From: RichSlick@aol.com
Subject: SNET: [slickplus] Calif Justice: THIS IS  OUTRAGEOUS !!!!!
Date: 3 Dec 1999 02:24:28 -0500
To: SlickPlus@egroups.com


->  SNETNEWS  Mailing List

Fwd:

 >----- Original Message -----
 >From: YIKES 
 >
 > If you live in California's San Bernardino
 >County,
 >: you could be considered dangerous.It could land you in jail. Trudy and
 >Chris
 >: Sherburne are a case in point, Case No. 1998-00-0020326 to be exact.
 >:
 >: This couple has been described by their pastor and his wife, their friends
 >: and associates as a little eccentric, a throwback to an earlier
 >generation,
 >: but they are considered to be good, patriotic loyal Americans and good
 >: conscientious parents. However, during the last 19 months they have been
 >: incarcerated, had their children placed in protective custody, run out of
 >: their home, and stripped of their personal property. Chris Sherburne is
 >: still behind bars.
 >:
 >: The Sherburnes have been happily married for 24 years and have six
 >children
 >: who range from eight to 23 years in age. Both parents are highly educated.
 >: Chris is an Army veteran and a graduate of UCLA in systems engineering.
 >: Trudy holds a master's degree from the University of Michigan in early
 >: childhood education. Sixteen years ago, when their oldest daughter was
 >: seven, they began a family business called Genuine GI Surplus as a way of
 >: staying together and teaching their children responsibility and practical
 >: skills. The family purchased, cleaned, sorted, and repaired government
 >: surplus items they obtained from military bases and from associates in the
 >: salvage business. They then sold these items at gun shows, law enforcement
 >: expositions, flea markets, swap meets and the like.
 >:
 >: The family lived in a 50-year-old home on five acres in a sparsely
 >populated
 >: area in San Bernardino County between Hesperia and Victorville. Their
 >: problems began in 1998 on Good Friday when Trudy and three of her children
 >: came home from church that evening to find law enforcement officials, a
 >: newspaper reporter, the fire department, and bomb squad, along with a
 >county
 >: code enforcement officer, searching her property. The team was convinced
 >: that the used military storage tubes they discovered must contain warheads
 >: or be otherwise dangerous.
 >:
 >: The police used their own explosives to destroy a cache of items they
 >piled
 >: in the backyard and Trudy was arrested on charges of possessing a
 >: destructive device and deadly weapons, and child endangerment. Her three
 >: boys were taken by Child Protective Services and eventually turned over to
 >: their pastor, Alan Stanfield of the First Baptist Church of Lucerne
 >Valley.
 >:
 >: Chris was in Florida at the time with the couple's three older children,
 >: restoring a boat, which the family hoped to sell or use in some way to
 >help
 >: the Sudanese Christian relief effort. A warrant was made out for his
 >arrest
 >: and he was apprehended soon thereafter.
 >:
 >: It is still unclear why, after 16 years of living in the old farmhouse, a
 >: code enforcement supervisor showed up at the Sherburne home that Good
 >Friday
 >: afternoon, along with a deputy from the sheriff's office. However, a
 >search
 >: warrant was quickly obtained -- perhaps too quickly -- to investigate the
 >: ominous looking surplus military items in the yard and on the property.
 >The
 >: Sherburnes were charged with 23 felonies. They eventually pled guilty to
 >: possessing a destructive device after they discovered that the tracer
 >: ammunition they used for target shooting was illegal to possess in
 >: California. Tracer ammunition is used in other states to allow target
 >: shooters to see the trajectory of their fire, but isn't any more dangerous
 >: than regular ammunition.
 >:
 >: The Sherburnes accepted the plea bargain, partly out of fear of having to
 >: spend a considerable time in custody, and partly because of their lack of
 >: funds and adequate representation. However, it is clear that this family
 >may
 >: have been irreparably harmed. Much of the Sherburne's property has been
 >: stolen, damaged, or destroyed because of the way the investigation against
 >: the family was conducted and because their home was left unattended and
 >: allegedly unsecured. The children were traumatized and their lives have
 >been
 >: turned upside down.
 >:
 >: After being held on a million dollar bond for 133 days, Trudy eventually
 >was
 >: released and her children, having been found healthy, well-educated and in
 >: above average physical condition, were returned. She was given 60 hours of
