Small Town Misfit

Denton, TX
A man complained to Denton County sheriff’s deputies that his neighbors have been stealing his wireless computer access.

The man said he has seen the neighbors up on their roofs several times with their computers and has photographed them.

They back their car halfway out of the garage to give them a way to climb to the roof, he said. Then they use their laptops while sitting on the roof.

Found in the Denton Chronicle-Record

(Bear with me while I get serious for just a minute dear readers.)

We live in an age of data. And the safety, transparency, and integrity of no data is more important than the information our government collects about us. In a time of shrinking civil rights, expanding government power, and increased surveillance of U.S. citizens, it’s unnerving to learn that a law enforcement agency is refusing to turn over standard public records to a city newspaper.

But that’s exactly what’s happening in “Rio Grande” (Northern), New Mexico. The sheriff’s department is using a new computer system to track crime in the area, and they’ve stopped providing the Rio Grande Sun with detailed reports of local calls. Furthermore, the Sheriff refuses to give Sun reporters access to the computer system because of restrictive new “Homeland Security” laws that keep the press out of certain law enforcement office areas. Apparently the reports could be printed on hard copies, but they would fill hundreds of pages, and the law enforcement officials are unwilling to expend those resources.

At a superficial level, this is a shame, as the Rio Grande Sun police blotter is some of the most entertaining reading on the internet. Evidence:

9:42 p.m. - A man said someone stole his goat. He’d had problems before with his neighbor’s stealing the goat and had fixed his fence, he said, but now they had evidently found a new way to get his goat.

But the real crime here, is that the Rio Grande Sheriff has shutdown what should be a fundamentally transparent part of any government. Residents of New Mexico now have far less information about the crimes committed in their neighborhoods. Individuals who deal with the police are now deprived of a public record of their ordeals. Journalists no longer have the police blotter as a lead-generator, so that they can chase developing stories about crime and law enforcement.

I’ve been reading the Rio Grande police blotter now for about three years, and it’s clear that the law enforcement officials there have their hands full. Drug use and trafficking, rampant alcoholism, and domestic violence fill nearly every report. And the police don’t always come off peachy in the reports, which I assume is a major reason they’re now withholding this data. After doing this blog for several years, I have an immense amount of respect for law enforcement officials all over this country, but I can not condone a systematic information shutdown by these agencies.

Right now, the Rio Grande Sun’s website is down—I think it was hit hard by some hackers last night. But as soon as it comes back up, I’ll post some links to places where readers can send letters that will hopefully be read by the officials in Rio Grande.

I’ll be following this story closely, so check back for any developments. Let’s get the Rio Grande Police Blotter back where it belongs: in the hands of the readers of the Rio Grande Sun.

Goleta Valley, CA
A woman who left $12,000 in cash unattended in her car filed a report of grand theft after the money went missing a few weeks ago. The woman, 37, told authorities the money was last seen in an envelope under her car seat at a Fairview Avenue carwash. The woman admitted leaving the money unattended, and out of view, while the car was being cleaned.

Found in the Goleta Valley Voice

Goleta Valley, CA
A 54-year old man contacted authorities after $500 worth of gum and soda went missing from his car. The victim told deputies his car was parked on Placer Drive when the merchandise, purchased for his Santa Barbara store, was stolen.

Found in the Goleta Valley Voice

Goleta Valley, CA
Returning home to find his Isla Vista house burglarized, the resident looked outside to find a young man passed out on the front lawn. Checking the downed man’s pockets for identification, the victim came across his own stolen iPod. Apparently, the intoxicated burglar passed out before making it off the property.

The thief, once awakened, began vomiting profusely. Coming to his aid, the victim brought a wastebasket to the ill suspect until, finally, the suspect was able to walk home. It wasn’t until the following day that the victim realized the sick thief had also left with stolen cash in his pocket.

The victim turned over information collected from the suspect’s identification in hopes of locating the suspect and the $91. In a change of heart, having realized the thankless burglar left with stolen property, the victim told authorities he now wished to press charges against the thief.

Found in the Goleta Valley Voice

Waynesboro, GA
Burglars caused nearly $20,000 in damage at the Head Start center on Blakeney Street.

According to a report filed at the Waynesboro Police Department, the burglars broke into the old gymnasium, which was being used for storage, and stripped the copper wiring and metal from three air conditioning units that had been put there for safekeeping.

Police say they also stole a Cub Cadet tractor and two water fountains that belong to the Burke County Board of Education.

And…

The Headstart center has been hit again.

After $20,000 in damages from thieves earlier this month, the Blakeney Street center has been vandalized.

According to the police report, seven windows were broken with rocks and gunshots.

The damages are estimated at $700.

Found in the True Citizen

Atlanta, GA
On Wellington Street, a woman said she walked out of her house and noticed her 2003 Kia Sedona was gone. She said she had left her car title inside the car. (She works for the Department of Motor Vehicles.) She said she put her $250 white-and-gold Dolce & Gabbana purse on her porch, and then walked inside to get the car insurance card. She said while she was inside, someone stole her purse.

Found in Creative Loafing

Columbia, SC
A 61-year-old man was seen in the Harden Street fountain on April 22 taking change from the bottom of the gusher. Money thrown into the fountain apparently belongs to City of Columbia. The man was arrested for petit larceny and taken to jail.

Found in the Free Times

Atlanta, GA
A woman said she left her house on Defoors Ferry Road and a few hours later, she got a call about her home alarm going off. She returned home and discovered that her house had been robbed — again. She said this is the fifth time someone has broken into her home. She also said, every time the suspect(s) enter her home, “they always leave a fruit that is half-eaten in plain view for her to discover,” the officer wrote. “I discovered a half-eaten banana next to the listed crow bar, which was used to enter the front door.” Items reported stolen are: a flat-screen TV, a CD player and a lamp.

Found in Creative Loafing

Amherst, NY
An Amherst woman was charged with robbery after she reportedly bit a clerk and stole jewelry from a Main Street business in Clarence.

Found in the Bee News

Cincinnati, OH
A 19-year-old Green Township mother is being held this morning at the Hamilton County jail after Cincinnati police charged her with taking her newborn baby along while she broke into a candy store.

Christine Ruther and three others are accused of breaking into Minges Candy Store, 132 W. Court St., downtown, shortly before 1 a.m. and swiping about $400 in candy, police said.

The group was arrested a few blocks away at Fourth and Race streets when police caught up with them by following the trail of candy and candy wrappers.

Arrested with Ruther was her seven-week-old daughter.

Ruther was charged with child endangering and breaking and entering, court records show. She arrived at the jail about 5 a.m. and will go before a judge Friday morning, jail officials said.

An 18-year-old woman and two men, 18 and 22, also were charged with breaking and entering, police said.

Found in the Cincinnati Enquirer

Thanks Luann!

Kalispell, MT
7:36 p.m. A 30-year-old man was caught stealing baseball cards and a G.I. Joe from ShopKo.

Found in the Flathead Beacon