14 y.o. black intrudor shot and killed in Louisiana, white home owner arrested.

[alpine]

So, the good news is, seems like there is a common ground here; no matter if you are a republican or a democrat, you can shoot anything that walks in to your house, including your inlaws...

 

[Immanuel]

14 year old Marshall Coulter did not just hop over Merritt Landry's wrought iron fence like the media is telling us. He had to have jumped up onto it and climbed over it...............................like a monkey.

Funny how a picture can change a lot of things. I was picturing a large front yard and the kid jumping the fence and being quite a way away. This picture puts the whole story in a different light.

Immie

Yes the pictures can change everything in a new perspective. If you've ever been to New Orleans neighborhoods, the homes are real close together and the driveways are small and gated. Many driveways are enclosed to make courtyards. Here is another picture of the yard after you've walked through he gate.

Well, I have been there, if driving through it on I-10 headed from California to Tampa counts as being there. It has been 20 years and even though I keep saying we should go to New Orleans, I never quite made it back.

Immie

 

[Missourian]

If the public keeps shooting burglars, the police will be out of a job.

How much do you want to bet the chief is elected or a political appointee?

 

[freedombecki]

It is 2AM and a teenager, quite obviously, just wants to get home when he is shot by an armed homeowner for climbing over the locked gate protecting his driveway.

The homeowner has a pregnant wife and a child, and the teenager broke the law by scaling his fence. What do the police do when they arrive?

Arrest the homeowner, and charge him with attempted 2nd degree murder.

Why would they do that? Could it be because the homeowner looks like this.

And the teenager looks like this?

After all, the police admit the teenager climbed over a locked gate, so he was obviously just taking a shortcut.

Unarmed teen shot inside homeowner's fenced yard, but not breaking into home, NOPD warrant says | NOLA.com

"Whaaaaah! Whaaaaaaah! We can't shoot unarmed black guys and go scot free!! Whaaaaaaah!"

This trigger-happy murderer should have done what Zimmerman should not have done at all: Call the cops.

He did call the cops and they arrested him. His other recourse would have been to load the body in the car, take a drive to a remote 300' deep abandoned well and gotten rid of it.

You're asking people who protect their families to cover it up. Shame on you.

 

[The Rabbi]

Based on what I've read of this case, the shooting was justified. Just because he's been charged doesn't mean he'll be found guilty, but I don't think he should have been charged in the first place. The kid invaded his property in the middle of the night. He has a history of burglary. He got what he had coming to him, plain and simple. New Orleans just became a safer place now that he's off the street.

I'm not certain on this one.

Landry told police that he approached the boy from his front yard, near his vehicle. As he grew closer, he said, the boy made a "move, as if to reach for something" -- possibly a weapon -- so Landry shot him, the warrant states.

NOPD Detective Nicholas Williams spoke with an unidentified witness who gave an account that differed from Landry's, though the detective did not specify how. Williams wrote in the warrant that Coulter was not trying to enter Landry's house and did not pose an "imminent threat" to Landry.

There are a couple of issues here. If the kid did actually reach for something, then the homeowner was completely justified. Even if it turned out later to be a box of skittles.
But I would need to know what the witness said if that contradicted the homeowner's account.
Second issue, each state is somewhat different. If the kid had been inside the house, the homeowner would be presumed to be in fear and justified. But he wasn't. He was however in the "curtilage" of the house, the yard, which was fenced. Some states, like TN, extend the house to the curtilage around the house. If that's the case in LA, then the homeowner is ok.
Given the ambiguities I cannot say the police were wrong to arrest him. The evidence as it comes out will determined the proper outcome.

 

[velvtacheeze]

It is 2AM and a teenager, quite obviously, just wants to get home when he is shot by an armed homeowner for climbing over the locked gate protecting his driveway.

The homeowner has a pregnant wife and a child, and the teenager broke the law by scaling his fence. What do the police do when they arrive?

Arrest the homeowner, and charge him with attempted 2nd degree murder.

Why would they do that? Could it be because the homeowner looks like this.

And the teenager looks like this?

After all, the police admit the teenager climbed over a locked gate, so he was obviously just taking a shortcut.

