[curtis]

just wanted to get your thoughts on this.

http://www.baynews9.com/content/36/2009/5/11/471567.html

ST. PETERSBURG (Bay News 9) -- A St. Petersburg homeowner's mercy might be the only reason a burglary suspect is still alive.

Michael Lowry says he was woken up by a loud noise Monday morning.

"When I got up and turned the light on, I'm staring him down," Lowry said.

Authorities say 22-year-old Justin Masse was peering into Lowry's bedroom. They say Masse was attempting to break into Lowry's garage.

Lowry, a U.S. Navy veteran, put a round into a 12-gauge shotgun he keeps nearby then greeted the suspect with it near the garage.

"All I was saying was get off my property now," Lowry said. "I used a few choice words too, but I must have told him 3 or 4 times and he's staring down the barrel of my shotgun. And it wasn't that far from his head."

Lowry says he didn't want to shoot an unarmed burglar. But after a struggle for the weapon, Lowry hit Masse with the butt of the shotgun, leaving a gash on his forehead.

Masse fled, but came back seconds later. Lowry fired a shot toward the ground to scare him off.

The suspect then jumped the gate and ran off. But Masse didn't make it very far. A man delivering the St. Petersburg Times newspaper discovered the suspect lying in a front yard, just a couple of blocks away.

Masse was taken into custody.

Cristin Hamburg, who owns the house where Masse ended up, said she is surprised at how Lowry handled the situation. She said she might have used that shotgun differently.

"I think it's bravery on his part, that he hit him over the head and didn't shoot him," Hamburg said. "I don't know if I wouldn't have shot him."

This isn't the first time burglars have tried to break into Lowry's home, but he's hoping with a Rottweiler and a shotgun nearby that it'll be the last.

 

[deadeyedick]

We can MMQB this incident all day long and nit-pick his tactics, but at the end of the day, the GG remained unharmed, he retained his property, the BG got caught and nobody died.

I'd say an ideal outcome. :thumsup

And how satisfying has it got to be to butt-stroke a burglar?

 

[Glock23-4-Me]

Good thing is nobody died. IMHO the homeowner made a bad call. If you are not willing to use a firearm (which is okay), then dont carry one or in this case, try to use it to scare someone. The HO struggled with the BG and the BG could have easily got the shotgun from the HO and used it on him. He was lucky the 1st go around after a struggle, but when the man returned a few seconds later, he obviously knew the HO had a gun and was still trying to take a chance, to not defend yourself, well is just plain stupid. This could have gone south and had a traggic ending for the HO.

Like I said, the outcome was good in that no one died, but I would not be willing to give my life up to a BG who was more than willing to take mine by the fact that after confronted with the gun, decided to come back for a second attempt. SHOOT TO STOP.

 

[curtis]

thanks for the thoughts, some lessons to be learned from this.

 

[OLDJEEP813]

I'm confused:

attempting to break into Lowry's garage.

does this mean the BG was still out side?

put a round into a 12-gauge shotgun he keeps nearby then greeted the suspect with it near the garage.

OK so the GG had time to load his weapon and go outside to talk with the BG?

Lowry says he didn't want to shoot an unarmed burglar. But after a struggle for the weapon, Lowry hit Masse with the butt of the shotgun, leaving a gash on his forehead.

Masse fled, but came back seconds later. Lowry fired a shot toward the ground to scare him off.

The suspect then jumped the gate and ran off. But Masse didn't make it very far.

Seems to me that the GG found some one trying to break into his house loaded a shotgun and went outside to confront the BG. If that is the case I would say not a really good idea. What if there had been more than one BG. Stay inside, armed and call 911. If the BG is still outside let the cops handle it. Just my .02

 

[Glock23-4-Me]

I must have overlooked the part of the post that indicated the BG was outside. I would not have gone outside to confront him. I would call 911 and let them handle that. If he was on the inside and the same events happened, well then.......

 

[airhead]

Masse fled, but came back seconds later.

That is about the point I would have definitely shot to stop. How dumb does the BG have to be to come back right after he got his butt handed to him by a marine with a shotgun?

 

[Paladin]

Good thing is nobody died. IMHO the homeowner made a bad call. If you are not willing to use a firearm (which is okay), then dont carry one or in this case, try to use it to scare someone. The HO struggled with the BG and the BG could have easily got the shotgun from the HO and used it on him. He was lucky the 1st go around after a struggle, but when the man returned a few seconds later, he obviously knew the HO had a gun and was still trying to take a chance, to not defend yourself, well is just plain stupid. This could have gone south and had a traggic ending for the HO.

