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Self Defense in the news Part 11
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
Despite ruling, gun charge stands
William Kaempffer, Register Staff May 23, 2002
NEW HAVEN - A Superior Court judge ruled Wednesday that owner-operator taxi drivers are permitted to carry guns in the cab without obtaining a state pistol permit.
But Judge Lubbie Harper Jr. also refused to dismiss a weapons charge against a local cabbie who shot and killed his fare during a June 2001 robbery attempt.
"I just really wanted to know where I stand and now I know where I stand," said John Lutters, 43, a former Metro Taxi driver who shot a would-be robber who put a blade to his throat.
Authorities called the killing justified and police charged him with carrying a pistol without a permit last year.
Robert M. Berke, Lutters' attorney, had filed a motion to dismiss the charge, arguing that Lutters didn't need a permit because the state law provides exemptions for people's homes and businesses.
The question before Harper was whether a cab qualifies as a place of business.
Harper reviewed gun laws in other states as well as the legislative history of gun laws in Connecticut.
What he noted was that the local gun laws were designed to limit the number of weapons traveling in the "public sphere," but not limit the rights of property owners to protect their property.
"Though taxi cabs are mobile, that fact alone does not necessarily make them fall within the public sphere," he stated. "Therefore, as long as a cab driver can show that he has a proprietary or controlling interest in the taxi cab, the court sees no reason to treat cab drivers differently from other business owners."
Lutters leased the cab with an option to buy it, giving him at least some level of ownership interest, Harper said.
The judge denied the motion to dismiss the pistol permit charge, noting prosecutors hadn't had the opportunity to present evidence that Lutters carried the gun outside the cab at any point the day of the killing.
Berke and Assistant State's Attorney John Doyle both agreed that Lutters had placed the gun in a pack around his waist at the beginning of his shift at 1 p.m. on June 15. The shooting happened at 11 p.m. and police arrested him at 4:32 a.m. the following morning.
"Was the weapon ever outside the vehicle? No." Lutters said afterward.
Harper scheduled another hearing for June 6 for the state to present evidence. Berke said he expected the judge would dismiss the charge if the state cannot prove Lutters ever exited the car with the gun.
Lutters pulled out the gun and shot Travis Hazelwood, 38, after Hazelwood placed a pair of scissors against the driver's neck and started to cut him.
After the shooting, Lutters pulled Hazelwood out of the cab and left him on the side of the road. He drove off and disconnected his two-way radio, authorities said. Five hours later, he contacted his dispatcher center, which informed him police were looking for him.
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=4217071&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=7576&rfi=6
William Kaempffer can be reached at wkaempffer@nhregister.com , or at 789-5727.
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
William Kaempffer, Register Staff May 23, 2002
NEW HAVEN - A Superior Court judge ruled Wednesday that owner-operator taxi drivers are permitted to carry guns in the cab without obtaining a state pistol permit.
But Judge Lubbie Harper Jr. also refused to dismiss a weapons charge against a local cabbie who shot and killed his fare during a June 2001 robbery attempt.
"I just really wanted to know where I stand and now I know where I stand," said John Lutters, 43, a former Metro Taxi driver who shot a would-be robber who put a blade to his throat.
Authorities called the killing justified and police charged him with carrying a pistol without a permit last year.
Robert M. Berke, Lutters' attorney, had filed a motion to dismiss the charge, arguing that Lutters didn't need a permit because the state law provides exemptions for people's homes and businesses.
The question before Harper was whether a cab qualifies as a place of business.
Harper reviewed gun laws in other states as well as the legislative history of gun laws in Connecticut.
What he noted was that the local gun laws were designed to limit the number of weapons traveling in the "public sphere," but not limit the rights of property owners to protect their property.
"Though taxi cabs are mobile, that fact alone does not necessarily make them fall within the public sphere," he stated. "Therefore, as long as a cab driver can show that he has a proprietary or controlling interest in the taxi cab, the court sees no reason to treat cab drivers differently from other business owners."
Lutters leased the cab with an option to buy it, giving him at least some level of ownership interest, Harper said.
