Sheep, Wolves and Sheepdogs

Anyone that has been around sheep knows that they don’t get along with sheepdogs. If the dog walks through the middle of the herd, they part like the Red Sea. And if he is close, they don’t turn their back on him. They don’t trust him. But if a wolf approaches the herd, they all run behind the sheepdog. They know the sheepdog will not allow the wolf near the herd. And the amazing part… the sheepdog will confront the wolf, and fight if he is attacked. He will hold his ground, even if it means he may die. Die trying to save a sheep that doesn’t even like him. -from an Internet posting

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The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog. He looks a lot like the wolf. He has fangs and the capacity for violence. The difference, though, is that the sheepdog must not, cannot and will not ever harm the sheep.
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Still, the sheepdog disturbs the sheep. He is a constant reminder that there are wolves in the land. They would prefer that he didn’t tell them where to go, or give them traffic tickets, or stand at the ready in our airports in camouflage fatigues holding an M-16. The sheep would much rather have the sheepdog cash in his fangs, spray paint himself white, and go, “Baa.” -On Sheep, Wolves and Sheepdogs (From the book, On Combat, by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman)

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It was just another random act of criminal stupidity that's become all too common lately in South Florida. Only two TV news outlets bothered to cover the crime.

A 24 year-old petty criminal assaults a tourist from Germany in broad daylight in Miami Beach last Monday; snatching his iPad and then making a getaway in an SUV driven by his accomplice - a 28 year-old man with a lengthy rap sheet. Also in the SUV: a 33 year-old woman with a history of drug use and prostitution.

The crime occurred in the middle of the day on Indian Creek Drive. Someone quickly called police with a description of the getaway vehicle.

Here's what happened next according to Miami Beach Police spokesman Bobby Hernandez: "Officer Miguel Noa heard the BOLO and remembered hearing a similar one the week before. He spotted the Gold Tahoe at Dade Blvd and Alton Road and gave chase. They took off and crashed at the canal bank at Dade and North Michigan."

Back-up units quickly arrived and soon placed Schnaider Fontilus, Amiran Smith and Scott Kinler Jr. under arrest.

Fontilus, the man who snatched the iPad, has been arrested in the past for drug possession and battery.

Kinler, the driver, was charged with fleeing a police officer and strong-arm robbery. He was already out on bond on another charge of fleeing a police officer last April.

Monday's robbery is the second brazen assault on a tourist in Miami Beach this month.

Back on July 14, a trio of tourists from Norway were accosted and robbed by a man who claimed he was a police officer. The real Miami Beach cops quickly arrested 29 year-old Charles Diaz and charged him with a slew of felonies including: impersonating a police officer, battery and strong-arm robbery.

The two robberies, which occurred 10 days apart, don't appear to be the work of criminal geniuses. But, the victims' reactions should be a cause for concern for city tourism officials. The last thing Miami Beach needs are foreign tourists returning home with tales of rampant lawlessness on the streets of Miami Beach.

Are Hvalbye, the Norwegian tourist who was robbed on July 14 told WSVN: "In this district, on Euclid? Close to the beach? It kind of surprised me, and it was kind of a reality check right there."

Gerd Niels, the German tourist who had his iPad stolen told WSVN: "I'm lucky I'm still alive." Indeed.

And lucky for both victims that the sheepdogs arrived in time to confront the wolves.