Emergency room records show teen prankster shot in back

AP ^ | 11-03-03

[AAABEST]

BOCA RATON -- A 16-year-old boy killed during a seemingly innocent late-night prank was shot in the back, according to emergency room records.

The medical reports were released Saturday by the attorney for the teen's parents, who said they show he posed no threat to the neighbor who shot him.

Mark Andrew Drewes and a friend had been knocking on neighbors' doors and then running away Oct. 25. He was shot by neighbor Jay Steven Levin, 40, who told police he mistook the 6-foot-2 teen for a burglar.

"It shows he was running away," said the Drewes' attorney, Robert Montgomery. "Nobody was coming at (Levin)."

Montgomery announced Friday that he planed to file a wrongful death suit against Levin on behalf of Mark Drewes' parents, Gregory and Luciana Drewes.

Levin has not been charged in the shooting. His attorney, Bo Hitchcock, did not immediately return a phone message Sunday.

Mike Edmondson, spokesman for Palm Beach County State Attorney Barry Krischer, declined to comment on the hospital report.

Information from: The Palm Beach Post, http://www.pbpost.com

[Joe Brower]

Ping.

[harpseal]

if the teen was shot in the back the homeowner will be facing prison.

[Orange1998]

So, if someone is stealing your garden hose at night you can shoot them....even in the back...no, especially in the back since they'll probably will be running away.

I would call that Vigilante style force. I would have a hard time explaining to friends and family that I shot someone in the back "especially" as they were running away over hubcaps. Regardless if the law says you can kill everyone in the car and get no-billed.

I think the shooter was lucky to get no billed. BTW, I am from Texas.

[Dallas59]

One of the more frightening and potentially dangerous crimes that can occur to a family is a home invasion. A home invasion is when robbers force their way into an occupied home, apartment or hotel room to commit a robbery or other crimes. It is particularly frightening because it violates our private space and the one place that we think of as our sanctuary.

Home invasion is like the residential form of an automobile carjacking and it is on the rise. Like the crime of carjacking, most police agencies don’t track home invasions as a separate crime. Most police agencies and the FBI will statistically record the crime as a residential burglary or a robbery. Without the ability to track the specific crime of home invasion, little can be done to alert the public as to the frequency of occurrence in their community or devise a law enforcement plan of action to control it.

CRIMINAL PROFILE

Residential burglars work mostly during the day and when a residence is more likely to be unoccupied. Most burglars work alone and tend to probe a neighborhood looking for the right residence and the right opportunity. Alarm signs and decals, bars on windows, strong locks and doors, big dogs, and alert neighbors can sometimes deter burglars. Also, burglars will avoid a confrontation and will usually flee when approached. Most burglaries do not result in violence unless the criminal is cornered and uses force to escape.

Home invasion robbers, in contrast, work more often at nights and on weekends when residences are more likely to be occupied. The home invaders will sometimes target the resident as well as the residence. The selection process may include a woman living alone, a senior citizen or a known drug dealer, for example. It is not unheard of for a robber to follow you home based on the value of the car you are driving or the jewelry you are wearing. Many home robbers have been in your home before as a delivery person, installer or repair vendor. Home robbers rarely work alone and rely on an overwhelming physical confrontation to gain control and instill fear in their victims. The greatest violence usually occurs during the initial confrontation and home invaders often come prepared with handcuffs, rope, duct tape, and firearms. Some in-home robbers appear to enjoy the intimidation, domination, and violence and some even claim it’s a "rush."

DANGEROUS TRENDS

The act of committing a home invasion is escalating much like carjacking. The reason for the increase seems to follow a similar pattern. Much like automobiles, the traditional commercial targets for robbers have hardened themselves against criminal attack and have reduced available cash. Technology has allowed commercial establishments to install affordable video surveillance systems, silent alarms, and other anti-crime deterrent devices. A residence can appear as a more attractive choice.

Home invaders know that they won't have to overcome alarm systems when the home is occupied or be worried about video cameras and silent alarms. Home robbers have privacy once inside and don’t have to deal with customers suddenly driving up or security patrols. Once the offenders take control of a residence they can force the occupants to open safes, locate hidden valuables, supply keys to the family car, and PIN numbers to their ATM cards. Home robbers will try to increase their escape time by disabling the phones and sometimes will leave their victims bound or incapacitated. It is not unheard of for robbers to load up the victim’s car with valuables and drive away without anyone in the neighborhood taking notice.

METHOD OF OPERATION

The most common point of attack is through the front door or garage. Sometimes the home invaders will simply kick open the door and confront everyone inside. More common is when the home invaders knock on the door first or ring the bell. The home invader hopes that the occupant will simply open the door, without question, in response to their knock. Unfortunately, many people do just that.

Home invaders will sometimes use a ruse or impersonation to get you to open the door. They have been known to pretend to be delivering a package, flowers or lie about an accident like hitting your parked car. Once the door is opened for them, the home invaders will use an explosive amount of force and threats to gain control of the home and produce fear in the victims. Once the occupants are under control the robbers will begin to collect your valuables.

http://www.crimedoctor.com/homeinvasion.htm

[FITZ]

I can see lethal force against those robbing you --- but a teen prankster is only an annoyance. You do have a right to protect your property --- but the knocking and running is different. I bet this guy had run-ins with these kids before and decided this time to just get them good --- kill them.

[Travis McGee]

The guy had had windows broken by paintballs and BBs in the past, so he was no doubt ticked off and on a short fuse.

