Grand jury to weigh charges against clerk in convenience-store shooting (Columbus,Ohio)

Columbus Dispatch ^ | 05 March 2003 | Dean Narciso

[Deadeye Division]

Grand jury to weigh charges against clerk in convenience-
store shooting
Wednesday, March 5, 2003
Dean Narciso
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

A Franklin County grand jury will decide in the next two weeks whether a North Side convenience-store clerk should be charged in the shooting death of a teen robbery suspect.

A nephew of Hasan Jalaq's said his uncle didn't want to discuss the shooting, which occurred about 8:30 p.m. Monday at the Food Liner, 1950 E. 5th Ave.

Columbus police yesterday identified the dead man as 17-year-old Charles S. Watters, whose address wasn't released.

Police said that Watters and an accomplice both were armed and wearing masks when they stormed into the grocery to rob it.

Jalag, 29, grabbed a gun kept under the store's counter and fired, killing Watters. The accomplice got away.

Three employees and one customer were inside the store at the time.

Watters, whose parents died when he was young, had been in the care of an older sister, police said. They also would not release her name.

Watters would have turned 18 years old on March 19.

He was shot multiple times in the torso, said Franklin County Coroner Brad Lewis, who declined to give details at the direction of police.

Watters had been in Juvenile Court last year for a delinquency count of receiving stolen property, court records show. He had been ordered to pay restitution.

Columbus police homicide detective Brian Carney said that shootings are permitted when they are in self-defense, in life-and-death scenarios.

"Any time that you feel you are in fear of your life or somebody else's, you can defend yourself with the best means available,'' he said.

Yesterday, customers drove by the Food Liner, which also had been robbed two weeks ago. It was closed yesterday.

"These are very good people,'' said longtime customer Herman Maynus, 57, who drove over to offer his support.

"I was going to tell him if he needs a character reference, I'll go to court for him.''

Maynus believes business owners have a right to defend themselves.

"I'm not some gun-toting fanatic. But at some point when people take advantage of you, there is something in you that says, 'I cannot abide by this; I cannot let someone take what I worked for.' ''

[Deadeye Division]

Clerk shoots, kills robber on North Side (Columbus, Ohio)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/856670/posts

[Deadeye Division]

Bang

[Jack Black]

Who decides what cases are referred to a grand jury and which are dropped? Assuming they were armed and wearing masks a "shoot on site" rule seems fully appropriate.

[Kenton]

Who decides what cases are referred to a grand jury and which are dropped? Assuming they were armed and wearing masks a "shoot on site" rule seems fully appropriate.

The prosecutor, I believe. In Ohio there would be no problem having the gun on the store property, so there's no "illegal firearms" case. If the police and prosecutor believe that the clerk was in fear for his life when he shot, he won't be charged. Fear for your life is the criteria, you can't just shoot some punk for stealing a bag of fritos. When the perps burst in wearing masks carrying weapons, "shoot on sight" is a completly reasonable and legal response. In Ohio anyway.

[only1percent]

If an affidavit clearly indicating incriminating facts is submitting by the investigating police officer, a prosecutor has very little ability NOT to take it to the grand jury.

This is not to say that the guy will be tried -- grand juries are notoriously responsive to how hard the prosecutor works; a prosecutor can present the law and circumstances such that the grand jury is very unlikely to indict.

The prosecutor has much more discretion after an indictment is returned, because he then has the freedom to plea bargain.

If, as has been suggested, the clerk chased the robbers out of the store and then shot them, he's in trouble. I can't imagine anyone on FR has any worries about having every guy holding a gun on a store clerk, or invading a private house while packing, being shot down like a dog while in the act. However, once the guys are out the door, the crime is over. Then the shooting is (1) an extrajudicial execution, when most of probably don't see the death penalty as the right sentence for armed robbery, and in any event believe in due process for the accused, and (2) it's an addrenaline flooded convenience store clerk taking shots on a city street, endangering who knows how many innocent passers by.

[ThreeYearLurker]

"Yeah, they held up the store, then they shot out the sign, and came back for the surveillance tapes. And they took all of the missing porn, and some beer too!"

You had to see the movie.

[the_doc]

But the prosecutor has discretion during the grand jury proceedings. (By that I mean that he definitely can structure his case to get a no-bill result from the grand jury if he is strongly persuaded that the case should be no-billed. And if he can't get a no-bill ruling under those circumstances, then he is probably an idiot who shouldn't be practicing criminal law.)

[ohiobushman]

I heard on the 6 0"clock news that they will not charge the clerk. The robbers are suspected of numerous robberies in the neighborhood.

[MadeInOhio]

The widest latitude should be granted the store clerk in the matter of this shooting.

If you're a worker at a retail establishment and a crime is under way under roof, your options are limited. You can risk becoming a crime statistic or resist to become a crime survivor.

The latter course takes courage and shouldn't be punished.

One other point on a secondary issue: I've long been puzzled by the practice of tagging "Ohio" onto the name of Columbus. We're talking about a city of close to 700K with a metro pop of 1.6 mil. I can't believe there are that many people -- outside of Associated Press editors -- who would confuse Columbus with a like-named city in, say, Indiana or Georgia.

Cleveland is smaller yet no one I know requires a modifying "Ohio" to prevent them from thinking Cleveland, Tenn.

I realize "Columbus, Ohio" is AP style, and thus I don't aim my criticism at Deadeye Division. My problem is with the AP's hugely influetial stylebook that refuses to acknowledge changing realities in the relative significance of cities, a change decennially underscored by U.S. Census returns.

[CurlyDave]

However, once the guys are out the door, the crime is over.

Nothing at all prevents them from "eliminating witnesses" after they have gone out the door.

In fact nothing prevents them from thinking of this a block down the street and coming back...

[meyer]

I heard on the 6 0"clock news that they will not charge the clerk. The robbers are suspected of numerous robberies in the neighborhood.

If true, that's good news. The store clerk was in the right IMHO.

[meyer]

Cleveland is smaller yet no one I know requires a modifying "Ohio" to prevent them from thinking Cleveland, Tenn.

While the city of Cleveland's population is smaller than that of Columbus (550K comes to mind, but that may be old), I recall the population of Cleveland's metropolitan area as being around 2.5 million. Still, I agree - most people think of Ohio when they hear the word "Columbus". And, even though I now live near Chattanooga (and Cleveland, TN), when I mention Cleveland, folks here assume I mean Ohio. Of course, it could be my accent...

[Deadeye Division]

Thanks for the update.