Shooting occurred last Sunday at his apartment as his GF was moving out. She called her dad and brother to come over and help move stuff knowing there is a history of bad blood between my friend and her brother. Things escalated and my friend shot her brother 4-5 times. Since the apartment was only a few blocks from hospital dad and GF put brother into their car and took him there. Knowing police would arrive shortly friend waited and was compliant when the police did show up. GF brother was airlifted to trauma hospital in Indy and spent a couple days in ICU but is now in a regular room and out of danger. Friend was placed on a 48hr hold and then an extended 72hr hold pending charges of Aggravated Battery a Level 3 Felony. I will summarize from here:

72hr hold expired and friend was out Friday afternoon.

He has excellent defense lawyer who was longtime former judge in our county.

Lawyer feels under Indiana Castle Doctrine and Self Defense Statute the prosecutors office has no case.

Friend has text history of threats against him from the brother and while under arrest would only say he told brother to leave his apartment multiple times and brother refused eventually pulling a knife on him.

Friend felt his life and that of his younger sister who was there equally in danger pulled a 9mm and defended himself.

Friend did not call 911, they did at the hospital and no knife was found at the scene.

My friend comes across as a tough guy and has lot's of gun tattoos but is a good and sensible person, he even worked for me in my gun shop when I had one. I also know the brother and he can be a loose cannon at anytime. Thoughts on all this, sorry for long post.

First thought that comes to mind: your friend should have called 911!! That’s not going to look good at all.

Don't start a gun fight with a knife.

Bet the knife left the scene with the ex, her dad, and the brother, when they took him to the ER. It’s lucky your friend has a witness in his little sister because the ex and her family probably won’t be very likely to be entirely impartial in their testimony.

Sounds plausible but it'll likely be one of those cases where it "costs him" dolla$dolla$billz to be off the hook, ie pay for his lawyer and all that.

Especially if Indiana allows the family to sue regardless of criminal charges being dropped.

Again, it could be totally legit but likely a number of things your friend could have done to avoid the situation, but being a 'tough guy' does come at a cost.

quote:

She called her dad and brother to come over and help move stuff knowing there is a history of bad blood between my friend and her brother.

Well well well.

The police should have been there to begin with.

If he truly felt his life was in danger, than he did what he had to do and the investigation will hopefully clear him. Either way, whatever the consequences, they are better than the alternative. "Better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6" isn't just a slogan, right?

If there is more to the story, then the cops and the courts will sort it out.

quote:

Originally posted by sig-bandit:
Friend did not call 911

Why not?

He should have called the police first. Always best to be the first on record.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:

quote:

Originally posted by sig-bandit:
Friend did not call 911

Why not?

Because "My friend comes across as a tough guy".

quote:

Originally posted by tigereye313:
He should have called the police first. Always best to be the first on record.

It's even better to make sure the police only ever hear your side of the story.

I wonder if those Gun Defense Insurance/Clubs would cover and jump in if he had had it. I have never heard of anyone who is a member that has used it (probably for legal reasons they do not share the story).
Wish your friend the best outcome possible.

I agree with others who said he should have called the police himself. Always, always, always call the police if you are in a defensive shooting. As someone said, you get your story on the record first. And it makes it look like you aren't trying to hide anything.

good points by everyone, not calling 911 is not earning him any points in this situation. I agree too that the knife probably left the scene with the family members. I heard that a couple of the responding city officers are not happy about no charges being filed to this point. Of course just because they are LE doesn't mean they are gun guys either.

quote:

Originally posted by Mars_Attacks:
The police should have been there to begin with.

Nope.

This is the kind of thing that can happen when you date crazies...

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:

quote:

Originally posted by sig-bandit:
Friend did not call 911

Why not?

Because "My friend comes across as a tough guy".

Was there a pay phone near by?

Coming across as a tough guy and being one are 2 different things... does he have a history of run-ins with the law, assaults, short-tempered etc.?

This story is so full of poor judgement. Lots of ways to avoid this problem.

1. Don't date crazy women with crazy family members.
2. Call a mover to help, not crazy family members with conflicts already established.
3. Don't be a crazy person and badass yourself.
4. Don't go anywhere with a gun that you wouldn't go without one.
5. Don't carry a gun as an extra set of testicles.
6. Find smarter friends.

Want to bet who the girlfriend and family members will support in their story?