TX: Knife threat ended by two gunshots: "Officers learned that Lewis Hampton, a white male age 41, had threatened several people with a large knife.  One white male, who was threatened by Hampton, had a handgun in his possession.  He confronted Hampton in an effort to protect himself and others.  Hampton continued to use the knife and continued to threaten the victim and others.  Hampton eventually cut the victim with the knife at which point the victim shot Hampton.  After being shot, Hampton continued to verbally threaten and attack him.  The victim shot Hampton again.  At this point, other people were able to subdue Hampton until Tyler Police arrived.  Hampton was transported to a local hospital where he was treated for two gunshot wounds.  The victim was also transported to a local hospital where he was treated and released for several knife wounds.  Investigators were called to the scene as well as the Crime Scene Unit to process the scene.  Investigators believe at this point that the victim was acting in self-defense."


PA:  Stick-up of State Senator enlivens minds of legislators:  "State Sen. Tim Solobay, D-46, Canonsburg, became the target of four young men in September 2010 while he walked in downtown Harrisburg at about 11:30 p.m. Solobay, who has a concealed carry permit but was not armed at the time, was jostled and confronted by the teens, who demanded money.  Two of the teens ran off when Solobay pushed them, but one pulled a gun as Solobay got into his car. Solobay, a fire chief and former constable, hit the siren in his car and the gunman ran away. "I carry (a gun) all the time now," Solobay said. "It's very unusual if it's not on me."  Solobay said legislators are walking in pairs or groups, and some female colleagues are taking shooting lessons so they are ready to use a weapon."

It must be pre-election season:  "According to the National Firearms Act Trade & Collectors Association, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) are preparing to remove the often burdensome Chief Law Enforcement Officer (CLEO) signature requirement from Form 1 and Form 4 for NFA firearms."


Lyons: Facts don’t bother pundits:  "Almost from the beginning, there were two aspects of the “George Zimmerman as racist assassin” story that made little sense. First, who calls the police, then murders a total stranger in cold blood knowing that the cops are minutes away? Panic seemed likelier than malice. Second, how does a 28-year-old man with a desk job catch a fleeing 17-year-old high school athlete, anyway? A festival of bad reporting, speculation and mind-reading from the outset, the Zimmerman-Martin affair has turned into a classic example of what University of Virginia psychologist Jonathan Haidt calls a “consensual hallucination.”.  Very little about the tragedy as initially reported has survived closer scrutiny. Remember when Zimmerman was depicted as a 250-lb. brute assaulting a child half his size? The real George Zimmerman turns out to be a smallish fellow some five or six inches shorter than the wiry young man he confronted...."

OH: Robbers  shot in shootout with  off-duty police officer: "According to Cleveland Police, three males approached Officer Dwayne Borders, 45, and attempted to rob him. During the robbery, one of the males pulled out a gun, and that's when Officer Borders grabbed his weapon and both parties began shooting at each other.  Officer Borders was shot in the torso, one suspect was shot in the abdomen and the second suspect was shot in the leg. The third suspect fled the scene uninjured.  Officer Borders tried to drive himself to the hospital, but was pulled over for speeding. The traffic officer then rushed Officer Borders to MetroHealth Medical Center where he was treated and later released.  The suspects drove to MetroHealth Medical Center where the dropped off the male with a gunshot wound to the abdomen. The two remaining male suspects fled the hospital area on foot."




OK:  Stupid  woman (above) Gets Tasered By Restaurant Employee: "It happened at the Subway near 41st and 129th East Avenue. Police say 25-year-old Lorna Hampton came in armed with what appeared to be a black pistol demanding money. Officers say she went behind the counter with employees, who backed away.   Police say as Hampton began to open the register and take money out, a male employee used a taser on her. Hampton fell to the floor and the employee did not allow her to move. The employee left the prongs attached to the suspect just in case she tried to get up and waited for police to arrive. Police say the weapon used turned out to be a BB gun.  Hampton was booked into the Tulsa County Jail on a complaint of robbery with a firearm as well as child endangerment. Police say Hampton's vehicle was located across the street and her two children, ages two and five, were inside."


UT: Gun stops crazy knife attack:  "An attacker bought the knife inside a local market in Salt Lake City, UT, then stabbed one man in the side of the head and another person in the stomach. The attack took place in the market parking lot. A bystander with a concealed carry permit witnessed the attack and stepped in to keep it from escalating. The bystander was suspicious of what might be going on, and when he saw the stabbing, he just drew his pistol and challenged the individual, which caused the attacker to lie down on the ground. By the time police officers arrived on the scene, the attacker was subdued and is now in custody.  The knife wielding man seriously injured two people."


An armed society is truly a polite society:  "I can think of no reason for not carrying guns openly. In fact, there are only seven states and the District of Columbia that continue to infringe on the Second Amendment by not allowing open carry. Fourteen states allow open carry with a license along with 29 states that allow unlicensed open carry, including four states -- Arizona, Arkansas, Vermont, and Wyoming -- which require no permits for carrying openly or concealed. If open carry were a big problem, wouldn't some of these states repeal these laws instead of trending toward open carry in more states?"

Behenna hearing underway

A government lawyer has told an appeals court that a police officer pointing a gun at a suspect would have no right to self-defense if attacked.

The shocker came in arguments before the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, the CAAF, during a hearing for 1st Lt. Michael Behenna, who was convicted of murder after shooting a known terrorist in Iraq who attempted to grab his weapon during an interrogation.

Vicki Behenna, an assistant district attorney and Michael’s mother, said it was evident during the hearing this week the judges were very knowledgeable about the case.  “It’s always hard to know what they are thinking, but I think they seemed sympathetic to Michael’s case,” she said. “I believe they were very fair during the hearing and well informed on the case. This leads me to believe that Michael will get a fair review.”

CAAF is a civilian court that oversees the military court system and is supposed to be completely free from all military influence.

Jack Zimmerman, Behenna’s attorney, argued the court should overturn Michael’s 15-year sentence based on several key errors made by the judge and prosecutors.

During the CAAF hearing, the judges appeared skeptical of claims by the government that Behenna had no right to self-defense against Ali Mansur, who lunged at him in an attempt to grab his weapon.

The prosecution had argued that Behenna lost the right to self-defense the instant he pointed his weapon at Mansur and that his only option was to move “away from the victim into the vast expanse of the desert” because it was an unlawful interrogation.

During the hearing, one of the judges questioned this assertion by the government, noting that the same standard would apply in law-enforcement.

“So the government’s view is that if a police officer misunderstands the law and is conducting an interrogation with a weapon, than the police officer has no right to defend himself if the person being interrogated then jumps the officer,” the judge asked. “He has to just sit there and take whatever happens?”

The government lawyer hesitated for several seconds and then said, “Yes, your honor. When a police officer does something unlawful like that, they lose the right to self-defense.”

More here





Kentucky Supreme Court says universities can't ban guns in staff, student vehicles on campuses:  "The Kentucky Supreme Court held Thursday that universities may not prohibit employees or students from storing firearms in vehicles parked on campuses because it is “contrary to a fundamental policy, the right to bear arms.”  The National Rifle Association hailed the ruling as an important victory for gun owners, while the chief of the University of Kentucky police department said it it was “very disappointing” because it potentially limits the school’s options in safeguarding the campus.  The court said UK improperly fired a graduate student who also worked as an anesthesia technician at Chandler Medical Center after a semi-automatic pistol was found in the glove compartment of his car parked on university property."


Why can’t foster parents carry a firearm?:  "The foster care agencies' rules about firearms in foster families are understandable -- to a point. The point where safe storage butts-up against the constitution right to keep and bear arms. Bear as in carry. Carry as in protecting the lives and limbs of loved ones. In fact, gun rights and foster care are only incompatible because the state says it's so. Just as anyone who wants to foster knows that discretion -- or submission -- is the better part of valor."


Oklahoma advances open carry, multiple gun bills:  "Oklahomans with concealed handgun permits would be allowed to carry their weapons in the open if a bill that easily passed the House of Representatives becomes law. But members defeated an amendment Thursday that would have allowed for the open carry of handguns anywhere without a permit. Senate Bill 1733 would allow anyone with a license to carry a firearm under the Oklahoma Self Defense Act to carry the weapon either openly or concealed. It passed 85-3 and is headed for a conference committee.   It also would allow a property owner to openly carry a handgun on his or her land. No concealed-carry permit would be required."

Media beginning their long retreat

Now that Zimmerman is being tried, the media face the fact that the truth will be soon  out and that their campaign against him will be exposed for the hoax it always was.  Soon people will see, for instance, that the pictures of the 12 year old Trayvon Martin that they have been putting up day after day are nothing like the 6'3" Martin that Zimmerman encountered.  So the media are now trying to present a kinder, softer image of Zimmerman.  See this  Reuters story, which has been widely reproduced.

It's quite a long article so I won't try to do any excerpts from it except this one:

Though civil rights demonstrators have argued Zimmerman should not have prejudged Martin, one black neighbor of the Zimmermans said recent history should be taken into account.

