AZ: Man chases down assailants, kills one: "The incident began at approximately 6:40 a.m. on Saturday, when Jaime Somoza Jaimes, 36, was surprised by the pistol-carrying men as he returned home in the Residencial Greco neighborhood. The muggers reportedly threatened Somoza with their guns and hit him in the head, knocking him to the ground. They continued hitting him until his son arrived and fought with one of assailants. At that point, the PEI said, the men ran off with Somoza's wallet and an unspecified amount of money, firing three shots as they fled. Somoza got up, found a .25-caliber firearm and got into his SUV to chase down the perpetrators. When he caught up with them, he reportedly shot 36-year-old Eduardo Rodolfo Crispin Sesma of Nogales, Sonora once in the thorax as he was pulling out a .45-caliber pistol. His accomplice escaped." The PEI said Somoza, his son and brother were questioned but not immediately charged."


AL: Man shot during robbery attempt: "An arrest warrant has been issued for a man shot early Tuesday morning attempting to rob someone in Callaway. Elijah Reddice, 30, of Panama City, checked into a Houston County, Ala., hospital Tuesday noon with a gunshot wound. He told Houston County Sheriff’s deputies that he was shot in a fight with a man he had tried to rob. The victim, 28-year-old John Fagan, told investigators with the BCSO a man approached him around 2 a.m. and tried to hit him with a gun, which caused the gun to fire. Fagan said he fought with the man and the gun fired again and suspect fell to the ground before running away through a neighboring yard. Fagan recovered a gun, a .357-caliber revolver, which had two spent shell casings and a live round when he turned it over to investigators. Reddice will be charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. Additional charges are expected."


VA: Murder charge dismissed: "Second-degree murder and other charges against a Martinsville man were dismissed Monday after a judge found that the 21-year-old acted within the law when he shot another man to death in a Henry County mobile home. Rodney “Rod” Lamar Hairston of North Fork Road was charged in connection with the Oct. 18 death of Jermey Lynn Preston, also 21. Preston was shot inside a home at 345 Kent Drive, which is off Mountain Road just outside the city limits. After a preliminary hearing in Henry County General District Court, Judge Morgan Armstrong said he would not be doing his duty if he let the charges advance. “My conclusion is that no jury or judge could draw but one conclusion,” Armstrong said, adding that the conclusion is that Hairston shot Preston “in defense of another.” Arsha Crawford, testified that she and Hairston were playing cards with another friend at her home on Kent Drive the night of Oct. 18 when Preston and Curtis “Duke” Pritchett showed up uninvited. Crawford said she and Preston had a history of altercations."


NC: “Castle Doctrine” revised: "The new law defines a person’s home as any property with a roof where the person lives and also includes 'curtilage,' which is the area immediately around a home. ... It says a home or workplace can be temporary or permanent and specifically says either one can be a tent. Under the new law, the lawful occupant of a home, motor vehicle or workplace isn’t required to retreat prior to using deadly force."

Wisconsin Republicans protect women

The Chicago Tribune reviewed Wisconsin’s concealed gun permit law, which became law this summer after years of opposition by the Democratic Party. Finally, the state elected Republican majorities in each house of the legislature and a Republican governor, Scott Walker. The biggest beneficiaries of the new law that allows carrying a concealed handgun may be women.

The Chicago Tribune reported: “Roger Wendling, owner of Monsoor’s Sport Shop in La Crosse, estimates he’s seen a 25 percent to 30 percent increase in handgun sales this month. Some of the more popular models have been .38-caliber Sig Sauers and Smith & Wesson .38-caliber revolvers, both small, snub-nosed weapons that are easy to hide. About 70 percent of the concealed carry clientele have been women, he said. They’ve leaned toward revolvers with laser sights and handbags with special compartments for hidden weapons, he said. Jim Clark, manager of Central Wisconsin Firearms in Wausau, estimated his handgun sales have increased at least 20 percent over the last month, with customers going with small models such .38-calibers and 9-millimeters.”

So women in Wisconsin feel they need protection — a protection the Democratic Party fought against for year.

Illinois is the only state left in the concealed carry permit battle. Democrats run the state. My advice to the women of Illinois: Move to Milwaukee, where women can protect themselves.

Source




PA: Man Shot After Trying to Rob Pizza Delivery Man: "An alleged would-be robber is in the hospital after police say a pizza delivery man turned the tables against him. Investigators say the delivery man came to deliver pizza Monday night at a vacant home on the 700 block of Price Street in Germantown. When he arrived, police say a man approached him from a nearby alley and demanded $100 from the delivery man at gunpoint. Investigators say a struggle then ensued resulting in the would-be robber being shot in the neck and buttocks as the pizza spilled to the ground next to them. Police initially reported that the delivery man wrestled the gun out of the would-be robber's hands and shot him with it. They now say however that it's unknown whether it was in fact the delivery man who shot the suspect or if the gun accidentally went off. The suspect was taken to Einstein Hospital where he is currently in critical condition. The delivery man did not suffer any serious injuries."


AZ: Mom kills backyard intruder: "The woman told police that about three hours earlier, around noon, she saw two men enter her backyard. According to police, the woman said she became frightened and called her husband. "Her husband said, 'Hey, get your gun,'" Holmes said. "So she goes, retrieves her weapon, she goes out and these folks are gone." Then, hours later, the woman saw two men again. "One of them, who now is the victim, actually had a gun in his hand," Holmes said. "He saw her, he raised his gun toward her and at that point, she shot him." The other man ran to a white car and fled. The 35-year-old woman and her daughter were not harmed."


TN: Gun rights groups to challenge limitations: "Gun rights advocates in Tennessee are embracing an Arizona law that does away with a requirement that handgun owners get a permit before carrying their weapons in public -- part of a more aggressive push to loosen state gun laws next year. After being shut out last spring, gun rights supporters are planning to step up pressure on the Republican-led legislature to ease at least some of the state’s rules on carrying a handgun before they leave to campaign for re-election next year"

NC: A store clerk shoots an armed robber twice... and his boss still says he's too SOFT: "Mark Headstrong had never fired a gun before. But, when a robber pointed a pistol at him, the Wilmington, North Carolina, convenience store clerk acted fast and shot his assailant twice. Surveillance video captures the moment Mr Headstrong pulled out his weapon and fired, dropping 30-year-old Joseph Ryan Anderson to the floor with bullet wounds to his leg and his finger. But Mr Headstrong's boss, store owner Musa Agil said his employee should have shot the robber dead: 'He should have killed him and this guy was soft on him.' 'He was trying to give him a second chance. Thugs like those should not ever be given a chance, because if that man shot Mark, he's not going to look at him and give him a chance. That's why Mark made a terrible mistake by letting him go,' Mr Agil told WWAY news in Wilmington."


TN: Officials consider duo shot in self-defense: "Authorities are investigating whether a Columbia man may have shot his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend out of self-defense, Maury County Sheriff’s Lt. Andy Jackson said. Deputies apprehended Laquantez Gilbert soon after the 10 p.m. Wednesday shootings of Masheaka Cathey and Dwayne Locke at Cathey’s 131 Napier Drive residence. Cathey had two bullet wounds while Locke had been shot seven times at close range, officials said. Gilbert was taken into custody at his nearby home on Ashwood Road where he surrendered a handgun. He was questioned by detectives for several hours, but they released him Thursday morning without filing criminal charges. “It appears at this time that the gentleman may have been defending himself,” Jackson said Friday. According to a Sheriff’s Department report, an argument developed between Gilbert and Locke after Gilbert came to the Napier Drive residence. Locke asked him to leave. “It was a domestic-type incident, and it just got out of hand,” Jackson said. “There were threats made.”


DE: Bandit shot after trying to rob man near New Castle: "Police were called about 6:30 p.m. to the first block of Parma Avenue and found a 20-year-old man lying on the sidewalk with a gunshot wound to his lower body. He was treated and released at Christiana Hospital, Weglarz said. Minutes after that shooting, Wilmington Police stopped a car for traffic violations at the entrance of Wilmington Hospital and found Dixon in the passenger seat with a gunshot wound to his stomach. He was transferred to Christiana Hospital in stable condition, police said. The 20-year-old old victim was approached by Dixon at Briarcliff Drive and Parma Avenue, police said. The victim ran when Dixon, who was armed, demanded his property, Weglarz said. Dixon shot him as he ran away but was hit when the man fired back, police said. Stolen property and the gun Dixon used were found in the car he was riding in, police said. Weglarz said the 20-year-year-old attempted robbery victim will not be charged."


TX: Homeowner Shoots Home Invasion Suspect: "Police say a Dallas man prevented a brazen home invasion robbery this morning. He fired off shots at some would-be robbers, hitting one of them. Fox 4's Peter Daut spoke with the homeowner and has more. Mendoza said he and his family were sleeping in the back bedroom around 10 o'clock Sunday morning, when they heard a knock at the door. As Mendoza headed towards the door, he said the knocking turned to banging and then kicking. He immediately knew he needed to protect his family. "I got scared and ran for the gun," he said. "One of two men entered, and I fired at his shoulder. I also fired two more shots, just to frighten them away." Police soon arrived and took the wounded man into custody. The other suspect took off running."

