Police: Montana Man Laid Trap, Killed Teen

Newser ^ | 4/30/14 | Matt Cantor

[Impala64ssa]

A Montana couple frustrated by recent thefts allegedly set a trap for potential burglars—and upon hearing a would-be intruder after midnight on Sunday, the husband fired four shots into the darkness, he says. Now, Markus Kaarma of Missoula has been charged in the death of German exchange student Diren Dede, 17, who was hit by bullets in the head and arm, the AP reports. The couple had set up sensors and cameras around their garage, whose door they left open; Kaarma's wife, Janelle Pflager, left her purse there "so they would take it," she said, per court documents. She reportedly told police the couple had been robbed twice in three weeks.

Documents say Kaarma, 29, told a hairstylist last Wednesday that he'd been waiting three days for another burglary, shotgun at the ready, the Washington Post reports. "I’m just waiting to shoot some [obscenity] kid," he allegedly told the stylist at Great Clips, which ended up calling police over his profane language and unruly behavior, Raw Story reports. Kaarma was yesterday charged with one count of felony deliberate homicide; it's unclear why Diren was in the garage. Billings, Mont., saw a similar shooting hours before Missoula's: A homeowner shot a seminary student described as a "house guest" who was making a call in the garage. The student is expected to survive.

[GrandJediMasterYoda]

Exactly. Liberals seem to have trouble understanding the difference criminal and victim so they prosecute the victim, and they do it regularly and viciously. Here’s another guy who just got life in prison because he had the audacity not to be a victim for the 4th time. His house was burglarized 3 times before and the fascists claim he did not use “reasonable” force which to them I assume means waiting until the burglar shoots you several times.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/04/29/minnesota-homeowner-kills-teens/8480047/

[Onelifetogive]

whose door they left open

My garage door is open right now. If someone comes in and I defend myself, did I set a trap?

[RightOnTheBorder]

Separate AP story on the incident.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/teen-shot-killed-mans-garage-germany-23500791

Kaarma went outside with his shotgun. He told investigators he heard a noise that sounded like metal on metal, and he was afraid the intruder would come out and hurt him. He said he did not see anyone in the darkened garage and did not communicate with anyone before sweeping the garage with four shotgun blasts. Dede was struck in the head and arm and died at a Missoula hospital, court records said. Kaarma said he didn't want the suspect to get away and added that police can't catch burglars in the act, the affidavit filed Monday said

Hard to claim you felt threatened when you can't even see the intruder. Just like the guy in Minnesota it looks like a fed up homeowner is going to be convicted because he couldn't keep his mouth shut.

[areukiddingme1]

What were the lyrics to the Baretta theme song...what were they...if I could only remember.

[Rio]

In the wake of Missoula shooting, Rep. Ellie Hill moves to revise castle doctrine

More details of Missoula fatal shooting case come out in court

Police will not release information on what another boy who was also there, and ran away when Kaarma appeared, told them about the incident.

[Uncle Chip]

He said he did not see anyone in the darkened garage and did not communicate with anyone before sweeping the garage with four shotgun blasts.

I guess he forgot what he learned in his gun training classes.

[cuban leaf]

Only if you own the home and gun with the express purpose of catching someone and shooting them.

[Responsibility2nd]

do you own a gun? do you plan to stop any home invasion with it? If yes - you have set a trap

___________________________________________

But see - Kaarma didn’t have a plan to stop a home invasion, he had a plan to kill a burglar.

That’s why he is going to jail.

[Impala64ssa]

Now the plot thickens. This just in, the German gov't is sending officials to Montana to intervene appease their muzziespopulation.

[PaulCruz2016]

"I’m just waiting to shoot some [obscenity] kid," he allegedly told the stylist at Great Clips

Between this and his admission of not seeing anyone and just firing randomly, he's going to jail.

Both him and that Minnesota man are total idiots, though that guy setting up the decisive piece of evidence against him (audio recording) still takes the cake.

[csvset]

Suspect in Big Sky student's shooting gets death threats

Markus Kaarma, the man accused of shooting and killing a 17-year-old foreign exchange student in his Missoula garage, is receiving death threats and fears leaving his home, defense attorney Paul Ryan said Tuesday.

Kaarma, 29, posted $30,000 bond Monday afternoon and was released from the Missoula County jail after making his initial appearance in Missoula County Justice Court.

He faces a felony charge of deliberate homicide for the death of Diren Dede, a German exchange student who was studying at Big Sky High School.

Since returning to his Grant Creek home, Kaarma and his partner Janelle Pflager have received anonymous death threats on Facebook, Ryan said. International media and curious locals alike have been hounding the couple, making them fearful to leave the house.

“They didn’t sleep at all last night,” Ryan said. “They are trapped in their house now.”

Ryan said he has also been bombarded by national and international news outlets demanding information regarding the incident since news of the shooting broke in Europe.

Dede’s shooting has perplexed the German public, who live under much more stringent gun laws than the United States, explained Frank Herrmann, the Washington, D.C., correspondent for the Rheinische Post.

