Mas had a spot of trouble gaining access here so he sent me this to share:
"The case was Florida v. Wilburn Brooker, back in the '80s. Brooker and his secretary were terrorized in his real estate office by a 26 year old career criminal named Terry Johnson, who robbed them at the point of a stolen Charter Arms Undercover .38. When Johnson fled, Brooker told the secretary, "Call the police and tell them what I look like, I'm going after him. He grabbed his 12-gauge deer shotgun, a Savage pump loaded with #1 Magnum buckshot, and pursued. Caught up with him a few blocks later, lots of witnesses. When Will shouted for the suspect to stop, the left-handed suspect turned on him aiming the .38 to his rear at Brooker, and Brooker fired one shot, killing him outright.
Dade County, FL had seen a spate of self-defense killings of bad guys by armed citizens. Janet Reno was then state's attorney for the county. Miami Herald had been calling for her to do something about all the armed citizens taking the law into her own hands. Janet and her minions apparently decided that since the shooting was cross racial, Will's shot from behind had "struck the deceased in the back," and the pursuit must have meant he was seeking revenge, she would make an example of him. He was charged with, IIRC, Manslaughter.
During my deposition, the prosecuting ASA suggested that since they were fifty feet apart when the single shot was fired, Brooker was in no danger and "out of range" of a "snub-nose .38." I replied that this was not the case at all. He asked snidely how far away the man would have to be for me to feel safe from him, I almost replied, "Oh, Kenosha" but instead answered that at 100 yards I would still consider myself to be in deadly danger from a man so armed. The ASA was writing furiously in his legal pad at that point, so it was obviously going to be a point when he cross examined me at trial. Shortly after the dep, I took a notary public with me to a 100 yard range with 4 .38 snubs: A Charter Arms like Johnson's stolen gun, a Model 36 S&W, a Model 12 S&W, and my wife's Colt Detective Special. The notary documented 2 hits out of 5 shots on the Colt silhouette at 100 yards with the Charter, the same with the Model 36, 3 out of 6 with the Airweight M&P snub, and 6 out of 6 with the DS.
We also went to the range and videotaped speed of turning and firing at 50 feet left-handed with a Charter 2", using blanks when firing at the camera (Will's perspective) and live ammo so the camera could see the hits to show accuracy potential at 50 feet.
Jeff Weiner, the brilliant lawyer who defended Brooker, wanted to take it to trial and so did I. However, Brooker's doctor said his heart condition was such that the stress of trial would jeopardize his life. Jeff went in with the prosecutors, showed them the evidence we were gong to present, and they decided to plea bargain WAY down. The judge gave a withhold of adjudication, and a couple of years later i was told Will Brooker was again a citizen with a clean record and a carry permit."
