Anthony Diotaiuto update

Sun-Sentinel reports:

Police seized 2 ounces of marijuana at the Sunrise home of Anthony Diotaiuto after shooting him 10 times, according to information on the drug raid released Tuesday.

[...]

In addition to the marijuana, Voss said, officers seized plastic bags and weight scales from Diotaiuto's home. Possession of 2 ounces of marijuana is a felony, according to state statutes.

So maybe my condemnation was too swift. Or maybe they screwed up. It seems pretty shabby to treat him like Manuel Noriega because he had 2 ounces of weed. I still don't like it. As for "plastic bags and weight scales," I have those as well. Who doesn't have plastic ziplock bags in their house? I suppose many people own a small dietary scale such as I have to weigh food portions. I still don't like it.

It takes a personal connection

The Brownsville Herald has this very misleading headline: Oliveira succeeds in passing amendment to help cousin - again. They do fill in the details later:

For the second time this summer, state Rep. Rene Oliveira, D-Brownsville, introduced in the House, and had passed, a measure that will directly benefit his cousin, an Austin business owner.

On Tuesday, Oliveira introduced and the House passed an amendment to an eminent-domain bill that would prohibit universities in Texas from taking private land and using it for hotels and other private ventures.

One more strike against the land-grabbers, and good for him. I don't care if his cousin does directly benefit. And by "second time," what they really mean is he changed his first amendment to apply to all universities, instead of just University of Texas.

Let there be light...

Some scientists say they have proven conclusively that the sun was shining before the Earth existed:

Our Sun was already shining brightly more than 4.5 billion years ago, as dust and gas was swirling into what would become the planets of the solar system, U.S. researchers reported on Thursday.

They said their finding is the first conclusive evidence that the so-called protosun affected the developing the solar system by emitting enough ultraviolet energy to catalyze the formation of organic compounds, water and other elements necessary for the evolution of life on Earth.

How about that?

Right to Self Defense gaining ground

Perhaps in the wake of Florida's recent law that expanded the right to use deadly force, a bill has been introduced in Alabama that would expand the citizens' right to self defense. The Daily Sentinel reports:

The bill would expand the circumstances under which a person may use force, including deadly force, to defend himself or herself or another person against an aggressor. The bill would make legal presumptions that a person is justified in using deadly force against an aggressor and would not require a person to retreat from an aggressor intruding into an dwelling, residence or vehicle.

Also, the bill would provide immunity from criminal prosecution and civil action for persons justified in using defensive force against an aggressor and would allow the court to award certain fees and expenses to persons immune from civil action if they were sued.

According to the bill, a person would be justified 'in using physical force to defend himself or herself or another person from what he or she reasonably believes to be the use or imminent use of unlawful physical force by that other person and may use a degree of force which he or she reasonably believes to be necessary or the purpose.'

The article goes into further details of what would and would not be allowed if this bill becomes law.

This is something I've been thinking about for a while. Many states now have legalized concealed carry. I think self defense and RKBA advocates should also be focusing more on the right to use your arm. Expanding some conditions under which deadly force may be used is a good start, as well as protection against lawsuit for someone who justifiably and legally uses deadly force. For example, under this bill in Alabama, deadly force would be justified against someone "committing or about to commit a kidnapping in any degree." Unless the law has changed since my book on Texas gun laws was issued, in Texas deadly force is only allowed against someone who is committing aggravated kidnapping. This is one quirk of the law that I flatly disagree with, and if some allegedly unarmed thug tried to grab my child, I believe I would prefer to take my chances with a jury.

tnx to NRA-ILA

A couple of different examples reported by John Lott

I think we can safely say that this is an example of stopping power, tnx to John Lott's Website:

A sanitation worker who unloaded six .357 Magnum slugs into an armed kidnapper won't be charged with a crime, officials said Wednesday.

Mr. Lott also brings us an example of gun defense which didn't require discharging the firearm:

A citizen armed with a .44 Magnum stopped a suspected thief long enough for sheriff's deputies to make an arrest Tuesday morning.

[...]

Estes didn't keep the gun -- a revolver with a 6-inch barrel -- pointed very long, he said. He holstered it immediately after determining the suspect didn't pose a threat, he said.

