GUNS IN THE NEWS--May 25, 2004

[MrBenchley]

As CO Liberal sez:
Please try to adhere to the following voluntary guidelines, in order that we can have an orderly discussion of gun-related news topics:
1 - Feel free to add any CURRENT stories to this thread by replying to this message. In order to be considered current, stories should have been originally posted on the Internet within the previous 24 hours, or provide follow-up to a story that was previously posted on the J/PS board. On Mondays (since many people do not log in to DU over the weekend), stories can be posted from Saturday, Sunday, or Monday.
2 - Both pro-gun and anti-gun stories, editorials, and press releases are welcome in this thread, as long as they're current. Please do not post links to items from a few years back that support your position.
3 - Bear in mind that any links to extremely right-wing sites (such as Newsmax, CNS, or the Washington Times) or intentionally pro-gun or pro-control sites (such as the NRA or the Brady Campaign) are not considered reliable sources by many DU-ers. If at all possible, try to find a link for your story from a more mainstream source, such as a general-circulation newspaper or magazine site. If you choose to use a slanted site, be prepared for any negative feedback you may receive.
4 - Do not change story titles. In other words, if the Oskosh Gazette's web site runs a story titled "Two Killed in Holdup", the title of your message should read "Two Killed in Holdup". Don't change it to "Gun Owner Kills Two People", or anything else that changes the meaning of the story.
5 - If it's not clear from the title where the story occurred, add the city, state, or country in parentheses after the title.
6 - The person adding a news story to the "GITN" thread is allowed (and encouraged) to comment on that story, indicating their position on the topic being discussed. These comments can appear either at the beginning or end of the post; if possible, place comments in a different typeface so readers can separate the comments from the story. Others who wish to comment on a posted story can do so by replying to that story; this allows other readers to follow the comments by scrolling through the subthread.
7 - Please direct your comments to the story, rather than attacking the person posting the story or any person responding to the story. In accordance with DU rules, any message that appears to be a personal attack against another DU-er or a violation of any other DU rule will be reported to the moderators.
8 - If you object to these guidelines, do everyone else a favor and go to another thread.

[MrBenchley]

1. 14-Year-Old Arrested With Gun (WA)

"MERCER ISLAND, Wash. -- A 14-year-old middle school student was arrested Monday when a handgun was found in his backpack, police said.
Bruce Dearborn, vice principal of Islander Middle School, received information that an eighth-grade student might have a gun at school, police said in a statement. The school's security officer searched the student's backpack and found an unloaded .38-caliber revolver and two bullets."

http://www.kirotv.com/education/3343470/detail.html

Quick...what racist right wing lobbying group that has odious nutcase Grover Norquist on its board publishes a gun magazine for kids?

[MrBenchley]

2. Assault Weapons: Man Tells His Story of Gun Attack

Billy Ibrahim of the Star Market showed us the physical damage done by the latest assault weapons attack in San Francisco.
More than thirty shots were fired, some through the thick glass of the storefront and into the metal-insulated freezers and cold boxes.
The shooting outside the market let two men wounded and a third man dead. Police believe that the dead man was the intended target, and the other two men were simply victims of a powerful weapon in the hands of a criminal who couldn't control it. The suspect is still at large."

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/kpix/20040525/lo_kpix/10173

[CO Liberal]

3. Suspect arrested in fatal shooting in parking space dispute (WA)

And ANOTHER one of those law-abiding gun owners that we don't have to worry about. - Wayne

* * * * *

Suspect arrested in fatal shooting in parking space dispute

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER STAFF

LAKEWOOD -- Police have arrested a man sought in a fatal shooting that allegedly stemmed from an argument over a parking space.

Pierce County sheriff's Detective Ed Troyer said Franklin Scott Dela-Cruz, 27, was surrounded by SWAT teams from the Sheriff's Department and Tacoma police Friday evening as he emerged from an apartment in this Tacoma suburb.

Dela-Cruz had a pistol but put it down when confronted by officers, Troyer said.

<more>

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/174875_parking25.html

[MrBenchley]

8. But one of many examples showing

why letting neurotics wander around with pistols in their pockets because they "feel like it" is a terrible idea....

[RoeBear]

12. Maybe he would have benefitted from...

...CCW training. After I had CCW training I found myself to be more polite and patient while on the road. Because of my knowledge of the penalties for using my gun improperly and my lack of desire to actually have to use it I feel I am a better citizen now than before.

