The city of Duncanville is another step closer to shutting down a notorious swingers club after its owner's guilty verdict.
Jurors deliberated for about 45 minutes Tuesday before finding Jim Trulock guilty on 10 counts of illegally operating the club known as the Cherry Pit from his home.
Mr. Trulock had challenged the 10 municipal citations, five accusing him of operating a sexually oriented business without a permit and another five accusing him of operating a sex club. He will face a $7,500 fine for the Class C misdemeanors.
"It's indicative of a climate of intolerance in the city of Duncanville," Cherry Pit attorney Ed Klein said after the two-day trial.
He argued that his client isn't operating a business and that he is entitled to his privacy.
Mr. Klein said he planned to appeal the verdict of the six-member panel of four men and two women. The attorney said he would also seek to have the charges run concurrently, which would reduce the fine to $1,500
Mr. Trulock, 59, and the home's co-owner, Julie M. Norris, 30, face separate criminal charges involving Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code violations and suspicion of engaging in organized crime. Court dates related to those charges are pending.
Mr. Klein also has a civil case pending against the city challenging its ordinance. It's unclear what effect Tuesday's verdict will have on those cases.
During the trial, city prosecutor Kim Lafferty called nearly a dozen Cherry Pit patrons as witnesses. They were identified through paperwork seized at the home during a police search in July. Six of those patrons chose to invoke the Fifth Amendment, refusing to answer questions on the grounds that doing so could be self-incriminating.
Those who did testify Monday and Tuesday told the jury that they paid $50 to join sex parties at the home. Mrs. Lafferty had witnesses describe the main room of the home, which included televisions playing pornographic videos.
"This is not a house that is being used as a residence," Mrs. Lafferty told the jury during closing arguments. "There aren't too many people who have a stripper pole in the middle of their living room or a bar upstairs where you have a bartender serving drinks."
Mrs. Lafferty entered into evidence the Cherry Pit's assumed name certificate registered with the Dallas County clerk that allows Mr. Trulock to do business as the Cherry Pit.
She also showed waivers that Cherry Pit patrons must sign stating they will not sue Mr. Trulock or "employees."
"If this were not a business, how can he have employees?" she asked the jury during her closing argument. "There are also rules on here that all decisions are final and he can deny access to his home.
"Those are things you see in a business, not in a home."
Two city workers who issued citations to Mr. Trulock testified that they viewed online advertisements promoting sex parties at Mr. Trulock's home.
But Mr. Klein said during closing arguments that the state's witnesses didn't present enough evidence to find his client guilty.
"They didn't bring you anything you could touch, see, smell or hear," Mr. Klein said. "With the resources the city of Duncanville has available to them, they could have brought you evidence of business activity there if they had any, but they don't."
Some of the witnesses chose to stay in the courtroom to hear Judge Kent Traylor read the jury's verdict. Several shook their heads in apparent disbelief.
Mr. Klein said he continues to believe that the ordinance and the jury's verdict are targeting Mr. Trulock and Mrs. Norris. Last November the City Council passed an ordinance restricting where sexually oriented businesses could operate.
"Duncanville's motto is 'the perfect blend of family, community and business,' and Mr. Trulock just doesn't fit in," Mr. Klein said in his closing argument. "They designed an ordinance around him to try to run him out of town."
#5
Then there is this nugget from today's Seattle PI: I call it beans or broads.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
OLYMPIA, Wash. -- A developer says if he can't build a new grocery store in Olympia he'll build a sex emporium on the site.
The Centralia businessman, Levi Bussanich, says he's been working with city planners for more than a year, trying to build a store that would be operated by WinCo Foods. He says he's frustrated he hasn't been able to get a wetland buffer reduction.
He already operates an adult video store next to the site and says the emporium would be an expansion.
The Olympian reports the sex emporium could include strippers, a fetish and bondage area, an adult motel and a drive-up window for customers.
Bussanich will meet next Wednesday with city planners
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- Authorities in Massachusetts are considering whether criminal charges should be filed in the death of an 8-year-old boy who accidentally shot himself with an Uzi submachine gun at a gun show.
Hampden County District Attorney William Bennett said Tuesday he hasn't been able to find any law that would authorize a child to possess or fire a machine gun.
Christopher Bizilj of Ashford, Conn., was trying out one of the weapons at the Westfield Sportsman's Club on Sunday when he lost control, shooting himself in the head. An instructor was watching the boy at a firing range and the youngster's father was a few feet away.
Bennett says he's looking into whether anyone committed a reckless or wanton act when they allowed the boy to fire the weapon. In an earlier story quoted here, the father had this to say:
"Bizilj told the Boston Globe he was about 10 feet behind his son and reaching for his camera when the weapon fired. He said his family avoided the larger weapons, but he let his son try the Uzi because it's a small weapon with little recoil."This accident was truly a mystery to me," said Bizilj,...." It is not a mystery to me. This was a Mini-Uzi, the special lightweight model. It happened because the boy's father doesn't know the most basic facts about firearms. The lighter weapon will have more, not less, recoil than a heavier one firing the same round. For once I have to agree with the anti-gun activist who was quoted in the original article, this is not a toy, it is not for children. It is a tool for professionals and is probably dangerous even for adults who do not have the proper training or the correct information.
