Posted: 2/16/2005 11:07:37 AM EDT
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What the hell is wrong with people? From what I understand, this was just a random beating, unprovoked. Hope this is the right guy. From the news tribune
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He plead "Not Guilty" www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/4606408p-4280539c.html Man pleads not guilty to murder DANIEL THIGPEN; The News Tribune Last updated: February 17th, 2005 08:09 AM As her family waited for Andrew J. Brown’s arraignment to begin Wednesday, Mary Garbagni read through the documents accusing him of fatally beating her father, Darrel Johnson. It was the first time she had seen the charging papers, which explain in detail why prosecutors believe it was the 18-year-old Brown who battered Johnson into a coma from which he never recovered. In the court papers, she read how the medical examiner found more than 10 separate areas on Johnson’s body where he had suffered injuries. How the blows to his head caused lacerations and bruising on his brain that eventually killed him. How Johnson’s neck had been crushed by someone stomping on it. And she read that investigators still have no motive in the crime. Prosecutors charged Brown on Wednesday with first-degree murder in the Jan. 9 attack on Johnson, 69. The retired Navy man was attacked just after setting out on his regular morning walk. As Brown pleaded not guilty and Judge Sergio Armijo set bail at $1 million, Garbagni got up from her seat in Pierce County Superior Court to look the suspect in the face. Garbagni stood behind the security door window, arms folded, and glared at the towering, stone-faced Brown as a corrections officer led him out of the courtroom. “I wanted him to look at me,” Garbagni said outside the courtroom, the glare of television news cameras shining in her face. “I see a chicken. I see somebody who took someone’s life from behind.” Members of Brown’s family sat quietly in the back row, and when the proceedings were over, they refused to speak as they left the room. Brown could face anywhere from 21 years, nine months to 28 years, 11 months in prison if convicted. But if prosecutors prove Brown was intentionally cruel and that Johnson was “particularly vulnerable” because of his age or health, a harsher sentence could be imposed. Investigators said Brown’s friends told police he admitted having beaten an “old man” on McKinley Avenue. According to court papers, Brown denied being involved, but showed knowledge of the location of the beating, the 6900 block of McKinley, without police telling him exactly where it took place. Police searched Brown’s home and found a towel and sock that appeared to have blood on it. The Washington State Patrol Crime Laboratory will be testing the items for DNA samples. Police arrested Brown at his South Tacoma home Tuesday after receiving tips fueled by a recently increased $10,000 reward. Brown was convicted last year of second-degree robbery and sentenced to six months in jail. Brown’s next court appearance for the murder charge is in March. As she left courtroom Wednesday, Garbagni said that even if Brown is convicted, no punishment will ever fit the crime. “Let the family get a hold of him,” she said. “Screw the justice system.”  Mary Garbagni stares at 18-year-old Andrew J. Brown on Wednesday as he is led from Pierce County Superior Court. Brown pleaded not guilty to a first-degree murder charge for the Jan. 9 beating death of Garbagni’s father, Darrel Johnson. “I wanted him to see me,” Garbagni said. “I see a chicken.”  Peggy Johnson, whose husband, Darrel Johnson, was beaten to death Jan. 9, sits with her son, Matt Johnson, and his wife, Kim, in Pierce County Superior Court as 18-year-old Andrew J. Brown is arraigned Wednesday for the 69-year-old’s murder |
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A bit about the victim: www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/4606754p-4280598c.html Residents are seeking answers to beating ADAM LYNN; The News Tribune Last updated: February 17th, 2005 08:23 AM Darrel Johnson probably didn’t know it, but he’d woven his way into the fabric of life along Tacoma’s East McKinley Avenue. From the City Family Worship Center near East 72nd Street to J and N’s Fashion at 40th, people knew Johnson, if not by name, at least by sight. He was the old fellow with the cane who walked the neighborhood each day, saying hello to those he passed, maybe stooping to talk to their kids. “He was a nice man,” said Deb Hunt, who works as a crossing guard at Sheridan Elementary School and often said, “Hi,” to Johnson as he shuffled along. Fairly or not, nice stands out on East McKinley, where there are iron bars on windows of the corner barber shop and bullet holes in the walls of the neighborhood grocery store. Many people who live and work in the neighborhood grudgingly accept a certain level of violence and fear in their daily lives. But people took notice last month when someone attacked Johnson near 69th Street, stomping him into a coma from which he never recovered. Police on Tuesday arrested the teenager they believe killed the 69-year-old retired Navy man and port electrician. By noon Wednesday, word of the arrest had spread up and down McKinley, where it was met with relief and a touch of bitterness. “It’s about time,” said Hunt, who’s lived on the East Side for 21 years. “I heard some of the kids saying they hope they put the guy who did it away forever. When it touches the elementary kids, you know it’s had an impact.” The Rev. Earnest Williams of City Family Worship used to pass Johnson during daily walks. He never learned Johnson’s name, but the two would extend greetings as they went on their way. Williams and his congregation have tried to lead an effort to drive the gangs and criminals away from McKinley and 72nd, taking weekly “prayer walks” through the neighborhood. Johnson’s death was a blow to that effort, the pastor said. “He never bothered anybody,” Williams said. “Something like that really, really hurt us. We believe in the power of prayer.” At J and N’s, Judith Rodriguez said Johnson’s killing has been the talk of the neighborhood. The priest at Sacred Heart Parish mentioned it in a recent sermon, said Rodriguez, who sells “California style” fashions from a small storefront with iron bars on the windows. It was a reminder that the streets can be dangerous, even for helpless old men doing nothing but minding their business, she said. “You can’t even feel safe to walk down the streets anymore,” Rodriguez said. “We were really glad to hear of the arrest.” Conversation at El Hutcho restaurant and lounge Wednesday centered on the senselessness of Johnson’s death. Johnson used to take his morning coffee at the El Hutcho, often engaging the regulars in friendly political debates. Regulars sipping beers and rum and Cokes at the bar tried to understand what would prompt someone to attack Johnson on a Sunday morning. Was it a random act? A gang initiation? What? “They didn’t even steal anything from him,” said Sabrina Barbon, a former El Hutcho bartender. Down the bar, Leonard Berry shook his head as he shared a sandwich with his wife of 45 years, Gayleene. “It’s a sick society we’re raising,” Berry said. “I mean, why?” |
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I'm not sure about WA, but in most states it is mandatory that a plea of Not Guilty be entered in capital-murder cases. The intent is to force the issue to trial, to ascertain the true facts; but the news always thoughtfully neglects to mention this fact, because then it inflames public opinion against the "alleged" perp-- and readership goes up. Maybe Phil knows if WA has a mantadtory Not Guilty requirement-- . . . . and I hope he fries, myself. 
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I'd call that JUSTICE...I've long held the belief that capital punishment should come in a form paralleling the crime commited, but the bleeding hearts would never allow it. God forbid we should violate the rights of this piece of sh*t. ETA: That is of course if he is found guilty. Presumption of innocense <sp> and all that.... |
Cruel and unusal punishment should apply if your crime is cruel and unusal. |
| There's a subtle lesson here: if you ever find yourself in a situation where you have to draw a bead, do society a favor & put him right down, lest he come back & do it to someone else. Personal crimes are a sign of brazen criminality. I've dealt w/ "kids" like that before, & you can always predict their future. I once predicted that one of the "kids" I dealt with would murder someone, & in fact, he did just that. A violent history is a sure sign of more to come. |
If you're going to do that, gut shoot the SOB and let him hurt for a looooonnnnng time so he does have time to contemplate his misdeeds
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Superb improvement on my idea. |