Ha ha ha, ah come on, it was too funny. And besides, my daughter has nails like this but has not lost one. None of the daycare parents wear these nails. Nobody I knows wears these nails. Maybe it was someone trying to get into a car?
Sunday, August 24, 2008
New Evidence
This afternoon as I was about to get into my car I noticed something weird on the concrete below my driver's door. Since my car was parked where Sarah's was at the time of the last break-in, I told her to quick call that detective she's been talking to. Tell him that the short skinny boy who broke into her car was wearing this. . . . .
Ha ha ha, ah come on, it was too funny. And besides, my daughter has nails like this but has not lost one. None of the daycare parents wear these nails. Nobody I knows wears these nails. Maybe it was someone trying to get into a car?
Ha ha ha, ah come on, it was too funny. And besides, my daughter has nails like this but has not lost one. None of the daycare parents wear these nails. Nobody I knows wears these nails. Maybe it was someone trying to get into a car?
More Punk Head Kids
"Not again!" I thought as Sarah came running in the house, grabbed her phone, and fumbled to get it open in a hurry running back out the door.
Sarah, the boys, and I spent most of Friday evening shopping in Huntsville. We got home around 10:15, dragged our loot in the house and Sarah went back outside to smoke. The glass door had hardly shut when she stumbled back in grabbing her phone. I walked outside to see what had happened and found Sarah, once again, on the phone with the police. At the same time I noticed in the middle of the street, about five houses down, were three teenagers, likely one girl and two guys. The girl was screaming put me down in a silly I-don't-really-mean-it, no doesn't really mean no, way.
When Sarah got off the phone she explained that when she walked out she saw the three amigos walking towards the Terry's yard directly across the street from us. They separated and each lifted the handle of three of the four cars parked in the yard and then came back together at the street and walked on. The Terry's front door being wide open and the porch light and flower bed runway lights brightly lighting the front yard did not discourage these meatheads. They weren't very stealthy, hell, they weren't very quiet. The only way I noticed them at all was that they were making enough noise at 10:45pm to wake up any children sleeping in the houses down the block.
The punk head kids (and I very quickly explained to my precious 3 month old grandson whom I was carrying at the time, that there was a difference between punk head and punkin) got almost to the Spring intersection before turning around and waltzing right back this way. They didn't seem in any hurry, just lolligagging down the middle of the street. Now I could see that the girl spent most of the time slung over one of the boy's shoulders, thus the yelling. She liked it. We are now standing in our front yard with the porch light's 100 watt bulb attracting the attention of every moth and potato bug in a 2000 foot radius but seemingly escaping the attention of the notorious trio of trespassers.
A man we recognized only as the Terry's friend came outside to his car. Sarah went over to tell him to let Mr. Terry know what was going on. A minute later Mr. Terry came out and Sarah filled him in. He immediately got in his car and drove down Clearview but by now the kids were out of sight.
A few minutes later, some 15-20 minutes after Sarah called 911 with a crime in progress report, the officer pulled up and Sarah went to the street to show him where he suspects were last seen but he put his hand up to shut her up. He was on the phone when he arrived and I hope it was an important conversation because it took him a couple of minutes to complete before he was willing to listen to Sarah. By this time the rats have disappeared into the night not to be found.
Mrs. Terry had called the police as soon as she learned of the mischief. SHe requested the officer return to make a police report. Mr. and Mrs. Terry and Sarah sat on their porch for another hour waiting but the officer never showed up. What? That's not good. I'm back to looking into razor blades under the door handles as a solution to this problem. I'm also looking into surveilance equipment. I want a picture of the bloody fingers.
Sarah, the boys, and I spent most of Friday evening shopping in Huntsville. We got home around 10:15, dragged our loot in the house and Sarah went back outside to smoke. The glass door had hardly shut when she stumbled back in grabbing her phone. I walked outside to see what had happened and found Sarah, once again, on the phone with the police. At the same time I noticed in the middle of the street, about five houses down, were three teenagers, likely one girl and two guys. The girl was screaming put me down in a silly I-don't-really-mean-it, no doesn't really mean no, way.
When Sarah got off the phone she explained that when she walked out she saw the three amigos walking towards the Terry's yard directly across the street from us. They separated and each lifted the handle of three of the four cars parked in the yard and then came back together at the street and walked on. The Terry's front door being wide open and the porch light and flower bed runway lights brightly lighting the front yard did not discourage these meatheads. They weren't very stealthy, hell, they weren't very quiet. The only way I noticed them at all was that they were making enough noise at 10:45pm to wake up any children sleeping in the houses down the block.
The punk head kids (and I very quickly explained to my precious 3 month old grandson whom I was carrying at the time, that there was a difference between punk head and punkin) got almost to the Spring intersection before turning around and waltzing right back this way. They didn't seem in any hurry, just lolligagging down the middle of the street. Now I could see that the girl spent most of the time slung over one of the boy's shoulders, thus the yelling. She liked it. We are now standing in our front yard with the porch light's 100 watt bulb attracting the attention of every moth and potato bug in a 2000 foot radius but seemingly escaping the attention of the notorious trio of trespassers.
A man we recognized only as the Terry's friend came outside to his car. Sarah went over to tell him to let Mr. Terry know what was going on. A minute later Mr. Terry came out and Sarah filled him in. He immediately got in his car and drove down Clearview but by now the kids were out of sight.
A few minutes later, some 15-20 minutes after Sarah called 911 with a crime in progress report, the officer pulled up and Sarah went to the street to show him where he suspects were last seen but he put his hand up to shut her up. He was on the phone when he arrived and I hope it was an important conversation because it took him a couple of minutes to complete before he was willing to listen to Sarah. By this time the rats have disappeared into the night not to be found.
Mrs. Terry had called the police as soon as she learned of the mischief. SHe requested the officer return to make a police report. Mr. and Mrs. Terry and Sarah sat on their porch for another hour waiting but the officer never showed up. What? That's not good. I'm back to looking into razor blades under the door handles as a solution to this problem. I'm also looking into surveilance equipment. I want a picture of the bloody fingers.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
On car break-ins
For the last four years my daughter's (Sarah) cars have been targets of mischief. In 2004, her senior year of high school, Sarah drove an old '95 green Grand Am. This car was broken into that fall and many CD's and forty dollars in cash was stolen. I think we made a police report even though I told her she should no better than to leave it unlocked. Didn't matter. With in the next two months it was broken into two more times and the handle completely ripped off each time. Again CD's and cash was taken and police reports were made. Since then she has bought a new car, moved to an apartment here in town and then moved to Kentucky but when her car spends the night in the driveway it gets broken into frequently. She resolved to keep nothing in her car more valuable than her door handle and began leaving it unlocked so that it would at least be undamaged. She slipped up a few times and left some CD's and a cell phone charger in it and sure enough they turned up missing. I convinced her to start locking her car again since the Suzuki has full coverage and we can get the handle replaced if something happens to it. So she did.
