JUSTICE PREVAILED!

After what seemed like living in a nightmare these last couple of months...I was falsely accused and arrested for stealing what already belonged to me and then to make matters worse, had my face plastered all over the news, not my most flattering picture either, and faced the possibility of losing my job if found guilty. Well, I finally had my day in court. I was able to provide pictures of the items that were taken in my home which meant if these items were no longer in my possession, how in the hell would I have had the pictures if the items were not mine to begin with? Not to mention that the key witness for the prosecution suddenly changed her story, admitting that she really never saw me steal a damn thing and what was that???? The officer changed his too? He now claims he never saw me do anything wrong either, no stealing, no fleeing!!!! Imagine that, the truth be told! So guess what CHANNEL 13...ALL CHARGES AGAINST ME WERE DROPPED!!! HOW'S THAT FOR BREAKING NEWS???

If you would like to email Wayne Carter and tell him what you think of his "Breaking News" now, here is his email wcarter@wvec.com.

THE GOOD...My Intentions

I am a Virginia Beach local, lived here my entire life. A single parent raising three children by going to work everyday at a job I have had for six years. Prior to that I worked for St. Mary's Home for Disabled Children for approximately ten years. While at St. Mary's, I assisted with many fundraising events to help raise money for St. Mary's, a non-profit organization. These fundraisers included a 5K Run that was put on by the Norfolk Police Department. I was also responsible for a large fundraising event held at the beach, "Battle of the Bands", where we had sports items donated and auctioned off to raise money for the children of St. Mary's. During my last year with St. Mary's, I was a spokesperson for St. Mary's for the United Way giving tours and speeches to better community awareness and encourage others to donate to St. Mary's. So as you can see, it is not in me to steal from charities, any charity, as I have spent a large portion of my life helping to raise money for a wonderful non-profit organization. Up until now I have had a perfect record, never once have I ever been in any kind of trouble whatsoever with the law. Not to mention, I have family on the local police force, their names I withhold to save my family from any more unnecessary humiliation and embarrassment.

This is my story and it really does sound like something right out of a movie...

Recently, after what I perceived as doing a good thing, not only by ridding my house/garage of unnecessary items but helping out a local charity. Kind of like killing two birds with one stone or used clothing, whichever you prefer. Well as it appears, the local police feel differently. Spent over a week, here and there after work, rearranging children's bedrooms and stockpiling all unwanted items in the garage with plans to take to my local charity over the weekend. As the weekend approached, we organized the items to take, weeding out the trash and what not and on Sunday made two trips with the larger items and came home to load the rest. Took a break in between, because as most everyone local here knows, this was the weekend of the Neptune Festival and there was a band playing I had waited all weekend to see, with the intentions of stopping by on the way back to drop off the rest...

THE BAD...My Intentions Gone Wrong!

Upon arriving at the local charity that afternoon, there was another vehicle already behind the gate and as I pulled in, another vehicle pulled in behind me, hindering me from opening the back of my van. When the vehicle behind me, a SUV, finished unloading their donations, they pulled around me and I began to back up closer to the piles already there so that I could begin to unload my items as well. All of a sudden our friendly neighborhood police arrived, and began shouting accusations at me and later I was arrested for stealing my own stuff without the chance to explain or the opportunity to prove that the items were indeed mine. I was also arrested for breaking and entering because the police officer's were convinced that somehow I managed to pry open the unlocked gate. Pretty ridiculous since the gate was obviously already open. Proof being, all of the other items that were donated on this particular weekend after hours, somehow made their way inside gate, not outside, which one would think if the gate had actually been locked. The first officer arrived only seconds after the third vehicle, the one that was behind me, had pulled around me and was headed out of the gated area. So I asked the officer if he had seen the SUV leaving and he later stated that yes, he had he witnessed a SUV leaving but that they got away and his comment was, "And I was the one he caught". Caught doing what I asked? Giving to the needy??? He also stated that on more than one occasion during the course of the week he had received calls from the old folks home next door about a dark SUV, not a minivan, and later I witnessed the report that kept coming up across the computer screen in the police vehicle that clearly read, SUV.

