Shooting in Trafalgar

[tucker]

you need to learn how to read and comprehend

 

[indytechnerd]

you need to learn how to read and comprehend

Excellent 1st (and 2nd) post. However, #3 here is kinda out of left field. My suggestion is when responding to someone, use the "Quote" button at the bottom right corner of their post.

Welcome, to INGO, rep incoming for your story. The prosecutor's report was a very good read.

 

[rockhopper46038]

This has to be in the top 10 articles that I've read on INGO

I concur. The property owner acted correctly (and lawfully), the prosecutor acted correctly; about the only failures here (other than the scumbag thieves) came at the hands of the Sheriff's department.

 

[$mooth]

This is my first post. Read a lot of stupid things you guys write, some is intended to be cute and entertaining. Guy has been fully informed on the shoot. These "kids" or "babies" or old enough to fight wars. Can't have it both ways they are kids or young men If the prior is the case, the US is guilty of sending kids to war.. I have military offspring. I chose the later. The young man that got shot stood there hands moving around below his chest yelling at me while I ordered him to the ground and a gun pointed at him. His motion to the inside of the truck was quick and abrupt with his hands. I suggest your Monday quarterbacking needs to understand split second choices were made ..him or me He won't be stupid with the barrel next time or he won't get a third. The passenger complied and immediately was face down...no holes in him. As far as the second truck turning to run me down upon their escape..Truck is a weapon pistols suck. Porsecutor report is prettty clear missing only some details. I hope you guys have the balls (sorry girls) to use your weapon when push comes to shove http://www.dailyjournal.net/ftp/Editorial/reckley-011112.pdf

Welcome to INGO, trucker. I'm glad you got to clear this up. No need to bother those who questioned the shoot. The original article was vague on a lot of counts. Your post clears up a lot of details. Well done. Glad you and your wife are safe.

Did they determine what he was reaching back to the truck for (maybe I missed it in the briefing, I saw that it said it was reasonable for you to assume it was a weapon)? If it wasn't a weapon, I can't imagine why he would be so stupid to move.

 

[CalebToNowhere]

Welcome to INGO. Sorry your first post had to be about self defense, both physical and internet forum. Great read in the PDF. Thanks for sharing.

This is my first post. Read a lot of stupid things you guys write, some is intended to be cute and entertaining. Guy has been fully informed on the shoot. These "kids" or "babies" or old enough to fight wars. Can't have it both ways they are kids or young men If the prior is the case, the US is guilty of sending kids to war.. I have military offspring. I chose the later. The young man that got shot stood there hands moving around below his chest yelling at me while I ordered him to the ground and a gun pointed at him. His motion to the inside of the truck was quick and abrupt with his hands. I suggest your Monday quarterbacking needs to understand split second choices were made ..him or me He won't be stupid with the barrel next time or he won't get a third. The passenger complied and immediately was face down...no holes in him. As far as the second truck turning to run me down upon their escape..Truck is a weapon pistols suck. Porsecutor report is prettty clear missing only some details. I hope you guys have the balls (sorry girls) to use your weapon when push comes to shove http://www.dailyjournal.net/ftp/Editorial/reckley-011112.pdf

 

[jeremy]

you need to learn how to read and comprehend

OK...

I'll bite, whom was this directed at?!

 

[femurphy77]

Excellent 1st (and 2nd) post. However, #3 here is kinda out of left field. My suggestion is when responding to someone, use the "Quote" button at the bottom right corner of their post.

Welcome, to INGO, rep incoming for your story. The prosecutor's report was a very good read.

Sentence structure can be a good thing at times also! Oh and bravo to you for your actions and results!!

 

[TotinOne]

tucker: Thanks for the post!

To tucker,
I have to admit, when I first saw that someone posted a reply on a topic/incident from months ago, my initial thought was, "oh geez, another newbie is trying to get their 50 posts in, and they have resurrected an ancient post in the process."
Granted, I have not been an INGO member very long myself, and I dont post very often, but over the last year I have read a lot of the posts in this forum mostly for my own educational purposes. To my surprise, your post(s) on this incident and the prosecutor's report taught me more than I had bargained for. Many on this forum cannot speak, personally, to being engaged in the situation that you were in. Yet, they TRY to place themselves there mentally, and, at times, second-guess the actions of others they read about hoping to prepare themselves for the situation should it occur in their lives. I am not excluded.
I want to thank you for your post and I wish you the best as you continue to deal with the incidents of this particular night. I'm willing to bet it was a life-changer of sorts. God bless!

