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Irate homeowner shoots plant thief

  • Thread starter pearldiver
  • Start date
I'm a plant lover but I don't think a plant is worth potentially killing a father. Hope the thief learned his lesson.
 
Thats ridiculous...what both of them did.
 
AMERICA! :usa2:

But seriously?
 
Holy cow. God bless America indeed.

I have to know what kind of plant it was.
 
Well it was a stupid idea to try and steal a plant, and unless this plant was magical and could turn back time or give you eternal life, it was not worth murdering somebody for. Even though he didn't die, in most cases, when shot in the head, you would be dead. He could have shot him in the foot or something, then called the cops, that's what I would have done... Well I wouldn't have actually shot unless he pulled out a weapon and came at me. I would aim for the foot that way they won't die, but they have to live with the pain while being treated from my self defense mechanism's infliction. I think it would have been better to pepper spray the thief actually. And WHAT? It was 79 degrees at 5:00 IN AMERICA in THIS weather? WHERE?! :hail:
 
Pineapple, It has been unseasonably warm here for this time of year, in San Antonio, Texas. It is said he was taking other items as well, don't know what they were. It is wise to know the laws of the state where you live, and when someone is legally able to use deadly force. Doesn't mean they will or won't, but I cannot imagine many situations where anyone would want to put themself at that hazard or risk. Thing is, deadly force is deadly force wherever it is applied. What if you missed that foot? The cops all train to hit what is called body mass. The torso. Ideally, hopefully no one would ever have to shoot or wish to shoot anybody. Unfortunately, things are rarely ideal when criminal acts are taking place, even if it is just criminal mischief. And in this case it was theft, so that upped the ante a bit. I am not sure about this, but I heard that the fellow got in his vehicle and tried to hit the shooter with it. That would change things somewhat. But it may just be bolstering his case.
 
While shooting someone over a plant or some yard items seems a bit overkill,
so to speak (pun intended)
but if the guy (thief) didn't do something he KNEW was wrong,
he wouldn't have had to endure the possible "poor judgment" of someone whose plant/belongings he was stealing.

In this case, the guy with the gun apparently didn't so anything illegal,
and therefore being within his rights to protect his belongings on his own property,
to look upon him as using poor judgment isn't appropriate.
Especially since the perp goes on the guy's property to do it.

(Of course many of us would handle things differently, but personally I like the idea of a person having the rights to protect themselves & their property.) For in some states, a person doesn't even have the right to shoot someone who breaks all the way into their home & steals things or vandalizes. That is NOT a good law! It allows a person practically no way to protect themselves, their family & their home.

In this case the guy with the gun wasn't shooting at people for any reason other than someone stealing from him. (Plants were on the guys property, not on the street or something.) And from what I saw, these weren't small plants!
Indeed, I think I would have handled things differently, but again the guy was following the law as far as what he could do to protect himself & his property. If you look at the pictures and how far onto the guys property this thief went, & the size of the pot/plant, indeed this is no small plant or item!
(Look at the pictures people!)

So here this guy is driving home & sees these plants/pots & what, decides he wants these for himself (or to sell!)? I could maybe excuse the behavior if he was picking a flower or even a sideshoot of a plant that was in a flower bed along the sidewalk, but this guy seems to have walked all the way up to the guys house & tried to take a huge pot/plant!

I will say that I think that people should be required to learn to shoot before being able to purchase a gun! We make people pass a test in order to get a drivers license, before they can purchase a car & drive. AND they need to renew that every now & then, especially when older or their ability comes into question. How is using a gun any less dangerous than driving?
But yes, I also believe that once a person learns to handle a gun properly, using it to protect themselves & their property (& family) is an alright thing to do.
Now indeed, I do question the law when it comes to belongings that are outside your home or vehicle, I do understand that property is property. Some people have real valuables on their property, and so protecting them on your land is no different than if they were in your home.
(Ortherwise, you wouldn't be in the right to stop someone from stealing your car, unless it was actually in your garage & not just parked on your driveway!)

I just hate to see what that homeowner would do if someone took something of real value! :0o: We also don't know how many times this sort of thing has happened to him before either, so there is not enough info to judge his behavior.
My guess is that the "thief" has tried this thing before, or already even has a rap-sheet.

