Prominent Businessmans’ Kid Robbed and Shot

… A parents’ worse nightmare  ….. the phonecall, your kid has been shot in an armed robbery !!

 

cooprobber

 

…… The parents are Caldwell and Susan Cooper, and they are the owner/ operators of

 

coopbldg

 ….. Cooper Properties, the largest rental property company ( and biggest residential tax payer) in Fort Lauderdale …  

 

… They got the call last night about 8pm – “Dad, I just got robbed and they shot me” , a sentence that make the biggest brute weak at the knees….. “But I’m OK”, 15 year old- tenth grader Joseph Cooper added…..

….. Joseph, on Thanksgiving break from Cardinal Gibbons, was hanging out in Rio Vista with his buddies Nick and Michael  …. They were walking the dog down to the Ponce De Leon park when a “old Chevy Trailblazer” pulled up next to them  …. “They had on hoodies and bandanas with a red skull cap, and at first we thought they were some friends just screwing around”, said Joseph …. They said “give us your stuff, and just seconds later he shot me!” ….

 

coopkid1

 

….Having been trained with guns from a younger age, Joseph knew the gun was a pellet gun the driver had shot him with, but he saw a long gun in the lap of the passenger  …”I was gushing blood” , Joseph said …. They took off and the three friends ran for home  ….. They called home  …”Mom was flippin out”, Joseph said  ….

….   The parents were there in minutes and rushed Joseph to Broward General to take out the pellets and stitch up the wound …..  Joseph, a typical 15 year old, took a “snapchat” of the wound and sent it to friends  ….  “It hurt more this morning than yesterday”, he quipped ….

… The robbers, one white, one black, were from Plantation, ( a 17 year old and an 18 year old) and had attempted other robberies in Rio Vista that night and were caught later that night by FLPD ….

 

coopflpd

…. Joseph says the robbers are being charged with armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon, the 18 year old as an adult   ….  “the world is flat out crazy”, Joseph finished …..

………………   no kidding, I thought !

 

 

Problems Solved !

… On our last post, we pointed out 2 problems that needed immediate attention in our City, and I’m happy to report that within a week, both problems were solved !

…..  It took a village, so to speak, but that’s a good thing  …

….. The biggest group effort was the pile of garbage that made up a homeless encampment near that really cool “little red caboose” on Sunrise Boulevard behind Home Depot. The problem had been brewing for nearly 6 months, and made the city look like a dump!

cemexstart

…. The City was worried about the new homeless rulings, the Cemex plant thought it was a Police responsibility, the neighborhood just complained  .

…but then   … ACTION !

…..  cemexcoop1

…A tough group of volunteers ( including Cooper Properties pictured above) showed up at 9 this morning to dismantle the encampment   …. A really great Policeman, Sgt. Jamie Costas, had visited the camp the night before and told the inhabitants (including murderer “Jack” – who served 20 years for murdering his wife). that the camp would be going away in the morning …. ( Costas says “Jack” was understanding, and his personal things were gone this morning along with Jack).

cemexdean1

… Commissioner Dean Trantalis (pictured above leaning on rake), and City Manager Feldman worked quickly to arrange for Republic Industries to volunteer pick-up of the refuse …

cemexgroup1

…Let’s just say that Republic has their work cut out for them…

…..   Thank you to the dozen volunteers that made it happen, because in the end –

cemextim1

…..   no garbage, and nowhere left to hide !

……… ( oh yea, the defaced People pictures on the County building has also been removed)  …

 

 

 

 

2 things 2 fix !!!

# 1

2things3

 

……    I love these  People Pictures ….. don’t you ?     …..  we’e seen them at Fort  Lauderdale High School, etc.,   but here’s my question  ….. what kind of animal did  this to these pics  ? …  this 40 person stretch of pics of  our fellow citizens on the County building downtown has been destroyed …. Shouldn’t  we just knee- cap the fool that did this ?

…  I hope the pics can be replaced  ….let’s not just give in!

#2

2things2

 

…. This is the trashed out lot next to that really cool little red caboose on Sunrise Boulevard  by Home Depot.

 

2things1

 

…. Some like to blame the Caboose, but there is no garbage at the train, only next to it in front of the Cemex Cement plant  ……

…. Why can’t we stop this prolific homeless person from living next to the  caboose with all his tons of trash ???

…….  2 things 2 fix  ….

 

 

 

 

 

The People Win !!!

…… It’s nice to see the little guy win once in a while ! ……  Story follows !

…… For years, the South Middle River Neighborhood (north of Sunrise Boulevard, west of Andrews)  has been amazingly burdened by a juvenile delinquent boys’ home.  

crescentjuv 

 

    ….The facility,  funded by the State of Florida, is so poorly run, that when a burglary occurs in the neighborhood, the Police just automatically go to the facility –  the Crescent House.

 

crescent

 

…….. The House (actually a collection of apartments) has produced so much crime over the last 6 years, that the City took the unusual step of asking a Judge last month to declare the facility a nuisance, so they can shut it down. The move is important, and possibly even precedent setting. At the hearing, about 50 neighbors showed up in red shirts and pleaded with the Judge to shut it down. They testified about finding burglars in their homes, drug paraphernalia in the swale, brawls in the intersections.

…. On the other side of the aisle were high priced attorneys for the State and the facility, decrying the move, saying it should be kept open for the “children”.

….One such “child”, Cedric Camper, now 19, had racked up 53 felony charges while living at the “house”, no kidding ! He was finally shipped up state, but other young criminals filled the void.

…. Now the good news !  …. Word has it that on Monday,  the Judge will indeed declare the facility a nuisance and against the area zoning, which should be enough to close the facility. Appeals are expected, but this is a big win for South Middle River, and the city of Fort Lauderdale.

…..  The neighborhood deserves major recognition for staying after it all these years, not giving up,  and their leader in the fight, Sal Gatanio, should just be declared a saint !

 

crescentsal

Sal