Posted on 05/21/2004 10:15:03 AM PDT by TERMINATTOR
(INDIANAPOLIS, May 18th, 2004, 3:30 p.m.) -- A pizza delivery driver who fatally shot a man he said brandished a gun and tried to rob him was fired from his job and could face criminal charges.
Ronald B. Honeycutt shot Jerome Brown, 20, who was pronounced dead a short time after the late Monday shooting.
"I'm just satisfied it was him and not me," said Honeycutt, 38, of Carmel.
Honeycutt said he was returning to his van after making a delivery at an apartment on the city's far east side when he heard someone say "Hey, my guy" and turned to see a man approaching with a gun.
He said he pulled out his 9 mm pistol and fired all 15 rounds at close range.
Marion County Sheriff's Capt. Phil Burton said no witnesses had been found to the fatal shooting of Brown, who suffered multiple gunshot wounds.
Burton said investigators would present their findings to county prosecutors, who will decide whether any charges will be filed in the case.
After shooting Brown, Honeycutt said he picked up Brown's gun because he feared he had an accomplice, and returned to a Pizza Hut store, where detectives later met him.
He said Pizza Hut fired him for violating a company policy against carrying a gun, which he was licensed to carry.
A Pizza Hut spokeswoman, Patty Sullivan, confirmed that company policy includes a ban on carrying weapons.
Honeycutt said he had been delivering pizza for 20 years and always carried a gun.
"It's a fair job, but I don't plan on dying for it," he said.
So9
Earlier thread about this same shooting:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1137793/posts
Better to be fired by one than carried by six.
Here's hoping things are as represented, and for a happy ending.
http://www.indystar.com/articles/5/147538-6355-093.html
Honeycutt said he was fired from his job because he had violated the store policy against carrying a gun, which he was licensed to carry."It's my life. I choose which policy to follow."
I don't even fire 15 consecutive shots when at the firing range! Must have been some sight!
I'd rather have my LIFE, than my Pizza Hut job.
38 years old and fired from Pizza Hut... maybe now he can get a real grown up job.
Check the story...he's been delivering for 20 years. Plenty of people make a very decent living delivering pizzas full time.
"I don't even fire 15 consecutive shots when at the firing range! Must have been some sight!"
I wonder how many rounds hit the assailant.
OH does this SUCK! This is the same cr4p that made me stop ordering from dumb-in-nose! That and their pizza doesn't cut it. Pizza hut, on the other hand, is my favorite, Great sauce, and that pan crust.....mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!
The company has a right to set their own policy, but why do corporate fops (suits) have to be so stupid!?!? A driver, complying with unconstitutional laws, and getting himself trained, is the best deterrant to drivers getting jacked. Bet there will be a drop in delivery drivers getting jumped......oh wait, he is in trouble for defending himself, so the lawless will simply be a little more careful.
Guess the email campaign to Pizza Hut will need to begin.
Stay alert,
Pete
Well he can have lots of fun and sue the hell out of Pizza Hut for firing him when he only defended himself in a robbery. Pizza Hut's position by firing is that all people delivering pizza should be subject to being robbed and are never expected to defend themselves and life when they have the means to do so.
Great Pizza Hut ad, isn't it?
No Pizza Hut for me based on this story. They will pay for this with the loss of the $10 I would have spent in their store over the course of 2 years and that is that! :-)
NOpe - we can't have our employees defending themselves....it just wouldn't be safe.....
Instead of e-mailing Pizza Hut, let'sjust publicize the no-carry policy as much as possible. Instead, e-mail Hannity and Limbaugh to tell the world "Pizza Hut drivers carry cash but no guns!" After a wave of robberies, the policy will get changed.
bump. I think Pizza Hut needs a FReeping.
Apparently, the right number found their mark.
Seriously, there is no need to start a campaign against Pizza Hut. They have a policy (that protects them from potential lawsuits). The driver choose to work their regardless of the policy. It was his choice to ignore the policy. If he didn't like the policy he could have started his own Pizza chain.
Possible names... Lock and Loaded Pizza, Trigger-Happy Pizza,
Possible slogan...Our Pizza Hits the Spot.
My comments: I think this guy was a little bit shook up to begin with, having been hassled on the previous delivery. He fired 15 rounds at close range, 3 to 5 feet, and the guy died later at the hospital. He must have missed most of his shots. I thought the true meaning of "gun control" is hitting your target the first time, and putting him or her down (dead). The perp was stupid enough to pull an unloaded weapon, which was lucky for the driver.
Of course coolness in this type of situation is not to be expected, even in from experienced gunfighters. Along this line, I think of the gunfight at the OK Corral, where some 30 shots were fired at not more than 15-20 feet by some allegedly excellent gunfighters, but only 12 hit or grazed the opponents, including Doc Holliday's shotgun blasts.
