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One Year Later: The Long Range Peach House Gunfight

ccwinstructor

Centurion
Joined
Jul 11, 2008
Messages
919
Location
Yuma, Arizona, USA
Rember a year ago, with the story about a police officer pinned down by a mass murderer, and an armed citizen took the murderer down with a pistol from 165 yards?

Well, it turns out it wasn't 165 yards, but it was far enough to be impressive. Here is a detail afteraction report from interviews with the armed citizen and numerous pictures showing shooting angles.


When I first heard the reports of a pistolero making a long shot, stopping a mass murder and saving the life of a police officer a year ago, I knew that I would work to find the details if the possibility were offered. I found that opportunity and was able to answer many of the questions that came to mind at the time. After I had interviewed Vic Stacy, I told him that I would wait until the Grand Jury delivered a no bill before writing about what happened. This is the story of the Peach House Gunfight . . .


Vic Stacy heard the shots while he was watching a movie on the Sunday afternoon of July 29, 2012. He thought someone was shooting at the nearby small reservoir or “tank” as they’re called in Texas. Then the phone rang. It was his neighbor and friend who needed help. Armed help. There was a dead woman only feet from his doorstep and he asked Vic to bring a gun.

Early is a town of about 3,000 in the middle of Texas. The Peach House RV park is located five miles outside of town. It’s a small park with only a dozen spaces. When Charles Conner decided to go on a murder rampage, only six of the spaces were occupied. Conner was known for his irrational bursts of temper over minor events.

On the 29th that temper boiled over into murder over a dispute about dog droppings. Conner had been arguing with David Michael House, 58 and Valentina Martinez Calaci, 53. The couple owned two dogs and had arrived from Arizona a few weeks earlier. Conner left the two, went back to his fifth wheel trailer, procured a 9mm pistol and returned to the couple’s RV. There he shot House, who fell within 20 feet of the RV.


http://gunwatch.blogspot.com/2013/08/one-year-later-long-range-peach-house.html

I can not see a way to make the pictures show. They make the story. I think it is worth a read.
 

OldCurlyWolf

Regular Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2010
Messages
907
Location
Oklahoma
Rember a year ago, with the story about a police officer pinned down by a mass murderer, and an armed citizen took the murderer down with a pistol from 165 yards?

Well, it turns out it wasn't 165 yards, but it was far enough to be impressive. Here is a detail afteraction report from interviews with the armed citizen and numerous pictures showing shooting angles.


When I first heard the reports of a pistolero making a long shot, stopping a mass murder and saving the life of a police officer a year ago, I knew that I would work to find the details if the possibility were offered. I found that opportunity and was able to answer many of the questions that came to mind at the time. After I had interviewed Vic Stacy, I told him that I would wait until the Grand Jury delivered a no bill before writing about what happened. This is the story of the Peach House Gunfight . . .


Vic Stacy heard the shots while he was watching a movie on the Sunday afternoon of July 29, 2012. He thought someone was shooting at the nearby small reservoir or “tank” as they’re called in Texas. Then the phone rang. It was his neighbor and friend who needed help. Armed help. There was a dead woman only feet from his doorstep and he asked Vic to bring a gun.

Early is a town of about 3,000 in the middle of Texas. The Peach House RV park is located five miles outside of town. It’s a small park with only a dozen spaces. When Charles Conner decided to go on a murder rampage, only six of the spaces were occupied. Conner was known for his irrational bursts of temper over minor events.

On the 29th that temper boiled over into murder over a dispute about dog droppings. Conner had been arguing with David Michael House, 58 and Valentina Martinez Calaci, 53. The couple owned two dogs and had arrived from Arizona a few weeks earlier. Conner left the two, went back to his fifth wheel trailer, procured a 9mm pistol and returned to the couple’s RV. There he shot House, who fell within 20 feet of the RV.


http://gunwatch.blogspot.com/2013/08/one-year-later-long-range-peach-house.html

I can not see a way to make the pictures show. They make the story. I think it is worth a read.

I really like the present the Sheriff's office presented to him.

:lol:
 

ccwinstructor

Centurion
Joined
Jul 11, 2008
Messages
919
Location
Yuma, Arizona, USA
I would like to see all these cases go to a grand jury

It is black letter law in Texas that it MUST go before a Grand Jury, no matter who shoots whom.

:cool:

Prosecutors have way too much power. Let a Grand Jury decide these cases in every state. It has worked well in Texas, and provides an end point for the person accused. A prosecutor can keep a person dangling on a hook, uncertain, for years.
 

