Speaking of disclosing convictions on an application: Did a Caroline County Sheriff’s Office sergeant disclose his involvement in the tear gas attack of a gay bar when he was hired?

Prologue: I had originally planned on publishing this post on Monday but I deferred posting for one reason. The person involved, Travis Nutter, was one of the investigators which worked on the Joseph Beverley murder case for which John Wayne Peck was on trial for earlier this week. Since I did not know if Nutter would be testifying during the trial for the case, and out of concern for some juror who might have tried to Google his name and find some reason not to believe what he testified to, I opted not to publish this post until after the trial concluded. And, yes, I’m aware that jurors are not supposed to use to Internet to check up on witnesses nor defendants, but given the number of morons that were obviously on that jury I believe my concern was well-founded. Anyway…

It’s amazing the stuff you can find on the internet by accident.

He was also given a bad conduct discharge by the United States Marine Corps according to The Washington Blade:

A former Marine who was given a bad conduct discharge from the military six years ago for his involvement in the tear-gas attack on a Capitol Hill gay bar is currently working as a deputy sheriff in southern Virginia.

Travis Lee Nutter is employed as a deputy in the Caroline County Police Department [sic], located south of Fredericksburg, Va., according to Deputy Sheriff Roger [sic] Moser.

Moser said he was unaware of Nutter’s involvement in the 1997 incident, which gay activists have characterized as a hate crime. According to Moser, Nutter was hired as a Caroline County police officer [sic] in 2000.

The incident dates back to the summer of 1997, when a group of five U.S. Marines, stationed at the Marine Barracks at Eighth and I Streets, in Southeast, D.C., threw a CS grenade, containing tear gas, inside Remington’s, a gay country-western themed bar, just six blocks from the base.

The following year Nutter, along with the other Marines involved, served brig time, was demoted to private status and was given a bad conduct discharge from the military as a result of the incident.

According to Moser, Caroline County Police Department authorities are aware of Nutter’s military background. But Moser would not comment when asked if he knew of the details surrounding Nutter’s discharge from the Marines. Moser also would not say if the department would investigate whether Nutter lied about his involvement in the ’97 incident when he applied to join the force.

It could not be confirmed by Blade deadline if Nutter had been convicted of any crime for his involvement in the Remington’s incident, but coverage of the attack in the Blade seven years ago documented Nutter’s demotion and bad conduct discharge from the military.

“We don’t hire any convicted felons,” Moser said. “By Virginia law, you can’t carry a weapon if you’ve been convicted of a felony.”

Moser added that the Caroline County Sheriff’s office conducts a National Criminal & Intelligence check on all applicants.

Moser said all applicants must pass a criminal background check, and a federal background investigation before being considered for the position. But because the Remington’s case was handled by military authorities, it may not have appeared on a criminal background check.

The Blade this week requested Nutter’s discharge records from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and was told that the request would take “several days.”

When Moser was asked if he had viewed Nutter’s military discharge records prior to hiring him, he said he was “not at liberty to discuss anything involving an officer’s personal issues.”

Nutter did not return calls seeking comment.

[…]

The Blade reported in early 1998 that Nutter, who was 21 at the time, was charged with conspiracy in aiding Ryan M. Barrett, the Marine who threw the tear gas grenade into Remington’s. Barrett pleaded guilty to conspiracy, assault and theft charges that year during a court martial proceeding at the Marine base in Quantico, Va.Barrett admitted that he threw a CS grenade — commonly known as a tear gas grenade, which is often used to control crowds during outdoor riots and other disturbances — into the gay bar.

The CS grenade was thrown into Remington’s at 2:15 a.m., on Saturday, July 12, 1997; about 70 patrons were inside at the time. No serious injuries were reported, but shortly after the attack, Remington’s owner Steven Smith told the Blade that many customers and employees had suffered stinging in their eyes and throats.

Authorities charged the Marines with conspiracy to commit assault, assault, wrongful disposition of property (the tear gas grenade), breach of peace, and underage drinking.

Five months after the incident, a judge in a military court martial sentenced Barrett to four months confinement in a brig, lowered his military status to private and issued a bad conduct discharge.

Nutter was demoted to private; the lowest military rank, and was one of five Marines sentenced to a 35-70 day confinement in the brig.

Nutter was given a bad conduct discharge for his involvement in the incident.

[…]

After the sentencing of the other four Marines in ‘98, the Marine Corps prosecutor of that case, Maj. Joseph Bowe, told the Blade that the bad conduct discharges, and the fact that these men had been convicted of crimes listed as federal offenses will remain on the records of the four for the rest of their lives.

