I SAID Get off my lawn!

[RallyJon]

Hmm. Justified or not?

(3/21/06 - BATAVIA, OH) - A man who neighbors say was devoted to his meticulously kept lawn was charged with murder in the shooting of a 15-year-old boy who apparently walked across his yard.

Charles Martin called 911 on Sunday afternoon, saying calmly: "I just killed a kid."

Police, who released the call's contents, said Martin also told the dispatcher: "I've been harassed by him and his parents for five years. Today just blew it up."

Larry Mugrage, whose family lived next door, was shot in the chest with a shotgun. The high school freshman was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Martin, 66, allegedly told police he had several times had problems with neighbors walking on his lawn. He remained jailed without bond Monday. His jailers said no attorney was listed for him.

Neighbors said Martin lived alone quietly, often sitting in front of his one-story home with its neat lawn, well-trimmed shrubbery and flag pole with U.S. and Navy flags flying.

Joanne Ritchie, 46, said Mugrage was known as "a good kid," but she always also considered Martin to be friendly.

Union Township is near Batavia, about 20 miles east of Cincinnati.

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

[Jims5543]

Justified? Its GRASS, 2 lives are over because of GRASS.

This guy went nuts after neighborhood kids kept harrassing him over and over. I am not condoning what Mr. Cruse did just pointing out what happens when an unstable person is pushed too far.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE2DB1E31F935A35757C0A96F9482 60

I lived in Palm Bay at the time and should have been in that shopping center meeting a friend to go work out in a gym there. I blew it off that night because I was tired. I was glad I skipped the gym that day. I would have been in the lot when he was shooting.

[legion]

I grew up in Naperville, which probably has the highest concentration of 'lawn nazis' of any U.S. city. My friends, before we had cars, would often walk to the local convienence store. To walk on sidewalks, the trip was about 1˝ miles. To cut through people's yards, the trip was about 3/4 of a mile. (I love those swooping curves of the subdivision anti-grid.) Occasionally, we would get harrassed by homeowners on the way. While I empathize with them for not wanting some kids to walk through their yards, rather than talk to us they would yell, threaten to call the police, even throw things at us.

[Schrup]

I don't care if someone walks across my perfectly manicured lawn, but God help them if their dog ****s & they don't pick it up, they'll be wearing it if I catch them.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Did you hear the 911 call? He was calm as can be, as if he was ordering a pizza. "I just killed a kid". The kid might have been a little bastard, but that's not exactly justified. They said the guy often measured individual blades of grass with a ruler.

[widebody911]

OTOH, the recidivism rate is inching closer to zero...

[RallyJon]

When I read stories like this, it impresses me that you never know how close someone is to the edge.

Dumb punk kid picked the wrong guy at the wrong time to be a dumb punk kid with this time. :-(

Whenever you pull out in front of someone in traffic, pull into a parking space ahead of someone, do anything that pisses someone off, you have to wonder if it's the wrong guy on the wrong day...

[Nathans_Dad]

What kind of grass was it? Some of that TIF stuff is tough to keep nice man...

[GDSOB]

Whatever happened to rock salt?

[Rick Lee]

Somehow, I suspect there's a lot more to this story than we're reading. I don't expect the news media to report anything accurately when it comes to shooting someone. Last week in MA an article on someone robbing a store with an AR-15 write that those guns sell for $4k. Two days ago in MD, the Wash. Post called someone a "victim" who had been shot by police after he first shot at them.

[legion]

Originally posted by GDSOB
Whatever happened to rock salt?

Or bleach... (Less evidence.)

[RallyJon]

Somehow, I suspect there's a lot more to this story than we're reading.

I do wonder if this was a case of "let's f--- with the kooky old dude" over a period of months or years.

[Tervuren]

Lets face it, it is a bad idea to do things on other people's property. Best to ask if you can get permission to cut across first, and if they say no, accepit it.

There is a lovely homebuilt peice of dirt in the neighborhood, I'd love to drive my RC truck there. I asked the owners before doing so, and they said no, so I don't take it there. Simple realy...

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Blood is good fertilizer.

[Moneyguy1]

People are really not trained to react logically in confrontational situations. An excellent example of why ownership of firearms should include some kind of test for emotional stability.

[island911]

Yeah, Moneyguy . .. HOME ownership should include some kind of test for emotional stability.


. . .MONEY can be pretty dangerous too.

[Moneyguy1]

Probably both. Home ownership today (especially the angst over paying extremely high prices in certain areas) can result in paranoia and worse!!!

I am NOT against owning firearms. But, there are those out there who do not have the emotional stability to use them properly. Most do.

[Rick Lee]

Actually, the paperwork required for buying a gun does ask about past treatment for mental health. But that doesn't mean someone can't snap. Because he legally had a gun, I'm assuming the old guy made it pretty long without any brushes with the law or mental institutions. So such restrictions don't do much more make gun grabbers feel a little better.

[GDSOB]

Originally posted by RallyJon
I do wonder if this was a case of "let's f--- with the kooky old dude" over a period of months or years.

This story is local to us. Apparently he went to the cops a couple of years ago about getting harassed by the neighborhood punks. Had some vague complaints that were not follow up. Doesn't absolve him of going off the deep end though...

[gaijindabe]

The chemicals of the typical "green desert" suburban lawn have leached into his brain. Was it the pesticide? Fungicide? Herbicide? Perto-chemical fertilizer? Who knows. Tons are being dumped on lawns every weekend. More shootings to follow...