The judge denied the motion to dismiss the pistol permit charge, noting prosecutors hadn't had the opportunity to present evidence that Lutters carried the gun outside the cab at any point the day of the killing.
Berke and Assistant State's Attorney John Doyle both agreed that Lutters had placed the gun in a pack around his waist at the beginning of his shift at 1 p.m. on June 15. The shooting happened at 11 p.m. and police arrested him at 4:32 a.m. the following morning.
"Was the weapon ever outside the vehicle? No." Lutters said afterward.
Harper scheduled another hearing for June 6 for the state to present evidence. Berke said he expected the judge would dismiss the charge if the state cannot prove Lutters ever exited the car with the gun.
Lutters pulled out the gun and shot Travis Hazelwood, 38, after Hazelwood placed a pair of scissors against the driver's neck and started to cut him.
After the shooting, Lutters pulled Hazelwood out of the cab and left him on the side of the road. He drove off and disconnected his two-way radio, authorities said. Five hours later, he contacted his dispatcher center, which informed him police were looking for him.
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=4217071&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=7576&rfi=6
William Kaempffer can be reached at wkaempffer@nhregister.com , or at 789-5727.
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
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`Very Quick' Burglar Strikes 5 Homes In 9 Hours
By JOSE PATINO GIRONA jpatino@tampatrib.com
Published: May 23, 2002
Authorities are looking for a burglar who broke into five homes in east Hillsborough County on Tuesday morning, including one belonging to a sheriff's deputy.
The burglar entered the homes through unlocked front doors, windows and garage doors, said sheriff's Sgt. Ira Arman. In one case, a resident chased away the burglar.
Once inside, the thief took purses, cellular phones, video recorders, computers, wallets and credit cards, Arman said.
``He is taking what he can,'' Arman said. ``It's very quick.''
The burglaries occurred between 1:18 and 9:58 a.m. at homes in Bloomingdale, Brandon and Boyette Springs, officials said. The sheriff's office said the homes are on Driftstone Way, Callista Avenue, Oak River Circle, Holleman Drive, and in the area of Bell Shoals and Brooker roads. It did not release a specific street for the last home because it is owned by a deputy.
In the Driftstone Way case, a woman saw a flashlight shining in the family room of her home. She woke her husband, who grabbed a gun and chased the thief from their home at 1:18 a.m., Arman said. No shots were fired, and no one has been injured in any of the cases, said Debbie Carter, a sheriff's office spokeswoman.
Authorities don't have a description of the burglar, who was wearing dark clothing and driving a small gray or silver car, Carter said.
Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff's office at (813) 247-0424 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-8477.
http://tampatrib.com/floridametronews/MGAWMU15K1D.html
Reporter Jose Patino Girona can be reached at (813) 657-4534.
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
BY ANTHONY CASKEY
The Brownsville Herald
An 18-year-old man hiding from Brownsville Police officers on the roof of a house was shot at about 2 a.m. Wednesday by the house's owner and then fell to the ground, a police official said.
After being shot, Juan Gonzalez, 18, of 6283 Jenica St., got up and walked or ran to a nearby house, but then collapsed, Brownsville Police Spokesman Lt. Oscar Maldonado said.
Not long beforehand, Gonzalez, three other adults and two 16-year-old boys were on Sunburst Lane allegedly trying to steal a pickup truck, Maldonado said.
They were scared away, but moved to nearby Catherine Lane where they allegedly succeeded at breaking into a Ford pickup truck and pushing it away from the residence, he said.
Police in the area spotted the group, which then ran away and started jumping fences to escape officers, Maldonado said.
Gonzalez allegedly then tried to enter a 60-year-old man's home on Sunburst Lane through a rear door, but was unsuccessful, Maldonado said.
Gonzalez and at least one other man then climbed a fence to hide on the roof.
The owner came out of his house with a .30-caliber carbine and saw Gonzalez and at least one other person on the roof, Maldonado said.
The owner said one of the two allegedly made a movement like he was going to lunge at him, so he fired one shot, hitting Gonzalez in the left lower back, Maldonado said.
