60 Years for Ambulance Shooter

[IndyDave1776]

Out of curiosity, what do you think would have been different if he'd plead to the weapons charges instead of, or in addition to, 4 attempted murder charges?

He could look at slightly different paperwork while enjoying the same free room and board he would be otherwise.

 

[Black Cloud]

Most times the gun charges are dropped because they are federal crimes. Locals don't like to involve the feds in anything, so they toss that immediately. This is why the NRA and pro-gun movements want the courts to enforce the laws already on the books. No matter what the jurisdictions are.

 

[half-glocked]

Have to love it when Fort Wayne shows its classy side.

In the thug's defense, he's heard the term "ambulance chasers" all his life so he thought it was common practice.

 

[IndyDave1776]

Have to love it when Fort Wayne shows its classy side.

In the thug's defense, he's heard the term "ambulance chasers" all his life so he thought it was common practice.

I guess we'll have to explain to him that ambulance chasers are an entirely different class of criminal!

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Hold on there, Bobba Louie.

The Prosecuting Attorney made the decision, not "the courts".

Carrying a Handgun without a License is a Class A misdemeanor, 0 to 365 days in jail.

So, the defendant pleads to Attempted Murder, gets sixty (60) years, of which he will do thirty (30), saves up to a year in jail for him, and saves Allen County a load of money and you are upset by . . . ?

Ok, someone tell me why Dave is so upset, please.

Most times the gun charges are dropped because they are federal crimes.

I do not understand. There is no federal "Carrying a Handgun Without a License". Even if there was there would be no double jeopardy.

 

[IndyDave1776]

Ok, someone tell me why Dave is so upset, please..

I understood him to have a problem with assorted office holders on one hand telling us that they need more gun laws while on the other not enforcing the ones we have, therefore using guns in crime as a political football rather than an issue, real or imagined, that they are actually trying to address.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Is the Allen County Prosecuting Attorney saying that?

Trading a misdemeanor for 4 Attempted Murders (one of the hardest offenses for the prosecution to prove) sounds like a solid deal to me.

 

[IndyDave1776]

Is the Allen County Prosecuting Attorney saying that?

Trading a misdemeanor for 4 Attempted Murders (one of the hardest offenses for the prosecution to prove) sounds like a solid deal to me.

Definitely so, but it is easy to get irritated about a nuisance law that shouldn't exist in the first place, especially when it is not used in the middle of the whining and crying about needing more gun laws.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Well, maybe if it was the feds doing something like that, but I don't think what happened in Fort Wayne is an abuse of prosecutorial discretion.

There's soooooooo much more to get upset about over what prosecutors do.

 

[IndyDave1776]

Well, maybe if it was the feds doing something like that, but I don't think what happened in Fort Wayne is an abuse of prosecutorial discretion.

There's soooooooo much more to get upset about over what prosecutors do.

I agree completely. We could start at the point where so many of them seem to believe that their job is to put heads on pikes without too much concern for whether the heads in question are in fact guilty--and at other times ignoring the most egregious illegal acts.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Most times the gun charges are dropped because they are federal crimes. Locals don't like to involve the feds in anything, so they toss that immediately.

Where are you getting this info?

This isn't Hollywood. Us "locals" don't mind the feds getting involved, especially in serious crimes since feds make you do 75% of your time instead of 50% at the state level and we get free (to us) resources. We've got an FBI liaison physically in our office with us.

 

[92ThoStro]

Ugh? Sounds like plea bargaining was successful. Even if they were charged for the misdemeanor of carry without an LTCH, it would probably be served concurrently. Of course they will throw out the lesser charges, they got the attempted murder charges, that's great.

 

[92ThoStro]

Where are you getting this info?

This isn't Hollywood. Us "locals" don't mind the feds getting involved, especially in serious crimes since feds make you do 75% of your time instead of 50% at the state level and we get free (to us) resources. We've got an FBI liaison physically in our office with us.

Yea right, every time the feds show up in a movie with cops in it, it always turns into a shoving match, with witty remarks, and side investigations. I highly doubt they would just make that up.

 

[Dave Doehrman]

Ok, someone tell me why Dave is so upset, please.

