Posted on 10/26/2003 4:41:29 AM PST by lifacs
Sunday, October 26
Teen pulling prank killed by neighbor
By Sarah Eisenhauer and Cynthia Kopkowski, Palm Beach Post Staff Writers Sunday, October 26, 2003
A birthday celebration capped off by an early-morning round of mischievous doorbell ringing ended in the death of a Boca Raton-area teenager early Saturday after a neighbor who believed his home was about to be burgled shot and killed the boy, deputies said.
Mark Andrew Drewes, a popular Pope John Paul II High School sophomore who celebrated his 16th birthday at a party Friday night, died from a single gunshot wound at Delray Medical Center. The shooting occurred shortly after 12:30 a.m. in the Woodbury neighborhood, a quiet, upper middle class neighborhood in the Boca Del Mar region.
The man who shot Drewes, Jay Steven Levin, 40, was not arrested, Palm Beach County sheriff's spokeswoman Diane Carhart said. Investigators questioned Levin at his home at 6115 Woodbury Road and collected evidence but did not take him into custody, Carhart said.
"He's a homeowner there," she said. "He was very cooperative."
The Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office will review the evidence and determine whether Levin's actions were justifiable self-defense or grounds for criminal charges, spokesman Mike Edmondson said.
When Levin, a Palm Beach County businessman who lived alone, was awakened from his sleep by a knock at the door early Saturday, he armed himself with a handgun and answered it, deputies said. He told deputies he saw someone he believed was holding a weapon.
Levin fired one shot, hitting Drewes, according to deputies. The boy ran into a neighbor's yard and collapsed.
"He feared for his life," Carhart said of Levin, adding that the teenager was 6-feet-2 and 210 pounds. "So he's a big 16-year-old."
Gathered at a family member's home Saturday morning, Drewes' relatives disputed Levin's self-defense claim and said they were furious that he was not arrested and charged with a crime Saturday.
"How can they call that self-defense?" said a family member who asked not to be identified. "If they thought it was a burglar, what kind of burglar knocks?"
The previous night, the large family and a bunch of friends had gathered at the house on Woodbury, where the Drewes have lived for about 10 years, for birthday cake. The teenager had been eagerly looking forward to three things: his 16th birthday, when he would be able to trade in his learner's driving permit for the real thing; the family party; and his school's homecoming dance Saturday.
"It was such a good day," said his grandmother Patricia Drewes, who drove from her Stuart home for the birthday party. "He was so happy. He told me it was the best day of his life."
Throughout the evening Friday, Drewes and his friends darted back and forth between his home and the fall festival at nearby St. Jude Catholic Church and school, where he graduated from eighth grade two years ago.
About 11:30 p.m., Drewes and a friend decided to go for a walk, family members said.
"They were playing knock on the door and run," said one family member. "They were being silly. They weren't bad kids."
Family members said the teen who was with Drewes told them he was not holding anything in his hand.
Investigators did not find a weapon on the victim, Carhart said. They confiscated Levin's handgun as evidence, she said.
Carhart said ringing doorbells and running is not generally considered to be a crime.
Family contends teen was shot in back
The sheriff's office would not release the name of the teenager who was with Drewes Saturday morning. Nor would it confirm the family's assertion that morgue officials told them Saturday afternoon that Drewes was shot in the back.
Carhart said the sheriff's office did not know when an autopsy was to take place.
A shirtless and red-eyed Levin answered the door to his neatly landscaped home Saturday morning, but said only, "I can't talk to you," in response to a reporter's questions.
State records show Levin ran his own business called Caxin Consulting Inc. from his home since 2001. He filed papers dissolving that corporation in August. Before that, he was listed as president of two other businesses, which are now inactive, the Halifax Group Inc. and L&L Accounting Inc.
Levin has a concealed weapons permit, according to state records.
He has lived at 6115 Woodbury, which has a market value of $195,000, since December 1996, according to county property appraiser records. It's on the next block from the Drewes home, several houses up the street.
Levin's doorbell was not the only one the boys rang Saturday morning. Residents up and down the 6100 block of Woodbury reported being awakened by ringing doorbells and knocks shortly after midnight. Most said they sloughed it off or answered the door, found nobody there and went back to bed. But a second round of frantic pounding and shouting from Drewes' friend minutes later caught their attention.
"It was pounding, pounding," said Lauren Hahn, one of several residents who talked to the boy through her front door, then called 911. "He said 'Call 911. My friend's been shot.' He was hysterical."
Droopy-eyed neighbors repeated the same story as they gathered Saturday morning in small groups up and down the block, some just a few yards away from blood stains where Drewes fell.
