"Neighbor charged in fatal shooting"

[nemhed]

I'm posting this because I want everyone to be careful out there. An immeasurable amount of heartache could have been avoided in this case.


March 20, 2009

Neighbor is charged in accidental shooting death of Morgan County man

Authorities say stray bullet struck man sleeping in his home

By Bruce C. Smith
bruce.smith@indystar.com

Jessica Breisch was by her husband's side as he prepared to die, fatally wounded by a stray bullet that came through their bedroom wall.

Their final moments together were recounted in Morgan County court documents filed Thursday with felony charges against the neighbor accused of accidentally shooting Jason Troy Breisch.

Jonathan J. Graf, 24, surrendered to Morgan County authorities on charges of reckless homicide and criminal recklessness. Both carry potential sentences of two to eight years in prison.

Graf is charged in the shooting March 9 of Breisch, 35, who was sleeping in a bed in his Monrovia-area home, nearly 1,000 feet from Graf's home.

Breisch worked nights as a journeyman tool-and-die maker at Rolls-Royce and was sleeping during the day. Married since 1999, he was the father of three young daughters.

Jessica Breisch told investigators that as her husband was sleeping, she heard a loud thud. She found him lying on the bed with chest pains. She called for an ambulance, thinking he was having a heart attack.

Paramedics later found a bullet hole under Breisch's arm. He died before reaching a hospital.

In one passage of the police report, detectives quote Jessica Breisch's account of finding her dying husband: "After calling 911, she stayed with her husband. He told her that he loved her and that he loved their kids and that he was going to go and be with God now."

Investigators said forensic tests by the Indiana State Police confirmed that the bullet came from a Colt .45 pistol that Graf was shooting outside his home.

"As our county keeps growing and we get more and more homes and subdivisions, people have to act responsibly. It's not the Wild West anymore," Morgan County Prosecutor Steve Sonnega said Thursday in discussing the charges.

In an eight-page report and probable cause affidavit, investigators quoted Graf as saying he was repairing the gun, which belonged to a Plainfield police officer. Graf told investigators he has a certification as a gunsmith and was planning to start a gun repair business.

Graf said he replaced some of the parts in the gun, then went to his backyard, where he fired 14 shots into the dirt to test it.

He told investigators that one round misfired. But he insisted he did not fire any shots into the air or toward the trees in a wooded area between the Graf and Breisch homes.

Graf demonstrated for detectives how he stood with the gun pointed at the ground as he fired the 14 shots. Detectives said the ground was disturbed, but they could identify only one apparent bullet hole in the dirt.

Detectives found a bullet hole about the size of a dime in the side of the Breisch home, just outside the bedroom.

A professional surveyor was called to the shooting scene to chart the possible path of the bullet between the homes. Under the police theory, the bullet traveled the distance of more than a football field from the backyard of the Graf home, through a wooded area, over a ravine and into the bedroom wall of the Breisch home.

Graf was released on bond from the county jail in Martinsville. Sonnega said a Superior Court judge has ordered that Graf be prohibited "from shooting any firearms in Morgan County."

[Old Ironsights]

The guy was stupid for not having a sand-filled test barrel, but I am really hard pressed to figure out how a .45ACP traveled traveled the distance of more than 100yds, through a wooded area without hitting anything, then still had enough energy to punch through an exterior wall (not roof) and lodge in the guy's spine from the side...

Through the ceiling and into the chest from a downward trajectory... maybe, but through the wall?

Somthing doesn't add up ballistically... or someone is lying...

[nemhed]

I think there is more going on than is being admitted. When this story first came out I assumed the gun was going to turn out to be some type of centerfire rifle. I don't know how he managed to do this with a 45 acp.

[Blaine]

The facts as presented do not pass the duck test.......That round had to have been fired in an upward manner, Not into the ground. I don't doubt the penetration abilities of a 230gr hardball to do that, though.

[Doc Hudson]

The guy was stupid for not having a sand-filled test barrel, but I am really hard pressed to figure out how a .45ACP traveled traveled the distance of more than 100yds, through a wooded area without hitting anything, then still had enough energy to punch through an exterior wall (not roof) and lodge in the guy's spine from the side...

Through the ceiling and into the chest from a downward trajectory... maybe, but through the wall?

Somthing doesn't add up ballistically... or someone is lying...

My thoughts exactly!

All of us gun cranks know that bullets can do screwy things when the ricochett, but this sounds about as credible as the Kennedys Magic Bullet Explanation.

[J Miller]

I told my wife about this and her comment was: "Maybe the wife was p.o.'d at the husband, heard the other shots, went outside and shot him herself."

That sounds about as reasonable as what I read in that article.

Besides there is an easy way to solve this problem, dig up the bullets and count them.
Is there 14? Or is there 13?
Then do a ballistics match on the bullet that killed the husband, does it match the neighbors gun or no?

Joe

[jnyork]

Does not pass the smell test, something amiss here.

[Blaine]

Graf demonstrated for detectives how he stood with the gun pointed at the ground as he fired the 14 shots. Detectives said the ground was disturbed, but they could identify only one apparent bullet hole in the dirt.