P.S.
I would have sent this in a PM, but I dont have enough posts yet!

 

[Ryno300]

This is my first post. Read a lot of stupid things you guys write, some is intended to be cute and entertaining. Guy has been fully informed on the shoot. These "kids" or "babies" or old enough to fight wars. Can't have it both ways they are kids or young men If the prior is the case, the US is guilty of sending kids to war.. I have military offspring. I chose the later. The young man that got shot stood there hands moving around below his chest yelling at me while I ordered him to the ground and a gun pointed at him. His motion to the inside of the truck was quick and abrupt with his hands. I suggest your Monday quarterbacking needs to understand split second choices were made ..him or me He won't be stupid with the barrel next time or he won't get a third. The passenger complied and immediately was face down...no holes in him. As far as the second truck turning to run me down upon their escape..Truck is a weapon pistols suck. Porsecutor report is prettty clear missing only some details. I hope you guys have the balls (sorry girls) to use your weapon when push comes to shove http://www.dailyjournal.net/ftp/Editorial/reckley-011112.pdf

to INGO. I hope you stay and enjoy the forum. Thank you for posting the prosecutor's summary. I read it at lunch this afternoon and found it very informative. I hope other prosecutors in the area are as wise. Congrats on standing your ground and I hope you and your wife are able to put this incident quietly behind you.

 

[japartridge]

This is my first post. Read a lot of stupid things you guys write, some is intended to be cute and entertaining. Guy has been fully informed on the shoot. These "kids" or "babies" or old enough to fight wars. Can't have it both ways they are kids or young men If the prior is the case, the US is guilty of sending kids to war.. I have military offspring. I chose the later. The young man that got shot stood there hands moving around below his chest yelling at me while I ordered him to the ground and a gun pointed at him. His motion to the inside of the truck was quick and abrupt with his hands. I suggest your Monday quarterbacking needs to understand split second choices were made ..him or me He won't be stupid with the barrel next time or he won't get a third. The passenger complied and immediately was face down...no holes in him. As far as the second truck turning to run me down upon their escape..Truck is a weapon pistols suck. Porsecutor report is prettty clear missing only some details. I hope you guys have the balls (sorry girls) to use your weapon when push comes to shove http://www.dailyjournal.net/ftp/Editorial/reckley-011112.pdf

Well spoken sir! too

 

[japartridge]

"Shooting to maim" and the "warning shot" are two scenarios that have played out in court before with terrible results. Neither is advised.

If you are in "imminent danger" such that you need to discharge a firearm, you had better make sure you are making COM hits (or none at all).

exactly, we don't carry because we want to impress or intimidate, we carry to protect ourselves! It is my philosophy, and I'm thinking it is shared by many on here, that if my gun leaves it's holster, it's going to be shot!

Now before anybody gets all smart assed about it, I'm not talking about removing your gun from the holster to unload, clean, or secure, just to be clear!

 

[henktermaat]

This thread is exactly why I will probably wait one second too long to defend myself, my property, or others with my firearm.

 

[Boomhower]

Trafalgar Shooting

Tucker,

First of all, welcome to INGO. Thank you for posting the prosecutor's report, it was very informative for all of us who have taken the burden of defending our person and family upon ourselves. (I say burden because I am sure that these events have been I burden upon you and yours since day 1).
I spend a good amount of time on different forums reading about different self defense scenarios so that I may know what is legal in terms of defending myself. It is very rare in all of the postings I have read for the victims (you and your wife) to speak up and contribute to the thread. In most of these types of threads there are a dozen "armchair quarterbacks" (myself included) throwing out "what if" scenarios, condemning the shooter, or condemning the shootee without knowing hardly any of the facts. The initial reports in the media are always partially factual at best, and often written with a bias. There are many that will read these reports and jump to quick conclusions.
I think that anyone who has read the prosecutor's report would have a hard time finding any fault in what you and your wife did. I would like to think that if the situation should arise, I might have the necessary training, mindset, and courage that you do in order to defend myself and my own.

Props to you.

Boom

 

[critter592]

That report is AWESOME!!! I can't imagine the events you had to endure. Congratulations on the outcome of your lawful actions.


