Posted on 04/20/2005 4:38:37 PM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist
Glenwood Springs police officers responded to a call Saturday night from Valley View Hospital, where a man was being treated for a gunshot wound.
The man told the officers that he'd been shot in a drive-by shooting in Carbondale. Then he told them the drive-by actually happened in Glenwood Springs. Eventually he admitted he shot himself in the left thigh trying to pull a handgun out of his pants while driving in Glenwood Springs.
"He decided he better not have us out there pulling over cars that didn't have anything to do with shooting him," said Glenwood Springs Police chief Terry Wilson.
The 27-year-old man, Juan Carlos Almanzo-Torres, of Glenwood Springs, was about to pick up a passenger, and didn't want the gun in his waistband, Wilson said.
The initial stories were "not appreciated" by Carbondale and Glenwood Springs police departments, nor the Garfield County Sheriff, all of whom were looking for suspect vehicles, said Wilson.
Almanzo-Torres was charged on suspicion of false reporting, prohibited use of a firearm because he'd been drinking, and theft by receiving, because the gun he shot himself with had been reported stolen in Arizona, Wilson said.
The GSPD hadn't heard back from Arizona officials on specifics of the gun's history, Wilson said.
Police are confident Almanzo-Torres shot himself and that his initial stories were false, Wilson said. Self-inflicted gunshot wounds aren't common in Glenwood Springs, but Wilson said he's seen them before.
If a person is unfamiliar with a gun, or handles it improperly, the chances of being hurt increase, he said.
Saturday's incident of a man sitting down in a car with a gun tucked in his pants was "not a great idea," Wilson said.
BTTT
Juan was just doing silly things that Americans won't do.
Uh oh. Nothing like lying about shooting yourself in the leg with a stolen gun. His stories about how he ended up with the stolen AZ gun should be entertaining....
BUMP
Too bad he didn't blow his balls off; Juan Carlos Almanzo-Torres isn't too bright. Wouldn't be fair to burden a child with his genes.
Agree, but:
Suppose he HAD blown his family jewels away would he qualify for a Darwin Award?
No, but Big Jim and the Twins would be eligible.
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