Orlando CCW holder drops a criminal

[divemedic]

The article with video

OCOEE, Fla. -- A man shot and killed a suspected robber during an attack on a clerk at a convenience store late Monday night. The man said he saw the armed robber beating the clerk with what he believed was a gun and when the robber turned toward him he opened fire.

Orange County deputies and Ocoee police surrounded the Kangaroo Express convenience store on Franklin Street in Ocoee with crime tape. Officers said they found the suspected armed robber lying on the floor dead inside the store.

 

[divemedic]

Follow up:

I went to the county clerk's website. A person with the same name and age as the dead critter in this case had a pretty extensive record. Here is his Orange county arrest record:

8/08 Domestic battery- case open
8/07 Driving while license suspended- habitual offender Convicted and fined
8/06 Burglary of an occupied dwelling, theft, dealing in stolen property. Charges dropped by prosecutor (reading the case notes, it looks like a plea deal)
7/95 Felony Theft- Convicted and served 364 days in jail
3/95 Aggravated Battery- Convicted and sentenced to 91 days in jail

there were a host of other cases, I didn't go through them all. Here we have a convicted, violent felon. Good riddance

 

[tallpines]

Wonder what gun/ammo he used. Was he charged with anything?

 

[DC300a]

Good Work on the shooter's part. I hate that he has to live with that now but he did the right thing.

I thought it was funny that the story made note of the shooter's criminal record but did not mention the criminal's record as noted by DiveMedic.

 

[tallpines]

I hate that he has to live with that now but he did the right thing.

Glad that if I ever had to do it as a civilian, I'm pretty sure it wouldn't bother me. Just another POS scumbag off the planet. Killing in the military didn't bother me so it's not like it would be an entirely foreign thing like it would be for most other people. Never lost a wink of sleep over it.

 

[Sniper X]

To bad nobody will see stories like this on the national news though.

 

[BigBlock]

Now I wonder how much his lawyer fees will be for being a good citizen?

 

[jojosdad]

I thought it was funny that the story made note of the shooter's criminal record but did not mention the criminal's record as noted by DiveMedic.

What does this mean then?

The man killed was identified as 40-year-old Freddie Carson of Orlando. Public records show he had a rap sheet going back to 1987, including charges like battery and burglary.

 

[divemedic]

The man killed was identified as 40-year-old Freddie Carson of Orlando. Public records show he had a rap sheet going back to 1987, including charges like battery and burglary.

The above line was not in the original story. The byline of the story reads:

updated: 4:36 pm EST January 6, 2009

 

[jojosdad]

Sorry - I wasn't aware of the earlier version of the story.

There's an even better and newer update with this added.

MAN WHO FIRED GUN PROTECTED BY FLORIDA LAWS

Chris did not have a concealed weapons permit, but he was protected by two other laws that allow drivers to carry guns in their cars and allow gun owners to start shooting if they witness a violent felony.

"He reacted in a reasonable way," Larry Anderson told Eyewitness News on Tuesday.

He doesn't think there's anything wrong with what the bystander did. Anderson runs Shoot Straight, a gun range in Apopka.

"He did what he had to do to stop somebody from getting killed," Anderson told Eyewitness News.

In Florida, it's perfectly legal to have a gun in your vehicle if it's secured in something like a holster or in your glove compartment. Eyewitness News checked and found out there's also another law on Christopher's side based on his version of what happened.

Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law, enacted three years ago, states a person can "meet force with force, including deadly force if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to him or herself of another person to prevent a forcible felony."

Looks like a good story for our side.

 

[alohachris]

"Police said they're still investigating whether Chris will face any charges by coming to the rescue with a gun. "

Troubling. What details are the police missing? Clerk with head bashed in, dead felon, guy with gun says "I shot him while he was bashing the clerks head in."

"At least one customer shopping at the Kangaroo convenience store disagrees with the law and believes Christopher could've stopped the suspected robber without pulling the trigger.

"That's kind of scary that anybody can just walk up and blam, blam, and you're done," Jeff Harrison said."

Well, Jeff, that's a risk you take while committing a violent felony in a shall-issue state. If you were the one behind the counter, you might feel differently about it.

 

[Kilgor]

At least one customer shopping at the Kangaroo convenience store disagrees with the law and believes Christopher could've stopped the suspected robber without pulling the trigger.

"That's kind of scary that anybody can just walk up and blam, blam, and you're done," Jeff Harrison said.

Yeah, if you're beating a woman to death.

 

[IdahoLT1]

Good story. hopefully their castle doctrine(if the have one) is good. I know some states are like Idaho, but if its in self defense, whether 1st degree or 3rd party, the person acting in self defense is immune from civil action from the offenders family/self. Most cases will be thrown out and at cost to the offender/family.

