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Apparently not in Bay Shore, Long Island resident Eric Stetz's lease: Being able to set homemade booby traps to make sure unwanted people stay out. Stetz was arrested and charged with reckless endangerment for a vicious-looking booby trap his super found.
Apparently Stetz's super had told him in advance that a Verizon agent needed to access his apartment on Thursday, but no one was around when they knocked. Newsday reports the "super went to open the door, felt resistance and found the rigged contraption"-- a big knife duct-taped to a crutch, which was installed with an elastic cord.
The super was not injured. Stetz also had another similar trap at his bedroom door. A police officer told the Post, "It was a real crude setup. Somehow, you push the door open, the strings get tighter, and [the knives] snap into you."
His mother told Newsday that squatters who lived in the building "made him paranoid and fearful he would be robbed. Freda Stetz said, "It was a stupid thing to do and he'll never do it again." Her son, who reportedly asked investigators "Did anyone get hurt with my knives? I wish they did," was released on bail.
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Well, if you can't release a guy on bail who regrets not killing people with his knives, who can you release? I'm sure this will work itself out perfectly.
Indiana Jones kind of contraption with a McGiver kinnda twist... LOL crutch with a knife... you gotta do what you gotta do to protect your treasures. I wonder what kind of punishment he will get...
wow, someone actually took my advice!
I love the bungee cord, much better than the X files episode "home". I was thinking a rube goldberg contraption with a pulley and bowling ball.
wow what a moron. he could of done a better job and what sob the super is for rating the man out LOL.
Coming soon to a weapons retailer near you—the Crutch Knife® (patent pending)
I can also see it being sold on a late-night infomercial... Buy one, get the second one free.
wait. Why is it illegal for people to booby trap their own homes? only burglars are gonna get killed.
guess he doesn't like Verizon too much.
what a character!
Points for ingenuity.
yeah you can't booby trap your own place anymore? what kind of police and nanny state are we living in? some asshole burglar who is coming in to rip off your hard earned shit should feel some pain, grow some cajones people
Why is it illegal for people to booby trap their own homes? only burglars are gonna get killed.
it's been illegal for some time now. The theory is that if cops or fireman or people with legitimate reason to enter your home, by force if necessary, would be injured. You can only use deadly force when it is necessary to protect your life, not your property. In this case, super is allowed access to the apartment, and could have been injured by this device.
I guess I'll have to disassemble my "Shotgun Crutch" now....
You at least have to give him credit for being semi-sympathetic. He offered a crutch for the intruder to hobble away.
Now if he can rig a mannequin hand to rotary dial 9-1-1 and snap a few pics with a disposable camera, it would be complete.
@Chimbles, his name is spelled MacGyver and he is my best friend.
Just about every first year law student learns that booby traps are a bad idea. See Katko v. Briney, where a burglar won $20k after he was shot in the leg by a spring-loaded shotgun.
It's an Iowa case, not New York, but the principle is pretty consistent across states.
See also Wikipedia's entry for spring gun.
Yeah, wasn't there a case where a homeowner attached an electrical cord to a metal grate and caught a burglar?
This is shades of Death Wish.. I forgot which one.
This guy is obviously a sick puppy, and we'll all be laughing out the other side of our mouths when he actually does kill someone someday.
That said, I do hate Verizon.