"I made it very clear to stay in the car and that he was not at risk and that I was not a threat," said Estes, 40, who has a concealed weapon permit.

Fortunately for the thief, he decided to surrender rather than get his head blown clean off.

Blah blah blah...

Two recent items that apparently have no bearing on each other whatsoever:

PETA DEMANDS JAIL TIME, PSYCHIATRIC INTERVENTION IF ALLEGED JOURDANTON DOG KILLERS ARE CONVICTED:

Jourdanton, TX--This morning, PETA sent an urgent plea to District Attorney Rene Pena in Floresville, urging him to vigorously prosecute animal control officer Chantan Morin and other Jourdanton city workers who are reportedly being investigated for cruelty to animals. The city employees allegedly drowned at least five dogs on July 11 at the city's sewage treatment plant. According to news sources, one witness alleges that the animals were confined to cages and then lowered into the water. Those who escaped were evidently strangled with noose poles and then held under water, struggling and flailing, until they died.

'Animal care workers are trusted to protect animals from abuse, which makes the alleged actions of Morin and the others all the more troubling,' says PETA Animal Sheltering Advisor Teresa Chagrin. 'Mental health professionals and top law enforcement officials consider cruelty to animals to be a red flag.'

PETA is also sending its anti-violence public service announcement hosted by actor Dennis Franz to TV stations serving the Atascosa County area.

And...

But she told a news conference there was no indication of "pain or suffering" among the 18 animals that police in Ahoskie, N.C., found in a shopping center garbage bin or the 13 found in a van registered to PETA. The animals received lethal injections, Newkirk said.

Adria Joy Hinkle, 27, of Norfolk, and Andrew Benjamin Cook, 24, of Virginia Beach, appeared Friday in Hertford County District Court and their trial was set for July 19. Each faces 31 felony charges of animal cruelty and nine misdemeanor counts -- eight of illegal disposal of dead animals and one of trespassing.

I'm not saying these guys in Jourdanton didn't screw up--it seems they most certainly did. I have no idea why they would euthanize dogs that way. If they only wanted to save money, as they said, ammo is pretty cheap and very effective. But for PETA to jump in and start crying about it, I can only say: Pot, meet Kettle.

Firearms ownership in Russia

This is a must-read opinion piece from the Russian News & Information Agency, detailing the red tape one must work through to legally own a firearm in Russia, and the restrictions on the types of arms that are allowed.

How I bought a rifle for self-defense in Russia:

American statistics are the main argument of Russian firearms advocates. According to the U.S. Justice Department, 34% of all criminals were wounded or detained by armed civilians, while 40% have altogether given up an idea of an attack for fear of reciprocal fire. In those states that allow citizens to carry concealed arms, the level of murders is lower by 33 %, and of robberies by 37%.

Advocates of legalizing firearms in Russia often refer to the experience of neighboring Latvia: After the relevant law was adopted, street crime dropped by 80%, and the Latvian police force has been cut.

The Russian Interior Ministry is adamantly against allowing firearms. The ministry is afraid that the crime rate will go up, and especially family shootings. Gennady Gudkov of the State Duma Committee on Security voiced a typical opinion: 'If we throw 10 to 12 million guns into the streets, any teenager will be able to seize a pistol from a woman. He will start shooting whenever he can. Guns will be stolen from cars and desk drawers. The number of lost weapons will go up hundreds of times, and they will be beyond control, i.e. ready for crimes. This is a dream come true for Russian criminals.'

Yeah, I bet they're really afraid of an increase in crime. I bet they're more afraid of something else: armed civilians. The writer of this piece also voices problems with owning but not having quick access to reliable firearms (something I'm sure we've all thought about):

Successful use of long-stemmed guns is depressingly rare. Burglars have already broken in while you're still fiddling with the key to the case to get hold of your favorite gun. It is not allowed to carry such guns, or have them assembled and uncovered in a car. As for a 'rubber' pistol, an attempt to use it for self-defense often only infuriates the attacker.

Read the whole thing.

Righteous self-defense in Richmond, VA

The Times-Dispatch reports:

Since March, there have been at least three fatal shootings of armed suspects by armed victims. In at least two of those cases, Richmond prosecutors say it was in self-defense.

