Victims turn tables GG's 2 BG's 0

jimpeel · August 25, 2001, 08:10 PM

How they manage to call this a "double homicide" I don't know. Note that even the URL uses the term "doublemurder" in it.

This is the first story on this incident. See the following post to see that the hero in this apparently had a greater duty to allow himself and the others to be killed than violate his parole by taking the robber's firearm.

http://www.examiner.com/news/default...lemurder.0816w

Victims turn tables on home invaders
By Adrienne Sanders and Chris Merrill
Of The Examiner Staff

It was a rude welcome for new tenants, including the building manager, in a SoMa loft complex as an attempted apartment robbery turned into a double homicide Tuesday night, leaving new arrivals wondering if San Francisco was a good place to move.

"Nice welcome," said Greg, 24, who moved to SoMa from Seattle nine days ago. Greg, a disc jockey who asked that his last name not be used, moved in with his friend Sean.

"We never saw anything like this in Seattle," said Sean, 24, who sipped a Miller Light on the second-floor balcony as building management posted updated security measures. He has lived in the complex the past year and a half.

The measures, which include surveillance cameras, temporary 24-hour security guards and tightened entry procedures, are a response to a break-in of a third-floor apartment.

On Tuesday, two men forced their way into the apartment of Brian Walters, a concert promoter who was being visited by his friend Detrick Washington, his girlfriend and her two young sons.

One of the intruders had been in the apartment minutes before for a business meeting. He returned later with an accomplice and demanded to know the location of the safe. They tied up the woman and her children, according to police.

"I heard a female voice scream 'Get the f--- out of here,' at about 10:30 p.m.," said Greg. Neither Sean nor Greg heard gunshots.

According to police, one intruder put down his gun to open the safe, and Washington grabbed the weapon. The second intruder came downstairs and, after a struggle, Washington shot him dead. Washington then handed the gun to Walters, who wound up shooting the second man.

Several neighbors met each other for the first time shortly afterward as police descended on the complex to rope off stairs, mop up blood and carry away the body bags.

"There were mad (amounts of) cops and everyone was standing around gossiping," said Greg.

Walters did not answer his apartment door Wednesday afternoon and his blinds were pulled shut. Other residents reached by phone would not comment, and nearly 20 listings for the complex were disconnected.

Building manager Margarita Gonzalez, who has worked at the City Lofts complex for barely a month, said it was unfortunate someone was killed. She directed inquiries to the management company, Carmel Partners. The president, Bert Polacci, could not be reached for comment.

The three-story complex has more than 100 loft units, which house a variety of dot-com companies, music promoters and other businesses. The windowed apartments face an open-air courtyard with bright yellow walls and metal tables. The building is located at 175 Bluxome St. just off Sixth Street by the off-ramp to Interstate 280.

News of the break-in had residents questioning old habits. The incident marked the second robbery attempt at City Lofts in five days.

"I locked and bolted my door for the first time today," said Sean.

jimpeel · August 25, 2001, 08:32 PM

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...7/MN229399.DTL

SoMa loft hero held on parole violation
Taking intruder's gun broke rules

Jaxon Van Derbeken, Chronicle Staff Writer Friday, August 17, 2001

San Francisco -- A man hailed by San Francisco police for seizing a robber's gun to stop a violent holdup at a live-work loft has been jailed by state authorities on a possible parole violation -- handling the gun.

Police are frustrated that Detrick Washington, a 25-year-old San Franciscan who they say was instrumental in saving himself and four other people Tuesday night, has been locked up.

"He took a chance. I believe we could call him a hero," Inspector Armand Gordon said. "He basically saved five people's lives, including his own."

The two armed men who used a ruse to force their way into the loft were shot to death, one by Washington, the other by his friend and partner in a concert promotion business, Brian Walters. Police said the shootings appear to have been justified and that they urged state parole authorities not to lock up Washington on Wednesday -- but to no avail.

Washington, in an interview in San Francisco County Jail, seemed resigned to his stay there. "I feel I shouldn't be here, but I guess that's the way parole has to handle it," he said.

