U2@Cleveland

Shelly and I got to get away to Cleveland over the weekend of Dec 10 to see U2 play at Gund Arena. Excellent show (aside from a few rude and drunk fans).

Their setlist:
City of Blinding Lights
Vertigo
Elevation
Gloria
I Still Haven’t Found What I'm Looking For
Beautiful Day
Original of the Species
Sometimes you Can’t Make it On Your Own
Love and Peace or Else
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Bullet The Blue Sky
Miss Sarajevo
Pride in the Name of Love
Where the Streets Have No Name
One
Until the End of the World
Mysterious Ways
With or Without You
Stuck in a Moment Instant Karma
Yahweh
40

Another teen arrested and charged with murder of Eric Mansfield

A second person has been charged with the murder of Eric Scott Mansfield.

Anthony Lateze Robinson, 18, of 705 High Rigger Court, surrendered to police on Dec. 12 on charges of criminal homicide and robbery. Robinson’s bond was set at $200,000.

On Dec. 7, Dionvelt Miller, a 16-year-old Maplewood High School student, was arrested and charged with charged with criminal homicide, aggravated robbery and two counts of unlawful weapon possession in the murder of Mansfield.

In a detention hearing on Dec. 9, Metro Juvenile Court Referee Mike O'Neil listened to testimony by Metro Detective William Stewart and made the decision to detain Miller until trial. Prosecutors are asking that he be tried as an adult. A Jan. 20 hearing will be held to determine whether Miller should be prosecuted in Criminal Court, as opposed to Juvenile Court.

Mansfield, 33, was fatally wounded while behind the wheel of his silver Volkswagen Jetta at Chapel and Greenwood Avenues on Friday, Nov. 11. The investigation indicates that Miller and Robinson intended to rob Mansfield and take his car. When Mansfield stopped at the intersection, Miller approached the driver’s side of the vehicle and Robinson approached the passenger side. Both were carrying handguns. Mansfield accelerated in an effort to get away from the two armed robbers. Miller fired one shot fatally wounding Mansfield. That shot, according to detectives, ripped through the lower part of Mansfield's heart, tore through his left lung and lodged in his spine. Mansfield drove a short distance before pulling to the side of Chapel Avenue between Douglas and McKennie Avenues. He was found unresponsive by his partner, O&AN staff writer David Miller (no relation to Dionvelt Miller).

Minutes after the two murdered Mansfield, they approached Cesar Navarro, 31, and robbed him of his 1999 Chevrolet Suburban as he and a friend sat listening to the radio in the 1500 block of Cahal Avenue.

A $27,000 reward was offered through CrimeStoppers for the arrest and conviction of Mansfield’s murderer. Warner Brother Records ($25,000), Out & About Newspaper ($1,000) and CrimeStoppers ($1,000) each contributed to the reward money.

“East Investigative detectives have done a tremendous job in taking two dangerous teens off our streets and out of our neighborhoods. A tip to Crime Stoppers made a quick arrest possible in this case, demonstrating just how important the eyes and ears of the community are to law enforcement,” said Chief Ronal Serpas. “The arrest of these two young suspects shows why it is imperative for the community and the families of children and teens to be actively involved in our kids’ lives and in their daily activities before they are influenced by others to involve themselves in criminal activity.

16-year-old arrested and charged with Mansfield's murder

A 16-year-old Maplewood High School student was arrested and charged with the murder of Eric Scott Mansfield.

Dionvelt Miller, a 10th grader at Maplewood, was arrested by Metro Police today (Dec. 7) after a tip from CrimeStoppers led to his arrest. Miller has a detention hearing in Juvenile Court on Dec. 9 at 2:30 p.m. He was arrested without incident at his home at 2160 Rock City Street. He is charged with criminal homicide, aggravated robbery and two counts of unlawful weapon possession.

Mansfield, 33, was fatally wounded while behind the wheel of his silver Volkswagen Jetta at Chapel and Greenwood Avenues on Friday, Nov. 11. Mansfield drove a short distance before pulling to the side of Chapel Avenue between Douglas and McKennie Avenues. He suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and was found unresponsive by his partner, O&AN staff writer David Miller.

