-
Aboogie
  - Joined on 06-25-2006
- Posts 808
|
Re: what do you know , there is justice..
 jcass29: Aboogie:
Glenn Ellis has to do 14 years in prison from a plea bargain, down from murder, attempted murder, and first-degree assault.
All of this because he decided to kill a 16 year old and critically injure a 23 year old over a Tahoe......
Was Glenn dealed an injustice on the legal charges.....
Was Mr. Horn lucky he lived in Texas and not PG........
i didnt hear this who is glen ellis? i want to read about it..
Man Who 'Had Enough' Kills Suspect
By Jamie Stockwell and Hamil R. Harris
It happened at 2:30 yesterday morning. Glenn R. Ellis said an
alarm alerted him that someone was tampering with his blue 1999
Chevrolet Tahoe, parked outside his Laurel apartment. Like other
residents of the Fox Rest complex, Ellis said later, he has been a
victim of thieves before. This time, he said, he "had had enough."
Ellis, 37, a tow truck driver, said he grabbed his 9mm Ruger
handgun and rushed outside. "Things just went crazy," he recalled.
He said he opened fire on four young men who were near his SUV.
Police said later that the four were in the process of stealing
it. Two were standing next to the Tahoe and the other two were
in it when Ellis pulled the trigger.
Ernest Sockwell, 16, was killed. A 23-year-old man, whom police
declined to identify, was hospitalized in critical condition.
Two other men, who were uninjured, were questioned by police and
released while the investigation continues.
Ellis was questioned by Prince George's County homicide detectives
for hours yesterday, then was released pending the outcome of the
investigation. Late in the afternoon, he stood outside his
apartment, in the 13800 block of Briarwood Drive. He stood not
far from where the blood had spilled, and he spoke slowly,
appearing to fight back tears.
"My biggest regret is for the families of the two kids," said
Ellis, wearing pressed tan slacks and a brown dress shirt.
Friends and supporters stood with him. "One is dead, and one is
fighting for his life. If I could do things over again, I would."
Ellis said he had installed a device in his Tahoe that alerts
an alarm company by wireless signal if the vehicle is tampered
with. The alarm company then pages Ellis to warn him.
"The pager went off," Ellis said. "It tells me that something
was in my truck. I came out, and things just went crazy."
A county police spokesman, Cpl. Joe Merkel, said such devices
"can be very useful in helping to notify potential victims that
a crime is being committed." He said, however, that victims
should call the police. "We would not recommend the victim
confront the suspect," Merkel said.
It was unclear yesterday whether Ellis shouted a warning to
the four young men. Police said he has a permit for the gun.
"I don't want to say too much," Ellis said after arriving
home from police headquarters. "I need to get a lawyer."
Ellis, who works for the D.C. Department of Public Works, said
he lives at the complex with his girlfriend and his three
children. He did not elaborate on his decision to open fire
but voiced regret.
"I feel bad," he said. "I have a 16-year-old. I'm crushed about
this."
According to police, two of the suspected thieves fled in the
Tahoe after the shots were fired, and another fled on foot and
was apprehended later. Sockwell was found on the parking lot
pavement. The two who were in the vehicle stopped at an Extra
Mart at Fort Meade Road and Ethel Drive in Anne Arundel County,
where they called authorities, because one of them had been
wounded.
Police said none of the suspected thieves had a weapon. Police
said a screwdriver was found on the ground near where the Tahoe
had been parked outside Ellis's apartment.
State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey said the case would be reviewed
by his office after detectives complete the investigation. He
said that it was unclear whether Ellis acted in self-defense and
that it was "premature to talk in those terms."
"We want to make sure the facts are in, and then we will make
a legal decision," he said. "We want to be careful not to rush
to judgment. We want to make sure we are very deliberate in how
we handle it."
In the interview, Ellis did not say whether he believed his life
was in danger.
Robert C. Bonsib, a defense lawyer and former prosecutor, said
a person is allowed under the law to use a reasonable amount of
force to defend his property but "not deadly force."
"If it was strictly a man defending his property, then it may
very well be an issue of whether it was proper" to shoot, he
said. "Jury instructions for this type of case say that you
may not use deadly force to defend your property or to prevent
someone from interfering with your property. Was there something
that happened that put the shooter in reasonable fear for his
life and that it would justify this level of force? [That] is
what will have to be answered."
Many residents of the apartment building said yesterday that the
shootings were the culmination of months of frustration and
anger over a spate of break-ins and auto thefts in the community.
Andrea Harris, 37, a Fox Rest resident, said: "Everybody is
alert because of concerns of recent break-ins. Their apartments
and cars are being broken into."
But authorities cautioned the residents to call 911 if they
see crimes in progress.
"We are all frustrated over the number of cars stolen in the
county," Police Chief Melvin C. High said through a spokeswoman
yesterday. "We need the help of our citizens to put a stop to
this crime, but not at the expense of that citizen putting
himself or herself in harm's way. . . . We encourage citizens to
call and let us handle the situation if they can, rather than
resort to violence on their own."
Prince George's ranks first in the state and in the region for
auto thefts, with more than 15,000 vehicles stolen last year,
according to department statistics. Slightly more than 10,000
vehicles have been stolen since January, a 17 percent increase
over the same period last year.
In comparison, slightly less than 8,000 vehicles were reported
stolen in the District in 2001, the most recent figures
available, and about 700 were reported in Fairfax County that year.
The high rate in Prince George's has taken on greater
significance in the wake of yesterday's shootings, said Ivey,
whose office has focused in recent months on educating
residents about vehicle anti-theft devices.
"Clearly, we know that auto theft is a major problem," he said.
"Many people have been victimized, including me, and I know
how frustrating it can be to have your car stolen. But as a
community, we need to be careful not to overreact. We need
to be careful how we address this problem."
Staff writer Darragh Johnson and staff researcher Bobbye
Pratt contributed to this report.
|
|