09-19-03

Police are searching for a man who paid for $150 in groceries at a Food Lion grocery store with a bogus $200 bill.

The man walked out of the store with his groceries and $50 in change before the fake bill was discovered Sept. 6.

The phony bill -- the U.S. Mint does not print a $200 bill -- bore the image of President Bush on the front and had the White House on the back. It also included signs on the front lawn of the White House with slogans such as "We like broccoli" and "USA deserves a tax cut," Roanoke Rapids police said.

Instead of being labeled a Federal Reserve note, the fake bill was marked as a "Moral Reserve Note." The bill bore the signatures of Ronald Reagan, political mentor; and George H.W. Bush, campaign adviser and mentor.

Food Lion said normal policy is not to accept bills over $100.

Two Minnesota teens accused of searching for a marijuana dealer dialed the ultimate wrong number they called the Mower County Sheriff's cell phone.

Sheriff Terese Amazi's cell phone rang around noon on Friday. The caller said she wanted a bag of marijuana. After Amazi said she was the sheriff, the caller said, "I'm sorry," and hung up.

A few minutes later, the phone rang again. This time, Amazi let a deputy answer.

The caller again asked for a bag of marijuana, and the deputy who called himself "Dupe" on the phone arranged for a meeting at a convenience store an hour later.

"Apparently, they didn't know the meaning of 'Dupe' as in 'duped' either," Amazi said. "It's incredible."

The girls, ages 15 and 17, were arrested at the scene. Police said they found cash for the marijuana and drug paraphernalia on both girls. One was released to her parent and the other was turned over to a probation officer.

"Not only did they do something wrong, but they should have been in school," Amazi said.

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Legal Issues - Search and Seizure

FRISK OF CAR’S INTERIOR JUSTIFIED BY DRIVER’S FURTIVE MOVEMENTS.

A woman who had just left a liquor store noticed four men get out of a green car and enter the store. Because she had a feeling “something bad was about to occur,” the woman noted the make, color, model, and license number of the car.

Before she could leave, she heard gunshots inside the liquor store, and she drove to a 7-Eleven where there were pay phones and waited for the police to arrive.

The owner of the liquor store was helping a customer when the men entered. One of them immediately shot her and stepped on her while he took money from the register. The men took the store owner’s gun and video security tapes, and shot an employee.

After determining the ownership of the green car the men were driving, the police located the car at the owner’s home. They set up surveillance and saw someone come out of the house and get into a brown car that stopped at the house. The car sped away at a high speed.

Officers in a marked car followed the brown car and stopped it when they saw the driver commit two traffic violations. After the stop, one of the officers saw the defendant, who was sitting in the passenger’s seat, bend over, appearing to be putting something under the front seat or removing something.

The officer had the defendant exit the car, and he searched under the front seat. He found a surveillance tape from the liquor store. Another officer found a pistol in the defendant’s pocket.

The defendant was charged with aggravated robbery. He moved to suppress the evidence found in the car, claiming that the detention was unlawful. The trial court denied the motion and the defendant appealed his conviction.

Holding: An investigative detention may be based on reasonable suspicion rather than probable cause. Reasonableness of a detention is evaluated in light of the totality of circumstances and whether the officer had “specific articulable facts which, in light of his experience and personal knowledge, together with inferences from those facts” would justify the detention.

“It is well settled that a detention is justified when a person commits a traffic violation in the officer’s presence.” The officers in this case saw the driver commit two traffic offenses by failing to signal a turn. These offenses justified a detention of the defendant.

Because the officers believed one or both of the men in the car had been involved in the robbery, they were concerned about their safety. When the defendant reached under the seat either to place something there, or to retrieve something the officers had reason to conduct a Terry search of the defendant and the vehicle in which he was riding.

The detention was supported by the two traffic offenses, and the frisk for weapons was reasonable in light of the offense the men were suspected of committing and the furtive movements of the defendant following the stop.

COMMENT: If the officers in this case had sufficient reason to believe the defendant they saw exit the house had been involved in the robbery, that suspicion would have justified an investigative detention even without a traffic violation. Apparently, their suspicion was not sufficiently developed to support the detention, but violations committed in the presence of the officers provided independent grounds for a stop. It is irrelevant whether the purpose of the officers was to investigate the robbery. If the stop was supported by independent, objective evidence of criminal activity – traffic violations in this case – reasonable suspicion exists and warrants the detention. Once the officers had detained the suspects, the furtive movements of the defendant justified a brief, limited search for weapons in places within the passenger compartment where weapons might be reached by the suspects, as well as a frisk of the person of the defendant. This kind of “frisk” of the vehicle is confined to the passenger compartment, and must be supported by reason to believe that the suspect is armed and dangerous. Tasby v. State, No. 11-02-00110 (Tex. App. – Dallas, 5-15-03).

Irony of Life

I signed up for an exercise class and was told to wear loose-fitting clothing. If I HAD any loose-fitting clothing, I wouldn't have signed up in the first place!

When I was young we used to go "skinny dipping", now I just “chunky dunk".

The early bird still has to eat worms.

The worst thing about accidents in the kitchen is eating them.

Don't argue with an idiot; people watching may not be able to tell the difference.

Wouldn't it be nice if whenever we messed up our life we could simply press 'Ctrl Alt Delete' and start all over?

Stress is when you wake up screaming and then you realize you haven't fallen asleep yet.

My wife says I never listen to her. At least I think that's what she said.

Why is it that our children can't read a Bible in school, but they can in prison?

If raising children was going to be easy, it never would have started with something called labor!

There was a little boy visiting his grandparents on their farm. He was given a slingshot to play with out in the woods. He practiced in the woods, but he could never hit the target. Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for dinner. As he was walking back he saw Grandma’s pet duck. Just out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck square in the head, and killed it. He was shocked and grieved. In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the wood pile, only to see his sister watching! Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing.

After lunch the next day, Grandma said, “Sally, let’s wash the dishes.” But Sally said, “Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen.” Then she whispered to him, “Remember the duck?” So, Johnny did the dishes.

Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing and Grandma said, “I’m sorry but I need Sally to help make supper.” Sally just smiled and said, “Well, that’s alright because Johnny told me he wanted to help.” She whispered again, “Remember the duck?” So, Sally went fishing and Johnny stayed to help.

After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally’s he finally couldn’t stand it any longer. He came to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck.

Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug, and said “Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing. But because I love you, I forgave you. I just wondered how long you would let Sally make a slave of you.”

Whatever is in your past, whatever you have done—and the devil keeps throwing it in your face (lying, fear, hatred, anger, bitterness, etc.) whatever it is, you need to know that God was standing at the window and He saw the whole thing. He has seen your whole life. He wants you to know that He loves you and that you are forgiven. He’s just wondering how long you will let the devil make a slave of you.