SHOTS FIRED & STUPID DISCHARGES

August 29, 2007

    Good evening Folks. It definitely appears that home invasions are on the increase in Pinellas county. I spoke with a local police officer a few days ago and he advised that there were 10 home invasions, unreported or other wise noted by the media, in his relatively small jurisdiction within the previous 30 days. I have had nine CWP students in the last seven or eight months who were victims of armed home invasions. I spoke with a young married woman today, alone Monday through Friday with her two children, that has had four attempted home invasions or occupied burglaries within the last three months. In one instance, her husband was home and was going to open the door to their home and invite the scumbags in to use the phone! Needless to say she is a little nervous. My wife, Jane, had a 'carpet cleaner' basically box her in the garage as she was coming home from work about 1PM a few days ago. He insisted that he be allowed into our home to clean carpets -- of course he had no ID badge, clipboard, product, etc., kept increasing the offer of free cleaning as she became increasingly adamant that he leave and continued to advance toward her! Of course Jane imposed her will partly thanks to the timely arrival of a pool serviceman next door. The gun in her purse was comforting you bet. However, she also was prepared to set off either the car alarm or home alarm or both to speed the cockroach on his way. Stay Safe my friends and see you at Knight's!

Telephone: 727-535-9151

  Here we go -- please note that all information comes from the St. Petersburg Times unless otherwise indicated.

          Doctor's Family Killed in Home Invasion  7/24/07  http://news.aol.com/story/_a/doctors-family-killed-in-home-invasion

     Two career criminals, both on parole, broke into a prominent doctor's home in Cheshire, Connecticut. The home was occupied by the 50-year-old doctor, his 48-year-old wife and two daughters, ages 17 and 11. They forced the wife to withdraw $15,000.00 from a local bank, committed sexual assaults, killed the three females and tried to kill the doctor. Then to cover the crime, they torched the house. The police later captured the suspects who were driving the family's SUV. The simple fact, in my opinion, is that the doctor failed to protect his family and will now have to live with that failure for the rest of his life.

    There was a follow-up article in the St. Petersburg Times on August 9, 2007, describing the "Horror in Connecticut". The real horror, in my opinion, is that the doctor, husband, father absolutely, totally failed to protect his family, his primary function, when they needed him desperately!. He was asleep in a chair on the first floor when the two scumbags entered through an unlocked door at 3 AM! I am not a rocket scientist but I think it would be safe to presume that the doctor, in his socioeconomic class, probably had an alarm system but that alarm was not set. I am also reasonably certain that he had locks for the doors to his home. If he did not have an alarm system, he was an arrogant fool in my opinion! The wife was raped and strangled, the 11-year-old child raped and the 17-year-old and 11-year-old were tied to their beds, doused in gasoline, as was the dead mother, and burned to death alive! Interesting, the wife and daughters gave their lives so that the father could live! Now I do not know the doctor and really don't want to but I know with great certainty that Richard gave his life so that his wife and daughter could live!

Stupid Discharges & Collateral Damage

    This article appeared in 'News - Cop's Shots at Snake May Have Killed Boy - AOL News' and was posted August 5, 2007. A grandfather and his five-year-old grandson were fishing at a pond near Noble, OK. A Noble police officer was trying to shoot a large snake in a tree apparently with his service handgun. According to the grandfather, the first shot, allegedly fired by the police officer, hit the water a few feet from the boat dock where they were standing. The second shot struck and killed the child. The death caused by the 'Stray Bullet' (read STUPID DISCHARGE) remains under investigation but it seems logical that the fatal shot was fired by an officer since two officers came out of the bushes after the second shot was fired!

    The St. Petersburg Times reported on August 2, 2007, that a '57-year-old "SPRING HILL WOMAN FACES TIA GUN CHARGE"  after trying to carry a concealed and loaded .38 revolver through the security checkpoint. Her excuse was that she was a retired airline employee and had a concealed weapon permit (CWP), an expired CWP at that! She was immediately arrested and transported to Hillsborough Jail and held on $2,000.00 bond. Of course she should have not attempted to introduce her firearm, loaded or unloaded, into the sterile area. Second, her CWP was expired and should serve as a reminder that it is imperative that you maintain a current mailing address on file with the Division of Licensing in order to receive your re-application document 60 - 90 days before expiration. This is critical due to the fact that the re-application cannot be forwarded! Third -- she will now have a Federal Felony arrest record and will most likely be permanently barred from owning a firearm and having a CWP! Finally -- I hope she likes prison food because that is where she may be living for about five years!

    This really ticks me off! The St. Petersburg Times reported on August 24, 2007 and August 25, 2007 respectively "Teenager dies of gunshot wound" and "OWNER OF GUN THAT KILLED TEEN FACES CHARGE".  A 16-year-old Pasco County boy was visiting an 11-year-old boy in the home of the younger boy's aunt. The older boy was shown a loaded 9MM handgun that was hidden in an unlocked wooden box on a dresser in the aunt's bedroom. The 16-year-old was playing with the gun and shot himself in the head and died. Of course, the paper said that "Authorities say the gun fired in the hands...." rather than stating the simple fact that the gun fired because the 16-year-old pulled the dadgum trigger! The next day it was reported that the firearm owner, reportedly a convicted felon and the boy friend of the 11-year-old's aunt, was immediately arrested and charged with Culpable Negligence and held in lieu of $5,000.00 bail. Dadgum -- don't let known scumbags into your home, secure all weapons as required by Florida State Statute 790.174 and educate your minor children (15 years and younger) because, in my opinion, every time a child is either killed or wounded or another killed or wounded it is an adult's fault! Remember, you are definitively responsible for minors in your home with either license or invitation!     

STAY SAFE AND GOD BLESS AMERICA!
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