Cuff 'N Stuff
The Internal Newsletter of the Wise County Sheriff's
Department
03-24-00
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Cuff 'N Stuff 03-24-00 |
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Trivia Test What’s the smallest country in the world? E-mail us!
Dumb Crooks Rapid Refund not rapid enough for stupid crook The other day police were dispatched to a robbery in progress at H&R Block. The first thing police thought was "Why there? They don't have any money!" The bad guy walks in and tells the clerk he is there to pick up his tax return and "Rapid Refund." She asks his name, which he freely gives. She checks on the computer and, sure enough, they had prepared his taxes, however his refund is just barely over $100 dollars. The clerk explains to him that you have to have $300 or more to have the money sent there within two days, so his check will come to him in the mail. She tells him he owes them $75 for tax preparation fees. Our bad guy hands her a $100 bill and gets his $25 change and a receipt. Still arguing with the policy, the crook tells her, "I thought I would get some money today." She refers him to the man who prepared his taxes for further explanation. Our brilliant bad guy goes to his tax preparer who tells him the same thing. "You will get a check in a few weeks mailed to your house." The preparer, wanting to help the guy out, tells him he will see if he can work something with the manager and to come back in about an hour. Our impatient bad guy then pulls out a 9mm pistol and demands his money right now. The preparer gives him back the $100 bill and the bad guy grabs it and runs. He came with $100 and leaves with $125. There are about six other people in the store. As he leaves two young men coming in look him right in the face. He is described perfectly by everyone there. Police get the bad guy's address from the tax information he left when having his taxes done and go to his house. He is not there, of course, but the front door is open and knocking brought no response. Police enter to make sure no one is hurt inside. While there the phone rings and our bad guy has caller ID. He is calling home from a friend's house three blocks from H&R Block. Police go over and knock on the door. Our bad guy answers the door. He has the gun, $105 dollars, two brand new dime bags of marijuana and is wearing the same clothes. "How did you find me?" he asked.
Interpersonal Actions - Phil Ryan Just a friendly reminder when dealing with other county departments, other agencies and with each other. Remember, we must always consider what is best for the Sheriff's Office. Personality conflicts are ever-present here as well as Wal-Mart or any work place. We must keep them in their proper perspective and not expect all co-workers to think and react alike. We must not forsake others feelings and personalities for the sake of our own. Most of you know my philosophy on "Bridge Burning". Employees will not jeopardize our relationship with other agencies over personal feelings. Don't fly off the handle or vent your frustrations on other county co-workers, even if they do it to you. If you feel offended or wronged by another office then let your immediate supervisor know about it and they will inform the Chief or myself. Our first steps will be to analyze the problem and attempt to solve it without hurting feelings. More times than not it is a misunderstanding. If the time comes that we must do something then we will make an administrative decision collectively to burn the bridge; no one should individually burn a bridge for all of us. Don't let the child in you control you. No one can make you mad without your cooperation.
Answers to "What Do You Know About the Wise County Sheriffs?"
Congratulations to Mary Barnett and Melinda Petty who jointly submitted the correct answers.
Legal Issues - Citizen's Arrest CITIZEN’S ARREST JUSTIFIED WHEN CITIZEN SEES SUSPECT RETURNING TO CRIME SCENE TO “FINISH THE OFFENSE” When the complainant came home, he found his bedroom window open and his VCR and telephone missing. As he had driven up to the house, the complainant had noticed a man walking along his property line, so he tried to locate the man after discovering the break-in, but was not able to do so. Later the same day, the complainant found his VCR and telephone in some bushes outside his house. The next morning, he again saw the man he had seen just before discovering the burglary. The suspect was searching through the bushes where the VCR and telephone had been found, and he was carrying a black bag. The complainant apprehended the suspect and detained him for the police. When an officer arrived on scene, the defendant claimed he had been looking for aluminum cans, but none were found in the black bag. During questioning at the police station, the defendant said he had been walking his dog when the complainant came out of his house and accused him of burglary. The man, who was blind in one eye and visually impaired in the other, eventually signed a confession to the burglary, but later said he thought he was signing a form necessary to release his dog from the pound. At the defendant’s trial for burglary, he moved to suppress the confession, contending among other things, that it was the fruit of an unlawful arrest. Specifically, he argued that the complainant’s actions amounted to an arrest made without a warrant in violation of Article 14.01 of the Code of Criminal Procedure because the offense was not committed in the presence or view of the complainant. Holding: Citizens’ arrests are “fraught with grave danger to the public tranquility, peace, and