Rep. Adams calls crime hearing political theater (09-29-2025--Hour2)

What's going on. Thank you so much for listening to this podcast. It is heard live every day from noon to three on WBT Radio in Charlotte. And if you want exclusive content like invitations to events, the weekly live stream, my daily show prep with all the links, become a patron, go to dpetecleanershow dot com. Make sure you hit the subscribe button. Get every episode for free right to your smartphone or tablet, And again, thank you so much for your support. Congress came to Charlotte today for a field hearing the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Oversight. The topic of the field hearing victims of violent crime. You heard the two witnesses testify about their loved ones who were murdered. Mia Alderman, grandmother of Mary Collins. She testified about Mary's case and the fact that it still hasn't gone to trial it's been five and a half years. Steve Federico, father of Logan Federico, who was murdered while visiting friends down in Colombia. There was also CMPD officer Justin Campbell who said the justice system in Mecklemburg County is quote trash, and he's like, I will suffer whatever consequences that come with me saying that, but it's the truth and we all know it. There was also Michael Woody, the owner and CEO of eight to eight Bail Bonds. He's also the North Carolina representative for the National Association of Bail Agents, and as I mentioned last hour, he basically was there to say, end the cash list bail system. It's not making anybody any safer. I got some messages, I'm gonna get to We have some more audio to go over, and we've got Alex who's been on hold. Hello Alex, welcome to the program. Hey, I'm all right, what's up. Yeah. I just wanted to mention that the local political leaders are inept and the judicial system is corrupt, and we need someone in authority with ambition, intelligence and courage to take control of this crime infested Democrat run hellhole. I've lived my entire life, almost sixty two years, on the West side of Charlotte. You know how crime area, and I've seen the city's crime problem escalate dramatically, and it's high time for corrective action to be taken such as well, for one thing, make the criminals pay for what they do. I mean, it's slightly. They just get a slap on the wrist and then they're out victimizing other people. Enough is enough. The people of this town have suffered enough. Yeah, it needs to be done right, and it's going to require courage and leadership from the local Democrat Party leaders. That's who this pressure has to be applied to. And you know, they can easily dismiss us. You're going to hear it in these audio clips from the hearing. They just view all of this stuff as like, yes, yes, condolences you know, to the victims' families and all of that, but this is all just political theater and you guys need to just spend more money on stuff. And so that's that's been their approach. They are very aware of what Republicans are pinning on them, which is this soft on crime label. They're very aware of it, and they know it's politically damaging. That's why they keep pushing back on it. They have to, and they're trying to sort of rebrand themselves as if we don't remember what they were saying and what policies they put in place five years ago. So, yeah, I just wanted to mention something about a month ago. I phoned my cousin down in George and we were discussing the crime problenance cities like Atlanta and Charlotte, and I told her if the devil ever became mayor of Charlotte, he wouldn't have to change much. Well, I mean that's fair. I appreciate the call, Alex, thank you. Take care. Eric says that quote from Mia Alderman, the grandma, when she said only ten of us could go to the graveside service. They couldn't even have a funeral for Mary Collins because COVID, and Eric says that maybe the most heart wrenching part of her testimony the family's ability to grieve arbitrarily stolen by Roy Cooper. Yeah, by putting those caps on an outdoor funeral service. And some of us, like me were arguing at the time during COVID, I was making the point, you've got your three w's, you know, wear a mask, wait six feet apart, and what was the other one? Wash your hands? I think wind is the fourth. Add a fourth wind, ventilation, get airflow, go outside. But no, you had people that just went absolutely bonkers, drunk on power. These you know their inner tyrants. Now you know free to fly their freak flags, and they filled in skateboard parks in California with sands so kids couldn't go skateboarding. They arrested surfers out in the water, like just insane levels of authoritarian bs. Here's a tweet from It's all a distraction, It's a peat tweet. These stories are gut wrenching, but I feel so many Democrats will still defend the criminals. My heart is breaking for the victims' families. Russ says, I am aware of my bias, but it sure seems like DEM's. It sure seems Dems fight attempts to address mental health right up to the point where we start demanding