"I just feel if I didn't get the gun, we would have all been dead."

Police said Washington was being supervised for a drug conviction. State corrections officials say he must stay in jail until they do their own investigation into the incident at the South of Market loft.

"Mr. Washington, at this point, is viewed as a victim, not a suspect," said Greg Potnick, a spokesman for the Department of Corrections regional parole office.

Potnick pointed out that parole terms carry strict restrictions on owning or possessing weapons. He conceded that "under the circumstances, in order to save his and others' well-being, it may have been necessary for him to touch that weapon and possess it.

"But given the gravity of the situation that occurred, we felt (arresting Washington) was the best thing to do," Potnick said.

WITNESSES BEING INTERVIEWED
Washington can be held for six working days -- until Wednesday -- while the state does its checking.

"It's unfortunate he is in that position," said Lt. Judie Pursell of the San Francisco Police homicide detail. But she added, "He's on parole, and they have a job to do."

Police say they have interviewed all three surviving adult witnesses from the holdup and believe their story of what happened in Walters' Bluxome Street loft Tuesday night.

Washington said he had been at the loft for five minutes when someone knocked at the door. Washington got up from playing with a Playstation game and let in a man police identified as Deandre Johnson, 32, whom Walters had invited over.

Ten minutes later, Johnson said he had to pick up his sister. Washington let him out but said he was forced back into the split-level loft when a second man appeared at the door.

Johnson pulled out a gun, Washington said, and the second man -- identified by police as 28-year-old Lovell Brown -- pulled out a 15-inch machete. The two ordered Walters and Washington to empty their pockets, then tied up Walters' girlfriend and threw a bedsheet over her and her two sons, ages 3 and 5.

The men ransacked the loft, apparently looking for event proceeds. One man gashed the victims with the machete, and the intruders eventually forced Walters to open a safe containing $3,000, Washington said.

Believing there was more cash to be had, Brown began to beat the captive men and ordered Washington to bind Walters, telling them, "I'll go and kill the kids and that girl if you don't give me the rest of the money," according to Washington's account.

'I'M SORRY I DID IT'

Meanwhile, Johnson went upstairs to check on the woman and her children. He had already set his gun down once during the ordeal, and Washington noticed that he had done so again.

"Damn, the gun is there again -- he left it on the couch. I can't believe it," Washington said he thought to himself.

He went for the gun and held it on Brown.

"He flinched toward me. I flinched back. The gun went off," Washington said.

"It hit him in the head. I really didn't mean to shoot the guy. I'm sorry I did it."

Washington said he gave the gun to his friend to hold on the surviving robber. Walters called 911. Washington then went up to check on the woman and her children.

From upstairs, he said, he heard his friend say, "Stay down! Don't move! Don't get up! Don't get up!"

Then he heard, "He's getting up, he's getting up!" and then gunfire. Johnson died later at the hospital.

"I'm sorry," Washington said. "I didn't mean for anyone to die. It should never have happened."

E-mail Jaxon Van Derbeken at [email protected].

Ipecac · August 26, 2001, 01:51 PM

The War on (some) Drugs claims another victim. This case also points up the problems inherent with stripping a released felon of their right to self-protection; you end up endangering entire families.

I'm sure SanFran would be a safer, friendlier place if Washington had quietly allowed his family and himself to be hacked and shot to death.

Don Gwinn · August 26, 2001, 07:47 PM

OK, I can see your point, but he had used drugs!
How can you trust someone who used drugs in the past to touch a firearm?

If firearms are evil then you cannot admit that circumstances make any difference. These people treat gun possession the way you and I would speak of murder. Even if the victim were a cruel boor and countless people benefitted, murder would still be wrong and we would demand that the murderer be put away, albeit with some sadness. They act the same way. This particular time might have turned out all right, but that doesn't justify possessing a gun.

MatthewM · August 27, 2001, 02:24 AM

How many people have blasted me for saying felons should be allowed to possess firearms after their probation is over?

It's not WHO has a firearm, it is their USE!!!

Do you want to punish a felon who possesses a gun because he MIGHT use it to harm someone?

