Sunday, January 13, 2013

Accidental Shooting Death in Illinois - Felon Arrested

Local news reports


According to a release from the Champaign Police Department, officers interviewed both the victim and the suspect after responding to Carle Hospital for a report of a shooting. Preliminary information provided to police indicated 20-year-old Champaign resident Antonio Brown accidentally shot Indiana resident Sydni Kay Blackwell, his 20-year-old girlfriend.


Blackwell was wounded at the Super 8 Motel at 3:01 a.m. after Brown accidentally discharged a round while improperly handling a gun. Blackwell died at 12:45 p.m. at Carle Hospital.

Brown was arrested on the charge of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and aggravated discharge of a firearm after officers recovered the gun used in the shooting. He is currently being held at the Champaign County Jail.
That's the deal. In order to get arrested for negligently shooting someone you must be a felon in possession of the gun.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

9 comments:

  1. And how did he get the gun? Some gunsuck sold it illegally. Will that person be tracked down and arrested?

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  2. Mike,

    The pattern in these stories would seem to be that if you're a felon in possession, you'll get arrested immediately. Otherwise, you'll get arrested a little later after they've made sure whose gun it was and determined who dropped the ball.

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    1. Exactly. Mikeb, even you have shown us articles of people who got arrested later on. Felon in possession is a yes-or-no question. Other things take time to investigate.

      Unless you want the torches and pitchforks to come out right away.

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    2. Yet, I've posted several cases in which the lawful gun owner went to jail that very night. The "investigation" in most cases should take about 20 minutes.

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    3. Are you a cop, Mikeb? Have you ever been a cop? If not, perhaps you should ask them how they do their jobs before telling them what they should do.

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    4. You're always saying that cops should be merciful and look for an option other than shooting people (e.g. the drunk with the hammer a few days back).

      I submit that in some cases it's a spot of mercy to arrest them a day or two later. They're already going through hell--give them time to try to set what's left of their family in order.

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    5. That's a weak comparison. Cops shooting someone unnecessarily is not the same as arresting the obviously guilty party after a gun "accident."

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    6. It's the "obviously" part that's in question. I don't want the police to rush things. They generally get to the right answer. Give them time. What's the hurry?

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  3. Thomas, excessively vile comments get deleted.

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