Don't mess with a pregnant woman with a load of stuff in her purse!

It's on video in the link.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — A pregnant woman tells News 13 she chased a man and hit him with her SUV in a Walmart parking lot after she says he attempted to steal her purse.

It happened around 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the Walmart on Bleachery Boulevard. News 13 was there and got exclusive video of the incident.

A witness to the alleged break-in, Blake Bennett, told News 13 he confronted Raines.

"When I walked out of Walmart, he had her purse and was pulling all of her stuff out," Bennett said. "Then me and my friend told him to put it down and 'What are you doing?'"

Braswell said Raines ran away with her purse and dropped some other items when she confronted him. She said she initially chased after him on foot but decided to pursue him in her vehicle because she's pregnant.

"He was with my purse and he took off and I took off after him," Braswell told News 13. "Me being five months pregnant, I chased a little ways then come back, jumped in the car, threw it in gear and come across the curb and ran him over. I was not going to let him get away with it. It's not right, it's not fair."

Raines was transported to the hospital after the incident. Asheville police told News 13 he is expected to be OK and only suffered minor injuries.

Raines is charged with felony breaking and entering, larceny and misdemeanor damage to property. Braswell claims the man broke the screens on her iPad and phone. The Asheville Police Department told News 13 that is where the misdemeanor damage to property comes from.

Braswell is charged with misdemeanor assault with a deadly weapon.

Link

Property vs force is always separated by a very fine line. In her circumstances, I don't think she crossed it.

Perfect opportunity for Jury Nullification....except she probably doesn't get a jury trial for a misdemeanor ?

Those of you who have been around pregnant women, know you don't stir the pot. Apparently he was ignorant of that little life fact.

That video of her hitting with the SUV was awesome!

He almost had wings.

Piece of shit

Five months preggers?

With my wife each day was like trying to defuze a thermonuclear bomb, while blind drunk, in the dark, underwater, using a 3' pipe wrench and 20 pound sledge.

Not sure of the fine points in this case, but the general rule here in NC is that ordinary citizens cannot use deadly force solely in defense of property. Talking here about pure property crime - if someone puts you in reasonable fear of death or great bodily injury, etc. then all options are on the table.

I hope for the lady's sake she can express a reasonable fear of something like that. Even so, and even if you're in reasonable fear, once the perp disengages and runs away, the 'reasonable fear' aspect is off the table - he's not threatening anyone with harm running away. Can't legally shoot them, can't run them down, etc. at that point.

From the 10,000 ft view, that makes some sort of sense - even for someone who was tried and convicted of a property crime, the death penalty is not on the table.

I sympathize with the lady, but she'll need good representation and some luck not to wind up in some very serious trouble. She'll probably also need to stop talking to the press with statements like

quote:

I chased a little ways then come back, jumped in the car, threw it in gear and come across the curb and ran him over.

So I sympathize with her (and not the perp!) and hope she finds a way through this mess. It will probably wind up costing far more than whatever was in her purse, sadly.

I don't care if it's legal or not. I'm just glad she nailed that trash. Should've killed him.

The video was amusing. Crime would drop drastically if being run over with a car/truck/SUV was a legal punishment for theft. However, in the real world, you can't run over or shoot someone who is fleeing from a petty crime.

The other thing that jumped out at me is she admitted to committing assault with a deadly weapon on camera to the reporter.

Hell, it was just a little Explorer Sport. It's not like it was an Excursion or something dangerous.
They should give her free diapers for 6 months.

Never underestimate the ferocity of a pregnant woman. Can't believe a jury in the South would ever convict her, even though deadly force in a mere property crime is never ok in the eye of the law

quote:

I sympathize with the lady, but she'll need good representation and some luck not to wind up in some very serious trouble.

Public pressure on the local prosecutor.

Emails and phone calls and letters to the prosecutors office advocating for a non-criminal outcome. "Trespass with a vehicle on his back" or something like that. This will have an effect, especially if the local DA is an elected position.

It says something about the law enforcement climate if citizens feel that they need to take things into their own hands, because the police can't or won't deal with low level crimes like this.

Making a very broad assumption of the perp; North Carolina, white, shirtless, skinny, in Walmart parking lot ripping off pregnant women = meth head. They are endemic in this part of Florida, too.

I recognize that police are not equipped, staffed or funded to deal with stopping this kind of crime. They can't be everywhere at once, and we wouldn't want them to be. On the other hand, citizens are sick of this shit. Seriously sick of this shit. My old neighborhood just suffered a rash of car break-ins. The perp? A guy in his mid 20s on a bicycle with either a meth or opioid problem. To their credit, the local cops got him because of the pattern of the break-ins.

She needs a non-criminal traffic ticket, not a conviction for a misdemeanor offense. Oh, and she needs a medal. And she needs to paint the silhouette of a meth-head on her driver's door like a fighter pilot.

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:
However, in the real world, you can't run over or shoot someone who is fleeing from a petty crime.

Oh, you can, even though perhaps you shouldn't.

Unless he's really too stupid to learn anything, the thief might not do this again.

The woman -- it's hard to blame her, but she does need to learn to keep her mouth shut and let her lawyer speak for her. "Anything you say can, and will be, used against you"

quote:

Originally posted by joel9507:
Not sure of the fine points in this case, but the general rule here in NC is that ordinary citizens cannot use deadly force solely in defense of property. Talking here about pure property crime - if someone puts you in reasonable fear of death or great bodily injury, etc. then all options are on the table.

I hope for the lady's sake she can express a reasonable fear of something like that. Even so, and even if you're in reasonable fear, once the perp disengages and runs away, the 'reasonable fear' aspect is off the table - he's not threatening anyone with harm running away. Can't legally shoot them, can't run them down, etc. at that point.

From the 10,000 ft view, that makes some sort of sense - even for someone who was tried and convicted of a property crime, the death penalty is not on the table.

I sympathize with the lady, but she'll need good representation and some luck not to wind up in some very serious trouble. She'll probably also need to stop talking to the press with statements like

quote:

I chased a little ways then come back, jumped in the car, threw it in gear and come across the curb and ran him over.

So I sympathize with her (and not the perp!) and hope she finds a way through this mess. It will probably wind up costing far more than whatever was in her purse, sadly.

If she ran over a purse snatcher, what do you think she'd do to a judge that sentences her? 'Temporary insanity' isn't a stretch in this case (my wife is 4mos & just starting to be a little more unstable than she was before).

This is where, 'fuck it, all's well that ends well, dismissed' <gavel bangs> is appropriate.

quote:

Originally posted by Crom:
Perfect opportunity for Jury Nullification....except she probably doesn't get a jury trial for a misdemeanor ?

Sure you do. Infractions, like illegal turns, no, but misdemeanors, if jail is a punishment, jury trial if you want.

quote:

Originally posted by snidera:
If she ran over a purse snatcher, what do you think she'd do to a judge that sentences her?

What in the world are you talking about?

quote:

Originally posted by ArtieS:
she needs to paint the silhouette of a meth-head on her driver's door like a fighter pilot.

I think that the side of the front driver-side fender is the traditional location for these merit badges. At least that's where I put mine.

Maybe there's a business opportunity here, stick-on vinyl decals for this purpose. Too bad that the forum member(s) doing this are no longer in the business.

Fox News is about to do a segment, with video. Red Jeep.

Here is a video

The video in that link is hilarious. I watched it twice and laughed harder the second time.

Is that her purse I see go flying?