Bond has been set at $265,000 for Gene Jones, the drunk driver that killed Detective Wilson.
With Jones' past DUI's and numerous open container violations it makes us wonder if there was something more the judicial system could have done? Could the laws or the sentencing been tougher? Then again it had been five years since the last offense so maybe the system had worked as it should?
Does our department take DUI serious enough, or do we rely too much on the DUI Task Force?
It would be interesting to see a yearly comparison of the task force DUI arrest compared to the uniform division as a whole. Just as interesting would be a comparison our uniform DUI arrest to that of metro agencies.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
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44 comments:
UNBELIEVABLE... Nice to know this thug will be out for Thanksgiving and back on the roads to ruin some more lives.
Kill a Police Officer in DeKalb and your out of jail before the funeral. I hope legislation passes soon that starts holding these liberal judges accountable. Their free ride is almost over.
Surely a request was made for no bond given his prior criminal history and obvious flight risk having killed a police officer. Can we find out where the ball was dropped on this one?
It isn't only the officers on the street to make sure that the drunks get arrested and put behind bars. The Judges who hear these cases much also make sure that a habitual violator such as Gene Jones doesn't get out of jail. The Judges and the prosicutors should make sure that these kinds of individuals serve long sentences after the second time (after the first time when a homocide is involved) and not be allowed behind the wheel of anything that moves.
If the judge doesn't throw the book at this drunken parasite, then the true justice will never be forfilled for the family and the public.
Weld the door shut or better yet, send him out to SUPERMAX in Colorado.
Shane Wilson was an excellent son, father, individual, officer, and had touched many lives in the area and should not be forgotten. All officers who have passed because of a damm perp should equally reconignized as it is a true lost of life for us all.
$265,000...pathetic
WOW!!! 265k?? What is our justice system coming to?? I know Gene Jones a.k.a Big Rob A.k.a Santa Clause !! and Obsessions Club owner personally and he is known for his intoxicated affairs!! He will surely be back on these streets with a bond this low!! This man's karma is definitely catching up with him!!
It's a damn shame! The only true accountability the judge who set this bond will face is, if this guy goes out and kills someone while he's out on bond, it's too late then. The judges that set bond on these type of thugs are just rolling the dice. No thought is given to the public.
Wait a minute, he owns Obssession? Any of you working j2 there had better stop if that is the case. Sounds like we need to take a good look at his license, permits, fire code violations.....Do the right thing guys and have some morals.
Terrible. Why should he or those like him fear the system, when they know they can kill an officer and walk? I hope he gags on his Thanksgiving meal, knowing that Detective Wilson's family struggles to find something to be thankful for.
FYI-
Just because it is a bondable offense does NOT mean the judge is required to set bond. A judge can refuse bond and hold the defendant if he/she is deemed a danger to society. Based on this guys history it is unacceptable that he was given a bond. Clearly he is a danger to society.
if you drive a marked car and you cant manage 1 DUI a month, you should be fired, period. I dont care what your assignment it.
The single worst problem in GA is the legislature.
In states like NY the judge has zero descretion on repeat offenders. No probation, no plea to a lessor charge, nothing but jail time.
In NJ and NY a 3rd time DUI offender within 7 years serves every single day of a 1 year PRISON sentence. No parole, no probation, no plea down to a lessor charge. Its written into law. Either the person walks completely or goes to prison on a 3rd DUI.
Under GA law you have to kill someone to go to prison and even then its iffy.
GA DUI laws are prusposely set up to require a long drawn out process which is hard to prosecute. This is simply to employ criminal defense attorneys.
If the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police or the Sheriffs Association had any balls at all they would be livid about how hard it is to make a DUI case and how easy someone with a lawyer can get off the hook.
FYI-
Just because it is a bondable offense does NOT mean the judge is required to set bond. A judge can refuse bond and hold the defendant if he/she is deemed a danger to society. Based on this guys history it is unacceptable that he was given a bond. Clearly he is a danger to society.
