Police: GTA IV Connection to Crime Spree Came From Statements Made by One of the Suspects
Police: GTA IV Connection to Crime Spree Came From Statements Made by One of the Suspects
July 2, 2008
GamePolitics has been tracking the case of six teens arrested in Nassau County, New York last week following a bat and crowbar-wielding crime spree.
While the Nassau County P.D. said early on in their investigation that they had made a connection between the six defendants and Grand Theft Auto IV, the specifics of that linkage was never made clear.
GamePolitics has learned today that the information came from statements made to investigators by one of the suspects who told police that the group had been drinking beer and decided to act out as if they were playing GTA IV.
Although he would not name the particular defendant who made the statement, Detective Lieutenant Raymond Cote told GamePolitics:
It was rather shocking that these kids would mimic what they see in a fictional video game.
We inquired as to whether the GTA IV allegations would appear in any publicly-accessible court documents. Lt. Cote, however, said they would not. The Lieutenant did reveal that two of the defendants had prior arrests. One had been busted for a drug offense while another had a record for burglary and grand larceny (a crime known in some states, ironically enough, as... grand theft).
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Posted 10/15/08 at 06:54pm
GTCv Deimos: Also, you know if there's an FS3 (and therefore, a god), that Earth would be a big part of the game.
GTCv Deimos: Also, you know if there's an FS3 (and therefore, a god), that Earth would be a big part of the game.
Posted 10/15/08 at 06:53pm
GTCv Deimos: Shadowdragon: I.DON'T.KNOW!!! Ummm... Maybe the shivans bring in a chainsaw, the size of the horse head nebula?
GTCv Deimos: Shadowdragon: I.DON'T.KNOW!!! Ummm... Maybe the shivans bring in a chainsaw, the size of the horse head nebula?
Posted 10/15/08 at 06:45pm
GoodRobotUs: I suppose they could introduce the 'Something bigger' ;)
GoodRobotUs: I suppose they could introduce the 'Something bigger' ;)
Posted 10/15/08 at 06:44pm
GoodRobotUs: @Shadow: Volition always said the Shivans were a 'symptom of something bigger'...
GoodRobotUs: @Shadow: Volition always said the Shivans were a 'symptom of something bigger'...
Posted 10/15/08 at 06:40pm
DavCube: Good lord, JT really IS becoming a b-tard! His hypocricy is now complete.
DavCube: Good lord, JT really IS becoming a b-tard! His hypocricy is now complete.
Posted 10/15/08 at 06:38pm
Kincyr: Video Games May Do Some Good http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/27198227#27198227
Kincyr: Video Games May Do Some Good http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/27198227#27198227
Posted 10/15/08 at 06:25pm
ShadowDragon28: @Deimos: But how do you top something like that? Who do you bring in next, the Borg?
ShadowDragon28: @Deimos: But how do you top something like that? Who do you bring in next, the Borg?
Posted 10/15/08 at 05:44pm
GoodRobotUs: Maybe that's why he doesn't understand the concept of Parental Responsibilty?
GoodRobotUs: Maybe that's why he doesn't understand the concept of Parental Responsibilty?
Posted 10/15/08 at 05:44pm
GoodRobotUs: It's funny how Jack acts like a child who was never taught manners by his parents...
GoodRobotUs: It's funny how Jack acts like a child who was never taught manners by his parents...
Posted 10/15/08 at 05:41pm
Zevorick: JT supports DRM! Did i win?
Zevorick: JT supports DRM! Did i win?
Posted 10/15/08 at 05:40pm
DarkTetsuya: aw man there he is, I was *almost* going to screenshot it but it was replying to harmlessbunny, not me :P
DarkTetsuya: aw man there he is, I was *almost* going to screenshot it but it was replying to harmlessbunny, not me :P
Posted 10/15/08 at 05:35pm
VideolandHero: I'd rather shout about anti-DRM
VideolandHero: I'd rather shout about anti-DRM
Posted 10/15/08 at 05:04pm
ezbiker555: lol lets have a shout contest and find out XD
ezbiker555: lol lets have a shout contest and find out XD
Posted 10/15/08 at 05:04pm
Silphion: Huh, I wonder what's louder -- the anti-DRM protesters or "Make JT Go Away" fanatics?
Silphion: Huh, I wonder what's louder -- the anti-DRM protesters or "Make JT Go Away" fanatics?
