Dad shoots naked boyfriend caught hiding in daughter's closet...

[WesL]

I vaguely remember when this went down but had forgot about it until this week when the trial got underway. The link to the full story from WAFF is below but here is the quote from the story that sums it up nicely...

"Prosecutors say 50-year-old Fitzgerald McQueen caught the teenager in the closet of his daughter's bedroom at 3 a.m. and then shot the teen."

So what would you do? I think it is fair to point out the guy was 18 and his daughter was 13 at the time. I am pretty sure I would have done the same thing, especially at 3 am and I'm hearing strange noises in the house.


http://www.waff.com/story/34351236/...acher-accused-of-shooting-daughters-boyfriend

 

[Lori]

I vaguely remember when this went down but had forgot about it until this week when the trial got underway. The link to the full story from WAFF is below but here is the quote from the story that sums it up nicely...

"Prosecutors say 50-year-old Fitzgerald McQueen caught the teenager in the closet of his daughter's bedroom at 3 a.m. and then shot the teen."

So what would you do? I think it is fair to point out the guy was 18 and his daughter was 13 at the time. I am pretty sure I would have done the same thing, especially at 3 am and I'm hearing strange noises in the house.


http://www.waff.com/story/34351236/...acher-accused-of-shooting-daughters-boyfriend

It's a threat from most father's to their teenage daughter's boyfriend "You touch her and I'll shoot you" however, when the daughter is ONLY 13 and the MAN is 18...even so called consensual, I consider him shooting a rapist....the guy made a full recovery or was expected to make a full recovery, this father shouldn't spend a day in jail and should get his job back!

 

[Evan]

Tough situation. I always tend to err on the side of the person who encountered someone in their house in the middle of the night. Of course you aren't going to see straight and make clear-headed decisions. That's why burglars and dummies shouldn't break into your house in the first place.

An 18 year old should have more common sense than to be messing around with a 13 year old. And should know better than to be in someone's house at 3 am without the adult owners' knowledge and permission.

One thing that gives me pause is that the 18 year old was a family friend. In theory the father should have recognized him, even in the recently awoken state he must have been in. I'm not aware of the details, but I'm curious as to whether or not the father knew about the relationship or had any suspicion about it?

Finally, although this isn't mentioned, it wouldn't be the first time someone accidentally pulled the trigger when they were startled. That's why if you are a gun owner, even if just for home protection, you need to get real live fire practice at least once a year. More preferable would be 4+ times a year. That's just being responsible unless you have military/LEO background or extensive firearm knowledge (in which case you are most likely practicing more than 4 times a year anyway).

 

[WesL]

Ended in a mistrial. http://www.waff.com/story/34351236/...acher-accused-of-shooting-daughters-boyfriend

 

[Evan]

Reading the update it seems even more clear that the father knew about the relationship and was very familiar with the boyfriend. Really undermines his defense that he thought she was being raped.

As much as I sympathize with the father as a father of a daughter myself, I also worry about cases like these undermining legitimate self-defense claims or biasing the police in such investigations.

Unlikely this guy would ever re-offend and seemed to have a fairly good and clean life before the shooting. It would be in the interest of justice to avoid retrying him and instead work out a plea agreement. Maybe something like 10 years probation with an agreement to dismiss all charges if he follows the terms of his probation.

Something doesn't strike me right about how this went down. People are responsible for whom they shoot whether it is an accident or a mistake. In this case the shooter has admitted it was intentional.

Quite interesting to compare this case to the extremely disturbing one in Florida in which the shooter was found not guilty.

https://www.google.com/amp/www.al.c...guilty_i.amp?client=ms-android-hms-tmobile-us

First trial ended in a hung jury just like this case, but in the second trial the shooter was found not guilty on all charges. In addition, shortly after the trial ended, the victim died.

 

[Evan]

Here is a better article on what transpired in the Florida case:

https://navarrepress.com/?p=59362

To me it seems clear the shooter is exaggerating or lying his butt off. First of all, if he was able to go to his bedroom and freely retrieve his firearm why didn't he call police?

Although it was his home, he was clearly the aggressor according to even his own nephew. He was insulting the kid and acting aggressive and they were all drinking. As you can see from various pictures, the victim wasn't a very big guy. The shooter seems to have manipulated his story to fit the elements required for a stand your ground case. And, because his nephew had already fled, there were no witnesses. The victim was in a coma during the trial and obviously couldn't dispute the shooter's claims either.

Maybe it is just me, but I feel like this guy got away with cold-blooded murder. Pre-meditated, too, as he was baiting him and insulting him earlier in the night. What does everyone else think after reading the article?