Stand Your Ground? Texas man kills teacher over noise complaint.

Thank you members for your excellent replies. I don't have to necessarily agree with a view to appreciate and respect it.

I do have to agree with the majority of replies and say this guy scr#w#d the pooch.

The things that keeps playing over in my mind is how he armed himself, made sure to attempt to cover his arse with the cellphone, went on to the teacher's property and then seemingly looked for trouble. That to me seems to imply premeditation. (But I am no lawyer, so just giving it my best guess.)

One missing piece would be the history between these two. Was there prior incidents to this? Could at the very least answer some questions about both parties mindsets and attitudes.

Once again thanks for all the replies.

Peace.

reply to post by Hessling


He's a murderer and even if the complaint was over noise, it's no reason to lose your sh*t and murder someone. He was clearly excacerbating the situation when he should have let local authorities deal with it and that so called "video" sounds like it was staged and with the worst acting ever. I tell you, if you let murderers get away with this kind of crap, they will keep doing it. This guy should be executed, for comitting murder and then being a dick while doing it.

reply to post by Hessling


Got to your thread a little after initial interest and will admit I have not read every page. I am looking at the situation and to me it appears to definitely be a case of one individual twisting the legalese (legally recognised meta language/words) to suit his own agenda.

Has anyone noted that he was trespassing? He was on his neighbours property (driveway) without an invitation. He was in contact with the Police who should have instructed him to leave the property and to wait inside his own house for Police to arrive - if he was truly frightened for his life? Let's look at the fact he was armed when no one else was armed - except the Police - who were not yet present.

The neighbour may not have realised how loud the music was - given that not everyone is acquainted with the physics and audio dynamics in every single situation ( ie; how sound travels in a variety of settings.) Also the bloke with the gun did not give the Police the opportunity to advise the neighbour of the noise disturbance complaint.

As for the emergency service personnel on the other end of the phone - I thought they were employed and trained to help save lives - not assist people to twist legal applications to suit their own perspective. The emergency personnel should have assessed the situation and - again I say - told him to stay inside his OWN house/property until the Police arrived. He was armed and inside his own house he probably has a justified right to defend himself - if he was truly in fear of his life.

Lastly - as a former officer in Australia - when it comes to noise disturbance there are legally recognised methods to manage the situation. Firstly there are time zones for people to make noise - such as noisy road works/ building/parties - its all noise and its all the same. Secondly - when it comes to parties that become a bit too noisy and extend beyond the recognised time limits - a warning from the Police will usually settle a party down and a second visit will bring a notice to shut the party down before legal action is taken. It is rare for people at parties to disagree with a Police Officer who is articulate and peaceful and speaks to people like they are human beings - just having a party.

Let's face it no one deserves to be killed because they were enjoying some music - even if it was a little too loud for the neighbours. There's a lot worse a human being could do than turn the volume up on the stereo. I hope the man who feared for his life - why he was afraid will be interesting to listen to in court - will not be afraid of what will happen when the truth emerges for all to see.

Much Peace...to anyone who has enjoyed their music loud - because sometimes - it is good to lose yourself in the music instead of the horrors that confront us daily in the news...

reply to post by Hessling


From the story you presented this would seem to me to be a clear case of first degree murder.

I continue to worry about Americans armed with guns for those not armed. I would # my pants if I saw fellow citizens walking about with guns in the UK.

Different cultures.

Originally posted by Peruvianmonk
reply to post by Hessling

 

From the story you presented this would seem to me to be a clear case of first degree murder.

I continue to worry about Americans armed with guns for those not armed. I would # my pants if I saw fellow citizens walking about with guns in the UK.

Different cultures.

I personally would consider buying a gun myself, to be the better option than passing laws which create a scenario in which nobody has them.

The only reason why government ultimately does not want people to own guns, is so that said people cannot use their guns on it. I do not think that I am merely quoting a brainwashed Jeffersonian platitude here, either; I honestly believe that it is literally true. Government wants to have a monopoly on violence.

I had made up my mind about what I thought should happen and then watched the video--I'm not so sure anymore. In fact, I'm beginning to wonder how many of the posters here actually watched the video.

reply to post by thisguyrighthere


It was NOT justified either way!

You can defend these idiotic "Stand Your Ground" laws until the cows come home!

