By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
Police in Everett, Washington made multiple arrests after a social medial linked crime spree at an elderly woman’s home while she was out of state seeking treatment for emphysema and heart disease.
Thieves waited after each other to burglarize the residence then pilfered and ransacked the house retrieving whatever remained. But police soon discovered the game and offered their response in kind.
The victim, who’s name we are withholding, received while in Idaho a telephone call from her neighbor informing her of the burglaries. She stated to reporters “[The neighbor] said it was quite substantial, that the whole house was trashed and the doors were broken. She was hysterical. I thought I was going to have a heart attack. It’s like, we’ve never had a break-in or a burglary or anything in any way. I’m trying to regain my health and I’m very, very tired. I’m wary of all the nonsense. I want these people put away and I want my stuff back.”
The victim returned home two weeks early only to experience the shock of seeing her home ransacked with debris up to four feet high and in complete disarray. Property stolen was in the tens of thousands of dollars.
Everett police believe the thieves somehow discovered her absence and broadcast in social media the vulnerability of the residence. Thereafter there ensued a tag-team approach to burglary where one group of thieves would wait until the previous left the house then they would enter and begin their taking of the victim’s property.
But once police discovered the burglary campaign they then set up inside the residence and waited for the next round of burglars to walk in to the welcoming arms of Everett PD.
“We would see someone come in, they’d dark out their headlights and park and jump the fence and we’d make an arrest,” said Det. Mike Atwood with the Everett Police Department. “We’d get set up again and it would be an hour and another car would come in and circle the house. It’s been pretty amazing to watch. Pretty disgusting to watch, actually.”
Police arrested ten at the scene and indicate that more arrests are likely. Over ten thousand dollars in goods have been recovered so far. The case is ongoing.
By Darren Smith
The views expressed in this posting are the author’s alone and not those of the blog, the host, or other weekend bloggers. As an open forum, weekend bloggers post independently without pre-approval or review. Content and any displays or art are solely their decision and responsibility.
tyger-
“Anarchist, committing violent crimes is not an accident. ”
What relevance does that have to the discussion?
” Found guilty, violent criminals should lose their rights and be quickly executed.”
You mean like they do in Iran or maybe Somalia? I don’t know what age it is when people lose their reasoning ability and start demanding the death penalty for pretty much any offense, and you’ve probably forgotten, but whatever age it is, they ought to outlaw voting at that point.
“Saying that eliminating, or executing, violent criminals and they won’t be around to commit their crimes again in the future is a logical, true statement.”
Then move to Iran. They share your values there.
” Eliminating possible causes of criminal thinking is desirable. ”
You truly are a disturbed old man. I bet it’s been twenty years or more since you’ve had any meaningful interaction with anyone, hasn’t it? Some people have less and less interaction with the world until they finally lose all connection, and at that point, the world becomes their enemy. That’s the point you’ve reached.
” I believe I live within a criminally minded society.”
Of course you do. You’re mentally ill. Humans are required to interact with other humans in order to maintain their mental health. For whatever reason, you’ve failed to do so, and now all you feel for humanity around you is murderous impulses. It’s just fortunate that you’re so old or you’d arm yourself to the teeth and slaughter a McDonald’s full of teenagers.
One interesting aspect of your condition is that you’re far more dangerous and homicidal than most of the people you would advocate killing. You just feel that legislating your homicidal tendencies somehow absolves you of guilt.
You’re dangerously mentally unbalanced, and you should get help. . .or at least do something with Your time other than decomposing in front of your television as it scares the bejesus out of you.
Oh, and “A lot of violent offenders are psychopaths and sociopaths … incapable of being motivated by fear” is just one more reason to eliminate them. If their genetics and/or education and conditioning causes, or fails to prevent, their violent behavior, there is no reason for humanity to keep them around. The world is better off without them. The evidence presented would indicate that any attempts to correct them would fail and the likelihood they would become highly beneficial to society or even just normally productive is nonexistent.
Anarchist, committing violent crimes is not an accident. “Oops, I didn’t mean to rob you at gunpoint. I didn’t intend to burglarize your home and steal everything that is valuable to you.” Those are things that are done intentionally. Do that, and the suspect has the right to a fair trial. Found guilty, violent criminals should lose their rights and be quickly executed.
A dictionary doesn’t say what is logical, it only defines the word as “of or relating to logic”. Saying that lead poisoning and violent crime is linked may be true, but that possible truth is based upon reported statistics. It is inferred true. Saying that eliminating, or executing, violent criminals and they won’t be around to commit their crimes again in the future is a logical, true statement. The link to lead may be discovered to be incorrect with further study and evidence. Criminals who are executed won’t return from the dead to commit more crimes, so the logic in that statement is correct. Eliminating possible causes of criminal thinking is desirable. The act of banning leaded gasoline, whether linked to criminal behavior or not, is reasonable for any number of other reasons, and could be done by itself, with our without the criminal executions that I suggest are logical. Unfortunately, behaving logically is not a trait that is consistently true in humans.
