If it can happen to me, it can happen to anybody…
Matthew Creed of Shawnee was posting minor arrests on a Website locally. Then the guy would offer to take down people’s misdemeanor arrest mugshots if you paid him $199!
"The guy is a bottom feeder vulture," said Jay Norton, a long time Johnson County Attorney, who had clients up on the site. "The idea he was trying to help the community is a farce."
Creed started the site, blabbermouthkc.com in May. He then sent arrested folks a letter with their mugshot on it asking for the money if they wanted it removed! What is the world coming too?
It gets better…
Many of the arrests were DUI, However many more were people who failed to show up for court for like traffic tickets. And oh yeah, a funny thing called, people who were NOT GUILTY OF ANYTHING.
Meaning their cases were in error, the charges were dismissed or they were not guilty.
A year ago I was arrested on a phony, totally made up, zero evidence, assault case.
A woman fabricated a completely false story and told the cops I hit her. I was arrested, taken to jail, posted bond, paid a lawyer, took a KBI lie detector test six times (voluntarily), paid for that and then won.
The trouble is….it never happened.
But it was printed with my photo in a local similar rag called The Slammer.
You get them at Quick Trips or places like that for a buck. Luckily, it was kinda hard to find my photo because it was in an odd spot.
So while few people saw it, it was published.
I had never really looked at this magazine much before. The photos are usually awful, taken as mug shots late at night in some weird jump suit coverup to make you look guilty. Mine was just a bad headshot, I got out too fast for the jump suit outfit.
The thing is, we live in a free country where YOU ARE SUPPOSE TO BE INNOCENT until proven guilty.
I get it, if it’s a major crime, like rape or murder. But for the love of God, somebody misses a traffic court date on a parking ticket and…Yep, that counts too.
My case is an important as example of why these kinds of rags should be outlawed.
In low level cases like a simple assault, trespassing, property damage, or "he yelled at me," there is usually little if any real evidence. Yet the police, especially in Johnson County, will arrest you for almost any little thing (with no evidence) if they feel like it.
Happens daily. Why?
One reason and one only, MONEY.
The fines, the lawyers, the pre probation money, drug tests and on and on. It’s a total money machine.
And Johnson County is the worst. They don’t have very much real crime so they jump on the little stuff to make up for it. They always have, but it’s worse now.
By the way this guy Creed who published the arrests had a DUI himself in 2010. But no, that one’s not on his site. He said he was sorry he did all this, it was just for the public good. Right.
Why would you take
a lie detector test at all? They are not admissible evidence in court and all they can do is get the coppers more hot and sweaty.
It serves no pupose for ANYONE to take a lie detector test.
And, I hate to dispense fashion advice because I am by no means an expert but you need to ditch the sleeveless shirts dude.
If you are no older than 18 years old and just came home from the gym i can understand but you are supposedly a grown man. Dress like it.
And no tank tops either past the age of 20 unless you are a friend of Dorothy, my sisters had to set me straight on that one.
Never Really Understood
All the controversy over this scumbag’s website. Why would anybody pay this fucktard his “extortion” money because their misdemeanor mugshot is posted on some inconsequential website? Big deal. Are there really that many KC movers and shakers that would be that greatly affected by the obsucre posting of a 10-year old DUI mugshot that this clown could profit from?
Scorpion and the Frog
Your assaults on the English language, basic grammar, spelling and punctuation are far more aggregious than slapping some skanky ho around. Like the frog that agreed to transport the scorpion across the pond thinking the scorpion would not sting him, thereby dooming them both, any non-male, ( female or woman just doesn’t seem appropriate in this instance), getting involved with you has to be responsible for some assumption of risk.
You got lucky. Most times when you take a mug shot they make you take off your rug.
The dude is correct. The 70’s era Johnny Goombah in Bed Stuy look has been out of vogue for a while.
I thought extortion was illegal. How is this guy not arrested? I don’t think the mugshots for rape and murder should be on there either. What if someone sees that and carries out vigilante justice and the person turns out to be innocent. They should have mags showing people who are wanted fugitives as that can help provide tips to the police on their whereabouts if someone sees them. I see no good coming from what this guy was showing but it probably would fall under free speech. However, I don’t see how extorting people out of money could be legal. I would love to see what any cops or lawyers reading this think about it.
