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Started By
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Jury Sides With Man Who Fired At Cops After They Forcibly Entered Wrong Home
Posted on 8/4/14 at 3:51 pm
Posted on 8/4/14 at 3:51 pm
quote:
After battling authorities for more than a year, a Portsmouth, Virginia, man was handed a verdict of not guilty by a jury who determined that he did not, in fact, act recklessly when he fired a warning shot at officers who attempted to make forcible entry into his home, only to later discover that they had gone to the wrong house.
The incident, which happened last January, unfolded while Brandon Watson and his wife were watching late-night TV and heard noises coming from the back yard.
“She said, ‘Oh my gosh, someone is in the backyard,’” Watson told reporters. “The noises got closer and then she heard the clicking of the backdoor handle.”
At that point Watson ran to grab his gun, which was legally owned.
“We ran upstairs very quickly,” Watson recalled. “She saw guys in all black.”
Watson didn’t immediately call 911 because he couldn’t find his cell phone. However, he wasn’t about to let anyone come into his home and possibly harm his family either. So he ran back downstairs, gun in hand.
Watson called out into the darkness, saying, “Who is that? I have a gun.”
He received no response, but instead then saw a red laser aimed at his chest.
At the point, still not knowing who was trying to get into his home, Watson fired a warning shot through the window and ran across the street to seek help from his neighbor, a Virginia State Trooper.
Then things became even more confusing for Watson. As he ran out of his house he was confronted by authorities who told him to drop his weapon. He complied.
“They said, ‘We just got news you shot at an officer.’ I said, ‘An officer? Nobody came to my door. What do you mean an officer? I didn’t know there were any officers in my backyard,’” he said.
According to Watson, the cops never announced who they were or why they were there. And the officers, responding to a call from Watson’s neighbor about a possible break-in, had apparently gone to the wrong house.
“When they went around from the front, they started counting 2, 3, 4. They were counting the number of townhouse units from the end, where Patricia Brooks lived. Then they see a gate that is open, and that raises suspicion that must be the house,” explained Portsmouth Commonwealth’s attorney Earle Mobley.
Nonetheless, Mobley still prosecuted Watson with reckless handling of a firearm.
“You cannot fire indiscriminately through the window,” Mobley said.
The judge found Watson guilty, but the matter was far from resolved. Watson appealed the decision and a mistrial was declared by the second judge. Watson then requested a jury trial.
“This can’t be doing your job. You come in my backyard, try to open my door, open my window and flash red laser beams on my chest because you thought I was the burglar, and I thought you were the burglar,” Watson said.
And apparently the jury, who deliberated for a total of 47 minutes, agreed.
In fact, the jury felt Watson actually showed restraint by only firing a single warning shot.
LINK /
Posted on 8/4/14 at 3:54 pm to udtiger
Still not all is well for the guy.
Hope he sues the shite out of them.
quote:
“I begged them not to charge me. I knew what it meant,” said Watson, who now plans to file a suit against the city. “I got no jobs. No one would hire me after they ran the criminal background check, because I was charged with reckless handling of a firearm.”
Hope he sues the shite out of them.
Posted on 8/4/14 at 3:54 pm to Tiguar
Thank goodness the jury found in his favor. What a shame, it is that things had to go that far before he could be exonerated.
Posted on 8/4/14 at 3:59 pm to Tiguar
I'm happy that guy is still alive.
Posted on 8/4/14 at 4:03 pm to LukeSidewalker
I'm shocked that guy is still alive.
Posted on 8/4/14 at 4:03 pm to AUin02
quote:
I'm shocked that guy is still alive.
Posted on 8/4/14 at 4:06 pm to Tiguar
quote:
Hope he sues the shite out of them.
Such bullshite.
Had he not fired a warning shot, and the cops busted down his door to find him holding a gun, he'd probably be dead.
Posted on 8/4/14 at 4:10 pm to Tiguar
quote:Good!
Jury Sides With Man Who Fired At Cops After They Forcibly Entered Wrong Home
Hopefully he'll receive a large civil settlement taken out of pensions of those responsible.
Posted on 8/4/14 at 4:35 pm to Tiguar
Good, frick those dirty piece of shite cops...
I wish he could directly sue the officers responsible, but we all know they hide behind their union and the city.
I wish he could directly sue the officers responsible, but we all know they hide behind their union and the city.
Posted on 8/4/14 at 4:43 pm to LukeSidewalker
quote:
I'm happy that guy is still alive.
They will retaliate later, see the story of the guy that filmed the cop choking the man to death.
LINK
The police just happened to be outside his hotel in a perfect position to see him walk out and pass a pistol to his girlfriend, and surprisingly the gun turned out to be stolen, how lucky can the cops get?
This post was edited on 8/4/14 at 4:53 pm
Posted on 8/4/14 at 4:48 pm to Tiguar
quote:
Hope he sues the shite out of them.
Won't mean shite to the cops - it is all taxpayer money.
State supported thugs.
Posted on 8/4/14 at 4:49 pm to weagle99
quote:
Won't mean shite to the cops - it is all taxpayer mone
Exactly... The state legislatures need to take away cops abilities to hide behind the taxpayers/unions in cases of sheer incompetence.
Posted on 8/4/14 at 6:24 pm to Lsut81
quote:
The state legislatures need to take away cops abilities to hide behind the taxpayers/unions in cases of sheer incompetence.
Posted on 8/4/14 at 6:48 pm to Tiguar
Good.
We need more states passing laws simiar to what Indiana has protecting their citizens in this scenario from the police.
We need more states passing laws simiar to what Indiana has protecting their citizens in this scenario from the police.
Posted on 8/4/14 at 7:01 pm to Tiguar
Good outcome. I agree you can't fire indiscriminately through a window, but having seen people in black, given a warning yell, and the red dot on his chest all are factors that make this legit.
Posted on 8/4/14 at 7:06 pm to Tiguar
Hopefully this sets some form of new precedent in these cases. To criminally prosecute a citizen from defending themselves or their families from unknown and unannounced intruders is absolute insanity.
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