A black man and a hispanic man completely disappear after crossing paths with a Sheriff's Deputy

[Cali_Democrat]

Last edited Wed Apr 4, 2012, 09:20 PM - Edit history (1)

Disappearance of 2 Fla. men gets new attention
By MITCH STACY, Associated Press – 8 minutes ago

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Felipe Santos, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, and Terrance Williams, a black man, had little in common until about eight years ago. That was when they disappeared three months apart in the Naples area, both of them right after crossing paths with sheriff's Deputy Steven Calkins.

Investigations by local, state and federal authorities went nowhere. Calkins, who is white, denied doing anything more than dropping off the young men at different convenience stores. He was never charged but was fired after he stopped cooperating with investigators. The men's families were left to wonder and grieve after public interest faded.

Now their disappearance is back in the spotlight, in part because Hollywood star Tyler Perry and civil rights activists are using the Trayvon Martin case to draw attention to what they see as a string of injustices and incomplete investigations involving minorities.

"They were never arrested, never brought to jail," Perry wrote Sunday on Tylerperry.com. "They were put into the back of Deputy Calkins' car and never heard from again. And to this day Deputy Steve Calkins is a free man. I guess it's time to march in Naples now."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j7xLvzFTsYKHB1wcQqVgb-iG1heA?docId=a048f2dc6fbd4816964c122f0cd000f7

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

1. .

[Horse with no Name]

2. Another reason to never step foot in Florida

What the hell is wrong with people???

[Liberal_in_LA]

3. I saw this story re-enacted on reality TV, one of the real crime shows. It was a very haunting

story.

[Cali_Democrat]

5. I get the feeling the investigators didn't even care because they were minorities

Now, imagine if it was a pretty blond girl that went missing.....

[Liberal_in_LA]

8. I have to say... from the re-enactment they made some effort. They were stimied by

the silence of the deputy. They spoke on camera...said they fired him, couldn't do anything else to get info out of him

[Uncle Joe]

4. Has the television program COPs covered any of this?

Thanks for the thread, Cali_Democrat.

[Cali_Democrat]

7. See replies #3 and #6 in this thread

It appears this case has been featured on TV.

[awoke_in_2003]

11. I doubt it...

cops stick together and protect dirty cops.

[XanaDUer]

6. There is an episode of Disappeared on ID

Was about these frightening cases. The cop is no longer on the force but not, as far as I know, under investigation. He may be. The cop would say he dropped both these missing men off at a local Circle K per their request. Scary

[Liberal_in_LA]

9. ..and the Circle K dropoff made no sense as there was nothing wrong with their cars from what I

recall

[XanaDUer]

10. Yes and it had a camera and nothing ever

Showed up on it. That I-took-them-to-the-Circle K story is screwy.

[Glimmer of Hope]

13. Scary that a cop could be a cold blooded murderer. Seems so in this case.

The discrepancies in his police reports and dispatch calls clearly show he is a liar. It was interesting that they put a lot of resources into searching areas that his GPS tracking showed he frequented. I think the investigators are convinced he is responsible for the disappearances.

[Baitball Blogger]

12. Tyler Perry is the real thing.