# Why hasn't the Neighborhood Watch shooter been arrested? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 12, 2012, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504 "2012-03-12T00:53:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 170
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/3381 "2012-04-08T16:33:35Z")
> [@treis](#): > > It could be as simple as: > > (1) They got the number from Martin’s dad > > (2) Assumed it was the same phone > > (3) Got the phone call records back, said “Oh shit he was on the phone”. > > (4) Said, “are we sure it’s the same phone?” > > (5) Called 911 to check the number on the phone And yet the existence of Martin’s gf remained a shocker to them weeks after the shooting, even after the investigation was transferred to the state? Your theory doesn’t add up. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/3382 "2012-04-08T16:41:20Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > And yet the existence of Martin’s gf remained a shocker to them weeks after the shooting, even after the investigation was transferred to the state? Your theory doesn’t add up. The fact that she didn’t call the police in the weeks after the shooting doesn’t add up. If she had information the police didn’t have, she had a responsibility to tell them. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/3383 "2012-04-08T16:41:36Z")
[QUOTE=Bricker] Point as always: how are we to know otherwise? [/QUOTE] Look, you suggested that they called 911 on Martins phone to confirm he had only one phone. Just admit thats a silly theory, please. We could all dream up explanations that absolve the PD of incompetency, but the number of angels trying to dance on the head of this pin is fast approaching maximum occupancy limits. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/3384 "2012-04-08T16:52:04Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > The fact that she didn’t call the police in the weeks after the shooting doesn’t add up. If she had information the police didn’t have, she had a responsibility to tell them. And do you know for a fact that she didn’t try to reach out to the PD? Maybe she did and was put on hold indefinitely. Or told to leave a message that didn’t prompt a return phone call. Or maybe someone spoke with her and they went through the motions of interviewing her but her statement wasn’t treated seriously and was forgotten. I mean, if we’re going to play the " we just don’t know!" card with the Sanford PD and Zimmerman, you should certainly do the same thing with a witness. Because you know nothing about her. You don’t even know her name. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/3385 "2012-04-08T16:54:02Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > And yet the existence of Martin’s gf remained a shocker to them weeks after the shooting, even after the investigation was transferred to the state? Your theory doesn’t add up. I haven’t been able to find a reliable cite saying when the police first talked to Martin’s GF. We didn’t find out about her until Martin’s attorney made the announcement, but that doesn’t mean the police found out about her then, or first attempted to contact her after that. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/3386 "2012-04-08T17:01:47Z")
> [@treis](#): > > I haven’t been able to find a reliable cite saying when the police first talked to Martin’s GF. We didn’t find out about her until Martin’s attorney made the announcement, but that doesn’t mean the police found out about her then, or first attempted to contact her after that. Iirc, it was Tracy Martin who found her by researching Trayvon’s phone records himself. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/3387 "2012-04-08T17:04:56Z")
We can’t know anything for sure. _I_ just know that 5 days is a long time for them to figure out how they could confirm a cell phone belonged to a certain person. If they already knew it belonged to Martin, why would they even need to dial 911? What was the purpose of this little exercise? Re the girlfriend. I don’t know why the police not getting in contact with her should be considered _her_ fault. She’s 16. Last time I checked, that’s technically a child. Children of that age do not generally like to talk to adults, especially adults that are the police. She was also distraught over her boyfriend being shot. She may have also been waiting for the police to contact her, figuring that if they needed her testimony, they would find her. Being a child, who are generally not known for being very savvy, she may not have thought she had anything to contribute to the investigation. (If the girlfriend had been an accomplice in a crime, do you really think it would sane to think that the police should wait for her to call them? Or do you think they would do their due diligence in tracking her down every way possible? A witness to a potential capital crime should be treated the same way.) It is not the girlfriend’s job to do the police work. Maybe the police was going to eventually track her down, but you’d think they would have done so after three weeks (or however long it took). Why was the lawyer able to get the phone logs but the police had such trouble? As I said earlier, the police didn’t know _who_ Martin had been on the phone with. For all they knew, the boy could have texted someone, leaving a message indicating that he was being stalked, please somebody help me before this crazy man kills me! Are ya’ll telling me that that isn’t important evidence? The phone could have contained critical evidence like this and more. The fact that the police department was already telling the family they believed Zimmerman (according to Martin’s family) before they even cracked the phone’s code makes me doubt there was seriousness put into the initial investigation. If we are to believe Martin’s family, I don’t know any other logical conclusion. