Man Charged After Firing Six Shots at Backyard Intruder

[Car Knocker]

Man Charged After Firing Six Shots at Backyard Intruder
July 17th, 2007 @ 10:15am
Tom Callan, KSL Newsradio

Michael Wilder, 66, is charged with attempted murder for shooting at an intruder.

Roy Police say Wilder picked up his 9 mm handgun and fired six shots at Kori Scott; even as Scott hopped his fence to run away.

Scott was not injured in the July 11 incident. He twice tried to run away when Wilder confronted him, according to court documents. "Stop or I'll shoot," the homeowner said, according to the documents. Wilder fired two shots, followed by four more, police said.

Roy Police Chief Greg Whinham says, "The individual was simply in his backyard, by all accounts, was just getting ready for a perceived, imagined barbecue."

Whinham says Wilder went too far to get rid of the intruder. He says, "To use deadly force, someone must be coming into your home in a violent or tumultuous way."

Police say Scott has a history of mental problems.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=1494525

*************
I'm not sure who was luckier - the guy who shot or the guy who wasn't shot!

I'll concede that there is a paucity of information in this brief blurb but it sure seems as if the homeowner made a series of poor decisions in this incident.

 

[Scorpiusdeus]

I don't know Utah law, but it seems pretty straight up to me. The use of deadly force is serious business.

I think we'd need to know more about what this homeowner felt was going on.

 

[El Tejon]

Wonder if the guy read the Internet gun forums and doubted the existence of Problem #2?

I'll betchya he's a believer now!

 

[helpless]

The individual was simply in his backyard, by all accounts, was just getting ready for a perceived, imagined barbecue."

Well in that case....

 

[rocinante]

Roy Police Chief Greg Whinham says, "The individual was simply in his backyard, by all accounts, was just getting ready for a perceived, imagined barbecue."

anyone in my backyard uninvited even if they were simply chasing invisible giant white rabbits is not SIMPLY smiled upon or ignored. Geez. Doesn't a "trespassers will be shot" sign mean anything anymore?

=========

Whinham says Wilder went too far to get rid of the intruder. He says, "To use deadly force, someone must be coming into your home in a violent or tumultuous way."

so if said trespasser SIMPLY strolled in in a quiet sneaky stealthy way in the middle of the night perhaps then that would be okay too? Note to self. Only shoot potential murderers that act like maniacs and not the cold blooded quiet ones.

=====================

Bet the people in Roy feel safe with such a kind and gentle man like PC Greg Whinham walking the line. Sorry but he sounds kind of whiney to me.

Too few facts to say what the deal was here. Maybe said bad humored property owner fired six shoots to scare the hell out of that poor confused boy. Kori Scott. such a cute name makes me think of a friendly little doggie not someone caught where he was not invited or had a right to be. Kori was just a little stray, no need to be mean too. If nothing else that bad bad bad man ought to be ashamed of his marksmanship.

 

[fletcher]

Roy Police Chief Greg Whinham says, "The individual was simply in his backyard, by all accounts, was just getting ready for a perceived, imagined barbecue."

He can't be serious. Saying you thought a BBQ was there gets you out of trouble now?

Police say Scott has a history of mental problems.

Then why is he being let roam around?

 

[ArmedBear]

Tumultuous?

You can shoot someone for that?

 

[Alphazulu6]

I don't know Utah law, but it seems pretty straight up to me. The use of deadly force is serious business.

Yeah I have to agree. If they are OUTSIDE your house and NOT posing emminent danger to your life/limb/eyesight then he was wrong, wrong, and yep, wrong.

He obviously didnt take one of those CCW classes that everyone in the other threads spoke so highly of... LOL

 

[Car Knocker]

Quote:
Police say Scott has a history of mental problems.

Then why is he being let roam around?

1-Not everyone with a mental health problem is a danger to themselves or others.

2-Taxpayers refuse to pick up the tab to lock away everyone with a problem.

anyone in my backyard uninvited even if they were simply chasing invisible giant white rabbits is not SIMPLY smiled upon or ignored. Geez.

Nobody said that trespassers should be smiled upon or ignored. Trespassing just isn't a death penalty offense. If it were, there wouldn't be many kids left in the neighborhood.