more, and then suddenly they are champions of mental health or really anything to distract from their policies failing and to ensure as many criminals and mentally unstable individuals stay out among us. Yeah, I do get that feeling too, The Helian says man Deborah Ross trashed her own moment of valor. She should just stop talking. Yeah, Like that's a very bad mistake, But it also is indicative of the fact that she doesn't know who Logan Federico was. She doesn't know who this witness is in front of her, Steve Federico, Logan's father, and she doesn't know what Arena Zarutzka looks like. How could you not know that the woman in that photo is I mean, I know they're both attractive blonde girls, but they don't look the same. They're different people. And Deborah Ross, sitting five feet away from the photo, thinks that's Arena Zarutzka, whose family was not there, did not testify, but she made sure, you know, to give her condolences and then also say, now you know, the family didn't want people sharing the final images and the video of the attack. And then she threw in the line about we shouldn't politicize it either, as if that came from the family. I'm not aware of the family saying don't politicize it. I read their statement the other day. I don't recall that being part of it. But this is what democrats are trying to are trying to guard against. They don't they don't want this issue percolating, this crime issue. They don't want it because they know they are vulnerable on it, and for good reason. By the way, this story The Charlotte Observer did a good story Joe Marrisak or Marusak. He did a an interview with Mia Alderman for a story that was published today at the Charlotte Observer, talking about this case, the murder of Mary Collins. She was twenty years old, She had a cognitive disability, and she was murdered in twenty twenty after Prosecutors say that she was lured to an apartment by people that she thought were her friends but were not. She was stabbed one hundred and thirty three times. Two men and two women were arrested. One of the accused is Kelly Lavery or Lavery. She pleaded guilty and was sentenced to twenty five years in prison, more than five years after the attack, though the other three have not been tried. That includes America Deal, who was allowed to stay with her mom and grandma in Clover, South Carolina at their home. Another round of court hearings is scheduled for the end of the year, December eleventh and December thirty first for suspect James Salerno and Lavvy fam December the end of the year, still like Salerno was actually given bond back in twenty twenty three for participating in the murder of Mary Collins, stabbing her and then wrapping her body in plastic, putting it into a mattress where I believe it is going to be argued that they were going to burn the mattress to dispose of the body. That was the intent, and he was actually let out on bail. So when I was a kid, my grandpa died with Alzheimer's, and before he died, my mom and my dad took care of him as he got worse. Forty years ago, there were no treatments and not much support for caregivers and family. But things are different today because of the work of so many people, including the Alzheimer's Association of Western Carolina. It's a great organization with awesome people with huge hearts. I've been a supporter for twenty five years. This cause means a lot to me. I participate in the annual Walk to End Alzheimer's and I'm leading a Charlotte team again this year, and it's called once Again Pete's Pack. You can sign up and you can join the team and walk with us. It's on October eighteenth that truest Field sign up at alz dot org slash walk and then you can search for my team name Pete's Pack. There's also a link at thepetepod dot com. There's also a link in the description of this podcast. Also, I'll be am seeing the Gastonia Walk on October eleventh, and so you can make a team and join that one too, or make a donation and help me hit my goal of five thousand dollars. If you do, I really appreciate it. There are a bunch of other walks all over the Carolinas. You can go to alz dot org slash walk for all the dates and locations. Were closer than ever to stopping Alzheimer's. Can you help us get there? Will you walk with me? For a different future, for families, for more time for treatments. This is why we walk. Let's get Gary on. Hey, Gary, welcome to the program. Well, Pete, Yo, this is a first. This is the first time I have ever called you. My wife is a big fan, and I wanted to call you today with a statistic okay that I was given last night in a conference call with the North Carolina High School Athletic Association, of which, just so I can have a little crid, this makes you're thirty two in multiple sports. Okay, well, state championships. But my point to this is one word respect. Now. I know your show is highly political, and yeah, either here or there, but I have a statistic for you. It's gonna knock your socks off. I hope you're sitting down. I am always sitting down. The school school