North Carolina deputy kills suspected PS3 thief and his dog [update 2]

by James Ransom-Wiley { Dec 3rd 2006 at 7:00PM }

A New Hanover County sheriff's deputy Friday night shot and killed a man suspected in an armed robbery of two PlayStation 3 consoles. Peyton Strickland, 18, was killed inside his rented home while unarmed, claimed one of his roommates. Authorities were serving a warrant for Strickland's arrest in connection with his suspected involvement in the theft of two PS3s from a University of North Carolina Wilmington student on November 17. A deputy also shot and killed Strickland's German shepherd outside the home.

Investigators are currently reviewing the conduct of all officers involved in the tragic incident. "No one's above the law. If there's any criminal conduct that can be established, I'm not going to hesitate to treat them as any other defendant," vowed District Attorney Ben David.

Update 1: Deputy charged with 2nd degree murder for slaying of suspected PS3 thief
Update 2: Murder charged dropped against deputy who shot suspected PS3 thief

Tags: deputy, New Hanover, NewHanover, North Carolina, NorthCarolina, PS3, robbery, shooting, theft

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Norm @ Dec 3rd 2006 7:04PM

"No one's above the law. If there's any criminal conduct that can be established, I'm not going to hesitate to treat them as any other defendant,"

So they should be shot to death in their own home?

Jeremy @ Dec 3rd 2006 7:10PM

That quote is directed towards the officers involved I think

Dee @ Dec 3rd 2006 7:12PM

@1

I think he was referencing the officer involved in the shooting, not the person who was shot.

the_insider @ Dec 3rd 2006 7:11PM

Those cops probably played too much GTA...

Rhine @ Dec 3rd 2006 7:13PM

Why did they have to shoot the dog?

obo @ Dec 3rd 2006 7:12PM

I think Norm is too. If the guy who was shot to death was suspected of stealing a PS3 in his home, then one way to interpret the DA's statement is that the cop suspected of improper conduct should be shot to death in his own home as well.

Shaun @ Dec 3rd 2006 7:19PM

it was suspected of wii crimes

RanWitScissorz @ Dec 3rd 2006 7:22PM

Wow, used to go to UNC-W and lived in the on campus apartments where the original purchaser was mugged. Crazy stuff, poor dog.

Foetoid @ Dec 3rd 2006 7:26PM

Did he bust a cap in the 2 PS3's as well, then we coulda flamed him as a crazy Wii fanboy, LOL (no, i am not dissing the wii fanboys, i am one).

Grog @ Dec 3rd 2006 7:30PM

The dog was most likely shot for menacing or attacking the cops.

This is really sad, both that someone stole a couple video game systems and that he lost his life over it.

Mitchell Dyer @ Dec 3rd 2006 7:29PM

Oh awesome... Go to a suspects house and kill him and his dog... Great Coppin'.

Optimus Prime @ Dec 3rd 2006 7:30PM

The person was suspected of armed robbery, which elevates the situation; they had to be prepared for guns and such on the premises; ie. their guns were probably drawn when they entered the home.

In most places, some type of SWAT or elite police squad with proper training would have handled this (due to guns involved)... this isnt the job for rank and file cops.

ChrisL @ Dec 3rd 2006 7:36PM

My guess would be that the dog scared the cop; cop shot the dog; owner of dog freaked out and attacked cop; cop, still wigged out, shot owner. Bad stuff for everyone involved, but the cop probably doesn't need to be wearing a badge and carrying a gun.

Ignatius @ Dec 4th 2006 1:53PM

Well, they should have only shot the guy if he pointed a gun at them or had one in his hand after they told him to drop it. But I guess when you put small-time cops on a big-time case (having a gun pointed in your face is probably going to be the scariest single thing to happen in your life), someone gets killed.

N3k74r @ Dec 3rd 2006 7:40PM

He broke the law. Got owned. His fault.

GL @ Dec 3rd 2006 7:42PM

No offense, but to those that are angry at the officers for shooting the suspect (and his dog) perhaps should get the entire story before passing judgement. After all, most of these guys are on the level and they are risking their lives to protect us every day. That does deserve a little respect.

