Let me tell you a true story arising from a case I prosecuted almost 20 years ago. A young man by the name of Adam Lee made the journey from his farm in a remote area of Mendocino County, CA, along with his girlfriend, to the town of Willits on the occasion of his 30th birthday. Among other amusements they saw the movie Tombstone.
They returned home in the wee hours of the morning. Our hero had been so impressed by the gun twirling in the movie that he decided to try it himself - it did not go well.
Adam did not own a Colt single action or any facsimile. Inventive minds are not deterred and young Adam decided a Ruger 9mm auto would do for twirling practice.
Alas, he forgot (if he ever knew them) all the rules of safe gun handling. He tried twirling his 9mm with a loaded chamber and the hammer cocked. Why? I do not know, and I suspect the rule about leaving guns put away while impaired may also have been ignored.
You have likely also guessed this part: he managed to discharge the pistol while twirling it, the bullet went through the wad of cash in his pocket, and through his thigh. At this point our hero is in a great deal of pain, bleeding from what could be a life-threatening injury, and the only other person at his remote farm, his girlfriend, is completely freaked out.
Despite her distress, she manages to get him into the pickup and drive him to the next farm on the way into town. (Have you guessed what crop they are farming?)
The neighboring farmer takes our hero the rest of the way to Howard Hospital in Willits. In accordance with standard procedure, the hospital reports the gunshot wound to law enforcement. Mendocino sheriff’s deputies respond, separate our hero from his neighbor, and question them about the circumstances of the gunshot wound. It is not long before the stories diverge. The Sheriff, knowing well the principal farming activity in that area is concerned there may have been a larger gunfight. By daylight our hero’s farm is surrounded by deputies with a search warrant.
They found Blue Ribbon quality marijuana and remains of a meth lab on the property.
Despite not having had a job or filing an income return for many years, Hero Lee managed to buy his 20 acre property for $200K and pay off the (seller financed) note in just five years.
At the end of the day, our hero was convicted of four felonies: possession of marijuana for sale, and three counts of tax evasion. He also lost the property in a separate state asset forfeiture action.
Adam had been flying under the radar and was not being looked at by law enforcement. The cascading consequences of his silliness changed his life profoundly, despite no fatal or permanent injuries being inflicted.
