In the past year, there were 583 people arrested for burglary charges in the Nashville metro area. 331 of those people, which is well over half, had been arrested on previous burglary charges at some point. It is alarming that so many arrests are for second or even third time offenders.
This growing problem with repeat offenders can be explained as recidivism. Webster’s Dictionary defines recidivism as a tendency to relapse into a previous behavior, especially into criminal behavior.
Metro Police Chief Ronal Serpas says there is a growing problem of what he calls career criminals remaining loose on Metro streets.
Darren Lamont Hardemon is one of these criminals. The 39-year-old has spent the last 20 years in and out of jail, and according to the Department of Corrections, Hardemon was in a Tennessee prison from 1994-1996, then from 2000-2001, then again from 2003 -2008.
Hardemon has had 12 convictions for offences ranging from larceny to burglary to drugs and of course theft.
Darren Hardemon has been terrorizing the Nashville metropolitan area for many years, but on June 19th Hardemon was arrested once more and put back in jail.
Hardemon was arrested for aggravated burglary and is being held on $150,000 bond. The hearing for Hardemon will be help on July 9th at 9:00 a.m.
Perhaps the most disturbing fact about Mr. Hardemon is that this arrest was made while he was on a $10,000 bond for a previous burglary arrest in January. It goes to show that recidivism is a serious growing problem that needs to be fixed.
How does Nashville do that?
Metro Police Chief Ronal Serpas says of the issue:
The problem is the people who want to be fixed should be fixed, but we need to quit sticking our head in the sand thinking that everyone wants to be fixed.
Those people who don’t want to stop a life of crime ought to stay in prison.
It is just as ridiculous as it can be to think that people who choose a life of crime lifestyle are going to change suddenly. They don’t and they won’t and they haven’t.
DOC Commissioner George Little says:
Obviously I agree we should reserve our prison beds for the most serious and repeat offenders. But those who do ‘get it’ and seek to change their lives should be afforded that opportunity. The state is absolutely not trying to shift the cost of crime to the neighborhoods. What we need is a balanced approach that best utilizes scarce resources.
People in Tennessee have made it clear they don’t want higher taxes. This means we need to manage our budget so that we are intervening with less serious offenders as appropriate to reduce recidivism.
It also means adding more secure capacity. The state has just added 880 prison beds and we have a project to add 1,400 more.
But we can’t build our way out of the problem. We have to prevent criminal activity through schools and better jobs in Tennessee. And the sad fact is for every dollar spent on prisons is one less dollar for other more productive activities.
Chief Ronal Serpas serves on the state’s criminal justice coordinating council and is working to address the issue of keeping the most violent offenders behind bars, protecting the public and making the most of the available funding.
Through this committee and other efforts in the community, criminals such as Darren Lamont Hardemon will be dealt with to make for a safer Nashville.
Monday at 5pm we’re investigating recidivism in Nashville. We’ll show you how these repeat offenders are affecting your community. The following is a press release from Metro Police about the most recent capture of one of these criminals:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
A parolee with 13 burglary convictions on his record between 1996 and 2005 is back behind bars after officers arrested him early today for breaking into the Texaco market at 815 Murfreesboro Pike.
Royce Drennon, 51, who was recently released on parole in relation to an eight-year sentence for a 2005 burglary, was arrested at 1:15 a.m. by Hermitage Precinct Sergeant Keith Stephens on Murfreesboro Pike near the I-24 junction after Stephens saw that he closely matched the description of the burglar provided by a witness.
South Precinct detectives Lori Gross and Jarrad Rikal interviewed Drennon, who denied any involvement in the burglary despite having small cuts on his arms, glass fragments on his clothing, and more than $200 in cash and loose change in his pockets (the crime scene revealed that the store’s front door glass was smashed with a brake rotor and that money was taken from two cash registers).
The store’s surveillance system was checked and clearly showed that Drennon was responsible for the break-in.
Drennon’s bond was set at $35,000 on charges of burglary and theft. The state is expected to file a parole violation warrant against him.
