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Victim's son says deputy drew gun quickly on his u
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Victim's son tells a different story: Thomas Jr. says deputy drew gun quickly on his unarmed dad
2002-08-30
by Wendy Giroux
Journal Reporter
KENT -- When Deputy Mel Miller pulled his weapon to shoot Robert Lee Thomas Sr., the ``gun came out of there like it was attached to his hand,'' Thomas' son said Thursday.
Robert Lee Thomas Jr. recalled the day his dad died during the fourth day of an inquest into Thomas Sr.'s death. The younger Thomas said he never saw his father with a gun, even though Miller told jurors earlier this week that he shot and killed the senior Thomas in self-defense.
However, an evidence photograph displayed earlier Thursday supported Miller's testimony. It showed the elder Thomas slumped over in the driver's seat of his pickup truck with a gun in his bloody right hand, resting on his leg.
Finger around the trigger
Thomas Sr.'s right index finger is curled around the trigger in the picture. His left arm hangs through the steering wheel and the keys dangle from the ignition.
On the events of April 7, the testimony of Thomas Jr. and Miller agreed on only one key element: Miller, who was off-duty the day of the shooting, did not identify himself as a King County sheriff's deputy until after he pulled his weapon and fired.
The inquest is being held at the Regional Justice Center in Kent before a jury of community members. Jurors will be asked to determine the answers to a series of questions about the circumstances of Thomas Sr.'s death.
Miller shot and killed Thomas about 11:30 a.m. in Miller's neighborhood east of Renton after Thomas parked his truck partially blocking a private road. Thomas Jr. and Gina Munnell, his girlfriend, were with the elder Thomas at the time. Thomas Jr. was shot through the hand.
During several days of testimony, Miller told the court that he went down to the truck that day at the request of a neighbor, as a private citizen. He testified that Thomas Sr. pulled a gun on him and tried to fire it before he pulled his own gun and shot Thomas Sr.
Drinking before the incident
On the witness stand Thursday afternoon, Thomas Jr. said he got up at about 7 a.m. the day of the shooting and began drinking about an hour later. He testified that he had ``a couple of sips'' or ``maybe two glasses'' of fortified wine that morning, that his dad arrived and they had some more wine together, and that they left to pick up his girlfriend from a nearby inn and had some more wine on the way there.
After picking up Munnell, the trio headed to their friend Curtis McDaniel's house. Thomas Jr. said he had only been to the house once before in the dark. He said he and his dad drank more wine as they drove east on Sunset Boulevard, then east on Northeast Fourth Street toward the Lake McDonald area.
``I was not aware of the exact area because it was daylight,'' Thomas Jr. said. ``It was totally different with the lights on.''
``Pulling over was his (Thomas Sr.'s ) idea, not my idea,'' he said.
Listening to `hillbilly' blues
Thomas Jr. said his father wanted him and Munnell to listen to a ``hillbilly'' blues song that had some relevance to their relationship.
``We had been kind of at odd ends lately and my dad wanted us to kind of kiss and make up kind of thing,'' Thomas Jr. told the court.
He said that at one point he noticed a man approaching but didn't pay any attention until Miller first spoke.
```Get this vehicle outta here now!''' Thomas Jr. yelled, demonstrating Miller's first comment to them.
``I said, `Yes, sir, OK, sir,''' Thomas Jr. testified.
He said he tried to introduce himself and stuck his hand out the window to shake hands but that Miller didn't respond.
``He didn't make no gesture to reach for my hand,'' Thomas Jr. said.
``I glanced over to my dad. I said, `Dad, let's go,''' he said, noting that his dad was on the cell phone and didn't reply.
``At that point, Mr. Miller said, `I don't think you understand. I'm gonna give you one more chance to leave,''' Thomas Jr. testified.
He said he tried again to introduce himself and shake hands.
Handshake rejected
``When I didn't see his hand, I figured, OK, this is one of those prejudiced guys and he isn't gonna shake my hand,'' Thomas Jr. said.
He said Miller's final comment to them before Miller pulled his gun was, ```It's too late.'''
Asked what he thought when he saw Miller pull his gun, Thomas replied, ``That I was gonna die.''
``I put my hands up and started screaming, `Oh, God, please don't shoot!''' Thomas yelled, thrusting his hands above his head. ```Calm down!'''
Miller had testified previously that he fired several shots in self-defense, in quick succession.
Thomas Jr. disagreed.
``In between the first shot and second shot, there was a time gap. I had time to do some pleading,'' he said.
``I was whistling. I was screaming,'' Thomas Jr. said.
He lifted two fingers to his lips and whistled shrilly in example.
