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Retired Green Beret shoots intruder, gets court martial

5K views 29 replies 17 participants last post by  roughneck2zero 
#1 ·
http://mksviews.wordpress.com/2008/01/29/retired-green-beret-shoots-intruder-gets-court-martial/

BREVARD, Jan. 19, 2008 - Retired Army Green Beret James T. (Smokey) Taylor got his court martial this weekend and came away feeling pretty good about it. Taylor, at age 79, is one of the oldest members of Chapter XXXIII (The Larry Thorne Chapter) of the Special Forces Association.He was placed on trial by fellow Chapter XXXIII members 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 November.

The court martial, of course, was very much tongue in cheek. The event itself was deadly serious. Taylor had been awakened in the early morning hours of November 5, 2007,when an intruder broke into his home. He investigated the noises with one of his many weapons in hand. “It was just after Halloween, on Monday morning at 4:30,” Taylor said. I heard this commotion at the door and grabbed my fishing gun, a little .22 revolver, to see what was going on. I got to the front door and this fellow had ripped my security door out of its frame. He said, ‘you’re going to have to kill me. I’m coming in.’”

When a warning to leave went unheeded, Taylor brought his .22 caliber pistol to bear and shot him right between the eyes. “I was about four feet away from him when I shot,” Taylor said. “Looking back now, I’m glad he didn’t die, but that boy had the hardest head I’ve ever seen. The bullet bounced right off.” The impact knocked the would-be thief down momentarily. He crawled out of the house then got up and ran down the street. Taylor dialed 911 and Knoxville police apprehended the wounded man about 200 yards away, hiding in a hedgerow.

Complicating the case, as well as the court martial, the offender was released on bail but failed to appear for his court date. Knoxville police said the man was homeless. They did not know his whereabouts or why he had been given bail. The charges brought against Taylor by his fellow Green Berets 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 , NC.

The trial was held at the Hampton Inn in Brevard, part of the group’s regularly scheduled quarterly meeting. Long appointed a judge, Bert Bates, a defense counsel, Jim Hash, and a prosecutor, Charlie Ponds. All are retired Special Forces non-commissioned officers with extensive combat and weapons experience. Ponds outlined the case against Taylor , emphasizing that the citizens of Knox County were going to be burdened with significant costs to again apprehend, and then prosecute and defend the would-be burglar.

“Proper choice of a larger caliber gun would have spared the citizens this financial burden,” Ponds said, “while removing one bad guy from the streets for good. He could have used a .45 or .38. The .22 just wasn’t big enough to get the job done. Hash 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. I believe the evidence shows that Smokey Taylor exercised excellent judgment in his choice of weapons. He clearly remains to this day an excellent weapons man.”

Hash 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. The jury, consisting of all the members of the Chapter, discussed the merits of choosing a larger caliber weapon as well as the obvious benefits to society of permanently deleting the intruder so he would never again threaten any private citizen. The other side of the coin, that of accidentally causing injury to a completely innocent citizen if a more powerful gun had been used, also gained considerable support.

Following testimony from both sides, Judge Bates determined the charges should be dismissed. The decision was met with a round of applause. In fact, there was strong sentiment expressed that Taylor should receive an award for not only choosing wisely in picking up the 22, but for the accuracy of his aim under difficult and dangerous conditions (79 years old!!! He was around 36 when the M16 was first adopted. Just to put that in perspective.). After the trial Taylor said the ammunition was indeed old and added the new information that the perp had soiled his pants as he crawled out the door. “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.” 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. Hat tip


He has a "fishing gun"?!?!?!
 
#5 ·
Fun:

Get a 6 to 8 foot alligator gar as close to shore as you can. Set the lock on your reel, and then attempt to hold it only in your left hand (remember, the fish isn't happy about all this).

With your right hand, draw the weapon - in my case a S&W K-22 Outdoorsmans Masterpiece, and attempt to shoot the fish in the head.

Doing anything with an alligator gar that isn't dead is a recipie for missing fingers.

They aren't good for eating, but they're fun as a sporting fish, and are universally hated for killing off everything else in the lakes.
 
#8 ·
I use mine mostly for Snakes...

I know of military organizations that meet just to give each other a hard time and remember the good old days. I am sure this is one of those times.
 
#11 ·
Court Martialed post retirement, load of bollocks
 
#16 ·
Go back and read the entire article. You'll see that his buddies down at the SF Assn chapter were having a mock trial and it was all tongue in cheek.

No real articles for courts martial were filed and no JAG officers were present.

A fishing gun indeed.

This is why I don't mess with old men. You don't know which ones of the old farts low-crawled across Iwo Jima or Normandy and collected ears. It's not really worth the risk. ;)
 
#14 ·
Yeah, I already know about them pesky AK Fish and Game guys that wear bear suits. And first a .22 and now a .410 in AK? I guess some folk like a challenge.

And isn't R-kansas AR? Or is it Arkansaw? That's the state with the silent 'w', or is it the invisible 'w' at the end?
 
