trumped up Deadly Conduct charge

[justadude]

What is the name of your state? Texas. yehaw.
Diagnosed mentally unstable girlfriend got suicidal and was threatening to shoot herself with a semi-auto assault rifle (SKS, 30rd, bayonet...pretty nasty) I distracted her momentarily and managed to snatch the rifle out of her hands. She tried to snatch it back. 4 hands wrestling over a Soviet BOOM stick and she was NOT letting go of it this time, one of us was going to end up getting shot. She'd never fired a gun before and had always been terrified of the rifle, so I figured one good BOOM out of it would put the respect for firearms back in her. I made sure the barrel was straight up (one story house) and hit the trigger. BOOM! She screamed but didn't let go. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! finally she let go and ran away holding her ears. Panic dictated my next move: I ran out the back door, hid the rifle in a storage shed, and then discovered SHE had locked me out of the house, so I waited out front for the police sirens I could already hear coming. (the neighbors called them, not my girlfriend)
When they arrived I was not cooperative. Initially they arrested me for Public Intoxication. At the station I demanded a breathilizer and I blew a .000 (I don't drink, period) then they changed the charge to Deadly Conduct. I bonded out and a week later was fired from my job because they had read about the arrest in the newspaper. If I can get the charges dropped they will give me my job back. I cannot afford an attorney and am desperately in need of advise on challenging the DA. My girlfriend claims she was also uncooperative and did not make a statement, their charge is apparently based solely on 7 bullet holes in the ceiling and 7 spent shell casings fired from the rifle they eventually managed to find in the shed.
long winded enough for ya?

 

[AmosMoses]

Advice on challenging the DA:

Walk quickly up to him, stopping with your face about 12 inches from his. Staring him straight in the eye, remove one dainty white glove from your left hand with your white gloved right hand. Slap him across both of his cheeks with the now removed glove, and state quite forcefully: "My honor demands that you meet me at tomorrow sunrise in yon field across from this very courthouse, sir, accompanied by your faithful Second! As the challenged party, sir, you shall make your choice as to whatever weaponry seems preferable to you that I smite you with!!!"

Then, spin around on the ball of your left foot while releasing loud, forceful, and odoriferous flatus, clicking your heels together and walking briskly away, screaming in a high pitched, screeching voice not totally unlike the sound of fingernails on a blackboard, "You have been challenged, sir! The duel has been scheduled, you dastardly swine, and I shall prevail!!!" (pronouncing "scheduled" as sheduled, kinda like the way that you'd expect a pompous Englishman to say it).

Either do that, or hire a lawyer.

 

[Curt581]

Amos, your posts just keep getting better and better.

You did forget to tell him to wear a British Navy uniform, though.

Initially they arrested me for Public Intoxication. At the station I demanded a breathilizer and I blew a .000 (I don't drink, period) then they changed the charge to Deadly Conduct.

They probably charged you with Public Intox because they thought nobody that was sober would be that STUPID. Apparently, they were wrong.

I bonded out and a week later was fired from my job because they had read about the arrest in the newspaper. If I can get the charges dropped they will give me my job back. I cannot afford an attorney and am desperately in need of advise on challenging the DA.

What makes you think anything you do or say will get the charge simply dropped? You better start thinking about what you're gonna say during the Jury Trial.

This is pretty serious, and it sounds like they've got you cold. If you can't afford an attorney, you had best get a court appointed one.

My girlfriend claims she was also uncooperative and did not make a statement, their charge is apparently based solely on 7 bullet holes in the ceiling and 7 spent shell casings fired from the rifle they eventually managed to find in the shed.

Don't you think the neighbors complaints of multiple gunshots, seven bullet holes in the ceiling and the roof, seven spent casings, your being uncooperative or lying to the police, and a total lack of a reasonable explanation for what happened isn't enough ?

Then you have the unmitigated gall to claim the charge is "trumped up"?

It's because of idiots like you that the Anti-Gun crowd wants to take away MY Second Amendment Rights.

You both belong in Jail.

 

[AmosMoses]

VERY well said, Curt...VERY well said!:

It's because of idiots like you that the Anti-Gun crowd wants to take away MY Second Amendment Rights.

 

[justadude]

Well that was certainly entertaining.
Let’s start with “Deadly Conduct”

§ 22.05. DEADLY CONDUCT. (a) A person commits an offense if he recklessly engages in conduct that places another in imminent danger of serious bodily injury.
(b) A person commits an offense if he knowingly discharges a
firearm at or in the direction of:
(1) one or more individuals; or
(2) a habitation, building, or vehicle and is reckless
as to whether the habitation, building, or vehicle is occupied.

