MAJOR NORM BELSON, INC.

Happy 4th of July folks. Jane and I hope that all are enjoying the holiday and the freedoms that we enjoy, if not take for granted, in this wonderful country of ours. A final thought in regard to our freedom -- 'Freedom Is Not Free' and never has been! Politicians, lawyers and the courts do not guarantee our freedom and never have. It is the sacrifice, loyalty, dedicated service and patriotism of our military that still does and always has guaranteed our freedom! Jane and I have two sons, Joe & Brian, on active duty as careerists, our daughter Dana who formerly served in the US Army Reserve and our son-in-law Brett who is a Coast Guard reservist as well as an FBI agent. By the way, please don't forget the many sacrifices of the families of our service members because they also serve!

A 27-year-old-man driving a sedan inadvertently cuts off a 25-year-old and his 22-year-old brother who are driving an SUV. The brothers follow the sedan driver to his home and then hit him in the head with a flashlight and beat him. The 27-year-old pulls a knife and stabs the 25-year-old in the chest. No charges have been filed. The lesson is this -- you have no idea of the intentions, limitations and capabilities of your attackers. I have to presume that the victim (the 27-year-old) probably knew that he was being followed and went HOME! Remember the rules -- if you think you are being followed, don't go home or any other location that you frequent but do seek lights and people. If you are not sure that you are being followed, make four right turns, the most simple counter surveillance technique, to verify. If you are being followed or think you are being followed, call *FHP and maintain contact until you receive assistance.

This occurred in Miami about 12:20AM. The customer starts a verbal dispute with a female cashier at a Wendy's restaurant. The drive through customer insisted that he receive 10 packets of chili sauce. The manager went into the parking lot to speak with the irate customer as well as give him the extra chili sauce and was then shot multiple times -- over freaking chili sauce! Once again you don't know who you are dealing with combined with the simple fact that the scumbag attacker will always determine the date, time, location, nature and duration of the attack! Why not just call the police?

A 37-year-old picnicker is gathering firewood near the Oak Park center playground for a Memorial Day gathering. An unknown male scumbag walks up to the picnicker and says "you're not from around here, you need to get out of here" and then shoots the picnicker in the arm! Dadgum, the only defense from this type of random violence is not to go to Oak Park to collect firewood without a SWAT team! The shooter is still running loose and this nut job's motive unknown. Fortunately, the victim was neither severely wounded or killed.

Armed robberies and abductions are unfortunately a routine fact of life. How about an armed robbery and abduction at Walt Disney World? Two 20-year-old tourists finished a shopping trip at Disney World and were walking in the parking lot about midnight when approached by three men in a black VW Jetta. They were forced into the vehicle at gunpoint, driven to an ATM and forced to withdraw cash, beaten and the male tourist pistol whipped when he fought back. Neither victim was seriously injured but it seems to me that there was a major security breach by Disney World. It might be a good idea that if you are at a major tourist attraction after normal hours that you request a security escort. Oh, by the way, were there security cameras in the parking lot and how about their roving security patrols? Once again -- the victims were on their own! I am a little surprised that Disney World even acknowledged the attack on their property -- they are usually very protective of their reputation as a safe family venue. I guess that is why a very violent, vicious home invasion robbery that occurred in the Celebration housing area went unreported a few years ago. I know that for a fact because I trained the victims, both doctors, in the use of firearms and assisted with the installation of Mylar GlasGard by Tony Davis, President of Glass Protection Services, Inc.

A 40-year-old man, read scumbag, is insulting and harassing a woman at a Safety Harbor bar on June 2, 2007. A 54-year-old good Samaritan attempts to go the aid of the woman. The scumbag strikes him, the victim hits the floor and goes into a coma. Of course, the cockroach flees into the night. He is later arrested and charged with Aggravated Battery. The charge then becomes Manslaughter when the victim dies June 12. Once again, no good deed goes unpunished. The victim did not intend to die that day and the scumbag did not intend to kill that day but that was the way it ended! Why not call the police? Why did the woman not leave the bar? Remember, it is always easier to avoid it than to extricate yourself from it! I am absolutely positive that alcohol had nothing to do with the sequence of events. Yeah -- right!

I hate to read about 'STUPID DISCHARGES' because every dadgum one is absolutely, totally, completely preventable! The first incident involved a 27-year-old female and her 28-year-old boy friend. They spent the previous day shooting their weapons in a field and then stayed awake all night playing Playstation. The male got up about 1PM to take out their pit bulls and saw her .357 laying on the floor. She was somewhat awake so he picked up the revolver by the handle and handed it to her and then turned to allegedly leave the house with the dogs and heard the shot. He stated that as he was handing her the gun, apparently and logically with his finger on the trigger, one of the dogs pulled him. He heard the shot and returned to the woman's side and found the female with bullet in her head! There was a possibly similar situation at Tarpon Springs High some years ago. A 16-year-old boy brought a stolen gun to school and was showing it to his friends while they were sitting in a jeep. One boy had the gun in his hand and finger on the trigger. Another boy grabbed the gun by the barrel and tried to pull the gun away from the first boy -- the second boy was shot in the chest and killed. Of course, just my nature to be suspicious since I am not involved this investigation and only have an educated opinion! The second one is much worse since the first event involved alleged adults with a fair amount of experience with firearms and this death was that of a 12-year-old boy in Bradenton. According to the police report, the 12-year-old boy was showing the gun to his 12- and 13-year-old cousins in his grandmother's home about 12:15PM. The cousins left the house and heard a gunshot. The 12-year-old then collapsed on his front lawn suffering from a fatal gunshot wound to his upper torso. Of course charges may follow! Who owned the frigging gun and how did the boy get the gun? He apparently lived there so the gun owner, if also a resident, had a definitive duty to the state as well as the boy in accordance with FSS790.174 to prevent minors, 15 years of age and younger, from access to loaded firearms without adult supervision if the minor is in the home with either license or invitation. If this firearm belonged to an adult member of that household, they deserve to be in prison! Simply stated -- Book 'em Danno! Lock them up folks -- don't become an instant scumbag too!

Two scumbags enter a convenience store and held a gun to the head of the 34-year-old owner, steal cash, lottery tickets and surveillance equipment and then flee the scene. The owner goes in pursuit with his gun in his hand. One scumbag drives away in a maroon Ford Taurus while the other, a 48-year-old career felon, continues on foot. The owner fires four to six shots apparently after the fleeing scumbag pointed a gun at him. The scumbag was hit in an arm and the abdomen and then held at gunpoint until the police arrived. A witness stated that the owner "... was shooting him as he was running after him." This will be interesting vis a vis the Tampa restaurant owner who chased down and ran over a fleeing armed robber with his SUV. That owner was acquitted finally but it took almost three years and a pot full of money combined with the absence of a key prosecution witness at trial. I understand the owner's sentiment in both cases but Holy Cow, Batman, is it worth it? I wonder if the store owner ever considered the possibility of collateral damage and the impact that would have on his future? Probably not my friends! You have to remember that your basic goal is go home to your family alive and completely intact. Once the bad guys leave, the threat has been eliminated. Once you give chase, you may be deemed the offender and your actions subject to 20/20 hindsight!