Victim made 7 911 calls before mass murder

[Shield529]

A lot of these posts are tragically correct. The simple fact is, I along with a majority of officers can be up to 30 minutes away from a call, in that thirty minutes I cannot help you no matter how much I would like to. From the time you dial 911 until I get there your safety is up to you.
Also just so some of the anti-cops know up front we arrest and take to jail, it is not our decision how long they stay there or what the charges end up being.
If I am not mistaken Florida is another state where we cannot arrest for misdemeanors not committed in our presence, and Trespass, in some states the person must be removed from the premises and warned not to return the first time, only after they return can the homeowner get a report number wait a few days for it to get in the system, go see the Prosecutor and file a warrant.
Got to love our criminal justice system.

P.S. share this with an Anti gun fanatic. We are there to serve and protect, sometimes we can't

 

[firearms_instructor]

Sadly,

The victims in this situation had the option to arm themselves. It's not like this happened in a criminal empowerment zone like California, Chicago or DC.

 

[joab]

Florida is known as the gunshine state for a reason. I honestly do not know anyone here who does not own a gun of somekind, even the most liberal .
I have a vegetarian PETA loving for the children type sister who has a handgun and has recently asked me to advise her on a .22 rifle for her son. My NYC born and bred Kerry/Clinton voting ex-wife and her mother both have asked in the past year to help them either buy a gun or give them one of mine

Guns are not, in my opinion vilified, in the press here nearly as much as in other places, the sheriff in this case stated that the victims did not even have time to arm themselves. He was talking about guns or at least weapons, not the phone.

In Fla there is no reason , for a non felon, and no excuse, for someone who has had death threats, not to own a gun.

I have read that some of these people were in their mid thirties, way to old to be young and dumb.

The police did their job, they ran a very good investigation of the crime and found the perpetrators amazingly fast. Maybe that will give the families some closure. And maybe the victims will rest a little easier

I don't mean to be disrespectful to the victims and I won't say that they were complicit in their own deaths. But a gun in the house could have saved at least some of them. It damn sure couldn't have turned out any worse.

 

[sendec]

Joab,

Well said.

I hate to say it, but sometimes, no matter how hard you try, bad things still happen. I dont believe in luck, but sometimes you get dealt a hand you just cannot win with. The blame for this tragedy lies solely with the human mulch who killed her.

 

[hops]

The average person has been so brainwashed in that 911 will save them from anything. They learn the hard way that 911 is only good in letting the authorities know where to pick up the body; or best case where the problem in progress is and just maybe the authorities can interviene - big maybe.

Did a ride-a-long and lots of 911 calls. All after the problem began. One was really bad - multiple stab wounds, blood all over the place. The LEO I was with wished he could have shown me the mess. He said you had to be there to believe it.

In the 12 hours I was with the LEO, we serviced 10 911 calls, and only 3 lead to no one being injured and even it was after the fact. 2 calls were noise complaints. The other one did lead to an arrest - thought the officer in this case did some good police work.

 

[SunBear]

Notice that the maggots did not need a mean,nasty old GUN to kill their victims but one gun in the hands of the victims could have provided a much happier ending.

 

[joab]

I don't mean to hijack, so if this is too far off topic ignor me , but
How many of us non LEOs could have walked into that scene and left with their lunch or their sanity completely intact.
I acn only imagine the dreams the first responders must have had that night. The sheriff who has 33 years experience, was visibly shaken in the TV interviews

 

[sendec]

What could have happened if any of the victims had been armed is:
a) Irrelevant
b) Unknowable

Some people choose not to keep arms as is their right. We have no more right to imply that they should have than they have to tell us we should'nt. The sole and only persons responsible for this horrorshow are the ones that committed the murders. Having a gun is hardly a garantee of a successful defense (though it do tip the odds)

And lets lay off the 911 system. They do what they can with what they got. I kinda doubt people here would want their own personal cop sitting in the living room. "Patrol" may suppress some criminal actvity, but it is next to impossible to predict where realtively random acts of violence such as this are going to occur. COMPSTAT and directed patrol programs can be very successful, but only in the context of approaching specific types and patterns of crime behavior. Furthermore, some agencies are so overloaded that they do not have the luxury of being able to go out and do proactive patrol. Far too many officers start their shifts already carrying enough assignments and reports that they will literally drive from one to the next without being able to do all the active things people expect patrol officers to do.