Thomas Jr. began crying, pulled his glasses off and grabbed a tissue.
He said that Miller moved toward the back of the truck and began ``aiming at my head.''
`I'll blow your head off'
```If you move, I'll blow your head off!''' Thomas Jr. said Miller yelled.
Thomas Jr. said that he wanted to save his dad's life but was afraid to move.
``He (Thomas Sr.) was talking to me, telling me to calm down,'' Thomas Jr. said. ``I was crying like a pregnant female.''
One of Miller's lawyers, Christopher Vick, asked Thomas Jr. whether his father was in the habit of carrying a gun.
``I wish he had one available to him that day,'' Thomas Jr. replied, reiterating that he did not see his dad with a gun that day.
Thomas Jr. was on the stand for only about an hour and 15 minutes, in contrast with more than two days for Miller. Thomas Jr.'s lawyer did not question Thomas Jr.
With the end of his testimony Thursday, at Judge Patricia Clark's request, Miller put on the clothes he was wearing April 7 as a demonstration for the jury. He donned the jeans, faded green hooded sweatshirt and a tan baseball cap with a blue-and-red logo stating ``I hiked the Grand Canyon.''
Wendy Giroux can be reached at wendy.giroux@southcountyjournal.com or 253-872-6683.
POLICE SHOOTING PROFESSIONAL ETHICS SUPERIOR COURT TRIALS DECISIONS RACE PROBLEMS PHOTOS by Matt Brashears/Journal: Robert Lee Thomas Jr. testifies yesterday about how he reacted on April 7 when King County Sheriff's Deputy Mel Miller pulled a gun and aimed it at his truck. Miller shot and killed Thomas' father, Robert Sr., during the incident. 2) At left: At the inquest into Robert Lee Thomas Sr.'s shooting death Thursday, Deputy Mel Miller showed the hat he was wearing on that day. Below: Miller also wore the jeans and sweatshirt he was wearing on the day of the shooting for the benefit of the jury. The clothes are important because a key issue in the Robert Lee Thomas Sr. inquest is whether Miller, who was off duty at the time, presented himself as a law inforcement officer or private citizen when he shot and killed Thomas. http://www.eastsidejournal.com/sited/story/html/103532
"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
2002-08-30
by Wendy Giroux
Journal Reporter
KENT -- When Deputy Mel Miller pulled his weapon to shoot Robert Lee Thomas Sr., the ``gun came out of there like it was attached to his hand,'' Thomas' son said Thursday.
Robert Lee Thomas Jr. recalled the day his dad died during the fourth day of an inquest into Thomas Sr.'s death. The younger Thomas said he never saw his father with a gun, even though Miller told jurors earlier this week that he shot and killed the senior Thomas in self-defense.
However, an evidence photograph displayed earlier Thursday supported Miller's testimony. It showed the elder Thomas slumped over in the driver's seat of his pickup truck with a gun in his bloody right hand, resting on his leg.
Finger around the trigger
Thomas Sr.'s right index finger is curled around the trigger in the picture. His left arm hangs through the steering wheel and the keys dangle from the ignition.
On the events of April 7, the testimony of Thomas Jr. and Miller agreed on only one key element: Miller, who was off-duty the day of the shooting, did not identify himself as a King County sheriff's deputy until after he pulled his weapon and fired.
The inquest is being held at the Regional Justice Center in Kent before a jury of community members. Jurors will be asked to determine the answers to a series of questions about the circumstances of Thomas Sr.'s death.
Miller shot and killed Thomas about 11:30 a.m. in Miller's neighborhood east of Renton after Thomas parked his truck partially blocking a private road. Thomas Jr. and Gina Munnell, his girlfriend, were with the elder Thomas at the time. Thomas Jr. was shot through the hand.
During several days of testimony, Miller told the court that he went down to the truck that day at the request of a neighbor, as a private citizen. He testified that Thomas Sr. pulled a gun on him and tried to fire it before he pulled his own gun and shot Thomas Sr.
Drinking before the incident
On the witness stand Thursday afternoon, Thomas Jr. said he got up at about 7 a.m. the day of the shooting and began drinking about an hour later. He testified that he had ``a couple of sips'' or ``maybe two glasses'' of fortified wine that morning, that his dad arrived and they had some more wine together, and that they left to pick up his girlfriend from a nearby inn and had some more wine on the way there.
After picking up Munnell, the trio headed to their friend Curtis McDaniel's house. Thomas Jr. said he had only been to the house once before in the dark. He said he and his dad drank more wine as they drove east on Sunset Boulevard, then east on Northeast Fourth Street toward the Lake McDonald area.
