Anyone hear what happened at Ponderosa last night (11/13/10)?

[Dave]

I heard late last night before heading home that the local Ludington
Ponderosa was apparently a victim of a armed robbery last night. I heard
this 2nd hand so I can't say if that is for sure what happened but I
can say that when I drove by Ponderosa last night about 12:15am that
there were 2 Sheriff patrol vehicle's sitting out front of the place,
blocking the driveways... so with that fact, it would at least add some
credence to what I heard. 

Oddly, if something did happen, its not in the news media so far. I checked the usual local news media outlets (LDN, Mlive and the Channel 9 & 10 website) and so far nothing mentioned on any of the sites.

[masonco]

Actually I'm not surprised something like that is not on the news media. It would scare the tourists and hunters away from "squeaky clean and pure" Ludington.

[AQUAMAN]

I checked TV 9&10 and the LDN, nothing so far, but it's bound to hit the fan Monday for sure. Goofy people think they can get away with this kind of thing nowadays must be on some mighty meds..

[masonco]

They made a quick 30 second mention of an armed robbery in Ludington and that the state police are investigating but no details are being released at this time.

[XLFD]

Sounds like a good excuse to stop by for Sunday lunch or dinner out at the Ponderosa and look for bulletholes and ask some questions.

Don't know what the 'stakes' were, but armed robberies are 'rare' in this area, and seldomly are they 'well-done'. Sorry.

[Music Man]

Rare?
Really?
I assume you have already forgotten about the "Armed Robbery" that happened
a few weeks ago at "Northside Market" in Ludington...
Or about the recent "Shooting" and Home Invasion attempt at Danaher street
Or the Murder on south washington involving a drug deal and shooting..
Or Abduction, Rape and murder that began ONE BLOCK away from ludington police Station..

or are you just being "sarcastic"?

[XLFD]

I was not being sarcastic; robberies, distinguished from larcenies, is a rare crime around these parts in recent years. If we look at the City of Ludington stats, there were no robberies in 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2005. One occurred in 2003 and 2007. Three and two occurred in 2006 and 2008 respectively. Under the national rate.

Outlying areas do seem to have a spate of them as of late. But as you note, there are some high profile criminal activity going on in our City that not only houses a police force of 15, but also the County boys in brown.

[AQUAMAN]

LPD crew of only 15? Are you kidding? Check the stats. with Barney again, it's alot more than that, last I knew 10-09.

[XLFD]

Fifteen is the conservative figure when you don't count the part timers and administrative staff. Here is what the LPD website says:
"The Ludington Police Department consists of fifteen sworn police officers and one full-time Administrative Assistant and one part-time Clerical Assistant. Each summer we hire two sworn Seasonal Officers to assist with patrol of the city beach/park and the downtown areas.

The Ludington Police Reserve Unit consists of 8 Reserve Officers and assists with the policing of special events, and supplement normal road patrols."

[AQUAMAN]

Last I heard, the LPD had 23 officers in the line of duty, full time, plus the administrative office, and of course reserves. If these figures are correct X, then an 8 hour shift will require no less than 4 or 5 full time officers in the city limits per day. That sounds about right from what I've witnessed of late, and way too many needed, imho. Sure, you want backup at any scene, but to have 4 LPD's and maybe another 2-4 MCSD cars on the scene is pretty over the top, imho. WHY? Population under 8,000 residents in the city now? Ridiculous! Way over budgets that any public voters would agree to, if we ever had to make a voting decision, which pretty much seems mute to us nowadays! JMO

[XLFD]

I'm inclined to agree with you, Aquaman, but I'd like to see what similar sized Michigan cities have for the size of their police departments, particulaly those that also house the County Sheriff's Office. Then compare each of their crime rates. I just may research this myself, if noone trumps me before the weekend. It can be very politically difficult to cut police staff when the crime rate is less than acceptible, as ours is.

[Edie Lindsey]

Here's what I got from talking with a couple of Ponderosa's employees earlier this afternoon. The manager was set to take the money from the till to the bank and was confronted on her way by a person in a ski mask who took all her money. The manager's car was impounded, and the suspect has not yet been caught , to their knowledge. This rumor is pretty much fact.

[Max]

I have an alibi.