DAMASCUS, MD — Police performed a violent raid on a birthday party based on a suspicion of ‘young looking people with beer,’ then dubiously confiscated guests’ cell phones when they were used to record the police.
The incident occurred on January 4th, 2014, at the home of George and Cathy Magas. The couple’s son, Nicholas, was turning twenty-one years old, and he was allowed to invite a number of his friends to the home for a party. Both his parents were present.
During the party, the crowd opted to order pizza. Things went downhill when the delivery driver took it upon himself to pass a tip about the party to a friend — Officer Finch of the Montgomery County Police Department.
“Hey man not sure if you’re working but if you’re not busy there I just delivered a pizza to a party at 9*** Damascus rd and saw some young looking people with beer,” the pizza-delivering snitch wrote in a text message.
Officer Finch then relayed the information to members of the county’s “Alcohol Initiatives Section” to investigate. Subsequently, MCPD Officer Jeremy Smalley and Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputy John Durham arrived together to scope out the party.
Having no other information besides the text message tip, the two beverage cops drove past the residence and “observed numerous vehicles” and could “hear the sounds of a party,” according to charging documents. They claimed to witness some males urinate behind a detached garage. Having no evidence to stand on, the officers assumed that the party contained underage drinking and called for reinforcements.
THE PROBLEM WITH ASSUMING
The investigation was flimsy from the start. Officer Smalley and Deputy Durham made multiple unsubstantiated assumptions and fabrications of fact. Just by observing individuals carrying “red Solo style cups,” they surmised that the party-goers (1) were consuming alcohol and (2) “appeared to be under the age of 21.”
These assumptions were used as probable cause that a crime was being committed — underage consumption of alcohol.
The police were challenged on their remarkable ability to verify the ages of the guests just by looking at them. This was not an insignificant detail, because anyone above the age of 21 would not have been breaking any laws.
When asked how he could tell the difference between a 20-year-old and a 21-year-old, Deputy Durham later testified, “The loudness, just the way they presented themselves, was consistent with being under 21… They kind of exaggerate their movements, like ‘hey look at me’… rather than adults standing around drinking.” Durham conceded that “It’s not 100 percent.”
DISPERSING THE PARTY
Filled with assumptions, Officer Smalley and Deputy Durham approached the basement stairwell and were met by one of the younger residents of the home, Marc Magas. According to the police report, Marc was “very cooperative” and inclined to grant them access to the inside of the home. However, that idea was nixed when his mother, Cathy Magas, allegedly said, “We have dealt with you guys before, and I don’t want you coming in the house.”
At that point, police were close enough to see cases of beer and a keg. Despite having no verified proof of anyone’s age, police entered and began to pick up cases of beer and haul them to the top of the steps outside the home. This confiscation of property was met with angry shouts from homeowner George Magas. Backup units had arrived and helped to seize the beverages.
According to the police report, 21-year-old Nicholas Magas exited the basement door and attempted to retrieve his property by picking up a case of beer. The report says that Officer Smalley grabbed him, but Nicholas “attempted to pull away.”
The events that followed were chaotic and have been described through conflicting reports.
Police reported that Officer Smalley was “pulled” into the doorway and residents slammed his arms in the door. A struggle ensued, and police alleged that homeowner George Magas assaulted three officers, and that he even tried to take Deputy Durham’s weapon from its holster. Eric Magas became involved, and police claimed that he too assaulted an officer.
“Deputy Durham then struck Eric Magas in an attempt to change his behavior,” the report states. Eric was tased by police on the steps. Cathy Magas attempted to render aid to her son, and in doing so, police claimed she elbowed a deputy.
Meanwhile, George Magas was outside being forcefully subdued by police with tasers, as his guests filmed with their cell phone cameras.
The footage “shows police dragging the homeowner out of his house, handcuffing him and repeatedly tasing him while he offers little to no resistance,” according to Montgomery County Sentinel editorialist Brian Karem, who was allowed to see the video.
George, Cathy, Nicholas, and Eric Magas were arrested. George and Eric had to be transported to the hospital for their injuries.
BATTERING RAM
Some time after the Magas family was arrested, there were reportedly a number of guests still inside the house, which the “Alcohol Initiatives Section” intended to search and arrest.
Police deployed a battering ram and broke down the basement door, then rounded up the remaining terrified guests, ranging in age from 18 to 21.
