Wife just saw the business end of my neighbor's shotgun. LEOs inbound.

[ccw9mm]

Your dog should NOT be roaming around the neighborhood. I too would be threatened if a large Labradane came onto MY property unleashed. I would be armed and ready to shoot also.

You'd only be threatened if it went beyond mere presence ... the "reasonable man" standard being what it is. Of course, it's a dog we're speaking of, but still: without a clear threat, it's hard to claim being threatened.

I, too, would prefer to be armed and prepared to react. It's why we go armed.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[OD*]

You'd only be threatened if went beyond mere presence ... the "reasonable man" standard being what it is. Of course, it's a dog we're speaking of, but still: without a clear threat, it's hard to claim being threatened.I, too, would prefer to be armed and prepared to react. It's why we go armed.

Epecially when you're IN the house.

[atctimmy]

I should have clarified and said "armed". The point was, I'm not waiting for him to point the weapon at my wife again if he's on my property.

Of course this was assuming this was all taking place on the OP's property - which it wasn't. So it's moot.

Fair enough. As long as the point isn't mute, because then I'd have to report you to the grammar police.

[Landric]

Wow, there are a lot of assumptions going one here.

First off, one needs to understand that in Virginia both brandishing a firearm and assault are misdemeanors. As such, LEOs are limited by what they are allowed to do when those crimes are not committed in their presence. I haven't worked in Virginia in six years, so I might be misremembering, but I think that brandishing a firearm might actually be an offense for which an arrest can be made when it happens outside a LEOs presence, but I'm not sure. Even so, "can make an arrest" is different from "shall make an arrest". A warrantless arrest cannot be made for a non-domestic assault that occurs outside the presence of an LEO. Rightly or wrongly, brandishing a firearm and assault (even assault with a deadly weapon) are misdemeanors in Virginia. Actually firing the gun, or trying to fire it, would make it an attempted malicious wounding (a felony), but until that occurs it is just a misdemeanor assault.

Second, law enforcement has limited resources. Just because they could have made an arrest here doesn't mean they have to our even should have, depending on exactly what they found out. For whatever reason they didn't make an arrest, probably because for one reason or another didn't think it was a winning case. With the exception of domestic assault and protection order violations, there are not any misdemeanors in Virginia that require LEOs to make arrests. Cops advise people to go to the magistrate and seek a warrant all the time. Legally speaking there is no difference in the process if a victim or LEO gets a warrant in this case, either way the suspect gets arrested, and he goes to trial. Is it possible they didn't make the arrest because they are lazy? Sure, but it is more likely that they didn't want to spend limited resources on arresting someone for a misdemeanor that they didn't think was a solid case.

In this specific case, I would check and see if a report was done (my agency would have done one on this, but different agencies have different policies, and sheriff's departments in the south are especially notorious for under reporting). If there is a report, and it clearly shows the OP's wife as the victim and the other guy as the suspect, then it might be best to leave it be. On the other hand, if there is no report, or if the report doesn't clearly identify a victim and a suspect, then the OP's wife should absolutely see the magistrate about warrants for brandishing a firearm and assault. There needs to be a paper trail identifying the OP's wife as the innocent party in case the situation escalates in the future and someone ends up getting shot.

[Adrenaline]

Wow, a lot of stuff to read in this thread. Glad to see in the end no one got hurt.

For whatever reason they didn't make an arrest, probably because for one reason or another didn't think it was a winning case.

Agreed with everything in your post except the above part. Often times an arrest should be made so long as it is justified regardless of whether or not the prosecutor will go through with a case. Sometimes a night in the tank may recalibrate the idiot's thinking (then again most idiots cannot be recalibrated).

[Landric]

Wow, a lot of stuff to read in this thread. Glad to see in the end no one got hurt.



Agreed with everything in your post except the above part. Often times an arrest should be made so long as it is justified regardless of whether or not the prosecutor will go through with a case. Sometimes a night in the tank may recalibrate the idiot's thinking (then again most idiots cannot be recalibrated).

Perhaps, but in that case the complainant taking out a warrant has the same effect. Misdemeanors are by definition minor crimes, and absent a statute requiring an arrest, how to proceed is left up to the LEO on the scene. If the complainant doesn't like that decision, they are welcome to speak to the magistrate about a warrant. It would probably be issued in this case no problem, a conviction is another matter.

