Posted on 10/16/2009 9:07:41 AM PDT by JoeProBono
UNIONTOWN, Pa. – A Pennsylvania Civil War buff faces a felony charge for accidentally firing a 2-pound cannonball through the wall of his neighbor's home. Fifty-four-year-old William Maser had been charged with reckless endangerment, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct. Authorities on Thursday added a felony count of discharging a firearm into an occupied structure.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Firearm? More like munitions.
I think there are serious A.II issues here! /s
Doesn’t say how far away the house was.Are we talking 200 feet or 2000 feet? Was it an accident? Had he discharged it before?
We shouldn’t laugh. This is how wars can get started.
House was 1200 feet away. Ball had ricocheted. It was an accident.
If you’re gonna screw up, might as well go BIG!
You can have my civil war cannon when you pry it from my cold dead hand.
Some unintentional discharges are more significant than others.
OK, I’ve decided that I don’t care that it was an accident, unless it was an entirely unforseen freak of nature type of accident, which in this case it doesn’t look like.
People should be free to do stupid things. But if those stupid things risk the lives and property of others, they should be treated as criminals, and they should pay. This is how others learn to take better care, so the rest of us can live secure in our properties.
If civil war buffs understand that they could actually go to prison if they fire a cannon and put a hole through their neighbor’s house, they will think twice before taking the chance.
If he was a Yankee Civil war buff , I would hang him, if a Rebel ,I would shake his hand and say nice shot, but now you have to repair my home.
If you click the link and read the article behind this, it does say. From the article:
Sacajaweau wrote:
Doesn’t say how far away the house was.Are we talking 200 feet or 2000 feet? Was it an accident? Had he discharged it before?
400 yards, that is close to a quarter mile. This was a big "Oops." Still, sticking him with a felony charge should be difficult. Hard to prove intent. He wasn’t aiming at the structure, and he was a long way away from it. Stupid yes, maybe a criminal misdemeanor. But felonious? I’m not sure that will stick. He needs to get a good lawyer.
Maser has acknowledged firing a homemade cannon outside his house in Georges Township, about 40 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, in early September. The cannonball, about two inches in diameter, ricocheted and hit the neighbor's home about 400 yards away, smashing through a window and a wall before landing in a closet. Police say nobody was hurt.
I'm also curious about his “home made canon.” What was the nature of this thing? Was he shooting a spud gun made from PVC pipes? or did he make this cannon from heavy duty steel pipes and load it with powder and a metal canon ball?
| From the desk of cc2k: |
UNIONtown, so I’m thinking he was a Union man.
You must be referring to the War of Southern Rebellion ;-)
They're going to have trouble with that one. Muzzleloaders aren't "firearms". At least, not in Federal law.
Had someone been hit by the projectile they would have probably needed an entire tube of cannonball wound ointment (Brian Regan joke reference).
Why does the government ramp up every charge? It was an accident. No one was hurt but the guy gets charged with a felony which means he can never own any firearms.
Crippling our people - and turning them into slaves.
Hey, it’s not so bad. Guy’s neighbor could’ve been a Peloponnesian war buff.
No one wants anything to do with Greek fire being flung on your house.
Actually, I was referring to the War of Northern Aggression.
well at least our masters finally acknowledged that cannon are part of the 2A...
I went to a Civil war renactment this past summer a few weeks before this incident. This fellow was there with several cannons. The cannons this guy had were really nice full size replicas that he makes as a hobby.
It was an accident. If he is prevented from making or possessing more, it will be a real hit to Civil War and Revolutionary war re-enactors everywhere.
Yeah, that would suck.
Could’ve also been a 100 Years War buff who accidently launched a diseased horse butt into the dude’s yard with a trebuchet!
You may be on to something. Chez Maser.
I read it and posted it right after my first post...
Couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn does not apply....
Or ordinance ... definitely not a fire arm.
The charges are more than a bit excessive. Still, I would not want to be the defense attorney, “let me explain how my client fired a cannon and hit his neighbor’s home but wasn’t negligent in the process.” That strikes me as a hard sell. I’d prefer a civil settlement - he repairs the damage, makes reasonable changes in structures and procedures to avoid a repeat of the event, and has no criminal record - but I don’t expect the actual case to resolve so reasonably.
Unless there was extreme negligence this is more of a civil matter. The question is, has he fired his cannon in this direction before and not had a problem? If he does it all the time and this was the first ricochet then this was just a freak accident.
As others have said, a muzzle loader, even if a cannon, isn't a firearm. The charge is just to get him to plead to a lesser charge.
Uniontown ping!!
My neighbor were pissed when I drove my Panther tank over their Prius.
What a bunch of sissies....
Lucky he is not in Kalifornia. When I bought a replica 1857 Enfield musket cal .57 from Navy Arms I inquired with the Kalifornia DOJ. No problem to buy straight to end consumer with UPS delivery. If it a pistol be it a cap-n-ball or a .58 single shot then they wanted it to go through a FFL holder.
When the government allows 20-30 million illegal pieces of crap into the United States to include 50,000 Gang members.
Folks like yourself are worried about holding accountable some civil war buff who had no intention of “holeing” (thats what he did) his neighbor’s house where PBTJ no one was injured..
With all due respect, and I hope you will accept this in the humorous manner I am trying to convey..
Your out of you cotton pickin mind!!!
See to it, he fixes the house and attends a class on the care and safe operation of his Cannon.
Then forget it.
Multiple Felonies?
All while some Illegal Alien in California gets time served (6 months I believe) for repeatedly raping his “Hispanic” friends 12 year old daughter.
The Judge apparently accepting that it was all just a “cultural misunderstanding” and the girl consenting insured it was not “Rape”. Rape”.
Jeeze Louise fella..
Were all in this together and were in a hell of a lot of trouble.. Let’s try to focus on punishing those who really are criminals.. If we spend our days and time arresting people for stupidity.. We will have us all in jail and there will be no one to bail us out..
W
Or into the Romans, and pitched the guys cat at him.
Exactly. If he rammed the guys house with a MOTORIZED deadly weapon armed with liquid explosive, they’d refer it to the insurance company and have a beer. Why so much more accountability for a simple metal ball?
Accurate grazing fire at 400 yards? Outstanding! (joking)
It is a prosecutor’s tactic.
Charge you with the most severe and as many charges as they can to persuade you to plead to a lesser charge.
It works most of the time particularly if you are be represented by a public defender.
I was thinking of the War of Northern Agression.
Since you mentioned the Panther Tank.........
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fov7YwBTzAA&feature=related
I know. I don’t approve, at least in this case. Maybe in cases where the guy should actually be held criminally responsible for something, throw in some other charges to get him to plead to the one he’s actually guilty of, but this should be a civil matter.
I had an accidental discharge once or twice...then I started using Viagra and that stopped...
Try that an rogain !
Gets hairy fast !
RE “Hairy”:
Thought that THAT particular head was SUPPOSED to be bald???
Was I lied to? The bastards! :^)
He shoulda used a pumpkin....
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