Failed Robber Meets Squishy Judge

I'll expound in detail on Hennepin County Judge Kevin Burke in the future as time permits, but for now I'd like the record to state that he is one of the most liberal, squishy judges ever to haunt the County of Hennepin Bench. Accountability is a foreign concept in his sentencing decisions. Punishment is not part of his lexicon.

The Minneapolis Police have issued an email update dated 2/28/06 with Judge Burke's latest folly. To wit:

The Pump and Munch Robber has been identified. This robbery occurred on 01/15/06. He has been identified as Robert Jorge, DOB, 3-30-1981. He had been convicted of a prior Aggravated Robbery, that occurred 8-15-05 at Payless Shoe Store at 3047 Nicollet Av S. On that charge, he served 46 days awaiting sentencing. Hennepin County Judge Kevin Burke sentenced him to 21 months and then “stayed” the sentence, placing this individual on probation.

Robert Jorge has lived in the Lyndale neighborhood in the past.

Robert Jorge has had numerous contacts with the Minneapolis Police Department, including arrests for;

No Drivers License
False Information to a Police Officer
Domestic Assault 5
Theft (shoplifting)
Robbery of Business (Payless Shoes)
Robbery of Business (Pump and Munch)

We would appreciate your help in submitting Impact Statements on this individual. Impact Statements can be submitted to me and I will forward them on to the appropriate County Attorney.

Judge Burke stayed the sentence for what appears to be a career criminal? And of course he's out again, committing robbery and who knows what else.

When will these judges learn that the public demands that criminals pay for their crimes?

More later. Meanwhile, here's our criminal:

Minneapolis crime hits Univ. Of Minnesota

No haven is safe from the Minneapolis Quagmire.

When we think of a college campus we think of a generally safe environment afflicted at most by property crime, drunken behavior, and other vagaries of student life. We typically don't think of violent crime.

While campuses are not immune from violence, and the University of Minnesota is no exception, there appears to have been an upswing over the past several months or so. The University of Minnesota Police Department web site has past notices of violence, including armed robberies, the same crime which has plagued Minneapolis as a whole (For those of you from out of the area, the University of Minnesota main campus is located in Minneapolis, just east of downtown).

Violent crime does not care about borders.

Recent incidents on or near campus raise the level of concern. The first is an armed robbery on February 4th, 2006: "Armed robbery reported Saturday".

In the 1100 block of 14th Avenue Southeast, two suspects approached two people who were sitting in a vehicle parked on the street, said Carol Oosterhuis, the crime prevention specialist for the 2nd Precinct of the Minneapolis Police Department.

One of the suspects pulled out a handgun and demanded "valuables" such as their cell phones, Oosterhuis said.

The combined value stolen was $230.

According to the police report, the suspects fled on foot.

The use of a gun is obviously a major concern. It's unclear what time this occurred. The UoM Police website is not updated to this incident. You may recall prior posts concerning armed robberies near the University of Minnesota. Here's the previous crime alert. You can see it includes multiple updates on armed robberies.

Another incident occurred last Saturday, involving an assault on a woman near the East Bank campus. This story is via WCCO News website: "Woman Assaulted Near 'U's' East Bank":

(WCCO) Minneapolis A woman was assaulted near the University of Minnesota's East Bank campus early Saturday morning, according to a crime alert [Ed. - the UofM Police web site is not yet updated] issued by the university.

Officials said a female was walking just south of the intersection of Oak Street SE and Washington Avenue SE about 3 a.m. Saturday when a male walked out of an alley area and physically assaulted her.

According to reports, the male then exposed himself and asked the woman a sexually explicit question. The woman reportedly struck the suspect in the face and ran away for help.

It appears her quick thinking saved her from a potentially more serious fate.

The suspect was described as a light-skinned or mixed race male in his early 30s. He was estimated to be about 6-feet-tall with a medium build and no facial hair. He was last seen wearing a black Nautica brand jacket, green t-shirt and blue jeans.

Police are asking anyone with information about the case to call the University of Minnesota Police at 612-624-2677.

We await Mayor Rybak's press conference on the disproportionate amount of armed robberies in the city, the general level of safety, and his plan for what he's going to do about it.

Parent Killing Teen Pleads Guilty

For some reason the name "Matthew Niedere" is very high, if not the highest, search engine term that brings people to this site. Rambix wrote about the patricide case here and here.

Today Matthew Niedere pled guilty in court to killing his parents: "Teen pleads guilty to killing parents".

Matthew Niedere didn't say why he was angry at his parents, but in court Monday he admitted as part of a plea deal to killing them in their auto glass shop here in October.

In Dakota County District Court, Niedere, 18, said that his best friend had suggested a plan to shoot Niedere's parents, Peter and Patricia.

When asked why by his own attorney, Niedere said, "I was angry at them. I don't know."

Niedere pleaded guilty to two counts of abetting first-degree while attempting to commit aggravated robbery.

Prosecutor Philip Prokopowicz said the bargain called for Niedere to serve two concurrent sentences of at least 30 years before he is eligible for parole.

Why, may I ask, is Mr. Niedere possibly going to get out of prison one day? This was premeditated, cold-blooded murder.

Prokopowicz said other charges against Niedere will be dropped when he is sentenced March 15. One is a premeditated murder charge that carries a sentence of life in prison without parole.

There should be an outcry over allowing this evil person to plead to lesser charges. What dishonorable treatment of hisdead parent's memories.

Niedere testified that when he and Keister went to the parents' business, Niedere shot his father and wounded his mother. Keister then killed Patricia Niedere with a shotgun blast, Matthew Niedere testified.

Imagine the horror and the destruction caused by that shotgun blast. And the perpetrators might be free one day?

It shocks the conscience.

The Red Star also reports: "Hastings son, friend plead guilty to killing of parents".

"This was a shocking crime which took the lives of two pillars of the Hastings community. It is hard to comprehend two teenagers being involved in a crime of this magnitude," Backstrom said.

Backstrom also said the physical evidence at the scene indicated Patricia Niedere, after being shot and going outside her business to call for help, went back in, in an attempt to help her fatally-shot husband. He said it appeared she was trying to pull her husband's body out a side door when she was shot in the head with a shotgun fired by Keister.

Backstrom said that Keister and Niedere in their testimony today minimized their role in Patty Niedere's death. She was shot several times by her son with a pistol, but they were not serious wounds, Backstrum said. Keister said in court today that she was lying on the floor and he thought she was already, or nearly dead, before he shot her.

May God help us when these animals are free one day.

Shotgun robberies in W. St. Paul

CRIME ALERT

Channel 5 Eyewitness News reports tonight that 2 businesses in W. St. Paul have been robbed today by 3 masked men armed with shotguns. The police speculate this may be a continuation of armed robberies dating back to November 2005.

There are no known suspects at this time, and no suspect descriptions were given. The police fear there is a high probablility the robbers will strike again.

The Channel 5 News website has nothing on the story at this time.

More as details emerge.

***2/27/06 UPDATE***

The KSTP News now has a short article: "Three robbers on a crime spree in West St. Paul"

Three robbers in their mid 20s hit a Walgreens and a car wash in West St. Paul, all within about eight hours of each other. They are armed with a shot gun [sic] to hold up clerks. They commit the crime in less the a minute.

Police told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS Sunday, "They're getting in, they're getting out. Obviously they're terrifying these cashiers and we just need to get them off the street." Last week the men also hit a gas station.

The story link also links to video.

Fox 9 News also weighs in: "West St. Paul Walgreens Robbed", although the dispatch is poorly written. They'd be better off linking to Rambix.

We've certainly had no shortage of "crime sprees" in the Twin Cities. Let's get these rats before someone gets hurt.


Photo courtesy KSTP News.

Think we've got problems?

In an interesting juxtaposition to the decreasing US crime rate, and the increasing Minneapolis violent crime rate (see bottom of this post), our friends in Britain are experiencing ever-increasing crime levels. For an area that relies heavily on tourism, the UK cannot sustain this trend for long.

Jim Kouri, of MichNews.com reports: "Immigration Woes: Europe's Crime Rate Rises; US Rate Declines".

While most Americans are witnessing dramatic decreases in violent and property crime, our friends and allies across the pond in Britain are experiencing alarming increases. In a recent British news article, the writer lamented the loss of British citizens who have fled the United Kingdom and moved to Australia or the United States. They estimate that over a quarter-million Britons leave the British Isles each year.

