Bad Day for Wannabe Bruce Lees

[GeneChing]

Horrible. Poor Ms. Melson. Imagine what was going through that witness's mind.

Guilty verdict in Vanessa Melson case
Pennylynn Webb Aug 25, 2017



A jury found Robert David Mobley Jr., 41, of Elkhart guilty on Friday for first-degree felony aggravated kidnapping in connection with the 2015 death of Vanessa Melson.

The trial began Monday and entered the punishment phase late Friday afternoon. The state and defense rested after lunch on Friday. Just 30 minutes after retiring to the jury room, jurors returned with a guilty verdict.

“I am just extremely happy that the victim's family is beginning to get some closure in this case,” said Houston County District Attorney Donna Gordon Kaspar, who said she would make a formal statement about the trial early next week.

Punishment has been set for 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 28.

The case was tried in the court of the honorable Judge Pam Fletcher in the 349th Judicial District Court in Houston County.

For the state, Kaspar presented witness testimony, audio recordings and photographic evidence.

The photographic evidence included that of a small hand print found on a wall in the Henderson house and of a burn pile, a short distance from the house, where investigators found remnants of the jewelry, a buckle, a cellphone and a glass meth pipe that they believed were on Melson's person before she was killed.

Investigators believe that nunchaku were used in the murder of Melson.

During the trial, Brenna Theuer, who was living with James Henderson, on the property where Melson's body was found in a shallow grave, testified of the events that unfolded before Melson's murder.

Theuer told the courtroom the night that Mobley and Melson came to her home, she got into a heated argument with Mobley, asking him to leave her home and then retreated to a bedroom, where she heard noises, including screaming, and Mobley beating the wall with a nunchaku and later him hitting what sounded like a body with it.

Theuer reported that she tried to call 911, but Henderson took the phone from her.

She said, at one point, she left the bedroom to see Mobley holding the nunchaku and Melson on the floor.

She stated that she later heard what sounded like more of a beating and what sounded like a sexual assault, of Mobley having sex with Melson.

Theuer reported that at some point the screaming stopped.

She reported seeing two area rugs from the home in the back of Mobley's Chevy pickup, with hair coming out of one of them.

She reported that she saw Henderson holding a dirty shovel and that he returned around 9 a.m.

Mobley's trial testimony did not match up to what his previous video-recorded interviews with Houston County law enforcement.

Mobley testified that Vannessa Melson was on drugs the night he picked her up from his father's home, and that he left her at the home of James Henderson and Brenna Theuer and went to his mother's house, returning the next day and finding Melson gone.

Mobley said it wasn't until he was working for MKS Services LLC in North Carolina that he found out that Melson was missing.

Mobley testified that he had never seen the alleged murder weapon, a nunchaku.

[GeneChing]

It's gotta be bawang. He's got us all bawanged up when it comes to KFC.

Dramatic moment KFC customers perform a citizen's arrest - on the driver of a car loaded with weapons including a gun, knife and nunchucks
A man has crashed his car loaded with weapons outside a KFC in Ipswich, QLD
The 42-year-old was allegedly in possession of guns, knives and a nunchuck
Onlookers stepped in and took his car keys away, to prevent the man offending
By Josh Hanrahan For Daily Mail Australia
PUBLISHED: 19:29 EDT, 3 September 2017 | UPDATED: 04:07 EDT, 4 September 2017

A brave bystander has stopped a man who drove a car loaded with weapons through a construction site at a KFC restaurant in Queensland.

The 42-year-old crashed his vehicle into a temporary fence near the store in Ipswich, east of Brisbane, before onlookers allegedly noticed a number of weapons inside.

Worried about the danger the guns, knives and nunchucks allegedly possessed by the man posed, Steve Kenefick stepped in and took the man's car keys from him.


A brave bystander has stopped a man (pictured) who drove a car loaded with weapons through a construction site at a KFC restaurant in Queensland

After taking the keys from the man, he urged him to wait for police inside the KFC.