Now we've had our suspicions of who might be doing this. There are two little thugletts that live two doors down, in the house on the other side of the bad dog people. The older of the two is maybe twenty three, the younger is seventeen now. The younger, Mitchell, is friends with the bad dog people, I'm guessing someone is supplying someone else with something. But we've just had suspicions, no proof. In March of 2007 I watched as Mitchell and three thuggy friends broke a car window. I reported it to the police as I was following them down the ditch behind my house giving a description of what the were wearing. And they were all four caught. This kid is bad. His brother's name appears in the paper once in a while on drug related matters. Bad boy. These neighbors gotta go too!
Sarah's car was broke into again Friday night and we found that we have a sort of witness. Saturday morning I was up early getting ready to go to the Georgia Aquarium with my grandson, Warren, friends Twyla, Kevin, and Jonathan. I was dressing in the living room and looking out the window when I noticed a light reflecting off of Sarah's windshield in the driveway. We don't have street lights anywhere near so I knew that wasn't it. I walked outside to get my car seat and the stroller out and ready to put in Twyla's car and noticed that the light was coming from inside Sarah's car. I lifted the handle and found that it wasn't even latched. That's the way the perp has been leaving it. I guess so he doesn't make a noise shutting the door. On the driver seat was Sarah's CD case, opened. I woke Sarah up and asked if she had gone outside to look for a CD but of course she had not. The little thief was at it again. The one night Sarah forgets to lock her doors it happens again. While I was still standing in the driveway I noticed that my neighbor across the street's car door was opened too. I walked across the street to shut it so that he wouldn't wake up the next morning with a dead battery. Before I left for Atlanta I told Sarah to be sure and tell Mr. Terry that I shut his door. I didn't want to be accused of anything.
Later Saturday Mr. Terry and Sarah made police reports. Apparently the Terry's have had many break-ins as well. They've had CD's and Cell phones and such stolen too. The police officer informed them that this was common in the neighborhood. I didn't like that. He also said that there have been a few daytime house break-ins recently even with people home. Not good.
On Sunday my neighbor on the other side mentioned to my husband that he had come home late (like 2:30am) from work and was sitting in his carport smoking when a skinny white boy with dark, very short cut hair walked past him right up against his house past my house then into Michell's house. Sarah picked up her police report Monday and mentioned to the reports people that she had a possible witness. A detective tried to get in touch with her Wednesday and left a voice mail. He said, "I understand you have a suspect named Wellingham and by that do you mean Mitchell?" Apparently he's know.
Today I was feeding Parker on the couch in the bay window and noticed a boy in a red shirt walk towards Michell's door. The guy fit the description perfectly so I got up and took a picture of his car. I only got a view of the front so I called Sarah and asked her to hurry home so she could get the license plate. She did. A minute later the boy was out of the house again. I grabbed the camera but by then only got a picture of his backside. It's a start. We know what he's driving now. We'll get him!
Now we've had our suspicions of who might be doing this. There are two little thugletts that live two doors down, in the house on the other side of the bad dog people. The older of the two is maybe twenty three, the younger is seventeen now. The younger, Mitchell, is friends with the bad dog people, I'm guessing someone is supplying someone else with something. But we've just had suspicions, no proof. In March of 2007 I watched as Mitchell and three thuggy friends broke a car window. I reported it to the police as I was following them down the ditch behind my house giving a description of what the were wearing. And they were all four caught. This kid is bad. His brother's name appears in the paper once in a while on drug related matters. Bad boy. These neighbors gotta go too!
Sarah's car was broke into again Friday night and we found that we have a sort of witness. Saturday morning I was up early getting ready to go to the Georgia Aquarium with my grandson, Warren, friends Twyla, Kevin, and Jonathan. I was dressing in the living room and looking out the window when I noticed a light reflecting off of Sarah's windshield in the driveway. We don't have street lights anywhere near so I knew that wasn't it. I walked outside to get my car seat and the stroller out and ready to put in Twyla's car and noticed that the light was coming from inside Sarah's car. I lifted the handle and found that it wasn't even latched. That's the way the perp has been leaving it. I guess so he doesn't make a noise shutting the door. On the driver seat was Sarah's CD case, opened. I woke Sarah up and asked if she had gone outside to look for a CD but of course she had not. The little thief was at it again. The one night Sarah forgets to lock her doors it happens again. While I was still standing in the driveway I noticed that my neighbor across the street's car door was opened too. I walked across the street to shut it so that he wouldn't wake up the next morning with a dead battery. Before I left for Atlanta I told Sarah to be sure and tell Mr. Terry that I shut his door. I didn't want to be accused of anything.
Later Saturday Mr. Terry and Sarah made police reports. Apparently the Terry's have had many break-ins as well. They've had CD's and Cell phones and such stolen too. The police officer informed them that this was common in the neighborhood. I didn't like that. He also said that there have been a few daytime house break-ins recently even with people home. Not good.
On Sunday my neighbor on the other side mentioned to my husband that he had come home late (like 2:30am) from work and was sitting in his carport smoking when a skinny white boy with dark, very short cut hair walked past him right up against his house past my house then into Michell's house. Sarah picked up her police report Monday and mentioned to the reports people that she had a possible witness. A detective tried to get in touch with her Wednesday and left a voice mail. He said, "I understand you have a suspect named Wellingham and by that do you mean Mitchell?" Apparently he's know.
Today I was feeding Parker on the couch in the bay window and noticed a boy in a red shirt walk towards Michell's door. The guy fit the description perfectly so I got up and took a picture of his car. I only got a view of the front so I called Sarah and asked her to hurry home so she could get the license plate. She did. A minute later the boy was out of the house again. I grabbed the camera but by then only got a picture of his backside. It's a start. We know what he's driving now. We'll get him!
Monday, August 18, 2008
Saturday morning we got up really early to go visit the Georgia Aquarium. My friend Twyla picked Warren and me up at 5:00 in the morning so that we could go to Green Pond (a little west of Birmingham) and picked up Kevin and then on to Aniston to pick up her nephew, Jonathan, to go Atlanta. We left home without directions so Twyla called her brother-in-law and asked him to look up directions on the internet. As she talked and drove I scribbled directions. We got lost any way. For forty five minutes with circled downtown Atlanta with no idea where we were. We called Laura and she looked up directions and tried to locate where we were by the street names I gave. We asked a guy trimming bushes at a gas station, we asked some young adults walking down the street, finally we asked a police officer standing on the corner. We made it! The place was crowded but it was a lot of fun. We watched a 4-D movie. Warren loved the bubbles and rain. I can't post pictures because I didn't take very many. I walked most of the place over with my purse on one shoulder, the stroller hanging by its strap on my other, as I hoisted the nearly three-year-old up as high as I could so he could see over the crowd. We'll have to go back another time when it isn't so craoded.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Blah Blah Blah Blog
I really need to catch up here. It's been a busy few weeks for me. I have had four children to leave my daycare and go to school and in their place I have taken on three infants. I must have been out of my mind! Individually they are all charming little tykes. Together with the other two one-year-olds they are making me crazy! I expect in the next few weeks things will settle into a routine of some sort.
