75-year-old man charged with fatally shooting boy, 13(WI)

jsonline.com ^ | 1 June, 2012 | Bruce Vielmetti

[marktwain]

Everyone around W. Arrow and S. 20th streets knew John H. Spooner, the older white man who had lived there for decades, much longer than his younger Hispanic and African-American neighbors, and who was always walking his dogs around the block.

And they knew he was upset about a break-in at his house earlier this week, when burglars took some expensive shotguns and other items.

He suspected his new next door neighbor.

According to a criminal complaint filed Friday:

As 13-year-old Darius Simmons was moving a garbage cart from the curb Thursday morning, Spooner, 75, confronted him and demanded the boy give back his stuff and the shotguns.

Darius told him he didn't have his stuff.

The boy's mother chimed in, telling Spooner he should just go back inside. Then suddenly, as the mother watched, Spooner raised a black handgun and shot Darius in the chest from five feet away.

Darius ran around the cor ner and collapsed on Comstock Ave., about 10 feet from a small play area marked "Children's Park." As he ran, Spooner fired a second shot that did not hit the boy.

When police arrived, Spooner was still on the sidewalk, holding the gun. When told to drop the weapon, he placed it on the ground and told police, "Yeah, I shot him."

A second witness, who had been across the street, also told police he saw the shooting.

Spooner is now charged with first degree intentional homicide, use of a dangerous weapon, and faces life in prison if convicted.

The shooting occurred about 10 a.m.

[marktwain]

This may be an extremely rare real first degree murder of a young black teenager by a frustrated white man.

A victim of multiple burglaries, we do not know if he had any evidence to connect the victim to those crimes.

[MHGinTN]

From the description, there is no maybe to it! This is first degree murder at its most succinct level.

[funfan]

How soon until the Justice Brothers Al and Jessie be dispatched

[funfan]

How soon until the Justice Brothers Al and Jessie be dispatched

[chessplayer]

Now this is something that people can rightfully be enraged about instead of the Martin/Zimmerman thing.

[familyop]

That sort of thing wouldn’t happen, if we brought back the death penalty for theft.

[Tainan]

Also from the srticle:
Earlier that morning, Spooner had told Ald. Bob Donovan, whom he met inside a George Webb's restaurant, that burglars had taken about $3,000 worth of shotguns from his home two days earlier, that he suspected his neighbors and that he was frustrated police had made no arrests.

Donovan said he mostly listened as the men sat at the counter, and Spooner ate a breakfast of two pancakes, eggs and sausage.
He said he has known Spooner for years and knew Spooner had been a crime victim many times in the past and had even installed surveillance cameras on his home's exterior. He said Spooner mentioned that he was lonely since his wife died in 2004 and that he was dying of lung cancer.

"He seemed burdened, truly burdened," Donovan said Thursday.

Cryptic comment

He said Spooner also said something else - that "there are other ways to deal with situations" the police couldn't solve. Donovan said he didn't really take it as more than a passing comment at breakfast.
----

According to court records, police seized 16 guns from Spooner's house in December 2006. According to his handwritten form to reclaim them, the guns were taken because a felon had been a guest at Spooner's house.

The guns included eight rifles, four shotguns and four handguns. A judge ordered them returned to Spooner in April 2007.

At the crime scene Thursday, detectives recovered two .32 caliber shell casings, one from the porch of Darius' house and one from the grass next to it. There were two rounds still in the gun, including one in the chamber with strike mark, suggesting the gun had misfired on an attempted third shot.

A man can just take so much. Things just build up and explode.

[mrsmith]

Sounds like his life had been turned into a living hell.
I don’t think it will be any better in prison.

Will probably claim some ‘diminished capacity’ defense.
May even be true.

[yldstrk]

Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose

Those predators had made his life a living hell. Just because you are white and have something, doesn’t mean those who aren’t white and don’t have anything have the option to prey on you. You can only push people so far.

[Gabrial]

Sure looks on the surface to be a cold blooded murder.

What a horrible story.

[OldNavyVet]

From the article ... "installed surveillance cameras on his home's exterior"

Just wondering what those cameras told him.

[mardi59]

Spooner should go to prison for the rest of his life. If he thought he knew who took his guns he should have called the police.

The black community has every right to be angered by this one.

[Krankor]

The boy's mother chimed in, telling Spooner he should just go back inside.

Yeah, she just "chimed in". I would love to hear what she actually said. We'd probably need an interpreter.

[avenir]

This story is just sad.

[Bullfrogg]

Well, just maybe his mother wished that he had not stolen the white man’s property, if that is true.....at 75, what else could he do wrong, police “probably wouldnt investigate the robberies, and so living with all those African thugs around him, he would settle the score in the wrong way

[biggredd1]

the old white guy was easy prey. He had enough from the breakins and harassment and took matters into his own hands. Sad story.

[ScreamingFist]

This may be an extremely rare real first degree murder of a young black teenager by a frustrated white man.

Or perhaps Spooner knew exactly who did it, from his surveillance cameras, and confronted them. Perhaps he didn't care because he's dying anyway, and was tired of being preyed upon.....perhaps....

[biggredd1]

ya, I agree there’s more to “just go back inside”.

[publius911]

From the description, there is no maybe to it! This is first degree murder at its most succinct level.

If no evidence of a connection is found after a real honest investigation, I agree.
If evidence of guilt is found, I would find the old man "not guilty."

There is a limit to what the innocent should tolerate. Living in fear has got to be worse than the most PC "cruel and inhuman" punishment imagineable.

[Gay State Conservative]

If he had,in fact,frequently been the victim of thefts it would be understandable that he'd be very angry.But unless he had strong evidence that the kid was involved this is,at best,a *very* unfortunate event.If he is,in fact,dying of cancer it seems to me that a case could be made that this widower is suffering from a serious psychiatric disorder.

Just some random thoughts....just that IMO,even if the kid was,by chance,involved in one or more thefts it didn't warrant a death sentence.