``I was not aware of the exact area because it was daylight,'' Thomas Jr. said. ``It was totally different with the lights on.''
``Pulling over was his (Thomas Sr.'s ) idea, not my idea,'' he said.
Listening to `hillbilly' blues
Thomas Jr. said his father wanted him and Munnell to listen to a ``hillbilly'' blues song that had some relevance to their relationship.
``We had been kind of at odd ends lately and my dad wanted us to kind of kiss and make up kind of thing,'' Thomas Jr. told the court.
He said that at one point he noticed a man approaching but didn't pay any attention until Miller first spoke.
```Get this vehicle outta here now!''' Thomas Jr. yelled, demonstrating Miller's first comment to them.
``I said, `Yes, sir, OK, sir,''' Thomas Jr. testified.
He said he tried to introduce himself and stuck his hand out the window to shake hands but that Miller didn't respond.
``He didn't make no gesture to reach for my hand,'' Thomas Jr. said.
``I glanced over to my dad. I said, `Dad, let's go,''' he said, noting that his dad was on the cell phone and didn't reply.
``At that point, Mr. Miller said, `I don't think you understand. I'm gonna give you one more chance to leave,''' Thomas Jr. testified.
He said he tried again to introduce himself and shake hands.
Handshake rejected
``When I didn't see his hand, I figured, OK, this is one of those prejudiced guys and he isn't gonna shake my hand,'' Thomas Jr. said.
He said Miller's final comment to them before Miller pulled his gun was, ```It's too late.'''
Asked what he thought when he saw Miller pull his gun, Thomas replied, ``That I was gonna die.''
``I put my hands up and started screaming, `Oh, God, please don't shoot!''' Thomas yelled, thrusting his hands above his head. ```Calm down!'''
Miller had testified previously that he fired several shots in self-defense, in quick succession.
Thomas Jr. disagreed.
``In between the first shot and second shot, there was a time gap. I had time to do some pleading,'' he said.
``I was whistling. I was screaming,'' Thomas Jr. said.
He lifted two fingers to his lips and whistled shrilly in example.
Thomas Jr. began crying, pulled his glasses off and grabbed a tissue.
He said that Miller moved toward the back of the truck and began ``aiming at my head.''
`I'll blow your head off'
```If you move, I'll blow your head off!''' Thomas Jr. said Miller yelled.
Thomas Jr. said that he wanted to save his dad's life but was afraid to move.
``He (Thomas Sr.) was talking to me, telling me to calm down,'' Thomas Jr. said. ``I was crying like a pregnant female.''
One of Miller's lawyers, Christopher Vick, asked Thomas Jr. whether his father was in the habit of carrying a gun.
``I wish he had one available to him that day,'' Thomas Jr. replied, reiterating that he did not see his dad with a gun that day.
Thomas Jr. was on the stand for only about an hour and 15 minutes, in contrast with more than two days for Miller. Thomas Jr.'s lawyer did not question Thomas Jr.
With the end of his testimony Thursday, at Judge Patricia Clark's request, Miller put on the clothes he was wearing April 7 as a demonstration for the jury. He donned the jeans, faded green hooded sweatshirt and a tan baseball cap with a blue-and-red logo stating ``I hiked the Grand Canyon.''
Wendy Giroux can be reached at wendy.giroux@southcountyjournal.com or 253-872-6683.
POLICE SHOOTING PROFESSIONAL ETHICS SUPERIOR COURT TRIALS DECISIONS RACE PROBLEMS PHOTOS by Matt Brashears/Journal: Robert Lee Thomas Jr. testifies yesterday about how he reacted on April 7 when King County Sheriff's Deputy Mel Miller pulled a gun and aimed it at his truck. Miller shot and killed Thomas' father, Robert Sr., during the incident. 2) At left: At the inquest into Robert Lee Thomas Sr.'s shooting death Thursday, Deputy Mel Miller showed the hat he was wearing on that day. Below: Miller also wore the jeans and sweatshirt he was wearing on the day of the shooting for the benefit of the jury. The clothes are important because a key issue in the Robert Lee Thomas Sr. inquest is whether Miller, who was off duty at the time, presented himself as a law inforcement officer or private citizen when he shot and killed Thomas. http://www.eastsidejournal.com/sited/story/html/103532
"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
Comments
The Associated Press
8/30/02 6:54 AM
NEW YORK (AP) -- An appeals court has shortened the jail term of a former corrections officer who pleaded guilty in the 1999 beating death of a Nassau County jail inmate.