The Richmond commonwealth's attorney's office has concluded that the martial-arts instructor who fatally shot former NFL cornerback Mike Brim during a confrontation last April in South Richmond acted in self-defense.

Prosecutors have also decided that a pizza deliveryman acted in self-defense in March when he fatally shot a teen who attempted to rob him in the Hillside Court neighborhood, also in South Richmond.

Officials said they are awaiting toxicology reports before reaching a conclusion about the fatal shooting of a 14-year-old boy. Police said the boy attempted to rob a 47-year-old man with an unloaded rifle in the East End in June.

'It does appear to us in the commonwealth's attorney's office that a lot of people are armed with weapons,' said Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Learned D. Barry, the city's top homicide prosecutor.

'And because of that, situations like these are becoming more and more prevalent.'

Investigators said that Brim, 39, trailed Gary Miles to a house on Pineway Drive from his workplace at the American Karate Center on Huguenot Road on April 19.
A police investigation found that Brim, a former Virginia Union University standout who played eight seasons in the National Football League, opened fire on Miles, shooting at him several times and striking the instructor in one leg. Miles, who was also armed, returned fire, striking Brim in the torso, killing him.

'Based on the fact that the deceased followed Mr. Miles to the scene and fired at him first, we have no choice but to rule it self-defense,' Barry said.

'There were multiple rounds from Mr. Brim's gun, and only one from Mr. Miles'.'

And that is how it's done.

The third instance, which is still in question awaiting toxicology test results, involved a teenager who tried to rob someone with an unloaded .22, to which he had duct-taped a large-caliber magazine in order to "make it look more menacing."

The fact that Brown's rifle was not loaded won't make a difference in the determination of whether he was shot in self-defense, according to officials.

'The victims have no clue if it is a real weapon or loaded weapon or not,' Barry said. 'And they have to protect themselves.'

Images From the Battleground

No, not the one in Iraq. The one along the U.S./Mexican border:

At 11:30 a.m. on April 22 this year, a Mexican helicopter landed in the Robinsons' backyard. Arivaca resident R.D. Ayers had driven to the ranch that morning to visit his injured dog, then under Dr. Robinson's care.

Ayers describes stepping outside the house to see what he describes as 'a military Huey-type helicopter' circling, at the same time that a truck from the Tucson Fuel Co. was pulling into the yard. The Tres Bellotas gets its power from diesel generators, and that fuel has to be delivered.

As he approached the chopper, Ayers says six men in black, commando-type uniforms stepped out. Five had ski-type masks over their faces, and they wore body armor and carried automatic rifles. On their sleeves, Ayers saw the word, Mexico.

They stood in a defensive posture around a sixth man, their leader, who identified himself as a member of the Mexican police. He pointed aggressively to the fuel truck and asked what it was doing there. Ayers, in Spanish, told the man he was in the United States, not Mexico, and that he had no business in this country and needed to leave.

But the commander refused to listen and began walking toward the truck, at which point Ayers placed himself between the commander and the truck, again telling him to scram. After a few minutes, the tense confrontation ended when the commander ordered his troops into the chopper, and they split back across the border.

Ayers suspects that the Mexicans--one of Robinson's cowboys identified them as federales, Mexican federal police--were escorting a drug shipment to Tucson, and wanted to haul it in the fuel truck. Or they wanted to steal the fuel. The chopper had followed the truck much of the way down Tres Bellotas Road.

'Men with fully automatic weapons and masks don't just show up to say hello,' says a still-outraged Ayers, owner of a backhoe company and a former EMT in Arivaca. He added that if he'd had his gun, he might've fired on the invaders. 'I wasn't going to back down. This is my country.'

These drug incursions occur with some regularity along the border. The Kays and Robinson say they're personally aware of three such incursions this summer alone, and it's worth noting that the men who recently shot two Border Patrol agents near Nogales also wore black, commando-type gear.

But this episode, like the others, has disappeared into the vapor of national security. Tucson Fuel refuses comment. The Border Patrol won't talk about it, saying its agents got to the Tres Bellotas too late to learn much of anything. The FBI in Tucson took a report the same day and forwarded it to Washington, but they're not talking, either.