He told me that on Saturday night while home watching a movie, eating popcorn he got a call and by the time he reached the charity the culprits had left, well I can tell you I was at a neighbor's birthday party that night. He joked with the other officer that arrived shortly after, that since he was dragged out of his house the night before, he was determined to get somebody. So determined, that when I repeatedly asked him to let me show him the other items I had dropped off earlier in the day he refused, when I asked him to call my parents, as they had assisted me with rearranging my children's bedrooms and knew exactly what I was donating, he refused. When I asked them to contact my family members that were on the police force, he refused. Instead he continued to make jokes with the other officer, that he was keeping my van because he wouldn't mind driving around in it, using it as nark vehicle to be exact. When I tried talking to the other officer, he told me to shut my FKing mouth that he did not care about what I had to say. He said he did not care who my FKing family members were. He said to me that I better start FKing talking because my boyfriend was about ready to FK me over bad. Completely impossible considering we were doing nothing wrong but I guess he figured he would try intimidation tactics on me. Do they learn that at the academy? Then he accused my boyfriend of lying and falsifying his identity because the spelling of his last name on his VA DMV ID and Social Security Card, which matched, were different than what he had in his system. Who made the mistake there? DMV? Social Security? Certainly not those who are hired to protect and to serve our community with careers built on "PRIDE", "INTEGRITY" and "COMMITMENT". Those who always do the right thing, even when no one is looking, for example, locking me in the police vehicle long enough for them to walk over to the McDonalds next to the Salvation Army for a quick snack.

After all was said and done that Sunday, the first officer assured me that he would help me work it out. He had even joked with me at one point asking me if I had fun at the Neptune Festival, that he had been down there himself earlier that day also. He told me that I would have a chance to talk to a detective and tell him what really happened but still to this day, have I been given the opportunity to talk to any detective. At the time I almost felt that something inside him honestly believed me but in the end...he never took the items that I tried to point out to him, that I explained I had dropped off earlier that day, proof that I had been cleaning out my house and garage and had been there with good intentions. Instead he commented, "This is going to end up being a pain in my ass."

Ever heard of "FADO"?

An acronym describing police officers and their behavior while interacting with citizens;

Police officers are prohibited from (1) using unnecessary FORCE, (2) ABUSING their authority, (3) speaking DISCOURTEOUSLY, or (4) using OFFENSIVE language.

I have.

VB BAD COP NEWS....Wrongful Arrests, Cheating on Tests?!

A quote from Harvey L. Bryant,
Commonwealth’s Attorney for the City of Virginia Beach

"Police Officers’ must be fully supported when enforcing the law, and fully prosecuted when they break it,”



TOO MANY TO LIST, BUT THESE ARE GOOD!

STORY 1
Man awarded $123,000 in wrongful arrest case
By DUANE BOURNE, The Virginian-Pilot
© February 3, 2006

VIRGINIA BEACH — How much is six days in jail worth?

A jury Thursday said: $123,000.

A Circuit Court jury awarded that amount to a man who spent six days in jail after being wrongly arrested for allegedly robbing a cab driver in 2003.

The jury found that p olice Officer K.C. Reilly did not have sufficient probable cause to seek an arrest warrant for Joshua B. Shepherd, 28, a computer engineer. Shepherd had sued the officer for $850,000.

The criminal case against Shepherd hinged on a single fingerprint and a description of the robber ’s long dreadlocks. Shepherd, however, said he has always worn short, blond hair.

During a two-day civil trial, Deputy City Attorney Mark Stiles argued that the mistake did not constitute malicious prosecution.

On Aug. 2, 2003, cab driver Joseph Brannon was robbed at gunpoint near the College Park neighborhood. He said the robber was in his mid- to late 20s, weighed 150 to 160 pounds and had long, blond dreadlocks.

