Self Defense in Texas: 22LR Single Shot Beats AR15 & .40 Cal

Opinion

On October 11, 2018, a grand jury found Dakota Wayne Kirkman not guilty of the shooting which seems to have been justified by reason of self-defense.
On October 11, 2018, a grand jury found Dakota Wayne Kirkman not guilty of the shooting which seems to have been justified by reason of self-defense.

Arizona -(Ammoland.com)- The gunfight happened in the early morning hours of 17 August 2018. The location was 867 Bootlegger Lane in Yoakum, Texas.  Yoakum is a small town in Texas, about halfway between San Antonio and Houston.

There was “bad blood” between Dakota Wayne Kirkman, 19, and Manuel Martinez III, 36.  The men lived about 22 miles apart. Yoakum is in DeWitt County, Texas. Kirkman and his girlfriend lived in Hallettsville in Lavaca County, Texas.

Dakota did not want his live-in girlfriend to hang around Martinez and his wife. His girlfriend, Martinez, and Martinez’ wife were at Martinez’ house when Kirkman came to bring his girlfriend home.  Kirkman arrived in his truck. He had a singleshot .22 rifle and one cartridge, loaded in the chamber.

Kirkman and Martinez got into a verbal altercation. The Sheriff reported that alcohol was involved.

The altercation escalated into a gunfight. Cartridge cases found at the scene indicated that Martinez fired 15 shots from an AR15 type rifle and 12 shots from a .40 caliber pistol.

Most of the action seems to have happened while Kirkman was in or around his truck. 13 bullet holes were found in the truck. 11 of the bullet holes were from  .223 cartridges. Two of the bullet holes were from a .40 caliber pistol.

Kirkman is recorded as firing one shot from his single shot .22 caliber rifle. The shot struck Martinez in the chest, killing him.

Law enforcement was called at 2:43 a.m.  From cuerorecord.com:

When law enforcement made it to the location, a man was found lying in the front yard with an apparent gunshot wound. The initial investigation indicated an ongoing tension between the deceased and the alleged shooter. The murder weapon was a .22 rifle.

DeWitt County Justice of the Peace, Pct. 1, Peggy Mayer was called at 3:08 a.m. and later announced Martinez dead at the scene.

“This is a tragic loss of life, and our hearts go out to Martinez’s family,” DeWitt County Sheriff Carl Bowen said in a press release.

According to Bowen, there was an altercation and an exchange of gunfire between two men. Kirkman left the location on Bootlegger Lane with his girlfriend and ended up at their home at 32 Private Road 4006 in Hallettsville.

Kirkman was taken into custody without incident.

Dakota Kirkman was held at the DeWitt County jail for 55 days. Bail was set at $500,000.

On October 11, 2018, the grand jury found Kirkman to have been justified by reason of self-defense. From victoriaadvocate.com:

Investigators documented 11 bullet holes made by a .223-caliber rifle and two from a .40-caliber pistol. An AR-15 and .40-caliber pistol were found near Martinez’s body along with 15 rifle and 12 pistol casings. One of the bullets passed through the truck’s frame near the driver’s seat belt fastener, said Lassmann, who added if Kirkman had not been crouching in his seat, he likely would have been shot.

“(Kirkman) must have been scared to death,” Lassmann said.

The number of bullets fired by Martinez stood in stark contrast to the single, fatal shot from Kirkman’s antique, bolt-action .22-caliber rifle. Additionally, evidence showed Kirkman went to the home on Bootlegger Lane with only a single round chambered in his rifle and no other ammo in his vehicle.

That contrast further emphasized the likelihood that Kirkman acted in self-defense, Lassmann said.

Investigators documented 11 bullet holes made by a .223-caliber rifle and two from a .40-caliber pistol. An AR-15 and .40-caliber pistol were found near Martinez’s body along with 15 rifle and 12 pistol casings.
Investigators documented 11 bullet holes made by a .223-caliber rifle and two from a .40-caliber pistol. An AR-15 and .40-caliber pistol were found near Martinez’s body along with 15 rifle and 12 pistol casings.

There is a great deal about this story we do not know, and may never know.

