Posted on 10/26/2003 4:41:29 AM PST by lifacs
Sunday, October 26
Teen pulling prank killed by neighbor
By Sarah Eisenhauer and Cynthia Kopkowski, Palm Beach Post Staff Writers Sunday, October 26, 2003
A birthday celebration capped off by an early-morning round of mischievous doorbell ringing ended in the death of a Boca Raton-area teenager early Saturday after a neighbor who believed his home was about to be burgled shot and killed the boy, deputies said.
Mark Andrew Drewes, a popular Pope John Paul II High School sophomore who celebrated his 16th birthday at a party Friday night, died from a single gunshot wound at Delray Medical Center. The shooting occurred shortly after 12:30 a.m. in the Woodbury neighborhood, a quiet, upper middle class neighborhood in the Boca Del Mar region.
The man who shot Drewes, Jay Steven Levin, 40, was not arrested, Palm Beach County sheriff's spokeswoman Diane Carhart said. Investigators questioned Levin at his home at 6115 Woodbury Road and collected evidence but did not take him into custody, Carhart said.
"He's a homeowner there," she said. "He was very cooperative."
The Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office will review the evidence and determine whether Levin's actions were justifiable self-defense or grounds for criminal charges, spokesman Mike Edmondson said.
When Levin, a Palm Beach County businessman who lived alone, was awakened from his sleep by a knock at the door early Saturday, he armed himself with a handgun and answered it, deputies said. He told deputies he saw someone he believed was holding a weapon.
Levin fired one shot, hitting Drewes, according to deputies. The boy ran into a neighbor's yard and collapsed.
"He feared for his life," Carhart said of Levin, adding that the teenager was 6-feet-2 and 210 pounds. "So he's a big 16-year-old."
Gathered at a family member's home Saturday morning, Drewes' relatives disputed Levin's self-defense claim and said they were furious that he was not arrested and charged with a crime Saturday.
"How can they call that self-defense?" said a family member who asked not to be identified. "If they thought it was a burglar, what kind of burglar knocks?"
The previous night, the large family and a bunch of friends had gathered at the house on Woodbury, where the Drewes have lived for about 10 years, for birthday cake. The teenager had been eagerly looking forward to three things: his 16th birthday, when he would be able to trade in his learner's driving permit for the real thing; the family party; and his school's homecoming dance Saturday.
"It was such a good day," said his grandmother Patricia Drewes, who drove from her Stuart home for the birthday party. "He was so happy. He told me it was the best day of his life."
Throughout the evening Friday, Drewes and his friends darted back and forth between his home and the fall festival at nearby St. Jude Catholic Church and school, where he graduated from eighth grade two years ago.
About 11:30 p.m., Drewes and a friend decided to go for a walk, family members said.
"They were playing knock on the door and run," said one family member. "They were being silly. They weren't bad kids."
Family members said the teen who was with Drewes told them he was not holding anything in his hand.
Investigators did not find a weapon on the victim, Carhart said. They confiscated Levin's handgun as evidence, she said.
Carhart said ringing doorbells and running is not generally considered to be a crime.
Family contends teen was shot in back
The sheriff's office would not release the name of the teenager who was with Drewes Saturday morning. Nor would it confirm the family's assertion that morgue officials told them Saturday afternoon that Drewes was shot in the back.
Carhart said the sheriff's office did not know when an autopsy was to take place.
A shirtless and red-eyed Levin answered the door to his neatly landscaped home Saturday morning, but said only, "I can't talk to you," in response to a reporter's questions.
State records show Levin ran his own business called Caxin Consulting Inc. from his home since 2001. He filed papers dissolving that corporation in August. Before that, he was listed as president of two other businesses, which are now inactive, the Halifax Group Inc. and L&L Accounting Inc.
Levin has a concealed weapons permit, according to state records.
He has lived at 6115 Woodbury, which has a market value of $195,000, since December 1996, according to county property appraiser records. It's on the next block from the Drewes home, several houses up the street.
Levin's doorbell was not the only one the boys rang Saturday morning. Residents up and down the 6100 block of Woodbury reported being awakened by ringing doorbells and knocks shortly after midnight. Most said they sloughed it off or answered the door, found nobody there and went back to bed. But a second round of frantic pounding and shouting from Drewes' friend minutes later caught their attention.
"It was pounding, pounding," said Lauren Hahn, one of several residents who talked to the boy through her front door, then called 911. "He said 'Call 911. My friend's been shot.' He was hysterical."
Droopy-eyed neighbors repeated the same story as they gathered Saturday morning in small groups up and down the block, some just a few yards away from blood stains where Drewes fell.
Carol Quiroga, who lives across the street from Levin, heard nothing outside as she made her way to bed minutes before the shooting -- no arguing, no scuffling. A loud "pop," broke the silence, followed by someone saying calmly, "Call 911" once, then again, she said. What sounded like a boy's voice came next, saying "Help. I need help."
She expressed the same disbelief shared by Drewes' family and several neighbors.
