Maryland charges vet with murder for defending his family
Pave Pusher sends us a link from the Capitol Gazette which reports that Matthew Pinkerton, an Air Force vet, has been charged with murder for shooting a man he claims forced his way into Pinkerton’s home;
Green had staked out the Pinkertons’ home before they arrived early Sunday morning, O’Neill said. When Green knocked on the door, Pinkerton retrieved a Glock 17 9mm handgun, put it in his back pocket and went to see who it was, police said. He wasn’t expecting any visitors.
When Pinkerton opened the door, he found Green on the porch, police said. Green demanded to see Jessica Pinkerton.
Matthew Pinkerton told Green to leave, but he refused and started to shout, police said.
The pair exchanged “derogatory” remarks before Pinkerton closed the front door, police said. Green continued to yell from the front porch, police said.
Pinkerton then heard his screen door being opened, police said. He headed back to the front door as Green broke through it, damaging the door frame, O’Neill said.
Pinkerton pulled his gun and ordered Green to leave, O’Neill said.
Green continued into the residence and was shot twice by Pinkerton, police said.
The State claims that Pinkerton should have called 911. Yeah, 911 works for a lot of stuff, but not for folks who force their way into your home.
Assistant State’s Attorney Glen Neubauer said Pinkerton could have called the police. When Pinkerton grabbed his gun, it was “bizarre behavior in itself,” Neubauer said.
Mr. Neubauer ought not come to my house at 2 AM on a Sunday, without calling ahead, then. A TAH fan dropped by the TAH corporate resort last week and was not surprised that I answered the door with my Colt. I don’t go to Maryland with a gun, so I don’t go to Maryland. And this is why.
Category: None
He’s AD, it seems, and Green was suspected of boinking the Mrs. If that’s true, I would say he had it coming w/o the home invasion.
You have a groupie now? OH, that’s so cute, Jonn!
WTF…the man busted in through the door, and sorry at 0200 someone is beating on your door and you have a gun it is not unusual to grab that before going to the door. He only pulled it after the guy busted his way in.
Unfreaking believable they are chargin him with murder.
He’ll be acquitted.
(1) The accused must have had reasonable grounds to believe himself in apparent imminent or immediate danger of death or serious bodily harm from his assailant or potential assailant;
(2) The accused must have in fact believed himself in this danger;
(3) The accused claiming the right of self defense must not have been the aggressor or provoked the conflict;
(4) The force used must have not been unreasonable and excessive, that is, the force must not have been more force than the exigency demanded.
and to boot…..
Maryland also follows the common law rule that, outside of one’s home, a person, before using deadly force in self-defense, has the duty “‘to retreat or avoid danger if such means were within his power and consistent with his safety.'” HOWEVER
But a person does not have to retreat if it would not be safe for the person to do so. “[I]f the peril of the defendant was imminent, he did not have to retreat but had a right to stand his ground and to defend and protect himself.” Bruce v. State, supra, 218 Md. at 97, 145 A.2d at 433.
The duty to retreat also does not apply if one is attacked in one’s own home. “[A] man faced with the danger of an attack upon his dwelling need not retreat from his home to escape the danger, but instead may stand his ground and, if necessary to repel the attack, may kill the attacker.”
If I read this correctly, he followed the law even if unintentionally.
I can’t wait until I can leave this God damned state!
Keep reminding me why I don’t live in MD, MA, NY, CA, or other idiot liberal states.
This ADA is clearly overreaching and trying to push an agenda.
Sorry, but if someone starts beating down my door at 2 am, I don’t give a shit if I know them or not, 1–they aren’t getting invited in, 2–if they get in I shoot first and let the cops sort it out later.
If MD is anything like here, 911 is a joke. Cops MIGHT show up in a couple of hours. In the meantime, the homeowner is dead, etc…
@2. Wasn’t me. I know better. Jonn considers every visitor’s stop at his house to be a felony stop, I hear. Those pressure plates and cameras aren’t in place for the hell of it. He only answers the front door if he recognizes you. Otherwise, well, let’s just say you hope he recognizes you if you visit.
