GUILTY OK - Antwon Parker, 16, shot dead in OKC pharmacy robbery, 19 May 2009

[Lovejac]

<snip>

A judge today decided a pharmacist's murder trial will begin June 21.

Oklahoma County District Judge Tammy Bass-LeSure scheduled the jury trial after talking with District Attorney David Prater and defense attorney Irven Box.

Read more: http://www.newsok.com/article/3422004#ixzz0YYjlRJUZ

I am really sad to hear that they are going forward with the murder charge and trial.

 

[kemo]

http://feeds.newsok.tv/services/player/bcpid4659235001?bctid=24432753001

The video of this "event" still works. Anyone interested in this case should take a look.

 

[Texas Mist]

Associated Press - December 6, 2010 7:35 AM ET

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A hearing is scheduled [eta: for today] to determine whether the judge should step down in the murder trial of an Oklahoma City pharmacist accused of killing an unconscious teenager during a robbery.

more here

http://www.newson6.com/Global/story.asp?S=13622011

 

[noZme]

TexasMist, thanks for the update. It's been 19 months, I suppose Mr Ersland's life has been put on hold & his savings drained. He & his employees are alive but the only winners are the attornies. I wonder how many hours have been billed in this case & now they play the racist card. Drag it out forever but the fact remains, the kid was killed while participating in an armed robbery. Does anyone know what has happened to the other robbers?

While I am complaining, that was a poorly written news story. The judge & pharmacist are made out to be the bad guys.... poor little unconcious teenager got shot. Give me a break!!!!! (http://www.newson6.com/Global/story.asp?S=13622011)

ETA: I do not remember seeing the video posted above. The whole incident was about 45 seconds. Should the thugs have taken time to sit down & explain their intent so the pharmacist would have been given time to carefully plan his response to having a gun pointed at himself & his employees?

 

[Tuffy]

TexasMist, thanks for the update. It's been 19 months, I suppose Mr Ersland's life has been put on hold & his savings drained. He & his employees are alive but the only winners are the attornies. I wonder how many hours have been billed in this case & now they play the racist card. Drag it out forever but the fact remains, the kid was killed while participating in an armed robbery. Does anyone know what has happened to the other robbers?

While I am complaining, that was a poorly written news story. The judge & pharmacist are made out to be the bad guys.... poor little unconcious teenager got shot. Give me a break!!!!! (http://www.newson6.com/Global/story.asp?S=13622011)

ETA: I do not remember seeing the video posted above. The whole incident was about 45 seconds. Should the thugs have taken time to sit down & explain their intent so the pharmacist would have been given time to carefully plan his response to having a gun pointed at himself & his employees?

Exactly, noZme. Why didn't the pharmacist stop and think about what his proper response to the robbers should be? Didn't he check to see how old they were, before trying to defend himself, and employees?

After watching the video, I don't think I would have handled it any differently than the pharmacist. The two masked gunmen busting into the store, guns pointed at the workers would have terrified me. It was scary just watching the video.

The pharmacist did the absolute correct thing. He and his employees are alive today to attest to it. I hope there are people helping him with his legal fees though. I'm sure that has been very expensive.

 

[impatientredhead]

Exactly, noZme. Why didn't the pharmacist stop and think about what his proper response to the robbers should be? Didn't he check to see how old they were, before trying to defend himself, and employees?

After watching the video, I don't think I would have handled it any differently than the pharmacist. The two masked gunmen busting into the store, guns pointed at the workers would have terrified me. It was scary just watching the video.

The pharmacist did the absolute correct thing. He and his employees are alive today to attest to it. I hope there are people helping him with his legal fees though. I'm sure that has been very expensive.

It is really sad in my opinion.

Think about this, if the first shot had been placed well and was a fatal shot this wouldn't be an issue. But ten seconds later he is suppose to have just shot humans for the first time in his life, evaluated the ongoing risk to himself and the others in the store, and made a *judgement* call that the threat was controlled.