[MrBenchley]

13. They both would have benefitted

from neither one of them lugging a popgun around....

[CO Liberal]

15. Society Would Have Benefitted....

...by this asshole being kept as far away from guns as possible.

[RoeBear]

17. At what point would ...

...you have barred him from gun ownership?

[CO Liberal]

18. Don't Know

Not enough info in the article. But IMHO, anyone who would consider firing a gun at another person over a PARKING SPACE forfeits his or her gun ownership rights.

ALL of them.

[RoeBear]

19. Couldn't agree more...

...I wouldn't let him have a gun again either. But what do we do to stop him from doing it the first time?

[CO Liberal]

4. Police identify man killed in party shooting (VA)

A party just isn't a part without guns....NOT!!! - Wayne

* * * * *

Police identify man killed in party shooting

The Virginian-Pilot
© May 25, 2004

NORFOLK — Police on Monday identified the man killed in a multiple shooting at a party early Sunday morning. Two other men remain hospitalized.

Trenton Alonzo Hayes Jr. , 21 , of Norfolk , was pronounced dead at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital just after 4 a.m. Sunday , said police spokesman Chris Amos .

Police had responded just after 1 a.m. that morning to a report of gunshots being fired at a party in the 2300 block of East Princess Anne Road .

Officers arrived to find two adult males lying in the street, Amos said. The two were taken to Sentara Norfolk. A third adult male arrived at the hospital later by private vehicle.

<more>

http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=70772&ran=34294

[CO Liberal]

5. Gunshot victim, 4, remains on 'critical' list (IN)

A continuation of a story from yesterday's "GITN" thread. - Wayne

* * * * *

Gunshot victim, 4, remains on 'critical' list; police probe gun source

By Masaaki Harada
The Journal Gazette

A 4-year-old boy injured by a gunshot remained in critical condition at a hospital in Fort Wayne on Monday, the Allen County Sheriff's Department said.

The boy, whose name has been withheld by police, sustained a single gunshot shortly before 9:30 a.m. Sunday at his house at 11514 Thiele Road.

His mother heard a loud noise on the second floor and found the boy lying across a bed covered in blood, police said. Investigators recovered a .38-caliber revolver from the room.

The boy's 6-year-old sister was in another room on the second floor. Police do not believe she was involved in the shooting, spokesman Victor Hopkins said. Police are still investigating the shooting and trying to determine where the gun came from, he said.

<more>

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/news/local/police/8754491.htm

[MrBenchley]

6. Twp. mother charged with threatening son with gun (PA)

Another family made safer by guns...

"WAYNESBORO - A Washington Township woman was arrested Sunday for allegedly threatening her 17-year-old son with a handgun while his 14-year-old girlfriend watched over a Web cam, Washington Township Police Chief Barry Keller said this morning.
Sharon Shetler, 50, of 11555 Gehr Road was arraigned before District Justice Larry Meminger on charges of making terroristic threats and simple assault and jailed in Franklin County Prison in lieu of $25,000 bond, according to police.
Her son was taken into protective custody and placed with Franklin County Children and Youth Services, police said.
The boy was chatting with his girlfriend, who lives in Michigan, around 7:50 p.m. when Shetler allegedly began threatening him with a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun, police said."

http://www.therecordherald.com/articles/2004/05/25/local_news/news02.txt

[CO Liberal]

7. Man held after firing gun during melee (CA)

The "law-abiding gun owners" strike again. - Wayne

* * * * *

Man held after firing gun during melee

May 25, 2004

NESTOR – Several people wrestled down a man who had fired a gunshot during a fight with another man at Donax Avenue and 18th Street yesterday, police said.

A district attorney's investigator happened by and drew her own gun before sorting out the situation, handcuffing the gunman and holding him for San Diego police.

Residents reported the fight about 6:30 p.m. Police said the man taken into custody had brought a gun to confront a suspected gang member he believed had harassed his adult son earlier in the day.

