Humpday Happenings...

And what a humpday it IS here in the Heartland.
Another mild day with plenty of sunshine, temps reaching the mid to upper 70s, and possibly increasing cloudiness later on.
Should prove worthy of lots of criminal activity down here in the ghettohood.
In the meantime, let's kick back, top off our morning beverage of choice and see what all's been going on...fair enough?
*** First up, it's time for the Motto of the Week aka WHO SAID THAT?
"The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us."
So, who said that?
The answer at the top of tomorrow's post.
Meanwhile, back at SETI...
*** An update to yesterday's BP robbery that happened on the (you guessed it)...SOUTHEAST side.
Here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20130605/LOCAL/306059929/0/SEARCH

This was the robbery at the BP at S. Anthony and Tillman, where a man was "detained" minutes after the police arrived on scene and began searching the area.
The person arrested, one Chad James, 22, of Fort Wayne is charged with robbery (don't forget the firearm - kick it up a notch).
Taken in the robbery was $295 in cash (according to the story)...AND (wait for it, because yours truly was RIGHT AGAIN)...FOUR packs of....

NEWPORTS!
What the hell did I say yesterday?
You just KNOW the way these people shake!
Why not take a damn CARTON for God's sake?

Dumbasses...!

James is being held in lieu of $10K bail - not high enough, considering he had a GUN...should be a LOT higher...that's the way to ENFORCE current gun laws and make it harder for the perps to slip through the judicial noose.

Police have not ID'ed the 2nd gunman, and he remains at-large.
Moving on...
*** Yes, friends, we have reached HOMICIDE NUMBER 22 yesterday afternoon after school let out.

Here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20130605/LOCAL/306059968
This happened in the 2600 block of Mauldin St near Fruehauf St. around 1645 hours.

When police arrived on scene, they found one man dead behind the wheel of a late model blue Chevrolet, the engine still running in front of a (vacant) house with tall weeds and grass.

Several shell casings were found near the car.
Witnesses reported seeing two men fleeing the scene, one on foot.
The one on foot was described as a 5'10" BLACK MALE, wearing a gray hoodie, dark pants and black Nikes ( I heard this go out on the PD radio).
The other BLACK MALE was described as being heavy-set, and driving a 1990s model red Cadillac with a white "landau" roof.

The car might have been missing some type of logo/emblem on the passenger side (most likely near the roof and rear door).

A 1991 Coupe DeVille w/ vinyl roof.

Be nice if we knew which MODEL of Caddy the car was...like a Sedan DeVille, Coupe DeVille, STS, or Eldorado...there is a huge difference between the car models.

But that landau roof (half vinyl probably) is gonna be EASY to track.
The car fled east on Mauldin, and the footman fled northbound.


A 1993 Cadillac sedan DeVille



Both men are presumed to be armed ('Ya think? And I'll wager those guns were NOT obtained LEGALLY), and citizens are being told to take care.

SO, I can shoot them FIRST if I see them????

The victim was described as a 45 year old male who was a father, a coach and owned a car lot.

I even saw Deputy (Dawg) police chief Garry ( I got where I am by affirmative action) Hamilton speaking to the media:

"We can't do it by ourselves, and we can't police every block, so we need help when you see suspicious activity to call it in,"

Sure thing, Garry...we already KNOW you can't be everywhere...that's why law-abiding citizens like MYSELF are pretty much ARMED...24/7/365...!!!
Bet YOU don't sleep with a gun under YOUR pillow, Bub.
Things around the SE side sure have taken a DOWNWARD turn since YOU took over from (retired) Captain Nancy Chamberlin...haven't they?
Helluva "watch" you got going on here.
No motive, so suspects and no other information has been released, including the victim's name.
I'll update this as more becomes available.
((Update - 1430 Hrs - the name of the victim has been released by the coroner. He was Derrick D. Carlisle, 45 of Ft. Wayne. He has a fairly long rap sheet dating back to 1988, mostly traffic infractions, but there IS one count of possession and dealing cocaine from 1990, and he moved around a bit too. I'll post the entire stats for the recently-deceased tomorrow. The motive for the shooting will certainly be interesting to find out))
*** Has anyone seen the GAS PRICES in Fort Wayne?
(talk about some REAL ROBBERY...lol)

Last Saturday, prices were around $3.65, but today, they're ALL up around the $4+ mark, with TWO stations pricing fuel at $4.29 per gallon!

