Lee Watson Swap Bust

Also I am all for if someone does not have the proper paperwork. i.e. license etc. then that person, company, entity should be fined and reprimanded, but the other law abiding people should not be punished at all.

Mr. Watson,
     Sorry about getting the two situations mixed up.  I hope I did not cause to much confusion.  Whatever, the circumstances I know you would not be involved in anything illegal.  You know that you have all of my support.
Thanks,
Gilbert Thompson
P.S.  Lee I would not mind making a phone call or two.  I can't promise anything but I will sure try.

here is a post I came across on the Kingsnake.com Her Law Forum regarding this situation.
http://forum.kingsnake.com/law/messages/7585.html

Oh my god. spam_It's the attack of the killer Beardies. spam_Lock up the women and children folk and git ur guns boys. spam_We be goin DRAGON huntin. spam_

Now on to a more serious note.

I have absolutely no respect for law enforcement officer types. spam_Quite frankly the whole system is set up to steal your money. spam_Get a ticket pay a fine, get arrested pay a fine. spam_Its all money driven and its your money they want. spam_As far as I am concerned its the largest legal form of an organized crime syndicate. spam_Just short of the governmental systems that is. spam_

I was selected for federal jury duty and got called in for jury selection. spam_Before they do that they send you a card to fill out asking very specific questions about race and religion. spam_Both as far as I felt were none of their damm biz and has no bearing on justice. spam_So I put that as my answer. spam_Then they ask if there is any reason you feel you cant serve as a juror. spam_So I put that I feel the legal system is out for nothing but money and justice is just accidental at best. spam_

So after they call my number to come and appear for a duty. spam_They pull out that card and review it with you in front of the judge. spam_God I wish I had it on tape. spam_We went over why I put my answers down about race and religion. spam_As far as I am concerned it has no direct bearing on whether or not they committed the crime and how see the evidence presented to me. spam_And it doesn't. spam_ So why ask it. spam_Looked to me they where trying to fix the jury to get the vote they wanted. spam_Hummmmmmmm.

When they saw my answer to the last question the judge got red right know. spam_In fact when I went on to explain that money is the driving cause of "justice" and how every lawyer has their hand out for it, they flipped. spam_Then I went into the citations for funds called ticketing. (speeding, that kind of stuff) spam_How the only thing they are interested in was stealing money, I mean collecting that fine for justice. spam_It would nock you flat when you see how much they steal annually from us. spam_Where does it go? spam_Hummm. spam_After all tax payers pay your salaries. spam_I do know first hand that Highway Patrol officers get commission of sorts based on the quantity of certain types of citations they write and win. spam_(i.e. DUI's) spam_

Well after it was all said and done, the defense wanted me for my assured not guilty vote, the prosecution was peed off and excused me, and the judge was dumb founded. spam_He event went as far as to thank me for the unusual overwhelming amount of honesty whether they liked it or not.

As for the local street cops, biggest bunch of thieves and hypocrites you ever wanted to meet. spam_Several of which I went to school with so I know first hand. Almost all of them locally I have partied with and call acquaintances. spam_ Then the after hour parties I was invited to, spam_(beer and "SMOKES" confiscated from victims{suspects} in the interest of justice) spam_It's not bad enough that we pay their salaries with our tax money, but we have to put up with their lying and stealing too. spam_ Ever heard of the Blue Wall or Blue Code??? spam_It really exist, even when they are caught on tape beating a hand cuffed kid. spam_

You can bet that the only thing that will come of this "RAID" will be some fines to steal more of your money. spam_Sad but true.

This certainly doesnt reflect all of the law enforcement officers, but it represents well the ones I know of anyway.

Well Tim,
I'm glad to see that you don't respect me, Jim Hopkins, Gilbert Thompson, Alex Rahmings, and a host of other herpers. Thanks for the heads up and the bigoted reply. &nbsp; <img src="http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mad.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=''>

Tim, dont hold back <img src="http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=''>

There are some flaws in our legal system, but as far as i know it is the best in the world. spam_Without it, i dont know how society would function.

Is the state providing propper conditions for these animals? spam_Will they be returned to the owners if it is found out that no laws were broken? spam_I have no problem with the animals being taken if laws were broken, but it sounds like the officers were not aware of the law. spam_Seems to be a pretty common problem.

I hope everything works out for the best, and please keep us posted.

Thanks
Justin Wilson

This whole thing has me seething. spam_I can't even find words to express what I'm thinking. spam_We all know that these confiscated animals will be stuffed into drawers or into plastic bags on evidence shelves. spam_I WISH I had been there and they took my dragons, or gave me a citation. spam_I would ram a lawsuit so far up their a$$e$ it would knock their eyes out. spam_Citation for bearded dragons?!?! spam_*splutter splutter* spam_Every day I am more in complete awe of how stupid and ignorant people are. spam_*crossing Illinois off list of acceptable states to live in* &nbsp;Grrrr.