year has been going on for about six weeks. I think they have played eight weeks of volleyball. I think six weeks of football. They also were playing soccer. Now, when I tell you what I'm getting ready to tell you, I think you can forget the volleyball. I don't think this is happening in volleyball, but from Mantio to Murphy in the state of North Carolina, in just the past six weeks of high school athletics, three sports. Would you like to guess how many ejections we've had. Is this of the student athletes or is this also parod fans. We're not talking fans, we're talking student athletes, just the students. Well, I would guess's be ridiculous. I'll give you a hand. Be ridiculous. I mean I could be very very ridiculous. I mean your wife would tell you that she could assure you, I could be completely ridiculous below go ahead, Well, I could say a million. Two hundred and fifty one ejections. That seems high, and that's not. Coming from volleyball. And I don't think it's coming from soccer. I don't do those. I can't say. So we've got to believe there's one sport leading the way, which in the football t weeks. That to me is one of the most astonishing statistics I have ever heard in my life. And it all boils down, It all boils down to respect. I have noticed this weird thing among younger people that demand well, it's usually the p I'll just say like this, because it's not just younger people. There's older people that do this too. They demand respect from everybody else but offer none of it to anyone. It's all one sided right the time. It's all one sided, right. I know it's highly emotional. I know there's there's there's a lot of intensity to it. But at some point in somewhere and sometime along the line, you got to know when enough is enough, and you got to know where that line is. And it's it's pretty much been a known fact since I was a little kid. I fought, but apparently that's not the case anymore. On this. It's just so sad on this conference call that I was just I was dumbfounded. So on this conference call when they gave that number, was there any discussion about like or any discussion about it like or was it just like thrown out as just a data point and then they moved on. This was from the the supervisor in Chapel Hill to the officials, so the number is accurate. This was from the man himself. Right, But was there any was there any discussion. A keep the fake conversation, do what you gotta do, don't turn a blind eye that kind of thing. You know, you hate it, You wish it wouldn't happen. You sometimes don't know why it happens. But is bi o balcos you say it is what it is. It is what it is. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. Yeah, So all right, so he was he was talking with officiating crews basically and saying like, we see these numbers, two hundred and fifty one injections so far this year in six weeks, so like, you're not crazy. We are seeing this across the state. And if you got to toss people keep tossing them. That's that's true. I mean it's sad, that's what it is. Just it's appalling, and you just it all goes back to upbringing. Yeah, and uh and let me put it to you. This'll put a PS to this. This does not that number does not factor middle school play because middle school play is not governed at the high school Athletic Association office, right, that's done by the athletic director in each county. I wonder it's just tenth ninth through twelfth grade, uh, in high school play. I wonder how many not. Affected or added to in any way, shape or form. So it's just ninth through twelfth scenarios. Yeah, I wonder how the middle school numbers would impact this two fifty one. I also wonder how many fan ejections there have been that would count also on that, So Gary, I appreciate. I don't know if they track that be something that I guess the game day administrator at each school would have to to keep some count some way. At Chapel Hill. Yeah, basically, the UH police and that kind of thing handle all that stuff once they come out on the field or they come out on the court, or they throw something on the floor, or you hear them stand up and yale one of two words basically there for the ticket will let them do a lot of things. I got what I've told a lot of them. You bought a ticket to get in, and you don't need one to leave. Mm hmm. That's good advice. Gary. I appreciate the call man. Thank you, Thank you, brother. I have good day. You're too, take care. Yeah. I don't know what to make of that two hundred and fifty one ejections. I'd be curious to know how many they've had historically. Like the trend line is probably not good on This not good game on Week one starts now, and every touchdown brings you closer to a payout. With Draft Kings sports book and official sports betting partner of the NFL, this isn't just football, it's first touchdown fireworks anytime TD rushes live bets that ride every momentum shift a Draft Kings, Every play is your next shot to win. Will the Panthers win? Will we even get a touchdown? New customers bet just five dollars