Monday, May 9, 2011

Scrap Yard Shooting in Milwaukee Declared Homicide

JSOnline reports how in some cases you can't go around shooting people for climbing over the fence and stealing your stuff.

A 53-year-old Milwaukee man who lives in a scrap yard has been charged with killing a teenager he discovered stealing parts from the yard, according to a criminal complaint.

David A. Helton said his shotgun went off when he tripped inside H&R Scrap Metals, 9000 W. Fond du Lac Ave., on Monday night as he searched for the source of the noise coming from outside his trailer, the complaint says.

Helton is charged with first-degree reckless homicide, use of a dangerous weapon, in the death of 16-year-old Shelton D. Smith. According to the complaint, Smith, two other youths and an uncle of the youths climbed over a fence and into the yard, where they began grabbing and tossing motors over the fence.
The article goes on the describe that the dead teen was "a bright kid, a happy kid." He was "a friendly young man who loved to play basketball, soccer and other sports."

Smith was a sophomore at Texas Bufkin Christian Academy. His grandmother, Gloria McClendon, said Smith told her that he planned to attend college after graduating.

It makes you wonder why he was climbing fences and stealing stuff at night. And it makes you wonder why no one is trying to excuse the actions of the shooter.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

4 comments:

  1. Only a couple of states allow you to use deadly force to protect property and Wisconsin is not one of them.

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  2. He should have gone with the "he lunged for a weapon" excuse used by the police.

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  3. "The article goes on the describe that the dead teen was "a bright kid, a happy kid." "

    Obviously not too bright, otherwise he wouldn't be stealing and now dead.

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  4. I found the article very weird the way they described the dead thief. Thanks for the good news, FWM. It's comforting that only "a couple states allow you to use deadly force to protect property."

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