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Tuesday, May 12, 2009 | 6:32 p.m.
Tanner Rosseau
Sun archives
The 18-year-old man who was arrested in the stabbing death of another man in the Tropicana hotel and casino parking lot will appear in court later this month.
Tanner Rousseau, of Arlington, Wash., is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on May 26. His bail is set at $50,000.
Metro Police officers arrested Rousseau after finding a man who had been stabbed several times in the resort's parking lot about 4:12 a.m. Friday.
The victim, 35-year-old Gregory Dominique of Cleveland, Ohio, was taken to University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
Officers searching the area found Rousseau in a car near the Las Vegas Strip resort, police said. Rousseau was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on a charge of murder with a deadly weapon.
Police say they believe the two men got into an argument over drugs.
Tropicana Las Vegas sits on the south-east corner of Tropicana Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard, an intersection which has the most adjacent hotel rooms in the world, also making it one of the most busy. The hotel has 1,658 rooms, three restaurants, a 62,011-square foot casino and a spa.
The Tropicana's five-acre pool complex stretches throughout the center of the the hotel/casino and remains it's most recognizable feature. It features swim-up blackjack during the summer months, a swim-up bar, dining areas and a wedding chapel. The Tropicana is also home to Brad Garrett's Comedy Club. For pre-show dining, take advantage of one the casino’s dinner and a show packages or just head over to Cafe Nikki, Biscayne Steak, Sea & Wine or Bacio Pasta & Vino.
$50,000 bail? That's all? All you need is $5,000 in cash or credit to get him out. Seems low for a suspected murderer.
S711
I agree, but I did a little comparing of similar murder cases and it seems in the ballpark. I saw numbers from $52,000 to $95,000. If it's a credit bond they will need $5,000 straight cash that they will not get back (the bondsman's feed for getting $50,000 credit).
His family and friends will get to see him for 14 days or so before his first court date. I hope his friends get to see how serious this really is. I bet after sitting in jail for at least 5 days. Going to all sorts of questionings and things. That he is already a different person. I doubt he is going to want to drink, do drugs, and party like they are used to. He needs to be focused on mounting his defense, that's what bail is for, to give the accused an opportunity to prepare their defense without the distraction of jail (basically so the innocent don't have to spend an undue amount of time in jail waiting for the trial).
I pray for the victim and his family and I sincerely hope no one gets the "bright" idea to give forfeit the collateral and make Tanner disappear off into the sunset before the 26. If they do something stupid like that this will haunt him for the rest of his life even worse than it does already and he'd never be a truly free man.
As far as the case goes. In a clean case self-defense is a really slippery thing to prove. Muddy it up with a drug deal gone wrong (even if he just was hanging in the back while his friends made it) and it's going to be quiet a challenge. Part of pleading self defense is your saying, yes I did something that is normally a crime but it my case I had justification. It's kind of like pleading guilty in a way.
His friends were wrong. Tanner HAS been in trouble with the law before.
http://www1.co.snohomish.wa.us/Departmen...
search for his name and open the excel file. It's a public record case schedule.
Possession of drug paraphernalia in November 2008 he was the defendant. It doesn't say if he was found guilty or not. But possession is an easy one to weasel out of with the right lawyer. Murder not so much.
BTW their is no other Tanner Rousseau in the state of Washington. An Snohomish is a county in Arlington. So it;s him.
I know his friends are going to say it's not big deal and every teen ager does drugs and it was probably not Tanner's fault but it was the fault of the police for catching him.
In general you have to be doing something kind of stupid to get caught with paraphernalia.
why does that matter serioulsy VEGAS stop posting stuff like that on here ok, your making tanner someone he is not and showing his case file is a little dumb your just a blogger you were not heart to hear to either side.. so its really ridiculous you doing that.. and before ANYONE says who had the drugs or whatever get the facts straight EVEN the cops. im not sayin sh** but i know tanner was not a pill poppin animal or a shooter or snourter ANYTHING at that matter. wow this is so out of hand we just need to stop posting this gets all of us NO WHERE!!!!!! leave tanner alone. the victim is the wrong one!!!
Just another crackhead going to prison for killing someone.
Next.......
First off... It doesnt matter whether or not drugs were envolved. Tanner will most likely be charged for two sepperate offenses: Murder and Intent to transfer a controled substance. Thats IF there was truley narcotic activity at the scene.
THE EDITORS OF THIS PAPER NEED TO STOP THE SLANDER OF TANNER ROUSSEAU. KNOW THE FACTS BEFORE YOU PUBLISH FICTION.
He was no stranger to drugs according to the Snohamish County District court.
http://search.co.snohomish.wa.us/search?...
Tiger I love how you conveniently leave out smoker. Whether you like it or not at this point in time pot is an illegal drug. For the record I believe pot should be legal. But it's not.
How is showing his case file dumb. Early on all his friends were saying he was a good kid who never did anything wrong and never had any police interaction.
I was able to prove otherwise. If his friends were dishonest about that. What else aren't they telling the truth about.
IF what has come out of the arrest report is correct.
EVERYONE including Tanner was wrong. But Tanner gets to live talk to his family and friends and go to trial. The victim and his family and friends don't get that luxury.
Which is more wrong 1) Killing a man (whether he meant to or not) 2) Giving kids an empty envelope in exchange for a small amount of drugs and money?
How does it not matter if drugs were involved if he is most likely going to be charge with murder and transfer of a controlled substance.
controlled substance is a fancy way of saying drugs.
To all the mean people on hear that are talking crap about tanner stop! you dont even know him so leave him alone!
Tanner im so glad to hear you have bail! we all are still praying for you! we love you!
RANDOM_LAS_VEGAS GET OFF THIS SITE AND KEPP YOUR OPINIONS TO YOUR SELF!
I can express my opinion just like anyone else. I'M STAYING.
I wish Tanner luck in his defense. Keep in mind he MUST show up for all his court proceedings else all bail is forfeited. The rules apply to him as well and he must attend his trial just like anyone else. He is innocent until proven guilty.
Keep in mind in a self-defense case. The suspect basically is saying "I did it, but I was justified" once you plea self defense you can't take back the idea it part. The burden of proof then is on the suspect to prove why it was self defense. It's a tough road.
Why don't you get it the reason I am here is to HELP people. Maybe someone will see themselves in this situation and make a decision to be more careful in their own life.
When did trying to make the world a better place become mean?
I'm not saying Tanner was a bad person. He seems like he was pretty cool person and very sweet. But, he made some poor devisions that put him in a bad situation. This didn't just happen all out of the blue like he was hit by lighting or something.
Okay random you are REALLY P***ING me off!! What the hell are you trying to prove. Do you like sit on your computer all f***ing day and just start s*** on articles. Your everywhere on here lookin up s*** try to make Tanner out to be the bad one. Yes someone died but he (Tanner) was also a victum before the "murder". I dont hear you talking about the other guy what was he doing at 4 am walkin the streets rippin people off if it wasn't Tanner someone else would have done it. Greg was a grown adult "loving father husband" blah blah blah if he was such a good person then why was he out there doing that uh? Can you tell me that. He should set an example can you tell me one 35 yr old that you kno who would do what Greg did to my friends? If so yeah... you shouldnt be talkin on here but defending Tanner. Tanner and his friends had a spur of the moment idea to go to Vegas they were exploring yeah it might have been late but they got there late. They werent 21 who gives a f*** u were 18 once we all dumb decisions. They didnt plan this. And wtf is up with this article s***? I really dont see what your trying to prove here why dont you do us all a favor and stop coming on here I am sick of reading your "opions" How bout you start looking at it from both points of views I dont care what you say Tanner IS a good guy. Tanner I love you and am glad you got bail were all praying for you!!
I've been convinced by Jen's well written argument Tanner was blameless and did nothing at all wrong. He had nothing to do with what happened and it was all someone else's fault. Wow, I was stupid. He was not responsible for anything that happened in any way. In fact he is the victim himself.
RANDOM LAS VEGAS---some QUIESTIONS
Wheres your family and friends...?
do you have any...?
why dont you go talk to them...?
why do you feel the need to but into others lives without knowing the reality of the situation.
we are on here to protect our friends name from slander and stupid D-bags like yourself. You are on here to??....blog and research others lives. kinda creepy.
Honestly why do you sit on here all day???
does no one love you???
do you get your "kicks" from this???
Or are you just mad that people do love tanner and your mommy or daddy didnt love you:(?????
Are you enjoying looking up people who have no conection to you nor would because your some bloggin nobody?
i hope you feel accompished with your life.
I had no idea that the public comments section of a website is for family and friends only.
I am here because I've made bad choices too and I learned from them. I'm trying to help other people improve their lives.
My girlfriend I live with is trying to understand why I spent so much time on the computer for two days. Once I explained it she got it. So yes I am loved.
I'm just trying to help. I guess no one is grateful for it.
Thats cool I did my best. This discussion would have been so much more helpful if it was nothing but Tanner is perfect he did nothing wrong.
Who are all of you anyways? What have you done so special besides say :"we love you Tanner" over and over?
The stupid people who support this wonderful contributing citizen charged with a stabbing death in a parking lot at 4a.m. you are obviously impaired yourselves and are part of this bottom feeding elemnet of society as your pal the defendant is.
Just what don't you idiots understand about the free press issue. The Sun reports the facts as they get them from sources and that is their constitutional right. Once again we are dealing with the lying bottom fedders of life who question the Sun's right tp publish this or any other story.
Jen227 You need to take your meds.What gives you the right to question what anyone posts here. If your accused killer friend has a rap sheet then it is public information. There are two people involved in some questionable behavior and now one of them is dead and your pal is the good Guy?Get real come out of your comma and check yourself in.
Random keep up the good work. this suspect will at the very least plead out and do some time.Two people involved in criminal activities and one is dead,the real facts may never be known but this suspect will be in a prison soon.
You are correct random, the comments section is for everyone, not just friends and family of the people in the article. You have an opinion and are entitled to post it. Tanner's friends are also young and upset and being angry at you seems logical to them. They can't go rant at the police and the judges who will probably say much of what you are saying.
So on a $50,000 bail you pay $5,000 to the bondsman and that is gone forever. So if you show up for trial, you are out $5,000. If you skip trial, you are out $5,000. What is the incentive to show up? You're out either way. I thought bail was set as an incentive for you to show up for trial.
Anyone else think tanner sort of looks like a girl? He's somewhat effiminate, isn't he? Where did his parents go wrong?
I have never had to be bailed out so I don't know but I always thought that you paid a percentage to the bailbonds to get your money - something like 10%. So in case you pay $5000 to the bailbonds to put up the $50,000 bail and if you show up the bailbonds get the $50,000 back - so he profits with the $5000. But if you don't show, you owe the bailbonds guy $50,000 and he comes after you.
like everything else the bond system works differently in Vegas. the bail bondsman get to keep your money and I don't know if you have to pay only 10%. vegas is such a rip off spot, nothing here works the same as the rest of america
Tiger22
There is not justification for anyones death, except mass murders and child molesters/abusers. What would you say if Tanner killed your brother or family member over the same circumstances?Empathy is totally different from the sympathy your giving Tanner. Like the old saying goes "birds of a feather, flock together". I do not expect any of Tanner's FRIENDS to understand the other side of this unfortunate circumstance we have and will continue to suffer, because of IGNORANCE, which is due to the parents you all have, that is where it starts. Due us a favor and don't continue the offspring.
