Posted on 07/11/2009 7:44:21 AM PDT by marktwain
Luke Sanchez in court Monday911 tapes in a deadly shooting that has sparked a huge debate over self-defense shed more light on what happened the night Luke Sanchez shot Gary Gabaldon. Supporters, who are trying to get the murder charge against Sanchez dropped, say he was defending himself against a man who attacked with a weapon—and that he was just following the dispatcher's orders to get a license plate number.
But was that the case?
On the tapes, you can hear a frantic Luke Sanchez tell the 911 operator he had just shot a suspected burglar.
He goes on to say that after being attacked, he "had to do it."
LUKE SANCHEZ: "I'm following them, they just robbed the place." What started as Luke Sanchez calling 911 to report a suspected burglary, quickly turned into this:
LUKE SANCHEZ: Get back! Stay there! Stay there! DISPATCHER: Oh my god! Christina! SANCHEZ: I just shot one! I just shot one! DISPATCHER: There was a possible burglary in progress and now ... I can hear yelling. SANCHEZ: He punched my window out! I just shot one! DISPATCHER: Oh, (expletive). Sir, what was that? SANCHEZ: I just killed one! Sanchez is now charged with murder after shooting and killing suspected burglar Gary Gabaldon.
Sanchez's supporters, who are circulating a petition to get the charges dropped, say it's a clear case of self-defense.
Supporter Alfred Gabaldon said Friday, "If I was getting attacked with a tire iron, I'd have shot him too."
"It clearly states on the petition that Luke was just acting on what the 911 Operator asked him to do, which was to go ahead and get the license plate number," supporter Charli Thompson said.
But are either of those claims true?
The 911 tapes released from the night of the shooting give no indication that the dispatcher told Sanchez to get Gary Gabaldon's license plate number.
Sanchez tells the dispatcher that Gary Gabaldon used his fist to break the window:
SANCHEZ: He punched my window out! DISPATCHER: Luke, Luke, I need you to put the gun down. SANCHEZ): The minivan took off. DISPATCHER): Ok, but I need you to put your gun down. Luke, I need you to put your gun down. SANCHEZ: It's down. Please send the sheriff. Moments later, Sanchez tells the dispatcher he had no choice but to shoot.
SANCHEZ: They dropped some of the stuff that they stole when the guy took off. I had to do it, he attacked me. A police report says Luke Sanchez told officers that Gabaldon broke his window with some type of object, then repeatedly hit him in the face.
Investigators Friday said it does not appear Gabaldon had a weapon.
Authorities say the second burglary suspect, Rudy Sisneros, is fully cooperating with investigators.
Deputies say the 22-year-old was in the minivan Saturday night and drove off after the deadly shooting.
Sisneros turned himself in on Wednesday.
Authorities say Sisneros could be key to this case, because he's likely the only person who saw exactly what happened between Sanchez and Gabaldon.
Sisneros should be charged with manslaughter in most states because he was involved in a felony that led to an unnatural death.
But here oddly it looks like he may get off because the local authorities for some reason want to prosecute a man who killed a criminal in self defense.
Luke was following them and when they got to a street where there was no lighting, Gary got out of his car, walked back to Luke's car and he broke out the window and started punching Luke in the face. I don't believe that Gary broke the window with his hand. He would have hurt his hand too much to still be able to punch Luke several times in the face. I saw his picture and the left side of Luke's face was red and starting to bruise. His eye was bloody and he probably had a black eye from the beating.
The sad thing about it is that Gary and Luke knew each other and had it not been such a dark corner they would have recognized each other and Gary would be alive today. Luke did nothing wrong, IMO. The real criminals here are Gary and his buddy, not Luke.
Saw another story on this Marine
In April, two men broke into his friend’s home, and Sanchez spotted them fleeing law enforcement. They escaped.
The next day, he spotted the same two men walking along a nearby ditchbank and recognized them.
He then called 911 and held the two men at gunpoint until deputies arrived, Rivera said. The sheriff said the two apparently returned to the ditchbank to retrieve stolen items.
No one was injured in that case, and the burglary suspects were taken into custody without incident. One was eventually charged with burglary.
“We’re always looking for the help of the public,” Rivera said. “But the one thing I tell the public is not to jeopardize their own safety to try to help law enforcement.”
Count on cries of “VIgilante”
I do agree with you about FReepers keeping us advised with local information.
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