Killing in the Hilltowns: Mass. man on trial after shooting home invader - Brian Camp vs. John Letendre

[Reptile]

You guys would have put him in jail.

Not me!

But, I figured a jury in Mass would have!

 

[Jason Flare]

Not me!

But, I figured a jury in Mass would have!

Stop that.

Think like the jury that just gave him a not guilty verdict.

 

[Rob Boudrie]

What a fool.

Diarrhea of the mouth.

He doesn't even know his rights.

logorrhea

 

[dcmdon]

Wow. I did not expect that.

You guys would have put him in jail.

The reason he wasn't found guilty was because.

1) The 911 operator instructed Camp to go check on Lentendre. Which put him back at risk.

''Camp also testified that during this time Janik told him the 911 operator was asking about the status of Letendre, and she told him to go back inside and check on him, saying “they need to know.”

2) Letendre started getting back up in camps presence "Camp said he went inside and saw Letendre begin to get back up, which is when he shot Letendre the second time."

3) There was a loaded revolver on the table next to Letendre and he was still armed with a knife.
4) Camp was also suffering at this time from a fractured hand due to the fight.


So like I said early on. There was complexity. It wasn't a black and white, good shoot. There were details to iron out.

This was clearly not a "coup de grace" type situation. He put himself back at risk because the 911 operator instructed him to go back inside. Which was stupid.
We can all Monday morning quarterback it, but the right thing to do would be to refuse to go back in.

Let the cops deal with an armed injured guy with a knife and a gun.

 

[dcmdon]

Camp's testimony. Primary source. Watch this and you will be an expert on this.

Brian Camp Details Break-In, Fatal Altercation with Johnathan Letendre

Brian Camp testified he didn't want to shoot anyone and wanted the intruder, identified as Johnathan Letendre, to leave the house.

www.courttv.com

 

[safetyfirst2125]

All I need to know is contained in this paragraph.

Not guilty of all charges your honor.

“The man who broke into the home, John Letendre, had a brief relationship with Camp’s girlfriend many months earlier. Letendre, upset that the woman had broken things off and resumed her relationship with Camp, went into the South Street home unannounced with handcuffs in his back pocket and a knife tucked into his jacket.”

 

[dcmdon]

prosecution cross examination. It's shorter and gets into the good stuff right away.

Jealous Ex Shot Dead | Prosecution Grills Brian Camp on Second Gunshot

Prosecutors focused their cross-examination of Brian Camp on whether or not Johnathan Letendre was moving before the second shot.

www.courttv.com

 

[M1911]

The reason he wasn't found guilty was because.

1) The 911 operator instructed Camp to go check on Lentendre. Which put him back at risk.

''Camp also testified that during this time Janik told him the 911 operator was asking about the status of Letendre, and she told him to go back inside and check on him, saying “they need to know.”

2) Letendre started getting back up in camps presence "Camp said he went inside and saw Letendre begin to get back up, which is when he shot Letendre the second time."

3) There was a loaded revolver on the table next to Letendre and he was still armed with a knife.
4) Camp was also suffering at this time from a fractured hand due to the fight.


So like I said early on. There was complexity. It wasn't a black and white, good shoot. There were details to iron out.

This was clearly not a "coup de grace" type situation. He put himself back at risk because the 911 operator instructed him to go back inside. Which was stupid.
We can all Monday morning quarterback it, but the right thing to do would be to refuse to go back in.

Let the cops deal with an armed injured guy with a knife and a gun.

Thanks for that. That information dramatically changes the situation. Also, that dispatcher needs to be taken out behind the wood shed.

 

[TLB]

Thanks for that. That information dramatically changes the situation. Also, that dispatcher needs to be taken out behind the wood shed.

And they still charged him.

 

[Coda]

2) Letendre started getting back up in camps presence "Camp said he went inside and saw Letendre begin to get back up, which is when he shot Letendre the second time."

3) There was a loaded revolver on the table next to Letendre and he was still armed with a knife.

This totally changes things. The story the media was putting out there seemed to omit these very important details.

