Waxhaw police arrested Mayor DauneGardner of Waxhaw early Monday morning with a .18 Blood Alcohol Level.
In addition to the driving while impaired charge, Gardner has also been
charged with speeding and driving left of center on NC 16 in Waxhaw.
Later in the article, it is discovered that the mayor's earlier run-in with driving under the influence in Lancaster County 2008 was ultimately expunged. I'd always wondered what had happened with that.
The Union County Weekly has a bit more of a follow-up:
Gardner apologized to commissioners and Waxhaw citizens at the town’s
board meeting Tuesday, June 11, calling Monday’s arrest “embarrassing”
and saying she hopes the town can work together to move past these
issues.
“I would like to apologize to you, the people of Waxhaw, my
supporters and friends, the board and the staff,” she said. “It is a
private challenge that I face, and I will be addressing that in a
private manner. I hope that each of you is able to forgive me for the
condition that I have put us in with my actions. I hope that we can
move forward and work together for the betterment of our community.”
The town won’t move forward without taking some steps to address
Gardner’s alleged actions, first. Commissioners voted unanimously
Tuesday night to audit the mayor’s town credit card expenses and suspend
her credit card use until the audit is finalized. Gardner will be put
on a reimbursement system like other members of the board for now.
Commissioners will begin the process of censuring Gardner during
their next meeting. The censure process is a formal reprimand from a
government body that serves as little more than an embarrassing slap on
the wrist and carries no loss of power or authority. Town councils
don’t have the power to remove mayors in North Carolina.
WCNC has the story about 15 cars being broken into at the Woodleaf and Aston Manor subdivisions early Monday morning. A snippet:
WAXHAW, N.C. – Waxhaw police are trying to identify and find two people responsible for breaking in to 15 cars early Monday morning in two nearby neighborhoods.
The Waxhaw Police Department said the cars were broken into between 4-5 a.m. in the Woodleaf and Ashton Manor neighborhoods located right across from each other.
All of the cars were unlocked, and the thieves did not have to break any windows. Various items were stolen, including GPS systems, speakers and cash.
Make sure you lock your cars at night as there's no sense in making it any easier for thieves.
UPDATE 11.55pm: Or not. Per one of my most highly-placed Woodleaf sources, suspects were arrested already. But of course it's a good idea to lock your doors regardless.
The Enquirer-Journal has the story. It contains a tidbit that they weren't playing poker as I had originally assumed or read, likely the former. A snippet:
Quenthoney Kegan Black, 22, of 9931 Waxhaw Highway, Waxhaw, has been charged with first-degree murder and discharging firearm into an occupied dwelling. Black was taken into custody at his residence without incident after investigators obtained a warrant for his arrest, according a Union County Sheriff’s Office prepared release.
...
Tonk is a version of gin rummy that was popular among jazz musicians in the 1930s and 1940s. Writing on the games website www.pagat.com, John McLeod warns, “many players seem certain that their own way of playing is the only correct one. Before starting a game with unfamiliar players, it is wise first to agree what house rules are in force.”
He, along with the initial two suspects, is charged with first-degree murder. Could bullets from all three guns have hit Michael Garlins? I've seen nothing to suggest police have released any kind of ballistics test or even if they have got the guns that the three suspects apparently were firing into the mobile home.
For more information on tonk, here's the rules page referred to in the article.
I went camping this weekend with the Cub Scouts. When I got home, my wife informed me that murder was afoot in Waxhaw as I'm sure everyone has heard by now.
It occurred after a fight broke out over a poker game, so you must be thinking a lot of money was at stake. Uhh, no.
Elisabeth Arriero has the story for the Charlotte Observer:
The price for one Waxhaw man's life may have been as little as $2, some Waxhaw residents said Sunday.
According to investigators, Michael Leon Garlins, 38, of Waxhaw died early Saturday after an argument broke out following a Friday night card game in or near a home on Forest Green Drive.
"It was supposedly over a money debt for $2 or $3," said Richard Weaver, 47, who lives near the mobile home where the shooting occurred.
Investigators believe Garlins was struck by gunshots fired by at least three people during the altercation.
