Posted on 09/01/2006 10:19:41 PM PDT by Protect the Bill of Rights
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Lacrosse players' defense: Documents being withheld |
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By William F. West : The Herald-Sun |
I think Crystal mixes her people and events together. I think she was pushed or fell out of the car when she arrived at the lax house, which is why she already had cuts or bruises and was carrying one shoe, so she spun that into Kim pushing her out. i notice she never said anything condemning her pimp. She, like most prostitutes, is likely too afraid of him, so she blames others for what happens to her - it's never his fault, and it's never her fault, so she has to find others to blame and explain away different events and situations. It's common.
If someone had seen Kim pushing her out or trying to get her in the car, and stopped to help, we'd have heard from that person by now. I seriously doubt that someone trying to avoid a warrant would stop and push somebody out of a car at that time of night. Further, Kim couldn't have pushed her out. Kim would have had to get out, go around, and drag her out.
Anyway, you guys go ahead and keep making this more complicated than it really is with events and theories that don't fit in with what we know so far, no offense intended ('cuz you guys are great!). We're packing to move and I need to get back at it. I've been lollygagging too much already. :<
Have fun!
Possible scenario-
After the "insult" about the broomstick, Kim decides to call it a night, and goes to the bathroom with AV. She(they) are trying to get AV a ride to come pick her up but since they were supposed to be there for 2 hours, could not reach AV's ride. Kim finally get fed up and goes out to car. AV follows shortly after, after "trying to make more money;" but no one is interested. The players finally get AV out of house, and when she gets to the car, Kim realizes that AV does not have the things she arrived with. AV goes back to get her "belongings" without Kim but no one will let her in as the back door is locked. AV falls down steps and passes out for several minutes. Guys come up to Kim's car when they realize AV will not leave, tell Kim they have had enough, they help AV to car. At that point, no ride has shown up for AV, and Kim (who has a nasty streak) lashes out at the players, who lash back with the "Thank your grandpa for my cotton shirt;" overheard by the neighbor.
Kim is now stuck with AV and is pissed off, and calls the cops on the Duke players regarding the "racial comment." She tries to call the escort agency a few more times, to see if they can reach passed out AV's ride with no success, after waiting a while and then dumps her off at the supermarket, claiming she saw her on the street, and "helped her," big hero that she is.
Little did she know, or care, that the AV would be taken to the Access Center, try to get out of there by claiming her kids needed to be checked up on and then when that did not get her out of her mess, claimed she had been raped, when the Access Center staff asked directly, figuring that would keep her out of overnight lock-up.
AV later tried to get out of her story to get her out of the Access Center, by making up multiple stories, failing to identify anyone, probably believing police/DA would drop it. (As happened in past when she made false accusations.) I think she has used every tool available to her in the past to get out of trouble and this was certainly not her second brush with the law.
Unfortunately for her, the DA jumped on this nonsense, and hounded her, possibly threatening her with charges for making false statements, possibly notify DHS of her lifestyle, etc.. After Nifong was only half listening to her at that point any way- condoms, DNA, 3,5, 20 players, etc.. The media whirled this into a frenzy, and AV took off with her kids, to avoid dealing with this whole thing, as she does so well.
Most DAs I know will check out the veracity of the AV as well as the accused as they do not want to end up with egg on their face. Since Nifong has his own agenda,and did not care if she was telling the truth, with local endorsement, he ran with it. What a fiasco.
If Kim really wants to "spin this to her own advantage" she could blow the lid off this crock, corruption in the DPD/escort business--she could sell the story and make a fortune.
I'm buying your scenario!
What good is money if you don't live to spend it?
In our area, a lot of our cops, particularly retired cops work as security guards. So was it a "day off" for who she expected to be there? From the beginning, I said she knew the guard. Remember, at Krogers, everyone becomes a "stranger" to Kim.
The police dept and DA's office is soooo dirty, who the heck knows. One lies and the other swears to it.
I agree. Kim always casts herself in the best light possible but I think her first handwritten statement is as close to the truth as anyone will get from her.
I don't think Kim and the accuser were in a plot together. All the evidence I've seen shows the opposite. I think Kim changed her story because Nifong gave her preferential treatment. Kim will do what's good for Kim. She couldn't care less about the accuser. I doubt they knew each other before that night. They may have heard of each other but I doubt they actually knew each other. The accuser seems to have worked alone.