Carol Quiroga, who lives across the street from Levin, heard nothing outside as she made her way to bed minutes before the shooting -- no arguing, no scuffling. A loud "pop," broke the silence, followed by someone saying calmly, "Call 911" once, then again, she said. What sounded like a boy's voice came next, saying "Help. I need help."
She expressed the same disbelief shared by Drewes' family and several neighbors.
"What is so important that you are defending that you need a gun?" said Quiroga, the mother of two teenage boys, before breaking into tears.
"Teenage boys do things like that," she said.
Determining whether Levin's actions were protected by the state's self-defense laws now falls to State Attorney Barry Krischer's office. Someone can use force to protect his home if he think it's being burgled, Edmondson said, but it can only equal the force he's being threatened by.
And that law doesn't generally protect homeowners who use deadly force against someone coming into their yards or on their sidewalks, Edmondson said. That's considered trespassing.
"A trespass would not constitute a breach of someone's safety," he said.
If Krischer's office determines that Levin acted legally, the case is closed, Edmondson said. If the state attorney believes it was an unjustified killing, worthy of a second-degree murder charge or a lesser offense, he will charge Levin. If the evidence isn't clear-cut and could point to a first-degree murder charge, then Krischer will refer it to the grand jury, Edmondson said.
A man in Louisiana was cleared of wrongdoing in 1993 after he shot a Halloween-costumed Japanese exchange student knocking on his door looking for a party in 1992. He turned himself in after a grand jury had indicted him on charges of manslaughter in the killing of Yoshihiro Hattori of Nagoya, Japan. Hattori's friend testified in the trial that he was carrying a camera when they knocked on Rodney Peairs' door.
A shattered Drewes family Saturday described Mark as an A student and soccer player, the type of kid who easily made friends with just about everyone he met. More relatives from Brazil are expected to arrive today, along with Mark's father, Gregory, who is captain of a private yacht and was in France Saturday.
Many of Drewes' classmates would learn of his death at Pope John Paul II High's homecoming dance Saturday night, said the Rev. Guy Fiano, the school's president. Counselors were scheduled to be on hand at the dance and Monday at the school, a Catholic private school attended by 925 students, including 250 in Drewes' sophomore class. A prayer service is planned Monday for the "very well loved" student, Fiano said.
"It's very, very sad," he said. "I think it's going to be a very stressful week."
Student called 'very polite, very respectful'
Word began to spread Saturday morning through St. Jude's festival, a few blocks from where the shooting occurred. Standing amid the cotton candy vendors and whirling carnival rides, several attendees recalled the slain teenager as friendly and well-liked.
Classmate Danielle Denofa, 16, put her hand over her mouth and gasped when she heard the news.
"He was really nice," said Denofa, who attended YMCA teen camp with Drewes this summer. "I can't believe that happened."
Tracy McCarver, who taught Drewes math at St. Jude Catholic School, remembered him as a "very polite, very respectful" youngster with "a good sense of humor."
After this afternoon's youth Mass at St. Jude, members of his Life Teen group, a faith-based social organization, are expected to attend a special meeting, said Kevin Cleary, the church's religious education director and youth minister.
"Everyone's in a state of shock because of the senselessness of it," he said. "He was a boy's boy."
He called Drewes a "delightful" young man who could be relied on to help with every pancake breakfast, raffle and car wash that cropped up on his youth group's schedule. Before every Sunday night Life Teen meeting, Drewes was there setting up tables, Cleary said. When they ended, Drewes stayed to clean up.
"He was a beautiful, beautiful boy," said his aunt, Renata Piza. "He goes to church every week. He was so excited about turning 16."
Grandmother Drewes said he always greeted her on the phone by saying, "I love you, Nana."
"He's what you'd call the ideal son, just too good to be true," she said. "If there was some way I could understand this. It was so pointless."
sarah_eisenhauer@pbpost.com,cynthia_kopkowski@pbpost.com
Laugh!
. . . but so true.
That is an excellent point. I wonder if the homeowner's story can be confirmed?
Another thing I wondered about was the gun. The story doesn't mention what kind of gun it was other than being a handgun. If the kid was able to run to a neighbor's yard after being shot, this was no high-powered gun.
I know I certainly would not. I'm just not that scared I guess.
Darwin moves in mysterious ways.
Evidently the presstitutes account of this event is different from the LEO's first hand knowledge or Mr Levin would be in the pokey IMO.
Stay Safe !
So was there a fire at the homeowners house that our "good citizen" felt compelled to tell him about?
How about, "Your son was injured down the street, Mr. Smith, and I thought you'd want to know immediately."
Was our "good samaritan" trying to inform the homeowner that his son had been injured?
