Neighborhood Watch Gone Bad

[Rcher]

Man Shoots Neighborhood Watchman

A man accused of shooting his neighbor appeared in court Friday for a preliminary hearing. Police say Reginald Campos shot a member of his neighborhood watch program.

Campos was charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault after shooting 36-year-old David Serbeck, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.

The shooting occurred after midnight on July 22, 2009 when Serbeck and another man were on an unofficial neighborhood watch, after several break-ins in the area, according to police. The pair reportedly saw Campos’ daughter walking in the neighborhood with friends and tried to follow them to ask questions. The girls, who were reportedly afraid they were being followed, went home and told Campos they were being stalked. Campos then got in his car and went looking for the men.

On a street just a stone’s throw from Campos’ front porch, charging documents say Campos slammed the brakes of his SUV in front of Serbeck’s car, exited his SUV and pointed a gun at Serbeck ordering him to “put his hands up.” Serbeck, then allegedly exited the vehicle “with his own firearm, holding it upside down by the barrel.” The documents go on to say that Serbeck put his weapon on the ground and kicked it away to disarm himself. That's when Campos reportedly fired two shots at him. The Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office released 911 call recordings in which Campos tells police he shot a man and the man needs help.

David Serbeck took the witness stand in today's hearing to tell a judge what happened. Serbeck left the courtroom surrounded by family and made no comments.

A judge decided there was enough evidence to send the case to trial.

After the decision Campos exited the court and told reporters, "I'm very optimistic that things will work out and the truth will come out."

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[ccw9mm]

It could be anything.

Not a lot of details in that article. Unspecified are the words the children told this guy, which sent him off in search of the two presumed child molesters. Unspecified is what the shooter thinks justified his forcible disarming of the victim. Unspecified is what caused the now-disarmed victim to get shot twice, since he was at that moment disarmed. Was it cold-blooded attempted murder? Sure does seem vigilantism, no matter what else can be said.

After the decision Campos exited the court and told reporters, "I'm very optimistic that things will work out and the truth will come out."

We haven't heard the children's claims. We haven't heard what the victim indicates was said to the children, if in fact he's the one the children were referring to. We don't know what the shooter's "truth" is, if not his feelings on justifiability of going after folks he believed had attempted to pick up his kids.

All things considered, it would probably have served "daddy" better to stay inside, call police, and extract what info out of the children could be gotten. Instead, I fear he's gonna serve a few. In the end, though, what if the children were right? What if they were, in fact, being propositioned and lured into the car, and what if the folks stopped were the criminals in fact? Impossible to know, from what we've got in the article.

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For anyone who would do so: All comments made in this discussion are for discussion purposes only. In no way should these comments be taken as to imply what I would or would not do in any such situation.

[mojust]

Absolute, total imbecile. Can't he read? Is there anything anywhere that says it's okay to get in your car and go after somebody with a gun? If this kind of stupidity keeps up we'll be lucky to be gun owners at all.

[msgt/ret]

From the limited info in the article it sounds like Campos did everything wrong and stands a good chance of conviction.

[rottkeeper]

No matter what the girls said happened they were in no immediate danger at the time. Campos decided to take the law into his own hands and went after Serbeck, Campos was the aggressor.

[Rcher]

I posted this for discussion purposes. The media is taking sides with Serbeck, who incidently, must have drawn his weapon upon the initial confrontation but then layed his gun down and kicked it aside just before he was shot. So Serbeck was unarmed and shot by Campos. Campos is acused of chasing Serbeck's vehicle down with his SUV. Serbeck has been reported as just home from our lovely war in Iraq and now is paralyzed by some over zealous trigger happy neighbor who thought he was protecting his daughter. Unfortunately, Campos shot an unarmed man who was no longer a threat to anyone. This could get real ugly for Campos who will most likely be considered as the aggressor.

I have not heard of any reports of either people having a permit to carry concealed.

[Ticman]

A concealed weapon permit is NOT for trying to play cop. This was an after the fact incident which is what the cops are for.

The CWP is for during an incident when you have to protect yourself or loved one "in the moment" so to speak. Rambo is likely to be convicted.

[ccw9mm]

No matter what the girls said happened they were in no immediate danger at the time. Campos decided to take the law into his own hands and went after Serbeck, Campos was the aggressor.

Seems that it's that simple, yes.

[mr.stuart]

We will see more of these idiots. These incidents will fuel the anti movement.

[Rcher]

I found more info ...


Shooting suspect must stand trial - Salt Lake Tribune

The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated: 10/09/2009 07:29:15 PM MDT


West Jordan » Moments before David Serbeck was left paralyzed by a bullet that severed his spinal cord, he identified himself as a Bluffdale neighborhood watch member and asked a raging Reginald Campos to calm down so they could talk, he testified Friday.

Serbeck, who came to the 3rd District Court preliminary hearing in a wheelchair, said he had placed his own pistol on the ground and kicked it away with his heel before Campos opened fire.

Campos, who was upset because Serbeck had been following his daughter earlier that night, told police he chambered a round and fired after hearing the sound of a pistol being "racked."

Campos, 43, is charged with first-degree felony attempted murder with injury for allegedly shooting the 36-year-old Serbeck shortly after midnight on July 22.

A certified public accountant with no criminal history, Campos is also charged with two counts of third-degree felony aggravated assault for pointing his gun at Serbeck and Serbeck's passenger, Troy Peterson, president of the Perry Farms homeowner's association.

After hearing the evidence, Judge Robert Adkins ordered Campos to stand trial on all three charges.

Testimony indicated the violent encounter stemmed from a misunderstanding on the part of Campos' 15-year-old daughter.

