Ben Nuckols, San Francisco Chronicle, September 15, 2009
A Johns Hopkins University student armed with a samurai sword killed a suspected burglar in a garage behind his off-campus home early Tuesday, hours after someone broke in and stole electronics.
Some shocked neighbors said they heard bloodcurdling screams in an area just blocks from the university. Police held the student, a junior chemistry major who turns 21 on Sunday, for several hours, but he was not charged with any crimes Tuesday, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said.
Around 1:20 a.m., the student heard noises behind the home and noticed a door to the garage was open, Guglielmi said. He grabbed the sword and confronted the intruder—identified by police as Donald D. Rice, 49, a habitual offender who had just been released from jail.
Rice was crouching beneath a counter, police said. The student asked him what he was doing and threatened to call police.
“When he said that, the suspect lunged at him, kind of forced the kid against the wall, and he struck him with the sword,” Guglielmi said.
Rice’s left hand was nearly severed—Guglielmi described it as “hanging on by a thread”—and he suffered a severe cut to the upper body. He died at the scene.
On Monday, two laptops and a Sony PlayStation were stolen from the student’s home, which he shares with three other students, but police were not sure whether Rice was responsible, Guglielmi said.
{snip}
Rice’s criminal history includes more than two dozen arrests for burglary, breaking and entering and auto theft. According to court records, he was charged in 2007 after he pulled a gun on a police officer, though prosecutors placed those charges on hold because the officer was on military leave.
Rice was convicted in 2008 of unauthorized removal of property and sentenced to 18 months. He was released Saturday from the Baltimore County Detention Center.
Several nearby residents said the community has experienced a rash of petty crimes in recent months, including home, garage and vehicle break-ins. Many homes have bars on windows and stickers advertising alarm systems.
{snip}
Kenny Eaton, 20, a junior political science major at Hopkins who lives nearby, said there was some tension between students and lower-income residents of nearby communities. The private Johns Hopkins is known for its health and science research and has about 4,600 undergraduates on its main campus.
“You take kids who are paying $50,000 a year (in tuition) and then put them out in a very dangerous city environment, it’s almost like a clash of civilizations,” he said.
{snip}
Guglielmi said police would consult with prosecutors about whether to file charges against the student. As in most states, self-defense in Maryland is defined by common law rather than by statute. People who confront intruders inside their homes have a greater degree of latitude to use force, and prosecutors consider whether to file charges in such incidents on a case-by-case basis.
{snip}
Original article
(Posted on September 16, 2009)
Comments
“Almost a clash of civilizations”? This sounds like revenge of the nerd. Good for him.I’m a lawyer, but it still sounds ridiculous that the police are even considering charges against the samurai warrior, based on the facts described here. I doubt anything will come of it, though.
It certainly is curious that a Baltimore, MD story like this gets published on the other side of the country by the SF Chronicle, yet a million riled up people in DC get better coverage in the London Daily Mail than most any mainstream dailies in the country. In any case there are multiple stories and links on this incident in the Baltimore Sun, but nary a one (save possibly a broken link to a Fox story) mentions race or supplies mug (easily retrievable from previous bookings) of “victim”.
Just a practical advice tie-in. When my house was burglarized the investigating Officer did a quick look see outside my window. He then walked over to a neighbors shrub and found 90% of the items missing from my home secreted underneath. He explained that in lots of break-ins a thief on foot will hide the loot nearby for pickup later. When my friends apartment was broken into I told him the same story and we found 95% of his items secreted in a drainage culvet steps away from his door. Like starting your car in neutral on a dead battery, it seems to be advice more often right than wrong…
Sounds to me like the student deserves an award for removing criminals from his community. But this is what I predict:
He will not be charged. This decision will cause blacks to protest. Je$$e Jackson, Al $harpton and others will make speeches denouncing the decision as “racist”. The student will endure threats to his life.