#15 ·
Sorry, Alaska. Try boating a 100+ pound halibut. Like pulling a 55 chevy hood off the bottom of the ocean then as soon as you get it in the boat it tries to tear the boat apart. Easier to dispatch them in the water before they get in the boat.
 
#18 ·
As a retired Green Beret , I know it may be dificult for civilians to understand that a court martial after service by a Special forces association members court martial may sound wierd but we gotta keep up the standards we learned in SF . We learn how to do it right the first time and yes we (most of us old guys ) do retain all the stuff we learned for our trade craft . And once a green beret , always a green beret .
Personally , I think he should of used an XCR SBR with a suppressor in 6.8 cal . Besides if you gotta do the deed , why not use a really cool gun .That would of sent a better message to the perps in his area .
Besides we may be old but somethings are just plain funny.
 
#20 ·
I interoperate this case as ‘damned if you do and damned if you don’t’ shoot the prick.

Why on earth were charges pressed against the victim? ! ? !

Many people say that it is best to have a ‘less than lethal’ round as your 1st round in your home defense shotgun. Their point is that if you had to fire twice … you NEEDED to. Sounds to me like this guy would have been in the same predicament if he had used a rubber bullet or just harsh words.

Ridiculous.
 
#21 ·
To me it sounds like there aren't that many people that have been around the military and understand that we do many things in the military to make fun of each other. One such thing is a "mock trial" (which sounds pretty nice considering some of the other things we do at social functions). Not wanting to hash this out anymore but NO FORMAL CHARGES were pressed against the guy. BOTTOM LINE, his buddies were giving him a hard time for not killing the guy, or at least giving him a hard time about his use of a "small" caliber... :2cents:
 
#23 ·
Just FYI, even a "less-than-lethal" rubber bullet of an appropriate caliber fired from 4 feet away is probably gonna kill the perp, especially as the article states that he hit the guy between the eyes. Nice placement!!! Hooah!!! That article is great! I was LMAO the first time I read it. Now I feel like watching that ole John Wayne movie again.

.22's are for plinking soda cans, and maybe a fish. If it's really whimpy ;D. It won't go through a skull. I don't wanna go into all the details, but I've got stories....

cheers, R20
 
#24 ·
Good post Aziator , sounds like you've done a tour or two . The old soldier is 79 years old ,no matter what he does the rest of his life he will never do anything as funny as bouncing a bullet off a guys forhead . Besides when you're that old what they gonna do???
At his age he was probably one of the few men left from First Special Forces ( Devils in baggy Pants ) who fought the Germans in WW2 . And started the Special Forces at FT Harrison Montana with the Canadian airborne volunteers .
And yes we bust each others chops at every opportunity ;D :eek:
 
#26 ·
Rough Neck I have seen the results of a 22LR to the head and the results are lethal. It really just depends on the range and many other factors but a 22LR to the head is lethal.
 
#27 ·
It's not about the size of the bullet, but where you place it. I like a .45 becasue I can be sloppy and get away with it. 22LR is one of the most common cartridges used in shootings and a favorite for pro-hits and assasinations. a single shot .22 can be made almost silent when shooting heavy sub-sonic ammunition. anyone remember the old hushpuppy?

The image below is of a person hit in the head with a .22, look closely near the upper left quadrant and you can see the fragments. Note this is a single slide from CAT scan.



and, yes, fatal.
 
#28 ·
Not speaking from any personal experience with .22LR head trauma (although I was shot through the arm with one) - the accounts I've read regarding the .22 in the head are indeed affected by shot placement.

The few idots that I read about, attempted suicide with a .22 and at least (3) ended up in the vegetable bin because the round bounced around INSIDE the skull cavity...

NICE...
 
#29 ·
A Suppresed .22LR Pistol makes an ideal weapon for Close Quarters Assinations. Due to it being able to be virtually silent and depending on placement it has enough power to enter the skull and bounce around but not exit the skull.
 
#30 ·
I was just kinda ripping on the fact that a Green Baret shot a guy with a .22,

I know .22's have long been one of the preferred guns for assasins, but mostly for a point blank shot in the back of the head & and under the skull, thus severing the Madulla Oblingata. OR through the temple or ear or eye. I've got a .22 Gem-Tec Outback. Don't have a .22 pistol right now but on my 10/22 it sounds like snapping your fingers.

OK a story or two. A buddy of mine took a round to the head (dumb ass had his helmet off), Luckily it was a .22 and it didn't penetrate his thick skull, it just went up under the skin a few inches. BTW, it took years to go through, but he finally got a Purple Heart.

My father-in-law was held up at an ATM years ago. The guy shot him 4 times in the back with a .22 and he still knocked the guy down and sat on the dude until police arrived (He's kind of a large guy). The bullet missed all vital organs and he didn't even bleed out alot. He said counter-attacking the guy was just a reflex and he didn't even know he had been hit.

At least use a .22 MAGNUM oooohhhh. ;D

Seriously, I only make light of these because things came out OK, it could have easily ended badly. R20.

as for me, I've been stabbed twice, well, one was more of a slicing cut.
 
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