Finally "Silvers" build thread!! ('78 swb 2wd silverado)

[bluex]

Originally Posted by glock35ipsc

I knew there had been past issues too, but at the time he was here in Colorado a couple years ago he was clean, and life was good. I don't know if the separation drug him back down.

I'm sitting here at my desk in shock. Utterly effing shocked.......

I'm totally shocked too. I hope the seperation/divorce isn't to blame though im sure his (ex?) wife will carry some guilt from it.

Thoughts/prayers to the family an esp his wife. RIP Dennis......
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[68 TT]

His work was an inspiration to all of us and he will be missed. Goodbye my friend.

[Gordonr1973]

Both Silver's and Glock's builds were my inspiration to start on my truck.

I didn't know Dennis like the rest of you guys did, but he always seemed to have a positive happy response in his posts.

RIP.

[bigblock73]

Unreal, this is a shock to me as well. I have spoken to him several times over the phone, had some great conversations. This is the last thing I would have expected to happen. I don't know what he had going on, but I hope that he is in peace now and that his family and friends can find some closure to this terrible turn of events.

[cochino12]

Sad. Rip dennis

[GMC91]

Dang...Dennis's build was the whole reason Ive ever wanted to do a frame-off resto. RIP man.

[Driveway Dreams]

I was able to hang out with Dennis when he was out here in Colorado in July 2010 and again when I went out to California July 2011. Had some really good times together. I know he had challenges but always felt like he had enough good support around him to keep himself clean. He treated me like he knew me for years. What a guy!

Dennis, I will miss you brother! Hope to see you again. Hope...
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[Can't kech me]

dennis will not only be remembered for his truck and cars, but the man he was. i'm absolutely shocked. RIP dennis

[54Caddy]

Wow me and dennis spoke about his truck many times when i lived in Sacramento gave him lots of ideas and he was a very nice guy, met his wife and all, he told me about his past with drugs and said he would never turn back. With the search warrant being served seems that he might have after the hardship of him and his wife spliting up. Sad to hear this very sad actually, anyone local that can attend a funeral maybe get ahold of his dad and loved ones?? Maybe we can start a donation thread to help with expenses of funeral, He gave many people on this site much needed help and very insperational for many.

R.I.P Dennis..

[BruthaMan]

RIP Brutha Dennis. Unbelievable. Had talked to him on the phone several years ago when he first started his project.

[Cherub]

Originally Posted by Liz

No one aside Dennis himself will know what truly happened.

i think the three other cops probably know what went down......


I'm sorry that you leave your family with a void and wish your family my condolences.

[palposity]

Rest in Peace Dennis. God Bless any surviving family members...

[Driveway Dreams]

I have been speaking with some of Dennis' family and a close friend. They have been thankful for the kind words and the happy photos of him that people have been sharing. I wanted to let you all know that Dennis had put his dad on the title to Silver a while back and some of the people close to them encouraged him to take the truck home. It sounds as if he did take it home with him this weekend. I am sure that will be a bittersweet reminder of the man he was. But, it is what Dennis wanyed to do in the end, we all know that.
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[imsuchaman55]

Originally Posted by Driveway Dreams

I have been speaking with some of Dennis' family and a close friend. They have been thankful for the kind words and the happy photos of him that people have been sharing. I wanted to let you all know that Dennis had put his dad on the title to Silver a while back and some of the people close to them encouraged him to take the truck home. It sounds as if he did take it home with him this weekend. I am sure that will be a bittersweet reminder of the man he was. But, it is what Dennis wanyed to do in the end, we all know that.
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That is awesome news
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[bayou boy]

RIP Dennis....

[JNJchev77]

WOW..... didn't know him, but he was always positive here. Can't believe what I just read.

RIP Dennis!

Found this interesting as I was reading through the comments below the article... especially the last post.
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sav74sac
He was brought into the house in handcuffs, then uncuffed in order to help with the search (opening a safe, and the gun was inside the safe).

The main story here is the tragedy of the drug war.

All the anonymous cowards who blindly take sides should ask... if you were suffering from a drug addiction, and had previously gone to prison. What would you do if cops raided your home to send you back to prison?

Desperate situations cause tragic results.
We should be helping those who suffer from addiction, not cornering them with guns. When cornered, you all would likely react the same.

This is sad, and if you support the drug war... shame on you, the guilt of this tragedy is shared by you.

Like Reply
04/14/2012 12:42 AM in reply to bringbackamerica 1 Like Report Abuse
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Jennifer Bottger-Smiley
Sav74sac...
I'm curious, were you present, do you have inside information? You seem to be making assumptions, or if you are in the "know" you are talking out of school.

Like Reply
04/20/2012 01:32 PM in reply to sav74sac Report Abuse
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sav74sac

I was going off of the little additional information that the police passed onto family (but they didn't give to the news). I didn't have all the info at that time.

It has turned out this information in this story is completely false. Dennis never fired a gun, and the sheriffs came clean on this after evidence on the scene showed as much. Who knows why they said he fired first? If they misled on that, what else have they misled about? It raises a lot of questions...

The sheriffs investigate themselves in shooting incidents, which leads to bias. Who would arrest their friends? The investigation was inadequate... to say the least. Who knows whether Dennis, handcuffed in front, kneeling down in a tight space to open a safe lost his balance - causing overreaction by deputies and lethal force? Anything could have happened... but without a proper investigation, we'll never know the truth.

