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Robbery Suspect Runs Into Police Checkpoint

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Robbery Suspect Runs Into Police Checkpoint

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By Jamie Burch

M50o93H7pQ09L8X1t49cHY01Z5j4TT91fGfr Robbery Suspect Runs Into Police Checkpoint

Published: Mon, April 28, 2008 - 1:56 pm

Man wanted for robbing an Exxon in West Mobile was arrested when he ran into a police checkpoint.
Police say Greg King walked into the Exxon at 670 Schillinger Road on Saturday, asked for a carton of cigarettes and then told the clerk he was armed. The clerk ran out the back door and King jumped in his car and took off. But he didn't get far.
Police say King ran into a checkpoint where he was arrested. King was booked into Metro Jail on robbery charges.

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Again what rights are taken away? If you have nothing to hide then you have not had anything taken. You are still defending the criminal. I have nothing to hide and I am not afraid of a roadblock because I hope it gets all of you that don’t have a valid driver’s license, registration and insurance off the streets. I am sick of the morons that think they can get away with not having what the are required to have.

Posted by barnabusmac on 05/03/08 - 2:48 pm • Report Abuse

The Supreme Court ruling was passed on a 6-3 vote and the dissenting opinions are very interesting.

The following is a portion of Justice Stevens’ opinion:

The most disturbing aspect of the Court’s decision today is that it appears to give no weight to the citizen’s interest in freedom from suspicionless, unannounced investigatory seizures. . . . On the other hand, the Court places a heavy thumb on the law-enforcement interest by looking only at gross receipts instead of net benefits. Perhaps this tampering with the scales of justice can be explained by the Court’s obvious concern about the slaughter on our highways, and a resultant tolerance for policies designed to alleviate the problem by ‘’setting an example’’ of a few motorists. . . . Sobriety checkpoints are elaborate, and disquieting, publicity stunts. The possibility that anybody, no matter how innocent, may be stopped for police inspection is nothing if not attention-getting.(cont.)

Posted by BamaBob on 05/01/08 - 4:31 pm • Report Abuse

Right! The Supreme Court interprets the law.

From their decision:

In sum, the balance of the state’s interest in preventing drunken driving, the extent to which this system can reasonably be said to advance that interest, and the degree of intrusion upon individual motorists who are briefly stopped, weighs in favor of the state program. We therefore hold that it is consistent with the Fourth Amendment. . . .

It should be noted that their whole focus and justification is based upon drunk driving and not routine traffic violations.

Posted by BamaBob on 05/01/08 - 4:10 pm • Report Abuse

KxVx- I dont drive a hooptty and I was wearing a yellow polo shirt.

Go figure.

Posted by working4u on 05/01/08 - 4:03 pm • Report Abuse

KxVx, driving is not a privelege. Its not even a question of right or privelege. Actually, if you read the 14th amendment, you will see that noone has rights. We all have priveleges. Checkit your self. Just goes to show you how centralized our gov’t now is, and how much control they really have.
But the truth of this all, is that you aren’t even worth replying to. The replies you throw out seem uneducated and assuming. Asanine to be exact.
Madcap, if you are in Iraq, thanks, but no thanks. If the rights you are fighting for are being taken away, or at least limited everyday, and you could care less, then no thanks. You are working in vain, if you believe this way.
Bamabob, telling us that the Supreme Court waives our 4th amendment right for the “overall and greater good” just completely proves my point. Our Bill of Rights were created and established so that for NO REASON can they ever be taken away or limited. One more thing, the S.Court does NOT have the power to make a law.

Posted by mremann83 on 05/01/08 - 4:01 pm • Report Abuse

Hey Working4you, based on what you said about your roadblock experience...I’m going to guess that you appear to be white, and if your car isn’t a newer model, it’s at least in decent condition....Right?

Posted by KxVx on 05/01/08 - 3:47 pm • Report Abuse

Going through a roadblock doesn’t really bother me either unless it is on a major road and backing up traffic forever.

There just seems to be something less than kosher about having roadblocks every weekend and if they are being setup based upon some type of demographic then their legality is certainly in question.

Posted by BamaBob on 05/01/08 - 3:45 pm • Report Abuse

I have no problem with a roadblock. However, I have a suspisious reason to believe the main motive is other than what we are intended to percieve of these roadblocks.

I was stopped at a road block on Cody Road at dark. When the officier approached my car he requested my DL, vehicle registration and proof of insurance. In a scramble in the dim of my interior lights I provided all as he asked. It appeared that he carefully examined each document. He then returned my documents and waived me on. I put my DL and my documents on my passenger seat and headed home. When I got home I went to put my DL in my wallet and my insurance card and registration in their respected places. I noticed that I had given the officier a two year old expired proof of insurance to my pick-up truck instead of the correct up-to-date card to the car I was driving.

And that is why I have my doubts. That officier did not even flinch. So I gather from my experience these cops were after something else.

Posted by working4u on 05/01/08 - 3:36 pm • Report Abuse

If Mobile really wants to catch all those that might be breaking the law while they are in their vehicles, they could setup guard posts at each of the major arteries coming and going from the city. Armed guards and dogs could be at those locations along with some cross rails and maybe a little barbed wired strung across the ROW adjacent to the roadway.

Hmmmmm…… that starts to paint a picture of Nazi Germany now doesn’t it……..

Posted by BamaBob on 05/01/08 - 2:40 pm • Report Abuse

The frequency of it is what bothers me too. Some holiday weekends are notorious for the drinking and driving aspect of life and I can see using any possible method to intervene when possible. Unfortunately, even the sobriety checkpoints fail to stop that many drunk drivers. Maybe 1% of the total number of people stopped. Resources would be better used if patrols were beefed up in areas that cater to that type of activity.

Checkpoints every weekend start to look like an easy way for MPD to meet a quota imposed upon them by CityStat. It is also reminiscent to some familiar townships in the area that based their whole municipal income on how many people they could nail with a speeding ticket as the speed limit fluctuated 10 times in 10 miles through their jurisdiction.

Posted by BamaBob on 05/01/08 - 2:31 pm • Report Abuse