So a bunch of teenagers think it would be a funny joke to gang up on a kid they don't know on a Collingdale street and have one of them "pretend" to demand his bike from him. All so they could video the incident and put it on You Tube.
The result: The victim of this "prank," 17-year-old Kevin Leonard defends himself and his property. He pulls a knife and stabs the aggressor in the chest.
The DAs office charges Leonard with attempted murder. That charge was rightly thrown out of court yesterday by District Judge Laurence J. McKeon. The kid remains in jail and charged with aggravated assault as well as other things.
Based on the testimony of the prankster who was stabbed, 16-year-old Mickal Higgins, he admitted to being the aggressor. This was a bully job meant to humiliate and it backfired big time.
Leonard had every right to defend himself from these callous young jerks. No, he doesn't have the right to carry a concealed weapon. But that's all he should be charged with and convicted of.
If Higgins was my son, I'd make HIM apologize to Leonard.
And what are the other punks involved in this "prank" learning from the Delaware County justice system? That bullying and humiliating others isn't a crime. Defending yourself from a mob is. Nice lesson.
UPDATE: I have just learned that knife Leonard used to defend himself was pocket-knife, which means it wasn't a concealed weapon. He was perfectly within his rights to be carrying it on the street. So I stand corrected. And Leonard stands even more innocent of any criminal wrong-doing in this matter. (More in my print column tomorrow.)
No comments:
Post a Comment