As for Robinson, he was gone from the ranch that day, holding a veterinary clinic on the Tohono O'Odham Reservation--ironically enough, under a contract from the Department of Homeland Security. 'I really don't know what happened,' he says. 'But I know my cowboys were so scared, they hid in the barn.'

A long article, all worth reading.

tnx to All Things Conservative

Another editorial from my home county newspaper

Elaine Kolodziej writes:

Why not the Texas White House? Right now, the Bush-haters are having a field day attacking the president for being out of touch because he is 'on vacation' at his ranch in Texas.

The liberal press bills it as the longest vacation in 30-something years and practically accuses him of dereliction of duty because he likes to spend so much time at his Crawford ranch. Some of these East Coast liberals might be surprised that we have more than cactus and barbed wire in Texas.

We actually have Internet and cell phones and everything else high tech. You are not out of touch with the world just because you are in Texas.

We Texans would like to know how staying in the White House could mean that you are in touch with the world? Why, for heaven's sake, would politicians have 'town hall meetings' that take them out to the hinterlands unless they understood that the way to get in touch with real people is to get away from Washington and actually spend time with real people.

Of course, the European idea of the United States and most especially Texas is that we are all cowboys with morals. We tend to be pragmatic rather than politically correct. To them that very simply means that we are out of touch.

But we know there is no better way to get in touch with reality than to come to Texas where you can take a deep breath, see the clear-blue skies, and even feel the dirt. Physical exercise is more than putting on designer sweats and high-priced Nikes to go to the gym. You can work up a sweat in Texas just by going outside in August. That keeps you human. It helps keep you grounded and balanced and in touch.

And there's more.

Well, what do you know? I am surprised!

In reference to this post from yesterday, today on my trip home I was astounded to see that the hardware for a real stoplight has been installed at the intersection. It's still only operating as a flasher, but I would guess that it will be working like a stoplight in a day or two.

But what they didn't say...

Floresville, TX::

A superintendent for a South Texas public school system faces drunken driving charges stemming from a fatal traffic accident that claimed the life of a 4-year-old La Vernia girl.

Donna Sue Cole, who is the superintendent of the Vanderbilt Industrial School District, has a pretrial hearing set for Aug. 18 at the Wilson County Courthouse.

Cole was behind the wheel of a 2002 Chevrolet Tahoe that struck a 1993 Ford Explorer at the intersection of U.S. 87 and F.M. 1346 in October 2003. Kristi Billings, a 25-year-old La Vernia woman, drove the Explorer into the path of the oncoming vehicle while entering the intersection from F.M. 1346, according to a report filed by the Department of Public Safety.

Cole, who was traveling south on U.S. 87, had the right of way when she crashed into the side of Billings' sport-utility vehicle. Billings' daughter, Samantha, was seated in the left rear passenger seat near the point of impact.

Investigators subsequently filed a charge of intoxication manslaughter against Cole for her role in the collision. Breath analysis indicated that Cole's blood-alcohol content was .11 percent after the collision occurred.

DPS officials turned over the results of their investigation to the 81st Judicial District Attorney's Office. The charges were never brought before a grand jury because prosecutors believed they could not prove that Cole's alcohol consumption played a significant role in the fatal accident, authorities said.

DPS officials then followed up by filing a misdemeanor charge of driving while intoxicated against Cole. Her legal counsel, San Antonio attorney Eduardo Garcia, filed a waiver of arraignment that was filed in the Wilson County Clerk’s office on July 5.

Cole remains employed as the superintendent of the Vanderbilt Industrial School District.

In my opinion, this woman should be nailed to the wall for driving while intoxicated.

However, you will notice that she did, in fact, have the right-of-way.

This is what they didn't say...

This is a relatively new intersection, and as soon as it opened up, everyone who lives around here could see the problem. A petition was immediately circulated, and promptly ignored.

The problem? At this point on Highway 87, the speed limit was still technically 70 mph during daylight (during which time this collision occured). FM 1346 leads directly to an elementary school. During the time that school is letting out for the day, a massive amount of traffic is fighting to get into and out of this intersection--most of which traffic is made up of vehicles carrying small children.

This intersection has two flashing lights: a yellow one for traffic on 87 and a red one for traffic on 1346.

The petition that was circulated was to try and get a real stoplight installed at this intersection.

