Newspaper Page Text
The
Commerce News
NOVEMBER 18, 2009
PAGE 6A
On The Record
Commerce Police Dept. Arrests
Surprise: Driver
Really Wasn't Jesus
Stealing Better Than Renting To Own?
A man who falsely claimed
to be Jesus wound up in
the Jackson County Jail on
charges of giving false infor
mation to police.
A Commerce police offi
cer added that charge to
driving under the influence
(DUI) of alcohol and driv
ing without license charges
when Carlos Gonzalez-
Reseniz, 24, 186 Lighthouse
Way Cleveland, told police
his name was Jesus Rivera.
The officer had pulled the
vehicle over after another
driver told him of a vehicle
weaving on the roadway
and the officer observed
Gonzalez-Reseniz’s vehi
cle going over the fog line
repeatedly.
The officer said as he
approached the vehicle, the
driver and a female pas
senger were kissing. He
knocked on the window
with his flashlight, he said,
but the two continued to
express their affection for
each other. Finally, he got
the driver to roll down the
window.
The driver said he did not
have a license with him and
gave the driver a name and
date of birth, which returned
to an individual with a valid
license. However, that per
son was 5-10 and weighed
205, while the man claim
ing to own that license was
about 5-8, 120.
Confronted with lying, the
officer’s report said the driv
er clammed up. Attempting
to get his name from the
female passenger, every
time he asked her, the offi
cer said she began “crying
uncontrollably.’’ Frustrated,
the officer finally told
the woman he was about
to arrest her for obstruc
tion, but then he pointed
to Gonzales-Reseniz’s name
on the vehicle registration
and asked if that was the
driver’s name.
The passenger nodded
affirmatively.
Other Charges
Others arrested or cited
by police during the past
week include:
•Isabelle Sims Diamond,
55, 90 Duncan Circle,
Commerce, disorderly con
duct and public drunken
ness following a dispute at
her daughter’s residence.
•Wesley Owen Bennett,
53, 289 Crestwood Circle,
Commerce, DUI-drugs and
failure to maintain a lane. He
was pulled over near Video
Warehouse for weaving in
the roadway. According to
the arrest report, Bennett
attributed his erratic driv
ing to “petting his dog,’’ but
the officer noted that his
speech was slurred and his
clothing disheveled. Bennett
allegedly admitted to taking
Methadone and Xanax ear
lier, but the officer noted
that his story was inconsis
tent. He was taken to BJC
Hospital for a blood test.
• Charlie Vester Jefferson,
31, 8710 Rozummy Drive,
Charlotte, NC, speeding
(86/70) and driving with a
suspended license. Jefferson
told the officer he and his
wife were late for a wed
ding. They probably missed
it altogether as Jefferson
was taken to the county jail
after the officer learned of
the suspended license.
• Nelson Alberto Gomez,
33, 45 Coles Court Drive,
Commerce, public drunken
ness.
• ScottMatthewMcAlister,
26, 202 Oak Street,
Commerce, driving with a
suspended license. He was
not taken to jail because
he told officers he had
MRSA (Methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus), a
staff infection resistant to
antibiotics. McAlister was
pulled over for a tag vio
lation and told police he
was getting the car washed
for a friend. Officers found
nine unwritten prescriptions
each stamped for Lortab 5,
and found residue of meth-
amphetamine in a flashlight
case, all of which McAlister
denied knowledge about.
The officer said McAlister’s
eyes were glassy and he was
incoherent, but he passed a
field sobriety test.
Two men apparently
decided that stealing to own
was better than renting to
own, according to a report
filed by the Commerce
Police Department.
An officer was sum
moned to Crusader Rent
To Own, North Elm Street,
where the manager told
him two men came into the
store and expressed inter
est in acquiring two Dell
laptop computers.
One of the men paid
the $75.95 initial payment
on the two and, per the
contract he signed, walked
out of the store with the
two computers. Later, the
store found that he’d given
a false address and tele
phone number.
Other Incidents
Other incidents reported
to city police during the
past week include:
•theft by taking at a
Carson Street address
where a 20-year-old white
female reported theft of
Beware:
By Mark Beardsley
They’re out to get you
this holiday season. They’ll
steal your credit card
information, take checks
out of your mailbox, pres
ent you with counterfeit
money, shoplift from your
store, con you with fraudu
lent repair or construction
schemes and steal your
company’s checkbook or
your employees’ purses as
they visit your bathroom.
Merry Christmas.
Detective Beverly Russell
of the Athens-Clarke Police
Department didn’t offer
a lot of “peace on earth,
good will toward men’’
sentiment last Thursday as
she warned the Commerce
Area Business Association
stereo speakers and baby
clothing valued at $301
from an unlocked storage
building. She gave police
the name of a suspect.
