Bull's Eyeful (woman poses nude with guns, goes to prison)

Denver Westword ^ | 02/13/03 | David Holthouse

[Drew68]

He had the camera, the studio and the guns. She had the tribal tattoos, the icy blue eyes and the desire. They met on the Internet in May 2000 in a chat room for Colorado singles. They volleyed flirtatious notes. She told him her name was Katica, pronounced "Kah-tee-kah." It's Hungarian, she said.

She was 34 then, and she was hot -- if you like biker chicks, which he did. She sent him pictures. She was 5'8", 125 pounds. She came across in her e-mails as tough, yet vulnerable. She let him know she was fresh out of prison, where she'd just served two years for selling a tiny bag of speed to an undercover cop. She was on ISP, Intensive Supervised Program, and so had a plastic electronic monitoring bracelet around her ankle like a virtual ball and chain. She was broke and living with her ex-husband in Colorado Springs. She had reclaimed her maiden name and was Katica Crippen once more. She had an eight-year-old daughter and a felony record, and she was looking to make a fresh start.

He lived in Englewood. He went to see her a few times, and even though she wasn't allowed to drive under the terms of her ISP, he loaned her a car, and she came to see him a few times. They were talking one day, and the conversation turned to guns. He told her he had quite a collection. She told him guns made her feel naughty. "She said she thought it would be really good to take some pictures of her naked with my guns," he says.

He was all for it.

(snip)

[Drew68]

Long story but an entertaining read (I thought). Crippen is hardly a sympathetic figure yet her case says a lot about the NRA-backed "Project Exile" and the unintended consequences it has raised.

[supercat]

Too bad these people didn't have a good lawyer. Photographs of a person with what appears to be a gun should not be considered evidence that the person in question actually handled a real gun. There are many widely-available fake guns which, in a photograph, would be indistinguishable from the real thing.

[Drew68]

BANG!

[John Jorsett]

There are many widely-available fake guns which, in a photograph, would be indistinguishable from the real thing.

For that matter, she could have posed with any object and anyone adept with Photoshop could replace it with a gun, and you'd never be able to tell that it was a fake.

[Leisler]

The Security Bureaucracy.

More laws = more crime = more jobs.

[supercat]

For that matter, she could have posed with any object and anyone adept with Photoshop could replace it with a gun, and you'd never be able to tell that it was a fake.

Unless the government saw either prints which were--per the markings on the back--made from negatives or else saw the negatives themselves.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Unintended consequences my ass. This is exactly what they wanted when they passed the law.

[IncPen]

Pictures?

[eddie willers]

Pictures?

[El Gato]

Then too there is the legal definition of "possess". Does merely handling something mean you possess it? I can't think of any other circumstances where one would be said to possess something, when one merely held or handled it, but did not control it, nor could one use or dispose of it.

[USMC_tangocharlie]

Yes, it does. When these federal prosecutors run out of meaningful cases to pursue, they go after stupid cases like this. People complain of prison overcrowding, and this woman is back in jail for holding unloaded firearms long enough to say cheese.

It's a crazy world.

[WFTR]

Note: I originally wanted to post this message to Drew68 who was the originator of this thread. Now, I'm receiving a message that says that he doesn't exist. I don't know what the problem is or how he couldn't exist when he posted the original thread.

I'm sure that part of the NRA's reason for pushing Project Exile was to make people dislike gun laws by showing them how unjust these laws are. They are never going to admit this fact, but it is likely the truth. I understand this strategy, but the unfortunate effect is that it requires unjustly prosecuting people like this woman and the photographer.

WFTR
Bill

[BullDog108]

Must be something wrong with your browser. Drew68 exists.

[Drew68]

Note: I originally wanted to post this message to Drew68

That's really strange. I noticed in post #11 that it was sent to "Kalashnikov_68" which was my old FR name. I changed to "Drew68" back in July 2002.

Creepy things afoot at FR tonight... (cue Twilight Zone music)

[WFTR]

I agree that there must be something wrong, but I clicked the reply button below his name, wrote some words, and clicked the "Preview" button. It told me that he didn't exist and that I must correct that the name before I could post. I also tried typing his name in the To: box, but it gave me the same thing. Interestingly, you can see that it accepted his old name.

[Tall_Texan]

Katica?? Here's another name for your list. Sounds like more evidence for parents to steer clear of funky first names.

[NovemberCharlie]

I'm sure that part of the NRA's reason for pushing Project Exile was to make people dislike gun laws by showing them how unjust these laws are. They are never going to admit this fact, but it is likely the truth.

I;m not sure if I believe that, but it is true that the best way to get a bad low overturned is to enforce it meticulously.

[deport]

Maybe a result of the data base work from the other night?