What did they do? They put up a sign claiming that the speed limit is reduced to 55 for this area, and put some reminder bumps across the road. This intersection needs a real stoplight, not some feel-good speed limit sign and some reminder bumps.

Here's what they really didn't say...

This has not been the only collision at this intersection, nor has it been the only death, because of failure to yield right-of-way, which really means they miscalculated the speed of oncoming traffic.

This intersection needs a real stoplight, now. They got one in Sayers to handle all the traffic coming out of East Central. Why can't we have one here?

California activists want arrestees to have fair chance at injuring or killing police officers

Watsonville, CA:

Activists are pressing concerns about law enforcement's use of Taser stun guns.

Last week, Santa Cruz resident Kristian Vega was acquitted of resisting arrest and public intoxication charges during an encounter outside a bar where Santa Cruz police subdued him with a stun gun.

[...]

Activists suggest using batons, pepper spray or handcuffs.

Correct me if I am wrong, but...

Batons: get within arm's reach, opening up the opportunity for a knife attack or wresting the baton away from the officer.

Pepper spray: Doesn't work.

Handcuffs: Doesn't the arrestee have to be subdued before you can use the handcuffs?

Ferndale, MI libraries want to ensure their patrons remains easy targets

From The Oakland Press:

The words are still there in red on the Ferndale Public Library's front door.

'Absolutely no weapons including those permitted by concealed weapons law may be brought into this facility.'

The statement remains, even though the courts have said the rule is not enforceable for properly registered concealed weapons.

[...]

In 2001, Ferndale's City Council took a bold stand and voted to ban guns from its city buildings.

The move - called groundbreaking by some - spurred other cities to take similar stands. Soon Detroit, East Lansing, Saline and others had passed their own bans.

A gun rights group, Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners, took Ferndale to court.

[...]

In 2002, an Oakland County Circuit Court judge upheld Ferndale's ordinance, and the gun rights group appealed.

In May 2003, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that communities can't add restrictions to state rules on where gun owners can carry weapons.

In September, 2003, when the Ferndale backers carried the case to the Michigan Supreme Court, the court refused to hear an appeal of the decision, assuring the victory to gun rights groups.

[...]

Ferndale City Manager Barwin feels otherwise, and wants the township to try again.

'My feeling is the public is very supportive (of the gun ban).'

Apparently the Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners isn't considered to be part of the "public."

Raging Against Self Defense: A Psychiatrist Examines The Anti-Gun Mentality

Here is an older article from JPFO examing the psychology of those who are opposed to self defense.

Raging Against Self Defense: A Psychiatrist Examines The Anti-Gun Mentality, By Sarah Thompson, M.D.:

'You don't need to have a gun; the police will protect you.'

'If people carry guns, there will be murders over parking spaces and neighborhood basketball games.'

'I'm a pacifist. Enlightened, spiritually aware people shouldn't own guns.'

'I'd rather be raped than have some redneck militia type try to rescue me.'

How often have you heard these statements from misguided advocates of victim disarmament, or even woefully uninformed relatives and neighbors? Why do people cling so tightly to these beliefs, in the face of incontrovertible evidence that they are wrong? Why do they get so furiously angry when gun owners point out that their arguments are factually and logically incorrect? How can you communicate with these people who seem to be out of touch with reality and rational thought?

One approach to help you deal with anti-gun people is to understand their psychological processes. Once you understand why these people behave so irrationally, you can communicate more effectively with them.

Lots more worth reading.

tnx to Gun Watch

Good grief

I thought I'd try getting in on Mr. Completely's e-Postal Handgun Match, the "Flyswatter." After warming up with 12 shots into a Shoot-n-See target at 10 yards and pretty much turning the 10-ring all yellow, I went to shoot some flies. Something was just not right. It seemed like the holes were appearing several inches from where I was aiming. I just don't know what was going on. After shooting up one target and hitting one fly, I gave up.

One thing I did notice. I was using an old box of CCI CB Caps to keep the noise down in my big extended backyard (I live on a heavily wooded rectangular 5-acre lot that is over 800 feet long). They didn't all sound the same. Some went pop and some went crack.

I was planning on taking the Single-Six to range on my next range day anyway. I gotta figure out what's going on. Maybe I'll try the next match.

Well, well, well...

