A 42-year-old Holbrook Highlands man was sentenced Wednesday to 62 days in Douglas County Jail for threatening a group of teenagers with a plastic Airsoft pistol, and drunk driving.
Neil Dettorre pleaded guilty to assault and driving under the influence stemming from the June 5 incident at Topaz Lake.
Officers were called to Topaz Park Road about 9:30 p.m. for a report of an intoxicated man walking with a [airsoft] gun, later following the reporting party in his truck.
Seven teenagers ages 13-16 were camping along the beach and saw a man described as Dettorre
park above them on the roadway. Four of them drove up the road to ask if the driver needed help.
They told deputies Dettorre allegedly pointed a [airsoft] gun at them and said, "Stay in the truck."
One of the four ran back to the campsite to call 911, and went to the Topaz Lodge from the campground.
Deputies arrived in two vehicles and found the pickup with Dettorre in the driver's seat, lights on, with the engine running and the vehicle blocking the roadway.
Dettorre was handcuffed and detained in a patrol car. He denied having a gun. The plastic airsoft pistol was shoved in between the driver and the passenger seat of his truck, according to reports.
His blood-alcohol content was .138, over the legal limit of .08.
East Fork Judge Tom Perkins sentenced Dettorre on Wednesday to 62 days in custody, and suspended 60 days for two years. He fined Dettorre $897 and ordered him to complete DUI school and attend a Victim Impact Panel.
He must abstain from drugs and alcohol, and may not have any firearms including [airsoft] replicas.
Dettorre is under the supervision of the Department of Alternative Sentencing for at least one year.
"You're going to be under supervision for awhile," Perkins said. "I've got to make sure you're OK."
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Monday, August 20, 2012
Mooseherd owner cleared; officers reprimanded
Underage drinking charges against a local business owner and two minors have been dropped.
Also, the two citing police officers in the case have been assigned more training by the police chief after not following procedure.
"The punishment for the officers is weak and they should suffer worse consequences like suspension, classes and all information being added to their permanent files so future law agencies know that they have a flaw as an officer," Frank Mucerino Jr. released in a statement to The Herald.
Dickson police cited Mucerino, Mooseherd Airsoft owner, in July with two counts contributing to underage drinking.
"(The officers) put my personal name and character on a citation and incident report full of lies and inaccurate information to which I would have been accountable for," Mucerino stated, "yet they do not have to be accountable for their mistakes and actions."
The patrol officers also charged William Hall, 18, of Burns, and Steven C. Smith, 19, of White Bluff, with underage consumption from the same incident.
The district attorney’s office dropped all those charges, however, after Mucerino filed a complaint against the citing officers for improper procedure and lying on their reports.
The district attorney’s office did not return calls about the dropped charges by press time.
Dickson Police Chief Rick Chandler also ruled the patrol officers, Val Duran and Rob Peeler, did not "properly follow procedure" during the July 8 encounter at Mooseherd Airsoft at 281 Dickson Plaza Drive.
"In my opinion the officers involved made terrible decisions on the scene and made many mistakes, some of which were not addressed or captured on audio," Mucerino continued. "They are a liability on the streets and are incapable as officers to make the right decisions when needed.
Coercion
Chandler explained the officers coerced Mucerino into granting permission to search his business; omitted information from the incident report; found no evidence of underage drinking at the business; and that Mucerino wasn’t present at Mooseherd during the underage party.
Dickson Police Detective Don Arnold investigated Mucerino’s complaint about the officers’ misconduct, which culminated in an "internal hearing" Thursday. Chandler presided over the hearing.
Chandler "ruled against" the officers’ conduct during the July 8 incident, and assigned Duran and Peeler additional training on police search and seizure guidelines and "the laws concerning what they dealt with that night."
"They did not get permission to enter the business by free will," Chandler explained. "They used more coercion than what the law requires."
Chandler noted neither officer has received a complaint of this nature before. Peeler has served and protected the city for 13 months, and Duran for 10 months.
"You get complaints all the time on officers for doing different things, but that’s one of the things we stress," he continued. "Everybody has constitutional rights, and you can’t infringe on those, and if I find out you’re doing it we’re going to re-train you, make sure you get properly trained on how to do it."
Chandler explained officers can persuade suspects into granting permission for home and/or vehicle searches, but they can’t "coerce" the suspects into conceding that permission.
"And my opinion after listening to the tape and the testimony, it got to the point where it was not free will that (Mucerino) allowed them to come in," Chandler said.
The underage consumption citation also didn’t match Peeler’s incident report.
"Sometimes officers take shortcuts on doing reports," said Chandler. "They’ll say one thing in the narrative on their affidavit or the citation, and the report doesn’t reflect it that way.
"And that was an issue on this one that I had to deal with too, about proper training," he added.
The citation for Mucerino reported: "(Mucerino) stated that he was with two underage subjects while they were consuming alcohol." The incident report, however, doesn’t mention this allegation. The citation also listed the wrong law.
"He left some things out that he should have put in the report," Chandler explained. "We got a saying in police work, ‘If you don’t put it in writing it didn’t happen,’ because what I put on the affidavit of complaint should be exactly what I put in my report and vice versa."
Chandler, however, didn’t think the report and affidavit discrepancies were intentional.
"Because a lot of time what happens, a lot of officers write out and they do the report a couple of days later and they forget to put stuff in, and then that’s the problem with that," he noted. "I think (Peeler) waited several days to do the report and left some of the stuff out of the report that was in the affidavit."