TN: Man shoots, kills would be home invader: "A North Memphis man is recovering after turning a gun on an attempted robbery suspect who knocked on his door shortly before 5:00 a.m. Saturday. Maggett, who is fighting throat cancer, said chemotherapy and radiation did not leave him too weak to fight off the would be robber. He said the suspect knocked on the door, pushed him over a chair and tried to choke him to death. Maggett then turned the gun on the suspect, shooting and killing him inside. "I guess the good Lord gave me strength to get him up off me so I got away from him," said Maggett. Maggett returned to his home from the hospital Saturday morning. Memphis police said no charges have been filed in this case."


TX: Armed customer defends restaurant against robbers: "An attempted aggravated robbery at a local Denny's restaurant ended in a shootout Saturday when an armed customer pulled a gun on the suspects. It happened at the Denny's in the 11900 block of East Freeway at Federal Rd. A witness told us one or two suspects entered the restaurant, brandishing guns and demanding money. A tow truck driver in the restaurant also happened to have a gun. According to the witness, the tow truck driver pulled his gun on the suspects and a shootout ensued. No one was injured. The suspect or suspects fled, but they left without any money."


NJ Governor Christie Shows his Anti-Gun-Owner Hand: "In a move that did not surprise New Jersey gun owners, Governor Chris Christie made it clear that he is no friend of the “right to keep and Bear Arms” (RKBA) in New Jersey. As revealed in an email from a spokesman for the governor, Christie has not changed his position since his 2009 campaign when he told The Record: “I believe that each state should have the right to make firearms laws as they see fit. I don’t believe it’s right for the federal government to get into the middle of this and decide firearms laws for the people of the state of New Jersey.” This in spite of the fact that the state’s entire NJ Republican delegation in the House voted for a bill that would grant National Reciprocity to any U.S. citizen who has a legitimate license to carry a discreet handgun in their home state for self-defense"

Man jailed twice for 'offenses,' but cleared, released each time

A civil rights organization that argued for the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark ruling that the Second Amendment grants individuals the right to have weapons has filed a lawsuit against the state of California over a "vague" gun ban under which a man twice was jailed and cleared.

The Second Amendment Foundation says it took the action in federal court to challenge the constitutionality of the state's ban on what it calls "assault weapons."

The statute's definition of weapons, however, is so "vague and ambiguous," the group contends, that one man was arrested on two different occasions for violations but ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing.

"It's an insult to be arrested once for violating a law that is so vague and ambiguous that law enforcement officers cannot tell the difference between what is and what is not a legal firearm under this statute," said Alan Gottlieb, executive vice president of SAF, "but to be arrested and jailed twice for the same offense is an outrage."

Read Wayne LaPierre's detailed explanations on "SAFE: How to Protect Yourself, Your Family and your Home"

Brendan Richards' dilemma, he said, "is a textbook example of why the California statute should be nullified."

Named as defendants in the filing are California Attorney General Kamala Harris, the state Justice Department, the Sonoma County sheriff's office and Deputy Greg Myers.

The Second Amendment Foundation is being joined in the challenge in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California by the CalGuns Foundation as well as Richards, a discharged Marine and Iraq War veteran.

Richards was arrested and jailed in May 2010 and again in August 2011. Both times, charges eventually were dismissed when it was found that there was no violation of the law because the firearms in his possession were not "assault weapons" as the state defines those instruments.

Richards lost nonrefundable bail fees both times and suffered other damages, the SAF claim states. "He lost work due to his incarcerations. In both cases, the same Senior Criminalist John Yount issued reports that the firearms in Richards' possession were not assault weapons under California law," the foundation said.

"Mr. Richards now has a reasonable fear that his exercise of his fundamental Second Amendment rights will result in more wrongful arrests," the organization said.

"This nonsense has to stop," Gottlieb stated, "and the only way to ensure that is to show California's assault weapon statutes and regulations are unconstitutionally vague and ambiguous. Brendan Richards is not the only citizen faced with this kind of harassment under color of law."

The Second Amendment Foundation is the nation's oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, the foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control.

In the precedent-setting Otis McDonald case challenging Chicago's gun restrictions, the U.S. Supreme Court declared the Second Amendment right to bear arms applies to individuals.

"The right to keep and bear arms must be regarded as a [substantial] guarantee, not a prohibition that could be ignored so long as the states legislated in an evenhanded manner," Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the majority opinion.

The decision followed the 2008 Heller case in the District of Columbia that declared the Second Amendment to be an individual right. That case, however, pertained only to D.C. The McDonald case established the precedent nationwide.

The foundation already has brought to court a number of other cases over local restrictions that it believes are precluded by the Supreme Court's rulings:

In New York, the organization has asked for a summary judgment that would strike New York City's $340 triennial fee for just owning a handgun. The legal brief explains that under U.S. Supreme Court rulings "the right to keep a handgun in the home for self-defense is a part of the 'core' of the Second Amendment's protections." The case, brought by SAF, the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association and individuals including an electrical contractor, a paramedic, CPA and woodworker, argues, "The city's $340 fee is inherently prohibitive and serves the impermissible purpose of discouraging the exercise of constitutional rights. While the city can charge a nominal fee to defray costs, the $340 fee is not nominal, and has never been calculated to defray costs."

The organization has sued New Jersey and officials and judges over procedures that allowed them to refuse firearms permits for a kidnap victim, a man who carries large amounts of cash for his business and a civilian FBI employee who fears attacks from radical Islamists. The permissions were denied on the grounds people had not shown a "justifiable need." "Law-abiding New Jersey citizens have been arbitrarily deprived of their ability to defend themselves and their families for years under the state's horribly crafted laws," said a SAF spokesman. "The law grants uncontrolled discretion to police chiefs and other public officials to deny license applications even in cases where the applicant has shown a clear and present danger exists."

The SAF filed a case on behalf of an honorably discharged veteran from the Vietnam War and names as defendants Attorney General Eric Holder and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on behalf of Jefferson Wayne Schrader. The question is whether the state of Maryland can deprive an individual of the right to possess a weapon over a misdemeanor. Schrader had been convicted of misdemeanor assault relating to a fight involving a man who previously had assaulted him in Annapolis. But he was denied the opportunity to receive a shotgun as a gift or to purchase a handgun for personal protection.

It filed a claim against Maryland for a man who alleges the state is violating the Second Amendment by refusing to renew his handgun permit. Raymond Woollard originally was issued a carry permit after a man broke into his home during a family event in 2002. Woollard's permit was renewed in 2005 after the defendant in the case was released from prison. But state officials now have refused to renew the permit, even though the intruder now lives some three miles from Woollard.

It sued Westchester County, N.Y., because officials there were requiring that residents have a "good cause" to ask for a handgun permit. The federal lawsuit alleges the requirement conflicts with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the Second Amendment establishes a personal right to "keep and bear arms." Individual plaintiffs in the case are Alan Kachalsky and Christina Nikolov, both Westchester County residents whose permit applications were denied.

The earliest case to result from the McDonald decision challenged a practice in North Carolina of banning guns during "emergencies." The case claimed state statutes forbidding the carrying of firearms or ammunition when officials declare "states of emergency" are unconstitutional. Further, the plaintiffs said a state law allowing the government to prohibit the sale, purchase and possession of firearms and ammunition is unconstitutional. WND reported when residents of King, N.C., were startled by the banishment of firearms during a "declared snow emergency."
The high court's 5-4 ruling in the first Chicago case was forecast to bring on such challenges.

It flipped "the burden onto the government and legislatures to show why they need to restrict what the court has already said is an individual right," John Velleco, director of federal affairs for Gun Owners of America, told WND after the decision.

There is other action on the state level regarding gun rights. Already, eight states have adopted laws that exempt guns made, sold and kept inside the states from any federal gun regulations.

A court case already is being heard over the effort in Montana – the first state to take the step of ordering federal regulators to stay out of the state business of regulating its citizenry's weapons.

In Wyoming, lawmakers even adopted a $2,000 penalty for federal agents trying to enforce federal regulations against an exempted weapon.

Source

PA: Dog alerts couple to intruder: "The wife told Channel 4 Action News reporter Ashlie Hardway that she had gone to the living room couch because she couldn't sleep, and sometime during the night, she heard an unusual-sounding bark from her dog and saw a man trying to break in. She said she called to her husband, who came downstairs with a gun and fired a warning shot first. Then, she said, he fired another shot that hit the man, who police identified as Elijah J. Malanosky, 30, of Cokeburg. State police in Belle Vernon are handling the case and will consult with the district attorney before deciding if any charges will be filed."


SC: Attempt to rob shoppers: "Myrtle Beach Police Captain Kevin Heins said, three people were assaulted after shopping at the Seaboard Street Walmart. It happened just after 1 a.m. in a parking lot across the street from the big box store in the 700 block of Oak Forest Lane. Captain Hines said two men approached the group. Hines believes one of the men pulled out a gun in the attempted armed robbery. Moments later, a man was hit in the head and a shot was fired, striking a woman in the leg, Hines said. Captain Hines also stated that he's not sure if the shooting was on purpose or if it was accidental. Myrtle Beach first responders rushed the gunshot victim to a local hospital. There's no word on her condition. In the meantime, police are searching for the armed suspects. They ran off after the second woman in the group showed her gun."