Last year alone over 324,000 Brits left for greener pastures in the US and Australia. However, Britain's population continues to grow with massive immigration and their higher birthrate. Brit flight -- coupled with a lower birth rate among Britons -- will almost certainly accelerate a change in demographics.

This paradigm is not exclusive to Britain. Rambix has reported extensively on the Muslim riots in France; similar dynamics are at work across the UK and Europe. By no means are all Muslims bad, but the unassimilated (by choice) Muslim population contributes to the current lion's share of the problems.

The newspaper, The Independent, quoted one businessman who complained that crime and immigration -- mostly from the Middle East and North Africa -- are out of control. With this increase in immigrants -- legal and illegal -- came an increase in crime, violence and civil unrest. The businessman moved to Australia.

Remember that Britain has banned privately owned firearms, and has criminal statutes that favor the perpetrator, thus discouraging self-defense. Criminals know this, of course, and are emboldened.

The International Crime Victims Survey, based on 34,000 telephone interviews across 17 countries, found that 26 percent of people -- more than one in four -- in England and Wales had been victims of crime. The figure for Scotland was 23 percent and in Northern Ireland 15 percent. The United States had a 21 percent crime victimization rate.
...

And what has been the British government's reaction? There are suspicions that crime reports are being manipulated to cover-up the increased dangers to public safety.

People grow tired of being victims after awhile, and will demand justice and reform, which will likely involve throwing weak-kneed politicians out on their ears.

Recently, Britain's senior police officers claimed mass immigration has created a whole new range of crimes threatening to overwhelm towns and cities across the country.

Chris Fox, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), claims that the mass movement of people around the world had brought new levels of organized crime, with drug dealing, gun offenses, prostitution and kidnapping.

Claiming the numbers of asylum seekers coming to Britain had reached "tidal wave" proportions, Fox said, "Mass migration has brought with it a whole new range and a whole new type of crime, from the Nigerian fraudster, to the eastern European who deals in drugs and prostitution to the Jamaican concentration on drug dealing."

Liberals will tell us that immigrants are industrious and law-abiding. Many are, of course, but many are social rejects and criminals who are looking for new unlawful opportunities.

While overall crime in Europe is rising, the liberal-left in American continues to deceptively use the myth of low crime in Britain, France and other countries in order to disarm US gunowners, embarrass US law enforcement, and claim socialist programs will reduce crime in the United States.

They will argue we should seek to duplicate Europe's strategies for combating poverty, drug addiction, crime and violence. Well, we should just tell our friends on the left, "No thanks, we're doing fine without your help."

While the US national trend is opposite of that in the UK, the trend in Minneapolis mirrors the UK. It would be intersting to know what percentage of Minneapolis crimes are committed by unassimilated immigrants, legal and illegal.

Let's take a brief look at how Minneapolis is faring under it's liberal leadership.

Select crime rate comparison from the FBI Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report January-June 2005:

MINNEAPOLIS MN 2004 2,065/2005 2,782 [35% increase]

OAKLAND CA 2004 2,746/2005 2,564 [decrease]

MIAMI FL 2004 3,240/2005 2,972 [approx. 19% increase]

NEW YORK1 NY 2004 26,683/2005 25,932 [decrease]

SAN DIEGO CA 2004 3,530/2005 3,219 [decrease]

The selected cities mirror the national trend, which is a downward departure in violent crime rates. Stunning are the numbers from Minneapolis, which are not only inverse from the national trend, but reveal a shocking 35% increase from 2004 to 2005.

Our "leaders" have failed us, much like they have in Britain.

What say you Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, and Minneapolis Police chief William McManus?

Death in the Night

While you were sleeping last night, Minneapolis added another murder to the tally (KvM, please update your body count): "Man Found Dead Near Minneapolis Alley"

(WCCO) Minneapolis Minneapolis Police are investigating a shooting Friday night that left one man dead.

Police were called to 24th Avenue and North Sixth Street around 6:45 p.m. When officers arrived, they found the body of a man near an alley.

Police said it appeared the man died from a gunshot wound.

No arrests have been made. Mayor Rybak's press conference has not yet been announced.

2/26/06 UPDATE:

The Red Star reports more details on the murder: "Shooting victim identified as Minneapolis teenager".

A 15-year-old who aspired to be a cartoonist but struggled with chemical dependency and had gang ties was shot in the head and died near an alley in north Minneapolis this weekend.

Michael A. Bluntson Jr., who was called "Tony" by his family, was identified on Saturday. He was found at the intersection of N. 6th Street and 25th Avenue shortly before 7 p.m. on Friday after police responded to a call about a shooting.

His mother, Doris Bluntson, who lives several blocks from where her son was shot, acknowledged Saturday night that he "had some gang involvement."

"I had a pretty good idea it was him," she said, even before police positively identified him as the victim. She said he had been shot in the face, which delayed identification.

Welcome to the jungle.

All Crime, All The Time

The past 24 hours have produced Minneapolis crime stories to such an extent that keeping up is almost unmanageable. This post will be a compilation of the highlights (or lowlights).

Is the Triumvirate of Triviality* paying attention?

Let's get right to it.

WCCO News reports on a stolen vehicle hit and run, with one killed (KvM: please add this to your daily body count): "Police: One Killed In Hit-And-Run With Stolen Car".

(WCCO) Minneapolis One person was killed and another was critically injured early Thursday when their car was struck by a stolen vehicle that ran a red light, police said.

The crash happened around 1:15 a.m. at East 26th Street and Park Avenue South in Minneapolis.

Police said two suspects in a stolen Infiniti were going west on 26th Street when they blew through a red light, hit a Geo Metro and continued to head north on Park Avenue.

The impact ripped the Geo Metro in half, and its occupants were thrown from their car, which started on fire.

Bad news all around. Narcissistic criminals who think of nothing beyond the wasted space they personally occupy cause the death of another innocent. What are the odds these rats have prior criminal histories with soft consequences? Just askin'.

A 27-year-old man died from injuries sustained in the accident. His name has not been released, pending the notification of his family. The other Geo occupant is in critical condition at Hennepin County Medical Center.

"I felt bad, even though I didn't know him but you know, it kind of hurt a little because you could tell he really needed help you know," a witness said.

Investigators said the victims were simply driving through South Minneapolis when the crash happened.

"Simply driving through South Minneapolis". You like that? Risky behavior, right R.T.?

UPDATE:

Local media has updates on the hit-and-run death story. It turns out the victim was a good guy just minding his own business, and found himself in the wrong place (Minneapolis) at the wrong time (anytime).

Red Star: "Minneapolis crash kills a young husband, 'best guy'"

KARE 11 News: "Minneapolis man killed by hit and run driver"

Onward.

Fox9 News reports more Minneapolis Block E violence, although the details are sketchy (KvM, please add this to your daily crime tally): "Block E Violence".

A spike in crime around Block E in Downtown Minneapolis. Cops say a teenage girl was raped inside a movie theatre. Police have a suspect in custody. In a different case.. a man was mugged at gunpoint. The gunman got away.

I reported on the rape earlier, but not the armed mugging.

Minneapolis: Bring your family!

Rolling along...

Another body turns up in someone's Minneapolis backyard (KvM, please add this to your daily Minneapolis body count): "Body in Mpls. backyard upsets neighbors". I'd be upset too:

A disturbing discovery in this morning on Minneapolis' near north side.

A man's body was found in a backyard at 30th Ave. N. and 4th St. just before 7 a.m.

Police don't know who the man is, or how he died, but neighbors say they think it's a drug-related murder.

Neighbors tell 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that their neighborhood is filled with crime.

"Every night, every night," said neighbor Shirley Brown of crime in the neighborhood.

Just "every night" R.T. - great job with the weaving and all that stuff.

Here's the Police Press release dated 2/23/06:

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF CIRCUMSTANCES OR INCIDENT:

At approximately 6:57 AM, Minneapolis Police responded to a report of “One Down” in the rear of 3033 North 4th Street. Arriving officers found the body of a male in the backyard of the address.

Members of the Minneapolis Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division have begun their investigation as to the cause of the death of the male.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner will release the identity of the male, as well as the cause of death, at the appropriate time.

Sadly, folks, there's still more, from another 2/23/06 Minneapolis Police press release (KvM, you know the drill):

Last night there was a robbery of person at 40th and Bryant. The victim was walking when 4 black male suspects approached and hit and pushed the victim to the ground. Victim was then robbed.

Officers set up a perimeter and were able to arrest one of the 4 suspects. The arrested party gave a St Paul address.

No further information at this time.

