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Man who held knife at side guilty of threatening liquor cops (plainclothes "cops" jackbootery)
Seacoast Online ^ | November 12, 2009 | Elizabeth Dinan

Posted on 11/16/2009 10:22:18 AM PST by ellery

PORTSMOUTH — A Kensington man was found guilty of criminal threatening for holding an open pocket knife at his side while asking two people who were walking behind him at midnight, "Why are you following me?"

The pair walking behind Dustin Almon, 28, of 27 Wild Rose Lane, were state Liquor Enforcement cops, both in plain clothes without any indicators that they were members of law enforcement, according to testimony during a Thursday Portsmouth District Court trial. Both were also carrying concealed handguns and Tasers, they testified.

One of them, Officer Anthony Cattabriga, said he was walking behind Almon on Chapel Street on Nov. 8, 2008, when Almon turned around three times to look at him and a new officer he was training. It was dark and Almon was twenty feet away when he displayed a knife with a two-inch blade the third time he turned around, said Cattabriga.

"He pointed it down by his side," the liquor officer testified, while demonstrating with Almon's seized pocket knife.

When he responded by yelling "police," Almon folded the knife, clipped it to his belt and complied with all subsequent police orders, Cattabriga testified.

Almon was initially arrested on a charge of disorderly conduct, but the charge was later upgraded to criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon.

"I feared for my safety," Cattabriga said from a District Court witness stand.

Cattabriga's trainee, whose name was not entered into the trial record, corroborated her partner's testimony and said the entire event lasted two to three minutes.

Almon's attorney, Patrick Devine, described his client's actions as self defense.

"A crime was not committed," he told the court. "He was protecting himself against unknown people following him."

Judge Sawako Gardner examined the knife before finding Almon guilty of the class A misdemeanor.

"It doesn't matter who was behind you," the judge said, while explaining that Almon was guilty of the charge for placing another person in fear of bodily injury.

Noting no previous criminal record, the judge sentenced Almon to 30 days in the Rockingham County House of Corrections, with all of it suspended pending a year of good behavior. He was also fined $500 with half suspended pending the same good behavior.

Devine notified the court that he intends to appeal the decision to a higher court.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: abuseofpower; crime; donutwatch; doyouknowwhoiam; jbt; jbts; maine; policestate; selfdefense; suckstobeyoucitizen; unionthugsinblue
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To: ellery
Methinks Mr. Almon erred in not demanding a jury trial. The specific reason the Founders required a jury is the distrust of judges and magistrates.
21 posted on 11/16/2009 11:04:24 AM PST by Navy Patriot (Sarah and the Conservatives will rock your world.)
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To: ellery

And if he instead had not pulled a knife but started running, we all know they would have chased and tackled him, then charged him with resisting arrest. Thugs.

I am pleased to see they printed the cop’s name though... ;-)


22 posted on 11/16/2009 11:06:47 AM PST by Sir Gawain
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To: ellery
Judge Sawako Gardner examined the knife before finding Almon guilty of the class A misdemeanor. "It doesn't matter who was behind you," the judge said, while explaining that Almon was guilty of the charge for placing another person in fear of bodily injury.

What a travesty

23 posted on 11/16/2009 11:08:02 AM PST by paul51 (11 September 2001 - Never forget)
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To: ellery
The judge should have his/her face slapped a few times.
24 posted on 11/16/2009 11:08:18 AM PST by Niteranger68 (Barack Obama - The wrong man, at the wrong time, for the wrong country.)
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To: ellery

Why were they following him? The LEO’s were out with concealed weapons (common I know) and taser’s?

Did they just pick some random guy to “tail” for training??

Doesn’t sound like this guy had any cause to be followed by the police.. I didn’t see anywhere that they suspected him of something..


25 posted on 11/16/2009 11:09:25 AM PST by acw011 (Great Goooogly Mooogly!)
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To: Sir Gawain

Absolutely!

Note that the trainer officer was male and his student a female.

Here the senior officer saw an “excellent opportunity” for a training exercise with no real danger to our intrepid duo. Now the newbie has an arrest under her belt, yeehaw!

Should have been no charge in the first place, and the judge should have thrown it out. Or as others noted, victim shoulda gone for a jury trial.


26 posted on 11/16/2009 11:25:16 AM PST by Titan Magroyne (Freedom is taken, not given.)
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To: Niteranger68
Google this Judge - He seems to be a few fries short of a happy meal...


27 posted on 11/16/2009 11:50:11 AM PST by NY.SS-Bar9 (Bread and Circuses)
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To: ellery
When he responded by yelling "police," Almon folded the knife, clipped it to his belt and complied with all subsequent police orders, Cattabriga testified.

