Oops! Wrong Guy!!!

[Jerk]

I really like stories with a happy ending!

By BILL MONTGOMERY, BETH WARREN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 05/30/06

A former Marine who police say killed a woman that attacked him during a gang robbery attempt told reporters Tuesday he acted only to save his life.

"My first instinct was to run," said former Cpl. Thomas Autry, 36. "Those kids were younger than me. They caught me and cornered me. It was about life preservation."

"I'm sorry this whole thing happened. I hate this world has gotten to the point where it is predatory," said a shaken Autry.

The pack of would-be robbers, including a 17-year-old woman, might have mistaken the tall, thin, waiter for an easy mark, said police. But, the bandits picked the wrong victim, said Atlanta police homicide Detective Danny Stephens. The former Marine, cornered by his pursuers on Penn Avenue at 4th Street, fought back with a pocket knife in a deadly melee that left the young woman dead and a man in his late teens seriously injured at a hospital.

Autry suffered minor injuries, including a cut to his hand.

The woman, identified as Amy Martin, had just had a birthday May 10, said Investigator Mark Gilbeau with the Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office. An autopsy was expected to be completed Tuesday. "Cause of death will be stab wounds, but we don't know how many yet," Gilbeau said.

Early reports were that Martin was pregnant, but the autopsy concluded otherwise, said the Fulton Medical Examiner's Office.

The teenager lived in an apartment at 3000 Stone Hogan Connector in southwest Atlanta, south of Greenbriar Mall near East Point, Gilbeau said. A young man also stabbed in the robbery attempt remained in critical condition, he added.

The identities of the surviving suspects, who Stephens said are believed to be linked to "a lot" of pedestrian robberies in Midtown and Virginia-Highland, were not released. They face aggravated assault and robbery charges, police said.

Autry will not be charged, Stephens said. "It was a clear case of self defense."

Stephens said Autry had left his job at the Jocks & Jills restaurant in Midtown and was walking along Penn Avenue when a blue Cadillac pulled alongside and three men, one armed with a shotgun, and the woman jumped from the car.

"This group had robbed two men on Piedmont earlier Monday night, taking a video camera and a cellphone," Stephens said.

"Autry takes off running, and they chase him. During the chase, Autry's trying to get into his backpack to get a pocket knife, which slows him down," Stephens said.

During the chase, Autry repeatedly yelled "fire, fire," which Stephens said attracted nearby residents' attention.

Grabbing the knife from his backpack, Autry managed to kick the shotgun from the man's hands and stabbed the woman in the chest, fatally wounding her. Stephens said. In the melee, Autry also stabbed one of the male suspects. Another suspect attempted to shoot Autry with a .380 pistol, which misfired, Stephens said.

The suspects ran back to the Cadillac and drove to Atlanta Medical Center, where police arrested them.

Autry, honorably discharged in 1992 after serving in Operation Desert Storm in Saudi Arabia, spoke to a gaggle of reporters from the porch of his apartment about six block north of the King Center in downtown Atlanta.

Autry recounted the attack, saying he first realize something was amiss when he saw a white cat scurry across the road. That's when he turned around and saw the armed attackers getting out of a stopped car.

He said his military training kicked in, but "what really helped me was growing up in New York."

He said he changed his locks after the incident because of security concerns.

When told that many in the metro area consider him a hero for his actions, Autry disagreed.

"The heroes are those guys out there fighting for us every day and not getting respect," he said, referring to military personnel fighting in Iraq and elsewhere. "That [killing the attacker] wasn't admirable, it was fight or flight and I tried the flight."

[Okla-homey]

I really like stories with a happy ending!

By BILL MONTGOMERY, BETH WARREN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 05/30/06

A former Marine who police say killed a woman that attacked him during a gang robbery attempt told reporters Tuesday he acted only to save his life.

"My first instinct was to run," said former Cpl. Thomas Autry, 36. "Those kids were younger than me. They caught me and cornered me. It was about life preservation."

"I'm sorry this whole thing happened. I hate this world has gotten to the point where it is predatory," said a shaken Autry.

The pack of would-be robbers, including a 17-year-old woman, might have mistaken the tall, thin, waiter for an easy mark, said police. But, the bandits picked the wrong victim, said Atlanta police homicide Detective Danny Stephens. The former Marine, cornered by his pursuers on Penn Avenue at 4th Street, fought back with a pocket knife in a deadly melee that left the young woman dead and a man in his late teens seriously injured at a hospital.

Autry suffered minor injuries, including a cut to his hand.

The woman, identified as Amy Martin, had just had a birthday May 10, said Investigator Mark Gilbeau with the Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office. An autopsy was expected to be completed Tuesday. "Cause of death will be stab wounds, but we don't know how many yet," Gilbeau said.

Early reports were that Martin was pregnant, but the autopsy concluded otherwise, said the Fulton Medical Examiner's Office.

The teenager lived in an apartment at 3000 Stone Hogan Connector in southwest Atlanta, south of Greenbriar Mall near East Point, Gilbeau said. A young man also stabbed in the robbery attempt remained in critical condition, he added.