and get three hundred dollars in bonus bets instantly, plus get over two hundred dollars off NFL Sunday ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV. So your season starts now. Download the Draft Kings Sportsbook app and use code pete to get three hundred dollars in bonus bets instantly when you place your first bet of five dollars or more plus over two hundred dollars off NFL Sunday ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV. But you got to use promo code pete. In partnership with Draft Kings, The Crown is yours. Gambling problem call one eight hundred gambler In New York call eight seven seven eight hope and why, or text hope and why four six seven three six nine. In Connecticut, help is available for a problem gambling call eight eight eight seven eight nine seven seven seven seven or visit CCPG dot org. Play responsibly on behalf of boothill, casino and resort Kansas. Fees may apply in Illinois twenty one plus age and eligibility varies by jurisdiction, void in Ontario. Bonus bets expire seven days after issuance. See Sportsbook dot DraftKings dot com, slash promos NFL Sunday Ticket offer for new subscribers only and auto renews until canceled. Digital games and commercial use excluded. Restrictions apply additional NFL Sunday Ticket terms or at YouTube dot com slash go slash NFL Sunday Tickets slash terms Limited timeoffer. I shall now read some messages from the text line, Joseph says. Back when they should have been doing things to prevent these people's deaths, they were kneeling for George Floyd and cheering on rioters. Um Alma Adams doesn't want the Republicans to cast Democrats as soft on crime. Well, easy fix. Stop being soft on crime. Problem solved. I'll allow it. What kind of lawmaker are you? You don't even know what Arena Zarutzka look like. How pathetic you are living under your elitist rock. That's directed to Congresswoman Deborah Ross, who misidentified a murder victim to her father at the hearing today. Here's an anonymous Democrat. I'm gonna guess, cashless bail. How would that have prevented the mass shootings that just occurred? Too little, too late. Yeah. So see, here's the thing. Leftists always do this whenever you start talking about crime and shootings. Gun control stuff. This is the conflation, right, They talk about gun deaths, and they use that to paint this picture that you know, we're a wash and guns and all of this, and you conflate suicides with domestic violence with street violence, and those are all different types of crimes, right, or in the case of suicide, you know, events or incidents, and the response to suicide is not going to be the same response to domestic violence, and that's not going to be the same response to street crime. Right, They're different, just like and none of those really applied to the mass shooters, which are very rare, but like, this is what they do. They throw it all into this one basket. And then they say, oh, so we shouldn't change Cashle's bail because it wouldn't prevent this one thing. Yeah, but it would prevent these other things. So again, don't whizz on my boots and tell me it's raining. They go on to say, it's mental health programs that barely exist. And the assault rifles that you hand out like popcorn. Okay, I don't hand out assault rifles like their popcorn, okay, because that's just not profitable for me, Like that would cost me a lot of money. You're not expensive. Those things are like, yeah, the hundreds of dollars and then I'm just not going to go hand them out to people. Also, that would be illegal, and that's called straw purchasing. This is one of the other things why I identify this person as probably a Democrat is that they don't actually know what the gun laws are. They think it's easy to get a gun. They think it's it's so simple, and we're handing them all out, and like, no, that's that's not the case, and that would be illegal. Handing out guns like that is illegal. You that's straw purchasing. When you're buying a gun and then handing it off to somebody else, that's illegal. And typically the law abiding people that are the vast majority of gun owners, legal gun owners, commit no crimes. It is the criminals. So let's crack down on the the violence, criminal offenders, felons that possess firearms after they get out of jail and prison and then they go out and they're a prohibited buyer, but then they go out and get stolen guns and they use them in more crimes. How about we crack down on them even harder. How about that would you be okay with that North Carolina is not even in the top fifty most dangerous cities. Yeah. The Democrats said this today too. They pointed out that Charlotte is like the ninth safest city and Raleigh is the tenth safest city, which I'm sure is great comfort to the victims' families there. They're identifying problems in the judicial system. And you may want to bury your head in the sand on this, but people who have been paying attention to it, either because a loved one has been victimized and now they are thrown into this world and now they