Crozet man nabbed in Internet sting
by Dave McNair
published 6:36pm Wednesday Feb 4, 2009
published 6:36pm Wednesday Feb 4, 2009
Write a letter to the editor
For most of January, Crozet resident John Menefee Gibbs, 61, allegedly thought he was chatting online with a 14-year-old girl—turns out it was a Prince William County detective posing as one. On January 29, Gibbs was arrested by Albemarle County police and charged with “attempted indecent liberties” with a minor, which apparently involved sending the detective naked photos of himself. He goes to court in Prince William County on February 27.
I sure hope this deception doesn’t cut both ways. I mean, I hope this doesn’t mean the 61-year old man I’ve been falling in love with online is really a 14-year old police cadet, or something. That would break my virtual heart.
Sparky, while I’m certainly not condoning what the defendant is accused of doing, what this means is police departments nationwide have cops sitting inside playing around on computers all day. While the chiefs or sheriff whine about not having enough men to patrol and keep the communities safe any longer.
When we assign 5 cops to schools as school resource officers, 5 cops to a specialized traffic division, 4 or 5 cops to Interent sex stings, 5 or 6 cops to a drug task force, 4 or 5 cops to a Community Policing Task Force, etc… no ownder there’s nobody left to patrol the streets any longer. And it’s no wonder you have to wait 45 minutes to 3 hours for a cop to respond to a B&E, theft, or whatever. Combined with the fact the courts have ruled the cops have no obligation to protect you, as in they can’t be everywhere at all times. They might be roping in a pervert on the Internet, and it certainly makes for good headlines for the cops, but you’re on your own when you go out after dark in this ciy or county. There’s been a 38% increase this past year (2208) in applications and approvals of concealed handgun permits in Virginia. This does NOT surprise me.
Yeah Sick, and i’m one of them!
One of the new handgun permit applicants?
Or one of the cops who have been assigned to specialized duties?
I kind of agree with Sick. Whilst the Bedford County Sheriff’s Department was a groundbreaker in this Internet Child Predator deal, seems like all departments are joining the fray. Where is the funding for this coming from? I will say this…61 year old men naked on screen showing their winkies should be a worse crime than “indecent liberties.” Talk about sagging in high-res!
I had to look back to see what you were agreeing with me about. And I spotted a mistake I made. It was suppose to read…
“There’s been a 38% increase this past year (2008) in applications and approvals of concealed handgun permits in Virginia. This does NOT surprise me.”
I typed the year wrong. 2208 was NOT the new applications for Concealed Handgun Permits. 55,864 was the amount of new Concealed Handgun Permits issued in Viriginia in 2008.
This is almost 56,000 more Virginians who realize their personal safety is their own responsibility and they can’t rely on some cop in a specialized unit to show up and save them from criminals.
While I’m on a roll here, I think the public should realize that open carry of firearms, with very few exceptions, is legal in Virginia. You can strap that handgun to your belt in plain view any time you want.
As a matter of fact, a person with a Concealed Handgun Permit has to uncover his firearm any time he enters a restuarant or establishment that serves alcoholic beverages - it’s the law as well.
Oh, Sick, thanks for sending me that leopard-print thong photo of you. I love the Internet!
That was my wife! :)