Indy man arrested for murder of man who tried to steal his car

[Denny347]

Is that how it works? Somewhere I got the impression that discharging a firearm anywhere vaguely in the direction of another person will typically count as deadly force, even if you claim you weren't aiming for them, so firing at an occupied vehicle, even one being stolen from you, would still have to meat the same standards of being in fear of death or grave bodily harm.

I could be wrong though, IANAL...

Yes, kind of because there is really no such thing as a "less lethal" discharge of a firearm.

 

[Denny347]

The narrative has changed now that the car was previously stolen, so he should not have shot the perp. INGO analysis is detailed and convoluted as usual.....why I love this place.

I have often thought in a similar situation with my legally owned car and legal fire arm I would shoot the car. Blow out the tires or better yet the radiator . It is my car so I can shoot it if I want to. It won't be going anywhere soon.

Don

Tires are easy to miss. Missed shots go in unwanted directions that YOU are responsible for.

 

[Doug]

It depends on your history.
If you have a previous felony, everything is reduced to a misdemeanor.
No previous felony, murder one.

 

[TheGhostRider]

I believe this situation is what is referred too as a “Twofer”!

 

[KellyinAvon]

It depends on your history.
If you have a previous felony, everything is reduced to a misdemeanor.
No previous felony, murder one.

And 59.4% of Marion County voters are good with this.

 

[Doug]

And 59.4% of Marion County voters are good with this.

I suspect 59.4% of Marion County voters either are themselves or have a close friend or relative in the favored group.
That's why I try to avoid Indianamurderplace.

 

[KellyinAvon]

Yes, kind of because there is really no such thing as a "less lethal" discharge of a firearm.

Thank you for bringing the LEO perspective on this Denny. It's good we have IMPD onboard here who: arrest people, for killing people, who were stealing a car, that was already stolen.

I think I'll stay west of Raceway Road today.

 

[KellyinAvon]

I suspect 59.4% of Marion County voters either are themselves or have a close friend or relative in the favored group.
That's why I try to avoid Indianamurderplace.

Not as good as "Killadelphia" but I will be using that in the future.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Well in my opinion you should be able to defend your property with deadly force. Its my junk and ive worked hard for that junk. For someone to be confident enough to walk up and take it in front of me is far more wrong then for me to say no to that behavior and be able to stop it. Also if you got a cheep gun in the car it changes the scenario....

But he wasn't defending "his" property. He was defending property that he stole from someone else.

 

[ghitch75]

it is a shame that both of them wasn't killed.....both are junk

 

[tackdriver]

In their rush to break a story quickly, the media told the first edition wrong. The second edition may be wrong also. Since lawyers are now involved, I'm pretty sure that every edition from now 'till eternity will also be a departure from the truth.

The next version on NBC just may go like this:

TWO Innocent Victims Have Been Torn from Their Loved Ones Forever
over a simple misunderstanding. One lost his life; and the other his freedom.

Around 9:50 a.m. on Tuesday, a young man was heading to a local gas station with a friend, when he recognized a car that had been stolen from his church parking lot back in August. After a quick prayer for guidance, he told his friend he was going get into the car and drive it to the nearest police station [so it could get back to its rightful owner]. The good samaritan was shot and killed by the original driver, Andrew Butler, while trying to buckle his seat belt.

Butler says he saw an unknown man getting into his vehicle, and thought he was being carjacked. While he pleaded with the man to get out of his car, the suspected carjacker turned away and was fumbling with something near his right hip. Butler told police "I thought he was a carjacker going for his gat". Fearing for his life, he acted in self-defense, shooting the man twice through the closed window.

Mr. Butlers attorney, Roger Goodhare, told police that his client was actually attempting to shoot the key out of the ignition to stop the vehicle, but the driver moved into path of the bullets. Mr. Goodhare also claims that Butler first believed that the victim was actually a white supremist, stealing the car to be used in a later hate crime.

This story started back in August when Butler, a community leader and loving father to an unknown number of children, purchased a used car from a man in the neighborhood. While his attorney was out of the room, Butler told police "I didn't even want the car. The guy desperately needed the money because of Trump. He was in a bad spot, and I just bought it to help him out." Butler adamantly maintains that he had absolutely no idea that the car was originally stolen; and that he only paid the unnamed man half of the used cars value because he wanted to help someone going through a hard time.

A neighbor says Butler has a long history of community service, buying unneeded items like TV's, laptops, and old jewelry, from friends and neighbors in need of money to buy food and clothing for their children. Butler claims that he can't remember exactly what the man who sold him the car looked like. However, he is now convinced it was an under-cover FBI agent that he saw in a TV news story about the attempted kidnaping of Gov. Whitmer in Michigan.

Mr. Goodhare, told police that, "If Mr. Phipps had simply told my client that he suspected the car was stolen, he would have willingly driven to the police station together to sort this all out." Now Butler has been charged with Murder for shooting the good samaritan and suspected car theif Phipps. Butler was released Tuesday night on an unusually high $5,000 bail, for which he had to pay $500 to the bond company. In a statement to the press, Goodhare said "My client is a victim too. A victim of a series of misunderstandings; and a victim of a system stacked against him! So far, my innocent client is out $500 and hours of his life, but the cost will go much higher!" Attorney Goodhare also pointed out that the CCTV camera that recorded the incident was white.

In an unexpected twist, police investigators found 2 Kg of cocaine, 3 handguns with high capacity magazines, and an AR-15 with a bump stock, in the trunk of the car involved. When asked by reporters, Mr. Goodhare stated unequivocally that his client has never opened the trunk since purchasing the vehicle; therefor the drugs and guns must have been left there by the FBI agent that sold the car. No charges have yet been filed related to these items, and it's uncertain when they will be returned to the local field office.


