Posted on 05/27/2009 1:31:14 PM PDT by pissant
An Oklahoma City pharmacist was charged today with first-degree murder in the May 19 shooting death of a would-be robber.
Chickasha resident Jerome Ersland, 57, on Tuesday said he was concerned about the scrutiny he has faced since the shooting.
The charge alleges Ersland shot Antwun Parker, 16, while he was incapacitated and lying on his back. Ersland’s account of the incident doesn’t match the video or the evidence collected at the scene, according to the affidavit written by Oklahoma City Police Detective David Jacobson.
Parker was shot once in the head and five times in the stomach area. The autopsy found Parker was still alive after the head shot and died from the stomach wounds.
Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater is scheduled to discuss the case at an afternoon press conference.
Ersland has maintained he acted in self defense when he shot Parker to foil the robbery attempt.
He said two men in ski masks threatened him and two other employees when they burst into Reliable Discount Pharmacy, near SW 59 and Pennsylvania, demanding cash and drugs.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsok.com ...
My guess is that you're right about the prosecutor's motive.
But Oklahoma City police need to be concerned about your second point.
I beg to differ, the .380 has SLIGHTY less power than a 9mm, and if I can't take someone down with the first shot the other 6 will do the trick...;-)
I am interested in your thoughts on how this would be handled in ‘other parts’ of the state, and how this meshes with Oklahoma’s Castle Doctrine?
Freep this poll!
Do you think Oklahoma County DA David Prater made the correct decision in filing charges against Jerome Ersland?
I loathe these scum and their liberal sympathizers.
These are thugs who get their kicks out of killing.
Giving them the benefit of the doubt is simply friggin foolish!
Man has no regrets defending Oklahoma City pharmacy (armed robber shot and killed)
Note to OKC pharmicists: turn cameras off before shooting robbers.
Link to video of news conference with security cam video shown from two angles twice: http://www.news9.com/global/video/flash/popupplayer.asp?ClipID1=3804065&h1=Oklahoma%20County%20District%20Attorney%20David%20Prater%20Discusses%20Crime&vt1=v&at1=Station%202&d1=1092234&LaunchPageAdTag=News&activePane=info&rnd=77656981
Perhaps viewing might help you reconsider your perspective on how dicey this will be for the defense of the pharmacist. The pharmacist appears to have been successful in the “shoot to stop” moment of the start of the robbery. It was the actions after chasing the other perp where he creates a problem for himself. Local information says he has a top line defense attorney so it will be interesting to watch.
According to reports in the press, the firearm used in the defensive shooting at the start of the robbery was The Judge and the second firearm that was retrieved from the counter was a .380 Kel-Tec.
I don’t give a flying rip how “dicey” it might seem. He killed him, I’m happy about it, and should be given a reward.
Evryone needs to check out the in-store video...it doesn’t look good for the owner. Plus, I don’t know about how things work where you live, but in the three states where I have carry permits, it was emphasized over and over that if an agressor tries to escape and abandons his assault, you let him go.
I know all about the many laws concerning fleeing felons, but a person is just looking for trouble if he pursues a fleeing felon outside of his private property.
The idea is to walk away alive and to not be involved in huge legal expenses with the potential of spending 3-10 years in the slammer. As I was told, remember, every bullet that comes out of the barrel has a lawyer attached to it...as the Oklahoma phamacist is about to discover.
We have a winner!
This is so effing outrageous. Even if he's found not guilty, his whole life is going to be upended because of this damn dead thug.
By the way, the surveillance video is posted on the news website. It meshes fairly well with the pharmacist’s story, but I can see why the DA might consider murder charges (though I am not saying I agree with the charges).
You can’t see the robber lying on the floor (maybe it is edited for the public), so you can’t tell if he was moving or not. However, the pharmacist does walk right up to the robber to finish him off.
Link to video. Doesn't quite mesh with the pharmacist's version but that's quite understandable.
The perps come in and one has a gun and may have shot, hard to tell. It appears that parker pulls a mask out from underneath his shirt and is pulls it on and is shot and goes down. Can't tell if he is armed but in that situation you have to assume that he is. Puts the lie to his family's crap that he wasn't there to rob anyone.
His co-perp runs out the door and the pharmacist goes after him, comes back in after about 15 secs goes by the perp on the floor, who can't be seen. He then goes to the back, comes back after 15 secs and shoots the perp again.
Keep in mind that the whole thing took less than a minute and the pharmacist is undoubtedly moving as fast as he can and that we can't see the perp on the floor. Only the pharmacist knows whether he is still a threat.
The other perp is the one who should be charged with felony murder.
Yes. Very true.
Something that everybody should consider from time to time is the effect of (even righteously) killing somebody. Even in a clear-cut self-defense shoot... it'll mess up your life for a while. Former Marshall Massad Ayoob wrote a great book that every gun owner should read. It's called In the Gravest Extreme. It's a no-nonsense primer on self defense and what actually happens in real-world situations.
People also underestimate the effect it'll have on the other people in their lives. Loved ones, co-workers, friends... will view you differently. They won't be able to help it. Say for example that little Sally got to watch Daddy drop the big bad burglar and splash his blood all over the wall... it's gonna mess her up plenty.
Not that it could or should be any other way... but folks don't always consider the fallout that naturally follows any such event. Just something to think about.
He does not have to be dead to not be a threat. Was he trying to flee when he was getting up? The other two who weren’t shot fled. Simply trying to get up and get away from the guy who just shot you, doesn’t mean you remain a threat to that person.
And in the short term, he's sitting in jail. Sure, he has a good chance of getting exonerated by a jury but in the meantime he's cooling his heels in a jail cell. And he's going to be there for a while. While he's there he isn't working, isn't earning any money to support his family, make his house payments, car payments, etc. What if it's a year before the trial starts? His house will be gone. Foreclosed. Car repoed, possessions sold off to creditors, etc. That's a pretty steep price.
This prosecutor is taking a page right from Nifong's playbook. Hopefully he meets the same fate.
it’s better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6..
That, my FRiend, depends upon the "makeup" of the personnel on the jury..you better believe he's going to look for people who could be considered sympathetic..
This guy better get a good lawyer and make sure he doesn't get stuck with a jury of Antwun's peers.
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