Ex-police captain held on murder charge in Florida movie theatre killing

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/14/florida-police-captain-held-without-bail-murder-charge

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A Florida judge has denied bail to a retired police captain who is accused of shooting dead another cinema-goer in a dispute over text messaging.

Curtis Reeves Jr, 71, made his first court appearance on Tuesday afternoon, charged with the second-degree murder of Chad Oulson, 43, during a violent confrontation between the two at a cinema in Wesley Chapel on Monday. 

Witnesses to the incident said they saw the victim throw popcorn at the defendant after being challenged about using his mobile phone in the darkened auditorium as previews showed at a matinee. Reeves told detectives he was in fear of being attacked.

Circuit court judge Lynn Tepper said there was “more than sufficient probable cause” to suggest that Reeves’ actions amounted to murder, rather than self-defence, and ordered that he remain in custody until a full bond hearing could be scheduled.

“The affadavit says that he was struck in the face by an unknown object, not that he was knocked around,” Tepper said in reply to defence lawyer Richard Escobar’s claim that Reeves was protecting himself.

“It may or may not have been popcorn, but ‘unidentified object’ does not equal taking out a gun and firing it at someone’s chest. The proof is great in the probable cause affadavit that a second-degree murder took place,” she added.

In Reeves’ arrest report, Pasco County detective Allen Proctor said that the victim was using his cellphone to send text messages before the film was due to start, and that the older man pulled out a pistol and fired the fatal shot when the victim threw a bag of popcorn at him.

“The defendant advised that he removed the .380 semi-automatic handgun from his pocket, firing one round, striking the victim, and that he was in fear of being attacked,” Proctor wrote in the document released Tuesday.

Reeves, a former homicide detective for the Tampa police department, appeared at Dade City court via videolink from the Pasco County jail. He stood before the camera in a green prison jumpsuit, and spoke only briefly to confirm he had the funds to hire a private attorney. His friends and family packed the courtroom, with many having to stand.

Assistant state attorney Manuel Garcia told the court that since his arrest, detectives had interviewed a woman who claimed Reeves confronted her about texting at the same cinema, the Cobb Grove 16, last month.

“She said he was glaring at her. She said he followed her to the bathroom and made her feel uncomfortable,” Garcia said.

Witnesses to Monday’s incident, which took place just before the matinee showing of Lone Survivor, said they heard Oulson tell Reeves he was texting his three-year-old daughter.

Reeves, who was sat with his wife, Vivien, directly behind Oulson, asked him several times to stop, the witnesses said, until he left to find a manager. The argument escalated quickly when he returned by himself and Oulson threw the popcorn.

The defendant, who retired from the Tampa police department in 1993 after 27 years’ service, then pulled out his handgun and fired a single shot that hit Oulson in the chest and also struck the hand of Oulson’s wife, Nicole, Pasco County sheriff Chris Nocco said.

“To have a retired police officer, I don’t know what he was thinking at the time,” he told a press conference on Monday. “Fate brought these two people together. It was ridiculous.”

Witnesses said Reeves placed his gun in his lap after pulling the trigger, and was then detained by an off-duty sheriff’s deputy among the 25 people who had come to watch the film.

Charles Cummings, a retired US marine and Vietnam war veteran who was in the audience with his son Alex, told reporters that he was several seats away when the argument started. He said Reeves went to get a manager but came back alone, which prompted further taunting from Oulson.

“He came back very irritated. Somebody throws popcorn, and then bang, he was shot,” he said. “I can’t believe people would bring a pistol to a movie. I can’t believe they’d argue, fight and shoot one another over popcorn, a cellphone.”

Alex Cummings said that Oulson staggered towards him after being wounded. “Blood started coming out of his mouth. It was just a very bad scene,” he said.

Oulson was taken to hospital in Tampa, where he was pronounced dead. Nicole Oulson, who was shot in the hand as she moved it apparently to protect her husband, was released after treatment.

In court yesterday, Escobar described Reeves as a solid member of the community “with no propensity for violence”.

“There was no attempt to flee, he co-operated with law enforcement from beginning to end. The threat to the community is non-existent,” he said.

A spokeswoman for Cobb Theaters said the cinema would remain closed Tuesday while the investigation continued.

“This was an isolated altercation between two guests that escalated unexpectedly,” the company said in a statement. “The safety, security and comfort of our guests and team members are always our top priorities, and we are truly heartbroken by this incident.”

The spokeswoman said all Cobb cinemas prohibit the use of cellphones in the auditorium and also have a strict ban on weapons.

<em>The Associated Press contributed to this report.</em>

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