Jackson Free Press

I am very upset this morning - I can't even put into words how upset I really am. My older sister's home was broken into for the third time last night, and this time they went too far.

Before I go into what happened last night, let me give you some background information on this. About 10 months ago, while my sister and her children were at church, her home was burglarized. The thieves took electronics, DVDs, change that the kids were saving, and even took my niece's comforter from her bed to help carry the valuables out of the house. Clothes and other items were scattered everywhere. After filing a police report, she tried to make her home more secure with deadbolts, etc., and she was determined not to move. Two Sundays ago, while they were at church, they struck again. They only stole a digital camera, so we assume that someone saw them and they ran away. She filed another police report, and this time, my sister decided to move because she was afraid of what else these criminals could do to them. She had been packing all last week, and I came by to help her pack her daughter's things this weekend. There was still a lot of packing to do, but she had packed enough where she could start moving boxes to her new place.

Now, let's go back to last night. My sister came home from work to find her door wide open. She went inside, and the house was trashed. This time, since she didn't leave anything for the burglars to steal, they unpacked her boxes and threw the contents all over the floor, they egged the inside of the house, and they turned on all the faucets in an attempt to flood her home. She called the police again, and the officer stayed for a while to help her clean up some of the mess. Her best friend came there to help clean up and stayed there with her all night. Because of this most recent incident, she will not be spending another night in that house. I thank God that the ones who did this to her weren't still there when she got there, and I won't even say what she said she would have done to anyone who got caught on her property.

No one deserves to be terrorized like this. My sister works two jobs to take care of her family, and some idiots show up and try to ruin everything. If these crooks aren't caught, a lot more of Jackson's citizens will have the same experience as my sister did. It wasn't enough for them to take some of what she and her children had - they had to try to ruin what they had left.

If anyone who is reading this happens to live on or near McDowell Road, please be vigilant because the perpetrators are still out there. Report any unusual activity to the police, and do whatever it takes to burglar-proof your home. Enough is enough. If you ignore crime, it will not go away. The citizens of Jackson must protect themselves and look out for each other to decrease crime in this city, or we will be no different from any of the war-torn countries we read and hear about on the news. We fight, or we die.

Previous Comments

ID

109870

Comment

This is horrible, L.W. I'm so sorry. God, I wish this city had some real leadership.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2007-01-16T11:05:30-06:00

ID

109871

Comment

Im sorry too, and I have been a victim twice myself. Hopefully, her new abode will be a better neghborhood and less crime.

Author

Ray Carter

Date

2007-01-16T17:11:55-06:00

ID

109872

Comment

I'm sorry that you and your family have had to endure this nightmare, L.W., and I am equally sorry to say that not much is going to change until we have a real Mayor and a real Police Chief with a real plan to address crime. And while we want our city to retain her people, I cannot in good conscience begrudge anybody's leaving because of our city's leadership void, or encourage people to stay in spite of it. What your sister went through is absolutely horrendous. Hope it works out well for you all.

Author

Kacy

Date

2007-01-16T17:47:17-06:00

ID

109873

Comment

Where is Ben Allen? Why isn't he reading this? They have to do something, and quickly. They need to focus on the problem more than they do the clown in office who thinks he can save the world. Frank: it ain't working. Put up or shut up. L.W., your sister and family are in our prayers. No one should ever have to go through that, much less three times. I'm so sorry...

Author

Lady Havoc

Date

2007-01-16T17:55:35-06:00

ID

109874

Comment

L.W.-I hate what they did. I hate it happened at all; I hate even more it happened more than ONCE! Hugs and prayers for y'all. It's got to get better. What a shitty thing for someone to do on a Sunday morning.

Author

emilyb

Date

2007-01-16T20:02:25-06:00

ID

109875

Comment

I feel for your loss. The melton shadow govenment is to blame. "Crime Fighters"? BULLSH!T!!!

Author

Cliff Cargill

Date

2007-01-16T20:10:30-06:00

ID

109876

Comment

Melton Shadow Government? Isn't Melton incompetent enough without someone advising him on how to be dumber?

Author

Ironghost

Date

2007-01-16T21:59:53-06:00

ID

109877

Comment

Melton and his "shadow government".............To quote Forrest Gump's Mother - "stupid is as stupid does." Best, Larry

Author

Larry

Date

2007-01-16T22:05:31-06:00

ID

109878

Comment

Sorry LW. When are they moving out of there?

Author

Kingfish

Date

2007-01-16T22:08:21-06:00

ID

109879

Comment

Thanks, everyone, for your comments, and I will share them with my sister. Her goal was to completely move out today. I'll check in with her tomorrow to see if she finished moving because I'm sure she's exhausted right now. The family will be at my younger sister's house tonight, so I'm sure she's unconscious and snoring by now. I hate that I couldn't help her out today, but we're in the middle of a bathroom renovation and I have to be home while work is being done.

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2007-01-16T22:43:47-06:00

ID

109880

Comment

My sister came by this morning, and she told me that she was up until midnight moving her things, so she was wide awake when I made that last post. She had about six hours of sleep in two days, so I hope she gets some rest tonight. Anyway, I showed her the comments on this thread, and she appreciates your support. She also got a good laugh at a couple of the comments, and I am sure she could use a good chuckle right now.

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2007-01-17T22:59:17-06:00