see how this stuff works, or you're somebody kind of like me. I've been a reporter and a talk show host in Charlotte in North Carolina for now almost thirty years. So I've covered a lot of crime, covered a lot of court cases. And as the CNPD officer said, the court system in Mecklenburg is trash and the people who interact with it know this. We're five years waiting for a trial, and think about this. The crime spike that we saw in twenty twenty at COVID and all of that, right, we saw this huge jump in crime and those cases now would be working through this, like, we haven't even gotten to the spike yet. They're not even trying those cases yet. I mean, they want to talk about the You know, the crime levels have dropped in the last two years, and that's good. Absolutely, I am pro declining crime rates. However, you have das that are just now finishing up the twenty nineteen trials, which means that the big bulk of the crime that we saw in twenty twenty and twenty one, like those numbers, they haven't even gotten into the system yet. They haven't started the trials for those. That's a problem. And again, you can stick your head in the sand about this stuff, but I'm not going to. They then say, get back to work and support healthcare, including mental health for these veterans, and others think they make a change and stop whining. Yeah, I know. I feel like I'm paid pretty well to wine been doing it for a while, so I think I'm just going to keep doing that. And some say that I am making a change by my whining. I mean, it's not a lot of people that say that, but Aaron says, they just don't care. They want to pass the ball off to somebody else. Dan says, this is the reason we have somebody like Trump in the White House. For decades, the Democrat and Republican establishments at all levels of government have failed to protect citizens from crime. Yeah, I mean there's running on a law and order campaign has worked for candidates for decades, decades. It is the fundamental thing that a government is supposed to provide first and foremost. It is like the this is the you know, the hierarchy of needs. You need security. That's why we sacrifice some of our liberties, turn them over to the government in exchange for that security. And if you can't provide the security, then like, what are you even doing here? You know? Stories are powerful. They help us make sense of things, to understand experiences. Stories connect us to the people of our past while transcending generations. They help us process the meaning of life, and our stories are told through images and videos. Preserve your stories with Creative Video. Started in nineteen ninety seven in mind Hill, North Carolina. It was the first company to provide this valuable service, converting images, photos and videos into high quality produced slide shows, videos and albums. The trusted, talented, and dedicated team at Creative Video will go over all of the details with you to create a perfect project. Satisfaction guaranteed. Drop them off in person or mail them. They'll be ready in a week or two. Memorial videos for your loved ones, videos for rehearsal, dinners, weddings, graduations, Christmas, family vacations, birthdays, or just your family stories, all told through images. That's what your photos and videos are. They are your life told through the eyes of everyone around you and all who came before you, and they will tell others to come who you are. Visit creative video dot com. I want to play this sound real quick. Hopefully it's still racked and loaded. Here from the live stream of the House Judiciary Committee's field hearing in Charlotte, where Congresswoman Alma Adams of the variety of hats from Charlotte, and she said, this is all political theater and this is just about Republicans trying to score political points. I'd also like to extend my condolences to the family and the friends of Arena zdus Gamp on this tragic murder. It was senseless and certainly we're continuing to hold all of you in our prayers. No one should feel unsafe in their community or in their home. Senseless acts of violence have no place in our society, and they must be met with a commitment to creating safer communities for everyone. All perpetrators of violent crimes must be held accountable, and they must pay their debt to society to ensure that justice is served and to protect our communities. I'm a little disappointed to Chairman that my colleagues here are politically sizing the pain under the guise of seeking justice, when really I think there's an eye on this open seat. That's the real prize. And I'm gonna just be honest, that's how I am. But this is why I think we're here, and even though we should be in Washington trying to make sure that government stays open. But the hearing for me is not really about public safety. It's about my colleagues trying to paint Democrats have soft on crime and we're not, and engaging in political theater, probably to score some headlines. Now, we don't need to try to distract the American people to cover up our own