Grace and Peace!
How do people arrested for murder get to make bail? Why do courts treat murder like any other 'ordinary' crime? I honestly don't believe bail should be set for accused murderers and if it is it should be so high that it's unattainable. If this obvious loser was able to make bail then it was obviously set WAYYYYYY TOOOOOOO LOWWWWW
I would like to thank all that is so supportive in words for my family and I. Hopefully one day we all can come together to help but some type of end to all this social diversity, classism, racism, prejudice, privilege, etc... We have been trying for over hundreds of years but we must continue the fight.
These 1980-millenials are going to be hard to help.
Grace and Peace!
BAIL SIMPLIFIED.
This is how bail works when a bail bondman is involved is called a collateral bail. What it is the bondsman will pay the bail in exchange for $50,000 in collateral (titles to houses, cars, electronics gear, jewelry ect.) he will actually keep all this stuff until the accused satisfies all their court obligations. In exchange for providing his $50,000 cash instead of those involved having to come up with straight cash is the bondman charges a fee (no more than 10%) in cash that the bondsman gets to keep. If the accused satisfies all the court obligations those that put up the collateral get it back but not their $5,000.
The incentive to get the accused to show up is those owning the collateral wanting to get their stuff back.
Thanks random, that clears that up. I hope I'll never need to put that knowledge to use.
Your welcome. I just hope none of his friends think giving up $50,000 worth of stuff is worth bypassing the justice system. If they decide to pull something like that it would be awful and make him look guilty.
Tanner
Im praying for you! i love you! Trust me 50,000 dollars is worth getting you out! all your other friends think so too! love you!
If he does not make his court date. We need to make every effort possible to make sure he is brought to justice. The only place where he can TRULY be found not guilty or guilty is in court. Anything less is cowardice.
random_las_vegas:
I can't believe I've wasted a whole bunch of my time reading this thread and the other really long one. The only bright spot were your posts as well as a few others. You are definitely a nicer person than I am.
It is truly disgusting how Tanner Rousseau's "friends" think Tanner is a sweet, little innocent who wouldn't hurt anyone. Well, he did...he killed a man. He also has been arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia. That doesn't sound too innocent to me.
His friends have all sorts of excuses. Tanner can do no wrong. Well, guess what, boys and girls, he did. He killed someone. In my book and the eyes of the law, that is wrong. It will be interesting to see the results of any blood tests taken when he goes to trial. How much you want to bet there are drugs and/or alcohol in his system?
His "friends" also are idiots to think that the police and lawyers aren't reading the crap that they are posting. Conrad, especially, is a real winner. Most of his "friends" sound like little scumbags. Nice kids don't hang out with people like Conrad. With friends like them, who needs enemies?
I went to school with tanner and growing up we were friends. And just like all of his other friends i can vouch for the fact that he was a funny, unique, outgoing, really well liked and well known kid. Out of the 9 years we went to school together i think i saw him once without a smile on his face. To say this comes as a major shock to anyone who knows him would be a huge understatement.
Yes, He did make the biggest, most life changing mistake he ever could ever even imagine that night, but that is no excuse to go about bashing an 18 year old kid about. Honestly though, who elected you god? who said that people can say things like:
"Just another crackhead going to prison for killing someone.
Next......."
Who do you think you are. That makes you sound like such an ignorant, taste-less, white trash, alcoholic, un-educated trailer park resident. You my friend are the reason that 3/4 of the other countries in this world hate americans.
I am in no way excusing tanners actions. He chose to react in the way he did in the given scenario. I feel though that to belittle someone before the entire case, motive, and situation are established is rediculous.
I feel terrible for the victim and his family also and hope everything gets resolved.
Also, for those complaining that the bail was too low, apparently you dont know much about criminal justice. Bail is set on numerous factors of the suspect. His flight risk being one of them, previous record, danger to public, mental health, family associations, and tons of different aspects. Prosecutors arent idiots, they know how to set bail. They have done their research on the suspect and set bail at what they thought was appropriate. Despite the fact that many of you on this post believe you went to law school, im sorry to inform you that you in fact have not. Let the professionals do their job, thats why you pay your taxes.
Its easy to press the blame on one person when you only have half the story.
What can be done to make sure Tanner doesn't flee?
The comment by Cass is unclear. She either doesn't understand how bail works and thinks they paid $50,000 in order to have Tanner free between now and his court date (they put up $55,000) and will get $50,000 back.
Or it sounds like Cass is trying to say that his friends and family are willing to forfeit the collateral in order for Tanner to remain free. This would be a tragedy. Tanner needs to go to court so they can decide his fate.
The part I don't know about being on bail is do they keep tabs on the accused in any way?
Ummmmmm, hello???
A man is dead by another man's hand. Regardless of the reason, A MAN IS DEAD!! He may have been someone's son, brother, father, whatever.
Until we find out the facts, let's understand that A MAN IS DEAD!!!
macdb......well written! I think the las vegas sun should put you'r comments on the front page! You people on here do nothing but accuse others of what you yourselfs are doing.....I can't believe the way you speak against kids and how they were raised! I think some of you on here really need to take a look at you'r own lives and realize that maybe you'r parents left a few things out, one being morals! another thou shalt not bear false witness! One word AMAZING!
Random:
After bail is set, and a bondsman has fronted the bail money and secured collateral, such as the deed to someone's home, or someone has put up a cash bond of $50,000 the perpetrator (Tanner) will be then be released.
He probably will go home until his court date in which he enters his plea. If he doesn't show for that court date (or any other court date following), the Court will order a Bench Warrant for his arrest, and his bond will be revoked.
Normally the Court doesn't hunt the person down, but if he is seen, or stopped, and Officers see he has an outstanding Bench Warrant, he will be arrested on the spot and draw the "GO to Jail" now card, and he can't bail out again(because bail has been revoked), if out of town, he will be extradited. He sits in jail until the trial is complete. Also, the Court can revoke bail at any time, if they see fit to do so.
Now the bail bondsman is a whole other ballgame. If you bail out with a bondsman and you don't show up for court, the bondsman will be notified. They WILL hunt that person down like a dog, break down doors if they need to... whatever it takes to pick that person up, because they are responsible for bonding that person out and they stand to lose their "investment". They are allowed to carry a weapon and they actually have more leeway then a police officer (don't need search warrants, ect), and these guys don't take no crap! If someone has put up their house, or whatever, they can go after it, and do. In any case, the bondsman are who actually hunt the person, and when they do, they arrest the perp and then escort them back to the authorities, where the person is taken into custody.
Personally, I don't think Tanner is a flight risk, but you never know... I do recall that one of the kids with Tanner ran, because he had a warrant out on him.. The bondsman hire HUGE guys to do their bidding, so I really wouldn't worry about it.
I'm a friend of Tanner's, what he did was not right. He took another mans life.
I am sorry for the people grieving for Gregory Dominique.
Understand this: Tanner is from the small town of Arlington, WA. Population, what less than 20,000? Las Vegas's population is around 500,00 people. Now a 18 year old guy, from the small town of Arlington, that is really scrawny (no offence bro), is being attacked by a 35 year old guy, who is more than likely way bigger than him. He was scared *Explative Deleted*-less. Just like I would have been. He did not know what that man was capible of. This stranger was attacking him, and Tanner did the only thing he thought he could do.
The only things we hear about Las Vegas are of gambling, hookers, hotels, murder, drugs, alcohol, and sin. I personally have never been there, and my opinion of there has been molded by movies. Tanner had reason to believe that that man might kill him if he didn't get him to stop.
I would have done the same thing. If I thought someone was going to kill me.
Will Pray for all of the effected.
Now who wants to help me send him some soap on a rope?
those who lost a family member, I'm very sorry. perhaps instead of making tanners friends feel horrible and like uneducated scum. You could spend that time mourning your loss, In all reality their will be no inner resolution by hatred or however amount of time tanner spends in prison. Spend your day loving your lost One not hating this boy who felt trapped with no options. Tanner should have done something different, and i agree with that. what is their to do now? hate and feel the death is in vein or Love unconditionally and always remember the love you shared with your family member.
It makes me upset that people are putting a huge emphasis, on tanner not going to school or succeeding in a traditional sense. Perhaps he will be a rockstar someday not everybody succeeds in the same way.
Jtown
I believe your are absolutely right on both counts (moving forward with love for all and not hate toward anyone AND the school thing. I have a lot to say about both (I know I have a tendency to be super long winded and ramble, I wish I could learn to express myself while being concise). But I have a big exam today and this has been really distracting me from school (not a bad thing though, I think lots of us commenting are trying to make something positive out of this tragedy). So I'll save it for later.
It's been a week and it is amazing how this has gone from a tragic mystery, to somewhat of an argument, to the start of something positive and maybe even a future change for society in general.
I hope you and everyone involved are doing as well as you can in the circumstance and I wish you all the best (including Tanner, his family, and those who still choose to only see one side or the other).
Snoho:
"The only things we hear about Las Vegas are of gambling, hookers, hotels, murder, drugs, alcohol, and sin. I personally have never been there, and my opinion of there has been molded by movies. Tanner had reason to believe that that man might kill him if he didn't get him to stop."
Thank you for bringing this up... I have been waiting to see if someone would.
Not all of Las Vegas is like you have described above. We have a town (community) much like your's with just everyday people in it. Schools, families, churches ect..
BUT, you're right, this town is geared towards Adult Entertainment for the tourists. I still can't understand why Tanner and his group would even want to come here to began with.
They are under age. To go to any of that sort of entertainment here, you must be 21. In some cases younger is allowed if accompanied by an adult, such as some Shows.
What I am trying to say is, the man that was murdered was over 21. He had a reason for being up on the Strip. He was able to gamble and anything he so chose. He would have reason to be in the parking lot.
Now on the other hand, Tanner and that group had no valid reason for even being in the parking lot at any time let alone 4 am, and they were not with an adult. They could not be leaving or entering the Casino, because they were not old enough to do so.. That brings up the question as to why did they choose to come Las Vegas? Why not California, Arizona, or the many surrounding states that don't cater to Adult Entertainment? In turn, that makes me wonder if they came here looking for trouble. That is one of the reasons Tanner and that group are questionable to me..
We have Police here, that stay right on the Strip as it is their beat, and would have reached the scene quickly. Surely someone in the bunch had a cell phone. The number is 911, just like it is where you come from...
Also, what I don't understand, is how could Tanner's friends, that claim to love him so much, just stand by watching, if in fact the victim was attacking him and not help him? Most people would be yelling for help, calling the police, and breaking up the fight, until help arrived.
Lastly, if Tanner felt he was in life-threatening danger, and believed that he was using self-defense, then why did he not call the police at least after, and get the man help? Had he done that, I would have believed his story, and that man might still be alive today. By him getting rid of the knife after he used it, and not calling to get the man medical help, what are people suppose to think?
If you can answer these questions I have asked, to my satisfaction, I give you my word that I won't post negatively about Tanner on this particular thread again.
I was not there at the scene, therefore i cannot answer all of the above questions, but several questions are common adolescent knowledge.
