JUSTICE BUILDING BLOG

WELCOME TO THE OFFICIAL RICHARD E GERSTEIN JUSTICE BUILDING BLOG. THIS BLOG IS DEDICATED TO JUSTICE BUILDING RUMOR, HUMOR, AND A DISCUSSION ABOUT AND BETWEEN THE JUDGES, LAWYERS AND THE DEDICATED SUPPORT STAFF, CLERKS, COURT REPORTERS, AND CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS WHO LABOR IN THE WORLD OF MIAMI'S CRIMINAL JUSTICE. POST YOUR COMMENTS, OR SEND RUMPOLE A PRIVATE EMAIL AT HOWARDROARK21@GMAIL.COM. Winner of the prestigious Cushing Left Anterior Descending Artery Award.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

BREAKING NEWS

4 MIAMI DADE POLICE OFFICERS WERE SHOT TODAY DURING A TRAFFIC STOP.


ONE HAS DIED.

CAPTAIN said...

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:The correct name of the suspect accused of shooting four police officers is:SHAWN SHERWIN LABEETMr. Wehner has contaced the Jacksonville police and confirmed that his identification was stolen.CAPTAIN OUT .....



The Herald reported this:

The alleged suspect's uncle in New York, John Wehner, told The Miami Herald that police in South Florida are searching for the wrong man. ''It's a case of mistaken identity,'' said John Wehner.
He said that his nephew lives in Jacksonville and contacted police Wednesday afternoon to tell them of the mixup. The uncle said his nephew had recently reported to authorities that his wallet, containing his driver's license, had been stolen.
John Wehner's account could not be immediately confirmed. Kevin Wehner has no Florida criminal record. A search of state records shows Wehner had two speeding tickets in Jacksonville, one in 2006 and another in 2007.


Rumpole says, our community suffers another tragedy.

Too many guns out there. This has got to stop.

UPDATE: BASED ON THE CAPTAIN'S REPORT, WE TOOK DOWN THE PICTURE AND NAME OF THE ORIGINAL SUSPECT. WE LEFT THE HERALD ARTICLE UP, SINCE THE INFORMATION IS APPARENTLY CORRECT AND IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT INDIVIDUAL IS APPARENTLY INNOCENT.



23 comments:

CAPTAIN JUSTICE said...

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

The correct name of the suspect accused of shooting four police officers is:

SHAWN SHERWIN LABEET

Mr. Wehner has contaced the Jacksonville police and confirmed that his identification was stolen.

CAPTAIN OUT .....

Anonymous said...

Too many guns out there, you say. Okay. How come I and millions and millions of other lawful!!!gun owners can refrain from murder but some who own guns illegally cant? Maybe b/c these people are simply criminals. The person is bad, Rumpole. Get it?? Understand that concept??

Too many guns? Meaning what? The govt ought to do what? Oh, I think I can guess what you have in mind.

Dont forget: The vast majority of gun crimes are committed by people who own the ILLEGALLY. Get it??

CAPTAIN JUSTICE said...

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

So you want to be a Circuit Court Judge?

With the resignation of Judge Jorge Perez, the 11th Circuit JNC has begun the process of accepting applications.

All persons interested in applying must deliver completed applications and 10 copies to:

Marie F.S. Bell, chair, 11th Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission, 3225 Aviation Ave., Suite 501, Miami, FL 33133.

The deadline for submitting applications is 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 15. Applications are available at www.flabar.org. The use of photographs is encouraged.

CAPTAIN OUT ..............

Anonymous said...

we are losing a great judge. he will be missed.

Anonymous said...

The main problem is that those legally who own guns and who are sane are dumb as fuck in locking them up causing kids and criminals to get them from the original owner by theft or accident.

In other words I say get rid of the guns. In Canada NO GUNS! In England NO GUNS! Even the cops in London carry no guns. A major city in the world and the cops carry no guns.

Enough is enough. This is Bull!!!

To the family of the officer who died, my prayers are with you at this time of grief. He is a real hero because he protected me from harm and gave his life to protect me, my children, family and friends. Thank you for your service to the community. RIP

Rumpole said...

4:03- I was wondering how long it would take for an irate gun owner to respond. The problem is contained in your comment: "millions and millions" of guns. If one percent of a million hand guns fall into the wrong hands- then 10,000 guns are out there that should not be.

I would note, sadly, that the officers in this case were armed and it did not help them. One man was apparently able to shoot 4 officers.

There is no controversy here. The numbers do not lie. There is an epidemic of gun violence in the US. Canada and England and Japan restrict the availability of firearms. And the number of firearm deaths in those countries on a yearly basis is ususaly less than ten.


I did a quick Google search and found this:

BY CHELSEA J. CARTER
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ATLANTA -- The United States has by far the highest rate of gun deaths -- murders, suicides and accidents -- among the world's 36 richest nations, a government study found.
The U.S. rate for gun deaths in 1994 was 14.24 per 100,000 people. Japan had the lowest rate, at .05 per 100,000.
The study, done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is the first comprehensive international look at gun-related deaths. It was published Thursday in the International Journal of Epidemiology.
The CDC would not speculate why the death rates varied, but other researchers said easy access to guns and society's acceptance of violence are part of the problem in the United States.
``If you have a country saturated with guns -- available to people when they are intoxicated, angry or depressed -- it's not unusual guns will be used more often,'' said Rebecca Peters, a Johns Hopkins University fellow specializing in gun violence. ``This has to be treated as a public health emergency.''

Anonymous said...

Check your facts, there are millions of guns and gun owners in Canada. For whatever reason, they don't use them to shoot each other like we do.

Anonymous said...

