Wise County Crime Reports

Messenger Above The Fold

And if says "Saturday" on the masthead instead of "Sunday" for the first time.

Decatur 30, Bridgeport 16

Helicopter Delivers Game Ball. Manages Not To Kill Anyone.

Did Decatur score on a 64 yard run with less than a minute left?

The Battle Of 76426 vs. 76234 -- This Time It's More Personal Than The Last Time When It Was Really Personal

"Letter From Decatur": Ultimate Fracking Fighters

This couple seems to be everywhere with their Anti-Fracking cause, and the above article comes from this month's Texas Monthly.  Their claims may be true or false, I don't know. But their biggest complaint seems to be something that could happen to any of us. We live on land where the mineral interest is owned by someone else. When they come to exercise that right, it may not be pretty.

At Bay Landing In Runaway Bay

Opening act will be "Fireworks Prohibited." Be sure to tip your waitress.

(Thanks, Emily.)

"We're Liiiiiive From The Cotton Bowl Down Texas Way."

Haunted House Reactions

Genius. (Tons more in the link.)

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• The Tea Party protesters and the Occupy [Location] protesters have some things in common: You both think you are getting screwed, you want to organize, and you want to exercise your American right to protest. Oh, and you both hate each other since you disagree with each other. 
• Former Channel 8 hot sports reporter drops an F bomb - and way too easily at that.
• The media will portray today as the 10 year anniversary of the War in Afghanistan.  That's OK, if you want to refer to it as the 10 year anniversary of the invasion. No, if you say it is a "war" that it is still ongoing. I refuse to say this "war" has gone on longer than Vietnam, World War II, or the Revolutionary War.
• It is more of a war than the Cold War, however. (Call Back argument.)
• I can't tell you how glad I am to have TCU back in the Big 12. Just the thought of Texas, OU, Tech and Baylor coming through Fort Worth every other year is great. But now I really hate the fact that the Aggies will be gone.
• And think about that TCU: You've got to worry about OU, OSU, Tech, and the Empire but you get to avoid Nebraska and the Aggies.  It's still a tough neighborhood but the gang violence has been significantly reduced.
• For those that say, "How can you defend those people?", there's far, far more that is being defended than just the person.  Things that you hold dear but just don't realize it. 
• Unemployment figures released this morning: Still at 9.1%. Obama haters, rejoice.
• I've had a few people send me Texas/OU Random Girl pics over the last month. I'll try to post them today. 
• Saturday Night Live did an "Internet Comments Talk Show" bit. Not hilarious but kind of funny.
• Had one of my little softball players come up to me before practice and respectfully say, "Coach, you seemed upset with me during our last game, and I want to make sure I know what I did wrong and what I can do to get better."  It was almost like it was memorized (and it may have been), but it was almost enough to melt me to see a kid (and parents) who care. 
• Glanced at the end of the Yankees/Tigers game last night to see A-Rod strike out to end it which makes it two season ending strike-outs in a row. He made $32 million this year to hit a baseball. If my math is correct, that was $310,679.61 for every hit during the regular season. 
• In August, The Ticket's Bob Sturm and his family went down to Honduras to finalize the adoption of a child by picking him up, having a court sign the order, and getting him a visa. How long does that take? The family, one person larger, gets to come home this weekend. 
• And it is sad for the Rangers not to go back to Yankee Stadium which was the source of the greatest animated GIF ever of New York fans last year. You see something new every time.
• ESPN Magazine's: The Body Issue (you're on your own) is a creative concept. Get athletes to get naked, pose in an athletic position, but don't show anything that you normally see when someone gets naked.  And I never knew I look just like Blake Griffin.

JP Dispatched

The Messenger reports that a Justice of the Peace has been summoned to an "injured person" call at a construction zone along 380 east of Decatur.

Translation: Someone is dead.

For some crazy reason, Texas still requires a Justice of the Peace to be called out to conduct their own "inquest" when "a person dies an unnatural death from a cause other than a legal execution."

Thursday Afternoon Pick Me Up

Economic Profiling In Bridgeport!

Someone posted this pic in Facebook of the Bridgeport police in action this morning. They stopped someone in a Cadillac? Is this some kind of Occupy Wall Street protest by the cops?

