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| -Lurid Crime Tales- |
| Suspect hides in trash compactor with predictable results |
| 2008-08-21 |
| Bet she won't do that again. DELTA TWP. - "It was a fairly minor crime with a fairly major consequence." The crime: shoplifting The consequences: Death! Those were the words of Eaton County Undersheriff Fred McPhail, describing a series of events Monday morning that led from the theft of less than $500 worth of children's clothing to a woman being crushed in a trash compactor. Police were called at about 10:15 a.m. Monday by an employee of the Goodwill Store on West Saginaw Highway who said a woman was screaming, stuck inside the trash compactor, which was on at the time. The compactor is located behind the store. Okay. Sir? Seeing how a woman is screaming in it, you might want to shut it off. That woman, Tyree Monique Tate, 26 of Delta Township, was extracted and transported to a nearby hospital, where she died Tuesday morning. Preliminary autopsy reports list the cause of death as multiple crush injuries. Bring the broom and dustpan, Muldoon. Tate and the other woman, whom McPhail said is Tate's sister, took children's clothing valued at less than $500, police said. Police have not recovered the merchandise. Ah. It was "for the children". "It's probably one of the most unusual things I've heard about in my 20-plus years of law enforcement, and a tragic one at that," McPhail said. Saints be praised, it twas a terrible occurence, me boyo... At 9:54 a.m., police received a call advising them of a shoplifting in progress at a TJ Maxx store in the Lansing Mall. Two women had fled from TJ Maxx after spraying a store security officer in the face with a pepper spray to get away, according to Michael Cook, general manager of the mall. Pure as the driven snow, they wuz... The two crossed Saginaw Highway to the Goodwill store. They stopped at the store's large, green trash compactor, designed to be fed from the store's rear loading dock. McPhail said it appears Tate ignored the multiple "Keep Out" signs and climbed into the compactor, which was not on at the time. Wonder if she could read them? The sister was found hiding near the compactor, and tried to run from police toward a nearby Meijer store but was quickly arrested, he said. The sister was uncooperative and told police she barely knew Tate - and only by her street name, Diamond - and didn't know where she was, McPhail said. Nope. I ain't sayin nuthin! At the same time, a Goodwill employee turned the compactor on to use it. Nevermind. I think we know where she is, sarge. "I think it's very likely that if she had told police where her sister was, they would have arrested (Tate) and she wouldn't have been crushed," McPhail said. "I'm sure that she's agonizing over that decision, being her sister." Really. Good shoplifting partners are hard to find... Employees at TJ Maxx and Goodwill declined to comment, deferring to corporate spokespeople, who did not return calls seeking comment. Sorry. We have to prepare for the inevitable multimillion dollar lawsuit this pillar of the community's family will be filing against us. Tate's sister was released, McPhail said, pending further investigation. He said a warrant for her arrest will likely be issued after prosecutors have decided which charges to bring against her. Tate's family gathered at her Delta Township apartment Tuesday. A man who answered the door said he and the rest of her family would not talk to the media about the incident. "It's certainly a tragedy, senseless really that it happened," McPhail said. "Our thoughts and prayers certainly go out to her, her family and any children she may have left behind." That's probably the standard response in the manual under "Criminals dying stupidly: Commenting on." |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #19 They shoplifted at TJMaxx, which is almost as pathetic, Alaska Paul. They pepper sprayed the security guard on the way out, then hid behind the nearby Goodwill. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2008-08-21 22:36 |
| #18 Shoplifting at a Goodwill store is more like pathology than a crime. Well, the world is full of dumb people doing dumb things. HERE is a link to so-called smart people doing a dumb publicity stunt, resulting in two locomotive boilers exploding, scattering shrapnel and flying bolts and nuts into the crowd, killing some. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2008-08-21 22:26 |
| #17 " Sounds like a felony murder charge could be coming someone's way." Whose way? And why? |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2008-08-21 22:20 |
| #16 Sounds like a felony murder charge could be coming someone's way. |
| Posted by: AzCat 2008-08-21 21:47 |
| #15 well, at least she can get the reduced "inurnment" rate for her so she's got that going for her, which is nice |
| Posted by: Frank G 2008-08-21 21:08 |
| #14 Sounds like a felony murder charge could be coming someone's way. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2008-08-21 15:59 |
| #13 Clothes cost very, very little at Goodwill. And yet charity shops have a severe problem with shoplifting, both in the U.S. and Britain. The story does not say Ms. Tate has children, only that she and her sister stole $500 of children's clothing from another shop nearby... and that the clothes have somehow not been found since. We don't even know if Ms. Tate's sister has any children, or whether the two women were acquiring stock for an enterprise of their own. What we do know is that the women were prepared for opposition to their scheme, given that they had pepper spray which they immediately used on the security guard who sought to prevent them escaping with their boodle. Francis, I agree that innocent stupidity does not deserve the death penalty. However, I am not willing to go there for those both stupid and guilty. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2008-08-21 15:02 |
| #12 #9 and oddly while I tend to be condescending and preachy and serious, the snark here really doesnt bother me at all. Strange, eh? |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2008-08-21 14:57 |
| #11 OK, I didn't catch the pepperspray part of the story. Phew, I feel better, and am back in full snark mode... :-) |
| Posted by: Francis 2008-08-21 14:56 |
| #10 Must be why she pepper sprayed the security guard. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-08-21 14:47 |
| #9 You know, I tend to be as snarky as the rest of the normal Rantburgers, but this story depressed me. Some ignorant women with multiple kids is dead. Was she stupid? Yes. Did she deserve to die for this? Not really. Are there kids who no longer have a mother, (no matter how unfit she may have been)? Yes. She was trying to clothes her kids, not steal crack. A depressing story and one that saddens me. |
| Posted by: Francis 2008-08-21 14:40 |
| #8 Lansing, Michigan notable events. 1951: (The future)USN,Ret. is born 2004: Production of the Oldsmobile auto line ends 2008:Tyree comes in second to a trash compactor Surely the end of life as we know it is near |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2008-08-21 14:24 |
| #7 Hydraulic cylinders, why do they hate us? |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2008-08-21 14:23 |
| #6 Wonder if she could read them? I'm sure she had the appropriate certificate of attendance from an NEA approved and tax funded institution that said she could. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2008-08-21 13:30 |
| #5 Rimshot! Snark of the day goes to... Betty. |
| Posted by: Scooter McGruder 2008-08-21 12:45 |
| #4 "I'm sure that she's agonizing over that decision, being her sister." I'm sure she was crushed. |
| Posted by: Betty Grating2215 2008-08-21 12:10 |
| #3 Sorry, mean't Michelle Obama hears about this! |
| Posted by: Jack is Back! 2008-08-21 11:49 |
| #2 Luke skywalker made it out! |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2008-08-21 11:49 |
| #1 Wait until hears about this. |
| Posted by: Jack is Back! 2008-08-21 11:46 |