Though It Sounds Like A Horrible Cliche, Homicide Victim Tommy Bardney Really WAS Just Starting To Get His Life Together...

Photo from Facebook page of "Tommy Boy Bardney," used under
First Amendment Fair Comment And Criticism, blog post by
John Hoff

Tommy Bardney, the latest victim of "thug on thug" North Minneapolis homicide, had some rough edges but like they say about so many of the criminally-inclined homicide victims in this neighborhood, "He was just starting to get his life together."

The sad thing is it's not a cliche in this case...

Rosie Bardney, Wife Of Criminally-Inclined Shooting Victim Tommy Bardney, Is No Angel Herself...

Image from Facebook profile of Tommy Boy Bardney, used under
First Amendment Fair Comment and Criticism, blog post by John
Hoff

Tommy Bardney, a violence victim whose death appeared to be plotted and planned, not random, left behind seven children by his wife Rosie Bardney. I'd like to see proof she's actually his wife, but we'll get to that in a moment.

Rosie Bardney doesn't have a criminal record.

However, Rosie Bardeny wasn't always (or isn't always) Rosey Bardney.

She has also gone by the name...

Tommy Bardney, North Minneapolis Shooting Victim, Had Extensive Criminal Record (Mostly Bad Domestic Stuff Like, Oh Gee, DOMESTIC ASSAULT BY STRANGULATION)

Stock photo, blog post by John Hoff

Tommy Bardney (yes, that appears to be his legal name, "Tommy") died in a burst of gunfire on the 1000 block of Humboldt Ave. N. His family and loved ones say he was "assassinated," and though I may have scoffed a little bit when I first read that headline in the Star Tribune, subsequent reading of the facts does justify that description. (Here's another Strib story in case the first link doesn't work, it's hitting about 50/50 right now on a 404 error message)

Bardney was seated in a van talking to his wife. Based on his record of domestic violence, I'm guessing he wasn't invited inside the house...

Don Allen Makes A Play To Become Minnesota State GOP Chairman, Room Erupts In Laughter At His Salary Expectations...

Creative stock photo, blog post by John Hoff

"Shakedown blogger" Don Allen, who is leading the forlorn "black Republican" charge all by himself most of the time, recently made a bid to become chair of the Minnesota Republican Party.

I am told Allen garnered 28 votes and to some it was a surprise Don Allen got any support whatsoever. But the most notable part of the competition for GOP Chair was what Don Allen expected for a salary...

Black Pages Business Directory From The Year 2000 Is A Blast From The Past, Starring Convicted Mortgage Fraudster Larry "Maximum" Maxwell...

Photo, blog post by John Hoff

A friend on the Northside was cleaning out his desk and found a copy of the Minnesota "Black Pages" business directory from the year 2000. On the entire back page was an advertisement from Larry Maxwell, and inside the directory was a write-up of Larry Maxwell labeled a "Profile of Excellence."

Larry Maxwell later achieved fame and infamy in a wide-ranging mortgage fraud scandal. He was sentenced under racketeering and corrupt organization laws and is now sitting in prison. This blog provided the most comprehensive coverage of the trial of any media entity because Maxwell's crimes involved Northside properties and Northside personalities, including disgraced former JACC Executive Director Jerry Moore.

 Along the way, this blog nicknamed him Larry "Maximum" Maxwell and the name sort of stuck.

So, naturally, I was pleased and excited to receive this old artifact. Reading the "Profile of Excellence" I realized I have to make this document (currently trapped in the form of "dead tree media") available to the wider wired world...

Cory J. Bryant, Uncharged Suspect In The Killing Of Demetrius Harper And Erick Felton, Faces Criminal Charges Over A Facebook Photo...

Creative stock photo, Camp Shelby, MS, blog post by John Hoff

Cory J. Bryant, revealed EXCLUSIVELY by this blog to be a suspect in the murders of Demetrius Harper and Erick Felton at an illegal "after hours" drinking club, is facing charges for Aggravated First Degree Criminal Stupidity, as follows:

Though not legally allowed to be in possession of a firearm, he posted a photo on Facebook that showed him in possession of a gun.

Bryant has not been charged with murder in the killings of Harper and Felton, though he was detained for "Probable Cause Murder" on March 13 and then released. Bryant is innocent until and unless proven guilty though the suspicions of the police are interesting and blogworthy.

According to the criminal complaint, click here, on March 8 (the day of the Harper/Felton shooting) police were called to "a known location" in Minneapolis...

Hennepin County Jailhouse Roster, January 22, 2013 To April 3, 2013...

Creative stock photo, blog post by John Hoff

Pictured above, a soldier shaking hands with a robot in Afghanistan.

If man and robot can peacefully coexist, why can't man coexist with HIMSELF?

On that note...

Here is the Hennepin County jail roster, which I haven't done for a while, but there's no time like the present...

JNS Blog Reader Digs Up The Name "Cory Jarrell Bryant" As Suspect In Death Of Demetrius Harper, Erick Felton In "After Hours Club" Shooting...

Photo, blog post by John Hoff

In a blog post yesterday, I discussed how my attempt to find information about a suspect in the "after hours club" murders of Demetrius Harper and Erick Felton led me to scour the jail roster, looking for somebody who had been arrested on March 13 for Probable Cause Murder, trying to turn up a name based upon a sparkly little clue dropped in a story written by a mainstream journalist.