In his statement to detectives, Miller said that he intended to rob Mansfield and take his car. Miller said that when Mansfield stopped at the intersection, he walked into the street in front of the Volkswagen with pistol in hand. Miller said Mansfield accelerated in an effort to get away. Miller fired a shot. Mansfield drove a short distance before pulling to the side of Chapel Avenue between Douglas and McKennie Avenues.

"Detective Bill Stewart and his colleagues at the East Precinct did an excellent job in corroborating the information provided by the Crime Stoppers caller and advancing this case to the point of an arrest," Chief Ronal Serpas said.

Miller also admitted that he was the gunman in a carjacking that took place minutes after Mansfield was shot. Cesar Navarro, 31, was robbed of his 1999 Chevrolet Suburban as he and a friend sat listening to the radio in the 1500 block of Cahal Avenue. The aggravated robbery charge and the second unlawful weapon possession charge against Miller stem from the Navarro incident.

A $27,000 reward was offered through CrimeStoppers for the arrest and conviction of Mansfield’s murderer. Warner Brother Records ($25,000), Out & About Newspaper ($1,000) and CrimeStoppers ($1,000) each contributed to the reward money.

“We have Miller in custody and he will be charged with the murder of Eric Scott Mansfield,” said Don Aaron, police spokesperson. “It appears the motive was robbery – he (Miller) needed money.”

Today is all you got

I lost my brother on Veterans Day in a senseless and random act of violence. He was 33. Although he was young, he was as content with his life as he had ever been. He lived for the day, often giving his time selflessly to anyone that needed it, friends, family, work.

Matthew 6:34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

It hurts. I can not begin to know why God allowed this to happen. But, I can find my comfort in that nothing occurs outside the will of God, and therefore understanding is not mine, but rather faith strengthens me. For the Lord rules over our past and future. In times like this, you find this is all you have, and to those who do not know the Grace of God, is may not seem like much. For those that do, this only proves that faith and trust is all you really need. I can not image how hopeless I would feel right now without this.

Today is all you got now...
Today is all you've ever had.

Tomorrow comes and goes. What was true today is not tomorrow. The only absolute truth is in God. The only way to know this truth by trusting in the sacrifice He made through Jesus Christ. By His death, we can live. Today is the day. Do not wait for tomorrow, as it just may not come for us on this earth.

Doug

Reward Offered In Murder Of Music Row Employee

Nov. 11, 2005

Metro police said Eric Mansfield, 33, was shot and killed last Friday night near his East Nashville home. A $25,000 reward has now been offered by Warner Bros. Records for information leading to Mansfield’s killer.

Police said Mansfield’s body was found inside his Volkswagen. He had been shot in the chest, apparently while he was looking for a place to park near his Chapel Avenue home.

Mansfield worked as director of creative services for Warner Bros. Records, and his employer has posted a $25,000 reward for any new information leading to an arrest in his murder. That reward is in addition to the $1,000 being offered by the Metro Police CrimeStoppers program.

“This is a senseless crime. Everybody here at Music Row today is very shocked, very saddened by what's happened,” said Vince Foster, a friend of Mansfield’s.

Police said they believe Mansfield was shot during a robbery attempt, and Sixth District Councilman Mike Jameson has heard from several of Mansfield’s neighbors who are concerned about the apparently random crime.

“I think we've made progress in terms of crime, in terms of the statistics, but the perception is that there has been a sudden spike just in the last couple of weeks and a concern that things are getting back to the way they were 10 years ago. We just can't have that,” Jameson said. “(Mansfield) was not involved in a drug deal or doing anything illegal. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, and that's the sort of thing that makes us the most nervous, that it could be any of us, our children our spouses, and that's the sort of crime that gets the most angst.”

Councilman Jameson has scheduled a community meeting Monday night with police and residents to talk about the violence. That meeting will take place at 8:00 p.m. at 1425 Greenwood Avenue in East Nashville.

Police would not say said if they had any solid leads in the murder of Eric Mansfield, but no one has been charged yet with the crime and no witnesses have come forward.