Submitted by Deborah Lavery Powers
Staff Reporter
Highlights from recent narrative reports on file at the Fernandina Police Department
The taxi driver didn’t care about being paid; he simply wanted the passenger to get out of his cab! The passenger refused. Police came. The passenger still wouldn’t remove himself — telling the officer who was offering to take him home, “You don’t need to know where I live.” He also refused to provide ID. Multiple times. The passenger appeared to be extremely intoxicated. He was eventually arrested.
The accused said he knew that his continuous harassing/threatening telephone calls and texts over the previous week were illegal, but he wasn’t “worried.” And he started making the calls/texts again immediately after being warned by Police via telephone not to do so. He was arrested. While in police custody, he was given permission to call his boss, his roommate and a bail bondsman. What did he do? Send a text. To the woman he had been stalking: “Ur gonna pay,” was his message.
It was sorta’ a story of “three strikes, you’re out.” But it wasn’t a baseball story. It was a tale of moving an illegally tagged car from one spot to another to another — with the owner receiving a warning after each move. By the third time with this particular vehicle, the owner ran out of “strikes.” The car left the scene on the back of a tow truck.
The victim showed up in a local fast food shop at 3 in the morning — sopping wet. Someone in the store insisted upon calling the police. The victim tried to leave before the officer arrived, but was persuaded not to. According to the victim, while walking home from a friend’s house, he was approached from behind by two men who put “something hard” against the back of his head and told him to “give it up.” He grabbed a handful of cash from his pocket and handed it over, then jumped into a nearby pond and went under water when the “something hard” was removed. When he surfaced, the two men were gone. There was no evidence of footprints found in the soft sand where the victim said he “entered and exited” the pond — but the victim’s pockets held a considerable amount of cash and approximately 20 rounds of .38 special ammunition when he agreed to be searched. The victim was later found to be a 9-time convicted felon.
The victim reported 48 pieces of silver flatware, a camera and a pressure washer stolen from her residence. She suspected her ex-boyfriend took the items when he moved out in January. Police contacted the “ex.” He denied taking the flatware and camera, but said, yes, he had used the pressure washer, with the victim’s permission, back in November, and that it had been stolen from him. In Yulee. And the victim knew it. The victim later admitted that she had “omitted that part” of the story, but added she had not meant to “deceive” anyone by doing so.
A Craftsman 5600 watt gas generator — a red and white one — went missing. But if the thief hoped to pawn the generator, his/her plans didn’t work out. The pawn dealer wasn’t “interested” in it. The dealer couldn’t identify the couple who came into his shop and asked, but thought they were “possibly” driving a white Dodge pick-up.
The victim reported that “All the waitresses put their belongings in the same place,” but that wasn’t a safe place for the victim’s purse. She lost $250 in cash, 4 Target gift cards, 2 Kohl’s gift cards, a Visa gift card, and 2 Go Fish gift cards.
For the safety of the other patrons, the officer didn’t immediately confront the man he had been warned might be “carrying.” He waited until the man exited the bar to do so. The man was indeed armed. But he didn’t give up his gun willingly. He resisted turning around to show the back of his waistband, so was told he was going to be handcuffed for the safety of the officer and others nearby. When, during the handcuffing process, the man made an overt motion toward the small of his back, he was thrown to the ground. A 9MM Hi-Point was tucked into the back of his waistband. And surprise, surprise. He left the bar in a police cruiser. Criminal records indicated he was a convicted felon (armed robbery and credit card fraud).
“He’s running, he just came out the window,” were the words the officer heard. But the man who came out the window didn’t run very far. He was found “standing very still” at the side of the supposedly empty, locked, and boarded up house. The man told the officer that he was hanging out with a friend who was still inside. Consequently, before putting the “very still” one into the cruiser and then going into the house, the officer searched him, with permission. And what did he find? A “small plastic baggie containing a green substance.” This man was eventually released on “a notice to appear.” The friend inside, who had a smaller amount of “green” stuff on his person, was released sooner and told to “gather his things” and find someplace else to hang out.
There was a Coach clutch purse (valued at $150) and a Blackberry ($200), along with lip gloss, her license and a debit card inside her purse (worth $150) when it was discovered to be missing. She last saw it at 1:30 in the morning before she left a downtown bar. The thief used the debit card less than 30 minutes later to make a $7.56 purchase at a local fast food shop. A person of interest has been identified.
He was confrontational, belligerent and intoxicated. And was therefore escorted outside. And warned about the criminal ramifications of going back into the bar. He didn’t listen. He soon found himself handcuffed and on his way to the Nassau County Detention Facility.
Editor’s Note: After a career in adult education, where writing, course design and development were her “beat”, Deborah is now enjoying the world of freelancing. And volunteering. We thank Deborah for her contributions.
February 17, 2013 12:06 p.m.