Patterico's Pontifications

8/15/2009

A Shooting in Harlem

Filed under: Crime — DRJ @ 10:05 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

This was a feature story in Thursday’s New York Times in which a 72-year-old store owner shot 4 robbers, killing 2, who tried to rob his Harlem store:

“There were no customers in the store, only Mr. Augusto and two employees, a man and a woman. The police said the invaders announced a holdup, approached the two employees and tried to place plastic handcuffs on them. The male employee, a 35-year-old known in the community as J. B., struggled with the gunman, who then hit him on the head with the pistol.

Watching it happen, Mr. Augusto, whom neighborhood friends call Gus, rose from a chair 20 to 30 feet away and took out a loaded Winchester 12-gauge pump-action shotgun with a pistol-grip handle. The police said he bought it after a robbery 30 years ago.

Mr. Augusto, who has never been in trouble with the law, fired three blasts in rapid succession, the police said, although Vernon McKenzie, working at an Internet company next door, heard only two booms, loud enough to send him rushing to a window, where he heard someone shout: “You’re dead! You’re dead!”

JammieWearingFools has the rest of the story.

— DRJ

55 Responses to “A Shooting in Harlem”

  1. It was nice coverage at JWF of the idiot who wants to place a memorial candle outside the store for the dead goblins.

    daleyrocks (718861)

  2. Three shots with 4 hit, two of which were killed?

    Not bad work with that pig, Gus. Nicely done indeed.

    Scott Jacobs (d027b8)

  3. And holy crap. After reading the whole thing, I have to say that I must now open a restaurant, simply so I can mail-order my supplies from Gus.

    God bless that man.

    Scott Jacobs (d027b8)

  4. Pity the other two robbers lived…can someone start a fund for this guy to get time to practice at a range, or do they have those in NY State?

    technomad (eefe5a)

  5. The article says that the DA is considering a misdemeanor charge against Gus?!? For not having a permit for the weapon… Bet that won’t last for long.

    Susan (4e9504)

  6. This is further proof that proponents of gun control are stupid, dishonest, or both.

    Mike LaRoche (63288a)

  7. JWF follow-up article links to the NY Post, which says Gus’s weapon was properly permitted and he will not be charged for having it.

    DRJ (cabca2)

  8. Here’s the New York Post link. It has a few interesting details not mentioned in the other links.

    DRJ (cabca2)

  9. go Gus go!

    redc1c4 (fb8750)

  10. In NYC Gus will be prosecuted because he dared to defend himself. NYC is overrun with gangs, even in middle class neighborhoods. Its odd to see bars on windows and doors. A friend of mine says people are prisoners in their own homes.

    NYC has really collapsed under its Bloomberg.

    Thomas Jackson (8ffd46)

  11. TJ, the NYPost states he faces no charges.

    Scott Jacobs (d027b8)

  12. Three certain net benefits to society. A reduction in the crime rate; a reduction in the welfare rolls; two less without health insurance. Any number of potential benefits to society. A reduction in the illegitimacy rate; two fewer “absentee fathers”; two fewer domestic violence calls the police will need to respond to; two fewer Section Eight apartments that will be infected with cockroaches; two fewer Obama voters; ….

    nk (544046)

  13. A song could be made about this: “Obama Lost Two Votes”. Sung to the tune of Santa Lost A Ho.

    nk (544046)

  14. Thomas Jackson : Don’t blame it on Bloomberg. I was born and raised in NYC and the anti-gun attitude goes back to LaGuardia. Even Rudy was anti-gun. Best wishes to Gus but he should realy clean that gun. Sitting, unkept under his desk for 30 years? It is a wonder that it had not rusted.

    Longwalker (996c34)

  15. Well done Gus!
    A shotgun is an excellent home defense weapon.
    For those who’d like something a little more “portable’ looking into a Taurus “Judge” model revolver maybe informative.
    Called “The Judge” for it’s popularity (supposedly) amongst sitting Court Justices.
    It’s ability to chamber and fire .410 ga shotshells provide stopping power with a reduced danger of a high energy project going into another courtroom.

    pitchforksntorches (8165c3)

  16. If you read the linked New York Times article, you’ll see just how effective gun control laws are.

    The first shot took down the gunman at the front. He died almost immediately, according to the police, who said he was 29 and had been arrested for gun possession in Queens last year and was the nephew of a police officer.