Again, while I likely wouldn't have shot the guy for it, I sure would have fired a warning shot & possibly shot his tires out, or at least held him for the cops... if I could have (unlikely as that is!).
And as I mentioned already, the thief wouldn't have had to worry about being shot at, if he wouldn't have committed a crime!
I don't understand why people now-a-days are more worried about the rights & welfare of the criminals & not the victims (the homeowner in this case), & their rights.
As for waiting until "home invasion", does that mean you can't stop someone from stealing your car? How about starting it on fire? Or how about spraypainting it all over?
I realize that shooting & possible death are a bit severe for such acts, but if you live in a "bad" neighborhood & see this & worse on a daily basis, what do you do then? When does the fear & terror of the situation become enough?
Is it any different if the perp is some little kid as compared to a group of gang members? Where does a person draw the line?
I would like to think I wouldn't have shot, but until we are in that situation & have to think fast on a moments notice, when fear or similar repeated experiences colors the situation,who knows how they would actually react?

Bottom line I think from all of this is don't steal & be careful if you do shoot.
 
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It is obscene that the shooter is within his rights to kill over a plant. I would understand if the person was in his house trying to steal something. That could fall into the realm of self defense/ home invasion etc.. but this dude was still being shot at while being off of the guys prop and in his vehicle. While I don't condone the thiefs action it was no where near a capital crime.
 
  • #10
Property is property being a plant or not. Heck yes I believe it wad a good judgement. Criminals get too many "rights" as it is. What about the home owners rights? The criminal system has become too lax in the past years. Why so you think someone would have the where with all to walk onto someone's property and take what they want. If more people shot thieves like this there would be less crime. And I believe you have the right to protect your property. You may think it is not worth a life for a plant, I say make the price even higher for taking said plant so no one wants to "pay" for it. That is the whole purpose of punishment. It SHOULD be a higher price to pay than what it's worth. That is how it's supposed to be. Slaps on the wrist don't work in deliberate acts.
 
  • #11
You steala the plant...I shoota ya face..
 
  • #12
Just because you have a right does not mean you should use it.

Poor decision in both cases. I would usually make a joke since no one died,was extremely injured, or traumatized, but I'm not feeling it.
 
  • #13
Wild West, Texas laws aside, this is another example of a trigger-happy handgun owner pushing the scope of the law to its limits. Not sure if any of you mentioned this, but there was a woman practically caught in the crossfire during the shooting. Do any of you think an innocent bystanders life is worth the right to make a grandiose statement about property rights? I doubt you will find that theft in Texas is lower than states without the same law. It just seems insane to me.
 
  • #14
Yeah let's just take all the guns and live happily ever after.

Only problem is there will always be a black market and if someone wants a gun they will have one. So that argument is no good either. I already feel defenseless. Bad guys don't play by the rules.
 
  • #15
wow i wonder if he even decided to try and scare him off first before trying to shoot the the guyor even yell at him to get off his property. I agree people should have the right to protect their property and them selves with the use of a fire arm as a last resort. But I do have to agree with others that shooting a guy over a plant is a bit over the top even if he was in his rights to do so. As for stealing other things thats when one could say lets discharge a round into the ground and make him run away like a little girl. Although i do give it to the home owner for protecting him property and his stuff weather it was plants or not, big or small
 
  • #16
Hell yes if I had to I would push the law to the limits. I sure wouldn't let him run away. He would be detained for Leo to arrive, but if need be a bullet could be in order. I'm **** of criminals and deadbeats getting the upper hand in the laws and everything. I'm tired of laying for them to be locked up I'm tired of paying for them outside. I'm tired of waiting on them hand and foot when they are here already getting free healthcare and they thing they are at the Ritz Carlton or other high dollar hotel.

---------- Post added at 02:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:16 PM ----------

I'm tired of seeing a min wage earner have more disposable income than someone making $60k a year because my tax dollars are paying for their steak and crablegs and their brand new chargers with 2-3k rims. I'm tired so seeing people work the system. Claim to not afford meds yet still smoke 2packs a day. Then folks stealing because they want it. I'm sick of it.
 
  • #17
Wow, he must love that plant. I know this will happen if you intrude on the remaining sites of Sarracenia oreophila, jonesii, and alabamensis, since they're endangered species and some of the protective property owners will defend the remaining plants from poachers at all costs. Since when did people start ignoring the "look but don't touch" rule?
 
  • #18
I would have shot him a third time...just to get the point across.
 
  • #19
ok i should rephrase even firing off a blank or a rubber round works too but i would do the same thing and mostly because if i too had plants that i worked hard to keep alive and healthy i wouldnt want someone going ahead and taking them. Im mixed about it as you can tell but i fully understand why he did it and good for him for protecting his plants
 
  • #20
Yeah..I cannot muster even one shred of sympathy for the victim. If one makes a decision to take another person's property, no matter what the property is, then be prepared to pay the price. Kudos to the shooter. Thieves get what they deserve.
 
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