“Once a cop always a cop.” A common phrase that does have some merit, although I know a few retired police officers who avoid being an ex-cop like the plague. For me? More later. “Write what you know.” Another common phrase, but one that I believe has considerably less merit. Did Stan Lee know about climbing buildings and slinging webs after being bitten by a spider? Did George Lucas have experience of a galaxy far, far away? I think the … [Read more...]
Relatives Fear Facebook Posts Led To Murder
It took the rags to riches mom, Makeva Jenkins, just two years to work her way from homelessness to financial success. Late Wednesday evening, she reached out and wrote the following post on FaceBook: “I’m in awe of how far I’ve come … Fast forward to now: We overcame being homeless in 2013/2014 to reaching my six-figure mark in 2015…” Early Thursday morning at around 2 a.m.—barely two hours after that post—a masked man knocked on the front door … [Read more...]
A Palm Beach Murder From My True Crime Book, DADDY’S LITTLE SECRET
Rodney Clark, a fifty-year-old man from Jackson, Miss., is being tried in Palm Beach this week after being charged with first-degree murder in the 1987 death of Dana Fader. It will be the first death penalty case to be tried in the county since Florida got a new death penalty law in March. This is a Palm Beach murder from my true crime book, Daddy’s Little Secret: “Detective Venetucci was not just a dedicated detective, he was also the drummer … [Read more...]
Dennis Flynn Gives A Brief History of Hostage Negotiations
The subject of ‘hostage negotiations’, or more commonly referred to by most agencies due to its accuracy as ‘crisis negotiations’, is a relatively new police concept, beginning in the early 1970’s. Considering the City of Boston began using night watchmen in the 1630’s and centralized policing started in the 1830’s, less than fifty years is relatively new. It is argued that hostage negotiations began in New York City during the early 1970’s. … [Read more...]
Author Dennis Flynn on Being A Crisis Negotiator and Why He Wrote HELD HOSTAGE
The topic of hostage/crisis negotiations has always been intriguing to me. As a young police officer, I was involved in several “stand-offs” (which is the media’s terminology for police usually dealing with a barricaded or suicidal individual). We would do our best to resolve the situation but the person we dealt with held the cards. They were the ones inside the house/business/car refusing to come out and we knew if we used force to get them … [Read more...]
Forest Through the Trees: Author Dennis Flynn Opens Up About PTSD and the Loss of His Son
There was one topic I had considered including in the book but as I sat down to write it, the wounds were too fresh so I intentionally left it out. Since it has been just over a year and a half, and the wounds have slowly begun to heal I wanted to discuss it in hopes that it will allow someone to get the help they need. The topic is that of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD. PTSD is a condition many relate to military personnel but it … [Read more...]
Read What Soldiers Are Saying About SAVING SANDOVAL
"Great book, unbelievable story. I spent 5 years in the Army and ROE and SOP's are drummed into everyone's head from the 1st day. It was upsetting to see what they put this kid (and his family and friends) through. Drummond deserves a handshake and a beer for his defense of what was clearly a bad situation. The book clearly walks you through the events leading to charges being brought, then clearly walks your through the defense teams actions and … [Read more...]
My Scoutmaster the Sadist
For those of you who are familiar with my work, you know that I mostly write about murder. All kinds of murder. From the serial killer who preys on young females, to the son who goes berserk and destroys his parents, to the mothers who for no apparent reason, slaughter their offspring. Unfathomable crimes that often cause the normal mind to temporarily short-circuit. And very often, sadism goes hand-in- hand with homicide. But not all sadism … [Read more...]
Check Out This Excerpt From Andy Caldwell’s ROOM 1203: O.J. Simpson’s Las Vegas Conviction
As we turned down the hall toward O.J.’s suite, three more surveillance detectives stood behind a pillar, visiting with each other while waiting for the two surveillance detectives who were closer to the room to signal that the target was moving. They were working with the Palms security and had a room in the same hall as Simpson’s, so the hall could be monitored without a detective just waiting for Simpson to come out of his room. As Rod, … [Read more...]
A SPECIAL KIND OF EVIL Sheds Light On the Horrific Colonial Parkway Serial Killings
For four years a killer, or killers, stalked Virginia’s Tidewater region, carefully selecting victims, sending waves of terror into the local community. The Colonial Parkway Murders–the name given eight murders that took place in the Tidewater region in the late 1980’s, two of which were on the historic Colonial Parkway, the nation’s narrowest National Park. Young people in the prime of their lives were the targets. But the pattern that … [Read more...]
Join our email list