I'm seeking clarification on whether this was on the north side or south side. If on the South Side, it's a nice neighborhood, and particularly symbolic of the decline of Minneapolis .

That's all for now. Sleep well.

*Triumvirate of Triviality: Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar, Minneapolis MAyor R.T. Rybak, and Minneapolis Police chief William McManus.

More Minneapolis Block E Crime

Here we go again.

The libs think Block E is a splendid place to bring a date or to be entertained, but the reality is somewhat different. It's a great place to go if you don't mind pushing through punk gangsters, homeless bums, wild teens, and hustlers and con artists. Aside from that, it's really great!

Today, WCCO News informs us that we need to add to the list: "Police Seek Suspect In Movie Theater Assault".

(WCCO) Minneapolis Investigators are looking for a teenager who they believe sexually assaulted another teenager in a Minneapolis movie theater.

Police say a 15-year-old girl and a male suspect met on the Light Rail sometime over the weekend, then went to an undisclosed theater in Block E.

Investigators say the girl was assaulted while the movie was playing.

And a light rail component to boot. But the libs told us it was safe! Things just keep getter better for Mayor Rybak's Minneapolis, no?

You know the drill: call the police if you have information on this latest Minneapolis crime.

Minneapolis School Mess

Minneapolis has it all: violent crime is high, education is low, the mayor is weaving fabric, and the police chief is celebrating diversity. Unfortunately, "all" may not be desireable.

By all appearances, the Minneapolis government schools are about as dysfunctional as can be. They are run, top to bottom, by liberals and activists. Sure, there are well-meaning teachers, but even the strongest of them can't overcome the machine. That machine is liberal philosophy, "tolerance", "diversity", and social engineering in many forms.

Now they can't even retain their base - the minority population: "Minority students continue Minneapolis schools exodus".

Steve Brandt, Star Tribune

Minority students continue to leave the Minneapolis School District faster than white students, pushing up the white share of the student body for the third straight year.
A discouraging sign is that Hispanic student enrollment has plateaued; Hispanics were the only major racial or ethnic category to grow over the past five years.

"I think folks are exercising options," said Carlos Mariani Rosa, executive director of the Minnesota Minority Education Partnership.

This doesn't necessarily mean that more white students are entering the district. It just means that as minorities leave, all else being equal, the share of white students is higher while the absolute numbers remain static. Even if both white and minority student numbers drop, but minorities drop faster, the percentage of white students would rise.

White students now make up 27.8 percent of district enrollment, up almost 2 percentage points since 2002, when the share of white students bottomed out after a slide of at least 30 years. That's despite losing more than 1,300 students since 2002.

The white share is up because more than 6,400 minority students have left the district in the same three-year period. Blacks, who make up the largest bloc of students at nearly 42 percent, are leaving at more than twice the rate for whites.

Here's an important figure that shows the trend in Minneapolis:

The numbers are in the latest enrollment breakdown released by the Minneapolis district. Total enrollment dropped 5.5 percent this school year.

People of all races have had it with the Minneapolis Public Schools. This tracks closely with the city in general - people are tired of high crime and dysfunction caused by liberal "leadership". They can't blame conservatives, because there aren't any in positions of power in the city. They own the results, lock, stock, and barrel.

Public school enrollment, including charters, is down less than 2 percent in Minnesota over the past five years, while the percentage drop in Minneapolis has been 11 times greater.

Should this be a sign for liberals? Should they now practice what they preach, and diversify the ideology of the power structure to include conservatives and independents?

Balance can be healthy; it doesn't appear that they have much choice.

What does a criminal look like?

We all probably have stereotypical images of criminals in our heads. Maybe the images have to do with clothing, race, attitude, and so on. And let's face it, sometimes stereotypes really do have an element of truth to them.

Does a criminal look like this?

Sometimes the image you'd least anticipate can be the image of a criminal, as KSTP News reports: "Man beat wife in Minneapolis skyway ".

A Dellwood man has been arrested after surveillance video captured him choking his wife inside the Minneapolis Skyway.

Garry Sill was seen pushing over his wife and choking her in the skyway at 13 th and Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis.

Video shows the 61-year-old Sill attacking his wife and trying to choke her as the couple fell to the ground. The incident happened on Feb. 11 th, as the couple walked toward the Millennium Hotel.

Here's a couple from Dellwood, a wealthy suburb of Minneapolis near swanky Lake Minnetonka, MN, where the average household income is $129,136, and the median house value (from 2000) is $416,000. It's 97.7% white. 23.9% have graduate degrees. In other words, this is one exclusive city.

Is this where criminals come from? Not typically, but they can, and they do - maybe not some street thug, but someone who tried to choke his wife in a violent manner.

Isn't he just as much a criminal as the street punk who's looking for some stranger to beat on?

Sill’s neighbors describe the couple as friendly and say his behavior is out of character.

"They're good neighbors, they play with our kids, nothing but positive," says neighbor Matt Geiger.

Julie Geiger agrees. “They're very nice people,” she says. “Mrs. Sill is always nice to our kids and there's never been any problems."

Just the guy next door. Who beat his wife. On camera.

Minneapolis police arrested Sill and prosecutors have charged him with Felony Domestic Assault by Strangulation.

According to the criminal complaint, Sill not only held his wife down and choked her, but pulled her up by her arm and hit her in the back of the head.

Sill told investigators that he sometimes reaches his limits and just reacts.

He could face up to 18 months in prison.

That's a problem. It's hard to keep up your expensive lifestyle from prison.

[image courtesy of Kstp News]

The Face Of Crime

Minneapolis KSTP News has made available footage from a recent robbery in Bloomington (MN). For out of area readers, Bloomington is a large first-ring suburb adjacent to Minneapolis, which, as you've seen exhaustively on this blog, has been experiencing waves of violent robberies since the spring of 2005.

Is the Bloomington "takeover" style robbery a carryover from it's Minneapolis neighbor?

Here's the story: "Video captures thieves robbing local hotel ".

A surveillance image taken by a camera inside a south metro hotel shows dramatic pictures of armed thieves rushing a hotel desk.

The two thieves who robbed the Bloomington Comfort Inn are also wanted in another robbery, and police have issued a reward to encourage the public to help in their capture.

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS obtained the exclusive video of the robbery. The video shows the thieves ordering the employee to the ground, jumping over the counter and then stealing the money in the cash register.

Imagine the terror the employees felt. These activities can't be allowed to continue or to fester in our core cities, as has been happening for the past year in particular.

The video can be accessed through this link.

"It's unsettling and it leaves people wondering, ‘Why would somebody do something like that?’” asked Manager Don Peterson.

Well, Don, because they're criminals. Because folks like R.T Rybak don't care, and folks like Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar can't get the job done.

Police say the same pair robbed the Hampton Inn in Minnetonka one hour later, using the same tactics.

Police have no leads or suspects, but the Comfort Inn is offering a $5,000 reward for information that would lead to an arrest.

“We would like to see these people off the street,” Peterson says. "We would hate to see another business have to go through this, and the employees and some other businesses’ customers have to go through this."

These hardcore criminals are out there. And robbers don't stop until they're caught. The warm weather of spring awaits us, folks, and its not going to be pretty.

People with any knowledge of the crimes are urged to call Crime Stoppers, at 651-45-CRIME.

Is your neighbor a sex offender?

Who's that creepy guy down the block leering at your children? Is he a criminal and dangerous to your family, or just a little odd? Back in the day, you could only wonder. Today, though, the internet is an ever-increasing depository of useful information.

There's a site for you if you want to know about sex offenders in your midst. Utilize the power of information to protect your loved ones:

First there was "Megan's Law," which strongly encouraged all 50 states to register those who commit sexual offenses against children and sexually violent adults.

While some states complied with the minimal requirements to continue to receive federal crime-fighting funding, others went further.

And, now, the private sector – including Internet businesses – are making it easier than ever for Americans to keep track of sex offenders in their own neighborhoods.

All you've got to do is punch in your address and the registered sex offenders closest to you pop up – with addresses, convictions, sometimes even photographs.

The most popular website for tracking sexual predators is Family Watchdog.

The information age is helping to shine the light on dangerous people. Different states have different levels of information availability, but sites like Family Watchdog can compile the best of what's out there.

The proprietors of the site point out that 90 percent of all sexual assaults against children are committed by someone the victim knew. The typical sexual predator will attack 30 to 60 times before being caught. The re-arrest rate of convicted child molesters is 52 percent.

"We aim to reduce these percentages by ensuring that all sexual predators are known," boasts the site. "We pray for the day that our service is no longer necessary, and look forward to shutting it down. Until then, let Family Watchdog be your family's best friend."