"Let's talk about the elephant in the room. I'm black, OK?" the woman said, declining to be identified because she anticipated backlash due to her race. She leaned in to look a reporter directly in the eyes. "There were black boys robbing houses in this neighborhood," she said. "That's why George was suspicious of Trayvon Martin."

Self-Defense Under Attack

Critics of Florida's self-defense law object to its recognition of a right to "stand your ground" in public places, which eliminated the duty to retreat from an assailant. Yet many of these critics seem to believe they have a duty to stand their ground and never retreat, using George Zimmerman's shooting of Trayvon Martin as a weapon to attack Florida's law, no matter what the evidence shows.
The emphasis on the right to stand your ground is puzzling in the context of the Martin case, since Zimmerman's defense does not seem to rely on it. The 28-year-old neighborhood watch volunteer, who was released on bail this week after being charged with second-degree murder in connection with the Feb. 26 shooting in Sanford, told police the unarmed teenager knocked him down with a punch to the face and pinned him to the ground, repeatedly smacking his head against the pavement. By Zimmerman's account, then, he had no opportunity to retreat.

Florida's law also has been blamed for delaying Zimmerman's arrest, and it did require that police have probable cause to believe the shooting was unlawful. But this is the same standard that applies to arrests for all other crimes, and whatever obstacle it may have posed proved temporary.

One unusual aspect of Florida's law that will be apparent in this case is that Zimmerman has a right to pretrial hearing at which he can try to convince Judge Kenneth Lester, by "a preponderance of the evidence," that he acted in self-defense. If he can meet that standard of proof, which requires showing it is more likely than not that his use of force was appropriate, the charge against him will be dismissed. But even if he went to trial, he would be (or at least should be) acquitted with that much evidence in his favor, since the prosecution has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he was not acting in self-defense -- which, as Northern Kentucky University law professor Michael J.Z. Mannheimer has pointed out, would be true "in virtually every state."

Zimmerman's defense under Florida's law is that he was attacked and "reasonably believed" shooting Martin was "necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm." Contrary to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is leading a national campaign against Florida-style self-defense laws, that does not mean people "make their own decisions as to whether someone is threatening or not" and therefore have "a license to murder." The threat assessment has to be reasonable, meaning someone who uses deadly force has to show it was justified by the circumstances.

Even if the Trayvon Martin case does not really illustrate the shortcomings of Florida's law, it is possible that eliminating the duty to retreat in public places, combined with reinforcing the "castle doctrine" (which applies to home invasions) and extending it to vehicles, has encouraged avoidable escalations of violence. The law's opponents note that the annual number of justifiable homicides in Florida (excluding police shootings) nearly tripled after the law was passed in 2005, from an average of 12 between 2000 and 2004 to an average of 35 between 2006 and 2010.

Still, you would expect to see an increase in homicides deemed to be justified even if the law were working exactly as intended. The crucial question in assessing the law's impact, which the task force appointed last week by Gov. Rick Scott presumably will ask, is whether these homicides should be deemed justified.

In the meantime, it is worth noting that Florida's violent crime rate, which fell by 12 percent in the five years before the "stand your ground" law was enacted, fell by 23 percent in the five years afterward. Since 1987, when Florida adopted a nondiscretionary carry permit law that the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence blames for "year after year of carnage," the state's violent crime rate has been cut nearly in half.

Source




PA:  Man says he shot in self-defense during roadside robbery:  "Two people were taken to the hospital after a man told police he fired his gun in self-defense during a roadside robbery in Stroud Township Wednesday afternoon....  a man called police from a home off Shafer's Schoolhouse Road to report being beaten by several individuals.  In an interview, he told police that he was the shooter, that he was beaten and robbed by the occupants of the vehicle, and that he fired the gun in self-defense. He was taken to Pocono Medical Center for treatment of his injuries.  Police have not released any names and are continuing to investigate. The weapon involved, a .45 caliber firearm, was recovered by police."


Misrepresented Second Amendment:  "The Bill of Rights recorded on the White House website plays with semantics. Knowing how the far left uses subtleties of language to effectively bring about change, I think these subtle changes do matter.   I’d like to know what was wrong with the original wording. Of concern is the change to the second amendment. Instead of the actual wording - "the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed" - it becomes a right given to us by the state with the following White House wording - "The Second Amendment gives citizens the right to bear arms".   The Founders believed that we have certain inalienable rights as recorded in the Bill of Rights. An inalienable right means that no one gives it to us, it is an inherent right."

NC: Two burglars dead after breaking into the home of two Marines:  "Two Camp Lejeune Marines returned home early Sunday morning to find two men in their house. The intruders didn't make it out of the house alive.  33-year-old, Maurice Skinner and 33-year-old, Diego Everette were identified by police as the men killed in the burglary attempt. Both men are from Jacksonville.   Skinner and Everette were pronounced dead at the scene, but according to Jacksonville Police Chief, Mike Yaniero it is unlikely that anyone will be charged in the shooting.  "The investigation is ongoing, however at this time there is no evidence to suggest that criminal charges be filed. Police say the intruders attacked the residents and gunfire was exchanged"

Miss: man says fatal shooting was in self-defense:  "Jackson police said a man admitted to a fatal shooting but said he acted in self-defense.   Emmanuel Ealey, 37, was shot and killed Friday night at Westwick Apartments on Flag Chapel Road, police said. Ealey had a loaded gun on him when he died, police said.  Pelvius Thomas contacted police on Tuesday and spoke with investigators about the shooting. Thomas admitted to shooting Ealey but said he did so after Ealey confronted him for no apparent reason and pulled a gun on him, police said.  Jackson Police Department detectives were able to verify Thomas' story through a witness to the shooting, authorities said.  Thomas was released without being arrested, police said."


La.: Senate panel votes down new  self-defense bill:  "Legislation inspired by Florida’s Trayvon Martin case failed in a Senate committee Tuesday amid concerns that it would cloud state law.  Senate Bill 719 by state Sen. Yvonne Dorsey-Colomb, D-Baton Rouge, would have rewritten Louisiana’s justifiable homicide law. Under the change, the law would not apply when the person committing the homicide is the aggressor.  “What I don’t want to happen in this state is that we have permission to murder,” Dorsey-Colomb told the state Senate Committee on Judiciary C.  Critics of the change complained that the measure would lead to confusion and possibly result in people provoking aggressive behavior in order to have an excuse to kill."

Ga. granny with gun foils robbery attempt via shootout with 2 armed men, injuring 1 of them:  "Authorities in Georgia say a grandmother foiled a robbery attempt by two armed men by getting into a shootout with them, injuring one man.  Police told The Telegraph  that Lulu Campbell just dropped off her grandson at her daughter’s house early Saturday morning when someone demanded money outside her car, threatening to shoot her.  Campbell says the man fired at her, missing. The 57-year-old fired back, striking him in the chest. Her truck sustained eight bullet holes in the hood, one in the grill. Both front side windows were destroyed. The second man fled after she shot at him.  Campbell, who owns convenience stores and gas stations, always is armed.  Police say 32-year-old Brenton Lance Spencer has been hospitalized and was charged with aggravated assault and attempted armed robbery."


FL: Clerk, gunman dead in store shootout:  "About 5 p.m., a man entered AC Grocery, which is in a small strip mall called Pace Plaza, at 1450 Pace Blvd. near Godfrey Street. He robbed it at gunpoint, a news release from the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office said.  During the robbery, the clerk took out a gun and shot the robber, the release said. The man then fired back at the clerk.  The clerk was pronounced dead at the scene, the release said. The suspect ran away from the store but did not go far before collapsing. He was taken to a local hospital where he later died."


Zimmerman was constitutionally entitled to follow Martin:  "I’ve heard TV pundits refer to George Zimmerman as a wannabe cop or “self appointed” neighborhood watch volunteer. This is a denigration of the private citizen’s responsibility to protect his neighborhood that would have shocked the Founding Fathers, who considered it was precisely the role of the private citizen to protect his neighbors whether as posse comitatus or as militia; the idea of standing police departments or military officers quartered among the people (Third Amendment prohibition) was exactly what the American Revolution — and the preservation of its principles in the Bill of Rights — was designed to escape.  It’s the denigration of the private citizen using “police” powers to protect his community — and the usurpation of these powers by a centralized authority — that is one of the principal methods by which Americans are infantalized by a paternalistic government.


Obama good for gun industry:  "The economic impact of the firearms industry is up 66 percent since the beginning of the Great Recession, providing an unexpected shot in the arm for the economy, according to a new study.  The National Shooting Sports Foundation says the economic impact of firearm sales — a figure that includes jobs. taxes and sales — hit $31 billion in 2011, up from $19 billion in 2008.  Jobs in the firearms business jumped 30 percent from 2008 to 2011, when the industry employed 98,750.  Some in the industry attribute the jump in sales to fears the Obama administration will tighten gun control laws in a possible second term.  "There's a concern that in the second term the Obama administration would lead an attempt to restrict gun ownership," Mr. Keane said.  That concern, known in the industry as "the Obama factor," has led many gun owners to purchase now in hopes of avoiding more restrictions and regulations later."

