Fighting Back against Thugs

Save Fairfield; Fight the Filth

The Other Side, June 30, 2011 Kelvin Wade

I’m outraged. On Tuesday night, three young black men in a brown or tan Honda-like vehicle robbed and killed the 70-year-old owner of the Travis Dairy, which was the former Holland Dairy. Our hearts go out to the victim’s family. Three young men against a 70-year-old man? You jackasses couldn’t just take the money and leave?

Sadly this past January two young thugs robbed the owner at gunpoint. Fortunately, they were arrested. At least he escaped with his life then. It’s an outrage that a man described as gentle and loving is no longer here but his waste-of-a-human-body killers are walking around sharing our air.

I’m hopeful the scumbags who did this will be apprehended. First, there are three guys. That’s three mouths that aren’t going to be able to stay closed. Someone is going to tell a friend what they did and it’s going to get around. And if we catch one, there’s no honor among thieves. One of the biggest assets any community has is that, fortunately, criminals aren’t usually MENSA members.

The second reason I’m optimistic is the performance of Fairfield Police, especially now that they have a new more efficient dispatch center. Ever since Police Chief Walt Tibbet came aboard last year it seems the department has been more focused and responsive.

I somehow offended the last police chief by saying I wanted a department that would put a ‘boot on the neck’ of criminals. So let’s just say we should be glad we have a department dedicated to laying the smack down on dirtbags.

We’ve seen the results in recent events like a high-speed chase from Vallejo that ended here. There was the Quincy Lane pipe-bombing suspect that Fairfield PD investigated and apprehended. And there was the shootout last weekend with a suspect in an apartment building that quite likely saved a 19-year-old girl’s life.

The third reason I’m hopeful the animals in the Travis Dairy robbery and homicide will be caught is the public. It was the public’s tips in the pipe bombing case that led to the arrest of suspect Daniel Garcia. And someone is going to recognize these assailants from their description or from what they hear on the street. These losers have nowhere to go.

My brother Tony writes a column called “Back in the Day” where he looks at old Fairfield haunts with the remembrances of folks on the “I Grew Up In Fairfield Too…” Facebook page. Holland Dairy has been mentioned several times on the page and may be a future topic for the column.

While it’s a great forum for current and past residents to remember Fairfield, there has been some talk about crime. Some people left Fairfield because they saw it becoming too much like Richmond or Vallejo. It doesn’t have to be that way.

Be vigilant. It’s not just up to the police. It’s our eyes and ears and testimony and involvement that makes the difference whether this town will be safe for kindly old men to do business or safe for thugs to conduct their sleazy business.

It’s not inevitable that we become the next Richmond. Residents don’t have to flee. With partnership between law enforcement, the public and organizations such asPAL and the Matt Garcia Youth Center, years from now maybe people will look back on Fairfield the way we look back on Fairfield now. Never stop fighting the filth. Peace.

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ADDITIONAL NOTES: The initial reports were that the three men who robbed Ho Kim's Travis Dairy were black. It comes out that Mr. Kim told police they were white. Race is obviously not a factor in the crime itself. We just want to make sure we get the right guys who did this. It appears that they assaulted and pepper sprayed this gentle older man and he had a heart attack and died. Now the scumbags who did this most likely didn't intend to kill Mr. Kim. But that's what you're risking when you assault a 70 year old man. You've got a death in the commission of a felony, that's felony murder. Three teenagers just threw their lives away in a matter of minutes.

It's been a rough week in Fairfield-Suisun. Officer involved shooting in Fairfield, robbery/homicide at Travis Dairy, officer involved shooting death in Suisun, bus crash that leaves one dead and several injured in Suisun. And we have the 4th of July weekend coming up.

Be vigilant. Be aware. Like I said, it's not inevitable that any community has to continue a slide into lawlessness. I like the effective aggressiveness of the Fairfield Police Department. Former Cief Rainey and some local ministers were upset when I said police need to put a boot on the neck of criminals. He thought I was advocating police brutality. Ridiculous. I'm all for the Police Activities League, Matt Garcia Youth Center and other efforts to give young people alternatives. That's an important part of crime prevention. But for the thugs, the predators who are out there preying on people just trying to make a living, screw them. I want aggressive law enforcement.

I hope everyone has a safe, festive holiday weekend. I think we've had our fill of tragedy.