I'm upset that a gang banger with 2 prior gun related felony convictions can attempt murder using a handgun, and walk away without any weapons related charges. Our gun rights are under attack and the criminals walk away from those charges. What happened to the "3 strikes" legislation where 3 time offenders were gone for life.

Oh, wait, maybe he's entitled to walk away from those charges. I personally believe in the death penalty and this guy seems like a prime candidate. I don't believe in humane execution by lethal injection. Don't waste my tax money keeping a 3 time loser locked up for 60 years. Oh wait again, he'll probably get out in 6-8 years for good behavior or to reduce over crowding.

All this liberal, touchy-feely BS needs to stop and criminals need to be held accountable and punished severely for their crimes. There needs to be a deterent, and we sure don't have it in our criminal justice system now.

Do you know why sharks won't attack lawyers........ ??

Professional courtesy........

 

[philbert001]

The gun charges, if I'm not mistaken, would have been a federal case at this point, so I would imagine that the Fed dropped the charges, so that the state could foot the bill to convict and house this POS!

 

[SIGnature45]

Ok, I'll calm down now and remove myself from the "Rant" mode.

NO!! Don't call down and DON'T remove yourself from rant mode. Without people like you getting worked up and ranting, things don't change. It IS an injustice and is worth spreading the word and being upset over. Thanks for posting!

 

[Morgan88]

out of control

You have stated the frustration and common sense very well. Most of us rational people can't comprehend how out of control you would have to be to do this. Chasing and ambulance and shooting at it? How freaken out of control is that?

 

[IndyDave1776]

I personally believe in the death penalty and this guy seems like a prime candidate. I don't believe in humane execution by lethal injection. Don't waste my tax money keeping a 3 time loser locked up for 60 years. Oh wait again, he'll probably get out in 6-8 years for good behavior or to reduce over crowding.

Let me start with the reason for lethal injection. There was a man--if you can call this career monster a man--who was tried in Sullivan County for knocking his nephew/son's* girlfriend's head in with a tire iron when she wouldn't put out for him. Two women on the jury refused to vote to convict (even though the man was proven guilty beyond a doubt and even those two acknowledged the fact) because they just couldn't bring themselves to send anyone to the electric chair. The man who was sheriff at the time and later a state senator started his first term in the legislature by introducing a bill to replace the electric chair with lethal injection by virtue of preferring to have a more 'humane' method of execution over having a monster like that set free. I agree with his logic of not being particular how someone like that is executed so long as such a person is executed.

*The teenage boy in question was legally the murderer's nephew but biologically his son as he had raped his sister-in-law while his brother was in prison.

The up side to the credit time is that in Indiana, the most an inmate can gain is cutting his time in half, making it 30 years. The only way he could get less is to get a sentence modification which is highly unlikely with a quadruple attempted murder conviction.

As for bargaining away the gun charges, I am with Kirk on this one. What is a 0-365 day misdemeanor conviction compared with voluntary surrender for 4 felony attempted murder charges?

 

[Sarge470]

While I can sympathize to a certain extent the OP's frustration with what he believes is charitable treatment in this case (a very good friend of mine was the Paramedic in the back of that ambulance), the Allen County Prosecutor's Office is not necessarily known for its ability to win big cases unless they've got a "lay-down hand"...with juries the way they are nowadays, that's not a given under any circumstances. The case against Jackson was solid enough to convince him and his attorney that a plea was a wise move, yet challenging enough to convince the prosecutor likewise, and the prosecutor needed a co-conspirator to testify for the state in the related case against Dontay Martin, the other shooter. With Jackson's testimony piled on top of the physical evidence presented, a jury convicted Martin on ALL charges, and he's now staring down both barrels at 200 years. We got two shooters convicted for the price of one trial, and my paramedic friend seems to be satisfied with that outcome, considering that juries can be pretty unpredictable. I agree with Kirk, that once everything is taken into account, the plea agreement worked out pretty well for everyone involved and helped to secure a second conviction.

 

[92ThoStro]

Why do people keep saying the gun charges fall under federal jurisdiction. Carrying without a license is a misdemeanor in IN. He didn't cross state lines, and he used a semi-automatic handgun, not a fully automatic AK-15. Can you please explain your reasoning for saying that the feds let the case go?

I guess the gun was probably also stolen too.