Tips
Tip #84
Good afternoon Folks. Sorry for the delay in sending Tip #84 but Jane
and I started 2006 with computer problems on January 1, 2006, and we are
still having problems as of February 16! I am not easily frustrated
(yeah right)! However, I am putting in a request for a Mulligan for
2006! I hope by now that all have reviewed Jon Gutmacher's opinion
reference the Protection of Persons and Property Act that became Florida
law on October 1, 2005. His analysis, located on his website,
www.FloridaFirearmsLaw.com, may assist you in not becoming a "test
case." I also recommend in the strongest terms that you purchase Jon’s
Sixth Edition of 'Florida Firearms - Law, Use & Ownership.' It is his
best work so far, in my humble opinion, and definitely a necessity for
good citizens. If you have the Fifth Edition or even one of older
origin, replace it immediately since definitely outdated. If you enjoy
this tip, please be sure to review my website,
www.staysafestreets.com for the other 83 politically correct (yeah
right -- again) tips. Stay Safe and see you at Knight Shooting Sports!
Norm & Jane
PS -- Remember, if I may assist with either Concealed Weapon
Permit (CWP), tactical or basic firearms training or security concerns,
to include the Gardsman alarm system and Mylar glass protection, please
give me a call (727-535-9151) or drop me a note! By the way, don't
forget that telemarketers may now call you on your cell phones -- at
your expense! If you want to block these calls, please call 888-382-1222
from your cell phone to be added to the National Do Not Call List for a
five year period. You may also register online via
https://www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx.
Same Old Mistakes!
“Stranger turns pair's night into a nightmare" St. Petersburg Times December 24, 2005
You know, I am truly disturbed by random, senseless, preventable violence. This is another example of why you should lock your dadgum doors, windows, garages and sliders. For the fourth Stay Safe Street Tip in a row, some piece of human excrement entered an unlocked residence and committed an act of violence. In this case, an apparently disturbed 39-year-old woman selected a Largo mobile home at random, entered through an unlocked door around midnight, slashed the throat of a 62-year-old woman with a knife and then tied the husband and wife with the telephone cord. After an hour, she forced the husband to drive her to the mobile park exit, returned to the scene and tied him up again. She then becomes involved in a high speed pursuit, wrecks their car and is captured. This type of attack is definitely one of my major nightmare scenarios -- at the mercy of some deranged, drug addicted, sociopathic or psychopathic scumbag! Remember the statistics of residential burglaries -- 48% of the homes are not secured and 27% are either occupied or the occupant returns home during the course of the burglary. This is also a perfect example of an old infantry adage -- it is easier to keep them out than to throw them out! She did not leave until she decided to leave! Keep your homes locked and invest in a good alarm system such as the Gardsman and protect your most vulnerable glass with Mylar.
“Panera manager robbed in restaurant's lot” St. Petersburg Times January 10, 2006
I always considered Belleair Bluffs to be a quieter, safer and more secure area compared to some others. I am sure that the female manager of the Panera Bread restaurant may now have a different viewpoint. She was leaving the restaurant by herself at 11:38PM on January 5, 2006. Two men, both dressed in dark clothing with one displaying a gun, accosted her in the parking lot and stole the day's receipts, her purse and car keys. They then forced her into the trunk of her car and fled the scene. She was able to free herself and attracted the attention of an employee in the restaurant who called the police. Folks, habits and routines will help you become a victim. I am willing to bet that this was a routine nightly event with the inevitable result. The customary response is something to the effect that have never had a problem. Well, as usual, the pattern was discerned and the careless and complacent victimized! First of all, she should not be walking into a deserted parking lot by herself. Secondly, the receipts should be put in a safe overnight and the deposit made during daytime hours. At least she survived except for her peace of mind! If you are concerned, give me a call. I do my security surveys with a new set of eyes!
“Police: Largo man killed campers” St. Petersburg Times January 11, 2006
Times have changed my friends. When I was a youngster (no cracks please about how long ago that was), I wanted to be a baseball player or a police officer or a soldier. What boring plans compared to the Largo 19-year-old cold blooded killer of a 26-year-old man and woman in the Ocala National Forest. He had a different dream -- he wanted to be a serial killer! He actually started that very short lived career by stealing a relative's AK-47 rifle, traveling to Ocala and then cold-bloodedly executing the innocent victims. Thank God that he was too stupid not to get arrested. He actually told a female friend a few days before the murders that he wanted o be a "serial killer" and later that he had killed someone. She asked if it was a bum? His response was "No, a bum would have nothing to lose." Surprise -- he had been previously arrested for arson, larceny, burglary, battery, carrying a concealed weapon and battery on a detention staff member. The point is very simple -- persons with a propensity for violent crimes commit violent crimes! Be careful of those you let into your homes and lives because you may not really know them!
