Posted on 01/02/2012 11:19:59 AM PST by dragnet2
LAPD officers swarmed and handcuffed what they described as a "person of interest" in the Los Angeles arsonist spree that has left thousands of residents scared out of their wits for days.
Fire officials say "it is too early to speculate" if this is the person responsible for the fires.
Police have already released surveillance video showing the alleged suspect -- a ponytailed Steven Seagal lookalike (below). As you can see in our video ... the man in custody sports a ponytail
Cops previously said 39 fires could be linked to the recent rash of arsons ... and another 11 were reportedly set last night.
It's not 100% clear from the footage -- but several witnesses confirm what appears to be a creepy smile on the man's face as he sat in the back of the squad car (below).
9:32 AM PT: Riding in an equestrian unit this morning at the Rose Parade, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said, "We are we are very confident we found our man."
8:13 AM PT: Police say fire-starting materials were found in the man's van, which displayed Canadian license plates. According to reports, the materials include charcoal.
0102_thevan_tmz_wm2 8:00 AM PT: There are reports the man may be a German national, who is angry that his mother is being deported from the US. An immigration agent helped identify him.
For some reason, I am just not surprised.
Appears to be a foreign national, who upon his arrest, yelled, "I hate America".
The good news is that CA passed a new Law that makes carrying an unloaded Firearm in Public illegal.
I feel safer already.
Next we'll be told, "This is not a hate crime".
News conference up coming.
“person of interest”
That retarded weasel-word meaningless phrase pops up YET again. there is no such thing. There are “witnesses”, “citizens”, etc,,whom the officer does not believe to be involved.
Once “reasonable suspicion” indicates that someone is the possible offender, they are a “suspect”, not a “person of interest”.
Once the investigation raises “reasonable suspicion” to the higher standard of “”probable cause” they are the “accused”.
“Person of interest” is precisely the same as “suspect”. Any cop using the term “person of interest” exposes themself as an incompetent.
So he fits the profile...:-)
“No, you aren’t a suspect, you are just a “person of interest”. Give me a break.”
Amen,, when the cop finds the “person of interest”, they mirandize them, cuff them, detain them, etc,,,while the ongoing investigation is generating probable cause for arrest. The term is indeed “suspect”. Futhermore, nothing separates “person of interest” from “suspect. Absolutely nothing.
If I weren’t afraid of making Steven Segal even madder, I could swear that this guy is Rosie O’Donnell.
Well ummm, illegal immigrants ARE destroying this country.
“It is just the police using weasel words to try to question them without actually telling them that they are a suspect and reading them their rights.”
Even if you call them “person of interest”, they better be read their rights and treated exactly like a “suspect” if the evidence created reasonable suspicion that this guy did the crime. That will certainly occur here, and will set him free if they do not yet still use anything he says. They aren’t trying to avoid reading rights,,, it is simply a term the like because they are afraid to use the term “suspect” for PC reasons.
He looks like a commie..I even read some tweets from Dems who call this guy a Patriot for destroying foreign cars..yeah apparently Dems are OK with attempted murder
“The good news is that CA passed a new Law that makes carrying an unloaded Firearm in Public illegal.”
“I feel safer already.”
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Makes sense to me, you shouldn’t be carrying if you don’t have sense enough to load.
Other times, they are called a person of interest, until the person is actually charged with a specific crime. Many times, they wait until the person being detained, has their home/vehicles searched for additional evidence prior to calling the person of interest, a suspect.
There are a few other reasons for doing this as well.
“A person of interest might not actually be a witness, but someone who simply has a connection to or someone with knowledge of a suspect or information regarding a crime”
Thats called a material witness. And when you find them, courts don’t require them to be mirandized. You don’t mirandize them unless they say something that makes you think they are actually involved. IE,,knocking on the door of the girlfriends house to see if she knows where the suspect is. When the non-suspect interviewee (material witness) says “we burned the cars because,,,”, Then they become a suspect.
And there is no difference.
As you said,,
“they are called a person of interest, until the person is actually charged with a specific crime. Many times, they wait until the person being detained, has their home/vehicles searched for additional evidence prior to calling the person of interest, a suspect.”
If you are detained, and a specific incident is being investigated, and they are merely deciding what charges make sense,,,, and executing search warrants. You are a “suspect”. They can call you “Mr green Jeans”,,, but every supreme court case calls you a suspect.
Id like you to refer me to a case that seperates “suspect” from “person of interest”. There isn’t one. It’s a meaningless word, used by Chiefs, PIO’s, and Nancy Grace.
Can we burn him at the stake?
BTW, don’t let the term, “Person of interest” drive ya crazy. It’s been used for many years and for good reason...Such as when things go bad on the investigation side etc.
Ping to 18.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.