Police found four sets of fingerprints on the cab. One matched Shepherd’s. The others were untraceable. Shepherd said he had been a passenger in the cab a few hours before the incident .

For four months, the crime went unsolved. Then, in December 2003, Reilly got an arrest warrant against Shepherd. He said he relied on the 911 call, the incident report, a memo from another investigator, evidence and interviews with Brannon .

For several months, police could not find Shepherd to arrest him.

I n July 2004, Shepherd was stopped for a speeding violation in Blacksburg and taken into custody. He was released six days later on $10,000 bail.

At a preliminary hearing on Sept. 3, 2004, the charges were dropped when Brannon could not identify the man who robbed him.

Shepherd’s attorney, Moody E. “Sonny” Stallings Jr., told the jury that Reilly was lazy and had arrested Shepherd to close the case.

“This,” Stallings said, “is not the way law enforcement should act.”

STORY 2
Retired Nurse’s Federal Lawsuit Charges Virginia Beach County Deputies With Severely Beating Her And Denying Adequate Medical Care After Her Wrongful Arrest And Prosecution
October 18th, 2007

VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA - The lawsuit by a mentally ill woman who claims she was denied adequate medical care and severely beaten by sheriff’s deputies while at the city jail has been moved to federal court.

In a complaint filed in Virginia Beach Circuit Court last month, Janace Johnson, who has schizoaffective disorder, also claimed she was wrongfully arrested and prosecuted on a charge that was eventually dismissed. The lawsuit sought $2 million from the city, state and Virginia Beach Sheriff Paul Lanteigne.

STORY 3, Now this is comforting to know!
Three Beach police officers fired for cheating on leadership test
By JON FRANK, The Virginian-Pilot
© May 4, 2007

VIRGINIA BEACH - Three Police Department officers have been fired for cheating on a leadership test.

The three officers, a lieutenant and two sergeants, were terminated after a month-long investigation, according to sources close to the police department.

A memo was circulated Thursday throughout the police department, notifying other members of the terminations.

The officers fired were identified by sources as Lt. Kenny Miller, Sgt. Sam Thomson and Sgt. Chris Hammond.


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"This unfortunate situation was discovered internally," Chief of Police Jake Jacocks Jr. said during an interview last month.

Jacocks said the incident occurred during a session of the West Point Leadership Course, which the Beach conducts on a regular basis as a leadership developmental program.

The department's Professional Standards Office investigated the matter, Jacocks said.

" It is a very troubling matter to us," the chief said.

The leadership course is open to officers in both the Virginia Beach Police Department and the Sheriff's Office.

Other law enforcement organizations also send officers to the course, including police departments in Norfolk, Chesapeake and Suffolk, Jacocks said.

Jacocks would not comment on or confirm the firings, explaining that official police policy prohibits him from discussing personnel matters.


Read more at:
http://www.badcopnews.com/index.php?s=virginia+beach

THE UGLY...My Intentions Exploited by the Media!

Wayne Carter; 13 NEWS Investigator/Anchor

Mr. Carter,
I apologize in advance if this appears to be a personal attack on you. I understand that you were just doing your job, however maybe not to the best of your ability. As your title states, you are an Investigator/Anchor, maybe you should have taken the supposed facts you received from the police and investigated them further before airing them incorrectly. I don't recall you ever asking me for my side of what really happened until after you aired your news story or thought about checking my van for damages that would have matched the damages apparently done to the gate that I am being accused of or you verifying whether or not the gate had really been locked or unlocked, open or closed. Accordng to the picture shown below, taken exactly one week later, Monday, October 8, 2007, all donated items from the weekend were dumped into the parking lot because the gate for the first time ever, was indeed locked. So obviously, the gate had to have been open on 09-30-07, otherwise all those donated items on 09-30-07 would not have been left on the inside but rather on the outside dumped in the parking lot as they were one week later. Which means, the gate was neither broken into, pried open or the result of any damage done by me or Mr. Shepherd. All a part, a big part, of being an investigative reporter. Innocent people have been exploited and humiliated in front of their families; including children and friends, not to mention on the verge of losing their jobs, which to them is not only a job, it is their career and a means of providing for their families as is yours I am sure, all due to your negligence as a reporter. My attack, I guess you could say, is really on the media in general and how they have a twisted way of turning things around without thought of the lives they ruin all for the sake of "Breaking News"!

