British tourist shot dead in Texas bar
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| Sat, 11-07-2009 - 10:43am |
Thomas Reeve, 28, killed in Amarillo as shots are fired at drinkers during robbery
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/07/british-tourist-shot-dead-texas
A British tourist has been shot dead in a bar in Texas. Thomas Reeve, 28, was killed in the city of Amarillo when shots were fired at several drinkers, the Foreign Office confirmed.
The attack happened at the Spotted Pony Lounge in the town at about 10.45pm local time on Thursday.
Police said Reeve arrived in Amarillo a few hours before the shooting. He was travelling across the US with two friends.
He died at Northwest Texas hospital after being shot in the torso. An autopsy was being performed in Lubbock, the Amarillo Globe-News reported.
Reeve was drinking in the bar with his friends. They had rented a car in California and stopped in Amarillo on a trip to Florida.
A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We can confirm the death of Thomas Reeve and we are providing consular assistance to the family."
Another customer, Gordon Gollihugh, 48, was shot in the hand and taken to a local hospital, according to the connectamarillo.com website.
The gunman hit other customers with his fist, took purses, wallets and money from the bar's cash register and forced a woman to remove some of her clothing, according to officers. Ray Carlos Cisneros, 25, was arrested yesterday and was being questioned over the shooting, according to the Amarillo Globe-News.



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Hey, in my county, if you are a criminal with the kind of guns the local police force wants in their arsenal, you can use them to plea bargain your case and get a lighter sentence. IMO, message to criminals, collect lots of really cool weapons so you can use them as bargaining chips with law enforcement when you get busted. No child endangerment charges, no 5 year minimum mandatory sentence for over 100 marijuana plants like the criminals without the arsenal get (including two local Drs. that made medical recommendations.) Seems a little weird to me. But Santos IS a retired cop, afterall.
http://www.theunion.com/article/20091001/NEWS/909309975&parentprofile=search
Two men arrested in January after Nevada County sheriff's deputies uncovered a large amount of weapons, as well as marijuana, agreed to forfeit most of the weapons in a plea agreement finalized this month.
Frank Santos, 34, and Hans Kubitschek, a 31-year-old solar company worker, originally were arrested Jan. 14 on charges of cultivating marijuana, possessing an assault weapon and possessing a firearm while committing a felony.
Deputies from the Nevada County Sheriff's Office discovered the haul after receiving a tip given to Child Protective Services by a 10-year-old boy who lived in the home on the 12000 block of Dobbins Drive in Nevada City. They discovered 288 plants, 46 firearms and several assault weapons, as well as three to four pounds of dried and processed marijuana in a shed behind the house. Two medical marijuana recommendations were found in the home.
Investigators from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms had looked at the case due to the weapons charges, but ultimately did not find the weapons to be of interest, said Nevada County Deputy District Attorney Oliver Pong.
In April, the Nevada County District Attorney's Office charged Kubitschek with cultivating marijuana and possession of assault weapons.
“Several of the assault weapons (found) came under the California assault weapons list and they were locked in a safe owned and controlled by Hans Kubitschek,” Pong said.
Kubitschek pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor on the weapons charge and the drug charge was dropped.
He was sentenced Sept. 3 to three years summary probation, search and seizure terms, nine days of work release and a $545 fine.
Santos was charged with cultivation of marijuana with an enhancement for being armed.
That charge was dropped and a misdemeanor count of maintaining a place for the purpose of unlawfully selling, giving away or using marijuana was added, to which he pleaded no contest. He received the same sentence as Kubitschek.
Pong said both men were offered a plea agreement with reduced charges for several reasons.
“Frank Santos is a retired police officer and they both had valid marijuana recommendations,” he said. “They had under the recommended amount in terms of processed marijuana. They did have approximately 300 young, very immature plants, and that was the basis for a charge of unlawful cultivation of marijuana.”
As far as the weapons charges, Pong noted the firearms in the house ranged from “handguns to shotguns to rifles, from basic handguns to hunting shotguns, competition shotguns, and bolt action hunting rifles. Santos was a dealer who used to own Grass Valley Swap and Loan, so I took that and considered, was there a legitimate or rational reason to have so many guns? Yes, he was a firearms dealer. They had no criminal records, no history of violence or assault that would lead me to believe they would be a threat to society.”