Records showed that the police did obtain a search warrant to enter the home. However, it was not obtained until 5 hours after the initial contact with the Magas family, and did not bear any mention to the multiple assaults that the police officers had supposedly sustained in the course of the initial arrests.
According to the officers, their stated goal this dramatic use of force was to “stop the party and make sure everyone gets home safely.”
AFTERMATH
The four family members were nailed with a multitude of charges which could have resulted prison time for each of them.
- George Magas, 55, was charged with attempting to remove a firearm from the possession of a deputy sheriff, attempting to incite a riot, three counts of second degree assault, obstructing and hindering a police officer, and 22 counts of furnishing alcohol to a minor.
- Cathy Magas was charged with second degree assault, obstructing and hindering a police officer and 22 counts of furnishing alcohol to a minor.
- Nicholas Magas, 21, was charged with attempting to incite a riot, obstructing and hindering a police officer, and 22 counts of furnishing alcohol to a minor.
- Eric Magas, 18, was charged with second degree assault, attempting to incite a riot, obstructing and hindering a police officer, 22 counts of furnishing alcohol a minor, possession of a fake ID, possessing more than one driver’s license, knowingly and fraudulently obtaining a license by misrepresentation, and three counts of possessing a fictitious license.
An additional twenty-two adults were cited for underage consumption of alcohol, despite evidence that some of those cited did not even have anything to drink. Several guests had their cell phones confiscated after videoing the police getting physical with members of the Magas family.
“I don’t know why the police acted in the manner in which they did, including taking the phones of those who were in the home,” family attorney Rene Sandler told The Montgomery County Sentinel.
After having their family name dragged through the mud and forced to hire attorneys to defend themselves, the Magas family caught a break when their case came before Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Steven Salant. The Magas family contested that their Fourth Amendment rights had been violated, and that police had no lawful justification to be on their curtilage, snooping around in the rear of the house. The judge agreed.
“I do find an unlawful invasion of the defendants’ property… the defendants were entitled to an expectation of privacy in the area officers went in the back of the house,” Judge Salant said following a suppression hearing. He cast doubts on the officers’ probable cause statement and called some of the police testimony “not true.”
Judge Salant was incredulous that the raid was performed legally. The search warrant wasn’t obtained until five hours after police arrived on scene, and left out key details which the police later used as the basis of criminal charges against the family. Critics have doubted that the warrant was obtained prior to entering the home.
In November 2014, Judge Salant threw out most of the prosecution’s evidence obtained during the raid — including several guests’ cell phones — and said the police had violated the Magus’s civil rights.
FOLLOW-UP:
As of late 2014, the state was still considering “a myriad of options, including appeal,” according to Maryland state’s attorney’s office spokesperson Ramon Korionoff.
Officer Jeremy Smalley, nor Deputy John Durham, nor any other officer who participated in the sloppy investigation and dubious search have received any form of public discipline or legal consequences as of this writing.
Word Press Poll
Bullies f*ck with you until you show them they can’t get away with it.
Can’t find the example video, I’ll look for it from home. But a group of teens were bullying another teen, one specifically was the ringleader, of course. Hitting the other teen in face and body. Demanding a fight.
It continued until another group showed up – three guys. One walked right up to the bully, knocked him on his ass, mounted him, and asked if he wanted to fight still…
I’d guess the bullying pretty much stopped after that, but to be TRULY effective, the bullied teen would have to stand up for himself. THEN it ENDS.
Same thing here.
But listen to the sort of advice the “experts” give:
(From http://www.parentdish.com/2011/03/16/school-bully-revenge-video/)
Susan Stiffelman, a family therapist in Southern California who writes the “Ask Advice Mama” column for ParentDish, understands the hero worship.
“No doubt it felt great not only to the bullied child, but to all kids identifying with him in that victim role,” she tells ParentDish.
However, she adds, kids and parents should not look to a single body slam as a remedy for bullying.
“The best way to avoid being bullied is to not give the bully the payoff he or she is looking for,” Stiffelman says. “As soon as a child shows that the bully has ‘gotten to him’ — either by engaging verbally, crying, running away or showing aggression — the bully has achieved his goal.
“As immensely hard as it is to withhold the reaction a bully wants, in the end, using aggression to counteract bullying generally does not pay off. In this situation.”