Kim was mad and made a big point of calling the cops and reporting the team for supposed racial slurs. That, and getting rid of the accuser, was the extent of her calculations that night. If she was in the process of setting the guys up on a rape charge why bother to make that 911 call? And even if she decided to make the call why did she forget to mention that her "co-worker" had been raped? Kim never said a thing about a rape that night. It must have been some shock for her when the cops started asking questions about it.
If Kim was involved in a set-up she would have handled the whole thing differently. She is pretty street smart. She would have rolled into the nearest hospital with the accuser and told one hell of a sob story. She would have made sure the accuser had her story straight too. Not that it would matter because I'm sure Kim would have said the accuser was traumatized and Kim would have done all the talking herself. What a story that would have been. Kim would probably have tried to make herself out to be a victim too. She would have cried her eyes out and said she had been "abused" in some way and called derogatory names. It makes my head spin to think about what she would have come up with.
More on the Demorris Lee case :
First, to refresh your memories :
Published: November 18, 2004
Last Updated: November 18, 2004
Mr. James E. Hardin Jr.
District Attorney
Durham Co. Judicial Building
201 East Main Street, 6th Floor
Durham, NC 27701
Dear Mr. Hardin,
On behalf of the American Society of Newspapers Editors, I am writing to protest the recent arrest of Raleigh News & Observer reporter Demorris Lee.
As you know, Mr. Lee was charged with making harassing telephone calls after leaving two voice messages on the home answering machine of an individual from whom he sought comment for a news story. If the facts in this case are as we understand them, it is Mr. Lee who is being subjected to harassment by legal authorities as a result of doing his job as a reporter. Surely it cannot be illegal for a journalist to make a good faith effort to seek fair comment for a news story.
We also find the timing of Mr. Lee's arrest curious. Ruth A. Brown, employed by the Durham Police Department, filed her complaint against Mr. Lee and an arrest warrant was issued on Oct. 22. But Mr. Lee was not arrested until Sunday, Nov. 14, which was several days after he had filed a request with the Durham Police Department seeking additional public records in a case involving one of its employees, Ms. Brown.
Speaking for the hundreds of member editors of ASNE, we condemn this arrest in the strongest terms. Based on the facts as we know them, it is an affront to the First Amendment and constitutes an unwarranted attack on a reporter who was seeking to interview an individual to ensure accuracy and fairness.
We insist that these charges be dropped immediately.
Sincerely,
Karla Garrett Harshaw
ASNE President
Editor, Springfield (Ohio) News-Sun
cc: Chief Steven W. Chalmers
Judge Orlando F. Hudson, Jr.
related background stories :
http://www.nabj.org/front/story/856p-1358c.html
Lee said he left two voice messages on Oct. 17 for Brown, and may also have contacted a relative when he reached a woman who told him that he had the wrong number for a Ruth Brown.
Three weeks ago, Brown filed a complaint with the Durham County magistrate's office alleging that Lee was harassing her with phone calls. A warrant for Lee's arrest was executed based on the complaint's allegations.
At about 8 a.m. Sunday, Raleigh police arrived at Lee's Raleigh home. He was frisked, handcuffed, placed in the back seat of the police cruiser and driven to the Wake County jail in downtown Raleigh. While in custody, Lee's belt, shoelaces and other items were temporarily confiscated. He was fingerprinted and later released on his own recognizance.
http://www.maynardije.org/columns/dickprince/041124_prince/
District Attorney Jim Hardin Jr. of Durham, N.C., announced Tuesday that he would not prosecute Raleigh reporter Demorris Lee, who had been charged with making harassing phone calls in the course of pursuing a story. His arrest drew condemnation from leading journalism organizations as a threat to press freedom.
"Hardin said in a written statement that he would file to have the charges against News & Observer reporter Demorris Lee dismissed, because, 'The State of North Carolina cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt all the essential elements of this alleged crime'," as Michael Petrocelli wrote in the Durham Herald-Sun.
(see next article for the updated info)
Now, it seems that Brown was involved in a police scandal :
December 16, 2004
HEADLINE : Auctions little aid to schools; In Durham, police sales pay overtime
In most Triangle law enforcement shops, police auctions are good for children. The public buys things that were confiscated during arrests and searches, and the profits go to local schools.