Colo: Invader shot: "Trinidad police say a homeowner was awaken Saturday around 2 a.m. by the sound of a knock at the front door and the door being forced open. The homeowner said he believed there were three to four men who had forced their way into the home. The homeowner grabbed his handgun and confronted the intruder, police said. The intruder ran out, yelling “He has a gun!” As the intruder was fleeing, the homeowner fired his weapon through the bedroom door and wall toward the fleeing men. After he believed all the men had fled the home, the victim went to his living room and saw blood. He then looked outside his home and saw a man lying face down on the front lawn. Police identified that man as 24-year-old Rory Davis Rodriguez. He had been fatally shot in the head.

NY: Home invader shot: "A Johnson City homeowner allegedly shot an intruder this weekend after the man tried to break down his front door. It happened at about 4:30 Sunday morning on Virginia Ave in the Village. JC Police say the burglar did manage to get inside and that's when the owner shot him. Police say the intruder was hit in the arm and is expected to recover. Names are not being released at this time. No charges have yet been filed. Police say the investigation is continuing.'


WA: 10-year-old shoots mom's attacker in face with BB rifle: "About 7 a.m., Paul R. Newman, 45, came home drunk to a room he was renting in the 2800 block of Valencia Street. Newman flew into a rage when he found his room was messy, Young said. Newman then kicked in the door to the victim's bedroom and began choking her. Her son was awakened by the commotion and tried to stop the assault by shouting at the attacker, Young said. When that didn't work, the boy smacked Newman with a wooden board, Young said. Newman ran outside to chase the boy, thinking he had left the house. The mother, 46, managed to lock the door, but Newman tried to get back in through an open window, Young said. He grabbed the mother by the arm as she was trying to shut it and refused to let go. The son then returned with a pump-action BB rifle. When Newman saw the rifle he threatened to kill the boy and the mother, Young said, so the boy shot him in the face as many as four times.The boy and his mother escaped and ran to a neighbor's home to call police, Young said. Newman was arrested"


Australia: Imprisoned for self-defense shooting: "Friedman was ambushed by both Matthews and Doherty in the restaurant's car park, who started punching him through the window. Friedman reached for the 1911 Steyr pistol in the car and fired one shot. The bullet travelled through the tricep muscle of Matthew's left arm and then hit Doherty in the chest and exited his lower back. Doherty died as a result. Matthews survived the shooting, but died last year of a drug overdose. Justice Dick noted that Friedman had been under immediate attack when he fired the shot but concluded his reaction did not amount to self-defence. She sentenced Friedman to eight years in prison, to be eligible for parole after serving two years and three months."


WA: State to pay attorney's fees in nightclub gun case: "An appellate court has ruled that the state must pay the attorney's fees of a Longview man acquitted last year of four counts of assault after he pointed a gun at bouncers and staff outside a downtown Longview nightclub. A Cowlitz County jury ruled last year that Barnd-Spjut was acting in self defense when he pointed his gun at staff outside the now-defunct Kesler's Bar and Grill. The bouncers had just forced him down a hallway and pushed him into an alley. Under state law, people acquitted by self defense are entitled to recoup trial-related expenses, including attorney's fees and lost wages, from the state. Now-retired Cowlitz County Superior Court Judge Jim Warme overturned the jury's verdict ordering the state to pay Crandall's fees. Warme ruled that Barnd Spjut was not protecting himself when he waved the gun and was therefore not entitled to recoup attorney's fees. The appeals court ruled late last month that Warme "lacked the authority" to overturn the jury's verdict because the prosecutor didn't object to the fees during the trial."

TX: Grand jury refuses to indict in self-defense shooting: "A Live Oak County grand jury declined to indict a man related to a fatal shooting of a father and son in April near Lake Corpus Christi. Rick Hadley, 56, and William Everett Hadley, 30, of Corpus Christi were found dead April 22 by authorities in the 100 block of Lakepark Circle in south Live Oak County. Live Oak County Sheriff Larry R. Busby said the man and his son were shot with a handgun about 9:30 p.m. after they confronted and assaulted a 58-year-old man in his front yard. "He fired two warning shots in the ground, still telling them to leave and get out of there," Busby said. He said the men started to leave, but William Hadley decided to go back. The 58-year-old told Busby that he then shot William Hadley in the head as he stood on his front yard. "The father then yelled, 'You killed my son so I'm going to kill you,' and went after him," Busby said. The 58-year-old yelled at him to stop, and when he didn't, he shot him in the head, he said."


KY: Man shot during home invasion is identified: "The coroner's office has identified the man who was shot in the head following a struggle with a homeowner. Police say he was trying to steal items from the woman's home. 25-year-old Christopher Sanford died of that wound Monday. A woman who lives at the house on Blue Ash Drive returned home with her twin boys around 11 a.m. Sunday to find an intruder pointing a shotgun at her. The man said his wife, a Navy veteran and former military officer, lunged at the male suspect, struggling with him and the gun throughout the home before ending up in the front yard where the gun went off striking the suspect in the head, the man and authorities confirmed. Kentucky's Castle Doctrine allows citizens to defend themselves when they feel threatened in their home or car."


LA: Man shoots alleged burglar on property: "A Springfield man says he pulled a gun on an alleged burglar to protect his property, and his life, Tuesday morning. When the 71-year-old man got there, he knew something was wrong. He saw 18-year-old Aaron Church bolt out of the house, but he thought there was a second man inside. “Now it’s two on one, and he’s got something in his hand, so I let one go and down he went,” Casey says. “Turned out, it wasn’t a gun or anything, but I didn’t have time to think about what he was holding.” The bullet hit Church in the left arm. He was the only person involved in the attempted robbery. “I wanted to come home to my family,” Casey explains. “I don’t to be laying in the back of that house trailer with him driving away.”


Omaha can't enforce part of handgun ordinance: "A judge has barred Omaha from enforcing its ordinance that bars noncitizens who are legally in the United States from possessing handguns. U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon on Monday issued a preliminary injunction that orders Omaha not to enforce the ordinance until he can rule on a lawsuit. A Mexican national and two gun-rights organizations sued the city in September. Armando Pliego Gonzalez, the Nebraska Firearms Owners Association and the Second Amendment Foundation filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court. Gonzalez was given permanent resident alien status in 2008. While Gonzalez can legally own a handgun under Nebraska law, the city ordinance bars him from owning a handgun in his home for self-defense."

OH: Store clerk shoots, kills robbery suspect: "When Lamar Allen and another man entered a North Toledo carryout Monday and allegedly threatened a clerk with firearms and allegedly began emptying the register of cash, the clerk was ready for them. Allen, 25, whose last known address is 1029 Bronson Ave., was killed by the clerk about 9:45 a.m. at the Express Carryout, 1920 Mulberry St., in an exchange of gunfire. Shot more than once, he collapsed by the counter. The man with him fled. The clerk, whose name was not released, was uninjured but shaken, Toledo police said. Police did not say who shot first, citing an ongoing investigation. They are treating the incident as self-defense, Toledo police Sgt. Joe Heffernan said. They have questioned the clerk, and he is not in custody, he added."


CA: Smoke shop owner shoots, kills robbery suspect: "The owner of a South Robertson smoke shop shot and killed a suspect and injured another during an armed robbery. The incident happened shortly before 9 p.m. Sunday on the 1400 block of South La Cienega Boulevard near Alcott Street at Smoke 'N' Gifts. Authorities said two men tried to rob the store, armed with a gun. The store owner had his own gun and fired at the intruders. The owner told police that he feared for his life. According to police, both men were taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where one of them died. The other man was listed in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the head. The owner was taken away by police after the shooting and questioned. He was later released and has not been arrested. He didn't appear to suffer any injuries."


SC: In Bluffton tow truck slaying, a new test of the Castle Doctrine: "The case of Preston Oates, charged with manslaughter in the Bluffton shooting of a man over a booted truck, continues to work its way to trial but a curious legal challenge has emerged. In a nutshell, attorneys for Oates argue that the 'Castle Doctrine,' that oft allows for a permissible killing in defense of one's home, also should extend to Oates' action to shoot and kill Carlos Olivera to defend his property, the truck."

Did guns "walk" from Texas too?

Otilio Osorio was just 22 in October 2010 when he purchased a Romanian-made Draco AK-47 pistol in Joshua, just outside Fort Worth.

There was nothing remarkable about the sale until the gun, with its serial number obliterated, was identified as one of three weapons used to kill Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent Jaime Zapata on a Mexico highway four months later.

Documents obtained by the Houston Chronicle show that at different points in 2010, two Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms divisions - Dallas and Phoenix - had evidence implicating Osorio well before drug gangsters gunned down Zapata and his partner Victor Avila, who survived.

But no one put it all together until agents in Dallas arrested Osorio in February, 13 days after Zapata's death and four months after Osorio purchased the deadly Draco.

Now the case of Osorio, as well as his ex-Marine brother Ranferi Osorio, and their next-door neighbor in the Dallas suburb of Lancaster, Kelvin Leon Morrison, is exhibit A in an effort by congressional Republicans to uncover a Texas version of the flawed tactics used in the Phoenix-based Operation Fast and Furious.