PA: Store owner  shoots at would-be robbers:  "Three men who allegedly tried to rob a Allentown store owner at knifepoint didn't get far Sunday. The owner of Tommy's Mini-Mart at Sixth and Tilghman grabbed a gun and fired two shots at them, scaring them off. Speaking exclusively to 69 News, the store owner said he didn't want to use a weapon but felt he had no choice.  Just as Nahy Hadeed was closing for the day, he said three men walked in and demanded all his money, pushing his face into the counter and pressing a sharp object against his throat.  When Hadeed couldn't get the cash register open, he said one attacker became agitated, jumped the counter, and started punching him. That's when Hadeed grabbed his gun, hidden under the counter, and fired two shots. "I just don't want to hurt anyone or kill anyone, but once again the issue is, I just want them to flee the store," he said."




TX: Man tries to rob bar patrons:  "Beaumont police say the table is turned when patrons at Luke's Ice House on Calder fight back against a robber armed with a gun.  Police say 23-year-old Kenneth Ray Taylor [above] of Beaumont is now in the Jefferson County Jail on bonds totaling $100,000. Owen says he and his friend jumped into their truck and fled when Taylor began robbing another person. But when they looked back, Owen says he was robbing yet another victim.  Except this time the robber chose the wrong person to mess with.  "He knocked the gun out of the guys hand and picked it up and shot him," Owen said.  Officers say Taylor was shot in the calf. Taylor ran south after the robberies but police quickly found and arrested him."
    

NC: Drug dealer shoots at robbers, gets jailed: "Witnesses told investigators that two men stole $60 at knifepoint from a man outside a convenience store on U.S. Highway 421 in Lillington after arranging a drug deal with the man.  The robbers then fled the area in a vehicle.  The victim chased after the robbers and forced their vehicle off the road near the intersection of U.S. 421 and Seminole Road in Broadway.  The victim fired at least four shots at the robbers, wounding both of them.  The robbers called 911 to report they had been shot and deputies tracked down the gunman a few minutes later at the intersection of MacArthur and Mt. Pisgah Church Roads. Ryan Richard Rachelle, 23 of McDougald Road in Lillington, and Cody Joseph Rachelle, 20 of Dixie Farm Road in Sanford were each charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon and conspiracy to commit armed robbery.  They were detained in the Harnett County jail on a $75,000 bond each.  Kevin Felton Brown, 23 of Lillington, was charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of shooting into an occupied vehicle.  He is being held on a $100,000 bail."


Zimmerman released:  "In a low-key event, George Zimmerman was released from a Florida jail on $150,000 bail as he awaits his second-degree murder trial in the fatal shooting of unarmed teen Trayvon Martin. The neighborhood watch volunteer was wearing a brown jacket and blue jeans and carrying a paper bag as he walked out of the jail around midnight Sunday. He was following another man and didn't look over at photographers gathered outside. The two then got into a white BMW car and drove away.  His ultimate destination is being kept secret for his safety and it could be outside Florida.  Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester said at a hearing Friday that Zimmerman cannot have any guns and must observe a 7 p.m.-to-6 a.m. curfew. Zimmerman also surrendered his passport."

TX:: Shoplifter  died after being shot in Walmart:  "Police said Bradshaw had been detained by store personnel as he attempted to leave the Walmart with a shopping cart of stolen merchandise sometime around 4 p.m. Friday.  After being escorted to the store's loss-prevention office, Bradshaw began to struggle with employees and pulled a handgun from his pants pocket.  The gun discharged during the struggle and a round struck a filing cabinet before a loss-prevention officer was able to get control of Bradshaw's gun.  Bradshaw then pulled a knife, investigators determined, and began to approach the loss-prevention officer wielding the gun.  The employee shot Bradshaw once in his mid-section, police said."


CA:  Guard shoots, kills robber:  "A security guard shot to death one of several people police said were attempting to rob jewelry from an indoor swap meet in Fontana Friday afternoon. The dead man was not immediately identified.  At least one of the robbers had a gun, said Fontana police Sgt. Pat Mackey at a news conference this evening. He said three men wearing dark hooded sweatshirts and ski masks went into the swap meet in the 9700 block of Sierra Avenue just before 2 p.m.  One pistol-whipped the guard while at least one other smashed a jewelry case.  The assaulted guard pulled a handgun and shot one of the robbers, killing him, Mackey said. The other robbers ran out the front door. It did not appear that anything was taken.  The guard was taken to a hospital for treatment of unspecified injuries. Mackey said he was expected to recover."


Zimmerman may remain in jail until middle of next week:  "The neighborhood watch volunteer who fatally shot Trayvon Martin could remain behind bars until the middle of next week due to concerns about collecting enough funds for his $150,000 bond, his lawyer said Saturday.  Attorney Mark O’Mara visited his client George Zimmerman in the John E. Polk Correctional Facility in Sanford, Florida on Saturday, a day after Seminole County Judge Kenneth R. Lester Jr. set the bond. Prosecutors had asked that Zimmerman remain in jail without bond until trial or that it be set at $1 million.  With the 10% cash payment customarily made to secure bond, Zimmerman could be freed with $15,000 from his family, attorneys said."


California Democrat trying to get gun-permit recognition bill blocked:  "Sen. Dianne Feinstein is trying to block votes on bills that would require a state to honor concealed gun permits from other states.  The California Democrat wrote Majority Leader Harry Reid and Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, requesting that no votes be scheduled on two concealed weapons "reciprocity" bills. There was no immediate response from Reid, D-Nev., or Leahy, D-Vt., to the letter dated April 17.   Feinstein wrote, "These dangerous bills ... would undermine states' rights by forcing nearly every state to accept the concealed carry permits issued by other states, even if the permit holder could not qualify for a permit in the state to which he is traveling."

NV:  Self-defense ruled in  backyard shooting:  "A Summerlin resident acted in self-defense and will not be charged in the fatal shooting of an unarmed backyard intruder last month, officials at the Clark County district attorney’s office determined.  The shooting happened the morning of March 20 in the 2100 block of Spurs Court, near Hualapai Way and Sahara Avenue. The resident, who called 911, told Metro Police he fired shots at a backyard intruder, later identified as 19-year-old Demarcus Carter, who the resident believed was trying to break into his home.   The Clark County coroner’s office determined Carter died from multiple gunshot wounds, and his death was ruled a homicide.  Owens said evidence — including that Carter was shot on the front of his body — supported the resident’s claim that he felt threatened by the suspect. The resident, whose identity has not been released, said Carter continued attempting to enter the home after the two made eye contact, Owens said.  Carter was on probation after a December conviction of burglary, possessing a stolen vehicle and grand larceny, Owens said."


TN:  Shooting Of Home Intruder Was Self-Defense:  "Police said a Nashville man acted in self-defense when he fatally shot a convicted felon who forced his way into his apartment in south Nashville.  Police said 35-year-old Michael Shane Martin was killed late Wednesday night at the Brentridge apartment complex off Bell Road.  Investigators said Michael Moffitt and his girlfriend, Caycee Albright, heard a knock at their door around 11 p.m. and Moffitt found the door peephole was covered. He told Albright to call police while he got an AR-15 rifle and opened the door once he saw it was uncovered.  Police said Martin charged in with a semi-automatic pistol and wearing a mask and gloves. Moffitt was shoved into an interior wall and opened fired, killing Martin."


TX:  Woman shoots back but it was info from her that caught the crooks:  "Dayna Cooper and a 65-year-old man were shot at her home around 2 a.m. Thursday when two suspects burst in with guns blazing.  Cooper reportedly had been robbed before, so this time, she was ready and fired back with her own weapon.  But she was shot in the neck and the arm, and the suspects got away with a safe and some jewelry.  Dayna Cooper was able to give investigators information on her attackers, and police tracked the two suspects down at a Motel 6 in Humble Friday morning.  They arrested 29-year-old Adrian Nathaniel Comstock and 56-year-old Patricia Lynn Hickmann at motel.  Family members said Dayna Cooper had known Hickmann for some time, and that Hickmann took advantage of her.  Investigators believe the suspects broke into the home thinking there was a large amount of insurance money inside. But the family says that’s simply not the case."


George Zimmerman's bloody head photo supports self-defense claim:  "A cell phone photo of George Zimmerman’s bloody head has been turned over to authorities by a reluctant photographer who took the picture three minutes after Trayvon Martin was shot.   The photo, taken by the witness who saw Martin on top of Zimmerman prior to the deadly shot, shows two gashes in the back of Zimmerman’s head.  The photo supports Zimmerman’s contention that Martin was bashing his head against the sidewalk prior to the deadly gun shot."

NM: Would-be carjacker gets bullet in chest:  "DA determines  shooting justified.  Nathan Velasquez admitted to Hobbs police he shot an unarmed man but said he had good reason: the man was trying to steal his car and endangered his life.  "When police got here they found Cristobal Carrizoza suffering from a gunshot wound to his chest, and the individual Velasquez, who we later learned had done the shooting," Hobbs Officer Mike Stone said.  Velasquez, 20, told police he went to get into his car and found someone trying to steal it.   "Carrizoza was getting into his vehicle, and he said, 'No. What are you doing in my vehicle? That's mine,'" Stone said.  At that point, police said Velasquez reached into his car and pulled out a gun, but Carrizoza, 25, fought to get it.  That's when Velasquez told police the gun went off shooting Carrizoza in the chest.   Carrizoza's record with Hobbs police dates back to 2005 and includes robberies, domestic disputes and drug activity. He was also a suspect in a rape case in 2010."


