Five Days
March 20, 2005
John Evander Couey, a registered sex offender with a rap sheet thicker than an oak tree, lived on the same block as Jessica Lundsford. It took the police five days to figure out that they should question Couey. Five days.
When they finally went to interview him, he had fled. Eventually - though the media won't tell us how long it took - police "followed-up" by asking him family members where Couey was living. Some two or three weeks later they had a bead on this known sexual predator.
Given Couey's history, some are suggesting that his being free does "not inspire confidence in our criminal justice system." The argument is that he should have been in prison. That's a good point.
But I'm more concerned that it took detective five days to determine that they should interview nearby registered sex offenders when a 9-year old girl went missing.
Do I even need to say that taking five days is disgraceful detective work? Nah -- I think the facts speak clearly for themselves.