    Yet NYC’s gun control laws didn’t keep him from having a pistol!

    The second would-be robber to go to his eternal reward “had a record of arrests for weapons possession and robbery.”

    Can anyone, anyone! tell me just what good gun control laws have done?

    The cynical Dana (474dfc)

  17. Gun control laws only affect the law ABIDERS not the law BREAKERS.

    But, I suppose, if you’ve become terrified of guns and have anthropomorphised them into some horrible boogieman, then any control is better than none.

    I think every American should be trained in weapons and have a familiarity with guns/rifles/etc.

    Vivian Louise (c0f830)

  18. […] DRJ of Patterico’s Pontifications pointed out this story: […]

    Common Sense Political Thought » Blog Archive » Now this is good gun control (73d96f)

  19. Insured by Winchester—not a bad philosophy in a high crime neighborhood.

    Mike Myers (674050)

  20. If one of the doers was nephew to a cop, that store is gonna have one hell of a lot of agencies checking books, fire code compliance, etc. This isn’t over yet.

    the friendly grizzly (b10310)

  21. Maybe Mr. Augusto was a former Watchman?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShTVpGuzk1M

    I’m your boogie man I’m your boogie man
    Turn me on
    I’m your boogie man I’m your boogie man
    Do what you want

    Ray (3c46ca)

  22. In NM we had a citizen spot two thugs burglerizing a propane supply. He call 911 to report the crime and as he was on the phone when one of the hoods bashed in his windshield and was coming at the guy. So he shot him in the head. (Good gun control) Problem is that the dead guy is related to a prominent family in Torrence county (dead guy’s last name the same as the name of the street of the business he was breaking into) and the corruptocrat DA is good buddies with the family. Needless to say the shooter is charged with murder.

    So I hope Gus didn’t wack some gumbah’s nephew or this will get real ugly.

    PatriotRider (37b91c)

  23. Hmmm, the link feature doesn’t seem to be working correctly. It sends it to some old post on patterico rather than youtube.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShTVpGuzk1M

    Ray (3c46ca)

  24. The New York City police are the most corrupt in the world, but I think Mr. Augusto will be ok. The case is too high profile and Mr. Augusto could not have been successful in the restaurant supply business all these years without being very well “connectect” himself.

    nk (544046)

  25. I don’t blame anyone but the perpetrators individually for their decision to commit this crime, but I can’t help wondering about what might have motivated it.

    I personally was disgusted with the stories about the jewel heist in London last week. It was almost as if every reporter and anchor alike was following the same script: “It was just like in an action movie, like Ocean’s 11 or The Italian Job. COOL!”

    After all the What’s-wrong-with-American-culture navel-gazing that occurs after a mass shooting in a school or workplace (and inevitable copycat crimes), you would think perhaps they would have thought twice about the possible consequences of making armed robbery seem like an “extreme sport.”

    L.N. Smithee (5a20a4)

  26. What makes anyone think the two dead turds won’t be voting for obama? If anything being dead guarantees their place on the dem voter rolls.

    The democrat thieves in congress should consider the Tea Party protests their ‘warning’, and just leave us alone.

    Houston Native (bdabea)

  27. As another blogger wrote:

    “this old man, he shot four,
    don’t play nick-nack at his door.”

    rrpjr (bbaf63)

  28. Charles Krauthammer today on Fox admitted he was wrong about the town meeting uproar hurting the anti-Obama side. The polls all show that the administration is losing this.

    I saw a good comment today (can’t remember where) about how Obama decided to do things differently from Clinton and this time Obama had all the lobbyists that opposed Clinton on board. But the thing is still losing. How can that be ?

    Nobody imagines that the public has any interest. It was interesting that nobody raised this point. The politicians and the lobbyists are together. What could go wrong ?

    Mike K (addb13)

  29. I wonder if he can file for a tax credit for doing the work of the police? He definitely saved the taxpayers some big dollars here.

