DIC Investigation

[Ken Hill]

yea! that $50.00 misdeamenor fine and that $150.00 court cost will sure teach them a lesson! and if they're out of state or out of country....well, just knowing that they can't return without getting arrested is enough, right? No, wait, let's form a committee and send a posse to wherever "they" live and prosecute them ourselves. Yea!

Skip,

There are four counts of the vandalism, There are two counties involved. It will be more that $50.00 and there may be jail time. The exposure for each violation is a year in jail and $1000.00 fine.

The profile hasn't been published however I appreciate your cynicism! When we prosecute and sentencing day comes would you care to join about 50 or more other cave divers who plan to be there? /Ken

[contender]

Skip,

It will be more that $50.00 and there may be jail time. /Ken

I doubt it, the courts are way to busy to care about someone writing in a cave. Now before you get bent out of shape about my comment, I can't stand vandalism as much as anyone. My point is that they simply are not going to jail for this no matter what we all think.

Chad

[Cave Ranger]

Maybe somebody can take good resolution closeup pics of each damage and post so we all can look at it and think of ways to fix it. Then maybe one of numerous cave diving certification agencies will use its chance to show that they care and come up with a project coordination to remove writings, and i'm sure there will be plenty of volunteers to help. My personal guess about person who did it is this: it is out of FL state diver(s) (most probably foreigner), male, probably visiting caves during DEMA. Chances are that he will never return to FL again. Lets just remove the carving otherwise it will be a trigger for other idiots to write their worthless life signatures.

When I dove Cow back in November, Kelly Jessop was there to take pictures and document the damage. Maybe he has some pictures that are worth looking at.
My buddy Wayne took some pics also and I will try and post them after he burns me a disc.

[Ken Hill]

I doubt it, the courts are way to busy to care about someone writing in a cave.

Normally you may be right but there has been no prosecution under Florida's cave law, therefore no precedent. We have an attorney that will prepare a "Friend of the Court" brief, supporting the State's Attorney position, highlighting the damages to CDS and State owned property. Only things I can tell you is ... "We'll see!" Promise to be there on sentencing day for best results. /K

[Cave Ranger]

Here are some pictures of the vandalized clay banks in Cow Spring. Thanks be to photographer Wayne Turner.

[JE]

"jeeeesh, for all the so-called creative minds in the cave-diving community, this whole thread is more fiction and more absurd blowing up of the community chest than the captain narco series"....
-skip[/quote]

Skip-!

I think you may have missed the whole idea behind the Narco series: That particular creative writing story was intended to stir ones imagination & to make for some fun-type reading or even perhaps technically interesting. It in no way reflects nor refers to any defacing of any cave walls or destruction of any overhead features of that environment. The story was developed & written in such a manner that it could very easily be edited into a screen play for production thereof. It beguiles me to know that there is one particular individual out there who relishes in the destruction of our cave walls-! Ken Hill's tremendous efforts in both our environmental cave issues, & finding the perp who is intent on alienating this entire community are not to be neither under-mined or further burdened with his efforts. There are several others here who are also actively pursueing those responsible for destroying these clay walls.
I would suggest you ask Ken, FW & a couple of the others involved in solving this how you could help, instead of trying to 'flame' the fires stirred in this thread.
Have a Happy New Year

Jack E.

[skip]

Yes, I admit to being cynical on this whole cave defacing thing. The personality profile was really just too much and the vigilante mob-rule mentality is a thing to fear. This guy or these guys will never be caught and if they are they won't be prosecuted and if they are they won't be fined and if they are they won't be jailed. They'll get a slap on the wrist and probation. And the burden of proof to even prosecute is sooooo remote. A cynic. Yes, I suppose I am.

Sorry for the flame or fanning fires, it's not my intention, but honestly this has become some obsessive fantasy.

The "perps" are innocent idiots who don't know any better; they are not "among us," or some evil particular "... who relishes in the destruction of our cave walls. " They need education not persecution or prosecution. And this mob-mentality exhibited here has already done what mob-mentality always does - accuse the innocent.

I'm not trying to burden anyone, or undermine them either. Just trying to inject a bit of reality and suggest that people may be over-reacting.

-skip

[rjack]

At the risk of sounding sacriligious, how is Mr/Mrs. "DIC"'s chicken scratch any different than sprinkling little plastic toys around the caves? I saw a video of the "crypt" recently and the silly little hanging plastic skeleton is really just trash. Left behind and now apparently accepted by divers. Not a whole lot different than a graffiti "tag" IMO.

[Jim Wyatt]

how is Mr/Mrs. "DIC"'s chicken scratch any different than sprinkling little plastic toys around the caves?

Plastic toys can be removed easily, are not malicious and bring a smile to "most" peoples' faces.



Jim

[Cave Ranger]

At the risk of sounding sacriligious, how is Mr/Mrs. "DIC"'s chicken scratch any different than sprinkling little plastic toys around the caves? I saw a video of the "crypt" recently and the silly little hanging plastic skeleton is really just trash. Left behind and now apparently accepted by divers. Not a whole lot different than a graffiti "tag" IMO.

Well if you want to take it that far why don't we remove that "unnatural" nylon line that runs through most of these caves and scrapes the walls and floors in some spots? Hanging those line arrows and cookies all over the place should be banned also?
OH PLEASE!! I mean really....How can a malicious, and destructive act of vandalism by some snot nosed, attention starved little punk, against a thousands of years old natural wonder be compared to a few light hearted souls hanging a few rubber bats, a plastic dinosaur, or other trinkets on the cave line? Like Jim said, The vandalism is permanent. Trinkets and rubber bats aren't. I've not installed any myself but I do find it humorous and it does in some cases identify the location. I.E. Godzilla in the "Godzilla Room". Sort of like a trail marker.
I think I'm going to take a breather from this topic because it is really starting to re-agitate my G.E.R.D. Maybe I'm just too uppity.