FL - Soldier of Christ gets gun pointed at him by gun store owner

[deanf]

http://www.nynewsday.com/news/natio...8134,print.story?coll=sns-ap-nation-headlines

Man Tries to Steal Gun to 'Rescue Schiavo'


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By Associated Press

March 25, 2005

SEMINOLE, Fla. -- A man was arrested after trying to steal a weapon from a gun shop so he could "take some action and rescue Terri Schiavo," authorities said.

Michael W. Mitchell, of Rockford, Ill., entered Randall's Firearms Inc. in Seminole just before 6 p.m. Thursday with a box cutter and tried to steal a gun, said Marianne Pasha, a spokeswoman for the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

Mitchell, 50, told deputies he wanted to "take some action and rescue Terri Schiavo" after he visited the Pinellas Park hospice where she lives, Pasha said.

The feeding tube that has kept Schiavo alive for more than a decade was removed March 18 over objections from her parents. Schiavo's husband has said his wife would not want to be kept alive artificially.

Doctors have said she would probably die within a week or two of the tube being pulled.

Randy McKenzie, the owner of Randall's Firearms, said Mitchell pulled out the box cutter and broke the glass on a couple of display cases.

"He told me if I wasn't on Terri's side then I wasn't on God's side, either," McKenzie told The Associated Press.

McKenzie said he then pointed his own gun at Mitchell and ordered him to lie on the ground. But Mitchell fled out the store's back door before police arrived, he said.

Mitchell was later arrested in a parking lot and was scheduled to appear in court Friday. He was being held on $125,000 bond on charges of attempted armed robbery, aggravated assault and criminal mischief, officials said.

It was not known if he had a lawyer.

Seminole is about 5 miles west of Pinellas Park.

 

[Zrex]

I guess someone has to say this:


Never bring a knife to a gun fight.

 

[Molon Labe]

What a maroon...

 

[Risasi]

Yeah, he should have been armed a long time ago if he wanted to be a nut...though I use this term lightly. I have the same sentiments about this case with the Schiavo woman.

 

[petrel800]

I won't be surprised if this situation turns violent. Especially if she is allowed to pass. I sure hope Michael Schiavo and his lawyer have taken the proper precautions for their safety.

 

[Risasi]

Well the wicked are taken in their own devices. So that sucker will get what he deserves...

Wouldn't it be poetic if he get staph from a papercut, while cashing his insurance check and ends up in the hospital in the same situation?

 

[buzz_knox]

Wouldn't it be poetic if he get staph from a papercut, while cashing his insurance check and ends up in the hospital in the same situation?

What insurance? I thought the value of the existing policy (as of the time of her brain injury) was used years ago to pay for her care. And no company would issue a policy for her in the condition she's been in for the last 15 years.

 

[Risasi]

Really? I thought he got an extra mil once she dies...looking into.

 

[petrel800]

I don't think this is a place to debate whos right and whos wrong in this case. They have already locked up a couple discussions on that. That discussion is probably for the armed and polite society forum. I was commenting on the above story and the fact violience wouldn't surprise me.

After your emotional response, looks like I could be right.

 

[Greg L]

No, the insurance/settlement money is long gone. If it was all about the money he could have easily accepted the various offers made over the past couple of weeks (million plus?) to walk away & done so.

That said, did you notice that the guy was from Illinois? I guess up there they don't allow the gun shop employees to be armed .

Sadly I too expect some violence somewhere to come from this.

 

[albanian]

If a guy comes at me with a boxcutter, I really am not interested in his opinion on the Schiavo situation. I am more interested in making HIM a "Schiavo" as soon as possible.

I love the fact that some people loose sight of the issue so bad that they do exactly what they are against. He doesn't want people to kill Schiavo so he is prepared to kill a store owner (who has nothing to do with anything) and probably intends to kill some other people as well?

The anti-abortion protesters that blow up clinics or murder doctors are in the same group. Not only is it the wrong way to go about getting your opinion across but it is doing the very thing that you claim you are against. We are supposed to be a nation of laws so anyone that decides the law is not working does not have the right to break it. You have to go through a legal process even if bad things are happening in the mean time.

Bottom line is, this chump has a mental problem. He sounds like just the type that could use a little "Schiavo" treatment. I wish we could pull the plug on morons like this.

 

[buzz_knox]

Interesting twist

So Shiavo took Terri for some experimental treatment that didn't work, and the Schindlers at one time agreed that she was in a persistent vegetative state. Maybe they're aren't as pure and he isn't as evil as so many are making them out to be.

 

[rock jock]

In this particular case, this man's actions were probably not warranted. However, what makes the Shiavo case such a media frenzy is the fact that it may be used as a precedent in the future. We may be having this same debate in a few years about involuntary euthnasia and the violence that will inevitably follow.

 

[neoncowboy]

Yeah, he should have been armed a long time ago if he wanted to be a nut...though I use this term lightly. I have the same sentiments about this case with the Schiavo woman.

Me too, sort of.

I already think this woman's death is going to ignite a HUGE backlash against the tyranny of the federal courts...how much moreso if they were on TV employing their stormtroopers to go and stand at arms between Terri and those that would try to rescue her.

What a media image THAT would be.

It dawned on me today that the court is leading the nation pretty far outside of the 'will of the people' these days...overruling our representative government with it's own increasingly outside-of-the-mainstream opinions on a wide range of issues.

And they have stormtroopers to back up that rule.

It is really beginning to look like the day will eventually come when 'the people' need their own stormtroopers to insure self rule.

