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A message? Witness to S.F. rape is slain
San Francisco Chronicle ^ | November 23, 2008 | Jaxon Van Derbeken

Posted on 11/23/2008 12:51:02 AM PST by CE2949BB

It was an unspeakable nightmare.

As Andre Daniels was held at gunpoint outside his San Francisco housing project apartment early one morning three years ago, his wife was sexually assaulted inside their home while their two children slept.

Daniels, then 31, was determined to seek justice for his family. So he did what is often considered unthinkable in a community hostile to "snitching." He helped the police.

Then he made another fateful decision: He spurned the burdens of the city's witness protection and relocation program. He figured he would simply move his family to safety a few miles away to another public housing project in the southeast part of the city.

One day this past May, Daniels' gamble ended at his doorstep. After taking his children to school, Daniels was shot to death outside his apartment at the Alice Griffith project in the Bayview.

Police are investigating whether he was killed to keep him from going to court to testify against the alleged attackers, but have made no arrests. Without Daniels' testimony, the two men he helped jail soon admitted to lesser crimes as part of a plea deal and went free. Their attorneys say the men had nothing to do with the killing.

With the mystery unsolved, however, Daniels' death is serving as a painful reminder to authorities who rely on witnesses to make their cases about the price that can come with cooperation. Some wonder what more they could do to protect witnesses who reject programs designed to assure their safety.

At the crime-plagued Alice Griffith project, Daniels' death was clearly interpreted as a message, police say. Cooperative witnesses now are harder to come by than ever.

(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: andredaniels; bayview; murder; rape; sanfrancisco; sf; sfbayarea; snitching
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1 posted on 11/23/2008 12:51:02 AM PST by CE2949BB
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To: CE2949BB

Sad.


2 posted on 11/23/2008 12:54:11 AM PST by waterhill (An armed man has the means for independence)
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To: CE2949BB

“...Daniels’ death was clearly interpreted as a message...Cooperative witnesses now are harder to come by than ever.”

I guess that means that illegal aliens won’t cooperate with the police no matter what, so there should be no hesitation in arresting them.


3 posted on 11/23/2008 12:57:02 AM PST by SatinDoll (NO FOREIGN NATIONALS AS OUR PRESIDENT!!)
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To: CE2949BB

sad indeed. arm yourselves. speak softly and carry a big gun.


4 posted on 11/23/2008 12:57:53 AM PST by pjluke (thank you Mr. Kalashnikov!)
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To: CE2949BB

Why this man spurned witness protection is beyond me.


5 posted on 11/23/2008 1:06:33 AM PST by DiogenesLaertius
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To: CE2949BB

Big city crime... liberalism in action.


6 posted on 11/23/2008 1:10:35 AM PST by Chet 99
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To: CE2949BB

Authorities might wish to consider prosecuting anybody who wears “no snitching” and “snitches get stitches” tee-shirts on charges of Intimidation and Uttering a Threat. Perhaps even Thwarting the Cause of Justice.

It’s admittedly a ham-fisted approach, but it would send a suitable message back: if you encourage a climate of lawlessness you can expect to pay a price.


7 posted on 11/23/2008 1:31:28 AM PST by DieHard the Hunter (Is mise an ceann-cinnidh. Cha ghéill mi do dhuine. Fàg am bealach.)
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To: CE2949BB

At least the poor guy didn’t have a gun, otherwise he would have been a criminal and could have gotten in big trouble if caught


8 posted on 11/23/2008 1:42:40 AM PST by fso301
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To: CE2949BB

sounds like the littlest police chief who’s hat doesnt fit is doing a FINE job.


9 posted on 11/23/2008 2:02:14 AM PST by 09Patriot (I am a MILITANT Conservative, compassionate conservativism got us NOWHERE)
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To: DieHard the Hunter

oh no, dont let that genie out of the bottle altho the “snitches get stitches” is stupid we would never charge someone with that, I can see them going after us for wearing GOD bless America.


