I HeArTE JADE: 2010.01

20100131

I Hear Curacao Calling My Name

It’s dumped just enough snow to be irritating on the area this weekend. It, exacerbated by the turn-the-streets-into-sheets-of-icy-glass temperature, has left me trapped inside pining away for the day the climate is pleasant enough for me to don a fabulous dress like this:

which I found at the Charlottesville downtown mall immediately after the icebergs from the last storm melted. I didn’t buy it but I really, really, really wanted to. I could so see it matched with a pair of strappy Gucci heels, a loose updo, and… right, fashion has absolutely nothing to do with the Jefferson Area Drug Enforcement Task Force.

I had someone tell me recently he misses me writing about JADE. Seems mostly what I do now is post images -- of non-JADE and Virginia State Police officers, at that. Indeed. Because I, both fortunately and unfortunately, am intimately acquainted with the powers that be in that I am aware anything I say will be twisted against me by Law Enforcement.

So, rather than whip up a report about the time I/They/We -- something I would’ve ordinarily done ‘til this inclement weather had passed -- JADE and S/A Jason Trent have forced me to find other means of self-entertainment. While I am currently free to share most of that, the problem is incorporating it here at the same time keeping the site on topic. Since I’ve already multiply mentioned the Task Force utilizes local SWAT teams, things relating to them blend in with I HeArTE JADE to a decent degree. Hence the pictures of Charlottesville Sergeant Mike Farruggio.

That one of him there is from some tactical exercise the CPD did at an about-to-be-demolished building. I love the quotation marks around “unarmed,” as if the, mhmm, cardboard isn’t actually unarmed.

Maybe if I do that to “snowfall,” yesterday’s won’t be real either.

20100130

Complex

20100129

Single Sentence Randomness

If I were a snitch I would not want to be seen in broad daylight in prison stripes and handcuffs being escorted by JADE through their parking lot and into their office building.

♥

Jefferson Area Drug Enforcement seriously put a hurtin’ on the local drug world when they busted marijuana mogul Jeremy Manning-Smith.

♥

Courtesy of an I HeArTE JADE reader I have a handy new gadget that makes procurement of this document better than ever.

♥

I’m starting to think this site should have a “Derrière Day” featuring Virginia State Troopers.

♥

Kiss-kiss-kisses to Task Force Officers Don Campbell, John Baber, Jon Seitz, Jon McKay, Tavis Coffin, Joe Hatter, Granville Fields, Brian O’Donnell, Paul Best, Joe Fleming, Jimmy Bunch, and John Stoltz, and VSP Bureau of Criminal Investigation Special Agent Jason Trent; after 14 months, 300 entries, and 1 cheezball arrest, profile views hit the 10,000 mark.

20100128

CPD Chevy Impala YWR-1120

Hacking, as it turns out, is basically computer programming.

Content I’ve reasonably grasped the English language, I’ve moved on to better understanding the language of computers. I was getting all proud of myself with what I’ve managed as yet, until…

I had an idea to simplify changing internal I HeArTE JADE links and with my first attempt demolished all the intralinks on my site.

(Insert string of obscenities here.)

So. I haven’t decided whether I want to figure out what I did wrong and give it another en masse go, or just fix each post one by gosh darn one. I dislike having 298 entries with broken pieces but I am blender-brained from “learning overload” and I have neato things to do tomor… uh, guess that would be “today” now. At any rate, I’ll repair the damage. Just not at this moment. Or the rest of Thursday.

I never tire of these flaky failures of mine.

20100127

I Get By With A Little Help From My Your Our Friends

What’s nifty?

Acquiring a photograph of a group of hardcore officers who get decked out in camo green.

What’s niftier than nifty?

Acquiring that same photograph from a hardcore officer who gets decked out in camo green.

Too bad I had to black out JADE Task Force members Granville Fields and Joe Hatter.

CPD Ford Taurus JVD-9902

Entry Labels

20100125

Uhgck! They. Wait .Too. Long. To. Release. Information.

Authorities Seize $150K of Marijuana in Albemarle Co.
[Published 4:19 PM, January 25, 2010]

Authorities seized a total of 30 pounds of marijuana worth an estimated $150,000, in addition to more than $60,000 in cash, in two drug busts Friday. Two people were arrested at separate locations for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.

The Jefferson Area Drug Enforcement Task Force, along with the Rush Task Force, have seized $150,000-worth of marijuana in two separate busts.

Narcotic detectives executed the first search warrant Friday, Jan. 22, on the 5000-block of Stony Point Road. James B. Gunn of Barboursville was arrested for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.

Authorities seized approximately 4 pounds of marijuana, $6,245 and two firearms.

Later that day, authorities executed a search warrant at 2000 Paddock Wood Road. Approximately 26 pounds of marijuana and $55,202 were seized from this location. Jeremy Manning-Smith of Keswick was arrested for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.

Authorities said the investigation is ongoing, and additional charges and arrests are pending.

