| Truck And Gun Theft Get Prison Time |
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| Written by Jeff Garvas | |
| Sunday, 12 June 2005 | |
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By: Larry S. Moore OFCC Senate District 10 Coordinator. The Dayton Daily News is reporting that a man who stole a SWAT officers truck and weapons was sentenced to 6 years and 3 months in Federal Court. The truck and guns were stolen from Fricker's in Huber Heights, which is just northeast of Dayton. What is incredible about this is not that a truck or guns were stolen. Unfortunately, that happens far too often. What is incredible is the defense attorney's logic about the case. According to the story; "The chances of choosing that particular vehicle are astronomical, and there was no way Ronald could have known what was inside," wrote Thomas W. Anderson Jr., assistant federal public defender." The attorney's logic somehow is saying that knowing what was inside the truck made a difference in the decision to steal the truck. Right! Notice the story also reports that the guns were traded for money and drugs, which resulted in the federal charges. It is not like the theft returned the guns or the truck! Meanwhile one way to satisfy Ohio's concealed carry law is to store loaded firearms in a case that is in plain view. That way the criminals may have a good idea if the vehicle they are stealing also contains a gun. Somehow I am not convinced that if the criminal knows there is a gun in the vehicle that it will stop him or her from stealing the vehicle. Additionally, the Ohio concealed carry law forces the CHL to leave guns in the trucks when visiting establishments such as Fricker's, which serve alcohol, regardless of whether the CHL holder is partaking of alcohol or not. What is most incredible about this story is that there are not more instances of vehicles with firearms inside stolen thanks to the restrictions contained in Ohio's ccw law. The Dayton Daily News falls a little short in their reporting since it is not clear whether the guns were recovered or are still on the street someplace. |