•theft of a 2009 Toyota
Camry left running while
the owner, a 33-year-old
black female, went inside
a residence to pick up her
son. The victim’s sister said
she got a call telling her that
someone had seen a man
driving the car, so police
have the name of a suspect.
Also missing was the vic
tim’s pocket book, which
contained $115 in cash and
several credit cards.
•attempted burglary at
a Martin Luther King Jr.
Drive residence. A 48-year-
old black female showed
police where someone had
tried to enter her residence
through a back window.
Officers found a chair out
side under the window.
•a suicide at a Neal
Street location where a
55-year-old white male died
about the various methods
by which crooks will steal
and commit fraud.
The lesson: Never under
estimate the ingenuity of
people who lie, cheat and
steal for a living.
Russell alternately
warned members of ways
they can be ripped off and
entertained them with tales
of crooks caught and fool
ish people duped.
Here’s a sampling of her
advice:
•pay everything online
you can to avoid sending
checks via mail
•check your credit card
account daily
•do not use the U.S.
mail
• check your credit
from a self-inflicted gun
shot wound.
• a death investigation
at a Land Way residence
where a 72-year-old white
female was found dead in
her bed.
• impoundment of a vehi
cle pulled over on North
Broad Street for a head
light violation, because the
vehicle’s registration was
suspended.
•recovery of two coun
terfeit $20 bills at Wing
Slingers, South Broad
Street. Management had
no idea who had presented
the bills.
• towing of a vehicle
pulled over for a taillight
violation on U.S. 441. The
owner claimed that he had
just paid for insurance, but
the insurance company
said the policy had been
cancelled.
•trouble with an ATM
owned by First Commerce
Bank in which a custom
er said the machine got
reports, and if you find
something wrong, dispute
it
• freeze your credit
report
• don’t put outgoing mail
in your mailbox overnight
• in your business, do not
leave mail on the counter
for the postal carrier
• keep your eyes on your
employees to note sudden
economic changes
•when making a credit
card purchase, observe the
credit card machine to see
if anything is plugged into
it that shouldn’t be
•give female employees
a safe place — preferably
one they can lock — to
keep their purses
• pay attention to cur-
hung up processing his
request. The bank told the
victim that the machine
had server-related issues,
would keep the card and
not disburse the cash, but
the owner could come to
the bank the following
Monday to retrieve his
ATM card.
• vandalism to New Faith
Christian Center, Martin
Luther King Jr. Drive, in
which someone broke 15
windows with rocks.
• criminal damage to
property at Crossing
Place Apartments, Steve
Reynolds Industrial
Parkway, where kids spray
painted gang-related items
and drew gang-related pic
tures on a wall.
• criminal trespass at
Ashworth Mobile Home
Park, Homer Road, in
which a 44-year-old white
female said a white male
who had been following
her for three weeks tried to
enter her front door.
rency — if Alexander
Hamilton’s photo is not on
a bill, it’s not a $20 — and
look for the water marks.
(“I stand in front of the reg
ister and check the bills,’’
Russell said. “It drives my
husband crazy.’’)
• if you suspect currency
or a check is fake, dial 911
— “You don’t have to even
say anything, they’ll send
an officer,’’ Russell said.
• install a good video
security system that stores
video for at least 60 days.
That will help police and
is a protection for store
employees.
•look out for “travelers,’’
organized groups, mostly
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They're Out To Get You
The owner of a local con
venience store learned that
a regular customer is not
always a good customer.
The man was reviewing
the video surveillance sys
tem at Jackson Food Mart
when he discovered a reg
ular customer was steal
ing from him, according
to an incident report filed
by the Commerce Police
Department.
The man told police that
while the woman, whose
name he knew, bought one
item, she stole several ener
gy drinks, a pair of sunglass
es and a six-pack of beer.
The owner also told police
that he thought she’d stolen
other items in an Oct. 11
visit to the store.
A few days after the report,
the man called police back.
The woman, he claimed,
had just purchased a Dr.
Pepper, but had stolen three
energy drinks.
The officer arrived as
Audrey Darnell, 39, of
Commerce was backing
out of the parking space.
He pulled her over just
down the street. She
denied stealing anything
and claimed that she’d
bought the energy drinks
at a store in Nicholson, the
report said.
The officer charged her
with shoplifting.
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City of Commerce
NOTICE TO THE
PUBLIC
The City of Commerce Planning Commission will hold a
public hearing on Monday, November 23, 2009 at 7:00
P.M. in the Commerce Civic Center Peach Room, 110
State Street. The purpose for the hearing is to discuss 1)
Norman Hagadorn, 3212 Maysville Road, Map 034A,
Parcels 005 and 006, 1.7 acres, rezoning for annexation
from A-2 in the county to C-2 in the city. 2)
Comprehensive Plan.
The public is invited to attend.
David Zellner
City Planner
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