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Welcome Argus ReadersSpartan Stores Having A Strong Year on BFM
Grand Rapids based Spartan Stores, Inc., has just announced that their Net Earnings for the first quarter of their fiscal year have reached a 6 year high. Spartan is currently operating in FY 2008. The first quarter ended June 23, 2007.
Spartan reports that compared to Q1 of FY 2007, consolidated net sales increased 5.4%, as a result of incremental fuel sales, increased customer count, and increased sales to existing customers. Operating earnings increased 87.4%, and net earnings increased 142.3%.
Posted on NASDAQ 02/02/2008
Is Spartan Stores Inc. facing Multi$$$ Suit??? 1 minute ago
On 12/08/2008 Spartan Stores Inc. Unlawfully Detained, Held him against he repeated requests to leave, Harassed (causing an episode of Angina), and violated the Civil Privacy and Civil Constitutional Liberties of a “Legally Blind” Individual. All of this great customer service was delivered while the Legally Blind man was still IN the Spartan Store! And, to add insult to injury, the Store Manager had the individual arrested on the Charge of Retail Fraud.
Because of the Customer’s Documented Legal Blindness, he had missed one item ($7) in his cart of over $175 dollars of purchases. The Security Guard had spotted the “Nefarious Blind Bandit” at the front of the store when he entered, “Looking suspicious, because he would get close to merchandise while viewing it.”
After Spartan’s Security/Prevention Loss Dept.’s (Tim Bartkowiak) reviewed the actual video footage of the incident, some 2 months later, he discovered their mistake, that the incident had not occurred as related to him by the Store Manager and Security Cowboy Jason Knight. Even though it took almost 2 months to check into the incident, Spartan wasted no time in sending the customer a letter of intent to sue him for the $7 loss to the company to recoup the cost of the Loss Prevention Department.
In an attempt to further intimidate this Loyal Customer of 2 yrs., Loss Prevention, had the offending Store Manager, who had since also defamed the Customer in a Police Investigation of His actions and that of a Officer Peter Gavalis. A Mr. David Freeman, call the Legally Blind man while he was alone at home and continued to harass him; telling the him “that he [David Freeman was just calling [the customer] to tell [him] that [Freeman] was going to continue calling [the customer].
And, refusing to explain what [Freeman] meant by “and I am going to continue calling you.”
The Customer wisely called the corporate office informing them, that if needed, he would seek and obtain a court order preventing further intimidation and harassment.
This incident was filed at the request of Spartan Stores Inc. Based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Spartan Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPTN) owns and operates 54 supermarkets and 20 deep- discount drug stores in Michigan and Ohio , including: Family Fare.
The Loyal Customer has had to endure many egregious acts since this incident was initiated. He was arrested and arraigned, had to endure the rudeness of the Grand Rapids Police Department, the City Attorney’s Office and the City Commissioners.
All this, because of Spartan’s Loss Prevention Dept. decided to go “Cowboy” and make the “BIG ARREST” of a Legally Blind Man.
All of the above has been properly documented and is available for review. What is next in the long term, is Spartan contemplating offenses against the dangerously elderly?
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Thanks, CrofootJack, do you have a link for that? I can do a followup on BFM.
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Dear BPM,
You asked me to contact you and I have.
Please contact me there is so much more happening: The Case has now been docketed for Jury selection on March 13,2008 at 8:30 am. Judge DJ Buter 61st District Court. The Court Appointed Lawyer in private chambers (He told me that Legally I was not permitted to attend) the Judge and City Attorney made it clear that they wanted me convicted because of the problems it would cause the City of Grand Rapids. I have caught them falsifying documents and the City Attorney Withholding Exculpatory Evidence. Suborning Perjury.
My Court Appointed Attorney has already broken 3 Articles of the Michigan Bar Assoc. Standard of Ethics.
And is wanting to sabotage my case from the start by Stipulating to my Blindness so that it cannot be brought up during the case. My entire case is predicated on my blindness because of missing a $7 item out of $175 items in my cart. I never left the store, as a matter of fact I was in the process of returning to the check out from within the store and prevented from doing so by the security gourds. The Lawyer has been antagonistic since he was appointed to the case. And not wanting to plead me innocent as the videos show. There is so much more corruption, I could over load your storage.
Please do contact me. 517-414-0354
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The Local Area Watch
Reporting the news the news won’t report in Grand Rapids.(Wm Tingley)
THE STORY OF JACK CROFOOT
Jack Crofoot is a bad man. So bad he needs to be locked up in the joint. At least that’s what Spartan Stores, their attorneys at Warner Norcross, the Grand Rapids City Attorney’s office, and apparently even Mr. Crofoot’s public defender want you to think. What did this bad man do?
Mr. Crofoot was a regular patron of Spartan’s Family Fare grocery store near the intersection of Burton and Breton. One day he missed a couple of items in his grocery cart when he checked out. Before leaving the store, he noticed one of them, a bottle of bleach, and then went back and paid for it. Then immediately after exiting the store, he noticed the other item, a bottle of rum he purchased for a family member. (Mr. Crofoot doesn’t drink.) As he headed back into the store to pay for that, the store’s security guard detained him and refused to let him do so.
