Posted on 10/30/2005 11:24:26 PM PST by tarawa
Teens testify of being shot with 'wad rounds' from shotgun |
Midland Reporter-Telegram 10/21/2005
By Bob Campbell
Staff Writer
A classroom-size group of teenage witnesses testified Thursday that Jared Longbotham either shot them with "wad rounds" from his 12-gauge shotgun or let them see him shooting others before mistakenly blasting Brett Ledford in the back with a live round last March 11.
Convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon Wednesday, Longbotham will go into the second day of the punishment phase of his 238th District Court trial at 8:30 a.m. today. He could get between two and 20 years in prison or a probated term.
Ten witnesses had testified by mid-afternoon Thursday with First Assistant District Attorney Teresa Clingman slated to call 15 more when Judge John Hyde asked jurors their scheduling preference.
They said after a recess they would continue hearing testimony Thursday night, finish the last of the witnesses at mid-morning today, hear final arguments from Clingman and defense lawyers Hal Brockett and Ray Fivecoat and try to recommend a sentence before the day is over.
Jurors heard the case into the night, with defense witnesses -- among them Longbotham's Sunday school teacher -- testifying until about 8 p.m.
Noting that going into Saturday was another option, Hyde said, "We have to finish the trial."
Ledford, now an 18-year-old, second-string left offensive tackle on the Midland High football team, testified first at 9 a.m. Thursday, saying he "wasn't able to sleep and had flashbacks" about the near-fatal shooting outside T&T Donuts at Garfield Street and West Wadley Avenue.
"How did you sleep last night?" asked Clingman.
"Very well," said the victim, smiling.
Ledford's mother JonAnne, principal of Bonham Elementary School, said her youngest child now sleeps in a recliner because it is more comfortable than a bed and avoids his attacker. She said Brett once came into her Sunday school class at the First Baptist Church, explaining, "Longbotham is in the hallway."
The first witness to say Longbotham shot him with a shotgun shell with the lead pellets removed was 18-year-old Bobby Scalzo, who said he was hit on the back of his leg at a ranch south of Midland International Airport in September last year and again outside his home three weeks later.
"I had on basketball shorts and he shot me in the back of the leg from a distance of about 5 feet," said Scalzo. "Then he just turned around and went on about his business."
Clingman had prepared firing range evidence that a wad, or plastic pellet cup, flies more than 900 feet per second at close range. Scalzo said his leg bled and took about a month to heal.
Former MHS student Alyssa Pierce said she went to Albert Valenzuela's ranch with Longbotham, her ex-boyfriend Logan Maxey and other teens and was sitting on a pickup tailgate when shot from 20 feet away.
"I felt a sting in my lower back and Jared and Logan were jumping up and down laughing at me," said Pierce. "Jared had the gun in his hands when I turned around. I drove home and there was blood on the seat of my Tahoe."
Assuring Brockett she was not offended, the witness said, "If you're with your friends, you don't want to act like you're not tough."
Andrew Stuck, 18, said Longbotham shot him on the right side of his rib cage outside the Bluebird Lane home of Longbotham's parents "after a football game" during the 2004 season. "It didn't go into me," Stuck said, adding the wad left a round bruise 8 inches wide.
"It just ripped the skin up. I didn't tell anybody because I didn't want anything to happen to Jared. There're times when he can be a little rough, but most of the time he's a good friend."
Jason Cunningham, 20, said he and Longbotham once made three young men strip to their underwear at the ranch because a girl's purse was missing.
Clingman elicited Cunningham's testimony that Longbotham fired what sounded like a live round into the air to quiet a crowd of 15 teens and told the three suspects, "I'm going to shoot y'all if you don't tell us where the money is!"
Cunningham said he apologized to the youths when a search of their clothing produced no money. "I know it wasn't right, but we were just looking for the money," he said.
Defense witnesses testifying late, which included Longbotham's friends and former boss, described him as a nice guy who was not a threat and could follow the rules if placed on probation.
One young man described Longbotham as a "big ol' teddy bear."
Man this whole thing is STUPID!
The kid needs to be convicted and sentenced to the max and the other kids need to stop being idiots.
I still say the only reason the human race has survived this long is procreation because there are WAY too many stupid people out there.
Hmm... a wad round from 5 feet away would do a heck of a lot more damage than some light bleeding and a month to heal fully.
Regardless... this whole thing is just plain idiotic and anyone who "plays around" with firearms in this manner needs to be beaten just for plain stupidity and then thrown in jail.
Does anyone remember Jon Erik Hexum?
http://www.findadeath.com/Deceased/h/Jon%20Eric%20Hexum/jon_erik_hexum.htm
People are stupid. But it sounds like these kids knew they were hurting people.
Darwin or Intelligent Design? I see evidence here of random processes and not of much intelligence.
John Eric Hexum is no more
A single blank from a .44
No less and no more.
The kid needs to be convicted and sentenced to the max and the other kids need to stop being idiots.
I agree, these boys need to be severely punished however not to the "max". Some judge needs to come up with a very creative sentence to teach them about how to safely use firearms and the rights of others.
You. Just. Don't. DO. [stuff]. Like. That. NO EXCUSES.
"Your Honor - we the jury find that the kid needs a wad round in-his-mouth-and-out-the-other-side at 1" range and then can be released to the custody of his embalmer."
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