TheTrenchcoat Chronicles

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  • Red Lake families meet with U.S. Attorney

    Red Lake families meet with U.S. Attorney

    Prosecutor: Dozens knew school shooter’s plans:

    Family members of the victims of the Red Lake shooting met with U.S. Attorney Tom Heffelfinger today, and some interesting things came to light…

    Nearly 40 people knew that 16-year-old Jeff Weise had planned some sort of violence at Red Lake High School before he went on a rampage, according to family members who met with U.S. Attorney Tom Heffelfinger on Monday.

    Heffelfinger met behind closed doors with those who lost loved ones in the March 21 shooting, when Weise killed nine people before killing himself.

    “It’s horrid. I just got a headache,” said Barbara Brun, who lost her son, Derrick, a security guard, in the shooting. “I wasn’t this angry before I came. I haven’t been this angry since March 21st.”

    Brun said Heffelfinger told those gathered at a hotel here that 39 people knew Weise planned a shooting at the high school, and of those, four or five had direct knowledge. Brun said that Heffelfinger told the group Weise had been talking about the shooting since 2003.

    “Why didn’t someone take him seriously?” she asked.

    39 people knew, and not one person said anything. And some people say that as a society, we’re overreacting to perceived threats of school violence. I’d rather there be an overreaction and save lives than there be no reaction with scores dead.

  • Bartley hearing tomorrow

    Bartley hearing tomorrow

    Bartley transfer hearing on Tuesday:

    Kenny Bartley, the teen accused of shooting three administrators and killing one at Campbell County High School, will be in court tomorrow, which could determine if he will be tried as an adult or not.

    “Under Tennessee law there are certain crimes where a juvenile can be transferred, or placed in the adult justice system. Obviously, homicide or attempted murder would be one of those. A juvenile judge has to look at certain criteria such as the seriousness of the offense.”

    Does it get much more serious than murder? If he is tried as a juvenile, then there will be no justice for the victims.

  • Jonathan Zarate’s brother to undergo psych test

    Jonathan Zarate’s brother to undergo psych test

    New psychiatric test set for boy, 15, in slaying:

    This is an update on the murder of Jennifer Parks. She was bludgeoned, stabbed, and dismembered by her 18-year-old neighbor Jonathan Zarate. His younger brother, known only as “J.Z.” has also been charged with her murder. Prosecutors are looking to have the younger brother tried as an adult, but first, he must undergo a psychiatric evaluation…

    J.Z.’s attorney, Joseph Ferrante, submitted a psychiatric evaluation to Dangler on Friday that said the boy was a good candidate for rehabilitation. But Morris County Prosecutor Ralph Amirata asked the judge to allow him to seek a second opinion. Dangler granted the request, and gave the Prosecutor’s Office a month to have J.Z. evaluated by its psychiatrist.

    A good candidate for rehabilitation? You have got to be kidding me. He assisted in stabbing, bludgeoning and dismembering Jennifer Parks’ body and helped try to dispose of the body in the Passaic River. No, he is not a good candidate for rehabilitation. The only thing he’s a candidate for is a date with the needle.

  • The Actual Victim II

    The Actual Victim II

    Fighting Power Helps Red Lake Shooting Victim:

    I’ve done entries before about Steven Cobenais. He is one of the surviving victims of the Red Lake shootings. Gunman Jeff Weise asked Steven Cobenais if he believed in God. When Cobenais said yes, Weise shot him in the face. Steven Cobenais ended up losing an eye and having a severe brain injury.

    Last summer, Cobenais suffered a major seizure. For a while, he wore a helmet to protect him from falls. He is back at Red Lake High School now, where he struggles with short-term memory loss.

    During his recovery, his father, Llewellyn Thunder, spent weeks at his son’s bedside and lost his job because of it. During that time, their home was vandalized and robbed, leaving it uninhabitable. Now they live in subsidized housing that is only guaranteed through next month.

    And again I say, how can anyone in their right mind call Jeff Weise a victim?

    The Thunders said they were grateful to people who contributed to a community fund set up in their son’s name.

    Donations are accepted at the Steven Cobenais Fund, Deerwood Bank, P.O. Box 1278, Bemidji, MN 56601.

  • Campbell County Victims Update II

    Campbell County Victims Update II

    School shooting victim was burglary victim on the same day:

    Back in November, I posted an entry about Campbell County High shooting survivor Jim Pierce and how his house was robbed on the day he was shot by Ken Bartley. An ATV, a rifle, an air compressor, and several tools were stolen. Yesterday the ATV was found, but no arrests have been made.

    The article also states that Ken Bartley is due back in court at the end of the month, and that Pierce and Principal Gary Seale went back to work last week.

