Gun Point Justice....

det45

Registered
There was an article in the newspaper about a guy recovering his motorcycle by gun point. A 48 year old man had his motorcycle stolen a couple of months ago from his apartment complex. Yesterday the owner of the stolen bike was going to work when he saw someone riding his bike! (Wow!) The owner followed the thief to his destination. When the thief got off of his stolen bike the owner confronted him at gunpoint. The thief was detained by the owner until the cops arrived. It turns out that this thief was wanted for other crimes too. How about that? The good guys won one for a change! :thumbsup:
 
That was pretty stupid. A motorcycle is not worth going to jail and/or being killed if the thief has his own gun. This is why we have insurance. I have no problem using a gun to deter someone from my property, but once it's gone, call the police, don't try to be a hero. Not to mention that what he did is probably illegal. This isn't the old West.
 
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I think the problem commences with people not stepping up, but thats my .002, Good on him!
 
I guess you're not from Texas. We have Concealed Carry Permits Here in Texas and this CCW cannot be obtained with out gun safety/tactics training. I would have detained the thief at gunpoint myself because it is my right to do so. Not only did the owner get his bike back, he also got one more scumbag off of the street. We here in Texas take care of our own business. Something the liberals would never understand......det45

That was pretty stupid. A motorcycle is not worth going to jail and/or being killed if the thief has his own gun. This is why we have insurance. I have no problem using a gun to deter someone from my property, but once it's gone, call the police, don't try to be a hero. Not to mention that what he did is probably illegal. This isn't the old West.
 
That was pretty stupid. A motorcycle is not worth going to jail and/or being killed if the thief has his own gun. This is why we have insurance. I have no problem using a gun to deter someone from my property, but once it's gone, call the police, don't try to be a hero. Not to mention that what he did is probably illegal. This isn't the old West.

I guess you're not from Texas. We have Concealed Carry Permits Here in Texas and this CCW cannot be obtained with out gun safety/tactics training. I would have detained the thief at gunpoint myself because it is my right to do so. Not only did the owner get his bike back, he also got one more scumbag off of the street. We here in Texas take care of our own business. Something the liberals would never understand......det45

Possesion of stolen property which has a value of over $5000 in Florida is a felony and you would be within the law of detaining him. Myself would have been sure he made a move for something and 'bwasted' him :)
Wanted for other crimes in possession of my bike , I dont know many LEOs who would arrest you here. Maybe the DA would file charges just to teach you a lesson and drain you financially but I think you would be sleeping in your own bed that night ! Bike would be impounded as evidence though....:banghead:
 
I have a CCW. A CCW does not allow you to hold someone at gunpoint, not in most states. Granted, I have no time to look up the laws, but in Florida, if you pull your weapon, you had better discharge it.

And CCW training is a joke. :whistle: I've had better firearm training from my High School Algebra teacher. Seriously....

Possesion of stolen property which has a value of over $5000 in Florida is a felony and you would be within the law of detaining him. Myself would have been sure he made a move for something and 'bwasted' him :)
Wanted for other crimes in possession of my bike , I dont know many LEOs who would arrest you here. Maybe the DA would file charges just to teach you a lesson and drain you financially but I think you would be sleeping in your own bed that night ! Bike would be impounded as evidence though....:banghead:

You can only use your weapon in the "commission of a felony." So I suppose that's a debatable point for a jury to decide. Once the thief has your bike, it's no longer a theft in progress. Is it a moot point? I don't know, maybe. Besides, you still are not permitted to brandish a weapon, felony or not.

And FYI

CHAPTER 776: JUSTIFIABLE USE OF FORCE

776.08 Forcible felony

"Forcible felony" means treason; murder; manslaughter; sexual battery; carjacking; home-invasion robbery; robbery; burglary; arson; kidnapping; aggravated assault; aggravated battery; aggravated stalking; aircraft piracy; unlawful throwing, placing, or discharging of a destructive device or bomb; and any other felony which involves the use or threat of physical force or violence against any individual.

Motorcycle theft is not a forcible felony. Granted, it would piss me off. But it's not worthy of taking someone's life, nor would it be legal.

Note: This is Florida law, so Texas may be different.
 
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VB Florida law also allows you to use your gun if you are in the act of 'preventing' a forcible felony which car/bike theft or GTA is. So if you pulled up on the guy whos riding your stolen bike and held him there you are perfectly within the law.
 
VB Florida law also allows you to use your gun if you are in the act of 'preventing' a forcible felony which car/bike theft or GTA is. So if you pulled up on the guy whos riding your stolen bike and held him there you are perfectly within the law.

I edited my post above. The only way bike theft could be considered forcible is if you were on it at the time. The case mentioned by the op is far removed from that type of scenario. Seriously....it's really dangerous to use a gun as a tool like that. Yes, you may be overlooked by being the "good guy" but it's still very illegal and can go very wrong in situations like that. What if the guy that he pulled over wasn't the thief, but a person that bought the bike from the thief? Then what? You just committed aggravated assault on an innocent person. This is why you can't run around waving guns at people.
 
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I edited my post above. The only way bike theft could be considered forcible is if you were on it at the time. The case metioned by the op is far removed from that type of scenario.

Again if he is possession of stolen property which has a value of $5000 or more and you prevented him from leaving you are within the law. The term 'forcible' has many aspects and does not simply mean he 'forced' you off it.
 
