Robber pays the ultimate price

[chemist]

And it happened in the People's Republic of California, of all places:

<broken link removed>

"Suspect Shot Dead In Botched Modesto Robbery
MODESTO (CBS 5 / AP) &#8213;
Modesto police have arrested a second suspect after a botched holdup attempt of a liquor store turned fatal for a first suspect.
Police say the first suspect was shot by a store clerk when two men tried to rob the store around 10:40 p.m. Friday.
The dead suspect has been identified by police as 20-year-old Kyle Johnson of Modesto.
The second suspect -- a 17-year-old Modesto boy -- ran from the area after a brief struggle with a second store clerk. He was arrested around 2 p.m. Saturday. His name has not been released because of his age.
Modesto police spokesman Scott Nelson says the teen has been booked on suspicion of homicide and attempted robbery.
Nelson says under California law a suspect believed to have taken part in a felony can be charged with homicide if a death results."



Which one is worse off, the twenty-year-old who will never take a legal drink, or the seventeen-year-old who is looking at Felony Murder, and may very well be charged as an adult?

I for one don't cheer at a dead young man who ran out of second chances way too soon. But then again, if it were me staring down the barrel of a robber's gun,...
I can't fault the clerk for what he/she did, although the Modesto DA might very well take him to task.

Other things irk me about this story: How come this is called a 'botched robbery?' Seems to me it's more like a 'successful citizen defense.' And since when is an armed robber entitled to be called a 'boy,' seventeen or not?

The economy is horrible in Modesto. Hopelessness and despair lead some young men to desperate acts, convinced that their lives have no purpose, and they have no chance of escape. I fear that as the economy continues its downward spiral, we'll see more and more of these stupid wastes of life, until we're as numb to them as the citizens of Argentina or Mexico.

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[56kninja]

It's kind of sad, but I'm not going to feel bad for either of the kids.

I hope that the store clerk doesn't get any legal issues about it. I would have done the same if I had the chance.

 

[Father of four]

Sounds like "successful citizen defense" to me. The guys shouldn't of tried to rob the place. We will know for sure when we hear the rest of the story.

 

[Redcap]

Good. One less dirtbag in the world.

 

[rdb241]

At least the word on the street is, "Don't ef with that store!" because you will die.

 

[Bark]

At least the word on the street is, "Don't ef with that store!" because you will die.

Well the word on the street could just as easily be "shoot these guys before you try and take their money" it works both ways.

 

[SSG]

That kid woke up that morning, and decided to take down liquor stores...if he wants to put on the big boy pants, try his hand at being a 'gunfighter'....

He made a choice...he could have stayed home...played Xbox, tried to get with some high school girl, ride a bike, throw a football......but nope he wanted to be a cowboy...

I am sure for every gunfighter in the old west that walked outside to get killed there were hundreds that called each other names, punched each other in the nose, bought each other a beer afterward and laughed it off...

I personally can't dredge up allot of sympathy anymore for stupid people....

 

[Stomper]

Hey... if you ask me, they BOTH got off lucky... in the days of the Roman Empire, they CRUCIFIED robbers.

 

[speakingforkyle]

Good. One less dirtbag in the world.

He wasn't a dirtbag or a thug, he came from an upper middle class family, in which both parents were in the home and had to want for nothing. He was in school studying to be an aviation engineer and was very weak minded and chose the wrong group of friends. We as his family are very disappointed and sad at the same time. So please respect that this is a learning lesson to all kids who feel as if they need to prove something. Be very careful who you choose to make your friends.

 

[Kimber Custom]

He wasn't a dirtbag or a thug, he came from an upper middle class family, in which both parents were in the home and had to want for nothing. He was in school studying to be an aviation engineer and was very weak minded and chose the wrong group of friends. We as his family are very disappointed and sad at the same time. So please respect that this is a learning lesson to all kids who feel as if they need to prove something. Be very careful who you choose to make your friends.

I'm sorry for your loss. At 20 he had much to live for.

I respectfully submit that the moment he stepped into that store with ill intent he met the qualifications of a thug and/or dirtbag. My intent is not to name call here. Kyle made a choice to step outside the bounds of society and that clerk had every right to do everything in his power to live another day.

 

[Gunner3456]

He wasn't a dirtbag or a thug, he came from an upper middle class family, in which both parents were in the home and had to want for nothing. He was in school studying to be an aviation engineer and was very weak minded and chose the wrong group of friends. We as his family are very disappointed and sad at the same time. So please respect that this is a learning lesson to all kids who feel as if they need to prove something. Be very careful who you choose to make your friends.

