I must take a few minutes to share a word about an old friend whose murderer was caught yesterday. My friend, a fellow car dude, father, husband, grandpa, brother, best friend to some and great friend to many had his life violently taken from him four weeks ago. My friend worked in the automotive industry, owning his own repair shop he ran for 25 plus years. He has fixed more stuff on cars I've worked on and couldn't sort out than I can say grace over. He was a real stand up dude, remaining loyal to his customer base, and sometimes fixing cars for those same customers when they were broke or between jobs. He was the husband to the same woman for over 42 years. He was found by his son, a police man in our local sheriffs department, and to say he is devastated would be putting it lightly.
I live in metro Atlanta, where the crime rate and murder statistics are alive and well. Sad thing is, black on black murder and other crimes is so prevalent here, it is suppressed by the local news as much as it is by the national liberal press. I'm not sure why that is. White on black crime, on the rare occasions it occurs, is reported with venomous exuberance. Black on black crime goes mostly unnoticed as far as the news reporting agencies. Black on white crime and murder, the second highest statistical murder category, generally goes initially reported until the truth comes out as back page news in the paper. It's amazing to me that a hate crime only depends on who was doing the killing, not the poor soul who was killed. Sometimes the poor soul that was killed was a thug or a punk who ran up against a man with a carry permit and the willingness to defend himself.
My friend, the subject of today's blog, was killed in his own home. His son, the sheriffs deputy, got a call from his fathers business partner saying his father had not shown up for work that day, wasn't answering his home or cell phones, most unusual for him. His honesty and compassion, plus his quality of work and skill level meant he was never short on work. When his son drove to his fathers home, he found his dad, my friend and friend to many, stabbed to death. I've read through the years that when a killer kills with a knife, it usually only requires one or two sticks to complete the task. Any more than that means sadism and/or revenge...or worse. My buddy fought with his killer. There was evidence of a great struggle in my friends recently paid off residence, his home for thirty years. According to police reports, his final battle involved someone who must have been laying in wait for him, upset over some past infraction that was surely perpetuated by the man who came out on the short end of the struggle. But every person the press interviewed, no matter how the questions were phrased, said emphatically that my friend had no enemies. I believe that.
They caught his killer. It took a few weeks but they caught my friends murderer. It was a hate crime but won't be reported as such. A Muslim radical with a hatred for white Christians decided they would get to the land of 72 virgins by killing my friend. When captured, the killer was aloof and combative, almost sarcastic about the crime. This person said that they, as a Muslim, was required to kill the infidel. I've seen infidels in my lifetime, many in the mainstream Christian church espousing biblical wisdom and begging for money on TV. My friend was no infidel. His killer was a radical hate monger, hell bent on pleasing Allah. This person clearly stated their hatred for the United States of America, but was on the full government give away programs. Welfare, housing allowance, free food via the food stamp program, and free health care compliments of folks like my friend. Tax paying hard working citizens of this great country. My friend was on the verge of retirement. He was a happy and joy filled man. He was my friend.
R.I.P. Jerry Wheeler. You are missed.
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