#1
Hampden County District Attorney William Bennett said Tuesday he hasn't been able to find any law that would authorize a child to possess or fire a machine gun.
Ya got that whole concept backwards, Bill. That's not how the law works.
#3
If anyone is responsible, it's the father for sheer negligence and stupidity. He should know a little kid wouldn't have the wrist strength to handle a full auto machine-pistol.
#4
An instructor was watching the boy at a firing range and the youngster's father was a few feet away.
Perhaps the instructor didn't have a chance to say anything before the gun was fired. The father, however, is definitely a fool. If Mr. Bizilj knew no more about firearms than I do, why did he take his family to a gun show?
#5
I'm not a advocate for gun control and a firm believer in the 2nd Amendment, but I really don't see the need for the public to have an Uzi submachine gun. Mess up the deer meat, and all.
2) if it wasn't the father, why did the owner allow an eight year old to handle a loaded weapon?
3) who knew the weapon was loaded?
4) was the safety checked prior to handing the firearm to the boy?
5) was the firearm checked to see if a round was loaded prior to handing it to the boy?
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/29/2008 11:47 Comments ||
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#8
I have to admit, I think 8 is way too young for a kid to be allowed to use firearms. I had to wait until my 12th birthday before I was allowed to shoot my uncle's M1.
#9
FYI -- the event featured a booth where people could shoot different automatic weapons (using half loads and under professional supervision). The accident was not some kid picking up a gun that happened to be loaded, the accident was 1) the instructor not properly assisting the kid in firing the weapon, 2)the kid not properly handling the weapon, and 3) dad not saying no to his son, who'd reportedly been looking forward to this for weeks.
Posted by: regular joe ||
10/29/2008 12:36 Comments ||
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#10
Slolulet,
8 is too young for an M1. Or an Uzi. I don't think it is necessarily too young for a single shot .22, properly supervised.
#12
"I really don't see the need for the public to have an Uzi submachine gun"
Ever fired one, TB? They're fun.
As for "having" one, this was supposed to be a set-up where people could try one out, not buy one. That said, somebody (besides the kid) was stupid for not having a hand on that gun all the time. I've fired one, and they're controlable, but I can easily see where an 8-year-old wouldn't have the strength - or understanding - to keep control of it.
(When I fired one at the range, the instructor stood right beside me the first time to make sure I didn't lose control of it, and that was after he thoroughly discussed firing it and he debunked all the myths I'd seen in the movies. And I don't think it was because of my sex - he knew me and knew my strength. He was just being cautious.)
It's a tragedy all around.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
10/29/2008 14:53 Comments ||
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#13
Bottom line is that it was a tragic mistake. My deepest sympathies go to the parents and the instructor.
Villagers from Julah in Tejakula, Buleleng, tow a pregnant cow behind a boat into open sea as part of a local traditional ritual. The cow, which is five months pregnant, was thrown out to the sea about 3 kilometers from land Monday. The villagers believe the animal was impregnated by a village elder.
During the ritual the man, who was caught red-handed having sexual intercourse with the cow two months ago, joined the boat trip in order to throw away his clothes to to symbolize him discarding his sins.
Julah customary village head Ketut Sidemen said the ritual, called gamya gamana, or freak weeding, and had been conducted there for generations. The decision to perform the ritual was made a local residents meeting. In line with customary regulations, the perpetrator, identified only as PS, 70, was sanctioned to fund the expensive ceremony, which aimed to cleanse him of any bad influences.
Luh Ketut Suryani, a professor and activist, deplored the sancation against PS. She said drowning a cow was baseless because sexual intercourse between a human being and am animal could not cause pregnancy due to the different chromosomes and genes of the two.
Always the scientist, huh perfesser ...
"The cow is not guilty, why shoud it be drowned? Why don't just use a symbol like what was done by the perpetrator?" she said.
Suryani's said she was concerned dealt with the financial situation of the owner, who lives below the poverty line. "The cow, which has a high price, had to be thrown away. It will be a pity for the owner, who is already poor and is now forced to lose his priceless belonging."
#2
Sure it does not sound fair the cow is raped then executed for being raped. But this is still a step up from Islam where this same law applies to women.
#5
Luh Ketut Suryani, a professor and activist, deplored the sancation against PS. She said drowning a cow was baseless because sexual intercourse between a human being and am animal could not cause pregnancy due to the different chromosomes and genes of the two.
So...when will he be stoned or burnt at the stake?
DUBAI: Dubai customs foiled an attempt to smuggle rough diamonds worth 4 million dirhams through Terminal 1 of the Dubai International Airport.
Customs inspectors at the Terminal 1 Inspection Section got suspicious of a woman passenger of African nationality who arrived at the inspection point.
