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[Pittsburgh] Homeowner shoots [armed] teen robber, ends up in jail
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ^ | September 2, 2007

Posted on 09/07/2007 8:47:46 AM PDT by grundle

click here to read article


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To: weegee

“Different laws for different states.”

That’s the exact point I was attempting to make. Some people can’t seem to grasp that simple concept.


61 posted on 09/07/2007 10:07:51 AM PDT by taxed2death (A few billion here, a few trillion there...we're all friends right?)
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To: EEDUDE
As a CCW holder that rarely goes unarmed, I believe that it is neither legal OR ethical to shoot someone that is not directly threatening your life. This guy was wrong. Period.

As a CCW holder in CA, I believe it is entirely ethical to shoot some asshat who has just robbed you. Legal in all cases? No. Ethically though I find nothing wrong with shooting criminals if they are in the act of robbing me,even if they are fleeing. This would go a long way, as it used to, in stopping property crimes. Some states, such as Florida have adopted the castle doctrine and I say more power to them. I work hard for my money, I should have the right to stop any criminal, by any means, if they rob me and try to flee with my property. Don't want to get shot? Don't steal, simple solution. Anyone who believs otherwise is an idiot IMO.

62 posted on 09/07/2007 10:08:48 AM PDT by calex59
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To: TC Rider

Pshaw. A Texas millionaire who “accidently” killed his neighbor in an argument butchered the body and threw it into the Gulf (where I believe it was recovered).

I think at most he got charged with “Tampering with evidence”. He’s out now.


63 posted on 09/07/2007 10:09:17 AM PDT by weegee (NO THIRD TERM. America does not need another unconstitutional Clinton co-presidency.)
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To: taxed2death

Yes that is the problem. You fire at people when you’re in fear for your life, or the lives of people around you. You can’t fire at a person who is fleeing the scene.

Mind you if you’ve just been robbed, it sure would be tempting! I know I’d want to.


64 posted on 09/07/2007 10:10:27 AM PDT by DoughtyOne ((Victory will never be achieved while defining Conservatism downward, and forsaking its heritage.))
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To: taxed2death
Even when the law is on your side, the DA may not be. Chuck Rosenthal (Rino-Texas), the guy who botched the defense of the state's sodomy law, has publicly said that he rejects the legislative change that permits a person to carry a gun in his car. He's also prosecuted a man for killing an intruder (who was climbing up his indoor staircase), the man got cleared (but it still cost him), and the getaway driver was never charged and the city refused to disclose the identity of that second man in the home invasion team.
65 posted on 09/07/2007 10:12:34 AM PDT by weegee (NO THIRD TERM. America does not need another unconstitutional Clinton co-presidency.)
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To: coloradan
"Armed robbery is a violent felony. Are police allowed to use deadly force to stop fleeing violent felons?"

Not even cops can shoot a fleeing felon unless they believe (and better be able to prove) that the criminal was an imminent threat to the cops or the public. Remember the ICE guys who are in jail for shooting a fleeing drug dealer?

66 posted on 09/07/2007 10:15:22 AM PDT by Soliton (Freddie T is the one for me! (c))
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To: Soliton

They believed he was grabbing a gun.


67 posted on 09/07/2007 10:18:56 AM PDT by weegee (NO THIRD TERM. America does not need another unconstitutional Clinton co-presidency.)
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To: coloradan

Are police allowed to use deadly force to stop fleeing violent felons?...Actually, NO.


68 posted on 09/07/2007 10:31:54 AM PDT by Safetgiver (So simple, even a Muslim can do it.)
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To: FormerLib

“You can’t shoot at someone who’s committed a property crime if they are fleeing.”

Of course, if he has a gun in his hand, you cannot know if the running person is really “fleeing” or simply attempting to get to a better tactical position.


69 posted on 09/07/2007 10:33:04 AM PDT by marktwain
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To: FormerLib

Don’tcha just love the term “property” crime. Almost everything I own I worked for—it represents my blood, sweat and tears. To pretend that somehow a “property” crime has less standing than an assault on a person is ludicrous. If somebody attacks my property they have attacked me.

I don’t like the idea of having to manipulate the crime scene to make it appear I complied with the stupid law, but I will do it. Anybody who comes into my house for nefarious reasons will not leave alive if I can help it.


70 posted on 09/07/2007 10:33:09 AM PDT by dooltotheend
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To: Deguello

“A good statement from the homeowner would have been: ‘As I was chasing them out of my house, one pointed his firearm back towards me and I feared for my life.’”

And that may be the case here. We don’t know. We only know what this one reporter wrote.


71 posted on 09/07/2007 10:34:57 AM PDT by marktwain
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To: weegee

If the homeowner can claim that he did not know they carried BB guns but thought that they carried rifles, he may have a defense. Anyone running away with a rifle can turn around and fire at you in an instant. The key to the issue would be; did the perps run away while carrying the BB guns?


72 posted on 09/07/2007 10:35:37 AM PDT by WMarshal
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To: PennsylvaniaMom
“I believe it is the same in PA...however, in the case mentioned here, the perps were FLEEING (in retreat, leaving the property) and the homeowner fired as they were running away. Big difference.”

That is the spin this reporter is putting on it. We do not know for sure if they pointed a gun at him while running or not. It also shows bias on the part of the reporter to say that he shot at “fleeing teens”. More correctly, he should have said “running robbers”. There was no way for the armed citizen to know the ages of the robbers.

73 posted on 09/07/2007 10:38:30 AM PDT by marktwain
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To: Jeffrey_D.
No but there is in Kansas. A cop told me years ago if I shoot someone breaking in to be sure and drag them inside before calling the cops.

A donut shop owner in California who didn't have workman's Compensation insurance ('cause he couldn't afford the premiums) did something like that. When he arrived to find his wounded employee who was shot during a robbery, he grabbed his employee and drug him outside.

The man got hit with punitives.

More than likely lost his shop.

You, however, would most likely go to jail if you tried to pull a stunt like that.

74 posted on 09/07/2007 10:38:58 AM PDT by Experiment 6-2-6 (Admn Mods: tiny, malicious things that glare and gibber from dark corners.They have pins and dolls..)
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To: taxed2death

“OK chief, the guy who shot the kid did not follow the law. Can’t you understand that simple fact?”

We do not know that the above is a fact. All we know is what an obviously biased reporter wrote.


75 posted on 09/07/2007 10:42:58 AM PDT by marktwain
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To: Oberon
You may very well be ethically correct...but the law in Pennsylvania says that if the perps are fleeing, you’re not allowed to shoot them. That’s the case whether we like it or not.

Do you have a source for that?
I know that is not the law in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

76 posted on 09/07/2007 10:45:30 AM PDT by Lancey Howard
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To: taxed2death

Not true, I would expect them to come back later thereby posing a threat of grave bodily harm or death.


77 posted on 09/07/2007 10:45:43 AM PDT by Anonymous Rex ( For Rent)
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To: FormerLib

Exactly, as much as you may love your property it is not worth more than a human life, no matter how wasted that life may be.


78 posted on 09/07/2007 10:53:59 AM PDT by TheKidster (you can only trust government to grow, consolidate power and infringe upon your liberties.)
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To: dfwgator

...in ten easy payments, or if paid in full promptly give him a 90% discount for good behavior.


79 posted on 09/07/2007 10:55:48 AM PDT by woollyone (whyquit.com ...if you think you can't quit, you're simply not informed yet.)
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To: coloradan

Police are but citizens aren’t


80 posted on 09/07/2007 10:56:01 AM PDT by TheKidster (you can only trust government to grow, consolidate power and infringe upon your liberties.)
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