Gonzalez then ran to the other side of the roof where he fell off onto the front yard, Maldonado said.
After police found Gonzalez crumpled on the ground, they called the Brownsville Fire Department which transported him to Brownsville Medical Center, where he is reportedly in stable condition, Maldonado said.
The three other men with Gonzalez were arrested, along with the two 16-year-old boys, Maldonado said.
http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/sections/archive/topstoryjmp/5-23-02/News6.htm
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
BY ALEX BRANCH
The Wichita Eagle
The owner of a smoke shop at Ninth Street and Grove Avenue in Wichita shot and seriously wounded a man during an attempted robbery Wednesday.
"I just heard a pop, then a minute later people started running by," said Jason Appell, a House of Schwan employee making a sale in the adjoining Ninth Street Liquor.
When police arrived at the H&H Cigarette Shop about 2 p.m., they found a man bleeding from a gunshot wound to the chest.
He was taken to Wesley Medical Center where he was in serious condition Wednesday evening.
The owner, identified by his daughter as Lorenzo Harding, told police he was with a customer when the armed man burst in.
The man was reportedly pulling a mask down over his face, Sgt. Jeff Davis said.
"Initial reports are that he was trying to fire the gun, but the gun jammed," Davis said.
The owner then grabbed a handgun from behind the counter and fired one shot at the man, police said.
When officers arrived, they taped off the parking lot, where they said they thought the suspect's car was parked.
Melaura Bruce-Guidry, who owns Ninth Street Liquor, said she recognized the suspect when paramedics brought him out.
"He comes in here all the time," she said. "I thought he was a nice guy. I gave him a ride once."
When police arrived, residents quickly gathered around the store. Some panicked, mistakenly thinking the owner had been shot.
Several people shouted for someone to call his family.
Harding's daughter, Portia, arrived moments later.
A friend had called her at work, telling her someone had been shot at her dad's store, she said.
"At first, I didn't know what happened or who got shot," Portia Harding said.
Her father hasn't had a problem with robberies, she said. But he kept the gun behind the counter to be safe.
Her father was still talking to police Wednesday evening, she said, so she hadn't spoken to him.
http://www.kansas.com/mld/eagle/news/local/crime_courts/3318324.htmReach Alex Branch at 268-6544 or abranch@wichitaeagle.com.
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Tuesday, May 21, 2002
By T.A. PARMALEE
LAWRENCE - The owner of a check cashing store who fatally shot a robber in the head over the weekend is not expected to be charged with any wrongdoing, the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office said yesterday.
Phil Ventigli, 56, owner of the Five Points Check Cashing store on Princeton Avenue, shot one of three would-be robbers during an exchange of gunfire in the store Saturday morning.
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It remained unclear yesterday who fired the first shot.
"As far as the order of the shots and everything, I don't want to release that," said Thomas Meidt, chief of the homicide unit in the county prosecutor's office.
"It appears at this point that the gun was legally possessed by the owner, but that matter is still under investigation." Ventigli apparently shot the robber with a .44-caliber Magnum he had in the store, Meidt said.
Also yesterday, authorities identified the robber who was fatally shot as Dane Harris, 25, of Lebanon Avenue, Philadelphia.
The attempted robbery occurred just minutes before the store was scheduled to open at 9 a.m., the prosecutor's office said.
Two accomplices, one of whom had stayed outside during the attempted robbery, escaped in a getaway car after the shootout and remain on the loose.
Ventigli's store was open and running yesterday.
"I'm just too rattled by the whole thing to talk right now," said Ventigli, who was there with a few other employees. He declined to discuss the matter further.
After Harris was shot, he was rushed to Capital Health System at Fuld hospital in Trenton, where he was pronounced dead from the gunshot wound at 9:12 a.m., police said.
According to state Department of Corrections officials in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, Harris never served time in either of those two state prison systems.
Store employees and friends of Ventigli were allowed inside the store Saturday afternoon, some wearing rubber boots and others carrying bottles of bleach and water hoses - apparently to clean up the mess.
Ventigli was not injured in the shootout, and the robbers who fled did not get away with any money, Meidt said.