TX:  Man with gun thwarts robbery before sheriff's detectives arrive:  "Dr. Craig Burnside was just finishing a call with his wife and about to get out of his car in a parking lot in Downtown Waco late Friday night when two suspicious men approached him.... The robber was Juan Martinez, 41, but little did he know he had picked the wrong man to rob.  Burnside dropped his phone and grabbed the handgun that he had in his car. According to Burnside he then jumped out of his car and yelled at the man to leave.  Martinez did not have time to run away however, because within seconds two sheriff's detectives who had been watching the situation escalate close by jumped out of their cars."


CA: Armored car guard shoots  robber:  "Sacramento County Sheriff's officials say an armored car guard opened fire and wounded a suspect in a department store parking lot after the man tried to rob him.  The incident outside a Sacramento Walmart occurred around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday. The suspect allegedly hit the guard with a stun gun while the guard was leaving a store with bags of money.  Sheriff's deputies say the guard fell, but got up and began pursuing the suspect, shooting him in the leg. The unidentified suspect allegedly continued running and got into a vehicle that drove toward the guard, prompting him to open fire again.  The vehicle fled. Deputies say the suspect was found a short time later hiding in a dumpster and arrested.  He was taken to a hospital with a non-life-threatening wound."


AZ: Brewer vetoes bill allowing guns on public property:  "Gov. Jan Brewer rebuffed gun-rights advocates by vetoing for a second time a bill to allow guns on public property, and sent a strong message that such a proposal would need wider support from police, cities and the public before she would sign it. Brewer's veto of the bill, which could have let guns into city halls, police stations, county courts, senior centers, swimming pools, libraries and the state Capitol, was the latest setback for a push to expand the right to carry guns in public places in Arizona."

Iowa:  No charges after man and woman exchange shots; Man dies:  "Des Moines County prosecutors will not seek charges in connection with last month's South Central Avenue shooting death of a Macomb, Ill., man, ruling the incident as justifiable homicide or self defense. The shooter, Jacqueline Renee Williams, 28, also of Macomb, who also was shot to the head, survived her injuries and reportedly is back at home. According to the report, Terrell Robert Miller, 22, and Williams were visiting friends at 165 S. Central Ave. on March 16.   That evening, the pair, who were in a relationship, argued on the home's front porch. Detectives said Miller had a handgun during the argument and shot Williams once in the forehead. A struggle ensued, and Williams managed to take the gun away from Miller, whom she shot six times in the head.   Burlington emergency medical crews and police officers who responded to the scene shortly after 10 p.m. found Miller dead on the front porch."


CO: Aggressive man finally gets his due:  " Andre Manzanares had a long history of fighting his neighbors, deputies and even his own mother, court records show.  And on April 1, Manzanares lost his final fight when a stranger he confronted shot him three times, killing him on Main Street just at the edge of Brighton in Adams County.  After reviewing the evidence, Adams County District Attorney Don Quick declined to file criminal charges against Jones.... "When Jones reached his car, he opened the front passenger side door, turned around and witnessed Mr. Manzanares rounding the corner of the building approximately 20 yards away and running toward Mr. Jones," the letter says. "Jones grabbed his pistol from under the passenger seat, racked the slide ejecting a live round onto the ground."  Jones told authorities he warned Manzanares he had a gun.  "I don't give a ---- what you got," Manzanares said back, Jones told investigators.  Jones then fired his gun, killing Manzanares, the letter says."


NEBRASKA: Governor Signs Two Pro-Second Amendment Bills into Law:  "LB 807, introduced by state Senator Scott Lautenbaugh (18), clarifies that only individuals who have been criminally convicted of a felony, misdemeanor crime of violence or state laws pertaining to firearms and drug related offenses, would be disqualified from receiving a Nebraska Concealed Handgun Permit. By clarifying the current law, LB 807 ultimately helps streamline and expedite the Concealed Handgun Permit application process by not unnecessarily denying lawful citizens from obtaining a Concealed Handgun Permit in the Cornhusker State. On April 5, LB 807 was amended with floor Amendment 2382 by state Senator Russ Karpisek (32), which allows for seized firearms that were not used in the commission of a crime to be returned to their lawful owner or sold at public auction, instead of being unnecessarily destroyed. This amendment passed by a 27 to 0 vote. Gun owners were victorious last week as well. On April 11, Legislative Bill 804, civil immunity legislation, was signed into law by Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman. This important self-defense reform will go into effect on July 18, 2012."


Zimmerman judge replaced in Trayvon Martin case:  "Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester Jr. Wednesday was assigned to take over the case of a neighborhood watchman who killed unarmed Florida teenager Trayvon Martin.  Lester was randomly assigned to the case in Seminole County Court after Circuit Judge Jessica Recksiedler recused herself because of a conflict of interest, the Orlando Sentinel reported.  Lester will preside at Zimmerman's bond hearing Friday, the newspaper said. A separate petition brought by several news organizations challenging the sealing of normally open court records is also set for Friday.  Wayne Klinkbeil, an assistant public defender in Lester's courtroom in 1997, told the Sentinel he is "very in control of his courtroom, very straightforward."

1912 Titanic Disaster: Was Racism To Blame?

As the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic approaches, new shocking evidence has surfaced that a racist vendetta was at the epicenter of the disaster.

NBC News is about to release a mostly unedited Morse Code transcript of messages between the Newfoundland Emergency Operator and the Titanic's Captain, George White, moments before the fatal altercation:

Operator: Newfoundland SOS, what is your emergency?

Titanic: This is George White, skipper of the Titanic. I'm on neighborhood watch in the North Atlantic. It's dark out and I think I see an iceberg.

Operator: An iceberg? Can you describe it?

Titanic: It's big.... there's no moon out tonight... It looks black!

It is believed the enraged White, who happened to be white, pursued the iceberg instead of turning the ship to avoid it as the operator suggested. The situation deteriorated quickly and within hours, the Titanic had sunk taking with it thousands of passengers, many of them wealthy people who deserved it.

White's defenders will probably argue that it is almost impossible to turn a large vessel quickly and the confrontation was unfortunate but unavoidable. However, the historical record indicates White was driving the ship too fast and was in an area it shouldn't have been in to begin with, as other neighborhood watch craft in the area had broadcast iceberg sightings earlier in the evening.

It is likely that White, harboring deep-seated hatred for ice, deliberately sought out a large iceberg in an attempt to provoke a quarrel and incite violence.

Experts fear the new revelations will lead to an anti-ice backlash and warn against citizens refusing ice in their drinks or defrosting refrigerators too often in a display of disrespect to the iceberg community.

More here




FL: Attempted robbery suspect shot, killed:  "An attempted robbery suspect was shot dead by his intended victim late Monday, Orlando police said.  The suspect, Tavish Lee Mathews, was attempting to rob Terrance Lamar Taylor in the 2000 block of W. Jackson Street when the shooting occurred, said police spokesman Officer Dave Allmond.  Taylor pulled out a gun and shot Mathew numerous times. He was rushed to Orlando Regional Medical Center where he later died.  Investigators have determined the shooting was justified and Taylor will not be charged, Allmond said."


Detroit Robbers shot :  "Two men were shot, one fatally, during an apparent botched robbery on Detroit's east side this afternoon, police said.  The shooting occurred after two men met two other men to purchase merchandise from them in the 19300 block of Lumpkin, according to Detroit police. Police said one of the men who was said to be selling the merchandise pulled a gun and demanded money from the buyers. Police did not say what the merchandise was.  It appears that as one of the buyers, 19, began removing items from his pockets, the man with him, 29, pulled out a weapon and began firing shots, police said.  One of the apparent robbers, 19, was killed and the other, also 19, was critically injured, police said."


CA: Robber chased off by gunfire:  "Enshrah Ayesh, whose family owns the store, said she and several family members were working when a tall man dressed in a puffy jacket whom she had never seen before walked into the store ... She said the man then demanded money. Her mother was behind the counter at the register and started reaching for the money, but the man began hitting her, Ayesh said.  The man then fired a shot that grazed her mother's cheek, Ayesh said.  Her father and her brother then came running from the back. Her father, who was armed with a gun, began shooting at the man, who grabbed her brother as a shield, she said.  "Of course my father stopped shooting," she said.  The man dragged her brother out of the store, then let him go, got on a bicycle and rode off, she said. He hadn't taken anything from the store."

