JJ spoke to another person arrested by former Ridgeland police officer and MADD's Officer of the Year Daniel Soto. Sims Garrett was arrested by Daniel Soto in November, 2008. Mr. Garrett was good friends with bail bondsman Corey McDonald. Apparently, Mr. McDonald had some problems with a lady. Mr. Garrett was out with some friends at Juleps in October, the young lady called and asked if she could come up there one evening, was told sure, and she hung out with several guys at the Jackson establishment and the group, I stress group, not couple, went to the State Fair, and that was it.
Strike one against Mr. Garrett: Mr. McDonald was Mr. Soto's roommate. Strike two against Mr. Garrett: Mr. McDonald got the idea Mr. Garrett went out with his ex-g/f and went nuts. Mr. Garrett said his friend called him in the second week of November and said "I'll kill you m******f******, you're dead". Mr. Garrett thought nothing of it and went on about his business. (This is a good reason why when such threats are made, always a good idea to at least file a police report at the time.)
Several days later, Mr. Garrett and some co-workers went to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner. Over a three hour period of time, Mr. Garrett said he had two to three beers and that was it. Sims got a call from Corey's assistant, Shannon. She asked him what he was doing, he told her, she asked him to come by, he said ok and left. He was pulled over near the Breakers by Officer Soto and another officer. Mr. Soto said he was "swerving" and nearly hit another vehicle. The police officer started to give him a field sobriety test. Mr. Garrett asked him if it was such a test (walk the line) and Mr. Soto replied "it sure is". Sims told the officers he would not take the test and was arrested. Mr. Garrett told JJ the amount of time from when he was pulled over to when he was put in the police car was no more than ten minutes.
When Mr. Soto arrived at the police station with his prey, Corey McDonald was already at the station writing the bond. Mr. Garrett paid a $320 cash bond. However, the story gets crazier. Sims ate lunch at a local restaurant (which will remain unnamed). The waitress knew all of the parties involved and told Mr. Garrett "Sim's, you're so f****n stupid. They were in here talking two days ago about how they set you up." Strike three.
Mr. Garrett was understandably outraged and forgot a fundamental rule when dealing with cops or bail bondsmen: keep your mouth shut no matter what happens. Since he and Mr. McDonald were friends, he called the bail bondsman and told him "what you did was wrong, somehow, some way, I'm going to get you back for all of this. You took food off of my daughter's table." Not a good idea.
Mr. Bad-ass McDonald appears at Mr. Garrett's residence a few days later on a Saturday night pounding on the door. The bailee opens the door, only to find himself slammed against a wall and told "bitch, I'm revoking your bond." Mr. McDonald placed Sims in the car. Did I mention the ex-g/f, probably the cause of all of this mess, was sitting in the car? Shades of Barry Goff and Uggie. The Dog-wannabee drags him out of the car and throws him into the booking area. He tells the on duty-officer he is revoking his bond, slapped Sims on the back hard, and walked out after informing him he would have to stay in jail until Tuesday. The officer was a little more reasonable and let Sims call David Moore for bail.
Mr. Garrett is now represented by Chuck McRae. His case has been bounced back and forth between Justice and County Court and is yet to be resolved. It must be pointed out this account is only Mr. Garrett's side of the story. It also must be pointed out that oddly enough, there is no video camera evidence from the police car.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Another Soto victim comes forward.
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63 comments:
Unf***ing believable
I would've said that a couple of weeks ago. Now it's far too believable.
Years ago my friend got beaten unmercifully after running from the RPD. He was dumb to run, but got out with his hands up and got his face smashed in repeatedly. MANY stitches from the beating he received. Same friend was set up 15 years later for giving a girl that approached him and had sex with him for weeks Xanex. Police had asked her to do this.I remember him talking about her begging him for them and trying to put her off. He told me when he was arrested the RPD laughed about how "they knew pu%&$" was the way to nail him". I have known this man 30 years and have NEVER known him to lie.