Ken
As I stated and I quote</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">This certainly doesnt reflect all of the law enforcement officers, but it represents well the ones I know of anyway.
</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>

The list of names you mentioned, including yourself, I dont know are not the ones I am referring to. spam_And its not bigoted because it accuratley represents the ones I do know of. spam_Facts are facts wether you agree with them or not. &nbsp;

Seems I struck a nerve with you. spam_If I may ask, have you ever "not remembered" under oath? spam_Or conveniently left out any detail in a report to make your case look better? spam_

Just curious.

Lee sorry to hear about this mess, all I can say is IL is the stupidist freaking state in the USA, it is nothing but a cop state with bull laws that the enforcers dont even know, theres a few people here in IL that are cool but get them out of this state and I wish they would nuke it, it would do the whole world alot of justice

as far as what Tim is saying I dont think he is being a bigot at all, he explained it was his experiances, I am another I hate cops, its a shame because the simple fact is the good cops(in what ever field) are the minority BY FAR!!!! the majority of cops are nothing but theifs and liers, we were in NYC on Monday to visit Ellis Island and the Statue and some of the port attority guys were telling us about how the cops were ripping off the stores around the WTC after they ropped it all off, the guys running the ferries were bringin the cops in and out with tons of stolen stuff, it blows my mind to think that someone would be concerned with what they could take for free after an event like that but they did it, no fly zone nothing but your buddies around and guess what no way to get caught, its sick, or maybe they were just locking it up in their basement for safe keeping

this whole deal with Lee is a shame their just hoping that the people arrested dont have the money or time to fight it so they can make some free money

Now that I've calmed down somewhat, let me make a few points. I'll admit to over-reacting to your post, Tim. Hopefully, you'll be able to understand my perspective, and why it got under my skin.

Firstly, on the law enforcement tangent.

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I have absolutely no respect for law enforcement officer types. &nbsp;Quite frankly the whole system is set up to steal your money. &nbsp;Get a ticket pay a fine, get arrested pay a fine. &nbsp;Its all money driven and its your money they want. &nbsp;As far as I am concerned its the largest legal form of an organized crime syndicate. &nbsp;Just short of the governmental systems that is. &nbsp;</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>
Here's a novel thought- don't break the law! That's the easiest way to avoid getting a ticket or paying a fine. Even so, did you realize that most traffic stops don't result in a ticket?

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Then I went into the citations for funds called ticketing. (speeding, that kind of stuff) &nbsp;How the only thing they are interested in was stealing money, I mean collecting that fine for justice. &nbsp;It would nock you flat when you see how much they steal annually from us. </td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>
What would you propose to deter folks from breaking the law? Or shal we just turn it into a free for all? Driving 50 in a residential, take a corner a little to hard, and wipe out a bunch of kids waiting for their schoolbus?...no problem.

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"> After all tax payers pay your salaries. </td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>
One of the tiredest lines in the book. The salary is so great that it works out to $8-15 an hour on average. We must be crazy to risk our lives for such great pay. Some of us, such as myself, actually do this for free. That's right- all I get as a part-timer is a $200 a year uniform allowance. It ain't about money- it's about doing something positive.

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">As for the local street cops, biggest bunch of thieves and hypocrites you ever wanted to meet. &nbsp;Several of which I went to school with so I know first hand. Almost all of them locally I have partied with and call acquaintances. &nbsp; Then the after hour parties I was invited to, &nbsp;(beer and "SMOKES" confiscated from victims{suspects} in the interest of justice) &nbsp;It's not bad enough that we pay their salaries with our tax money, but we have to put up with their lying and stealing too.</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>
You're judging tens of thousands of individuals based on the actions of a few. Using that rationale, I guess we could characterize the entire herp community as a bunch of poachers based on the actions of folks like Rudy Kormarek and Ed Tierney??

Yes Tim, there are a few bad apples in law enforcement, but they represent a very small minority. As long as we select police officers from the general population, a few will slip through the cracks. Most get weeded out somewhere along the line. As for the "Blue Wall of Silence", I'll admit that it exists is some places. When you're armchair quarterbacked to death by the media and folks like Al Sharpton for shooting a bad guy coming at you with a machete, well... that tends to contribute to the problem. However, I know that's not the aspect of it that you were referring to. Rest assured though, most of those guys do get what's coming to them sooner or later.

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"> It really exist, even when they are caught on tape beating a hand cuffed kid.</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>
I know which incident you're referring to (California), and I really wouldn't qualify what took place as a beating, although the officer could have shown a bit more restraint. To begin with, the kid split the officer's head open just above the ear. Then, when he was handcuffed, the kid grabbed the officer by the family jewels. By no means am I supporting the fact that he struck him after the cuffs were on- that much is inexcusable. Once the cuffs are on, the game is over, and he should have just stepped back. What I am saying, though, is that there is more to that story than the little snippet that made it to the 11 o'clock news.

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Seems I struck a nerve with you.</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>
Yes, you did. The vast majority of law enforcement officers are decent people. It's a shame that your experience with a few bad apples has skewed your view of LEO's as a whole.

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">If I may ask, have you ever "not remembered" under oath? &nbsp;Or conveniently left out any detail in a report to make your case look better?</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>
Nope. I'm only a part-timer, and don't often find myself having to testify. However, even if I was a full-timer, that wouldn't change a thing.