thetragichippy

Posting is optional if you don't like the rules.  We also allow general calls outs "libtards" and even "magtards".....you went directly to him......just chill with those type remarks and you will be fine......

Exactly. 30 to 45 minutes isn't so bad.
My land is approx an hour + depending on Lumberton traffic on 69. I live off Keith Rd right now, and it's only 20-22 minutes generally which is awesome.

Why should he report something that is not required? Let alone never been a issue until now.

1. Did he break any rules?
2. Have other justices done or were allowed to the same consideration?

This short video on YouTube came out a few days ago. These two defense attorneys discuss a case of a man who has an Apple Airtag in his truck which was later stolen. He was able to track down the stolen truck and tried to recover it himself, and ended up killing the thief. He is claiming self defense, not the recovery of property.
In the video though, one of the defense attorneys mentions the Texas “shoot a man in the back for your wallet law”. Then they go on to mention it has to be fresh like an in progress crime and not track the person down later (which isn’t the claim of the guy recovering his truck).
 I just thought it was interesting that we discussed it and now this video from two Texas defense attorneys who I believe specialize in self defense claims, mention the deadly force to protect property law including fleeing with the property.
 But like before, I don’t feel like having to defend my actions in court even if lawful. 

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I’m actually looking for about 3 acres in Silsbee. I bought 10 acres off FM 420 in Kountze, but it’s really too far away from my job. Looking for a place to build after retirement (if that ever happens, lol). 

I sold my home in Lumberton last year and moved back to my childhood home in Port Arthur. The area I live has no apartments/a street over from "Groves" so the crime seems to be a non-issue.  With that said, can't wait to build our house in Silsbee on the 3 acres we bought.
 

And that’s why I live in Lumberton…

Any time you make the police the enemy and reduce policing, particularly in neighborhoods, the results will not be good.
Major cities do exactly that. 

Perception?

PA is a large city in physical size and the police are usually (but not always) busy and a lot more busy per officer. A quick look at the crime stats shows why you might not see officers more visible in PA. 
A city like Lumberton is more compact so if two officers spend a couple of hours a day on two main thoroughfares, they are easy to see often.   PA has 4 times the population as Lumberton but has 6 times more square miles. So when with the same number of officers per capita, they have more miles per officer to cover. 
Then there is the frequency of certain calls which require multiple officers. 
At its peak like Friday and Saturday evening shift, there might be 11-12 marked patrol units in PA but you might not see them often. On day and night shifts, probably 9 units. Those officers are likely on calls, a majority of which are in neighborhoods so unless you are in the housing areas, they likely won’t be seen.
As far as frequencies, look at the FBI stats on robberies for example. Lumberton shows an average of 3 per year. With 4 times the population, PA should average 12 per year, right? Nope, try 400. Let’s see 12 vs 400…..
You aren’t as likely to get away with speeding in Lumberton because that is a big deal. You might never get a speeding ticket in PA. The officers are not as inclined to run radar when they aren’t busy but much of the time it isn’t even an option. They are simply doing something else. 
Lumberton has 1.3 officers per 1.,000 people. PA has 2.3 so almost twice as many per capita…. Yet you might not see them as often. 
 I could cut all that down to, PA officers (like Beaumont or Orange) are busy answering calls for service. Lumberton officers are not as busy and running radar. Then, making traffic stops on main streets (such as Lumberton) obviously attracts attention with the emergency lights. 
 
And since I tossed in Beaumont and Orange…   
Look at burglaries which is commonly called a break in. Someone breaks into a business at night or a home or garage. It could be as little as going into an unlocked garage and stealing a bicycle but it’s an entry crime of going into a building or residence that is not open to the public to steal, assault or commit another felony. In other words, a serious crime. The FBI rates crimes per 100,000 people.
So for burglaries per 100,000 people in the last 10 years it averages about:
Lumberton-300
Beaumont-1,100
Port Arthur-1,100
Orange-1,100
 

If that is what people want for their neighborhood, okay. Don’t talk, don’t cooperate.
 But then the complaints come out that it is someone else’s fault. The city, the police, the mayor or whoever, won’t protect the community.
The answer, a simple, no, you won’t protect yourselves. The city can offer the manpower and the county can prosecute but only if a witness steps forward or someone drops a dime on an anonymous phone call. 
When I was in community policing as an assignment, I would tell every one of the more than a dozen community groups in our city, your neighborhood can absolutely be as peaceful as you want it. The problem is you have to actually want it and not just say the words, I wish I could sleep at night.
The problem is not the criminals. The problem is the people living there, who are not willing to lift a finger to stop it. Most of the time that lifting of a finger is simply placing a phone call.