 

[buzz_knox]

However, what makes the Shiavo case such a media frenzy is the fact that it may be used as a precedent in the future. We may be having this same debate in a few years about involuntary euthnasia and the violence that will inevitably follow.

There have been similar cases out there, so the precedent is already established. What makes this such a frenzy is that everyone and their mother decided to jump into this case. That resulted in media attention, which promoted more involvement, more attention, etc.

 

[jlwatts3]

Neon cowboy,
Unfortunately, I think you are on to something. The federal judiciary needs to be reformed or else something worse is going to happen.

 

[Bear Gulch]

Breaking the law is breaking the law, period. I feel that a great injustice is being done to Terri, but to attempt an armed robbery to "rescue" her is stupid, and brings discredit upon those of us who feel that she hasn't gotten the due protection of the Law.

 

[Risasi]

Petrel,

I don't know if your statement was directed at me. I don't care much though. I was giving my thoughts on this. And being this is the internet the worst that can happen is we resort to name calling and ad hominem. Of course that is not the high road. No, I was merely expressing my views that have formed from what has been stated as fact in regards to this case. Let me lay some facts out:

▪ Terri Schiavo has always been able to swallow but her husband denied her the therapy that would allow her to re-learn how to eat even though the therapy is considered mandatory by Florida Statute 744.3215, even to those diagnosed with PVS.

▪ One week before her "accident" (whatever that means), Michael Shiavo took out a life insurance policy on her.

▪ In 1992, Michael filed and won a malpractice case in which a significant award was made for Terri’s rehabilitation and therapy. The award was based, in part, on expert testimony that she would live a normal life span. Although Michael Schiavo was awarded $600,000 of his own in a malpractice award regarding this case he has squandered the million dollars plus settlement that was to pay for Terri Schiavo’s medical care. A ruling by Judge Greer has allowed that money to be spent on Michael’s attorney’s fees. This is NOT money from an insurance policy, but money from a malpractice suit.

▪ During the time he was seeking the malpractice award, Michael never indicated that Terri would want to die if she were severely disabled.

▪ Although Michael Schiavo has remained married to Terri he has fathered two children with his girlfriend.

▪ Michael Schiavo has petitioned to have Terri cremated immediately after her death.

▪ Dr. Ronald Cranford, who testified on behalf of Michael in the case to remove Terri’s food and fluids, said that patients like Terri can take food by mouth.

▪ Cranford has said that he would consider spoon-feeding to be "medical treatment."


Okay, these are "facts". I don't know that they are necessarily true. I wish someone would confirm or deny them. Especially whether or not there truly is a life insurance policy hanging over her head.

 

[Cool Hand Luke 22:36]

He doesn't want people to kill Schiavo so he is prepared to kill a store owner (who has nothing to do with anything) and probably intends to kill some other people as well?

The anti-abortion protesters that blow up clinics or murder doctors are in the same group.

There is a logical disconnect in your argument. While the gunshop owner had nothing to do with Terry Schiavo, the abortion providers certainly do have a direct involvement in abortion. Violence by those opposed to either the Schiavo killing or to abortion is manifestly wrong however. Both issues should be addressed through the ballot box, not the cartridge box.

 

[itgoesboom]

Risasi,

I have mixed feelings about this whole case, but there are some important things to realize.

- The Schindlers are the ones that encouraged Schiavo to go out and date and start a new life. But now they are criticizing him for it?

- Michael Schiavo was offered a total of $11 MILLION to walk away. First there was a $10 million payoff offered, he declined, and then another $1million was offered. He refused again. The latest $1million was just a week or two ago.

- Terry told her Uncle, her best friend, and her Brother-in-law that she wouldn't want a feeding tube.

- Many people are trying to defame Schaivo by claiming that he put her in the PVS through abuse, although there is no evidence. But there is evidence she was bulimic, and thats why she had the potassium defiancy, which lead to her being in the PVS state.

- Nobody in a PVS has recovered after more than 3 months.

- Her CAT scan shows that her Cortex is pretty much all gone.

I.G.B.

 

[P95Carry]

Guys - I thought this thread was about a box cutter threat used to rob a gun store!! The motive for that robbery is fast becoming the thread subject - it is IMO off topic and not THR. APS perhaps.

We had a Terri thread here the other day - it went belly up - and if that subject is continued here I'll wager the same will happen.

So please - no discussion on euthanasia type pros/cons deals - or abortion type deals - or religious stuff OK?

 

[Risasi]

Actually I wish you would close it now...there isn't really anything else to be said of a knucklehead with a box cutter. Except maybe everybody else making the standard "knife to a gunfight" comments...

 

[ceetee]

deanf

Was that a real headline? Or something you made up? Just curious here...




Originally posted by neoncowboy:

It dawned on me today that the court is leading the nation pretty far outside of the 'will of the people' these days...overruling our representative government with it's own increasingly outside-of-the-mainstream opinions on a wide range of issues.

That's an interesting comment. I live in Florida, so I've been familiar with this case for years now. AA recent poll by a local newspaper asked whether Congress should get involved in this matter. 78.2% voted "no."

In this case, who can best determine what "the will of the people" really is?

 

[P95Carry]

Actually I wish you would close it now...there isn't really anything else to be said of a knucklehead with a box cutter. Except maybe everybody else making the standard "knife to a gunfight" comments...

On reflection and following that post - I really do think we are better for closure. The prime thread subject does not IMO merit much further exploration and as for the rest of the content - it will not I feel be advantageous to pursue it further here.

 

[Justin]

One wonders who is more braindead. This twit from Illinois, or ol' Terry.

</Sorry, just couldn't resist. I now return you to your regularly locked thread.>