VA-ALERT: VCDL Update 9/5/11

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VA-ALERT: VCDL Update 9/5/11
1 recipientsCC: recipientsYou MoreShow Details FROM:Philip Van Cleave TO:vwaltman@verizon.net Message flagged Monday, September 5, 2011 9:44 AMMessage body----------------------------------------------------------------------
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1. VCDL picnic in Newport News on Saturday, September 10th!
2. Reminder: VCDL "pot luck" picnic in SW Virginia
3. Pneumatic guns now allowed in Roanoake County
4. Bars & guns: Gun haters lose again
5. Cuccinelli & UVA gun policy
6. Dicta on DC vs. Heller
7. Children banned from shooting events in 2012 Olympics ticket giveaway
8. CHP holder saves lives
9. Local gang banger sentenced in death of Lansdowne man and brutal attack on his wife
10. Honolulu police chief and state of Hawaii sued for Second Amendment violations
11. CHP holder faces murder charge after shooting fleeing robber


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1. VCDL picnic in Newport News on Saturday, September 10th!
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The Virginia Citizen's Defense League will be hosting a picnic in the Riverview park in the city of Newport News. The picnic will be held THIS SATURDAY, September 10th from 11:00 AM until 2:00 PM. All are invited, so let's fill up the pavilion!

**There is a list of items needed for the picnic.** If you can help, click on the link below to see the list:

http://tinyurl.com/43cf4fo

The address for the picnic is:

100 City Farm Road
Newport News, Virginia 23602
(757) 886-7912
nnparks.com

Thanks to EM and gun show coordinator, Ron Lilly, for setting up this picnic!


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2. Reminder: VCDL "pot luck" picnic in SW Virginia
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VCDL will have a family "pot luck" picnic on Saturday, September 24, at
the Settlers Museum of Southwest Virginia (www.settlersmuseum.com):

1322 Rocky Hollow Road
Atkins VA 24311
(about ten miles south-west of Wytheville, just off of I-81 at exit 54).

Lunch will start at about 11 AM -- with speakers to follow. Early birds
will start arriving about 10 AM to set up for the event -- all helpers
appreciated. This event is expected to end before 3 PM at the latest.

VCDL will furnish soft drinks; plates & eating utensils; napkins and
such. We do NOT plan on cooking anything so if your menu contribution
requires cooking or heating please bring your grill since there are none
at the shelter. There are limited electric outlets available.

Anyone having extra tables and chairs should bring them since there are
only 8 bench type tables at the shelter. Horseshoes would be nice to
have also!!!

There is NO charge for parking or entry at the picnic. There IS a
charge of $5.00 if you want to enter the Settlers Museum nearby.

Please RSVP with number of attendees to Al Steed, Jr. at:

al@vcdl.org


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3. Pneumatic guns now allowed in Roanoake County
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Roanoke County finally has got around to complying with Virginia law on air guns that was effective on July 1. I wonder if the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors are lenient with citizens who take their time complying with Roanoke County ordinances.

I'll bet not.

Tom Pike emailed me this:

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From WTOP-FM: http://tinyurl.com/3dcjue8

August 24, 2011

ROANOKE, Va. - Residents in Roanoke County can now shoot pellet, paintball and other air guns on their property.

The Roanoke Times ( http://bit.ly/rshIcW ) reports that the county Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to change the county's ordinance to comply with a new state law. The state law allows the use of pneumatic weapons when fired with "reasonable care" to prevent projectiles from going outside of the property.

Roanoke County's ordinance previously had banned residents from shooting firearms and air guns except while hunting.

Paintball parks and shooting ranges with air guns also are allowed under the revised ordinance.


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4. Bars & guns: Gun haters lose again
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Board member Bruce Jackson emailed me this:

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From UnionLeader.com: http://tinyurl.com/3j29ghr

August 20, 2011

Once again, hysterical predictions of death and mayhem have bitten the dust after the expansion of concealed carry legislation. When are the anti-gun nuts going to stop trying to curtail Americans' freedoms through fearmongering?

