Iraq Vet's Lawyer: He Fired In Self-Defense In Shooting Over Noisy Moviegoers

[Ichingcarpenter]

PHILADELPHIA — An Iraq veteran charged in a Christmas night shooting over noisy moviegoers fired in self-defense, his lawyer said.

James Joseph Cialella, 29, of Philadelphia, is charged with firing a shot that broke the arm of Woffard Lomax Jr. inside a movie theater during a screening of the film "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button."

A judge on Wednesday ordered Cialella held for trial on aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and related charges. The judge tossed out an attempted murder charge over a prosecutor's objections.


Lomax, 31, told the judge he was at the movie with his girlfriend and her three teenagers, enjoying the film and laughing, when a man in front of him _ not Cialella _ told him to quiet down.
"We can't laugh?" Lomax recalled asking.


"He's a marksman," lawyer Greg Pagano said. "If he wanted to shoot to kill, he would have."
Cialella spent five months in Iraq with the Army before being honorably discharged in September, Pagano said.
Municipal Court Judge Craig M. Washington lowered Cialella's bond from $350,000 to $50,000, but ordered him to remain under house arrest if he is released. It was not immediately clear Thursday whether he had posted bail.

Lomax did not elaborate on his testimony after the hearing.



Police have said Cialella brought a .38-caliber handgun in his waistband to the South Philadelphia megaplex.


http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i-15B9iYl6cQKAr3g54ZIn6x6mJAD95EKH7O0

[babylonsister]

1. Only 5 months in Iraq and discharged? I wonder why. nt

[thunder rising]

2. Hey I always put a .38 in my waistband ... it makes me feel dressed.

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. Your link seems to go to an earlier version of the story, from the 26th

where he was going to be charged with attempted murder, the victim hadn't been named yet, and he hadn't given his excuse. Do you have the more up-to-date link?

[Ichingcarpenter]

6. fixed..... I worry about our troops not getting proper deprograming

once they get out.

[muriel_volestrangler]

7. Thanks

So he claims it was a brawl. I guess third party witnesses will be crucial to determining what really happened.

[gratuitous]

4. Fer crissakes

Oh boy, the next several years are going to be so much fun.

[Deja Q]

5. Nice twist.

Most marksmen, or even the simply insane, would just shoot to kill. He consciously went for the arm.

Of course, try not firing the bloody thing in the first place... if some wanker is being a snot in a movie theatre, there are plenty of things one can do. Whipping out a big gun because you've got a small dick is not acceptable.

[catnhatnh]

8. Actually, marksman is the lowest possible firearms award in the military...

...you know, the minimum score that clerks and jerks get...Any old Vet will recall his days on the rifle range with the NCO's yelling "Scorers, help your buddies out..."

The middle range is sharpshooter and the top expert.

This clown IS a wanker and a violent one at that. After the fact, ridiculous claims by his lawyer should rightly be met with derision.