GUNS IN THE NEWS--March 18, 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.
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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.
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8 - If you object to these guidelines, do everyone else a favor and go to another thread.

[MrBenchley]

1. Alaska Woman Charged With Shooting 3 Sons

Another family made safer by guns...

"ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A woman was charged with first-degree murder Wednesday after she confessed to shooting her three teenage sons in the family's apartment, authorities said.
Cynthia J. Lord, 42, killed 18-year-old Michael as he slept on the sofa early Tuesday, then covered his body with a blanket, according to court documents. She shot Christopher, 19, as he watched television, and 16-year-old Joseph when he came home from school later that day, the documents said.
Lord called police and confessed late Tuesday afternoon, Sgt. Scott Jessen said. "

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040318/ap_on_re_us/three_dead_1

[CO Liberal]

6. Yet Another Family Made Safer By Guns...

NOT!!!!

[MrBenchley]

7. A gun in the home is 22 times more likely

to kill a family member or friend than it is a criminal...as we see here every day.

[slackmaster]

Body Count Fallacy

Keep it up.

[CO Liberal]

13. Body Counts and Probability

Apples and oranges all over again.

[MrSandman]

27. But since guns so seldom actually kill criminals...

IIRC, the number of "justified homocides run <1k per year; and there are what, 220 million guns, 22 x nearly zero is, well, nearly zero. Still a misleading probability statement.

[MrBenchley]

2. Stray shootout bullet kills girl, 4 (GA)

"A 4-year-old girl was killed by a stray bullet during a shootout at a southeast Atlanta apartment complex Wednesday evening.
Atlanta police said Sedriana Rosser was struck once in the chest by a bullet that traveled about a hundred yards from a parking lot where two men were battling one another with guns.
Late Wednesday night, police charged Teon Richardson, who turned 27 on Wednesday, with murder.
Police still are looking for the second man, Rickey Brown, 26. He, too, will be charged with murder. "

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/atlanta/0304/18shootout.html

 

[MrBenchley]

3. Gas-Station Opponent Arrested in Road-Rage Incident (NM)

"Darryl G. Lewis, who is fighting a legal battle to keep Sam's Club from selling cheap gasoline in his south-side neighborhood, is in jail in connection with a different kind of fight.
Santa Fe police charged the 42-year-old former Santa Fe Planning Commission chairman with shooting a gun at another motorist during a road-rage incident.
Police stopped Lewis in a green Chevy pickup at Zia Road and Avenida Chapparal just before 10 p.m. Tuesday, a police report says. The other motorist had reported the shooting occurred near St. Francis Drive and Siringo Road and described the truck, according to police, who recovered two 9 mm Ruger casings.
Lewis was booked into the Santa Fe County jail without bond on charges of aggravated assault and shooting from a motor vehicle, the report says. Police were unable to provide further information Wednesday."

http://santafenewmexican.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=6&ArticleID=42065

[MrBenchley]

4. Mentally ill can pass background checks (OH)

Isn't THIS special? Reason number 33,431 why the corrupt gun industry should not be allowed to set public policy...

"Under federal law, mental illness would have disqualified McCoy from buying a gun only if a court had found him to be mentally deficient or incompetent or if he had been involuntarily committed to a mental institution.
A search of local court records found no such ruling for McCoy. And such a court record would have made no difference in Ohio, said Peter Hamm, spokesman for the Brady Campaign to end gun violence.
It’s one of 33 states that have no mechanism to enter court records concerning mental illness into the National Instant Check System, the computer system that checks the background of gun purchasers, Hamm said.
"If you’re a 40-year-old guy who wants to buy a gun but you stole a car back when you were 18, (the background check) will spit you out. But if you’re a paranoid schizophrenic that once was committed, there’s nothing in the system."

http://www.dispatch.com/reports-story.php?story=dispatch/2004/03/17/20040317-A1-06.html

[MrBenchley]

5. Man sentenced to 15 years for killing girlfriend (WI)

"SHAWANO — A Shawano County man who shot and killed his girlfriend in February 2003 was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years in prison and another 10 years on supervision.
Kenneth Wolfe, 48, plead no contest last month to second-degree reckless homicide for the Feb. 2, 2003, death of Teresa Allen, 41, in their Marion home.
Wolfe originally told investigators he left his Marion home with a loaded .41-caliber handgun to investigate barking by his dogs.
He said that when he came back into the house and sat down in the living room, the gun discharged and shot Allen in the head.
Investigators determined that Wolfe’s story did not match the evidence and initially charged him with first-degree intentional homicide. The charges were reduced as part of a plea bargain."