I, as a teenage male am fascinated by Las Vegas. Big city, bright lights, and endless entertainment. Theres a reason that Vegas is one of the most popular bachelor party and 21st birthday party cities in the US. It is true that Tanner and his friends were not of legal age to gamble, drink or hit up the strip/night clubs, however i believe that just about everyone on this post has been intrigued by the idea of a road trip with some of your best friends to a place that you've never been before. The guys were looking for some adventure and a break from the norm. Why not other surrounding states? Because Vegas is the Disneyland of major cities. There's more to Vegas than the adult entertainment. There's amazing sight-seeing just walking the strip, there's amusement parks in malls and on top of huge buildings, I mean why not go to Vegas?
As for why his friends didn't help, is one of those questions that I too did not understand. I'm sure that there were underlying circumstances that lead to the events that happened and we will find out as the authorities establish the story.
As for your final question as to why he didn't call the authorities after the attack is quiet obvious. One reason being was that the attack was drug related. The crime was supposedly started over a bad drug exchange which lead to Tanner being assaulted by Gregory D., which then lead to Tanner stabbing the victim multiple times to free himself in self defense. (Also take into consideration that Tanner had had suffered head injuries several days earlier in result of getting hit by a car while skateboarding. Impacts to his head during a fight could cause severe injury.)
But the most obvious reason that the incident was not immediately reported was because of panic, fear, and shock. Tanner is one of the most kind people i've met in my life, he is also one of the smallest (He's no taller than 5'7" and weighs no more than 130lbs). If i were that small, and was attacked by a stranger much larger than myself i too would be extremely scared and would panic in self defense. Tanner had no idea of Gregory D.'s threat level. Tanner was in fear of his life, he panicked and reacted. I would assume that after such a terrifying event that Tanner would be in a post traumatic shock and would not be thinking clearly and correctly.
Obviously now Tanner understands and has realized the harsh reality of a terrible split second decision is going to have on his own life, Gregory's friends and familys' life, and the lives of Tanners friends and family.
Please, before you begin to judge a musician, son, student, and friend to any who have met him take into consideration the circumstances.
Well done macdb! you put it perfectly, Everything just kind of gelled for me today concerning this situation. I've let go of a lot of my heat and anger and really realize what compels me to post here so much. To try and provoke thought and discussion. This thread would be kind of repetitive and sort of pointless if all it said was either one side or the other. Or if it just had family and friends of those involved only. I'll separate my long(er?) ramble into a separate post below this one. But I wanted to respond to you.
I can definitely understand the desire wanting to come to Las Vegas under 21. You are right, the larger than life spectacle, the bright lights, and the family attractions (or what's left of them after that failed marketing campaign left over from the 90's). I'm assuming its a fairly long drive from WA and they got here pretty late.
I'm sorry to say if I was in that situation under 21 and building up my excitement the whole way here I'd be disappointed at what I arrived to. Like I already mentioned the family thing of the 90's flopped and what's left of it is sadly hanging on by a pathetic thread (I wish it was still alive and kicking I love amusement parks and arcades and stuff like that). To make things worse the economy has kicked our butts harder than most cities. The wide variety of family activities was traded for the sex, alcohol, and gambling focused "What happens in Vegas" campaign because selling sexy (not actual sex), alcohol, and gambling to the over 21's makes more money per square foot. People just couldn't wrap themselves around the seemingly odd mix of adult fun and kid fun (we should still have a healthy mix of both in my opinion). One of my passions (and part of my career and why I'm in Vegas in the first place) is tourism, so I'm about to spit out a fair bit of info.
Most but not all of the hotels in this town (especially the ones with casinos) will only make rooms available to those 21 and over. I don't think this is fair. The reason they do it is $, the under 21's can't participate in their main money maker, gambling (all this huge gaudy stuff here was built on loser's money).
If we as a city still had our family act together there would have been lots of exciting things to do when Tanner and his buddies got here (even at 4 am). The Tropicana used to have an arcade but the economy killed it (I don't know how good that one was because it was gone before the first time I visited). Also the Titanic, Bodies, and the museum of Las Vegas history are gone from the Trop (along with the Comedy Stop which was wonderful cheap and over 21 but could have easily been 18 and up if they chose) Excalibur has a midway downstairs but it has fallen in to disrepair and looks like walking into an early 90's time warp, is no longer manned 24 hours, and frankly it is boring if you are over about 6. They used to at least stick to the medieval theme pretty well and that made it a little different and fun in an delightfully cheesy way.
ut the trend has become to make everything hip, sleek and plain. So the super-themed casinos like The Excalibur and The Luxor have stripped their themes from the inside anywhere and everywhere they could to appeal the swank California hipsters on the weekends. So now instead of Luxor having a really cool arcade, Imax rides, miniature golf on pool tables and detailed egyptian/desert themes all over the inside (in the original plans it was even supposed to have an indoor flume ride) it is now just a funny shaped building with all the personality of an airport on the inside. New York New York at least has managed to keep it's cool fake city streets on the inside and its massively overpriced roller coaster on the outside. It has two arcades (the upstairs midway one really impressed me when I saw it for the first time, until I realized a lot of the games are broken). Plus they got rid of the cool bumper cars and laser tag they once had (cutting the arcade to half it's former size), and they close the midway around midnight now. The full sized outdoor amusement park behind the MGM Grand has been gone since 2001 or so. It was replaced by some of the spookiest apartments I've seen. GameWorks is a big arcade made by Sega but for some reason after 9PM they've decided to make it 21 and up only and then close at 1AM. The North strip does have ride at the Stratosphere, The Adventure Dome, and a really good (but short) roller coaster at the Sahara. I could go on but I'll try and keep it short (for me). I'm not saying we are a bad town or a boring town. But we've put our eggs all in one $15 martini $100 night club, and gambling basket (when the economy was good the idea of value for everyday people was dropped in favor of seeing how much people would be willing to spend to feel swank). Not everyone finds that fun (I personally don't see the fun in nightclubs) I think it would be nice in this economy if we still had more options for younger people who have a little bit of pocket money to spend on fun.
Plus the economy has cut back visitors, two years ago super late night/early morning on the strip was still fairly lively. Now it is a ghost town at those hours. Even the dudes who hand out hooker cards (love em or hate em they are uniquely Vegas) leave at around 1 AM. It's empty at those hours to the point where the Strip buzzes along quietly with obvious and in your face hookers and drug dealers (their business is hurting too). In better economic times there were more people around which made them sink into the shadows and they knew business would find them if they wanted to, instead of making an offer to random passerby (our seedy underbelly used to be polite and make themselves invisible to those not actively seeking their services).
I hope I didn't give our town too much of a black eye. It's still fun here just not has varied as it once was (and can be again). On the bright side, the "as much as the market will bear" pricing has disappeared in favor of offer better value to get more bodies here and that is a good thing (for the last two weeks I've spent Friday night on Fremont Street people watching, eating, and gambling, thanks to some smart use of coupons (yep, coupons to gamble with exist), I came home with $30 more than I left the house with the 1st week, and the next I came home with $1 less than I left the house with. That's a great value for about 8 hours of fun each Friday night.
If I was 18 I'd be disappointed arriving here after a long car ride looking for fun. I'd be exploring too looking for something to do. So I feel for them. Maybe Vegas can roll out the red carpet to younger people and families again in the future? You raised a great point, I now see it through the eyes of someone younger a bit better.
I hope this was on topic enough to fit the general discussion. Maybe a little bit of lightheartedness is something will all need in times like this.
I wish everyone the best of luck and as much happiness as possible in this rough time. The more I feel this situation out the more I come to the realization I don't dislike Tanner at all (or even his friends that were rude to me, in fact I really like the the thoughtful insightful ones that have contributed new ideas and fresh perspectives to this lively discussion). I'll save the heavier (but really nice friendly post) I have planned for later (I crammed and studied for a really big exam today and had work, but still felt the need to check this out).
macdb: Thank you for the insight from a prospective of a friend of Tanner's not being there.
There are still so many unanswered questions. I still don't get them coming to Vegas.. Califonia is a great place to go to and see awesome things, they have a real Disneyland for all ages, Knotts Berry farm.. the zoo, the best malls this side of the west coast.. If they had just turned 21, I could fully understand them coming here.
See, Mac, even if they hadn't stayed around after the victim was stabbed, the least they could have done was man-up and make a call to get medical assistance. The man laid there, what 30 minutes?
You appear to be fair and rational young man from your posting. Don't you think you might have called for help for the victim even if you ran away first?
This was a human being dying, and had to know he was severely injured... how can someone just turn their back like that? I can't help but find it inhumane... There was a little pot involved, which is only a misdemeanor.. I don't even know if it would be classified as a drug deal..
And Mac... where those kids were, in that parking lot... there is nothing to see, sightseeing wise. Had they been on the main Strip actually sightseeing and were accosted, again I could more understand..
Hey Linda from vegas i would like to thank u for what u have said in your last blog now ive been following ever blog on here from day one yours is the only one that brought some light to this i like how u got right into details on what r those teenager even doing there in the first place i strongly agree with that i said wasnt going to get on here and saying anything but i had to let u know that we thank u for looking at this life been taking by death over somethin so stupid now my cuzo is gone all over bcuz this young ass teenager wanted to get high i miss my cuzo so much u just dont know how this is tearing my family apart especailly my aunt his mom and his brother sisters dad grandma aunts just ever one in our family tanner!!!!!!!! u didnt have to take him away from us we love greg so much and just wish we could see him again but we cant so we dont know whats else to do but cry and pray that justice will be served for GREGORY DOMINIQUE we love u man but know this Tanner, family and friends GOD SEES and GOD KNOWS and know that your day will soon come ............ GOD BLESS EVER ONE
Roe:
You're more then welcome... Thank you for the post, it brought tears to my eyes.. there aren't any words to fully express my sympathy..
I feel such hurt for your entire family. I know what it feels like to lose someone you love with all your heart and soul. I haven't lost someone the way that you lost your Cuzo, so I can't even began to imagine that part..
A parent should never have to go through the incredible pain of losing their child, that isn't the natural order.
I wish I could take that pain away from his mom and dad. I believe someone said he had children too. A child should always have his dad there to be able to turn to.. every brother, sister, cuzo, aunt,uncle, should have the chance to grow old together.
I know all of you feel like you have a big hole is in your hearts now, and nothing can fill that void. The pain is unbelievable... I am so sorry.
Your Cuzo and all of his family are in my thoughts and prayers.
Take care, and please know, that people that don't know you and never knew your Cuzo, do care...
God Bless you all..
Linda
Random - Your brief history of Vegas is a bit off on some of your accounts. You should stick to discussing the story.
trulee innocent - With friends like you, who needs enemies? Proof is in this story. If that went over your head....that wouldn't surprise me.
S711
trulee innocent, you are truly an uneducated idiot. If Tanner is truly your friend, you should shut your mouth because I'm quite sure you aren't helping him.
Hey its not nice to pick on uneducated 18 year olds who spend all their time smoking pot and pretending to be thugs.
Meybe your right, we shudn't pik on them.....Meybe if we spoak in their langwej, they wood listenne?
