SPD Carjacking Press Release

December 20, 2007

On December 20, 2007 at approximately 11:33 am, Officers of the Salisbury Police Department received a call to respond to the Top Ten Store on W. Isabella St. for the report of an assault and a car jacking. Upon arrival, the officers found a victim that had sustained a stab wound to her lower right back. The victim was transported by Salisbury Fire Department EMS to the Peninsula Regional Medical Center for treatment. The victim advised that she and the suspect had been located in the victim’s vehicle, at the Top Ten Store, and became involved in a verbal argument. During the argument, the suspect who was known to the victim, was located in the rear seat of the vehicle. The suspect produced a small kitchen type knife and leaned over the seat to stab the victim. Once the victim received the stab wound, the victim exited the vehicle. The suspect then relocated to the driver’s seat and left the area in the victim’s vehicle. A description of the vehicle was broadcast to all agencies in the area, and a Deputy of the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office located the vehicle on Camden Avenue. The vehicle was stopped, and subsequently the suspect was located. After a brief struggle, the suspect was taken into custody. The vehicle was recovered, and the knife used in the assault was located a short distance away.

The victim is reported to be in stable condition.

ARRESTED: Stacy Lynn Copes, 22 years of age No fixed address

CHARGES:
First degree assault
Second degree assault
Armed carjacking
Theft of a motor vehicle
Possession of a dangerous and deadly weapon
Reckless endangerment

DISPOSITION: Released to Central Booking CC # 200700042541

Big Criminal News Tonight

The past two days have simply been unreal crime wise. Two days ago there was an armed robbery in Salisbury. One the day before that. Today there was a Home Invasion with an 81+ year old man in his home. I'm told a black woman came to his door to use the phone and he agreed to allow her to do so. She made some calls and the next thing he knew a black gentleman came in with a gun and held the elderly man in his home while the woman took off with Bank Cards and started withdrawing money left and right. WCSO responded to the scene and were FORCED to get a subpoena to obtain the video from the Bank of the machine she used and they were able to get some good video of the woman but they are both still on the loose.

Then there was a car jacking in Salisbury that included a stabbing and fortunately the WCSO was listening to the calls over the radio and spotted the vehicle and apprehended the suspect and the weapon. I'm told there's an average of about 2 robberies per day in the City right now. UNBELIEVABLE!

Then I came to learn that the City of Salisbury Police Department only has 4 vehicles that have the ability to hear any radio transmission coming from the WCSO! The WCSO can hear all the SPD calls and assist but the SPD cannot hear the majority of what's going on with the WCSO.

I'll let the Officers get on here and settle this one because IMO, that's BS! Anyhow, fortunately no one was killed today and each shift is going home safe and sound. More info tomorrow as it comes in.

New IN Fire Station Built At Nominal Cost To Taxpayers

From Fire Engineering's news archives…

Dec. 16

It's nothing fancy, but it will be home to dozens of city firefighters in coming years, the central hub of firefighting activities on the city's west side.

The public will have its first chance to see the new station during an open house today from 1 to 2 p.m., at the newly created address of 3108 W. Sycamore St. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will follow at 2 p.m.

Compared to the old station at the corner of Sycamore Street and Dixon Road, the new station is larger by a third and capable of housing four pumper trucks in its bays.

Dormitory facilities at the old station will be replaced by individual bedrooms and three full baths. The old station features four beds sitting at the corners of a room dominated by free weights. In the new station, the weight room is separate, sitting off to one side of the truck bay.

The new station even has a back patio with a gas line for a grill, and separate food pantries (and three separate refrigerators) for the three shifts which will man the station.

Other new features include two separate laundry facilities -- one for regular laundry like bedsheets and uniforms, and another with a heavy-duty washer for items which have been contaminated during ambulance and fire runs. Another room off the main truck bay will serve as storage space for firefighting helmets, boots and suits.

Some new phones, beds and a radio tower they were going to buy anyway are the only things city officials bought for the new station, Kokomo Fire Chief Dave Duncan said.

The rest of the $1.25 million station was built by Peacock-Dixon LLC, the Indianapolis developer which will soon be building a new Walgreen drug store on the site where the old station stands.

The new station was built as part of a project which will involve moving the Wendy's and Subway restaurants along Dixon Road to the north to make room for the new Walgreen.

All told, Duncan said, Peacock and its investors will spend more than $7 million to make all of that happen.

