Man arrested after firing warning shot at burglar in N.H.

I am glad the old guy wasn't charged for his, arguably understandable, error in judgement in regards to evaluating the legal threat to his life and how to respond to it, firearms-wise. I hope the burglar spends a long time in jail and learns a trade while he is there, a more legal trade. Hopefully the old guy learned some things from the experience too.

I do hope they don't hold his firearms too long; that would seem even more unfair.
 
Today, 06:50 AM #58
youngunz4life
Senior Member

Join Date: November 15, 2010
Posts: 1,336
No one knows how it would've ended if he didn't fire the warning shot
Bartholomew,

I can agree with your post. You live and learn. This Grandfather would probably do it differently if he could go back: one example- he would probably just point the gun and give commands without shooting into the ground. We can't go back, we can only learn from our mistakes. That doesn't mean one should be prosecuted to the furthest extent of the law. Sometimes it does, but not in this case. Common sense is sort of like a superpower.
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"Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" -Admiral Farragut @ Battle of Mobile Bay 05AUG1864
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Uhhm, that is against the law as well my friend. You cannot POINT a gun at anyone unless you meet all the elements of self defense. We are NOT LEO's.

If we are going to carrry guns, we have to know the laws, whether we like them or not.
 
Alaska, you bring up a good point

if he is in the middle of a felony we can't pull a gun on him? how come the only issue was him firing in the ground?
 
"wow judge much?"

Only quoting what you said and commenting on it. When you post on a discussion board you really shouldn't be surprised when you get a response or two. And you can't interpret the law any old way, no matter how much you try. Saying, "Well it shouldn't be that way" is not a viable legal defense.

"how come the only issue was him firing in the ground?"

Who said it was? Wasn't the thief arrested? They both broke the law. I hope they let the guy go, but I wouldn't be surprised if they fined him for playing cowboy and running around the neighborhood with a gun before firing a shot into the ground. His life was not in danger.

John
 
"if he is in the middle of a felony we can't pull a gun on him?"

Now who is judging guilty or not guilty? And playing jury. Maybe the guy was visiting the neigbor and jumped out the window when the heater set the curtains on fire. You don't know. You can't just assume guilt and fire a shot. Well, you can, but then you get your name in the paper.


John
 
Today, 02:01 PM #63
youngunz4life
Senior Member

Join Date: November 15, 2010
Posts: 1,337
Alaska, you bring up a good point
if he is in the middle of a felony we can't pull a gun on him? how come the only issue was him firing in the ground?
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"Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" -Admiral Farragut @ Battle of Mobile Bay 05AUG1864
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A CCW permit does not make you an LEO. I am unaware of any circumstance where it is legal to pull a gun and point it at another person in most states except Texas perhaps when you are not in a self defense situation. Arson is one property crime where several states allow lethal force. Texas under special circumstances allows lethal force for property. Need to be careful the circumstances though.

Other than that, especially as reported in these news accounts, I don't see anything that would justify pulling a gun and pointing it at the man. He may have been in the act of a crime, but since the other man was not in danger, where is the justification for lethal force?
 
Good the charges were dropped, after all, Grampa did no real harm to anyone.

There are several layers of law at work covering what he did (and didn't do). And they vary widely around the country.

based on the way it was recounted (all I have to go on) it appears that the way he explained what he did is what got him charged. Others have touched on this. When you are justified using deadly force (and what is legally deadly force) in his locality is the only standard that should be applied. And I don't know NH details on this, so I will refrain from comment about them.

But, in general, states define what deadly force is (and its not always what we think), and when it can be used for defense of self, and others. Some states allow the use of deadly force to prevent a crime. Now, simple burglury doesn't meet that in my home state, but might somewhere else.

Warning shots are bad for private citizens, in the legal sense. They complicate simple situations tremendously. My guess is that he was charged because the warning shot did bring extra factors into the situation, and lead to someone believing there might be a case. The DA, eventually disagreed.

Its better (appearance wise) for the cops (or the deputy DA) to bring chages on a weak case, and be overruled by the DA, than for them not to, and be overruled by the DA.
 
Glad to see that the charges have been dropped. I hope he gets all of his guns back, as well as repayment for any legal fees, and bail that he had to pay. My belief is that charges should never have been filed anyway.
 
Being an old grandpa with no criminal history I am also glad that charges were dropped. I don't think prosecuting him would have served justice. Having been the victim of a burglary, I understand his rage and his actions. That is not to say I agree them. A gun on his hip, and a camera in his hands might have been a better choice, but it is easy to quarterback from the quiet safety of my home. With the guy running away there was no legal justification for him to use a gun IMO. Without the rule of law things get ugly in hurry. Just the ramblings of a cranky old guy; I could be wrong.:D
 
I wonder, would it have been legal for a LEO (on duty, in jurisdiction, etc.) to have fired a warning shot to make the guy stop running? I wouldn't think so but am uncertain. I would think the LEA's wouldn't want the risk of liability you get when you shoot at things that aren't currently a threat to your life.


Even if this guy did try to "play cop" for a minute there, i am glad everybody lived to play another day and that gramps didn't stay in jail or lose his firearms rights.
 
I happen to know Dennis Flemming and may have specifics on any questions you guys may have. For the record the police did not arrest him right after the incident the D.A. issued a warrant and when Dennis turned himself in. When he went looking for the guy with the backpack he was not sure if it was the burglar or not he then went to talk to the neighbors to see if they saw anything and that is when he saw the guy jump from the window.
I am not saying what he did was the right choice but I can tell you he babysits two of his grandchildren daily and we have had a large number of home invasions in the area lately not that this was a home invasion as Dennis was not home when it happened. Knowing the kind of person Dennis is I really don't believe he intended to stop the man going down the street but just to get a look at him and when he saw him exiting the neighbors house he panicked. Also the neighbor did not want charges filed against Mr.flemming for shooting on his property.
Also as far as the lawyer the case was taken pro-bono by the lawyer representing him.
 
That's a good point and well taken. My warning shot was into the grass so I had grass on my mind.
(I am not for warning shots. I have had it work but the conditions were perfect for it.) I am very proud that it worked and that I have never shot anyone or any animals.)
 
Like most things in life, there is no single right answer. Warning shots are clearly a bad idea more often than not, yet there are also clear times when a warning shot is not only NOT wrong but may in fact be the BEST course of action.

There's always a "yeah, well, what if...". It's good that we discuss these things here and think them through "in the calm". There sure isn't time for that when your world suddenly starts to suck.
 
Why would the shot go astray? Do you shoot up into the air
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No I don't shoot up into the air unless I am duck hunting. I was just speaking of my experience and training with Firearms Military 6 yrs -LEO 32 yrs. The policy in my LEO agency is no warning shots .There are good reasons for that policy and I would not expect to have to explain those reasons to responsible and experienced gun owners.
 
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