Sheriff: 4 charged in Florida killings over Xbox (6 beaten to death)

[PfcHammer]

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/South/08/08/bodies.found/index.html

Sheriff: 4 charged in Florida killings over Xbox
Sunday, August 8, 2004 Posted: 10:27 AM EDT (1427 GMT)

DELTONA, Florida (CNN) -- Authorities in Deltona, Florida, have arrested and charged four people in the killings of six people in a rental home, Volusia County's sheriff said Sunday.

Sheriff Ben Johnson said the murder was organized by a man who was angry because he believed his Xbox video game system and some clothes had been stolen.

Alleged ringleader Troy Victorino, 27, has not confessed, but three teenagers Johnson said Victorino recruited to assist him have, Johnson said. The three were identified as Robert Cannon, 18; Jerone Hunter, 18; and Michael Salas, 18.

All are charged with first degree murder and armed burglary.

[Occulus]

1. While tragic

police could care less about such things. I should know; someone who was temporarily staying with me several years ago stole ALL my games, systems, and controllers, and was foolish enough to leave a signed note saying he "borrowed" them- after I repeatedly told him he could not.

I notified the police, gave them his note he wrote, and never heard another word ever again. I quoted the retail value of the games and the systems and the "detective" said he didn't think they were worth that much.

So yes, I can believe this, because the police, at least, the police here, really could not possibly care less if your game systems get ripped off. They will do precisely nothing to help you get the stuff back, and will let the people who steal such things walk away without ever even getting questioned.

[tlcandie]

2. Agree for most parg kgfnally...my son is a police officer

It seems to me that more and more they are removed from every day stuff such as this. From what I've heard they enjoy more the adrenalin pumpers and eye poppers and get very frustrated at the citizens for being called to domestic disturbances, threats, issues, whatever.

They've lost the idea or reason as to why they exist it seems and hence have lost their humility. They despise the same people who pay their salaries because (in terms I've heard so far) they are shallow, bothersome, ignorant, trailer-trash, etc.

It is truly disturbing IMO.

EDIT: Adding that if they can use force or a gun it makes their day!

[shadu]

10. ugly truth

that is sad to hear

[Downtown Hound]

20. This is unfortunately very true

At my old JC, there was a huge rash of bikes being stolen. I had a brand new $750 mountain bike stolen from me. I told the police, they took down my information, and told me about the crime wave. At the time I was writing for the college newspaper, and I inquired about doing a story on it. They basically ordered me not to, which is a complete overstepping of their bounds. They said they were trying to set up stings so they could catch the perpetrators, and they didn't want them to be tipped off. I agreed, and waited. Several months went by, and several DOZEN more bikes were stolen. The police weren't doing anything about it, and they didn't see fit to warn the students about it. So I wrote my story. The cops were furious, but guess, what, the number of bikes being stolen went way down. All they had to do was warn people, it would have been common courtesy, but they didn't, and countless struggling students lost their only mode of transportation.

That incident taught me a lot about listening to authority when the public's interest is concerned.

[shadu]

5. That was a civil matter.

What if you had, in fact, said: "You may borrow my stuff.
When doing so, please leave me a note identifying items
taken."

There was no breaking and entering.
There was no robbery at gun point.
He was living there with your permission.
He left you a note.

When you allow someone to stay with you, you are inviting
trouble. When dealing with scum, 'no good deed goes
unpunished.' I know this all too well.

[acmavm]

8. I certainly hope that you're not trying to say that you understand why

this killing is 'justified' or that you in anyway sympathize with the killers or the guy who thought they stole his game system. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt on this.

No frigging theft of ANYTHING justifies the cold blooded murder of six people. And you can't shift this onto the police either. They may not have gone out a performed a commando style raid on the suspected theives, but I don't think even the lack of that justifies these murders.

[Occulus]

14. Not at all

what I'm saying is that the police likely would have done zilch if he had notified them.

No, killing six people with aluminum bats is not justified. And another thing... if there were four people involved in the murders, why oh why didn't they just restrain the people they ended up killing instead, and searched the home?

Idiots all, and I hope they get put away for good...

[1monster]

11. In which case, you go to the District Attorney's or State Attorney's

office and file charges through them...

[FreakinDJ]

13. That is nothing

I had a Nanny i hired to watch over my kids write $7200 in checks on my account

again they refused to NOTHING about it. I even got into an argument with the detective the second time I went to the police station.

She wrote the checks out to herself and cashed them using her own ID. what could be simpler then to just go pick her up

and people wonder why these things happen

[shadu]

17. Is that crazy or what?

The bank must reimburse you for those checks.
The BANK then files criminal charges.
In essence, there is no prosecutable crime (in the eyes of the police)
until the bank says so.


Remember, banks absolutely suck ass.
They are not on your side.
Sometimes you must ride their ass pretty hard
to get them to do their job.

Did the bank reimburse you for those checks?

[FreakinDJ]

35. yes the bank did reinburse me for the checks

but later i heard friend of a friend, she had never been arrested. As the detective told me "You are not going to dictate how this case goes"

Worthless piece of shit, to think my tax dollars pay his wages

[gatlingforme]

36. What? I sappose the cops should be worried more about the x-box

than the reason why these people were killed and how could someone kill -- 6-- people over a stupid ass x-box. One thing some people must realize is that the world does not revolve around a person's x-box, games, and systems, cars for that matter, when the police are pretty happy they are not investigating a murder associated with the stolen property. Perspective is not an operative word in your assumptions.