The officer, Patrick Regnier, was initially sentenced to just over 11 years in prison in the death of prisoner Thomas Pizzuto, 38, but was re-sentenced last year to 27 years -- more than twice his original term.
Regnier had appealed the initial 11-year term, saying he should have been sentenced under the guideline for involuntary manslaughter, which carried lesser penalties, rather than voluntary manslaughter.
A federal appeals court sent the case back to a U.S. District Court judge and ordered him to clarify what crime Regnier and another convicted guard had committed.
After giving the men a chance to withdraw their appeals, the judge ruled that the underlying crime in Pizzuto's death was second-degree murder, and sentenced Regnier to 27 years in jail.
This week, the federal appeals court reinstated Regnier's original sentence of 11 years, saying the court may have misled Regnier about the risk of a longer sentence if he appealed.
Reigner and the other jail guard, Edward Velazquez, both admitted to fatally beating Pizzuto, a heroin addict who was serving a 90-day sentence for traffic violations. Velazquez did not pursue the appeal of his initial sentence.
http://www.nj.com/newsflash/jersey/index.ssf?/cgi-free/getstory_ssf.cgi?j0135_BC_NY--JailHomicide&&news&newsflash-newjersey
Copyright 2002 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
"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
The Associated Press
COLVILLE. Stevens County - Two former law enforcement officers have been sentenced after pleading guilty to shooting up a Stevens County neighborhood with a submachine gun, then lying to investigators.
Former Stevens County deputy Will Clark and his onetime Suncrest roommate, former Newport police reservist Christopher Spurlock, accepted plea agreements Wednesday from Prosecutor Jerry Wetle.
Stevens County Superior Court Judge Larry Kristianson sentenced Clark to nine months and Spurlock to 30 days. Kristianson also ordered them to pay $1,967 in restitution to their neighbors.
Clark, 29, pleaded guilty to illegal possession of a machine gun, a felony, and to reckless endangerment and obstructing law enforcement officers.
Spurlock, 27, had been charged with illegal possession of a machine gun and obstructing law enforcement officers, but the possession charge was dismissed because the gun belonged to Clark. A charge of illegally discharging a firearm was substituted in the plea bargain.
Unlike Clark and two other defendants, Spurlock was not accused of firing the 9 mm Steyr submachine gun, which sprayed bullets into two Suncrest homes early April 16. He admitted firing the weapon later at a gravel pit.
Wetle said the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is investigating how Clark obtained the weapon. That investigation could result in more charges, he said.
No one was injured, but at least one bullet penetrated two walls and lodged in a stack of books about five feet from a sleeping man.
Clark, Spurlock and two guests in their rented Suncrest home had been drinking when someone decided to fire the illegal weapon from the deck behind the house.
The guests, Brian Cravens, 24, of Nine Mile Falls, and his brother, Jeffrey Cravens, 22, of Utah, pleaded guilty earlier to illegal discharge of a firearm.
An investigation showed Clark and Spurlock attempted to mislead investigators by initially telling them the perpetrators had left the area, then later saying the 9 mm bullets came from Clark's Glock service weapon.
http://www.tribnet.com/news/crime_safety/story/1689383p-1806146c.html
"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
Assistant DA Allegedly Gave Woman Gun From Prior Murder Case
POSTED: 6:59 a.m. EDT August 30, 2002
UPDATED: 5:15 p.m. EDT August 30, 2002
SANFORD, N.C. -- A Lee County assistant district attorney was fired Friday after authorities believe he allegedly tried to hire someone to kill his wife.
Lee County Assistant District Attorney Bill Huggins appeared before a judge Friday on charges that he allegedly tried to hire someone to kill his wife.
District Attorney Tom Locke issued a statement Friday, saying that Huggins will no longer work for the Lee County District Attorney's office.
"Bill Huggins prosecuted in this district for 15 years and he was a dedicated employee. Our entire staff is shocked and saddened by the arrest," Locke said.
Huggins appeared before a judge Friday where two attorneys from the state Attorney General's Office were brought in from Raleigh to handle the case for the state.
Authorities say Michelle Davis, who was allegedly involved in the murder plot, has not been charged in this case. However, she was arrested Thursday in Moore County on unrelated charges.
Prosecutors told the judge that Huggins had been talking with another woman, Melissa Davis, since December 2001 about killing his wife, Kathy. Prosecutors said Huggins gave Davis a gun from a murder case he prosecuted in 1996.
Prosecutors said in Huggins signed a statement, admitting to a relationship with Davis.
Defense lawyers denied the allegations, saying that Huggins was not serious about hiring Davis to kill his wife.