Community policing started in Port Arthur from an informal group of Black men who started it on their own. A few friends got together and said we are tired of this crap in our small neighborhood. I think all of them were military veterans and most or maybe all had been to Vietnam. They did not ask for permission, they simply started walking as a group and confronting dope dealers hanging out.
After a while they approached the police department and asked for help. The chief called for a meeting with them I and other officers volunteered to be involved. That group of men called themselves AAMAN (we pronounced it “uh-manh”)/African American Men Against Narcotics. 
They alone kicked off what would later have a very successful run of community policing. We applied and got a federal grant to specifically hire 9 officers to run the program of community groups.
 That program was later ended as I guess political climates changed with money spent elsewhere and new priorities popped up but the 3 year federally paid program lasted about 15 years and was fairly successful.
 The point being, a neighborhood can have as quiet of a neighborhood as they want.
As Officer Malone (Sean Connery) told Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner) a couple of times in the Untouchables…. “What are you prepared to do?”.
Many people aren’t prepared to do anything except complain. 
 

As you read this story, just know that what I did was not really the smart thing to do. 
I was driving from Houston one night to my home in Lumberton. I was crossing over the Old & Lost Rivers bridge (I-10). I was in the right hand lane traveling the speed limit. All of a sudden a car got behind me (County Sheriff, I would later learn). The car was so close to my bumper, I could barely see the headlights. As I sped up to distance myself (eventually going well over the speed limit), the car followed suit. I had quite enough at that point and was contemplating jamming on my breaks and would have done so had my wife not been with me. Eventually the cop lit me up, and I pulled over. Like always, I turned off my motor, rolled down the window and placed my hands at 10 & 2 on the steering wheel until the deputy approached the window. He asked me for my license. I told him it was in my wallet in my back pocket and asked permission to retrieve it. He nodded, and I got it out for him along with my insurance (although he never asked me for the insurance). He told me the reason he pulled me over was for my excessive speed. Until this point, everything was cordial on both parts. And then he asked me what my hurry was.. I told him there was some "effing" idiot tailgating me so close I couldn't even see the headlights. I also said it was a good thing it was an officer, because instead of just a ticket, I would probably have gotten in trouble for whipping somebody's butt! After a tense silence, he handed me my documents back and told me to slow it down. That was all he said before returning back to his car. 

Reading on another forum…
Apparently, the police did not recommend charges. The former district attorney did not prosecute. At that point you would think he was cleared and normally that is true.
In comes a new DA who makes it a point to push the case where the defendant has already been cleared. Certainly that is legal but has it really done that way? Once the case has been investigated and the accused person should cleared, unless new evidence comes up, it is considered closed.
If those things are true, that the police did not recommend charges and the former DA did not seek charges, it appears this is nothing but a political indictment. It is the same as with the George Zimmerman and the Kyle Rittenhouse prosecutions. The evidence simply did not back up convictions on those charges yet in the big media cases, the prosecution went forward against the evidence. The US DOJ did the same in the Michael Brown, “hands up don’t shoot” false accusations but fortunately even they could not come up with enough evidence to go forward.
 

I knew of the case but haven’t followed any news.
Here is a lesson, don’t go to Austin and expect justice. 

