Man accused of beating at Wal-Mart posts bail (Thread 3)

Chicago Sun Times ^ | December 28, 2003

[Cubs Fan]

Man accused of beating at Wal-Mart posts bail

December 28, 2003

BY DAVE NEWBART Staff Reporter Advertisement

A Broadview man said Saturday he "was trying to protect my kids'' during an incident in which he was charged for allegedly assaulting two people on Christmas Eve at Wal-Mart.

Lennell Greer made his comments after posting 10 percent of a $10,000 bond set Saturday at Cook County Circuit Court in Maywood.

During the hearing, prosecutors alleged Greer and a 15-year-old boy assaulted a man and woman with a baseball bat after a dispute over a place in line at the Forest Park Wal-Mart.

The victims were "punched, kicked and beaten with a baseball bat while they lay on the ground,'' Assistant Cook County State's Attorney Sandra Blake said. She also said Greer gave a written statement admitting involvement in the incident, which has attracted national attention.

But Greer's attorney, Samuel Adam, as well as several relatives painted a different picture of Greer and the incident. They said Greer has been married for 16 years, lived in Broadview for 11 and worked for the same trucking company for five. "He is a family man,'' Adam said.

Adam asked the judge to preserve security videotapes from Wal-Mart. He claims the tapes will show the victims in the case, 22-year-old Matthew Baures of Berwyn and a 28-year-old Chicago woman, started the fight by trying to cut in line in front of Greer's 11-year-old daughter and hitting her with a shopping cart -- charges Baures denies.

They also said Wal-Mart security scolded Baures for the fight inside -- which Baures does not dispute.

Greer's wife contends Baures and his companion continued the argument outside the store, where Lennell Greer was waiting for his family. But Adam admits "no [physical] threats'' were made toward the family.

Baures said Saturday he thinks Greer, who didn't witness the argument in the store, might have been given false information by family members on what took place, leading to the attack. "I would have beat somebody too for hitting my kid,'' Baures said. "But it never happened."

[tubebender]

I thought I read on a earlier thread that the Greers were standing in two lines.

A elderly customer of mine was at the mall Friday cruising for a parking place. She stopped to let a car back out and had her turn signal on when the driver of a Toyoto Pickup started honking her horn at her to move on. The next minute the Toyo rammed her rear bumper. My friend was smart enough to not get out of her car and challenge this creep.

[Hannity4prez]

God luck= Good luck. Oops

[Quix]

Reminds me of trying to buy a turkey or some such the day before Thanksgiving at the big Navy Commisary in San Diego.

Talk about CONTACT SPORTS! Those women are ruthless! And some of the smaller Asian women were among the most potent with their elbows and knees. I felt I needed full football gear to just survive.

[Cubs Fan]

Now if the tapes actually show this to be a black on white beating why can't this be called a hate crime? Almost certain if the roles were reversed. This incident may have nothing to do with race but it seems the Sun Times is trying to soften the facts.

They also have yet to mention that the Hispanic cashier overheard the woman, Greer, on her cell phone tell her husband to get the white poeple who would be coming out after them.

[Cubs Fan]

Granted this is about holiday shopping and what a lousy thing it can be

But I can't understand how some are missing two very big conservative themes in this story

1) The womans whole argument is-- if you don't like something someone says to you (if they diss you), you should be able to beat them a with deadly weapons

2) Had the races been reversed one can only bet that it would not have been hushed up. And more than likely the words hate crime would be involved. But once again because the races are reversed the media plays double standards.

[ChiMark]

The people on this thread do not see he real issue at stake;
we definetly have a biased issue here. I guess open season against "whitey" is o.k. Note the Chicago Libune did'nt report this incident. Thanks for the great detective work.

[Cubs Fan]

---The people on this thread do not see he real issue at stake; we definetly have a biased issue here. I guess open season against "whitey" is o.k.---

You're right some definitely don't.

That's the message being sent. Any white people who "diss" black people deserve a baseball bat upside the head. In this woman's world (and the enabling double standard loving medias world as well) white folks had better know their place.

[Main Street]

I'm not surprised. Where I live (a mostly white suburb 30 miles from Detroit) this type of thing has been going on for years. Here it's always black on white, and never the reverse. Democrats and their liberal media have done their best to create a permanent victim class among some in the minority communities, that is racist and deeply resentful of Whites.

I can only speak from my location. The reason why many whites, in general, do not frequent black establishments, and particularly black areas, is because of this resentment, hatred, and anti-white racism, in which whites are often assaulted and attacked both verbally and physically.