How about one of YOU felons who kept your illegal assault rifle? YOU are a felon.
(I have nothing against you though. )

By the way, notice in the 3 strikes thread the examples of people who were given life in prison for shoplifting! There are a whole lot of crimes out there that are felonies...

My brother was charged with felony hit and run when he was 16. His car hit some gravel in a corner and he slid into a yard and hit a 2" tree. He went back the next day to offer to pay for it. Problem was a passenger bumped his head. That made it felony hit and run...

Dangus · August 27, 2001, 04:56 AM

Quote:

How can you trust someone who used drugs in the past to touch a firearm?

How can you trust someone who has been drunk before to own a firearm? Pot typically deblitates it's imbibers much more significantly in quantity than pot does. Granted, I have no personal experience of this, but I know a lot of pot heads and I would trust any one of them with a gun if given the choice between them or an alcoholic. Now if we start talking mind-altering drugs then we have another issue.

Coronach · August 27, 2001, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Pot typically deblitates it's imbibers much more significantly in quantity than pot does

Dude, you're SURE you have no experience with this?

OK, OK, I'm teasing you, its a typo.

I think the REAL issue here is that old dude didn't go out and BUY a gun...he didn't intend to POSSESS a gun...he was defending himself against a robbery by grabbing the assailant's gun. If that actually gets prosecuted and he gets bounced back to the big house I will be shocked. It should not be prosecuted in the first place. stoopid stoopid stoopid.

Mike

**4V50 Gary** · August 27, 2001, 11:58 AM

Homicide is the slaying of one human by another and carries no negative connotation. It's just as if granny shot a rapist or cop shoots crook or the driver who falls asleep at the wheel and plows into someone. Moider (Curley accent) or Moyder on the other hand, is the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. Here, the apt. dwellers shot in self defense (or so they say) and is therefore justifiable homicide.

Rehabilitation through Reincarnation!

buzz_knox · August 27, 2001, 12:15 PM

"Now if we start talking mind-altering drugs then we have another issue."

For the record, both alcohol and pot are mind-altering drugs. The only difference between them and "harder" drugs is the level and duration of the effect, and the long-term consequences.

August 25, 2001, 08:10 PM	#1
jimpeel Senior Member Join Date: October 12, 1999 Location: Longmont, CO, USA Posts: 4,530	Victims turn tables Hero jailed How they manage to call this a "double homicide" I don't know. Note that even the URL uses the term "doublemurder" in it. This is the first story on this incident. See the following post to see that the hero in this apparently had a greater duty to allow himself and the others to be killed than violate his parole by taking the robber's firearm. http://www.examiner.com/news/default...lemurder.0816w Victims turn tables on home invaders By Adrienne Sanders and Chris Merrill Of The Examiner Staff It was a rude welcome for new tenants, including the building manager, in a SoMa loft complex as an attempted apartment robbery turned into a double homicide Tuesday night, leaving new arrivals wondering if San Francisco was a good place to move. "Nice welcome," said Greg, 24, who moved to SoMa from Seattle nine days ago. Greg, a disc jockey who asked that his last name not be used, moved in with his friend Sean. "We never saw anything like this in Seattle," said Sean, 24, who sipped a Miller Light on the second-floor balcony as building management posted updated security measures. He has lived in the complex the past year and a half. The measures, which include surveillance cameras, temporary 24-hour security guards and tightened entry procedures, are a response to a break-in of a third-floor apartment. On Tuesday, two men forced their way into the apartment of Brian Walters, a concert promoter who was being visited by his friend Detrick Washington, his girlfriend and her two young sons. One of the intruders had been in the apartment minutes before for a business meeting. He returned later with an accomplice and demanded to know the location of the safe. They tied up the woman and her children, according to police. "I heard a female voice scream 'Get the f--- out of here,' at about 10:30 p.m.," said Greg. Neither Sean nor Greg heard gunshots. According to police, one intruder put down his gun to open the safe, and Washington grabbed the weapon. The second intruder came downstairs and, after a struggle, Washington shot him dead. Washington then handed the gun to Walters, who wound up shooting the second man. Several neighbors met each other for the first time shortly afterward as police descended on the complex to rope off stairs, mop up blood and carry away the body bags. "There were mad (amounts of) cops and everyone was standing around gossiping," said Greg. Walters did not answer his apartment door Wednesday afternoon and his blinds were pulled shut. Other residents reached by phone would not comment, and nearly 20 listings for the complex were disconnected. Building manager Margarita Gonzalez, who has worked at the City Lofts complex for barely a month, said it was unfortunate someone was killed. She directed inquiries to the management company, Carmel Partners. The president, Bert Polacci, could not be reached for comment. The three-story complex has more than 100 loft units, which house a variety of dot-com companies, music promoters and other businesses. The windowed apartments face an open-air courtyard with bright yellow walls and metal tables. The building is located at 175 Bluxome St. just off Sixth Street by the off-ramp to Interstate 280. News of the break-in had residents questioning old habits. The incident marked the second robbery attempt at City Lofts in five days. "I locked and bolted my door for the first time today," said Sean. Last edited by jimpeel; August 25, 2001 at 08:56 PM.

