Homeless Man Shot In The Face While Staying Inside House For Sale

[Spets]

Here is some news from my town, where a homeless man was shot for trying not to freeze on a cold night. Thankfully in the comment section more people defended the homeless man than I expected.

http://www2.wspa.com/news/2011/dec/27/3/spartanburg-police-investigating-converse-heights--ar-2939816/


SPARTANBURG, S.C. --
Police in Spartanburg are investigating a shooting that happened Tuesday in the Converse Heights neighborhood.

Officials say a homeless man who was staying inside a home that was for sale was shot in the face by the homeowners.

Officers responded to 183 Connecticut Avenue Tuesday afternoon.

The homeless man, identified as 31-year-old Gregory Wells, was taken to the hospital and underwent surgery.

As of Tuesday night, officials at Spartanburg Regional said Wells was in serious condition.

Capt. Art Littlejohn with Spartanburg Public Safety tells 7 On Your Side it was the realtor that alerted the homeowners to the concern.

"The homeowner may have gotten information from the realtor that somebody was at their house, or had been staying at their house, and I think they had went there to see or to make sure prior to showing the house again," he explained.

The homeowners went to check on the home, according to a police report, both were armed when they went to the door.

One of the homeowners pointed a gun at the man and told him to back away. They say the man grabbed the homeowner's arm when the other homeowner fired.

Investigators say no charges have been filed at this time and the case is not being considered a home invasion.

Wells is listed in stable condition.

[danyboy27]

look like these morons watched die hard too many times, fucking assoles.

I mean, why would you do that? I mean, they got the whole fucking justice system behing them, they could have called the cops, and they decided to jeopardize that for...what? looking like 2 badasses? pathetic.

[X5N]

Ah, the bullshit "castle doctrine" or whatever it's called.

[Os Cangaceiros]

I don't think castle doctrine applies here. Castle doctrine applies if you're at your home and someone breaks in, not willfully getting strapped and confronting someone outside your home (even if the confrontation technically occurs on your property). Like the article said, this wasn't considered a home invasion.

[Spets]

Also, the home was for sale and the owners stopped by, making it sound as if they already have a new place to stay, so it's not like he was robbing them. I mean, shit, if I was homeless, and was trying to stay warm on a chilly night and some asshole shoved a gun in my face my first reaction would be to defend myself too. Thankfully, he passively defended himself.

[Firebrand]

Holy crap is that how you lot treat squatters. And I thought new laws making squatting a criminal offence were bad. Makes me glad guns are illegal over here.

[Kitty_Paine]

What the hell, lol... they both had a gun? What were they expecting a war in their house?

See this is what happens when you give reactionaries guns, they start shooting poor people.

They probably armed up in 2008 when our great communist leader Obama took power as they were expecting an aggressive dictatorship to take over.

[Spets]

What the hell, lol... they both had a gun? What were they expecting a war in their house?

See this is what happens when you give reactionaries guns, they start shooting poor people.

They probably armed up in 2008 when our great communist leader Obama took power as they were expecting an aggressive dictatorship to take over.

Your first sentence made me smile a little, haha.

[Spets]

They might have armed after Obama took office, but in November, after a woman was raped in a park the sheriff encouraged women to drop the mace and to go for a concealed weapons permit.

[tachosomoza]

Another day in this great bastion of democracy, where nobody goes hungry, naked or homeless.

[The Dark Side of the Moon]

Another day in this great bastion of democracy, where nobody goes hungry, naked or homeless.
shhhhh.
its not popular for the public to know these things



damn, i wonder why they would pull the trigger? its not like he was about to knife them, or shoot them

what the fuck was going through their heads?

[00000000000]

Someone had the audacity, the NERVE, to use an unoccupied private property (one of two it would seem) to stay out of the cold or simply to have the basic human right of shelter? He wasn't even looking to purchase? BASTARD SON OF A JACKAL!

So yeah, 2nd amendment rules. Private property rocks. Go homeowners!

[danyboy27]

An empty house for sale is usually a ***** for the landlord beccause he have to do so much things to keep it in working order, mown the lawn, heat it, do the minor repair, clean it, look out for mold etc etc. Its verry costly and time consuming, the owner could have benefited from the presence of a person in that house.

''maintain the place and you can keep living there for the time being'' would have been less stupid than, lets say storm the place with a goddamn shotgun.

[RedAnarchist]

shhhhh.
its not popular for the public to know these things



damn, i wonder why they would pull the trigger? its not like he was about to knife them, or shoot them

what the fuck was going through their heads?

Probably the theme music from some awful action movie.

[RedAnarchist]

''maintain the place and you can keep living there for the time being'' would have been less stupid than, lets say storm the place with a goddamn shotgun.

The problem is, you're using your intelligence, and actually thinking about the situation. That's far less fun than running to a house and acting macho towards an homeless person.

[ellipsis]

As a gun nut and a "squatter-advocate", this is horrifying. A comrade squatting was woken up and pepper sprayed while being evicted by the building owners here, but nothing like this.

[Bad Grrrl Agro]

Ugh! I want to vomit!

[danyboy27]

As a gun nut and a "squatter-advocate", this is horrifying. A comrade squatting was woken up and pepper sprayed while being evicted by the building owners here, but nothing like this.

Still dont understand the American landlords for being such douchebag assoles.
Here when something like that happen they just call the cops and they evict/put the guy in a shelter or a jail cell for the night.

I dont get it, even if the odd of being reported are low, they are still there and they risk getting a criminal record for playing rambo? i still dont understand these peoples.

[blake 3:17]

There's at least a million homeless Americans and nearly 19 million vacant homes.

Being a socialist can seem crazy, then you realize how crazy it is to not be a socialist.

[Spets]

UPDATE


SPARTANBURG, SC --
A homeless man who was shot in the face by the owners of a home in Converse Heights was arrested and charged with the incident.

Spartanburg Public Safety arrested 31-year old Gregory Debos Wells and charged him with unlawful entry. Wells was being held at the Spartanburg County Detention Center on $10,000 bond after he was released from Spartanburg Regional Medical center last Saturday.

Late last week, citing the South Carolina Castle doctrine, Spartanburg Public Safety and the Seventh Circuit Solicitor's Office announced that charges would not be filed against the homeowners involved in the shooting. Wells was shot in the face when he grabbed the arm of one of the homeowners.

Wells has no prior criminal record.

The Spartanburg Herald-Journal contributed to this story.

http://www2.wspa.com/news/2012/jan/03/homeless-man-charged-following-converse-heights-sh-ar-2977793/

How is a homeless man going to be able to pay 10,000$ bail?

[blake 3:17]

Imprisonment is great business.