And he can appeal the decision to a higher court and will likely get bond.
I believe that the Magistrate who set this bond and anyone else involved in allowing this man out of jail on bond, to spend Thanksgiving with his family, needs to also be investigated. This man was driving on a suspended license; been charged with four previous DUI's and convicted of two priors; he was on the wrong side of the road; and other charges. Who gives a rat's a** if he is a successful businessman from Dunwoody? This officer was a young man with a wife and son; parents; other relatives who will never see him again; never had a chance to enjoy Thanksgiving with him. His son will not get to share another Christmas with his dad. So now is this "successful businessman" going to be allowed to continue being a successful businessman by getting behind the wheel of his car and driving on his suspended license? $265,000 bond is nothing in a case like this. Who is he related to or who does he know that allowed this to happen? I find this outrageous. If this guy lived in the "low rent district" he would still be sitting in jail. Absolutely disgusting. My heart breaks for this officer's family.
With the kind of cash flow those clubs make, especially for the owners, it's no wonder this guy was out immediately. What is it? 15% of the set bond that you have to put down? So that would be about $39,750. Big, popular clubs make that in just one or two nights. No doubt he had that in an account somewhere.
Also, I concur. If anyone is working J2 there I hope you have the morale fortitude to quit. He is charged with felonies after all.
Let us keep Officer Wilson's family, friends, and colleagues in our thoughts and prayers though this difficult time for them.
Just look at the crime stat tracker and compare the difference in DUI arrest in Gwinnett versus DeKalb. Maybe our special ops units could be more productive at night when the majority of DUI drivers are on the road. Yes it would cut into their ticket quotas but just may save a few lives. Sorry guys, I know everyone loves the Mon. thru Thurs. day shifts but police work is a 24/7 career. Of course just getting a full shift out of some units would provide more units watching for these impaired drivers. Once caught the courts need to do a better job of putting these scum bags away.
Don't take me the wrong way, but if it wasn't an officer killed would you still be making a big stink about getting bond? I doubt it. Sgt. Calamese and many other officers work at that club. I doubt they will quit.
Anyone listening to South channel tonight and tomorrow night should let us all know what badge numbers sign on for extra J2 at Club Obsessions.
Why are people snapping on the STAR team? They do what they do. Acting as though they were not enforcing enough is the same as citizens who believe uniform can be everywhere and prevent all crime. What happened is a tragedy. It's the result of a negligent jackass's behavior. Blame the drunken idiot behind the wheel and the weak court system that has let him go free to do it again. We can't stop every violation that occurs. It could have been any of us that the drunk driver hit, pd or not.
I'll have you know our TAC unit is very aggressive during daylight hours! They have launched a campaign against "aggressive drivers." Here's how it works. A Lt. drives an unmarked vehicle at 50 mph in the far left lane of 285. When you get close behind him and honk your horn, like anyone would, he calls it in over the radio, you get pulled over and get a ticket for "aggressive driving," which is a lot of points on your driving record!
So sad. Everybody around the city knows this guy. He will NEVER stop drinking and driving.Yall can bet he has already skipped town. There will never be justice for this Officer. He will just go back to NY or VA and kill somebody else and Club Obsessions will keep catering to underaged kids who leave the club drunk! Our legal system sucks!a little money and a whole lot of looking the other way.
Okay who is the crazy judge that gave this habitual, no respect for the law nuisance a bond? I keep hearing that he is a sucessful businessman. On what planet??? Everybody knows he is a huge drug dealer who hangs with a bunch of law breaking thugs. So that's how yall do it in ATL. A low life drunk, drug dealing, woman beater is more important than an Officer of the law. Hell all criminals should move down south.
Successful businessman? What a joke! That place changes names almost every year. No business that only attracts thugs wearing bootleg designer clothes will last long. I'm wondering if this "successful businessman" was leaving his bar the night he killed this innocent officer? If so, did any of our officers working the door see him get into his car 26III? Has the brass shut down this part time job yet? My final question, what can be done to get this public nuisance shut down immediately?