Disclaimer: Of course, the above is fiction. However, it still fits in perfectly with modern "journalism". Any similarity to the actual next spinning of this tale by the media will be just dumb luck.

TD

 

[cobber]

Butler is charged with murder in 49D32-2211-MR-031168.

His history is on public.courts.gov.in. Interesting reading.

 

[FNparabellum]

But he wasn't defending "his" property. He was defending property that he stole from someone else.

Did i misread the article? It sounded like his (shooter) car was being stolen so he shot the guy. If the guy(shooter) stole the car in the first place then i definitely change my opinion on the matter.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Did i misread the article? It sounded like his (shooter) car was being stolen so he shot the guy. If the guy(shooter) stole the car in the first place then i definitely change my opinion on the matter.

Yeah, the original story was updated. Shooter guy stole the car back in August. Shot guy was stealing it from him. Scum on scum crime.

 

[FNparabellum]

Yeah, the original story was updated. Shooter guy stole the car back in August. Shot guy was stealing it from him. Scum on scum crime.

Well crap thanks for the update

 

[Judamonster]

Probably should have held back, don't think shooting was warranted. I don't like that the article is treating the decreased like an innocent victim. It is like 85% his fault, 15% the shooters fault. I would like to see the video tho.

 

[Judamonster]

I didn't catch at first that neither person owned the car and they both stole it. Sounds like 2 scumbags got what they deserve.

 

[mmpsteve]

I didn't catch at first that neither person owned the car and they both stole it. Sounds like 2 scumbags got what they deserve.

Only one, so far ...

.

 

[Frank_N_Stein]

In their rush to break a story quickly, the media told the first edition wrong. The second edition may be wrong also. Since lawyers are now involved, I'm pretty sure that every edition from now 'till eternity will also be a departure from the truth.

The next version on NBC just may go like this:

TWO Innocent Victims Have Been Torn from Their Loved Ones Forever
over a simple misunderstanding. One lost his life; and the other his freedom.

Around 9:50 a.m. on Tuesday, a young man was heading to a local gas station with a friend, when he recognized a car that had been stolen from his church parking lot back in August. After a quick prayer for guidance, he told his friend he was going get into the car and drive it to the nearest police station [so it could get back to its rightful owner]. The good samaritan was shot and killed by the original driver, Andrew Butler, while trying to buckle his seat belt.

Butler says he saw an unknown man getting into his vehicle, and thought he was being carjacked. While he pleaded with the man to get out of his car, the suspected carjacker turned away and was fumbling with something near his right hip. Butler told police "I thought he was a carjacker going for his gat". Fearing for his life, he acted in self-defense, shooting the man twice through the closed window.

Mr. Butlers attorney, Roger Goodhare, told police that his client was actually attempting to shoot the key out of the ignition to stop the vehicle, but the driver moved into path of the bullets. Mr. Goodhare also claims that Butler first believed that the victim was actually a white supremist, stealing the car to be used in a later hate crime.

This story started back in August when Butler, a community leader and loving father to an unknown number of children, purchased a used car from a man in the neighborhood. While his attorney was out of the room, Butler told police "I didn't even want the car. The guy desperately needed the money because of Trump. He was in a bad spot, and I just bought it to help him out." Butler adamantly maintains that he had absolutely no idea that the car was originally stolen; and that he only paid the unnamed man half of the used cars value because he wanted to help someone going through a hard time.

A neighbor says Butler has a long history of community service, buying unneeded items like TV's, laptops, and old jewelry, from friends and neighbors in need of money to buy food and clothing for their children. Butler claims that he can't remember exactly what the man who sold him the car looked like. However, he is now convinced it was an under-cover FBI agent that he saw in a TV news story about the attempted kidnaping of Gov. Whitmer in Michigan.

Mr. Goodhare, told police that, "If Mr. Phipps had simply told my client that he suspected the car was stolen, he would have willingly driven to the police station together to sort this all out." Now Butler has been charged with Murder for shooting the good samaritan and suspected car theif Phipps. Butler was released Tuesday night on an unusually high $5,000 bail, for which he had to pay $500 to the bond company. In a statement to the press, Goodhare said "My client is a victim too. A victim of a series of misunderstandings; and a victim of a system stacked against him! So far, my innocent client is out $500 and hours of his life, but the cost will go much higher!" Attorney Goodhare also pointed out that the CCTV camera that recorded the incident was white.

In an unexpected twist, police investigators found 2 Kg of cocaine, 3 handguns with high capacity magazines, and an AR-15 with a bump stock, in the trunk of the car involved. When asked by reporters, Mr. Goodhare stated unequivocally that his client has never opened the trunk since purchasing the vehicle; therefor the drugs and guns must have been left there by the FBI agent that sold the car. No charges have yet been filed related to these items, and it's uncertain when they will be returned to the local field office.


Disclaimer: Of course, the above is fiction. However, it still fits in perfectly with modern "journalism". Any similarity to the actual next spinning of this tale by the media will be just dumb luck.

TD

10/10. Bravo.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

The narrative has changed now that the car was previously stolen, so he should not have shot the perp. INGO analysis is detailed and convoluted as usual.....why I love this place.

I have often thought in a similar situation with my legally owned car and legal fire arm I would shoot the car. Blow out the tires or better yet the radiator . It is my car so I can shoot it if I want to. It won't be going anywhere soon.

Don