Vernon Police Seize 27 Pounds of Marijuana

[y10kiscoming]

An article on page 5 of today's Journal Inquirer describes the event that happened last night. The article makes you think they saw him speed and then stop him. But I was listening... they watched him as he left his house and had multiple officers following him, waiting for him to break a law so they could do a traffic stop. Is that legal? It really seems to border on entrapment.

Anyways, it says it was done with the help of the East Central Narcotics Task Force (whom were searching the guys house). Anyone know what frequencies they are using?

On a semi-unrelated note, Vernon Police Dispatch now has an MDC ANI (0001 0002 and 0003 have been seen so far).. any idea if this was a simple upgrade or did they get a new console or what?

-Mark

 

[andy404ns]

It's not entrapment because the police did not coerce him into doing something illegal. They can follow you all they want, especially if they are suspicious of something. What they can't do is pull you over for no reason, although... going one mile an hour over the speed limit is against the law, so what may seem like no reason, well you get the idea. If the task force had reason to believe that this person was going to be transporting drugs, and they could not obtain a warrant in time, following him and waiting for him to break the law is the next best thing. This way, they can possibly pull him over and seize the drugs and if not, they can at least keep on eye on where the drugs are going. After all, they have an obligation to the public to take the drugs off the street. Wish I was home to hear the bust. As for your questions about the Vernon dispatch thing, I have no idea.

 

[y10kiscoming]

Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Especially since it seems they had this all set up. I hereby retract my statement about entrapment. Hopefully they will not follow law-abiding citizens (like me!) waiting for them to screw up, though. If they really get so bored that they feel like doing that they can come by my house for a few days and ticket some of these damn people who think stop signs are "GO FASTER AND DONT STOP" signs.

-Mark

 

[PJH]

Stopping the vehicle for a violation can potentionally establish PC to get into the car. If they knew 100% that something will be in there (with enough advance notice) they would go for a warrant.

Its just easier to stop the vehicle. If you smell the drug or see something inside, then you get most of the car without a warrant (unless a search is consented by the driver or certain other factors).

That's just the quick skinny.

I will tell you, that if you have 27 pounds of pot in the car, you could smell it a mile away, not matter how well you package it. The stink just stays on everything.

 

[andy404ns]

Y10 and others - I was going to say earlier that I have a lot of trouble picking up Vernon PD Dispatch. Sometimes its clear and sometimes really crummy. And I live in south windsor, the next town over. After doing some research, I realized that Watertown PD in Litchfield county uses the same frequency. Turns out I was picking up both channels. Obviously Watertown was weak and Vernon was strong. So, after putting in the PL's, the problem is solved and I only get Vernon loud and clear now. I just keep getting amazed by what I'm picking up with my new antenna!

 

[y10kiscoming]

Y10 and others - I was going to say earlier that I have a lot of trouble picking up Vernon PD Dispatch. Sometimes its clear and sometimes really crummy. And I live in south windsor, the next town over. After doing some research, I realized that Watertown PD in Litchfield county uses the same frequency. Turns out I was picking up both channels. Obviously Watertown was weak and Vernon was strong. So, after putting in the PL's, the problem is solved and I only get Vernon loud and clear now. I just keep getting amazed by what I'm picking up with my new antenna!

Yes. My main scanner has no PL capability, and every once and a while I get some really scratchy transmission. All it has for an antenna is a RS telescoping. The clip that last the longest was a morse ID. It spelled out "PASSPORT". Not sure if this is Watertown or not. Vernon PD comes in super loud and clear for me -- even without an antenna.

Out of curiosity, what new antenna do you have? I'm getting ready to purchase a Scantenna. Also out of curiosity, how well does the Vernon BOE LTR come in for you?