*****
In the same vein as this incident, the middle-aged woman who just moved in across the street (and appears to be a bit confused at times) was spotted walking up the driveway by my wife and daughter (last week). When I went outside to see what was going on, she and her dog were coming out of the backyard. She said she was lost and looking for her mother. Perhaps I should have shot her and her dog on the spot but I just directed her back to her house. Guess I'm just too soft hearted.

 

[El Tejon]

fletcher, believe it or not, there are nut jobs out there who are not sociopaths out to hurt anyone. I had one guy who was found by LPD naked, except for a cape, and was jumping off a picnic table in a park at 2 am, trying to catch bugs. You know, since he was a "bat" and water "hurt a bat's teeth", therefore he had to catch bugs to drink.

The deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill (EDPs) is a serious problem (that our LEO friends run into almost nightly). Long past time to reexamine our handling of the mentally ill.

Just because you have a gun, does not mean you get to use it when you feel like it. Just because you believe you are a "good guy" in your Batman suit and pistol belt, does not mean law enforcement thinks you are a good guy. Just because it is MY PROPERTY, MY PROPERTY, MY PROPERTY, does not mean you get to do whatever you think is right on it.

 

[Daniel T]

Doesn't a "trespassers will be shot" sign mean anything anymore?

Sigh.

Tell ya what, you put up your sign and start blasting people. Let us know how that goes for you.

As a hint, trespassing isn't generally a crime that can be resisted with deadly force. Especially when the "criminal" starts trying to desist from the act of trespassing in a non-violent manner...

 

[MrPeter]

If we go by only what information we have, which is admittedly very little, then I'm going to have to say that this guy should not have shot at him.

I could imagine a scenario where a 'special' person was creeping up on me in my backyard, and I was startled, maybe embarassed, and drew on him, ordering him to not move, as I would be a tad panicked. Trying to run away or not, the 'perp' as I have labeled him now is trying to 'get away' because I had caught him before he got to my sliding glass door.

This article describes a situation that likely happened in >3 seconds. Yes, the property owner should probably not have shot, or even drawn, but the tresspasser should also not have been trespassing in a fenced yard.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

"Stop or I'll shoot"

Actually "Go away or I will shoot" works better
in most cases of unwanted intruders.

 

[Jamie C.]

Actually "Go away or I will shoot" works better
in most cases of unwanted intruders.

More than a quarter ton of dogs barking and growling at anything that moves tends to keep my property trespasser-free....
Hell, even the Jehovah's Witnesses pass on by without venturing up to the door these days.

J.C.

 

[41magsnub]

Quarter ton of dogs? What's that? 250 Yorkies?

 

[rocinante]

lighten up guys. I found the story slightly annoying and slightly amusing so I attempted to be slightly humorous. The police chief's language got on my nerves. Guess I missed my mark as badly as Wilder missed his trespasser. No sane person shoots anybody just for fun. None of us were there so we do not know if Wilder perceived this guy as a threat or not. Maybe he was a harmless fruit. Maybe not. If it was me six shots and no hits would mean I wasn't using deadly force just trying to produce some **** in his pants and run faster and send a message do not come back. I will admit a country boy bend that tends to be very territorial about my property. If you are not invited you are not welcome and looked at with extreme suspicion just popping up for a BBQ.

 

[Jamie C.]

Quarter ton of dogs? What's that? 250 Yorkies?

Nope, only six of 'em total.

Here's the next-to-largest:


She's still a pup with some growin' left to do... Only 19 mo. old and already 110 pounds. The smallest I have is a 55 pound chow/shepherd mix.


J.C.

 

[pacodelahoya]

Trespassing just isn't a death penalty offense.

To apply the above quote to the situation, you have to accept that the reporter got the facts correct in that the home owner "shot at Kori Scott".

I fing it just as plausible that the homeowner(being an older guy, probably thinks that he is allowed to take care of things himself) asked said nutjob to leave and he didn't. Homeowner puts a few round into lawn as way of exclamation points and then gets cops called on him for "shooting at me as I went over the fence.

Unless there are six bullet holes in the outline of a scurrying tresspasser in the fence, I'm gonna say that the reporter and or the police and or the tresspasser were embellishing.

Why was there no mention of a criminal trespass charge against Mr. Scott?

the middle-aged woman who just moved in across the street (and appears to be a bit confused at times) was spotted walking up the driveway by my wife and daughter (last week). When I went outside to see what was going on, she and her dog were coming out of the backyard. She said she was lost and looking for her mother. Perhaps I should have shot her and her dog on the spot but I just directed her back to her house. Guess I'm just too soft hearted.