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/3388 "2012-04-08T17:12:43Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > And do you know for a fact that she didn’t try to reach out to the PD? Maybe she did and was put on hold indefinitely. Or told to leave a message that didn’t prompt a return phone call. Or maybe someone spoke with her and they went through the motions of interviewing her but her statement wasn’t treated seriously and was forgotten. > > I mean, if we’re going to play the " we just don’t know!" card with the Sanford PD and Zimmerman, you should certainly do the same thing with a witness. Because you know nothing about her. You don’t even know her name. As I have before, the primary responsibly is with Crump. I don’t buy the story that DeeDee had a breakdown. In any case, he had a responsibility to notify the SA of her existence. Instead, he decided to sit on her for weeks and play that card at his convenience. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/3389 "2012-04-08T17:14:14Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > We can’t know anything for sure. _I_ just know that 5 days is a long time for them to figure out how they could confirm a cell phone belonged to a certain person. > > If they already knew it belonged to Martin, why would they even need to dial 911? What was the purpose of this little exercise? Like I said in my previous post, there is a logical explanation for this. They simply assumed that the phone found with Martin was his, and didn’t bother to check until later. > [@monstro](#): > > (If the girlfriend had been an accomplice in a crime, do you really think it would sane to think that the police should wait for her to call them? Or do you think they would do their due diligence in tracking her down every way possible? A witness to a potential capital crime should be treated the same way.) Again you, and seemingly everyone else, assume the police didn’t talk to her within a reasonable timeframe. What are you basing that on? ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/3390 "2012-04-08T17:39:44Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > If they already knew it belonged to Martin, why would they even need to dial 911? What was the purpose of this little exercise? I take that to mean called the 911 center and ask for phone records, not call 911 from Martin’s phone. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/3391 "2012-04-08T18:09:38Z")
It is of course the girlfriend’s responsibility, or that of her parents if she’s too young to do so, to call the police with any information she has. It is _also_ the responsibility of the police to follow up on any leads. If the police happened to be negligent by not calling her (which assumes they either knew of her existence and ignored it, or failed to find out about her when they should, neither of which I consider certain), that doesn’t excuse her from volunteering the information. And no, the police didn’t just leave her on hold or ignore the call. This isn’t a bad thriller. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/3392 "2012-04-08T18:28:23Z")
> [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > As I have before, the primary responsibly is with Crump. It’s obvious that Crump informed the PD about this witness. That’s why we’re even in a position to talk about it. You’re essentially faulting him for notifying the cops sooner than he did, which assumes he was sitting on this evidence for a while. What makes you think he did? And if Crump was able to track down Martin’s GF and get access to his phone logs, then why in blue blazes couldn’t the persons tasked with investigating this homicide? The cops had a head start plus Martin’s phone. They should have never been in the position of needing Crump to do anything for them. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/3393 "2012-04-08T19:42:42Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > Look, you suggested that they called 911 on Martins phone to confirm he had only one phone. Just admit thats a silly theory, please. We could all dream up explanations that absolve the PD of incompetency, but the number of angels trying to dance on the head of this pin is fast approaching maximum occupancy limits. No, I suggested to rebut your claim that the only inference is incompetence. I have no idea why they took that step, what else they knew when they did, and what they needed to still learn. And neither do you. The difference is that I admit it, while you call it “dreaming up” when the explanation doesn’t help your pet theory, and “obvious” when the dreamed-up theory does lean the way you like. