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Questions remain after East Naples shooting
Josey1
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Questions remain after East Naples shooting
Saturday, July 6, 2002
By BRIGID O'MALLEY, bmomalley@naplesnews.com
When an East Naples man's neighbor showed up in a naked rage in the driveway and then forced his way into the man's house early Friday, the 22-year-old neighbor was shot dead. Now, it will be up to authorities to decide if the shooting was justified.
Gerald House, 55, shot and killed Dale Clinton Beatty, his neighbor, in House's home on Randall Circle South in the Brookside neighborhood at 2:45 a.m., Collier County sheriff's deputies say.
State prosecutors will determine whether House was justified when he shot an unarmed Beatty, who was naked, once in the chest inside House's home at 2914 Randall Circle S.
House hasn't been arrested.
Dale Clinton Beatty
Beatty, known as Clint, an accomplished artist, musician and a second-degree black belt in karate, died at Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers on Friday, deputies say.
"He was my best friend," his mother, Karen Beatty, said as she looked through photographs of her son Friday. "My best friend."
Sheriff's deputies don't believe there had been a fight or a confrontation between House and Beatty before he appeared in the driveway and then shoved his way into the House residence, sheriff's spokeswoman Sheri Mausen said.
"Drugs are definitely going to be looked at," she said, adding that toxicology reports from the autopsy will show what was in Beatty's system. "He was acting almost uncontrollably. He wasn't acting rationally."
Assistant State Attorney Mike Provost said justifiable use of deadly force is not a simple issue and it could take some time for investigators to determine what exactly happened. The person has to believe that they or another person is in danger.
"If you can run away, you are obligated to run away," he said.
But if you are attacked in your house, that does not apply, he said.
Prior incidents with the threatening person, the size of the person being threatened vs. the size of the person threatening and whether the person who used deadly force believed he or someone else was about to be harmed would also be considered.
"While the danger they were facing may not have been actual, the appearance of the danger must be such that a reasonable and cautious person believes they can only avoid the danger by use of force," Provost said.
East Naples homeowner Gerald House shot and killed his 22-year-old neighbor Dale Clinton Beatty inside House's home early Friday morning, Collier County sheriff's deputies said. The shooting followed a confrontation inside the home, deputies said. Michel Fortier/Staff
If the evidence is insufficient to make a determination, it could be taken to a grand jury, which would determine whether charges should be filed.
House has no criminal history in Collier County, deputies say.
He couldn't be reached for comment.
Deputies say Beatty was making a commotion outside House's home and the Houses came outside to see what was wrong.
First, there was screaming inside and outside the house, then a single shot was fired, neighbors say.
"Gerry said he kept saying, 'Freeze. Get on the ground,''' recalled Mark Stevenson, 23, who also lives next door to the Houses and spoke with Gerry and Justin, 20, after the shooting. "But the guy wouldn't listen at all. He kept trying to get up, he said."
Deputies say the Houses ordered Beatty to leave their property, but he wouldn't listen. When they went inside to call the Sheriff's Office, he forced his way in behind them. Once again they tried to get him to leave, but he wouldn't. Holding the gun, Gerald House told him 'leave' again, and one more time, but Beatty wouldn't leave the residence.
Detectives say the Houses were calling 911 when the disturbance turned violent in their home and were on the phone with dispatchers when Gerald House fired the shot.
"Justin kept saying he was trying to get at them," Stevenson said.
He said Beatty had jumped on House's wife, Jill, and was trying to get at one of his teen-age daughters after shoving his way into the house.
He said Justin House told him that Beatty punched Justin in the mouth during a struggle. He said Justin told him that he went and got the gun and gave it to his father, a former Marine, who moved into the first home built on the street three decades ago.
"They're just great people, the Houses," Stevenson said. "For Gerry to do that, it probably had to be pretty bad."
He said he watched from his window when deputies arrived. They ran up to the house with their weapons drawn and shined flashlights on the house.
No one heard a fight and neighbors said they believed that Beatty and his girlfriend, who moved into the house several weeks ago, got along well with the House family.
"We got along with them. We got along with everyone," said Beatty's girlfriend, Chan Sinboualay.
She said they'd been to a Fourth of July party on Thursday at a house on the beach. She said they had stayed out late.
"He was up," she said. "But I was passed out. I was exhausted."
She said she didn't hear any noise or any disturbance. She wouldn't elaborate.
"I was sleeping," she said. "He was under a lot of stress."
Beatty grew up in Naples, graduating from Naples High School. He has a 20-year-old sister, Bianca.
Carole Wolfe, who taught Beatty in pottery classes for four years at Naples High, said he was a talented artist who "got along with everyone from the jocks to the computer nerds."
