New Orleans teen shot in the head by man who thought he was a burglar

[Caine]

New Orleans teen shot in the head by man who thought he was burglar: police - NY Daily News

A 14-year-old New Orleans boy was shot in the head early Friday morning after a homeowner said the unarmed teen was trying to break into his house.
Homeowner Merritt Landry, 33, who lives in Marigny, allegedly shot Marshall Coulter after fearing for his safety, and told friends and family he thought the teen had a gun.
Louisiana's Castle statutes — which carry subtle differences from the now-notorious Stand Your Ground laws — allow the state's residents to use force, "deadly or otherwise, to protect oneself on his or her property."

Despite invoking the law, Landry was charged with second-degree murder.

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The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports that Coulter remains in critical condition. Family members told the paper that while he can slightly move the right side of his body, he would have severe brain damage if he survives.

The teen had a few burglary charges against him, though his family told the paper that none of those had ever been armed robberies.

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[MaggieD]

New Orleans teen shot in the head by man who thought he was burglar: police - NY Daily News

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If you read the article, you'll see that the teen was shot in the driveway. He should have drug him into the house. I'm joking, of course. But Castle Laws should not be used as a license to kill all comers. I don't know what "the whole story" is, but if they charged him, apparently his story didn't convince them that shooting this person was necessary. The article also mentions that an unidentified witness's story differs from the shooter's account. Hard to believe there'd be a witness at 2 AM in the morning....

 

[shrubnose]

If you read the article, you'll see that the teen was shot in the driveway.

He should have drug him into the house.

I'm joking, of course. But Castle Laws should not be used as a license to kill all comers. I don't know what "the whole story" is, but if they charged him, apparently his story didn't convince them that shooting this person was necessary. The article also mentions that an unidentified witness's story differs from the shooter's account. Hard to believe there'd be a witness at 2 AM in the morning....

I lived in Southeast Louisiana for about 20-years.

Not wishing this shooter any hard luck, but i believe that he may have a problem. If the young man had been in his house, it would be a different story, I would never shoot someone just for being in my yard, but I might sic my dogs on them.

 

[ttwtt78640]

New Orleans teen shot in the head by man who thought he was burglar: police - NY Daily News


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The student, serial burglar and unsupervised teen was finally shown some serious consequences for his entitlement attitude. What did "mommy" expect to happen with a child that was out of control, even wanting him to be kept separated from his sibling and was prowling the property of another at 2AM? The nonsense attitude that others must simply put up with whatever behavior that a minor chooses to exhibit unless and until that minor "actually draws a gun on them" is simply insane. If you are really concerned about your health and safety then do not alert my dogs by being in my yard at 2AM either; if you reamin still, except for moving your lips, then you may get a chance to exit while still alive.

 

[ttwtt78640]

If you read the article, you'll see that the teen was shot in the driveway. He should have drug him into the house. I'm joking, of course. But Castle Laws should not be used as a license to kill all comers. I don't know what "the whole story" is, but if they charged him, apparently his story didn't convince them that shooting this person was necessary. The article also mentions that an unidentified witness's story differs from the shooter's account. Hard to believe there'd be a witness at 2 AM in the morning....

Perhaps that other witness was his lookout on the bicycle.

 

[ChrisL]

I would like to reserve judgment because there aren't very many facts in the article regarding evidence. I do think that shooting a person for simply being in your driveway is taking things a little far, but I don't know the story yet.

 

[rocket88]

New Orleans teen shot in the head by man who thought he was burglar: police - NY Daily News


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He was charged, and is planning his defense. That's the way it's supposed to work. Letting the cops play judge and jury just opens up the whole thing for corruption.

 

[justabubba]

look at the fence the perp had to scale to get inside the property
a history of burglaries
confirmed by his big bro ... here is the facebook page of that older brother. gives a sense of why a 14 year old kid is prowling the streets - and homes - of new orleans at 2am

https://www.facebook.com/david.coulter.319

again, the state is going to have to prove why the shooter's belief that he, his pregnant wife, and infant child, were in harm's way at the time of the shooting, was an unreasonable belief

looks like we now have zimmerman-martin 2.0

 

[Tigger]

I'm reserving final judgement until all the facts are in but.....

