Justice served with sense on the side.On August 20, 2005, Sergeant Matthew Young of the U.S. Army, his friend, and their girlfriends were leaving a bar when a group of about seven apparently intoxicated in·tox·i·cate v. in·tox·i·cat·ed, in·tox·i·cat·ing, in·tox·i·cates v.tr. 1. To stupefy or excite by the action of a chemical substance such as alcohol. 2. people "accosted ac·cost tr.v. ac·cost·ed, ac·cost·ing, ac·costs 1. To approach and speak to boldly or aggressively, as with a demand or request. 2. To solicit for sex. them and wouldn't let them leave," reported the Olympian (Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital of the U.S. state of Washington. It was incorporated on January 28, 1859. As of the 2000 census, it had a population of 42,514. Olympia is the county seat of Thurston County and a major cultural center of the Puget Sound region. ). Young's friend, a fellow soldier, retrieved a pistol from a car and tucked it into his waistband. One of the group threatening them then tackled Young's friend "and the gun fell out into the parking lot. Several people dove for the weapon and Young managed to grab it first." Young pointed the gun at the assailants to scare them away. Incredibly, Young was charged with second-degree assault with a firearm firearm, device consisting essentially of a straight tube to propel shot, shell, or bullets by the explosion of gunpowder. Although the Chinese discovered gunpowder as early as the 9th cent., they did not develop firearms until the mid-14th cent. because one of his assailants claimed that he had struck him with the loaded pistol, and the prosecutor, Dave Soukup, considered this act to be reckless and dangerous. But the jury didn't vote to convict. In fact, jury foreman Mike Polson said that some jurors couldn't fathom why Young had even been charged: no witnesses saw Matt hit anyone; the accuser recanted his story on the stand and said he was too drunk to remember what had happened; and there was no medical evidence to show that the accuser had been struck. Now, under state law, Washington will have to pony up the money to pay for Young's "court costs court costs n. fees for expenses that the courts pass on to attorneys, who then pass them on to their clients or, in some kinds of cases, to the losing party. , lost wages and 'other expenses,'" reported the Olympian. |
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