# Driver stranded during Friday’s deadly blizzard shot and killed a good Samaritan who tried to help. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 24, 2016, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driver-stranded-during-friday-s-deadly-blizzard-shot-and-killed-a-good-samaritan-who-tried-to-help/744034 "2016-01-24T00:47:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driver-stranded-during-friday-s-deadly-blizzard-shot-and-killed-a-good-samaritan-who-tried-to-help/744034/1 "2016-01-24T00:47:27Z")
☹ Talk about a stupid and senseless tragedy. WTH was wrong with this guy? I’m curious to see how this story develops. Did he have warrants he was worried about? > **[North Carolina driver stranded in blizzard kills good Samaritan trying to help](https://www.nydailynews.com/2016/01/23/north-carolina-driver-stranded-in-blizzard-kills-good-samaritan-trying-to-help/)** > > A North Carolina driver stranded during Friday’s deadly blizzard shot and killed a good Samaritan who tried to help, officials said. Marvin Jacob Lee, 27, was charged with murder after he all… > [@](#): > > The trio of do-gooders spotted Lee’s car off the side of the road just after 5 p.m. Friday, Catawba County officials said. When they approached the stalled vehicle to help, the driver became irate. > > “They thought he was drunk or on dope and said, ‘Let’s just call the law and let them deal with it,'” Sheriff Coy Reid told the Charlotte Observer. > > As the men called cops, Lee pulled out a gun and started shooting, officials said. One bullet struck 26-year-old Jefferson Heavner, who fell to the ground after he was injured. Lee stood over the wounded man and fired “numerous times,” Reid said. > > Lee walked back to his car, where he passed out. He awoke as officers pulled him out and arrested him. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driver-stranded-during-friday-s-deadly-blizzard-shot-and-killed-a-good-samaritan-who-tried-to-help/744034/2 "2016-01-24T01:34:41Z")
The man has to be deranged or seriously doped up on something. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driver-stranded-during-friday-s-deadly-blizzard-shot-and-killed-a-good-samaritan-who-tried-to-help/744034/3 "2016-01-24T02:06:11Z")
With stories like that, there’s almost certainly more that was left out by the participants. “When they approached the stalled vehicle to help, the driver became irate.” Even if he was drunk/high/whatever, which is totally possible, there’s still usually _something_ that triggers people to get irate. Did one of them make a rude comment? Or maybe their actual intention wasn’t to be good Samaritans (that’s just what they’re claiming after the fact) - maybe they were looking to take advantage of the situation and rob him or something. For whatever reason, rightly or wrongly, the shooter apparently felt threatened. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driver-stranded-during-friday-s-deadly-blizzard-shot-and-killed-a-good-samaritan-who-tried-to-help/744034/4 "2016-01-24T02:23:26Z")
Heres a link to the original story. Doesn’t have much additional details except there were others at the scene trying to help too. People typically will help stranded motorists during winter storm conditions…This could have been much worse. Thankfully only one guy got hit. [http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/crime/article56234845.html](http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/crime/article56234845.html) I agree there has to be more to this story that will come out in a day or two. > [@](#): > > The car driven by Marvin Jacob Lee, 27, of Claremont in northeastern Catawba County, was stuck off Mathis Church Road when a passing truck with three men stopped to help about 5:20 p.m. Friday, Reid said. > > Nearby neighbors came to help, too. ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driver-stranded-during-friday-s-deadly-blizzard-shot-and-killed-a-good-samaritan-who-tried-to-help/744034/5 "2016-01-24T02:54:45Z")
Just like the little girl with asthma inhaler it only proves that it doesn’t pay to be a good Samaritan. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driver-stranded-during-friday-s-deadly-blizzard-shot-and-killed-a-good-samaritan-who-tried-to-help/744034/6 "2016-01-24T03:03:57Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > With stories like that, there’s almost certainly more that was left out by the participants. > > “When they approached the stalled vehicle to help, the driver became irate.” > > Even if he was drunk/high/whatever, which is totally possible, there’s still usually _something_ that triggers people to get irate. Did one of them make a rude comment? Or maybe their actual intention wasn’t to be good Samaritans (that’s just what they’re claiming after the fact) - maybe they were looking to take advantage of the situation and rob him or something. For whatever reason, rightly or wrongly, the shooter apparently felt threatened. Blame the victim? Really? Bottom line is he murdered an unarmed man. