June 4, 2004
NewsNet5.com

Man Arrested After Lying On Application

LOUISVILLE, Ohio -- A man is arrested after he reportedly lied on an application to carry a concealed weapon.

According to Stark County Sheriff's officials, while investigating Donald Holmes, 57, it was discovered that he had a criminal background.

Holmes, of Louisville, indicated "no" on the application for the question asking about convictions.

Records indicate that Holmes pleaded guilty to domestic violence and mishandling of firearms in a motor vehicle in July of 1990 in Alliance Municipal Court.

A warrant was obtained for his arrest and he was charged with falsification.

Commentary:
In her lawsuit seeking to have the Ohio Supreme Court order sheriffs to stop doing their jobs by issuing concealed handgun licenses, Toby Hoover claimed that sheriffs were unable to conduct adequate background checks on applicants, citing "inadequate and incomplete procedures, inadequate funds, and inadequate resources." As such, Hoover argued, the Ohio concealed carry law presents a "clear and present danger" to the citizens of Ohio.

As Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro argues in his motion to dismiss Hoover's baseless suit, Hoover's "complaint and accompanying affidavit in support are devoid of...any
factual information to support the allegations set forth in the complaint."

Indeed, as this incident shows, the system works just fine. More than 20,000 applications for Ohio concealed handgun licenses are estimated to have been submitted in the first two months since April 8, yet only a tiny fraction of a percent have been denied for any reason.

Illinois has no concealed carry law. Cook County officials and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley have a habit of penalizing the victim who defends herself with a firearm more harshly than the criminal who perpetrated his crime. So is it any wonder that a crazed man with a knife was able to stab five people and kill a 1-year old baby girl before anyone could stop him?

Had this man attacked in an Ohio shopping area like Cleveland's Beachwood Place mall, Akron's Chapel Hill mall, Cincinnati's Northgate mall, Columbus' Westland Mall, the Dayton Mall, Jeffersonville's Prime Outlets Mall, or one of the other Ohio malls on the Do Not Patronize While Armed list, the outcome would likely have been much the same, and the blood would have been on the hands of these irresponsible mall managers.

Stabbing Rampage Near Chicago Leaves Baby Dead

June 4, 2004
Associated Press

MIDLOTHIAN, Ill. -- A man stabbed five people at a suburban strip mall, killing a 1-year-old girl, before a bystander clubbed him over the head with a flashlight and restrained him until police arrived, authorities and witnesses said.

The 26-year-old suspect in Thursday's rampage had earlier set fire to the house he shared with his mother, authorities said. His name was not immediately released.

The attack seemed to be random, police said.

"He walked up to somebody in the parking lot, talked to him for a minute, then stabbed him," deputy police chief Fred Kozik said. "He ran away, walked up to somebody else and stabbed that person, too."

According to the Cook County medical examiner's office, 1-year-old Ashley Hurt was killed in the attack in Midlothian, which is about 20 miles south of Chicago. Her mother and four other people were injured; the injuries were described as not life-threatening.

The attack happened around 5 p.m. when the man ran out of a drug store brandishing what looked like a bowie knife with a 6-inch blade, said a witness, Bob Stahulak.

The man stabbed a woman in the parking lot before he approached a mother and baby as they came out of a nearby store, Stahulak said.

"He stabbed the baby three times in the back," he said. "People were screaming."

A man ran out of a nearby hair salon and charged the attacker, hitting him in the head with a flashlight, and tackling him, witnesses said.

"I saw him stab two people and ran over and hit him with this," said Suparak Rattananarkin, 18, holding a red flashlight.

Authorities said the suspect's house was not destroyed by the fire, but its windows were boarded up. No one was seriously injured in the fire, officials said.

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Click on the "Read More..." link below to read a press release concerning this tragedy from the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

Compiled from news reports by Cincinnati Enquirer, WCPO.com, and the Ohio News Network.

June 4, 2004

Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen will not seek criminal charges against a Roselawn convenience-store owner who fatally shot an armed man intending to rob the store May 27.

Abdrab "Abe" Ashishi, of West Chester was defending himself when he killed David Billups, 40, of Forest Park, Allen said Thursday.

"A guy comes in dressed head to toe in black and carrying what appears to be a real gun, I think you can assume he's not there collecting for the Red Cross," Allen said.

Ohio law allows for a person to use lethal force in the defense of himself and others.

Allen determined no crime had been committed, so the case did not go to a grand jury.

"It's always a shame when someone dies, but in this case this guy had it coming to him," said Allen.

In a similar scenario, a Hamilton County grand jury last year declined to indict a member of Citizens on Patrol after he shot a robbery suspect in a Northside bar.

The Roselawn shooting unfolded quickly, Allen said.

Shortly before 10 p.m., Ashishi was alone in the back of the Shop Rite at 7911 Reading Road, preparing to close when he saw Billups, dressed all in black, his face disguised by a white Halloween mask, behind the store's counter, according to reports.

Billups was carrying what appeared to be a gun, but was later found to be a toy, Allen said.

When Billups pointed it at Ashishi, Ashishi grabbed his 9mm semi-automatic pistol and shot Billups five times as Billups ran for the door. Ashishi had the gun legally, Allen said. He carried the gun openly and was using it to protect his business, he said.

"He did what he had the legal right to do - he got his weapon and fired." Allen said.

Ashishi called 911 to report he shot somebody trying to rob him.

Allen described Billups as a career criminal. He was released from prison April 1 after serving 15 years of a 14-to-50-year sentence from Franklin County on charges of receiving stolen property, carrying a concealed weapon, aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary and kidnapping.

Allen said now that there's a concealed carry law we may see more store owners defending themselves like this in the future.

Related Story:
Cincinnati Post: Jury clears bar 'hero'

Toledo clerk says he shot to save his life in robbery

June 4, 2004
Zanesville Times Recorder

ZANESVILLE -- Harold E. Newell Jr. stole five cases of beer in 1966, and that youthful indescretion has prevented him from getting his concealed-carry weapon license 38 years later.

"I have nothing to hide," said Newell, 56, of Zanesville. "I was a kid; I made a mistake. We confessed to it all, paid the fines and were given probation. But my constitutional rights have not been restored."

Newell and four other youths stole five cases of beer from an unlocked cooler at a convenience store in Zanesville, he said. He was charged with felony breaking and entering, and was fined and given probation. Newell thought the charge was a misdemeanor, and figured he would do his time and pay for what he had done, and he thought that would be the end of it.

He spent a year working through the court system to get his record expunged after he was denied a concealed-carry license in the state of Washington because of the offense. When it was granted in 1990, all documents of his crime were sealed and believed he was given all the rights afforded a citizen who had never committed a crime.

However, under Ohio's concealed-carry weapons law, sheriff's offices and the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation can inspect expunged records and use the information to determine if an individual should be issued a concealed-carry license.