Wednesday, October 13, 2010

A pistol in the hand vs a hand full of rocks and traveling cows.

Saturday afternoon this past week end, Andrew Elliott, 15 said good-bye to his mother and went to spend the night at a friend's home several miles away. Later that evening he and two of his friends were walking the streets of Louisville near the friend's home. They were confronted by Archie Ashley when a rock hit his car parked in front of his home.

There were three rock throwing incidents in front of Mr. Ashley's house Saturday evening. The first time Mr. Ashley confronted the boys and they left. Again rocks were thrown and Mr. Ashley confronted them with a baseball bat. The last time rocks were again thrown, Mr. Ashley confronted them and this time pulled a gun out of his pocket firing two shots at the boys running away. Andrew Elliot was shot in the back and died.


The man picked up his spent shells, went back in his house and hid the shell casings and gun. The police came. Archie Ashley was arrested.

He was charged with murder and tampering with evidence. When arraigned Tuesday.  His attorney entered a plea of not guilty for Mr. Ashley.   He is being held in the local jail on a $500K bond.  His family commented later that this event was sad. Mr. Ashley had an ongoing dispute with kids in the neighborhood throwing rocks but Andrew was not one of them. The police had no record of ever being called before to his house.

Andrew's family thanked the police for a speedy arrest. [Paraphrasing here] "There was no cause for this. He could have handled it another way. He could have called for the police or whatever. There was no reason for this. A fifteen year old boy should never be shot in the back for throwing a rock." His grandmother said she wanted Mr. Ashley executed.

Andrew Elliott's funeral mass and burial was today at his church.

One of Andrew's friends stated they had walked past Mr. Ashley's home only once that evening.

Mr. Ashley said there were three incidents and the shooting occurred after the third one.
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Today in a New York Times article Emma Graves Fitzsimmons wrote an article about UPS handling the shipping of 2000 Angus and Hereford cattle to the nation of Kazakhstan. The first shipment was 162 head loaded on a UPS plane in North Dakota Tuesday. These are cattle uniquely suited for the bitter cold of the central Asian nation.

Quoting Doug Goehring, the North Dakota agricultural commissioner:
"The region they're going to mirrors the Midwest. Our cattle are northern bred and can handle extreme climates."
The government of Kazakhstan is trying to rebuild the country's livestock industry which was depleted since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The project is facilitated through an agreement between Kazakhstan and Global Beef Consultants.
"This shipment is a first for UPS which has moved pandas and sharks before but never cattle," said Ronna Branch, a spokeswoman for the company. "We ship large things," Ms. Branch said, "But I'll say this is the first time that we have shipped cows.
A veterinarian and a few cowboys accompanied the cattle to tend to their needs. I wonder if they get food and something to drink without extra charge.
United Parcel Service has a Worldport hub in Louisville. It processes slightly less than a half million packages an hour or over 84 a second. These are primarily express and international packages and letters. They employ over 20,000 people and will hire 50,000 additional short time workers for the holidays. During the holidays they will ship millions of packages daily.

16 comments:

  1. People like Ashley are a horrifying reminder of the consequences of a growing vigilante attitude in America. More "guns and religion" are not the answer. I'm much disturbed that there are people who are applauding his murderous behavior.

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  2. What can you say? The man was at the end of his tether, because rocks were being thrown at his house by random teenagers who obviously saw his reaction as a form of amusement.

    The police should have stepped in and helped him before it got to this.

    He should not have owned a gun.


    If it had not been Andrew Elliot, it would have been someone else. How very sad.

    In the UK some years back a man shot some young boys who were burgling his house one night. They came inside and he shot and killed one of them.
    The gun was a legal firearm because he was a farmer.

    He had been burgled before, and like the above guy was at the end of his tether.

    He was imprisoned and later released because he was defending hiself and his property. Not everyone agreed with this.

    Again, he should not have owned a gun.

    I feel that there is more than one victim when someone is shot, simply because the owner of the gun feels there is no other choice but to use it.

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  3. The cattle will get looked after because they are 'news'. I wonder if the cattle that follow as a matter of course will get the same treatment though?

