A 61-year-old New Hampshire man is facing felony charges for firing a warning shot into the ground before apprehending a burglar who had just ransacked his home. [More]
I know some will want to beat this guy up for this tactic, but it appears he did it safely and it appears that it worked and stopped someone without injury--someone who would have doubtless gone on to victimize others.
Charging him with a felony facing a potential seven-year sentence is the act of a much more dangerous and evil predator.
an update to the article says the charges were dropped, which means that at least one judge in the "live free or die" state has his or her head on straight -- with such a dearth of evidence, though, i wonder whether any of the cops do.
ReplyDeleteUpdate on the website says that charges were dropped.
ReplyDeleteLooks like another good example of why you should never make a statement to police without the presence of an attorney. If you admit to police you fired a weapon without just cause, you're asking for charges.
A proper statement would have been that the perp made a sudden aggressive movement, and fearing for life a round was fired. After firing the round and missing the target, the perp stopped his aggressive posture and surrendered.
Best advice I'd ever heard: don't talk to the police - period.
ReplyDeleteI'm very happy to hear the charges against the defender were dropped, though still outraged they were brought in the first place.
There's an exception to most any rule, of course. I suspect he would have had the same results from just drawing the gun... but that's just speculation.
ReplyDeleteGlad he's not going to suffer for his bravery and preparedness.
I've read that the criminal charges against Mr. Fleming have been dropped or dismissed. The original Daily Caller story indicated that not only did the police arrest Mr. Fleming, they also confiscated his other firearms from inside his home.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know if his firearms have been returned to him, and has anyone issued a statement as to the rational behind taking the uninvolved firearms in the first place?
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