Give them scrap metal.
'Vigilante' gets revenge on metal shop thieves
VIENNA, Maine - The owner of a machine shop where thieves stole $3,000 worth of scrap steel, iron and aluminum wasn't going to let it happen again. After Saturday night's theft, Joseph Lord loaded his shotgun and laid low, expecting the thieves to return. They came back on Tuesday, in broad daylight.
When Lord saw their 2008 F-250 pickup truck, he shot out its tires and windshield and blasted its radiator, Kennebec County Sheriff Randall Liberty said.
The startled thieves took off on foot, but investigators quickly tracked down the truck's operator, who will be charged with theft, Liberty said. Charges are pending against an accomplice, the sheriff said.
Good. Unfortunately:
Liberty said he discourages the use of guns to protect property.
"I can understand the frustration that Mr. Lord must have been experiencing," Liberty said. But, he added, "We don't want to see anyone get hurt over property."
So when they show up in the middle of the day, knowing people would be there, the Sheriff guarantees they won't hurt anybody? Whose life is he willing to stake on it?
3 comments:
And his name is Sheriff Liberty.
I usually like irony, but this time, the taste is rather bitter.
The use of the term "Vigilante" in this case is incorrect. Being responsible for defense of your person and property is not taking the law into your own hands. In fact, by definition legal use of force is not vigilantism.
I often hear the line about those who carry firearms for protection wishing to be judge, jury, and executioner. The purpose of judge, jury, and executioner is to ascertain events after the fact and mete out punishment, not a measure to prevent the commission of a crime or halt it in the act.
Where I come from, if you steal from someone and only get your truck shot up, you're pretty lucky. We don't mess around when our property is threatened, much less our personal safety. I say - Good for Mr. Lord!
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