Jerome Ersland, a 57-year-old Oklahoma City pharmacist, is in court today, facing first-degree murder charges for his role in the May 19 shooting death of 16-year-old Antwun Parker.
The video above shows how things went down: Parker and an accomplice entered Reliable Discount Pharmacy while brandishing handguns and wearing ski masks; Ersland reacted by using his personal sidearm to defend himself and his coworkers.
The prosecutor will, no doubt, argue that Ersland used excessive force to thwart the robbery attempt. I think a jury will find in Ersland’s favor. What do you think the outcome will be?
More details are available via this article at The Oklahoman.
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UPDATE 5/30/09 at 12:10 a.m. Central: Mother of 14-Year-Old Rants About Murder Charge
UPDATE 6/12/11 at 7:21 p.m. Central: I just came across an article via which I learned that a jury convicted Jerome Ersland of first-degree murder. The video below, which contains graphic language and descriptions of graphic scenes of violence, shows the interrogation of Ersland after the shooting.
29 responses so far ↓
1 Maxwell // May 28, 2009 at 12:39 pm
So in what way was he defending himself when, after the guy he shot in the head was already incapacitated, and he felt safe enough to turn his back, go look out the door for the other guy, go to the counter, exchange pistols, and proceed to shoot the incapacitated man again 5 times in the stomach? Who was he defending at that point? The sad thing is he probably will be acquitted in an inbred state like Oklahoma.
2 Tom // May 28, 2009 at 12:50 pm
First Degree involves premeditation. Even if he did go back and shoot him a second (third/fourth/fifth) time, it wasn’t with malice aforethought. It all happened as a direct result of the initial assault and self defense.
I don’t fire my weapon at someone or something to incapacitate, I fire to kill and expecting anything less is folly. Never point a firearm at someone you don’t want to kill, because you can’t guarantee you’ll “just wing ‘em”
3 hotoffthepress2 // May 28, 2009 at 1:03 pm
Maxwell — I didn’t say he was totally in the right. As for your knock about the people of Oklahoma, I would take them over Michiganders like yourself any day of the week!
4 David99inDallas // May 28, 2009 at 1:19 pm
Newsflash: Robbers and killers deserve whatever they get. Period. At the point in this tape where the thugs make the decision to walk into this pharmacy to rob and possibly kill, they officially received all the perks of being a criminal… power, terror, free money, and yes, the possibility of death. It is an occupational hazard. Jerome is a “grandpa” to all of us, and he did what any great American should do in the face of Un-American thugs. He stood up for what is right. NEWSFLASH… 3 Pharmacy employees shot DEAD in Oklahoma City Robbery. Which way do you want it America, because you can’t have it both ways? You are either on the side of God and those who are just, or on the side of the thugs, out to rape and pillage our families. Don’t let Jerome be forgotten. Lend him your support. I just called the OKC District Attorneys office and left a detailed message with a person saying Jerome is a HERO.. and a US Veteran. – 405-713-1600… hold for the operator.
5 hotoffthepress2 // May 28, 2009 at 1:21 pm
Thanks, David!
6 Matt // May 28, 2009 at 1:44 pm
This man is a hero. If someone tries to kill you in the fashion that these punks did, you are completely justified in opening fire until the criminal stops moving. That is the only way to guarantee the threat is ended.
You don’t want to get shot by a law abiding citizen? STOP COMMITTING VIOLENT CRIMES.
7 hotoffthepress2 // May 28, 2009 at 1:49 pm
Good advice, Matt!
8 Chuckdaly // May 28, 2009 at 3:05 pm
Matt descibed Jerome as a vigilante, which will result in a guilty verdict any day of the week. Shooting an armed criminal is lawful, shooting an incapacitated criminal is vigilantism (Not lawful). If Jerome had emptied his clip on the first go round, we wouldn’t be reading this story.
Jerome doesn’t deserve 1st degree murder charges, though. I predict Mr Ersland’s lawyer and the prosecuter will agree to a lesser charge, and Jerome will do something like 1-2 years. I personally think he should do 6 months. The video is golden for the prosecutor. A Not-Guilty verdict will only result from an inept prosecutor.
9 Timothy // May 28, 2009 at 3:24 pm
We need to kill more of these scum bags.
10 hotoffthepress2 // May 28, 2009 at 3:28 pm
Instead of that, Timothy, how about we convince these desperate people to stop committing violent crimes. Sound reasonable?
11 Timothy // May 28, 2009 at 3:29 pm
>>>Shooting an armed criminal is lawful, shooting an incapacitated criminal is vigilantism (Not lawful).<<<<
Well, since we can’t see what was happening on the ground, if the criminal was moving or trying to get up, you can’t say he was incapacitated. Since the camera doesn’t show it, we need to take the word of the victim.
