Reason said:
Um, maybe. Do you have a problem with catching a thief? A lot of people don't have a problem at all with that. 
Article 1July 05, 2007
Donors help boost police bottom line
By DEREK L. KINNER
Staff Writer
DAYTONA BEACH -- With tax dollars tight, and the need for more specialized police equipment high, a private group of city business officials and residents have gotten together to help supplement city funds to buy equipment for the department.
An anonymous donor recently contributed $12,000 through the Daytona Beach Police Foundation to buy a remote-control device that helps officers catch car thieves. Mayor Glenn Ritchey, who runs Jon Hall automobile dealerships, contributed the car, which has been used to catch several thieves.
Police leave the car in an area where car thefts are occurring and when would-be thieves climb in and try to start the car, they are locked in until police arrest them.
That's just one item the foundation will look into purchasing, members say.
The foundation was formed "because of the great need in our area for more equipment and so that the chief, who's doing a great job, can do an even greater job," said Bob Davis, president of the Volusia County Hotel and Motel Association and chairman of the foundation.
Police Chief Mike Chitwood said the foundation supports things such as advanced law enforcement training, juvenile crime prevention activities and special equipment needs that are outside the department's budget.
Chitwood said there are police foundations in cities across the country, from New York City to small towns.
"What we're looking for is to have the public come out and support the police," Chitwood said.
Frank Heckman, who runs the foundation's Needs and Assessment Task Force, said the foundation's first official meeting was June 22.
"I think really the reason why we're doing this is (it) would enable the police department to have items it needs that are not budgeted for and perhaps could not be budgeted," Heckman said.
Some of the close to 40 needs his task force is looking into include Segways --self-propelled, stand-up vehicles that can move police officers through crowds quickly --all-terrain vehicles, digital cameras, juvenile fingerprint software and a driving simulator.
Chitwood said the foundation is not affiliated with the city or the police department, as far as operations go. It will use public funds contributed by residents and businesses. He also said he hopes to be able to use the money to get more schooling, including college degrees, for his officers.
"We want a really educated police department," the chief said.
Members beside Davis and Heckman include Bud Ritchey, the mayor's son, vice president; Karem Gamble, secretary, Kathy Millthorpe, treasurer; Bill McMunn; fundraising chairman Frank DeMarchi, public relations chairman; and George Mirabal and Ray Salazar, at-large members.
Other members include Felix Amon, John Doctor, Ed Williams, Larry Kelly, Derek Triplett, Steve Erlanger, Carla Quann, Bob Lloyd, Tim Stockman and Rose Ann Tornatore. link>>
www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Neighbors/Central/evlNC01070507.htmArticle II: 
Crash victim dies; pair's history violent
By LYDA LONGA
Staff Writer
Video supplied by the Volusia County Sheriff's Department The driver who led police on a high-speed chase through several cities before dying in a head-on collision on U.S. 1 was accused of kidnapping his front-seat passenger -- who died hours after the wreck -- from a beachside shopping center less than a year ago, police said Thursday.
David Owen Munn, 34, was accused of several felonies in connection with the abduction of Jodi Fleisher, 39, in the earlier case but never convicted. The two, both of Daytona Beach, had shared a troubled relationship that ended violently about 1 p.m. Wednesday when the stolen SUV going the wrong way on U.S. 1 near Reed Canal Road in South Daytona slammed into an oncoming pickup.
The couple's friends -- Jason Myerscough, 34, Ormond Beach; Leslie Hardin, 27, Edgewater; and Anthony Traficante, 38, Daytona Beach -- rode in the back seat as Munn barreled through several bustling intersections at speeds often exceeding 90 mph, police said.
The crash occurred after Munn, driving southbound in the northbound lanes of Ridgewood, slammed into the pickup driven by Wesley Bagwell of Holly Hill. The impact killed Munn instantly and sent Fleisher to Halifax Medical Center in critical condition, Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Kim Miller said. Fleisher died later Wednesday night, Miller said.
The other passengers -- also under investigation by Daytona Beach police for various thefts in the city -- ended up at Halifax as well, with injuries not considered life-threatening.
The chase originated in Ormond Beach about 12:20 p.m. Wednesday when police received a call about an aggressive driver on the Granada Boulevard bridge. When two motorcycle officers stopped Munn on Granada, he put the SUV in reverse, almost plowing down both officers. That set off the 35-minute chase that finally ended in South Daytona.
According to police records, Munn, who served time in prison in 2004 for auto theft, was no stranger to police pursuits.
N-J/Nigel Cook
A passenger in a vehicle running from police is treated by rescue personnel after the vehicle crashed head-on into a pickup in South Daytona on Wednesday.
Last August he and Fleisher -- who also had a long criminal record and several convictions -- got into a verbal row at the Bellair Shopping Plaza in Daytona Beach. When Munn failed to persuade Fleisher to get into his car, he grabbed her and put her in the back seat, Daytona Beach Police Chief Mike Chitwood said.
When the suspect stopped at a gas station on State Road A1A, Fleisher bolted from his car. When officers attempted to catch up to Munn, he sped away, again leading police through several beachside streets before they stopped him at the 1100 block of Bel Aire Drive, reports state.
Though Munn was charged with kidnapping, aggravated fleeing and eluding and possession of drug paraphernalia, he was never convicted of the kidnapping, court records show.
After Ormond Beach officers called off their pursuit of Munn on Wednesday when it became apparent it would be too dangerous to follow him down crowded Ridgewood Avenue, they radioed Daytona Beach police and told them he was wanted for aggravated assault on two police officers.
