Another Black Eye for Railfans

[kschmidt]

Greetings,

I heard about this on a Milwaukee Radio station this morning and hear is a newspaper story from the WBAY-TV in Green Bay, WI. With all the problems railfans encounter this guy tries to say he was taking "train" pictures. The biggest problem with that story is that at 6am it is awful dark. Here is the story cut and pasted.

A Fond du Lac man is jailed after he was caught climbing up a TV antenna on the outside of a two-story house in North Fond du Lac. Police in North Fond du Lac say he may have been trying to take pictures of a woman inside the house.

The 57-year-old man was caught around 6 o'clock Monday morning. Police said the man told them he liked trains and was taking pictures of trains from atop the TV antenna. Police said his story just did not add up, given that the tracks are at least a football field's distance away.

Officers got a search warrant for his car, and found a video camera and videotapes of women. Officers say the video was obviously shot through a window.

Wednesday the man will be arraigned for 12 counts of invasion of privacy.

The case was built quickly because of a concerned neighbor. North Fond du Lac police say neighbors in the north-side neighborhood saw a suspicious man climb up a TV antenna towers. When he got in a position to point the camera inside the house, they tipped off police and the investigation started.

The next day, an undercover police officer went out to find the suspect and they did, only blocks from where he was spotted Monday, again filming on private property and in the early morning hours.

The North Fond du Lac man is believed to have a wife and children. This is his first arrest but police aren't sure the investigation stops here.

"This sort of behavior that is involved in this certain incident causes us to be concerned that it isn't just isolated to North Fond du Lac, possibly the gateway to other criminal activity," Sgt. Brian Liethen said.

To protect their property and privacy, police encourage peolpe to keep their doors and windows locked, and keep their window blinds or curtains closed.

Here is link to the story http://www.wbay.com/global/story.asp?s=4027662

Isn't that just great. Insteading of admitting a problem with videotaping women lets say were photographing trains.

OOP's I think I might have the same problem in reverse. I took the below photo at Clearing Yard in Chicago, IL and I guess I should told the police officer "I was just taking pictures of women".

[Anonymous]

Both seem to be healthy pursuits, except for the "See food, eat food" recommendation on the sign. Perhaps you should work on your story.

Will ... hardly drooling!

[vsmith]

Justice hath no Penalty as severe like the one this Nimrod going to get when he tries explaining those pictures to his WIFE !

Trains? you told me you were taking pictures of trains? ...WHAP!
All I see here are cabooses and headlights! ! WHAM !

But Honey, I ahhhh...KABOOM!

Dont Honey me! SMACK ! WHALLOP! CRUNCH !

Somehow I think this Goon going to rue the day he did this, but for me, no mercy. What a Perv and a Idiot! Sounds like its off to divorce court he goes! Serves him right if he fell from that tower while peeping and got himself a Darwin Award...Oh thats right, he's in-elligable if he already has kids.

[Anonymous]

Jeez, crazy guy.... [banghead]

[rrnut282]

Interesting story, but I don't take it as a black-eye for railfans. He was attempting to hide his illicit activity by stating he was doing a legitimate activity (railfanning). If anything, this story gives railfanning a boost by making it a preferred activity.

[DPD1]

It's amazing how obsessed some guys become with stuff like that... Almost to the point where it seems like they want to get caught. I caught a guy one morning videotaping some people over their back fence from the alley. He barely even moved when I drove by, like it was nothing. A cop happen to be driving by and I sent him back there... Don't know what happen after that.

Dave
-DPD Productions - Featuring the TrainTenna LP Gain RR Scanner Antenna-
http://eje.railfan.net/dpdp/

[Junctionfan]

What a fool; he should have said "I'm photographing bats" or something a little bit more believable. Then again; who said criminals are smart especially when they are caught?

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by vsmith
All I see here are cabooses and headlights! ! WHAM !

[(-D][(-D][(-D]

[CANADIANPACIFIC2816]

QUOTE: Originally posted by rrnut282

Interesting story, but I don't take it as a black-eye for railfans. He was attempting to hide his illicit activity by stating he was doing a legitimate activity (railfanning). If anything, this story gives railfanning a boost by making it a preferred activity.

I concur with this statement. This clown must have had some EXPLAINING to do to his wife. In my opinion, he's not the sharpest knife in the drawer, he's not playing with a full deck of cards and he's one degree short of being an absolute ZERO.

