Police say pizza deliveryman who shot robber had gun permit

[Mugu]

By Pat Curtis

Des Moines police say a pizza deliveryman, who shot a would-be robber, has a valid gun permit. Sergeant Vince Valdez says the incident unfolded last night on the city's south side. The pizza deliveryman, identified as 38-year-old James Spiers, was confronted by a man with a gun as he entered an apartment building.

Valdez says Spiers has legal authority to carry a concealed weapon and used his gun to defend himself. The suspect in the case, 19-year-old Kenneth Jimmerson, is accused of placing a gun to Spiers' head and robbing him of cash.

"But, Mr. Spiers reacted quickly, grabbed the gun hand of the suspect and was able to pull his own gun out at the same time and fire some shots," Valdez said. Jimmerson was hit twice by the gunfire. At that point, Spiers called police.

Jimmerson, who's charged with first-degree robbery, is listed in serious condition at a Des Moines hospital. Spiers does not face charges in the case, but has been suspended from his job at Pizza Hut. The restaurant prohibits it's employees from carrying weapons.


Complete article at:
http://www.radioiowa.com/gestalt/go.cfm?objectid=F6C79819-F2AF-5AB4-C104DD6768858971

[MADem]

1. Pizza Hut could have ended up with a DEAD employee.

And what utter wickedness:

Valdez says a gun isn't a tool of the trade for a pizza delivery person, but in this case, it may have saved Spiers' life. Jimmerson's girlfriend, 18-year-old Melanie Stout, is charged with conspiracy to commit robbery. Valdez says Stout placed the order for the pizza.

[opihimoimoi]

2. Fuck Pizza Hut....from now on..its Dominoes....

[JohnyCanuck]

8. Uh oh, looks like the owner of Domino's

is a Christo-fascist, right wing, repubican numbnuts.

Tom Monaghan's Pizza Pilgrimage

by Jeff Huber and Jerry Soucy
11 March 2006

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
— Mark 10:25 (Bible, KJV)

Civil libertarians are threatening to sue Domino’s Pizza founder Tom Monaghan over his plans to build a new city in Florida. Sixty-eight-year-old Monaghan wants to run the town of Ave Maria according to strict Roman Catholic principles. Monaghan and his development partner, Paul Marinelli of the Barron Collier Company, intend to control all of the town’s commercial real estate. If Monaghan gets his way, stores will not be able to sell pornography, pharmacies will be barred from selling condoms and other forms of birth control, and cable television companies will not be allowed to carry X-rated channels.

SNIP

His fortune assured, Monaghan devoted himself full time to “the Church and pro-life causes.” In a February 2000 interview with the Catholic opinion journal AD2000, he said, “I feel it’s God’s money and I want to use it for the highest-possible purpose — to help as many people as possible get to Heaven.”

He focused on Catholic education, Catholic media, pro-life politics and Catholic business leadership. To that end, he expanded his Ave Maria (Hail Mary) Foundation, which he had first established in 1983 as Mater Christi (Mother of Christ).

The empire of organizations and institutions established under Monaghan’s guidance and the Ave Maria umbrella include:

* • Legatus. Described by critics as “An elite group of Catholic millionaires” that backs an authoritarian cult called “The Word of God.” According to a 1991 article in Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s The Tech, The Word of God “appoints ‘shepherds’ to control large aspects of its members’ lives, such as who they marry and where they live,” and preaches “that women are ‘the handmaidens of men.’”

* • Ave Maria Radio, the “Catholic Station for the Nation.” Its marquee talk show, Kresta in the Afternoon, is hosted by Michigan State University graduate Mike Kresta. Carried by 27 stations, the program “looks at all areas of life through the lens of Scripture and the teaching of the Catholic Church and takes on all comers.” Catholic Culture commends Ave Maria Radio for offering “… news, analysis, teaching, devotions and music to demonstrate the good news that Jesus is Lord over all areas of life.”

* • Ave Maria University. Established by Monaghan near Naples, Fla., through a personal grant of $250 million, AMU opened its doors in 2003. According to the university’s Web site, it welcomed more than 310 students from 41 states and 10 countries in 2004. Its stated role is to promote:

…the ongoing reflection of theologians and philosophers on the integration of the truths of the faith with the social, cultural, economic, and political developments in society … to explicate the truths of the faith, and measure against them the evolving societal propositions or practices in politics, the arts, the economy, etc. Two hundred or more years ago, those practices included slavery, laissez-faire capitalism and child labor. Fifty or more years ago, they included Marxism, Nazism and Freudianism. Today they include abortion, fetal research, cloning, same-sex “marriage,” moral relativism and world terrorism. It is the graduates of Ave Maria University who will become the Catholic intellectuals needed to bring the truths of the faith to bear on these issues.

http://www.epluribusmedia.org/features/2006/0311tom_monaghan.html

[opihimoimoi]

15. I meant Denny's......Oh Wait.....Tony Romas

[MADem]

16. The Right To Life Cardboard Pizza Company?

You're better off making your own! Or buying the frozen ones and "doctoring" them!!!