The inspectors checked the woman using the intestines detector machine and discovered two bags of cloth wrapped around her body as well as two sealed bags containing rough diamonds. The woman was trying to smuggle the diamonds into the country.
Customs authorities seized the diamonds. The passenger was handed over to the relevant security agencies for interrogation and legal action.
#3
An attempt at Duty Free....Blood diamonds from Angola possibly? Why do I see fists pounding tables at the Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE) and in Antwerp? They DDE only did $ 2.24 billion in rough diamonds during the first half of 2007.
A teacher at an Egyptian preparatory school beat one of his students to death for not doing his homework, according to press reports.
Mathematics teacher Haitham Abdul-Hamid, 23, was punishing 11-year-old student Islam Amr at the school in the coastal city of Alexandria for not doing all his homework, the Egyptian daily al-Masry al-Youm reported Tuesday.
Abdul-Hamid tried to beat Amr using a ruler, but the scared student would not open his hand. The teacher then took him outside the class and started kicking him brutally in the stomach. Amr fainted and was transferred to the hospital, where he breathed his last. Doctors have not yet announced the cause of death.
The teacher admitted to his crime and said he only wanted to discipline and not kill him. Abdul-Hamid was charged with man slaughter and was detained for 4 days pending further investigations.
In another school accident, and also in Alexandria, 16-year-old student Hossam Gaber jumped off the second floor to escape from the school. He suffered fractures in the neck, back, and skull as well as abdominal bleeding.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/29/2008 00:00 ||
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Arab News 28/10/08 AL-JOUF: A teacher in a middle school in Sakaka in the northern province of Al-Jouf allegedly broke the right arm of a first grade student yesterday. The boy was supposedly talking to another boy in the classroom.
There is more to the bone-chilling account of the 17-year-old Taslim Solangi of Khairpur who was thrown to dogs -- she was 8-month pregnant and was forced to give birth to her baby prematurely.
The baby was immediately thrown into the nearby Ubhal Wah canal after her killer father-in-law passed a judgement that the child was illegitimate and did not deserve to be allowed to live.
Meanwhile, a new report said hit men have also been dispatched to Karachi to kill the absconding mother of Taslim who had fled the village. Top level inside sources have now confirmed to The News on good authority that at the time of her murder Taslim was to give birth to her first child in two-week time.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
10/29/2008 00:00 ||
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It's just a cultural thing; we're no better, just different. Right?
. . . from what I can tell (correct me if I'm wrong), not a single one of Steven Page's comrades in the enviro-movement has yet raised a peep about the Barenaked Ladies front man's apparent betrayal of the green cause.
Page reportedly got a walk today from a New York judge, after being charged this summer for cocaine possession: no jail time, but if he gets treatment and stays "clean" for six months, the judge suggested the charges could be dropped. If Page cared about the environment, as he purports to, he'd abstain permanently. . . . when the (admittedly likeable) singer was busted in July, his ardent supporters, in the same breath as praising his eco-activism, let Page off the hook for snorting up the equivalent of several square metres of Colombian forest. . . . According to the Trade and Environment Database at the American University in Washington, D.C., the cocaine industry is responsible for enormous amounts of pollution, deforestation and wildlife destruction. . . . Click through for the specifics.
Page would hardly be the first eco-righteous celebrity to urge the end of the minivan-age while ignoring the destruction an eight-ball of coke can do (see: Perry Farrell, Christian Slater and 1,000 other Hollywood party-people who haven't been caught yet). Maybe, like Al Gore and his space-shuttle-sized carbon footprint, stars get a pass on principles for belonging to the privileged nomenklatura. Or maybe they just haven't thought that deeply about the environment, preferring to stick with simplistic, trendy approaches like carbon offset wristbands. Or maybe it's a vital part of a lifestyle that they won't sacrifice even for the sake of dear Mother Earth. Kind of an addiction. You know, like how we average schmos can't seem to kick the habit of fossil fuel transport, hot showers and incandescent lightbulbs. I saw the Barenaked Ladies in a bar in Columbus back before anyone heard of them. I liked "If I Had $1,000,000" and I bought the record. I stopped buying their records when I learned they were Chomskyite 9/11 "truthers." Now we find out they're also cokeheads. Guess that explains the Chomsky business.
Posted by: Mike ||
10/29/2008 09:14 ||
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Ironically enough, on their Everything To Everyone CD, there's a song called "War on Drugs"...
#3
Plus, theres all those nasty chemicals -- often the sort banned in Western industrial countries -- used in processing coca leaves into paste; according to the U.S. State Department 16 million litres of sulfuric acid, 16 million liters of ethyl ether, 8 million liters of acetone, and from 40-770 million liters of kerosene are dumped into the soil every year by cocaine processors in the Andean region and end up in the water.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
There is more to the bone-chilling account of the 17-year-old Taslim Solangi of Khairpur who was thrown to dogs -- she was 8-month pregnant and was forced to give birth to her baby prematurely.