Authorities declined yesterday to describe the robbers' getaway car and would not say if it had been recovered.
Ventigli, who is known locally as "Skippy Jake," previously operated a liquor and check-cashing store on Pennington Avenue in Trenton. He was displaced in 1996 by the city's Battle Monument Redevelopment project and sought to reopen his business on Calhoun Street.
That store, however, never opened because of community opposition. Instead, Ventigli opened a store in the 1600 block of Princeton Avenue across from the Halal Meat Market.
http://www.nj.com/news/times/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1021971603121985.xml
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
LARRY MCCORMACK / STAFF
Standing in front of his Tyne Boulevard home, Roy Luckett answers questions yesterday about his shooting two burglars in his garage early Sunday. Attorney Clarke Spoden, left, listens.
By SHEILA BURKE
Staff Writer
Longtime television talk show host Charlie Chase yesterday acknowledged that his teen-age son was one of two males accused by Metro police of breaking into an Oak Hill home to rob a 67-year-old man and his wife early Sunday.
The son, David Bernard, 17, was in stable condition last night at Vanderbilt University Medical Center after being shot in the face by the homeowner, Roy W. Luckett, of 939 Tyne Blvd. Charlie Chase is the professional name of Charles W. Bernard.
While not naming the teen, police said a 17-year-old and 20-year-old Micah Ladd broke into the home armed with a Bulgarian rifle similar to an AK-47 assault rifle and a .22-caliber pistol.
Chase, in a statement released to the media, said his family was ''in complete shock.'' Chase declined through a spokesman to give an interview.
''My family and I simply don't understand what has happened,'' the statement said. ''We're in complete shock. We are just now beginning to learn details. The whole matter seems so unreal.
''Whatever did happen, we are thankful that David is alive. It was traumatic for everyone involved, including Mr. and Mrs. Luckett. Our thoughts are with them, as well.''
The intruders had duct tape, police spokesman Don Aaron said, and ''we believe that they intended to rob Mr. and Mrs. Luckett and in the process bind them while the robbery took place.''
Still unknown, police said, is how the pair acquired the weapons and why the Luckett home was targeted.
Chase sold a home on Tyne Valley Boulevard, less than a mile from the Luckett home, in April, property records show. He bought the home in 1997.
In his statement, Chase said it was important for the family to support David, and he asked for ''prayers and support and for the understanding that would allow David and us to deal with this as private individuals.''
Chase and Lorianne Crook launched a television variety show, Crook & Chase, in 1986. It aired for a decade on TNN, then in syndication in 1996 for a year, before it returned to TNN. The network dropped the show in late 1999.
The duo are now hosts of Crook & Chase Country Countdown, a nationally syndicated radio show.
School officials said records show a Charles D. Bernard is a student at Overton High School, at 4820 Franklin Pike. Several Overton High students contacted last night declined to comment. Messages left for former Overton High Principal Michael Hammond and current Principal Monica Dillard were not returned.
When the injured teen is released from Vanderbilt, he will be charged as a juvenile with charges including aggravated criminal trespassing, aggravated robbery, unlawful weapon possession, felony vandalism, possession of burglary tools and criminal attempt to commit aggravated robbery, police said.
Ladd, who was shot in the arm by the homeowner and has since been released from the hospital, was in the Metro Jail last night in lieu of $100,000 bail. He was charged with aggravated burglary, police said. Police expect additional charges against Ladd, of 831 Hillview Heights.
Police said Ladd has admitted his role in the burglary and led police to the weapons at his house. ''Unless they have been modified, (the weapons) are not on their face illegal,'' Aaron said.
At a press conference at his home yesterday, Luckett recounted the events of Sunday morning. He was awakened by his home alarm system shortly after 2 a.m.
Luckett grabbed his wife's .38-caliber pistol loaded with ''snake shot,'' which is similar to BB pellets, and began checking the house. He went downstairs into the garage and opened the door to a utility closet. Inside, he saw two armed masked figures and shot them, police said. Luckett said he fired all the ammunition in the handgun and then ran upstairs.
Luckett ''fired his weapon in self-defense because he feared for his safety,'' according to Ladd's arrest affidavit.
