Along the lines of...what the heck is wrong with people...

[Pin Wizard]

Agreed, Alex!! Very well said!

 

[holycow]

If he was that frightened he should have called the police FIRST before shooting! The kid shouldn't have been doing that but didn't deserve being shot at...I'm sorry...I hope this guy and all his money part ways...while he is in prison!

Holycow

 

[FreshTressa]

First of all, I think it is INSANE to answer the door with a handgun. Next, why would you OPEN your door to a 'menacing figure' at midnight?? And then, why shoot someone, even if it is a home invader in the back while running away??

I do NOT feel sorry for the man. He was using very poor judgement.

 

[Kallison]

Another argument for gun control. It's always the idiots that have them.

 

[Beth E. (NJ)]

And as I have taught my children -- before you open the door you say "who is it?" You talk first and then act. Perhaps it was someone who's car broke down and they needed a phone. Perhaps it is someone who is up to no good so you call the police if you are worried. But to just shoot at a figure leaving is irresponsible no matter who it is.

 

[moinab]

The kid was being extremely stupid, but that is all part of being a teen. They often aren't mature enough to exercise good judgement, especially around their peers.

A 40 year old man, however, should have much better judgement. If someone is banging on my door at night, or even making noise or acting suspicious in our neighborhood, DH and I don't hesitate to call the police.

Very, very sad. I can't imagine what the parents are going through.

 

[Pin Wizard]

I would think common sense tells you to call 911, not open the door with a gun in your hand. How horrible! I can't imagine someone opening the door without knowing who it is...or at least asking. I can't believe this guy actually shot someone whether it was a kid or an adult. Why wouldn't he call 911? That is too weird! He called them AFTER he shot him and told them what he did! That is just toooooooooooooooooooooooo weird!

 

[sha_lyn]

I agree with the ones who say what the heck was the 16 doing out at mid night pulling pranks on neighbors. We don't know the whole story. I doubt it was the first time he and his friends were out breaking the law. He was on private property at midnight. He had no business being there. the man on the other hand lived there and felt that himself or his property were threatened. Tragic yes, but the blame is on the parents for allowing their child out at that hour, and on the teen for breaking the law in the first place.

 

[sha_lyn]

I just wanted to add that around here you better not depend on the cops showing up in time or doing the right thing when they do. We don't know what the neighbor has experienced in the past.
When someone 1/4 mile down the road from us heard soemone breaking into their home the cops showed up here. The addresses are clearly on the mail boxes but they still showed up at the wrong place. They then argued with me that I must have called them, and then insisted I was pulling a prankon them. They finally get the dispatcher to call the person back that called them. Had the intruder not been scared by the elderly lady(and by the cop car ar my house), who knows what would have happened.

I had to call the Marshalls office over 2 vicious dogs that showed up on our front porch, and wouldn't let us out the door. We waited around for over an hour. DS had wrestling practice, so we left through the basement. They showed while we were gone and were confused and thought the neighbors call them on us and that the dogs were ours, so they tied them up to our porch.

 

[Blondie]

Somebody cut me a break here. There isn't a man alive that didn't pull some pranks like this as a kid. If it is proven that the kid was running away after ringing the doorbell this guy should fry. You have a right to protect your property but it doesn't negate your duty to use judgement.

Exactly.

I also find it hard to believe that everyone answers a knock at their door, all the time?

I have people knocking on my door, sales people, members of certain religions, etc. and just because some is knocking at my door doesn't mean I have to answer it!

If only that 40 y.o. did the same thing. If he had simply waited one or two more minutes, the 16 y.o. would've been gone, and still alive.

We have kids do this in our neighborhood occasionally, they're called the "ding-dong ditchers." So what? Again, doesn't mean I have to answer the door, I can look from a window in another part of my house and see who, if anyone, is at my door, then make the decision on whether or not I'm going to answer.

I doubt it was the first time he and his friends were out breaking the law.

Since when was knocking on doors considered breaking the law? I think it's harsh to assume that he was a trouble maker/law breaker.

 

[alabamaalan]

Originally posted by Blondie


Since when was knocking on doors considered breaking the law? I think it's harsh to assume that he was a trouble maker/law breaker.

And I agree with those that say he was indeed up to no good knocking on doors at midnight. I could not ignore someone knocking on my door late at night, though I would have been talking through the door and not opening it.

I would also be armed if it was that late at night, but there was no excuse for shooting someone in the back running away.

 

[sha_lyn]

Since when was knocking on doors considered breaking the law? I think it's harsh to assume that he was a trouble maker/law breaker.

Harsh to assume he was doing just exactly what he was doing? Knocking on a door is not breaking the law, but knocking on a door and running away would be at least criminal mischief and trespassing.

We also do not know how dark in was in that yard. It could have been impossible to tell which way he was facing. We also don't know for certain he was running. So if he was standing there with something in his hand, it is very possible that it appeared he was facing the man.

Yes the man did the wrong thing by opening the door. He should have stayed away from the door, got his gun out and then called the police. However the boys were also in the wrong as were their parents for allowing them out at that time of night. It is a tragic mistake that doesn't lay solely at the bottom of anyones feet.

 

[disykat]

I'm glad someone finally agrees with me. Teenagers do stupid things all time - from drag racing to baiting the neighborhood hothead. Does it mean they deserve to die?- NO! But there is a point where the responsibility can't be totally put on others while they're considered an innocent victim. There are certain behaviors that are dangerous.

It is horrible that he got shot. Yes, I agree that the guy who shot him was wrong and should be prosecuted. The part is don't get is where a 16 year old is considered totally innocent when he was the one up to mischief at the start of it all.

