TheTrenchcoat Chronicles

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  • Was Dillard shooting preventable?

    Student may have told Dillard High officials about gun:

    Police on Florida are investigating whether or not Teah Wimberly showed her gun to another student prior to her shooting Amanda Collette and whether or not that student told a school faculty member.

    Some students are also saying that Wimberly had romantic feelings for Amanda and that’s what led to the shooting.

    If that is the case Uncle Trench has to remind the kids again. Listen kids, again I’ll tell you, your romantic lives don’t end with whomever you fall in love with in high school. And no person out there is worth ending yours and somebody else’s life over. I know it doesn’t feel like that now but trust me. Once you get out of high school you’ll realize how unimportant it was in the grand scheme of things.

  • Reader sends in scam e-mail for Costa Mesa

    Another rental scam e-mail sent in by reader Rose. This time about a property in the Costa Mesa, California area…

    From: Andre Ulla Jose Uribe [mailto:anrdreulla@yahoo.com]

    Sent: Wednesday, November 12, 2008 9:50 PM

    Subject: Re: $1000 / 3br – 2 bath single family home. (Canyon Cir Costa

    Mesa)

    Hello,

    Thanks for your email and interest in renting my house..I am Andre ulla,the

    owner of the house you are making inquiry of…Actually I resided in the

    house with my family, my wife and my only daughter before and presently we

    have moved out due to my transfer from my work now in Warsaw,Poland.

    Presently my house is still available for rent for $1000 USD (rent already

    includes utilities).Moreso Now, I’m currently in Lagos,Nigeria for an

    international Christian follower’s crusade.

    Please i want you to note that,i am a kind, honest and trustworthy man and

    also i spent a lot on my property that i want to give to you for rent,so i

    will solicit for your absolute maintenance of this house and want you to

    treat it as your own, It is not the money that is the main problem but i

    want you to keep it tidy all the time so that i will be glad to see it neat

    when i come for a check up.I also want you to let me have trust in you as i

    always stand on my word.This is the address of the House (**** ****** ***

    Costa Mesa, CA 92627).

    It has a dramatic entry foyer with ceramic floor. Extremely spacious rooms

    throughout with lots of big windows…nice and light! New neutral paint and

    some newer carpet..Very quiet, low traffic area. New fridge (7/07)…I

    believe its absolutely a perfect home for you and your family.Utilities

    include Water,Trash,Sewer,Gas

    SO IF YOU ARE REALLY INTERESTED I WILL WANT YOU TO FILL THE

    RENT APPLICATION FORM BELOW

    RENT APPLICATION FORM.

    FIRST NAME:__________?

    MIDDLE NAME:__________?

    LAST NAME:__________?

    PROFESSION:__________?

    PHONE:

    (CELL)PHONE__________?

    (WORK)PHONE__________?

    (HOME)PHONE__________?

    KIDS _____ (YES/NO), HOW MANY ________

    PRESENT ADDRESS: _____________________

    CITY: _______________

    STATE:______________

    ZIP CODE: ____________

    HOW LONG? ___________IF RENTING

    WHY ARE YOU LEAVING__________?

    IF THIS HOUSE IS BEING GIVEN TO YOU,

    HOW LONG DO YOU INTEND STAYING? ____________?

    WHEN DO YOU INTEND MOVING IN? ______________?

    IF YOU HAVE A PET,

    NAME OF PET: _____________?

    KIND OF PETS: _____________?

    HABITS

    DO YOU SMOKE ______________ ?

    DO YOU DRINK ______________?

    DO YOU WORK LATE NIGHT? ____?

    Looking forward to hearing from you with all this details so that i can

    have it in my file in case of issuing the receipt for you and contacting

    you…Await your urgent reply so that we can discuss on how to get the

    document and the keys to you,please we are giving you all this based on

    trust and again i will want you to stick to your words,you know that we have

    not seen yet and only putting everything into Gods hands,so please do not

    let us down in this our property and God bless you more as you do this…

    The house is available for rent at the moment so you are free to move in as

    soon as you wish to…A Deposit of $1000 (which happens to be the first

    months rent) is required before moving in…Feel free to call me for more

    information and arrangements on how to get the keys and other necessary

    documents delivered to you…my number is (+2347084066248 or

    0112347084066248).The house will be available for rent for a period of 4

    years so you have a choice of deciding how long you intend staying there…

    God Bless,

    Andre Ulla.

    This one is right out of the Nigerian handbook. Warsaw, Nigeria, Christian missionary, all the usual red flags.

    I wonder if scam rental ads outnumber the real ones yet on craigslist.

  • #31 in Nebraska

    Safe Haven: Miami Boy Is State’s 31st:

    Nebraska’s 31st safe haven drop off was recorded yesterday. This time it was an 11-year-old boy from Miami, Florida. It seems like that the local Nebraska media are so fed up with these stories they’re barely reporting on them.

    I don’t know how the DSD* traveled to drop his son off but if he went by car he would be the new distance record holder since Miami to Omaha is 1600+ miles.

    Will there be any more before tomorrow’s emergency meeting by the Nebraska Legislature?