The officers didn’t find any evidence (beer cans, beer bottles, etc.) of underage drinking at Mooseherd either. Any such evidence isn’t noted in the report or affidavits.
"There was nothing in the evidence, my understanding... that indicated there was drinking going on in the business," Chandler posited.
Mucerino wasn’t at the underage party July 8, but allowed a patron "to borrow his business," Chandler reported. Mucerino told the chief he arrived five minutes before police that night.
Chandler noted two minors had drunk alcohol "somewhere else" prior to the Mooseherd party. The chief said he wasn’t sure if any law regulated whether or not a person can allow someone over 18, but under 21, to drink in his/her presence if he/she didn’t furnish the alcohol or allow the minors to drink.
"To me, I think that’s still the debate whether or not you can actually charge," said Chandler. "I think you’d have a venue issue with the two boys who had been drinking in White Bluff who came here."
Herald article
The Herald published an article July 27 about the citations for underage consumption at Mooseherd and the complaint filed by Mucerino against the officers. Mucerino stated the article was a personal attack by The Herald.
"I think the situation was not handled in a timely manner by the Dickson Police Department, which in turn led to the information of an incident under investigation being released to The Dickson Herald," Mucerino said in the release. "The article that was printed by The Herald was in my opinion a personal attack by a paper lacking real facts and real news, and used my name and my business as a means to make me and my business look like we are in the wrong and have cost us money and business."
Incident reports and affidavits are public information.
Also, the two citing police officers in the case have been assigned more training by the police chief after not following procedure.
"The punishment for the officers is weak and they should suffer worse consequences like suspension, classes and all information being added to their permanent files so future law agencies know that they have a flaw as an officer," Frank Mucerino Jr. released in a statement to The Herald.
Dickson police cited Mucerino, Mooseherd Airsoft owner, in July with two counts contributing to underage drinking.
"(The officers) put my personal name and character on a citation and incident report full of lies and inaccurate information to which I would have been accountable for," Mucerino stated, "yet they do not have to be accountable for their mistakes and actions."
The patrol officers also charged William Hall, 18, of Burns, and Steven C. Smith, 19, of White Bluff, with underage consumption from the same incident.
The district attorney’s office dropped all those charges, however, after Mucerino filed a complaint against the citing officers for improper procedure and lying on their reports.
The district attorney’s office did not return calls about the dropped charges by press time.
Dickson Police Chief Rick Chandler also ruled the patrol officers, Val Duran and Rob Peeler, did not "properly follow procedure" during the July 8 encounter at Mooseherd Airsoft at 281 Dickson Plaza Drive.
"In my opinion the officers involved made terrible decisions on the scene and made many mistakes, some of which were not addressed or captured on audio," Mucerino continued. "They are a liability on the streets and are incapable as officers to make the right decisions when needed.
Coercion
Chandler explained the officers coerced Mucerino into granting permission to search his business; omitted information from the incident report; found no evidence of underage drinking at the business; and that Mucerino wasn’t present at Mooseherd during the underage party.
Dickson Police Detective Don Arnold investigated Mucerino’s complaint about the officers’ misconduct, which culminated in an "internal hearing" Thursday. Chandler presided over the hearing.
Chandler "ruled against" the officers’ conduct during the July 8 incident, and assigned Duran and Peeler additional training on police search and seizure guidelines and "the laws concerning what they dealt with that night."
"They did not get permission to enter the business by free will," Chandler explained. "They used more coercion than what the law requires."
Chandler noted neither officer has received a complaint of this nature before. Peeler has served and protected the city for 13 months, and Duran for 10 months.
"You get complaints all the time on officers for doing different things, but that’s one of the things we stress," he continued. "Everybody has constitutional rights, and you can’t infringe on those, and if I find out you’re doing it we’re going to re-train you, make sure you get properly trained on how to do it."
Chandler explained officers can persuade suspects into granting permission for home and/or vehicle searches, but they can’t "coerce" the suspects into conceding that permission.
"And my opinion after listening to the tape and the testimony, it got to the point where it was not free will that (Mucerino) allowed them to come in," Chandler said.
The underage consumption citation also didn’t match Peeler’s incident report.
"Sometimes officers take shortcuts on doing reports," said Chandler. "They’ll say one thing in the narrative on their affidavit or the citation, and the report doesn’t reflect it that way.
"And that was an issue on this one that I had to deal with too, about proper training," he added.
The citation for Mucerino reported: "(Mucerino) stated that he was with two underage subjects while they were consuming alcohol." The incident report, however, doesn’t mention this allegation. The citation also listed the wrong law.
"He left some things out that he should have put in the report," Chandler explained. "We got a saying in police work, ‘If you don’t put it in writing it didn’t happen,’ because what I put on the affidavit of complaint should be exactly what I put in my report and vice versa."
Chandler, however, didn’t think the report and affidavit discrepancies were intentional.
"Because a lot of time what happens, a lot of officers write out and they do the report a couple of days later and they forget to put stuff in, and then that’s the problem with that," he noted. "I think (Peeler) waited several days to do the report and left some of the stuff out of the report that was in the affidavit."
The officers didn’t find any evidence (beer cans, beer bottles, etc.) of underage drinking at Mooseherd either. Any such evidence isn’t noted in the report or affidavits.
"There was nothing in the evidence, my understanding... that indicated there was drinking going on in the business," Chandler posited.
