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In front of dozens of witnesses. The law would not handle it, so the town did.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/16/us/16 ... ml?_r=2&hp
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/16/us/16 ... ml?_r=2&hp
Mr. McElroy, who had shot an elderly Skidmore grocer in the neck with a shotgun. Known for stealing livestock, harassing women, destroying property and threatening lives, Mr. McElroy had been charged with numerous felonies over the years â€" his lawyer estimated at least three a year â€" but had never been convicted.
The streak ended when a jury convicted Mr. McElroy of second-degree assault in the grocer’s shooting. A conviction should have been a victory for the people of Skidmore, but the jury set a maximum sentence of two years, and the judge, without protest from Mr. Baird, released Mr. McElroy on bond pending appeal. Mr. McElroy was quickly rearrested after he appeared in town with a rifle, but he was again released.