Looking through the Hennepin County jail roster, as I so often do, what first catches my interest is a zip code in the 55411 or the 55412. Then I look at the address and the criminal charges. If it's juicy, it's something I might write about.
Usually, fleeing police in a motor vehicle (allegedly) is juicy. Naturally, something I want to know is "does this person's address correspond to one of my favorite slumlords?" So I'm going to check the online property records.
Hmmmm, I thought, looking at the address for Melvin Lee Anderson, (DOB 9/12/83) I've never heard of a "Long Avenue North" in North Minneapolis...
Well, I can say with confidence there isn't a "Long Avenue North" in my neighborhood, let alone a residence at 315 Long Avenue North where Melvin Lee Anderson supposedly lives. But that's his address listed on the jail roster.
Here's a little snapshot, in case it gets corrected after I gripe about in online.
| 2012022832 | ANDERSON, JOHN.VICTOR | 4/29/1985 | 8200 JAMES AVE SOUTH, BLOOMINGTON, MN 55423 | 8/16/2012.12:47 |
| 2012022688 | ANDERSON, MELVIN.LEE | 9/12/1983 | 315 LONG AVE N, MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55411 | 8/15/2012.11:48 |
| 2012022842 | ANDREW, GLENN.OWEN | 10/8/1965 | 4041 JORDAN AVE N, NEW HOPE, MN 55427 | 8/16/2012.14:31 |
If you believe the Hennepin County jail roster (and CAN you?) then Melvin Lee Anderson is free on $20,000 bail after being charged by the Robbinsdale police with fleeing a police officer (that's one charge) and fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle (that's the second charge).
So where did he go after being released? Did he go to 315 Long Avenue North, Minneapolis, MN in the 55411 zip code?
I don't think so.
Melvin is quite a character. His online court record on MNCIS shows a guilty verdict for, it appears, driving around a school bus when he wasn't supposed to, click here for statute, and a three drug convictions after that. Then two trespassing convictions.
I can understand that accused criminals lie about their addresses. They may even possess forms of identification listing former addresses. And the people running the system may think it's not worth the effort to check into that information to make sure it's accurate when it's just a minor charge.
But how on earth does the system document A STREET THAT DOES NOT EVEN EXIST as the address of a guy who flees police in a motor vehicle? I mean, given this guy's record it's a safe bet at some point authorities will be looking for him again.
This problem just keeps happening, kind of like the notoriously incomplete and out-of-date Minneapolis city property records online just keep happening. So is it worth griping about it in public or is it time to just give up and say, "You know what? There are people at the county jail who appear to simply not give a damn, and that's not going to change."
Hmmmmm.
I think I'm going to go with "keep griping about it until something changes."
I mean, lets be honest here. I think it's pretty clear this is a typo and is meant to say Lowry.
ReplyDelete315 Lowry are the Lowry Towers.
Overreact much?
Long is not a typo for Lowry. Look at where the letters are on a keyboard. Look how many different mistakes you'd have to make to turn one into the other.
ReplyDeletePull bullshit out of your ass much?
Ya know. First off the address that shows up on the jail roster doesn't really matter. People can say they are homeless if they want, or they live in a sewer, or on top of Mount Everest. Intake only has to record an address, they don't have to verify it. Second, someone posted his bail. Whether it was cash or a bond, they forfeit it if he doesn't show for court. If it was bond, you can bet the bail bond company knows who to contact if he doesn't show. Third, Melvin is on supervised release and I'm sure his parole officer knows where to find him.
ReplyDeleteAnd last, his conviction had nothing to do with owning a school bus ownership. If you had actually taken the time to look up what he was charged with you would have discovered that Minnesota Statute 169.444 Sub.6 make it illegal for a vehicle owner or lessee to drive around an extended school bus stop arm. It's a petty misdemeanor moving violation
Finally, if the inaccuracy of intake records annoys you so much why don't you call Major Jeff Storms. He's the administrator responsible for the jail, you can complain to him. Make sure you tell him that you're John Hoff. I hear they would love to meet with you.
And his address is a typo on both number and street, and most likely zipcode too.
FIRST OF ALL...
ReplyDeleteThank you for looking up that statute and making clear what the charge involved. The phrase "school bus owners" shows up on MNCIS associated with this guy's charges and is confusing in context. Due to your comments and my looking up the actual statute in response to your comments, I will be going back into the post and correcting my remarks about what the "school bus charge" involved.
Here is a link to the statute, FYI.
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=169.444
Next, in regard to whether the address on the jail roster "matters," it sure as hell matters to journalists. This is the only way we can find out info, sometimes, about people in that jail. Clearly if the job is worth doing, it's worth doing right. And the fact accused criminals are able, time and time again, to pull the wool over the eyes of jail administrators is, in my opinion, scandalous. Not as scandalous as somebody saying "It doesn't even matter if the address is right," but scandalous all the same.
In regard to his address being a typo, you're telling me the number AND street AND zip code are wrong? Oh, yeah, but I should just be able to LOOK at that and somehow intuit the correct info?
Last, if somebody wants to meet with me, they can email me. They can arrange to talk to me on the phone as public officials sometimes do, even quite recently, as a matter of fact.
I don't normally try to set up meetings with high ranking public officials in response to anonymous blog comments.
Now, back to my regularly scheduled public bitching about non-existent addresses on the jail roster.
How can you expect the courts and law enforcement to know the addresses in North Minneapolis when none of those personnel actually live here! This is probably why it takes so long for officers to respond to 911 calls.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if this was the "police chase" that I witnessed. At least six police cars were following an older red SUV, probably a Ford Explorer, single-file as it drove rather slowly the wrong way down a one-way street in front of my house. I could hear the sirens for many blocks before and after passing my residence. It looked like something out of a Keystone Cops film.
ReplyDeletewow you have to be a real dick or an idiot or both to drive around an extended stop sign on a school bus. (actually, double the idiocy points because he must have done it in front of a cop) but i better not point out behavior so neglectful and asinine it could kill a child, cause that will make me a racist.
ReplyDeleteTo Naysayer,
ReplyDeleteThe Robbinsdale police arrested him. Unknown where he ACTUALLY lives, because of how screwed up the address is.
Where was the chase you witnessed?
You know, if you become skilled at looking stuff up in the jail roster, you can sometimes find the exact people you witnessed being arrested an hour or two after the arrest.
But, Johnny, I depend upon you to do this sort of amateur detective work, with gusto, I might add. It is the reason I read your blog. I am just a Zen-minded observer, who marvels at what passes for normal, and thus accepted, behavior in NiMi.
ReplyDeleteTypo or not, I don't think it takes a genius to figure out it was a mistake.
ReplyDeleteJust because you couldn't figure it out doesn't mean a journalist couldnt either.