Posted on 08/29/2006 1:39:25 PM PDT by abb
The Durham cab driver who has surfaced as an alibi witness in the Duke lacrosse rape case today was found not guilty of a 3-year-old shoplifting charge.
Moezeldin Elmostafa is expected to provide an alibi for Reade Seligmann, one of three Duke lacrosse players indicted in the rape case, because he gave Seligmann a ride after the party that led to the rape allegations.
After authorities learned of Elmostafa's potential role in the rape case, they found an unserved warrant naming him in a 2003 shoplifting case at a Hecht’s department store at Northgate Mall in Durham. A security officer for the store testified today in district court that he saw a woman steal handbags from the store and then jump into Elmostafa’s cab, which sped away.
The security officer testified that the cab pulled away even before the woman had closed to the door. A store surveillance tape, played in court, appeared to show that the door closed first.
Defense lawyers in the lacrosse rape case have said that Elmostafa was charged because he is a favorable witness to the defense. Loflin put one of the lacrosse investigators on the witness stand this morning and produced typed notes from the lacrosse case that show District Attorney Mike Nifong wanted to be informed when Elmostafa was arrested.
Assistant District Attorney Ashley Cannon told the judge the shoplifting case has nothing to do with the rape case.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsobserver.com ...
Organizations are run from the Top down. The tone is set at the top and they steer organizations one way or another - or they choose to ignore certain things, which effects the organization.
We know that Durham has been afflicted with Corruption in the City Gov't, and we know the DPD has had many scandals.
So young guys show up, they're 23 years old. They see their Dept doing things a certain way - disregarding rules and occasionally some people's rights and justifying it by the end result. They see these officers valued and promoted. How long does it take for that attitude to become pervasive?
I think this is what happened in Durham. I don't see this as anything against Police - I see it against depts and districts - or individuals that have were allowed to flourish in that organization.
The same thing applies to any businees. If you take Corecompany - a software support company - and the management and leaders allow the employees to treat customers rude or act unprofessionally in general - the same thing happens there. Someone gets hired, if they see the guy in the next cube wearing shorts and sandals and coming in late every day - it's going to affect how they dress for work. If people yell and curse normally at work - the new people quickly assimilate.
To me, the DPD is a separate distinct entity than the Maryland State Police.
When an accountant bilks his company, is that a reflection on all accountants?
_
Aug 31, 2006 : 9:32 pm ET
DURHAM -- The Durham Police Department's internal investigation into an alleged assault involving several off-duty officers outside a Raleigh sports bar should be complete "in the next week to 10 days, if not sooner," City Manager Patrick Baker said this week.
Sometimes (especially when I am tired) I am not as clear as I should be. I just reread my post and think maybe it was one of those times.
I posted to above to you because you used to be a cop.
I was reminded tonight how we often take LE for granted until we need them.
Going back to bed:-)
Yes, thanks.
And NEFF, from the N&O, says the woman was free of controlled substances:
http://www.newsobserver.com/1185/story/481323.html
It's not clear to me what Controlled substance entails.
Is flexiril a controlled substance? If it is, then she made it up?
At first glance, Flexeril doesn't look to be a controlled substance, but look at this:
Flexeril's active ingredient is Cyclobenzaprine
Cyclobenzaprine is known as "cyclone" on the street.
Cyclone can produce moderate to severe anticholinergic effects.
Anticholinergic effects in the central nervous system may resemble those associated with delirium, and may include:
* Confusion
* Disorientation
* Agitation
* Respiratory depression
* Short-term memory loss
* Inability to concentrate
* Wandering thoughts; inability to sustain a train of thought
* Incoherent speech
* Wakeful myoclonic jerking
* Unusual sensitivity to sudden sounds
* Illogical thinking
* Photophobia
* Visual disturbances
o Periodic flashes of light
o Periodic changes in visual field
o Visual snow
o Restricted or "tunnel vision"
* Visual, auditory, or other sensory hallucinations
o Warping or waving of surfaces and edges
o Textured surfaces
o "Dancing" lines; "spiders", insects
o Lifelike objects indistinguishable from reality
* Rarely: seizures, coma and death
Acute anticholinergic syndrome is completely reversible and subsides once all of the toxin has been excreted. Ordinarily, no specific treatment is indicated. However, in extreme cases, especially those that involves severe distortions of mental state, a reversible cholinergic agent such as physostigmine may be used.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anticholinergic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclobenzaprine
From the BLINCO's article:
"Another reason for the case's notoriety stems from Thomas' allegation that the man who initially confronted him poked him in the shoulder and directed two racial slurs at him, the "N" word and "boy."
