What do you think of
this story? I will offer my own commentary later, but I am interested in your take. I will say I think it is somewhat overlooked in the story that the exchange student
had illegally entered the garage, Breaking and entering is a crime.
The story indicates the assailant left the garage door open with a fake purse inside. So the German kid was not breaking and entering. He was trespassing. You have to actually go through a locked door to break and enter.
ReplyDeleteI would normally be on the homeowners side on this type of thing, but it the facts of the story are accurately represented, the homeowner did indeed set a trap deliberately intending to kill the kid.
I can understand the frustration of being burglerized twice, but deliberately leaving the door up with the full intention of going out and shooting someone who entered is murder, IMO.
If, on the other hand I have my doors locked and I know their have been incidents in the last, then God help the bastard that comes in the door after me. I will be shooting because then I would be I fear for my life.
No way, no how this homeowner feared for his life.
I'm not at all defending what the kids were doing, but in this specific case, their crime was lesser than his.
There, not their.
ReplyDeleteWhen the police do it (Ruby Ridge, child porn, etc.), it is called a "sting"; not
ReplyDelete"entrapment".
Whatever the "reason" for stealing, nowadays, people can't afford repeated insurance claims or to replace.
When people are killing over inconsequential matters, I consider it to be trespassing with intent to harm. They will NOT get the benefit of doubt from me. They should expect none but should assume I will defend what is mine.
Rita +1
ReplyDeleteWhy was he in the someone else's garage? Trespassing is crossing my yard, burglary is entering my house. I don't feel one bit sorry for the burglar.
ReplyDeleteJames Old Guy
Actually it's only trespassing. Of course we all know the teen killed was up to no good, but he hadn't (yet) stolen anything.
ReplyDeleteHere's why I know it was only trespassing. A few years ago there was a teenager that lived in the same neighborhood as my stepdaughter and grandkids just 20 minutes north of us.
The kid was 17. And he was going through the neighborhood at night and trying to find houses with unlocked doors.
The frightening part is that this creep was entering the houses at night while the occupants were asleep and going to their bedrooms. The last one I heard about, he actually went in and deliberately touched one woman's leg to wake her up when her husband was sleeping next to her.
When the husband and wife woke up, he fled the house and the next morning the police had the dogs out looking for him.
Now think about that. You know darned good and well this creep was practicing for some extremely violent altercations.
But because he opened unlocked doors, it wasn't breaking and entering. It was simple trespass which carries no weight with the courts. He was out of jail the same day they caught him.
Why anyone would sleep with their doors unlocked is beyond me, but the homeowners admitted they hadn't locked their doors.
Now of the situation described in the report had been different, where the teens were in the bedroom of a home, not merely an open garage door,then I say shoot to kill and let the chips fall where they may.
But these kids were sneaking in an open garage. They had not, nor is there any indication that they were planning to enter the house.
They were stupid kids who thought it was cute to steal from a neighbor.
Again, I am not making excuses for them. But this guy was planning on baiting and killing them. If he just wanted justice he could have followed them and reported them to the police. He wanted them to die. For entering his open garage. They didn't break in, they walked in an open door.
I dunno. My observation is more along the lines of, "Couldn't leave well enough alone, and it got one of them killed."
ReplyDeleteThe homeowner needs to be punished. But I can't help but think if these stupid kids had stayed home that night, one of them wouldn't be dead now. There's blame all the way around.