CNN: Teen shot over vandalized McCain sign, police say

[Dennis Donovan]

Granted, the kid shouldn't be defacing any signs, but the guy who shot him has some serious fucking issues!!!!!:grr:

(CNN) -- A Warren Township, Ohio, man faces charges of felonious assault after authorities say he fired his rifle at two teens who were attempting to deface his McCain presidential campaign yard sign.

Police say the man's sign is the only McCain sign on a street full of Obama signs.

Kenneth Rowles, 50, pleaded not guilty to the charge Monday, according to CNN affiliate WBNS.

Bail was set at $10,000.

Rowles told police he was sitting on his porch Saturday when a tan SUV pulled up and a black youth jumped out and ran toward his house, screaming, "This is for Obama."

He said another male was hanging out of the passenger window screaming the same thing.

Rowles said he went inside, got his rifle and fired three shots to scare the youths away, according to a Warren Township police report.

<snip>

One of the youths, 17-year-old Kyree Flowers, was shot in the arm, according to a police report. He and the second youth, Patrick Wise Jr., 16, told police they were in the car attempting to leave when Rowles fired at them.

More at: http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/10/28/yard.sign.shooting/?iref=hpmostpop

[WeDidIt]

1. Okay, stealing signs pisses me off

but shooting somebody over a fucking $5 political sign shows where these people's heads are.

[fascisthunter]

2. Idiot Vandalized a Sign

idiot uses a gun to deal with vandalism. Dumb and dumber....

[SteppingRazor]

4. I wrote almost exactly the same thing, but with "douchebags" instead of "idiots."

I hit the back button instead of the post message button, though. :)

[fascisthunter]

11. lol...

[debbierlus]

39. Kind of tepid outrage...He was a friggin kid, stop calling him an idiot...

Man....

I am kind of aghast that people on DU would even take the time to comment on some teenager screwing around and messing up a campaign sign. Yes, it is PETTY vandalism. But, it is the type of thing where the kid says sorry and does an extra weeks worth of dishes...

The fact that people are even acknowledging the fact that the campaign sign is the reason the kid got shot is SURREAL. He didn't shoot the kid over a SIGN, he shot the kid because he is full of hate, violence, & anger. I am sure that is the point of the original post.

Frankly, I tell my daughter the following about people with McCain signs. Stay the hell away from them.

[fascisthunter]

42. Heh...?

The man who shot to KILL, should be locked up for life! Did the kid get what he deserved....?! NO. He got much more than he deserved. He could have lost his life. And sorry... but even though he almost died, he's a fucking IDIOT for messing with private property, and that "John Wayne" is a fricking nutcase who should be locked up. Still sound tepid....?! Take the moral on tepid posts and use it to reply to someone else. You missed me by a long shot... I'm surprised you even bothered replying to my post out of so many others. I am not worthy..

[olkaz]

3. I dont know, part of me thinks this is hilarious

I know, I know, I shouldn't, but these kids pestering the old man, I don't know.

You get felonious assault for firing a weapon? Did he hit one of the kids?

[SteppingRazor]

5. Yeah, one of them got hit in the arm. n/t

[Dennis Donovan]

6. He hit one of the kids in the arm...

It should be attempted murder.:grr:

[WCGreen]

9. dag nabbit...

Fifty t'ain't old...

[olkaz]

12. I know, you're right.

I guess I was thinking that he was acting like an old man, rather than being an old man.

I meant no offense.

[WCGreen]

23. None taken...

I was just funnin' around.

[T Wolf]

7. I think I read it to say that the wounded kid was IN THE VEHICLE and did not trespass

on the old fart's property.

And isn't it a felony to fire a weapon into an occupied vehicle?

[Dennis Donovan]

8. I believe he WAS inside the vehicle - they were driving away...

[beachmom]

10. They went on his property. Pretty boneheaded. I think he is within

his legal rights; or at least that is the case in many states.

I am opposed to defacing signs or stealing signs, and these kids were totally in the wrong. Up to the courts to decide if the man was.

