Posted on 04/29/2006 3:37:39 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
The owner of an Andrews-area convenience store, accused of taking the law into his own hands after he witnessed an alleged gas drive off Wednesday, is charged with two counts of assault and battery with intent to kill. Dennis Cooper, 52, the owner of Cooper’s Six Mile Crossing Convenience Store allegedly chased and then fired shots at a vehicle after the driver reportedly drove off without paying for $28 worth of gas.
According to an incident report, the ordeal began about 4:20 p.m. Wednesday when 18-year-old Joshua Jennings, of Gray Court, S.C., and 18-year-old Jacob Skelly, of Fountain Inn stopped and pumped gas into the truck they were driving.
Cooper, who was inside the store, saw them start to drive away before they walked inside to pay, so he allegedly jumped in his SUV and gave chase.
The suspects drove down Highway 521 and onto Kent Road headed toward Highway 17A. When they got close to that intersection, Jennings and Skelly saw Cooper coming up behind them.
“This is when Cooper began firing shots at them as they turned left on US 17A and then right on Highway 521 trying to avoid the gunshots,” Sheriff’s Department spokesman Sgt. Neil Johnson said. “Cooper continued to chase and fire shots striking the vehicle in the back glass.”
When Skelly, the passenger, began screaming he had been shot, Jennings pulled over.
Deputy Kevin Holt was the first officer on the scene. When he arrived he saw Cooper holding the two men on the ground at gunpoint. Skelly, who was bleeding from his head, “was begging to get treatment from EMS,” Holt reported. When the medical team arrived, it was determined Skelly had not been hit by a bullet but by glass from the broken truck window. He was transported to the hospital for treatment. Jennings was uninjured. There was one bullet hole in Jennings’ truck, according to Johnson.
Jennings said when he stopped his truck, he tried to check on Skelly but Cooper “slapped him in the head, so he got down on the ground,” Holt’s report states. All three men were arrested. Jennings and Skelly were charged with for failure to pay for gasoline. Cooper’s .45 automatic was placed into evidence. He was released from jail Thursday under a $40,000 bond.
Because it was an honest mistake and they didn't lead them on a car chase. They did not intend to steal, these boys did.
The article says he fired "shots" at them, but only one bullet hole was found in the truck. I'm glad some innocent bystander wasn't hurt by his reckless shooting.
I'm sure they did, but if somebody came up behind me and started shooting, I'd probably run too. The thieves are in the wrong for stealing the gas, the shooter is wrong for trying to kill somebody for $28 worth of gas. I don't know about their state, but in Oklahoma, you just right down the tag number and the cops pick them up. I hate thieves, but what next? Will we condone shooting shoplifters running down the sidewalk too?
I was back in CA on vacation a couple years back and some of the stations had a pay cash at the pump device. You feed paper money into it like you would a change machine. It took bills up to $20, but you'd have to go inside for your change.
Oh, I doubt he'd get a slap on the back for attempted murder. In what part of Texas do you think the cops would give him a pass?
The best this fool might hope for is a no bill.
Will we condone shooting shoplifters running down the sidewalk too?............ I have no problem with that if that is the only way to stop them without puting the victim in jail. Why is it so many people here think it is OK for LEO's to use deadly force but not for a citizen trying to recover personal property. And there is no monetary value put on property in the Texas statute. Just the word property.
I'm not so sure that it will remain a misdemeanor. That designation -felony or misdemeanor, is usually based on the value of what was stolen.
Most I would hope. As I stated earlier if this had happened in Texas the victim would have been well within his rights. He was in active, not passive, persuit.Passive persuit would be if one of his clerks told him and he went hunting them down, not chasing. The thieves would not stop, They had his property.
victim in jail. =victim in harms way.
I think there is a law against discharging a gun on or over a road.
That is when hunting game during season, not in active persuit of a criminal that just stole your property and will not stop.
They won't have to. Before this is over the little punks will own a gas station and convenience store.
I live in Texas. Specifically, San Antonio.
Cooper would most certainly find himself cooling his heels in the Bexar County Jail.
The thieves would not stop, They had his property.
I don't believe you've correctly interpreted the defense of property law. Just from the responses in this thread you can tell most people believe there wasn't anything reasonable about Cooper's conduct.
The theft occurred at 4:20 in the afternoon, daytime. Would that make a difference according to the Texas law you're relying upon?
Under what circumstances would Cooper have lost a right to use deadly force in defense of his property?
In Texas, Cooper would be dead meat.
Texas law forbids the use of a gun on a person for anything other than self defense. You can not play Rambo and chase people on public roads and discharging a gun because they stole property...you can't shoot a thief in the back if they are fleeing your property WITH your property...NOW if for example you are sitting in your car and a nut job walks up to you with a crow bar and waves it at you...BAM his ass can be all yours!
Active persuit. He saw them steal and leave with his property and he chased after them.That is the key word, active persuit. Had he lost sight of them and then spotted them lets say an hour later he can not then use deadly force to recover.. This has happened many simmilar times in Texas and as far as I know the store owner was within his rights to recover stolen property. No different than if when waking up from a nap in the middle of the day you see some one stealing your tool box from your backyard. If you see them leave with it you can persue and recover and yes even use deadly force IF any other action would result in your bodily harm. You have the right to confront a thief caught in the act. But, you have to catch them in the act and the property in their possesion. If while chasing the thieves with your tool box and they throw it out the window, you have recovered and can no longer persue them with the threat of deadly force.
Yes you can defend and recover property with deadly force under certain circumstances.
It all goes back to one of the basic rules of Firearms Training 101:
"Never point any gun at anything you are not willing to or don't intend to destroy."
sounds like a scene out of a dirty harry movie. Guy's got the part cold right down to the slap up side of the head of one of the punks. Have to chuckle although he won't be chuckling after the police get done.
Fresh pursuit, is what it is called.
Cooper unreasonably used deadly force.
Thank you for your detailed explanation. But I sure hope you do not rely upon it to chase down the bad guys, especially those committing misdemeanors, at best.
Apparently, you have a copy of the statute. Make yourself a checklist and check it off against the circumstances reported in the story. I don't see how you can come to the judgment Cooper was entitled to use deadly force in these circumstances. And, if he were in Texas, he sure as heck best pray passenger Skelly is convicted of theft. Otherwise, Cooper absolutely had no right to use deadly force.
Thanks for the conversation. Enjoyed it.
List the circumstances...
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