There are some events in my career that continue to stick in my memory even after all these years. The extent that some go to cause trauma in another’s life still disconcerts me even now. When I learned of this individual’s horrid acts on women, and what he did for a living, it made me sick to my stomach. Then again, these creeps tend to get employed in every profession, including as police officers and pastors/priests.
Let me say that even though the title seems to proclaim, “Look what I did”, I wrote this blog not to self promote or to be a braggart, but to warn those going through their day, oblivious to what may occur around them. I wrote this for you to be aware of your surroundings and that hidden dangers tend to spring on us when we least expect it. It is also to warn that there is a push today that would severely limit police in finding these perverted criminals and bring them to justice, which I will discuss after I share this story.
I must also warn that some of the details are graphic and I would caution parents of very young individuals and also those that have suffered at the hands of a sexual predator to prudently use their discretion before reading further. This occurrence may be disturbing to some, as it is to me.
This started early one Monday morning on an expressway that splits our city in half (Rt. 58 and Rt 58 bypass where below this highway is the First Precinct and the highway and above is the Second Precinct). I set up a radar speed measurement detail on the portion of the highway a couple of miles from the city line. The speed limit was 60 mph and it wasn’t long before I caught this red Corvette travelling at 82 mph. I pulled him over just before the city line and made my approach.
I did not encounter someone dressed as the individual in the photo above. I chose this depiction because I first did not want to mar the character of the model by showing his face. I also wanted you to get the idea that there are those just standing, hiding (sometimes in plain sight) just looking for an opportunity to victimize the unwary. Those that are truly blessed that they never had to experience the devastating actions of an assault like this may think that these creeps dress in ways to obscure their identity, such as with a hoodie or a mask. Many times, and particularly in this instance, this is not the case.
Who I made contact with was a Navy sailor dressed in blue fatigues. Before I could even get out my name and the reason for the stop, he blurted out, “Officer, my wife is in labor in North Carolina at a hospital getting ready to deliver and I am going in to ask my C O if I can go back and be with my wife for the birth of my child!!” The conversation continued something like this:
Me: So, your wife is about the deliver, so why are you going in? Couldn’t you just have called your C O and informed him of your emergency?
Him: No. I have to go in because he will not accept a phone call. We have to always go in and ask in person.
Me: So when did your wife go into labor?
Him: She went into labor last night and I rushed her to the hospital. I left her this morning and I had just enough time to go home and change into my uniform.
Me: Okay, well answer me this: when you get back to the hospital and suppose you find out that she will not deliver for a while, if you get hungry, where are you going to eat?
Him: Probably the hospital cafeteria.
Me: So since you had only enough time to get changed, and you are going to eat at the hospital cafeteria, why do you have your lunch beside you in the passenger seat? (I could see a sandwich in a clear Tupperwear container and an apple beside it) You are actually going to work and your wife is not in the hospital, is she?
Him: (Sigh) No, but she is pregnant. Am I in trouble?
Me: Well, you are automatically going to get a reckless driving by speed citation, I cannot overlook that. You tell me the truth from now on, and I won’t charge you with the obstruction, deal?
Him: Yes sir, thank you.
So, I went back to the cruiser and ran his information. He was licensed, and he showed no warrants, however, he had a report generated in our city for Indecent Exposure. It was written on Friday. Knowing that the warrant bureau doesn’t work on the weekends, just to be sure that a warrant wasn’t secured for the crime and just hasn’t been picked up yet to be entered into the system, I called dispatch on the radio and asked her to call the magistrate’s office to see if a warrant was there for the motorist. A few minutes later dispatch came on the radio and stated, “B116, be advised there are nine.” Just to make sure I heard correctly, I asked if she said nine or none. She came back and told me, “There are 7,8,9 of them and 4 of them are felonies.” She further stated that she was dispatching another officer to my location for my safety.
I went up to the sailor and told him to shut the engine off and give me his keys. He did so and I put the keys on the roof. I opened the door and started to pull him out of the vehicle at the same time telling him he was under arrest. He gave no resistance but seemed genuinely shocked that he had warrants out for him. As I was cuffing him, he asked me what were the warrants were for. I told him that I wasn’t informed of the nature, but that there were nine out for him four of them were felonies. I told him that I would find out what they were for when we got to headquarters to pick up paperwork and would let him know. I also told him if he wanted to speak to me about them, I would first read him his Miranda Warnings (if you’re wondering why I didn’t read him his Miranda Warnings right when I arrested him, check out my blog on Miranda Warnings (Rights)–Exposing the Myths).
