HankT
State Researcher
imported post
I can't figure out if Cutaia is a bad shot, a good shot, or just a goof with a gun.
But walking away from an LEO who wants to talk to you (if no RS or PC) is suggested all the time.Such wasn't a good idea for Cutaia.
July 18, 2007
Man says he shot officer in self-defense
By JAY STAPLETON Staff Writer
DAYTONA BEACH -- A Miami man who fired 10 shots at a Daytona Beach Shores police officer in 2005, hitting him once, said Wednesday he was acting in self-defense and just trying to send the officer scurrying.
"He didn't identify himself," Thomas Cutaia, 44, told jurors during his opening statement in Chief Judge J. David Walsh's courtroom. "I never stopped. I just continued to retreat."
Cutaia is fighting for his freedom. With no formal training in the law, he chose to represent himself on charges that include attempted second-degree murder for the Nov. 1, 2005, shooting. If convicted, Cutaia could get a life sentence.
Lawyers who observed Cutaia representing himself in the first day of the trial said he appeared to hold his own, to their surprise. "He did pretty well," Assistant Public Defender Bryan Park said. "He was making his argument."
Cutaia has been prone to outbursts in court since last April, when he was found incompetent to stand trial. His competency was later restored, the court ruled. Cutaia, who has claimed organized crime members were trying to kill him, didn't want to be represented by the Public Defender's Office.
In court Wednesday, fitted around the waist with a shock belt that a nearby deputy could activate remotely if Cutaia got out of control, he acted professionally and drew few of the warnings from the judge about his behavior that he heard before the trial.
Cutaia has claimed Shores Public Safety Officer Michael Gavigan was a hired hit man.
"Were you paid to come at me?" he asked Gavigan on the stand. "Just my hourly rate," the officer answered.
During his opening statement, prosecutor Dennis Craig laid out what appeared to be a simple case. Cutaia was standing on the sidewalk, wearing dark sunglasses at night. The officer "just wanted to see if everything was all right," Craig said.
The officer's radar went up when Cutaia walked away out into the street. He refused to take his hands from his pockets and made furtive movements.
Gavigan, who was saved from lethal wounds by his bulletproof vest, suffered great bodily injury from being shot, Craig said.
Cutaia pointed out the officer played softball weeks after being shot, questioning the injury. He deferred his opening statement until after the state rested its case, showing a degree of strategy.
Using a posterboard placed far from the jury, the accused man explained his side. Cutaia was visiting for two weeks, staying in a hotel, he explained. He was walking back to the hotel from a store when he was approached on the sidewalk by the man he later learned was an officer.
He said the officer didn't identify himself as such, but pulled a gun after Cutaia said he didn't want to talk to him. Cutaia said he tried to get away, but admitted firing the gun when he saw the officer pointing his weapon.
Officer Gavigan had testified he pulled his department-issued handgun because Cutaia refused to show his hands. But Cutaia argued there was no probable cause for the officer to stop him.
"He created a deadly situation," Cutaia said of the officer, whose vest was hit in the lower back area as he turned from the second shot Cutaia fired.
He suggested the officer was hit from a ricochet, adding that he aimed for trees and "flower pots" along the street to avoid injuring anyone.
"I fired, but I fired off to the side," Cutaia said. "I didn't want to hurt the guy for being stupid."
While Cutaia did OK from a defense perspective, attorney Park said the claim that he fired to scare the officer so he could continue his retreat might weaken the self-defense claim. Using deadly force is justified when a person thinks they are in danger of death or great bodily harm. The trial is expected to wrap up today with closing arguments.
Cutaia has prevailed in court before. In early 2005, a Miami-Dade County judge ordered his gun be returned after it was seized by Miami Beach police.
It was the same gun, police say, that he used to fire on Gavigan.
http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Local/newEAST02071907.htm
I can't figure out if Cutaia is a bad shot, a good shot, or just a goof with a gun.
But walking away from an LEO who wants to talk to you (if no RS or PC) is suggested all the time.Such wasn't a good idea for Cutaia.
July 18, 2007
Man says he shot officer in self-defense
By JAY STAPLETON Staff Writer
DAYTONA BEACH -- A Miami man who fired 10 shots at a Daytona Beach Shores police officer in 2005, hitting him once, said Wednesday he was acting in self-defense and just trying to send the officer scurrying.
"He didn't identify himself," Thomas Cutaia, 44, told jurors during his opening statement in Chief Judge J. David Walsh's courtroom. "I never stopped. I just continued to retreat."
Cutaia is fighting for his freedom. With no formal training in the law, he chose to represent himself on charges that include attempted second-degree murder for the Nov. 1, 2005, shooting. If convicted, Cutaia could get a life sentence.
Lawyers who observed Cutaia representing himself in the first day of the trial said he appeared to hold his own, to their surprise. "He did pretty well," Assistant Public Defender Bryan Park said. "He was making his argument."
Cutaia has been prone to outbursts in court since last April, when he was found incompetent to stand trial. His competency was later restored, the court ruled. Cutaia, who has claimed organized crime members were trying to kill him, didn't want to be represented by the Public Defender's Office.
In court Wednesday, fitted around the waist with a shock belt that a nearby deputy could activate remotely if Cutaia got out of control, he acted professionally and drew few of the warnings from the judge about his behavior that he heard before the trial.
Cutaia has claimed Shores Public Safety Officer Michael Gavigan was a hired hit man.
"Were you paid to come at me?" he asked Gavigan on the stand. "Just my hourly rate," the officer answered.
During his opening statement, prosecutor Dennis Craig laid out what appeared to be a simple case. Cutaia was standing on the sidewalk, wearing dark sunglasses at night. The officer "just wanted to see if everything was all right," Craig said.
The officer's radar went up when Cutaia walked away out into the street. He refused to take his hands from his pockets and made furtive movements.
Gavigan, who was saved from lethal wounds by his bulletproof vest, suffered great bodily injury from being shot, Craig said.
Cutaia pointed out the officer played softball weeks after being shot, questioning the injury. He deferred his opening statement until after the state rested its case, showing a degree of strategy.
Using a posterboard placed far from the jury, the accused man explained his side. Cutaia was visiting for two weeks, staying in a hotel, he explained. He was walking back to the hotel from a store when he was approached on the sidewalk by the man he later learned was an officer.
He said the officer didn't identify himself as such, but pulled a gun after Cutaia said he didn't want to talk to him. Cutaia said he tried to get away, but admitted firing the gun when he saw the officer pointing his weapon.
Officer Gavigan had testified he pulled his department-issued handgun because Cutaia refused to show his hands. But Cutaia argued there was no probable cause for the officer to stop him.
"He created a deadly situation," Cutaia said of the officer, whose vest was hit in the lower back area as he turned from the second shot Cutaia fired.
He suggested the officer was hit from a ricochet, adding that he aimed for trees and "flower pots" along the street to avoid injuring anyone.
"I fired, but I fired off to the side," Cutaia said. "I didn't want to hurt the guy for being stupid."
While Cutaia did OK from a defense perspective, attorney Park said the claim that he fired to scare the officer so he could continue his retreat might weaken the self-defense claim. Using deadly force is justified when a person thinks they are in danger of death or great bodily harm. The trial is expected to wrap up today with closing arguments.
Cutaia has prevailed in court before. In early 2005, a Miami-Dade County judge ordered his gun be returned after it was seized by Miami Beach police.
It was the same gun, police say, that he used to fire on Gavigan.
http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Local/newEAST02071907.htm