According to an Enquirer-Journal article, two have now been arrested and charged with first-degree murder among other things. No word on if ballistics shows bullets from both men's guns actually struck Michael Garlins. A snippet:
The Union County Sheriff’s Office arrested Joshua Davarius McGill, 23, and Jonathan Alves Henry, 19, in connection with a Waxhaw shooting incident over the weekend.
...
Investigators said Garlins was struck when at least two people fired shots. He was taken to Carolinas Medical Center-Union where he was pronounced dead. The Sheriff’s Office lists Garlins’ residence at Pine Oak Road, Waxhaw, but the N.C. Department of Motor Vehicles has a Charlotte address on file.
This is somewhat strange story. Samir Khan at one time was a Charlotte supporter of Al Qaeda. He was discovered a few years ago and lived in Charlotte as an outed supporter of jihad for some time.
I eventually read that he had traveled to Yemen, which has become something of a haven for Al Qaeda and its offshoot, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsular (AQAP).
Another traitorous American, Anwar al-Awlaki, was the leader of this branch of Al Qaeda. Well, apparently these two hooked up and Samir Khan was killed in the strike that took out Anwar al-Awlaki.
Well, the State Department has now called the Khan family to apologize, per a Charlotte Observerarticle.
See here for some more details. If you want to see the text of the "I Am Proud to be a Traitor to America" article illustrated at the previous link, it appears to be intact here.
It seems odd to apologize to his family given how he openly aligned himself with Al Qaeda, but I suppose that's a consequence of him being an American citizen taken out by an American strike authorized by our president. I can only assume it's a disingenuous apology precipitated by legal and/or political concerns.
Lori linked to this story of a Waxhaw man accidentally shooting himself on a first date over on Facebook that led to a wave of dating related one-liners from commenters.
Weirdcrime.net (of course there's a website devoted to weird crimes; why wouldn't there be?) has some more details that appears to be straight from the police report.
“The victim advised that he was reaching for his gun which was chained up in a bicycle lock underneath the car seat,” a Charlotte police report said. “The victim advised that the gun accidentally went off as he was pulling on the gun which shot him in the left leg.”
MARVIN, N.C. -- A suspected drug deal that ended in a shooting Sunday night has authorities worried about drugs infiltrating a Union County high school.
Cameron Cook, 17, was arrested Monday morning after deputies said he shot 19-year-old David Thomas Powell III three times in a small park in the Hunter Oaks subdivision in Marvin.
...
Luke said the drug deal points to a bigger problem at Marvin Ridge -- an increased drug trade targeting area teenagers.
WCNC has a more detailed story with embeddable video, so as far as I'm concerned, WCNC > WSOC. A snippet before the news clip:
Police collected about $800 worth of pot and other drug dealing paraphernalia at the scene and at least five people were involved in the incident.
...
“We’ve been working on this for awhile and recently the activity had intensified. It was getting to the point where there are fistfights, kicking fights…groups of boys getting larger,” Kelley said.
...
“I feel like we have a front row ticket to a show we do not want to watch," she added.
Cook is charged with possession with intent to sell or deliver marijuana, felony possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and felony assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury.
WCNC has some more details on the early morning assault in Cane Creek Park. A snippet:
Union County Sheriff Eddie Cathey says that's when 42 year old Scott Lavoie left his camp site, walked to another site, got inside a tent with one girl, and then got inside a second tent with another girl.
Authorities say he also assaulted a woman before leaving and going back to his campsite, pulling a handgun and walking into the woods.
...
He's being charged with two counts of Indecent Liberties with a Child and one count of Assault on an Adult.
Per the mayor's Facebook update, Cane Creek Park has been evacuated and appears to be on lockdown as police search for an apparently armed suspect in an assault.
Be careful if you're in that area. And if you're planning on going to Cane Creek Park today, it might be a good idea until the area has been cleared by law enforcement.
According to the Union County Sheriff's Office, two men got into an argument Wednesday morning near Cane Creek Park which is located in the southern part of the county.
One of the men ran into the woods armed with a gun and authorities are fearful the man is suicidal.
UPDATE 12:25pm: The mayor is a machine when it comes to Facebook updates; per her latest, the suspect has been caught.
A Domino's pizza delivery guy was attacked with pepper spray and a taser before being robbed by two Waxhaw minors. WCNC and the Enquirer-Journal have the story. A snippet:
The delivery man arrived at 7909 Mccall Road in Waxhaw about 8:45 p.m. with two pizzas when the teens approached him, Detective Brian Keziah of the Union County Sheriff’s Office said.
