...Well, that's actually a bad idea to do that.
BATAVIA, Ohio - A man who fatally shot a teenage neighbor because he walked on the man's carefully tended lawn was sentenced to life in prison.
Charles Martin, 67, must serve 18 years before he can be considered for parole, Clermont County Common Pleas Judge William Walker ordered Wednesday, adding that he would urge that Martin never be considered for parole.
The man was convicted last month of murder in the March 2006 shotgun killing of 15-year-old Larry Mugrage Jr., a high school student.
Martin told the court he was sorry the shooting occurred but said the teen knew how much Martin cared for his lawn and provoked him.
"He stepped on it and he walked 40 feet through it," Martin said. "I cared about it. I cut it every five days."
Prosecutors alleged Martin had confronted the teen earlier in the day when he walked into Martin's yard on his way to a friend's house, then loaded his .410-gauge shotgun and waited more than three hours for him to return.
When the boy stepped on the lawn again, Martin fired at him twice, according to testimony. He then called police, telling a dispatcher: "I just killed a kid."
Martin was tried on aggravated murder but convicted of murder, a lesser count, because jurors because could not agree the killing was planned.
.....Yeah, that'll teach you. o_O
Comments?
To be honest?
I hope he never gets out.
The guy obviously told him to keep off, or else. Well then, I think the warnings were in place. *folds arms*
Seriously though, as much as the guy is an idiot for killing a kid, the kid's a friggin' MORON for provoking him on a daily basis. The kid was asking for SOMEthing. I don't agree death should've been it.
Maybe paintballs, or smacking him upside the head with a wooden bat, or something, but not death.
There is a high possibility of stupid here.
"The road to stupid is paved with good intentions."
In that old guy's case, his intentions were the opposite. I really think he could have found other means to deal with the kid other than shooting him.
Like behaving like a civilized adult and talking to the teen, you know?
Or maybe the teen's parents would've sufficed, as opposed to violence.
But that's me. :p
Killing the parents would still be violent.
Kaze, from what I've heard, he did talk to the teen; several times, which was rewarded by the teen increasing the amount of times he (gasp) stepped on the lawn.
Then again, y'coulda just called the police for tresspassing or harrassment.
Kaze have you evwer tried conversing rationally with a 16-year-old?
It's much easier said than done.
Look at it this way, now he has no lawn for those damn kids to step on.
I have this cousin who's about nine or so, he walks about 5 or 6 blocks home from school everyday. He can cut that length to 2 or 3 by cutting through a lot owned by some people in a trailer house. They yell at him for doing so, they don't shoot him.
Yeah he teased the old fart. Thats what teenagers do, they test boundaries. Look at our teens here, they constantly nip and pick at the staff to see what they can get away with. We give them week vacations, we don't shoot them.
There is no excuse for murder. And killing a kid is evil. He shoulda gotten Ol' Sparky. Aku. Soku. Zan.
~Tobe
...people get banned here?
What we have here is a perfect catalyst for "KEEP OFF THE GRASS" signs to come booming back into the market.
Is there some kind of ban quota we are not living up to? o.o
Here ya go SX. You musta missed this.
Now thats the further offtopic I trust this will go. Unless you want banning demonstrated. :3
~Tobe
Funny as hell though, in a sick, sadistic, way.
"He killed my parents!!!"
"I did it cuz them there peoples din't raise him raght! Now you gon' think bout yo stoopidity fo' rest of yo life."
I'm honestly apathetic here.
I didn't think he should of aimed to kill him, but more of scared the @#%$ out of him by firing at a tree or something. But whatever. Kid's fault for testing his patience. Man's fault for being obsessed with grass.
That is why I propose the burning down of children and nature.
I didn't want to bumpt his topic, but since it was done anyway, I'll say this: The last ban was over two months ago? o.o;
And yeah. Who the hell cares that much about the grass?
Bans are handled like that old guy handles his lawn, SX.
He did not go find a kid to put on his lawn and then shoot. He waited for the kid to come to him.
