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FARMINGTON — While he may be facing a felony charge, Dennis Fleming said he does not regret firing his gun Saturday when he stopped and detained a burglar who had entered his home and at least one other on Ten Rod Road.
Still, the 61-year-old grandfather of 14 said he might go about stopping the burglar a little differently next time.
1) He shouldn't go to jail & I'll bet on charges will be dropped
2) As much as I support self defense, if my home isn't occupied and I notice a break-in...I'm calling the police first; if the criminal is still inside I'd be risking my own safety...and if the criminal comes out while I'm outside (or at least not wandering through the house)- I'd be able to better protect my own safety
3) Discharging a firearm into the ground to halt someone who is conducting a crime is not "unsafe"; had he discharged it into the air/in a random direction- that would be a different story.
I think he should get a medal. I dont understand why or how the police can confiscate private property before a court decides if a person is guilty either.
it would appear he fired the weapon in the ground to prevent an attack from a burglar caught in the act of robbing several homes. with a good lawyer the charges can be beat, the good news he harmed no one. clearly his intent was self protect not harm to others.
Sets a bad precedent that he was arrested & they took his guns though. What if the robbers buddy decides to swing by & set things right? Its simply wrong on every level for them to take his private property before his day in court. Not to mention the money he will need to spend on a lawyer. That should come right out of the aresting officers pocket. In my world anyway.
he was fine in everything he did except discharging the antique gun. There is an ordinance against discharging firearms in the village. If he had merely chased the guy down the road without firing the weapon, there would not have been any charges against him.
All of his guns are antiques and have not been fired in 20+ years. He's lucky he did not hurt himself or anyone else because he could have tripped and discharged the weapon at any time.
I hope he gets his guns back. I know he's learned his lesson and won't do that again. I expect the charges will be dropped.
It was illegal to fire his weapon. He didn't know that. Ignorance is no excuse for the law. If you don't like the law, work to change it.
I'm surprised that most of you defend the man for shooting in the public. He was not defending himself. He was not defending his home. He saw a suspicious person at another home.
What IF this person was not the burglar? You have a man charging another person and firing a weapon to scare him. The police acted appropriately. Mr. Fleming was pumped with adrenaline and was armed and dangerous. He could have shot anyone.
Common sense is all this man needed to dial 911 and report a suspected robbery in progress. Common sense.......
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