Why are cops not drug tested? I knew a guy a few years back who worked for a local police force and I saw him smoke weed in his uniform. I asked if hey ever tested for drugs, and he said 'Nope" with a laugh. He joked that "we have to check the product". I'm no prude, and I think weed should be legal, but that episode shook me up. Is it any wonder that we cannot trust a cop any more? Not to me...
If Gene McGee or any of his people are reading this, y'all all might want to go invest in some white suits and cigars. "Law enforcement" in Ridgeland is sounding so damn redneck, y'all have jointly become Boss Hogg for 2010.
I worked closely with some narcotics officers in MS. Let's just say pot kettle. Not all of them,some were very honorable. Certainly enough of them were not to frighten me.
I would tell some first hand tales, but to be honest I am afraid of the Ridgeland PD. With good reason.
What 8:47 said. Wake up Mayor!!!!!!!!!
Knock! Knock! Gene anybody home? Do you really like being the mayor of Ridgeland, MS?
Where are the feds? If this and the other cases are true, we have some serious federal law violations. Does the phrase, "Violation of civil rights," ring a bell?
I am a little confused about how a bail bondsman can revoke a cash bond. Maybe I missed something.
Ultimately the City of Ridgeland under its Mayor, GM, must be held responsible monitarily or nothing will change in the police state that Ridgeland has become. May them pay!!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry, that is make them pay!!!!!!!!
In addition to giving Soto his plaque, I would like to know if MADD supplied a financial "reward" or "stipend" to Soto, leading him to go on his rampage in Ridgeland. Also, what did Gene know and when did he know it? Or how much pressure did the City place on the force to boost revenues?
Also, is Mr. Mayor putting pressure on the RPD now to go after visitors (you know, the usual doctors, lawyers, and business people who look like they can afford to pay) to their fair town to boost revenues?
Anon at 10:30 PM
Good question.
For shame if they did something like that.
Lets think about another similar question or two.
Did Soto get the cell doors slammed, and the courtroom appearances, not to mention the trolling for suspects all done on standard time?
There wasn't any over time pay (aka incentive pay) due to officer Soto since he was so busy? Was there?
One would hope that if he had the opportunity to make 'extra money'
that his superiors were not in any way viewing this as an 'investment' with 'returns (aka profits) to follow.
Hopefully there wasn't some type of screwed up pay plan that provided perverse incentives to Soto's superiors to participate in anything that they would not want to read about...( and even looking the other way when you should suspect something applies when you are John Law)...perhaps here.
You get what you pay for- or pay for what you get sometimes.
"I'd rather live one day as a lion than 1000 years as a sheep". -Unkbown/ 1 of Sims Garrett's favorites
Let's hope the people that were wronged by this dirty cop come forward..........
MADD does give out awards to officers for high numbers of DUI arrests. But they are not as influential as the group STORM. That is the club for seatbelt/DUI charges. Forget robbers and burglars, traffic is where it is at. Remember the car thief in Canton that MHP let go with several citations, in a stolen car several months ago? They don't look past the traffic charges for real criminal activity. That is what their bosses want.
Everyone should boycott Buffalo Wild Wings for their association with Soto !!! They were assisting him by calling him when a patron that they served left and had too much to drink !!Shame on BWW !! I have boycotted them ever since I read this several weeks ago. Someone had already told me that this had been suspected from them ....
Far a long, long time BWW has been known as a dangerous establishment to frequent because of a zealous RPD. Some of that rep is deserved and, apparently, now more so.
That is incorrect about BWW. You didn't read that correctly. When they found out about stuff like this, they stopped it. Do you really think they want cops stopping their patrons? It's bad for business. I'm not sure they knew about Corey but a security guard was doing it as well. He was promptly fired.
The CL this morning says a JPD cop is under investigation for allegedly taking money from the pot raid that occurred Monday morning on Stuart Street. The article says more that $60,000 was seized but does not state how much the officer is accused of taking or his name.
Well at least we now know that RPD is corrupt. But they ARE NOT as corrupt as that bunch of JPD so called detectives.
Ridgeland PD always waited at the DOCK when it was on the Rez. Had a friend given a DUI in his driveway!!!!!
