Master Blaster
Member
After last months two botched swat raids on persons of interest in bank robberies (wrong folks twice had their doors kicked down at 3:00 am) we now have this: Remember the Pagan here was not observed committing any crime and was in fact a decorated ex marine.
Slain Pagan was targeted in drug probe
18-month investigation results in 12 arrests
By LEE WILLIAMS, The News Journal
Posted Friday, November 10, 2006
Derek J. Hale on a boat in Virginia with his wife, Elaine, and their children. Hale served two combat tours as a Marine in Iraq.
Hale family photo
The 25-year-old member of the Pagans Motorcycle Club shot to death by Wilmington police on the steps of a row house was a decorated U.S. Marine who survived two combat tours in Iraq.
Derek J. Hale, a probationary member of the club, was shot three times in the chest Monday afternoon by an officer using a department-issued .40-caliber handgun. He was killed after receiving multiple shocks from electronic Tasers, which caused him to "speak gibberish," witnesses said. Police said they found a can of pepper spray and a switchblade knife in Hale's pockets after the shooting.
Police confronted him two days after serving a search warrant on the home's owner, another new member of the Pagans.
Late Thursday, the Delaware State Police identified Hale as a "person of interest" in an 18-month investigation that resulted in the arrests of 12 suspects for felony drug and weapons offenses, saying he was suspected of drug and weapons offenses -- something his family strongly disputes.
Hale lived in Manassas, Va., with his wife, Elaine Hale. The couple had three young children from previous relationships, and planned to have children of their own.
She said Derek was a member of the Pagans but did not discuss "club business." He told her he was visiting Wilmington. "Those who I met and talked with were decent people, like my husband. Derek was a good man."
Virginia police notified Elaine Hale of her husband's death Wednesday, then conducted a search of her home.
"There must have been nine cop cars," said Trina Schaetz, a family friend who was at the house Wednesday. "They took his Pagan T-shirts, patches, coats, motorcycle books and videos. She [Elaine] was just shocked. They made us stand out on the curb."
On Thursday, Elaine Hale retained Wilmington attorney Thomas S. Neuberger to monitor the investigation into her husband's death.
"After two full tours in Iraq, where he was protecting all of us, to die on the Wilmington streets -- I can think of no greater tragedy for small children and a newlywed than to lose a father and a husband," Neuberger said. "And it's even worse that it's done at the hands of trained police officials."
Neuberger said he will file suit if he is not allowed access to the investigative reports of the shooting.
"The leadership of the Delaware State Police is interested in nothing but politics, and their standards of professionalism have plummeted," Neuberger said.
Hale's shooting and the search warrant that preceded it are part of a statewide crackdown that Pagans said had targeted the club.
Several Pagans told The News Journal of other police raids, during which property was seized and members were beaten by police. State Police said 12 people, including the owner of the Hilltop house, have been charged as part of the sweeping investigation. Other Pagans said they have had their motorcycles and club clothing seized, but no charges had been filed.
Wilmington defense attorney Joe Hurley is representing one of the Pagans arrested this week.
"I suspect there's a wiretap -- that's my gut," Hurley said Thursday. "If they don't have criminal charges, they've got conversations. Logically, the rules for seizure are the same as arrest. Police have to have probable cause to believe the property was used in the commission of felonies."
According to the written statement by state police, Hale was seen at the house and investigators observed Hale moving items from inside the residence to a vehicle and "had reason to believe he was preparing to flee."
Police sought to arrest him outside the home, police said. "It was during the attempt to take Hale into custody outside of the residence that a confrontation ensued, and Hale was fatally shot."
Other Pagans were swept up in the raids and later released.
In one instance, Pagan Jim Jollie was visiting a friend's home outside Newark on Saturday when a state police SWAT team threw a flash-bang grenade into the home.
Jollie, a Vietnam veteran, was in a hallway when the stun grenade exploded.
"There was this 'pop,' and then police in black stormed in and told me to put up my hands," he said. "I did."
Jollie said he was then struck on the back of the head by a nightstick, forced to the ground and kicked in the head, ribs and leg.
"They spit on me and cussed me," he said. "There were children in the home."
Wednesday afternoon, Jollie's head and legs were still swollen, and he had difficulty breathing because of two broken ribs. All of his injuries were on the left side of his body.
Handcuffed in the hallway while one officer stood on his neck, Jollie was taken to a back bedroom after police discovered he was wearing his colors with club insignias underneath a denim coat.