-Mark

 

[andy404ns]

Mark - I just purchased a RS 20-176 aka Sputnik. I didn't have the capability to mount it on my chimney (my mom won't let me...) so I went with an attic mount. I don't have any reflective insulation up there and it is all wood construction so I figured it wouldn't make much of a difference. It's right above my bedroom so I am lucky that I only have to use a 25ft run of RG-6 for the connection. Unfortunately, I had to use two different adapters to connect the whole setup so there might be some minor signal loss there. So far I am very pleased with how it's working out. I pick up Berkshire County Fire Dispatch now which is on the same frequency as Hartford Fire Simulcast. I also just picked up Prospect Fire (out of New Haven CTY) because they operate on Springfield, MA main Fire frequency. Like I said before, those PL tones are really coming in handy!! I never realized the benefit until now. I don't know if what you heard was from Watertown or not because I can't translate morse code. Do you do that yourself or is it set up in your scanner?
As for the Vernon BOE LTR system, I don't have it programmed in right now. I did program when it first made its appearance in the RR database but I was only home for a few days and didn't hear much action. I will reprogram it and leave my scanner on tracking mode to see what I pick up. I'll get back to you tomorrow so that I can listen to it while school is in session.
In regards to the Scantenna, much has been written in these forums about the 20-176 versus the Scantenna. After reviewing all of the comments before I made my desicion, it seemed that the Scantenna received slightly better reviews (although not one person had a negative review for either antenna!). The price works out to be about the same since the Scantenna has the cable and adapters included whereas the 20-176 does not. What made the difference for me was the height. The scantenna is something like 108 inches tall. This would not have mattered if I was mounting on the chimney, but I didn't have that kind of space available in my attic. If you have the space available, I would say go with the Scantenna. If for no other reason, we can compare what we're picking up! I'll get back to you about the BOE system tomorrow or the day after.
Andy

 

[andy404ns]

Just a quick update - I left my scanner on tracking mode for a few hours today and did not get a single hit on the Vernon BOE system. To be fair, though, it is Sunday so I'll try again tomorrow while I'm at work.
I talked to some PD guys today and they told me that the narcotics team uses their own set of dedicated frequencies sometimes, and uses the regular dispatch frequencies others. They also told me that they don't give them out so that people can't listen in on them. AKA so the drug dealers don't get a heads up.

 

[y10kiscoming]

Just a quick update - I left my scanner on tracking mode for a few hours today and did not get a single hit on the Vernon BOE system. To be fair, though, it is Sunday so I'll try again tomorrow while I'm at work.

Yeah. I wouldn't expect to hear much at all on a Sunday.

I talked to some PD guys today and they told me that the narcotics team uses their own set of dedicated frequencies sometimes, and uses the regular dispatch frequencies others. They also told me that they don't give them out so that people can't listen in on them. AKA so the drug dealers don't get a heads up.

Doesn't mean we can't find them ourselves!

Although, I would expect them to be low-power anyways so the chances of hearing them would be slim to begin with.

-Mark

 

[dcg729]

Its hard being a player

And its hard to drive forward when you are spending all your time looking in the rearview mirror. I am delighted they were able to get 27 pounds off the street, This is not a victimless crime , has never been .
Too many familys are shattered by this behavior, the perps thinkl its nobodys business what they do with their lives untill they are caught, then the first person they call is Daddy .
Sorry for the rant. Not radio related so I will hush.

 

[andy404ns]

Rant appreciated... I feel the same way!

Mark - here's what I got for Monday from 8am to 8pm on the Vernon BOE LTR system:

0-01-020 Maintenance 1 64 hits (last one transmitted at 2:11 pm)
0-01-039 Maple St. Elementary 5 hits (last one transmitted at 10:38 am)
0-01-025 Rockville High 1 4 hits (last one transmitted at 12:55 pm)
0-01-036 North East Elementary 3 hits (last one transmitted at 11:55 pm)
0-01-022 Unknown TG 2 hits (last one transmitted at 7:46 pm)

I only heard a few of them and they were all on the maintenace 1 talk group. They came in loud and clear. Hope this helps and good luck with the scanner!
Andy