Anon 10:33 PM,
No one snapped on the STAR Team. They do work when they are needed. TAC working bankers' hours is stupid.
Everyone knows every other driver in DeKalb is 26III any given FRIDAY AND SATURDAY night so get over not having weekends off and start enforcing DUI where it is most prominent.
This Obsession Club Slimebag needs just that. A big fat slimebag forced down his ugly throat without any warning. Then, for an added inducement, to be strung by his feet from about 50 high in the extremely hot sun with lots of biting bugs. This is the best punishment for a slimebag and a habitual drunk.
Better yet, how about a road tar cocktail -- Gasoline, liquid asphalt (shaken, not stirred) on hot antifreeze in a tall glass without any wheels of any kind !!!
No more Obsession
The banker's hours are a joke for our TAC / SOD units. We all know that the deadliest accidents are at nights and weekends. I know working three units in one school zone helps your quotas and you get to go home early but come on guys. Maybe a little extra placement of units on the freeways at nights and the major roads where the problems exists.
Club Obsessions Business License is expired, so says DeKalb Licensing Director.
Ga. Secretary of State list nothing for Incorporation for Club Obsessions, Obsessions, or Obsessions Lounge.
Director of DeKalb Licensing says the owner of Club Obsessions at 4525 Glenwood Rd in DeKalb is Lakisha Horne. Incorporated as L.S. Horne Investiments III LLC. I found nothing at Secretary of States Office on Officer name of Lakeisha Horne or Corporate filing ?
Found nothing for Gene Jones.
Maybe the License Renewal has not hit yet ? Maybe all the paperwork ain't straight but that is what I found today !
Check it out Code Enforcement !
Don't take it out on TAC....everyone hates them...no-one has a clue on everything and ALL the details they handle....until you walk in thier shoes....I'm sure uniform would love to handle some of the sh*t details that are passed out down there....yea right....that includes STAR...so when you make a U.I. arrest instead of turning your head or giving them a public intox ticket....do your own job..and worry about your own prec.
Those TAC details are killer all right. Block this intersection. Shut down this road. Go write tickets. Then go home at 5pm.
This is what happens when we are more interested in padding stats to look productive than making a difference. Douglas County is known as one of the toughest places to be convicted of DUIs as the Deputies, City Police Officers and Prosecutors are properly trained to make good cases. The Douglas County Sentinel reported that their Solicitor-General prosecutes all DUIs and does not settle for reduced charges like many other systems do.
The article link is here:
http://douglascountysentinel.com/view/full_story/16545675/article-Douglas-County-one-of-state-s-most-aggressive-in-prosecuting-DUIs?
Cobb and Gwinnett are known to be tough on DUIs as well. A few Fulton cities such as Alpharetta and Roswell have their toughness too.
Unfortunately, Dekalb is more interested in generating revenue and doing these silly operations that result in nothing but tickets and a few arrest for FTAs but no real criminals are removed from the streets.
At the end of the day, O'Brien's loyalty lies with Ellis. Just like Bolton's lied with Jones.
As long you make your numbers for productivity purposes, everything is alright in upper brass' minds. The county gets revenue from citations, bonds, probation, fines and whatnot while you guys still get furlough days, shitty equipment and have to deal with morale issues. Not to mention angry citizens at community meetings upset about the perp you arrested last week is out on the streets again.
DKPD the new APD! Congrats!
As a firefighter in Dekalb, I have been on several MVA's where the driver had obviously been driving. I said something to the officer on scene. His reply, "don't tell me that. That's too much paperwork."
Dekalbs prosecutors are always up for a plea in DUI cases. This is how repeat offenders usually have two DUI arrests before even being convicted of their first DUI becuase the girst couple were knocked down to a reckless driving or some other BS charge.
In other states like NY, a third DUI in your entire life and you must serve at least 1 year in a state prison. The law says either you are convicted or go free...no pleas, no probation.
