Crime is running rampant in America, and it’s particularly bad in Liberal-run cities like New York, Chicago and San Francisco.
But some citizens are getting fed up with these insane criminals and have decided to take matters into their own hands.
Now, one New Yorker just got arrested simply for defending a fellow citizen from a potentially deadly crime.
Vigilante arrested for defending a fellow subway rider
John Rote, 43, was recently arrested after he defended a woman from an attempted robbery in a Manhattan subway station.
Rote pulled out a gun from his backpack and opened fire as he yelled, “Get away from her!” at the mugger, sending a couple of rounds flying down the subway platform.
No one was injured or hit by the bullets.
Police later arrested Rote at his work desk at Panavision, a company that rents cameras and filmmaking equipment.
The officers handcuffed him without a struggle and brought him to the precinct, where he admitted that he pulled the trigger and then threw the gun into the East River.
The alleged mugger, Matthew Roesch, is a 49-year-old homeless man who allegedly held an emergency gate open for the 40-year-old victim before aggressively demanding money from her.
When she tried to walk by, he blocked her and said, “If you don’t give me a dollar, I’m going to take your purse,” according to police.
After the victim refused, Roesch began screaming at her, and Rote warned the man to leave her alone.
That’s when witnesses say Rote pulled out a gun and yelled, “Get away from her!”
Rote has no criminal history and has never been found to need mental help, but he was charged with criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of a firearm, reckless endangerment and menacing.
He now faces up to three and a half years in prison if convicted, and the third-degree attempted robbery charge against Roesch carries a possible sentence of up to seven years.
Rote’s defense attorney Marie Calvert-Kilbane said that Rote bought the firearm legally about 13 years ago, and said he was simply a concerned citizen who was looking out for the safety of another.
She said that Rote is “not someone who was buying [guns] on the street,” adding that her client was “concerned for his safety and someone else’s safety and reacted.”
Rote has been working for the same company for 17 years and has no criminal record, and his attorney says he cannot afford bail higher than $2,000.
Attorney pleas for Rote’s release
John Rote’s attorney is asking for him to be released from jail “so that he can come back and continue fighting this case from outside rather than inside Rikers Island.”
The judge set his bail at $10,000 cash, bond or credit card, stating that the charges were serious and that Rote was a potential flight risk because of his West Virginia roots.
A grand jury is set to review the case on November 14 when Rote is due back in court.
His work colleagues have refused to comment or react to the arrest publicly.
In the meantime, other New Yorkers will have to sit back and let the criminals take over, or risk spending time in jail themselves.
Stay tuned to Blue State Blues for any updates to this ongoing story
