Sledgehammer Against a Gun
Millard Brandenburg was released from jail on Feb.2, 2007. 
He had two state prison terms on his record, one for a drug conviction and the other for failing to pay child support. During the past decade, Brandenburg had been cited into Hamilton Municipal Court on more than two dozen offenses including traffic citations, ethnic intimidation, aggravated menacing, drug abuse, assault, resisting arrest and forgery. He had been jailed for failure to comply with police orders. Seven weeks after he was released from jail, he showed up at Jamie Buck's home.
On Friday, March 24, 2007, Jamie Buck, a roofer, was sleeping when Brandenburg first smashed a sledgehammer into the window of his door. The home invader then burst inside his home, demanding money or jewelry. He then hit an alarmed Jamie Buck in the head with the sledgehammer.
The attack occurred in Hamilton Ohio. Thus:
In Ohio, there is no duty to retreat in your own home. Jamie Buck, with his life in immediate jeopardy, shot his assailant three times center mass, once in the left side, and once in the head. His kitchen was a bloody mess, but Jamie Buck was still alive. He then called 911, stating “This guy broke into my house....He tried to kill me with a sledgehammer, sir......He's lying dead in my kitchen.” Buck was eventually treated at Fort Hamilton Hospital for his injuries. Brandenburg received some nice toe jewelry at the Butler County morgue. An autopsy revealed alcohol in his bloodstream.
Earlier this week, Buck called for police during an incident at Bob's Cafe on Hooven Avenue. According to the police report, Mr. Buck stated he tried to stop an unidentified man from beating a woman. When he called for police he was attacked, forced to the ground and stomped. Buck suffered injuries to his eye, jaw, mouth and head in that incident, according to the official report. Hamilton police did not know whether the fight was connected to the break-in at Buck's home.
Butler County Prosecutor Robin Piper states Buck was apparently defending himself, but he will wait for the Hamilton Police to complete their investigation.
Brandenburg's family is making several serious allegations, ranging from how many times the deceased was shot, to the relationship the two men had, to why he even went into Buck's home to begin with. Brandenburg's mother says "My son worked for the guy, he came to my house every morning. He picked up my son every morning......I am positive it is same guy."
"Five times," Brandenburg's sister Christian Bowling said. "That is ridiculous, one or two would have taken him down; one or two would have taken him down. He would have had plenty of time to escape."
"I am thinking that Millard was out at 1 a.m. looking for drugs," said Chris Wenz, Brandenburg's brother-in-law. "He knew that the guy owed him money and had drugs in the house."
Jamie Buck responded, "I am going to tell you right now, I don't know this guy, I never met him in my entire life. He broke into my house, tried to rob me, hit me with a sledgehammer. If I knew him why would he try and kill me?.......He was on something, he never went down......I was scared to death man." Buck cites a drug trafficking charge on his own record from 1991.
He had two state prison terms on his record, one for a drug conviction and the other for failing to pay child support. During the past decade, Brandenburg had been cited into Hamilton Municipal Court on more than two dozen offenses including traffic citations, ethnic intimidation, aggravated menacing, drug abuse, assault, resisting arrest and forgery. He had been jailed for failure to comply with police orders. Seven weeks after he was released from jail, he showed up at Jamie Buck's home.On Friday, March 24, 2007, Jamie Buck, a roofer, was sleeping when Brandenburg first smashed a sledgehammer into the window of his door. The home invader then burst inside his home, demanding money or jewelry. He then hit an alarmed Jamie Buck in the head with the sledgehammer.
The attack occurred in Hamilton Ohio. Thus:
Ohio Constitution (Article I) § 1.01 Inalienable Rights (1851)
All men are, by nature, free and independent, and have certain inalienable rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and seeking and obtaining happiness and safety.
In Ohio, there is no duty to retreat in your own home. Jamie Buck, with his life in immediate jeopardy, shot his assailant three times center mass, once in the left side, and once in the head. His kitchen was a bloody mess, but Jamie Buck was still alive. He then called 911, stating “This guy broke into my house....He tried to kill me with a sledgehammer, sir......He's lying dead in my kitchen.” Buck was eventually treated at Fort Hamilton Hospital for his injuries. Brandenburg received some nice toe jewelry at the Butler County morgue. An autopsy revealed alcohol in his bloodstream.Earlier this week, Buck called for police during an incident at Bob's Cafe on Hooven Avenue. According to the police report, Mr. Buck stated he tried to stop an unidentified man from beating a woman. When he called for police he was attacked, forced to the ground and stomped. Buck suffered injuries to his eye, jaw, mouth and head in that incident, according to the official report. Hamilton police did not know whether the fight was connected to the break-in at Buck's home.