    Newtons.Bit (3e8903)

  30. Under Obama’s death panels, Charles Augusto would be very near his expiration date.

    Meanwhile, Gus just rid the streets of two particularly violent examples of criminal scourge. He did more for NYC in a day than Nurse Mike Bloomberg has done in a year.

    KingShamus (4fabb2)

  31. If the anti-gun crowd were at least as vocal and passionate about ensuring the judiciary wasn’t full of idiotic “lefty” judges, I’d be willing to give them some space for their antipathy — or indifference at best — to the 2nd Amendment.

    Mark (411533)

  32. Greetings:

    I grew up in the Bronx of the ’50s and ’60s, a time of demographic change. Part of the folk-wisdom in my neighborhood was, “I’d rather get caught with my gun than without it.” Apparently, that tradition has survived to some degree.

    Back in my youth, New York City had what were referred to as the “Sullivan Laws” which made it very difficult to get a pistol permit. Basically, you had to be politically connected, a cash business owner or a retired police officer (the police administered the program) to have or get a pistol permit.

    Long guns were not under any governmental control. During the ’70s that changed; the city started a program to “register” (no permission required) rifles and shotguns. Apparently, that program has morphed, as predicted at the time, into some kind of “permit” requirement. Mr. Augusto’s success may be a good legal opportunity for a Second Amendment lawsuit against the City’s program.

    11B40 (217933)

  33. Mike K.
    You mean the common rabble outside the Beltway/media/lobbyist complex actually made a difference? What do they think this is, a democracy?

    Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R. (0ea407)

  34. #33 Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R.:

    You mean the common rabble outside the Beltway/media/lobbyist complex actually made a difference? What do they think this is, a democracy?

    Nah. A democratic republic.

    EW1(SG) (edc268)

  35. Nice of the four would be robbers to stay in a tight bunch.
    Note that the idiots were pistol whipping an employee, but the 72 year old shooter got into the bad guys in an angle of attack that left them all dead or wounded, while leaving his employee unhit by friendly fire.

    Note to self:
    Pay attention to the old guy on the flank with the shotgun

    SteveG (97b6b9)

  36. Thanks to Gus for reducing the recidivist role.

    Also, The Judge (TM) is not available in CA, or other jurisdictions that use the CA Not-Unsafe Gun List.

    AD - RtR/OS! (4404ef)

  37. Unfortunately, the Judge got some bad press when that Pharmacist in OKC shot the robber dead with it after only wounding him with another gun.

    PCD (02f8c1)

  38. Sound like you’re excited that these guys got killed.

    A little bloodthirsty, are we?

    Pete Muldoon (5b5c28)

  39. Bad for them, good for us.

    nk (544046)

  40. Pete, does that mean you really wish that the robbers would’ve killed the store’s owner and his employees? And we’re supposed to feel bad about his successful defense of his life, his employee’s lives and his property?

    Go stand in the corner and put on the Dunce Hat of Shame and Douchebaggery, asshat.

    Dmac (e6d1c2)

  41. Pete Muldoon – Sounds like you’re a little upset that the criminals weren’t able to continue pistol whipping an employee and then move on to Gus.

    A little frustrated with accountability, aren’t you?

    Apogee (e2dc9b)

  42. “Sound like you’re excited that these guys criminal scum got killed.”

    Well, just speaking for myself, I don’t care.

    They were about to put plastic handcuffs on people. What was next? In this case, what should be next: a Winchester pump in the hands of small businessman who didn’t care for the idea of being a “victim.” You don’t want to be shot, don’t hold up stores.

    rrpjr (c31f2f)

  43. “Sound like you’re excited that these guys criminal scum got killed.”

    My mistake.

    rrpjr (c31f2f)

  44. Sound like you’re excited that these guys got killed.

    A little bloodthirsty, are we?

    Comment by Pete Muldoon — 8/16/2009 @ 1:16 pm

    Sounds like you’re disappointed the store owner and his employee didn’t get robbed and murdered.

    A little bloodthirsty, are we?