But at the Durham Police Department, the sales are good for a few employees.
Most of the money goes to pay overtime to workers who set up the auction.
In the past three years, 79 percent of the Durham auction proceeds have gone to expenses, mostly overtime. . .
Wake County schools get about 70 percent of auction money from the Wake sheriff and Raleigh police.
The Durham Sheriff's Office reports that nearly all of its proceeds go to the schools, though it hasn't had an auction in years.
Chapel Hill police spend a lot on advertising, so they send only 37 percent of the take to the schools.
In the Durham Police Department, the lion's share of the overtime pay has gone to one property room technician, Ruth A. Brown, who got $26,169.62 in salary and benefits from the past five auctions. That's 51 percent of the $51,237 that the auctions grossed.
Brown declined to answer questions about the auctions. But several years ago, she testified about overtime pay at the trial of Erick Daniels, a teenager charged with breaking into her home and robbing her at gunpoint of $6,000. . .
(snip)
At one Durham police auction, on Oct. 27, 2001, Brown and her colleagues put in so many hours that the Durham police actually lost money, city records show.
The auction pulled in $9,961.50, and the department spent $9,618.56 on overtime, with $8,217.01 going to Brown. After the cost of an auctioneer and legal notices to advertise the auction, the department lost $957.51.
Brown was in the news after she filed a criminal complaint in October against News & Observer reporter Demorris Lee, charging him with harassment. Lee had been trying to contact Brown while reporting on Daniels' contention that he did not rob Brown.
Before he was arrested, Lee tried to interview Brown and requested records of her overtime pay from the Durham police. District Attorney Jim Hardin has dismissed the charges against Lee.
(snip)
Chalmers suggested that his department probably was understaffed in the property room compared with other big departments in the Triangle, but the numbers don't bear out his hunch.
We were merely discussing what went down as far as the ride to Kroger's and what happened along the way and once they got there in relation to Kim, the SG, the AV, and nothing more - none of the stuff you're now raising.
I would also like to add that when Kim decided to call it a night, three minutes into their "dance routine," she knew she had the upper hand with the Duke players (11+ years older, minority female,and knowing Duke players would not call cops over getting ripped off by the strippers.) She figured "Screw them," but then had the uncalcualted problem of having AV on her hands, probably thinking her ride would come for her once AV called her ride or agency, which did not happen. As the night word on, she grew more pissed off at players, and AV, figuring "Screw you," and never imagining the scenario the scenario which would follow, which accounts for her initial "it's a crock" statement.
I was just talking with my wife today that we should make a point of going over to the home games at least, plus the UNC game which is not any farther away.
I'm going to make it a point to watch all the lacrosse games on TV that I can...
But not in Durham. . .
http://flyservers.registerfly.com/members5/policecrime.com/misconduct/NorthCarolina_police.html
05/28/2005 - HIGH POINT, NC — Charges of cocaine trafficking against three area people were dropped Wednesday because of an "INVALID SEARCH WARRANT," according to court records.
The State Bureau of Investigation is examining the case and allegations that a HIGH POINT POLICE OFFICER PROVIDED FALSE INFORMATION.
(snip)
But on Tuesday, a group of High Point police officers found INCONSISTENCIES IN A FELLOW OFFICER'S REPORT.The group notified police Chief Jim Fealy, who notified the Forsyth County District Attorney's Office and the SBI.
On Wednesday, one day before the three people were scheduled to appear in court for a probable cause hearing, Forsyth County District Attorney Tom Keith DIMISSED THE CHARGES.
The reason: THE SEARCH WARRANT WAS INVALID and there was NO OTHER EVIDENCE to support a conviction, according to the release order.
"The group notified police Chief Jim Fealy, who notified the Forsyth County District Attorney's Office and the SBI."
So did anybody notify Chief Chalmers about another warrant issued on false info provided by a police officer?
And then did Chalmers notify the DA and the SBI?
(Can anyone else notify the SBI and make out a complaint?)
Chalmers was out tending to his "sick mother." Who in God's name was in charge of the DPD roost, while Chalmers was out (by convenience in my opionion.) Baker? Who exactly is second in DPD chain-of-command in the Chief's absence, and dropped the ball, not checking the veracity of AV's complaint? DPD has a chain of command, exclusive of any outside agency.
