Fatal Shooting, Expired Permit, NO Charges

Fatal Shooting, Expired Permit, NO Charges
Fatal Shooting, Expired Permit, NO Charges
Dean Weingarten
Dean Weingarten

Arizona – -(Ammoland.com)-On Wednesday, 16 November, 2016, two brothers decided to rob a Bucks County pizza shop in Levitown, Pennsylvania. It was just after 10 p.m. The shop had closed only moments before, but there was one customer left inside.

During the robbery, one of the brothers, Shawn Rose, pistol whipped the customer on the forehead.  The customer dropped to one knee.

In a fluid and rapidly changing situation, it is very hard for perpetrators to keep track of all the actors. It only takes a momentary lapse to give a victim a chance to strike back.

Rose looked away. The customer drew a .45 caliber Glock 30 or 36 from his pocket, and shot both brothers. Shawn was killed and Justin was critically wounded in the throat and shoulder. From nbcphiladelphia.com:

Shawn Rose allegedly pistol-whipped the customer in the forehead causing him to drop down to one knee. As Shawn Rose looked away for a moment, the customer pulled out his own .45 caliber handgun from his jacket and fired one shot, striking him in the torso, officials said.

Officials said the customer then fired two shots at Justin Rose, striking him in the throat and shoulder area. Justin Rose fell through the door of the store. The customer then aimed his weapon at the two brothers until police arrived.

Every fatal shooting is fraught with consequences.  In this case, there was an added complexity.  The shooter had a concealed carry permit, but the permit was expired.

Weintraub said the customer could have been charged however because he had an expired permit to carry a concealed weapon. They decided not to charge him “based on the totality of the circumstances.” 

“It was only months after his grace period for the renewal of that permit that ended,” Weintraub said. “He legally could have renewed his permit at any time and I want to emphasize that he should have renewed his permit to carry that concealed weapon. He was the victim of a robbery however and a pistol-whipping and that factored heavily into our decision.”

The District Attorney cited the fact that Pennsylvania is an open carry state in explaining his decision:

“If he had possessed the gun out in the open he wouldn’t have even needed a permit to carry at all,” Weintraub said. “Most importantly he used that gun to save his own life and the life of the intended victim, the pizza shop owner.”

If the DA had been an avid proponent of a disarmed population, the victim might have had to fight an expensive court battle. A decade ago, that would have been more likely. But today, many people have been educated about the Second Amendment, their rights, and the realities of armed defense of self and others. Public perception and attitudes have changed.

The reality of armed self defense is reported more now than it has been in the last 50 years.  The establishment media’s control over the information flow has been broken.

The more people become educated, the more they become Second Amendment supporters. The more Second Amendment supporters there are, the less likely it becomes for the authorities to persecute them.

©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.

Link to Gun Watch

About Dean Weingarten;

Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of constitutional carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and recently retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.

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Jim Macklin

All concealed carry license should be valid for life unless revoked for cause. If you’ve passed the background check and you do anything that makes you a danger to society, the license would be suspended until a conviction in a court.
It is a right and the Founders spoke of people who were not to be trusted.

Don R

I agree Jim but it’s becoming more apparent that it’s all about the revenue generated from the licensing fees……

Jim Macklin

It isn’t about the money. It is about making it as inconvenient as possible! Kansas charges $137.50, down from the 2007 cost of $150. The fee is split between the sheriff’s office for fingerprints and accepting and forwarding the application to the KSAG. The KSAG gets $100 which covers background check with the FBI and state records. Renewal in four years is $25, the cost of a records check. The KS CCH is accepted by ATF as a NICS check phone call. Some dealers still call in 4473s. Renewal generally takes a week and is done with US Mail and… Read more »

Dbltap2x

Damn Jim, that was knowledgeable.

Dbltap2x

The DA mentioned that the customer would have been legal had he, or she, been “openly” carrying their weapon. If the customer had been doing this, they would have almost certainly been disarmed by the actors, and the outcome would have been dramatically different in favor of the two thugs.

Frank

Or just maybe they would have given the pizza place a pass.

JorgeNorberto Pedace

MUY BIEN HECHO, ASÍ DEBEN SER TRATADOS LOS DELINCUENTES SON ELLOS O NOSOTRO0S

me...

He should not be charged. Anywhere is this U.S.A. there is NO permit needed for a unconstitutional Fed., State, or Local 2nd amendment permission slip according to the U.S.A. founding documents. The ONLY way that particular prohibition would be possible, rightfully, is with a constitutional amendment passed by the majority of States. (Not the U.S. Congress or U.S. Senate.) All of the States agreed to the Constitution when joining the Union and are legally bound by that agreement and are to uphold it. Unconstitutional 2nd amendment “color of laws” seem to be prevalent today unfortunately, and even more unfortunate is… Read more »

Tionico

Vigilance in more than just your immediate situation is wise…. we see here that includes one’s “equipment”, which, in turn, includes one’s Mother May I Card. (unconstitutional to establish as a precondition for exercising one’s right to arms, but that’s beside the point here). I can relate, though,, , a few years back I checked my driiving license as my birthday came closer… and was SHOCKED to realise it had expired…. THEYEAR BEFORE!!!!. There is a one year grace period to renew, with monetary penalty, but without having to start over with new drive test, etc. I went downtown straightaway… Read more »

Wild Bill

How long did it take for the police to arrive?

Gene Ralno

Charging and having this case make its way to the SCOTUS probably would result in a milestone ruling in favor of constitutional carry.

JaysGone

While my case didnt involve a shooting. I had been pulled over for a traffic infraction on my way of all places going to a gun range. I showed the Officer my drivers license and CWP and when he came back. He informed me my CWP was expired!!! Not only did he not give me a ticket he gave me the phone number of the local dept that takes care of permits. I had moved and forgot to inform the state of my new address. So they had no way of sending me the proper forms to renew my permit.… Read more »

S.G.

3 shots-3 hits. 1 fatal-1 critical. All while injured…..AWESOME PERFORMANCE by the victim. Sounds to me these guys picked the WRONG victim to mess with.

Jim Macklin

The life lesson that needs to be learned is that robbery might be 3-5 years or death or cripple for life. Stupid people think robbery is easy and only their chosen victims are at risk.

Yes, this citizen was lucky the DA was rational. A current and valid license to carry can be worth the cost of a box of premium 45 ACP every four or five years. The training in the Use of Force Laws is priceless.

Herb

You seem to have forgotten to report on how a whiny relative showed up and complained that the criminal brothers didn’t “deserve” to be shot just because they were committing armed robbery. Or, how about whining about being shot by such a large bullet, or how the criminal brothers were turning their lives around and had promising futures by going to college? Good guys and common sense wins, not criminals and their whiny relatives.

John Lacher

Lesson Learned here. Keep your CCW permit valid and always carry loaded and concealed with at least one extra magazine on you.