Sandra Bullock's story reflects how threats to women not taken seriously

[theHandpuppet]

So here's a deranged guy who's stalked Sandra Bullock, scaled a fence topped with barbed wire to invade her home, was found to possess an arsenal of weapons including machine guns -- and according to this morning's news reports, he's now out on bail.

Pardon my French, but WHAT THE FUCK is wrong with this picture??? At least Sandra can afford private security (thank goodness) but what about the millions of women out there who can't, who must sweat it out day after day, terrified that the men who threaten them will show up at their house, their workplace et al? How many women in this country die every year at the hands of a pissed off stalker, ex-husband, boyfriend? How many are murdered even after they were granted restraining orders?

When will threats to women be taken seriously in this society? WHEN?

http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/15/showbiz/celebrity-news-gossip/sandra-bullock-stalker/
Sandra Bullock came face-to-face with stalker in her own home
By Todd Leopold, CNN
Tue July 15, 2014

In another twist, the intruder was carrying a notebook featuring photographs of Bullock and a number of handwritten notes, the TMZ story said. One of them read, "I will forever be thinking of you and (Bullock's son) Louie, my son, as you are my wife by law, the law of God and you belong to me and me to you."...

...Police said they later searched Corbett's Montrose, California, house and found "an arsenal of weapons" that included a half-dozen illegal machine guns.

The finding of the weapons led to 19 felony counts, including seven counts of possession of a machine gun, two counts of possession of an assault weapon and 10 counts of possession of a destructive device, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office told CNN last month.

Corbett pleaded not guilty after the initial charges were filed. After the added counts, his bail was increased from $185,000 to $2.2 million. The charges carry a potential maximum of 12 years in prison if Corbett is convicted, Deputy District Attorney Wendy Segall told CNN last month.... MORE at link posted above.

[mikeysnot]

1. Only 12 years for stalking, threatening and

having illegal arms.... now if they only found a bunch of pot plants in his back yard he would be gone for ever...

[magical thyme]

10. somebody should sneak into his back yard, plant some

and then call the cops on him.

[catbyte]

2. WOW--the guy is out on bail? Even if he only had to pay 10%, that's $220K.

[theHandpuppet]

3. He should have been refused bail.

There's no way this armed lunatic should have a chance of being set loose on the streets.

[catbyte]

4. That's for sure! At the very least, I hope they confiscated all of his guns. Yikes.

[nomorenomore08]

43. No shit. Somebody *really* screwed up here. n/t

[heaven05]

5. evidently he has a good lawyer

and lot's of money, unless bail was reduced considerably. Which would be a travesty of justice in and of itself. What is it with this justice system that so flawed and corrupted. It seems like it's getting worse and worse for people who are the victims in cases like ms.Bullocks. Is it republican justices extending their war on women and affirming male rights to domination of all creatures and peoples on this planet. Just what is it?

[magical thyme]

7. where did you see that he is out on bail? nt

[theHandpuppet]

8. Heard it on NBC news this morning.

I was stunned.

Edited to add... haven't been able to find a print source for this since I heard the news this morning. If anyone finds one or some other confirmation source, please post.

[tridim]

9. I've been stalked by a woman.

It absolutely SUCKED, and there was nothing I could do about it legally because it wasn't taken seriously by the authorities, or even the authority at my workplace. It continued for months until I moved out of state.

I don't want to diminish what is happening to Sandra Bullock, but please don't make the mistake of thinking this only happens one way.

[hamsterjill]

11. I'm female, and I've seen this happen myself.

It goes both ways and threats to anyone should be taken seriously, particularly nowadays.

I'm wonder in Sandra Bullock's case, if the authorities have forgotten the killing of Rebecca Schaeffer:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca_Schaeffer

[cyberswede]

39. I was just thinking of the Schaeffer case. That made me very sad at the time.

She was so young.

[boston bean]

12. FFS who made the mistake of thinking this happens only one way?

No one.

I'm so sick of that type of comment, diminishing the very real and overwhelming issue this is for women.

I'm gonna stop there, but my fucking brain going to explode!

[theHandpuppet]

13. +100

Every word you said.

[tridim]

14. The authorities in my state and former workplace for starters.

But thank you for stopping, since you apparently don't understand that "stalking" is the issue, regardless of gender.

