Franklin County jury hears of alcohol use before Blue Ridge Summit slaying

innocent!

took him to drug and alcohol classes then went to a bar and had a few beers what is wrong with some people

That liquid courage will do it all the time.

Sounds like to me Mr. Harrigan was just protecting his family.

Innocent. Case of self-defense. A case of our fight or flight response. Given the circumstances, Micheal fought to protect his family.

So far sure looks like he is innocent. Sounds like he was only protecting his family from and out of control drunk. Now things may change as the story comes along but so far this man is innocent. Sounds like Steven had a drinking problem and it finally caught up to him. His sons sure didn't make a good case for their father, they basically said he was drunk & trying to start a problem. Then they just leave while their father lays on teh road and dies... what kind of son would do that?

Not so fast... laying in wait long after the mouthing off and shooting while crouched in bushes... waiting to kill. I really hope experts can prove Mr. Harrigan was not acting in self defense and protecting his family. A gun to a mouth fight is, in my opinion, murder.
Washington Twp police REALLY should be on trial for failure to protect that resulted in death- they could have diffused the situation and did not.

theres nothing worse than a drunk who thinks they can whip the world but if the cops were there earlier and he made threats to them why wasnt he taken into custody maybe fear on their part

Im off to drug and alcohol class than the bar!!!!

Not related to the case, but in the last paragraph it says that Scott worked for the Frederick Co. DA's office which would be incorrect because Maryland does not have a "District Attorney's Office". Maryland has long used the "Office of the State's Attorney" as their designation or "State's Attorney" for short. Not a huge issue but when reporting someone's credentials the paper should have the utmost accuracy (but I wasn't expecting much, after all it is the PO).

Wait until all of the story comes out. Mr. Wetzel made threats against Mr. Harrigan's wife and baby daughter that any true man would defend them against. If the police would have done their job on the first call Mr. Wetzel would still be alive...drunk probably, but alive.

Karl Baker wrote:

Not so fast... laying in wait long after the mouthing off and shooting while crouched in bushes... waiting to kill. I really hope experts can prove Mr. Harrigan was not acting in self defense and protecting his family. A gun to a mouth fight is, in my opinion, murder.
Washington Twp police REALLY should be on trial for failure to protect that resulted in death- they could have diffused the situation and did not.

No where does it say he was "laying in wait long after the mouthing off and shooting while crouched in bushes... waiting to kill"! Seriously, where did you get this information from?? The experts are on the case.

imt wrote:

Wait until all of the story comes out. Mr. Wetzel made threats against Mr. Harrigan's wife and baby daughter that any true man would defend them against. If the police would have done their job on the first call Mr. Wetzel would still be alive...drunk probably, but alive.

if the coward had not hid in the bush and shot Mr Wetzel in the face with a shotgun, while he was on a public right-of-way, he would still be alive, drunk probably, but alive.

imt wrote:

Wait until all of the story comes out. Mr. Wetzel made threats against Mr. Harrigan's wife and baby daughter that any true man would defend them against. If the police would have done their job on the first call Mr. Wetzel would still be alive...drunk probably, but alive.

So far it appears to be self defense and if what your stating is a fact than i would ahve done the same to proctect my wife & child as well. Sounds like Wentzel had a drinking problem and teh cops should ahve arrested him earlier when they were there. Also if all of his sons were there and other epople why could this group of people keep him under control and keep him in the house. Sounds like his family let this happen.

Really wrote:

<quoted text>
if the coward had not hid in the bush and shot Mr Wetzel in the face with a shotgun, while he was on a public right-of-way, he would still be alive, drunk probably, but alive.

He wasn't hiding in the bush, he was on his front walk, in his yard.

So, they drove to MD to get cigarettes? There wasn't a convenience store closer? Or just not one in PA that sells more Beer?

Do not judge the murdered victim or the family. They are not on trial here! An unarmed man is murdered... Words from an intoxicated person does not kill, but a firearm in the hands of a murderer does!

justmyinput wrote:

Do not judge the murdered victim or the family. They are not on trial here! An unarmed man is murdered... Words from an intoxicated person does not kill, but a firearm in the hands of a murderer does!

Mr. Harrigan served as a Marine in Iraq and the men in his unit are there to testify to his character. He wouldn't hurt anyone until he felt his family was seriously being threatened. Mr. Wetzel was out of control. If he would have been arrested for disorderly conduct both of them would be much better off than they are today.

he might have been waiting to protect cause he had feeling he would be back. which he just told his son he was gonna take out cops and him. maybe he said im gonna kill you and your family then he shot.

Karl Baker wrote:

Not so fast... laying in wait long after the mouthing off and shooting while crouched in bushes... waiting to kill. I really hope experts can prove Mr. Harrigan was not acting in self defense and protecting his family. A gun to a mouth fight is, in my opinion, murder.
Washington Twp police REALLY should be on trial for failure to protect that resulted in death- they could have diffused the situation and did not.

protecting his family is what he was trained to do by his government! Innocent