http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36771723/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/
QuoteASHEVILLE, N.C. - An armed man spotted at a North Carolina airport parking lot just after Air Force One departed Sunday told an officer he wanted to see the president and had a car equipped with police gear, including a siren and flashing lights, authorities said.
Joseph Sean McVey, 23, of Coshocton, Ohio, is charged with going armed in terror of the public, a misdemeanor, said Asheville Regional Airport Police Capt. Kevan Smith.
Security was heightened at the airport because President Barack Obama was leaving after spending the weekend vacationing in Asheville. He was headed to a memorial service for 29 West Virginia coal miners killed in an explosion.
At about 2 p.m., airport police saw McVey get out of a maroon car with Ohio plates and that he had a sidearm, Smith said. Both airport police and the Secret Service questioned him and he was taken into custody. The suspect was nowhere near the president's plane, which had just departed, and was in a rental car return lot that is open to the public, Smith said.
His car was equipped with clear LED law enforcement-style strobe lights in the front and rear dash, Smith said. The car also had a mounted digital camera in the front window, four large antennas on the trunk lid, and under the steering wheel was a working siren box. Smith said McVey was not in law enforcement.
Remote earpiece
When McVey got out of the car, he was listening to a handheld scanner and radio that had a remote earpiece, Smith said. Police said he was monitoring local agencies and had formulas for rifle scopes on a note in his cup holder. Police did not immediately elaborate on what the formulas might mean and Smith was not available to comment late Sunday.
McVey gave authorities an Ohio driver's license, but a computer check failed to show the number was valid, police said. His hometown of Coshocton is about halfway between Pittsburgh and Columbus, Ohio.
When Officer Kaleb Rice asked him what he was doing, McVey told him he heard the president was in town and wanted to see him.
Rice removed the firearm and took McVey into custody. He was being held at the Buncombe County jail on $100,000 bond.
The investigation into what McVey was doing with a gun, with formulas for rifle scopes and why his car was equipped with police gear was continuing, Smith said. The Secret Service had no comment on the arrest, deferring to airport police.
A jail officer said it didn't appear McVey had an attorney.
There is a good chance this is just some random nutjob, but I'd put a wager on him being affiliated with a Tea Party movement. Also, it is a little creepy that his last name is McVey (yes, I know not exactly the same as McVeigh, but c'mon, it's still a little creepy).
so, what did he do wrong?
did he brandish the firearm, or something?
:?
"Joseph Sean McVey, 23, of Coshocton, Ohio, is charged with going armed in terror of the public, a misdemeanor, said Asheville Regional Airport Police Capt. Kevan Smith."
yeah, i read that.
what, exactly, does that mean?
was anybody terrorized?
Well, what do you think his intentions were? Was he expecting an NRA Masquerade party at the airport?
Quote from: Rev. What's-His-Name? on April 26, 2010, 02:46:40 PM
Well, what do you think his intentions were? Was he expecting an NRA Masquerade party at the airport?
I certainly think he warranted investigation based on what they said in the article.
what i'm curious about is the charge.
is 'going armed in terror of the public' is a crime of suspected intent?
The statement does not make sense to me. "Going armed in terror of the public"
Was he in terror? The public was in terror? The cops?
Am I just having a breezy brain moment or what?
Well, I'm not terribly well-versed on North Carolina laws, but I'm thinking if he had just had the gun, and not all of the stuff that looked like he was trying to impersonate law enforcement, perhaps it would've been a different charge. That coupled with his admitted intend of wanting to meet the President, well, I think they made the right call. Again, can you think of a reasonable scenario where someone who wants to say hi to the President comes armed and with equipment for impersonating a law enforcement officer? Oh, and also with a fake ID?
Quote from: Khara on April 26, 2010, 03:04:53 PM
The statement does not make sense to me. "Going armed in terror of the public"
Was he in terror? The public was in terror? The cops?
Am I just having a breezy brain moment or what?
It is clumsily worded but I think it essentially means "attempted terrorism", or at least that is my interpretation.
Quote from: Iptuous on April 26, 2010, 02:27:29 PM
so, what did he do wrong?
did he brandish the firearm, or something?
:?
Gun. Airport. President.
One of these things does not belong.
I think they mean he scared the crap out of people by taking a gun to the airport while the president was there. IE, they don't think he intended to hurt anyone (or at least, don't have evidence of it), but the way he was acting was still pretty damned close to walking into the terminal and shouting I HAVE A BOMB with lumps of clay strapped to his chest. Think of the ATHF ads or the girl who got arrested for having blinking LEDs on her shirt.
For once I have to agree, since he had actual weapons and actual items that could be used in a terrorist act, instead of people thinking bomb=a bunch of LEDs.
Quote from: Rev. What's-His-Name? on April 26, 2010, 03:06:53 PM
Well, I'm not terribly well-versed on North Carolina laws, but I'm thinking if he had just had the gun, and not all of the stuff that looked like he was trying to impersonate law enforcement, perhaps it would've been a different charge. That coupled with his admitted intend of wanting to meet the President, well, I think they made the right call. Again, can you think of a reasonable scenario where someone who wants to say hi to the President comes armed and with equipment for impersonating a law enforcement officer? Oh, and also with a fake ID?
Oh, no. i totally agree. it's very suspicious, and it would be negligent not to investigate/keep tabs.
but, being suspicious isn't a crime (afaik). if they had evidence that he was concretely planning on doing anything, then he would be charged with 'attempted X', right?
seeing as how the pres had already left 30 minutes earlier, and that he hadn't done anything that they could more explicitly charge him for, do you think they made the right call in arresting him? i would think the 'right call' would have been to simply keep tabs on him, and see if he had any associations that could have led to a larger conspiracy doing reconnaissance, rather than assume he was a 'lone wolf'.