Here is a pretty good write up about this story. They even have interviews with Pinkerton’s brother and wife.
http://misguidedchildren.com/justice/2013/11/maryland-man-shoots-home-intruder-charged-with-murder
@2 If Jonn knew how many groupies he actually does have, he’d go out and buy another gun.
On a more serious note…bad idea to confront the man of the house about a woman in that house. Stupid not only is painful, it can be deadly. And I hope his jury finds him not guilty.
@9–I would hope that it never even makes it to trial, that it gets a no bill in front of a grand jury.
And that the prosecutor gets a nice hard dick punch for his effort. Mr. Neubauer better hope nobody ever breaks into his house.
I fear that this isnt at all what it appears to be about. Did you catch this line: “The pair exchanged “derogatory” remarks before Pinkerton closed the front door, police said.”
I see. Green is black. Pinkerton is white. The prosecutor knows what was said and it will come out at trial, if not before. And that’s what this case is about.
Lemme guess. Every elected official in this jurisdiction is a Democrat?
#4 that’s right. Much to the dismay of the governor, bluest of blue Maryland is a castle law state. Barring any additional information about the circumstances changing our view of what happened; I hope this guy gets not only gets acquitted but sues the state for malicious prosecution.
Hmm… Let’s see, I live in rural southern California, and if somebody is pounding on my door in the middle of the night (or otherwise seeking entry to my home) my SOP is the following: 1) Grab flashlight-equipped 1911 from nightstand. 2) Rack round into the chamber of 1911 (loaded mag already in). 3) Grab two spare 1911 mags from nightstand . 4) Get out of bed. 5) Instruct wife to get flashlight-equipped shotgun (loaded) from gun cabinet and remain upstairs in daughter’s room with lights off and cellphone close by. 6) Instruct wife to call 911 if she hears commotion and be prepared to defend herself and baby daughter until local resident Sheriff’s Deputies arrive (15 minutes if we’re lucky and they’re not already on another call). 7) Go downstairs to front door. 8) Turn on exterior light before unlocking door, leaving interior lights off. 9) Open door with 1911 in hand but out of immediate sight. 10) Calmly ask why the fuck you are pounding on my door at 2 AM and, if unsatisfied with answer, advise you of the consequences of continuing your aberrant behavior. 11) a. Should you prove unable to take a hint, respond with appropriate force. Even if you do get past me, you will find to your dismay that the pretty little Asian girl this Black Irish white boy married has considerably more firepower waiting for you inside. b. If no threat is found, give aforementioned shotgun-armed pretty little asian girl the all-clear signal before coming back upstairs. 12) Return all weapons to previous condition. 13) Go back to bed. 14) Have amazing sex with said pretty little Asian girl in return for maintaining the safety and security of our family. 15) Fall asleep from sexual exhaustion. What is abnormal about that, Mister Liberal State’s Attorney? In the part of the reputedly-liberal state I come from, it is understood–expected even–that such pulling something like that is a great way to get yourself shot. If California understands that, what’s Maryland’s excuse? It’s pretty simple. If you don’t break into somebody’s house, you probably don’t… Read more »
@14 I admire your writing skills and story telling. You need to post here more often! 🙂
ChipNASA: there’s a reasonably good chance he’ll be acquitted. But this happening in the People’s Republic of Maryland, even that’s not a given.
Sounds to me like an ambitious liberal police chief or city/county attorney out to make a name for themselves. This guy simply provided the vehicle by defending himself with one of those “evil guns” in his own home.
Unfortunately, even if acquitted he’s probably out at least $10k in legal fees – and I’d guess probably considerably more. That will come out of his pocket, because the state has no obligation to pay them if he’s acquitted. And he’s possibly also looking at a civil suit afterwards by the dead guy’s family.
And good luck on his filing a malicious prosecution suit. In Maryland, proving malicious prosecution requires proving that the prosecution was instituted with malice or with a purpose in mind other than bringing an offender to justice. That’s a damned difficult thing to prove.
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=GqGyqorpKDgC&oi=fnd&pg=PT19&dq=malicious+prosecution+maryland&ots=Od27yY_3rL&sig=9lP3Youpmwj825gPI60_cJtu26c#v=onepage&q=malicious%20prosecution%20&f=false
Hondo, according to his brother he is already out $25K in legal fees plus the $25K bond.
