U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)-– In Ada, Oklahoma, at about 9 p.m. on December 31, 2022, a few hours before the new year, Jassmone Ashton was minding his own business outside the Sunset Market Valero gas/convenience establishment. Jassmone had filed a protective order against Denavarie Brooks in 2021. Jassmone is 35 years old. Denavarie Brooks was 37 years old. It is not clear what the issues between them were.
According to police, who did a 10-day investigation and intensely examined surveillance video, Jassmone was pumping gas at the Valero store before the shooting. From the prosecutor, District Attorney Erik Johnson:
“It’s obvious by watching the video that Denavarie Brooks came into that gas station. He had passed Jasmonne and witnessed him at the gas pumps and then pulled back around, pulled in aggressively in an aggressive manner, came up, and approached Jasmine from behind,” Johnson said.
On January 12, 2023, District Attorney for District 22, Erick Johnson, stated he would not file any charges against Jassmone Samuelle Ashton. From theadanews.com:
Johnson indicated he believes it was a matter of self-defense and made his determination after spending the past 10 days reviewing all the evidence available, which included watching video footage of the shooting dozens of times.
“I don’t make these decisions in a vacuum,” Johnson said, “ultimately, this is my decision, no one else’s. No one else has this responsibility to make this decision. (However), I have very talented and experienced investigators in my office, I have the benefit of having a professional police department assist me in making this determination, and I’ve got experienced prosecutors who also reviewed all this evidence, and we all came to the same conclusion. So, it was my call and my call alone, but I believe it was the right call.”
In Oklahoma, as in many states, a person who is legally in a public place is not required to flee from an attacker. However, in this case, the prosecutor believed Ashton did not really have a choice because of the speed of Brooks’ approach.
The prosecutor stated during the investigation that they discovered other people who had been threatened by and had altercations with Denavarie Brooks. There was a history of Brooks having violent altercations with Jassmone Ashton, which was the reason for the restraining order in 2021.
At the gun violence archive, the categorization of the shooting has not been changed as of this writing. From the gunviolencearchive.org: the shooting is listed as “Shot – Dead (Murder, accidental, suicide). There does not appear to be a “justified” block in this incident.
Opinion:
The “woke” narrative of a black man, who defends themself with a firearm, will be either immediately executed by police or locked up without any serious investigation is challenged by this case. This case shows an intensive investigation, due diligence, and a decision by the prosecutor not to charge the man who defended himself.
Oklahoma is a “constitutional carry” state, where no permit is required to carry a firearm, openly or concealed. The firearm was in the victim’s vehicle. The surveillance video showed the whole incident.
How many people have been sent to prison simply because the laws in their state infringed on the rights protected by the Second Amendment to keep and bear arms for their defense?
Treating self-defense cases with respect for the law and the facts builds trust in the justice system.
About 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 retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.
“constitutional carry” state, where no permit is required to carry a firearm, openly or concealed.
This is the only definition of ‘constitutional carry’. Anyone trying to sell you anything less as constitutional carry should be called out as liars. (Florida)
Well, actually, not quite. It depends upon whether the permit not being required is because of a legislative action or by declaration of a constitution. The modern version of constitutional carry is a very strange thing. Proof of that is my internet search just now on the terms “Oklahoma constitution weapons carry”. This search yields many pages about legislation related to weapons carry but very few on the “Constitution”. So, the only definition of ‘constitutional carry’ is one where no permit is required because it can not be required because the constitution forbids any such action.
HLB
Here is the section in the Oklahoma Constitution that pertains to weapons carry:
SECTION II-26
Bearing arms – Carrying weapons.
The right of a citizen to keep and bear arms in defense of his home, person, or property, or in aid of the civil power, when thereunto legally summoned, shall never be prohibited; but nothing herein contained shall prevent the Legislature from regulating the carrying of weapons.
HLB
But Dean, most of the media considers the Gun Violence Archive the unimpeachable source of information on shootings. What’s wrong with you?
I think it was during the George Zimmerman trial that I read Florida’s stand your ground law was legitimately used by people of color (proportionately?) twice as often as “white” people.
Yeah. You read that then because lame stream media kept hammering stand your ground laws as a problem. The higher use by minorities was brought up as a refutation of that. Funny thing was that Zimemrman didn’t invoke stand your ground. Trayvon (who had gotten home safely and came back out to intentionally attack Zimmerman) was on top of Zimmerman pinning him to the ground and pounding Zimmerman’s face into snail snot. There was no opportunity or option to retreat. He could not invoke stand your ground because he had no other choice,
This was in Oklahoma. The “Zero Tolerance” state. I spend as little time and money there as I can.