He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone...
Jesus of Nazareth, Jewish activist, major league trouble maker, and Son of Almighty God
Well, none of us have ever been able to follow that particular instruction, at least not with any consistency.
Curtis Reeves certainly didn't on January 13th of this year. Reeves is the retired Tampa cop who was sitting in a theater on that day waiting for the start of the film, "Lone Survivor." He got pissed off because a guy in front of him, Chad Oulson, was texting during the coming attractions. Words were exchanged, things boiled out of control--then--because apparently every white guy in the state of Florida ends an argument with gunfire--Mr. Reeves shot Oulson to death.
Today, MSN News is reporting that newly released court records show Reeves was doing a little thumb magic himself in the auditorium of the movie house that fateful day. Matthew Reeves was supposed to meet his mother and father at the theater, but was running late. At 1:04 pm, 16 minutes before the film was supposed to begin, the elder Reeves texted his son to let him know he and his wife were already seated. A scant few minutes later, just as Matthew, an active duty Tampa cop arrived, his father killed Chad Oulson during an argument about Oulson texting messages to what turned out to be his child's babysitter.
The 71 year old Reeves is charged with second degree murder and aggravated battery. He has pleaded not guilty and claims he acted in self defense. In his version of the events Oulson stood, confronted him, and hit him in the face with either his fist or cell phone. While such actions may, or may not be what amounts to a capital offense in the Sunshine State, no one else in the theater, including Reeves' wife, who was seated next to him, saw the phantom punch. A couple of people did say they witnessed popcorn flying in the air right before Reeves fired the fatal round, so perhaps the ex cop was fearful of a deadly husk lodging in his mouth which could cause serious gum damage.
Listen, that shit is possible.
Meanwhile, down in Duncan, OK, a judge ruled Chancey Luna and Michael Jones will be charged with first degree murder. Luna and Jones are the two bright bulbs who are accused of killing Australian, Christopher Lane while he was jogging. Young, Mr. Lane was in town visiting his fiance and went out for a run to stay in shape because he was a catcher on the East Central Oklahoma college baseball team.
There is no clear reason why the shooting occurred other than the clowns charged with the crime had a loaded gun and wanted to use it. None of them had any connection to Lane. Initially it appeared Jones would flip on Luna and James Edwards, who was also in the car during what amounted to a drive by shooting. He had told authorities early on they shot Lane because they were bored.
Then the prosecution switched horses and now it is Edwards who is turning state's evidence on Luna and Jones. According to Edwards, he was in the front seat rolling a joint, completely unaware of what was about to transpire, when Jones, who was driving, suddenly swerved the car toward Lane and Luna shot him from the back seat. The prosecution said the maneuver proved pre meditatation. During the proceedings the D.A. also dismissed statements by the defendants that they thought the weapon was loaded with blanks. He claimed they were abject lies, made up after the act to cover up their deadly intent.
The story in, The Oklahoman, written by Nolan Clay, noted the prosecution called a Stephens County Sheriff's Department dispatcher to the stand. She testified she over heard a conversation between Jones and another inmate back in August of last year. She swore, Jones admitted, "We tried to shoot several others, but kept missing."
Hey, as everyone around here knows, it is tough to hit a target from a moving vehicle, especially if you're on a bumpy road.
Luna's mother claims her son told her he didn't do it. She says she believes him. Yesterday she showed up at court wearing a pink tee shirt with a large photograph of his face on the front of it. The police have yet to locate the weapon used during the crime.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to law and order in the real world.
Yes, nothing is certain and as the TV show disclaimer tells us, "all parties are considered innocent until proven guilty."
That is all.
I'm done here.
3-13-14
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