Protecting our communities: An Asheville, North Carolina firefighter shot a man last month because he was angry that the victim was riding a bicycle with his 3 year-old son in the attached child seat. A driver, now identified as an Asheville firefighter, shot a bicycle rider because he was angry the man was riding with his child on a busy road, Asheville police said .... .... Officers said the victim was riding with his wife and had his 3-year-old son in a child seat attached to his bicycle when a driver approached him. Police said the driver, Charles Diez, claimed he was upset that the victim was bike riding with his child on the heavily traveled Tunnel Road. Diez pulled a gun and opened fire, hitting the victim in his bicycle helmet, according to police. They said the bullet penetrated the outer lining of the helmet but did not actually hit the victim's head. (Bean) I think I can safely bet that being shot was about the last thing the victim expected his bicycle helmet to save him from. Charles Diez was originally been charged with attempted first degree murder, but a Buncombe County grand jury refused to indict him on the charge. Authorities served a new warrant today, charging Diez with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill. District Attorney Ron Moore told reporters he did not know why the grand jury rejected the attempted murder indictment. Apparently, in North Carolina, shooting a man in the head when he walks away from you isn't attempted murder. ____________________ Notes: Bean, Michael. "Police: Asheville Firefighter Shot Bicyclist". WYFF. July 27, 2009. WYFF.com. August 6, 2009. http://www.wyff4.com/news/20187786/detail.html Morrison, Clarke. "Buncombe grand jury rejects attempted murder charge for Asheville fireman". Citizen-Times. August 6, 2009. Citizen-Times.com. August 6, 2009. http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090806/NEWS01/90806020/1119
i agree with him, that is just stupid (unless the reason was lack of evidence or something). Why the hell couldnt he apeal to a higher court?
When this hit FARK, it turned into a typical bicycle hate thread. As someone who has been getting honked at, had things thrown at him, been called a fag more times than I could possibly remember as a result of wearing bicycle gear and riding down the highway (over on the shoulder, causing no inconvenience to anyone), I've reluctantly begun to realize that as bicycling is becoming more popular, hostility from motorists is increasing rather than decreasing. I've been riding a road bike pretty regularly since about 1980. As a young teen, I still did some of the things that engender motorist hate (switching between riding on the sidewalk and the road, running stop signs and lights), but riding with older cyclists who taught me the proper way to ride brought that stuff to an end by 1982. When I would get harassed back then, I just thought it was part of being a tiny minority. I was sure that as time went on, and cycling gained popularity, the nonsensical name calling (and other abuse) would stop. Though I never noticed a change through the '80s and into the '90s, I'm definitely sensing an increase rather than my predicted decrease now. Almost every FARK thread that touches on cycling has motorists spewing vitriol, referring to "spandex fags", and "Lance Wannabees" (why does no one refer to golfers as Tiger Woods wannabees?). And there is the infamous photo of a road race in Mexico where a drunk driver fell asleep at the wheel, and plowed into a pack of cyclists, killing one, and seriously injuring several more. It is a snuff photo, but, ha ha, it finds it way into just about every thread. Which are also full of posts by sociopaths fantasizing about running over cyclists who inconvenienced said sociopath by delaying their arrival at their destination by seconds, to possibly a few minutes. Maybe this guy was spared a charge of attempted murder by virtue of the fact that motorists really, really hate bicyclists.
I have probably posted this before but its interestingPlease Register or Log in to view the hidden image! A group of Australian researchers who were looking at risk factors for heart disease were reading a paper by some US researchers on "aggression" as a risk factor. So they packed up and flew to the US to talk to these researchers and see if their study would be comparable in Australia. When they got there and found what they considered "aggression" to actually be (basically blind homicidal rage i guess would be the best way of putting it) they realised they would have to exclude the study because there was no ability to correlate this with what happens in Australia. I have always found this story ammusingPlease Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Actually as I understand it, first degree murder usually requires it be cold blooded. I.e. the perp must have planned to kill the victim ahead of time. I'm guessing they felt this was a heat of the moment crime.
Well, if that wasn't obvious .... The North Carolina statute for Murder in the First and Second Degree (§14‑17): A murder which shall be perpetrated by means of a nuclear, biological, or chemical weapon of mass destruction as defined in G.S. 14‑288.21, poison, lying in wait, imprisonment, starving, torture, or by any other kind of willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing, or which shall be committed in the perpetration or attempted perpetration of any arson, rape or a sex offense, robbery, kidnapping, burglary, or other felony committed or attempted with the use of a deadly weapon shall be deemed to be murder in the first degree, a Class A felony, and any person who commits such murder shall be punished with death or imprisonment in the State's prison for life without parole as the court shall determine pursuant to G.S. 15A‑2000, except that any such person who was under 18 years of age at the time of the murder shall be punished with imprisonment in the State's prison for life without parole. All other kinds of murder, including that which shall be proximately caused by the unlawful distribution of opium or any synthetic or natural salt, compound, derivative, or preparation of opium, or cocaine or other substance described in G.S. 90‑90(1)d., or methamphetamine, when the ingestion of such substance causes the death of the user, shall be deemed murder in the second degree, and any person who commits such murder shall be punished as a Class B2 felon. Indeed, the charge should have been Murder in the Second Degree. Great. Homicidal firefighters and incompetent prosecutors. It's even worse than I thought. ____________________ Notes: General Assembly of North Carolina. "14-17 Murder in the First Degree". North Carolina General Statutes. 2007. NCLeg.net. August 7, 2009. http://www.ncleg.net/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_14/GS_14-17.html
Yep that's pretty typical. Comes from electing based on popularity to positions which require competence. JPs and Sheriffs are even worse.
Perhaps when they found out it was ONLY a pellet gun and not a rifle that could kill someone. Now don't go off , I know a pellet gun COULD kill if it struck the right impact point but the truth is the man who fired the pellet gun was only trying to cause shock and awe, not death, they thought. :shrug:
Though the caliber isn't specified, all of the stories are consistent in identifying the weapon as a handgun, and the projectile that struck the cyclist's helmet as a bullet.
I don't get it. He shot a guy because he was riding with his kid on the back of his bike on a busy road??? Did he think what would happen to that kid of the shot man crashed onto that busy road?
Too bad Mike Nifong wasn't around. He'd prosecute that firefighter for what he did...and probably for a bunch of stuff he DIDN'T do, too.
Statistically, you're much more likely to be a victim of both propery (burglary, theft) and violent (murder, rape, robbery, assault) crimes in South Carolina than you are in North Carolina, even though North Carolina has double the population. Pre-high school students in North Carolina public schools have up to triple the reading proficiency as South Carolina public school students, and well over double the proficiency in mathematics. Interestingly enough, much more money is spent on students, staff, operation, and overall school administrations in South Carolina than in North Carolina despite embarrassingly lower performance rates. You're also more likely to have a higher income in North Carolina than you are in South Carolina. I'd rather stay the hell out of South Carolina! Wouldn't you agree, Tiassa?
Well, hell, if we're gonna' stay out of states where serious gun-related crime or accident occurs, is there any state that we can actually go live in?? Is there any state in the USA where there is no gun-related crime or gun accidents? Baron Max
