Long Island Man Arrested For Defending Home With AK-47
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Fazeem_Blackall
Members Posts: 4,216 ✭✭
Says Many Gang Members Were Coming After His Family
September 7, 2010 11:00 PM
UNIONDALE, N.Y. (CBS 2) — He was arrested for protecting his property and family.
But it’s how the Long Island man did it that police say crossed the line.
He got an AK-47 assault rifle, pulled the trigger and he ended up in jail, reports CBS 2’s Pablo Guzman.
George Grier said he had to use his rifle on Sunday night to stop what he thought was going to be an invasion of his Uniondale home by a gang he thought might have been the vicious “MS-13.” He said the whole deal happened as he was about to drive his cousin home.
“I went around and went into the house, ran upstairs and told my wife to call the police. I get the gun and I go outside and I come into the doorway and now, by this time, they are in the driveway, back here near the house. I tell them, you know, ‘Can you please leave?’ Grier said.
Grier said the five men dared him to use the gun; and that their shouts brought another larger group of gang members in front of his house.
“He starts threatening my family, my life. ‘Oh you’re dead. I’m gonna ? your family and your babies. You’re dead.’ So when he says that, 20 others guys come rushing around the corner. And so I fired four warning shots into the grass,” Grier said.
Grier was later arrested. John Lewis is Grier’s attorney.
“What he’s initially charged with – A D felony reckless endangerment — requires a depraved indifference to human life, creating a risk that someone’s going to die. Shooting into a lawn doesn’t create a risk of anybody dying,” Lewis said.
Grier said he knew Nassau County Police employ the hi-tech “ShotSpotter” technology in his area and that the shooting would bring police in minutes. Cops told Guzman he was very cooperative.
Grier also said he was afraid the gang outside his house was the dreaded MS-13. And Nassau County Police Lt. Andrew Mulraine, head of the gang unit, said MS-13 has 2,000 members in the county.
“They’re probably the most organized. They almost have a military hierarchy within the gang, so they are the most organized gang we encounter on a daily basis,” Mulraine said.
You may think a person has the right to defend their home. But the law says you can only use physical force to deter physical force. Grier said he never saw anyone pull out a gun, so a court would have to decide on firing the gun.
Police determined Grier had the gun legally. He has no criminal record. And so he was not charged for the weapon.
That ShotSpotter technology pinpoints where a gun has been fired within 35 feet. Police said it also detected two other shootings in nearby Roosevelt that night.
September 7, 2010 11:00 PM
UNIONDALE, N.Y. (CBS 2) — He was arrested for protecting his property and family.
But it’s how the Long Island man did it that police say crossed the line.
He got an AK-47 assault rifle, pulled the trigger and he ended up in jail, reports CBS 2’s Pablo Guzman.
George Grier said he had to use his rifle on Sunday night to stop what he thought was going to be an invasion of his Uniondale home by a gang he thought might have been the vicious “MS-13.” He said the whole deal happened as he was about to drive his cousin home.
“I went around and went into the house, ran upstairs and told my wife to call the police. I get the gun and I go outside and I come into the doorway and now, by this time, they are in the driveway, back here near the house. I tell them, you know, ‘Can you please leave?’ Grier said.
Grier said the five men dared him to use the gun; and that their shouts brought another larger group of gang members in front of his house.
“He starts threatening my family, my life. ‘Oh you’re dead. I’m gonna ? your family and your babies. You’re dead.’ So when he says that, 20 others guys come rushing around the corner. And so I fired four warning shots into the grass,” Grier said.
Grier was later arrested. John Lewis is Grier’s attorney.
“What he’s initially charged with – A D felony reckless endangerment — requires a depraved indifference to human life, creating a risk that someone’s going to die. Shooting into a lawn doesn’t create a risk of anybody dying,” Lewis said.
Grier said he knew Nassau County Police employ the hi-tech “ShotSpotter” technology in his area and that the shooting would bring police in minutes. Cops told Guzman he was very cooperative.
Grier also said he was afraid the gang outside his house was the dreaded MS-13. And Nassau County Police Lt. Andrew Mulraine, head of the gang unit, said MS-13 has 2,000 members in the county.
“They’re probably the most organized. They almost have a military hierarchy within the gang, so they are the most organized gang we encounter on a daily basis,” Mulraine said.
You may think a person has the right to defend their home. But the law says you can only use physical force to deter physical force. Grier said he never saw anyone pull out a gun, so a court would have to decide on firing the gun.
Police determined Grier had the gun legally. He has no criminal record. And so he was not charged for the weapon.
That ShotSpotter technology pinpoints where a gun has been fired within 35 feet. Police said it also detected two other shootings in nearby Roosevelt that night.
