Justice

[TOW]

let's not get too carried away, wasn't your police chief caught dealing meth not that long ago?

not this police chief, besides time changes things....

[TOW]

Thanks for the post Lone Wolf....All this happened in a “Hiker Friendly” town....Really ironic and of course a terrible mark on the Damascus local population.


This town is renowned for it's hospitality to all who thru on the A/T. Local economy is given a boost each and every year from Trail Days and other recreational use throughout the year of facilities nearby. There needs to be some sort of outlet to “educate” those few ignorant locals on matters of benevolence. Unfortunately, the ingraining of bad behavior and intolerance starts young among some of the country families and continues through the generations. The cycle needs to be broken somehow. This kind of behavior is intolerable. If it could happen there it could happen at any trail town along the A/T. You can bet that if any of the three accused needed help with any situation or needed anything while they were in the woods, that the hiker population would be the first to lend a hand without regard to looking at anyone's stature or upbringing.


What are the real reasons that they do these things?...Do they feel threatened by the hiker having the real guts and determination to challenge and test themselves by taking on such a long adventure? You can be relatively sure that any stay in the woods they might spend is first short, second, having all the comforts of home at hand, and third never out of sight of the beer cooler. They must be highly envious and jealous of people who are self-reliant and complete. After-all something must be lacking in their own lives. The attack was the ignorant result of multiple people sharing a single miss-guided idea. It is like a feeding frenzy for the local gangs, preying on the easy, and available game that hikers afford to these hunters. What did they hope to gain from it all? I agree with others that this is a hate crime!


What would have been the case if the hikers did report it to the authorities promptly. Interest in safety and a chance to educate the public on how important hikers are to Damascus could have been revisited at “Trail Days” just days down the road.....Instead, it was a lost opportunity. It could have been a benefit for other hikers and others in getting these perps off the street. Who knows what other crimes they may have committed in the time they went free before arrest. Please report all trail crimes, always!


My suggestion: Maybe the local powers that be could do something like a seminar on trail safety and acceptance of others, and of course encourage the Damascus population to get more positively involved....Maybe with your influence Lone Wolf and the respect of the town, you might help move the focus in the direction of pro-activity.


Great work by the Damascus LEOs in following up on, and making the case for prosecution. I will be following the results closely.


I am a forgiving person but, in this case the crime was a senseless and very disturbing act with deep concern to anyone who hears about it and worries about their own safety on the trail. I really feel for the unlucky hikers who while enjoying the trail met this terrible fate at the hands of these fools. They should get all that is coming to them, and send the message to others who are so inclined to do harm. Hikers will feel more confident, and Damascus will be a better and safer place for it!

what an annalist..........

i'll tell you exactly what this is about other than them boys being stoned out of their minds at the time, to them it was nothing but fun. and that is how some folk think naturally..........

i will agree with you on one aspect, upbringing.........two i know of had it pretty darn rough.......

[TOW]

Lone Wolf or TOW please post the update to this so those of us without the local paper can keep up to date. It sounds like the prosecuter is on the ball in this case but sometimes a petition from voters helps encourage local politicians to pursue the maximum sentence.

Doc Mike

it's not the prosecutor on the ball, it's the chief..........

[TOW]

I can't believe it. Damascus has been so friendly the few times I've been there. Guessing these guys decided to take a break from drinking PBR in the three years after they dropped out of high school to make absolutely nothing out of their lives to be even more complete pieces of ****. Well, at least they're miserable. That's the motivation. Hikers, in general, are happy and fulfilled. These people were just jealous of it because they live sad, boring, and meaningless lives. So the next logical step was to knock someone down to their level so they could feel better about themselves. May they rot as long as the law allows.

these three were the local dope dealers for a while and the one that was dealing the most of it lived right next to me......

[TOW]

That can be said for anytown until something happens. Like the rape of the 19 year old thru hiker in Troutdale (Troutville?) hitching into town a couple years back. To say nothing of the sexual assault at Trail Days earlier this year.

People need to wake up to the fact that the Trail is not immune from all kinds of ugliness.

i agree with ya, this is anytown america. but we do have a police force willing to put a stop to a bunch of unnecessary bull and to send a message that it is willing to do so.....

[TOW]

lwolf and me kissed once. on the lips.not gay but like a straight guy kiss. cause i love him that much. lol.

you're a freak- azz whacka dillia

i knew it!

