Posted on 05/22/2009 1:48:45 PM PDT by Drew68
Jerome Ersland was back at work Thursday filling prescriptions and hoping that by taking the life of a 16-year-old boy two days earlier, he had saved others.
Rubbing an oversized bandage on his left forearm, where he said he was grazed by a robber’s bullet, Ersland related details of what he said was a highly organized hit on the Reliable Discount Pharmacy.
"I just regret anybody would get killed,” Ersland said. "But if I wouldn’t have been here, there would have been three people killed — the other pharmacist and the two techs.”
He also recalls the angry voices of people who gathered outside the pharmacy Tuesday night, shouting that he was a racist who unnecessarily took a life of the Seeworth Academy charter school student, Antwun Parker.
"There were a lot of black people gathered out there yelling and everything at my boss,” Ersland said.
An organized hit
After the pharmacy near SW 59 and Pennsylvania was robbed two years ago, the owner installed new security measures to try to make sure his employees would never again be forced to a back room and pistol-whipped. "We have a very good security system,” Ersland said, motioning to the magnetic door locks that won’t let anyone in or out of the store without permission. "The door locks, and they (robbers) knew that. They had cased it because they knew exactly what time to hit us when we’d have all of our narcotics out and our money out.”
About 10 minutes before 6 p.m., Ersland said, two robbers wearing ski masks waited for someone to leave the pharmacy and then grabbed the open door and threw down a board to stop the door from closing.
The robbers went in cursing and yelling, ordering employees to give them money and drugs, Ersland said.
Two women who were working behind the counter ran for a back room where they would be safe, but Ersland said he couldn’t run. Ersland said he’s a veteran with disabilities from wounds he received in Operation Desert Storm, wears a cumbersome back brace and just had his latest back surgery six weeks ago.
"All of a sudden, they started shooting,” he said. "They were attempting to kill me, but they didn’t know I had a gun. They said, ‘You’re gonna die.’ That’s when one of them shot at me, and that’s when he got my hand.”
Ersland said he was thrown against a wall, but managed to go for the semiautomatic in his pocket.
"And that’s when I started defending myself,” he said. "The first shot got him in the head, and that slowed him down so I could get my other gun.”
But as one robber hit the floor, Ersland said, a bullet from the other robber whizzed past his ear.
The pharmacist said he then got his second gun from a nearby drawer, a Taurus "Judge.”
After he had the big gun, Ersland said, the second robber ran.
But as he started to chase after the second robber, Ersland said, he looked back to see the 16-year-old he had shot in the head getting up again. Ersland said he then emptied the Kel-Tec .380 into the boy’s chest as he kept going after the second robber.
"I went after the other guy, but he was real fast and I’m crippled,” Ersland said.
Outside the pharmacy, he said he saw what he thought was a third black male in a car with the engine running and reaching for what appeared to be a shotgun.
"I pulled out my ‘Judge’ and pointed it right between his eyes and he floored it,” Ersland said.
The investigation
Because of the sensitive nature of the investigation, police said they could not confirm any of Ersland’s story, including whether Ersland was shot, whether the robbers ever fired on him or even if Parker was armed. On Thursday, police were still looking for the second robber, described as a black man in his 20s, about 5 feet, 7 inches tall, and weighing about 175 pounds. The man was last seen wearing a red shirt and dark pants.
A man was arrested about a block away after crashing a stolen car that fit the description Ersland gave, but police said the man has not been linked to the robbery.
After the gunfire
When he went back in the pharmacy, Ersland said, he called police.
"I asked if the girls were all right, and they were in the back crying,” he said. "I was glad to know they were alive. We were lucky and I’m glad I defended us, because I feel that a person has a right to defend themselves at their home or at their work. People deserve to be safe and not be afraid of people that want to take money when they don’t work for it.”
That’s what the Second Amendment and the state’s "concealed carry” license are for, he said.
"Fortunately, God made them miss me, except for this minor scratch,” Ersland said.
"I was able to return fire and protect the girls’ lives. God was helping me.”
That scene is repeated all over this country. I see it frequently in Washington DC (DC is local news, for me). There's a deep sickness or evil in that community such that:
1) Numerous of its members jump to excuse the criminals amongst them and
2) None of its members seem to rebuke those who spew the lame excuses.
Absolutely correct!
I carry a Seacamp .32 about that size and it fits very nicely right in my jeans pocket.
Not to worry. I'm sure the press will locate one: you know, the obligatory one of him smiling and wearing his cap and gown.
It’s a sound practice for law enforcement not to spout off about things until they’ve had a chance to investigate, compare notes and sort out the situation.
F you Porch Monkeys, go somewhere else to steal.
Didn't hit a vital organ ...
;'}
That's what they always say.
All that’s missing is that he was hoping to pursue a career as a rap musician when his dreams were so rudely shattered..
Uh, that would be Washington, DC and Baltimore. And Oakland.
i hope someone sends a link to Mr Ersland of Freep with this thread so he can see there are people all across the country who are proud of what he did!
I also carry the P-32 very slim great for pocket have the clip installed so it hangs right in the pocket ready for fast draw if needed, loaded with hollow tips.
Everyone knows you dont hit them in the head no brains thick bone aim for the body.
"police said they could not confirm any of Ersland’s story"
Maybe the ski mask on the dead guy is some kind of proof?
yitbos
A very tacky post to appear on FR.
“The template here is...sympathetic interviews with momma, baby-momma, and fellow homies: “he was trying to turn his life around”, “my baby never hurt nobody before”, “the system failed him”, “he ran with the wrong people for too long”, etc.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2212761/posts?page=73#73
and what do we have here?:
“I know my brother is not capable of even thinking about holding a gun to someone’s head or trying to rob their store,”
and
“She said he may have become involved with the wrong crowd.”
now if you’ll excuse me I have to look for another local source reporting that he was “turning his life around.”
http://www.koco.com/news/19531910/detail.html
Cleta Jennings said that she’s certain that her son didn’t plan to rob Reliable Pharmacy. She said he may have become involved with the wrong crowd. said Parker’s sister, Brittany Baldwin. “My brother didn’t have intentions of robbing that store.”
Baldwin said her family is having a hard believing what police said about the circumstances surrounding Antwun’s death.
“I know my brother is not capable of even thinking about holding a gun to someone’s head or trying to rob their store,” she said. “If (Ensland) would have called the cops, I would rather him be in jail than on that table.”
Parker’s family said they need help burying him. Donations can be sent to Temple & Sons Funeral Home in Antwun Parker’s name. His funeral is scheduled for Wednesday at 11 a.m.
It hit the perp in the head, a non-vital organ in his case.
I had to admit it, but (based on the news clip from the TV news site) the urban family of the now dead yute has some pretty compelling arguments I hadn’t considered in this shooting:
1. There are 5 people in his family
2. He’s not capable of it, although he was hanging out with some bad people
3. He loved playing basketball
4. He loved drawing pichures [sic]
5. He was their baby
6. He had just tried out for the football team
You see her points, right? I mean...he enjoyed drawing pictures, you see...? You don’t?!
Not any worse than many others, truth prevails.
Maybe, I’m getting old and nasty but I think the cops need to start going after the families of these scum. I mean, at the very least, they’ve received stolen good, right?
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.