Slashdot Mirror
Teen Allegedly Broke Into a Couple's Home To Ask For Their WiFi Password, Police Say (washingtonpost.com)
A 17-year-old has been accused of breaking into a couple's home in Northern California and asking for their WiFi password, hours after he had asked nearby neighbors for theirs, authorities said. From a report: Police in Palo Alto said the teen, whose name has not been released, went to a home in Silicon Valley late Saturday and asked to use the residents' WiFi network "because he was out of data," before stealing their bicycle. Then just after midnight Sunday, police said, he broke into a nearby home, woke up a sleeping couple and asked them for their password. The male resident "pushed him down the hallway and out the front door of the house before calling police," police said in a statement. Palo Alto Police Sgt. Dan Pojanamat told The Washington Post on Friday that it's unclear whether the juvenile suspect was really seeking WiFi access or whether it was simply an excuse, saying that "the real issue is the fact that he entered a house that was occupied."
Everyone knows the password is written on the router.
"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K
So you're saying that it would have been a better outcome if this teenager had been killed for this non-violent offense?
Oh, and by the way, someone should tell Californians that they "can't really own a gun anymore", because we are the state with the second-most gun owners in the entire country.
You are welcome on my lawn.
You're obviously not familiar with castle doctrine. In a castle doctrine state (which surprisingly, California is), the mere presence of an intruder in your residence is considered a threat to your life, and you can immediately respond with deadly force. It doesn't matter if they're unarmed or not.
This comes with a couple limitations:
1. You generally cannot "bait" someone into the property and then shoot them. IE, you can't leave your front door open with a stack if cash sitting in the living room while you wait in the corner with a gun.
2. Though they are immediately considered a threat, if they obviously become a threat no longer, then you cannot then use deadly force. IE, you can't tie someone up and then shoot them, or as in one case that I'm aware of, a home owner shot a teen intruder in his home, she was still alive and he walked up and shot her point blank in the head to "finish her off". The initial shot would have likely been fine - the "finishing" shot got him convicted.
Other than that though, if you're in a castle doctrine state, if you - as a genuine surprise - find any intruder in your home or dwelling you're clear to shoot immediately.
"People who think they know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."-Mark Twain
Don't forget the psychological trauma on the guy that shot him; killing another person, especially when you find out later that he was unarmed and no actual threat, is NOT something you just shrug off because the law says it was okay to do so.
-=This sig has nothing to do with my comment. Move along now=-
Somehow, this reminds me of the joke about the hunter calling 911.
Operator: 911. What's your emergency?
Hunter: I think I just killed my hunting partner.
Operator: Okay, first I need you to check to make sure he's dead.
[Sound of a gunshot]
Hunter: Okay. Now what?
Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.
It wasn't murder, though it was the result of stupid actions on both sides.
1. Party A should not have parked in the handicapped spot.
2. Party B should not have said anything about it.
3. Party A should not have escalated the situation to violence by coming out and shoving the man to the ground and then continuing towards him.
Although both parties made mistakes, the reality is that when the guy came out of the store and shoved him to the ground that was a physical attack. Whether he poked his nose where it didn't belong or not, he's not legally obligated to be beat (potentially to death) over it.
Basically everyone try to play nice, but above all keep your hands to yourself. If you take a confrontation from verbal to physical it can have consequences.
"People who think they know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."-Mark Twain
The real issue is the fact that he entered a house that was occupied.
-Sgt. Dan Pojanamat
No, Dan. The issue is the fact that he broke into a house that wasn't his. The fact the it was occupied means you can't just ignore it this time.
Fix your fucking city.
He had a canned excuse ready just in case he ran into a resident while trying to burglarize the home.
From TFA:
Police said surveillance video showed that he had moved the bicycle from their backyard to their front yard before asking for their password. When the residents told him to leave, police said, he rode away on it.
Did he need to move the bike to the front yard before asking for a password? The cops likely know this, and it's only newsworthy because his prepared lie was so ridiculous.