This guy is in big trouble legally.
Posted on 11/23/2004 11:39:03 PM PST by kattracks
A Trenton father turned the tables on four young men who robbed him at gunpoint and threatened to rape his daughters — he chased them down in his SUV and ran over the gunman, killing him, police said yesterday.In a scene straight out of a prime-time drama, robbery victim Robert O'Neal raced off in hot pursuit of the thieves, even as a suspect squeezed off shots at O'Neal's hulking Dodge Durango Sunday night.
"I'm not a hero," O'Neal, a videographer, told The Post. "I'm just protecting my family. Let's be realistic. Wouldn't you do the same? Unfortunately, it had a real ugly twist."
O'Neal, 54, had been at the young thugs' mercy, standing helplessly in front of his home where the thugs randomly targeted him, police said. One suspect rifled through his pockets and another held a .25-caliber silver-plated gun to his head.
His two teenage daughters were inside. The robbers had watched them go in.
"Give it up or we'll kill you and rape your daughters," the gunman said. After taking O'Neal's wallet and nearly $1,500 in cash, the four suspects took off in a Chrysler station wagon.
O'Neal yelled to his girls to lock the door, and sped off after them. O'Neal chased them for several blocks, taking two bullets in the grille of his SUV. He was then able to ram the station wagon and force it onto the grassy median.
According to cops and O'Neal, the gunman got out and fired at O'Neal, who ducked behind the dashboard. By the time O'Neal's car came to a stop, he had run over the suspect, killing him.
[snip]
The prosecutor's office is weighing charges against O'Neal.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
ping
Big mistake angering an SUV like that.
I don't blame the father one teeny-tiny little bit. One less slimy piece of filth in the world. Give the guy a medal.
The guy's got the perfect defense -- the SUV did it.
Figures. Defend yourself and your property and go to jail. Criminals have more rights than the rest of us.
O'Neal's got the perfect out, I mean it was obviously an accident caused by the pedestrian pulling his gun out and shooting at the driver. O'Neal lost control of the vehicle and the unfortunate departed was in the way. I'm sure a jury will see it that way.
I agree! Give the man a MEDAL!
Give the SUV a MEDAL! :)
...or medallion
The prosecutor's office is weighing charges against O'Neal
What Charges ! ?? What about the other three, did they catch them!??
We need some lawyers to step forward and offer to provide their legal services at no cost to this hero.
Excuse me, I don't think so. Hope this story stays in the public view for awhile. I think there will be a BIG stink of they decide to charge him with anything.
Or someone start a legal defense fund.
They're actually tring to decide whether the fine should be 50 or 75 cents.
O'Neal's daughters, Ashley and Lavata, said they had no idea what was going on when their mild-mannered father took the law into his own hands.
"I'm just glad he's OK," said Lavata, 17. "I was just worried something was going to happen to him."
"I am extremely proud of him," said Ashley, 16. "I couldn't be more proud of him. He has always been our hero."
Yep, I feel in my gut that the scum would come back for the daughters. I've never wanted a SUV, but its looking good now. Those daughters are certainly worthy of their dad.
I agree, and it's a pity he did not get all of this vermin.
In my opinion, a threat a rape is worse than a death threat- a dead person suffers no longer, but a person who is raped, and lives, suffers forever.
Hopefully, this case will draw enough attention that the authorities will lose any idea of prosecution, but even if they don't, that's what lawyers are for.
Mr. O'Neal did the right thing. God bless him.
The death of the robber is entirely in self-defense as O'neal was being shot at. It could also be seen as accidental as after being shot at, he ducked for his own safety and therefore could not have been able to avoid hitting the shooter. But here's my question, what the heck is he doing with $1500.00 cash in his wallet/pocket?
Two purple hearts for the SUV.
I am not saying that this is what should happen, I would probably go after them myself, but it is possible
Appreciate the info.
The only part where he might run into trouble is following them after they left the scene of the robbery, but even then, simply following criminals isn't a crime.
They fired shots at him, he defended himself, pretty much the end of the story. No DA would take it to trial, not with bullets in the SUV.