The Richmond Times-Dispatch of Richmond, Va., reported on Sunday a finding that should surprise no one. But it stunned the gun haters.

People carrying concealed weapons into bars and restaurants don't suddenly transform into bloodthirsty killers, it turns out.

Virginia legislators last year voted to expand the state's concealed carry law. Permit holders would be allowed to carry their concealed weapons into restaurants and bars. It passed over the objections of those who claimed it would cause shootings to increase. The opposite happened.

"The number of major crimes involving firearms at bars and restaurants statewide declined 5.2 percent from July 1, 2010, to June 30, 2011, compared with the fiscal year before the law went into effect, according to crime data compiled by Virginia State Police at the newspaper's request," the Times-Dispatch reported.

You mean that the presence of armed, law-abiding citizens reduces crime? Who would've guessed?!

Anybody who has studied gun laws would have, actually. Forty-three states, including New Hampshire, allow concealed carry inside establishments that serve alcohol. When was the last time you heard of a drunk permit holder shooting someone at a bar? It's not a common problem.

But the gun haters don't care about facts. They will ignore this study just as they ignore all the others. Thankfully, their long record of failed predictions has made them a weakened political force in places where common sense is widespread.


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5. Cuccinelli & UVA gun policy
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Apparently Delegate Toscano (D) doesn't believe citizens should be allowed to defend themselves on university property. Well, we saw how well that policy worked out for 32 people in Virginia Tech.

VCDL believes in the sanctity of innocent life and the right to defend it, but, as Delegate Toscano reminds us, not all agree with that principle.

EM Dave Hicks emailed me this:

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From The Cavalier Daily: http://tinyurl.com/3zfhcs6

By Caroline Houck
August 25, 2011

Virginia Attorney General and University alumnus Ken Cuccinelli opined in July that the University's policy prohibiting guns on Grounds does not carry the force of law, and therefore does not fully extend to those with a permit to carry firearms.

Although students, faculty and staff are still subject to the policy, visitors are legally allowed to openly carry firearms on Grounds - though not in University buildings, Cuccinelli spokesperson Brian Gottstein said in an email. Visitors who possess concealed carry permits, however, may bring their weapons into buildings.

"Because the University adopted a policy rather than a regulation, it has not 'otherwise prohibited by law' persons with a concealed carry permit from possessing a handgun, and, therefore, the policies may not be used to prohibit persons with such a permit from carrying a concealed firearm into the buildings covered by the policy," Cuccinelli wrote.

Crucial to Cuccinelli's opinion is the distinction between a "regulation" and a "policy." The opinion notes a Virginia Supreme Court case involving a similar gun ban at George Mason University. In that case, the ban was deemed legal because it was enforced through a regulation, which carries the force of law, and the scope was limited to the confines of buildings and other "sensitive areas" at the school. A policy like the University's ban on guns, meanwhile, does not carry similar weight.

"A policy is something that a governing body of a university could pass, while a regulation has to be created by a university through the Virginia Register Act, which means the proposed regulations have to be posted for public disclosure before being adopted," Gottstein said. "A 'policy' undergoes no such formal process, thus it is not afforded 'the force of law.'"

In accordance with Cuccinelli's opinion, the University has begun to review its policy, University spokesperson Carol Wood said in an email.

"We quickly began a review and are now working on how best to respond as a university given the Attorney General's opinion, and any changes will have to go through a state review process," Wood said, adding that there is no indication how long the process could take.

Cuccinelli's opinion faces mixed reaction in and around Grounds.

Del. David Toscano, D-Charlottesville, believes the University should have autonomy when deciding what to allow on its Grounds, whether the individual is a student, faculty member or visitor.

"I believe that the decisions about whether or not to permit guns on the Grounds of the University of Virginia should rest with the Board of Visitors and the administration of the University, and not with the heavy hand of the attorney general of the commonwealth," Toscano said.

Second-year College student Carter McCabe said she can understand the legal reasoning behind Cuccinelli's ruling, but she thinks the safety of University students and personnel must come first.

