Street-Corner Justice

Johnny Calderon, Jr. and Gerald Allen

A few feel-good stories…
by Robert A. Waters

A recent story making headlines shows the battered faces of Johnny Calderon, Jr. and Gerald Allen.  While allegedly attempting to rob two University of Virginia students, the thugs ended up being laid out by their intended victims.  Now Allen is in the hospital, and Calderon resides in the Jacksonville, Florida jail.  He wants to get out, though—his attorney says that since the botched robbery he has panic attacks and won’t pose a danger to anyone else.  Let him sweat it out in jail, I’d say.

When Javon Sanchez Booker attempted to rob a Charlotte, North Carolina convenience store, he learned a lesson about preying on people.  Unfortunately, he didn’t live long enough to put it to use.  According to police, Booker’s intended victim pulled a gun and dispatched the thug to Hell.  Not much else to say on this except lots of future victims will likely be spared.

Syracuse, New York police began searching for Robin Gutheridge after he allegedly robbed the Chase Bank Branch.  When he was seen entering an apartment complex, officers fanned out looking for him.  Soon screams from a trash compactor on the ground floor sent cops to investigate.  Turns out Gutheridge had been attempting to hide and fell 210 feet down the garbage chute.  Fortunately, for him, he landed on a pile of trash.  Now he lies in a hospital eyeing a bleak future—maybe 20 years in the slammer.

A Texas father, on learning that his five-year-old daughter had been snatched by a sex offender, took matters into his own hands.  He found his child, naked and screaming, being assaulted by Jesus Flores.  The father then attacked Flores, beating him to death.  Texas authorities refused to charge the father.  Many dads say they would do the same.

In Tobyhanna Township, Pennsylvania, four intruders began shooting up the home they invaded.  “Where’s the money at?” they shouted at frightened residents.  They got no money, but did score a couple of cell phones.  In the melee, one robber got more than he bargained for—a cohort accidently shot Jehova Maldonado in the head.  The suspects were quickly arrested.  When he gets out of the hospital, Maldonado will be charged with robbery, burglary, trespassing, aggravated assault, conspiracy, theft, and possession of instruments of crime.

Sometimes you wonder why these people don’t simply go out and find a job.