Or was the "angel child" knocking on the door as a prelude to a violent home invasion or robbery?
But the solution is simple. Incredibly simple.
Don't go and intentionally disturb people you don't know "for fun". Leave people alone. Don't assume that someone is going to act in a particular way. Mind your own business, have the party at your house, go to the school carnival, and whatever else. That's all good. But why do you have to intentionally wake the whole neighborhood up at midnight?
Someone in that house might be sick. There may be a sleeping baby with colic who is now screaming to the top of it's lungs and suffering. Maybe an insomniac just took his sleeping pills and finally fell into slumber for the first time in three days. Someone might have had a really, really bad day for any number of reasons. You don't know.
Why selfishly interject yourself into other people's lives? Not only is it incredibly impolite, but it's risky nowadays. Is ringing a doorbell and running so fun that it is really worth that risk?
Personally I don't see the entertainment value whatesover. What do you get out of doing that?
There are other ways for kids to entertain themselves.
The shooter made a really bad decision, but he really didn't ask to make the decision. There was no good reason for him to make the decision. It was forced upon him minutes after being awakened in the middle of the night.
If you have kids, tell them to leave people alone and behave themsleves. You never know what the next guy is going to do. It's not worth it.
In the 70s, I was in door to door sales and we were taught that anytime you are at someone's door, that after knocking or ringing the bell, to move back 3 steps so that you do not appear threatening and always to wear a smile. I still follow that advice now.
Standing close in an invasion of personal space that offends or intimitates the majority of people. Just doing something dumb like that could cost you the sale or the opportunity to even present your product.
Or in this case, your life.
Only, if you always answer the door carrying a loaded firearm. I'd say a reasonable person would conclude you ain't expecting a bouquet of flowers from the visitor. If you feel the need to carry a loaded firearm to the door for every visitor, MOVE!
parents, keep track of your kids and make sure they are not out wondering the streets in the middle of the night.
Home invasion robberies are a bit more common today than 20 or 50 years ago.FITZ: I know --- I think that's the real problem. Drug addicts wanting their money for cocaine and crack, violent criminals not spending much time in prison.
One of my aged aunts shot a guy who had shovelled her walk before ... this time he came 'calling' at 4 AM ... she said several silent prayers though all this - and finally decided on her final 'course' of action when said she 'remembered' that "there was money in the closet". That's where she kept her late husband's gun. Copyright 1997 Nando.net MUSKEGON, Mich. (Jan 2, 1997 5:54 p.m. EST) -- Threatened with rape by a ransacking intruder, 85-year-old Alberta Nicles thought fast and fired faster Thursday, riddling the man with bullets from a gun her late husband had hidden in the closet. "I shot him and he's lying on the floor dead in the closet right next to my bedroom," Mrs. Nicles said later in a 911 call from a neighbor's house. "I shot him all over." Mrs. Nicles told police she was awakened about 4 a.m. Thursday by the intruder, who apparently had cut the phone line and was ransacking the house. "He took her around the house looking for money. They ended up back in her bedroom," said police Sgt. Jeff Felinski. Mrs. Nicles told police the man removed her pajama pants. Then she remembered her late husband's handgun, which was in a holster hidden under blankets in a closet. She told the intruder there was money in the closet. She grabbed the gun, stuck it in his stomach and began firing. The slain man was identified as Michael Moore, 32, who had assault convictions and was awaiting trial on a home-invasion charge. Prosecutors said Mrs. Nicles paid him $5 last week to shovel snow from her walkway. "He was planning on taking advantage of the vulnerability of an elderly person," said Muskegon County Prosecutor Tony Tague. "I think we have a very courageous woman who handled herself better than most people half her age." Tague said no criminal charges would be filed. Mrs. Nicles could not be reached for comment. A woman answering the phone hung up. Thinking fast, 85-year-old woman kills attacker with hidden handgun
http://www.old-yankee.com/rkba/armcit/armc597.html
Copyright 1997 The Associated Press
The article doesn't say that the kid was shot in the back. The article says the family CONTENDS the kid was shot in the back. Every time someone is shot doing something wrong the family and the friends of the dead guy always CLAIM he was shot in the back and therefore was no threat and shouldn't have been shot.
Very good advice. When I have occasion to be at someone's door (even if it's someone that I know), I always step back at least 7 or 8 feet from the door. I also make sure to take my hands out of my pockets.
He deserves at least a manslaughter charge.
And smile. Always smile ...
The witness claimed to have heard nothing--no running footsteps, no giggling, no doorbells, no knocking on doors, nothing until the shot. Even though this allegedly had happened all up and down the block. Hmmmmmm.
And smile. Always smile ...
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