@2
It was me. Was hunting with my bro in law last week, they live in Cumberland, so ran down the TAH compound just to say hi. Saw the gun, raised my hands and introduced myself. Forgot about that lunatic in Montgomery county.
See, here is where they (the libbies/progs/commies/et al) detach themselves completely from reality. It makes no difference AT ALL if none, or any, or all of the participants are black, white, Asian, young, old, associated with the local Micky D’s, veterans, college grads, married, gay or any other identifying characteristic. Everyone has the right to defend themselves, their homes, and their families.
Twist: hadn’t seen that, but it doesn’t surprise me one bit. Good lawyers don’t work cheap and generally don’t negotiate much on their rates.
Hondo: you can read that in the link I posted above. Greene’s family and friends have also taken to driving by the Pinkerton’s house and screaming “murderer”.
@14 You forgot two steps, well at least these two if you live in a liberal f#cktard state….
12) a) Drag body to outdoor above ground swimming pool which unfortunately just had a terrible liner leak, use shove in pool shed to dig 5-6 feet under sandy pool floor liner bed, drop body into said shallow grave cover liberally with stone fill and sand cover
12) b) replace foam padding over sandy pool floor fill, replace liner with spare liner in pool shed…fill pool with water…enjoy pool and lack of LEO issues
YMMV
Is Maryland a state where one can claim legal expenses after a failed/malicious prosecution?
Of course the side of this that most likely represents the reason for the charges is that the dead guy was allegedly banging the shooter’s wife…
If that is the fact of the case, well then the case gets far murkier than simple defense…of course the dead guy won’t be telling a different story than the cuckold is currently telling, but this appears to be more than a simple breaking and entering and a defensive stand…probably why there are charges…
V.O.V., it would explain the initial confrontation, but once the dead guy broke into the house, he was at fault and the resident is the victim. Unless the shooter broke any actual laws, I don’t see a case here. But I’m not a lawyer and don’t even play one on TV….
The Neubauers of this country are accomplishing one thing and one thing only.
They’re actively destroying faith and confidence in the rule of law among those who’ve traditionally supported same.
@25 Well, we have a story from the side that lived, I suspect there is an arrest because just maybe the story the dude is telling is a little different than the evidence on the body or at the scene…
According to the shooter we was stationed in Korea, came home early and found his wife and this dude “together” in his house…the wife says they were just “friends”, in my experience that’s usually what adulterers say first before the photographs come out…I agree the dead guy has no right to enter the home un-asked, but maybe it’s not really quite as clear in this case….I don’t believe this is as cut and dried as our normal “feel-ggod” stories each day. We shall see how it plays out.
That’s why I’m a fan of making sure the other guy is dead, that way there is only one story and no matter what happened the story I tell will be the truth….it’s much easier…
Green, the deceased, was living in the house with the wife and kids. Pinkerton, the accused, was stationed in Korea until recently.
Green is alleged to have broken through the door and advanced on Pinkerton. Pinkerton claims to have shot once, but Green continued to advance so Pinkerton shoots again. Why do police find the body on the porch.
I understand why Pinkerton may have been too busy to call 911 while he was engaged with Green. However, there were other people present and they could have called. But no one called until after the shooting, at which time police arrived within 5 minutes.
I’m not patting Pinkerton on the back just yet.
VOV – that’s not quite what the link Twist put up in #8 says. Might want to re-read that.
Think the trump card was when Green kicked in the door… especially with other people to protect, that’s what we used to describe as a “center of mass moment”… repeat as needed.
@28 People with fatal bullet wounds can still be ambulatory for a few minutes, depending on multiple variables. It is even possible, though very rare, for somebody to continue consciously walking and/or fighting even after being shot through the heart or central nervous system (i.e. brain or spine). So where he fell is not necessarily where he was shot.
All individuals involved agree that Pinkerton shot Green after he had broke the door in, and even then only after issuing a verbal warning. Green continued to advance after being shot the first time, so Pinkerton shot him again. Green stopped advancing into the house, so Pinkerton stopped shooting. Green staggered back to the door, then collapsed onto the porch and assumed ambient temperature.
Maggie – even a 9mm has around 400 foot pounds of muzzle energy and at 15 feet, won’t lose much of it. Even if only 50% of it transferred to the perp, he absorbed around 400 ft pounds of energy minimum – that’s enough to rock almost anyone back.
