ST. THOMAS \u2013 A senator wants stiffer penalties for people who use firearms recklessly in public.<\/p>\n
Sen. Tregenza Roach said a bill will be drafted \u201cthat would make any act of reckless endangerment where a weapon is involved an automatic felony offense in the first degree.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have discussed this proposed legislation with leading officials at the Department of Justice who have agreed that such a law would assist in the successful prosecution of this type of criminal activity and could lead to more convictions with the inclusion of an additional felony charge in such incidents,\u201d Roach said.<\/p>\n
Roach said the broad daylight shooting that took place on the Charlotte Amalie waterfront area May 4 \u2013 one of the most crowded areas of St. Thomas at any given time \u2013 highlighted the need for the proposed legislation. The Monday morning shooting left 34-year-old Shane Heyliger of Altona and Welgunst dead.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe recent acts of daylight shootings done without regard for the lives of innocent bystanders makes the bill even more critical and necessary,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The St. Thomas senator, who is an attorney by trade, said he \u201cis hopeful that the bill will be drafted and assigned to the appropriate committee shortly.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ST. THOMAS \u2013 A senator wants stiffer penalties for people who use firearms recklessly in public. Sen. Tregenza Roach said a bill will be drafted \u201cthat would make any act of reckless endangerment where a weapon is involved an automatic felony offense in the first degree.\u201d \u201cI have discussed this proposed legislation with leading officials […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":237,"featured_media":22121,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[191,147],"tags":[1271,1888,1887],"yoast_head":"\n