The Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office and the Evansville Police Department, in partnership with the Governor’s Council on Impaired & Dangerous Driving and the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI), would like to remind all Indiana motorists to celebrate this year’s Super Bowl responsibly by driving sober and safe.

“Family and friends will soon be gathering to root for their favorite team this Super Bowl. With the celebrations come a responsibility to do so safely,” said Sheriff Dave Wedding. “Motorists are reminded this Super Bowl to celebrate responsibility and not to drive after drinking. The life you save may be your own.”

During the 2016 Super Bowl weekend there were 467 traffic collisions in Indiana. Of those, 30 were alcohol-related, with 27 percent involving a driver with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.08 or greater. In total, there were 13 injuries as a result of alcohol-related accidents. Compared to the 2015 Super Bowl Weekend, this is a 37 percent decrease in traffic collisions, a 33 percent decrease in alcohol-related collisions, a 70 percent decrease in alcohol-related collisions involving a driver with a BAC of 0.08 or greater, and a 7 percent decrease in resulting injuries. In Vanderburgh County, eight (8) intoxicated motorists went to jail over the 2016 Super Bowl weekend, compared with seven (7) in 2015.

“While a decrease in nearly every measurable category is room for celebration, even one collision or one life injured from such a preventable cause as impaired driving, is one too many,” said Council Chair, Todd Meyer. “Sober driving is the only way to drive, so this Super Bowl let’s continue to work together to keep every motorist safe.”

The Evansville-Vanderburgh County Traffic Safety Partnership, the Governor’s Council, and ICJI would like to remind motorists that accidents and deaths resulting from impaired driving can be prevented by taking the following precautions:

• Before the celebration begins, plan a safe way home
• If you do drink, use a taxi, public transportation, ridesharing service or designate a sober friend or family member, and give them your keys
• If you see a drunk driver on the road, call 911
• If you know someone who is about to drive or ride impaired, take their keys and help make arrangements to get them home safely

For more information on Indiana’s efforts on impaired driving prevention and enforcement, please visit: http://www.in.gov/cji/2354.htm.

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1. Evansville Police Investigating Robbery of Metro PCS Employee

   FEBRUARY 3RD, 2017 AMANDA DECKER EVANSVILLE, INDIANA

    Evansville police confirm to 44News they are investigating an armed robbery that happened around 5:45 at the Metro PCS store on First Avenue in Evansville.

A Metro PCS employee was outside when two men approached him and asked for a cigarette. He says when he reached into his pocket for a cigarette, one of the men demanded all of his cash.

One suspect was wearing sweatpants and a red bandana. There was no description given of the second suspect.

Authorities tell us the suspects are still on the loose. Anyone with information is asked to call Evansville police.

7th Circuit Dismisses Moorish Tax Claim, Condemns ‘Sovereign Citizen’ IdeologyOlivia Covington for www.theindianalawyer.com`

A man who declared himself a “sovereign citizen” as a result of his “Moorish” heritage is in fact not a sovereign citizen who is exempt from taxes, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals wrote in a Friday opinion that delved into the history of the Moorish-American movement that has been the source of “difficult litigation.”

After declaring himself an “Aboriginal Indigenous Moorish-American,” John Jones Bey filed a “Writ of Mandamus” in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana seeking to enjoin state and Marion County officials from taxing real estate he owns in the central Indiana county.

Additionally, Bey, who called himself a “sovereign citizen” who can’t be lawfully taxed in Indiana absent a contract, sought an $11.5 billion refund on the taxes he has already paid. Judge Tanya Walton Pratt dismissed Bey’s claim, as did the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in a unanimous opinion Friday.

Judge Richard Posner, writing for the court, noted that persons who describe themselves as sovereign citizens by virtue of their “Moorish” roots are generally black people who belong to the Moorish Science Temple of America and who incorrectly claim to be descendants of the Moors of northern Africa. The original purpose of MSTA, Posner wrote, “was to claim government ‘recognition and respect as full citizens rather than the second-class descendants of slaves.’”

Although the MSTA central office has clarified that the organization is not a movement for sovereign citizens or tax protests, Posner continued, “sovereign-citizen ideas appeal to many (self-described) Moors, who combine those ideas with Ali’s teachings in an effort to reclaim and rewrite black history.”

Because of that ideology, some members of the MSTA, including Bey, believe that 18th century treaties with Morocco means the U.S. government has no jurisdiction over its “Moorish” inhabitants.

But “(Bey) is a U.S. citizen and therefore unlike foreign diplomats has no immunity from U.S. law,” Posner wrote. “Indeed, his suit is frivolous and was therefore properly dismissed; he was lucky to be spared sanctions for filing such a suit.”