Bend In The Branch

Crossroad

2007-01-18T22:19:00.000-05:00

I find myself at a crossroad where I must choose between writing from my heart and writing just to write.

For the moment, I choose to write from the heart of subjects which are not for public consumption.

I'll be back!

Monday Mutt Shot

2006-12-18T20:50:00.000-05:00

Only 6 Days 'till Christmas!

Monday Mutt Shot

2006-12-11T21:12:00.000-05:00

Bow Wows of Holly

Pausing to Remember

2006-12-07T22:14:00.000-05:00

Pearl Harbor Day

Project Blue Light

2006-12-06T20:46:00.000-05:00

Honoring the memories of police officers killed in the line of duty and their survivors.

Punishment?

2006-12-06T20:22:00.000-05:00

I doubt that being taken for a ride in a police car and being allowed to hang out at the station while my mom went to church for a few hours would've have scared me.

I doubt that being on TV while playing with the toy I had stolen would deter me from stealing.

I doubt that his mom will ever understand why her son "has a history of being disobedient 'and getting away with it.'"

Monday Mutt Shot

2006-12-04T22:08:00.000-05:00

Christmas Cards Sealed with a Kiss

Remembering the Victims: Captain James Myers, DOPS

2006-12-04T21:59:00.000-05:00

Shot 9 times, his assailant attempted to burn his remains and spent more than two years claiming innocence, only to confess on the eve of trial.

Sentencing has begun.

The Felonious E-Mail

2006-12-04T21:58:00.000-05:00

So I gathered, based on the careful explanation of the sender,

"Maybe it can't cross state lines."

Monday Mutt Shot

2006-11-20T20:54:00.000-05:00

Creature Comforts: Chips & Covers

Before Columbine

2006-11-15T21:57:00.000-05:00

On September 26, 1988, Jamie Wilson walked into Oakland Elementary School with a gun in Greenwood, South Carolina, and opened fire.

Jamie Wilson had a history of mental illness, but was sentenced to die for his actions on that fateful September day.

18 years have passed, and that death sentence is being appealed.

Monday Mutt Shot

2006-11-13T20:17:00.000-05:00

Vogue

Giving

2006-11-13T20:15:00.000-05:00

A little goes a long way for a child in need.

Operation Christmas Child

Veterans Day

2006-11-11T09:20:00.000-05:00

Wednesday, a monument was cleaned and
its emblems polished.

Today, more than any other, we pause to honor men like James Greene.

I Voted

2006-11-07T22:22:00.000-05:00

Monday Mutt Shot

2006-11-06T21:01:00.000-05:00

Sleeping Late

Monday Mutt Shot

2006-10-30T21:34:00.000-05:00

Snoop Dog

Murder of a Marine

2006-10-30T20:18:00.000-05:00

Updated (below)

Corporal Justin Lee Huff, 23, son of Blaine and Theresa, husband of Rebecca, father of an unborn child, Comrade of the Marines of 1st Marine Logistics Group, Veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, recipient of the Combat Action Ribbon and Navy Presidential Unit Citation, was laid to rest January 26, 2006.

Corporal Huff was reported missing January 2, 2006 when he failed to attend a class at the Navy and Marine Corps Intelligence Training Center at Dam Neck Annex. His burned body was discovered buried in a wooded area of Currituck County, North Carolina on January 13, 2006.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Cooper Jackson, 22, a fellow student, was arrested and charged with murder, kidnapping, impersonating an officer from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and obstruction of justice.

An Article 32 Hearing began Monday to determine if evidence supports trying (court-martialing) Jackson for all initial criminal charges.

Testimony indicates that Corporal Huff was a victim of circumstances instigated by the vile manipulation of an emotionally disturbed, foolhardily lovesick young man.

Jackson encountered “Samantha”, a supposed voluptuous and wealthy blonde who had reportedly been brutally raped by a Marine, on the internet. He never met “Samantha” (she left him waiting at an airport from 9:00 a.m. until closing over the Christmas Holiday), but he was convinced Huff was the Marine she described as having attacked her.

Jackson posed as a Naval Criminal Justice Investigative Agent and took Huff from Dam Neck in handcuffs to North Carolina, slit his throat, set him on fire, and buried him.

“Samantha” existed only in Jackson’s mind, and in the mind of Ashley Elrod, a hotel clerk who created the persona.

Jackson’s fate appears to be sealed.

One can only hope Ashley Elrod will be tried by a higher court for her participation in the murder of an innocent man.

References:

dailypress.com

pilotonline.com

Updated 14 June 2006

Cell phone records indicated Ashley Elrod made 4970 calls between December 7, 2005 and January 6, 2006. 509 calls were made to Cooper Jackson in December.

The rape she related to Petty Officer 3rd Class Cooper Jackson never occurred. It was merely a yarn spun to keep the sailor on the hook without reeling him in.

Jackson was not the only fish left dangling on the line.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Michael Chunke testified that Elrod, posing as “Callie Adams”, was “kind of” his girlfriend at the time, even though the two had never met.

Reference:

pilotonline.com

Updated 15 June 2006

She e-mailed topless photos of a slender, attractive blonde and claimed to be wealthy.

He wanted to meet her.

She claimed to be the victim of rape; far too traumatized to trust another man.

He told her he wanted to kill the Marine who had raped her.

They often exchanged 50-70 calls a day.

Each and every lie heavyset, high school dropout Ashley Elrod told beget yet another.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Cooper Jackson killed Corporal Justin L. Huff.

He awaits a decision on whether he will face a court-martial that will surely end his career and could end his life.

She is in counseling because she “has low self-esteem” and needs “someone to talk to”.

Reference: pilotonline.com

Updated 24 July 2006

Petty Officer 3rd Class Cooper Jackson will face capital charges (the death penalty) in a general court marshal for the murder of Corporal Justin L. Huff

Updated 23 October 2006

The Plea Bargain: Petty Officer 3rd Class Cooper Jackson pled guilty to charges of premeditated murder, kidnapping, impersonating a Naval Criminal Investigative Service agent and obstruction of justice, avoiding a possible death sentence for the murder of Cpl. Justin L. Huff.

Updated 30 October 2006

Petty Officer 3rd Class Cooper Jackson has been sentenced to life in prison, without the possibility of parole.

I urge a donation in Corporal Huff's name for the benefit of his son to the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society.

Just Sayin'

2006-10-23T20:36:00.000-04:00

If the safety bar wouldn't latch, "Hold on Tight" wouldn't persuade me to ride that roller coaster.

Monday Mutt Shot

2006-10-23T20:32:00.000-04:00

Easy Chair

Monday Mutt Shot

2006-10-16T22:39:00.000-04:00

Life Behind Bars Ain't Easy

Wouldn't Have Believed it,

2006-10-12T23:28:00.000-04:00

If I hadn't seen it

Tech. Sgt. Stephen Achey

2006-10-12T23:22:00.000-04:00

Silver Star and "Keeper of the Flame" award recipient

Lance Corporal Jonathan W. Parker Memorial Overpass

2006-10-12T22:40:00.000-04:00

More at WLTX

SMSgt (Retired) Greg Elmore

2006-10-10T19:09:00.000-04:00

"I was there because I'm American," he said. "It wasn't Greg Elmore — it was Americans doing great things. I'm just proud to be American."

Read more at The Item