"Because it's a school, and they have to protect their students, the University should make that decision," McCabe said. "It makes me nervous that random visitors can carry weapons, especially in a building."

Fourth-year Engineering student Daniel Salmon said the University's ability to restrict his Second Amendment rights makes him equally nervous.

"If you leave it up to the University, you maybe make it more fair, but you leave the University and other organizations open to take the rights of citizens away due to their affiliations with certain institutions," Salmon said.


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6. Dicta on DC vs. Heller
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Joe Bass emailed me this reminder that some important parts of the DC vs Heller decision were merely "dicta" and not part of the actual ruling:

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Philip,

There are two things about the Martinsville City Council referring to Heller and government buildings. The part of the Supreme Court's decision relating to government buildings is not part of the ruling but dicta, which amounts to "talk" only indicating court thinking.

Even in the dicta it does not say that all government buildings are "sensitive" and gun prohibition applies to all; it says some government buildings may be considered "sensitive" and firearms may be prohibited.

Joe Bass


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7. Children banned from shooting events in 2012 Olympics ticket giveaway
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A foolish anti-gun British Mayor has decreed that children who get free tickets to the Olympics will be prohibited from watching the olympic shooting games.

Fortunately there are sane and reasonable voices speaking against that decision in the article below.

Jay Britt emailed me this:

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From London Evening Standard: http://tinyurl.com/3eodc6r

By Matthew Beard and Laura Roberts
August 24, 2011

Children will be banned from watching shooting events under Boris Johnson's Olympic ticket giveaway.

London schoolchildren are eligible for 125,000 Olympic tickets but these will not include any featuring guns, as Games organisers and City Hall fear a backlash from the anti-gun lobby.

Giving children tickets to the events, at the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich, could have appeared at odds with Mayor Boris Johnson's bid to quell teenage gun and knife crime.

A source said: "We decided it would not be appropriate. It's the only sport children will not be able to go to as part of the Ticketshare scheme."

The youth ban will anger some elements of the British Olympic shooting establishment which already feels marginalised by Games organiser Locog.

Georgina Geikie, 26, a Commonwealth Games bronze medallist and Olympic pistol hopeful, said she was "horrified", adding: "This is a chance for children to look at guns in a different way. They are taking away the opportunity for the sport to blossom. How do we educate people that it is a sport if they cannot watch it?" [PVC: Of course THAT is the point of this - to wipe out any chance of young people getting involved in sports involving firearms.]

David Penn, secretary of the British Shooting Sports Council, said: "There is no link between Olympic-level shooting and crime. It's like saying that a thief would use a Formula One car as a getaway car."

Christopher Graffius, of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation, said: "The Olympics represent the international peak of safe and responsible shooting. Children can see far worse on their TV screens and interact with far worse on their computers."

Many in the sport wanted the 2012 event staged at the national centre in Bisley, Surrey, so it would leave a legacy in the form of new rifle ranges. Britain's pistol shooters complain they are at a disadvantage because gun laws since the Dunblane massacre mean they have to train abroad.

Olympic shooters say theirs is a highly skilled disciplined and regulated sport, and reject any notion that it encourages gun crime.

But Danny Bryan, founder of Communities Against Gun and Knife Crime said: "I agree with Boris. It is good kids should enjoy the Games but there's no way we should glorify guns."

One in eight London schoolchildren will get a free ticket to the Games under Ticketshare. The seats are funded from a 25 pound per ticket levy on corporate packages. Schools have until the end of the year to sign up to the "Get Set" Olympic syllabus.

Apart from the London schools tickets, 50,000 tickets will be distributed to schools and 25,000 by the British Olympic Association, British Paralympic Association, Sport England and Tickets for Troops. City Hall's allocation is in return for the extra 625 million pounds London council taxpayers contribute to the Games.


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8. CHP holder saves lives
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Good guys 1, bad guys 0.

Teresa Sayers emailed me this.

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Good morning Philip,

I thought you would like this story. It happened in Mercer County WV, just across the Virginia State line outside Bluefield Virginia. The article is in the Bluefield Daily Telegraph online edition.


