May 15: What's Jen Clicking on Between Newscasts?

Well, you guys sure told me.  As soon as I posted the "scariest looking guy ever" picture yesterday of that car chase suspect who got arrested and kicked around by the cops Wednesday, I got a barrage of even scarier ones from my Facebook friends.

WOW, okay we have a winner!  The first and favorite came from the Smoking Gun.

Meet Dion Milam. The 30-year-old California inmate may be the scariest looking criminal TSG has ever seen.

Milam, who wears "Aryan" and "Honor" tattoos above his eyebrows and a swastika tat on his neck, was charged yesterday in a methamphetamine case (his brother-in-law allegedly tried to mail the drug into the Stanislaus County Jail, where Milam is being held on a murder charge).

...Milam, who pulled a gun on sheriff's deputies, got roughed up a bit as he resisted arrest.

Well, Milam has one thing in common with our guy from yesterday ... it looks like he not only "got roughed up a bit" but also took a blow or two to the head during his arrest.

Check out all the Smoking Gun's notorious booking photos here.

Now, back to our guy from El Monte who we talked about yesterday.  The 24-year-old suspect Richard Rodriguez, who led police on a pursuit in a car first then on foot, took a boot (apparently) to the head as he surrendured to police.    So  many people piped up about this yesterday, and it's surprising to me how many of them defended the police officer who made the arrest. 

On the cliche "you can't judge a book by its cover..."  well, in this case, can you?  Of course I still don't think you ever kick a guy you're about to arrest, if only to save your municipality the money from the lawsuit that's sure to follow, but I think that was the argument a lot of people were making in defense of the police officer in this case...they knew this guy was more trouble than most.

Same as the suspect above.  Obviously that suspect, Milam, is in the Aryan Brotherhood, because that's what he has tattoed on his face.  He also has the swastika on his neck, with the wings/falcon, which symbolize the political wing of the Irish Republican Army, Sinn Fein, according to Corrections.com.  The site has other tipoffs for what Aryan Brotherhood (AB) tattoos might be, including stuff like the numbers "88," (8th letter in the alphabet is "h", so that's "heil Hitler") Lightning bolts, shamrocks, a nordic dagger on a shield with lightning bolts -- so, memo to those of you with Irish roots who want a bit of body art that reflects your heritage ... eek.

Rodriguez  is also easy to read -- literally. It says "Flores" on his face, for EMF 13 (El Monte Flores) gang, and according to law enforcement websites, the gang members who have their allegiances tattooed to their faces are generally the highest ranking ones who won't get into trouble for it.

The red lips are something I've seen from time to time, and I finally looked that up too.  Notice Rodriguez has a pair on his right lower cheek, and up on his forehead too (unless that's a bootmark, and it very well could be ... or a combination of both.)

The website knowgangs.com says the lips tattoo can mean either the kiss of death, or a long incarceration:

"The majority of Hispanic Gang members claimed the "Red Lips" were symbolizing their girlfriend's/Wife's last kiss before the Gang member goes away (is incarcerated).

However, two Gang members alleged the "Red Lips" represented the "Kiss of Death" which meant the gang member who has the tattoo has committed a murder."

It's also said that the lips are supposed to look like a 13,  for the Sureno gang, and a Prison officer wrote "the lips represent the gang SURENO due to the 13 they form" on that page in response to the above two claims of what they mean.  In the same forum one guy says the young kids with the lips are likely Sureno gang members, and that's what it means to them; old school meaning is the "kiss goodbye from your vieja."  So complicated.

I guess aside from the obvious stuff like the swastikas and the gang names and numbers, a tattoo means whatever you say it does, when it's yours.  Take for example another common prison/gang tattoo ... those teardrops by the eye.

I've read that they mean you lost a loved one while you were in prison, and had to miss the funeral ... and the teardrop is tattooed on because it's not cool to cry for real when you're in the Big House.

Wikipedia says "Teardrop tattoos usually signify the loss of a friend or loved one. Often, for a male, the tattoo is given to represent the death of a brother.  An empty tear signifies that the loved one has been killed or that the bearer has unsuccessfully attempted murder.  A filled tattoo signifies that a loved one has taken his or her own life, or was killed by a cause other than murder (car crash,death penalty, etc.) A tear with an empty top and a full bottom means that the wearer has avenged the murder of a loved one. The majority of the 'tear tattoos' seen in popular culture today, however, signify that the wearer has killed, with the number of tears representing the number of kills."

But in Australia, a teardrop tattoo is often forcibly given in prison by your fellow inmates to signify that you're in for child molestation.  Kind of like declaring open season on you. 

Note to our local gangsters sporting those teardrops:  avoid arrest or incarceration while vacationing Down Under.

Editor's Note: Oh look, Jen's coat tails are just right there waiting for me to hop on with a gallery of famous mug shots. Wheeee, I'm riding coat tails!

Oh and one other thing ... while we're on Australia, check out this AWESOME video of a kangaroo ocean rescue...

See what else Jen is clicking on...