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/3394 "2012-04-08T19:45:13Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > It’s obvious that Crump informed the PD about this witness. That’s why we’re even in a position to talk about it. You’re essentially faulting him for notifying the cops sooner than he did, which assumes he was sitting on this evidence for a while. What makes you think he did? > > And if Crump was able to track down Martin’s GF and get access to his phone logs, then why in blue blazes couldn’t the persons tasked with investigating this homicide? The cops had a head start plus Martin’s phone. They should have never been in the position of needing Crump to do anything for them. Because Crump deliberately withheld information until he could talk to the girl and steer her story in the right direction. IMHO. Or maybe not. I don’t know. Neither do you. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/3395 "2012-04-08T19:46:00Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > It’s obvious that Crump informed the PD about this witness. That’s why we’re even in a position to talk about it. You’re essentially faulting him for notifying the cops sooner than he did, which assumes he was sitting on this evidence for a while. What makes you think he did? [http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2012/03/trayvon-martin-girlfriend-hospitalized-following-death](http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2012/03/trayvon-martin-girlfriend-hospitalized-following-death) > [@](#): > > Trayvon Martin’s 17-year-old girlfriend was hospitalized the day after his wake when **she learned that she was the last person to talk to him before he was fatally shot by George Zimmerman** , [RadarOnline.com](http://RadarOnline.com) is exclusively reporting. > [@](#): > > “ **The day after his wake** , Trayvon’s family attorney, Benjamin Crump, who had been conducting his own extensive investigation because cops had determined the shooting was in self defense, **told Trayvon’s girlfriend she was the last person to talk to him** ,” a source close to the situation tells [RadarOnline.com](http://RadarOnline.com). "George had reviewed Trayvon’s cell phone bill and it was revealed that she was on the phone with him in the moments before Trayvan was shot. The wake was March 3rd. That means that he knew that DeeDee was talked to Trayvon just before he died on March 4th. He sat on this information until March 20th or for 16 days. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/3396 "2012-04-08T19:48:43Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > No, I suggested to rebut your claim that the only inference is incompetence. Cite? Sounds like you’re dreaming up more stuff. Stop with the dreaming, **Bricker**. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/3397 "2012-04-08T19:50:07Z")
> [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > [Trayvon Martin's Girlfriend Was Hospitalized After His Wake](http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2012/03/trayvon-martin-girlfriend-hospitalized-following-death) > > The wake was March 3rd. That means that he knew that DeeDee was talked to Trayvon just before he died on March 4th. He sat on this information until March 20th or for 16 days. And he told her what to say! And promised her a cut of the lawsuit profits! Which she was all too eager to accept, since SHE was the one that stole the jewelry and gave it to Treyvon to hold. His evasive answers about the jewelry were chivalrously noble. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/3398 "2012-04-08T19:50:21Z")
> [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > [The wake was March 3rd. That means that he knew that DeeDee was talked to Trayvon just before he died on March 4th. What’s your evidence that he waited to tell the cops about this? ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/3399 "2012-04-08T19:51:16Z")
[http://static.globalgrind.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/gallery\_image/images/2012\_march/trayvon-martin-family-photos-2.jpg](http://static.globalgrind.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/gallery_image/images/2012_march/trayvon-martin-family-photos-2.jpg) Is that a cellphone on Trayvon’s belt? I don’t recognize the model. It sort of looks like a flip phone that is open. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2012, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504/3400 "2012-04-08T19:52:41Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > Cite? Sounds like you’re dreaming up more stuff. Stop with the dreaming, **Bricker**. Cite my purpose? Sure. I interviewed myself to confirm and during that interview I asked myself, “Did I offer that up to rebut the claim that the only inference was police incompetence?” “Yes,” I answered. “I did.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504.md?page=169) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hasnt-the-neighborhood-watch-shooter-been-arrested/615504.md?page=171)