[fascisthunter]

15. You Think it's acceptable to Shoot People WHo Vandalize signs?

Should we put teens on Death Row for vandalizing too? Afterall, the person shooting the teen could have KILLED HIM!

[vaberella]

16. Exactly. n/t

[Ilsa]

19. For alot of states, he wouldn't be in his rights if the vandals were leaving.

I think I remember reading here on DU that you can't even shoot someone on your property in many states if they are leaving, IIRC.

My Obama-Biden and Vote Democratic signs were stolen over the weekend, along with my neighbor's sign, which I picked up for him. The McCain Palin signs all up and down the street weren't touched. No biggie. We didn't go ballistic, even though it was aggravating. My neighbor across the street, who has two signs I picked up for him, went out to HQ while we were gone and got us new signs.

I'm 50 years old, too. The shooter needs to chill out.

[slampoet]

35. Up to the courts because you are already sure they were on his lawn.

Please don't assume the report is the real course of events.

[debbierlus]

40. Alright, I am in the Twilight Zone. Within legal rights to shoot at a kid because they vandalize

A campaign sign....

Did you read what you just wrote? Read it again.

Do you really believe that shooting a kid is okay because they defaced a sign? You think that is within legal rights?

You think people should have the right to shoot another human being for any other reason then self defense? It isn't legal to
shoot anyone for any other reason, btw. He was not within his legal rights.

Sorry officer. I had to shoot these kids. They were damaging my John McCain sign....

This is TOO weird. Did freeperville take over the board?

[Forkboy]

43. Oy vey

:eyes:

[Irishman26]

13. Not to ever take up for a McCain supporter because clearly...

this guy is borderline mentally retarded to react that way but, since when is it acceptable to go onto someone else's property and attempt to steal/vandalize? I know if the situation were reversed, and I caught some little punk on my property doing something to my Obama signs, I'd be pretty steamed. In my opinion, these kids went around looking for trouble and got it in the worst way. It's hard to feel sorry for them. We have to be careful not to blindly support our side no matter what the circumstances are. In this case, people for our candidtae were the instigators and we can't ignore that just because they support our side. We'll lose credibility and then we're just freepers.

[T Wolf]

18. Almost everyone has said the kids were wrong. The contention is that shooting at someone who took

a $5 sign is a little out-of-scale in terms of the response.

If someone grabs a newspaper out of your hand, are you justified in shooting at the car they are fleeing in?

Even the goddamn cops have rules for when they (are supposed to be able to) use deadly force.

There was no imminent danger to the shooter. Therefore, no legitimate right to shoot.

[Irishman26]

38. I don't disagree that it was out-of-scale at all. As I said in my post...

I think this guy is crazy and should be prosecuted. My point though, was that if this situation hadn't been instigated by people on our side, the whole thing would have never happened. Would people like you or I ever be at any risk of being shot like this? No. Why? Because we aren't morons who go around looking for trouble as these little idiots were. Was this guy wrong for reacting that way? Absolutely. It's insanity. But it doesn't excuse te fact that the two Obama supporters were primarily the ones at fault for the whole situation happening. I just don't want to see our community devolve into a "our side does no wrong despite all the facts" freeper-ish mentality.

[vaberella]

14. I can't say anything. That was his property and you have the right to protect your property.

Those kids were way out of line. I'm not fond of gun violence and especially done on "harmless" kids, but at the same time I'm like...his property and those kids were trespassing.

[Dennis Donovan]

20. They were leaving in their vehicle when he shot one of them...

He could've gotten their tag # and called the cops. But SHOOTING them? That's an overreaction, IMO.

[vaberella]

25. Actually he shot one warning shot.

Then he shot again as one was running towards the vehicles and he hit the kid driving in the arm. He was in some states within his rights. I agree he way over reacted, but he looks like one of the Palin rally members so they take their guns serious and their property serious. It was stupid of the kids and they paid the price for such actions, when it could already be seen that it wasn't a smart thing to do something like that just thinking about it.