Huggins was released on bond Friday afternoon. The judge said Huggins was not to set foot in Lee County except for his court appearance. Huggins was also ordered to stay with his parents who live in Clayton.
The State Bureau of Investigation said its agents arrested Huggins around 8:15 p.m. Thursday.
Locke has also directed the SBI to take charge of the case.
Authorities say Davis has not been charged in this case, however, she was arrested Thursday in Moore County on unrelated charges.
Huggins has a probable cause hearing on Sept. 11.
http://www.wral.com/news/1641209/detail.html?subid=22100762
"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
Suspected of removing items from police room
Associated Press
BLAIRSVILLE, Pa. -- The mayor was charged with stealing handguns, pellet guns and ammunition from a police evidence room that he allegedly planned to sell at flea markets or keep for himself.
The charges against Mayor James W. Brubaker Sr., 65, were filed Tuesday, about two weeks after Indiana County detectives searched Brubaker's home and allegedly found four handguns, 11 pellet guns and four boxes of ammunition, all believed missing from the police station.
Brubaker didn't immediately return a call to his home Thursday. His attorney, Thomas Johnson of Indiana, says he doesn't comment on pending cases.
Under the borough code, Brubaker will keep his $900-a-year, part-time post unless he is convicted or resigns.
Brubaker, who is serving is second term, was charged with theft, receiving stolen property, possession of a firearm with an altered serial number and obstruction of justice.
Brubaker served on the Blairsville police force from 1961 to 1972, including a seven-year stint as chief.
Blairsville's new police chief, James Guffey, learned of the missing weapons on Aug. 3, his third day on the job, according to court documents.
Guffey said the handguns were evidence or apparently turned over to police under protection-from-abuse orders, and the pellet guns were apparently seized from youths who used them improperly.
Officer Virginia Moorhead, who has since resigned, told Guffey that Brubaker told her in April that he wanted to sell the pellet guns at a flea market in Georgia. Brubaker told Moorhead he wanted to use the money to buy new weapons for the police department, authorities said.
In July, Brubaker approached Moorhead about taking handguns for his private collection, including one with its serial number filed off, police said.
On both occasions, Moorhead told Brubaker the weapons couldn't be removed without a court order, but he told her not to worry about that, police said.
http://www.dominionpost.com/a/news/2002/08/30/bt/
"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
By Leslie Fulbright
Robert Thomas Sr. stopped by the side of a road and tried to offer fatherly guidance to his son about relationships through an old blues song when an angry man approached their truck, the son testified yesterday during an inquest into his father's shooting death.
The stranger demanded they leave, Thomas Jr. testified. Seconds later, the father lay bleeding as the son pleaded for help to revive him, the son told jurors.
Those are among the details Robert Thomas Jr. offered yesterday in what for witnesses and many observers in the packed courtroom at the Regional Justice Center in Kent, was the most emotional testimony of the week's proceedings.
The son's testimony diverged dramatically from the account of the shooter, off-duty King County sheriff's deputy Melvin Miller.
While Miller had described shooting the elder Thomas in self-defense, Thomas Jr. said the deputy was the sole aggressor.
Thomas Jr. said he'd been having problems with his girlfriend, Gina Marie Munnell, when his father picked the couple up to go to breakfast at a friend's house. The three were drinking wine and had trouble remembering the way, the son testified.
Inquest facts
What: Fact-finding review by civilian jury of circumstances surrounding fatal shooting of a black man by a white, off-duty King County sheriff's deputy.
Who: Shooter is Melvin Miller, 49, of Renton area; deceased is Robert Lee Thomas Sr., 59, of Ballard.
When: About 11:20 a.m. April 7.
Where: In the 14400 block of 196th Avenue Southeast in the Lake McDonald neighborhood east of Renton.
Details: Thomas was driving his pickup with his son Robert Lee Thomas Jr. in the front seat and the son's girlfriend, Gina Marie Munnell, in the back seat. Thomas Sr. stopped in Miller's neighborhood, partially blocking a road. A neighbor asked Miller to intervene. Miller agreed and asked Thomas Sr. to move and, after some type of confrontation, fired his service weapon three times, killing Thomas Sr. and wounding his son. Miller says the elder Thomas pointed a gun at him; Thomas Jr. says that his father was unarmed and that Miller never identified himself. Police found a gun in Thomas Sr.'s hand after the shooting.
After the elder Thomas pulled over to play the song, the son said, the father called his girlfriend, Shirley May Scott, at his Ballard home to have an intimate moment of his own.
"He was very adamant about keeping relationships together," the younger Thomas said.