Unarmed teen shot inside homeowner's fenced yard, but not breaking into home, NOPD warrant says | NOLA.com

"Whaaaaah! Whaaaaaaah! We can't shoot unarmed black guys and go scot free!! Whaaaaaaah!"

This trigger-happy murderer should have done what Zimmerman should not have done at all: Call the cops.

He did call the cops and they arrested him. His other recourse would have been to load the body in the car, take a drive to a remote 300' deep abandoned well and gotten rid of it.

You're asking people who protect their families to cover it up. Shame on you.

It's open season on young black men. The mistaken George Zimmerman verdict has taken its first victim.

 

[Sherry]

There is no comparison in this case to the Martin/Zimmerman situation. I think that the man used poor judgment in exiting his home to confront anyone at that hour. Open the door and yell, "Get the fuck out of here or I'll shoot!!" If at that point the trespasser chooses to come at you, then shoot him.

 

[Esmeralda]

When I was in college, I lived in an old Victorian house that was converted into flats. One night I was alone in my apartment, in my room reading, and heard someone come into the apartment. My bedroom door was closed. The person made wandering around the apartment noises, in the kitchen and bathroom. It didn't sound right to me, so I got up and locked my bedroom door. A little later there was some kind of scratching on my door and then it stopped and I could hear someone going into my roommate's room. It was a long time ago and I didn't have a cell phone. When it got quiet, I snuck a look out my door, saw nothing, and ran out and downstairs to the apartment below me. I asked the woman there to call the police. We waited in her apartment and heard more noises upstairs in my apartment. When they came, they discovered a man in my roommates bedroom. He was blind drunk and turned out to be the guy who lived on the top floor. He had crawled into our apartment through an open window and thought he was in his own apartment because he was so drunk. If I'd had a gun, would it have been 'okay' by you pro gun people for me to kill him instead of calling the police? Shooting first and askinq questions later is not okay in my book. This kid who got into someone's yard may well have just been high on something. Why you all want to blow someone away so badly is beyond understanding.

 

[FishfaceDeMarco]

When did he die? As of Friday, he remained in critical condition, and I can find nothing indicating he had passed.

 

[laughinReaper]

Zimmerman Redux, Merritt Landry | Louisiana Self-defense - Downtrend.com

Hazouri reports that Landry, who has a baby daughter and whose wife is pregnant, believed that the victim was trying to break into his house. “All I know is that Merritt had told his family that he had said: ‘Freeze!’ and it looked like the guy turned at him and had his hand on his hip,” Hazouri reported.

The rear door of Merritt Landry’s home, and the driveway where car was parked, when Landry came upon intruder at 2:00AM.

Landry has been charged with attempted second degree murder. His bond was set to $10,000; he posted bond late Friday afternoon. Landry works for the City of New Orleans as a building inspector. The city says he has been placed on emergency suspension without pay pending the outcome of this case.

This is getting ridiculous. The prosecutor is going after this man only because he is a white man who killed a black man, and had it been a black man who killed that young man no one would have said shit.

Do people realize what this will lead to if it keeps up?

I can see how this could happen. 1:44 Am guys at home with pregnant wife and kid. Dog starts barking,somebody jumps over an Iron fence into a yard so you automatacally assume he is up to no good and he is ready to confront you cause your car is there and he knows your home. You yell freeze and the guy turns with his hand on his hip, might have a gun. It's dark,it's 1:44 am, you just woke up,all kids should be in bed right? So Landry fires thinking he's about to become a victim himself.

People really responsible for this are the parents. At 14 that kid should have been home safely tucked in bed, not wandering the streets.

 

[Katzndogz]

There is no comparison in this case to the Martin/Zimmerman situation. I think that the man used poor judgment in exiting his home to confront anyone at that hour. Open the door and yell, "Get the fuck out of here or I'll shoot!!" If at that point the trespasser chooses to come at you, then shoot him.

"The homeowner yelled "freeze". The kid reached toward his waistband and got shot.

Young black men have got to stop assuming their victims are unarmed. It will save a lot of lives.

At least there is a video.