 >: community service and three years probation. However, despite being
 >: extremely cooperative, the family's worst fears for Chris were realized.
 >On
 >: Feb. 3, 1999, with no prior record, Chris, who was classified as
 >"extremely
 >: dangerous," was sentenced to 16 months in state prison, then parole, with
 >: credit for a year served.
 >:
 >: On April 5, 1999, just before his release date, Chris was given "special
 >: conditions" to sign, which included no contact with military surplus
 >: products of any kind, and no contact with his co-defendant, his wife
 >Trudy.
 >:
 >: After refusing to sign away his right to return to his wife and family and
 >: pursue his living, he was transferred to Chuckawalla Valley State Prison
 >: near Blythe, with a new parole release date set for Aug. 23, 1999. Again
 >: Chris was presented with the same conditions, and again he refused to
 >sign.
 >:
 >: Last month, while working in the prison kitchen, Chris was found dazed on
 >: the floor. He obviously had been struck by someone or something, but it
 >was
 >: Chris who was punished (allegedly for fighting). He was thrown into
 >solitary
 >: confinement and then denied all but emergency phone calls.
 >:
 >: However, Trudy recently received a letter stating that he has been given a
 >: new set of conditions to sign, which will allow them to be reunited, but
 >: states that he must refrain from social or business contact with anyone
 >: described as a member of a "right wing group." However, Chris is afraid to
 >: sign because "right-wing group" has not been defined and he is afraid of
 >: being rearrested and given a stiffer sentence.
 >:
 >: Trudy admits the couple was concerned about preparedness and unconcerned
 >: about neatness. By her own admission her place was a mess when law
 >: enforcement arrived. The fact that she had been away for three days and
 >the
 >: place had been shut up during that time and spoiled food was found didn't
 >: help. However, bad housekeeping is not a crime, at least not yet.
 >:
 >: Trudy also admits that the family kept a cache of guns and ammunition
 >hidden
 >: and had expanded an old bomb shelter Chris' father dug during the Cold
 >War,
 >: just in case. At this time, none of these things is illegal. The
 >Sherburnes
 >: even attended a couple of meetings of a local militia group. However, they
 >: declined to join because, in Trudy's words, "God wasn't in it."
 >:
 >: Yes, the Sherburnes could be classified as preparedness freaks, but they
 >are
 >: not anti-government, nor do they belong to any such anti-government group,
 >: as some of the officers who conducted five different searches of their
 >: property have charged. The Sherburnes could be forgiven if they have a
 >: healthy distrust of their government now.
 >:
 >: However, many feel the criminal justice system in California should not be
 >: forgiven for the way in which it treated the Sherburne family. Randy
 >Scott,
 >: Trudy Sherburne's probation officer, stated in the report he filed on Jan.
 >: 13, 1999, "The case is very complex and appears to polarize everyone
 >: involved. Those interviewed see the defendant as either a victim of a
 >: ruthless law-enforcement and court system or as a person who is
 >potentially
 >: very dangerous to society and our government structure."
 >:
 >: If the Sherburnes are dangerous, the state of California must prove it.
 >: Otherwise, Chris Sherburne should be released and be allowed to rejoin his
 >: family and rebuild his life -- or what is left of it.
 >:
 >:
 >:
 >:
 >: --------------------------------------------------------------------------
 >--
 >: ----
 >:
 >: Donations to the Sherburnes or to the Sherburne legal defense fund may be
 >: sent to 8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 2
 >: --------------------------------------------------------------------------
 >--
 >: ----
 >:
 >: --------------------------------------------------------------------------
 >--
 >: ----
 >:  Be prepared, go to prison
 >:
 >:
 >: Donations to the Sherburnes or to the Sherburne legal defense fund may be
 >: sent to 8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151 (703)
 >321-8585.
 >: 2151 (703) 321-8585.
  >>

------------------------------------------------------------------------
To subscribe to the Slick e-zine, send e-mail to RichSlick@aol.com for details.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Create a poll/survey for your group!
-- http://www.egroups.com/vote?listname=slickplus&m=1



-> Send "subscribe   snetnews " to majordomo@world.std.com
->  Posted by: RichSlick@aol.com