The man in a sweat shirt, bluejeans and a baseball cap approached the front passenger-side window and shouted, "Get this vehicle out of here now!" Thomas Jr. testified.
The younger Thomas said he held out his hand through the window and introduced himself, but the man made no gesture.
"I thought we were starting off on a bad foot," Thomas Jr. testified, adding that he glanced at his father, still talking on the phone, and told him to drive away.
"I don't think you understand. I'm going to give you one more chance to leave," the stranger said in a more aggressive tone, Thomas Jr. said, adding that he again offered his hand.
But the stranger said it was too late and pulled a gun on them, Thomas Jr. testified.
"The gun came out like it was attached to his hand," he continued. "I feel like it had been there the whole time. I thought I was going to die."
At times sobbing on the stand, the younger Thomas said he put his hands in the air and started yelling, "Please don't shoot me!"
The man fired a shot, said Thomas Jr., who begged for his life before the man fired twice more. Two bullets struck the younger Thomas; one hit his father in the chest.
When Munnell popped her head out from the back seat, the stranger retreated to the back of the truck, Thomas Jr. said.
At that point, the son said he was crying hysterically, begging for help, as his father lay dying.
"I still couldn't figure out who this guy was," Thomas Jr. said. Moments later, the man identified himself as a King County sheriff's deputy.
"I said, 'Please let me save my dad,' " the son testified, adding that he was a former medical technician. "I wanted to apply pressure. I could have saved him if given half the chance."
As he spoke, family and friends, seated in the courtroom, broke down in tears.
The son recalled his father talking in the 10 minutes it took for help to arrive and repeatedly asking Thomas Jr. to calm down. The father's breathing slowed just before paramedics arrived.
A deputy called to the shooting removed Thomas Jr. from the truck, the son testified, forcing him to the ground and cuffing him.
Earlier this week, Miller testified that he shot the elder Thomas after Thomas Sr. had pointed a weapon at Miller.
The younger Thomas testified yesterday that he never saw his father with a gun that day. But jurors were shown a photo of the deceased Thomas with a gun in his hand.
Leslie Fulbright: 206-515-5637 or lfulbright@seattletimes.com.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/134525404_inquest30e.html
Copyright c 2002 The Seattle Times Company
"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
By Lisa Patterson - Daily World writer
After punching his girlfriend in the face and stomping on her foot, Wayne Borst went back into their trailer and loaded his shotgun.
The sound of that round entering the chamber finally prompted Karen Cleaver to call 911 last June.
Neighbors at Ocean City say the pair fought a lot.
After pleading guilty to fourth - degree domestic violence assault, Borst, 44, spent about a month in jail.
When he was released on July 31, Cleaver got a court order saying Borst had to stay away from her.
But that little piece of paper wasn't enough.
On Aug. 19, Cleaver called 911 to report that Borst had assaulted her again - twice. When deputies arrived, he was gone. That's when Cleaver, 39, decided to pack up and stay with a friend, "Iron Mike" Bailey, who lived down the road.
In the early morning hours of Aug. 20, prosecutors say Borst entered Bailey's residence - a shop building with living quarters upstairs - and lit some oily rags as the two slept. He's charged with two counts of first - degree murder and arson and is set to be arraigned Sept. 9, in Grays Harbor Superior Court.
"That's when most victims get hurt or killed - when they finally say 'enough,' " said Aggie Eldred, the executive director of the Domestic Violence Center of Grays Harbor. "Once they make that choice, it's a critical time."
Eldred says nothing makes an abuser more angry than taking away his control, and that's essentially what happens when the victim calls the relationship quits.
Between 1997 and 2001, there were 184 domestic violence related homicides in Washington state. The majority of the victims were women who were in the process of leaving the relationship, according to a report by The Washington State Domestic Violence Fatality Review.
Victims of domestic violence reported 12,110 violations of protection orders in 2000, the study says.
Based on those startling statistics, some may wonder if court protection orders are enough.
Grays Harbor County's undersheriff, Rick Scott, says orders can be a valuable tool for victims, police agencies and the courts. When an order is in place and the police are called, the person violating the order is taken to jail. But orders don't work when violations aren't reported.
"We can't protect people who don't protect themselves."
Cleaver did call when Borst allegedly assaulted her on Aug. 19. But some who knew the couple said they had been in contact since his release from jail on July 31.
"One of the most common questions I get is, 'Well if she doesn't like it, why doesn't she just leave?' " Eldred said. "But it's not that easy."
In Grays Harbor, there were 722 domestic violence related crimes reported in 2000, according to the Crime in Washington study published by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs. That includes one murder and 172 violations of protection orders.