[boston bean]

15. Really, you think women are taken more seriously and men have it worse somehow.

Thanks for enlightening me more to the actual meaning of your posting.

[tridim]

20. Nope. Never said that or even thought it.

I think stalking isn't taken seriously, regardless of gender.

Putting sick words into peoples mouths is a horrible thing, bean. Disgusting.

[boston bean]

23. Who put words in whose mouth?

Read what you wrote:

since you apparently don't understand that "stalking" is the issue, regardless of gender.

When did I say that?

[Polly Hennessey]

31. and one, two, three, start arguing

Never fails, no intelligent discussion just ----- now let's all start --- one, two, three, argue.

Ummmm, your brain is going to explode --- is that a good thing or a bad thing? Here we go --one, two, three, start arguing.

[hlthe2b]

34. So, your one and only post in this group is this?

Obviously, you have earned your block from this group.

Ugly, rude, and very deserving of a jury hide, but unfortunately, well, we know juries lately....

[theHandpuppet]

35. And you're contributing so much to the discussion

One has to wonder why you bothered to stop by.

[sheshe2]

52. Only to stir the pot, theHandpuppet.

On another thread a few nights ago many posters thought it was a badge of honor to be blocked from two groups, HoF and BOG. They bragged about being blocked ( as they whined) and several said they would post just so they could get blocked. Go figure.

Hope you feel better soon~

[AtheistCrusader]

16. For those unlawfully converted guns, he should be in federal custody.

What the hell. That's a 10 year/100,000 fine per gun felony.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

27. yep.

[2banon]

17. Out on Bail. Just Jaw Dropping..

[Scott6113]

18. The thread seems to advocate

No bail for stalkers. Tough cases make bad law. It can take years to get to trial. Can we afford to lock them all up? Want to defund schools to do it? Increase taxes?

I'd advocate house arrest, a cuff and gun confiscation. Prison is too expensive pre-trial.

[theHandpuppet]

21. Stalking is bad enough

Add on home invasion and an illegal arsenal of weapons and I'd say he's passed the threshhold for house arrest.

[SoCalNative]

28. If he's able to make bail

then maybe HE should pay to be kept in prison up to and during trial. They can start by seizing his assets and selling them.

[MoonchildCA]

38. We could afford it...

...if we decriminalized drugs.

[kcr]

42. End the war on drugs and there will be plenty of space and money n/t

[Scott6113]

47. I agree

That home invasion makes house arrest look too weak, but just out on bail is weaker still. We can't abandon presumption of innocence though. There be dragons. And, a free society is not as safe as a police state. How badly do you want freedom?

[kcr]

48. Agreed on all points

We can't abandon presumption of innocence. I think bail should only be denied when it's clear the defendant is a danger. The focus on drug offenses at the expense of dealing with violent crimes that actually do endanger the public needs to stop.

[theHandpuppet]

50. You don't think itis clear the defendant is a danger?

I hope I'm misinterpreting your post.

[kcr]

51. Yes, of course

He shouldn't have been denied bail. I was talking about how violent crimes are placed below drug crimes in importance in our justice system.

[zentrum]

19. Where is the news that he's out?

I'm reading that the bail is 2.2M and therefore too high for him to pay. That's why they make it so high---as a ploy to keep him locked up until trial.

But without an actual trial, we can't just keep him in jail. Do you have more or different information on this than than CCN report?

But all your points are right on point.

[theHandpuppet]

22. Would like more sources, for sure

I have a tremendously miserable cold this morning or I'd do a thorough search for additional sources. Other than hearing the news on NBC this morning that he had been released on bail, this is the only other source I've found for him being released on bail:
http://www.today.com/video/today/55657113/#55657113

If you can sit through the weather report, that is.

Now I need another box of tissues. Damn cold.

[PoliticAverse]

33. I watched the video and didn't hear any mention of him being out on bail. n/t

[theHandpuppet]

36. It's now been edited out

The portion where they discuss him being out on bail was at the end of that news report and you can see they've cut it out (the edit is pretty obvious). Apparently they discovered their initial report of him being out on bail was in error. Thanks for checking that out.

[zentrum]

40. Get better soon!

Wonder how he raised so much money so fast.

[PoliticAverse]

30. It doesn't make sense that he would be out since he couldn't make the bail when it was much less.

($185,000 initially vs $2,185,000 now).