I do not believe firing a rifle straight up qualifies here unless there was the possibility somebody was hanging out up in my attic.
Then there is this little tid-bit:

§ 22.06. CONSENT AS DEFENSE TO ASSAULTIVE CONDUCT. The victim's effective consent or the actor's reasonable belief that the victim consented to the actor's conduct is a defense to prosecution under 22.05 (Deadly Conduct) if:
(1) the conduct did not threaten or inflict serious
bodily injury.

Who is the “victim” here? My girlfriend?
Next point:

§ 9.34. PROTECTION OF LIFE OR HEALTH. (a) A person is justified in using force, but not deadly force, against another when and to the degree he reasonably believes the force is immediately necessary to prevent the other from committing suicide or inflicting serious bodily injury to himself.
(b) A person is justified in using both force and deadly force against another when and to the degree he reasonably believes the force or deadly force is immediately necessary to preserve the other's life in an emergency.

 

[Curt581]

I do not believe firing a rifle straight up qualifies here unless there was the possibility somebody was hanging out up in my attic.

First, you can't be absolutely certain that it was perfectly straight up. You were struggling with the gun.

Second, do you think the bullets simply disappeared when they went through the ceiling, and the roof?

Where do you suppose they came down ?

Don't know, do you? Did you even think about that?

Who is the “victim” here? My girlfriend?

No, Dr. Rocket Scientist, the "victims" are anyone that lives within a mile or better radius of your shenanigans. THEY are the ones who could have been hit, or have had property damaged, by your reckless gunfire.

One of the rules of responsible firearm use is : "Target Isolation". Know what your backstop is. Know where your shots will go if they do not hit the intended target, or pass through the target. Know who or what is in the bullet's path.

Let me know if I'm going too fast for ya.

(a)A person is justified in using force, but not deadly force, against another when and to the degree he reasonably believes the force is immediately necessary to prevent the other from committing suicide or inflicting serious bodily injury to himself.
(b) A person is justified in using both force and deadly force against another when and to the degree he reasonably believes the force or deadly force is immediately necessary to preserve the other's life in an emergency.

First, that section describes a legal term called an "Active Defense"... it does NOT preclude you from being charged with a crime.

Second, You were not using justified deadly force against your girlfriend, where that section would apply. You were using unjustified deadly force against your neighbors.

That dog won't hunt.

 

[justadude]

I know the bullets went straight up because there are 7 little round holes in the ceiling in a 1 foot grouping. The bullets penetrated the drywall ceiling but did not penetrate the plywood roof. There are no holes in the roof. No neighbors were endangered unless they happened to be hanging out up in my attic.

§ 42.12. DISCHARGE OF FIREARM IN CERTAIN MUNICIPALITIES. (a) A person commits an offense if the person recklessly discharges a firearm inside the corporate limits of a municipality having a population of 100,000 or more.

The municipality in question had a population of 61,136 people in the 2000 census. So unless there was a huge explosion in population it's not even illegal to have fired the gun.

I'm not asking for moral advise, and I don't need help realizing how unintelligent it was. Rest assured next time somebody is about to kill themself in front of me I will do nothing remotely close to stopping them.
I'm asking for legal advise, please. How do I present an argument against a charge to the DA to see if they will drop the charges? I know it can be done because every attorney I've spoken to has indicated they can get it done but not until they are retained. The whole mess cost me my job and I'm unable to retain an attorney.

 

[Curt581]

The bullets penetrated the drywall ceiling but did not penetrate the plywood roof.

I gotta call a big "BS" on that one. There is no way a 7.62 X 39 bullet was stopped by a sheet of drywall and a plywood roof.

Try again.

There are no holes in the roof.

Look harder. You'll find them.

I'm asking for legal advise, please. How do I present an argument against a charge to the DA to see if they will drop the charges?

They won't be dropping anything based on any arguments you might have, even if you do have an attorney. You'll be arguing your case in a trial.

I know it can be done because every attorney I've spoken to has indicated they can get it done but not until they are retained.

Of course they'll say that. They want your money. Ask them for a guarantee. I'll bet they won't give you one.

The whole mess cost me my job and I'm unable to retain an attorney.

Ask for a Public Defender, or represent yourself.

