Tag: Crime

I’m sure we’re all safer for the Sheriff’s having busted the South Seas Massage and Tanning Parlor in north Sacramento which was operating as a whorehouse. But the KCRA report does bring up some questions.

A decoy went into the business carrying cash and wearing a wire. Authorities said 15 minutes later, the decoy was offered sex for money. …

Well that’s how you’d do it, isn’t it. Cut and dry, get in, get your collar, get out. There’s more.
Continue reading “Undercover ops at North Sac house of massage”

Beancounters admits she no longer holds garage sales because the stealing gets on her nerves:

Stealing from sales has gotten more rampant. I get unreasonably mad at people who steal from my sale. Or bundle stuff tightly under their arms and come up to me and try to offer me a quarter for everything. Or hide stuff under their clothes. Or pass unpurchased stuff to a confederate who has already made her purchases. Or make their kids distract me while the adults throw shit into their car trunks or into the milk crates on the back of their decrepit bicycles, and then take off and meet the kids around the block.

When I see this behavior, I get. really. mad. It’s stupid, but I do. I am the first to tell you that the Rules of Garage Sale Engagement are sometimes nebulous, but the line is drawn at actual stealing! If you don’t know that, you are not fit to be out in polite society.

So, I hear myself yelling impossibly surreal things like “Yes, I see that Travel Scrabble game under your t-shirt, and it’s still fifty cents!”

Read the rest …

My heart goes out to the people in the Meadowview neighborhood, who are currently suffering through the most murderous year in the city’s recent history–one killing a month this year, and staggeringly three in the last week. Overall, 42 murders in the city YTD represent a 35 percent increase over 2005.

Firstly, after my last string of posts about crime in the city and the Commissioner’s public response, I want to make sure I put it on record that the men and women on the street fighting crime have my respect and support. I wouldn’t want to give the impression that I think the uniformed cops and detectives are not trying hard to win the war. My beef is with the attitude expressed in the leadership’s public statements–that people in crime-challeneged neighborhoods should not worry because most of the violent crime is being committed by hardened criminals.

Well, they are at it again regarding the situation in Meadowview…
Continue reading “Nightmare in Meadowview”

While running an errand at Arden Fair this afternoon, I heard the sound of breaking glass — not like someone dropping an item on the hard floor, but like a large window breaking.

A few of us were able to see bits and pieces of the scene unfold as we looked down from the second level into DeVons Jewelers where we could see sales staff cowered under their display cases while a trio of robbers smashed cases and loaded up on jewelry. Naturally, many folks in the mall were on their cell phones to the local authorities.
Continue reading “Robbery @ Arden Fair”

Read part 1 and part 2…

Our own sac-eats tipped me to the Bee’s coverage of the home invasion robbery in Arden Park that a commenter brought my attention to the other day. (Ain’t the internet great?) Though the victim in this instance escaped with only a head injury (from a gunshot wound!) the Bee piece is notable for some of the details that back up what I’ve been saying.

Sacramento Police Sgt. Terrell Marshall said officers saw a spike in home-invasion robberies in May but said most of them stemmed from drug thefts, disputes over property or fights within families.

“I don’t want people in the community to have fear that they’ll be the next victim, because statistically speaking, that’s not true,” Marshall said.

“Statistically speaking it’s possible” and “statistically speaking it’s not possible” are both truthtful statements, wouldn’t you agree? Also, don’t we have a little more on our side than statistics? You know, those guys who go around in blue suits and drive black and white cars? Aren’t they involved in keeping us from being victimized? I wonder why this sentiment is being voiced by the cops at this point in time. Could it be because they realize they have an increasingly brazen and violent criminal population on their hands and they need to do some damage control by downplaying the risk? It sure seems to me like the cops are exhibiting a little more CYA than usual these days.
Continue reading “Crime, Cops, and CoolDMZ, part 3”

