Tuesday, September 2, 2014

A good day for the good guys


Police Chief John Tedesco announces the arrest of
 three people for murder (TIMES UNION PHOTO)
I’ve been covering Troy for a long time and never have I seen anything like what transpired over the last couple of weeks.
Amazing, really.
A summer marked with arson, murder and other violent crimes had tensions at a breaking point throughout the city but nowhere were things more strained than in Lansingburgh.
And then a well-known, well-liked couple was bludgeoned to death – Al and Maria Lockrow on Aug. 20.
Police were under the gun. The media jumped on such stats like “the murder rate has increased 600 percent” from last year and “per capita Troy had the most murders in the state” and they were echoed across social media.
There were stories of parents afraid to send their kids a couple blocks to the store or the playground and gun shots rang out with the frequency of church bells. There were calls for more patrols, a reinstatement of an aggressive Street Crimes Unit and cries for someone to do something.
Then, on Friday police found the Lockrows’ blue SUV - stolen by the murderers - in a field in Columbia County. It was set on fire, presumably, to help the two killers hide their tracks. It also kicked off what has to be one of the best nights in TPD history.
While I’m told the car’s discovery didn’t lead investigators to seal the deal and arrest Jacob Heimroth and Daniel Reuter, they were Three days later. Early Monday evening, police made the first arrest. Later that night, about 9:30 p.m., they picked up the second suspect while he was walking around Lansingburgh. I’m not sure which one was first but it really doesn’t matter.
Also, on Monday, police arrested Jeffrey Brown, an 18-year-old from Cohoes, for the murder of Robert Rivera, a 54-year-old who was found shot to death in his Second Avenue apartment on June 30.
In one night, police arrested three people for murder. Amazing, really.  
The Lockrow crime scene
Police Chief John Tedesco said “this is huge for us.” He’s right. And it’s not only huge for the TPD but for the resident too. Fueled by fear and Facebook pages and sick of the empty political rhetoric, they were losing patience with the men in blue and their ability to keep their neighborhoods safe.
Rallies and vigils were held to “Take Back Troy, Tedesco and Mayor Lou Rosamilia, under increasing pressure to do something, put 20 extra patrols on the streets and there was the very real threat of people taking matters into their own hands.
Meanwhile, detectives were behind the scenes working the murders of eight people in the city this year (in two of the cases, two people were killed so it was considered one case.)
And that work paid off on Monday.
So far, police have arrested suspects in five of those cases. And while the murder of 19-year-old Vanessa Milligan and her unborn baby in April remains open, Tedesco indicated an arrest there is imminent too.
ROSMILIA
There are all sorts of possible motives for the Lockrow killings – the most brutal to happen in the Collar City in at least two decades – and I will explore them later. There are also some grumblings about how detectives broke the case – again, I’m told the car played a small role in it – and I will explore them too at a later date. There is also a lot of work to do because murders may be the highest profile crimes they are far from the most prevalent, thankfully.
Let me conclude by saying I’m one of the first ones to criticize cops for their Cadillac contract and their excessive OT and when they otherwise screw up. But for their work that culminated on Monday, the entire TPD deserves a round of applause.



24 comments:

  1. I agree! A HUGE THANK YOU TO THE TROY PD!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Cadillac Contract?? Look at what other agencies pay for salary and overtime. Troy PD's salary is a complete joke

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Troy Police and Troy Fire have the lowest salaries and yet are the busiest around. They deserve every dime.

      Delete
  3. I knew Alan from OTB and he was an affable person. He was not in to drugs and he never swore, nor borrowed any money to support his wagering. He was a live & let live guy. My guess is that the accused heard of Al winning a large sum and assumed he cashed the ticket. The though was not cashed because Al was thinking of using someone else to sign for it. When the 2 guys broke in they were very disappointed in finding no money but an uncashed ticket. It angered them for the risk they took for no results. They took their rage out on Al and unfortunately on his poor wife who would have been a witness. Very sad and for poor AL, if he didn't hit that ticket, he and his wife would be alive today. That is my guess.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey, you got a better idea? Wait, THAT required "cognitive thought". Something you lack, Jack!

      Delete
  4. Great job by the Troy PD. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sad to see the politicos whore themselves out and try to take some credit. Saw Anastasia Robertson there, wasn't she afraid she would be " rounded up and executed" like she says in her article?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Mayor Lou once Kevin McGrath and Nina got out your relationship with the head of the police department Cheif Tedesco has flourished. You and the chief are getting along great and it will get better. This puts you on the way to a possible re-election. I say possible because there is only one person left with a personal agenda and if you get ride of this person soon you can right the ship so to speak. So mayor while your having these moments of clarity about your staff get ride of Bill Dunne.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Great point at 4 :33. Mayor Lou is well aware of Bill DunnesDunne's. transgressions at the dormitory authority, having seen the settlement papers. The mayor is also well aware of the additional transgressions taking place at Troy's City Hall including the incident with the auditor. My question is why does sanctimonious Lou continue to place female employees of City Hall at risk.

      Delete
  7. Great work by the entire police department. Very seldom do they get the praise they should get dealing with the people they do. Also very good to see
    Chief Tedesco calmly handle a situation over the last few weeks in a professional way . His approach should make the people of Troy believe they have the right guy in the job.



    cC

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. PS if you would also keep that riffraff down in the Burgh and away from Highpoint we would all appreciate it. See you all at the lobster bake. Hugs and kisses Frank.

      Delete
    2. FLAP obviously launching another campaign for some office....any office. He must be suffering from candidate withdrawals since the latest in a string of losses.

      Delete
  8. What makes you think it was Troy PD that did the work putting this together and finding these two and the car? Start asking some questions!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh gee, I don't know... Maybe because the murders happened in Troy and that the case was handled by them? Who the hell else do you think solved the case? The Corp Counsel? You really sound like an ignorant fool. Grow up, you tool.

      Delete
    2. You'd think Jim Gordon solved it, the way he stalked the reporters and shoved his face in front of the camera. Must be nice to have a no-show job.

      Delete
    3. what does he do for a living? He is at a number of events during normal working hours, does his boss give him time off, is he self employed? He seems to be the most flexible of the council members when it comes to availability - is he retired, he's awfully young?

      Delete
    4. FOIL his time cards. He's a public servant.

      Delete
  9. Unfortunately, 8:54: The link is the girl friend from OTB. This was not a random attack!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I'm hearing the Lansingburgh Action Hero's have put on their capes, all the while singing "Here we come to save the dayyyyyyyyy!!".

    ReplyDelete
  11. Either the girlfriend or the brother hired these 2 thugs to knock off the Lockrows. Like the police said, it was a family dispute.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can only speak for myself and I had nothing to do with my sister and Allen's murder. I do believe the ex-girlfriend may have but then why murder Allen? Too many questions here and I pray the police have solid evidence and I was ensured by Sergent Mason that they do. We will see!!!

      Delete
  12. Troy Police should investigate the Take back Troy group. Several of them are not to be trusted and I'm not talking about KM.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I hope this is quick so they can throw those 2 in prison. They do not belong in society. It's too bad we don't have the death penalty.

    ReplyDelete