Mucerino wasn’t at the underage party July 8, but allowed a patron "to borrow his business," Chandler reported. Mucerino told the chief he arrived five minutes before police that night.
Chandler noted two minors had drunk alcohol "somewhere else" prior to the Mooseherd party. The chief said he wasn’t sure if any law regulated whether or not a person can allow someone over 18, but under 21, to drink in his/her presence if he/she didn’t furnish the alcohol or allow the minors to drink.
"To me, I think that’s still the debate whether or not you can actually charge," said Chandler. "I think you’d have a venue issue with the two boys who had been drinking in White Bluff who came here."
Herald article
The Herald published an article July 27 about the citations for underage consumption at Mooseherd and the complaint filed by Mucerino against the officers. Mucerino stated the article was a personal attack by The Herald.
"I think the situation was not handled in a timely manner by the Dickson Police Department, which in turn led to the information of an incident under investigation being released to The Dickson Herald," Mucerino said in the release. "The article that was printed by The Herald was in my opinion a personal attack by a paper lacking real facts and real news, and used my name and my business as a means to make me and my business look like we are in the wrong and have cost us money and business."
Incident reports and affidavits are public information.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Ronnie Wynn, Alleged Car Thief, Caught On Tape Shooting Guns While Driving
A 23-year-old man accused of racing through the streets of Vancouver, Wa., while shooting a stolen gun out his car window may have a hard time denying the charges.
Especially since he posted a video of himself online with his gun blazing.
Officers arrested Wynn last month after he allegedly crashed a stolen car, but when they started investigating him further they found a video on Facebook showing him shooting a .45 while driving recklessly, KPTV-TV reported.
The video, which was filmed by a teenage girl riding shotgun, shows him passing a police car, pulling out a silver handgun and firing a shot out the window, before yelling, "You heard that? That's a .45 (expletive)."
Later in the video, you can hear the car tires squealing before the suspect pulls out another gun –- an airsoft rifle.
Wynn -- who calls himself "Ron Gotti" -- was arrested on suspicion of being in possession of a stolen vehicle and outstanding superior and district court warrants.
In addition, charges of second-degree possession of stolen property, driving with a suspended license, making false statements and hit-and-run were referred to prosecutors, according to the Columbian newspaper.
But the hits just keep on coming.
While in jail, Wynn was also accused of residential burglary, second-degree theft, two counts of theft of a firearm, three counts of trafficking stolen property, forgery, second-degree identity theft, financial fraud and three counts of unlawful possession of a firearm in connection with an unrelated case.
According to court documents, Wynn stole a Ruger pistol, an assault rife, an Airsoft HK assault rifle replica, a wristwatch and checks from his uncle's home when the uncle was on vacation.
He unlawfully entered his uncle's home by slipping through a doggie door, and allegedly sold the firearms for cash, drugs and other property — including a game console and 9-mm pistol.
One of the videos that Wynn posted on his Facebook page showed a man who looked like him with a handgun on the floor between his feet, explaining that he got it after selling his uncle's firearms, police told the Columbian.
Wynn is locked up in the Clark County Jail and scheduled to go on trial on September 17.
Meanwhile, his mother, Carri Wynn, told KPTV-TV that she is is heartbroken over the video and how it makes her son look.
"My son is not a bad son," she said. "Ronnie is a good kid who went the wrong way."
Wynn's mother said he has had problems with drugs, got mixed up with the wrong people, but calls her every day from jail feeling "very remorseful" and "very stupid."
"He wishes he didn't make the choices he did, wishes he wasn't were he's at," she said. "Don't judge. People make bad mistakes. Thank god he didn't hurt anyone."
Especially since he posted a video of himself online with his gun blazing.
Officers arrested Wynn last month after he allegedly crashed a stolen car, but when they started investigating him further they found a video on Facebook showing him shooting a .45 while driving recklessly, KPTV-TV reported.
The video, which was filmed by a teenage girl riding shotgun, shows him passing a police car, pulling out a silver handgun and firing a shot out the window, before yelling, "You heard that? That's a .45 (expletive)."
Later in the video, you can hear the car tires squealing before the suspect pulls out another gun –- an airsoft rifle.
Wynn -- who calls himself "Ron Gotti" -- was arrested on suspicion of being in possession of a stolen vehicle and outstanding superior and district court warrants.
In addition, charges of second-degree possession of stolen property, driving with a suspended license, making false statements and hit-and-run were referred to prosecutors, according to the Columbian newspaper.
But the hits just keep on coming.
While in jail, Wynn was also accused of residential burglary, second-degree theft, two counts of theft of a firearm, three counts of trafficking stolen property, forgery, second-degree identity theft, financial fraud and three counts of unlawful possession of a firearm in connection with an unrelated case.
According to court documents, Wynn stole a Ruger pistol, an assault rife, an Airsoft HK assault rifle replica, a wristwatch and checks from his uncle's home when the uncle was on vacation.
He unlawfully entered his uncle's home by slipping through a doggie door, and allegedly sold the firearms for cash, drugs and other property — including a game console and 9-mm pistol.
One of the videos that Wynn posted on his Facebook page showed a man who looked like him with a handgun on the floor between his feet, explaining that he got it after selling his uncle's firearms, police told the Columbian.
Wynn is locked up in the Clark County Jail and scheduled to go on trial on September 17.
Meanwhile, his mother, Carri Wynn, told KPTV-TV that she is is heartbroken over the video and how it makes her son look.