I wasn't able to find the information I was seeking but in the course of my quest I actually turned up a fairly interesting Southside shooting that nobody else had written with the bloody, messy detail it deserved.

Now a reader/source using a different search method ("Dogpile?" What the heck is THAT?) has apparently turned up data online about an arrest for "PC Murder" on March 13...

Patrick Carl Timberlake And Anthony Jenkins Enter Guilty Pleas In Drive-By Shootings...

Creative stock photo, blog post by John Hoff

In early January, this blog wrote about a criminal complaint against Patrick Timberlake, age 16, which revealed incredible details in the North Minneapolis gang war. Timberlake is now 17 (happy birthday, Patrick Timberlake!) and for a birthday present will be getting a getting a prison sentence. So will Anthony Jenkins, age 20.

Timberlake's sentence will be something between 96 and 114 months. The sentence for Jenkins is already known; 84 months.

The Hennepin County Prosecutor released a statement today. I'm not sure if other media have published it, yet, but here it is word-for-word including (conveniently) the suggested headline...

JNS BLOG EXCLUSIVE: Unable To Pin Attempted Murder On Charles Ortley, Hennepin County Prosecutors Got A Burglary Conviction...

Stock photo, blog post by John Hoff

A confession, here: I'm only writing about Charles Ortley by accident.

There was an article in MPR News which made mention of somebody ("John Doe") who had been arrested on March 13 who may be a suspect in the Demetrius Harper and Erick Felton murder at a Northside "after hours" club. This little scrap of info (an arrest on March 13) sent me running to the Hennepin County Jail roster to see if I could scavenge the name of the suspect, and BLOW THAT INFO UP.

I'm a blogger. This is what I do, at least sometimes. Bigger media fish leave scraps of info laying around (names and addresses and dates, mostly) and, opportunistically, I see if I can follow the trail of bread crumbs to an interesting story. In this case, when I looked at the jail roster I found only one person arrested on March 13 with anything resembling a murder charge.

The more I looked at the info, the more I thought "This doesn't look EXACTLY like the Harper/Felton murder." But, then again, I also couldn't rule out a connection because it was the only March 13 arrest with any mention of a murder, after all.

Finally, I decided to just go with what I had and make sure I only wrote the facts I could confirm and NOT mention the Harper/Felton murder. (Click here for previous story) I figured even if it turned out to be the wrong murder, it was still a MURDER or an ATTEMPTED murder. (The jail roster has an annoying tendency to muddle the distinction between the two in favor of an understandable economy of words)

But now I've obtained copies of criminal complaints and (oh, my goodness) an actual statement issued for this blog by the Hennepin County Prosecuting Attorney's office.

Turns out Charles Ortley is NOT IN ANY WAY INVOLVED in the Harper/Felton shooting. (Well, good thing I never said he was!) In retrospect, data about the suspect arrested on March 13 must have been purged from the system before I went looking for it. Damn. I'm trying to obtain the name by other means.

But back to Charles Ortley.

There are fascinating allegations (not proven, and in fact the case was dismissed) about Ortley's supposed involvement in another murder in South Minneapolis on New Year's Day...

JNS Blog Digs Deeply Into Recent "Loud Pack" Arrests And Charges, PART TWO OF TWO...

Creative stock photo, blog post by John Hoff

In Part One, this blog published nine criminal complaints connected to a group calling itself the "Loud Pack." This gang had its 15 minutes of fame about a month ago when the Hennepin County prosecutor sent out a press release about a raft of charges against Loud Pack, with the criminal complaints attached. Apparently JNS blog was the only media entity which published all the complaints online but, hey, we're thorough like that.

Then I proceeded to dig up info about the addresses associated with the complaints, looking for patterns and the names of property owners.

What is left to dig up after that?

Well, there are a number of different names mentioned in the complaints who have their own set of criminal issues. These names appear to be a "criminal support network" for the members of the infamous Loud Pack...

Charles Thomas Ortley Was Arrested On Two Attempted Murder Charges, But These Charges Were Recently Dismissed, Hmmmm...

Creative stock photo, blog post by John Hoff

This is what I know from looking at the jail roster, and I'm not going to say more than what I know, and here we go...

Final "Turd Burglar" Guilty Plea Entered, Turns Out We Don't Need No Stinking Trials...

Contributed photo, blog post by John Hoff

According to a reliable source in a position to know, Navarr Jodiah Ross recently entered a guilty plea for his misdeeds in the Thanksgiving Day "turd burglary" incident on the 1500 block of Hillside Avenue North. (Unknown which of the burglars is pictured above) Ross pled guilty to trespass in the incident on Hillside Ave. N. but guilty to a felony in another case.

This is the final plea in the arrest of seven turd burglars and/or fecal trespassers and means none of the neighbors who assisted in the dramatic chase and capture will be forced to attend a trial, and neither will the victim of the burglary.

The name of the youngest turd burglar, a mere 12 years old, never appeared in court paperwork. The other names made their way to this blogger.

The incident took place on the block where City Councilman Don Samuels lives. Samuels, who is now running for mayor, was asked by neighbors to speak to the boys during their arrest. The councilman lectured the boys on the responsibilities of manhood, which generally mean protecting women and children instead of robbing and victimizing them. It was a speech that I would like to see amplified from the bully pulpit of Mayor of Minneapolis and directed at the crime and mayhem in North Minneapolis.