Here’s a story from the You Can’t Make It Up file …. a woman in Clark County, Wis., called the local sheriff’s department and reported a drunk driver — HERSELF.
She was eventually cited for impaired driving after her blood alcohol level was tested at .17, well over the legal limit.
Listen to the first 911 call here: drunk-driver-call-12.
The second call his here: drunk-driver-call-2
In a trial, a Southern small-town prosecuting attorney called his first witness, an elderly woman, to the stand. He asked, “Mrs. Jones, do you know me?”
“Why yes, I do know you,” she replied. “I’ve known you since you were a boy, and frankly, you’ve been a big disappointment to me. You lie, you cheat on your wife, and you manipulate people and talk about them behind their backs. You think you are a big shot when you haven’t the brains to realize you’ll never amount to anything more than a two-bit paper pusher.
“Yes, I know you.”
The lawyers was stunned. Not knowing what else to do, he pointed across the room to the defense attorney and asked, “Do you know him?”
“Why yes, I do,” was the reply. “I’ve known him since he was a youngster, too. He’s lazy, bigoted, and has a drinking problem. He can’t build a normal relationship with anyone, and his law practice is one of the worst in the entire state. Not to mention he cheated on his wife with three different women. One of them was your wife.
“Yes, I know him.”
The defense attorney sank into his chair as the jurors gasped.
The judge asked both attorneys to approach the bench and glared at them.
“If either of you idiots asks her if she knows me,” the judge in a quiet voice, “I’ll send you both to the electric chair.”
Got a chance to go through the Rockcliffe Mansion Wednesday, and it was beyond cool …. for the story, click here.
One of the former residents told some amazing stories about things she heard, saw and smelled in the house over the years. I’m sure it’s a ghost-hunter’s dream!
This scam has been reported in 11 states, including Illinois, and authorities are warning people to be careful when it comes to giving sensitive information over the phone.
A caller identifies him/herself as an officer of the court and notifies the victim that a warrant has been issued for their arrest for a failure to report for jury duty. If the victim protests they have never received a summons for jury duty, the scammer asks for a Social Security number and date of birth to verify the victim’s identity and cancel the arrest warrant.
As a general rule, never give out sensitive information like your Social Security number, credit card or debit card numbers, birth date or birthplace, vehicle registration plate number, or any other information you wish to keep private.
Judge Mark Schuering is one of the many good guys at the Adams County Courthouse. He steps down next August and there will be awfully big shoes to fill.
For my column and an audio link of the judge, click here.
Saddened to learn about the accidental drowning death of New Start Rescue Mission founder Chuck Smith.
Chuck was many things – stubborn, determined, maybe a little crazy. I first met him a few years ago when he was trying to get his mission off of the ground. He and another guy rented the building on the southeast corner of Eighth and Maine, and they were unfortunately rather naive about how things worked in Quincy.
A lesser man would have been discouraged. Instead, Chuck eventually found a building and began his work helping men turn their lives around.
He had a very interesting life, if you believed all his tall tales about how bad he was and much trouble he was in until he “gave his life to Christ.”
The one thing I never doubted was his wish to help people. The last time I saw him, he gave me a thumbs up and said things were looking good and God had big plans for him and his mission.
Rest easy, Chuck.
Former Quincy Police Department officer R.T. Finney, now the chief of the Champaign Police Department, had a tragic encounter last week with two 15-year-old boys allegedly trying to break into a house.
Click here for the latest story from the Champaign paper.
View from the courtroom pew about an hour after John Hibbert was found guilty of financial exploitation of an elderly person and theft …. click here for the story.
— Eleanor Lutes, 93, was the victim in this case. Her testimony Tuesday afternoon was tremendous and went a long way to getting a guilty verdict. The jurors were smiling and hung on her every word as she told them she didn’t give Hibbert permission to take more than $210,000 from her bank accounts. “She was sharp. Sharper than my grandmother,” special prosecutor Ed Parkinson said. “But don’t tell my grandmother I said that.”
— This is a probation case all the way. John Hibbert is president of the Lions Club in Paloma, a member of the Adams County Board for seven years and from all accounts, a pretty good guy. He has no prior criminal history and he should get a favorable pre-sentence investigation report given to Judge Michael Roseberry. Judges often say they assume probation is a proper sentence when it comes to first-time felony offenders, depending on the circumstances, of course.
— I wonder if Blessing Hospital will change policy when it comes to being notary publics for power of attorney documents. During this morning’s testimony, several Blessing employees said they witnessed Lutes sign documents in the hospital last November, but only one of the six said they knew what Lutes was signing. One of the employees even said she thought Lutes was signing a health care power of attorney document, when she was actually signing her will.
— Speaking of the will, it’s in the court file as evidence. Technically, John Hibbert’s name is still on Eleanor Lutes’ will …. wonder if that will change soon.
Toni Hale: Not happy, to say the least.
Civility reigns inside area courtrooms – well, most of the time, anyway.
During a pretrial hearing Tuesday morning before Judge Michael Roseberry in Quincy, Toni Hale was not happy to learn her motion to continue her felony trial this month was denied.
Hale, 25, is charged with three counts of aggravated battery, one count of threatening a public official and one count of aggravated battery to a peace officer. She got upset when she asked for a new lawyer, a change of venue and to find out her bond, which is 10 percent of $100,000.
Hale, who also has a November trial scheduled for a separate aggravated battery charge, began screaming at the judge as Adams County Sheriff’s bailiff Hank Pfeiffer and Jail Administrator Chad Downs struggled to drag her out of the courtroom.
Roseberry made her come back to the bench and gave her 60 days in the Adams County Jail for contempt of court.
That, of course, set Hale off even more, and she screamed obscenities as she was led out of the courtroom. Roseberry remarked he could still hear her in the hallway as she was taken upstairs to the jail.
“This,” the judge said, “could be an interesting trial.”