...
They stole the two pizzas and fled on foot. An investigation led to the arrest of Sherwood Alan Schaffernoth, 16, of 704 Carver Pond Lane, Waxhaw, and Cody Scott Whittaker, 17, of 4312 Applewood Lane, Waxhaw, on Tuesday.
Their charges include various counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon, breaking/entering felony, larceny after breaking and entering, bel/theft from motor vehicle, larceny-misdemeanor, first degree burglary and larceny-felony.
Seems like a long list of charges to acquire in the pursuit of $20 worth of pizza. Unfortunately, I suspect a lot of these charges will be dropped since it involves two minors, but hopefully there will still be substantial punishment for these two.
I've been negligent with my monthly crime report, but I guess this is becoming something of a tradition at this point.
So here's May's crime report in all its criminal glory.
What are the odds I get June's done in a reasonable amount of time? Not good, I suppose.
In other crime news:
* Per an Enquirer-Journalarticle, we learned a suspect had been arrested for break-ins at Couick's Marine and New 2 You. A snippet:
Police arrested McClure on the probation warrant in the pre-dawn hours of June 22 after seeing him riding a bike on Providence Road near Blythe Mill, according to the press release.
“He had a purse on him with change in it and the price tag hanging on it,” Detective Sgt. Bobby Haulk of the Waxhaw Police Department, said.
McClure claimed the purse belonged to his girlfriend but it was later found to have been stolen from the New 2 You consignment store, Haulk said.
At the time of his arrest, McClure gave a fictitious name and attempted to flee on foot before being caught a short time later.
Other property from New 2 You and Couick’s Marine was later found and returned, according to the release.
You'd think he'd at least remove the price tag from the purse.
The story neglects to say when the actual break-in occurred. According to Crime Reports, it's tagged the break-ins at 12pm and 6pm on June 22nd respectively. Obviously if Michael McClure was arrested in the pre-dawn hours on June 22nd, those Crime Report dates are inaccurate.
I'd send an email out to those businesses to clarify the actual date and time of the break-ins, but this seemed like a lot of work to ascertain how long he was biking around with a purse with a price tag on it. I'm going to let this one drop.
* Per another Enquirer-Journalarticle, the Waxhaw Women's Club, whose windows were on the receiving end of some rocks as noted last week, has been vandalized 4 times in the last year. The snippet:
The club has had four acts of vandalism in the last year that have caused it to pay a lot of money to repair and preserve the historic Belk Building, where the club is located, Carol Holtzclaw said in an e-mail.
I definitely don't recall of three previous acts of vandalism in the last year. Does anyone remember the previous instances of vandalism? I imagine they weren't heavily publicized.
Some vandals broke a bunch of windows at the Waxhaw Women's Club (ie. Belk building) early Monday morning. Rowdy teens are heavily suspected if you examine the Facebook buzz; I suspect troublemakers of some kind.
My first question based on the beginning of this clip: a "spree" of vandalism? Has there been a lot of window-breaking in Waxhaw recently that I haven't heard about or is WCNC mistaken in using this term?
Anyone with information as to the perpetrators should call Waxhaw police at 704-283-5600 or Crime Stoppers at 704-283-5600
On a side note, here's a little discussion of the history of Belk building that may be of interest to some of you. Also, per the town's historic pamphlet:
R.J. Belk Store
Originally called “New York Racket,” the Waxhaw branch of the Belk Store was one of the first two branches to be located outside of Monroe, NC; the other was in Charlotte. Founder William Henry Belk’s cousin, Ralph, operated the Waxhaw branch until the branch closed in 1936. Since that time, the building has served many purposes, most notably Gambles Drug Store. The Belk family donated the building to the Waxhaw Woman’s Club in 1971. The Waxhaw Woman’s Club has made repairs to the building and uses it for meetings and special events.
Additionally, the apparently defunct (or at least inactive for the last half year) Waxhaw Natives group on Facebook has some interesting discussions and pictures for those of you interested in Waxhaw of yesteryear.