“Teenager tied up by thieves in burglary” St. Petersburg Times January 17, 2006
How about another home invasion? This occurred in Safety Harbor at 8PM. The 15-year-old boy was watching TV when someone repeatedly rang the doorbell. The teenager went to the door but then heard a window break in a back bedroom. Four males, 19 or 20 years of age, armed with a knife and a crowbar, forced the resident into the laundry room, tied him up and then ransacked the home. Fortunately he was not injured. This was different from the others because the home was locked. This would have been a great time to be able to set off an intrusion alarm -- odds are pretty good the four Scumbags would have scattered like cockroaches when the lights were turned on! Of course, the Mylar glass protection would have kept them from getting into the home! Defenses are always most effective when layered my friends. There is another old infantry rule -- you protect from the outside in and defend from the inside out!
Stupid Discharges
It seems that the 'stupid discharge' of a firearm by either a child or adult is almost a routine occurrence. Personally, if a child, it is an adult's fault. If an adult, it is an adult's fault! These appeared in the St. Petersburg Times unless otherwise noted. Each has a teaching point:
1. “Chain of chance leads to boy shooting brother, 5” February 9, 2006. A 7-year-old St. Petersburg boy has an argument with his 5-year-old brother. No big deal right? Wrong -- the 7-year-old spots a . 38 caliber revolver on the floor under a sofa in the living room and purposefully points the gun at the younger boy and shoots him. At least the reporter didn't say "the gun went off" but rather the older boy thought the gun was unloaded and pulled the trigger. The 5-year-old was taken to All Children's Hospital with two entry wounds (arm & leg) and two exit wounds (arm & calf). The gun belonged to the 16-year-old brother who has been twice arrested for carrying a concealed weapon and twice for auto theft. The brother is a junior scumbag no doubt but where the heck were the parents? If the boys could find the gun, why not the parents? Why didn't the parents be sure to protect the children from the teenager since it was apparent that he was a criminal? Surprise -- the police also located 13 pieces of crack cocaine in the home! Sounds like an unfit home to me!
2. “Accidental shot kills young girl” December 6, 2005, Fairbanks, Alaska Daily News. A 22-year-old man was baby-sitting his 18-month-old niece. The child's father arrived to pick up his daughter. The uncle handed his . 40 caliber Glock to his brother and the brother returned same. As the uncle was field stripping the Glock, "it fired." No dadgum -- it didn't fire! The idiot uncle failed to properly clear the chamber and he then pulled the trigger and killed the child. Get this -- the Alaskan State Trooper spokesman said that before you pull the trigger on a gun, it must be pointed at the ground. Holy Crap -- you better not do that as one of my students. Five steps folks -- remove the magazine, lock the slide to the rear, visually inspect the magazine well, visually inspect the chamber and then insert your little finger in the chamber to verify steps one though four!
3. “Deputy accidentally shot himself, authorities say” December 29, 2005. A 38-year-old Collier County deputy sheriff apparently shot himself in the thigh and bled to death alone in his van. The deputy was discovered in DeSoto County on Christmas Day. If a trained and experienced police officer can have an accident of this magnitude, so can we all my friends. The officer is survived by his wife and five-year-old daughter. Please never forget that you must have a positive, proactive attitude towards firearm safety at all times!
4. “Clearwater teenager accidentally shot in arm” January 23, 2006. A 15-year-old girl was at a sleepover with two other 15-year-old girls. They snuck out to a party and wound up in a Palm Harbor home of a 20-year-old young man. This idiot apparently decides to show off and brings the girls into the master bedroom where he obtains a loaded handgun. He must be very skilled because, as the uneducated reporter states, "The gun went off" hitting the 15-year-old in the right arm and torso. For Pete's sake, guns don't go off or have spontaneous detonations! Someone has to pull the trigger. Too bad the parents did not lock the firearm in a safe and keep their untrained heir away from things that go bang.
Rocket Scientists of the Criminal World
“Mugging suspect meets grisly end” St. Petersburg Times December 22, 2005
You have heard the old saying that sometimes you get the bear and sometimes the bear gets you. Let's substitute Bengal tigers for bear and you'll get the point. This South African genius and his brain surgeon buddy use a knife in an armed robbery in a zoo in Southern Africa. The cops go in foot pursuit and the genius decides to hide in the tiger's den in the middle of their enclosure. His mauled body was found the next day by a zoo visitor. The zoo spokesman stated that he wasn't completely eaten because the tigers had been fed. The tigers are fine but definitely dumber -- we all know that we are what we eat!
Weekly Planet December 29-January 4, 2006
1. This moron in Virginia robs a Wachovia bank in October. As he is making his getaway, he stopped at a nearby cellular phone store to pay his bill!
2. Another idiot in Texas is sentenced to 50 years in prison after he sold drugs to the same undercover officer for the third time in 14 years. His defense was "entrapment" based on the fact that when first arrested at 18, he was so young that it was not reasonable for him to remember what the officer looked like! I can't even speculate his excuse for the second arrest!
3. This Washington, D. C. mutt was charged with three robberies and a suspect for at least 24 more since paroled in July 2004. He was fitted with a global satellite positioning device to track his movements 24-7 within a few feet of his actual location. Talk about technologically challenged -- the GPS system placed this scumbag in the exact area of the three robberies at the exact time the robberies occurred!
4. Here is another Darwin Award criminal candidate. This dummy commits a residential burglary in Montana and then sets a fire to cover up his crime. Guess whose body was found in the crime scene? Ooops -- forgot an escape route!