S711
Sinatra, thanks for pointing that out. I hope though not perfect, that my account gets the general idea across. Do you at agree the "bring the kids to Vegas" stuff of the 90's has pretty much disappeared in favor of the drop $$$ at a nightclub? You seem to love this town like I do and I try to keep up with the changes, but it's always different and changing it seems. The ghost town at 4 am part. Last time I made that walk it was about 3 months ago. I was approached by a man offering all passerby pot in front of an ATM near a certain candy themed store, right out in the open. Walking on the bridges a man offered me coke, and the working girls said hello. Most people awake at that hour seem to still be in the nightclubs. I had just gotten off work so I was in nice dress pants, nice dress shoes, and a dress shirt I look young for my age and my hair is slightly long. Wasn't trying to give the town a black eye, just saying I'd be sorely disappointed if I was 18. If I was off on what family attractions are closed let me know I really miss some of them (I want to ride bumper cars and play laser tag on the strip, and I was jumping up and down when I learned the Sahara reopened their roller coaster I thought it was a goner). I'll focus on the story though. I just was trying to paint a picture of Tanner and his buddies being all excited on the drive here to arrive at something that would be kind of boring if I was 18.
The older version of Vegas that I'm too young to have seen seems really cool to me. It seemed like a better value for the average joe and a little bit genuinely seedy (which isn't bad). I'd love to have seen the Stardust in it's glory days.
Back to the situation as hand, I looked it up. The Tropicana is of the majority that DO require require those with a room to be at least 21 and present valid government issued photo ID at check in. So someone with him was 21, had a fake, or someone at C/I made an error (it's not illegal to provide rooms to under 21, it's just not good $ wise).
They could have just been walking from the back parking lot to go through the back of the hotel to check in, so they may not have even known that part yet. Smoking a cigarette during that walk wouldn't be abnormal or wrong. I'd seen in the past unsavory types hanging by those back doors making offers to people in the wee hours. I doubt Tanner and his friends knew the area was somewhat sketchy and valet would have been a great idea. I can't fault them on that part. If they were approached and said no thanks, they more likely than not would have been left alone (that's what I do). The underbelly is fairly logical and knows what they are doing is illegal, so in their best interest they tend to not make a scene whenever possible.
If they didn't have their room yet (they may have just got here). The smoking out back makes sense. If they did have a room a smoking room would have been wise (it's more comfy to sit watching TV smoking a cigarette in a room, than to hike out to the back). But I don't smoke, so maybe smokers like being inconvenienced. I could even see wanting to go out for a walk and a smoke and going out the front onto the actual strip, they would have at least seen the lights. But most people wouldn't know the back and sides are slightly sketchy (they also could have been heading towards Hooters or the back of MGM). They even could have been out there smoking pot (not wise but it can be done).
It's all a matter of what happened once they met the victim. It doesn't matter who approached who first in the grand scheme of things. With the information we have now, it's clear that most likely there was some sort of trade of drugs going down. Let's go with the arrest record for now (and parts of the account from his friends) just to make things easier to keep track of. Tanner does seem to me like the best of the bunch, he was making poor choices, but I don't doubt his loyalty and his kindness based on what his friends have said.
Let's say, he did try and exchange $6 and a little pot for some cocaine with the victim. He got that empty envelope instead. He seems like he'd be smart enough to just let it go. Maybe the people with him were similar to Conrad personality wise. Their friend gets ripped off, they feel disrespected and want to show the man ripping their friend off that they are tough. So they start fighting to get the money and pot back. Tanner being kindhearted and loyal would want to help his friends and the friends say the 1st fight got broken up somehow. Maybe he flashed the knife to stop the fight his friends were involved in maybe he didn't. What happened from then was unclear. It really just reeks of a fight that spiraled out of control. Most people in Tanner's shoes wouldn't have done the smart thing (that at first doesn't seem smart) of letting their friends make their own mistake while they went and got help. Their were a lot of poor decisions on all parts involved but I don't think anyone there was a monster or anything.
If it went down similar to that and Tanner was trying to do what at first seems like the right thing in a bad, scary, fast moving situation. But in the wrong way. I could definitely see why some of Tanner's friends might consider him truly and completely innocent. That doesn't make them right in the least but I do see how they could erroneously feel that way.
The victim and his family have every right to feel outraged (along with those not involved on either side). EVERYONE, must not forget a man is dead and will never be back, he had friends and family that loved him every bit as much as Tanner's friends love him.
The stampede for Tanner to not suffer any further consequences because he was a good kid and they love him seem to have thankfully died down. If they got their wish it would seem like such a spit in the face to the victims family. Tanner's family and friends need to remember that even if the worst consequence happens to him (25-life) they still will get to see him, talk to him, be with him, the victims family doesn't get that (and if it was possible they definitely deserve to see their loved one again too).
Maybe he will be found guilty maybe he will be found innocent somehow. But the worst thing anyone could do for Tanner and his friends is continue the myth that "it's always someone else fault you did nothing wrong ever". I get the feeling more and more that tanner was a good kid who was misguided and let down by some of those around him (what's to say that after his paraphernalia possession charge he didn't leave town to try and straighten up and a chorus of his new friends steered him toward risk by saying "it wasn't your fault man, it was the cop, everybody parties"). I have the feeling some of his friends might need to learn the "I am responsible the consequences of my actions and bad things can happen based on them" lesson even more than Tanner does. That is why I don't want him not to be punished. I don't want him to be punished just for the sake of punishment, what if someone learns from this and other bad things in the future are stopped.
I feel that most of the Arlington residents are making the situation look worse, not because of ill intentions, but because of bad typing skills and floods of anxiety for a friend.
I know that the "Tanner is a good kid and never did anything wrong" tirade is obnoxious, particularly to an outsider looking in. But it seems to me that nobody has done him justice yet, and I think that yet another testament to his importance is needed. I'd be very much obliged if you'd just read this.
I'm only trying to set some form of perspective.
Tanner comes from a very small, very confused and segregated little town called Arlington, Washington, where the Safeway parking lot and the river bank are truly the only places for teenagers to go without being ushered out- and even then, Safeway has taken to banning the adolescent loitering as of late.
It is a pathetic place to live. There is a lot of poverty, a lot of hushed incidents that blacken its reputation (take the infamous cross burning a couple years back) and a heck of a lot of boredom. Vegas is one of those places kids in Arlington joke about running off to to simply escape the doldrums that we find ourselves swept off to with nothing to do.
And in this place, there are a few gems. Tanner is one of them. He has one of the most blinding and constant smiles I have ever seen, always seems full of energy, and his charm seems to appeal to both teenagers and adults. Although he doesn't attend Arlington High School anymore, there has been a rally of support amongst the teachers. Like anyone else, they are truly shocked that the kid with the most shining smile and upbeat attitude is.in.prison.for.killing.someone.
It really is hard to talk about him, because he was one of the few people that I truly believe you have to meet to understand his qualities.
Way to go lemorse! You have my condolences about the situation. I didn't grasp just how small, poor, and boring Arlington is (I've moved around a lot so it your depiction reminds me of some of the places I've lived).
Like I've said before, Tanner seems like the best of the bunch as far as his friends go. Your depiction also lends credence to why the drinking, smoking, partying culture seems even more pronounced than it is for teenagers on average. Arlington seems to have almost nothing to do for that age group. It also explains from why a lot of Tanner's friends have children. I even think that Tanner was acting better than his friends in this situation (except for the tragic ending of course). With the limited information we have now, it points to Tanner trying to save his friends tails (breaking up the fight). Then when the 2nd attacked happened these same friends made no attempt to return the favor and help Tanner. They focused more avoiding their warrants and trying to get away. Tanner even had the courage to turn himself in right away. It really sounds like the cops encountered the group while they were trying to leave the Tropicana property. It took guts to step out of the car and say "you got me". I don't think it was Tanner's friends that made him do that, it was Tanner being a good kid in a really good time. He is not a monster, just someone who made a really tragic mistake that changed a lot of lives (hopefully the victim's family realizes I still feel very deeply for them). I just can't easily demonize Tanner, I think he was let down in a lot of ways by his friends, but ultimately he is responsible for his own actions. Maybe eventually some of his friends will take a deep hard look at what happened, how they feel and think of things a bit differently. It would do nothing but good for them and (in lots of cases) their children.
I wish everyone involved the best, my heart is with everyone involved. I so could have easily been involved in something similar to this when I was younger so that's why I have become so vocal (I hope I don't come off as crazy).
I meant to say good kid in a really bad time. I should proofread (I usually don't because I think it gets in the way of my stream of concious writing style).
Re: lemorse
What an excellent post! I appreciated you are giving us a glimpse into the town of Arlington. I took your post seriously and felt it was well worth the read. This is the first post I've read from the Arlington area, that actually shows class and education.. Very refreshing indeed.. No implied filthy name calling, no, if you happen to have a weapon on you, nor the all about ME mentality. It caught my attention so much so, that it inspired me to research Arlington , WA , and see just what I could learn about this small town. You did an excellent job of setting a form of perspective. I even ran across videos of your town..
From my research, you are very accurate in describing Arlington as a very small, very confused and segregated little town. I was actually quite shocked to see that within the approximate 16,000 - 17,000 population of this small town, that basically it is predominantly an all Caucasian society. The particular link that this info is from is: http://www.city-data.com/city/Arlington-... This is from one of the many sources I view. On many of the sites, it said 90% White. Just for the record, I am white.
Races in Arlington:
White Non-Hispanic (87.4%)
Hispanic (5.8%)
Two or more races (2.8%)
Other race (2.5%)
American Indian (1.7%)
Filipino (1.3%)
Black (1.1%)
Arlington compared to Washington state average:
Black race population percentage significantly below state average.
Foreign-born population percentage below state average.
Length of stay since moving in below state average.
House age significantly below state average.
This had never dawned on me before, until I was reading Arlington's stats. Have these kids even interacted with an African American before (the victim was black)? Furthering my research, innuendoes were made that the people there are very clickish. As I scrolled down this same site, they had a forum for posting. In that forum was a thread with a woman enquiring about racism in Arlington, She and her family were looking to move there. She had concerns from an article she read in the newspaper. The link: http://www.city-data.com/forum/washingto...
Race had not entered my mind previously, but this has left me wondering if the murder could have had something to do with race. I hope to God not! We are after all in the 21st century. From your post, you personally don't strike me as that sort of person.
cont
I do understand what you're saying about the teens not having much to do there, but hang out in the Safeway parking lot and the river bank. Believe it or not, our teens are basically in the same predicament, minus the river bank. The teens in Las Vegas hang out in places like the parking lots of Convenient stores. Our police force strongly discourages the loitering, and normally breaks up these groups. The reason being is most of the time fights break out or they start harassing customers, robberies can occur, drugs, panhandling, asking adults to purchase alcohol for them, ect..
I know that the teens in Arlington would not know this, but while reading about the extremely high crime rate as well as the lack of things to do there, I could have been reading about Las Vegas, and the similar issues we have here as well. Las Vegas is not a great place to raise children. It use to be wonderful when I was growing up, but back then, it was small, around 60,000 people in the Las Vegas area, and life was different.
The one thing that may be very different between Arlington and Las Vegas is we have a huge amount of transit here. People come and go here like you can't imagine. When they are hunting down criminals from other states, many times they have relocated here, at the very least, they have usually past through here... One example: terrorists from 911.. This is just one price we pay for living here.. As I said in previous posts. People hanging in the Casino parking lots are a red flag to us, and to be avoided at all costs. They are usually lying in wait of people coming out of the Casinos to rob them, breaking into vehicles, or up to something that isn't good. That's why the Casinos have surveillance cameras in the parking lots as well as inside the Casinos. They are trying to protect their guests...