The court ordered the Sheriff's Office to return seized property, which included three bags of marijuana cola, three “turkey” bags of marijuana, and three bags of marijuana cola on the stem.
They also were ordered to release a number of firearms, including a Steyr Puch, a Beretta shotgun, a Ruger revolver, a Benelli shotgun, a Ruger rifle and scope belonging to Kubitschek; and a Browning rifle, a Remington scoped rifle, a Heckler & Koch pheasant shotgun, a Marlin rifle, a Beretta pistol, a Sturm, Ruger rifle, a Sturm, Ruger revolver and a Winchester rifle belonging to Santos.
“I originally wanted them to destroy all the firearms,” Pong said. “They provided us with a wish list and we negotiated. Several of the firearms went back to them and the balance were to be turned over to the Sheriff's Office,” including three assault rifles — an Armalite AR-10, a Bushmaster XM 15 and a Hi Point 995.
“They can crush them or use them for training, whatever they see fit,” Pong said. “Mr. Santos' wish was that they be used, if possible. I give them credit for that — I didn't ask for that. It's probably $30,000 worth of guns.”
This is insane!!!!!
“Frank Santos is a retired police officer and they both had valid marijuana recommendations,” he said. “They had under the recommended amount in terms of processed marijuana. They did have approximately 300 young, very immature plants, and that was the basis for a charge of unlawful cultivation of marijuana.”
What is a "valid marijuana recommendation"?
Maybe Libra was attempting to point out an example of gun violence in one of the several southwestern states that believe any gun law is a bad law.
She said not.
I think it's pathetically sad that we shoot each other...but then when someone comes here to visit our country, and we kill them too??
I just don't get it.
Actually Nevada county is in California. But, yeah, if you are connected to law enforcement you can get away with a lot. We also had a CHP get less than a year for molesting two girls and possession of child porn, recently. Plus, Santos once got off on elder abuse charges. He spent down more than 100K of an old ladies money, in order to "help her" qualify for Medi-Cal benefits.
Actually, in our county the sheriff comes down HARD on people who exceed medicinal marijuana guidelines (even old ladies in wheel chairs that have multiple sclerosis.) Which is 6 plants, that can cover no more than 75 square feet. The 100
As far as Santos, I don't understand how the FBI, just blew it off?!? I don't think they would have done that for any Joe Blow, with that many immature plants. Obviously he had SOMETHING in mind for that many plants, if not to grow them himself, to sell them to others. Here's the original report from their arrest, before the weapon negotiation was worked out.
http://www.theunion.com/article/20090116/NEWS/901159902&parentprofile=search
Here are the current guidelines for medicinal mj in our county:
https://docs.co.nevada.ca.us/dsweb/Get/Document-434511?highlight=marijuana%20guidelines
Believe me, if they find people over their guidelines, they have had no issue with arresting them, ripping their plants out of the ground, and prosecuting them. They have also had no problem bringing the DEA and IRS in either or other drug "task forces."
Here's about The CHP officer, next county over, he pleaded to lesser charges. The Sacramento Bee had a more detailed description. One of the kids was another officers child, they "trusted him," he was one of their "best friends."
Yeah, something is really wrong with this picture to me too. You have the right toys (weapons) to negotiate with, you have/had the right job, you can have all the drugs and molest all the kids you want, I guess.
http://www.theunion.com/article/20090925/BREAKINGNEWS/909259993&parentprofile=search
Here's another example of a "lamebrain" with a gun. Would anyone prefer she'd had to wait for the cops?
http://www.ktvz.com/Global/story.asp?S=11473874
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martinisnsushi - the two most important food groups!
There have been so many shootings in this country, if I were a foreigner, I wouldn't want to visit here.
What does a woman who was supposedly defending herself (& sounds like she went through all the proper channels to get a gun) have in common with a nutcase who walks into a bar & starts shooting indiscriminately?
Although, in her case:
I was posting in response to your categorization of gun owners. I wanted to show a more typical example of gun use.
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martinisnsushi - living the good life since 1963
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martinisnsushi - the two most important food groups!
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