Geez... an almost shooting rampage

[ChadTower]

That would have been bad.

[shardian]

Considering he actually had the rifle, the ammo, and showed up - I hope they lock this guy away from public anyways. Maybe a nut house or something. I am greatful that he had a moment of clarity, but going that far is pretty much attempted mass murder in my book.

[ChadTower]

He clearly needs psychological treatment, but given that he didn't actually hurt anyone, we can't accuse him of having done so.  He may need hospitalization while he is evaluated for dangerousness going forward but I doubt there is a legal way to do that unless his family does it.

[shardian]

He wrote those letters, which is what he has been arrested on. Combine that with the fact that he did in fact show up and you have a pretty good case.

[ChadTower]

A case for what, exactly?  He didn't commit any violent crimes so he can't be charged with one.  There isn't a conspiracy here so you can't whack him with that. 

[Samstag]

It wouldn't surprise me if some new "almost attempted terrorism" charge made it into law since 9/11.

They'd heard he wanted to call his place 'Drunkenstein's.

If there's any truth in that, his sanity should have already been in question.

[shardian]

A case for what, exactly?  He didn't commit any violent crimes so he can't be charged with one.  There isn't a conspiracy here so you can't whack him with that. 

Kurt Havelock, 35, was charged Monday with mailing threatening communications. He is being held without bail, and additional hearings have yet to be scheduled.

[ChadTower]

That's a bit different than the attempted mass murder you mentioned at first.  I'll be surprised if they can hold him without bail all that long.  Maybe this can lead to the dangerousness hearing I mentioned.

[saint]

IANAL, but I think he's committed assault. Battery is when you actually attack, assault is when you threaten to in a manner that your potential victim believes he/she is in danger of injury. Or I could be completely wrong...

[ChadTower]

IANAL, but I think he's committed assault. Battery is when you actually attack, assault is when you threaten to in a manner that your potential victim believes he/she is in danger of injury. Or I could be completely wrong...

Depends on the location but some don't differentiate like that... people get charged with "assault and battery" or nothing.  You don't see a whole lot of pure assault charges unless it is extreme like this one is.  In cases like this they whack with a larger charge like "mailing threatening communications" that is probably a felony rather than a misdemeanor assault.

[somunny]

Here's the ubiquitous myspace page:

http://www.myspace.com/scarizona

Graverobber *and* proud parent, to boot!

[shmokes]

Saint has the difference between assault and battery basically correct, though it's missing the word "imminent".  Your victim must believe that he is in imminent danger.  Even if I see you in a Super Market and say that I am going to go get a gun from my trunk and return in less then a minute to put a bullet in your ass, I haven't committed assault.  Unless I appear to have the intent and capability to carry out my threat at the exact moment that I make the threat, it's not assault.  Thus you could never be guilty of assault based on a mailed letter unless, I suppose, the letter said, "I know you open your mail in your office.  Well . . . guess who's hiding behind your desk with a length of piano wire, Dead Man?".  Frankly, it's questionable whether even that would be assault . . .

In this case, you'd also have a problem because none of the intended victims knew about the letter, as far as I can tell.  The person being assaulted must be put in an apprehension of an imminent harmful or offensive touching.  If I walk up behind you and point a loaded pistol at the back of your head, I haven't assaulted you because, while you were definitely in danger of an imminent harmful or offensive touching, you never had an apprehension of it.  That is how I think I would characterize all the innocent people at the Superbowl who might have been injured by this guy.

[CCM]

Can't you be arrested and charged for terroristic threats?

http://definitions.uslegal.com/t/terroristic-threat/

http://members.aol.com/StatutesP8/18PA2706.html

(a) Offense defined. A person commits the crime of terroristic threats if the person communicates, either directly or indirectly, a threat to:

   1. commit any crime of violence with intent to terrorize another;
   2. cause evacuation of a building, place of assembly, or facility of public transportation; or
   3. otherwise cause serious public inconvenience, or cause terror or serious public inconvenience with reckless disregard of the risk of causing such terror or inconvenience.

These laws seem to vary by state...

[ChadTower]

.  If I walk up behind you and point a loaded pistol at the back of your head, I haven't assaulted you because, while you were definitely in danger of an imminent harmful or offensive touching, you never had an apprehension of it. 

I know where you watch your pr0n... guess who is behind the couch with a kung fu grip, Squeeze Toy?

[hypernova]

"No one destroys my dream," he wrote.

...of filling people with booze, and contributing to drunken driving!

[somunny]

I know where you watch your pr0n... guess who is behind the couch with a kung fu grip, Squeeze Toy?

I don't know whether to be embarrassed or relieved that I'm scratching my head over this one. 

[Malenko]

I thought drunkensteins was pretty clever.

[danny_galaga]

i'm surprised they don't just call him a terrorist. then they can hold him indefinitely without charge. what's the use of those laws if you can't do that 

[ChadTower]

They don't seem to hold white people for terrorism unless the white person has a muslim name.

[Ed_McCarron]

IANAL, but I think he's committed assault. Battery is when you actually attack, assault is when you threaten to in a manner that your potential victim believes he/she is in danger of injury. Or I could be completely wrong...

And hitting someone with a D-Cell is assualt with a battery.  Keep things straight.

[ChadTower]

And hitting someone with a D-Cell is assualt with a battery.  Keep things straight.

It's battery with a battery... assault would be making them afraid you're going to hit them with a D-Cell. 

I prefer to make them fear my spandex while I push it real good.