Xbox ownership dispute leads to arson

Following the horrific incident in 2004 in which four dim-witted individuals perpetrated a home invasion and mass murder in order to "reclaim" their repo'ed Xbox, comes another tale of disputed console ownership leading to tragic consequences. A 20-year-old Seattle man returned to his former residence on Thursday in an attempt to take possession of an Xbox that he had supposedly purchased, and in a classic example of "if I can't play with this toy then no one can," tossed the 'Box right through a window and into the front yard. Not content with destroying what may have been his own property, the young man returned later that night and set fire to home's back porch, and although no injuries were reported, the structure was apparently completely gutted. Making the suspect even more eligible for the "Stupid Criminals' Hall of Fame" was the fact that he called the house from a payphone (while it was still burning, presumably) to brag of his crime and make additional threats. The lesson here: videogames may or may not incite folks to violence, but fighting over them sure does.

[Via Joystiq]

[XBOXHUEG @ Aug 13th 2006 5:40PM]

NE1 WNT 2 PLY HALO?

[Neo Senku @ Aug 13th 2006 5:44PM]

this is all politicians and over protective parents need.

[NSKGTI @ Aug 13th 2006 5:45PM]

Makes me proud to hail from the BEAUTIFUL CITY OF SEATTLE...

[Jake @ Aug 13th 2006 5:46PM]

Surely the reason that this happened with an Xbox instead of with a PS2 or GC was because the Xbox has a larger number of first-person shooters than the other two.

[dov @ Aug 13th 2006 5:52PM]

xbox sux anyway :D

[Tull @ Aug 13th 2006 5:55PM]

I thave the opinion that xbox users have a higher tendency towads violence because xbox's make a hell of alot better club then a DS would.

[Guruboy @ Aug 13th 2006 6:29PM]

I'm not going to bullshit that it had something to do with Xbox owners being stupid or anything. Of course, the gamers with the worst tempers are definitely Xbox owners. You see so many videos on Google videos of people playing Halo and freaking out, it's hillarious.

[TeleCustom @ Aug 13th 2006 6:33PM]

is the fire department sure they didn't retrieve the Xbox and have it running on the back porch?

[Pal @ Aug 13th 2006 9:13PM]

My girlfriend went to the PLAY videogame music performance, and there were two guys sitting next to her. They didn't cheer or seem entertained, until they went crazy for the HALO theme, standing up and cheering. After hearing the song, they got up and left.

Xbox owners are very strange.

[Guruboy @ Aug 13th 2006 9:22PM]

Hahaha Pal I was there! I actually remember that exact occurence, because there were two geeky guys that just sat around until the Halo theme. That is/was hilarious!

TeleCustom is right. To set the porch on fire, I bet they just turned on the Xbox with being in a room with AC. This is the aftermath.

[Roberto @ Aug 13th 2006 10:24PM]

What kind of person would represent the Xbox in this parody?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aJEcD4wKlc

[Chris @ Aug 13th 2006 10:53PM]

What a freak.

[Matt @ Aug 13th 2006 11:38PM]

I am absolutely dumb struck. Is this for real? This twisted moron got all bent out of shape over a games console.

I wonder if he's one of these dicks that mugs people for their Nikes, or their iPods?

[st @ Aug 13th 2006 11:45PM]

Are they sure that the XBox didn't explode and cause the fire?

[Shadyman @ Aug 13th 2006 11:49PM]

I think the XBox owners get more violent because they had to pay an arm, a leg, and their firstborn child for it.

[I,Robot @ Aug 14th 2006 12:13AM]

I don't ever KNOW where to go with this ONE... I think the story says it all. What an Assh_le.

[I Lack A Name @ Aug 14th 2006 12:50AM]

I live in Seattle, it was over the news. Stupid. The news reporters said they argued over an Xbox console. I laughed when I heard it. I think it happened in the South End...whatevs.

[Frangible @ Aug 14th 2006 1:44AM]

The XBox owners get more violent because they spent 5 hours chipping it and another 50 hours downloading and tweaking their dashboard and XBMC.

[Bard @ Aug 14th 2006 1:48AM]

Oh, this stuff happens ALOT!

Here in Phoenix, a couple of kids actually got into it with firearms over an xbox 360. It seems one group of kids went over to another kid's house, and when they stepped out of the room, jacked the xbox. Dispondent over the theift of his console, his older brother rolled by the kid's house and shot a few rounds into it...with his father's registered gun!

Needless to say, it didn't take too long for parents involved to figure out what happened. Of course, this happened around Guadalupe/South Phoenix, wich is pretty damned getto here. Heck, even a peron in my complex had her xbox 360 stolen during some party and some fight broke out over it.

It's sad how getto trash will spend $600+ on a basic console and a game or two yet still can't seem to pay there rent on time or afford anything other than prepaid cell phones.

[Panther_V @ Aug 14th 2006 4:11AM]

Wooo , alot XBOX hater ;) if you guys had a brain than you know the more than 75% of XBOX owner have a second console like PS2.

[Kazuya @ Aug 14th 2006 4:27AM]

Tull: I call you out on your opinion. The Xbox is far to unwieldy to hold two handed (the grooves/spines make it slip far to easily) and it is also difficult to hold with one hand due to the weight.

Even if you did manage to bash someone in the head with it, it would slip out of your hands and the ensuing chaos would allow your would-be victim to get a few quick shots in with his iPod Shuffle, a lightweight device which is still able to inflict scores of damage.

[AP @ Aug 14th 2006 7:50AM]

Only in Seattle folks. If you want to live in the most dreary and depressing city in the U.S. folks then this is it. If you've had even the slightest desire to move there, I highly recommend checking out www.seattlesucks.com.

[dnewfield @ Aug 14th 2006 11:09AM]

What's with the picture? It looks like some mechanical alien head hovering in the background....maybe I just didn't get enough sleep last night.

[Cade @ Aug 14th 2006 12:01PM]

This just goes to show you that nothing good comes out of Microsoft.

[Jon @ Aug 14th 2006 2:15PM]

Phong? Is that you?