AmercianPoliceBeat

May 2009

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68 AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: MAY 2009 T h e r e a r e d u m b crooks, and then there are the mind- boggingly stupid ones that should be in a hall of fame somewhere. And a guy named Jerome Blanchett may just have become the Ty Cobb of criminal idiots. Jerome took a loaded handgun into the Holiday Inn in Harrisburg, Penn- sylvania with the intention of rob- bing a victim at gunpoint. Nothing seemed out of the ordi- nary to Mr. Blanchett as he passed dozens of unmarked police cars in the parking lot. A sign at the hotel's entrance welcoming 300 officers to the Pennsyl- vania Narcotic Officers' Association conference didn't phase the would-be armed robber one bit. He either can't read or pays remarkably little attention to detail. Despite the poor choice of crime scene and poten- tial "marks," the 19-year- old Harrisburg man went into the men's room and waited to rob the next per- son who walked through the door, according to local authorities. That person happened to be John Comparetto, a re- tired New York City Police Department lieutenant. "He chose to rob a cop in a place where there were 300 cops," Comparetto told reporters from the Patriot News afterward. "He's not very bright." The retired NYPD lieu- tenant said he walked into the bathroom at about 8:15 AM and noticed a man in baggy blue jeans and a d a r k c o a t w a s h i n g h i s hands. Comparetto went into the stall and when he walked out three min- utes later, he was staring down the business end of a .40-caliber semi-automatic handgun. Blanchett de- manded money, and Comparetto calmly handed over $138, police said. Blanchett took Comparet- to's cell phone, told him to drop h i s p a n t s a n d threatened to kill him if he tried to follow him. C o m p a r e t t o didn't indicate what he was thinking at that moment but it must have been something like, "Man, this is gonna be good." Seconds after Blanchett left, Comparetto pulled a handgun from his ankle holster and went after his attacker. It was only mo- ments before he and other offi cers took Blanchett into custody as he was trying to get into a taxi. "He's yelling, 'Don't shoot me,' and I said, 'If you move your hands, I'll kill you,'" Comparetto said. "He was almost crying." Blanchett, who is await- ing trial on four previous robbery charges, was ar- raigned on new robbery charges along with charges of making terrorist threats, reckless endangerment, simple assault, carrying a JEROME BLANCHETT JEROME BLANCHETT DUMBASS CHAMPION DUMBASS CHAMPION Winner's been announced in dumbass of the decade contest; no more entries fi rearm without a license and illegally possessing a fi rearm. "You're a danger to have on the street," Smith told Blanchett before setting bail at $1 million. When a reporter asked Blanchett for comment as he was led out of court, he said, "I'm smooth." When asked if he could explain that, Blanchett smirked and said nothing. Comparetto, 56, retired from the NYPD in 1999. He was the chief of the Pas- saic County Sheriff's De- partment in northern New Jersey before retiring from that job in August 2008. He now works part time for the Rockland County, N.Y., Sheriff's Department, about 30 miles north of New York City. He put all that experience to work in a few seconds when he made the risk versus reward calculations in terms of taking the hood down solo. "I knew I could take away the gun, but I hurt my back a few years ago," Compa- retto said. "I'm too old to be fi ght- ing people. So I made an assessment that I would cooperate and worry about this afterward." "He's yelling, 'Don't shoot me,' and I said, 'If you move your hands, I'll kill you,'" Comparetto said. "He was almost crying." Successful armed robbery requires a working human brain "Genius has limitations; stupidity is boundless" – Author unknown If the parking lot of hotel you plan to stck people up in looks like this, and there's a huge letters on the venue marquis saying, "Welcome to the Conference Narcotics Investigators!" you may want to think about changing the plan. Circle number 117 on the Reader Service Card. Brownells New MIL/LE Catalog; Proudly Serving Those In Uniform With The Tools and Supplies They Need To Stay Mission Ready! Parts and accessories for AR-15/M16/M4, Designated Marksman and other Tactical Rifles, Pistols, and Shotguns, plus Tools, Cleaning Supplies, Tactical Gear, Mounts, 30-Round Magazines and Optics. The brands you know and trust: A.R.M.S, Badger Ordnance, Blackhawk, Blade-Tech, Brownells, Bushmaster, CMMG, Colt, Daniel Defense, DPMS, Glock, H-S Precision, Magpul, Otis, Surefire, Trijicon, Troy Industries, Wilson Combat, Yankee Hill, and more. FREE catalog to all MIL/LE Personnel and Agencies. Discount pricing available. Everything we sell is 100% GUARANTEED - Period. The Wishbook Of Armorers Supplies Everything The Military and Law Enforcement Armorer Needs CATALOG ALL NEW R Source Code: BXL 800-741-0308 brownells.com Cage #12238

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