Yeah, and splattering an abusive cop’s brain across his front lawn won’t make other abusive cops think twice, either…
Where the F do these people live, La-La land? Land of the Lotus Eaters?
Cross-posted to the related article for today: http://ericpetersautos.com/2015/01/08/ny-heroes-swat-destroy-house-serve-dwi-bench-warrant/
If it bleeds we can kill it
Now its all up to me
There is proof we can wound it
Now repeat after me
From Predator the Musical
Which Clover has singlehandedly caused the most shit I wonder? Candy Lightner, the MADD mother?
The deadly shit a few theists can cause
On 7 January 2015, at approximately 10:30 UTC, three masked Judeo-Christian gunmen armed with Kalashnikov rifles, a shotgun, and a rocket-propelled grenade launcher stormed the headquarters of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris. In accordance with God’s word, they shot and killed 12 people, including Charlie Hebdo staff and two French National police officers, and wounded 11 others while repeating a line of scripture claiming that God is Great.
-What an glorious guy this God fellow is. To inspire books that encourage empires of Atillas and Witch Doctors which murder total strangers who are cartoonists of all things.
“Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have ideas.”
– State Prophet Joseph Stalin
Why indeed, when it so easy to find herds of zombie Christ Clovers more than happy to murder people over ideas they find offensive. Clovers who believe there have been no new ideas since their patriarch/savior/prophet died and the account of his life was written. Clovers who consider your own mind and body the sovereign property of the voices in their heads. Throw them in the woods.
Other things Stalin should have known are more powerful and thus should be prohibited? Sound money. Privacy. The right to care for our own bodies however we see fit. Tools. Means of production and self-sufficiency. The right to not participate in the schemes of others. The right to travel and vehicles of our own choosing. Any who will not serve the state are enemies of the state.
Christ Clovers are useful idiots of the state. They waste theirs and everyone else’s times on non-existent fantasies that are no threat to the interests of the state whatsoever. It may even be the case that the state is the greatest supporter of institutional religions that conscript you as tools and means to the ends of the religious institutions. Ends which are harmonious with the ends of the state.
Je Suis Charlie Hebdo
Must be afraid of the Little Jesus
Hopefully, if these people sue someone, the pissa delivery idiot is at the top of the list, along with the pigs. Maybe also the taser company as they have made a device that was used by a person intending to use the device to maim or kill someone. Not having covered all their bases to prevent harm, you know!!!
Rev, why not use attack rifles and grenade launchers mounted to swiveling mounts, controlled by remote control and monitored inside the house. Even not loaded, those moving guns would be a great deterrent. Then the cops would call in 3 swat thuggroups!!!
http://www.laserguidedloogie.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/if_you_see_something_say_so.png
The West German Stasi was so effective in their spying because they encouraged everyone’s neighbor to spy on each other. Think Mrs Kravis from Bewitched, but reporting everything to the cops.
Eric_G – I think you meant EAST German, not West.
If you see something, say something – that’s ‘our’ version.
Whoops! That started out as “East” but then I rewrote the sentence to improve the grammar.
Guess I’ll leave the writing to the professionals…
I do hope at minimum, they sue the pizza delivery driver. They have a great case for false arrest too.
There is a reason why individual police officers are normally not allowed to investigate something when they know someone involved. Though in this case it wouldn’t have mattered as the whole shift of coppers ended up violating a lot of peoples rights. That is a crime in my book. Also a huge failure of managing officers, who should have shut this witch hunt down before someones rights were stolen or someone got injured.
An incident involving my dad many years ago was begun by a clover calling an individual cop he knew. That clover put two cops in a place they had no business being. And only my dad had the balls to call those cops out for being in a place they didn’t belong.
In his case it cost those two cops their jobs, but it took time and lots of money. Most of the time individual cops will never pay the costs and will remain on the force to boot, to probably do it to someone else. Taxpayers are the ones that end up paying. In the case of my dad, taxpayers foot the bill, about two and a half MILLION dollars (the village managed to spend nearly 2 million on legal costs defending these cops!). It could have cost taxpayers even more, since my dad declined to go for more damages (he knew it was coming out taxpayers pockets not those cops).
People forget the huge cost to taxpayers that illegal moves by police cost. Legal fees alone can quickly go into the 6 figures in a matter of a few weeks.