Posted 10/15/08 at 05:02pm
Tarosan: You're not the only ones who want to smack this guy in the head with a blunt object here... I'm getting sick of this loser
Tarosan: You're not the only ones who want to smack this guy in the head with a blunt object here... I'm getting sick of this loser
Posted 10/15/08 at 04:51pm
HalfShadow: Could someone leadpipe him to death, please?
HalfShadow: Could someone leadpipe him to death, please?
Posted 10/15/08 at 04:46pm
Mnementh2230: JT's put another one of his press releases in the Take Two Story. Please delete at your convenience.
Mnementh2230: JT's put another one of his press releases in the Take Two Story. Please delete at your convenience.
Posted 10/15/08 at 04:30pm
lumi: Can someone please clean the spam and troll crap out of the TTWO-Getting_Sued comments section?
lumi: Can someone please clean the spam and troll crap out of the TTWO-Getting_Sued comments section?
Posted 10/15/08 at 04:15pm
VideolandHero: What did JT do this time?
VideolandHero: What did JT do this time?
Posted 10/15/08 at 04:11pm
Mnementh2230: Just heard on NPR a little bit ago about Obama putting his ads in games. Good article!
Mnementh2230: Just heard on NPR a little bit ago about Obama putting his ads in games. Good article!
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Comments
OMG! I played cops and robbers as a kid 40 years ago with toy guns. I guess I'm a time-bomb just waiting to happen.
Exactly! When you end up on the news, could I have your autograph?
So... we only have the word of a police officer to go in relation to a possible GTA IV connection?
That's it? Well, it'll prolly be aenough for the mainstream "news" media...
-- teh moominz --
Sounds to me like the beer was more of factor than playing GTA was. And that the suspects had prior arrest records and thus shows they had more a predisposittion to crime before they even played GTA should be significant as well.
But apparently they're just smart enough to try and play the "video games made me do it" card. Hopefully the judge will see this ruse for what it is though and throw the book at them.
Alcohol, drugs, and stupidity just don't mix. :)
GTA wasn't the CAUSE of their actions. But it should appear in the legal statements. Why? Because the alcohol, lowering their defenses, along with their predisposition to committing criminal acts, caused them to make bad decisions. If those lowered defenses led them to mimic something they were immediately exposed to, then it's the fault of that which caused their defenses to be lowered. They could have been exposed to any number of things and STILL committed a crime based on that exposure. For all we know, they could have been exposed to Fred Phelps or John Bruce and ran out and started a fight at a gay bar.
It's sort of a "secondary to" thing that would, or rather should, receive less notice than those things which actually did lead to criminal behavior, ie the alcohol, drugs, and predisposition to risky, even criminal, behavior. Sadly, that's now how certain abusers of tragic events will promote it. They'll focus and promote the violent video game and downplay the alcohol/drug use and prior criminal behavior as if such things were of less importance. It's been done before, and this time won't be any different.
Nightwng2000
NW2K Software
Nightwng2000 has also updated his MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/nightwing2000 Nightwng2000 is now admin to the group "Parents For Education, Not Legislation" on MySpace as http://groups.myspace.com/pfenl
agreed, the booze is at more reason.
its no differant than those 2 teens who beat up and killed a sibling to one of'em claiming they were doing it to re-enact "Mortal Kombat" but both also were bone drunk.
or the idiot (if anyone recalls this one :) ) who burned down his home because he was drunk, watching the day after tommorow, and thought it was a news cast!!
the booze is moreso the culprit than the game, it makes dumb people even dumber (and happy people even happier :p i love to game when i'm drunk, but i won't leave my room when i'm doing it (cept to take a pee or get some food from the fridge) it makes the games a little more entertainin despite how bad i suck at them :p but i can't once think of any moment where i was dumb enough to drink myself to the point of "kewl i wanna do that!" and took my AK out on a shooting spree... and i doubt it'll ever happen to boot (i don't make it a habit to keep ammo in the mags, let alone in the same building as the gun)
If they want to mimic GTA that's fine.
Just as long as they understand that the police will mimic GTA's police as well and their punishment will be a GTA punishment.
eg run a red light = shots fired, wasted
:)
Funny you mention running a red light as GTA4's cops don't care about traffic violations. You can get into a 6 car pileup in the middle of times square right in front of the LCPD recruiting station and drive off scott free without a passing glance from the cop on the sidewalk!
However, if you bump into a police cruiser, prepare to run!