'Mate, you are not getting the keys,' Mr Kenefick told the man.

'I said: "Come in. Go for a feed in here".'



The 42-year-old crashed his vehicle - which allegedly had guns, knives and nunchucks inside - into a temporary fence near the store in Ipswich, east of Brisbane. He faces court in September

When police arrived soon after they arrested the 42-year-old and charged him with possessing a Category M weapon

He was also charged with possessing a knife in a public place and driving with a suspended licence.

The man is due to front Ipswich Court on 29th September.

Bad Day for Wannabe Bruce Lees @ KFC

[GeneChing]

EXCLUSIVE
Dirtbag Dad! Kevin Hart’s Father Busted For Stabbing Man In Head Over $6 Dispute
Henry Witherspoon has a rap sheet of three decades of felonies, violence and prison.
By Radar Staff
Posted on Dec 13, 2017 @ 7:40AM

Kevin Hart has a reputation as one of comedy’s bad boys — but he’s an angel compared to his wild-man dad, who’s had multiple drug busts, was found guilty of sexual assault — and was even accused of stabbing a man in the head after stealing $6 from him, RadarOnline.com has learned exclusively!

Court records obtained by Radar reveal Witherspoon and two accomplices cowardly robbed a lone 16-year-old at gunpoint in 1969, ten years before 38-year-old Kevin was born.

A year later, Witherspoon was arrested for running a craps game — but he was just getting started.

The year Kevin was born, 1979, he was found guilty of rape and simple assault!

In 1987, cops actually saw him viciously attack a guy with martial arts nunchaku sticks after he’d already robbed him of $270. His victim got ten stitches — and Witherspoon got three years of probation after pleading guilty to aggravated assault.

So it was probably a good thing that Witherspoon, a cocaine addict, was almost never home after Kevin turned eight. He worked as a refrigeration mechanic and lived in a Philadelphia room with his girlfriend, leaving his wife, Nancy Hart, to raise the future comedy superstar and his older brother, Robert, on her own. Tragically, Nancy died of cancer in 2007.

Without his family, Wither*spoon continued to spiral out of control. He was locked up in 1988 for DUI after his car was involved in an accident.

In 1999, Witherspoon had a horrible year. He was charged with stabbing a man in the head, according to court documents obtained exclusively by Radar.

The charges were later dismissed, but that same year Witherspoon was arrested twice within a few months for buying crack cocaine. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two to four months in prison and two years probation.

But Witherspoon was also ordered to complete drug and alcohol treatment — and that finally turned his life around.

Court records uncovered by Radar quote his lawyer as telling the judge, “He’s basically someone who has said, ‘I’m too old to live this life anymore, I need to change this.’”

It’s a story nobody dreamed would have a happy ending, but Kevin has actually reconciled with his wayward dad!

“The way I see it, things happen for a reason,” Kevin said. “If my dad had been around and didn’t do drugs, I may be handling my success differently. I may be on drugs!”

Still, the comic superstar may have inherited some of his dad’s crazy ways: He was arrested on DUI charges in 2013 — and just last September he became embroiled in an extortion plot involving a steamy sex video with a Las Vegas model. The FBI is investigating the case!

Kevin publicly apologized to his wife, Eniko Parrish — who was pregnant at the time — and his children Heaven, 12, and Hendrix, 10, who he had with ex-wife Torrei Hart. It was “a bad error in judgment,” Kevin confessed.

Good ol' nunchuks.

[GeneChing]

Nunchaku no toy, Bundy dad finds out
8th Jan 2018 2:52 PM


The Bundy dad was fined $200.
Zach Hogg BUN110814CRT1

by Carolyn Booth

PARENTS thinking of making your kids home-made weapons take note.

Nunchaku are illegal in Queensland and even a rustic set made from cut lengths of a broom handle and chain could land you in court.

