Say WHAT?!?

[LikaNui]

Two items from today's Advertiser website:

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/a...0/br/br05p.html :

"A 16-year-old boy was arrested at about noon yesterday at Campbell High School after school security workers reported taking a handgun away from him. Police said school officials got an anonymous call that a student had a handgun on the school grounds. Campus security workers were told about the complaint and located the boy, who turned over the gun to them. The boy was arrested on suspicion of failing to keep a firearm in a proper place."

Excuse me, but WHAT?!? "Failing to keep a firearm in a proper place"? There is no proper place for a 16 year-old to keep a gun at all!

And then item #2:

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/a...0/br/br04p.html :

"According to a police homicide investigator's statement filed in court, Baccam walked into the Wahiawa Police Station and told officers 'that he had shot and killed someone on this farm (Monday) night and that he felt bothered by it all night long.'"

He killed someone and then felt bothered by it all night. How sweet.

[Erika Engle]

Re: Laugh, or cry?

Hey Lika,

Far be it for me to defend anything in the Advertiser -- and that's not really what I'm doing here. I just wish to offer an explanation.

From back in my daily police reporting days, I can tell you that the handgun line was written the way it was because of the funny way cops describe the charge as "place to keep."

I knew that phrase would mean nothing to my listeners, so I always used the term "firearms charge" or "firearms violation."

The gun charge is just the beginning of this chapter of trouble in that lad's life. He's probably looking at expulsion from school, per DOE Chapter 19 disciplinary guidelines.

[Glen Miyashiro]

Re: Say WHAT?!?

It's not against the law to own a handgun, so the police couldn't arrest the kid for that. Ergo the other charge. It is against school rules to bring a weapon on campus, so he'll likely get a severe suspension -- but that's not the police acting, that's the school administration.

[LikaNui]

Re: Say WHAT?!?

It's not against the law for a minor to own a handgun?

Um... why not, exactly? I mean, what possible reason could there be for a minor to own a handgun?

[Glen Miyashiro]

Re: Say WHAT?!?

Ehh. You're right, the kid's probably in trouble for that too. I'm not a firearms expert. Here's the law on firearms. On skimming it, there are minimum ages for obtaining a license to acquire, for owning, for carrying, and for who you can lend them to. It's pretty clear that a 16-year-old is too young to do any of these things.

My guess is that some of these violations take additional information-gathering, while the original charge is cut-and-dried enough that it was the quickest violation they could hit him with. The others will probably follow as the case is investigated.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Say WHAT?!?

How about simple possession of a firearm period! But then again Erika you can probably vouch for me that the reporter who files the story doesn't exactly write the headline that accompanies the story right?

I saw this in one of those funny headline books: "Police found the bodies of a mother and daughter at the bottom of a lake bound and gagged together. Officials suspect foul play". Ummm I guess so.

Then there's Guy Hagi's weather teaser before the break in the news: "Better break out the umbrellas for tomorrow, I'll tell you why after the break". Okay because there's good chance of rain? Hmmmm...

And to that farmer who shot and killed that scumbag who would have cost taxpayers thousands of dollars to incarcerate or rehabilitate..."Thank you for saving our tax dollars for Lingle to spend. I hope you're found innocent and given a medal for making our islands a safer place from this "several time convicted felon" who finally found justice with a wad of lead balls in his okole. He should run for mayor, this candidate walks with a big stick.

AND I hope that thief's family doesn't say the typical stupid remark, "He was such a nice man he didn't deserve to die that way" yeah right which way then, as a hero? Then they should've sent him to Iraq with explosives wrapped around his body and do it the Iraqi way, now that's blood and guts.

I'm sure Perry and Price had a lot to say about that incident.