Saturday, February 13, 2010



Georgia: 3 Shot During Robbery At Vacant Home: "Police said two electricians were lured to a vacant house in south Fulton County and shot Thursday afternoon. The incident happened just after noon Thursday on Surrey Trail in Atlanta. Fulton County police told CBS Atlanta that a man called two electricians from two different companies to the home. When the first electrician arrived, the suspects robbed him, then shot him in the leg. Police say a short time later, the second electrician arrived. “The second electrician to arrive on the scene did not know the first electrician was in trouble,” said Fulton County Police Cpl. Kay Lester. The suspects then shot the second electrician in the leg. That’s when the electrician pulled out a gun and shot the suspect in the head, according to investigators. The alleged robber was taken to the hospital in critical condition. Police said there may be a second suspect with a bullet wound. He fled on foot."


NM: Accused man claims self-defense for break-in shooting: "Charges against Nathan Garcia, 40, accused of shooting and critically injuring an Aztec man, will be heard in district court despite claims of self-defense. Garcia, who was charged with third-degree aggravated battery with great bodily harm, fourth-degree shooting at or from a motor vehicle and tampering with evidence, admitted to shooting at Cepeda. "I shot twice, misfired, then shot three times," Garcia said. "I stood in the doorway, which I did not leave, put the pistol in my back pocket and told them to get off my property." Any reasonable person in San Juan County would shoot at somebody who broke into their house, Defense Attorney Steve Murphy said in closing arguments. Garcia claims he shot at Cepeda out of fear after Cepeda put a gun through his living room window. He thought it was a gun because of the size of the object and the secondary barrel. Cepeda testified that he returned to Garcia's house to get even after he was beaten by several males during a party at the residence earlier in the evening. He claims he picked up an object from the ground and broke the window of a car. He then broke the window in Garcia's home as he tried to get the men to come and fight."


AL: Another triumph of gun control: "Three people have been killed and one more wounded after a person opened fire at the University of Alabama's Huntsville campus about 4pm local time (9am AEDT), local reports said. A school spokesperson confirmed the three fatalities and said the shooter was in custody. A 911 call indicated as many as 10 people may have been shot at the campus' Shelby Center by a woman in a pink sweater, The Huntsville Times said. WHNT suggested the woman's husband may have been involved. The victims were believed to be faculty members. [Once again a "gun free zone" becomes a killing field]


If You Brandish a Gun in Self-Defense in Kansas, You'd Best Shoot It: "[A]fter leaving a bar in Emporia where [Brandon] Flint's fiancee and another man exchanged angry words, Flint walked to his car. Outside, Flint's fiancee and two men continued to talk in a heated fashion. Flint's fiancee fell to the ground during the scuffle. At this point, Flint got his gun, walked back across the street, and pointed the gun at the chest of one of the men; both men immediately backed away. Flint's fiancee got up, she and Flint walked back to Flint's car, and they drove away. A majority of the Supreme Court held in [State v. Hendrix, 289 Kan. 859 (2009),] that K.S.A. 21-3211 created a defense of self or defense of another only when there is "use of force." The majority decided actual physical contact rather than a mere threat or display of force is necessary to raise this defense. Since Flint merely threatened the use of his gun and there was no actual force applied, he was not entitled to the defense of another. Wow. Had Flint actually shot the gun, he would presumably have been entitled to have the jury consider his defense-of-others defense."

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