Monday, July 27, 2009

Street Racing Sting!!

The CHP is starting to take a keen interest in busting up illegal street racing in Kern County, targeting rural roads on the weekend.

They've already busted up two parties, the most recent last Saturday night on Garces Highway just west of Enos Lane near Delano.

The Task Force observed vehicles racing westbound on Garces Hwy with between 250 and 300 people lining both shoulders of the roadway.

Officers simply blocked the exits and proceeded to arrest 163 individuals.

The ages ranged from 13 to 26 years of age.

It was a few months ago that two CHP officers attempted to break up a street race and inadvertently fired several shots at a car that allegedly accelerated towards an officer. The shots hit a 14-yr old girl in the front passenger seat. Her family is currently suing the CHP.

Forget about the fact this 14-yr old was out after curfew, riding around with a couple nitrous nitwits and doing who knows what. We attempted to ask her attorney, who only said he didn't want to talk about that, only the officers disregard for proper procedure.

As long as we're busting 13-yr old kids, how about taking the child (not teen) to his house and locking up mom and dad while we're at it.

Let the kid stay home while the parents are downtown getting fingerprinted. I mean, they obviously feel he/she is responsible enough to be out at midnight on a weekend. And if he needs a ride anywhere, he's got a friend close by that can get him anywhere he wants to go FAST!!!

The Task Force reminds you to call 911, if you see anything that appears to be “Street Racing” activity in the dead of night.

Who knows, you might save someones teenager.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Such A Waste

I know it's been awhile since I last posted, but the vacation has ended.

Sadly, many lives have ended in the past month. A variety of shootings and attacks starting with a senseless killing at a family reunion early in the morning on July 5th leading up to the violent attack of a would-be good Samaritan in the drive-thru of a Del Taco at the Northwest Promenade.

Police will tell you that violence increases with the mercury.

The hotter the temperature, the more people are prone to lose it.

But what would make a group of people beat someone to death?

27-yr old Josh Robertson was riding in a car driven by an ex-girlfriend around 2am last week, sitting in a drive-thru at Del Taco behind a car full of guys.

Robertson took issue with some of the things the men were saying to the employee and got out of the car. I'm told he is some kind of manager for Del Taco.

His mother said Josh was "extremely intoxicated" at the time of the incident and when he faced off with one of the men in the other car, he swung but never landed a punch, unless you count it when he hit the ground.

He may have missed, but the man and several of his friends did not.

They beat him as he laid on the ground, then, propped him up against a wall .

Family members say that Doctors tell them it was this position that cut off oxygen to his brain.

He now lays at Mercy Southwest with no brain activity, and the family hoping for a miracle.

A miracle would be charges of manslaughter or even murder being brought against one or more of the attackers.

While I normally don't take sides with anyone involved in a drunken brawl, there something pathetic about someone who would beat anyone who is flat on the ground.

I do believe that Josh should have just stayed in the car and waited for the idiots to pull away. Unless there was some direct threat to the employee, aside from ridiculous drunken comments, it could have ended when their order was finished or someone calling 911.

The only real threat was Josh calling attention to the rude and childish behavior of a couple jerks.

There are rumors that one or more of the accused are members of the CSUB wrestling team. No one from the University will comment yet, obviously, until the investigation is completed.

But it really doesn't matter who they are, only that what they did was reprehensible.