Minagera Posted July 3, 2012 Report Share Posted July 3, 2012 Retired Green Beret shoots intruder, gets court martial BREVARD, Jan. 19, 2008 – Retired Army Green Beret Smokey Taylor got his court martial this weekend and came away feeling good about it. Taylor, at age 80 the oldest member of Chapter XXXIII of the Special Forces Association, was on trial by his peers under the charge of “failing to use a weapon of sufficient caliber” in the shooting of an intruder at his home in Knoxville, TN, in December. The entire affair, of course, was very much tongue in cheek. Taylor had been awakened in the early morning hours of Dec. 17, 2007, when an intruder broke into his home. He investigated the noises with one of his many weapons in hand. When the intruder threatened him with a knife, Taylor warned him, then brought his .22 caliber pistol to bear and shot him right between the eyes. “That boy had the hardest head I’ve ever seen,” Taylor said after his trial. “The bullet bounced right off.” The impact knocked the would-be thief down momentarily. He crawled out of the room then got up and ran out the door and down the street. Knoxville police apprehended him a few blocks away and he now awaits trial in the Knox County jail. The charges against Taylor were considered to be serious. He is a retired Special Forces Weapons Sergeant with extensive combat experience during the wars in Korea and Vietnam . “Charges were brought against him under the premise that he should have saved the county and taxpayers the expense of a trial,” said Chapter XXXIII President Bill Long of Asheville . “He could have used a .45 or .38. The .22 just wasn’t big enough to get the job done.” Taylor ’s defense attorney, another retired Weapons Sergeant, disagreed. He said Taylor had done the right thing in choosing to arm himself with a .22. “If he’d used a .45 or something like that the round would have gone right through the perp, the wall, the neighbor’s wall and possibly injured some innocent child asleep in its bed,” he said. “I believe the evidence shows that Smokey Taylor exercised excellent judgment in his choice of weapons. He did nothing wrong, and clearly remains to this day an excellent weapons man.” Counsel for the defense then floated a theory as to why the bullet bounced off the perp’s forehead. “He was victimized by old ammunition,” he said, “just as he was in Korea and again in Vietnam , when his units were issued ammo left over from World War II.” Taylor said nothing in his own defense, choosing instead to allow his peers to debate the matter. After the trial he said the ammunition was indeed old and added the new information that the perp had soiled his pants as he crawled out of the house. “I would have had an even worse mess to clean up if it had gone through his forehead,” Taylor said. “It was good for both of us that it didn’t.” Following testimony from both sides, Taylor was acquitted of the charges and was given a round of applause.Meanwhile, back in Knox County , the word is out: Don’t go messing with Smokey Taylor. He just bought a whole bunch of fresh ammo. ##Tribune Editor Bill Fishburne is a member of the Larry Thorne Chapter XXXIII of the Special Forces Association. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 3, 2012 Report Share Posted July 3, 2012 You know, when ever these cases about the victims of home invasion defending themselves and getting legally punished for it come out, it makes me wonder what rights do we have left in modern America? Do criminals now have more rights than citizens? Here in California, that criminal could have sued that poor guy and he probably would have won. Maybe its just these isolated sensationalized cases that get media attention. But it makes me wonder what the actual law enforcement stats are on home owners defending themselves and getting legally sanctioned for it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonny_Jim Posted July 3, 2012 Report Share Posted July 3, 2012 Lesson learned: Don't call the cops...EVER. Even if it's the illegals Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jszucs Posted July 3, 2012 Report Share Posted July 3, 2012 WOW that is just sad. #1 sad he didn't kill him. #2 sad they really brought up charges on him. As for the rights issue... Yes criminals do have more rights then you. I'll give you an example. You whitness a crime. Goes to trial and you are called. You MUST say what you saw, or you will get hit with contempt and obstruction and potentialy jailed. The criminal in said event "has the right to remain silent" so yes right there they have more rights then you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IntercooledFlatty Posted July 3, 2012 Report Share Posted July 3, 2012 You know, when ever these cases about the victims of home invasion defending themselves and getting legally punished for it come out, it makes me wonder what rights do we have left in modern America? Do criminals now have more rights than citizens? Here in California, that criminal could have sued that poor guy and he probably would have won. Maybe its just these isolated sensationalized cases that get media attention. But it makes me wonder what the actual law enforcement stats are on home owners defending themselves and getting legally sanctioned for it?thats why ya shoot to kill, then go fishing ( bait or chum ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonny_Jim Posted July 3, 2012 Report Share Posted July 3, 2012 thats why ya shoot to kill, then go fishing ( bait or chum ) Lmao!I remember when I first started remodeling houses. I asked my boss, why there were so many tempered windows around the doors of the house. He told me, so the burglars don't cut themselves when they smash through it and sue the home owner later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patra_is_here Posted July 3, 2012 Report Share Posted July 3, 2012 the safety glass is for the protection of the occupants and firefighters in case of an emergency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmwii Posted July 3, 2012 Report Share Posted July 3, 2012 http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3a96gbQhmeM/TpvEChSp71I/AAAAAAAACQI/MoSbFZLmZBY/s1600/RIF.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ono Posted July 3, 2012 Report Share Posted July 3, 2012 WOW that is just sad. #1 sad he didn't kill him. #2 sad they really brought up charges on him. As for the rights issue... Yes criminals do have more rights then you. I'll give you an example. You whitness a crime. Goes to trial and you are called. You MUST say what you saw, or you will get hit with contempt and obstruction and potentialy jailed. The criminal in said event "has the right to remain silent" so yes right there they have more rights then you. He was brought up on a "Mock" Court Martial by his buddies in his SF association. It was all in fun. Great humorous story! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonny_Jim Posted July 3, 2012 Report Share Posted July 3, 2012 the safety glass is for the protection of the occupants and firefighters in case of an emergency.I know what it's for. I just thought my boss' reply was funny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patra_is_here Posted July 3, 2012 Report Share Posted July 3, 2012 oh i can never tell when people are being sarcastic online haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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