More here




Wobbly self-defense law in Vermont: "When Patricia Billings fired a handgun at an intruder reportedly breaking through her bedroom window in Rutland Town last week, the legal ramifications were probably the furthest thing from her mind. In Billings’ case, police say the 49-year-old fired three rounds from a handgun at a man trying to enter her home on Tuesday. The intruder fled the property on Quarterline Road leaving behind no evidence that any of the bullets found the mark. As police continue to search for the home invader, state police Lt. Charles Cacciatore said the Rutland County State’s Attorney’s office has indicated that no charges should be brought against Billings for her actions during the incident. Billings could not be reached for comment. But Cacciatore said it is possible that police may be called on to investigate the attempted use of deadly force if the intruder — once found and arrested — files a complaint."

IN: Robbers pick tough target: "Police say a trio of armed robbers picked the wrong target, former South Bend Police officer John Collins. Collins, A-K-A "Big John," is a recently-retired 27-year veteran of the force. Big John was on his way home on Woodbine Avenue when police say three suspects tried to rob him with a sawed off shotgun. John told investigators he shot one of those suspects. Police say Collins had a gun in his coat, he fired two shots. The suspect,18-year old Presley Brown was struck by two bullets, in the foot and arm. Two of the three men showed up at Memorial Hospital and were later arrested."


W.Va.: Picketers turn out for right to carry arms "About a dozen gun enthusiasts picketed Friday afternoon in front of Blue Ridge Community and Technical College, but their real target was Berkeley County Prosecutor Pamela Games-Neely. Friday's picketers, all of whom wore guns, openly and concealed, belong to the West Virginia Citizens Defense League, a legislative lobbying group. They contend that the Second Amendment and West Virginia law gives them the right to carry guns on college and university campuses. The issue stemmed from the October arrest of Joshua Lee Beck, 26, a Blue Ridge Community and Technical College student and former Martinsburg correctional officer, who allegedly repeatedly violated the school's rules limiting the possession of firearms on campus. A sign on the school's main entrance reads: "No firearms or weapons allowed on this property." West Virginia law bans guns from elementary, secondary and vocational technical schools, but it's vague on banning them at colleges and universities"

IN: Suspect shot during armed robbery attempt: "A suspect in an attempted armed robbery of a convenience store in Jeffersonville was in critical condition Thursday morning at University Hospital in Louisville. Clark County Prosecutor Steve Stewart said police have told him a clerk in the Q Mart Convenience Store on Allison Lane near Middle Road shot a man in or right below the neck after the man allegedly pointed a gun at the clerk in a robbery attempt about 4 a.m. Thursday morning. Both the shooting victim and the clerk apparently had handguns, Stewart said. Another suspect fled and police were still looking for him Thursday, Stewart said. Stewart said the man shot during the attempted robbery wasn’t expected to survive. Based on what he has been told at this point, Stewart said, he believes charges won’t be filed against the clerk in what appears to be a case of self-defense"


TN: Attempted early morning robbery fended off with gunfire: "A Chattanooga Public Works employee turned the tables on a pair of suspects, who attempted to rob him Thursday morning. Calvin McGhee told police he was leaving a home on Drummond Drive, when the two armed men approached him. That's when the victim says he pulled out his own gun and fired. Police believe at least one suspect was hit, and say McGhee will not face charges. For years, Chattanooga Public Works employee Calvin McGhee has left for work just after sunrise. There was never a problem until Thursday morning. The two suspects who walked up to Calvin with guns drawn, took off running after he fired a couple rounds. Officers believe one of the suspects was hit. Police say a man who fit the suspects description was dropped off at a local hospital with a non-life threatening gunshot wound to the stomach."


AZ: Charges dropped against Scottsdale road rage suspect: "Criminal charges have been dropped against the prime suspect in a Scottsdale road rage case. However, authorities told CBS-5 News that Valley attorney David Appleton, 59, could still be charged with second degree murder at a later date. Appleton's attorney Richard Gierloff said that this is a clear sign prosecutors don't have a strong enough case and his client is telling the truth about acting in self-defense. Appleton told investigators that Pearson followed him into a parking lot, approached his car, then started choking him. That's when Appleton said he grabbed his gun and opened fire in self-defense. Chris Gooch has known Pearson for 12 years. He described his friend as a peaceful, mild mannered kind of guy, not someone who would attack a driver in an act of road rage."

No posts today due to cable service failure

Holder's Fast and Furious Coming Undone

November 15 proved another pivotal day in the gunwalking scandal known as Fast and Furious.

*Tim Stellar of the Arizona Daily Star reported "The case against the alleged killers of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry has disappeared from federal court records, apparently sealed by a federal judge." Stellar states after a May indictment against Manuel Osorio-Arellanos, charged with second-degree murder but not believed to be the shooter, records went missing and "nobody's talking."

Asked about the case, Debra Hartman, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in San Diego, which is prosecuting the case, said via email: "Yes, our office is handling the case and can't comment further."

*A group of House Republicans called a Capitol Hill press conference demanding Attorney General Eric Holder's immediate resignation. Representative Blake Farenthold (R-TX) challenged Holder to "tell us what you knew, tell us who else knew, do the right thing and take responsibility for the actions you authorized." Congressman Raul Labrador (R-ID) insisted Holder needs to go, "As our nation's top enforcer of the principles of law and justice, Mr. Holder has now lost credibility and should step down immediately."

*Eric Holder's old friend Kevin Ohlson who worked as his chief of staff under President Clinton in 1997 and from January 2009 to January, 2011 was nominated by President Barack Obama in September to a key post on the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.

In anticipation of Thursday's confirmation hearing, John McCain the ranking Republican member of the Senate Armed Services Committee sent Ohlsen a November 10 questionnaire regarding his involvement in Fast and Furious.

Media reports have indicated that internal Department of Justice emails showed that Attorney General Holder was provided with information about the Operation as early as July, 2010. As Attorney General Holder's Chief of Staff and Counselor, when did you personally learn of the existence of the Operation and what was the extent of your knowledge in December, 2010? Do you believe your transfer in January,2011 was in any way related to the Operation of the slaying of Agent Brian Terry? If so, why?

Fox News reported on Tuesday Ohlsen denies any knowledge of or involvement in Operation Fast and Furious.

During my tenure as chief of staff and counselor to the attorney general, I took no actions in regard to, had no knowledge of, provided no advice about, and had no involvement in Operation Fast and Furious.

*The Daily Caller's Matthew Boyle reported the Department of Justice strategically withheld documents relating to earlier inquiries from Congressman Darrell Issa's office about Bush era programs like Operation Wide Receiver. The DOJ waited and released the information to hand-picked news outlets the night before Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Breuer neatly lumped together Operation Fast and Furious with Operation Wide Receiver in a PR ploy.

Emails between senior Justice Department officials and investigators in the office of Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley show that congressional staffers leading the investigation into Operation Fast and Furious requested information about Operation Wide Receiver -- a Bush administration program - and other similar cases, more than a full month before the DOJ leaked information to selected media outlets on October 31.

That Halloween document dump from the DOJ seemed calculated to depict Grassley's investigation as partisan in nature.

Holder is scheduled to testify again in front of Issa's House Judiciary Committee on December 8. Meanwhile, Brian Terry's parents have hired attorneys and are considering filing a wrongful death suit against the U.S. government. The Fast and Furious scandal is not going away. Clearly, the 'see no evil hear no evil' strategy coming from top government officials will only work for so long.

Source





FL: No charges will be filed in Naples fatal shooting: "The case involved Elizabeth Easterly, a clerk at Del’s 24-Hour Food Store on Thomasson Drive. Easterly told investigators she was working alone and had her two small children present the afternoon of Oct. 18 when Daniel Ramont Hernandez, 32, entered the store and began acting erratically. She said she grabbed a gun from underneath the counter and shot him once in the leg and then ran outside and yelled to the crossing guard that she needed help. Easterly then ran back inside the store to protect her children and saw Hernandez grabbing her infant daughter who was in a stroller. Hernandez ran outside the store and was detained by witnesses until deputies and paramedics arrived. He was taken to Naples Community Hospital where he later died."


MN: Man shoots burglar, gets charged? "A Sherburne County grand jury issued an indictment Nov. 3, charging Matthew William Morse with assault in the first degree, assault in the second degree, possession of a controlled substance in the fifth degree, and possession of a pistol after a crime of violence conviction. Morse, 34, claims he fired his gun in self-defense. The grand jury also issued an indictment charging Michael Travis Bergquist with two counts of burglary in the first degree, felony assault in the fifth degree, and trespass. Bergquist is the man who was shot."


House Overwhelmingly Passes National Right-to-Carry Gun Bill: "The U.S. House of Representatives has passed an important self-defense measure that would enable millions of Right-to-Carry permit holders across the country to carry concealed firearms while traveling outside their home states. H.R. 822, the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act, passed by a majority bipartisan vote of 272 to 154. All amendments aimed to weaken or damage the integrity of this bill were defeated. This bill does not affect existing state laws. State laws governing where concealed firearms may be carried would apply within each state’s borders. H.R. 822 does not create a federal licensing system or impose federal standards on state permits; rather, it requires the states to recognize each others' carry permits, just as they recognize drivers' licenses and carry permits held by armored car guards."