 

[divemedic]

WKMG is now calling the shooter "a so-called hero" and is examining the law and slamming him in that smarmy, left handed way they use.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Note to self: If you ever meet this dude named Jeff Harrison, remind him that he's an idiot, in case he's forgotten.

 

[Frog48]

"That's kind of scary that anybody can just walk up and blam, blam, and you're done," Jeff Harrison said."

The good samaritan didnt "just walk up and blam, blam, blam" a random law abiding citizen. He fired upon a criminal who was actively engaged in a violent felony.

 

[MedWheeler]

Not sure I'd be saying quite so much before the PD officially closes the case, but looks like he did what needed to be done. I'd probably tell the press no more than that I was afraid for my safety and/or that of the clerk, and that I might be open to speaking more once the case is closed.

 

[gilfo]

Opening statement in one of the tv news programs " Man kills robber and cops let him off". The reporters tone of voice was like how could they let him get away with it.

 

[Guitargod1985]

That's crazy. I was at that very same store just last week.

Thumbs up for the young man who defended the clerk. If not for his actions, that scumbag may very well have killed the clerk and who knows who else down the road.

It really is too bad that the news crew had to turn around and make this whole thing about this Chris fellow and some silly non-violent possession charge that happened four years ago.

As for this Jeff character, I'll keep it High Road and just say that he needs to grow up.

 

[MagnumDweeb]

We've had a nunber of questionable cleared shootings here in Florida under our Castle Doctrine or as some antis call it "No Retreat" law. This granted was when the law was brand new and the usual scum were trying to abuse it so I think they got cleared so reasonable law abidding folks wouldn't be penalized. Plus the fear of doing away with the law is still probably one too great for any politician to try and really do away with.

Even an anti would take a hit "yeah so this guy was trying to rape your daughter and we are allowing his family to sue her because she jammed a nail-file in his eye as this guy had already smacked her around, threw her to the ground, ripped open her skirt and was undoing his pants." The usual idiots and ignorants ran their mouths about "No Retreat" but we've still yet to see the blood of criminal scum flood in the streets.

There's essentially (I'm not a lawyer so I can't give legal advice so don't rely on it as such) an extension of the usual self-defense laws with the added protection of not allowing for civil prosecution (if they don't take you to criminal court, then you can't be taken to civil court) and the fact you don't have to necessarily retreat so such as you are in the parking lot and johnny knife mugger decides to pull out a knife and threatens that if you don't give him your money he'll cut. Well if you reasonably fear for your life (check out the Florida Division of Agriculture website) and use matching force, in this case lethal force because a knife can reasonably be percieved to be an instrument capable of rendering severe injury, death, or disfigurement or other violent felony such as rape or kidnapping. And the police clear it as a clean shooting, then the dirtbag's family can't sue you.

And you are allowed to use force for others you would use for yourself if met with the same situation. So if a guy was beating you with a pistol and you feared for your life and shot him, you'd generally be cleared here in Florida so long as you were a law abiding citizen at the time. Essentially unless you were trying to rob someone, you are clear to defend your life (in this case someone elses) if it is in reasonable danger of being ended. In this case someone saw a robber beating a woman, he thought he saw a gun, thought she was in great danger of being killed and decided he didn't want that. Plus he could have thought 'once he's done killing her I'm next' and went and shot her, all theoretically of course, and all without any sure legal knowledge.

As my Grandpa says "the only reason there is crime, is because there aren't enough criminals in the morgue."

 

[Krazeehorse]

Wonder why Jeff Harrison didn't stop it without a gun?

 

[Fisherman_48768]

Wonder why Jeff Harrison didn't stop it without a gun?

Likely because the police are looking in all the wrong places for the suspected second person or this Jeff is related to the BG. Either way his comment reflects a lack of understanding or intelligence or both.

 

[mgkdrgn]

Might want to change the title of this thread ... guy doesn't have a CCW.

 

[tallpines]

Might want to change the title of this thread ... guy doesn't have a CCW.

CCW as in Concealed Carry Weapon? Uh, YES he DID. The permit is another issue altogether, dude.

 

[divemedic]

The news is in fact reporting this morning that the shooter had no CCW permit, but the original news story yesterday reported that he did.

According to press reports, the man had the gun in his glove box and went outside to retrieve it. Under Florida law, this is still legal. One interesting thing in the latest interview: The press was hammering him for not having a permit, and he said he did, and showed them his "pistol registration" which looked like a sales receipt from Shoot Straight in Apopka.

He needs to shut his mouth and lawyer up.