Posted on 02/28/2008 7:29:27 AM PST by rawhide
A man is facing a murder charge after authorities say he shot and killed a motorcyclist who followed his daughters home from a department store.
Richard Harold Gear, 45, claimed he was acting in self-defense when he shot Bryan Joseph Mough around 6:45 p.m. Monday as Mough drove his motorcycle past Gear's house, Oconee County Sheriff Scott Berry said.
The daughters, ages 17 and 19, had called their father on a cell phone to tell him they were being followed, Berry said. As they arrived home, Gear was waiting at the end of his driveway with a pistol, Berry said.
Mough, 21, drove past the house, turned around and made another pass. Gear fired his .40-caliber semiautomatic gun two or three times, hitting Mough once in the back, Berry said.
Gear called 911 after the shooting, as did neighbors, and sheriff's deputies arrested Gear on a murder charge, Berry said.
"He made an unspecified claim of self-defense," Berry said.
Mough was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Gear's daughters and Mough apparently left the parking lot of a Target in nearby Athens around the same time Monday evening, Berry said. Tempers flared as the drivers headed west toward Bogart.
Gear's daughters told investigators Mough cut them off, they made obscene gestures at him and Mough ran into their car at one point, Sheriff Berry said.
"There is evidence of a collision between Mough's motorcycle and the vehicle operated by Gear's daughters," Berry said, adding authorities do not yet know who initiated contact.
"We've got questions about how it happened," he said.
Investigators went to Target for witnesses and looked at surveillance videos but found nothing to indicate Mough met the girls inside the store or in the parking lot, Berry said.
Following people home in a road rage incident is always a bad thing.
SOP in a road rage case is to lead the pursuer to the nearest police station...NOT YOUR FREAKING HOME!
Let’s say those two girls caused an accident and tried to run away? Perhaps he was following them. This thing could go either way, but I’m guessing there was no need to shoot the guy, even if he was angry. Showing him you have a pistol would have likely done the trick.
I bet there is more to this story. If the daughters are as stupid as the father I would not be surprised if they instigated it and he was trying to folow them after a hit-and-run, only to find dad there with a gun.
I am ONLY speculating an alternate story... so please lets stay polite people...this place is getting very rude lately
There will be no repeat offenses though.
That settles it. This guy will not be harassing any more young women in the future.
more to this story here:http://onlineathens.com/stories/022808/news_2008022800152.shtml
My guess is that he thought they cut him off and went into a rage. That seems to be the usual thing. Motorcyclists should NEVER mess with people in cars or trucks. It’s bad juju. Just let it go.
Bad decision on behalf of the father. Proving imminent danger in this case is going to be difficult. Unless there is a lot more to the story, I’m afraid this one is fuel for the Anti-2nd Amendment crowd.
Sure I believe that, guy on motor cycle cuts off car.
The old man is going to jail for a good while.
You got that right. With respect to this incident, poor judgement on the part of four people IMHO. If the girls were responsible for a hit and run, the motorcyclist should have gotten their license plate number and description of car and driver and turned it into police. The girls should have driven to the nearest police station if it was the motorcyclist's fault. Dad should have left the firearm in the house and made a call to police before the daughters arrived at home. No commen sense among these people.
I am ONLY speculating an alternate story.
You're not alone in considering this possible scenario. I'm having a hard time digesting a guy on a motorcycle intentionally ramming a car.
Waiting for more details.
Yeah. Murder charge is correct. On the face of the story there is no self-defense claim. And if it was me I would not have even shown my pistol.
I am curious as to the type of motocyclist. I am also curious as to the location and nature of the damage on the motorcycle.
It is also relevant if the girls were fleeing the scene of an accident. Bump and run. (let’s not forget the two little bratty girls who stole the money from a girl scout selling cookies in front of a supermaket and the girls were all indignant everyone was making a fuss)
Not that we have enough information here, but I wonder if this is a case where the girls hit the motorcycle, flee, the motorcyclist follows them because of the accident, the girls panic and invoke their father’s protective nature, then father goes to jail for life because of two girls.
Remember FR reported a while back where a neighbor father killed a falsely accused neighbor just on a daughters abuse claim say-so?
I tend to agree with you on all your points. My money is on the girls being rude spoiled brats who did something wrong and ran home to daddy. All to often, todays I-Me generation dont think they need to be held accountable. Just my opinion as to what I see all too often.
Not unheard of. I;ve seen bikes passing cars between lanes and moving between cars. It didn't make me mad but maybe the girls felt like he didn't respect them or they thought that he thought they were fat when he did it. It's hard to know why girls do stuff. Following them around was pretty dumb. You have to let that stuff go.
Perhaps it was the girls that cut off the motorcycle, causing him to run into the vehicle.
However, if that was the case - why not just get the license plate down and report the hit-and-run?
I dunno, something just doesn’t add up here...
You need to read the link in post #8.
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