So successful was the launch of the site in the U.S., the site is preparing a launch in the United Kingdom shortly.

Also try this site: MapSexOffenders.com

Give it a shot, what have you got to lose? You may even be surprised.

Love thy neighbor?

In which cartoons begat violence.

The spotting of a 5 year old child's cartoons during Catholic Mass caused near-violence in Fraters Libertas stalwart JB Doubtless. Known as a man of peace, JB was swept up in the moment upon seeing the cartoons, which offended his sensibilities.

"I was at a boiling point within 30 seconds", said JB, still shaken by the incident.

It was the cartoons. The bad, bad cartoons.

"My wife could tell that I was getting incensed and tried to calm me but it wasn't helping much."

Because JB is a man of peace, onlookers anticipated a lively, yet civil, exchange between he and the objects of his scorn. But it wasn't to be.

"...I had visions of grabbing the guy by his cotton sweater and dragging him out to the parking lot for a thorough thrashing", JB exclaimed with out-of-character intensity.

Witnesses describe JB's transformation from perspicacious penitent to a seething, wild-eyed zealot.

The air was thick with tension.

But just as soon as it started, it stopped. JB realized that they were just cartoons after all. "After about 5 minutes I just kind of turned around and laughed", and the people sighed with relief as peace prevailed at Mass on a chilly winter morning.

Criminals Among Us

The next time (or the first time, for some of you) you find yourself in a shopping mall, look around and see if you can spot the criminal. Apparently they're out there in force. Their actions are insidious rather than violent, yet we pay a price for their crimes.

The crime is theft, and it's big business.

The Red Star reports: "Grand theft -- refined to an art":

Investigators called him Fred Flintstone because of his girth, but the nickname seems inappropriate for a thief nimble enough to steal $16,818 worth of goods in a single day.

With the precision of a surgeon, Bienvenid Manuel Figueroa, 52, swept entire shelves of clothing into tinfoil-lined bags designed to avoid detection by electronic surveillance. Then, with the help of two accomplices, Figueroa rearranged the shelves so nothing looked amiss.

By day's end, the gang of shoplifters had stolen enough merchandise from Twin Cities malls to fill a small gymnasium.

They work in groups, with professional precision, and the scores can be high. It's not the stores that suffer, it all of us, because the stores will pass the costs along in the form of higher prices.

Police are increasingly referring the cases to federal law enforcement officials because the crimes cross multiple jurisdictions and often involve the sale of stolen merchandise on the Internet.

In Roseville, police are investigating a 20-person shoplifting ring that, investigators estimate, stole more than $250,000 in goods from Best Buy and other electronics stores, primarily by using stolen credit card numbers and fake IDs. Police believe the group sold much of the merchandise online and used the money to buy methamphetamine.

Bloomington police last month arrested a group that they say used counterfeit credit cards to steal about $10,000 in goods and gift cards at the Mall of America. Police believe that group might have been involved in more than $400,000 in thefts at malls and shopping centers nationwide.

That's $400,000 from one known group.

Fortunately, mall security and law enforcement are stepping up their efforts to make life difficult for the criminals:

In Minneapolis, the Retailers Protection Association operates one of the largest crime databases in the Midwest. The database contains detailed descriptions of recent crimes, including the methods used and types of products stolen. Digital images of suspects and security camera footage can be posted, allowing retailers to identify repeat criminals or patterns of behavior.

But police say alert employees remain the best weapon against organized theft because even veteran shoplifters have difficulty behaving like regular shoppers.

It's interesting how crime prevention can sometimes fall back on old-fashioned common sense. Yet the criminals are always trying to advance their trade:

Figueroa's group is more typical. Video surveillance footage shows him and his accomplices moving casually from store to store in Southdale, carrying tinfoil-lined bags bearing the names of major retail chains, such as J.C. Penney. In a Gap, one of Figueroa's female accomplices helped to shield them from view by raising dresses and sweaters above her head, as if to take a closer look at the clothes.

When Edina police arrested the group at a Travelodge in Bloomington, they found boxes of merchandise packed for shipment. In the hotel room was a carefully itemized notebook detailing everything that had been stolen along with the prices.

"Shoplifters are a lot more sophisticated than they used to be," said Deshler, of the Edina Police Department's retail crimes unit. "They approach this as a business and getting popped by the cops is an occupational hazard."

We know what the solution is: to put these people away for a lon time. Naturally, the problem is that we don't:

Even when shoplifters are caught and convicted, the punishment can be fleeting. Shoplifting, even on a grand scale, often results in punishment of a few nights to a few months in jail, police say.

Figueroa and his two accomplices, Yamilit Cordova Jimenes, 35, and Jose Aponte, 29, pleaded guilty last April to felony theft. A judge sentenced them to two months in the Hennepin County jail and then turned them over to federal immigration officials. The three claimed to be from New Jersey, but immigration authorities believed they might have entered the country illegally. Hennepin County prosecutors said they were unsure of the outcome of the immigration case.

"I suspect they'll come back" to the Twin Cities, Deshler said. "But next time, we'll be ready."

Illegal immigrants? But we're to understand that illegal aliens only contribute to our economy. How could it be that there are criminals aomong them? And why wouldn't they come back? They only received a slap on the wrist.

What are you going to do about this problem, Hennepin County attorney Amy Klobuchar?

The Minneapolis Uprising Continues

Has Minneapolis become a magnet for criminals? By the way, where has Chief McManus been? We've been treated to endless reports of robbery, murder, mayhem, burglaries, and other crime on his watch. Yet he's nowhere to be found. We know the Mayor is hiding, but the Chief of Police? Isn't this his job?

The disintegration of a once-viable city continues:

Minneapolis KSTP Channel 5 News reports a recent serious event: "Police search for carjacker near college".

Police are looking for a carjacking suspect near the College of St. Catherine's campus in Minneapolis. Early Thursday morning, an armed man carjacked someone at the Winner gas station on Riverside Ave., next to Bruegger's.

The suspect took the car a short distance and abandoned it near the College of St. Catherine's Minneapolis Campus. The suspect was last seen in the area of the college.
The suspect is described as a black male with braided hair, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt over a red and white striped shirt. If you have information about this crime, call the Minneapolis Police at 911 or St. Kate's Security.

Nowhere is safe. Yet if you get your news only from the Red Star, you wouldn't know about this. If you read Rambix, you'll know about it.

Meanwhile, Ryback's legacy moves right along: "Auto thefts, and crashes, rising fast in Minneapolis". The only thing that's not rising in Minneapolis is the number of taxpayers.

Four car chases in Minneapolis over the past couple of days have involved stolen vehicles and injuries to innocent victims. Luckily in those cases the injuries were minor.

One police official says it doesn't appear to be rash of car thefts, but rather a growing trend.

Police Lieutenant Mike Sauro says unlike years ago when many thefts were for joy rides, now many auto thieves are stealing either to use the vehicle in a crime or to strip it of its parts.

Car theft is a gateway crime. Sometimes a vehicle is taken for joyrides, but in many cases the vehicle is used in the commission of another crime. And too often people get hurt, because the thieves "drive it like they stole it". Here's a near miss:

On Thursday, a car chase ended in a crash when the suspect being chased smashed into Julie Moseley's vehicle. She was at a stoplight and says she just knew she was about to be hit when she saw the State Patrol pursuing a Chevy Suburban that was bearing down. She was boxed in by traffic and had no where to go, "It was like slow motion, the kid opened up the door and started to get out and hit us and jumped out and ran."

Moseley was shaken-up as was her daughter but neither was injured. But she shuddered knowing how close this could have been to a real tragedy. "We could have had the kids in the car. We have infant car seats but they luckily they were at the sitters." While the State Patrol scoured the nearby area for the thief, no arrest was made.

Things are not looking good under the Mayor and Chief's watch. But your kids are safe in the Minneapolis Public Schools, right?

Wrong.

KSTP News reports: "School gun incident upsets parents":

Parents at a metro school are angry that they were not informed a gun went off during class hours.

A .22 caliber handgun hidden in a student’s backpack accidentally discharged when the bag was thrown on the cafeteria floor at Sheridan Global Arts and Communications school.

School officials initially released limited information about the incident. They now confirm the gun was brought to school by an eighth grade student.

And this is just the one they found. Even the Red Star looks at this story:

A handgun in a 13-year-old student's backpack accidentally fired during lunchtime at a Minneapolis school, but nobody was injured, said police Capt. Rich Stanek.