1) Durham Access says the AV was INCOHERENT. So I don't think that plays into her statements then or earlier about her kids. How can she provide her address and a story about her kids while she's incoherent ?
2) There is a bias towards believing things reported in the News Media - similar to the Barnum Bailey effect. The people at the circuses and freak shows found if the put down in writing, in newspaper style, that they had the world's tallest man or the world's largest tiger - more people were apt to believe it.
I think this is why so many accept some of the story without any basis but two very discredited ex-cons making self-serving statements. I don't believe Kim was motivated to leave by any comment made about the broom. The players have said no comment was made about assaulting the woman with a broom. Some say it was made as a joke when the girls said they didn't have any sex toys. In that context, if not wholly attributed to drunken humor, it would've been one woman could use it on the other way - quite a different thing that assaulting a person with a foreign object.
3) I fully attribute all statements made by Kim where she is watching out for the other woman or trying to get her help as pure fantasy and self serving. The facts point towards Kim, more so than anyone else, as taking Crystal's money. So, that would explain why she had an interest in putting her in her car. Other than that, in the background at Kroger, Kim can be heard saying that she has somewhere to go
and that the Police could take the woman "wherever she has to go, better than she can." If Kim did anything with Crystal as far as phone calls to escort agencies, I suspect it was to document her drunk condition and provide a cover story. I tried to call kinda thing.
If I was an investigator on this story, I would identify every single piece of the story that is known only due to Crystal or Kim's assertions - and wipe it out. Conduct an investigation starting without those assumptions and investigate it from that standpoint.
WE KNOW, we absolutely know that Nifong and company took Crystal - and Kim, to an extent, at their word. He took what they said accepted it and broadcast it to the media as fact. The Media rebroadcasts these stories as accepted facts - and they are accepted and become part of the story.
Kim is what 30-31? These are drunken eighteen and nineteen year olds. She's in charge. She tells them give me ID - they get it. She says she want the $$ up front - they give it to her. Why dance around for 2 hours, if you think there's no need to? I think she saw easy money. She was dominant and she saw an opportunity for the money and she may have been apprehensive and eager to get the cash from Crystal and move on with that aspect of her evening. She she's them as powerless to stop her from leaving with their money and she sees Crystal is ripe to have her money taken from her. Criminals are masters of taking advantage of opportunities. If she was scoping Crystal out for her money - that was priority. What do criminals do? They strike quickly and get while the getting is good.
No one can convince me that Kim was motivated by a desire to protect Crystal or look after her well-being. When does this story of wanting to protect Crystal and feeling for her first come to light? I'll tell you when, when she has a Civil attorney - a black activist - that wishes to represent her and Crystal civilly, and after Jesse Jackson, the Black Panthers, and the larger Black community has come to the aid of the AV. She is a cause-celeb. Kim, who we know wanted to "take advantage of the opporunity before it passed her by," didn't really have any choice, did she?
One side had the promise of money and fame - it sure looked like that then. The Other side would make her an outcast in her community - and there was no money in that position.
To everyone's surprise, Kim contradicts her earlier statements and moves to the side of Cold hard Cash, a favorable deal with the prosecutor, and the potential for a huge settlement down the road.
Some questions - to no one in particular:
1) Would it be inconsistent for a woman saying that she didn't have any idea how to make tips, a convicted felon, a woman on the run from the law - to lie about not knowing Crystal?
Didn't Kim tell authorities she didn't know Crystal and picked her up walking near Kroger - again, out of her concern for her safety. Didn't she lie on the first 911 call, which is filing a false report? She said she was walking, she said she was driving, she tries to tie the players to a KKK event in order to get them in trouble or pique Police interest. She says she was just going down the road - and from nowhere this happens. She said she was sitting in front of the house looking at the address? The address wasn't visible from the street during the day, much less at night, and if you fear for your safety, as she claimed, why would you sit in front of the residence while making a call? Why not call when you are out of harm's way?
It only seems reasonable to me that Kim was living way outside the law for five years as she didn't pay one penny of her court ordered, and agreed to, $25,000.00 restitution.