I know Sims very well. He's not happy with the way this is playing out & is a little worried about RPD retaliation. However, Sims isn't as dumb as he acts like. I know of a few things he's currently looking into himself w/ powerful family friends. Sims, is very calculating & quite clever. Don't think for one second that this will be the last time we here his name
These people who have been stopped by the RPD after leaving certain restaurants HAVE had a few drinks! Has everyone forgotten that Mississippi is a zero tolerance state - that means do not get behind the wheel of a car if you have had a drink, period!!!!! The police officers are not the ones breaking the law they are only trying to do their jobs. There is nothing wrong enjoying a few drinks but don't drive afterwards. If you do, it is your fault and your fault only if you are stopped. The ones doing the slamming of the police are generally the ones who were stopped because they had been drinking. It doesn't bother me one bit to know that the police are sitting outside of bars and restaurants waiting for the driving drinkers. Get off Daniel Soto - he is gone now and he was a good cop when he was in Ridgeland. He didn't stop you and arrest you for DUI unless he had proof that you were drinking.
Just in case Soto or any of his friends are reading,
FU bitches.
He didn't stop you and arrest you for DUI unless he had proof that you were drinking.
Bullshit.
Can anyone confirm that Soto is gay?
To 4:35 p.m.
What a boneheaded post! Drinking & driving is NOT a crime. Driving under the influence IS a crime, if proven beyond a reasonable doubt in court.
Maybe he will go to prison for his lies and then he will be gay whether he likes it or not.
what I find equally troubling is the tie-in with the bonding company. Surely that has to be some type of violation of law. But I'm not a lawyer.
Sims Garrett here............I still wanna believe my former/slash supposid friend, Corey. He has been very vocal/convincing with his admition of innocence in my ongoing DUI case. My father's always told me that my heart was probably bigger than my brain was. The more evidence that's been laid out before me is extremely incriminating. I hope everyone is misinformed! I want to, of course, believe someone that I've considered a friend. It hurts me to know that our personal differences weren't resolved w/ a conversation and or maybe fist fight. I hate to think that my former friend/ maybe possibly current friend set me up intentionally. I'd never resolve differences w/ friends in such a way.
Whoever wrote that I was smart & or calculating was correct. I've done what I was advised to try & do. One of my good friends is best friends w/ Anderson Cooper. His news parties/ employers are interseted in this story. I have absolutely no problem in being the one that comes forward & tells my story. I've done many things in the last decade or so that I'm not proud of. However, I've paid the fines & "done the time".......so to speak. I just don't understand why officers that are hired/employed to enforce the laws aren't held to the same standards as the people/victims they arrest guilty or innocent.. Maybe that's what we need to looki into.? U hate to think people in positions of authority are actually allowed/incouraged to resolve personal differences w/ their badges.
I'm praying for my friend & I hope all that I've heard isn't true. But, it doesn't look good.............
Sincerely,
T. Sims Garrett, Jr
P.S.
I'm sorry for my grammatical/puncuation errors. I just got home from my second job I was forced to get by my parents..............someone has to my legal costs/legal expences. FOOD was actually taken off of my daughter's table because of this incident
Mr. Garrett, you might want to tell Mr. Cooper to bring extra cameras and reporters -- there's enough crap going on in Central Mississippi law enforcement right now to fill a week's worth of 360-reports.
Obviously someone is totally misinformed about drinking and driving is not a crime. Look at the video of Judge Tommie Green yesterday in the Karen Irby case, she clearly stated that drinking and driving were indeed a crime and the police weren't doing their jobs of enforcing it. Again, Mississippi is a zero tolerance state -= zero meaning a big fat 0.
9:25
You are referring to DUI (Driving Under the Influence). There is no such crime as DAD (Drinking and Driving). You can not be charged with DAD, nor can you go to jail for DAD, because DAD doesn't exist. You can, however, be charged with DUI and go to jail for DUI.
As for zero tolerance, if you are suggesting that 0 = .08 BAC (which makes no mathematical sense whatsoever), then in your mind you would be correct. But in reality, you are wrong.
also, your a GROWN "man" and your parents shouldnt be forcing you to get a second job...That is called common sense... but maybe you lack in that department..
