Street justice

Josey1

Six muggers picked the wrong targets - two karate experts.

New Zealander Craig Nordstrand, a fourth-level black belt, and colleague Peter Roche were in Suva, capital city of the Pacific island of Fiji (search), last week for regional championships, reports the New Zealand Herald.

The two of them had just finished dinner and were walking back to their hotel when two men came toward them, asking for money. Four more men stepped out of the shadows.

Nordstrand took on four of the men. Roche handled the other two. The attackers backed off, but then surrounded the two New Zealanders for a second try.

"Do you want karate?" Nordstrand asked.

One man failed to heed the warning and moved in.

"I kicked him straight under the chin and into the throat," Nordstrand told the newspaper.

The struck man and the rest of the gang ran off into the dark streets. Nordstrand and Roche became local heroes for a few days.











Extreme moments of horror should be met with extreme actions of preventive retribution



Of all the things I've lost, I miss my youth the most!

Josey1

Street justice

By Heather Ratcliffe
Of The Post-Dispatch

In a confrontation last month, Mike Singleton fatally shot Marc "Smooth" Collins, who wounded Singleton in April. Singleton says Kinloch police took no action after the first incident. St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert P. McCulloch says flatly, "That police department should not exist, and if it were my call, it wouldn't."




Mike Singleton says he dreaded a confrontation he figured was inevitable. Widely known as "Big Mike," the hulking Singleton carried a pistol for protection as he sold cigarettes and candy from behind bulletproof glass in the convenience store he owns in his tough hometown of Kinloch.

For four months, he had nervously watched over his shoulder for the return of a man he knew by the street name "Smooth." He was the man Singleton said shot him in the leg in April, in a quarrel he was sure was not yet over.

On Aug. 13, Singleton said, customers told him that Smooth was outside leaning on the wall, selling drugs, waving a gun and talking trash.

Calling the Kinloch police did not seem an option. Singleton said he had begged them for months to lock up Smooth, whose real name is Marc Collins. But they simply ignored him.

So whatever was about to happen that hot summer night between Singleton and Collins, it would be just the two of them.

Only Singleton is left to speak of it. He said that Collins grabbed for a pistol but that his own hand was faster. Several pops from Singleton's .38-caliber revolver, and Collins fell dead.

Singleton said it was inaction by the police force that put him in the position of killing a man, and he resents it.

"I wouldn't want to take anybody's life, but I had no choice," he insisted. "This guy already shot me once, and I wasn't going to let him shoot me again."

Singleton is not alone in his complaint.

St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert P. McCulloch laid out his view bluntly: "This case just demonstrates how incompetent that department is. That police department should not exist,

and if it were my call, it wouldn't."

Even Collins' mother, La Doris Collins, is critical. "If they did their job back in April, my son might still be alive today," she complained.

If officials in Kinloch have an explanation, they are not eager to share it.

Mayor Keith Conway did not return repeated phone calls over several weeks. He did make one appointment to discuss the case but was out of town when a reporter arrived at Kinloch City Hall to keep it.

Linda Witfield, who was appointed July 22 as chief of the seven-member police department, said she did not know details about the April shooting or the investigation of it. She said more than a week ago that she would discuss the case with former chief Walter Wilson, now a detective sergeant on her force. Witfield declined to comment further Friday. Wilson could not be reached.

Police provided an incident report from the April 16 shooting, but it does not address the key questions of why officers did not follow a procedure for calling in county detectives after a violent episode, and why no evidence against Collins was offered to prosecutors for possible charges.

A fight in the parking lotSingleton knew Collins as an occasional customer who bought snacks or soft drinks at Big Mike's Convenience Store, at 5693 Martin Luther King Drive. "He had always been polite," Singleton recalled.

Just after noon on April 16, Singleton posted a "no parking" sign on the curb outside the store. Minutes later, Collins parked his silver Dodge Intrepid in front of it.

The men's quarrel turned to punches. Singleton said that after he smacked Collins with the butt of a pistol, Collins fled.

About an hour later, Singleton said, Collins returned with a gun of his own and opened fire from a window of the Dodge. Singleton ducked behind a car as half a dozen slugs snapped through the store's plate glass front wall. One hit Singleton just above his left knee.

It felt numb, then hot.

Paramedics took Singleton to DePaul Health Center, where he was treated and released.

Singleton and at least one witness identified Collins to Kinloch police as the gunman.

Chief Wilson arrested Collins. The police report shows that officers found empty shell casings and a bag of crack cocaine in the seat of his car and that the passenger door had a bullet hole.

Collins was held for 20 hours then released.

The businessmanSingleton, 51, who has lived in the same house in Kinloch all his life, said he has 22 siblings, 31 children and more than 60 grandchildren.

A former amateur boxer, he used to operate a construction company in Kinloch and a convenience store in Wellston. He and his wife, Roetonda, opened the quick shop in a former post office in Kinloch three years ago.

On each side of the building is painted in large bright letters: "No Drug Selling at Anytime."

