This isn't right..

[pontiacgp]

New Hampshire man arrested for firing gun into ground while catching suspected burglar

Dennis Fleming, 61, of Farmington, New Hampshire,
who fired his handgun into the ground to scare an alleged burglar...
is now facing a felony charge...

The single grandfather had returned home to find that his home had been burglarized
and spotted Joseph Hebert, 27, climbing out of a window at a neighbor's home...

Fleming said he yelled "Freeze!" before firing his gun into the ground,
then held Hebert at gunpoint until police arrived...

...when the police arrived, they made two arrests.
Hebert was charged with two counts of burglary and drug possession...
Fleming is scheduled to be arraigned March 20 on a charge of reckless conduct,
which could potentially land him a sentence similar to the one Hebert faces...

Fleming's collection of seven rifles and a .38-caliber handgun were seized by police...

 

[CHRIS.O]

Certainly not right. I love how some prosecutors protect criminals. It is completely asinine what they are doing now a days. Strip the balls right off the American people and make them afraid to do anything unless told to. Hopefully this dude can afford a good lawyer and get this issue resolved. And I hope he will see his guns back and not "lost" in some evidence locker at the cop shop.

 

[DRIVEN]

You're right, it isn't right...and none of it surprises me.

 

[Bowiemontecarlo86]

Wow the dude busted the burglar and then gets arrested. See this right here is why ppl see a crime happening and don't do jack about it. These freaking cops are just dumb. He fired the damn thing into the ground not at the burglar. I hope the charges are dropped and he gets his guns back.

 

[DRIVEN]

I wonder if it would have turned out different if he just used the gun to club the burglar instead?

 

[Oldsmoletick]

Then it would be assault with a deadly weapon , it's bullshit you can't even protect your own property, whether you harm the intruder or not .

 

[DRIVEN]

Pirate code (or Motorhead code) - DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES. "He attacked me and I was in fear of my life, officer. Please direct any further questioning through my legal council. I invoke my right to remain silent."

 

[Intragration]

I'm 100% in favor of gun rights and self-defense. I think the distinction they're making is that he was not at HIS home, he was at his neighbors home, and the bad guy wasn't confronting him, he was crawling out a window and supposedly trying to get away. The lesson I personally take away from this is, don't hesitate to defend yourself if you're attacked on your property, but don't go wandering around your neighborhood firing warning shots at guys crawling out of windows, no matter how much you'd like to stop them. Now, if you DO find the guy on your neighbor's property, and he turns around and attacks you, I think a case could then be made for defending yourself. But firing a warning shot into the ground after you tracked the guy down on your neighbors property and he wasn't attacking you? There is a difference. I still don't think the guy should go to jail or lose his guns though.

 

[CHRIS.O]

Intagration,

I agree with you, there is a distinction. However, I look at what happened the same way as if you see some lady get her pursed snatched and you tackle the guy. He stopped a crime, or rather the criminal from fleeing a crime scene. I do not believe in going rambo style out there but the only way criminals are gonna get the hint is if more stuff like this happens to them. Criminals will always be criminals but they will eventually get tired of getting guns shoved in their faces and hauled to jail. When you see a guy like this getting arrested for doing what is right then it just shows the criminals that less people are willing to stop them. It is similar to the videos on youtube where some lady is being mugged and people just stand by and watch. Criminals know a lot of Americans are afraid to jump in. The police and prosecutor of that area kinda just helped reaffirm that.

 

[Intragration]

I agree with you. I guess I'm just saying, I think there's a difference between tackling a guy and firing a warning shot to stop a fleeing thief on your neighbor's property. The cops don't fire warning shots, they tackle, and if they're attacked, they shoot to stop the threat. Much as I don't think the good guy should be prosecuted, I also don't think it's a good idea to encourage people to go over to their neighbor's property and fire warning shots at fleeing thieves. A gun is for stopping an iminent threat to your life or safety, not a noisemaker. If you don't feel up to tackling the guy, you unfortunately kind of have to let him go. I hate to have to say this, because I don't defend the bad guy's actions for a second. Also, I wasn't there, I don't know the situation, it's very easy to make proclamations from my chair. I don't know what I would have done in the same situation. I do tend to be one of the more "involved" types.