"I really got what I wanted, and I think it's a really good opportunity for us," Duncan said Thursday. "The fire department came out great on this. This is a building that's going to last us for a long time."

Duncan said he hopes to move into the new station, which was still undergoing work Thursday, by Christmas. Thursday an electrical contractor was getting ready to turn power back on at the building, and some of the caulk around the door frames was still wet.

"It's a $1.25 million building at no cost to us. All we have to do is trade locations, and that is sweet," Duncan said.

Chiefy See & Deputy Chiefy Gordy must not get this Magazine!

Another GI Made It Home Today!

The young soldiers name is PVT. Jessie Parks, United States Army. He arrived at Wicomic Airport this morning at 10:10 and will be home for 15 days for the holidays and since his birthday is Christmas Eve, he will be able to spend that with his Family as well. He will be returning to Ft. Benning, GA where he will be attending Jump School for the 82nd Airborne. Incidentally, he is the Nephew of Lt. Robin Roberts of the Wicomico County Sheriff's Office. Robin should be proud!

Jessie, Welcome Home and Thank You for ALL that you do! Call me, we'll do lunch on me! Oh, and if we have to we can bring your Uncle too. LOL

Salisbury Fire Department Donations

I received a telephone call today from a friend who lives in Salisbury. While we were on the phone they told me that they had just received a package from the SFD. Oh, it's one of those donation packages. I said, what are you going to do with it. They said, can you hear this? (RIP) They tore it up and threw it in the trash.

Did any of you happen to catch the Special Meeting the other night on PAC14? Well, turns out Chiefy See was on his knees begging for a new Fire Station, (boy this guy's got balls) on the North end of the City. Debbie Campbell started discussing the fact that the Fire Department should have considered the DONATION and GIFT the Mall Owners gave to the City offering that Building for FREE to the Fire Department. She went on to say that we don't always have to have the latest and the greatest and the newest.

Chiefy See blew an O Ring on that one Folks. You HAVE to see the replay on that one, seriously. He tried to claim it wasn't true and that they weren't going to just give it to the City. OH CHIEFY, that's NOT what I was told. Looks like we're going to battle over that one. Rather than stuttering, then next time you should come back with FACTS and let's play ball. Just because you say it Chiefy doesn't mean it's true.

WICOMICO COUNTY EXECUTIVE TO DELIVER SECOND “STATE OF THE COUNTY” ADDRESS

Wicomico County Executive Richard M. Pollitt, Jr. will deliver his annual “State of the County” address on Friday, December 28th at 10:00 A.M. in the City/County Council Chambers of the Government Office Building.

Mr. Pollitt has been Wicomico County’s first elected executive since December of 2006. The County Charter requires that the Executive deliver a “state of the county” address before the end of each calendar year.

Humane Society Advice

I am a former shelter volunteer and was President of the Board of Directors for Accomack and Northamption Regional SPCA. Here is my perspective:

County vs Donations/Shelter vs Pound: We struggled with this dual role for years and finally voted to end our contractual relationship with the counties, thus ending our "pound" function, and decided to become a real shelter. The loss of funds were a real challenge but the SPCA has survived. Many of us feared a county run pound would be a horrifying place and wanted to keep the pound function if only to control it. I was not among those.

The Humane Society here needs to be just that and let the county run a pound and have the animal control officers. Yes, it costs money, but not much more than they are paying now, except for construction costs. $300k a year would probably take care of most of the salaries. Maybe more.

You do see a lot of terrible stuff in the shelter and you do develop a real disdain for the public. That sort of burnout is an unfortunate side effect. I can tell stories that you would wish you could un-hear once I finished. A heart breaks a thousand times a week in a place like that.

However, that is no excuse to play God. That is not an excuse to intrepret the law the way you see fit. It sounds to me like Lugo needs to go - she has gone past what you need from a competent shelter manager. My own SPCA and our staff & directors constantly frustrated me in terms of the roadblocks they kept adding to the adoption process. The requirements got so ridiculous that only those promising to build a mansion for the dog and feed it caviar had any hope of getting it adopted. Meanwhile we just kept squirting em, bagging em and stacking them in the freezer. That sounds graphic, I know. But that is what happens. You see enough of it, you either become callous or you have an emotional breakdown. It sounds like Linda Lugo has become callous and needs to step down.

The Daily Times Cover Up Today!!!!!!

Click on image to enlarge.

