Posted on Wed, Jul. 06, 2005

Orange County grand jury indicts customs agent in fatal shooting

Associated Press


SANTA ANA, Calif. - A grand jury indictment unsealed Wednesday charged a federal customs agent with voluntary manslaughter for the off-duty shooting death of an unarmed 20-year-old man, officials said.

Douglas William Bates, 43, was quickly arraigned and pleaded not guilty before Superior Court Judge Daniel Didier, said Susan Schroeder, a spokeswoman for the Orange County district attorney's office. A pretrial hearing was scheduled for July 15.

Bates, an agent for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, posted $100,000 bond and was released, said his defense attorney, Leo Terrell.

The grand jury was given charging options, including murder, and chose voluntary manslaughter, which is defined as an unjustified killing without forethought, said David Brent, an assistant district attorney who is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Bates could be sentenced to a maximum of 11 years in prison.

Authorities allege that Bates got into an early morning fight with four to six men in February outside his home and the altercation led to the fatal shooting of Bassim Chmait.

Friends and relatives of Chmait said he was shot in the head after coming to the aid of a man pistol-whipped by Bates.

The case was brought to the grand jury due to conflicting statements and because the shooting led to an emotional outcry by the community, Brent said.

After the shooting, about 150 people held a vigil for Chmait, who was of Middle Eastern descent, because Bates was not immediately arrested.

Terrell said District Attorney Tony Rackauckas sent the case to the grand jury after being pressured by Arab-Americans to file charges.

"These are phony charges that the D.A. could not file on his own," Terrell said.

Bates was jumped by the youths after they yelled racial taunts at him and his gun discharged as they were on his back, Terrell said.

"You want to know who killed that young boy, his friends did," Terrell said.

Bates, who checked passports at Los Angeles International Airport, was placed on paid administrative leave after the shooting.

The grand jury returned its indictment June 27, but the court ordered it sealed until Wednesday to allow Bates to make arrangements for his surrender, Brent said.


Dead man was arab, shooter is black. Race will be an issue at the trial.

Where are all the asshats that claimed it would never happen, blue line, etc?

Quoted: Dead man was arab, shooter is black. Race will be an issue at the trial.

Wanna place $$ on which one wins out?

Quoted: Quoted: Dead man was arab, shooter is black. Race will be an issue at the trial. Wanna place $$ on which one wins out?

"If the turban does not fit, this man you must acquit"...

Bassim Chmalt- sounds like a real prize.....

Quoted: Where are all the asshats that claimed it would never happen, blue line, etc?

The liberal rags are getting lots of press out of this being the first prosecution of a "cop" following a shooting in this county in recent history.

The shooter never should have made the statements about the gun just going off.  He should have stuck with outnumbered/disparity of force.  I wonder if the defense will introduce the dead guys violent rap lyrics at trial?

Quoted: Quoted: Dead man was arab, shooter is black. Race will be an issue at the trial. Wanna place $$ on which one wins out?

In this county there will be more Arabs than Blacks in the jury pool.

If that is the true story and I was on the jury I would not vote guilty.

4-6 men is quite a life threatening situation in my book.

Quoted: If that is the true story and I was on the jury I would not vote guilty. 4-6 men is quite a life threatening situation in my book.

+1

He'll walk......just watch.

You think a Jury, in OC, will side with some punks, who jumped an LEO?

If I were on that jury, I know I'd make sure that jury is hung.......it has to be all 12, that, is unlikely in the OC.

<Edited for i read country, when you typed county>

Quoted: If that is the true story and I was on the jury I would not vote guilty. 4-6 men is quite a life threatening situation in my book.

Not when you go down and start messing with a bunch of guys, who aren't committing felonies (ie deadly force not available) and may not have even been breaking any laws at all, and then admit to having your gun go off accidentally.

bates should be executed.

Quoted: Quoted: If that is the true story and I was on the jury I would not vote guilty. 4-6 men is quite a life threatening situation in my book. Not when you go down and start messing with a bunch of guys, who aren't committing felonies (ie deadly force not available) and may not have even been breaking any laws at all, and then admit to having your gun go off accidentally.

It doesn't really sound like he was messing with them.

"Bates was jumped by the youths after they yelled racial taunts at him "

With no more info other than this I hope Bates is acquitted.

Sad case. If the story is the way he says it is, I hope he is found not guilty. AR15Fan is right in that he should have stuck with the disparity of force and fear of death/great bodily harm. A group/mob can overpower and kill somebody easily enough.

Quoted: bates should be executed.

Quoted: bates should be executed.

Go back to DU where you belong asshat!

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: If that is the true story and I was on the jury I would not vote guilty. 4-6 men is quite a life threatening situation in my book. Not when you go down and start messing with a bunch of guys, who aren't committing felonies (ie deadly force not available) and may not have even been breaking any laws at all, and then admit to having your gun go off accidentally. It doesn't really sound like he was messing with them. "Bates was jumped by the youths after they yelled racial taunts at him "

Well I guess you don't get the OC Register as your local paper and haven't seen the whole story .  That and it was discussed pretty thoroughly here at the time of the incident.  He was not legally justified in using deadly force accidentally or on purpose.

bates should be executed.

