Monday Musings...

And here we are again...another start to a rather cold-ish week in the Hoosierland.
But, it's not like we didn't KNOW this was coming, right?
I will say it was weird to see the SUN out AND having snow flurries at the SAME time.
Sun-flurries...yeah.
Anyway, today's weather will see perhaps a few brief flurries or snow showers, some sun peaking through now and again through the clouds, with temps reaching the upper 30s.
And that will pretty much be the rest of the week's weather...seems we went from mild to freezing and skipped traditional November weather.
So, heat up that cocoa, or coffee or tea, or even cider and let's kick back, stay indoors if possible, and see what's been happening elsewhere.
*** First up today is the good possibility of homicide number FORTY TWO (if you're still keeping score at the office or at home).

Here's the story:
http://www.wane.com/news/crime/police-respond-to-shooting-near-maysville-road
Granted, this did NOT happen on the SE side (for a change), but rather way up on the EAST side of town near Maysville Rd.

This happened yesterday evening around 1930 hrs, when police responded to a call about a man found dead in a house at 7425 Placer Run by his girlfriend...not the best way to spread holiday cheer, is it?
Police say the man was dead on scene, and that no evidence of suicide was discovered.
So THAT leaves few other conclusions.
Obviously, there is no motive or suspects at this time.
Police are still posting guards at the residence as of this morning.
I will post updates when available.
(( Editor's Update - 1400 hrs - The victim HAS been confirmed as the 42nd HOMICIDE of the year, and ID'ed as 29-year old Demetrius Masterson. If you refer to my archival posts from both 9 November 2010 and 12 November 2010, you will see that he has been "HERE" before...in the triple shooting at Rick O'Shay's when he was 26 years old. I'll do some follow-up tomorrow. ))
Moving on...
*** Next up is that cocaine bust on the city's (where else?) SOUTHEAST SIDE late last week.
Here's the story link:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20131123/LOCAL07/311239939/0/SEARCH

Earl, Olivia, and Quintin  - losers!