"My son is not a bad son," she said. "Ronnie is a good kid who went the wrong way."
Wynn's mother said he has had problems with drugs, got mixed up with the wrong people, but calls her every day from jail feeling "very remorseful" and "very stupid."
"He wishes he didn't make the choices he did, wishes he wasn't were he's at," she said. "Don't judge. People make bad mistakes. Thank god he didn't hurt anyone."
Saturday, August 04, 2012
Police arrest 78, seize 178 guns over two weeks
Jakarta Police said on Friday that they had arrested 78 suspects in various crimes across the city in the first half of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadhan.
Included in the list of detainees were the suspects in the recent café raid in Pesanggrahan and those of the violent bullying at Don Bosco High School in Pondok Indah, both in South Jakarta.
“Of the 78 detainees, 36 were arrested for conducting raids, 26 for street crimes, seven for the Don Bosco bullying, three for robbing minimarkets, and six for armed robbery of bank customers,” police’s chief of operations Sr. Comr. Agung Budi Maryoto said.
Of the 36 arrested for conducting raids, 23 were perpetrators of the raid on De Most café in Pesanggrahan on July 28 -— two of whom are underage boys. The remaining 13 were arrested by the West Jakarta Police for a separate raid in the municipality, Agung said. “All 36 were arrested for criminal damage and publicly brandishing bladed weapons,” he continued.
As for the 26 arrested for street crimes, 16 were detained at the city police’s general crimes directorate and the remaining 10 at the East Jakarta Police office. The police did not disclose any details regarding their crimes other than saying that they involved “assault and breaking and entering”.
During the same period, the police also confiscated 178 guns, comprising 61 firearms and 117 airsoft guns. Fifty-two of the 61 firearms were handguns and the remaining nine were rifles.
Of the 117 airsoft guns, 40 were airsoft handguns and 77 were airsoft rifles. “We have also seized 2,030 live rounds and 67,506 airsoft gun BB pellets,” Agung said, adding that 17 suspects had been arrested by various police offices across Jakarta for crimes related to the confiscated guns.
Separately, police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto said that the police could provide escorts for people transporting large sums of money in the days before the holidays, including for bank customers withdrawing large amounts from their accounts.
“The service is free of charge and is accessible by all,” he said, adding that the service was offered to prevent instances of robbery.
Reports say that an AK-47 police service rifle went off accidentally duringsuch an escort service at the Kelapa Gading Mall in North Jakarta. Rikwanto confirmed the incident took place when First Brig. RG was escorting money being transferred by PT Securicor from a retail clothing outlet at the mall.
The bullet struck the floor, causing shards of floor tiles to ricochet into the legs of Aditya Pradana, 31, and Ahmad Syakiri, 26, both of whom were transferred immediately to a nearby hospital.
First Brig. RG is currently being questioned at the city police’s internalaffairs division. The rifle and bullet casing have been confiscated.
— JP/Iman Mahditama
Included in the list of detainees were the suspects in the recent café raid in Pesanggrahan and those of the violent bullying at Don Bosco High School in Pondok Indah, both in South Jakarta.
“Of the 78 detainees, 36 were arrested for conducting raids, 26 for street crimes, seven for the Don Bosco bullying, three for robbing minimarkets, and six for armed robbery of bank customers,” police’s chief of operations Sr. Comr. Agung Budi Maryoto said.
Of the 36 arrested for conducting raids, 23 were perpetrators of the raid on De Most café in Pesanggrahan on July 28 -— two of whom are underage boys. The remaining 13 were arrested by the West Jakarta Police for a separate raid in the municipality, Agung said. “All 36 were arrested for criminal damage and publicly brandishing bladed weapons,” he continued.
As for the 26 arrested for street crimes, 16 were detained at the city police’s general crimes directorate and the remaining 10 at the East Jakarta Police office. The police did not disclose any details regarding their crimes other than saying that they involved “assault and breaking and entering”.
During the same period, the police also confiscated 178 guns, comprising 61 firearms and 117 airsoft guns. Fifty-two of the 61 firearms were handguns and the remaining nine were rifles.
Of the 117 airsoft guns, 40 were airsoft handguns and 77 were airsoft rifles. “We have also seized 2,030 live rounds and 67,506 airsoft gun BB pellets,” Agung said, adding that 17 suspects had been arrested by various police offices across Jakarta for crimes related to the confiscated guns.
Separately, police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto said that the police could provide escorts for people transporting large sums of money in the days before the holidays, including for bank customers withdrawing large amounts from their accounts.
“The service is free of charge and is accessible by all,” he said, adding that the service was offered to prevent instances of robbery.
Reports say that an AK-47 police service rifle went off accidentally duringsuch an escort service at the Kelapa Gading Mall in North Jakarta. Rikwanto confirmed the incident took place when First Brig. RG was escorting money being transferred by PT Securicor from a retail clothing outlet at the mall.
The bullet struck the floor, causing shards of floor tiles to ricochet into the legs of Aditya Pradana, 31, and Ahmad Syakiri, 26, both of whom were transferred immediately to a nearby hospital.
First Brig. RG is currently being questioned at the city police’s internalaffairs division. The rifle and bullet casing have been confiscated.
