I saw the quick-blurb of this story on Arms and the Law blog and was initially impressed - reading further into the story I could only hear Joel echoing in my head..."I need to speak to my attorney and I do not consent to any search".

Sheesh, if this had gone bad a first year law student could pull enough from the statements this guy made to put him in jail - take special note of the "shower" mention...kinda creepy.

I also wasn't sure how to interpret this quote from L.E: Sheriff’s Sgt. Justin Vest said the department is seeing more people take matters into their own hands as the number of gun owners and people with concealed-carry permits rises. “It ended well today, but the likelihood of things ending badly when a weapon is involved is probably high,” Vest said.

http://www.cjonline.com/news/local/2009 ... r_his_life

I am glad all turn out well for him. IMO, the stupidest mistake he made was talking after the fact and posing for that photo.

...charging him with several counts of aggravated possession of a stupid name.

Sounds like this guy has the mall ninja mentality. He takes a shower but doesn’t call the police until after he gets the drop on the guy with the stupid name. I guess he, “did the wrong thing” as he puts it.

I couldn't agree more. Wow! Someone breaks your window and you go take a shower and wait for them to come back! Unbelievable.

I also agree with what was stated earlier, if this had gone wrong he would probably be in a lot of trouble given his statements not to mention what they would have done with him not calling the police and waiting for the bad guy(s) to return. And that picture, I can't believe he's not in a weaver stance pointing directly at the camera.

I was a bit disturbed by The guy was in his own home. There is no reason besides political malice to even mention carry permit holders.

Of course I agree that this homeowner sounds like a bit of a nutter

Well, that might be advisable if changing one's shorts is not enough...


Should he go out to dinner? Catch a movie? Walk the dog? It's his home and all...

I'm not saying everything he did (or didn't do) was spot on, but aside from failing to call the police, what would you hypothetically do in that exact situation?
I bet you'd have your gun at the very least...

I'm not a very good armchair QB. I tend to see myself too easily in the other person's shoes. Having said that, I have no doubt I would do many things differently, but I can't be too hard on the guy.

It was his home. The windows broken, and the perps were gone. It's not like the cops would do anything anyway. You're likely to get: "Oh yeah? You say they broke your windows? Well, file an insurance claim and call us if they come back. *click*". At the very most you might get a drive by from a cruiser.

It made me smile to read what he said on the phone, not because that would have been good for him in court (it wouldn't) if he had to shoot, but simply because that's exactly the type of thing that will get the boys in blue there ASAP!

*Ring*
"911, what's your emergency?"
"Two guys are breaking into my shed! Send police!"
"We'll send a unit as soon as we can sir. There are none available in your area at the moment, but make sure you see what they're taking so we can find them later."
*Click*
*Ring*
"911, what's your emergency?"
"Nevermind, you don't need to send the police. I just shot the two guys breaking into my shed."
*Click*

Police at the door in 60 seconds.

Totally agree!! He's not doing himself or any of the rest of us any favors by appearing so cocky.

Quite honestly, I am not entirely sure I would have called the police for a broken window either. Why bother? My most recent experiences showed very clearly that the police either cannot or will not deal with minor stuff like that. I would probably be told to stop by the station and fill out a report.

Read the idiot comments section...the world is full of morons and I'm glad (at least I hope) most of those idiots are not gun owners!

Ok, since it's a shower / self-defense / burglary story, GOTTA share this.

When I was studying Aikido years ago, my Sensei lived in an apartment on the second floor of his building.

Sensei was showering one afternoon (he had the day off of work), when he heard a noise that just put him on edge, like someone was rooting around in the apartment. He left the water running, didn't put on a towel, and went to investigate...after grabbing a full-sized katana off his bedroom wall.

Man, was there ever a surprised burglar in the living room. Did I mention that Sensei was 6 foot tall, Puerto Rican, and VERY hairy? Add to that the war cry and sword as Sensai ran at the guy...

The burglar promptly jumped back out the sliding deck door he'd broken in through and off the second floor balcony, breaking his leg in the process. He'd managed to hobble about two blocks before the cops arrived; they weren't called by Sensei, but by an old lady across the street who reported a naked man standing on the balcony screaming obscenities while holding a "big sword".

I'll have to dig and see if I still have that news clipping. The media had a field day with it.

-Mark

Please find the clipping!

I'd have paid good money to see that confrontation!

I'll have to look at home, it's definitely a funny read. Would have been mid-late 90's, about 1998 or so. Only the local rag picked it up. Personally, I think it should have made CNN!

All humor aside, to give you the measure of the guy he was in the US Army, then became a cop in Puerto Rico before moving back to the mainland. His first assignment was a year spent undercover in prison, following which he CHOSE to go back as an officer at the same prison. Not exactly the guy you want to tangle with.

Last I heard about him, he'd re-enrolled in the military (he served the first time right after high school) and was being deployed to Afghanistan.

-Mark

PS - He did keep guns in his place, a couple of 1911s and a .22 revolver. Yet he grabbed for the katana...

Which despite their otherwise lack of usefulness in the situation, they DO use to figure out what areas seem to be hit recently and focus efforts there. (Helps them establish a string of similar crimes, etc - and to watch for more - it DOES help)

So yeah, filing a report is a good thing. If only to establish the history. (And so the Insurance Co has a second document backing up your claim; lying on a police report would be bad ju-ju)