All I can say is, from what you feel and say about Tanner, it certainly is a shame he got in the car with those kids to come to Las Vegas, especially carrying a knife... a travesty for the victim and his family, as well as for Tanner and his. If Tanner is the gem you say he is, I certainly hope he wasn't foolish enough to take the fall for one of the other teen's actions... That concerns me about the "hushed incidents" that you mentioned that go on in your small town..
Linda, thank you so much! Thank you for your witty comments and insights. You bring up new ideas and question the situation from several angles. The assault on tanner just doesn't sit right with me. I still do not know how many teens were involved, but it would take a bunch of them to get Gregory down. When did the assault occur? After the teens got fooled? If all took place how it was said (with the $6 and pot exchange), Greg would not attack them, he would walk away joking about it (which is not necessarily right). But that does not give ANYONE the right to take someone's life. And on the account of racism this is what tanners supporter jdbaldwin29 had to say:
Re: Oh yah The bum Black man that was stabbed, Was A Big Time Druggy. So i really don't have much pity for him.. IT WASN'T MURDER IT WAS SELF DEFFENCE
I rest my case"
Hi Why... You're more then welcome, you know that... This entire incident hasn't sat right with me from the beginning. Usually if I read or hear of something.. I can see some sort of logic to it, even if it is the logic of a demented person, things just seem to fit the situation. Not so with the tragic death of Greg... the pieces don't seem to fit. I agree with you on each and every thing you said in your post. I have several theories which of course aren't facts But you know I can't post them here.. as they are just my thoughts..
The Investigators can only release so much info, because they of course don't want to impede their investigation. So, it does leave a lot of unanswered questions.
I know it is has to be so difficult on your family not knowing what happened... so many questions without answers... I think our minds are just naturally trained to try and make sense out of senseless situations, and when they don't make sense, it's hard to let go of it..
I am hoping and praying that this was caught on surveillance cameras, and that the tapes are the hands of the authorities. If so, it will come out in the trial.
As for how many teens were involved... that remains a mystery as well. The newspapers have never even mentioned other kids involved, which I find rather odd.. It all sounds odd.. 2 fights, ummm, again makes no sense. I highly question Tanner's ability to take down a man Greg's size by himself... Maybe that is why the police thought he was joking with them. As for the knife.. a MAN GREG'S SIZE COULD EASILY take that away from a single teen, as well as hold him at arms length.. he could have simply kicked the weapon from his hand (maybe the cuts on his legs)?.. Also I don't believe for a moment that Greg approached them first, what would be the purpose?
I am thinking Greg maybe had his own car, a rental, or even on foot, .. had been gambling and a few drinks in the Trop.. heading out to try his luck elsewhere when he ran into the teens.. Of course I don't know this to be a fact.. but just a thought. In Vegas when people come here to gamble, most don't sleep much and hit the different casinos.
I just can't see him stopping to chat with a group of teens. $6 dollars wouldn't benefit him. No grown man would fight over $6, with the exception of maybe someone homeless wanting a meal..
cont
Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought him being a black man could have anything to do with it prior to the research today... even with racist comments.. I hadn't seen the one you pasted before tonight(downright cold and disgusting), I did see another mentioning he was black, which was not written as a slur. Maybe there were more that had been removed, and I missed seeing them.
But, after viewing the population statistics that I included in the post, then seeing the thread in there with the woman asking about racial issues in Arlington, I felt like I had been kicked in the gut. This town sounds like something out of the 50's..I am praying this wasn't racially motivated...
Blessings & Prayers to you and all the family, Linda
Great research Linda! It definitely shows what kind of environment these teens were brought up around. I think if Tanner's hyper-defensive friends are still reading this (excluding the cool ones who have contributed useful discussion) we might have a moment of "see everyone has it WRONG, now they are saying Tanner's racist".
I for one find it doubtful that Tanner and his friends were what most people think of when they hear the word racist. But, I think the victim being black likely played a factor. Once they got ripped off (which even the victims family says is the truth as far as they know) I could imagine the teens projecting race into their thoughts and actions. Instead of thinking and feeling "that man ripped us off" they may have thought "that black man ripped us off".
I was first attracted to this story for the same reasons you were. When I read it and saw Tanner's face (young scared kid) it didn't make sense. The internet age made it even more intriguing. When I first read the only comments here were the of the "we should ban knives and send whites back to Europe political thing". So I put his name in google, found his Myspace (I don't understand having a personal myspace not private but it seems common). I saw the drinking, pot smoking, party photos, (now that I look back the amount of partying documented is INSANE, it seems like it's all these kids did and some adult with a nice house provided a place for them to do it without consequences). I didn't think much of the partying at first. But once I got back here, the comments from the one-sided friends appeared the "he was robbed for no reason and HAD to defend his money" type stuff, then the "He was attacked for no reason", then the "he was around a fight and not involved and then when it broke up he was attacked". None of these scenarios made sense, but as more info came out, it became clearer.
I did notice how when I first found the snippets of arrest report and posted them here. His friends said that it was complete fiction I made up. The more we find out the more the arrest report looks somewhat accurate and what his friends say starts to make less sense.
The move the victim pulled. Is the mark of someone either really desperate for $6, someone who thinks what they are doing is a joke, or someone who doesn't fully realize the risk of their fairly smart scam (most of the crimes in Vegas happen to people who were looking for sex for money or drugs, because once they are robbed or tricked they are less likely to go to the police).
OJ'S bail was higher than that.
Hi Random,
re: "Once they got ripped off (which even the victims family says is the truth as far as they know)"
I don't think they have said this is the truth as far as they know. How I take it is, the kids said it was the cause of the fight, and the family doesn't know if it is true or not, but are not trying to make excuses for Greg. They appear to deal in facts from what I can tell, and so far none of this is a fact..
Remember too, that group of kids, and it sounds like there were a lot of them, had at least 30 minutes to decide on what they were going to say if caught, as well as ditch the weapon.
These kids have made statements on here saying they know for sure about something, just to come back later and say something different.
And last, as I have said before... there was no one there to tell Greg's side. However, I hope and pray that there is evidence that will help him speak from the grave..
Heck Random, we still don't even know who approached who first. We don't even know if what the kids say about anything is true at all... All we do know for sure is that they keep yelling self-defense and making excuses for this inhuman behavior as well as past behaviors. They have everything to gain by lying and trying to cover their butts with no witness there to say different...
Let's say just for argument sake that Greg was broke and needed money.. He has a huge extented family in which all he had to do was call a family member and ask them wire or transfer money to him.. simple as that! They wouldn't care him calling at 4 am here, because back there it would have been 7 am..
Please remember, this was a man that DID graduate high school(and held a high GPA), that DID graduate Collage, that held down a fulltime JOB, as well as SUPPORTED a family. Do you really think with all he stood to lose, that he would be foolish enough to risk his job and security for himself and his children to fleece a group of kids? I don't! He was an intelligent man with far too much to lose!!!!! The kids on the other hand had none of the above to lose, they were out seeking an adventure... The logistics of this situation are flawed...
Right on Linda :). I reread the post from his family and a I missed a pretty major IF. They said to the effect of "if it did go down like the arrest report said, the victim wouldn't fight, he'd laugh (not necessarily right)"
I didn't see the if the first time around. I deeply apologize for that. The arrest report version makes sense to me based on my life experience. I'll give Tanner the benefit of the doubt and don't think he was just killing or robbing a random person. It really does seem like a fight gone out of control.
I'm going to try really hard not to step on toes out of respect for the victim's family and friends, they did say he enjoyed marijuana (which in moderation for a mature adult, isn't legal but not necessarily a bad thing). What if the teens were out behind the casino smoking pot (it makes more sense than needing to go outside to smoke a cigarette, they wouldn't want their room reeking of pot and risking trouble)? Is it unreasonable that a man who enjoyed pot and happened upon a group of people smoking would ask to join in (if I still smoked I sure would)? We have to remember Tanner's friends who weren't there (if we go with arrest report account) gave a lot of half truths. They made mention of the probably doing drugs with the group (but of course they added, the probably to get the kids hooked angle, which turns out to be bull). I think a group of teens would be pretty angry if they just smoked out a guy out then got tricked out of money and pot by him. Maybe while hanging out with them he figured out how gullible and naive they were and saw a good opportunity for enough money for a hamburger or something and enough weed for a joint, without thinking it would turn out like this.
We don't know and don't really need to know if something unfortunate had happened to the victim that put him in a desperate situation.
Hopefully the truth of the whole thing will come out in court. But I'm fearful Tanner's family and friends may try to convince him that he doesn't need to go to court.
Mostly I'm just really concerned for the cross section of young people in Arlington this revealed. They need some sort of actual adult to guide them. Maybe the community can help these kids find something fun, safe, and legal to do. It seems like near constant partying without even thinking of any consequences was condoned by many.
I did just finish reading a book today that reminded me a lot of the young adults involved in this situation.
Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled--and More Miserable--Than Ever Before
By Jean M. Twenge, Ph.D. (Free Press, 2006)
It is an analysis of how for "generation me" (roughly those now ages 7 to 37) has been ingrained since birth with the fairly new idea of "I'm special", "I can anything I put my mind to", "I have to do what's right for me", and "only I know what is best for me". Has produced a generation of miserable narcissists who will be let down when exposed to the "real world" when they become adults. As opposed to in the past when children were ingrained with things like "respect your elders", "you can't always get what you want". "life isn't always fair"
I found it interesting. I can even see myself in it to a mild extent. I feel very outside of generation me though (especially when I'm on a college campus) because of the very negative way I was raised. My parents were very old fashioned (and I love them to death they have helped me turn out successful despite the setbacks I've had). My parents were the few I knew growing up that didn't at all buy into the "we have to build our children's self confidence thing". I think their is a happy medium of having confident kids versus super-over-confident kids. If I could do it over I wish I wasn't raised with no self esteem, but I'm also glad I wasn't raised to think I could do no wrong and was awesome no matter what I did.
Random, although you tried, you did hit a nerve. You are of course entitled, but I will challenge this train of thought. So what IF your new theory was true, does that mean they had a reason to kill him? For six dollars? Family members said he enjoyed pot? (I must have missed that one). He needed money for a hamburger? Come on! A precious life was lost! I never said I knew that he tricked them, I assumed, based on what I've read here. Greg would not attack them, he would walk away! That was the moral of the story. And then I added that if that was the case it would not be nice. Gregory was a jokester, he was NOT a predator; that is the only reason I would consider the possibility of him fooling them! He was not out to get anyone-and that I know for sure! (Takes so little to twist words!). Like previously said he has a large family and if needed would contact them for money. He also had a job. I don't know what happened and I think I'm done speculating, but at the least they should have called the police! Greg may have been alive now. All involved were in the wrong-and that's a fact, but only Greg was fatally injured. They stabbed him NUMEROUS times. They threw the weapon out and let him bleed to death... Murder...
Racism should be condemned because its effects are pernicious.
-- Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza, Genes, Peoples, and Languages
I think that a lot of excellent information about Tanner and this entire incident is being revealed. However, i believe the racism aspect is extremely inaccurate.