It was a lesson Dallas Kenneth James Wallace learnt the hard way after Bundaberg police found the nunchaku during a search of his home on December 6 last year.

Wallace said he made it for his kids to "muck around with” and didn't know they were illegal.

He was fined $200 in the Bundaberg Magistrates Court today.

$200 will buy you a lot of nunchuks

[GeneChing]

Not a nunchuck. A flying kick.

Richmond librarian allegedly assaulted with ‘flying Bruce Lee kick’ at homeless housing meeting
Graeme Wood / Richmond News
By V.I.A. - March 1, 2018


A librarian was assaulted at a public open house for temporary, modular housing for homeless in Richmond Wednesday evening. Daisy Xiong photo

According to multiple eyewitness accounts, a librarian was assaulted at a public open house for temporary, modular housing in Richmond Wednesday evening.

On Thursday morning, police confirmed an investigation has opened into an alleged assault in the 7000 block of Minoru Gate.

Stan Lomas, a longtime Richmond resident, said he had arrived at the Richmond Public Library Brighouse Branch to use an animation program.

He was seated nearby a large crowd of people conversing in Cantonese and as such didn’t know what was going on initially.

“You could feel the energy,” he said.

He said he then heard a commotion and “someone had gone over and up turned the table.

“This place was packed. Then there was lots of yelling,” he said.

Between this time, Lomas said he figures the older librarian had approached the crowd to separate homeless advocates and the crowd. He said he suspects the suspect was against the project that would see 40 units built at 7300 Elmbridge Way.

As Lomas was about to return to his animations, the suspect ran at the librarian and did a “flying Bruce Lee kick” into her stomach.

Related Article: CNN says FBI is "interested" in Ivanka Trump's business deal with Vancouver's Trump tower
“I was surprised she wasn’t as injured as she looked because she was able to get up. I know that would have knocked me out,” said Lomas, 67.

He said the suspect, described as an Asian man in his mid-20s, wearing a backpack, fled the scene.

Resident Kehui Au said she also witnessed the kick.

“The guy went to the librarian and kicked her. It looked like she was in a lot of pain,” said Au.

Richmond RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Dennis Hwang said “it was alleged a female had been assaulted by a male.

“It is believed the alleged offender had kicked a female and proceeded to flee. If anyone has information on this event — I was informed there may have been a number of witnesses present at this function — to call Richmond RCMP at 604-278-1212 and quote case 2018-6424.”

A library worker denied to comment on the incident.

Announced earlier this month, the project is an effort to combat the growth of homelessness in Richmond which has increased by 84 per cent since 2014, according to the Metro Vancouver homeless count. The homes will be operated by RainCity Housing, a non-profit housing organization and will offer support services for residents around-the-clock.

“The tenants will be selected in partnership with BC Housing and RainCity. Richmond residents will be given first priority,” said the City of Richmond’s affordable housing coordinator Joyce Rautenberg.

Currently, the province is contributing $5.9 million to construct the units while the city is contributing land at 7300 Elmbridge Way for the homes for up to five years.

“Looking at the city’s inventory we looked at a few options,” Rautenberg said about the property. “This site was determined to be the most suitable due to the close proximity to transit, Canada Line, buses and proximity to services and resources in the neighbourhood.”

Following the five-year lease, BC Housing would return the site back to the city in its original condition, Rautenberg said. At that time, BC Housing and RainCity Housing would work to ensure the tenants are moved into appropriate housing.

[GeneChing]

This Successful Street Application is actually a Good Day, not a Bad Day for Wannabe Bruce Lees.

OKC apartment security guard uses nunchucks against knife-wielding man
by KELSY SCHLOTTHAUER
Published: Wed, June 13, 2018 11:59 AM Updated: Wed, June 13, 2018 2:00 PM



Oklahoma City police arrested a man at an apartment complex Friday after he reportedly tried to attack a security guard.

Jerome Dwayne Thompson, 31, was arrested on a complaint of assault with a dangerous weapon about 6:30 p.m. at Wentwood at Grand Hill apartments, 447 Tinker Diagonal St.

