gdp's Comments

KCPQ-TV : Accused Munchbar shooter pleads not guilty; held on $5 million bail

Thu, 3 Jan 2013 19:03:05 +0000

Once again this dirtbag is going to skate. He gets to start out with Murder in the Second degree and can now plea bargain down to the lesser-included charge of Manslaughter. He will be out of prison by the time he is thirty. The State should have charged him with Murder in the First degree. He entered a place that he wasn't supposed to go in, with a weapon that he wasn't supposed to have, and fired multiple shots at a person he already knew. It shouldn't have been too hard to prove the elements of Murder 1. The feds should also pick up jurisdiction for a felon in possession of a firearm.

KATU - Portland, OR : 7 California boys arrested in attack on teen | National & World News | KATU.com - Portland News, Spo

Mon, 2 Apr 2012 15:22:21 +0000

@Calmplex -- The negative ratings don't have anything to do with how I "play with others", they only reflect the ideology of those voting. Go back to the initial comment I made above, the one with the most negative votes. All I said was that there was a difference between the story here and the story of the Trayvon shooting. The difference was simple: the police arrested suspects in this story and they didn't in the Trayvon shooting. Yet a lot of people here want to practice some sort of false equivalency by asking why Sharpton et al aren't all over THIS story.

KATU - Portland, OR : 7 California boys arrested in attack on teen | National & World News | KATU.com - Portland News, Spo

Sun, 1 Apr 2012 23:49:59 +0000

Naw, I have just been READING the different reports on this, and NOT getting my views from some Right-wing messaging machine. I've heard the many different versions put out by the Zimmerman PR campaign (and if you aren't observant enough to realize that there actually IS a Zimmerman PR effort going on, then it is no wonder you are stuck) Me? I ignore all of the extraneous crap that is being generated out there such as race, or Trayvon being a gangster or a thug, on drugs and all of that BS. I've heard Zimmerman's version of what happened starting from his 911 call. I've heard the girl friend's version of the events as she heard it happen. I've also heard three other 911 calls with the gunshots and screaming. I've heard what several of the other witnesses have had to say. I have also heard what the lead investigator has told people. I've seen a video of Zimmerman less than forty-five minutes after he was "beaten almost to death", showing no broken nose or blood, and not even wet from rolling around in the wet grass. I've read the account from the mortician who took possession of the Martin body claiming that here were no signs of being in any kind of a struggle. I could give a rat's rearend about Jackson, Sharpton, or anyone else involved in this story. To me, that is a completely different story and you might be surprised that I agree with you on that. But I am JUST looking at what can be determined by the information that has already been released. I can't help it if you are able to suspend objectivity and just assume that Zimmerman is innocent based ONLY on his say-so and nothing else. Because if you look at this case from another angle, that is ALL you have to prove Zimmerman innocent. Just Zimmerman saying so. From what I -- and a LOT of other people can see -- there appears to be enough probable cause to charge Zimmerman with manslaughter. Probable cause is in NO way an indication of guilt, just that there is a prima facie case that a crime may have been committed by Zimmerman and that a court trial is needed to make a determination one way or the other. Zimmerman WILL be charged. He will probably plead out to involuntary manslaughter and get a three year sentence. That is just MY prediction.

KATU - Portland, OR : 7 California boys arrested in attack on teen | National & World News | KATU.com - Portland News, Spo

Sun, 1 Apr 2012 18:47:38 +0000

Ahhh, good old (N)idiot, displaying the same old vitriol and lack of logic. These kids probably DID commit these crimes and so did Zimmerman. The comparison was made here -- and I'm not the one who made it. That "innocent until proven guilty" thing isn't something you get to pick and choose on. It is a LEGAL term meant for a court setting. It means that until a person is proven guilty, the COURT has to treat them as being innocent. It doesn't mean that we have to suspend logic and common sense when we see the evidence pointing towards someone's involvement in a crime. There is a reason why we have a court in a criminal justice system. It is to resolve a question of guilt or innocence. There IS a question of guilt in both of these cases -- Zimmerman's included. He should have his day in court, just like these kids.

KATU - Portland, OR : 7 California boys arrested in attack on teen | National & World News | KATU.com - Portland News, Spo

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 21:20:36 +0000

Actually, there is a difference between detained for questioning and an arrest. You can be handcuffed and hauled into a secured environment without ever having been actually arrested. You do have the RIGHT to be arrested before you ever agree to go with the police though. They cannot just cuff you up and haul you away unless you ask them to arrest you first. It becomes the basis for a "false imprisonment" suit if the cops then fail to formally arrest you. The thing is, most people don't realize that they have that right. They assume that a cop can just legally slap handcuffs on you and remove you from the scene. They CAN, however handcuff you and put you in the back of a patrol car for security and control. In fact, for security and control reasons, they are required to restrain everyone riding in the back of a patrol car.

