From reading other comments on another forum, seems like the utility workers have a right to check their equipment (without notification) and the legislator screwed up big time by discharging his weapon.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2202784
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CHARLESTON, S.C. Jul 17, 2006 (AP)— A state lawmaker was arrested after his pistol fired as he confronted two utility workers checking for storm damage outside his parents' home.
Rep. Wallace Scarborough, 47, was charged with two counts of assault with intent to kill after he pointed a pistol at utility workers and then fired it Saturday night, according to a police report.
He was released from jail Sunday on a personal recognizance bond, according to jail officials.
Two South Carolina Electric and Gas employees had been checking electric equipment at the home after a series of storms passed through the area, SCE&G spokesman Eric Boomhower said.
Scarborough's lawyer, state Rep. John Graham Altman, said Scarborough asked the utility workers to leave and when they told him they had a right to be there, the Republican lawmaker returned to the house to call police. On the way, the gun accidentally fired and a bullet hit the porch, Altman said.
One of the workers said the lawmaker shined a flashlight on the pistol and said, "You see what I have? Get off my property," according to the police report.
The workers left when the gun went off, the report said.
Altman said he wants the charges dismissed and an apology from the electric company. "I don't think it's against the law to fire a pistol into your own back porch. It's absolutely obscene to think that a judge would uphold these charges," he said.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2202784
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CHARLESTON, S.C. Jul 17, 2006 (AP)— A state lawmaker was arrested after his pistol fired as he confronted two utility workers checking for storm damage outside his parents' home.
Rep. Wallace Scarborough, 47, was charged with two counts of assault with intent to kill after he pointed a pistol at utility workers and then fired it Saturday night, according to a police report.
He was released from jail Sunday on a personal recognizance bond, according to jail officials.
Two South Carolina Electric and Gas employees had been checking electric equipment at the home after a series of storms passed through the area, SCE&G spokesman Eric Boomhower said.
Scarborough's lawyer, state Rep. John Graham Altman, said Scarborough asked the utility workers to leave and when they told him they had a right to be there, the Republican lawmaker returned to the house to call police. On the way, the gun accidentally fired and a bullet hit the porch, Altman said.
One of the workers said the lawmaker shined a flashlight on the pistol and said, "You see what I have? Get off my property," according to the police report.
The workers left when the gun went off, the report said.
Altman said he wants the charges dismissed and an apology from the electric company. "I don't think it's against the law to fire a pistol into your own back porch. It's absolutely obscene to think that a judge would uphold these charges," he said.
Crazy man with a gun! Sounds like he exercised great trigger discipline.
