Bernard Goetz, so-called 'subway vigilante' of 1980s, wins dismissal of minor marijuana case
An electrical engineer who became a household name in the mid-1980s after shooting at four teenagers he claimed had threatened him on a New York City subway has been acquitted in a minor criminal case.
Bernard Goetz, now 65, won a dismissal Wednesday on speedy-trial grounds of a case in which he was accused of trying to sell $30 worth of marijuana to a female undercover officer. He earlier refused a plea deal that would have included a sentence of 10 days of community service, reports the New York Daily News
Previous New York Post and New York Times (req. req.) stories provide additional details about the latest case against Goetz.
Decades ago, the man dubbed by the Post as a “subway vigilante” sparked a national debate about crime and gun control after the shooting incident left one of the four black teens at whom he shot paralyzed and brain-damaged. Goetz himself is white.
Goetz claimed self-defense. But it was argued that he had been looking for trouble; reacted excessively to a perceived threat; and shot as his claimed assailants were down or in retreat. Although acquitted of attempted murder, he was convicted of weapons possession concerning the unregistered firearm he used in the shooting. He was also ordered to pay tens of millions after a civil jury trial.
Related coverage:
CNN: “Bernhard Goetz’s victim dies on anniversary of shooting”
New York Times (reg. req.): “A Gunman’s Tale of Fear, Hatred and Drugs”
New York Times (reg. req.): “Bronx Jury Orders Goetz to Pay Man He Paralyzed $43 Million”
New York Times (reg. req.): “Bankrupt, Goetz Still Owes Victim”
New York Magazine: “The Joy of Goetz”