Let’s see: “Tensions” in the neighborhood; “lower-income” residents; more than two dozen arrests; yep, Rice was black, all right.
Notice how one quote is about “kids who are paying $50,000 a year in tuition”; that means “privileged White kids,” of course; and of course none of them got grants, are having to work part-time, or are the cause of a second mortgage on their parents’ home. No, indeed; all these wealthy White parents just wrote a check for the entire amount. Ray Charles could see that — right?
Look for the local grievance collectors to demand that the student be prosecuted for, at the very least, violating Rice’s constitutional rights. At least this White guy defended himself — that’s more than I can say for a lot of us nowadays!
Since he didn’t use a gun so all the anti-gun advocates have nothing to say about it.
Righteous Kill
Twenty-nine arrests and he’s still roaming the streets. Why wasn’t he locked away permanently decades ago?
Anybody know if the deceased was Black? With a rap sheet that long, he probably was.
Funny how “the system” couldn’t fix a years old problem that a sword took care of in a minute. This career criminal was obviously beyone rehabilitation with so many arrests at his age. One only wonders how many dozens, if not hundreds of burglaries and thefts he has committed in between stints in jail.
Thanks for the laugh! I must admire that Japanese technology, too. Still, for students stuck in like circumstances, a gun is much the better option. You never know when the other guy is packing.
This was actually a scene in “Pulp Fiction.” It seems that life in the US has turned into a Quentin Tarantino film, except that we can’t walk out or demand our money back.
The student is lucky that this didn’t happen on an on-campus dorm. Most (if not all) colleges and universities prohibit any kind of deadly weapons on campus; evidently, their grounds are too scared. Had this happened on campus, the student would have been tossed out on his ear b/c of the sword.
This is my favorite quote from the original story: “Guglielmi did not know why the student kept a sword. He said he may have had some martial arts training, but was not an expert.”
So you have to have a “reason” to have a sword in your home? What difference does it make- unless you are trying to make a case that someone must have a “reason” to possess a weapon.
You take kids who are paying $50,000 a year (in tuition) and then put them out in a very dangerous city environment, it’s almost like a clash of civilizations, he said.
And as far as “dangerous city environment” goes - how dangerous would our city environments be if they didn’t contain any blacks?
I don’t think it is very likely that race will enter into this. What made this story stand out was the the fact that he used a samurai sword.
“Twenty-nine arrests and he’s still roaming the streets. Why wasn’t he locked away permanently decades ago?”
Twenty-nine arrests! And those are only the crimes that were discovered and he was arrested for. How many others were there? Imagine how much grief and fear he brought into the lives of many, many people over a long course of time!
In a just and sane society, instead of prosecuting the young man who defended himself, it is the “authorities” who allowed that multiple felon to continue to go free to terrorize the community for years, who should be the ones that are prosecuted!
As Wayne Eagle said, he may get charged with violating the perp’s “Constitutional Rights”. I’ve never figured out what that means. The right to life? (Not in the Constitution, but the Declaration of Independence.) If so, how about the victim’s right to life, as well as liberty and pursuit of happiness?
Actually, here, I really don’t care what the races of the men involved were, as long as a career criminal is dead.
“Some shocked neighbors said they heard bloodcurdling screams…”
When I read that, I smile, knowing the screams were from the perp. This needs to happen more often.
“Rice was convicted in 2008 of unauthorized removal of property…”
Do they mean “theft”? Perhaps the paper will start referring to bank robberies as “unauthorized withdrawls”?
Not only can they be ornamental, swords have a definite usefulness. Naturally, firearms have their advantages, but I’m certain that circumstances can arise in a conflict, such as that in this article, when a sword would be a handy thing to have within reach. I think I’ll buy one or two.
What I cannot understand is why Johns Hopkins University (and its medical school and hospital), doesn’t completely relocate out of Baltimore to a more salubrious district that would actually be grateful for the income generated.