Source.

♥

JADE arrests 2 county men on drug distribution charges
[Published 10:35 PM, January 25, 2010]

Two Albemarle County residents are facing charges of possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute.

Members of the Jefferson Area Drug Enforcement task force arrested 59-year-old James Gunn on Friday at his home in Barboursville. Authorities said detectives seized roughly 4 pounds of marijuana, two firearms and $6,245.

Friday’s second arrest, of 52-year-old Jeremy Manning-Smith, took place in Keswick. Police said 26 pounds of marijuana and $55,202 were seized.

The street value of the marijuana is approximately $150,000, according to authorities.

The investigation is ongoing and additional arrests and charges are pending.

Source.

20100121

VSP Dodge Durango KAV-9527

Week-Ago News

Two Arrested on Drug Charges after Undercover Operation
January 20, 2010

Two people have been arrested on drug charges after an undercover operation by the Jefferson Area Drug Enforcement task force.

Agustin Fragoso Sanchez and Adrian Chagala-Jara were arrested and charged with possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute. As a result of the arrest, 118 grams of cocaine was seized. Its estimated potential street value was $11,800.

The arrest occurred on Jan. 14 when JADE, along with the Albemarle County and Charlottesville police departments, conducted an undercover operation at 1025 Seminole Trail.

Police say the investigation is ongoing, and no additional arrests or charges are pending.

Source.

Dear Thug

Using the blogger navbar to send death threats to me is very clever. You get extra credit. Clearly you’ve read that I keep track of site searches. However, what you apparently did not read is that I do not respond well to intimidation and bullying. So if you thought you could terrorize me into stopping, have I got news for you! Your efforts only increase mine.

I do realize that you realize you can direct your intentions of murder at me with no fear of punishment. After all you are in Law Enforcement, aren’t you? Because only a cop would bother to threaten me over I HeArTE JADE. In fact, based on the details of your activity, I would go so far as to say you’re an officer with the Albemarle County Police Department.

Is this you?

Or are you him?

This guy maybe?

Ah, well, I’ll figure it out one way or another. Until then I guess I’ll have to go back to routinely making use of the Second Amendment -- something that, up until you came along, I hadn’t felt compelled to do.

Gee, that’s pretty much the way I’m looking at it too.

P.S. If you want decent search results, next time try spelling his name right.

20100120

Wordless Wednesday

20100118

Identify. Collect. Preserve. Analyze. Report.

I know nothing about them, not really.
But I’ve seen them at JADE.

One male, one female.
FORENSICS on their jackets.

Won’t forget taking their picture that time.
Still makes me laugh.

They work together, a team.
Inseparable? So it seems.

Blue Jeep Cherokee.
Coming, going, always the same one.

I know nothing about them, not really.
And I’m fine with that, for now.

20100116

Practical Advice

After transporting a drunken Ukrainian call girl in your trunk, don’t forget to hose off the bodily fluids left behind.

Studies On Squad Cars

I got in a habit of noting vehicles that were evidently connected to the Jefferson Area Drug Enforcement (JADE) Task Force. Included were JADE officers’ and the unmarked rides of other policemen, plus those that may or may not have belonged to informants. Obviously, with the Task Force revolving around law enforcement activities, marked cruisers were part of the equation, too.

Keeping track of patrol cars didn’t appear useful at the start but sometimes the seemingly insignificant will end up insightful. So I diligently, albeit unenthusiastically, took down their tags and photographed them, and after a while, much to my delight, noticed patterns emerging.

Some only dropped persons off, some only picked items up. Some were SWAT, some were Sheriffs. Some frequently appeared, some were a one time only deal.

The prowlers became a game within a game to me.

I got to the point where I could successfully determine what was going on with JADE, or predict what JADE had in store for later, based on particulars relating to any given patrol car and its passengers.

These days I can’t go near enough to the Task Force building to play like I used to but nothing prevents me from executing Squad Car Analysis.

Oh yeah, did I mention it’s a fabulous cold weather activity?

20100113

CPD GMC Envoy ZCG-2388

It’s Like A Scooby Doo Mystery! Only Without Ghosts. Or A VW Van. Or Daphne. Or A Resolution.

On the first of April 2009, I posted a news report about the arrest of Joniel Renere Edwards by Jefferson Area Drug Enforcement. I’d actually been watching for media coverage of the incident because, well, I’d actually watched the incident. Since I knew no reporters had been at the scene, and the NBC29 tidbit was so bland, I’d guessed they’d gotten their information ala JADE press release. When WCAV and Daily Progress published their versions the rewrite factor only became all the more obvious.

The thing was, the information didn’t match what I’d witnessed. The most glaring discrepancy was the timeline. The dates made no sense. Plus, does this picture look like it was taken at nine o’clock at night?

I got to thinking maybe there were two takedowns around then and I’d just missed one. So I tried checking that theory out. The name -- Edwards -- and location -- Monticello Rd. -- seemed correct. Charlottesville’s General District Court listed 03/31/2009 as the offense date but 04/01/2009 as the arrest date.