12 Bob H // May 28, 2009 at 5:33 pm
Is there a defense fund set up for Jerome?
13 hotoffthepress2 // May 28, 2009 at 5:37 pm
Not that I know of. I would check NewsOK.com for one during the next day or two.
14 » Self-Defense Claim on Trial in Oklahoma City NoisyRoom.net: “Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in the face of tyranny is no virtue.” Barry Goldwater // May 28, 2009 at 6:19 pm
[...] By: Bob McCarty Bob McCarty Writes [...]
15 Justified // May 28, 2009 at 8:38 pm
Jerome is definitely in the right!! I can’t even fathom that the judge will not allow him to have a gun at his place of business, where he was MINDING his own business when two juvenile delinquents tried to rob him! What is this world coming to? He is no danger to society, just trying to protect himself, his business and his employees. Notice, please, that the judge was the same race as the robbers.
16 hotoffthepress2 // May 28, 2009 at 8:41 pm
“Justified” — No need to throw race into the matter. That’s what a lib would do.
17 Be a real mother! // May 29, 2009 at 9:41 am
Well any of you that say the old guy was in the wrong are complete idiots! In Oklahoma we have a make my day law that let’s us Kill anyone that breaks in or comes onto our property with an intent to do harm or rob us! Even if the kid didn’t have a gun he was trying to rob the man and he deserved what he got. If more people would stand up for their rights as this man has we would live in a world that does not tolerate these type of people or the crimes they commit!
There is no such thing as to much force when it comes to a little punk trying to take what is yours! Let this be a lesson to all of you that think you don’t have to get a job and work for a living! You can’t just take what you want without some kind of repercussions! If it had been my shop they would both be dead and good riddance! Hell They probably would have given me a medal for doing so! And to the family : If you would have had a real father figure in that boys life he probably would still be alive. It is your fault for letting him get involved with those kind of people to begin with! Now you stand up and say it is a race thing and it just may be considering the judge in this case is of the same ethnic background as the boy was! The DA in this case is just trying to keep a race riot from happening in OK City! He knows as well as everyone else that people from high up are telling him to prosecute the old man to save face with the black community in OKC! As for right and wrong, He did what was right! The two guys that did the robbery were wrong and fate and destiny have had their day! They need to go get the boys mother and charge her with neglect! If she would have provided a better home life and chance for this kid he would still be alive! It is your fault mother of the deceased!
You will have to live with that! So quit trying to turn it around on the old man that protected himself! Your kid should not have been there! And if you were a real parent you would have kept him from being involved whatsoever! But apparently you are not! Stop using the news channels to try and make people believe your son was an angel if he was an angel he would not have been there in the first place.
I may sound like I am rude but no one wants to hear you try to make your son out to be better than what we all saw him do! Live with it and know it was your fault!!!
18 Rippy // May 29, 2009 at 4:36 pm
It is amusing how none of the supporters want to confront the fact that nobody contested the pharmacists right to fire at the robbers. However, when he decided to execute a completely incapacitated victime that is wrong. Or I guess we shoudl just change the laws so that he could have done anything he wanted to the wounded man, just because the guy tried to rob him. Why not let him hang the boy outside his store to learn “those people”? Why not allow him to castrate the still living victim and then slowly burn him alive? After all, if he didnt want to be burned alive, he shouldn’t have committed a crime.
Matter of fact, why not make the death or amputation mandatory for all crimes. After all, if you dont want to get executed, you wont embezzle from that hedge fund. And if you dont want to get your hand chopped off, you wont punch anybody.
Lets just compare US crime statistics to Saudi Arabia’s…oh, hold on…did I say something wrong? Is Saudi Arabia’s justice system not to Oklahoman’s liking? Well, then lets just dig into our own past and bring back the lynch mob. That way the mother of these juveniles could be held accountable as well, perhaps stoned to death? What do you good citizens think?
19 karma // May 29, 2009 at 4:51 pm
outrage. THE ROBBER COULD HAVE GOTTEN UP AND SHOT INNOCENTS AT ANY MOMENT AS HE HAD NOTHING TO LOSE.
The store guy only cares about the safety of his employees and customers and this is what he gets? What if a customer came in and then the kid woke up and tried to flee shooting a customer on his way out? What would we have said then? (We would have said what an idiot he didn’t subdue the robber)
Surely the tables would have been turned.
When someone tries to kill you you don’t stop until they are down. Period. He was probably in cruise control with the training Our Govt gave him. Eliminate the enemy from your personal area so you can rest easy.