failure that we have not had the real solutions. And while we refuse to equip local government with the funding and the resources that they need to keep communities safe. We've heard that here. Public safety transcends politics, and that's why Congress in twenty twenty two passed the Bipartisans saye Communities that signed into law by President Biden. All right, so there you go. The Republicans are politicizing it, trying to score headlines with an eye on the open seat. I'm guessing she's talking about a congressional district in North Carolina. Is this the Don Davis District? One seat that's a swing district? Is that the idea? But also this idea that Republicans are somehow politicizing crime. Okay, yes, and see what do you think? What do you think? Politics? Is right? This is how we come to policies, and the policies and laws are what govern our judicial system. That's the point. And so we have law makers, one of whom is you, Alma Adams. You're a law so you can, as the name indicates, make laws. And so when you engage in the debate about what law to make, that's politics. And yes, that's where all of the crime stuff gets hashed out is among the lawmakers. And when they identify problems, when people when the public comes forward and says, this system you made isn't working. We demand justice, We demand speedy trials for the murderers of our loved ones. Right, you should pay attention to that. And if you're not going to pay attention to that, then that is to your own political peril. That's on you. Like I am perplexed at this reaction among elected Democrats, like are you that wedded to these terrible ideas? Are you? Are you so afraid of your base getting angry? And what voting Republican like this was an opportunity to kind of tack back towards sanity and they just can't do it. They just cannot bring themselves to do it. Then there was this This is Kevin Kyleie Republican from California. This sense of lawlessness is seen in the ordinary conditions of life for people as well. In Los Angeles, the police chief has advised people do not wear your jewelry when you go outside. People have to walk through homeless encampments on their way to work with all manner of drug use. Another unlawful activity. You walk into a CVS or a basic store and your shampoo and conditioner is under lock and key because theft is so rampant. We see that in Washington, DC as well. You probably see it here in Charlotte. So these and in fact, in my own state of California, we just had an incident two weeks ago where and apparently an act of politically motivated violence, an individual fired three shots into a local news organization and he was at large for some time, and then we all breathe a sigh of relief when he was apprehended. Thankfully, no one was hurt, the shots didn't hit anyone, but then he was immediately released. A man who just fired three shots into a news studio. Fortunately there was a federal nexus. The FBI apprehended him soon after that. But this is the core of the problem. It's criminology one ZHO one that the best deterrent against crime is the certainty of punishment. And the way that many of these jurisdictions are set up is there's various dimensions to the criminal justice system that undermine the certainty of punishment. So if you're a criminal committing even a very serious crime, you probably think there's not a very good challenge you're going to get caught, because the police departments are understaffed and they've been defunded. But then even if you do get caught, there's a good chance you won't be prosecuted because you have these rogue district attorneys who don't prosecute crime. But then even if you do get prosecuted, there's a pretty good chance he'll be let out on pre tario release on bail, or even maybe on on supervised release without bail, or that even if you are convicted, then the punishments are so weak that it really won't be much of a punishment at all. Yeah, he's exactly right. This story out of California that he mentioned, this was an ABC affiliate that was shot up during the you know, the left fever dream of free speech. Martyr Jimmy Kimmel and some guy drove down to the local ABC ten station in Sacramento and fired a bunch of rounds into the building And he was then bailed out, Like what are you doing and shot blindly into a building. He could have killed many people, and you're just gonna let him walk back out onto the street. You don't think that that might be a security risk to the society. Of course it is. He's obviously unstable he's deranged. He also worked for the teachers Union. I'm sure it's not connected though. Oh actually, all right, that'll do it for this episode. Thank you so much for listening. I could not do the show without your support and the support of the businesses that advertise on the podcast, so if you'd like, please support them too and tell them you heard it here. You can also become a patron at my Patreon page or go to thepetecallanershow dot com. Again, thank you so much for listening, and don't break anything while I'm gone.