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  4. He really should have reported all prior incidences to the police. Maybe they would have had some chance of reprimanding the rock throwing kids before a gun entered the picture.

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  5. So sad when anyone has to die. Are the police taking any responsibility? Were they ever called, if so what did they do? So Sad...

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  6. Mr. Ashley should have been registering complaints with the police each time rocks were thrown at his home or vehicle. It seems this was ongoing harrassment. Eventually, the police would have to take action because it wasn't stopping. Obviously, using a firearm is the wrong way to go. It is like I would say to my ex's kids when they were young, "You are the most right until you hit your brother/sister. Once you respond by hitting, you become the most wrong." In other words, you had me on your side until you decided to respond with violence, but now you are the one in trouble.

    As for the incident mentioned earlier in the comments where someone was killed b/c they were INSIDE someone's home committing a burglary... If you come into someone's house with intent to commit a crime and get shot doing so, the law is on the side of the person living in the house. You break into my house in the middle of the night, my step-dad will very likely shoot you. He isn't going to have a casual conversation with you about your intentions. That is a good way for all of us to end up very dead. If you are outside, the police can deal with you. If you come inside with evil on your mind, all bets are off.

    Interesting post Charlene. I feel badly for that young man's family. Terrible to lose a child like that.

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  7. Ashley has every right to own a gun and to shoot to kill anyone threatening him, his family and property. But he was totally wrong in shoot at the boys. Even if he missed on purpose, the bullet is still in the air and could hit anyone or anything. He needs to be prosecuted to the fullest extent because he is a dumb ass.

    I would hate to be the one who had to clean out that plane after every delivery. I wonder if the cows are strapped in or in crates or what?

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  8. Hello, Chenqui. my name a Borat. We a thank the U. S. and A. for your yankee cows.

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  9. Lonnie: True. Thanks for your post.

    Sarah: Some people have a shorter tether than others. There is a law that allows different reactions when you are defending your home. Though if the boy with a handful of rocks came inside shooting him seems too much.

    Knight: That is true.

    Missy: No, the police are reported to not have known about the ongoing situation.

    Robin: I feel bad for all involved. Mr. Ashley will believe he shouldn't have killed the kid too, if he doesn't already.

    Coffeypot: Thanks for your comment.

    Regarding plane cleaning, knowing UPS they would have lined the interior of the plane with plastic sheeting. The cattle each got a crate for the trip.

    AnnoyingJoe: I figure the farmers in central Asia will enjoy the new stock. Our farmers are happy to sell livestock for a good price. I looked for the price and couldn't find it.

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  10. Good post, Charlene. Something particularly compelling about your posts is the way you let your stories tell their own tale.

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  11. there is something going on with that guy besides rock throwing..you don't shoot unarmed kids period..and especially not for throwing rocks..do all kids look alike to him?..sad sad sad..
    looks like the beef deal is a win wins..

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  12. Christopher: Thank you. :o)

    YELLOWDOG GRANNY: You may be right. There is almost always more than is seen on the surface.

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  13. I don't believe in guns. If you're gonna kill someone...it should require more effort then pulling a triggor...make you think about your actions.

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  14. On the other hand the kids shouldn't have been throwing the rocks. Would I have shot them? No, but I would have shot close enough to scare the hell out of them, then went in and called the cops.

    I use a pellet rifle to keep kids out of my yard. Daisy BB guns have been doing that since the late 1800's.

    Anyway, over here an idiot tangled with a mountain goat without a gun.

    Goat - 1
    Monkey - 0

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  15. I don't believe in guns.

    You will change your mind if someone ever attacks you or someone you love. This isn't a Walt Disney world, no sir.

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  16. Charmaine: I agree. If you're going to kill someone, you should get sweaty and at least tired doing it; just as I believe hunters should give the animal they are hunting a fighting chance. Despite that, guns are too often the answer to a less deadly problem.

    BBC: While it is not a Walt Disney World [Disney's worlds are all commercial fantasy] the large number of guns makes them the goto for a lot of things that could be handled better.

    The man did not call the police on the ongoing rock throwing occasions.

    The 15 year old dead kid was not a neighborhood kid and was not involved in any previous incidents.

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Comments are encouraged.