    See how easy it is? And really fun! Attributing any and all evil motives to others to make myself feel morally superior to them sure is an enjoyable use of my afternoon – and my life!

    no one you know (1ebbb1)

  45. #14

    Now who should we blame for the cesspool that NYC has become?

    Anyone who lived in NYC would be shocked to see the proliferation of violent gangs outside of slums into middle class areas.

    The ever present bars and grills were not a feature in NYC ten years ago.

    Exactly who should be blamed?

    The anti gun attitude goes back to the Sullivan laws, which were designed not to protect the law abiding but promoted by corrupt Tammney Hall politicians to protect their “voters” who engaged in various criminal activities in the 1890s.

    Get your history right.

    Anyone who has a relative of friend in NYC knows how unsafe it has become. But we shouldn’t blame Bloomberg.

    Who then bears the responsibility? Putin?

    Thomas Jackson (8ffd46)

  46. Very nice reversal, NOYK. I forget the points awarded for that move in wrestling. I’ll say one. It’s too bad more people don’t use your deftly performed technique. Stalemates aren’t just people who’ve been together too long. Like they say, hard to win without a good defense.

    political agnostic (f9d58f)

  47. The confrontation with the woman setting a candle for a deceased robber is interesting.

    I’ve noticed a bizarre attitude that may or may not actually be common among relatives of dead criminals showing up in news reports. An attitude of entitlement of criminality – that the resisting victims are in the wrong and the dead criminals some how entitled to an aura of innocence. I can’t tell if this is a recent phenomenon or not.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  48. Muldoon, you really appear quite clueless. I find your ilk to be disturbing and similar to what I wrote about above.

    These criminals put lawabiding citizens in danger of death, and may have intended to leave them dead, and you are offended that we are happy that the citizens are alive and the goblins dead?

    GFY.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  49. SPQR, it seems more a trend with criminals killed by police officers, even while in the act of their crime. It proceeds an assumption of guilt on the officer involved – even before all the facts are established; then what follows is far more than just an aura of innocence but rather in the following weeks, the deceased is elevated to the status of martyr. There is a whole pathology to the victimizing the criminals that is fascinating if not very troubling.

    This is not to minimize in any way, shape or form, the dreadful loss these parents have suffered.

    Dana (57e332)

  50. No, Mr Muldoon, you have it all wrong. We simply appreciated the quick rehabilitation of the two men who have gone to their eternal reward.

    The snarky Dana (474dfc)

  51. “Sound like you’re excited that these guys got killed.”

    Pete, it was the robbers who decided to bargain lives for money in robbing the place with lethal weapons and threatening death. They were the ones who set the value of human life in the engagement, not the shop owner.

    Socratease (c086dd)

  52. I loved the bit where the guy who got pistol whipped kicked the candle away. LOVE that. He’s right, the idiot candle bearer wants what? that he should have suffered MORE abuse? Perhaps died?

    Dana, I think if you believe you are entitled to the profit of someone else’s labor then it becomes easier to believe that you and yours are also then entitled to behave in any way you want and get away with it. Why? Because they often have no consequences for not working, not responsibly raising their children, not paying their bills, not picking up their litter…it goes on and on.

    Vivian Louise (c0f830)

  53. In stead of kicking her candle, JB ought to have kicked her in the kiester to awaken her dormant brain.

    PCD (a5b027)

  54. “Sound like you’re excited that these guys got killed.”

    Excited? No.

    Pleased as punch is more like it.

    You think you are the enlightened one, yet without the actions of people like that shopkeeper your life would be ruled by the likes of those who are now departed.

    Everyone dies. Do not fetishize mere existence over what truly matters. How we live and how we die is what matters.

    Mr. Augusto remains and the scum are dead and (soon to be) buried, that is all well and good.

    HappyFourth (211bbb)

  55. Pete: I hope you’re never in a situation which requires lethal defense of life and/or property. Hurt my family, employees or life’s work, and I’ll become pretty bloodthirsty.

    I’ll pray that the perps find forgiveness on the “other side” but I hope I’ll defend myself and others with extreme violence.

    Nobody here wants more death. old Gus prevented more deaths than he caused.

    ukuleledave (4e6cbb)


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