Ladies & Gentlemen, you may not have noticed but today there's a Letter To The Editor the Daily Times CONVENIENTLY did NOT POST on their On Line Edition.

Sorry guys but I may have to go back and change the name to the Tilghman Times, instead of The Daily Late & A Dollar Short Times. What's the matter guys, afraid the Mayor might come in there cursing like a Sailor again?

Anyhow, here's a little help. Now we'll make sure there's an audience for this letter and thanks for writing it Bruce!

GO HERE and check out what The Daily Times had to say about this subject just the other day too.

From The Daily Times:

Meeting highlights from Monday, Dec. 10:
PRESENTATION OF AUDITOR'S OPINION ON CITY AUDIT

Action taken: None

Public auditor Herb Geary of Salisbury's Trice Geary & Myers LLC briefed the council on why the audit was incomplete. The final deadline is Jan. 1 and his presentation was supposed to be on the completed audit. His firm does not receive necessary paperwork from the city in time because of the city's Internal Service's staffing shortages and rigorous accounting standards set by the Government Accounting Standards Board.

Private Jordan Robinson Is Home

Family Members, We Care Wicomico County and a multitude of local representatives and citizens went out of their way today to welcome yet another Home Town Hero serving our County who arrived home at the Wicomico County Airport just a short time ago.

Jordan was overwhelmed at the amount of people who showed up, many of which he met for the very first time. However, there was nothing better than watching this young man get off the plane and walk into the terminal area while Family hugged and welcomed their In Home Hero.

Jordan won't be home for long though. He'll enjoy the Holidays with Family and then he's back off to special training and ultimately his final deployment representing and protecting all of us. Thank You Jordan and Welcome Home!

Bob Harris/The Humane Society/Time For New Leadership

I'm writing this letter as a follow-up to the original relating to what I believe is an abuse of power by the Wicomico County Humane Society. I believe it is important to let the citizens of Wicomico County know how things have unfolded since then as well as what I've learned that could be important to them in the future. Before I begin, I would like to address the nay sayers who said things like "3 strikes your out", "if you didn't let your dog out, you wouldn't have a problem" , and "I can't help but think there is another side to this story because kids lie"....blah, blah, blah. The fact of the matter is that there are laws that govern the authority of the humane society, and any other animal control entity, and my point was that they were overstepping thier authority. No matter who likes it they were WRONG .......and here we go.

This morning our Daughter and I met with two members of the Wicomico County Council, County Exec. Rick Pollitt, and County Atty. Ed Baker. We discussed at great length the circumstances surrounding our recent dealings with the Humane Society and I learned that we are not alone. I expressed concern that there is no accountability at the Humane Society and that they can get away with pretty much anything they wish and the average citizen has no recourse short of paying an attorney thousands to challenge them in court. This is more often than not, out of reach to the average citizen.

I was armed with that part of the county code which relates to animal control - more specifically that part which outlines the rights and responsibilities of the animal control officials as well as the right of the citizens to redeem thier pets. As it turns out....just like I said before....as long as the dog is licensed and has had it's rabies vaccine and has not been deemed deadly, the Humane Society MUST release the dog to it's owner - Without any conditions. They can't make you buy a doghouse. They can't make you install a kennel. They can't require you to spay the animal. and the CERTAINLY don't have the authority to tell you that you can't have a dog at your house as they did in our case. The law which governs the animal control officers does NOT give them the authority to make these requirements. The only discretion the officers have is whether to return the animal to your home or to impound it. If they impound it you had a RIGHT to redeem it immediately as lo ng as it has had it's rabies vaccine and is licenced.....period. Not after a protective custody (as we were told) period since the County Code does not authorize it.

I learned that since the Humane Society is a non-profit organization and is not under the direct control of the county, the county cannot say "don't do this anymore". But they do control something that the Humane Society needs - Money. $304,000.00 annually to be exact. I was told that the County reserves the right to withold funding if they believe the Humane Society is not treating the citizens in accordance with the law and that it was a real possibility if things didn't change. I stated my position that there exists ample case law which states that animal control is an arm of the govt. and that the citizens are afforded the same 4th and 14th amendment rights relating to seizure of property and due process, as they would be if dealing with any other branch of the govt.

Rick Pollitt is a good person to deal with. He is definitely concerned about customer service and the way the citizens are treated. Toward the end of our meeting, he asked Ed Baker what he thought. Ed Baker stated that although he was going to have to look at the code a little more, he believed that the Humane Society was wrong in the way it interprets the code.

