Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Man Charged for Warning Shot

“Live free or die” my ass.

A New Hampshire man who fired his handgun into the ground to scare an alleged burglar he caught crawling out of a neighbor’s window is now facing a felony charge—and the same potential prison sentence as the man he stopped.

Dennis Fleming, 61, of Farmington, was arrested for reckless conduct after the Saturday incident at his 19th century farmhouse. 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.

“I didn’t think I could handle this guy physically, so I fired into the ground,” Fleming told FoxNews.com. “He stopped. He knew I was serious. I was angry … and I was worried that this guy was going to come after me.”

No one was injured in the incident, but when the police arrived, they made two arrests. Hebert was charged with two counts of burglary and drug possession. He faces up to seven years in prison if convicted. Fleming, meanwhile, 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.

The grandpa shouldn’t have fired his weapon. There’s really no such thing as a “warning shot.” If you shoot, it better be because you are in fear of your (or someone else’s) life and intend to stop the threat. But his actions were certainly not irrational or reckless. They were deliberate and had the positive outcome of capturing a criminal. At the most, the grandpa should get a light slap on the wrist. Ideally, he should get a stear lecture from the cops and a “thank you” for looking out for his neighbors.

(6) Comments
Posted by Owen at 1713 hrs
Firearms + Law + Politics + Politics - General

  1. Legal arguments aside, I really don’t agree that there is no such thing as a “warning shot.”  This situation seems to bear that out in the fact that grandpa’s actions not only saved his own and his neighbor’s property but quite likely the life of the burglar, because I do believe that the next bullet should properly have been centered right on the perpetrator.  Perhaps grandpa will get a slap on the wrist because of the law, but I don’t believe that any punishment is called for.  In this case, in the words of whoever wrote it in the 1600s, “The law is an ass.”

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 21, 2012 at 1748 hrs


  2. I love the gun group spokesperson who said

    “This homeowner fired at the ground, from all accounts, in a safe direction and held a burglar for police and did things correctly,” Dean told FoxNews.com. “The fact that this man would be charged is an outrage. Burglars in New Hampshire must know it’s open season, since homeowners cannot defend themselves, as evidenced by this case. This is charging the victim.”

    Of course the robber wasn’t leaving his home and he wasn’t the victim when he fired the shot.  But never mind…

    My favorite slice of irony here? If he’s convicted of a felony, he’ll have to give up his “collection of seven rifles and a .38-caliber handgun.”  Heh…  Actions have consequences.

    Posted by Phil Scarr on February 21, 2012 at 2055 hrs


  3. Tennessee v. Garner is just a bad SCOTUS decision.  We’d all be better off if we could shoot a fleeing felon.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 22, 2012 at 0753 hrs


  4. Phil, but his home had been burglarized.  He armed himself and went out to look for signs of the perpetrator.  He found signs crawling out of the neighbor’s house.  That is not germane?  I don’t mind a warning shot in to the ground either.  I think it will save a life way more often than not.  A gun could be a fake, could be unloaded.  A real shot that brings up real turf may take a lot of ideas out of a felon’s head.  I agree that charging this man for anything is ridiculous, if he actually fired his warning shot at a safe angle in to the ground.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 22, 2012 at 1109 hrs


  5. I think the man should simply say “I mispoke during the adrenaline rush of the night, I did not fire a warning shot, I simply accidentally discharged my weapon.”  Case closed.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 22, 2012 at 1237 hrs


  6. Warning shots are a real bad idea.  For one if you fire a warning shot you weren’t in immediate fear of death or great bodily harm.  So, you used lethal force even though you didn’t think it justified.  The other reason is that we are responsible for every round we fire.  In this case the guy appears to have safely fired into the ground but what if the bullet had hit something and ricocheted thought a neighbors window?

    That said, he was way over charged and I would bet the charges will be reduced to disorderly conduct or something.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 24, 2012 at 0617 hrs


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