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driver-stranded-during-friday-s-deadly-blizzard-shot-and-killed-a-good-samaritan-who-tried-to-help/744034/7 "2016-01-24T03:31:10Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Blame the victim? Really? Bottom line is he murdered an unarmed man. Heh, hardly. Just submitting that with sparse details like that, there are plausible hypothetical scenarios that would make what seems like a totally senseless act of violence make a little more sense. It never _justifies_ the escalation, of course. But I was merely pointing out that we don’t know what actually happened between these individuals, what was said or done, or what anyone’s true intentions (or states of mind) were, based on what is given. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driver-stranded-during-friday-s-deadly-blizzard-shot-and-killed-a-good-samaritan-who-tried-to-help/744034/8 "2016-01-24T03:43:06Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Blame the victim? Really? Bottom line is he murdered an unarmed man. Is it just me or did you have to rip up about ten thousand pages of law in order to come to that conclusion? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driver-stranded-during-friday-s-deadly-blizzard-shot-and-killed-a-good-samaritan-who-tried-to-help/744034/9 "2016-01-24T03:48:21Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Heh, hardly. Just submitting that with sparse details like that, there are plausible hypothetical scenarios that would make what seems like a totally senseless act of violence make a little more sense. It never _justifies_ the escalation, of course. But I was merely pointing out that we don’t know what actually happened between these individuals, what was said or done, or what anyone’s true intentions (or states of mind) were, based on what is given. I’m thinking that the guy who was overreacting at the end of the situation might have also overreacted at the beginning of the situation. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driver-stranded-during-friday-s-deadly-blizzard-shot-and-killed-a-good-samaritan-who-tried-to-help/744034/10 "2016-01-24T03:52:43Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > Is it just me or did you have to rip up about ten thousand pages of law in order to come to that conclusion? Like what? Are you arguing that Heavner wasn’t murdered? Or are you arguing he wasn’t unarmed? Or are you arguing one of them wasn’t a man and Chefguy got the pronouns wrong? Because I can’t see how Chefguy’s post was anything other than the objective facts. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driver-stranded-during-friday-s-deadly-blizzard-shot-and-killed-a-good-samaritan-who-tried-to-help/744034/11 "2016-01-24T03:53:22Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I’m thinking that the guy who was overreacting at the end of the situation might have also overreacted at the beginning of the situation. Quite likely. Just wondering what he was overreacting _to_, since the witnesses conveniently leave that part out. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driver-stranded-during-friday-s-deadly-blizzard-shot-and-killed-a-good-samaritan-who-tried-to-help/744034/12 "2016-01-24T04:11:03Z")
Whatever it was, it apparently made him very sleepy. ---
**Author:** ![HeXen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@HeXen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeXen)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driver-stranded-during-friday-s-deadly-blizzard-shot-and-killed-a-good-samaritan-who-tried-to-help/744034/13 "2016-01-24T04:36:22Z")
So the moral is don’t help people. Will do! ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driver-stranded-during-friday-s-deadly-blizzard-shot-and-killed-a-good-samaritan-who-tried-to-help/744034/14 "2016-01-24T05:10:50Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Quite likely. Just wondering what he was overreacting _to_, since the witnesses conveniently leave that part out. Stranded man with gun gets the benefit of your doubt, man who doesn’t have to offer help but does so anyway and winds up shot several times while on the ground and wounded already as others flee is not afforded the same; interesting world view. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driver-stranded-during-friday-s-deadly-blizzard-shot-and-killed-a-good-samaritan-who-tried-to-help/744034/15 "2016-01-24T05:35:34Z")
A follow up [news article](http://abcnews.go.com/US/man-jail-murder-connection-good-samaritan-shooting/story?id=36471324)without much detail, but apparently the stranded man has been charged with murder. “A 27-year-old was in jail charged with murder Saturday after he allegedly shot and killed a Good Samaritan who tried to help him when he was stuck in the snow in North Carolina, police said.” Rigamarole, Police have at least enough evidence to start on a murder charge. Perp was drunk and/or high and likely to be involved in something illegal, and freaked at the thought of strangers calling the police for help. And he was so wasted that after he went and put a bunch of rounds into a wounded person that was clearly not a threat, then went back to his vehicle to pass out. Well, I’m having trouble parsing how this can be spun into a Trumpish “I just don’t know” thing… ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driver-stranded-during-friday-s-deadly-blizzard-shot-and-killed-a-good-samaritan-who-tried-to-help/744034/16 "2016-01-24T05:47:31Z")
