Recently, we had an incident in our quiet little hamlet of Leland Grove, IL. It seems our neighbor just three doors away arrived home to find his house burglarized. Leland Grove Police and the Sheriff’s K-9 unit responded and located the intruder sleeping in the homeowner’s bed. After fighting with the police, he was eventually subdued and taken into custody.
I don’t have many facts about this incident, but it doesn’t require much imagination to see how something like this could go sideways in a hurry. Since the suspect was willing to fight with the police who were armed, it tells me this wasn’t the dude’s first rodeo, and that he had no fear of arrest or punishment.
I can’t say how I might have reacted in this situation. I may have pissed my pants and ran away. However, I do know I would have done so with a gun in my hand and I would not have found myself left to the tender mercies of a career criminal. I suspect most thugs would much prefer facing down a full SWAT team rather than one armed and terrified homeowner.
And that brings me to the sad case of Terrance Harris. Channel 20 News reports that Mr. Harris was arrested 12 times in the last 6 months and his impressive résumé lists numerous crimes against people and property.
Most recently, Mr. Harris was arrested for burglarizing Lanphier High School on November 7th. He was released the following day and rearrested 4 days later for doing it again. D’oh! In Illinois retail theft, burglary, and trespassing are no longer “detainable offenses”, thanks to Governor Nitwit’s Pretrial Fairness Act.
However, I’m certain we’re all aware justice is sometimes delivered outside of the walls of a courtroom. Last Friday, Mr. Harris was found shot deader than an organ donor lying in the roadway near Delaney’s Tavern. Case closed.
Gary Hetherington
Springfield, Illinois
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