It is not just the commonwealth that wants to take away your right to defend yourself, it is the media also.

 

[tuna]

I'm gonna read it the way the newspapers write it, precedent has been set to deliver the coup de grace. Now if we can just legalize organ harvesting of a burglar things can really start to look up.

 

[clampett]

I didn't read the whole thread.
Has it been discussed why the state didn't charge him with improper storage?

 

[TLB]

This totally changes things. The story the media was putting out there seemed to omit these very important details.

It is not just the commonwealth that wants to take away your right to defend yourself, it is the media also.

The media always parrots the police/prosecutor narrative...

 

[Coda]

The media always parrots the police/prosecutor narrative...

And they conveniently leave out certain details. If the media was reporting ALL the facts of this case then most of us would have had a different opinion than we did at the get go. I know I would of.

And the local media was all over this case, they knew the details. But as usual the left leaning media does not want us to know all the details. They just want us to know "guns are bad".

 

[Steve600]

I had only heard the left’s version of the story. Being ordered by the cops to go back in makes sense. Funny the local news never mentioned that fact.

 

[Coyote33]

MA could care less about forensics.....a civilian used a firearm to defend himself and in MA you are guilty.

Am I seeing in the news that this trial resulted in his acquittal

Not guilty: Jury clears Camp of manslaughter in home invasion shooting death

NORTHAMPTON — After an ordeal lasting nearly two years, Brian Camp finally heard the two words he’d been waiting to hear that entire time: “Not guilty.”Camp, 24, of Southampton, smiled in the Hampshire Superior Court courtroom on Monday shortly after...

www.gazettenet.com

Not guilty!

It is not just the commonwealth that wants to take away your right to defend yourself

You guys would have put him in jail.

 

[Reptile]

The reason he wasn't found guilty was because.

1) The 911 operator instructed Camp to go check on Lentendre. Which put him back at risk.

''Camp also testified that during this time Janik told him the 911 operator was asking about the status of Letendre, and she told him to go back inside and check on him, saying “they need to know.”

2) Letendre started getting back up in camps presence "Camp said he went inside and saw Letendre begin to get back up, which is when he shot Letendre the second time."

3) There was a loaded revolver on the table next to Letendre and he was still armed with a knife.
4) Camp was also suffering at this time from a fractured hand due to the fight.


So like I said early on. There was complexity. It wasn't a black and white, good shoot. There were details to iron out.

This was clearly not a "coup de grace" type situation. He put himself back at risk because the 911 operator instructed him to go back inside. Which was stupid.
We can all Monday morning quarterback it, but the right thing to do would be to refuse to go back in.

Let the cops deal with an armed injured guy with a knife and a gun.

WOW!!!

If I had known all that I would have not suggested he take a plea.

The media really doesn't want people to know this and damaged his reputation.

Thank You!

 

[maltc]

All I need to know is contained in this paragraph.

Not guilty of all charges your honor.

“The man who broke into the home, John Letendre, had a brief relationship with Camp’s girlfriend many months earlier. Letendre, upset that the woman had broken things off and resumed her relationship with Camp, went into the South Street home unannounced with handcuffs in his back pocket and a knife tucked into his jacket.”

 

[In God We Trust]

While it’s not in the DSM as such. I completely agree that it is.

It’s accepted as a disease last I read. Same as being an alcoholic.

 

[Foudre]

The Northampton area has the highest concentration of mental health workers in the in the US. There are hundreds of psychologists, psychiatrists, and all sorts of therapists in the area. There are all sorts of services for the mentally ill in this area due to such a high number of clients.

Why does this not surprise me? It's east coast Portland Oregon or very similar to it..

 

[dcmdon]

And they conveniently leave out certain details. If the media was reporting ALL the facts of this case then most of us would have had a different opinion than we did at the get go. I know I would of.

And the local media was all over this case, they knew the details. But as usual the left leaning media does not want us to know all the details. They just want us to know "guns are bad".

This stuff wasn't known until trial to anyone other than the prosecutors and the defense.