  • Did Dakota shoot from inside of the truck, or did he take cover outside of the truck?
  • What were the lighting conditions?
  • How impaired with alcohol or drugs were the participants? While the Sheriff says alcohol was involved, at least one commenter at the Victoria Advocate claimed that alcohol was not involved.
  • How far apart were the adversaries?

It has been reported the women involved were inside while the gunfight occurred outside.  The only surviving eyewitness to the events appears to be Dakota Wayne Kirkman.

There are lessons to be learned from this incident.

First, avoid confrontation if possible. While Dakota Wayne Kirkman survived, the odds are he wished it could have been avoided.

Second, any gun can be deadly in a gunfight. Do not disparage the .22 rimfire. Every game animal on earth, including elephants, has been killed with .22 rimfires.  Many, many humans have been killed with .22 rimfires.

Third, if possible to do safely, stay at the scene of a shooting until the authorities arrive. Leaving the scene may be taken as an admission of guilt. If you cannot stay safely, contact the authorities as soon as possible.

Fourth, an arrest for murder does not mean a murder was committed. The grand jury found this to be a clear case of self-defense.


About Dean Weingarten:Dean Weingarten

Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of constitutional carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and recently retired from the Department of Defense after a 30-year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.

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Gunwrites

The .22LR rifle was not the “murder weapon”. It was however, the “self-defense tool” that saved the man’s life.

Erik

Yes, I saw that also. It is depressing that writers cannot get this correct.

Merlin Olson

The best defense weapon in the world is the one you have with you when you really need it.

Doug

What I find worthy of commentary is the fact that the defender/victim had a $500,000 bond and sat in county jail for 55 days. Unless you like bologna sandwiches and stark decor, I would advise getting defensive shooting protection/insurance from one of the many providers like USCCA, NRA, CCWSafe, Law Shield. Some policies have coverage for bail so you don’t have to mortgage your life to be free until trial and can better serve your defense. Oh, and miss out on bologna and PB&J sandwiches everyday during your wait.

Bobofthelinks

And, missing out on all of the beatings and sexual assaults perpetrated on oneself while you were waiting to be found innocent. USCCA is the way to go, for me.

Godislove

He was in there for a charge of murder, therefore he was in a one man cell, no other inmates could come in his cell.

Scotty Gunn

Considering the plate welded on the hood of his pickup, I doubt he had even five bucks for bail.

Cecil Brooks

Or the money to pay for a USCCA membership!!!

Old 1811

Rereading the story, Kirkman fled the scene and returned to the girlfriend’s home. The article doesn’t say whether or not he called the authorities at any time after the shooting.
Fleeing the scene is usually seen as evidence of guilt, and if he didn’t call the 911 after the shooting, he put himself in a world of hurt.
This guy should give everyone on the grand jury a big wet sloppy kiss. He did everything he could to put himself in Huntsville, and they gave him a pass. The only thing he did right was properly place his one shot.

Ron

So much for beginning with a 4.
And I agree, placement! And his girlfriend should have perhaps listened to him.
It is a shame he lost 55 days of his life behind bars. Happens all the time.

The other Jim

Since Kirkman did not have $500,000 to give to DeWitt County to bail himself out and had his freedom taken for 55 days, how much is DeWitt County going to give to him?

Mark

A 4th lesson is never be involved with a woman who doesn’t listen to good advise. For the sake of their relationship, she should have listened to Kirkman. He probably knew things about Martinez that were red flags.

RegT

Yes, calling the old single-shot .22 the “murder weapon” is so ludicrous it makes me think the people investigating the incident decided Kirkman was at fault from the start. Obviously not “forensic scientists”, if they imagined a man with a single shot .22 LR threatened a man with an AR and a .40 cal pistol, then stood there while shot at with both guns.

Zippy

Another story had some additional info saying the woman his wife was meeting was her sister. That link is in a post above this one.

Plus, it’s not like he owns his wife. She can see whoever she wants and long as she’s not cheating; at which point a divorce would be in order.

Surprised the guy fled the scene and we’re supposed to take his word he had no additional firearms or ammo in the truck and that the other guy fired first on his own property.

Godislove

Exactly the case.

tomcat

It sounds pretty clear to me that a ton of bullet holes from Martinez makes him the perp and one shot from the 19 yr. old stopped the barrage of bullets. I’m sure Martinez didn’t fire after he was fatally hit in the chest.

