Stanley: Contemplating a life of crime

Updated: April 4, 2013 6:33AM

Frequently when hearing about a case I have told the cops if everyone behaved logically they would not have jobs. By extension, neither would I.

Almost as often the cops tell me, “If they were smart, we wouldn’t be able to catch them.”

Now I’m not designing rockets and had trouble setting up my iPad, but I did get a college degree. And while I’d be toward the back of the line for casting stones, I still try to be good and match what I ask of my son.

But feeding the boy will always be a concern and the economy stills seems shaky, especially concerning newspapers. Even though it doesn’t seem worth it in the long run, I can’t totally rule out overcoming my moral reluctance and turning to a life of crime.

So rockets and iPads aside, if I committed to villainy, I’d want to have a plan. It’s still in the early stages, but I’ve chosen my first operating philosophy.

1. Do everything you can not to attract attention from law enforcement.

Wait. Let’s dream big and assume I’ll become the mastermind of a criminal organization. I expect my henchmen will share the same goals, but perhaps they will need additional instruction for the team to achieve them.

2. Do not go out of your way to get the cops to notice you.

I then would provide my lackeys with the following anectdote:

About 12:45 p.m. Feb. 21, a gold Lexus was heading south on Grady Drive near Bolingbrook when the driver allegedly ignored the four-way stop at the unnamed road south of Veterans Parkway.

“The gold Lexus made no attempt to stop at the intersection and did not apply the brakes at all,” said the Will County Sheriff’s deputy who was driving a marked squad car directly behind it.

Reports do not indicate whether the deputy stopped before activating his emergency lights and having Hung Tran, 38, pull the car over behind the Red Robin restaurant.

But the deputy allegedly was able to see Tran’s passenger, Timothy T. Nguyen, 31, wasn’t wearing a seat belt, and smell marijuana inside the car.

A computer check showed Tran, of Camplin, Minn., had a valid license, but Nguyen was wanted in Santa Clara County, Calif., for violating probation selling drugs.

Police say Nguyen’s drug warrant and the smell of pot provided probable cause, but Tran also allowed them to search his “uncle’s car.”

So another deputy arrived with Nina, the sheriff’s narcotics canine, who also smelled marijuana. Reportedly, Nina’s nose led her to a shipping box on the back seat that held a Styrofoam container with 24 1-pound bags of weed inside.

Tran and Nguyen were booked into the county jail on a charge of delivery of marijuana and each is being held on $500,000 bond.

But things could be worse, according to reports California does not plan to extradite Nguyen, a resident of Milpitas.

And Tran “was given a verbal warning for the traffic charges of disobeying a stop sign, not carrying a driver’s license and (an unsecured passenger).”

So it appears they’re getting away with some things after all.

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