 

[Katzndogz]

The big difference between this case and Zimmerman is that Landry was not getting his head pounded into the concrete.

 

[Immanuel]

When I was in college, I lived in an old Victorian house that was converted into flats. One night I was alone in my apartment, in my room reading, and heard someone come into the apartment. My bedroom door was closed. The person made wandering around the apartment noises, in the kitchen and bathroom. It didn't sound right to me, so I got up and locked my bedroom door. A little later there was some kind of scratching on my door and then it stopped and I could hear someone going into my roommate's room. It was a long time ago and I didn't have a cell phone. When it got quiet, I snuck a look out my door, saw nothing, and ran out and downstairs to the apartment below me. I asked the woman there to call the police. We waited in her apartment and heard more noises upstairs in my apartment. When they came, they discovered a man in my roommates bedroom. He was blind drunk and turned out to be the guy who lived on the top floor. He had crawled into our apartment through an open window and thought he was in his own apartment because he was so drunk. If I'd had a gun, would it have been 'okay' by you pro gun people for me to kill him instead of calling the police? Shooting first and askinq questions later is not okay in my book. This kid who got into someone's yard may well have just been high on something. Why you all want to blow someone away so badly is beyond understanding.

From your story, I would say no not okay as long as he was on the other side of that door, but had he come through that door, I would think you would have been justified to protect your life. You don't have to wait until he is hurting you before you defend yourself. By your story, you were clearly afraid, as you had the right to be. I think you would have been justified to use deadly force.

Immie

 

[skookerasbil]

Hope, unlike Zman, he fired off multiple rounds. You don't fuck around when the savages hit your house......you fire and fire until the definition of swiss cheese is met.


Spent the am today firing off about 70 rounds of .45LC with my Circuit Judge. What a sweet-ass weapon, especially for home defense imho......5 rounds in under 3 seconds ftmfw and pretty beefy rounds at that. At $550.00 its a bargain although be forewarned......ammo for this gun very very hard to get right now........makes no sense.

 

[Sherry]

There is no comparison in this case to the Martin/Zimmerman situation. I think that the man used poor judgment in exiting his home to confront anyone at that hour. Open the door and yell, "Get the fuck out of here or I'll shoot!!" If at that point the trespasser chooses to come at you, then shoot him.

"The homeowner yelled "freeze". The kid reached toward his waistband and got shot.

Young black men have got to stop assuming their victims are unarmed. It will save a lot of lives.

At least there is a video.

Again, IMO, he didn't need to leave the confines and safety of his home...he should have warned him off from the entry and seen if the guy retreated, rather than put himself in that dangerous situation. The trespasser could have been armed and shot first.

 

[FishfaceDeMarco]

Zimmerman Redux, Merritt Landry | Louisiana Self-defense - Downtrend.com

Hazouri reports that Landry, who has a baby daughter and whose wife is pregnant, believed that the victim was trying to break into his house. “All I know is that Merritt had told his family that he had said: ‘Freeze!’ and it looked like the guy turned at him and had his hand on his hip,” Hazouri reported.

The rear door of Merritt Landry’s home, and the driveway where car was parked, when Landry came upon intruder at 2:00AM.

Landry has been charged with attempted second degree murder. His bond was set to $10,000; he posted bond late Friday afternoon. Landry works for the City of New Orleans as a building inspector. The city says he has been placed on emergency suspension without pay pending the outcome of this case.

This is getting ridiculous. The prosecutor is going after this man only because he is a white man who killed a black man, and had it been a black man who killed that young man no one would have said shit.

Do people realize what this will lead to if it keeps up?

I can see how this could happen. 1:44 Am guys at home with pregnant wife and kid. Dog starts barking,somebody jumps over an Iron fence into a yard so you automatacally assume he is up to no good and he is ready to confront you cause your car is there and he knows your home. You yell freeze and the guy turns with his hand on his hip, might have a gun. It's dark,it's 1:44 am, you just woke up,all kids should be in bed right? So Landry fires thinking he's about to become a victim himself.

People really responsible for this are the parents. At 14 that kid should have been home safely tucked in bed, not wandering the streets.