He knows nearly every face in the town, which at 450 people has lost about four-fifths of its population in just 10 years. Friends honk car horns and wave as they pass the store.

"I love this community, and I'm going to continue to serve it," Singleton said.

A young man

called "Smooth"Marc "Smooth" Collins, 32, also began his life in Kinloch. He moved to Oakland, Calif., at age 6 with his mother, and returned about three years later to live with his father, Daltrie Edward Collins. His mother soon returned too.

She said he loved music and poetry.

At 16, Collins dropped out of high school. Around that time, his mother said, the teen's best friend shot him in the head. He recovered and went on to earn a high school equivalency certificate.

In 1989, court records show, Collins was convicted of unlawful use of a weapon and got five years' probation. In 1999, he was arrested for distributing controlled substances in Kinloch. He pleaded guilty to an amended charge and served nine months in jail.

He tried to find office or construction work but his felony record was always a problem, La Doris Collins said. "He made some mistakes that society never let him forget."

She said that when she asked her son how he spent his time, he told her she was better off not knowing: "He didn't tell me what he was doing because he didn't want me to worry."

She noted, "I used to beg him to stay away from Kinloch," she said. "It's not a good place to be."

The Kinloch policeSingleton said that after the shooting in April, he complained about Collins to Mayor Conway and other town officials.

"He told me he was taking care of it," the store owner said.

In July, Conway fired Chief Wilson and replaced him with Witfield, the former chief in Wellston.

Meanwhile, Singleton said, he told authorities that Collins continued to threaten him and his family.

A former Kinloch police officer, who asked to remain anonymous, said he locked up Collins in July for drug and gun violations. Prosecutors said they sent that case back to the department for more investigation. The case never proceeded.

"(Collins) thought he ran the place," the officer said. " He'd terrorize people in Kinloch and antagonize the merchants. He'd sell drugs out in the open, and the police would just ride by."

The Kinloch Police Department has a long history of controversy:

* In 1967, the town's Board of Aldermen called in county police to investigate the disappearance of most of the police records.

* In 1973, then-Prosecuting Attorney Gene McNary sent county police to patrol Kinloch because only three officers there were properly certified.

* In 1986, two aldermen circulated petitions for a vote to dissolve the town's government, claiming it was unable to provide proper police protection. They failed to get enough signatures to get on the ballot.

* In 1987, a former Kinloch police commissioner and alderman was accused of tampering with a witness in a burglary involving her stepson. Police said she had asked a witness to drop the charge.

* In 1991, county police took over patrols in Kinloch for 11 months after the then-mayor, police chief and two aldermen were charged with receiving stolen liquor. At the time, Kinloch was down to just two certified officers. The officials were later convicted.

* In 1996, the county took over again, after the police chief was charged with possession of a stolen computer. He was later convicted. The same week, an officer was accused of rape.

Later that year, Kinloch officials regained control of the police after agreeing to nine conditions sought by the county prosecutor and police to protect the integrity of criminal cases.

McCulloch said that the agreement was not really enforceable and that no one was appointed to hold the community to it. "Compliance has been kind of spotty," McCulloch said.

For example, Kinloch police agreed to forward copies of all criminal police reports to the county's Bureau of Central Police Records. Only about 40 reports have been received so far this year, of an estimated 1,000 the officers write.

Kinloch also agreed to use the county crime scene investigators and detectives in cases of homicide, suspicious death, rape, sodomy or first-degree assaults that hospitalize a victim.

McCulloch said that means Kinloch should have called county police when Singleton was shot.

"That's been a problem," McCulloch said. "They are not contacting the county police when they should."

He added, "It would be a huge benefit for people who still live in Kinloch if that city would disincorporate and the county police took over patrol of that area. They, unfortunately, are not interested in doing that."

He said the county had no way to force the issue.

The night of reckoningThe evening of Aug. 13, customers entering the convenience store warned Singleton that Collins was outside with a gun. Singleton said he slipped out the back door and peeked around the corner of the building. He gripped his revolver, hiding it behind his leg.

He saw Collins sitting with friends on a short brick wall near the front door.

"Please let him just leave," Singleton said he thought to himself.

Then Singleton stepped into the open and yelled at Collins to get off his property. They exchanged profanities and insults.

Singleton said that's when Collins reached for a gun tucked in his waistband.

Singleton didn't hesitate. He pulled the trigger again and again.

Collins spun around and ran. Two slugs hit him in the lower back; one hit his arm. As he collapsed under a tree across the street, Singleton went into his store to call police and paramedics. And to wait.

Nearly 30 minutes passed and police still didn't show, Singleton said. McCulloch backed him up on that point.

Singleton drove to the St. Louis County jail in Clayton, where he surrendered and turned his gun over to jailers.

Meanwhile, as Collins lay dying, someone took his car and money, according to county police. Officers said they never found a weapon on Collins and surmised that someone took it too.

Friends have told Collins' family that he did not have a gun that night. But no witness has come forward to police to refute Singleton's story.

