[Boatanchors] Missing hallicrafters SX 88

[Duane Fischer, W8DBF]

Well stated Joe. Thank you.

You are correct. There were suggestions by John P. and Keith to post the 
Ham's name, call sign, location and so forth. I have an obligation to Alan 
Waller, K3TKJ, as do all list managers, to intercede to attempt to prevent 
possible legal litigation when the thread appears to be headed in the 
direction of the courthouse.

I am, and have been for decades, a strong advocate for protecting the 
elderly, physically or mentally disadvantaged, children and the handicapped. 
Anyone who hurts or exploits any member of any of those segments of society 
I personally believe to be humanity at its absolute worst. They won't even 
make good fertilizer for landfill recovery.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "carolew" <carolew at bellatlantic.net>
To: "Duane Fischer, W8DBF" <dfischer at usol.com>; 
<boatanchors at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Tuesday, February 28, 2006 9:43 PM
Subject: Re: [Boatanchors] Missing hallicrafters SX 88


> Duane's right. These are difficult crimes to prove. In fact, it is often
> difficult enough to determine if a crime occurred.
>
> Here are some things to think about:
>
> 1. Probable cause is needed for an arrest. That's roughly more probable 
> than
> not. Guilt must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. That's a high 
> standard.
>
> 2. The first issue is whether a theft really occurred. With an elderly 
> victim,
> perception and memory are issues. Was the SX-88 really there when the 
> suspect
> ham was there? How would we prove that? Can any third party verify its 
> presence?
> When did the owner last see it? How much time elapsed between the suspect 
> ham's
> visit and the discovery that the SX-88 was missing? How many people had 
> access
> to the storage area during the period when it might have been stolen? How 
> many
> caretakers has he had during that period? How many other hams etc. have 
> been in
> the house to buy things? Why the focus on this particular ham rather than 
> others
> who had access to the storage area? Is the layout of the house such that 
> someone
> could have snuck an SX-88 out without the victim seeing him (e.g., an 
> outdoor
> exit from the basement)?
>
> 3. Does the elderly victim have a serial number for the SX-88? If not, did 
> the
> radio bear any distinguishing characteristic that would make it unique 
> (e.g.,
> call sign written somewhere on the set)? If not, we might be SOL even if 
> we
> found an SX-88 in the shack of the suspect ham. It would certainly raise 
> some
> suspicions but probably not much more.
>
> 4. Can the elderly victim identify the suspect ham? How did the victim and 
> the
> suspect ham link up? Did he pay in cash or by check? Did he leave a 
> business
> card etc.? Did he leave a phone number? Would the victim recognize him if 
> he saw
> him again? Was any third party present at the same time as the suspect 
> ham?
>
> 5. The bitch of these cases is that the precise facts that make the 
> elderly so
> vulnerable make it very difficult to prosecute the cases in which they are
> victimized. .
>
> 6. The best bet is to have the victim contact the local police. Most cops 
> have
> elderly relatives and are sympathetic to elderly victims. They'll go the 
> extra
> mile to help this fellow. If the local police won't help, call the local 
> DA's
> office.
>
> 7. I share John's anger, as I think we all do. I don't sense that John was
> advocating a lynch mob. As I re-read his original post, I see that he 
> chose his
> words very carefully. He lays out his case by setting forth the facts that 
> cause
> him to suspect the particular (and, more importantly, unnamed) ham. I 
> sense that
> he wants to gather the facts before taking any action. I have no reason to
> believe that he would take any action other than a lawful and proper one.
>
> 8. I see Duane as reacting more to the direction in which this thread 
> appeared
> to be headed than in what John or anyone else had already said. I don't 
> see his
> comments as critical of John or anyone else. If John's suspicions are 
> true, I'm
> sure Duane would be as PO'd at this ham as the rest of us would be.
>
>
> Joe Connor
>
>
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