Find out if recidivism is occuring in your neighborhood, Monday at 5pm.
Today’s email of the day comes from a viewer who says TDOT still hasn’t finished its job.
Andy,
You did a story about the poor condition of I-65 several months ago and TDOT actually did fix a couple of the holes. The problem is, it is worse than ever. I see them repaving good sections of interstate and leaving this mess for those of us living in Sumner County.
Right now they are paving I-40 at Demonbreun and that part of the interstate is in great shape. I wonder if you might let TDOT or whoever your contact is knows that after spending all that money to widen I-65 because they failed to fix the last half mile.
Kathy Bloodworth was there. So were more than a hundred other citizens who all feel strongly about saving the Arcade Post Office.
The post office is losing money hand over fist. Postal Officials tell me that 10 BILLION pieces that were mailed in 2008 were not mailed in 2009. That is a tremendous loss of revenue.
Postal Officials need to cut back. They are considering consolidation for 3100 branches. The 100 year old Arcade Post office is the first on the list here in Nashville.
Arcade patrons don’t like it, and started a Save the Post Office Campaign.
Monday night these postal enthusiasts met with Postal Officials to lay it all out on the table.
The meeting was held at the Downtown Library.
Kathy Bloodworth took it all in and reports back to that is Messed Up.
“I felt it was a very positive meeting. There were a lot of opinions out there. It was a very diverse crowd that surprisingly was made up of a lot of lawyers. They mail a lot of certified mail. They apparently send mountains of certified mail.”
Bloodworth said Dave Vale; the postmaster stressed sagging numbers in a sagging economy.
“People in the crowd stood up and spoke with passion. There were people from state workers, and law offices, and divisions of the state and a woman from the IRS.
My over all impression, my bottom line is this. The people in the audience were passionate. Valid points were made. The people delivered a passionate appeal. The question I have is, can they take all of this passion to Washington D.C. Can they sell it in Washington like we did at the Public Library?”
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I asked her how many comment cards the box held.
“We took the contents of the box, I estimate about 4000 signatures, and put them in two big transparent bags so you could see them. It was very impressive. We put it on the steps where they were. One guy, who does tens of thousands of mail pieces, he took his survey card and said loudly; “I would like to add survey number 4001 to the 4000 all ready here.”
How did it end? I asked.
“In the end, as emotional as it was, Dave Vale got up and said the same numbers they quoted earlier. He mentioned how low the numbers for the post office are. They did say no decision was made, but it was like a buzz kill. All of us citizens felt that way. That’s the way it ended. It was like, dude you can’t come to the party no more.”
Bloodworth says postal officials took the comment cards.
“We left them there. They say they will take them to Washington DC.”
Bloodworth left with the impression that a decision on the Arcade Post Office might not come till the Fall.
Uh oh! Andy’s on the case. Tune in Monday at 5 p.m.
JUNE 18TH.
Dear Postal Customer:
Like many businesses, the current economy has had a profound effect on the United States Postal Service. Due to the dramatic loss of mail volume and revenue, we are reviewing all our postal operations for opportunities to streamline our processes and reduce our operating costs. Your feedback is valuable as we consider possible changes. Any formal proposals to change our Postal Operations will move forward only if the current level of service to you can be maintained.
We are currently reviewing the retail window and post office box operations as well as the postal carrier operations serving customers in zip codes 37201, 37219, 37238. These postal operations are being reviewed to determine the feasibility of possible relocation.
We are considering relocating these operation to Broadway Station which is located at 901 Broadway .6 (six tenths) of a mile from Arcade Station which currently provides your service.
If this relocation occurs, there would be no changes to Post Office Box Customers mailing addresses. All mail delivery to your street address would be virtually the same with possibly a few slight differences in time of delivery due to the new starting point. Retail window service would be available at Broadway Station with no change.
If you would like an opportunity to discuss this matter or any alternative with us, the US postal representatives will be at the Nashville Public Library Auditorium on Monday June 29th 2009 6pm to 7pm to answer questions and provide information about service and this review.