In a timely fashion, the Beaumont Enterprise in my email headlines to says:
Teens arrested for breaking and entering Hotel Beaumont
Ooookay….
Arrested for Breaking and Entering. Well, they do say that in the movies. I guess reporters aren’t actually supposed to report. 
Then you go on to read the article, and it does not even mention burglary (B&E). The police, according to the article, said that going inside the old Hotel Beaumont is Trespassing. 
Not a question but a legal point, entering a location unlawfully can Trespassing or Burglary. It comes down to intent. For example:
A burglary is entering a location not open to the public with intent to:   
1. Commit a theft   
2. Commit a felony or;   
3. Commit an assault.
Burglary is an “intent” (my description) crime. If you enter a location, it does not matter if you actually completed the theft or committed a felony or assault. If you intended to do it, the crime has been completed.
Trespass has no required intent except to enter. Let’s say a homeless guy entered the old Hotel Beaumont in order to find a place to sleep to get out of the weather. He might’ve actually broken in by smashing a door. It is still not Burglary because there was no intent to do anything other than sleep.
In another scenario, a guy goes to see his ex-girlfriend. He is arguing with her through an open front door of the house with her inside and him outside. She finally tells him to leave and start to shut the door. The guy puts his hand up to stop the door and reaches through with the other hand and slap her in the face and then leaves.
In the two scenarios, the guy that caused damage to the hotel by smashing open door, then going completely inside to sleep, is guilty of class B misdemeanor Trespassing and has a maximum sentence of six months in jail. The guy that only stuck his arm through an open door and caused no damage to the home, is guilty of Burglary of a Habitation and has a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. That is because he “entered” with intent to commit an assault. Entry does not require a person to be completely inside but any part of the body or something attached to the body.
To go a step further and play “what if”….
In the exact same scenario between the boyfriend and girlfriend, as she is closing the door, he reaches his hand through but this time has a knife in his hand and says “I’ll kill you”. He then leaves without injuring her. In that case, the guy entered with an intent to commit a felony, Aggravated Assault (displays a deadly weapon).
So the guy caused no damage (the girlfriend opened the door), entered only with his hand and did not actually injure her. Oops, he could be looking at 99 years in prison. 
Here is the article from the Beaumont Enterprise but it might require a subscription to read. 

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The point of hating the gun free zone is that it benefits no one but a criminal.
Anyone that feels safe because a sign says it is safe, hasn’t been paying much attention.
All the gun free zones do is to keep honest people from being there with a firearm for fear of being a felon. A criminal bent on mayhem has no such fear because he wants the outcome that he is likely to happen.
Laws have two main purposes. One is a deterrent and the other is punishment if the deterrent didn’t work.
Most people have a fear of being caught in a criminal act whether it’s a serious crime or a speeding ticket. They don’t want to do time in prison but they also don’t want to pay that $250 speeding ticket.
Laws and logic simply don’t apply to a person who has decided to commit a mass murder.

My guess is disorderly conduct. If he is on a sidewalk (don't you need a permit to "assemble"?) and he may make an unsafe atmosphere by gathering a crowd near building entrances and roadway......but I honestly have no idea....

Thanks. I just came back from teaching at the citizen police academy.  

Thanks to @tvc184, this is the most interesting topic in any forum on the website. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

Man you are a wealth of knowledge and wisdom.  Thank you so much

Professional courtesy.

Not personally but seen it on YouTube. Most issues are between the police and firefighters.
I was going to put an EMS driver in jail over time but I screwed up and called my sergeant to tell him my intentions because I was sure it would generate a complaint.
EMS heading south on Memorial Blvd in PA blew the red light at Gulfway Dr. As you know, a 6 lane highway crossing a 4 lane highway…. and there was traffic. Like moderate and leaning toward heavy traffic about 8pm.
He bottomed out hitting the hump on Gulfway Dr., probably 80-85 mph. The emergency call on Proctor St?
A sprained ankle.
I did not interfere with his call or the trip to the hospital. That is when I called my sergeant and let him know my intentions. Instead I his an arrest my sergeant wanted me to discuss it with him and he would call the EMS supervisor. I had a rather terse discussion with the driver about an arrest for Reckless Driving, carrying up to 30 days in the hoosegow.
Speeding? I don’t care. If this guy had been two seconds earlier or later, he might have been going to prison for manslaughter. 

Of course where you asked, was a crime committed, I could have said “yes” and left a one word answer.
😂

One of my favorite Baxter moments was when he took a caller one morning and asked her if she had a broken fridge or freezer on her porch. She said, well yes I do. Then he asked if she had a old broken down car or truck out in her yard. She said yes we do. Gordon promptly said, "I bet you are from Vidor". The lady said yes, how did you know? The rest is history.

One of his son’s sons was (and still is, to a degree) a good friend of mine.  That family has been through a lot in the last several years.  Several of the siblings have died, but I guess that happens when it’s a big family and you get old 

I think that articles he wrote about flying were called Bax Seat… or something to that effect.