Again, noone was shot.

Are you 66 years old? Are you infirm? To a 66 year old man, a 25 year old man may very well look quite intimidating, especially if he is acting crazy.(crazy people are by definition unpredictable).

To equate a middle aged woman who you are familiar with to an unknown young male trespasser is asinine.


If I were on the jury, I might give the old guy a pass depending on the facts, not some reporters story.

 

[Kentak]

Doesn't a "trespassers will be shot" sign mean anything anymore?

Yes, it means someone is stupid enough to post their intention to use deadly force when it might not be warranted. State's exhibit #1.

What in your backyard is worth protecting to the tune of spending many, many years in prison?

K

 

[Double Naught Spy]

He obviously didnt take one of those CCW classes that everyone in the other threads spoke so highly of... LOL

You don't have to take a CCW course for home carry, LOL.

Roy Police Chief Greg Whinham says, "The individual was simply in his backyard, by all accounts, was just getting ready for a perceived, imagined barbecue."

Wow, I bet being shot at really screws up your happy BBQ hallucinations...

 

[kcmarine]

Roy Police Chief Greg Whinham says, "The individual was simply in his backyard, by all accounts, was just getting ready for a perceived, imagined barbecue."

ARE YOU S#!TTING ME?!?!?!

Okay, so if he isn't making a joke at the podium, and this guy really WAS in the backyard for a "perceived, imagined barbecue", how was the home owner supposed to know that? Okay. Here's a guy. Coming toward you. In your yard. He won't stop. You've instructed him to. You've told him you will shoot if he doesn't. He won't stop, even after the threated use of deadly force. Hm. What could POSSIBLY go wrong with this recipe?

I'll agree, the owner didn't make a good choice, but for the police chief (not some traffic cop) to be making excuses for the intruder in this situation is complete and utter crap.

And if this guy WAS mentally ill, what was he doing out in public, roaming the streets?

*Sigh*... oh well. There wouldn't be any smart people if there weren't dolts to make them look like geniuses.

 

[Cosmoline]

Just a little correction..

Roy Police Chief Wiggum says, "The individual was simply in his backyard, by all accounts, was just getting ready for a perceived, imagined barbecue."

That's good work there, boys. Now where's this barbecue?

 

[Car Knocker]

I fing it just as plausible that the homeowner(being an older guy, probably thinks that he is allowed to take care of things himself) asked said nutjob to leave and he didn't. Homeowner puts a few round into lawn as way of exclamation points and then gets cops called on him for "shooting at me as I went over the fence.

You left out the part in your plausible scenario where that homeowner thought the trespasser was an alien from an alternate universe who was attempting to abduct him and he was merely attempting to defend himself.

Are you 66 years old?

I'm a lot closer to it than you are.

Are you infirm?

Yes - was the shooter?

To equate a middle aged woman who you are familiar with to an unknown young male trespasser is asinine.

What in the story posted led you to believe that the trespasser was unknown to the shooter?

Here's a guy. Coming toward you. In your yard. He won't stop. You've instructed him to. You've told him you will shoot if he doesn't. He won't stop, even after the threated use of deadly force.

How did you determine ths is what actually happened?

And if this guy WAS mentally ill, what was he doing out in public, roaming the streets?

This was addressed in a previous post.

 

[eltorrente]

And if this guy WAS mentally ill, what was he doing out in public, roaming the streets?

Yeah, let's lock up all the mentally ill people!!!!

 

[pacodelahoya]

You left out the part in your plausible scenario where that homeowner thought the trespasser was an alien from an alternate universe who was attempting to abduct him and he was merely attempting to defend himself.

Then he is most assuredly allowed to shoot and the rest of this argument is null and void.

Are you infirm?

Yes - was the shooter?

Then would you confront someone on your property who did not belong there and was acting crazy, with, or with out a weapon?

What in the story posted led you to believe that the trespasser was unknown to the shooter?

Nothing in it led me to believe he was known, and to equate him to a middle aged lady who you know is still asinine.

If you choose to believe a reporter and (from his quoted statements) an obviously blissninnie police chief, that is your perogative. You'll note however, I simply gave another plausible scenario as to what could have happened, since we don't have the homeowner's(who was the first victim here) story.

You'll also note, I didn't give him a pass, I said that I would like to hear all sides and depending on his story, It might go his way.