The third reason stems from the fact that two of the officers caught up in the case but not charged by Raleigh police -- Sgt. Mark Gottlieb and Officer Richard Clayton -- have participated in the Duke University lacrosse rape case investigation. Three Blue Devil athletes have been indicted in that case.
Critics of the department's handling of that case theorize that the involvement of Gottlieb and Clayton in the Blinco's case might undercut the lacrosse prosecution.
Further fueling the speculation has been the fact that Thomas told one media outlet, ABC News, that the first man to confront him on July 20 was BALD.
Among the six current and former officers who've been named in connection with the Blinco's case, Gottlieb comes the closest to fitting that description......"
http://www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-765891.html
http://www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-765891.html
Blinco's probe 7-10 days from being completed
By Ray Gronberg, The Herald-Sun
August 31, 2006 9:32 pm
DURHAM -- The Durham Police Department's internal investigation into an alleged assault involving several off-duty officers outside a Raleigh sports bar should be complete "in the next week to 10 days, if not sooner," City Manager Patrick Baker said this week.
Baker added that he hasn't ruled out asking the City Council for permission to release a report on the investigation. State law would normally require that the internal affairs report be kept secret, but Baker and the City Council can waive the confidentiality requirement if they think doing so is necessary to maintain public confidence in city government.
The decision on a waiver will come after Baker studies the Internal Affairs Unit's report on the July 20 incident at Blinco's Sports Restaurant and Bar, 6711 Glenwood Ave.
"I'll wait until I've had a chance to look at the report to determine if the circumstances of this case justify us using that exception to make a disclosure," Baker said. "Having not seen a report, I'm not in position to say whether we'll do it or not."
Two City Council members, however, said they believe officials will have to release at least some of the investigation's findings. A cook at Blinco's has alleged that several men -- current or former members of the Durham Police Department -- surrounded and assaulted him after an exchange of racial slurs. The cook is black, and most of the officers who were there are white.
"In a case like this, where potentially the honor of our Police Department has been challenged, [disclosure is] a good idea," Councilman Eugene Brown said Thursday.
Councilman Thomas Stith agreed.
"The incident clearly has the potential to erode public confidence, and I would support some release of information so we can address the serious charges that have been made," Stith said. "There are certainly standards and policies within our Police Department that, if violated, we'd need to address."
Stith added that he'd want to know, before deciding on a waiver, whether the report might compromise "investigative tactics or internal affairs procedures." If it doesn't, "the easiest thing may be to release the whole report," he said.
A third councilman asked about the case Thursday, Mike Woodard, was more cautious and said he'd likely support Baker's recommendation, whatever it may be.
"If in his opinion it should be released, I'll listen to that, and if in his opinion it shouldn't be released, I'll listen to that," Woodard said.
The Blinco's case has attracted attention for three reasons, starting with the fact that a Raleigh Police Department criminal investigation led authorities in that city to charge two Durham officers, Gary P. Lee, 38, and Scott C. Tanner, 33, with one count each of simple assault.
The misdemeanor warrants allege that Lee took a swing at the cook, Rene Dennis Thomas, and that Tanner kicked the alleged victim in the head after he fell to the ground.
Another reason for the case's notoriety stems from Thomas' allegation that the man who initially confronted him poked him in the shoulder and directed two racial slurs at him, the "N" word and "boy."
The third reason stems from the fact that two of the officers caught up in the case but not charged by Raleigh police -- Sgt. Mark Gottlieb and Officer Richard Clayton -- have participated in the Duke University lacrosse rape case investigation. Three Blue Devil athletes have been indicted in that case.