    (*Defective Sperm Donor)

  • Zarate can use insanity defense

    Judge rules accused killer Jonathan Zarate can use insanity defense:

    Superior Court Judge Salem Ahto ruled today that Jonathan Zarate’s attorney can, in fact, use the diminished capacity defense in his trial for the murder of Jennifer Parks.

    I was angry about this when I first read the headline but as I read the article and the ensuing comments I began to calm down and realized what this really means.

    If Zarate was convicted without the diminished capacity defense it would have been left way open for appeal.

    It also means that the prosecution can present the evidence that in their opinion that Zarate was faking his ‘mental illness’.

  • More on the Dillard High shooting

    Updates in the shooting death of Dillard High Student Amanda Collette.

    The suspect has been named and she is 15-year-old Teah Wimberly. She has been charged with first-degree murder.

    After the shooting Wimberly walked across the street to a restaurant and told police she had just shot her friend. Also, a witness stated he saw the pair arguing when Wimberly pulled out a gun and shot Amanda.

    Wimberly is being held for 21 days to undergo a psych eval.

    Most of the reports say that prosecutors are leaning towards charging Wimberly as an adult.

    The motive behind the attack may have been a falling out between the two. Wimberly allegedly brought the gun to school so Amanda would know what it’s like “to feel pain”.

  • Baby dumped in Charlotte McDonalds

    UPDATE: Baby Left In SW Charlotte McDonald’s Restroom:

    I love it when local stories make the national news and by love it I mean not really.

    Anyway, an hours-old newborn was abandoned in a McDonald’s restroom in Charlotte, NC today.

    A man took the infant into the women’s restroom and ran out of the building. A customer found the baby. The baby was rushed to the hospital, examined and was found to be healthy.

    What’s the problem you ask? Doesn’t North Carolina have safe haven laws? Why yes, yes we do. The baby can be up to seven days old but must be left with a responsible adult. A McDonald’s restroom is not a responsible adult.

    I wonder if the man was on his way to a responsible adult only to freak out at the prospect. Either way, police are saying that the mother could face charges.

    Which leads to another issue. State safe haven laws are too confusing from state to state. In some states, a police station is a safe haven. In some states, it isn’t.

    There needs to be a federal safe haven law.

  • Giovanni Gonzalez

    Ernesto and Giovanni Gonzalez
    Ernesto and Giovanni Gonzalez

    Missing Boy’s Mom Pleads For His Release:

    I posted this story before but it needs to be repeated.

    A child has gone missing and the child’s fate is unknown. A parent sits in jail refusing to give any information. Sounds familiar doesn’t it? Except this story hardly receives any media attention outside of its local area.

    5-year-old Giovanni Gonzalez of Lynn, Mass. went missing three months ago. Giovanni spent a weekend with his father, Ernesto Gonzalez, but when the weekend was over Giovanni’s mother went to pick him up but he was not there.

    Ernesto Gonzalez now sits in jail and claims to have no knowledge of what happened to his son.

    But since there are no obnoxious grandmothers or glory seeking bounty hunters or amorous attorneys it gets little play in the national media.

    The more people who see his picture the closer he is to coming home.

  • Dillard High School shooting leaves one dead

    Student Killed In Shooting At Dillard HS:

    15-year-old Amanda Collette of Dillard High School in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida was found unconscious in the school’s hallway. She had been shot and rushed to the hospital where unfortunately she did not survive.

    Police received a call from a seafood take out place that said there was a girl there that might have shot somebody. When police arrived they arrested a 15-year-old girl and seized a handgun.

    No motive has been discussed as of yet but police say this was an isolated incident between the victim and suspect.

    More on this as details become available and as time allows.

    Thanks to Bonnie for the tip.

  • Golden’s deposition to remain sealed for now

    Judge: Keep data secret on gunman:

    A judge has ruled that information pertaining to Andrew Golden’s deposition will remain secret until the civil trial has come to an end.

    Golden was one of the Jonesboro gunmen and is named as a defendant in a wrongful death suit.

    Since his release from prison, Golden has stayed out of the public eye, unlike his cohort Mitchell Johnson. Golden has since changed his name and attends school.

    A lawyer has argued that Golden’s information should be made public so people could be informed if a mass murderer is living in their neighborhood.

    While I think that both Johnson and Golden should be serving at least a life sentence for those that killed at Jonesboro the law it was it is and it seems that Golden has made the best of his second chance.

    Granted that his victims don’t have the luxury of a second chance but if you chase him down with ‘pitchforks and torches’ then don’t the villagers become the monster?

  • craigslist gets BBB’s lowest rating

    Craigslist tops BBB warning list:

    One of the Indiana chapters of the Better Business Bureau just gave a ratings smackdown to our favorite online classifieds.

    “Craigslist has the BBB’s lowest rating, because they are not responding, not taking care of their customers,” said BBB President Linda Carmondy.

    The site has set it up to protect their interests, but not necessarily the customers.

    I get a lot of e-mails where people say they contacted craigslist about their issue and never heard back. That’s more of the rule than the exception.

    Eventually, craigslist will degenerate into nothing but blithering idiots posting in the rants and raves section, stolen merchandise, and of course prostitution. If craigslist doesn’t do anything to correct the problems they may not have any legitimate users in the future.