Keep Off the Grass
 

http://www.local6.com/news/8157594/detail.html

"BATAVIA, Ohio -- Irritated but calm, Charles Martin called 911 and told the dispatcher that he had finally done something about the neighbor boy -- the one, Martin said into the phone, who had been harassing him for years.

"I just killed a kid," Martin said, according to a recording of the Sunday afternoon call released by police in Union Township, near this city about 20 miles east of Cincinnati.

Martin, 66, is charged with murdering 15-year-old Larry Mugrage, who lived next door to the house where Martin kept a meticulous front lawn with grass that he could sometimes be seen measuring to the inch.

Police said crossing that lawn is what got Mugrage killed. Martin, who lived alone, told officers he'd had several disputes with neighbors about walking on his grass, but hadn't called police since 2003, Union Township police Lt. Scott Gaviglia said.

In the 911 call, Martin, a retired Ford Motor Co. worker with no criminal record, told the dispatcher that Mugrage had been "making the other kids harass me and my place, tearing things up."

"I shot him with a (word deleted) .410 shotgun twice," Martin told the dispatcher.

"You shot him with a shotgun? Where is he?" the dispatcher asked.

"He's laying in the yard," Martin said.

Mugrage, who police said was hit in the chest, was pronounced dead at a hospital. "

Fuck me... a wee bit extreme, don't ya think?

I guess the State Pen can be expecting a new groundskeeper soon.

scary.. theres an old guy up the road with a lawn like that, maybe I better not cut across it anymore haha

We have a lot of old people in Florida who's whole life is their damn lawn|huh Maybe I'll think twice before taking a short cut any more :D

So how is the lawn doing?

Better watch your steps...

That is insane.

By NO means am I with this guy but stay the fuck off his lawn. Shooting is extreme but why can't people and kids respect someone's wishes?

jaYMan lives near there...maybe he can drive over & give him a nice lawn job :D

Nah, I would have ended that bullshit a long time ago. I hate kids (and adults) who refuse to respect the property of others and take joy in antagonizing someone whom they know is sensitive about it. He should have shot the kid's parents too, so they'd be sure not spawn more little cocksuckers in the future.

I've found that a properly placed land mine field works wonders at keeping trespassers to a minimum :D

One of the news stations showed his lawn on TV. I was expecting some beautiful well kept lawn but it more looked like a lawn in crack town.

You da man! :D

A few years ago, while living in Calif...I had a very well maintained lawn. Actually had a gardening service at the time so I didn't even have to do it myself. Late one afternoon, I see a guy walk his dog right up into my front lawn...watch his lil 'poof' dog take a crap...then walk away...leaving the steaming pile behind of course |angry|

Now, being the good samaritan I am...and knowing he'd later miss having the gift his lil pampered pooch had left behind, I promptly grabbed a clear plastic sammich bag...scooped up the poop...and casually followed him to his home a couple blocks away.

He was sooo pleased when I rang the bell and handed him the gift...saying, "excuse me, but I think you left this behind". He never let his dog poop on my lawn again :D

The moral of the story? Shooting him would certainly have been an option, but I would have missed the PRICELESS look on his face when I handed him that bag! :D

With the new "stand your ground" law in Florida if the kid made threatening remarks or even looked threatening then this guy may have been perfectly within his new legal rights.

From the sounds of the 911 report Mr. Martin wasn't preparing for that defense so he'll probably go to jail but we're going to hear more of this stuff in the very near future.

You know that's great and all but how do you stop someone from walking across your lawn short of setting up trip wires.|thumb Or better yet booby traps. Ummmmm.... Booby traps now that's a good idea. Don't kill the poor boy just knock him on his|crazy| Arse.

yeah... in for a penny, in for a pound. I still think killing the kid was a bit extreme. Tying him up in a lawn chair and hosing the fucker down would have got the message across.

Shit... that would have left him open to being sued. Maybe not a good idea.

what the hell... maybe the old fart had it all thought out anyway.

Due to my own lack of |pokefun| mental stability, I have always lived my life under the assumption that most others were at least as fucked as me in some way or other. So, I tend not to seek out conflict with others in the non-cyber world because you just never know how they are going to react. (The internet is my only release :D ) And that's a lesson for everyone. As big and as brave as anyone may be, what makes you think that your neighbor won't wait in the shadows with a baseball bat in reaction to you coming home with your car stereo playing too loudly?

But fear not. I don't have a bat or gun. Or do I? |angry|

"lawn job" - boy, that term brings a few things to mind.

Alex

|jester|
I wonder if the ol' geezer thought about the ensuing 'bloody mess' that he had to clean up afterwards.|badidea|

That's just a bit too extreme.
Our lawn gets trashed all damn summer with half the kids in town over here playing baseball. The base paths will still be there when the snow melts.