We don't execute people in this country for manslaughter asshat.


Go check out Iran or China. They will accomodate you.

Quoted: Bassim Chmalt- sounds like a real prize.....

I recall this story from a few months ago - I think Bassim was some shit-stain self-styled Muslim gangster rapper.

If this is the same case, I'm glad he's dead.

Quoted: Quoted: Bassim Chmalt- sounds like a real prize..... I recall this story from a few months ago - I think Bassim was some shit-stain self-styled Muslim gangster rapper. If this is the same case, I'm glad he's dead.

should have shot all six...

Hope he walks, disparate force [ 6 on 1] and seems to be a hate crime to me if the yoots were using racial slurs then jumped him. [Not that I believe in hate crime crap, but it DOES go both ways] Just another dickhead pros. trying to gain some notariety and brownie points.

Six men jump an armed(trained gun carrier)sounds like they don't know much about pistols!!!

From what I see it's just plain damn lucky that there are not six counts of manslaughter filed!!!!

I say we should kill all the violent people!!!!!!!

Bob

Some offering different version of shooting by officer
Friends of dead man say off-duty customs agent was the aggressor.
By JOHN McDONALD
The Orange County Register
February 8, 2005
www.ocregister.com/ocr/2005/02/08/sections/local/local/article_402241.php
MISSION VIEJO – Omar Chmait wants to know the truth about the slaying of his brother by an off-duty U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officer.

So far he has received two conflicting stories.

The one in the news media is based on reports by the Orange County Sheriff's Department: Bassim Chmait, 20, of Mission Viejo was shot to death at about 1:30 a.m. Saturday during a scuffle with the officer, who had come out of his Los Alisos Boulevard apartment to investigate a disturbance. The Sheriff's Department reported that the officer, identified Monday as Douglas Bates, 42, apparently committed no crime.

The second account comes from four of Bassim Chmait's friends who reported witnessing the shooting. They contended that Bates came at them and pistol-whipped one. Bassim Chmait tried to intervene and was shot to death.

"I talked to the witnesses myself," said Omar Chmait, 23, who last saw his brother about 10 hours before his death. "They let me know that my brother died a hero." Omar Chmait said he fears that investigators will cover for a fellow officer.

Sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino said the investigation continues and that the evidence will be reviewed by the District Attorney's Office.

"We treated this the same as we would any case," Amormino said. "There was no clear evidence of a crime being committed, so there was nothing to book him on."

More than 50 people attended a vigil for Chmait on Monday night in front of the Madrid Apartments. One of them, Joe Kemp, 18, said he witnessed the shooting.

Kemp said that he, Chmait and two other friends drove to the complex to attend a party. They were walking to the apartment when a full soda can was thrown in their direction. Kemp said he didn't see who pitched the can, but he picked it up and tossed it into the street.

All of a sudden, Kemp said, a man in a blue and white robe ran out of an apartment, a badge in one hand and a gun in the other.

"Look at this," Kemp said the man told them. "You want to (expletive) with a cop?"

The man pistol-whipped one of the friends and then shot Chmait in the head when he stepped forward to help, Kemp said.

The gunman walked away and into his apartment "like it was nothing," Kemp said.

Omar Chmait said his brother attended Santiago Canyon College, worked as a salesman and performed with a hip-hop group.

Tareef Nashashibi, chairman of the Arab-American Committee of the Republican Party of Orange County, said some in his community perceive the shooting as another attack.

"Our religious leaders are held in jail. We are singled out for scrutiny, and anything related to the Department of Homeland is frightening. Now a child has been shot by a customs officer.

"The family is putting its trust in God and the system. We have to keep calm and let the Sheriff's Department investigate."

Why does it seem like a few facts were left out of this story?

The second account comes from four of Bassim Chmait's friends who reported witnessing the shooting. They contended that Bates came at them and pistol-whipped one. Bassim Chmait tried to intervene and was shot to death

yeah, we were just quietly walking down the street and this DEA guy
comes out of his house, pistol whips one friend and kills another for nothing................

Quoted: bates should be executed.

Why don't you go commit suicide?
What the hell are you talking about.
It sounds like he was defending himself and the shooting is justified.

Quoted: Well I guess you don't get the OC Register as your local paper and haven't seen the whole story .  That and it was discussed pretty thoroughly here at the time of the incident.  He was not legally justified in using deadly force accidentally or on purpose.

That is an opinion that should be decided by the jury, not you or anyone else now.
I wish it would have been decided by the District Attorney that it was in fact justified but now the jury can decide.

Quoted: Quoted: bates should be executed. Why don't you go commit suicide? What the hell are you talking about. It sounds like he was defending himself and the shooting is justified.

 

In the back of my mind I wonder if their showing up (party? maybe, maybe not) and jumping his ass had anything to do with his job or duties.   With so few facts, I can't judge, except that the guy has the same "reasonable doubt" presumption of innocence as OJ did.  More persuasive evidence will have to come out for a conviction.   But expect a big "Ron Goldman" type civil suit.

