[gumbo]

Astonishing!

[JennysCool]

Aaroe said Mott will likely be kicked out of the Army and lose his pension.

That and more for inflicting a "red mark" on a vandal who busted his door? Insane.

[Thane_Banquo]

How can you convict someone of assault for protecting his own property? Personally, I loved what happened down here in Greater Orlando when a gentleman shot two thugs who were trying to rob a Blockbuster, killing one: The Orange County Police Department gave him a medal.

[TexRef]

There has got to be more to this story.

What I am missing here?

This is nuts.

[PsyOp]

a deadly weapon that can cause serious bodily injury or death. In this case, the BB left a red mark on the victim’s leg.

Hell! We used to play tag with BB guns! Deadly weapon my A**! The little ^%$@#^#$% miscreants haven't got a clue!

[fogarty]

This will only get worse as America continues to degenerate. I can see the scenes from "Unintended Consequences" being played out from the rage resulting from this decision.

Eventually, the socialists and big government judges and politicians will only understand one thing: a bullet to the head. That is what it came down to during our Revolutionary War. I have a feeling another may not be too far off.

[Sir Gawain]

-

[Protagoras]

Interesting story. As an aside, the author does not report what happened to the two kids for criminal trespass, criminal damage to property, etc.

I'm guessing, nothing.

[Alas]

Back a bunch of years ago, I and a friend of two went into a farmers cabbage patch and were in the process of making off with a cabbbage or two. The farmer shot us with rock salt, but that was nothing compared to the beating I got when I had to explain to my dad why I had been shot with rocksalt.

Dad's need to learn to spank and not cry for a lawyer.
Alas

[Travis McGee]

INCREDIBLE!!

[Fred Mertz]

The incident began after someone threw a corn cob at Mott’s front door and broke the screen, authorities said.

What happened to the little sluts for their crime?

[jimt]

What would have happened had he given them the traditional send-off - a load of rock salt. The death penalty, I guess.

[Gritty]

In the service of "political correctness" and/or "zero tolerance" a great injustice is being done here! A man's life and livelihood is being ruined.

But, this is America, circa 2002. We should be used to it now.

[Poohbah]

Sheesh. Too bad the Honorable Judge Poohbah wasn't handed the case.

Mr. Mott would have been sentenced to a Saturday's worth of cleaning padeyes with spoon and toothbrush at McGuire ANG base for exhibiting negligent stupidity with high-velocity objects.

The teenagers would have gotten to fix the property damage they inflicted during that little escapade (not pay for it--they'd get to get their hands dirty doing the work), then they'd get to finish cleaning the padeyes at McGuire as punishment for willfully damaging private property.

[The Bored One]

Mott will not be eligible for parole until he serves at least three years in prison under the state’s so-called Graves Act. That law deals with crimes involving guns.

WHAT GUN!?!?! IT WAS A BB GUN FOR GOD'S SAKE! This soldier is going to lose his entire career and possibly his freedom for standing up to a couple of thugs with a BB gun? This angers me greatly.

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

What a frigging joke.

[DugwayDuke]

If this were truely the case, then every male in my junior high school would have been in prison. We used to have epic battles using BB guns.