Man gets robbed at gun point trying to buy vintage cards on ebay
 

Posted By: <b>Judge Dred (Fred)</b><p><br /><br />I really hate to give tips out on what to do in the case of a home invasion, but.<br /><br />If you are a home owner and you have a gun you can go to prison for shooting someone that broke into your home (obviously while they're in your house). I subsrcibe to the idea that if someone breaks into an occupied home then all bets are off on how people will react, especially if both parties are armed. So, with that said here's some really bad advice:<br /><br />You discharge your weapon twice. When the police arrive tell them you fired a warning shot into the ceiling and the unwanted visitor made some type of move that scared/startled you and you shot the person. You damn well better know that the person is someone that shouldn't be there and not someone you know or you'll be living with that the rest of your life. <br /><br />First shot - kill the assailant<br /><br />Second shot - the warning shot into the ceiling <br /><br />I know that sounds pretty bad but why take a chance with the lives of your family. This may sound ignorant and stupid but maybe, just maybe those idiots that feel that they have to break into peoples homes to steal (or whatever else is on their mind) will think twice or three times about doing so if their is a sharp rise in the number of people that get killed doing so. <br /><br />Barry, I understand what you're saying about just letting the thieves have what they want but what if they're not satisfied and they did some unspeakable things to you or your family members. Could you live with yourself knowing that you could have prevented it? Everybody is different and will react differently to a given situation.

Man gets robbed at gun point trying to buy vintage cards on ebay
 

Posted By: <b>Rick</b><p>the guy said all the cards were certified.<br /><br />Im assuming this means graded by a third party...<br /><br />its a fair guess to say this guy did not own these cards....the victim should have checked websites and old auctions.<br /><br />a good movie about guns its " city of god"<br /><br />

Man gets robbed at gun point trying to buy vintage cards on ebay
 

Posted By: <b>Joe D.</b><p>very well said.<br /><br />

Man gets robbed at gun point trying to buy vintage cards on ebay
 

Posted By: <b>barrysloate</b><p>Fred- I have no idea how I would respond in this situation, but since I don't have a gun and weigh 148 pounds, my guess is he would win and I would lose. That's why I said I hope I never have to go there.

Man gets robbed at gun point trying to buy vintage cards on ebay
 

Posted By: <b>howard</b><p>Excellent posts, Warshawlaw. You too, Fred although I would suggest that if you are on the ground floor of your house the second shot should be put into the floor since your family is likely upstairs.<br /><br />I want to add that had just one responsible gun carrier been present at a San Diego McDonalds or a Luby's in Texas the killers in those cases might have been taken out after the first couple of shots and forty-six(!) people (including many children) might still be alive today.<br /><br />Howard

Man gets robbed at gun point trying to buy vintage cards on ebay
 

Posted By: <b>Mike</b><p>AMEN!!!...Howard<br />Mike

Man gets robbed at gun point trying to buy vintage cards on ebay
 

Posted By: <b>barrysloate</b><p>Those are extreme cases but I agree that would be the time and place for a licensed gun owner.

Man gets robbed at gun point trying to buy vintage cards on ebay
 

Posted By: <b>Bottom of the Ninth</b><p>This guy is back out on the streets someplace in LA. The DA's office will not tell me where he is living. The evening that he broke into my home, he was completely drunk. He obviously has an anger management issue and claims to suffer from PTSD from battle. The guy is dangerous and based on his training, he is a deadly weapon. <br /><br />I was disgusted with my experience with the DA's office. All they want is a conviction of any kind and since this was not a violent crime, by their definition, I guess it did not warrant spending the time and money to prosecute. I had to put incredible amounts of pressure the entire time to get them to prosecute on any level. The system is set up to punish after the fact and not so much to discourage or prevent crimes. <br /><br />Without help this guy will kill someone one day and if they care, it will rest of the the DA's office and to a lesser degree, the judge who did the sentencing.<br /><br />Greg

Man gets robbed at gun point trying to buy vintage cards on ebay
 

Posted By: <b>warshawlaw</b><p>"Kids get accidentally shot with guns all the time - which should be sufficient proof that many gun owners dont know how to avoid such a situation."<br /><br />No, it shows that nature weeds out the nimrods. But seriously, we do not outlaw all sorts of things that kill or injure simply because some morons misuse them; it fascinates me that guns are such an exception. Some old fart just got convicted out here for killing and injuring dozens of people by driving his car through a farmers market; should we outlaw cars or old farts? <br /><br />My guns and ammo are properly stored and properly handled. No one is going to get hurt with them unless I want them to be hurt with them.