I have arrested people for which probable cause existed and I knew I couldn't prove the case in court, conversely, I have not arrested people I was sure I could get a conviction, it just depends on the circumstances. Based only what I have read here, I probably would have arrested the suspect in question, but I wasn't there and don't know what the officers that responded new or learned. In any case, nothing in the law required an arrest in this case, rightly or wrongly.

[Ram Rod]

I'm stuck at work and my neighbor just threatened to shoot my dog and my wife while pointing a shotgun at them. All because the Labradane escaped the fence. He CAME OUT OF HIS HOUSE WHERE HE WAS SAFE to perform this stunt. Deputies en route... Tomorrow should be interesting.

IMO......you and your neighbor should have a nice talk about a lot of things. These days everyone is anti-social yet they'll be deeply involved in social networking. Ridiculous. Back in the day...neighbors were second to family, but important in community. These days? How did everything get so screwed up anyway? Hope you all come to terms since you're neighbors. Hope everything works out.

[Spirit51]

Mouse guns scare me.

Love the picture.

[Spirit51]

This. He shows up a few days out of the month to drink with the homeowner and his son, usually on weekends. Based on his behavior, he's not much smarter than my dogs. Oh by the way I have 3 all together. The "evil" one, a smaller brown mix that doesn't bark much, and a black puppy mix that looks like a "Labra-hound" but is colored exactly like Bentley, that I found lost on a lonely stretch of back road a couple months ago. Imagine a white spotted black Lab with a Dachshund/Bloodhound face/ears and sad, sad eyes.

Your Bentley looks like a big sweetie. Could the puppy mix be part basset hound instead of Dachshund/Bloodhound?

[SmokinFool]

Mouse guns scare me.

The mouse has good taste. Looks like a Galco Avenger holster strapped to his hip.

[ppkheat]

I'm not saying it's not justified, and the discussion is good, but it's interesting to note the amount of discussion and replies over this "dog out" incident. It would have been so simple to avoid. If the neighbor had been a decent guy and/or sober his actions wouldn't have escalated to the point they did.

My point to him would be, how about stay out of her way, or help the lady catch the dog, rather than distract her and hinder her efforts?

Yesterday, reminded me of the obvious. The Sheriff's office called me and said there was a "cow out" nearby, and deputy in route. I'm on their phone list as a cattle owner in this area. I'm not the only person who owns cows around here, several of us could have a cow out. As usual, I flew out of here with the intentions of getting the cow off the highway no matter who it belonged to. Actually it was a heifer that belonged to my neighbor, the deputy and I got her off the road, then took the time to tell the neighbor so he could check his fences. He was thankful for our efforts and didn't make threats or point a shotgun at us.

To the OP, as you know you have a trouble-making neighbor. I hope it all gets worked out for you.

[OD*]

The mouse has good taste. Looks like a Galco Avenger holster strapped to his hip.

It does at that.

[paramedic70002]

Here's a pic of the scene. The property line is between the burgundy Lincoln and the white truck. Wife was leading Bentley back from the front yard (left) to the gate (where my boy Gabe is standing). Jerk was lurking behind the white "barn."

And yes I have neglected the landscaping.

AREA.jpg

[ccman]

I'm not saying it's not justified, and the discussion is good, but it's interesting to note the amount of discussion and replies over this "dog out" incident. It would have been so simple to avoid. If the neighbor had been a decent guy and/or sober his actions wouldn't have escalated to the point they did.

My point to him would be, how about stay out of her way, or help the lady catch the dog, rather than distract her and hinder her efforts?

Yesterday, reminded me of the obvious. The Sheriff's office called me and said there was a "cow out" nearby, and deputy in route. I'm on their phone list as a cattle owner in this area. I'm not the only person who owns cows around here, several of us could have a cow out. As usual, I flew out of here with the intentions of getting the cow off the highway no matter who it belonged to. Actually it was a heifer that belonged to my neighbor, the deputy and I got her off the road, then took the time to tell the neighbor so he could check his fences. He was thankful for our efforts and didn't make threats or point a shotgun at us.

To the OP, as you know you have a trouble-making neighbor. I hope it all gets worked out for you.

The way it should be to help your fellow man. Good job PPK.

[paramedic70002]

... Could the puppy mix be part basset hound instead of Dachshund/Bloodhound?

Your guess is as good as mine:

Beau1.jpgBeau2.jpegBeau3.jpg