Somebody threw the backpack on the ground about 1:45 p.m. Tuesday, police said. A bullet went through the backpack, but Stanek said he didn't know what the bullet hit. It's unclear why the student brought the gun to Sheridan Global Arts and Communications school in northeast Minneapolis.

The student brought the gun there because he could bring it there. And besides, since liberals tell us that guns act on their own, the student should say that the handgun put itself in the backpack. They can't refute their own logic, can they?

The Trauma Of Crime: Put This On Your Website, R.T.

Put this post on your website, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Ryback. Or email me a response and I'll post it here or at Anti-Strib - we won't even censor you.

Darcy Pohland of WCCO News posted on their website a chilling look at the real-world trauma caused violent crime. These aren't just stories in the news, these are real people living in Ryback's Minneapolis: "Armed Robbery Victim Shares Story".

(WCCO) Minneapolis Minneapolis Police recently arrested two teenage gang members who they think are responsible for dozens of armed robberies in north Minneapolis.

One of those victims, Alison, said Thursday she continues to suffer physical and emotional effects long after she was attacked, but she wants to tell her story.

Keep reading, R.T. We're thankful Alison lived to tell about it.

It was supposed to be a New Year's Day of fun and games at a friend's house, but a brutal attack changed that.

"The guy on my left took out a gun, put it across my face and onto my cheek," Alison recalled.

She had just gotten out of her car and was crossing Upton Avenue North when she saw four young men run toward her.

Even an armed male would have trouble with these odds. Imagine how frightened this unarmed female was [The story is not clear whether her "partner" is male or female].

The [criminals] asked for her wallet and purse, but she only had a backpack.

"The backpack had a game in it and some other, some candy canes in it, some Coke," Alison said. "I had $7 and they were welcome to it."

Alison said the men asked her what else she had. When she replied she had fudge, she said the guy on the left ordered the other men to shoot her.

"I froze," Alison said.

The men did not shoot her, but one of the suspects kicked her in the knee, hyper-extending it. She fell backward, onto the ground. She got tangled in her backpack and one of the suspects grabbed it and pulled.

The suspects fled when a car drove by. The suspects did not take anything from Alison, but did take rings and $12 from Alison's partner, who was with her.

She's lucky they didn't shoot her.

Alison suffered torn ligaments and damaged cartridge (sic) in her knee, which requires surgery.

The emotional scars may last longer. Alison and her partner both have flashbacks about the incident.

Will she ever feel the same?

Mr. Mayor, you have a nice website on which you censor comments from the public, but you make no mention of the crime problem in your city. Spring is approaching, and I anticipate a replay of last year's violence. What are you going to do about it?

Will you please comment on your Minneapolis Quagmire?

On The Hunt

As the St. Paul PD tries to track down a vicious rapist, the Minneapolis PD are searching for a shooter - we even have a photo [courtesy KSTP News]:

Minneapolis Police are asking for the public’s help to find a man who fired shots at a vehicle at Bloomington Ave. S. and E. Lake Street at about 5 p.m. on Jan. 30, 2006. The bullets did not hit the intended victims, but struck the window of a nearby business.

A security camera captured an image of the suspected shooter, who is facing the camera in the photo below:

The drawing of the rapist is good (see previous), but the photo of the shooter is even better.

Anyone who can help police identify this man is asked to call 612-673-2358 [or 911]. Callers may remain anonymous.

Minneapolis Robberies: News You Won't Find In The Red Star

If you only get your news from the Red Star, you're going to miss what is happening under the radar in Minneapolis. Alternate news sources, such as the Twin Cities based WCCO News website and the KSTP News website have been stalwarts for providing information you won't see elsewhere.

One of the things we learn today is that Minneapolis robberies have not gone away; the intifada continues: "Neighborhood Hopes For End To Armed Robberies".

Police said more than 100 armed robberies have occurred in the Cleveland and Willard-Hay neighborhoods, in downtown Minneapolis in the past several months.

Residents often were confronted by three masked men who point a gun in their face and rob them as they pulled into their driveways.

Jerry, a victim's brother-in-law said, "Three dudes came up and had put a gun to the window and told my sister's husband to get out of the car."

Neighbors have been on edge since the robberies began.

I suspect they have been on edge.

Two teens have been arrested, but you'll note the report states 3 masked men were often involved. It's unlikely the two teens are responsible for the 100+ robberies in the past few months.

The violence has been escalating.

Warnings went up and violence escalated when two robbery victims who fought back were shot.

One victim was shot in the back as he ran away from the suspects and another was shot in the hand. They are both recovering from their injuries.

John Hegeland of the Cleveland Neighborhood Association said, "You're near your house, you have a reasonable comfort zone ... that's where people are preying on that cause you're near your house, you feel safe and you're not on the lookout for it."

You'll note from past posts that robberies have been occurring citywide in Minneapolis. There are more of these rats out there, and we shouldn't get too comfortable.

Where is Mayor Ryback on this problem?

Stranger Rape - Suspect On The Loose

This must be a woman's darkest fear. Not only rape, but rape by a stranger in one's own home. It's incomprehensible to imagine.

It's also incomprehensible what I would do if that was one of my loved ones. Movies have been made about that.

Kare 11 News reports: "Woman raped by stranger inside her home".

On Friday, February 10 at about 7:25 in the morning, an 18-year-old woman was sexually assaulted inside her apartment.

She told police there was a knock at the door and a very well groomed man could be seen through the peep hole. He said he was from building maintenance. As she started to open the door the man forced his way in and took out a silver handgun and told the victim not to scream.

He sexually assaulted her, then left.

Let's find this sewer rat before he strikes again. The news report doesn't say where this happened, but the St. Paul Police are on the case.

Here's the suspect description:

She [victim] said he was a black man about 5'9" tall, clean shaven with short hair and a very dark complexion. She said he had a scar on his face that began at a sideburn and extended several inches. She said he was very muscular and had a deep, unaccented voice.

BCA artists created a composite sketch based on her description. If you have any idea who the man in the drawing is, please call Saint Paul Police at 651-291-1111.

Let's get this piece of garbage. Soon.

The Lesser Coleman

Thin-skinned Red Star columnist Nick Coleman is a deeply committed socialist and is generally on the wrong side of most issues. He is not to be confused with Senator Norm Coleman, a stalwart of the Republican Majority - there is no relation.

Local bloggers love to fisk the Lesser Coleman (LC).

In a Red Star article dated 2/14/06, the LC catches up to Rambix with the Minneapolis violence thing: "Gunfire is way too common on Minneapolis' North Side". Most people already know about the North Side; it's been going on for years. Nick's just a little slow.

It was 2 in the afternoon, bright and cold, and I was standing on a corner in north Minneapolis, talking to people about a rash of shootings in the area. A car pulled up and a woman inside rolled down her window: "You should be up on Broadway right now," she shouted.

Why, I asked. What's happening on Broadway?

"They just shot a guy," she said. "He's on the sidewalk."

The LC interviewed Capt. Rich Stanek of the Minneapolis Police Department. I'm not sure why he would give a quote to LC, but he did. And he didn't limit his remarks to North Minneapolis. He referenced (in so many words) the Minneapolis Quagmire that has been discussed on this blog for nearly a year:

It's hard to keep up with the gunfire in Minneapolis. Just ask the cops. "That's all we do -- run to crime scene after crime scene," says Capt. Rich Stanek. "Too many guns on the street. Some day, maybe the public will say 'Enough is enough.'"

Maybe the public will say "enough is enough" of Mayor Ryback, Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar, and the Chief of Diversity McManus.

More and more, stupid stuff is getting young men killed. Around the country, even as violent crime is declining, the number of killings resulting from street arguments or mere dirty looks is rising.

Police chiefs call it "the rage thing."

"We're seeing a very angry population, and they don't go to fists anymore," Milwaukee's police chief told the New York Times in a report that ran Sunday. "They go right to guns."

Is that true here, too? I asked Capt. Stanek.

"Yes, yes and yes," he said.

Maybe we need to get these crackhead, dope-pushing, gangster types off the street and in jail where they belong. Maybe we ought to dispense with politically correct crime fighting and kick some behinds. Maybe we ought to clean house of the empty-suit politicians, like the Minneapolis City Council, who are more concerned with giving themselves raises than cleaning up their festering city.

"It's not the police who pulled the trigger," said Anthony Rashad, who came to the shooting scene from his house. "It's not 'the man' who did this. It's black men killing other black men. It's time to put the responsibility where it belongs. This is bad. It's real bad.