GA's laws are set up to benefit defense attorneys and private probation companies. Both of these groups have lobbyist in Atlanta making sure the system gets them paid.
Defendants sitting in jail are not paying probation fees to the probation companies, so the system is set up to make sure DUI defendants spend little time sentenced to jail.
I was a private probation officer and saw how the #1 goal was to collect probation fees NOT protect the community or put repeat offenders in jail where they belong.
If I was a perp in DeKalb I'd take EVERYTHING to a jury trial of my perp peers so I wouldn't pay a cent for probation, fines, court costs, etc. Ins't our justice system just grand?
I believe the bond was pretty high for this guy. Most of you haven't seen the bond that Superior Court has been giving for murder and armed robbery. $50,000-$100,000. So I applaud the Mag Court judge for setting a bond that high.
Club Obsessions is listed under his sisters name. His name cannot be on any paperwork for the venue because of his criminal history. You cannot possess a liquor license with any criminal blemishes on your record. Any officer working J2 @ Obsessions knows who runs and own's the club regardless of who's name is listed. Also, very few clubs are listed with the state as the actual name of the club. It's generally a corporate holding name.
Gayle & Jim, You guys need to go after these clubs and the officers working at this dump for letting this P.O.S. LEAVE DRUNK....
Lets look at the facts here. When a DUI can be reduced to a reckless because a person has a good attorney then that is sad. Look at the money people pay to get out of a DUI and when we have people in the solicitors office reduce DUI cases and Judges that won't be tough on DUI drivers that is where the problems is coming from. Lets see if they will put this driver who killed someone behind bars since it will be his third or forth DUI. Keep watching for updates.
Boy do we have a lot to say about what other do and dont do. How often do officer run from a DUI arrest because they dony like all the hassle. WE also dont have the numbers to go after the DUI drivers, because we have less than 550 officers when we should have over 1000. Besides if there were officers working at that club that night why did they let a drunk behind the wheel? WE all can point a finger, but we all need to look in the mirror as well. WE dont have the man power, we walk away from DUI arrest, and we dont want to loose our part time jobs. I guess that is what that county gets when they run off officer and cut out pay, but we still have a job to do.
I saw the news pics of the two cars, it definitely looks like speed may be involved. Just curious but did the officer have emergency equipment on when the accident happened. I heard that he didn't.
Speed did have something to do with it! It was the speed of the drunk thug piece of sh*t going in the wrong way on the interstate that killed this ON DUTY OFFICER! Had his speed been in the correct direction, the ON DUTY OFFICER would not have been killed!
how about the lady in douglasville, who accidently struck a teenager getting off of a school bus. She was charged with vehicular homicide and got NO BOND. She is a 40 year old woman, who WAS NOT under the influence just wasnt paying attention... NO BOND IN DOUGLASVILLE
A DRUNK THUG DECIDED TO DRIVE AGAINST TRAFFIC ON I20 KILLS A COP, AND GETS 250K BOND? YOU WONDER WHY YOUR COUNTY IS A PIECE OF SHIT, AND GETS MADE FUN OF? GET YOUR SHIT IN ORDER... IM SICK OF THESE LOSER JUDGES... HOW MANY PEOPLE IN DEKALB ARE DEAD BECAUSE OF A LIBERAL JUDGE FEELS BAD FOR THE YOUNG BLACK MAN....WTF
By rules and regulations under secondary employment the extra job at Club Confessions must be suspended. Read the employee manual on requirements for clubs employing DeKalb Officers. Lets pull it Chief.
I heard that Gene Jones is back in jail because he was driving in violation of his bond. Did any of the off duty officers working at his bar, Club Obsessions, see him driving? Why wasn't this part time job pulled with all of the rest of the club jobs that were cancelled a few months ago? He killed a cop, he owns Obsessions, everyone knows it, just nothing is in his name because of his criminal history. Someone needs to look into this!
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