Posted on 04/02/2009 6:06:50 PM PDT by Tallguy
A new ordinance against firing guns in Lancaster City has passed its first test in court, and Mayor Rick Gray is calling it a victory for residents.
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But it's Curtis Swinton who was the first person to be cited for violating the rule — shooting his gun in the air allegedly to frighten off men who were beating his cousin — and the first person to challenge the new law in Lancaster County Court.
On Monday, Judge Joseph Madenspacher handed down a ruling on the matter, upholding both the ordinance and prosecution under the state's criminal law.
The law provides enough exceptions for a person to use if he needs to defend himself in court for firing a gun, Madenspacher wrote.
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Swinton, 25, of the 100 block of South Pearl Street, fired a revolver at about 1:45 a.m. Dec. 30, 2007, in the parking lot of the House of Pizza restaurant, 23 W. Chestnut St., according to court documents. The restaurant is next to the city police station.
Swinton, who has a permit to legally carry a concealed weapon, told police his cousin was being attacked and beaten by a group of assailants and that he fired a warning shot to disperse them. No one was injured.
Police charged Swinton with recklessly endangering another person and the illegal discharge of a firearm in the city.
Swinton initially pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of disorderly conduct in August 2008, but he withdrew the plea in November. His case is still pending.
Under the ordinance, discharging a firearm in the city carries a 90-day jail sentence and $500 fine for each shot.
(Excerpt) Read more at articles.lancasteronline.com ...
You do not fire warning shots. You fire center-of-mass. STK.
I disagree with his prosecution but he was stupid to fire a warning shot. Those almost always get you in trouble.
Do it like that guy in Texas. You’re dead.
Cheaper than a funeral.
There may be some tactical situations where alerting a criminal to the fact that you have a live weapon may be as effective as actually shooting him, while posing less danger to others (e.g. if a direct shot at the criminal would risk hitting innocents, but a safe direction is available for a 'warning shot'). That having been said, firing a solid projectile skyward would seldom be the safest way to fire a warning shot.
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