[Drizzt]

Marine vs. Marine in Interstate 64 shooting

HIGH-SPEED, 90-MILE DISPUTE ENDS WITH THREE BANGS IN CLARK COUNTY

By Peter Mathews

CENTRAL KENTUCKY BUREAU


A Marine engaged in his own private little war with two other Marines on Interstate 64 early yesterday, allegedly shooting an assault rifle at them in a high-speed case of road rage, authorities said.

Later in the day, authorities discovered the victim and his companion, both military police, were absent without leave from their base at Quantico, Va.

"A guy at the base said they've been gone for two weeks," Clark County Sheriff Ray Caudill said.

Abraham Cerpa, 20, his wife, Catherine, and her 5- and 6-year-old children were en route from Camp Lejeune, N.C., to Chicago when the trouble started.

Around the time they entered Kentucky from West Virginia, they met up with Wesley Wilkinson, 31, and Michael Young, 21. Young was driving Wilkinson's car.

After a traffic transgression of some sort -- Caudill didn't know what it was -- the occupants of the two cars drove side by side for 90 miles, exchanging insults and gestures at high speed.

Somewhere in eastern Clark County, Abraham Cerpa pulled out a MAC-90 assault rifle, Caudill said, and shot off three or four rounds, shattering a window of Wilkinson's car and flattening a tire.

One bullet fragment hit Wilkinson.

The two MPs called 911 from a Winchester service station. About 2:30 a.m., a sheriff's deputy stopped the Cerpas' car on I-64 in Scott County. Catherine Cerpa, clocked at about 100 mph, was charged with speeding, Caudill said.

Abraham Cerpa, who told police he works for the Judge Advocate General's office -- the military's justice system -- was charged with assault and wanton endangerment.

He said the assault rifle was his. Authorities were still verifying that yesterday evening.

After it was over, each of the men found out that his antagonist in the other car was a fellow Marine. It didn't appear to be welcome news, Caudill said.

Wilkinson was treated at Clark Regional Medical Center and released.

He and Young weren't charged. They told police, who did not yet know they were AWOL, that were on their way from West Virginia to Indiana.

Marine Corps officials in Washington and at Quantico could not be reached to confirm the status of the two men.

http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/local/10623593.htm

It's good to know that the military can have 'assault weapons' and we peons can't. If us civilians had them, there'd be road rage shootings and endangerment of children.....

[Shovelhead]

Another of "The Few The Proud" goes off the deep end

CERES, Calif. (AP) - A young Marine whose family said he feared returning to Iraq was killed by police after he shot and killed an officer and wounded another, and authorities said they are investigating the case as a "suicide by cop."

The Marine, 19-year-old Andres Raya, was killed Sunday after he initiated a second gunfight with police as they pursued him for the earlier shooting, authorities said.

"By the statements the suspect made at the scene, it was clear he wanted to die and take as many cops down as he could in the process," Lt. Bill Heyne, lead investigator for the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department, told the San Francisco Chronicle. "This officer was executed."

Ceres Police Sgt. Howard Stevenson, 39, died from multiple gun shots Sunday evening in a gunfight outside a convenience store. The second officer, Sam Ryno, 50, was shot several times and was in stable condition Friday at a hospital.

One Marine who met Raya in Iraq, Lance Cpl. Sarah Carroll, told the Modesto Bee that at one point Raya said his morning supply convoy had gone over a roadside bomb.

"(Raya) said the convoy had one fatality and said how upset he was that it was the other guy and not him," Carroll said. "It seemed like an odd comment, because I didn't get the impression that he knew the guy or had been close to the bomb."



Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press.

[OH25shooter]

Did I read this right? He (Cerpa) had his wife and two young kids in the car when he fired the rifle? :eek:

[Cosmoline]

Old habits die hard. The Marines may take a gang banger in, but that doesn't mean he's not going to revert to being a gang banger when back in civilization.

In the road rage case, I wonder if he was even aiming at the people in the car or just the car itself. Not that it makes much difference, but I'd expect a Marine to be a better shot than that.

[Augustwest]

MAC-90?

MAC-10 x 9? :p

[Sindawe]

MAC-10 x 9

No, probably one of these:

http://www.ak-47.us/pic/mak90/Mak-90-02.jpg

http://www.ak-47.us/MAK-90.htm

[Cyanide_357]

MAC-90 is a Norinco AK (or thats my understanding). I have one,... its pretty nice.

Cyanide

[Ky Larry]

A stupid punk-a$$ "gangsta" can put on a uniform, but inside, he's still a stupid punk. Anyboby who endangers his family to prove some to point of pride is, in my book, a dumb a$$. YMMV.

[RooK]

It's a MAK-90. They probably had someone tell them what the rifle was and used a "C" instead. I saw a picture of it on the news a while back as well.

I doubt anything will come out of that here in KY, we like our guns too much and keep our state reps in line. Other states may use it for justification though. At least no one was killed.

[joebogey]

The bad part is, they had to drive right by my house and I missed it.
Better go out and and check the house for bullet holes.

[Logan5]

Abraham Cerpa, who told police he works for the Judge Advocate General's office -- the military's justice system --

Kind of beside the point, but my understanding was that Marines don't have JAGs, their equivalent is Special Judicial Assistant to the Commandant of the Marine Corps... Would he mean Navy JAG corps?

[Sergeant Sabre]

My unit had an SJA office. That's Staff Judge Advocate. That's all I know...

[George S.]

These idiots were really stupid, actually beyond stupid. The one guy for getting so mad that he has to endanger his family by shooting at somebody and who knows else that was on the road, and the two AWOL Marines for being stupid enough to call the police and knowing they were both AWOL.

This is not about how well a Marine can shoot or the fact that all were Marines or what kind of weapon the guy had or whether or not military or civilians can possess one. Road rage is a very serious problem and once tempers flare to the point of grabbing a gun and shooting at somebody, there is always a chance that innocents may be hurt or killed.

All of them need to go to the Iron Bar Hotel for an extended stay.

[MICHAEL T]

The wife was behind the wheel she could have stopped this. Their a lot of exits across that part of I-64. Put them all in Jail and throw away the keys.Marines need to tighten up the recruiting, Looks like to much trash getting in.

[Augustwest]

I know what a M odified AK is. Was just pokin' fun at the lack of fact-checking and or proofreading in the press these days. :)

[rock jock]

the occupants of the two cars drove side by side for 90 miles, exchanging insults and gestures at high speed
Wow! Talk about focus. I couldn't argue with someone for a full 60-90 minutes just sitting down, much less less driving.

[Logistics]

A few more laws would have prevented this.

[BluesBear]

You can take the Morons out of the Trailer Park, but not even the Corps can take the Trailer Park out of the Morons.