Unless the suspect is in the house it's gonna be a tough SYG defense.
Shooting for the head is not the best idea. Small target and shows excessive I tent to kill.
I wo see if the property was posted "No Tesspassing"

On the other hand....

What's this kid doom out at 2am.
Why does a kid of that age have multiple arrests already.
Consequences can sometimes seriously outweigh what you expect.

 

[Caine]

I am apparently a tard.

I didn't read the captions or watch the videos attached, just read the actual words in this article....

It would appear the actual writing does not mention the driveway, and after others posts about it I opened the article back up and looked closer to see the driveway mention.


I agree the fact that he was shot in the driveway area seems a bit more suspicious than I originally thought. I would have to know more about what happened between him being alerted to the presence of this kid and the shooting before making better judgement on the matter.

 

[MaggieD]

He was charged, and is planning his defense. That's the way it's supposed to work. Letting the cops play judge and jury just opens up the whole thing for corruption.

I pretty much agree with this. When I took lessons at the shooting range just after I bought my gun, the instructor told us that, if we ever shot someone in self-defense, to play on it costing about $25,000 here as, in all likelihood, one would be charged with a crime. *shrug*

The old "judged by 12 than carried by 6" thingie comes with a definite price tag.

 

[Crosscheck]

I pretty much agree with this. When I took lessons at the shooting range just after I bought my gun, the instructor told us that, if we ever shot someone in self-defense, to play on it costing about $25,000 here as, in all likelihood, one would be charged with a crime. *shrug*

The old "judged by 12 than carried by 6" thingie comes with a definite price tag.

The cost to you and your family for killing someone even if justified carries a very heavy price that isn't talked about much. My own family was involved in killing a wayward sheriff years ago that had an effect on all of us.

 

[ChrisL]

look at the fence the perp had to scale to get inside the property
a history of burglaries
confirmed by his big bro ... here is the facebook page of that older brother. gives a sense of why a 14 year old kid is prowling the streets - and homes - of new orleans at 2am

https://www.facebook.com/david.coulter.319

again, the state is going to have to prove why the shooter's belief that he, his pregnant wife, and infant child, were in harm's way at the time of the shooting, was an unreasonable belief

looks like we now have zimmerman-martin 2.0

OH NO! Say it isn't so! :shock:

 

[CHuDWah]

looks like we now have zimmerman-martin 2.0

ALRIGHT!! Z-M is getting to be:beatdeadhorse BORING! (and yes, that's sarcasm)

So did Coulter die? The NO T-P (quoted in the NY DN) says he's in critical condition. If he's still alive, shouldn't the charge be ATTEMPTED murder?

Whatever, IF 'Louisiana's Castle statutes — which carry subtle differences from the now-notorious Stand Your Ground laws — allow the state's residents to use force, "deadly or otherwise, to protect oneself on his or her property."' is accurate, Coulter clearly was on Landry's property. Given that he climbed the fence at 2 AM after casing the neighborhood, along with his criminal past, it's not a huge leap that he was up to no good. Yes, L would be better off if he had waited until C actually broke into the house. But if it comes to trial, the state will have to prove he posed no threat. I think that will be tough.

 

[specklebang]

A shot (even a blank) fired in the air or the snap-crackle of a stun-gun would have resolved the problem just as effectively and the defender wouldn't be in this kind of trouble.

 

[Caine]

A shot (even a blank) fired in the air or the snap-crackle of a stun-gun would have resolved the problem just as effectively and the defender wouldn't be in this kind of trouble.

This is mere speculation.

If I were you. I would with hold judgement until more information is available. We don't know what communication between the two, if any, occurred before the shot was fired.

 

[Goshin]

Offhand, here, I'm tending to favor the homeowner and hoping the charges are dropped. Taking into account the boy's history, he probably WAS up to no good... and I'm not going to lament having a burglar's career cut short. It was only a matter of time before someone killed him or he killed an innocent.