From the Bluefield Daily Telegraph: http://tinyurl.com/3pmn4z4

By Jamie Parsell
August 24, 2011

BRAMWELL - A McDowell County woman has been arrested in connection with a robbery at a Bramwell convenience store that left her accomplice and husband dead.

According to Mercer County Sheriff Don Meadows, David Douglas Roberts, 41, of Crumpler, entered the Pop Shop wearing a mask and armed with a shotgun. After a confrontation, he was shot multiple times by a Mercer County customer carrying an automatic pistol.

His wife, Jessica Persianni Roberts, 31, waited in the parking lot, Meadows said. The alleged robber was shot inside the store, but ran outside where he dropped the money.

"We believe the wife picked up an unknown amount of money," Meadows said.

She fled the scene in a Lincoln Navigator.

Jessica Roberts was arrested Tuesday morning in Maybeury and charged with conspiracy and attempted robbery. She could also face a felony murder charge, Meadows said

The customer, whose name has not been released, had a concealed weapons permit. He will not be charged in the incident, Meadows said.

"He felt like the guy was going to shoot him and the clerk," Meadows said. "He felt threatened and he took the action he thought was necessary."

David Roberts died early Tuesday morning en route to Bluefield Regional Medical Center. Jessica Roberts was arraigned in Mercer County Tuesday afternoon and bond was set at $100,000. She is currently incarcerated at the Southern Regional Jail.

Both the West Virginia State Police and the Mercer County Sheriff's Office responded to the scene. Mercer County Sheriff Deputy J.D. Gills investigated the case.


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9. Local gang banger sentenced in death of Lansdowne man and brutal attack on his wife
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Lloyd Reese emailed me this:

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Thought you would like an update on the Bennett case from two plus years ago when they were attacked in Lansdowne.

Sentenced to life plus 40 years. Note how brutally she was attacked, now on colostomy bag.

[PVC: Sadly, one of the victims had a CHP, but did not carry on that fateful morning and it cost him his life and changed his wife's life forever.]

Lloyd Reese
VCDL Member


From Leesburg Today: http://tinyurl.com/3zlqltd

August 25, 2011

It was the conclusion of a tense and emotional day in Loudoun Circuit Court when Judge H. Chamblin handed down a sentence of life plus 40 years to the 19-year-old charged in the March 2009 attack that left William Bennett dead and his wife Cynthia with horrific, life-threatening injuries.

Jaime Ayala, who was 17 at the time of the attack, pleaded guilty to second degree murder and aggravated malicious wounding in February, only days before his first-degree murder trial was scheduled to begin.

Chamblin said he had spent much time attempting to find the words to describe the beating attack, perpetrated by Ayala and two other men.

"Heinous. Reprehensible. Evil. Inexcusable. Unjustifiable. Detestable. Disgusting," he said. "And they don't even come close to how this court feels."

And the court's feelings, Chamblin continued, do not begin to show the feelings of the Bennett family, or Cynthia Bennett, who continues to recover from her injuries, or of the greater Loudoun community.

"The community doesn't deserve this. The community deserves to be protected from that and people are involved in that," he said, adding later, "I think the public needs to be safe and it will be safer without you being around."

Immediately before sentencing, Ayala read a statement he wrote. He stated that he "sincerely apologized" to the Bennetts, the court and the community for his actions and said there is "no justification" for what he did.

"Now I just want to make it right and change my life...I want to become someone I believe in." He asked Chamblin to "please give me a second opportunity" to live his life right.

William and Cynthia Bennett were attacked in the early morning hours on Sunday, March 22, 2009, as they walked along Riverside Parkway in Lansdowne. Authorities were called to Riverside Parkway and Rocky Creek Drive for report of a suspicious white van. Shortly after arriving on the scene, deputies found William Bennett's body near the Goose Creek bridge. On the stand Wednesday, 2nd Lt. Christopher Hines, who was called to the scene that morning, testified that deputies viewed a red stain, later determined to be blood, on the fence on the opposite side of Riverside Parkway. While searching the wooded area behind the fence with flashlights, Hines said something "caught my attention."