Butler County Prosecutor Robin Piper states Buck was apparently defending himself, but he will wait for the Hamilton Police to complete their investigation.
Brandenburg's family is making several serious allegations, ranging from how many times the deceased was shot, to the relationship the two men had, to why he even went into Buck's home to begin with. Brandenburg's mother says "My son worked for the guy, he came to my house every morning. He picked up my son every morning......I am positive it is same guy."
"Five times," Brandenburg's sister Christian Bowling said. "That is ridiculous, one or two would have taken him down; one or two would have taken him down. He would have had plenty of time to escape."
"I am thinking that Millard was out at 1 a.m. looking for drugs," said Chris Wenz, Brandenburg's brother-in-law. "He knew that the guy owed him money and had drugs in the house."
Jamie Buck responded, "I am going to tell you right now, I don't know this guy, I never met him in my entire life. He broke into my house, tried to rob me, hit me with a sledgehammer. If I knew him why would he try and kill me?.......He was on something, he never went down......I was scared to death man." Buck cites a drug trafficking charge on his own record from 1991.
Labels: News, Self Defense
posted by Xavier at 1:49 AM
14 Comments:
Didn't anybody ever tell him not to bring a sledgehammer to a gun fight?
"That is ridiculous, one or two would have taken him down..."
I'd say what's ridiculous, not to mention downright disgusting, is this woman's Monday-morning quarterbacking of the situation. I bet you if some miscreant busted down HER door with a sledgehammer and she had a firearm handy, she'd have shot to slide lock...that is, if she was willing to use lethal force in the first place.
Hope the guy get's off and doesn't have a civil suit because he defended himself
"...Brandenburg's family is making several serious allegations, ranging from how many times the victim was shot...."
Does anyone else see an inappropriate use of the word "victim"? I wonder how well the "assailant" is recovering from his sledgehammer wound.
Correct nyou are Mausermedic. It's changed now!
The last sentence of the article states: "Buck cites a drug trafficking charge on his own record from 1991." He has a felony record, and was in possession of a firearm?
Anonymous said...
The last sentence of the article states: "Buck cites a drug trafficking charge on his own record from 1991." He has a felony record, and was in possession of a firearm?
I believe,in Ohio,7 years of good behavior after a conviction allows a person to apply for a return of the right to vote and own firearms,or perhaps,he pled guilty and had the charge reduced to a misdemeanor...or maybe he simply bought a gun,not sure.Hamilton is a pretty rough little town,I live about 30 minutes from there.
This is the second fatal home defense in the Cincinnati area in two weeks,the previous one was in N.Kentucky.
B&E is a dangerous profession,yep.
Hope that didn't come across as being a smartass....just frustrated from seeing that context used too many times in the papers when said victim received their just desserts...
Not a prob Mauser, thanks for pointing it out!
Never underestimate the ignorance of the friends and relatives of a criminal. Of course their friend/relative was an honest hardworking guy who just tripped and fell into this guy's house (with a sledge hammer).
Why oh WHY do people insist on defending the man who forced his way into a home, and beat the homeowner with a sledgehammer? When did it become acceptable to call the ASSAILANT the victim? We need to call people out on this misuse of our language because it is innocent homeowners who get violated and beaten with sledgehammers who are the victims, not the POS scums who break in and try to kill them. Grrrrr....don't get me starte. Oops. Too late.
~Monica
I knew a minister some time ago who had a son who was not the most respected of individuals. My minister described their relationship by saying "I love him, but I do not like him one bit". It is obvious that the family of the assailant/victim has not yet accepted that their own family can genuinely be disgusting people.
"I bet you if some miscreant busted down HER door with a sledgehammer and she had a firearm handy, she'd have shot to slide lock...that is, if she was willing to use lethal force in the first place."
I bet that she'd have been frozen with fear if put in the same scenario. That sledgehammer would have been much more bloody...
(3,2,1...)"He was a good boy, he'd never really try to hurt someone!"
It never fails.
Thing that puzzles me: so what if the homeowner knew the guy who attacked him and was bludgeoning him with the sledgehammer? Would that make the sledgehammer less of a deadly weapon, somehow? Or the situation less dire?
It might make the homeowner a liar, but I fail to see how it would make the basic scenario (assailant attacking homeowner with a deadly weapon) any less of a justified shoot.
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