After skimming through it, I am very interested in learning the true story behind the big brown jug, which per Miss June Plyler, is Waxhaw's third best kept secret. And it goes without saying I want to know the first two as well. If anyone's got a contact email for Miss Plyler and you don't think she'd mind getting an email from me, please pass it along to my email address. As for the other best kept secrets in Waxhaw, anyone want to take a stab as to what they are?
I've put up late crime reports before, but not this late -- my last one was in February. At this point, I've decided it's best to just include March and April in the same post and be done with it.
And with a little luck, I'll post May's next week.
The Charlotte Observer finally published their article on the Bonnie & Clyde fiasco I think I mentioned on this Waxhaw blog many times before.
As someone who has kept a relatively close eye on this issue (despite its ties to Waxhaw), I found it rather lackluster. Maybe there can be a Sunday follow-up on how the media covered the story in the first place.
WBTV has an obligatory piece as well for what it's worth. And if you thought the Observer article was lackluster...
Per this WLTX article, Justin Aldrich and Anna Hoard, the purported Bonnie & Clyde robbers, were arrested in Forest Acres, SC doing what they're trained to do. A snippet:
Forest Acres, SC (WLTX) -- Police arrested a man and a woman from Cornelius, North Carolina after they say the two broke in to a Forest Acres home on Monday.
Investigators with the Forest Acres Police Department say the suspects may be connected to other incidents outside the town.
Officers charged Anna Lee Hoard with second degree burglary, driving without a license, and possession of marijuana and Justin Ryan Aldrich with second degree burglary.
Officials say Aldrich will soon face charges in Horry County.
And it appears their wheels are still running just fine, as the red Jeep Cherokee makes a cameo in the story as well.
On Monday, a Forest Acres resident returned home for lunch, when he found a Red Jeep Cherokee backed into his driveway, with Hoard sitting in the driver's seat, police say.
The man spoke with Hoard, who told him that her friend was checking to see if the home belonged to another friend, according to officers. That's when Alrich walked from around the home, got into the Jeep, and the jeep drove away, investigators say.
And like clockwork, the Forest Acres authorities also have already released the two on bond like the Concord police before them. Although bond was set at $75000 this time, so I do believe it is getting higher with each capture.
So keep your eyes peeled for a red Jeep Cherokee; your possessions just might depend on it.
See this post for all my other Bonnie & Clyde related posts.
The only print media source to truly cover the Bonnie & Clyde fiasco is the Charlotte Weekly family of papers. So it's no surprise they've covered both the expected dismissal of charges against Caleb Allen, the wrongly accused 'Clyde,' and the unfortunate dismissal of charges against two other suspects due to police missteps.
Anyone who's been following this whole tale should read the whole thing. A snippet:
Now, prosecutors have dropped all charges against the three, stating that a combination of a misidentification of Allen as one of the suspects and the mishandling of a search warrant by Charlotte-Mecklenburg police has left the cases too flimsy to take to trial. Police public information officer Robert Fey said last week that the department will not comment on any of the cases or the dismissal of the charges.
While my post earlier in the week touched upon many of the same details, the Charlotte Weekly article written by Mike Parks, Frank DeLoache and Josh Lanier does an excellent job providing overview of the overall story and pulling out the nuggets in the release document. I suspect if Diana Allen had not hooked up with the Charlotte Weekly, Caleb would still be charged for this crime.
If you haven't read any of my posts on this, you might want to reconsider because it's a good story, especially now that the charges against Caleb Allen have finally been dropped. It's got a little bit of everything: break-ins totaling thousands of dollars, drugs, mom on stakeout, roadside confrontations, a high speed chase on a flat tire, an influential Waxhaw blogger, police missteps, media, and innocent man fighting for and ultimately winning his freedom. (Which one doesn't belong?)
It's because this story is so captivating that I'm so very surprised that none of the local media, save Tara Servatius and the oft mentioned Charlotte Weekly newspapers, had any interest in telling it. It's a great story to tell.
The Union County Weekly ran an article last week on the white van and alleged kidnapping attempt discussed previously here and here.
Local police are apparently no closer to identifying the suspect at this point. Per the article:
Although Waxhaw police officers thoroughly checked the area immediately after the report, so far they’ve had no luck identifying the man or his van. “We’ve had absolutely no updates on the situation,” Waxhaw Police Chief Michael Eiss reported. “But we’ve stepped up patrols all around the area in response to reports of van sightings in other parts of Waxhaw.” Similar reports describe a man parked in other Waxhaw neighborhoods with the driver inside taking notes.
