2003 Soap Box Archives

Loose Cannons 07/18/03

July 9th started much like any other working day for John Musice and
Jerry Mundy. They went to their respective jobs, Sgt. Mundy to the
Mount Juliet Police Department and Deputy Musice to the Wilson County
Sheriff’s Department, expecting another fairly routine day.

But today was to be anything but a routine day to these two devoted
family men. Something that had happened 150 miles to the east was to
make this a terrible day, a tragic day.

Twenty-one year old Fallon Tallent and an accomplice had stolen a
Mercedes in Maryville, Tennessee and were headed West on Interstate 40
at speeds up to 140 miles per hour, endangering the lives of every man,
woman and child traveling the busy thoroughfare on that beautiful
summer day.

They had to be stopped and as they approached the Wilson County line,
the job of stopping them fell to local law enforcement, among them
Officers Mundy and Musice.

As Fallon Tallent approached the Mount Juliet exit ramp, she was
running approximately 130 miles per hour.

Officers Mundy and Musice were up ahead putting spiked strips on the
road to blow out the tires of the speeding Mercedes, they laid their
strips and got out of the way, standing by a patrol car on the side of
the road.

At the last minute, Tallent swerved the car toward the side of the road
where the officers were standing, crashing into the patrol car and
instantly and brutally killing Mundy & Musice.

Our little county went into shock, this was not Los Angeles or some
place where the high speed chase is commonplace. This was Mount
Juliet, a small town in Middle Tennessee. This is not supposed to
happen here.

When Fallon Tallent and her companion, Dorothy Cash were finally
apprehended, it was found that they had lengthy records. Especially
Tallent who has faced 37 criminal charges since she was 18 years old
for drugs and thefts.

When she was only 15, she was in the trunk of a car which was stopped
by the law and when they opened the trunk she came out with a gun.

Why was this young woman on the streets? Why is our criminal justice
system so porous that such a volatile, loose cannon can roam the
streets?
Why indeed. Let’s take a look at what’s happening in Washington right
now. Tom Daschle, Ted Kennedy and their ilk are holding up the
appointment of judges nominated by President Bush. It seems to me that
these senators are more interested in decriminalizing sodomy and
proliferating abortion than they are in seeing the streets cleaned up.

Officers Mundy and Musice left eight fatherless children. Children who
will never see their daddies come home from work again, children who
will never go fishing or to a ball game with dad.

People, when known criminals like Fallon Tallent are not behind bars,
somebody, somewhere is simply not doing their jobs, and it’s high time
that we the people did something about it.

With true heartfelt sorrow, I wish to express the deepest condolences
of Hazel, Charlie Jr. and myself and the entire CDB organization to the
families of John Musice and Jerry Mundy.

We are your neighbors and our county has been diminished by the loss of
these two fine men.

Pray for our troops.

What do you think?

God Bless America

Charlie Daniels

 

©Copyright The Charlie Daniels Band