Personally I would have been so jacked up on adrenaline I probably would have lopped his head off and put it on a stake out front. I guess he could have gotten a tranquilizer from the store but that would be Illegal for sure.
He did nothing wrong. Robbers were in the wrong here.
20 COCOA // May 29, 2009 at 7:03 pm
This was just and right , this was the fault of his welfare mother and no father in the GUN MAN’S life.
21 Scar // May 30, 2009 at 2:57 am
Many video’s of persons defending themselves will cause thieves to rethink their tactics. Criminals coming in hot instead of the usual “get your hands up”.
22 Craig // May 30, 2009 at 9:31 am
It saddens me to see there are still parts of the country in the 21st century that are as blatantly racist as the Ersland supporters are here. Repeated use of the word “thug” and phrases such as “welfare mother” are completely racist.
Bottom line – do I think the robber deserved to be shot? Yes. I am of the opinion that as soon as a criminal aims a gun or some other weapon in your vicinity, the absolute right to protect one’s self kicks in. Ersland shot and incapacitated one robber while chasing off the other. He had the right to grab the other gun while dialing 911, and again shoot the robber IN THE EVENT THE INJURED ROBBER APPEARED TO BECOME A THREAT AGAIN. Clearly, Ersland did not walk back over to the robber with any sense of urgency. The last 5 shots were fired in cold blood.
Obviously your take on this issue depends on whether you live in a Gun Nut State or a Non-Gun Nut State. Obviously, Oklahoma is a Gun Nut State, and most there will side with Ersland.
However, those of us with a speck of compassion will realize that the first bullet was justified. The other 5 were in cold blood. If Ersland faces a jury of Gun Nuts, he will walk. It’s unfortunate, because he deserves several years in prison, and this will only further hurt race relations if he walks.
23 SF Guy // May 31, 2009 at 4:08 am
IF YOU WANT TO HELP JEROME ERSLAND
Send a CHECK to
JEROME ERSLAND DEFENSE FUND
c/o IRVEN BOX
2621 S Western Ave Oklahoma City, OK 73109
This disabled Vet needs your help.
Please Give.
24 Charles // May 31, 2009 at 8:35 am
Disabled vet shoots armed robber.
And the police are prosecuting the disabled vet?
What a wonderful world for criminals.
Sorry if some may think that “armed robber” or “criminal” might seem to be racist terms.
25 DB // May 31, 2009 at 7:55 pm
The Castle Doctrine, where the term “Make My Day Law” comes from is the landmark 1985 Colorado statute that protects people from any criminal charge or civil suit if they use deadly force. Many versions of the Castle Doctrine, particularly those with a “Stand-Your-Ground clause”, also have a clause which provides immunity from any lawsuit filed on behalf of the assailant for damages/injury resulting from the use of lethal force. The only exceptions to this immunity are generally situations of excessive force, where the defender used deadly force fired on a subdued, cooperative, or disabled assailant. A situation meeting this exception generally invalidates the criminal “Castle Defense” as well.
There are limits folks…
26 Houston Texas // Jun 1, 2009 at 1:56 pm
Jerome Ersland is a hero. His attacker had a gun. His attacker was a terrorist! It doesn’t matter if you shoot him dead in 1 minute or 5 minutes, you shoot to kill or be killed. Why is that so hard to understand?
I sent him money and I urge all of you to do the same:
Checks (not cash ) to:
JEROME ERSLAND DEFENSE FUND
c/o IRVEN BOX
2621 S Western Ave Oklahoma City, OK 73109
27 DB // Jun 1, 2009 at 3:01 pm
Hero? I think not. Now if he would have simply held the suspect at gunpoint and called authorities….I may have reconsidered, but his actions after returning into the pharmacy are anything but heroic..
28 pkn heat // Sep 16, 2009 at 11:58 am
Why does it matter if he shot the guy after the most immediate threat ran out of the building. You cannot see the delinquent off camara, he could have moved or made a motion and Ersland was just making sure he wasn’t pulling a gun on him. How many movies have there been where the bad guy always comes back with another gun. He was doing what he was trained to do-eliminate the threat. The kid made the decision to try to rob someone, he just reaped the consequences. I just wish he would have shot them both
29 Justice for Jerome // Nov 22, 2009 at 10:22 am
Jerome was shot in the wrist/arm. He had to have large bullet fragments painfully removed from his wrist/arm. There are several bullet holes in the wall where he was that were shot by these thugs. They all have criminal records that proves David Prater lied. The punk thugs gun was emptied shooting at Ersland. Lie, no bullets or fragments found by OKC Police? See Video.
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