"Something raised itself up into view," Hines said. "I didn't know what it was but the other supervisor said it was a person. As we got there the person fell back."

Cynthia Bennett had been savagely beaten, but she was alive.

Two other men have been named in the attack. Darwin G. Bowman, now 20, is facing capital charges for first degree murder and rape. Anthony R. Roberts, who was 20 at the time of the attack, has not yet been charged, but testimony in preliminary hearings, search warrants and Wednesday indicated his involvement in the attack.

Roberts is serving time for the April 15, 2009, break-in at Loudoun Guns in Leesburg and a string of commercial burglaries that took place in Middleburg the night before Bennett was killed. There is no status of limitations on felonies in Virginia.

Cynthia Bennett was airlifted to Inova Fairfax Hospital, where Dr. Howard David Reines was called to meet her. On the stand, Reines described in gruesome detail the extent of her injuries, which included broken facial bones, serious lacerations to her head, and a brutally ripped hole in her pelvic region.

"In 30 years I have never seen anything like it," Reines said of the injuries.

In addition to her wounds, Bennett was suffering from extremely low body temperature-83 degrees-and abnormal blood levels, including a 6.8 pH level and very high lactic acid levels. Each of those, Reines testified, is usually fatal.

"Cynthia Bennett has basically redefined for all us here what it means to be a survivor," Commonwealth's Attorney Jim Plowman said in his closing argument. "Medically, she shouldn't probably be with us today. But she is."

Taking the stand, Cynthia Bennett said the first thing she remembers is being transported from Inova Fairfax to Mt. Vernon Hospital a few weeks after the attack. When asked by Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Colleen Hardy when she first learned her husband had been killed, Bennett said she thought she just knew.

"I remember having these dreams when I was under...not seeing the incident, but I knew he was gone. I knew from this vision that someone had killed him," she said.

William Bennett was a family man, she told Chamblin. "He loved his girls. He loved me. He loved his country." Bennett spent 22 years in the military and worked with the CIA.

"He would walk and hike the trails. Not just your local parks, the Appalachian Trail. He hiked the entire thing by himself," she said. "He was working on doing the Continental Divide Trail. He had done the southern half...and he had plans to finish the trail."

Cynthia, now 57, and William Bennett had plans for their retirement. He had already retired and was working intermittently, she was still working full time in 2009. But they had planned to move out west. They wanted to buy land, she said, and build a home, with rooms for homes for their two daughters, Jennifer and Samantha, to come visit.

"That's gone," she said, turning to Chamblin. "Now I have to come up with a new plan. A whole new future."

Sitting straight in the witness box, wearing khakis and a green-grey cardigan, Bennett's voice was strong. She said she misses her husband, her companion, her confidant. But she does not want to look back; she does not want to spend time remembering. Instead she wants to focus on the future.

"Everything changed," she said. "I need to make a new life...that's what keeps me going. I need to start a new phase, so make it exciting, make it challenging."

Bennett has fought a hard road back from her injuries, but said she is determined to improve. She was an independent woman before the attack, someone who did not like to rely on others for help. Now she walks with a cane, and cannot even get groceries from the store and to the apartment she shares with her daughter without help.

"I have come a long way... I consider walking with a cane a success," she said, adding, "People look at me differently. They see the cane and assume I have a handicap...I am just living in a different world than I used to."

She has dealt with numerous medical procedures, including plastic surgery to fix the broken bones in her face. She has seen gynecological and rectal specialists as well as a cardiovascular specialist, for an aneurysm on her right side that had to be repaired. As a result of the savage assault, she has a colostomy bag and she has nerve damage in her left leg that is likely permanent.

Jennifer and Samantha Bennett, both adults, testified about the care they have given to their mother since she has been released from the hospital-neither of them working for a long time to aid their mother. It was Jennifer Bennett who was first contacted by law enforcement and asked to come to Fairfax Hospital to identify her mother. At that time, investigators did not have confirmation the woman they had found was Cynthia Bennett.