There is a police officer in a city near me, that I know has cost taxpayers nearly $750k in settlements to victims of his “policing”. He has been sued repeatedly for various crimes (yes, crimes, had you or me done what he did, we would be charged with a crime). He recently made national news when he smashed out the window of a passenger of a car and tazed someone who wasn’t moving fast enough to his commands.
Even though “investigated” by the FBI for the window smashing, he has returned to full duty. He has the full support of the mayor who called him a “good” cop.
Frankly why isn’t he being fired for costing taxpayers so much in settlements? Even that alone should be a good enough reason to take his badge and show him the door.
Taxpayers are the final victims of the illegal use of police force.
the little pud sucker was probably jealous that he wasn’t invited to the party.
Dang, Damascus is fairly close to me, I have friends who live there. But the only place I’ve eaten there is Jimmy Cone, soft serve.
I don’t know who in their right mind would eat the shit frisbee Papa John has the audacity to call pizza. But anyone who cares about freedom should never order from these jackboot assholes at any location ever again.
Ich Habe Eine Pizza
http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/057/9/a/Hitler_likes_Pizza_by_ninjaduck22.jpg
Papa John’s driver delivered four pizzas to the Magas house and then sent a text message to a police officer he knows.
“Hey man, not sure if you’re working,” he began, according to court records, giving the Magases’ address and writing that he had seen “some young-looking people with beer.”
WaPo Article
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/damascus-couple-accused-of-hosting-teen-keg-party-has-charges-dropped/2014/11/17/521f1818-6e82-11e4-893f-86bd390a3340_story.html
these culinary clover thug snugglers need more reviews
https://www.google.com/search?q=damascus+md+papa+johns&oq=damascus+md+papa+johns&aqs=chrome..69i57.5589j0j8&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8#lrd=0x89c9d54572389461:0xb69bce7abef62ba7,1
current review
It’s papa johns pizza, just a store run by kids. They Answer the phone and say they’re closed, 20 minutes before 10 pm. Valerie giggled when asked when they closed and said now.
Closed hours early on Redskins deal Mondays. After orders were taken and never delivered, nor called to say they could not fulfill orders.
Call one of the other 3 pizza places In damascus, you risk not getting your food from here. If you drive by the store, you should also worry about food safety. It looks like recess out front and no adults around.
I can’t find any neighbors with better experiences and all have moved on to local pizza joints that have to care about customers. Like I have now done. Pasquali’s took my order and I picked it up 5 minutes after they closed, greeted with smiles and a real great pizza.
Papa John’s Pizza
26121 Ridge Road, Damascus, MD 20872
Store #2565
Phone: (301)253-3366
http://order.papajohns.com/locations/USA/MD/20872/DAMASCUS/2565
If I didn’t live in the Chicago area, I would probably never eat pizza. Chain pizza is terrible and in most of America, the only choice. Pizza Hut, Domino’s, Little Caeser, Papa Johns are all awful most of the time. The funny thing, the first time I had papa johns, it was before they were a chain (they started in a town relatives lived in). It tasted nothing like the crap they put out now. Pizza is something that cannot be done well by a chain operator.
I’m not a huge fan of those other brands, but they’re light years ahead of that cancer wheel Papa Johns is churning out.
Papa Johns pizza is a known carcinogen. Papa Johns is illegal in 17 countries because so many people have died from eating Papa John’s pizza.
See it’s like Zig Ziggler says, each of us tells 50 people how much we loathe Papa John’s pizza. And they all tell 50 people, and those fascist pizza nazis at Papa Johns will stop hiring snitches and serving as undercover sting operations.
Coworkers; “what should we get for lunch?”
you: “anything but Papa Johns. That shit on a saucer gave me diarrhea for 3 months straight. I had to have 10 feet of my intestine surgically removed because Papa John’s pizza is so indigestible.”
If you post something on the internet, the Googhouls will spider crawl the server where you post it and then spread your message all over the internet.
Why not take a minute the next time you’re commenting, to mention that Papa Johns is the worst business in America.