Well, it appears that what he did does constitute a violation of the law in North Carolina. He obviously has the right to appeal and contest the arrest and charges. If he had just had the gun, and not the police get-up and fake ID, perhaps the charges would've been different, or perhaps there wouldn't have been any charges assuming the gun was registered and he had the right to carry it. Again, I don't know what the gun laws are like in NC.
It would seem to me what tipped this into this "terror" category WAS the police get-up and fake ID, and the admitted purposeful desire to meet the President. I really can't understand an innocent scenario involving visiting the President and having all that stuff with him. I would argue that is what this law is for.
I actually don't think he intended any harm. I think he's just a nutter who scared the ever loving crap out of the authorities and is being explained, in a ham fisted bureaucratic sort of way, that he shouldn't do shit like that.
Quote from: Rev. What's-His-Name? on April 26, 2010, 02:06:27 PM
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36771723/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/
QuoteASHEVILLE, N.C. - An armed man spotted at a North Carolina airport parking lot just after Air Force One departed Sunday told an officer he wanted to see the president and had a car equipped with police gear, including a siren and flashing lights, authorities said.
Joseph Sean McVey, 23, of Coshocton, Ohio, is charged with going armed in terror of the public, a misdemeanor, said Asheville Regional Airport Police Capt. Kevan Smith.
Security was heightened at the airport because President Barack Obama was leaving after spending the weekend vacationing in Asheville. He was headed to a memorial service for 29 West Virginia coal miners killed in an explosion.
At about 2 p.m., airport police saw McVey get out of a maroon car with Ohio plates and that he had a sidearm, Smith said. Both airport police and the Secret Service questioned him and he was taken into custody. The suspect was nowhere near the president's plane, which had just departed, and was in a rental car return lot that is open to the public, Smith said.
His car was equipped with clear LED law enforcement-style strobe lights in the front and rear dash, Smith said. The car also had a mounted digital camera in the front window, four large antennas on the trunk lid, and under the steering wheel was a working siren box. Smith said McVey was not in law enforcement.
Remote earpiece
When McVey got out of the car, he was listening to a handheld scanner and radio that had a remote earpiece, Smith said. Police said he was monitoring local agencies and had formulas for rifle scopes on a note in his cup holder. Police did not immediately elaborate on what the formulas might mean and Smith was not available to comment late Sunday.
McVey gave authorities an Ohio driver's license, but a computer check failed to show the number was valid, police said. His hometown of Coshocton is about halfway between Pittsburgh and Columbus, Ohio.
When Officer Kaleb Rice asked him what he was doing, McVey told him he heard the president was in town and wanted to see him.
Rice removed the firearm and took McVey into custody. He was being held at the Buncombe County jail on $100,000 bond.
The investigation into what McVey was doing with a gun, with formulas for rifle scopes and why his car was equipped with police gear was continuing, Smith said. The Secret Service had no comment on the arrest, deferring to airport police.
A jail officer said it didn't appear McVey had an attorney.
There is a good chance this is just some random nutjob, but I'd put a wager on him being affiliated with a Tea Party movement. Also, it is a little creepy that his last name is McVey (yes, I know not exactly the same as McVeigh, but c'mon, it's still a little creepy).
I know that guy's sister. Coshocton is a shithole (I live there) and I'd say about half of the people here are crazy, especcially the McVey's.
Apparently "armed in terror of the public" is basically a misdemeanor that you can get popped for if you're openly carrying a weapon and people feel menaced.
Quote from: Sigmatic on April 26, 2010, 11:16:39 PM
Apparently "armed in terror of the public" is basically a misdemeanor that you can get popped for if you're openly carrying a weapon and people feel menaced.
brandishing a weapon is already a crime.
why do they need to reinvent it and stick the word 'terror' on it?
the article didn't say that he was openly carrying his pistol, though.
it also didn't say that any of the stuff on his car was verboten. unless he had some insignia or the words 'police' on his car, then i don't think he can be charged with impersonating a police officer. (although i believe most states have a law against using blue flashing lights on your car.)
police scanners are legal most places.
antennae are hardly menacing.
from the article, i get the impression that he didn't do anything explicitly wrong, but when taken all together, it was very suspicious....
Quote from: Iptuous on April 26, 2010, 11:28:19 PM
Quote from: Sigmatic on April 26, 2010, 11:16:39 PM
Apparently "armed in terror of the public" is basically a misdemeanor that you can get popped for if you're openly carrying a weapon and people feel menaced.
brandishing a weapon is already a crime.
why do they need to reinvent it and stick the word 'terror' on it?
the article didn't say that he was openly carrying his pistol, though.
it also didn't say that any of the stuff on his car was verboten. unless he had some insignia or the words 'police' on his car, then i don't think he can be charged with impersonating a police officer. (although i believe most states have a law against using blue flashing lights on your car.)
police scanners are legal most places.
antennae are hardly menacing.
from the article, i get the impression that he didn't do anything explicitly wrong, but when taken all together, it was very suspicious....
A rare case of top down causation?
Quote from: Iptuous on April 26, 2010, 11:28:19 PM
Quote from: Sigmatic on April 26, 2010, 11:16:39 PM
Apparently "armed in terror of the public" is basically a misdemeanor that you can get popped for if you're openly carrying a weapon and people feel menaced.
brandishing a weapon is already a crime.
why do they need to reinvent it and stick the word 'terror' on it?
You're
so 20th century, Ippie.