WOMAN SHOT 9 TIMES WAS KILLED IN SELF-DEFENSE.

[glockman22]

DA: Woman shot nine times was killed in self-defense



By PAUL SHOCKLEY/The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel

Thursday, December 10, 2009

District Attorney Pete Hautzinger said Thursday that he will not file criminal charges in the November shooting death of a Pear Park woman, saying she was shot nine times in self-defense.

Crystal Nash, 42, was killed around 2:20 a.m. on Nov. 1 in the driveway at 3007 Rood Ave., after what Hautzinger on Thursday described as an alcohol-fueled confrontation between Nash and a neighbor. A man in his 20s, who has not been identified by authorities, also was wounded.

“In declining to file criminal charges here, I do not intend to condone or endorse anything that happened,” Hautzinger wrote in a letter sent Thursday to Mesa County Sheriff Stan Hilkey. “I certainly believe that neighborhood disputes are usually better resolved without firearms being involved.”

According to Hautzinger’s letter, Nash, who was host of a party running into the predawn hours of Nov. 1 at her home at 438 Colorow Drive, walked to a neighbor’s home, upset and believing the neighbor had called deputies to her home earlier in the evening.

Deputies responded to 438 Colorow Drive for what initially was reported as a possible domestic violence incident, but they left the area after concluding there was no crime.

Nash, whose blood-alcohol level was .184 percent, was armed with a Ruger handgun when she walked to her neighbor’s home, Hautzinger wrote. Nash pounded on the neighbor’s door, while the homeowner grabbed his semiautomatic .22-caliber handgun and hid it behind his back.

“He asked her if she had a gun, and she told him that she did and that she was going to use it,” Hautzinger’s letter says.

The man kept his gun hidden behind his back and told her to put her gun down.

“Ms. Nash responded with another obscenity and brought her gun up across her body toward” the neighbor, Hautzinger wrote. The man then shot Nash, emptying all nine rounds in the clip of his handgun. Nash was hit nine times.

The neighbor told Sheriff’s Department investigators he thought he was going to die when Nash raised her gun.

“In order to file any charges against (homeowner) I would need to be convinced I could prove he had no reasonable belief that he was in imminent danger of being killed or of suffering great bodily injury,” reads Hautzinger’s letter. That conclusion, he said, would be “impossible” to reach.

State law on self-defense says persons defending themselves may, among other things, “use a degree of force which he reasonably believes to be necessary for that purpose.”

Are nine shots a reasonable response?

“I can’t say it’s unreasonable,” Hautzinger said in an interview Thursday.

In weighing self-defense issues, Hautzinger said he looks for comparable levels of force.

“It’s unreasonable to respond to a slap in the face with a bazooka,” he said. “Here, we’re talking guns on guns.”

It wasn’t immediately clear how the unnamed man in his 20s was shot on Nov. 1, which Hautzinger described as a minor flesh wound.

Nash never fired her gun, and no other shots were discovered other than the homeowner’s, Hautzinger said.

[Swarner793]

This screams USE ENOUGH GUN!! It a hard to say that 9 shots were appropiate until you realize that he was using a .22. That sheds a little more light on the matter. However, it only sheds light for those that have knowledge of firearms. I could see Grandmom Juror, if it ever went there, saying "He shot that pure girl with the drinking problem 9 times, that just ain't right!"

I do say kudos for the DA for looking at the big picture. I really like this one “I certainly believe that neighborhood disputes are usually better resolved without firearms being involved.” Truth be told, I feel the same way. Problem is, not everybody does, therefore, I prepare.

As for him shooting himself somewhere in the fray, I say, practice, practice, practice!

Be safe (and fences make good neighbors, and, apparently, so do duels).

Scott

[PocketProtector]

This screams USE ENOUGH GUN!! It a hard to say that 9 shots were appropiate until you realize that he was using a .22. That sheds a little more light on the matter. However, it only sheds light for those that have knowledge of firearms. I could see Grandmom Juror, if it ever went there, saying "He shot that pure girl with the drinking problem 9 times, that just ain't right!"

I do say kudos for the DA for looking at the big picture. I really like this one “I certainly believe that neighborhood disputes are usually better resolved without firearms being involved.” Truth be told, I feel the same way. Problem is, not everybody does, therefore, I prepare.

As for him shooting himself somewhere in the fray, I say, practice, practice, practice!

Be safe (and fences make good neighbors, and, apparently, so do duels).

Scott

Criminals have been known to keep coming after 10 rounds of .357 . Trying to stop a way drunk crazy woman with a .22 may pose a challenge too...

[bogey1]

shot Nash, emptying all nine rounds in the clip of his handgun.

clip

[Hawk]

Who's to say what round of the ten "stopped" her. From what I've read, many people in that situation empty their gun without ever realizing it, including those who have had some "training" (police).

[fingers80002]

He should have used an airgun, it only take 1 shot from those.....

Ref. Perry Co.

[LittleRedToyota]

i am somewhat (though pleasantly) surprised the DA did not go after the "9 shots were excessive" angle. good for him.

the guy connected with 9 out of 9 shots. nice shootin'!!

ETA: er, wait. the article says he hit nash 9 out of 9 times, but that he also apparently shot himself. interesting. maybe he shot his support hand, but the bullet also struck nash?

[1861]

Keep shooting until the threat ceases . No matter what you are carrying .

[General Geoff]

ETA: er, wait. the article says he hit nash 9 out of 9 times, but that he also apparently shot himself. interesting. maybe he shot his support hand, but the bullet also struck nash?

Probably didn't keep his booger hook off the bang switch until the muzzle was lined up with the target. At least most of the shots hit the assailant.

[LittleRedToyota]

Probably didn't keep his booger hook off the bang switch until the muzzle was lined up with the target. At least most of the shots hit the assailant.

that's what i would have thought except they reported every shot fired hit the assailant.

who knows, though...they probably got the 9 for 9 thing wrong. or he did shoot both his support hand and the assailant with the same bullet--certainly not out of the question.