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That was pretty stupid. A motorcycle is not worth going to jail and/or being killed if the thief has his own gun. This is why we have insurance. I have no problem using a gun to deter someone from my property, but once it's gone, call the police, don't try to be a hero. Not to mention that what he did is probably illegal. This isn't the old West.

first off - no disrespect is intended people of all different opinions and from different places think differently..

but here we go....

personally i was young and extremely dumb at a point and did a few bad things but people like u make stealing and everything so easy cause u dont have balls to stand up for urself or ur property its not about trying to be a hero but its about getting ur personal **** back....... once a police report is made on stolen property they dont hunt for it that just hope they come across it.... but i would have done the same thing. grats on the dude that got his bike back and glad nothin bad happened to him
 
Again if he is possession of stolen property which has a vlaue of $5000 or more and you prevented him from leaving you are within the law. The term 'forcible' has many aspects and does not simply mean he 'forced' you off it.

No, but it means that there was some implied level of physical threat as suggested in the law I posted above. Not to mention, you still can't brandish the weapon. Under no circumstances does Florida law allow a CCW holder to brandish a weapon. It's that simple really.

So even if you can convince a jury that this was a forcable felony, you still have to explain why you didn't fire your weapon, but chose to brandish it instead.
 
first off - no disrespect is intended people of all different opinions and from different places think differently..

but here we go....

personally i was young and extremely dumb at a point and did a few bad things but people like u make stealing and everything so easy cause u dont have balls to stand up for urself or ur property its not about trying to be a hero but its about getting ur personal **** back....... once a police report is made on stolen property they dont hunt for it that just hope they come across it.... but i would have done the same thing. grats on the dude that got his bike back and glad nothin bad happened to him

No disrespect taken. I am discussing legal aspects of this action, not emotional. Emotions will land you in jail.
 
My brother and I found the guy who ran over my brother on his bicycle six months later in Publix parking lot. He ran over Sam and left him for dead in the road.
We followed him into the lot and I parked behind him. He got out and ran into Publix. tried to exit thru the back door but it was locked. SSo he came out and got into his Tahoe . He could not get out without running over my car. The whole time I was on the phone with 911 op telling her exactly what was happening. In the end he looked like he was gonna try to drive over my car and I told 911 op this . She said police are on the way just be patient. I told her he is fixin to drive over my car, I'm armed and gonna do what I have to d. She said do what you need to do. I drew my gun and put it against thru open window and yelled at him to turn vehicle off which he did. I then pulled him out of vehicle and had him on ground when no less than 6 PBSO deputies pulled up. I holstered my weapon and they cuffed him. In the end they let him go cuz my bro could not 100% positively ID the guy ! How could he he got run over in a fraction of a second but vehicle palte matched what witnesses reported and hood still had scratch marks on it which matched bike we went and got. So they confirmed it was the vehicle but not the driver. We begged them to arrest him but without a positive ID they would not. He kept saying it wasnt him. Still a very sore spot for us.
A pic of his knee and ankle which were broken in many places.

SAM LEG 3.09 013.jpg


SAM LEG 3.09 011.jpg
 
No, but it means that there was some implied level of physical threat as suggested in the law I posted above. Not to mention, you still can't brandish the weapon. Under no circumstances does Florida law allow a CCW holder to brandish a weapon. It's that simple really.

So even if you can convince a jury that this was a forcable felony, you still have to explain why you didn't fire your weapon, but chose to brandish it instead.


I have carried a gun everyday for over 20yrs here and the above post is only time I ever drew it in public. None of the LEOs there said anything to me about pointing at him and making him get out of car. 'Brandish' is an open term and one usually used to descibe a crime committed by the holder. Lawful Display is what I prefer :)
 
I have carried a gun everyday for over 20yrs here and the above post is only time I ever drew it in public. None of the LEOs there said anything to me about pointing at him and making him get out of car. 'Brandish' is an open term and one usually used to descibe a crime committed by the holder. Lawful Display is what I prefer :)

I would be lying if I said I had never done that myself. A bum was knocking on my truck window at 5:00 in the morning on the way to work. Let's just say I compelled him to back away.

As for your personal situation, no doubt the officers used their discretion. What's interesting is that the suspect, having been released, could have actually pressed charges against you for aggravated assault. I would say you'/re very lucky that neither the cops nor the suspect said anything about it.

And for the record, am am very sympathetic to your situation above. I has to be immensely aggravating to know that you have the culprit but be unable to clinch it for the police. I can completely understand your anger/frustration.
 
I would be lying if I said I had never done that myself. A bum was knocking on my truck window at 5:00 in the morning on the way to work. Let's just say I compelled him to back away.

As for your personal situation, no doubt the officers used their discretion. What's interesting is that the suspect, having been released, could have actually pressed charges against you for aggravated assault. I would say you'/re very lucky that neither the cops nor the suspect said anything about it.

And for the record, am am very sympathetic to your situation above. I has to be immensely aggravating to know that you have the culprit but be unable to clinch it for the police. I can completely understand your anger/frustration.


More than you can imagine. If he had known this we would have been tempted to just drive up and blow him away :) but my bro and I are men of conscience and did not think like that. 'We got him' 'Oh God we got him' is what we thought. They let the FFer go with out a single charge. It was hot and they were sweating and just didnt feel like doing it. You cannot tell me that you have not ever arrested someone without a positive ID we told them ! I see the same Tahoe almost weekly as he lives nearby in a trailer. A spanish man with many kids. We drove by his house a few times after this happened wondering and fantasizing about things but hey what can you do ? Nothing that would not jeopardize your own freedom and safety.
 
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