"Occupy Wall Street" Becomes "Occupy Dallas" Today

Dirty corporations!!!! (Isn't he supposed to be a hippie? Maybe he's just in character.):

Give this man a prize:

More.

Welcome Home

Story.

Random Thursday Morning Thoughts

• Mrs. LL went to bed early and emailed me this while I was still downstairs. Geek humor.
• Funny: During jury selection in my trial this week, the prosecutor briefly brought up this blog. (Only five or six people had ever heard of it.) But as the prosecutor was leaving the subject he, mostly joking but perhaps 1% serious, said that he just wanted to make sure no one on the jury panel posted by the screen name "Rage". Good times.
• Another odd moment. One potential juror identified himself as a state trooper. Five minutes later another potential juror said, "I don't trust what any cop says." 
• I saw the breaking news of Steve Jobs' death on a device he invented. (After I wrote that sentence I looked over at bagofnothing.com and learned President Obama had already made that observation.)
• Jobs' commencement speech at Stanford has been getting lots of buzz since his death yesterday. I actually sat down and watched it last night. The content is excellent. The delivery - reading without true emotion - is awful. (He talks about death at the 8:50 mark.)
• Texas/OU is my favorite sporting event of the year. The Sooners are a 10 point favorite but, and I'm serious, I've got this weird feeling that the Empire might win that thing outright.
• Newsweek had an interesting article last week about how much Fox News controls the GOP debates. Not only on what questions to ask, but when to go split screen or focus on a candidate's reaction when he's being skewered by another candidate. That's a lot of power.
• I know no one heard it, but KLIF's morning talk show host did a segment this morning at 7:05 with the CEO of Worthington Bank to purportedly discuss bank fees that have been in the news this week. It was 100% a paid infomercial disguised as a talk show segment. I've been ranting about ads disguised as content for years now. Watch for it. 
• I missed it, but a "Squirrel!!!" ran across home plate last night during the Phillies/Cardinals game. (Video.)
• Anyone flown Spirit Airlines out of DFW? They have really good travel deals but I don't think I've ever even seen one of their planes. 
• The most bizarre feeling in the world. Watching someone handcuffed and taken to jail inside of the courtroom and then walking outside and realizing how much I value simply, well, walking outside.
• Sarah Palin announced she wasn't running for President at a carefully timed 5:30 p.m. yesterday afternoon so that it  would be the "news of the day" for Thursday. ("Family comes first.") Then word of Steve Jobs' death broke one hour later. Goodbye headline. 

Apple's Home Page

The news.

Bomb Scare Threat - Photo

I stole it from a posting on Facebook but at least one of the blogs over on the side had it first.

The Punishment Verdict In My Trial

I kind of lost. I kind of won. It might have been a tie. It's worthy of debate.

The case: Two counts of Indecency With a Child occurring two years apart. Same victim -- a family member who was not biologically related. There was a written confession to both acts as well as an admission to a third incident involving them. Throw in a similar offense involving another family member, who was more than willing to come testify, which happened twenty years ago when they were both teenagers and you've got a prescription for trouble.

Yell at me all you want, but I liked the guy. He confessed to the offenses twice. Once in a video session and then came back a week later to write it all down for the cops. He never dreamed of pleading "Not guilty" and readily pled guilty before the jury. Some folks use the phrase about "owning" your conduct. Well, he owned his conduct.

Prior to committing the indicted crimes, he had been to Christian counseling 178 times over five years on his own for alcohol dependency issues. 178 times. Any incident, he told the jury, was committed under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Primarily alcohol. Edit: One line I forgot to say on closing argument was "Alcohol is not to blame, but it's not blameless." That's the best description I can think of.

The range of punishment was 2 to 20 years on both counts, but he could receive probation because he had no prior felony conviction. The prosecutors could, and told me would, ask for the sentences to be stacked by the judge if they involved prison time. Worst case scenerio: Two 20 year sentences to run back to back. Best case scenerio: Probation.

The result after over five hours of deliberations: An interesting combo that no one suggested to the jury. Fifteen years in prison on Count I but probation on Count II. Practically, he'll have to serve at least 7 1/2 years before becoming eligible for parole. After parole, if it happens, he may or may not have to start the probation. (We're still sorting that out.)

Overall, the verdict seems fair.