No real details as to why it took nearly ten days for word of this incident to get out to area neighborhoods (via this blog for example) and another three days after this before it hit the Charlotte media. Publicizing the reasons it took so long for this incident to come to light might help local law enforcement make the necessary modifications to their protocols so future kidnapping attempts can more quickly be brought to the public's attention. A more vigilant public may have been a valuable asset in capturing this guy.
“The Waxhaw Police Department has always been very responsive,” said James Mynatt, President of the Camberley Homeowner’s Association. “They passed the information on to me as HOA president, and we’ve done our part to get the word out to our residents.”
...
When word of this began to spread beyond Waxhaw, Deputy Sherriff Mica Crenshaw with the Union County Sheriff’s Office says his office got involved to ensure no misinformation got disseminated. Crenshaw sent out a release Friday, March 25, to inform the public about what had transpired. Since then, calls have come in about white vans in Marvin and Waxhaw, but in each case deputies found the driver had a legitimate reason to be in the area. Crenshaw urges people to call 911 or Crime Stoppers at 704-283-5600 immediately if they have any information about this case.
I'm guessing the notice I received from the WAA was a direct result of the sheriff's department release. There's no mention of how quickly the Waxhaw Police informed the president of Camberley's HOA about the incident.
For the record, it did go up on Crime Reports on March 18th, but only those who dutifully check those reports would've been aware of a kidnapping sans details. And since the details of the crime are not included on Crime Reports, it's only of limited value in comparison to a public release by local law enforcement.
According to Tara Servatius on Friday's show, charges have been dropped against Caleb Allen. Of course, I could find nary a mention of this in any Charlotte media source.
However, I did get confirmation today from the family of Caleb Allen that the charges have in fact been dropped.
Here's what the document says about dropping the charges against Caleb:
The prosecution is dismissing the above case for the following reason(s):
The eyewitness' identification of Defendant as the man she saw leaving her driveway seconds after the break-in was based on a single, fleeting encounter. He is a stranger to her. Officers now believe she may have been mistaken. She also misidentified Defendant's suspected accomplice, a woman whom police now believe was not involved. That woman has credible witnesses who will vouch for her and say she was at work out-of-county when the break-in occurred.
Similarly. the identification of this Defendant by an out-of-county police officer from a grainy store surveillance video is now cast in doubt. The male subject seen in that video wears a ball cap that obscures part of his face and he is seen only briefly from 8 distance. The same officer also misidentified Defendant's suspected accomplice as a woman whom police now know was actually in jail on the day of the break-in. She couldn't possibly have been involved.
Other evidence suggests the break-in may have been comitted by other suspects who drive a vehicle similar to the one Defendant drives. The victim's property stolen in this break-in was later located in those other suspects' bedroom.
At this time police have too little evidence to prove that Defendant and the other suspects are part of a conspiracy. Without that proof, jurors would be forced to choose which of the known suspects actually committed the break-in. They are certain to have reasonable doubt and would find this Defendant not guilty.
It's crystal clear after reading this that the only circumstantial evidence they had against Caleb Allen is the fact:
he owned a red Jeep Cherokee
he was misidentified by an eyewitness
he was misidentified in the grainy gas station video by an out-of-county police officer
After all of this, it only took how many weeks after his mother clued them into the real suspects to drop the charges? At this point, you can safely say the Charlotte police botched this one. But wait there's more...
Surprisingly (or not at this point), they are also dropping the charges against Justin Aldrich. Reasons range from the initial charges against Allen to not obtaining a search warrant when they searched the house Aldrich and Hoard were renting. Here's the explanation on Justin Aldrich in its entirety:
The prosecution is dismissing the above case for the following reason(s):
This Defendant was linked to these offenses primarily by his possession of property stolen from several break-ins; however, his proven possession of that property came days or weeks after the break-ins, and the evidence is somewhat inconclusive.
Weeks after a victim's iPad was stolen in a break-in, Defendant sold it to a pawn shop. Standing alone, his mere possession of the stolen is insufficient to prove he either stole it or knew it was stolen.