[Dieselwrencher]

Holly cow! I can't believe it either, especially the last post. Dennis was always eager to help by giving info and tips, he will be missed. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family. RIP Dennis.

[f.monroe]

Damn! I have been busy and haven't been checking in too often. This is not what I expected to find at all. My experiences with Dennis were top notch and he was a stand up guy. Sad to see that things changed forDennis and it ended like this.
Frank
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[54Caddy]

Wow cant believe what i just read, thats not good at all..
RIP DENNIS

[thump16]

I will remember Dennis for who he was...a fellow square body enthusiast. His past and personal life are not supposed to be blasted all over this site. He built a show piece out of a well worn machine and he proudly shared his build with us members still struggling to get out in the garage to touch our projects. So please stop cluttering up the build page with nonsense. Honor Dennis and this thread as adults and let's get back to building what we love.


Sledge

[JNJchev77]

I don't think anyone has cluttered up this build thread?

I think a number of people here, whom never said one word to Dennis (be it over the phone or through this blog), feel like they knew him or had a connection because of this thread and I think he would appreciate all the kind words OR information that has been posted.

I will miss the dude! I thought this whole process with his build was entertaining, informative, and most of all, inspiring! I hope I have half the ambition left he had, to finish my project.

[SBTork]

RIP Dennis, this is tragic.....

[THE "10" SILVERADO]

When I first read this I wasn't sure what to think. To bad I didn't read it up-to-date but with all the notifications I got about this thread I didn't check it all the time.

I didn't know Dennis personally and never talked to him personally but he did comment on things and help out however he could based on this build. In fact, this thread has encouraged me in my build because I know even though mine looks like a hunk of junk it can look as beautiful as his truck in the end. Also gave me many idea's on what to do with my truck.

I'm not going to speculate what went down with the police, because everyone has their own story but even if he was on drugs I have a hard time believing he would try to honestly hurt someone, he just was not that kind of guy.

I'm glad to see his truck get into a show though, he really wanted that and at least he got that for all of his hard work.

Although many of us never met him personally, we all share a connection through this site and that's something. Prayers go out to his family and those who were involved in this and I hope his family can see the kind words people are sharing.

R.I.P. Dennis, you will be missed.

[BaggedC10]

For the purpose of correcting the "facts" presented in the original link I posted, it should be noted that:

1. The law enforcement personnel present when Dennis was shot and killed, failed to follow the internal procedures of their department/agency by neglecting to handcuff and confine Dennis to the backseat of a law enforcement vehicle while the search warrant was being executed.

2. Law enforcement also failed to follow the procedure of their department/agency, when upon being informed of the precense of a firearm, they asked Dennis to open the household safe which was only immediately accessible by fingerprint identification.

3. Upon accessing the safe, Dennis began to pick up the firearm but he never actually discharged the weapon. Law enforcement responded to this action by shooting Dennis in the hand. The law enforcement officer allegedly shot in the hand by Dennis was, in fact, wounded by shrapnel from the firearm Dennis began to pick up after law enforcement discharged their firearms. Unfortunately, law enforcement failed to render medical attention after removing the firearm from Dennis's control, and they continued to "return fire" until 12 rounds had been spent.

It is my understanding that this matter is being investigated by a detective not affiliated with the officers/agents responsible for executing the search warrant, as a possible murder. It is very likely that Dennis would be alive today, albeit in prison, if law enforcement had refrained from continuing to discharge their firearms after neutralizing the initial threat of danger presented to them.

While Dennis was obviously troubled, his legacy should not be tarnished by information, as reported by the news media, that is simply false.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by BaggedC10

For the purpose of correcting the "facts" presented in the original link I posted, it should be noted that:

1. The law enforcement personnel present when Dennis was shot and killed, failed to follow the internal procedures of their department/agency by neglecting to handcuff and confine Dennis to the backseat of a law enforcement vehicle while the search warrant was being executed.

2. Law enforcement also failed to follow the procedure of their department/agency, when upon being informed of the precense of a firearm, they asked Dennis to open the household safe which was only immediately accessible by fingerprint identification.

3. Upon accessing the safe, Dennis began to pick up the firearm but he never actually discharged the weapon. Law enforcement responded to this action by shooting Dennis in the hand. The law enforcement officer allegedly shot in the hand by Dennis was, in fact, wounded by shrapnel from the firearm Dennis began to pick up after law enforcement discharged their firearms. Unfortunately, law enforcement failed to render medical attention after removing the firearm from Dennis's control, and they continued to "return fire" until 12 rounds had been spent.

It is my understanding that this matter is being investigated by a detective not affiliated with the officers/agents responsible for executing the search warrant, as a possible murder. It is very likely that Dennis would be alive today, albeit in prison, if law enforcement had refrained from continuing to discharge their firearms after neutralizing the initial threat of danger presented to them.

While Dennis was obviously troubled, his legacy should not be tarnished by information, as reported by the news media, that is simply false.

I searched for updated info of this tragic incident but didn't see much. As w/many stories, details of the events can change after thorough review. If you continue to receive 'alternative' accurate info, please continue to share it w/us.