Thompson was booked into the Oklahoma County jail, where he remained Wednesday on a $3,000 bond.

The victim, a 31-year-old courtesy officer at the complex, told police Thompson was banned from the property but often stayed with residents.

The victim was putting up flyers referencing Thompson, whom he only knew as "J-Money," when he saw Thompson walking toward him with a steak knife in each hand, according to the police report.

Thompson told the victim he would not leave and that he "would have to kill him because he was about to kill [the victim]," according to the report.

The victim told police Thompson came toward him aggressively, so he pulled his nunchucks out of his pocket and struck Thompson. After a short struggle, the victim held Thompson until police arrived.

While held, Thompson made threats to come back and kill the victim, according to the report.

Police spokesman Master Sgt. Gary Knight said neither man was seriously injured.

"It's certainly something we don't see every day, somebody with knives fighting with somebody who has nunchucks," Knight said. "But thankfully, nobody was hurt, considering both of those types of weapons can do a lot of damage."

[GeneChing]

Nunchuck Hottie or Wannabe Bruce Lee? You decide.

[GeneChing]

Here's a wannabe Bruce Lee SON.

Burglar claims to be son of Bruce Lee | Police blotter
The Redmond Police blotter for Aug. 20 through 22.

Wednesday, September 5, 2018 3:45pm

...

11:36 a.m. – Burglary: A man awoke from a nap on his couch to find an uninvited male in his residence collecting snacks on the 16000 block of NE 40th Court. The victim yelled at the suspect, who dropped the pretzels and candy bars he was holding and left the home. Officers arrived quickly, tracked down the suspect nearby and detained him without incident. The victim reported he had not felt threatened at any time by the suspect, who said he was just looking for some food and a place to sleep. The suspect’s identity was not immediately clear, as he initially told police he was the son of famous martial artist, Bruce Lee. The suspect was booked on suspicion of burglary.

[GeneChing]

Interesting way to spell nunchucks. There's a vid...

'Kung Fu fighter' jailed for nun chuck attack outside club
FIONA THOMPSON Published: 09:46 Thursday 27 September 2018

This is the moment police say a teenager "thought he was a Kung Fu fighter" and used a martial arts weapon in a street attack. Kyle Morrow, 19, has been jailed for two years after he admitted attacking a man with nun chucks near to the Bigg Market in Newcastle.


Kyle Morrow has been jailed.

The 26-year-old victim had been enjoying a night out in March this year when Morrow intentionally bumped into one of his friends outside Mushroom. One of Morrow's friends then started to verbally abuse the group of drinkers before Morrow decided to take action into his own hands. CCTV was played in court showing what followed next as Morrow pulled some nun chucks from his trousers and began to use them in a sustained assault. Police say it shows him wildly swinging the metal bars at the victim before he eventually subsided and fled the area laughing and hugging his friends.


A still from the CCTV footage which captured the assault where Kyle Morrow used a pair of nun chucks.

The violent assault left the 26-year-old victim needing hospital treatment for what was later diagnosed as a fractured eye socket and a broken nose. Officers in the city centre were made aware of the assault and Morrow was arrested just minutes later after being identified as a potential suspect. As he was being arrested by police the nun chucks in question fell out of his pocket and were seized by officers. Morrow, of Claremont North Avenue, Gateshead, was charged with causing GBH with intent, assault occasioning ABH and possession of an offensive weapon.


The video clip shows Morrow with the weapon in his hands.

He was jailed for two years after pleading guilty at Newcastle Crown Court at an earlier date. Following the case, investigating officer Detective Constable Steven Patterson said the assault was more akin to a martial arts movie. He said: "There is no place for this kind of behaviour anywhere in our region but particularly not in the middle of a busy night out in Newcastle. "This was an unprovoked attack that was more akin to a martial arts movie then in the middle of the Bigg Market. "You can see from the CCTV that Morrow was laughing and joking with his friends after the assault and that says a lot about him. "These are the actions of a thug showing off in front of his friends by carrying out a violent attack that ultimately scarred his victim for life. "He deserves the significant prison sentence that he has been handed by a judge today and I hope this makes people think twice about their behaviour."