KATU - Portland, OR : 7 California boys arrested in attack on teen | National & World News | KATU.com - Portland News, Spo

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 21:12:43 +0000

"swept under the media dirty carpet"? Uh, didn't you just read this story here in the "media"? Here is the difference between THIS case and the Zimmerman/Martin case -- The police made some arrests in THIS one. They have yet to make an arrest in the OTHER one. These seven kids SHOULD have been arrested -- and that is the point. They committed a crime. Zimmerman also committed a crime -- the evidence is pointing towards it. If Trayvon had killed Zimmerman that night, you can bet your butt that HE would still be sitting in jail. But hey, nice try on the reversal of logic argument.

KOMO - Seattle, WA : \'Tuba Man\' killer charged in a separate gun case | Local & Regional | Seattle News, Weather, Sport

Wed, 7 Mar 2012 19:31:45 +0000

This just illustrates how screwed up our criminal justice system is. We lock people up for a long time for drugs and other minor crimes, and give short time to the animals who kill people under the excuse that they were just "young". Unfortunately, his little "Felon in Possession of a Handgun" charge will probably only give him a year in jail and he will be out again -- unless the feds pick it up and prosecute him. But even so, he will only face a maximum of five years and be out to wreak more damage on society. It is obvious there is no reaching this kid -- at least for now. Lock his ass up until he is forty and THEN maybe he will be mature enough to have learned his lesson.

KOMO - Seattle, WA : Search continues for missing Bellevue child | Local & Regional | Seattle News, Weather, Sports, Brea

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 17:51:47 +0000

Actually, there are a few charges they can bring right now. Child abandonment, child endangerment, and any variation in between come to mind. They would be easy to prove, and if charged correctly could end up with consecutive terms in jail. The thing is, this woman needs to be leaned on. Whatever is being done so far isn't working. She isn't cooperating with the police, so it isn't a case where once you charge her she clams up -- she is already clammed up. Our criminal justice system has long abandoned that "innocent until proven guilty" thing. Prosecutors can throw everything but the kitchen sink at a defendant if they wanted to -- and they have. There are many people in prison that are only there because the prosecution has "stacked" charges to obtain a conviction and a prison sentence on a relatively minor crime. It wouldn't be hard for them to do it here and not touch an actual murder charge until a case can be built. As far as circumstantial goes, a body isn't a requirement for a murder conviction. Motive, opportunity and just general suspicion is all that is required. If a prosecutor can sway 12 members of a jury, then there is your conviction. Again, prison holds a number of such convictions. Risky? Sure. The state only gets one shot at it, and if the defendant is found not guilty, and it is later discovered she killed her son, she cannot be charged by the state again for murder. The question is, SHOULD the state charge her for something now. The gut reaction says "yes" -- we have this need to punish swiftly in things like this. But logic says "no". If Sky Metalwala is dead right now, he will be dead three years from now or twenty years from now also. There is no statute of limitations on murder, so prosecutors can take their time in filing charges of murder or kidnapping. Child endangerment charges are obvious in this case. Even child abandonment. Again, the state doesn't have to jump and charge with something her right now, they have three years. Our problem is that we KNOW this woman did something. Innocent women who have lost a child like this would be all over the media trying to find her kid. She'd be camped out at the police station too. Instead, she is in hiding and not talking to the police and she has hired an attorney. If she was innocent, she wouldn't be caring about what charges she was looking at -- she'd be more concerned for Sky.

KOMO - Seattle, WA : Police: Doc found nude and covered in blood confessed to murder | Local & Regional | Seattle News, W

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 22:40:02 +0000

I've been expecting the inevitable "blame the homo" routine since the moment this story broke -- and sure enough, clowns like "Muck Percolates" has to make this about something that it is not. Race, religion, sexual orientation, political affiliation, or any other attribute that is different from you is not a cause for this kind of horrific event. It spans across all backgrounds. We can only sit here and speculate what actually happened in that apartment that triggered this event, but it wouldn't be accurate. This could have very well happened with a heterosexual white family that regularly attends church -- and it has, on an all-too-often-basis. (Google news: "murder-suicide" just for the past week and you might be surprised...) So shame on you, "truth" percolates for trying to make this about YOUR agenda.