"My mom didn't even look like my mom. Her face was swollen. They were pumping her full of fluids," Jennifer Bennett testified. "But then I looked at her hands. And I could tell they were her hands."

The Bennetts' younger daughter Samantha, who brought her mom to live with her after the attack, told the court about the first few days.

"I was waking up every hour to check on her to make sure she was still breathing," she said. "I imagine it's like having a new child. You just are worried and constantly checking on them."

Samantha Bennett showed a bit of anger at the damage caused to her family by the assailants. "We just have to sit back and wait for days like this where we have to relive it all," she said through tears. "And it sucks...but we get through it."

Samantha and Jennifer Bennett both talked of a father that loved them deeply, and pushed them to better themselves in everything they did. They talked of the love he had for their mother.

"I like to think that the reason why she's here today is because he was there with her in that moment," Samantha Bennett said.

They talked of William Bennett's love for his country and commitment to military service, how he even returned to overseas duty after his retirement because he believed that's where he needed to be to protect his country.

"And then he goes for a walk down the road and the same people he swore to protect take his life away for no [explicative] reason," Samantha Bennett said.

Chamblin set Ayala's two sentences, life for the aggravated malicious wounding charge and 40 years for second degree murder, to be served consecutively, and consecutively for any other sentences. Ayala is serving time for a home invasion robbery that occurred only five days after the Bennett attack, and a mob gang assault that occurred only a few weeks prior.

Chamblin also declined to suspend any portion of the sentence, as requested by Ayala's defense attorney Corinne Magee.

Magee argued that Ayala was only an accomplice, the driver, the morning of the attack on the Bennetts, and while acknowledging that he helped burn evidence after the fact, noted he was not responsible for the physical act. Sentencing guidelines, she said, were meant for the perpetrators, not for accomplices. She pointed out that Bowman's trial had been continually pushed back, and will now not take place until April, and that Roberts has not even been tried.

Ayala's brother Moises Ayala Lopez testified that he saw Bowman and Roberts in his brother's room the morning of the attack. While he knew Bowman, Roberts he said he had never seen him with Ayala before. "I know he is a troubled person," Lopez said. "He is very violent, crazy, delusional, not fit to be in our community." But Lopez said, an attack such as what happened, is not in Ayala's blood.

Magee said there is "no reason to believe [Ayala] had any clue that Mr. and Mrs. Bennett were going to suffer the blows of an evil man." Magee also noted that Ayala, from his first interview, had been willing to help make sure the parties responsible for the attack were held accountable. But, so far, he is the only one paying facing the consequences.

"And the wrath of the Bennetts, the wrath of the Bennetts' friends, the wrath of the county is all coming down on his head," she said, noting that without Bowman and Roberts paying a price. "We sit here with the person who was the driver."

But Plowman said that Ayala had plenty of time to decide he wanted to change and "make it right" between the March attack and his April arrest. He told the court of the home invasion robbery Ayala was involved in five days later, and the gang fight, six days after that.

"If ever a time or opportunity to make choices about the people you are associating with, that was the time," Plowman said. "If he ever had remorse, if he ever wanted to make it right, those five days probably would have been a good time to do it."

Later Plowman pointed out that Ayala only "talked when he got caught. If he wanted to make it right he would have come forward on his own."

That view was shared by Chamblin, who told Ayala, "In my mind, you knew, maybe not exactly what was going to happen, but I think you had a pretty good idea of what was going to happen when you stopped that van the first time and let Mr. Roberts and Mr. Bowman out. You let it happen. And you didn't do anything about it after it occurred. That was the time to make it right, Mr. Ayala. Not now."

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Note 3rd paragraph. William Bennett identified by fingerprints from his handgun permit (Loudoun Co. stopped bothering with them in 1998). http://tinyurl.com/3jcvjhu


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10. Honolulu police chief and state of Hawaii sued for Second Amendment violations
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Tip of the hat to the Second Amendment Foundation, which has been suing localities like mad since the DC vs Heller ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court.

EM Ed Levine emailed me this:

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My friend Chris Baker is suing Hawaii.