<more>

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20040525-9999-7m25fight.html

[MrBenchley]

9. Father, two children found dead at home in West Plains (MO)

"WEST PLAINS, Mo. (AP) -- A father and his two young children were found dead of apparent gunshot wounds in their home Monday afternoon, West Plains police said.
The victims were identified as Keith A. Bennett, 28, his daughter, Klover Lawrence, 6, and son, Keith Bennett II, 4.
According to a statement from the police department, Bennett's wife, Sandra had found him and called authorities. Police who arrived and searched the residence found the two children as well. "

http://www.semissourian.com/story.html$rec=138330

[MrBenchley]

10. Robber: Victim begged for her life (IN)

"The woman held the toddler in her arms and begged Lenzo Aaron III not to shoot, Aaron testified Monday.
"Please don't hurt me, sir. Please don't kill me," he said of the woman's pleas.
The 24-year-old Gary man was on the witness stand testifying against his co-defendant, Antonio Jones, 29. Jones is charged along with a third man, James Parks, 21, with four counts of murder in the perpetration of a robbery for the Jan. 16 slayings of Jimmie Jones, 45, Lautrice Jones, 47, Anthony McClendon Sr., 24, and his 23-month-old son, Anthony McClendon Jr."

http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2004/05/25/news/top_news/7314c8a99df56d1286256e9f000ad396.txt

[MrBenchley]

11. Family questions treatment of bomb suspect (PA)

"Upper Moreland Police Chief William Moffett said he understands the anguish of Peter and Janet Rio of Davisville Road but believes his officers acted appropriately in a potentially dangerous situation.
Moffett said Peter Rio, 40, of Manor Road, was armed with a "fully functional stun gun" and a knife, was dressed in a camouflage flak jacket and was arguing with police, ignoring their commands and making statements police considered "threatening."
Before they arrested Rio, Moffet said police had found a loaded shotgun and shotgun shells in Rio's car and had discovered the makings of a pipe bomb.
Rio was arrested at his parent's house on May 18 in connection with an explosion nearly a week earlier. The pipe bomb explosion injured Rio and blew a small hole in the detached garage of a house where he is a tenant on Manor Road, according to court records. A search of the garage revealed exploded pipe bomb materials, according to those records."

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/113-05252004-305956.html

[MrBenchley]

14. Pipe bomb found in car at local residence (AR)

"A pipe bomb was found in the trunk of a car at 1618 Deerfield in Benton after a Benton police search warrant was issued Tuesday night.
During a "knock and talk" by Benton narcotics officers, according to Capt. David Bone, the warrant was issued when a sawed-off shotgun and crack pipes were found in Michael Patterson and Kenda Fletcher's rented residence.
Components of a methamphetamine laboratory, marijuana, three shotguns, three rifles, a .22 semi-automatic gun, 10-12 ounces of methamphetamine and two quarts of methamphetamine oil also were found on the premises. Officers also found a book titled "Firearm Silencers."
Department of Human Services personnel became involved in the investigation when a 3-year-old girl was found in the house. The girl now is in her grandmother's custody, Bone said."

http://www.bentoncourier.com/articles/2004/05/24/news/52enews.txt

[MrBenchley]

16. Man shot to death in front of son (NC)

"LUMBERTON - A Lumberton man who was not the intended target was shot to death on Sunday in the front yard of his son's home, according to sheriff's investigators.
Maj. Randal Patterson said James Arthur Deal, 42, of Lumberton, was struck multiple times in the legs and died at Southeastern Regional Medical Center.
Patterson said that the man who has been charged with the murder was actually trying to shoot Deal's son, James Chavis. Deal and Chavis were in the front yard of Chavis' home at 1745 Smyra Church Road when the shooting occurred about 2 p.m."

http://www.robesonian.com/articles/2004/05/25/news/news/story01.txt

[MrBenchley]

20. Police: Teens Shot While Sitting In Car (MI)

"Gunfire reportedly left two teenagers hospitalized in southwest Detroit Monday night.
An 18-year-old woman and a 16-year-old boy were shot while sitting in a car with a group of people on Homer Street, according to police. Shots were fired between their car and another car, Local 4 reported."

