Original publication date : |
Wednesday, April 29, 1992 |
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Wednesday, August 31, 2005 10:02:08 am |
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dawilkerson :: (Log out) |
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stephen cole |
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Cause of justice served in fatal
shooting case DEAR READER John R . Starr
Bruce Leasure , a Little Rock druggist,
took a bite out of crime Monday and early indications were that he
may be in trouble for doing so. He shouldn't
be. Leasure chased, shot and killed Stephen Cole
after Cole took drugs from Leasure ' s
pharmacy at knife point. Police interviewed Leasure
and released him without charging him. They said Prosecutor Mark
Stodola would review the case and he would decide if Leasure is to
be charged. The investigation apparently will center
on whether Cole was threatening Leasure
with the knife and how close he was to Leasure when the shots were
fired. Speaking as an average citizen and one who
was once threatened with a knife, I'd say that a man waving a knife
at you is always too close. According to' witnesses,
Cole held Holly Garner, an employee of
the pharmacy, at knife-point and forced Leasure to give him drugs.
He then ran out of the store. Leasure grabbed a.357
Magnum pistol and followed. He told police that Cole stopped and threatened him with the
knife and he fired three shots. Two struck Cole, one in the leg and one in the side.
Cole died at University Hospital about
50 minutes after the shooting. While it is difficult
to condone the use of deadly force, it is easy to understand why an
outraged citizen in an era of accelerating crime might react the way
Leasure did to a rob bery . In this case, it would seem that the
cause of justice has already been served. He's working
hard! As you read this, I am five days into what is
for me a different kind of vacation. i am taking a
week off with nothing on my schedule. This is the
first time I have ever taken a vacation without some place to go or
something specific to do. As any regular reader of this column
knows, I am given to hard traveling while on vacation.
The way I travel, vacations are usually more physically
demanding than work. My wife jokes, "You have to go back to work to
get some rest." You might say I am rehearsing for
retirement. So far I like it. Although I haven't
scheduled anything, I've got a lot of things done that I've been
putting off. Like cleaning out storerooms and pruning
shrubs. So far I haven't had time to go to the lake.
On the money Sometimes you get lucky. I went to
Sears to buy a part for my lawnmower . The part cost $1,99. Tax was
11 cents. Total $2.10. Counting the dime that my wife found and gave
me earlier that day while we were mowing the lawn, I had exactly
enough money to pay the bill. Another lawyer joke Q . What is black
and brown and would look good on a lawyer ? A. A
Doberman pinscher . On the radio My guest on tonight's John R. Starr
talk show ( KBIS-AM , 1010, 6:30) will be Tracy Barger , state
coordinator for the Jerry Brown presidential campaign.
Managing Editor John R. Starr ' s column appears every day.
This story was published
Wednesday, April 29, 1992
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