Comments
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predicting that it wasn't actually an AK-47 for both the standard and more technical reasonsFazeem Blackall wrote: »He got an AK-47 assault rifle, pulled the trigger and he ended up in jail, reports CBS 2’s Pablo Guzman. -
i was hoping that man's name was Anthony Cumia
but no such luck -
Fazeem Blackall wrote: »That ShotSpotter technology pinpoints where a gun has been fired within 35 feet. Police said it also detected two other shootings in nearby Roosevelt that night.
I LOL'd at this...
Sounds like Long Island may have some secrets... -
Well if you live in MS-13 territory I think Automatic Assault Rifles and Semi Auto Assault Rifles should be mandatory for every home. Them dudes aint no joke.
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reason again for why NY could never seriously have the type of gang war fare other cities go through
a shotspotter that detects the shot within 35 feet....cot damn -
wow this ? crazy.. the US is a Police State. you heard it here first
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reason again for why NY could never seriously have the type of gang war fare other cities go through
a shotspotter that detects the shot within 35 feet....cot damn
Most people still have never even heard of shotspotter, but more and more cities are using it.
Baltimore, MD/Johns Hopkins University (2009)
Baton Rouge, LA (2007)
Bell Gardens, CA (2009)
Bellwood, IL (2007)
Beloit, WI (2008)
Birmingham, AL (2007)
Boston, MA (2007)
Brockton, MA (2009)
Camden, NJ (2010)
Charleston, SC (2003)
Chicago, IL (2007)
Dallas, TX (2009)
East Orange, NJ (2006)
East Palo Alto, CA (2007)
FBI (two systems) (2007)
Gary, IN (2005, four expansions)
Glendale, AZ (2002)
Harrisburg, PA (2009)
Irvington, NJ (2008)
Jefferson Parish, LA (2010)
Los Angeles County, CA
(2007, two systems, two expansions)
Milwaukee, WI (2010)
Minneapolis, MN (2006)
Montgomery, AL (2009)
Mount Vernon, NY (2009)
Nassau County, NY (2008)
New Haven, CT (2008)
Newark, NJ (2008)
NLECTC (2007)
North Charleston, SC (2004)
Oakland, CA (2006)
Paterson, NJ (2007)
Prince George’s County, MD
(2009, one expansion)
Redwood City, CA (1996, one expansion)
Richmond, CA (2009, one expansion)
Riviera Beach, FL (2009)
Rochester, NY (2006)
Saginaw, MI (2008, one expansion)
San Francisco, CA (2007, three expansions)
South Gate, CA (2008)
Springfield, MA (2007)
St. Louis, MO (2008)
Trenton, NJ (2009)
Troy, NY (2008)
Washington D.C. (2006, two expansions)
Yonkers, NY (2009)
York, PA (2007)
Youngstown, OH (2009)
(Not even the full list, just the major brands locations)
Anyways, dude brought this on himself by not knowing how to handle the situation (in either a lawful or unlawful way) and causing it to escalate without a game plan.
? up none the less. -
Man forget that if I seen 20 dudes outside my house surrounding it and threatening my family you best believe they getting bucked at....maybe its my chicago mentality, but damn sometimes police got to use common sense. You know damn well if the surrounded a off duty officers house he would of probably shot like 3 of them dudes.....
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princetavern wrote: »Most people still have never even heard of shotspotter, but more and more cities are using it.
Baltimore, MD/Johns Hopkins University (2009)
Baton Rouge, LA (2007)
Bell Gardens, CA (2009)
Bellwood, IL (2007)
Beloit, WI (2008)
Birmingham, AL (2007)
Boston, MA (2007)
Brockton, MA (2009)
Camden, NJ (2010)
Charleston, SC (2003)
Chicago, IL (2007)
Dallas, TX (2009)
East Orange, NJ (2006)
East Palo Alto, CA (2007)
FBI (two systems) (2007)
Gary, IN (2005, four expansions)
Glendale, AZ (2002)
Harrisburg, PA (2009)
Irvington, NJ (2008)
Jefferson Parish, LA (2010)
Los Angeles County, CA
(2007, two systems, two expansions)
Milwaukee, WI (2010)
Minneapolis, MN (2006)
Montgomery, AL (2009)
Mount Vernon, NY (2009)
Nassau County, NY (2008)
New Haven, CT (2008)
Newark, NJ (2008)
NLECTC (2007)
North Charleston, SC (2004)
Oakland, CA (2006)
Paterson, NJ (2007)
Prince George’s County, MD
(2009, one expansion)
Redwood City, CA (1996, one expansion)
Richmond, CA (2009, one expansion)
Riviera Beach, FL (2009)
Rochester, NY (2006)
Saginaw, MI (2008, one expansion)
San Francisco, CA (2007, three expansions)
South Gate, CA (2008)
Springfield, MA (2007)
St. Louis, MO (2008)
Trenton, NJ (2009)
Troy, NY (2008)
Washington D.C. (2006, two expansions)
Yonkers, NY (2009)
York, PA (2007)
Youngstown, OH (2009)
(Not even the full list, just the major brands locations)
Anyways, dude brought this on himself by not knowing how to handle the situation (in either a lawful or unlawful way) and causing it to escalate without a game plan.