Sounds to me like the stranded guy was so drunk he was on the verge of passing out and when the good samaritans realized it they decided to call the cops. The stranded guy, being pretty much drunk out of his mind and operating on primitive lizard brain, thinks to himself _“Must. stop. man., can’t. call. cops.”_ and shoots one of the guys in an effort to keep that from happening. Then, still in lizard brain mode, he continues to fire over and over to make sure the guy is dead. Then, feeling the threat is over, he returns to his car where the alcohol he’s drunk finally overcomes him and he passes out. He probably has little to no recollection of what happened and can’t believe he’s now looking at life behind bars. I have no idea what kind of person this guy is, why he was carrying a gun, or whether he’s sorry he killed someone or feels badly for his victim’s family, or whether he’s just a bad apple concerned mostly with how all this is gonna affect him. But he’s in it deep now and someone’s lost his life and a family is without their loved one. It’s just a bad situation all around. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driver-stranded-during-friday-s-deadly-blizzard-shot-and-killed-a-good-samaritan-who-tried-to-help/744034/17 "2016-01-24T06:35:44Z")
[Another article](http://myfox8.com/2016/01/23/nc-man-accused-of-shooting-killing-good-samaritan-who-tried-to-help-him-after-crash/) from a few hours ago shows us a little more about Mr. Lee’s demeanor: > [@from article](#): > > "Lee allegedly fired several shots and the victim died from his injuries. Deputies arrived on the scene and the suspect allegedly refused to get out of his car. > > Authorities apprehended the suspect after an armored car and shielded deputies were brought to the scene. A motive has not been released." So, no motive yet, but I’m betting he refused to leave without his hood and his mini confederate flag wrapped around the gear shift. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driver-stranded-during-friday-s-deadly-blizzard-shot-and-killed-a-good-samaritan-who-tried-to-help/744034/18 "2016-01-24T07:53:22Z")
This hits home hard for many of us dealing with snow and ice. We got six inches in Little Rock Thursday night. It melts into slush in the afternoons and driving is fine. It freezes into ice every night and the unplowed roads are horrible until almost noon… I’ll still help people anytime I can. My neighborhood is hilly and cars get stuck on the ice. I help when I can knowing that the next time it might be my car spinning its wheels stuck. You reap what you sow. ---
**Author:** ![Whiskey\_Dickens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9fc348/32.png) [@Whiskey\_Dickens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whiskey_Dickens)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driver-stranded-during-friday-s-deadly-blizzard-shot-and-killed-a-good-samaritan-who-tried-to-help/744034/19 "2016-01-25T00:25:41Z")
> [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](#): > > Just like the little girl with asthma inhaler it only proves that it doesn’t pay to be a good Samaritan. Except for the thousands of times a day being a good Samaritan works out great for all involved. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driver-stranded-during-friday-s-deadly-blizzard-shot-and-killed-a-good-samaritan-who-tried-to-help/744034/20 "2016-01-25T01:08:16Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Like what? Are you arguing that Heavner wasn’t murdered? Or are you arguing he wasn’t unarmed? Or are you arguing one of them wasn’t a man and Chefguy got the pronouns wrong? Because I can’t see how Chefguy’s post was anything other than the objective facts. Well, for starters, murder is not defined as “a bullet leaves the barrel of a gun and someone dies from it.” The law defines multiple degrees of murder and lesser charges such as manslaughter. If a person is insane, we do not consider them to have committed murder. Many elements of the law depend on the intent and knowledge of the perpetrator. Therefore, asking what he may have seen or interpreted is not victim blaming. It’s an essential part of the legal process. But more importantly, I want to know when people are going to wait for evidence and testimony to be gathered. Yes, the facts as presented sound bad, but I’m not going to pretend for an instant that the first set of reports issued to the press are the full story. Eye witnesses get things wrong all the time, and police investigations are not updated hourly on social media. Did we forget that false eye witness reports were the basis of a riot recently? The only thing you can do quickly is jump to conclusions. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driver-stranded-during-friday-s-deadly-blizzard-shot-and-killed-a-good-samaritan-who-tried-to-help/744034.md?page=2)