[BB1]

3. Only in Amurka, people.

Only there.

[Mike Daniels]

6. Is the problem that he protected his life or that he was fired for using a gun to protect his life

Given that there's a sub-group on DU that seems to think that protecting yourself against predators is a crime I'm not sure where you're coming from on this subject

[BB1]

17. Predators?

Kids who are way overdue for a nice juicy smack on the head by one of their parents.

I'm coming from the Nehterlands ;)
And, yes, we have our share of violence and agression. On the other hand, we have very strict gun laws, which results in less than 200 fatal shootings a year. (pop: 16mil)

[Junkdrawer]

14. Not true. Baghdad and Beirut are worse...now that the US and Israel...

have worked their magic.

[lynne]

4. A choice between keeping his job or losing his life?

I have no problem with people defending themselves and that's what occurred here. The robber placed a gun to his head. He may have lost his pizza delivery job but he managed to keep his life. No choice, IMO.

[melm00se]

5. he interpreted

a gun to his head as an imminent threat to his life (wouldn't you?), he had the weapon necessary to defend himself and he did.

Spiers acted within the laws of Des Moines and the state of Iowa far more so that Jimmerson did.

[michreject]

7. And in other news

http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080327/NEWS01/80328001

March 27

Pizza delivery driver shoots teens, police say
FREE PRESS STAFF • March 27, 2008

Read Comments(82)Recommend (3)Print this page E-mail this article
Share this article: Del.icio.us Facebook Digg Reddit Newsvine What’s this?
A pizza delivery driver shot two teens who tried to rob him east of downtown Detroit Thursday night, Detroit Police said.


The teens, 14 and 16, were taken to local hospitals; their conditions were listed as temporary serious, police said.

The delivery driver had a permit to carry a concealed weapon, police said.

Cont....

Way to go guy's.

[aikoaiko]

9. Time to write PizzaHut headquarters a letter.

They should reconsider their policy and their suspension of the deliveryman who defended himself.

[ThomWV]

11. They should give him his job back and give him a raise if you ask me.

He has made this world just a little bit safer for all the other pizza delivery guys out there. That's gotta be worth something.

[ThomWV]

10. I'm afraid if there's a point here I'm missing it.

A guy defended his own life while he was being robbed, he did so legally and was fortunate enough to have a weapon which he was legally carrying. He was properly licensed. He did not, as far as we know, initiate the assult against himself. So what did he do wrong?

[Orsino]

12. I abhor violence...

...but I admire the minimum necessary use of force. This driver managed to disarm his attacker, and not to kill him. Perhaps the driver didn't really need to fire his weapon, but he has my sympathy, at least.

My main problem is with the culture of violence fostered in America, and that's not exactly this guy's fault. He seems to have complied with the law, and to have used his weapon only in self-defense.

[ConcernedCanuk]

13. The bad guy's GIRLFRIEND ordered the pizza - it was a planned robbery.

.
.
.

From the posted article:

"Jimmerson's girlfriend, 18-year-old Melanie Stout, is charged with conspiracy to commit robbery. Valdez says Stout placed the order for the pizza."

And that delivery guy sure must have good reaction, cuz real quickly he must dropped that pizza(what a waste)

And how much money did these people think a pizza guy carries around with them anyway?

Really dumb.

[KillCapitalism]

18. All pizza delivery men/women should be allowed to pack heat.

Seriously, they are targeted disproportionally by criminals.

[sergeiAK]

19. Most can't, by law orcompany policy

Most pizza companies have policies against it, stating that you'll be fired if you do. In addition, you have to be 21 to carry (or own) a pistol, and (at least in my town) most drivers are either HS or college students, who are under 21.

Then there's the matter of getting a permit, not a terribly easy (or cheap) task even in a shall-issue state like mine. $60 for the 8hr class (friend's rates, most charge $100-$120), $85 for the permit, $15 for the fingerprinting, and that doesn't even count the gun, holster, ammo needed for practice, and so on.