  • Michelle Dohm’s trial date

    Michelle Dohm’s trial date

    Teacher Accused of Making Bomb Threats to be Tried by June 21:

    Michelle Dohm, the Thurmont Middle School teacher in Maryland who is accused of threatening and stalking some of her students, will have her trial begin by June 21st under Maryland’s speedy trial law.

    That’s speedy?

  • More on Jourdain sentencing

    More on Jourdain sentencing

    Jourdain sentenced in Red Lake shooting:

    Just some more information on the sentencing of alleged Red Lake co-conspirator Louis Jourdain in addition to the previously posted sentence…

    The teenager will be on probation until he is 21, and during that period, a federal judge will have discretion to send him to other facilities as a condition of probation, the paper reported.

    Jourdain pleaded guilty to making threatening interstate communications.

  • Last of the Poe Toaster?

    Last of the Poe Toaster?

    Decades-old mystery: Who visits Poe’s grave?:

    Before I was a “crime blogger” I was a “dark poet”, and there was none darker than Edgar Allan Poe. And once again, as I do every year, I missed my chance to go to Baltimore to witness the mystery man who leaves roses and a bottle of cognac on Poe’s grave each year for Poe’s birthday.

    No one knows who he is or how he gets into the graveyard. However, it seems I probably missed my last opportunity to do so because assclowns are starting to ruin it for everybody…

    Some of the 25 spectators drawn to a tiny, locked graveyard in downtown Baltimore for the ceremony climbed over the walls of the site and were “running all over the place trying to find out how the guy gets in,” according to Jeff Jerome, the most faithful viewer of the event.

    Jerome, curator of the Poe House and Museum, said early Thursday he had to chase people out of the graveyard, fearing they would interfere with the mystery visitor’s ceremony.

    “In letting people know about this tribute, I’ve been contributing to these people’s desire to catch this guy,” Jerome said. “It’s such a touching tribute, and it’s been disrupted by the actions of a few people trying to interfere and expose this guy.”

    Is this the last we’ll hear of the Poe Toaster? I wouldn’t be surprised if it was.

  • Was lethal force justified?

    Was lethal force justified?

    Some Question Whether Deputy Was Justified In Shooting:

    Some people have been leaving comments on my site asking if lethal force was justified in the police shooting of Christopher Penley. Maybe this article will answer some of those questions…

    Mike Weippert received the Purple Heart after he was stabbed in the line of duty and needed more than 200 stitches on his face. Ten years later, Weippert is again being attacked, this time for his use of lethal force on a 15-year-old student.

    “Twenty years on sheriff’s office, 17 years on SWAT. It’s a difficult situation for a lot of people,” said Sheriff Don Eslinger.

    The decorated SWAT member, who volunteered to talk with elementary and middle schools, isn’t talking. But others are wondering out loud, why not a Taser instead of a gun?

    “I understand the distance wasn’t conducive to the utilization of a Taser and, plus, when I guess a firearm is pointed, a Taser is not necessarily the most appropriate means to deal with that,” Sheriff Eslinger said.

    Now I’m not a cop, but think about it. Christopher Penley brandished an authentic looking gun. Before the standoff with police, he had held another student hostage. Then when confronted by police, he held the gun to his own head then raised it at the police like he was going to fire.

    The police had no way of knowing if the gun was real or not even if Christopher Penley’s father did get word to them. His dad can say it’s a fake, but there’s no real way of knowing until the weapon is in police hands. And even if the distance was conducive to using a taser, if an officer used a taser on an armed subject, there’s no way to guarantee the suspect wouldn’t pull the trigger firing wildly.

    It was an unfortunate and tragic incident, but I think the police did the best job they could.

  • Dad tried to warn police of fake gun

    Dad tried to warn police of fake gun

    In my blogging about Christopher Penley, the 8th grader from Florida who was shot by police while brandishing a pellet gun, I left out an important item. Christopher Penley’s father, Ralph Penley, tried to warn police that the gun his son was carrying was fake…

    Eslinger said Friday it wasn’t until after the incident that authorities realized the weapon was only a pellet gun. But Nation said Saturday Ralph Penley told authorities it wasn’t a real gun on a cell phone as he rushed to the school after hearing of the incident. Nation said police wouldn’t let Ralph Penley inside when he arrived.

    “If Christopher was alive and (Ralph Penley) was able to go into the school, he would’ve been able to talk him out of it,” Nation said. “He did everything he could to avoid this situation.”

    However, Nation said he didn’t know the precise timeline of events, including whether Christopher had died before Ralph Penley arrived. He said he’d be investigating the incident further.

    Seminole County Sheriff’s Lt. Dennis Lemma said Sunday the department had no immediate comment on Nation’s statement.

    However, the Orlando Sentinel reported Sunday that Eslinger said Ralph Penley wasn’t told of the events until after his son was shot.

    “It’s a total misunderstanding,” Eslinger told the newspaper.

    Source.