Posted on 10/12/2004 6:06:03 AM PDT by twas
A service station employee found himself on the wrong side of the law when he allegedly shot a suspected robber and ended up behind bars.
Michael J. Budd, 27, of Amherst Street, who was arrested Monday, is accused of grabbing the gun of Joseph P. Davis, 18, of East Ferry Street, chasing him and then shooting him in the left arm. Police said Davis was trying to hold up an Elmwood Avenue gas station Sunday night while Budd was working.
Davis, who was treated in Erie County Medical Center, was charged with two counts of robbery and criminal possession of a weapon. Budd was charged with second-degree assault.
Davis was being held in Erie County Holding Center on $5,000 bail. Budd also was being held there until he appeared in City Court before Judge Diane Y. Devlin and was released on his own recognizance.
Police on Monday said Budd was arrested because the shooting was unjustified.
"Under the penal law, a citizen has the duty to retreat if he or another person is not in imminent danger of being killed themselves or suffering serious physical injury," said Capt. Mark D. Morgan, commander of the Major Crimes Unit.
"Protecting yourself is one thing, but when there is no immediate threat to your safety, that's another," Detective Sgt. Philip Torre said.
This is not Budd's first brush with the law.
According to records, Budd was arrested Nov. 1, 1994, for holding up the Stop & Go gas station at 4100 Seneca St. in West Seneca.
Budd, then 17, of West Toulon Drive in Cheektowaga, allegedly walked into the gas station Sept. 25, threatened the gas station attendant with a knife and escaped with more than $200. The court outcome of that case could not be determined Monday.
On May 8, 1998, Budd, then 20, and his co-defendant, Aaron Wozniak, then 19, were indicted in the May 31, 1997, fire that caused nearly $1 million damage to a hangar and airplanes at the West Seneca airfield. Budd pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor trespassing charge and was sentenced to additional time in jail.
Police said events began unfolding Sunday about 8:24 p.m., when the robber entered Red Apple Food Mart at 157 Grant St. and pointed a handgun at the clerk. The gunman, wearing a black hooded shirt pulled over his eyes, told the employee, "Give me everything you got and get down," police added.
Police said that when customers began to arrive, the robber left empty-handed.
At 9:25 p.m., Davis entered Joe's Service Center/Sunoco gas, 1602 Elmwood Ave., at Amherst Street, pointed a gun at Budd's neck and demanded money, police said.
"The clerk was able to wrestle the gun away from the defendant, who fled the scene," Morgan said. "The clerk gave chase and fired two shots at Davis, striking him in the left arm with one."
Budd then chased Davis to the 200 block of Bedford Avenue, where Davis collapsed, police said.
When Northwest Officers Anthony McHugh and Shawn Dowell arrived at the scene, Budd handed them a loaded .40-caliber handgun.
Davis was taken to ECMC, where he was arrested. Budd was taken to Police Headquarters and arrested early Monday.
Someone running from you is not a deadly threat.
This guy messed up and is guilty.
What's bad is now good, and what's good is now banned.....
John Kerry's foreign policy.
Agreed. Sounds like something Viet Nam War hero John Kerry would do.
Yes, let the violent criminal go free so he/she can commit another crime at least as violent or worse. Only makes sense in a liberal moment.
He should have been LEO. A formal investigation would have revealed that the robber was actually carrying a concealed 50 cal machine gun... and the Leo was just defending himself!
Protect and Serve!
"Under the penal law, a citizen has the duty to retreat if he or another person is not in imminent danger of being killed themselves or suffering serious physical injury," said Capt. Mark D. Morgan, commander of the Major Crimes Unit. "
Under English Common Law, there was the concept of "hue and cry" - the duty of every citizen to apprehend a criminal. There was also the tradition of "citizen's arrest".
We have PERMITTED our sovereign rights as decent law-abiding human beings to be usurped by liberal Courts, Judges, politicians and beaurocrats - hence the idiotic concept that a person should make every effort to retreat from a criminal instead of taking action against him should the opportunity present itself.
We have permitted our elected prostitutes and the foul creatures they appoint to judgeships to turn us into a race of Morlocks. The worst thing which ever happened in America was the formation of organized police forces. We should have an armed citizen's milita instead.
All the most virile societies in history - the Anglo-Saxons, the Vikings, etc, believed in a citizenry in arms. We have joined the effete races of the world in permitted ourselves to be disarmed and exchanging our rights to self-defense for protection by a dilatory legal system composed of professional sophists.
I'm with you.The car the thief hijacks to get away at the next corner might be driven by your wife or daughter.Or your neighbor,or.....
You are only guilty if you are convicted in court, thats what liberals always say.
Maybe a smart lawyer and an informed jury is the way to go on this one. It may be his only chance to get a normal life back.
I'm a fan of chasing thugs down and ending their crime spree with an early retirement. I think the guy probably saved the next robbery victim's life.
The only crime the victim made was shooing the perp. in the arm.
Once thru the back of the head would has stoppned the future crime spree this spawn will partake in.
I only hope that his next victim is the Prosecutor that goes after the clerk in this case.
This duty to retreat philosophy is nonsense. If citizens were allowed a little more leniency in shooting the people who need to be shot, then our society would be a lot better off.
...works for me!
You live in West Virginia. West Viriginia still follows the Constitution of the United States.
New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Kalifornia, Maryland and Illinois have been taken over by Euroweenie political philosophy. Geographically and nationally they are still part of America, but philosophically they are socialist states.
Using deadly force is always a last resort, everyone who undergoes firearms training should know that. Chasing criminals down and shooting them gives the left the ammunition that they need for their endless tirades, accusing lawful gun owners of being self styled vigilantes.
This guy should have been given a medal. As soon as these crooks realize they can't keep robbing stores without being shot, they'll stop doing it.
The guy had a record? Great. That means he was turning his life around and working a job instead of robbing people.
Give him a medal, not jail time.
Paul
Mr Budd's hardly got a *normal life* going on:
"According to records, Budd was arrested Nov. 1, 1994, for holding up the Stop & Go gas station at 4100 Seneca St. in West Seneca.
Budd, then 17, of West Toulon Drive in Cheektowaga, allegedly walked into the gas station Sept. 25, threatened the gas station attendant with a knife and escaped with more than $200. The court outcome of that case could not be determined Monday.
On May 8, 1998, Budd, then 20, and his co-defendant, Aaron Wozniak, then 19, were indicted in the May 31, 1997, fire that caused nearly $1 million damage to a hangar and airplanes at the West Seneca airfield. Budd pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor trespassing charge and was sentenced to additional time in jail."
"Under the penal law, a citizen has the duty to retreat if he or another person is not in imminent danger........"
I s something twisted here? Did they confuse the robber with the clerk when they listed priors?
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