Posted on 04/27/2007 8:54:33 AM PDT by Paved Paradise
Damon Wells will not go home. He is a pariah in his neighborhood. The 25-year-old Cleveland man shot one of the two teens trying to rob him at gunpoint on Saturday in front of his home. The youth he killed, Arthur "Ace Boogie" Buford, was 15. Since the shooting, windows in Wells' home have been shattered and are boarded up. Many in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood have sided with Buford and his accomplice rather than with Wells. Two people close to Wells want to defend him publicly, but they will speak only on the condition of anonymity because of rumors of retaliation. They say Wells is in hiding now, leaning on his family and his faith in God. He is struggling with grief for the boy's family and frustration with how the community turned on him. The trouble began about 8:30 p.m. Saturday with a trip to the corner store less than a block away, but even that can be dangerous in this Mount Pleasant neighborhood just north of Kinsman Road. Last year, one out of 100 residents in the blocks around his home on East 134th Street north of Kinsman Road was robbed or seriously assaulted, according to a Plain Dealer analysis of police data. Wells was prepared. He wore a .40-caliber Smith and Wesson pistol in a shoulder holster. It is unclear if a shirt or jacket hid the holster. That day temperatures rose to 68 degrees. It is also not known what, if anything, Wells bought at the store. He has declined to comment, and police have been guarded in the details they have released. On the way home, Wells saw two teens. One was Buford, who was on probation for a 2006 robbery. He was wearing black sneakers, RocaWear jean shorts and a baggy white T-shirt. The two teens approached Wells - one went in front of Wells, the other behind. He told police he felt threatened. Contrary to previous reports, Wells did not get to his porch. Police say he reached the porch steps, but before he could climb them and run inside to safety, one of the youths - it is not clear which - pulled a handgun and said, "Don't move or I'll pop you." Wells put up his hands. The second youth reached for his pants, and Wells later told police he believed the robber was reaching for a second gun. Wells quickly drew his handgun and fired three shots. One hit Buford in the chest. Both boys ran, but Buford bled profusely. He didn't get 15 yards before he tumbled onto the sidewalk not far from the corner store. A surveillance camera from a building across Kinsman was pointed toward Wells' home. Police have not released the tape, but they said the image quality was poor. It could not have captured a shooting in front of Wells' home. A crowd began to gather around Buford. Emergency workers rushed him to MetroHealth Medical Center. He was pronounced dead at 9:18 p.m., about 30 minutes after the shooting. Back at home, Wells went inside and put down his gun. A woman in the house and several frantic neighbors called police. When they pulled up outside, Wells was there, hands in the air. He told them the gun was inside. Investigators found three shell casings and blood. On Kinsman Road, they found a handgun that they believe was used in the attempted robbery. They took Wells to jail. He answered their questions and, after consulting with city prosecutors, police released him. Police said all the evidence suggested he had done nothing more than what he had to do. To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: gbaird@plaind.com, 216-999-4141
Yeah, I was wondering if there might be race angle to this story myself.
(Although the thug mentality is just as likely, perhaps even more, to go after their own for fear of losing control over an obviously intimidated population...)
Obviously, it's a language thing. Perhaps the perps really meant that they were offering the homeowner a soda?
Of course I know. Born and raised here. That’s why I said it’s not a mistake. Interestingly enough, the guy who started much of the humor about Cleveland was a native of Cleveland and is now a mentally ill, drug-addicted, homeless man. He just came back to Cleveland and people HERE are taking care of him. He was some big shot in the 60’s and wrote for all the big comedy shows (e.g. Get Smart).
Sad to know it was one of our own. I resent the insults since I have traveled extensively throughout the U.S. and to many other countries. We have our problems, for sure, but for the most part the people here are great. I find East Coasters to be snobs and a lot of West Coasters to be total kooks.....
Just my 2 cents.
That’s pretty funny. LOL. Actually, maybe it was popcorn he was offering.
It’s just like it was in the old Italian neighborhoods when the “Black Hand” came to the US. They scared people into not cooperating while the mobs took over the community. That is how the black gangs are working today.
They need a Giuliani type government! I’ll bet they have dimocrat appeasers and victimhood whiners.
Ahhh, my eyes!!!
My read on this - the PD intended this to be a "look how evil guns are" moment (after all, the PD publishes a list of CCW permit holders on its web site). Instead, public reaction was that the young punk justly reaped what he had been sowing in his short life. The follow-up columns from the PD this week were a retreat from its original, gun-control stance.
very funny wise guy.
You gotta love that street culture. If you don’t get caught, you done nothin wrong. The dead man is to be honored because he got shot...does not matter why, he was just gettin his.
Any wonder why our cities are in the toilet.
No. Actually, PD has been pretty neutral on this one (amazingly). Article in yesterday’s paper said they expect CCW holders to increase now.
What I hope to see happen is that some of these little thugs and thugettes might think twice about “popping” someone. The only thing that gets me is how they are persecuting the poor guy who defended himself.
Good shooting anyway, regardless of the "righteousness" of the shoot.
It’s crazy, isn’t it? Some of the comments were exactly that; about how hard it is “down there” and so on; comments such as “hey, we should be “axin’” why these boys gotta feel like they gotta do this stuff to begin with.
My thoughts: HUH?????
What don’t they get about this picture that we do? Like, maybe it’s “hard out there” because of these little monsters.
Meanwhile, a local community, Maple Heights, is going to put a law on their books that parents will be responsible for their teens’ crimes - jail time, fines and such. Lots of controversy on this one.
It is infuriating to me that we hear the same rhetoric over and over when there is an act of violence in these areas, or an innocent person, usually a child, is killed. People complain and call for it to stop, but nothing really is done. Of course what can the residents do when the courts keep releasing the criminals, or we hear the jails are “over crowded.”
When members of the community embrace the life of a gun toting teen though, then I say they get what they deserve. The next time a 15 year old kills while commiting a “robbery” don’t ask why, or don’t march in the streets demanding an end to the violence.
Maybe this guy will move the hell out of the shiitehole known as Cleveland.
A move out in the country would do him good.
Well said. I think the next time I see them “march,” and they do it ALL the time, I’m going to write a letter to them.
Another thought. This “kid” is poor, right? I wonder how much he paid for the gun. They always seem to have expensive shoes and I know guns aren’t cheap. Where do they get the money for this stuff?
Are they reporting on a robbery/shooting or a fashion show?
I wonder how come the Al Sharptons and Jesse Jacksons are not out protesting about the damage black on black crime does to black neighborhoods? Why aren’t they defending the rights of a black citizen to be safe in his own home and neighborhood? This man deserves thanks and honor, instead he gets this load of crap.
Some areas are so bad I honestly think that they should be declared CCW zones. Instead of neighborwatch signs a few
Warning Residents Carry Concealed Weapons might cause some punks to back off.
Maybe they’re pointing out how expensive the jeans were (who knows).
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