[PalmStriker]

He'll be laughing and hugging his new friends in prison.

[GeneChing]

He'll be laughing and hugging his new friends in prison.

[GeneChing]

'retro miniature nunchucks'? Like these? Not sure what makes them 'retro' but I like that term.

Hull mum's terror as thief with nunchucks tries to force his way into her home
Mason Donkin, 18, was arrested after attempting to prize open a kitchen window with a rusty spade
By Tom Kershaw
15:01, 10 OCT 2018 UPDATED16:35, 10 OCT 2018


Mason Donkin, 18, was given a second chance by top judge Roger Thomas, QC, at Hull Crown Court on Wednesday

A Hull mum has been left "scared to leave her house" after a man with a set of "retro miniature nunchucks" in his socks tried to force his way into their home.

Mason Donkin, 18, was arrested after attempting to prise open a kitchen window to a home belonging to a family-of-three in Rustenburg Street, east Hull, with a rusty garden accessory.

The mum told Hull Crown Court she had been upstairs with her 10-year-old son at the time of the bodged burglary attempt on August 18, who shouted that someone was in their back garden.

She said during the "terrifying" incident she spotted Donkin from an upstairs window trying to break in her kitchen window, she went downstairs and banged on the glass.


Mason Donkin, 18, was given a second chance by top judge Roger Thomas, QC, at Hull Crown Court on Wednesday

The mum-of-one then phoned the police and gave an accurate description of the defendant following his arrest in a street nearby.

Hannah Walker, prosecuting, said: "The mother is now scared to leave the house with her 10 year old son after what happened.

“It had caused no end of stress and anxiety - her husband works shifts and is scared when he is not with her in the house."

Donkin was arrested and found with a set of nunchucks - a weapon in the form of two pieces of wood or metal connected together with a short chain.

Judge Roger Thomas, QC, said: "So what are these things? Nunchuck things, is that what they are called? Were they those things that were popular in the 70s, two wooden pipes connected by a chain?"

"Yes, I believe they are known as a retro weapon Sir," prosecutor Hannah Walker replied.

Mr Garth, mitigating for Donkin, said: "They were only described as miniature fitting into one sock, which he handed over to police when he was arrested."

The attempted burglary proceeded Donkin being convicted of two separate theft offences.


A stock image of a pair of nunchucks

The court was told on Wednesday morning that Donkin had become homeless after falling out with both his mum and dad who had separated. He had previously lived in Hull, but had been bailed to an address in Blackpool, Lancs., with “strict” bail conditions.

Donkin, who appeared in court sporting a grey hooded top, blue t-shirt and white beaded cross, ended up breaching his conditions in September and appeared at the hearing in custody.

He previously pleaded guilty to possessing an offensive weapon and attempted burglary at a previous court hearing.

Judge Thomas told Donkin: “So I guess you’ve seen what inside the prison system is like and what a terrible place it is.”

Donkin replied: "Yes, I know what’s important in my life and family is one of them.”

The judge told him to get on the “straight and narrow” path after rekindling his friendship with his father back in Hull.

Judge Thomas decided to punish Donkin with a community order in the form of a 28 day rehabilitation order. He must complete the order within 12 months.

Judge Thomas said: "The sentences range from three months custody to a community order, but I am not thinking about prison."

Speaking to the defendant, the judge said: "I am greatly concerned about you.

"You are two weeks away from your 19th birthday and to say you have not been in trouble before - this year it has gone badly wrong for you.

"I’ve seen men like you get caught up in the justice system at a young age and then waste years of their adult life trying to get out of it.

"I hope that you do complete the order, I am rooting for you to achieve this.