— JP/Iman Mahditama
Friday, August 03, 2012
Supreme Court overturns search of Bellevue student's backpack was illegal
By NAT LEVY
Bellevue Reporter Staff Writer
August 2,
2012 · 5:18 PM
The State Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a 2009 search of
a student's backpack that yielded an airsoft gun and led to the conviction of a
student was not legal, because the school officer was acting in a law
enforcement role, requiring him to first obtain a search warrant.
According to a 6-3 court margin, Officer Michael Fry's
actions did not fall under an exception that allows school officials to search
students without a warrant, therefore the evidence should have been suppressed
at trial.
"At the time of the search, Fry was seeking to obtain
evidence for criminal prosecution, not evidence for informal school
discipline," Judge Susan Owens wrote in the majority opinion.
"Further, the search was not to maintain order because (the student) was
being removed from school regardless."
Court documents say that the student was arrested in 2009 in
the bathroom of Robinswood High School, a now closed alternative school, when
the school resource officer witnessed the student handling marijuana. The
officer was contracted from the Bellevue Police Department. He placed the
student under arrest, and while waiting for backup became suspicious of the
contents of the student's backpack. He then searched it and founded a replica
Beretta airsoft gun.
The student and his legal team did not dispute what was
found, but in the manner it was pursued. After losing the case at three
different levels, the Supreme Court was the first to agree with the student.
This is because previous cases indicate the officer was in
the right, the three dissenting judges wrote. The dissenting judges argued that
the school resource officer remains a school official whether he is acting in a
law enforcement capacity or not because he is working to maintain order within
the school for an infraction committed on its ground.
Furthermore, the judges argued, the ruling will put restrict
school resources officers and put more pressure on faculty to police students.
"Schools will now be dissuaded from using school
resource officers to detect and intercept violations of school rules or the
law," Judge Debra Stevens wrote in the dissenting opinion. "Instead,
teachers and other school administrators who have reasonable suspicion but lack
probable cause, must conduct such searches themselves. The constitution does
not demand such foolhardiness, nor is it necessarily conducive to respect for
student privacy."
Bellevue Reporter Staff Writer
August 2,
2012 · 5:18 PM
The State Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a 2009 search of
a student's backpack that yielded an airsoft gun and led to the conviction of a
student was not legal, because the school officer was acting in a law
enforcement role, requiring him to first obtain a search warrant.
According to a 6-3 court margin, Officer Michael Fry's
actions did not fall under an exception that allows school officials to search
students without a warrant, therefore the evidence should have been suppressed
at trial.
"At the time of the search, Fry was seeking to obtain
evidence for criminal prosecution, not evidence for informal school
discipline," Judge Susan Owens wrote in the majority opinion.
"Further, the search was not to maintain order because (the student) was
being removed from school regardless."
Court documents say that the student was arrested in 2009 in
the bathroom of Robinswood High School, a now closed alternative school, when
the school resource officer witnessed the student handling marijuana. The
officer was contracted from the Bellevue Police Department. He placed the
student under arrest, and while waiting for backup became suspicious of the
contents of the student's backpack. He then searched it and founded a replica
Beretta airsoft gun.
The student and his legal team did not dispute what was
found, but in the manner it was pursued. After losing the case at three
different levels, the Supreme Court was the first to agree with the student.
This is because previous cases indicate the officer was in
the right, the three dissenting judges wrote. The dissenting judges argued that
the school resource officer remains a school official whether he is acting in a
law enforcement capacity or not because he is working to maintain order within
the school for an infraction committed on its ground.
Furthermore, the judges argued, the ruling will put restrict
school resources officers and put more pressure on faculty to police students.
"Schools will now be dissuaded from using school
resource officers to detect and intercept violations of school rules or the
law," Judge Debra Stevens wrote in the dissenting opinion. "Instead,
teachers and other school administrators who have reasonable suspicion but lack
probable cause, must conduct such searches themselves. The constitution does
not demand such foolhardiness, nor is it necessarily conducive to respect for
student privacy."
Monday, July 30, 2012
Man helps catch teens who shot him with air gun in Rancho Cucamonga
RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. (KABC) -- A man who was shot with an air gun
while driving his car didn't wait around for authorities to
apprehend the suspects.
Dan Laue said he was leaving work around 11 p.m. Sunday when
he noticed a car pull up next to him on Foothill Boulevard at the 15 Freeway in
Rancho Cucamonga.
"As soon as the car drove up, I saw it come up next to
me really close. I saw something come out the window, so I immediately went to
look. I heard a shot and I immediately felt pain in my neck," Laue said.
He said he thinks they were using an Airsoft rifle, one that shoots small airsoft
pellets.
So, Laue called 911 - but that's not all. He chased after
them, doing whatever he could to make sure they didn't get away. Since his call
to 911 went through the OnStar system in his Chevrolet Camaro, he was able to
use his iPhone to shoot video of what was happening.
"Hey, I just got shot in the neck by these guys, I'm
chasing them," Laue told the dispatcher.
"Are you injured?" the dispatcher asks.
"I don't know, it's dark," he replies.
"Can you pull over so I can get you medical
attention?" the dispatcher asks.
"No, I'm not letting go of them. You guys catch up,"
Laue said.
Moments later, a sheriff's deputy saw what was happening and
pulled the suspect vehicle over. Two 17 year olds, who were not identified
because they are minors, were arrested on misdemeanor charges of brandishing a
replica firearm.
The San Bernardino Sheriff's Department said deputies
recovered two Airsoft rifles in the suspect vehicle and one airsoft pellet in
Laue's vehicle.
