Molest suspect shot 27 times by police

Casshew

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A 72-year-old suspected child molester killed by Petaluma police officers after allegedly brandishing a gun Oct. 1 had 27 bullets in his body, an autopsy showed.

James Anthony Decosta was shot in the head, neck, chest, abdomen and groin, according to the autopsy, with most of the wounds entering the left side. He also was struck in an arm, leg and foot, said Lt. Dave Edmonds of the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department.

Decosta was wanted on a $100,000 arrest warrant out of Sacramento dating to 1998 charging him with molesting a child under 14.


Five officers were placed on paid administrative leave after the shooting.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/10/08/BABADIGEST2.DTL
 
:clap: :clap: :clap:
So glad he gave them the opportunity.
 
A waste of 26 bullets thought and 5 officer's careers (maybe)... 1 bullet would have sufficed.
 
Too Bad he didn't get those slugs in 1998!
 
I share your feelings about molesters. I would like to offer a word of caution in this area.I know a family whose 18 year boy had sex with a 17 year old girl. They broke up, and 6 month later, the girl and mom went to the DA and pressed charges, saying that the boy put a "bar" or part of a Zanex pill in her drink 9 months earlier. They had sex that night, and many more times till they broke up.(He broke up with her) She, and her mother were vindictive, and the DA(not buying the mom's story at all) agreed to put the boy on probation for a year, because the boy's family did not have the legal funds to fight it. The boy was in a car that was pulled over for a traffic violation, and a joint was found. His probation was revoked and he is spending 2 years in jail, and his mother has to post signs and things in the paper noting that a "sex offender" lives there. I know these people. He is no pervert, or anything close. I have a young daughter, so don't think I'm soft on this sort of thing..but please don't get a "hang the *advertiser censored*" attitude brfore you know the facts. This could happen to your son, or mine...god forbid..mpi
 
Magnum PI said:
I share your feelings about molesters. I would like to offer a word of caution in this area.I know a family whose 18 year boy had sex with a 17 year old girl. They broke up, and 6 month later, the girl and mom went to the DA and pressed charges, saying that the boy put a "bar" or part of a Zanex pill in her drink 9 months earlier. They had sex that night, and many more times till they broke up.(He broke up with her) She, and her mother were vindictive, and the DA(not buying the mom's story at all) agreed to put the boy on probation for a year, because the boy's family did not have the legal funds to fight it. The boy was in a car that was pulled over for a traffic violation, and a joint was found. His probation was revoked and he is spending 2 years in jail, and his mother has to post signs and things in the paper noting that a "sex offender" lives there. I know these people. He is no pervert, or anything close. I have a young daughter, so don't think I'm soft on this sort of thing..but please don't get a "hang the *advertiser censored*" attitude brfore you know the facts. This could happen to your son, or mine...god forbid..mpi
Sorry MPI, but I don't see the comparison here.

SNIP: James Anthony Decosta, 72, wanted since 1998 on a $100,000 felony warrant for forced child molestation, was shot and killed by Petaluma police officers at around 5 p.m. after allegedly exiting his Ford coupe with a handgun, said police department sources.

An agent from the California Department of Justice in Sacramento and a Sacramento Police Department detective tracked Decosta to Petaluma, and asked Petaluma police for help. DeCosta has a brother who lives in Petaluma.

Petaluma police detectives found him leaving the Petaluma Valley Athletic Club at 85 Corona Road after working out, and requested help from uniformed police officers.

They attempted to stop his vehicle, and he initially cooperated, but then led them on a brief chase, stopping in the area of North McDowell and Dynamic streets.

The officers eventually were able to make a "high-risk" traffic stop, which typically includes officers drawing their guns before a suspect exits a vehicle. Decosta, a former resident of Sacramento, stepped out of the Ford coupe with a semiautomatic pistol and pointed it at officers, police said. Nine officers were at the scene, and Cox, Glaviano, Lipanovich, Miller and Pierre fired shots at him.

http://www.arguscourier.com/news/news/policeshooting051005.html
 
I agree, I wasn't trying to compare the two completely different cases. My point was that we should look before we leap in these cases. Some cases are obvious, like repeated offences and cases involving violence. If I'd have told this story without the details, the boy would sound like any other pervert, and the "git a rope" mentality would prevail...bad comparasion on my part...mpi
 

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