As a resident of Everett, WA , which is approx. 15 miles from Arlington, I am pretty well aware of what goes on in this county (Snohomish County). In all honesty, yes, Arlington is a small town out in 'the boonies'. It is true that there is absolutely NOTHING to do there, or just about any town in snohomish county. If you want entertainment you go to Everett for perhaps a minor league sports event, or down to seattle, and even that gets old. Its also true that Arlington has had the reputation of a small southern town during the civil rights movement at times.
However, i know Tanner and I know for a fact that he is not racist. A kid with black, hispanic and asian friends is more likely than not a racist. Also, Tanner lived the majority of his life in Everett, WA which is the 6th largest city in Washington state. Everetts demographic is again mostly white, but is growing to be more diverse by the years. The racial makeup of the city is 81.05% White
3.35% African American
1.56% Native American
6.31% Asian
0.36% Pacific Islander
3.13% from other races and
4.25% from two or more races.
Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.15% of the population.
As you can see, the black population is approx. 2% higher. Many of you are probably thinking that 3.35 isn't much, and i know Linda and Why?, that you are probably going to disagree with me but the bottom line is that Tanner is not a racist and that this incident was not race motivated. While I went to school with Tanner one of his best friends was black. Disagree with me all you'd like, but when it comes down to it, I knew Tanner on a personal level and you are going off the reputation and stats of a town he was not born even and raised in.
I cant preach enough that Tanner made the biggest mistake of his life, no questions asked. He stabbed a man and that man is now dead over a small amount of drugs. I'm curious though as to why we haven't heard more about Gregs background. The fact that Greg was out on the strip at 4 in the morning selling drugs to young adults seems to bring up some questions. Not only selling drugs to young adults, but ripping them off.
From whats been said on these post it sounds as though this incident was out of character for both men and i know this in extremely hard for both families. All i hope is that the case is solved accurately so that both families can sleep knowing that justice was served and the truth was revealed.
So Arlington is supposedly a racist town eh? Where did this information come from? Wikipedia? Haha.
I'm sorry Why? My thoughts are still with you and your family. I think it's pretty clear what side I'm on (I'm on the side of the person who lost their life over this foolishness).
With the comments of Tanner's friends and the photo taken 15 hours after the incident. I find it is very doubtful Tanner was attacked, scared and angry most likely, but beaten in inch from his life. I just don't see it.
With the victim being a jokester, I could see this being done as a joke. We don't have anything showing us their was any fight except Tanner's friends, and they do have every reason to bend the truth.
I'm definitely going to cut back on my speculations. I just got a little big headed because my guess in my head was a fake drug deal, way back when Tanner's friends were crying random robbery. As more information cam out (the arrest report) my guess started to add up.
I deeply hope some of the people that knew Tanner will use this as an opportunity to look at themselves and the world around them and make improvements as needed.
I wish the family of the victim gets the justice and closure they deserve. Every effort needs to be taken to make sure Tanner goes to all his court dates. If he doesn't I'll be one of the first to forward this information around to all the proper avenues.
My heart is with everyone involved I hope something good can come out of something so tragic.
To the family of the victim, I hope you can accept my sincere apology.
This is to the people who keep telling me to shut up.
This comment section is for EVERYONE with ANY opinion concerning this situation. It's not just a "We Love Tanner!" section. That would be boring. So we'll keep using our 1st amendment right. Thank you very much.
None of the comments here have approached the legal definition of slander or libel. Look it up in the dictionary.
Best of luck to all involved.
Kudos MacDB!!!! Wonderful post, you put it perfectly :) just needs to be served so both sides can know as close to the truth as possible, and sleep better at night.
Wow.. where to start here..
Re: macdb.. excellent post, and that answered the race question. I do want to tell you, that my questioning of this wasn't solely based on those stats and the thread that the link leads to.. Things I had read prior to the stats played a factor as well. Things that Tanner's friends have said. When I tied all of these things together it certainly made me wonder. I try not to jump to conclusions, but when things start piling up, I have to ask the question.. why??? Please don't take offense to what I am going to put here, because I would never write anything like this personally, and refrained from doing so before because I found it so offensive and distasteful. But, I do want macdb to see why I was questioning this.. Tanner's friend, Justin writes things like, and this is a quote "f--- school n-gga i wanna be a dope dealer :) ha ha". And that is just one of many.. He isn't the only one that writes this stuff.. I'm not going to disagree with you macdb, as you sound credible to me. I truly didn't know if these kids had ever seen an Afro American before.
Tanner's friends do concern me... Conrad actually threatened Random, he is into knifes, as well as his fascination with mafia and mob role playing games (which includes, but not limited to robbing, stealing, and killing, collecting weapons, gang activities) .. again he isn't the only one..
Tanner lived with Conrad for close to a year... and I agree with you, you do know Tanner on a personal level and I don't. But, when you see these kids bragging on getting drunk and smoking dope, this includes Tanner bragging, I can't help but questions these kid's morals and values.. I also feel Janet, that is an adult over 40, is a very bad influence as well. I would not want my kids in the same state as her, let alone the same town.. enough said on this part..
As for Greg, do you not think that I would not research both Tanner AND Greg? Absolutely I did! I came up with nothing derogatory on him.. zip, zelch, nothing... from what I can tell he has not ever broken the law. His family, just like Tanner's friends came forward and said who he was. I know he comes from a large family ( that absolutely adored him), has 2 children, was a college grad, 35 years old, had a great sense of humor, played football, 6'1 195 pounds..athletic... He didn't have a weapon on him, and he didn't have drugs on him... The kids were the one's that had the drugs and the weapon.. Which kid had the drugs or if a few had them, I don't know..
cont
Now, if you click on Tanner's picture, it will enlarge... I did that. for someone that was suppose to be getting pounded about the head and face, he has absolutely no bruises bumps,cuts, contusions or swelling of an sort, not even a mark on his neck. Even his healing wounds from the accident involving a vehicle, were not broke open.. they appear to be healing very well. Look for yourself.. Therefore, I cannot believe that Greg was beating him, nor even hit him.
Also, Tanner had friends there.. the kids have made a big deal about how small Tanner is, and I do believe that. However, I got a feeling Tanner was the smallest out of the bunch of kids. I'm going to guess there were kids there 6 foot as well, and maybe at the same weight or more, as Greg...
As to your comment about why Greg was out there at 4 am selling drugs and ripping off kids. I don't believe he approached those kids on the pretense of selling drugs to rip them off. He was visiting Las Vegas just a millions of tourist do every year. The casinos don't have clocks in them anywhere! There is a reason for that.. People gamble around the clock, we are a 24 hour town. Lots of the dance clubs are open til 4 - 6 am. Time has no bearing on a tourist over 21.. many will play all night, grab a couple hours of sleep, whenever, and back down to a casino to gamble some more. This is a very common practice, not unusual or suspect at all.. Some don't even sleep for a few days... As I have said this is town is really for adult tourists over 21.. an adult Disneyland. Kids don't hang out on the Strip, especially in parking lots unless they are up to no good... This is frustrating for me as well, because I don't know if I am accurately getting the picture across to you of how it is in Vegas. No tourist would be looking to prey on kids on the Strip, because generally there would not be kids there to prey on... Tanner had to be with someone over 21 ... if he and that group were staying in a room at a casino, they would not be allowed to stay there unless accompanied by an adult of 21 or older... ID is required.
Has anyone else noticed how some of the most foul mouthed, disrespectful, and directly threatening posters have disappeared? But, some of the new ones have eerily similar writing styles? Looks like some folks got themselves banned.
My heart is still with the victim's family and all involved. I wish the best for everyone. To provide closure for everyone justice must be served, and only a judge can find Tanner guilty or innocent. I hope we find out as much of the actual truth as possible someday. If Tanner doesn't make all his court dates, please make every effort to get this story out to as many people as possible, to make sure justice is served for the victim's family.
Also this can be a HUGE learning experience for everyone, if they let it be.
Linda,random and why: I would like to apologize...I have been trying my hardest to view this situation from both ends as fairly as possible, I believe that I should not have viewed this situation from a self defense perspective I think that I am the type of person whom likes to have all facts before drawing any conclusions. I believe their is good in everyone and bad things happen. Linda....there is nothing wrong with my water! and I AM a good parent whom does not allow my kids to carry weapons and teach my kids everyday about situations like this....as this situation has been an example in my home! We all are on here stating our own opinions and trying to figure out what happened and why? I have been reading all the comments and I hope you all get you'r answers soon! This will be my last entry. I have figured out that the information at hand is just not enouph for me to creat scenario's.....I would not like it if I were in Gregs or Tanners position and have people dragging out personal information and judging my character based on my friends and family....just because something is legal doesn't make it right or even nice. Random: It has been nice talking to you and you have taught me a-lot....we need more people like you in the world...not once did you insult me or my opinion and I thank you! I hope you continue to try and help anyone that needs it....they need you'r patience and kindness...I hope that we never give up and that we can continue to try to make the world a better place!
Hi Alice.. nice post. I do apologize for the 'what's in the water" remark, it was wrong and uncalled for.
Hi why??? I hope you and the family are getting by OK somehow. I can only imagine how painful it must be. I am still praying for all of you. I don't know if you you are still reading these posts or not. That has to be painful as well. If you are up to it, please you or sibling e-mail me and let me know you are OK. I know Greg's mother has been in such agony it pains me for all of you. If you aren't up for it, I do understand. I would never give my e-mail out normally, but your situation has so touched my heart, I'm making an exception. LVLinda71@aol.com
Prayers & Blessings,
Linda
To whom it may concern,
As a long time firends of tanners i feel i should share your unfactual comments and give you answers. Random and all of the above say that all he did was smoke, drink, and party. Well to tell the truth most of that is wrong. Tanner was one of those kids who liked to be active. every nice day we would all just walk around town and skate usally meet up with friends. He would also play the guitar, Drums, Bass, and if you caught him off gaurd you would hear him singing. In Arlington he was known as the kid who always smiles. The day he got hit by a car and broke many of bones there was a picture of him in the ambulance smiling and singing " on the road again." If you were out side in the cold he would givve you the shirt off your back to make you more comfortable. He's one of those people that would go to the end of the world to help you if you asked. He would even let you stay with him free of charge if you had no where to go. i do understand that what he did was something that everybody will look down apon him for. But from the 5 years i have known i can honestly say that he would NOT kill some because of their race or for no reason at all. this kid has alot of good in him and that i can promise you. And to everyone that post on here you are entitled to your opinions but you weren't there nor was i. So the things you do say about What he did and how he is are not the truth. I also do feel for the victim as well but almost everyone on here seems like it would be eaier just to point out Tanners faults. Has anyone here ever pulled up the victims record and saw what he was really about?
Thanks for your Time.... Music=Freedom
why the he** does it matter how many blak or whites or whatever live in a town.. kinda shows your racist to care about that kind of sh**!!! half of the people that are talking shi* a about tanner on here are idiots and have no lives.. ARLINGTON is just another town.. why does it matter what race is most there. mayb the mexicans like auburn more or black like puyallup more?? its just where you want to live/ maybe whites like new york better SHI*
Re Music: Nice post, thank you..
I think mostly people are just trying to figure out how a nice kid could go from enjoying his band, rockin' on his skateboard to winding up in jail for murdering a man.. That's why we question.. was it drugs and drinking... race.. ect..?