This is Mr. Carter's reply to the email I sent him prior to "Breaking News" in hopes that he would have taken the time to realize the impact his actions would have and how they would affect those involved;

"We apologize for the situation you’re going through. Unfortunately, the police department confirms the information and reports it all as fact. We do know that there are always more then one side to every story and would be happy to hear from you about what happened and allow your voice to be heard too. Yes, you did see a mention that we’re airing the story today based on police information, but we would be happy to meet with you and hear your side of things, so that all the angles are out there."

As one local tv station (WVEC), broadcast on their "Breaking News at 5", I pried open the gate (which implies the gate had been locked), yet nothing was in my possession that could have or would have been used to pry open the supposed closed and locked gate. I was also accused of damage done to that same supposed locked gate which by the way, were white scratch marks on the gate and my vehicle is maroon and there was no damage done to my vehicle nor any scratches of any kind to back that up either. Not to mention that I weigh about 120-125 pounds and I was told that the gate was indeed open because it was broken and it took 3 grown men to lift it. I am not Wonder Woman. Mr. Carter also stated that when the police arrived I was found "rummaging" through the piles of junk left inside the gated area, I really don't have a need for used clothing or nasty old mattresses. In the same news story, Mr. Carter then stated that I was found trying to flee. So was I rummaging or fleeing? Clearly the facts were not given accurately or they were simply made up to increase viewer ratings. Despite the fact, that the facts that were reported were incorrect, let me say that when the police arrived I was found sitting in my van backing up to unload my vehicle. No rummaging, no fleeing!

As for investigative reporting, the facts should have been investigated thoroughly before reporting them in front of thousands of viewers.

WHEN THE MEDIA SLANDERS...

SLANDER:
Now with all of that being said... or written, did you know that while exercising your right to freedom of speech or freedom of expression or whatever you were doing, you still hold a responsibility to not infringe on the rights of others, including the right of privacy and pursuit of happiness or unjustly harming another's reputation such that one cannot freely function in society, like being publicly humiliated or losing my job and preventing me from providing for my family. When false statements causing injury are spoken rather than written, it is slander. Slander is a form of defamation. If I wish to sue you for defamation, that is my right under the Slander Laws.

And I quote,
"You may bring an action for libel or slander due to the fact that the comments were so reprehensible and false and they affected your reputation in the community. Since the defamation improperly accused you of a crime and reflected poorly on your profession you may seek both actual damages to recover from the economic harm that you have suffered, and punitive damages against the person who made the remarks."

I may not be a reporter but it looks like I am a pretty good investigator.

REPORTING, CODE OF ETHICS AND PROFESSIONALISM

"Code of Ethics" taken from another local news source.


FAIRNESS

Report all sides of a story. We are upfront with readers about what we don’t know and about evidence that contradicts the main finding of a news story.

Give people accused of wrongdoing a full and immediate opportunity to respond to all charges. We also report the final outcome of such allegations — for example, the verdict after an arrest — and give the outcome comparable play to the original story.

GUIDING QUESTIONS
What if the person accused of wrongdoing in a story were your mother? Would you feel the story was fair?

What were the methods you used to get a story or photo? Would you be comfortable defending your conduct?


CRIME REPORTING

When we write about people accused of wrongdoing, we provide them an opportunity to respond. That effort should include seeking comments from defense attorneys, family members and friends.

We use sparingly such phrases as “unavailable for comment'' or “could not be reached.'' We do so only after we have worked hard to reach suspects, their attorneys and others with a stake in the story.

GUIDING QUESTIONS
Have we given accused persons a chance to defend themselves?
Have we made serious efforts to reach a defense attorney?

Have we also sought comments and reaction from relatives, co-workers and friends?