In the mean time, I never finished the dog story. After the last session in court the animal shelter was to collect the dog named tracker (again). This time they found the dog and picked her up with no trouble. No trouble except for the condition she was found in. The dog was all skin and bones like she had been starved to death. She had had puppies just long enough previously to have been weened and sold. I imagine that's why they dragged this case out so long, so they could collect the money for the puppies. Speculation is that they tried to let the dog starve to death thinking that if the dog died the judge would suspend sentencing on Shameka as he did with Nick. I predict someone else is going to be arrested over animal cruelty in the near future.
Tuesday, August 5th was the last day Shameka could file an appeal and it appeared she did not. Friday, August 8th was the day she was to begin serving her 30 days. But she didn't. That Monday, the 4th, The girls and I went to Walmart right at 5:30 to pick up a few groceries and other things we probably didn't need. While we were there, Rick came home from work and the neighbor started threatening him. The threats were something like, "If you ever come in this yard again I'm going to kill you." A little later hubby was out adjusting the sprinkler in the front yard while Nick was mowing his. As Nick walked past he yelled over the mower motor, "I ought to just burn your house down. " Rick called me, asked where I was, and if the girls were with me. He then warned me to be alert when we pulled in the driveway because the neighbor was kind of hot.
When I got home I encouraged Rick to make a police report. We called the police and talked to an officer I didn't know and I was standing sort of behind and to the side so I couldn't read his badge. Rick told him we just wanted a police report on file. He told us that a police report was a waste of time if we weren't going to have him arrested. We thought a minute. It was one man's word against another's and if we couldn't put him in jail we didn't really want to piss him off further. We are genuinely afraid of this guy. We do believe him to be quite capable of big stupidity and we have our two little boys to protect.The officer did offer to go over and talk to Nick. Nick was out in the yard by this time having seen the police car across the street and knowing it was about him I'm sure. The officer walked over there and Nick began yelling. We stood on the front porch but could not understand what Nick was saying. Then Sarah, who had been sitting out back on the deck, came out the door reporting that Nick was yelling, "Nobody over here saying anything they are always calling the cops on us for no reason, blah blah blah. . . " And the officer left.
Friday we watched for Shameka to leave for her 30 day stay. In fact we didn't see her until the next Wednesday and thought she was in jail the whole time. But she was not. Seems she filed paperwork to serve on weekends and it hadn't been filed yet or some such malarkey. She was to come back the following Friday.
In the mean time, I never finished the dog story. After the last session in court the animal shelter was to collect the dog named tracker (again). This time they found the dog and picked her up with no trouble. No trouble except for the condition she was found in. The dog was all skin and bones like she had been starved to death. She had had puppies just long enough previously to have been weened and sold. I imagine that's why they dragged this case out so long, so they could collect the money for the puppies. Speculation is that they tried to let the dog starve to death thinking that if the dog died the judge would suspend sentencing on Shameka as he did with Nick. I predict someone else is going to be arrested over animal cruelty in the near future.
Tuesday, August 5th was the last day Shameka could file an appeal and it appeared she did not. Friday, August 8th was the day she was to begin serving her 30 days. But she didn't. That Monday, the 4th, The girls and I went to Walmart right at 5:30 to pick up a few groceries and other things we probably didn't need. While we were there, Rick came home from work and the neighbor started threatening him. The threats were something like, "If you ever come in this yard again I'm going to kill you." A little later hubby was out adjusting the sprinkler in the front yard while Nick was mowing his. As Nick walked past he yelled over the mower motor, "I ought to just burn your house down. " Rick called me, asked where I was, and if the girls were with me. He then warned me to be alert when we pulled in the driveway because the neighbor was kind of hot.
When I got home I encouraged Rick to make a police report. We called the police and talked to an officer I didn't know and I was standing sort of behind and to the side so I couldn't read his badge. Rick told him we just wanted a police report on file. He told us that a police report was a waste of time if we weren't going to have him arrested. We thought a minute. It was one man's word against another's and if we couldn't put him in jail we didn't really want to piss him off further. We are genuinely afraid of this guy. We do believe him to be quite capable of big stupidity and we have our two little boys to protect.The officer did offer to go over and talk to Nick. Nick was out in the yard by this time having seen the police car across the street and knowing it was about him I'm sure. The officer walked over there and Nick began yelling. We stood on the front porch but could not understand what Nick was saying. Then Sarah, who had been sitting out back on the deck, came out the door reporting that Nick was yelling, "Nobody over here saying anything they are always calling the cops on us for no reason, blah blah blah. . . " And the officer left.
Friday we watched for Shameka to leave for her 30 day stay. In fact we didn't see her until the next Wednesday and thought she was in jail the whole time. But she was not. Seems she filed paperwork to serve on weekends and it hadn't been filed yet or some such malarkey. She was to come back the following Friday.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Slam Dunk!
Oh gosh court today was way too easy! Especially after last week's what-the-hell-was-that experience in court.
Last week I thought the case against Nick (who now admits he resides at 911 C. Street after denying it for so long) was reopened because he had violated the January 15th settlement by having dogs on his property. I studied my notes (i.e. read my blog over a few times) and was prepared to testify about the dogs on the property after January 15th. I even brought pictures of the dogs labeled with the dates that I took them. By the way, this is a no no in court. Witnesses don't peek down at notes that haven't been entered as evidence while testifying. Ahem, anyway, I was actually questioned on the events of September 7th, 2007 and before my mind could change gears I found myself describing the wrong dog. When I caught myself I turned around to Tylerann and said, "Oh, it's the dead dog -- Bamboo." But it was too late. The defense attorney shut me up right then. She tried to have the case dismissed because we couldn't agree on what the dog looked like. As it turned out, the judge got the right idea. He stated that it looked to him that we were describing multiple incidents with multiple dogs running loose. He was right. The outcome was that Nick was found guilty but the judge suspended sentencing because the dog was supposedly dead. "Poisoned or something," he claimed. The judge warned that if that dog should turn up in the next 12 months, perjury would be a consideration and jail likely.
Before the trial actually began, Lynne took T and me aside and told us the deal she was trying to work out with Shirley's attorney. Part of the settlement would state that there would never be dogs at that address as long as they were living there. I asked, "And if they move?" Lynne said they didn't have any jurisdiction over that. I said so it would be simple if they just moved. I vote we settle on them agreeing to that. Then they wont be bothering me and they can have dogs if they choose. A win win situation!