I'm sorry for your loss. When I was 17, much less 20, I certainly knew better than to rob someone and so did these young men. They each made a choice. We each are responsible for our own actions and having a good family doesn't affect anything about the nature or actions of these young men. They each made a personal choice - a bad choice - and decisions have consequences.

Society must protect itself, and I hope that 17 year old never sees the light of day again.

I'm sorry.

 

[Stomper]

He wasn't a dirtbag or a thug, he came from an upper middle class family, in which both parents were in the home and had to want for nothing. He was in school studying to be an aviation engineer and was very weak minded and chose the wrong group of friends. We as his family are very disappointed and sad at the same time. So please respect that this is a learning lesson to all kids who feel as if they need to prove something. Be very careful who you choose to make your friends.

Unfotunately (or maybe not) the process of natural selection can be brutal on a moment of "weak mindedness". Dang... I wish people would realize that their actions like this affect just not themselves, but their families... I'm powerfully sorry for the pain and suffering of his family... what a waste.

 

[longcolt]

I think a business owner certainly has the right to protect himself from thugs intent on robbing his business. He has no knowledge as to whether or not they would choose to kill him or just take the money.

Once a sweet child of great parents chooses to take the criminal path and rob a business with a weapon they have indeed become a "thug!" Its not up for debate in my book. I hate to see any one lose their life at a young age but you must apply the rule of "Common Sense" when dealing with criminals.

The message has been sent in the media! Criminal behavior has risks!

Its a good shoot!

 

[SSG]

The issue is not whether the shoot was good or not...it was, it was appropriate....

The question: Is the DA running the guy who defended himself through the grand jury process, is he looking at charges...did his gun get taken away, ect ect.

I know a guy that did a rightous shoot in Eugene, two year process...worst thing he ever went through he said...he was run through the ringer by the justice system.

 

[The B]

He wasn't a dirtbag or a thug, he came from an upper middle class family, in which both parents were in the home and had to want for nothing. He was in school studying to be an aviation engineer and was very weak minded and chose the wrong group of friends. We as his family are very disappointed and sad at the same time. So please respect that this is a learning lesson to all kids who feel as if they need to prove something. Be very careful who you choose to make your friends.

as said, he became that when he walked into that store with the intent of taking someone's hard-earned money by force. he became the very definition of "thug." i, too, am sorry for your loss in a family member, but i'm not sorry for his. i'm sorry he chose to do what he did, but i'm not sorry the store owner chose his own life over kyle's.

 

[longcolt]

The issue is not whether the shoot was good or not...it was, it was appropriate....

The question: Is the DA running the guy who defended himself through the grand jury process, is he looking at charges...did his gun get taken away, ect ect.

I know a guy that did a righteous shoot in Eugene, two year process...worst thing he ever went through he said...he was run through the ringer by the justice system.

Yes it is sad that the system works so different in liberal controlled states vs conservative controlled states. I know we don't like to use labels here in this forum but the truth is the truth and I don't know how to explain it any differently.

In Texas, Utah, Idaho, MT, OK, FL, GA, LA, IN, etc the man would get a pat on the back for defending the business. Same in well over 60-70&#37; of our states. But on the North-East Coast or the West Coast its all different. You get danced before a grand jury to keep the AG happy. You may have to hire a lawyer and lose your home and assets to protect yourself from a defensive shooting to make the AG in a large metropolitan area happy. (he is protecting his back from the inner city protesters, many times!)

So yes I/we understand the risks. It makes it hard for those who carry a weapon to defend themselves, even police officers, because in their minds they are thinking. Holy crapola if I pull my gun am I going to go to jail, lose my home, get rung out in the media. Bang, you hesitate and the bad guy drills you first.

 

[matt_w]

The question: Is the DA running the guy who defended himself through the grand jury process, is he looking at charges...did his gun get taken away, ect ect.

This is a rhetorical question right? You did see what state this happened in...

 

[SSG]

Yeah, it reminds of a local Class III dealer that had EVERYTHING cool...his gunshow booth, had a big WALL of machines behind him...

I asked him which one he would use if a burglar was in the house...he said a baseball bat...

Took me some years to understand what he meant....

Having an EX-DA as brother, who has internaly gone from wanting a '45 so the guy is dead, and can't testify against me' to '22 snake shot, so he runs off, never goes to the hospital, never makes a case'...tells you messed up the legal system is...

 

[matt_w]

Even if there aren't criminal charges you'll have people like "speakingforkyle" who will file a civil suit. After all, he was just confused and in with the wrong crowd, so he didn't deserve to die.

 

[Just Jim]

Doing the right thing should never end up with the doer going to court. Our government doesn't see it that way and they are in control. When you defend yourself from one enemy you will find out you have a very powerfull new enemy.

jj