If they were wrong, then the truth will be told (hopefully) and they will be punished if they were out of line.

tracked @ Dec 3rd 2006 7:43PM

He got PWNED by the L33t police of New Carolina. LOL don't mess with the cops. To bad the dog had to die.

This was a fanboy on fanboy violence.

moclippa @ Dec 3rd 2006 7:45PM

"Got owned"....

N3k74r .... you need to stop playing video games and get out more, maybe make a couple of real friends and enjoy some human contact beyond your Counter-Strike and Halo buddies.

polly @ Dec 3rd 2006 7:47PM

If they had just bought a 360 everything would be ok.

Seabass @ Dec 3rd 2006 7:59PM

"He got PWNED by the L33t police of New Carolina."

NEW Carolina? Are you that fucking stupid?

GunForHire @ Dec 4th 2006 5:10AM

I'm surprised how some of you can be so flippant over this. A guy got shot dead in his home because he may have stolen a few PS3s? That's totally unacceptable. If it turns out the guy pulled a gun, then it's a different story.

But as it stands now, it's terrible that someone the same age as me, only 18, lost his life over something so stupid. Just because he may have robbed someone, even at gunpoint, doesn't mean he deserved to be gunned down like that.

diskoboy @ Dec 3rd 2006 8:07PM

For those wondering why the cop shot the dog - most people keep large dogs as a sort of makeshift survaliance system. If someone comes around, the dog barks.

A. To let the owner know there is a threat present.
B. To perhaps scare the threat into leaving.

In this case, it was probably both. But I don't think it should've been killed. Muzzled or tranquilized, yes. Killed, no.

SickNic @ Dec 3rd 2006 8:14PM

Poor dog :-(

Chucky's Cat @ Dec 3rd 2006 8:16PM

"He got PWNED by the L33t police of New Carolina."

LOL, people who don't know the states of their own country are obviously spending too much time playing video games and should be shot by police.

Alejandro Quan-Madrid @ Dec 3rd 2006 8:18PM

What ever happened to innocent until proven guilty?

He is SUSPECTED of armed (with a blunt object) robbery and he is shot and killed in his own home where cops did not even provide a copy of the search warrant?

Damn, these are scary times we live in. The Cop probably heard one too many homicidal video game player fairy tales.

Werbal @ Dec 3rd 2006 8:24PM

Police officer was obviously a Nintendo fanboy.

PaleGringo @ Dec 3rd 2006 8:25PM

For cripes sakes, people. I can't believe that you guys are making light of this. And even if you had to make a stupid comment about the whole ordeal, why not the part where the customer was "struck ... with a six-inch blunt object."

Fact: A lot of people wanted to get a PS3 on launch day.

Fact: Justin Raines was assaulted and somebody lifted his gear that he purchased

Fact: Being shot sucks. A lot.

I'm not questioning the decision made by the officers; GL made a good point above. When it comes down to a potentially life-threatening situation, a lot of people are rightly concerned with preserving their own existance. It's really sad and stupid that things ended up like this, there's no doubts there. But when it comes down to it all, when somebody breaks the law, bad things happen. You get victims, perpetrators, and law enforcement involved. Not to mention the uncertainty, in cases like this one, where you still don't have any proof that this guy stole a console in the first place.

It sucks all the way around, and people who are laughing at this (read: Foetoid, N3k74r, tracked, and whomever else posts stupid crap after I submit this) really need to take a serious look at their lives, and get their priorities straight. This is not something funny.

435 @ Dec 3rd 2006 8:25PM

There are a number of possibilities, so passing judgement on the officers involved, and the late suspect, without full information is not prudent.

If they were serving a warrant, there could be the very real possibility that the victim was, as they say, holding a PS3 controller in his hands. When he went to the door, he could have made a motion with said controller that could've been construed as hostile, and was shot for it. We don't know yet, details aren't available.

As for the dog, it may have attacked an officer.