The public auditorium is located at 615 Church Street Nashville.
If you have any questions you may contact the post office review coordinator at 872 - 5711
Today’s Messed Up Email of the Day comes from a viewer that learned a lesson about parking in the Gulch.
I learned the hard way. If you drive to the Gulch, don’t park in any of the vacant lots down there. When you come back to your car, don’t be surprised to find a wheel lock on your car and some gangster there demanding $ 100. cash to unlock it. The other night, I noticed 10-12 cars with locks on the wheels. Just what we need to encourage visitors to Nashville.It’s nothing but armed robbery with a wheel lock instead of a gun.
Complaints have been pouring in to Metro City Council members and officials at the Metro Department of Public Works.
The complaints are about illegal dumping up and down Riverside Drive in East Nashville and parts of Inglewood.
According to Gwen Hopkins at the Public Works Department; “The medians along Riverside seem to be a magnet for people to leave stuff behind, and the residents (understandably so) get tired of it. This has been an ongoing problem, and one which we are frustrated about, as well.”
Hopkins says catching the culprits in the act is difficult so they are asking citizens to be more vigilant. If dumping is seen, officials say get a tag number of the offender and report it to authorities.
According to Hopkins, Public Works conducts alley cleaning 9 times a year, and brush trucks come through neighborhoods three times per year. In addition, she says the agency responds to complaints.
Hopkins tells messed up that over the last 12 months (May 2008 - present), the Department of Public Works responded some 80 times to complaints involving properties along Riverside Drive.
Councilman Erik Cole represents that District.
Cole says one of the top complaints he gets is dumping in the median along Riverside Drive.
“We have a gorgeous median. It’s really nice. It is a natural asset in the community. But people regularly dump there. We clean it up. We get the city to cut the grass. We plant trees. We have no dumping signs. As soon as we pick this up, it comes back and it is commercial haulers and folks who don’t live on this street who use this median as their trash can, and it is ridiculous.”
Cole says the fine for those who are caught is up to 500 dollars.
Cole says he, the police and the public works department encourage citizens who witness dumping to report it, to document it, to be more vigilant.
I agree with Councilman Cole. If you see illegal dumping, please report it. You can call the councilman, or you can leave the information on the Messed Up Web Site and we’ll make sure it gets to the appropriate officials.
Unbelievably, there is a shopping center in Murfreesboro, located on a major street that has no handicapped parking and no wheelchair ramps.
The owner of the strip mall lives in Ohio.
By phone, the woman tells me that the Murfreesboro property was developed in 1969 and 40 years ago, issues of wheelchair accessibility were not a primary concern.
To get from the parking lot into the stores, you have to step up a three-inch high curb.
If you walk, this is ridiculously easy. If you are in a wheel chair this is ridiculously hard.
Arlesia Hill lives in Murfreesboro. She has multiple sclerosis and uses motorized wheelchair to get around.
When she wants to get her nails done at the salon in the shopping center, she cannot get into the store because there is no ramp.
Ms. Hill tells me that once her 16-year-old daughter helped lift her motorized chair onto the sidewalk so she could patronize the salon.
Recently, she said she needed to get into the loan store and could not.
She said she tried to garner speed and jump the curb but instead crashed into the door, almost falling over and scaring herself to death.
Hill tells me that she ultimately conducted a cash transaction in the parking lot, while several people watched.
She says she was put in the very uncomfortable situation all because there is no ramp.
I checked with the Murfreesboro Codes Department.
An official there tells me that the building was built before codes regulated and mandated ADA issues.
He said the department does not make owners bring older buildings up to current codes unless it is an extreme life safety issue or the structure is substandard.
“We don’t go around and do property inspections for compliance, not for building and codes,” the official said.
Dylan Brown works for the Center for Independent Living.
He said while it might not be mandated for building 40 years old, installing ramps is the right thing to do and it would be easy to do at the location.
“These are small accommodations that could be met,” he said. “We’re talking several inches. That is all we are lacking to get an accessible ramp in here. With our organization, we have a program, to help and survey accessible buildings and make changes to meet ADA standards. There are tax credits and exemptions given to businesses to create a small ramp. It would be easy to do.”