There had been some skirmish in the back with Mrs. Shirley. Her attorney then came forward and asked the judge about Kennedy's case. Apparently Shirley thought that her husband's case (she's now claiming him as her husband) had been dismissed. I guess the judge not imposing punishment gave her that impression. She's no virgin to the court system. The judge corrected her and explained that he was reserving the right to sentencing at a later date if that dog showed back up. Shirley was expecting to get the same but that did not happen.
He didn't send the witnesses outside this time. I guess he figured we had all been there several times before and that he was going to hear much the same thing anyway. The animal control officer, Lynne, started off with a brief description of why we were there and then started pouring out the pictures. The defense attorney objected and asked that they be properly entered into evidence individually. This was probably not a good thing for the defense it turns out because Lynne handed each picture to the judge and with each one described why the picture was taken and what it was to represent. Each picture showed the brown and white dog on my lawn or in my driveway. The city attorney asked T if that was the dog, she said uh huh. He asked me if that was the dog, if that was my yard, if I took the pictures. I answered each time with the same uh huh and that was it.
The defense attorney didn't even cross examine either of us.
Lynne went on to remind the judge that Shirley had signed papers in his courtroom May 6th, 2007 surrendering two dogs to the city. There was no problem picking up the little white puppy at the address provided but when the animal control officers arrived on Harrison Street, Kennedy was there. The resident contended that the brown and white dog was his and they couldn't take it with the court order reading that it was Shirley's. Not only that, they had tried dyeing spots on the dog to alter it's appearance and tried to convince animal control that this was the wrong dog. They said that Tracker, the brown and white dog, was a male and this dog here was female. I guess nobody had any evidence as to the sex of the offending dog. I was more concerned about it's teeth, frankly. I am certain that no amount of hair dye is going to change that dogs genitalia (and thank Heaven for that or who knows what mine would look like by now). I remember Lynne coming back to my house that day and asking me to print out the best pictures I had showing off the markings on this dog. The dog had very distinct marks and after viewing the rest of my pictures there was no doubt that this dog was one and the same.
The judge held the pictures like a playing hand to be proud of. I was hoping he would just slap them down and say gin but I didn't think it would happen. Then it happened. Well he didn't say "gin" exactly but he might as well have. He did say that the pictures showed with out a doubt that the city had proven it's case, that specifically being that the dog was running loose on January 29th, 2008 (see my blog on same date).
As Judge Cook began considering consequences, Lynne pulled out the pictures of the dyed dog. The judge reviewed them before looking up at Shirley. He started with, "Ms. Shirley, you've made this a lot more complicated than it need to be. That's why I'm going to sentence you like this." He looked down and started writing as he was talking and I didn't hear every thing. I did hear him rattle on, "court fees will be $470, blah blah blah. . . . .and thirty days. . . . . beginning August 12th, bond set at $500." Then it hit me. She was going to JAIL! Oh gosh! It hadn't occurred to me that there might be jail time with this. I thought a couple hundred dollar fine and that would be it. Oh yeah! She's going to Jail. Turns out her sentence is actually 180 days with 150 suspended, has to serve 30, and two years probation. Of course she gets 14 days to appeal. Don't know if there's much point but she probably will.
While this is still bouncing around in my head it occurs to me that somebody is going to be pissed leaving the courtroom. Then T whispered to the city attorney, "Are we done?" As he nodded T came out of her seat and almost ran out of the courtroom. Either she had to pee really badly or it had crossed her mind to get the hell out of Dodge before Shirley did! I popped up and was out of there and to the steps calling, "Wait for me!" We jumped in my car and headed for somewhere to eat.
My phone was dead so I asked T to call my daughter (who was at home with my grandchildren) and warn her to lock the doors. T called Sarah and said, "She's going to jail."
Sarah screamed back, "Who MOM?"
"No, not your mom, Shameka!"
T and I sat and ate lunch giggling, 'She's going to jail!" one minute and, "Oh hell, they are going to be pissed at us!" the next. We finally ordered lunch for Lynne and took it to her at the animal shelter to thank her for a job well done.
Last week I thought the case against Nick (who now admits he resides at 911 C. Street after denying it for so long) was reopened because he had violated the January 15th settlement by having dogs on his property. I studied my notes (i.e. read my blog over a few times) and was prepared to testify about the dogs on the property after January 15th. I even brought pictures of the dogs labeled with the dates that I took them. By the way, this is a no no in court. Witnesses don't peek down at notes that haven't been entered as evidence while testifying. Ahem, anyway, I was actually questioned on the events of September 7th, 2007 and before my mind could change gears I found myself describing the wrong dog. When I caught myself I turned around to Tylerann and said, "Oh, it's the dead dog -- Bamboo." But it was too late. The defense attorney shut me up right then. She tried to have the case dismissed because we couldn't agree on what the dog looked like. As it turned out, the judge got the right idea. He stated that it looked to him that we were describing multiple incidents with multiple dogs running loose. He was right. The outcome was that Nick was found guilty but the judge suspended sentencing because the dog was supposedly dead. "Poisoned or something," he claimed. The judge warned that if that dog should turn up in the next 12 months, perjury would be a consideration and jail likely.
Before the trial actually began, Lynne took T and me aside and told us the deal she was trying to work out with Shirley's attorney. Part of the settlement would state that there would never be dogs at that address as long as they were living there. I asked, "And if they move?" Lynne said they didn't have any jurisdiction over that. I said so it would be simple if they just moved. I vote we settle on them agreeing to that. Then they wont be bothering me and they can have dogs if they choose. A win win situation!
There had been some skirmish in the back with Mrs. Shirley. Her attorney then came forward and asked the judge about Kennedy's case. Apparently Shirley thought that her husband's case (she's now claiming him as her husband) had been dismissed. I guess the judge not imposing punishment gave her that impression. She's no virgin to the court system. The judge corrected her and explained that he was reserving the right to sentencing at a later date if that dog showed back up. Shirley was expecting to get the same but that did not happen.
He didn't send the witnesses outside this time. I guess he figured we had all been there several times before and that he was going to hear much the same thing anyway. The animal control officer, Lynne, started off with a brief description of why we were there and then started pouring out the pictures. The defense attorney objected and asked that they be properly entered into evidence individually. This was probably not a good thing for the defense it turns out because Lynne handed each picture to the judge and with each one described why the picture was taken and what it was to represent. Each picture showed the brown and white dog on my lawn or in my driveway. The city attorney asked T if that was the dog, she said uh huh. He asked me if that was the dog, if that was my yard, if I took the pictures. I answered each time with the same uh huh and that was it.
The defense attorney didn't even cross examine either of us.
