WAGCEVP
August 28, 2003, 11:12 PM
Fearful residents lock, load
By JEFF JARDINE
BEE LOCAL COLUMNIST
http://www.modbee.com/local/story/7339722p-8262096c.html
Published: August 26, 2003, 01:48:52 PM PDT
The recent rash of violent home invasion robberies frightens valley
residents, and rightfully so.
"It strikes pure panic for a good reason,"
Stanislaus County Sheriff Les Weidman said.
"Theft or a burglary -- that (makes you mad).
But it doesn't affect you like when someone comes into your home and
someone in your family is sexually assaulted. Or, you're dipped into a
hot tub until you give up information (where valuables are kept). It's a
violation of your family and your home. It's a living hell."
And it's what finally will drive some people to buy guns -- even
people who were once anti-gun.
But gun experts -- from arms dealers to gun safety instructors to law
enforcement officials -- share this opinion:
Unless you're absolutely sure you can kill an intruder, don't have a gun
in the house.
And no one -- no gun dealer, no psychologist -- really knows whether
you can do that until that moment of truth.
"I assume I could (shoot an intruder)," said Paul Mangelos, who manages
Barnwood Arms in Modesto. "But I don't know because I've never had to --
and I sell guns for a living."
"I can't tell that," said Rich Shubbert, owner of
On Target Firearms Instruction of Modesto. He teaches gun safety and
educates people who apply for concealed weapon permits. "It's up to each
individual's emotional makeup."
Too often, he said, gun owners believe a weapon alone will scare off
intruders. They don't think they'll actually need to pull the trigger.
"I tell them that's a bad philosophy," said Shubbert, who said he's had
many recent calls from women seeking gun training. "A gun is nothing you
bluff with. You pull it, be willing to use it."
Why? While a homeowner might grab a gun because he thinks someone could
be in the house, the intruder is a criminal with bad intentions.
"The homeowner thinks he's defending himself and his family, but the
people who do this (home invasions) have probably lived a life with
violence that your average citizen hasn't," sheriff's Lt. Jim Silva
said. "And (the crooks) feel like they're defending themselves against
the homeowner, if that makes any sense. But that's the way they think."
Homeowners have shot and killed intruders on numerous occasions in the
valley. A few examples:
In 1996, a Modesto resident killed two San Jose men during a home
invasion robbery.
On Thanksgiving 1997, a Modesto man foiled a burglary by killing one
intruder and wounding another.
Last year, a Modestan grabbed a shotgun and killed an intruder who held
him and his wife hostage.
But more often, the intruders are in control.
Residents have been shot, killed, beaten, sexually assaulted and
humiliated in various crimes over the years.
Home invaders brutalized a 93-year-old Empire woman in 1993, breaking
one of her kneecaps and stealing $2,000 in cash.
And in 1992, intruders stabbed Steven Somiri of Salida 20 times when he
tried to fight back.
They severed his spinal cord in two places.
Somiri, who was 16 years old when the attack occurred, needed five years
of physical therapy before he could walk again. Somiri, now 27, believes
that he could now kill to defend himself.
"I feel more strongly about it now," he said. "You have to have hate to
actually do that."
But he still doesn't own a gun. An aluminum baseball bat is his
defensive weapon of choice.
"After what happened to me -- being stabbed and left for dead -- I'm
more into having the person suffer," Somiri said. "And they're going to
suffer more if they're a vegetable in prison than if they're dead."
Shubbert and other gun safety experts recommend that citizens develop
good family safety plans in the home and get alarm systems that can't be
disabled when would-be crooks cut the telephone lines.
Still, many scared valley residents will opt for guns, Sheriff Weidman
said.
They'll need to find the right kind of weapon, he said. They'll need to
get proper gun training.
They'll need to learn about the legalities of shooting someone in
self-defense. They'll need to keep the weapons out of the hands of
children.
But before any of that, Weidman said, they should know whether they have
the resolve to use it.
"When you've made the decision that you're willing to kill somebody to
protect your family, then go ahead," he said.
Jeff Jardine's column appears Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays in Local
News. He can be reached at 578-2383 or jjardine@modbee.com.
