Oklahoma druggist arrested for killing holdup man

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Confronted by two holdup men, pharmacist Jerome Ersland pulled a gun, shot one of them in the head and chased the other away. Then, in a scene recorded by the drugstore’s security camera, he went behind the counter, got another gun, and pumped five more bullets into the wounded teenager as he lay on the floor.

Now Ersland has been charged with first-degree murder in a case that has stirred a furious debate over vigilante justice and self-defense and turned the pharmacist into something of a folk hero.

Ersland, 57, is free on $100,000 bail, courtesy of an anonymous donor. He has won praise from the pharmacy’s owner, received an outpouring of cards, letters and checks from supporters, and become the darling of conservative talk radio.

“His adrenaline was going. You’re just thinking of survival,” said John Paul Hernandez, 60, a retired Defense Department employee who grew up in the neighborhood. “All it was is defending your employee, business and livelihood. If I was in that position and that was me, I probably would have done the same thing.”

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Oklahoma druggist arrested for killing holdup man

I am probably going to anger a few folks with this post, some will agree, some won’t, but that’s the price you pay when you have a blog and you’re not afraid to go after the most controversial of topics.

All we have to go on in this particular case is the information presented by the AP, based on that information, and working under the assumption that their information is correct, I have got to say, I feel that this guy is as guilty of murder as was Joe Horn. The grand jury in Pasadena, TX didn’t bring charges against Horn, much to my surprise, and depending upon the attitudes of the folks in Oklahoma, Jerome Ersland may end up being acquitted as well.

To shoot in self defense is not an issue for me. If someone comes into my home uninvited, in the middle of the night, or day for that matter, and is intent on doing me or my family harm, it’s an absolute given, I will punch their ticket to HELL and have absolutely NO feelings of guilt in doing so. For Ersland to have shot this wannabe bad boy in the head, and put him down, was an adequate and very acceptable response, and for that I am in full support of Ersland. To go back and get another gun, and shoot the bad boy 5 more times? Well, that is where you have to draw the line. Unless the guy was continuing to present a clear and present danger to Ersland and the stores occupants, this was way over the line of self defense!

Don Spencer, a 49-year-old National Rifle Association member who lives in the small town of Meridian, 40 miles north of Oklahoma City, said the pharmacist did the right thing: “You shoot more than enough to make sure the threat has been removed.”

Don, you are exactly what is wrong with the NRA, you give gun owners a bad name. Yes, Ersland was right in his initial reaction, that is an absolute in MY opinion. But to go back, change guns and to then shoot the guy 5 more times? That is cold blooded, premeditated MURDER, I don’t care HOW you cut it!

District Attorney David Prater said Ersland was justified in shooting 16-year-old Antwun Parker once in the head, but not in firing the additional shots into his belly. The prosecutor said the teenager was unconscious, unarmed, lying on his back and posing no threat when Ersland fired what the medical examiner said were the fatal shots.

The guy was shot, he presented, as I understand it, no THREAT at that particular point in time, that is where LAW ENFORCEMENT comes into play. Let the police do their job and let the guy spend some time in McAlester. Now, depending upon the whims and moods of a jury, and the skill of the lawyers, Ersland may well be the one spending time in McAlester.

Anthony Douglas, president of the Oklahoma chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, called it an “execution-style murder” and praised the district attorney for bringing charges. Ersland is white; the two suspects were black.

I won’t begin to speculate as to what was going through Ersland’s head in regards to race, and any possible act of racial hatred, but this is one time that I am having to stand in agreement with the observation made by Anthony Douglas of the NAACP, what started out as a legitimate act of self defense turned into, in my opinion, an “execution-style murder”, no matter what color the robbers were. And personally speaking, the color of the robbers or the shooter have no bearing on this issue. It is my feeling that the MSM is using the skin color of the participants in an attempt to further inflame the sensitivities of weak minded individuals that are easily baited into throwing the *race card*…