Immediately after our meeting, another meeting was held with the same county officials. This time Linda Lugo was present along with Gary Comegys. Before I go into what took place during this meeting, it is appropriate to mention another unfortunate incident alleged to have occurred at the Humane Society very recently.

It seems as though a family lost a female lab and her two puppies. I'm not sure of the circumstances surrounding thier disappearance, but the incidents that are alleged to have followed are appalling. It was relayed to me as follows. The family that lost the dogs placed an ad in the newspaper, printed flyers, and went door to door in an attempt to find thier dogs to no avail. They called the Humane Society and when no one answered, they left a message describing the dogs, where they live, etc. They continued to look for the dogs without results. They tried to contact the humane society again and once again got no answer. They did not leave another message since they believed they would have gotten the first message and would return the call when they got a chance. After getting no response from the humane society after another week or so, they went to the humane society to check thier inventory. Upon thier arrival they found the two puppies and declared that the pupies w ere thiers. The officer stated "no, they belong to us - they've been here for more than 6 days" . The family expressed disbelief that the puppies would be found without the mother at which time they learned that the mother had been EUTHANIZED! The family was in shock. They wanted to know why no one returned thier call. Lugo stated "You never called". The family asked for all pertinent paperwork relating to her dog being euthanized but had not received it. My understanding is that this is far from over. Who could believe that this family did not contact the humae society after everything else they did to find thier dogs. It was necessary to mention this because pointed conversation about this incident took place during the meeting that followed ours.

During the meeting that followed ours today, a councilman who was present asked Lugo why she hadn't given the family the paperwork relating to thier dog that had been euthanized. She stated that she could not release it without a subpeona. The councilman asked..."where in the law does it say that you require a subpeona?". Lugo stated....should I mail it to them or will they pick it up. The councilman stated "I'll come get it myself that way I know they'll get it" Lugo was questioned about the law and about making it up as she went along. It appears that Gary Comegys took the position that the humane society is in the business of rescuing animals or something to that effect. But I think the best part of thier meeting must have been when Lugo got frustrated and stated something to the effect of the following - (Watch your eyes and ears now, it appears she's quite the proffessional lady) "Have you ever picked up the phone and theres a guy on the other end saying - You took my mother fucking dog. You better give my fucking dog back." My understanding was that she did NOT abbreviate. Speaking this way at a meeting with other professionals. During the meeting, Gary Comegys was asked if he was opposed to having the Animal Control function to operated under the direct supervision of the Sheriff's Office and he stated that he was not opposed to that. I was not at the second meeting but this was relayed to me by one of the attending council members.

This is how I see it:

The humane society seems unable to determine where code enforcement ends and animal rescue begins. They are each necessary, but the officers cannot twist and manipulate the law in order to give themselves the authority to retain custody of an animal to which they have no property rights. The animal control function should be under the direct control of the Sheriff's office to ensure accountability. There is currently no accountability and no mechanism available to the average citizen to challenge a decision illegally made by an overzealous humane society employee. There should never be ANY organization which has any authority at all over the citizens that is not under the direct control of our elected officials. I believe Linda Lugo is about to bring a world of hurt to Wicomico County if it is determined that the humane society is being operated so poorly under her command that through derelection of duty someones family pet was euthanized. I believe that Lugo should resign and that since she is not an employee of the county, Comegys should lead the board of directors in the call for her resignation since he was present during her profane ranting which must have been an embarrassment to everyone present. I know of one more incident much like the one listed above but will not get into specifics out of respect for the dog owner who still suffers. I'm sure many more will come out as time goes by. How many more horror stories must the citizens of Wicomico County endure before those responsible are held accountable?

Know this. As we speak, efforts are under way which will explore in great detail, the possibility of relieving the humane society of the animal control function. Any steps taken in this direction will be steps toward educated, professional animal control as well as accountability under the authority of an elected official.

Ladies & Gentlemen, it's important you share YOUR story with us here. Good or bad, we need to know and see just what kind of accountability is necessary at the Humane Society. Do you feel welcome when you walk in the door? Are people curtious when you come in? You know the drill,. This is your opportunity, even if it's a story about a friend who doesn't have a computer, I want to know what's going on out there. So please take the time and share it with us. You can always remain anonymous or you can send me your story at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com .