He'd even been back at the high school around Christmas, making presents, she said. He was kind and she said she never heard him raise his voice.
"I can't imagine him intimidating anyone," said Wolfe who retired this year after 16 years at Naples High. "...This is really a lousy ending for a great kid."
Beatty, who played the guitar and wrote songs, worked as a wood sculptor and director of marketing for Star Net, his mother said.
He was even-tempered, laid-back, disciplined and had a great sense of humor.
"Sometimes he stressed himself out with everything he was doing," his mother said.
Dale Clinton Beatty, 22, holds one of his wood carvings. Beatty was shot and killed by his next-door neighbor in East Naples on Friday morning, Collier County sheriff's deputies said. Photo courtesy of the Beatty family
His wood carvings - mostly folk art, some with a nautical theme - are displayed at several local restaurants, including The Dock and Riverwalk, his mother said. He was finishing up three pieces.
Beatty also taught at the Naples Karate Center where he started taking lessons at 5 years old. He traveled to tournaments in Budapest, Scotland, Prague and Hawaii and was looking forward to get back into competition. He was recovering from some injuries, mostly stretched ligaments, and was trying to get back into shape, his mother said.
"He talked about it all of the time, especially recently," Karen Beatty said.
Beatty was ambitious and awakened early to get to work, his girlfriend said. Sometimes as early as 5 a.m. after staying up late working, he'd start his day with meditation and prayer.
Beatty had remodeled his home, just 30 feet away from the Houses', for the past five months or so, his mother said. He laid the tile, put in the wood floors, painted and hand-picked everything, she said.
"That house was primo," she said. "Everything he did, he did to perfection."
He had two dogs, Sugar, a German shepherd mix and Cheech, a Chihuahua mix, and a cat named Ned. Beatty and his girlfriend were planning a housewarming.
His mother said her son wouldn't have started a fight and didn't have a temper if he'd been involved in a disagreement with a neighbor. And he wouldn't have boasted of his karate skills.
"It's a mystery to all of us how this happened," his mother, Karen Beatty, said. "He's even-tempered. He could have handled it."
His mother said she talked to him on the phone Thursday afternoon. She said she had commented to him that it looked like none of the Independence Day terrorism threats were going to materialize.
'"He said, 'Just enjoy your day, Mom. Nothing is going to happen,"' she recalled.
http://www.naplesnews.com/02/07/naples/d792904a.htm
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Questions remain after East Naples shooting
Saturday, July 6, 2002
By BRIGID O'MALLEY, bmomalley@naplesnews.com
When an East Naples man's neighbor showed up in a naked rage in the driveway and then forced his way into the man's house early Friday, the 22-year-old neighbor was shot dead. Now, it will be up to authorities to decide if the shooting was justified.
Gerald House, 55, shot and killed Dale Clinton Beatty, his neighbor, in House's home on Randall Circle South in the Brookside neighborhood at 2:45 a.m., Collier County sheriff's deputies say.
State prosecutors will determine whether House was justified when he shot an unarmed Beatty, who was naked, once in the chest inside House's home at 2914 Randall Circle S.
House hasn't been arrested.
Dale Clinton Beatty
Beatty, known as Clint, an accomplished artist, musician and a second-degree black belt in karate, died at Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers on Friday, deputies say.
"He was my best friend," his mother, Karen Beatty, said as she looked through photographs of her son Friday. "My best friend."
Sheriff's deputies don't believe there had been a fight or a confrontation between House and Beatty before he appeared in the driveway and then shoved his way into the House residence, sheriff's spokeswoman Sheri Mausen said.
"Drugs are definitely going to be looked at," she said, adding that toxicology reports from the autopsy will show what was in Beatty's system. "He was acting almost uncontrollably. He wasn't acting rationally."
Assistant State Attorney Mike Provost said justifiable use of deadly force is not a simple issue and it could take some time for investigators to determine what exactly happened. The person has to believe that they or another person is in danger.
"If you can run away, you are obligated to run away," he said.
But if you are attacked in your house, that does not apply, he said.
Prior incidents with the threatening person, the size of the person being threatened vs. the size of the person threatening and whether the person who used deadly force believed he or someone else was about to be harmed would also be considered.
"While the danger they were facing may not have been actual, the appearance of the danger must be such that a reasonable and cautious person believes they can only avoid the danger by use of force," Provost said.
East Naples homeowner Gerald House shot and killed his 22-year-old neighbor Dale Clinton Beatty inside House's home early Friday morning, Collier County sheriff's deputies said. The shooting followed a confrontation inside the home, deputies said. Michel Fortier/Staff
If the evidence is insufficient to make a determination, it could be taken to a grand jury, which would determine whether charges should be filed.