KOMO - Seattle, WA : 2 more felony charges filed against Barefoot Bandit | Seattle News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News |

Sun, 5 Dec 2010 17:09:53 +0000

You appear to have very little understanding how the criminal justice system works. Your average criminal trial for a small crime involving no publicity costs around $50k -- per charge. This is one of the main reasons why prosecutors try to push for plea agreements. That cost skyrockets if the case is high profile and hits the stratosphere if it is high profile and involves multiple jurisdictions. County prosecutors have a limited annual budget in which to conduct all of their cases, so they have to go with a couple of the best charges they have and try to steer the defendant into a plea agreement with a stipulation for real and additional crimes. This gives the government their conviction and it ends up addressing all of the outstanding charges for the purpose of restitution. Secondly, most sentences are not given consecutively unless the crimes were so heinous that it requires an exceptional sentence, or the crime was committed while under sentence for another crime. There is nothing in this case that rises to that level. Colton was on a spree, one that encompasses a pattern of crime so similar that it would be hard to distinguish between each crime. So his crimes are going to be considered as being committed concurrently (within that spree) and his sentence will be served concurrently. Here is how it will probably turn out: Because most state jurisdictions are seriously cash-strapped, they will most likely choose to consolidate their charges in one venue. Island County would like to be that one-stop venue, but will probably end up allowing the feds to do the prosecuting -- as long as there are assurances Colton will receive a substantial sentence. They will probably allow Colton to plead guilty to a couple of charges in Island County with that stipulation to real and more additional crimes in other jurisdictions, sentence him to 8 - 10 years in prison to run concurrent to whatever he receives from the federal charges. He will also receive a similar sentence from the US District Court and the feds will take jurisdiction for his sentence. Under state law, Colton can earn a good time sentence reduction of 1/3 of his sentence. If he receives a 120 month sentence, he can be released in 80 months, or just over 6-1/2 years. In the federal system he would be required to serve 85 percent of his sentence so he would have to serve a minimum of 102 months on a ten year sentence. All in all, this will work out for everyone. For society at large, Colton is taken off of the streets for a long time (which for a kid of his age it is a VERY long time), he will be required to pay restitution to his victims (which will probably come from a movie and book deal), and for Colton himself, the federal prison system has specialized prisons geared for working with young offenders like Colton. When it comes time for his release, the chances are very good that he will come out a much better person.

KOMO - Seattle, WA : 2 more felony charges filed against Barefoot Bandit | Seattle News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News |

Sat, 4 Dec 2010 18:21:39 +0000

So it is his attorney's fault? His attorney becomes the scumbag? Heaven forbid that you ever find yourself in a position where you might need an attorney. You fail to notice that neither the attorney nor Colton are claiming he didn't do these crimes -- or at least the majority of them. In case you didn't realize it, but if they didn't consolidate a lot of these charges it could very well drag out for several years costing the tax payer a lot of money in litigation costs. Also, the likelihood of recouping any costs and restitution would be nil. Consolidation of charges is a lot more cost effective by allowing the defendant to stipulate to additional charges without the cost of having to hold a trial. Justice is served, because the defendant takes responsibility for his actions and is punished accordingly. Another benefit for the prosecutors and law enforcement is that while Colton is probably guilty of almost all of the charges against him, there are probably a few that are attributed to him that if tried separately or by themselves, might not have enough actual evidence to convict him on. (He might not even be guilty of some of those charges.) Consolidation will include these charges as well, for the purpose of any restitution claims. It is an actual win for the prosecution. Whatever way it goes, this kid is probably not going to see more than ten years. The court(s) will not run consecutive sentences because the case(s) do not legally warrant them. If all the cases are consolidated and handled by the US District Court, he is likely to receive the most time there than in any of the state courts. It is also cheaper to house a federal inmate than a state inmate. That is the POS that John Henry Browne is. He is not only looking out for his client, but he is also saving US money in the long run.

KOMO - Seattle, WA : 2 more felony charges filed against Barefoot Bandit | Seattle News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News |

Sat, 4 Dec 2010 15:23:59 +0000

While 43 years is a maximum sentence, it is more likely that he will serve no more than 8 - 10 years. Somewhere in that range will serve everyone's interest -- including those who became victims of his crimes. I know that the automatic reaction to something like this is to hammer the criminal with as much time and austerity as is available -- especially on crimes as personal as invading what is supposed to be a safe haven, your home. But there is a greater interest involved here, and I know that considering the defendant himself in the amount of time and punishment he gets might sound like "pampering", but there is a greater goal in all of this. Nobody disputes that Colton has committed some very serious crimes, and that he needs to answer for them, not only punishment, but financial restitution. Colton has had things stacked against him all of his life. If anyone deserves to be sitting in prison it would be his parents. That doesn't excuse Colton for the things he did, but it should be something to take into consideration when he is to be dealt with on all of this. Colton needs a lot of treatment. Not drug treatment, but behavioral treatment. These two things aren't exclusive and can be done inside of a prison setting -- as long as he is able to serve his time in the federal system. Colton will eventually be released, and it is in OUR best interests that when he is released, he is no longer a threat to society. Just serving sheer amounts of time does not "fix" someone. They typically get out in much worse shape than when they went in. The federal prison system has programing available to deal with certain types of criminals and Colton can actually make something of himself by having these things available to him. The matter of restitution is fairly easy, and it appears that it is probably going to come from any proceeds made on the publication of his story. He wouldn't be profiting on his actions and it would quickly help pay off any monetary damages Colton inflicted on others.