RegT

Which re-enforces my belief that, if _anyone_ was impaired by alcohol or drugs, it most likely was Martinez. I seriously doubt Kirkman could have killed him with a single .22 LR if he had been impaired by alcohol or drugs.

And concerning the person who thinks Martinez was shooting to disable the truck – why would he do that if he wanted the kid to leave? I think it is more likely he was trying to stop Kirkman, not Kirkman’s truck.

Godislove

It was Martinez who was drunk, Kirkman was not drinking.

Zippy

Doubtful. Could happen of course, one shot and immediate incapacitation. Guy could be terminal with a bullet hole in his chest and still manage to get off that number of rounds. Not out of the realm of possibility.

Plenty of shootings, both in the civilian/police world and in the theater of war where someone is shoot and continues on for some time later.

Nathan Lee

I’m wondering how the 22 year old got good placement with a single shot while being fired at. Are they sure he didn’t fire the first shot and all those rounds we’re in response from a dying man?

Britny caraway

Yes it was exactly that I’m sure but it’s dakota and his girlfriends and sisters word against a dead man…also Manuel has never been married

Britny caraway

He also shot him with his own gun and was on Manuel’s property…they covered up everything he shot his own truck…Manuel was a gun collector and the gun he was killed with was a gift from him to Dakota for Christmas…

Godislove

There was no cover up, that’s the meth messing with your mind. Get off the meth already. You done lost your kids because of the meth and your lucky you’re not in prison for doing meth while you were pregnant. Get your life together and stop all the lies.

Wild Bill

Kirkman needs direction in his life. If he does not enlist, he will be headed for more trouble. Kirkman does not have the personal discipline to prosper absent some good old fashioned regimentation.

Rokflyer

@WB that’s probably good advisement Wild Bill, Frankly I’m amazed at this whole situation. He did show up at another mans residence armed, possibly his motive was pure, but could be suspect. He has been given a gift, how he interprets and utilizes this gift will determine his whole life. I heard that in your advisement. I hope he is a listener and a practitioner of an experience led life, those that aren’t, get gobbled up by the system quickly.

LARRY

How could this possibly be known wild bill? For all anyone knows he could have been on his way to deliver that one bullet to a butcher hog and was redirected..He was 19, But who knows, he could have been a model youth in his church group.. They said Alcohol was involved, But it doesnt give any details, are we to jump to conclusions that the boy was drinking?.

Wild Bill

@Larry, with all due respect, based upon the facts presented, measured by my own life experience, I made a guess. No one can actually know the future, and I did not claim to know his future. Here are some of the facts upon which I make my guess: ” happened in the early morning hours…” ” There was “bad blood” between … Kirkman … and … Martinez .” “The men lived about 22 miles apart…” ” live-in girlfriend to hang around Martinez … ” “… Kirkman came to bring his girlfriend home.” If you need more, Larry, I can explain… Read more »

Godislove

The boy was not drinking, it was Manuel who was drunk.

revjen45

1) Arriving armed doesn’t mean that he gunned up for a fight. Anybody who carries regularly will arrive armed wherever they go.
2) Anybody who DOES get gunned up before a visit doesn’t choose a .22 single shot.
3) Spray and pray sucks. Shot placement is king.

Tionico

Remember, the kid is nineteen. I’m guessing his family are not well off, probably a hardscrabble lot getting by. Take another look at that “entry level” piece of junk he’s driving about.. or was, until Marinez ventilated it. My guess is he’s got no insurance that would cover that dmage, so he’ll just patch it back together and ride it some more, bullet holes and all. But hey, he’s got it together enough to have a vehicle, a rifle, and a girlfriend, and one would suppose, a roof over his head. We see plenty twice his age living on the… Read more »

Rokflyer

Very good point Tio, I know young guys just like him in my own small town. I think he is just a blue collar kid who got thrown into a real life situation he probably was not prepared for. In the winter of 2017 we had an event almost like this in our community. A job related feud lead to a beer store late night shooting between a 38 year old and a 21 year old. No one died, but shots were fired, and the 21 year old was left standing, he had been bullied by the older man for… Read more »

