Posted on 09/16/2005 11:28:08 AM PDT by JZelle
BOWLING GREEN, Va. -- A lawyer and cattleman charged with first-degree murder testified yesterday that he feared for his life when he shot a neighbor who came at him with a 3-foot stick. "The look on his face was the meanest look on any human being's face I've ever seen in my life," John Ames, 60, said of Perry Brooks, the neighbor with whom he had feuded for 15 years. On April 19, 2004, Mr. Ames confronted Mr. Brooks after the 74-year-old farmer went to the Ames farm to retrieve his wayward bull. Two court orders had banished Mr. Brooks from Mr. Ames' property. Mr. Ames, who had retrieved a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun from his truck, said he turned to go back to the vehicle to get his cell phone to call the sheriff's office and found himself face to face with Mr. Brooks. Mr. Brooks came at him and swung the stick, Mr. Ames testified. Mr. Ames retreated and fired five shots at his neighbor, he testified. "It was totally reaction," Mr. Ames said of the quick, violent encounter. During cross-examination, Commonwealth's Attorney Harvey Latney questioned why Mr. Ames continued firing when Mr. Brooks dropped the stick after the second or third shot. Mr. Ames said after Mr. Brooks dropped the stick, he lunged toward him.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
It isn't at all `obscure' where I live either, digger.
In the county, to keep livestock where they belong (& to prevent such things as wandering bulls) if the neighboring 'Homer' won't voluntarily help pay for a boundary line fence a landowner can contact his township trustee. A `no-frills' field fence installed and each is billed for half the cost, which becomes a lien if neighbor won't pay. Don't wanna pay? Then don't move to the sticks to play.
Usually concluded without gunplay, however.
I have a small plot (80 acres) with a few head of cattle. And when one occasionally goes on walkabout, it's good to have a decent-lenth walking stick to "encourage" them to head back home. A whack on the butt is much easier on them than a prod (which could send them any direction). Heck, my cows usually move with just a touch of the stick!
When I first read this, I knew what the stick was for.
Whacha' wanna' bet!
I wonder what the bill was for a fence this long? It had to be substantial. There are a lot of people who can't afford to pay for fencing. They are barely getting by. If the big city lawyer wanted a fence so bad then he should have paid for it himself>
And speaking of Lawyers moving to the country; and, being's how it's Friday.
A hotshot Northeastern Lawyer goes duck hunting in Texas. He shoots a duck on his lease, but the duck lands in the field acroos the road. As he crosses back over the fence after retrieving his duck, an old farmer on an old tractor come chugging up to a halt.
The farmer says, "That was my property you were on, son."
The lawyer screams, "Do you know who I am? I'll sue the snot out of you if you don't get outa my face!"
The farmer says, "Well, down here we have what we call the '3-Kick' rule, to settle disputes. We take turns kicking each other 3 times, until one of us gives up."
The Lawyer looks at the 80-something old man and sneers, "All right old man, I'll even let you go first!"
The farmer slowly gets off the tractor, knees creaking. Walks up to the lawyer and plants a steel-toed work boot into the lawyer's crotch. The lawyer drops to his knees, gasping for air. The farmer plants his second kick in the stomach, doubling the lawyer over. The third kick is delivered square in the face, splattering the lawyer's nose.
Gasping, spitting blood, and in horrible pain, the lawyer says, "All right you old S.O.B. Now it's MY turn."
The farmer says, "Nah, I give up. You can keep the duck."
The articles about this case have been published in the Feelance Star (Fredericksburg,VA)...a better read
I didn't know it worked that way in the 'burbs too. Never really thought about that. I can picture needing the best available product, if I only had to pay half-price.
Nothing like a little tension between neighbors whose houses and lives are mere feet apart.
Well now, beings as it be Friday 'n I just got my pay, I'm a'thinkin' of the big city fella whut come by a young squirt out 'n country, and the big city fella' up 'n says, "that sure is a purty dog there young'un, does your dog bite?" To which the young squirt says,"no, bossman, my dog doan bites noone!" So the big city fella pets the dog and the dog just tears him up and bites the livin' stuffins out of him...the big city fella says to the young squirt, "I thought you told me your dog don't bite?" To which the yound squirt replys to the big city fella, "my dog don't bite nobody, but this here ain't my dog !!" :0)
Not to jump to conclusions, but the lawyer seems like a manipulative SOB who rather than try to get along with this neighbors, did everything he could to antagonize them. This includes charging the victim a boarding fee when the bull came on his property. He also had a restraining order on the victim so he couldn't legally retrieve the animal. I bet all of this neighbors would like to beat this guy with a stick. On the bright side, a murder trial will cost him considerably more than the fence would have.
Why was this man even charged? This is proof to me the old fool
was asking for whatever he got.
I would say he should have called the Sheriff if there was
a court order keeping him off of the property.
Just googled it and found this:
http://www.fredericksburg.com/News/Web/2005/092005/0916amesverdict
Ames was found NOT GUILTY!!
The judge who granted the restraining order knew what he was doing. No doubt he's not terribly popular with the neighbors out there. Most likely he is planning to move to some other place.
Too bad about that jury. As far as Ames is concerned, Mr. Brooks has quite a few relatives out there. This sort of thing simply throws them back on more traditional methods of extracting satisfaction ~ the $10 million wrongful death suit looks like a start.
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