Like I said, the outcome was good in that no one died, but I would not be willing to give my life up to a BG who was more than willing to take mine by the fact that after confronted with the gun, decided to come back for a second attempt. SHOOT TO STOP.

+1

The guy came back knowing the HO had a shotgun. At that time he should have been show - not a warning shot.

 

[LeCalsey]

I am amazed he came back for more. They are only going to get bolder and bolder as time moves on.

 

[teter09]

I think the BG was starting to think it was a bluff, that the shotgun wasn't loaded.

Repeated commands to get off his property, a struggle (since there wasn't an outright mention of the marine whooping the burglar's butt) and maybe the BG thought round 2 was in order.

I'm not saying the BG was the brightest bulb in the box but I might think someone was bluffing if after all of that, no shots were fired. There was no mention of the GG's age, but if he was older, perhaps out of shape or even winded at this point from the struggle and there appears to be no threat since the gun wasn't fired......I'm guessing the BG was enraged and wanted revenge for his headache.

Til he found out the gun was real.......:ak

 

[Earl]

just wanted to get your thoughts on this.

My thought? Lucky homeowner. Not too bright but lucky.

 

[MPDC66]

Things like PCP can make BGs think they are invincible. Stoned idiots have taken multiple shots while stoned and didn't realize theywere hit untill the breathing stopped. Then, too late!

 

[brownie]

1D10T's might want to take the chance the gun wasn't loaded, but any sane person would not challenge it to find out.

Guess wrong and you won't get to ever guess about anything ever again. :rolf

Brownie

 

[Atlanta Guy]

Warning shot - you might want to reconsider

Lowry fired a shot toward the ground to scare him off.

EDIT: Just found this in a different forum, already a thread going on warning shots. http://floridaconcealedcarry.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=3156

-----------
Purchased Jon Gutmacher's Florida Firearms Law (Sixth Edition) that was recommended on this site. I add an unequivocal recommendation, this is an absolute must-read if you own a firearm for self-defense.

I will directly quote from three places in this book:

"The most common case I defend is generally related to a self-defense situation that has gone wrong. That crime is aggravated assault. Aggravated assault is a third degree felony that carries a three (3) year mandatory minimum prison sentence if a firearm or destructive device was involved." [Page 224]

"Remember, if a firearm is discharged -- then the mandatory sentence is twenty (20) years in prison. This applies even to aggravated assault. So, if you fire a "warning shot" in a self-defense situation, and you somehow get prosecuted -- you're facing a mandatory twenty year sentence unless you take a plea bargain, or are found "not guilty"! [Page 257]

"First, if you misjudge a self-defense situation you've probably committed an "aggravated assault". Three year minimimum mandatory. ... If you didn't want to hurt the varlet -- and fired a warning shot -- you're now facing a twenty (20) year mandatory sentence." [Page 258]

The take-away here: a warning shot is a benefit to the BG but exposes you to 17 additional years of prison.

 

[deadeyedick]

The article says the GG was ex-Navy, which may mean nothing; the guy could have been a clerk. Then again, maybe he was a SEAL, or some grizzled old Master Chief who wasn't going to take any : censored and hide inside his home while summoning other men with guns to come rescue him. Maybe he went outside and realized that Mr. Burglar was some tweeker half his size and no physical match for him, so he popped him with the butt of his gun rather than deal with all the crap that would've come with shooting him.

 

[reckless01]

The article says the GG was ex-Navy, which may mean nothing; the guy could have been a clerk. Then again, maybe he was a SEAL, or some grizzled old Master Chief who wasn't going to take any : censored and hide inside his home while summoning other men with guns to come rescue him. Maybe he went outside and realized that Mr. Burglar was some tweeker half his size and no physical match for him, so he popped him with the butt of his gun rather than deal with all the crap that would've come with shooting him.

Exactly! This is probably what happened! Kudos to the ole salt for not killing the guy! :drinks

 

[airhead]

@aquabum, you have PM....

 

[Mhilsee]

+ 1 with clock23

 

[ZO6Vettever]

The outcome was good, that's what's important. "I would, I wouldn't" doesn't matter.