Everything above is in the public record and will probably be in the Messenger this weekend. (That dang Joe Duty was snapping pictures everywhere.)

But let me end with one interesting note. Well, at least it is interesting to me. Prior to the trial, he asked me if he could dip snuff while it was going on. I told him no, we can't have him spitting in a cup the entire time in front of the jury. He then told me that every time he had met with me he had a dip in, didn't spit, and it was undetectable. (It truly was.) I told him, it would probably be OK. Fast forward to this afternoon when the deputy was taking him away. He handed me his personal effects which included some nicotine candy. At that time I remembered our earlier conversation and asked him if he had had a dip in throughout the trial. "No," he said. "I used that candy instead. The sign said this is a tobacco free facility."

Laugh at him if you will but, upon reflection, that attitude doesn't surprise me a bit. It's OK to like people who have done bad things.

Edit: One of the prosecutors posted in the comments that the plea bargain offer was "12 years." Yes and no. It was at one time but the offer was pulled after more damning evidence was found. Honestly, it probably wouldn't have mattered if the offer was the minimum of two years. Just like there are some cases that the prosecutor just wants the jury to decide, there are some defendants who will have that same mindset.

But at the risk of sucking up, I'll give props to the DA's office. No dirty tricks. Stipulations on legal issues that were critical yet undisputed and, therefore, not worthy of a fight. All evidence disclosed before trial. Prepared. Professional. Every defense lawyer just wants a chance of a fair fight with a fair jury. Prosecutors should never prevent that from happening.

Over the years, I've been stunned by the number of opposing lawyers who won't reach over, shake hands, and say "good job" at the end of a trial. It happened today. Edit: The handshake DID take place yesterday. Sorry for the lack of clarity.

Bomb Threat At Decatur High School Update

I'm getting reports of "bombs found" but nothing has been confirmed. So I'll report it as wild rumor and speculation.

Anybody with any updates?

Edit @ 1:34 p.m. : Confirmed kids back in class.

Hey, some teacher over there! Shoot me a copy of the bomb note! I'll give you a shout out and a free T-Shirt.

Earlier: Students waiting.

Earlier: Blackhawk choppers at Decatur Airport. Medical?

Breaking: Bomb Threat

I've got multiple sources saying there is a bomb threat at Decatur High School.

Evacuated.

There was either a note in a bathroom or writing on a bathroom wall that three bombs would go off at noon.

Edit: And this morning, Decatur High School in Alabama was on "modified lockdown" because of a threat by a student. Obviously, we are dealing with a criminal mastermind who has a plan that is so crazy that is just might work.

Edit: At 12:14 all is well.

Recall the bombers!!! Stand down the missiles!! (A reference to War Games.)

Random Wednesday Morning Thoughts

• There was a heck of a lot more hoopla about the Rangers winning a playoff series last year because people were actually able to watch the games.
• I made fun of Ranger T-shirts last year that proclaimed them "West Division Champions." I think we finally matured this year -- I didn't see a single one.
• Darlie Routier is back on the market. (Either you know who she is or you don't.)  When her execution date rolls around, I'll bet that case will explode back onto the scene. 
• Gov. Chris Christie is a Sarah Palin wannabe. After months of teasing the GOP about whether he'll run for president, he holds a press conference yesterday to announce that he would not. He stayed in front of the camera answering questions for almost an hour. 
• The Messenger has an ad in their own paper today implying that they will rename its Sunday paper the Saturday paper (its been delivered for two decades on Saturday) and its Thursday paper the Wednesday paper (same deal.)  It's about time. 
• You military/aircraft guys, is there any significance to this video from an aircraft carrier? It's making the rounds with not much of a description.
• Every time I see Joel Osteen and his wife get interviewed (they were on Piers Morgan last night), I stop down.  That wife of his has to High Maintenance to the nth degree.
• University of North Texas "Hey, Now"?
• Great softball moment from my team: Other team's batter walks, my catcher drops the ball and believes it's a dropped third strike -- even though there weren't even two strikes, she throws the ball down to first striking the runner in the back of the head, the runner takes off to second, and my first baseman then launches the ball into left field as everyone else stood around and watched.  If I don't get Coach Of The Year, something is wrong. 
• The NBA strike is almost in full force and I feel fine. 
• The Messenger has a story about the 1972 Bridgeport/Decatur footballgame. They should do more of those flashbacks.
• I know I'm Old School when I get to work and realize I don't have any collar stays in, but I have an extra set in my desk for emergencies. 