Laue said the injury to his neck was minor.
Asked why he wouldn't pull over for the dispatcher, Laue
said, "Because I knew if I didn't get behind them until a sheriff's car
was behind them, they were going to get away. Whether it was a real gun or not,
I was ready to ram them at some point if I needed to, if it was a real gun.
"This happens too many times in our country, and I'm
not going to let it happen to me and let someone get away with a crime like
that."
(Copyright ©2012 KABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
while driving his car didn't wait around for authorities to
apprehend the suspects.
Dan Laue said he was leaving work around 11 p.m. Sunday when
he noticed a car pull up next to him on Foothill Boulevard at the 15 Freeway in
Rancho Cucamonga.
"As soon as the car drove up, I saw it come up next to
me really close. I saw something come out the window, so I immediately went to
look. I heard a shot and I immediately felt pain in my neck," Laue said.
He said he thinks they were using an Airsoft rifle, one that shoots small airsoft
pellets.
So, Laue called 911 - but that's not all. He chased after
them, doing whatever he could to make sure they didn't get away. Since his call
to 911 went through the OnStar system in his Chevrolet Camaro, he was able to
use his iPhone to shoot video of what was happening.
"Hey, I just got shot in the neck by these guys, I'm
chasing them," Laue told the dispatcher.
"Are you injured?" the dispatcher asks.
"I don't know, it's dark," he replies.
"Can you pull over so I can get you medical
attention?" the dispatcher asks.
"No, I'm not letting go of them. You guys catch up,"
Laue said.
Moments later, a sheriff's deputy saw what was happening and
pulled the suspect vehicle over. Two 17 year olds, who were not identified
because they are minors, were arrested on misdemeanor charges of brandishing a
replica firearm.
The San Bernardino Sheriff's Department said deputies
recovered two Airsoft rifles in the suspect vehicle and one airsoft pellet in
Laue's vehicle.
Laue said the injury to his neck was minor.
Asked why he wouldn't pull over for the dispatcher, Laue
said, "Because I knew if I didn't get behind them until a sheriff's car
was behind them, they were going to get away. Whether it was a real gun or not,
I was ready to ram them at some point if I needed to, if it was a real gun.
"This happens too many times in our country, and I'm
not going to let it happen to me and let someone get away with a crime like
that."
(Copyright ©2012 KABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
Friday, July 27, 2012
National Guard recruits stay local with airsoft training
Young recruits with the Washington Army National Guard received realistic
training last weekend for their upcoming basic courses. Some of the recruits
are still waiting to move on to the next stage of their career as a soldier and
are not authorized to use real firearms. Instead - they walk, run and crawl
with airsoft guns.
Airsoft isn’t as messy or archaic as paintball as described by Sfc. Mike
Whitacre. He’s the lead on their July training at Spokane Airsoft located in
Northtown Mall. They only get a single weekend in a month to work with the
recruits, so they try to mix up the training locations to bring some recruits
closer to home.
“We can stay local. We only have two days for these guys to get trained,”
Sfc. Whitacre said. “...one weekend a month so if we’re spending a lot of time
on the road to let’s say Yakima, we’re taking away a lot of time we can use to
train these soldiers. We can find something local to maximize our training
efforts.”
The guard has used other locations in Spokane for their trainings including
the Spokane Police Academy, Fairchild Air Force Base and Riverside State Park.
Their most recent outing at the airsoft store was a first for the group and it
was designed to help them practice the techniques they learned over a
presentation and put the skills to use.
The realistic experience means crawling on the carpeted floor of the store
with opposing forces waiting for them. Some of them hide behind stacks of tires
or just around the corner of a plywood wall. Volunteers and store employees
participated in the training as the opposing force to give the recruits a
realistic scenario to work with.
Training outside a military facility is not an economical tactic says Sfc.
Whitacre. He describes the guard more as of a community organization compared
to the other branches of military. They like to source things out to the
community. The co-owners of Spokane Airsoft (one being a KXLY Broadcast
Group employee) have been contributing to their trainings for about five
years. They also invite the recruits to a 46-acre property near Reardan for an
outdoor experience.
The sustainment program helps the recruits during their transition from
civilian to soldier. After basic, it’s time for the individual job training to
help them go into a variety of careers from medical and administrative.
As a standing militia, the guard is designed to keep their soldiers local in
case the state finds a need for their assistance like natural disasters.
Basically, Sfc. Whitacre said, they’re the home team.
“There was flooding in the Centralia area over the winter. Obviously forest fires
are pretty much every summer. Sometimes we had some calls out to other states
to help,” Sfc. Whitacre said. “Hurricane Katrina is another good example. It
was so devastating, the guard there was unable to handle the whole thing. It
was too ginormous of a disaster so they called on many states to help out with
that.”
The recruits are not at that stage yet, but eventually they will be. Most of
the recruits range from ages 17 to 21 and some of them are still waiting for
their uniforms to come in. In the meantime, they train.
“Using airsoft allows them to have realistic training. They’ll be ahead of
the game,” Sfc. Whitacre continued.
Submitted by
Nicole Hensley, Web Producer
Friday, July 27th, 2012, 5:39pm
training last weekend for their upcoming basic courses. Some of the recruits
are still waiting to move on to the next stage of their career as a soldier and
are not authorized to use real firearms. Instead - they walk, run and crawl
with airsoft guns.