Most of the crimes were assaults, but domestic violence crimes typically also include burglary, rape and stalking.
"And that's just the tip of the iceberg, since most victims do not report crimes to police," Eldred said.
The Domestic Violence Center, with headquarters in Hoquiam, averages about 200 new clients a year. This year, 782 women have attended one or more support groups. Last year support group attendees totaled 1,334. In 2000, there were 1,192.
On average, two or three men who are victims of domestic violence come to the center for help each year.
The hotline is also busy. Sometimes victims call for advice. Other times, someone close to them calls to find out how they can help.
So far this year, there have been 2,640 separate case calls to the agency. In 2001, there were 5,453 calls, and in 2000, 6,510.
"Now if you take into account all the victims who never even picked up a phone, you can already imagine how much domestic violence may be happening behind closed doors," Eldred said.
Domestic violence can include a lot of different coercive elements, including emotional, physical, sexual and economic abuse, Eldred said.
The outreach center director said the allegations of domestic violence turning deadly make her sick - although she hopes the murders don't discourage victims from attempting to get out of abusive situations.
"I wish she (Karen Cleaver) would have called us; we would have found her a safe place," Eldred said. "Women a lot of times say they'll leave and stay with a friend or family, but sometimes they could be putting those people in a very dangerous spot."
The goal is to, "find a safe place where they can't find you," she said.
At the center, advocates try to assist abuse victims (including men) with whatever they need to get out of the situation - legal help, financial assistance, a safe place to stay a night or just some advice or a person to listen.
Eldred doesn't promise it will be easy. Sometimes it means starting your life from scratch.
"It's about rebuilding self - esteem - that's where it starts," Eldred said. "An abuser conditions the victim into thinking she can't make good decisions for herself. She eventually believes she can't make it and is better off where she is."
Eldred calls that, "learned helplessness."
Some people say that what happens behind closed doors within families is their business. But according to The Washington State Domestic Violence Fatality Review, domestic violence reaches further than just the victim.
In the course of their rage, abusers also killed 38 other people in Washington state between 1997 and 2001, including other family members, neighbors and three law enforcement officers.
Eldred says it's a societal problem and the only way to conquer it is through education and zero tolerance.
"I think we have a big problem in our community, but I really believe that our community is more aware of it," Eldred said. "The numbers are high and that can look both good and bad.
"But at least it means people are reporting it."
Some suggestions
The Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence has some suggestions for helping people in abusive relationships:
* Approach victims in an understanding, non - blaming way.
* Acknowledge that it is scary and difficult to talk about abuse and let victims know they don't deserve to be treated this way and they're not to blame.
* Support them as a friend. Be a good listener and do not tell them what to do. Allow them to make their own decisions, even if you do not agree.
* Avoid ultimatums that require them to end the relationship or lose the friendship. That could just isolate them from support, giving the abuser even more control.
* Consider that leaving an abusive relationship is often the most dangerous time for a woman and her children. It's important to talk with an advocate about safety planning.
* Let them know they're not alone.
http://www.thedailyworld.com/daily/2002/Aug-30-Fri-2002/news/news4.html
For more information call the Domestic Violence Center of Grays Harbor at 538 - 0733, 24 hours a day, or 1 - 800 - 818 - 2194
"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
This poster released by police Friday, Aug. 30, 2002, shows James Ramiah Logan, whom Prince George's police say shot and killed two Prince George's County Sheriff's deputies on Thursday in Adelphi, Md., as they tried to serve a psychiatric petition.
AP Photo/Prince George's County Sheriff's office
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By STEPHEN MANNING, ASSOCIATED PRESS
ADELPHI, Md. (AP) - A man who police say killed two deputies as they tried to take him away for emergency psychiatric care remained at large Friday and was believed to be armed.
James Logan, 23, hid in a bedroom of his parents' house Thursday, then shot the sheriff's deputies with a handgun when they confronted him, said Capt. Andrew Ellis, a spokesman for the Prince George's County Police Department.
"They were caught completely by surprise. It appears it was a very quick and violent event," Ellis said.
Police found what they said was Logan's getaway vehicle in a nearby neighborhood, and officers there handed out fliers with his picture. Search dogs were also being used in the manhunt, which began in Prince George's County and was later expanded to the Washington, D.C., area.
County police Chief Gerald M. Wilson said Logan was believed to have the handgun used to kill Cpl. James V. Arnaud, 53, and Deputy Sheriff Elizabeth Licera Magruder, 30. Arnaud died at the scene and Magruder died a short time later at Prince George's Hospital Center.