When we arrived at headquarters, I placed him temporarily in a holding cell and went to see the Central Files clerk. She printed out for me the report that described his actions. It appears that five women were victims of this guy. He would come across the state line and troll through the neighborhoods early in the morning looking for women joggers. The first one, he pulled up to her and got her attention. He then opened the door exposing his member in a completely aroused state. A couple of days later, he got bolder, called the jogger over in a ruse of asking a question, opened the door and pulling her close to him forced her to perform sexual acts on him. He appeared to get bolder each time and he did this over the matter of a few weeks. He was charged with each of the women indecent exposure and the last four with felony sexual battery. When I told him what his charges were, he looked down and told me he didn’t want to talk about it. That was fine with me. He didn’t need to since all five women described him with details of the color of his hair, Navy uniform, the type of tattoos he had and even the type of air freshener hanging from the rear view mirror of his red Corvette. One of them was cognizant enough after the attack to get his license plate. All five picked him out of a photo line up. The description I read in the report of the offender described him down to the last detail.
He asked me if I could call his C O and tell him what was going on with him. I told his C O that he was under arrest and what he was arrested for. He asked me where he was going to be and I told him that I was getting ready to transport him to the magistrate’s office beside the jail. He told me he would be on the way. After I had served the warrants on him there and booked him, the magistrate told me to release him to his C O after he was finished with him. The jail guard stayed with him while I went out to speak with his C O. He asked me how damning the evidence was, and I told him the details of how he was identified. He told me that he would be placed on special detail after getting to the ship docked at the Norfolk Naval Base. Later, an officer that had been in the Navy told me that “special detail” meant he would be put on a work detail, and would retire to the brig each night until his court date. He would not be able to go back home and he also missed the actual birth of his son. I’m fairly sure his wife didn’t want him there anyway.
The officer that was working the case came in that morning thinking he was going to have to head to Norfolk and go through hours of red tape to take this offender into custody. When I heard him break roll call, I told him to turn his radio to the talk-around channel. I advised him that I got his guy. He asked who. I told him. There was a brief pause, and then he came up on the radio and told me where everyone on the channel could hear, “Officer Cravey, I could just kiss you!!!” I replied, “Um…thank you but I’d prefer a coffee instead.”
In the beginning of this blog, I said there were some reasons why I felt compelled to write this. First, I trust by you reading this that it would motivate you to always be aware of your surroundings. If you are a woman and you like to jog early in the morning with headphones, you really need to be looking around as you jog. Do not endanger yourself because you do not want to be rude to someone who says they are lost or want to ask a question. If it is a male, tell him to please leave you alone. If he does not, run in the opposite direction of where his car is pointed so that if he wants to pursue you he would have to turn around. If he turns around, you are in danger. Call 911 as you run and tell dispatch where you are. Do not hide in a spot where if he finds you, you do not have an alternate route of escape. Try to get somewhere there are people, such as a store. DO NOT RUN HOME. You do not want this creep to know where you live. Yet, at the end of the day, do what you have to do to avoid being his victim.
Even if you are a male when you are out and about, do not get complacent but keep your head on a swivel. Muggings happen often when least expected. Make sure if you are on a date with your girlfriend or your wife, that you stay aware for their sake as well. Those that wish you harm seem to be anywhere and everywhere.
I understand that I was able to get him off the streets because he was driving recklessly. However, I will tell you I have even arrested fugitives from justice on traffic stops with less severe violations. One of them was for a brake light out, and the other one was for an expired license plate. Unfortunately there has been a push to limit officers on what violations they can actually pull a motorist for. For instance, some cities will not allow their officers to conduct a traffic stop on an expired state inspection unless it is four months old. Tail and brake lights are in some places prohibited from police enforcement. When this happens, those such as the sexual predator I arrested are allowed to continue victimizing people. I would love it if they allowed the stop, but limited the ticket writing for some violations. I think that would be an excellent compromise where the officers would find the perpetrators that would harm the innocent. Tell me what you think by leaving a comment. I pray that nothing like what was told in the blog happens to you or to those you love. Protect yourself and those you love. Perhaps if these women had a self defense product with them, they would have had a chance to avoid his attack.
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