All I see is weeds and bare spots. If this lawn were in my subdivision, I would have to turn the owner in for failing to take care of the lawn.
Posted on 03/21/2006 3:03:05 PM PST by xzins
Police: Man Killed Teen for Walking on Lawn By LISA CORNWELL ASSOCIATED PRESS
BATAVIA, Ohio (AP) -
0321dv-lawn-shooting A man who neighbors say was devoted to his meticulously kept lawn was charged with murder in the shooting of a 15-year-old boy who apparently walked across his yard.
Charles Martin called 911 on Sunday afternoon, saying calmly: "I just killed a kid."
Police, who released the call's contents, said Martin also told the dispatcher: "I've been harassed by him and his parents for five years. Today just blew it up."
Larry Mugrage, whose family lived next door, was shot in the chest with a shotgun. The high school freshman was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Martin, 66, allegedly told police he had several times had problems with neighbors walking on his lawn. He remained jailed without bond Monday. His jailers said no attorney was listed for him.
Neighbors said Martin lived alone quietly, often sitting in front of his one-story home with its neat lawn, well-trimmed shrubbery and flag pole with U.S. and Navy flags flying.
Joanne Ritchie, 46, said Mugrage was known as "a good kid," but she always also considered Martin to be friendly.
Union Township is near Batavia, about 20 miles east of Cincinnati.
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Associated Press Writer Dan Sewell in Cincinnati contributed to this report.
"You have no idea what this kid was like..."
Apparently he wasn't very big into respecting private property.
There's gotta be a lot of backstory to this.
Thanks for the information. I know that there must be more to this story than we have been hearing so far.
That's what I'm suspecting. I wouldn't be too surprised to hear that this kid had been tormenting this guy constantly, and he snapped.
With what I know now, the best outcome is this: Guy pleads guilty to manslaughter, gets fifteen years, dies in prison, and parents warn their kids to stay the f--- off of other people's private property.
The guy was wrong no doubt, but I'll be willing to bet the kid would be alive today if the parents had taught him to respect. That's what is missing today.
I wouldn't particularly mind someone walking on the grass, but actual vandalism gets old pretty quick. Some idiots drove down my street recently and knocked down every mailbox.
My new mailbox post is made of reinforced concrete sunk three feet into the ground. They'll have a heck of a time knocking it down!
That isn't what at least one of the articles said.
Mislead?
For crying out loud. Where I have been there are a lot of unfenced yards. Ok?
It looked weird to someone who had never seen one.
Geeze. Overreact, why don't you.
I'd be way too tempted - in answering the 911 call - to pull up, see the kid dead and put a bullet in the "man's" head.
And the liberal establishment will have a great time permitting some family to sue you because their drunken teenager hits it and suffers more damage because you decided to protect your property.
On top of that, I will be accused of being a "coward" when I suggest that the teen and his parents should have been more disciplined, rather than suggest that you murdered the teen for the sake of your property.
I don't intend to respond to some other posters who seem unable to hold two thoughts simultaneously. The man doing the shooting is a murderer. And it is very possible, based on reports that the authorities had been called in the past, that the dead teen was committed to making the man's life miserable.
I would expect more from Freepers who should be able to separate out these two issues. Being directed entirely by emotion is a liberal trait that results in many counter-productive laws.
Your first statement is true.
Your second statement is not necessarily accurate. Some people call the cops when it is not justified. Generally the cops know exactly who these people are. As do the other neighbors.
Possible in many cases. As I live on the end of a cul de sac, it's pretty tough for somebody to have enough speed up to kill themselves when they ram my mailbox.
Just enough to mess up their car. :)
The fact that you think that it is fine that he hunted the kid down in the middle of the street is just unbelievable.
I never said any such thing!!! Where do you come up with that? I'd gladly pull the switch too! It is just I know how kids can be, how mean they can be. This guy was obviously wound too tight in the first place.
Yes. Somehow someone got the idea that I'm all for this guy killing a kid. I'm not.
But I do understand how absolutely horrible kids can be and how they can harrass people to no end.
That being said, it does not justify a someone blowing away ANYONE for lawn violation. However, it seems to have been a lot more than that. Apparently he'd done it earlier and they'd had words about it, and he came back across a second time with friends, according to the reports.
This guy will probably spend the rest of his life in jail.
This is what I've tried (or did try) to explain to my sons all their lives. If you go around asking for it, sooner or later you're going to run into someone who will be that crazy and give it to you. My youngest in particular always seemed to have a chip on his shoulder and would do stuff like this. Sure, the guy was wrong and will pay, but the kid is still dead. What part about "leave people alone" don't kids seem to get.
don't intend to respond to some other posters who seem unable to hold two thoughts simultaneously. The man doing the shooting is a murderer. And it is very possible, based on reports that the authorities had been called in the past, that the dead teen was committed to making the man's life miserable
Totally agree. Kids at times think they can do whatever they want, and they run into the person wound too tight.
Personally,
I think lawns are evil and a big waste of space ;)
You step on my weeds all ya want.
The life of a 15-year-old versus footprints on a lawn. Somewhere along the way you clearly lost your humanity.
All I see is weeds and bare spots. If this lawn were in my subdivision, I would have to turn the owner in for failing to take care of the lawn.
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