mikeb3185
Member
there are actually 2 news storys here from a local paper. i think i know where this will go but still wanted some thoughts. for more info go to to www.niagara-gazette.com and search sheard
i am most upset because the public is turning this kid into a maryter and i just dont understand how a 16yr old could not understand the possible immediate consequences of his actions in an armed robbery
your thoughts greatly appreciated
Robbery gun looked real
By Rick Pfeiffer
Saturday, April 23, 2005
It might be the most famous gun in the world.
The Walther PPK was James Bond’s gun and there’s a good reason why the fictional secret agent was armed with it. As handguns go, the Walther is compact, powerful and easy to use.
If it’s good for secret agents, it apparently also works for would-be robbers.
Wednesday night, a Falls pizza deliveryman stared down the barrel of what looked like a Walther PPK. As a pair of bandits beat him, the man drew his own weapon, a .40 caliber semi-automatic handgun and pulled the trigger.
His bullet found its mark, killing one of his attackers and sending the other one running. Only when police began processing the crime scene did they realize the gun being brandished by 16-year-old Anthony “Tony†Sheard was an air pistol, a gun that fires pellets instead of bullets.
“It can be deadly,†Falls Police Detective Captain Ernest Palmer said of the pellet gun. “It has been deadly in the past and is very capable of causing serious physical injury.â€
Not only can the air pistol inflect a fatal injury, but a side by side comparison between Sheard’s air pistol and a real Walther PPK shows the two guns are virtually identical. Palmer believes the pizza deliveryman had every reason to think he was about to be shot.
“It would be impossible to distinguish the difference between a Walther PPK and this gun,†Palmer said. “Especially in a dark alley.â€
Detectives say Sheard and his cousin, 16-year-old Aldeaz M. Lewis, were lying in wait for the pizza deliveryman in an alley behind a home in the 1300 block of Pierce Avenue. After being waved to the alley by a group of teens on the front porch of the home, the deliveryman got out of his car and saw a young man, his face partially masked by a bandana, start to approach him.
In the ensuing struggle, the deliveryman said “the contents of his pants were emptied,†including money, his wallet and a pistol permit.
“He then described seeing a pistol in the hands of one of his assailants,†Palmer said, “and as he was falling to the ground, he reached for a holster on his right hip, drew his .40 caliber, semi-automatic handgun and fired one shot.â€
The shot hit Sheard in the head, killing him instantly. Niagara County Coroner James Joyce said an autopsy showed Sheard suffered a gunshot wound to the rear of his head, with the bullet exiting through his left temple.
“His death was attributed to a perforating gunshot wound to the head,†Palmer said.
Since the deliveryman told investigators he fired the shot as he was falling to the ground, Palmer said the autopsy results confirm the man’s account of what happened.
“It is consistent with what he told us,†Palmer said. “The angle of the entry wound would line up with where (the deliveryman) was.â€
Lewis, who police said fled after his cousin was shot, was arraigned in Falls City Court on Friday on a charge of second-degree robbery. He pleaded innocent and was jailed pending further court proceedings.
Detectives, again, said the deliveryman would not face any charges. Palmer said his actions were “justified.â€
“Even if the assailant was not armed with a gun, New York State law, under certain circumstances, would permit the use of deadly physical force to prevent a robbery in progress,†Palmer said.
“These kids had no idea they could be killed doing this,†he said. “They didn’t understand the consequences of their actions.â€
Sheard shooting will go to grand jury
By Rick Pfeiffer
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
The case of a Falls pizza deliveryman, who shot and killed one of two teenagers who were attempting to rob him, will go to a Niagara County grand jury.
“We are going to conduct an investigation,†Niagara County District Attorney Matthew J. Murphy III said, “and it will probably be submitted to the grand jury sometime in June.â€
Murphy’s announcement was hailed by the family of Anthony “Tony†Sheard, the 16-year-old Niagara Falls High School 10th-grader who was killed by a single gunshot wound to the head.
“We’re pleased,†Sheard’s paternal grandmother Doris Bradford said Tuesday.
His uncle, Anthony Mitchell, said he hoped the grand jury would hear evidence from people other than police investigators.
“They (police) went solely by what the pizza man told them,†Mitchell said.
Sheard was shot and killed two weeks ago as he and a cousin, Aldeaz Lewis, tried to rob a deliveryman from Ventry’s Pizza at gunpoint.
Falls Police have not charged the deliveryman. Investigators said the man’s gun was registered and he had a license to carry the weapon.