The deputies were serving a mental health warrant that Logan's wife had sought because he was behaving erratically, two police sources familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press. Logan has a history of mental and emotional problems and violent behavior, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The deputies were let into the home by Logan's parents and found him in the basement. After a brief struggle, Logan ran upstairs and hid in a bedroom. The deputies tried to talk to him, but he flung the door open and shot them, authorities said.
Investigators on Friday questioned a man they said was at the home when the shootings occurred and left with Logan. Police said the man, whom they did not identify, wasn't believed to be involved in the shootings.
As word of the deaths spread, more than a hundred law enforcement officers gathered at the hospital, some crying or hugging outside the emergency room. Later, they held a group prayer.
At a news conference at the hospital, Sheriff Alonzo Black described the killings as "the most serious tragedy that has ever occurred to the office of sheriff."
http://newsobserver.com/24hour/nation/story/517274p-4107633c.html
"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
By DANI DODGE
Mail Tribune
The morning of Nov. 4, 2001, was cool and crisp as Ryan Leon Wilson and his hunting buddies made their way up a ravine on public lands near Butte Falls looking for black-tailed bucks.
Donald Hauser, hunting to Wilson's right, called out "Don't shoot. It's a doe."
But 41-year-old Wilson only heard the sound of a deer making its way up the steep forested hillside behind him - and to his right.
As a safety precaution, Wilson shouted out to the other hunters to determine their positions. Two answered back. Hauser didn't.
"I could still hear the deer," Wilson testified Wednesday, his words coming out in gasps and sputters, choked off between deep sobs. "I turned and looked up there. I saw four legs and a body."
Wilson said he could see it going down the hill sideways.
"I swore it was a deer," he said. "I pulled up and shot."
Then he heard Hauser: "I heard him yelling `You killed me.' "
On Wednesday, a 12-person Jackson County Circuit Court jury determined Wilson was guilty of second-degree manslaughter for recklessly firing his rifle and killing Hauser. Judge Patricia Crain presided over the two-day trial. The jury reached a verdict in two hours.
Hauser had been upslope and about 175 yards from Wilson when Wilson fired. Wilson admitted he didn't check the scope on his .338-caliber rifle before squeezing off a shot.
"I saw four legs going up there," he said balling his hands into fists and making a prancing motion in the air. "I turned up and shot. I aimed at the right shoulder."
Wilson, a Medford father of two grown children who works at Sherm's Thunderbird, will be sentenced Sept. 5. He faces a minimum sentence of six years and three months in prison.
About two dozen of Hauser's friends and family sat through the trial, including Hauser's wife, Cathy, and sons, aged 10 and 14.
"I'm happy with the verdict," Cathy Hauser said. "I think what Ryan did was reckless. He heard a noise and shot into the bushes. I've hunted since I was a little girl. You don't do that."
Wilson and Donald Hauser's brother, Carl, had been best friends since attending Medford Senior High School together. As a teen, Donald would tag along with the older boys.
But over the years, Donald Hauser - a 34-year-old Pepsi service man from White City - became much more involved with family activities than hunting with his brother's friends, his wife said. He coached Little League, Pop Warner football, his wife's softball team and played baseball himself.
Hauser had just gone through a hunter safety class with their oldest boy, Cathy Hauser said.
"He was a safe hunter," said Cathy Hauser, whose first date with her husband was a squirrel hunt.
Wilson testified he also had gone through several hunter safety courses. He had not been drinking or doing drugs the day of the shooting, he said. He just thought he saw a deer.
But not even Jackson County Deputy District Attorney Matt Chancellor said Wilson aimed to kill Hauser.
"We are not alleging he intended to shoot Donald Hauser," Chancellor said. "What we are saying is Mr. Wilson was aware of and disregarded a substantial and unjustifiable risk."
Defense attorney Bob Abel said, though, that Wilson's mistake didn't rise to the level of a crime. Maybe the level of a civil lawsuit, he reasoned, but not a crime.
"He shot at what he thought was a deer," Abel said. "He was wrong. Is he a criminal? Or did he just make an awful mistake?"
The jury foreman declined to comment on the verdict. Wilson, who remains free on bail, also declined comment.
Donald Hauser's brother, Carl, who was Wilson's best friend, said he's only spoken to Wilson once since the shooting and that conversation was "short and unpleasant."
Still, he was crying after the verdict.
"It was a stupid accident - stupidity on his part," Carl Hauser said. "But whether this is the right result, I can't say. There is no right result."
Reach reporter Dani Dodge at 776-4471, or e-mail ddodge@mailtribune.com
http://www.mailtribune.com/archive/2002/0829/local/stories/06local.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