I think my state would have charged this one as well, especially with it being on video, but our law does say if the state charges you and you are found to have acted in self defense by a jury the state pays your full fees, private attorney or not. It was written that way to keep the state from going with the "lets just let the jury decide" approach because a loss is really expensive to the state. But it is not fair for you to defend yourself during the crime, defend yourself to the state and end up bancrupt when you are found to have acted in a justified manner.

 

[zadari]

If you don't want to get shot by your victims don't try to rob people at gunpoint. The pharmacist is cool in my book.

ive got to agree with this .. yeah he may have taken it far but mabey he had no idea the person wasnt a threat ? ppl that you think are down and out could be playing dead and get you when your not looking .this may have been his frame of mind or mabey this type of thing has happened before i dunno the man was minding his own business doin his job not hurting anyone and these punks come in .. if you dont wanna get shot you dont go around robbing ppl and breaking the law .. teens know right from wrong

 

[LadyL]

after he chased the guy outside and came back in, did he go re-load his gun prior to shooting the kid on the floor?

I don't really blame him either way - thugs shouldn't have been robbing him - but he does appear calm & focused from what I could see in the grainy video

I'd like to hear the 911 call

 

[Tboy4]

Any time you threaten someone's life, you fully deserve everything you get!

 

[CarmelEyesD]

If you don't try to rob me, I won't shoot you. If you try and rob me, and I think you might kill me, I will kill you first. If you don't like that option, don't try and rob, kill or shoot me. I am not giving you the 'death penalty'-you CHOSE it when you walked into MY store (home) and tried to leave after forcefully taking MY products (possessions) without permission by me, and with force. Maybe if more people felt/acted this way, crime would go down.

 

[wfgodot]

Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater attacked in court by convicted murderer (newsok.com)

A convicted murderer attacked Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater as the prosecutor finished closing arguments on punishment Monday, and the two men fell fighting to the floor at the feet of the victim's mother.

Prater ended up on top of the convict, Emanuel D. &#8220;E Man&#8221; Mitchell, who was subdued and handcuffed by two sheriff's deputies in the courtroom. Jurors were hurried from the courtroom to begin deliberations on punishment. Prater suffered scratches on his face that bled. He said he was OK.

Jurors already had chosen a life term for Mitchell, 33, and Anthony D. Morrison, 44, for murder in the death of an accomplice inside the Reliable Discount Pharmacy in Oklahoma City in 2009.
---

The case itself is worth reading about (at newsok.com link above); the pharmacist who was robbed is also soon to be on trial for murdering one of the young thieves:

---
The pharmacist, Jerome Jay Ersland, 59, faces his own murder trial in two weeks. Prosecutors allege he went too far when he shot Parker five more times after knocking him out and to the floor with a shot to the head. Ersland has said he was defending himself and two female co-workers.
---

Ersland's case has a WS thread of its own:

Pharmacist arrested for shooting robber

 

[wfgodot]

Another Daily Oklahoman article about the incident; the D.A. managed to dislocate the attacker's shoulder in the affray:

---
[Oklahoma County District Attorney David] Prater, a former police officer, was punched in the face. He then pushed Emanuel D. &#8220;E Man&#8221; Mitchell toward a wooden rail that splits the courtroom in two. They fell through a swinging gate, their upper bodies landing inside the spectators' section.

Sheriff's deputies rushed over to subdue and handcuff Mitchell. Horrified jurors and spectators rushed out courtroom doors.
---
&#8220;I got blindsided by Emanuel Mitchell,&#8221; Prater told reporters later. &#8220;I just saw a fist coming out of the ... left corner of my eye. And he nailed me in the side of the face. &#8230; I pushed him over backwards into the rail. ... All I knew was I needed to get him on his back. ... He just nailed me the one time, the cheap shot.

&#8220;That's just the kind of a guy he is. Obviously, if you're willing to send two kids into a pharmacy to do your dirty work ... he doesn't matter. He's a coward,&#8221; Prater said
---

More, with video (although not of the fight, unfortunately) here: newsok.com

 

[badhorsie]

Similar thing happened in London last March
Details here

 

[jjenny]

I can not believe the guy has been charged with first degree murder.