MI: Victims business partner broke up robbery with gun: "Police in Kalamazoo have arrested a man after he robbed a former classmate at gunpoint. The robbery happened around 8:30 Tuesday night in the 500 block of east Kalamazoo ave in the city of Kalamazoo. The robbery was broken up when the victim's business partner got a long gun and came to help the victim. The suspect fled the scene on foot and was able to make it away with some of the victims property, which included the victims car keys. When police got on scene the victim was able to tell them that he recognized the robber as a man he had attended high school with. Police used that information to track down the suspect"


CA: Suspect Shot, Killed in Botched Home-Invasion Robbery: "Two brothers, aged 23 and 24-years-old, were inside their home in the 800 block of W. 8th Street about 3:50 a.m. when two men forced their way inside, brandished guns and demanded money. The brothers fought back and struggled with the attempted robbers for control of the guns. During the commotion, shots were fired. Both robbery suspects and one of the brothers were struck by bullets, police officials said. One of the suspects, a 34-year-old San Bernardino man, sustained wounds to his upper body. He died at the hospital. The San Bernardino County Coroner's Office will release the man's name after his family has been notified about his death. The other suspect, Milton Rivera, 50, of San Bernardino, suffered wounds to his torso and leg and is expected to survive. The brother who was shot in the struggle sustained a non-life-threatening wound to the leg, officials said."


UK: two years to get a shotgun permit: "I had moved to London so handed in my certificate application at the local police station in Hampstead. The policeman that dealt with me was very polite but from his reaction it was pretty apparent that requests to keep a shotgun in NW London were few and far between. The first question he asked was “what is the intended use of the gun?” There were plenty of answers I could have given that would have stopped the process right there and then, but I refrained. The Spanish Inquisition began, and it took forever. The final piece of the process happened on a Saturday evening. We were sat watching TV and there was a knock on the door, not expecting anybody, we were a little surprised to be confronted by a policeman. He was visiting to inspect our flat to ensure that I would be able to keep a gun in a safe and secure manner should I be deemed worthy of a shotgun certificate. Remarkably I was issued a certificate but in the couple of years it took to be approved I had practically stopped shooting"

WA: Man in park shooting won't face charges: "A man involved in a shooting at Fort Walla Walla Park last month will not face criminal charges. Walla Walla County Prosecuting Attorney Jim Nagle said Monday he is declining to file assault charges against Tyler B. Larson, 22, of College Place, "because the prosecution would be unable to prove the absence of self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt." According to Walla Walla Police, Larson shot Terry E. Bickford, 59, of Walla Walla, in the right thigh with a handgun on the evening of Oct. 16 after the two men left the dog park. Nagle said Larson and witnesses clearly indicated Bickford had been acting aggressively toward a woman in the dog park and then acted aggressively toward Larson. Police said in October that witnesses said Bickford was threatening physical harm to others, including Larson. "Despite some minor inconsistent statements, (Larson) could easily establish a defense of self-defense and defense of others and would have no trouble creating a reasonable doubt in the jury's mind," Nagle wrote in a letter to the officer investigating the case."


IL: Threat of firepower wards off robber: "A 61-year old Cameron man was the victim of aggravated robbery late Friday night after a man approached him, implying that he was holding a gun, as the victim was washing the windows on his mail truck, according to the police report. The victim said he was parked near 29 Public Square to wash his truck, as he does every night, when a young black man wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt approached and demanded his money. The victim pulled some change out of his pocket, telling the subject that he did not have any money, and his wallet was in his car across the street. The victim went to his car and opened the door to get his wallet, and the subject pointed his arm at the victim, implying that he was carrying a gun. “This will shoot through glass,” the subject reportedly said. The intended victim then told the subject, “This .357 will shoot through the glass, too,” at which point the subject fled the area. The subject was not located, and there are no suspects."

Fast and Furious: Brian Terry Will Change the Way America Does Business

The human tragedy caused by the filth at the DOJ

The Scottsdale International Auto Museum is filled with classic cars from Thunderbird convertibles to MGs with Pink Lady and T-Bird jackets hanging next to an Elvis statue near the back, but Saturday night the museum was turned into a place for people to celebrate the life of murdered Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry by supporting his family. Nearly 100 people showed their support by bidding on donated items to raise funds for his mother, Josephine Terry. The funds will be used by Josephine to attend hearings about her son’s death on Capitol Hill as the House Oversight Committee continues to dig into Operation Fast and Furious. If you aren’t familiar by now, Terry was murdered in the Arizona desert by illegal Mexican cartel bandits. Two of the guns used to kill him, were provided through the lethal Obama Justice Department Operation Fast and Furious.

The event was kicked off with the singing of the National Anthem, followed by a beautiful rendition of the famous song “Hallelujah,” which brought tears to eyes of many in the audience.

Kris Jenkins, a friend of Brian’s, drove from Sierra Vista, Ariz. to attend the event. Like many members of the Terry family and close friends that night, she was wearing a navy blue baseball style t-shirt printed with the words “Agent Terry” on the back. Terry’s family flew all the way from Michigan to attend the event. "I'm here to support the family, support the cause," Jenkins said.

Another woman, Joan Ponath, had been in a car accident just minutes before the event started, but refused to the hospital. "I wouldn’t have missed this for the world," Ponath said.

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu and former Congressman Tom Tancredo were also in attendance.

"The people of Arizona love you and will always remember Brian Terry," Brewer said. "Brian was a brave and faithful warrior."

Jay Dobyns, ATF Special Agent, American hero and best selling author of "No Angel," was the emcee of the night, and made the crowd laugh by changing outfits in between speakers, just like an awards show. Dobyns also toasted to Terry’s memory throughout the night straight from a big bottle of Jack Daniels.

"I personally feel cheated I never got to meet him," Dobyns said. "This man dedicated his entire adult life to doing America's business."

A native of Detroit, Terry was a Marine, a police officer and a special operations BORTAC agent for the U.S. Border Patrol. BORTAC is described by the Department of Homeland Security as a tactical unit that provides immediate response to emergency and high-risk incidents that require skills above average border agent training. BORTAC is similar to specialized police SWAT teams. Terry tried out for and made the BORTAC team at the age of 38, an unheard of accomplishment.

"Nothing was impossible for Brian," Lana Domino, organizer of the event and a close friend to Brian said. "He would give you the last dollar in his pocket and the shirt off his back. He loved his country as much as he loved his own family and friends."

ATF whistleblower Vince Cefalu joked about Brian, saying typical law enforcement work was "too easy for him," so he opted for working around "rattle snakes, scorpions, darkness and bad people," in the Arizona desert instead.

Although the event remained focused on supporting Josephine Terry in her efforts to find out what happened to her son and celebrating Brian's life in a positive way, there is no doubt an elephant was in the room. Bad decisions made by a long list of men responsible for the implementation of Fast and Furious within ATF and the Obama Justice Department, who have yet to be held accountable or face consequences for the lethal program, were in the back of everybody's mind. Those men are former ATF Field Supervisors for the Phoenix Field Division William Newell and David Voth, ATF Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Phoenix Field Division George Gillett, former ATF Deputy Director of Operations in the West William McMahon, Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer and Attorney General Eric Holder to name a few. McMahon, Voth and Newell have been promoted, despite their heavy involvement in Fast and Furious.

"In America we not only believe in truth, but in justice," Babeu said, adding that as Americans we owe it to Brian and his family to ensure at the end of the day that there is justice. "We will not relent."

ATF whistleblower Vince Cefalu didn't mince words when addressing the audience about what happened to Brian.

"He's [Terry] the guy with the badge that's all scratched up," Cefalu said. "These people who put us through this [Fast and Furious] will never have scuffed up and dirty badges."

And Cefalu is correct. The men behind Fast and Furious have made careers out of wearing suits and sitting at a desk, while field agents who have exposed Fast and Furious, have been out getting dirty and risking it all, just as Brian did. In this case, the men with the shiny badges made decisions to put American law enforcement agents in grave danger by providing Mexican drug cartels with 2,000 high powered semi-automatic weapons. Cefalu gave the men responsible for Fast and Furious a chance to go on stage, issue an apology and hold themselves accountable, but of course, people like William Newell and Lanny Breuer didn't show up.

"And that is exactly why I am here," Cefalu said.

Cefalu keeps a poem Brian wrote during BORTAC training in his wallet. He looked Josephine Terry in the eyes, pulled the poem out of his wallet and said the poem will stay in his wallet until she calls him and says she is satisfied, until then, he will carry it everywhere he goes.

If you seek to do battle with me this day, you will receive the best that I am capable of giving. It may not be enough, but it will be everything that I have to give and it will be impressive for I have constantly prepared myself for this day. I have trained, drilled and rehearsed my actions so that I might have the best chance of defeating you. I have kept myself in peak physical condition, schooled myself in the martial skills and have become proficient in the applications of combat tactics. You may defeat me, but I'm willing to die if necessary. I do not fear death for I have been close enough to it on enough occasions that it no longer concerns me. But, I do fear the loss of my honor and would rather die fighting than to have it said that I was without courage. So I will fight you, no matter how insurmountable it may seem, to the death if need be, in order that it may never be said of me that I was not a warrior." -Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry

"There is a handful of people who made tragic decisions," Dobyns said referring to Operation Fast and Furious. "I'm not going to call them mistakes, because they were tragic decisions."