I did a lot of reading on this case when the story broke. A couple of things come to mind. One, his wife is pregnant. Two, there was a home invasion just a couple of blocks away, a couple of hours before. Don't ask for the link, I am full of good BBQ and not a few beers. But those facts right there are enough to say he was probably a bit twitchy about defending his family to the best of his ability.

The main reason I wish he wouldn't have shot the kid is because he is a dad with one on the way. He's a good guy. He shouldn't be out on bail, and waiting for trial. I think he made a stupid mistake.

 

[Immanuel]

Zimmerman Redux, Merritt Landry | Louisiana Self-defense - Downtrend.com



This is getting ridiculous. The prosecutor is going after this man only because he is a white man who killed a black man, and had it been a black man who killed that young man no one would have said shit.

Do people realize what this will lead to if it keeps up?

I can see how this could happen. 1:44 Am guys at home with pregnant wife and kid. Dog starts barking,somebody jumps over an Iron fence into a yard so you automatacally assume he is up to no good and he is ready to confront you cause your car is there and he knows your home. You yell freeze and the guy turns with his hand on his hip, might have a gun. It's dark,it's 1:44 am, you just woke up,all kids should be in bed right? So Landry fires thinking he's about to become a victim himself.

People really responsible for this are the parents. At 14 that kid should have been home safely tucked in bed, not wandering the streets.

I did a lot of reading on this case when the story broke. A couple of things come to mind. One, his wife is pregnant. Two, there was a home invasion just a couple of blocks away, a couple of hours before. Don't ask for the link, I am full of good BBQ and not a few beers. But those facts right there are enough to say he was probably a bit twitchy about defending his family to the best of his ability.

The main reason I wish he wouldn't have shot the kid is because he is a dad with one on the way. He's a good guy. He shouldn't be out on bail, and waiting for trial. I think he made a stupid mistake.

Just a question. Did he know about the home invasion a couple of hours before the incident? Just curious.

Immie

 

[syrenn]

Hazouri, who owns property near Landry's house, said his surveillance cameras captured two juveniles riding BMX bikes up and down Mandeville and Dauphine streets around 1:44 a.m. One of the teens was wearing a blue tank top with white stripes; the other was wearing a light-colored T-shirt, Hazouri said...

Hazouri said his video, which he gave to NOPD detectives, shows the two teens talking in the middle of Mandeville Street outside of Landry's house. The video then shows the teen in the light-colored T-shirt walk his bike across Mandeville toward Landry's house. Then, the teen walks back out to the middle of the road before climbing over Landry's fence, Hazouri said. The other teen in the tank top stayed on the other side of Mandeville Street, Hazouri said.

If the kid is riding bikes with his friend, at a quarter to TWO IN THE MORNING, why is he hopping fences into people's yards? There's something not quite right with the story we're getting...

Based on what we're being told, the kid was shot for trespassing, a bit harsh for the 21st century, but then again, we are talking about New Orleans. The third deadliest city in the U.S. last year, how was the homeowner to know this kid's intentions? He'd been a victim of burglaries a couple of times before... In the wee hours of the morning, how was he to know the kid was a kid? The kid is awaiting trial for burglary, history would lead one to think he was about to commit another.

I don't know... You hate to see a kid lose his future for simple trespassing, but, if you look at the facts we've been provided honestly, you can see where the homeowner's mind was during the encounter.

granted, its sad to see a kid lose his life. I am more sad for the homeowner.


however...if they also knew the risk of doing such things could end them up dead... they may just not do things like..... trespass onto other people property.

 

[R.C. Christian]

I guess we have too many on the board who've never been to the deep south.

I spent quite some time living in the French quarter doing missionary work when I was a kid. Putting that into perspective forces me to reexamine my previous conclusions.

 

[Connery]

This is an important point! People who have guns should not be going around shooting first and asking questions later. "Those who may have a predisposition toward acting without thinking" should not have guns!

Unfortunately, the laws in many jurisdictions allow just about any numbskull to have a firearm.

So, the guy with the gun is the numbskull, but the kid who scaled a fense onto someone else's property is what? A genius?

You guys are fucked in the head.

Try again pal and read what I wrote.