The two suspects fled but not before one of them sprayed Luckett's Lexus sport utility vehicle with gunfire, he said. There were 13 bullet holes on the side of the vehicle and one, Luckett said, came within a hair of hitting the gas tank.
After fleeing, the two men tried to get help for their gunshot wounds, police said. Police said they tried to drive to a hospital in south Nashville but stopped near the intersection of Harding Place and Humber Drive and called for help. They told responding officers that they were shot while downtown, but police suspected they had just come from the Luckett house.
Luckett said the incident has taken a heavy emotional toll on his wife, Patsy.
''It's a shame that you work hard all your life and then have something like this happen.'' http://www.tennessean.com/local/archives/02/05/17752800.shtml?Element_ID=17752800
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
A staff report
SHANNON -- A convenience store clerk told Robeson County sheriff's investigators that he shot a man who tried to rob him Friday night.
The clerk, Billy R. Brewer, was stabbed. He was not seriously injured.
Maj. Jimmy Maynor said investigators are trying to identify the man who tried to rob the store. He said the man's injuries are not life-threatening.
Brewer said the man entered the store about 6:25 p.m. armed with a knife and .22-caliber pistol. Brewer said the man pointed the pistol at him. He said they fought over the gun after the man approached the cash register.
Brewer said he grabbed a .357 pistol from behind the counter and shot the man in the groin when he climbed the counter, according to the report. He said the man dropped the gun and tried to stab him.
Brewer said he shot the man in the back of the shoulder and the man ran to the parking lot and collapsed. The man was taken to Southeastern Regional Medical Center. His condition was not available Monday afternoon.
Brewer was treated at the scene for a stab wound.
http://www.fayettevillenc.com/obj_stories/2002/may/n21stab.shtml
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Originally ran in Florida Today as:
"Man held in series of Central Brevard robberies"
by Jennifer Ellis
May 21, 2002
Florida Today is a daily newspaper covering the East Central Florida area around Kennedy Space Center, Cocoa Beach, and Cape Canaveral. This story never made their website and was forwarded by a KeepAndBearArms.com member who lives three blocks away from the scene.
ROCKLEDGE, FLORIDA -- The man accused of robbing several stores at gunpoint over the weekend will go before a judge this afternoon.
Clifford Hall, 37, of Cocoa has been charged with several counts of armed robbery after police said he robbed a Viera 7-Eleven convenience store, a Rockledge liquor store and a Cocoa hotel over the weekend.
Hall was arrested after an 18-mile pursuit by police that led to a car crash and foot chase. He then broke into a Canaveral Groves home, where he was held by the homeowners at gunpoint until police could arrive.
He remains at the Brevard County Detention Center in Sharpes awaiting his 1:30 p.m. court appearance.
Hall has a long history of armed robbery charges that stretches back over 13 years with a 1988 arrest and conviction on burglary and grand theft charges.
In 1989, Hall was charged with multiple counts of burglary, grand theft and forgery including one charge for which he should have received a life sentence. Hall apparently did not go to prison for long. Court records discovered by Florida Today show Hall was arrested by Cocoa police in 1995 on charges of aggravated battery with great * harm. The charges were later dropped.
He was issued a traffic citation in 1996 and charged with counts of battery-domestic violence in 1998 and 2001, respectively.
Last September, Hall was arrested for forging a prescription to fraudulently receive drugs.
NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed, without profit, for research or educational purposes. We do our best, as well, to give credit to the original news source who published these Guns Save Lives stories out of respect and appreciation for their willingness to spread the word that Guns Save Lives -- and when an original link is available, we ALWAYS send all our visitors to read the original article on the original site where it was posted. God Bless the Americans that publish these stories - for assisting Americans in hearing the truth about guns saving lives.
http://www.keepandbeararms.com/information/XcIBViewItem.asp?ID=3419
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Helpful seniors: clockwise from bottom center, Kurt Glenn, Sean Siwa, Devan Brouwer, Patrick Pickett, Michael Pleitz, Evan Krisher, Jason Lewis, Matt Sabin, David Devine, Dustin Snyder.