"And in broad daylight."

We'll be waiting for the Mayor's press conference and his plan to crush the Minneapolis Insurgency.

By the way, LC, you're welcome to check in with Rambix anytime. You'll find the truth here.

Killers caught

The Red Star reports that two (alleged) acomplices to a 2nd degree felony murder have been taken into custody: "Two charged in slaying outside north metro store".

Two men were charged Monday with aiding and abetting a second-degree felony murder in the shooting death of another man Friday on W. Broadway in north Minneapolis.
The person believed to be the shooter remains at large.

The victim, Shedrick Turner, 26, was pronounced dead about 1:30 p.m. at 911 W. Broadway.

Charged were David W. Allen, 31, and David I. Grady, 25, both of Minneapolis. According to the criminal complaint, a friend of the victim had argued with others inside the Digital City store at 905 W. Broadway before the shooting.

The streets are cleaner now, but that won't bring Mr. Turner back.

This was a particularly egregious killing; it occurred in broad daylight on a busy street. But this is Minneapolis, after all.

Furthermore, the cowards shot the victim in the back (of the neck).

Dr. Daniel Davis of the Hennepin County medical examiner's office said Turner was shot in the back of his neck. The bullet severed his brain stem and exited through his nose, the complaint said.

Suspect David W. Allen has a typical criminal background, according to mncriminals.com [must be member]:

*Caveat: The name and age match the name and dob, but without an exact age given by the media, it can't be confirmed 100% this is the same person.

Conviction Number: 001
Case Number: 96003114
Court File Number: K196600892
Disposition Date: 07/26/1996
Controlling Agency: North St Paul Police Department
Court Agency: Ramsey District Court
Assigned Custodial Agency: Ramsey County Workhouse
Assigned Probation Agency: Ramsey County Court - St Paul
Count Number: 001
General Offense:
Statute Description: Giving Peace Officer False Name-of Another Person
Statute Number: 609.506.2
Disposition: Convicted
Pronounced Fine: $0
Stayed Fine: $0
Court Cost Amount: $0
Restitution Amount: $0
Assessment Amount: $0
Pronounced Sentence: 10 Days
Probation Sentence: 1 Years
Conditional Confinement: 3 Days
Conviction Level: Misdemeanor

Conviction Number: 001
Case Number: 96003114
Court File Number: K196600892
Disposition Date: 07/26/1996
Controlling Agency: North St Paul Police Department
Court Agency: Ramsey District Court
Assigned Custodial Agency: Ramsey County Workhouse
Assigned Probation Agency: Ramsey County Court - St Paul
Count Number: 002
General Offense:
Statute Description: Drivers License-Driving After Suspension
Statute Number: 171.24.1
Disposition: Convicted
Pronounced Fine: $0
Stayed Fine: $0
Court Cost Amount: $0
Restitution Amount: $0
Assessment Amount: $0
Pronounced Sentence:
Probation Sentence:
Conditional Confinement:
Conviction Level:

Conviction Number: 002
Case Number: 96153731
Court File Number: 98065600
Disposition Date: 07/05/1999
Controlling Agency: Minneapolis Police Department
Court Agency: Hennepin County District Court
Assigned Custodial Agency: MN Dept Corrections - St Paul
Assigned Probation Agency:
Count Number: 001
General Offense: Conspiracy to Commit
Statute Description: Assault-2nd Degree
Statute Number: 609.222
Disposition: Convicted
Pronounced Fine: $0
Stayed Fine: $0
Court Cost Amount: $0
Restitution Amount: $0
Assessment Amount: $0
Pronounced Sentence: 3 Years
Probation Sentence:
Conditional Confinement:
Conviction Level: Felony

Mr. Allen also has numerous aliases and fake dates of birth:

Daniels, Kevin William
Bryant, Charles William
Allen, David
Watson, Tyrone Lamar
Watson, Leroy Lamar
Bryant, Charles Lamont
Bryant, David William
Williams, David
Allen, David William

09/22/1975
06/21/1971
01/06/1974
09/01/1974
07/06/1974

The actual dob is: 07/06/1974

The shooter remains on the loose.

Criminals gone wild

Talk about a menace to society! The Red Star reports that a prolific burglar and arsonist has been arrested in Minneapolis. He's not just any burglar; he's the king of burglars: "Suspect in flower shop burglary tied to 60 others". And naturally he plys his trade in Minneapolis. Think he's local?

Why is this menace running loose in Minneapolis? How is it that he was able to get away with 60 burglaries?

This unidentified cretin also torched Peterson Flowers five days before Valentine's Day. This of course means that he is a clear and present danger to society. He needs to be identified and locked up until the end of his days as a career criminal.

Not only are a neighborhood and police relieved that a suspect has been arrested in the burglary and arson of a south Minneapolis flower shop last week, but authorities today say the same man is responsible for 60 burglaries since November.

The suspect, a 47-year-old man, was apprehended Friday as he fled from a burglary in the 4100 block of Bryant Avenue S. That's not far from the flower shop, Petersen Flowers on W. 38th Street.

Good work by the local police. It's obvious the crook wasn't going to stop until he had to. His decision to needlessly burn the flower shop after he burglarized it means that he is depraved and capable of killing someone (He could have killed someone).

Even though the fire came just days before Valentine's Day, shop owner Glen Luedtke was undaunted. He and his daughter have been selling flowers from a truck next to the burned-out store.

If you're in the area of W. 38th St. and Bryant in Minneapolis, stop in and give the Flower seller some business. Then let's throw the book at this lowlife.

Importing criminals

Minnesota seems to get more than it's share of imported thugs and criminals. They come from Chicago, Detroit, Illinois, Somalia, and other places that churn them out as fast as liberals can produce welfare mothers.

This blog has noted this phenomenon on several occasions - here is a particularly egregious example of the fruits of Minnesota's soft criminal "justice" system (By the way, in liberal-speak the fuzzy term for thugs is "offenders").

Rambix will report where the criminal is from when and if that information is offered by the media or police. In many cases, liberal organs like the Red Star will suppress that information, because they know that many come from out of state and they don't want the public to know that our welfare state is an attractive nuisance. That's called social engineering.

The latest example of imported thuggery is also an extreme example. Now we appear to be importing super-sized scumbags; people who have nothing to lose and no conscience: "Chicago Man Called 'One-Man Crime Wave'".

(AP) St. Paul It was late October when Antonio Sanders walked out of a Chicago jail and came to Minnesota to visit his mother in the Twin Cities.

Within days, prosecutors allege, the 36-year-old went on a violent crime spree to support his drug habit. He held up more than a dozen stores at gunpoint and shot one clerk in the face, prosecutors claim.

The 6-foot-9-inch, 346-pound Sanders is now charged with committing 24 felonies in three counties. Prosecutors say the sheer number of serious crimes -- one attempted murder, 21 aggravated robberies, an assault and a burglary -- in such a brief period is unprecedented locally.

"He is a one-man crime wave," Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner said.

KSTP News also reports here.

Is this the kind of people we want to attract to this state?

The Red Star used a lot of newspaper space today promoting homosexuality, and one of the propaganda pieces they used argued that if the Pro-Marriage constitutional amendment is passed, our state wouldn't attract the "creative class".

Well, why can't our disingenous newspaper apply the same principles to the obvious crime attractions our state offers? Instead of attracting the "creative class", we're attracting the "death and destruction class". Where is the Red Star's voice on the more immediate issue? Which is more important right now: more homosexuals, or fewer violent criminals? Let's prioritize with common sense.

Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar has revealed herself to be vacuously clueless about the issue. Despite the fact that her, and others like her, have allowed and encouraged these sewer rats to come to Minnesota and run havoc and degrade our quality of life, she exhibits no self-reflection and offers no solutions:

"Some people go to Minnesota to come to the Mall of America to shop. He came to Minnesota to rob," Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar said.

Yes, Ms. Klobuchar, a lot of people come to Minnesota to rob. And rape. And kill.

What are you going to do about it?

More Minneapolis Murder - The Intifada Continues

The Red Star reports that Ryback's Minneapolis has produced another corpse, "Man shot and killed near busy Minneapolis stores, restaurants".

One resident of the area on Minneapolis' W. Broadway said he was shocked by the killing in the middle of the day.

Is anyone really shocked anymore?

Allison Lussier, an employee at a nearby check-cashing business, took a cigarette break around 1:15 p.m. She said she saw at least 10 people pushing, shoving and yelling at each other near the shooting site.