No matter what it was, a tragedy. The poor puppy. :

tracked @ Dec 3rd 2006 8:30PM

I'm not american. When i wrote new carolina. I was looking at New Hanover and i saw North Carolina at the top. GOt them mixed up. So sue me.

Atleast i didn't get my ass capped.

MosquitoControl @ Dec 3rd 2006 8:57PM

"What ever happened to innocent until proven guilty?"

Goes out the window if you attack a cop.

Which, giving the cop the benefit of the doubt, might have happened. Cops don't tend to shoot people unless they feel they have no choice. Shooting people isn't fun. And can very often lead to an out-of-work cop.

Maybe it was a misunderstanding. Maybe the kid did something dumb. Maybe the cops were creeps. But I'd jump on the first two being more likely than the latter.

Superdotman @ Dec 3rd 2006 9:13PM

The sad thing is, the guy (supposedly) stole TWO PS3s from someone else, likely an eBayer. When the cop encountered him, though, he was holding a Sixaxis. Does stealing a console from an eBayer in order to play it really a crime?

Well, technically, yeah. But it's the principle of the thing.

Ty Howell @ Dec 3rd 2006 9:22PM

haha yeah i live in wilmington and like like 10 minutes from uncw..didnt even here about this on the news. gahdamn

Anonymouse Rep @ Dec 3rd 2006 9:44PM

I love how the perpetrator of the crime is being shown as such a great human being.

"He was the best kid, talented, gifted, determined," he said.

Hey, guys - here's the reality of the situation. You've got two guys that mugged and beat a kid for his PS3s. The police had already arrested one guy for this crime. You KNOW one of the questions asked of that guy had to be, do you know if your friend has any guns in his house.

The UNCW police also knew that his house was the site of many calls in the past, so they involved the local sherriff.

NOW - put yourself in the position of that deputy.

You're knocking at the door of the home of someone who has committed an armed robbery. (Hitting someone with a sap or blackjack CAN still kill them.) Said person probably has a large dog barking in the background now, and doesn't immediately answer the door, so you use a doorknocker. You see someone coming towards you with something black in his hand. You yell at him to drop the weapon - because in the split second which is all you have, that's what it looks like - and get on the floor. The guy that you KNOW has weapons and may be holding a gun raises his hand towards you.

That's when you as the cop are NOT going to take chances with your own life, and put two in the chest and one in the head, to quote Saints Row.

Now you've got big ass German Shepherd - note that it wasn't a little Poodle or Chihuahua that you can just kick, but a German Shepherd - charging at you. The rest of your magazine is going into the dog, because you're not going to get chewed up by the dog, either.

Total elapsed time, probably 4 - 5 seconds.

Did the kid steal the PS3 systems? Probably - and innocent until proven guilty is in a court of law. How about this one - don't break the law in the first place or bad things can happen to you. Does it suck that he got shot? Yep - but I don't feel sorry for the kid or the dog - I feel sorry for the cop. He's the one who had to make the decision in a split-second - and if he hesitated and it was the WRONG decision, then his wife is a widow and his kids no longer have a daddy. That happens way too many times.

earl g @ Dec 3rd 2006 9:48PM

I grew up in Wilmington, and the police there are a bunch of self-righteous thugs that call in 16 other officers all with guns out for a routine traffic stop.

Foetoid @ Dec 3rd 2006 9:53PM

@25 "It sucks all the way around, and people who are laughing at this (read: Foetoid, N3k74r, tracked, and whomever else posts stupid crap after I submit this) really need to take a serious look at their lives, and get their priorities straight. This is not something funny"

You need to shut you mouth when your talking to me (?). My comment was purely based on the notion that IF he had also shot the PS3's in question, we COULD flame him as a Nintendo Fanboy. Obviously that didnt happen. Unlike N3k74r and other posters here, my comment wasn't at all disrespectful. I personally know what it is like to lose a loved one who was wrongfully killed by police so i would like to kindly ask you to shut the fuck up and leave me out of your examples.