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/news/archive/local_15279915.shtml

[CO Liberal]

8. City considers sales of confiscated guns (KS)

This is one of the craziest ideas I've heard of in a long time. - Wayne

* * * * *

City considers sales of confiscated guns

Thursday, March 18, 2004

Wichita — In a move to generate revenue, Wichita officials are considering whether to sell confiscated weapons used in crimes.

City ordinances currently require the city to either destroy the guns or sell parts to federally licensed gun dealers. But the City Council on Tuesday signaled its support for amending the ordinance to generate revenue by selling weapons intact to licensed dealers.

City Councilman Paul Gray estimated the city could bring in several thousand dollars from the sales.

<snip>

Opponents noted that the city sometimes runs a gun buy back program to get guns off the street, and said now the city would be putting guns back on the streets.

<more>

http://www.ljworld.com/section/stateregional/story/164611

[CO Liberal]

9. Church ban on guns allowed (MN)

People should go to church to pray - not to pray that they won't be shot. - Wayne

* * * * *

Church ban on guns allowed

BY BILL GARDNER

Pioneer Press

In a victory for churches fighting Minnesota's handgun permit law, a Hennepin County judge ruled Tuesday that churches can ban guns in their parking lots and day-care facilities as well as the church building.

Hennepin County District Judge Marilyn Rosenbaum ruled that the handgun permit law infringes upon the churches' "free exercise of religion as guaranteed by the Minnesota Constitution."

"This is a big win today," said David Lillehaug, attorney for dozens of churches that joined together as plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

Rosenbaum granted the churches' request for a temporary injunction against enforcement of the law until their case goes to full trial. No trial date has been set.

<more>

http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/news/politics/8203113.htm

[CO Liberal]

10. Victims of domestic violence: Abusers should give up guns (RI)

Something I've been advocating all along. - Wayne

* * * * *

Victims of domestic violence: Abusers should give up guns

03/18/2004

PROVIDENCE (AP) -- Robert Hightshoe never got to say goodbye to his mother, who was shot dead in her home by a boyfriend with a history of violence.

On the second anniversary of the murder of 35-year-old Tammy Chan, Hightshoe stood with other victims of domestic violence on Wednesday in calling for better laws to protect the abused.

"I don’t want (others) to have to go through what I have," said Hightshoe, 16, of Westerly, who was in the home at the time of the murder.

The Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence says Chan’s death was among 40 murders and suicides in the state since 1994 involving domestic violence and guns.

The group this year is pressing legislation would require abusers to surrender their firearms within 48 hours of a permanent protective order being issued by the court.

<more>

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=11139491&BRD=1710&PAG=461&dept_id=99697&rfi=6

[MrSandman]

29. We have that law...

And it addresses crime better than closing private-sale loopholes.

[CO Liberal]

11. Man Accused of Shooting of His Boss to Undergo Mental Evaluation (UT)

It will be interesting to see if any prior incidents turn up as part of the investication. - Wayne

* * * * *

Man Accused of Shooting of His Boss to Undergo Mental Evaluation

Mar. 18, 2004

(Pleasant Grove-AP) -- The man accused of shooting his boss to death at the Provo River Water Users Association will undergo a mental evaluation.

A judge ordered Louis Darrell Kinyon to undergo the evaluation yesterday.

Kinyon is charged with capital murder in the death of 36-year-old Kent Neil Griffith.

Police say the 49-year-old became enraged after a meeting with his managers February 2 and left the association. Police say Kinyon returned with a gun, shot Griffith, then turned the gun on himself.

<more>

http://tv.ksl.com/index.php?nid=5&sid=81747

[MrBenchley]

12. 13-Year-Old Arrested In Teen's Shooting Death (FL)

"Otis Sanders was arrested Tuesday afternoon at Gold Coast Academy and charged with manslaughter with a firearm. He is accused of shooting and killing David Walker, 14, at a housing project on Feb. 10.
Sanders was taken to the Juvenile Assessment Center on Tuesday. He will not be tried as an adult because he is too young.