To Tucker: On another note... while I didn't post in this thread prior to giving you congratulations on your actions I happen to be familiar with the process of educating an online community (different topic than self defense). It is never perfect and it can seem posters make comments being critical of you. They can only comment on things revealed at the time (press). The ensuing discussion can seem like Monday morning quarterbacking but the process for those not involved in the actual event can be very helpful. The back and forth of any discussion can leave all participants more informed/educated. I'm sorry you feel offended by this. I would guess no one here means you any harm to your reputation.

 

[esrice]

I happen to be familiar with the process of educating an online community (different topic than self defense). It is never perfect and it can seem posters make comments being critical of you. They can only comment on things revealed at the time (press). The ensuing discussion can seem like Monday morning quarterbacking but the process for those not involved in the actual event can be very helpful. The back and forth of any discussion can leave all participants more informed/educated. I'm sorry you feel offended by this. I would guess no one here means you any harm to your reputation.

This exactly.

tucker welcome to INGO. It is rare to ever hear the final outcome of such situations. It is DOUBLE rare to have the involved parties come back to comment on the case.

We have here an opportunity to learn directly from the source-- you. You've now been where most of us train to go, but have not yet been. It would be great if you would be willing to share your experience in greater detail.

If you don't mind, I'd like to go back and re-read the initial reports, read the prosecutor's report, and then perhaps pose some questions to you directly.

 

[GlockFox]

Sketchy. Very sketchy.

 

[esrice]

Sketchy. Very sketchy.

You should probably read the entire thread first.

 

[fire259]

Sketchy. Very sketchy.

 

[fire259]