Your statement, “Law enforcement is meant to respond to crime, not create a society that is less prone to it,” seems very true the way things are now. And since they have not eliminated or significantly reduced crime, and all the human suffering caused by it, I’m saying that is a weakness of society, a bad thing. By not working effectively to reduce crime and suffering, to allow it to continue by inaction, means that the human society permits or even condones violence, and in so doing all people in that society are accomplices to it. I believe I live within a criminally minded society. I claim no responsibility for or to it, I have disassociated myself with it, and I frequently and consistently speak against it. Just because I have been condemned to live in an insane asylum where the inmates are in control, doesn’t mean I have to agree with them.
This sounds like an unsanctioned version of the government’s asset forfeiture program.
Tyger-
“Nick, I’m for eliminating stupid laws. . .those found guilty of violent crimes should be quickly executed after second offence, or even first. ”
Yeah Tyger, you’re a real champion of rights.
“Cost of violence and major injury, theft, and murder goes up, incidence of those crimes goes down.”
Violent crime rates have been dropping steadily for over twenty years, even without following your irrational ideas on crime.
” Just logical.”
You must be reading from a different dictionary that me.
Isaac-
“something should be done that scares those thinking of the same thing to the point where they don’t. ”
Impossible. A lot of violent offenders are psychopaths and sociopaths, and one notable aspect of their psychology is that they are incapable of being motivated by fear, no matter how vile and unjust the potential consequences of their acts may be.
“These guys could spend weekends for ? years, doing community service, after they get out of jail.”
Imagine what that would do to the job market if we turned out criminal population into slave labor.
If you haven’t ever looked into the link between lead poisoning and violent crime, you should. The evidence is pretty compelling. During the heights of violence in our nation, lots of people were calling for draconian, and implemented, punishments. Yet banning leaded gasoline reduced violent crime way more than any powers granted to law enforcement ever did or could have. Law enforcement is meant to respond to crime, not create a society that is less prone to it. It’s not their job, and it isn’t what they’re good at.
Woah
I don’t mean to hang them from lamp posts, at least not by the neck. My point is that something should be done that scares those thinking of the same thing to the point where they don’t. It might be possible to use the crime specific aspect of Sharia law without the chopping, flailing, etc. These guys could spend weekends for ? years, doing community service, after they get out of jail. Imagine, a penalty of ten years in the slammer followed by ? years of weekends mowing the lawns of elderly citizens, shoveling snow, doing all sorts of stuff.
My guess is that they probably work for Homeland Security Agencies, the Border Patrol, DEA or CIA affiliated drug gangs, trying to cash in on a politically targeted, isolated, handicapped individual.
Nothing new to me……. These people got to target somebody to justify their existence and line their pocketbooks, decorate their homes and themselves with collectible, vintage, antiques, and other valuable property.
I just hope the cops were not “mean” to these poor underprivileged youtes. I hope they didn’t pepper spray them. Taze them. Choke hold them. Talk mean to them.
Hands up!
Nick, I’m for eliminating stupid laws and those that try to suppress freedoms. With those gone, this will give more time to the police to apprehend and jail the real criminals. Then, as I’ve said before, those found guilty of violent crimes should be quickly executed after second offence, or even first. Cost of violence and major injury, theft, and murder goes up, incidence of those crimes goes down. The vile and despicable criminals are eliminated in your society and they don’t get a chance to be second or third offenders. Just logical.
Isaac, you sound like you’re for Shiria Law–calm down ole chap. Instead the officers should be allowed to surround these culprits, pellet them with bean bags traveling at a speed that will sting them and leave a small welts. Then arrest them. Ah Oh, I’m sounding somewhat Shiria myself. Yikes!
Tyger, You are our law and order man here.
Anarchist, I am in total agreement w/ you regarding the elderly. When I was an investigator for a prosecutors office, the elderly victims had a special place in my heart. That may come from my Italian upbringing? Many cultures have respect for the elderly. Our dysfunctional culture does not. We crap on them and give only lip service to their problems.
Nick, I’d be even tougher. I say just execute those criminals. Then they wouldn’t be around to do it again in five or ten years. Your society should cleanse itself.
Democracy is just all the things we do together.
It’s just wealth redistribution at the local level.
The guys that will take your IRAs will have cops enforcing it.
The government had dibs on the old lady’s stuff. That’s why they’re pissed.
That’s the thing about that psycho Byron Smith killing those two teens, it’s reprehensible, but understandable. People that victimize the elderly are despicable. However, in our society, the elderly have no special standing. They aren’t given the esteem that they deserve. We’ll view justin beiber as a god but lock our grandparents in some hellhole because it’s inconvenient to care for them.
However, as despicable as these burglars are, what they’ve done it still mild compared with what the financial industry has done to the elderly in the past ten years.
Karen, Hire a house sitter w/ a 12 gauge.
Wow, Isaac. You can be tough!!
That is absolutely disgusting. I’m so sorry for what this poor lady went through. I hope her things are recovered. They must have a lot of memories for her.
It is a good idea to hire a house sitter if you’re going to be away for a while to make the house look lived in.
This is a new offshoot of crimes such as looting. Looters used to be hung from lamp posts at the scene of the calamity to make a statement but primarily to stop the looting. These guys should be made an example of that is crime specific. All those involved, regardless of their physical presence, should be arrested and held responsible. Even those who participated online should be held responsible.
The victim should be equally important with the crime. There are enough scumbags here to come up with all of her losses, and perhaps fifty grand for her stress.