Airsoft isn’t as messy or archaic as paintball as described by Sfc. Mike
Whitacre. He’s the lead on their July training at Spokane Airsoft located in
Northtown Mall. They only get a single weekend in a month to work with the
recruits, so they try to mix up the training locations to bring some recruits
closer to home.
“We can stay local. We only have two days for these guys to get trained,”
Sfc. Whitacre said. “...one weekend a month so if we’re spending a lot of time
on the road to let’s say Yakima, we’re taking away a lot of time we can use to
train these soldiers. We can find something local to maximize our training
efforts.”
The guard has used other locations in Spokane for their trainings including
the Spokane Police Academy, Fairchild Air Force Base and Riverside State Park.
Their most recent outing at the airsoft store was a first for the group and it
was designed to help them practice the techniques they learned over a
presentation and put the skills to use.
The realistic experience means crawling on the carpeted floor of the store
with opposing forces waiting for them. Some of them hide behind stacks of tires
or just around the corner of a plywood wall. Volunteers and store employees
participated in the training as the opposing force to give the recruits a
realistic scenario to work with.
Training outside a military facility is not an economical tactic says Sfc.
Whitacre. He describes the guard more as of a community organization compared
to the other branches of military. They like to source things out to the
community. The co-owners of Spokane Airsoft (one being a KXLY Broadcast
Group employee) have been contributing to their trainings for about five
years. They also invite the recruits to a 46-acre property near Reardan for an
outdoor experience.
The sustainment program helps the recruits during their transition from
civilian to soldier. After basic, it’s time for the individual job training to
help them go into a variety of careers from medical and administrative.
As a standing militia, the guard is designed to keep their soldiers local in
case the state finds a need for their assistance like natural disasters.
Basically, Sfc. Whitacre said, they’re the home team.
“There was flooding in the Centralia area over the winter. Obviously forest fires
are pretty much every summer. Sometimes we had some calls out to other states
to help,” Sfc. Whitacre said. “Hurricane Katrina is another good example. It
was so devastating, the guard there was unable to handle the whole thing. It
was too ginormous of a disaster so they called on many states to help out with
that.”
The recruits are not at that stage yet, but eventually they will be. Most of
the recruits range from ages 17 to 21 and some of them are still waiting for
their uniforms to come in. In the meantime, they train.
“Using airsoft allows them to have realistic training. They’ll be ahead of
the game,” Sfc. Whitacre continued.
Submitted by
Nicole Hensley, Web Producer
Friday, July 27th, 2012, 5:39pm
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Police: Man shoots at cars, people with airsoft rifle
FRANKLIN —
A Franklin man who police say drove around town Sunday
evening and shot at people and cars with his new airsoft rifles was ordered
held pending a hearing Thursday to determine if he is a danger to the
public.
Scott Haigh, of 685 Pond St., told Franklin police he was
testing two new airsoft guns, which fire plastic airsoft pellets and typically
have an orange or red cap on the barrel, by shooting at street signs.
But according to authorities, as he drove through Franklin
and Bellingham in a brown Chevy van, Haigh, 39, shot an 11-year-old boy in the hand,
as well as at two vehicles.
No one was seriously injured, police said.
At about 6 p.m. on Sunday, police said someone fired at a
vehicle carrying two people that was traveling south on Pond Street. A man and
his son told police they saw someone pointing an airsoft gun at them as they
drove by.
They heard something hit their vehicle, and the son told his
father "that guy just shot at them," police said.
The men and his son told police they had seen a brown van
parked near Donato Drive on the southbound side of the road. But police were
not able to locate a vehicle matching the witnesses' description.
Later, at about 7 p.m., a woman reported that someone drove
by her Pond Street home and shot her grandson him in the hand. She told police
the shot came from a black airsoft gun with a red tip fired from a brown or tan
van.
Police had trouble finding the van so they asked one of the
men in the vehicle that had been fired at on Pond Street car to come with them
in a search.
As they searched on Pond Street, police said, a woman
flagged down the cruiser and said someone in a van had pointed a airsoft gun at
her while she was driving.
Police eventually found the van at 685 Pond St. — Haigh’s
home.
Haigh answered the door and told police he had just been
shooting at street signs, not at people. Police found two airsoft guns inside
identified as the ones used in the incidents.
In addition to a third airsoft gun, police found fireworks.
Police arrested Haigh and charged him with three counts of
assault with a deadly weapon (the airsoft guns), disorderly conduct, disturbing
the peace and unlawful possession of fireworks. Bellingham police said they did
not have any reports of people or cars being shot at.
Haigh pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Monday in
Wrentham District Court. Judge Emogene Johnson-Smith ordered Haigh held without
bail pending the results of a dangerousness hearing Thursday. Haigh's attorney,
Robert Costello, objected to the prosecutor's request to hold his client,
arguing he was not firing at people.
Airsoft guns are legal in the United States, but a federal
law requires the owners to have some kind of colored marking on the barrel.
Airsoft guns, like paintball guns, are not lethal, though the airsoft pellets
can cause bruising.
Matt Tota can be reached at 508-634-7521 or
mtota@wickedlocal.com.
A Franklin man who police say drove around town Sunday
evening and shot at people and cars with his new airsoft rifles was ordered
held pending a hearing Thursday to determine if he is a danger to the
public.
Scott Haigh, of 685 Pond St., told Franklin police he was
testing two new airsoft guns, which fire plastic airsoft pellets and typically
have an orange or red cap on the barrel, by shooting at street signs.