An anonymous tipper reminded me that I left off the end of his, err I mean Graswich’s bit about Nájera the other day. This was an oversight on my part, because to my mind it is likewise worthy of snark:

Albert wants to study why young people join gangs and turn violent. “Why is the key,” he said. …

Ooh yes, let’s cozy up to the fireplace with some port and dive into the academics of the situation. “Please ignore the fact that I just told you the murder rate is up, I have some major studying to do.” Sac-eats, there’s your “sensitive” PoPo man. While I do appreciate the need to turn around gang recruitment numbers, I’d like to ask why this is such an important factor to study, if the public is not meant to worry about gang murder?
Continue reading “More on Nájera”

I don’t know how R.E. Graswich gets the quotes he uses for his bits, specifically the ones from local newsmakers and politicians. But I’d like to thank him today for giving Police Chief Albert Nájera a chance to show his true colors.

“Without context, crime statistics mean nothing,” the chief said. “It’s too easy to come out and scare people by saying, ‘The murder rate is up.’ In Sacramento, the vast majority of murders are committed by drug dealers and gang members and felons. Take away those categories and domestic violence, and you are left with maybe four people a year killed by random violence in Sacramento. That’s four too many, but it gives perspective.”

So by “context” you mean “ignorance”? That is really helpful. Especially to the families of the victims of domestic violence (you have to be kidding me! did he really say that Bob?) and any innocent victims of drug dealers and gang members and felons (seriously Bob, you’re putting us on, right?). Murders committed by gang members don’t count? What if they take place in broad daylight in front of a crowded shopping mall? That seems like the kind of thing you think, but don’t say outside the police locker room. I’m going to go ahead and speak for all citizens everywhere: We are concerned about murders commited by gang members, drug dealers, and felons. Go ahead and include those when you run the numbers.
Continue reading ““Perspective” on the crime wave”

OK, are we all just going to pretend that the Bee didn’t scare our pants off yesterday with this “biggest crime increase in the state” business? (Also, is the local media just going to pretend our own SinghCity didn’t predict it?) Some staggering details–the crime increase was more than 4 times higher than the national average, for example. I also think this quote from the police chief is weird

“What I’m drawing from that, is that the answer is something beyond the Police Department. Clearly, as a community, we need to think about this.”

Clearly, when we are victims of violent crime, we need to look inside and ask ourselves whether we were asking for it. Or perhaps Najera is slyly pitching the blame upward to Fargo? Or asking us to patrol our borders to keep out trained thugs from Chico? Not sure. But clearly we need to think about it. And clearly we should as a community start that thought process in the comment box at The Sac Rag. (Note: If your comment includes the word “immigrant” it will probably be deleted, unless you are an immigrant and you’re saying you’d feel safer in Jalisco.)

Gas prices are sky high. The housing market is declining, bursting, or whatever it is that means bad. Global politics are as unstable as ever. We got mudslides, floods, West Nile, and coming soon, Bird Flu! At least we’ve hit rock bottom right? Wait just one minute, friends. That’s right, cbs13.com reports that a local mail carrier has admitted to stealing 200 debit cards.

Viengkeo Vicky Pathammavong filled in on various Sacramento-area routes. The 28 fraud counts in her federal indictment accused her of making purchases ranging from $1,000 to more than $16,000 on the stolen cards.

As someone that has suffered through the failed delivery of mail by “fill ins” in my neighborhood, let me say that this just sucks.

I think it is time to investigate the hiring practices of the USPS. I’ve been told that the reason the “fill ins” wear civilian clothes (and by “civilian” I mean baggy jeans, baggy nfl jersey, ball cap turned to the side, and chin strap beard) is due to a probationary period where they must prove themselves for 90 days before being supplied with the familiar uniform and pepper spray (and I guess by “prove themselves” they mean not steal mail). So I’m expected to just let anyone onto my property and into my mailbox as long a they are carrying a bag with envelopes in it? Because if you’re wearing the short shorts, black socks, and pith helmet, you’re good with me!