I had a couple of trips to CT to make so I queued up all the Court TV videos on my YouTube app and listened to them while I drove. Over the 2 trips I heard
1) opening arguments
2) Camp direct testimony
3) Camp cross ex.
4) closing arguments.

Prosecution didn't stand a chance. It was another one of those cases, like Rittenhouse and Zimmerman where even intellectually honest people on the other side agreed there was very little chance of a conviction and that it was primarily a political show.

 

[dcmdon]

I didn't read the whole thread.
Has it been discussed why the state didn't charge him with improper storage?

It has not been discussed. My guess is that they thought they would nail him with manslaughter, so it really didn't matter.

During his direct testimony and cross ex, Camp VERY BADLY incriminated himself when it came to improper storage violations.
He also had bigger fish to fry, since admitting to these lesser crimes was integral to his defense.

During the struggle there was
1) a stack of long guns in a closet, some of which were loaded, some weren't. But Camp didn't know which ones were loaded.
2) A loaded muzzle loader with a percussion cap still on the nipple, leaning in a corner.
3) A loaded revolver in a holster on a coffee table
4) A loaded Sig pistol in a holster on top of the cabinets

There were multiple small children in the home. His storage was ethically wrong. A nightmare. I cringed as I heard the testimony.

I believe his kids were 2 and 4. This is the DANGER ZONE. The kids are big enough to pick up a gun, disengage a safety and press a trigger. But too young to really understand, Stop, Don't Touch, Leave the Room, Tell an Adult. (Eddie the Eagle protocol)

Camp is an irresponsible ass. But he still had a right to kill that guy in his home. Though, I wouldn't be surprised if NOW, they try to get him for improper storage.

 

[Reptile]

It has not been discussed. My guess is that they thought they would nail him with manslaughter, so it really didn't matter.

During his direct testimony and cross ex, Camp VERY BADLY incriminated himself when it came to improper storage violations.
He also had bigger fish to fry, since admitting to these lesser crimes was integral to his defense.

During the struggle there was
1) a stack of long guns in a closet, some of which were loaded, some weren't. But Camp didn't know which ones were loaded.
2) A loaded muzzle loader with a percussion cap still on the nipple, leaning in a corner.
3) A loaded revolver in a holster on a coffee table
4) A loaded Sig pistol in a holster on top of the cabinets

There were multiple small children in the home. His storage was ethically wrong. A nightmare. I cringed as I heard the testimony.

I believe his kids were 2 and 4. This is the DANGER ZONE. The kids are big enough to pick up a gun, disengage a safety and press a trigger. But too young to really understand, Stop, Don't Touch, Leave the Room, Tell an Adult. (Eddie the Eagle protocol)

Camp is an irresponsible ass. But he still had a right to kill that guy in his home. Though, I wouldn't be surprised if NOW, they try to get him for improper storage.

Did Camp's improper storage allow him access to the gun while he was being attacked - but would have been impossible to access if properly stored?

Sounds like improper storage may have saved his life.

 

[clampett]

Did Camp's improper storage allow him access to the gun while he was being attacked - but would have been impossible to access if properly stored?

Sounds like improper storage may have saved his life.

Absolutely
The guy was sound asleep and naked in his bed.
His girl woke him and said she thought someone was in the house, he said no, it;s just the cat.
And then he was in a battle for his life.

 

[dcmdon]

Did Camp's improper storage allow him access to the gun while he was being attacked - but would have been impossible to access if properly stored?

Sounds like improper storage may have saved his life.

It depends on if absent scattering the guns around his home, he actually chose to carry it vs storing it in a safe.

If he had the sig on his person, then he wouldn't have spent 10 minutes fighting with the intruder before finally shooting him.

Before finally retrieving the Sig from above the cabinets, Camp spent time struggling with Lentendre first over the muzzle loader and then over a shotgun that he retrieved from the closet. The shot gun came apart during the struggle and they both resorted to bludgeoning each other with the part that they each ended up with. Camp with the stock and receiver and Lentendre with the barrel.