Neighborly dispute ends with seizure of guns

CB63Medic

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I hope the Westfield police feel like they made a difference today...
Shooting threatened, guns seized

By Carl E. Hartdegen on April 19, 2013in Police/Fire, Westfield
WESTFIELD – A city man’s firearms were seized and he is facing at least a trespassing charge after he reportedly threatened to shoot a neighbor’s radio Thursday afternoon.
Office Luis Morales reports he responded to a 1:07 p.m. call from a North Road resident who said that a neighbor came on to his property, unplugged his radio and threatened to shoot it if the owner plugged it back in.
Morales reports the caller said that he had been listening to his radio when the music suddenly stopped.
The resident said that when he investigated he found his neighbor was outside and had unplugged the radio. When he objected, the man said that if he plugged it back in he would shoot the radio.
Morales reports that there appear to be ongoing issues between the neighbors and said that the victim is apparently in the process of building a stockade fence between the properties.
Morales reports that he next spoke with the suspect who admitted that he had said that he would shoot the radio and the side of the house but said he was “just kidding.”
Morales asked the man if he had a license to carry a firearm and the man produced one.
When Morales asked to see the man’s firearms, the suspect led him to his bedroom where, he said, the guns were locked in a safe.
He reports that a supply of ammunition was seen in plain view near the safe but eight long weapons were found to be properly secured inside it.
Morales seized the man’s license to carry firearms and the eight long guns.
His supervisor, Sgt. Alex Baginski, went to the North Road property and said that the issue is clear cut.
“You can’t do that” he said.
“Once weapons are even mentioned” he said, “we’re going to take the guns.”
Morales filed a criminal complaint against the suspect for trespassing.
Baginski said that although the boundary was not posted, “he hopped the fence to get in there.”
“Luis got him for trespassing, anyway” he said but added that additional charges are possible.
He also said that the suspect can expect to hear from Chief John Camerota about the status of his license to carry firearms.
 
Regardless if the guy is a jackass, If he didn't admit to the cop that he planned to shoot the radio, would there have been any grounds for the seizure?
 
Absolutely pathetic. What happened to settling things man to man? The guy who called the cops is a complete embarrassment to men/americans/humans/etc
 
Don't threaten people that make you angry, with a fire arm......

Added to my list of shit I shouldn't do. Funny enough... It wasn't on my list yet... probably because it's common sense... Do I think he should lose his LTC over it? Probably not... But he showed a pretty bad lack of judgement.
 
It's not about making a difference. The guy clearly is an idiot to run around and not only say that to the guy, but to the LEO. Then he proceeds on his own to let them in his house and open up another can of worms. He's not helping any of us out here and I'm sure there goes his suitability.

Is this the same town that was proposing their own AWB?

News to me. Westfield is very much a green city. Pro mayor and state rep.
 
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Cop shows up and asks questions, politely refuse to answer. If cop asks what your name is, politely give it to him. If cop asks further questions, politely refuse to answer. In other words, STFU.
 
Hard to feel sorry for the guy. Im sure he knew he f'd up when the cop showed up. Should of never said anything and it would of been his word against the other guys. Too honest (and talkative) for his own good.

ETA- Curious to hear from any LEO's reading this thread. If youre in this situation and one party is saying one thing, and the other is refusing to say anything, how do you handle it? I assume if both are saying something completely opposite of each other and you have no way of knowing which is true, theres not much you can do except advise them to file a complaint. What if one guy completely clams up?
 
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I worked with a guy 10 years ago who was the quiet nice boy would would flip out and go into a rage over little things from time to time. He was on my list of guys who could someday come to work and, well lets just say turn a good day into a bad one. One day the radios got to him and he snapped, went around to every radio in the shop and cut all the cords with scissors while they were still plugged in, next day he was fixing radio cords at lunch break. Boy had issues!
 
what kind of person feels like they have a right to go onto someone else's property, make changes to that person's environment, and then threaten to shoot their property if that person wants to revert said changes?

Bad blood between neighbors is an abhorrent thing.
 
what kind of person feels like they have a right to go onto someone else's property, make changes to that person's environment, and then threaten to shoot their property if that person wants to revert said changes?

Bad blood between neighbors is an abhorrent thing.

Well, I can see how someones radio could be " changing my environment", so I can kind of sympathize with the guy to some extent. Theres few things more emotionally draining then fighting with the neighbors. Constant tit-for-tat, on and on. F that. Ive been lucky in that respect, so far.
 
We had this problem with a guy down the hall in my freshmen year of college. The problem was easily solved with active counter measures - a frequency generator and a makeshift antenna. We would have to re-tune when he change stations though.
 
1. Guy who admitted to making off cuff comment AND allowing police into house is an idiot.
2. Regardless- seizure of private property is completely unreasonable.
3. At some point in American history, this would have never been an issue.
 
The gentleman was a dumbass, he made threats and then he talked to the cops.
That being said, Westfield is not a very firearms friendly town (green or not).
Chief John Camerota, probably needs to be removed from office.
Sgt. Alex Baginski, “Once weapons are even mentioned” he said, “we’re going to take the guns.” Sounds to me like a two faced dog killing jackass, way to go there super cop!
Office Luis Morales - Is just the type of patrolman for protecting dummies in Westfield.

smitty
 
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