 

[kemo]

Here is the video. This is what actually happened. [video=youtube;DSBBlEhmWNQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSBBlEhmWNQ&feature=fvwrel[/video]

The Pharmacist shot a kid who was holding him up. Not a problem. Perfect justice.

The problem starts when the Pharmacist returns to the store, looks at the fallen kid he had shot, walks right past him and, with his back to the fallen kid goes to the back of the store. 10 seconds later, he returns with a second gun (or did he re-load?) and calmly walks right up the fallen kids and, while standing over him, fires 5 more times at him.

In the statement he gave to the police, he said he fired at the kid 6 times before he chased the other kid and failed to mention firing any other shots.

He was decreed some sort of Hero" for "defending his property" before the video was seen by the Police. There are plenty supporters out there who still see nothing wrong with what he did. The distinction between "defending your property: and "executing the guy who tried to rob you" is sort of blurred.

 

[jjenny]

I don't know about you, but I would be concerned and scared for my life until the alleged robber was actually dead. How many movies have we seen where someone is shot or stabbed only to get up?
If the alleged robber was alive, that pharmacist had a reason to be concerned for his life, IMO. By the way in some states such as TX you are allowed to defend your property (and not just your life) with deadly force.

 

[Reality Orlando]

I don't think the guy intentionally meant to kill the boy, I think his adreneline took over. It is possible Jerome seen the get away driver when chasing the boy outside and the other guy that helped set this up out there, and fired the shots thinking he would scare them if they decided to try coming back in. Or else he may have thought the boy he shot was going to get back up and over reacted. I am sure he was scared for his life. It also said he was working with 2 women, behind the counter. I don't think he should be charged with 1st degree murder, these boys came at him 1st and obviously would have shot him had he not reacted and protected hisself. It is a sad situation for the boys family losing there baby, and for Jerome a man working to make an honest living.

3 against 1 and two women there to protect as well? When you train for armed security officer, they teach you to shoot to kill. There is a video of a guy who is shot like 10 times still shooting at officers. If he had to turn his back on this guy and was worried that he might still be conscience and pull a weapon, I'd say he was justified. I don't know how you can fault anything 1 guy does in this situation when faced with 2 armed robbers?

 

[lonetraveler]

Bolded by me>
Problem is that you assume the pharmacist only KNEW for sure he was going to be robbed and not killed. He certainly should not be expected to make that assumption when his life is on the line.

Not only gun-owners will tell you "shoot to kill" but cops will as well, bank on it. My EX BIL and his wife are LE and they were the ones who made sure I had a gun, knew how to use it very well, and knew what most cops think but will never say which is - "we'll never get there in time. We will arrive to investigate a homicide. Protect yourself. Make sure they are in your home and then make sure they don't live."

They work at the LA County jail and see the scum that repeatedly go through there.

When your life is threatened you have the right to be angry in my book. You have the right to OVER REACT. Kill or be killed. It's an instinct we should RESPECT.

You are totally correct, never, ever pull a trigger on a gun without the intention of killing the criminal who is there to kill you. Don't shoot just to wound, shoot to kill! I have been in a situation very close to what the pharmacist was in and you are very traumatized during and afterwards. I'm sure that he was most likely traumatized at this very near death experience and he should not be charged for ending this piece of scum's worthless life. It is too bad that he did not have a shotgun behind the counter or he could have gotten both of them!

 

[jjenny]

Even someone who has been should could potentially manage to pull out a gun and get some shots in. Supposedly this alleged robber did not have a gun but how would a pharmacist know that? Police are also trained shoot to kill and not to wound, as far as I understand. Just because someone is wounded, does not mean they are not dangerous.

 

[lonetraveler]

If you don't try to rob me, I won't shoot you. If you try and rob me, and I think you might kill me, I will kill you first. If you don't like that option, don't try and rob, kill or shoot me. I am not giving you the 'death penalty'-you CHOSE it when you walked into MY store (home) and tried to leave after forcefully taking MY products (possessions) without permission by me, and with force. Maybe if more people felt/acted this way, crime would go down.

Yep, looks to me like this decided to commit suicide............go ahead, throw the tomatoes............