2nd Degree Battery Charge, Self Defense?

[bigben89]

Where is the part in this story where you waited for the cops minutes after this incident happened? Aren't you supposed to wait for them? Getting this thing all settled right there on the spot.

He's now got witnesses, probably pictures too. Also, the staff that you worked with seem to be separating themselves from you. You just have your word of events, right?

i never talked to the police. they continued escorting the guy outside, where he contacted police. my boss got one of HIS employees to take me home right after he was removed.and yeah, just my word against his, but even his three witnesses claim to not have seen how the altercation started, and say on record that they didnt even see me throw a punch. one of the witnesses was a girl, and she said some crazy shit, something about ''he must have kneed him in the face or something'' talking about the amt of blood, but thats ridiculous, the guy's way taller than me by at least half a foot.

 

[bigben89]

^cheered me up lol

 

[Zer]

You should totally post that in YLYL

 

[BKMMAFAN]

I understand the last part, but how does that pertain to someone that was hired to protect the company's property assets clientel etc? I was the aggressor in the sense that i initiated the conversation telling him to leave, but felt he was being too aggressive when he invaded my personal space, so i told him to back up, like i said, its loud in there and i used my hands to make a little space, but it wasnt an aggressive movement. and wouldnt be taken as such, i'm pretty sure that if i went to any establishment and violated rules and was asked to leave, and instead crowded the security guard with aggressive posture, he would in the very least put his hands up in front of him and tell me to back up. it would be infinitley stupid to just stand there with such a big guy looming over me. intoxicated people are dangerous, I frequently got sucker punched when trying to get people to leave. btw, i chose trial by jury, do you think this was the best option?

You're not law enforcement, so unless LA has some kind of special protection for your job title, I don't think you would be protected anymore so than any other normal citizen under the self-defense statute.

I can't give you any advice dude. That's gotta be between you and your lawyer. He is licensed to practice there.

I'd imagine he'll try to get you to accept a plea and avoid the trial. Do they have no contest (nolo contendere) pleas in LA?

 

[bigben89]

You're not law enforcement, so unless LA has some kind of special protection for your job title, I don't think you would be protected anymore so than any other normal citizen under the self-defense statute.

I can't give you any advice dude. That's gotta be between you and your lawyer. He is licensed to practice there.

I'd imagine he'll try to get you to accept a plea and avoid the trial. Do they have no contest (nolo contendere) pleas in LA?

She (my lawyer) didn't advise me in any way what would be the better decision as far as taking the plea the DA offered or going to court. she just told me the consequence of both and told me to make a decision. I mean, i know jury trial is unpredictable, but in your experience you don't think they'd side with me? the way i see it, if anyone puts themselves in my shoes the answers obvious. and i dont know about the no contest plea what does that mean?

 

[Snakesolidsnake]

i never talked to the police. they continued escorting the guy outside, where he contacted police. my boss got one of HIS employees to take me home right after he was removed.and yeah, just my word against his, but even his three witnesses claim to not have seen how the altercation started, and say on record that they didnt even see me throw a punch. one of the witnesses was a girl, and she said some crazy shit, something about ''he must have kneed him in the face or something'' talking about the amt of blood, but thats ridiculous, the guy's way taller than me by at least half a foot.

So his witnesses statements don't say you started it? I would think that you would be alright, since it's your word against his.

In a criminal case, they have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. If you win that, they could take to to a civil for the damages, which is more of a 50-50 thing.

 

[LardAss**]

I've been in your general spot a couple times (not a bouncer, but for winning fights other people started, who then later cop out and play victim)

You need to do recon on your judge and find out what kind of sentencer he is.
If the judge is fair-minded, you're usually pretty good in a situation like the one you mentioned. Barfight, winner and loser, boo hoo. Worst case scenario, you lose and have to eat restitution and probation, which is basically what they're offering you in the plea so may as well take the shot in court and make the fuckers perjure themselves.
Be assertive as hell, passionately say things like "these people are lying to cover their asses...", take your caution from the judge and proceed accordingly.

If your judge is a woman or a prick who gets off on locking people up, you have decisions to make regardless of what the facts are. Those are situations where you can wind up wishing you took the plea.

 

[LardAss**]

In a criminal case, they have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. If you win that, they could take to to a civil for the damages, which is more of a 50-50 thing.

