Posted on 05/05/2006 10:02:03 AM PDT by kiriath_jearim
Dad says he shot son in self-defense
By JUSTIN BOGGS Staff Writer
VICTORVILLE — A former sheriff's deputy accused of murdering his son walked the jury through the moments that led to him pulling the trigger.
It was an emotional second day of testimony Tuesday as James Smith, 58, stood in the middle of the courtroom showing the jury which hand he used to fire the shot that killed his son.
"I don't remember pulling the trigger," Smith said. "But I know I did."
With his shoulders slumped, Smith broke into tears as he told the court how he tried desper- ately to aid his son immediately after the shooting.
"I saw the bullet hole and the blood coming out of him," Smith told the jury. "I rolled him over and tried to stop the blood ..."
"I told my son he needed help right away," Smith said.
"I was telling (sheriff's) dispatch to hurry up ... I didn't want my son to die."
Smith is accused of murdering his son, Joshua Smith, 20, inside the family's Hesperia home on Aug. 27, 2004 following a physical confrontation between the two.
James Smith, who has pleaded innocent, faces one count of murder. If convicted, he faces 50 years to life in state prison, said Deputy District Attorney Anil Kaushal.
James Smith, who worked as a sheriff's deputy in the High Desert during the 1980s, tried to shed light on comments he made in an interview with investigators the day of the killing.
Near the end of that interview, James Smith questioned why he was being arrested for murder, asking detectives what probable cause they had "besides a dead body."
"When I made that statement, they surprised me when they placed me under arrest, James Smith said Tuesday. "I thought it was as obvious to them as it was to me that it (the shooting) was self-defense."
What in the world were they arguing about?
A bit more on this case. The article posted is nothing if not cryptic:
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Murder trial jury hears interview recording
Smith charged in 2004 shooting death of his son
By JUSTIN BOGGS Staff Writer
VICTORVILLE — A former sheriff's deputy on trial for allegedly murdering his son initially showed remorse in an interview with detectives but later asked them what evidence they had for probable cause. A recording of the interview was played for the jury Tuesday. In the interview, which was conducted just hours after the shooting, James Smith, 57, cries as he tells sheriff's investigators he didn't mean to kill his son. "I can't believe I shot my own son," Smith tearfully told detectives. After about two hours, his tone is different when authorities told Smith they were booking him into jail for murder.
"What's your probable cause for that besides a dead body?" Smith replied.
Smith has been charged with one count of murder for the Aug. 27, 2004, shooting death of his son, Joshua Smith, 20, according to court records. Joshua Smith was found dead inside the family's home in the 13400 block of Mountain Drive in Hesperia, according to testimony heard at trial.
James Smith has pleaded innocent. If convicted, he faces 50 years to life in state prison, said Deputy District Attorney Anil Kaushal.
During the interview, investi- gators questioned James Smith about his relationship with his son and events that led to the shooting.
James Smith said that at times he and his son were very close but told detectives that on previous occasions the two had become physically violent. Following one prior altercation in the family's kitchen, James Smith said he threatened to use a weapon against his son if ever the two exchanged blows inside the house again.
"I (told Joshua Smith that I) am going to grab a bottle, a knife, a gun, whatever I can ... ," said James Smith.
"I am not going to let anyone kick my ass in my own house," he said.
James Smith told detectives that the on the afternoon of the shooting, his son arrived home in a rage and began punching him. James Smith said that after the fight, Joshua Smith walked towards the front door and began screaming at his mother. It was then that James Smith walked into another room and retrieved the .357-caliber revolver that fired the shot that killed his son, he said.
When James Smith returned with the gun, his son resumed punching him. While blocking his son's punches with his right arm, he fired the gun with his left hand, James Smith tells investigators.
"I was just afraid," James Smith said in the interview.
"I didn't want to kill him, that's for sure. I just wanted him to stop beating me."
I know this guy.
He is a fine human and a very easy going individual. If he says he had to pull the trigger, I would believe him. He will be in my prayers.
"I am not going to let anyone kick my ass in my own house," he said.
I can understand that ... if he had to shoot him ... why not the leg or arm?
This is awful.
I don't know him but I can understand the situation.
I doubt too that he wanted to kill his son.
Does anyone know if his son was armed when this happened?
There is no such thing as "shooting to wound." It only works that way in cheesy TV shows and B movies.
The reason you pull a trigger in self-defense is because you need to make the person you are shooting at stop what they are doing this instant.
Punching a hole through any part of their body with a couple of hundred foot-pounds of energy is not conducive to their continued breathing.
there are alot of good families out there whose kids have turned to drugs and have become violent and unpredictable. I don't know if this was the case but for some reason that is how I imagine it.
What happened to Marvin Gaye's Father?
A twenty year old kid has no business charging into his parents' home screaming at and physically attacking them.
At that point it is just another home invasion.
No man should have to be forced to kill his own son, but if what happened is true: I don't fault the father.
One life gone and two others ruined by a momentary act.
Society is ill equipped to adjudicate these circumstances.
Few are served regardless of the outcome of this legal proceeding.
If the bullet cuts the brachial artery in the arm, or the femoral artery in the leg, the person is pretty much a dead man.
One human stress response is the loss of fine motor control. Your fingers lose the ability to point precisely enough to aim at an arm or a leg. That's one of the many reasons defensive shooters are taught to aim for the human center of mass, which is the torso.
Cops are taught to shoot defensively, not to shoot guns out of peoples' hands, etc. Handguns, even for the police, are a weapon of last resort.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.