"You need to abide by the order otherwise another judge will come along and give you a jail sentence."

[GeneChing]

It was actually this Jeffrey Sand story that I was searching for when I stumbled over the Mason Donkin story above. I heard this on the radio this morning during my commute on the Woody Show's redneck contest. Not sure if he won, but he's gotta get points for being in his underwear.

Nunchuck-wielding man arrested following threats in St. Johns County, deputies say
Updated: Oct 1, 2018 - 1:59 PM



A man who was on probation for threats against a judge is facing more charges after he was arrested for threatening St. Augustine homeowners with nunchucks, according to a report.

Jeffrey Sand, 67, was arrested Sunday after two homeowners in the Murabella area told St. Johns County deputies that a man tried to get inside their homes.

According to an arrest report, the suspect attempted to make entry into a home on Registry Boulevard by pushing on the door numerous times. A woman who was inside told deputies she was in fear for her life.

The suspect then went to another home and repeatedly knocked on the door and yelled obscene slurs, according to the report. The homeowner said Sand was wearing only a t-shirt and underwear. The victim yelled for the man to leave.

Deputies say the suspect left and then returned armed with nunchucks.

According to the report, he took a "bladed stance" while twirling the nunchucks -- then walked back and forth on a sidewalk in front of the house until deputies arrived.

Nobody was hurt, and St. Johns deputies took the man into custody.

According to the arrest report, Sand is charged with aggravated assault, attempted burglary and violation of probation.

[GeneChing]

Routine search of Parkland car turns out meth, heroin, nunchucks, plastic straw
BY MYNORTHWEST STAFF
OCTOBER 19, 2018 AT 5:00 PM


(Pierce County Sheriff)

A Parkland car was discovered with a massive cache of guns, weapons, and more by Pierce County Sheriff’s deputies.

A 911 call reporting a suspicious black Mercedes had one of the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department’s newest deputies and her veteran training partner stumbling on a veritable gold mine of illicit materials.

The pair arrived on the scene to see a man sitting in the front seat asleep with a gun in a holster, and “various narcotics paraphernalia” between his legs.

An additional veteran deputy was called to the scene. The two veterans opened the vehicle doors and removed the gun from the man’s lap as he awoke. Searching the man turned up a narcotics pipe, pepper spray, a double-edged knife, a curved knife, burned tinfoil, $474 in cash, a small baggie of “suspected narcotics,” and most offensively to anyone in Seattle, a plastic straw.


A curved knife was one of many weapons found in the car. (Pierce County Sheriff)


After executing a search warrant on the car, an even bigger cache was unearthed. The haul included: four grams of black tar heroin, 22.6 grams of crystal meth, 28 rounds of ammunition, nine knives, a collapsible baton, a golf club, two wooden clubs, bear spray, a rubber mask, two scales, a syringe, pipes, foil, a “pyrotechnic device,” and nunchucks.

The 26-year-old male suspected was then re-arrested on Monday with the added charges for the items found in the car. Ultimately, he was booked into Pierce County Jail for unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of a controlled substance, intent to distribute, introducing contraband into a correctional facility.

This perp is packing all that hardware in his benz and the headline says 'plastic straw'?

[GeneChing]

...I'm curious if anyone here ever got busted for nunchucks? I'm sure we all know people that got busted for them. I can think of several offhand, although most of them were just warned and not cited. I got shut down for trying to make a pair in wood shop in High School, but I wasn't penalized beyond just being told I couldn't do that for my project (I made a wine rack and a pirate peg-leg instead). Later, I brought a pair to my Humanities class for a speech I gave on Kung Fu and nobody batted an eye, except for the poor kid who was seated in the front row as I twirled them about.

At this point, MAM is still not selling Nunchuks to NY or the other previously banned states until the dust settles on all of this. As a martial arts vendor, MAM does get audited regularly and it's a huge hassle. But soon, hopefully.