Personally, I think his downfall was moving in with Conrad, as well as being involved with Richard, Janet and a few others. From the time he moved in with Conrad, his life took a downhill spiral, and look where it has landed him now... even being with someone that has a warrant out for their arrest isn't good..
If you will scroll up several posts, you will see where I stated that I have researched both Greg and Tanner. I didn't find even so much as a parking ticket on Greg.. No arrest record, nothing.. You don't need to take my word for it.. Anyone can do the research, put in Tanner and put in Greg, you will see what I mean...
Greg was a good and kind, caring person, so was Tanner, can you tell me how Greg wound up dying?
Greg had stab wounds on his legs as well as his abdomen. Normally a person has defense wounds on their hands and arms trying to ward off the attack of a knife, or blows from a fist.. Please think about that.. Greg's were on his legs, which make's a person wonder if he wasn't already laying on the ground, being threatened with the knife, causing him to use his legs to try and ward off the attackers... You can try this with a friend. When you are on the ground, see if your legs don't go up to defend, just as when you are standing if you will use your hands and arms. Why would an attacker reach downward and stab someone in his legs? Especially if someone was holding on to your hair, just doesn't seem possible.. Nor does it add up..
You may not understand some of us questioning the situation. But, things have not added up with the story those boys told, and the injuries Greg sustained. Some people would like to know the truth, not the spin doctor version...
Thank you as well for your time.
thank you linda for your insite...
i know that richard wasn't a perfect guy with his arrest and his warrent but personally i don't think the richards behavor would make that big of an impact on Tanner. Even though Richard did have some problems he was still a great guy. ( questions: how did you know that he moved in with richard and conrad?)
and depending on were the stab wounds are on his legs could make the difference as well. if they were in the thigh area the man could have been standing up because tanner was not that big of a kid and if he had pulled the knife out of his pocket the mans legs was probably the first thing in his reach from were his arm hangs.
i do believe you about Greg's record but that still doesnt answer the question of why that older man was out so late dealing drugs with teens. There has to be something that we are all missing. and just because tanner has one inccodent on his record that doesn't classify him as a poor person. he was just a kid when that happened.
music: You're welcome
Richard is not even close to being a decent person. Yes indeed he does have problems! A friend would not take off and leave another friend like Richard did Tanner, when Tanner had his "car accident". He was only concerned with saving his own butt, because there was a warrant out for him.. You call that a great guy? With a friend like that, who needs enemies? Does it really matter how I know that Tanner had been living with Richard and Conrad?
I would not have made a statement about the wounds had I not tried it out myself first.. I am 5'4 112 pounds, Tanner is 5'7-8 140 or so pounds. I have a friend who is a little over 6' 200 pounds. No matter how many times we tried this experiment, my hand in my jean pocket and from my the waistband, I came no where near his thigh area...
Greg was not selling drugs, your friends were the ones with the drugs and weapons. Greg was over 21. People over 21 do have business out at that time of morning. Tourist gamble and go to see shows. The locals have jobs that they go to at all hours of the day and night. We are a 24 hour town.
I agree, there is something we are all missing. I suggest you ask Conrad for the real truth..
It is true that 18 is young. However, 18 is old enough to go serve our Country, hold down a job, be responsible, give to the community, do something productive.
18 is not old enough to drink, nor go in a Casino. Tanner had no business hanging outside of a casino in a parking lot..
Tanner did show up for his preliminary hearing on 5/26 @ the justice court. Remember he was out on bail weeks ago.
Whoever signed for his bail was SUPER SMART (his dad?). Most of the time when you are out on bail you can cross state lines. Someone was wise and kept him out of WA until his preliminary hearing. Way to go, finally someone looking out for what's best for Tanner.
Looks like some sort of plea bargain is in the works. The case was "binded over" to the district court. Which basically means the charges weren't totally bogus and have some sort of grounds.
There is an initial arraignment scheduled for 6/10 in the district court. This would be the time to either move towards trial (unlikely in most cases) or plea bargain. I wonder what the lesser charge he will plead guilty to will be?
I have no idea why he'd want to hang out with the people who got him into this mess. The people who convinced him to go to Vegas and gave him the knife. There definitely have been good people here in support of Tanner, others are not as great as they think they are. No matter what happens he needs to cut the loser friends away and keep the good ones.
I think when some of Tanner's friends talk about the "new" friends they don't like very much, they mean the losers who got him into this mess. He can find way better friends who won't put him in positions like this.
Hi Random, missed you! Can you e-mail me when you get a chance please? I thought you fell of the face of the earth!
Thank you,
Linda
Linda,
you make a very good point. Richard and conrad need to step up to the plate. i would ask conrad but i resently got a new phone and no longer have his number.
how exactly did this man get involved with these kids in the fist place?.
i just cant understand why tanner would even do anything like this it is not in his nature. Maybe he's taking the fall for one of his frieds cux that is something that he would do.
Tanner is one of the most hopeful, sweet, talented kids i have ever met. i have never seen him not smiling. He smiles all the time. it;s as if you can not get that wide open chherful grin off his face. Anyone who truly knows Tanner or has met him knows he is one of the most kindest people you could ever meet. No matter that sistuation he is, There to show that it's always not as bad as you think. Talent should not be brought up without mentioning tanners name. he is the only person i know that can play an amazing guitar, Drumms, bass, and he is even known to sing a tune here and there. He is such and amazing kid willing to take the shirt off his back because your cold. if you have never met him you couldn't even begin to understand just how amazing he is. Tanner got hit by a car... and was smiling. he said that he was singing on the road again when he was in the ambulance. this is honestly the first time i have seen him like this in the intire five years that i have known him. and all i can do is sit here and hope he has a good trail. i want to do more. Tanner is not someone who belongd in prison. he is no bigger than a scrawny 16 year old and honestly i just hope he doesn't die in there. wether its by an inmate or by simply driving himself mad.
( Yvette,Tevor,Tory,Brandom,Katie, Melody, Willy and everyone else are still praying for you.)
This is something that needs to be said.. You know what scares me the most? The fact, that each poster that are friends with Tanner in the 3 blogs concerning the violent murder of Greg, shows any real concern for what happened to Greg. This man was stabbed to death!!!!!!! He's gone... He's never coming back, not ever. His life was cut short by the hand of another.. Two small children have had to be told that their father was MURDERED!!! This man was a real person, flesh and blood, just like you.. He has a mother that gave birth to HIM! She now has to live her life without her son. Alice1 that claims to be a mother herself ended a blog with "Team Tanner". This isn't a ballgame to see who has the best team, a(son)MAN WAS MURDERED!!! He didn't die from a disease or old age. His life was STOLEN from him!!!!
The horrible posts I have read on here just amaze me. How can people have such little disregard for a human life? Greg had a father, brothers and sister, cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and friends. Can you imagine how much agony and pain these people are in, how many lives have been ruined or affected????? At 18, 35 may sound old to you, believe me it is not old at all! That is a young adult, with many hopes and dreams ahead.. to watch your children grow up, have a great career, buy a home, assist your parents when they grow old... so many things. Believe me kids, you will be 35 before you know it, unless someone cuts your life short as Tanner did to Greg... Just think how tragic that would be for your family... or if someone violently murdered someone in your family... You all really need to face reality and look at all the lives that were affected, do to the actions of Tanner, and maybe some of his "friends". Doesn't anyone that knows Tanner have a grasp on this horrific felonious crime that was committed not only against Greg but his family and friends as well? I have yet to read remorse from anyone that was there, Tanner included. Does anyone even know what remorse is? No compassion, no concept of other people's pain?
Honestly, if I had been a friend with someone that turned around and murdered someone, I would be very afraid of that person.. I would not care how sweet and cheerful, young or old that they were before that happened. Someone that repeatedly stabs another person is NOT HUMAN! We don't always know a person the way we think we do...
Lovely, Tanner has been out on bail for a short while and already has been partying with his "friends". Whoever signed for his bail (Dad?) should consider what a useful tool it is to control his illegal behavior (underage drinking mostly). The signer can remove the signature and the bailee goes to jail. I've seen parents use it as a way to make troubled kids focus on getting ready for court and seeing family and friends (the important parts of being out on bail) instead of acting a fool.
He really does seem like a very wonderful kid, but he is tangled up with some really crappy people (especially Conrad and his family, though Conrad's mom does have some very good intentions trying to protect all kids around her from "abuse" protecting kids from abuse should mostly focus on making sure "feel good about themselves" (IE letting the do whatever the heck they want, she wants to do a great thing but she is going about it all wrong) Those that REALLY "love" tanner (I think many here use the word love to freely) should help him separate the bad from the good. Tanner drop those who will bring you down because you can achieve great things, it might be fun for now and it may feel good hearing how much these losers love you, but think of the future
Yet another wake-up call unnoticed. People shouldn't act like this horrible death at the hands of Tanner never happened. It did and it's not cute. It's not a little opps mistake, it's a HUGE deal. Lots of people around Tanner.
The court documents show his next hearing being 6/10 and only one charge. When the case moves on there will be another $10,000 bail set. That is fitting with felony drug offenses in Nevada. The charge hasn't been documented in the computer system yet, so I'm curious if it's murder or some lesser drug charge or maybe manslaughter.
If it's a drug charge, I hope they go on the harsh (some prison time) side. There needs to be some sort of learning from these mistakes. A fine and the court stuff would be too easy to just brush off as another little mistake.
The police of Arlington, WA need to take a nice drive around and bust up some parties (hand out lots of fines and piss off some parents who need a good wake-up call). A little is OK be these kids have made a lifestyle of it out of boredom (even if they don't think they have).
I feel sorry for all the babies these kids have. It is really hard to raise a child and much harder when you aren't even started in life (most haven't REALLY supported themselves yet as teenagers). Mommy and Daddy wanting to party should have NO PRIORITY at all compared to a precious human life to take care off (yes I see the myspace pics of you proud "moms" doing shots with your friends). Think of someone besides yourself.
I don't want other people to have to struggle with the downsides of drugs and alcohol like I HAVE. It starts out really fun, but it can and does go bad for lots but not all. And no you really can't tell ahead of time who will suffer and who won't. BE CAREFUL.
So sad that for many of these kids they are so proud of how drunk they get with there friends. Where are the real accomplishments? Not cool and all and most of you look SO STUPID when your drunk. Not cool in the least.
TO THE FAMILY OF THE VICTIM, get money HOWEVER you can and file the BIGGEST civil case you can against Tanner and the State (wrongful death maybe). A HUGE bite in the pocketbook might wake up some people and also it the money would do a lot more wonderful things for Greg's kids and family than it would be wasted on "being cool". If you start taking donations, count me in, I'd donate some money towards a civil suit.
It would be the best thing to help everyone, these lost troubled kids who need a good firm wake up call (not the "poor innocent Tanner didn't have any control over what happened leading up to this" crap and the family of the Victim.
I wouldn't donate a cent to Tanner even though I like him. The fines and court costs are part of learning a hard lesson (it's called tough love, works a lot better than "your wonderful not matter what you do as long as your happy and true to yourself" nonsense). Greg paid the ultimate price. Always remember that. Good can come out of this, and the ONLY victim is Greg and his family. The rest just had unexpected consequences from very poor decisions. Plus think of other people who don't have the luxury of friends and family who can afford to bail them out.
Hi Random, glad you posted..