Are we withholding the name of suspect, victim or witness because of age, safety concerns, the nature of the crime or other privacy concerns? Has a deputy managing editor approved withholding the name?

Are the allegations provably true? Are we attributing allegations to records or testimony, and have we accurately represented the material?

Are we writing about an incident only because the suspect is a public figure or connected to a public figure? Does this incident say something about the public figure that the community should know?


More available at the Society of Professional Journalism Site below
http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp

So let me ask you Mr. Carter, what if it had been your mother? Would it be fair? Would it be newsworthy enough to make breaking news? Would you have more consideration for her than you do for the people of our community that you supposedly have an obligation and a responsibility to? Just asking...

THE FACTS...

Fact is, "A PICTURE'S WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS" and on Monday, October 8th at 7:30 AM, this picture was taken, when for the first time ever, the gate was actually shut and locked. Only ONE weekend after this nightmare began, and as you can see, there is one hell of a mess sitting in the parking lot, on the outside of the gate. Why? Because everyone else in the free world who donated items to this charity prior to this day, also trespassed through that same already unlocked, open gate. If they hadn't, there would have been this same mess sitting in the parking lot last weekend, as you see here this weekend. And just in case anyone out there is interested in that toilet you see in the background of the picture above... it is probably still considered theft even though the donated items were left on the outside of the gate this time, not inside.
Also, if there is anyone out there who has ever donated to this particular charity or any charity at all during closed hours of operation, this includes Sunday, violators will be prosecuted. Remember donating is to give, not take, which is also a crime, seriously!

Lesson learned, it's better to have a garage sale, keep the money, and let the needy fend for themselves. Just kidding, I really do have a big heart and will continue to donate during open hours of operation only!

THIS WAS WORTH WHAT???

Ok, so if I am being charged with Grand Larceny and ironically, it was my stuff to begin with, mostly junk, but if I knew it was worth so much (at least $200.00 or it wouldn't have been Grand Larceny) I would have hung onto it! Funny thing is, the week leading up to "DOOMSDAY" I had already taken several things, you know before the day I somehow managed to sneak into that open gate to the drop off area and then arrested for attempting to give to the needy...

(Items I had already taken the week of, that Police did not bother to check on as proof that I had been donating as I stated to them that day!)

1 Compaq Computer w/Monitor
1 Lamp
1 Large Microwave
2 Matching Brown Dressers
1 White/Purple 5 Drawer Dresser
1 Twin Size Box Spring
1 Wood Child's Carpenter Bench
2 Bags of toys
At least 5 or 6 bags of women's and children's clothes and shoes.

So if you had to put a price on it, what do you think that was worth to them? And if I could afford to donate these items, then why in the hell would I need to steal from the Salvation Army? It wasn't like it was Macy's... But it also makes me wonder if those two police officers or that reporter have ever donated anything to the Salvation Army! hmmm

Check out the Salvation Army Valuation Guide at the link to the right. How could the police put a price on my items of at least $200.00, if the Salvation Army would have only sold my items for what? $50.00???

COMMENTS...

Feel free to leave comments, thoughts or questions. If you know me and would like to say something nice in my behalf, that would be outstanding, (You have to click "Other" in order to add your name). Also, I am just curious to know, if you have ever donated to this charity or any other charity after hours...how did you accompish this? Sling shot your items over the gate? Parachuted in? Telekinesis? Because apparently it's an unsolved mystery. No names need to be given, however extremely helpful. Knowing that you all are out there supporting me is very comforting. I appreciate your taking the time to read my story and if you have anything to add that may help me in any way I would be forever greatful. If you are here because you just want to vent about something that has happened to you that you honestly feel you were wrongfully accused of, or humiliated over, or suspended from work because of, this is the place to vent.

I would like to thank you all in advance, the ones who know that this is completely out of character for me. That this is in no way something I would ever do. That it is a travesty that citizens like myself, a single, hardworking parent has been made out to be a criminal or should I say "Bandit"?