Although tragic and hard to believe, Brian's death comes with a silver lining. His death, along with the bravery of ATF whistleblowers who have risked their professional careers to expose Fast and Furious, have shined a blaring light on rampant corruption at the highest levels possible within ATF and the Department of Justice. Hopefully, through continuing pressure from Congressman Darrell Issa, Senator Charles Grassley and a handful of media outlets, justice will be served.

"Brian is going to change the way America does business," Dobyns said.

Source

FL: Seafood shop turns tables on bad guys: "The incident occurred at the Golden Crab House at 2808 Edgewood Ave. N. when two men entered the business and held a pistol to an employee’s face and demanded all the money on the premises, the store manager said on Saturday. According to police, the two men tried to rob the seafood shop about 6:30 p.m., but the business owner began shooting, hitting at least one of them. The men fled in a car and ended up at a home on West 18th Street near Detroit Street. “They fled here, which is the house they reside in. The car is behind the house,” police Lt. Rob Schoonover said Friday evening. “The body was taken from the car and put right in the house at the back door. He is lying right there in the door.” However, the crab shack manager said it wasn’t the owner who was held up or who did the shooting but an employee who had been confronted by the two bandits. That employee had armed himself after another armed robbery at the business three or four weeks ago, the manager said. City fire and rescue crews were called out to a report of someone with a gunshot wound at the home in the Biltmore area at 6:45 p.m., only to find the victim dead, according to a fire department spokesman."


NC: Intruder shot: "New Bern Police say around 12:38 a.m. officers were called to Arlington Circle for an attempted robbery. Once they arrived at the scene, they found 18-year-old Barry Antawne Wright Jr. dead from a gunshot wound. NewsChannel 12 spoke with Debbie, the woman living in the apartment that was broken into. She said "it was crazy" and appeared very shaken up. Neighbors said Debbie was home with another man named Eric and her two disabled sons when the home was broken into by three would-be robbers. The neighbor said Eric was protecting his family when he shot one of the alleged robbers."


OH: Woman Scares Off Sex Offender with Gun: "While stopping at a Wilbeth Road bank in Akron to make a deposit, Bennett says she was approached in the parking lot by a man who, at first, asked for directions. "By the time I was ready to get in my car, he was behind me and started hitting me, and pushed me into my car, and I tried to fight him off the best I could, but I knew he was overpowering me," said Bennett, whose .38 special was in the center console. "I kind of got my right hand behind me, and inside the center console, and got my hand on my gun. I pointed it at the floor originally, he had a hold of my arm, I said, 'I have a gun. Don't make me use it,' " Bennett told Fox 8 News. "He was trying to get himself in the car, and the passenger door was open, and I just reached out the passenger door and shot straight up in the air," she said. The shot chased the man away. A bank security officer then rushed outside and called police -- who took the suspect into custody on Arlington Avenue." The suspect was identified as 23-year-old Billy J. Covington, a registered sex offender"


U.S. Goes Public with Support for Hired Guns Against Piracy : "Somalia Report leaked the internal memo from Hillary Clinton directing all regional embassies to pitch the use of armed contractors on board ships. This is in line with and expands upon the UK’s approval of private security companies on just their ships. What also makes the U.S. stance unusual is that Clinton has reversed her aggressive election-era stance against the use of private security and become a behind-the-scenes supporter. A November news conference in DC confirms that the United States is now officially supporting the use of private security companies aboard commercial vessels. Andrew J. Shapiro, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs was assigned the task of communicating this reversal while addressing the Defense Trade Advisory Group (DTAG)."

NYTimes Spikes Fast & Furious Hearing in Print, Omits Eric Holder's Admission Completely

Obama administration Attorney General Eric Holder was grilled by Republicans on Capitol Hill Tuesday about the Justice Department’s botched sting Operation Fast and Furious, which allowed guns to flow untracked into the U.S. and Mexico, putting thousands of illegally purchased firearms on the street, one of which led to the death of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry in the Arizona desert.

Republican questioners even forced Holder to admit his initial statements to Congress about his knowledge of the gun-walking were "inaccurate.” But the New York Times's print edition completely skipped it.

Reporter Charlie Savage’s story, “Holder Urges Lawmakers to Support Efforts to Stop Gun Trafficking,” apparently never even made it into print. And as that headline shows, the Times was in spin mode for the administration, emphasizing Holder’s wish “to move past the political furor” (though one couldn’t detect much furor in the paper’s previous sparse coverage) and completely omitting Holder's admission of "inaccuracy."

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Tuesday sought to move past the political furor over Operation Fast and Furious, the disputed Arizona gun trafficking investigation, to the wider problem of the flow of American firearms to Mexican drug cartels -- and what he portrayed as roadblocks members of Congress have thrown up to stemming that flow.

In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Mr. Holder criticized a recent vote by the House of Representatives to block a new regulation requiring firearms dealers along the Southwest border to report multiple sales of semiautomatic rifles. He also said lawmakers should increase financing for firearms investigation and strengthen “statutory tools” to stop the flow of guns to Mexico.

Savage paraphrased Republican questioning Holder on what he knew and when he knew it, but completely ignored the Attorney General's confession that he regretted being “inaccurate” in his previous statements about Fast and Furious. While Holder had said in a previous hearing that he had only heard about the program’s tactics “in the last few weeks,” on Tuesday he said he had actually learned about the program at the beginning of the year. But the Times ignored Holder’s confession.

Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the ranking Republican on the panel, rejected any need for additional measures. “This tragedy should not be used to call for new gun control,” he said. He also sought to keep the focus on Fast and Furious, grilling Mr. Holder about what and when he and other top officials had known about the tactics used in the program.

Fast and Furious was an investigation into a gun trafficking network, and was run by the Phoenix office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives from late 2009 to early 2011. It was internally controversial because some A.T.F. agents believed they were not being allowed to move quickly enough to contact “straw buyers” and interdict guns because supervisors wanted to wait and identify kingpins.

By contrast, the Washington Post played it on page 2 Wednesday, leading with Holder taking back his previous congressional testimony regarding when he learned of the operation: “Holder amends remarks on gun sting – Attorney general heard of ‘Fast and Furious’ earlier than he first said.” More from Wednesday's Washington Post:

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. told Senate Republicans on Tuesday that the Justice Department provided “inaccurate” information to Congress on the “Fast and Furious” gun-trafficking sting and said that his congressional testimony about when he learned of the controversial operation had been imprecise.

Holder said that a Feb. 4 letter to congressional investigators, in which the department denied allegations that agents had allowed guns to flow illegally onto U.S. streets and into Mexico, was wrong. He said Justice officials learned only some time after they sent the letter that the tactic, known as “gun walking,” had been extensively used in the Phoenix-based Fast and Furious.

“The information in that letter was inaccurate. That letter could have been better crafted,” Holder told the Senate Judiciary Committee. Blaming the mistake on bad information supplied by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. attorney’s office in Phoenix, Holder said: “That’s something I regret.”

Under gentler questioning from Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), the committee chairman, Holder also acknowledged the imprecision of his May 3 testimony. At that hearing, he said he “probably heard about Fast and Furious for the first time over the last few weeks.”

On Tuesday, Holder amended his recollection, saying that he had actually learned about the program at the beginning of this year. “I should probably have said a couple of months,” said Holder, who defended his overall handling of the controversy as “responsible” and made it clear that he has no plans to resign, as some Republicans have urged.

Source




CA: Store owner killed customers in self-defense: "The Kern County district attorney will not charge a store owner with killing two customers. Samrith Vong, 50, shot 41-year-old Efrem Wandick and 24-year-old David Lyons during a fight Oct. 18 at Central-Cali Deli & Grocery on East California Avenue near King Street. Vong was arrested on suspicion of murder last month, but the district attorney declined to file charges... Lyons threatened the clerk, Vong's wife Srey Chhim, by slamming his hand repeatedly on the counter, refusing to leave and by challenging her to a fight, according to Green. Srey Chhim grabbed a gun and held it to her side, pointed toward the floor when she felt threatened, which prompted Lyons to tell the woman that he, too, had a gun, gesturing to his waistband. Lyons repeatedly threatened to kill the Vong family. Lyons "advanced" on Vong, who punched Lyons in the face. Wandick, Lyons' friend, then entered the store and started hitting Vong while Vong was on the floor, Green said. That's when Vong pulled a handgun and pointed it at Wandick, who stopped punching before Vong shot Wandick once in the chest. Lyons had briefly left the store, but he came back and advanced again on Vong, who shot Lyons once in the head from roughly 2 feet away"


NY: Father COULD Be Charged For Firing At Man Who Shot 4-Yr-Old Son: "Late Tuesday night, a four-year-old boy was shot in the chest during a botched robbery attempt outside a halfway house in the Bronx. Yesterday, authorities said that they wouldn't charge father Bobby Baltazar for shooting one of the attackers, 17-year-old Jose Marte, who he had chased down after his son Cincer had been shot. But things might not be that simple for Baltazar: “It’s a very close call. Generally speaking, you’re not allowed to shoot people in the back as they’re running away,” defense attorney Ron Kuby told the Daily News about Baltazar’s legal prospects. The shooting took place outside a halfway house at Grand Avenue and Evelyn Place around 10:30 p.m Tuesday. Baltazar and Cincer were returning from having ice cream when three robbers confronted them at gunpoint in an apparent attempt to steal Baltazar's red coat. The robbers' gun went off during a struggle with Baltazar, hitting Cincer; as the attackers fled, Baltazar picked up the gun and shot Marte in the head."

