Posted on 12/17/2009 4:58:55 PM PST by Red in Blue PA
A southwestern Illinois man claims he shot in self defense when a 17-year-old gang-banger attempted to break into the home where he was staying Tuesday night.
Law officers, however, tell another story. They say the 38-year-old shooter fired at the teen from a distance of 75 to 100 feet away. And -- they say -- the teen wasn't trying to break into the house. He was shot while spray painting graffiti on the garage in the backyard.
The incident occurred unincorporated Collinsville just down the street from the Fairmount Park race track. The teen was found a few blocks away near the intersection of Collinsville Road and Black Lane and rushed to a St. Louis hospital with a wound to his chest and back.
According to the St. Clair County Sheriff's Department, the teen is a member of the Latin King street gang and a resident of St. Louis who's known to frequent St. Clair County. The sheriff's department says the teen purchased three cans of spray paint earlier that day in Collinsville. He's currently listed in stable condition at the hospital.
Sheriff deputies have arrested the 38-year-old man who fired the shot on charges of aggravated battery with a firearm. They say he is not the owner of the residence, but rather friend of the homeowner who was staying at the home.
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.riverfronttimes.com ...
If committing a minor “crime” such as trespassing or tagging a garage is grounds for execution without trial, I wonder how many of the people here all hot to see someone gunned down for the same would have would be dead as a result of a minor stupidity committed in their teens - I certainly would be.
The Latin Kingss are some of the worst of the worst. Read about them. leanr.
THEN come back and talk.
The Latin Kings rose to be one of the most feared and revered gangs inside and outside the penal system in the state of Illinois. The Latin Kings ordered “hits” against correctional officers, killed disobedient members and did not hesitate to commit violence against rival gang members. Latin King gang members would follow orders and vowed to lay down their lives for their “Nation”. Unfortunately, this also meant extreme internal discipline and organized fear. One such story goes as follows:
In 1983, an inmate by the name of Carlos Robles was considered an escapee two days before he was scheduled to be released from the Illinois Department of Corrections. Years later, a high-ranking Latin King, who turned informant, gave the FBI critical information about the location of Carlos’ skull and the bloody tale of how the Latin Kings butchered him and fed him to the Stateville Prison inmate population for dinner.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_Kings_(gang)
Oops, sorry about the triple post.
A totally agree with that. I find myself surprised to say. You’re right.
“Get off my lawn!” comes to mind.
We've got our own sources for tracking them down, which we do, and then we bring the heat.
Their houses are watched constantly and the PD is notified of the smallest infractions. I've literally seen gang bangers arrested for spitting on the street.
We photograph and video their activities and we don't back down. They're made VERY aware that a significant portion of the homes on the block have external video cameras which record their every move.
We track down the owners of the (almost always)Section 8 properties and send them by registered mail copies of my towns Nuisance Property Ordinance. That gets the landlords attention.
In short we take no shit from these people. As a result they don't last long in my little corner of the world.
L
None of these things was what this individual was doing at the time - he was tagging a garage, and could easily have been a “wanna-be” or a peripheral gang members - that’s for example the case with most of the teens caught tagging garages in my neighborhood with “gang-related” stuff.
Now, tagging is a real PITA - it can cost hundreds of dollars to repaint a garage, and the city is Johnny on the spot with a fine if I don’t immediately remove graffiti - and I’m right there with the poster who suggested that anyone caught tagging should spend a month or two removing other people’s tagging.
But tagging is not a capital offense - and as to the gang angle, the individual who shot this tagger had no way of knowing if he was actually was a gang member or not.
Wrong!
The guy was arrested for interferrring with police union job security.
Certainly is too; you have any idea how much capital it wastes?
> In short we take no shit from these people. As a result they don’t last long in my little corner of the world.
Your neighborhood is the sort of place I wouldn’t mind living in. I bet you even keep track of their marks, maybe even digitally. Using smarts against thugs is a winning strategy.
As Mister Punch says “THATssss the way to DO IT!”
“Approving the killing of a kid”
That “kid” would kill you just to prove himself to his friends.
> A totally agree with that. I find myself surprised to say. You’re right.
(Grin!) Thanks!
Perhaps oddly, I’m not at all surprised that you agree. Our methods won’t be too different; neither our rationales, when you think about it.
An enemy that leaves behind its spoor for all to see is an overconfident fool that is easy to track.
I don't know about that. It ain't the best part of town. Truth be told we don't have the nicest houses, drive the best cars, or have the greenest lawns. Compared to some parts of towns it's nothing to write home about.
But it is ours and we've worked very, very hard for what we have.
As far as using technology goes, you betcha. Digital cameras with time and date stamps are used whenever we see their little markings. And we make ourselves a royal pain in the ass until the Village removes any of it from public property.
The Nuisance Property ordinance is pretty ruthlessly used, too. Absentee landlords find out really quick that their property can not be used as Gangbanger Central around here. They'll lose it.
That really helps. I don't know if NZ has anything like that but you might want to look into it.
Merry Christmas to you my friend.
L
(BIG GRIN!) Merry Christmas to you, too, Mate!
> Are you aware of the rampant gang problem in the USA? From the sound of it, I don’t think you have a clue, no offense intended.
I’m a Guardian Angel, a National Director, and by definition I am well across the US Gang problem. I have to be, because it gets exported to New Zealand and elsewhere.
The US is about 20 years ahead of NZ in its gangland issues. So your gangs are more sophisticated and more corporatized than ours, who are more clumsy and brutal, yet less sophisticated than yours.
> Gangs rules parts of every major city. Until we as a nation undertake the dirty job of taking this country back, all is lost.
Yup. I agree.
> The chaos on the Mexico border is not far behind if we cannot control gangs.
Yup, I agree with that, too. Controlling gangs will not be achieved by putting good men — like that shooter — into gaol by misusing his right to be armed.
All that he managed to achieve is to re-affirm what the gangs already know: they are well protected by the same rights as the rest of us are. And if someone breaks the law to get at them, that person will go to gaol. Which is (paradoxically) as it should be.
The Bad Guys don’t mind going to gaol: for them it is a Badge of Honor and an opportunity to Network and to attend “Graduate School for Crims and Scroats”. Upstanding Citizens fear and hate going to gaol. They are victimized and brutalized by the experience.
The shooter does not properly belong in gaol, except he did a criminally stupid thing.
He would have been wiser joining the Neighborhood Watch or the Guardian Angels, who could help him put these scroats off the streets and/or preferably behind bars.
In Texas, trespass after dark is legal justification for the use of deadly force. Damage to property only increases the justification. IOW, “Good shoot”.
Good ol’ Texas. They do things differently there.
I think you could make a convincing argument that the very act of spraying Latin King graffiti on your property is enough to make a reasonable person fear for their life.
The gang is a known criminal organization with many murders to their credit. How close are you supposed to let these morons get?
Unless this kid was making a 10 cent lemonade sign, I would not be inclined to indite the shooter.
Yes indeed. That perspective is really wise. Thanks for a very useful “nugget.” I collect them, and they are rare.
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