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Bullets fly in sign prank
TweetBy Ed Runyan
The boy’s injury from the shooting was considered minor.
WARREN — A pair of teenage boys thought they were playing a prank by knocking down a John McCain campaign sign Saturday afternoon and yelling, “This is for Obama” to the homeowner.
But the homeowner, Kenneth Rowles, 50, was sitting on the front porch and didn’t think it was funny, especially since this was the second time vandals had damaged his campaign signs.
Rowles went into his 1237 Dover St. home in Warren Township, got a .22-caliber rifle and went back to the porch to confront the boys at about 2 p.m.
Rowles said he fired the rifle three times “to scare them” but never pointed the rifle at the boys or the car.
Nonetheless, at about 11 a.m. Sunday, the mother of one of the boys called police — saying her nephew, Kyree Flowers, 17, of 1205 Dover, had been shot once in the arm, and that her tan GMC SUV had been hit by two other bullets.
Flowers received a minor injury from the bullet and was treated at a local hospital Sunday.
The woman’s son, Patrick A. Wise Jr., 16, of Commerce Avenue in Warren, was the driver of the car. He told police: “Joking and playing, I got out of the car and kicked his political sign over. Kyree was in the car and told me to turn around, and I saw the man pointing his gun at me, trying to shoot at me, working the action. I ran into the car, and he shot at us through both the passenger and driver window.”
Rowles was arrested Sunday and charged with felonious assault, a second-degree felony, punishable by up to eight years in prison upon conviction.
He pleaded innocent Monday in Warren Municipal Court, and Judge Thomas Gysegem set bond at $10,000. He ordered Rowles to stay away from the boys and not use any weapons if he is able to get out of Trumbull County Jail on bond.
Warren Township police confiscated all of the weapons in Rowles’ home: 11 long guns (meaning rifles and shotguns) and four pistols.
Warren Township police said Rowles called them to his house Saturday afternoon around 2 p.m. to tell them about two young men who damaged his sign, but he didn’t mention having fired his rifle.
He also asked the officer, Patrolman Daniel Peterson, if he knew anything about a new Ohio law that allows a homeowner to protect his property, but the officer said he didn’t know much about it.
After Wise’s mother called police about the episode, Rowles admitted to having fired the rifle but denied having fired it at the boys.
Greg Hicks, Warren’s law director, said the new law Rowles asked about is called the Castle Doctrine.
According to the Buckeye Firearms Association, the Castle Doctrine says that if someone “breaks into your occupied home or temporary habitation, or your occupied car, you now have an initial presumption that you may act in self- defense and you will not be second-guessed by the state.”
Hicks says Rowles went “above and beyond what is needed to protect your home,” however.
“He never said anything about concerns for his safety or his home,” Hicks said, referring to Rowles’ statement to police.
Campaign sign vandalism can be a local crime, not a federal one. But Hicks added that he doesn’t believe the boys are likely to face any criminal charges “based on the scope of what happened” when Rowles fired his gun at them.
Police said one shot entered the passenger side window of the SUV, shattering that window and the driver’s side window. Another bullet hit the passenger side of the car on the post between the front and back door.
Flowers told police that Rowles had tried to shoot Wise while Wise was out of the SUV knocking down the sign, but Rowles had trouble working his gun.
Wise had gotten back into the SUV and was driving off when the bullets hit Flowers and the vehicle, Flowers told police.
runyan@vindy.com
Comments
Does anybody really think this is the first run-in those boys have had with this guy? His reaction says he's been harassed by them before, and not been able to get the authorities to do anything.
Remember, a mountain is made of millions of grains of sand.
Those boys should have been arrested without a doubt. They committed a crime, tresspassing and vandelism. They pravoked this guy into taking action. I hope it goes to trial and the jury finds him not guilty. and you wonder why there is so much crime.
I never knew teenagers were so passionate about the election.
Prove the felony charges, convict and take the guns along with his ability to legally possess them in the future. No more trying to "scare" minors with one of your 14 long guns and 4 pistols.
The Castle Doctrine is essentially a good policy and was written in response to cases of home invasion. It is state-mandated and thus varies from state-to-state. Although only approximately 20 states have adopted variations of the Castle Doctrine it has quickly been added to the growing list of angles and propaganda advanced by groups like the BFA to weapons fanatics to cite when challenged...for example when they shoot school kids.
There's no doubt he over reacted. Even if their is a history it won't do him no justice in this situation. Had he actually just shot his gun in the air or something he wouldn't be in this predicament, but he was really trying to kill them with a hunting rifle, that's crazy.
hey, this story made CNN!
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/10/28/y...
They are all in the wrong. The boy should be charged also. But the guy over reacted. Come on shoot at someone, I don't care how old they are, over them kicking down your political sign. That is just not right. He my have some deeper seeded issues!
What an over reaction. Someone threw my signs out in the street Halloween night. I just picked them up and stuck them back in the yard. This guys hot at them? Crazy
Now he went alittle to far . We have had signs stolen from landscaped lots and some homes but you don't go shooting at the individuals who are doing it. He should think next time it wasn't like he had to go out and pay for the signs. But, those youngmen should be punished to, after all none of this would have happened if they were obeying and not breaking the law.
they're crime=trespassing and damaging
his crime=missing
your mother's crime=reproducing
The man involved has a right to defend his property, within reason. and yes he over reacted. however the actions of the two youths involved were the cause of this breach of the peace.
I agree the weapons should be removed from the house, The home owner should recieve a caution from the police. The youths involved should be repremanded and given community service and perhaps made to do yard work in the home owners Garden.
Perhaps all three involved will then have the opportunity to gain a mutual respect for each other. I am sure that it would be a very good lesson for the two boys who obviously lack respect or disciplin.
One important fact that has been ommited is the fact that the property owner is partialy disabled and therefore a would be target for cruel children.
There is no need to fill the judicial court rooms up with cases that can be sorted out with common sense and a little bit of consideration.
The Mother of the wounded boy should ask herself, Why her son chooses to pick on Disabled people in the first place.
Perhaps the Police should have the authority to give the boy a good Slap for being so cowardly and stupid in the first place.
Old fashioned treatment didn't do the older generation any harm.
The boy's Car did not stop accidently outside the home owners house, neither did the two boys accidently fall out and trip over a garden sign! It was Pre meditated, so they need to stand up and take their punishment,
We are all guilty as small children for pointing at The Funny Man! it is because that is what little children do, but once we are old enough to park a car outside a disabled persons home and then go out and purposly intimidate them it moves on from the little child pointing a finger in inoccense. to young adults acting in a criminal way and an unsocial way!
It is this type of behaviour that we do not want and cannot accept.
Last comment!
I do not think that Mr Rowles Address should have been made public knowledge.
Shame on the Vindicator. If Mr Rowles house is robbed whilst he is away will the Vindicator reimburse him?.
Come on guys, Common sense please.
Mr Rowles is a proud man and deserves his Dignity, and respect.
What kind of reaction would we see if it was a black family that had their Obama sign destroyed and they were threatened?
These kids were taught to be racial bigots at home ! The man who they harrassed was white. From what I have heard is that the street was lined with Obama signs but had one lone McCain sign.
It was wrong for the man to have responded in the fashion that he did but the actions of the kids was also wrong. Should they get off scott free?
because being shot over a political sign wasn't enough for them to learn their lessons