Posted on 04/24/2007 6:32:15 AM PDT by Fudd
Damon Wells is the man gun supporters were imagining when they fought for the right to carry concealed weapons.
He had a permit to carry his gun, and he had the gun on him when a pair of teenage thieves approached him Saturday night on his front porch in Cleveland.
When one of the youths pulled a gun, Wells drew his and shot one of the boys several times in the chest, police said. Arthur Buford, 15, died after stumbling away and collapsing on a sidewalk near East 134th Street and Kinsman Road.
City prosecutors decided Monday that Wells, 25, was justified and would not be charged for what appears to be the first time a concealed-carry permit holder has shot and killed an attacker.
Nonetheless, the shooting reignited the debate that flared three years ago when Ohio's concealed-carry law took effect.
Gun supporters said the weapon saved Wells' life. Opponents said it took Buford's - that the 15-year-old might be alive if a citizen had not been armed.
An angry throng of about 30 youths gathered Monday and set up a memorial at the intersection where Buford, a freshman at John F. Kennedy High School, died.
His cousin, Tameka Foster, 21, questioned why police did not punish Buford's shooter.
"They let that man run out freely," Foster said. "My cousin is dead."
Buford's accomplice disappeared after the shooting and had not been caught as of Monday night. Police found a .38-caliber handgun in the mail chute of a nearby house. They believe it belonged to Buford or the other suspect, Lt. Thomas Stacho said.
Police took a .40-caliber Smith and Wesson firearm from Wells as evidence, the police report shows.
Both sides of the gun debate said it was sad that a teenager died.
"It's tragic," said Jim Irvine, chairman of the Buckeye Firearms Association. "Anytime somebody dies, it's tragic, but it's hard to have any sympathy when he chose to have a gun and go threaten somebody's life." Irvine said it was "great that a potential victim is able to continue his life instead of having a criminal take it."
Toby Hoover, of the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence, said she had not heard of any other fatal shooting involving a concealed-carry permit holder.
"This is one of the few where they actually used it to stop a crime," Hoover said.
But, she said, "there's still a dead kid here."
A man who answered a phone number for Wells refused to comment and hung up. No one answered the door at Wells' home.
Plain Dealer reporters Jesse Tinsley and Brie Zeltner and researcher Cheryl Diamond contributed to this story.
I don’t have a problem with it, myself. =]
Then I am doubly sorry then. Yee haw.
The criminal announced that he considered the value of the law abiding citizen's life (call that 'l') to be less than the value of the law-abiding citizen's money ('m'). I would say the value of the law-abiding citizen's life is at least equal to that of the criminal's ('c').
Basic algebra dictates that if m > l but l >= c, then m > c. It wasn't the law-abiding citizen who decided his money was worth more than the criminal's life. It was the criminal who made that determination. The law-abiding citizen was merely honoring it.
Damon Wells and his home appear no longer safe.The .40-caliber handgun that Wells carries legally for defense may not be enough to protect the 25-year-old man and his home in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood.
Sunday night, a day after Wells shot and killed a 15-year-old who threatened him with a gun on his porch, Wells' home was under siege. Police sent a car to guard it.
Now the doors on his house are boarded up; the windows, too.
No one appears to be home.
Outside Wells' home Tuesday night, a crowd of about 50 people gathered to mourn Arthur "Ace Boogie" Buford, whom Wells killed during the attempted robbery.
Vigil organizers called for young men to turn away from violence and from turning on each other. They called on those present not to be poisoned by rap music that promotes violence and not to support music companies that produce that music.
Near Wells' home, a utility pole has become a makeshift shrine where sympathizers are leaving stuffed animals, notes and balloons.
Most of those gathering there are teenagers, and they are angry, shocked and sad. They say that no matter what police and court officials say, Buford never did anything wrong.
They don't care that Cleveland prosecutors said the shooting appears to have happened in self-defense. They want justice.
Buford was on probation for robbery, said Lt. Thomas Stacho, police spokesman. He had robbed a couple of guys just five blocks away from Wells' house in August 2006.
Cleveland police are still looking for Buford's accomplice. Homicide detectives met with 4th District detectives on Tuesday to compare notes and look at similar robberies from the area in hopes of finding their suspect.
Police recovered surveillance camera tapes Tuesday from the Murtis H. Taylor Multi-Service Center on Kinsman Road. The building's cameras point toward Wells' house.
The video appears to have some value, Stacho said. There is nothing to contradict what Wells told police, Stacho said, but the video may contain information about what took place before and after the shooting.
The video quality is poor, but the tape will be enhanced, he said.
Police dealt with a similar case in 2004. Five youths tried to rob 59-year-old Bill Singleton outside his check-cashing business on Lake Shore Boulevard. He had recently obtained a concealed-weapon permit. He and Rhyan Ikner, 17, exchanged gunfire. Both died.
Even though Buford's accomplice didn't fire a shot, he could face murder or manslaughter charges because someone was killed as a result of his committing a felony.
Meanwhile, rumors are circulating among the teenagers. Several of Buford's friends, who declined to give their names, said Wells fired seven shots - the first few from his porch and then more after chasing Buford down the block. Stacho said Wells fired three shots.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
My incident had the same noises from the rest of the family. 'We will find you alone some night.'....'Your days are numbered.'....'We know where you live."
Those kind of threats. I knew the whole family was instigating it. They had made their threats against me in front of a lot of people. So I paid them a visit with a 12 ga. Didn't point it at anyone. Just told the people there, some of their friends and a lot of the family, that if they wanted to kill me, I was right there, right now. Let's finish it so I can back to my life or shut the hell up.
They backed off. I reminded them, that it was not my fault what had happened, and if I saw any of them anywhere near me, I wouldn't hesitate to put a hole in them, no warning, no discussion. Since they had already made the threat public and in front of too many witnesses, the local sherrif said I would be in the right.
Kinda like the old saying: "You can count the apples in the tree, but not the trees in the apple."
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