“All the evidence at the scene backs up the version of the shooter,†Falls Police Detective Captain Ernest Palmer said. “We have no reason to believe he did anything wrong. It certainly appears to be a justified use of deadly physical force,â€
What Murphy will look at, and what the grand jury will review, is whether the deliveryman was “justified†in using deadly physical force to defend himself from Sheard and Lewis.
The section of the New York State Penal Law that will guide Murphy and the grand jury, is known as Article 35. The article is titled “Defense of Justification.â€
“The law applies to police and every citizen, even lawyers and reporters,†Buffalo attorney Thomas Burton said. “It is the law which governs the use of force which would otherwise, be criminal.â€
Burton, a former police officer and a former assistant district attorney, knows what he’s talking about. He’s one of the foremost experts on interpreting Article 35 in New York state.
He teaches cops at the Erie County Law Enforcement Academy on how to apply the law while they work the streets. However, Burton stresses, the law doesn’t just apply to police.
It covers all citizens, including pizza drivers.
In general, Article 35 provides that “A person may ... use physical force upon another person when and to the extent he reasonably believes such to be necessary to defend himself ... from what he reasonably believes to be the use or imminent use of unlawful physical force by (another) person.â€
In the case of the pizza delivery driver, he told investigators he saw a gun.
“He (the pizza deliveryman) described seeing a pistol in the hands of one of his assailants (Sheard),†Palmer said, “and as he was falling to the ground, he reached to a holster on his right hip and drew a .40 caliber, semi-automatic handgun and fired one shot.â€
Section 15, Sub-section 2 of Article 35 appears to apply directly to the circumstances facing the deliveryman. It reads, “A person (may) use deadly physical force upon another person (if) he reasonably believes that such other person is using or is about to use deadly physical force (against him).â€
“The key in all these circumstances is imminent use or threat of use of deadly physical force,†Burton said.
Though Article 35 does require, in some circumstances, a person to retreat from danger before using deadly physical force, that requirement does not apply when a person “reasonably believes that such other person is committing or attemptingo commit ... (a) robbery.â€
“Even if the assailant was not armed with a gun, New York state law, under certain circumstances, would permit the use of deadly physical force to prevent a robbery in progress,†Palmer said
i am most upset because the public is turning this kid into a maryter and i just dont understand how a 16yr old could not understand the possible immediate consequences of his actions in an armed robbery
your thoughts greatly appreciated
Robbery gun looked real
By Rick Pfeiffer
Saturday, April 23, 2005
It might be the most famous gun in the world.
The Walther PPK was James Bond’s gun and there’s a good reason why the fictional secret agent was armed with it. As handguns go, the Walther is compact, powerful and easy to use.
If it’s good for secret agents, it apparently also works for would-be robbers.
Wednesday night, a Falls pizza deliveryman stared down the barrel of what looked like a Walther PPK. As a pair of bandits beat him, the man drew his own weapon, a .40 caliber semi-automatic handgun and pulled the trigger.
His bullet found its mark, killing one of his attackers and sending the other one running. Only when police began processing the crime scene did they realize the gun being brandished by 16-year-old Anthony “Tony†Sheard was an air pistol, a gun that fires pellets instead of bullets.
“It can be deadly,†Falls Police Detective Captain Ernest Palmer said of the pellet gun. “It has been deadly in the past and is very capable of causing serious physical injury.â€
Not only can the air pistol inflect a fatal injury, but a side by side comparison between Sheard’s air pistol and a real Walther PPK shows the two guns are virtually identical. Palmer believes the pizza deliveryman had every reason to think he was about to be shot.
“It would be impossible to distinguish the difference between a Walther PPK and this gun,†Palmer said. “Especially in a dark alley.â€
Detectives say Sheard and his cousin, 16-year-old Aldeaz M. Lewis, were lying in wait for the pizza deliveryman in an alley behind a home in the 1300 block of Pierce Avenue. After being waved to the alley by a group of teens on the front porch of the home, the deliveryman got out of his car and saw a young man, his face partially masked by a bandana, start to approach him.
In the ensuing struggle, the deliveryman said “the contents of his pants were emptied,†including money, his wallet and a pistol permit.
“He then described seeing a pistol in the hands of one of his assailants,†Palmer said, “and as he was falling to the ground, he reached for a holster on his right hip, drew his .40 caliber, semi-automatic handgun and fired one shot.â€
The shot hit Sheard in the head, killing him instantly. Niagara County Coroner James Joyce said an autopsy showed Sheard suffered a gunshot wound to the rear of his head, with the bullet exiting through his left temple.
