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Team Sergeant
11-03-2013, 07:51
Danville Murder Suspect a "Green Beret" ?

Not even close but the reporter thinks so. I'm getting sick of reporters writing anything without checking facts. This loser didn't make it two years in the Army and was booted as a Private E-1. He was an Armor Crewman.

Great job Todd Kleffman and the Interior Journal, Hometown News From Lincoln County, who cares what you write/print as long as it sells.

Anonymous Tipster Led Police to Danville Murder Suspect

Posted: Tuesday, October 15, 2013 10:36 pm
By Todd Kleffman tkleffman@schurz.com* | 0 comments

Police were in the fourth day of spinning their wheels in the investigation of the triple homicide at ABC Gold Guns and More when an anonymous caller from Michigan put them on the trail of the man they would eventually charge in the murders.
According to affidavits filed by Danville Detective Kevin Peel to obtain search warrants for Allen Keith’s church, home and pawn shop in Pulaski County, the caller, who used to live in Danville, passed on information he gleaned from a conversation he had with Keith on the evening of Sept. 20, after Mike and Angela Hockensmith of Stanford and gold buyer Daniel Smith of Richmond were shot to death during a robbery at the Fourth Street business that morning.

Keith, 48, of Burnside, where he pastored Main Street Baptist Church, is scheduled to be arraigned today in Boyle District Court on three counts of murder and first-degree robbery. He has denied any involvement in the crimes through his attorney, Mark Stanziano of Somerset.

The anonymous tipster called Peel on Sept. 24, at which time “no apparent substantial information” had been developed by law enforcement, Peel states in his affidavit.

“It should be noted that, although the caller wished to remain anonymous, the details provided by him that could be corroborated supported the veracity of his statements to law enforcement,” Peel states.

The caller said he learned of the murders through Facebook postings of friends from Danville and “contacted Mr. Keith for further information.” The caller said he knows Keith, as well as the Hockensmiths, through church ties and from living in Danville.

The caller said Keith told him he was devastated by news of the murders, which he learned about later on the day they occurred. Keith then volunteered details about his whereabouts that day, which included an early visit to the Veteran’s Administration Hospital in Lexington, stopping by Good Neighbor Pharmacy in Danville to pick up a prescription for his wife and then returning to his home in Burnside.
Buyer carried lots of cash

“The Michigan caller stated that Mr. Keith knew that the deceased gold broker (Daniel Smith) came to the store to do business on Fridays and it was not uncommon for the broker to have $30,000 to $40,000 in a brief case,” the affidavit states. “Mr. Keith offered a scenario as to what he believed occurred, stating that it was a ‘hit’ on the gold buyer and the Hockensmiths happened to be there.”

When the caller asked Keith if the Hockensmiths were innocent bystanders, Keith "flipped a switch" and responded they weren’t innocent and, that they "cost him a lot of money." Keith told the caller that Mike Hockensmith, who used to work for Keith, had caused him to have to pay fines over a worker’s compensation violation, according to the affidavit.

The caller also provided some background information on Keith. He is a former U.S. Army Green Beret who owns several guns, including an assault rifle, which he keeps on “his person and in his house.” He drives a silver minivan. The caller also provided cell phone numbers for Keith and his wife Tracy, as well as links to Keith’s personal Facebook page, the affidavit states.

Using information from the caller, Danville police realized they were acquainted with Keith from his days running King’s Corner pawn shop at the same location where the murders occurred. Keith does not have a criminal history but officers knew him from routine stops at his business.

http://www.centralkynews.com/theinteriorjournal/news/local/anonymous-tipster-led-police-to-danville-murder-suspect/article_040a8edc-3666-11e3-8c8a-0019bb30f31a.html

sinjefe
11-03-2013, 07:56
Well that does fit the narrative that the media believes: "All soldiers are ex-Army Green Berets that own lots of guns and are about to snap at any moment"

Richard
11-03-2013, 08:21
The way it's written, it sounds as if the "anonymous tipster" was the one who told the police that Allen Keith was a "former U.S. Army Green Beret" which, I would assume, means that Keith was telling people that, and the reporter was just stating in the article what the tipster had said to the police.

Richard

Team Sergeant
11-03-2013, 08:27
The way it's written, it sounds as if the "anonymous tipster" was the one who told the police that Allen Keith was a "former U.S. Army Green Beret" which, I would assume, means that Keith was telling people that, and the reporter was just stating in the article what the tipster had said to the police.

Richard

And that's why it's not in the Hall of Shame. What if the tipster said the guy was a congressman? Would the "reporter" have printed that without checking? I'm sick of idiots writing anything without checking the facts.

Scimitar
11-03-2013, 09:01
Yeah well, the caller ain't anonymous any more is he. Pretty sure the frakin reporter / police provided just enough info for the accused to figure out who called him in. morons. :mad:

S

98G
11-03-2013, 10:34
The way it's written, it sounds as if the "anonymous tipster" was the one who told the police that Allen Keith was a "former U.S. Army Green Beret" which, I would assume, means that Keith was telling people that, and the reporter was just stating in the article what the tipster had said to the police.

Richard

Better reporting (let alone actually "best" reporting when they fact check) would have been to state that "the tipster told police that the suspect claimed to be former U.S. Army Green Beret who…"

Not every paper can afford investigative reporters (and most news sources who can -- don't) but they call all afford the accuracy expected of a high school paper.

Richard, do you think the teachers who oversee the school papers can moonlight with the local press? Maybe we can raise the standards and get the kids some real world experience. :D