LTCF holder kills pedestrian blocking road after being rushed.

[KeithPA]

Surprised no Erie people posted this........

http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/...=2009304289961

Joel Atkin admitted on the spot that he fired the fatal shot Saturday that took the life of 30-year-old Jayson Sack.


But Atkin, who is 22 and a 2007 graduate of the criminal-justice program at Mercyhurst North East, suggested that circumstances forced him to pull the trigger, telling police that Sack stood in the street and would not let him pass.

Witnesses to the shooting Saturday evening tell a different story.

They said Sack walked out to the street to yell at a passing motorist to slow down as the motorist drove through the 2200 block of East 20th Street.

Vinny Sack, the shooting victim's brother, said that by the time he made it from his home to the street, the driver was out of the car and pointing a gun at his brother. Vinny Sack said his brother was shot fatally when he tried to disarm Atkin.

(CHRIS SIGMUND / Erie Times-News)


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When Erie Detective Sgt. Dan Dacus arrived at about 8 p.m., he found Atkin standing at the rear of a blue Saturn sedan, talking on a cell phone.

According to the affidavit of probable cause, Atkin yelled to Dacus, "Sir, I have a gun. I'm the one that shot him."

Atkin, who surrendered his gun, a .357-caliber revolver that was in a pocket of the shorts he was wearing, told police he was a criminal-justice major and was aware of his rights.

He also offered to help, offering police his account of what had happened.

Erie police said Atkin told them: "He (Jayson Sack) blocked the road and he wouldn't move. I called 911 and told them that I had a guy at gunpoint. That's when he rushed me and started attacking me, punching me."

Atkin told police he kept one empty chamber in the gun's cylinder so it wouldn't accidentally go off.

As a result, Atkin told police, he had to fire more than once.

"I pulled the trigger, and it clicked," he told police, according to the criminal complaint. "I pulled the trigger again, and it went off."

Kevin Sack, father of Jayson Sack, doesn't disagree that his son might have exposed himself to harm by trying to disarm Atkin.

But he doesn't question his son's judgment either.

"If it wasn't for the kids out there -- I think to him, he would rather take the bullet than let one of those kids get hit," Kevin Sack said. "I think he did the noblest thing. He gave his life to protect."

Kevin Sack said that in one respect, he's not surprised that his son, a U.S. Army veteran, died standing up for someone.

"He was a courageous person, a very strong person," he said. "He wasn't afraid of anything."

District Attorney Brad Foulk said Atkin had a permit to carry a concealed weapon. The handgun involved in the shooting was not his, however.

"We are still investigating the ownership of the gun," Foulk said.

In some situations in which a person claims self-defense, charges are not even filed.

This isn't one of those cases, said Erin Connelly, the assistant district attorney handling the case.

She said Atkin's account of events "wasn't consistent with any of the other witnesses."

Atkin, a 2004 graduate of Iroquois High School, was arraigned Sunday by Erie 5th Ward District Judge Joseph Lefaiver on charges of homicide, aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person and possession of instruments of crime. He is being held in the Erie County Prison.

Staff writer Lisa Thompson contributed to this report.

JIM MARTIN can be reached at 870-1668 or by e-mail.

[son of the revolution]

Actually it was posted a couple days ago . Oh and just an FYI , that Hitler Quote in your siggy line has been proven to be an urban legend . I dont personally care if you use it . Just thought you should know it wasnt a truthful quote .

[RoyJackson]

I think this kid should have stayed in his car...

If Atkin is caucasion, and Sacks was a negro, I'm sure the other witnesses are negroes too. They'll say anything to make Sacks look like a "hero". Just like those people in Oakland California called the guy who shot those cops a "hero".
Comments above disavowed in a later post. Left in this post so folks would know the context of subsequent posts: RJ 05-03-09

But Atkin wasn't in any danger until he got out of his vehicle. He had ample opportunity to put his car in reverse and get out of there. He didn't and he'll rue the day he went down that street.

[crakkajakka15]

this story sounds one sided.......that 911 call IF he even made on might help him out here.

Erie police said Atkin told them: "He (Jayson Sack) blocked the road and he wouldn't move. I called 911 and told them that I had a guy at gunpoint. That's when he rushed me and started attacking me, punching me."

Sounds like they dont want to admit that their son/brother was in the street harassing people in cars or whatever he was doing....its easy to make up a story sayinghe was trying ot tell him to slow down...plus why would you try to disarm a person that is pointing a gun at you already...being in the army dont you think he would of known that?????? There more to this than is being told....my 2 cents

[ErSwnn]

With only the article to go one, it looks like this guy screwed up bigtime. As much as I would dislike letting someone rant and yell at me I'd see no other option than to turn around and call the appropriate authority. No one likes to back down from a fight but some fights are just not worth the hassle. I'm curious to know if the driver was somehow blocked in, had no escape route. I can see how if I'm being approached by what I percieve as a ranting lunatic that I could come to the conclusion my life is in danger. On the other hand this could be a case of poor preparation and thinking. Let's see what the whole story tells.

[SauerGrapes]

Sounds to me with just what we have so far, they both made bad decisions. It could have had the same result, instead of being shot, he could have been run down by the vehicle. One still dead and one still in jail for homicide.
Never put yourself in a life or death situation like that. It just isn't worth it.

[Lougotzz]

I tell people all the time RETREAT!!!! You only pull that gun if you are 99.9% ready to shoot. I say 99.9% because you should always have the oportunity to not take a life. I tell everyone if you shoot someone and after that shoot you say if I didnt do this I wouldnt be here or a family memebr wouldnt be here then it was legit. If you cant say that then you might have some troubles.

I would rather RETREAT and have a broken ego then deal with the legal system. I hope it was a legit shoot or they both got the raw end of the stick.

We live in a society that human life is very expendable> Very sad!!

[Kurt_M]

I saw this one too. Based on what's been released so far, it looks like a bad shoot. The shooter should have just stayed in his car and driven away. I won't presume to judge without all of the facts, but just based on what's reported that doesn't look good.

[NineseveN]

I don't know, this one is a tough sell. First, why confront a guy who is seemingly doing nothing more than causing a non-violent disturbance? Now, maybe that wasn't what was happening, maybe the guy was off of his nut, maybe there was an element of violent or threatening behavior that caused Atkins to get out of his car; otherwise, why hold him at gunpoint?

BUT

While Atkins was on the phone with the 9-1-1 dispatch, Sack wasn't exactly gambling with a full hand by rushing a man with a gun already trained on him. That's a tough call. I mean, if you're being held a gunpoint without justification (say some nut just points his gun and says he's calling police, but all you did was cross the street), I can see how you'd be a little suspicious as to who the guy was actually on the phone with and what his intentions are.

But it sounds like Atkin may have been a bit of a hothead.
http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/...4/-1/NEIGHBORS

Who knows really, I can't say either way except that Atkin shouldn't have gotten himself involved, he should have called police first and let them handle it, only intervening if someone was in danger of being seriously harmed.

[Eugene V. Debs]

I think this kid should have stayed in his car...

If Atkin is caucasion, and Sacks was a negro, I'm sure the other witnesses are negroes too. They'll say anything to make Sacks look like a "hero". Just like those people in Oakland California called the guy who shot those cops a "hero".

But Atkin wasn't in any danger until he got out of his vehicle. He had ample opportunity to put his car in reverse and get out of there. He didn't and he'll rue the day he went down that street.

Ya know, if you're gonna make a racial issue out of a discussion of an article that doesn't even indirectly mention race (which seems to be all the rage on PAFOA these days), the least you could do is spell Caucasian correctly.