Update to "Teen Kills Home Intruder with .410" Story

[CT-Mike]

Here is an update to an earlier thread http://www.defensivecarry.com/vbulle...der-410-a.html

I posted:

The Vicksburg Post: News

A second Jackson man has been captured and charged with capital murder for the death of an alleged accomplice in a Dec. 30 home invasion robbery in south Warren County.

Thomas Lamont Flaggs, 30, 910 Claiborne Ave., was picked up by investigators Jeff Crevitt and Mike Traxler, along with U.S. marshals, at about 4 p.m. at his home. Sheriff Martin Pace said additional suspects were being sought.

Authorities believe Flaggs, David Cornelius Bass, 30, 222 Ferguson St., who surrendered at the Warren County Sheriff's Department last Sunday afternoon, and 21-year-old Jonathan Bruce went into a mobile home at 25 Red Oak Drive with intent to rob the occupants. A teen who lived in the mobile home shot and killed Bruce in apparent self-defense.

The adults who lived in the mobile home, Pace said, were roadside vendors. Bruce, Flaggs and Bass had forced their way inside at about 7 p.m. after inquiring about purchasing shoes, authorities said. The adults were not home and the teen and other juveniles told authorities the intruders started bagging up merchandise. The teen, who has not been identified, shot Bruce once with a .410 shotgun. After being wounded, Bruce turned and walked out onto the lawn, where he was found dead when deputies arrived. The other men, believed to be Bass and Flaggs, fled in a white 2007 Hyundai Sonata, which had no license plate, and left the property.

That getaway car was recovered Thursday and brought back to the sheriff's department for forensic evidence, Pace said. Authorities found the car abandoned at an apartment complex parking lot in Jackson. The car is not registered to Bruce, Flaggs or Bass.

Pace said the details of the investigation will be presented to the district attorney, but it appeared the teen's action -- Warren County's only homicide of 2007 -- will be deemed justifiable.

Not so for Bass and Flaggs. Both also face armed robbery charges with the capital murder charges pending under a legal theory that participants in a violent crime, even if they didn't intend for an accomplice to be killed, can be held responsible. Such factual situations are very rare and so are trials.

Bass and Flaggs were in the Warren County Jail today. Bass had his bond set at $200,000, but has not been released. Flaggs is scheduled to be arraigned today or Monday, depending on the court's schedule.

While Pace said other arrests are expected, he refused to go into further detail. He said Warren County officers worked with counterparts in the Jackson Police Department to identify Bruce's companions.

Glad to hear that both of the dead scumbags accomplices is being charged with capital murder.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[retsupt99]

I love it when a 'plan' comes together...your dirtbag buddy gets drilled in a robbery attempt that goes bad, the intended victim survives without a scratch, and the left-over scum gets life in prison for the dirtbag's death.

Stay armed..stay safe!

[halfcrazy]

This is how it should work score one for the good guys. Hopefully the teen will get some help with the aftermath of killing someone.

[goawayfarm]

I heard of this law being used to charge BGs, but is it true that it is seldom, if ever applied?

Both also face armed robbery charges with the capital murder charges pending under a legal theory that participants in a violent crime, even if they didn't intend for an accomplice to be killed, can be held responsible. Such factual situations are very rare and so are trials.

[CT-Mike]

I heard of this law being used to charge BGs, but is it true that it is seldom, if ever applied?

Well, there was a story posted here a few months ago about a home invasion in northern cali where one of the perps ended up dead, and the other was charged with felony murder.

The victim was white, BG's were black, and the minority community was up in arms about the charges. Keep in mind that the homeowners son (or maybe stepson) was beaten so severely with a baseball bat during the invasion that he had to go to a nursing home, couldn't feed or take care of himself.

Story here:

cbs5.com - Murder, Race, Unusual Legal Move In Lake Co. Trial

So maybe this law is starting to be used more frequently as people are getting fed up with violent crimes.

[Tom G]

Its time the protection of the law was on the side of the good guys