 

[Shadowman]

IIRC, Florida has some weird squatter's/ "adverse possession" laws. It wouldn't surprise me if the victim was unaware of a law requiring her to evict the squatters (takes thirty days after filing in magistrate court, etc.). The police may have known this and responded in kind.

 

[joab]

Her 911 call also says that the squatter had been living in the breezeway. That may indicate that they were not actually in the house.
Around here I have heard the coverd entry way to the building called the breezeway

 

[TallPine]

And lets lay off the 911 system. They do what they can with what they got.

Of course they do their best - nobody (at least not me) expects anything more. In my neighborhood, that means about a 45 minute response time. The facts of life.

I kinda doubt people here would want their own personal cop sitting in the living room.

Well, I do have my own personal "Citizen On Patrol" in my living room (or bedroom or office or whatever) ... ME!

 

[CannibalCrowley]

joab

Her 911 call also says that the squatter had been living in the breezeway. That may indicate that they were not actually in the house.

That's just one call of many and it was one of the neighbors. The Xbox along with other items were found inside the home. In addition, the girl reported that the vagrants had stolen several items from her grandmother's home.

Shadowman

IIRC, Florida has some weird squatter's/ "adverse possession" laws. It wouldn't surprise me if the victim was unaware of a law requiring her to evict the squatters (takes thirty days after filing in magistrate court, etc.). The police may have known this and responded in kind.

If the law required her to evict them, then the police wouldn't have asked them to leave. Besides, if Florida has a law like that on the books then I wonder why it isn't the B&E capital of the country.

 

[joab]

That's just one call of many and it was one of the neighbors. .

The call was made bt Erin Bellanger one of the victims and the granddaughter of the owners of the house that was trespassed

"For like a month now, I guess people have been living inside her (grandmother's) breezeway," Belanger is heard one on the 911 calls released Tuesday. "They broke into her breezeway."

The Xbox along with other items were found inside the home.

The Xbox was found boxed up with the other items in the victims house not the grandmother's

And 2 people were arrested for the trespassing at the grandmother's

 

[joab]

IIRC, Florida has some weird squatter's/ "adverse possession" laws. It wouldn't surprise me if the victim was unaware of a law requiring her to evict the squatters (takes thirty days after filing in magistrate court, etc.). The police may have known this and responded in kind.

The law is if you allow someone to live in your home for a specified period IIRC 2 weeks they have to be evicted. That's why most apartment complexs and landlord will only allow guest for 2 weeks

 

[Gifted]

You know, I'm wondering how many 911 calls the center got that day. Perhaps if less important ones hadn't been made("hi, police front desk? I need a body picked up at my house..."), then these important ones might have gotten the scrutiny to discover the problem, and this story would have ended happily. I don't have anything to back it up, but I recall somewhere saying that alot of 911 calls are not actually important enough to merit the use of the system.

 

[dance varmint]

WTH is a homeless criminal doing owning an Xbox to begin with? I truly hope the deaths due to Hurricane Charley were all guys like this squatting in breezeways.

 

[CannibalCrowley]

joab

The Xbox was found boxed up with the other items in the victims house not the grandmother's

But the victim did find them in her grandmother's house. How do you think the items ended up in the victim's home? The police suggested that she box them up and that's what she did.

And 2 people were arrested for the trespassing at the grandmother's

Who were the two people arrested, and why wasn't Victorino one of them?

Nobody will argue that Victorino and his three buddies should be in jail. However, as more information is released it becomes obvious that the sheriff, some judges, a handful of police officers, and the parole officers involved should all join Victorino. He never should've been given the chance to commit the murders. Those responsible for keeping him off the streets had many chances and they decided not to do their jobs. They might as well have been wielding the bats themselves.

 

[Gray Peterson]

This is why I own firearms. This is why I gave my partner a Ruger P94. If I were to come home to find him looking like Erin....lock me up in a mental ward, because my mind would be shattered forever. My neighbors around me are NOT the best kind of folk. One of them outright threatened to bust down my door if they caught me or any of my roomies doing "gay stuff" in his eyesight. That gay stuff being just hugging each other in our front porch.

