nadon Toure, and charged them with Breaking and Entering and Larceny.

More Details at Fox News which is here.