Thursday morning, the officers involved in the chase were preparing a pursuit report for the chief, Ormond Beach Sgt. Kenny Hayes said. Such reviews are standard anytime a chase occurs.
Hayes said the decision to pursue a suspect is left up to the officer involved in the incident and his or her supervisor.
"The pursuit is based on the need for public safety," Hayes said. "Officers look at several factors, including what (police) vehicles are involved in the chase and traffic conditions.
"What we chase today may not be what we chase tomorrow," Hayes said.
Chitwood said his officers continued to pursue Munn after officers were advised that the suspect tried to run over two Ormond Beach policemen.
"If we believe a violent or forcible felony has occurred and that death or serious bodily injury could occur (to the public), then we pursue," Chitwood said. "Aggravated assault on the two officers is a forcible felony." link>>
www.news-journalonline.com/media/video/news/fatalchase032807.htmArticle III GPS Car Baits Thieves
Saturday, March 31, 2007 4:28:43 PM
GPS Bait Car
Stolen vehicles are an increasing problem for local police agencies and now they're trying to do something about it by using a system called Bait Cars.
Basically, they rig up a popular-style car or truck and try to get it stolen. The police are watching and waiting, and when the thief gets a few blocks away the car shuts off and the doors lock until the cops sweep in.
But the police can only do so much. Drivers are responsible for the security of their own cars.
"We look at stolen autos in this city," Daytona Beach Police Chief Mike Chitwood said. "We discovered that 22.4 percent of all of our stolen vehicles last year were stolen because the owner left his keys in the car."
This past week, two people died after police say they stole a car and led police on a chase through several Volusia County cities before crashing in South Daytona.
Nationwide, one car is stolen every 26 seconds. In 2005, almost 1.25 million cars were stolen at a cost of $7.6 million.
News 13 Photojournalist Jamie Melanson takes a look at the bait car police are now using to catch crooks.
Police used similar bait motorcycles to capture would-be thieves during Bike Week.
Chitwood says thefts dropped from 54 last year to 23 this year. link>>
www.cfnews13.com/News/Local/2007/3/31/gps_car.html#Article IVTwo arrested after high-speed chase
posted by Gary Taylor on Jun 28, 2007 4:37:09 PM
Two people were arrested this afternoon following a short high-speed pursuit in Ormond Beach, but the driver of a stolen truck that was being chased was not caught.
Police got involved about 1:30 p.m. when a 911 caller reported following a truck that was stolen three days ago. Police got behind it on Williamson Boulevard and it accelerated as it headed east on Hand Avenue.
At one point, the truck veered off the roadway and drove around a stopped patrol car, narrowly missing an officer who was trying to put out spiked sticks to deflate the truck’s tires.
The truck turned south on Nova Road and an off-duty Volusia County deputy sheriff put out spiked sticks at S. Nova Road and Golf Avenue, which the truck hit. Even with flattened tires, the truck continued south of Fleming Avenue where it struck another vehicle as it headed south on Old Kings Road. Three occupants of the truck jumped out and ran at Old Kings Road and Elyora Street, police said.
Cory D. Doughtry, 19, of South Daytona, was found hiding now far from the abandoned truck.
Witnesses reported seeing a second passenger get into a car, which left the area. Police stopped that vehicle and arrested Lashawanna M. Perry, 26, of Daytona Beach.
Both are accused of resisting an officer without violence.
The driver of the truck is still at large. link>>
blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_local_orlandocrime/2007/06/two-arrested--1.htmlArticle V DeLand area man arrested after confronting "suspicious" deputy sheriff
posted by Gary Taylor on Jun 28, 2007 10:34:19 AM
A call to law enforcement could have kept a DeLand area man out of jail.
Instead, he checked out what he considered to be a suspicious person and, because he was carrying an assault rifle, ended up facing a felony charge of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer.
The incident started Wednesday afternoon when a plain-clothes Volusia County deputy sheriff, driving an unmarked vehicle, parked along a private road near DeLand to watch for a suspect in an auto-theft case, Sheriff’s spokesman Gary Davidson said.
The deputy identified himself and showed his badge when a car stopped behind his pickup truck and the driver asked if he needed help.
The man misunderstood and went home and told his son “that a real estate agent was parked down the street waiting for a customer and that someone should tell him that he’s trespassing on private property,” Davidson said. He later told deputies the comment about a trespassing warning was meant to be a joke.
But 22-year-old Troy Williams armed himself with an assault rifle and went to confront the man he thought was a real estate agency, Davidson said.
He walked up to the deputy’s truck, knocked on the window and told the deputy he was trespassing, Davidson said. The deputy identified himself, showed his badge and told Williams to put the gun down. But Williams asked how he could be sure the badge was real and walked to the rear of the truck where he chambered a round in the rifle, Davidson said.
The deputy was able to radio for help and another deputy arrived and took Williams into custody.
Williams was booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail with bail set at $5,000.
People should contact law enforcement if they see someone or something they consider suspicious rather than take the matter into their own hands, Davidson said. link>>
blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_local_orlandocrime/2007/06/deland-area-man.htmlIf the bait cars can stop a dangerous criminal, I'm all for the cops! The thug will have every opportunity to an attorney in the court of law. What makes the bait and trap so hard for a defense attorney are the cold hard facts, THE EVIDENCE, beyond a reasonable that their client is GUILTY. Tonya 
