United States v. Escamilla

467 F.2d 341 (4th Cir. 1972)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

A group of men arrived on a remote island labeled T-3 in the Arctic Ocean. They got there in May and expected to remain until October. Bennie, the victim, was one of the members and was an employee of the U.S. Weather Bureau. Mario (D) was an employee of General Motors Defense Research Laboratory. During the summer, an acute problem arose over one the expeditions members named Porky's drinking and uncontrolled behavior. Prior to the date, Bennie was killed, Porky attacked various personnel three times with butcher cleavers mainly in an effort to quench his alcoholism. D got a telephone call to be on the lookout for Porky because he said he was drunk and had stolen wine from D's trailer. D's roommate pleaded with D to return to his trailer and D did so. D took a rifle with him and left it at his trailer when he went to warn Porky to stay away from his raisin wine. D found Porky and Bennie consuming 190 proof Ethyl alcohol cut with grape juice and homemade raisin wine. D left for his trailer and soon heard footsteps approaching. D got ready to defend himself by taking off the safety of his gun, making sure it was loaded and pointing it at the door. It was Bennie who entered the trailer. After a heated discussion, D ordered Bennie to leave, waving the gun back and forth at him. The gun discharged, and Bennie was hit. Bennie died from the wound. There was evidence that the gun was defective in an unforeseeable way in that it could be discharged without pulling the trigger by banging it, dropping it or by putting the safety on and off, by ramming the bolt handle down and by applying slight pressure to the bolt handle when holding it. D appealed his conviction; the trial court failed to charge the jury correctly on the necessary elements of the crime of involuntary manslaughter.