The 4.5th Estate

The (extremely) local news rag in town, which started as a happy news newspaper years ago and has evolved into an echo of the "big" daily across the river has a very particular and peculiar style when it comes to crime reporting. I suspect it comes from trying to cover their asses when reporting charges. If they can be sued for any errors when reporting charges, or if those errors might affect the court case, then the easiest solution is simply to copy, verbatim, from the arrest report without editing the police shorthand.

Which gives us the second paragraph of the article below exactly as it appeared in the paper:

Third person accused in meth lab operation

March 28, 2012

By TIFFANY REPECKI (trepecki@breezenewspapers.com) , Cape Coral Daily Breeze

      A third person has been arrested in connection to a meth lab operation that local authorities busted last week at a home in northwest Cape Coral.

      Russell Wayne Baxter Jr., 28, was charged Sunday with drugs produce possess structure vehicle know drugs manufactured minor present, drugs produce methamphetamine, traffic methamphetamine or amphetamine 14 grams or over and neglect child without great harm.

Unfortunately, murdering the language is not an indictable offense.

(This was actually a pretty big deal since we're more of an Oxycontin type community and not so much with the meth.)