Earlier that night, the girl and a friend were on a walk while Serbeck and Peterson were driving around looking for suspicious vehicles. Serbeck said one girl jumped into the road, forcing him to swerve.

Serbeck said he told the girls, "Be safe going home," and drove on.

Later that night, Serbeck and Peterson saw a car similar to a suspicious one that had been seen in the neighborhood. Unaware Campos' daughter was driving, Serbeck followed the car to Redwood Road, trying to get a license plate number.

Meanwhile, a detective testified, the girl's friend called Campos to report they were being "chased" by two men in an SUV. Campos got his gun, drove to meet the girls and followed them home.

Campos told his daughter's friend to go inside, then he and his daughter drove off to look for the SUV, he told police.

The altercation occurred near 15200 South and Iron Horse Boulevard (1932 West), after Campos passed Serbeck, pulled in front and screeched to a halt, forcing Serbeck to slam on his brakes, Serbeck said.

Serbeck testified that Campos got out "waving a gun at us" and shouting about following his daughter. "I was trying to figure out why he was in such a rage," Serbeck said.

Even after Serbeck identified himself as a neighborhood watch member and said Peterson was with the homeowners association, Campos continued pointing the gun, pacing and yelling, Serbeck said.

When Campos lowered his voice and the gun, Serbeck, standing behind his car door, announced he was going to put down his own weapon.

Serbeck said he passed his gun from his right hand to his left, then squatted as he lowered it by the barrel. He kicked the gun away and stepped from behind the door, saying "Let's talk. What's going on?"

Then, Serbeck said, he heard a girl scream from inside Campos' vehicle, "Don't listen to him, he's lying!"

And Campos said, "How stupid do you think I am?"

"Then I heard gunshots," Serbeck said.

Peterson testified Friday that he didn't know Serbeck had brought a weapon until he saw the gun in his hand. "I'm thinking, 'Oh my heck, this is crazy,' " Peterson testified.

Peterson said events unfolded quickly: Campos raised his gun and asked, "What are you guys doing?" Serbeck replied, "Hold on a minute."

Then Campos began shooting, Peterson testified.

One bullet entered Serbeck's right shoulder and exited his back, leaving him paralyzed from mid-chest down.

Peterson said Campos then turned the gun on him. "I raised my hands and said, 'Don't shoot. Don't shoot,'" he said.

Officers found two guns in the street and two spent cartridges nearby.

Salk Lake County sheriff's Detective Paul Nielson testified Campos' 9 mm handgun had a bullet in the chamber and five in the magazine.

Serbeck's .45-caliber pistol had one bullet in the chamber and one in the magazine. Nielson said the safety lock was engaged, meaning the gun could not be "racked."

Serbeck -- who once trained as an Army sniper -- testified he chambered a round, then put the safety on, before putting the gun in his vehicle.

Nielson said Campos told him during an interview that Serbeck's gun was pointed toward the ground when Campos opened fire.

Campos briefly commented after Friday's hearing, saying his version is truthful.

"I can't say anything about the case, but I'm very optimistic that things will work out and the truth will come out," Campos said. "I'm telling the truth and that's it."

[Janq]

No matter what the girls said happened they were in no immediate danger at the time. Campos decided to take the law into his own hands and went after Serbeck, Campos was the aggressor.

Bingo. ^^

Dial 911 and fall into observation mode.

- Janq

[Blackeagle]

While it sounds like Campos was clearly in the wrong, I do have to question the wisdom of Serbeck's actions. Being an "unofficial neighborhood watch" clearly seems like a bad idea. These sorts of activities: repeatedly driving around the neighborhood at night, following people, etc. are the kind of things that can easily seem suspicious. If you want to do this, make it official. Make sure people in your neighborhood know who you are and what you're doing.

[nova83tx]

Very sad to hear how this turned out. Both parties were intent on safety, and in the process in somehow turned into a total cluster!

We obviously haven't heard Campos's side of the story yet, he might have another version that doesn't involve him shooting an unarmed man. Either way, sounds like Campos is in deep doo doo, and I hope he is hiring the best attorney he can afford.

"Serbeck testified that Campos got out "waving a gun at us" and shouting about following his daughter. "I was trying to figure out why he was in such a rage," Serbeck said."

At this point if I am Serbeck, I don't know what I am waiting for. This guy is obviously not keeping his cool and is now threatening my life. I would think I would be ducking low behind my dash and keeping my engine block between Campos and myself, while trying to drive away as best I can.

I think an argument could be made that if Serbeck had drawn his weapon and shot Campos after Campos brought out his pistol aggressively, it might have been a better shoot than this turned out to be. Guy is on neighborhood watch, neighbor comes out in a frenzy pointing a weapon at me, I am not waiting to see what he is going to do, I am taking action.

Just remember, we only have yet to hear from one side of the story, I am sure Campos has a very different account. Just a crappy week in the news all around for human rights and 2A. Let's hope Serbeck recovers from this.

[farronwolf]

Campos will be seeing some prison time shortly. Not much of what he did can be justified.

We recently had our annual National Night Out street party last Tuesday. We had about 50 or so folks there along with some LEO's and firemen. I believe that everyone in our neighborhood watch group is able to identify the others that live in our neighborhood since I have limited our watch area to include only 36 homes.

That being said, neighborhood watch people should be getting identifying features and license plate number if possible from suspicious vehicles, but that does not mean chasing them down the road or doing anything extra ordinary to get that information.

I just wonder what made the 15 year old girl so paranoid in order to get her father worked up enough to shoot a guy who had disarmed and basically surrendered. I wonder what the girl feels now about her statement of not believing Serbeck and that he was lying.

Bad, bad deal all the way around in my book.

[retsupt99]

Campos sounds like a cop 'wanna be'...