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Posted on 06/14/2002 6:46:47 AM PDT by MeneMeneTekelUpharsin
A personal-injury lawyer was shot to death in his Beaumont office Thursday, and a 79-year-old Vidor man -- described as a disgruntled would-be client claiming asbestos injuries -- was arrested on a murder charge. Police said senior partner Cris Edward Quinn was slain with a shotgun blast to the upper body at 8:45 a.m. inside his office at the firm of Reaud, Morgan & Quinn at 801 Laurel. When police arrived a few minutes later, the accused assailant, Richard Joseph Gerzine, was being restrained by lawyer Trent Bond, who was unharmed. Gerzine, who turns 80 next week, was taken to a hospital for observation at his request, police said.
Gerzine was booked into Jefferson County Jail and charged with murder Thursday evening, said Beaumont police dispatch supervisor Cheryl Ridinger. Gerzine was scheduled to be arraigned this morning, said Carman Apple, Beaumont police spokeswoman. Vidor Mayor Joe Hopkins said Gerzine was a resident at a local nursing home and rode the senior citizens' transport bus to Beaumont. One of the law firm's specialties is asbestos-related plaintiff's litigation, and Gerzine apparently was annoyed that the firm wouldn't represent him on his proposed asbestosis claim, police said.
"He was initially signed up as a client, but somewhere down the line they advised him they could not represent him (because) the medical reports were not conducive to asbestosis litigation," said Beaumont Police officer Carman Apple. "They advised him they could not represent him, and he became very disgruntled," she said. Among those interviewed by police was Wayne Reaud, who wasn't in the office at the time of the shooting. Reaud is one of the private lawyers who was hired by former Attorney General Dan Morales in the state's fight with the tobacco industry and who later collected a multimillion-dollar fee for his work. Reaud declined to comment after telling police his attention was focused on helping Quinn's widow and five children. The tragedy unfolded after Gerzine appeared at the law office unannounced, asking to see Quinn.
"Apparently, he was armed with a concealed shotgun when he walked into the office and requested to see Mr. Quinn," Apple said, adding that the 12-gauge shotgun with a pistol grip was hidden in a plain brown paper-wrapped box. "Mr. Quinn came up to the lobby area and escorted him back into his office. According to the witnesses that we've interviewed so far, Mr. Gerzine was in Mr. Quinn's office and they heard two shots being fired," Apple said. Quinn died at the scene. Bond rushed in from his neighboring office and subdued the assailant, police said. Quinn, a lawyer since 1980, was an Oklahoma City native who studied law at Baylor University in Waco. He played football for the Bears and was a member of the 1974 team that won the Southwest Conference title. Family, judges, lawyers, church leaders and a host of other community members who knew Quinn painted a picture of a devoted family man and skilled counselor respected in the legal community. "It's still a big shock," John Quinn said of his 47-year-old brother's death. "We're kind of on and off. Some are OK and then they break down again."
Former coach Grant Teaff, who led Baylor to 128 wins and two Southwest Conference titles, called Quinn an exceptional athlete who also wanted to excel in academics. "He was a really good football player, but I was just as proud of him as a husband and father," Teaff told the Beaumont Enterprise in today's editions. "He had a great family." District Judge Larry Gist, of the drug impact court, described Quinn as "one of the good ones." "There are a lot of long snakes in the grass in the legal profession and he wasn't one of them," Gist said. John Olson said he served with Quinn on the board of directors of the Beaumont Youth Soccer Club for the past three years. He said Quinn gave his time and money to support the club. "Cris Quinn was a fine man," friend George Shipley, an Austin political consultant, said. "He was a very fine attorney and was very widely respected throughout Southeast Texas."
Thanks for posting this. Certainly a sad event.
I'm repeatedly surprised by the lack of security in places like law offices, especially when attorneys choose to work cases like asbestos. I can't believe this individual (the shooter) had not exhibited some irrational behavior earlier, not to mention he was carrying a suspicious package.
Being in a "condition white" mindset can get you killed.
On to victory over the moochers and bandwidth thieves.
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On another note, a friend who works as a store cashier had a customer who wanted her to cash a $600 check. She typed in the customer's ID number and it alerted her that this customer had several thousand dollars in hot checks to the store. She asked the teenaged girl if she had any outstanding checks to the store because her name was showing an alert. THe girl got belligerent: "Yes, I do."
"I'm sorry," said my friend, "but I can't cash this check." At which point the girl grabbed my friend's shirt, nearly pulled her over the counter, and hissed, "I should kick your @ss." All this with people standing in line behind her.
The manager showed up at this point, gave the girl back her ID and uncashed check, and apologized for the clerk's behavior (!!!!), then escorted the girl out of the store. Over her shoulder the girl yelled, "I'm gonna get you!"
My friend quit her job that day. Her husband looked up the girl's ID number (military ID) and it came up with SIX PEOPLE who had that same SS# on a military ID. I told her she should report both the obvious fraud and the girl's threat to the authorities, but she's afraid to get involved.
It's a crazy world out there.
This is as good a case as one can think of for concealed carry. Wackos aren't stopped by paper. Waving the restraining order in front of a nut who confronts you may very well get you killed.
Crazy people are a lot like muggers (who are also crazy people BTW) and often need a confrontation with the "offer" of extreme violence before they'll retreat. Just one of the facts of life IMHO.
See my post #8. Your friend already IS involved. Yet another case of it's time to take steps to protect (defend) yourself. All that threatening talk becomes very muted when looking down the barrel of a gun. Deal with reality or wind up hurt, perhaps worse.
This is as good a case as one can think of for concealed carry. Wackos aren't stopped by paper. Waving the restraining order in front of a nut who confronts you may very well get you killed.
Crazy people are a lot like muggers (who are also crazy people BTW) and often need a confrontation with the "offer" of extreme violence before they'll retreat. Just one of the facts of life IMHO.
In an instance that happened to cross my path, it was a matter of a female attorney friend who had refused to take on the defense of a local *businessman* charged with trafficing in narcotics, shortly after the overdose death of a local highschool girl. Accordingly, the lawyer was told her house would be blown up and her family would be killed.
She came to me requesting assistance in chosing a handgun for her personal protection and instruction in its use, which she got, but I pointed out to her that if she needed to go to California or New York , she'd hardly be inclined to buy an airliner and learn to fly it- and that buying a airline ticket, or chartering a plane with pilot would make more sense.
So in addition to the steps she'd taken to protect herself, she accepted the services of a *consultant,* along with a couple of subcontractors I hired to assist. The next time the extortionate threats came her way, she showed her prospective client a million-dollar insurance policy she'd taken out on herself. In the event anything happened to her, it would be used to provide a reward fund for the removal of pieces of her least-favourite client, beginning with his right arm the first year, a leg the second, and so on, to include his eyes and tongue toward the end of a ten-year session of organ donations. And, by the way, his home would be blown up and his family would also be killed.
She didn't have any more problems with him after that. He knew well enough when someone was trying to run a bluff against him, and she was not.
-archy-/-
The lawyer business is the only major industry with no consumer oversight and no recourse for distressed clients. The bar associations are nothing more than trade groups, the equivalent to putting a wolf pack to guard a herd of sheep when it comes to protecting the public.
Endless lawyer ads promise easy million dollar payouts and create an explosive sense of entitlement on the part of the citizenry. Combine that with an arrogant dismissal by the law firm in question and the I am sure the old gentleman had a completely understanible nervous breakdown, making him not responsible for his actions.
Basically, attempted robbery.
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