This is on the radar:

LOS ANGELES - Jurors in Phil Spector’s murder trial completed a third day of deliberations without a verdict on Wednesday and went home after the judge warned them not to watch a TV program about the case.

Fake Peter Adrien said...

Darkness descends upon us as one of the county's best has fallen. Only by the grace of G-d is it not four. We who labor here and seek justice (whatever that might be) have an appreciation for those who put their lives on the line for us everyday, whether it be in Baghdad, Kabul or Miami. We mourn the passing of this young father and grieve for his family. We will continue to do what we do with the knowledge that some give more than others.

Anonymous said...

Good thing the first suspect in the cop shooting lived in Jacksonville. If he lived here, he would have "died in a shootout" or "confessed" upon being taken into custody. In the meantime, Channel 7 plastered the wrong guy's name and photo on the screen for hours before anyone figured out he was 400 miles away and had his ID stolen recently. Very lucky he moved away from six-gun city.

Rumpole said...

You- who left that horrible comment about police officers- are clearly derranged if you thought, on today of all days, I would post your comment. Go immediately to the nearest hospital, tell them you are mentally ill, and with drugs and treatment, you should be well again in 20 or so years.

Anonymous said...

It always amazes me how much hatred there is in this town towards the police. While I'll be the first to admit that, as with any profession, there are bad apples, to read the Herald comments section, you would think that all cops are rogue cops. But what amazes me the most is that is seems that most of those posters attacking the cops and (gasp) celebrating this tragedy hail from the very neighborhoods that are under seige from drugs, gangs, and violence. Do these posters have no understanding of the fact that the policemen and women they so revile are the only thing that stands between their communities and complete chaos?

Anonymous said...

Rumpole, what's your plan for removing guns from lawful gun owners homes? Seriously, what is it?

In the South in the 60's why did lynching stop? B/C Blacks organized armed watches to prevent it. That's the real untold history. If you think some federal laws and federal attention made any diference to those radical racist redneck fucks in the Deep South, get a grip on reality.

No one in a free society should have to leave the protection of their family to the govt.

If you make all guns illegal, do you honestly believe the criminals will obey your law. Do you?

Rumpole said...

I would do it EXACTLY the way they do it in Japan and England. EXACTLY. And it works. Criminal don't have guns. Kids don't get their parents guns and kill themselves, and vice presidents don't go around shooting their friends in the face in those countries. We don't need to know if it works. Dozens of nations have already done it. Just do it like they do.

NOW smart guy: What's your answer to people like this guy who shot 4 cops with an illegal assault rifle. Those cops had guns- little help it did them. As far as I can tell, your answer is MORE GUNS. Sort of like the Fat Guy who has a heart attack, and after getting out of the hospital thinks, what the hell, if I'm going to die, it might as well be at McDonalds.

I don't buy into that reasoning.

Anonymous said...

Rumpole, are you insane? Japan and the UK never had individual gun rights to start with. Lets debate honestly.

The govt would have to use armed force to break their way into citizens private homes and search and take. Is that really what you'd like? How do you think that would play out in this nation, the USA, not Japan or UK.

Address my point re: lynching. I know an old white guy like you knows fucking zero what that musta been like.

Anyway, the UK has alot more crime than the US--no one even bothers to report home break-ins any more.
And their murder rate is on the upswing, incl. gun murders. Read a little more than the NY Times and you may open your mind about a few things.

Anonymous said...

My answer to the guy who shot the 4 cops-Life no parole ever.

If you outlaw guns, criminals like that piece of garbage will not care about your law!!! This is not another nation at another time in history. Deal with the here and now.

Anonymous said...

I bet the guy who shot the cops grew up poor, without a chance and is basically a nice person and the cops are all ex-military killers who got what they deserved.

CAPTAIN JUSTICE said...

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

FS 316.191 UNCONSTITUTIONAL

For the benefit of the Trialmaster and other attorneys that primarily handle traffic and misdemeanor cases, the 4th DCA upheld Judge Robert Zack's ruling that FS 316.191, Racing on Highways, is unconstitutional.

In Judge Zacks's order, he stated that: "Fla. Stat. §316.191 on its face and as applied is unconstitutionally vague and does not give a reasonable person of ordinary intelligence fair notice of what constitutes forbidden conduct."

Reported at 32 Fla. L. Weekly D2159a, STATE OF FLORIDA, Appellant, v. JAMIE WELLS, Appellee. 4th District. Case No. 4D06-3425. September 12, 2007.

Congrats to attorney Jamie Benjamin and his team.

CAPTAIN OUT .........

Anonymous said...

Please. Re: the "white guy like you has zero knowledge of what that felt like" comment. Neither do you unless you're very old and I seriously doubt that.

Anonymous said...

Like I said, "die in a shootout." Imagine if they never figured out the original suspect was the wrong guy. The shootout would have happened in Jacksonville -- and an innocent man would be the "dead suspect."

Anonymous said...

Wanna a dangerous weapon? Your car will do. Take your 4X4 SUV and plow into the morning line on the north-side of REG. Use reverse if necessary. You'll make the nightly news for sure.

Of course I don't actually want people to start plowing into crowds... but I think it's appropriate to understand how much deadly equipment is at our actual disposal. Deprive this man, who armed himself to the teeth, of his gun, and there can be little doubt he would have found an alternative weapon.

Anonymous said...

Maybe it's less the presence of guns and more that it runs in the family:

Shawn Labeet is the half-brother of Ishmael Labeet, the man who led a gang of gunmen/thieves who killed eight people.

Shawn Sherwin LaBeet was killed shortly before midnight Sept. 13 after an all-day manhunt, which ended in his death.

http://www.postchronicle.com/news/breakingnews/article_212103533.shtml

Anonymous said...

The television reporting for this incident was horrible and took over the airwaves for way too long.