Post by Woody Williams on Aug 16, 2005 14:27:14 GMT -5
WW - People are getting fed up, and doing the job the police can't or won't do: protecting themselves.
The 2nd Amendment in action...
More Richmonders acting in self-defense
Prosecutors rule that two victims who shot attackers will not face any charges
BY JIM NOLAN
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Richmond is armed and dangerous. And we're not just talking about the bad guys.
Since March, there have been at least three fatal shootings of armed suspects by armed victims. In at least two of those cases, Richmond prosecutors say it was in self-defense.
The Richmond commonwealth's attorney's office has concluded that the martial-arts instructor who fatally shot former NFL cornerback Mike Brim during a confrontation last April in South Richmond acted in
self-defense.
Prosecutors have also decided that a pizza deliveryman acted in self-defense in March when he fatally shot a teen who attempted to rob him in the Hillside Court neighborhood, also in South Richmond.
Officials said they are awaiting toxicology reports before reaching a conclusion about the fatal shooting of a 14-year-old boy. Police said the boy attempted to rob a 47-year-old man with an unloaded rifle in the East End in June.
"It does appear to us in the commonwealth's attorney's office that a lot of people are armed with weapons," said Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Learned D. Barry, the city's top homicide prosecutor.
"And because of that, situations like these are becoming more and more prevalent."
Investigators said that Brim, 39, trailed Gary Miles to a house on Pineway Drive from his workplace at the American Karate Center on
Huguenot Road on April 19.
A police investigation found that Brim, a former Virginia Union University standout who played eight seasons in the National Football League, opened fire on Miles, shooting at him several times and striking the instructor in one leg. Miles, who was also armed, returned fire, striking Brim in the torso, killing him.
"Based on the fact that the deceased followed Mr. Miles to the scene and fired at him first, we have no choice but to rule it self-defense," Barry said.
"There were multiple rounds from Mr. Brim's gun, and only one from Mr. Miles'."
Law-enforcement sources said they believe Brim's motivation for attacking Miles centered on a woman whom men both knew. The men also knew each other as their children played in the same local AAU basketball program.
In the pizza-delivery case on March 11, an investigation determined that a teenage boy approached the delivery man on the 1800 block of Southlawn Avenue with "a gun or what appeared to be a gun" with the
intention to rob him, said Barry.
He said the delivery man fatally shot the teen in self-defense and then stayed at the scene and called police to tell them what had happened.
Prosecutors have not made a determination on the most recent case. On June 12, police said Rodvon Daymetric Brown, 14, attempted to rob a man sitting in a car at 24th Street and Fairmount Avenue with an
unloaded .22 caliber rifle.
Brown, according to investigators, had duct-taped an ammunition clip from an assault-style rifle to the barrel of his gun to make it look more menacing. The man in the car responded by firing the .40-caliber handgun that he had in his vehicle, fatally wounding Brown.
"It is clear to us a robbery attempt was being made by an armed juvenile," Barry said. "We're waiting a little bit more for the toxicology to come back before we're sure that it's self-defense or not."
The fact that Brown's rifle was not loaded won't make a difference in the determination of whether he was shot in self-defense, according to officials.
"The victims have no clue if it is a real weapon or loaded weapon or not," Barry said. "And they have to protect themselves."
The 2nd Amendment in action...
More Richmonders acting in self-defense
Prosecutors rule that two victims who shot attackers will not face any charges
BY JIM NOLAN
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Richmond is armed and dangerous. And we're not just talking about the bad guys.
Since March, there have been at least three fatal shootings of armed suspects by armed victims. In at least two of those cases, Richmond prosecutors say it was in self-defense.
The Richmond commonwealth's attorney's office has concluded that the martial-arts instructor who fatally shot former NFL cornerback Mike Brim during a confrontation last April in South Richmond acted in
self-defense.
Prosecutors have also decided that a pizza deliveryman acted in self-defense in March when he fatally shot a teen who attempted to rob him in the Hillside Court neighborhood, also in South Richmond.
Officials said they are awaiting toxicology reports before reaching a conclusion about the fatal shooting of a 14-year-old boy. Police said the boy attempted to rob a 47-year-old man with an unloaded rifle in the East End in June.
"It does appear to us in the commonwealth's attorney's office that a lot of people are armed with weapons," said Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Learned D. Barry, the city's top homicide prosecutor.
"And because of that, situations like these are becoming more and more prevalent."
Investigators said that Brim, 39, trailed Gary Miles to a house on Pineway Drive from his workplace at the American Karate Center on
Huguenot Road on April 19.
A police investigation found that Brim, a former Virginia Union University standout who played eight seasons in the National Football League, opened fire on Miles, shooting at him several times and striking the instructor in one leg. Miles, who was also armed, returned fire, striking Brim in the torso, killing him.
"Based on the fact that the deceased followed Mr. Miles to the scene and fired at him first, we have no choice but to rule it self-defense," Barry said.
"There were multiple rounds from Mr. Brim's gun, and only one from Mr. Miles'."
Law-enforcement sources said they believe Brim's motivation for attacking Miles centered on a woman whom men both knew. The men also knew each other as their children played in the same local AAU basketball program.
In the pizza-delivery case on March 11, an investigation determined that a teenage boy approached the delivery man on the 1800 block of Southlawn Avenue with "a gun or what appeared to be a gun" with the
intention to rob him, said Barry.
He said the delivery man fatally shot the teen in self-defense and then stayed at the scene and called police to tell them what had happened.
Prosecutors have not made a determination on the most recent case. On June 12, police said Rodvon Daymetric Brown, 14, attempted to rob a man sitting in a car at 24th Street and Fairmount Avenue with an
unloaded .22 caliber rifle.
Brown, according to investigators, had duct-taped an ammunition clip from an assault-style rifle to the barrel of his gun to make it look more menacing. The man in the car responded by firing the .40-caliber handgun that he had in his vehicle, fatally wounding Brown.
"It is clear to us a robbery attempt was being made by an armed juvenile," Barry said. "We're waiting a little bit more for the toxicology to come back before we're sure that it's self-defense or not."
The fact that Brown's rifle was not loaded won't make a difference in the determination of whether he was shot in self-defense, according to officials.
"The victims have no clue if it is a real weapon or loaded weapon or not," Barry said. "And they have to protect themselves."
