Man defending home charged with murder

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Guitargod1985

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Apparently the Chesapeake Police Department likes to perform no knock raids in the middle of the night at the house of people with no priors or history of violence. All of this because the guy was allegedly (based on questionable testimony) growing marijuana.

Turns out it was a Japanese maple, something which has a resemblance to ganja.

Here's the full story: http://www.reason.com/news/show/125538.html

This, among other things, is what I find particularly disturbing: "In the case where a citizen mistakenly (and allegedly) shot through his door at a raiding police officer, the citizen is facing a murder charge; in the case where a raiding police officer mistakenly shot through a door and killed a citizen, there were no criminal charges."
 
[logic] Well, yeah, but we're not a police state, because after all, it was a Japanese tree. [/logic]
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That was not what I meant by the Japanese plant comment. I believe we are both in agreement that this action was unacceptable.
 
So the cops execute a no knock raid, did they say "police, police":cuss:, I'm willing to bet they didn't. If the guy can afford a good lawyer then he shouldn't be in that great of a danger other than dropping a quick 20 grand. I just hope the guy gets a good lawyer, BTW is Chesapeke a pro-criminal area or pro-American area?
 
So a guy can burglarize somebody's home, get caught, and then get out of it by saying, "Yeah, but he's got some pot in there..."


That about sum it up? 'Cause if so, I may just start thinking about starting a new career in burglary.
 
Way to go posters who have no idea what the hell they're talking about!

Feel free to check the biography of the writer. He's almost as anti-cop as some of you are.
 
Your local leos can break down your door at midnight without knocking on the weakest of evidence. Happens when some loser gets popped for possession and gets off by trading his freedom for someone else's that he guesses might be holding. And of course his word is eagerly accepted as worthy of issuing a search warrant. Then some poor schmuck woken from his sleep when his door is broken down has to instantly decide whether to defend himself or let the shadowy figure rushing at him connect. If he guesses wrong, either he is in the grip of an intruder or prosecuted for murdering a police officer. A hell of a choice for a sleep-woken honorable man to have to make. I lived in that area of Virginia for nine years. Such happenings are NOT rare. Maybe the rules for midnight no-knocks need to be changed.
 
Way to go posters who have no idea what the hell they're talking about!
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Am I missing something here? The guy shoots through the door without being able so see the alleged attacker? Personally, I want to make sure of my target before blindly shooting through cover/concealment. Maybe the police acted wrongly and on poor info, but this person was wrong in shooting someone through the door prior to them being in the premises.
 
According to the search warrant, the police raided Frederick's home after a confidential informant told them he saw evidence of marijuana growing in a garage behind the home. The warrant says the informant saw several marijuana plants, plus lights, irrigation equipment and other gardening supplies.

After the raid, the police found the gardening supplies, but no plants. They also found a small amount of marijuana, but not much—only enough to charge Frederick with misdemeanor drug possession.
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Maybe the informant was mistaken about the plants he saw, and maybe he wasn't. Maybe, just maybe, there were marijuana plants there that were sold before the raid.

They found some marijuana. Not good.

People sometimes make stupid choices in life and sometimes they get caught up in 100% pure mistaken identity scenarios. This guy was dancing on the edge, and fell off. When you mix controlled substances in your life, or simply things that look like controlled substances, it's like putting a giant doggy door in without a lock on it. Who knows who's going to come through that doggy door next? A bad guy? A cop? A fed?

The choices you make and the things you do have consequences.
 
Welcome, Marsofold to the "We Make Crap Up" thread. Now the 8 O'clock raid has become a midnight raid and the guy hiding behind his door with a pistol has become a sleep-woken man. And the guy who shot through his front door into an unknown person has become someone who has a shadowy figure rushing at him. We should have a fiction section so we can read your posts with a straight face.
 
Way to go posters who have no idea what the hell they're talking about!

Feel free to check the biography of the writer. He's almost as anti-cop as some of you are.
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MOM,

Please enlighten everyone. While I agree with you that the author's ideological slant may be valid, I await any evidence that you can give indicating that his account is in error.

Provide that, and you may have a right to tell others that they don't know what the hell they are talking about.

Insomuch as there are posters here that are anti-police, equally disturbing is those that are religiously PRO-police for whatever reason.

I've seen enough evidence of good and bad LEOs in my lifetime to not condemn or support them on blind faith. We've all seen enough good and bad practices that merit the same approach.


-- John
 
There are more and more stories like this one popping up... It's scary and stressful. I am "pro law enforcement" but that is secondary to my "pro freedom" feelings. The two are getting harder and harder to reconcile, and it is my pro police sentiment that takes a hike in these situations.
 
I was unaware that reporting the facts on cases of no-knock raids constituted being "anti-cop."
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It's not, Justin, as long as you're reporting facts. When you start getting your "facts" from a murderer's lawyer it may be time to rethink your fact-checking skills.
 
I have a crazy idea. How about we let the case play out, and when all the evidence is brought to light THEN we'll make a decision!
 
Special prosecutor Paul Ebert said at a recent bond hearing for Frederick that Shivers, the detective who was killed, was in Frederick's yard when he was shot, and that Frederick fired through his door, knowing he was firing at police.

Frederick's attorney disputes this. Ebert also said Frederick should have known the intruders were police because there were a dozen or more officers at the scene. But some of Frederick's neighbors dispute this, too. One neighbor told me she saw only two officers immediately after the raid; she said the others showed up only after Shivers went down.

What's clear, though, is that Chesepeake police conducted a raid on a man with no prior criminal record. Even if their informant had been correct, Frederick was at worst suspected of growing marijuana plants in his garage. There was no indication he was a violent man—that it was necessary to take down his door after nightfall.
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Malice, although I understand your desire to protect your brothers in blue, it looks to me like this author is presenting both sides. Simply pointing out that people dispute one side or the other does not mean they are lying.

I believe his final statment here is correct and this is also frightening.
 
Murderer's Lawyer. So as soon as you get charged, then you are guilty of the crime? He is not a murderer until convicted.

Someone drank too much kool-aid.

I am pro police, bit in this case, it is the police's fault one of their own died and instead of standing up and facing that, they want to blame another.
 
Fine, alleged murderer.

Incidentally, I, personally, don't see a murder charge sticking. He'll be convicted of manslaughter though.
 
Speaking to the defendant's attorney seems to me to be no different than getting the "facts" from the PD's spokesperson, the home owner's neighbors, the warrant that was issued, or nearly anyone else who's involved with the case.

Interestingly, out of the article linked, Frederick's lawyer is given a whopping two lines of column space, as opposed to the information gleaned from the police department involved and the prosecuting attorney.

Man, that's some biased reporting there.
 
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