“There are a lot of things that Germans really like about the U.S.,” Hermann said. “But there are a few things they simply don’t understand.”

Germans aren’t familiar with the concept of private gun ownership, and the frequency of shootings in the United States – alongside more lenient gun laws – baffle the German media, Hermann said. Few Germans own guns for self-defense.

Studying abroad for a year during high school is a very popular thing to do with German youth, but now parents may think twice about sending their children to the United States for an exchange, Hermann said Tuesday.

“It has a very chilling effect,” he said. “The fact that a student from Hamburg was shot – that brings it home.”

Prosecutors allege Kaarma and his common-law wife baited his garage to attract burglars who had reportedly stolen items from the home several times in the past couple of weeks. The couple set up a baby monitor with a live feed and installed motion sensors in the garage. They also left the garage door open about 5 1/2 feet, the charging document said. Pflager told police she also placed a purse in the garage, and catalogued its contents.

Ryan said the couple had just gotten out of the hot tub and were watching a movie on the couch when they heard a sensor alert – indicating someone was in their garage. Kaarma allegedly grabbed a shotgun and exited the front door to confront the intruder. He then entered the garage through the open door and fired his shotgun four times into the darkness.

Two of those bullets hit and killed Diren Dede, a junior at Big Sky High School, who was standing in the garage. It’s unclear why Dede, who was unarmed, was in the garage. Police will not release information on what another boy who was also there, and ran away when Kaarma appeared, told them about the incident.

Pflager allegedly told police that Kaarma said “hey, hey” before he loaded a shell into the gun’s chamber. She said Dede yelled “hey” or “wait” before the shotgun fired. The boy was dead on arrival at St. Patrick Hospital.

Kaarma told police after the incident he was afraid the intruder had a knife or a tool from the garage, but couldn’t be certain because it was pitch-black inside.

“He stated he thought he was going to die and that the guy would try to get out of the garage and described thinking he could act like a caged animal,” the affidavit stated.

Kaarma allegedly told his hair stylist several days before Sunday’s incident that he had been waiting up for three nights with his shotgun “to shoot some (expletive) kid.” The stylist spoke with authorities after hearing of the shooting.

According to the charging document, the woman said “the defendant was extremely vulgar and belligerent. She asked the defendant to quit swearing and he said he could say ‘whatever the (expletive)’ he wanted.”

Ryan plans to fight the murder charge in Missoula County District Court using Montana’s “castle doctrine” as a defense.

The castle doctrine states that when a forcible felony occurs within a home, the resident of that home has a right to defend himself using a firearm. However, it also states that a person who decides to use that force must believe they are at risk of serious bodily injury or death.

Kaarma, who works as a firefighter for the U.S. Forest Service, is a family man who was justifiably concerned about the well-being of his 10-month-old son, Ryan said Tuesday.

He believes the picture of his client painted by the prosecutor’s affidavit is inaccurate.

Kaarma was frustrated by the burglaries that occurred in the weeks before, and perhaps vented to his hair stylist about the situation, Ryan explained.

But he rebuts the idea that Kaarma was baiting the teenagers to enter the garage – adamantly denying the idea that Kaarma was waiting up for nights on end to catch the burglars.

He said Kaarma and Pflager both smoke in the garage and consistently leave the garage door half open. The door was open each time they had been robbed in the past, he said.

Still, Ryan said Kaarma and Pflager both feel terrible about Dede’s tragic death.

“It’s just disheartening,” he said “I wish I could just fix it.”

> Markus Kaarma, Janelle Pflager and their son.

Diren Dede, right, plays in a Big Sky soccer game against Hellgate last fall. Coach Jay Bostrom said Dede’s favorite team back home in Hamburg was the perennial underdog St. Pauli.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

An intruder killed by bullets from a shotgun? Must be one hell of a shotgun.

Or a moron writing the article. Tough to know which is correct.

[fr_freak]

A man’s home is his castle. You invade his castle, you pay the price. Good shoot.

[moehoward]

"If you set a trap, you’re guilty."

Not really. Cops set traps all the time. Every "sting" operation is a trap, bait cars, fake prostitutes, real drugs, on and on. And this is just the officially endorsed tactics. We all know what sort of tactics they utilize unofficially.

[Romulus]

Not enough information to answer. What’s your intent?

[RightOnTheBorder]

This might be good for Kaarma. What affect will some foreign gov official running his mouth about Americans and guns have on a Montana jury pool.

[csvset]

It seems that the cops never manage to catch the perps on these burglaries. In this case and the one in Minnesota. The guy in Minnesota had a shotgun stolen. How much effort do Barney Fife and the boys make towards catching these bastards?

[moehoward]

Damn. He should have sent her in after him.

[WayneS]

Oh come on, now. He was just following Joe Biden’s instructions.

If you can’t trust the vice-president of the United States to give good advice, who CAN you trust?

;-)

[ridesthemiles]

If Kaarma is convicted, does this mean that posting “no trespassing” signs constitute premeditation?”””

IF so, I know a whole lot of ranchers & farmers who are in trouble.