Ung - Not Guilty

[Bob B 103]

Gerald Ung was found not guilty for the shooting of Eddie DiDonato. The jury agreed that Ung acted in self defense. However, it's not the end of Ung's problems. He faces a possible civil suit and massive legal bills. There's a lot of lessons in this one.

 

 

http://abovethelaw.c...ing/#more-58621

 

http://www.philly.co.../116258729.html

 

http://www.philly.co...y_shooting.html

 

Video is here:

http://www.snowflakesinhell.com/2011/02/11/ung-video-dissected/

[Anselmo 87]

The video tells the story. Looks like Ung's group was being harassed.

 

I think he already has massive legal bills.

[Malsua 1,422]

Clearly DiDonato was thinking "I'm Billy Joe Badazz, he won't shoot me"

 

5 seconds later, he probably realized that was probably the dumbest thing he's ever thought in his life. He still thinks that today and will for the rest of his days as he wheels around or hobbles around on crutches.

 

White hat also looks like he pulls out a gun.

 

I was attacked in a similar fashion at a football game in High School. A crowd of burnouts decided it'd be fun to rough up the next guy who walked past alone. I got cornered and beaten. I was 15 at the time and much smaller than I am today, it was years after that before I felt comfortable walking around without at least a knife on me.

 

If I were Ung, I'd have shot that peckerwood as well. Ung will be paying his lawyer for years and there's probably a civil case coming but he walked away unharmed and turned the table on that effing chickensucker.

[Spartiati 63]

Seems Ung was in the right letter of the law, as the jury also concluded. However considering what this will cost him not sure it was the wisest decision. Unfortunately the way the legal system works may have been better to have just taken an a** beating. I wasnt there but seems highly unlikely he would have died so in the end i feel probably wasnt worth shooting. Just like the saying goes just because you can doesnt mean you should.

[Anselmo 87]

I don't know man. Hindsight is always 20/20. Lots of people get killed or brain damaged in a group fight like that. From what I read, Ung brandished the gun some time before the shooting and the guy that got shot and his friends kept advancing. If the gun didn't scare them off, my crystal ball doesn't know what will happen next. Although, if Ung didn't have the gun, maybe he just runs away instead of defending himself. Lots of ifs.

[BRaptor 68]

Seems Ung was in the right letter of the law, as the jury also concluded. However considering what this will cost him not sure it was the wisest decision. Unfortunately the way the legal system works may have been better to have just taken an a** beating. I wasnt there but seems highly unlikely he would have died so in the end i feel probably wasnt worth shooting. Just like the saying goes just because you can doesnt mean you should.

 

One of the joys of liberty is that each man can make that decision for himself when the time comes for him to make that decision. I respect your choice to say you'd rather get your a$$ kicked. I'm a little shocked that you're willing to put your life in those drunken asshats' hands. Your life doesn't have to be in imminent danger for it to be self-defense. You only have to reasonably believe that you are in danger of serious bodily injury.

 

Still, are you sure they would stop beating you after you lost consciousness? What do they do to the other people in your party while you're laying there bleeding and unconscious on the sidewalk? Are you sure you won't get permanant brain damage from the beating you're about to take? What happens if you do become permanantly disabled and the clowns that beat you are penniless, so your civil suit gets you a nice, big, fat judgment that you can't collect on?

 

I'm not saying your choice of don't shoot is wrong. I'm just saying Ung's choice wasn't wrong and could very well have been the best outcome in that situation.

[Zed's_Dead 16]

One of the joys of liberty is that each man can make that decision for himself when the time comes for him to make that decision. I respect your choice to say you'd rather get your a$$ kicked. I'm a little shocked that you're willing to put your life in those drunken asshats' hands. Your life doesn't have to be in imminent danger for it to be self-defense. You only have to reasonably believe that you are in danger of serious bodily injury.

 

Still, are you sure they would stop beating you after you lost consciousness? What do they do to the other people in your party while you're laying there bleeding and unconscious on the sidewalk? Are you sure you won't get permanant brain damage from the beating you're about to take? What happens if you do become permanantly disabled and the clowns that beat you are penniless, so your civil suit gets you a nice, big, fat judgment that you can't collect on?