It could not be confirmed by Blade deadline if Nutter had been convicted of any crimes listed as federal offenses, but he did receive a bad conduct discharge from the military in February of 1998.

For those that are unaware, a bad conduct discharge is just one level about a dishonorable discharge. And while I don’t see where The Washington Blade did any follow-up regarding whether Nutter was actually convicted of any crime for the whole accident, what I did find out online regarding a bad conduct discharge says that it can only be given to a someone as the result of a court martial which leaves me to believe that Nutter was convicted of something.

And while Homer Johnson bears the responsibility for hiring Nutter, it was Lippa that retained Nutter as investigator even after his office learned the full details of Nutter’s separation from the military.

And to make matters even worst, Nutter was just promoted to sergeant where he “will serve as the first line supervisor for the Investigative Division” according to Portsia Smith’s “Caroline Crossroads” blog at Fredericksburg.com.

I guess everyone deserves a second chance, except for that monster Ben Boyd of course. </snark>

Carter had Begin and Sadat, Clinton had Barak and Arafat; Obama has…a Harvard professor and a cop?

I speak of the Camp David Accords between President Jimmy Carter, Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat, and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin back in ’78 which eventually resulted in a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel and the failed 2008 Camp David Summit between President Bill Clinton, Israeli Prime Minster Ehud Barak, and that — thankfully now dead — terrorist POS Yasser Arafat.

And what does Obama have? He’s trying to get a meeting together between Harvard professor Henry Lewis Gates and Cambridge Police Department Sergeant James Crowley who Obama previously declared “acted stupidly” when Crowley arrested Gates for disorderly conduct. And, of course, since Gates is black Crowley is obviously racist. No details have announced regarding when, or whether, a meeting between them will be held but maybe they can hold it at Camp David?

Maybe when all is said and done Obama will announce “peace for our time” a la Chamberlain.

“Think Small”, that’s what the folks at VW used to say.

Gee, thanks Eric: Cantor opposes privatization of interstate rest stops.

Delegate Bob Marshall has been on the frontlines of this issue and has been keeping his mailing list up-to-date on it:

Congressional Efforts
Congressman Frank Wolf offered an amendment to the Transportation Appropriations Act to keep Virginia rest stops open by allowing Virginia, like other states, to contract with private restaurants to operate the rest stops and provide motorists services.  The Wolf Amendment narrowly failed in the Appropriations Committee 32 nays -26 yeas.

The Wolf Amendment would cost not one dime of tax money! This amendment may come up this week on the House Floor when the Transportation Appropriations Bill is considered on Thursday, July 23 and possibly another bill!  AAA has said that closing these stops will contribute to more interstate traffic accidents.

Eric Cantor Opposes Wolf Amendment
I was interviewed by WRVA’s Jimmy Barrett (7-16-09) who informed me that Rep. Eric Cantor OPPOSED the Wolf Amendment because it would lead to competition with existing businesses just off the interstates.  I received a call (7-21-09) from an authoritative Congressional source that Congressman Eric Cantor actively worked to defeat the Wolf Amendment for the reasons that existing business near interstates OPPOSE commercial ventures at these  eighteen Interstate Safety Rest stops.

I emailed a letter to Rep. Cantor (7-20-09) and also spoke to his Chief of Staff about this and left my phone number with her.  I have received NO answer to my inquiry from Rep. Cantor or his staff.  (Gov. Kaine supports the Wolf Amendment.)

Stifling business competition is a normal Republican policy.  IF WRVA Radio and my congressional source are accurate, the bottom line is that protecting businesses is apparently more important than protecting lives on the Interstates.

Contact Congressman Cantor today and ask him to support the Wolf Amendment to allow Virginia to contract with private vendors at Interstate Safety Rest Stops to keep them open.
Richmond:  p: (804) 747-4073 | (800) 438-3793 | f: (804) 747-5308
Culpeper: p: (540) 825-8960 | f: (540) 825-8964
Washington:  p: (202) 225-2815 | f: (202) 225-0011

Tim Kaine to call for special session of the General Assembly in light of the SCOTUS decision in Melendez-Diaz v. Massacheusetts.

Check it out at Bloggers for Ken Cuccinelli: Tim Kaine Agrees With Ken Cuccinelli, Decides to Call Special Session.

Tip: If you don’t want to be facing a two-count felony indictment, you better not apply for a job that a relative of Sheriff Tony Lippa has also applied for.