Lynne went on to remind the judge that Shirley had signed papers in his courtroom May 6th, 2007 surrendering two dogs to the city. There was no problem picking up the little white puppy at the address provided but when the animal control officers arrived on Harrison Street, Kennedy was there. The resident contended that the brown and white dog was his and they couldn't take it with the court order reading that it was Shirley's. Not only that, they had tried dyeing spots on the dog to alter it's appearance and tried to convince animal control that this was the wrong dog. They said that Tracker, the brown and white dog, was a male and this dog here was female. I guess nobody had any evidence as to the sex of the offending dog. I was more concerned about it's teeth, frankly. I am certain that no amount of hair dye is going to change that dogs genitalia (and thank Heaven for that or who knows what mine would look like by now). I remember Lynne coming back to my house that day and asking me to print out the best pictures I had showing off the markings on this dog. The dog had very distinct marks and after viewing the rest of my pictures there was no doubt that this dog was one and the same.
The judge held the pictures like a playing hand to be proud of. I was hoping he would just slap them down and say gin but I didn't think it would happen. Then it happened. Well he didn't say "gin" exactly but he might as well have. He did say that the pictures showed with out a doubt that the city had proven it's case, that specifically being that the dog was running loose on January 29th, 2008 (see my blog on same date).
As Judge Cook began considering consequences, Lynne pulled out the pictures of the dyed dog. The judge reviewed them before looking up at Shirley. He started with, "Ms. Shirley, you've made this a lot more complicated than it need to be. That's why I'm going to sentence you like this." He looked down and started writing as he was talking and I didn't hear every thing. I did hear him rattle on, "court fees will be $470, blah blah blah. . . . .and thirty days. . . . . beginning August 12th, bond set at $500." Then it hit me. She was going to JAIL! Oh gosh! It hadn't occurred to me that there might be jail time with this. I thought a couple hundred dollar fine and that would be it. Oh yeah! She's going to Jail. Turns out her sentence is actually 180 days with 150 suspended, has to serve 30, and two years probation. Of course she gets 14 days to appeal. Don't know if there's much point but she probably will.
While this is still bouncing around in my head it occurs to me that somebody is going to be pissed leaving the courtroom. Then T whispered to the city attorney, "Are we done?" As he nodded T came out of her seat and almost ran out of the courtroom. Either she had to pee really badly or it had crossed her mind to get the hell out of Dodge before Shirley did! I popped up and was out of there and to the steps calling, "Wait for me!" We jumped in my car and headed for somewhere to eat.
My phone was dead so I asked T to call my daughter (who was at home with my grandchildren) and warn her to lock the doors. T called Sarah and said, "She's going to jail."
Sarah screamed back, "Who MOM?"
"No, not your mom, Shameka!"
T and I sat and ate lunch giggling, 'She's going to jail!" one minute and, "Oh hell, they are going to be pissed at us!" the next. We finally ordered lunch for Lynne and took it to her at the animal shelter to thank her for a job well done.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Demdamneighbors
Saturday morning the girls and I met at Panera Bread for brunch on their way out of town to go mow grass in Kentucky. My job for the weekend was to finish painting the hallway and to repaint one wall in the living room. I wanted to make it an accent wall, two shades darker than what I just painted it. I was unhappy with the way the red elephant picture looked. All afternoon Saturday I painted until I ran out of the trim color.
I pulled a bottle of wine out of the fridge and a couple of wine glasses and walked around the yard to find Rick. We sat on the porch talking until the bottle was empty. Seems he had an encounter with Nick the nuisance next door.
Rick spent the better part of the day spraying sealer on the deck and privacy fence. While he was standing in Nick's yard spraying the outside, Nick was talking to the little juvenile delinquent who lives on the other side of him. While staring Rick in the eye, Nick told Mitchell, "I ought to go in and get my gun and shoot that bitch for draggin' me into court all the time." Then when no reaction, "I'll shoot her husband too. He probably don't even know what's going on." Rick just finished the fence and moved on.
I think the point of this was to entice Rick into a confrontation of some sort. I told Rick he ought to make a police report. Rick said he's thinking about calling Mr. S. The landlord and telling him the dude's gotta go!
Did you read that Tylerann? I know you said that Nick made some sort of attempt at an apology last week but it's not genuine. I had a hard time thinking it might have been. Don't go getting to chummy.
Oh yeah, the wall I repainted turned out lovely. I think the new color is the color I wanted all along. Maybe I'll get a wild hair and repaint the other walls.
I pulled a bottle of wine out of the fridge and a couple of wine glasses and walked around the yard to find Rick. We sat on the porch talking until the bottle was empty. Seems he had an encounter with Nick the nuisance next door.
Rick spent the better part of the day spraying sealer on the deck and privacy fence. While he was standing in Nick's yard spraying the outside, Nick was talking to the little juvenile delinquent who lives on the other side of him. While staring Rick in the eye, Nick told Mitchell, "I ought to go in and get my gun and shoot that bitch for draggin' me into court all the time." Then when no reaction, "I'll shoot her husband too. He probably don't even know what's going on." Rick just finished the fence and moved on.
I think the point of this was to entice Rick into a confrontation of some sort. I told Rick he ought to make a police report. Rick said he's thinking about calling Mr. S. The landlord and telling him the dude's gotta go!
Did you read that Tylerann? I know you said that Nick made some sort of attempt at an apology last week but it's not genuine. I had a hard time thinking it might have been. Don't go getting to chummy.
Oh yeah, the wall I repainted turned out lovely. I think the new color is the color I wanted all along. Maybe I'll get a wild hair and repaint the other walls.
Saturday, July 05, 2008
Painting again!
I set aside this fourth of July weekend as time to paint the living room. I've had paint samples taped to my walls for over six months and I've finally chosen a green called Dusted Bronze. It's a shade darker than my bedroom and the same color I am to paint the kitchen sometime soon.
Friday I started clearing the outdated shelves and junk off my walls. I'm keeping the Alabama prints but not much of anything else. I've ordered some black floating shelves either for the living room or the kitchen (or both).
I took a break in the afternoon to go see WALL-E with the kids and grands. About fifteen minutes into the movie Sarah complained that her back hurt and she couldn't move. I helped her to the lobby and called her grandfather to come take her to the emergency room while I stayed with Laura and the boys.
I'm not really sure what the movie was about. I couldn't pay attention . I just wished it would hurry up and get over so I could go and tend to Sarah. I met her at the hospital and waited for a doctor to see her. He thought she just had a muscle spasm or something. Gave her some happy shots and prescriptions for happy pills and sent us on our way. Later we laughed that it might have been caused by the back bend she did at the house that morning to prove to Laura she could. No more back bends!
Saturday I got serious with the painting and Sunday I almost finished.
It sure is much brighter than that "otter tail" brown I had in here. The carpet looks dirtier and I had to lower the wattage of the bulbs in the lamps.
Friday I started clearing the outdated shelves and junk off my walls. I'm keeping the Alabama prints but not much of anything else. I've ordered some black floating shelves either for the living room or the kitchen (or both).