The shopping center owner is a pleasant woman.
Over the phone she tells me the Murfreesboro Codes Department never mentioned it and since she lives out of state, she “didn’t really think about it.”
Once I told her about Ms. Hill, the owner said she was going to instruct her construction crew to fix the problem.
If only all property owners tackled issues with such alacrity, there would be very few Messed Up stories to cover.
I got this email from a viewer who wishes to stay anonymous. But this email is why I got involved with this story.
Hi Andy.
I was driving my husband’s truck on Nolensville Road when I was pulled over and ticketed for an expired license plate. The Officer was very nice - he said we should wait a week before going downtown to pay the ticket. So a week later I took off work for (what turned out to be) a very long lunch, paid for parking, stood in line for over an hour only to be told that the ticket was not yet entered into the system. The lady said I should call back every two or three days to see if the ticket has been entered before the 45 day expiration. Everytime I called I was told it had not been entered and if it was not entered before the 45 day expiration date then I would not have to pay… Finally on the 45th day I called and was told yet again that it was not entered and I did not have to pay the ticket. I received a letter today (June 15th, 2009) stating that the city was extending the original expiration date and that I did have to pay the ticket afterall. Now normally I would not blink an eye and just pay the ticket. However, it does not seem right to have to pay the ticket now because I got the ticket 9 MONTHS AGO… on Septembner 28, 2008… I called today and told the lady that I had tried and tried in good faith to pay the ticket and was told over and over that I could not pay it because it was not entered into the system yet - now nine months later the city wants me to pay saying they changed the expiration date… No THAT’S MESSED UP!!!
Joy Warner is a 2nd viewer who tells the same tale.
Long story short; Warner says she is pulled over for expired tags. She says she gets her car inspected that same day. She keeps calling the traffic bureau to find out about the ticket. The clerk keeps telling her that her ticket is not in the system. Months go by, and still Joy’s ticket is not in the system. Joy Warner wants to take care of this problem, but she cannot because the system doesn’t know where her ticket is. Joy Warner says this is messed up.
It turns out it is Messed Up.
Bill Cartwright is Chief Deputy at the Traffic violations bureau.
Cartwright tells Messed Up that 2 employees hid as many as 3,400 tickets in desk drawers.
The tickets should have been processed, but they were not.
Cartwright says the women were assigned a certain number of tickets to process each day, but instead, Cartwright says they tossed 15 to 20 tickets a day into a desk drawer. Cartwright says the women could never catch up and continued to throw tickets into the desk drawer, hiding them from supervisors for as long as 90 days. Cartwright says when it was finally discovered, some 3,400 tickets had not been put in the system.
“Unfortunately we found those citations locked up in 2 desks of two ex-employees. Basically we have a spread sheet that we keep for all our data entry to make sure processing and ticket distributing is done fairly among all data entry individuals,” Cartwright explains. “So if I assign you 100, and you come to me at the end of the day and tell me that you inputted 80, what that tells me is that I have 20 I need to redistribute the following day. But what it doesn’t take into account, is that you didn’t tell me the truth and you sand bagged 15 today and you made the same poor decision the next day and sand bagged another 20 and it snowballs and there is your 3,000 tickets,” Cartwright says.
Cartwright tells me that the bureau has implemented a scanning system to prevent this from happening again.
“Every citation that comes into the clerk’s office, we scan. And I give you 100, and now if you say you did 80, and you didn’t, I ask where they are. This is a safeguard.”
Cartwright tells me that the two women have been terminated. I ask about criminal prosecution, and he says there is none.
According to Cartwright all the tickets have been inputted into the system. Letters are going out to each of the 3,400 motorists advising them there was a problem and they now have 45 days to decide what action they want to take.
“They are not being penalized,” Cartwright says. “They have same opportunity to take care of their ticket that they would have had they been updated in a timely manner.”