TX: Retired DPS trooper fatally shoots drugstore robber:  "An armed robber who took a drugstore guard hostage Monday was shot and killed when he confronted a retired Texas Department of Public Safety trooper, now a security official for the north Harris County business, authorities said.  The masked robber jumped the unarmed security guard about 2:15 p.m. inside the QVL Pharmacy at 850 FM 1960 near the North Freeway.  "At gunpoint, he forced (the guard) to open the security door going to the back of the pharmacy," said Sgt. Ben Beall with the Harris County Sheriff's Department's homicide squad.  Also inside the store, however, was a plainclothes retired DPS trooper, now working for the Dallas-based company's corporate security department. He was making a check at the store when the robbery happened.  The robber pointed his gun at the retired trooper, who pulled out his own weapon and began shooting.  He fired at least three rounds, Beall said. The robber did not fire his weapon.  The robber died at the scene, and nobody else was hurt"


Aldi Customer Who Shot Armed Robber Sues for Return of His Gun: "An Aldi customer in Milwaukee who shot and wounded an armed robber is suing police for the return of his gun.  Nazir Al-Mujaahid had a concealed weapons permit to carry the gun, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel blog Proof & Hearsay. In February, prosecutors said Al-Mujaahid was within his legal rights when he shot the man who pointed a shotgun at a cashier and then at Al-Mujaahid, according to a prior Journal Sentinel story.  But police are keeping Al-Mujaahid’s gun as evidence in the case against two men accused in the robbery. Wisconsin Carry Inc., a gun rights group, is helping Al-Mujaahid in his quest for return of the gun. The suit filed last week claims a violation of Al-Mujaahid’s due process rights.  Al-Mujaahid has filed three other suits for return of guns seized in prior incidents. He won two of the cases; a third is pending."


CA: Stand-your-ground the rule in state, courts affirm:  "The stand-your-ground doctrine, which has vaulted into national prominence with the killing of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin, isn't limited to the two dozen states that have passed laws since 2005 expanding the right to use deadly force in confrontations. It's also the rule in California, by court decree. For more than a century, the state's judges have declared that a person who reasonably believes he or she faces serious injury or death from an assailant does not have to back off -- inside or outside the home -- and instead can use whatever force is needed to eliminate the danger."

The rubbishy case against Zimmerman

They are desperate to be putting up such demonstrable falsehoods

In court papers filed Thursday, prosecutors contend that Zimmerman followed and confronted Martin after being told by a police dispatcher not to do so. The “Affidavit of Probable Cause—Second Degree Murder” was prepared on the basis of statements from witnesses and police officers and a review of “recorded statements, phone records, recorded calls to police, photographs, videos, and other documents.”

The three-page brief states that following a visit by Trayvon Martin to a nearby convenience store, the young man “then walked back to and entered the gated community and was on his way back to the townhouse where he was living when he was profiled by George Zimmerman. Martin was unarmed and was not committing a crime.”

The affidavit says that Zimmerman, who was driving through the neighborhood, “assumed Martin was a criminal.” It states that Zimmerman related in a recorded call while referring to Martin: “these assholes, they always get away,” as well as “these f---ing punks.”

The brief states that Martin was on the phone with a friend at the time, who told investigators that Martin was “scared because he was being followed through the complex by an unknown male and didn’t know why.” (Martin’s parents say this phone witness was their son’s girlfriend in Miami.)

According to the affidavit, Martin tried to run home but was followed by Zimmerman “who didn’t want the person he falsely assumed was going to commit a crime to get away before the police arrived.” Zimmerman got out of his car and pursued Martin on foot, despite being told not to do by the dispatcher. “Zimmerman confronted Martin and a struggle ensued,” the brief notes.

Witnesses reported hearing arguing and “what sounded like a struggle” and “numerous calls for help.” The brief states that “Trayvon Martin’s mother has reviewed the 911 calls and identified the voice crying for help as Trayvon Martin’s voice.”

Zimmerman shot Martin once in the chest, and the medical examiner determined that Martin died from this gunshot wound. Zimmerman admitted to police arriving on the scene that he had shot Martin, and the officers recovered a gun from a holster inside Zimmerman’s waistband.

Source

Wow!  A preacher who dares to speak the truth about black crime

NASHVILLE, Tenn.— The head of the Southern Baptist Convention's public policy arm condemns the response of many black leaders to the Trayvon Martin case as "shameful." Some black pastors within the nation's largest Protestant denomination say Richard Land's comments are setting back an effort to broaden the faith's appeal beyond its traditional white, Southern base.

Land says he stands by his assertion that President Barack Obama "poured gasoline on the racialist fires" when he addressed Martin's slaying and that Obama, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and the Rev. Al Sharpton have used the case "to try to gin up the black vote for an African American president who is in deep, deep, deep trouble for re-election."

Land, who is white, said in an interview he has no regrets about his remarks. He said he understands why the case has touched a nerve among black leaders, but he also defended the idea that people are justified in seeing young black men as threatening: A black man is "statistically more likely to do you harm than a white man."

"Is it tragic that people react that way? Yes. Is it unfair? Yes? But it is understandable," he said.

The comments come as the Southern Baptist Convention is trying hard to diversify its membership and distance itself from a past that includes support of slavery and segregation.

Last year, the denomination for the first time elected a black pastor to its No. 2 position of first vice president, and the Rev. Fred Luter is expected to become the first black president of the Southern Baptist Convention at this year's annual meeting in June.

When asked about the concern that Land's comments hurt the effort to attract non-white members, Luter said, "It doesn't help. That's for sure."

While SBC presidents are elected for one-year terms, as the head of the SBC's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission for 23 years, the outspoken Land is arguably the most powerful person in the denomination and certainly its most visible spokesman.

"I think his (Land's) statements will reverse any gains from the rightful election of Fred Luter," said the Rev. Dwight McKissic, a black pastor at the SBC-affiliated Cornerstone Baptist Church is Arlington, Texas.

McKissic said he plans to submit a resolution at the SBC's annual meeting asking the convention to repudiate Land's remarks.  "If they don't, we're back to where we were 50 years ago," he said.

Land counters that he has been working for racial reconciliation for his entire ministry.  He was one of the chief architects of a 1995 resolution by the Southern Baptists apologizing for their role in supporting slavery and racism. Since that resolution, black membership in the SBC has tripled, Land said, going from about 350,000 in 1995 to about 1 million today.

While he recognizes that his comments may hurt black membership within the SBC, he said he was not setting back the quest for racial reconciliation.  "Part of racial reconciliation is being able to speak the truth in love without being called a racist and without having to bow down to the god of political correctness," he said.

Land told The Associated Press that he has also criticized white religious leaders, including Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, when they behaved in ways he considered irresponsible.

And he said he thinks McKissic's resolution will fail.  "I have no doubt, based on the emails I have received, that a vast majority of Southern Baptists agree with me," he said.

Land made the comments about Sharpton, Jackson and Obama during his weekly radio show. His broader point was that there has been a rush to judgment, with many people convinced that shooter George Zimmerman is guilty even before he goes to trial.

Prominent supporters of Martin's family have included Sharpton and Jackson. Last month, Obama called the death a tragedy and said, "If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon."

On his radio show, Land accused Obama of shamefully exploiting Martin's death and said Jackson and Sharpton, whom he called "racial ambulance chasers," were guilty of the same.

Jackson, in a phone interview Thursday, did not address Land's personal attacks but said that racial profiling is still a very big problem for African-Americans, not just because they are sometimes unjustly viewed as criminals, but also because they are discriminated against by banks and insurance companies.

"Any help Reverend Land wants to give to address racial profiling is welcome," Jackson said.

Jonathan Merritt, a white Southern Baptist minister whose book, "A Faith of Our Own: Following Jesus Beyond the Culture Wars" is due out this month, said Land's comments turn off not only minorities, but also many young believers who are "disappointed with culture war Christianity and want to move beyond name-calling."  "I think Land's comments reinforce, rather than rebut, the image of the SBC as a denomination of old, angry white men," he said.  [So being old is contemptible??  Not much tolerance there!]

Source




Ireland:  Shot burglar will face new 'reasonable force' law:  "GARDAI [police] are considering the case of a man shot with a legally held shotgun during an apparent attempted robbery in north Co Dublin in the light of Justice Minister Alan Shatter's new law on the use of reasonable force to defend the home.  They are waiting to interview the north Dublin man, who was injured during an apparent attempted burglary at the home of a 79-year-old farmer on Thursday evening last.  The injured man, being treated in Beaumont Hospital, has an injury to his arm believed to have been caused when the son of Richard Lowndes, Graham Lowndes, came across men he believed to be carrying out a robbery on his father's farm in Kilsallaghan, between Finglas and Ashbourne.  The injured man, who is aged 34 and from Finglas, is well known to gardai in Dublin. Graham Lowndes said he was "just defending" his father's home when he opened fire with a legally held shotgun at what he believed to be men raiding the farm."  Gardai were content to allow Graham Lowndes to travel on a pre-arranged holiday with his family to Spain on Friday and are apparently happy to interview him on his scheduled return."


At gun convention, many see rush to judgment in Trayvon Martin case:  "Gun-rights activists at a National Rifle Association convention said on Friday that protesters who demanded the arrest of George Zimmerman for the shooting death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin were ignoring the U.S. legal principle of innocent until proven guilty.  hey said the protesters and the media had rushed to judge Zimmerman, a white and Hispanic neighborhood watch volunteer, as guilty in the death of 17-year-old Martin, who was black, without having been convicted.  "I wish all those folks demonstrating and making the inflammatory statements would keep their powder dry," said Owen Mills, an NRA board member, who runs a firearms training facility in Paulden, Arizona. Mills said he was not speaking for the NRA as an organization.  Many in the overwhelmingly white and conservative crowd at the NRA convention blamed the media for playing up the racial aspect of the case."

