Mayor’s Row………..by Ned Mitchell
Two recent calls to our police department brought about investigations on two completely different crimes. First a young man entered the police department to report vandalism of his mother’s home. Thinking vandalism is usually not a big problem in Sesser, police went to the scene. The damage was unlike anything ever found in Sesser. This home was completely destroyed, glue poured all over carpet, bleach poured on clothes, doors ripped off hinges, appliance cords cut, you name it and it was done here. Quickly a suspect was identified, that being the boyfriend of the home owner’s daughter. Police Chief Rob Barrett set out to find this person of interest to talk to and quickly found out that he had been given a ride to I-57 and that he was going to hitch hike south.
Chief Barrett high tailed it for I-57 but found no such person. Quick thinking brought the chief to the conclusion he needed help and he needed it fast to find the person of interest. Finding a willing truck driver with a CB radio quickly identified a car that had picked up a hitch hiker southbound at the Sesser exit on I-57. A lot of police officers would never have taken the case this far, but Barrett is not in the category of a lot of police officers. He made his way south looking for the car that picked up the hitch hiker but to no avail. Thinking he might accidentally find the culprit he hurried south. Approaching the I-57 and I-24 confluence of major highways and much to his surprise a man fitting the description he was looking for sat on the side of the road, right down the clothes and travel bags he was supposed to be carrying. Chief Barrett made his arrest on the side of the road and brought the suspect back to be charged with the crimes that we think he committed.
The second call of interest lately came in the early morning as Dollar Store employees upon opening their store discovered a break in. Sesser police officers on the scene quickly and professionally sealed off the crime scene and would allow nobody, even store employees to enter. While you and I might not think to do this, preserving the crime scene is of utmost importance. Fingerprints, shoeprints, gloves and a lot of evidence were discovered at the scene and in the surrounding area. Keeping people out of the area of a crime scene is vitally important to protecting this evidence and how it can be used later in court. It is not a good idea to damage or destroy evidence or contaminate it. While some might think of this as overkill, Sesser police go about their business focusing on building the best case possible for prosecution.
Not too many days later a call from the Sparta police department revealed they had caught some burglars fleeing the scene of a forced entry at their local VFW club. Several of the culprits were rounded up and it was discovered that four of them gave a Sesser address as their home. When Sparta police called to inquire we had to admit that we did not know any of those arrested over there but we had an interest in maybe our case being involved. Sure enough it was soon discovered that these fine upstanding citizens just might be involved in burglaries of Dollar Stores in Sesser, Mt. Vernon, Steeleville, Freeburg and perhaps others. Separating those in custody one of the females quickly ratted out her cohorts and the case started to become serious.
A search warrant was issued for a residence in Sesser with 3 families living in a single family home. Evidence was found there linking the suspects in custody to the Sesser crime. After many long hours of investigative work and interviews with the suspects the safe of the Sesser Dollar store was discovered on a rural road near Valier. At least one of the suspects has been in prison before, actually just released about 30 days ago for burglary of all things. None of these great people are from Sesser, they just happen to land here.
We make no bones about it, when you come to Sesser we make it our business to find out as much about you as we possibly can. Sometimes, and this case proves it, we do not know you are even living among us. That is about to change here in Sesser. First of all we are going to pass an ordinance or law that requires each landlord to notify city officials of who exactly is living in their property. We are furthermore going to strictly enforce the meaning of the phrase single family dwelling. That means no taking on of additional families in areas that are designated as single family areas. We will enforce the new ordinance with a fine of the landlord for non compliance. We intend to know who is living in Sesser and what their history is.
If I had a dollar for every time I hear a Sesser resident say they don’t know everyone in town like they used to, I’d be able to quit this high paying job of Mayor. I’ve lived here all of my life except for a few years away at college and I can tell you that I do not know everyone here either like I used to. We constantly get new people moving to Sesser and we welcome each of you. We want Sesser to grow and continue to be the great place it has always been to so many people. Unfortunately we get some real derelicts in the process and we intend on weeding you folks out and moving you on down the road. If you want to live among us and be model citizens, that is great. If you want to live here and burglarize our businesses or sell drugs to our children, we will hunt you down even if it means following your trail right down I-57 until we catch up with you. I and the entire city council are very proud of all of our employees but these two cases make us very proud of our police department.
Make your plans to attend the 51st annual Sesser Homecoming which is going on right now. There will be lots of free entertainment in the city park. Friday night has Johnny Cash’s brother Tommy in a live performance and Saturday night will feature Billy “Crash” Craddock. These shows will bring in a lot of people. There is also a horse show, tractor pull, a parade on Saturday afternoon, car show, our own smoked bar b que and corn on the cob. We expect huge crowds but promise you a safe fun filled week for you and your family. Won’t you join us? We look forward to visiting with you!
Following the homecoming on Tuesday, June 20th the Chicago Chamber Orchestra will do a concert at the historic Sesser Opera House. The tickets are now available but are going fast. We have about 200 tickets left as I write this so if you want to see this concert performed by famous musicians world wide you need to call now and get a ticket. Tickets are $6.00 for adults, $3.00 for seniors and students. We are proud to bring Southern Illinois this caliber of entertainment. Also, the morning of June 20th at 10:00 am there will be a free Klassics for Kids concert by some of these musicians and it will be a great time to introduce your youngsters to something other than what they are listening to now. This concert is funded in part by the Illinois Arts Council.
Jean Copeland is hopefully home from the hospital by the time this gets published. Jean has been in the hospital with some blood clot problems. Also Sesser-Valier student Courtney Utlaut is recovering from serious injuries she suffered in a car accident. She is in a St. Louis hospital and has some difficult days ahead of her. A card, phone call, or personal visit would be great for these two.
If you need us, give us a call at 625-5322 or 625-3611. You may also write to us at www.sesser.org or nedmitchell@verizon.net or P. O. Box 517 or 277 in Sesser, Illinois or visit us in person. We are always happy to hear from you!
| |
|