House Judiciary to DOJ Assistant A.G. Weich: now, explain to us why you lied under oath in February about Fast and Furious?

On February 4, 2011, [Department of Justice Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs Ronald] Weich stated the following in letter to Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) who had asked if allegations that officials had intentionally allowed criminals to guns had been “walked” in Operation Fast and Furious:

“ATF makes every effort to interdict weapons that have been purchased illegally and prevent their transportation to Mexico.”

...Evidence gathered during the course of the congressional investigation into Operation Fast and Furious has shown that this statement was untrue – ATF, in allowing guns to walk, did not make every [Ed: or any, in many cases] effort to interdict them and prevent their transfer to Mexico['s drug cartels]. Evidence gathered in the investigation has also shown that senior Justice Department officials knew at the time Weich made his statement in February that it was untrue.

“Mr. Weich, as you are well aware, it is a crime to knowingly make false statements to Congress,” Chairman Issa writes in his letter to Weich... "Whether it is the case that you were fed a lie and faithfully repeated it in a letter to Congress, or whether it is the case that you took the initiative to lie to Congress yourself, you are responsible for the contents of letters that bear your signature.”

Issa also issued a demand for documents that describe which officials in the Holder DOJ -- up to and including the A.G. himself -- orchestrated Weich's lies.

Oh, and Mr. Weich, a word of advice: I recommend you negotiate a deal for immunity in exchange for disclosing the truth about Holder's Gunwalker operation

Source




OR: Shooting of 48-year-old Portland man by stepson appears to have been in self defense: "Prosecutors and police do not expect to charge the stepson who shot and killed 48-year-old Michael Earl Ford Tuesday night in their Northeast Portland home. Multnomah County Chief Deputy District Attorney Rod Underhill today said the shooting appeared to be a justifiable use of deadly force, but it remains under grand jury review. Police were called to the 3900 block of Northeast 149th Avenue about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday. Police said Ford was shot during a fight with his stepson. The stepdad had been beating the stepson with a wooden ax handle, police learned. Other members of the family were home at the time and called 9-1-1. The stepson, described as in his 20s, had fled by then, but later surrendered to police. Ford died at an area hospital. Ford had numerous drug convictions between 2006 and 2008."


Kindergartner Suspended Over Toy Gun: "A kindergartner has been suspended from Cheviot Elementary [in Cincinnati] after it was discovered he brought a toy gun to school. Liam Adams, 5, was sent home Wednesday with a letter stating that he would be suspended for three days for possessing a “dangerous weapon or object.” Dangerous? Gasps Liam’s mom, “[H]e’s a baby … and a little tiny toy gun not even the size of my hand, it’s just ridiculous.” Actually, it makes total sense. Condition people from the age of 5 to regard firearms with horror and shame, and they will be less likely to grow up to understand or even deserve American liberty, much less be willing or able to fight for it."

Combative Eric Holder Still Evading Responsibilty for Operation Fast and Furious

Reporting from Capitol Hill--Attorney General Eric Holder gave testimony today about topics ranging from terrorism, cyber security, CIA interrogation investigations, GITMO, gay/lesbian bullying and even his baby boomer status, but Holder’s remarks surrounding the Obama Justice Department’s Operation Fast and Furious were highly combative.

In his opening statement, Holder said he wanted to clear up and “correct some of the inaccurate and irresponsible accusations surrounding Fast and Furious.”

The problem is, the only person or department that has been inaccurate and irresponsible surrounding Fast and Furious accusations are officials within the Department of Justice, headed by Attorney General Eric Holder, and ATF management officials. Every lie that the Obama Justice Department has thrown out surrounding Fast and Furious has been proven false by the House Oversight Committee, Senator Charles Grassley’s office and alternative media outlets up to this point.

Considering his past testimony about when he originally knew about Fast and Furious, Holder was today questioned about his testimony timeline surrounding the scandal. He said in May 2011 he had only known about the program for “a few weeks,” yet memos addressed directly to him detailing the program are dated July and August 2010.



“I first learned about the tactics at the beginning of this year,” Holder said to clarify the dates of his knowledge. “In my testimony before the house committee I did say a few weeks, I probably should have said a couple of months.”

“Clearly by the time I testified before the house committee I knew for a couple of months,” Holder said.

Visibly frustrated, Holder said the focus on his conflicting testimony regarding when he knew about Operation Fast and Furious was a “distraction.”

The most pathetic part of Holder’s testimony was when he claimed he was doing everything in his power to bring justice to the families of border violence.

“As someone who has seen the consequences of gun violence firsthand--who has promised far too many grieving families that I would do everything in my power not only to seek justice on behalf of their loved ones, but also to prevent other families from experiencing similar tragedies,” Holder said.

Tell that to the Terry family, who has yet to receive an apology or any information surrounding Brian Terry's murder, a fatal result of Fast and Furious, in the Arizona desert on December 14, 2010. How about telling that to the family of I.C.E. Agent Jamie Zapata, who had to file a Freedom of Information Act form in order to gain information about the murder of their son in Mexico, which is also thought to be linked to the Obama Justice Department’s Fast and Furious operation.

Fast and Furious hasn’t only had bad consequences in Arizona and Mexico, but in Texas as well. According to Texas Senator John Cornyn, 119 guns linked to Operation Fast and Furious have showed up in his state.

Cornyn gave Holder the opportunity to apologize to the Terry family for Fast and Furious, to which Holder refused and admitted he has not spoken with the family at all about his murder. That’s right: Brian Terry’s mother, Josephine Terry, hasn’t received a single phone call from Holder about the murder of her son. Why? Holder said it is “unfair” to hold the Department of Justice accountable for his death. Remember, the Terry family has been denied victim status in this case by the government, which means the Obama Administration can wash its hands clean of Terry’s murder and avoid an unlawful death suit.

Throughout the hearing, Holder was repeatedly asked who he would be holding accountable for Fast and Furious and for Brian Terry’s murder.

“I have ultimate responsibility for what happens in the department,” Holder said, claiming those responsible for and those who thought Operation Fast and Furious was a good idea, would be held accountable but didn’t give specific names.

Holder can start with ATF Assistant to the Assistant Director in Washington D.C. William Newell, who said he would do Operation Fast and Furious all over again during testimony in July. Newell served as the special agent in charge of the ATF Phoenix Field Division throughout Fast and Furious and saw guns from the program showing up at violent crime scenes as a sign of the program “working.” Holder said during testimony he wouldn’t call for the resignation of Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer, despite Breuer submitting false information to Sen. Grassley about Fast and Furious and supposedly withholding information about gun walking within the Department. Holder could also look in the mirror, and hold himself accountable for the program, because as he admitted, he has ultimate responsibility for what happens in his department.

On top of evading responsibility and refusing to apologize to the Terry family, Holder predictably called for more gun control to solve the problem of illegal gun trafficking into Mexico while reiterating the lie that the majority of guns in Mexico come from the United States. He claimed Operation Fast and Furious was a “flawed response” to gun trafficking, not the cause of the flow of illegal guns to Mexico from the U.S.

“As you all know, the trafficking of firearms across our Southwest Border has long been a serious problem--one that has contributed to approximately 40,000 deaths in the last five years. As Senator Feinstein noted last week, of the nearly 96,000 guns that have been recovered and traced in Mexico in recent years, over 64,000 were sources to the United States,” Holder said.

Holder also shamelessly pulled the "blame House Republicans"-card and said, “Unfortunately, earlier this year the House of Representatives actually voted to keep law enforcement in the dark when individuals purchase multiple semi-automatic rifles and shotguns in Southwest border gun shops.”

Holder failed to point out it was ATF management and his Justice Department that left Mexican authorities and ATF agents working in Mexico out of the loop during Operation Fast and Furious and that reporting measures are worthless when the federal government is breaking its own laws. Not to mention, throughout Fast and Furious, law abiding gun shop owners and workers were extremely uncomfortable with selling to known straw purchasers under the direction of ATF in the first place.

Despite leaving Mexican authorities in the dark, Holder also claimed his department has been working with Mexican authorities to “develop new procedures for using evidence gathering in Mexico to prosecute gun traffickers in U.S. courts; training thousands of Mexican prosecutors and investigations; by successfully fighting to enhance sentencing guidelines for convicted traffickers and straw purchasers; and by pursuing coordinated, multi-district investigations of gun-trafficking rings.” The fact is there was no coordination to prosecute gun traffickers under Operation Fast and Furious, not to mention, gun trafficking prosecutions under the Obama Administration are nearly non-existent.

Holder’s testimony surrounding Operation Fast and Furious on Capitol Hill can be summed up this way: I knew nothing about this, none of my senior officials authorized this, it was a local project and we need more gun control.

“The straw buyers in Fast and Furious were already breaking the law,” Sen. Grassley said. “The bottom line is that it doesn’t matter how many laws we pass if those responsible for enforcing them refuse to do their duty--as was the case in Fast and Furious.”