From today's Johnson County paper

Report clears man in shooting

Prosecutor: Landowner believed he had to defend himself, wife

BY JOSEPH S. PETE
DAILY JOURNAL STAFF WRITER
jpete@dailyjournal.net



Burglars broke into a southern Johnson County home three consecutive nights, and the property owners got frustrated and set an alarm to alert them if someone pulled in the driveway.
The alarm sounded a fourth night. And Kevin and Teresa Reckley called police before they got dressed, grabbed guns and drove out to the vacant home they owned.
They confronted four men, fired several rounds and shot one of the trespassers.
Kevin Reckley told the Johnson County prosecutor he believed the man he shot that night was reaching for a weapon. He then fired at a truck that he thought was driving straight at him, Prosecutor Brad Cooper said.
Reckley shot 18-year-old Morgantown resident Zachary Chittum in the stomach with a double-barreled shotgun. He was justified because he believed he had to defend himself and his wife, Cooper said.
Cooper decided not to file criminal charges against Kevin and Teresa Reckley. The Reckleys were the victims after a house they owned had been repeatedly burglarized, Cooper said.
Indiana law allowed them to try to stop a crime from being committed on their property and then to use d e a d l y fo rc e to p ro t e c t themselves, he said.
“From the totality of the circumstances, both times Mr. Reckley fired his weapon, he had the reasonable belief that force was necessary to prevent death, serious bodily injury or the commission of a forcible felony against himself or his wife,” Cooper wrote in his report.
“Indiana’s self-defense statute is clear and unequivocal in its directive that ‘no person in their state shall be placed in legal jeopardy of any kind whatsoever for protecting the person or a third person by any reasonable means necessary,’” Cooper wrote.
Cooper said that he had no reason to believe that the Reckleys committed any criminal acts when the shooting took place in August. He reached his decision after interviewing the Reckleys about what happened that night.
Attorney Brian Newcomb, who represents the Reckleys, said Cooper made the right decision because the state law about selfdefense is clear.
“It’s a very straightforward case,” he said. “The Reckleys were put through a lot, and now they can put this behind them.”
On Aug. 16, the Reckleys had called police after discovering that someone broke into a house they own on their sprawling property. They noticed the burglary after their horse was let loose but initially didn’t know what had been taken, according to a Johnson County Sheriff’s Office report.
A family member previously lived in that house, which is on a large parcel of land they own in southern Johnson County and has a separate driveway from the house they live in. The Reckleys make daily visits to the second home because it’s near the pasture where they keep a horse, Cooper said.
They found someone had broken into the second house again the next night and took more property, including a washer, dryer and refrigerator, according to a police report. The Reckleys told Cooper their property had been put into a pile to be picked up more easily later.
The Reckleys called police again and asked for surveillance because they feared another break-in. A sheriff’s deputy told them that an extra patrol would keep an eye on the property, Cooper said.
But they discovered the next morning that the house had been broken into a third time.
They again requested that the sheriff’s office watch their property that night and installed a driveway alarm at the entrance of the driveway to the second house, Cooper said.
The alarm went off early the next morning.
Teresa Reckley called the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, w h i l e h e r h u s b a n d c a l l e d Trafalgar police, Cooper said. They told both departments that they were going to the second home since no police were at the scene to protect their property and grabbed a shotgun and a handgun before heading over to the other house.
They stayed at the end of the driveway waiting for police to arrive.
“ T h ey d i d n ’ t go i n g u n s ablazing, shooting first and asking questions later,” Cooper said. “They waited for police after having called police and have made reports that their property had been broken into for three consecutive nights.”
But phone records showed police didn’t arrive until 17 minutes after the first call Terese Reckley made, Cooper said.
‘Driver hadn’t complied’
A t r u c k c a m e d ow n t h e driveway toward the Reckleys and Kevin Reckley pointed his shotgun at the truck and ordered the driver to stop. Two men got out, and Reckley ordered them to put their hands up.
The man on the passenger side complied, but the driver did not d e s p i t e re p e a t e d re q u e s t s, according to the prosecutor’s report.
The driver turned toward the open truck door and tried to reach for something inside the truck, Cooper said.
Kevin Reckley then fired a shot that struck the driver in the stomach because he thought he was reaching for a weapon.
Chittum was wounded with shotgun pellets to his stomach and was taken to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis for surgery.
Police later found no weapon inside the truck. What matters under the law is that Reckley believed he was reaching for a weapon, Cooper said.
“The driver hadn’t complied and tries to reach into the car when he was told to stop,” Cooper said. “From his perspective, deadly force seems wholly reasonable.”
Re c k l ey a p p ro a c h e d t h e wounded driver and told him to stay down while his wife called 911, according to police. Cooper said her cell phone log showed she had first called police about 11 minutes earlier.
The Reckleys then traded firearms so Teresa Reckley could reload the double-barrel shotgun, Cooper said.
Kevin Reckley fired a handgun at a second truck that came down the driveway, Cooper said.
He told Cooper the truck was headed directly at him, though it had ample room to go around. He fired because he feared he would get hit by the truck.
As Reckley fired, the truck’s driver veered away and turned onto the street at a high rate of speed. But the driver went so fast that the truck went off the road and got stuck in a ditch, Cooper said.
‘Legally justified in firing’
Police arrested Christopher Sheperd, Christopher Keller and Bryan Woolridge on charges of attempted theft. Chittum was not arrested because he was taken to a hospital to be treated for his gunshot wound, Johnson County Sheriff Doug Cox said.
N o n e o f t h e m h a s b e e n charged. Cooper said he needed to review more paperwork from the sheriff’s office before deciding whether to file charges against them.
Cooper met with the Reckleys in December and interviewed them to determine whether to f i l e c h a rge s. H e s a i d h e determined they acted in selfdense after looking at all the circumstances that led up to the incident.
“It is undisputed that the Re c k l eys e n d u re d t h re e consecutive nights of burglaries, trespass and thousands of dollars worth of thefts prior to the events of August 19, 2011,” his report said. “In addition, the Reckleys’ gates had been broken and left open allowing their horse to escape and wander off.”
The Reckleys were justified in arming themselves when they went to check on their property because of the past break-ins and the alarm at a late hour, Cooper said.
Kevin Reckley had a legal right to point his firearm and order the men in the truck to get out, either to act in self-defense or to make a legal citizen’s arrest, Cooper’s report found.
He fired because he thought he had to protect himself and his wife, Cooper said.
“From the totality of these circumstances, it was reasonable for Mr. Reckley to believe the driver was reaching for a weapon and that reciprocal force was necessary to prevent a forcible felony and/or serious bodily injury from being committed against him or his wife,” the report said. “Accordingly, Mr. Reckley was legally justified in firing at the driver with his shotgun and then holding him on the ground until law enforcement officers arrived.”

 

[bwframe]

From today's Johnson County paper

Ouch, hard on the eyes to read that.