Yep, this is our "WTF???" moment of the damn week.
We are now listed as the FIFTH HIGHEST state in America for gas prices, and I have to ask WHY?
What did we do wrong to deserve this?
Here's one story link:
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/local/gas-at-429-at-two-area-gas-stations
Now, is this a rolling sort of price gouge we're seeing to "level the playing field"?
I thought the maintenance was DONE in refineries within the Midwest...
Guess not.
Apparently a refinery in ILLINOIS is expected to go back online soon, and prices should drop, but not back to that $3.65 we had LESS than 7 days ago.
Just in time for school to let out...and have time to drive somewhere...I smell a major BAMBOOZLE here.
*** Next up, I was watching the City Council meeting last evening on cable access (Hey, I find my laughs wherever I can these days), and I was suffering through a few "jaw-drops" regarding future city budgets, cut-backs, more money wanted for public service, and the like.
The GOOD news is that council agrees they need MORE revenue.
The BAD news is it's between $14.3 MIL and $23.5 MIL...!

Here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20130605/LOCAL/306059963/1002/LOCAL
Council cites part of the blame is due to LESS GAS TAX revenues...
Really?
REALLY???
You make cars that get BETTER mileage ergo fewer fillups, then jack UP the prices OF the gas, thereby causing people to drive LESS, and we wonder WHY gas tax revenue is LOWER? C'mon now folks, do the damn math here!
It's like trying to BAN ciggies and then wondering HOW you're going to make up the HUGE shortfall of TAX MONEY from the smokes when the smokes go away...
The politicos CREATE the monster, and then, don't want to bother taking care of it, or cleaning up after it.

Wouldn't want to be a PET in THOSE households.
But, leave it to FWPD chief Rusty York to "break the ice" and make things "lighter" with his snappy repartee` when HE addressed budget issues within the department both now and for the next several years:
“I can’t imagine what our homicide rate, our crime rate would be if we didn’t have these people working proactively,” York said.
I dunno, Rus...the HOMICIDE RATE is doing pretty damn WELL, considering all the "proactive" work the FWPD is supposed to be doing, that I'm not seeing.
If you had a really PROACTIVE department, the officers would be free from chasing radio calls for 911 butt-dials and be canvassing the streets AND the alleys around here, LOOKING for those who are causing crime, instead of just showing up AFTER the deed's been done...right?
Words still have meaning....AND power, so perhaps YOU should choose your words a bit more carefully, chief.
Don't speak about proactivity where little if any exists, kapeesh?
We're already 20+ officers LOWER than what we NEED for an area of THIS size regarding population.
Let's not add insult to injury here.
*** Lastly, it saddens me to see good officers going out every day, putting THEIR lives on the line for a city that has already allowed the ranks of the FWPD to drop alarmingly.
That serves no one, and makes "the job" harder for the thin blue line.
It's not the streets of years gone by either...it's a LOT more dangerous out there, both for citizens AND for the men and women in uniform.

We see it damn near every day in the paper or on TV.

And it saddens me to think that anyone would even consider cutting back on public safety under such conditions.

Actually, it pisses me off ROYALLY!

I move from a big city of over 2.5 million people with a homicide rate that once reached 455 one year and a police force in the tens of THOUSANDS to a city of 250+K and a department of ONLY 420 (give or take) officers, and THIS city has more problems that affect ME than those back in Philly.

I call the FWPD more in ONE month here than I did in decades in Philly, and the neighborhoods are fairly similar, with a few exceptions.
We had MORE families per block there, and fewer minorities...and a HELLUVA LOT LESS crime.
Here, we have a lot fewer families per block, a lot more minorities and LOT MORE CRIME.
So, what's the chief factor at work here?
Is it "just me"?

Or, perhaps, is it the role of minorities, broken families, entitlement mentalities, and a callous view of anyone in authority that's at work here?

The short answer HAS to be...YES, all the above.

And it would appear, from where I stand, to be the major issue as to WHY this city has one entire quadrant going to hell in a handbasket at break-neck pace. Crime isn't something new, but the manner in which it is both allowed to thrive and/or how it's to be addressed is the KEY to making this part of town a lot SAFER, and it's many of the reasons I mentioned in previous posts over the last 6 years.
It's easy to turn your back and hope it goes away...it's harder to tackle the problem head-on and do something about it.
But the rewards that are reaped by such hard work and diligence in diminishing crime here will last a lot longer than flowers at some drive-by victims' funeral.
Just something to think about.

Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay SAFE out there, America.