Only those who haven't had their outboard motor stolen think that outboard motor theft isn't a capital offense. The only way that 23 year old kid didn't get his just reward is if he wasn't trying to steal anything and his presence at the old man's place was mistaken as to purpose. When Todd's motor gets stolen, he jump to this side of the street.

Of course it's unfortunate when anyone dies, often sad and sometimes tragic. But in a world where actions have consequences, there's nothing sad nor tragic about this kid's death. What's sad and tragic is that the old man has to live out his days knowing he snuffed out a stupid kid who attempted to steal his motor. As an almost old guy, I feel sorry for the old man. It's unfortunate that the kid didn't have enough respect for himself to not take that which didn't belong to him, nor respecting the old man and his property. Absent respect, fear is a less ideal but useful mechanism to deter theft. Fear of getting killed for potentially small payoffs is the type of analysis that can be understood by those who don't understand respect.

I'm done feeling sorry for societal losers who take advantage of our justice system's methods of rewarding theft, which it definitely does. And because it does, there are only a few things we can do about it. According to Thurston Country Sheriff's deputies, we can lock our doors, install security systems (the noise may scare off intruders, but don't expect the deputies to respond - they don't respond to security alarms), keep a dog (like the security alarm, barking dogs deter many intruders, and keep ourselves lawfully armed. One thing we should absolutely not expect is for a Sheriff's deputy to respond to a home intrusion (besides we have a 30-60 minute response time) in time to prevent or deter anything. The deputies just show up after the fact to take a report.

The only reason to call 911 and the police is after a successful burglary for insurance purposes. If the burglary attempt was unsuccessful due to your having shot, or choked as the case may be, the perp, there is no point in calling the Sheriff, he can't help with anything useful and may make the unpleasant experience even less pleasant.

The proper procedure is to call Dogfish; he has a backhoe with which a very deep hole can be dug, into which the perp's misguided corpse is tossed and buried. If the perp was a tweaker, even his own mother won't report him missing. Only his parole officer cares about him in this whole wide world. And he'll forget about him soon enough.

Sg, a peacenik liberal who stands for truth, justice, and what the American way oughta' be, but isn't.

Yup. It's the petty criminals who prey on we the people that make me sick. I have more respect for a bank robber.

I bet you don't even need lime for a tweaker looking at how fast their teeth rot out.

Even a guy as levelheaded as Salmo G. can be wrong on occasion, and this is one of those times. I have had an outboard stolen and I certainly did not wish death on the creep. I do hope he got a hernia from carrying the old school 20 HP Merc though!

I don't find it to be a coincidence that most of those who are salivating for and dreaming of the day when they can bust a cap in somebody for stealing a tomato out of their garden are the same ones who happily vote for those "law and order" types who will gut the taxes that pay for...drum roll...law enforcement.

Fish on...

Todd

I've always wanted a backhoe. Can ya use em for razor clams and gooey ducks too ?

Actually you just pushed the problem onto some other victim. Killing him would stop him for good.....unless they multiply when shot.

AM,
I hope but doubt it will work out like you think. The old man sees the kid, sneaks or charges up and grabs him around the neck. This hold lasts until the kid dies. There was no threat to the old boys life until he starts choking out the kid. Who then struggles until death.

We are not talking Forks or Republic here, we are talking Pugetropolis. The guy will not get that to fly IMO. We are looking at Man in the least.......Murder in the worst. Likely charged with premed and plead to Man2. If taken to trial......anyones guess what happens. Ten people dumb enough to not get out of jury duty can come back with anything from nothing to life.

Never heard about that report. If true I retract. Last I heard the details still had showed just a dead kid and no injurys to the old man. If he is injured then he will likely walk. Thanks for the update.

"Do you think it's too late to go back and shoot him?"
No. Go for it. Odds are he left behind numerous victims since visiting you and odds are he hasn't atoned for a single one. But he did beat the odds in that he isn't incarcerated or dead. I'm not sure I agree that a maggot should have been allowed to breed.

Is that because the classmate turned out to be a turd? Or, because the guy went on to victimize countless others?

I just read the interview from the Herald, and I believe the old guy when he said he was holding on because he was scared. But, the old guy claimed that was before the kid 'gave-up' the first time. The guy then went to get some wire to restrain the boy until the cops showed...and then another struggle started....and ultimately the kid gave up a second time by giving up his ghost.

The old guy did admit that the kid intially had no intention of sticking around to face the cops, and he tried to stop him which resulted in the two of them trading blows, which the old man was losing. Because he was losing that battle he held on, for what he believed was his dear life.

The kid was initially going to walk/run away, I am not so sure this old guy should not be punished for at the very least manslaughter. By keeping the kid there, he escalated the situation. He knew the kid's name, his nephew probably knew where to get ahold of him. He ideally had another option open to him.

Which brings in a whole new issue...would the police have responded to an attempted burglary and pursued the suspect? Given the experiences of some of you, that seems like a stretch for today's LE policy.

What a mess...