Here are just a few recent examples reported in letters to the editor, and crime reports, in my local newspaper...

A letter to the editor printed in the Detroit News, from a woman in California, as to why her mother is leaving Detroit. Typical as to "why" many whites stay away.....

["My mom just moved out of Detroit after 44 years. My mother has less prejudice in her body than anyone reading this letter. She stayed In the City all these years just trying to get along. She forgave the periodic vandalism.

But my mom finally left after being jeered as a "white *****" by a crowd at the post office. And when a new shopping center opened in her neighborhood of 36 years, this tiny 76-year old white lady was treated with disdain and hatred flavored with racial slurs, barely able to get waited on.

Well Detroit, she won't bother you anymore. She will be OK, however. She is a survivor. In time, she may even forgive you on this one. But I won't. You broke my mom's heart. And for that, Detroit, I will never forgive you. Racism is ugly no matter what color wears it."]-The Detroit News

This, however, is not the case when Detroiters venture into the suburbs, as many often do, to frequent white owned stores. Unfortunately, a racist few bring with them, and act out their hatred for whites. As is evident from several recent incidents at stores in my area.....

["Police are searching for a suspect who allegedly assaulted a Hartland man outside Twelve Oaks Mall March 28. The man told police that he was walking with his girlfriend on the upper level parking lot outside Hudson's when he passed the suspect who allegedly said "What the f--- are you looking at, white boy? This is my city now and I'll kick your a--."

The man told police he looked at the suspect, but then continued, walking. He said the suspect attacked him from behind and then hit him in the mouth and head area, then walked back into the mall after the victim fell into some parked cars. Police noted that the victim had injuries to his lips. a broken top front tooth, and various cuts and bruises.

The suspect is described as a black I male, about 6'3" and 180-190 I pounds with a light complexion, short black hair and acne. He was reportedly wearing a black T-shirt and light colored jeans."]-The Novi News

["A 30-year-old Westland woman was assaulted April 28 while waiting in line at a McDonald's restaurant at Twelve Mile Rd. The woman entered the restaurant and waited in line to order, but before she could, three African-American females cut in front of her.

When the woman told them that she was next, one of the females assaulted her on the face area with her hand. Another one of the females also assaulted her by hitting her in the head area.The three attackers then left in a black Blazer."]-The Novi News

These incidents are common place, and only make the small local papers, when they are reported. However, I have never read, or heard of a single incident where in a white man or woman shopper has gone into a black area, such as Detroit to assault blacks either verbally or physically.

There are plenty of areas in Detroit where whites and Asians would never venture into, lest they run the risk of becoming a victim of racial hate. Recently a noted Asian-American cancer researcher who worked at Wayne State University in Detroit, had his car break down, and went to a bus stop, where he was immediately set upon and had a screwdriver shoved through his neck, killing him.

And yet I know of no incidents in the mostly white & Asian suburbs here, where any blacks have been attacked,....or the local liberal media would have made sure we all heard about it.

Many blacks live and shop in the suburbs without any harassment or fear of being attacked by whites. In fact, I know of white sales personnel who go out of their way to be extra nice to black customers in particular, lest they be accused of "white racism".

[Gabz]

But once again because the races are reversed the media plays double standards.

And it's not just in this particular incident or location - it is rampant anywhere and everywhere but most pervasevly in the print media..

I've noticed it for years but it wasn't until about a year ago that I realized just how many people were aware of the situation. I was talking with some neighbors and one of them commented about how it seemed the media only printed race when it was a white on black crime and not the other way around. And that was the only time the NAACP started screaming racism, but was silent when the situation was reversed. The others all agreed and said it was wrong and the NAACP should be screaming about all racism, not just what they thought it was.

What surprised me about the conversation is that of the group of us, I was the only white person.

[Cubs Fan]

#28 fantastic post!

I hope everybody here reads it.

[SLB]

I missed an exit once in Detroit. I took the next one and found myself in the wrong part of town. I was on a one way street heading toward what looked like a block party. I simply turned around and headed the wrong way on the street. I figured if a cop saw me he would understand.

[Cubs Fan]

What surprised me about the conversation is that of the group of us, I was the only white person.

IMO most fair minded people no matter what color they are only want equal standards for all. Unfortunately the press and the NAACP is not made up of fairminded people.

[fso301]

I've been in that section of Chicago and I've been in that particular store.