[sendero]

38. I agree...

.. the police do not care about such property crimes. Why? Because there is simply no way they have the manpower to deal with them all. Best to not even go there.

On the other hand, this fact is not remotely justification for cold blooded murder.

[qwertyMike]

3. Tragic

What is a 27 yr old doing with an X-Box??????????
At least to the point of killing over it.

[foo_bar]

4. it's the males 8 to 30 demographic

I just bought Doom 3 and I'm over the hill.

[qwertyMike]

7. How old are you?

[foo_bar]

16. old enough to not pirate software

30, in other words.

[DrWeird]

25. How old are you?

The main demographic for video games is males in their mid-twenties. Not seven-years-old like it was twenty years ago. So you must be getting gray if you're twenty years behind the times.

[Occulus]

12. Doom3 simply rocks

I got it the day it was released. Can't stand playing it for more than fifteen minutes or so at a time, tho... that game is just heart-pounding.

Oh... wait till you get to the end. If you want an early look at the map called "hell", for example, just open the pak files in a zip program (they're just renamed zip files; you can extract and examine *all* the game assets if you like.)

Unpack the map called "hell" and all other files named "hell" from the file C:\Program Files\Doom 3\base\pak000.pk4 (said files are located in the pak\maps\ tree), start doom3, and hit ctrl-alt-tilde to bring up the console, then type "map hell" and you'll be... in hell.

Freaky scary map, that one. I went into god mode when I was there... I had to....

The final map is called "hellhole", I believe. Wanna fight a 100-foot-tall cyberdemon? Wheeeee!

[DS1]

6. Hey! I'm clinging on to 30 and I have an XBOX

Granted, I hardly ever use it, but it's got an outstanding DVD player built in :shrug:

[Occulus]

9. Probably the same things that I do

with my PS2, gaming PC, and emulators *of the systems that got ripped off from me*... not to mention the thirty or forty odd PC games I have on my shelf. And *I'm* 29. :)

Hey, I had to replace them somehow, and having them all on the same PC is just crazy-convenient.

[Doosh]

15. another "Van Sustern Story"

[cliss]

18. There is something really wrong here.

I read this article last night on Yahoo news. The article said that 6 were found killed, and it was a scene of "extreme violence".

This alleged person killed 6 people, and now we find out why. An XBox and clothes. And these were teenagers who were torn apart over stuff? Easily replaceable stuff, at that. An XBox costs, what $100?

Clothes you can get replaced for $100 at the local GW.

There is something really wrong with a society that values crap more than people.

[fishnfla]

19. the objectification of our culture

its sick, the object has more value than human life itself. In the case of these killers, a piece of worthless electronic shit (anyone who reveres these games is braindead, IMO, sorry upthreaders)is more important than their own lives, as they will be death row inmates very soon.

[Skarbrowe]

23. They also killed a little dog in the house.

Sick all the way.

Skarbrowe

[tlcandie]

24. Not that as a nation we weren't having issues before *, but it

certainly seems good reinforcement for these craven fools when you have a CiC who does the exact same thing! When you have superiors and governement leaders, etc. using death, guns, lying, cheating, stealing to do business and get your way; then, exactly how is it the culture or society around them should be any different?

We are seeing mafioso type ruling within the US and now abroad in MANY places. How they hell do you tell people that they can't do it when their own leaders are doing it and worse?

You discipline by example and out of love NOT by words and intimidation. You must have children or grandchildren in order to understand I guess.

[Swamp Rat]

21. People are killing each other over worthless pieces of plastic.

Americans are suffering from mass psychosis amplified by material fetishes.

[Occulus]

22. Why oh why didn't they settle it

in a game of Halo or something?

Oops... Halo plays on the Xbox... my bad... :silly:

[Swamp Rat]

27. What is "a game of Halo?"

Is it a non-violent game where you earn a 'halo' for doing good deeds and being kind to living things?

[DrWeird]

29. Joe Lieberman?

Is that you?

[Swamp Rat]

32. HAHAHAHA!

Now I have to clean Pilsner off of my screen! :beer: :puke: :beer:

[DrWeird]

26. Actually, it was probably worth several hundred bucks.

And people have been killing other people over stolen material goods since Ug stole Og's rather nice chunk of obsidian.

[tlcandie]

28. LoL!!!

:+

[Swamp Rat]

30. Ha! I'll take a nice piece of obsidian over plastic junk.

Ug probably ended up in Og's stomach after the cadaver was de-fleshed with a nicely shaped piece of obsidian.

[DrWeird]

31. Boy, that's an awful violent imagination you have there.

I hope you haven't been reading any books. They cause people to go out and kill people. You know, because they blur the difference between reality and fiction.

[Swamp Rat]

33. You caught me! I have thousands of books in my house, which started

to collapse due to excessive weight. Montag, please don't call the Fire Department!... what book shall I become? I have Thomas Mann's "Felix Krull" sitting in front of me. Maybe that's a good one for me since I am a picaro...

edit: still can't spell for all this reading I do.

[indepat]

34. That Xbox and those clothes will likely cost taxpayers more than $10M

in legal/incarceration costs in legally dealing with the perpetrators: Guess some folks don't care to leave this world a better place.

[sendero]

37. It's acts like these...

... that make it impossible for me to unconditionally ban the death penalty. Premeditated, heinous multiple murder of people in their sleep. I would pull the switch myself, and the "but how does that solve anything" people can stuff it :)

[milkyway]

39. "Xbox Killings"-would CNN feel better if they got killed for a television?