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.