IN: Apparent intruder fatally shot in Fort Wayne:  "Police in Fort Wayne say a man told them he shot and killed a man who he said kicked in the door to his apartment.  City police spokesman Officer John Chambers tells The Journal Gazette that the resident said the intruder had a gun when he burst into the first-floor apartment in a complex on the city's east side Thursday night.  Chambers says the resident shot the man, who then ran away for a short distance before collapsing. He died shortly after being taken to a hospital.  Chambers tells WANE-TV that the resident had the legal right to shoot an intruder if he acted in acting in self-defense."


GA: Man shot in the chest during argument, other man not charged:  "A Ringgold man is recuperating from a gunshot wound after being shot in the chest by another man after the two were arguing.  Robert Wilson, 37, of Ringgold, was shot in the chest Sat-urday afternoon, April 7, by a man who was doing yard work for Wilson’s next-door neighbor.  The shooter, Dustin Talley of Fort Oglethorpe, was not arrested and is not currently facing any charges.  Talley told police that he was acting in self-defense.  “The witness then stated that Wilson’s wife started walking away when Wilson began to follow her, then stopped at 63 Karen Drive and started arguing with Mr. Talley.”  The witness claims that Tally eventually dropped the weed trimmer he was holding, pulled a gun out of his pocket and shot Wilson as he was walking toward him."


Big gap between races in U.S. on Trayvon Martin killing:  "Americans are deeply divided by race over the killing of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, with 91 per cent of African Americans saying he was unjustly killed while just 35 per cent of whites thought so, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed on Thursday.  Fifty-nine per cent of Hispanics believe that Martin was innocent and unjustly killed six weeks ago, according to the online poll of 1,922 Americans, conducted Monday through Thursday.  In a sign of how riveted Americans have been by the case, 93 per cent of those surveyed said they were aware of the shooting, which set off heated debates over race, gun control and crime.  "African Americans have a significantly different perspective on the whole incident than white Americans or Hispanic Americans," said Ipsos pollster Chris Jackson. "This incident is one of the clearest splits we've seen between whites and blacks."

Has the Trayvon Martin incident become more about the media than the shooting?

If you’ve been following this incident at all, you know that much of what was initially reported was wrong and some of what has been reported since was false, manufactured and/or misleading.

American Thinker has a good round up of the story to this point.  In the article, Jeff Lipke outlines the “myth” as it was perpetrated by the media.

The two worst offenders in my opinion have been NBC and ABC.  NBC aired an edited 911 tape which was clearly meant to depict George Zimmerman as a racist.  They continue to try to defend it as a “mistake”.  No one with any common sense is buying that nonsense.

ABC used footage of Zimmerman’s arrival at the Sanford police station to claim that it didn’t support his claim he’d been attacked as there was no evidence of blood or contusions. Never mentioned was the fact that Zimmerman had been treated by EMTs who are not in the habit of leaving visible blood on a patient they treat.  Subsequent enhancement showed that initial claim by ABC to have been incorrect.  Additionally, ABC claimed that Zimmerman had used a racial slur when talking to the 911 operator.  Again, enhancing the audio makes it clear he didn’t and instead seems to be remarking about how cold it was that night.  In fact, for central Florida, it was a cold night.  But ABC jumped to the conclusion because it supported the desired evolving story line – it was a racial killing.

The unraveling of the myth seems to have the whole story losing steam.  That may be why Al Sharpton decided to be a no-show at this weekend’s rally.   And there have also been incidents that have done little to gain sympathy for Trayvon Martin.  HIs parents attempt to copyright his name obviously hoping to capitalize on his death. Then there was the rally for Martin by members of the school he attended which turned into a flash-mob looting of a local drug store.

But for the media, this has been anything but its finest hour.  One of the reoccurring criticism of blogs by the media is they’ll publish anything and have no editors to check them.  Yet it is the media, especially the two networks named above, who’ve seemed to fall into that category, editors notwithstanding.

Take the latest story circulating.   Supposedly “Neo-Nazis” are patrolling Sanford, FL.  The NY Daily News reports this as a fact.  But Legal Insurrection’s Professor Jacobson has actually tried to confirm it (wait, isn’t that what editors and research assistants are supposed to do in the media?).  And, according to his inquiry to the Sanford Police Department, there’s no evidence of any neo-Nazi group patrolling the city:

My initial e-mail (which included an embedded link to the Memeorandum thread):

“There are a number of reports in the media that Neo-Nazis are conducting armed patrols in Sanford.  Can you confirm or deny whether this is true, and provide any information you have on the subject? If someone is able to get back to me as soon as possible (and before Monday) that would be appreciated, since such rumors are spreading.”

Response from Sanford Joint Information Center:

“At this time the City of Sanford has not confirmed the presence of Neo-Nazis groups.”

My follow up:

“You say “not confirmed.” Is there any indication of such patrols that the Department is aware of?”

Further Response from Sanford Joint Information Center:

“We have no indication of any such patrols at this point in Sanford. The only large gathering was the children and their parents at the Easter egg hunt.”

How poorly are we being served by a media which now seems to be engaged in precisely what it criticized blogs for?  And how ironic is it that a blog is doing the work the media should be doing?  That’s not to say blogs are in the clear.  Every left wing blog of any size has been parroting the rumor as well.

But the fact remains this case, no matter how you feel about it, has shown the media in a very unflattering light.  Sensationalism, poor journalism, lousy and false editing, conclusion jumping,  and rumor mongering have all been evident in their coverage.

And the industry wonders why so many Americans don’t trust them any more?

Source




NY: Retired cop guns down suspect in armed robbery of pharmacy:  "A sharpshooting retired NYPD lieutenant coolly gunned down a gun-toting career criminal who took aim at a cop while fleeing a stickup inside a crowded East Harlem pharmacy, police said.  A moment later, suspect Wyatt (Booga) Rudolph — running about 55 feet away — collapsed from two gunshot wounds to the head. The 24-year-old gunman had $311 in his pocket, the apparent cash proceeds of the robbery.  A half-dozen customers — including an infant girl in a stroller — cowered in fear as Rudolph jumped over the counter of the RX Center Pharmacy with his gun drawn at 11:03 a.m.  He and a sidekick made very specific demands: All the cash and 30 milligram pills of Oxycontin and Percocet, said Browne.  Three minutes later, Rudolph was lying dead in a pool of blood on First Ave. The killing ended a local crime wave, with the dead man suspected in four earlier pharmacy hold-ups in East Harlem and the South Bronx, police said."


CA:  Robber shot, killed in self-defense:  "A deadly shooting Wednesday in a southwest Bakersfield apartment was deemed self-defense.  Tremelle Spain, 23, was shot multiple times off Appleblossom Drive, near Planz and New Stine roads.  Police said Thursday that Spain and 24-year-old Semaj Douglas were allegedly armed with guns when they busted into the apartment to commit robbery. The resident grabbed a gun himself and shot at both men, hitting Spain but missing Douglas.  Douglas ran away but was later caught by police. Spain died at Kern Medical Center less than an hour after the shooting.  The apartment resident was not arrested.   Police said Douglas faces possible charges of conspiracy, murder, attempted robbery, participation in a criminal street gang, prior felon in possession of a firearm, and a parole violation."

NC:  Home-invasion shooting 'clearly self-defense':  "Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Rodney Monroe said Wednesday that a shooting involving a man who killed a would-be burglar who was kicking down his girlfriend’s apartment door was “clearly a case of self-defense.”   In the east Charlotte case, the shooter was alone in his girlfriend’s home on Rolling Hill Road at the time of the shooting.  Homicide detectives say the shooter had seen a car in the driveway and spotted a person walking to the back of the house. A short time later, he heard someone trying to kick in the rear door.  The man yelled that he was at home, but the intruder continued to kick at the door. At that point, the man inside fired one shot through the back door, police say, striking Anthony Michael Aykroid, 23. Aykroid was pronounced dead at the scene.   Police said Aykroid’s girlfriend, Krystina Michelle Misskelley, 25, told investigators she drove Aykroid to the home, where the couple intended to steal property."


AK: Shooter  found not guilty:  "A Juneau man accused of shooting his brother-in-law’s friend in the face in December was found not guilty Wednesday in Juneau Superior Court.  After 1 1/2 weeks of testimony and arguments, the jury only deliberated for about an hour and a half before clearing Kenneth E. Nalan of the charge.  The 36-year-old construction worker and carpenter was charged with one count of first-degree assault in connection with the Dec. 20 shooting. The victim, John D. Duran, 33, survived, but required facial reconstructive surgery.  Prosecutors argued Nalan recklessly shot Duran, while Nalan’s attorney Eric Hedland claimed it was in self-defense.  Testimony as to what happened that night differed. Nalan took the stand earlier this week to tell his side of the story. He said Duran grabbed Nalan’s .357-caliber revolver from his bedroom closet and came at him. Nalan said there was a brief struggle for the gun when Duran fell forward, the gun came loose and Nalan pulled the trigger. The defense had portrayed Duran as a violent person and an aggressor."


