Man shoots fleeing robber, doesn't seem to be charged

[PennsyPlinker]

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/alle...,2406272.story

From the story, it looks like the guy was making his getaway, the victim shot into the air to scare him, and then the assault with a vehicle occurred. But it doesn't look like the cops cared about that. I guess he could make a case that he was shooting in self defense once the guy tried to run him over, but shooting into the air? I dunno.

A Center Valley crack user who was shot during a hold-up at Allentown gas station in May has pleaded guilty to two robbery charges.
Robert Leroy Landis, 41, admitted to Lehigh County Judge Robert L. Steinberg Thursday that he robbed a Valero gas station on N. Fourth St. in Allentown and the Adult Arcade on Route 309 in Springfield Township, Bucks County, in May.

The two felony counts each carry maximum penalties of 10 years in prison.

Landis, who has four previous robbery convictions, according to authorities, was shot in the shoulder by a cashier's son after robbing the Allentown gas station.

Landis, wearing a blue prison jumpsuit and a black arm sling, insists he didn't have a weapon, although authorities say he pretended to have a gun. Landis said he was just trying to get money for crack cocaine.
"I wasn't out to hurt no one or nothing like that," he said. "I know they didn't know that."

According to Assistant District Attorney Craig Scheetz and a police affidavit:
Landis entered the Valero mini-mart just before 10:30 a.m. on May 4 and purchased a soda. He then demanded money — holding one hand in his pocket as if he had a gun — and began smashing items on the counter. He pushed the cashier, Laila Hadeed, and stole the cash register and cash drawer, valued at $500. Police didn't say how much cash was in the drawer.

Hadeed told her son, Terry Hadeed, that she had been robbed and the son confronted Landis in the parking lot with a gun. Terry Hadeed told police he fired two warning shots in the air to get Landis to stop while he was entering a green Subaru station wagon. The son said Landis tried to drive away recklessly, nearly striking him and another customer, Sarina Smith.

Scheetz said after Terry Hadeed was nearly run over, he "emptied his gun into the car," striking Landis.

At 10:43 a.m., an officer who saw Landis driving away with a smashed-out back window, tried to pull Landis over. Landis wouldn't stop and even drove on a sidewalk in an attempt to elude police. Landis eventually ditched the station wagon about two miles south of the gas station and ran into a wooded area east of Basin Street. He was captured around 11 a.m. after yelling that he was injured. Landis was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest, where he was treated for the non-life-threatening wound.

In an interview with police, Landis admitting to robbing the Adult Arcade the day before. In the robbery, he also stole the entire cash register, injuring employee Sharon Heebner.

Landis' attorney, Andrea Olsovsky, suggested that Terry Hadeed didn't have the right to shoot Landis, saying evidence suggests shots were fired before Landis started driving.

"If he was hit and killed, there would be some sympathy for Mr. Hadeed and not much for your client," Steinberg replied. "When you rob a store, you run the risk that a victim will be armed."

Scheetz noted that Landis had an aluminum baseball bat with him by the driver's seat. Olsovsky said he coaches Little League baseball, but acknowledged the rest of the equipment was in the back of the vehicle.
"I think we could all agree he wasn't going to the batting cages that day," Steinberg quipped.

The judge is scheduled to sentence Landis in March.

[ViperGTS19801]

Where are the two counts of reckless endangerment for the bullets fired in the air which have to come down somewhere?

I mean, if the guy tried to run him over with his car, I would have shot too, but warning shots? What a shit idea.

[The_War_Wagon]

Where are the two counts of reckless endangerment for the bullets fired in the air which have to come down somewhere?

I mean, if the guy tried to run him over with his car, I would have shot too, but warning shots? What a shit idea.

Gotta back Viper on this one. ISN'T one of Cooper's 4 rules, "KNOW what's beyond/behind your target?"

Kinda hard to "know" what's beyond, "up in the air."

[The Unknown 1087]

Where are the two counts of reckless endangerment for the bullets fired in the air which have to come down somewhere?

I mean, if the guy tried to run him over with his car, I would have shot too, but warning shots? What a shit idea.

Yeah that is a shitty thing. Just shoot if you have to but shoot AT the car.

[mrnyman]

Viper , i agree with you 100% but bear in mind that there might be some cultural aspects at play here, Hadeed is a Lebanese name , in some foreign countries the laws required that you first fire warning shots before you can lay on the lead, Japan being one of them, maybe Mr. Hadeed didnt know that he could just go on and lay down the lead when Mr. Landis decided to turn his vehicle into a 2 ton weapon.

KUdos to the judge for seeing this for what it is, the judges statements are on point.

And yes i agree Warning shots in the air is a bad idea.
Its better to just shoot the fuckers than to endanger innocent people.

[Metz]

Viper , i agree with you 100% but bear in mind that there might be some cultural aspects at play here, Hadeed is a Lebanese name , in some foreign countries the laws required that you first fire warning shots

I hear you, but he's not in KansasLebanon anymore. And he better learn the law of this land as well as common sense.

I can recall episode like that from my past. About 15 or so years ago our commissioner was gunned down (it happened in eastern europe). He was on his way home and happened to be the first to respond to the armed robbery right around the corner. Long story short - we somehow lost one perp, but another one managed into the apartment building, was hiding on 6th or so floor balcony and threatened everybody with his gun. So one dummy rookie fired a "warning shot". Yes, into the air. In the middle of friggin city. Expected trajectory was so poorly calculated (duh!), if it was at all, that bullet managed to fly few blocks and eventually didn't just hit the window of an apartment, it actually struck young lady, who managed to be inside. Thank God, it lost it's terminal velocity by then, but the point was made pretty clearly - what goes up ALWAYS comes down.

[Mosinshooter762]

Without actually endorsing using a warning shot, is there ever situations where a warning shot may not be wrong?

It is understood that warning shots may not be wise in highly populated areas, or even in many common self-defense situations. Some use that for saying to never ever fire warning shots.

Is it always wrong to fire a warning shot?

For instance, take the Harold Fish case out in Arizona. There has been much to be said about that case. However, firing a warning shot into the ground has not been one of them.

Was he wrong for firing a warning shot into the ground when dogs came charging at him along a trail in a National Forest (article here http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15199221)?

How about where a 'riotous teenage pack' is approaching, like as has been said in this Bucks County incident http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=203875 (Article posted on that forum, but has been talked about here)?

[donm]

For instance, take the Harold Fish case out in Arizona. There has been much to be said about that case. However, firing a warning shot into the ground has not been one of them.

Was he wrong for firing a warning shot into the ground when dogs came charging at him along a trail in a National Forest?

Fish did a lot of things wrong (mostly after the shooting), but I'm not sure this was one of them. A warning shot would probably be considered assault with a deadly weapon or even attempted murder in most instances. In this case it seems that the intent was to scare off the dogs. Unlike a human, a dog would probably not be deterred by the display of a gun.