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/3343938/detail.html

[MrBenchley]

21. FBI expert: First shot not a warning (CA)

"OAKLAND -- Stuart Alexander launched his deadly attack on food inspectors by blasting a shot into Tom Quadros of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, not the ceiling of Santos Linguisa Factory, a FBI video and weapons expert told jurors Monday.
Despite opposition by Assistant Public Defender Michael Ogul, who has intimated in court that Alexander fired a warning shot before killing three meat inspectors and trying to shoot a fourth, Philip Williams of the FBI was allowed to give moment-by-moment analysis that indicated Alexander executed inspectors in a surprise onslaught June 21, 2000.
Williams used an Apple lap-top computer on the witness stand to slowly replay, pause and zoom in on sequences of digitized surveillance images projected on a large screen on a wall opposite the jury box in the courtroom of Alameda County Superior Court Judge Vern Nakahara.
Williams called attention to muzzle flashes, spent cartridges in flight, pistol recoils, shifting clothing, jerking limbs and other indicators he used to deduce when shots were fired or inspectors were hit by bullets. "

http://www.theargusonline.com/Stories/0,1413,83~1971~2170219,00.html

[MrBenchley]

22. Gun shop settles lawsuit (WV)

"The widow of a store clerk shot and killed in August 2002 will receive $2 million in compensation from the store that sold the gun.
In a complaint filed in January 2003, Heidi Shawn Doss said Frank Adkins II, who has been held on first-degree murder charges since his indictment in November 2002, was allowed to buy a gun from The Chief's Place in Winfield despite the fact he told the clerk he had been treated for mental illness.
According to the complaint and reports from the Winfield police taken at the time of the incident, Adkins walked into the Little General Food Mart on U.S. 35 on Aug. 15, 2002, and, using the gun he had purchased just a short time before at The Chief's Place, shot and killed Doss' husband, Stacy Clint Doss, an employee at the store.
The suit indicates the gun shop's clerk either "knew or should have known that Mr. Frank Adkins II, was mentally incompetent, and/or had been involuntarily committed to a mental institution and therefore prohibited from purchasing firearms."
Adkins, who has undergone four psychiatric evaluations from different mental health professionals since his indictment, has stated several times he marked a box on his application for a firearm that he had been treated for mental illness."

http://www.dailymail.com/news/News/2004052532/

Guess he didn't stand out from the usual clientele....

[MrBenchley]

23. Gun found at material witness' home matches killing of N.H. man

"PORTLAND, Maine -- A gun found in the house of one of the women held as a material witness in the fatal shooting of a New Hampshire man matches a shell casing found at the murder scene, according to an affidavit released Tuesday.
Penny Black, 28, called police after she found a .40 caliber Glock pistol under her couch while vacuuming after Ryan Hopkins, 22, and Shawn Hopkins, 27, visited her home. Testing later determined that gun matched the shell casing of the bullet that killed Julius Petrovic, 60, of Bretton Woods, N.H.
Black and the Hopkins brothers are being held in Cumberland County Jail as material witnesses to the murder. Both men were being held on $200,000 cash bonds, while Black, who is Shawn Hopkins' girlfriend, is being held on a smaller bond."

http://www.boston.com/news/local/maine/articles/2004/05/25/gun_found_at_material_witness_home_matches_killing_of_nh_man/

[MrBenchley]

24. Child Hurt In Drive-By Shooting (MO)

"A 3-year-old child was shot in a drive-by shooting Monday night at 37th Street and Fuller, KMBC reported.
Authorities said the girl was shot in the face. KMBC reported that she is expected to make a full recovery. "

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ibsys/20040525/lo_kmbc/2219734

[MrBenchley]

25. Shooting kills Far-Eastside man (IN)

"Marion County Sheriff deputies are seeking leads in the fatal shooting Monday of a 37-year-old man on the city's Far Eastside.
Capt. Doug Scheffel said Irish M. Gilbert was found wounded about 1:44 p.m. inside his apartment in the 9200 block of Chambery Lane by his wife, Kelly Gilbert.
She reported that her husband appeared to have been beaten up. However, authorities later discovered he had been shot in the head, Scheffel said.
The wounded man was taken to Methodist Hospital where he died about 8 p.m."

http://www.indystar.com/articles/4/149612-6084-093.html

[MrBenchley]

26. Auto Repair Shop Owner Fatally Shot (FL)

"Fort Pierce police were looking Tuesday for a person who shot and killed the owner of an auto repair shop in broad daylight Monday.
Fort Pierce detectives said they brought three men to the police station for questioning Monday evening in the shooting death of Jimmy Johns, 68, the owner of Jimmy's Auto Clinic.
"I called him an old grouch but he was a good guy. He would have done anything for anybody," said his daughter, Patricia Sanders. "

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ibsys/20040525/lo_wpbf/2220382