Man gets robbed at gun point trying to buy vintage cards on ebay
 

Posted By: <b>Judge Dred (Fred)</b><p>The whole scenario of having someone breaking into a persons home is really a little unnerving. Let me see how we got to this point...<br /><br />Post about some ebayer that didn't exactly do a smart thing.<br /><br />Posts about guns and defending ourselves<br /><br />Posts about home invasion<br /><br />Posts about what we would do in these situations...<br /><br />You know, I think I need to steer this into a PSA bashing post, we haven't had one in a while now...<br /><br />Ok, how do I do this... some guy broke into my home. He found my cards. He found the PSA graded cards and started going through them all. He became very agitated because he couldn't figure out how a card with paper missing could warrant a PSA7 grade so he waited till I got home and then started screaming at me that the cards were really graded wrong. I told him it wasn't me that graded them and that I agreed. I pointed him in the direction of Orange County and some guy with the initials of J.O. He said he was going to set things straight with this J.O. guy. As he started to walk down the hallway to exit my home, I pulled my gun out and put a cap in his ass... not because he broke into my home but because if J.O. wasn't around then who else could we fight as common villain? Ok, maybe I shouldn't hit the sauce bottle so early in the afternoon....

Man gets robbed at gun point trying to buy vintage cards on ebay
 

Posted By: <b>Larry</b><p>Greg-<br /><br />That was a very serious moment you have described, obviously you are quite amazing that you can do baseball cards and many other activities with this traumatic experience under your belt.<br /><br />Hopefully your training and knowledge will deter this guy or any others from interfering with you in the future but always be prepared, I take that philosophic pill daily and never put myself in a position knowingly of taking unnecesary risks. Having a family, I feel more vulnerable but they all have been prepared and warned at the youngest age to be wary of strangers. <br /><br />It is most important that we never live in fear but always know that security is a temporary state and we must be prudent in our daily decisions. Meeting strangers with cash to buy baseball cards over the internet is stupid, period. The guy featured by this article was very lucky.<br /><br />

Man gets robbed at gun point trying to buy vintage cards on ebay
 

Posted By: <b>Bottom of the Ninth</b><p>Larry,<br /><br />Well said and thanks for the kind words. They say what does not kill you makes you stronger. It certainly can be a jungle out there.<br /><br />Take care,<br /><br />Greg

Man gets robbed at gun point trying to buy vintage cards on ebay
 

Posted By: <b>JK</b><p>Hey Fred,<br /><br />That's pretty funny, but you forgot to put a bullet into the ceiling/floor after shooting the PSA critic. <br /><br />So unfortunately, in your scenario, PSA is likely responsible for you going to jail. How's that for a reason to bash them.

Man gets robbed at gun point trying to buy vintage cards on ebay
 

Posted By: <b>Judge Dred (Fred)</b><p>Greg,<br /><br />I think that would be one of the worst things to have happen to someone. I'd hate the fact that there's some idiot out there roaming the streets knowing who I am, where I live and with a big chip on their shoulder to boot... I'm not trying to make light of your situation but I think a new twist to that saying about "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" would be:<br /><br />What ever doesn't kill you, just doesn't kill you...<br /><br /><br /><br />Barry,<br /><br />I'm one of those people that wouldn't know what to do if put into that predicament. All I could do is hope that my instincts lead me in the right direction. I'm not too bright. One time I chased an idiot out of a convenience store when he was trying to steal beer. I can remember the look in one of the punks eyes when he said (while handcuffed) I'll find you some day. It kind of bothered me. Never happened but still knowing some idiot out there has it out for you... I guess I was lucky that guy and his buddy didn't have a gun or some other weapon.

Man gets robbed at gun point trying to buy vintage cards on ebay
 

Posted By: <b>Anonymous</b><p>JK-yes there are reports of those accidents and there caused by those that dont store their firearms properly. But i believe that vast(like 99%) majority are very careful when storing firearms. Everyone i know infact has either a safe, or some kind of lock that would keep an adult from getting to it without proper tools, let alone a young kid. There will always be some story about some kid in a hicktown shooting himself with his pops rifle. but if you really want to get to the root of the problem, it was terrible parenting. Any parent thats too stupid to lock their firearms up around their children has no business having children. Guns dont kill people, people kill people. Even in accidental shootings like that, its someones ignorance that was the cause. Placing the blame on the firearms is the easy thing to do. But the real problem wasnt the gun, a five dollar magazine/cylinder lock couldve prevented all of those accidental shootings. You would think anyone interested in owning a firearm would educate themselves, but i guess thats asking to much of some people. Some states do have mandatory training to own a firearm, i dont know statictics on gun accidents in those states but maybe thats helped.

Man gets robbed at gun point trying to buy vintage cards on ebay
 

Posted By: <b>barrysloate</b><p>Dylan- I agree that whenever I hear a story about a kid getting hold of his parent's loaded gun, I can only think of how stupid and careless the parent is.

Man gets robbed at gun point trying to buy vintage cards on ebay
 

Posted By: <b>Damian</b><p>A 1954 Hank Aaron, a 1948 Jackie Robinson, a 1932 Babe Ruth, a 1955 Roberto Clemente and a 1956 Ted Williams kill people.<br /><br /><img src="/images/happy.gif" height=14 width=14><br />

Man gets robbed at gun point trying to buy vintage cards on ebay
 

Posted By: <b>anthony</b><p>1. whether through ebay or otherwise, i've only met 2 people in person for transactions...and both are net54 members<br /><br />2. with all those signs and his gut feeling, he's an idiot. his greed got the best of him as well as a beating<br /><br />