By JEFF JARDINE
BEE LOCAL COLUMNIST
http://www.modbee.com/local/story/7339722p-8262096c.html
Published: August 26, 2003, 01:48:52 PM PDT
The recent rash of violent home invasion robberies frightens valley
residents, and rightfully so.
"It strikes pure panic for a good reason,"
Stanislaus County Sheriff Les Weidman said.
"Theft or a burglary -- that (makes you mad).
But it doesn't affect you like when someone comes into your home and
someone in your family is sexually assaulted. Or, you're dipped into a
hot tub until you give up information (where valuables are kept). It's a
violation of your family and your home. It's a living hell."
And it's what finally will drive some people to buy guns -- even
people who were once anti-gun.
But gun experts -- from arms dealers to gun safety instructors to law
enforcement officials -- share this opinion:
Unless you're absolutely sure you can kill an intruder, don't have a gun
in the house.
And no one -- no gun dealer, no psychologist -- really knows whether
you can do that until that moment of truth.
"I assume I could (shoot an intruder)," said Paul Mangelos, who manages
Barnwood Arms in Modesto. "But I don't know because I've never had to --
and I sell guns for a living."
"I can't tell that," said Rich Shubbert, owner of
On Target Firearms Instruction of Modesto. He teaches gun safety and
educates people who apply for concealed weapon permits. "It's up to each
individual's emotional makeup."
Too often, he said, gun owners believe a weapon alone will scare off
intruders. They don't think they'll actually need to pull the trigger.
"I tell them that's a bad philosophy," said Shubbert, who said he's had
many recent calls from women seeking gun training. "A gun is nothing you
bluff with. You pull it, be willing to use it."
Why? While a homeowner might grab a gun because he thinks someone could
be in the house, the intruder is a criminal with bad intentions.
"The homeowner thinks he's defending himself and his family, but the
people who do this (home invasions) have probably lived a life with
violence that your average citizen hasn't," sheriff's Lt. Jim Silva
said. "And (the crooks) feel like they're defending themselves against
the homeowner, if that makes any sense. But that's the way they think."
Homeowners have shot and killed intruders on numerous occasions in the
valley. A few examples:
In 1996, a Modesto resident killed two San Jose men during a home
invasion robbery.
On Thanksgiving 1997, a Modesto man foiled a burglary by killing one
intruder and wounding another.
Last year, a Modestan grabbed a shotgun and killed an intruder who held
him and his wife hostage.
But more often, the intruders are in control.
Residents have been shot, killed, beaten, sexually assaulted and
humiliated in various crimes over the years.
Home invaders brutalized a 93-year-old Empire woman in 1993, breaking
one of her kneecaps and stealing $2,000 in cash.
And in 1992, intruders stabbed Steven Somiri of Salida 20 times when he
tried to fight back.
They severed his spinal cord in two places.
Somiri, who was 16 years old when the attack occurred, needed five years
of physical therapy before he could walk again. Somiri, now 27, believes
that he could now kill to defend himself.
"I feel more strongly about it now," he said. "You have to have hate to
actually do that."
But he still doesn't own a gun. An aluminum baseball bat is his
defensive weapon of choice.
"After what happened to me -- being stabbed and left for dead -- I'm
more into having the person suffer," Somiri said. "And they're going to
suffer more if they're a vegetable in prison than if they're dead."
Shubbert and other gun safety experts recommend that citizens develop
good family safety plans in the home and get alarm systems that can't be
disabled when would-be crooks cut the telephone lines.
Still, many scared valley residents will opt for guns, Sheriff Weidman
said.
They'll need to find the right kind of weapon, he said. They'll need to
get proper gun training.
They'll need to learn about the legalities of shooting someone in
self-defense. They'll need to keep the weapons out of the hands of
children.
But before any of that, Weidman said, they should know whether they have
the resolve to use it.
"When you've made the decision that you're willing to kill somebody to
protect your family, then go ahead," he said.
Jeff Jardine's column appears Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays in Local
News. He can be reached at 578-2383 or jjardine@modbee.com.