After all, you seem to already have the answers you're looking for.

 

[stealth2]

Threads like this are just so much fun to read. I loved all the BOOM BOOM BOOMs!

 

[justadude]

Soviet issue 7.62 hollow point tumblers left elongated dents in the 45 degree inclined plywood. The drywall set them tumbling and they apparently hit the plywood sideways. That's trivial though.

Are you all too high and mighty to help or do you just not know the answer I'm seeking? I found it finally and all you people did was demonstrate that you are dicks.

 

[stealth2]

Actually, the dick is the one who thinks it's okay to have this sort of weapon AND ammo handy enough for these sorts of situations to occur.

 

[AmosMoses]

Not that it matters a bit, but I can assure you that no 7.62 X 39 pierced even 5/8" rock and "stopped" at the plywood, much less seven rounds. You MAY convince me that one or even up to a few went through the rock, then the ceiling joists the hard way, and then the rafters the hard way (which is the ONLY possible way that these rounds left that muzzle of that weapon in your description without exiting the building). But, no way did seven in a one foot group ALL hit framing meat to the extent that they stayed "indoors", period. Actually, you'll know exactly thereof what I speak the next rain you get, do trust me on this. As I said, not that it matters if the bullets pierced shingles or not, because that is not a necessity in proving wrongdoing on your part. It's not like you were shooting at a roof that was made of NIJ Level IV titanium and ceramic composite, and that you KNEW that the rounds weren't going anywhere!!

Look, bud, don't delude yourself that the statute "that you found" pertains to this action to the exclusion of all others. If I run up inside of a crowded mall and rip off thirty fast ones, and then try to claim in court that the only statute that applies to my action is, § 42.12. DISCHARGE OF FIREARM IN CERTAIN MUNICIPALITIES. (a) A person commits an offense if the person recklessly discharges a firearm inside the corporate limits of a municipality having a population of 100,000 or more., I can assure you that the DA will have a little clarification that he wants to make, oh, say from reckless endangerment on up. Rest assured that he will in your case will too.

Finally, your comment,:

Rest assured next time somebody is about to kill themself in front of me I will do nothing remotely close to stopping them.

tells all of us out here in webland a lot about you. It is some bizarre insinuation that "all you did" was attempt to stop someone from "committing suicide". I have a pretty good idea of what went down in the situation that you posted, and so does 99.9% of everyone else here...the other 0.1% are too stupid to help you, anyway, so you are gonna have to take these posts as they come, smartass and otherwise.

 

[outonbail]

Soviet issue 7.62 hollow point tumblers left elongated dents in the 45 degree inclined plywood.

You obviously do not comprehend how false the above statement is. It is also obvious you have no experience handling firearms, no clue as to their potential and have not considered the ballistic specifications for the 7.62 rounds, which are provided by every company who manufactures this bullet and/or the smokeless powder used to set this high powered, high velocity projectile into motion.

So, for your benefit, let’s look at some general data for the SKS rifle and the 7.63 mm x 39mm cartridge, which it is chambered for.

Technical Specifications
Simonov Rifle (SKS) Cartridge: 7.62 x 39 mm
Method of operation: Gas, tilting block, self-loading
Weight, unloaded: 8 lb 8 oz (3.85 kg)
Length: 40.2 in (1,021 mm)
Barrel: 20.5 in (521 mm)
Muzzle velocity: 2,410 ft/s (735 m/s)
Range, maximum effective: 433 yd (400 m)

Note, @ 2,410 feet per second, the bullet would travel to the maximum effective range of 433 yards, in just over one half of a second. Remember, this is not the maximum range, but the distance at which the bullet sustains it’s maximum effectiveness.
So, your claiming a bullet traveling over 2400 feet per second, with roughly 1600 foot pounds of energy, was unable to penetrate through the plywood roof of your home, because of the incredible stopping ability offered by the drywall ceiling the rounds first came in contact with?
That is some chalk board you have there my friend, have you made the military aware of this magic board? I just have to wonder how anyone was ever able to drive a nail through that very same drywall, when attaching it to your ceiling?

Of course, it could be that you were mistaken about the rounds not penetrating your roof.
It could be that you were looking for wood splintered exit holes the size of a quarter, as seen on TV. This may explain how you failed to see the fairly small orifices punched through your roof when the seven rounds responsible for creating these small holes, did so at such a speed, that the bullet did not drag splinters of wood through the hole.
Personally, I like the magic drywall theory, but you may want to look again, in day light, just in case you’ve missed something. After all, you originally described the gun as being, “pretty nasty”. That’s no cork gun you got there, or is it?