individual freedom.” Unlike arrests made by peace officers, a person may resist an unlawful arrest made by another citizen. Consequently, citizen’s arrest is a very limited right. It is permitted only where (1) a warrant has been issued for the offender and the court specifically authorizes a named citizen to make the arrest; (2) a peace officer commands a citizen to assist in the execution of a combination search and arrest warrant; (3) the offender has committed a theft, and the citizen is acting to “prevent the consequences of theft;” (4) the offender has committed a felony in the citizen’s presence or view; (5) the offender has committed an offense that is a breach of the peace in the citizen’s presence or view. Even if the arrest in this case was made without a warrant, it was lawful. Article 14.01 of the Code of Criminal Procedure permits a warrantless citizen’s arrest when a felony or offense against the public peace is committed in the presence of view of the citizen. The offense is being “committed” if there is “continuing danger of its renewal,” but “a private citizen may not see an offense and then later pursue the guilty party in order to apprehend him for the police.” It appears that the complainant interrupted the defendant’s burglary when he returned home, and the stolen property was hidden in the bushes on the complainant’s property. When the complainant returned home early from work the next day, he found the defendant in his yard searching through the bushes. The defendant’s “renewed” attempt to steal the complainant’s property justified a warrantless citizen’s arrest for an offense against the public peace. The complainant’s window was still broken and his property remained vulnerable when the defendant returned to “renew his unlawful enterprise.” The complainant was authorized to arrest the defendant under these circumstances because an offense against the public peace was being committed in his presence or view. COMMENT: Citizen’s arrest cases are relatively rare and, consequently, are rarely discussed by courts. Texas law permits such arrests in several cases, but those outlined in articles 14.01 and 18.16 of the Code of Criminal Procedure are the most important. While the court in this case relied on Article 14.01, characterizing this offense as one “against the public peace,” it might have based its holding on Article 18.16, preventing the consequences of theft, instead. In order to reach the result it did, the court was required to extend the “commission” of the offense to include the defendant’s “renewed” efforts to steal the property, and to characterize burglary as an offense against the public peace. Andrade v. State, 6 S.W.3d 584
Wise County S.O. Word Search
How many Sheriff’s Department related words can you find? Words may be found up, down, forwards, backwards, and diagonally.
From the Chaplain - Marilyn Featherstone HOW TO LISTEN: When I ask you to listen to me and you start giving advice, you have not done what I asked. When I ask you to listen to me and you begin to tell me why I shouldn’t feel that way, you are trampling on my feelings. When I ask you to listen to me and you feel you have to do something to solve my problem, you have failed me, strange as that may seem. Listen! All I asked was that you listen, not talk or do. Just hear me. Advice is cheap; 50 cents will get you Dear Abby and Billy Graham in the same newspaper. I can do that for myself. I’m not helpless. When you do something for me that I can and need to do for myself, you contribute to my fear and weakness. But, when you accept as a simple fact that I do feel what I feel, no matter how irrational, then I can get about the business of understanding what’s behind this irrational feeling. And when that’s clear, the answers are obvious and I don’t need advice. Irrational feelings make sense when we understand what’s behind them. Perhaps that’s why prayer works, because God allows us to work things out for ourselves. So, please listen and just hear me. And, if you want to talk, wait a minute for your turn, and I will listen to you!
Cyber Space VIRUS ALERTS We’ve been on-line with our WebSite and E-Mail capabilities about three weeks now, and the e-mail virus scanners have trapped 7 e-mails with virus attachments! I would imagine that the people sending the e-mail don’t have a clue that there is a virus attached; the way a virus works, it is supposed to be invisible and, like the Energizer bunny, just keeps going and going and going… If you receive an e-mail that has had a virus trapped, you’ll see an attachment icon; when you open it, there will just be a text message telling you there was a virus and the attachment has been quarantined. Send a reply to the sender; let them know there is a virus so they can clean it. Even with the e-mail scanner, a new virus (one the scanner has never seen before) can still get through, so you still need to be careful opening attachments from unknown sources. SPAMMERS “Spamming” is sending out e-mails to multiple persons at once. When we send “WCSO All Personnel” we are actually spamming the S.O. A popular past-time of many people is to forward jokes, graphics, etc. to a list of 15-20 people so they can enjoy the joke too. This is also spamming; tell your friends that the S.O. doesn’t allow spamming e-mails (the messages take up a lot of room if sent to multiple folks at our site!) If the system detects spamming messages, the system will trap the spammer and prevent ANY e-mails from their address. Use moderation. |
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Crime Does Not Have To Be A Fact Of Life |