[yari]

"What are the real reasons that they do these things?...Do they feel threatened by the hiker having the real guts and determination to challenge and test themselves by taking on such a long adventure?"

I seriously doubt they cared that the victims were hikers, per se. Criminals generally aren't insightful enough to think things thru like that, they are opportunists. My guess is that the attraction of attacking a hiker was they knew they could find someone that was vulnerable due to the isolation of the trail and the burden of carrying a pack.

As far as all crimes being hate crimes, domestic violence crimes are often perpetrated because the attacker "loves" the victim.

[Trailbender]

You don't believe in extra punishment because the person is ... something?

What if the victim is a ... policeman? Fireman? A defenseless child?

Too bad? The perp gets the same punishment no matter the victim?

Rain Man

.

Murder is murder, it is not worse or "better" depending on who it happens to. Same with any other crime.

[Lyle]

Murder is murder, it is not worse or "better" depending on who it happens to. Same with any other crime.

Unless of course it was a sports figure. They are Gods after all, so of course it is much more of a tragedy when one of them die. Murder or not.

[Pedaling Fool]

Murder is murder, it is not worse or "better" depending on who it happens to. Same with any other crime.

There are different degrees of murder, but that's a separate issue from the point of hate crime prosecution as originally intended.

I don't want to get in a debate about this, but suffice it to say, to understand hate crime legislation or any other reason for certain punishments the legal system determines appropriate you must separate yourself from your emotions. Emotions cloud judgement.

There is a very good reason why some crimes incur more punishment than others despite them seeming very similar on the surface.

[TrailSquirrel]

There are different degrees of murder, but that's a separate issue from the point of hate crime prosecution as originally intended.

I don't want to get in a debate about this, but suffice it to say, to understand hate crime legislation or any other reason for certain punishments the legal system determines appropriate you must separate yourself from your emotions. Emotions cloud judgement.

There is a very good reason why some crimes incur more punishment than others despite them seeming very similar on the surface.

well put....

[SawnieRobertson]

I called the police dept tonite to thank them - spoke to one of the guys who did the leg work, he was cool. Told him a lot of people appreciate what they did.

Thank you for doing that. The Damascus PD has had a lot of bad (and not undeserved) publicity in recent years. The actions of these officers really clears the bill. I'm willing to once again place my trust in that department.

Thanks also to Lone Wolf for bringing this to our attention. (Three big cheers for LW!!!!)

I'm planning a little trip to Abingdon to witness justice in action if it works out. Are these guys in jail now or are they out on bail?--Kinnickinic

[SawnieRobertson]

I hiked with Jamie and Zach and really enjoyed them. I heard in Damascus that they had gone home after an incident, but didn't realize they hadn't reported it. I have tried to get in tough with them via their TJ, but haven't had any success. They are such great guys and I'm glad that the police caught the bad guys.

Well, hopefully they will return to Washington County to testify. And, hopefully, you Texas Woman, will make a trip over to be present. Can you imagine anything that would make them feel supported than a large presence of hikers, especially one they know?--Kinnickinic

[mad4scrapping]

less punishment if its a lawyer???

Hey, I resemble that remark!!

[Mizirlou]

Salute to Chief Nunley and the troops.

LEOaffairs missing Damascus PD. For interested law enforcement agencies:
http://forums.leoaffairs.com/index.p...25e6c071b8dbc9

[Erin]

Here is hoping a defense lawyer does not drag it out two years until these guys, the victims, don't want to come back and or care anymore about being victims and pursuing the case. Um, dismissed.
Nice police work though and follow-up.

[TOW]

Here is hoping a defense lawyer does not drag it out two years until these guys, the victims, don't want to come back and or care anymore about being victims and pursuing the case. Um, dismissed.
Nice police work though and follow-up.

Hopefully it will not take two years for the law to catch Ray Ray either, if the boy would quit being afraid and just turn himself in then maybe he would grow a real back bone....

[Dirt_leg]

Here's the sad part, this will in all likely hood never go to trial. The lawyers public apointment no doubt, will string this thing out for a year or two. Some evidence will get lost, witness will not show up. And presto, case is dismissed. Thata the sad part of the justice system. I've been waiting on a piece of trash in my community to go in front of the man for saling dope. He was arrested over 2years ago and still has not gone to trial!!!

[Lone Wolf]

just back from court. the case is continued to Dec. 22nd in order for the victims to be present. the chief will work on getting them here. the commonwealth will reimburse for all expenses

[Cookerhiker]

Wolf, thanks for keeping us informed.