They were skipping off the ground back up in the air, and down thru the house again?

[TedH]

I'd have a real hard time believing those slugs would have enough energy retained after hitting the earth to travel that distance, punch through a wall and still kill a person. I'd bet a weeks pay that bullet traveled from the gun to the wall without any other obstructions.

Very tragic, regardless.

[kimwcook]

It seems hard for me to believe the bullet had the energy to travel the distance stated, penetrate the outside wall of a house, travel through the arm and into the torso of the victim after ricocheting off the ground. Something doesn't add up.

[Rusty]

I'd like to see updates on this as the case moves through the system.

[John in MS]

The writer did not have their brain engaged on this one. They said it was "1000 feet" and then "over the length of a football field." Well, technically, that's correct but it would be more accurate to say "over 3 football fields away."

I am guessing the deceased may not have been shot through the arm and into the chest, as they said "a hole under the arm."
That encompasses a lot of territory without hitting the arm.

If it traveled 300 yards+ through the air on an arching trajectory, I'd think they should be able to tell. It is hard for me to imagine the bullet's being stable after hitting any surface and riccocheting, which would further degrade its' energy/velocity as it flew, not to mention what was absorbed by the first impact.

I'm no police officer, but not digging up the area where he was firing and checking the bullets sounds pretty slipshod.

I, too, think we are not getting an accurate or full account somehow. What a shame!!

John

[AJMD429]

I agree that any ricochet should seriously destabilize and de-energize the bullet, even GI hardball. Still a pretty negligent action on the shooter's part though, because even as an 8 year-old KID I knew slow blunt bullets ricocheted off of things easily, and that bullets could go really far.

Of course it is a 'political' issue because it is a 'gun' but other than that it isn't much different than someone busy on a cell phone merging into a lane and hitting a car they didn't see, causing a fatality. THAT happens to journalists and people they know though, so it isn't as bad as if it happens with a bullet.

I just feel sorry for the poor woman, family, and of course, the guy, who had to leave the game so early through no fault of his own.

To those who feel that even if no ricochet the power/penetration would be marginal, it would seem fairly easy to make a section of exterior wall, shoot at it from 1000 feet (or whatever), and see what the penetration and energy would be like (no ricochets). I think what people sometimes forget is that there ARE gaps between paneling boards, gaps between trees, etc., and that ultimately, there could have been nothing but 1/32" of vinyl, 1/2" of foil-backed styrofoam, 1/2" of drywall, and 1/2" of skin between the muzzle and the guy's subclavian artery. Perhaps 1000 feet of air, but UNLESS there was a ricochet which significantly destabilized the bullet, you'd likely have enough velocity to penetrate into the artery. I'll bet that if you THREW a 230gr. hardball bullet as hard as you could and hit a person in the right place, you could in fact kill them, and I don't know how many f.p.s. that would be, but I'll bet it would be less than the remaining velocity of a fired bullet from a .45 ACP at 1000 feet . [edited for clarity]

[Blaine]

One of the gun writers, can't come up with the name (maybe Mike V.) was talking about long range shooting, a half mile or so, at an old outhouse and how the .45 slug went thru the wall and thru the oak seat.........

[Old Ironsights]

I've shot .45ACP out to 185yds. The Rainbow Arc will most certainly ring a gong with authority... BUT the angle of impact is still at more than 45deg from the ground.

At 2640ft/880yds you could have an angle closer to 60deg from plane. At that point you are dealing more with acceleration of gravity than linear velocity.

Remember, a penny dropped from a skyscraper will embed itself in the sidewalk too...

[Otto]

One of the gun writers, can't come up with the name (maybe Mike V.) was talking about long range shooting, a half mile or so, at an old outhouse and how the .45 slug went thru the wall and thru the oak seat.........

That sounds like Elmer Keith.

[Otto]

I'll bet that if you THREW a 230gr. hardball bullet as hard as you could and hit a person in the right place, you could in fact kill them, and I don't know how many f.p.s. that would be, but I'll bet it would be less than the 1000 foot remaining velocity of a fired bullet.

A 90mph projectile, such as a fastball, is travelling at 132fps.

[Old Ironsights]

I'll bet that if you THREW a 230gr. hardball bullet as hard as you could and hit a person in the right place, you could in fact kill them, and I don't know how many f.p.s. that would be, but I'll bet it would be less than the 1000 foot remaining velocity of a fired bullet.

A 90mph projectile, such as a fastball, is travelling at 132fps.

230gr @ 132fps is 8 ftlbs...

I don't think that would kill anything... or penetrate more than a sheet of paper...

FWIW I get over 300fps out of my wrist rocket & a 70gr .36 ball... that's 13 ftlbs+ And I'm not sure I could drive a hard-cast .36 that deep into a man from the side with my wrist rocket at 15 FEET...

