(AZ) Gun store owner shoots at shoplifter

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Drizzt

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Gun store owner shoots at shoplifter

Katie McDevitt, Tribune

A Tempe gun store owner was arrested along with a suspected thief Saturday after the owner fired four rounds at a shoplifter who stole a pistol out of his shop.

Police said a man walked out of the S&S Firearms store, 906 S. Priest with an AK pistol worth $750 without paying for it. Store owner Stephen Saridakis, 59, then followed the man outside the business and pointed a .45 caliber handgun at him while demanding his weapon back.

The man gave the gun back to the owner, but left right away. Police said the store owner then fired four shots at the thief’s vehicle with his handgun, flattening a tire.

Police arrested Nathaniel Jones, 21, a short time later at 1129 W. Elna Rae on suspicion of theft of a firearm. Saridakis was also arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault with a firearm. Jones was taken to Tempe City Jail and Saridakis was released pending review of the charges by a prosecutor.

No one was injured during the shooting.

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/106060

He got his property back, then still shot at the guy? :banghead:
 
kinda stupid... but there might be more to this one...

perp "screw you! ive got my own gun in the car..."

heads to the car and reaches under the seat... store owner shoots...

one of those that we will have to wait and see
 
ok lets look at this because I really love-hate folks that do this nonsense.....
1. points gun at a guy in progress of making a theft(questionable but likely the poilce will let this one go)
2.shoots at unarmed man driving away in a car(completly wrong and should be charged as stated in article)

The owner could face further charges depending on what really happened. It never said the BG left the store with the gun. If he didnt then there was no theft at least by Va law.

Which off topic but related I read in Hand magazine about 10 years ago or so that this guy at a grocery store had some sort of confrontation then chased a fleeing BG with his truck for miles down the road and eventualy held him at gunpoint until the police got there and then got a "that a boy" from the PD what a crock the laws provide for DEFENSE not going on an OFFENSIVE mode

We all should try to take a second and think before we do it can olnly help
 
Um. Did you guys read it? He shot at the vehicle four times which resulted in a flat tire. Do you think maybe he was shooting AT THE TIRES? Not at the person? Doesn't mean that is right or smart, but its not assault, its criminal vandalism or destruction of property. OR, depending on the state, he may have been within the state allowed right of forcing a felon (Grand Theft is a felony, just because you give it back doesnt mean you didnt steal it) to wait for police.

In KY, its legal to use force to stop a felon from fleeing, though this is AZ.

Take the High Road and don't rush to judgment on this case. I'd bet my money on him shooting at the car, not the SUSPECTED FELON.
 
Original quote by: Eric F
The owner could face further charges depending on what really happened. It never said the BG left the store with the gun. If he didnt then there was no theft at least by Va law.
Click to expand...

Eric, re-read the second paragraph. It clearly states the owner followed the thief OUTSIDE.

As for shooting, he shouldn't have. I think he should have gotten the plate number and called the police. Let the law take care of it.
 
Now I try to justify alot of stuff......but I cannot justify the store owner for shooting the car. It was pointless and potentially dangerous for people in the area.
 
Yeah, chasing someone down was probably a very bad idea.

And shooting at someone's car IS assault, at least in my state.
 
I'd shoot at tires if someone kidnapped my kid, but not if they're just getting away. Heck in VA you can use deadly force on a kidnapper.
 
The THREAT of deadly force may be used to stop a robbery. Pointing the gun a the BG to demand his property back. Deadly force may be used to protect yourself or another from immenent death or serious bodily injury. He'll have a hard time explaing shooting at a departing car, if in fact the car was departing. Most Pheonix newspapers are not know for their balanced reporting of gun relating incidents.
 
Shooting at a departing vehicle, even with your property, not a good idea. Good way to injure bystanders. Get the license plate and a good description NOT "Blue van with 3 or 4 bullet holes above the bumper, .45 cal hollow point Ranger SXT like these in my hand".
 
Can you say MORON?
Clearly outside of what is allowed by law, not to mention outside the realm of common sense. Whether he was shooting at the guy or the tires he was violating the law and should be prosecuted. Guys like that give the rest of us a bad reputation.

The THREAT of deadly force may be used to stop a robbery.
Click to expand...
That was not a robbery, it was a theft and AZ law does not allow deadly force (or the threat thereof) to stop a theft. Not to mention he already got his gun back.

Most Pheonix newspapers are not know for their balanced reporting of gun relating incidents.
Click to expand...
Where did you get that idea? They are usually pretty good, even the Tribune.
 
The man gave the gun back to the owner, but left right away. Police said the store owner then fired four shots at the thief’s vehicle with his handgun, flattening a tire.
Click to expand...

I'm betting "gave" is something more along the lines of dropped or threw a $750 gun on the pavement and ran, and the shop owner tried to flatten his tires to prevent his escaping. Still not a smart thing to do, but I can understand it.

On that note, I imagine this idiot will think twice before trying to steal a gun from a gunshop in the future.

It is kind of upsetting that the news twisted it by saying "shoplifting". One, $750 is felony theft. Two, aren't these the same people who are constantly screaming that we need to do something to keep guns out of criminals hands? I'd say the shop owner did just that.
 
I don't know how you would apply the Castle Doctrine to this. But somehow I get the feeling that excessive force was used to keep the thief there (at least that's what they will say). He had already had the weapon back, soooo.... Its a tough decision, I need to read up on the laws a little more, interperation is an even bigger issue.
-bix
 
This afternoon I dropped by my DA's office to shoot the breeze and he related this story to me. So I asked what charges he might consider, Attemted Murder, ADW, destruction of private property and a bunch of other stuff. And then he says "I'd charge the other jerk as an accessory to all of the above 'cause he started it all". That's when the girls out front came in wondering what the Hell was so funny.
 
Steve is a good guy. I bought my Marlin 1894SS from him not long ago.

Glan no one was hurt.
 
The gun store owner was dumb for doing this.. The man was dumb for taking the gun ..

I can PROMISE you that the gun is no where NEAR what this store owner will pay in lawyer fee's .. Not worth it no matter how you twist it..
 
I can understand employing the threat of deadly force in this specific case of theft since the stolen object was a gun. However unlikely it might be, the ammo fairy may have visited and so the "hey, gimme my gun back you thief" conversation is a bit fraught, to say the least. I am not saying it's legal or justifiable, but I understand the inclination to deploy one's firearm in this situation.

On the other hand, once the guy's dropped the gun and bolted (if that's what happened), then shooting at the car or the fleeing thief was probably a very bad move.
 
Um. Did you guys read it? He shot at the vehicle four times which resulted in a flat tire. Do you think maybe he was shooting AT THE TIRES? Not at the person?
Click to expand...
Not sure about out there but In Va this would be a Felony as it was an occupied car.
Eric, re-read the second paragraph. It clearly states the owner followed the thief OUTSIDE.
Click to expand...
My fauly I did not read that correctly.
 
i think the gun store owner went a little overboard. getting the gun back (in my opinion) would be the important part. once it was back and the theif was running ( or driving as the case may be) let the cops deal with it. the only real justicifcation for shooting the car, as i could see it, would be if the perp was using the car as a weapon, i.e. trying to run over the store owner.
 
At $750.00, it's no longer shoplifting....it's grand theft.
Click to expand...

PROTIP: State laws vary from state to state and some states don't even have grand theft defined in their statutes. Some states even classify everything under $1000 as the same as far as severity of crime. Some of those states may even have special rules about theft of firearms that may make the dollar value irrelevant.
 
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