BillyBob Texas

.22 . ?????? Well, I’ve heard lotsa stories that the Professional Hit Men (at least the ones on TV ) put the ‘quiet’ .22 right behind the vic’s ear to do the dastardly deed. Maybe THAT is why the .22 is so deadly…? 🙂

Old 1811

I don’t think there was any question about who fired first. I think the question was whether Kirkman really was an innocent party, or whether he started the fight by confronting Martinez. That would make him the aggressor, make the fight a “mutual combat” situation (like the idiots involved in the mattress-in-the-dumpster killing), and destroy a legitimate self-defense claim. And the fact that “alcohol was involved” may have hurt his claim. Kirkman may have been drinking (the article doesn’t say who had been drinking, only that someone had). it’s harder to claim your actions were reasonable and justified if you’re… Read more »

Godislove

Martinez was the one drinking not Kirkman.

Tionico

Like our old friend Mas always says: any gun will do if YOU will do. Makes me wonder what might have happened had he NOT had his puny truck gun along…… What amazes me is that the coppers, once on the scene, find 27 empty brass near the dead guy, and 13 bullet holes in the truck all from the direction and calibers of the dead guy. Then,in stark contrast, only ONE hard to find tiny expired shell from the lowly ubiquitous twennytoo, over near the truck with all the bullet holes in it. Based on that objective hard evidence,… Read more »

American Patriot

Or maybe Martinez was just holding the AR & .40 sideways cuz his beer was in the other hand.
Guess we needed more like him at the ALAMO!

BillyBob Texas

Yes – a correctly placed .22LR WILL stop/kill someone. But what if the ONE round from the .22 had not been ‘lucky’ enuff to have hit whatever killed the shooter? What if he had hit 3 inches lower, or left or right? I don’t think you can count on a one-shot kill from a .22 that hits you in the arm or leg or off-center body-mass. Whereas anything with a ‘4’ would have had a lot better chance of at least taking the shooter out of the fight…, I’d guess. Yes, perfect placement is paramount. But for us normal people… Read more »

jj

And it has a lot to do with the size of the target. I had a friend that was involved in an altercation where he ended up getting shot 6 times from a .22 pistol. He was a pretty large (fat) fellow and every round ended up lodged somewhere in his belly fat. He said the cleaning the wounds out by the nurse hurt more than getting shot.

Brad

Cases, NOT casings. Casing wraps around sausage. CASE holds a bullet. Did the .40 have “clips” or mags?

Rokflyer

Everybody welcome newbie enthusiasts Brad as he tries out his politically correct firearm terminology. We’re all impressed. I don’t think anyone can fairly comment on this dreadful event without knowing the full details of the facts, not only the police report, but the trial itself. Alcohol, bluster, and women trouble are always worse when firearms are involved. Both men possibly, could have been terrified of one another, and erratic thinking ruled the day. It sounded like a family squabble where firearms had no place, period. It really doesn’t matter now, a man is dead, and a jury found a man… Read more »

Bryan Bradford

Just so you know: casings is correct usage here. Bullet casings is a very common term. I thought so, but just to be sure, I checked the dictionary, then I checked a couple more.

MB

The 22LR is responsible for more gunshot deaths than any other round…. just saying… never underestimate a weapon in the hands of someone who knows how to use it, be it a gun, a machete , a knife, or a tree branch.

Roy D.

According to this news report Matinez’s wife was the sister of Kirkman’s girlfriend. How hard would it have been to include that fact in the above story?
https://www.victoriaadvocate.com/counties/dewitt/prosecutor-bullet-holes-showed-self-defense-for-man-cleared-of/article_def55934-d637-11e8-9546-637075a1ed02.html

Godislove

Martinez’s wife is the sister of Kirkman, not Kirkman’s girlfriend. Kirkman and Martinez were brother in laws.

Roy D.

From the photo provided it appears that Martinez was trying to disable the vehicle by firing into the engine compartment. Also the story was quoted as saying that one of the bullets passed through the “frame”, “near the driver’s seat belt fastener.” This pass through would indicate the bullet going through the body and not “near the frame.” It may seem nitpicking but these things deserve nitpicking; in both the investigation and the reporting of same. But then, I am old school. I also would have liked to know who all was under the influence of alcohol or other substances.