I previously coyly mentioned a rumor that’s been going around as to why Sheriff Tony Lippa has declared a vendetta against Caroline County High School football coach Ben Boyd. I also stated that I wasn’t going to repeat the rumor at that time because it hadn’t been confirmed by anyone yet. Well, this portion of a letter from former Caroline County High School principal Jeff Wick, which appeared in this week’s edition of The Caroline Progress, is enough for me:

Is it a coincidence that the sheriff’s son-in-law [Robbie Jenkins] also interviewed for this job and did not get it? That is for the public to decide. In the end, this miscarriage of justice and harassment of a law-abiding citizen who paid the consequences for a disclosed incident that occurred 19 years ago is ludicrous and needs to end.

Well said.

It’s pretty interesting that The Caroline Progress actually published the letter with that particular section intact since they’re supposed to be such a pro-Lippa publication. If Lippa’s lost The Caroline Progress, he’s lost Caroline County I would say.

Nothing like some rampant nepotism to make a sheriff’s office great.

I speak of the Caroline County Sheriff’s Office specifically. There are at least two blatant and egregious examples of nepotism that has been demonstrated by hiring practices in that office and an additional examples that at least has mitigating circumstances. I’m not going to directly identify the employees — I personally don’t have a problem with one of the person involved — and instead will use their initials, but to anyone that has any knowledge of the office they should be able to identify the employees involved.

Then we have C.R., who’s currently a sergeant. He’s the stepson of another officer (again, officer in this context is someone of Lieutenant’s rank or higher). He’s also a blood relative of Supervisor Maxie Rozell (D-Reedy Church). In C.R.’s defense, he’s been employed by the sheriff’s office for awhile and as far as I know he actually deserves his rank of sergeant.

And now we get to the nuts and bolts of this post: We have A.L.J., who was hired as a dispatcher around a year ago. As you might be able to guess by her maiden name, she’s a close blood relative of Sheriff Tony Lippa. Her qualifications? As I recall from her engagement or marriage announcement that appeared in The Caroline Progress, she’s taken interior design classes at Germanna Community College. Hmm…I guess I can see that, interior design skills helping to dispatch and coordinate police and fire activities (snort). There’s another bad joke in there but I’m going to say it.

And then we have the most recent incident that I just learned about: J.A. was recently hired to be a court-services deputy. This particular person is a close blood relative of Supervisor Wayne Acors (I-Madison). Need I say more?

You know, this is the type of stuff that you would have expected during Homer Johnson’s day with the pervasiveness of the “good ol’ boy network” and not from someone (i.e., Lippa) that claims to be all about “professionalism” and hiring the most qualified candidates. All that apparently goes out the window when a relative of Lippa’s wants a job or a family member of a Board of Supervisors member wants a job.

On Monday: You won’t believe the history of someone that was just promoted to sergeant by Tony Lippa.

Crabill Watch: “We have the chance to fight this battle at the ballot box before we have to resort to the bullet box.”

Actually the statement before the quote I have in the title is probably the worst:

H/t: Fred2Blue, Not Larry Sabato.

And the bad thing is these Republicans in the 99th district can’t backpedal now and say they didn’t know what they were getting. They knew full well the kind of comments she had made previously as well as her membership in a militia group. Oh, well…

UPDATE: Ouch, now Crabill’s on the HuffPo.

UPDATE #2: The Washington Independent takes note too.

UPDATE #3: Daily Kos and The Washington Post‘s Virginia Politics blog also weigh in.

UPDATE #4: It’s on Breitbart now too.

Speaking of Catherine Crabill, did she forget to file her campaign finance report this month?

It’s neither listed on the State Board of Elections’ website nor on the Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP).

Of course, her report from the previous filing period was noticeably missing certain expenditures that should have been included in the report but I haven’t had a chance to write a post about that yet.

UPDATE, 07/16/2009, 1:10 p.m.: The report is finally up now.

Oh cool, I’m a character assassin now.

That’s a step above a mere hate-blogger right? From Catherine Crabill’s campaign website/blog (get your own link):

As we have all seen in these recent years anyone who stands for the core principles of a free nation are pilloried in the press. Just this past April we saw how Patriots who joined with the Tea Parties across the country were mocked and ridiculed. This is a part of Alinsky’s method: Rule #5. “Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon. It is almost impossible to counteract ridicule. Also it infuriates the opposition, which then reacts to your advantage.” I have been a target of such character assassination as will any freedom loving American who dares to speak the truth. The only way to disarm this technique is to recognize it as such and stand against it or ignore it and support that candidate in spite of it!

I guess a character asssassin is just like an “attack ad”, they both tell the truth.