What to do if you catch young vandals?

U T

http://news.yahoo.com/ny-man-says-4-kids-vandalized-home-charged-181132470.html

This guy catches 4 kids doing $40,000 worth of damage to house. Puts them in closet and calls police. Now everyone is charged.
Kids with burglary, vandalism. The guy who catches them charged with child endangerment.

I'm not sure what is right, but I don't know that he endangered them? Hopefully he scared them enough that they don't want to risk this type of behavior again? Kid's father said that the man knew who they were and should have let them go home, but who knows, and much harder to prove once they've gone home and then deny ever being there? Seems like the laws protect the criminals, especially the young ones?

Being a victim sucks, but then being charged for apprehending/holding them for police seems to suck worse!

LMLarsen

It's New York, real world rules don't apply. Here in the Great Commonwealth, he would have been thanked by the Sheriff as they locked up the clowns.

agewon

There will be 4 more children in this world with entitlement issues.
My father would have drug my to the police station, and made me beg for forgiveness from the owner.

jaywapti

Child endangerment - today, anything you do to a child including teens that they dont like. Gone are the days when a parent could spank there kid, no more corporal punisment in school, etc.

I dont know what i would have done except call 911 and hope for the best, not much you can do without getting apprehended youself, than getting sued by the parents.

JAY

Jayhawker

I suppose keeping them proned out at gun point until the cops arrived would be completely out of the question....

gunrunner428

$40 grand is a lot of damage. That's more than a few windows and some eggs on the front door. Way more.

Would Joe Biden's double-barrel shotgun-fired-in-the-air advice be applicable here?

(I did have more written, but self-edited as the content was related to my job... didn't want to get caught sharing any sensitive information, even in general.)

orchidman

Use the three 'S' rule................the namby pamby, trendy, leftist, liberal version.......... 'Scream, Shout, Submit.'

Buffco

I wouldn't have locked them in my closet. That WAS rather dumb.

olesniper

Buffco wrote: »

I wouldn't have locked them in my closet. That WAS rather dumb.

If you'd locked them your closet, where they'd been exposed to.......uh...........well.....we just won't go there.

1965Jeff

Have them punch themselves in the face? Seen it on youtube...

samzhere

Very difficult situation. If vandals are apprehended, the best likely action would be to either let them go after yelling at them, or holding them at gunpoint by making them lie down on the floor but nothing else, and if they tried to run away, you'd be best advised to just let them run.

Not an ideal solution but probably the safest for the homeowner, especially in a rustbelt liberal-pure state like NY.

Yesterday here in Houston we had a near-fatal shooting of a guy in a home, but the situation is complex, not straightforward. It seems (not yet revealed to the press or verified) that the shot person is the son of the shooter. So there's a potentially serious overtone here.

Also, and this was shown on TV, the homeowner had signs posted in his windows: "No Trespassing / Trespassers will be shot / Those still alive will be shot again".

That is just asking for trouble, as I see it. Shooting a trespasser is situational, as we all pretty much agree. but it's ill advised to post such explicit warning signs (even in Texas) -- warnings of this type are predicting an outcome prior to the event, and that's not something we're taught in armed self defense. Even in Texas, where it's technically legal to use deadly force (only after dark for some reason) to prevent someone from stealing property. As I see it, that's on the very outer edge of "self defense" and I'm not certain whether I'd shoot somebody who was fleeing after a theft, regardless of whether I would be under the law by doing so. Now, someone fleeing after a vicious assault on another person, rape or physical attack, then fleeing? Maybe then. But running away with someone's TV? No, not me.

re. "endangering", I agree that these kids weren't actually endangered, but in a liberal-mentality environment, it's not wise to tempt the over-eager law.

Teach

Hire the worst sleazebag ambulance-chasing lawyer in town to sue the kids' parents into the poorhouse. You might be the richest con in the joint before it's over. When the kids get old enough to own something of value, sue them. The guy has already appeared on a Fox News segment, and the local judge who dares to fine or jail the homeowner and gets that blowhard Bill O'Reilly on his case will regret it for a long time to come.
Jerry

Big Chief

"Yesterday here in Houston we had a near-fatal shooting of a guy in a home, but the situation is complex, not straightforward. It seems (not yet revealed to the press or verified) that the shot person is the son of the shooter. So there's a potentially serious overtone here." Samshere

Dang, I reckon he was a Son-Of-A-Gun :jester:

bruchi

Teach wrote: »

Hire the worst sleazebag ambulance-chasing lawyer in town to sue the kids' parents into the poorhouse. You might be the richest con in the joint before it's over. When the kids get old enough to own something of value, sue them. The guy has already appeared on a Fox News segment, and the local judge who dares to fine or jail the homeowner and gets that blowhard Bill O'Reilly on his case will regret it for a long time to come.
Jerry

This!

As no life is in danger don't confront them until you get a video camera trained on them, the one on your phone works, ideally you can get someone else to help you with this part. Call the police and then confront them from a safe place, ideally they will lie on the floor at your command where they are, do not move them into your house etc..

You are asking them to lie down due to their number and destructive behavior which makes you worry about your SAFETY.

If they comply while the police gets there and the video camera runs, ask their names, where they live, who are their parents, what school they go to, etc. get their car platesif they drive away, whatever so they can be identified if they choose a some moment to run away.

I make copies of the video for myself and my attorney before I even mention to the police that you have such a thing, make a cpy for them as well.

Cooperate and let the police do whatever they will do but have the very nasty attorney take their parents (if minors) to court and make them pay for the damages.

Their parents will not find funny or entitlement worthy any action by their kids that affects their bank account, more so at the tune of $40 grand!

agewon

I just read that the DA refused to prosecute, and the judge is expected to throw out the case.
FINALLY, some common sense.

snake284

U T wrote: »

http://news.yahoo.com/ny-man-says-4-kids-vandalized-home-charged-181132470.html

This guy catches 4 kids doing $40,000 worth of damage to house. Puts them in closet and calls police. Now everyone is charged.
Kids with burglary, vandalism. The guy who catches them charged with child endangerment.

I'm not sure what is right, but I don't know that he endangered them? Hopefully he scared them enough that they don't want to risk this type of behavior again? Kid's father said that the man knew who they were and should have let them go home, but who knows, and much harder to prove once they've gone home and then deny ever being there? Seems like the laws protect the criminals, especially the young ones?

Being a victim sucks, but then being charged for apprehending/holding them for police seems to suck worse!

Then you become a double victim. In other words you're damned if you do and damned if you don't!!!

Bigslug

So let me get this straight. . .the guy gets them locked them in his closet and then calls the police???

Doesn't he know anything? That's the point where you start chopping them into tiny little pieces which you feed down the garbage disposal followed by a gallon of bleach and they're never heard from again.

(Kidding! Kidding!)

JLDickmon

rah-tar-ded