robbed wasn't armed

[Roger Howard]

Usually presenting a small pistol like a seacamp or darringer is not for stopping power but persuading power. A dog cannot identify the threat of any handgun no matter what the size. A human on the other hand can. No one WANTS to get shot so most people will avoid a situation or change direction no matter what the size of a pistol being waved in their face.

Even small guns look huge when you're on the wrong end of one.

The derringers in .410/.45LC pack a punch and are small and easily concealed.
mrcharlie check your private messages

[swc007]

Im happy you are okay!!!!
that sounds about right in Galveston!!! something is always happening there guess like any other city these days

i grew up there and one time i had two different people threaten me at different times by saying "im gonna get my gun" once was at a bowling alley when friends and i didnt want to play these random people who approached us and wanted to bet $100 on a match...another was at a party where it was all of my friends from school and a random guy with his shirt off tatted up (knew something would happen)... guy said he was getting a gun so we called the police and the dude comes back with a wrench!!! cops came and took care of it

[ddurkof]

On top of all of this the Galveston City Manager wants to decrease the size of the police and fire department. I lived in Galveston in the 1970s and worked in the county jail for 18 months before moving to patrol. I have no illusions about the population that live in Galveston. A whole bunch of good people, but there were many, many thugs.

"Be polite. Be professional. But have a plan to kill everyone you meet." Sound harsh, but it is the reality of life these days.

[jester]

"Be polite. Be professional. But have a plan to kill everyone you meet." Sound harsh, but it is the reality of life these days.

To err is human. To forgive, divine.
Neither is Marine Corps policy.

[seamusTX]

On top of all of this the Galveston City Manager wants to decrease the size of the police and fire department.

As little as I like it, there is no alternative. The real-estate tax base has decreased. Many abandoned properties are no longer generating revenue. Sales tax is down, and most of that is dedicated to specific uses by statute. The recession is going to continue until further notice, and the city does not have reserves to cover a deficit.

Police officers driving around in cars do little to prevent crime, anyway. They mainly write traffic tickets, arrest drunks, and respond to calls about accomplished crimes.

The you-know-what is going to hit the you-know what when some resident of Cedar Lawn or Adler Circle gets his door kicked in, and the response time is 30 minutes.

We simply have to be responsible for ourselves here.

- Jim

[tarkus]

We simply have to be responsible for ourselves here.

That's always been true, no matter what politicians say to get elected.

[M4Dogg]

WOW, that is crazy, but glad you got away and were thinking quickly!! Sometimes it is better to let the bad guy THINK they have the upper-hand. This is a tough lesson to learn once you conceal as you always think you want to draw right away but maybe it is not always the best chance you will get. Then again, maybe it is the last, but given THIS situation, it sounds like you had no time to realize that need, even if you were armed. I agree with your comment about one of you might be dead now. It could have been you - imaging if he grabbed your arm right as you drew and he was able to use his other hand to grab your gun. Just because we carry, doesn't mean anything is guaranteed and it CAN occasionally backfire as I suggested, but let's just hope for the best and do what we can to be situationally aware as best we can.

[GrayGhost]

I understand you to have said that you are a 68 year old man and out of nowhere in an isolated location, you were grabbed from behind, spun around, and punched so hard that you landed on the ground with your attacker who was half your age still standing over you. If I were in your shoes, I'd say you were justified in drawing and/or using deadly force at that point. He exerted deadly force by punching you in the head, the threat continued, you had no clear or safe escape, and you had reason to fear for your life. That's reason enough. If you thought of it, you could also be fearful of an imminent robbery, which is justification enough. When he asked for money or showed signs of it being a robbery, you were again justified because an aggravated robbery was taking place. When he told you to back into the alcove, you could again say that you feared that his intent was to kill you there, it was in the commission of an aggravated robbery, and your health and age didn't lead you to believe you had a physical advantage in trying to outrun him. Only after you ran and he split in the other direction would I say you were no longer justified. IANAL.

Well done Hoi. I'm only surprised the thread went to two pages before something of this nature was posted.

[billfromtx]

A happier ending would have been that the threat was stopped by a couple of 158gr 357's center mass!

The scumbag bad guy will undoubtedly rob and/or kill someone sooner or later...He has too, he cant help it!

[Excaliber]

Usually presenting a small pistol like a seacamp or darringer is not for stopping power but persuading power. A dog cannot identify the threat of any handgun no matter what the size. A human on the other hand can. No one WANTS to get shot so most people will avoid a situation or change direction no matter what the size of a pistol being waved in their face.

Persuasion depends on rationality on the part of the prospective persuadee. Hoping that the violent criminal who confronts you might be among the minority who are not mentally ill, intoxicated or craving crack or meth at the time is a pretty iffy proposition.

This line of thinking comes from the faulty assumption that violent criminals think like you do. They don't.

I know that's hard to understand because most folks have never met anyone who even vaguely resembles a violent street criminal. When you see a few armed confrontations where the subject being held at gunpoint tells the guy with the gun where he plans to put it and how he's going to do it and then proceeds to try to do exactly that, the reality becomes a bit more clear. When the gun involved is a little one, he's pretty likely to succeed even if he has to spend a little time in the ER afterward.

[seamusTX]

Perp pled and is subject to 15 years to life in prison. Sentencing next week.

http://galvestondailynews.com/story/202870" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

- Jim

[USA1]

Perp pled and is subject to 15 years to life in prison. Sentencing next week.

http://galvestondailynews.com/story/202870" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

- Jim

Good!

Thanks for the update Jim.

[seamusTX]

Today's Daily News says the offender in this case was sentenced to 40 years after he turned down a 25-year plea bargain.

http://galvestondailynews.com/story/208530" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I don't know what happened to the earlier plea bargain.

- Jim

[chasfm11]

Today's Daily News says the offender in this case was sentenced to 40 years after he turned down a 25-year plea bargain.

http://galvestondailynews.com/story/208530" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I don't know what happened to the earlier plea bargain.

- Jim

I wonder how much time he will actually serve. Perhaps I'm just not reading the stories correctly but there seem to be a lot of recidivist criminals who committed subsequent offenses that were well within the timeframe for their original sentence. After 40 years this perp would be of Social Security age. My fear is that this one will be back on the streets in less than 20 years.

[seamusTX]

He could get out in 20 years with good behavior.

However, according to reports, he served all of his previous 12-year term. You can only guess why. Also note that it is possible to commit a crime while in prison, be found guilty, and sentenced to additional time.

There also are releases based on overcrowding (which is a synonym for underfunding).

The bottom line is, who knows?

- Jim