August 25, 2001, 08:32 PM	#2
jimpeel Senior Member Join Date: October 12, 1999 Location: Longmont, CO, USA Posts: 4,530	Now get this -- The hero is in jail! http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...7/MN229399.DTL SoMa loft hero held on parole violation Taking intruder's gun broke rules Jaxon Van Derbeken, Chronicle Staff Writer Friday, August 17, 2001 San Francisco -- A man hailed by San Francisco police for seizing a robber's gun to stop a violent holdup at a live-work loft has been jailed by state authorities on a possible parole violation -- handling the gun. Police are frustrated that Detrick Washington, a 25-year-old San Franciscan who they say was instrumental in saving himself and four other people Tuesday night, has been locked up. "He took a chance. I believe we could call him a hero," Inspector Armand Gordon said. "He basically saved five people's lives, including his own." The two armed men who used a ruse to force their way into the loft were shot to death, one by Washington, the other by his friend and partner in a concert promotion business, Brian Walters. Police said the shootings appear to have been justified and that they urged state parole authorities not to lock up Washington on Wednesday -- but to no avail. Washington, in an interview in San Francisco County Jail, seemed resigned to his stay there. "I feel I shouldn't be here, but I guess that's the way parole has to handle it," he said. "I just feel if I didn't get the gun, we would have all been dead." Police said Washington was being supervised for a drug conviction. State corrections officials say he must stay in jail until they do their own investigation into the incident at the South of Market loft. "Mr. Washington, at this point, is viewed as a victim, not a suspect," said Greg Potnick, a spokesman for the Department of Corrections regional parole office. Potnick pointed out that parole terms carry strict restrictions on owning or possessing weapons. He conceded that "under the circumstances, in order to save his and others' well-being, it may have been necessary for him to touch that weapon and possess it. "But given the gravity of the situation that occurred, we felt (arresting Washington) was the best thing to do," Potnick said. WITNESSES BEING INTERVIEWED Washington can be held for six working days -- until Wednesday -- while the state does its checking. "It's unfortunate he is in that position," said Lt. Judie Pursell of the San Francisco Police homicide detail. But she added, "He's on parole, and they have a job to do." Police say they have interviewed all three surviving adult witnesses from the holdup and believe their story of what happened in Walters' Bluxome Street loft Tuesday night. Washington said he had been at the loft for five minutes when someone knocked at the door. Washington got up from playing with a Playstation game and let in a man police identified as Deandre Johnson, 32, whom Walters had invited over. Ten minutes later, Johnson said he had to pick up his sister. Washington let him out but said he was forced back into the split-level loft when a second man appeared at the door. Johnson pulled out a gun, Washington said, and the second man -- identified by police as 28-year-old Lovell Brown -- pulled out a 15-inch machete. The two ordered Walters and Washington to empty their pockets, then tied up Walters' girlfriend and threw a bedsheet over her and her two sons, ages 3 and 5. The men ransacked the loft, apparently looking for event proceeds. One man gashed the victims with the machete, and the intruders eventually forced Walters to open a safe containing $3,000, Washington said. Believing there was more cash to be had, Brown began to beat the captive men and ordered Washington to bind Walters, telling them, "I'll go and kill the kids and that girl if you don't give me the rest of the money," according to Washington's account. 'I'M SORRY I DID IT' Meanwhile, Johnson went upstairs to check on the woman and her children. He had already set his gun down once during the ordeal, and Washington noticed that he had done so again. "Damn, the gun is there again -- he left it on the couch. I can't believe it," Washington said he thought to himself. He went for the gun and held it on Brown. "He flinched toward me. I flinched back. The gun went off," Washington said. "It hit him in the head. I really didn't mean to shoot the guy. I'm sorry I did it." Washington said he gave the gun to his friend to hold on the surviving robber. Walters called 911. Washington then went up to check on the woman and her children. From upstairs, he said, he heard his friend say, "Stay down! Don't move! Don't get up! Don't get up!" Then he heard, "He's getting up, he's getting up!" and then gunfire. Johnson died later at the hospital. "I'm sorry," Washington said. "I didn't mean for anyone to die. It should never have happened." E-mail Jaxon Van Derbeken at [email protected].

