Judge: Toby man was wrong to fire gun in self-defense
Poor "Judge"ment, The father throwing rocks is in no trouble-----The Webmistress
A Tobyhanna man admitted he fired a gun in June at the father of his girlfriend's children in Tobyhanna Township, but said he did it to protect them when the father began throwing rocks at them after an argument.
"I understand you were trying to protect your girlfriend and her children and that the victim created the situation, but that was still the wrong way to respond," Vican told Jose Lagoa, 29, before sentencing Lagoa to 10 to 23 months in Monroe County Correctional Facility. "This isn't the Wild West. You could have endangered the lives of the people and children inside the house when you fired that shot."
The bullet Lagoa fired barely missed Jermaine Evans, 24, went through an open door or window and lodged in the kitchen wall of the home Evans shared with several other young children. Evans is the father of Jenel Rodgers' children, ages 1 and 3.
Lagoa and Rodgers said they drove to Evans' home to pick up her children, at which point Rodgers and Evans began arguing and Evans then began throwing "baseball-sized rocks" at Rodgers and her children.
Lagoa said he tried to tell Evans to stop, but that Evans continued throwing rocks and threatening him, Rodgers and the children. Lagoa said he then at some point got his 9 mm Glock semi-automatic handgun from his vehicle and fired at Evans.
Evans, whom Rodgers said physically abused her in the past, is serving time in county jail for violating a protection-from-abuse order she filed after the June incident.