OH: Akron man acquitted of all charges in fatal June shooting:  "Franklin D. Conley, 24, of Treeside Drive in Akron, was acquitted of all charges after a five-day jury trial in Summit County Common Pleas Judge Tom Parker’s court.  The shooting occurred about 10:30 p.m. June 6 at Cole Avenue and Marcy Street in southeast Akron, following an argument about a broken window on Conley’s sport utility vehicle.  After initially leaving the scene, Conley returned with co-defendant Anthony J. Board Jr., 28, to confront the man who broke his window.  Clark came out of a nearby residence, armed with an assault rifle, and began firing the weapon as Conley and Board ran from the scene.  Quinn said his client was not armed that night.  “He was guilty only of running away from a bullet,” Quinn said.  Last month, a jury acquitted Board of murder. His attorney said Board admitted to firing a weapon during the incident, but the jury found he acted in self-defense.  “It is still our belief that Conley is responsible for David Clark’s murder,” Walsh said. “Without his involvement, it is highly unlikely that David Clark would have been killed.”

Trial by lynch mob? Fears George Zimmerman is 'already convicted' in Trayvon Martin's death as his family says America is 'out for blood'

Can George Zimmerman now get a fair trial after the media hate campaign waged against him?

George Zimmerman faces one of the most high-profile legal battles in recent history after being charged with second-degree murder in the death of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin - and he may have already been convicted in the court of public opinion.

Zimmerman turned himself in to police on Wednesday and is being held at the Seminole County Correctional Facility, in Florida.

He is due to be arraigned on Thursday morning, but it is already being asked how he can receive a fair trial in a case that has gripped the country and provoked national hysteria since the unarmed black teenager was shot dead on February 26.

Fox News host Sean Hannity said on Wednesday night that State Attorney Angela Corey may have acted under intense pressure for an arrest.  Hannity said: ‘This has been my complaint from the very beginning here. We have members of Congress that said he was hunted down - meaning Trayvon Martin - like a rabid dog, you have people that say he was profiled - no evidence suggests that.'

He added: 'People say he was killed because he was black, you have activists, you have a bounty on someone’s head. You’ve got so much surrounding this case'.

It was Hannity who was recently contacted by Zimmerman, against the advice of his legal counsel, who later dropped Zimmerman as a client. The two had an off-the-record chat, though Hannity will not discuss the details.

Zimmerman's brother Robert, appearing on CNN hours after the charges were announced, said he was proud of his brother for 'doing the right thing'.

Robert Zimmerman told Piers Morgan: 'There was no winner in this. Our brother could have been dead. He had to save his life by taking a life, and that’s no situation that anybody wants to be in ever'.

When grilled by Morgan about the police surveillance video that appears to show Zimmerman uninjured despite what he claimed was a brutal beating from Martin, Robert Zimmerman said:

'People want to see blood, and they wanted to see blood'.  'The reality is George nor any other neighbourhood watchperson goes out and becomes a neighbourhood watchperson because they are going to be… surprise attacked, punched so hard in the nose that their nose is broken, sat on their chest using their last available breaths to call and scream for help.

In a message to Trayvon’s parents, Robert Zimmerman said: 'We're confident that the truth will come out, and George has been telling the truth the whole time'.  He added: 'In the name of peace, let the system do its job'.

Like last year’s blockbuster Casey Anthony trial, which was a daily media circus, Florida could be in store for more of the same with the Zimmerman case.

Zimmerman voluntarily turned himself in police on Wednesday - before it was announced that he would be charged with second-degree murder.  He was escorted under tight security to the Seminole County Correctional facility in Sanford on Wednesday night.  Television cameras showed black SUVs pulling into a loading area at the facility, but Zimmerman himself wasn't visible.

Many legal experts had expected the prosecutor to opt for the lesser charge of manslaughter, which usually carries 15 years behind bars and covers reckless or negligent killings, rather than second-degree murder, which involves a killing that results from a 'depraved' disregard for human life.

Even some legal experts were stunned by the murder charge.  'I predicted manslaughter, so I'm a little surprised,' said Michael Seigel, a former federal prosecutor who now teaches law at the University of Florida. 'But she has more facts than I do'.

Zimmerman's new attorney, Mark O'Mara, said Zimmerman will plead not guilty and will invoke Florida's powerful 'stand your ground' law, which gives people wide leeway to use deadly force without having to retreat in the face of danger.  The lawyer asked that people not jump to conclusions about his client's guilt and said he is 'hoping that the community will calm down' now that charges have been filed.

Source

Zimmerman charged with second-degree murder in Trayvon Martin case

Politically she had no option.  She has just passed the buck to the jurors

GEORGE Zimmerman has been charged with second-degree murder over the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, Florida special prosecutor Angela Corey announced at a news conference today.



Ms Corey [above] announced that Mr Zimmerman surrendered to authorities Wednesday local time and is in custody.

The decision to bring charges comes over 40 days after Mr Zimmerman told police he shot and killed Martin in self defense while acting as a neighborhood watchman in a gated community in Sanford, Florida, a suburb of Orlando.

The lengthy interval between the shooting and the charging announcement sparked a series of demonstrations across the nation by civil rights activists who claim race has been a factor in the investigation.

Source

George Zimmerman launches website

George Zimmerman, the neighbourhood watch captain who killed unarmed 17 year old black, has launched a website to raise money for his legal costs.

The 28-year-old has not been charged with any crime but has hired a number of lawyers to defend his reputation after the killing in February which made him a national hate figure.

The simple website opens with a message from Mr Zimmerman, where describes the night of Martin's death as a "life altering event" and said: "I have been forced to leave my home, my school, my employer, my family and ultimately, my entire life".

He said that money from the site would be used for both his legal costs and his living expenses, which he has struggled to meet since being forced to leave his job as an insurance underwriter.

The site - entitled "The Real George Zimmerman" - is scattered with quotes including the line from British philosopher Edmund Burke: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is that good men doing nothing."

The link to a page called "My Race" was broken on Monday but it is thought to address the issue of Mr Zimmerman's own background. In initial reports he was usually said to be white but is now more regularly referred to as a mixed-race hispanic.

A photo album has an image of graffiti slogan on a brick wall reading: "Long live Zimmerman" and there is a link to PayPal account where contributors can make donations.

Mr Zimmerman's lawyers confirmed the authenticity of the website, saying in a statement: "George Zimmerman's family has setup a website for anyone who would like help with George and his family with their living expenses and for his defense".

The website crashed repeatedly under the weight of incoming traffic.

Source




PA: Gunman's accomplice shoots good Samaritan:  "A masked gunman identified as Edward Friedland, 26, of 15th Street near Venango in Tioga, burst into the store about 8:30 p.m., announced a robbery, and got into a gun battle with store owner Antonio Monegro, 35, after Monegro pulled his gun on the assailant.   After Friedland and Monegro exchanged gunfire, wounding each other, Friedland ran out the door, and Del Valle, a bystander, picked up Monegro's weapon and chased Friedland north on Fifth Street.  Police say Nieves then picked up the gun Friedland had discarded and ran after Del Valle, shooting him several times in the back before standing over his fallen body in the middle of Fifth Street and firing one last bullet into his head. Del Valle died at the scene.   Friedland, who turned up at an area hospital with a gunshot wound the night of the robbery, was arrested then and charged with attempted murder, robbery, aggravated assault, and related offenses in the shooting of Monegro.


NC: Robbers Fire Shots, Victims Fire Back:  "According to investigators, a couple was moving into their new house, when the three suspects tried to rob the couple. The homeowner was shot in the hip and is now in good condition. Deputies said the homeowner opened fire at the suspects. Shots were fired from inside a white Chevy Suburban with three children inside, and shots were fired from the suspects' brown getaway car.  Sheriff Elks says the suspects tried to speed away, lost control and crashed their car into a ditch. The suspects then ran into nearby woods, where authorities found them armed and carrying drugs.  Police K-9 units were called in to search the woods for the weapons and other drugs. One gun was found in the woods, another was found at the shooting scene."


SC: No charges to be sought in fatal double shooting:  "Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright said Tuesday no charges will be filed in connection with a fatal double shooting at a west-side apartment complex on Saturday.  The fatal shooting occurred at 12:10 a.m. Saturday at Lee’s Crossing Apartments, off Powell Mill Road. Douglas Williams, 29, later told deputies that he shot the two men after catching them trying to break into his apartment.  Michael Deangelo Gentry-Hill Jr., 22, of 102 Richborough Drive, died at the scene of the incident. Darren Tyree “Ty” Hill, 18, of 112 Shelby St., died at Spartanburg Regional Medical Center later Saturday morning, according to the Spartanburg County Coroner’s Office.  Wright said two shots were fired during the incident, and that Gentry-Hill and Hill had single gunshot wounds to the front part of their heads.  “Douglas Williams is the victim here,” Wright said during a news conference Tuesday. “He has a right to defend himself.”  Williams has a criminal record, according to the State Law Enforcement Division"

Martin death won't go to grand jury

I note that the media is still using pictures of Martin as a 12 year old.  A more blatant effort to bias the case is hard to imagine.

A grand jury decides if there are grounds for prosecution

A special prosecutor says she will not take the Trayvon Martin shooting death before a grand jury.  Angela Corey says she is continuing to investigate the case. A grand jury had been set to meet on Tuesday in Florida.

