Court Martial with happy ending

[Five-0]

http://bluestarchronicles.com/2008/0...ting-intruder/

The PC Free Zone is reporting that an 80-year-old retired Green Beret has been tried by his peers after shooting an intruder in his Knoxville, Tennessee home. He is the oldest member of Chapter XXXIII of the Special Forces Association. BREVARD, Jan. 19, 2008 – Retired Green Beret Smokey Taylor got his court martial this weekend and came away feeling good about it.
Taylor, at age 80 the oldest member of Chapter XXXIII of the Special Forces Association, was on trial by his peers under the charge of “failing to use a weapon of sufficient caliber” in the shooting of an intruder at his home in Knoxville, TN, in December.
The entire affair, of course, was very much tongue in cheek. Taylor had been awakened in the early morning hours of Dec. 17, 2007, when an intruder broke into his home. He investigated the noises with one of his many weapons in hand.
When the intruder threatened him with a knife, Taylor warned him, then brought his .22 caliber pistol to bear and shot him right between the eyes.
“That boy had the hardest head I’ve ever seen,” Taylor said after his trial. “The bullet bounced right off.” The impact knocked the would-be thief down momentarily. He crawled out of the room then got up and ran out the door and down the street. Knoxville apprehended him a few blocks away and he now awaits trial in the Knox County jail.
The charges against Taylor were considered to be serious. He is a retired Special Forces Weapons Sergeant with extensive combat experience during the wars in Korea and Vietnam.
“Charges were brought against him under the premise that he should have saved the county and taxpayers the expense of a trial,” said Chapter XXXIII President Bill Long of Asheville. “He could have used a .45 or .38. The .22 just wasn’t big enough to get the job done.”
Taylor’s defense attorney, another retired Weapons Sergeant, disagreed. He said Taylor had done the right thing in choosing to arm himself with a .22.
“If he’d used a .45 or something like that the round would have gone right through the perp, the wall, the neighbor’s wall and possibly injured some innocent child asleep in its bed,” he said. “I believe the evidence shows that Smokey Taylor exercised excellent judgment in his choice of weapons. He did nothing wrong, and clearly remains to this day an excellent weapons man.”
Counsel for the defense then floated a theory as to why the bullet bounced off the perp’s forehead.
“He was victimized by old ammunition,” he said, “just as he was in Korea and again in Vietnam, when his units were issued ammo left over from World War II.”
Taylor said nothing in his own defense, choosing instead to allow his peers to debate the matter. After the trial he said the ammunition was indeed old and added the new information that the perp had soiled his pants as he crawled out of the house.
“I would have had an even worse mess to clean up if it had gone through his forehead,” Taylor said. “It was good for both of us that it didn’t.”
Following testimony from both sides, Taylor was acquitted of the charges and was given a round of applause.
Meanwhile, back in Knox County, the word is out: Don’t go messing with Smokey Taylor. He just bought a whole bunch of fresh ammo.


We all need to chip in and buy this gentleman a .45!

[k-9max]

Thats a very interesting story.
Kudos to the Vet.

[armsmaster270]

Hey at least he made a good attempt. Nice placement, need bigger rock

[Ducky]

I think this alone should qualify the .22 for "less lethal" status.

[MacLean]

The only thing he failed at was not firing more than once.

That philosophy is newer, so an older Greenie Beanie could be forgiven.

Nice idea on the part of his friends, though

[Five-0]

The only thing he failed at was not firing more than once.

That philosophy is newer, so an older Greenie Beanie could be forgiven.

Nice idea on the part of his friends, though

By the looks of his aim he is not used to having to shoot twice.

[MacLean]

By the looks of his aim he is not used to having to shoot twice.

Even old dogs have to keep up with the new tricks

I give him an A.

[Ender]

By the looks of his aim he is not used to having to shoot twice.

now that is well put!

[Pudge]

He did shoot the shit out of him though!

[Ender]

He did shoot the shit out of him though!

"he shit on your fucking rug, dude. this aggression will not stand!"

[bayern]

good shot old boy. Now, if he had used a .45 or .38, how much of a mess would he have had to clean up. .45 to the head - you got brain matter all other the walls, cealing, floor, etc., not to mention a WHOLE lot of blood. You would have to have a professional clean-up crew and would his homeowners insurance pay for it? Need a new carpet and paint job. Would his Insurance Company cancel his policy for haveing a weapon in his home unsecured (still may have that problem with the .22). I'll bet the perp has one hell of a headache.

Of course, the defense is going to but the guy tru the wringer and the bad guy may sue (and in some venues WIN).