Assuming OEM Ball Ammo: 230 gr., .150 B.C. 835fps MV... (www.hornady.com)

Range (yards) Muzzle 25 50 75 100 150 200
Velocity (fps) 835 816 798 780 763 731 701
Energy (ft.-lb.) 356 340 325 311 297 273 251
Trajectory (25 yd. zero) -0.3 0.0 -3.0 -9.3 -19.3 -50.5 -98.0
Come Up in MOA -0.3 0.0 5.7 11.9 18.4 32.1 46.8

Angle STILL would have been all wrong for the description of the impact on the body...

[AJMD429]

It sounds like there needs to be some ballistic investigating.

I live in Morgan County, IN, but hadn't heard of the case. I'll keep my ears open.

[HATCHETTJACK]

im prolly being cynical, the shooter and wife could have conspired to do this.... for obvious reasons

[Andrew]

I will be interested in learning more about this story as it progreses.

[Doc Hudson]

I'll bet that if you THREW a 230gr. hardball bullet as hard as you could and hit a person in the right place, you could in fact kill them, and I don't know how many f.p.s. that would be, but I'll bet it would be less than the 1000 foot remaining velocity of a fired bullet.

less than the 1000 foot remaining velocity of a fired bullet.

1,000 of what? There are only couple of .45 ACP loades that even reach 1,000 fps at the muzzle. And there are no .45 ACP loades that get more than half way to 1,000 ft/lb of energy even at the muzzle.

If that fellow was testing the pistol with hardball ammo he was getting around 850+/- fps and around 350 ft/lb of energy, that is a long way from 1,000 of anything. Perhaps if he was using a hollow point load. let us say a 185 gr JHP for example, he might have attained a velocity in the neighborhood of 1130+/- fpsd and about 530 ft/lb of energy. Which ever load was used, expecting the bullet to not only fly in the exact arc needed, but retain enough velocity and energy to penetrate and exterior wall and still give a lethal wound it pretty far fetched in my opinion.

But we are really just straining at gnats here. We don't even know the range at which the incident occured. All we have is a confused series of statement from a reporter saying that the shooting occured at a range of 1,000 feet, 100 yards, and more than the length of a football field. We don't know what happened, we don't know the range, but something does not seem right to me.

I'm no medical man, in spite the nicknam, and I'm no ballistician, and I'm unable to explain the physics behind ricochets, but I've intentionally busted many a target with ricochet shots, so I do know a little about ricochets. I find it difficult to believe that a man shooting the ground near his feet would have a ricochet which goes flying off at an unknown angel but striking the right angle and arc of flight to intersect the exact point on a house 100 yards or 100+ yards or 1,000 feet, or maybe even 1,000 yards away and still have the energy to enter a man's chest. Something just doesn not add up IMO. I think this case smells real fishy.

About the only way I'd put more stock in the story is if they produce more bullet holes in the house. If 14 shots were fired in the same general area, with 13 of them appearing to ricochet, it would seem reasonable to me that if one shot hit the house at least some of the others should have hit the house. Show memore bullet holes and I might start to come around to your way of thinking.

FWIW, I suspect that you are correct about a good pitcher being able to kill with a thrown 230 grain bullet. Lord knows I would not want to stand still and let someone like Nolan Ryan or Sandy Koufax in their heyday stand 7 yards a way and throw their fastest effort at my noggin.

[Otto]

I'll bet that if you THREW a 230gr. hardball bullet as hard as you could and hit a person in the right place, you could in fact kill them, and I don't know how many f.p.s. that would be, but I'll bet it would be less than the 1000 foot remaining velocity of a fired bullet.

less than the 1000 foot remaining velocity of a fired bullet.

1,000 of what? There are only couple of .45 ACP loades that even reach 1,000 fps at the muzzle. And there are no .45 ACP loades that get more than half way to 1,000 ft/lb of energy even at the muzzle.

If that fellow was testing the pistol with hardball ammo he was getting around 850+/- fps and around 350 ft/lb of energy, that is a long way from 1,000 of anything.

I think he was trying to say, the velocity of a 230gr bullet after having travelled 1000 feet.

[nemhed]

Unfortunately the more familiar you are with the "facts" of a story, the more you see how truly screwed up the various news agencies can get these facts. We can't even tell from the newspaper's report how far the bullet traveled. I also believe, in most cases the simplest answer is the true answer. The guy said he had one "misfire", I believe he had a negligent discharge directly towards the house and is now covering his butt. We probably won't hear any more about this story until it goes to trial and then it will back page stuff. This is already yesterday's news both figuratively and literally. This is a tragedy for everyone involved. Hopefully we can learn something from one man's mistake and another man's death.

STAY SAFE EVERYONE!

[AJMD429]

Just ran GI hardball through my ballistics software, and at 1,000 feet, velocity is 370 fps, with 72 foot-pounds of energy. The drop rate is 220 inches every 10 yards (360 inches), so it is coming down almost 45 degrees. In other words if the person were 3 feet from the wall, the hole would have to be about 22 inches above the impact.

It doesn't change the 'negligent' factor or the very tragic outcome, but the power level truly does seem down into the range of a really powerful slingshot.