Critics of the department's handling of that case theorize that the involvement of Gottlieb and Clayton in the Blinco's case might undercut the lacrosse prosecution.
Further fueling the speculation has been the fact that Thomas told one media outlet, ABC News, that the first man to confront him on July 20 was bald.
Among the six current and former officers who've been named in connection with the Blinco's case, Gottlieb comes the closest to fitting that description, though all six have close-cropped hair, and several have receding hair lines.
The other two men who've been named are James Griffin, a current Durham Police Department officer who's black, and James Kennedy, a white former officer who left the department late in 2005. Also potentially involved is another former officer -- a recent departure, perhaps the honoree at a going-away party that prompted officers to gather at Blinco's -- who hasn't been publicly identified.
Thomas has declined to discuss the particulars of the case with The Herald-Sun, and in brief interviews with the paper hasn't offered any recollections of what happened or descriptions of his alleged assailants. But when asked about last month's arrests of Lee and Tanner, he did tell the paper he didn't think police had "the right guys."
When asked whether Gottlieb was the man who initially confronted the cook, Baker said, "I'm not aware that that's the case, but I'm sure that that'll be part of the internal affairs investigation."
Gottlieb and Kennedy are known to have consulted attorneys at a Durham law firm, Clayton Myrick McClanahan & Coulter. Officers involved in internal affairs investigation have the right to counsel, as do criminal defendants.
A lawyer at the firm, Allen Mason, declined to comment Thursday when asked who the unidentified former officer was, and when asked whether Gottlieb was the man who initially confronted the cook. The Herald-Sun could not reach the firm's senior partner, Jerry Clayton, who is not related to Officer Richard Clayton, for comment Thursday.
Mason did say that Lee -- who has also consulted lawyers at Clayton Myrick -- has since retained a Wake County lawyer. Lee and Tanner are due in court there Sept. 25.
URL for this article: http://www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-765891.html
http://www.newsobserver.com/1185/story/481323.html
Test shows lacrosse case accuser was free of controlled substances
http://www.lewrockwell.com/anderson/anderson140.html
'Nifonging' the Standards of Justice
http://betsyspage.blogspot.com/2006/08/human-costs-of-travesty-at-duke.html
The human costs of the travesty at Duke
http://drmelissaclouthier.blogspot.com/2006/08/duke-drama.html
Duke Drama
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ CHECK OUT THE HEADLINE IN THE NEWS and OBSERVER !!!!!!!
The News and Observer does it again!
. . . . . "Test shows lacrosse case accuser was free of controlled substances"
, , , , Why NOT:
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ NO DATE RAPE DRUGS FOUND IN ACCUSER!
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Sounds like Melanie needs another talking to...
HEADLINE
Was the purpose of the testing to detect controlled substances?
We know it wasn't, it was to detect Date Rape drugs.
But, it doesn't stop the News and Observer. Every Headline is biased in that paper.
I've looked everywhere, but I've not been able to find a copy of the actual motion posted. Have you seen it?
Wow, thanks PBOR. :>
Controlled substances means (usually) drugs requiring a prescription. The drugs are listed in schedules set forth in the CFR (Code of Federal Regulations).
Possible, or perhaps it was just a matter of it being parked in an okay place for night, but not daytime during business hours.
Flexiril is a controlled substance.
There are some drugs that aren't detectable in hair samples. Some drugs have a short half-life and dissipate quickly.
Mangum is under a probation order requiring her to submit to drug teating.
http://www.dukechronicle.com/media/storage/paper884/news/2006/08/31/MLacrosse/Cassese.Holds.Lax.Program.Together-2253451.shtml?norewrite200609010614&sourcedomain=www.dukechronicle.com
Cassese holds lax program together
http://www.dukechronicle.com/media/storage/paper884/news/2006/08/31/News/Students.Town.Support.Nifong.Opponent-2253450.shtml?norewrite200609010617&sourcedomain=www.dukechronicle.com
Students, town support Nifong opponent
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