A "warning shot" will cost you dearly

[M1NM]

Not a warning shot - I'm a bad shot and missed.

[stix213]

The guy got a bad deal, but he was a complete moron. Umm, don't take in a "troubled" teen boy who is dating your daughter.... What the hell did they think would happen? And the fight that prompted the use of the firearm doesn't at all sound like it warranted a firearm even being shown. Freaking idiot. The exact type of person who would shoot a hole in his own wall and think that's totally fine, nothing gonna happen.

[MrTokarev]

I've never understood the purpose of a "warning shot". What is it exactly that one hopes to accomplish?

Let the bad guy know you have a gun? Unless he's blind he can already see that.

Let the bad guy know your firearm is loaded? Well, now it's got one less round in it for him to worry about.

Let the bad guy know that you are either incompetent or unwilling to shoot him? Mission accomplished.

I can't really speak for him but my assumption is that he was hoping to scare the intruder off, thus avoiding the need to possibly kill him.

It was certainly foolish but I can easily see wanting to avoid it for moral reasons (he may have been attempting to give the intruder a final chance to beat it). Additionally, if the shooter was ignorant of the law he may have assumed, I would say logically, that a warning shot and the intruder running would be safer legally than killing someone.

It's a good reminder that we should both know what we will do in that situation ahead of time and what our local laws are. Had he been aware what a warning shot was illegal, he probably wouldn't have blabbed about it. Or he may have just killed the guy.

I guess the other lesson is don't talk to the cops without a lawyer present.

[MrTokarev]

The guy got a bad deal, but he was a complete moron. Umm, don't take in a "troubled" teen boy who is dating your daughter.... What the hell did they think would happen? And the fight that prompted the use of the firearm doesn't at all sound like it warranted a firearm even being shown. Freaking idiot. The exact type of person who would shoot a hole in his own wall and think that's totally fine, nothing gonna happen.

I should have read the article before posting. You are absolutely correct. The situation with the boyfriend may have required a gun if it escalated but it doesn't seem that it required the use of a gun at the point he fired.

I don't think he deserves his prison sentence but he's still a rube.

[Noonanda]

I dont fire warning shots. My escalation of force is shout, shove, show, shoot. If I have to skip a step or two due to the situation then so be it, but if my firearm is drawn then the only other option is shoot/dont shoot.

[DNA]

Let's speak to the Elephant in the room.

At the end of the day only you know how willing you are to possibly take another human beings life. Some will fire a warning shot because they believe that will diffuse the situation to a level where leathal force isn't necessary, others fire it because that's as close as they can get to pulling the trigger on another human being.

As responsible firearms owners... I lt all boils down to having the proper mindset, training with your firearm of choice and making the conscious decision that if someone forces our hand that we will respond appropriately and defend families and ourselves whatever the action may be.

Dan

[303]

This guy must have been tried before a rotten jury, wonder are how
they are able to live with themselves.
Also sounds like the competency of his lawyer may have been
questionable.
Allowing his daughters boyfriend to live in the house was his
main mistake.

[bandogg]

That was one of the first things I learned about firearms. Never fire a warning shot.

[The War Wagon]

2. If you have to fire your gun to "warn" an assailant:

-You were being attacked and feared for your life or the life of a family member

-You fired to stop the attack and missed the assailant

Damn skippy!!!

[Ford8N]

The guy got a bad deal, but he was a complete moron. Umm, don't take in a "troubled" teen boy who is dating your daughter.... What the hell did they think would happen? And the fight that prompted the use of the firearm doesn't at all sound like it warranted a firearm even being shown. Freaking idiot. The exact type of person who would shoot a hole in his own wall and think that's totally fine, nothing gonna happen.

The guy was stupid. He is obviously lacks good judgement of character. Now he's going to pay the price.

[303]

The guy was stupid. He is obviously lacks good judgement of character. Now he's going to pay the price.

Stupid or not he didn't deserve 20 years. No one was injured, he shouldn't have even received a jail sentence.
From what I have read regarding the incident it appears, the boyfriend didn't go to the police until about 2 weeks after the occurrence. The investigating officer commented that the boyfriend and
the daughter used the incident to get back at her father for trying to keep them apart.
My personal opinion is; the boyfriend should have kept his mouth shut and just thought how lucky he was to have survived serious injury or death. No doubt the family was good to him and typical of
his type repaid them in the worst way available to him.

[Sikvenum93]

Its sad, the very laws that are meant to save people, pretty much encourage citizens engaged in self defense to kill any and all intruders.

[kermit315]

Stupid or not he didn't deserve 20 years. No one was injured, he shouldn't have even received a jail sentence.
From what I have read regarding the incident it appears, the boyfriend didn't go to the police until about 2 weeks after the occurrence. The investigating officer commented that the boyfriend and
the daughter used the incident to get back at her father for trying to keep them apart.
My personal opinion is; the boyfriend should have kept his mouth shut and just thought how lucky he was to have survived serious injury or death. No doubt the family was good to him and typical of
his type repaid them in the worst way available to him.

And, what in your mind, based on what has been reported, should he have feared for his life for in the first place? Fact of the matter is, this law is on billboards all over Florida, and he was offered a deal that would have seen him spend zero days in jail. He refused and took his chances. The jury looked at the evidence, compared to the statutes, and found him guilty. The judge sentenced him according to the statutes. That is how the system is supposed to work.

He was stupid when he fired the shot. He was stupid squared when he didn't take the deal.

[303]

[QUOTE=kermit315;15143971

He was stupid when he fired the shot. He was stupid squared when he didn't take the deal.[/QUOTE]

And has had his life destroyed thanks to a girls
vindictive boyfriend, and a jury that couldn't have had an ounce of common
sense or decency between them. They must have known that a guilty verdict was going to put someone who was basically a law abiding citizen away for 20 years.
This case along with that of Shaneen Allen in NJ shows the justice system in the US, leaves a lot to be desired in many cases.

[kermit315]

And has had his life destroyed thanks to a girls
vindictive boyfriend, and a jury that couldn't have had an ounce of common
sense or decency between them. They must have known that a guilty verdict was going to put someone who was basically a law abiding citizen away for 20 years.
This case along with that of Shaneen Allen in NJ shows the justice system in the US, leaves a lot to be desired in many cases.

Or, it illustrates the idiocy of people that have laws ON FREAKING BILLBOARDS and still don't follow them, then want/expect special treatment when it comes to them breaking them.

Please, tell me what situation this guy was in that required the use of deadly force. By his own admissions (in the report that he was interviewed in), the kid punched a hole in a wall. Hardly a deadly force scenario. As I said before, this guy was offered a plea deal where he would not have done a single day in jail, and he refused it. Why do you ignore that?