Godislove

Martinez was under the influence of a lot of alcohol.

randy herst

It is more a question of who defends well, rather than who has the most firepower! That does not always prevail, but it does illustrate the fact that being outgunned does not guarantee defeat. I don’t know if Kirkman owned any other firearms, but I would guess that he showed up with only a .22 single shot rifle simply because he didn’t have anything more “tactical” or self-defense oriented. I also recall that an Alaskan Eskimo girl out gathering berries once defended herself successfully against a huge Brown Bear, and her weapon was also a .22 rifle which administered the… Read more »

Dave in Fairfax

Her name was Bella Twin, and she did it at point blank range. After dropping the bear with her single shot .22 LONG, not LR, she went over and put half a dozen more between its ear and eye. One-at-a-time. Why yes, she DOES clang when she walks.

James Brigham (bigg) Bunyon

Well, apparently .22 Long Rifle and bird shot rounds can be effective self defense strategies. What I find odd is the almost total lack of discussion of either of these stories on the gun forums I frequent. I guess since neither fit present day defense narratives (highest capacity magazines, two is one and one is none, heavy caliber handguns for bear, caliber wars, knockdown power of various bullets and .etc) they’re just not relevant. Or maybe just not fun or contentious enough for all the operators and mall Ninjas.

Robert Thomas

Or the odds of one man being able to deliver a fatal shot, from a very small caliber, in the face of withering gunfire, are extremely small. Kirkman was very, very lucky.

Dan Edwards

So an armed intruder comes on Martinez’s property and Martinez shoots first but poorly. Intruder is then defending himself? If Kirkman brandished the rifle, Martinez would have been within his rights to shoot first seeing an armed threat. It doesn’t matter what type of weapon he carried or how much ammunition he had.

BillyBob Texas

Dan Edwards: I cannot think of any scenario where Kirkman pulls out his rifle, FIRST, and then takes 3 dozen rounds from a shooter’s TWO different guns, while not firing his…….and THEN drops him with his one shot .22. I’d guess evidence will show that the first 3 dozen rounds fired were by Martinez……probably not too many AFTER he received the fatal shot.
But I did NOT stay at a Holiday Inn last night, either….

Godislove

Kirkman went there to his brother in law’s house asking for his girlfriend, he never got out of the truck, and never showed a weapon to threaten Martinez. Yet Martinez was drunk and said Kirkman ‘s girlfriend is not going anywhere and started shooting.

Matt

Shot placement is everything.

elysinfield

You DO understand that a single-shot rifle can fire as fast as you can load and pull the trigger? That kind of firepower was not intended when the 2nd Amendment was written, and you do not need that kind of firepower to kill Bambi….

Obvious sarcasm.

My carry weapon is a Beretta 22 short…my go to rifle an Anschutz model 64 single-shot 22 target rifle…Litton 845 scope attached. Like your girlfriend has told you…”size isn’t important….”

Jerry S.

Well I am going to pose an obviously “racist” question here, but was Martinez a small Hispanic and Kirkman a very large Anglo, thereby causing said Hispanic to think his only options were an AR and a .40 cal.??? Machismo, maybe??

Sasquatch

Yes, that’s a racist question, and most Mexicans I’ve seen prefer the ak47

Britny caraway

I am the mother to Manuel’s 3 kids and he was never married to the woman who says she’s his wife…she set him up for her brother to kill him and it’s dakota,his sister and girlfriends word against a dead mans…the gun he shot manuel with was in Manuel’s name he bought it for Dakota for Christmas…Manuel was a gun collector and had many of them…not to mention Dakota went on his property and killed him at his own house…the justice system has failed once again…they are a fucking joke

Godislove

Stop your lies already. That gun was never in Manuel’s name nor did he buy it as a Christmas gift. He got that gun as well as 90 percent of his other guns from the house he was living in, which were left there by the man who died in the house. You want to brag about having 3 kids with Manuel yet they where all taken from you for doing meth while you were pregnant. So get off the meth and face the truth. Dakota is a kind and friendly person, he would never hurt anyone unless he was… Read more »

Godislove

Manuel was only part Mexican, and as far body size Manuel was bigger than Dakota, but Dakota is a little taller, but slimmer.