Originally Posted by
Digital_Cowboy
Yes, I would agree that it is, but I think that it should also be is the person taking a shortcut through said yard or are they "casing" it so that they can come back at a later time and steal from it? If it looks like they're just taking a shortcut then shouldn't that be allowed to slide? I mean how many times have we all either as kids or as adults taken a shortcut through someone else's property? Should we all be arrested for trespassing just for taking a shortcut?
Sounds like you are presuming that the cop would have arrested the 17 year old for just taking a short cut.
I submit, that based on the court records and statements, if the 17 year old had stopped and told the cop "Sorry, I just needed to take a pee really bad." the cop would have told him to get out of there. Then the cop would have turned back to checking on the known prostitute.
But NO, the 17 year old with an illegal gun in his pocket had to run, causing his own problems.