St. Louis County police detectives took Singleton to a hospital to be checked and then interviewed him for several hours.

They took the details to McCulloch's warrant office the next day.

Prosecutors told police to send Singleton home. They would continue to review the case. For now, police call it a justified homicide. The prosecutor has not made a final decision on whether to charge him with anything.

Collins' mother said she is still waiting for information about her son's death.

"If my son was wrong, I want to know it," La Doris Collins said. "I just want the truth."

She said she doesn't understand how officials could call her son's death "justified" when he was shot in the back.

Singleton says he relives the shooting in nightmares.

"I meant no one harm, especially his family," he said. "I've been there." One of his sons was killed in a gang-related shooting in Alton in 1996.

Now, Singleton worries about his own safety. Collins had many friends, including gang members, who might seek revenge, he said.

"I sleep with one eye open."

But Singleton refuses to hide or close the business. He said he may even run for mayor and try to clean up the problems in the police department.

"I'm just going to live by my guns and pray."

Reporter Heather Ratcliffe:\ E-mail: hratcliffe@post-dispatch.com\ Phone: 314-863-2821

http://home.post-dispatch.com/channel/pdweb.nsf/TodaySunday/86256A0E0068FE5086256C35003C8092?OpenDocument&PubWrapper=A-section


"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878

Josey1

Robber who took boy hostage attacked
Witness: It was like being in a Jackie Chan movie

John Colebourn
The Province


Sunday, September 15, 2002

Hiep Le recalls how three men tried to rob his video store and laundromat on Friday night. (Jon Murray, The Province)


Passers-by attack the robbery suspect as he tries to escape. (BCTV News on Global/The Province)


Video and coin laundry store in the 1300 block of Kingsway. (Jon Murray, The Province)




A man holding a four-year-old boy hostage in a bungled robbery at a Vancouver laundromat and video store was attacked and beaten by passers-by.

In the dramatic confrontation, captured live by TV cameras, the citizens struck and kicked the man, then restrained him until police arrived.

Hiep Le, the owner of the Phuong Uyen coin laundry and video store in the 1300-block Kingsway, said he was fortunate that people were there to help when the three robbers, one brandishing a handgun, moved in just before closing time Friday and terrorized customers and his family.

He recalled how the robbers became confused once they got inside and tried to grab money from the cash register.

"They ran to the back, and we have two doors and they were locked," he said.

Two robbers managed to escape through the front door, while one man stayed inside. In desperation, the man grabbed Le's son, Kevin.

By then, the commotion had attracted others outside on the busy block.

"We were lucky people in the community came by," said Le.

The unarmed robber put down the child, who was frightened but unhurt, when he was confronted by a number of men, some using chairs as shields. He made his way outside, ready to flee.

It was then that he was stomped and beaten by a number of men who came to the aid of the store owner.

After taking some kung fu blows to the midsection and a few kicks to the head and groin, the robber went down like a sack of rice.

A Global TV crew that was in the area videotaped the incident.

Passer-by Lance Farrell, who is seen on the footage trying to intervene, said: "You feel like you are in a movie rather than real life, eh. It was like a Jackie Chan movie, actually."

Police moved in quickly after Le's brother-in-law, Tan Nguyen, managed to call 911 during the melee.

Le's wife, who was bleeding from the cheek, was taken to hospital for shock and is at home recovering.

"She is getting better but still in a little bit of pain," said Le.

He said it will take time before his wife and young son get over the ordeal.

"My son, he's still a little bit scared," he said.

Le recalled the robbers threatening that he had to hand over the store surveillance tape or they'd come back and shoot him.

"They saw the video cameras and still tried to get the money," he said.

Le police believe the three robbers were stealing to feed a drug habit: "They were crack addicts --that's what the police said."

Other shopkeepers were stunned to hear of the violent night in their usually quaint part of Kingsway.

"Wowee -- they should get a medal," said one store owner of those who helped capture the robber.

"I don't know what the answer [to the problem with drug addicts] is," he added.

The incident comes after recent acts of vigilantism around the Lower Mainland.

In Surrey last spring, an RCMP spokesman warned about neighbours using aggressive tactics to remove unsavoury types from their community.

About a dozen people in the 130th Street area took part in the massive cleanup operation last May.

They removed virtually everything from a rental property as soon as the tenants left. The neighbours claim the tenants were drug dealers who ran a 24-hour-a-day business.

"This is a rare instance where we have seen a number of people becoming involved in essentially ransacking, breaking and entering into a home and smashing the interior," Surrey RCMP Const. Tim Shields said at the time.

"It can't be tolerated."

A similar scene played out in that neighbourhood a short time later, when neighbours moved in and cleaned up another rental home and the surrounding property.

In that case, police say vigilantes had encouraged the alleged drug dealers to leave by smashing windows with baseball bats.

"What we have to remind people is: Vigilantism doesn't work. The law works," said Shields.

c Copyright 2002 The Province
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"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878