He took his life in his hands when he gave them the benefit of the doubt and did that. Anyone who can speak can yell "police." The only positive I can see here is that one more person will understand that governmental authority, as currently practiced, can't be trusted and is not on the side of the people.

28 posted on 11/16/2009 11:56:16 AM PST by TigersEye (0bama is our first Port of Entry President - I hope he goes home.)
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To: ellery
Judge Sawako Gardner examined the knife before finding Almon guilty of the class A misdemeanor.

Japanese gardeners used to have more sense.

29 posted on 11/16/2009 1:25:37 PM PST by Defiant (The absence of bias appears to be bias to those who are biased.)
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To: KarlInOhio

I didn’t even catch the “secret police witness” BS. Insane.


30 posted on 11/16/2009 3:02:59 PM PST by ellery (It's a free country.)
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To: Niteranger68
The judge should have his/her face slapped a few times.

And be charged with battery should he resist.

31 posted on 11/16/2009 3:03:29 PM PST by magslinger (Deja Mue- The feeling that you have heard this bull before.)
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To: ellery

“A crime was not committed,” he told the court. “He was protecting himself against unknown people following him.”

“It doesn’t matter who was behind you,” the judge said, while explaining that Almon was guilty of the charge for placing another person in fear of bodily injury.”

So, apparently this judge believes that a person does not have the right to defend himself against suspicious people following him until he is attacked. At which time it would be too late.

Brilliant! Sign him up for Homeland Security.


32 posted on 11/16/2009 7:03:14 PM PST by grand wazoo
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To: ellery; Abathar; Abcdefg; Abram; Abundy; akatel; albertp; AlexandriaDuke; Alexander Rubin; ...



Libertarian ping! Click here to get added or here to be removed or post a message here!
(View past Libertarian pings here)
33 posted on 11/17/2009 7:42:51 AM PST by bamahead (Few men desire liberty; most men wish only for a just master. -- Sallust)
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To: bamahead

I hope he fights this and wins.

When I was a young pup I had a pretty fast little Coronet that my girlfriend and I were driving around in late one night. I pulled up to a light and of course being young I had to be the first one off of it, even if it was just granny sitting there next to me. On the following light the same car I just beat again pulled up and this time revved his motor, looking for a race. We both left the light fast, I won, and he then whipped in behind me and started tailing me close.

Since I had my girlfiend with me and there were two guys in that car I wasn’t going stop of course, I got a little nervous when he followed my turns so I started looking for a cop. I sure found one when I was boxed in by two cars, and cops jumping out with their guns drawn.

I was dragged from my car, hand cuffed and taken to the station where I was charged with fleeing and eluding, evasion and reckless driving. Seems the two plain clothes cops in their UNMARKED police car said that they identified themselves by flashing their badge to me. I had to hire an attorney, go to court and my lawyer made them both look like a couple of dumbasses when he got done questioning them.

I got all charges dropped, but go to spend a night in the Detroit jail (THAT was fun). All because they decided to charge me with a BS charge instead of just speeding and let me go with a traffic ticket that I admitted to the judge I probably deserved.

Even the judge agreed with my lawyer that he wouldn’t have stopped either with two men following him around at night under those conditions on Gratiot Ave. I see stories like this and I always remember the feeling of having those guns leveled against me while I was handcuffed.


34 posted on 11/17/2009 8:29:26 AM PST by Abathar (Proudly posting without reading the article carefully since 2004)
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To: ellery
It doesn't matter who was behind you," the judge said

It doesn't? So in this elected or appointed despots mind no citizen has any right to self defense whatsoever?

35 posted on 11/17/2009 9:32:58 AM PST by JrsyJack (a healthy dose of buckshot will probably get you the last word in any argument.)
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To: ellery
Devine notified the court that he intends to appeal the decision to a higher court.

******************

I hope he does. This is crazy.

36 posted on 11/17/2009 9:36:36 AM PST by trisham (Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness. And then what do you have? Bupkis.)
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To: doodad
And what the hell is a Liquor Enforcement police and why do they follow people?

We have de facto prohibition in this country. This time they did it without a Constitutional amendment.

The liquor enforcement police try to trap liquor store operators for things like selling to minors - typically operated as a sting - otherwise known as contributing to delinquency of minor if anybody but them do it.

They also try to catch bars for "overserving". They trail patrons and try to talk them into giving them a breathalyzer sample so they can cite the bar owner.

37 posted on 11/17/2009 7:15:03 PM PST by elkfersupper (Member of the Original Defiant Class)
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To: ellery

F


38 posted on 11/17/2009 7:30:08 PM PST by is_is (VPD of Sgt Dan, Former 2/5 MARINE - "Sleep Well America......Your Marines have your Back")
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