Posted on 05/28/2009 4:16:30 PM PDT by Red in Blue PA
People called, wrote notes and went in person to offer condolences and support after a southwest Oklahoma City pharmacist was charged Wednesday in connection with last weeks shooting death of a robbery suspect, the store owner said this morning.
Douglas Sizemore, owner of Reliable Discount Pharmacy at 5900 S Pennsylvania Ave., said despite a first-degree murder charge against employee Jerome Ersland, 57, the store is open and Erslands status as pharmacist has not changed. Erslands actions during a robbery attempt left a 16-year-old dead.
Weve had tons of calls and letters from people who want to help and we are taking all of that down, Sizemore said.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsok.com ...
Hell he would have made employee of the year if it was up to me
> Ersland shot and killed Antwun Parker, 16, after Parker and a gun-toting masked teen burst in and tried to rob the store.
Judging by this description, the kid had it coming unfortunately. Lemme guess, the cliche’d “he was a good kid...honest” statements are pouring in...
Me too.
Give the guy a medal and the key to the city.
He shot the robber once in the head and five times in the chest... must have been using a revolver.
How did you guess. He loved dancing, sports, yada yada yada.
Oh, he also like sticking guns in peoples faces and robbng them.
..nothing a dirt nap couldn’t help kids like that.
It appears to be a hate crime as well.
.380 for the first shot. Taurus Judge for the remaining 5.
People who have never had a gun pointed at them (especially by a masked bandit) have no appreciation what goes through your mind. Psychologically hard-wired, fight-or-flight instincts kick in, and unless you've gone through a tremendous amount of contemporary training, I think it's perfectly reasonable to unload any weapon you have until you're empty. It's just a reaction.
First degree murder is completely uncalled for and this prosecutor should be run out of town on a rail. The fact of the matter is if young Antwun would have been at home studying for finals instead of trying to rob a pharmacy, he'd be alive today.
Added ‘ersland’ as a keyword to all related threads.
Agree with everything you said.
People should not be second guessing this guy. He saved lives through his actions.
I agree, the public should make this prosecutor feel extreme heat.
Seems like they arrested the 1st gunman and the getaway driver and the DA says they will NOT be charged with felony murder as they would be in PA.
What if he was charged with the first knowing that there wouldn’t be a conviction.
But together those two weapons hold WAY more than six rounds. I wonder why he stopped shooting. Maybe he was concerned the other robber was still around somewhere.
;^)
This is all I need to know.
I support the pharmacist completely now!
This should be challenged for malicious prosecution. The employee was being robbed at gunpoint and obviously feared for his life. There is NO WAY the perps didn't massively aggravate their own justifiable demise, or that the premeditated deliberation requirement of murder one could even remotely be met.
And as for the number of shots fired, defense should enter into evidence a few dozen recent cop self-defense shootings, each one consisting of multiple cops emptying entire magazines into the armed or potentially armed perp while the cops feared for their lives.
Politics is one thing, but prosecutors like these turn the whole justice system into a farce.
Kudos to the owner Sizemore. What a stand up guy.
After you see a gun, I’m sure everything goes a bit tipsy. It’s too bad the unarmed kid was shot, but what the hey. Don’t rob pharmacies with your buddies.
As a judge my determination would very much be influenced by who entered the other person’s property to commit mayhem.
Did the pharmacist go out of his way to harm the boys, or did the boys go out of their way to harm the pharmacist?
I would like to think I would not have shot the unarmed kid. I just don’t know it would have worked out that way. If one guy was brandishing, the next guy could very easily be suspected of being armed, and just moments from turning on you himself.
The boys took a big gamble, and one paid the ultimate penalty.
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.