The identities of the surviving suspects, who Stephens said are believed to be linked to "a lot" of pedestrian robberies in Midtown and Virginia-Highland, were not released. They face aggravated assault and robbery charges, police said.

Autry will not be charged, Stephens said. "It was a clear case of self defense."

Stephens said Autry had left his job at the Jocks & Jills restaurant in Midtown and was walking along Penn Avenue when a blue Cadillac pulled alongside and three men, one armed with a shotgun, and the woman jumped from the car.

"This group had robbed two men on Piedmont earlier Monday night, taking a video camera and a cellphone," Stephens said.

"Autry takes off running, and they chase him. During the chase, Autry's trying to get into his backpack to get a pocket knife, which slows him down," Stephens said.

During the chase, Autry repeatedly yelled "fire, fire," which Stephens said attracted nearby residents' attention.

Grabbing the knife from his backpack, Autry managed to kick the shotgun from the man's hands and stabbed the woman in the chest, fatally wounding her. Stephens said. In the melee, Autry also stabbed one of the male suspects. Another suspect attempted to shoot Autry with a .380 pistol, which misfired, Stephens said.

The suspects ran back to the Cadillac and drove to Atlanta Medical Center, where police arrested them.

Autry, honorably discharged in 1992 after serving in Operation Desert Storm in Saudi Arabia, spoke to a gaggle of reporters from the porch of his apartment about six block north of the King Center in downtown Atlanta.

Autry recounted the attack, saying he first realize something was amiss when he saw a white cat scurry across the road. That's when he turned around and saw the armed attackers getting out of a stopped car.

He said his military training kicked in, but "what really helped me was growing up in New York."

He said he changed his locks after the incident because of security concerns.

When told that many in the metro area consider him a hero for his actions, Autry disagreed.

"The heroes are those guys out there fighting for us every day and not getting respect," he said, referring to military personnel fighting in Iraq and elsewhere. "That [killing the attacker] wasn't admirable, it was fight or flight and I tried the flight."

If he'd had a concealed carry permit, he wouldn't have cut his hand in the fight and perhaps there would be no "surviving suspects." Just saying.:D

[Jerk]

Here's a follow up article. Sounds like these kids were white wanna-be's.

http://www.ajc.com/sunday/content/ep...fc14500e1.html

Rap culture cited in alleged attack by teens
Andrea Jones, Paul Donsky - Staff
Sunday, June 4, 2006

Amy Martin had three answers when asked whom she admired most for a school project: her grandfather, Martin Luther King Jr. and Tupac Shakur.

Like thousands of teens, Martin idolized Shakur, a rap star whose violent death a decade ago epitomized the thug culture he helped shape.

Friday, it was Martin in the coffin --- the victim, her friends say, of trying too hard to live the kind of life she saw in rap videos.

Stabbed to death by a former Marine as she and four other teens allegedly held him up at gunpoint on a dark Midtown street, Martin died less than a month after her 17th birthday.

"It wasn't like her to do something like that," said her friend, Tiffany Lowery, 16. "She was influenced by people around her."

The four boys who were with Martin on Memorial Day face felony charges of armed robbery and assault. One of the teens, 18-year-old Christopher Daniel, remains at Atlanta Medical Center in serious condition with stab wounds to the chest.

After Martin's funeral, where teens, some clad in bandanas and drooping pants, remembered their friend, Atlanta police investigator R.C. Huffman stood outside, shaking his head. Huffman serves as the school resource officer at Grady High School, where Martin and some of the teenagers involved had attended.

"These kids went to the right schools. They had all the chances," Huffman said. "They just wanted to portray this image that they're bad, they're tough."

The teens all came from middle-class families, he said. At least two had mothers who were teachers. Most lived in well-kept subdivisions with tidy lawns.

"They all had money. They all could have gone the other way," said Lasasha Matthews, 17, a rising senior at Grady. "It doesn't make any sense."

Martin's friends described her as a goofy girl who loved dancing, clubbing and writing poetry. She had been working at Six Flags over Georgia for about three months and had started dating Keyunta Dowell, who was also running the rides at the popular theme park.

Atlanta police say Dowell, 16, was another one of the teenagers in the car the night they tried to rob a terrified Thomas Autry, a Desert Storm veteran on his way home from work as a waiter. Cornered by his pursuers, he fought back with a pocketknife.

Police say it wasn't the first time the teenage robbery crew had attacked a victim on the streets.

The five carried three guns --- two shotguns and a pistol --- and rode in a dark blue Cadillac that belonged to the mother of Christopher Hayes, 18, according to incident reports.

Also in the car, the reports said, was Kendall Barksdale, 17, an athletic and popular high school senior set to graduate from Grady last Wednesday. He had planned to head for college in the fall, friends and family said.

Anticipating his graduation day, Kendall's family hung a banner from the staircase overlooking the living room of his home. "Congratulations Kendall & Robert," the sign read, also noting the graduation of Kendall's younger brother from middle school.

