(MA) Man shoots would-be robber; is arrested on gun charges

Status
Not open for further replies.

Drizzt

Member
Joined
Dec 24, 2002
Messages
2,647
Location
Moscow on the Colorado, TX
Man shoots would-be robber; is arrested on gun charges

By Erin Smith/ Staff Writer
Friday, January 14, 2005

A would-be robber became a victim of his own crime last week after he was shot in the stomach by a Brighton man he was trying to rob, police said.

Police arrested Sean E. Roisten, 29, of 833 Jette Court, and charged him with unlawful possession of a firearm and assault and battery with a deadly weapon on a robber who was holding Roisten's wife at gunpoint.

The robbery suspect was transported to the hospital for a gunshot wound to the stomach. The suspect is expected to live. Police seized $59.25, three lighters, a set of keys, a box of Newport cigarettes, a tape cassette, a miniature toy gun, steel wool and a glass tube from the suspect. Police also seized a gun shell fragment with human tissue on it that was removed from the suspect.

Police are trying to work through various witness accounts and the crime is currently under investigation.

Roisten told police he was upstairs in his apartment with his wife and 5-year-old daughter waiting for his friend to return from the store with food when he heard a someone at the front door. Roisten called out, but was met with silence, and his wife went downstairs to see who was at the door, police said. When Roisten's wife opened the door, she was greeted by two men in ski masks and one man forced her back up the stairs at gunpoint, police said.

"He's got a gun!" Roisten told police he heard his wife scream as she was pushed up the stairs. Roisten told police he ran up to the third floor, retrieved his silver Smith and Wesson .40 caliber handgun and took cover behind a kitchen wall. When Roisten peeked around the hallway corner, he saw the robber emerge from the stairs holding his wife in a choke hold and pointing a black handgun at her head, police said.

The armed robber demanded money. Roisten said he had no money, but told the robber he could take anything from the house if he freed his wife, according to police.

The second ski mask-clad man then called up to the gunman that it was time to leave. The gunman began descending the stairs with Roisten's wife, police said. Roisten told police he rushed the stairs, slid down the railing, bent the suspect's right wrist and took possession of the gun.

Later, police received a call for a gunshot victim at 1505 Commonwealth Ave. Roisten then claimed he disarmed the suspect with his left hand and shot the suspect with his right as the suspect fled out of the front door, police said.

In the rear of 1505 Commonwealth Ave., police found a Sony hand camcorder, a black ski mask and a white skull cap. All were held as evidence.

A short while later, Roisten's friend returned to the apartment with a gash on the top of his head. The friend told police that while on his way to the store, he encountered a man in front of 32 Fidelis Way who claimed to have lost his keys. When the friend offered to help him find them, the man pulled out a handgun and forced him inside the hallway of 32 Fidelis Way, where they were joined by the second suspect, police said.

The first suspect demanded, "Give me Sean's keys," but when the victim told the gunmen he did not know what they were talking about, they struck him over the head with the pistol numerous times, police said. The victim told police he eventually gave the suspects his own keys. The suspects then bound the victim's hands behind his back with a belt and his ankles with his shoelaces. The victim finally worked himself free and returned to his friend's apartment. After giving his account to the police, the victim was taken to St. Elizabeth's for medical treatment.

Police found that Roisten's license to carry a gun expired last August and arrested him. Police took custody of Roisten's gun and the black Colt .45 handgun that Roisten claimed he took from the suspect.

http://www2.townonline.com/allston/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=165431

assault and battery with a deadly weapon on a robber who was holding Roisten's wife at gunpoint.

That statement just makes no sense whatsoever.....

Police found that Roisten's license to carry a gun expired last August

If i'm in my house, I don't consider that to be "carrying"
 
I thought everybody knew that defending yourself or your family was illegal. I really don't believe this is true yet, but there sure are some dumb gun laws.
 
Read the story carefully.

He lied to the police, changed his story at least once. This would make any LEO suspicious.

I bet when they have finished talking to the witnesses and if everything is as it was reported, ie. the bg still had the wife in a chokehold and was dragging her toward the door, that the charges will be dropped.

However, if the bg had released the wife and was heading for the door to get away, then in many states it would be a bad shoot. You aren't allowed to chase the bg down and shoot him once he has broken contact, tried to leave and is no longer a threat.

Keep us posted on the outcome.

DM
 
Quote
[You aren't allowed to chase the bg down and shoot him once he has broken contact, tried to leave and is no longer a threat.]


To bad this is the way the laws are.
 
Bullet,

I agree.

The logic is that if they are trying to leave and you go after them then you are the agressor and they are the victim. Doesn't make a lot of sense to me either.

DM
 
Quote:
Police found that Roisten's license to carry a gun expired last August



If i'm in my house, I don't consider that to be "carrying"

MA law prohibits possession of any firearm (or ammo) without a firearms ID card or a LTC.
 
well maybe the robber tripped and was shot accidently :neener:



its a sad day and age when one cannot even protect ones own family in ones own home without having to pay a "fee" for it.maybe they wont take his fiuture gun rights away too.Im sure they took his guns....all this for being in fear of his families lives,in his OWN lousy home.
 
Last edited:
The story just sounds wrong , the robbers knew the victims but needed to assault a 3rd party to get the keys to the apt. ? Criminals aren't smart and unless there's another explanation , glass tube + steel wool = crack pipe so there's not much to be said about that form of "intelligence" but something seems wrong to me . In any case , he could have applied for renewal and have been legal to protect himself , but he didn't , and he could have given the police a more consistant story . If it was legitimate self defense then I would say there is a reasonable chance that the failure to have a current LTC charge will be dropped but he can kiss his chances of being granted another goodbye - like it or not . If he chased the guy outside and shot him , then his case for self defense is going to be fairly weak - especially since he claimed to have taken his gun ? I'm trying to work on how these guys would know that the guy they supposedly assaulted had the keys to the victims apartment .
 
I believe (correct me if I'm wrong) that MA is one of the states where duty to retreat is the law. If so that in and of itself would make this a bad shoot.
 
He lied to the police, changed his story at least once. This would make any LEO suspicious.

Maybe...or he may have been pretty shaken up from the incident, whereas he couldn't accurately describe the events until he had calmed down. Who knows?
 
I believe (correct me if I'm wrong) that MA is one of the states where duty to retreat is the law. If so that in and of itself would make this a bad shoot.

You are incorrect , you are not obliged to retreat . MA law says that you need to have a reasonable fear for your safety and may not use deadly force to protect property . Protection of others is a more gray issue , deadly force is legal if you have reasonable belief that it is necessary but that the aggressor in a fight does not have the ability to use deadly force which makes sense but I do wonder about the line at which a 3rd party could intervene and not be an active participant in an altercation .


No one is saying yet that this is a good or bad shoot , the guy might have been too shaken to have given a coherant story or his stories and his wife's might have been 3 entirely different things , let alone what the other parties had to say . The facts aren't out or anywhere close to clear and trying to assign guilt to anyone , including the police , isn't possible . The bottom line of the firearms possession charge is that he broke MA law , like it or not , but he did know how to legally have the means to defend himself and he chose to not do so .
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top