[zentrum]

41. Exactly! n/t

[LynneSin]

24. Anyone who doesn't take this seriously only needs to remember Rebecca Shaeffer

Cute girl, she has a promising acting career as one of the stars of 'My Sister Sam' TV series back in the late 80s.

She had a stalker, he stalked her for 3 years.

The stalking 'ended' when he shot her point blank at her house in 1989.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca_Schaeffer#Death

Another notable case was Theresa Saldana
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theresa_Saldana#Stalking_incident

She survived luckily but was brutally stabbed by her stalker.

[nomorenomore08]

44. People need to realize that this is what stalking behavior can lead to, unchecked.

The authorities need to consider, in all such cases, that the victim's life may be at stake.

[Crabby Appleton]

25. I think you're confused, he's not out on bail

He's been in LA County Jail since his arrest on June 8th. His bail amount is currently set at $2,185,000.

[theHandpuppet]

37. NBC news reported this morning he was out on bail

They obviously found their report was in error because the only online source I could find has been crudely edited to remove the discussion of him being released on bail.

I wasn't confused -- you can blame that on NBC.

[nomorenomore08]

45. I'm crossing my fingers that this is true. n/t

[Crabby Appleton]

46. The LA County Jail inmate locator has him listed as a current inmate

The OP apparently heard an erroneous report on TV about this case. He doesn't have anywhere near enough money/assets to make bail.

Can't link directly to the info below, but this is a copy & paste from inmate locator (note: some of the columns don't align well on copy & paste)

(The information was current as of: 07/17/2014 02:33 PST)


Booking No.: 3997436 Last Name: CORBETT First Name: JOSHUA Middle Name: JAMES

Sex: M Race: W Date Of Birth: 06/04/1975 Age: 39 Hair: BRO Eyes: HAZ Height: 600 Weight: 220

Charge Level: F (Felony)

ARREST
Arrest Date: 06/08/2014 Arrest Time: 0645 Arrest Agency: 4208 Agency Description: LAPD-WLA DIVISION

Date Booked: 06/08/2014 Time Booked: 1059 Booking Location: 4273 Location Description: LAPD - JAIL DIVISION

BAIL
Total Bail Amount: 2,185,000.00 Total Hold Bail Amount: 0.00 Grand Total: 2,185,000.00

HOUSING LOCATION
Housing Location: TTCF

Permanent Housing Assigned Date: 06/26/2014 Assigned Time: 0040 Visitor Status: 1

Facility: TWIN TOWERS CORRECTIONAL FACILITY
Address: 450 BAUCHET STREET City: LOS ANGELES

Public Visiting Guidelines Facility Visiting Schedule

For County facility visiting hours, Please call [phone] at Inmate Information Center.

COURT
Next Court Code: M38 Next Court Date: 08/21/2014 Next Court Time: 0830 Next Court Case: BA42588001

Court Name: LOS ANGELES MUNI CT DIV 38
Court Address: 210 W. TEMPLE STREET Court City: LOS ANGELESUPT

RELEASE
No Information On Release Date.

CASE INFORMATION
Case No. Court Name Court Address Court City Bail Amt. Fine Amt. Court Date Sent. Date Sent. Day(s) Disp Code
BA426151RM 0 .00 06/18/2014 0
BA42588001 185,000.00 .00 08/21/2014 0
BA42615101 2,000,000.00 .00 08/21/2014 0
Click on specific Case No. for detailed information.

[nomorenomore08]

49. Okay, good. Thanks for the info.

[CBGLuthier]

26. Do they not remember Rebecca Schaeffer?

In July 1989, Schaeffer was fatally shot in the doorway of her Los Angeles apartment building by Robert John Bardo. Bardo was obsessed with Schaeffer and had been stalking her for three years.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca_Schaeffer

[PoliticAverse]

29. It appears it was taken very seriously.

The guy was arrested, police investigated and obtained a warrant to search his premises
where they say they found some illegal weapons. He has apparently been in custody since
his arrest with his bail being set now to more than $2 million.

[bpj62]

32. High School Classmate

I went to High School with Sandra Bullock. This is really a frightening situation because what if he had a gun on him when he hopped the fence. I have a friend who broke off a relationship with a women and she has been stalking him ever since. The police don't take it seriously because he is a big guy and she appears to be harmless. Stalking only leads to bad things.