Stock photo, blog post by John HoffI wrote a previous blog post about Asa Huff-Jones, who was caught driving around in North Minneapolis with a loaded gun, click here.
At the time I wrote the post, I was having difficulty pulling up Huff-Jones' criminal record from the state courts website. Perhaps the difficulty involved the time zones between here (Afghanistan) and there (Minnesota). I may have been trying to use the site during the middle of the night, Central Standard Time, when the site is probably down for maintenance.
No matter. That's not really the point. My point is there is a "gun toting class" in North Minneapolis who get themselves arrested for riding around with loaded guns. If we want to prevent further shootings, wouldn't it be beneficial to focus on the individuals who are actually driving around with loaded guns? I mean, they're the ones who are going to shoot somebody, right? Shooting somebody when you DO NOT have a loaded gun is quite difficult.
The no accounts who drive around with loaded guns are part of a semi-professional criminal class. I say "semi professional" because they simply aren't very good at what they do and don't seem to make a very good living at it, but they appear to fancy themselves "Thugs4Life," so in that sense it is sort of their profession.
Let us examine the criminal record of Asa Huff-Jones, as follows...
27-CR-03-026652
HUFF-JONES, ASA DEMETRIUS
05/04/1984
04/17/2003
Hennepin Criminal/Traffic/Petty Brookdale
Crim/Traf Mandatory
Closed
POSSESS SMALL AMT MARIJUANA-NOT IN MV
27-CR-05-009488
HUFF-JONES, ASA DEMETRIUS
05/04/1984
02/15/2005
Hennepin Criminal/Traffic/Petty Brookdale
Crim/Traf Mandatory
Closed
NO DRIVERS LICENSE IN POSSESSION
27-CR-06-019433
406115294
406115294
HUFF-JONES, ASA DEMETRIUS
05/04/1984
03/22/2006
Hennepin Criminal/Traffic/Petty Southdale
Crim/Traf Mandatory
Closed
FAIL TO STOP FOR SCHOOL BUS DISPLAY
DRIVING AFTER SUSPENSION
62-K3-06-003892
HUFFJONES, ASA DEMETRIUS
05/04/1984
10/06/2006
Ramsey Criminal/Traffic/Petty Downtown
Felony
Under Court Jurisdiction
Assault-2nd Degree-Dangerous Weapon
Assault-3rd Degree-Substantial Bodily Harm
27-CR-06-073827
HUFF-JONES, ASA DEMETRIUS
05/04/1984
10/25/2006
Hennepin Criminal/Traffic/Petty Brookdale
Crim/Traf Mandatory
Closed
DISORDERLY CONDUCT
27-CR-11-3126
HUFF-JONES, ASA DEMETRIUS
05/04/1984
02/04/2011
Hennepin Criminal/Traffic/Petty Downtown
Robben, Patrick D.
Crim/Traf Mandatory
Under Court Jurisdiction
Public Nuisance-Interfere/Obstruct/Render Dangerous Public Road/Water
TRAFFIC REGULATION - DRIVER MUST CARRY PROOF OF INSURANCE WHEN OPERATING VEHICLE;MISD
DRUGS - POSSESS OVER 1.4 GRAMS MARIJUANA IN MOTOR VEHICLE
As things presently stand, only this neighborhood blog will write an article trumpeting the fact ASA HUFF-JONES, 27, GOT ARRESTED FOR RIDING AROUND WITH A GUN IN NORTH MINNEAPOLIS.
However, if the larger mainstream media were to start writing articles about this "gun toting class," i.e. the individuals who are committing gun possession crimes in North Minneapolis and are, therefore, likely to be the ones to either use or provide a gun in a crime, we might get to the root of the problem BEFORE bodies are cooling down on the sidewalk.
This "focus" that I'm urging is a media focus, not a police focus. You see, the police are ALREADY focusing on getting the guns and the gun runners off the streets. Any cop in the Fourth Precinct (God bless them) can tell you more guns are taken off the streets in the Fourth Precinct than all the other precincts COMBINED. The police ALREADY have this focus, but if the media really want to get to the root of the problem...
Turn from writing articles about some dead guy cooling off on the sidewalk and focus on the live guys who are toting the guns around on the street. What will their mamas say then, when interviewed?
"He's a good boy. He's just starting to turn his life around."
Ah, note the present instead of past tense. It sounds even MORE ridiculous in the present tense, doesn't it?
And, finally, it logically follows to urge much harsher sentences and less plea deals in these "gun toting" crimes.
Asa Huff-Jones would be a good starting point. THROW THE BOOK AT HIM.
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