Police find 'homeless' man dead with $85,000 in drugs, cash
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YAKIMA, Wash. -- Police found one of Yakima's most frequent panhandlers dead in his car Tuesday night. Officers found nearly $2,000 along with half a pound of heroin worth $83,000.
Yakima police believe the panhandler found at Taco Bell died of an overdose. The Yakima County Coroner later identified the man as 56-year-old Douglas Budd.
"That's more than a lot of people make in a year?" Action News asked.
"It's a lot more then people make in a year," said Yakima police captain Rod Light.
"But he was asking for a dollar saying he was homeless on a corner?" Action News asked.
"Exactly," Light said. "These people are not homeless."
But other panhandlers told us a different story. "Jack" said he's tried everything since he lost his job and his hope.
"Very frustrating, it's been a long time since I had some money," Jack said.
Jack hopes pen to cardboard will put a few bucks in his pocket.
"[I] heard from people that they make good money holding a sign on the street corner," he said.
Money he uses to buy food, water, and sometimes shelter unlike his late co-worker.
"[It] just puts a bad reputation on people who are homeless," Jack said. "Makes me angry."
And while Jack might be an honest man, Yakima Police Captain Rod Light says most, like the man found last night, are not.
"They'll say whatever they need to say or do to get a buck from you," Light said.
all you people saying they dont want to conform to society i will remember that when you lose everything and have to beg for help. no help for you. i know many people who have lost everything in this economy and are trying to find jobs and cant get help for various reasons. shame on you guys for saying they dont deserve help
If you wish to help the homeless, some good suggestions are to donate your time and money to a local homeless shelter, soup kitchen or Veteran outreach. These organizations insure that people who actually need help receive it. Before you judge those on the street corners, be sure to ask yourself if you'd like to change places with them. Chances are the answer is no. Mental illness and untreated medical and dental problems all contribute to homelessness. Also remember that many of the homeless are Veterans. If you claim to "support the troops", you cannot hide your head in the sand over the homeless issue.Â
its not my responsibility to feed clothe and house some one because they dont want to work.
 @censoredirawoody I wouldnt say that as such a broad statement though. Some really dont have a choice. I mean you have to admit that in our area finding a job is not an easy task, even fast food places arent hiring much anymore. I will not disagree with you though that there are those that are probably making more money spending 8 hours a day on a corner then we do after 8 hours of work and that isnt OK. I stopped giving a long time ago when a story was aired about a woman I had given to repeatedly who was living very well off her panhandling and since she didnt have to claim it because she was disabled she also received SSD, foodstamps, health care, and housing....I have never given again.
As I always said too. In My town, I used to see this "homeless" man with a dog and the typical cardboard sign every day at the traffic light where a local shopping center exits onto a main through-way. One day in the evening hours I saw him walk to a parked Lincoln Navigator that had no plates on it yet. He pulls keys out of his pocket, presses a button, and then opens the door and lets his dog jump in - gets in and drives off. From that day on, anytime he was there, I could find his Navigator parked somewhere in the parking lot. What a scam, huh?
most of those panhandlers are lying thieves, or they just dont want to conform to society, they WANT to be their own person, I dont give ever, its like rewarding a child for bad behavior.