"They told me they were gonna cut them off me," he said. "And one guy had out his knife."
Police let him go hours later; however, they confiscated his colors and his 2005 Harley-Davidson. Jollie still doesn't know why his property was seized.
"They said the attorney general wanted it," he said. "They said he'd been after it."
In response to Jollie's allegations, Delaware State Police Superintendent Col. Thomas F. MacLeish announced Thursday that an administrative investigation has been initiated by the Delaware State Police Office of Professional Responsibility.
"The DSP takes any allegation from a citizen very seriously and will conduct a thorough, comprehensive and fair investigation," MacLeish said in a written statement. "Additionally, investigators will follow DSP internal administrative procedures pertaining to violations of state police rules and regulations."
Jollie, a Marine Corps veteran, was taken to the V.A. Hospital for his injuries.
"When the doc saw blood trickling out of my ear, they took me to Christiana," he said.
When he returned home, he learned police had seized his ice cream truck.
"I'd just used it at the [charity] toy run Saturday," he said. "It's my livelihood. We were selling breakfast sandwiches out of it."
He was never charged with a crime.
Jollie said he met Hale several months before he was shot by Wilmington police.
“He was a good kid, very respectful. He didn’t drink or use drugs,” Jollie said. “He didn’t even smoke cigarettes.”
While he was serving his tours in Iraq, Hale and wife Elaine had kept in touch via e-mail.
“He wasn’t allowed to say much, where he was at or what he was doing,” Elaine said in an interview Thursday. “He called whenever he could. He was down a lot. He missed me and wanted to come home.”
They were married on a beach in North Carolina on Oct. 22 of last year, after Derek finished his second combat tour and was honorably discharged.
“He really loved being a Marine,” Elaine said. “He told me he would serve for a lifetime if they needed him, but he really felt that the divorce rate in the Marines was too high, so he got out. He didn’t want anything to happen to our marriage.”
Contact investigative reporter Lee Williams at 324-2362 or [email protected].
Staff reporter Sean O'Sullivan contributed to this story. Contact Terri Sanginiti at 324-2771 or [email protected].
IF YOU GO
What: A benefit for Derek J. Hale's family
When: Noon, Nov. 18
Where: The Bar, Du Pont Highway (U.S. 13) and Hazeldell Avenue
Slain Pagan was targeted in drug probe
18-month investigation results in 12 arrests
By LEE WILLIAMS, The News Journal
Posted Friday, November 10, 2006
Derek J. Hale on a boat in Virginia with his wife, Elaine, and their children. Hale served two combat tours as a Marine in Iraq.
Hale family photo
The 25-year-old member of the Pagans Motorcycle Club shot to death by Wilmington police on the steps of a row house was a decorated U.S. Marine who survived two combat tours in Iraq.
Derek J. Hale, a probationary member of the club, was shot three times in the chest Monday afternoon by an officer using a department-issued .40-caliber handgun. He was killed after receiving multiple shocks from electronic Tasers, which caused him to "speak gibberish," witnesses said. Police said they found a can of pepper spray and a switchblade knife in Hale's pockets after the shooting.
Police confronted him two days after serving a search warrant on the home's owner, another new member of the Pagans.
Late Thursday, the Delaware State Police identified Hale as a "person of interest" in an 18-month investigation that resulted in the arrests of 12 suspects for felony drug and weapons offenses, saying he was suspected of drug and weapons offenses -- something his family strongly disputes.
Hale lived in Manassas, Va., with his wife, Elaine Hale. The couple had three young children from previous relationships, and planned to have children of their own.
She said Derek was a member of the Pagans but did not discuss "club business." He told her he was visiting Wilmington. "Those who I met and talked with were decent people, like my husband. Derek was a good man."
Virginia police notified Elaine Hale of her husband's death Wednesday, then conducted a search of her home.
"There must have been nine cop cars," said Trina Schaetz, a family friend who was at the house Wednesday. "They took his Pagan T-shirts, patches, coats, motorcycle books and videos. She [Elaine] was just shocked. They made us stand out on the curb."
On Thursday, Elaine Hale retained Wilmington attorney Thomas S. Neuberger to monitor the investigation into her husband's death.
"After two full tours in Iraq, where he was protecting all of us, to die on the Wilmington streets -- I can think of no greater tragedy for small children and a newlywed than to lose a father and a husband," Neuberger said. "And it's even worse that it's done at the hands of trained police officials."