LOL, rookies.

You (TS) sue HIM in civil court first for attacking you, make HIM countersue.

 

[goleta83**]

You sound like one tough mofo. I have never seen a story like this posted on the SD before. Boxing for 6 years, kickboxing and MMA for 2 years, and powerlifting for more. 5'11, 2 bills of muscle. Nothing but muscle. I'll be sure to steer clear of Shreveport should I ever find myself south of Dixie, cuz you are clearly one bad muhfucka.

Is this really necessary?

 

[BKMMAFAN]

She (my lawyer) didn't advise me in any way what would be the better decision as far as taking the plea the DA offered or going to court. she just told me the consequence of both and told me to make a decision. I mean, i know jury trial is unpredictable, but in your experience you don't think they'd side with me? the way i see it, if anyone puts themselves in my shoes the answers obvious. and i dont know about the no contest plea what does that mean?

That kinda sucks. Your DA should have somewhat of an understanding on the type of judge youre facing.

Have they started jury selection yet?

If you do decide to ride with the jury, study the language in self-defense laws and make sure you incorporate it into your answers on the stand. The jury will be instructed with that language with regards to your absolute defense (self-defense)


And yeah, its impossible to predict jury outcomes. Are you and the other guy of the same race? Similar age?

Your being a lot smaller should definitely help with your reasonable defense argument.

 

[goleta83**]

Kill the witnesses.

 

[bigben89]

I've been in your general spot a couple times (not a bouncer, but for winning fights other people started, who then later cop out and play victim)

You need to do recon on your judge and find out what kind of sentencer he is.
If the judge is fair-minded, you're usually pretty good in a situation like the one you mentioned. Barfight, winner and loser, boo hoo. Worst case scenario, you lose and have to eat restitution and probation, which is basically what they're offering you in the plea so may as well take the shot in court and make the fuckers perjure themselves.
Be assertive as hell, passionately say things like "these people are lying to cover their asses...", take your caution from the judge and proceed accordingly.

If your judge is a woman or a prick who gets off on locking people up, you have decisions to make regardless of what the facts are. Those are situations where you can wind up wishing you took the plea.

she's a women. judge ramona emanuel. shes seems of a nice temperment.... but if i dont take the plea, and choose trial by jury does anyone know what will happen worst case scenario?

 

[akimbo1887]

this is a heavy thread, laws suck sometimes

 

[Charles Brown]

That was tough to read.

In most cases, if a prosecutor is offering deals so quickly, he knows that he couldn't win at trial. Fight it all the way. There's a good chance that the prosecutor will drop the charges the day before the trial. Don't let your public defender convince you of anything else. If he has to go to trial, his workload with you increases ten fold, so he wants to avoid that.

If the prosecution's witnesses won't show up, assure that you have some wittinesses that will show up. That alone will shut the prosecution down. It might cost you some money, but it's better than having an assault or battery conviction on your record. That will haunt you forever.

 

[BKMMAFAN]

That was tough to read.

In most cases, if a prosecutor is offering deals so quickly, he knows that he couldn't win at trial. Fight it all the way. There's a good chance that the prosecutor will drop the charges the day before the trial. Don't let your public defender convince you of anything else. If he has to go to trial, his workload with you increases ten fold, so he wants to avoid that.

If the prosecution's witnesses won't show up, assure that you have some wittinesses that will show up. That alone will shut the prosecution down. It might cost you some money, but it's better than having an assault or battery conviction on your record. That will haunt you forever.

That's definitely not always true. Like you said, they hate heavy workloads, so they offer deals in most cases (excepting the extreme cases or ones that garner heavy publicity)

A lot depends on whether his witnesses do show up though, and what they will say.

 

[TRYHARD 2001]

Is this really necessary?

Sometimes, yes.

 

[Rhood]

Doesn't that place have camera's?
It's very unusual for a public bar not to have one.

 

[neosatus]

Okay, so a little background info first, I've been boxing for 6 years, kickboxing and mma for 2, powerlifting and weightlifting before that. i stand 5 10 200 lbs. every bit muscle. The setting is a night club downtown where i was the one and only bouncer, and regular clothes were the uniform, incognito security, if you will.

