TargetTerror
Member
A guy was arrested for beating an armed robber. While, morally, the robber may have deserved what he got, this underscores the need to keep the legal system in mind when you defend yourself and your property. Don't let yourself get carried away, which is what it looks like happened here.
http://www.kearneyhub.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19091257&BRD=268&PAG=461&dept_id=577571&rfi=6
http://www.kearneyhub.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19091257&BRD=268&PAG=461&dept_id=577571&rfi=6
LEXINGTON— A Lexington man was arrested Wednesday after allegedly severely beating a would-be robber with his own pistol.
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Michael Atkins, 17, of Lexington was charged in Dawson County Court Wednesday with assault and use of a weapon to commit a felony. Lexington Police Chief Charlie Clark said Atkins assaulted Ernesto Guerrero, 26, of Grand Island after Guerrero allegedly tried to rob him at gunpoint Nov. 23.
Guerrero tried to rob Atkins’ west-central Lexington home, which he shares with his mother. Clark said she was not home at the time.
“He (Guerrero) walked into a home and stuck a gun in the guy’s (Atkins’) face,” Clark said.
Several of Atkins’ friends arrived, and a fight began. Guerrero tried to flee, but Atkins tackled him in the yard and “beat him severely with his own pistol,” Clark said.
Clark said Atkins was acting in self-defense when he took the gun away from Guerrero, but “it ceases to be self-defense, especially when you pistol whip the guy over the head with his own gun.”
Clark said authorities are not sure whether anyone else was involved in the beating and are still searching for suspects. He said Guerrero had at least one accomplice in the robbery, but police have not yet identified that person.
Guerrero was transported privately to Cozad Community Hospital where he was treated overnight. He was arrested in Grand Island last weekend and brought to Lexington on Monday. He has been charged in county court with robbery and use of a weapon to commit a felony and is being held in the Dawson County Jail on a $10,000 bond.
Robbery and use of a firearm to commit a felony are both Class II felonies punishable by up to 50 years and a minimum of one year in prison.
Atkins was charged with second-degree assault, a Class IIIA felony punishable by up to five years in prison, a $10,000 fine or both. He was also charged with use of a firearm to commit a felony, a Class II felony, and unlawful possession of a revolver, a Class III misdemeanor punishable by up to three months in jail, a $500 fine or both.
Atkins was arrested at about 11:30 a.m. Wednesday when he reported to his probation officer. He is on probation from juvenile court. He is being held on a $5,000 bond in the Dawson County Jail.
Clark said the gun has not been found, but police were told it is a revolver.