"What is so important that you are defending that you need a gun?" said Quiroga, the mother of two teenage boys, before breaking into tears.
"Teenage boys do things like that," she said.
Determining whether Levin's actions were protected by the state's self-defense laws now falls to State Attorney Barry Krischer's office. Someone can use force to protect his home if he think it's being burgled, Edmondson said, but it can only equal the force he's being threatened by.
And that law doesn't generally protect homeowners who use deadly force against someone coming into their yards or on their sidewalks, Edmondson said. That's considered trespassing.
"A trespass would not constitute a breach of someone's safety," he said.
If Krischer's office determines that Levin acted legally, the case is closed, Edmondson said. If the state attorney believes it was an unjustified killing, worthy of a second-degree murder charge or a lesser offense, he will charge Levin. If the evidence isn't clear-cut and could point to a first-degree murder charge, then Krischer will refer it to the grand jury, Edmondson said.
A man in Louisiana was cleared of wrongdoing in 1993 after he shot a Halloween-costumed Japanese exchange student knocking on his door looking for a party in 1992. He turned himself in after a grand jury had indicted him on charges of manslaughter in the killing of Yoshihiro Hattori of Nagoya, Japan. Hattori's friend testified in the trial that he was carrying a camera when they knocked on Rodney Peairs' door.
A shattered Drewes family Saturday described Mark as an A student and soccer player, the type of kid who easily made friends with just about everyone he met. More relatives from Brazil are expected to arrive today, along with Mark's father, Gregory, who is captain of a private yacht and was in France Saturday.
Many of Drewes' classmates would learn of his death at Pope John Paul II High's homecoming dance Saturday night, said the Rev. Guy Fiano, the school's president. Counselors were scheduled to be on hand at the dance and Monday at the school, a Catholic private school attended by 925 students, including 250 in Drewes' sophomore class. A prayer service is planned Monday for the "very well loved" student, Fiano said.
"It's very, very sad," he said. "I think it's going to be a very stressful week."
Student called 'very polite, very respectful'
Word began to spread Saturday morning through St. Jude's festival, a few blocks from where the shooting occurred. Standing amid the cotton candy vendors and whirling carnival rides, several attendees recalled the slain teenager as friendly and well-liked.
Classmate Danielle Denofa, 16, put her hand over her mouth and gasped when she heard the news.
"He was really nice," said Denofa, who attended YMCA teen camp with Drewes this summer. "I can't believe that happened."
Tracy McCarver, who taught Drewes math at St. Jude Catholic School, remembered him as a "very polite, very respectful" youngster with "a good sense of humor."
After this afternoon's youth Mass at St. Jude, members of his Life Teen group, a faith-based social organization, are expected to attend a special meeting, said Kevin Cleary, the church's religious education director and youth minister.
"Everyone's in a state of shock because of the senselessness of it," he said. "He was a boy's boy."
He called Drewes a "delightful" young man who could be relied on to help with every pancake breakfast, raffle and car wash that cropped up on his youth group's schedule. Before every Sunday night Life Teen meeting, Drewes was there setting up tables, Cleary said. When they ended, Drewes stayed to clean up.
"He was a beautiful, beautiful boy," said his aunt, Renata Piza. "He goes to church every week. He was so excited about turning 16."
Grandmother Drewes said he always greeted her on the phone by saying, "I love you, Nana."
"He's what you'd call the ideal son, just too good to be true," she said. "If there was some way I could understand this. It was so pointless."
sarah_eisenhauer@pbpost.com,cynthia_kopkowski@pbpost.com
Wow. You've totally convinced me with your logical arguements there.
You are totally ignorant here
And even I don't go around knocking on people's doors at o'dark thirty.
WAit for the truth and don't believe the "facts" just you read it in a newspaper befor the investigation is complete
Actually, the newspapers "facts" were totally in favor of the punk and against the homeowner. So I don't believe them.
My characterization of tthe kids will come out as accurate.
So there was more than one "kid" that knocked on the door? I guess these poor angelic kids were simply trying to deliver cookies and free Bibles at 1:00 in the morning.
It certainly appears that way.
Third, most states do NOT permit defending property, per se, with deadly force. If someone breaks into your home, then all bets are definitely off.
Fortunately, my state is not one of them. But anybody who does live in a state like that should certainly be smart enough to put a knife in a dead burglar's hand. THEN all bets are off - - case closed.
The kind that do home invasions here in the Pittsburgh area.
Yes, a reasonable juror would ask the question, "Why wouldn't you ask, 'Who is it and why are you knocking on my door?' before even opening the door late at night?"
The standard in most cases like this is "What would a reasonable person do in this situation?" A person fearful enough of a threat to carry his firearm to the door might reasonably be expected to ask (through the door) who the hell is knocking before opening the door and firing without conversation.
When you walk to the door with a loaded firearm, you are proving you expect trouble. When you take no reasonable steps to rule out a harmless visitor, you have acted like someone who WANTS to shoot first and ask questions later.
Were you ever 16?
