Posted on 02/27/2005 6:43:56 PM PST by Mr. Mojo
Injured teen's family wants charges, but homeowner claims self-defense
OAKLAND — A North Oakland man branded a "snitch" because he reports and photographs drug dealers around his home may face assault charges after shooting and wounding a 16-year-old neighbor who confronted him in his front yard.
Neighbors and police have rallied to the defense of Patrick McCullough, who they believe only shot the youth in self-defense. The youth's mother is pressing the district attorney to file charges.
Deputy District Attorney James Lee said Friday his investigation of the Feb. 18 incident is over and a decision should be made next week. Lee could be charged with assault or carrying a concealed weapon, or not charged at all, Lee said.
McCullough, who lives near Bushrod Park with his wife and young son, said he had spent part of that Friday afternoon watching Power Ranger cartoons with his son before heading out to shop for dinner, leaving his wife and son at home.
When he walked outside, McCullough said about a dozen young men and a couple of women were standing in front of his house. Someone called him a snitch, and when he replied, the 16-year-old charged him, McCullough said. They traded blows, McCullough said and the group started circling around; somebody threw a stick at him.
At that point, he said, the 16-year-old ran to a separate group standing near his neighbor's property, and he heard him ask for a pistol. When McCullough saw another man lift his shirt, showing a gun in his waistband, and the youth reach for it, McCullough said he feared for his life and didn't hesitate.
McCullough said he was aiming for the youth's torso and hit him in the arm. McCullough was arrested and spent the night in jail. The youth, who'Snitch' claims
self-defense
lives down the street, was taken to Highland Hospital and treated for a damaged artery, Lee said.
McCullough and his wife moved into the home in 1994 with the help of Oakland's first-time homebuyers' program, which requires them to keep the house for 20 years.
He has made no attempt to hide his reports to the police when he sees drug dealing in the neighborhood, and in April 2003 he caught the ire of Wayne Camper, who, with two associates, beat and kicked him in his front yard.
Camper was charged with assault. In the middle of the trial, Camper was shot and killed by a rival drug dealer.
McCullough said he has suffered much more harassment since then, and started carrying a gun, which he has owned for quite awhile, whenever he leaves the house. Just a few months ago, he said, somebody heaved a 15-pound chunk of concrete through his front window.
He said he is not a vigilante but someone who has been forced to protect himself and his family in the sanctity of his home.
"If I was a vigilante, and I have weapons, why haven't I gone out and shot anybody?" he asked. "I didn't shoot Camper, and if this kid hadn't said 'give me a gun,' I wouldn't have shot him either."
Lt. Lawrence Green, PSA commander for North Oakland, has gone to bat for McCullough and stepped up patrols around his house.
"He's the victim, he's the one that was dumped by a group of kids," Green said.
"They precipitated the entire event, and when they are referring to him as a snitch, they are upset about him calling police.
"It's an escalation of events that started with Wayne Camper. Nothing would have happened if the kids would not have confronted him," Green added.
McCullough said he plans to petition the city to let him out of the contract with no economical hardship because staying in the house is not safe for him or his family.
His aim is not too bad -- something like 80% of handgun bullets miss their target when fired by trained processionals, but he got a hit.
He may be a hero but he needs work on his sanity. There are thousands of other towns in the country he could live -- places that won't expose him or his family to the risks that he now faces.
I think that Jerry Moonbeam is still running things ~ that's the ultimate blame for this thread's topic.
I moved out after two years, about fifteen years ago. Though the weather and amities were swell, the native language and culture were not adaptable, mallable, or workable.
Excellent point.
This is the only part of your post I can take issue with. Housing prices are pretty crazy now, even in Oakland. The only place you can find a shack for under $400,000. in the Bay Area is North of Ukiah (Willits); East of Sonoma-Napa Counties (Lake County); or near Vallejo-Fairfield.
bump
And I remember the Berkeley Campus of the mid70s. Believe or not, it was a really lovely and relatively safe place for a youngster to hang out. And like you wrote; sit at a table alone, and find lots of friendly people to visit with. it's so different there, now.
You are still young, beautiful, and carefree. Laughter and Joy are ageless!
The parents of the shot thug are part of the problem. A MAJOR PART OF THE PROBLEM. They take no responsibility for how they've raised their own. They see deep pockets. They've got their own racket going within the community under the rubric of "identity politics".
From this story, it sounds like groups of people should get together, perhaps using the legal tool of a syndicate of even incorporation, to buy up whole neighborhoods, in Oakland, and rehabilitate them, while retaining control over their own safety and protection of their investments.
Imagine the turnover value of a gated community in that area. Also if such communities could be developed they might bring in people who would make more realistic choices in the government's actions.
The Oakland Board of Education gave birth to the idea incorporating Ebonics in to their curriculum as a legitimate foreign language.
Ya gotta drag the punk back inside the doorway to make it legitimate.
Me, too, but I'm trying to make up for lost time. ;o)
it sounds like groups of people should get together, perhaps using the legal tool of a syndicate of even incorporation, to buy up whole neighborhoods, in Oakland, and rehabilitate them, while retaining control over their own safety and protection of their investments.
Could work.
I heard Mr. McCullough interviewed by Barbara Simpson on KSFO am radio in San Francisco last evening. Good interview, sad situation. Makes me sick how the perps are now the victims, and actual victims are punished if they have the temerity to fight back and protect their homes and families.
I understand your reasoning, parents should not get a FRee pass., agreed.
In Oakland, gangs are problem number 1 or very high up there,, also, doesn't Oakland have the highest paroleee population in the state?
It seems to be a breeder ground for crime and criminals.. and not to mention the sideshows where innocents get killed just for having turned down a wrong street at night.
Back to the real world... NormsRevenge, thank you for hearing me rant. I dug up an old article concerning Oakland, and Jerry Brown I thought you'd find a perfect capper to this recent event, published October 25, 2002, CCTimes:
Oakland residents call for more police
---snip (no pun on the anti-circ stuff..) Critics of a ballot initiative authorizing 100 new police officers to fight Oakland's rising murder rate are slamming the plan as a misguided and costly approach. "This is not going to really solve any problems," said former Black Panther Bobby Seale, who recently moved back to Oakland and appeared at a news conference Tuesday denouncing the initiative.
I'm in the process of compiling a ping-list for firearms-related self-defense stories. If you want to be on it, Freepmail me and let me know.
Please! Thank you.
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