Shooting scenario

[Scruit]

A guy (I'll call him Mike) (who is a 40yr old Venzuelan immigrant on a green card with 3 daughters born in the US and an American wife) was out on his property trying to shoot a racoon. He used his AR15 and popped off a round at the racoon from the prone postion. He missed. There is now a bullethole clean through the barn that downrange of the racoon at about 2' off the ground (remember he's shooting prone from about 100 yards, so the bullet was travelling upwards at a slight angle)

Two weeks pass and Mike hears from a friend of his that another man ("John") was shot by a stray bullet two weeks ago. He was shot through the calf, and the bullet the entered the ground. John lives about a mile away from Mike. Apparently John has outstanding warrants and didn't want to involve the police because he would go to jail for the warrants. For that reason he also did not go to the hospital, fearing they would contact the police. He is self-treating the wound - no word on how that is going - he may wind up at the hospital in a could weeks anyways if it gets infected...

Mike gets this guy's address, a map guide and a compass. Based on the entry and exit holes on the barn he can show that his bullet's trajectory would have taken it over John's house.

Dilemma: If the police get involved then Mike could be charged with a crime relating to the negligent shot. If the charge is a felony then Mike could be subject to deportation. Obviously his American family will not want to go and live in Venezuela, so it could potentially destroy his family.

However, if he keeps his mouth shut and hopes that John will not go to the police then he's in the clear.

Questions:

1) In your jurisdiction, is the charge likely to be a Misdemeanor or a Felony? The negligence factor was failure to ensure a good backstop and using very high powered rifle that could easily launch a bullet for miles...

2) If John decides to report it to the police then I'm assuming the police will investigate and could work their way back to Mike, yeah? Would the reporting delay affect how the police handle it? How long after the actual shooting would the initial report have to be before the police would be reluctant / refuse to investigate? 1 month? 6 months? They could probably find the bullet and get a rough idea of trajectory from John's memory of where he was standing...

3) What is the statute of limitations on the charge?

4) If Mike goes to the police and fesses up, and the police then contact John, get him the medical attention he has denied himself etc, process the warrants blah blah blah... Would Mike's honesty be rewarded in any way? Reduced charge? Not charged? I'm assuming that if the police have to come find him they would not be happy... Kinda like the difference between a speeder stopping to summon help for a pedestrian he runs down versus running away... Doesn't he deserve a lesser punishment for being honest?

[Norm357]

Two weeks pass and Mike hears from a friend of his that another man ("John") was shot by a stray bullet two weeks ago. He was shot through the calf, and the bullet the entered the ground. John lives about a mile away from Mike. Apparently John has outstanding warrants and didn't want to involve the police because he would go to jail for the warrants. For that reason he also did not go to the hospital, fearing they would contact the police. He is self-treating the wound - no word on how that is going - he may wind up at the hospital in a could weeks anyways if it gets infected...

Mike gets this guy's address, a map guide and a compass. Based on the entry and exit holes on the barn he can show that his bullet's trajectory would have taken it over John's house.

I'm not buying this. The round went through TWO walls and then hit someone a mile away? The .223 aint that damn powerful. I would make "john" produce the round or tell him to piss off. Are you sure your getting the full story?

[Scruit]

I don't know much about the .223 - I know I have a box of .22LR that warns os a 1.5m range - And that's a rimfire. I have a 22-250 and that fires very flat - I would easily believe that it would send a round for a mile.

I have a wooden pole barn with metal sides. My neighbor has a wooden barn. I wonder if the then metal barn would do much to slow a .223?


That adds another important factor... The bullet may not have been Mike's. The only way to find out, though, is to make it official and have an investigation. Otherwise it will just be hanging over his head for months. Or if it WAS his bullet then he could be charged, or if not then he could be exhonorated...

[Switchback]

The thing to consider, Scruit, is that these rounds can travel a very long distance, UNOBSTRUCTED. The .223 would lose A LOT of it velocity, and likely fragment, upon hitting the barn. I would venture to say that you would be lucky if it went very far at all after the 2nd wall of the barn (and that is assuming that the walls are very thin on the barn).

I could go over these ballistics with you sometime if you would like, but the round is very ineffective once it strikes even the most mnior of barriers (such as leaves). It quickly tumbles.

[sbrad]

Yeah, what Swithback said. .223 rounds are subject to fragmenting, especially when going through walls. That's what makes them so damn nice. Furthermore, I don't know exactly what the trajectory would be at 1 mile, but if it was 2' off the ground at 100 yards, I'm thinking it would be in the dirt at a mile.

[Lfpdlieu302]

as mentioned already the characteristics of the .223 would make this almost impossible. the .223 round also tumbles when it hits a solid object meaning that when it hit the barn the trajectory would have been all jacked up. sounds like dude might have just been shot by somone else. side note would be to tell your buddy not to shot at racoons with a .223 though. try a shotgun with buckshot. how did he get an ar15 anyway? i didnt think that somone on a green card could purchase a weapon (especailly something like an ar) without being a citizen. i could be wrong.

[Switchback]

I can say first hand that a well placed 22lr will do a racoon in.

[Darin]

I do very well with a Toyota on a 'coon ;)

[Switchback]

Lmao!

My dodge has a nice record against deer!

[Darin]

Oh and Scruit, in VA. he could be charged with Willfully discharging firearms in public places, if he was in city limits. If he caused bodily injury then it would be a class 6 felony in Viginia. But if he was on private property in the country then I'm not sure. He may could be charged with 18.2-56.1 Reckless handling of a firearm whil hunting. And thats a class 1 misdemeanor. We just went over these in an academy class last week.

[Scruit]

Lfp - I am in Ohio and have never had a problem buying firearms. I don't have an AR15, so I don't know if there are any additional requirements, but I have a pump 12ga and a couple of bolt-action rifles. I got them all even before I got my green card. I have never been asked for my immigration status.

Switchback - A 22LR would definitely take out a racoon - if you can hit it. I have a Savage .22LR firing winchester rounds and I get 8" groups at 100 yards - in a sighting vise! My 22-250 gets under 1" groups at 100yards with Winchester Varmint 4000fps JHP, but I would never shoot a racoon with this rifle/ammo - that would be kinda splashy... :eek:

[Switchback]

Scruit,

I know FIRST HAND about the raccoon. LOL HEck, I usually hit ground squirrels (chipmunks) at 30-40 yards without too much work, using my Savage Mark IILV... LOVE it!

[sparrow803]

Scruit,

I know FIRST HAND about the raccoon. LOL HEck, I usually hit ground squirrels (chipmunks) at 30-40 yards without too much work, using my Savage Mark IILV... LOVE it!

You What? :( That's just bad. You might have shot Alvin or one of the other chipmunks. Switch, (and the rest of ya) I'm takin away those rep points! :eek:

[Darin]

PETA will love you Switch! ;)

[Scruit]

My .22LR is a tackdriver up to about 50yards, and beyond it it goes to crap.