Mississippi is NOT a zero tolerance state (except for those under the legal age to drink). Merely drinking and driving is not a crime. As to alcohol, it is a crime to either (1) drive with a BAC of .08 or more, or (2) drive under the influence of alcohol (so-called common law DUI).
As long as you dont have a BAC of
.08 or more, and are not under the influence (impaired), you are not breaking the law.
My stomach hurts!!!! Nervous.You know what happened if I turn up missing.......
Atleast they acknowledge the fact that its Mr. BadAss McDonald.. They got that one fact right.
Anonymous May 11, 4:35.
Your an idiot and he's an asshole. This whole thing started because of Soto and his actions. You need to read everything about him on JJ. HE LIED IN A COURT OF LAW! He needs to be investigated and prosecuted. A cop that will lie on the stand is a bad cop, period.
You say he is gone now. True! He may be gone but thanks to Kingfish he will not be forgotten. I hope he gets a taste of what he dished out. Everyone is gonna be surprised at who all is going down when this ship sinks!!! They better start loading up on a bunch of Soap on a Rope!!!
Love to see you post under an ID 12:47pm. If Sims was convicted of 20 DUI's and one of them was because a Police Officer lied in a court of law, then, the Police Officer is no better than a criminal convicted of DUI. In fact, as most here believe, that officer is guilty of greater criminal activity because he did it under the guise of the public trust.
All right, clean up in progress. The issue is not McDonald's or Garrett's history. The issue is WHAT HAPPENED WHEN GARRETT WAS ARRESTED and what led to the stop. Period. I don't care if McDonald was a saint and Garrett was a serial father raper, Garrett deserved due process of law and protection of his constitutional rights, period.
i agree that drinking and driving is not a good idea. however, a cop (Soto) who lies under oath is WAY worse. He is a COP for goodness sake. someone the community is supposed to trust. HA! If he lied to convict someone makes you wonder how much underhanded stuff he pulled to get his precious awards and records until he finally got caught. he is pathetic and gives cops a bad name. i am glad he got fired! he is also a hypocrite bc he did plenty of drinking and driving himself.
Sims Garrett actually hasn't hired an attorney for this incident. Judge Chuck Macrae is however on his very short list. He's still is considering going a different route. I expect he'll make a decision here very shortly. Who knows???
5:14, you should apologize to crawfish everywhere.
Did y'all see this happen?! Then don't f'n believe it!
I seen Plenty happen!
Mcdonald and Soto has done lots of shit! and YES I did see some of it go on. sad to add they are not the only ones...I believe it!
Soto and McDonald used to taunt people about being "n***er-lovers" because they were Obama supporters.
This is the most ridiculous mess ever. Why the hell is the ex/gf even being brought up in this. If she was with mr mcdonald.....that's a terrible issue in itself. RPD does not represent Ridgeland very well. Most people know that. And yes, sims was set up that night leaving BWW!!!!!
Funny, but I was speaking with a member of the bar (respected BTW, no MSBA problems); she knew exactly who this dude was. Mentioned his accolades by MADD. What was most disturbing was when I shared he is re-employed in another state, she went silent. Fear in the justice system in MS seems the norm. Unless, you can expose a lot of people. In this instance, life goes on, and shit stays the same.
All right, zapped that one because it contained a little bit of libel.
Looks like you zapped all the ones that actually spoke truth. All this other stuff is just garbage. Everyone downing the police in this blog are all drunks that drive drunk and thats why they are mad because they have gotten caught. If yall could only hear how STUPID yall sound.
2:17 - welcome to the conversation, as the rest of us were discussing over a month ago, this cop was caught LYING UNDER OATH, fabricating evidence in an attempt to convict someone. That's the main point (plus, he's still on the job, albeit in another state). Nobody wants to see a drunk driver walk,; in fact, the only thing worse is seeing an innocent (i.e., non-drunk) driver get railroaded by fabricated evidence.
still wonder the situation pertaining to this matter. also, hear corey is now under federal sights from caught up in the scheme of http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2010/07/mississippi_child_custody_case.html . Really, they should make a sequal to this guy; "the seventh sense"...He serves dead people.
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