The message being: Papa John’s is owned by the grandson of Mussolini and the exwife of one of Stalin’s grandsons. Papa Johns was big in Europe during the war, their pizza ovens were used in the Holocaust. 600,000 Jews met a horrible death at the hands of the
The current CEO of Papa Johns, John Schnatter, once strangled a homeless junkie with his bare hands. He had to get a special waiver to hold his position at the Louisville Headquarters of Papa Johns pizza. Everyone that works for Papa Johns is a felon, they are workreleased from prison on the condition that they continue to be informants for the govt while making and delivering their prison foodesque pizza.
– – –
Let’s also remember how Auto Zone parts are of the worst quality. Every night there are rapes and murders at the Auto Zone here, because they are a known gunfree zone, and open 24 hours, and therefore a haven for violent criminals.
AutoZone fired me for carrying!
http://www.utahconcealedcarry.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=16915
violators of the NAP, we do not forgive. we do not forget. expect us to go elsewhere with our business and to disparage you at every opportunity.
It seems to me that away from the big population centers it seems you’re stuck with corporate food. The small towns and stuff don’t have enough people who care about what they eat so the local food makers have gone under. There might be a decent restaurant or something but the grocery stores are filled with corporate stuff. Not being a cook I don’t know what I’d eat in most of this country these days without a population large enough to have a market niche of people who wanted well made quality food. There has to be a good immigrant population or people well paid enough to get one of the grocery chains that caters to higher quality food to support that market. Although the later isn’t comparable to a good immigrant population with small places making simple (as in no chemicals) food. It’s another case of too many americans and their overwhelming preference for a lack of quality.
Agree – the best eating in small towns is often a hole-in-the-wall Chinese or Vietnamese take-out, where they only use real food. The rest is just McJunk or a “diner” that relies on frozen and packaged ingredients.
I like Papa John’s better than ‘Little Greasers.’ And, though it’s some better now, nobody makes pizza as bad a Chuck E Cheese when they first opened. You have to be TRYING to make pizza that bad.
My wife used to work @ Pizza Hut, so she doesn’t like to eat there.
I have a friend that MANAGED a Pizza Hut and rarely ate the pizza. He would often order pizza from competitors and their drivers would deliver his ordered pizza to the Pizza Hut drive in window!
We are spoiled in the Chicago area as we have so many great (non-chain) pizza places. No need to eat a chain pizza.
You got that right Richb, within walking distance of me there are at least three family and one of the local chain pizza places which are also all family owned as you know. Last many years I just go to the closest one (a family owned&run place) since they have a good stuffed pizza.
I suppose in these times the family should be thankful they escaped being shot.
It’s time Amerikans built their houses differently in order to better protect themselves from law enforcement – if not the law* itself.
A home needs the ground floor (windows, doors, verandah etc.) beginning at minimum 10ft (30ft recommended), separated from the ground by impenetrable walls with no windows. Within is the basement, now above ground.
Alternatively, the dwelling may be 10ft underground, encased in impenetrable concrete.
The property should be surrounded by similar walls of bluestone, minimum 12ft high and encrusted atop with shards of glass and/or stainless steel razors.
Cameras should cover all areas of the property, running at minimum 15FPS in HQ 24/7. Footage to be broadcast live to cloud storage.
Sign at the front of the property to read “THIS IS A STATUTE FREE JURISDICTION – TRESPASSERS PROSECUTED – ENTRY BY INVITATION ONLY”.
* – Statutes, ordinances, codes, acts, constitutions, bills, legislation, treaties, regulations, by-laws and other official-sounding rules are not laws and therefore can’t lawfully be labelled as such, which is why they’re not.
Next time you’re pulled over for something, ask the cop if you have violated either a statute or a law. Bet he doesn’t know the difference.
Hi Rev,
I agree. If I ever move, my next place will be along those lines. Obscured, defensible. I also like the idea of having an “escape hatch.” A discrete way to exit without being observed. The house itself buying you critical time to do so.
Ensure also the house is, when you leave, a death-trap.
Everything important resides off-site, and the “exit” is distant.
And when they kick in the door, as they most definitely will – it’s a Roach Motel triggered by that forced door.
Nitrous + match. Takes time to build to the right level, but anything inside is DOA.
It’ll make them think twice about following you…
Upon closing the escape hatch, fill the house with a cheap inert gas, such as Nitrogen. That’ll ensure they’re not aware of any unusual gas smell and possibly suffocate before being able to escape. It’ll dissipate quickly so that it’s likely there’s no evidence you had anything to do with it as the atmosphere’s already some 75% Nitrogen.