Damon West

[DeepGreen]

I realize there have been several threads regarding Damon West, his spiral into crime, and his recent conviction. Damon's father, Bob West, PA News Sports Editor, wrote this article today(Sunday), speaking of his son's criminal problems. What a sad state of affairs for the West family.

Bob West Column

[UNT90]

Sad story. Sentence seems a little stout for a 1st time offender. Makes me wonder what was left out of the story.

Biggest moral - STAY AWAY FROM STRIPPERS

[eulesseagle]

Prosecutors told jurors that at least 51 burglaries were committed because that's how many people claimed property. But Dallas police still have numerous unclaimed items recovered from an apartment and a storage unit.

The above is from the original story. 51 burglaries in about two or three years is not a first time offender. Is it a first time offender because he got caught after, about, 51 times??

His sentencing still came from a jury of his peers so evidently not all of the testimony was in the article. As far as him stating that he blamed drugs, ADD, loose women and all the other excuses West did not blame himself for his acts.

[Guest JohnDenver]

Sounds like Mr. West doesn't want to come to gripes with this son being a part of *organized* crime. This ring of thugs was pretty organized and brazen. Mr. West wants to blame some "new law" for the stiff punishment... really it was 51 separate felony counts that got him the stiff punishment. I don't care if it isn't was a physical confrontation with the victims, sometimes physical wounds heal a lot faster.

I know that after my house was broken into, we slept downstairs (all the bedrooms wee upstairs), because we couldn't relax in our house at *any* time. When we heard bumps in the night, I thought someone was downstairs and would have to go investigate. It really played tricks on my mind and effected the rest of my life. We couldn't go on vacations because we didn't want to be away from our house for too long. Finally I bought a camera system that would send pictures to my email when the motion was triggered. I only ever got the gas man and UPS man on camera in five years. Wow, what a way to enjoy the first home you ever bought! Yes, we were in a nice neighborhood, in nice quiet suburb. A contractor left one of our windows unlocked by mistake... we literally had lived there a month when this happened. Turns out it was a pack of teenagers on spring break and slipping into unlocked windows, taking the computers, booze and gaming systems. One of those teens was 18.. he went away from 10 years on a second degree felony. My wife felt bad for him. I didn't. I was happy that group of thugs saw one of their own go to jail and that guy wouldn't slip back into my house and steal something that he saw previously.

[stebo]

My house was also broken into. It was the scariest thing that has ever happened to me. I remember coming home from working hard all day long... walking in through the garage and seeing my dog in his crate looking confused. I kind of noticed that second laptop missing from the office desk but it could have easily been left in the other room by accident. As I walked from the hall to the living room, the next thing that I saw was the entire frame of the door hanging over my couch. I saw a note on the door from a concerned neighbor and called the police after I realized that I had been violated. They left my flat screens, only grabbing laptops and jewelry and some electronics... but the damage was done. I was terrified to leave the house for months... in fact, I am still scared to leave the house 2 years later. Those thugs know what is left in the house and I am sure that they have looked in on it ever since. I have done the same thing as JD, got the alarm hooked up properly, now pay for monitoring, had motion sensors put all through the house. I am sure that they will never be back again - but even when I will just be gone for a couple of days, I always make it look like someone is sleeping inside, even packing pillows under a blanket to make it look like someone is there. Most of the time I have a friend house sit. The whole thing is a pain in the rear and when I refinanced my house, it was difficult to get a good deal on insurance due to the previous break-in. These thugs cause damage - and like Chad stated so perfectly, physical damage can heal but the mental damage from crooks that steal from an honest man's home does not heal very fast. 65 years is too much? Ask those families if that is too long, I would say that parole in 15 years is about right if you ask me. It sounds like a lot but when you consider that people get out in 1/4 the time now due to overcrowding - 65 years (aka 15-20 years) is about right.

I would like to add that I believe Damon had a bad reputation for being a bit of a hothead on the team. Does anyone remember the specifics of his time here at NT?

Edited May 25, 2009 by stebo

[Travis]

Sad story. Sentence seems a little stout for a 1st time offender. Makes me wonder what was left out of the story.

Biggest moral - STAY AWAY FROM STRIPPERS

don't trust a ho!

[greenjoe]

Did the senior West ever write anything about NT while Damon was playing here ?

I'm sorry this happened. Sorry for the victims, sorry for Damon, and sorry for his dad. Being the father of two sons, I may feel more sorry for Mr. West than many. Going from T-ball, to high school football, to college football, to prison is a long, long journey. I feel sorry for dad.

[foutsrouts]

Very sorry for the family and for his victims, but the guy certainly deserved some serious time. He got more than most get for a "first time" non-violent offense, and I hope that he can somehow find a way to have a productive and sober life down the road. Since I don't know the guy personally, I really don't know how likely that turn around might be.

I too had a home broken into a few years back, and it made me paranoid enough to where I protect my property in every way short of wiring shotguns to all entry points. As a previous poster said, stay away from strippers and what comes with them. I've known a few guys over the years who have fallen into the sex, drugs, and beautiful stripper trap, and it usually leads you in the same direction. Straight down. Just ask Dirk.

Edited May 26, 2009 by foutsrouts

[UNT90]

Stupid to go to the jury for sentencing. Especially in Dallas County, where liberal judges rule the roost. His lawyer must have been appointed, or worse, from out of town.