On the night in question, if there was only one "ring and run" on his house, the ringer would have been way down the street before the home owner awakened and made it to his front door.

If this incident happened at close range, say under 20 feet, I think the ringer was doing it repeatedly, that is, wait for the lights to go back out, and then sneak back to the door and do it again. This is a really sick level of harrassment, coming after windows broken with paintballs etc.

I'm guessing that after the first or second ring and run, the home owner armed himself, turned out the lights as if he had gone back to bed, and then waited just inside by his front door, burning with rage.

The kid came back for another ring and run, and didn't run far.

Would this be homicide, no matter how angry the home owner was, no matter the level of provocation by the neighborhood punks? Yes.

But you have to wonder about how many times he had called the cops for help, and gotten no help at all.

[Travis McGee]

This guy is going to go to jail, and he should.

But I hope that the parents of the local affluent neighborhood punks and creeps and jerks also do some soul searching, about their little angels shooting out windows with paintballs and BBs, and doing repeated ring and runs after midnight to the targets of their special mental torture.

The home owner will go to jail, but the teenage paintball punks (and their parents) are guilty too.

[FITZ]

I think parents should be very careful and talk with their kids about this kind of thing. There are too many scared people out there who are jumping at their own shadows. Plus loonies who can't tolerate kids. Kids have always pulled pranks --- but times are changed.

[FITZ]

I would also blame the police for probably being less than helpful when the homeowner called them before on the neighborhood pranksters. Here we have a curfew on kids ---11pm and it's strictly enforced --- parents have to pay a pretty steep fine if their kid is picked up after 11pm.

[TankerKC]

Well...you have been on Free Republic only a year and a half.

I guess that is a substitute for a real point.

[xrp]

Well...you have been on Free Republic only 5 years.

I guess that is a substitute for a real point.

[Frunabulax]

There was a thread on this about a week ago where I was defending this guy for guarding his property .... allow me to take a minute to say taht this guy should be wired for sound at this point.

Killing criminals is one thing ... shooting them in the back is quite another. Misdemeanors do not rate pursuit and use of deadly force.

Same here. I believed this fellow's story before, but now it's starting to stink. If it's true that he shot the kid in the back, I hope he rots in prison.

[Squantos]

I'm gonna wait for the "official" medical report that will "prove" facts before I confirm the shooters a sinner or saint. My initial read on this is that the homeowner "wasn't arrested" at the scene thus evidence at the scene that night made first responders believe the man acted in self defense. Based on my experience as a deputy.... that he walks free still has merit as to who ,what and when versus a little-gators "statements" from a hospital report.

A hospital report can relate the entry and exit wounds thus the kid did have a bullet hole in his back and that alone reported will drive the sympathy/outrage of the community which in turn will drive a DA to do something...anything......at least charge the guy with highway mopery , jaywalking er somethin.

Interesting case indeed. Keep me posted if ya will when ya see more AAA.

Just my "opinions" from my couch, a hunnered miles away....Stay Safe !

[Held_to_Ransom]

Don't forget it was 1;30 in the morning. People are groggy just rousted out of sleep after a long days work, and in my neighborhood, no one stranger has ever knocked on the door after 9 PM in the last 50 years. Besides, in the dark under a porch roof it's hard to see.

Only an idiot harrasses people who are asleep. No, he didn't deserve to be shot, but if only his idiot parents had taught him even the most rudimentary forms of courtesy, this would never have happened.

[Squantos]

Good Post.........Stay Safe !

[On the Road to Serfdom]

From Article:"It shows he was running away,"

That is a lie. How can it show he was running? He may have been running away, and if he was half way to the street and was then shot in the back, then the homeowner would be in the wrong. On the other hand, if he was hiding in the bushes with something in his hand, and spun around just a fraction of a second before being shot, then that is a different situation. Not enought information so far to know which is the case.

By the way, does anyone know whether the kids friend can be charged with murder, or is that just for people in the act of committing felonies? I know there was a case of a father shooting a robber holding up a Blockbuster where his son was getting off work. Robber B was charged in the Robber A's murder since they were robbing the store together when the father killed Robber A in self-defense.

[wku man]

In my concealed carry class last year, the instructor gave us an example of when it would be justified to shoot someone in the back. An intruder into your home, if armed with a firearm, can be shot even if his back is turned to you. The reason is he could get off an unaimed snap shot, which at close range, could very well hit you, or go through a wall and hit your kids or wife in the bedroom. Of course, before shooting, it might be a good idea to tell him to halt, drop the weapon, lie down flat on the floor and don't move, etc., while waiting for the cops to arrive.

I defended this guy last week, saying I would wait for more info before finding him guilty. Well, if it's true that the kid was shot in the back, he should be taken to meet Old Sparky. Defending your life (and property if you live in a state with sane laws) is one thing, but shooting a kid just because he's an annoying punk is a different story.

Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!

[demlosers]

Ping... More info on prank shooting story.

[CobaltBlue]

News reports that the shooter dialled 911 after he shot the kid.

The story that's told in the local news is that he saw a shape outside the window, picked up his gun, opened his door, fired, then dialled 911.

The kid who was with the dead boy said they saw the homeowner come out the door brandishing his weapon, and tried to run.

Someone who lives in the neighborhood posted last night, and said the kid was running towards home, he lived about ten houses away, and that he was many feet from the house at the time of impact.

Ain't no way this guy skates.

[On the Road to Serfdom]

How was the point of impact established? That seem to me to be the most critical information.