Given the arguments regarding caliber and capacity, this situation reminds us that shot placement trumps everything.

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There was “bad blood” between Dakota Wayne Kirkman, 19, and Manuel Martinez III, 36. The men lived about 22 miles apart. Yoakum is in DeWitt County, Texas. Kirkman and his girlfriend lived in Hallettsville in Lavaca County, Texas.

Dakota did not want his live-in girlfriend to hang around Martinez and his wife. His girlfriend, Martinez, and Martinez' wife were at Martinez' house when Kirkman came to bring his girlfriend home. Kirkman arrived in his truck. He had a singleshot .22 rifle and one cartridge, loaded in the chamber.

Kirkman and Martinez got into a verbal altercation. The Sheriff reported that alcohol was involved.

The altercation escalated into a gunfight. Cartridge cases found at the scene indicated that Martinez fired 15 shots from an AR15 type rifle and 12 shots from a .40 caliber pistol.

Most of the action seems to have happened while Kirkman was in or around his truck. 13 bullet holes were found in the truck. 11 of the bullet holes were from .223 cartridges. Two of the bullet holes were from a .40 caliber pistol.

Kirkman is recorded as firing one shot from his single shot .22 caliber rifle. The shot struck Martinez in the chest, killing him.

Kirkham was in jail for 55 days, and on Oc.11, the grand jury found him justified by reason of self defense.

Link

Honestly not sure why he spent more than a night in jail, much less 55 days.

From the link, what could go wrong?

"867 Bootlegger Lane" "The Sheriff reported that alcohol was involved."

The dead guy fired 15 shots from an AR and 12 shots from a 40 cal. The survivor fired one shot from a 22. Not yer typical ending, maybe the survivor drank less, or not at all.

He was still very lucky even if this was good marksmanship,and not just good luck.

A better plan is, don't be around stupid people doing stupid things (and drinking at the same time).

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Originally posted by RHINOWSO:
Honestly not sure why he spent more than a night in jail, much less 55 days.

Yeah, I was pondering that too, but the dead guy apparently was the resident.

I doubt he could make bond, probably not low considering the circumstances. All he could afford was a single-shot .22, so I'm guessing he was not real familiar with money.

He may have been innocent by self defense of the shooting but may have committed a number of other infractions.

He took his .22 rifle with one bullet to a potential gunfight and was drinking. Another good lesson, don't go anywhere with a gun that you wouldn't go without a gun.

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Originally posted by newtoSig765:
I doubt he could make bond, probably not low considering the circumstances. All he could afford was a single-shot .22, so I'm guessing he was not real familiar with money.

Probably correct.

I wonder what condition his underwear was in after all that mayhem?

Jim

Maybe he should look into a different girlfriend.

There are various examples of folks getting killed with a single lucky .22 round. But those are the exception, not the rule.

The Trooper Mark Coates shooting, which just about every LEO these days learns about in the academy, is one well-known example.

South Carolina State Trooper gets into a gun fight during a traffic stop in 1992. Shoots the bad guy 5 times center mass with his .357 Magnum. Bad guy gets one lucky shot with a .22, which just missed the Trooper's vest, hit him in the armpit, and then traveled into his heart where it severed his aorta.

Bad guy survived a chest full of .357 Magnum. Trooper Coates died from one random .22 round.

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Originally posted by Jimbo54:
I wonder what condition his underwear was in after all that mayhem?

Jim

No shit

Obviously the kid had fired the very last shot and had to withstand the previous 27 rounds. I'm assuming the dead guy emptied his pistol and went to his AR for the last 15 rds. And based on the number of .223 fired, there might have been a good chance he had 5-15 rds left in the mag.

beware the fella with only one gun. he probably knows how to use it.

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Kirkham was in jail for 55 days, and on Oc.11, the grand jury found him justified by reason of self defense.

On the face of it, seems like "justice" needs some serious help there. All that ammo from 2 different high power weapons fired at the guy. He fires one shot(.22 yet)in self defense.

Is the legal system truly so screwed up there that the innocent party spends 55 days in jail?

Remind me never to go to that jurisdiction! I have heard about the wheels of justice grinding slowly, but DAMN!

Just because it was ruled self defense in the long run, doesn't mean it was immediately apparent as self defense at the beginning. (I highly doubt the cops in rural South Texas were like "This guy's clearly innocent, but we're going to arrest him anyway!")

This isn't one of those cut and dried "I was minding my own business and a bad guy tried to break in/rob me/rape me so I shot him in clear self defense" kind of shootings. Self defense claims can often be sketchy.

Based on the article, it sounds like there was a history of bad blood between the two guys. Kirkman shows up at the dead guy's house, possibly drunk. They get into a verbal altercation. Then it escalates into a shooting.

Just based on those bare bones initial details, it's plausible for the roles to have easily been switched, with Kirkham possibly being the aggressor/escalator, threatening the other guy with his .22 rifle, and the other guy responding with handgun and rifle rounds in self defense, before Kirkham finally murdered him. Stuff like that takes time to sort out.

After all, per the Texas Penal Code, using deadly force in self defense is only justified when the shooter (1)has a right to be present at the location where the deadly force is used, (2)has not provoked the person against whom the deadly force is used, and (3)is not engaged in criminal activity at the time the deadly force is used. Based on the bare bones initial details, Kirkman very well could have been violating one or more of those, which would have meant his self defense claim could be rejected.

Only once further details were gathered and later presented to the grand jury, was it finally ruled to be justified self defense, based on all the evidence available in the end.

Maybe Kirkman fired the first shot.

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Originally posted by RichardC:
Maybe Kirkman fired the first shot.

True. That wouldn't have been known without further investigation. (Things like autopsies, ballistics, DNA testing, etc. take a while.)

It was possible that Kirkman was the aggressor and fired first, striking the deceased, who lived long enough to unleash a barrage of rounds in attempted self-defense.

These kinds of things take a bit to sort out.

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Originally posted by Elk Hunter:

...Is the legal system truly so screwed up there that the innocent party spends 55 days in jail?...

Yes. The government figures it's easier to keep somebody locked up than to risk him not showing up for trial. Excessive bail (8th Amendment) is pretty much ignored.

That's one reason jails are so overcrowded. In Crook County, I believe those who are unconvicted and awaiting trial may be there two years or more. Bad dudes they may be, and without a doubt many, even most of them, are guilty, but there is no real presumption of innocence.

Wow, Martinez was a terrible shot.

And/or was shitfaced drunk.

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The Sheriff reported that alcohol was involved.