Eddie,

It's not that anyone, even a low life who commits burglary, deserves to die. My issue is that we've devised a flawed criminal justice system that does nothing to stop it, and therein creates additional incentive to keep on burglarizing as long as crime pays. So it's not just my $500 deductable (home and car); it's every victim of the perp until he stops. And according to LE, most don't stop until caught and jailed for some higher crime. Because this type of crime actually pays, perps don't stop. LE says as much as 90% of the burglaries are committed by the same small group of repeat offenders. The remainder are isolated instances of opportunity, usually by juvenile or teen offenders.

The best reason for shooting burglars is that it is the one reaction that by definition stops the offender's recidivism. He's done repeating that offense. Does the punishment fit the crime? Not if it's his first or second theft, but is he entitled to steal dozens or hundreds of times without penalty? That's basically how the justice system works.

FP,

I don't know with the Sheriff's deputy didn't come out to your house; he came to my place. Maybe they don't care for your internet persona (?) jk. Your idea of indenture and payback for crime is the only alternative that actually makes sense for society, short of killing the perp. Giving him 3 hots and a cot in jail puts the perp on the public dole, and we know that you disfavor anyone going on the dole.

Regarding the death penalty as a deterent, you're mostly right. It doesn't deter murder because most murders are crimes of passion, therefore emotion and not logic is in charge of the operating plan. The same is likely true for drug addled tweakers, where chemicals are in charge of operations. I'm not advocating for the death penalty because I understand that it's not a deterent. I simply think that if otherwise potential victims choose to shoot and kill intruders/burglars, they are preventing all the future crimes that perp will commit. Because we all know that criminal justice won't be stopping him.

The flaw is the justice system that doesn't dispense justice and by poor design encourages further law breaking by making crime pay. The system is flawed when the deputies arrest homeowners who kill burglars and intruders, and try and then jail them. A reasonable justice system would be for the deputies to show up after the fact and call the coroner to fetch the body, ask if the homeowner is OK and do they need any help with clean up, and then thank him for making the country a safer place by removing a proven menace.

So this isn't about a death penalty via the disfunctional justice system. It's about not prosecuting citizens who in the course of protecting themselves and their property kill criminals, thereby preventing all the future crimes that statistics say repeat offenders will commit.

Todd,

There is no funding alternative that will ever put a cop on every block. It's just not feasible. So it's not about taxes and funding LE. This issue keeps coming up, and the flaw IMO is that since LE and Justice cannot prevent crime, and our system all but encourages it, we could at least shave a bit of that encouragement off by not prosecuting citizens who kill criminals, even if it was a garden-ripe tomato, which is a pretty high value target here in western WA. Then those perps who aren't wigged out on drugs could weight their alternatives if they have half a brain, which is probably only a few, but at least those would be spared getting shot.

Art,

Never underestimate the usefulness of backhoes. But they might get stuck in the mud going after gooey ducks.

Sg

As long as the fine is significantly less than the $500 insurance deductable.

Sg

Don't push it; it's not like we're talking about a life that will be missed by anyone or anything, including its owner.

I tried to stop someone who stole from me. He then attempted to actually kill me. When the cops came they he admitted that he was trying to kim me, but that was because he was "in fear of his life". I had to admit to them that I was prepared to do what I needed to get back what was mine. At that point they told me to I could sue him, but if that if anything was going to happen they were going to arrest me for attempted assualt. The whole system is pretty screwed up.

Forget getting pierce county sherrif to come. Out of probably 15 calls, they came twice for on going situations. From drive bys, guns being pulled, thefts, assualts and other things,they generally don't bother coming. From what I can gather, unless they get multiple calls, forget it. I can't count the thousands of dollars we have lots over the years and never got any response. I actually had an employ sign their name to several thousand dollars of my checks and cash them. The sheriff responded by stating they didn't have time to prosecute fraud.
Last time I called to send in a report they made me wait over 8 hours to have a deputy hand me a form and leave. Of course, they refused to allow me to simply pick up a form. Its all a joke.

Of course, I have had a great response with them regarding the horrible offense of not wearing a seat belt. Twice in the last year within 100 feet of pulling out of my driveway.

Police are becoming a lot like hatcheries. They only seem to exist for the purpose of self preservation. Look at king county, a couple years ago they threw out thousands of warrants for car thefts and other offenses because it cost too much and was too hard to enforce them. Then, of course, they put out a full force offensive to track down people who haven't paid their parking tickets.

Krijack,

Thanks for sharing your experience. Was that Pierce Co. deputies who were going to arrest you for thumping the perp? Like I said, backhoes are good. S/S/S (shoot, shovel, shut up)

Sg

Or consider when you have something of value that is on your property that you have worked hard to purchase and enjoy and an un invited guest comes to steal that from you? ok let's call 911- wait wait Hey guys ya need some help stealn my [censored]? If you have ever worked to buy anything of value it does not come with a come steal it sign.. Those oppose perhaps do not own or work to sAy- if ya gonna come on property with intentions to steal- pay the consequence- the ole man did to protect what he owned-

Could of been my ole man in that situation and if he was on the dead- I would haunt that fuk till he paid