Cartwright says the defendants can either plead guilty and pay the fine, plead guilty and go to driving school, or they can plead not guilty and demand their day in court.
As far as the future, Cartwright says the department is going paperless which should make embarrassing situations like this one almost impossible.
“We are piggy backing with the police department. It is called ARMS and any Citation you get, will be electronic. We won’t deal with paper. That traffic stop will electronically be sent to the data base. We won’t handle it in the future.”
American Towing Alternative is a Private Property Parking Enforcement Company and we follow all booting laws and regulations.
We are booting company not a tow company which means we are not subject to their laws or regulations but we follow them just as if we were.
We are a company made up of independent contractors and a dispatch; we provide 24 hour service to all clients and resolve any booted vehicle within 1 hour of their call. We do not use a storefront because all our services are mobile; this address is a UPS mailbox which is located in the same shopping center as the Appleby’s.
Mr. Houser was parked at Park Ridge Apartments without a parking permit and was booted for that exact reason. This was a legitimate boot and that is way he did not receive a refund. We have spoken to him and the resident about this situation repeatedly. The resident has given us 2-3 different stories about how she received her permit and what she was told, but she will admit she was booted in the past and was told about the parking policy by A.T.A which is why she finally went and got her permit. This was not a mistake on the part of Mr. Houser; it was the fault of the resident for not informing her visitor.
We cannot refund every person their money back because they are angry or have some story about why they didn’t know the rules. We have to treat everyone the same and base our refunds and releases on facts from all parties involved including the complexes management.
I am sorry this complaint had to go this far but I have not heard anything about this issue since May 12th unlike your claim in the story. There was never any attempt to contact us until this email.
If this is the only reason they made it illegal to boot in Davidson County then you should be ashamed of yourself for not speaking with me regarding this issue last month before killing the entire business practice because one person was mad about being caught illegally parked. A.T.A will survive with or without Davidson County because we provide a quality service that works faster and better than the tow companies or security and it is Free of Charge to all our clients.
If you would like to speak with me about our companies’ reputation with apartment complexes or how are services have helped rid complexes of drug dealers, prostitution, theft not to mention provide resident parking availability and an all around safer apartment complex, please give me a call and we can setup a meeting. I would love to have the chance to show off what my company can do for every private property owner in TN.
Respectfully,
JOHN BATEMAN
(615) 400-4044
Dear Mr. Bateman:
Thanks for the response Mr. Bateman.
We called repeatedly to the telephone numbers available to us. Numbers on the ticket. Numbers on the web site. Even a cell phone number left for me from the property manager’s who over see that parking lot. Messed Up staffers left multiple messages and received no calls back for several days. I do appreciate you answering my email, however. It certainly is insightful and explains your point of view.
As for the visitor pass and what the apartment owner should or should not have known, Mr. Houser steadfastly maintains they did not know the policy and did not have a visitor’s pass. It looks like you, Mr. Houser and the Apartment owner agree to disagree on this point. I have reported all sides and that is what I am suppose to do.
As for parking boots, I see the merit in them. It is a deterrent and it certainly is a better option to having your car towed. But I also agree with Councilman Craddock that this industry needs serious regulation so the public feels safe.
If you maintain the standards you profess, I applaud you and wish your company well.
Nashville may boot again in the future, and if it does, I am sure a company of your standing would be welcomed back with open arms.
by
Darren Lamont Hardemon is one of these criminals. The 39-year-old has spent the last 20 years in and out of jail, and according to the Department of Corrections, Hardemon was in a Tennessee prison from 1994-1996, then from 2000-2001, then again from 2003 -2008.
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Kathy Bloodworth was there. So were more than a hundred other citizens who all feel strongly about saving the Arcade Post Office.
Like many businesses, the current economy has had a profound effect on the United States Postal Service. Due to the dramatic loss of mail volume and revenue, we are reviewing all our postal operations for opportunities to streamline our processes and reduce our operating costs. Your feedback is valuable as we consider possible changes. Any formal proposals to change our Postal Operations will move forward only if the current level of service to you can be maintained.
