Slush Pile: Guy tells friend to shoot him

2006 Slush Pile

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Guy tells friend to shoot him

2006 Reader Submission
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http://www.tribstar.com/local/local_story_163221408.html

By Karin Grunden The Tribune-Star

A joke between friends led to Sunday afternoon’s fatal shooting in a home on Terre Haute’s north side, police said.

David W. Thompson, 23, died as a result of internal bleeding after a friend jokingly pulled the trigger on a semi-automatic handgun, thinking it wouldn’t fire, said city police Detective Scott Funkhouser.

Jeremiah LaMaster, 17, was jailed hours later, accused of reckless homicide and dangerous possession of a handgun in connection with Thompson’s death.

The boy told detectives he was visiting a home in the 200 block of North 14th Street when Thompson asked to view a gun he’d brought to the residence.

Thompson looked over the 9 mm Glock pistol, handed it back to LaMaster and told his friend: “You won’t shoot me.”

According to his statement to police, LaMaster responded in jest: “Yeah, I’ll shoot you.” He told detectives he took the magazine out of the gun, pointed the firearm at Thompson and fired.

By removing the magazine, LaMaster thought he had removed all the ammunition, but the weapon still held one bullet in its chamber.

Some guns have a safety feature that prevents them from being fired once the magazine is removed, Funkhouser said. The gun LaMaster was carrying did not. Police were trying to determine Monday who owned the gun.

Kevin Kennedy, whose daughter lives in the home where the shooting occurred, said he heard the gunfire but thought a firecracker had been set off out back.

Kennedy quickly realized otherwise as LaMaster ran out of the front door of the home, yelling for someone to call police.

Officers found Thompson on the floor of a bedroom; he was rushed to Union Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Funkhouser said. An autopsy Monday confirmed Thompson died as a result of a gunshot wound to the chest, said Dr. Roland Kohr, Vigo County coroner.

Police say LaMaster — who later admitted to smoking marijuana shortly before the shooting — fled to his mom’s home in the 2200 block of First Avenue, before getting a ride to a cousin’s home in Seelyville.

“He said he panicked and was scared,” Funkhouser said of the teen, who claims to have spent about 10 months in boys’ school from a previous handgun charge.

Authorities located LaMaster at the Seelyville residence, where a witness to the shooting also was found, Funkhouser said. The witness confirmed LaMaster’s statement to police, Funkhouser said.

Police questioned others who were at the North 14th Street residence, including primary residents Bobby Hernandez Jr. and Destiny Byers. The couple planned to be wed Sunday evening, but postponed their wedding, instead spending the evening giving statements at police headquarters, Funkhouser said.

A day after the shooting, neighbors gathered on the front porch of the home where Thompson had lived with Hernandez and Byers.

“It’s crazy. It’s unreal. It still hasn’t hit me he’s gone,” said Brittany Dery, 16, who lives on North 14th Street.

Those who knew Thompson said the 23-year-old struggled to find work after spending a third stint in prison. He was released last year and was on parole at the time of his death, Department of Correction records show.

“He was trying to straighten up,” said Kennedy, whose daughter and her fiance had offered Thompson a place to live.

Without a job, Thompson — known as “Goofy Dave” because of his crooked teeth — spent time lounging on the front porch at 14th and Sycamore streets, occasionally yelling comments to women walking past, neighbors said. Thompson also enjoyed partying, said Josh Henry, 18.

Thompson was known to have a protective side, once walking a neighborhood teen to school when she was worried about her safety.

LaMaster, who appeared in court Monday, described Thompson as his “best friend.” He declined further comment as he was led back to the Vigo County Jail, where he was being detained with bail at $100,000.

While LaMaster is 17, he appeared in adult court because juvenile court does not have jurisdiction in this type of case, said Chief Deputy Prosecutor Sarah Mullican. According to Indiana law, cases involving a charge of carrying a handgun without a permit automatically go to adult court once the individual is 16.

LaMaster will return to court Thursday, when he may learn whether he faces charges in connection with the shooting.

Karin Grunden can be reached at (812) 231-4257 or karin.grunden@tribstar.com.

Submitted on 06/14/2006

Submitted by: Just an old goat from Terre Haute
Reference: see URL below (it's long)

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Guy tells friend to shoot him

2006 Reader Submission Pending Acceptance

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2006 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

>> The Darwin Awards, by Wendy Northcutt <<
Link to Fight Evil.