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Local Armed Burglary Thwarted

langzaiguy

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 15, 2009
Messages
916
Location
Central KY
Armed Citizen Holds Thieves Until Police Arrive

An vigilant armed citizen in Richmond caught two thieves red handed and held them at gunpoint until police arrived.

Police say they got a call around 12:40 a.m. Monday on a report of a vehicle theft in progress along Bennington Court. When officers arrived, they found two men on the ground with an armed man standing guard over them.

Officers say the unidentified citizen told them he saw the two men acting suspiciously and followed them. That's when he saw one of the men enter a vehicle. The other suspect, serving as a lookout, spotted the citizen and the pair fled. But the armed resident drew a gun and ordered the men to the ground. The man's wife called police and he held the two suspects until officer arrived to make the arrest.

The owner of the vehicle told investigators that a Smith and Wesson .38 caliber revolver had been stolen from the console of the car. Officers located the weapon in the bushes.

Police arrested Ernest George,19, and Craig Bosley, Jr.,19. Officers charged the pair with theft by unlawful taking-firearm.
 

KRM59

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 17, 2010
Messages
256
Location
louisville, Kentucky
CUDOS to a lawfully armed citizen

And once again we have a LBC there to stop illegal activity. it is so refreshing to see it in the news and not the other side.
 

Tribunal Power

Regular Member
Joined
Jun 5, 2010
Messages
136
Location
, Kentucky, USA
Before I say anything, here's my disclaimer-- this man is brave, and I commend him. I agree with what he did.

However, I don't think I would have done it.

Two guys breaking into a car, and then trying to run away... That's not the right time to draw a gun on them. If they didn't stop, would he have fired? I would presume so, or he wouldn't have drawn-- it may have been an intimidation technique (which clearly worked), but still, he drew a firearm on two men who broke into a car and ran away. That's not self-defense, or even defense of another. That's dangerous.

The whole situation is different when the stolen gun is considered, though. If I were in his shoes, yes, I would have confronted them. If I saw the gun they had stolen, then yes, I would have drawn. But the article doesn't mention that he drew because he saw the gun-- it makes it seem more like he drew because he wanted them to stop.

Again, this is excellent news. I just really hope he doesn't get himself in trouble for this. This is sitting in a grey area, and those are no good when it comes to guns. Doesn't seem like the article draws any attention to that though-- the other gun probably saved this guy a lot of legal problems.
 

neuroblades

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2009
Messages
1,240
Location
, Kentucky, USA
It's always good to hear news that turns out a plus for the good guys and a negative for the bad! Additionally, it's great for the rep of those of us that OC and CC as well.
 

Tribunal Power

Regular Member
Joined
Jun 5, 2010
Messages
136
Location
, Kentucky, USA
Am I the only person who thinks drawing on these crooks was a bad idea?

Seriously, someone inform me here. Is it okay to throw deadly force into play when all they're doing is breaking into someone else's car? It's okay to draw a deadly weapon on a couple of petty crooks?

I respect this man. He made a very hard choice, and I truly believe he did the right thing. I just doubt it was the LEGAL thing to do. I'm honestly surprised he didn't get in some kind of trouble. Maybe that's just instinct, though, since I'm originally from Illinois, where you have to offer burglars coffee and your wallet after they break in and murder your family. ~_~

I'm not being cynical, I'm honestly wondering. Were his actions appropriate? Again, I feel it necessary to stress that I respect this man and I believe he did the right thing.
 

Tribunal Power

Regular Member
Joined
Jun 5, 2010
Messages
136
Location
, Kentucky, USA
What kind of trouble would you expect him to be in? He acted appropriately. You can't shoot someone for just taking property and had these criminals run off there wouldn't be much he could do about it. Had they turned on him and attacked him then it's a self defense situation and he may have justification for shooting. Holding them at gun point until the police arrived was legal. Without shots being fired there was no deadly force. No crime here except by the two guys breaking into the car. I will admit it was dangerous. They could have drawn guns, knives or attacked him bare handed and forced him to make a choice to shot or not. Not a perfect situation, but just ignoring criminals at their work isn't perfect either. Would I do it? Maybe. It would depend on the circumstances.

Interesting. I had no idea drawing on someone for anything other than intent of defense was legal. I've never been one to advocate drawing if you don't plan to shoot, but apparently it does have its legal uses. I had no idea this sort of thing was okay.

Like I said, my Illinois upbringing is still being washed out of me. I've lived here for a little bit, but I'm still adjusting to this thing called "freedom" you guys seem to like so much.

Now I know. And knowing is half the battle. :p Kudos again to this fellow, and thanks to you for the enlightenment.
 
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