Kendall's grandfather, Rubin Lowery, said he still can't believe what happened.

"It definitely was a shock," said Lowery, doing yard work in the front yard of the large brick home he shares with Kendall and his family. "What was he thinking about?"

The anguish in Lowery's voice was palpable. Kendall had always been a good kid, he said, getting good grades and minding his parents.

Kendall had at least nine tattoos, according to a 2005 article in the Grady High School newspaper, with plans to cover even more of his body in artwork.

Lowery blames Kendall's friends for leading him astray.

"We tried to tell him to choose his friends better," Lowery said.

"Kids are kids," he said. "No matter who their father is, where they are from, kids have a mind of their own."

Lowery said Kendall must be held accountable for his actions.

"I told his mother, 'If he has done something wrong, the law applies to everybody.' "

Last Thursday, the "congratulations" sign remained in place. A high school yearbook on the coffee table was turned to Kendall's picture.

"It's awful. It really hurts," his grandfather said. "To see a kid as smart as that . . . do some dumb [stuff] like that --- I don't really understand."

Hayes, the driver of the Cadillac, lives in a sprawling new subdivision in Douglas County, with tidy brick homes on winding streets surrounding a swim and tennis center.

Neighborhood children have drawn a hop-scotch court in the street.

A soccer goal sits in a neighbor's backyard. The family did not return messages left on an answering machine last week, but Hayes' defense attorney Bruce Harvey said Hayes "has never been in trouble before and is in no sense a thug." Hayes previously worked at American Express at the Atlanta airport, Harvey said.

"He's clearly upset," Harvey said. "He's the one that drove immediately to the hospital. It's sad. It's a tragedy for young people."

At Martin's funeral Friday in Southwest Atlanta, Pastor Craig Oliver challenged teens to give up their fascination with the hip hop lifestyle and turn their lives around. With his deep voice echoing though the pews at Elizabeth Baptist Church, Oliver told teens to "get yourself together, get a GED, get a diploma, get a meaningful job."

"Stop thinking it's cool to be a thug," he said. Oliver also asked teens to unload their guns and drop them off at the church.

Dozens came forward, many weeping, promising to give up their weapons. By Saturday afternoon, the church had collected at least three guns.

--- Staff writers Beth Warren and Bill Montgomery contributed to this article.

[walkoffsooner]

Rap music at its best.

[TheHumanAlphabet]

Just came back from ATL, the kids were black.

If an ATL story has the word "Grady" in it, it probably doesn't mean anyone from North Dekalb county or North Fulton county...

[Jerk]

Just came back from ATL, the kids were black.

If an ATL story has the word "Grady" in it, it probably doesn't mean anyone from North Dekalb county or North Fulton county...

Well THANK GOD the person they chose to attack was a non-white. If it were a white dude, Jesse Jackson would have been on the first plane down there to decry the injustice of the oppressed minorah-tay who was just tryin' to get ahead in a cold cruel world where 'the man' is constantly holding brothers down.

[tulsaoilerfan]

Well THANK GOD the person they chose to attack was a non-white. If it were a white dude, Jesse Jackson would have been on the first plane down there to decry the injustice of the oppressed minorah-tay who was just tryin' to get ahead in a cold cruel world where 'the man' is constantly holding brothers down.
Word!!!;)

[sooneron]

Bernard Goetz lives in my buddies apartment building...

[Jerk]

Just came back from ATL, the kids were black.

If an ATL story has the word "Grady" in it, it probably doesn't mean anyone from North Dekalb county or North Fulton county...


for some reason I had this mental image of them being white, you know, like wanna-be's from a suburban school.

[sooneron]

for some reason I had this mental image of them being white, you know, like wanna-be's from a suburban school.
I saw this little punk the other day with an oversized jersey and really baggy shorts with the hat all fucocked to the side. He was walking around like he was the **** - all 92 lbs of him! I wanted to punch him, he looked so stupid. Or at least walk up to his parents and suggest military school.

[yermom]

I saw this little punk the other day with an oversized jersey and really baggy shorts with the hat all fucocked to the side. He was walking around like he was the **** - all 92 lbs of him! I wanted to punch him, he looked so stupid. Or at least walk up to his parents and suggest military school.

if it wasn't for the 92 lbs thing i would think you might have been talking about someone i know

:dolemite:

[Okla-homey]

I saw this little punk the other day with an oversized jersey and really baggy shorts with the hat all fucocked to the side. He was walking around like he was the **** - all 92 lbs of him! I wanted to punch him, he looked so stupid. Or at least walk up to his parents and suggest military school.

That look is cool on a brutha. Lame looking on a white kid. It somehow seems as awkward and forced as a kilt on an asian guy or a cowboy hat on an east indian. just saying.

[sooneron]

That look is cool on a brutha. Lame looking on a white kid. It somehow seems as awkward and forced as a kilt on an asian guy or a cowboy hat on an east indian. just saying.
Yeah, it was hilarious. He kind of looked like Jamie Kennedy in Malibu's Most Wanted. He had a big chain too. I wonder if they have a wee lad section at the chain store....