Now, if the name of ONE of the three perps busted sounds a bit familiar, check back to my archive post from 27 APRIL 2011, when one EARL ARMOUR (and Ricky Armour) were arrested for...(you guessed it)...DEALING COCAINE.
Wow, only took our flawed penal system TWO years to get this rubbish back on our streets.
Now, all THREE of those arrested have rap sheets, although Quintin Armour only has one arrest (well, two now).
And, because YOU want to know...here are the rap sheets:
EARL ARMOUR RAP SHEET
======================
MALE BLACK  - 6'1" - 190 lbs
======================
02D04-0111-CM-008279  Armour, Earl R 11/02/2001
Allen Superior Court 5 CM - Criminal Misdemeanor
Decided LEAVING SCENE OF ACC (B)
NEVER RECEIVE LICENSE
02D04-0404-IF-003828  Armour, Earl R 04/13/2004
Allen Superior Court 4 IF - Infraction
Decided LEARNER'S PERMIT VIOL
02D04-0406-OV-001262  Armour, Earl R 06/29/2004
Allen Superior Court 5 OV - Local Ordinance Violation
Decided VIOL FT WAYNE SPEED ORD
02D04-0510-MC-001911  Armour, Earl R 10/11/2005
Allen Superior Court 5 MC - Miscellaneous Criminal
Decided P.C. POSSESSION OF COCAINE
02D04-0601-IF-000121  Armour, Earl R 01/06/2006
Allen Superior Court 5 IF - Infraction
Decided EXCEED POSTED SPEED LIMIT
02D04-0605-CM-003223  Armour, Earl R 05/10/2006
Allen Superior Court 4 CM - Criminal Misdemeanor
Decided RESISTING LAW ENFORCEMENT
02D04-0605-MC-000982  Armour, Earl R 05/19/2006
Allen Superior Court 5 MC - Miscellaneous Criminal
Decided P.C. REC STOLEN PROPERTY
CARRYING HANDGUN W/O LICENSE
POSSESSION OF MARIJUANA
02D04-0610-OE-000878  Armour, Earl 10/02/2006
Allen Superior Court 6 OE - Exempted Ordinance Violation
Decided NO RABIES VACCINATION
FAILURE DISPLAY PET PERMT
FAILURE TO APPEAR VIOL
FAILURE TO APPEAR VIOL
02D04-0804-MC-000814  Armour, Earl R 04/11/2008
Allen Superior Court 6 MC - Miscellaneous Criminal
Decided P.C. DEALING IN COCAINE/METH
P.C. DEALING IN COCAINE/METH
P.C. DEALING IN COCAINE/METH
02D04-0804-FB-000055  Armour, Earl R 04/16/2008
Allen Superior Court 5 FB - Class B Felony
Decided DEALING IN COCAINE OR NARCOTIC DRUG
DEALING IN COCAINE OR NARCOTIC DRUG
DEALING IN COCAINE OR NARCOTIC DRUG
02D04-0911-CM-007029  Armour, Earl R 11/16/2009
Allen Superior Court 4 CM - Criminal Misdemeanor
Decided CRIMINAL TRESPASS
CRIMINAL MISCHIEF (A)
02D04-1006-CM-003757  Armour, Earl R 06/21/2010
Allen Superior Court 6 CM - Criminal Misdemeanor
Decided POSSESSION OF MARIJUANA
CRIMINAL TRESPASS
02H01-1010-IF-13259 000011339991 ARMOUR, EARL R, Jr. 10/13/2010
New Haven City Court IF - Infraction
Decided 9-24-1-1/IFC: No Valid Operators License
02D04-1101-MC-000244 NA Armour, Earl R 01/31/2011
Allen Superior Court 4 MC - Miscellaneous Criminal (Citation)
Decided 35-48-4-11/FD: Possession Marijuana/Hash Oil/Hashish - Amount Involved OR Prior Conviction
02D04-1102-FD-000162 3548411FD Armour, Earl R 02/03/2011
Allen Superior Court 4 FD - Class D Felony
Decided 35-48-4-11/FD: Possession Marijuana/Hash Oil/Hashish - Amount Involved OR Prior Conviction
02D06-1103-IF-003763 606365 Armour, Earl R 03/28/2011
Allen Superior Court 6 IF - Infraction
Decided 9-24-19-1/IFA: Driving While Suspended
02D06-1104-MC-000965 NA
Armour, Earl R 04/21/2011
Allen Superior Court 6 MC - Miscellaneous Criminal (Citation)
Decided 35-48-4-1(a)(1)(C)/FB: Dealing In Cocaine Or Narcotic Drug - Delivery Of
35-48-4-1(a)(1)(C)/FB: Dealing In Cocaine Or Narcotic Drug - Delivery Of
35-48-4-7(a)/FD: Possession Schedule I, II, III, or IV Controlled Substance
02D05-1104-FB-000089  Armour, Earl R 04/26/2011
Allen Superior Court 4 FB - Class B Felony
Decided 35-48-4-1(a)(1)(C)/FB: Dealing In Cocaine Or Narcotic Drug - Delivery Of
35-48-4-1(a)(1)(C)/FB: Dealing In Cocaine Or Narcotic Drug - Delivery Of
35-48-4-6(a)/FD: Possession Cocaine Or Schedule I or II Narcotic Drug
02D04-1201-CM-000451 663612 ARMOUR, EARL R, Jr. 01/24/2012
Allen Superior Court 4 CM - Criminal Misdemeanor
Pending 9-24-19-3/MA: Driving While Suspended (Prior Conviction for Certain Offenses)
02D04-1310-CM-004642 NA
====ADDRESSES========
2416 S CLINTON ST
  Fort Wayne, IN 46803
524 Kinnaird Ave
  Fort Wayne, IN 46807
2527 Hoagland Ave
  Fort Wayne, IN 46807
3222 Smith St
  Fort Wayne, IN 46806
=======================
========================
QUINTIN ARMOUR RAP SHEET
========================
MALE BLACK
================
02D05-1106-IF-008125 622540 ARMOUR, QUINTIN B 06/15/2011
Allen Superior Court 5 IF - Infraction
Decided 9-21-17-13/IFC: Sidwalk Unavailable; Pedestrian to Walk Upon Roadway Shoulder
=====ADDRESSES=====
2502 SCHOPER RD
  FORT WAYNE, IN 46806
=========================
=========================
OLIVIA HAIFLICH RAP SHEET
=========================
FEMALE BLACK - 5'7" - 150 lbs
02D06-1011-IF-014572 612976 HAIFLICH, OLIVIA M 11/23/2010
Allen Superior Court 6 IF - Infraction
Decided 9-21-5-2(1)/IFC: Speeding - Exceeding 30 mph in an Urban District
02D04-1109-IF-015209 000023777860
000023777860 HAIFLICH, OLIVIA 09/26/2011
Allen Superior Court 4 IF - Infraction
Decided 9-21-5-2/IFC: Speeding
9-24-13-3/IFC: No Operators License in Possession
02D06-1306-OV-000591 V13-015327
V13-015327 HAIFLICH, OLIVIA 06/28/2013
Allen Superior Court 6 OV - Local Ordinance Violation
Decided 91.050: Failure to Display Pet Permit/FWA
91.075: No Rabies Vaccination/FWA
=====ADDRESSES======
401 N LINE ST
  Churubusco, IN 46723
2509 RIVER COVE TRL
  FORT WAYNE, IN 46825
========================

