jimpeel
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The case against .22 caliber "sniper rifles".
http://www.ardemgaz.com/ShowStoryTemplate.asp?Path=ArDemocrat/2003/01/16&ID=Ar01803
Prosecutors: Woman, 84, shot son-in-law in land feud
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MURFREESBORO — An 84-year-old woman shot her son-inlaw dead from 220 yards away
during a family feud over a patch of rural Arkansas land that she insisted was hers, prosecutors say.
"My mother had mental problems and there were a lot of things that were going on," said the woman’s daughter and the slain man’s wife, Johnnye Ruth Davis.
Police say Gertrude Raines shot Charles Davis, 62, with a .22-caliber rifle. Authorities say the rifle did not have a scope.
Raines’ property is adjacent to the Davis property.
Johnnye Ruth Davis said she and her husband were at a cow shelter on their property "minding our own business" Jan. 9 when a shot rang out.
"It’s something you could never imagine happening and certainly not by your own mother," Johnnye Ruth Davis said.
She said her mother believed she owned the land the couple was on.
Prosecutor Tom Cooper said the situation is not a case of selfdefense.
"He was 600 feet away. He was on top of a [shelter] for cows, working on the roof," Cooper said.
Pike County sheriff’s deputy Presto Glenn said Charles Davis was shot in the "midsection."
"From statements she made she intended on killing him," Glenn said. "It’s just a mess."
Raines was arraigned Monday before Circuit Judge Ted Capeheart, who set her bond at $75,000. She remained in the Pike County Jail on Wednesday, according to the sheriff’s department.
At the hearing, the prosecutor asked for a mental examination of Raines, and the judge ordered an exam at the State Hospital in Little Rock. Cooper said he found himself in an unusual situation.
"It put me in a quandary," the prosecutor said.
"What do you do with an 84-year-old ? I don’t think I’ve ever prosecuted anyone who’s 84 years old." The oldest defendant he could recall prosecuting before, Cooper said, was a 63-year-old crack dealer.
"I’ve never had anything like this," he said. "Every day brings something new in prosecution."
Cooper said when deputies searched Raines’ home, they found it dirty and in disarray.
"They caught 29 cats," he said. "There were at least 20 more that they couldn’t catch."
http://www.ardemgaz.com/ShowStoryTemplate.asp?Path=ArDemocrat/2003/01/16&ID=Ar01803
Prosecutors: Woman, 84, shot son-in-law in land feud
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MURFREESBORO — An 84-year-old woman shot her son-inlaw dead from 220 yards away
during a family feud over a patch of rural Arkansas land that she insisted was hers, prosecutors say."My mother had mental problems and there were a lot of things that were going on," said the woman’s daughter and the slain man’s wife, Johnnye Ruth Davis.
Police say Gertrude Raines shot Charles Davis, 62, with a .22-caliber rifle. Authorities say the rifle did not have a scope.
Raines’ property is adjacent to the Davis property.
Johnnye Ruth Davis said she and her husband were at a cow shelter on their property "minding our own business" Jan. 9 when a shot rang out.
"It’s something you could never imagine happening and certainly not by your own mother," Johnnye Ruth Davis said.
She said her mother believed she owned the land the couple was on.
Prosecutor Tom Cooper said the situation is not a case of selfdefense.
"He was 600 feet away. He was on top of a [shelter] for cows, working on the roof," Cooper said.
Pike County sheriff’s deputy Presto Glenn said Charles Davis was shot in the "midsection."
"From statements she made she intended on killing him," Glenn said. "It’s just a mess."
Raines was arraigned Monday before Circuit Judge Ted Capeheart, who set her bond at $75,000. She remained in the Pike County Jail on Wednesday, according to the sheriff’s department.
At the hearing, the prosecutor asked for a mental examination of Raines, and the judge ordered an exam at the State Hospital in Little Rock. Cooper said he found himself in an unusual situation.
"It put me in a quandary," the prosecutor said.
"What do you do with an 84-year-old ? I don’t think I’ve ever prosecuted anyone who’s 84 years old." The oldest defendant he could recall prosecuting before, Cooper said, was a 63-year-old crack dealer.
"I’ve never had anything like this," he said. "Every day brings something new in prosecution."
Cooper said when deputies searched Raines’ home, they found it dirty and in disarray.
"They caught 29 cats," he said. "There were at least 20 more that they couldn’t catch."
