MANCHESTER, N.H. (CBS) – A man was arrested early Saturday morning after he allegedly broke into a home on Chestnut Street in Manchester, New Hampshire without any clothes on.[scratches his head]
Police said 31-year-old Joshua O’Shea was drunk when he entered the home on Chestnut Street. He then stood naked over Lindsay Bolton, who lived at the home.
This is actually a pretty tough one. While the homeowners would have had every right in the world to plug this guy (and hell yes, it would have counted as a DGC if they had), it's one of those nightmare scenarios where the actual vs. perceived danger is different. In the cold light of morning, it's easy to laugh about the drunk dude in the wrong house; ha ha, no harm no foul, just sleep it off. You'd have to be some sort of paranoid redneck gun nut to suggest shooting someone over walking in the wrong house, at least that's what the antis want everyone to think.
But look at this story from Lindsay Bolton's perspective. It's late at night. She's asleep on the couch, when all of a sudden there's a man standing in front of her with no pants on (and it's not Robb Allen). She has no idea who he is, no idea why he's in her house, all she knows is that there's a strange man half-naked inside her home. What are the possible outcomes at that moment? Are any of them good? Sure, looking back when all is said and done it turns out to be a guy who had too much to drink who's going to have one helluva story to tell to his drinking buddies and a court date.
I've gotten comments on a fair number of Dead Goblin stories from folks who allegedly knew the deceased in stories similar to these. "He was drunk and confused." "He was just having a good time". "Being drunk isn't reason to kill someone." It's heartbreaking, because I honestly believe that in some of these cases, it was just someone whose judgement had been impaired by alcohol and they wound up in the wrong place at the wrong time. Should someone be killed just for making a mistake? Sure, it's easy to say "no", but that's taken far out of context.
I know it's unfashionable to talk about things like personal responsibility, but this is what it boils down to. If you're in the habit of drinking to excess and then going on walkabout, it's possible that banging on the wrong door will get you shot. It's not the homeowner's fault for shooting you. It's not the gun's fault for existing. It's *your* fault for drinking so much that you lose that much control of your faculties that you don't know where you are. It's sad in these cases that someone loses their life, but there are plenty of stories where the person banging on the door gets into the house and causes the homeowner grievous injury or worse.
Senor NoPants is very lucky indeed that he didn't garner extra holes in his body over this incident...
That is all.
8 comments:
Intent? How did you establish that?
When a naked man is chasing a woman through an alley with a butcher knife and a hard-on, I figure he isn't out collecting for the Red Cross.
Interesting, there was a similar case in Hollis NH with a fellow who burst through a plate glass window of the wrong house, and father and daughter fired shots, though not hitting him. He was similarly attired, and was lucky, I guess, that he wasn't killed.
If I get drunk and stagger off of a bridge and get killed, it's my fault. But if I get drunk and stagger into a stranger's house and get killed it's his fault? Sweet! I know where I'm doing my partying from now on.
By the way, a 12 gauge loaded with rock salt is the traditional weapon for naked trespassers and kids on the lawn.
Dave H.,
Usually you and I see eye-to-eye on most things, but I have to respectfully disagree on this.
The M1 Garand is the preferred weapon for getting kids off your lawn...
:)
"the preferred weapon for getting kids off your lawn..."
Powered spray washer...
Jay,
I base my recommendation on my grandfather's experience. He was a farmer during the Great Depression and WWII, and had a lot of experience with keeping people out of his orchard and cornfields.
I agree that just showing up with the M1 Garand will usually disperse the crowd, but if you actually have to shoot it then you'll have to drag someone off your lawn yourself. With rock salt they usually leave under their own steam.
I have to say I like David's power washer idea. That would be perfect as an autoturret. Just hope the mailman doesn't forget his IFF transponder.
I've been hit with rock salt, and personally, I'd rather be hit with bird shot; it doesn't hurt as much.
Don't ask me how I know this...
Yeah, but rock salt is self-sterilizing.
Post a Comment