7-year-old faces 2 felony charges for shooting BB gun

wsoctv.com ^ | April 2, 2013 | Trish Williford

[Gorilla44]

CATAWBA COUNTY, N.C. —

He looks like a typical 7-year-old boy, but on Tuesday night, Sam Grant is facing charges that many adults never will.

He is charged with two felonies for something that happened when his mother turned her back for just a second. His parents told Eyewitness News that they're outraged.

"We are both just shocked. We have been in a state of shock over this," said Ray Robbins.

Sam's parents said this scenario began in February when Sam was playing outside with his BB gun. They said he began shooting at an abandoned house right across the street, but instead, Sam shot two cars as they were passing by.

Sam's mother, Cherry Robbins, immediately called the Catawba County Sheriff's Department.

"The officer told me he did not want to charge my son, the lady told me she did not want him charged. The next thing I know, I am getting a letter from the DPS saying he has been charged with two felonies," said Cherry.

Sam is charged with two felony counts of discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle. If convicted he faces one year probation and hundreds of hours of community service.

[TheOldLady]

Click a Fist!!       Thank you, Mr. Laz A. Mataz

Don’t fight with the little fellow!
He would win, you know…

Please help abolish FReepathons
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[Bshaw]

Juveniles are not “convicted,” they would be adjudicated as a delinquent and their record would be scrubbed when they turn 18.

[cherry]

we are going to have to stop reporting on our families, friends, neighbors ....we're going to have to be like the inner city blacks....don't tell the cops anything...

we have deranged prosecutors who just need a little face time and love to go after the Christian whites and will think nothing of over charging to make them look good...see the Duke case and the Zimmerman case as an example...

[cherry]

how many freepers as young boys( or girls) set ant hills on fire, accidentally starting a fire of say, a telephone pole?

my brother did....horrors to think he would probably be charged with a felony at that time....

[Salamander]

I dunno but the cop’s blase’ comment was chilling.

[gunsequalfreedom]

Crossman 760 Powermaster pump BB gun. My Christmas present at age 8 and still in my collection.

[Salamander]

I’m very sorry the guy is dying but that still counts as suicide, IMO.

Lucky for him he didn’t die.

[Axenolith]

IIRC, Michigan is the only state to do so...

[gunsequalfreedom]

Wow, great picture.

[Salamander]

My dad would have just ripped my stupid head off before the cops even got there.

Still, a felony charge is madness.

Too bad the kid didn’t have a dad like mine.

[allmendream]

“Sam’s mother, Cherry Robbins, immediately called the Catawba County Sheriff’s Department”

Well I hope some very important lessons were learned!

You take care of your own problems and NEVER call the police on a family member unless you want them shot (and possibly any dogs around) and/or charged with felonies.

Mom should have reconsidered trusting her 7 year old with a BB gun - and taken it away for a couple years - then made him very very sorry that he did such a stupid thing.

[Karliner]

Well this was dangerous and stupid back in the day but we had a tree fort war once that leveled up from thos pump action toys where we’d jam a bunch of mud at the end and pepper each other, to BB guns but it all went a BIT awry when the neighbors came out with their 22’s!
no one was hurt. The 22 neighbors went to juvi for ten days and got a nasty beating from the ‘mad major’ a very angry nam vet( it was 1967 or so and he was between tours).

This is out of hand. BB-guns will poke and eye out or like my dummmy briother still has a pellet in his foot from a pellet gun but a felony? A felony? Oops two felonies to a seven year old? Good God help us.

[RobinOfKingston]

Actually, it’s the people at DPS (what ever the hell that is) that lack the “critical component.”

[BCW]

This is one more reaction to anti-gun legislation — and yes, the prosecutor wants to make a name — you know - for public safety...soon there will be Directive 10-289

[MasterGunner01]

Since the 7-year old has been charged with two felonies, he must be convicted by a court ASAP, and publicly executed in the town square as an example to others. I'm certain the local NC Catawba County Sheriff's Department can provide officers with dog shooting experience to get the job done on this 7-year old criminal. No more BB gun shooting for you, kid!

[Dead Corpse]

I understand it though. A lot of the airsoft/paintball stuff looks pretty real. If you wait until they pull the trigger, it may be far too late.

Apply the oft unused “reasonable man” standard. If someone pointed that at you... What would you do?

[CrazyIvan]

I could probably get this charge dropped in my town. I’ve still got a BB in my leg that the neighbor kid put there years ago. He’s now the mayor.

[CharlesWayneCT]

I don’t have sympathy. A BB CAN cause damage to a car. And if the window was open, he could have hit the driver, and it could have caused an accident.

Now, I doubt the kid will ever actually be convicted of anything. But if a report is made, kids have to be punished for stuff like this.

When I was a kid, the one time I was truly terrified was when I was walking through the woods and some boys decided to use me for target practice, and started shooting me with their BB guns. It hurt like hell, and they pursued me for several minutes before the tired of it.

[CharlesWayneCT]

I say different. The kid peeing in his front yard is doing something that is perfectly natural. Nobody would get a ticket if their dog was peeing in the front yard.

This kid shot and hit two cars. I doubt he’ll be convicted of anything, but he committed a felony, so being charged with it isn’t shocking. Given that there ARE 7-year-olds in less nice areas of the country that are actually trying to commit violent acts, you can’t just make a blanket rule that no 7-year-old should even be charged.

It’s after the charges are filed that the real discretion will start. Unfortunately, what is likely to happen here is that the parents are in big trouble for letting their child shoot a BB gun at cars.

[so_real]

First, I would not have called the police if I had felt it was something to joke about. Second, rocks were not being dropped off a bridge, but thrown horizontally from a sidewalk. Third, no one was injured and no property was damaged. Fourth, the children were five or six years old and a "talking to" from an officer is certainly sufficient to deter them from escalating their offense.

Compare apples to apples. I would not subject these first graders to a felony charge and criminal proceedings. If you would have, then shame on you.