Posted on 01/15/2005 8:54:08 AM PST by Mr. Mojo
A would-be robber became a victim of his own crime last week after he was shot in the stomach by a Brighton man he was trying to rob, police said.
Police arrested Sean E. Roisten, 29, of 833 Jette Court, and charged him with unlawful possession of a firearm and assault and battery with a deadly weapon on a robber who was holding Roisten's wife at gunpoint.
The robbery suspect was transported to the hospital for a gunshot wound to the stomach. The suspect is expected to live. Police seized $59.25, three lighters, a set of keys, a box of Newport cigarettes, a tape cassette, a miniature toy gun, steel wool and a glass tube from the suspect. Police also seized a gun shell fragment with human tissue on it that was removed from the suspect.
Police are trying to work through various witness accounts and the crime is currently under investigation.
Roisten told police he was upstairs in his apartment with his wife and 5-year-old daughter waiting for his friend to return from the store with food when he heard a someone at the front door. Roisten called out, but was met with silence, and his wife went downstairs to see who was at the door, police said. When Roisten's wife opened the door, she was greeted by two men in ski masks and one man forced her back up the stairs at gunpoint, police said.
"He's got a gun!" Roisten told police he heard his wife scream as she was pushed up the stairs. Roisten told police he ran up to the third floor, retrieved his silver Smith and Wesson .40 caliber handgun and took cover behind a kitchen wall. When Roisten peeked around the hallway corner, he saw the robber emerge from the stairs holding his wife in a choke hold and pointing a black handgun at her head, police said.
The armed robber demanded money. Roisten said he had no money, but told the robber he could take anything from the house if he freed his wife, according to police.
The second ski mask-clad man then called up to the gunman that it was time to leave. The gunman began descending the stairs with Roisten's wife, police said. Roisten told police he rushed the stairs, slid down the railing, bent the suspect's right wrist and took possession of the gun.
Later, police received a call for a gunshot victim at 1505 Commonwealth Ave. Roisten then claimed he disarmed the suspect with his left hand and shot the suspect with his right as the suspect fled out of the front door, police said.
In the rear of 1505 Commonwealth Ave., police found a Sony hand camcorder, a black ski mask and a white skull cap. All were held as evidence.
A short while later, Roisten's friend returned to the apartment with a gash on the top of his head. The friend told police that while on his way to the store, he encountered a man in front of 32 Fidelis Way who claimed to have lost his keys. When the friend offered to help him find them, the man pulled out a handgun and forced him inside the hallway of 32 Fidelis Way, where they were joined by the second suspect, police said.
The first suspect demanded, "Give me Sean's keys," but when the victim told the gunmen he did not know what they were talking about, they struck him over the head with the pistol numerous times, police said. The victim told police he eventually gave the suspects his own keys. The suspects then bound the victim's hands behind his back with a belt and his ankles with his shoelaces. The victim finally worked himself free and returned to his friend's apartment. After giving his account to the police, the victim was taken to St. Elizabeth's for medical treatment.
Police found that Roisten's license to carry a gun expired last August and arrested him. Police took custody of Roisten's gun and the black Colt .45 handgun that Roisten claimed he took from the suspect.
Sad that someone must have government permission to a firearm when the second amendment clearly protects the right to do so.
And we pick on Merry Ol' England for this??
The robbery suspect was transported to the hospital for a gunshot wound to the stomach".....Must have been fleeing backwards!
New York is that way also. You need a permit just to view and touch a gun at a gun store, or to fire a pistol at a range.
Because it's the land of overtaxed peons, Massachusetts. This might actually make a decent second amendment case, at least on the illegal possession charge.
I like the way you think!
And you complain about too much theatrics. Remember that his wife was down there too.
And God help you if you light a cigarette ...
The problem with needing a permit to exercise a Constitutional right!
Amen.....and a natural/God-given right, at that.
You are so correct.
I think he had the man's wife as a hostage.
A "hint" as to the ethnicity of the robbers?
Re your post 19, funny but just as soon as I posted my original item, I thought of Texas and figured that this "rule" wouldn't apply there. Note that I did say "almost all jurisdictions."
Please ping me if you find any more info.
The BIG difference between MA and TX; is the in MA you are expected to vacate your home if a robber intrudes. This runs counter to every fiber of my being. A felon enters my home, and by law I'm required to flee; to let the felon take/destroy my possessions!!
Now, if the felon were foolish enough to do this to a politican's home, the results would be far different; but the part that irritates me the most is that I can order a pizza and have it at my door in 30 minutes or less; the same can not be said for most police jurisdictions. And the pizza guy doesn't have lights, sirens and an over-sized engine with free gasoline.
Hey, I'm just quoting from the story that Roisten says he shot the guy as he was fleeing. If the BG was shot in the stomach, that's bad on the part of Roisten since he's being quoted in a statement contrary to his best interests, now isn't he?
You're 100% right (I like your sense of humor, too :)
Have you ever wondered why the rules in Texas haven't spread? I have. The rules are pretty simple; if you don't own it, don't take it. If it isn't you house, don't go in until invited.
In some areas I have lived, if you dropped in on a friend unannounced, and rang the bell and received no answer, one may open the door to the house and go in. That simply doesn't happen down here. Unless you are a family member, or CLOSE personal friend, you never enter a house unless invited in.
Why do the other states take the legal position that by default protects the criminal? Wouldn't the logical action be to protect the victim, investigate and if this were a set-up ("Hi, come in" ..... bang) move to press charges? I like it down here, I've lived in the Mid-west; the Pacific North-west, and Texas. I'm back down in Austin; and I ain't never leavin.
Zig Zag pattern? That never works. "Serpentine, Sheldon!"
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.