Just be glad MD won’t spin it as if Pinkerton was stalking Green. (Was Green wearing a hoodie?)
Un-fuggin’ believeable that Pinkerton is being charged. Where are you supposed to retreat to if you’re in your own home? I wonder if they’ll put the “dangerous veteran” thing on him.
I get that Green could have moved & fallen elsewhere. But it’s still odd.
Also, I wonder if alcohol was involved. Green was waiting for the group when they arrived home just before 2am. Just my opinion, but Pinkerton’s blood shot eyes beg the question.
It has been stated that Green was wearing a hoodie, lol.
@30, not all individuals. Just the defendant, his wife, & his brother.
Maggie. You are not a bandwagon rider and that’s a good thing.
@35, That would be all of the individuals capable of talking. Green wasn’t.
And, very few people who are shot with a 9mm fly backward. They do, often, walk/run from where they were standing when shot with the 9.
Fall backward, get spun around if off balance and hit off-center… trust me, I am not predicting Bruce Willis style effects happening. Even with a perfect heart shot, someone or something taking a few steps is commmon.
UpNorth: especially true if the 9mm in question was firing FMJ rounds.
David the link that was placed in the original article at the top of the page said that…
http://www.capitalgazette.com/news/for_the_record/attorney-glen-burnie-shooting-was-self-defense/article_36bb4d67-b713-5b22-b6c5-d9e2b1d1016d.html
When you shoot the guy who was cuckolding you while you were on station, you wanna be sure to kill him…you don’t want him saying you caught him banging your wife again and took him out….
Hondo, I have, on numerous occasions, seen 9mm JHP rounds pass through a person. The exit wound was not much bigger than the entrance wound.
I think fthat the girl has every thing to do with it and they shouldnt get away with it how can u shoot someone and get away with it expecley when the one guys is in the air force he should knoe better Kendall wasnt that big u should have called the cops not shoot him he was a very nice person every time I saw him its not right everone lost a good friend he will be missed
@42 Kelly, when an aggressive man kicks your door in at 2 AM, he’s demonstrating hostile intent–that is, he intends to do harm. Relative size means dick all. I’m a rather large dude, and I know guys half my size who can kick my ass. Plus, do you have X-ray vision? Can you see if he has a gun tucked in his waistband or a knife in his pocket?
If you break into somebody’s house, you voluntarily forfeit the benefit of the doubt. Would you rather Pinkerton had been unarmed? Maybe then we could be reading about how Green stabbed him to death, raped and murdered his wife, and killed their two children before being shot and injured by local police. Would you like that better?
If you want to be a statistic, be my guest. But don’t dare presume to tell me or anybody else that we and our families have to be as well.
By the way, Kelly. John Gacy’s friends and neighbors all talked about what a nice guy and upstanding citizen he was, right up to the point when the cops started pulling bodies out of his basement.
@44. Can someone please translate the comment in 42. ItsakrazyreadIwonderifkellywroteitwhiledriving andifsowhethersheisawarethattextingwhiledrivingisdangerousandillegalinmaryland
@45 Air Cav, you probably don’t wanna know.
42’s unintelligible comment is also posted verbatim on the Capitol Gazette’s article. I have a feeling 42 is a family member or friend of Mr. Green’s so I’ll try and refrain from being mean. But honestly you cannot believe that a person who has their door broken in at 2AM does not have the right to defend themselves. How big a person is neither here nor there. Every human being has an inalienable right to defend themselves, family, and property. Anyway, my condolences.
Gee, Kelly, thanks for providing me with a chance to laugh myself silly at someone who let me know up front that she can hardly put two words together in a coherent way.
Geez, do people REALLY have to let us know how utterly dumb they are, right off the starting block? Holy crap!!!
@47. Well, that eliminates my theory, that she was texting while driving. She actually posted it twice in two different places? Yipes. That’s painful.
SHIT like that makes me even happier that I live in a State with “Castle Doctrine” and “Stand Your Ground” laws. As for “kelly l.”, once someone starts trying to bust into my house & home at 2 AM, I automatically assume they’re hostile, and I’m going tactical!