I have friends who live a little bit west of there. The demographics are predominantly black; working class to middle class. You don't see grafitti, barred windows and groups of unemployed young males loitering about. Expecting to hear of exhorbidant Chicago prices, I was very surprised to learn that in the very nice, very well maintained predominantly black neighborhood (1950's construction)where my friends live, a 2500sqft all brick veneer or stone veneer house on a .25 acre lot with two car garage can be purchased for $90-$100/ft. A train station is within walking distance providing easy access to the downtown district as well as businesses on the very expensive North Side.

I've been in this particular store twice. What I can tell you about the store is that even on an ordinary weekend, it is packed with about 10 customers per checkout. You don't go to that store thinking you're going to quickly go in and out. There's no excuse for what happened and someone needs to spend some time in jail but I hate to imagine the size of the checkout lines at Christmas in that store.

We've all seen and heard of parking space fights and this is just a variant. I've seen whites come to blows over a parking space in a crowded lot. Once, when I was a teenager, I watched two old retired white guys go at each other with golf clubs over a parking space dispute during an Albertsons grand opening. The endless FR threads on this topic is a little disturbing.

[Luke Skyfreeper]

Have yourself a merry little Christmas...

[Chi-townChief]

Forest Park is actually a pretty nice burg although there are some bad sections. I was at a party there in their "downtown" area on West Madison between Harlem and Des Plaines, and, other than the parking, everything was pretty cool. Years ago, though, I stopped in a 7-11 on Roosevelt there that was fairly hostile.

[Gabz]

Unfortunately the press and the NAACP is not made up of fairminded people.

You are correct - they have an agenda. But so do many of the sources they get their information from.

The best way I can explain that is through a personal experience I had as a reporter. Being in radio I generally called around to the local cop shops hourly for anything new for my next newscast. There were several major injury and fatal crashes over a period of days and I started noticing a pattern with the police press releases. Many of them specifically stated "the victim was NOT wearing a seatbelt" while others did not.

It was not until I specifically asked the question about seatbelts was I told the victim WAS wearing one. Needless to say I reported that fact. None of the other broadcasts I listened to from other stations or read in the papers of that particular accident mentioned that tidbit of information.

It's all part of the agenda to force people to believe that only those not wearing seatbelts are severely injured or killed.

It is the same with the racial issue - it is an agenda. Exactly what the agenda is, I have yet to figure out....but all I know is that it appears to be a desire to keep racism and prejudice alive while at the same time decrying it.

[Cubs Fan]

I've been in that section of Chicago and I've been in that particular store. I have friends who live a little bit west of there. The demographics are predominantly black; working class to middle class. You don't see grafitti, barred windows and groups of unemployed young males loitering about.

Don't know what you're talking about. Maywood, Bellwood and Broadview (where these criminals are from) are predominantly black area and dangerous places (look up crime stats on each and you'll see). That doesn't mean there aren't some good people living there, but there is definitely a dangerous element too.

And yes certainly there are many whites who are violent. But as Main Street pointed out the levels of black on white crime are multiples of the reverse.

The endless FR threads on this topic is a little disturbing.

http://www.drudgereport.com/ Drudge has a link up to the story, is that disturbing too?

[fso301]

My friends are a couple of miles west of there. I think it's near where Manchester Rd intersects the interstate (I-94 I think).

I'm certain there are bad and really bad parts nearby but for the nearly two weeks I was in that area walking about and using public transport, I was favorably impressed. I'm also certain that some people from those bad and really bad areas shop at that WallMart. All I'm saying is that the two non-holiday times I was in that WallMart, it was absolutely packed to the point of being borderline chaotic. Had lines been a little longer, then I can easily envisage the scenario described of a chaotic mass of people rather than being orderly lined up in the checkout area.

My distinct impression is that in that area, discount retail demand outstrips supply.

[Chi-townChief]

Do you mean by Mannheim Road and I-290 in Westchester?

[fso301]

Do you mean by Mannheim Road and I-290 in Westchester?

I guess. Coming from Midway, once you get off the interstate, you take Mannheim south a couple of blocks and there's an intersection With an I-Hop restaurant a CVS Pharmacy and a funeral home. If you took that left and go a couple of miles east, the Forrest Park Wal-Mart would be to your right. Somewhere around that WalMart, if you turned left and went north, you'd arrive at a commuter rail station which I'm pretty certain was the Forrest Park station. My friends lived within walking distance of the I-Hop I previously mentioned. On a number of occations, I'd walk from their house, catch the bus to the train station and head into town. Did so during day and night and while always carefull, I was never particularly worried.