I was arrested for having nunchucks in New York. I’m glad the law was overturned. | Marc Thiessen
Updated: December 27, 2018 - 8:43 AM


ELAINE THOMPSON

WASHINGTON -- I was arrested for having nunchucks in New York. I'm glad the law was overturned.

When news broke last week that a federal judge had ruled a New York law banning possession of nunchucks unconstitutional, I felt vindicated. You see, as a teenager growing up in New York City in the 1980s, I was arrested and thrown in jail for illegal possession of nunchucks. Really.

During high school, I got into Bruce Lee martial-arts movies. Long before Mayor Rudy Giuliani turned Times Square into a family-friendly theme park, there was a movie theater on Broadway that showed nonstop kung-fu fare. Over summer break, I would go to see Lee movies such as "Game of Death," "Fist of Fury" and "Enter the Dragon," Lee's last film before his death from cerebral edema at age 32 in 1973. The highlight of every Lee movie, for me, was when he picked up a pair of nunchucks -- two short sticks connected by a steel swivel chain -- and began swinging them around his body, taking out dozens of enemy fighters.

After the movie let out one afternoon, I went to a martial-arts store across the street from the theater and bought myself a pair of nunchucks. Unlike the hardwood pair Lee used, I bought a soft pair made of light plywood and covered in bright yellow foam so that when I swung them around and accidentally hit myself on the head, I wouldn't knock myself out.

One day I was riding on the subway going to a friend's house, quietly holding my nunchucks, when a police officer approached me. "Do you know those are illegal?" he asked. No, I told him, I didn't. It hadn't even occurred to me that possessing a pair of the foam-covered nunchucks could be against the law. But it turned out that New York state in 1974 had enacted a complete ban on the possession of nunchucks by private citizens.

The police officer told me to get off with him at the next stop. He pushed me against a wall, handcuffed me, threw me in a squad car and took me to the New York Transit Police station on Columbus Circle, where I was put into a cell with a bunch of drunks and booked on charges of a Class A misdemeanor, "criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree."

I used my one call to phone my mother -- a doctor who worked treating heroin addicts in the South Bronx. She came down to the station and berated the arresting officer in her thick Polish accent, offering to take him to Central Park and point him to all the drug dealers selling heroin there. Why didn't he do something about them, rather than harassing a harmless teenager? She had to spend thousands of dollars to hire a lawyer, who told us that the charges were serious and that I could face jail time. We went to court, and he cut a deal to have the prosecution deferred. I stood before a judge who told me if I did not commit another crime in the next 12 months, the charges would be dropped and my arrest record expunged. Until then, I was a "juvenile offender." I passed the time without incident and never picked up a pair of nunchucks again.

I have often wondered what would have happened to a kid whose mother could not afford a decent lawyer. It was absurd that a teenager could have had his life ruined, and be stuck with a criminal record, simply because he wanted to be like Bruce Lee.

I always knew my arrest was a travesty. Now three decades later, the law under which I was arrested has been declared unconstitutional. Citing the Supreme Court's decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, which applied the Second Amendment to the states, U.S. District Judge Pamela Chen, who was nominated by President Obama, ruled that "the possession and use of nunchaku is protected by the Second Amendment" and that the sections of the New York law banning them are "an unconstitutional restriction on the right to bear arms ... and are, therefore, void."

The suit was filed by a lawyer named James Maloney, who, like me, had been arrested for possessing nunchucks. He has been fighting this fight since his arrest in 2000. Eighteen years later, he and I have been vindicated. Americans have a constitutional right to keep and bear nunchucks. Not just the foam kind, but the real thing.

I have the feeling that, somewhere up there, Bruce Lee is smiling.

Marc Thiessen writes a twice-weekly column for The Post on foreign and domestic policy. He is a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and the former chief speechwriter for President George W. Bush. @marcthiessen

THREADS:
Bad Day for Wannabe Bruce Lees
Nunchucku license?