Now that this story has gone national, how long before some legislator or city councilman introduces a bill calling for “sword control”. Or just make it flat out illegal to own a samurai sword in Baltimore or for the state of Maryland. I’m sure the Baltimore DA is dying to charge this man with something, but that wouldn’t look good considering that recently deceased has probably been in and out of the system since he was 13.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryland_self-defense
“Notice how one quote is about “kids who are paying $50,000 a year in tuition”; that means “privileged White kids,” of course”
The percentage of ethnic Europeans at major colleges is low. Most are the dumb offspring of old money like the Bushes and Kennedys.
I own several swords. They are all properly made using the same methods used hundreds of years ago. You’d be surprised how many cheap badly balanced, rattail tanged, 440 steel imitations fall into the hands of idiots. Unlike those idiots I have taken the time to study the craftmanship and the art of using these weapons properly. This kid had a right to defend himself, even though I’m sure he is an idiot and this was a cheaply made imitation. I just hope this doesn’t lead to a ban on my hobby.
My boyfriend (now husband) moved out of that area a year and a half ago. He was getting tired of hearing “nearby” gun shots and screaming and yelling underneath his windows every other night. The Hopkins cops have beefed up security, but it seems as though the cops were mostly visible in the shopping area by Barnes & Noble and the new apartment complexes, not the older houses which are a block or two out.
From ground-zero:
Rice is a 49-year-old black male. He has 29 (yes, 29) previous convictions. He was released from the Baltimore County Detention Center (on an auto theft charge) on Saturday, then killed during the burglary on Tuesday. He lunged at the student with both hands raised - the student struck once in a downward motion, the cut beginning around the suspect’s ear, across the side of the neck, and finally across the lower end of the forearm (resulting in the severed hand). The wounds were fatal and Rice bled out before an ambulance could arrive.
I’ve worked patrol in the area around the Hopkins campus. It’s actually a beautiful neighborhood, but, like many other beautiful places in Baltimore (such as Roland Park or Bolton Hill), it is surrounded by an African Beirut.
Hopkins students are easy prey, as they tend to be well-mannered intellectuals who are thoroughly unprepared for the realities of living within blocks of an urban ghetto.
Years of politically correct, multicultural brainwashing has predisposed them to instant victim status.
The deceased suspect’s sister, a real piece of work in her own right, has been blathering on local TV about what right did the student have to go outside in his yard when he heard a noise.
The only thing keeping the Hopkins student out of jail right now is the immense outpouring of public support. There is an overwhelming sense of “Good Riddance” towards Rice.
21 — concernicus wrote at 5:39 PM on September 17:
“I own several swords. They are all properly made using the same methods used hundreds of years ago. You’d be surprised how many cheap badly balanced, rattail tanged, 440 steel imitations fall into the hands of idiots. Unlike those idiots I have taken the time to study the craftmanship and the art of using these weapons properly. This kid had a right to defend himself, even though I’m sure he is an idiot and this was a cheaply made imitation. I just hope this doesn’t lead to a ban on my hobby”
Nobody cares about you or your swords, and certainly not how they were made. What is your reasoning for calling this kid an “idiot”?? Why are you so convinced he has a “cheaply made imitation”?? Did you go to a school as academically challenging as John Hopkins??
11 Question Diversity: A good Estwing claw hammer and a couple screwdrivers are serviceable weapons in a pinch, and are legal in all 50 states, and I suppose on all campuses too.
21 Concernicus: A book suggestion. “The Art of Blacksmithing”, by Alex W. Bealer, has a long chapter devoted specifically to the techniques of making weapons.
From ground-zero:
Rice is a 49-year-old black male. He has 29 (yes, 29) previous convictions. He was released from the Baltimore County Detention Center (on an auto theft charge) on Saturday, then killed during the burglary on Tuesday. He lunged at the student with both hands raised - the student struck once in a downward motion, the cut beginning around the suspect’s ear, across the side of the neck, and finally across the lower end of the forearm (resulting in the severed hand). The wounds were fatal and Rice bled out before an ambulance could arrive.
