Wow, I thought this kind of thing was done away with years ago

[ShadowHM]

Most recent example in my area is the case of a man charged with assault after firing a shotgun at ATV riders attempting to run him over. Can't get hold of the articles themselves (it was in our local news for several days) because anyone carrying the story wants a fee for access to news more than a day old.

The gist of the story is ... the homeowner found himself in court on assault charges while his assailants got off scot-free.

Sorry, but that would be still qualify as an anecdote, not a reference. You don't say where 'your area' is. You don't name names or court dates or anything else that would allow for an independent assessment beyond your own opinion of what the facts in the case might be. Just because your google-fu is weak doesn't mean others are so handicapped.