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May 17, 2005
Developing ... UPDATED
The cases that cross my desk in an never-ending flood can be depressing. The behavior of some of our fellow citizens towards others runs from small transgressions (shoplifting) to pure evil (rape/murder/child molestation). I'm almost inured to most of it (though I find anything where children are victims has never lost its emotional impact with me. These cases stay with me.)
But just before lunchtime I read a new case that really made my hair stand on end. I have to describe it in the most general terms so bear with me because it may be that it is a case of one lone nutjob, or ...
Picture a young woman going about her daily errands. She leaves a local business, crosses the parking lot to her vehicle, unlocks it and slips in, but suddenly she can't close the door. A man has slipped up the side of her vehicle and shoved a Bible into the doorjamb to prevent her from closing the door. Obviously startled, she looks at this man who has noticed her husband's dogtags hanging from her rearview mirror. He asks her if they are hers. Her apprehension grows as this man speaks with a heavy Middle-Eastern accent. She tells him they belong to her husband. He glares at her, "He has killed people in my country" and starts mumbling to her in a foreign language. She is now terrified because she can't close the door and leave and she can't exit her car without hitting him with her door. She tries to squeeze out and he suddenly chucks the Bible at her, striking her saying "You're going to need that."
She flees into a nearby business and calls the local police. They arrive, take her statement (she's shaking and crying so bad she can hardly sign the paperwork), locate and arrest the man. They cannot question him because he refuses to even say he understands his Miranda rights.
He is currently in custody and other agencies are being called in.
He obviously targeted this woman because of her connection to the US military and this happened yesterday.
Nutjob? Coincidence (with the Newsweek irresponsibility)? This is one of those cases I'm going to try and follow.
UPDATE 5:57 pm I'm sorry to say that this afternoon my issuing DDA (even after consulting with the Supervising DDA) turned down this case for prosecution. While no one doubts this military wife was scared, in the assessment of the DDA the man never made a direct enough threat to rise to a clear conviction of PC422 (criminal threat) and she didn't have any injuries from being hit by the Bible so even the minor PC242 would have a tough time being prosecuted.
I don't necessarily agree. Yes, it can be argued that he was just exercising his First Amendment right to be a total jerkoff in scaring the crap out of this woman, but personally I'd have loved to have filed at least misdemeanor charges and cause him some measure of aggravation in coming to court.
:::sigh::: Not my call.
I will take a small measure of comfort that even if this man's egregious/suspicious behavior did not rise to criminal prosecution status, I'm certainly glad he gets to spend tonight in jail and earlier today the Feds paid him a little visit. Maybe it will startle him off from harassing military personnel and their families.
Posted by Darleen at May 17, 2005 12:28 PM
Comments
I know what I would do with this person. It would be my pleasure. Gasoline would be involved.
Sorry you have to deal with this.
{Darleen}
Hang in there, Dolly.
PS. Riding the Dragon with Mcgyver this weekend! Woo-hoo!
Posted by: Steve J at May 17, 2005 01:50 PM