Photo of the alleged perp, Mark J. Hoffman.
From here: http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2013/07/24/police-man-openly-carrying-guns-arrested-near-wis-school/
Posted on 07/25/2013 8:52:46 AM PDT by Sopater
Somerset (WQOW) - A man carrying two loaded guns was arrested near a western Wisconsin school Tuesday.
Crossing guards near the Somerset Middle School called police around noon. Officers found a 23-year-old man with an AR-15-style rifle slung across his back and a pistol in a holster on his hip. Police said both guns had high-capacity magazines and were loaded. Officers also said there were kids in the building at the time.
It's illegal to have guns within 1,000 feet of a school unless someone falls under certain exceptions, but police say the man refused to identify himself or state his intentions, saying only he was within his rights.
Police say because he wouldn't talk, they were unable to determine if he fell under one of the exceptions. He was then arrested for obstructing an officer and disorderly conduct. It will now be up to the district attorney whether charges are filed.
Jail time and a heavy fine?
Betcha it was one of those places that you cannot see or even tell if there is a school around. The 1,000 feet is line of sight or as the eagle flies and can beright beyond a wall or big building. I drive some roads with 15 mph limits when school is in session and I’ve never seen the school.
Perhaps someone with a medical degree will look inside this idiot’s head.
Zowee! The dreaded and highly lethal “high-capacity magazines”. Dumbass stunt of the week. Maybe he is mentally deficient thus rendering him a disallowed person henceforth for firearms possession. As adjudicated by a panel of “mental health expurts”.
But you all already know that.
He probably wanted to be arrested ... hope he has his lawyers already lined up. Also hope he doesn't have dope at home.
Do we have a cite for this law?
If he doesn't, he will be the time the cops are done "searching" his home.
Yes 1000 ft from the property line of a school is a gigantic area taking in whole neighborhoods. But since the crossing guard turned him in he was probably somewhere a logical person would call “near the school”. BTW be sure to NEVER research how far 1000ft from a school is. The law says “knowingly” so you have to know you are within a fifth of a mile from a school to break it.
If this guy is trying to prove some point about gun rights, he’s not helping.
I like how “obstructing an officer and disorderly conduct” has come to mean not being properly deferential to your masters.
What does “near a school” mean? Was he acting legitimately and going somewhere legitimate and passed within 1000 feet of a school?
Anything that leads one to think he had bad intentions?
Refusing to cooperate with the police in a situation like that is stupid and asking for trouble.
It’s a federal law. And yes the supreme court repealed it, but then congress basically said “oh, yes we can”, slightly rewrote it and passed it again.
One of the first things I learned as a youngster is, always be polite to the police, regardless of provocations. You can argue a speeding ticket in court, or you can politely differ with the officer about how fast you were going. But don’t provoke them. It’s not as if you encounter one that often. And sometimes if you’re polite, they’ll let you off or give you a smaller fine.
Lot’s of states also have their own law about this CA does, not sure if WI does.
If memory serves, the fed law also states something to the effect "unless authorized iaw state law..."
I’m not buying this. Too contrived.
Is school in session now? If not what are the crossing uards doing there?
Sounds like the guy is trying to get arrested.
I wonder how many students are in school today? Zero, probably.
This sounds stupid enough to be a democrat posing as a trouble-maker to get ‘assault rifles’ back in the news
“always be polite to the police”
I’m generally polite to everyone. I learned all that verbal judo stuff when I was a Deputy Sheriff (WOOSHA) but that’s not my point.
Actually, in this case, this guy was committing a crime and they probably will look up what to put on their forms and charge him with that too.
But, you see too many cases, like that kid the the puppy and that kid with the NRA T shirt, where people get charged with “obstructing and officer” entirely for being annoying, without having committed an underlying crime. To me that feels too much like keeping the peasants in their place.
I know plenty of schools within residential districts. Does this 1000ft “law” apply to the homedwellers?
I thought the Senate tried and the House shot it down?
UnConstitutional infringement of RKBA.
/story
Hoping he has his ducks lined up legally speaking.
As it was presented in the article, I’m not seeing a real crime committed here.
Good. That would be absurd. I know the passage said “certain exceptions” and I figured that would be one. Thanks for clarifying.
“It’s illegal to have guns within 1,000 feet of a school unless someone falls under certain exceptions, but police say the man refused to identify himself or state his intentions, saying only he was within his rights.”
D’oh! If you are going to exercise your carry rights, you need to know about any legal exceptions, like this school zone thing. You also need to know whether, in your state, you are legally compelled to present ID or answer some questions from law enforcement.
It is a forfeiture for a person to knowingly possess a firearm (concealed or otherwise) at a place that the person knows or has reasonable cause to believe is within 1,000 feet of the grounds of a school. Wis. Stat. § 948.605(2)(a).
RKBA > Wisconsin Statute.
/thread
Exceptions to 1000 ft. rule:
- On private property that is not part of school grounds. Wis. Stat. § 948.605(2)(b)1m and 18 USC 922(q)(2)(B)(i).
- A person who is a CCW licensee or out-of-state CCW licensee may possess a firearm within 1,000 feet of the grounds of a school, but not in or on school grounds. Wis. Stat. § 948.605(2)(b)1r.
A young man was carrying a legal rifle legally in Wisconsin a few years ago. The police arrested him after someone in the department did a search and found that he was (by one measurement) within a thousand feet of a school.
The young man spent (as I recall) 30 days in jail before a judge through out the charges.
I thought he might have a case for abuse of civil rights, but this was before Wisconsin passed its shall issue law and strengthened its protections for open carry.
Several Wisconsin agencies have paid out settlements over the years.
This law definitely came up in the CC class I took here in WI so this guy should have known better.
Check the photo surveillance records of the nearby mosques.
So, if you Conceal Carry and you drive past a School you can be arrested?
Is there some sort of Navigation System that can give you an alternate route around all the Schools to get to your destination?
Oh, I agree. Police at a traffic stop, which is about the only encounters I’ve had with them, can be rude and snotty. The worst are the women state policewomen, in my experience. It’s very annoying.
But people have to learn not to get angry back. If it gets serious, get a lawyer or whatever is called for, but whatever you do, never answer back to a cop. Always be polite, no matter how rude and stupid the cop is. It’s a matter of self-protection, as well as a duty to be polite to people.
The others are snotty and rude.
“The worst are the women state policewomen, in my experience.”
If they are a “minority”, their attitude can be even worse. They have several things to prove to da white man. I heard one say, “You have to respect me”. I respect them alright, just as I respect a rattlesnake.
Good way to put it. Why ask for trouble? Those guys are only too ready to give it to you.
“Actually, in this case, this guy was committing a crime and they probably will look up what to put on their forms and charge him with that too.”
Almost certainly not, or they would have charged him with the crime.
There have been several cases in Wisconsin where the police overstepped their bounds, almost exactly like this, and settled out of court. The difference in this case is the proximity to the school, which will turn out to be no difference because he was almost certainly one of the named exceptions.
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