A prank turns into gunfire

I don’t know what David Osborne was thinking Saturday, but I do know he wasn’t thinking very clearly.

Osborne, 42, who lives on Battle Rd. in Farwell, is sitting in jail, charged with 7 crimes including attempted murder, all because he decided to shoot his shotgun into a truck driven by his friends.

The weird ordeal reminds me of a movie I had been watching the very same day all this happened. Called “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, it starred Johnny Depp and Benecio Del Toro, two perpetually stoned and drunk comrades who tried to harm each other with guns, knives and whatever else they could get their hands on. Of course they knew not what they were doing because they were never in their right state of minds.

David Osborne, I believe, wasn’t in his right mind, either. He and his good friend were guilty of playing pranks on one another all the time. On this particular day, his friend decided to use his yard and driveway as a drag strip, spinning his tires and throwing dirt and grass every which way. Osborne and his friends called it “turfing.”

I don’t know if Osborne was upset with the turfing (according to the police report, it didn’t appear he was) but he invited his friends back later so that he could shoot them. Mind you this was after a day of drinking, and one would suspect Osborne was not serious about shooting them, when he asked his friends to come over.

Thus they showed up, a little later- actually, it was 5:30 in the afternoon, just about dusk. Immediately Osborne began shooting at the truck his three friends, including his girlfriend, occupied. Several bullet holes were identified above the rear passenger-side wheel well. It was allegedly reported, as well, that Osborne’s girlfriend, opened up the passenger door, and Osborne began firing shots inside the vehicle.

None of the shots hit the three friends. As in the movie, Osborne must have been far too drunk to be able to aim a shotgun. Chances are he had no intention of harming his friends. Osborne allegedly said, “he did not exactly know where he was shooting due to the fact that he was so angry.”

Friends mess with friend all the time. There is a long history of Osborne and his buddy carrying out pranks on each other. We don’t know what went wrong on this occasion, but Mr. Osborne now faces some very serious charges.

The charges are attempted murder, 3 felony counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, 1 count of felony firearm, 1 count of reckless use of a firearm and 1 count of firearms possession under the influence. Osborne sits in the Isabella County Jail in lieu of a $250,000 cash or surety bond.

Unfortunately for Osborne, this isn’t the movies. He will be punished for his drunken tirade. As they say often, guns and booze don’t mix. Mr. Osborne is a prime example why they don’t.