Satchel Full of Weapons Not Advised At "Dark Knight Rises" Showings

[Dakota Valkyrie]

A 37-year-old North Ridgeville man is being held without bail in the Westlake jail after an off-duty police officer found a loaded gun, extra ammunition clips and four knives in a satchel he carried into a Saturday night showing of "The Dark Knight Rises."

Lt. Ray Arcuri said police have no idea why Scott A. Smith carried the weapons into the theater, but are taking no chances. With the memory fresh of the July 20 shooting spree at a "Dark Knight" movie showing in Colorado that left 12 people dead and 58 wounded, police and theater security are vigilant.
[...]

Arcuri said Westlake Officer Jeremiah Bullins was off duty and working security at the Regal Cinema in the Crocker Park shopping center around 10 p.m. Saturday when he saw the theater manager talking to a man carrying a satchel. The manager did not ask to look inside the satchel.

Bullins followed the man when he walked into the theater showing the Batman movie and sat down.

"He entered the theater a half-hour early and was the only one in there," said Arcuri. "Bullins talked to the man and asked if he could see inside his bag. It was a consensual encounter.

"Bullins looked inside and saw a loaded Glock 9 millimeter handgun; two fully loaded magazine clips; three knives in the bag and one on his person," Arcuri continued. "When Bullins asked why he carried the weapons into the theater, the man said, 'No problem. I'll put them in my car.' But it was too late for that."

Smith was taken to the Westlake jail, where he refused to talk to police.
[...]

Matthew Bruce, attorney for Smith, said that if the allegations are true, Smith only brought the handgun to the theater to protect himself.

"He has never been in trouble with the law in this or any other state," Bruce said. "In light of the shooting in Colorado and similar threats, if he did bring a handgun to the theater it would have been for his personal protection and there would have been no intention of shooting anyone or causing a panic."

Police believe Smith, who has a wife and young daughter, spent a short time in the military. He does not have a permit to carry a concealed weapon. He does not have a criminal record, Arcuri said.

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index..._arrested.html

Arcuri said Smith sat in a position of "tactical advantage" with his back to the wall at the top of the theater.

"What concerns us is where he was sitting in the theater. He was the first guy in there," Arcuri said. "If he chose to do something there, all his potential victims were in front of him and he had an advantage over them."
[...]

Arcuri said Tuesday that Smith faces four counts of carrying various weapons (the knives), violating concealed carry laws (he did not have a CCW permit), and having weapons under disability.

"We're going to try to convince the prosecutors that he is drug dependent based on the prescription drugs we found out he is taking," Arcuri said. "They preclude him from from owning a firearm."
[...]

Agents from the FBI and the federal bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms are assisting Westlake detectives with the investigation. Smith could face federal charges in addition to the weapons violations, Arcuri said.

http://www.cleveland.com/westlake/in...irm_scott.html

[AngelFire]

I knew this shit was going to happen and tis is about the 2nd one I read about. It was a random crazy ass dude that cuased all that chaos. It's not as if a gang of lunatics are blasting people while watching Dark Knight Rises. Glad this loone is off the streets for a while.

[Jerri Blank]

I moved to North Ridgeville last year and it was nice and peaceful till my ghetto ass moved out here. I swear shit just follows me every where I go.

[Dakota Valkyrie]

A North Ridgeville man who pleaded guilty to taking concealed weapons into a Westlake theater preparing to show a Batman-themed movie was sentenced today to six months in prison.

Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Kathleen Ann Sutula said she was troubled that Scott A. Smith, 38, would take weapons that he wasn't allowed to conceal into a theater where they weren't allowed to go. She said she had to send a message to the public that that kind of behavior would not be permitted.
[...]

Smith's lawyer, Jack Hildebrand, said previously that his client took the weapons to the theater as protection in case somebody tried to copy the Colorado shooting. But Sutula still had concerns.

"There's no guarantee to the public that your state of mind that night is what you say it was," Sutula said.

While Smith pleaded guilty to illegally possessing concealed weapons, he fought a charge of having a weapon under disability and was found not guilty by a judge.

The acquittal came after a three-day trial during which prosecutors and the defense lawyer debated whether Smith was abusing a painkiller at the time of his arrest.

Smith persuaded the judge that his use of the painkiller Percocet was justified because of arthritis and a bulging disk in his neck, Hildebrand said at the time.

Hildebrand said he believed prosecutors pressed the disability charge in order to confiscate a number of pistols and rifles taken from Smith's house during a police search after his arrest.

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index..._who_took.html