Seems that 95% of the links on the name Bassim Chmait come up to leftist websites wanting 'justice'.

That fact alone leads me to believe that the group was more than likely instigating the situation.

The second account comes from four of Bassim Chmait's friends who reported witnessing the shooting. They contended that Bates came at them and pistol-whipped one. Bassim Chmait tried to intervene and was shot to death.

You mean the perpetrators of a hate crime are being used as reliable witnesses!?!?!

Sounds like the guy was harrassed and coaxed out of his home and then was jumped. It's the only way that makes sense. I mean why else would that group be there.

I somehow doubt that he came out of his apartment and went at an angry large group and pistol-whipped one of them for no reason. I mean is there any logic behind this "eyewitness account". It lacks so much logic and leaves so holes, provides no motives and lis that "we did completely nothing to anger this angry black man" bullshit that it lacks any credibility whatsoever.

Quoted: Posted on Wed, Jul. 06, 2005 Orange County grand jury indicts customs agent in fatal shooting Associated Press SANTA ANA, Calif. - A grand jury indictment unsealed Wednesday charged a federal customs agent with voluntary manslaughter for the off-duty shooting death of an unarmed 20-year-old man, officials said. Douglas William Bates, 43, was quickly arraigned and pleaded not guilty before Superior Court Judge Daniel Didier, said Susan Schroeder, a spokeswoman for the Orange County district attorney's office. A pretrial hearing was scheduled for July 15. Bates, an agent for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, posted $100,000 bond and was released, said his defense attorney, Leo Terrell. The grand jury was given charging options, including murder, and chose voluntary manslaughter, which is defined as an unjustified killing without forethought, said David Brent, an assistant district attorney who is prosecuting the case. If convicted, Bates could be sentenced to a maximum of 11 years in prison. Authorities allege that Bates got into an early morning fight with four to six men in February outside his home and the altercation led to the fatal shooting of Bassim Chmait. Friends and relatives of Chmait said he was shot in the head after coming to the aid of a man pistol-whipped by Bates. The case was brought to the grand jury due to conflicting statements and because the shooting led to an emotional outcry by the community, Brent said. After the shooting, about 150 people held a vigil for Chmait, who was of Middle Eastern descent, because Bates was not immediately arrested. Terrell said District Attorney Tony Rackauckas sent the case to the grand jury after being pressured by Arab-Americans to file charges. "These are phony charges that the D.A. could not file on his own," Terrell said. Bates was jumped by the youths after they yelled racial taunts at him and his gun discharged as they were on his back, Terrell said. "You want to know who killed that young boy, his friends did," Terrell said. Bates, who checked passports at Los Angeles International Airport, was placed on paid administrative leave after the shooting. The grand jury returned its indictment June 27, but the court ordered it sealed until Wednesday to allow Bates to make arrangements for his surrender, Brent said. Dead man was arab, shooter is black. Race will be an issue at the trial.

Most Americans can no longer post on ARFCOM about the invasion of the country by illegal immigrants. We would be retarded for speaking out about that.

Free float. I'm going to fight for border seq insteadh of the arfcom party line.

Quoted: Quoted: Well I guess you don't get the OC Register as your local paper and haven't seen the whole story .  That and it was discussed pretty thoroughly here at the time of the incident.  He was not legally justified in using deadly force accidentally or on purpose. That is an opinion that should be decided by the jury, not you or anyone else now. I wish it would have been decided by the District Attorney that it was in fact justified but now the jury can decide.

Deadly Force is not justified when responding to a making noise issue.  Have you read any of the initial reports of what happened?  You really ought to.  He's not a local LEO, he has no more or less jurisdiction than you or I.  The guys are making a disturbance in the public area of the complex, you can ask them to shut up, and/or call the police.  You can't take a gun to a mouthfight.  Self defense is not applicable when you escalate an incident.

Or just for the sake of elucidation, assume he was an LEO and he killed somebody for talking loud at an apartment, would you and anybody else around here say he was justified?  

Or if you think deadly force is justifed why don't you find the CA Code that says deadly force can be used in misdemeanor arrests by private persons??? or LEOs??

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Well I guess you don't get the OC Register as your local paper and haven't seen the whole story .  That and it was discussed pretty thoroughly here at the time of the incident.  He was not legally justified in using deadly force accidentally or on purpose. That is an opinion that should be decided by the jury, not you or anyone else now. I wish it would have been decided by the District Attorney that it was in fact justified but now the jury can decide. Deadly Force is not justified when responding to a making noise issue.  Have you read any of the initial reports of what happened?  You really ought to.  He's not a local LEO, he has no more or less jurisdiction than you or I.  The guys are making a disturbance in the public area of the complex, you can ask them to shut up, and/or call the police.  You can't take a gun to a mouthfight.  Self defense is not applicable when you escalate an incident. Or just for the sake of elucidation, assume he was an LEO and he killed somebody for talking loud at an apartment, would you and anybody else around here say he was justified?   Or if you think deadly force is justifed why don't you find the CA Code that says deadly force can be used in misdemeanor arrests by private persons??? or LEOs??

Looks like we will have to let the courts decide if Deadly Force was justified.