If the details had come from the JADE Task Force, how come they’d lie about when their drug operation took place? If they had to fib about particulars, why even bother alerting the public that it happened at all? It’s not exactly a bragalicious event, as if they’d seized kilos of cocaine or rid the area of a notorious murdering gangsta’.

Three days later I published my account of the bust. In it, I called no attention to any of the above, though I did mention “as if the case isn’t mysterious enough, the news coming in about it baffles me beyond belief.”

Today I read the following.

County man pleads guilty to drug charge; could get 40 years
From staff reports
Published: January 13, 2010

An Albemarle County man is facing prison time for selling crack cocaine to a police informant.

Joniel Renere Edwards, 26, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Charlottesville Circuit Court to possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute. Edwards faces up to 40 years in prison when he is sentenced June 30.

Joseph Platania, assistant commonwealth’s attorney, said in court that an informant for the Jefferson Area Drug Enforcement task force purchased about 53 ounces of crack cocaine for $2,800 on March 31. Edwards was arrested as he left a Monticello Road apartment. Platania said in court that authorities found more than 40 grams of crack cocaine in the freezer in Edwards’ home.

According to court records, Edwards has pleaded not guilty to a similar charge in Albemarle Circuit Court and will stand trial on Jan 19.

Sheesh. The Daily Progress wasn’t even consistent with its own earlier piece. And what are the chances anyone got 53 ounces of crack at that cost? Brings a-whole-nother meaning to “rock-bottom prices,” eh? Also, the “similar charge” is the exact same charge -- something I learned when I searched Albemarle Circuit Court records. The difference is, while the offense date is identical to the City of Charlottesville’s, the County arrested Mr. Edwards for this alleged felony on 08/30/2009. The best explanation I’ve for Cville and Albemarle prosecutors ganging up on Edwards after that much time passing is JADE members must’ve feigned being in fear for their lives.

20100111

Mute Monday

20100109

Google Makes Me Giggle

Search terms of two recent visitors:

1. I HEarTe 8 Jade BLOG

Clearly the result of miscommunication, yes? I can hear it now...

"Dude, you gotta check out this blog!"

"What blog?"

"About JADE."

"Jade who?"

"No no no. It's about -- It's got -- Aw just go look, you'll see."

"What's the name of it?"

"It's like, um, I heart jade. Only it's got an e after heart. And some of the letters are bigger. So it spells hate too. Yeah, ya know sorta like when people use h and 8 instead of the word hate? Like that."

2. why have albemarle county police been out so much lately

Gooooood question.

20100107

Stay Tuned; Your Regularly Scheduled JADE Programming Will Return After This Brief Message.

Meet 37-year-old James Chad Vernon.

Guess he’s shy. That might explain his managing to avoid any media coverage.

Ah, here he is. Much better.

James Chad Vernon is a Virginia State Police Trooper.

Though Trooper Vernon lives in Fluvanna County, Palmyra to be exact, I’ve been informed he’s attached to the VSP Division I Area 4 office which covers counties Goochland and Louisa. He works midnight shift -- this week, at any rate.

Ordinarily I ignore the spouses of officers I’m researching but it happens that Trooper Vernon’s lady is quite the cyber-chatterbox. Honestly I wasn’t sure there was a connection ‘til I saw the patch in the picture she put up on the ‘net of the laundry pile.

On one of his wife’s blogs, among banal posts about her kids, Project Runway, and Britney Spears not being newsworthy, she snubs the “gross” homeless and objurgates a VSP Trooper for ticketing her.

“Actually, it was two tickets, but I got out of both of them in court. This guy was a jerk, and some of Chad's fellow troopers have razzed him for ticketing another trooper's wife.”

I tend to believe that “I got out of” is not the way an innocent person would put it. Even better, I think, though, is her next statement concerning the citation-giving Trooper.

“I have a feeling some not-so-nice words about his roadside demeanor will somehow eek [sic] out.”

That stuff right there, nifty people, is a mighty fine display of what I like to call a crack in the notorious Thin Blue Line. Most folks probably don’t notice them, or believe they exist, but me? I live for cracks like that. Why? Because the best sources leak from those cracks. Sweariously. So good are they, a person can even overlook the wrongness of a woman who feels she’s above the law merely because she’s married to someone who, ironically, is sworn to uphold the law.

Mrs. Trooper Vernon has other sites but she’s got them under lock and key. Of course there are ways around those “invited readers only” things. After her privilegistic -- hush, it should be a word! -- attitude on the formerly unblocked blog, I did wonder what was behind her trooperswife.blogspot.com. But once I discovered on it that Oprah tells her what stories to get excited about, my inquisitiveness slacked to a standstill. The overall blandness of LEO wives is something I cannot tolerate for long.

Last thing I checked was Facebook. Hi Chad!