I just discovered that the bogus anti-gun group at the url www.huntersandshooters.com has a suspiciously similar url to another, pro-RKBA group, the Hunter's Shooting Association, whose url is www.huntershooter.com.

UPDATE: Triggerfinger noticed it, too.

(Boy am I feeling smug. I beat somone else to the punch on this one by a whole day).

I'm going to have problems explaining myself

I have made fun of "ACLU stoners" several times on this blog. That is because of when they were smoking marijuana. At the time, they were supposed to be monitoring the Minuteman volunteers, which should be a serious job, maybe even a dangerous job (according to their own hysterical rantings)--even though it turned out to not be dangerous. This was no time for getting high. If they want to go home afterwards and chill out with a smoke, that's their business. Openly and flagrantly smoking dope while they were supposed to be watching a so-called "vigilante" group is just stupid.

It boils down to this: I don't care if someone smokes marijuana, as long as it doesn't interfere with me. If they have a small toke when they want a buzz, that's their risk and their problem. There are legal ways of getting high, and there are illegal ways. If they choose an illegal way then it's their risk of getting caught. Plenty of people make it a point to get loaded on beer or other alcohol on frequent occasion and no one thinks anything of it because alcohol is legal. I am of the opinion that many things that people think are bad, are not really when used in moderation. This includes alcohol and marijuana.

So, here is another article regarding Anthony Diotaiuto :

The search warrant, provided by Diotaiuto's family, shows that the SWAT team was looking for money, bookkeeping records, firearms and other evidence that Anthony Diotaiuto sold drugs.

An inventory of items seized from the home listed 'cannabis' and 'drug paraphernalia,' as well as shell casings, firearms, and a BB gun. It did not say how much cannabis, or marijuana, or what type of paraphernalia was found.

It has already been said that Mr. Diotaiuto owned two firearms. He had a handgun, to go with his valid concealed weapons permit, and he had a shotgun. These two weapons make perfect sense to me. A handgun for when you have to leave the house, a shotgun for when you're home. These two weapons are exactly, and I would even say only, what a person needs who is concerned only with protecting himself and his family. A hunter would need more firearms, and a collector would definitely want more. Yet, undoubtedly (I'm just waiting for it), someone is going to call two guns an arsenal. So that's how "firearms" were seized. Also notice that they seized a BB gun. (Cough).

They seized shell casings. What gun owner does not have some shell casings laying around somewhere. I am not even a reloader and I have a couple of big plastic bags full of empty shells.

They found cannabis. How much, exactly? Three or four ounces? Three or four kilograms? I really want to know.

They also seized "drug paraphernalia." For anyone not familiar with marijuana use (come on, I know you're out there somewhere), this could include an alligator clip. You know, the kind that you put on the end of a wire for electrical/electronics purposes.

So here he have a man who worked two jobs, went to church every Sunday, had done everything he should to get a concealed weapons permit, and smoked a little dope.

Here's my crackpot theory: he was made an example of. Some pusher distributor of an illegal drug got nailed, and to lighten his sentence, he gave the police the names of some of his customers. Someone else, doing standard research on the names, noticed that one of them had a concealed weapons permit. And he was made an example of.

I just want to once more point out this paragraph:

The search warrant, provided by Diotaiuto's family, shows that the SWAT team was looking for money, bookkeeping records, firearms and other evidence that Anthony Diotaiuto sold drugs.

Firearms, there mere possession of them, apparently, would be evidence that he sold drugs.

He's an example for all of us.

Massive screw-up by SWAT team in Florida

I am so outraged by this that I'm going to copy pretty much the whole thing.

Sunrise, FL:

The SWAT team assembled outside Anthony Diotaiuto's home in Sunrise Golf Village early Friday morning, expecting to find drugs and guns, authorities said.

Inside, Diotaiuto had been home for only a few hours after his night shift at one of the two jobs he kept to help pay for the home where he lived with his mother. He had a valid concealed weapons permit and kept a shotgun and a handgun for safety, friends said.

It was about 6:15 when the SWAT team smashed in Diotaiuto's door and shot him dead.

Officers were right to expect him to be armed, said Lt. Robert Voss, spokesman for the Sunrise Police Department.