10 posted on 11/23/2008 2:13:24 AM PST by 09Patriot (I am a MILITANT Conservative, compassionate conservativism got us NOWHERE)
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To: SatinDoll

This man was an illegal?


11 posted on 11/23/2008 3:55:59 AM PST by nobama08
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To: CE2949BB
"Without Daniels' testimony, the two men he helped jail soon admitted to lesser crimes as part of a plea deal and went free? Their attorneys (f*ckin lying dog) say the men had nothing to do with the killing." (/f*ckin lying dog)

WTFO!

I really hope that someone with an ounce of intelligence fires these stupid a$$ politicians or at the very least builds a wall around the state and fills it with their own excrement. Because they certainly not worth a sh!t to anyone else and the masses are too stupid to deserve this country.

Just my ever humble opinion

12 posted on 11/23/2008 4:16:37 AM PST by SERE_DOC (Todays politicians, living proof why we have and need a second amendment to the constitution.)
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To: CE2949BB

black on black crime, acceptable, black on white crime, acceptable, white on black crime racist. Don’t ya just love liberalism?


13 posted on 11/23/2008 4:33:59 AM PST by ronnie raygun ( When CHANGE comes let me know, I'll put my tin foil hat on and sit in front of myTV)
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To: 09Patriot

> altho the “snitches get stitches” is stupid we would never charge someone with that,

Let me explain my rationale: criminal communication has never been protected as Free Speech. Witness intimidation, uttering threats, and thwarting the cause of Justice are all serious crimes which can (arguably) be achieved by wearing a tee-shirt that threatens “snitches” with “getting stitches”. The threat is explicit and obvious. It’s not merely a fashion statement, it is a criminal communication that says “if you report a crime we will assault you and give you serious injuries.”

So I say round up a few of them, press charges really hard, and try to make them stick. All you need is one precedent, so pick the jurisdiction and prosecuting attorney carefully. The rest should follow.

If nothing else, it gives the cops good enough reason to arrest someone and haul them into the station for further questioning. Who knows? They might be wanted on outstanding warrants, or carrying drugs, or suspects in other more serious crimes.

> I can see them going after us for wearing GOD bless America.

Now *that* would surely fail. Religious expression is protected as Free Speech, and always has been.


14 posted on 11/23/2008 4:35:03 AM PST by DieHard the Hunter (Is mise an ceann-cinnidh. Cha ghéill mi do dhuine. Fàg am bealach.)
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To: CE2949BB
This story makes me sick to my stomach.

Lewis was freed in July, getting credit for three years prison time already served in jail stemming from an assault charge connected to the Daniels case.

No DNA evidence, no fingerprint evidence, nothing from a search warrant, nothing future wiretaps couldn't produce? the perps had perfect alibis? Since when does a case like this rest solely on one victim's evidence? A good man's family has been brutalised twice and still can't get justice. San Francisco is a putrid hole, in my mind its name has the same connotations as Fallujah or Mogadishu. Bring on the next earthquake, the city deserves to sink beneath the waves.

15 posted on 11/23/2008 4:36:56 AM PST by Byron_the_Aussie (Michelle Obama, The Early Years: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBYGxBlFOSU)
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To: CE2949BB

sanfruitcisco is heading for the fate GOD dealt sodom... and I will not mourn that day.

LLS


16 posted on 11/23/2008 4:48:04 AM PST by LibLieSlayer (GOD, Country, Family... except when it comes to dims! I am an UMA-unity my a$$)
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To: pjluke

Arm yourselves. speak softly and carry alot of big guns bring friends.


17 posted on 11/23/2008 5:59:20 AM PST by Vaduz
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To: CE2949BB

Another Obama City success story.


18 posted on 11/23/2008 6:03:07 AM PST by pabianice
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To: CE2949BB
to another public housing project

Ah, another government success story.

19 posted on 11/23/2008 6:06:25 AM PST by csvset
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To: Byron_the_Aussie

Yep, out to rape again.


20 posted on 11/23/2008 6:39:15 AM PST by freekitty (Give me back my conservative vote.)
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