If she worked a job during that period under her name - her pay would quickly have been garnished by the state to recoup the restitution owed. If she received state income tax returns during this period, they would have been confisicated and applied to the debt. So, how has she been making money for 5 years? Common sense dictates if she was legally receiving a gov't paycheck for unemployment or welfare, the Police or parole officer would've found her easily. Coincidentially, a woman on the run from the law with an open, outstanding warrant for her arrest, calls 911 because she was called a name - calls without fear of being discovered - and low and behold - the DPD says the 911 system SHOULD have identified the caller. It did not - and Kim showed no fear of being ID'd by making the call for such a minor thing as being called a name.
I think the evidence points towards Kim being deep into living so that she was not detected - and that entailed breaking the law in many cases. For instance, did she file Federal income tax returns with accurate information during that five year period? How about the proper vehicle registration and personal property tax based, in part, on her automobile? Are we to believe the DMV knew where Kim was and that she paid her personal property taxes as required but the DPD and the Dept of Corrections couldn't find her? You see what I'm getting at - the state has many hooks into your whereabouts and income - to deceive them entails breaking many laws. It is not congruous to believe that Kim willfully decided to not pay back any court-ordered restitution, but then followed the law and led the police straight to her doorstep. The authorities did NOT find her doorstep. Her Parole officer could not locate her - and the authorities did not follow standard procedure to acquire the restitution she owed the state. Why would that be, if she was not concealing her location, identity, or income?
The statements of these women, no matter how minor, must be viewed through the lens of self serving ex-convicts accustomed to deceiving authorities repeatedly. The AV, by her own admission, was dealing drugs as a teenager. What state of mind do you think she has developed over the years in dealing with authorities? Are we supposed to believe that she trusts them and shows up and readily shares the truth without concern for her own liabilities OR that she reflexively misleads them with her number one priority being not to expose herself to any legal difficulty?
AV uttered something at the Access Center about rape to get herself taken to Duke for a Sane Exam. Otherwise, why did they take her there, instead of committing her to the Access overnight?
I agree, both AV and Kim calculated every word coming out of their mouth, and are very street smart. And no LE should have believed a word of it, until they checked everything on all ends.
BTW- I don't think Kim was "intimidated" by the "broom" comment if it was ever made, even jokingly, but rather figured she has had $400 pay, the Duke boys would not complain to police and saw this as an opportunity to make $400 for three minutes work. I do think she was waiting for AV's ride, as she did not want to hear from her employer about leaving a "co-worker" at a 2 hour gig after 30 minutes. It was self-preservation, rather than any genuine concern for AV, which ended up back-firing on her, when she lost patience at dumped her at Kroger's.
I don't think Kim was looking out for Precious. She couldn't care less about her. She probably robbed her. That was the one thing Precious may have gotten right about the evening.
I just don't think Kim and Precious were in a conspiracy together. All the evidence points in the opposite direction.
I think Kim stopped dancing because, contrary to her written statement, things weren't going well. Precious was out of it and not helping at all. Kim used the broom comment as an excuse to stop and retreat to the bathroom. Then she plotted her exit - with her money. The guys wanted a refund but I'm sure Kim had no intention of giving any money back. This caused an argument between Kim and some of the guys.
Where was Precious then? Probably staggering out of the bathroom. What did Kim and Precious do in the bathroom? Who knows. In her written statement Kim says Precious was out of control and angry. That's possible. She was on something. Someone may have said something that offended her too. Early on I heard a rumor that Precious had offered the guys sexual favors and they laughed at her. Something like that could have got her going. Or she may have been drunkenly painting her fingernails and thinking about how she was going to get home. She tried to reach her escort service at 12:26.
It's possible she asked Kim for a ride in the bathroom and initially Kim refused. I don't think she wanted a thing to do with Precious. Then when Precious passed out Kim may have reconsidered - so she could rob her. If Precious was really passed out she would be an easy mark for Kim. Kim may have figured it was worth the money to give Precious a ride. Sometimes I wonder if Precious was really passed out though. The first police officer who saw her at Krogers thought she was faking it because of the way she reacted to the ammonia. She definitely fell on the stairs but maybe she didn't really pass out.
I think she was on something - probably alcohol and flexeril - but I don't know if she actually passed out. And I don't know if she was really totally incoherent at Durham Access. I think she was out of it but not completely incoherent. She was coherent enough to realize she had to get herself out of Durham Access. Crying rape was her way out.
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