Long Island Man gets 30 days in jail for shooting squirrel

[Remo]

http://www.newsday.com/long-island/crime/e-northport-man-81-gets-30-days-in-squirrel-killing-1.1926765

I just don't know what to say about this other than I'm absolutely mortified at the justice system for incarcerating this man.

[airiscool]

That old guy very likely would have gotten a pat on the back up here. Worst case, he would have been  fined for taking game out of season. They don't even put Deer poachers in Jail up here! The Judges are smart enough to know that fines bring in money, while jail time costs money.

Used to be able to walk through the High School halls with our rifle team guns cased, headed for the school bus for an away shoot, and no one batted an eye.  Try that today.

We could also spend an afternoon shooting trap in my brothers backyard on Yapank Ave only 1/2 mile south of the Suffolk Co. Police HQ.

Those days are gone forever.

Just some of the many changes that lead to me to move upstate. Didn't realy want to, but couldn't put up with where the Island was headed.

Paul.

[shadow]

Jailed for dropping a nutter and we have real killer's running the street's. :0 Ed

[geewhiz380]

They rather go after innocence then the real killers like u said its true .Im moving out of ny .one of my choices are south carolina that was mentioned to me by a friend and maine since my sons and there father in laws are hunters.nys is not what it use to be and its sad but i miss my old ny.before in the 70,s till early 80,s they had arcades where you were able to shoot .22,s lr and u paid very little and they had targets i was young at the time but i use to see my brothers shoot all the time at times square 42nd st..bb machine guns were shot at coney island playland in brooklyn in the 70,s till early 90,s,those were the good old days now everthing is more of a gambling site then a family outing sad,sad,sad ......jorge

[North Pack]

What??? - Thirty days for knocking off a stupid squirrel, .... totally insane. - Using that as a measure, I'd have gotten about 350 years for the ones I killed back in Maine.

[Gene_SC]

What a shame. To think I could go to jail for killing pests in my back yard... Good thing it was not a rabbit. He could have got 10 years..

[longislandhunter]

I can't believe they did that to that poor elderly gentleman, what a travesty of justice !!!  The judge in that case and the district attorney who prosecuted the case should have nightmares for handling this case the way they did.  Having worked in law enforcement in Suffolk County for 22 years I know for a fact that it was a very rare occasion when  the courts would actually send REAL criminals to jail time..... to do this to this poor gentlemen is a crime in itself.  Shame on them.....

Jeff

[North Pack]

Obviously he wasn't here illegally, ...

[Remo]

Good thing nobody heard him say anything about the $@#$@$@ squirrel before he squeezed the trigger. Otherwise, it might have been prosecuted as a hate crime!!!

[dk1677]

absolutely ridiculous !

[RedFeather]

I couldn't access the whole article and didn't want to sign up for Newsweek online, but I will say this, unpopular though it may be. You've got to know your local laws before going off and shooting an air gun. Doesn't matter what you shoot at, although it appears he violated a law there, as well. Where I live, you can't even shoot a BB gun in your yard. It's a FIREARMS FELONY. Do I like it? Nope. But I HAVE TO OBEY THE LAWS. Even if I'm a veteran (heck the Yes box) or a Congressional Medal of Honor Winner (not hardly). The law applies to EVERYONE. (If you read the intro, that guy was already having trouble with his neighbors. Rightly or wrongly, but there were other issues here. Maybe he already had some court time and the judge got tired of seeing him, etc. I'm not defending any Tom, Dick and Harry who happens to run afoul of the law just because he is an air gunner.)

Again, PLEASE KNOW YOUR LOCAL LAWS BEFORE SHOOTING! It can save you a lot of $$$$ and trouble.

[Remo]

Notwithstanding the neighbor issues and history, a 30 day jail sentence for a man suffering from dementia as well as his other illnesses seems excessive to me. A different "punishment" better suited to the crime and the circumstances should have been applied or devised.

[longislandhunter]

I think a monetary fine and perhaps a short period of probation would've served justice just as well in this case.  Redfeather does have a valid point, actually two, in that there are no doubt facts concerning this case that we are not privy to and the law does indeed apply to everyone.  That being said though I still feel an actual jail sentence for this "crime" and this "perpetrator" is ridiculous.   Just my 2 cents.....

Jeff

[geewhiz380]

Well this was not the first person it has happen to nor will it be the last ...jorge