Re: "The charge hasn't been documented in the computer system yet, so I'm curious if it's murder or some lesser drug charge or maybe manslaughter."
Maybe this is a second charge do to the drugs? I didn't know they could set bail twice on the same charge..
I would think he would be charged with second degree murder, no plea bargain.. Greg is the one that had been beaten in the face and head. Tanner as you can see from his mugshot, was not. For a little guy, he sure did a lot of damage to a larger man, beating him and then murdering him.. He admitted he was the one that did it, so I can't see why they would need to plea bargain..
I always thought that if they didn't have a solid case, with usually a confession, is when they plea bargain. I know Nevada is known for their high percentage of plea bargains.. But, this is a clear cut case of second degree murder. Greg was severely beaten before he was actually murdered..
"Lovely, Tanner has been out on bail for a short while and already has been partying with his "friends". "
Does this really surprise you? He is probably the big "cheese" with the rest of his thugs now. As you can see, being arrested hasn't changed his attitude any.. no lesson learned, no remorse.. I'm sure he'll put on a show in court for appearance sake, but as soon as he is out of there, you know he is back to the same ol Tanner..
"He really does seem like a very wonderful kid"
Not to me he doesn't, he appears to be a vicious animal with no conscious. Conrad and Richard too.. his friends are like-minded.
"Yet another wake-up call unnoticed. People shouldn't act like this horrible death at the hands of Tanner never happened."
They act like that because they lack regard for human life, again no conscious, which is a very dangerous combination.. I'm beginning to wonder how many unsolved murders and other crimes they might have in the surrounding Washington areas..
And yes, I agree Random, I hope the family does file a civil suit...
I'm don't think they are thugs as much as spoiled aimless naive idiots (some who have been able to see both sides are cool).
The second bail I'm seeing is coming from the weird way Las Vegas criminal court works. The case starts in Judicial court where they informally and loosely discuss the situation to see if they have a case and then if they do they send it over to District court (bindover). The original $50,000 bail was for the period of time between when Tanner was first arrested and the preliminary hearing in judicial court. At that time they didn't know what the charge(s) would be. Now in District court it is one mystery charge with a bail to be set at $10,000. With that amount for bail it looks like a drug charge. I wish it was homicide, murder is kind of hard to prove with the whole intent thing in this case. I hope if it's a drug charge since it IS second offense there will be some prison time. I wonder if he has some probation he can get in trouble with in WA too? It is plainly obvious he has been smoking pot since his November arrest in WA. People were wishing him clean pee. Las Vegas probation will rock his world, thanks to the casino industry, we are one of the only states where the hair test is very common. The urine test is super easy to cheat, the hair test, if you've done drugs in the last 3 months they will catch it. So he already has a probation violation if he gets probation or any sort of drug testing here :)
I don't think they have killed anyone else. They are just stupid kids who were out doing whatever the heck they wanted and they got caught up in something too big for them to handle. I would bet money someone who was there that night had drugs to sell and it wasn't Greg (yes, I am saying at least one of Tanner's friends makes their living selling, and sorry that does make them drug dealers). I have a good guess who it would be but I won't say it.
Tanner just seems like a dumb but talented and very nice guy who is up for anything his friends wanna do. It sucks he got tied up with such LOSERS. He should DROP THEM they will only bring him down. If anyone can be blamed for this situation. It the people he was with Conrad, his younger sister Melissa, her younger friend she calls a sister who isn't, and Brandon (that's who the coke was to be for). These people are SLIME and the reason they keep saying how much they love Tanner is because deep down they KNOW THIS IS THEIR FAULT. I hope they feel guilty.
I listened to Tanner's band, Alice Slow Down, I gotta say he is VERY GOOD. But I know 6 people off the top of my head personally who play guitar, bass, and drums at that level. He does have talent, but talent won't help him when he is just aimless doing whatever his friends think is cool. I did figure out the guitar part to one of his songs myself, it is kinda hard to play but it goes in really obvious directions so it's easy to figure out.
I'm worried about one of Tanner's friends that posted and argued with me here. She is becoming an alcoholic she neglects her baby (poor kid to have such a crappy mom) to go out drinking several times a week. She needs help. But she is too cocky and thinks she knows everything when she knows nothing, life WILL bite her hard.
Random:
I looked on the same docket you did.. I am thinking there is some sort of mistake.. There is just one charge, and it is a felony. It does say $10,000 in bail, but it also says he is in the CC detention center and hasn't bailed out... You see the area there on the left of that site? Once you have pulled up his case, click on the various links on the side.. they give more info, the part that I just wrote about is in there.
I'm thinking maybe they have to put something in there until the hearing on 6/10. I'm thinking it could just be placeholder info.
But to say he's in custody?
Random Re:
"I'm don't think they are thugs as much as spoiled aimless naive idiots (some who have been able to see both sides are cool)."
Just so you know, I wasn't being mean or nasty by using the term "thugs". This is what those kids from that group refer to themselves as, thugs and gangsta(s). Their words, not mine..
I know that you just see these kids as spoiled and naive. I agree that they are spoiled too, but I also view them as dangerous as well..
I also believe that this particular group of kids have done things that have been covered up in the past. I know you aren't naive enough to believe that when Tanner was busted for drug paraphernalia, that it was actually the first time he ever had it on him..
Also, please know when I am referring to "this group of kids", that I am not referring to his friends from the past, but this newer bunch. I believe kids like Matt and music are decent kids, that truly did and do care about Tanner. Not so with this "new" bunch he got himself involved in. I think Tanner came to this group naive, and I think these kids are really bad news, that corrupt. I do believe that they have done more then their share of "bad things" and it's either been covered up or ignored. I also believe that Tanner would do anything they want him to do to earn their approval.
As for Greg, he had legitimate business for being where he was when he was murdered. This would include having NO reason to have any interaction with these kids whatsoever. He was doing what he was supposed to be doing, the kids were not..
Personally, I feel each and every one of those kids in that group should have been arrested, along with Tanner that morning.. I will never understand why they weren't.. They were a part of this..
Nothing has changed with these kids, they're still doing what they have been doing all along.. Eventually, this will catch up to them. Maybe not this time, or even the next, but at some point it will.. It always does.. I just hope and pray another life doesn't have to be lost in the process..
Just to let everyone know these kids you talk about don't refer themselves as thugs or gangsters.
as for random just cuz you can play one of tanners songs doesn't mean that he has no talent. I think you should dig a little deeper then that. how you said it was shallow. and he is not aimless doing what ever his friends think is cool because i was his first friend in arlington and he had already knew how to play all of them.
"Not to me he doesn't, he appears to be a vicious animal"- linda
I'm sorry to say but this comment is not true in the slightest he is not a vicious animal if you really think he is you should go back to all the articals adn every comment thats been posted on them by you and random tehn take a long look in the mirrow, think, and ponder then figure who is being vicious.
i know he did wrong ( really wrong) but even if it was someone else that did it i would never slander him the way you guys have been. let alone drag other friends that did not go with him and slander tehm as well. you guys are the one that are acting unadult like. you both need to mature a bit before you post something else rude. ( sorry not trying to be mean just no way to really say it with out being blunt.)
I said he did have talent. But there are lots of people out there with the same level of talent. It takes lots of focus work and drive with the talent for it to amount to anything using the talent. As you get older you will meet tons of people that play and sing at amazing levels, that work regular jobs. It's just a fact of life. His chances of doing something with his talent are less if he is out drinking and partying with less talented idiots. His music is good, I write and play too, it's hard. But I'm not going to act like there aren't a billion others just as talented as tanner.
Nope we are doing fine, the reason we make people angry is cause they don't like the hear the real truth the way we see it. Lots of your friends are very troubled, they just think they aren't.
What I meant by aimless doing whatever his friends think is cool. I meant instead of playing and trying to find gigs and growing his music. He was out drinking, smoking, getting arrested, getting hit by cars, killing people.
Look at people like Slash or Eddie Van Halen and see what they did instead of partying (and eating, and sleeping).
music:
I beg to differ with you, Conrad and his cronies do refer to themselves as thugs and gangstas. That is the absolute truth!
I stand by vicious animal.. Anyone that can beat someone so savagely, then finish them off by stabbing them multiple times with a knife, then can turn their backs and walk away to let the victim bleed to death is vicious in my eyes, and I would imagine in the eyes of many others as well.. it was a very vicious and violent crime, music...
The victim has been slandered as you put it, time and again(not by you)by so many of the "Team Tanner" crowd. Since Tanner admits to most of what he did, this is not slanderous to him.
The only other so called friends of his that I take issue with are the ones that were here in Vegas, as well as the ones that were insinuating that Greg (the victim) was a bum and a druggie, and a few other very nasty things, which some were removed due to the threatening nature or filth of the posts. This man was not either of the above.. He was an upstanding citizen, that worked hard, a son, father, and much much more.
Music, believe it or not, I do understand you feel pain from this as well. I have children of my own. I have a daughter which is now a teacher, and 4 step-sons... they all are doing well for themselves. All kids hit bumps in the road from time to time, but not all build themselves a huge mountain..
My one step-son came home just one time from drinking and driving, and his father took him down the next day and had him enlist in the Military. This may sound harsh to you, but it worked.. instead of him winding up in jail, maybe hitting someone with the car, this kid has grown into a wonderful man that finished college and has a music career. Before that he was heading down a not so good path.. he had started running with bad kids.. What I'm trying to get across here is that people can get into a bad crowd, and they can get themselves in real trouble. His father wanted to prevent that... to this day, his son appreciates his father for caring enough..
cont
I have friends of all ages, with children of all ages. We don't let our kids run wild... they show us respect, and in turn they get respect back. We help them with their homework, we encourage them to pursue their dreams. They realize school is an important tool in their futures, because we have brought them up this way. All these kids had/have after school and or weekend jobs. Activities in which we are/were supportive of, that keep and kept them off the streets. We taught them to respect themselves as a whole (mind and body) and to respect others.. You can't just tell a kid something, you have to set an example. I care about children, I have done a lot of voluntary work at a place called Child Haven here. That is an organization that house and care for children which have been abandoned or removed from their homes because of abuse.
I'm sorry you view me as rude. These posts have not been intended to be rude, but a wake up call to all involved, to see how serious this is, as well as for all to understand how many hundreds of people were affected by these actions. Obviously I have failed at that, but it won't keep me from still trying..
I didn't look at your post as mean in any way. I feel that you were saying how you feel, and you didn't do it in a negative way..
People are not always going to see eye to eye on a situation, but that is when I suggest that we just agree to disagree..
just to let everyone know, discussion seems to have moved to the NEW article about US and our effect on the case.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/jun...
This is another senseless death due to drugs. I personally have never used marijuana or any other illegal drug but I think it should be legalized. Not only will the taxes that it would generate help us all, situations like this would have been avoided if marijuana were legal.
I agree 100%. I haven't used marijuana in the US in years (well a tiny bit shorter in years period at this point). With the laws and legal system the way their are currently it just isn't worth the risks not to mention the dangers of the underground market.
Stop wasting money on a "war" that can't be won. Legalize it and kill business for the sketchy people one often has to deal with if they choose to use drugs in the US. Bring it out in the open tightly regulate (and tax) it and watch crime drop.
Several independent sources predict we will see legalization by 2012. Lets hope it happens, it could even bail out our economy.