Ben @ Dec 3rd 2006 9:57PM

Were the PS3s OK?

blindfromthesun @ Dec 3rd 2006 9:57PM

This is serious news...and people have the audacity to make light of it. I'm ashamed to be a gamer when life and death is a joke. No one respawns or has more than one life to live. Live in your world, play in ours should be read: Live in your world, cause life ain't a videogame. Peace out

Negativecool @ Dec 3rd 2006 9:58PM

earl g

They also appear to be Sony fanboys...That deputy dealt justice as if ordered by Sony Yakuza. It went down like this...

Sony goon - "He appears to have robbed a Sony fan of his PS3 sir."

Ken Kutaragi- "He did WHAT?! I want him DEAD! I want his family DEAD! I even want his F***ING DOG DEAD!

Sony goon - "It's being taken care of sir, we own the law enforcement in that area."

Ken Kutaragi - "Good!...I feel good, I think I'll promote myself."

Shogan @ Dec 3rd 2006 10:07PM

Talented, gifted, and determined to rob people and steal from them. Yeah, a really great person... so sad for the dog.

Question @ Dec 3rd 2006 10:15PM

The comments are so fucking funny. Joystiq posts serious news,and ya'll laugh about it,and posts comments like "pwned in NEW CAROLINA".

Innocent 'till proven guilty,indeed.

Ralod @ Dec 3rd 2006 10:13PM

"Why did they have to shoot the dog?"

"it was suspected of wii crimes"

Ok this was a very tragic event, and who knows if the cop was at fault, or just taking steps to safeguard himself.

However, those 2 lines had me cracking up. I am sorry if that makes me a bad person but damn:)

Defenestrator2.0 @ Dec 3rd 2006 10:13PM

How is it that you guys keep on feeling sorry for the dog, but not the suspect? Is a person's life not important to you? Now, I understand that the officers "could" have tranquilized the dog and the man, but cops don't usually carry a tranquilizer gun with them. Also, imagine yourself in this situation:

You're entering a dark home which possibly belongs to a suspected shooter, who obviously has a gun, with your own gun in your hands. You see eyes in the dark that suddenly attack you or you hear some noise in the dark behind you. What's your first instinct? You get jumpy and defend yourself with the closest thing to you: your gun. Down goes the dog. Then, a split second after that, something else lunges at you. Keep in mind that this is all still in the dark. Again, you shoot to defend yourself. Down goes the man. See how you don't really have time to react with tranquilizers (if they even carry those) or a taser gun?

Now, I'm not saying that this is necessarily how it happened, or that I approve of the officer's actions, but try to think of it from a different perspective.

withoutasol @ Dec 3rd 2006 10:27PM

You guys have no regard for human life whatsoever. First the ebayer guy in line who gets shot "deserved" it, and now the people who supposedly stole ps3's deserve death as well? Cops are here to protect not kill- especially not kill 18's who steal silly PS3's.

Ben @ Dec 3rd 2006 10:30PM

People care about the dog because they have the emotional depth of children. Children like dogs. They don't understand how adults have to make difficult choices about life and death and right and wrong. It's all sunshine and rainbows and puppy dogs. Save the puppy dogs!

There's always a tranquilizer gun with the right dosage for the size of dog that may or may not attack you. In fact, every cop caries several different kinds of tranquilizer guns all the time. Didn't you know? And you can always aim that gun perfectly to avoid injury to the dog and any people.

Anything to avoid having to grow up and face reality. Anything. No matter how many people are hurt or killed, they won't give-in to the real world with its real choices that don't always work out the way they'd like.

rockintom99 @ Dec 4th 2006 3:31PM

It'd be nice to hear *both* sides of the story. For all we know, the officer could be acting in self defence, of both the suspect and the dog. But, noooo, of course not. He's a police officer! Police are *eeeevil*!

Mike @ Dec 3rd 2006 10:57PM

42. Being that I live in Wilmington and know many cops of the area (including my dad). Hardly any cop out here carries a tranquilizer gun. In fact, most carry a 9mm, a J&L ASP Baton or a Nightstick depending on the area and a shotgun in their vehicles trunk.