[rucky]

21. There's a legal penalty for trespassing

that doesn't involve anybody getting shot.

[vaberella]

26. I agree. But how was he going to get them on that?

This is not to defend him or anything. But the trespassing law wouldn't work for him. He was an old man and who would need to run out to write down the license plate number of the car. Where he would most likely NOT have a case if he didn't get the license plate, or the car wasn't found or he didn't get any faces.

He did take the law within in his own hands, but it was his property and he got his retribution where the police would fail. Again, I'm not defending the guy because they were stupid kids doing what stupid kids do...since I knew many people in high school who thought it was funny to steal signs; any sign. But again it is his property in some states he was within his rights.

[Bake]

36. You must just LOVE the "Castle Doctrine."

If this assclown's state has that, he's probably in the clear.

Bake

[BuyingThyme]

17. Leave the signs alone!

[Dennis Donovan]

24. I agree 1000%...

I've even propped up the opposition's signs when they were down (right after I planted one for my candidate, of course!:D)

[zbdent]

22. Contrast that with how a Dem deals with a sign-stealer ...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=108x134154

[BlueIdaho]

27. Stealing signs = bad, shooting kids = INSANE...

I say lock him up until the election is over - don't let this trigger happy SOB cast a vote.

[OnceUponTimeOnTheNet]

28. K&R

[Supply Side Jesus]

29. Assault? Are you kidding me?

Why isn't he being charged with attempted murder?!
WTF!
You don't pull out a rifle and start shooting AT them to just injure them! This is attempted murder plain and simple. 2nd Degree Attempt.

[JimDandy]

30. Obama fans or not, those teens should be prosecuted for

damaging the man's McCain sign, which is personal property. The police almost never treat damage and theft of political signs seriously, so sign theft and vandalism laws (in jurisdictions that even have them) continue to have no teeth to them.

[gatorboy]

31. What penalty would you suggest?

[JimDandy]

37. $1,000 fine, or 60 days jail, or both.

The municipality I used to live in had such a law and, just before I moved, for the very first time it actually prosecuted a man for theft of a political sign. He ended up paying $1,000 and had to endure his neighbors and the whole community knowing he was a petty thief and the usurper of freedom of speech.

[RamboLiberal]

32. Now how did I guess this would be Ohio

This idiot should do jail time with this idiot. Remember this one(see below). I really hope this jerk loses his rights to ever again own a gun. I really hate people who steal/vandalize yard signs (though its tempting when I see a McCain/Palin) but I'd never think of pointing letting alone shooting my firearm at sign vandalizers.

Oh and I wish they'd charge the vandalizers as well.

PORTSMOUTH, Ohio — A man who shot and killed a Chillicothe teenager last year over a bale of straw was sentenced Tuesday to four years in prison.

Last month, Eric Whisman pleaded guilty to reduced charges of reckless homicide that stemmed from the shooting last October.

Whisman, 36, said he became angry when he saw Nathaniel Kennedy, 17, and his friend stealing a bale of straw from the shooting club where he worked.

As Kennedy and his friend fled with the straw in a pickup, Whisman fired a warning shot from a rifle. A second shot from the rifle struck and killed Kennedy.

Whisman told authorities that he fired shots to scare the teenagers.

Four years was the minimum sentence that Whisman could have received. He faced up to 18 years in prison.

http://www.10tv.com/live/content/local/stories/2008/09/16/story_whisman.html?sid=102

[Window]

33. Damn. Just damn.

[holiday]

34. It was just young kids.. geesh.. I hope they lock that man up for

good. One of those boys could've been killed!! It's a fucking sign! Not worth someone's life!

[armed_and_liberal]

41. This is why we have Gun Control Laws....

because f**king morons that think the proper response to someone stealing a campaign sign is to grab a firearm. Maybe we need an intelligence test along with a background check. I have guns and enjoy shooting,it would never cross my mind to fire on someone stealing a silly-ass paper sign out of my yard.