 

[Mason66]

New Orleans teen shot in the head by man who thought he was burglar: police - NY Daily News


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The news report said the charge is attempted second degree murder. The attempted part is important as the kid is not dead yet.

I would argue that the way the fence was set up, and it was 6 feet high, that was the enterance to his house and in the dark the person could just as easily have been armed as not.

Maybe yelling at the guy would have sent him packing but we will never know.

This will be an interesting case to watch because it is going to the Grand Jury like the Zimmerman case should have.

 

[Caine]

The news report said the charge is attempted second degree murder. The attempted part is important as the kid is not dead yet.

I would argue that the way the fence was set up, and it was 6 feet high, that was the enterance to his house and in the dark the person could just as easily have been armed as not.

Maybe yelling at the guy would have sent him packing but we will never know.

This will be an interesting case to watch because it is going to the Grand Jury like the Zimmerman case should have.

From the Article.....

Despite invoking the law, Landry was charged with second-degree murder.

Read more: New Orleans teen shot in the head by man who thought he was burglar: police - NY Daily News

 

[Mason66]

From the Article.....

I know but in the video at that link, the newscast, they stated he was charged with attempted secon degree murder, so it is who you want to believe.

I would go with the attempted because if they charge him with murder, he is obviously not guilty as the guy is still alive.

 

[clownboy]

If you read the article, you'll see that the teen was shot in the driveway. He should have drug him into the house. I'm joking, of course. But Castle Laws should not be used as a license to kill all comers. I don't know what "the whole story" is, but if they charged him, apparently his story didn't convince them that shooting this person was necessary. The article also mentions that an unidentified witness's story differs from the shooter's account. Hard to believe there'd be a witness at 2 AM in the morning....

Didn't see any mention of a driveway so I watched the video news report. The neighbor had a security cam going and it captured the teen climbing the guy's locked fence to get into the yard. He was shot in the yard approaching the house.

Shooting this thief may not have been necessary, but it was perfectly legal under the law in place. And it wasn't as if the punk didn't know this could be a consequence, he had the rap sheet to show he's a member of the thieves guild to begin with. Instead of broadcasting sympathy this should be a public service message to thieves in the future - don't break into people's property and steal their stuff, you could be killed/shot in the head.

 

[ChrisL]

Didn't see any mention of a driveway so I watched the video news report. The neighbor had a security cam going and it captured the teen climbing the guy's locked fence to get into the yard. He was shot in the yard approaching the house.

Shooting this thief may not have been necessary, but it was perfectly legal under the law in place. And it wasn't as if the punk didn't know this could be a consequence, he had the rap sheet to show he's a member of the thieves guild to begin with. Instead of broadcasting sympathy this should be a public service message to thieves in the future - don't break into people's property and steal their stuff, you could be killed/shot in the head.

To play devil's advocate, you are making assumptions before you know the facts. Maybe the kid was retrieving his ball. :lol: Okay, I know it's unlikely, but still.

 

[Caine]

I know but in the video at that link, the newscast, they stated he was charged with attempted secon degree murder, so it is who you want to believe.

I would go with the attempted because if they charge him with murder, he is obviously not guilty as the guy is still alive.

See, damnit, that is TWICE that the news article itself and the video information attached to the writing have told two different tidbits of factoids.

New York Post can SUCK IT.

 

[Caine]

To play devil's advocate, you are making assumptions before you know the facts. Maybe the kid was retrieving his ball. :lol: Okay, I know it's unlikely, but still.

Nobody has ANY business in my fenced in yard at 2am uninvited.....

Especially not someone known to break into houses and steal ****.

 

[justabubba]

Nobody has ANY business in my fenced in yard at 2am uninvited.....

Especially not someone known to break into houses and steal ****.

his older brother referred to him as a professional thief
said his redeeming characteristic is that he would not use a gun in the commission of his crimes
too bad the shooter did not know that