Oklahoma druggist arrested for killing holdup man

**min0 lee** · 05-29-2009, 04:04 PM

May 29 03:23 PM US/Eastern
By TIM TALLEY
Associated Press Writer

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 thanks to 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."

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.

But many of those who have seen the video of the May 19 robbery attempt at Reliable Discount Pharmacy have concluded the teenager in the ski mask got what he deserved.

Mark Shannon, who runs a conservative talk show on Oklahoma City's KOTV, said callers have jammed his lines this week in support of Ersland, who wears a back brace on the job and told reporters that he is a disabled veteran of the Gulf War.

"There is no gray area," Shannon said. One caller "said he should have put all the shots in the head."

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."

Barbara Bergman, past president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and a professor at the University of New Mexico School of Law, likened the public reaction to that of the case of Bernard Goetz, the New Yorker who shot four teenagers he said were trying to rob him when they asked for $5 on a subway in 1984.

Goetz was cleared of attempted murder and assault but convicted of illegal gun possession and served 8 1/2 months in jail.

Bergman said those who claim they used deadly force in self-defense have to show they were "in reasonable fear of serious bodily injury."

The pharmacy is in a crime-ridden section of south Oklahoma City and had been robbed before.

The video shows two men bursting in, one of them pointing a gun at Ersland and two women working with the druggist behind the counter. Ersland fires a pistol, driving the gunman from the store and hitting Parker in the head as he puts on a ski mask.

Ersland chases the second man outside, then goes back inside, walks behind the counter with his back to Parker, gets a second handgun and opens fire.

Irven Box, Ersland's attorney, noted the outpouring of support for the pharmacist, including $2,000 in donations, and said: "I feel very good 12 people would not determine he committed murder in the first degree."

Under Oklahoma's "Make My Day Law"—passed in the late 1980s and named for one of Clint Eastwood's most famous movie lines—people can use deadly force when they feel threatened by an intruder inside their homes. In 2006, Oklahoma's "Stand Your Ground Law" extended that to anywhere a citizen has the right to be, such as a car or office.

"It's a 'Make-My-Day' case," Box said. "This guy came in, your money or your life. Mr. Ersland said, `You're not taking my life.'" The gunman "forfeited his life."

Box said that another person might have reacted differently, but he asked: "When do you turn off that adrenaline switch? When do you think you're safe? I think that's going to be the ultimate issue."

If convicted, Ersland could be sentenced to life in prison with or without parole, or receive the death penalty.

The second suspect in the holdup, a 14-year-old boy, was arrested Thursday and faces attempted armed robbery charges.

Ersland is white and the two suspects were black. Anthony Douglas, president of the Oklahoma chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, called a news conference to praise the district attorney for bringing the murder charge. But he said the organization has taken no position on Ersland's guilt or innocence.

"We want the system to do its job," Douglas said.

Parker's parents also expressed relief that Ersland faces a criminal charge.

"He didn't have to shoot my baby like that," Parker's mother, Cleta Jennings, told TV station KOCO.

**bio-chem** · 05-29-2009, 04:11 PM

well shit. i voted for the headline. now that i read he shot the kid 5 more times i may have to rethink this

**min0 lee** · 05-29-2009, 04:22 PM

Originally Posted by bio-chem

well shit. i voted for the headline. now that i read he shot the kid 5 more times i may have to rethink this

That made me think also, not by much though.
I really hate thieves and usually armed robberies end tragically with the hard working store owner caught on the losing end.

**QuestionGuy** · 05-29-2009, 04:36 PM

give the guy a fuckin medal....kill each and every one of those mother fuckers, our jails are full as it is, fucking kill them....what do we do when there is too many animals walking around? We put them to sleep or we hunt them...fuckin do the same...

**Dale Mabry** · 05-29-2009, 05:14 PM

Imo, by the letter of the law, he should be tried for murder. Now, my personal thoughts on this case...Fuck it, he saved us a shitload of money either from welfare or jailing this asshole. I don't buy the survival mode shit, this guy knows what he did, but this guy isn't a murderer. His bullets didn't kill him, this kid's shitty decisions did.

**maniclion** · 05-29-2009, 05:23 PM

Manslaughter maybe but not murder. The 5 extra times wasn't necessary unless he can prove the wounded guy was still able to present a risk to everyones safety. Should they lock him up for a long ass time because he's a hardened criminal likely to do this again? No. He'll probably never be put in a situation like this again. Also he's not fully to blame, if our nation hadn't trained him to be killer he may have felt wounding incapacitation was acceptable, but the military is shoot to kill.

**bio-chem** · 05-29-2009, 06:34 PM

Originally Posted by maniclion

if our nation hadn't trained him to be killer he may have felt wounding incapacitation was acceptable, but the military is shoot to kill.

military or not, when you shoot, you shoot to kill. end of story. the question in my mind is his state of mind shooting the 5 extra times. in all but the most extreme of cases a head shot is a kill shot. i dont think the 5 extra shots changed the outcome. was this guy being malicious? or was it simply continued response to the initial situation. ive never been in that situation and its hard for me to judge, but ive been in fights where afterwards i needed a significant amount of time to calm down and think clearly again. sometimes it takes awhile for the tunnel vision to go away.

