Here's one very screwed up story......

**Big Pimpin** · 11-09-2011, 03:39 PM

Man facing 105 years in prison for shooting at would-be thief

By Rhonda Cook
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
November 10, 2011

David Sturdivant has lost his liberty, a kidney, his home, his business and all his belongings.

Pipes, tires and trash are scattered all over the property once owned by David Sturdivant on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011. His deceased father's house is on the property but it also has been looted.

David Sturdivant lived in this two-story structure that was attached to a one-story cinder-block building that was the shop for his lawn mower repair business. The looters have turned the property into a trash dump.

David Sturdivant has been held at the Fulton County Jail since April 8.

He has nothing left other than the $21 a friend put on his account at the Fulton County Jail, where he has been since April 8.

The 64-year-old Marine Purple Heart recipient could have left jail two weeks ago, but he refused to plead guilty to a misdemeanor, a deal that included 12 months probation with credit for the seven months served. The deal would have let Sturdivant keep his guns -- four rifles and a pistol -- as well as his military disability benefits, according to the prosecutor.

Fulton County Judge Kelly Lee told Sturdivant it was a good offer because he was looking at as much as 105 years in prison if a jury convicted him of all six felony charges he faces.

“He was under the mistaken belief it would be OK to shoot at an intruder,” senior assistant district attorney Jason Park said in court. Sturdivant is charged with shooting at a man in his yard -- not in his house -- that he thought was there to steal from him.

Yet as far as Sturdivant is concerned, he did nothing wrong.

“We’ll go to trial,” public defender Wes Bryant told the judge on Oct. 27.
It has been quite an odyssey for Sturdivant since he woke from a nap just after 1 p.m. April 8 to go to the bathroom.

A police officer shot him in the stomach, which cost him a kidney. His house and business burned almost two months later while he was in jail. The tools and lawnmowers Sturdivant had in his shop for repair have been stolen. His antique Thunderbird and white Ford 150 pickup, electronics and HAM radio equipment that belonged to his father, the surveillance cameras positioned around the property, his clothes, important papers and even the door knobs and the key to his mailbox, all gone. He has no family and his only friend is already caring for an elderly mother and can't take him in.

The Veterans Administration, alerted to Sturdivant's plight, said it has programs that help homeless vets and someone would go to the jail to talk with Sturdivant about services available in the next few days.

According to police reports, Sturdivant awoke on that Friday afternoon to see Dennis Alexander in his yard. Alexander’s pickup was parked beside the engine repair shop attached to Sturdivant's house and one of the riding lawnmowers in for repair was positioned near the open tailgate to the bed of the Dodge Ram. Alexander, jailed several times for property crimes but not charged in this case, told police he was there to buy parts.

“Get off my property and stop stealing my stuff,” Sturdivant shouted at Alexander from the second-floor balcony.

The neighbors said Alexander, who was not charged in this encounter, mocked Sturdivant. Sturdivant, a frequent target of thieves, answered with a single shot from his commercial-grade M14.

Police officers nearby with a crew filming the truTV reality television program Bait Car heard the shot -- the only one Sturdivant fired -- and responded to the corner of Bolton and Northside Roads to find a naked and armed Sturdivant.

A truTV camera captured it all -- the confusion, tension, the fast breathing and the adrenaline of the officers who swarmed to the corner lot shrouded by trees, bushes and underbrush.

Two of the officers, including the one who fired the shot that hit Sturdivant, were still wearing microphones from the Bait Car taping when they responded to the shot.

“Where he at? Where he at?” an officer can be heard shouting.

Another says, “You got a shot, take it.”

“Drop the gun,” one officer shouts.

A second later one rifle shot is fired.

“I think he’s down. He went down. He went down. He went down. I don’t see him any more,” said one of the first officers wearing the mic from the taping.

A minute and 45 seconds later, Sturdivant peeked over a four-foot-tall piece of plywood that was the railing for his balcony and three police officers responded with gun fire. According to court records three officers fired a total of 14 times.

“Did he pop up?” asks a second officer, still wearing a microphone from the television taping.

“Did you guys see a gun? Did he see a gun? I hope it was a gun.”

Inside his house, Sturdivant called 911 for an ambulance. He told the operator the police had shot him.

According to court records, the bullet that hit Sturdivant first passed through the strap of his rifle and then a wooden piece on the barrel before going into the left side of his abdomen. His lawyer says the route of the bullet suggests that Sturdivant never pointed the rifle at the officers. APD's internal investigation into the shooting is pending.

Sturdivant was at Grady Memorial Hospital for about a week and he has been housed in the medical unit at the jail since.

On May 30, there was a fire on his property that the fire department called "suspicious."

His house and everything inside burned. Vandals have left his late-father’s house a few yards away uninhabitable. All Sturdivant’s tools for his business have been stolen from his repair shop. At the same time, it looks as if the property where he lived all his life except for his four tours in Vietnam is now being treated as a garbage dump.

“Looters have taken everything,” said Sturdivant's friend from childhood, Bill Erquitt. “Now it’s the biggest trash heap. ... If it’s metal, it’s gone.”

Sturdivant is still waiting for his trial to be scheduled and is hopeful of the outcome, according to his lawyer. He has nothing left to lose.

From http://www.ajc.com/news/man-facing-1...s-1221252.html

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**Dark Geared God** · 11-09-2011, 05:52 PM

thats fuck up

**bdeljoose** · 11-09-2011, 05:58 PM

He should have took the deal and keep his guns and benefits. You can't beat the law in most cases.

**Dark Geared God** · 11-09-2011, 06:08 PM

Originally Posted by bdeljoose

He should have took the deal and keep his guns and benefits. You can't beat the law in most cases.

unless you have loads of money your fucked .if the state or feds want you they going to get you..they are covering there ass over the shooting too

**meow** · 11-09-2011, 06:11 PM

Damn. That story just made me mad.

