No warning required

On television, people always yell “freeze!” when the bad guy with a gun is threatening someone. Yelling “freeze” is stupid. It’s a fantastic way to get shot. Just shoot the dude. Ask questions later. Now, I say this assuming you know beyond a reasonable doubt you are shooting the right guy. I’ll give examples next week, but this week, I address my favorite “freeze” case.

I had a case where a citizen with great intentions yelled “freeze” when he saw a friend being held up by a gunman at a pawn shop. Hindsight is wonderful because he should have shot the dude, but he yelled a warning first, and the drug-crazed robber turned and started shooting. Our hero got a few shots off but was himself shot and luckily survived, though he had severe wounds. The gunman was on a drug-infused crime spree at the time, so bear with me as I tell a few stories.

The defendant complained that his attorney wasn’t getting him a plea offer (there was no plea offer), so in court, he fired his capable attorney so he could talk to me. He asked for a plea offer, so I offered three consecutive life sentences plus 50 years, all with no parole. He was incredulous and said, “That’s ridiculous, I’m not taking that.” I replied, “I wouldn’t take it either. You better hire your attorney back.” He did. 

During the trial, I discovered a WRPD evidence bag from the pawn shop robbery that had the innards of a watch. No watch, just the guts. I had video of the perp at a subsequent Perry armed robbery of a gas station. He used a hat to conceal his face, so it was difficult to see him. I enlarged the image of him walking past the register, and he was wearing a watch with no innards! The watch was in his personal effects at the jail, so I got a search warrant for it. The watch face had a defect that appeared to be caused by a bullet! The hero had shot close enough that he blew the watch guts out in Warner Robins, but that destroyed watch was used to convict him in a subsequent Perry armed robbery. Brilliant (or lucky) law and order moment by yours truly!

The jury did the obvious and convicted the accused. The judge gave the maximum sentence (slightly more than I had offered), three life sentences plus 90 years, no parole, consecutive. The hero victim was mad at me for reasons I don’t recall and was giving me grief as we left the courtroom. I finally said, “I just got a 390-year, no-parole sentence, and you aren’t happy with that? Go to law school, pass the bar, wait three years, and then run for DA. Geez.”

Final story. A reporter asked me if the sentence was excessive. I said there was no such thing and that when (defendant) died, I wanted his embalmed corpse propped up in the corner of the prison until his sentence expired as a warning to others. I laughed when the reporter put my quote in the article. My friends said it sounded tough.

Kelly Burke, attorney, former district attorney, and magistrate judge, writes about the law, rock’n’roll, politics, or anything that strikes him. Contact Kelly at dakellyburke@gmail.com to comment on this article or suggest articles you’d like to see, and visit his website at www.kellyrburke.com.