This is the part that makes no sense. If the kid was shot in the back, then the homeowner should be prosecuted. But if the kid was shot face on, then he was not playing "ring and run" was he? And if that was the case, what was he doing?
I think there is plenty more to the story.
Clearly this nice (210 pound 6 ft plus) kid (whos religious associations are repeated throughout the story) didn't play knock and run well (or wasn't at all) so that is one clear lie if he was indeed shot while facing the homeowner.
Also was "nice" of the presstitute as to how the "suspects" contact and business information with the state placed in the paper for all to read before he is officially tried in court or not. CHL, property value, business's over the years.....ect ect.
What kind of burgler knocks ?....we all know from years here at FR how many cases of home invasion by those alledgedly seeking assistance, pretending to be LEO's, or just knocking on the door and pushing their way in , we have read about in the news. This happens all over the country.
If the kid was shot running away then I have no problem with the man facing trial by his peers. If this 210 pound 6'2" ..."child".... was standing toe to toe on private property with an armed homeowner at Oh Early Thiry on a Saturday morning playing games with a friend of the same size/age while being a good boy, well liked, popular at school, birthday boy ect ect his parents should have some splainin to do also. I had a curfew while I lived at home with my parents. What's this 6'2" ..210 pound... child doing out so late ?
Presstitutional Passion at it's best here IMO.............Stay Safe SLB !
Twice within the last three years I have been awakened to late night hard banging on my door.
The first one was the week after 9/11, 12:30am. I went to the door and yelled "who is it?". A accented voice yelled back "Pizza delivery". Without opening the door, I sent him away. Loaded 12 guage was trained at the door the whole time.
About a year later at 3:00 in the morning, I was awakened the same way, this time a guy was yelling like a mad man, "HELP, YOU HAVE TO HELP!" Turned out to be a drunk that had taken out a telephone pole with his 4 wheel drive about a half mile down the road. He tried to drive it home, but only made it as far as our place. I told him to hang on a minute. I verified the damaged truck with a flashlight through a second story window. The people across the street had heard the commotion and were also flashing a light at the truck from thier doorstep. I went down and opened the door, shotgun ready and aimed. The guy was in shock and a bloody mess. I never let him inside, and never let go of the gun until the cops got there.
While both of these guy's were stupid (and the first one was out and out suspicious)niether one died for their stupidity.
Not a capital offense though. Negligent homicide at least. I feel bad for the homeowner but a lot worse for the kid and his family.
That is a flawed premise. I might say that answering your door at 12:30am without a gun is asking for trouble.
Reasonable doubt that LeRoy was going to use the tire iron to assault the homeowner. Hang the miserable SOB.
Case 2: Walking after dark, our responsible person hears a scream, and goes toward it. A man is crawling all over a woman, partially unclothed in the shadows of a hedge, she is saying what sounds like 'Help, Rape!', muffled by his hand. Our man pulls his weapon. The man jumps up and aproaches, cussing at our responsible person, threatening to kill him. She is screaming unintelligibly. He shoots. The couple had been drinking and was playing 'games' in their back yard, he shot the husband.
The reasonable doubt standard for defense provides that any reason the accused might be innoccent in the face of the evidence should be applied to find the defendant innocent.
If 'reasonable doubt' should be applied in the instance of intent to commit bodily harm, bodily harm must be committed. The application of that standard to a potential threat renders the person defenseless until the wrong has been done, at which point, the victim may be unable to respond on their own behalf.
A better standard is that which requires circumstances which would reasonably cause a person to assume that serious bodily harm or death are being prevented by the use of lethal force.
Being aware that things are not always what they seem makes a person more cautious about pulling a weapon. Watching the news would be enough to make a person trigger happy. A lot depends on perceptions.
I agree that a pattern of behaviour on the part of the deceased might help with the defense, as would a good reputation on the part of the shooter, but they are only supporting evidence, at best.
Did the deceased act in a way which could have been interpreted as life-threatening?
Were there other reasons the shooter might have credibly believed his life in jeapordy, even if unrelated to the deceased?
These are key questions in sorting out this situation, and bear heavily on the shooter's actions and intent.
IMHO, he should have waited until someone was forcibly entering the home, warned them, and only then, if they persisted, fired. By then he should have had 911 on the line, to at least record threats to himself, noises of breaking glass, etc.-all before taking the shot, if there was time. He was foolish, perhaps, to have not made sure the deceased's intent was patently clear. But he may have been scared sh!tless, and acted out of panic.
There is no way to know how you will react until the chips are down.
BTW, I have friends from the Tarheel State, and it is a lovely place, but I live in North Dakota, not North Carolina and can't attest knowledgeably to their laws.
I see. Well, how about this? "I just wanted to tell you smoke and flames are pouring out of your attic. I called the fire department but wanted to alert anyone in the house."
Are you gonna shoot a neighbor who would wake you up to save your life?
How about, "Your son was injured down the street, Mr. Smith, and I thought you'd want to know immediately."
Not everyone who knocks on your door late at night needs to be shot dead.
Thanks!
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