Meeting on Lakeside Crime at St. Andrew's Church - notes

A friend sent me a copy of notes someone took at the meeting last week at St. Andrew's church. It's similar to the article in the Reporter but I has a little more information - though it might be interesting to some here:

This meeting was held Monday, January 17 at the Anglican church in Riberas del Pilar. The robbery and murder of Alan Turnipseed happened earlier in January in Riberas del Pilar. The grenade attack on the chief's home in Chapala occurred the previous Saturday evening.

This account of the meeting with Capitán Reynol was written by Clive Overton and is excellent.

Capitàn Reyol Contretras stood before the assembly in his everyday work clothes. Everything was black, from his shiny hightop boots to the collar of his shirt that peeped out from the top of his bullet proof vest. He looked nervous; his eyes darting around St. Andrew`s church, ever vigilant. He had a military bearing, which was not surprising because his previous career had been in the Mexican air force, but now he was the chief of security in the Jaliscan town of Chapala.

This man had faced many daunting challenges but this one was unusual. He was faced with 150 gringos and he did not know how they would respond to what he had to present. Señor Allan had been a respected member of this church`s congregation, but now he was dead and some ignorant people blamed the local police force, commanded by Capitàn Reynol. The Capitàn presented his background; he was around 40 and came from the town of Huatulco in the Mexican state of Chiapas. His facial features were handsome and Hispanic, his skin swarthy but clear. His sharp eyes were knowing but not unfriendly. He gave a brief overview of the security structure that he was part of, and the official record of the events that led to this meeting.

Outside the wide open church doors, in the sun drenched tropical garden, his two bodyguards stood relaxed but ever watchful, their automatic rifles held across their chests. They looked tough, but not unapproachable; the kind of fearless men you would like to have on your side. The late afternoon sun filtered through the stained glass and we were all apprehensive, wondering where this meeting would go to.
Beside Capitàn Reynol stood the interpreter and a mobile microphone was passed between them like a baton. At first, they were tense, but the assembled community, sensing how they could help the situation, applauded the Capitàn`s consoling statements. The Capitàn gave a broad smile and became more animated, moving up the isle to be amongst us. He showed he had a sense of humour and that he wanted to be open and honest.

“On the 9th of January the two young male perpetrators knocked on the door of Señor Allan at about ten in the morning” related the interpreter. “When Allan answered, they forced their way into his home with the intent of robbing him and his partner Bob. All this was learned through the confessions of the perpetrators. They tied up Allan, then forced him to open the small safe which contained documents, passports, and 10,000 pesos in cash. After the perpetrators had ransacked the house in search of other valuables, they were about to leave but Alan, feeling violated, gave them a parting shot and told them he would report them to the police. One of the perpetrators came back to Allan and shot him through the back of the head. They stole the van from outside Allan’s home and escaped, via the highway, to Guadalajara where they spent the proceeds of the crime on clothing, tennis shoes, alcohol and drugs. Allan was found by his partner, Bob. Thanks to tips received from the public, and the multitude of finger prints left by the perpetrators they were apprehended within a few days and are now in a juvenile facility. There will be a trial but with their confessions, it is likely they will spend many years in jail, being transferred to an adult facility when they are 18”.

There were many hands raised when the time came for questions. Capitàn Reynol answered intelligently, with tact and diplomacy. There was frequent applause when he spoke of his dedication or when members of the community praised the efforts of the authorities. There was special applause when he responded to a question about the recent attempt on his own life, when grenades were thrown into his home - an incident not related to Allan’s murder. The Michoacan gangs, from the mountains to the south of Chapala, were probably responding to the arrest of one of Capitàn Reynol’s corrupted deputies two months ago.

Haltingly, after some thought, he responded, “I knew of the dangers when I took on this job. I was not brought up to hide in the shadows, but to stand tall in the sun”. It felt good to be in the presence of a man who was truly brave. When members of the community asked about manning levels, available funding and resources Capitan Reynol answered frankly that he would like more. When it was suggested, by a questioner, that the gringo community could raise money Capitàn Reynol said that he would welcome any help.
In response to praise of his department, he asked one of the community to come forward and be the translator. Nobody could figure out why because the official translator was doing a good job. “I did this because my friend”, he pointed to the official translator, “would not translate my comments”, the new translator reported “he gave me tremendous help, as did Señor Tony”, the Capitàn pointed to another community member. The modesty was both touching and inspiring. Other community members offered to be on-call translators.
When one questioner asked if there was a crime wave due to disgruntled Mexicans returning from the economically challenged United States, Capitàn Reynol gave the perfect answer. “It is true we have hard times, but I do not categorize people; gringos, Mexicans, returning Mexicans, we are all neighbours, no section of the community is especially targeted”.

Finally, one member of the community asked for a show of hands indicating who was considering moving away from Chapala lakeside - less than 6 were briefly raised. I can only guess that most people feel that running away and abandoning our community is not appropriate, or not likely to be an improvement. The two brothers who committed the crime were ruthlessly abandoned by their parents when they were 9 and 11 and it is part of the tragedy that they never recovered from this despite the efforts of the community. Capitan Reynol admitted that the reputation of his force was not good, but while he was in charge there would be a sincere, sustained effort to earn more respect. He has won our hearts and I guess we all feel that there is nobody more deserving of our support.
¡Viva Capitàn Reynol!

WOW!!!!

Capitàn Reyol has drawn the proverbial line in the sand! That reminds me of a Winston Churchhill quote.

United we stand, divided we fall but not without fight.

The way I see it is, he is implying the Lord will have mercy on you but I won't. I find it ironic that because of his military service, and I have no doubt in my mind that was a large part of what shaped his character into the fearless man that stood before the local community. He deserves your utmost respect and support.

It is easy to bash the Police/Military, and the funding that supports our security and safety. Usually the first people to complain about the spending or lack of and not to forget the incompetency are the very first to expect them at their beck and call when things go bad and, crying where are our Police/Military when you need them?

So, everyone think about this, Lead, Follow or get the Heck out of the way.There are many people Lakeside that are of the mind set, of "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil."

The three monkeys are Mizaru, covering his eyes, who sees no evil; Kikazaru, covering his ears, who hears no evil; and Iwazaru, covering his mouth, who speaks no evil. Sometimes there is a fourth monkey depicted with the three others; the last one, Shizaru, symbolizes the principle of "do no evil".