Sanders and Walker were friends and schoolmates at Bear Lakes Middle School. Walker kept winning a contest to predict which side condom wrappers would land on. Police say Sanders grew irate, pulled a gun from his pocket and ordered Walker to give back the condoms he lost.
The gun went off when Walker slapped at it, striking him in the chest."

http://www.thewpbfchannel.com/news/2929633/detail.html

[CO Liberal]

14. Attempted Robbery Ends In Police Gunfire (FL)

Another one of those "defensive gun uses", right??? Wonder how the teens got hold of thise guns..... - Wayne

* * * * *

Attempted Robbery Ends In Police Gunfire

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- An attempted robbery, ending with police shooting a suspect outside a Westside hotel, has two teenage suspects waking up in the hospital this morning.

Police tell us the two teens went into the Holiday Inn on Commonwealth early this morning and tried to rob the clerk at the front desk.

Investigators say they then went into the hotel's bar, where they robbed the bartender and a patron inside.

<more>

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/news-article.aspx?storyid=16107

[MrBenchley]

17. Remember, it took less than 24 hours

for the RKBA crowd's "DGU's of the month" thread to deteriorate from cases of "poor Joe Homeowner" defending himself (usually against criminals armed with guns) to cases where Joe was throwing shots at the cops with his precious popgun after he's stuck up liquor stores and gas stations....

[slackmaster]

19. How about those taggents in European smokeless powder?

Got any proof of that yet, MrBenchley?

[MrSandman]

28. Definitely a DGU...

By the police confronting criminals.

[MrBenchley]

15. Mistrial Declared in Ex-Steeler Case (PA)

"The jury deliberated for 9 1/2 hours over three days before telling Judge Johnnie Caldwell that they were hopelessly deadlocked, split 11-1, though they did not say which way.
The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Lloyd is accused of sticking a Glock semiautomatic pistol in his then-12-year-old son's mouth in 2001. Lloyd, upset over his son's poor grades in school, allegedly told the boy, "If you want to waste your life, I can end it now," prosecutor Dan Hiatt said.
Lloyd, 38, will remain in custody as prosecutors decide whether to retry him. "

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040318/ap_on_sp_fo_ne/fbn_steelers_lloyd_trial_1

[CO Liberal]

16. Feud between families results in gunfire (MS)

Let's start - the FAMILY FEU-U-U-U-U-U-U-U-D!!!!! - Wayne

* * * * *

Feud between families results in gunfire

By EMILY Le COZ, Staff Writer March 17, 2004

One man is in custody and others are likely to follow after a Monday night shooting rampage that one lawman called the latest chapter in a monthslong family feud.

Jamie Leflore, 21, of 130 Madison St., was arrested shortly after the 8:30 p.m. incident during which several individuals fired guns at a neighbor's house. Leflore was charged with two counts of shooting into an occupied dwelling. No bond has been set, and he was being held this morning in the Coahoma County Jail.

<snip>

"This is part of an ongoing feud between two families," Hill said. "We've been getting calls and having problems going on over there for a couple of weeks now. Last night it got out of hand."
Michael Perryman, who lives in the bullet-riddled home, said he was across the street when he heard the blasts. One gun, he said, never stopped shooting throughout the entire event.

Police recovered several rounds from at least two different weapons - an AK 47 assault rifle and a pistol - from a yard across the street, where witnesses said the assailants were standing. Judging from the casings, Hill said, at least 16 shots came from the assault rifle and several more from the pistol.

<more>

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=11134745&BRD=2038&PAG=461&dept_id=230617&rfi=6

[slackmaster]

18. IMO people that stupid should be encouraged to fight it out

They're not hurting anyone else, and we all end up with a cleaner gene pool.

:smoke:

[CO Liberal]

21. Except That Stray Gunfire....

...might kill or injure an innocent bystander.

