Thread: California newspaper report of shots fired at paragliders.

Men suspected of firing pellet guns at paragliders plead not guilty - San Jose Mercury News


So I really want to see this "high caliber" pellet gun the news reports talks about.

Men suspected of firing pellet guns at paragliders plead not guilty

By Joshua Melvin
jmelvin@bayareanewsgroup.com
Posted: 01/11/2012 07:04:46 AM PST
Updated: 01/11/2012 07:04:51 AM PST

Two men accused of opening fire with a high-caliber pellet gun on people preparing to paraglide at a popular Daly City launch site have pleaded not guilty to felony assault with a deadly weapon.
Alex Attard, 38, of Daly City, and Edward Amatori, 49, face one count for each paraglider who was fired upon while gearing up for a flight at Mussel Rock on Saturday afternoon, said San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe. The men were arraigned Monday.
No one was hurt in the incident, but police called in the SWAT team after the fliers reported hearing one shot pass over their heads and saw dirt splash when another slammed into the ground near them. Officers found the men in some brush shooting a .22 caliber pellet gun and arrested them without any trouble. The men denied shooting at the fliers, said Daly City police Sgt. Mike Barton.
Amatori has already been convicted of a similar offense, Wagstaffe said. Court records show he pleaded no contest in August 2011 to misdemeanor assault for shooting someone with a pellet gun in South San Francisco. Amatori was on probation for that crime at the time of Saturday's incident, Wagstaffe said.
Both men are being held at the San Mateo County jail in lieu of $25,000 bail and are due back in court Jan. 23.
Contact Joshua Melvin at 650-348-4335.

If you're paragliding you have the high ground, might not be too stable but you could get off a shot or two!

You'd think at that age you'd be smart enough not to display that sort of behavior. Alas.

At first I was pretty indignant, but then I read that one was alraedy on probation for doing the exact same thing in '11...

But still- "deadly weapon" is pretty betarded. I know .22cal air rifles can kill, but it's hardly a "weapon." I think an endangerment charge of similar severity is in order, but calling an air rifle a "deadly weapon" is freaken stupid.

Don't they make air rifles for hunting? If so then they are deadly.

This is just stupid and both those guys need to be locked up to protect society from their next act of extreme act of stupidity.

Yeah... Like breeding.

Well a Federal Champion 510 .22LR travels at 1240 fps

A Stoeger X-50 Air rifle travels at 1200 fps as do many other high quality pellet rifles

900-1000 fps is very common in a .22 cal airrifle

SO YES pretty dang nab deadly in my book

Look up South Carolina Trooper Coates if you want to know how deadly a .22 can be.

If you don't Ill break it down for you here. Trooper Coates got 5 shots off with his .357 magnum and I think he hit the suspect all 5x. The suspect lived. Trooper Coates got hit once, through the side of his vest, with a .22 that pierced his heart, and killed him.

If you can find a link of the infamous incident, do post. Its pretty hard to find, mostly cops in training are the only ones who see it.

Originally Posted by JimmyS1985

Look up South Carolina Trooper Coates if you want to know how deadly a .22 can be.

If you don't Ill break it down for you here. Trooper Coates got 5 shots off with his .357 magnum and I think he hit the suspect all 5x. The suspect lived. Trooper Coates got hit once, through the side of his vest, with a .22 that pierced his heart, and killed him.

If you can find a link of the infamous incident, do post. Its pretty hard to find, mostly cops in training are the only ones who see it.

Trooper Coates was a really bubblegumty shot.

Guess I am old and out of the loop. When I think of air rifle I think of a Crosman(?) pumped up 30x times with one of those cupped .17 pellets.

Never knew an air rifle could kill a man without shooting into someone's eye.

Originally Posted by JimmyS1985

Look up South Carolina Trooper Coates if you want to know how deadly a .22 can be.

If you don't Ill break it down for you here. Trooper Coates got 5 shots off with his .357 magnum and I think he hit the suspect all 5x. The suspect lived. Trooper Coates got hit once, through the side of his vest, with a .22 that pierced his heart, and killed him.

If you can find a link of the infamous incident, do post. Its pretty hard to find, mostly cops in training are the only ones who see it.

Somebody being killed with a .22lr to the heart changes absolutely nothing about the lethality of a .22 cal air rifle.

Nor even the lethality of the .22lr.

I could kill you with my phone, I bet... should we classify it as a deadly weapon?

Originally Posted by bkb0000

Somebody being killed with a .22lr to the heart changes absolutely nothing about the lethality of a .22 cal air rifle.

Nor even the lethality of the .22lr.

I could kill you with my phone, I bet... should we classify it as a deadly weapon?

Exactly.

OK so all those deer killed with a .22cal slug traveling at 1000fps means that a .22 cal pellet of the same weight traveling at 1000+ fps isn't deadly. I'm so confused.

I have friends who fed their familys during the depression with .22 longs bought a few at a time with money from the hides.

Don't be so quick to dismiss the air rifles of today. Crossman makes a nice .357 AIR rifle.
Crosman | Airguns | Rifles | PCP | Rogue® .357 Limited Edition by Benjamin®

.357 at more than 800fps sounds impressive to me.

I think maybe the question whether it's a deadly weapon depends on how it's used. A handkerchief stuffed down a victim's throat and held in place could be a deadly weapon, but thrown at the victim, not so much.

I've heard of bears being kilt with a pellet gun.

What about a tea cup... Riddik killed a man with a tea cup.