I’ve worked patrol in the area around the Hopkins campus. It’s actually a beautiful neighborhood, but, like many other beautiful places in Baltimore (such as Roland Park or Bolton Hill), it is surrounded by an African Beirut.
Hopkins students are easy prey, as they tend to be well-mannered intellectuals who are thoroughly unprepared for the realities of living within blocks of an urban ghetto.
Years of politically correct, multicultural brainwashing has predisposed them to instant victim status.
The deceased suspect’s sister, a real piece of work in her own right, has been blathering on local TV about what right did the student have to go outside in his yard when he heard a noise.
The only thing keeping the Hopkins student out of jail right now is the immense outpouring of public support. There is an overwhelming sense of “Good Riddance” towards Rice.
We’ve been told of the public need for Cash for Clunkers; why not Swords for Students??
Well… A little brutal but refreshing! Cheers to an Ivy leager that was man enough to dispatch this unfortunate criminal that was cornered like a rat in a garage. In truth of course this is a sad ending of a mans life but when people chose to prey on humanity, what is the option? Somewhere I remember reading how A pope Sixtus, I think, in the sixth century set about reclaiming a filthy Rome littered with street rif raf with an urban renewel project of rounding up the vagrants and dispatching them to the hereafter*. I think he chose to “turn (their) cheeks”,not a bad option.
It is imperative in this era to know how to defend yourself with a gun, blade, or improvised weapon (hammer, pipe wrench, baseball bat etc.) This is particularly true if one lives near one of our major urban centers like Detroit. Learn how to defend yourself, practice and continue to practice. Your life and the lives of your loved ones could depend on it. Black & Hispanic criminals tend to see whites (and Asians) as “easy” prey. It is time to change that. Kudos to this young college student for having the courage to defend himself.
“He had 29 previous convictions”,,,,
And those were just the crimes for which he was CAUGHT! Who knows how many crimes he committed during the course of his life for which he DIDN’T get caught. God only knows how much damage this criminal did to society. Now watch his relatives say how he was such a “good guy” and “was turning his life around”.
In a way, I envy this young man. Twice in my life I have been cornered at night by pairs of thugs, and ducked into the heavy shadows of a garden or weed patch, waiting with my knife. Both times, the predators chose not to walk blindly into my reach. Life is full of missed opportunities, but this stout fellow would not be denied. Bravo.
A good source for useable swords is Atlanta Cutlery. I bought my claymore from them (my wife and I were married in our respective traditional ethnic attire) and it holds a very keen edge.
26 — Quiet Professional wrote at 10:06 PM on September 17:
“The deceased suspect’s sister, a real piece of work in her own right, has been blathering on local TV about what right did the student have to go outside in his yard when he heard a noise.”
That comment got me curious, so I decided to investigate further. Here is the last paragraph of the Associated Press story on the incident:
“Rice’s sister, Peggy Rice, told WJZ-TV in Baltimore Wednesday that her brother did not deserve to die and that the student should be charged.”
Surprise, surprise.
Fortunately, it appears the “15 Minute Clock” has run out on Ms. Rice.
Almost without exception, the public here in Baltimore has washed its hands of Mr. Rice. A 29-time loser? Sneaking around in someone’s back yard? There is no sympathy for the deceased, and, as a result, no traction to any more of the story.
What I find curious is that the usual “three strikes” law was not applied to lock Rice up for life. The burglary, breaking & entering and auto theft are all felony charges; three separate felonies gets the perp life without parole as a “habitual offender” in most states, including California.
What in blue blazes are we paying the courts for, if not to keep guys like Rice away from us? His convictions appear to be property crimes (except for the felony menacing charge that was on hold), but surely insurance rates are high enough already without folks like Rice on the loose!