I took a break in the afternoon to go see WALL-E with the kids and grands. About fifteen minutes into the movie Sarah complained that her back hurt and she couldn't move. I helped her to the lobby and called her grandfather to come take her to the emergency room while I stayed with Laura and the boys.
I'm not really sure what the movie was about. I couldn't pay attention . I just wished it would hurry up and get over so I could go and tend to Sarah. I met her at the hospital and waited for a doctor to see her. He thought she just had a muscle spasm or something. Gave her some happy shots and prescriptions for happy pills and sent us on our way. Later we laughed that it might have been caused by the back bend she did at the house that morning to prove to Laura she could. No more back bends!
Saturday I got serious with the painting and Sunday I almost finished.
It sure is much brighter than that "otter tail" brown I had in here. The carpet looks dirtier and I had to lower the wattage of the bulbs in the lamps.
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Family Reunion!
We held another Holley Family reunion in Pine Mountain Georgia. It was a neat place. There was nothing for miles around. Nowhere to eat, nowhere to shop, nowhere to anything but visit with family. I take that back. There was a botanical garden and a the Wild Animal Safari. We had to go to see the animals.
We rented one the the zoo's own vehicles, broken down mini vans with bars for windows. The sign advertised that it was cheaper than a good car wash and would avoid damage to one's own vehicle. It turned out to be a good idea. We had a buffalo to rock the van we were in. My little Escape would not have liked such treatment. There was a little red Toyota behind us. Ha ha just like waving a drape at a bull!
The spare tire cover on the rather new Jeep ahead of us reads, "Only in a Jeep".
Warren really enjoyed it.
We observed a lot of tongues but avoided getting licked.
NOTE: If you are into this sort of thing you can click on the picture to magnify it.
Laura sat in the front passenger seat to get good pictures. As she was leaning over Rick to take a picture out the driver's side, somebody was poking their nose in her window -- and their tongue.
You should have heard her scream.
We rented one the the zoo's own vehicles, broken down mini vans with bars for windows. The sign advertised that it was cheaper than a good car wash and would avoid damage to one's own vehicle. It turned out to be a good idea. We had a buffalo to rock the van we were in. My little Escape would not have liked such treatment. There was a little red Toyota behind us. Ha ha just like waving a drape at a bull!
The spare tire cover on the rather new Jeep ahead of us reads, "Only in a Jeep". 
Warren really enjoyed it.
We observed a lot of tongues but avoided getting licked.NOTE: If you are into this sort of thing you can click on the picture to magnify it.
Laura sat in the front passenger seat to get good pictures. As she was leaning over Rick to take a picture out the driver's side, somebody was poking their nose in her window -- and their tongue.
You should have heard her scream.Sunday, June 22, 2008
Mother's 80th birthday
Hi, I'm back. It's been a busy summer so far. In June, we celebrated my wonderful mother's 80th birthday. My brother and sister got together and decorated the clubhouse in my parents' neighborhood and invited forty or so of their closest friends. My sister did most of the food. She's just good at all that.
My 93 year old aunt came from Birmingham.
I don't know who my dad is making advances on.
We kept the trouble makers all in one spot. There's my father-in-law, my husband, and my two sweet grandsons Warren and Parker.
Here's the whole bunch of us.
My 93 year old aunt came from Birmingham.
I don't know who my dad is making advances on.
We kept the trouble makers all in one spot. There's my father-in-law, my husband, and my two sweet grandsons Warren and Parker.
Here's the whole bunch of us.Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Lot's of Arms to Hold and Love
Puppa
Aarika
Katie
Courtney
Brittany
Parker and Warren
Mommy, Parker, and Warren
Auntie Laura
Auntie Krystal
He's so handsome!
Sweet Family
Nini Loves the BabyTuesday, May 20, 2008
No Court
I received a phone call yesterday afternoon informing me that court would be continued because a witness could be present for the May 20th date. Oh well. Let you know how that goes whenever it is rescheduled.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
OMG!
My neighbor two doors down has had a junk collection in his front yard since before we moved here 17 years ago. In all that time the neighborhood has beat up the city about making this guy clean up. I don't know if he finally grew a wild hair and decided to clean up his lot or what but he had all the cars removed last weekend. It's amazing! I wish I had a before pic, wait, there was one in the Decatur Daily, wonder if I can retrieve it. No, can't get the picture. We did have a duck to spend the day in our neighbors yard Sunday and I was taking pictures of it. Perhaps you can see the junk before and after.
All these cars have been collecting for decades!
See! No cars beyond the basketball goal! It's amazing.
All these cars have been collecting for decades!
See! No cars beyond the basketball goal! It's amazing.There must be a city council meeting this week.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Why these women so stupid?
In court this past Tuesday no settlement could be reached. We come to a settlement all agree to and the minute we leave the courthouse it's breached. The judge even sounded like he was fresh out of patience and tired of playing games.
After the last session Shamika was to give up the addresses of the dogs. She wouldn't give up the address where Tracker was kept even after animal control officers told her where he was. This week she still claimed they are not her dogs and doesn't know where Tracker is.
This weeks problem sits around why Shamika is still being dragged to court when this other guy on Harrison claims Tracker to be his dog. I don't know what happened to the you can't get rid of property involved in a crime thing. I didn't get to sit in on the settling talks in the witness room this time. I had to take one of my toddlers out to have a diaper change before we were held in constench of court.
I could not understand what was being said when the parties stood in front of the judge. A nine percent city tax and our courtroom can't afford microphones. No, it's not The People's Court by a long shot. I did hear the judge repeat over and over that if there are charges that can be brought against the person that has the dog now then that case should be brought before him.
After court we stood just outside the doors talking to M, the animal control officer that was there that day. As Shamika passed us on her way out she cussed and fussed and I heard the B word a couple of times before she hit the first landing of the stairwell and I could hear her no longer. M explained to us that because someone else claims ownership that they have to have a reason to go after that person. Since that dog has caused havoc and chaos in it's new neighborhood that wont be difficult.
Now, this is the crazy part. No matter who the dog owner is, when there's a dog crime, the owner of the property the animal resides on is the one charged with a crime. In this case, the one who signed the lease on the rental property.
Here's the stupid part. I don't know what's so great about these dogs that two women are willing to spend so much time in and out of court, paying fines, and gaining a criminal record. Shamika with her four kids and freeloading boyfriend who is technically "the baby sitter" according to the landlord and doesn't live there according to Section 8 records, is willing to take the crap for Nick's dogs? Lie in court? Pay fines? Stupid.
Now, Nick's cousin has the dog but Dude (I think in a previous post we agreed to refer to him as "Dude on Harrison St.") doesn't legally live there. No, his girlfriend is the only person on the lease at that address. According to animal control, there are animal cruelty issues that they will be bringing against her. Hello! Would I allow my freeloading boyfriend to let his loser cousin dump his dogs on my property causing me trouble with the law, fines, and criminal charges? I would be telling a man to take the dog and an f 'ing hike! At the very least I would call animal control to relieve me of the damn thing (and the dog too if a spare cage was available).