CANADIANPACIFIC2816

[Randy Stahl]

Hey .... My wife is living in North FDL.....LOL. Good for him SHE didn't get ahold of him !!!!!!
Randy

[dknelson]

What will really be annoying is if this jerk wins the Trains photo contest.
Dave Nelson

[tree68]

QUOTE: Originally posted by dknelson

What will really be annoying is if this jerk wins the Trains photo contest.
Dave Nelson

Night shot of a caboose?

[UPTRAIN]

Good lord...at least he didn't say he was filming a woman and was really filming trains...lol.

[Anonymous]

Somebody shoulda broke out ye ol paintball gun and riddled him while atop the antenna. Now that woulda been funny!

[SALfan]

QUOTE: Originally posted by vsmith

Justice hath no Penalty as severe like the one this Nimrod going to get when he tries explaining those pictures to his WIFE !

Trains? you told me you were taking pictures of trains? ...WHAP!
All I see here are cabooses and headlights! ! WHAM !

But Honey, I ahhhh...KABOOM!

Dont Honey me! SMACK ! WHALLOP! CRUNCH !

Somehow I think this Goon going to rue the day he did this, but for me, no mercy. What a Perv and a Idiot! Sounds like its off to divorce court he goes! Serves him right if he fell from that tower while peeping and got himself a Darwin Award...Oh thats right, he's in-elligable if he already has kids.

Hope his wife is as handy with firearms, and as willing to use them, as my wife. Then the only sounds would be BANG! BANG! BANG! (number depends on the cylinder/magazine capacity of the weapon), then "Where's the ammo so I can reload?" We would have another Darwin award winner.

[Anonymous]

...Wanted a good shot of them Headlights!

oops....(vsmith) beat me to it

[selector]

Not wanting to be a wet blanket (honestly!), but if I interpret the sentiment in several recent threads dealing with problematic railfans (you know, the one's who go on to private property and take pictures?), isn't this thread a bit ironic? The fact that he claimed to be a railfan is the very claim that the problem fans use to justify their own trespass seems deliciously ironic.

[Anonymous]

I did not see the report as a black eye on railfans. I saw it as a sad little man who cannot deal with women up close and personal on dates and such but has to climb towers and play peeping tom.

If I was shooting trains, I do it from near the railroad.

On my last trip to the east coast, I had my camcorder on the Gettysburg Battlefield at the Union left on the round tops (Little Round top to be specific) and aimed it at the high water mark in the Union Center about a mile away.

The camera successfully captured the marker and I attempted to read the brass plaque that is about the size of a classroom blackboard on that marker's base I was able to get some of it before the camera failed to resolve the image in macro mode (Apparently no macro on it) If I can find the image, I'll try to extract it and link it later.

Bottom line, I think railfans have nothing to fear.

Edit** I placed the images into my photobucket in the sig link below. Commenting on the images they were taken with a Sony TVR 460 Digital 8 handycam. The video was put on the memory stick rather than digital tape so the resolution is not the best. I can image to a little over twice the resolution on tape shoots. So I wonder what might actually be possible with that tape that day.

In the last shoot before it blurred completely you can almost see a person to the left of the monument and a cannon in the foreground. Again I wonder if a tape shoot would actually produce much better imagery. Possibly enough to read the marker.

[AztecEagle]

Sounds Like We Have A Winner For This Year's "Darwin Awards".Plus,The Next Case For Judge Mablean Ephriam and "Divorce Court"As Well!!FYI:I've Got An Idea!!Why Don't We Put TV Judges Marilyn Milian;Joe Brown;Judith Sheindlin;Glenda Hatchett;Larry Joe Doherty;Greg Mathis;Alex Ferrer and Mablean Ephriam To The Supreme Court?That Way You Not Only Have A Racial Diversity(Joe Brown;Glenda Hatchett;Greg Mathis and Mablean Ephriam are Black;Alex Ferrer and Marilyn Milian Are Cuban;Judith Sheindlin's Jewish and Larry Joe Douherty's Scots-Irish)But They'll Get The Cases Ruled And Verdicts Passed Within 60 Minutes!!

[Anonymous]

words fail me i would use a four letter word but i wont [banghead]

[samfp1943]

Another example that proves the point," You can train the ignorant,but stupid is forever!"
This peeping Tom should be drowned in the shallow end of the gene pool.