The defense would likely do best if it could eliminate all events up to the actual running over of the 'victim'. (That would be some creative filings, but hey, it's New York, I've heard of odder stuff from there.)
I've seen that question raised on several posts, so let me address it indirectly.
Some years ago, I sold a piece of land and when we all met at the lawyer's office to close the deal, the buyer walks in.
Greasy coveralls, heavy, heavy Southern accent- the man bought and sold heavy equipment for a living.
He wrote one check out of one account, wrote another- added it up, and came out about $3,000 short of the purchase price.
He digs out a roll of bills from his front pocket, peels off about a fourth of them (!) and makes up the difference.
Some people just like cash, for whatever reason- around here, shrimpers fall into that category, too. You'll see some guy who dresses like a hobo walk into a store and pay cash for a $1,000 item like he's spending a $20 bill.
Charges???....Give the man a medal......
Bet he's glad he doesn't own a Dodge Neon.
He should plead to misdemeanor littering and be done.
regards,
This guy is going to prison.
Why is this guy a "brave man"? A brave man cares about raising his daughters, not chasing down gun weilding robbers to recover $1500.
"Oh, the stress! Having that huge gun pointed at me, and just thinking about the sexual assault of my two daughters was enough to drive my SUV insane."
His daughters were safe behind locked doors, and this man was doing Pest Control. When being a predatory maggot starts to be more dangerous (Jail, death by angry victim) than flipping burgers, there will be fewer predatory maggots.
My point was, his obligation was to his daughters. To survive so that he'd be a part of their lives. He, and they, were out of immediate peril. He put himself willingly back into peril in a fit of rage no doubt. He should have gone inside and called the cops. Those kids would have been nabbed inside the hour given the fact he had a description their getaway car.
This fulfills Charles Bronson-esque "Death Wish" fantasies, but it was recklessly irresponsible on the part of that father, whose ONLY obligation in life is to be an ongoing dad to his girls. The part about him being afrain they'd come back and make good on their threats is pure after-action b.s. and we all know it.
A Durango isn't "hulking".
Now, my Suburban...
Last I checked, we were still allowed to have money...
Simple, he was planning on filling up the SUV at the gas station. :)
Really, why is it that a guy having cash on him raises suspicion?
Good thing O'Neal wasn't pulled over by the cops, eh?
Ok mister, why are you driving a SUV and why do you have cash on you? You're in a heap a trouble boy...
If any crimes were committed, put him on trial in front of a jury of his peers ---- 12 fathers of teenage girls who are not really all that upset that theres one less thief and potential murdering, rapist bast@rd on the streets.
That'll wrap the whole thing up, nice and tidy.
I hope he gets off. I just think he took a bad situation and made it worse.
Guns don't kill people. SUVs do.
LOL, filling up the SUV. The amount of cash raises no suspicion, just why the heck carry that much cash around. One time during med school when rotating through the ER, we had a guy who came in after a motor vehicle accident with $40,000 cash on him. Everyone suspected that this guy was a drug dealer, turns out he owned several fast food restaurants in town and was going to the bank to deposit the money.
No suspicion raised, it just seem excessive to carry that much cash around.
He went to get his money back. $1500.00 is a lot of moolah.
If this prosecutor's office so much as trumps up a TRAFFIC ticket, I am going to give them so much feces they will wish they got into crime instead.
Makes no difference to the law! He was wrong in his thinking.....
My tenants pay their rent in cash, and sometimes it goes into my wallet until the bank is open. Or maybe he pays his rent in cash and had it ready.
But here's my question:
What the hell business is it of yours or anyone else's as to how much cash anyone has in their wallet/pocket?
The intrusive nature of the nanny state goes too far.
Your remark carries implications of wrongdoing on the part of the victim, simply because he had money in his pocket, as though he is at fault for somehow tempting the punks to take it.
So, I guess now we will persecute the man for being an enabler of criminal wrongdoing for having something that would entice someone to commit a criminal act.
Kinda like blaming the rape victim for their plight, simply because she (or he, as the case may be) came equipped with the appropriate anatomical orifices that made a rape possible.
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