**OfficerFarva** · 11-09-2011, 06:20 PM

“Did you guys see a gun? Did he see a gun? I hope it was a gun.”

That right there is fucked up. Those idiots shot 14 times without knowing whether or not he was armed.

**Chrisotpherm** · 11-09-2011, 06:20 PM

That is retarded man. How jacked up is that. Another vetran that gave some part of his life for his country earning a purple heart, meaning being wounded in war, took a stand against criminals and now loosing it all because the court system is blind. Truly blind and so are those who sit behind the bench.

**maniclion** · 11-09-2011, 06:31 PM

Did he shoot the intruder or just pop off a warning shot?

**maniclion** · 11-09-2011, 06:35 PM

Hopefully he wins his case and then a suit against the cops for shooting him...

**myCATpowerlifts** · 11-10-2011, 08:20 AM

Originally Posted by maniclion

Did he shoot the intruder or just pop off a warning shot?

Just a warning shot.

**t-diddz** · 11-10-2011, 09:49 AM

shit like this pisses me off. ridiculous.

**oufinny** · 11-10-2011, 02:04 PM

Originally Posted by OfficerFarva

“Did you guys see a gun? Did he see a gun? I hope it was a gun.”

That right there is fucked up. Those idiots shot 14 times without knowing whether or not he was armed.

That is what I took away from it. I hope this makes national news, it is a travesty. The state should owe him for all he lost, where is the due process? They haven't concluded the investigation yet are offering him a deal so the problem goes away. Officers are going to lose their jobs over this, it is all to protect them not us. To protect and serve, what a freaking joke.

**Curt James** · 11-12-2011, 01:16 PM

Charges dropped against veteran

By Rhonda Cook
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
November 11, 2011

All of David Sturdivant's possessions fit in a paper sack he held tightly as he waited Friday in a wheelchair, with a folded walker, outside the Fulton County Jail. He had been an inmate there since a police officer shot him in the stomach seven months ago.

Since then, the 64-year-old former Marine and Purple Heart recipient has lost a kidney, his home, his business and all his belongings.

But Friday he gained his freedom after prosecutors dismissed six felony charges related to an incident at Sturdivant's home where he shot at someone he thought was stealing from him.

"I'm numb," Sturdivant said, his gray beard long and his once-salt-and-pepper hair much lighter than when he was arrested on April 8.

David Sturdivant, who was shot in the stomach and arrested by the Atlanta Police Department in April, was released from jail today Friday November 11, 2011 after the charges against him were dropped.

On that day Sturdivant fired four intermittent shots from his commercial-grade M14 into the dirt to frighten off a man he thought was a thief.

Police officers were nearby and heard the gunfire. Moments later, one of them shouted "drop your weapon" and a second later fired, according to a recording of the event.

Sturdivant, who was on the second-floor porch outside his bedroom, said he never heard the shot from police and he didn't really feel it.

"I looked down and saw a hole in my side," Sturdivant said. "I backed up. I kneeled down and put the gun down. Gathered my wits and stood up and walked to the side."

In addition to losing a kidney, Sturdivant said he also lost "several inches" of his colon.

"He still faces many challenges," said his lawyer, public defender Wes Bryant. "He will have no clothes, no money, and no place to live. He doesn't even have his driver's license for identification. His first stop will likely be to the VA [Veterans Administration] where he can receive treatment for his gunshot wound, and they may be able to recommend a place for him to stay.

Sturdivant had faced 105 years in prison. He faced four aggravated assault against a peace officer charges for allegedly pointing his gun at officers and another aggravated assault charge for shooting at the man he believed to be a thief. He was also charged with possessing a weapon during the commission of a crime.

Prosecutors dropped the charges to a misdemeanor, but Sturdivant refused to plead guilty. He could have left jail two weeks ago but a guilty plead would have resulted in 12 months probation with credit for the seven months served. The deal would have let Sturdivant keep his guns -- four rifles and a pistol -- as well as his military disability benefits, according to the prosecutor.

Fulton County Judge Kelly Lee told Sturdivant it was a good offer. Yet as far as Sturdivant is concerned, he had done nothing wrong and he wanted a trial. He had nothing left to lose, he told his lawyer.

[...]

"I fired one shot. I told him to get off my property," Sturdivant said.

Sturdivant said Alexander offered to give him $20 but he responded by firing again into the dirt. Then Alexander shouted to Sturdivant that he knocked on several doors and again Sturdivant pulled the trigger. Finally, according to Sturdivant, Alexander said he thought the property was abandoned and that is when Sturdivant fired for the fourth time.

Alexander could not be reached but he was most recently released from the Fulton County Jail on Sept. 7 after posting a $1,500 bond; he is charged with two counts of burglary, loitering and theft by taking.

[...]

According to a photo of the gun, a bullet first passed through the strap of the rifle and then a wooden piece on the barrel before going into the left side of Sturdivant's abdomen. Sturdivant said the officers fired from in front of him but the rifle was pointed to his left and down.

The police said he had pointed the rifle at them. APD's internal investigation into the shooting is pending.

More @ Charges dropped against veteran *| ajc.com

**Dark Geared God** · 11-12-2011, 03:11 PM

smells fishy

**Zaphod** · 11-12-2011, 03:16 PM

Investigation still pending? Looks and sounds pretty cut and dried to me. A couple officers got all jazzed up while being filmed and opened fire without waiting to find out what was going on.

**Curt James** · 11-12-2011, 04:10 PM

^^^^ And the beauty is that they were mic'd! lol Way to broadcast your ineptitude.

“Did you guys see a gun? Did he see a gun? I hope it was a gun.”

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