From Hawaii Defense Foundation: http://tinyurl.com/3fpb3es

August 24, 2011

Honolulu, HI - The Hawaii Defense Foundation's founding director and president, Christopher Baker, has filed a lawsuit against Honolulu Chief of Police Louis Kealoha, the Honolulu Police Department, the City and County of Honolulu, the State of Hawaii, and Governor Neil Abercrombie in connection with civil rights violations of the Second and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution.

The complaint filed in the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii by attorneys Richard Holcomb, Alan Beck, and Kevin O'Grady alleges that Hawaii's license to carry statute and various other firearm regulations are unconstitutional. State law mandates that citizens may be provided licenses to carry only in "exceptional circumstance" or "where a need or urgency has been sufficiently indicated," all at the discretion of the county's Chief of Police. The complaint asserts that this language violates the Second Amendment, which secures the right of all responsible, law-abiding citizens to bear arms for the purpose of self-defense. Additionally, the complaint also addresses the use of non-lethal tools for self-defense such as electric guns, which are banned in in Hawaii.

"The Second Amendment protects the right to self-defense. Everyday around the islands good people are robbed, assaulted, raped, or in the worst cases murdered. It's simply a matter of physics, the Police can't be everywhere to stop criminals from committing violent acts. We must be allowed to carry the tools that give us a chance to protect ourselves from harm," says Chris Baker. "We want criminals to have to think about the consequences of attacking someone," he continued, "but right now, nothing serves as a deterrent to them - the odds are in their favor."

Hawaii Defense Foundation (www.TheHDF.org) is a domestic not-for-profit corporation based in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Foundation serves the community by providing various services, such as: legal defense of civil rights, educational courses on firearm safety, self-defense training, and life saving techniques - such as first aid and CPR. The Foundation has many supporters and members across the State of Hawaii.

If you would like to show your support or are looking for additional information please contact the Foundation's Secretary, Erica Castillo, at (808) 664-1827 or info(at)hawaiidefensefoundation.org.


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11. CHP holder faces murder charge after shooting fleeing robber
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In most states, including Virginia, once a criminal has given up an attack, he is no longer considered a threat and shouldn't be shot. In this case the criminal is thought to have been fleeing from a failed robbery attempt on a CHP holder when he was shot.

Of course one easy way to avoid getting shot is to not rob people.

Ken Martin emailed me this:

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From the Charleston Gazette: http://tinyurl.com/3h5uwwc

By Rusty Marks
August 23, 2011

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Logan County authorities say a man who robbed another man at a Walmart store on Monday was running away when he was shot and killed by his victim.

According to a criminal complaint on file in Logan County Magistrate Court, Jesus Canul, 26, of Logan, was cashing a check at the Walmart in the Fountain Place shopping center at about 5 p.m. when he was approached by David Abbott, 37, of Chapmanville.

According to the complaint, Abbott held a sharp object to Canul's throat and took Canul's wallet out of his pants pocket.

Canul then pulled a gun out of his waistband, and Abbott started running away toward the store, the criminal complaint states.

Police say Canul shot Abbott in the head, and Abbott stumbled into the store and collapsed. Abbott died on the way to the hospital. Police say Canul was carrying the weapon legally.

Canul has been charged with first-degree murder. He was in the Southwestern Regional Jail Tuesday morning, held without bond.

Logan County prosecutor John Bennett said he needs to find out more about the incident before deciding whether to present the case to a grand jury. Bennett had not yet seen the criminal complaint Tuesday morning.

"All I've got is bits and pieces," Bennett said. "I'm hoping there were several people who saw what happened."

Bennett also said surveillance footage from the store may shed some light on the case. He said he will wait until the investigation is finished before deciding whether to proceed with murder charges.

The next Logan County grand jury convenes in September, Bennett said.





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VA-ALERT is a project of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc.
(VCDL). VCDL is an all-volunteer, non-partisan grassroots organization
dedicated to defending the human rights of all Virginians. The Right to
Keep and Bear Arms is a fundamental human right.

VCDL web page: http://www.vcdl.org [http://www.vcdl.org/]