Enjoy your stay...AGAIN!

Yes indeed...such a "stellar" group of criminals...that we will most likely see BACK on out streets in ANOTHER two years.
Someone needs to put some "penitent" BACK into the word "penitentiary".
What we got now just ain't cutting it.
Well, at least the house they were cribbing in has been condemned...add THAT to the (ever-growing) list of once nice residences that the city allows human vermin to infest and destroy.
When you read the story and find out the condition of the house, it might put you off your breakfast, so be warned.
I would have to say that whatever programs we already have in place to inhibit repeat offending didn't seem to work with Earl...did they?
Wonder what "new" program he'll be placed in, so he can get out early next time?
*** The second part of the "15 Finds Out" segment on IS FORT WAYNE REALLY A DANGEROUS PLACE? was pretty good.

It does make me smile whenever I hear about FWPD capo, Rusty York spin his tales, though.
Here's the story link:
http://www.wane.com/news/investigative/fwpd-reshapes-gang-unit-after-homicides

I will agree that we do have a GANG problem in this city.
And it's getting worse...not better.
But the drugs and gun problems are really results OF the gang problems.
Drugs don't go and jump onto peoples' veins or up their nose...
Guns don't run out of firearms stores and down the street into some criminal's hands, either.
They BOTH need help...from PEOPLE, and that's something I've said all along.
We have a PEOPLE PROBLEM in this city...solve THAT, and the other issues will diminish substantially.
I'm still waiting for anyone downtown to ADMIT to it (besides me, that is).
-- In a related story, the FWPD has received a GRANT for ten officers (around $1.5 Mil)...and that's all well and good, but, as we all should know, a GRANT does not last forever, so when the grant money dries up, WHO pays the freight THEN, hmm?
And what happens to those officers hired UNDER that grant? Do they just "go away"?
*** Lastly today, it's been a Doctor Who-filled weekend here at the "Fortress", and I have to say I was very impressed with the premier episode that was shown (The Day of the Doctor).

Well scripted, well-acted, and ties up some loose ends in the mythos of this series nicely.
A 3-D version is being shown TONIGHT (only) in selected theaters around the country.
My plan is to get me the DVD.
I suppose my fascination with this series over the decades has been the premise that it's never always about GAIN in life (however LONG that life might be). It often involves LOSS at times, and how we deal with that is ever bit as important as how we deal with every gain.
Our lives become a delicate balance of gain versus loss, or at least it should.
We clearly see the results of when one allows that scale to tip too far to the other side.
It's a moral compass kind of thing...the amount of loss correlates to what we allow ourselves to become FROM that loss...ditto for every gain.
We are not only the sum of our "parts", but the sum of our EXPERIENCES...and those we interact with.
That doesn't stop until we pass from this world.
And, I'd wager that few Doctor Who fans even stop to realize the morality play that comes with all those episodes...unless we take the time to LOOK for them, and understand them.
That is an unintended consequence I can honestly live with, and a lesson I don't mind learning.
DO have yourselves a great week.

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