Other items stolen in several break-ins were found in a rented bedroom that he and a codefendant shared; however, neither of them was present when police first searched that room. Neither of them gave permission to search the room and the officers had no search warrant. Defendant's landlord kicked in their locked bedroom door and invited officers to enter and search the room. He had no authority to do that. Officers later decided to withdraw and seek a search warrant, but the application they submitted to the Magistrate includes a description of the things they'd already seen in Defendants' bedroom, which they describe as things "similar to items listed in breaking and entering reports ..." Arguably this taints the application and undermines the validity of the search warrant, making it more likely than not that a court would suppress all evidence flowing from the search of the bedroom.
In addition to this and several other complications, there is the problem of codefendant Carl Allen. who was identified by a witness who told police she saw him leaving her home seconds after it was broken into. Allen drives a vehicle like the one linked to this Defendant, and another witness identified him from a store surveillance video, strengthening police suspicion that Allen was involved in this break-in. Although the identification of Allen is now in doubt, his suspected involvement in the case will linger to create reasonable doubt as to this Defendant. Police cannot currently prove the existence of a conspiracy among all three defendants, but nor can they exclude that possibility. Without such a proven link, jurors would be forced to decide which of the known suspects actually committed the break-ins. They are certain to have reasonable doubt and would find this Defendant not guilty.
And similar, if not verbatim reasoning, is used to justify dropping the charges against Anna Hoard. In its entirety:
The prosecution is dismissing the above case for the following reason(s):
This Defendant was linked to these offenses primarily by her possession of property stolon from several break-ins; however, her proven possession of that property came days or weeks after the break-ins, and the evidence is somewhat inconclusive.
Weeks after a victim's iPad was stolen in a break-in, Defendant's boyfriend sold it to a pawn shop. Standing alone, his mere possession of the stolen jPad is insufficient to prove this Defendant personally possessed it, stole it or even knew it was stolen.
Other items stolen in several break-ins were found in a rented bedroom that she and her boyfriend shared; however, neither of them was present when police first searched that room. Neither of them gave permission to search the room and the officers had no search warrant. Defendant's landlord kicked in their locked bedroom door and invited officers to cuter and search the room. He had no authority to do that. Officers later decided to withdraw and seek a search warrant, but the application they submitted to the Magistrate includes a description of the things they'd already seen in Defendants' bedroom, which they describe as things "similar to items listed in breaking and entering reports ...." Arguably this taints the application and undermines the validity of the search warrant, making it more likely than not that a court would suppress all evidence flowing from the search of the bedroom.
In addition to this and several other complications, there is the problem of codefendant Carl Allen, who was identified by a witness who told police she saw him leaving her home seconds after it was broken into. Allen drives a vehicle like the one linked to this Defendant, and another witness identified him from a store surveillance video, strengthening police suspicion that Allen was involved in this break-in. Although the identification of Allen is now in doubt, his suspected involvement in the case will linger to create reasonable doubt as to this Defendant. Police cannot currently prove the existence of a conspiracy among all three defendants, but nor can they exclude that possibility. Without such a proven link, jurors would be forced to decide which of the known suspects actually committed the break-ins. They are certain to have reasonable doubt and would find this Defendant not guilty.
All in all, the Charlotte police did a less than stellar job on this case using their rush to judgment as some of the reason the Bonnie & Clyde break-ins will likely never be properly charged. But Justin Aldrich and Anna Hoard could still face charges in the Concord break-in that ultimately got them arrested.
One of many lingering questions: will the Charlotte media that touted the arrest of 'Clyde' and splashed Caleb Allen's face all over the news bother to offer any corrections/retractions? I was a little surprised when they neglected to even cover the Herald Weekly'sstories. At this point, I would not be surprised if they failed to mention another word about the case.
Besides Tara, of course. There is plenty to discuss on this case today if she chooses to. And I suspect the Herald Weekly (or that family of newspapers) will offer some fitting conclusion when it next goes to press.
UPDATE: Here's the original document in Scribd for those interested: 20110401151758342
My little birdie is telling me that Tara will be discussing the Bonnie & Clyde case again today on her show.
Apparently she'll be speaking with the owner of the Concord home in which Justin Aldrich and Anna Hoard were arrested, detailed in this article by the Herald Weekly.
UPDATE: And apparently Caleb Allen spoke to Tara. I haven't had a chance to listen yet, but I'll have to download the podcast later.
