PrintSeptember 12, 2009
Man arraigned in abortion protestor killing
The man who shot and killed a well-known pro life demonstrator outside of a school in Michigan has been charged with killing another man as well as plotting the demise of a third person.
Dawson Bell and Chris Christoff of the Detroit Free Press has the details:
Harlan Drake, 33, of Owosso, was arraigned this afternoon on two counts of first-degree murder, one count of using a gun in commission of a crime, and carrying a gun with the intent to commit a crime.
James Pouillon, 63, was shot multiple times at around 7:30 a.m. as he protested across from Owosso High School, police said.
About the same time, gravel company owner Mike Fuoss, 61, was found dead in his office at Fuoss Gravel in Owosso Township.
Drake was arrested at his home after a witness to Pouillon's shooting gave police the license plate number of the car from which the shots were seen fired.
The third charge was related to Drake's alleged intent to commit a third homicide, said the Shiawassee county prosecutor, Randy Colbry.
Colbry said authorities do not believe that the two homicides and the third plot were related, saying, "They stemmed from individual grievances Drake had with the victims."
Colbry said the grievances were not known in detail, but that the killing of Mr. Puillon was related to the latter's anti-abortion protest. But he said, "The defendant was offended by the manner of Mr. Puillon's message."
Is there equivalency between Drake's killing of Mr. Pouillon and the rampage of Holocaust Museum shooter James Von Brunn. Was this a left wing hate crime?
Right now, you would have to conclude that based on the police statements, there is a good chance that Drake killed Mr. Pouillon because he disagreed with his political beliefs. There is no clue about where Drake comes down on the ideological spectrum. Nor is there proof of Drake's views on abortion.
It also appears that the media is not very curious about those beliefs nor are they in any hurry to discover Drake's motivation for killing another man, Mike Fuoss. No doubt we will get the full story eventually. But somehow, I think that anything that would point to Drake killing Pouillon because he was a left wing, pro choice advocate might end up on the editing room floor.