The drywall set them tumbling and they apparently hit the plywood
sideways.

Sideways, backwards, straight on, doesn’t really make a rat’s a$$. Trust me, at 2400 feet per second, they did more than dent wood.

That's trivial though.

What’s trivial? Firing seven rounds from an SKS assault rifle? Seven rounds in an area so unpopulated that neighbors were alarmed enough to dial 911? So trivial that police responded with sirens wailing?

BOOM! She screamed but didn't let go. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
BOOM! BOOM! finally she let go and ran away holding her ears. Panic dictated my next move: I ran out the back door,

Does the mental image of this scene unfolding look trivial to anyone but justadude?

Are you all too high and mighty to help or do you just not know the answer I'm seeking?

As much as this may be hard for you to comprehend, people will on occasion, post their personally touched up version of what lead to their arrest. Often they attempt to make very serious actions on their part, appear trivial. This leaves anyone attempting to respond to a post, with the choice of A. providing a fantasy answer to a fantasy tale, which, aside from the entertainment value, is a complete waste of everyone’s time, or
choice B. Attempt to read between the obvious lines of one sided salted details and arrive at some sort of rational explanation for the irrational assembly of what the poster considers pertinent facts. This choice isn’t really that difficult when the crystal ball is in good working order, but we all know how unreliable them darn crystal balls tend to be. So this leaves
choice C. question the frivolous facts provided by the poster and request clarification. This is often done in a lighthearted manner, not to necessarily ridicule, but to display just how ridiculous and unbelievable the claims are to readers who at least possess the ability to walk and chew gum at the same time.

Taking choice C then leaves the person posting their rendition with a second chance to provide some truthful information and honest facts, regardless of what negativity it may shine on their position, which will then allow for the professional legally factual reply they were seeking. or, they can make choice B, and be insulted at the fact that no one believed their BS story and provided them with the BS answer they were hoping for. Like yourself, the people who chose the later of the two, usually end with some feeble attempt at having the last word and post some adolescent comment. The least imaginative comments coming from these sour grape type pouters, is name calling. i.e.

you are dicks

Since you have chosen the sandbox style of name calling, it is apparent you will not provide your reason for pulling the trigger seven times to defuse the situation, as opposed to depressing the magazine release one time and unloading the weapon? Or, why you would even have such a weapon loaded with thirty rounds and then easily accessible to some out of control girlfriend? Or why you would have any weapon in your possession without educating yourself as to the potential of said weapon?

You truly are a prime example of why so many anti-gun organizations and government representatives are trying to take second amendment rights away from responsible gun owners. Although you will never see it that way, because this isn’t, “the answer you were seeking”. But then, the truth hardly ever is.............


_________________________________
Knowledge is the battery which powers your bull$hit detector. If the initial charge is weak or the battery never installed, the alarm will never sound when it should.

 

[stephenk]

I just have these questions: Why were you uncooperative with the police? Is your girlfriend still your girlfriend? What version of the story did she tell the police?

 

[justadude]

I wasn't uncooperative with the police, I just would not cooperate. That sounds trivial and I can't explain any better then Attorney Mark Bennett does here -> http://www.bennettandbennett.com/shtml/lawyers/philosophy/milliondollaradvice.shtml

They got no story from either of us.

it is apparent you will not provide your reason for pulling the trigger seven times to defuse the situation, as opposed to depressing the magazine release one time and unloading the weapon? Or, why you would even have such a weapon loaded with thirty rounds

7 was the lucky number because that's how many it took to get her to let go. When's the last time you removed a 30rd clip from an SKS that was not empty? Takes two hands, one of mine was busy keeping the barrel pointed in the only safe direction; up. And I keep my 30rd clip loaded with 20.

and then easily accessible to some out of control girlfriend?

There are just two adults in the house (I'm an adult, even though I don't act like one) so personally I consider keeping my one and only firearm in the closet of my office a sane decision but hey, I'm open to debate on it. My normally in control girlfriend had been informed that her 3 year old son (lives with her ex) had been molested and she was irrationally blaming herself, but that's getting a little personal now.

I guess the short and skinny of it is if I'd just punched her in the face and taken the rifle away I'd be fine, right? Except she'd have kicked my ass royal. I'm not a fighter, I'm a lover, and a pretty poor one at that too.