Mr. Crofoot missed the bleach and the rum at the check-out because they were out of sight in his cart, and you see, folks, he is legally blind. However, the Spartan rent-a-cop scoffed at his blindness and demanded that he sign documents confessing to theft. Mr. Crofoot refused, and the rent-a-cop called in the Grand Rapids police. As it happens, the rent-a-cop was also a cadet with the GRPD, so he had an incentive to make it appear to his colleague in blue that he was making a good bust and not a screw-up. As it also happens, this conflict of interest is the very reason why the City of Grand Rapids prohibits its police officers from moonlighting as security guards within the city limits. (More on that below.)
So the Spartan rent-a-cop persuaded his brother officer to cite Mr. Crofoot for shoplifting. Understandably, Mr. Crofoot was unhappy about this and had the gall to complain. In fact, his complaint did get the attention of Spartan’s manager for security who then reviewed the store’s surveillance video of the incident. He concluded that Mr. Crofoot had told the truth and committed no theft. So the security manager contacted the Grand Rapids City Attorney’s office to drop the charges. However, Assistant City Attorney Margaret Bloemers refused.
She was miffed that Mr. Crofoot had made a public complaint about the Spartan rent-a-cop’s conflict of interest, which forced the GRPD to enforce the moonlighting regulations that its cadet had been violating. So, Ms. Bloemers, who serves as the GRPD’s legal adviser, decided to make an example out of Mr. Crofoot and show us slack-jawed yokels that we had better not get uppity when the cops make a mistake. She pressed on with his prosecution in the city’s district court.
Meanwhile, Spartan’s security manager had been overridden by the grocery store chain’s hired gun, Alex DeYonker of the law firm Warner Norcross & Judd. Mr. Crofoot’s public complaints about Spartan tarring his name with an unjust prosecution raised the prospect that he might have a meritorious lawsuit against the grocery store. Thus, Mr. DeYonker decided to deter that prospect by bullying Mr. Crofoot into submission. So instead of giving the man a simple apology and gesture of goodwill as the security manager had originally offered, Spartan’s jackal — ahem, Mr. DeYonker — decided is was best to hold a suspension of the prosecution (rather than an outright dismissal of it) over Mr. Crofoot’s head until he knuckled under to Spartan’s settlement terms.
Mr. Crofoot didn’t agree, because he wanted his name cleared. So Spartan, Warner Norcross, and the City Attorney’s office proceeded with his prosecution. Living on a fixed income, Mr. Crofoot needed a public defender and the district court assigned one to him. Unfortunately for him, his lawyer was one of those operators who collects his fee from the public defender’s office and then does as little as he can get away with in exchange for it. In fact, he told Mr. Crofoot that he would not enter a plea of “not guilty” on his behalf because it wasn’t worth the trouble. He claimed that he had already met with the judge who was determined to convict him. Unsurprisingly, Mr. Crofoot made a big stink about this: He wanted his lawyer to defend him! Finally, his lawyer relented and agree to enter a “not guilty” plea, but he would not do any work toward his defense — for example, subpoenaing the store’s video surveillance tape or the security manager and the store clerks to appear as witnesses. Mr. Crofoot’s lawyer explained that such case preparation would take too much trouble.
Of course, we can all marvel at the absurdity of this. However, Mr. Crofoot faces the prospect of doing time, because everyone who should be putting things right by Mr. Crofoot has instead chosen to serve crass, rotten, venial interests that profit by his conviction, as unjust as that may be:
[1] The Spartan security guard vilified Mr. Crofoot to make himself look good to his superiors at the GRPD;
[2] Spartan and Warner Norcross have chosen to run a customer through a ruinious process to crush any prospect of a lawsuit for falsely detaining and defaming him as a thief;
[3] The City Attorney’s office has put petty bureaucratic solidarity ahead of justice to smack down a citizen who rightly complained of a police officer’s conflict of interest in the matter; and
[4] His public defender is peeved that his client should be so unruly as to demand that he actually defend him and so make him work for his fee.
Mr. Crofoot’s real crime, folks, is that he had the temerity to complain when wronged. He had the nerve to hold people accountable to the rules they claim to abide by. He had the unmitigated gall to demand that his name be cleared by those tarring it. Instead of fixing the problem, the Spartan security guard, Spartan Stores, Warner Norcross, the City Attorney’s office, and his public defender chose to vindicate themselves at his expense — which may end up including a jail sentence. Their craven cowardice in refusing to admit a wrong to falsely justify themselves — especially those who hold a public trust, like Assistant City Attorney Bloemers and Mr. Crofoot’s public defender — is despicable.
Such is the rule of petty bullies in River City and the supine go-along-to-get-along culture of our public officials, watchdogs, and local media that lets them get away with it.
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Mrs. Hitchcock, Assistant City Attorney for the City of Grand Rapid has “Dismissed the Charges in the interest of Justice.” A “Gag Order has been placed” therefore, I ask that the above stories be removed from your site.
Jack C Crofoot
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