 

I'm not saying your choice of don't shoot is wrong. I'm just saying Ung's choice wasn't wrong and could very well have been the best outcome in that situation.

 

+1

[Spartiati 63]

I don't know man. Hindsight is always 20/20. Lots of people get killed or brain damaged in a group fight like that. From what I read, Ung brandished the gun some time before the shooting and the guy that got shot and his friends kept advancing. If the gun didn't scare them off, my crystal ball doesn't know what will happen next. Although, if Ung didn't have the gun, maybe he just runs away instead of defending himself. Lots of ifs.

Agree not an easy decision and who knows what other options there were before this thing got out of hand. Though seems like maybe there was an opportunity not to take such a defensive stance and perhaps just defuse by moving on but who knows. Ive been in many altercations and most of the time there is a way out just by not fueling the situation and feeling like you need to stand your ground even though you are in the right.

[Spartiati 63]

One of the joys of liberty is that each man can make that decision for himself when the time comes for him to make that decision. I respect your choice to say you'd rather get your a$$ kicked. I'm a little shocked that you're willing to put your life in those drunken asshats' hands. Your life doesn't have to be in imminent danger for it to be self-defense. You only have to reasonably believe that you are in danger of serious bodily injury.

 

Still, are you sure they would stop beating you after you lost consciousness? What do they do to the other people in your party while you're laying there bleeding and unconscious on the sidewalk? Are you sure you won't get permanant brain damage from the beating you're about to take? What happens if you do become permanantly disabled and the clowns that beat you are penniless, so your civil suit gets you a nice, big, fat judgment that you can't collect on?

 

I'm not saying your choice of don't shoot is wrong. I'm just saying Ung's choice wasn't wrong and could very well have been the best outcome in that situation.

All valid points and again I wasn't there so who knows. But I'd be willing to bet Ung is thinking, what if I just ran away or what if I just kept my mouth shut and ignored what those guys were saying. Maybe they would have just left me alone. Cases like this just make me think of ways to avoid the conflict all together. Based on what I read seems as though there may have been an opportunity to avoid this but it is not clear.

[axeman_g 128]

I would like to see transcripts of this trial. I am really interested to know what the white hat friend of victim was doing. In the surv videos it certainly looked as if he was pulling a gun from IWB at 4:00. Maybe a knife?

 

Probably all about a woman.

[BRaptor 68]

All valid points and again I wasn't there so who knows. But I'd be willing to bet Ung is thinking, what if I just ran away or what if I just kept my mouth shut and ignored what those guys were saying. Maybe they would have just left me alone. Cases like this just make me think of ways to avoid the conflict all together. Based on what I read seems as though there may have been an opportunity to avoid this but it is not clear.

 

You're right. It possibly comes down to the old saying: "when all you have is a hammer, all your problems look like nails." Perhaps, if Ung didn't have a gun, he may have backed down, talked less or worked harder to talk the situation down and it may have worked....

[gunnyr 17]

Perhaps, if Ung didn't have a gun, he may have backed down, talked less or worked harder to talk the situation down and it may have worked....

There are plenty of ccw holders who do exactly that because they are carrying and would prefer not to draw down on or shoot someone. Much like anything else, it's not the tool, it's the person using it.

[71ragtopgoat 23]

Believe me I have taken a beating from a drunken group of guys.They kicked my head like a soccer ball. The only thing that saved me was throwing one guy over a railing down a flight of stairs I dont know who it was with all the blood in my eyes. But nobody wanted to be next so it king of ended there.Ung did the right thing. Kids today have no mercy.

[Spartiati 63]

You're right. It possibly comes down to the old saying: "when all you have is a hammer, all your problems look like nails." Perhaps, if Ung didn't have a gun, he may have backed down, talked less or worked harder to talk the situation down and it may have worked....

I agree, think there is always that risk, but I also feel it shouldn't preclude carrying for protection. Just need to think through these things fully prior to them happening. Cases like this are good scencarios to draw upon to have a mental framework of what steps to take should something like this happen. Every situation of course is unique but having some sort of frame work of what if's before hand can help prevent making a decision you regret later. Think a lot people arm themselves whithout doing this kind of mental analysis to prepare for situations like this.