Law: Burglars and Booby Traps

To catch a thief, don't use a spring gun

The isolated country cottage in the Aube region of northeastern France was easy pickings for burglars, who regularly made off with furniture, children's toys, sheets and kitchenware. After a dozen such thefts, Owner Lionel Legras, 50, operator of a local garage, fastened some shotgun cartridges to the inside of a transistor radio and locked it in a cupboard; he wired it to a timer that would detonate the shells 90 seconds after the radio was moved or switched on. Outside, he posted a warning: ENTRY...

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