**brogers** · 05-29-2009, 06:59 PM

He shouldn't be charged.

Part of me says it would have been better if he hadn't been killed, but another part says that he could get out of jail and then attempt it again when he gets out, and possibly hurt an innocent victim.

**lnvanry** · 05-31-2009, 08:25 PM

charge him with 2nd degree and let his local community rule on the context through a trial by jury...knowing Oklahoma people he'll get a pass prolly. just a guess though

**Little Wing** · 05-31-2009, 08:59 PM

part of me thinks he should be charged for the extra shots part of me also says if i ever have to shoot anyone i'm going to make sure they're are dead and can't get revenge.

reminds me of a funny song that came to mind and i showed my kids today

From the badlands came the killer, he lived by his knife and the gun.
He'd cut you just for standing, and shoot you if you tried to run.
He was as big as a tree, and did what he pleased, and everything he did was bad.
They said if you was to kill him, it'd only make him mad.

**Mudge** · 05-31-2009, 11:25 PM

Originally Posted by bio-chem

well shit. i voted for the headline. now that i read he shot the kid 5 more times i may have to rethink this

If he shot and disarmed the guy, that probably should have been enough. Although I suppose you could argue that the guy could be down a long road of criminal history and end up doing worse. Tape might make it clearer.

**maxpro2** · 05-31-2009, 11:35 PM

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.

Bingo. Definitely not first degree murder, however. The jury will probably opt for voluntary manslaughter since it occurred in the heat of passion.

**Chubby** · 06-01-2009, 12:13 AM

Originally Posted by min0 lee

May 29 03:23 PM US/Eastern
By TIM TALLEY
Associated Press Writer

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Confronted by two holdup men, pharmacist Jerome Ersland pulled a gun, (1)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 (2)pumped five more bullets into the wounded teenager as he lay on the floor.

1. Shot in the head was selfdefense.
2. Shot five more bullet into the wounded teenager was a murder.
The Pharmacist should be charged with murder like any other crimanal. It was unnecessary kill the teen who was already wounded and was no danger to anyone. I hope judge and judy will follow the law and not their emotions.

**nkira** · 06-01-2009, 01:40 AM

Yes, charge him with murder! Only cos he shot the guy 5 times....

IMO...that was totally unnecessary.....the guy was on the floor injured......

The shooter got the "Hero" badge now everyone's gonna start pumping bullets....

**maniclion** · 06-01-2009, 04:06 AM

Originally Posted by bio-chem

military or not, when you shoot, you shoot to kill. end of story. the question in my mind is his state of mind shooting the 5 extra times. in all but the most extreme of cases a head shot is a kill shot. i dont think the 5 extra shots changed the outcome. was this guy being malicious? or was it simply continued response to the initial situation. ive never been in that situation and its hard for me to judge, but ive been in fights where afterwards i needed a significant amount of time to calm down and think clearly again. sometimes it takes awhile for the tunnel vision to go away.

Not me, i'll shoot you in both knee caps and then when you roll over and try to crawl away I'll plug you in the spine right where it will cripple you and make you shit your pants.....these criminals deserve to wake up everyday knowing what it's like to be a victim......

**nkira** · 06-01-2009, 04:21 AM

That is true too.....I am taking both side's here!!

**min0 lee** · 06-01-2009, 05:08 AM

Originally Posted by chobby192

1. Shot in the head was selfdefense.
2. Shot five more bullet into the wounded teenager was a murder.
The Pharmacist should be charged with murder like any other crimanal. It was unnecessary kill the teen who was already wounded and was no danger to anyone. I hope judge and judy will follow the law and not their emotions.

I feel no pity for the teen that's one less vermin off the street.

**IronAddict** · 06-01-2009, 09:11 AM

No, no, no. Two in the head one in the heart.

**Chubby** · 06-01-2009, 09:40 AM

Originally Posted by min0 lee

I feel no pity for the teen that's one less vermin off the street.

I agree because teens are not supposed to be stupid. They should be matured and always make a right decision.

**bio-chem** · 06-01-2009, 09:44 AM

Originally Posted by chobby192

I agree because teens are not supposed to be stupid. They should be matured and always make a right decision.

there are teens being stupid and then there are teens who take guns, rob and threaten peoples lives. this is beyond stupid. when you make an adult decision you have adult consequences. age does not play a roll in this case.

**min0 lee** · 06-01-2009, 10:14 AM

Originally Posted by chobby192

I agree because teens are not supposed to be stupid. They should be matured and always make a right decision.

There's something wrong when a person points a gun at another, this stupid teen will mature into a career criminal. Stupid head.

**min0 lee** · 06-01-2009, 10:14 AM

Originally Posted by bio-chem

there are teens being stupid and then there are teens who take guns, rob and threaten peoples lives. this is beyond stupid. when you make an adult decision you have adult consequences. age does not play a roll in this case.

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