But Lussier said she didn't panic. Violence doesn't surprise her anymore. Since she started working at the check-cashing business in March, there have been fights, stabbings, robberies and drug activity in the area, she said.

"There's no reaction here on Broadway," she said. "It's like that every day."

It's like that every day, says she.

Another business owner feels the violence is "not that bad" (if it isn't bad, then what is?):

Lois Schupmann, who has owned Lila's Women's Apparel at 911 W. Broadway since 1985, said an increased police presence has quieted crime.

"Really and truly, it's not that bad," she said.

We all have different levels of tolerance. Personally, record robberies and a good start on Minneapolis homicides exceeds most people's comfort level of tolerance.

WCCO 4 News also reports: "Man Shot, Killed In North Minneapolis".

Suspects remain on the loose.

More On Minneapolis Shooting Victim

A $10,000 reward is being offered to find the unidentified animals who took the eye of a productive member of society while traveling through Minneapolis.

The victim, who goes by the last name Schiller, was rushed to the hospital by her husband, Robert Wheeler, a semi-retired doctor. Kare 11 News reports that Mr. Wheeler also took a disturbing photo of his wife following the removal of her eye.

Theresa Schiller's husband Robert Wheeler and son Royce Schiller spoke to reporters about the reward and the woman whose life had been so abruptly altered. "This is a photo that I took today of Terry with her injuries. The left eye has been removed," said Wheeler holding a photo of his wife with her left eye sewn shut.

This is the face of a crime victim, no thanks to the various authorities who let her down. Looking at this should bring the reality home of the incompetence of Minneapolis Mayor Ryback, Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar, and Police Chief McManus. Where are these people when we need them? What are they doing to put an end to violence in Minneapolis?

Rambix has been particularly hard on Ryback and McManus for obvious reasons, because they are the high-profile, front-line people with duties to protect and serve the citizens. More behind the scenes, but probably with more overall ability to impact crime rates is Ms. Klobuchar. What is she doing to deal with these cretins who revolve through the courts, and end up back on the street?

Police have no suspects or known witnesses and hope this reward will help.

Schiller's son, Royce, said he's angry, "It's pretty devastating to hear your mom has been shot, I thought she was dead. I was just angry, why do people have to carry guns? Why do they have to think that that's the way the world works, because it doesn't have to work that way."

On a side note, the victim's son has some interesting comments. With understanding that he's probably grieving, and considering that we don't know his age, his rhetorical question seems to border on ignorance and would appear to reflect a liberal upbringing. This in no way is meant to denigrate the family; it's merely an observation. But this is the same squishy nonsense we hear all the time, particularly from urban liberals.

Does the son not distinguish between good people arming themselves and bad people arming themselves? Does he think that guns and violence will ever go away? Instead of being angry at guns, one might think he'd be angry at the criminals.

Again, I'm pointing this out not to give the family a hard time, but this naive attitude is indicative of how far we've fallen as a society in teaching our young people right from wrong, and good from evil.

Kowtowing to Muslims

On his Morning in America radio show today, Bill Bennett summed up the MSM response to Muslim rioters as "solicitous". That single word sums up the MSM kowtowing to Muslims in the place of advocating the truth.

The cowardice of the MSM and public institutions is something to behold.

The lack of conviction for First Amendment rights has manifested itself on a local level, as the Red Star reports: "Area College Pulls Mohammed Cartoons".

Tom Ford, Star Tribune

The worldwide controversy regarding caricatures of the prophet Mohammed has reached White Bear Lake, though thus far with nonviolent results.
Dozens of Muslim students at Century College -- a two-year community college -- protested to administrators this week about a display of the infamous caricatures, first published in a Danish newspaper, on a campus bulletin board.

Karen Murdock, a part-time geography and earth science instructor who posted the cartoons -- surrounded by news articles about the topic and blank "comment" sheets -- said she simply wanted to spark discussion by allowing others to see the cartoons first-hand.

But the postings, first displayed Tuesday afternoon, were torn down at least once.

By Thursday, a senior faculty member instructed her to keep the cartoons off the social and behavioral sciences bulletin board, Murdock said. "I thought this might be controversial, but I didn't think it would be quite this controversial," she said.

The "thus far with nonviolent results" is a telling quote. The censorship of free speech on a college campus is disturbing and reveals the pandering gutless educators for the hypocrits they are. Stifling free speech on campus is antithetical to our Constitutionally guaranteed freedoms, and is an especially egregious act on a college campus, which has historically been a bastion of intellectual freedom.

Now it appears that free speech on a college campus is free only for leftists, appeasers, and sycophants.

Police meeting - citizens in SW Minneapolis "feel unsafe"

Fox 9 News at 9:00 reports of a meeting in the Minneapolis 5th Precinct with Inspector Kris Arneson and other police representatives and citizens of Southwest Minneapolis concerning escalating crime in their area.

The citizens are concerned because they no longer feel safe in their neighborhoods [We've known this for quite some time - it just takes liberals longer to do something about it]. The neighborhood of Kingfield was specifically mentioned. In that area a flower shop was torched, and now a gas station robbery has occurred in the 4400 block of Nicollet Ave. Both of these acts follow the home invasion murder of a couple weeks ago. This is considered a nice area, or at least used to be.

Here's a Minneapolis Police SAFE Unit crime alert (2/8/06):

---------------------------------------------
SAFE5.2
Serving the 5th Precinct, SAFE District 2
---------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I am sorry this is such a large file. If you have any information please contact the police tip line.

The Minneapolis Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division is requesting your assistance with identifying the suspect in the below photographs.

On January 15, 2006 at approximately 0913 hours the suspect, in the photographs displayed below, robbed the “Pump & Munch located at 4401 Nicollet Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN. The weapon of choice was a screwdriver. No one was injured in the Robbery.

If you have any information regarding the identification of the suspect or the incident, please contact the TIPS line at 612.692-TIPS (8477).

Let's get this wild-eyed heathen.

And, by the way, the citizens have the right to be concerned. They live in Ryback's Minneapolis after all.

More on Minneapolis insurgency - record robberies continue

Minneapolis Mayor Ryback's numbers are up, up!

Well, perhaps not the numbers he'd like:

In just the past 10 days, more than a dozen robberies occurred in a section of south Minneapolis that extends pretty much on both sides of Hiawatha Avenue from about 32nd street down to 46th...

These robberies have pushed the number of hold-ups in Minneapolis to 274 for the first month of 2006. That's 100 more than the same time last year which also saw a 22 percent hike in robberies over the prior year.

Can this be true? 274 holdups in one month!? And this is 100 more than last year? Minneapolis is not that big a city. It's worse than previously advertised.

At least one whack job is off the streets (until some liberal judge releases him):

On Monday police charged a man they believe is responsible for some of those hold-ups. Twenty-one-year-old Ebrahim Mohammed of Saint Paul, was charged with four separate counts of armed robbery and is suspected in several others.

According to the criminal complaint against Mohammed, he admitted using a replica gun in a couple of the robberies he's accused of committing. Mohammed told police he used some of the credit cards he stole during several of the robberies.

It's gotta be hell being a Muslim criminal these days. This particular coward apparently traveled with other cowards - it's real impressive sticking up a woman with her two year old son:

One robbery victim was a woman who was with her two-year-old son. "She was down right scared and apparently they have total disregard for folks and safety," said Minneapolis police Captain Rich Stanek.

He said all of the hold-ups took place close to home, "generally two or three male suspects approached victims on the street sometimes when they're getting in or out of their car or going into a residence."

The police appear overwhelmed by trying to keep up with Ryback's criminals:

While these robberies were concentrated on the city's south side, a long string of hold-ups have also been occurring in north Minneapolis. In fact there have been so many hold-ups, police have set up a task force in an effort to identify suspects and hopefully make arrests.

How much more do those of us who live, work, or play in Minneapolis have to take before the boy-Mayor Ryback and the Chief of Diversity take affirmative action against the criminal element? We've had the police tell us the robberies are "out of control". We've seen record numbers. Yet no response from Ryback or his minions. Is he alive? Could someone please check his pulse (if you can find him)?

Ryback's Minneapolis

Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Ryback is nowhere to be seen or heard following a crime which encapsulates the utter depravity of the city he ostensibly leads. He technically may hold less power than the City Council, but he is the figurehead. Rather than standing tall in the face of adversity, he is trying to figure out how to "reweave the urban fabric".