One had been busted for a drug offense while another had a record for burglary and grand larceny
wow.. so they are no strangers to trouble then. what a suprise. So no matter what they say, it cant be that they were angelic choir boys, who played GTA and it turned them bad. Clearly, these past actions show that they already had dubious morals. The fact that this latest installment in their criminal behaviour is followed by the line 'uh... yeah.. it was from a video game..?..uh yeah a video game thats it...' means jack sh**.
It also means sh**, jack (we all know who i mean).
So *cough* you know who *cough*, dont pipe up with your usual crap, unless you want to explain how the only people EVER using this video game defense always ([sarcasm] amazingly...[/sarcasm]) have past criminal records. I.E. they have experience of how the law works, and how to play the system. No thanks to JACK asses like *cough* you know who *cough* shouting on tv over n over 'if you blame video games for your own behaviour (despite being an adult with a brain), you'll get off scott free' . wow.. i wonder why on earth they may have possibly blamed video games... *Sigh*
"It was rather shocking that these kids would mimic what they see in a fictional video game."
Yes because mimicing all those non-fictional video games is so common...
http://www.popularculturegaming.com
Imagine if this became common...
"In other news, police are baffled by the sudden rise of a strange new suicide ritual that has that has been sweeping the nation since the end of April. Teenagers are taking their family vehicles and driving them into trees sometimes at speeds up to 90 mph and flying through the windshield."
We inquired as to whether the GTA IV allegations would appear in any publicly-accessible court documents. Lt. Cote, however, said they would not.
Huh. Interesting, that. I wonder why not? Could it be that he's completely full of shit?
In other words: they're looking for a scapegoat because they were drinking underaged. Who DIDN'T see this coming?
And I promise you that through this whole ordeal, not one person will question or even care that 6 teenagers were drunk (and had access to beer) while doing this... You know, THAT beer, the beer that's already illegal to own for a minor...
Instead we'll focus on the video game angle, because, you know, GTA is responsible for far more crime than alcohol... and booze is already regualted so its not a problem, right? Right?
Hmm, i'm fairly certain that if the suspect made an official statement regarding GTA then it would be in some form of paperwork.
Otherwise I don't see where this has any "teeth" so to speak, it's this one cop's word. Not saying he's lieing, just saying it wouldn't really matter in court or anywhere else without some sort of evidence ot corroborate (sp?) it.
Just like if I had told my dad when I was a child that my brother had said something naughty, he probably wouldn't haul off and spank my brother just on my word alone.
But that's common sense for you.
It was rather shocking that these kids would mimic what they see in a fictional video game.
I think we can explain that easily enough. The minor detail of "had been drinking beer" which they'd apparently rather ignore. People have done all kinds of stupid things while their judgment was impaired by alcohol. Imitating something they'd never try to imitate while sober is one of those things.
I'm gonna chalk this one up to a bunch of juvenile deliquents that don't know how to drink responsibly.
-Gray17
I'm glad he aknowledged that this is unusual and stupid.
-If shit and bricks were candy and tits, we'd all be livin' large. For information on games and psychology, look up: Jonathan Freedman(2002)Block & Crain(2007)Grand Theft Childhood, by Harvard Medical School researchers Larry Kutner and Cheryl Olson
Man, kids these days. What's wrong with drinking too many beers and wearing lampshades and other stupid (yet harmless) things? Man, I'm sooo old now (27).
~~All Knowledge is Worth Having~~
So, underage drinking and a prior arrests for drugs and grand theft has nothing to d with this. It was the video games fault.
They probably got the idea to drink from that damn GTAIV too and they were probably about to jack a car before they got caught!!!1!!!! OMG OMG OMG!
*Dives headfirst into a pile of sand.*
I knew some kids in college who had the idea that they *had* to be a-holes when they were drunk or something. Whenever they would drink they would destroy shit, once they took a couch out of the dorm, lit it on fire and threw it into the lake. Kind of reminds me of these kids, some people are just major idiots when drunk.
So the cop claims one of them said it, but won't name which one, and it won't appear on official records. I wonder if the cop himself is making it up to get his 15 minutes since as soon as a video game and youth violence are mentioned together the press leaps all over it. I suppose we'll see if one of the kids repeats it in court.
it's like I said before: Paid testimony. that cop even sounds like JT, "one of them said it, but I won't tell you which one"
岩「…Ace beats Jack」
I suspect it was the 'Drunk' part that caused the problem, you know, what with it being famous for making people struggle to tell the difference between fantasy and reality...
I think by now the police understand that the GTA excuse is just that, an excuse. Like almost every story I hear on my morning radio program's stupid news, the details are always followed by "and alcohol was involved."