Real Self-defense story: Armed Robber v. Glass of wine

[Loucks]

In this case, it appears that a magnum worked fine for home defense.

Thanks for that. I think I just woke up my coworkers!

 

[mesomorphcujo]

Yeah! Lets just give all the criminals Gummi Bears and Hugs! At least that's what all of the psychiatrist and psychologist here at work seem to want. :banghead:

 

[chris in va]

I think if a gun is held to a kid's head, that's beyond brandishing...

Story reminds me of Falling Down. Where's the Whammy Burgers?

 

[blitzer0101]

I would have given the dirt bag a sleeper hug!

 

[bogie]

so, nobody else thinks there might be a little more to it?

 

[Deer Hunter]

"Why shouldn't Truth be stranger than Fiction?
Fiction, after all, has to make sense."

-Samuel Clemmons.

 

[Anonymous Coward]

Presuming this is true, I'd say a criminal who changes his mind mid-robbery to drink a glass of wine and hug his victims is potentially more dangerous and out of control than your run-of-the-mill stickup man.

 

[Elza]

Thank God he didn’t sample my wife’s cooking. He would have killed us all. Twice!

 

[ceetee]

Darn... I can already see all the "What's the best vintage for..." threads coming. That said, I'm on the fence with the true v. false issue. Something just doesn't smell right...

 

[Hugo]

Sounds like they were tipsy, probably the robber arrived half-drunk or on drugs and wasn't too serious about robbing and the strange behavior of the victims unbalanced the robber. Robber then acted more odd, guests acted more odd, incredibly luckily they somehow talked the robber into being more mellow and forgetting to rob them. Insanely unbelievably lucky for them.

This of course applies IF (big, big IF) and only if the story is all true and wasn't a really really dumb prank/joke on the guests or by a stupid neighbor invited or because not invited, drunken frat prank, or whatever. Could be anything really. Seems crazy/stupid all around to me.

 

[RPCVYemen]

The truth is that it sounds like a really good outcome - and I think there is a tricky ethical question here. Had someone at the party had a weapon, and shot the criminal, they would have been legally justified - a very clean.

On the other hand, we now know that shooting in face wasn't necessary to defuse the situation. So if someone had shot the criminal, they would have shot someone when that wasn't necessary.

That leads me to believe that a shooting (in that case) was legally justified, but potentially not morally justified. Hard call. [Well, I guess that there are folks for whom legality is morality, but I am not one of them.]

BTW, as far as the story being true - that looks likely. I had a elderly friend who had the same experience. This guy was an old Quaker, and sort of a minor athletic celebrity in NC - I new him as Renfrow Doak, but if you search the internet for "Peanut Doak", you've go the man.

One night, Renfrow was awoken at 3:00 in the morning by someone in his house. He walked out into to the hallway, and found a disheveled young man. Renfrow asked, "Can I help you friend?"

It turned that the guy had mental issues, and (may have) lived in the house in his youth. Renfrow took him downstairs, and made him some breakfast and have him some coffee, and sent him on his way.

Renfrow told this story in Meeting for Worship one Sunday, with a note that his family (children who did not live at home) were very upset at the situation.

Mike

 

[Feanaro]

That leads me to believe that a shooting (in that case) was legally justified, but potentially not morally justified. Hard call.

If criminals carried a big sign that said "90% likely to leave if offered red wine," it might be a hard call.

we now know that shooting in face wasn't necessary to defuse the situation.

"Now" being the key word. I'm sure some shootings could have been avoided by dancing a jig to the crook's favorite Irish shanty but this isn't a very reasonable response.

 

[eltorrente]

C'mon folks, not every situation needs to end in someone getting shot, despite your gun-play fantasies.

I don't doubt the story at all. It was a just a combination of a confused criminal and some quick thinking "victims", who happened to not be armed with weapons- just calmness, smiles and good wine.

I think a lot of the ninjas here imagined that if it was their house, that they would have came flying sideways out of a doorway, gun in each hand, firing while flying thru mid-air and killing the guy instantly. Since it didn't happen that way, someone must be lying.

 

[Kevin108]

Another example of how well the DC gun ban works.

Now the antis will think all violent confrontations can be ended with wine and hugs.

 

[TallPine]

We will serve no wine for a crime