August 26, 2001, 07:47 PM	#4
Don Gwinn Staff Emeritus Join Date: March 9, 2000 Location: Virden, IL Posts: 5,917	OK, I can see your point, but he had used drugs! How can you trust someone who used drugs in the past to touch a firearm? If firearms are evil then you cannot admit that circumstances make any difference. These people treat gun possession the way you and I would speak of murder. Even if the victim were a cruel boor and countless people benefitted, murder would still be wrong and we would demand that the murderer be put away, albeit with some sadness. They act the same way. This particular time might have turned out all right, but that doesn't justify possessing a gun. __________________ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Don Gwinn: Chicago Gun Rights Examiner

August 27, 2001, 11:58 AM	#8
4V50 Gary Staff Join Date: November 2, 1998 Location: Colorado Posts: 22,301	Homicide is the slaying of one human by another and carries no negative connotation. It's just as if granny shot a rapist or cop shoots crook or the driver who falls asleep at the wheel and plows into someone. Moider (Curley accent) or Moyder on the other hand, is the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. Here, the apt. dwellers shot in self defense (or so they say) and is therefore justifiable homicide. Rehabilitation through Reincarnation! __________________ Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt. *Molon Labe!*

August 26, 2001, 01:51 PM	#3
Ipecac Senior Member Join Date: March 25, 1999 Posts: 440	The War on (some) Drugs claims another victim. This case also points up the problems inherent with stripping a released felon of their right to self-protection; you end up endangering entire families. I'm sure SanFran would be a safer, friendlier place if Washington had quietly allowed his family and himself to be hacked and shot to death.

August 27, 2001, 02:24 AM	#5
MatthewM Senior Member Join Date: April 9, 2001 Posts: 1,003	How many people have blasted me for saying felons should be allowed to possess firearms after their probation is over? It's not WHO has a firearm, it is their USE!!! Do you want to punish a felon who possesses a gun because he MIGHT use it to harm someone? How about one of YOU felons who kept your illegal assault rifle? YOU are a felon. (I have nothing against you though. ) By the way, notice in the 3 strikes thread the examples of people who were given life in prison for shoplifting! There are a whole lot of crimes out there that are felonies... My brother was charged with felony hit and run when he was 16. His car hit some gravel in a corner and he slid into a yard and hit a 2" tree. He went back the next day to offer to pay for it. Problem was a passenger bumped his head. That made it felony hit and run...

August 27, 2001, 12:15 PM	#9
buzz_knox Senior Member Join Date: December 2, 1999 Location: Knoxville, in the Free State of Tennesse Posts: 4,190	"Now if we start talking mind-altering drugs then we have another issue." For the record, both alcohol and pot are mind-altering drugs. The only difference between them and "harder" drugs is the level and duration of the effect, and the long-term consequences.