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NY: Shoot! “Mob house” thief flees: "He almost got rubbed out. A burglar yesterday broke into the Staten Island mansion that once housed whacked mob boss Paul “Big Paul” Castellano -- and narrowly avoided being shot dead himself after the homeowner pulled a gun and fired off three shots, law-enforcement sources said. Selim “Sal” Rusi pulled the trigger on his Smith & Wesson handgun after chasing the crook from his sprawling home at 177 Benedict Road in tony Todt Hill, the sources said. Rusi, 55, was awakened at around 3:35 a.m. by the sound of someone rifling through the walk-in closet of his third-floor master bedroom, the sources said. Rusi checked on the commotion and discovered a black-clad burglar. The busted bandit sprinted off as Rusi fetched his registered firearm. To ensure that the culprit didn’t return, Rusi blasted three bullets into the air, the sources said."

KY: Suspected robber shot and killed at Rockcastle County gas station: We are learning more about a fatal shooting during a robbery at a Mount Vernon gas station. Family members of 20-year old James Hensley of Rockcastle County say he was shot and killed outside the Shell station, off exit 59, overnight. Police say Hensley had just robbed the clerk and was on his way out of the gas station when the clerk fired a gun. They say Hensley used a knife to get away with cash and cigarettes before he was killed. Officers are not identifying the clerk. Police say they are still investigating. It happened at the Shell station off exit 59 in Mount Vernon."


Holder: “Fast and Furious” tactics will not be tolerated: "Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday that the controversial tactic that allowed illegal guns [sic] to be smuggled to Mexico 'should never have happened, and it must never happen again.' In testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Holder hit hard at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives practice that has tainted his tenure at the Justice Department and led to some Republican calls for him to resign."

CA: Man shot dead threatened homeowner with knife: "A homeowner who police say interrupted a burglar inside his Antioch home was threatened with a knife before he shot and killed the intruder, investigators said. According to police, Antioch resident Arnie Schmidt III forced his way into a home in the 200 block of West 17th Street on Saturday afternoon and was stripping copper wiring and piping when the homeowner, described as an elderly man, arrived. Acting Capt. Leonard Orman said the homeowner was startled because Schmidt broke through sheet rock between the home and an exterior water heater closet, leaving no signs of a break-in from the front of the home. A confrontation ensued, and when Schmidt wielded a knife, the homeowner opened fire with a small handgun, striking Schmidt more than once, Orman said. At this point, everything indicates that it was a case of self-defense," he said. The man who shot Schmidt has no criminal history."


AZ: Homeowner pistol whips burglary suspect: "A Mesa homeowner subdued a suspected burglar Thursday by hitting him with a handgun in self-defense, according to the Mesa Police Department. The victim’s teenage daughter confronted the burglar shortly before midnight after she heard noise from an upstairs room in the family’s home near Val Vista and University drives. Police said the commotion woke the girl’s father, who grabbed a handgun and told the burglar to get on the ground. The burglar complied at first but then rushed the homeowner, who struck the burglar in the face with the handgun. The burglar had reportedly entered the house through an unlocked back door caused $500 in damage by kicking a wall and tearing stereo equipment from the wall. Police arrested Scott Alan Nagy, 20, on suspicion of second degree burglary and criminal damage. Nagy reportedly admitted being intoxicated, but police weren’t able to interview him because he was yelling incoherently and couldn’t complete sentences, police said."


Poll: Latinos overwhelmingly gun control: "The bipartisan coalition of Mayors Against Illegal [sic] Guns today announced the results of a new public opinion survey showing overwhelming support among Latino voters for strong gun laws designed to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people, tough enforcement practices, and state control over who can carry concealed, loaded guns in public places."


UK: Antique firearms collector is jailed for two years: "An antiques firearms collector was jailed for two years after he was found to have four air rifles and ammunition without the correct licences. When police raided Karl Blennerhassett's luxury flat in Up Holland, West Lancashire, they found more than 140 guns, including racks of rifles and revolvers, a court heard."

It’s happening: Democratic lawmakers say Fast and Furious proof of need for harsher gun laws

Right on cue, Democratic lawmakers have begun to say the DOJ’s lethal and irresponsible Fast and Furious program underscores the need for stricter gun control laws:

“This hunt for blame doesn’t really speak about the problem,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein at a recent Senate Judiciary hearing while discussing Fast and Furious.

“And the problem is, anybody can walk in and buy anything, .50-caliber weapons, sniper weapons, buy them in large amounts, and send them down to Mexico. So, the question really becomes, what do we do about this?”

The ranking Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Rep. Elijah Cummings (Md.), and Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) have introduced a dedicated firearms trafficking statute, but it has stalled in the House Judiciary Committee.

Republicans rightly have pushed back against this narrative. Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) put it best when he said simply, “I get it, I’d want to change the subject too if I were them. I’m happy to have a conversation about broader gun laws, but we’re going to do it after Fast and Furious.”

What’s most troubling about Democrats’ predictable call for tightening of regulations is that it does nothing to dispel the theory that Fast and Furious was orchestrated precisely to “prove” the need to clamp down on gun sellers and purchasers. Rather, it lends credence to the idea.

Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) recently explained:

This not only raises serious questions about your ability to serve as the head of the Justice Department, but also begs the question of why an anti-gun Administration would knowingly force licensed firearms dealers to sell guns to violent criminals. I raise this because Operation Fast and Furious — if the facts of this case had not come to light — would have been used by this Administration as another false argument to attack law-abiding American gun owners.

The American people deserve to know if your Department had any intent to link the legal purchase of firearms here in the U.S. to crimes committed near our southern border. Operation Fast and Furious funneled firearms legally purchased at gun shops in the U.S. to known criminal syndicates to prove these syndicates have access to legal purchased weapons. This is a deliberate attempt to vilify and attack the millions of gun owners in America who value our Second Amendment and have never broken the law.

Walsh made the assumption that the administration would not be able to use OF&F as a support for greater gun control because “the facts of this case [have] come to light.” But, unfortunately, the facts have reached only those who’ve consciously followed the case. Fast and Furious has still largely been ignored by the mainstream media — and, when news outlets like CNN do cover it, it’s frequently with an administration-friendly spin.

Reminder: This operation resulted in the deaths of at least 200 Mexicans and at least 11 violent crimes in the U.S. The program intentionally funneled firearms into the hands of straw purchasers, and the operation’s architects made no apparent attempt to track the weapons. Officials still can’t account for more than 1,000 weapons. We don’t need new gun control laws: We need responsible Justice officials who would never allow ideology and political purposes to tempt them to implement a dangerous and disastrous program.

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Chicago store shootout left one robber, three staff dead; other robbers captured: "Three men were ordered held without bond Saturday, charged in a Wednesday shootout that left four people dead, including a security guard from Hobart, in a Far South Side Altgeld Gardens store. A law enforcement source said a video camera inside the store captured the several-minute-long gun battle that started when store employees fought back. Four men, including one teen suspect, were killed, and two other people, including a young man considered a second suspect, were injured. The deceased teen was identified as 17-year-old Alex Spikes, who was pronounced dead at 10 p.m. at Roseland Hospital, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office. Besides Banks, two other men who a police source said were affiliated with the store were pronounced dead on the scene. Thab Arafen, 45, of Lansing, Ill., and Weam Salem, 25, of Worth, Ill., were also pronounced dead on the scene"

More Guns Provided Through Fast and Furious Found in Arizona Raid

Since finding out about Operation Fast and Furious, Arizona Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu has been anything but amused. With no regard for local law enforcement, the Obama Justice Department supplied the most dangerous criminals in North America with high powered weapons, including .50-calibur sniper rifles and AK-47s, leading to the death of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry and at least 200 innocent Mexican citizens. Now with the Southern border still wide open, Babeu and his deputies will face the barrels of those guns as they do their job to combat Mexican drug cartels illegally operating in Arizona.

Today, Babeu's office confirmed two guns found during a massive drug smuggling bust against the Sinaloa Cartel in Pinal County, were provided through Operation Fast and Furious.

"I am outraged our Federal Government has armed one of the largest and most dangerous of the Mexican drug cartels with as many as 2,000 high powered weapons. This is the same cartel we have been investigating for the past fifteen months for various crimes including a murder in my County. We have arrested 76 suspects and seized 108 weapons. We have now have learned two of the weapons we seized are in fact linked to Operation Fast and Furious. U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was only doing his job when he was viciously murdered by Mexican bandits with Fast and Furious weapons. Thankfully none of our members were murdered this time," Babeu tells Townhall.

I sat down with Sheriff Babeu in September when he warned of this very situation, noting that guns will be recovered at violent crime scenes for years to come.

“It’s not going to end, there are at least 1500 guns out there and we have no clue where they are,” Babeu said.

While Sheriff Babeu and his deputies are doing their best to fight these cartels with limited resources, the Obama Justice Department has been arming the enemy with weapons Babeu’s deputies don’t even have.

“Outrage and betrayal. This has never happened before in the history of our country. We may have given armaments and weapons to our allies who may have later become our enemy, but we’ve never given them directly to our enemy,” Babeu said when asked about his initial reaction to Operation Fast and Furious.

“These are the most violent criminals in North America and we facilitated and gave weapons, weapons that my deputies don’t even have, to these cartels,” he said. “It’s more than insane, it is horrific to think that our own government did this.”

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