But according to authorities, as he drove through Franklin
and Bellingham in a brown Chevy van, Haigh, 39, shot an 11-year-old boy in the hand,
as well as at two vehicles.
No one was seriously injured, police said.
At about 6 p.m. on Sunday, police said someone fired at a
vehicle carrying two people that was traveling south on Pond Street. A man and
his son told police they saw someone pointing an airsoft gun at them as they
drove by.
They heard something hit their vehicle, and the son told his
father "that guy just shot at them," police said.
The men and his son told police they had seen a brown van
parked near Donato Drive on the southbound side of the road. But police were
not able to locate a vehicle matching the witnesses' description.
Later, at about 7 p.m., a woman reported that someone drove
by her Pond Street home and shot her grandson him in the hand. She told police
the shot came from a black airsoft gun with a red tip fired from a brown or tan
van.
Police had trouble finding the van so they asked one of the
men in the vehicle that had been fired at on Pond Street car to come with them
in a search.
As they searched on Pond Street, police said, a woman
flagged down the cruiser and said someone in a van had pointed a airsoft gun at
her while she was driving.
Police eventually found the van at 685 Pond St. — Haigh’s
home.
Haigh answered the door and told police he had just been
shooting at street signs, not at people. Police found two airsoft guns inside
identified as the ones used in the incidents.
In addition to a third airsoft gun, police found fireworks.
Police arrested Haigh and charged him with three counts of
assault with a deadly weapon (the airsoft guns), disorderly conduct, disturbing
the peace and unlawful possession of fireworks. Bellingham police said they did
not have any reports of people or cars being shot at.
Haigh pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Monday in
Wrentham District Court. Judge Emogene Johnson-Smith ordered Haigh held without
bail pending the results of a dangerousness hearing Thursday. Haigh's attorney,
Robert Costello, objected to the prosecutor's request to hold his client,
arguing he was not firing at people.
Airsoft guns are legal in the United States, but a federal
law requires the owners to have some kind of colored marking on the barrel.
Airsoft guns, like paintball guns, are not lethal, though the airsoft pellets
can cause bruising.
Matt Tota can be reached at 508-634-7521 or
mtota@wickedlocal.com.
Friday, June 29, 2012
2 men playing with fake guns wounded by real thing
The Associated Press
Published: Friday, Jun. 29, 2012 - 7:18 am
SAN DIEGO -- San Diego police say two men playing with phony guns were shot by attackers using the real thing.
A police statement says an 18-year-old man and his 20-year-old friend were wounded late Thursday night in an alley as they drank beer and played with airsoft rifles, which shoot plastic airsoft pellets.
Police say three men in dark clothes and hoodies emerged from a nearby canyon and opened fire. One victim was hit three times in the torso and thigh. The other man was shot once in the side.
They're expected to recover.
No arrests have been made and there's no word on a motive for the attack.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Former drive-in to be used as a simulated battlefield
By Bill Fortier TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
SUTTON — If commuters driving south on Route 146 by the former Sutton Drive-In theater see people walking through the fields with (airsoft) weapons, there is no need to worry.
Beginning today, Citadel Airsoft, which has headquarters at 34 Suffolk St. in Worcester, will be open from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and Wednesday at what is dubbed “Citadel Flashpoint,” on the site of the former Sutton Drive-In, 100 Worcester-Providence Turnpike. The drive-in theater, which once showed adult movies then later offered family fare in the mid 1990s, has been unused for years. The approximately 9-acre parcel is owned by the Sutton Motor-In Trust of Worcester. Town Planner Jennifer S. Hager said the facility has the permits it needs to open.
Airsoft, according to Citadel Airsoft owner Matthew E. Pearson and general manager Brian G. Torsey, is a kinder-friendlier version of paintball. Airsoft features 6-millimeter biodegradable plastic airsoft BBs shot out of replica airsoft guns, such as AK-47s and AK-74s. They use electric–powered batteries or compressed gas.
Mr. Pearson said when a person is hit by one of the airsoft BBs they don’t get a bruise, which happens sometimes when someone is hit by a paintball.
“It looks like a little mosquito bite,” said Mr. Pearson, 40, a former Internet network architect.
“There’s enough force to know you’ve been hit,” he said.
Mr. Torsey, 50, said people who have been hit by the airsoft BBs sometimes look like they have chickenpox.
Citadel Airsoft opened in an old factory building at 34 Suffolk St. in 2009.
The first floor of the airsoft headquarters will stay open and be available for people scheduled to shoot in Sutton who are rained out. The headquarters contains a pro shop, where replica airsoft guns and other equipment are sold. The first floor also features a television monitor, where people who are not participating in Airsoft wars on the second floor can watch the action.
The second floor of the 40,000-square-foot building is a maze of small houses and cars that can be used during Airsoft events.
Mr. Pearson and Mr. Torsey said safety is a top priority. Protective clothing, including head and eye protection, is required at both sites.
“The worst injury we’ve had is a lost tooth,” Mr. Pearson said, while adding that to his knowledge there has never been a fatal injury involving Airsoft.
Mr. Pearson lives in Uxbridge and has had his eye on the former drive-in site for years.
“I’ve always thought that would be a good spot for what we do,” he said.
Citadel Flashpoint has scheduled what Mr. Pearson called a soft opening today. The event is a simulated military training session that is discussed on the company’s website, www.citadelairsoft.com. The area is scheduled to open officially the weekend of June 30.
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