What I found interesting was that the animal control people already checked into whether or not they could prove Nicholas lives on Clearview St. with Shamika. The way this is done is to get mail records. I'm guessing a warrant is needed for this. I'm also guessing they had one. Apparently Nick gets no mail at the Clearview address so legally does not live there. They're pretty good at committing fraud over there. What I'm thinking is how neighborly it would be of me to send him a gift subscription to something like Dog Fancy. Anyone in on that with me?
See you after Tuesday's trial.
After the last session Shamika was to give up the addresses of the dogs. She wouldn't give up the address where Tracker was kept even after animal control officers told her where he was. This week she still claimed they are not her dogs and doesn't know where Tracker is.
This weeks problem sits around why Shamika is still being dragged to court when this other guy on Harrison claims Tracker to be his dog. I don't know what happened to the you can't get rid of property involved in a crime thing. I didn't get to sit in on the settling talks in the witness room this time. I had to take one of my toddlers out to have a diaper change before we were held in constench of court.
I could not understand what was being said when the parties stood in front of the judge. A nine percent city tax and our courtroom can't afford microphones. No, it's not The People's Court by a long shot. I did hear the judge repeat over and over that if there are charges that can be brought against the person that has the dog now then that case should be brought before him.
After court we stood just outside the doors talking to M, the animal control officer that was there that day. As Shamika passed us on her way out she cussed and fussed and I heard the B word a couple of times before she hit the first landing of the stairwell and I could hear her no longer. M explained to us that because someone else claims ownership that they have to have a reason to go after that person. Since that dog has caused havoc and chaos in it's new neighborhood that wont be difficult.
Now, this is the crazy part. No matter who the dog owner is, when there's a dog crime, the owner of the property the animal resides on is the one charged with a crime. In this case, the one who signed the lease on the rental property.
Here's the stupid part. I don't know what's so great about these dogs that two women are willing to spend so much time in and out of court, paying fines, and gaining a criminal record. Shamika with her four kids and freeloading boyfriend who is technically "the baby sitter" according to the landlord and doesn't live there according to Section 8 records, is willing to take the crap for Nick's dogs? Lie in court? Pay fines? Stupid.
Now, Nick's cousin has the dog but Dude (I think in a previous post we agreed to refer to him as "Dude on Harrison St.") doesn't legally live there. No, his girlfriend is the only person on the lease at that address. According to animal control, there are animal cruelty issues that they will be bringing against her. Hello! Would I allow my freeloading boyfriend to let his loser cousin dump his dogs on my property causing me trouble with the law, fines, and criminal charges? I would be telling a man to take the dog and an f 'ing hike! At the very least I would call animal control to relieve me of the damn thing (and the dog too if a spare cage was available).
What I found interesting was that the animal control people already checked into whether or not they could prove Nicholas lives on Clearview St. with Shamika. The way this is done is to get mail records. I'm guessing a warrant is needed for this. I'm also guessing they had one. Apparently Nick gets no mail at the Clearview address so legally does not live there. They're pretty good at committing fraud over there. What I'm thinking is how neighborly it would be of me to send him a gift subscription to something like Dog Fancy. Anyone in on that with me?
See you after Tuesday's trial.
Friday, May 09, 2008
Oh did I get messed up!
Correction!
Ok, I am confused with my players. Let me untangled them now:
Shamika Shirley and Nicholas Kennedy are my foolish, violent, irresponsible dog owner neighbors. They have had four offensive dogs on that property over the past three years. The almost white dog, a big hairy thing I have no idea what breed. Bamboo, who showed his teeth at a daycare parent and an animal control officer on at least one occasion each. Tracker, the brown and white spotted pit bull, and the little white pit pup that we discovered after court January 15th. No dogs, as far as I can see, have resided on the property for a couple of months.
Now here's where I messed up. The dude formerly referred to as "Cousin Chris" and possessing Tracker, is not the man on Harrison St. SE. He's the guy with the white pup and he lives over by the fairgrounds. He is Shamika's brother.
I don't know the name of the dude on Harrison St. so I will here on refer to him as . . . er . . . uhm . . . I don't know, how about Dude on Harrison St. He's the one that claimed that Tracker belonged to his cousin Nick until Animal control came with a court order to pick up Nick's dog and he claimed it was his. My advice to this momo, pick a side of the fence and stick with it or the barbed wire will really rub your nu. . . . I'm sorry, no more Dr. Phil.
I think I've got it right now. See you Tuesday!
Ok, I am confused with my players. Let me untangled them now:
Shamika Shirley and Nicholas Kennedy are my foolish, violent, irresponsible dog owner neighbors. They have had four offensive dogs on that property over the past three years. The almost white dog, a big hairy thing I have no idea what breed. Bamboo, who showed his teeth at a daycare parent and an animal control officer on at least one occasion each. Tracker, the brown and white spotted pit bull, and the little white pit pup that we discovered after court January 15th. No dogs, as far as I can see, have resided on the property for a couple of months.
Now here's where I messed up. The dude formerly referred to as "Cousin Chris" and possessing Tracker, is not the man on Harrison St. SE. He's the guy with the white pup and he lives over by the fairgrounds. He is Shamika's brother.
I don't know the name of the dude on Harrison St. so I will here on refer to him as . . . er . . . uhm . . . I don't know, how about Dude on Harrison St. He's the one that claimed that Tracker belonged to his cousin Nick until Animal control came with a court order to pick up Nick's dog and he claimed it was his. My advice to this momo, pick a side of the fence and stick with it or the barbed wire will really rub your nu. . . . I'm sorry, no more Dr. Phil.
I think I've got it right now. See you Tuesday!
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Ugh!
I just checked my mail and I have been subpoenaed to appear in court again next week! Here we go again!
I just called my buddy about this and she says that help has been found. Apparently it's against the law to get rid of or sell or whatever property involved in a crime. The dogs being that property. There's new hope.
I just called my buddy about this and she says that help has been found. Apparently it's against the law to get rid of or sell or whatever property involved in a crime. The dogs being that property. There's new hope.
Oh what a tangled web we weave. . .
You know what's wrong here? No body has been sworn to tell the truth. One can't perjure oneself if he hasn't taken an oath.
We went to court Tuesday morning. We agreed on a settlement that goes something like this: Shamika Shirley agrees to let both dogs, Tracker, the brown and white spotted pit and the little white puppy pit, to be picked up by the animal shelter. The shelter would then offer the dogs (at the regular fee) to be adopted out by the people who are currently taking care of them as long as they have a suitable environment. Simple.