? up none the less.
that's crazy technology....and its crazy how we actually need to use it on our own soil -
gotta love the technology they tell us about
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princetavern wrote: »Anyways, dude brought this on himself by not knowing how to handle the situation (in either a lawful or unlawful way) and causing it to escalate without a game plan.
? up none the less.
assuming the guy's story is true, how would you have handled the situation? the guy said he asked nicely for them to leave, and they responded by telling him that they'd ? him and his family. what would you have done? "pretty please"? "pretty please with a cherry on top"? i'm surprised that the gang members didn't shoot back after the guy let 4 go into the lawn, they must be missing some details here. like what happened between him shooting his AK and the cops getting there several minutes later... anyway, i feel bad for people that have to live in neighborhoods where one or two dozen gang members randomly walk onto their property and threaten their lives -
Man I'm buckin at them clowns 20 deep talking about what they going to do. He was protecting his home and family. I would let them have it shoot first ask questions later don't know what they holding.
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BethlehemBill wrote: »assuming the guy's story is true, how would you have handled the situation? the guy said he asked nicely for them to leave, and they responded by telling him that they'd ? him and his family. what would you have done? "pretty please"? "pretty please with a cherry on top"? i'm surprised that the gang members didn't shoot back after the guy let 4 go into the lawn, they must be missing some details here. like what happened between him shooting his AK and the cops getting there several minutes later... anyway, i feel bad for people that have to live in neighborhoods where one or two dozen gang members randomly walk onto their property and threaten their lives
First off, I will say he was in a lose-lose situation. To come out the house with an assault rifle and then ask them nicely to leave is a mixed message though, and would tip these dudes off right away that you don't know what you're doing. An unwritten rule with guns is "don't pull it if you aint gonna shoot it" (and I'm not talking about into the dirt.) How are you gonna escalate the situation by coming out of the house with a large weapon, and then try to be civil?
Him telling his wife to call the cops and then grabbing the gun was the right start. As a normal civilian from that point he should have (considering he 'thought they were gang members') waited for them to make the first move, and then if they did, started shooting. By bringing a mostly forced threat to them he's only asking for immediate or future confrontation, and if they really are a 'gang' so to speak AND they know where he lives, he's just ? himself up for the future.
A second more drastic option would be to just come out the house and bust the gun in their immediate direction, and handle it from there (assuming you know how to cover your own tracks.) If they are a gang though, there's always a good chance of pay-back, and since they know where you live, you better be killing every member they have out there and be able to explain in court why you HAD to ? 20 dudes in one stand-off. -
I think you all just don't understand when a similar situation arises like this, its almost like you're making the point that this dude might actually be somewhat wrong. Given the repuatation about the MS-13 even though overhyped do people chopping up people and their famalies.....i'm sure dude heard of this from media sources or whatever and you got about 20 of these dudes in front of your house, who knows how many are strapped? I would come out with the assualt rifle to and let them know if they try again or try something stupid at the moment shots fired!!! They threathen this mans family.......I would be implusive I think I would have the advantage if anything
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SMH at this ? shooting the dirt.
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Just a case of overzealous DA's trying to drum up publicity for an eventual political run. Man this is some BS. You show up at someone's house 20-30 deep shouting death threats you lose all rights to civil treatment. He should have shot a couple of them and dragged them onto his lawn.
The law should not be for cases like this. -
Just a case of overzealous DA's trying to drum up publicity for an eventual political run. Man this is some BS. You show up at someone's house 20-30 deep shouting death threats you lose all rights to civil treatment. He should have shot a couple of them and dragged them onto his lawn.
The law should not be for cases like this.
I'm sure in this case had he shot someone he could have been let off in self defense. I know a few regular dudes who ended up shooting or stabbing someone one on one in a bar or club n got off on self defense. -
depends on how badly the state in question wants to slam people over firearmsThaChozenWun wrote: »I'm sure in this case had he shot someone he could have been let off in self defense. -
depends on how badly the state in question wants to slam people over firearms
well when the accused is confronted by 20 people I think it would favor in his way. -
it really doesn't matter if they want to make political hay over ASSAULT WEAPONS or feel obligated to slam guys over failing to retreat to their homes. i would hope there's a little discretion allowed the prosecutors in this case, of course.ThaChozenWun wrote: »well when the accused is confronted by 20 people I think it would favor in his way. -
That's one charge I'll gladly take on the chin. Go to jail for a short period or regret not defending my family? I'd do that bid twice.
