I just opened this thread tonight and read the post by Wyosmith and just HAD to look that story up. I'm posting it for the rest of you because there just isn't enough humor these days. From the Casper Star Tribune, April 1, 2011.
Riverton man gets shot, faces charges
RIVERTON — Charges were filed Thursday in the St. Patrick’s Day shooting that took place in downtown Riverton — not against the shooter, but against the man who was shot in the groin.
Zechariah Apodaca, 22, of Riverton was charged with domestic battery, property destruction and simple assault. The shooter was identified only as a 41-year-old man from Lander. Authorities refused to release his identity because he’s been named a victim in the case against Apodaca.
In a media conference Wednesday afternoon at Riverton City Hall, Fremont County Attorney Brian Varn said the older man acted in self defense as Apodaca tried twice to grab his .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol. Varn said the older man had a license to carry the gun.
Varn went on to say the 44-year-old was acting as a good samaritan by trying to stop Apodaca from beating his girlfriend. The older man intervened as he walked out of the show with his family and saw Apodaca dragging the woman backward by her head and pants from the parking lot to the theater door. After telling Apodaca to stop, the 44-year-old warned he was armed.
Varn came to this conclusion, he said, from witness testimony and footage from the Gem Theater’s security camera, which was shown during the media conference. The view looks out from the backside of the lobby over the ticket and candy counters toward the two outside, glass-front doors.
From that angle, the two men were seen in the video wrestling with each other in close contact on the sidewalk in front of the theater, while about a dozen small children and a half a dozen adults milled about inside. Authorities say the scuffle lasted about two minutes and police were called by a business owner across the street who heard the shot.
Apodaca was treated and released from the Riverton hospital. The shooter was not injured in the incident and the woman involved did not break her hand as reported earlier. Her hand was injured in a previous altercation before the couple went to the movie.
Another candidate for a Darwin Award. Even though he didn't die, he surely qualifies by being removed from the gene pool.
