Posted on 11/13/2018 10:59:09 AM PST by yesthatjallen
A white retired firefighter in Michigan found guilty of firing a shotgun from his porch at a black teenager who knocked on his front door because he was lost was sentenced Tuesday to four to 10 years in prison.
Jeffrey Zeigler, dressed in a grey jumpsuit with his hands shackled in front of him, appeared in an Oakland County courtroom where a judge sentenced him to two to 10 years for one count of assault with intent to do great bodily harm and two years for one count of felony firearm. He was convicted on Oct. 12.
The sentences will be consecutive, meaning Zeigler will serve at least two years for the assault count and another two years for the firearm count, the judge said.
Zeigler, 53, was seen on home surveillance video around 8:20 a.m. ET on April 12 shooting at Brennan Walker as the teen fled down the street. Walker told police that he had missed his school bus that morning and got lost as he was walking through Rochester Hills.
Walker, 14, said he went to Zeigler's home to ask for directions to Rochester High School, where he is a freshman.
"I knocked on the door, stepped back, knocked, stepped back, and then a lady came downstairs yelling at me," he told NBC-affiliate WDIV in April.
Walker said Zeigler's wife picked up the phone to call police, reporting that “a black male was trying to break into her house.”
Ziegler, a retired Detroit firefighter, grabbed his shotgun and chased after Walker, firing one round as the teen fled.
"I was running away ... I was trying to run away faster and I heard a gunshot," Walker said.
You can’t see the kid in the picture when the shot goes off.
What’s the felony firearm charge? Is that using a firearm in a felony?
Birdshot, yes. Buckshot or slugs, though...absolutely not.
And to the larger point, you should never shoot warning shots.
https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2018/10/john-boch/personal-defense-tip-just-say-no-to-warning-shots/warning-shot-770/
The video shows night and day this guy (the convicted) is guilty as sin... He even lied to the police when he told them the gun went off when he fell...
This guy deserves to go to prison... this is the kind of buffoon that makes all gun owners look bad.
Maybe you’d be better as a democrat.
This happened near where I live and that’s pretty much the way I see it, from what I’ve read and seen in the local news. The wife believed he was casing the home.
Four to ten felony bad?
And anyone who watched the video of this guy and thinks what he did was legal and ethical, isn’t just gullible but downright stupid.
This guy deserves to go to jail, he knew he effed up, and lied to the police about his actions... This is the kind of fool that gives all gun owners a bad name.
I can’t argue on the homeowners actions. It was a bad shoot. Not one that I would have even considered. However, if you think this kid missed his bus and didn’t know which way to get to school and he was just knocking on doors for a little help. You are wrong.
Yep, ever ounce of 4-10. Hope this fool gets the max... Tired of stupid idiots with guns making everyone else look bad.
This guy absolutely deserves to have the book thrown at him.
Another wannabe democrat
I agree. This is not how you react to someone casing your house.
I guess walking on the grass ought to be good for 3 to 5 in prison where you're from.
Didn't hurt anybody, but let's ruin his life? Doesn't seem right to me.
No apology necessary, FRiend. :)
Oh don’t waste your time pointing out the facts... every year or so we get a case like this, or worse, where some moron with a gun does something insanely stupid and gets prosecuted for it...
And every time, when that moron gets his deserved punishment, all the gun rights trolls show up trying to argue the guy did nothing wrong.
This guy was a fool, and deserves every ounce of his punishment.
Gun rights advocates need to realize, some people with guns do STUPID and illegal things, and deserve the punishment they get.
This guy (the defendant), and people like him, give every responsible gun owner a bad name.
Go watch the video... He’s no victim. He’s a criminal, and got what he deserved.
He lied to the police, telling them Oh I fell and the gun went off, I didn’t mean to shoot at him...
This man deserves his punishment, and got it.
Your position does not strike me as one which should be taken seriously.
I don't think any of it matters because no one got hit.
His civil rights?
What rights are you claiming he had violated? He was given due process and convicted in a court of law. Please tell me what rights you think this guy had violated, when he decided he was going to shoot at another human being who posed no threat to him?
Your argument is beyond foolish. The guy knows he broke the law, which is why he LIED to the police, and said, oh mr officer, I fell and the gun went off... Not the truth that he took aim and fired...
This guy is no victim, he’s a criminal, and people like him give responsible gun owners a bad name.
And now we know why they hanged witches in Salem.
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