A Loyal Reader . . .

. . .  sent me this pic from a Dallas Morning News slideshow (specific link) of last weekend's Aggie/Razorback football game.   That flag in the lower right corner: There's something not quite right.

(Thanks, Heath.)

Messenger Above The Fold

Different Perspective

After spending the morning picking a jury in an Indecency With A Child case where the defendant is pleading guilty and that jury to assess punishment, I take a lunch break and learn that (1) geeks are  upset that Apple has announced the release of an iPhone 4S and not an iPhone 5, (2) hard core Texans are upset that the President is in Dallas, (3) Tea Party people are upset Gov. Christie announced he wasn't running for president, and (4) baseball fans are upset because the Rangers are playing at 1:00 in the afternoon.

A person's problems are very relative.

Random Tuesday Morning Thoughts

• The old guy from The Green Mile does a photoshoot with his child bride on the beach.
• I really haven't followed the Amanda Knox case, but once the judge freed her yesterday, I would have bolted for the airport to get back to the United States. And I think she did.
• Saw that the "Job Of The Day" on Fox 4 this morning was a "Front Desk Coordinator."
• Political expert (?) Hank Williams, Jr. compared President Obama to Hitler yesterday, and I wondered if that would impact his (very old and tired) Monday Night Football theme song run. Well, ESPN killed it last night. Maybe they were just looking for an excuse to can it for good.
• And it seems fitting that the crazy comparison occurred on Fox and Friends. That network may end up doing more harm than good to the conservative movement by the time it is all over with. 
• Then the goofball "Boot In Your [Arse]" guy Toby Keith comes out and says he really doesn't have a problem with gay marriage. Man, this world is confusing.
• Has any sitting President ever gone deer hunting and publicized it?
• Thirty spotted donkeys in Bridgeport taken over by Humane Society.
• I'm in trial today. Nothing fun about this one. I'll tell you more later. 
• Even when I'm what they call a Senior Citizen, I don't think I'll fall for a scam like this Grapevine man did.
• There were rumors of an American Airlines bankruptcy on the horizon, and folks got nervous yesterday when its already extremely low priced stock dropped by over a third. 
• If Cowboys Stadium had the roof closed on Sunday (perfect weather), why go to the trouble of putting a retractable roof on it at all?
• There's just something wrong about the baseball playoffs starting at 4:00 in the afternoon and being on TBS. 

Look At What Mrs. LL Just Saw!

She just picked up the Family Gangsta Sedan, headed to Fort Worth, and saw this. (via her Twitter.)

You think Mexican Drug Cartels can "send a message"? That man is sending all North Texas deer a serious message!

Great. Just Great.

"What for he take me along anyway?Pay up! This place is nasty!"

I just know the Family Pup is now going to turn up missing, and Mrs. LL will be telling me that "I need to get that dog back from those skanks before sundown!!"  Man can't catch a break. (Story.)

Sidenote: She took the little dog to a non-Wise County groomer on Friday, and told her that she wanted the hair clipped "just a little bit."  The Yorkie, who used to look like the pic above, now has less facial hair than Chaz Bono.

Dave Ramsey . . .

. . . was at the Potter's House (a church) this weekend. The purpose was to have you get control of your finances. I like the guy. His advice is pretty good, but it can pretty much can be summed up with: "Pay down your debts no matter what it takes."

Then I heard they charged $5 for parking.

Big Chemical Plant Fire In Waxahachie

Everyone is really concerned what is being emitted. A witness on WBAP says, "It really stank."

Edit: Say what?  If I put on a suit that was toxic, I certainly would be asked to leave. Duh.

Calling All Ladies

Mrs. LL and I saw this on the news last night -- a world record for a bikini parade with 357 women. Her reaction? That's all it takes? 357? We could organize that in Wise County in a New York minute, and it'd be a heck of a lot more entertaining than some Australian looking models!  We'd have character.

And for a moment we could all put aside out differences. Liberals and conservatives. Thongs and Tube Tops. I might even get a Nobel Peace Prize as well.