Retired firefighter who fired shotgun at black teen asking for directions gets up to 10 years

NBC ^ | Nov. 13, 2018 | Minyvonne Burke

[DiogenesLamp]

I can’t get the NBC link to work. Was the boy hit? How do we know he was running away?

Uninjured according to the article. Four to Ten would make more sense if he had injured they guy. No injury at all, makes this punishment a travesty of justice.

[Trump Girl Kit Cat]

I’m with you on this one I NEVER answer my door unless expecting someone!!! Don’t want to talk to realtors, sales people, or religious people handing out pamphlets!!!!

[Vaquero]

So a ‘scatter gun’ was fired at the potential perp running away. But did not hit him.

Sounds to me like scaring away a potential perp and shooting ‘at him’ are two different things. A two dimensional video can not show the actual direction of a cloud of shot. Sounds like so much bullflop to me. What angle was the video from.

Farmers have been blasting away with shotguns at kids stealing watermelon for years(ask Joe Biden). They generally don’t aim at them unless it’s a mild rocksalt loaf. Birdshot is harmless after not too long of a distance.

[dirtboy]

Depends if the shooter was trying to hit the kid. If he was, it could rise to attempted murder.

[Gay State Conservative]

If I was ever placed on such a jury I would *never* vote "guilty" on any kind of "hate crime" charge or civil rights violation.However,disregarding the race factor in this case it would appear that the shooter,at the *very* least,acted recklessly...and his actions may even rise to a point *above* recklessness.

Unless I'm missing something here it's pretty clear that he deserves to do at least *some* time...I just don't have enough info to decide how much (or how little) time.

[Blue Jays]

"...no teenager ‘walking to school’ gets lost..."

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The prevalence of GPS has changed the “sense of direction” dynamic in a big way.
I have multiple friends who live less than ten miles away (who have been to my home DOZENS of times) who must use GPS to visit each time.
It would not surprise me in the least if that kid hasn’t the foggiest idea of where his school is located.

[DiogenesLamp]

Despite that, the law does not permit decent homeowners to shoot wannabe burglars who are running away. It was a bad shoot.

He didn't hit him. Either he was a lousy shot, or he didn't intend to hit him.

I see nothing wrong with firing a shot over the head of someone who was running away from your property as if they had done something. Wife may have overreacted, but the Husband seems to have behaved reasonably in my opinion. Now if he had hit the kid, that would be a different animal.

[CurlyDave]

Why would people be concerned about a black teen repeatedly knocking on the door during normal week day hours?

Could be just asking directions, but he could be seeing if anyone is home in order to burglarize the house. Hard to tell.

[stylin19a]

"I knocked on the door, stepped back, knocked, stepped back

'cept that's not what the video shows - he made a move to walk forward, like into the house. Saw the gun and started running away

[Blue Highway]

you forgot about his “purple drank” as well.

[rlmorel]

Sounds like the guy deserves prison, from what I can tell.

[Blue Jays]

"...realtors, salespeople, or religious people with pamphlets..."

---

Exactly. We are on the same sheet of music.
Besides, if one is behind a securely locked door, why would they eliminate that barrier between someone who does purposely mean to do harm?

[Blue Highway]

check his rap sheet. Then we’ll know his intent.

[rlmorel]

I think the guy deserves to be punished, but I agree with you. He shouldn’t be allowed to own guns from what I can see.

[DiogenesLamp]

Depends if the shooter was trying to hit the kid. If he was, it could rise to attempted murder.

I can't see the video for some reason so I can't tell if he was trying to hit the kid or not. I can't judge the distance or even the aim.

The fact that the kid was not hit tends to make me believe the man wasn't trying to hit him. If he was in range of the shotgun and the man aimed at him, he would have been hit.

He wasn't.

[rlmorel]

Agreed. That sentencing STINKS of a leftist judge and jury.

[jazusamo]

I agree. The kid missed his bus and the video in the article, not the front porch security video seems to support his story.

I’m sure the police and DA were convinced the kid was telling the truth, they’re not in the habit of going after retired firefighters.

Looks to me like this guy really screwed up and is darn lucky he missed the kid.

[Blue Highway]

Wasn’t this Joe Biden’s idea?

[DiogenesLamp]

Nobody hurt and you think the guy needs to go to prison? Why? A shotgun kills people quite easily. He didn't kill or even injure anyone, and therefore I must conclude it was not his intention to do so.

Why is scaring someone away from your house an imprisonable offense? Maybe county jail, but felony prison?

That's nuts.

[DiogenesLamp]

Agreed. That sentencing STINKS of a leftist judge and jury.

When I first saw the article, I thought he had killed or injured an innocent person. When I found out he didn't, I was shocked that he would have gotten so much time, and the only explanation that made sense to me was that of an activist jury intent on punishing him for their perception of racism projected onto him.