Neuberger said he will file suit if he is not allowed access to the investigative reports of the shooting.
"The leadership of the Delaware State Police is interested in nothing but politics, and their standards of professionalism have plummeted," Neuberger said.
Hale's shooting and the search warrant that preceded it are part of a statewide crackdown that Pagans said had targeted the club.
Several Pagans told The News Journal of other police raids, during which property was seized and members were beaten by police. State Police said 12 people, including the owner of the Hilltop house, have been charged as part of the sweeping investigation. Other Pagans said they have had their motorcycles and club clothing seized, but no charges had been filed.
Wilmington defense attorney Joe Hurley is representing one of the Pagans arrested this week.
"I suspect there's a wiretap -- that's my gut," Hurley said Thursday. "If they don't have criminal charges, they've got conversations. Logically, the rules for seizure are the same as arrest. Police have to have probable cause to believe the property was used in the commission of felonies."
According to the written statement by state police, Hale was seen at the house and investigators observed Hale moving items from inside the residence to a vehicle and "had reason to believe he was preparing to flee."
Police sought to arrest him outside the home, police said. "It was during the attempt to take Hale into custody outside of the residence that a confrontation ensued, and Hale was fatally shot."
Other Pagans were swept up in the raids and later released.
In one instance, Pagan Jim Jollie was visiting a friend's home outside Newark on Saturday when a state police SWAT team threw a flash-bang grenade into the home.
Jollie, a Vietnam veteran, was in a hallway when the stun grenade exploded.
"There was this 'pop,' and then police in black stormed in and told me to put up my hands," he said. "I did."
Jollie said he was then struck on the back of the head by a nightstick, forced to the ground and kicked in the head, ribs and leg.
"They spit on me and cussed me," he said. "There were children in the home."
Wednesday afternoon, Jollie's head and legs were still swollen, and he had difficulty breathing because of two broken ribs. All of his injuries were on the left side of his body.
Handcuffed in the hallway while one officer stood on his neck, Jollie was taken to a back bedroom after police discovered he was wearing his colors with club insignias underneath a denim coat.
"They told me they were gonna cut them off me," he said. "And one guy had out his knife."
Police let him go hours later; however, they confiscated his colors and his 2005 Harley-Davidson. Jollie still doesn't know why his property was seized.
"They said the attorney general wanted it," he said. "They said he'd been after it."
In response to Jollie's allegations, Delaware State Police Superintendent Col. Thomas F. MacLeish announced Thursday that an administrative investigation has been initiated by the Delaware State Police Office of Professional Responsibility.
"The DSP takes any allegation from a citizen very seriously and will conduct a thorough, comprehensive and fair investigation," MacLeish said in a written statement. "Additionally, investigators will follow DSP internal administrative procedures pertaining to violations of state police rules and regulations."
Jollie, a Marine Corps veteran, was taken to the V.A. Hospital for his injuries.
"When the doc saw blood trickling out of my ear, they took me to Christiana," he said.
When he returned home, he learned police had seized his ice cream truck.
"I'd just used it at the [charity] toy run Saturday," he said. "It's my livelihood. We were selling breakfast sandwiches out of it."
He was never charged with a crime.
Jollie said he met Hale several months before he was shot by Wilmington police.
“He was a good kid, very respectful. He didn’t drink or use drugs,” Jollie said. “He didn’t even smoke cigarettes.”
While he was serving his tours in Iraq, Hale and wife Elaine had kept in touch via e-mail.
“He wasn’t allowed to say much, where he was at or what he was doing,” Elaine said in an interview Thursday. “He called whenever he could. He was down a lot. He missed me and wanted to come home.”
They were married on a beach in North Carolina on Oct. 22 of last year, after Derek finished his second combat tour and was honorably discharged.
“He really loved being a Marine,” Elaine said. “He told me he would serve for a lifetime if they needed him, but he really felt that the divorce rate in the Marines was too high, so he got out. He didn’t want anything to happen to our marriage.”
Contact investigative reporter Lee Williams at 324-2362 or [email protected].
Staff reporter Sean O'Sullivan contributed to this story. Contact Terri Sanginiti at 324-2771 or [email protected].
IF YOU GO
What: A benefit for Derek J. Hale's family
When: Noon, Nov. 18
Where: The Bar, Du Pont Highway (U.S. 13) and Hazeldell Avenue