'He had a gun and pointed it at our officers,' Voss said Friday morning. 'Our SWAT team fired.'

Later Friday afternoon, he didn't sound as certain about whether Diotaiuto, 23, aimed his weapon.

'In all likelihood, that's what happened,' Voss said. 'I know there was a weapon found next to the body.' He also said he did not know if detectives found any drugs or whether Diotaiuto fired any shots.

The shooting outraged and confused Diotaiuto's friends, who said he had no criminal record, was not violent and didn't sell drugs.

Diotaiuto was the third person killed in police-involved shootings in the past three days in South Florida. Earlier Friday, a federal drug agent in West Palm Beach shot and killed a man in an unrelated investigation. And on Tuesday, a Miami police officer killed a drug and alcohol recovery patient after the man pointed a gun at an officer, officials said.

Many of Diotaiuto's friends protested his death Friday afternoon outside his home. His mother, Marlene, collapsed when she heard of her son's death and was too upset to speak, friends said.

'They killed an innocent person,' said Charlie Steeves, who said he was Diotaiuto's best friend. 'He didn't sell drugs. He worked two jobs to buy that house.'

Voss said information about drugs at Diotaiuto's home led to the search warrant. The search warrant was not available Friday and Voss did not know what drugs were suspected or what information the warrant contained.

The concealed weapons permit, was a 'major factor' in the department's decision to involve the SWAT team, Voss said.

'The potential for violence was there,' Voss said. SWAT officers must knock first and announce their presence, Voss said. If no one answers, the door comes down. 'Unfortunately, this is one of those that's gone bad,' he said.

Diotaiuto worked as a bartender at the Carolina Ale House in Weston and as a DJ on weekends. Steeves said Diotaiuto got the concealed weapons permit because he didn't feel safe coming home from work at 3 a.m. He thinks Diotaiuto panicked when he heard someone break in.

'What would you do if your door was knocked down and you were asleep?' Steeves asked.

Steeves buried his head in his stepfather's shoulder, overcome by grief as friends continued to gather on Friday afternoon.

'I know, I know,' comforted the stepfather, Nils Zetterlund. 'I would jump in front of a bus for this kid.'

So. A poor guy working two jobs to provide his family with a decent home, a poor guy who goes to all the trouble to jump through the hoops to get a concealed weapons permit is murdered because they know he has a permit and is likely armed. I doubt he had anything to do with drugs. That kind of slime doesn't usually go to the trouble of holding down two legitimate jobs--it would get in the way of their drug-dealing. If I were a member of his family, I would do all in my power to make the lives of everyone involved--from the one who pulled the trigger and all the way up the chain of command--a legal hell from which there would be no relief, until they were all reduced to driving the golf cart in a Walmart parking lot.

UPDATE: Turns out this man had a previous record of drug possession. I still think he was killed for doing the right thing. Armed intruders broke his door down early in the morning, only a few hours after he'd returned home from his night job and he responded the only way he could--with his own arm. He probably had only just gone to sleep and didn't even know what was going on. His previous record of drug possession was one arrest for marijuana seven years ago, when he was 16 years old. Big freakin' deal. (Just a note: in Texas this would have prevented him from ever getting a CHL). I'm sure this one instance of marijuana possession by a 16-year-old kid will be used to paint him as a fiendish 23-year-old pusher.

New Braunfels reporter jumps on the bandwagon

This article has nothing to do with the Minuteman Project. In fact, it's another story about residents being allowed to remove signs in their neighborhoods. But that didn't stop the writer from taking a quick jab at another citizens watch group:

Vigilantes might soon be forming ranks on New Braunfels streets, prepared to take back their neighborhoods.

No, they are not an inland regiment of the Texas Minutemen - they are the Bandit Sign Police.

Armed with trash bags and walking sticks, the BSP will hunt down abandoned signs and return the city's rights of way to its natural beauty.

New Braunfels citizens have always had the right to remove the illegal signs, but with an ordinance change vote before city council Monday, Planning Department staff and members of the Sign Ordinance Committee hope to bring more attention to the public's role in attending to the city's aesthetics.

More power to them, I say. But exactly how does this story validate jumping on the "Minutemen are vigilantes even though they are doing nothing illegal and in fact pointing out horrific problems in border control" bandwagon.