gunsmith
member
http://durangoherald.com/asp-bin/ar...e=news&article_path=/news/07/news070113_2.htm
Towaoc man acquitted in bayonet-death case
January 13, 2007
By Shane Benjamin | Herald Staff Writer
A Towaoc man accused of killing another man by stabbing him 21 times with a bayonet attached to the end of a rifle has been acquitted.
Charleston "Chuck" Lang was charged with second-degree murder and a firearm violation in the death of Felix "Phil" Hammond.
On Thursday, a 12-person jury in the federal courtroom in Bodo Industrial Park acquitted Lang on both charges. In order for jurors to find Lang guilty of the firearm violation, they needed to find him guilty of second-degree murder, because the firearm charge accused Lang of brandishing an assault bayonet rifle to kill Hammond; it is against the law to carry a weapon in the commission of a crime.
The stabbing death occurred July 30, 2005, on Sundance Drive in Towaoc on the Ute Mountain Ute Indian Reservation.
Defense lawyer Edward Harris said Lang was defending himself and his girlfriend against a drunken Hammond after Hammond entered his house uninvited, unwelcome and with bad intentions. He said Lang is the victim, because he tried unsuccessfully to make Hammond leave, his efforts resulted in death, and finally, prosecutors charged him with murder.
At the time of his death, Hammond had a blood-alcohol level of at least 0.35 - more than four times the legal driving limit of .08. Lang also had reportedly been drinking, but his blood-alcohol level was unknown.
Durango ColoradoReal Estate
Prosecutors said Lang stabbed Hammond, a fellow tribal member, 21 times with a bayonet attached to the end of a rifle. Some of the wounds were defensive wounds on his hands and forearms - suggesting that Hammond was trying to defend himself against an attack. What's more, none of the wounds was so serious that medics couldn't have possibly saved his life, according to prosecutors and a coroner. But instead of notifying authorities, Lang dragged Hammond's bloody body out of the house and to the driveway.
The case was a difficult one, but an important one to pursue for prosecutors, wrote Jeffrey Dorschner, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Denver, in an e-mail Friday.
"The U.S. Attorney's Office will continue to prosecute violent crimes on the Ute Mountain Ute and Southern Ute reservations, and the U.S. attorney will continue to personally advocate for additional law enforcement resources for the area."
Had Lang been convicted of second-degree murder, he faced life in prison.
Towaoc man acquitted in bayonet-death case
January 13, 2007
By Shane Benjamin | Herald Staff Writer
A Towaoc man accused of killing another man by stabbing him 21 times with a bayonet attached to the end of a rifle has been acquitted.
Charleston "Chuck" Lang was charged with second-degree murder and a firearm violation in the death of Felix "Phil" Hammond.
On Thursday, a 12-person jury in the federal courtroom in Bodo Industrial Park acquitted Lang on both charges. In order for jurors to find Lang guilty of the firearm violation, they needed to find him guilty of second-degree murder, because the firearm charge accused Lang of brandishing an assault bayonet rifle to kill Hammond; it is against the law to carry a weapon in the commission of a crime.
The stabbing death occurred July 30, 2005, on Sundance Drive in Towaoc on the Ute Mountain Ute Indian Reservation.
Defense lawyer Edward Harris said Lang was defending himself and his girlfriend against a drunken Hammond after Hammond entered his house uninvited, unwelcome and with bad intentions. He said Lang is the victim, because he tried unsuccessfully to make Hammond leave, his efforts resulted in death, and finally, prosecutors charged him with murder.
At the time of his death, Hammond had a blood-alcohol level of at least 0.35 - more than four times the legal driving limit of .08. Lang also had reportedly been drinking, but his blood-alcohol level was unknown.
Durango ColoradoReal Estate
Prosecutors said Lang stabbed Hammond, a fellow tribal member, 21 times with a bayonet attached to the end of a rifle. Some of the wounds were defensive wounds on his hands and forearms - suggesting that Hammond was trying to defend himself against an attack. What's more, none of the wounds was so serious that medics couldn't have possibly saved his life, according to prosecutors and a coroner. But instead of notifying authorities, Lang dragged Hammond's bloody body out of the house and to the driveway.
The case was a difficult one, but an important one to pursue for prosecutors, wrote Jeffrey Dorschner, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Denver, in an e-mail Friday.
"The U.S. Attorney's Office will continue to prosecute violent crimes on the Ute Mountain Ute and Southern Ute reservations, and the U.S. attorney will continue to personally advocate for additional law enforcement resources for the area."
Had Lang been convicted of second-degree murder, he faced life in prison.
Am I the only one who has never heard of this type of gun before?