 

[Pin Wizard]

Originally posted by sha_lyn
I agree with the ones who say what the heck was the 16 doing out at mid night pulling pranks on neighbors. Tragic yes, but the blame is on the parents for allowing their child out at that hour, and on the teen for breaking the law in the first place.

I hate to say it, but I've seen at least one thread on the DIS where many teenagers don't seem to have a curfew! And I thought...they need a curfew! What's wrong with parents?

 

[Pin Wizard]

Emergency room records show teen prankster shot in back
an Associated Press report 11/03/03

BOCA RATON - A 16-year-old boy killed during a seemingly innocent late-night prank was shot in the back, according to emergency room records.

The medical reports were released Saturday by the attorney for the teen's parents, who said they show he posed no threat to the neighbor who shot him.

Mark Andrew Drewes and a friend had been knocking on neighbors' doors and then running away Oct. 25. He was shot by neighbor Jay Steven Levin, 40, who told police he mistook the 6-foot-2 teen for a burglar.

"It shows he was running away," said the Drewes' attorney, Robert Montgomery. "Nobody was coming at (Levin)."

Montgomery announced Friday that he planed to file a wrongful death suit against Levin on behalf of Mark Drewes' parents, Gregory and Luciana Drewes.

Levin has not been charged in the shooting. His attorney, Bo Hitchcock, did not immediately return a phone message Sunday.

Mike Edmondson, spokesman for Palm Beach County State Attorney Barry Krischer, declined to comment on the hospital report.

http://www.tampabaylive.com/stories/2003/11/031103shot.shtml

 

[Pin Wizard]

Teen fatally shot playing prank on neighbor
an Associated Press report 10/27/03

BOCA RATON - A teenager who celebrated his 16th birthday by playing pranks in his neighborhood was fatally shot by one neighbor who took him for a burglar, deputies said.

Mark Andrew Drewes, a sophomore at Pope John Paul II high school, was declared dead from a single gunshot wound at Delray Medical Center.

The shooting occurred shortly after 12:30 a.m. Saturday in Boca Del Mar, when Drewes and a friend, who has not been identified, were ringing doorbells or knocking on doors and then running away.

Jay Steven Levin, 40, a Palm Beach County businessman who lives alone, told deputies that when he was awakened by a knock at the door he armed himself with a handgun and answered it.

He told deputies he saw someone he believed was holding a weapon. Levin fired one shot at Drewes, who began running and collapsed a short distance away, Palm Beach County sheriff's spokeswoman Diane Carhart said.

Levin was questioned by deputies at his home, but he was not arrested, Carhart said.

"He feared for his life," Carhart said of Levin, adding that the teenager was 6-feet-2 and 210 pounds. "So he's a big 16-year-old."

Levin did not speak to reporters Saturday. Calls to Levin's home placed by The Associated Press were not answered Sunday.

Neighbor Rob Houfak pointed out bloodstains on his lawn where Drewes collapsed.

"It's very nerve wracking," he said. "It's his 16th birthday and he's dead. It's just not right. If you're going to rob somebody, you don't knock on their door first."

Drewes' family described him as an A student and soccer player, who easily made friends. Relatives from Brazil were expected to arrive Sunday. Drewes' father Gregory, a captain of a private yacht, was in France Saturday and trying to get home.



http://www.abcactionnews.com/stories/2003/10/031027prank.shtml

 

[KrnB]

You have to wonder about someone that not only thought to shoot first and ask questions ("who's there?) or investigate the situation second, but actually shot the kid in a place that actually could kill him. If he really felt threatened by someone running in the opposite direction and felt the need to shoot in order to protect himself, why didn't he at least shoot him in the leg so that it would hold him in place until the cops got there?

I cannot possibly imagine the thought of answering the door holding a gun. If I'm that afraid of what's on the other side, there is no way on earth I am opening that door.

What a sad story.

 

[Blondie]

I cannot possibly imagine the thought of answering the door holding a gun. If I'm that afraid of what's on the other side, there is no way on earth I am opening that door.

That's what I don't understand either!

And why didn't he shoot in the air rather than at someone, the teen was already running away from him.

 

[Pin Wizard]

"In a letter addressed to "our community" and dated Thursday, Luciana and Gregory Drewes wrote: "We are asking for your support to bring the appropriate charges against Jay Levin for killing our son for no reason. Second degree murder is the only charge that fits this crime."

That charge would fall under the state's tough 10-20-Life gun law, lawyers say.

Under the law, someone convicted of using a gun in commission of a crime must be sentenced to 10 years in prison. If a criminal fires that gun during the crime, the sentence increases up to 20 years, and if someone is killed or maimed during the crime, a mandatory sentence of 25 years to life must be imposed.

Instead, Levin faces the next charge down, manslaughter, but with the use of a firearm. The felony can carry a maximum of 30 or more years in prison. Without the firearm charge, manslaughter carries a maximum of 15 years in prison."

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/auto/epaper/editions/friday/news_f34bf574f20621480087.html

 

[sha_lyn]

Under the law, someone convicted of using a gun in commission of a crime must be sentenced to 10 years in prison. If a criminal fires that gun during the crime, the sentence increases up to 20 years, and if someone is killed or maimed during the crime, a mandatory sentence of 25 years to life must be imposed.

The home owner didn't use the gun during the commission of a crime, so I don't see how the charge could be 2nd degree murder. What he did was reckless, yes, but he certainly didn't commit a crime while in the possession of a firearm.

Levin fired one shot at Drewes, who began running and collapsed a short distance away, Palm Beach County sheriff's spokeswoman Diane Carhart said.

To me it sounds as if he possibly wasn't running until after he was shot.