I also noticed that he stated that he had drawn his weapon in self-defense previously, probably preventing several robberies or worse, and saving Pizza Hut some revenue. So screw Pizza Hut, but what other policy could Pizza Hut have chosen? They would risk boycotts by gun-control nuts if they chose to allow delivery personnel to carry, not to mention the liability. The perp's survivors will no doubt sue Pizza Hut in an attempt for free pizza for life.
"No good deed goes unpunished."
With human life meaning less and less these days, for Pizza Hut to continue to have this policy is nothing short of dangerous.
Perhaps if the family of a pizza delivery driver who was killed sued the employer for not allowing the driver to carry a gun, this would change.
I do not believe there is not a slimy shyster lawyer who would not take the case.
What is not mentioned in the article is the coroners report that Brown was so high on meth or crack that he would not have reacted to the initial half dozen gunshot wounds.
After all these robberies just exactly how many delivery drivers are you expecting to end up dead? Just curious.
Deaths that any competent lawyer could blame directly on the no-carry policy. Any excess deaths over some industrywide average would indicate a policy failure, just as though the company had told its crane operators to walk under suspended loads. This would then lead to policy changes that would improve driver safety. Let's see the corporate PC weenies have to decide between "Allow drivers with CCW permits to carry guns" and "Do not deliver to Zip codes XXXX, YYYYY,..."
So have I.
Uh, I'd say the moral is he who shoots first and hits the target wins....
Even with the use of a low power catridge like the 9, that will do the job. Wow! (15 rounds of .22 LR at close range probably would as well).
If the range will allow it, you should on occasion. Many times the police empty their pistols during gunfights as well. The rule is you shoot until the threat is neutralized. Some people are slow to realize when that has been accomplished. :)
News to me. Next time I will empty all 15 shots and then assess the threat.
The 9mm is NOT a low power cartridge.
No it won't. What the suits are worried about it getting sued when a driver only manages to wound the would be robber, or by the survivors. Money is not expendable to them, deliverymen are. It's not like this is the first time they've fired a deliveryman over carrying and they have lost several to robbers and even to sickos who deliberately lure the drivers to an isolated area just so they can kill them.
Well, relative to some others it is. But I was actually just pulling the chain of the 9mm aficianodos. I prefer big and slow bullets, like .45 ACP. Good enough to stop drugged up Muslim Moros, not mention all the Old West bad guys stopped by the ballitically similar .45 (long) Colt, should be good enough for most any encounter where a pistol is the appropriate tool.
But then he would not have had 15 shots! :-)
While not a bad tactic, it leaves you with an empty pistol should the threat not be completely neutralized.
If you read the story, the guy said he kept shooting because the assailant didn't seem to even react to being shot, so he did evaluate the threat and determined to continue firing.
If nothing else, the guy seems fairly well briefed about what to say to the police, and the press, in such a situtation. Maybe he's a Freeper?
And he wouldn't have needed them either. :)
Not that I suspect he actually did in this case either, but then I wasn't there.
T'is better to be judged by 12, than carried by 6.
5.56mm
Pro Choice on firearms eh?
;^>
In that the 9 mm +P exceeds the power of a 'big and slow" 45 acp, I guess you would have to say the 45 ACP is a 'low power' cartridge.
Actually, I don't like trying to press the last two or three cartidges into the magazine! Since I am also a revolver fan, I usually practice with six in my auto also. I grew up "counting the shots" in my revolvers and didn't really get into autos till later. Only my 9mm has large capacity. The 357, 40 and 380 (all sigs) have smaller capacity mags.
It comes down to the stupid legal system. If they explicitly forbid carrying of weapons, then they are not liable for what an employee does in defiance of policy. A lawsuit stemming from a defensive shooting by an employee is expensive to defend against. For the policy to remain a defense against lawsuits, it must be enforced with zero tolerance
The basic rule is: if he's still standing with a weapon in his hand, he's still a threat, keep firing.
If he's down but still attempting to lift his gun, he's still a threat, keep firing.
When he's no longer a threat to your life, THEN you stop firing
I admit, I'm a velocity junkie. No sense hitting em, if your bullet bounces off their armor coating!
"What is not mentioned in the article is the coroners report that Brown was so high on meth or crack that he would not have reacted to the initial half dozen gunshot wounds."
A tweaker or a pipe head? Attempting a robbery? I am SHOCKED!
Look, I'm sorry for the guy. I'm a recovering alkie myself. Clearly, though, this cat was way out of control, and the driver had every right to take him down. I'm also disgusted that Pizza Hut wouldn't get behind their employee and support his decision. Think I'd ever drive for them? Not a chance if they expect me to die to support the drug habit of a passer-by.
Policy's the same everywhere.
You find a pizza delivery outfit that doesn't have that policy and let me know, okay?
Doesn't matter.
There are many locally owned non franchised Pizza places everywhere.
They don't have such policies. I will just buy from them. They make better pizza than the chains anyway.
If you find one, let me know.
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