This should have been a painless solution since the first thing Shamika Shirley's attorney said to the judge was that these dogs belong to neither Nicholas Kennedy nor Shamika Shirley. So, Shirley was to give the addresses where the dogs could be found. It was hard to hear everything said and I didn't hear this part but apparently Shirley was less than forthcoming with the 411. L, our animal shelter representative, informed the judge that she already knew where Tracker was. He's on Harrison Street irritating the crap out of the SE neighborhood. Finally an address was given for somewhere over by the fairgrounds for the white pup.
The judge was careful to state that this deal was not sealed until the animals could be taken into custody. If they couldn't be obtained then he would see us all back in court next Tuesday. L seemed certain that there would be no problem picking up the dogs.
Not so. T and I spent a couple of hours after court shopping and had hardly returned home when trouble began. It went something like this though the details aren't really clear to me. In trying to take Tracker from the Harrison St. address, L had a run in with Nick (who is one scary and violent SOB). He says that the dog on Harrison St. is not the same dog they have an order to pick up. Bullshit. Actually, I don't think that was L's reply but I know she was thinking it. L called me asking for the best pics I have of the dog. She had to prove to Shirley and Kennedy's attorney that this was the dog. Of course it was. The animal has several very distinguished makings and there was no question.
So, back on Harrison St., this is the dog they have a court order to collect. now there's a problem with the resident, Chris. Chris who two weeks ago when the animal shelter confronted him about the dog getting loose and terrorizing the neighborhood said, It's not my dog. I'm just keeping it for my cousin." The cousin turned out to be none other than Nicholas Kennedy. A nice break for this case. Nicholas Kennedy avers strongly and repeatedly and up in the animal control officers faces, "It's not my dog!" one minute and "You can't take my dogs!" the next.
Ok, let's go over this. It's not Nick's dog. It's not Shamika's dog. It's not Chris' dog. What's the problem then? The problem is now, Chris, who lives at the same address as Tracker but is not the property owner, (no, he's a freeloader just like his cousin, living off his girlfriend) now claims Tracker is his dog. SAY WHAT? And the property owner wont let them take the dog. And that's another thing, Chris says Nick is his cousin. An animal control officer told me that Chris was Shamika's brother. This would make Shamika Shirley shacking up with and having kids with her cousin? I don't even want to go there.
New plan. The animal shelter draws up a new proposal to settle that says that the current property owner can keep the dog up until the dog leaves the property then it becomes the City of Decatur's property. BUT. . .
Now I don't understand this and I may have it wrong but my friend called this morning and said that the magistrate made a little clerical error. The case at hand was not listed as a vicious animal case, it was more a case against Shamika Shirley. This means that Trackers new owners could keep him no strings attached and Tracker doesn't get labeled a potentially vicious animal. The difference is, I think, that had this been a vicious animal case, the dog, no matter who claims him (or not), would have been picked up on the court order. Big slip up. Back to square one.
Oh yeah, one last admission from Nick, "Bamboo isn't dead but you'll never find him."
No shit.
We went to court Tuesday morning. We agreed on a settlement that goes something like this: Shamika Shirley agrees to let both dogs, Tracker, the brown and white spotted pit and the little white puppy pit, to be picked up by the animal shelter. The shelter would then offer the dogs (at the regular fee) to be adopted out by the people who are currently taking care of them as long as they have a suitable environment. Simple.
This should have been a painless solution since the first thing Shamika Shirley's attorney said to the judge was that these dogs belong to neither Nicholas Kennedy nor Shamika Shirley. So, Shirley was to give the addresses where the dogs could be found. It was hard to hear everything said and I didn't hear this part but apparently Shirley was less than forthcoming with the 411. L, our animal shelter representative, informed the judge that she already knew where Tracker was. He's on Harrison Street irritating the crap out of the SE neighborhood. Finally an address was given for somewhere over by the fairgrounds for the white pup.
The judge was careful to state that this deal was not sealed until the animals could be taken into custody. If they couldn't be obtained then he would see us all back in court next Tuesday. L seemed certain that there would be no problem picking up the dogs.
Not so. T and I spent a couple of hours after court shopping and had hardly returned home when trouble began. It went something like this though the details aren't really clear to me. In trying to take Tracker from the Harrison St. address, L had a run in with Nick (who is one scary and violent SOB). He says that the dog on Harrison St. is not the same dog they have an order to pick up. Bullshit. Actually, I don't think that was L's reply but I know she was thinking it. L called me asking for the best pics I have of the dog. She had to prove to Shirley and Kennedy's attorney that this was the dog. Of course it was. The animal has several very distinguished makings and there was no question.
So, back on Harrison St., this is the dog they have a court order to collect. now there's a problem with the resident, Chris. Chris who two weeks ago when the animal shelter confronted him about the dog getting loose and terrorizing the neighborhood said, It's not my dog. I'm just keeping it for my cousin." The cousin turned out to be none other than Nicholas Kennedy. A nice break for this case. Nicholas Kennedy avers strongly and repeatedly and up in the animal control officers faces, "It's not my dog!" one minute and "You can't take my dogs!" the next.
Ok, let's go over this. It's not Nick's dog. It's not Shamika's dog. It's not Chris' dog. What's the problem then? The problem is now, Chris, who lives at the same address as Tracker but is not the property owner, (no, he's a freeloader just like his cousin, living off his girlfriend) now claims Tracker is his dog. SAY WHAT? And the property owner wont let them take the dog. And that's another thing, Chris says Nick is his cousin. An animal control officer told me that Chris was Shamika's brother. This would make Shamika Shirley shacking up with and having kids with her cousin? I don't even want to go there.
New plan. The animal shelter draws up a new proposal to settle that says that the current property owner can keep the dog up until the dog leaves the property then it becomes the City of Decatur's property. BUT. . .
Now I don't understand this and I may have it wrong but my friend called this morning and said that the magistrate made a little clerical error. The case at hand was not listed as a vicious animal case, it was more a case against Shamika Shirley. This means that Trackers new owners could keep him no strings attached and Tracker doesn't get labeled a potentially vicious animal. The difference is, I think, that had this been a vicious animal case, the dog, no matter who claims him (or not), would have been picked up on the court order. Big slip up. Back to square one.
Oh yeah, one last admission from Nick, "Bamboo isn't dead but you'll never find him."
No shit.
Friday, May 02, 2008
The little prince is here!
Our baby was born yesterday! Parker Liam McKillop was born May 1st, 2008. He is 7lbs. and 13 oz., 20 inches long, and perfect in every way. Sarah is doing very well. We are truly blessed.
Parker looks just like Warren!
Sarah and Parker
Laura, Sarah, and Parker
Warren and Sarah
Sarah and Parker
Nana the Great holding Parker
Our beautiful baby
Aunt Laura and Parker
Parker looks just like Warren!
Sarah and Parker
Laura, Sarah, and Parker
Warren and Sarah
Sarah and Parker
Nana the Great holding Parker
Our beautiful baby
Aunt Laura and Parker
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