Basically told him to kindly "f@#k off", because like the US government, I never accede to terrorist threatening. He's the Victorino type, I can tell and smell it. He started popping off with his mouth and then I basically told him that if he EVER busts down my door, he will be met with a hail of bullets.

Needless to say, he hasn't bothered us since.

 

[wprebeck]

Hey Cannibal,

Thanks for posting your obviously uneducated, ill-informed opinion of having judges, the sheriff, and some officers arrested because a person murdered someone else...

FIrst, I'd love to hear some Florida officers chime in on the legalities of making them leave. Actually, first, I'd like to hear how the "squatters" stayed there so long in the first place. Surely, there's no other side to the story, like maybe they were allowed there by the homeowner at first?

Again, back to the legal reason in making them leave....Here's a good example for you: Once, as a young and naive "adult" (barely 18), I let a coworker of mine live with me, as he was down on his luck. He stayed for a couple of weeks, and all was well, until I found a crack pipe (someone had to tell me what it was, as I'd never seen one) in my apt. Well, I called the police, and was informed I'd have to go through an eviction process (as has been mentioned already) in order to get him out, since I had allowed him to "establish residency".

Fortunately, I was able to discvoer he had warrants on him, and notified the police as to where he was one particular afternoon. No more problems after that....
Point being, the police had no legal right to make him leave, even though it was my apt, and I didn't want him there anymore. He's lived there long enough to be able to stay, legally, and htey didn't have the authority to make him leave, simple as that.


So, I wonder if that's not similar to what happened in this case. Because, as we all know, the media (which has as much of an anti-LE bias, as it does an anti-gun one) NEVER distorts or spins the story to it's own needs.

I'm not saying people didn't screw up. Sure, people screw up every day. But, let's blame the people actually responsbile. First, how about blaming the murderer(s). They're the ones who actually committed this horrible deed, not the police. Second, what about finding out the whole story, and maybe, just maybe, finding out if the homeowner did anything that could have added to the situation that resulted. Third, what about the judges (it's ALWAYS the judges who let the thugs outta jail, not the police) who let the guy out in the first place?


But, it's easier to blame the guys who make the run, especially since they go on VERY limited info given to them at the time of the run.

 

[joab]

But the victim did find them in her grandmother's house. How do you think the items ended up in the victim's home? The police suggested that she box them up and that's what she did.

I haven't seen ny report that the items were found inside the home only at the home, could have been in the breezeway or under the shrubs or in the living room.

Who were the two people arrested, and why wasn't Victorino one of them?

Could be a hundred reasons, like he wasn't there when the police arrived, or he ran into the many wooded areas in that area.

 

[CannibalCrowley]

wprebeck

Thanks for posting your obviously uneducated, ill-informed opinion of having judges, the sheriff, and some officers arrested because a person murdered someone else...

Please support your claim of why you believe my view to be an "uneducated, ill-informed opinion". Smells like an ad hominem attack to me.

Furthermore, how would you deal with people who have ignored regulations and protcol, especially when their negligence has resulted in the brutal deaths of six people? Your little story about the police not able to make a roommate leave has nothing to do with someone who committed B&E and was squatting.

I'm not saying people didn't screw up. Sure, people screw up every day. But, let's blame the people actually responsbile.

If someone cannot perform his job properly, he shouldn't have it. This goes double when his mistakes result in innocent deaths. If someone lets a pitbull out of its kennel and it kills someone, both the dog and the person who let it out are to blame. The situation here is the same.

Third, what about the judges (it's ALWAYS the judges who let the thugs outta jail, not the police) who let the guy out in the first place?

I did mention the judges thank you very much, but there's more than enough blame to spread around. As I stated earlier, four POs have been fired and more heads should be on the chopping block. People are tired of just a few token dismissals, it's time for justice. Firing everyone responsible and putting them through civil and criminal court might just cause the rest to wake up.

joab

I haven't seen ny report that the items were found inside the home only at the home, could have been in the breezeway or under the shrubs or in the living room.

Google is your friend:
"He was living there without the grandparents' permission, while they spent the summer up north. Victorino and a group of friends turned the quaint ranch house into a round-the-clock party spot until Ms Belanger discovered them and called the police.

After deputies sent the partygoers away, she cleaned the place and boxed Victorino's XBox and clothes." (article)
That's the first article I found, but you'll find more if you look.