“His death was attributed to a perforating gunshot wound to the head,†Palmer said.
Since the deliveryman told investigators he fired the shot as he was falling to the ground, Palmer said the autopsy results confirm the man’s account of what happened.
“It is consistent with what he told us,†Palmer said. “The angle of the entry wound would line up with where (the deliveryman) was.â€
Lewis, who police said fled after his cousin was shot, was arraigned in Falls City Court on Friday on a charge of second-degree robbery. He pleaded innocent and was jailed pending further court proceedings.
Detectives, again, said the deliveryman would not face any charges. Palmer said his actions were “justified.â€
“Even if the assailant was not armed with a gun, New York State law, under certain circumstances, would permit the use of deadly physical force to prevent a robbery in progress,†Palmer said.
“These kids had no idea they could be killed doing this,†he said. “They didn’t understand the consequences of their actions.â€
Sheard shooting will go to grand jury
By Rick Pfeiffer
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
The case of a Falls pizza deliveryman, who shot and killed one of two teenagers who were attempting to rob him, will go to a Niagara County grand jury.
“We are going to conduct an investigation,†Niagara County District Attorney Matthew J. Murphy III said, “and it will probably be submitted to the grand jury sometime in June.â€
Murphy’s announcement was hailed by the family of Anthony “Tony†Sheard, the 16-year-old Niagara Falls High School 10th-grader who was killed by a single gunshot wound to the head.
“We’re pleased,†Sheard’s paternal grandmother Doris Bradford said Tuesday.
His uncle, Anthony Mitchell, said he hoped the grand jury would hear evidence from people other than police investigators.
“They (police) went solely by what the pizza man told them,†Mitchell said.
Sheard was shot and killed two weeks ago as he and a cousin, Aldeaz Lewis, tried to rob a deliveryman from Ventry’s Pizza at gunpoint.
Falls Police have not charged the deliveryman. Investigators said the man’s gun was registered and he had a license to carry the weapon.
“All the evidence at the scene backs up the version of the shooter,†Falls Police Detective Captain Ernest Palmer said. “We have no reason to believe he did anything wrong. It certainly appears to be a justified use of deadly physical force,â€
What Murphy will look at, and what the grand jury will review, is whether the deliveryman was “justified†in using deadly physical force to defend himself from Sheard and Lewis.
The section of the New York State Penal Law that will guide Murphy and the grand jury, is known as Article 35. The article is titled “Defense of Justification.â€
“The law applies to police and every citizen, even lawyers and reporters,†Buffalo attorney Thomas Burton said. “It is the law which governs the use of force which would otherwise, be criminal.â€
Burton, a former police officer and a former assistant district attorney, knows what he’s talking about. He’s one of the foremost experts on interpreting Article 35 in New York state.
He teaches cops at the Erie County Law Enforcement Academy on how to apply the law while they work the streets. However, Burton stresses, the law doesn’t just apply to police.
It covers all citizens, including pizza drivers.
In general, Article 35 provides that “A person may ... use physical force upon another person when and to the extent he reasonably believes such to be necessary to defend himself ... from what he reasonably believes to be the use or imminent use of unlawful physical force by (another) person.â€
In the case of the pizza delivery driver, he told investigators he saw a gun.
“He (the pizza deliveryman) described seeing a pistol in the hands of one of his assailants (Sheard),†Palmer said, “and as he was falling to the ground, he reached to a holster on his right hip and drew a .40 caliber, semi-automatic handgun and fired one shot.â€
Section 15, Sub-section 2 of Article 35 appears to apply directly to the circumstances facing the deliveryman. It reads, “A person (may) use deadly physical force upon another person (if) he reasonably believes that such other person is using or is about to use deadly physical force (against him).â€
“The key in all these circumstances is imminent use or threat of use of deadly physical force,†Burton said.
Though Article 35 does require, in some circumstances, a person to retreat from danger before using deadly physical force, that requirement does not apply when a person “reasonably believes that such other person is committing or attemptingo commit ... (a) robbery.â€
“Even if the assailant was not armed with a gun, New York state law, under certain circumstances, would permit the use of deadly physical force to prevent a robbery in progress,†Palmer said
I thought the smaller and more compact a handgun was the harder it is to achieve the same level of accuracy as a full size gun.