[MrBenchley]

20. Bar Fight Turns Deadly (TX)

An argument took a deadly turn at a northeast Houston bar early Thursday morning, News2Houston reported.
The name on the outside of the club is Backstreet Bar, but patrons inside told officials it is known as the El Messy Bar.
Witnesses told police the shooting occurred after the gunman walked up to the victim and tried to start an argument.
"Apparently there were some kind of exchange of words between the suspect and the complainant. We were told that the complainant was not trying to get into any fight, he was trying to avoid a problem. The suspect insisted on arguing with the guy, and produced a weapon and shot him," Houston Police Department homicide detective H.A. Chavez told News2Houston."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=320&ncid=320&e=3&u=/ibsys/20040318/lo_kprc/2057066

[MrBenchley]

22. 3 Boys Arrested in Plot to Shoot Classmate

"FORSYTH, Mont. - Two 8-year-old boys and a 11-year-old schoolmate were arrested after they buried a loaded handgun in a playground sandbox and plotted to shoot and stab a third-grade girl during recess, authorities said Thursday.
Sheriff Tim Fulton said the boys intended to harm the young girl because she had teased two of them.
The plot included a .22-caliber revolver, a knife and a box of bullets that were all hidden on the playground, authorities said.
The boys, whose names were not immediately released, apparently brought the weapons to school Wednesday morning, prosecutor Michael Hayworth said. The intent was to assault the girl over the recess hour that day, he said. "

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040318/ap_on_re_us/school_plot_1

[MrBenchley]

23. Police fatally shoot man who killed woman (WA)

"Police fatally shot a 43-year-old man Wednesday after he shot and killed a woman with whom he lived.
An officer responding to the first shooting fired at the man when he refused to drop a sawed-off shotgun he used to shoot the woman, police said.
The two had lived together at the Jensonia apartments but were staying at the Miller Community Center on Capitol Hill after a fire last week at the apartment building.
The woman, who was in her 20's, leaves a 10-year-old son.
Neither the woman nor the man was identified, although police said the man was a Level 3 sex offender. "

http://www.kgw.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D81CH7S81.html

[MrBenchley]

24. Feds investigate death threat against judge (LA)

"A Sorrento man who allegedly threatened to kill an Ascension Parish District Court judge is sitting in a West Baton Rouge jail awaiting charges.
Sheriff Jeff Wiley said Monday that Carruth C. Motichek, 55, 9295 La. 22, was picked up on an affidavit by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives after he allegedly paid undercover state and federal agents $320 last Tuesday for an silencer and semiautomatic Ruger rifle.
District Judge Pegram Mire was the apparent target of the death threat. Mire sentenced Motichek to six months in prison in 1991 for simple battery on a police officer. The affidavit said Motichek told one of the undercover agents in January he wanted to buy weapons and later agreed to pay $600 for a silenced rifle and a screw-on silencer. During a February meeting at a Port Allen service station, Motichek also threatened to shoot one of the undercover agents, the affidavit adds."

http://ascensioncitizen.com/articles/2004/03/18/news/news5.txt

[MrBenchley]

25. Jury selection begins in 2000 triple murder (LA)

"The first-degree murder trial of Sean D. Morris, accused in the 2000 triple murder of three Ascension Parish residents who were found shot to death in Port Allen, began Monday with jury selection.
Morris, who is accused in the death of Shanira "Lynn" Bringier, 27, her daughter Dominique Brown, 4, and family friend Christopher Haney Jr., 7. A motorist found the bodies of the three victims in a mid-sized car parked on an Interstate 10 access road near Port Allen on May 17, 2000. All three had been shot in the head.
Lawrence Bringier, Shanira Bringier's husband, had reported his wife missing to the FBI after returning home and finding his home ransacked. He also reported receiving a telephone call from his wife saying she had been kidnapped."

http://ascensioncitizen.com/articles/2004/03/18/news/news1.txt

[MrBenchley]

26. Suspect's family stunned by allegations (CA)

"The day before his arrest for allegedly attempting a workplace shooting in Monterey, Douglas Adam Chase left his Pacific Grove house with a pistol.
"I'm gonna make peace with God," he told his wife, Kristi, who called police soon after he left.
Chase spent Tuesday evening in jail in Pacific Grove, accused of a weapons violation. After bailing out that night, he told his wife he would be gone the next morning.
The family, suffering from a series of serious illnesses and financial problems, suspected the ex-Marine might harm himself. But when they learned he had taken a shotgun into the credit union where he used to work, they were stunned."

http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/mcherald/8216298.htm