catches wood thief, then arrested

[mga]

a local man caught some guy stealing firewood, went out and punched him a couple of times, then was arrested himself for felony assault.

story here:

Man charged with assault


An Ontario County man was arrested Saturday after State Police say he assaulted another man who was stealing firewood from his home. Nathanial R. Waffner of 235 Lyons Road in Geneva reportedly heard a noise outside his house about 1 a.m.

When he went outside, he saw a man taking firewood that was stacked on property belonging to the landlord of the building, troopers said.

Waffner is accused of striking Israel Rosado several times in the face, causing him to fall on pavement. Rosado was taken to Strong Memorial Hospital with severe head trauma, troopers said. He was in guarded condition Saturday night.

Waffner was charged with second-degree assault, a felony, and taken to the Ontario County Jail in lieu of $15,000 cash bail or $30,000 bond. Other charges are pending, troopers said.

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20080907/NEWS01/809070362/1003

looks like you can't always defend what's on the property you reside at.

 

[Wet1]

There's something wrong with our system... they should be having a parade for the man, not throw him in the can!

 

[Ductape]

He should have just finished the job, then told the police that when he confronted the thief, the thief threatened to kill him. You are right...... something seriously wrong here...........

 

[trimmmed]

he saw a man taking firewood that was stacked on property belonging to the landlord of the building

He probably should have called the landlord or the cops. No reason for the assault, just sounds like he was looking for a fight.

 

[mga]

he saw a man taking firewood that was stacked on property belonging to the landlord of the building

He probably should have called the landlord or the cops. No reason for the assault, just sounds like he was looking for a fight.

i think that might be the reason for the assault charges...he wasn't the property owner.

the next legal question would be is: does a tennant have the right to protect the property he rents?

 

[Adkpk]

he saw a man taking firewood that was stacked on property belonging to the landlord of the building

He probably should have called the landlord or the cops. No reason for the assault, just sounds like he was looking for a fight.

For sure. I'm sure the guy doing the punching was a gorilla while the other man was a nerd. I can see punching somebody if he was stealing his daughter but wood, come on.

 

[hanniedog]

Yea he never should have punched the guy. He should have offered to help load the wood. My arse, when you decide to steal be prepared to reap the consequences, where do you stop bending over backwards for the criminals.

 

[iowawoodcutter]

With how f***'d up the system is, I would never hit someone unless they hit me first. You just never know anymore. Lawyers are causing the law to be more and more biased towards the guilty. It is just too damn expensive to go after them. It is much easier to go after law abiding citizens. You know they will pay up, because they are good people and pay their debts.

 

[Adkpk]

Yea he never should have punched the guy. He should have offered to help load the wood. My arse, when you decide to steal be prepared to reap the consequences, where do you stop bending over backwards for the criminals.

I'm sorry but I didn't read where it said that the landlord didn't give permission to the guy to take some wood. It happens ya know.

 

[tomtrees58]

he saw a man taking firewood that was stacked on property belonging to the landlord of the building

He probably should have called the landlord or the cops. No reason for the assault, just sounds like he was looking for a fight.

sonds right tom trees

 

[Jkebxjunke]

yeah it may be 'just wood' BUT there is a principle involved stealing... and it is a shame that you cannot protect your own property anymore. I hope the community rally's behind they guy and helps him but probably in true liberal fashion they will just ban wood piles and wood burning... go figure

 

[hanniedog]

Adkpk, how often have you gotten firewood at 1:00 a.m.? I dont know about you but it wood seem rather strange to me.

 

[Basso]

TO ADKPK and TRIMMMED

You guys and your thinking is what is wrong with the world today. What are you guys ....a bunch of girls ?? As hard as I work to get firewood cut, hauled, split and racked, do you think that I would want someone to steal it !!!! Maybe he should have invited the thief in for a tea party !!! You two make me sick !!!!

Basso

 

[Zackman1801]

kinda reminds me of a conversation i had the other day. in this day and age you can sue for anything, people win suites where they come into someones house put a gun to the owners heads and fall down the stairs on the way out and sue for damages and win. really if i was the guy, i would have probably called the police and then done the same, but i doubt he will get off of the charges because thats just how screwed up the legal system is now adays, there are serious problems when people can sue over spilling coffee on themselves and getting burned because the cup didnt say "hot" on it, or driving cars into the woods when they go to sleep because they didnt know cruise control wasnt auto pilot.

 

[RDT]

He is darn lucky he just got punched a few times. He is lucky he didnt get shot.

 

[trimmmed]

TO ADKPK and TRIMMMED

You guys and your thinking is what is wrong with the world today. What are you guys ....a bunch of girls ?? As hard as I work to get firewood cut, hauled, split and racked, do you think that I would want someone to steal it !!!! Maybe he should have invited the thief in for a tea party !!! You two make me sick !!!!

Basso

Hahaha , hey bas it's hard to take you serious in that hat.

 

[iowawoodcutter]

Time for Reform

Did you guys know that lawyers were forbidden or restricted by the original colonies? They remained that way for most of the 18th century. Most disputes were settled by the church. Stand up for what you believe in. Make yourself heard. Don't put up with the status quo. Time for some serious Legal Reform, and it has to start with the people, politicians won't do it, they are all lawyers or lawyers at heart and won't put themselves out of a job.

Living in a near socialist America...using my polluting 2 cycle MS460...

Iowa

 

[mga]

maybe because it happened in new york state.....but, they don't take lightly to vigilante type of justice. in some cases, home owners are let off when they have used deadly force against a home intruder.

however, there are a couple of things here people seem to be missing:

1. the guy (arrested) did not own the home or the property, nor did he own the firewood.

2. he was only a tennant.

so, again, i ask does a tennant have the legal right to defend, with the same authority, the property he rents as much as a home owner?

does a tennant have the right to defend property left by the landlord? in this case, it was the wood pile.

i'm in no way defending the thief or condemning the guy who was arrested, but in this case the legal questions need to be answered, and i believe that is why the state police charged him with felony assault: he was not the home owner.

what he should have told the police was that he went out and encountered the thief and asked what he was doing. he should have said the guy attacked him first, so he simply defended himself and struck back.

 

[oldirty]

he saw a man taking firewood that was stacked on property belonging to the landlord of the building

He probably should have called the landlord or the cops. No reason for the assault, just sounds like he was looking for a fight.

if i saw pedro screwing around my house that late at night.....lock me up too cause i'm going to pound that mutt on principle alone.


question is, is pablo an illegal or does he have his papers in order?

 

[iowawoodcutter]

He is darn lucky he just got punched a few times. He is lucky he didnt get shot.

Getting shot goes both ways. I have to believe that most people here would do the sensible thing and call the police. This is the internet for christ sake, if you can't talk tough here, where the hell can you? This thief could have easily had a gun and if the guy approached him, could have the shot the guy dead.

As a family man, no way and I am going to risk getting shot, knifed or whatever over some stupid wood. (Yes, I have 9 cords of oak that I slaved over for the last year, but its just wood, it can be replaced, when I am dead, I'm not coming back.) I will call the police and let them sort it out.

New Headline:

Man shot dead after he approaches thief trying to take some wood. Wife and child left to fend for themselves. When wife asked what she thought of the incident, "I am proud of my husband for defending the 50$ of wood the guy was trying to steal. My five year old son is too, we gladly accept his sacrifice in the name of principle." When asked if she thinks guns are too blame. "My husband had his gun with him too, but I guess the other guy got lucky this time. Guns are great, they help us defend our property, and who knows when the redcoats will come knocking on our door again!!".

Iowa