The unarmed teen was killed on February 26 during a confrontation with neighbourhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in a gated community.

The case has led to protests across the US and spurred a debate about race. Martin was black; Zimmerman's father is white and his mother is Hispanic.

Zimmerman has claimed self-defence. Florida's self-defence law gives wide leeway to use deadly force and eliminates a person's duty to retreat in the face of danger.

Corey said on Monday her decision to skip the grand jury shouldn't be considered a factor in determining whether charges will be filed against Zimmerman.

The announcement means the decision on charges now rests solely with Corey, who had a reputation for not presenting cases before grand juries if it wasn't required.  Under Florida law, only first-degree murder cases require the use of grand juries.

Corey took over the case last month after the prosecutor who normally handles cases out of Sanford recused himself.  That prosecutor, Norm Wolfinger, had originally called for the case to be presented before a grand jury.

"From the moment she was assigned, Ms Corey noted she may not need a grand jury," said a statement from Corey's office.

Source




MO: Woman shoots one of two robbers: "Police say two young men, in their teens knocked on the woman’s door and asked to see a man. When the woman at the house in the 5800 block of Garfield told the men he wasn’t there, police say the men forced their way in, pointed a gun at the woman’s head, and put her in a closet. While they rummaged through her house, the woman, who is in her 20s says she found the gun that she hides in the closet.  She stepped out of the closet and shot one of the men.  He stumbled out of the house, into the yard, and collapsed in the front yard, where a neighbor found him.  The woman told police the other man, who was dressed in an orange shirt, ran from the scene.  Police have not released the name of the victim. They say charges are not likely since it appears the woman acted in self-defense."


FL:  Stand Your Ground law helps keep shooter out of jail:  "A man who shot and killed his fiancee's brother was not arrested by Lake County detectives because of Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law.  Just like George Zimmerman, the admitted shooter Jakob Penrod hasn't been charged in this case. But the big difference is several witnesses, including some of the deceased's relatives, say Penrod did all he could to get away from the situation.  Detectives say Penrod wanted the man to move out of the home, and by 9 o'clock that night the argument escalated to the point where Penrod got a gun. Detectives say it was only for the protection of him and his pregnant fiancee.  “He had taken her back into the bathroom, literally barricaded themselves, holding the door shut against Gayle's efforts to push the door in and gain entry into the bathroom,” Lake County Sheriff's Detective John Herrell said. Authorities say once Gayle got in, he bloodied Penrod's lip and gave him a black eye, so Penrod shot his unarmed soon to be brother-in-law, killing him. Deputies initially put Penrod in the back of a patrol car, but eventually let him go."


TX: 3 teens arrested in home invasion:  "A man was shot during a home invasion committed by three teenagers, investigators said.  All three robbers, an 18-year-old male, a 15-year-old male and a 15-year-old female, were armed with guns, detectives said.   Investigators said the robbers demanded money and the two male teenagers started carting electronics out of the house. The female robber put her gun on a coffee table and the resident picked it up and shot her, officials said.  Deputy constables said that when the two male robbers ran back into the house and shot and beat the resident.  Investigators said the resident suffered a total of five gunshot wounds. He was hospitalized in critical condition.  The three robbers ran off, but they were arrested a few hours later when they went to a hospital to get help for the female suspect, investigators said."

Blacks Can Murder Whites, and It Won’t Make National News

 Doug Giles

If you’re a 20-year-old black male, you can beat an 85-year-old white woman to death and pummel her 90-year-old white husband straight into ICU, and it won’t make the national news.

Yep. Tyrone Woodfork, a black male who -- much like Trayvon Martin -- looks like Obama’s son, allegedly killed Nancy Strait and broke her husband Bob’s jaw, several ribs and shot him in the face with a BB gun last month in Tulsa. 20-year-old Tyrone also raped the nearly blind 97-pound Mrs. Strait, a great-great-grandmother, before he murdered her.

Did the above monstrous crime make the national news? Are you kidding me? Why, hell no. Of course not, silly!

Why wasn’t it fit for primetime, you ask? Well, it starred the wrong races in the wrong roles, and it thus did not fit into the fairytale the Left’s trying to foist on us goobers of Obamaland.

For those of you who have not heard diddly squat about a black twentysomething’s senseless, atrocious burglary, rape, battery and murder of an elderly white couple, here are the details regarding the couple, the crime and the culprit(s):

-Bob and Nancy Strait, the victims, grew up in rural Oklahoma during the Great Depression.

-Bob and Nancy met on a blind date in 1946 and married a month later. They had 6 kids, 18 grandkids and about 50 great- and great-great grandchildren.

-The Straits just celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary.

-Bob served in the 101st Airborne Division in WWII.

-Bob loved woodworking, and Nancy loved quilting.

-The couple used to sit on their porch and play the guitar and sing together during the warm summer evenings.

-On either Tuesday evening (3/13) or Wednesday morning (3/14) Tyrone invaded their home and stole $200 in cash as well as the Strait’s TV and Dodge Neon after raping Mrs. Strait and severely beating Mr. Strait.

- As noted, Nancy died from her injuries. Bob is in serious condition and is being treated at a nearby hospital.

-Mrs. Strait’s funeral was on Friday, March 23, 2012.

-The family has set up a fund—The Nancy Strait and Bob Strait Support Trust—to help pay for Nancy’s funeral service and Bob’s medical care.

-The Tulsa cops are looking for five more murderous morons suspected in this sick and twisted tale.

I wonder if President Obama is going to lecture the nation on this despicable act and tell us something similar to what he said regarding Trayvon’s shooting, namely:

“It is absolutely imperative that we investigate every aspect of this and that everybody pulls together—federal, state and local—to figure out exactly how this tragedy happened. I think all of us have to do some soul searching to ask ourselves how does something like this happen? And that means that we examine the laws, the context for what happened, as well as the specifics of the incident.”

Will Spike Lee and the New Black Panther Party tweet Tyrone’s address and put out a bounty on the remaining pieces of crap who have yet to be arrested for killing Nancy and brutally beating Bob? Spike and his ilk are all about “justice,” correct? Or is it more about “just us”?

For two more (out of many) recent black-on-white crimes that have ranged from unreported to insanely underreported, click here and here.

SOURCE




LA:  Baton Rouge Police are investigating a home invasion that left one of the suspects in critical condition.:  "Around 7:30 pm Saturday night officers responded to a shooting at 5517 Arialo St.  When they arrived on the scene, they found that two suspects attempted to invade the home at that address. During the robbery, one of the victims fought with one of the armed suspects over the gun. The gun discharged during the struggle and hit the second suspect. Both suspects fled the scene to Baker, La. where they called 911.  Detectives along with Baker Police were able to determine that the shooting did not occur in Baker and that they were the suspects from Arialo St invasion.  The suspect that was shot was transported to a local hospital where he is in critical condition. The other suspect, identified as 32-year-old Chauncy Carter of Zachary, was booked into EBRSO Prison for Armed Robbery, Attempted First Degree Murder, and Illegal use of a Weapon.

NBC producer fired over Zimmerman 911 call

NBC News has fired a producer for editing a recording of George Zimmerman's call to police the night he shot Trayvon Martin, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said.

The person was not authorised to talk about the situation publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity. The identity of the producer was not disclosed.

An NBC spokeswoman declined to comment.

The producer's dismissal followed an internal investigation that led to NBC apologising for having aired the misleading audio.

NBC's "Today" show first aired the edited version of Zimmerman's call on March 27. The recording viewers heard was trimmed to suggest that Zimmerman volunteered to police, with no prompting, that Martin was black: "This guy looks like he's up to no good. He looks black."

But the portion of the tape that was deleted had the 911 dispatcher asking Zimmerman if the person who had raised his suspicion was "black, white or Hispanic," to which Zimmerman responded, "He looks black."

Later that night of Feb. 26, the 17-year-old Martin was fatally shot by Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer in Sanford, Florida. Though Martin was unarmed, Zimmerman told police he fired in self-defence after Martin attacked him.

Questions subsequently have arisen over whether Zimmerman was racially profiling the teen, a theory the edited version of the tape seemed to support.

Source





CA: Home invaders flee after exchange of gunfire:  "A Valley Hi resident apparently chased home invaders from his home Friday, exchanging gunfire with the would-be robbers, police reported.  The man was with his girlfriend at home in the 4000 block of Deer Cross Way at about 6:50 p.m. when three suspects forced their way into the home.  The men, described as two African Americans and a Hispanic, were wielding guns.  They demanded money and jewelry, but the victim was able to retrieve a shotgun.  No one was reported injured in the subsequent exchange of gunfire.  The intruders left driving in a silver sedan."


IL: SAF sues over public housing gun ban:  "The Second Amendment Foundation has filed a federal lawsuit against the Warren County, Illinois Housing Authority, seeking an injunction against the WCHA’s ban on personally-owned firearms by residents of government-subsidized housing.The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Ronald G. Winbigler, a resident of Costello Terrace in Monmouth. Mr. Winbigler is a physically disabled former police officer who wants to have a handgun in his residence for personal protection."