District Attorney Shakes The Hornet's Nest

[dlh]

This came as a surprise to me.
I do not know all of the evidence but I smell a ham sandwich...

https://www.statesman.com/story/news/20 ... -NLETTER13

Here is another link:

https://www.statesman.com/story/news/20 ... 809946002/

[philip964]

That’s a real shame he was indicted.

[carlson1]

Could have been anyone who was caught in the middle of that protest.

Just this week in Ft. Worth a man stops his motorcycle and gets off. He draws a gun and points it at a man in an SUV and that man defended himself and his children with four shots.

Difference = Travis County and Tarrant County.

[K.Mooneyham]

This came as a surprise to me.
I do not know all of the evidence but I smell a ham sandwich...

https://www.statesman.com/story/news/20 ... -NLETTER13

Here is another link:

https://www.statesman.com/story/news/20 ... 809946002/

As reminded by the news article, it says that the deceased served in the USAF (I "retired" from active duty USAF as a Master Sergeant (E-7) some years back after working on aircraft for over 20 years). I really, really would like to know what his Air Force Specialty Code was, and what his fellow airmen thought of him. And yes, that stuff matters; I hope Sergeant Perry's lawyer checks that out. Another story on the deceased states that he was a "flight mechanic" (no such job, likely a crew chief, which in the AF is a general purpose mechanic on aircraft (versus a systems specialist of one sort or another like a jet engine mechanic or an avionics technician). It went on to state that he got an early discharge to care for his fiancé. That sounds bogus because the USAF doesn't normally let people out for anyone who isn't an actual direct family member or spouse, but if he would have married her, he could have gotten benefits from the USAF, and possibly even assigned a house with wheelchair-accessible features (yes, most AF bases have a handful of units like that). This whole thing smells rotten.

[AF-Odin]

Yep, smells to high heaven. Just one more example of the Peoples Republic of Austin. Hope he has a good lawyer and either a good self defense pre-paid plan or a good legal defense fund.

As to the deceased being an AF vet, I spent more than a little time in the AF and had the term commander in my duty title a couple of times. In the majority of cases of folks I dealt with receiving an early discharge, it was usually because the AF was tired of dealing with them and just wanted them gone.

[03Lightningrocks]

This simply enrages me. This is an obvious case of self defense. The dead thug was on video just an hour or so earlier bragging about being a tough guy because he was carrying an AK47. Had he pointed it at me, I would have reacted the exact same way. Having legal insurance for self defense is becoming a necessity. No matter how obvious it is that one is exercising self defense, one just never knows what some activist DA/Prosecutor is going to do next.

[jerry_r60]

It seems everything hinges on if the guy with the AK raised it up and pointed it or was just carrying it slung.

[Soccerdad1995]

It seems everything hinges on if the guy with the AK raised it up and pointed it or was just carrying it slung.

If the perp raised the AK, then it is a clear cut good shoot. Assuming that's the case, the guy was trapped by protestors that he didn't want to run over, and a masked person pointed an AK at him. I think everyone, including a LEO, would try to defend themselves in that situation.

On the other hand, if the prosecution can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the perp did not raise his AK, and in fact did not even have his hands on the rifle, then they might warrant a conviction, but that would depend on exactly how the aggressor approached the stopped vehicle, what he said, etc.

It did strike me that it took a 3 week grand jury trial to secure an indictment here. Is that how long a grand jury normally takes?

[crazy2medic]

Seems to me after the incident it was reported that AK Guy was approaching carrying it at low ready while voicing threats!

[03Lightningrocks]

Seems to me after the incident it was reported that AK Guy was approaching carrying it at low ready while voicing threats!

This is the way I understood the situation as well.

[Soccerdad1995]

Seems to me after the incident it was reported that AK Guy was approaching carrying it at low ready while voicing threats!

This is the way I understood the situation as well.

OK, so for argument's sake, let's assume the above is established in court.

That means, we have a masked person, holding a rifle, while committing a crime (blocking traffic). That individual then advances on a motorist who is blocked in, and yells threats at the motorist.

If I'm on the jury, I'm ruling that a good shoot. IMHO, that would also be a justified use of force if the motorist was a LEO (who I would obviously hold to a higher standard than a non-LEO citizen). The thing to remember here is that it takes less than a second to fire a controlled round from a rifle held at that position. I'm sure the defense attorney will demonstrate this for the jury.

[srothstein]

Seems to me after the incident it was reported that AK Guy was approaching carrying it at low ready while voicing threats!

This is the way I understood the situation as well.

OK, so for argument's sake, let's assume the above is established in court.

That means, we have a masked person, holding a rifle, while committing a crime (blocking traffic). That individual then advances on a motorist who is blocked in, and yells threats at the motorist.

If I'm on the jury, I'm ruling that a good shoot. IMHO, that would also be a justified use of force if the motorist was a LEO (who I would obviously hold to a higher standard than a non-LEO citizen). The thing to remember here is that it takes less than a second to fire a controlled round from a rifle held at that position. I'm sure the defense attorney will demonstrate this for the jury.

Technical correction, but he as committing multiple crimes. In addition to the blocking traffic and pedestrian in a roadway, he was possibly committing disorderly conduct by carrying a firearm in a manner calculated to alarm (my opinion is yes) and definitely an assault by threat. If I were the defense, I would make sure the disorderly conduct charge is raised as it helps justify the reaction (he was alarmed and reacted how he was trained to react). I would call as many combat veteran soldiers from Ft. Hood as I could to testify that they would have reacted the same way to a person approaching them with a rifle at low ready. IMO, by definition low ready is a threat and I would shoot to stop it. I think it is justifiable based on the time it takes to go from low ready to firing compared to the reaction time.

[Paladin]

Garrett Foster was a Communist Terrorist. Plain and simple. He lived by terror and died in the act of terrorism.

District Attorney José Garza should be fired and brought up on charges of Providing material support to terrorists.

shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 15 years, or both, and, if the death of any person results, shall be imprisoned for any term of years or for life.

[Paladin]

Seems to me after the incident it was reported that AK Guy was approaching carrying it at low ready while voicing threats!

Exactly. There was a report that Garrett Foster was on video doing the same to other cars on previous days.

[The Annoyed Man]

Could have been anyone who was caught in the middle of that protest.

Just this week in Ft. Worth a man stops his motorcycle and gets off. He draws a gun and points it at a man in an SUV and that man defended himself and his children with four shots.

Difference = Travis County and Tarrant County.

This ^^