House has no criminal history in Collier County, deputies say.
He couldn't be reached for comment.
Deputies say Beatty was making a commotion outside House's home and the Houses came outside to see what was wrong.
First, there was screaming inside and outside the house, then a single shot was fired, neighbors say.
"Gerry said he kept saying, 'Freeze. Get on the ground,''' recalled Mark Stevenson, 23, who also lives next door to the Houses and spoke with Gerry and Justin, 20, after the shooting. "But the guy wouldn't listen at all. He kept trying to get up, he said."
Deputies say the Houses ordered Beatty to leave their property, but he wouldn't listen. When they went inside to call the Sheriff's Office, he forced his way in behind them. Once again they tried to get him to leave, but he wouldn't. Holding the gun, Gerald House told him 'leave' again, and one more time, but Beatty wouldn't leave the residence.
Detectives say the Houses were calling 911 when the disturbance turned violent in their home and were on the phone with dispatchers when Gerald House fired the shot.
"Justin kept saying he was trying to get at them," Stevenson said.
He said Beatty had jumped on House's wife, Jill, and was trying to get at one of his teen-age daughters after shoving his way into the house.
He said Justin House told him that Beatty punched Justin in the mouth during a struggle. He said Justin told him that he went and got the gun and gave it to his father, a former Marine, who moved into the first home built on the street three decades ago.
"They're just great people, the Houses," Stevenson said. "For Gerry to do that, it probably had to be pretty bad."
He said he watched from his window when deputies arrived. They ran up to the house with their weapons drawn and shined flashlights on the house.
No one heard a fight and neighbors said they believed that Beatty and his girlfriend, who moved into the house several weeks ago, got along well with the House family.
"We got along with them. We got along with everyone," said Beatty's girlfriend, Chan Sinboualay.
She said they'd been to a Fourth of July party on Thursday at a house on the beach. She said they had stayed out late.
"He was up," she said. "But I was passed out. I was exhausted."
She said she didn't hear any noise or any disturbance. She wouldn't elaborate.
"I was sleeping," she said. "He was under a lot of stress."
Beatty grew up in Naples, graduating from Naples High School. He has a 20-year-old sister, Bianca.
Carole Wolfe, who taught Beatty in pottery classes for four years at Naples High, said he was a talented artist who "got along with everyone from the jocks to the computer nerds."
He'd even been back at the high school around Christmas, making presents, she said. He was kind and she said she never heard him raise his voice.
"I can't imagine him intimidating anyone," said Wolfe who retired this year after 16 years at Naples High. "...This is really a lousy ending for a great kid."
Beatty, who played the guitar and wrote songs, worked as a wood sculptor and director of marketing for Star Net, his mother said.
He was even-tempered, laid-back, disciplined and had a great sense of humor.
"Sometimes he stressed himself out with everything he was doing," his mother said.
Dale Clinton Beatty, 22, holds one of his wood carvings. Beatty was shot and killed by his next-door neighbor in East Naples on Friday morning, Collier County sheriff's deputies said. Photo courtesy of the Beatty family
His wood carvings - mostly folk art, some with a nautical theme - are displayed at several local restaurants, including The Dock and Riverwalk, his mother said. He was finishing up three pieces.
Beatty also taught at the Naples Karate Center where he started taking lessons at 5 years old. He traveled to tournaments in Budapest, Scotland, Prague and Hawaii and was looking forward to get back into competition. He was recovering from some injuries, mostly stretched ligaments, and was trying to get back into shape, his mother said.
"He talked about it all of the time, especially recently," Karen Beatty said.
Beatty was ambitious and awakened early to get to work, his girlfriend said. Sometimes as early as 5 a.m. after staying up late working, he'd start his day with meditation and prayer.
Beatty had remodeled his home, just 30 feet away from the Houses', for the past five months or so, his mother said. He laid the tile, put in the wood floors, painted and hand-picked everything, she said.
"That house was primo," she said. "Everything he did, he did to perfection."
He had two dogs, Sugar, a German shepherd mix and Cheech, a Chihuahua mix, and a cat named Ned. Beatty and his girlfriend were planning a housewarming.
His mother said her son wouldn't have started a fight and didn't have a temper if he'd been involved in a disagreement with a neighbor. And he wouldn't have boasted of his karate skills.
"It's a mystery to all of us how this happened," his mother, Karen Beatty, said. "He's even-tempered. He could have handled it."
His mother said she talked to him on the phone Thursday afternoon. She said she had commented to him that it looked like none of the Independence Day terrorism threats were going to materialize.
'"He said, 'Just enjoy your day, Mom. Nothing is going to happen,"' she recalled.
http://www.naplesnews.com/02/07/naples/d792904a.htm
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878