Firearms Iinstuctor

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2011
Messages
3,428
Location
northern wis
It is a good lesson that a trained shooter with a good handgun who knows how to use it. Does not be limited to close range.

I took a couple of clients out yesterday who saying, how can one hit any thing at 57 yards with a handgun its not possible.

After little bit of coaching they both proceeded to shoot 5x6 inch groups for 6 shots into the center of a standard IPSC target at 57 yards from a rest..

The firearm a 7.5 Ruger red hawk 44 mag.

Both say they had never tried any shooting farther then 25 yards but now both of them wanted to practice at longer ranges.

If any body is interested I offer longer range handgun training we can go out to 600 yards if one wants. just PM me and we can work something out.
 
Last edited:

EMNofSeattle

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2012
Messages
3,670
Location
S. Kitsap, Washington state
Prosecutors have way too much power. Let a Grand Jury decide these cases in every state. It has worked well in Texas, and provides an end point for the person accused. A prosecutor can keep a person dangling on a hook, uncertain, for years.

I don't agree.

The Prosecutor never believed this guy was in violation of the law, so why waste the taxpayers money conducting a grand jury? So what if a GJ is called and the prosecutor says "We don't believe this violated the law" or even that the prosecutor never makes any case at all a GJ is going to No bill.

A prosecutor always has power to file charges or not, so when you say "prosecutors have too much power" I don't know how you'd have a prosecutor who doesn't have authority to decide to bring charges.

GJ's are an archaic mechanism anyway, Grand Juries very rarely no-bill people (except in circumstances like this where everyone is subject to GJ and the prosecutor isn't trying to get an indictment). then you have to assemble a grand jury, and pay jurors the going rate, and all that... why? when the prosecutor should just be able to say "there's no case" and leave it at that?

My State doesn't even use grand juries for those very reasons. ...
 

ccwinstructor

Centurion
Joined
Jul 11, 2008
Messages
919
Location
Yuma, Arizona, USA
There have been many cases where prosecutors bring a case for political reasons

I don't agree.

The Prosecutor never believed this guy was in violation of the law, so why waste the taxpayers money conducting a grand jury? So what if a GJ is called and the prosecutor says "We don't believe this violated the law" or even that the prosecutor never makes any case at all a GJ is going to No bill.

A prosecutor always has power to file charges or not, so when you say "prosecutors have too much power" I don't know how you'd have a prosecutor who doesn't have authority to decide to bring charges.

GJ's are an archaic mechanism anyway, Grand Juries very rarely no-bill people (except in circumstances like this where everyone is subject to GJ and the prosecutor isn't trying to get an indictment). then you have to assemble a grand jury, and pay jurors the going rate, and all that... why? when the prosecutor should just be able to say "there's no case" and leave it at that?

My State doesn't even use grand juries for those very reasons. ...

Just consider the recent Zimmerman case. The problem with prosecutors is that they have as close to absolute immunity as is legally possible. Grand Juries are a check on that power. The system has worked very well in Texas. If it worked that way in Florida, the Zimmerman case would have gone directly to a Grand Jury, almost certainly been "no billed" and that would be it.
 

EMNofSeattle

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2012
Messages
3,670
Location
S. Kitsap, Washington state
Just consider the recent Zimmerman case. The problem with prosecutors is that they have as close to absolute immunity as is legally possible. Grand Juries are a check on that power. The system has worked very well in Texas. If it worked that way in Florida, the Zimmerman case would have gone directly to a Grand Jury, almost certainly been "no billed" and that would be it.

No, Corey chose to charge by way of information in order to get to trial quicker. Zimmerman would most certainly have been indicted.

the Grand Jury in Florida works just like in the Federal Government. a ground jury of 21 people is called, 12 have to agree to render a true bill. only the prosecutor is allowed to be at the Grand Jury, his witnesses will be allowed to testify, the defense may not be present at the Grand Jury, and although the GJ may question witnesses themselves the prosecutor can end questioning for a witness and a grand juror may not know enough of the law to know which questions to ask.

so lets recap, the GJ is a secretive process controlled by the prosecution with 21 people not screened for bias (so grand jurors who have been fed a media story about the evil george zimmerman hunting and butchering an innocent boy walking home in his own neighborhood, will be fed the same story by a prosecutor)

I disagree with the gun rights analysis that Z would've been no-billed.

He'd have been indicted at the drop of a hat.
 
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