Posted on 11/29/2013 6:22:50 AM PST by Uncle Chip
The homeowner who shot and killed a 72-year-old man with advanced Alzheimer's Disease after he rang his bell when he became lost and confused in the middle of the night might be charged in the man’s death.
Ronald Westbrook rang the doorbell of a home at 4am on Wednesday after wandering around in the dark for almost four hours in rural Walker County, Georgia, wearing just a light jacket and a straw hat in the cold 20 degree temperatures.
He had walked around three miles from his home by the time he approached the door. Sheriff Steve Wilson said he thinks he approached that particular house because the porch light was on, according to the Chattanooga Times.
Joe Hendrix, 34, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, who had moved into the house two weeks earlier with his fiancé, went outside to confront the man carrying his handgun.
Hendrix's fiancee, whose name Wilson declined to give, called 911 and stayed on the phone with an emergency dispatcher who sent two sheriff's office patrol cars en route.
The sheriff said the dispatcher who stayed on the phone with Hendrix's fiancee wasn't aware Hendrix went outside the house with a handgun.
When Westbrook didn’t react to his verbal commands, Hendrix fired four shots, one which hit him in the chest, killing him.
Wilson said that Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney Herbert ‘Buzz’ Franklin, whom Wilson called to the shooting scene, might bring charges after reviewing all the evidence, according to Chattanooga Times.
‘We reserve our options and rights to file charges once the investigation is complete, if we feel like Georgia law warrants charges being filed,’ Wilson said.
Georgia's 2006 ‘stand-your-ground’ law that allows people to use deadly force to protect themselves ‘may apply to this case’, Wilson said....
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
hard to call this justified or right as a shooting.
facts are very thin of course.
Showing off for the little lady, eh?
“With great power comes great responsibility” - Spiderman’s uncle
If someone is on the outside and you are on the inside and the person on the outside isn’t damaging the door or breaking windows, just call the cops.
True. Alzeheimer’s patients are not infrequently verbally or physically aggressive.
Though I would consider that a poor justification for shooting an elderly man.
Most critically, there does not appear to be any real need for him to have gone outside, or to have confronted this man directly. There is a whole lot to be said for staying inside and calling the cops. Person breaks in, that’s a whole other ballgame legally and morally.
I do love the way the media always concentrates on the mental health status of the shootee, as if that is something the person he was confronting knew or could have known.
Show up on my door step with nothing but a Panama hat and a light jacket and I will plug your naked butt. Actually, we are not getting all of the story. I suspect the old man was acting in a most bizarre manner, jesturing and making noises that would frighten the French. A sad event but I can surely understand what caused the shooter to do the deed.
Not so sure. If it’s similar to Florida’s law, Mr. Hendrix had every right to be outside in his front yard, and would have the right to defend himself there, using deadly force if necessary. Would have to show he had reason to fear death or severe bodily harm (whatever that means).
That’s murder. The man wasn’t trying to break in. Murder. No doubt at all. No room for discussion. Murder.
When Westbrook didn’t react to his verbal commands, Hendrix fired four shots
What do you figure those commands were:
Sit -- Roll over -- Bark -- Beg -- Play Dead.
Who the h did Hendrix think he was -- an animal trainer???
>> Show up on my door step with nothing but a Panama hat and a light jacket and I will plug your naked butt.
Fair enough. Although I suspect the old guy actually had pants on too. “only a light jacket” is maybe just their sloppy way of saying he wasn’t dressed appropriately for the weather.
In Texas, I have the right to defend my property, as well as myself. Cops take a long time to show up.
/johnny
That depends on the jurisdiction. In Texas, I have the right to defend my property. The rules change during hours of darkness.
I will leave my house and confront anyone that doesn't belong on my property. Every time.
/johnny
Sounds like murder.
If the facts are as stated, he should be charged.
You just can’t shoot an unarmed person who is not threatening you. His life was in no way threatened.
It sounds like an idiot with a gun. Too anxious to use it.
Really? So you look out the window and see 40 or 50 amish youths on your porch and banging on your windows and door, and you’re going outside? Good luck with that.
After all, I'm a law-abiding conservative.
/johnny
Yup. Unfortunately, there is a subset of people who think guns are magic wands and fantasize about using them as such.
There is an old saw about never pointing a gun at a person unless you intend to kill him. A corollary would be to never put yourself into a position where you will be pointing a gun at someon unless the situation justifies you killing them.
It seems very unlikely this was the case here.
That depends on the jurisdiction, and what the circumstances are.
/johnny
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