The Monsters Among Us

There are some really sick, disturbed people in this world, and there are some who are just plain evil. Because of them, the past few days have seen some horrific killings at schools in Colorado, Wisconsin, and now, Pennsylvania. We shake our heads in puzzlement and sigh in frustration as we ponder how a low-life thug in Colorado and devoted family man in Lancaster can apparently just go crazy, enter a school, target girls for molestation, and then start shooting before killing themselves.

I thought about this even more when I heard that another monster, Charles Conner, was arrested in suburban Philadelphia on Monday. He had been detained by the police after a drunk driving accident on Garrett Road, and taken to Delaware County Memorial Hospital, where he made threats against health care workers and police during his blood alcohol test. Later, a huge arsenal of guns, knives, and home-made bombs was discovered in his Drexel Hill house, which sits just 200 feet from St. Charles School in the 3800 block of Dennison Avenue. And, as reported in the Delco Times yesterday, this was not this bastard's first run-in with the law:

It was while Conner was awaiting arraignment for the DUI that Detective Sgt. David Madonna remembered the defendant from the previous suicide attempt last year when police removed 59 potentially dangerous items from the house including guns and knives.

"Over the next months, Conner came to the police department several times for return of his guns and knives and the police department refused," Chitwood said, noting Conner appealed to Common Pleas Court and received a court order in April signed by Judge Joseph Cronin for the return of his property.

"Needless to say, today we’re here after obtaining a search warrant and have 53 guns. It shows how the system works," Chitwood added while waving the court document and a bound folder containing information on how to make bombs and fuses.

Thank God for the quick work of the Upper Darby police, and particularly Superintendent Michael Chitwood, who has also gone after nuisance bars and pawn shops illegally selling guns. But shame on this Judge Cronin! He needs to explain exactly why he did this, and reassure the public that he will be far more careful in the future in making his decisions. Otherwise, he should be gone from office. Period.

Because a lot of this comes down to how some people are able to manipulate the legal system to evade justice.That may have been the case with Conner. And, I just read about how an actress, Pauley Perrette ("Abby") of NCIS, is being stalked and harrassed by her ex-husband, Francis Shivers. I was literally sick to my stomach reading about how he has also harrassed another former wife and a former girlfriend, and uses the courts to file false charges against all three of them. Whether he's sick or evil, someone needs to do something more about him, before he kills.

Philadelphia Daily News Story Of Conner's Arrest

Delaware County Times Story Of Conner's Arrest

Pauley Perrette Of CBS-TV's NCIS Stalked By Ex-Husband