(THE BLADE/JEREMY WADSWORTH)
ZOOM 1 | ZOOM 2
By CLYDE HUGHES
BLADE STAFF WRITER
A crash course in law enforcement wasn't required for graduation last night from Central Catholic High School, but 11 seniors received passing marks in the subject from Toledo police Chief Michael Navarre and Officer Anthony Duncan.
The seniors were eating lunch in the school's parking lot about 1:15 p.m. Tuesday between practices for their baccalaureate when they sprang into action and helped apprehend an armed bank robbery suspect.
"We heard someone say, `That guy just robbed the bank,'" said Michael Pleitz, 19, who wants to be an Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper. "We just all jumped into our cars. We wanted to just go out there and help."
"My friends told me I got a jump on my law enforcement career," Mr. Pleitz said.
Eric D. Davis, 30, of Detroit, is accused of taking an undisclosed amount of money at gunpoint from the National City Bank branch at 2470 Cherry St., which is across the street from Central Catholic.
Unfortunately for Mr. Davis, his alleged getaway vehicle took off without him. So he allegedly decided to steal a nearby car and, at gunpoint, ordered the two men inside to drive. Another bit of misfortune.
The car was an unmarked police vehicle, and the men inside were Officer Duncan and another city employee, Ray O'Rourke.
Meanwhile, Mr. Pleitz was one of the drivers who tried to block the path of the Ford Expedition getaway vehicle, and then helped surround the unmarked police car so it couldn't leave.
The students raced to the car when they saw Officer Duncan and Mr. O'Rourke fighting with Mr. Davis. The students helped control Mr. Davis as the officer disarmed him.
Dustin Snyder, 18, was the first person inside the vehicle to help Officer Duncan.
"I just wrapped my body around [Mr. Davis'] legs and didn't let go until [other] police arrived," Mr. Snyder said.
"Don't ask me why we did it," Mr. Snyder said. "My friend Pat [Pickett] said, `Let's get him,' and we just all jumped into our cars. It was just a big rush."
Other students either grabbed one of Mr. Davis' limbs, sat on Mr. Davis, or surrounded the vehicle to prevent escape.
The students included David Devine, 18; Kurt Glenn, 17; Evan Krisher, 19; Tom O'Leary, 19; Mr. Pickett, 18; Matt Sabin, 19, and Sean Siwa, 18, all of Toledo; Jason Lewis, 18, of Holland, and Devan Brouwer, 18, of Swanton.
The students said they didn't know Mr. Davis had a weapon until Officer Duncan grabbed it away from him. They said it was the only time they were scared.
"My parents said [the chase] was a good thing, but it was a bad thing," Mr. Pleitz said. "That gun could have gone off and they told me they could have been planning my funeral [yesterday] instead of my graduation."
"My friends all said I got in some early practice becoming a patrolman," Mr. Pleitz said.
Officer Duncan said the students deserved a lot of credit for the arrest.
Chief Navarre, who is a graduate of Central Catholic, said he would like to honor the young men in some way even though the department's annual awards ceremony was last week.
The chief said he might consider doing something separately for the students. "I just want to stress that they played a big part," Chief Navarre said. "Their role was really important. We might not want to wait nearly a year to recognize them."
With a little less pomp but a lot more circumstance than the seniors experienced last night, Mr. Davis was arraigned yesterday in Toledo Municipal Court before Judge Francis X. Gorman, who set two $100,000 bonds for armed robbery and two $50,000 bonds for kidnapping. Mr. Davis remained in the Lucas County Jail last night.
Judge Gorman set a $100,000 bond for Miko Henderson of Detroit, who allegedly drove what police believed to be the getaway vehicle, the 1999 Ford Expedition. She allegedly led authorities on a chase into Michigan before being stopped and arrested Tuesday. Another $10,000 bond was set for her on a bad-check charge.
Rufus Witherspoon of Detroit, who was arrested with Ms. Henderson in Michigan, also was charged with armed robbery.
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Site=TO&Date=20020523&Category=NEWS03&ArtNo=105230050&Ref=AR
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878