Posted on
September 19, 2015 in
Free your mind from the false notion that the Texas Legislature knows what it is doing.
(13) “Hoax bomb” means a device that:
…
(B) by its design causes … reaction of any type by an official of a public safety agency ….
Yes, reaction of any type. So this device, which might by its design causes a reaction by a police officer (it’s intended to do so, in fact), could be a hoax bomb. (Image from goodmenproject.com.)
A Hoax Bomb
As could this:
Another Hoax Bomb
And this:
Yet Another Hoax Bomb
And even this:
Still Another Hoax Bomb
Whether something is a hoax bomb depends on whether it “by design causes … reaction of any type by an official of a public safety agency.” So you don’t know what a hoax bomb is until a cop or firefighter sees it. If the wrong cop sees it, anything could be a hoax bomb. There might be a cop who loves cars; to that cop, a car is a hoax bomb because it causes a reaction.
A telephone is not a hoax bomb until it is used to call a cop.
Just possessing a hoax bomb is not a crime, though. It is only a crime to possess a hoax bomb with the intent to use it to “cause … reaction of any type by an official of a public safety agency ….”
Yes, reaction of any type.
So if a person uses any of those hoax bombs pictured above with the intent to get a reaction from some cop, and succeeds, he has committed a Class A Misdemeanor.
I sometimes think about writing dystopian legal fiction, but we all might confuse it with the news.
1. We have a sign located on a private tract of land which we own. This sign has been destroyed twice by criminals. The local sheriff’s office (Brewster County)has been unable or unwilling to locate the guilty parties despite a $2,000 reward offered one each case for their arrest and conviction. We were receiving additional threats to destroy our sign were received, as we rebuilt our sign and we passed them on to the sheriff’s office with no action on their part.
2. We installed two No Trespassing signs and two Danger/Security system signs on our tract in front of our big metal sign. We also installed a small non lethal security system which we hoped would keep trespassers off our private property.
3. I was charged with a hoax bomb charge.
4. I have never threatened to build a bomb nor threatened anyone.
5. I am 80 years of age and have never been arrested except for this hoax bomb charge.
6. I believe that a Texas State Law provides a method to protect private property. Re: TEX PE. CODE ANN. § 9.44 : Texas Statutes – Section 9.44: USE OF DEVICE TO PROTECT PROPERTY Can this law be used to defeat a hoax bomb charge ?