Meanwhile, an Emergency Room nurse is taking a .45 slug through the eye while driving through the Mayor's city. KARE 11 reports more details:

Robert Wheeler and Theresa Schiller had just scoped out the best place to be dropped off for the City of Lakes Loppet and they were returning home when they stopped at the intersection of 8th Avenue and Penn Avenue North.

Suddenly, said Robert, "bang, bang, bang, three shots rang out right next to the car." Theresa was sitting in the passenger seat of the minivan and screamed to Robert, 'I've been hit in the eye and there's blood.'

Police figure the shot that hit 49-year-old Schiller slammed through the rear window of the minivan, ricocheted off the dashboard, and then struck her in the eye. Wheeler said he has no idea where the shots came from, "You're not going to get out of the car and see what's going on, you just want to get out of there in a hurry."

This couple was engaged in the most innocent of activities, and now a productive member of our society is maimed. The most salient quote of all comes from Theresa Schiller's husband, Robert Wheeler:

"It's a shame you can't drive through the streets of Minneapolis without getting shot," said Wheeler. The retired emergency room doctor added, "it's just a sad thing. I'm more sad than angry."

Where are the Mayor and the Police Chief? When will they crack down on the animals that are running their city?

There are some good posts at Anti-Strib for more disturbing Minneapolis info:

shark.bait writes "Just some numbers for those who don’t think that crime in MPLS is "all that bad""

Tracy writes "40 people a month???"

And finally,

Midwest Jay writes "MURDERAPOLIS ON THE RISE"

Minneapolis Intifada: Woman Shot, Loses Eye

A woman and her husband made have made a near-fatal error of visiting Minneapolis.

Fox 9 News reports that a woman and her husband were on their way from dinner to Theodore Wirth Park to check out snow conditions for skiing the next day. While stopped at a stop sign, a shootout broke out nearby and the woman was struck by a round in the eye.

Fox 9's website has scant details at this time, but the TV news report said the woman's eye could not be saved.

A night out is interupted by gunfire for a couple in North Minneapolis. The two had just gone to dinner and were checking out ski conditions for "The City of Lakes Loppet" when shots rang out. The woman was sitting inside their car.. and was hit in the face by one of the bullets. She could lose an eye.

It's unclear if suspects were identified.

Fox 9 News interviewed the husband, who seemed very distraught, as can be imagined. They were minding their own business, out spending money in Rybak's Minneapolis. And for the error of visiting Minneapolis, the victim has lost an eye and nearly her life.

Minneapolis Culture Of Corruption, Or Business As Usual?

Rochelle Olson of the Red Star speculates today in an article titled "Indictments lead to a closer look, but not an overhaul" whether or not Minneapolis has a culture of corruption.

On the wall of an office in the Hennepin County Government Center, someone posted a flier with a running tally of days without an indictment across the street at City Hall.

The gag poked fun at the criminal investigations that have ensnared three Minneapolis council members in five years. In each case, politicians were accused of soliciting cash or favors from those with business before the city.

Acting Minneapolis Mayor Ryback denies any problem "despite the three indictments, including two convictions since 2001."

"What strikes me most about it is it's amateur corruption. It's the crudest form of corruption: Give me a bag of money," Schultz [Hamline University professor of law and politics] said.

Rambix asks: Is it a culture of corruption, or a corruption of liberals? By now you may or may not have seen the frequently updated list of liberal politicians and operatives who have been indicted and/or convicted of crimes while in office. The list is staggering: "The ongoing liberal corruption in Minneapolis".

When the city governmental structure is made up entirely liberals, Democrats, and Greens, its not hard to determine which side of the political aisle is responsible for the corruption and incompetence. If there was any balance in the city, the liberals could at least blame conservatives. Since there aren't any conservatives, none, the leftists are stuck.

Schier [Carleton College Professor] said he thinks the problem is some Minneapolis politicians don't face serious electoral challenges. "Minneapolis is now as safe a DFL domain as you can imagine. You've basically got a situation where reelection is a foregone conclusion for a lot of people. People can get complacent, sloppy and cut corners," he said.

That's exactly right.

Meanwhile, Mayor Ryback remains absolutely clueless:

Rybak said he established ethics rules and disputes the notion that one party controls the city, even though 12 of 13 council members are DFLers.

"Anybody who thinks there's one-party rule in Minneapolis doesn't know the incredible diversity of characters here," he said.

When the "leaders" deny that there is a problem, the chance for reform is nil. Three Minneapolis City Council members indicted in five years, and the liberals don't see trouble?

This begs the question: What if these are only the ones that were caught?

Minneapolis robber arrested

WCCO TV website reports the arrest of what appears to be another Somali robber, Ebrahim Mohamud Mohammed:

(WCCO) Minneapolis A 21-year-old St. Paul man is accused of using a fake gun to rob four women in Minneapolis last month, court papers said.

Ebrahim Mohamud Mohammed was charged Friday with four counts of aggravated first-degree robbery after admitting his involvement to police, according to a criminal complaint.

Mohammed has been charged in connection with a Jan. 11 incident in South Minneapolis; a Jan. 20 incident on 44th Avenue South; a Jan. 23 incident on 40th Avenue South; and a Jan. 31 incident on 45th Avenue South, court papers said.

In each instance, victims told police they were getting out of their cars outside their homes when two men would approach and demand the women's purses or bags at gunpoint.

There is no word on the status of the accomplice, although we can assume he is not in custody. Yet.

While the national origin of the robber is not reported, it's a good chance he is Somali. This would fit a troubling pattern of (apparent) Somali robbers using armed violence in their crimes, which have been mostly against individuals. The first indication of Somali robbers goes back to the beginning of the first Minneapolis Uprising of 2005, which developed over late spring. Here's one of the earliest posts on this blog (5/3/05) that described robbery suspects: "The Uptown crime wave and the PC trifecta".

This post from 8/11/05 describes the suspects in the 2nd Minneapolis Uprising from a Fox 9 News report as "Somali males": "Can't be true - the Uptown robbers are back".

An Edina TCF Bank was robbed 1/6/06 by a black male with an "East African accent".

This is in no way meant to denigrate all Somalis, as many are good taxpaying citizens. It's even possible that the similar backgrounds of these robbers are an unfortunate coincidence. Whatever the case might be, one can't ignore a disturbing trend of common characteristics.

This bears watching.

Ryback reaches higher?

"RT Rybak-Let him do to the country what he did to Minneapolis"

Chad the Elder of Fraters Libertas posts on speculation by "political black belts" about whether Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Ryback ought to challenge Norm Coleman for Senate in 2008.

Ryback's "successes" have been thoroughly documented in this blog. In fact, any potential Ryback voter should simply read this post before throwing your support in his direction: "2005: The Minneapolis Quagmire - year end roundup".

God help us if he does for the country what he did for Minneapolis.

From the Pioneer Press article:

But would he consider a run against Coleman if backers pushed him to do it?

"It's possible," Rybak said, "but I'm not a traditional politician. I'm a person who loves being mayor of Minneapolis."

Try it sometime first.

Bloggers will be waiting for your announcement.

More Havoc in Minneapolis Schools

Maybe there's a connection between the inability of the Minneapolis public school system to educate its children and the current Minneapolis Quagmire of crime. Does it stand to reason that a dysfunctional school system will lead to more dropouts and poorly-educated children, who in turn will become criminals? We know that many of our criminals come from out of state, but we seem to have developed a local farm system with an endless supply of malcontents and sociopaths, and this theory is as good as any other at this point.

In the Twin Cities, we seem to have no shortage of young people ill-equipped to deal with the world around them. Is this the result of a Minneapolis Public School education?

There's more bad news from Minneapolis. This story apparently doesn't appear in print yet, but Fox 9 News last night reported that Minneapolis School Board member Sharon Henry-Blythe is being investigated for the same transgressions as Thandiwe Peebles - using staff for personal business, etc. Few details are known. More on that later as it develops.

In another development, the Red Star reports: "Principal of Minneapolis school is suspended".

A Minneapolis principal was ordered out of her school Monday and put on leave pending an investigation of an undisclosed nature.

Hattie Bonds, principal of W. Harry Davis Academy, a K-8 school in north Minneapolis, was placed on paid leave, said schools spokesman Josh Collins. School family support liaison Charles Jackson also was put on leave in connection with the investigation, Collins said.

There's no reason given for these stunning developments.

He [Associate Superintendent Von Sheppard] would not say why the two were being investigated, except that police are not involved.

More on this story as details emerge.

This begs the daily question: What is going on in Minneapolis? Are these people utterly incapable of the responsibility of providing a solid education for children without corruption, incompetence, or ignorance?