@mike
It’s not extortion since the photos and other information are already in the public domain usually on the respective websites of the sheriff or police department? All this guy was doing was doing was taking pictures off the web and aggregating them on his site making it easier for people to access. Sleezy? Yes. Illegal? No. Public service? Questionable.
I wish they would bring back John TV. The channel that showed all the guys and some gals that got busted for solicitation of prostitution. It was PRICELESS. A week wouldn’t go by when somebody I knew or knew of got busted.
@smartman
I knew showing the mugshots was legal. I didn’t know whether or not you could ask for money not to show them.
The real question
you should be asking here is why the hell any police agency has the right to post public mugshot pictures of people that are not convicted of a crime. I would question the legality of that.
smart men and glass houses
not a good idea to criticize someone’s “basic grammar, spelling and punctuation” by calling it “aggregious”
The word is egregious
@mike
Charging to take the pictures down does not fall under the definition of the tort crime of extortion. Since the photos or information are already available to the public should they wish to look for them, the theoretical damage to reputation has already been done. Broad brush stroke. In order to prove extortion you have to prove that the perpetrator is in possession of proprietary or protected confidential information that could, if released, cause specific harm to you and that they intend to profit, in some way, from the release of that information.
@gerald
I’m just a peanut in the gallery. I’m held to a lower standard. Tell your wife I said high.
i think the problem
was that the website guy published the name AND ADDRESS OF THE person charged. The newspapers
don’t put the name under the photo…just the photo and the alleged crime.
On sneeds website you could go to a map…hit the dot and the persons picture/address/birth date
would all come up so you could see which of your neighbors was thrown in jail. Thje newspapers
cost $1/about 10,000 were sold in a week and if you didn’t but the paper you wouldnt see
who the picture….the website had huge number of hits once the media picked up the story.
Glaze is right…theres lot of problems with that site…
@smartman
Thank you for the clarification on that. I guess one of the prices we pay for free speech is putting up with guys like Creed, Fred Phelps, etc., but it is still worth it even though it is abused by some people.
On a similar note…
I don’t think 911 calls should be made public. There is little public good in releasing them- mostly just rubbernecking at the tragedy type of thing. Plus it causes people to be guarded with their words when they use emergency services. Plus, 911 calls released before trial can poison a jury pool in high profile cases.
I think mugshots should be accessible only if the person is found guilty of the crime but I can see the argument of having all of them be public record since it can be a public service for people arrested on major crimes.
It’s a tricky situation, and I can see both sides. However we also need to take into account that it is not 20 years ago. Things are digital and last forever online. So people can do a lot more gawking than they used to be able to. Mugshots were a tool used by police and occasionally published in a newspaper accompanying a feature story. Now they are on TMZ and this Shawnee dude’s sleazy site.
I agree with Craig here, except in his choice to forgo sleeves yet again in photographs.
Craig’s attire
You guys should lay off Mr Glazer on his macho man sleeveless attire. I’d say it correlates exactly with the caliber of low class winch he pursues.
@ad girl,
The penut gallery at kcc may be a rogue gallery of punks and naysayers but you can’t say we do not throw out the rope of help every now and then. Helping Glazer with his wardrobe is our form of charity for the day. Good deed accomplished.
nothing new here
The police in Johnson County are so over funded that a simple misdemeanor that deserves a citation at best, becomes a police call with at least five cop cars figuring out how to turn it into an arrest. What Glaze describes as his JOCO ordeal is not unbelievable and begs the question what happens to those who don’t have the resources to fight it? Exactly what Glaze says, a mess of bond supervision that can only be seen by anybody but JOCO court system as gross overkill and punishment before the facts of the case are heard. In the end many plea out as it is the cheapest option and wind up on probation. Problem is that JOCO justice system prides itself on having the highest probation violation rates in the state.
Look it’s Snooky
Look its Snooky – 30 years later. Ya know the difference between a porcupine and a porshe. All the pricks are on the inside of a porshe.
Picture Captions:
WHAT she’s a man I paid $250 an hour for her…
I just shit my pants what do I do?
Anyone seen my growth hormone?
Big Bob’s Used Carpet
Glaze……
Take that pre-owned rug out to Big Bob and get a replacement….fast. He’s giving 30% off til July 15.