The bottom line is, they are VAGUE and allow for situations like this where someone who was otherwise innocent (their house, their party, they were egged on by the defendant) was gunned down all because someone, somehow felt threatened by the noise.

What's this country coming to?

This guy went over there in hopes that he could find a reason to shoot his neighbor.

Put some damn ear plugs in if the music is bothering you THAT bad before killing someone.

My thinking on this is very simple and I really don't see the need to get into the legality or illegality of it.

When they saw that he had a gun, they should have left rather than stand around and antagonize an already, clearly agitated man.

And this man should have stayed home and let the cops handle it, rather than leave his property looking for a confrontation....

Both sides were looking for a fight and that is exactly what they got.... The end result of all this stupidity, was death...

Very sad.

It could have been easily avoided had just one of them used some common sense....But they didn't and now we have a dead person and a man on trial facing murder charges....

The legality is not what I am interested in here, it is the lack of common sense exercised by both parties that impresses me.

If you have a complaint for 911, let THEM handle it. If some one pulls a gun on you and is telling you to leave...It's time to leave.

This could have and should have been avoided. A little bit of common sense goes a long way, folks...And these people, used none.

Both sides have fault in this case.

Popular or not, that is where I stand.

Good old Texas,kill someone go free,but be caught with some pot and do a life sentence,no wonder I stear clear of there,just a few more reasons not to visit

reply to post by The Sword

The bottom line is, they are VAGUE and allow for situations like this where someone who was otherwise innocent (their house, their party, they were egged on by the defendant) was gunned down all because someone, somehow felt threatened by the noise.

Sure, the legislation is VAGUE for people who don't bother to read it and instead let their knee jerk and call that intelligence. Hell, this is why so many think the Constitution for the United States is VAGUE, and the Bill of Rights is VAGUE, because they've never read it. Maybe you'll understand it when the movie comes out...but if the movie comes out and you don't watch it, it will all likely remain very VAGUE for you.

reply to post by Jean Paul Zodeaux


All this and you still haven't given a valid reason to support such laws.

If you want to know why gun control is big among some folks, just look at this incident and the Travyon Martin incident.

The people writing these laws failed grade school logic.

Click here for more information.

Originally posted by The Sword
reply to post by Jean Paul Zodeaux

 

All this and you still haven't given a valid reason to support such laws.

If you want to know why gun control is big among some folks, just look at this incident and the Travyon Martin incident.

The people writing these laws failed grade school logic.

I made my argument on page two and linked the Texas legislation of which you clearly didn't read....maybe when the movie comes out....

reply to post by Jean Paul Zodeaux


News flash: I don't have the time or patience to go back through this thread because I know it will be full of second amendment supporters that shout down/drown out anyone who doesn't share their views on guns.

So, will you kindly reiterate your position without resorting to personal attacks?

Thank you.

Originally posted by The Sword
reply to post by Jean Paul Zodeaux

 

News flash: I don't have the time or patience to go back through this thread because I know it will be full of second amendment supporters that shout down/drown out anyone who doesn't share their views on guns.

So, will you kindly reiterate your position without resorting to personal attacks?

Thank you.

News flash: You have not made your case any stronger by admitting you didn't bother to read my post and clearly the legislation you declared VAGUE. It was that argument I attacked, and if you want to personally attach yourself to the ignorant argument you made that is your business.

"but I shot a man in Reno
Just to watch him die...
Now, when I hear that whistle
I hang my head and cry"
Johnny Cash, Fulsom Prison Blues

reply to post by Jean Paul Zodeaux


Was force immediately necessary to protect someone from NOISE?

I've had problems with neighbors either playing their music loud or when I used to play my music loud. They never came to my door, I never went to theirs. We left it up to the police.

This is a civil matter that got out of hand and resulted in an unnecessary death. There's simply no justifying it. If the defendant had simply informed the police, the police could send an officer to either warn or issue a ticket for the loud noise.

Did they need to complicate things with a gun?

reply to post by gimme_some_truth


Most balanced reply in the thread gimme!

While I admit to being quite angry over Rodriguez's actions, I would be lying if I didn't admit that if I was the teacher and his friends I would have retreated and called 911.

I guess the bottom line is that this is a messed up, lose-lose situation with one person deceased who should not be.

I hope everyone reads what you wrote.

"One hopes that cooler heads will prevail and soon everything will calm down."

You brought that ideal to this thread. And if the parties involved would have done the same, then things would probably have come out quite differently.