Its a saturday night, approximatly 12am, one of my bartender's approaches me and tells me to get this ''big guy'' to pay his tab and be on his way. I walk up to the individual, who stands about six and a half feet and 300 lbs, real big corn fed mofo, and in my usual assertive but proffesional manner ask him to kindly pay his tab and leave. He informs me that he does not have a tab, and didn't do anything wrong, and so refuses. Slightly, confused i trek back to the bartender and confirm the story with details and have him point the guy out again. he does, its the same guy. On the second approach I walk up and with a little less patience ask him again to pay his tab and leave. (according to the bartender, he snatched his redbull and double vodka up and tossed his 5 dollar bill on the floor behind the bar, leaving a balance of 5 more dollars.) He gets so close that his upper stomach is now on my shoulder, and leans down to yell that he paid his effin tab and he hasnt done anything, so he's not leaving. at this point i wish to create some distance, so i put my hands on his chest and create a little space, not violently mind you, not a shove just showing him that he's much too close. Also at this point I have several times identified myself as security. The behemoth reaches down grabbing my shirt on both sides under my arms and lifts me into to the air, tearing my (new, expensive) shirt down the inseams, and popping buttons off all the way down, i mean afterwards the thing was shredded, and begins to ragdoll me from one side to the other. i grabbed his arms and tried to over power him but it wasnt even a contest, as i couldnt even firmly plant my feet. after about 2 or 3 seconds i realized that to get him to let go i was gonna have to hit him. my left foot makes contact with the floor and i pivot while throwing a long left hook followed quickly by a right straight. his head snapped back and he let me go, then, pandomonium breaks loose, i assume ppl thought it was just a bar fight because of my plain clothes, so all his buddies (they were here from houston for a wedding) 3 of them or so run at me and begin trying to grab me and pull me away, everytime one grabs me i push them off and step away, all the time trying to identify myself as security. Then, out of the crowd, here comes the big guy. he came at me with his head lowered, and a bit slow, i side stepped and began winging right uppercuts into his face which is more or less at my waist level and pointed at the ground. i think i may have hit him 3 or 4 times before he fell, by this time, my manager, a guy who trains with me runs up and grabs me and ask me whats goin on. i said im cool the guy attacked me, and he runs over to pick him up off the ground. dude is covered in blood, i mean alot of it. i think all those upper cuts landed right on his nose, because my hand wasnt even bruised. the owner comes down after the guys been removed by my manager, and ask me what happened, then tells me to go home because of my shirt. my motorcycle was broken down at the time, so he got one of the employees downstairs to give me a ride back to my house.

fast forward a couple of months. im chilliin in my house and the police come, surround my house, knock and put me in cuffs. 2nd degree battery. i bonded out, and i dont have the money for a good lawyer for a felony (7 grand) so i have to go with the court appointed public defender. ive been to several of the court dates, and reviewed the evidence, nothing shows up on the videos at the club, and he has 3 witnesses that have testified on audio files that my lawyer has allowed me to hear. My boss is claiming that he sent me home before the incident occured, which is not true, he's trying to absolve himself and the club of responsibility, my manager alledgedly moved to california, and the bartender that told me to throw the dude out said in his official statement that ''he didnt know anyone naed ben that worked there while he did'' so i have no witnesses.

They've offered me a plea, simple battery, 6 month's parish jail time suspended for 1 year probation and boykin (sp?) basicly meaning i have to officially admit to commiting the battery, and pay restitution, which he is claiming beyond the superficial injuries, 5 shattered teeth, and over 5000 dollars in medical bills. My public defender is a can, and dosent want to defend me in felony court, or really do anything at all. so... Anybody got advice??? or any sherdogger lawyers wanna help a fellow sherdogger probono? BTW im from louisiana, which is under napolionic code for some reason. in 2013.

CLIFFS:
bouncer at nightclub
big guy and friends tried to fuk me up
got beat down in self defense
getting fuked by the long dik of the law.

You were told not to bang, bro. You shouldn't have bang.

 

[neosatus]

You know what? PM me a link to this FB profile and we'll see what's up. Of course, you could just be PM'ing me a profile of your far more jacked friend or a total stranger, but I'll opt to take you at your word.

You gon' get catfished....




























and then raped.

 

[fightingrabbit]

You're guilty..









Of not using paragraphs.